War Journal Entry number 626 - Weekly Haul 2/4/09
MARVEL
Age of the Sentry #5 of 6 - Paul Tobin/Jeff Parker and Bill Galvan/Nick Dragotta. Excuse me while I squee uncontrollably - Whoo-hooo, it's the classic Guardians of the Galaxy! Vance Astro!! Martinex!!! Charlie 27!!!! Yondu!!!!! Starhawk!!!!!! Nikki!!!!!!!! Destroyer? Sun Girl?? Teen Beat??? Boy Blob???? Immortal One (aka Wolverine)?????? OK, so the version of the Guardians depicted here swipes quite unapologetically from the Silver Age Legion of Super-Heroes, but I'm not minding. It's an immensely fun tale that had me giggling out loud. The second tale, featuring some Sentry fans trying to improve his image and life, was also fun, and includes some super-hero lovin' shenanigans.
Agents of Atlas #1 - Jeff Parker + Carlos Pagulayan. The brilliant Agents of Atlas miniseries gets the ongoing treatment. It's probably good to have read the miniseries before delving into this, and I highly recommend picking up the trade or hardcover of it since they include reprints of the first the appearances of these pre-Silver Age characters. Anyway, once you read the original series you'll be jonesing for this harder than a smoker going for the first cigarette of the day. And trust me, this is just as refreshing.
Astonishing Tales #1 of 4 - Another anthology in the vein of last year's Marvel Comics Presents, but this one is already shaping up to be a stronger piece. C.B. Cebulski and Kenneth Rocafort (channeling a cross between Pat Lee and Leinil Franis Yu) do fine start to an action-packed Wolverine and Punisher tale. Daniel Merlin Godberry and Lou Kang start up an interesting mystery with Iron Man 2020. Christopher Sequira and W. Chew Chan do a fine Iron Man one-part tale. Finally, Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra begin a story I'm looking forward to seeing played out with Sunspot and Cannonball mixing it up with Mojo. Fun stuff.
Cable #11 - Duane Swierczynski + Ariel Olivetti/Jamie McKelvie. Cable and Hope, alone and quite quickly falling into Bishop's trap. My main problem with the issue is the jarring jump from one artist to the next, especially since Jamie seems to draw Hope much older than Ariel draws her.
Captain America: Truth hardcover - Robert Morales and Kyle Baker. Collects the Truth: Red, White, and Black miniseries with an interesting appendix. In case you missed the hype, it's the story of the black soldiers that were experimented on to perfect the super-soldier serum later used on Steve Rogers. The racism is frightening, but not unbelievable considering what else happened at the time. It's got fantastic art and a good story,even if it is one that moves a bit too fast over some points. Highly recommended.
Deadpool #7 - Daniel Way + Paco Medina. Deadpool does a fantastic job of pissing of Norman Osborn. Isn't his timing brilliant? Acts as a lead-in to the Deadpool vs. Thunderbolts crossover.
Franklin Richards: Dark Reigning Cats and Dogs - Chris Eliopoulos. Like all of the Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius specials, some of the stories are better than others. Still, just like the rest of them, it's a fun, worthwhile read.
Immortal Iron Fist #22 - Duane Swierczynski + Travel Foreman. Iron Fist and the other Immortal Weapons have found themselves in the Eight City, and it's a living hell. The art is a little rough, but the writing is still solid.
Official Index to the Marvel Universe #2 - Lots more sixties Iron Man, Spider-Man, and X-Men tales are covered.
Punisher #2 - Rick Remender and Jerome Opena. Frank's new tech-buddy allows him to expose some of the lies of Norman Osborn. And Normie takes notice.
War of Kings: Darkhawk #1 of 2 - C.B.Cebulski + Harvey Tolibao/Bong Dazo. Carrying on from Cebulski's Loners miniseries, Darkhawk continues to have problems with his life, the universe, and his sanity. Sounds like a perfect time to get dragged into a cosmic crossover. Also includes a reprint of his first appearance in Darkhawk #1.
X-Men: First Class Finals #1 of 4 - Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz. Not a lot happens in this issue, but it's still a fun issue that ties into both original X-Men continuity (taking place shortly after (Uncanny) X-Men 66, the last original story until the immortal Giant-Size X-Men #1/X-Men #94) as well as the previous X-Men: First Class comics. Also includes the first part of a Parker and Colleen Coover back-up. I'm always glad to see Colleen.
X-Men: Magneto Testament #5 of 5 - Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico. The finale of the official Magneto origin ends without any powers being used, just a lot of strength of character. Frankly, without the title and the name of the girl he loved, I wouldn't have known this was anything more than a historical tale, it can easily be read without consideration of Magneto. Frankly, at this point it is difficult to see Max Eisenhardt developing into the Master of Magnetism. There almost needs to be a second miniseries detailing his adoption of the Magneto persona. Enough of that, though. The issue also includes a story written by Rafael Medoff and illustrated by Neal Adams with Joe Kubert that is about the artist Dina Babbitt, what she went through during the Holocaust as well as how the Polish museum is refusing her requests for the return of the art she was forced to create during her internment. Follow this link to a pdf of that tale.
X-Men: Noir #3 of 4 - Fred Van Lente and Dennis Calero. Without the Golden Age Angel tying this together I might have given up on this. The old private dick thing isn't up my alley, and the rampant pessimism gets a little old after a while. I hope this things find their audience, but I'm not sure it's me. We'll see how it shapes up in the finale for my final say on the series.
X-Men: The Times & Life of Lucas Bishop #1 of 3 - Duane Swierczynski and Larry Stroman. Bishop used to be a favorite of mine, and I've felt that the writers have really fucked with him over the last few years. His siding with O.N.E. during the Civil War was off base enough, but what I really had trouble accepting was when he turned traitor without explanation in the Messiah Complex crossover. Since then he's been portrayed as a soulless fanatic and I don't like it. Hopefully this series will explain his recent action and show how they tie into who he has always been. It starts shortly before his birth and shows his childhood in the mutant camps, but we still haven't heard exactly what Hope did to cause things to go so badly.
X-Men versus Hulk one-shot - Chris Claremont and Jeremy Raapack. It's another one of those "teach Colossus a lesson by making him fight an opponent that outclasses him" stories, and not much more. Still, it's decently fun, which is to say I don't regret buying even if I don't think it was great. Also reprints the X-Men versus Hulk story (Uncanny) X-Men #66 by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema, the final original tale of the first series until it's reinvention in Giant-Size X-Men #1/X-Men #94.
DARK HORSE COMICS
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #22 - Steven S. DeKnight + Georges Jeanty. Slayers versus little stuffed vampire kitties.
DC
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 of 5 - Geoff Johns and George Perez. The only decent part Final Crisis.
IDW
Transformers: All Hail Megatron #7 of 12 - Shane McCarthy and Guido Guidi. Explanations and flashbacks abound in the issue that finally shows how things went down. Solid characterization with some hardcore action.
WILDSTORM
Authority vol.5 #7 - Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning and Simon Coleby. The Authority continues to be the best it has ever been thanks to Abnett and Lanning.
Age of the Sentry #5 of 6 - Paul Tobin/Jeff Parker and Bill Galvan/Nick Dragotta. Excuse me while I squee uncontrollably - Whoo-hooo, it's the classic Guardians of the Galaxy! Vance Astro!! Martinex!!! Charlie 27!!!! Yondu!!!!! Starhawk!!!!!! Nikki!!!!!!!! Destroyer? Sun Girl?? Teen Beat??? Boy Blob???? Immortal One (aka Wolverine)?????? OK, so the version of the Guardians depicted here swipes quite unapologetically from the Silver Age Legion of Super-Heroes, but I'm not minding. It's an immensely fun tale that had me giggling out loud. The second tale, featuring some Sentry fans trying to improve his image and life, was also fun, and includes some super-hero lovin' shenanigans.
Agents of Atlas #1 - Jeff Parker + Carlos Pagulayan. The brilliant Agents of Atlas miniseries gets the ongoing treatment. It's probably good to have read the miniseries before delving into this, and I highly recommend picking up the trade or hardcover of it since they include reprints of the first the appearances of these pre-Silver Age characters. Anyway, once you read the original series you'll be jonesing for this harder than a smoker going for the first cigarette of the day. And trust me, this is just as refreshing.
Astonishing Tales #1 of 4 - Another anthology in the vein of last year's Marvel Comics Presents, but this one is already shaping up to be a stronger piece. C.B. Cebulski and Kenneth Rocafort (channeling a cross between Pat Lee and Leinil Franis Yu) do fine start to an action-packed Wolverine and Punisher tale. Daniel Merlin Godberry and Lou Kang start up an interesting mystery with Iron Man 2020. Christopher Sequira and W. Chew Chan do a fine Iron Man one-part tale. Finally, Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra begin a story I'm looking forward to seeing played out with Sunspot and Cannonball mixing it up with Mojo. Fun stuff.
Cable #11 - Duane Swierczynski + Ariel Olivetti/Jamie McKelvie. Cable and Hope, alone and quite quickly falling into Bishop's trap. My main problem with the issue is the jarring jump from one artist to the next, especially since Jamie seems to draw Hope much older than Ariel draws her.
Captain America: Truth hardcover - Robert Morales and Kyle Baker. Collects the Truth: Red, White, and Black miniseries with an interesting appendix. In case you missed the hype, it's the story of the black soldiers that were experimented on to perfect the super-soldier serum later used on Steve Rogers. The racism is frightening, but not unbelievable considering what else happened at the time. It's got fantastic art and a good story,even if it is one that moves a bit too fast over some points. Highly recommended.
Deadpool #7 - Daniel Way + Paco Medina. Deadpool does a fantastic job of pissing of Norman Osborn. Isn't his timing brilliant? Acts as a lead-in to the Deadpool vs. Thunderbolts crossover.
Franklin Richards: Dark Reigning Cats and Dogs - Chris Eliopoulos. Like all of the Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius specials, some of the stories are better than others. Still, just like the rest of them, it's a fun, worthwhile read.
Immortal Iron Fist #22 - Duane Swierczynski + Travel Foreman. Iron Fist and the other Immortal Weapons have found themselves in the Eight City, and it's a living hell. The art is a little rough, but the writing is still solid.
Official Index to the Marvel Universe #2 - Lots more sixties Iron Man, Spider-Man, and X-Men tales are covered.
Punisher #2 - Rick Remender and Jerome Opena. Frank's new tech-buddy allows him to expose some of the lies of Norman Osborn. And Normie takes notice.
War of Kings: Darkhawk #1 of 2 - C.B.Cebulski + Harvey Tolibao/Bong Dazo. Carrying on from Cebulski's Loners miniseries, Darkhawk continues to have problems with his life, the universe, and his sanity. Sounds like a perfect time to get dragged into a cosmic crossover. Also includes a reprint of his first appearance in Darkhawk #1.
X-Men: First Class Finals #1 of 4 - Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz. Not a lot happens in this issue, but it's still a fun issue that ties into both original X-Men continuity (taking place shortly after (Uncanny) X-Men 66, the last original story until the immortal Giant-Size X-Men #1/X-Men #94) as well as the previous X-Men: First Class comics. Also includes the first part of a Parker and Colleen Coover back-up. I'm always glad to see Colleen.
X-Men: Magneto Testament #5 of 5 - Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico. The finale of the official Magneto origin ends without any powers being used, just a lot of strength of character. Frankly, without the title and the name of the girl he loved, I wouldn't have known this was anything more than a historical tale, it can easily be read without consideration of Magneto. Frankly, at this point it is difficult to see Max Eisenhardt developing into the Master of Magnetism. There almost needs to be a second miniseries detailing his adoption of the Magneto persona. Enough of that, though. The issue also includes a story written by Rafael Medoff and illustrated by Neal Adams with Joe Kubert that is about the artist Dina Babbitt, what she went through during the Holocaust as well as how the Polish museum is refusing her requests for the return of the art she was forced to create during her internment. Follow this link to a pdf of that tale.
X-Men: Noir #3 of 4 - Fred Van Lente and Dennis Calero. Without the Golden Age Angel tying this together I might have given up on this. The old private dick thing isn't up my alley, and the rampant pessimism gets a little old after a while. I hope this things find their audience, but I'm not sure it's me. We'll see how it shapes up in the finale for my final say on the series.
X-Men: The Times & Life of Lucas Bishop #1 of 3 - Duane Swierczynski and Larry Stroman. Bishop used to be a favorite of mine, and I've felt that the writers have really fucked with him over the last few years. His siding with O.N.E. during the Civil War was off base enough, but what I really had trouble accepting was when he turned traitor without explanation in the Messiah Complex crossover. Since then he's been portrayed as a soulless fanatic and I don't like it. Hopefully this series will explain his recent action and show how they tie into who he has always been. It starts shortly before his birth and shows his childhood in the mutant camps, but we still haven't heard exactly what Hope did to cause things to go so badly.
X-Men versus Hulk one-shot - Chris Claremont and Jeremy Raapack. It's another one of those "teach Colossus a lesson by making him fight an opponent that outclasses him" stories, and not much more. Still, it's decently fun, which is to say I don't regret buying even if I don't think it was great. Also reprints the X-Men versus Hulk story (Uncanny) X-Men #66 by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema, the final original tale of the first series until it's reinvention in Giant-Size X-Men #1/X-Men #94.
DARK HORSE COMICS
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #22 - Steven S. DeKnight + Georges Jeanty. Slayers versus little stuffed vampire kitties.
DC
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 of 5 - Geoff Johns and George Perez. The only decent part Final Crisis.
IDW
Transformers: All Hail Megatron #7 of 12 - Shane McCarthy and Guido Guidi. Explanations and flashbacks abound in the issue that finally shows how things went down. Solid characterization with some hardcore action.
WILDSTORM
Authority vol.5 #7 - Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning and Simon Coleby. The Authority continues to be the best it has ever been thanks to Abnett and Lanning.