War Journal Entry number 757 - Weekly Haul 5/26/10
Still way too behind on these, but this will be the last for the day. I do have other things to do. Plus, the position of my computer is not great for my back.
MARVEL
Dazzler one-shot - Jim McCann + Kalman Andrasofszky/Ramon Perez/Francesca Ciregia. We may be in the midst of the next X-Men crossover (Second Coming, natch), but that doesn't mean it's too late for an epilogue to the previous one. Dazzler deals with her sister after the events of Necrosha in an issue that also ties back to Dazzler's solo series from the 80s.
Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #11 of 13 - Victor Gischler + Bong Dazo. More fun in the zombieverse with Deadpool.
Doomwar #4 of 6 - Jonathan Maberry + Scot Eaton. Continues to be a great crossover minseries, and highlight of Dr. Doom's career. I'm just annoyed with the marketing. Deadpool has appeared on every cover so far, even takes a prominent role on the cover of this one, but this is actually the first issue in which he has appeared. And it's only a cameo at the end of the book, and was meant to have been a surprise twist.
Fall of the Hulks: Savage She-Hulks #3 of 3 - Jeff Parker + Salva Espin/Jonboy Meyers. Three She-Hulks united against a tide of hulked out marines.
Fantastic Four #579 - Jonathan Hickman + Neil Edwards. The highlight of the issue is the speech that Richards gives to a group of scientists at the beginning, explicitly calling them out as a bunch of cowards that are afraid of the future. Other than that, the issue feels like filler. But for that speech, this is worth it.
The Invincible Gene Colan hardcover - A fantastic overview of Gene's Marvel career that really puts his work into perspective and shows how much more credit and respect he deserves than he ever seems to get.
Marvel Zombies 5 #3 of 5 - Fred Van Lente + Mike Kaluta/Kano/Felix Ruiz. Our heroes end up facing off against medieval deadites. Good, wholesome fun.
Thanos Imperative: Ignition one-shot - Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning + Brad Walker. The next (final) phase in Abnett & Lanning's cosmic saga sees the intrusion into our reality of the so-called cancerverse, an alternate, Lovecraftian dimension where life runs rampant and death has been defeated. It's a sign of how bad things are that our only hope is Death's favorite monster, Thanos.
Thor #610 - Kieron Gillen + Doug Braithwaite. The clone of Thor, called Ragnarok, faces off against the real deal in this epilogue to Siege.
Thunderbolts #144 - Jeff Parker + Kev Walker. Luke Cage is now in charge of the Thunderbolts program, and he's making his choices. It's an interesting mix, and I'm looking forward to seeing this new team in action, especially Juggernaut.
Wolverine: Weapon X #13 - Jason Aaron + Ron Garney. The Deathloks keep coming, but the heroes finally start putting the pieces together. Will it be in time? (Well, yeah, of course it will, but I'm trying to keep some tension going.)
X-Force #27 - Craig Kyle/Chris Yost + Mike Choi. Second Coming part 9. The X-Men's defenses begin to crumble under the onslaught of Bastion's forces, which forces Cyclops to send a team on a suicidal mission through time to stop the Nimrod Super-Sentinels of the future at their source.
X-Men: Blind Science one-shot - Simon Spurrier + Paul Davidson/Francis Portela. Second Coming tie-in. Doctor Nemesis, oh, and the other members of the scientific X-Club, find themselves thrust into a post-apocalyptic future after narrowly escaping the explosion that seemed to have consumed them in X-Men Legacy #236. Trying to avoid the anti-mutant fascist forces of the future, they also bear witness to Hope's eventual evolution, and difficult choices must be made. And a kitten must be sacrificed. This one-shot, which doesn't bear too strongly on the events of Second Coming, is one of the best things in the crossover, which is impressive since the crossover has been mostly great. In the midst of an action packed saga, we get a dark horror story where convictions are tested. The dialog here is superb, and Doctor Nemesis is swiftly proving himself to be the wittiest, snarkiest character since Spider Jerusalem.
X-Men Origins: Emma Frost one-shot - Valerie D'Orazio + Karl Moline. An OK origin story that makes use of some of what has already been revealed, but I'm still surprised it got an All Ages label on it. This is Emma Frost, after all. From the verbal/emotional abuse she suffered from her father, to being a stripper, to using her mental powers and sexual wiles to make men do whatever she wanted, it's difficult to create a cohesive character through-line.
BROADSWORD COMICS
Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #62 - Jim Balent. Tarot continues to tell the tale of how she passed the initiation to become the Witch of the Black Rose. Also includes an illustrated love poem casting Jim as a magical forest being and his wife, Holly Golightly, as a skyclad, sunbathing witch. It's a little, well, embarrassing and creepy. Thumbs up, buddy.
All righty, I talked about Rob Liefeld the other day, and now I'll talk about Jim Balent. Why do I like Jim Balent? Same reason I gave for Rob: he reminds me of Jack Kirby. Now, this is in a much different way. Kirby had big ideas, things about reality, religion, philosophy, and more. But he was limited in his vocabulary, and his treatise on these subjects took the form of superhero comics. That was the language in which he knew how to express himself. Jim is similar. Jim has opinions on religion, equality, feminism, and individuality which I think most of my friends would find highly laudable. I truly believe he means it when he expresses the wish that everyone could live as they please, that people should be able to dress, act, believe, love, and do what makes them happy without shame or fear of judgment. The main caveat he puts upon this is the same I use: don't go around hurting other people or forcing your will upon them. Hell, this is the only comic I can immediately think of with a main character that is in multiple long term, bisexual, polyamorous relationships. Unfortunately Jim's language for expressing all this is the parlance of 90s bad-girl comics. He learned how to write from the likes of Brian Pulido instead of Neil Gaiman, and he learned how to draw from the likes of Frank Thorne's Red Sonja and Kurtzman/Elder's Little Annie Fanny instead of P. Craig Russell or Charles Vess.
DARK HORSE COMICS
Guild #3 of 3 - Felicia Day + Jim Rugg. Fantastic writing with OK art still makes for a great read.
Terminator: 2029 #3 of 3 - Zack Whedon + Andy MacDonald. It could have had a more satisfying ending, but it closed appropriately and opens the door to see the original film differently.
DC
Brave and the Bold #34 - J. Michael Straczynski + Jesus Saiz. The Legion of Super-Heroes travel through time to team up with the Doom Patrol and save the Earth. Just because it's a do-or-die situation doesn't mean there can't be a little humor, and we get another quality issue from Straczynski.
Green Lantern #54 - Geoff Johns + Doug Mahnke. Lots of Brightest Day crap, then a fight with the Red Lantern. Then Lobo shows up. It would be nice to pull back from some of the GL mythology for a little bit since we just went through that whole Blackest Night thing, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards.
Green Lantern Corps #48 - Tony Bedard + Ardian Syaf. Engagingly better than the supposedly main series, GLC delves into other ideas than simply the War of the Colors, and keeps the characters' responses at the forefront of the storytelling.
Justice League: Generation Lost #2 of 24 - Judd Winick/Keith Giffen + Joe Bennett. The small team of former JLI members realize that they are on their own, while at the same time Max has enacted plans to keep them discredited. How can you save the world when everyone thinks you're crazy?
Power Girl #12 - Justin Gray/Jimmy Palmiotti + Amanda Conner. If more of the issues were written this well I'd be much sorry seeing Gray & Palmiotti go. This is a nice parting piece from them that touches base with everything that has occurred in the previous 11 issues, and also spends a good amount of time with PG and Terra interacting like full fledged characters. I am sorry to see Amanda Conner leave, and I hope she comes back again.
EVIL TWIN COMICS
Comic Book Comics #3 (July 2008) - Fred Van Lente + Ryan Dunlavey. Dr. Wertham and Pop Artists combine to create a true hell for comics. This actually came out a while ago, but I missed it. Ordered it straight from the publisher and though that ended up being pricey, due to the shipping, it was well worth for the best comic book series about the history of comics.
Comic Book Comics #4 (October 2009) - Fred Van Lente + Ryan Dunlavey. Comic Book Comics hits the Silver Age, and Marvel Comics, but that's swiftly followed by both independent comics, and Heavy Metal magazine. Brilliantly constructed, highlights the parallel timing of events that are typically separate sections in most works about the history of comics.
IDW
Transformers #7 - Mike Costa + E. J. Su. A pause for breathe after the high octane pace of the first arc. The current status of Starscream's Decepticons is revealed, and it's debatable if they are better off than the Autobots.
MARVEL
Dazzler one-shot - Jim McCann + Kalman Andrasofszky/Ramon Perez/Francesca Ciregia. We may be in the midst of the next X-Men crossover (Second Coming, natch), but that doesn't mean it's too late for an epilogue to the previous one. Dazzler deals with her sister after the events of Necrosha in an issue that also ties back to Dazzler's solo series from the 80s.
Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #11 of 13 - Victor Gischler + Bong Dazo. More fun in the zombieverse with Deadpool.
Doomwar #4 of 6 - Jonathan Maberry + Scot Eaton. Continues to be a great crossover minseries, and highlight of Dr. Doom's career. I'm just annoyed with the marketing. Deadpool has appeared on every cover so far, even takes a prominent role on the cover of this one, but this is actually the first issue in which he has appeared. And it's only a cameo at the end of the book, and was meant to have been a surprise twist.
Fall of the Hulks: Savage She-Hulks #3 of 3 - Jeff Parker + Salva Espin/Jonboy Meyers. Three She-Hulks united against a tide of hulked out marines.
Fantastic Four #579 - Jonathan Hickman + Neil Edwards. The highlight of the issue is the speech that Richards gives to a group of scientists at the beginning, explicitly calling them out as a bunch of cowards that are afraid of the future. Other than that, the issue feels like filler. But for that speech, this is worth it.
The Invincible Gene Colan hardcover - A fantastic overview of Gene's Marvel career that really puts his work into perspective and shows how much more credit and respect he deserves than he ever seems to get.
Marvel Zombies 5 #3 of 5 - Fred Van Lente + Mike Kaluta/Kano/Felix Ruiz. Our heroes end up facing off against medieval deadites. Good, wholesome fun.
Thanos Imperative: Ignition one-shot - Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning + Brad Walker. The next (final) phase in Abnett & Lanning's cosmic saga sees the intrusion into our reality of the so-called cancerverse, an alternate, Lovecraftian dimension where life runs rampant and death has been defeated. It's a sign of how bad things are that our only hope is Death's favorite monster, Thanos.
Thor #610 - Kieron Gillen + Doug Braithwaite. The clone of Thor, called Ragnarok, faces off against the real deal in this epilogue to Siege.
Thunderbolts #144 - Jeff Parker + Kev Walker. Luke Cage is now in charge of the Thunderbolts program, and he's making his choices. It's an interesting mix, and I'm looking forward to seeing this new team in action, especially Juggernaut.
Wolverine: Weapon X #13 - Jason Aaron + Ron Garney. The Deathloks keep coming, but the heroes finally start putting the pieces together. Will it be in time? (Well, yeah, of course it will, but I'm trying to keep some tension going.)
X-Force #27 - Craig Kyle/Chris Yost + Mike Choi. Second Coming part 9. The X-Men's defenses begin to crumble under the onslaught of Bastion's forces, which forces Cyclops to send a team on a suicidal mission through time to stop the Nimrod Super-Sentinels of the future at their source.
X-Men: Blind Science one-shot - Simon Spurrier + Paul Davidson/Francis Portela. Second Coming tie-in. Doctor Nemesis, oh, and the other members of the scientific X-Club, find themselves thrust into a post-apocalyptic future after narrowly escaping the explosion that seemed to have consumed them in X-Men Legacy #236. Trying to avoid the anti-mutant fascist forces of the future, they also bear witness to Hope's eventual evolution, and difficult choices must be made. And a kitten must be sacrificed. This one-shot, which doesn't bear too strongly on the events of Second Coming, is one of the best things in the crossover, which is impressive since the crossover has been mostly great. In the midst of an action packed saga, we get a dark horror story where convictions are tested. The dialog here is superb, and Doctor Nemesis is swiftly proving himself to be the wittiest, snarkiest character since Spider Jerusalem.
X-Men Origins: Emma Frost one-shot - Valerie D'Orazio + Karl Moline. An OK origin story that makes use of some of what has already been revealed, but I'm still surprised it got an All Ages label on it. This is Emma Frost, after all. From the verbal/emotional abuse she suffered from her father, to being a stripper, to using her mental powers and sexual wiles to make men do whatever she wanted, it's difficult to create a cohesive character through-line.
BROADSWORD COMICS
Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #62 - Jim Balent. Tarot continues to tell the tale of how she passed the initiation to become the Witch of the Black Rose. Also includes an illustrated love poem casting Jim as a magical forest being and his wife, Holly Golightly, as a skyclad, sunbathing witch. It's a little, well, embarrassing and creepy. Thumbs up, buddy.
All righty, I talked about Rob Liefeld the other day, and now I'll talk about Jim Balent. Why do I like Jim Balent? Same reason I gave for Rob: he reminds me of Jack Kirby. Now, this is in a much different way. Kirby had big ideas, things about reality, religion, philosophy, and more. But he was limited in his vocabulary, and his treatise on these subjects took the form of superhero comics. That was the language in which he knew how to express himself. Jim is similar. Jim has opinions on religion, equality, feminism, and individuality which I think most of my friends would find highly laudable. I truly believe he means it when he expresses the wish that everyone could live as they please, that people should be able to dress, act, believe, love, and do what makes them happy without shame or fear of judgment. The main caveat he puts upon this is the same I use: don't go around hurting other people or forcing your will upon them. Hell, this is the only comic I can immediately think of with a main character that is in multiple long term, bisexual, polyamorous relationships. Unfortunately Jim's language for expressing all this is the parlance of 90s bad-girl comics. He learned how to write from the likes of Brian Pulido instead of Neil Gaiman, and he learned how to draw from the likes of Frank Thorne's Red Sonja and Kurtzman/Elder's Little Annie Fanny instead of P. Craig Russell or Charles Vess.
DARK HORSE COMICS
Guild #3 of 3 - Felicia Day + Jim Rugg. Fantastic writing with OK art still makes for a great read.
Terminator: 2029 #3 of 3 - Zack Whedon + Andy MacDonald. It could have had a more satisfying ending, but it closed appropriately and opens the door to see the original film differently.
DC
Brave and the Bold #34 - J. Michael Straczynski + Jesus Saiz. The Legion of Super-Heroes travel through time to team up with the Doom Patrol and save the Earth. Just because it's a do-or-die situation doesn't mean there can't be a little humor, and we get another quality issue from Straczynski.
Green Lantern #54 - Geoff Johns + Doug Mahnke. Lots of Brightest Day crap, then a fight with the Red Lantern. Then Lobo shows up. It would be nice to pull back from some of the GL mythology for a little bit since we just went through that whole Blackest Night thing, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards.
Green Lantern Corps #48 - Tony Bedard + Ardian Syaf. Engagingly better than the supposedly main series, GLC delves into other ideas than simply the War of the Colors, and keeps the characters' responses at the forefront of the storytelling.
Justice League: Generation Lost #2 of 24 - Judd Winick/Keith Giffen + Joe Bennett. The small team of former JLI members realize that they are on their own, while at the same time Max has enacted plans to keep them discredited. How can you save the world when everyone thinks you're crazy?
Power Girl #12 - Justin Gray/Jimmy Palmiotti + Amanda Conner. If more of the issues were written this well I'd be much sorry seeing Gray & Palmiotti go. This is a nice parting piece from them that touches base with everything that has occurred in the previous 11 issues, and also spends a good amount of time with PG and Terra interacting like full fledged characters. I am sorry to see Amanda Conner leave, and I hope she comes back again.
EVIL TWIN COMICS
Comic Book Comics #3 (July 2008) - Fred Van Lente + Ryan Dunlavey. Dr. Wertham and Pop Artists combine to create a true hell for comics. This actually came out a while ago, but I missed it. Ordered it straight from the publisher and though that ended up being pricey, due to the shipping, it was well worth for the best comic book series about the history of comics.
Comic Book Comics #4 (October 2009) - Fred Van Lente + Ryan Dunlavey. Comic Book Comics hits the Silver Age, and Marvel Comics, but that's swiftly followed by both independent comics, and Heavy Metal magazine. Brilliantly constructed, highlights the parallel timing of events that are typically separate sections in most works about the history of comics.
IDW
Transformers #7 - Mike Costa + E. J. Su. A pause for breathe after the high octane pace of the first arc. The current status of Starscream's Decepticons is revealed, and it's debatable if they are better off than the Autobots.