Author Archives: Sean Ian Mills
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 1/4/14
Welcome to the new year, Henchmen and Henchwomen! I can officially say I’ve been doing these weekly reviews for more than a year. I probably should have gone back through all the reviews and picked out the best issues of the 2013, but I’ve been sick all week, and have better things to do (coughing and video games). So we’re stuck just reviewing this week’s titles, which, thanks to New Year’s Day, were short once again.
Fortunately for us, Marvel and DC put out some good titles. Hey…there’s a good New Year’s Resolution! I should start adding at least one non-Big Two comic to the pile each week. Stuff from Image, Dark Horse and all the rest. Sounds like a plan. If any of you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments. It doesn’t have to be a superhero comic either. I want to expand my horizons.
But for now, I’m more than happy for another delightful issue of Superior Foes of Spider-Man, the Comic Book of the Week! Behold, the secret origin of the new Beetle!
Comic Reviews: Aquaman #26, Batwoman #26, New Avengers #13, Superior Foes of Spider-Man #7 and Talon #14.
Oh, It’s Deadpool. Deadpool is Getting Married
The full teaser wedding picture has been revealed, and it looks like Deadpool is the lucky groom! But personally, I am far more interested in the big picture itself. I definitely want this as a poster. Just look at all the characters!
Click to enlarge
You’ve got Forbrush Man, Beta Ray Bill, Stringray, Gargoyle, Multiple Man and so many more! It’s a brilliant picture by artist Scott Koblish. That is an achievement, let me tell you. As for Deadpool getting married? Meh, I couldn’t care less. Is anybody reading Deadpool? Is it part of some gag? Or has he seriously fallen in love with somebody? I don’t read Deadpool because he’s just not my kind of humor, but getting married just for the silliness of it sounds like something Marvel would do with the character.
You can see an even bigger version here.
Review: Teen Titans #26
Any Bart Allen fans holding out hope, after all this time, that the character and his origins were still somehow in tact, can go ahead and despair with the new issue of Teen Titans. Just like Wonder Girl, Superboy and Red Robin, Kid Flash’s origin is completely re-written for the New 52. Nothing of the original Bart, short of the time travel, remains. There was never any Impulse and there is clearly no connection to Barry Allen or the Flash. Writer Scott Lobdell lays out Kid Flash’s origin in this issue, from how he got his speed powers to how he ended up in the 21st century. And as is expected from Teen Titans, none of it is particularly interesting.
Teen Titans #26
When it comes to a space-age character origin, I can’t really say Bart’s story is very bad. It’s fine, perhaps even a little interesting. As for an origin to Kid Flash, and his place in the Teen Titans and DCU, it’s definitely worse than from before the reboot.
Comic Rating: 3/10 – Bad.
I feel bad for any Bart Allen fans who still had hope, but then, were there any left? Was anybody still expecting him to be the grandson of Barry Allen delivered from the future? That, at least, had a connection to the Flash mythos. That provided meaning and importance to the character, making him a part of the Flash legacy. But nope, not anymore. Everything you knew about Bart Allen is gone. Now, instead, he’s Bar Torr, a freedom fighter turned traitor from far into the future. There are a ton of questions and plot holes in this new origin, and parts of it that just don’t make any sense. And what any of this has to do with the DC Universe as a whole is beyond my understanding.
Wait until you see how he gets super speed. It’s…disappointing, to say the least. There are a lot of disappointing parts to Bart’s origin. I wonder if this was Lobdell and DC’s plan from the beginning. Have they just been sitting on this origin, waiting for he chance to tell it? Or was Lobdell just making it up as he went along when writing this issue? Because the plot holes are so huge you could fit Titans Tower through them. And the leap from Bar Torr to Kid Flash comes out of nowhere.
So strap in, Bart Allen fans, and prepare to have everything you ever loved about the character stripped away.
Mr. Freeze Coming in Arkham Origins DLC
The first full-on story DLC for Batman: Arkham Origins was announced via Twitter today, and it looks to be all about Mr. Freeze. Possibly even the origin of Mr. Freeze. That sounds neat.
I doubt Freeze is getting the Humanitarian award
No word on the release date, other than 2014. Also no word on what’s going to happen. But any further story gameplay for Arkham Origins will be a ton of fun.
Maybe they’ll even find a way to incorporate Robin…but probably not.
Guardians of the Galaxy Comes Out of Hiding
On the last day of 2013, Marvel posted the first official picture for Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as the first official plot synopsis. No word yet on the first trailer. Take a look.
Click to expand
I’m…conflicted. I don’t really like the sound of that synopsis, and not just in the ways it flouts comic book continuity. That doesn’t matter to me all that much anymore. What bugs me is that this film sounds like an origin story, of how Quill and the Guardians get together. I wasn’t expecting that…and I don’t think I like it. I was hoping Guardians would be like Serenity, where the crew is already together and are quickly introduced. Most people didn’t watch the TV show, but a ton of people went to see the movie. And Serenity easily introduced the entire cast with ease and aplomb. Why couldn’t Guardians do that too?
But I’m nit-picking, and I don’t want to do that. I’m just being honest. I have total faith in Marvel and the people behind Guardians. It’s going to be great! (I hope…)
