Category Archives: Comics
Look Who Randomly Showed Up in Secret Empire!
This is just a bit of silliness, if you’re into that sort of thing, like me. I’ve been reading Secret Empire and am enjoying it well enough. I think it’s stretched a little thin, but that’s not so bad. Anyway, I’m writing today to reveal a nifty little cameo in the latest issue from last week. It’s the sort of cameo that makes me really wonder what happens behind the scenes at Marvel Comics.
How popular did they hope Mosaic would be when they decided to give him a role in Secret Empire?
Mosaic, if you don’t remember, is a new Inhuman character who got his own ongoing solo comic late last year. Marvel (and DC, for that matter) doesn’t really hand out ongoing solo comics to brand new, original characters, but something about Mosaic seemed strong enough to Marvel that they gave him the greenlight.
The comic was cancelled by issue #8.
As the foremost internet authority on Mosaic, I consider myself one of his biggest fans. So I giggled a little bit when I saw him randomly pop up in Secret Empire #7. Writer Nick Spencer introduced a few issues ago the idea that Steve Rogers and HYDRA had this mysterious old man in a hospital bed as a captive. Who was this old man? What secret did he hold that would be key to the Black Widow’s efforts to stop Captain America?
Welp, turns out the old man was a prison for Mosaic, and Natasha sets him free and he immediately helps her take out the guards surrounding Cap.
It’s a great little cameo for Mosaic! But where’d it come from? The Mosaic comic was cancelled by the May issue, around the time Secret Empire was just starting up. Plus, a Big Event like Secret Empire is planned years in advance. So writer Nick Spencer clearly planned this Mosaic cameo a long time ago, long before his series was cancelled.
So was Marvel expecting Mosaic to be a runaway success, and wanted to give him a timely cameo in Secret Empire? That sounds a little tragic…
Still, I’m glad to see they haven’t given up on Mosaic yet! Hang in there, buddy!
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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 7/29/17
Light week this week, for no good reason. I guess I just didn’t read enough comics I liked enough to review! But we’ve got solid and exciting issues of Iceman, Detective Comics and Infamous Iron Man, so that’s good enough for me.
Comic Book of the Week goes to Batgirl #13, as Hope Larson delivers possibly my favorite issue yet of her Batgirl run! She’s definitely having fun with this comic, and it shows!
Batgirl tries on a sidekick for size
Secret Empire has reached a grinding section. There are bits and pieces here and there that get exciting, like the final page cliffhanger of the new issue, but overall, I think the scope of this story is just a little too big. It feels like I’m reading a big What If…? comic instead of an actual, in-continuity story about these characters.
Comic Reviews: Batgirl #13, Detective Comics #961, Iceman #3 and Infamous Iron Man #10.
Rip-Off City: Overwatch’s Doomfist and Marvel’s The Gauntlet
I don’t know if anybody has made this comparison before, but I spotted it immediately when Blizzard announced their new Overwatch character, Doomfist. A tough, bald black guy with a giant, mechanical right arm? Isn’t that exactly like Marvel Comics character The Gauntlet?
I don’t know what point I’m trying to make here, just pointing out what is clearly an obvious rip-off. I don’t think Blizzard intentionally ripped off the Gauntlet, but the coincidence is really, really odd. The mechanical fist is even on the same arm!
Granted, Gauntlet only existed for a short period of time in the wake of the original Civil War comic. He was created by Dan Slott and was actually part of a really nifty gimmick, where Gauntlet had the right-armed gauntlet, and another Slott character, Southpaw, had the left-armed gauntlet — but they never appeared together! Gauntlet was involved in The Initiative comics, and Southpaw showed up in Slott’s She-Hulk.
I did a Forgotten Characters article on the pair of them. That’s probably how I can remember Gauntlet so well.
Anyway, just wanted to point this out. If anybody knows Dan Slott, somebody tell him and see if he can raise the fuss that I can’t! Or maybe Slott is a big Overwatch fan and is now a Doomfist main because of this.
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They Picked a Bad Name for Duke Thomas
After giving up his Robin gang, during which he was particularly awesome in Scott Snyder’s Batman, Duke Thomas was officially recruited into the Bat-Family in a golden yellow Bat-suit. And for reasons that never really went explained, he did not get a codename to go with his outfit.
Seriously. How does Batman not give Duke a new codename? Aren’t those things necessary in the field? What did they expect Commissioner Gordon to call him?
Welp, DC and Snyder have finally revealed Duke’s name: The Signal.
He’s also going to get his own comic, from Snyder, called Batman: The Signal. Duke’s role is going to be the Batman-of-the-daylight. They’ve done this very concept before with other characters, but now it’s gonna be Duke’s thing. Aaaaaand I don’t like it.
I still like Duke Thomas, for sure! But what kind of superhero name is ‘The Signal’? It suffers from the banality of modern superhero naming conventions.
Nobody ever has the guts to name their new character something like ‘Batman’ anymore. It’s all about trying to be cool and hip, even though superhero comics were built on the backs of heroes with dorky names.
Plus, an argument I’ve made before, nobody is going to remember The Signal. Batman and Robin are the Dynamic Duo. They are household names. Grandmothers have heard of Batman and Robin. Whereas nobody has ever heard of Huntress or Azrael or Batwing or Onyx or The Signal. These hangers-on don’t matter, not in the long run. There will come a time when nobody cares about Duke Thomas anymore. But there will never come a time when nobody cares about Batman and Robin.
Not making Duke into the real Robin is a mistake.
Though I will definitely buy and read Scott Snyder’s Duke Thomas comic!
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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 7/22/17
Man oh man, it’s San Diego Comic Con weekend! So much cool news, so many good trailers, so much to get excited about! But for another year in a row, I’m stuck here in Central New York, about as far from San Francisco as you can get in the continental United States. Someday I’ll be out there.
At least this week was marked with good comics, like Batwoman, Harley Quinn, Power Rangers and the long-awaited second issue of the new Spectacular Spider-Man! All good comics, but Comic Book of the Week goes to Batman #27, as writer Tom King throws us a curveball with the unexpected new origin of Kite Man!
Knock. Knock.
Secret Empire continues to slog along. It’s getting a little long in the tooth at this point, and isn’t as sharp anymore. While The Mighty Thor is still good, but I skipped reviewing the issue again because it’s kind of just killing time. The War Thor is a neat idea, but he hasn’t done much of substance just yet. Still a great comic.
Also, in case you were curious, like me, the first issue of Astonishing X-Men does not yet feature the return of Multiple Man. I’ll let you know when it does! It was a pretty cool X-Men comic though. I like the idea of gathering a bunch of disparaged X-Men to go on an impromptu mission. I’d like it even more if they hadn’t added Old Man freakin’ Logan.
Comic Reviews: Aquaman #26, Batman #27, Batwoman #5, Harley Quinn #24, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #17, Ms. Marvel #20, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #2 and The Wild Storm #6.
Henchman-4-Hire 