Category Archives: Comics
Scarlet Spider is Canceled!
Say it ain’t so, true-believers! The Scarlet Spider series is being cancelled in December! Scarlet Spider #25 is the final issue, and it looks to be a doozy!
I hope he lives
This is bumming me out. I really enjoy Scarlet Spider, enough so to give each issue a major review. I will be very disappointed to see the series leave. I’m not sure why it’s being canceled. I don’t think Marvel has said anything yet. Maybe sales were low? We always knew the series wasn’t exactly star material. It was just a fun comic.
Scarlet Spider is about Kaine, the clone of Spider-Man, who tried and usually failed to be a good person and a good superhero in Houston, TX. Scarlet Spider was heaped in characters and imagery from the Clone Saga, one of the most hated comic book stories of all time. But it’s one of my favorites, so I was completely behind Kaine getting his own series.
But good things don’t last forever. Here’s the solicitation from December:
SCARLET SPIDER #25
CHRIS YOST
DAVID BALDEON (A)
Cover by Ryan Stegman
LAST DEVASTATING ISSUE!
• It’s over. Kaine did his best to be a hero. He failed.
• What about Houston?! Who lives? Who dies? Is there a place for the Scarlet Spider in this world? The answers will surprise you.
• Two years and 25 issues have led to THIS! Guest starring: MEXICO!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99
Kaine failed to be a hero? So I guess in the long run, the series really is going to be about Kaine’s failed attempt to be a superhero. His life has been getting progressively worse since the series started. That’s kind of depressing.
Review: Teen Titans #23.1 is All About Rape, a Lot of Rape
What would be a great way to follow up the disappointing Trigon invasion story in Teen Titans? How about a completely unnecessary, largely indecipherable origin story for the lead villain! Not only that, but it’s all about rape! Demon rape! Eons and dimensions worth of never-ending, soul-crushing, genocide-level demon rape. That is Trigon’s origin. He rapes people. That’s apparently his thing. And most of the time, the women he rapes either die during the act or kill themselves from the grotesque horror of it all. That’s our Teen Titans villain, ladies and gentleman. That’s the guy that DC Comics sends up against teenage superheroes.
Trigon #1
They better watch out that he doesn’t rape them in order to birth his next demon children. Because that is apparently what Trigon does. He rapes women on a Biblical scale.
Comic Rating: 2/10 – Very Bad.
So it’s Villains Month at DC comics, and a bunch of titles are being replaced for a quick, done-in-one origin story for a lot of New 52 villains. I wasn’t sure if I would bother reviewing Trigon #1, but after reading it, I felt I had to say something. Because this issue is something else. It’s…well like I said, it’s filled with demon rape. That’s pretty much it. Trigon shows up, vaguely explains where he comes from, and then launches a never-ending, interdimensional campaign to rape as many females as possible. The guy loves to rape. He lives to rape. Rape. Rape. Rape.
Raaaaaaaaaaape.
I hope I never again have to write rape so much in my blog. It’s not a fun word. It’s not a fun thing to talk about. And I’m relatively sure that it doesn’t have to be in this comic. Is rape really the major selling point of Trigon’s character? I know his major comics contribution is having Raven as a daughter, but does she have to have been born of rape? Heck, according to this issue, Raven’s mom consented to the demon rape. So why do so many other innocent women across the universe have to get raped?
The point is, this issue is full of demon rape. A lot of demon rape. Keep reading if you want, or stop now, I won’t mind. But writer Marv Wolfman really loves himself some demon rape. I’ve been around the Internet, and I’ve seen some freaky fetishes in my day. But this issue really, really takes the cake. Join me after the jump – if you dare!
My 6 Favorite Comic Book Writers
Writing comic books is my dream job. It’s what I want to do with the rest of my life. But like any dream, it requires hard work, sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears; which is why my lazy butt is making due with just a simple comic book blog instead of actually doing it himself. But let’s not dwell on why I’m such a schlub, let’s talk about comic book writers!
Good money if you can get it
I’ve written before that the No. 1 reason why I read comics are the characters. I love following the adventures of my favorite superheroes, and will read my favorite characters even in a bad comic. But I’ve been a comic book geek long enough to learn and appreciate the business. And there are now creators I will follow because I love their work and want to read more. And considering my dream job, I guess these 6 guys and girls would be some of my idols.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/7/13
Welcome to Villains Month! It’s the two-year anniversary of DC’s New 52 reboot, and like every September so far, they have launched a wacky publicity stunt! Unfortunately for DC, I only bought two of the dozen or so villain books. And I wasn’t all that impressed with either one. Fortunately, I liked the first issue of Forever Evil a bit more, so at least DC has that.
Not to be outdone, Marvel Comics isn’t taking Villains Month lying down. They are neck deep in the big Infinity event (yawn), and this week also saw the launch of Battle of the Atom (yay), the new Brian Michael Bendis-penned X-Men crossover. So this week was clearly a huge week in comics – and not just because it’s my 30th birthday too.
Comic Book of the Week goes to both Battle of the Atom #1 and All-New X-Men #16. Marvel and Bendis kicked off Battle of the Atom in style, and I think it’s easily going to be the best Big Event Crossover of the season!
Comic Reviews: Battle of the Atom #1, All-New X-Men #16, Bizarro #1, Deadshot #1, Forever Evil #1, Infinity #2, and Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3.
Punishing Dick Grayson, and Why It Could Be a Good Thing
Dick Grayson can’t seem to catch a break. And I don’t just mean the murder of his parents when he was still a boy. I mean Dick Grayson as a comic book superhero can’t seem to catch a break in DC Comics’ New 52 universe. In less than two years, Dick found out that his childhood home, Haley’s Circus, was actually a front for the villainous Court of Owls secret society, and that Dick himself was in line to become one of their undead assassins (until the whole Batman and Robin thing happened instead). Then he found out his childhood sweetheart was a psychopath who betrayed him and tried to kill him, only for her to then be murdered by the Joker as a means of punishing Dick.
Then when he inherited Haley’s Circus and sunk all of his life savings into fixing it up, that too was destroyed by the Joker. Then Dick found out that Batman was keeping secrets from him, leading to an angry split between the two heroes. Then he found out the man who murdered his parents was still alive and hiding in Chicago!
And now Nightwing has been chosen as the sacrificial lamb for the new Forever Evil event.
So that’s why they put him in red
Don’t worry, he’s not dead…at least not yet.
But something almost as huge happened to Nightwing in this week’s Forever Evil #1. As a big Robin and Nightwing fan, I’m worried about any major change to one of my favorite characters. But I’m here to tell you that this change might not be all that bad. In fact, this could work out very well in Nightwing’s favor.
As long as DC manages to use it to tell some good stories. That part is questionable.
But this isn’t the end of the world. Join me after the jump for full SPOILERS and why I think this could be good for the character.
Henchman-4-Hire 