Category Archives: Comics
Review: X-Factor #259
Hey continuity fans, this issue is for you! Did you ever wonder what happened to Dazzler’s baby from that one brief mention of it’s fate back in 2001? What about the secret history of Longshot and Shatterstar? Are you a scholar of X-Men history so deep and obscure that you’ve been waiting decades for your answers? Peter David and X-Factor have you covered in the latest issue of The End of X-Factor! And it’s mostly good, but also mostly just a quick attempt for PAD to write off a story idea he had in one issue.
X-Factor #259
On the one hand, The End of X-Factor is about tying off each individual character with a bow. On the other hand, like with this issue, PAD might be cramming every story idea he had left into single, one-off issues.
Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.
I’m just not a big fan of Rictor, Shatterstar or Longshot, so maybe the true strength of this issue was lost on me. PAD has been hinting at some sort of connection between the two similar heroes for a while now, and I can definitely say I didn’t see this exact twist coming, but it’s still similar to what I expected. It also only comes up in the last third of the book, which turns into a huge info-dump as PAD just lets it all out. I got the feeling that he had planned something bigger and better for the big reveal, but the comic’s cancellation saw to the end of those plans.
The rest of the issue is fine. It’s mostly about Rictor, and it’s so utterly random. After the events of Hell on Earth War, Rictor wound up in the Mojoverse, of all places. That part doesn’t make much sense, but again, this issue is all about tying off the Longshot/Shatterstar story. PAD does a fine job with it, and might actually appease a few continuity buffs in the audience.
The 6 Characters on My Avengers Team
San Diego Comic-Con is this weekend, and to celebrate, I’ve put together a List of Six that may be one of the purest forms of comic book geekery: what is my ideal Avengers lineup? What is my dream team? We’ve played this game several times before with the Sinister Six and X-Force, well now I’m setting my sights on the big guys. The game is simple, and as a comic book geek, I think it’s fantastically fun: if I were hired to write an Avengers comic, and had free reign over what characters to put on the team, who would I pick? Who would you pick?
The Avengers are very different from the Justice League over at DC Comics. I could never do one of these lists for the Justice League, because my ideal lineup for that team is the same as everybody else: use the top 7 classic Justice Leaguers: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. That’s the perfect Justice League, hands down. No need to debate. But the Avengers are very different. The Avengers are not just made up of the top superheroes over at Marvel. The Avengers are their own little family of superheroes, known more for being Avengers than for being solo heroes. And if I were to make a team of Avengers, I definitely wouldn’t put popular characters like Spider-Man or Wolverine on the team just because they sell.
I have my own ideas. And I’m sure you have yours. Join me after the jump for the characters I would put on my Avengers team. And please share your own ideal lineup in the comments!
Looks Like I’ll Be Buying a New Harley Quinn Comic Series
Like the gravitational pull of a black hole, the closer we get to this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, the faster comic book news is going to be coming out. One of the first new series to be announced is a new Harley Quinn solo series, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and his wife Amanda Conner, who is probably the best comic book artist in the business today.
Why she isn’t automatically drawing this series, I do not know. But at least she’s drawn the first cover!
The classic costume is sorely missed
I’ve always been lukewarm towards Harley Quinn, but I am red hot towards Amanda Conner, and her husband. They were the creative team that kicked off the Power Girl series before the reboot, and that was a lot of fun. So I’m excited to see what they can do with Harley Quinn…and I hope Conner draws the book. I mean, come on!
The series was announced at Comic Book Resources, which also had an interview with the pair:
Palmiotti: She is the hero in her own story. What happens, who gets killed, what house gets burned down and so on, well, thats just part of her story. She looks at the world differently and we will be building on that and looking even closer on her past and what makes her tick. There are so many layers to this fantastic character that we cannot wait to explore.
Conner: Like Jimmy always says; A villain almost never believes that they are the bad guy. They usually think that they’re doing something for the greater good, or that they’re downtrodden and trying to overcome their repressors, or more than likely, they just want something.
So what do you guys and gals think? Does this series sound like something you want to read? Do you still like Harley Quinn in the New 52 universe? Sound off in the comments!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 7/13/13
Welcome back, comic book fans, to another installment of ‘Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews’. What is ‘hench-sized’ you might ask? Well it’s…it’s…just this thing I invented! I think it has a nice ring to it. This week we’ve got a nice pile of good comics. I’m pretty sure I liked everything I read this week…though that may be because I keep dropping books I don’t like. Perhaps I should make myself suffer through some bad comics just to make my weekly reviews more diverse.
We’ve got the second issue of Astro City, which continues the fun of this classic series. Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and the X-Men all have fairly strong offerings this week. But the winner of Comic Book of the Week is going to be Justice League #22. It wasn’t the best comic of the week, but as the kick-off of Trinity War, Geoff Johns proves that Big Event comics can still be entertaining.
It’s on like Donkey Kong!
Comic Reviews: Astro City #2, Batman #22, Justice League #22, Superman Unchained #2, Superior Spider-Man #13 and Uncanny X-Men #8.
‘Inhumanity’ is Marvel’s Next Big Thing
Hey Inhumans fans, your time will come this fall, because Marvel’s next big seismic status quo shift is going to star the Royal Family of Attilan!
Called ‘Inhumanity’, the event is not so much a series as it is just a new status quo. Like Dark Reign or Heroic Era. According to the announcement at Entertainment Weekly, something is going to unleash the Terrigen Mists on Earth, and anyone with some Inhuman DNA in them is suddenly going to sprout super-powers! Could be neat. Though isn’t that just a different kind of mutant?
The event comes with this nifty new picture starring several important characters:
Oh the inhumanity!
Let’s see…we’ve got Black Bolt, Medusa, Silver Surfer, Angela, Thor, Black Widow, the Winter Soldier…all typical. Most noteworthy are Spider-Man in his Peter Parker costume, a new costume for Wolverine and apparently Nightcrawler in the background. Is he going to be brought back from the dead? Maybe!
A new comic called ‘Inhumans’ will also ship, written by writer Matt Fraction, who is one of my current favorite comic book writers. So it’s probably safe to say the series will be good.
Here’s how Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, who compares this event to Game of Thrones, describes everything:
“The effect on the Marvel Universe will be seismic,” says Alonso. The Terrigen Mists affects all Inhumans differently, granting powers that typically reflect one’s personality, like a hyper-specific Sorting Hat. So “Inhumanity” opens the possibility for a fascinating array of new characters. “You might learn that your new self is fantastic, beautiful, filled with immense power,” says Alonso. “By the same token, you could turn around and find out that you’re nothing. You’re a blob. You have no powers. You can create a little flame out of your pinkie.”
Likewise, Fraction had this to say:
“Our focus characters are drawn into the palace intrigue of this shattered Inhumans Royal family,” says Fraction. “It becomes a superhero story and a mythical story, all revolving around turning the world into a world full of superheroes.” Fraction stresses that the event will appeal to casual readers who might not know their Karnak from their Lockjaw. “It’s giving us a chance to get back to a classic Marvel metaphor of alienation,” he explains. “We’re telling science-fiction stories, but really it’s about race, gender, sexual equality. It’s a very relevant, pertinent metaphor.”
So yeah, I don’t know what to think at this point. It sounds like they have some big ideas, and Matt Fraction is awesome, so maybe it’ll be good. But I’ve never been big on the Inhumans, nor am I very interested in the general idea of Earth becoming an entire planet of superheroes. But we’ll see! What does everybody else think?
Henchman-4-Hire 