Category Archives: Comics
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/15/13
This is a big week for Superman. Not only did his super big, important movie come out, but it’s also the launch of the heavily hyped and potentially good Superman Unchained. As you may have seen already, I didn’t care for Man of Steel, but I’m a little warmer towards Superman Unchained, even though it didn’t contain any chains whatsoever. I also enjoyed the first issue of the new Batman: Zero Year storyline. If only DC had put out a new issue of Wonder Woman this week, they would have had strong comics for all three of their major characters.
Though when it comes down to brass tacks, only one of them can come away with the coveted Comic Book of the Week. And even though Superman Unchained had some pretty fancy art, only one comic book this week provided the origin story for Batman’s giant penny. Batman #21 wins!
I apologize for the low number of reviews this week. Between Man of Steel and just a hectic work week at my day job (a double homicide, a single homicide and a missing baby) I ran out of time. Still, all good comics all around.
Comic Reviews: Batman #21, Nightwing #21, Superman Unchained #1 and Wolverine and the X-Men #31.
Heartbreaking…
My favorite comic book series, which stars my favorite comic book superhero, is coming to an end in September. Well the September solicitations came out today, and it’s goodbye to X-Factor.
It’s a Superman Thing
Man of Steel comes out this week, and what better way to prepare than with this awesome Superman shield collection! The infographic was made by Kate Willaert for Halloweencostumes.com. Really? Halloweencostumes.com is into this kind of thing? I have grossly underestimated them. Click the jump to see the whole thing.
Review: X-Factor #257
It’s times like these I wish I did better in literature class. Maybe then I could understand why Peter David wasted one of the last six issues of X-Factor on characters we’ve never met before and the elementary lesson of being careful what you wish for. Did I miss one of the themes or subplots of Hell on Earth War? Does this lesson have something to do with why Jamie Madrox is still stuck in demon form?
X-Factor #257
Why the heck is Madrox still a demon!? Spoilers, he’s still a demon by the end of the issue! PAD only has five issues left of the entire series and his main character is still a mindless, purposeless demon monster! Argh!
Comic Rating: 3/5 – Alright.
I can only hope that this issue is some kind of prologue to the entire End of X-Factor storyline, that maybe its themes will reverberate throughout the entire arc. Maybe it will make sense once the whole series is wrapped. Or maybe it won’t. I just don’t know. PAD has promised that each issue is going to focus on different characters to wrap up their stories. So is this Layla’s issue? Is this the wrap-up we get for Layla Miller? If it is, it’s a terrible wrap-up for her character. Seriously, I just don’t know the purpose of this issue. I’m hoping that it will all become clear in the end, otherwise this is a dud of a story that doesn’t really have anything to do with X-Factor at all.
I’m not dreading the end of the series. X-Factor has had a long, healthy run, and maybe it’s time to say goodbye. The rest of the Marvel Universe has passed it by, and I’m glad that PAD has the opportunity to wrap up the series on his terms. So I guess I was just expecting something more…meaningful? More important? More in line with saying goodbye? I kept waiting for something to happen that would change Madrox back to his normal self, but it never came. All of a sudden the issue was over and nothing had changed. I’m just at a loss as to the purpose of the issue. I really hope it becomes clear soon enough.
Also, not to be too rude, but the art is clearly in “comic soon to be cancelled” mode.
Marvel is Putting Together Yet Another Avengers Team
Because why not?
Apparently Marvel took a look at their exhaustive Avengers comic book franchise – Avengers, New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Secret Avengers, Uncanny Avengers, Avengers Assemble and Avengers Arena – and realized that they don’t have a comic using the adjective ‘Mighty’, which is the classic Avengers adjective. So faster than you can say “give me another Avengers comic”, it seems that Marvel is going to do just that.
All week long, Marvel has been unveiling the lineup for a new series that so far is only titled ‘Mighty’. But why else use that adjective if you’re not then going to combine it with ‘Avengers’? The new comic isn’t going to be called ‘Mighty Heroes 4 Hire, that’s for sure’. That would never sell. The concept for the team is going to revolve around the upcoming series Infinity, Marvel’s next Big Event comic. While the normal Avengers are out in space dealing with Infinity, Luke Cage is going to remain on Earth and assemble a new team. I guess that’s a good enough reason to pop out yet another Avengers comic.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t care less about the characters on the team.
We’ve got Cage, She-Hulk, Superior Spider-Man, White Tiger, the new Power Man and Adam, the Blue Marvel, a character you’ve probably never heard of before because he only ever appeared in a single mini-series several years ago as a Superman-esque hero.
Are you kidding me!? Brian Michael Bendis is taking an obscure, Superman rip-off who only ever appeared in a single old mini-series and turning him into an Avenger? Does he live in some kind of fantasy land where he thinks people actually liked the Sentry? The Sentry was terrible. How could Marvel possibly think the Blue Marvel could be any better?
Alright, enough angry ranting. I just wish I knew what rules are in place when a writer puts together a new superhero team. How many times has this been done before? A writer creates a new comic and throws in a bunch of random characters to make a team. Bendis himself does it at least once a year. His original New Avengers reboot was that exact thing. As was every iteration of the Avengers comic that Bendis ever wrote. What about Matt Fraction’s Defenders series from a few years ago? Or any of a bajillion different X-Men comics?
I just don’t think team membership means anything to anyone anymore. Where are the days when team members actually meant something to one another? When they could actually build bonds and stick together for awhile? Why are these characters so utterly interchangeable, and why does Marvel feel the need to just keep cranking out random assortments of superheroes and calling them Avengers?
Anyway, that’s my rant for today. Take it for what you will.
Henchman-4-Hire 