Category Archives: Comics
Review: X-Factor #247
It’s Multiple Man versus the zombie of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. How can you not love comics? Where else in the world of fiction are you going to get the Highlander done with Abraham Lincoln impersonators? Or Multiple Man being this cool? The Breaking Points story may be over, but writer Peter David is still focused on character-centric issues, this time giving Jamie Madrox and his gal Layla a chance to shine – while moving his larger story forward at a snail’s pace.
X-Factor #247
Still, if you’re looking for an awesome Multiple Man hero story, there are worse places to look. It’s always fun to see my favorite superhero being this cool.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
This is a very fun comic that kind of spins off into a weird, yet entertaining, lunacy. It also has an unfortunate habit of trying to tie its tale of resurrected Confederate soldiers into the deaths/rebirths of superheroes, adding an unnecessary weight around its neck. We get it, superheroes tend to return from the dead a lot. Commenting on that fact does not count as a joke or even criticism, especially when X-Factor has done it twice now. Why couldn’t Confederate soldier zombies exist on their own terms? Why tie it to that annoying ‘nobody stays dead in comics’ issue? Really deflates the menace of Zombie Robert E. Lee.
But if you’re willing to look past that nit pick, this is an otherwise really fun issue. Jamie and Layla are a cool couple, with great timing between them. They have a really good chemistry, is what I’m trying to say, and it’s really on display in this issue. Likewise, Madrox in general is in fine form. He’s all superheroic and leading man, exactly how I like him. There’s also a nice bit of comedy sprinkled throughout, just like with every issue of X-Factor. It’s Multiple Man vs. Zombie Robert E. Lee, people! What more do I need to say?
Join me after the jump for more!
The 6 Best Pop Culture Brothers
It was my brother’s birthday on Monday, and you may remember him from various comments he’s posted on my articles, or that one blog post he wrote about robots. I’ve tried to get him to write more posts, seeing as how he’s both funny and a good writer, but I guess he’s just got something better to do than help out his brother’s blog. It’s not like I’m providing a completely free and easy way to get his voice out to the masses or anything. But I digress. Today’s List of Six is his Happy Birthday present, because I’m a cheap schmuck.
Soon there will be war
So siblings are a thing. And like most things, they’ve worked their way into pop culture. Fancy that. But no, seriously, they’re everywhere! Pop culture and fiction especially like twins. But we’re not twins. We just look like twins. Other than his massive beard, of course. Several of the characters on this list have beards. So it all kind of comes full circle. Here are the 6 best brother pairs in pop culture!
Age of Ultron Will Make Us All Believe Again
Believe that Brian Michael Bendis can write a good Event Comic, that is. Marvel and Bendis finally got around to revealing the worst kept secret in comics: that his time on the Avengers will end next year with a 10-part Age of Ultron!
Looks like Ultron also gets a fancy new suit
In good news, Bryan Hitch will be drawing the first half. And Bryan Hitch is amazing.
So basically, based on this interview, Age of Ultron is a story where the evil robot Ultron finally achieves world domination. Pretty fun, right? And from what I can tell, a few heroes like Spider-Man, Hawkeye and Moon Knight (of all people) are left to figure out how to save the day. Because Bendis absolutely loves Moon Knight, even though he couldn’t get his Moon Knight comic series to sell. The series is going to ship between March and June next year, so another quick event, similar to Avengers vs. X-Men. This is a smart way to do it. We don’t want Event Fatigue.
Bendis is definitely excited about it.
“I couldn’t be more excited for this book to hit the stands,” Bendis says. “Literally not a day has gone by that people haven’t asked me about this online. I know that people are looking forward to this, and have voiced so to me, so to finally debut it, and for it to be, I imagine, much more than people thought it was going to be, is very exciting for us. It takes one of Marvel’s classic villains to a level we’ve never seen before, and it pushes our Marvel heroes into a place that they’ve never been before, and gets us to a place in the Marvel Universe that you won’t be able to guess.”
Personally, I’m luke warm about this idea. I’ve never been a particularly big fan of Ultron, and he was already the major villain in Annihilation: Conquest a few years ago. He was defeated then too. However, considering how lame the Serpent turned out to be in Fear Itself, perhaps going with a known villain as the big bad is a smart way to go. Plus it’ll be a relief to have the heroes fighting a super-villain for once, instead of each other.
I’m also not a big fan of Bendis’ events. House of M, Seige and especially Secret Invasion were bollocks. They all basically amount to a lot of pointless build up, all leading to just a giant fight at the end where somebody shouts ‘Avengers Assemble!’ That’s how it always goes. So I don’t have much faith in him to pull this off.
But I can hope…
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/17/12
AvX: Consequences has been cleaning up as the best comic of the week in all the initial Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews, but DC Comics isn’t about to give up just yet. They launched an onslaught of Batman titles this week (at least 2), playing into their revitalized Joker. Was I impressed? Maybe. Has it changed my opinion at all about the Joker? Well you’ll just have to read on to see. Suffice to say, Batman #14 earns the title of Comic Book of the Week! But don’t count Marvel out completely. They launch new X-Men and Thor comics, possibly for the better. And believe you me, the new Thor may be the best Marvel NOW! has to offer so far!
Yes, yes, we all fondly remember The Dark Knight Returns
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #1, Amazing Spider-Man #697, Batman #14, Batman and Robin #14, Thor: God of Thunder #1 and Wolverine and the X-Men #20.
Review: Saga #7
Saga is finally back, and it’s…mediocre at best. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving Saga so far. This epic adventure from writer Brian K. Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples is a fun tale with fascinating characters. But after two months off, this new issue disappoints because not a whole lot happens. And then it cuts off just as it’s getting good. This issue reminds me why I read both Y: The Last Man and Dues Ex, Vaughn’s previous works, in trade paperback form, where there were multiple issues to read through in one sitting. Very little happens in this issue, and especially little to advance the plot.
Saga #7
But at least what does happen is entertaining, as we meet Marko’s parents and they meet their new daughter-in-law and grandchild.
Comic rating: 4/5 Good.
Saga #7 reads like the first section of a larger story, and obviously it is. But that disqualifies it from being a worthwhile single issue. And if I’m going to read Saga in the single issues, I’d like a little more bang for my buck per issue. But again, this is probably just me splitting hairs. I don’t think Saga is meant to be read in the single issues. Those lucky/smart people who are waiting for the trades are in for a treat. Because Saga is just that…a saga. I bet, or at least hope, that this is going to be a great tale overall. But issue by issue, I dunno. I’m still hoping for a little more meat on the bones.
Fortunately, with this issue, Saga does exactly what I hoped it would: it slows down to spend a little more time with its characters. The cliffhanger arrival of Marko’s parents last issue is picked up on almost immediately, and their interactions with their son and his new family are fun, if abrupt. We also get some backstory about Marko growing up, so I suppose that’s nice. We also check in, very briefly, on some of our other characters, though nothing comes of that. This is just a set-up issue for whatever happens next. I just hope it’s more exciting than this.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review! And you can get caught up with my prior review of the first six issues here.
Henchman-4-Hire 