Category Archives: Comics
Review: Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #16
Brian Michael Bendis still doesn’t seem to have any idea what to do with this Divided We Fall/United We Stand storyline, so apparently he decided to just throw HYDRA at the problem. What should have been a fun issue of Miles trying to join the Ultimates instead quickly descends into a mindless, random fight scene for almost the entire issue. And not a very interesting fight scene either. It’s a dark, rainy battle against an army of identical henchmen, with art that doesn’t necessarily work in sequence.
Ultimate Spider-Man #16
That’s not to say this is a bad comic. It’s fun, well-written and full of action. It just feels like pointless filler is all, at a time when we should be getting some really exciting and fulfilling stories about young Miles Morales’ life.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
This is a big moment in Miles’ development as a superhero. He’s decided to volunteer for the Ultimates now that the country is falling apart. At only 13-years-old, he’s decided to step up and be a man, to accept all of the responsibility that his powers have unfairly placed on his young shoulders. And he’s doing so while keeping it all a big secret from his parents. Bendis has weaved a rather delightful web in Miles’ life. But this stupid crossover is just mucking everything up. It feels a little like Bendis’ is flailing, not sure how to handle something so momentous when his Spider-Man is only 16-issues-old.
This should be a big moment for Miles. He should be making character-defining decisions. It’s a little too soon for him to deal with something of his magnitude, but now that it’s here, Bendis should be making the most of it. He’s a skilled enough writer. And while there are hints and whispers of the potential, he doesn’t reach the finish line. Like I said, this is just a big, boring fight scene, but it could have been so much more.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more view!
Forgotten Characters: Lacuna
Whatever happened to Lacuna, the mutant talk show host and would-be member of X-Statix?
The green blob Doop has been given new prominence in the popular pages of Wolverine & The X-Men, but he wasn’t the only character to survive the massacre that was Peter Milligan’s X-Statix. I want to know whatever happened to my personal favorite character from that series, the beautiful, the excitable, the orange Lacuna! X-Statix may have been controversial in its day, but the rose-colored glasses of hindsight have proven just how ahead of its time that series really was.
X-Statix was a comic that satirized Jersey Shore several years before Jersey Show was even on the air. X-Statix was making Kim Kardashian jokes before ‘Kardashian’ was even a thing. And there in the wings, doing her part to mock talk show hosts, was Woodstock Schumaker, the sometimes superhero known as Lacuna. She was one of the few characters to survive the end of X-Statix, but she hasn’t been seen since. I want to know why not!
She looks absolutely awesome
Here is a young female character ripe for use in any number of rebooted X-teams. She’s got an awesome look, nifty powers and her own talk show! At the very least, why hasn’t anybody had Lacuna and the Stars playing in the background of any scenes?
Join me after the jump for more!
Just When You Thought Cyclops Couldn’t Get Any More Awesome!
I want to consider my blog a bastion of pro-Cyclops ideology and understanding. Because even though I was, at times, frustrated with his portrayal during Avengers vs. X-Men, Marvel are clearly turning him into the greatest hero ever in the aftermath!
I don’t want to spoil too much right away – I’ll save that for the jump – but suffice to say, from almost everything I’ve seen post-AvX, Marvel seems poised to do some exciting things with Cyclops in the future. More and more, it looks intentional that Marvel and their writers knew exactly what they were doing with Cyclops in Avengers vs. X-Men, and I am absolutely loving it! The character is on this fascinating journey, and not some cliched apologetic quest for redemption.
Cyclops is a total boss! As we can see in a few previews of the upcoming All-New X-Men #1! Join me for more after the jump to view them!
Review: X-Factor #245
This is an absolute perfect issue of X-Factor. This kind of issue is exactly why I love this series so much, and why Peter David continues to be one of the most popular writers in comics. His work with the characters in this issue is a masterstroke of humor, camaraderie and the general fun of having friends, through good and bad. Breaking Points has been an up and down story so far as David cleans house, but he wraps it up with style and happiness. I am very, very excited to see what comes next for X-Factor.
X-Factor #245
It also helps that this issue seems to read my mind and give Polaris a new, more modern costume!
Comic rating: 5/5: Great.
I feel kind of guilty grading this comic with a perfect score. Like I said, it’s a perfect issue of X-Factor, as long as you love the same X-Factor that I love. This is a talking heads issue, with no superhero fights or really much action of any kind. It’s just this cast of characters butting heads, talking through their feelings and making some legitimately funny jokes. This issue is seriously funny. When Peter David really gets going on the talking heads issues, something about them just triggers his funny bone. This is a great issue of X-Factor, a great example of what makes this comic so much fun and just an all around pleasure to have in front of you. So why do I feel kind of guilty?
Because I think X-Factor has run its course. At least under Peter David.
This sounds like blasphemy, but it’s true. These characters all feel kind of stuck in a rut. All of these big changes that have been happening feel only skin deep. I just don’t feel a deep, emotional connection to these characters like I used to. Or maybe it’s just me. I’ve said this before, and I fear it still stands: Peter David has gotten complacent on X-Factor. So hopefully this new direction and reduced cast will shake things up a bit.
Though Heaven help Marvel if they ever cancel this book or change it in any significant way! I’m a comic book geek, I hate change but embrace creativity! Grrr!
This May Not Mean Much to Most People, but There’s Going to be a New Stilt-Man!
Sometimes I try to be objective when it comes to reporting pop culture news. As in, I try to tell you guys about as much cool stuff coming up as I can. But then sometimes it gets really personal, and I write up an entry like this one that deals almost exclusively with my own personal love.
Stilt-Man being one of them.
They’re also pushing the new Superior Spider-Man, but we should all just ignore him until he goes away
There’s going to be a new Stilt-Man introduced in the pages of Daredevil in January. As I’m sure you remember, I once wrote an article about Lady Stilt-Man, and she’s actually made several more appearances since I wrote that article. Good for her. But now a new Stilt-Man is coming back! We all remember how the original Stilt-Man, Wilbur Day, was killed by the Punisher in the wake of Civil War. So I don’t know who the new Stilt-Man is going to be. Heck, considering this is comics, it could be Wilbur Day back from the dead!
Whoever straps on those big, metal stilts, it appears that they’re going to get a technological upgrade from Doctor Octopus. Because why the hell not? Nobody ever said that super-villains couldn’t share technology. I’ve always thought Doctor Octopus should have added some Shocker gauntlets to the end of his tentacles.
Also in January comic book news, X-Factor is going to start an epic story called the Hell on Earth War. Supposedly, all of the demons in Hell are getting all excited about the birth of the 7th billion human, for some reason. And they’re going to go to war over it. What X-Factor has to do with this, I haven’t the foggiest. But I’m a huge X-Factor fan, so I’m not about to miss this.
I love it when Multiple Man is badass. The duster helps
Also, apparently, writer Peter David started planting the seeds for this storyline back when he wrote Incredible Hulk in the 90s. That he’s now able to go through with the story is a clear indication of why comic books are awesome.
Henchman-4-Hire 