Category Archives: Comics
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/21/20
This is one of those weeks where I’m reminded of a bunch of really good comics that I let slip by the wayside. Perhaps if I’m forced to self-quarantine I’ll finally catch up on Fantastic Four and Jimmy Olsen. For now, I’m still enjoying the likes of Batman and Runaways!
Comic Book of the Week goes to the first issue of the new Spider-Woman series, and not just because my favorite comic book couple — Spider-Woman and Porcupine — are still together. It’s a fun introduction, though it could have been more.
Spider-Woman vs. helicopter!
Meanwhile, this week saw the release of the giant-sized Robin 80th anniversary spectacular! A bunch of creators wrote up a bunch of awesome Robin stories, and there was no way I was missing out! I read most of it and enjoyed all of it! Go Robin!
Comic Reviews: Batman #91, Runaways #31, Spider-Woman #1 and Strange Academy #1.
Strong Guy Watch: Everybody’s Partying!
When it comes to comic books, one of my favorite things to do is watch for cameos from my favorite obscure characters. It’s one of the ways I built up my fandom in the 90s: searching out back issues where my favorite characters randomly showed up and had a line or two.
This is the entire basis behind my ongoing Strong Guy Watch series. I’m a big fan of the Strong Guy character, and for the past several years, he’s been making random cameos here and there. It’s fun to keep an eye out for the big lug.
Here he is at the recent Crucible
With Dawn of X bringing back every single mutant character who ever lived, the Watch has quadrupled to include every favorite mutant I’ve ever had! Multiple Man, Maggott, Stacy X, Abyss, Blob, Mimic and so many more! None of them are starring characters in any of the Dawn of X comics, so I’ve got to stay eagle-eyed for when any of them might pop up at any time!
This week’s X-Force #9 features the best yet showcase of a bunch of my favorite characters! Everybody’s hanging out at The Green Lagoon!
Click to enlarge
Obviously we’ve got Strong Guy, who seems to be macking with Selene at the top middle of the picture. We’ve also got a couple Multiple Men hanging out on the bottom. He’s still wearing his classic costume, so the ongoing debate of a new Multiple Man costume remains ongoing. Writer Benjamin Percy continues to be the only Dawn of X creator to use Multiple Man, even if it’s only for quick, wordless cameos. Also, of note: this is the first comic book panel in literal years that features Multiple Man, Strong Guy and Wolfsbane…even though none of them are hanging out together.
This image is also the first reveal of what Blob is doing in Dawn of X: bartending!
I’ve been eagerly anticipating the Blob since his star turn in Age of X-Man last year. Bartending is a fairly good use of the character and I hope to see him get some attention soon.
We’ve also got Maggott canoodling with M at the bar, so that’s neat! And the rest of the scene in the actual comic features quick appearances from Avalanche and Toad!
I love panels like this in Dawn of X. This is a smorgasbord of mutant cameos in a way we’ve never seen in comics before! I hope they keep it up every now and then.
Still no sign of Mimic…
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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/14/20
How’s everybody holding up? Coronavirus has yet to hit my little enclave in Upstate New York, but it’s getting closer by the day. I hope all of you are safe, sound and doing your best to get through this!
Thankfully, I read my comics online these days, so no need to go outside! This was a stellar week, with quality issues of The Green Lantern, X-Men, New Mutants and the Comic Book of the Week: Ant-Man #3! This mini-series is just delightful!
Do none of the Avengers cook at home?
Meanwhile, I did get caught up on the first issue of Strange Adventures, so expect that review this week. And I just binged the third season of the Castlevania and it was phenomenal! So dark, so cool, so charming and so action-packed. This series is not one to miss!
Comic Reviews: Ant-Man #3, The Green Lantern #2, New Mutants #9, Strange Adventures #1, Thor #4 and X-Men #8.
6 Other Invisible Men (And Women) in Comics
Have you seen The Invisible Man yet? It’s a pretty good movie! It’s got thrills, it’s got chills, and it’s got a guy wearing a high tech suit that gives him the power to turn invisible. There’s no ifs, ands or buts in this movie: there is a legit dude with a supersuit running around. And that got me thinking about other comic characters who can turn invisible!
Why the bandages? Not a good look.
Oddly enough, invisibility isn’t a very common super power. The most obvious super power question of all time is picking between flight or invisibility, and yet very few comic book characters can only just fly or only just turn invisible. Fortunately for us all, I’ve tracked down a couple of the latter!
Lots of characters can become invisible through various means, like illusions or phasing. These six specifically have invisibility as one of, if not the, main power. Join me after the jump to see who I’m talking about! Pun intended.
Hench-Sized Comic Reviews – 3/7/20
Ugh, what a crummy week. I came down with a cold out of nowhere and just wasn’t feeling very jazzercised to read through a stack of comics. I did make it through some, like Batman, Ms. Marvel and even Marauders! But my thoughts on this week’s comics are probably muddled from the cold.
Comic Book of the Week goes to Doctor Doom #6 because it’s an issue where Doctor Doom and Kang the Conqueror, both in full regalia, go on a cross-country road trip and shoot the breeze about a lot of fun topics.
That’s comics!
Meanwhile, I finally read Spider-Man: Life Story and it was good. I wasn’t blown away, but the story had a lot of really good ideas, and it handled the main plot of Peter Parker aging really well. Solid idea, solid execution, but nothing that’s going to really stick with me in the long run.
Also, I’m only now learning I missed out on Strange Adventures #1! Ugh. I wasn’t even paying attention to when it actually came out. I’ll have to grab it for next week.
Comic Reviews: Batman #90, Doctor Doom #6, Lois Lane #9, Magnificent Ms. Marvel #13 and Marauders #9.
Henchman-4-Hire 