Category Archives: DC

Vibe Gets a Comic! Katana Gets a Comic! You Get a Comic!

UPDATE: There’s more information out about the Vibe comic! You can find it lower after the jump!

Blowing the minds of comic book fans everywhere, DC Comics announced today that C-list nobodies Vibe and Katana will get their very own comic series next year, to highlight their membership in the new Justice League of America series!

Because already having the Justice League, Justice League Dark and Justice League Fruit Loops wasn’t enough

This is a brilliant move! I have zero interest in Vibe and Katana as characters, but I am a huge fan in giving new and minor characters a chance to shine. Not every comic can star Batman, Spider-Man or Wolverine. If you want to find some new breakout characters, you’ve got to give the little guys a chance! Just look at how well it worked out for Multiple Man. He was a C-list nobody back in the day, but one well-received Madrox mini-series later and now he’s been headlining X-Factor for nearly 100 issues! Iron Fist had absolutely nothing going for him until Marvel gave him a series written by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, and now he’s one of the leading Avengers and stars in that new Spider-Man cartoon.

It could happen for Vibe!

Agent of S.T.U.D.

Anything could happen for Vibe.

Vibe, of course, being the absolute worst member of the Justice League of all time. He was the bottom of the barrel back when they were known as Justice League Detroit, and worked out of a warehouse. He died an ignoble death. But since this is a reboot, he’s back to life and looking to actually make something of himself for once! He was also my pick for which DC character was going to be revealed as gay.

Katana is a sword-wielding badass warrior who…well, that’s basically it. She used to be with the Outsiders back in the day, and was a Bird of Prey in the new continuity. She’s also going to be Batman’s new sidekick in the upcoming Beware the Batman cartoon…for some reason. So I guess DC want to give her a push.

Before she cuts your freakin’ head off!

And who wouldn’t!? I fully support the existence of both these series…though I can’t guarantee I’ll buy either one.

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/3/12

It’s a new week, there are new comics, and here we have the second installment of Hench-Sized Reviews! I’m kind of excited that I was able to keep to my schedule. I do have video games to play, after all. Plenty of good issues this week, at least in the comics I buy. I think the stand-out best of the bunch was AvX: Consequences #4. Cyclops is the best he’s been since Joss Whedon was writing him.

Well you are

Other reviews this week are Aquaman #13, Captain Marvel #6 and Wolverine and the X-Men #19. Join me after the jump!

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6 Coolest Comic Book Ghosts

BOO!! Did I scare you? No? Oh well, I tried my best. I’ve never been much of a horror fan, either books or movies, but I absolutely love Halloween. I love it when society as a whole unites behind this sort of epic pageantry. All the kids in the world dressing in costume to get free candy door-to-door? Awesome! A day where it’s perfectly acceptable to wear a costume to work or to class? Sign me up! I’ve already bought the spooky pumpkin mask I plan to wear when I’m out and about on Wednesday. Not to mention the Batman tie I only wear on Halloween.

Or maybe I should just walk around wearing a sheet over my head. Because what’s more synonymous with Halloween than ghosts?

Witches, I guess…and Charlie Brown

And when we’re talking about science fiction and super powers, who better to use than ghosts? They’re spooky, mysterious, and often associated with horrible murder! Plus they have a ton of super powers. They can fly, pass through walls, howl, and wear pretty awesome sheets. So it should come as no surprise that ghosts are a pretty popular topic when it comes to comic books. For Halloween this year, I’ve put together a list of the 6 ‘ghoulest’ ghosts in all of comics!

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The DC New 52 Reboot Has No Patience

So Clark Kent quit his longtime reporter job at the Daily Planet last week, in Superman #13. For some reason, major news outlets thought this was news, and it was splashed all over the Internet and mainstream media. I didn’t write anything about it at the time because I don’t consider this news. And not just because it’s a story in a comic book – that stuff is totally news worthy.

And while I don’t think it’s news, I do think it’s a symptom of a larger problem at DC Comics: They’ve had zero patience in this first year, telling big, important stories without taking the time to establish and grow their characters. They’re screwing themselves over in the long run with the New 52.

The perfect visual metaphor

I’ve wanted to write this article for awhile now, and it’s taken many forms. But the big deal made out of Clark Kent quitting the Daily Planet really underlines exactly what I think is wrong with the New 52: they’re publishing for the short term only. Their events and stories are all designed for immediate sales and popularity, with seemingly little thought put into what the comics will look like 5 or 10 years from now.

Join me after the jump for more, and a deeper exploration of what it really means for Clark Kent to quit the Daily Planet.

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews

I’ve been wanting to do this style of comic book review for a long time, but I never end up reading all my new comics before the weekend. However, I’ve got some time on Wednesdays now, so I really want to start. My long reviews take awhile to write, and I can’t do one for every comic I read. So from this week forward (hopefully), I’ll be providing some shorter, quicker reviews on the week’s new comics.

I buy a large smattering of comics across both DC and Marvel, and a few Indy titles. If there is any comic you’d like me to review, let me know via e-mail or in the comments.

Let’s begin!

Amazing Spider-Man #696

Amazing Spider-Man #696
Writer: Dan Slott & Christos Gage
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli

Phil Urich is one of my all-time favorite comic book characters. His brief series as the good Green Goblin in the 90s was the first comic book series that I ever bought and read with my own money. So of course his transformation into the villainous, perverted Hobgoblin was sad. I preferred him as a down-on-his-luck hero. But with a character as minor and obscure as Phil, I’ve mostly just been grateful that he’s even appearing anywhere. So I’ve been following his career as the new Hobgoblin, and it comes to a head in this issue, as original Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley, returns to New York City to crush Phil for good – and, of course, Spider-Man is caught in the middle.

I’ve mostly been enjoying Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man run. He brings a light-hearted feel to the wall-crawler, with brightly colored adventures and really personal stories. This one is no different. Peter Parker has just been outed as the man who builds all of Spider-Man’s gadgets at Horizon Labs, so the Hobgoblin kidnaps Peter for the Kingpin. They want to hold him hostage so that Spider-Man will turn over a special briefcase he’s holding, little knowing that Peter actually is Spider-Man. So it’s up to Peter’s boss, Max Modell, to bring the briefcase in an attempt to free Peter. But just as the exchange is about to go down, Roderick Kingsley attacks, determined to kill Phil.

In the chaos of the Hobgoblin War, Peter and Max escape with the briefcase – which holds a key to Norman Osborn’s entire Goblin arsenal!

Comic rating: 4/5: Good!

This was a fun adventure, and your typical Peter Parker in trouble story. The Hobgoblin War idea is pretty cool, as the characters look absolutely wicked under Camuncoli’s pencils. Seeing them battle is the highlight of the issue. Orange is always a great color for super-villains. I’m hoping Phil puts up a fight, and the idea that Roderick is threatening Phil’s girlfriend might bring some heroism out of Phil. One can hope. The Peter action was fun as he pulled off some web-slinging skill, while simultaneously trying to keep Max from deducing the truth. So yeah, entertaining story, fun characters and the hope that one of my all-time favorite comic book characters gets to shine.

Join me after the jump for more! Including AvX: Consequences, Batman Incorporated, Invincible Iron Man, Talon and Wolverine MAX!

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