Category Archives: Marvel

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Electro!

San Diego Comic-Con (Or is it Comic-Con International?) has surprised us again with a short, sweet little teaser for the new Electro from Amazing Spider-Man 2. It’s not much, but it’s still neat.

It’s not that great of a look at him, but it’s still something. And knowing Comic-Con, I doubt the actual footage from the presentation will make it online in any quality fashion. I’m still waiting on a quality version of that Ant-Man teaser reel from a few years ago. So for now, just enjoy this tiny little tease of a villain. I’m still think Electro looks good.

Review: X-Factor #259

Hey continuity fans, this issue is for you! Did you ever wonder what happened to Dazzler’s baby from that one brief mention of it’s fate back in 2001? What about the secret history of Longshot and Shatterstar? Are you a scholar of X-Men history so deep and obscure that you’ve been waiting decades for your answers? Peter David and X-Factor have you covered in the latest issue of The End of X-Factor! And it’s mostly good, but also mostly just a quick attempt for PAD to write off a story idea he had in one issue.

X-Factor #259

On the one hand, The End of X-Factor is about tying off each individual character with a bow. On the other hand, like with this issue, PAD might be cramming every story idea he had left into single, one-off issues.

Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.

I’m just not a big fan of Rictor, Shatterstar or Longshot, so maybe the true strength of this issue was lost on me. PAD has been hinting at some sort of connection between the two similar heroes for a while now, and I can definitely say I didn’t see this exact twist coming, but it’s still similar to what I expected. It also only comes up in the last third of the book, which turns into a huge info-dump as PAD just lets it all out. I got the feeling that he had planned something bigger and better for the big reveal, but the comic’s cancellation saw to the end of those plans.

The rest of the issue is fine. It’s mostly about Rictor, and it’s so utterly random. After the events of Hell on Earth War, Rictor wound up in the Mojoverse, of all places. That part doesn’t make much sense, but again, this issue is all about tying off the Longshot/Shatterstar story. PAD does a fine job with it, and might actually appease a few continuity buffs in the audience.

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Posters, Posters Everywhere!

Comic-Con is coming up this weekend, and to prepare, Marvel has put out a couple of posters for the upcoming Thor and Captain America sequels. I’m down with that. I’m also a little hard-up for good posts after a weekend filled with a bachelor party and a visit with my family. Good times, but little access to a computer. I also saw Pacific Rim (which I enjoyed), so I’m hoping to get a review up soon.

But until then, enjoy some sweet artistic teaser posters!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Thor: The Dark World

And just because I like you, here’s an extra one:

Godzilla

And, of course, stay tuned this weekend for all the news coming out of Comic-Con!

Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 7/13/13

Welcome back, comic book fans, to another installment of ‘Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews’. What is ‘hench-sized’ you might ask? Well it’s…it’s…just this thing I invented! I think it has a nice ring to it. This week we’ve got a nice pile of good comics. I’m pretty sure I liked everything I read this week…though that may be because I keep dropping books I don’t like. Perhaps I should make myself suffer through some bad comics just to make my weekly reviews more diverse.

We’ve got the second issue of Astro City, which continues the fun of this classic series. Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and the X-Men all have fairly strong offerings this week. But the winner of Comic Book of the Week is going to be Justice League #22. It wasn’t the best comic of the week, but as the kick-off of Trinity War, Geoff Johns proves that Big Event comics can still be entertaining.

It’s on like Donkey Kong!

Comic Reviews: Astro City #2, Batman #22, Justice League #22, Superman Unchained #2, Superior Spider-Man #13 and Uncanny X-Men #8.

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‘Inhumanity’ is Marvel’s Next Big Thing

Hey Inhumans fans, your time will come this fall, because Marvel’s next big seismic status quo shift is going to star the Royal Family of Attilan!

Called ‘Inhumanity’, the event is not so much a series as it is just a new status quo. Like Dark Reign or Heroic Era. According to the announcement at Entertainment Weekly, something is going to unleash the Terrigen Mists on Earth, and anyone with some Inhuman DNA in them is suddenly going to sprout super-powers! Could be neat. Though isn’t that just a different kind of mutant?

The event comes with this nifty new picture starring several important characters:

Oh the inhumanity!

Let’s see…we’ve got Black Bolt, Medusa, Silver Surfer, Angela, Thor, Black Widow, the Winter Soldier…all typical. Most noteworthy are Spider-Man in his Peter Parker costume, a new costume for Wolverine and apparently Nightcrawler in the background. Is he going to be brought back from the dead? Maybe!

A new comic called ‘Inhumans’ will also ship, written by writer Matt Fraction, who is one of my current favorite comic book writers. So it’s probably safe to say the series will be good.

Here’s how Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, who compares this event to Game of Thrones, describes everything:

 “The effect on the Marvel Universe will be seismic,” says Alonso. The Terrigen Mists affects all Inhumans differently, granting powers that typically reflect one’s personality, like a hyper-specific Sorting Hat. So “Inhumanity” opens the possibility for a fascinating array of new characters. “You might learn that your new self is fantastic, beautiful, filled with immense power,” says Alonso. “By the same token, you could turn around and find out that you’re nothing. You’re a blob. You have no powers. You can create a little flame out of your pinkie.”

Likewise, Fraction had this to say:

 “Our focus characters are drawn into the palace intrigue of this shattered Inhumans Royal family,” says Fraction. “It becomes a superhero story and a mythical story, all revolving around turning the world into a world full of superheroes.” Fraction stresses that the event will appeal to casual readers who might not know their Karnak from their Lockjaw. “It’s giving us a chance to get back to a classic Marvel metaphor of alienation,” he explains. “We’re telling science-fiction stories, but really it’s about race, gender, sexual equality. It’s a very relevant, pertinent metaphor.”

So yeah, I don’t know what to think at this point. It sounds like they have some big ideas, and Matt Fraction is awesome, so maybe it’ll be good. But I’ve never been big on the Inhumans, nor am I very interested in the general idea of Earth becoming an entire planet of superheroes. But we’ll see! What does everybody else think?