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One of My All-Time Favorite Comic Book Characters is Back From the Dead – Sort of!
This has been a pretty fun year for me so far in terms of comic book characters. It wasn’t that long ago that a whole bunch of my favorite characters were killed off in short order. Cut to now, and most of them are back, and many of them are thriving. It was only a week or two ago that another one of my all-time favorite characters, the Mimic, returned to the pages of the X-Men. And now we can add one more making his big comeback!
I don’t want to say who above the fold, for fear of spoilers, but here’s a tease from the comic itself.
The return happens in this week’s Red Goblin #1. I’ve actually been anticipating this return because Goblin characters have been getting a real push lately. Norman Osborn is starring in a Gold Goblin mini-series. And now his grandson, Normie, is the new Red Goblin.
Surely that would mean a return of my favorite Goblin…and I was right!
Join me after the jump for the big reveal!
Read the rest of this entryHench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/2/18
Despite being a Fifth Wednesday, this was actually a pretty big week in comics! The first full issue of Brian Michael Bendis’ Superman came out, and I enjoyed it! Granted, I’ve liked Superman comics in the past and dropped them, so who knows if I’ll stick with it — but I’m going to try!
Comic Book of the Week goes to another landmark issue: Amazing Spider-Man #800! It’s the grand finale of Dan Slott’s decade on Amazing Spider-Man, and the issue lives up to the pomp and circumstance…though it’s not without its flaws.
Dialogue occasionally being one of them
In potentially disappointing news, I’ve decided to give up on Doomsday Clock. I just don’t like the comic, and the new issue this week reinforced everything I don’t like. And I don’t want to use this comic review segment to trash on comics just because I don’t like them. I find Doomsday Clock to be boring, with an undeserved pretentiousness. I might keep reading, just to see where it goes. But starting now, no more active reviews.
Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #800, Justice League: No Justice #4, Man of Steel #1 and Ms. Marvel #30.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 4/21/18
Only one week until Avengers: Infinity War! If only I was reading any Avengers comics to make this stack of reviews a tie-in. Guess you’re all stuck with just Amazing Spider-Man, Batman and the Power Rangers.
Comic Book of the Week goes to a fairly perfect issue of Ms. Marvel. This book is still so good after all this time! So much fun drama!
Nothing will ever be the same again!
I skipped Action Comics #1000 because it’s a big beast of a comic and I haven’t read anything leading up to it. I’ll probably swing back through to my comic shop later to pick up a copy just to own it and perhaps I’ll worry about it then.
Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #799, Batman #45, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #26, Mister Miracle #8 and Ms. Marvel #29.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 4/7/18
We’ve got something of a light week this week, though a lot of nice comics came out. I think I need to start picking up some new titles after so many of my favorites got cancelled. I’m thinking of trying out the new Iron Man and Fantastic Four when they arrive, along with the big Justice League and Avengers relaunches in the coming months. Anybody have any comics they’d like to see me take on? Let me know in the comments!
Comic Book of the Week goes to the first half of Runaways. It’s as darling as I could have hoped for. But then it just ruins itself! For my money, I would definitely prefer a guest appearance by Julie Power over Doctor Doom in any comic book.
Molly agrees!
In comics I’m reading but not reviewing, another delightful issue of Rogue & Gambit hit the stands and it’s just as much fun as the rest. I can’t wait to see what writer Kelly Thompson does next for Marvel.
Also, I’ve dropped Marvel Two-in-One now that we know Fantastic Four is coming back. It’s an OK issue. Better than the previous issue, but I’ve decided to drop the series rather than continue to nitpick it to death.
Comic Reviews: All-New Wolverine #33, Amazing Spider-Man #798, Batman #44 and Runaways #8.
Welp, Phil Urich is Dead
I’m not too worked up over this. Maybe once upon a time, I would have mustered some righteous comic fan anger about one of my all-time favorite comic book characters getting killed…but eh. Death is meaningless in comics these days, for one thing. And for another, Phil Urich has been dragged through the mud for awhile now. It was foolish to hold on to hope that he could be redeemed.
I mostly just want to mark this occasion.
For those who don’t know, Phil Urich was introduced to Spider-Man comics in the 1990s as a heroic Green Goblin. He was a teenage kid in the classic Peter Parker vein, and had a 13-issue series about his attempts to use stolen goblin gear to be some kind of free-wheeling 90s superhero. I loved the comic. It was the first comic book this burgeoning young comic book fan bought continuously, rushing to supermarket comic book stands in search of the newest issue.
Phil Urich was my Peter Parker.
The series didn’t last and Phil went into comic book limbo, popping up now and again, like all good limbo characters do. At one point he was turned into a bad guy.
Then Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott turned him into a badass new Hobgoblin, of which I own the action figure.
Sadly, the badass Hobgoblin phase didn’t last and Phil was reduced to the knock-off Goblin Knight role. When that storyline ended, he became an even more pathetic Goblin King and basically just became a total loser villain to the upteenth degree. It was not a good time.
And in the new issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Dan Slott finally drives the final nail into the coffin and has Phil jobbered to the newly re-villainous Norman Osborn.
Just like that, my favorite superhero from my childhood is dead…
…At least until Marvel Comics hires me to write something and I establish that Phil escaped Norman and rushed to the hospital! Or, since he’s a goblin, then he survives by whatever means kept Norman alive or Harry back from the dead or even that time Roderick Kingsley came back. And considering Dan Slott once killed another favorite character of mine, the Prowler, only to bring him back shortly thereafter, maybe there’s some kind of hope.
What’s with Dan Slott killing all my favorite Spider-Man supporting characters? I’ve always been a huge supporter of his!
Anyway, just wanted to mark the occasion. Felt like somebody should.
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