March 2008 Reads Part IV.

Mighty Avengers #11: You know, this one was a little bit of a letdown, but I still really enjoy the series and how it's written, so I'm willing to give it a pass. It kind of explained the gap in the last issue when Iron Man and Dr. Doom were in the past, but it was very clunky and really didn't reveal too much. Anyways, next issue is a Secret Invasion tie-in and looks pretty good from what I've seen. I was tempted to New Avengers #39 because I flipped through it and it looked very good, it's just I'd be starting from that point in the series so there would be a lot of catching up to do. It has a couple of my favorite characters of all-time (Wolvie & Luke Cage) so maybe I'll try and see if I can get a run off of eBay rather cheaply.

Ms. Marvel #25: This was a Secret Invasion tie-in and it was very entertaining. It was interesting, apparently there's a Skrull impersonating Carol Danvers. There was also a lot of cool flashback B-story going on involving Mr. Marvel and revealed the first time that Carol encountered a Skrull. I think I'm going to see where this goes, I liked it and I'm considering adding it to my buy list (which is now starting to get out of control), at least through the end of the Secret Invasion storyline, which I'm not even sure when that's supposed to even end, because I posted that article last week about how there's an X-Men: Secret Invasion that's supposed to be released in like August or something like that. That's like a five or six month storyline, which is a lot of comics.

Wolverine: First Class #1: this one was interesting but I really feel like there's only so much they can do with this series. It's set in the "All-New, All-Different" time period, right about the time Kitty Pryde joins the X-Men and I guess it's supposed to explore her relationship with Wolverine and how it evolved. I imagine most of the issues are going to be just like the first one; Logan and Kitty are sent on a mission, Wolvie tries to do things his way, but in the end, Kitty does something to make him rethink his views. I can see this one becoming very formulaic, but I'll hang out for a few issues.

X-Men: Legacy #209: This one was good. Very good. As I wrote about the last issue, I like this one because it has a lot of flashbacks in the story and there's also a part where Xavier can't trust his memory because it's very fractured. Magneto is also involved and it's interesting because it kind of looks like they're angling things to untie the two so that they will work together. The interesting part is that they both kind of admit that neither of them were right and that they spent a lot of time and energy fighting each other. Things should get more intriguing next issue because the cliffhanger to this issue involved Charles dragging Exodus into the astral plane to fight him.

Wednesday I will be buying; Cable #2, Kick-Ass #2 (but if my store doesn't have it, I won't go out of my way to get it), Logan #2, Moon Knight #17, New Exiles #4 (thank God , this should be the last time I have to buy a comic from this series), Omega: The Unknown #7 (I have high hopes for this one), Secret Invasion #1 (yes, I know I drank the kool-aid), The Twelve #4, and Young X-Men #1. Whew, that's a lot.

3/28/08 - Who Do You Trust?

Two more posters, both of these feature major icons in the Marvel Universe.

Secret Invasion: X-Men.

Marvel released an interview with Mike Carey about how the Secret Invasion is going to effect the X-Men. I've been listening to the Secret Invasion podcasts and I think I drank the Kool-Aid. It sounds like a really interesting idea. Secret Invasion #1 comes out next week and I put it on my buy list. I am interested to see how it shakes out.

Incredible Hercules #116 Preview.

Marvel released an article about Incredible Hercules #116 and the upcoming storyarc involving the Eternals. It includes a preview of the issue, which looks awesome. Check it out:

3/26/08 - Who Do You Trust?

Marvel's released a couple of new posters in the "Who Do You Trust?" series. So here are three new ones, including Doom and Nick Fury! Nice.

New Warriors/Next Avengers.

Marvel published an article about the New Warriors. I think I've mentioned this before, but I loved the New Warriors back in the day. Now, not so much.

Marvel also released a trailer for the Next Avengers Movie. Looks interesting, even though it's kind of a kid movie. I'll definitely rent it. I've gotta backlog of stuff I've gotta rent, like that Iron Man animated movie, and I guess I'll bite the bullet and rent Dr. Strange too.

Iron Man & Wolverine Animated Series.

Exciting news! Marvel announced that the both the Iron Man & Wolverine Animated Series will be on Nicktoons in 2009. Each will get 26 episodes. Sounds awesome, the only problem is; I don't think I get Nicktoons. I need to figure that out before 2009.

In other X-Men news, Marvel also released a Q&A: X-Men: Divided We Stand Part 1 article.

The Incredible Hulk TV series.

I'm behind a little bit here, so there might be a couple of posts today. Marvel posted this a couple of days ago, but they ran an article about The Incredible Hulk TV series. I loved that show as a kid. Somehow, someway, I hope Shaq gets traded to the Clippers because he seems to volunteer for police work no matter where he goes. You can probably see where I'm going with this, because I wrote a couple of months ago about Lou Ferrigno becoming a Los Angeles Reserve Deputy Sheriff. Pair the two up together, and get some cameras to follow them around. Just give me a producing role. I could easily be a hollywood producer.

In other Hulk news, they're releasing out another video game, I think it's based on the movie. Looks pretty cool.

And speaking of retro-eighties-throwbacks, someone blogged about the Spider-Man video game for the Atari 2600. I remember that game, a friend of mine had it and like most Atari games, it never ended and it was hard as hell.

The Incredible Hulk #216, 1977.

Double-Sized 100th Issue!
Yes, this is our 100th post, and we kind of got away from one of the main reasons we started this blog, and that was: making fun of old comics. So here we go.

I present to you, Hulk #216. Written by Len Wein, with pencils by Sal Buscema & Ernie Chan. I bought a random run of comics off of eBay a couple of months ago and I did not expect to get this gem. It is truly a masterpiece. This issue prominently features the Bi-Beast as the Hulk's main foe. I am not kidding around, the main villain's name is the Bi-Beast. The reason he's called the Bi-Beast is because he's got two heads; one is in the normal location, and one is in his chest. So, yeah, there you go, Bi-Beast in the house. This issue also features the Hulk getting in a fight with a steel door. I am 100% serious. Don't believe me? Well, just hold on a second and we'll get to it, I promise.

So, you're probably asking yourself right now, what the hell is a Bi-Beast? Well, according to wikipedia, not only did he have two heads (one contains knowledge of warfare, the other knowledge of culture) but he was an android created many years ago by an Avian race that were in turn a sub-species of the Inhumans. Wow, that is one complicated answer. I just really wanted to know why Marvel actually called it the Bi-Beast. I have a hard time believing that even back in the '70s, Marvel had no clue that years later his name would sound like a bad S&M porn flick. I mean, come on, who doesn't do a double-take when they see that name? I guess Marvel just decided, "What the Hell, we're Marvel, we do what we want" and ran with it. The Bi-Beast was assumed drowned after this conflict with the Hulk, only to come back and get his ass kicked a few more times before developing an attraction to She-Hulk. Yes, you read that right, he wanted to hook up with She-Hulk. Wow. I mean, wow. Am I the only one that thinks this is insane? Also, the Bi-Beast has been horribly underused for that last 10-15 years. I'm just sayin'.

So, I know that was a long intro, and that we should probably get to the comic "review". This one is basically a stock Hulk story from the '70s where the Hulk and the villain of the month (in this case, the aforementioned Bi-Beast) fight and fight and fight and fight and smash and smash and smash; resulting in lots of collateral damage. This time, I think it takes place on a S.H.I.E.L.D heli-carrier for some reason, and I don't really remember why. Anyways, so the Hulk and the Bi-Beast fight, and eeventually the Bi-Beast gets away, so the Hulk follows him through the doorway he fled through. But the door closes on him and we get a narrative from the Hulk (check the scan off to the right for even more awesomeness): "If puny door thinks it has caught Hulk...door is wrong!"

Totally. Awesome.

That is some amazing writing right there. Didn't I tell you this one was gold? But wait, it gets better. So, inevitability, the Hulk gets frustrated and goes crazy and starts trashing the place. I know, big shocker, but that's pretty much the whole point of buying a Hulk comic; you want to see him beat the crap out of someone, or, at the very least, an inanimate object. Either one, I'm not very picky when it comes to Hulk smash scenes, just as long as he's destroying something. Anyways, the Bi-Beast then tries to burn Hulk with a flame-thrower and that's a pretty bad idea because, as it turns out, Hulk is stronger than fire! Bad move Bi-Beast, you just succeeded in making him even more angry than he already was. I think the Bi-Beast is a few clowns short of circus if you know what I mean. I'm just saying that for a super-intelligent android, he's actually pretty dumb.

At some point, I think they fall off the heli-carrier and it ends in a cliffhanger because the reader isn't sure if either of them survived the fall into the ocean. Hmmm, I wonder who survives; the guy who has his own book, or someone we've never heard of?

So, I've got my checklist right here; Hulk: stronger than a steel door; check. Hulk: stronger than fire; check. Hulk: stronger than the Bi-Beast; well, duh. Hulk: strongest one there is?; double-check.

And that pretty much sums up this awesome issue. Check it out if you get the chance, it's amazing.

March 2008 Reads Part II/III.

I decided to combine this because I was lazy and I have something special planned for the next post. So this is going to be a long one.

March 5th Release:
Moon Knight #16: So I had to buy this one last Wednesday because it never came in the mail. It was kind of a letdown. The cover looks pretty badass, but the art inside looked very rushed. And it was a slow mover with not a whole lot of plot development. I'm guess that in the next issue, the ish hits the fan. Part of the reason why I like this series so much is because it has a nice balance of plot development, action and psychological drama. This one had a lot of expository dialogue and it was kind of boring. They have been bringing this Black Spectre storyline along very slowly and I wish things would pick up already.

March 12th Releases:
Fantastic Four #555: This one has gotten panned on other people's blogs, but I actually enjoyed it. It does have a whole lot of Reed in it and not enough of the Thing and Johnny's storyline seemed a little forced and Susan wasn't in it at all. But other than that, I thought it was a pretty good read. I never really bought many Fantastic Four comics because I thought they were kind of boring, but I've actually been very entertained by the last couple of story arcs and I'm going to keep this one on my regular buy list. I don't really understand why it's getting slammed on the internet so much, I'm really enjoying it a lot.

Mighty Avengers #10: I loved this one. It was funny, it had some action and a mysterious ending. Plus, it had Doom. I still really dig the effect they did to make it look like an old comic and there were a couple of other throwbacks that made this an enjoyable read. As I've said before, it's a very fun book and it brings back a lot of things that seem to be missing from main-stream comics nowadays. Add it to your buy list because it's fun, it reminds me of why I loved reading comics when I was a kid and it's one of the best comics that Marvel is putting out right now. I never thought I'd be saying that about an Avenger title, but I am, so there.

New Exiles #3: This one got a little better, but I'm still dropping it once the first arc is over with, and I think it ends next month. It's pretty boring and the story changes so much that I'm just totally over it. It is interesting to see how Claremont writes and portrays certain characters that are in alternate universes, but then that's half of the problem because it's so confusing. I don't know, I'm just waiting for this arc to end so I don't have to pick it up anymore. It regularly sells out too, and I have no idea why. I just really don't like it at all and I really want to drop it (yeah, I know I've said that like 5 billion times already).

Thunderbolts #119: So, the bad news; I'm still waiting for some doosh on eBay to send me my back-issues that I bought (I think I have to use eBay's Dispute Console to get him to answer my emails and give me a refund). Bad news Part 2: I had to go to my alternative comic store to pick this one up because it was sold out at my normal spot. The good news; this book is totally awesome. I loved it. And I barely know the current story arc and the characters. So that should tell you a lot about how good this one is. It's got a lot going on but everything is spaced out evenly so it's not overwhelming and it's got a very nice pace to the story. There's just a great flow to the book and I can't wait until the next issue. Really good stuff.

Wolverine #63: This one was interesting, each issue seems to reveal more and more about Logan and Mystique's previous relationship. There is an interesting ending that sets up the next issue and it will obviously lead off with a flashback to explain it all. So it's actually been kind of a surprise for me so far; I wasn't expecting too much from this story arc, but the creative team definitely brought their A game and you should check it out. I have a feeling that there are going to be a few more shocking secrets that are going to be revealed in the next couple of issues. I don't know why I have that feeling, but I just do. So get on this train now before it's too late.

X-Factor #29: I am really warming up to this book and I am excited to see how Longshot joins the team. I am less than excited that Arcade will be the featured villain for the next story arc, and I think he's actually on the cover of the next issue. Depressing. BUT, this issue was fun, I think it's really the only X-Title that is actually dealing with the fallout from the Messiah Complex. The team is in shambles and most of the team seems to want to leave. I'm guessing that this run-in with Arcade is going to bind them together, as well as introduce the two new members. So I was very surprised by this one and I'm hoping they keep up the good work. And I hope Longshot is in the next issue because that would be totally rad.

March 19th Releases:
Incredible Hercules #113-115: Ok, so I ended up reading part of the newest issue (#115) at the store and decided to buy it and the two previous issues (which is when it changed from Incredible Hulk over to Incredible Hercules). I love this series. It's funny, it's got action, it's got flashbacks, it's got a ton of collateral damage, it's just a fun book and I hope they keep this creative team together for awhile because it's really well done. I had a blast reading it and I would recommend it to everyone that reads this thing. And the cool thing is that Herc doesn't talk like he used to talk in the old Avengers days, unless it's a flashback he talks like a normal person. Just go out and buy this one already, it's really good.

Invincible #49: I thought this one was a little choppy. There was a big cliffhanger ending in the last issue and basically Invincible and every hero related to the book was captured. Then something happened and they were all freed in less than three pages. Kind of lame if you ask me. There was a funny part when Atom Eve asked why the evil villain captured them all and didn't kill them instead and Invincible said something like, "I dunno, he's old-school", which kind of came off like a joke about James Bond villains. It was kind of a lame explanation the more that I think about it. Anyways, something happens and Invincible gets super pissed at the division of the government that he's working for and the end really set up the climax for the 50th issue. I'm just hoping it's worth all of the hype because this one was kind of letdown.

War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #1: I basically thought, "What the hell? It's only a five-issue limited series. It can't be that bad, can it?" Well, it kind of is. I haven't even finished reading it because it's real wordy. I had to but it down Wednesday night and I started reading Hercules instead and reading that book was the exact opposite experience of reading this one; Hercules is actually very good. So, I guess at some point I'll get back to reading this one if I remember to. I was interested in the premise, there's just a ton of words for a comic book. So I don't know if I'm going to pick up the next issue, we'll see if I get back to this one.

Wolverine: Origins #23: This continues to be a fun story. It's got a lot of slapstick humor going on, but with Deadpool involved, you kind of have to expect that going into it. It is kind of funny that in the last two issues all they've done is fight all over San Francisco. I mean, normally, there's a bunch of other storylines going on someplace else, or they travel somewhere, but this has been two issues of fighting and it's probably taken place over the span of an hour. So it's kind of a fun story and when you have Deadpool around, it's at least slightly entertaining because he is pretty funny. I think this arc ends in the next month or two, so I want to see what happens. I also have to find a copy of the first installment of the story.

That's about all for now, I'll be back on Monday with a special post. Hopefully I can get that together sometime over the weekend.

X-Factor Week.

I guess X-Factor Week is in full swing right now. Marvel has released a couple of articles; http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif, a Q&A with Peter David and for some reason, an article about Longshot & Darwin. Longshot was one of my favorite characters of all time, so it's good to see that they're bringing him back. I was actually going to drop X-Factor once all of this cross-over business is over with, but A. That doesn't look like it will ever happen because there's always some kind of cross-over going on, and B. I don't think I'm going to be doing that now that Longshot is in the picture. I'm actually excited to start reading that this summer.

Marvel also released an article with Gary Panter about the Omega: The Unknown Mini-Series. I'm going to say this; I saw Omega on the rack and thought about picking it up, but I'm a little late to the party. Because it's a 10-issue mini-series, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to start picking it up now. But it does look really cool and it's something I'd totally be into. Anyways, here's a preview for issue #7:

March 2008 Reads Part I.

Cable #1: I'm not sure I understand this whole "Divided We Stand" cross-over, mainly because it's not a cross-over. Which is kind of cool because for once they're not trying to have everything related to each other, but it's also kind of wack because they're still calling it a cross-over. With that said, there wasn't a whole lot going on in the issue until the reveal on the very last page (which is kind of a bad sign to start off if you ask me). Honestly, I really can't remember anything important that happened besides the twist ending. But the ending was a pretty good good, so I'm in and I want to see where this goes.


Kick-Ass #1: My normal comic book shop was sold out of The Twelve, so I had to go to the one that is kind of by work, and I picked this one up because I didn't want to just buy one comic. I've read some other reviews about this one, and they've all mostly panned it. I've gotta agree; it's not a very good comic. I like the idea behind the story; a kid in the real world tries to become a superhero and gets his ass kicked, but after he gets put into a full body cast, what the hell are you supposed to think? I dunno, I think I'll read the next one off of the rack and make a snap decision. I'm having trouble organizing my comic collection already, I really need to stop buying these one-off books.


Logan #1: I think I had mentioned this a couple of times here before this issue came out; I really wasn't sure why we need another book about Wolverine, but I bought this book anyway. After reading it, I'm still kind of wondering why we really needed a three issue limited-series about Wolvie (especially when Wolverine: Origins is a regular title) but at least this one was pretty fun to read. It really didn't cover too much though, and they've only got two more issues to wrap it up, so they had better get a move-on. Normally the first issue is jam-backed with words and back story, but this one had a whole lot of action going on. So I'm interested to see what happens next.


Moon Knight #16: I haven't received this one in the mail yet, so I don't have a review of it. Usually I get them the day they come out (I got Uncanny X-Men #496 [see below] on Monday, a full two days before it hit the stores) but I'm still waiting for this one, which is a little strange. I might buy it tomorrow because there's usually a ton left over at the store I go to. This one looked really good too, I like the Black Spectre comeback story so far. I really like this series and wished that it got more pub because I think Marvel's done a great job resurrecting this character from the dead. I've always liked Moon Knight for some strange reason, so it's good to see that he's back.


The Twelve #3: I remember this one was really good (because the series has been excellent so far) but something happened when I was reading it and then I went to sleep and picked it up the next day and finished it, so I probably need to go back and reread it to make sure I remember everything that happened. It's still a pretty wordy book, which is fine by me, I think I read it after I read Logan #1 (which was not a big talky-book) so it was nice to have a change of pace. I really like the characters and their development. Oh yeah, I just remembered the ending and there was a pretty big cliff-hanger. I really like the way the story has been paced so far, it's not just thrown together, it seems like everyone involved took their time with it and it really shows. Take some notes Marvel, this one's a big success.


Uncanny X-Men #496: This one surprised me. I had complained a couple of weeks ago that they never do one-off stories anymore, that they only do the mega-cross-overs and this one was a mixture of the two. Like I said before, I have no idea what this whole "Divided We Stand" storyline is supposed to be all about because the issues that I've read don't seem to tie into each other at all. This issue however, was a fun story involving some old-school characters (Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Colossus) getting in some trouble. I think the next issue really focuses on Cyke, Angel and Emma Frost in San Francisco, so, again, I have some low expectations for that one.


X-Force #2: This one was AWESOME. I can't say enough about this book and I can't wait until next month for the next issue. It has a couple of "Oh S#%t" moments, and the story is really well written and flows rather nicely. It does have a healthy dose of Wolverine though; it's mainly told in his narrative. It does kind of show a different side of Logan's character and as well as why he doesn't really want to be a leader. As I said, I can't say enough about this series, it has been totally awesome so far and I am salivating for the next issue.

Tomorrow, my list includes; Fantastic Four #555, Mighty Avengers #10, New Exiles #3 (man I wish this first arc was over with already so I can drop this book), Thunderbolts #119, Wolverine #63 (I'm actually very excited to read this one), and X-Factor #29. That is a lot of comics for me. I also might buy The Last Defenders #1, but I'm going to flip through it first.