Marvel Preview Review for September Part 2 of 2

Continued from yesterday...

UNCANNY X-MEN #543

Written by Kieron Gillen

Pencils & Cover by GREG LAND

FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN.  No one can stop Colossus! The Juggernaut has become Kuurth, Breaker of Stone, one of the Worthy. Now more powerful than ever, one of the X-Men’s greatest enemies rampages through San Francisco. To stop him, Colossus makes a deal with the demon lord Cytorrak—the being that imbued Juggernaut with his power. Can this deal be one Colossus can back out of at the fight's end? Prepare for the clash of two unstoppable forces! Part 4 (of 4).  32 PGS./ $3.99

Lee: As a fan of pointless hitting and punching comics… yes, I loved the Red Hulk… my inner fanboy thinks this will be great. JuggerColossus v. ThorHammerNaut. What’s not to love?

Greg: Gillen's run on X-Men has been really really strong so far, including the first chapter of this story arc. Looking forward to seeing how this story wraps up.

ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1 & #2

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Penciled by Sara Pichelli

Covers by Kaare Andrews

(Issue #1 Cover will be POLYBAGGED) Issue #1 Variant Cover by Sara Pichelli

32 PGS. (each)/$3.99 (each)

ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #1

Written by Nick Spencer
Penciled qnd Variant Cover by Paco Medina

Cover by KAARE ANDREWS (POLYBAGGED)

The biggest mutant cover-up has gone public as the true history of the x-gene is revealed. As an identity crisis rocks the mutant world, the mistrust between man and x-man gets deeper. But a bigger question remains: who are the X-Men? Nick Spencer and Paco Medina make their thunderous Ultimate debut in one of the most anticipated series yet!  32 PGS./ $3.99

Lee: And, even though I am interested, the Ultimates line has become the poster child for how to ruin a franchise. I am sure USM will be good. It always has been, but the second #1 in how many years is getting old. The same can be said of the UXmen. Was the last series even finished? I like Spencer so I will give it a chance but Marvel needs to decide what they are doing with these books.

Greg: Screw the DC reboot, this is what I'm excited about. I think this relaunch is a tacit acknowledgment of how badly messed up Ultimatum was. Now, we've got a bunch of interesting creators with strong visions taking over these books. Easily the most interesting creators on these books aside from Bendis in ages. Death of Spider-Man was super strong and Ultimate Fallout's first issue was amazing. I'm really excited to see if these other guys can build on that.

JOHN CARTER: A PRINCESS OF MARS #1 (of 5)

Based on the Novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Adaptation by Roger Langridge

Art by Filipe Andrade

Cover by Skottie Young

Captain John Carter finds himself on a strange new world where he must fight for his very life - and for the heart of a princess! Edgar Rice Burroughs' legendary novels come to life in this actionpacked, all-new re-envisioned adventure! Meet the Tharks, terrible warrior race of Mars! See Woola, the scariest guard dog you'll ever lay eyes upon! Gasp as John Carter battles the great white apes of Barsoom! And hold your breath as he first lays eyes upon the woman who will change his life forever - the proud and beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium! 32 PGS./ $2.99

Lee: Didn’t Dynamite just do this series? Is JC in public domain these days? I wouldn’t think so. Anyway, I have faith in Langridge to make this great. And hopefully the art won’t be as…. gratitous shall we say… as the last series.

Greg: I don't know who Dynamite put on that book, but this is a really strong creative team. Worth a look.

CASANOVA: AVARITIA #1 (of 4)

Written by MATT FRACTION

Pencils & Cover by GABRIEL BÁ

From the writer of Marvel's smash hit FEAR ITSELF and the artist of the best-selling book Umbrella Academy comes the FULL-COLOR rebirth of the coolest comic of all time -- CASANOVA IS BACK and NOW YOU can see what everybody's been talking about. THIS ISSUE: The world's sexiest and savviest superspy kills his way from dimension to dimension in a high-stakes, action-packed adventure that cannot be described in a mere hu-man "solicitation." !!! 32 ALL-NEW FULL-COLOR PAGES. 40 PGS./ $4.99

Lee: Love me some Casanova. This is great stuff and you really should be reading it.

Greg: YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES. This is a great book and the new coloring scheme they've been using has done a great job of keeping the original feel of the book while looking way better. Can't wait for this.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. VOL. 3 HC

Written & Penciled by VARIOUS

Cover by JIM STERANKO

The MARVEL MASTERWORKS are proud to present the continuing adventures of Col. Nick Fury in the Swinging Sixties! Steranko’s last S.H.I.E.L.D. epic, “Whatever Happened to Scorpio?,” will dazzle you before we launch into a new era of adventures including a moon-busting space mission, a mind-bending trip Fury may never come back from and a sub-earth battle with Supremus! Then, Nick Fury faces one of his oldest enemies in the Hate-Monger (a.k.a. Adolf Hitler); the British invade as Steve Parkhouse and Barry Windsor-Smith offer the one-shot “Hell Hath No Fury;” and Hydra returns with its sights set on assassinating the S.H.I.E.L.D. director. It’s a cliffhanger that will shock and surprise you! Also packed with cool covers from the Colonel’s many S.H.I.E.L.D. reprint comics, and his appearance from MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #31, this Masterworks completes every fan’s classic Nick Fury library! Collecting NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #4-15, AVENGERS #72 and MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #31  320 PGS./ $59.99

Lee: Masterworks aren’t for everyone and this is something of a mixed bag. Issue 5, ‘Whatever happened to Scorpio’ is the final Steranko issue and is a masterpiece. But the rest of the book is very hit or miss. And except for an issue with some of BWS’s first art, most of it is forgettable. I guess this is really only for completists.

Greg: This is crazy stuff, but at that price point, I'm going to have to hold off. But everyone should read Steranko's last issue, its incredible.

S.H.I.E.L.D.: NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. PREMIERE HC

Written by BOB HARRAS

Penciled by PAUL NEARY

Covers by MARK BRIGHT & JIM STERANKO

When the world peacekeeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D. goes corrupt to its core, it falls to one man to save the day: eye-patch-wearin’, cigar-chompin’ spymaster Nick Fury! Starring all your favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, from Jasper Sitwell to Dum-Dum Dugan! And featuring the combined threats of the Roxxon corporation, the techno-terrorist organization A.I.M. and the never-ending evil of Hydra! Collecting NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #1-6.  304 PGS./ $39.99

Lee: This is one of those books that I really want for nostalgic reasons, but I don’t know if I can justify it. I seem to remember it being pretty good. The problem is that the art was only ok because Neary is a good, but not spectacular artist. I’ll have to think about this.

Greg: Written by Bob Harras? Pass.

MARVEL GHOST STORIES GN-TPB

Written & Penciled by VARIOUS

Cover by GIL KANE

Ghosts of heroes and villains alike gather in this set of sinister stories! Legacies of two World Wars haunt Captain America and Ghost Rider! Evil travels through time and space to plague the Silver Surfer and the West Coast Avengers! Hellstorm, Prince of Lies, and Dracula, Lord of Vampires, confront ghosts almost as fearsome as they are! Plus: the eerie odyssey of John Kowalski, spirit at large! Guest-starring DEATH! Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) #326, GHOST RIDER (1973) #12, HELLSTORM (1993) #6, SILVER SURFER (1968) #8-9, TOMB OF DRACULA (1972) #23, WAR IS HELL #9 and WEST COAST AVENGERS (1985) #41. 176 PGS./ $19.99

Lee: Ok, this collection is squarely aimed at long time readers like me. But, I can’t figure out any rhyme or reason for the selection of stories. It covers 3 decades, various genres, and an uneven, at best, assortment of writers and artists. I like the idea of the book, but the execution leaves something to be desired.

Greg: I'm glad this appeals to someone, cause that is a strange collection of stuff.

STRANGE TALES II TPB

Written by VARIOUS

Cover by KATE BEATON

Wolverine is the best there is at what he does — fighting in mutant-mixed-martial-arts tournaments, handing out relationship advice and eating hot dogs! Spider-Man issues the ultimate challenge to one of his deadliest enemies — an invitation to the prom! The Mighty Thor forges a powerful new alliance — with a cleverly disguised farm animal! Fear not, Friends of Old Marvel — you haven’t fallen prey to the illusions of Loki. You’ve simply discovered STRANGE TALES II! A band of the best and brightest talents in independent, alternative and online comics joins forces with the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for a sequel to the acclaimed STRANGE TALES anthology, one that critics are calling “better than any of the previous run” (Douglas Wolk, Time.com’s Techland). Hilarious, haunting and horrifying — sometimes all at once — it’s Marvel gone strange! Collecting STRANGE TALES II #1-3. 152 PGS./ $19.99

Lee: If you aren’t into fancy oversized hc’s like me, then this is the way to go. Strange Tales is just an excellent collection of really off kilter stories by indie creators. My personal favourite is the story about the group of skrulls playing poker with the Silver Surfer while Galactus devours their planet. And, they’re skrulls so of course they cheat. Great stuff.

Greg: This is amazing stuff and most of it is pretty entertaining. Kate Beaton drawing Marvel heroes is worth the price of admission alone.

Lee: Wow.  A whole month of feel goodiness.  I feel... feel... dirty.  Like I just lied to myself for two whole days.  Don't expect this to last.

Greg: Lee's negativity dragged me down in the first part, but I think I recovered nicely today. Its much better being nice, right Lee?

Marvel Preview Review for September Part 1 of 2

Lee: Ok, last month was a little more extreme than usual with the negativity. As such, I shall try to be positive… ok more positive than usual. Although, there is a certain appeal to the crotchety old fan v. young whipper snapper format we have been employing.
Greg: Come on, Lee. There's plenty to be excited about this month. There's like 20 number 1 issues and a couple crossovers. You can polybag them and put your kids through college with them. That's exciting, right?

FEAR ITSELF: THE DEEP #4 (of 4)

Written by Cullen Bunn

Pencils & Cover by Lee Garbett

Namor, Doctor Strange, She-Hulk & The Silver Surfer giant have battled barbarian hordes, giant monsters, and demonically-possessed sea creatures. They’ve faced Tyrak the Terrible, Aradnea the Sorceress, and the hideously-mutated Tiger Shark. But their greatest threat still awaits—the Worthy who has already beaten the Sub-Mariner and single-handedly ravaged New Atlantis. Would-be conqueror Attuma has become Nerkkod, Breaker of Oceans, and he intends to drown the entire world in a wave of fear! Even if Namor’s courage and resolve return to him, he’s no match for the fury of the Serpent’s chosen! 32 PGS./$2.99

Lee: Ok. It’s the first book and I have no idea how to be nice. This is gonna be a llloooonnnngggg post at this rate.

Greg: I haven't read this, but Cullen Bunn's Sixth Gun is one of the best indy books on the market! Go read that!

ANNIHILATORS: EARTHFALL #1 (of 4)

Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning

Penciled by Tan Eng Huat & Timothy Green Ii

Cover by John Tyler Christopher

Marvel’s Cosmic Heavy Hitters Come To Earth—And Fight The Avengers! What has brought Gladiator, Quasar, Ronan, Ikon and Beta-Ray Bill to our planet…and why are they at odds with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? All this, plus each issue will feature a five-page chapter of an all-new, all-hilarious Rocket Raccoon & Groot story! 40 PGS./ $3.99

Lee: I keep wanting to avoid these series but I keep getting sucked in. The chance to see Marvel’s space heroes battling it out on Earth is just too good to pass up. Not to mention that the art team of Huat & Green sounds awesome.

Greg: Its cosmic Abnett and Lanning. The first issue is at least worth a look, particularly with a great art team like that.

SECRET AVENGERS #17

Written by Warren Ellis

Pencils by Kev Walker

Cover by John Cassaday

MI:13 receives intelligence that people are being abducted from villages in the former Yugoslavian region -- but the British government refuses to act on it. Secret dangers summon Secret Avengers, but even the added strength of War Machine and Valkyrie are not going to prepare them for the next level in bioterror... 32 PGS./ $3.99

Lee: Ellis back in the Marvel U? How did I miss this last month? No matter, we shall talk about it this month. If anyone can make this exciting it’s Ellis. I love his writing to much to skip it.

Greg: I think Marvel is hoping that Ellis can really define this book in a way Brubaker couldn't. Whether he can or can't do that, Ellis' superhero stuff is always better with a espionage tinge. Looking forward to this.

THUNDERBOLTS #163

Written by Jeff Parker

Penciled by Kev Walker

Cover by Pasqual Ferry

Your Eyes Do Not Deceive You! The Thunderbolts have pulled off The Greatest Escape In History – and joining the powerful ex-cons are Captain America and Namor the Sub-Mariner! This new era takes the kings of supercrime to a whole new level- at light speed!! By Jeff Parker (Incredible Hulks) and Kev Walker (Secret Avengers)

Lee: I have to say that Parker did a pretty good job on the Hulks. His entire run on the Hulk wasn’t great but it was consistently entertaining. It seems like the T-bolts change creative teams and directions about once a year, but for the most part it works. I’ll check out the first couple of issues.

Greg: I love that the radical changes in direction are built into the DNA of this book. This has been nothing short of fantastic since Parker took over. Wait, is Lee going to have a smile on his face by the end of this review?!?!!

NEW AVENGERS #16

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils & Cover by Mike Deodato

Fear Itself Tie-In.  Fear Itself has ripped through New York and now the New Avengers must reinvent themselves. And who better to help them then the guardian devil himself? It's finally happening...Daredevil: Avenger! 32 PGS./ $3.99

Lee: So, Daredevil is joining the Avengers. It’s finally official, every single Marvel hero (including Squirrel Girl) has now been an Avenger. I am interested to see how this will work because DD has always been better at… well, less cosmic adventures. It will be good to see how he matches up against Thanos.

Greg: Sigh. I guess not. I mean this could be cool. Watching DD fight the Absorbing Man and Ultron was cool. Oh who am I kidding. This is such a stupid idea.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #42

Written by Christos Gage

Penciled by Juan Bobillo

Cover by Salvador Larroca

“Meanwhile…” Storm, Beast, Colossus and Agent Brand have all been implanted with Broodlings and it’s only a matter of time until they are full-on Brood themselves. Only Kitty and Lockheed are left, but is there anything they can even do to help their teammates? This story comes to its amazing conclusion. 32 PGS./ $3.99

Lee: I loves me Juan Bobillo. Ever since I saw his art on Howard the Duck, I have liked it. Gage is a strong writer, and now a really strong artist make me want this.

Greg: That's a great creative team, so why is it being wasted on an X-Men in space story. There hasn't been a good one of those since Claremont's early years on the book. Please stop trying this crap guys.

BLACK PANTHER: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR #523

Written by David Liss

Penciled by Francesco Francavilla

Cover by Patrick Zircher

Fear Itself Tie-In! With Manhattan—and the world—overrun by chaos, a brutal battle for the soul of the city is waged by the reborn Hate-Monger and the American Panther! 32 PGS./$2.99

Lee: Back to the good bad format. The good: I think Hate Monger is a perfect foil for the BP. That alone makes the book interesting. The bad: at the risk of offending someone, I don’t see the need for the BP to have guns. Isn’t that counter to the “skills” or “powers” that he is supposed to have? I don’t see the need for a ‘hero’ to have guns. I think it speaks to a bigger, more pervasive gun culture in America. But, I will leave that rant to Jim and Thomm.

Greg: Well, in the story that's being presented as a bad thing, so no worries. But the problem here is that while this book is alright, it hasn't really clicked like Mystery Men has. Hopefully this book gets more on track by this issue.

FEAR ITSELF: THE MONKEY KING #1

Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov

Art & Cover by Juan Doe

Meet Marvel’s newest star! Spinning out of IRON MAN 2.0 and FEAR ITSELF! Discover the history of Sun Wukong – Thief! Trickster! Hero! Great Sage, Equal of Heaven! – and witness as he takes his place at the forefront of Marvel’s ranks, the legendary Handsome Monkey King 32 PGS./One-Shot/$2.99

Lee: First there was Hit Monkey (which was actually pretty good) and now there is Monkey King. I can’t wait to see what Marvel turns into monkeys next. Maybe the entire universe? Don’t laugh, DC did it!

Greg: Monkey Queen!

More tomorrow... and for the record I think Greg called more books and plot points stupid than I did!  Go figure.

Daredevil #1 -- A (One-Word) Review

MAGNIFICENT!!!

Image Preview Review for September

Lee: Yep, another month of Image getting it's own post. I don't know what's changed but Image has been putting out some really good offerings this year.
Thomm: Hey, look at that. Image is out of the category of Independents for two consecutive months.

HAUNT #19
story Joe Casey
art / cover Nathan Fox
32 Pages / FC / $2.99
An All-New Creative Team Kicks Off With A Bold New Direction! Brothers Daniel and Kurt Killgore have shared an ominous power, but things begin to unravel – for both of them – when a past tragedy comes back to haunt them. All-new action! All-new enemies! The new nightmare begins...NOW!
Lee: For me Casey is always a treat even if his material is very hit or miss. Nathan Fox reminds of Paul Pope with a real fluid, scratchy style. I didn’t really care about the character but with this creative team I am going to have to check it out.
Thomm: I’ve been reading this one since the launch. It’s major drawback up until now has been the artist’s proclivity for drawing one standard face and form for all the female characters, with only hair and skin coloring to distinguish them. The plot and writing have been a lot of good stuff, not surprising with Kirkman at the helm, so a new artist should be good, but now I’m concerned about whether the writing will suffer. Guess I’ll just have to give it a shot.

THE BIG LIE #1
story Rick Veitch
art Rick Veitch & Gary Erskine
cover Thomas Yeates
32 Pages / FC / $2.99
A lab tech travels back in time to the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 to try and get her husband out of the world trade center before it falls, but will the facts convince him before it's too late? A riveting tale of 9/11 by award winning master storyteller Rick Veitch that exposes “The Big Lie!”
Lee: And here we go! Our first conspiracy comic about 9/11. Maybe that isn’t the plot but it certainly reads like it. Now if only we could get a comic about Obama not being born in the US, my life would be complete.
Thomm: Other than the title, this doesn’t sound like a conspiracy theory to me. In fact, from the synopsis I can’t quite figure what the lie is in the title. Still, I like Veitch so it should be interesting.

LOVESTRUCK OGN
story Dennis Hopeless
Art Kevin Mellon cover Erik Jones
192 Pages / BW / $16.99
It's a love story, but not like you think. There's no boy meets girl or star-crossed soul mates. Love is a billion-dollar industry. Cupid's the megalomaniac CEO. And Kali Monroe gets paid to break your heart. Love is all around us. These are the pricks who control it.
Lee: This sounds more like a Vertigo title than anything else. Maybe with Vertigo disappearing, Image will pick up the slack. That wouldn’t be bad at all.
Thomm: Well now I’m wondering what you’re talking about. Where’s Vertigo going? Oh, and the book at hand? Could be good if it’s not caught up in its attitude at the expense of a coherent story.

NEAR DEATH #1
story Jay Faerber
art Simone Guglielmini cover Tomm Coker
32 Pages / FC / $2.99
Markham is a professional killer who has a near death experience during a botched mission. Determined to avoid ever returning to the Hell he glimpsed, Markham dedicates himself to balancing the scales. He's going to save a life for every life he's taken. And he's taken a lot of lives... A new ongoing crime series for fans of Criminal and the novels of Lee Child and Robert Crais.
Lee: Faerber, writer of Dyanmo 5, is back with another tale! I have really enjoyed Faerber’s work and it’s been way more hit than miss. I can’t wait to see this.
Thomm: I miss Noble Causes and Dynamo 5 doesn’t come around often enough, so this is a definite good thing to check out. Interesting premise, too.

PIGS #1
story Nate Cosby & Ben McCool
art Breno Temura cover Jock
32 Pages / FC / $2.99
Issue One: Hello, Cruel World. A KGB sleeper cell has been in Cuba since 1962. And now they’re coming to kill you. Nate Cosby (Marvel), Ben McCool (Choker, Memoir) and hotshot newcomer artist Breno Temura present PIGS, an ongoing series set to join Image’s elite ranks. Terrorists have descended on America, assigned to destroy everything in their path…but why, and why now? You can read the USA today preview here (Yes that USA Today).
Lee: Pigs is another series that has lots of potential. I’m surprised they started a media push in April for a book that wasn’t solicited for release until September but hey, that’s just me. It looks and sounds interesting enough to make me want to try it.
Thomm: I’m stuck on the premise, and that’s even after reading the USA Today article. Sleeper agents from Cuba in the US? These guys would be kina old to be going off on missions now. Plus, the article says they’re meeting Americans for the first time when they go off on their missions, and the teaser above says they were sleeper agents in Cuba. I get the feeling these guys don’t know what a sleeper agent is. If they really are sleeper agents they should have been in the US for almost 50 years now. Other things in the USA Today article also make me think these guys aren’t too familiar with the history involved. I’ll pass.

Lee: I hope the trend of quality books continues at Image. They are starting to show up on my pull list more and more.
Thomm: Wow, no horror. Ok, Haunt’s sort of horror. More super hero/spy than horror, though.

Harry Potter - the end (of the movies)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2: A Review


possible spoilers


So finally, the long awaited (for crazy fans like me anyway) ending to the Harry Potter series makes its way to the big screen. I went and saw it Sunday night.


Here's the thing, overall I enjoyed it. They hit the major points and did a good job fitting a whole lot of story into the span of two hours (and yes, I suppose they technically had four-ish hours since it was split into two movies, but it's still a lot of story). The major issue I had with it was the problems that arose from the previous movies leaving out major plot points. Quite honestly this may have gone mostly unnoticed by anyone who hasn't read the books - my husband never read them and the movies have worked okay for him. I say okay because there are a few things I've had to explain, but not too much. Even so, I felt that they had to create new plot points on the spot in this movie in order to explain certain things. The major one - the Horcruxes.


Sure, we've established that the Horcruxes are bits of Voldemort's soul that Harry has to find and destroy in order to be able to kill Voldemort. But in the sixth book (Half-Blood Prince) Harry spends much of his time with Dumbledore exploring Voldemort's past in order to understand what he may have used as Horcruxes - and where he may have hidden them. That's how Harry figures out that Voldemort used items of importance - and hid them in places of importance to him. I mean, did any of your movie-exclusive followers of Harry Potter wonder why Voldemort made a goblet into a Horcrux? In case you're wondering it was the goblet of Helga Hufflepuff. Voldemort used a locket as a Horcrux that belonged to Slytherin, and a diadem that once belonged to Ravenclaw. This is a theme that was really skipped over in the movies - instead they decided that Harry could "hear" the Horcruxes when he was close to them - thus trying to cover the information gap left by previous movies.


I understand that stuff has to be left out when a book gets translated to film. I just think that leaving out the Horcrux information from Half-Blood Prince was a bad call (especially when they added random scenes that hadn't been in the book for no apparent reason).


The battle scenes were awesome though. I loved seeing the professors defend the school. Also the dragon from Gringotts was so much fun - they really managed to make you feel bad for that poor dragon too. The final fight between Voldemort and Harry was decent although the big reveal about the Elder Wand could have been done better. Hah, the Elder Wand... for those of you who read the book - what was that about? How hard would it have been for Harry to just ment his old wand and say he was going to put it back in Dumbledore's tomb? After all the build up about the wand I find it hard to believe that it could be dealt with by snapping it in half. Ah well.


Like I said, overall I've enjoyed the Harry Potter movies. They have worked really hard to translate a seven book series into film and we've certainty got to see the kids grow up over the years - the same way you do in the novels. Snape character development has also been excellent and it's sad to realize I have no more of these movies to look forward to. Even so, I encourage anyone who's liked the movies but has yet to read the books to pick them up - the movies are only a taste of an amazing story written by a very talented writer.

The Week of July 13 in Review

So this week is a cheat of sorts. Normally I either write this column as I read stuff or write after I have read everything. As I have a small trip planned this weekend – nothing exciting at all believe me – I’m writing this Thursday night after reading about nine books out of a huge stack of books.

A quick comment on the “debt” debate, we will not default on our loans if a new debt ceiling isn’t passed by August 2. We have enough money coming in to pay the debt, just not everything else. I wish that all the politicians would stop playing Chicken Little.

Back to the books, of what I read I like a lot of it, short capsule reviews as once again my time is pressed, one day I hope to have more time. It is interesting to note the six books I’m commenting on are by Scott Snyder, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, Jason Aaron and Geoff Johns, good writers with strong art usually equals a good comic.

Punishermax #15 is another chapter in the enhanced version of Frank’s journey into becoming the Punisher. While the current storyline is moving slowly as Kingpin is trying to get Frank killed in prison, the past life of Frank is fascinating. Frank is dead inside and he can’t bring himself to talk about it. The mob and Nick Fury are both recruiting him to kill, which is what he apparently does best or perhaps the only thing he knows how to do anymore. This is a great character study about a severely flawed and broken man who has a moral code, but has no way to express himself in a correct way. Killing is what he knows and it appears he will allow his family to be killed so at least he can build a rationale for killing people whom he sees as bad guys. The Punisher is neither a good guy nor a bad guy per say, he is what the world made him. Just great stuff and is shaping as another seminal title for Aaron.

Now someone who is a bad guy with no ifs, ands or buts about it is James Gordon Jr. Scott Snyder with Francesco Francavilla on art give us a full issue of Commissioner James Gordon going after his son and trying to see if he is still a psychotic killer or has he been cured. Detective Comics #879 is another great issue in Snyder’s run on this book. This issue we have Commissioner Gordon investigating his son and finds out he is trying to turn other children into the same type of psychotic he is and at the same time the Joker escapes from Arkham. Snyder’s work is some of the best paced books on the stands and Detective continues to build. I hate that this series is ending, but love this run. Speaking of seminal runs on books Snyder is two for two with American Vampire and his work on Detective.

Next up is Jonathan Hickman’s new creator owned series Red Wing #1 (of 4). As with his entire run of creator owned books it has some great concepts and ideas. This book is about time traveling and fighting a war with aliens. In addition we have the story about the son of one of the original “Red Wing” members becoming a member of Red Wing. Red Wing is the unit that flys the time traveling missions and fights the alien bad guys. We also are learning despite the theoretical overwhelming odds against it, the son’s Dad has survived being lost in the past. It has some nice art by Nick Pitarra and is playing with time travel differently and trying to think about time in a different manner. Still like Pavlov’s dog I’m already anticipated this series is written for the last page payoff and all the cool concepts and ideas will never be given their full examination. I keep feeling like too many writers are into the TV series Lost, where cool ideas are never explained because it is just about the cool moment and not enough about telling a story. I’m still sucked in because I like the feeling of the book, but I think I will never get past second base with his work or maybe we have skipped all the foreplay and I’m being f***ed without being kissed since I’m buying his books.

The War of Green Lanterns ended with a bang in Green Lantern #67. First off Doug Mahnke should be given some award as he consistently delivers a monthly book with great art all the time. I love this guy’s work and he does not get the full acclaim he deserves. The story itself was excellent. Hal and his crew defeat Krona at the cost of Krona’s life. The Guardians get pissed off at Hal, strip him of his ring and send him home. At the same time in the midst of all of this Sinestro becomes a Green Lantern again and will be the Green Lantern in the new series starting in September. I love this, I’m tired of Hal and seeing Sinestro back as a GL just opens up reams of material and stories to exam both Sinestro and the history of the GL Corps. What strikes me as funny is this is being done by Johns who has been the DC poster boy for keeping the same person as the hero forever. Johns has handled bringing Hal and Barry back and Didio wants the most known person to remain in the costumes forever. Finally this is being done after the GL movie where theoretically everyone is beating down comic book stores to buy GL comics and it should be Hal Jordan or everyone is confused (so goes the theory). I’m guessing Hal gets a ring sooner rather than later, but I like the potential of where this can go.

From endings to beginnings we move onto to Captain America #1. Now this is a perfect book for people who saw the movie to walk in to buy a comic about Cap. Ed did a wonderful job in making this book have no real ties to continuity, added in a twist regarding WWII and give us a great opening chapter. Mix in with that Steve McNiven on the art and the book was a great opening. For regular readers it was a little disconcerting as nothing about Fear Itself and nothing about Bucky being dead, but a great opener and a very cool story. Some of the best scenes were seeing Cap jump into action without the uniform and a sequence with his shield that was just mind blowing and beautifully illustrated. The mix with the present story interposed with the current storyline was well done and not confusing or jumbled as a lesser writer may have made it. As long as McNiven can deliver a monthly book this should be another successful re-launch of Captain American. I think this makes three #1 issues under Ed’s tenure, maybe just two.

From beginnings we move to the beginnings of the ending with X-Men Schism #1 (of 5). Now I know Prelude was just that, but after reading this issue I realize I totally wasted my money as Prelude had nothing apparently to do with this series. The art by Pacheo was nice, but I see where #2 is by Cho and #3 is by Arcuna, which is fine, but I prefer artistic continuity within a mini-series. The story is rather boring and feels generic X-Menish. Cyclops and Wolverine go out to sell peace love and understanding, Sentinels attack after bad guy mutant screws up stuff and we see the rebirth of the Hellfire Club. Not horrible, just not a great opening act to a series that is supposed to reset the status quo of the X-Men.

Well that is a wrap for this week. Next week’s list is extensive but not crushing, Batman, Batman Gates of Gotham, Cinderella, DMZ, Flashpoint Deadman and the Flying Graysons, Flashpoint Legion of Doom, Flashpoint Outsider, Flashpoint Wonder Woman, DC Retroactive Batman 70’s, DC Retroactive The Flash 70’s, DC Retroactive Wonder Woman the 70’s, Hellblazer, JLA, LOSH, Spirit, Supergirl, Thunder Agents, Titans, War of Green Lanterns Aftermath, Zatanna, Avengers, Daredevil, Hercules, Hulk, Iron Man 2.0, Ultimate Comics Fallout, Marine Man, Walking Dead, Withc Doctor, Criminal Macabre and The Goon – When Freaks Collide, Locke and Key Clockworks, Cyclops and Warlord of Mars. Still way too big, yikes.

Tell next week, be good or be better.

Marvel Masterworks Vol. 11

Well, the slog through the DCNu is done, and we all survived. Ok, most of us. We lost Greg somewhere along the way. Now it's time to go back to talking about books that have actually been published and read.

My recent foray into The Uncanny X-Men's "Days of Future Past" story reminded me of how much I enjoyed those stories from 30 years ago. And, while I've read bits and pieces of the original stories that started with Giant Size X-Men 1 and went forward with X-Men 94, I never read the complete stories. I didn't start reading the title until a few years later and only acquired back issues going back to 122.

Then, lo and behold, Cards, Comics and Collectibles had a 50% off trades and HCs the weekend of July 4. Seizing my opportunity, I picked up Marvel Masterworks Vol 11, reprinting in trade Giant Size X-Men 1 and X-Men 94-100. I also picked up Vol 12, but I'll go into that one another day.

Having had much of my brain's capacity for knowledge syphoned away in child rearing, I had forgotten that Chris Claremont wasn't the originator of this recreation of a moribund title. Maybe it's the fact that I primarily associate Len Wein with horror oriented titles like Swamp Thing, but I'd forgotten this was his baby, along with artist Dave Cockrum.

Hard to believe that in a mere 68 pages, Wein and Cockrum put together the team that, in my mind, remains the essential X-Men. Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, Wolverine and Banshee joined Cylcops, along with Thunderbird and Sunfire, to rescue the original team of Iceman, Angel, and Jean Grey from Krakoa, the living island. Ah, the days when radiation was still a tool for creating fantastic mutations instead of just painful death.

Of course, after the rescue Sunfire, horse's ass that he is, takes off for Japan, having no interst in helping anyone outside Japan. Jean Grey, Iceman and Angel also decide to retire and move on to lives outside their adolescent status at Xavier's academy. Thus, the team is the core group who would remain for several years - Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Wolverine and Banshee. Thunderbird also remains, but I suppose the cover to issue 94 should have been fair warning to him that he wouldn't last long. He's the only one on the team who's face doesn't appear in the little upper left area on the cover. Naturally, he's dead by the end of issue 95.

From there the stories move on to a battle with a demon called Kierrok the Damned in issue 96, which also has the arrival of Moira MacTaggart as housekeeper and set in motion the return of the Sentinels in issues 98-100. Issue 97 has Havok and Polaris, under the influence of Erik the Red, attacking the X-Men, all of which leads to the introduction of the Shi'ar and Princess Lilandra to the X-Men world. That wouldn't be developed further until issue 101, though.

A large chunk of the story is leading to the creation of Phoenix, who first appears in issue 101. At the end of 100, though, it appears that Jean Grey is going to die as she pilots a shuttle back to Earth during a peak in solar activity. She and the X-Men were on a space station fighting the Sentinels created by Stephen Lang, some of whom looked just like the original team.

Wein continued to work with Claremont in issues 94 and 95, and taken with Giant Size X-Men 1, these three issues marked a turning point in super hero comics. Not that this is news, but it's easy to see why, now. There was nuance and depth behind those brightly clad, unbelievably powered, often conflicted heroes. Wein and Claremont took a team of perpetual teens who belonged to a persecuted, if largely unnoticed, class of humans, and replaced them with an international, older team who were more comfortable with their abilities but less able to work as a team.

Into that Claremont quickly developed plot points that would engage for years to come. The romance between Jean Grey and Cyclops was out in the open. The creation of Phoenix was imminent and would alter the Cyclops/Grey relationship forever. The development of the Shi'ar as sometimes allies, sometimes foes, particularly with the Imperial Guard, who so resembled both the Legion of Super Heroes and the Justice League. The first real development in Cyclops's origin, particularly the return of his father, would be quickly added. Moira MacTaggart was created and quickly became an important associate of the team. And the persecution of the team just for being mutants was ramped up.

I had forgotten or not known some smaller points, such as that Wolverine's claws being a part of him rather than something that was hidden in his gauntlets was not known initially. The cameo of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee was a nice touch, and an acknowledgement of the new direction of the book, as well as a tacit approval.

It wasn't perfect, of course. Thunderbird was kind of ridiculous in his attitude about "white eyes", not to mention the jargon he used. The most unbelievable part of his story to me was his death. I get that he was supposed to have this huge chip on his shoulder that caused him to stay on Count Nefaria's stolen plane, beating the canopy into submission, but he didn't seem to be suicidal prior to that. Beyond that, why does Banshee just fly alongside, impleading Thunderbird to jump clear. Why not swoop in and pull him clear?

Ah, well. Nothing's perfect, least of all in corporate character owned comics. Granted, Marvel didn't care much what Wein and Claremont were doing with these characters at the time. The book was barely surviving, having been just putting out re-prints before Giant Size X-Men 1. Obviously, this was the source of the level of creativity involved with the book, and a very good thing indeed. Of course, it also explains the later stagnation of the title. Success killed it so that it's naught but a convoluted mess that tries to foist the appearance of new stories while continually recycling concepts that have gone on before, all the while leaving behind the personalities of the characters originally developed by Wein, Claremont, Cockrum, and later Byrne, so that they're either caricatures (a la Wolverine) or entirely removed (a la Cyclops [Jean Grey who?]).

I'm going to enjoy getting the remaining trades that catch up to where I started with singles, I know. Now I just need the next big sale to come around to do so.