Joshiebear's Picture of the Week! Secret Wars Reenactment!

Since evilomar already had a picture, here's something a little different...

click here

you think they've have a marvel civil war reenactment too?

Picture of the Week!

One chick tying another chick up is timeless. That's why Wonder Woman will never stop selling. Wonder Woman teaching young ladies how to tie each other up. HOT!

The Absolute Sandman: Special Editions 50 cent version Review

This Review Was Submitted by The Dude:

Ok, so if anybody knows me they know my general stance on the Sandman series can best be summed up as "Eh". I had read book nine of the series, The Kindly Ones, and not only did I find it kinda confusing, I almost felt like I was working to keep myself interested. Little advice to people out there, READ THE SANDMAN BOOKS IN ORDER. I read nine by itself based on the bad advice that all books could be read separately and still hold up, this is WRONG. How you may wonder did I finally come to this conclusion? A fifty cent edition of part of Gaiman's Sandman came out this week.

Fifty cents for Sandman...yeah I know what your thinking. it's crap right? Negatory. The two quarters & tax you pay for this edition will be the best you've spent all year. For those not familar with any of the series, this story starts out with a group of occultists for better part of a word, looking to obtain immortality and power by capturing Death through way of magic, of course things don't go as planned and they capture the master of dreams instead aka Sandman. The story interweaves the imprisonment of Sandman with the effects of his absence from dreams on people throughout the world. Some individuals sleep decades upon decades only awakening momentarily, others do not sleep and over time have grown almost mad from this persistant insomnia. The artwork is both dark and fluid, never too distracting from the story itself but yet adding to it, in a perfect fusion of sorts between colors and words. I could go on and on about this but, would likely not be able to do the story contained herewithin justice. One of the things that makes this issue even better is the fact that it contains portions from the ABSOLUTE EDITION of Sandman in it (foreward from Gaiman, sketches and the like after the intial story). I think what amazed me most about this issue is the pure and simple fact that you get about five or ten bucks worth of content for the price of a coke, what can I say I am a tightwad and appreciate the value, lol. In short even if you don't think Sandman is your bag, shell out the 2 or 3 quarters for this issue, at the most you'll have lost less then a dollar, at best you'll have found something of incredible value that you might wanna read more of. I give this issue an A+

Ultimate Spider-man # 101 Review

This Review Was Submitted by Spider-ben:

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mark Bagley (Forgot the Inker’s Name)
Cover: Mark Bagley and Richard Isanove

Hold on to your hats ladies and gentlemen, this issue is guaranteed to blow you away! Nick Fury shows up at Peter Parker’s home with an army of robotic spider-slayer warriors engineered by the Tinkerer. Aunt May has had a stroke or heart attack and Peter wants to get to her to the hospital immediately. Richard tells him not to move her because the movement and sudden shock could kill her. He tells Peter to take down Nick Fury and his forces before they destroy the entire house.

Peter isn’t the first to face Fury and company though. Gwen has turned into Carnage, and is easily destroying the spider-slayers. Fury radios the Tinkerer to run a DNA scan on Gwenage, thus taking data from her biological form and transfer the information in the weapons of the spider-slayers in order to deal with her. Peter gets really pissed at Fury, and jumps out the window without his costume or web shooters. Fury and his men quickly take Peter down, and all hope seems lost. But for Peter, the fight isn’t over yet. The Fantastic Four show up to help Peter, and Johnny tells Fury to lay off one of his buddies. (Turns out Johnny only has 3 friends, Peter being one of them) Sue Storm quickly runs into the house to help May, and Reed, Ben, and Johnny deal with the Spider-Slayers.

Ben is shocked by Gwenage and her power, and Reed is fascinated by what kind of mutation or genetic creature she actually is. Fury tells the FF to back off, but Sue takes May and Richard to safety via her invisible force fields. The Tinkerer quickly sends data to Fury about how to take down Gwenage, and the blast makes her return to her human form. Gwen is naked, and collapses. Fury continues his attack on Peter, and Peter is crying trying to find out what is going on. Fury tells him that he is at the center of the biggest genetic disaster since the Hulk. Peter claims he has done nothing, and Reed and Johnny back his statement up. Fury tells Peter it isn’t what “he” has done per se, but what his clones are doing.

Meanwhile, Ultimate Kaine lets MJ out of the OZ chamber. He tells her that now they can be together and she is safe. MJ is shocked to learn that the OZ drug is now inside her. The fear, shock, and pain suddenly transform Mary Jane into this red, Sasqach looking goblin creature. The saga continues---

Thoughts/Comments:
WOW! Simply amazing, this issue is just amazing. This issue, along with the previous four issues, has made me realize that a story involving Spider-Man and clones can be told in a serious and incredible manner. The artwork is dynamite, Bagley is the man. I won’t go into detail in this review about how I HATE, I repeat, HATE, upcoming Ultimate Spidey artist Stuart Immonen. (I’ll talk about this on the forum) But Bagley is the man, and Bendis really had my hands shaking in excitement as I turned the pages. I loved the part when the FF came to help Peter. His response to Sue “Thank you” was very touching, and I loved how Sue told Peter “You would have done the same for us.” Finally, the FF and Spidey are really close and respect one another. I know the regular Marvel U that the FF and Spidey are friends, but I really feel a strong connection between them in the Ultimate Universe. I really don’t know what will happen with MJ, but I can’t wait to see where this story goes next. I give this issue an A+! This issue has a great story, fantastic art, and one hell of a cliff hanger.

New Avengers # 24 Review

This Review Was Submitted by Knightwingbk:

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Pasqual Ferry, Paul Smith, and Mark Morales

This is the Sentry Civil War story. So, let’s assume that this issue takes place before that last issue of Wolverine. Up until that point, the Sentry has been on the moon, meditating and thinking about how bad the war is, and how easily the Sentry could end it all. The Sentry, apparently talks to himself in his head in third person, which is weird. He's attacked by the Inhumans who have declared war on man since Quicksilver stole their mists back in Son of M. Sentry goes to Attilan and tells Medusa and Black Bolt that he meant no harm and will leave. They forgive him and make him stay the night, although it is always dark... Iron Man shows up and convinces the Sentry to come to earth and fight with him. After that, we can only assume Tony Stark sics him on Wolverine in the last issue. It’s a very capable story, but it is not as good as the Cap, or Luke Cage issues.

The art by Pasqual Ferry is gorgeous to look at. Each character has its own look, almost animation-like. His colorist also helps this effect a lot. Ferry is a good artist, and I'm wondering if what he's doing on Ultimate Fantastic Four is as good as this issue. This is better than the Spider-Woman issue, I give it a B-.

Ion # 7 Review

This Review Was Submitted by Knightwingbk:

Writer: Ron Marz
Artists: Greg Tocchini & Jay Leisten

The beginning of the second arc in the ION mini, Kyle Rayner goes home and visits his old buddy Radu. If you don't know who Radu is, go back and read Ron Marz's Green Lantern issues. Radu owns a coffee shop below the apartment building he runs. Kyle used to live there when he was dating Donna Troy and Jade as well. Kyle tells Radu all that has happened to him in since he left Earth. Kyle is visited by a Monitor, who has cornrows, and the Monitor basically says he liked Kyle's old Green Lantern costume better than the Ion one and disappears. It’s a lot of talking heads and emotions, but it is a good comic.

Greg Tocchini does his usual job of strange penciling here. I think he is stronger at action scenes than talking head scenes, because in some panels of this book, you can see where his art is starting to fall apart, until the story picks up and from there he blows it away. All in all, this issue is setting up the next 5 issues of Kyle's story, but isn't an essential issue in the story. B-

Seven Soldiers # 1 Review

Author: Grant Morrison
Artist: J.H. Williams III

Looks like Aboutheroes wasn't the only thing delayed. Hell, I think we were just under three weeks late. This book was scheduled to come out months ago (June 21st to be exact) and to be honest I didn't think it would make it out. And now its here, but before I talk about the review; I wanted to talk just a little about everything leading up to this issue.

There were a total of 29 issues leading up to this book. Seven miniseries, which were all four issues in length, and a one-shot book: Seven Soldiers # 0. Now, issue zero came out in February of 2005 and Frankenstein #4 (which I believe to be the last book) came out in April of this year. Do you have to read all 29 issues of the minis leading up to this? Of course not, but if you want to be less confused, you might want to try to find the trades.

Morrison himself said that each of the four issues is self-contained reads because he wanted to try a modular story. Somebody should have told the guys making the trade paperbacks, because books are scattered between trades. But this is not really their fault; it's more of Morrison's because he is the one that failed at living up to his modular story telling idea. Sometimes one issue would lead into another and each of the miniseries ended in a cliffhanger. Regardless, they were damn good and I really couldn't wait for this issue.

I didn't have time to go back and reread all the issues leading up to this, but there was just so much going on here, that it wouldn't have hurt. There is death and betrayal in this issue under its rich detailed subtext. Although, I found it not be as heavy as the other series though. When you build up a story for 29 issues and over a year, people expect something big. I don't think there was plenty of space for Morrison to go and do everything he wanted. This might have worked great as an 80 page finale instead of the 32 pages.

Despite of lack of pages it doesn't really impact the story. As I said earlier although it's not as dialogue heavy as the previous issues, it still takes a while to get through it and it will require more than one sitting to fully comprehend everything (specially for those of us that can't remember shit). I'm going to try to do this review without spoilers so I'm not going to say who gets killed and who the traitor is. Keeps you in suspense like it did me and made the book more fun to read.

Although the story is a bit confusing and I could see where it would give some people a headache. The artwork is nothing like that; it's clean and crisp and does a damn fine job bringing this detailed script to life. I particularly enjoyed Williams beginning of the universe piece using a Jack Kirby style. This ending ties up 90% of the loose ends and they are thrown in so fast you might miss it. I think this will read 100% in trade but for right now I'm giving it a
B+ .

Action Comics # 844 Review

This Review Was Submitted by The Dude:

Writer(s): Geoff Johns & Richard Donner
Artist: Adam Kubert

I just got finished reading this sucker and you know what, it's not bad. The main thought I kept having though was "Is this like a sequel to Superman For All Seasons?" but, I'll get to that in a little bit.

First things first, the art. Kubert man I don't know what I am gonna do about you. The cover was...well let's just say fan-freakin-tastic. The lighting/shadowing used on the cover image, a cold don't f' with me stone-like Superman , was just great. All of this having been said, Kubert's artwork within this issue was maybe only a little above average, I don't know particularly what I didn't like about it, I just felt like Kubert was borrowing from Sale's Superman too much. One of the most glaring examples of this I found being Superman's face as it reflected off of a spaceship that had come crashing into Metropolis (see page 10). Frank Millers' artwork also came to mind in the panel of Superman face to face with Steel, eyes glowing almost ready to burn a hole in Sarge Steels' head. I thought to myself..."you know that looks a lot like the Superman from The Dark Knight Returns". Yeah, yeah, I am nitpicky but, I gotta point that stuff out when I see it. I will say I throughly enjoyed the paneling done in this issue. I can't tell you how many times lately I have been reading a comic book and the panels are so screwed up I don't know which ones come first or last over one or two pages. Other people take note, if your gonna do two page paneling look at this issue intensely, save me a headache will ya.

Ok, how about the writing you ask? Geoff Johns & Richard Donner are both accomplished writers, Johns' having numerous credits and current ongoing titles, Donner, well heck Donner did the first two Superman movies. Do these two great writers pull of an enthralling story, short answer yes, long answer sorta. To critize Johns' & Donners' writing style at this point would almost be pointless as it's Richard Donners' first dip into comic book writing; oh sure Johns' spins a good yarn but Donners' writing is key. At this point the only criticism I can make of the issue is at times it seems a bit off here and there but, like I said I'll attribute that to this being Donners' first time writing a comic book. The overall story I am liking, I had problems with it for a smidge until I realized not to read it as being in normal DCU continuity. Maybe I am wrong but, nowhere is Infinite Crisis, Conner, or Clark slowing regainning his powers mentioned. It read almost like an All-Star title. In closing is this the best Superman story I've ever read, no. Could it be? Maybe. I think I'll stick on to this title for one more issue. I give this issue a B+.

About Heroes Episode 33

About damn time! Omar and I catch up on e-mails, chat a bit about Botcon, and cover some of the announcements and books that came out during our hiatus.

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 33

Alliance Costumes Revealed

With the release of Activision's and Marvel's Ultimate Alliance right around the corner, ign has revealed the alternate costumes to the main characters in the game. Seems like each character is able to use four costumes, but also each costume has their own stats. Pretty cool concept compared to years of Capcom just cutting and pasting costumes to give you the feel of more characters. To check out the outifits just click here .

Joshiebear's Picture of the Week!

New Title says it all!

Marvel Has lost its damn mind?!!

In an effort to bring soap opera viewers into comics Marvel Comics is creating a character for the show that will premier on November 1st. Guiding Light is America's oldest soap opera and has had its share of obscure characters (according to their own website). Marvel Comics said that it will cross-promote the storyline with an eight-page insert to appear in several of its comic books in which the Guiding Light characters will interact with Marvel superheroes. If I didn't make it clear the first by its title, this has got to be the What the fuck were they thinking moment this week!!!! Here is a link where you can watch the preview: just click here

Where the hell is Aboutheroes?!!!

The last two weeks have been a bitch for us. Chris left to go to England, Dan has been sick along with his daughter and wife, I have been working over time, and Melanie had a car wreck. Melanie is doing great, but her car was totaled when she hydroplaned into a rock wall. With all these things happening we haven't had time to do a podcast. But, I promise that we will be back bitching and praising about comics (hopefuly by Monday!). So I leave you with this idea, go back and listen to episode 1 and see how mature we have become. Ohh, and you thought we hated Civil War? This is from the upcoming writer of White Tiger Tamora Pierce . After reading that, I think I'm going to be picking up White Tiger and this month's issue of Oprah!

Transformers: The Unicron Saga Volume 1 Primal Scream

This Review Was Submitted by Spider-ben:

Writer: Simon Furman
Artists: Jose Delbo, Geoff Senior
Issues Collected: 56-62

Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare yourselves for one of the most amazing and powerful pieces of comic book literature ever! Simon Furman was granted the reigns of the United States Marvel Published Transformers comic book series with issue #56. Furman realized what a sensational honor this was, and decided to craft a saga so intense and mind boggling that it would defy all boundaries and expand upon what was going on with the Transformers taking elements from the television show, the animated movie, and the mythos created by Hasboro.

To this end, Furman decided he would tell the ultimate saga of his career, and what is more powerful and shocking that the coming of the evil God, the planet devourer himself, the treacherous Unicron! Now something this big and intense can not, I repeat not, be told within 6 issues. Hell, 12 issues wouldn’t give this saga justice! No sir, this saga would span 24 epic issues! The saga begins with this collection, the Primal Scream. In this arc, Ratchet is driven mad by the constant fighting with the Decepticons and the feeling of failure as he looks at his fellow Autobots who are lying in his lab in pieces. The Decepticons devise a sinister plan to capture Ratchet and the fallen Autobots in his lab and transport them to Cybertron. The trick is successful, and Ratchet and his lab are whisked away to the Transformers homeworld.

On Cybertron, Ratchet is shocked to see that Megatron is alive and well. Scorponok was the current Decepticon leader, and he was keeping Optimus Prime and his forces busy on Earth. Ratchet is forced to help Megatron by rebuilding outer “Pretender” shells for his warriors. Also, he has the remains of the treacherous Starscream, and Ratchet is forced to rebuild the vile traitor in a new and powerful form. Ratchet succeeds, but unknown to Megatron, he has also revived his fallen Autobot buddies into new powerful forms as well. Megatron learns of this, and Ratchet sacrifices his life to destroy Megatron and his lab when a huge bomb implodes and destroys everything in its path.

Meanwhile on Earth, Scorponok and his forces battle Prime. Starscream arrives, and the Autobots and Decepticons must unite to fight this powerful new foe. They attack him so much, Megatron’s mind control wears off and Starscream flees like the coward he is. He tells Scorponok he will serve him, and Scorponok accepts his offer. The other Decepticons are furious, knowing Starscream can’t be trusted. (Duh! The guy has betrayed pretty much everyone at one point or another!) Things get even worse when Grimlock and his fellow Autobots are transported to the center of Cybertron. There, they are surprised to find their maker, creator, and God Primus in a deep sleep. The one who guards Primus tells the Transformers their true origin (none of the Quintessons crap from the show) and explains the epic war between Primus and Unicron. To save the universe, Primus transferred both his and Unicron’s forms and spirits into two colossal asteroids. The asteroids morphed into new forms, and their spirits slumbered with the asteroids. Unicron transformed his asteroid prison into the planet devourer, and he could still morph to robot mode.

Primus grew into the planet Cybertron, and knew Unicron would find him one day. To this end, he created the Transformers, a race of his “children” who would one day stand against the evil God and defeat him. That day, however, has been long in coming since the Decepticon and Autobot Civil War has kept the Transformers from any kind of peace or alliance.

To this end, Primus must sleep. If Unicron found out he was alive, all of Cybertron and the Transformers would persish at his hands. A battle ensues between Grimlock and his forces and 3 of the Decepticon Pretenders. A stray laser blast hits Primus, awakening him and ushering out a deafening scream. The Transformers realize this isn’t good, and Unicron knows Primus lives. Grimlock and his forces must find Prime, and figure out what to do about this situation.

Across the stars, Unicron hears Primus’ scream and realizes he must know go to Cybertron and destroy it, and finally kill Primus and his children. The Autobots realize that the creation matrix must be found, since it is the one thing that can kill Unicron.
Unfortunately, the matrix is lost in deep space. Thus, the matrix quest must begin!

Final Thoughts:
I summed up how I feel about this amazing installment (and saga as a whole) earlier. It really is a wonderful piece of work. Next up, I’ll review the Matrix quest, part 2 of the 4 part incredible Unicron saga. Until then, this gets an A+! Time to transform and roll out, the matrix quest now begins.

Trials of Shazam # 1 and 2 Review

This Review Was Submitted by Knightwingbk:

Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Howard Porter

Wow. Just Wow. I picked up the first issue on a whim, enjoyed it and waited for the second issue to decide whether to continue or not. Count me in! The first issue had us follow Captain Marvel, find some orphans who were to be killed in an occult ceremony. We learned that a lot of magic has been rewritten, there are new rules in this new age. After saving the kids, Captain Marvel spoke his magic word to change back into Billy Batson, only to be struck by a huge lightning bolt leaving his clothes and hair white. Fast forward to issue 2, and we follow Freddy Freeman, now an ordinary human, crippled when he lost his powers back in the Brave New World short story. He is going to visit Mary Batson in the hospital. When she lost her powers, she was in flight, and fell to the water below. Now she lies in a coma. Freddy speaks "Captain Marvel" to try to summon the powers, but it does not work. When he speaks "Shazam" he is teleported to the Rock of Eternity.

Billy Batson, grown up and garbed in white is now the keeper of the powers of Shazam, and the power needs a new champion, Freddy Freeman. What's different is that they cannot be given anymore, it must be earned. Freddy must visit with each of the gods of magic who are signified in the name of Shazam (Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury) and be tested. If Freddy completes these six trials he will be the new champion, and known as SHAZAM.

It’s the trials aspect that intrigues me in this book. Almost like the seven labors of Hercules, the powers of Shazam must be earned. This puts the Captain Marvel family more in line with the rest of DC and what is going on in 52, where we are learning that the title of "Hero" must be earned, and cannot be freely given to anyone who wants it. It also makes everything completely new, giving all the older fanboys or fanmen nothing to gripe about. They cannot say "the new Captain Marvel series is nothing like the old one, its not true to the character, blah blah blah..." because they are changing an aspect of the character to strengthen his core. Let's face it, Captain Marvel needed an update, badly. I'm so excited for the rest of the series to come out now.

Howard Porter (JLA, Flash) is the artist on this book and has changed his style. It's still Howard Porter, still beautiful, but taken to a new level. Instead of the old pencils and ink like he used to, Howard Porter now does all his drawing digitally. Unlike digital inking, this looks beautiful! Porter draws and colors the entire book himself, making this book the first true representation of what the artist wants and visualizes when they draw a page. This new digital style allows Porter's art to look like a painting, and also allows him to sharpen and focus the elements he wants us to see, highlighting key elements of the story. It creates mood, more then any other art has done before, in my opinion. If Howard Porter can do 22 pages in a month this way, get him on a monthly book after this! Or, give him a lot of lead time, this art is fantastic!

This book gets and A+ from me. I can't recall when I've ever been more intrigued in a story in comics.

Wolverine # 47 Review

This Review Was Submitted by Knightwingbk:

Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artists: Humberto Ramos & Carlos Cuevas

Well, the 6-part "Vendetta" storyline comes to a close this month. What started off with a cool concept, a side story dealing with who was really responsible for Stamford, the villain Nitro, started to evolve into a cool conspiracy theory in the first issues. When Namor stepped in, the conspiracy seemed to get bigger until we got to last issue with the Damage Control war-profiteering. My first thought at the conspiracy was that someone paid Nitro to blow up Stamford in order to start the superhero Civil War, and wondered why this was not being explored in the main book. I was wrong, but what I'm left with is a solid Wolverine story that takes place within the Marvel U. and not Japan, and a good Civil War side story as well.

This issue is the resolution to everything that was uncovered last issue. The Mandroids did not realize that steel will not cut through Wolverine's Adamantium neck bones and foolishly think they've won, only to be cut into pieces. The Sentry shows up and brings Wolverine in for his activities against Damage Control. The Sentry acts like he doesn't believe in registration and says “I have to stop the UGLY business. Even if that means becoming part of it for a little while." This is something new, that has not been explored, but we would've known if the next issue of New Avengers had come out on time. Wolverine is taken to S.H.I.E.L.D. to talk to director Maria Hill, where she tries to cut Logan a deal. Logan pulls a Captain America and jumps out the window of the hellicarrier...

In the issue, Marc Guggenheim has Wolverine examining in his narration what makes people evil. Showing that every time Logan kills someone, he feels like he has to justify it to himself. He has to convince himself that he is not the villain and the people he kills deserve it. It’s arguable whether Logan's rationalization of evil is acceptable, but it works in the context of the story. This issue had a lot to do, and I'm left wondering if Guggenheim ran out of room to tell his story. Why did we spend 4 issues with Nitro if Damage Control was the real enemy? Guggenheim could've had Nitro be in the first two issues, and the next four be Wolverine systematically destroying Damage Control, instead of the quick page we got last issue. On the other hand, we would not have enjoyed that story as much as this one.

Humberto Ramos does a good job in this issue, and it lacks all the super-necks that were present last issue. It's almost like Wolverine, with his mask on, requires a super neck, when his mask is off, no super neck. Logan is fucking E.T.! Since we're lacking my main complaint from last issue, I had no problems with the art this issue. It was powerful, action-packed, and the story telling was capable. I had no problems following what happened from panel to panel, or in between panels (** see Ken Lashley in the current Flash series **). This issue gets a B from me. The whole arc gets a B as well. If you're picking up Civil War, read this arc by getting the back issues or wait for the trade, it is a good story and worth your time, unlike Clor.

Infinite Revisions

I just recieved the Infinite Crisis hardcover. It's awesome; it's gorgeous. It's also "finished". One of the complaints people had about Infinite Crisis was that the pencil/inking work seemed rushed, particularly in the later issues. In issue 7, in fact, the huge battle in Metropolis seemed only half-colored, as many figures not in the immediate foreground were just covered in a red wash. At the time, DC announced that they sent this version to press so that it would make it to stands in time, but they would include the finished art in the collected release. The new version of that battle features all of the figures colored, and looks truly incredible.

However.

I'm not thrilled with what they did with the end of the book. In the end of issue 7, a 2-page splash featured the characters who would figure in to the new DCU. It was a great panel, raising as many questions as it answered.

But they've completely replaced that spread with a new one in the new hardcover:

Personally, I don't like it. It's too full, and it's obviously been revised to reflect what's going on in the DCU right now, instead of what they had planned to go on over the course of the year. I'm struck by the fact that the original isn't included, even in the book's addenda, or that it isn't even noted that this is a complete redo instead of a 'finishing'.

What do you think?

Ultimate X-men # 75 Review

This Review Was Submitted by Spider-ben:

“Cable” Part 1
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Ben Oliver
Cover: Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald

Ultimate X-Men is celebrating its 75th issue, and Cable decides to drop by for the celebration. This anniversary issue picks up shortly after the events of Ultimate X-Men annual #2. All the X-Men seem to be bummed out or pissed off about something or another.

Jean isn’t too thrilled about celebrating her 20th birthday under constant surveillance from the professor. Quicksilver drops by to give Xaiver some kind of bracelet that will help keep Jean in check in case her new Phoenix powers reemerge and threaten the team. Rogue is super ticked about her powers returning and really gives Bobby some serious crap over a video game. (Lack of nookie will do that to a person) Kitty appears bummed out, probably because her boyfriend Spidey hasn’t been around much lately. She should back off though; he’s got plenty of problems thanks to the Clone Saga running throughout his title. Wolverine and Storm seem to be doing fine though, working out in a danger room simulation fighting off virtual reality Loki and friends in a nasty looking VR Spar. Kudos to Ben Oliver keeping the designs the villains are sporting over in Ultimates 2.

Professor Xaiver talks to Jean about wearing the braclet, and Kitty really wants to talk with the professor but can’t find him. When Xaiver goes to check on Kurt (who is nutty as a loon thanks to the annual), he is surprised to see a mysterious figure emerge out of a time portal. Cable has arrived, and quickly uses little discs to disrupt the professor’s powers. Kitty shows up and Cable stabs her with some device, and tells her not to remove it or else she will bleed to death. The rest of the team arrives, and Cable quickly takes the merry mutants down. When Wolverine shows up the two soldiers throw down. Cable uses a device to make Storms powers backfire, which pisses Wolvie off. Suddenly, he is shocked to look down at his chest. Cable has popped 3 claws and cut him, telling Wolverine that he doesn’t use his claws on just anyone. We are left with the revelation that Ultimate Cable is really a futuristic version of Logan himself!

Thoughts/Comments:
Very cool ending, didn’t see that one coming. I’m glad that Ultimate Cable isn’t like his regular marvel universe counterpart. At first I was worried because his look and attitude seemed like a carbon copy of regular Cable. It’s kind of cliché having the big revelation and character have some tie to Wolverine (or in this case be a different version of Wolverine) but I’m anxious to see what Kirkman has in mind. There is a back up story by Sean McKeever and Mark Brooks about Emma Frost and her students, but it really was dull and boring IMO. I liked the first part of Cable, but I don’t like Ben Oliver. The guy’s artwork just doesn’t do it for me. Still, the Mike Turner cover was awesome and I really enjoyed the story. I give this one a B-, the story was really cool and has my attention but bad art and a lackluster back up story just didn’t cut it for me.

Ghost Rider Trailer

On the Ghost Rider official movie website they have posted a new trailer. After watching it, I came to the conclusion that trailers almost make me want to see every movie that is previewed, almost. And I'm still worry about the future of comic based movies. I'm all for showing my Johnny Blaze love, but Ghost Rider is a real tricky property. I can't imagine the character having the following that X-men or Superman have. It might do as good as Blade if the Cage fans and Harley crowd goes out to watch it.

Detective Comics # 824

This Review Was Submitted by Knightwingbk:

Writer: Paul Dini
Artists: Don Kramer & Wayne Faucher

Please oh Please let Don Kramer stay on this book for good! At first, I was iffy on his art in the "Face the Face" arc, but now I am loving him! His Batman always looks strong and smart, like there is always a trick up his sleeve. Not to mention his Bruce Wayne is full of pomp, arrogance, and a hint of Batman too.

Like last issue, this is not a true-blue detective story, just a bit of a mystery concerning the Penguin and his new Iceberg lounge. Dini is using a lot of Bruce Wayne in his run. His first issue and this one as well, Bruce Wayne is playing the detective, with Batman carrying out the punishment. Penguin has returned to Gotham, and like the Riddler, is going legit. He has re-opened the Iceberg Lounge as a restaurant and casino, with merchandising! His big plan is to open different Iceberg Lounges in different cities. At the grand opening, someone threatens to wipe the Penguin out via gambling, and Batman decides to stop it. Dini has said that these are stand alone issues, and they are, but I think the overall theme of his run will be with these villains going legit. Penguin, the Riddler, who will be going legit next? Dini is definitely building on something, so stay on for the long run to see how it plays out. Hopefully, he will be on for a long long time. B+

Nightwing # 125 Review

This Review Was Submitted by Knightwingbk:

Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artist: Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund

This issues cover features Nightwing jumping off a bridge, after reading the last 5 issues of this title; I wanted to do that too. Alas, this issue on Nightwing saves the book from the chopping block. It's not spectacular, but it’s not Bruce Jones either. Marv Wolfman has Dick starting over, yet again. He still lives in the same building as Bruce Jones had him in, but his supporting cast is all new. This time, its two-girls! Aside from that, Dick is searching for a new job. Dick Grayson Taxi driver? Not for long! All this is interesting, but the main story has Nightwing following a new is-he/isn't-he costumed villain, the Raptor. He's framed for murder and Nightwing is following him only to doubt whether he killed anyone or not.

The art, by Dan Jurgens is good, but looking at it next to other books, it just feels dated. I recently read the Superman/Doomsday trade, and enjoyed his art in that a lot more than in this issue. This issue doesn't feel rushed, it's just that the quality is down from other things I've seen him do. I'm wondering how this book would've read with a different artist, and whether that would've been a better read. All in all, there is nothing truly fantastic in this story YET, but it is such an upswing from the last couple of issues, it is worth checking out if you dropped Nightwing during the Jones run. B.

Action Comics # 843

This Review Was Submitted by Knightwingbk:

Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Artist: Pete Woods

Well, after two fun issues of this storyline, this issue was less than impressive. Turns out, the dampening field that had taken away our heroes' powers in the alien ship, was just psychological, making last issue feel entirely worthless, as the plot of that one was to stop the power-damper. The rest of the issue is solid, although the way that the Auctioneer is beaten seems like the easy way out, but when you think about the character, it makes sense. The issue ends with a couple of hints as to what Johns and Donner will be doing in their run, as we see Superman settle down to a nice meal with Lois.

I'm going to miss Pete Woods on Superman. After 7 months of Pete Woods doing Superman, I really fell in love with his style, his expressions, and characterizations. Although I know that Kubert will do as good, if not a better job on this book next month. C+.

Picture of the Week!

Another great find by Joshiebear!

Havoc variant?

There seems to be a Marvel Legends Giant Man series Havoc variant over seas. He is wearing his current costume designed by Salvador Larroca. You can click here to go to a place that is selling the figure. There is no word wether Toy Biz plans on releasing the figure here in the states.

More than Meets The Eye Again

The first wave of the Transformers Classics line has been out for a week or two now. When I first heard about these figures from Dan, I wasn't interested. Even after looking at pictures of them on websites I still said no. But after attending Botcon and seeing them first hand. I must buy them all! Even Megatron is a gun again (granted a very colorful gun, but a gun none the less)! You can click here for more images and information.

Beast Wars: The Gathering TPB Review

Author: Simon Furman
Artist: Don Figueroa
Colors: Josh Burcham

Besides spending too much money on Transformer figures (catching up on my Alternators was a big chunk of change) I had to pick up some comics too. We had both Simon Furman and Don Figueroa in the same room with a small crowd. So after meeting Peter Cullen, I followed in Dan's footsteps and bought a Beast Wars trade to get signed by the legendary Simon Furman and the fantastic artist Don Figueroa (gee I wonder how this review will end up if I'm already praising the creative team in the first paragraph?)

However, by the time I was finished with Peter Cullen; both of the creators were gone to a panel. But all was not lost, because I ended up with a pretty damn good book. This book is a fanboys wet dream come true! Well, a Beast Wars fanboy, but more of a toy fanboy. It is one giant toy commercial for the figures that did not see light of the show.

Looking back at Generation 1, it was easy to stick a character in here and there between frames of animation. CG is a bit more expensive so the show just focused on a small group of characters. This book however, has every single character that was made into a toy and was never plugged into the show. Specifically characters that appeared in the Japanese anime of Beast Wars 2 and Beast Wars Neo. However, the shows were taken out of continuity so Furman could tie this book to the original Beast Wars series. Everyone from Razorbeast, Drill Bit, Magmatron, Torca, Transquito, Polar Claw, and Lio Convoy to fan favorites such as: Ravage, DepthCharge, and even Grimlock!

Furman goes back to his Generation One formula: Take rarely used characters and make them shine! So how is this Beast Wars taking place at the same time the original Beast Wars takes place? Simple. Chronal displacement. Sure that formula has been used in the past, but it really works in this book. What I said before about this story being a huge toy commercial is only partially true. There is an actual solid story here that will make you go back and buy a Razorbeast figure (okay, at least I did).

Magmatron is definitely not your typical Megatron, no God complex here, just your standard perfect general serving the wrong purpose. There is so much tying this limited series to the show like the Tri-predacus council, the pods, Ravage, and Grimlock even mentioning he is part of Primal's Axalon crew. However, by the end of the series, the only question you will be asking yourself is: "That's it?" I have to admit some parts towards the end are a bit disappointing. Magmatron taken out by Razorbeast and never seeing Grimlock's Robot mode. Two small gripes, but hey they could always feature more of those in the next Limited series.

I was a little worried about Figueroa's take on the characters before I even read the book. After all I put Transformers: War Within up there as one of my favorite stories. I didn't know if he could do justice to these semi-organic beings. Let's just say he proves me way wrong! His artwork just keeps getting better and better; it's simply breathtaking. He really shines during the Cybertronian flashbacks and scenes. Of course the vibrant colors by Burcham help. A great introduction to new characters even if you are not familiar with the toy line. Again the only gripe being, there are almost too many characters to give each one of them the spotlight. A-

Amazing Spider-man # 535 Review

This Review Was Submitted by Toastydoc:
I have not yet weighed in on the Civil War yet, but this issue made the series for me. From the start, we have a half naked MJ waking up to the sounds of CSPAN. Peter is watching the news, putting together the puzzle pieces. The news report is comparing Halliburton to the sudden growth in value that Stark enterprises and Fantastic Four Inc. have had thanks to the registration act. You can see a real light bulb go of in Peters head as the report stated that Stark is now the richest man in the country. Peter goes to Tony who is suited up (all at 2:30 in the morning mind you) and drops a few not so subtle hints that Tony is War Profiteering. Peter insists on going to the detention center, and Tony reluctantly agrees. The two go see Reed who is wearing mole man glasses and operating a huge data server that looks like it is keeping the earth in orbit. He opens the portal to the detention center location, which we all know is in the Negative Zone. Peter does not like this. Of the flight, Tony remarks that Peter stopped making jokes. As Peter is about to comment, he sees the Matrix like complex with a train of blue busses headed in and out.

As the two land and bypass the security area, we get a nice nostalgic boost in the arm regarding the Security Passwords. Last weeks password was Adam West. We also find out that Tony’s last name is Edward. The Cells are made of Synthetic Vibranium, and the rooms are about the size of my college dorm rooms but with Virtual Reality environments. Still, the prisoners are still not happy, (gee, I wonder why). Peter asks if this is an Interim Solution, and Tony drops the ball. This Gulag is permanent. The two bump chests and get in each others face, Garney is really doing a good job building the tension. It ends with Tony dropping a very dickish hint that this could be Peter’s life, if he doesn't shut up and color. As they come back, Peter confronts Reed about the entire thing. Reed tells Peter a story about his Uncle, who was blacklisted during the Communist Witch Hunt back in the day. He blamed his uncle for not going along with it and naming names, but during his story, you can see the seeds starting to grow as guilt chokes up Reed, realizing that he may be making the wrong choice. Tony drags Peter away, and drops his back off at the Stark Tower. Peter sneaks into his house, avoiding the cameras and wakes up MJ and Aunt May. He tells them to get out, He made the wrong choice, and He is fighting for the wrong side. He bounces down the hall to meet up with Iron Man, who must not mind an insurance policy and crashed them through the wall.

A good read, beautiful art, and good dialog. You see Peter do what we have been expecting and flip flop, you see Reed stopping to think instead of just doing, and we see Tony, lose a bit more of Humanity and firmly step into the place of Joe McCarthy. I like seeing Reed stop acting and start thinking, and I can see the cogs lining up in his mind as he tells Peter about his Uncle. All in all, a solid A for having spidey do what we all wanted him to do, and doing it in a good, not contrived way.

Also, I figured out a few ways that Marvel can undo the Iron Man ad Richards are a Dick image they have going on: The Mutant Johnny Dee is running both sides of the show. He is controlling Reed, Tony, and Cap. What reason? To pay back humanity for the Mutant Registration Act, Punishing him even though he is not a mutant, the Freak is. This would explain why the three heroes are acting out of character. What better targets by the way? Who could be more influential then them?

Next podcast: Botcon!

Omar and I have decided to focus the next podcast on Botcon, the Transformers convention that happened last weekend. Did you go? We did. Do you have questions about the show, that only an attendee might be able to answer? You're in luck, because it was in our hometown!

Send your comments or questions for this episode to us at heroes at aboutheroes dot com.

Cashing in on the War!

Not the real war, but rather the big event at Marvel comics Civil War! I am however confused by these figures that are being released in October. These Resin figure dioramas claim to be based on Marvel's "Civil War" comic series. But I have no idea where that idea comes from. For one, the X-men are no where to be seen (I am not taking that X-men: Civil War seriously, not that I am the main title), let alone in their Jim Lee costumes. They each stand 7" tall and come with interlocking bases for head-to-head battle or when combined with Series 2 figures, form a massive circle of destruction! Each figure is limited production of 800-1,200 units per style worldwide. All were designed and sculpted by Digger of Art Asylum. The retail price for these puppies is $70 each! They are very anime influenced and actually look really good and the idea of interlocking bases is perfect for these, but come on Civil War Dioramas?!!! Who are you trying to fool? You can find more information at Popboxcollectibles .

About Heroes Episode 32

And you thought we had fun with it before - Chris from 2GuysBuyingComics and our buddy Trevor join us for a discussion of Civil War 4. (This episode also includes Omar, Melanie, Chris, Nick, Spider-Ben and myself - the audio on the opening music is a little high and washed out our intros.)

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 32

Picture of the Week!

Joshiebear strikes back! And so does a new picture of the week!