Another Reason for Omar to Hate Pat Lee

I know that this is only from a rumor column, but after hearing Omar comment about Pat Lee for 40-some episodes, it only seemed relevant that I post a link to this on here.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13

Scroll a little bit down to read "Another Pat Lee Story." Who knows where this dude gets his information from but, anything I've read on here usually turns out to be right. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Pat Lee's an ass, and I dropped Superman/Batman when he jumped on board. Yuck. After reading his butchering of Spider-Man in "The Other" storyline, I can't take another helping of his artwork. Here's hoping we see less of this hack from now on.

Superheroes and Philosophy Review

This Review was submitted by Bluejohn

Book Review: Superheroes and Philosophy
Like me, I’m sure everyone at this website has run into the question, “Why do you still read comics?” Sometimes it’s posed to understand you. Sometimes it’s asked to demean you. Still, it’s a good question. All of us, ranging in age, religion, gender, and race, have our own personal reasons, but sometimes what we say does not have the conviction of what we believe. We know in our hearts why, but it’s lost in translation to the world. Now, ladies and gentleman, I have found an answer for us. In the words of Marianne Williamson,

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And we let our light shine; we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

What does that mean for us? It means that comics inspire us to believe that it is worth shining in this world. That being a virtuous person, committed to doing what we can to save the world, is not an impossible task. That comics allow us to not be confined to thinking of what we have to do, but they allow us to explore the idea of what we truly are capable of. That superheroes may not be outgrown, but simply disregarded for the bleaker view the world forces us to take. As comic readers, we see through to the truth. Kinda scary. Very exciting.

Now, I won’t take credit for this answer. I did not develop it. I found it, in this book. And that’s only one concept I have gleaned from it. The book itself is a collection of essays from teachers of philosophy from around the nation with Mark Waid and Jeph Loeb thrown in for good measure. While each chapter stems from differing sources, the abundant knowledge is still cohesive. Some of my favorite talking points are:
Aristotle’s levels of friendship compared to the Bat family
Daredevil-How religion affects a man without fear
Who watches the Watchmen-An In-depth look at Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns
Gods above men-How we humans would deal with super powered individuals
The men in the gods- Why a hero should be moral

And trust me, I’m only naming a few, a small portion of what this book truly has to offer. If you have always wanted someone to go down a deep level of comic book understanding, not just why people love them, but how a world in the comics work, you have finally found you bible. Kevin Smith’s review of the book even states that “someone’s treating comic books with the gravity they deserve. If, as Socrates said, the unexamined life is not worth living, then make your life mean something by reading Superheroes and Philosophy.”

Just to be clear, I am not being paid to write this article. In fact, if the editors are reading this, I spent a whole pen marking my favorite sections. You owe me 20 cents.

Wolverine # 53 Review

Author: Jeph Loeb
Penciler: Simone Bianchi
Inks & Washed Halftones: Simone Bianchi and Andrea Silvestri

You figured with four issues you would get more answers than questions? Wrong! What is this Lost? We have been teased since the beginning that there will be a definite answer to Wolverine's relationship with Sabretooth. Instead of caring about the main focus of the story, I'm just wondering how the hell Wolverine knew how long the Roman Colosseum has been around?

At first I thought this was just another dumb fun book, but I really think Loeb is trying to tell a story here. I can usually stomach a Wolverine vs. Sabretooth fight, but these issues have been so damn dull that the only reason to even flip through the comic is the art. This concept might have worked 20 years ago, but the characters have so much history between them, it's hard to squeeze some more out of it. There are better Wolverine/Sabretooth stories out there and I don't think this particular one is going do redefine anything, because in the long run nothing else will be affected by this.

So far it's been 64 pages of scratching and clawing and lots of roaring (normally that would be hot, but these grown men). This issue, unlike the cover suggest, has no fight between Sabretooth and Wolverine, instead it focuses all on Wolverine trying to figure out who Romulus is and just the name alone bringing fear to Creed's face. Of course this is the first time Wolverine has ever seen that look on Creed's face (ohh man even if I wasn't a big fan of continuity in the x-books, I would still find that hard to swallow.)

Creed is locked up by Wakanda technology while Wolverine looks for beer. Hellz yeah! I miss the days of Wolverine's drunken adventures. Considering he has to drink like a case to get a small buzz going, I feel sorry for the King of Wakanda's fridge. Seems like a suped-up Wild Child helps Creed escape. So who comes to help Logan, Storm, and Black Panther find Sabretooth? Well shit...characters that have nothing to do with each other of course!!!! A team of Sasquatch, Wolfsbane, Thornn, and Feral come back to take Wolverine to the heart of Weapon X!!!

That's right! Sasquatch who was a retired superhero, until just recently, Wolfsbane who is busy solving crimes with X-factor, and of course the depowered sisters Thornn and Feral. Boy, House of M really impacted the Marvel Universe forever! We are taking Wolverine back where every writer takes Wolverine when they think they can do better than Barry Windsor Smith and Larry Hama! Back to Weapon X! Let's go shit on that wonderful story one more time! Hell this time we might find out that Weapon X wasn't really the letter X, but the Roman numeral 10!!! Wouldn't that just make your nuts shrink!!!? Ohh wait....anyway what the fuck are Thornn and Feral doing being mutants again? Or for that matter out of jail? Why is Kyle not bald and looking like Nosferatu? I seriously doubt Frank Tieri's Weapon X series will be touched by Loeb.

Enough about the boring ass nonsense that Loeb is getting a check for; onto the art. Bianchi's sequential artwork is amazing, while sometimes his faces are a little off. The fluid movement between panels more than makes up for those few occurrences. For example, just look at that cover. What the hell happen to Wolverine's and Sabretooth’s faces? Did they get hit by a semi? I do not recommend this book in any way, unless you are a fan of the art. Save your money and go buy some Wolverine essentials! D+

Fallen Son #2 : Avengers

Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artists: Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines

Well, so much for this weekly series. It was supposed to be weekly or bi-weekly right? Well, I'm throwing my expectations for on-time out the window for now on. Thank you Jeph Loeb for rushed ideas! Moving on, this issue focuses on the stage of grief of "Anger." The Mighty Avengers take their anger out the villain Tiger Shark, while the New Avengers take it out on each other. This book didn't do a whole lot for me, the New Avengers just seemed too sad to really be angry. If you're angry, then why do you invite Ben Grimm to come over and set up a poker game? I know that Ben holds poker games in the Marvel Universe, but are you really that upset that you're going to give away your "secret" hideout to a registered hero, regardless of who it is? Luke Cage can't go out and buy a pack of cards for you? Just send out Jessica Drew, no one knows who she is, and they'd be too distracted by her boobs and pheramones to remember her ever being anywhere. This cover insinuates a battle between the two teams, but nothing like that happens here.

Ed McGuinness does the art here, and I was so in love with his DC stuff that I find myself seeing DC characters in this book. Ms. Marvel is clearly Wonder Woman with Blond Hair, Iron Fist is Batman, and Luke Cage and Sentry are Superman. It's just jarring to see the faces and musculature from in different costumes. The only persons trully different are Spider-Man and Ben Grimm, just because one is made out of rock, and the other is supposed to be skinny. Honestly, this book doesn't do much to further the Dead Captain America storyline, and is perfectly skippable if you're short on cash. Next issue is Captain America with John Romita Jr. so that may turn out okay. D+/C-

Double Shot Wonder Woman #8 & Amazons Attack #1

Wonder Woman #8
Writer: Jodi Picoult
Artists: Terry & Rachel Dodson

Amazons Attack #1
Writer: Will Pfeifer
Artist: Pete Woods

I'm including both of these books in one review because they kind of run together. Wonder Woman has been mediocre since Jodi Picoult took over. She's not really blowing me away, and it's not until this issue that she starts to set up Amazons Attack. Last issue in Wonder Woman, Diana was captured, the government wants the "Purple Death Ray" the worst name for a weapon ever, and they are holding her captive until she gives up the information. Meanwhile, Circe, who's being used again and again in this book, is the villain setting up the war to meet some of her needs. The Dodsons return this issue, and are kind of aping Drew Johnson's work, or it could be that the darker tone that Picoult is writing. Wonder Woman sees Washington DC being attacked at the end of the issue, but not a whole lot of the fighting, for that you have to read Amazons Attack. Wonder Woman, is just treading water right now waiting for Gail Simone. C-

Amazons Attack was a much stronger issue than Wonder Woman. The Amazons come out of nowhere and start going apeshit. Some Amazons kill a man and his young boy for no good reason at the Lincoln memorial, and then take of Abe's stone head! Ouch! These ladies mean business! The president is attacked, and saved by Black Lightning, who calls the rest of the JLA for back-up. The rest of the issue is the Amazon Leader, who was introduced in Wonder Woman #8 and not this issue, goad the Amazons into anger and go nuts. Not bad for a first issue, but not that great as well. The best part about this issue was the Pete Woods art. He's done Batman, Superman, and now he's moving up. I'm a new Pete Woods fan since he did the "Up Up and Away" storyline One Year Later, and I'm still loving his style here. I think he's a good choice for this mini-series as he can draw strong, hot women, as well as strong, imposing men. All of his characters look different, and he proves his strength as an artist here by drawing all of the Chimeras, Pegasuses, Trolls, and F-14's very well. He's also given the Amazon warriors a few different degrees of armor, showing the different ranks and such, and a lot of them are variations on the Wonder Woman battle armor. This is cool because we see where Wonder Woman gets her wacky get-ups. C'mon, the Woman doesn't wear pants or sleeves, who does that? At least Black Canary has a jacket on most of the time. Anyway. It's not a bad start to a series that could turn out ok. They haven't explained where they Amazons came from yet, but I'm sure that's coming. My only problem is that the back of the issue points you to read Wonder Woman #9 next rather than Amazons Attack #2, proving that Wonder Woman's arc is not an ancilliary story. If you're interested, pick it up in the shop and give it a look, we'll see where it goes from here. C+

Blue Beetle #14

Writer: John Rogers
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque

Another enjoyable issue of Blue Beetle. Suprise Suprise. Guy Gardner comes back into Jaime's life and after a short confrontation, Guy tries to school Blue Beelte in being a hero, and how cool he is, because in Guy's mind, he's the best there is at what he does. Er, wrong company. Anyway, Jaime tells Guy about the Reach being on Earth and hiding their secret installations with phase shift similar to Brother Eye was doing. After a brief battle with the Ultra-Humanite, Guy and Jaime go back to Jaime's house for some burgers. Guy actually stops being a jerk here, and gives Jaime a book on strategy that Ted Kord gave him a long time ago. He tells Jaime that he needs to "Stop thinking like some scared kid with fancy armor, and start thinking like the Blue Beetle." This is as much passing of the torch as Jaime will get, unless he meets Booster Gold soon. Rogers writes really well, as usual. The character moments between Jaime and Guy are great, as well as Guy and Jaime's mother. Is the woman going to intimidate Batman next? She means business! Alburquerque turns in some great art as usual, and on time as well! This book continues to be a solid read each and every month that I'm running out of things to say about it. The only place it can go is down, and it's not like Flash that can only go up after it's terrible first arc. It's not the best issue of the series, that would be #7, but it's one of the stronger ones, tying up themes from the first issue. B-

About Heroes Episode 52

It's a good week to be a fan of DC Comics.

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 52

Pic(s) of the Week!

Sorry sorry, I didn't give ya one last week, so I'll give ya two this week! Superman can't help but see Lois' face everywhere he goes. D'awwww, that's cute.

Ahhh, a Trip down memory lane. Godzilla plays some street-ball with Sir Charles. What's really funny is not only do I remember having this comic, it had the FUCKING HAT!!!!! My dad worked at Nike and knew I liked Godzilla so he got it for me, and when I saw the comic, I had to pick it up.

Only ONE Walks Away!!

WOLVERINE #55

Written by JEPH LOEB
Pencils and Cover by SIMONE BIANCHI
It’s time for the final round in Wolverine’s decades-long grudge match with Sabretooth, courtesy of superstars Jeph Loeb (Batman: Hush) and Young Guns reloaded artist Simone Bianchi -- and this time only one of them is walking away. Get ready for one of the most eye-popping endings in recent Marvel history, True Believer!

Yeah....right....how much you wanna bet, nobody stays dead, nobody is really defeated and they have the same damn fight at least 2 times again before the year is over.

Ultimate Spider-Man # 106-108 Review

This Review was submitted by Spider-ben
Ultimate Spider-Man #106-108
“Ultimate Knights” Parts 1-3
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Mark Bagley

Bagley’s last arc on Ultimate Spidey starts here. While I’m sad as can be to see him go, he sure is going out with a bang. The story starts off with MJ and Peter back together and completely happy. Aunt May still wants to have a heart to heart with Peter, but he insists it wait until she is out of the hospital. Peter takes MJ to the Fantastic Four to run some follow up tests, making sure she is alright from being injected with the OZ formula during the clone saga.

Everything turns out fine, and Peter and MJ return to Midtown High to be approached by Matt Murdock. Murdock quickly let Peter in on the fact that he is Daredevil, and tells the hero to meet him at 8:00 that evening on a certain rooftop. Peter is pissed about Murdock showing up at the school, but interested by what Murdock has in mind.

In the student school network class, Ultimate Jessica Jones is revealed as a senior in charge of the news network for the school. She encourages a bunch of students to sign up for the class, citing it looks good on a high school transcript. Peter is still kind of in shock after everything that has happened recently, when Kitty Pryde shows up as the new student at Midtown High School. Peter still hasn’t broken up with her, and things just get worse. Kong totally wants to date Kitty, while Liz continues to be a mutant racist bitch and makes Kitty feel super unwanted. It gets to be too much, and Kitty phases out the building and heads for the bleachers by the football field. Peter and MJ go outside, and Peter realizes he must talk to Kitty. An argument breaks out almost instantly, and Kitty really made some good points. She claims that the X-Men were off to help during the clone saga arc, and she tells Peter how she told Xavier off for not using his mental powers to make Aunt May forget Peter is Spidey. By doing so, she was kicked out of the Xavier institute.

Peter is shocked that she would do something so nice, and feels even worse. Plus, Peter talks about how MJ almost died and how he has made some mistakes lately (big mistake saying that Pete!) and Kitty just blows up. I can’t blame her though “Oh please tell me I’m the mistake!” is Kitty’s response. Kitty, in tears, goes off with nothing left to say and only feels all the hurt and pain that ended relationships bring about. I really felt this scene, but I’ll mention why in my thoughts section of the review.

Meanwhile, the Kingpin is auditioning for a new assassin. The new assassin is brought in, and Kingpin tells him to kill the man standing next to him. The assassin doesn’t, and Kingpin’s men attack. The killer is revealed to be Shang-Chi, master of Kung Fu. He barely makes it away from the Kingpin’s men, when Daredevil makes him an offer similar to the one he told Peter about. That night, Peter dons the costume and goes to Daredevil’s meeting. He is shocked to see a clan of heroes assembled on the rooftop. They are the Ultimate Knights, consisting of: DD, Shang-Chi, Moon Knight, Iron Fist, Dr. Strange, and now Spidey.

They tell Spidey that they are going to kill the Kingpin once and for all. Spidey states he will help them lock Kingpin up for good, but won’t condone killing the man. The Knights claim that there is no other option, and Spidey basically gets up in DD’s face and tells him he won’t allow this. As the hero swings off, the heroes realize they need someone to infiltrate the Kingpin’s ranks before they plan their attack. Moon Knight volunteers, seeing as how he has many identities going on in his head already. The Knights agree, and thigns seem to be shaping up. Cut to the Kingpin’s lair later on. Fisk and one of his men are told the Knights plan down to Moon Knight infiltrating his ranks as a new assassin. Kingpin is pleased with the news, and fans learn Iron Fist has betrayed the Knights. That bastard!

The next day at school, MJ reports on the controversy surrounding Spider-Man attending Midtown High. MJ interviews Flash Thompson, recently believed to be Spidey when kidnapped by Silver Sable and her crew. Then she interviews the principal, who states he doubts that any of his faculty is Spidey, but he hopes one of the students is. He goes on to explain what a hero Spidey is, and how it would be an honor if he had attended the school as long as the fisticuffs are not taking place on school grounds. (A little to late for that pal, see Green Goblin and Venom arcs to name a few school showdowns!) Peter feels like MJ used him to get into the reporting club, but she claims he owes her after all the times she has been kidnapped and threated for being Spidey’s girl. Meanwhile, Kitty is walking the halls, looks at Pete and MJ, and rushes off, still heartbroken. Poor Kitty, I really feel for her. Later, Kingpin meets Ronin, his new assassin for hire. Kingpin knows this is Moon Knight, but continues the charade of not knowing this info. Ronin takes out the Kingpin’s men to show off his skills, and Fisk orders him to find Spider-Man and bring him to the big man himself. Inside Moon Knight’s head, all his personalities argue over this not being a good idea. Hell, even one of his identities is a little girl.

Moon Knight is one messed up guy! Back at the school, Ultimate Ronin attacks, crashing a bus into the school. Then he starts shooting in the air, ordering for Spidey to show up. Kitty takes him on, claiming she has needed something to hit for about a week. Kitty does well, but after all she was trained by Wolverine. Finally, Ronin gets the upper hand and Kitty falls before him. Spidey shows up on the scene after helping his friends get away, and totally wails on Ronin for putting kids in risk. Our hero does good, but Ronin pulls a nasty trick and knocks Spidey out cold. Using his web shooters, Ronin escapes with Spidey unconscious, while MJ watches in horror. At Kingpin’s tower, Ronin delivers Spider-Man to the big man himself.

Thoughts/Comments:
Very very nice! Bendis is keeping the action flowing, and he just totally nails how terrible a relationship can be when ended. Bagley is simply amazing; I loved part two showing all the Knights meeting on the rooftop. Speaking of Bags, I think his design for Ultimate Ronin rocks! Sure, it’s pretty similar to regular Ronin, but Bagley just really adds to the design and mystery of the character. Kind of a bummer with Jessica Jones just being a regular senior in high school, hopefully Bendis has more plans. The big thing that hit me is how bad I feel for Kitty. Sure, I wanted and always will want Peter and MJ together.

It’s just mean to be. But when Kitty heard from Peter about all the mistakes he had made, it just totally clicked in my head. My first love back in high school, the girl I miss even to this day, almost told me the same thing when she dumped me. She claimed she had made some mistakes lately, hiding no doubt that I was one of them. To think I poured my heart and soul out to this girl only to be told one day that I was some sort of mistake just still haunts me to this day. So when Peter said that, I just got cold chills. It’s like Bendis was watching me back in high school or something and new just what to say to end the Kitty and Peter story. So yeah, I totally feel for Kitty. I know just how terrible she feels and I really wish I could go into the comic and make her feel better since I’ve been there. So rock on Bendis, you nailed some kick ass story telling, and really got my emotions going. All in all, a solid A+. Sad to say in two issues, these reviews will get shorter and have lower grades and you all know why. If you don’t, let’s just say I am not going to be happy with the new art direction in a few months. I’ll leave the ranting about that for later though.

Joshiebear's Spider-Man 3 Review

Well, my first official post! I feel like I’ve been officially ‘cousined’ into the Aboutheroes family! Woo! I have posting abilities! Aaaaanyway, I was fortunate enough to get into a press screening for Spider-Man 3 on April 18. It’s really hard to do this, in all honesty, but I must in order to try and help you through the trials and tribulations coming your way in two short weeks.

To start, I’ll just say that I was super excited to see this movie. I knew in my heart like 2 years ago that this would be the movie where my favorite comic character (Venom) would debut. As of Comicon 06, my hopes and dreams came true. We were gonna have a movie with Venom. Time passed and soon they released the trailer for the movie, and I dropped my nerdsticle (the equivalent of coming into true nerdhood in nerd terminology, much like having a first crush when you’re a teenager). Then we saw some Venom footage here and there and the hype started and I bought the slurpee cup and before I knew it, I was caught up in the whirlwind of Spidey 3 mania. This is a dangerous place for any movie. I encourage you to do the following whenever you find yourself in a situation like I have. If ever you find yourself in a spot where the movie you’re about to see is something you’re dead certain you’re gonna love, please stop and imagine what it would be like if it sucked complete ass, just so that if it ever actually does happen, you’re prepared. As you might have guessed by now, this happened with me. This movie was, in a word, disappointing. It was a bit of a rollercoaster, with a lot of ups and downs until about 75% of the way through, when finally, the movie lost me. But I’m getting ahead of myself already. Let me just do a brief over view and then we can get into the nitty gritty gripes ‘o’ mine.

The movie starts with Spidey on top of the world. Everyone in New York loves him, including MJ, who he plans on proposing to in the near future. The only thing going against Peter in the beginning of the movie is the fact that Harry is pissed and crazing up on the Goblin-Juice. Well any Spidey fan worth his weight in protective boards knows that if Spidey’s loving life, he’s about to get the rug pulled out from underneath him and fall into a pit of angsty self-loathing shit. The only thing is, usually it’s because some outside influence dicks with his life, not himself just being a complete fucktard. Forgive me if I’m a little vague in this review, but I want to make it as spoiler-free as possible, with only a few examples of the depravity this movie displays just to give you an idea of what you’re in store for. Sandman gets thrown into the mix as well, but honestly, aside from some weird movie-verse retconning of the uncle Ben death-story, it’s of no importance. Really, this movie was a complete clusterfuck. I’ll give you the break-down of what happened. Sam Raimi said “Yeah, I wanna do Spidey 3, and I wanna have Sandman be the villain!” and fans RAVED that they wanted Venom, so he met them halfway by having both and wrapping up the Peter / Harry relationship.

Each story (Sandman aside, in my own humble opinion) is a complete story in and of itself, but they decided to dice them all up and make them one big story. There’s Sandman, who’s made into a villain with a heart of gold, Harry, who’s spends half his screen-time literally acting like he’s mentally challenged, but still, the meat of the story lies with Harry on this venture. And finally, at the end of the movie, Sam Raimi effectively walks on screen and pulls Venom right out of his ass-hole, smiles at the audience, and mouths the words “I hope you’re all happy.” Eddie Brock is a douchebag paparazzi who gets what’s coming to him here and there, but never really has any reason to get homicidal, but does anyway. The Venom / Sandman team-up (you knew it would happen, don’t call spoiler on me about that) is retarded. I hoped it would fall along the lines of ‘Hey, I see you’re beating the crap out of Spider-Man! I hate Spider-Man! I’ll help!’ Sadly, it falls under the lame, tired, age-old villain team-up that was more along the lines of ‘Hey, I’ve been looking for you. Let’s beat up Spidey’ followed by an ‘Ok.’ LAAAAAAME. All the while, Parker is being an Emo Dickface. The costume makes him do some CRAAAAAZY shit, and I’m not talking almost killing Firelord here, I’m talking Song and Dance sequence all while being an insane asshole and blowing up Harry’s face (that part’s in the trailers, so it doesn’t count as a spoiler), I shit thee not. There’s a ton of other moments where Pete’s acting ‘out of character’ because of the black costume, but goddamn if it didn’t just make me want to scratch my eyes out. There’s a difference between a guy being a little more impulsive / violent than he usually is, and the same guy being a complete inconsiderate asshole acting like he’s a fucking pimp straight out of a 70’s blacksploitation movie with a 50’s ‘cool guy’ personality twist and awful emo hair to top it off.

The whole movie felt like a disjointed limb that kinda fell off the previous Spidey Movies, that had all the same genetic properties of it’s host, but a weird personality disorder / autism thing going on. Suffice to say, plot-wise, this thing is a motherfucking Frankenstein with bits and pieces here and there where you know where the stories begin and end, but it feels like there’s a lot of vital organs left out of the thing, and maybe a few animal parts mixed in just to try and thicken it up a bit. I tell you all of this with two hopes in my mind. One, I want to prepare you for what I think will be a disappointment for just about any Spidey fans out there, and I want to lower your expectations a lot in an attempt to get you more tuned to the type of movie you’re going to see instead of expecting another movie of the same caliber of the first two films.

Here’s the part where after giving you the bad news (and for me, there’s a lot), I give you the good news as a consolation prize. The movie has sweet action sequences. The special effects are pretty stellar and they helped carry the movie a lot farther than it should have gone. Venom looks freaking amazing. Sandman (especially the scene where he first realizes he’s made of sand) is stunning, and the Glider action is excellent. The web-slinging is like it always was, fun. My advice to you is to bite your lip through the sillyness of the story and just fill up as much as you can on the action scenes and special effects. Sorry to kill any dreams you might have had, but this movie falls short of it’s predecessors. It’s still worth seeing though, if you’re anything like me. Just prepare yourself and walk in with low expectations. Unless you're Spider-Ben, in which case, nothing I say or do will stop you from drooling all over this movie. The rest of you might want to do what I did and run home and dive into your Ultimate Spider-Man bins to make you feel better.

In summary, all you need to know are the following words / phrases: Emo hair. Song and Dance sequence. 3 plots mashed up in one. Cool action scenes and special effects. Douchebag. Butthole. Sorry. C-

Flash #11

Writer: Marc "Save this Book from Hell" Guggenheim
Artists: Tony Daniel and Art Thibert

DC should renumber this book and call this issue #3 instead of #11. Wipe that mess away, and let this be the beginning of the Flash book. Guggenheim has a good handle on the character of Bart and his motivations, and writes a damn good Flash issue. This issue and the last really blew me away with how much this book has turned around. Guggenheim is setting Bart up with some major trials, and I'm looking forward to where this will lead. The Rogues are gathering, with the help of Inertia, and it's going to be big. We find out why Bart's Grandmother and Zoom are around, and the why the cops are after Bart. Something big happens, and Bart is forced to take action or let people die, leaving up to a great cliffhanger splash by Daniel.

Tony Daniel is a little stiff coming off of Teen Titans, but it may be the inking. On Titans, his inker used Daniel's pencil shading to great extent, leaving it in and letting the characters look a little rough edged. It added some depth and dimension here and there and was a great effect. Art Thibert does the exact opposite here, cleaning up the pencil shading turning it into solid lines and blacks stripping away the depth from Daniel's art and exposing his weaknesses. That's not a knock against the book, it's just that it will take a little time for Daniel and Thibert to click, as obviously, thier outlooks on inking are very different. The outlook for this book is good with Guggenheim and Daniel behind the wheel, so give this book another try. B+

Mighty Avengers #2

Writer: Brian Micheal Bendis
Artist: Frank Cho

I didn't like last issue, but I did this one. The thought balloons in this issue were not just "UGHS" and "OH'S", but I still say I don't need to know who Iron Man wants to bang, or why men should not get married. Moving on, this issue finishes of the roll call spreads, so we see each member of the team get recruited in a day. Wow, that must be a record for Bendis and the Avengers. We get back to the female Ultron, and not much else happens. Janet figures out it is Ultron at the end of the issue, and we move on. Anything else that happens are the recruiting flashbacks and character moments that show Ms. Marvel as an inexperienced leader. She's learning, and the thought balloons are what show her vulnerability in this issue. Frank Cho is doing a good job here. He tends to favor some two-page panel laden spreads, which give this book a "widescreen feel." It worked last issue, but nothing happens here to merit it. Giving yourself room to draw big boobs and thighs is not good a good page layout I'm sorry. Ms. Marvel, with her thunder thighs, looks like the wrestler Chyna if she was a woman, and since when did Janet Pym have boobs as big as her head? One would think that with all the shrinking she does, that they would still just get in the way, but if that's how Frank Cho wants to draw them, fine, I'll deal. I like a little variety in my comic book women, Frank Cho doesn't. There are still a couple of ass-shots here and there, but not as gratuitous as last issue. The more I write about it, the more I find that there was less to like about it than I originally thought. C+

Brave and the Bold #3

Writer: Mark Waid
Artists: George Perez and Bob Waicek

This issue was a lot of fun. It also had Blue Beetle in it, upping the fun factor. The best part about this issue was realizing that Mark Waid has actually read the new Blue Beelte series. He writes Jaime as the young, insecure, untrained, and awkward hero he is. He incorporates a lot of the character traits and even the La Dama villain from the Blue Beetle series into this issue. Waid's not just swapping off characters every issue, he's using them to their fullest extent whenever possible. Plus, Jaime's interaction with Batman are phenominal. He keeps asking Batman questions, responding with "yessir," and telling Batman that he is intimidated by him. Pre-IC, Batman would have responded coldly, but with our new friendly Batman, Bruce guides Jaime just as he would Dick or Tim in the situation. This shows Batman's skills as a mentor, and why Dick and Tim are shaping up to be great heroes in the DCU. If Jaime didn't live in El Paso, he should move to Gotham, just to be tutored by Batman. The Fatal Five show up and have to fight Batman and Jaime. Normally I would say, never in a million years would Jaime and Batman win, but with the intervention of the probabilty altering Haruspex, I was okay that they won, though Batman has some issues at the end. Another great thing about this series is that each issue is not just a random pairing, there is a reason for them, and they are all set up in the previous issue. Batman met up with Jaime last issue, and Supergirl meets up with Lobo here, setting up next issue. I'm enjoying this series as a whole, but this issue, as well as the first were the best so far. That's probably because of Batman's appearences in them anyway.

George Perez is doing a wonderful job. Unlike some other artists whose art has ages with the new computer coloring (see Dan Jurgens in Nightwing) Perez is still full of life and doing some of his best work in years. Perez nails Blue Beetle, and proves he can draw an intimidating Batman. I think a lot of the vibrancy in Perez's art comes from Bob Wiacek's inks and the colors by Tom Smith. Nothing feels out of place, and the Smith's colors don't overpower Perez's artwork. He knows that multilayered glows don't look that well on Perez's art, and keeps it simple in some places, and goes all out in others. The book looks damn good because of this. I was reading this in the car, and my girlfriend noticed it out of the corner of her eye and went "Ooh pretty colors!" My girlfriend's not that ditzy, but it's a rarity that she ever notices the comic I am reading. Here's hoping the Brave and the Bold can keep up some great stories and art from Waid and Perez. If they can manage it, then this will be a book to be looked back upon. A

Nightwing Annual #2

Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artists: Joe Bennet and Jack Jadson

Well, this was a suprise. A good, well written Annual that pretty much finishes the Dick and Barbara engagement storyline. We see Dick propose, get hurt in Infinite Crisis, how he was healed so damn fast, and then left on his trip with Bruce and Tim. This Annual takes place in between all those moments, mostly Dick recovering from his injury to go on the cruise. You see, there is something wrong with IC and 52's timeline concerning Batman. I'm not entirely convinced they in 52 week 1, more like week 6, 7, or 8. Dick has injuries that ruined his muscle and nerve timing, so he has to retrain with Barbara as his cheerleader to get back up to speed. During this time, we see Dick and Barbara work out their relationship issues, and rebuild what they had lost. They reminisce some major times in their relationship, outlining for new readers, and revisiting it for long-time readers. It has a lot of sweet moments, and some funny ones as well (See the scene with Dick and Babs stuck in a small safe together, for some reason, Dick can't stand up straight in front of Batman when he gets out). Andreyko handles the teen angst and lust very well in this issue, as well as the post-teenager maturity that comes without warning. The resolution to the proposal, that there is no current engagement, feels like a logical conclusion after reading this issue and ties in nicely with what Marv Wolfman is currently doing in Nightwing, find Dick Grayson. Dick has been serving everyone else his entire life, and never once thought of himself. He goes on the cruise not only to help re-build Batman, but to re-build Dick Grayson. Barbara loves Dick, but doesn't know the real Dick, so she can't marry him until both of them know the real Dick Grayson. Some may find this cliche, but I think it plays nicely with what Batman is doing in 52. Both Dick and Bruce had become some really dark people before Infinite Crisis, they both needed help, but in different ways. If you're not reading Nightwing, or Birds of Prey, you can still pick up this annual to enjoy it. I think this is a great book to hook people on Nightwing, or the Dick and Barbara love story. Hell, I might even make my girlfriend read this issue, she might enjoy it. Anyway, Andreyko does a great job. Someone please put him on a book that doesn't get cancelled all the time.

Joe Bennett does the art here, and does a fantastic job. Barbara is hot, Dick looks as he should, and Batman is menacing. His best talent is drawing faces and expressions, so he is a great fit for this annual. Let's hope he gets another ongoing at DC too, I'd hate to lose him to Marvel. B+

World War Three Mini-Series

Writers: John Ostrander & Keith Champagne
Artists: Pat Oliffe, Jack Jadson, Andy Smith, Tom Derenick

Well, I'm more than a little dissapointed. I was told and read that all or most of WW3 would be in 52 Week 50. That account was wrong, only the last 2 days of the War were included. I understand the reason behind this (to explain the difficulty and the ending with Black Adam), and 52 was the best comic of WW3, but I'm still dissapointed. I bought all four of these issues thinking that they would be more character pieces, explaining the OYL changes with the backdrop of WW3. What I got was a 4 issue mini-series about Jonn J'onzz changing his look and outlook on humanity. OYL pieces were glossed over, with Firestorm getting most of the spotlight. Jason Todd never trully explained why he became Nightwing (that responsibility speech was crap), and Batgirl's change was better explained in Teen Titans with the serum than here. Why did she take over the League of Assasins? Who knows. We found out how Aquaman became "Squid-face" but were offered no explanation as to who those Water Gods were, and what exactly Aquaman wanted. We saw Supergirl return "changed" but that was never explored, as she's painfully different in Brave & Bold and Superman titles than she is in her own book. We saw Donna Troy as Wonder Woman, but like Jason Todd, offered no real explanation as to why other than "it had to be done." We saw the Titans fail, and Amanda Waller go after some dude whose signifigance or identity was never explained. And in the final issue, we had a re-write of 52 week 50, only to include Martian Manhunter, when he was only seen in one panel in 52, but according to the Minis, he had a much larger part to play in the battle. In the end, I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth with WW3, and $10 less in my pocket. I skipped out on the Batman Mad Monk trade this week because of this? Get me a time machine. For me, the WW3 mini's lacked a sense of purpose and direction. Jonn proved a good narrator, but his story could have been told in one or two issues of this mini. I wanted more moments with Firestorm, Donna Troy, Jason Todd, and the Titans, and I only got a quarter of what I wanted or thought I was getting. If a new reader starts DC with 52, and grabbed this mini, he/she would ultimately be lost, because there are so many characters here who are not in 52, or even that well introduced or written for that matter. The writing was not bad, just okay, and a stronger sense of direction would have helped a lot in this department. When 52 is eventually remembered, WW3 will be the event that sucked, and was uneccessary. Yes I wanted answers to all my OYL questions, but I didn't wanted them to be glossed over so quickly. I felt that they deserved much more respect than they got here, and a lot of these OYL mysteries have been forgotten in their books. Hell, we're just now getting to the Dick and Barbara marriage Proposal, OYL. It's clear to my now that 52's plot hijacked the original plan (which I like), but the solution for that hijacking was made and put to the side until it was time to make it. Johns, Morrison, Waid, and Rucka had no hand in WW3, and it shows when reading the titles. The art got progresively better with each issue, but that was not enough to save it. D

Uh...What?!?

SHE-HULK #21
Written by DAN SLOTT
Penciled by RICK BURCHETT
Cover by GREG HORN
THE MOST IMPORTANT MARVEL COMIC YOU WILL READ ALL YEAR!
"ANOTHER ME, ANOTHER U"
Ever notice how in some Marvel comics, characters who are SUPPOSED to be dead show up with NO explanation whatsoever? Or in the wrong costume? Or acting in a way they NEVER have before? Well guess what, True Believer, there was a reason. And that reason is going to have She-Hulk and her friends working on some of their STRANGEST cases yet! Don't miss it-- 'cause this is the issue that fixes 90% of Marvel's continuity problems-- from NOW ON!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

courtesy of http://www.newsarama.com

My Rant: laugh through nose and a sarcastic, "okay."

About Heroes Episode 51

It's time to play a bit of catch-up. 2-3 weeks worth of books packed into a single podcast. How in the world do we do it?

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 51

New X-men 37 Review

Authors: Craig Kyle & Chris Yost
Penciler: Skottie Young
Inker: Sean Parsons
Cover and Storybook Pages: Nico Henrichon

I'm not sure why most people, especially X-fans are afraid to touch New X-men. Since Kyle and Yost took the book over it has really turned into one of my favorite X-books. I found the original group of kids boring, but these kids are just fun. If this is a small taste of what Skottie Young has to offer; he will make an exceptional addition to the creative team. How do I describe this issue to long X-men readers? Well, think Uncanny X-men 153 with New Mutants 21 and throw in some Magik limited series and you got yourself an awesome combo (not in the sense of Killer Instinct!) How do I describe the book to someone who isn't familiar with the book or X-books? Think of it as a good story within a story illustrated beautifully.

In the aftermath of last story arc's fight Hellion watches over Mercury while the Cuckoo Sisters are planning something with Elixir. Of course those are just a couple of pages, the main story is used as a setup to the next story arc, hence forth the title: The Quest for Magik Prelude. In case you might not know just a quick recap: Magik is Illyana Rasputin, Colossus' little sister who spent years stuck in Limbo under the tutelage of her dark master, Belasco. She eventually returned to earth, joined the New Mutants, and during Inferno got separated from her Darkchylde persona and returned to her normal age of 7. She ended up dying of the Legacy Virus in Uncanny X-men 303. Throughout the years there have been hints at her return and she recently appeared in the House of Crap...err M miniseries.

Blindfold starts telling the kids the story of Illyana Rasputin that covers mostly everything from Uncanny 160 to the Black Sun miniseries. They don't even leave out the fact that Nightcrawler's ex, Amanda Sefton had taken over the mantle of Magik. To set the mood it is a dark umm clear night, but the fireplace really helps Blindfold freak the kids out. Supposedly Belasco has regain control over Limbo by defeating Sefton two days ago and is looking for his original apprentice. He can smell her on the people she last spent time with. The kids realize that it isn't a story and that it is currently happening as the ground breaks from under them.

I always thought Young's talents should be used in a kid team book, so this is the perfect title for him. His art is very reminiscent to that of Bill Sienkewicz mixed with a bit of anime and a bit of graphitti. However, for this issue it is a very dark style, not his usual over the top use of colors. This could be due to Parsons' inks and someone else handling the colors. Man, what kind I say about Henrichon's art other than stunning. The only other thing I have seen him draw were the animals in Pride of Baghdad book, but his humans and demons are just as fantastic. A great read to get me pumped about this upcoming story. Screw Bucky's, Hawkeye's, and Captain Marvel's weak ass returns if any one has a need and an easy way to come back from the dead it's Magik! A Now bring back S'ym, N'astirh, and the remaining New Mutants and you got one hella story!

Iron Man #16

Writers: Daniel & Charles Knauf
Artists: Roberto de la Torre & Johnathan Sibal

Like New Avengers, Iron Man falters this week as well. Last issue was an interesting look into how Tony Stark runs S.H.I.E.L.D. This issue delves away from that, and goes into the Mandarin storyline that was teased last issue. Tony plays detective with the Extremis inventor Maya Hansen into a terrorist group that foiled a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission with some bio-technology that Iron Man can't disable. The portion of the issue that deals with the Mandarin is good, but not the best part of the issue. I'm really interested in Tony leading S.H.I.E.L.D. and having his own red and gold strike force that is almost like their elite officers. If they could turn this book into Rainbow Six type book, great, but Iron Man is no detective. He has other people to do that for him now, he shouldn't be doing it himself unless absolutely necessary. That point is made in the book, though as we see how Tony is having difficulties with his new responsibilies. He's spending too much time investigating, and not leading. Put Tony into his position full-time and this book will improve a good amount. I have a detective book. Two, both are Batman. This is Iron Man. He's about kicking ass. Another thing I like about this book is that the Knaufs don't write Tony as a jerk like Millar and Bendis may do. He's a real person to them, making this my favorite portrayal of Iron Man so far. He's not too cocky or weak, but the right amount of both as a character who has been an Avenger, but also has too much responsibilty now.

Roberto de la Torre is great on this book. If Lenil Yu weren't on New Avengers, I'd say he could do that book as well. His style is a mix of Maleev on the Confession and the best of what Patrick Zircher had on the last arc. No complaints here, though most of the great art moments were found in the last issue, and not here. It's still good nontheless. C+

Trails of Shazam #6

Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Howard Porter

Damn. This felt like a long time coming. Issues 4 and 5 dealt with Achilles and Courage, and issues 6 and 7 look to be a two parter featuring Hercules (who looks like a tattooed version of a Street Fighter character). My only issue here is that we just had a two parter and that this issue is all build up for the fight next issue. There is not a whole lot to the trial here. In fact, now I feel like this issue was nothing. Winick rehashed the whole "Magic is being re-written" thing that plays into this story, but does nothing past that. We haven't checked in with Mary Marvel since issue 2 or 3. I thought they were close? I like the whole idea of earning the Shazam power, but the pacing is killing me. Why not get the trials out of the way and have a big task to complete at the end, or unravel this Council or Merlin that is trying to de-rail Freddie. It feels like this will end up like Ion, leading into something entirly else, and leaving my stomach empty. This issue is definately skippable, if you're picking this title up on and off. Winick needs to pick up the pace if he's going to keep readers from over the 2 or 3 months it takes this "monthly" book to come out.

Howard Porter continues his digital style here, and will for the rest of the series. It works, but I wonder if it is also slowing him down. Porter is doing the color as well, whereas other digital artists like Freddie Williams II on Robin are only doing the line art, and Robin is never late. I think Williams is 3 issues ahead of where he's supposed to be. Back to Porter, his storytelling and composition are on, its just the wait that kills me. If this were coming out more frequently I might be more excited, but I forgot this book existed until it showed up in my folder this week. And to forget that a book exists it a bad thing, especially for a mini-series that needs monthly readers to keep the idea of a future Shazam book after this alive. The concept is cool, but the wait is killing the book. D

New Avengers #29

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Lenil Yu

Okay, what the hell happened here? Issue 27 was a return to form for New Avengers, it was an action-packed romp, and actually had an interesting plot. Last issue, Bendis decided to "Tarantino it" and go back to the beginning to before the New Avengers got to Japan. So last issue and this issue we are juggling storylines, seeing more of the past than the more exciting present. Last issue we saw the new HQ, a disguised Sanctom Sanctorum, and the New Avengers traveled to the Helicarrier to get Captain America because "he didn't die". Issue 29 picks up here, and it's a trap by the Mighty Avengers. Rather than the brawl that the cover promises, Dr. Strange teleports them to safety. I felt left out here. They've been teasing the battle, but this issue doesn't deliver. The other half of the book is Iron Man berating Danny Rand at his corporation and gets intimidated by Rand's lawyer. He's Tony Stark, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. he shouldn't take crap from anyone. The fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. attacked Luke Cage right at midnight when the act passsed, but won't bother here to take Danny Rand into custody is just perplexing. It seems like the actual law isn't yet written in the Marvel Universe or the Marvel offices. Story moments seem to override past continuity, even in Bendis' own book. Sure Luke Cage isn't the head of a national corporation like Danny Rand apparently is, but that didn't stop them from throwing Martha Stewart into jail. This issue ends like last issue, Elektra arrives, and teases the next issue. I sincerely hope that next issue we don't have the narrative jumping that we had in 28 and 29. If not, then New Avengers will continue to lose its luster that grabbed me two months ago with issue 27.

On the other Hand, Lenil Yu is still delivering great art. It looks great, especially in the fight scenes, but sometimes works against itself in the slow sections. A few parts in this issue feel slow, because they are talking scenes, and Lenil's current style calls for movement and excitement. A few people may have issues with his style on this book, but with the current fugitive status quo, I think the down and dirty look is great for the book, when its moving along that is. The slowness of this issue brought the grade down, here's hoping that it picks up next month. C-

Joshiebear's Picture of the Week

....heh heh.....

Rob Liefeld is going to KILLRAVEN!!!!

If you aren't familiar with the Killraven character, just think what would happened if the aliens from World of the Wars returned in 2001, but of course that was retconned from continuity....damn how long have the publishers been retconning stuff? Humanity is enslaved and men battle like gladiators to amuse the baby eating Martians...and I don't mean that in the sense that Iron Man eats babies; I mean these fuckers ate babies!!!!! A gladiator by the name of Killraven escapes to lead a group of freedom fighters against the Martians. I highly recommend everyone go and read the cheap Killraven essential; that puts together an awesome creator cast such as Howard Chaykin, Neal Adams, Roy Thomas, Herb Trimpe, P Craig Russell, and Marv Wolfman. Mad props to those guys for sneaking in the first interracial kiss in comic books! If you want to find out more about the character just go here . From the look of the preview page Captain America's shield has made it to Earth-691. Perhaps he too is hanging out there to recuperate from the shit that was Civil War. The new book is written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Rob Liefeld, it will be out in 2008. Hopefully by that time Onslaught Reborn final issue will be completed and Youngblood: Bloodsport # 2 will be completed...because the eight fans of the first book have been waiting patiently since December 2004!

Looking for the Hasbro Ultimate Iron Man variant?

If you can't find Hasbro's Marvel Legends Ultimate Iron Man, or particularly, the unmasked variant, check out HasbroToyShop. I just received my order, and was extremely pleased to find the unmasked variant figure in the box. Rock on!

Grindhouse Movie Review

This Review was submitted by Joshiebear:
Well it isn't really comics, but I think this genre of film can be lumped right into the same vein of entertainment for the most part. Cheap thrills all around and such. Anyway, I just got back from catching the first showing of the movie at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, and I
thought I'd impart some knowledge on my fellow AH nerds and let you know what you were in for, because if you have a brain at all, you'll go see this movie just for who's directing it.

So to start, myself and my 4 friends who went to see it were all pretty apprehensive. We knew the directors (Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror) and Quentin Tarantino (Death Proof) were good directors, but we're all film students and weren't sure whether or not this would just be too silly for us to enjoy. I mean in the trailer by itself, it's revealed that zombies gnaw off Rose Mcgowan (spelling?) 's leg and it is promptly replaced with a fucking machine gun which she uses in conjunction with her stripper moves to kill things. Wow. That's pretty silly. Well we were all willing to invest the money to see it, and so we bought tickets in advance, stood in line for an hour, and made this thing happen.

Wow. This movie (movies actually) was great. It's really a one-two punch of INSANE action and gore (Planet Terror is by far the goriest movie i've ever seen released in American Theaters, I mean you see someone's cock fucking rot off their body for God's sake), the other part is more story paired with action (Death Proof). Both had their drawbacks and weren't completely flawless, but the flaws are welcomed due to the style of the overall ordeal. Each movie is presented as if it were an old film-strip that's been played hundreds of times the obligatory film grain, scratches and pops, bad cuts, jumpy sound, and so on, but never in a way that really gets annoying, because it's all a loving homage to the glorious exploitation films of the 70's. Planet Terror is simply a fun-filled violent romp through zombie mayhem with tons of gore and humor to keep it interesting and fun right up until the very end. Death Proof, however, almost lost me until the story really came into full-swing about 75% of the way through the film when things started to get genuinely interesting. All in all, I would say Death Proof was a good movie, but it felt more like watching a movie and then it's sequel directly afterwards. I don't want to give away anything, so I'll say no more about the actual content of the film(s) and just urge you to go get a bunch of your buddies and go watch this movie. If you like comics (especially comics these days) then chances are pretty good you'll get caught up in Grindhouse.

Your Amigo in Hollywood,
-Joshiebear

Omega Flight # 1 Review

Author: Michael Avon Oeming
Artist: Scott Kolins
Colors: Brian Reber
Letters: Cory Petit

I'm not going to waste time and space telling you how much I enjoyed Alpha Flight as a kid, because A: if you read as a kid you probably have your own reasons why you liked it or hated and B: if you are a new reader to comics (do they still make your kind?) you're not going to care. Let's say you are a publisher and you have tried to resurrect a popular title from the 80's not once but twice with a huge failure. What do you do? Well, if you are Marvel Comics, you say: let's do this one mo' again! Although it doesn't share the same title as its ill fated predecessors, it's still a stepchild of the Alpha Flight family.

So what happens when your team is completely wiped out by an ass of a storyline in New Avengers. You bitch about how you miss Shaman and agree to go and lead a team of three Americans, two Canadians (Walter included), and of course one Korbinite to pick up where your friends left off. Especially if it’s being funded by Shield!

By the end of the first issue we only see three of the possible members (some in just snapshots) and Sasquatch, being the only real active member of the team get his ass kicked by the Wrecking Crew, who figured out that Canada doesn't have as many heroes as the US. Holy shit! Did it really take Civil War to make them realize that Canada was lacking in heroes? I always thought the reason that most villains didn't head to Canada was the value of the Canadian dollar wasn't worth the trip.

I've enjoyed Oeming's Thor run and his Stormbreaker mini, but I'll be damned if this issue didn't feel like his Powers buddy didn't influence his writing style. I've said it once before when describing Reed's and Meltzer's writing technique; there is only room for one decompressed writer and right now Brian Michael Bendis has that title. This issue packs in so much information that it's boring for old readers that already know these things and I'm sure its confusing for new readers that could give a rat's ass who the original Omega Flight were. I think he is making it pretty clear that this is not only Canada's last attempt at a Superhero team, but also Marvel. Hell, at times while reading Walter's dialogue it feels like the sales representatives at Marvel are watching him too.

Kollins has become one of my favorite artists since his run on Flash. His dynamic style can make any book fun to read. He's the best thing this book has going for it, but unfortunately it's not up to par with his previous work. I can't tell if he is trying to add something new to his style with the shading on faces, but in a way it takes away a bit of the texture he usually puts in his art.

This book is okay at best and just judging from the first issue of this five issue limited series; the team won't be put together until the very end. I wasn't expecting much because of those shitty preview pages showing us that the Collective is going to be the new Guardian. When you have a shitty set up like that, it doesn't matter who the writer is. However, I would love to be proven wrong....after all I have seen plenty of writers take C-list characters and bring them to stardom. The only person that has made Alpha Flight ever work was John Byrne; hell bring him back, he might know what to do with this mess of characters. C No one bothered to mention Puck!

Justice League of America #7

Writer: Brad Meltzer
Artist: Ed Benes & Sandra Hope

Justice League #7 is an iffy comic book. While I'm glad that we finally have a team, and now a headquarters, to leave everything to chance just seems like a waste of issues 1 - 4 where the Trinity was looking at all of those pictures. We spent so much time in tha Batcave reading the thoughts of the heroes, about other heroes, only to have that all thrown out in this issue. There are some major holes and inconsistencies, but the overall result was still entertaining. For me, the jury is still out until I can read 1 - 13 back to back, like you all should do with Identity Crisis. Like #1, this issue is mostly talking and jumps around between characters and moments, which makes it all the more confusing. Geo-Force makes an appearance, but is still not on the team. He doesn't do much to tease the upcoming crossover with JSA, if that is what he is there for. Other than those complaints, I cannot complain about the characters. Meltzer writes them all with an individual voice, and even without the color of the narration boxes, you can still recognize who is talking. Benes, as usual is bringing his A game, and Sandra Hope turns in some wonderful inks. If you're thinking about dropping the book, stick around for the first parts of the JLA/JSA crossover starting next month before you make your decision. B-

Fallen Son: Wolverine

Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Lenil Yu

Spinning out of Captain America #25, comes the Fallen Son mini-series. Spotlighting a different person or team in each issue, as we travel through the five stages of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance) with the Marvel Universe. This is a really interesting idea, and if it's carried out consistently, may work well. The only thing that may hinder it is the rotating artist on each issue, but Lenil Yu is not a bad way to start. The book opens with Wolverine talking to "The Winter Soldier" (the Lamest title ever so we'll call him Bucky) about Cap's death. Wolverine does not believe that Cap is dead and is trying to get Bucky to go with him to verify the body. Bucky declines, so Wolverine seeks some other help from Daredevil. If he can't get Bucky to identify the body as the person who knows Cap best, then he'll get Daredevil, the human lie-detector, to verify his enhanced senses. With some help from the New Avengers, they get onto the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier to find Cap's body, as well as Crossbones. At the end of the issue, the denial plotline has been closed up satisfactorily, making this a well rounded stand-alone issue. If each issue of this mini-series deals with the emotional issue that it's modeled after, then bully for Jeph Loeb, as he's the only man who could write this, with the recent death of his son being the driving factor here.

If you don't think Lenil Yu is a great artist, you're wrong. His nitty gritty style is working for New Avengers, and works here too. His pencil shading rather than traditional inks adds some vitality to the art, making it different from anything else on the stands. Yu draws Logan as the short man we know him to be. He also draws a great Daredevil seen to the left. If there is one artist I wish DC would steal (eventually) it would be Yu, and put him on Batman or Hawkman. This is a great selling point on Yu's art, as Loeb really lets him cut loose, which helps the story. Go get this book for a good read and great art. I can't wait to read the rest of the issues to see if this was an actual story idea, or just another sales ploy after Civil War made so much money. B+

Avengers: The Initiative #1

Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Stefano Caselli

The initiative is starting, and you're coming along for the ride. If you are a young powered person, you must register and train. If you fail your training, you will be washed out, kaput, and disabled of your power. The story starts out introducing our new main characters, young heroes with powers who have registered. So basically, this book is starting off fresh. There are a few familiar faces here and there, but mostly new ones. A kid who flies on clouds, a super-athlete, a emo-kid who transforms into your fears, and a lizard girl. Some of these kids are naiive, others brash and irrational. The emo kid is definately an charicature, so far anyway. We get a glimpse of the program, recruiting, power analysis, and some training. Slott pulls no punches in re-iterating Marvel's new policy that young heroes don't have what it takes. That they are immature, and irrational. One of the more interesting characters in the issue is hurt by another youngster, telling the reader that no one is safe. Since we're starting off with a fresh cast, anything can happen, and it adds something to the title that may have been missing if this series starred the New Avengers or other better known heroes. Slott writes some good dialougue, the kids feel young, but in other places feels forced, the emo kid especially. This is a good starter issue, and worth a try, but the next two issues will be the ones where it has to stand on it's own feet and not the Civil War fallout's.

Cladio Casselli does the art here, and he fits the book to a T. His art is young, fresh, and funky. It shows some manga influences in the eyes and young faces, but his panels feel like classic comic book art. The adults look like adults, different from the kids in their faces and musculature, like they should be. If anything is going to turn me off of this book, it's not going to be the art. C+

Joshiebear's Picture of the Week!

The Secret location of the Atom during Countdown. Very hush hush. Lucky
guy...

-Joshiebear