Cable and Deadpool # 42 Review

Author: Fabian Nicieza
Pencilers: Reilly Brown & Jon Malin
Inker: Jeremy Freeman
Cover: Skottie Young

I swear to God I think that Fabian actually reads every script for comics before they actually hit the stand. This issue is a must buy for those people that bought X-men 200. Yes a must, because I totally missed something from X-men 200 that I saw here plain as day. That is that Cable apparently dies...again.

The story starts out with Irene Merryweather doing a recap of the last few issues and asking herself: "If the dreamer dies....what happens to his dream?" Then a 90's splash page of future Cable and a story where a woman from his squad sacrifices herself to save Cable and the rest of his soldiers. Throughout the rest of the issue he is trying to remember her name. Cable and Deadpool have a funny yet sentimental goodbye as they separate to each acquire a copy of data storing information of future events. Deadpool fights Senyaka, an Acolyte I always thought they would do more with because he really looked cool. Needless to say his action figure got a lot of play under my demented hands. Cable has the same fight and almost same dialogue with Sunfire and Gambit as the one that took place in X-men 200. Cable manages to bodyslide Deadpool out before he remembers the name of the woman that sacrificed herself. He whispers "Requiem" and a huge explosion takes place.

I totally missed the fact that Cable perhaps died in that explosion that took place in X-men 200. Mainly because I thought he could Bodyslide out with no problem and that there was that lack of inner monologue that you get a healthy serving of in this book. Gambit has his slick accent back and Cable sounds just like Cable is supposed to. Nicieza gets us so attached to these characters that by the end we really feel for Cable and his sacrifice seems meaningful. I think that is what is missing from Carey’s book; the catch your breath for a second moments between fights to let us know what the characters are all about. There was a nice tie-in to the very first arc with the Priest that wanted to turn everyone Blue and it really felt like a Goodbye to not just Nate, but to the book itself (damn, that’s a scary thought). I can't believe that I saw no advertisement for this issue or the previous ones in the pages of X-men. God knows this book could use the help in sales.

So how will Deadpool go on without Cable? Hell that's easy; he managed to have his own title for 60 + issues and is a fan favorite. But I think the editors and some occasional readers really missed out the point of this title. The two characters are extreme opposites yet so similar that their chemistry is what makes this book tick. The Ying to the Yang, the Alpha to the Omega, the G'nort to Sinestro (that's right G'nort is going to show up in the last issue of Sinestro Corps and kick all kinds of ass!) This formula worked for books in the past like Luke Cage and Iron Fist and Cable will be sorely missed. Of course this is all speculation that Cable is dead, but then again there was an explosion and we all know what happens to characters that die in explosions, don't we Bucky?!!!

This was a really fun read and even though I'm not a big fan of the art. The artist make it work, going back and forth between Cable and Deadpool. Malin seems to be a graduate from the School O' Liefeld that has produced such talents as: Dan Fraga, Chap Yaep, Mark Pacella, Marat Michaels, and Stephen Platt...where the hell are these guys now anyway? But that style works with him doing all of the Cable parts of the story. B+ Now that Cable is gone let's see what title sounds the best:

X-man and Deadpool
Marvel Zombies and Deadpool
Wolverine and Deadpool: This one’s for you Morph!
Taskmaster and Deadpool
Slapstick and Deadpool
Deadpool and Skrulls (Bendis isn't writing this down is he?)
Bob, Agent of Hydra and Deadpool
Deadpool Loves Mary Jane
Deadpool Eats Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy!!

As long as Fabian Nicieza is writing it, count me in!

X-men # 200 Review

Author: Mike Carey
Pencilers: Humberto Ramos & Chris Bachalo
Inkers: Carlos Cuevas & Tim Towsend
Colors: Edgar Delgado & Antonio Fabela

200 issues old? I'm starting to feel my age now. Wait Uncanny is almost 500 issues old? Someone get me a walker please. Has it really been that long? Have I really spent that much money on something that is less satisfying than getting head from a woman with 5 good teeth? Have the stories sucked so much ass lately that I can't remember the last time X-men was good? I think a yes will take care of all those questions.

I really have mix feelings about this issue and Carey's run. So far Carey has: A) Introduced us to villains that I don't give a shit about. B) Added characters that make an interesting addition to the team, but have had no sit down time to get us attached to them. C) Used Sabretooth and Mystique as team members for absolutely no reason. So to sum it up, I have yet to be impressed with Carey's writing, so I wasn't expecting much of this issue.

The story starts off with Rogue being crazier than usual, because she now has absorbed 8 billion minds. Iceman and Mystique seem to have a very forced moment. Cable fights Sunfire and a pale Gambit, the Marauders return, and Mystique shoots Rogue. Welcome to the 200th issue of X-men!! Now go and buy all 17 parts of Endangered Species you damn Fanboy!!!

For some reason I always get excited when they bring the Marauders back. They were the bad guys that were never used enough, at least to me. These were the guys that pushed the X-men to the edge. The villains that crippled Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Colossus. These guys wiped out almost all the morlocks and drove Colussus to lose his innocence (and I don’t mean deflowering him). How did Carey handle some of my favorite villains? Not bad. I really enjoyed how Malice (even though she died at the hands of Sinister....ohhh wait the Marauders were clones, before it was cool to have clones!) took over the Omega Sentinel. How Lady Mastermind and Mystique seem to have just been sleeper agents on the team. And seeing Scalphunter, Arclight, and Vertigo just shoot an innocent old man, just brought back that feeling of how ruthless the Marauders were.

And I mean they are all here...every single Marauder that I remember. Scalphunter, Blockbuster, Arclight, Malice, Vertigo, Harpoon, Riptide, Scrambler, Sabretooth (somewhere), and Prism...wait why the fuck do you guys always bring Prism back, just to be busted up in the next issue? It seems that Mystique, Gambit, Sunfire, Lady Mastermind, Exodus, and Random have been added to their roster. Even though I'm still not buying Gambit and Sunfire being bad guys, it seems the X-men finally have formidable opponents. This is something that has been out of the X-books for years.

Overall I was pleased with the issue, it wasn't too mind blowing in your face action, but hey it is what it is. Some of the X-men still seem to be out of character, but I think Carey is finally getting comfortable with his cast. Just little things that bothered were: Mystique and Iceman hooking up, again Sunfire and Gambit trying to kill Cable, and the art. I said it before and I will say it again: I love Bachalo and Ramos, but their art style does nothing for this book. All of Ramos' women have huge lips, big tits, and huge eyes (wait...why the fuck am I complaining?) Even Bachalo's art that seems to be cleared up seems a bit rushed.

The backup 8 pages of Endangered species just seems to be a recap of House of M and letting us know that just because most writers didn't give a shit about that story, Beast has been working on a solution even if it means getting help from Dr. Doom, High Evolutionary, Sinister, and Mojo (wait...Mojo?) There are some nice pinups in the back that reminded me of all those overpriced Annuals and extra- sized comics that included 10 pin-ups. It's not a bad start and like I said it's good to see some familiar villains finally show up, but some of the X-men dialogue really needs some help. B-

SVC Chaos: SNK VS. Capcom Vol. 4 and 5 Review

Author and Artist: Chi Wan Shum
Translator: Yun Zhao
English Adaptation: Ken Li
Publisher: DrMarster

Summer has been really keeping us away from our podcasts and focusing on reviews. Between vacations, our jobs, and family we hardly have time to concentrate on the site. So I'm hoping to change that starting now. I wanted to start with a book that I haven't reviewed for a long time (a year to be exact). So to be precise here it is SVC Chaos review in all its glory!

Volume 4 kicks off where we last left off with Athena's plot to restore the real world. Enlisting the help of more warriors such as Kyo and Ryu, Athena makes some tough decisions as Red Arremer's brings out the evil in Ken. As in the previous volumes there are some amazing fights and tons of cameos by all our favorite fighters. Volume 5 is more of the same goodness, but the big M. Bison bites the dust in this volume. However, it was nice to see Geese Howard get to kick some ass, even though that ass belonged to Terry Bogard.

What is there to be said for this series? Other than it's been a hell of ride for a fanboy of the two fighting genres. There are some classic moments in these volumes such as Earthquake using his poisonous farts on Kyo, the appearance of Dan Hibiki, and the battle between Violent Ken and M. Bison. The plot is really nothing to write home about, but some of the dialogue is right down hilarious (whether intentional or not). For the most part the characters are pretty hollow, the good guys are very stereotypical noble and honorable and the evil forces are devious and bloodthirsty.

If you only need one reason to pick up this title, it’s the stunning art. Portraying some great action scenes, particularly those taken right out of the video game his art will blow you away. Splash page after splash page is filled with gorgeous renderings of intense action and bold poses. Shum is the definitive artist for a book about video game fighters looking like badasses and fighting to the bitter end. His pencils are not the strongest part of his art, it’s that mix of computer assisted painting and traditional brush coloring appearing side by side on each panel that makes the characters move so fluid.

It really brings back the memories of all those years ago, spending my life perfecting my fighting techniques only to be beaten by someone using Dan or Kasumi. This is really a no brainer here, you love Capcom fighting games? Buy it! You love SNK fighting games? Buy it! You a fan of beautiful rendered artwork from the east? Buy these books! Even to those that aren't familiar with the history of these characters give it a shot. The only people I tell to stay away from these books are those button-mashing Tekken dorks. Bring on the rest of the volumes! B+

World War Hulk: Frontline # 1 Review

This review was submitted by Spider-ben:

World War Hulk: Frontline #1
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artist: Ramon Bachs
Cover: John Watson

I was originally going to only pick up this tie in series to the World War Hulk event, and not only am I enjoying other tie-in issues to this event, but this issue was better than I expected. Sure, there wasn’t hardly any smashing going on in this issue, but Paul Jenkins has made me a big fan of Sally Floyd and I’m glad Marvel is continuing to tell her story.

The issue opens with Ben Ulrich and Sally having a terrible time trying to start up their own Frontline newspaper. Both are running low on money and in need of a huge story to make their paper a success. Sally notices that there aren’t any pigeons seen in New York, which is suspicious. As Sally and Ben realize they may have to shut down their newspaper, the Hulk’s starship arrives in the sky. Sally and Ben realize this is their story, their big epic event to make their paper a success. As New Yorkers evacuate the city, Ben is approached by a mysterious man who promises both Ben and Sally 200,000 dollars a piece and keys to a struggling newspaper to call their own. Ben and Sally watch as people and family members evacuate. Ben tells his new staff they are free to stay or go and their decision will not affect their job standings.

Meanwhile, Sally’s boyfriend is a detective who is given a strange case. One of the Hulk’s warbound alien brothers is reporting an attack on one of his alien brethren. The attack will lead to a deadly confrontation with the Hulk and his warbound allies if the attacker isn’t brought to justice. The twist is that they are only giving the detective 24 hours to solve this case, much like the dilemma the Hulk has given the heroes of New York. When the big countdown is up, Sally and Ben watch as Iron Man and Hulk duke it out over the skies of New York, with Sally realizing that they have entered a brand new war. However, they wonder if they will actually win in this latest attack on the Marvel Universe.

Thoughts/Comments:
Kind of a slow start, but the character development is what I wanted and Jenkins provided plenty of that. It’s good to see what Ben and Sally have been up to since Civil War Front Line wrapped up. I am anxious to find out who the mysterious benefactor helping Ben and Sally is, Jenkins leaves us with few clues to this mysterious individual. Watching random New Yorker’s reactions to the aliens is great. I loved it when one guy praised the aliens for being just like us. “These guys are great. I gave one of them a beer and he let me shoot his gun!” Like I said before, there was little smashing going on but there are plenty of other tie-in books that have lots of smashing in them. If you are looking at a regular New Yorker’s reaction to this event, look no further than to World War Hulk Frontline. Solid A, great job gang.

World War Hulk: X-men # 1 Review

This review was submitted by Spider-ben:

World War Hulk: X-Men #1
Writer: Christos Gage
Artist: Andrea Devito
Cover: Ed McGuiness

I was so impressed by World War Hulk #1 and the prologue leading into the event that I decided to pick up some of the tie in issues. Since the X-Men are some of my favorite heroes, I figured picking up this mini series would be a good choice. I have to tell you all, I was very impressed with this issue. I’m not very familiar with writer Christos Gage, but he really did an uncanny job with this issue!

The issue starts off with Xavier talking with Tony Stark, filling Stark in on the events that occurred during the Rise and Fall of the Shiar arc. Tony tells Xavier to have Havok keep an eye out for the Hulk. This confuses Xavier, and Tony tells him about the Illuminati’s secret plan of sending Hulk out into space. Later at the mansion, Beast is training some of the New X-Men students in field combat exercises. When the sentinels suddenly fly away, Beast turns on the television set and finds out that Hulk has returned to Earth madder than ever. As Beast and the students watch in horror, suddenly the big green goliath himself knocks on the door, demanding to see Xavier.

Beast and the new X-Men kids do a good job, but they are no match for the untamed fury of this Hulk. As things look bad, the Astonishing X-Men show up to kick some green ass. But before the main event starts, Xavier walks out and uses his powers on the Hulk. The professor is shocked to learn what the Hulk had to endure, and realizes that when the ship blew up and destroyed his world and his queen, he understands why the Hulk is so pissed off. Now the Hulk demands to know what Xavier’s vote would have been had he participated in the secret Illuminati meeting that exiled Hulk in the first place.

Thoughts/Comments:

WOW! Lots and lots of smashing went on in this issue, and I was very impressed with how well the New X-Men kids held their own against this nearly unstoppable Hulk. The art was very good; I loved the pages where the Astonishing X-Men arrived all ready for battle.
The writing was very good, and I actually had a few laughs when watching the Hulk deal with the kids at the school. My favorite line? The Hulk states to Professor Xavier “You can walk again? I can fix that!” I was very happy with this tie-in issue and recommend it to any enjoying lots of angry Hulk smash action. I’d give this issue a solid A.

Pic of the Week

This week's pic comes from the awesome minds over at applegeeks.com...

Superhero: The Secret of a Genre Review

This review was submitted by Bluejohn:
Superhero: The Secret of a Genre

By Peter Coogan

From the classroom, we all know what a textbook is. The book itself is usually a telling of history of a subject in some sort of chronological order, and sometimes separated by region, technological advances, and how it changed the world. While not everything in a textbook is the most fascinating information we have ever read, we do find bits of pieces of information that is useful to our own curiosity. For some, however, they are blessed with a love of a subject to the extent that they do not simply read the textbook, but inhale its information while enjoying the educational experience.

As comic lovers, I tell you know that this is our textbook. Not for the simple pleasure of reading, this book takes comics to the degree of most college classes but respects the awe of the concept itself, never allowing the material to become loose and unconnected to the heart of a comic lover. If comics could be majored in, this book would be part of the 101 course work.

With an introduction by Denny O’Neil, the book already starts with a strong name backing not only its author but also the book itself. The book then weaves between the aspects of comics that make the stories interesting, the stories that make the comics interesting, and the impact they have not only on the world itself but also the each person who reads them. Citing a variety of literature that brings reality into fantasy, the book details the eras that comics have had in the past, the evolution of heroes from said past, and how all that background leads into the comic revival that we are experiencing now.

However, this book is not just a long look at a subject we all know and love. All this information is separated into sections that condense an amazing amount of information into categories that we can grip within our own minds. Some chapters are simple concepts with large explanations, such as The Definition of a Superhero, in which we look at what connotations are put with the “super” titles that are given to those that go beyond the call of duty, and Supervillian, a look at how all villains can be categorized, and how these categorizes fit into the fears that all humanity shares. However, the book delves deeper as it progresses, looking at Comic Predecessors, from Spring Heeled Jack to Hugo Hercules to Popeye to the Phantom to the heroes that we know today, and the Evolution of the Superhero, wherein we look at each age of comics, Antediluvian through Crisis into the present Renaissance, and how heroes developed to fit the problems that were facing readers throughout the generations.

While I would love to say this book is the staple of comic book support, there are things that cause your mind to wince. First of all, the book can be dry. When I use the term textbook, I do not use it lightly, and as such be prepared to cover material which might seem non important to your personal preferences. I also saw repetitiveness near the last half of the book, the author recovering material but not making mention of its previous uses. While such problems do occur, I could not find anything in error when commenting on the comics as a whole. It knowledge was concise and well put, and with an extensive appendix and reference list in the back, you never feel like you have been lead down a one way street of thought or are without a chance to continue the thought process in other locations.

Ultimate Spider-man # 109 - 110 Review

This review was submitted by Spider-ben:
“Ultimate Knights parts 4 and 5”
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mark Bagley
Covers: Bagley and Isanove

Ladies and gentlemen, give a huge, huge, huge round of applause for Mr. Mark Bagley. Bagley has dedicated a good portion of his life illustrating the adventures of our web clad wonder, and he deserves tons of appraise for his commitment and dedication. Bagley has drawn Spider-Man in various comics over the years, including: What If volume 2 issue #4, Spider-Man Unlimited #2, Marvel Age Spider-Man 30th Anniversary issue, Amazing Spider-Man issue #351-415 (with a few fill ins here and there) and of course, Ultimate Spider-Man #1-110. So thank you so much Mr. Bagley for your hard work in brining my favorite hero of all time to life month after month.

OK, back to the issues. Ronin, AKA Moon Knight brings Peter to the Kingpin. Kingpin once again unmasks Peter and tells him that he owns all the copy right material with Spider-Man’s image on it. This amounts in lots and lots of cash that Peter will never have. Kingpin taunts and torments Peter, then tells his thugs to beat the crap out of Ronin, since he realized that it is secretly Moon Knight in disguise. Kingpin then tells Peter that Matt Murdock is Daredevil and also his lawyer. Later, Daredevil and Doctor Strange try to find Peter with little luck. Bendis does a great job when Dr. Strange casts a spell showing what happened to Peter and Daredevil claims he can’t see what is happening. This mystifies Dr. Strange, but we readers know that DD is blind! There is some great dialogue in these pages between the two.

Later, Peter notices his fellow knights meeting on a rooftop and he goes ballistic on them, thinking DD was really working for the Kingpin all this time. Spidey tells DD that Fisk knows that he is Matt Murdock, and boom, Murdock’s law office explodes across the street from the heroes. Clearly there is a traitor in the ranks, and due to DD being a human lie detector he quickly realizes Iron Fist is the traitor. Iron Fist tells the heroes that Kingpin was going to go after his family and was holding his daughter ransom. The heroes are still disappointed in him, especially his friend Shang-Chi. Daredevil realizes that he is in serious danger with Kingpin knowing his secret identity, and takes the fight to Fisk personally.

Meanwhile, Kingpin’s goons take Ronin out to the river and shoot him in the head. It looks like old Moon Knight is done for, but inside his crazed mind his personalities clash with one another, refusing to lay down and die. The Ronin personality takes charge and shocks the body back to life, and Moon Knight realizes he has to do the right thing and turn himself in. At Fisk tower, Daredevil goes after Vanessa Fisk, ailing wife of the Kingpin. This actually scares the Kingpin, and he tells his men to stand down. Daredevil is furious and ready to kill Vanessa when Spidey shows up. Spidey tells DD that he is a good man and shouldn’t become a killer, no matter what Fisk has done to him. Then he tells DD about the burglar killing his uncle and how Peter wanted to kill the burglar, but realized he was better than that and above the taking of a life. DD backs down and tells Fisk to leave the country and never, ever return.
Later, Fisk is fuming about what DD and Spidey have done and gives the order to destroy them all and blow up Peter’s school. Luckily, the NYPD show up and admit they now have evidence to put Fisk away for good. It seems Moon Knight turned himself in, confessing everything that has transpired. It seems that the Kingpin has taken the fall for now, but I’m betting he will be back.

Thoughts/Comments:
A great ending to a great story. Sure, the story started off slow but I’m really glad that Fisk got arrested at the end of the story. This guy has been such a pain to the heroes of the Ultimate Universe, and it’s great seeing him finally be nailed to the wall. I loved the dialogue between Dr. Strange and Daredevil in part 4, and Bendis really showed how much Peter has grown into a mature hero when talking DD out of not killing Vanessa Fisk. Bagley is and always will be the man. It’s a shame to see him go, but the good news is he is drawing half of issue #111. Unfortunately, Stuart Immonen is also coming onboard. You all know how I feel about that, but I’ll continue to buy the book to support both Bendis and Spidey. But how about one last round of applause for Mark Bagley! Can’t wait to see his work on the second Mighty Avengers story arc! All in all, these issues get a solid A! Way to go Bendis and Bagley, thanks for the awesome ride.

It's The Eye-Patch That Says....

An Iron Man movie detail has come to light and been reported over at Ain't It Cool....the little bit of news? Nick Fury is introduced and being played by....wait for it...Samuel L Jackson.

If I wasn't gonna see Iron Man before I CERTAINLY am now.

About Heroes Episode 59

Comic books are all about stasis - Marvel and DC want you to still be reading Spider-Man and Superman comics in 50 years. So how does one respond to a year like the one we've just witnessed, where change actually happens?

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 59

Uncanny X-men # 2 Review

This review was submitted by Muuurgh:
Uncanny X-Men #2
Writer: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby

These old UXM books bring many of us to a time unknown, both in terms of decade according to time itself and in terms of the way that the X-Men act. Strongly apparent as it may be in UXM #1, it is even more so in this issue.

The foremost element in this book that is the most refreshing to read is the one of which that shows the X-Men being weak. At this point, people are just starting to learn who the X-Men are and are beginning to appreciate, rather than fear, them. Naturally, then, a gaggle of girls surround Angel and try to kiss him, and Jean pulls them off using her telekinesis. After only moving six girls off of Angel, Jean faints and Angel has to take her back to the mansion. In the very next scene, a wall starts to tumble down atop a group of construction workers and it takes Cyclops’ optic blast at “full power” to destroy the wall and save the workers. Furthermore, the villain of this issue, The Vanisher, defeats the X-Men in their first encounter.

The X-Men failing is an amazing thing to see. Nowadays it’s expected that they’ll win, regardless of whether or not they get tossed around at first or not. They’re expected to win, if not for their experience alone but for their radical powers and strong control of those powers (whether or not they’re experienced with the powers does not seem to be congruent with the control they have most of the time). Back when Stan was writing the book, though, the X-Men were weak and frequently faltered.

A funny thing about that is that the X-Men didn’t get killed after their encounter with The Vanisher. Villainous mutants must have not been as ferocious as they are today. Forget the stupid costume (thank you, Beast, for pointing out that he looks ridiculous… plus, were all the evil mutants back then dressed in the same color scheme? Damn), The Vanisher gassed Jean, dodged everyone else’s attacks, and was content with just taking the plans. Maybe it was their show of inexperience that lead The Vanisher to pin them as children, thus ultimately deciding not kill them. Regardless, he didn’t. Cool.

The X-Men as students is also fun to behold. They try to get to the mansion on time so that they won’t be tardy for a mission briefing and they use the Danger Room (not called that yet) for actual training of skills specific for the dangers that may come due to The Vanisher’s powers (I just remember people using the Danger Room for random training, like Wolverine using it to run simulations where he would go and kill Magneto)… Professor X even takes note on what they need to work on, and medically cares for Angel after he had a difficult time with his training. Plus, Iceman gets a demerit for speaking out of turn. The only problem with that is, I don’t know why Iceman gets a demerit for speaking loudly out of turn and then a page later when he speaks loudly out of turn and shoots ice the Prof. turns it into a training exercise.

The immaturity of the X-Men is shown with the end of the book. Professor X uses his own powers to defeat The Vanisher by making him forget his own self. Older X-Men would believe that to be an abuse of powers (note Nightcrawler scolding the Professor when he pries into Valerie Cooper’s thoughts in the latest UXM, which is a lot less threatening then erasing someone’s memory of their own self being). Speaking of, Professor X has a lot more versatility to his powers than I ever remember him having in the past. In this issue he projects images of The Vanisher on the wall for the team to see. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen.

Stan’s humorous writing is very classic and refreshing to read, especially when we get mostly adult-oriented humor thrown at us from everywhere today. The innocence of the X-Men, through Angel’s girl encounter and even more strongly through Iceman’s constant gags (i.e., shaking a shaved construction worker’s hand and turning his glove to ice in the process), is an example of this classic humor that we see from Stan’s writing. Also, I’m not sure if this meant to be a social commentary or not, but the utter idiocy of the police in the comic (shown by the leading of The Vanisher, who states his intent to rob the bank, to the bank so that he can start stealing the money first and then they can arrest him when the crime is taking place) is so ridiculous I was bewildered that it was even in there. But, it was pretty funny to see them bumbling around like they did. Also, to get back to the mansion in time to not make the Prof angry, Cyclops and Iceman hitch a ride in an ice-cream truck, and Iceman, of all people, eats a bunch of chocolate bars while stashed in the back, and the driver gets a little irate.

Another solid issue from The Man and Jack Kirby—I give it a B. Joey Q would give it an F for Professor X smoking a pipe in one of the panels. What a douche.

Favorite line:
Soldier: “Hold it, mister! Nobody goes through here without a permit!”
The Vanisher: “Permits are for homo sapiens, fool! Not for The Vanisher!”

Spidey's Fantastic Four 2 Review

This review was submitted by Spidey:

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Stars: Ioan Gruffud, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans
Director: Tim Story

First let me say, I'm not a Real Fan of The Fantastic Four, never have been, There's just something about the whole "Famliy" aspect that never appealed to me. That's just something I can't relate to, so needless to say these Guys and Gal aren't my Cup of Coffe. Now onto the movies.

This Review contains Spoliers
The First Film wasn't that good to be honest. It was filled with Bad Acting, Campiness, Dry Humour and not alot of action. Although, I haven't Watched the New Edition DVD that came out, I've heard some good things about it. The Second film suffers from some of the same things the first one did, Bad Acting, Campiness(Not alot but it's still here), Humour was a little better this time around. There was quite abit of Action that wasn't over the top But just enough to get by.

So the Silver Surfer comes to our humble Planet in order to feed the hunger of Galactus and the FF try to stop them. The Silver Surfer is Eye-Candy at it's best, I thought they pulled him off very well, probably the best part of the movie. Seeing him Zip around was really cool, I think Laurence Fishburne did an excellent job as the voice for our Cosmic Sufer as well(Even with the very few lines he has) We really don't learn much about the Surfer, He simply says he was once Norin Rad and he serves Galactus And That's about it. But I can see why they didn't explain much about him as he is suppose to have his own Solo Movie, Hopefully they'll use him exactly as he is in this film (CG/Voice).

Galactus, well what can I say about Galactus? I certainly didn't imagine him as a Cloud, But you can make out a shadow that resembles the Purple Planet Eater as he passes by Jupiter, so maybe there is something there. When I first realized he was indeed a cloud I was expecting for a voice,for some reason the thought of Unicron's voice from the animated Transformers movie popped into my head. That would be a weird fight huh? Galactus vs. Unicron, I imagine an All you can Eat Buffet where there's Two Very Big and Very Hungry people and only one Serving plate. . . well before I get too sidetracked, DOOM! Yes the Evil doctor is in and he actually kicks major ass this time, well atleast more than he did in the first time round. He awakens from his frozen slumber when the Surfer flies over head and wakes him up, I suppose it's better than Foldgers. He get's some Metal Work done to his Armor and it looks alot better than he did before. I think Doom was pulled off pretty well, although I'm pissed at the fact he was defeated by Super Skrull(More on that later). I couldn't help but laugh as I saw him Riding the Surfer's Board, looked cool and Hillarious at the same time.

Now onto the Big Four, they seem pretty much the same, Thing looks better in my eyes but Sue's eyes freak the hell out man! The Acting is still very much a problem from these guys for me. Are these really the best people they could find? Mr. Fantastic his nerdy ass self, the whole speech about how he was a nerd in school and never played football blah blah blah, is really stupid. Johnny Storm is still great and his horseplay with The Thing is fun comedy relief. Through-out the movie he's hitting on this army babe who turns out to be, wait for it, Frankie Raye. However, there's sadly no Nova to be found, if they were gonna use her, this would've been the perfect time. Now for my Biggest Complaint, besides Galactus. Johnny Storm's interaction with the surfer messes with his body and anyone he touches, he absorbs their power. So when it came time to defeat Doom of course the only logical Action was for him to absorb all their powers at once and become Super Human Torch. This was a huge let down, not only because he defeated doom with hardly any effort, but any Chance of them using Super Skrull in the Sequel(s) is going to seem redundant and people are gonna say "Didn't they already do this?" Ok, now the ending and Defeat of Galactus is really anti-Climatic, way more than Spiderman 3, Surfer flies up Galactus' mouth or whatever and summons all his Cosmic Power to explode and take down the G-man. Huge plot hole right? If Galactus gave the Cosmic Power to Norin Rad, wouldn't he be able to withstand it?

With all the Problems I had with this movie, I can take away the Comic Fan in me and still enjoy it as a good Action/Sci-fi Movie. B+

HeroesCon - Full Recap

Well folks I am back from HeroesCon and BOY was that thing exhausting. Lots of trades bought, a couple of things signed....and now I know why you need to always bring your own food with you to a con. Oh and FF4 Omnibus Vol. 1 is the like the frakking city of Atlantis. everybody has heard about it but, NOBODY can find it. Ok, ok, nuff of me rambling.

Overall the big pieces of news that came out of the convention...least for me, was the following:

-Green Lantern: Sinestro Corp 1-SHOT - Is a must buy. It'll be the last time all Lanterns will be in the same place at the same time (I asked Ethan about this), it talks about Superboy Prime, those extra lanterns, and yes....the Anti-Monitor is coming back. Ethan had the artwork for the issue sitting RIGHT beside him. It took all of my energy to not go running off with the thing yelling. I HAVE SINESTRO CORP BEFORE ANYONE ELSE MU HA HA HA. (There was also an advance copy of Flash #13 there....but I am guessing they didn't let ANYBODY see it, with the exception of one kid at the DC Countdown panel and well DC staff)

-There are gonna be LOADS of spin-offs from 52: Countdown To Adventure, Countdown to Mystery, Crime Bible, Infinity Inc., Suicide Squad (that's right...you read right...SUICIDE SQUAD!!), a Batwoman/Question story, etc, etc.

-Karate Kid will be one of the main characters in Countdown

-Brad Meltzer is getting replaced by Dwanye McDuffie come issue #13 of JLA

-Simon Dark miniseries by Steve Niles, what is touted as the series that will bring the horror genre back in a way to the DC. Short synop, Kid Frankenstein in Gotham City...only less corny more dark

....there was more but I accidentally deleted my Countdown notes...the above was pretty much the bigger stuff though

-Peter David - Will be taking over She-Hulk after #22. New cast of characters, set 3 months after Slott’s last issue

-More of Agents of Atlas? Sounds like a finite possibility.

-No mixing of X-Factor and She-Hulk. X-Factor will be more entrenched in mutant community stories.

-"Messiah complex" story (Endangered Species?). Basically the birth of a child carrying the mutant gene is discovered by Cerebro. This being essential given the fact that mutants have become a endangered species. Thusly you basically have a whole X-Men vs Marauders, as everyone is trying to get this child. Ole school crossover. Spread out over many titles. Story was written over a two day period already according to those on the House of Ideas panel.(12 part series, over four titles, over 3 months.)

http://www.comicoverload.com.

Think of it as the Special Edition version of this post...or me just being really beat and not wanting to have to repost three posts worth of my con-experience.

Joshiebear's Fantastic Four 2 Review...

Well well well, another Comic Book movie, and another review. Let's get right to it, shall we?

I'm not gonna dwell on the first movie that much cuz well...it's painful and this isn't about the first movie, but I think in order to really succesfully review the first movie, I should tell you what I thought of the first. To start, I'm not a huge FF fan, so I went into it not knowing a lot, but knowing enough to be able to spot some weird off-the-button characterization going on (especially with doom, illustrated by the nearbye comic...), which must have been quite apparent to true fans, since I was somewhat of a FF noob and I could see it. However, aside from all it's bmxing extreme schlocky dumbed down goodness, it was sortuva ok movie. I think I'd probably score it at a C / C-. When they announced the sequel with the Silver Surfer and Galactus, I honestly didn't care. I just kinda went...oh...another mainstream comic movie. Could be fun, I guess we'll see. then the trailer came out with Johnny chasing down good old S.S. and I said to myself....holy crap, no way! Did they make it decent? Immediately I guzzled the glimmer of hope with a healthy dose of "This is still the same Director who did Barbershop...don't get your hopes up." That did the trick. Time passed, Spidey 3 broke my heart, and then I learned to always walk in with low expectations.

And so I did.

There was a certain level of hype that I kinda bought into (I saw it at the Arclight across the street from my school at Sunset and Vine, and they have one of the life-size Silver Surfer statues hovering over their fountain which got me excited, lol.)

So in I went with a fellow Comic Nerd into Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer, with knowledge of alleged Galactus Clouds and silly power-swapping goofyness. My expectations were low (expecting a repeat of the first movie's quality), and well......I think I loved it?

The movie just had a lot going for it, and really learned from it's mistakes in the first one. Better action sequences, better characterization, better story, better Doom(!), and a lot less schlock in exchange for just the right amount of humor, mostly between Ben and Johnny. On top of all that, it had the Silver Surfer. Wooo! That makes it fun. The team seamed to be a lot more of just that. A team. Before it was kinda like a team-up of all these people who had no idea that they could really worked together, like the wall happened to be there on accident. This one takes place years after, and it shows. They work a lot better as a team, and that really helped out in the fruition of better action scenes. Also, I'm a big fan of Brian Posehn, who played the Priest at Reid and Sue's wedding, so that was really fun to watch. All in all, it was just a significant improvement over the last movie and there was a lot to enjoy about it, even the fact that Galactus did indeed turn out to be a big Space-Leech Could thing. It honestly helps to know this before you go in. If you can get past it, then it's not so bad. In all honesty, and I'm sure I'm gonna provoke Purist Nerd-Rage when I say this, but I kinda liked it. I thought it worked out as a good alternative to a giant guy in a goofy purple crown stomping around New York with 4 little runts and the Silver Surfer bugging it. Not saying I don't like the G-man or anything, but I think the transition to film would have been...odd at best.

So all that good being said, here's the bad in short form, because it wasn't SUPER bad in my eyes....
1. Product Placement. God....just.....bleh! STOP IT JOHNNY. JUST STOP. Ben, put the slurpee down. Mr. Fantastic, stop putting big car industry logos on your own cool inventions. Sue, stop watching E! entertainment television!
2. THE BLUE EYES!!!! THEY PEIRCE INTO MY SOUL LIKE THE ICY DAGGERS OF A FROST GIANT!!!! GYAAAAAH!!!!! (Sue's contacts were a biiiiiit much)
3. The way Johnny gets the ability to swap powers with team members on a whim through contact. It's just.....it's dumb cuz they haven't showcased the team really working as a team that well yet. Stop getting ahead of yourselves guys!
4. The Silver Surfer was a bit T-1000ish, both in look, and in new, added on morphing-ish abilities.

That's pretty much all I can think of at the moment. All in all an enjoyable film if you come dialed in to the first movie, if that makes sense. I'd give this flick a B-. Check it out kids, if you liked the first, you'll love this one. If you didn't like the first, you might want to give the Fantastic Four another go.

FLAME ON KIDDIES!

Until next time, you're amigo in Hollywood,
-Joshiebear.

LIVE FROM HEROES CON !!!

Yes folks this is Nick aka The Dude, coming to you LIVE from Charlotte, NC at HEROES CON. Thus far I have uncovered a lot of DC news...I'd give you some Marvel news too but....they don't have any panels up here. Ok, enough of my yammering, on with what I have learned.

-The Flash will be cancelled after #13.....wait for it...

-Mark Waid WILL be writting The Flash after #13 with a restart of the series!!!

-Challengers of the Beyond (Kyle Rayner/Donna Troy/Jason Todd) news slipped by Didio, Jann Jones throws many things at DCU EIC.

-Jann Jones very cute and funny...wait that's probably not news...ok next...

-Barbara Gordon will STAY in the wheelchair. Didio said the character is stronger as such, to which I say GOOD.

-There are rules to the multiverse. Didio wouldn't elaborate.

- Plastic Man book, apparently Ethan Van Sciver has had one in the works for awhile, no firm release date though.

-Ralph & Sue Dibny mini is coming but, not for awhile.

-Wildstorm is one of the 52 earths

-Batgirl aka Cassandra Cain….nobody has any clue where she is, seriously, they got no new info. I asked and the panel was dumbfounded. Cassie? Didio aks. Anyone? Ok...um she is in the Himalayas

-Wonder Girl miniseries coming out of Amazon Attack series.

-Starman, more explanation in JSA #10

-New Earth 2 - News coming December

-Krypto shows up in Captain Carrot later on.

-Bad Superboy appears in Sinestro Corp.

-Extra Lanterns other then the three, will be explained in Sinestro Corp.

-Ian Churchill…something is in the works.

-Question/Batwoman miniseries.

- Sucide Squad Showcase confirmed….though Didio mistakenly said Essentials (THAT was hilarious!)

-Busted Statue of Liberty poster….there will be another poster….Ethan Van Sciver does it…more clues.

That's pretty much it. I better get off here. The webcomics panel is starting up. Full days' recap with PICTURES, coming later on. after conventions' end.

Muuurgh's X-men # 1 Review

This review was submitted by Muuurgh:
If anyone remembers my older reviews, I have stated that I grew up reading comics from the 90s, and thus my knowledge of the past is only partially present from indirect sources rather than from reading the stories themselves. Aside from reading the comics I also watched the cartoons that came out in the early to mid nineties, which is basis for my knowledge of the history of the X-Men in particular.

Anyway, I naturally grabbed a bunch of early X-Men comics because they have always been the ones to interest me the most, despite the state of their books for quite some time (with few exceptions, such as Astonishing). There were two things that heavily struck me right off the bat about the book. Just on page two I noticed that Cyclops has been played off as an ass-kisser from the start. The first thing he does is tilt Professor X’s chair back to make him more comfortable. Dick. Angel aids him in his endeavor but seems a little more playful about it, so I’m not going to bash him about it. Even when Cyclops is doing his training for the day he has to impress the Prof. by being a dick to the other X-Men.

Iceman is characterized as I expect him to be, but Beast threw me for a loop. The whole comic I was trying to imagine these characters with the voices that they had from the X-Men cartoon on Fox (this is a normal practice for me for the X-Men and Spider-Man especially… does anyone else do that?), and I just could not get the Beast to sound like I imagine him. In this comic he’s not perceived as a scientist like I know him to be, and figured he always was, but as a Thing-like character, using lots of apostrophes and meshing of words to shorten his speech.

Some interesting things about Prof. X show up, too, particularly with him stating rather randomly that his parents had worked on the A-Bomb, and the fact that the X-Men have to get used to his physic powers. They actually have to master reading the messages he transmit whereas it’s seemed like by the recent era that everyone, even if they’re a little freaked out at first, reads them just fine.

The introduction to Jean Grey is interesting, too. Cyclops, of course, looks like a tool bag, not to mention him being introduced as “Slim”, which I wasn’t expecting (I just thought Wolverine had just had made that up for him). Also, Beast is the first one to really make moves on her, and though I imagine Hank as a sweet talker, I’d expect someone like Iceman to move in first. Jean is shown as quite the feisty new recruit as she has no hesitation to take care of Beast the old fashion way; i.e., spinning him around really fast in the air and throwing him on the sofa.

Magneto looks rather hilarious to me here. His introduction makes him look like some mad scientist looking out the window of a huge tower, like a hermit of a super villain, rather than a sinisterly calm-but-enraged master of evil. He even hides behind a big thing of rocket fuel to avoid being seen by the X-Men to catch them off guard, which portrays him even more as a stock villain, regardless of the fact that he took out a whole military base and magnetized dust particles to give a message to the base before his attack via the air (yeah, that was sweet… anyone that can sign his name in cursive using dust particles would scare the shit out of me).

Overall the comic was enjoyable. Reading a book from that era was a little goofy due to some of the lingo and the attitudes of the characters, but that’s to be expected from someone who reached adulthood in the 21st century. It was a great introduction to the characters, and while the story wasn’t absolutely ground-breaking it was fun and still good. Rather than having to create something absolutely epic that shakes up the foundation of the Marvel U (though, this IS the birth of the X-Men), Stan was just telling a well versed story that held the span of one issue. I’ll give it a B+. It probably would have affected me more if I were picking up the issue back in the day it was printed, though.

Pic of the Week

and cuz i'm feelin generous....

lol, thanks somethingawful...

Fantastic Four Extended Cut DVD Review

This review was submitted by Spider-ben:
Fantastic Four Extended Cut DVD
Stars: Ioan Gruffud, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans
Director: Tim Story

With the Silver Surfer about to soar into theaters this weekend, Marvel and Fox have come together to distribute this extended version of the first Fantastic Four film. Despite whether you loved or hated the first movie, I strongly encourage all hardcore FF fans to buy this DVD for the second disc chock full of fantastic bonus features. But before diving into the goodies, I want to share some of the awesome deleted scenes restored into this version of the film.

There were a handful of extended or deleted scenes added in, but a few really stood out to help enhance the film. The first scene that impressed me was when Ben Grimm has met with Alicia Masters and decides to go inside her art gallery. Inside, Ben is surprised to see puppets lying around, and Alicia mentions that they aren’t hers and belong to her step father. I totally geeked out, realizing she was referring to the puppet master! Another scene that will really excite fans is when Reed and Sue are talking on the pier overlooking the water, and Reed tells Sue that he figured she always wanted a strong man. In this scene, Reed shifts his facial features around to look like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the X-Men films. It makes sense they could do this since Fox owns the rights to the X-Franchise along with the FF movie rights. This is a fun tie in for the fans, and a great geeky moment. Another scene shows Sue reading all of the fan mail arriving at the Baxter Building, but instead of opening the mail she makes the envelope invisible, reading the letter still inside. This was a pretty cool scene analyzing Sue’s cleverness with her powers.

Finally, before the big final fight with Doom, Johnny is showing off in a bar and tries to steal this cute girl. The girl’s boyfriend comes over, and Johnny creates a flame that almost burns the boyfriend. The girl gets pissed and tells Johnny what a loser he is for only using his powers to show off in bars and hit on pretty girls. As this is said, Johnny’s adoring fans realize he is pathetic and turn away from him. I felt this scene was important because it forces Johnny to realize what unique gift he has, and he really should be using his powers to help others. It’s an important Johnny moment cut from the theatrical version and it really helps Johnny’s character development as he grows up and becomes a hero.

Now on to the second disc. There are two sections on this disc, one being the production of the movie and one detailing the comic book history. The production part has this really awesome look at making the FF movie. It focuses on filming the actions scenes, and it has in-depth looks at how the 4 core FF characters were brought to life, along with how Doctor Doom made his live action debut. What’s really fun is that Stan Lee is caught talking with both Mike Chiklis and Julian McMahon between takes. Mike tells Stan that when he was a boy he would go to the grocery store with his brother, pick up the latest FF issue, and race home to read it. He told Stan ever since he was a boy, he dreamed of playing Ben Grimm. Stan then talked with Julian, and Stan said that Doctor Doom never really broke any laws; he just wanted to conquer the world! But due to Doom’s diplomatic immunity, he would always be treated royally despite his evil intentions.
That is really cool to see behind the scenes moments like these. There are also the trailers and TV spots for the film, and on the first disc there is the teaser trailer for the second FF movie. After the trailer, there is a short featurette on the Silver Surfer and his progression in the comic book world over the years.

The comic book part of the disc is awesome! There is an hour long look at all the different writers and artists who worked on the comic since it debuted all the way up to present day. Some of the comic creators interviewed include: Stan Lee, John Romita Sr, Walter Simonson, Steve Rude, Jim Lee, Chris Claremont, Alex Ross, Mark Waid, Karl Kesel, Joe Quesada, and more. So this is a must have for serious FF fans. The next documentary is about Jack Kirby and his impact on comics. Both co-workers and family members remember the incredible legacy that this man left behind, and how he continues to influence new comic book creators to this day. There is also a look at Alex Ross’
collection of FF stuff, mostly featuring the life size Thing and Doctor Doom head sculpts produced by Dynamic Forces some years ago.

All in all, this is a must buy for any FF fan. Not only do you get all the stuff mentioned above, but there is also a movie ticket up to $8.50 off admission to see Rise of the Silver Surfer. I’d have to give the movie itself an A, and this entire DVD set an A+!
Great for any FF or comic book fan.

Spider-man 2.1 DVD Review

This review was submitted by Hero 004:
Widescreen. 2 discs. 8 minutes of new footage.

Spoiler warning (new scenes)

First, 2.1 means that we have an extended version of Spider-Man 2, not a feature in between 2 and 3.

I am a hard core fan of the Spidey film series, so this was something I could not resist. The story isn't necesarily expanded on with this release, it's basically full of extended monolouges and longer (and better) fight sequences.

The first thing that you will notice is the extended birthday scene taword the begining of the film. Some might like this and except that it was cut out of the theatrical because of the time, and some will think that it takes away from the Harry-Peter dinamic of the story. Basically, after Harry walks away from Peter he starts talking about how much of a pal he is to him and how he is like family. This most definatly loosens the tension between them until Harry gets a little tipsy later on. But the reason why I really liked this was because it adds a little reference to Spider-Man 3: Harry- " I want Spider-Man dead like you want the guy who killed your uncle Ben dead". I'm pretty sure there is also a few lines added to him and MJ's chat by the trash cans.

The scene where he stops the car chase before the play is a little extended. It's actually pretty nice to see more of Spidey swinging around, I'm glad they added more of him before key Peter Parker scenes. Both the bank and train fights are extended and better than ever. There is more raw brawling between Doc Oc and Spider-Man which is cool because you get to see more of him wrestling with the villian's tentacles. The added action is definatly one of the major pay offs of this release.

There is a new scene where MJ is talking to one of her friends about getting married while they are shoe shopping. I think they should have left it in the original because her friend's performance was well acted and deserved recognition. The scene in the elevater is different and longer. Instead of exchanging the quick costume diolouge, the man goes into trying to come up with marketing ideas for Spidey. It was pretty amusing seeing Spider-Man standing there listening. I'm glad they pute it in, but I'm also glad they opted for the shorter version in the theatrical. Both are funny and well done.

There is also an extended version of the doctor checkup where the doctor goes more into interpreting Peter's so-called dream. It definatly makes Peter giving up Spider-Man more convincing. Last but not least: Jameson try's on Spider-Man's costume, running around his office with a cigar in his mouth, pretending to be the Web Swinger. Here's something that bothered me, though. Instead if starting to play Dashboard's "Vindicated" when they show MJ staring at Spider-Man from the appartment at the very end, they wait until the credits role. Don't know why.

So here's the spill. If you don't have the Spider-Man 2 yet, make sure you get the special edition of the original before you get 2.1. The special features of this one aren't all that good and the second disk of Spider-Man 2 has alot of good stuff about developing the story and adapting the comic Doc Oc to film. Plus, I for one am always going to want to be able to see the same movie that blew me away in theaters, no bells and whistles added. If your a big fan and don't have the movie yet, then throw down $25 which will pay for 2 and 2.1. Hey, that's how much Spider-Man 2 cost when it was new.

About Heroes Episode 58

This week - some reviews of DC Direct figures and a preview of upcoming items and talk about last week's books.

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 58

Daredevil: Battlin' Jack Murdock # 1 Review

Authors: Zeb Wells and Carmine Di Giandomenico
Art: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Cover: Carmine Di Giandomenico and Richard Isanove

There are only a couple of things that I know about Jack Murdock. He's Dardevil's father and the most important thing he did was refused to throw a fight for the fixer (an enforcer) which led to him dying in the arms of his son. It wasn't until Frank Miller's run that we really got to see the relationship between Jack and Matt, but even then that was a rocky look at the relationship. But you know what? That's all I really needed to know. If I'm going to read a story about something in the past I want something new. Of all the characters to be given a miniseries, why Jack Murdock who was not even a strong character and ultimately was plot device? I mean who in their right mind would make a book about Batman's mom and dad or Uncle Ben and Aunt May and call it Trouble? Needless to say, I'm glad I ended up reading the issue anyway.

This particular issue is entitled Round 1. The entire series seems to be structured around the final boxing match that Murdock will eventually throw. This allows us to look at the psyche of Jack with his inner monologue and his flashbacks. We listen to Jack talk about how he has to do this for his son. Even though he knows he can beat this guy, he has to keep his son out of harms way by throwing the fight. The flashbacks consist of many key moments in Jack's past. There are several things that are answered or beginning to be answered in this first issue. How did Jack get involved with these people in the first place? Why did Jack tell Matt his mom had died and when did she leave? There are even subtle hints as to the future relationship between father and son.

Wells does a fantastic job with the script, hell I don't even mind the repetitive weak for my boy speeches. The story is also pretty solid and fans of Daredevil will enjoy the cameos like Josie from Josie's bar, Turk who will eventually go that dark road that is foreshadowed in this issue, and Maggie who is seen as a young confused woman, not the woman of wisdom during Born Again. It's kind of like watching the Star Wars prequels (handled a little better), we all know where it's going to end, but we want to know more about the tragic figure of Battlin' Jack Murdock before we get there.

The best part of the book is Di Giandomenico's wonderful art. Not only does he help with the plot, but his fantastic facial expressions and rage outburst are captured perfect. The only problem I had with his art are the lighting issues, it seems everything has that foggy bright look to it even at night. I wish they had let Isanove color the inside as well, that is one fantastic gory cover, very Raging Bull. It is written intelligently and exquisitely and is showing us something new in the life of Jack Murdock. I felt really emotionally connected to the him, even though he is really to blame for all his troubles. It's a great read and I recommend it not only to the Daredevil fans, but comic readers in general. A-

Uncanny X-men # 487 Review

Author: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Colors: Jason Keith
Cover: Salvador Larroca

Three things return in this issue that made me really happy: X-men on Earth, Storm, and Salvador Larroca! I was one of the people that thought that the last story arc was 6 issues too long and I was expecting more of that from Brubaker, but I love being proved wrong.

Caliban and Leech (has this kid grown any? And where the hell is Artie?) make their way down the Morlock tunnels and are attacked by their own people. Led by Masque........wait what? Masque? The guy has been dead since X-force # 9 and there was a reason to kill him, he was fucking lame. I mean why bring back a lame character that would be like bringing Bucky back? Although in Claremont's Extreme X-men run there was mention of a character named Masque this is the first time we find out that it's the original Masque with a second mutation. Leaving a dying Caliban in the tunnels, the morlocks take Leech with them.

Nightcrawler is worried that Professor Xavier might be too healthy and going against his believes on invading people's thoughts. Warpath and Hepzibah share a moment about trying to fit in and talking about Corsair's death. I don't know if I'm alone here, but I really like Bru's portrayal of the protective Proudstar. It reminds me of the way Nicieza wrote him back in the days of X-force. Speaking of X-force Caliban shows up in his original size (pre-Apocalypse) weak and passes out in the arms of Warpath. This leads into why Storm shows up at the becking call of Professor X. I love the fact that Storm acknowledges her existence in the Fantastic Four and Black Panther books. Damn, it feels like this book is actually written in Marvel continuity. The whole point to Masque kidnapping Leech is so they can go and find Magneto so that mutants can reunite and rule mankind! So the search for Magneto begins.

I really enjoyed the issue. There were some great moments like: Storm doubt herself, since she really hasn't led the Morlocks in years, Warpath telling her that anybody would listen to her if she spoke, and Caliban return to be put on the roster of headshots on the cover. Of course there are some small things that felt lacking. Damn it! Bru had to remind us about the stupid Sentinels at the mansion. There really is no team at this moment and there was no mention of Darwin. I also hate the fact we haven't seen or heard how Scott reacted to the death of his father at his own brother's hand.

Brubaker has finally brought the X-men back home and damn that formula of trouble always looking for the X-men along with it. I'm glad to see him handle the characters so well and Larroca is the perfect artist to put this story together. Really happy to see him on a good X-title again and his return is strong in this issue! He really stands out when drawing the Morlocks and settings. On a side note...damn Valerie Cooper is looking old! This is the first time I have seen her drawn this rough, not that it's bad because it really suits the character. A solid set-up issue with some minor flaws. B+

About Heroes Episode 57

So, did you see the beer in the photos I posted yesterday? This episode hits on Transformers toys, Spider-Man loves Mary Jane, Runaways & Joss Whedon, the direction of the X-Titles, DC's multiverse, and that's only what I wrote down before I forgot to write down what we were talking about!

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 57

New Warriors #1 Review

Author: Kevin Grevioux
Penciler: Paco Medina
Inker: Juan Vlasco
Colors: Marte Gracia

From listening to our podcasts or just reading some of my reviews, you know how much I loved the original New Warriors series. It's up there amongst my favorite comics of all time. So when they turned the team that I loved into shit in volume 2 and then utter shit in volume 3, you pretty much know what my expectations were when I heard about Volume 4. Not only did they kill 3 core members in Civil war (Speedball is dead. Fuck Penance!), but the writer on volume 4 was a Hollywood screenwriter. I wanted to hate this; I really wanted to hate this.

It was a little goofy to at the beginning when Wondra yelling at Grey Gargoyle to: "Tell them. Tell your friends. Tell everyone. This is only the beginning." Reminded me of Batman. Actually all that was missing from those lines was: "I'm Batman!" But, what really hooked me was the fact that we get to see an author finally use some of those depowered mutants from M day. We are reunited with Sofia Mantega (Wind Dancer from the New X-men) and Barnell Bohusk (Beak from Morrison's New X-men). It is here that Sofia is contacted by the New Warriors and offered a spot on the team. Supervillians are found tied up with New Warriors graffiti everywhere by the New York Police department. As she is teleported to the home base, she is greeted by the original leader of the New Warriors Night Thrasher. Whether this is the original Dwayne Taylor is unknown right now, but hell one can only hope.

We know where these kids stand, we know they are against the idea of the Initiative, so I like them already. Sofia and Barnell were more likeable in this single issue then their entire run on their significant books. Seeing the two get reunited and Sofia's surprised look when she found out who Barnell used to be was priceless. Grevioux does a really nice job of making these characters more realistic and as stated earlier likeable. What really got me excited is the possible return of Night Thrasher, because after all who is to say he was the one that died in Stamford. Sure this team needs is Namorita, Hindsight Lad, and Firestar/Marvelboy, but even without those wonderful characters showing up, for some reason I find myself already hooked. As far as the story is concerned everything was perfect, just wish they had at least introduced all the key characters that will make up the team. I hope this doesn't go the way of recent team books that take at least 6 issues before the team is complete.

Medina's art has only gotten better with time. He is the perfect artist for this book. The characters look sharp and proportioned. Reminiscent of Mark Brooks or Ale Garza, but it still retains Medina's own style. My only complaint is the look of Barnell, who even as a human was portrayed a big nose skinny guy. In this book he is a handsome looking guy, but I don't know if Medina or Grievioux is to blame. The colors are wonderful and make the environments come alive. At a time when a gallon of gas is more than a price of one comic book, it's really hard to get into new books, but I have now regained my faith in Marvel and their handling of the New Warriors. A- Kudos to Grievioux for not making this anything like Underworld.
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Making a podcast

Hey all! Last night, while we were recording a podcast at Omar and Melanie's house, I took a few pictures. Click this picture to check out the photos, including a few of Omar's mythical basement of toys.

The podcast we recorded will be up tomorrow!

Pic of the Week!

Oy vey, sorry I haven't been keeping up with this, I've been super super busy. Ok, so I'll throw two out for this week's Potw just to try and make up for it.

Who's this kid talking about? I have no idea what the context is in this comic, but there's plenty that out there in comics, this kid needs to be more specific.....jesus i disgust myself...

I forget what comic this is, but major props, it's funny.

Wolverine # 54 Review

Author: Jeph Loeb
Penciler: Simone Bianchi
Inks and Washed Halftones: Simone Bianchi and Andrea Silvestri
Colors: Simone Peruzzi and Morry Hollowell

Wolverine is still struggling with repressed memories and dreams that are haunting him. Wait a fucking minute! Did anyone bother to tell Jeph Loeb that Wolverine can now remember everything and his mind is cleared thanks to House of Meh? For some reason Wolverine is remembering WWII and Weapon X and he can't tell if the dreams are real or not.

Traci Lords would have a hard time swallowing what Jeph Loeb is attempting to do here. We find out that the name of the shadow man that has been stalking Wolverine's dreams and memories is Romulus. We've already had a flashback to a Coliseum battle and Logan knowing way too much about Roman history. So are we to believe that Wolverine is supposed to be Remus? And all the characters like Feral, Sabretooth, Wildchild, Thornn, Wolfsbane, and Sasquatch are descendants of those two canine brothers? And why would Feral characters and a sasquatch be related to them?

Anyway, Wolverine and Sabretooth fight again, more confusing dreams, Wildchild was a Nazi, and Feral gets gutted by Sabretooth. Contrary to what Wolverine says Feral wasn't just a child. She served time for murdering her father and she gutted Cannonball. Bianchi again does a fantastic job with the art, with the exception of Sasquatch looking like Chewbacca. What is the connection between Sabretooth and Wolvie? Is Romulus related to Dog from Wolverine Origin? Is Wolverine finally going to kill Sabretooth? The real question I want answered is: When is Jeph Loeb leaving the book? This is really a boring story that is going nowhere and we still have one more issue for all the bullshit to hit the fan D+

New Avengers: Illuminati # 3 Review

Authors: Brian Michael Bendis and Brian Reed
Pencils: Jim Cheung

Been a while since I've reviewed a book, so I asked myself: Self, should you review a book that you really enjoyed or one that you barely stomached first? Then I realized JSA was awesome and it would be the same grade that Nick gave it, so I might as well start out with a bang! A few months late but it's finally here! Hellz yeah what does Bendis fuck with in the Marvel Universe now? Well, it's Secret Wars I and II and hell even III. This story is set between the first two Secret Wars crossovers when the Illuminati learn the devastating secret of the Beyonder.

What's the Beyonder's greatest secret? Well, to find the real answer you would have to ask Jim Shooter. Bendis feeds more unnecessary bullshit down our throats, by telling us that the Beyonder was not only an Inhuman, but a mutant Inhuman at that. To me that's the biggest problem with this issue; what’s the point? I mean it's really irrelevant that the Beyonder wasn't really a partial cosmic cube being. However, I did enjoy the scene where Black Bolt and Namor let the Beyonder have it. But if I am to buy this shit? Why didn't Black Bolt play a part in Secret Wars II when the Beyonder was destroying the Marvel Universe?

The saving grace again is Cheung his art just keeps getting better and better while keeping the same artistic style he acquired years ago. The scenes of the actual battle are impressive, makes me wish they would take the original Secret Wars script and let Cheung redraw it. The cover is a nice homage to the original Secret Wars # 1. Cheung can only do so much to save the story and it really is a boring story that adds nothing to the Secret Wars stories. I can’t wait for this collection to come out 10 years from now, when the title will change to Just Imagine Brian Michael Bendis the Marvel Universe. C

Justice Society of America #6

Justice Society of America #6
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciller: Dale Eaglesham
Inker: Ruy Jose

Chapter Four of the Lightning Saga continues in the latest issue of the JSA and I have a lot of things to say. First off, the cover, love, love LOVE! In the past Alex Ross did a bunch of covers for JSA before it's "restart" and I am glad to see he is doing covers for Johns' JSA yet again. Damage is a bad-ass, people better recognize!

Ok, ANYWAY. The character list-off is done in the first couple of pages as usual, is it annoying? Yes, but given the abundance of characters I can understand and tolerate it. Superman's past with the Legion is delved into more, and this time I'm not confused as Johns, unlike Meltzer, actually understands what he is writing. The pencilling by Eaglesham I am digging as it has a bit of a 70s/80s quality about it at times

The dialogue overall was decent. I liked the bits of conversation between JLA and JSA members while walking through the swamp. The convo between Liberty Belle and Wonder Woman being one of these nice little moments. Damage talking to Hourman and Black Lightening was kind of cool too. Oh and the Starman/Swamp Thing reference was funny in and of itself. I like the fact that they explained Starman bouncing into different parallel Earths as a side-effect of the Legion's time-traveling. It cleared up his involvment in Kingdom Come a little, not to mention confirmed the events of Kingdom Come happening in Earth 22 and NOT in the main DCU. These little things, plus the ongoing main story, just made this whole issue an interesting read. The way Johns keeps the beat of the story going is great. Oh a complete random note, who did a double take when they showed that secret society headquarters buried in the swamp? I was practically yelling Legion of DOOM! and having Super-Friends/JL:Unlimited cartoon flashbacks.

Really the only thing that annoys me, after having gone over this issue, is the fact that the conclusion to this whole cross-over Lightning Saga story is going to be in Meltzers' JLA. Seriously, the issues of Meltzer's that go with this whole story feel void of feeling and are kind of confusing. It's almost as if Meltzer wakes up from bed for a couple minutes writes something, and then goes back to sleep, Johns is right beside him going "For crying out loud man, your killing me with this crap!"

Overall this issue was good, but Meltzer's writing on the JLA issues are screwing up the whole crossover.

A-

The Boys #7

The Boys #7
Writer: Garth Ennis
Penciller: Darick Robertson

IT'S BACK. After a cancellation from Wildstorm, The Boys are back under Dynamite Entertainment's label. So the question is, is this series still good? If this issue is any indication...eh...not so much

From the start of this series, I have been a big supporter. Though overly violent and sexually explicit at times, these aspects of The Boys always served some facet of the story, which is what made this series such a fun read and why so many people enjoyed it. This issue is not a good.

Simply put, this #7 of The Boys, is one big Batman Gay Joke. Seriously. If you spend 2.99 on this, 90 percent of it is only that. Most of the story is centered around TEK-Knight, who is pretty much a thinly-veiled Batman, I mean he has a boy sidekick, his previous sidekicks' name is Swingwing and there are LOADS of other little things that scream Batman. It's just not funny The whole story of TEK-Knight having trouble controlling his sexual urges and speaking with a therapist about it, not only was it really not that funny, it wasn't even all that interesting.

The issue other then the whole TEK-Knight storyline is pretty much filler. I understand that Ennis is trying to go a different route with Dynamite, you know, maybe start fresh, but this is not the direction for it. I enjoyed all the jokes and such in previous issues, but this whole issue just feels forced and void of any feeling other then the hatred of super-heroes. Maybe I am being too critical, I don't know. I just expected more. Oh and do we not get a resolution for the whole Seven vs Butcher Crew thing? Or did I miss an issue. Overall, Robertsons' art keeps pace well with the story but Ennis' story is just lacking.

C-