Everything you've ever wanted to know about Symbiotes and was afraid to ask...

They've come and gone in the limelight of marvel lore, but it seems the symbiotes are quite 'back' as of late. The Mighty AND New Avengers are about to encounter a 'Venom-Virus' somehow involving Dr. Doom and a New York city chock full 'o' those crazy gooey suckers scraping and drooling at our most favorite marvel teamsters, and the self-proclaimed Aboutheroes expert on symbiotes (all of them) is here to lay it all down for you as all-encompassing and nutshell-esque as possible.

The symbiote first came to earth after Spider-Man, anybody who's seen Spidey 3 has a close version of what happened, but here's the skinny. Spidey was on the Beyonder's planet during the first Secret War when his costume got thrashed and he found what he thought was a new one. Nope! It's an alien that wants to crawl inside of you and eat your mind, or whatever, it seems to change depending on who's writing. Spidey finds out and gets rid of it. By going up to the top of a church and letting the bells inside of the tower rattle his noodle around a bit, thus weakening the symbiote, which is vulnerable to sonics and fire.

ENTER EDDIE BROCK! Reporter recently proven to be wrong about who the "Sin-Eater" was, who hated Spidey a lot. He's in church praying for forgiveness for what he's about to do (which is kill himself). Buuuut, the costume finds him as it slinks away, rejected by Spidey, and the two make a wonderful psychotic couple. Venom. La-dee-dah, Venom hates Spidey a lot and constantly pops up throughout the 90's falling into and out of various truces with the web-head, always upholding a twisted sense of brutal justice and earning himself the nickname, the Lethal Protector. While in after one of his earlier stints, Eddie (seperated from the symbiote) roomed up with crazy hillbilly killer, Cletus Kasady. Before you know it, the symbiote busts Eddie out of jail for more Venom-escapades, but not without squirting out an 'offspring' to bond with Cletus.

ENTER CARNAGE: One of the worst and best characters from the 90's, Carnage killed a lot of people because he thought it was fun. That's it. Venom first teams up with Spidey to right the wrong that his Symbiote did giving the madman the means to commit mass murder on such a vicious and epic scale. After repeated episodes of Spidey and Venom going after the Symbiote hillbilly, Venom busts into the cell where Carnage is being held, and proceeds to eat the symbiote. No more Carnage.

WRONG! Cletus breaks out and follows Spidey through a portal to some crazy space planet (haven't read the issue in quite some time) and finds another Symbiote! Woo! He's back! Buuuut, nothing that significant really happens with him before symbiotes go out of style...

RETURN OF THE SLIMY TONGUE KING: Venom comes back on the scene about 3 and a half years ago, only now he has cancer. Poor Eddie, the symbiote doesn't like him anymore. It wants to leave him. Tough Noogies! Spidey tricks it into staying with Eddie until Eddie's through. It's worth noting that there was a Venom series here where there was a Venom clone and it was all super-spy government laden and la-dee-dah, but trust me, it didn't make a wink of sense, forget it.

CARNAGE HAS A BABY! Carnage pops out a child that hooks up with a police officer making a symbiote named 'Toxin' that fights for good. Venom and Carnage team up (it's weird, it didn't make sense) to defeat him, cuz Venom hates anyone who likes Spidey, and Carnage....well Carnage hates everyone. Long story short, Spidey helps Toxin get his head straight and fight of the Toothy Family of Nightmarish Proportions. Toxin is now enrolled in the Initiative, nothing else has been released on him. (Funny note, Venom keeps referring to himself as the Grandpa of Toxin, but he isn't cuz he ate his 'son' and Carnage's symbiote was a new one from the far-reaches of space).

BENDIS HATES 90'S COMICS! And he shows it by having Carnage pop up in New Avengers only to be flown into space by the Sentry and ripped in half. Fuck yeah. Carnage = gone...for now.

MILLAR HATES ME! And he shows it by ripping the symbiote off of Eddie Brock and throwing it on the Scorpion. Eddie sees "Passion of the Christ" and decides he wants to die (again), so he auctions the symbiote off to the highest bidder and donates the money to charity. Then he slits his wrists and goes to the hospital, where, long story short, he still is, only he's batshit crazy without the help of the symbiote. The symbiote goes to the son of a mob boss, who sucks. The symbiote sees this and leaves him (midair, leaving him to fall to his death, ha!) and goes to the Scorpion.

THUNDERBOLTS HO! The new Venom now works for the Initiative as a member of the Thunderbolts.

Misc Characters:

The 5: 5 Symbiote offspring were extracted off of Venom and given to 5 employees of the 'Life Foundation'. Their names were: Riot, Phage, Lasher, Agony, and Scream. These people had seemingly 2 different outcomes. Some of them were eaten by a symbiote eating alien monster, but in another comic...

Hybrid: They remain intact until Scream kills their hosts and the remaining symbiotes all blurb together and then find a crippled ex raft employee. They all form on entity named 'Hybrid'. He ends up tooling around with the New Warriors for a bit, but quickly disappears, currently M.I.A..

And there you have it kiddies! That's pretty much the nutshell history of Symbiotes! There's a lot more small stuff but this is the stuff that really made any significant impact at all, at least in my opinion. And now you're all ready for any new Symbiote Action that comes up in comics now, be it a Symbiote Virus...or just crazy eddie trying to pull the plug on Aunt May. Seeya buds!

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About Heroes Comic 03

Welcome to aboutheroes Spider-ben and The Fastest Nick Alive! Hope you survive the experience.

The Last Fantastic Four Story

Teen Titans #50

Writers: Sean McKeever, Geoff Johns, Marv Wolfman, & Todd Dezago
Artists: Randy Green, Mike McKone, George Perez, & Todd Nauck

There are two things happening this issue, the Titans are celebrating Bart's all too short publishing life, and the Big Guns of the DCU are getting shut down by... themselves? Sean McKeever writes the majority of this issue and as the new series writer does a pretty good job.  At least he's better than the horrible drivel that came out of the Titans' mouth when Adam Beechen was on this book.  Instead of speaking cliches all the time, these Titans actually emote.  Robin and Cassie share some moments over Bart.  Ravager and Kid Devil rebel against all the mourning and go skinny dipping, while Blue Beetle appears in a 3 page re-cap of his last issue #18 just to set up his appearance in the book later on.  Geoff Johns and Marv Wolfman write some cool flashback sequences that relate to Bart. Johns' being the best where Robin lets Bart fly the Bat-plane over Smallville.  Wolfman's segment has the Wally reminiscing about how he wanted Barry's approval of him being in the Titans, the same way Bart did of Wally.  Dezago writes a page that captures Bart's impulsive nature but doesn't do that much for the story.  Of course all the old arists are back to draw their segments.  Randy Green illustrates the rest of this issue, but I'm left wondering why Ale Garza didn't do it as he's listed to be the next artist on the book.  One the whole, it's not a bad story, but it's not a neccessary one.  It's your typical anniversary issue, that while enjoyable, doesn't merit a must-buy for it's 3.99 cover price like Superman and Wolverine did last week.  B 

Action Comics #855

Writers: Geoff Johns & Richard Donner
Artist: Eric Powell

The second arc of Johns and Donner starts here, without the first even being finished.  Moving past that, this is an enjoyable story, but a quick one.  I think I read this in about 5 minutes, whereas most comics take me 15 minutes to get through.  This is because there is not a whole lot of dialougue in the Bizarro World pages.  Well, there's some Bizarro dialougue, but that's so confusing to get through, I just skimmed over it.  Sometimes Bizarro is talking normally, and other times in the same sentence he's talking backwards.  Jeph Loeb did it right where it was ALL backwards (the one good thing from that last arc) but here, without any note to tell you how to read it, it just gets skimmed and ignored.  Another thing, we don't get any real reason as to why Bizarro World exists, Superman arrives after Bizarro kidnaps Johnathan Kent and takes him to Bizarro World.  We get some mention of what the Blue Sun does to Superman, but the Jor-El hologram doesn't say much else other than that it may make Superman stronger.  One thing I did have a problem with was how Superman found Bizarro World.  Jor-Ello-gram simply sends his son to the closest planet around the closest Blue Sun, which he just assumes is Bizarro World.  What if it wasn't?  It's too convenient and took me out of the book.

Johns and Donner clearly have a plan for this book, and this arc, but this first issue doesn't show it.  It's more focused on action than story, and even though it's called Action Comics, I wanted a little more exposition on who this Bizarro is (is he a clone or alien?) and the existence or purpose of Bizarro World.  It would seem to make sense to put it here in the first issue, since this is only a 3 issue arc, and the next two issues be slam-bang action.  Eric Powell draws a great zombie-ish Bizarro, and his Superman looks straight out of the Max Fleisher cartoons from the 1940's.  It's this stylization that brings the book together.  Superman doesn't look all emo like he does in JLA or Superman, he looks tough, and like he's all business.  He should be all business since his father is missing.  Anyway, Powell is a great addition to this book, if only for 3 issues, it's too bad that it failed to grab me and rock me like I was hoping.  C- 

Superman and Batman Vs. Aliens and Predator Review

This review was submitted by Ray2007
Writer: Mark Schultz
Artist: Ariel Olivetti
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics / DC Comics

Boy, oh boy...When I first saw this title at my local Borders bookstore, I actually chuckled. It just sounded like a title ripe for disaster. I mean, the title alone already shows some inherent flaws in the concept:

1. "Aliens AND Predator" ? If the film, "AVP" taught us anything it's that those two species are natural enemies. How are they going to work together against Batman and Superman?

2. Both Superman and Batman have each confronted Aliens and Predators before, and lived to tell about it. Any guesses as to who's going to win THIS battle?

3. The title had the trappings of one of those WWF or WWE (or whatever initials they go by) Pay-Per-View Main Event Steel Cage Matches.

So...of course, I had to get it.

I figured this one of those books that was so outrageous that it would either succeed brilliantly, or die in flames. Well, for me, it succeeded. Just not brilliantly.

Our story starts in the Andes Mountains of Peru where a geological team vanishes (read: decapitated) while climbing a volcano, Mount Viejo Abuelo. Word of this event reaches the Daily Planet where Perry White decides to send Clark Kent to sniff out the story. After a bit of badgering and bad puns (you'll know when you read them), Lois Lane tags along with her super husband. Little does Perry realize that just the day before, Clark had encountered a group of Predators modifying an underground power generator in Metropolis. But rather than fight, they scatter. And now, Clark doesn't realize that his trip to the Andes is about to provide more answers than he wants...

Meanwhile, in Gotham City, Batman,( who has started keeping Captain's Log's like Star Trek Starfleet officers), is about to jump a meeting of the Russian mob and the local steelworker's union. His mission is interrupted however by the presence of another group of Predators, who after a brief tussle, also retreat. Batman, after analyzing dust traces they leave at the scene, tracks them to Peru.

In short order, the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight meet in the Andes, and discover a THIRD party called to Peru: TDI agents. The Terrestial Defense Initiative is a covert group that is dedicated to protecting the human populace from Aliens and Predators, by any means necessary. (No doubt this group was started with the help of two U.S. state governors, an L.A. police lieutenant, and a clone of a woman who looks remarkably like Sigourney Weaver!) However, the TDI agents that Batman and Superman encounter are all dead, easy pickings for the Predators. And that's just the beginning of their problems...

Ariel Olivetti's ("The Last Avenger's Story", "JLA: Paradise Lost") artwork is good, done in a digital style that vaguely reminded me of "Batman: Digital Justice". But, that feels appropriate for a story dealing with advanced and alien technology. Mark Schultz's writing is solid, if a bit repetitive at times. (How many times can Superman say, "Great Rao" in a given story?) He does have at least a grasp of the fundamental differences in Superman and Batman's philosophies when it comes to fighting crime, and milks it for all it's worth when dealing with the Aliens and Predators. It then came as no surprise that he makes Superman so noble in the face of these adversaries, since Schultz's most prolific and current assignment is as the writer on the "Prince Valiant" comic strip. Schultz's portrayal of Batman is believable, but nothing groundbreaking.

The action is well written and drawn however, and there were enough surprises and gags to make me smile. Personally, though, I was hoping for something just a little bit bloodier. We ARE dealing with Aliens and Predators, after all.

Maybe the title should have been:

Dark Horse versus DC: Clash of the Franchises!

B-

Picture of the Week!

Haven't done one in a while and figured Josh a break. He's still the man at finding the weirdest shit. Thanks for the submission John! I know who I'll be voting for.

About Heroes Episode 67

Join us for our first round table discussion about manga, suitable for newbies and otaku alike!

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 67

Joe Quesada to join us for an interview

Editor and Chief of Marvel Comics Joe Quesada has agreed to do an interview with us on Thursday August 30th at 4:30pm eastern time. We would love for our listeners to participate and ask questions. All you have to do is leave your questions in the comment section. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you wish. We will try to read as many as we can. Thank you Jeff (Dr. Whofan) you are the man for setting up this interview for us.

Justice League of America - Black Canary

Holy frijoles; real fishnet stockings on an action figure. Do I actually need to write out a longer review than that?

Actually, yes. I really like this figure, and not just because of the fishnets, or because Black Canary is one of my favorite characters (though not as she's written - or not written - thus far in JLA). But lets get the fishnets out of the way. This is the first action figure I've encountered that uses real tiny fishnet stockings. While the seam up the back is pretty thick, the general effect really works; not only that, but the stockings themselves hide the joints in her knees. Since her elbow joints are covered by her black jacket, and her hip joints are hidden by the shiny black of her costume, Black Canary has a very statuesque look that escapes a lot of action figures.

However, the stockings aren't perfect. The dye from the stockings has left marks all over the flesh-colored paint of her legs; if you mess with the stockings and throw off their position from the way they are when you open the package, it's a pretty unsightly mess. Luckily, the stockings aren't difficult to convince back into position.

In terms of the pose, I'd like to see something a little more dynamic from DC's premiere female martial artist. If the archetype behind Black Canary is "kung-fu and fishnets", this figure only gets one of the two. Since her pose is so static, like the vast majority of DC Direct figures, I'd have liked to see her hair sitting more naturally than it does. That's just a nitpick, though, since I figure an all-positive review is pretty boring.

Her paint applications are all clean, and her facial sculpt isn't bad; if anything, it errs a little towards an Asian look. But it's definitely Black Canary as opposed to another DC heroine's head just repurposed.

This figure's certainly worth the cost, and I'd be surprised if it doesn't turn out to be the hardest-to-find figure of the wave. If you like the character at all, I'd definitely pick up this figure.

Manga Reviews: Full Metal Panic, Peace Maker, and Alive!

Full Metal Panic! Fighting Boy Meets Girl Novel
Author: Shouji Gatou
Illustrations: Shikidouji
Translation: Duane Johnson
Publisher: Tokyopop

It seems that more and more novels keep coming their way to American shores and I think that is a great thing. This book not only ties into the smash-hit anime series and manga of the same name, but is also its inspiration. The Full Metal Panic! manga is the story of gung-ho young secret agent Sosuke Sagara, assigned to go undercover and protect high-school honor-student Kaname Chidori from a band of international terrorists. Needless to say, Sosuke's background as a counterinsurgent guerilla isn't the best possible preparation for high school and of course first impressions aren't always the best! This first installment of FMP gets the readers well acquainted with the characters of the book through a sequence of bountiful mini stories and chapters. Through these stories you also see a budding relationship between the two protagonists in the book, as well glimpses of Sagara's painful and unknown past. The only drawback I saw are the illustrations, for some reason I was expecting so much more, but to be honest they look more like blown-up versions of manga panels. If you are a fan of the series, you already know how good the book is and if you are wondering what the FMP craze is all about, why not read where it all began? B

Peace Maker volume 1
Author & Artist: Nanae Chrono
Translation: Michelle Kobayashi
Publisher: Tokyopop

I have to say that the cover for this book really stands out. I love the black and white with some red just water colored on look. The story is focused on the main character, Ichimura Tetsunosuke, your stereotypical energetic, short, and very childlike 15 year old. He and his older brother are left to fend for themselves after the vicious murder of their parents. While Tetsunosuke wants to get revenge, his pacifist brother Ihchimaru is not so inclined. Interestingly, the story develops when they take refuge working defined jobs in a special police force called the Shinsengumi, where his brother is an accountant and he is a servant to the demon of the Shinsengumi Hijikata Toshizo. The Shinsengumi, are based on a real police force and that is why you have probably heard that name and seen those outfits before. What may seem like a very the physical comedy at first will later expose itself at having a serious story that the cover portrays. Tetsunosuke is eager to "become a demon" to get his revenge, obviously not knowing what he's getting into in his hurry to become the man he thinks he wants to be. I think that is why I got hooked so quickly, well that and Souji and his pet pig Saizou. I just really wish that they would start translating more of the sound effects, because they are really important in this series. You can see that some of them had to be translated to get a better understanding of the story. Just a small gripe for an overall great story. A-

Alive: The Final Evolution volume 1
Author: Tadashi Kawashima
Artist: Adachitoka
Publisher: Del Rey

After reading Poison Candy last week, I really didn't want read another "virus" story again. But damn, I'm so glad I did. The book starts out gloomy with a sequence of intangible conversations stating that life has been found on Earth. We are then introduced to Taisuke and Hiros who are both teenagers in high school. While Taisuke is walking home he witnesses a woman committing suicide and that makes him feel kind of awkward, but it's another kind of feeling that he hasn't felt before. As the week goes on it seems that over 100,000 people have committed suicide throughout the world. When I first started reading the book I really thought it was going to be a deep commentary on the pandemic of suicide with youths in Japan, but it really turned out to be more than that. It is a very Twilight Zonish feel to it and the art is does nothing but make that story shine with its gory details and perfect panel to panel fluidity. I really can't wait to see where this story is going. A

Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious

Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious
Writer/Penciller : Sam Kieth

Well the words Batman and Lobo were in a title, so you know I had to get this sucker. This story written by Kieth begins with Batman being transported to a space station light years away to handle some kind of space plague. While learning about the plague Bats runs into your favorite Czarnian , LOBO. Pretty much the Batman and Lobo's aims become similar after a point and they chase after this body hopping space virus which only seems to be affecting women.

Kieth's writing for this first issue is fast paced and to the point. Humor and general insanity are interspersed throughout this issue as is Sam's norm. Kieth's unique art style matching his tone of story is made all the better by Alex Sinclair's colors. The best way I know how to describe Keith's art style is imagine if Jim Lee and Frank Millers' art styles ended up having a kid...this is what that would look like. Deranged and overemphasized at points yet still keeping a tight clean look at other times.

There's a lot of things to like about this first issue. First, you have the Batman/Lobo dynamic aka a violent Abbott and Costello type vibe, if you know...Abbott could regrow limbs. Second, insane depictions of gunfire. Third, you got women blowing shit up almost every page. This book quite simply verges on the insane but in a delightful way. In short buy this book, it's worth the time and kinda trippy. A+

25th anniversary G.I. Joe wave 3 images

Hasbro has just released high-res images of the 3rd wave of 25th anniversary G.I. Joes:

While I'm a Transformer fan at heart, G.I. Joe kinda shares a universe with them, so a bit of collection bleed is to be expected as well. I've picked up the first wave and they're wonderful, so I'm really looking forward to Zartan, Shipwreck and Firefly at the very least. What do you think?

Cable and Deadpool # 44 Review

Author: Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Jeremy Freeman & John Dell
Colors: Gotham & Sotocolor

After killing Cable in the pages of X-men 200 and Wolverine chopping Deadpool's head off last issue, I wondered what this issue would be about. Leave it to Nicieza to keep pulling stories out of his great ingenious head. To top the greatness of this issue we also throw in the fantastic Ron Lim, who doesn't get enough work in my opinion.

After taking Wade's noggin off Wolverine turns his attention to Penetrator. Even thought the whole time Weasel is trying to clue him in that he is a Pene-traitor! Bob: Agent of Hydra manages to reattach Wade's head back to his body and presto! Deadpool is back. And of course there is the must Wolverine Vs. Hydra agents fight! Not only is this book action packed, but damn it's one of the funniest comics in recent time. It really takes a great writer to have that great balance in a book. Everything is set up for the next issue at the end with Deadpool and Bob teleporting somewhere or somewhen. Only small gripe is that Wolverine seems to be wearing his old costume and not his Astonishing one. But still, I can't wait for the next issue. A

X-men 202 Review

Author: Mike Carey
Penciler: Humberto Ramos
Inker: Carlos Cuevas
Colors: Edgar Delgado

The New X-men, Colossus, and Shadowcat get their butts handed to them by Exodus and gang; of course they were using Tempo to stop time, so that's not really fair. It's funny how the New Mutants were able to take care of Tempo, but Colossus and Kitty have a hard time with the help of the New X-men. It looks like the incomprehensible storyline is starting to make more sense now that we know that the Marauders are after the books of Destiny. Why exactly is still a mystery? Dear God, they are probably tying into the Endangered Species flashback we had where Destiny is part of the Black Womb experiment. Funny thing to see pop up again in the X-books, since the editors didn't let Claremont do what he wanted with the books of Destiny.

Where the hell are the rest of the X-men? I know they were taken by surprise, but Cyclops, Storm, or Forge should be taking some kind of charge and getting everyone together for a counterstrike by now. I was a bit confused by what Emma learned from the Marauders minds. Did they go back and stick Vargas with a sword again or was this a flashback to Rogue stabbing him with the sword? Of course that has more to do with the art than anything. I'm a big fan of Ramos, but to me he has to be on the right book. Impulse, Crimson, and X-nation 2099 are perfect books for the guy. However, even if the characters looked their age I would still be disappointed by his art here. He is showing considerably less range than he has in the past and he is lacking in consistency from panel to panel. Endagered Species had another lackluster part in this issue. Hope to get some kind of resolution some time soon. B-

Blue Beetle #18

Wolverine #56

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Howard Chaykin

Like most other Wolverine solo issues in the past 2 years, this one is awesome.  The best part about these stories is that while they appear in the Wolverine book, they don't feature Wolverine very prominently.  This issue's plot is fairly simple.  It features a naked Wolverine in a pit getting pumped with lead every ten minutes.  The story is about a man named Wendell, who does the shooting of Wolverine.  After six weeks, Wolverine starts talking to the guy and gets under his skin.  Wolverine knows a lot about Wendell, and keeps asking him about hit relationship with his father, his abuse, and his crappy life that he leads now.  Wendell's job is to show up at 8am everyday and shoot Wolverine, for no apparent reason.  There are a lot of soldiers guarding the place who take no notice of Wendell, and the secretary of the joint ignores Wendell as he looks lustfully at her every day.  Once Wolverine gets under Wendell's skin, Wendell goes on a journey to find himself, and correct his familial issues, in a rather direct way.

After the abysmal and pointless storyarc by Jeph Loeb the last 6 issues, I was going to drop this book.  I jumped on it for Civil War and Humberto Ramos, and ended up staying on after that, hoping that Loeb would bring something cool to the table.  I grabbed this issue, hoping that like the other one-shots, it would be good, and I was correct.  Jason Aaron writes a good tale, and if Wolverine was in a pit being shot at for 10 issues in a row talking to his shooters, we might have a better series.  I'm still considering dropping the book, but I think I'll see what Marc Guggenheim has in store next issue.  I enjoyed what he did with the Civil War tie-ins, and his Flash run, so I'll give his return to the book a shot.  When I was first exposed to Howard Chaykin in New Avengers last year, I was unimpressed, but his style really works here.  I think Chaykin is staying on for Guggenheim's run so I'm looking forward to that as well.  His Wolverine is good, similar to Darick Robertson's, but I might give him a shot on New Avengers and put Yu back on Wolverine.  Like Superman this week, this is an oversized book worth the $3.99.  You won't be dissapointed.  B+

Superman #666

Amazing Spider-Man #543

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artists: Ron Garney & Bill Reinhold

After reading Spider-Ben's review of Ultimate Spider-Man this week, I will try not to bash this book as much as he did (even though he gave it a B-) but I might not suceed.  After last issue's stunning fight between Peter Parker and the Kingpin, all we have left is the resolution to Aunt May being shot 5 issues ago.  Don't let the cover fool you, we don't get resolution, all we get is Peter Parker at his lowest point in his life, ready for One More Day to undo it all. 

The whole issue deals with Aunt May's condition.  It's not getting any better and Peter doesn't know what to do.  His cash is running out and the hospital is asking questions.  My main issues with this book have to do with the actions Peter takes.  JMS turns him into a criminal, a felon.  We know Spider-Man was a felon before, since he has not registered, but he makes Peter Parker a felon, not Spider-Man.  A cop comes to the hospital to investigate this "gunshot wound" since the hospital has to file a report with every gunshot wound they recieve.  The cop is investigating since there is no police report for this May Reilly/Fitzgerald gunshot wound.  The cop talks to the nurse, who spins this elaborate but probable yarn about what she thinks happened to Aunt May.  The cop acts like he believes this crappy nurse story, and goes to the hospital room.  What happened next is what angered me about the issue.  Peter Parker assaults the officer, ties him up, steals an ambulance, and forges  hospital papers to move May to another hospital.  What the hell JMS?  Why can't Peter take responsibility for his actions?  Isn't that Spider-Man's mantra?  I know this is all set up for the great undo of One More Day, so that Peter will be so down and out that he'd be willing to change it all (or so they'd have us believe).  Spider-Man could have intervened with the cop, and surely if he told the truth that this was Spider-Man's Aunt, they would've still taken care of her.  I know that MJ would have been arrested for aiding and abetting a felon, but May would at least be safe and being taken care of.  JMS makes Peter take these criminal actions, to say, things will never be the same again, etc. etc. But we already know they will be because of all the One More Day hype.  If One More Day were a secret until this issue came out, then the story might have more weight to it, but with all the hype around the next issues, this issue just falls flat.  It was a great storyarc until this point, when it became set-up for Joe Quesada. D

I still think that the undo-ing of the Peter/MJ marriage is a ruse, just like killing Speedball was...

Manga Reviews: From Angels to Zombies!

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order Volume 9
Story & Art: Yukito Kishiro
English Adaptation: Fred Burke
Publisher: Viz Media

When last we left Alita she had finally penetrated the center of Melchizedek, the supercomputer who is holding her friend Lou's brain hostage. It is there she is mesmerized by a vivid vision of the undead life of Caerula, who in this flashback is referred to as Vilma Fachiri. As the dream sequence continues we learn the fates of Haruka, Victor, Vilma, and Arthur. It is at the end of this volume that we also learn what the title Last Order means. Melchizedek (known as Merlin originally) has no inherent sense of morals or human values, but instead is influenced based on those of its human operators. It turns out that after losing Haruka, Arthur has lost the hope of humanity and gives a "last order" to Vilma. When Merlin's operators become so corrupt as to have Merlin threaten the future of humanity, Vilma is to insert the Fata Morgana module into Merlin, which will cause Merlin to self-destruct. That's pretty much the crux of the story. And while it remains a good Kushiro story, full of slashing fights, gory violence, and mind twisting facts, it is a total deviation from Alita's story. She doesn't even appear in this book. I found it very weird that the Panzer Kunst evolved from vampire martial artist. Not a bad story what so ever, but I'll just be happy when we can focus back on Alita. B

Ranma 1/2 Volume 1
Story & Art: Rumiko Takahshi
English Adaptation: Gerard Jones & Matt Thorn
Publisher: Viz Media
I can't help but think of the first season intro song every time I read Ranma. That song has been stuck in my head for 15 years now and of course this is a good thing. I tried explaining to friends in the past the beauty of Ranma, but it really doesn't do it justice. So, what happens when your father takes you training in China and you fall in a cursed spring? Well you turn into a girl when splashed with cold water! And him into a Panda that holds up ridiculous signs to get his points across. What happens when you are forced to live with your fiancée that hates men and has every guy in high school after her? That's just the first chapter, how can you not instantly fall in love with that idea? In this 300 page manga you also get the first appearance of Kuno who falls in love with Ranma's girl side and is in constant battle with himself over who to choose Ranma or Akane. Directionally-challenged Ryoga also makes his first appearance and fights Ranma to the death over some bread. Although the artwork is top notch, this is the first volume and it pales slightly in comparison to later volumes. The lines are not as sharp and a bit smudgy and the figures not as well defined. Some of the characters look a bit different than they do in later volumes. Ranma ½ is an entertaining martial arts romantic comedy with some strange loveable characters and some great ridiculous fights; and that is the only way I can describe it. I can't recommend this book highly enough to anyone that has ever wondered what manga is all about, because to me this is the definition of manga. A+

Zombie Powder Volume 1
Story & Art: Tite Kubo
Translation: Akira Watanabe
Publisher: Viz Media

From the same guy that brought you that little wonderful series Bleach comes the search for the zombie powder. And if you haven't read or seen Bleach, shame on you! Gamma Akutabi is in search for the 12 Rings of the Dead, which is the source of the zombie powder, which can raise the dead or grant immortality. Along the way Gamma meets Elwood, whose sister is killed by a gang in his town. Elwood decides to travel with Gamma to acquire all 12 rings to bring his sister back from the dead. This manga is blended well with action and comedic elements. Elwood provides the comic relief, dragging Gamma and later his partner Mr. Smith, into one worse predicament after another. But don't let him fool you; he's really deadly with his weapons of choice, his knives. Gamma himself is an intriguing character with his black metal arm and the powerful giant sword/chainsaw sword! You have to keep in mind that this book came out before Bleach and you can tell by the way that Kubo was tightening up his art in these pages. I really like the look of the characters and the action scenes are purely amazing. The details are especially lush and striking with facial expressions. Now this is a way to start a manga. A

Bastard: Heavy Metal Dark Fantasy Volume 15
Story & Art: Kazushi Hagiwara
English Adaptation: Sean McCoy
Publisher: Viz Media

Dark Scheinder is dead, well at least for now. I find it funny that even the author is already talking about DS coming back in the next volume or two. While the Rebel Samurai and Sorcerer Shogun are fighting of a flock of angels who have submerged into the world's surface, Kall-Su studies ancient computers aboard the embattled Arc and discovers a terrifying prophecy known as Apocrypha of Johannes. This prophecies the end of all humanity and the world, we are talking Armageddon baby! Then, just as Yoko is about to be ripped apart by winged monsters, Lucien is suddenly reborn as the fallen archangel Lucifer. Not only is all of heaven breaking loose on earth, DS falls into hell and comes face to face with the Devil himself! This series isn't for everyone, but for those people that love adventure, sex, violence, gore, and some great ass kicking action this is the book for us. I do have to say the DS is the glue that keeps everything from falling apart and having him MIA is really a downer. However, the art is definitely hitting its high streak. Hagiwara has come a long way from volume 1 and his characters look amazing and ready for battle. I really look forward to the next volume and hopefully the return of DS. B+

Ultimate Spider-Man #112 Review

Ultimate Spider-Man #112
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Cover: Immonen and Richard Isanove

To quote Mr. Horse from the Ren and Stimpy show, "No sir, I don't like it." That pretty much sums up how I feel about the shift in artists on my former favorite Marvel comic book. Before I get this review into swing, I want all you Immonen fans to chill out and relax. I am a huge geek and I pretty much enjoy all things Marvel (stories, characters, art, and the such) and I think it isn't that bad that I only despise one artist working for Marvel. It just so happens though that this one artist I hate is taking over my former favorite comic. But all my Immonen hating aside, the story still was pretty sweet, but that's because Bendis is still writing the comic.

OK, even though the art looked like horse shit, the story was pretty damn fun. The Shocker returns once again and once again he gets his ass handed to him courtesy of Spidey and Kitty Pryde. Kitty is sporting some weird ass costume, makes me wish they were using Bagley's design from the Deadpool arc some issues ago. Kitty is still royally pissed at Peter, and after the way he treated her with the breakup I completely understand her emotions and actions. Like I stated a few reviews ago, I was also considered the "mistake" in my first serious relationship back in high school, and that is something that just doesn't go away. To make things worse, Kitty and Peter are seen coming to class late, getting a lot of jokes from their peers about the awkwardness of the situation. To make things even worse, the teacher is giving the class an assignment of taking care of a fake baby and matching pairs up herself. Sure enough, Peter and Kitty are teamed up as parents. Kong does something cool though, he basically tells Flash to calm the hell down with his racist mutant comments, defending Kitty. Kitty is stunned by this, and I really hope Bendis pairs these two up. Kitty has been treated like shit by Bobby Drake, some of her fellow X-Men, and now Peter. So it's really cool seeing Kong defending Kitty for just being herself and not ashamed of being a mutant. Good for you Kong, hope you get lucky in a few issues!

Kitty's a total babe and she deserves someone who likes her for who she is. Anyways, MJ is still having flashbacks to becoming the goblin thingduring the clone saga arc, and she is also having some jealous feelings towards Kitty and Peter being paired up for the assignment. Oh, almost forgot to mention Norman Osborn returns as well. He is ready to make a deal with Nick Fury, but he has to talk with Captain Carol Danvers instead. Carol doesn't want to listen to Norman, and tells the doctors to up his medication to keep him sedated. Things then get weird as the power to Norman's cell goes out and then a huge explosion ends the issue.

Thoughts/Comments:
Thank God Bendis is still delivering on the story or else I'd totally drop the book. I just can't stand Immonen at all. I hate his people, I hate the faces on his people, and I still can't really get into his Spidey. All the scenes at the school were atrocious, I swear the faces on Peter and gang all looked smashed together and dull of any life. I just can't stand this art at all, and I really wish they would have ended the book last issue instead of continue on with Immonen as the artist. Please God, let Immonen only be on for 6-12 issues. Better yet, make him a DC exclusive so his art doesn't taint any Marvel comic books. I know you Immonen lovers will probably hate me, but this is how I feel. The story has promise, but I can't say that for the art. B- ,and that is me being generous.

Manga Reviews: St. Lunatics High School, Fantamir, and Poison Candy.

Author and Artist: Majiko
Translation: Alethea & Athena Nibley
Publisher: Tokyopop

It is very ironic that the artist and writer of St. Lunatic is properly named Majiko. The cover of the manga reminded me of the Nippon Ichi game Disgaea. Actually most of the look of the book reminds me of the NIS character designs. Which I think is why I enjoyed this little title so much. The story centers around Niko Kanzaki and her brother, Atchan, who are very poor and he can't keep a teaching job for more than a week. Atchan gets an offer to work as a teacher at the prestigious private school St. Lunatic High, complete with a house for the two of them, so of course they jump at the chance. At night, St. Lunatic is a high school not for privileged humans, but for demons. As Niko tries, and fails, to fit in, she's drawn to Ren-Kun, who looks almost human, though his wings come in handy every time Niko gets into trouble. Each story is separated by periods of classes and there is all kinds of possibilities the writer can take us through. I found this manga very appealing and offbeat, although Niko's hyperactive overreactions to everything could be irritating, the art really makes it funny. I'm sure the premise of the main story is to see how Niko and Ren get together, but I am really interested in all the supporting characters like the pumpkin head and mermaid. I can't believe that this is Majiko's first manga, it seems like it's been done by professionals. I really look forward to future volumes of this cute and funny series. A

Author: David Hine
Artist: Hans Steinback
Publisher: Tokyopop

David Hine is no stranger to writing comics. He has written Spawn and even some X-men titles. This seems to be his first shot at a OEL (Original English Language) manga and he is teamed up with Hans Steinback famous for his work on Midnight Opera. The title is a little misleading, when I think of poison candy I think of all the horrible Halloween stories parents and teachers used to tell me, maybe I had a weird childhood. It is really a story about a group of teenagers that find themselves the victims of the South Korean Adolescent Retrovirus (SKAR). This is a disease that triggers the latent mutant gene in a tiny minority of adolescents all over the world, triggering inside of them remarkable superhuman and telekinetic powers. The twist is that the retrovirus also kills within a few months. The main characters are Sam Chance and his girlfriend Donna as they struggle to come to terms with Sam's newfound abilities and the death sentence that comes with them. Sam is frozen and wakes up one hundred years later to find out his girlfriend and all his friends are dead. It's a promising start and the story is pretty solid, but for some reason I really couldn't get into the book. Could have been the awkward dialogue or the way Sam acts, but to me he's not a likeable character. Steinback's art is really inconsistent; while some of it is impressive, some panels look odd and out of place. Heads look bigger at times and bodies are sometimes contorted in unrealistic proportions. Not a great start, but it does peek my interest where Sam's story will go from here. C+

Author & Artist: Eun Jin Seo
Translator: Lauren Na
Publisher: Tokyopop

To look at the cover I would think that this is one of the many hundred CLAMP manga out right now. They seem to put out more books than your average creators. However, Fantamir is not even a manga, it is a manhwa (Korean comics). Seo is the same creator that brought you Peppermint, which is also available from Tokyopop. Fantamir is a story about Mir who loses her magical abilities, so she decides to retire and become a student in a normal school. And of course it's never that easy! To her surprise, she's enrolled in a shaman class, and the school has a mysterious history attached to her family's past. I can't say enough about the gorgeous artwork, it's really amazing that the same artist can pull off those great action sequences and the panels where characters are just acting goofy. Sounds stereotypical of this genre I know, but the perfect combination of humor, beautiful art and drama gives you a wonderful story that you will be looking forward to with the release of each volume. A-

About Heroes Episode 66

Catching up on two weeks worth of comics and a few notes about toys.

Listen to About Heroes, Episode 66

Oh My Goddess! Volumes 1 - 5 Review

Story & Art: Kosuke Fujishima
Translation: Dana Lewis, Alan Gleason, and Toren Smith
Lettering and touch-up: Susie Lee & Betty Dong
Publisher: Dark Horse Manga

"I want a Goddess like you to be with me always." That's how it all began. I have been following this manga since the single issues came out in America in 1994. Sometimes I couldn't wait for the manga to be translated so I would just import the un-translated volumes and try to decipher the stories. The series started in Japan in 1988 and there is a reason why it's been around for almost 20 years. Since 2004 Dark Horse has been rereleasing the manga in its original right to left format. Every single story that was left out in previous incarnations are found here. So far only volumes 1-5 have been released in this format and every volume since 21 will have this treatment. How can I put to words how I feel about this series? How do I describe falling in love with a fictional character without sounding like a weirdo?

The story centers around Keiichi Morisato, a good-natured college student that accidently dials the wrong number and gets the Goddess Help Line by luck. That is where the beautiful Goddess Belldandy materializes in his dorm room and grants him one wish. Thinking that this is all joke by his roommates, the girlfriendless Keiichi wishes for a Goddess like her to be with him always. The wish is granted and this is how their story begins. Now that Belldandy is stranded on earth to be with him, she must also live with him, but with his dormitory being strictly male-only, they are both forced onto the street. Keiichi's motorcycle had just been repaired, so they set off to find shelter somewhere else. Eventually finding sanctuary at a monk's temple Keiichi realizes that there is a system force that keeps him and Belldandy inseparable and that after using her powers Belldandy sometimes needs a nap to re-energize. The first volume introduces us to so many characters like Megumi (Keiichi's sister), his sempai Otaki and Tamiya; and the conniving Sayako.

The introduction of Belldandy's older sister Urd, certainly spices things up. It's just a shame it slips so easily into such an episodic nature, but not to the point where she goes un-noticed mind you. Urd is a self declared Goddess of love, and she's made it her mission to force Keiichi and Belldandy's relationship to move on for the sake of her sister's happiness. Unfortunately for her, she is only a second class Goddess and not as powerful as she likes to think. So what she ends of doing is making Keiichi's life even more complicated, especially since her presence serves to irritate Sayako, who wants Keiichi for herself. Even The Almighty doesn't want Urd around so he sentences her to stay on Earth as punishment. Sayako's cousin Toshiyuki Aoshima is introduced in volume 3 and proves to be a rival for Keiichi. Even with his money and good looks he still can't get Belldandy to leave her man!

Urd continues her campaign of naughtiness into volume 4, when she brews up a love potion that, of course, goes horribly awry. Infecting everyone but her poor intended target-Keiichi. But random passion in the streets may be the least of the gang's worries as we are introduced to Mara, a first class demon. Of course Mara enjoys only one thing , causing endless trouble for Belldandy and Urd! How can we not talk about the fifth volume without talking about Belldandy's little sister Skuld? Skuld is a Goddess second class, type one, limited license, a category similar to her eldest sister Urd. Although her true age is unknown, but her appearance is that of a girl in her early teens. She is an engineering genius, capable of building just about anything out of the most mundane parts under most limited resources. Her reason for coming to Earth is a little different. She thinks that Belldandy is living with Keichi against her will and has come to bring her sister home!

You can see how the stories have evolved over time. The first two volumes are mostly standalone stories that don't quite link together right and unfortunately you can see the seams between them. But from volume 3 you can see how Fujishima has a definitive story he is trying to tell. Fujishima is not only a great story teller but a fantastic artist as well. He has a wide knowledge in not only mechanics, but women's fashion. However, looking at volume 1 the art style really looks old-fashioned. Now, you have to keep in mind that these pages were first drawn in the late 80s. By volume 3 you can see his art really clean up and if you have seen later volumes of this series, he eventually perfects his style. But you really don't get to appreciate that art without going back to the beginning where it all started.

What started as a spinoff from the manga You're Under Arrest has really taken a life of its own. I really can't say enough about how wonderful this series is! It is funny and intelligent yet at the same time sad and action packed. These books also have some of the best translator notes in the back of the stories. While other books have a bare minimum, Oh My Goddess goes into detail with their comments. Throw in some color pages with the already beautiful black and white and you've got perfection. How can you not fall in love with Belldandy? She is perfect in every way! Smart, beautiful, powerful, and the most unselfish being in the series...I guess the word Goddess is really meant for someone like her. This is the perfect choice for anyone seeking a casual read, it should also wet the appetite of someone searching for a longer series to sink their teeth in. A

Road To Perdition TPB Review

This Review was submitted by Ray2007

Writer: Max Allan Collins
Artist: Richard Piers Rayner
Publisher: Paradox Press

One night in July, 2002, I walked out of a movie theater, having just seen the film adaptation of "Road to Perdition" with a friend. As we discussed the film, we quickly discovered how different our opinions on the film were. Then, I asked a key question that made it clear why our feelings were such polar opposites: "Have you ever read the graphic novel?" He hadn't.

But, I had. And that was when a major irony struck me, an irony that had its roots in a forgotten day four years earlier...

In 1998, I had been working in a local comic book shop and one day discovered a copy of a new graphic novel that had just come in. It was called "Road to Perdition" and on the cover was a brightly colored drawing of a man in a fedora and Zoot suit, holding a Thompson submachine gun in one arm and a laughing child in the other. What's more, the laughing child was also holding a gun! "Interesting." I thought, as I began to flip through it. I was familiar with the writer Max Allan Collins, mainly from his many novelizations of films. But the artist, Richard Piers Rayner, I had never heard of before...but once I saw his art, I never forgot his name.

"Road to Perdition" is the story of Michael O'Sullivan, an enforcer for John Looney, an Irish-American gangster in the 1930's Tri-Cities area of Illinois and Iowa. Nicknamed the "Angel of Death", O' Sullivan is the best triggerman in Looney's outfit, so good that he's sometimes loaned out to Al Capone, a "business associate" of Looney's. Yet, for all his violent work, he has a comparatively calm domestic life. A loving wife, Annie, and two sons, Michael Jr. and Peter, keep him relatively balanced. Then comes the day when the balance goes completely out of control...

One day, the older son, Michael Jr., brimming with curiosity, decides to stowaway on one of his father's "business meetings" and ends up witnessing his father and Looney's son, Connor shoot a corrupt cop and his partners. Upon discovering his son has witnessed firsthand his work, O'Sullivan Sr. assures the Looneys that Jr. won't say anything.

Connor is so convinced that he sneaks to the O'Sullivan house a few nights later, when Sr. is on another job, and Jr. is at a friend's birthday party. He then cold-blooded kills Annie and Peter, the younger son, mistaking him for Michael Jr. And thus begins the road that Michaels Sr. and Jr. will now travel...a road of revenge, a road of redemption, a road of tears, a road of blood...and a road of a parent's love for their child.

One of the first things that struck me was the artwork. It was ASTONISHING, entirely in black and white, and done with a precision that I hadn't quite seen in any other comic. That's not to say that there aren't precisely good artists in the business, but his work seemed to truly come alive from the page. Small wonder that it took Rayner (a native of Britain whose work had been featured in "Hellblazer" ) FOUR YEARS to put this graphic novel together with his illustrations. Each panel, each frame, seemed to capture a moment in time, which is where the strength of Rayner's realism comes in. When all these moments are put together in linear fashion, it moves the pace of the story to that of a film.

In fact, many times I would say to myself as I read it in one sitting, "This would make a great movie." It helped that Max Allan Collins had written such a solid story with crisp dialogue (much of which was never used in the film) and made the character relationships so easy to imagine. Plus, the combined work of Collins and Rayner actually make this book an entertaining historical document of 1930's Chicago and the Midwest, because the fictional characters interact seamlessly with real life figures such as John and Connor Looney, Al Capone, Frank Nitti and Eliot Ness. (All of whom are drawn accurately as well.) and much of the background information and events are or are based on real events.

And this is where the irony I spoke of earlier struck me...because coming from such a wonderful work of art and literature, the film adaptation was not what I expected. Make no mistake, the performances in the film, especially of Paul Newman, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Stanley Tucci and Tyler Hoechlin who played Michael Jr., were superb. The director Sam Mendes had shot a beautiful film with a haunting musical score. So, as a film, it was good. As an adaptation of a graphic novel, however, it fell disappointingly short.

Many scenes that were in t