Well, the highlight of MY week was the return of one of my all-time favorite characters in the pages of 52. It’s not a spoiler, because he’s on the cover, sporting a t-shirt that reads : “This shirt is a clue.”
That’s right, it’s the master of metafiction, Ambush Bug. And he’s in fine form.
I picked up a couple of issues of Wolverine and one of Ms. Marvel to get some more Civil War perspective, and I can’t see how Marvel expects anyone to buy the company line that they’re trying to portray both sides sympathetically.
Ultimate Fantastic Four gives us the debut of one of Marvel’s most famous baddies, now in Ultimate form. And I’m intrigued, even if the rest of the arc has been muddled.
As usual, I’m 2-3 weeks behind. What I’m reading this week: Ultimate Power 1: Didn’t grab me. Green Arrow: Yet another super-ninja archer. Yawn. I enjoyed that Ollie was a competent bare-knuckles brawler with some training. Those days are gone. Frontline: Are all Atlanteans Namor-like? Wonder Man couldn’t take them all on, or the Goblin? I thought he was quite a bit tougher than that. Did he undergo a depowering? Annihilation: Liked Nova showing up Ronan by mentioning the Fantastic Four. Drax the Depowered ain’t dead. Haven’t figured out Thanos’ end game yet. Mysteries in Space: It’s Starlin, it’s space, it’s fun. Although the 2nd issue cliffhanger wasn’t really that much of a cliffhanger. Enjoying The Weird. P.S. 238: I have to fight Mrs. D_Odds to read this one first. Whenever I open my shipment, she’s right there ready to grab this great, funny book away from me.
The focus of my pile this week has been the Fables OGN, which exceeded even my high expectations for it. Damn good.
52 - Another contender for the shortest superhero career record. And a possibility for the “big bad” of the series makes himself ever more likely.
Runaways - Neat ending to this little arc. Xavin’s starting to get a little more trust with the rest of the team (though considering YA/R, still not Victor). Nico is no longer a big slut. Molly’s little sleeping noise is very cute.
Checkmate #7: Amanda Waller’s my favorite anti-hero by far. She’s just great. Art’s a little muddy here, but the new Suicide Squad makes an interesting addition to the greater Checkmate picture.
The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #5: Continues to maintain my interest. not great, but good enough and improving.
52 Week 24: Sharp-eyed readers may note that the newspaper in the Oval Office scene is dated a week ahead. Also, Skeets firestorm is chasing Captain Jack Sparrow. Two weeks. Excluding those that died in the same issue they were introduced, that’s gotta be a record. Was Super-Chief ever in a Giffen project? Nice work with Checkmate here too.
Birds of Prey #99: The issue itself was fine. Liked the stuff with Babs and “Batgirl” especially. But taken in context with the greater DCU, there’s something off. If Babs is going to be in the JLA, then her quitting the BoP to raise a daughter doesn’t make much sense.
52 - I really like how storylines seem to be converging with each other, and with the One Year Later world - Ralph’s and the Fate Helmet’s appearance at the end was a pleasant surprise segue. I am a bit disappointed that we went straight from Firestorm merged with Cyborg in week 5 to Firestorm apparently back to his normal self this week with no ill effects. Ambush Bug was fun, and not overdone.
I loved the hall of dead JLAers that J’onn seems to have constructed. From (roughly) left to right -
Aztek (when did he die?)
(someone partially visible behind/above Aztek - anyone able to identify?)
Rocket Red
Vibe
Ice
Maxima (when did she die?)
(hooded, caped guy I don’t recognize - anyone?)
Yazz
Booster Gold, just added
Blue Beetle
Red Tornado (presumed dead bu J’onn at time of story, we know better)
General Glory (when did he die?)
Sue Dibny
Tomorrow Woman
Crimson Fox, both twins
Flash Barry Allen
(unidentified helmet)
(something next to unidentified helmet, possible knee…Steel Hank Heywood?)
Amazing Man
Wonder Woman Hippolyta
unidentified wing - Hawkman, presumed dead?
He died in JLA just after his series ended. He sacrificed himself to weaken Mageddon so Superman could destroy it, thus fulfilling the prophecy he was created to fulfill.
The hooded, caped guy looks like Obsidian, but J’onn has no reason to believe Todd is dead, does he?
Presumably, one of the unidentified bodyparts is Steel’s, and the wing could also be Hawkwoman.
Cable/Deadpool - Not too bad. Civil War wrecked this book less than expected. Ditto X-Factor, which has a very neat ending.I picked up NextWAVE #8, and enjoyed it, but it seems the series has been given cancellation notice. Too bad.
New Authority - Okay, the last page is interesting. Too bad we never see the team and nothing is interesting before that.
New WildCATs - a bit better. Nice to see Majestros’s death didn’t stick with the reboot.
Q about Bulleteer: Can she fly? There are lots of pin-up type shots where she does, but I don’t recall her doing it in an actual story, and it doesn’t seem to be a natural outgrowth of her “smartskin” powers.
Hey! I haven’t checked in in awhile. There was a point during this past summer that I had to make the decision “Comics or food?” At first I thought it would only be a two week setback, then it turned into a month, two months, three months… Anyway I’m back and I’m pretty much caught up. Instead of running though three months of comics let me just mention a few of my current favorite series.
52: They’re pulling it off weekly *and * telling great stories. Amazing. All Star Supes: Need I say more? Firestorm: Good stories and at least one laugh out loud moment per issue. There is a little bit of angst, but its not over the top.
Question about this week’s 52: Booster uses a Legion flight ring? I thought the Legion was formed in the 31st century. He’s from the 25th. How does that work?
Lorraine has gone public with her Firehawk ID? Didn’t know that. I’m still not sure how she’s old enough to run for senator (in Identity Crisis Dibney refers to her as a “kid”), but whatever.
In pre-Zero Hour continuity, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy and Ultra Boy came to the 20th Century to investigate how Booster got a flight ring and force-field belt, and ultimately decided to intentionally leave those items behind in the 20th century so Booster would eventually get his hands on them.
In post-ZH continuity, no such similar story ever occurred (though maybe the Legionnaires in that Booster story were from a “time-slice” created by the Time Trapper), and certainly not yet in the “three-boot.” Of course, with Infinite Crisis merging all prior timelines, maybe that means that the story described above happened, and the pre-ZH Legion really had existed in an alternate dimension. Hard to say, these days.
There’s currently several Legion Flight Rings potentially in the 21st century.
It’s known Superman has one - from what vintage, we don’t know. It could be any of the following, or an artifact from his post-Crisis meetings with the pre-and-post-ZH Legions, or an artifact of an as-yet-untold story.
Superboy was given 2, at various points.
Supergirl’s got one in the 31st century. She might bring it with her when she returns to the present.
The one Booster nicked might be separate from his armour again, and thus about to become an artifact that exists only because it has to.
Catwoman continues to be a solid title… I just am not interested in the character enough to pick it up regularly.
Omega Men - Hate the art. Otherwise - interesting.
Shadowpact - Well, it’s not dull, at least. I want more Stranger!
Flash - C’mon, bring Wally back already.
Robin - Good arc conclusion.
Checkmate - Poor Javelin. Nice to see the Squad in action again.
Birds of Prey - Yeah, I figured this was coming.
Reports indicate that the Hardcover edition of Infinite Crisis contains a number of dialogue edits - most of which have been altered to more strongly suggest that somewhere, somewhen, Earth 2 still exists.
I just read on the IMDB that Marvel will do a cross over with
The Guiding Light?
Wt…?
Apparently a Marvel created super hero will become a character on The Guiding Light soap opera. Any idea on who is the hero or any bets on how successful this wil be?
