Weekly Comic Book Discussion 3/30/2006

Cafe Society
1

Wow. A Solid week for me.

X-Statix Presents : Deadgirl;

I picked up the two most recent issues of the Thing after hearing strong recommendations, and I may even like it better than She-Hulk.

Blue Beetle #1 is out, and brings the intrigue and the funny.

JLA Classified was okay.

New Avengers : Illuminati - sadly, probably the most interesting book of the whole Civil War debacle about to happen, I bet. Go, Namor.

Fantastic Four - Okay, maybe this and its follow-up will be the most interesting. See that hand on the cover? That is who you think it is, holding Thor’s Hammer.

All-Star Superman - Ehhh… s’allright. Not as fun as the first two.

Action - YES! Just… YES! Loved the book, loved the ending even more. The Toyman has been transfigured to his animated-series status quo; As has Metallo, interestingly. More insight into the new Superman status quo… and a hint of an interesting OYL possible spoiler, which I’ve heard rumored elsewhere.

Kon-El is dead. He’s ceased to be. He is an ex-Clone.

Green Lantern #10 - Interesting to see what Hal’s been up to; hints that Alan Scott has gone a little paranoid (Which anyone who reads DC’s solicits will know) - great cliffhanger ending. And, holy crap! Global Guardians.

Superman/Batman #24 - Ah, the plot starts to hit the fan as we see Joker and Mxy’s roles and goals a bit more clearly.

Invincible - Still rocking as one of the bestest superhero books out there.

2

Would you recommend Blue Beetle #1 to a HUGE fan of the Ted Kord Blue Beetle who has grown increasingly disillusioned with mainstream superhero comics, and shudders at the thought of another reluctant teen hero “learning the ropes”?

3

Another person’s taste is always a hard thing to judge unless you’ve known them a while. I’ll say this : Giffen’s writing is solid as usual; I like the art - it’s quirky. We don’t get a sense of Ted’s legacy exactly, but the new kid is a techno-geek, and his Beetle manifestation appears technomagical.

I don’t think this is a typical reluctant teen hero - I think he may actually kinda dig the hero angle, based on what we see here, but has trouble adapting to it all. To soon to tell. And, hey, Guy Gardner makes an appearance - apparently the Beetle-suit gives GLs some kind of feedback from their rings.

I think I feel confident enough to say you won’t mind spending $3 on it.

4

OK, I’m just happy to hear it from someone who isn’t a blindly-loyal DC shill. I’ll pick it up on Friday, when I hit a couple local stores who are having Buy One TPB, Get One Free sales.

5

Blue Beetle is a OYL title, FTR. He’s had a year to learn the ropes, already.

6

All I got was All-Star Superman–I was expecting the OMAC Project special to be out, too, but it apparently didn’t ship this week. I hate making the trip for just one comic.

7

You should check Diamonds’ shipping list before going. It’s the most accurate source of shipping info.

8

Yeah, I often do, especially if I suspect something’s going to get pushed back. It’s saved me an occasional wasted trip for a delayed Seven Soldiers issue. I also usually get an email from my LCBS on Tuesday night with the week’s new titles, but that didn’t show up this week, either.

9

I should also note - the story does go back and forth in time from the day he got the scarab, to the day he gets back from the Crisis. It looks like he’s been offworld for a year. While that’s an interesting part of his status quo for me, I know that sort of story device might annoy some.

10

All-Star Superman #3 – I agree it wasn’t quite as nice as the previous issues, but I loved Superman’s tongue-clucking attitude here. And while I don’t think they did enough with Lois’s powers, the last page, where she talked about hearing the stars and the trees was tres poetic.

The Thing #5 – Awesome, although it’s always tough seeing **** as a serious threat. Andrea DiVito should be required to draw pictures of Lockjaw every day for the rest of his life.

I also got the first Tomb of Dracula Essential. Three issues in and it’s pretty cool, but regular writer Marv Wolman hasn’t come on yet.

–Cliffy

11

Johns has been quite good in Green Lantern so far, and I like the implication of a threat forming in the shape of

The Sinestro Corps, though a better name might be more catchy.

Also, I thought Robin OYL was interesting, and I’m glad Batman didn’t react the way I expected i.e. like a jerk.

12

Anyone check out New Avengers: Civil War?
I thought the interplay between the heavy hitters in the superhero world was very interesting. Also curious to me was the fact that Captain America wasn’t there. Surely he’s seen as more respected and trustworthy than Iron Man.

13

You mean New Avengers: Illuminati? I thought it was okay, though I didn’t think they did a particularly good job with Iron Man’s reasoning.

14

I have it in my pile o’ comics, but I haven’t read it yet. Wednesdays are tough because I usually have a new stack of books, Lost and Veronica Mars vying for my attention when I get home at night. :slight_smile:

15

Ah, yeah, sorry…so many titles on that cover, I didn’t pick the right one!
I thought Iron Man’s case was rock solid…it was more a matter of Dr Strange, Black Panther and Submariner not wanting to accept the reality of the circumstances. Yes, it was objectionable and violating to the superheroes, but their alternatives are clearly not good: either start a civil war or give up your secret identity. What third choice is there? Leave, I suppose, but that’s no better than giving up your secret ID.
If they had organized when Iron Man first suggested it, as he said, the whole thing could have been avoided. That’s why I still don’t know why they didn’t bring Cap in.

16

I don’t think Cap is the type that would go for a secret cabal running things behind the scenes, much less want to be a part of it.

17

I agree. Merely suggesting it to him sounds like a good way to get a vibranium shield bounced off your skull.

18

“Does that mean you won’t be my neighbor, Mr. Rogers?”

19

Anybody picked up the latest issue of Lucifer?

Changes ahoy…

20

Superman-Batman 24 - Not bad. Liked Batwoman and Superwoman’s identities. Especially Superwoman’s. ‘Big Bard’ is an awful name, though.

Green Lantern 10 - This treaty seems interesting. ‘Look at who wrote it’ is…ominous. Like the Sinestro Corps…that, in fact, was much more interesting to me than the last page.

Action 837 - Still loving this story. Lois and Clark are SUCH a cute couple, especially with his powers gone. Hal and Kendra seem…rather out of character here, though. Also don’t like how the artist draws Kendra. (That’s my only complaint about the art, though. How he draws Clark and Lois is simply wonderful.)