Not a bad week.
Majestic; Captain Atom : Armageddon; Exiles; Nightwing; Battle for Bludhaven; Superman; Fables.
Shameless plug for Ambush Bug Fans to check out :
Captian Atom was excellent; Nightwing is okay, but nothing special. I may drop it soon - as I dropped Thunderbolts and Cable/Deadpool this week. The real surprise was Battle for Bludhaven, which actually builds a sort of interesting conspiracy around the downed city, and features the return of a character not seen in many years.
Bumping this thread now that I’ve had a chance to read some.
I liked Nightwing. “Dickie-bird” can’t seem to escape his constant state of Having Serious Problems, can he?
I’m not sure what I think about the swerve on the last page of Ultimate Spider-Man. I guess anything that lets Deadpool be something other than a sad, sad ripoff of Deathstroke is worth a shot, but that’s just weird.
Superman: Lex is going to have so much cancer if he keeps up his current collecting activities.
Green Arrow: This issue was okay, but I mostly look forward to the showdown in the next issue.
Does anyone else read American Virgin? It’s pretty good so far.
I haven’t finished Toyfare yet, but I enjoyed Twisted Toyfare Theater quite a bit.
I have several other books left to read, hopefully at lunch today.
You really think so? I realize Rob Liefeld is a lifelong Titans fan and created Deadpool as pretty much a Deathstroke ripoff (along with Shaft being his version of an updated Speedy/Arsenal, etc), but Deadpool has come a reeeeeeeaaaaaally long way since his earliest appearances. Joe Kelly, Gail Simone, and his co-creator Fabian Nicieza have all given Deadpool a personality and style of his own, with a sick sense of humor to match.
As for me, I am trying to not buy any new monthly comics after the colossal disappointment of IC, but sometimes I falter. I got:
Blue Beetle #1. Hated it, and I say this as the biggest fan out there of the Ted Kord Blue Beetle. I just think I’m over “teen superheroes learning the ropes, making mistakes, and cracking wise.”
Hawkgirl #50. I didn’t care for the Hawkman comic at all and couldn’t care less about either character, but I’m a huge Howard Chaykin fan and wanted to see his art on a more mainstream superheroey comic. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m sure it will be pretty.
Suicide Squad #28-34, 37, 39-47, 50-56, 60 (first series). Found a nice deal online – all of those for a buck each. They arrived the other day but I haven’t read any of them yet. I am still missing 14 issues, and when I fill in the gaps, I’ll read the entire run in one sitting.
Tricked TPB. The “sequel” to Alex Robinson’s brilliant and beautiful Box Office Poison. I won’t be able to get to this for a few days or even weeks, but I have no doubt I’ll love it.
Superman #651: Kinda hard to top the last issue. Pretty good though. Loved the operating table.
Firestorm #24: Quote of the week: “Not yet, sir. But soon. I hope.” Awesome. Didn’t see the last panel coming at all, but it makes perfect sense that they would team up.
I really haven’t read much Deadpool. I just can’t get past my giant mental block toward it. Rob Liefield is like the Ed Wood of comics. He obviously has great love and enthusiasm for them, but is 100% devoid of actual talent. He’s apparently a nice guy though. My husband says they should make an Ed Wood-esque biopic of Liefield and have Owen Wilson play him. He gives good sweet, clueless guy.
I liked the new Blue Beetle ok, and I’m also enjoying IC. But the real news is your big new stack of Suicide Squads. Despite our obvious differences of opinion, SS is good stuff. 
I’m not liking “Nightwing.” I don’t like the disconnect from the pre-1 Year Later stories, especially the ignoring of the last page of the last pre-OYL issue. I may actually drop this book, and I’ve collected it since issue 1.
The Superman story continues to be top notch.
Sorry I encouraged you to buy it, then. I really thought it was a decent new direction.
Wolfian, care to spoil Firestorm?
No worries. I would have bought it anyway. All it did was prove to me I’m really, REALLY tired of mainstream Big Two superhero titles.
Superman #651: I think the Prankster may be my absolutely least favorite villain. He’s just a low-rent less-lethal Joker. Still, there’s enough for me to enjoy here. The Flea Circus looks like it could be cool, and I loved the bit with the Operation Table. I am worried that they’re taking Toyman in a “gee-whiz, I love toys” direction, rather than the creepy masked man-child from the animated series that they cribbed his look from. I suppose that we’ll see when he has a chance to act independently from Luthor. Also, I think that he is a sentient robotic toy gone wrong, rather than a toymaker gone wrong.
I also Byrned Battle for Bludhaven. Didn’t like it. I think I’ve seen “government conspiracy to create superpowers” too many times.
But… But… The Atomic Knight!
Warning on the Hawkgirl : Chaykin needs to shoot his inker there.
Can someone spoil the Deadpool revelations from Ult Spidey?
Deadpool was unmasked, revealing Prof. Xavier underneath.
Spoilers ahoy!
Deadpool is unmasked and revealed to be Charles Xavier, who seems uncharacteristically mobile. But since shape-shifting was part of this plot already, it might not eally be him. That didn’t occur to me at all while reading last night, but it was late and I was tired.
So maybe it’s not a big deal.
Wait, Gail Simone wrote Deadpool? I’ve liked what I’ve read of hers so far; maybe I ought to give that a shot.
Never heard of them, outside of “this was also a comic book” (ISTR an Atomic Knight from a Silver Age 5th week event, but outside of that, nothing), so I wasn’t paticularly impressed. It certainly didn’t wash away the bad taste the “Force of July” left in my mouth.
It’s a short run, but a damn fine one. She wrote the last five issues of Deadpool, #65-69, with art by Alvin Lee of UDON Studios. Some of the snazziest manga-style art and computerized coloring I’ve ever seen, perfectly suited for the action-comedy that the book was under her too-short run. After that, Deadpool ended and Agent X started up, a new series where the brand-new title character had some mysterious ties to Deadpool (including the same supporting cast). Simone, Lee, and UDON worked on Agent X as well, for #1-7. They were replaced by #8, but fan uproar was so loud that they were brought back to conclude their run on Agent X #13-15. It all tied together in a neat way: the last few issues of Deadpool and the beginning and end of Agent X. (I’ve never read Agent X #8-12 by the replacements, and feel no desire to.)
Sadly, Marvel hasn’t collected any of this, and I always understood the editor didn’t get along with Gail, which is why she got cancelled, then replaced, then brought back (but not for long). But with her being such a big name now, Marvel should really throw her fans a bone and release a nice fat TPB with Deadpool #65-69 and Agent X #1-7 and 13-15. I’d totally buy it, but if you can find the singles, I recommend them highly.
I’ll bet my husband can find those issues through his shop. I’ll ask.
Tch. Well, I like the conspiracy angle. I think the three sides, and the somewhat unique setting make it sufficiently different from prior similar plots.
Soilently.
[spoiler]It turns out that if Lorraine and Jason get more than a mile apart the Firestorm matrix goes “crazy” causing an atomic blast. Jason survived it with no harm other then to his clothes which were singed badly. The robo-dudes (“Dollies”) that were with him weren’t so lucky. Apparently there a big secretive to-do going on which Professor Stein was investigating dealing with nuclear disasters. He only told Jason a bit about it and put the rest in a report called “The Neocaust Files.”
Firestorm flies to DC where Lorraine gives a speech against the weapon that she just saw in action while inside Firestorm to the chargrin of the dudes who wanted to keep it quiet. Charred clothes Jason upsets the squares. Apparently Lorraine is passing him off as some sorta mentoring thing.
Firestorm flies to NYC where they look though Stein’s files. No dice. Firestorm flies to Jason’s home, also in NYC, where Gehenna’s waiting on a stoop. Apparently Jason is living with a guy named “Greg” who wasn’t home forcing Gen to wait outside. I guess something happened to her teleportation ability over the year. She’s also grown into the hottest six year old ever (she looks about 20).
Conversation/Exposition: Gehenna’s jealous of Lorraine. Jason still hasn’t help her father who has been downgraded from “acting really strange” to having disappeared completely. Jason is in college. Gen’s living in a residence hotel. They share a kiss.
Because no physical affection between characters under 25 goes unpunished in the comic book world (see Superboy) Lorraine bursts in after listening to the radio in the kitchen telling Jason to turn on the TV. Killer Frost is on a rampage on the Upper West side. Gen asks to come with (maybe she still has her powers?), but Jason turns her down. As Jason and Lorraine rush out Mr. Roush appears at Jason’s front door. blocking the way demanding to talk to his son. Lorraine tells Jason to talk to his father as Killer Frost is less than a mile away and goes off to fight as Firehawk.
Conversation/Exposition: Jason hasn’t called his father since he returned to Earth. “They” questioned Mr. R. are Jason’s disappearance. His father has something important to talk to him about, but just as he starts Firehawk takes an ice ball to the head, which Jason can feel prompting him to Firestorm up. Awkward silence between Mr. Roush and Gen.
Mr. Roush: Girl. Are you havin’ sex with my boy?
Gen (after a beat): Not yet, sir. But soon. I hope. 
Almost forgot, Mr. R’s got a functional (he was holding a can with it) apparently metal left hand.
Firestorm throws a heat blasts at Killer Frost which she just absorbs, then Mr. Freeze ( :eek: ) pops up from out of an alley and freeze guns Firestorm. Apparently KF and Mr. F gotta little somethin’ somethin’ going on.[/spoiler]
Whew. Longer than I expected…
American Virgin #2 - Interesting so far. I like how the guy hasn’t just flipped into “bad boy” mode over Cassie’s death, but has instead slipped more into a weird sort of religious mania. I’m curious about the beheaded body on the last page - is it really her? My guess is that the big stinger for this series will be that Cassie’s not really dead, somehow.
Superman #651 - Yuck. YUCK. Is this really the sort of puerile bull-poop that passes in the Superbooks these days? “Toyman” making “wacky stuff” come to life? Oopsie-whoopsie! It feels like something from a cartoon aimed at six-year-olds. I’ve started reading this “Up, up, and away!” arc in Superman and Action because of “One Year Later” - I’ve been meaning to start reading some of the big DC books for a while, and this felt like a good jumping-on point - but this is just retarded. Will someone please reassure me that it’s not usually like this!?
Danke, Wolfian!