let's go hunting

drive-by readings

Artifacts #1 (Top Cow) "Artifacts" Ron Marz Michael Broussard Rick Basaldua Sal Regla Sunny Gho Troy Peteri Dale Keown et al (covers)

what we learned: thirteen artifacts in the Top Cow U, when brought together, will bring about the end of the world as we know it. twelve are known, while the thirteenth, the key to it all, is still to be found. bringing together all the heavyweights in one glorious adventure, Ron Marz unveils his Top Cow masterpiece that may even rival his Green Lantern days in DC.
oh shit moment: Julie Pezzini, sister of Sara and babysitter of her daughter Hope (heyyyyy, Second Coming!) is shot in the head, just like this Green dude (not a Lantern).
what's next: would that all parents who get their children kidnapped also wielded the power of the Witchblade. run, Aphrodite IV, run.


hey, fanboys! Ron Marz is talking to you!

it does not compute.

drive-by readings

Wolverine: Weapon X #15 (Marvel) "Tomorrow Dies Today - Conclusion" Jason Aaron Ron Garney Jason Keith Matt Milla Cory Petit Garney/Chris Sotomayor (cover)

what we learned: i'm still a little doozy. so bad Deathloks from future go back to the past to kill a number of people, one of which is Miranda Bayer, who's part of the future resistance. she's also their agent in the present, and in holding one child hostage (said child set to grow up to be the same Deathlok about to kill her), she brings about the conversion of the Deathlok to find its own humanity. it certainly is ambitious as it gets, but somewhere along the way to this ending, we all got our heads slapped upside down.
oh shit moment: the head of the future resistance - is the same Deathlok who got humanized.
what's next: Kurt lives! no, not Cobain.


machines get personality disorders too.

target locked on

drive-by readings

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #2 (Marvel) "Ghosts Part 2: Rumors of Death" Jim McCann David Lopez Alvaro Lopez Nathan Fairbairn Cory Petit Paul Renaud (cover)

what we learned: bringing your ex-wife's mom to meet your ex-wife, when the former thinks she's dead, is a brilliant idea. oh, and of course Jim McCann mines the past i love when he brings back that rapist Ghost Rider - in the form of a descendant, of course.
oh shit moment: mother in law or ex-mother-in-law is no longer either, thanks to Crossfire.
what's next: Hawkeye in a Sky Cycle! versus Crossfire and Death Throws! its 1986 all over again!!


Clint can't kill Norman Osborn but he can make his mother-in-law slap his wife.

basic instincts

drive-by readings

World War Hulks: Spider-Man vs Thor #2 (Marvel) Kieron Gillen Chris Eliopoulos Jorge Molina Paul Pelletier Ronan Cliquet Patrick Scherberger Scott Koblish Edgar Delgado Rachelle Rosenberg Chris Sotomayor Clayton Cowles Barry Kitson/Dave McCaig (variant cover)

what we learned: we learned that the Marvel brain trust is never exempt from capitalizing on mindless spinoffs that do not advance the plot of the main storyline whatsoever and will cook up any excuse for mindless pummeling between their characters. i guess Marvel vs Capcom or Ultimate Alliance is not enough.
oh shit moment: you did not just say the Smithsonian museums are boring. what are these, the flexing of the id? yeah, probably.
what's next: let's just have Hulk and Skaar kill each other once and for all. or make a pure Marvel-characters-only fighting game on all platforms with killer graphics and no plot at all.


sheeeeesh. even for Peter Parker, that's inane.

excellent, J.T. Krul, excellent! everything is falling into place!

you're following the footsteps of James Robinson just fine. next up, Speedy.

speaking of which ...


see, that was fine work indeed!


wait, did you ever see Robinson and Krul in the same place, at the same time? are you sure???

the real illuminati

drive-by readings

Secret Avengers #3 (Marvel) "Secret Histories, Part 3 of 4" Ed Brubaker Mike Deodato Jr. Rain Beredo Dave Lanphear Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

what we learned: you know that Shadow Council that has "a" badass(er) Nick Fury? well, it just might be that this thing stretches back to the wild West days of frontier America. and you know that Texans always like 'em big. not to mention something called "The Abyss" that the wearers of the Serpent Crown are influenced by. apparently, the Watchers (who never just watch) created a bunch of robots called the Archons to guard against the resurrection of The Abyss by his "dark children". Steve Rogers (kinda weird calling him that) and his black ops Avengers are in a bigger pile of doodoo than he thought.
oh shit moment: the Serpent Crown-ed Nova, taking out everyone pretty easily. hmmmm, he never went up against Rogers yet. or Ant-Man!
what's next: this should be the oh-shit moment: the cover to next issue has Steve wearing the crown ... i mean, the Helmet Known as Worldmind!


seems like Nova is pro-equal rights for women - if superhero males can be pummeled, so can the ladies.

a vain, greedy and cruel boy

why, you old fart - oh, wait, Odin wasn't taking to me! whew!



am glad to see these things happen in my lifetime. i just need to live up to 2012.



via NY Magazine/Trailer Addict

dead like them

drive-by readings

Brightest Day #6 (DC) "Dead Zone" Geoff Johns/Peter Tomasi Ivan Reis/Patrick Gleason Scott Clark/Joe Prado Vicente Cifuentes/David Beaty Mark Irwin/Christian Alamy Peter Steigerwald/John Starr Rob Clark David Finch/Scott Williams/Steigerwald (cover) Reis/Dave McCaig (cover)

what we learned: Mera is from an Atlantean tribe tasked to assassinate Aquaman. Firestorm has multiple personality issues (there's always something with the powerful ones. Molecule Man, The Sentry ... ). J'onn is looking for a killer who's just like him. and Deadman hasn't eaten yet, because he's been Deadman for so long. may i recommend: Red Robin ... yummmmm.
oh shit moment: could the killer J'onn is hunting be his ... wife?
what's next: does anyone want M'Gann to live, or bite the dust? call 1-800-DIE-ALIEN to vote now!


Arthur's best gift was 20/20 vision ... in water.

brb

i wish i was at SDCC. but nope, am just here moving stuff from one dwelling to another. hope to be posting again soon, assuming my arms don't fall off in the process.

also, congratches to the 2010 Eisner winners!

goddammit, Aquaman, get your shit together.

you've been resurrected for a few months now. get with the program. leave poor sailing couples alone!

full circle, part 2

drive-by readings

The Heroic Age: Uncanny X-Men one-shot (Marvel) Matt Fraction Whilce Portacio Ed Tadeo Brian Reber Steve Sanders Jaime Mendoza Ian Hannin Jamie McKelvie Chris Sotomayor Joe Caramagna Mark Brooks (cover)

i see this one-shot as something akin to a look at the past, present and future for our merry band of mutants. with the onset of the Heroic Age, the defeat of one of their most dangerous enemies, and the possible rebooting of their race, the X-Men stand once again at the crossroads, free to rewrite the next chapter of their destiny.

the X-Men's present is Cyclops, who has made steely yet carefully weighed decisions that may have cost him his friends and reputation, that have saved his race from extinction. imagine if he quit after Jeannie's death (and she didn't go back and prod him to marry Emma and continue with the school)? there's no better leader suited to shepherd the X-Men than him, but that's for this moment. Professor X and Magneto have bowed to his wishes, not always freely, but have also made sacrifices to somehow earn his trust. Scott was angry at Charles once for not treating the sentient Danger as an equal, and for living fast and loose with their lives with his decisions. somehow, he hasn't gotten the same vitriol from Charles or Magneto (who likely understands making the hard choice even better), their former mentors. i would say its Scott's age, which is closer to majority of the adults of the X-Men (and the younger generation), that makes them a lot more receptive to his decisions, compared to the father figures Charles and Magneto once were, even bordering on the tyrannical.

but he has not been spared that disapproval from Hank McCoy, longtime friend and comrade in the trenches (and to a degree, Storm). Hank does represent the old school, and not a few us remember when he wasn't blue and furry. his own decision to leave the fold makes him representative of the past, because he didn't want to be part of the new X world order, which he says is more militaristic. wait till he gets a load of the new X-Force - it'll make the last X-Force iteration look like the cute animals from Pet Avengers. and considering his parting words "make love, not war, Scott" (Matt Fraction, you is a hippie!), this seems disingenuous as he is waging war as a member of the Secret Avengers. in keeping with his scientific beliefs, he no longer has faith that the mutant race will blossom like it used to, despite urging from the cute-as-a-button Molly Hayes.

the future, meanwhile, belongs to the appropriately-named Hope (now i don't remember who named her? was it Cyclops or Cable?). here we see here being tested by Reed Richards as a time-transplant, though she was born in this time anyway. lacking the normal experience of a child growing up, its fun to see her awkwardly interact with her peers, like Franklin Richards, who, frankly, with all his powers, should also be in the frontline for mutant rights and defense. maybe the powers-that-be just don't want to remember Heroes Reborn. anyway, Hope, a fine doppelganger of Jeannie (imagine the torment Emma would be going thru everyday as a reminder), wants to find her birth parents in Alaska (Sarah Palin?). this is a good start and Cyclops, realizing that he may be making the mistake of putting the weight of expectations on people, gives her his blessings and a chaperone squad.

its been a long, long time since House of M/Decimation. i hope the next storylines do not involve the exhausting theme of mutant extermination, because am goddamned tired, despite the real-world analogy of the subject.

full circle, part 1

drive-by readings

Second Coming #2 (Marvel) Zeb Wells Ibraim Roberson Matt Milla Mike Carey Esad Ribic Matt Wilson Craig Kyle Christopher Yost Greg Land Jay Leisten Frank Martin Matt Fraction Terry Dodson Rachel Dodson Brad Anderson Joe Caramagna Clayton Cowles Joe Sabino Adi Granov (cover) David Finch/Matt Banning/Peter Steigerwald (variant cover)

so this is the end of the one of the more exciting X-Crossovers in recent years (i'm still partial to Messiah Complex). Hope's initial worth was a few limbs, and the lives of Kurt and oh yeah ... that guy on the cover above. if you didn't see that coming ... well, i guess some of us didn't, despite the obvious buzz on Nightcrawler's death. hey, if you Google "cable is dead", all the top hits are about the ex-Stereophonics drummer Stuart Cable. no respect for you, Nathan.

the final story is divided into four chapters, and the first one is easily the most interesting. there's Peter getting his broken arm reset (25000 PSI!). there's Magneto showing flashes of his old self (quite characteristic actually). and there's that poignant shot of Hope holding her known father figure's arm (all that remained of him). i can't believe they're getting rid of Cable this easily. then again, this is comics. he'll probably come back as a baby as well.

if i have a beef with the first chapter, its this:


we know Karma lost her leg several issues ago. either they created costumes (unstable molecules!) for her that really ends high up that leg, or she never changed clothes since.

chapter 2 has a flashback with Hope and Cable, and kind of confirms in a way that he may not be gone forever. erstwhile best pal Deadpool shows up at his funeral (and the 3rd chapter will show why). Magneto is there of course, full costume and all, and its ironic, for someone who remembers the '90s.

in chapter 3, we have a philosophical argument between Storm and Wolverine about X-Force, and they agree to disagree. Logan disbands the rest of the team, and reports back to Cyclops of the dissolution. Scott heroically confirms that he'll do it all over again, and is even willing to go to jail if the oh-so-heroic Avengers ever learn about their activities and attempt to arrest him. despite their differences over the years (not the least of which was fighting over a certain redhead), Scott and Logan are the perfect foils to each other and work well as anyone. that relationship is going to be strained when Scott learns about this:


is Warren holding a gun? Psylocke too? and why are they all facing us? was there a presscon and they need to pose, a la Dark Avengers? are they LMDs? Deadpool finally gets to be a full time member of an X-team. sort of. by the way, is Logan required to change costumes when doing X-Force meetings?

so, Uncanny X-Force it is.

two things on the last chapter: Emma gets the bejeezus scared out of there because of some connection between Jean Grey/Phoenix and Hope (redheads just won't die), and Namor getting to be more and more of a team player (a gruff one at that, and he can't shoot the rock a lick). the co-opting of Magneto and Namor under the X-banner is one of the most welcome events in X-Men history. like i keep repeating on this blog, do not turn back the clock and make them villains again.

breaking news: Scott Summers arrested, deported and reborn as...

hey, he's a child of the atom, right? right????

arachnot.phobia

so apparently there's this Spider-Man story arc where blood relatives of the late Kraven the Hunter go after the rocky Fantastic Four member known as the ... what? it's not The Grimm Hunt? well, why dincha say so?

just kidding. Spidey's back in capable hands the last couple of years and the recent 'Gauntlet' theme, with all his classic rogues gallery coming back to bitch-slap him was just the prelude, orchestrated by Kraven's family, to finally bring down their arachnid enemy and resurrect their patriarch. i figured i'd wait till the conclusion of the arc before i put it in my two cents worth (roughly 1/8 its value because of the economy).


so what's the deal? first off, i can't believe anyone would call himself "Kraven the Hunter". it sounds cool and all, but Kraven or 'craven' means 'cowardly' or 'characterized by abject fear'. i don't think anyone who fancies himself to be a hunter would like to be seen in that light. is this in reference to the Wizard of Oz, because Kraven is dressed up up in lion gear? ah, i know. its the media who gave him that nickname. Sergei Kravinoff. Kravinoff the Hunter. Kravin the Hunter! then someone makes a typo.

the main perpetrators of this scheme is Kraven's wife Sasha and his purported daughter Ana, and recruit Kravinoff's (crazy) son Alyosha. first up, kidnap Madame Web and Mattie Franklin (the Other Other Spider-Woman). the Madame, for her prognosticating abilities (and in a way, responsible for psychically drugging Peter), and Mattie, as a sacrifice to revive (with assistance from Diablo and Electro) the other Kravinoff son, Vladimir, who now becomes Taylor Lautner. oh, sorry, was that a lion-like creature? again, with the lions. uh, duh.


hunters like to stalk obviously, and no amount of restraining orders will keep them away. Spidey clone Kaine (i try not to think of the '90s, honestly) gets fragged but manages to warn Peter of the impending danger. he's somehow mysteriously being me when i get annihilated by allergies, but manages to rescue (in a way) Arachne (Julia Carpenter - the Other Spider-Woman) from Ana and Alyosha. strangely, they never did date.


another figure from Peter's past shows up: Ezekiel (gaahhh! too many Spiders!), who confirms the "war between hunters and spiders". and just in time, they get to save Araña (who's like the Dora the Explorer of the Spider family) from the Kravinoffs. or not. Spidey's not a hundred percent, so he keeps slipping up, and the hunters take Spider-Woman 2 and Spider-Girl. but wait - if they need just his blood to resurrect their Daddy, why don't they just go get Spidey outright? all this dancing around - and the altruistic Ezekiel leads him right into their trap (CGI and special effects provided by Mysterio), with Ezekiel revealing himself to be the Chameleon (their uncle Dmitri, natch!) - its just theatre. were they aiming for Tonys?


and when the deed is finally done:


do we really get Kraven? or someone who's already short of a few braincells further reduced?


ok, this series was dedicated to JM DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, who were responsible for Kraven's Last Hunt (and Kraven's suicide) and may be an aside saying, "we're gonna bring him baaaaaaaaaack - and y'all can do nuthin' about it!"

Spider-Man as it turns out, is the thread that holds the web together. and if he's weakened or dead, the web is broken. kinda like the Force. so all the creatures in NYC get restless (where's Animal Man when you need him?) and for some, like the lions (yes, the lions) get back to basics and attack humans. you know Hizzoner J. Jonah Jameson is going to blame Spider-Man for all of this the next day, right?


whooop. there it is.


Kraven, for what its worth, finds the whole thing distasteful (he retired on top, fer chrissakes - why would he want to come back?), and even the Chameleon is having second thoughts about it too. even i would be creeped out if i had a daughter who wanted to please me (ok, that didn't turn out right) the way Ana pathetically and desperately wants his approval. she even stabs him when he goes nuts (ok, that was courtesy of Madame Web).

even worse, its not Peter Parker's blood that brought him back ...


yes, apparently, Mysterio is not the only one who knows about sleight-of-hand and special FX. Kaine pulls a last-minute switcheroo, and thus giving hope that we can close the door on this cloning thing. but no ...


Kraven takes matters into his own hands (despite his better instincts) and challenges Spider-Man to a hunt. and even provides the clothing (where the hell did he get the black costume?). by the way, did we mention that Peter did another rising from the grave act? and he's the jokester in the Avengers.


now he's the Spyder (not the sports apparel brand), and he's laying the smackdown on anyone related to Kraven. the strange part is, Kraven gives his "marching orders" but chills out as everyone gets picked off one at a time. then when we get to the inevitable, mano-a-mano, the Spyder gets the upper hand - and takes the high road. because he's the goddamn thread that holds everything together. he's not like Daredevil!!


so, the Kravinoffs teleport out of there (lucky Chameleon slinks back into the concrete jungle with 3 million dollars tax free) and end up in the Savage Land. Kraven dispatches Sasha and Vladimir due to philosophical differences (and when i say "dispatch", i don't mean "sent to the crime scene"). Julia becomes the new Madame Web, and Araña updates her duds with Julia's black costume. Kaine, meanwhile, is dead as a dodo one moment, then rises from the grave too the next. apparently, he will become the first Tarantula who isn't remotely Hispanic.

the whole thing holds up. although i would rather have dead villains stay dead (yeah sure), Kraven is probably the last great Spider-villain that needed to be brought back (please do not bring back the goddamned Jackal!), in keeping with the whole Spider-Man revival (which has been great in the last few years after the awkward One More Day/Brand New Day). its a bit heavy into mysticism and the fantastic, which is a Joe Kelly trademark, but that works well with the Kraven angle. it just became a lot more creepier though, with Ana presumably winning her survival challenge with Alyosha, and returning to jump-start a tribe with her Papa. eeewwww.

by the way, the best line (and a critique of superhero comics in general) is this:


that applies to heroes too!

-----
Amazing Spider-Man #634-637

now that IS disturbing

at least in the context of the original ...

killin' people with ...

The Sixth Gun #1 (Oni Press)
Cullen Bunn/Brian Hurtt
what we learned: not sure where i've first skimmed this (was it the FCBD?). anyway, i knew it was some good stuff, and i'm sufficiently intrigued. its the Old West, and a legendary Sixth Gun is an object being obsessed about by many parties, one of whom may be the Devil himself.
oh shit moment: looks like the famed Pinkertons were fooled into finding the gun, as their client also went to a lot of trouble wiping out a whole bunch of priests to resurrect an evil General.
what's next: this will probably be a much better movie than Jonah Hex.

uhm, you want fries with that? how about a deep fried Coke?

the weekly hits

The Thanos Imperative #2 (Marvel)
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Miguel Sepulveda/Jay David Ramos/Joe Caramagna (cover: Aleksi Briclot)
what we learned: this whole Cancerverse War became officially big time with the addition of Galactus and the Celestials. however, for some reason, Ben Urich is not covering this conflict. boooooo!!!
oh shit moment: Guardians kicking some faux Defender butt, and Thanos permanently ending the faux Defender butt.
what's next: why are Major Victory and Namorita anomalies? were they secretly resurrected with a White Lantern? will Thanos gain the upperhand after all is said and done? and will Urich make it to the front lines before this series ends??

the Thanos Halogen Headlight Upgrade Imperative

Tom Strong & The Robots of Doom #2 (ABC)
Peter Hogan/Chris Sprouse/Karl Story/Todd Klein/Darlene Royer
what we learned: mostly the backstory of how his Nazi son Albrecht brought about the Fascist world victory, and where the Dero really came from. looks like the situation is bleak. but wait! somehow Tom's faithful robot butler overrode his reprogramming and sends him back in time to fetch his younger self and play as the Tom/Tom Club! (yeeeessh, did you pay Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth their royalties?)
oh shit moment: the Dero apparently wiped out the African population. they must've been programmed by white people.
what's next: Tom/Tom Club playing at a venue near you this summer!

hello, Pneuman!

Justice League: Generation Lost #5 (DC)
Judd Winick/Keith Giffen/Aaron Lopresti/Matt Ryan/Hi-Fi/Steve Wands (cover: Tony Harris/JD Mettler, variant: Kevin Maguire/Hi-Fi)
what we learned: Max Lord really wants to reform the Justice League International. and the new Rocket Red is a gas. somehow a sombre Booster Gold is not the overinflated jerk i remember.
oh shit moment: not much, unless you count Max comparing himself to God. ya believe this guy?
what's next: is there a foreshadowing here that Blue Beetle is going to die, and Ted Kord is going to be resurrected? nah, that's just fanboy rumor-mongering.

because the world needs more Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire JLI madness and mirth, that's why!

X-Force: Sex & Violence #1 (Marvel)
Craig Kyle/Christopher Yost/Gabrielle Dell'Otto/Cory Petit
what we learned: apparently, Kyle and Yost wanted to explore more of Neena and Logan's relationship (wait, didn't he have a girlfriend or that one died too?) since that X-Men 2001 Annual and that spiffy X-Force cover (whoa, Mike Choi!). and it might not pass editiorial muster, if it just said "Logan/Domino: Sex". because as we know, Americans are horrified by sex in mass media, but violence? bring it on!!! so, here we have Domino on the run from the Assassins Guild, because as a mercenary with scruples, you get dragged into the wrong crowd who hired you, then turn the tables on them.
oh shit moment: art's a bit murky but that's a great visual complement to the clanging sounds you hear in your head seeing Domino pulling bullets out of herself.
what's next: more sex! more violence!

yeah, Josh ... talk to the effing Hand!

Iron Man #28 (Marvel)
Matt Fraction/Salvador Larroca/Frank D'Armata/Joe Caramagna
who got chumped by Hammer? Tony Stark! who doesn't remember his one-night stands? Tony Stark! who's gonna build an non-gas powered car in six weeks? Tony Stark!!

Avengers Academy #2 (Marvel)
Christos N. Gage/Mike McKone/Jeromy Cox/Joe Caramagna
what we learned: so the next generation of Avengers could potentially be the next gen of bad guys? of course! but the drama between the students don't compare to the crap that goes on with the teachers. i mean you got noted wife-slapper-cum-Skrull/robot-banging-Scientist-Supreme Hank Pym as headmaster, what else is gonna happen? well, they're at least updated somewhat with pop music. or whatever passes for that these days.
oh shit moment: borrowing a trick from Josh Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, the new class is subjected to an impromptu survival session. just when Finesse and Reptil were about to kiss. dammit, man!
what's next: not only does Pietro get away with his shit, he's likely going to pass on his life lessons to a volunteer. wonderful!

oh-oh-oh! oh-oh-oh-oh!!

Batgirl #12 (DC)
Bryan Q. Miller/Lee Garbett/Pere Perez/Walden Wong/Guy Major/John J. Hill (cover: ArtGerm)
what we learned: Batgirl aces her final exams, rescues her mentor, and turns a friend away from the dark side. even if they cancel this book, she's too good a character to be killed off. you hear that, DC Editorial??
oh shit moment: can i say its that awesome cover by ArtGerm? i never looked at Stephanie Brown this way before. and at the same time, she's slapping me upside the head for looking this way.
what's next: Oracle has a Proxy, and a capable successor.

i think she's describing how she's going to be expelled from school because one too many missed homework.

Batman #701 (DC)
Grant Morrison/Tony Daniel/Ian Hannin/Jared K. Fletcher
what we learned: what really happened between Batman R.I.P. and the ending of Final Crisis? the God of Comics finally deigns us dust bunnies worthy of knowing. but then again the first of a two-parter doesn't provide much except there's a definite connection between the Hidden Room in the Wayne Manor and whatever Dick Grayson unearthed in the past issues of Batman & Robin regarding the Wayne family line. also, who knew Bruce liked mulligatawny soup?
oh shit moment: deleting pictures of our exes just like everyone else. though i assume there's a backup somewhere. hwahahahaa!
what's next: was it really Thomas Wayne who engineered sending Bruce back through time? man, Morrison not only thinks one step ahead, he thinks one thousand steps ahead.

"and you beat it out of the Soup Nazi just like i like? awesooooome!!!!"

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #10 (Marvel)
Gregg Hurwitz/Juan Jose Ryp/Andres Mossa/Joe Caramagna (cover: Francesco Mattina)
look who's playing well with others. but you know, Steve, you still better keep a close eye on this Moon Knight character.

Hack/Slash: My First Maniac #1 (Image)
Tim Seeley/Daniel Leister/Mark Englebert/Crank! (covers: Seeley/Nei Ruffino/Erik Jones)
what we learned: additional backstory for stabby heroine Cassie Hack, whose long-awaited film debut is still long-awaited. here she's trying to fit into a high school but tracking a long-dead farmer who kills kids that won't git off his farm.
oh shit moment: slasher stories/movies practically write themselves, but you gotta surprise the viewer. this one involves barbed wire.
what's next: this is pre-Vlad, so it'll Cassie doing her lone wolf thing. am sure her newfound 'friends' will end up dead by the end of this.

huhhh-huhhh ... he said 'bone'. huhhh-huhh.

Daredevil #508 (Marvel)
Andy Diggle/Antony Johnston/Roberto De La Torre/Matt Hollingsworth/Joe Caramagna (cover: John Cassaday/Laura Martin)
what we learned: the White Tiger is slowly pushing "Lord" Daredevil into doing the bidding of the Snakeroot, and at the same time, endangering his former friends. also, i'm in the minority here, and i love John Cassaday, but i don't think he fits into doing Shadowland covers. grim and gritty is not just his style.
oh shit moment: the real moment was in Shadownland #1 with the apparent death of Bullseye. here we get the requisite Elektra appearance. who's next, Stick? by the way, where is Bullseye's body? the Hand always resurrects a potential asset.
what's next: Ben Affleck vs. Jennifer Garner!

it means, your movie sucked! you need a reboot!!

Superman #701 (DC)
J. Michael Straczynski/Eddy Barrows/JP Mayer/Rod Reis/John J. Hill (covers: John Cassaday/David Baron/Alex Sinclair)
Superman walks across America and goes to toe to toe with ... Joe Q. Public. its an interesting premise, right on the heels of the Kryptonian War and Superman questioning his role again in his adopted planet. the fact that he even deigns to do so, earns him a lot more of Lex Luthor hate points.


note: because of Blogger's technically-limited tag constraints, there's a bunch of other books that's going to show up in other posts. actually, maybe i should start making individual posts for the Weekly Hits. which means, this is going to be last time i'm putting everything in a basket. thanks, Blogger.

snaps: Iron Man #28

... where we find Tony and Rhodey get shown up in Tokyo by the Hammer women. luckily, Tony kind of remembers who Sasha Hammer might be. unluckily, he still can't remember who Maria Hill might be in his deleted history file. and yes, he's building a repulsor-powered car. watch yo' back, Elon Musk!!


oh, and you can't text or tweet him a.s.a.p., to salvage a little bit of the situation?


erhm ... is that a videocam or the top view of a DSLR with its LCD screen on it?


forget about the camera ... to quote Jack Nicholson circa Batman ... "who is that??"


what? Rhodey is Tony and Maria's lovechild from the future? get out!!!


yeah! speak up, former bitch of S.H.I.E.L.D.!


Stark Resilient hires Tim Cababa, purportedly the tech builder of the short-lived amusingly funny Triumph Division. he looks suspiciously like my countryman Leinil Francis Yu (hey man!). yeah, he's what the hip Filipino looks like nowadays. him and Francis Manapul. now, "Cababa". in the local language, it could mean something like "that low", as in "the tide wouldn't even cover the top of your toes, its that low." or "your dollars can practically buy the whole country; the exchange rate is that low." get my drift? so i think Tony is scrimping for talent, because his financial reserves are that low. naaah, just kidding. Filipinos are hardworking bootstrappers! go, Team Cababa!!