snaps: Sensational She-Hulk (one-shot)

... where we celebrate Jen Walters' 30th anniversary with three tales, notably from greenskin powerhouse writer Peter David, plus a reprint from the John Byrne days, but surprisingly none from Dan Slott. however, i enjoyed Brian Reed's contribution, set in pre-Secret Invasion days, where there's a titanic team up, with the now-we-know-she's-the-Skrull-Queen Spider Woman.

what? how can you say that about your original costume?


hello, Yancy Street Gang!


Carol never likes taking her pills.


also, she's been selling Toyotas and it eventually came back to haunt her.


really?? (of course, duh. its Peter David just being cheeky)


Jen survives 10 Screamin' Greenie Weenies.


and the obligatory Dan Slott cameo. oy!

snaps: Ms. Marvel #50

... where we say goodbye to Carol's almost 4 year series run, by celebrating with a punch up with the original Captain Mar-vell. ok, no its not the original joe, but the 96th one. heh. and ends up with the requisite "where do i go from here" talk with casual date Spider-Man. and she ends up morphing into an exotic Latina/Black chick. hey, is that still Mystique??

shouldn't Mystique be dead by now?



whoa! green puke alert!!



explosions galore and not a costume rip. don't give me that Reed Richards unstable molecule crap.



the only explanation is that Mystique replaced her. gimme my No-Prize!!

snaps: Siege: Embedded #2

... where the road to Oklahoma is paved with the bodies of H.A.M.M.E.R. troops who get between Volstagg and his pork rinds. pork rinds, i say thee!!!

well, why don't YOU be president, then?? on the other hand, never mind.


NormBots > DoomBots


what, not even King or Black Men? you racist bastards.


an out-of-shape ex-TV newscaster gets the drop on a trained soldier. yeaahhh, right.


which is more believable: that a magic kingdom floats over the fields of Oklahoma, or that Volstagg can smoothly maneuver a Goblin Glider and fight? even better, the glider can hold his weight!!!

i'm with fat

drive-by readings

Siege: Embedded #1 (Marvel) Brian Reed Chris Samnee Matthew Wilson Rus Wooton Adi Granov (cover)

Ben Urich is the luckiest character in the Marvel Universe, following in the footsteps of Phil Sheldon, and has been on the front row seat of every significant event in the Marvel U. not the least of his fortune is the fact that he's survived all the crazy shit that happened in the last decade at least, and he didn't need to be saved by his hero pals either. and it makes sense that this anti-Green Goblin crusader would be at the frontline and helping out when they finally bring Norman Osborn down.

running into an old journo/pisser/friend Wil Stern in Chi-Town post-Volstagg eruption, they catch up on old times. even better, Volstagg walks past their diner! talk about being at the right place at the right time. its that ol' Urich luck.

it's a bit contrived that Volstagg, all five hundred thousand pounds of Asgardian jowls and fat, can even be walking around Chicago without being noticed (except by that plucky newsman from New Yawk). not only that, they even feed him an inordinate amount of food, and no one in the diner (presumably, Chicago natives distraught at the destruction of Soldier Field) even acts suspiciously and picks up the phone to call the cops. the H.A.M.M.E.R. helicarriers are all around and with all that technology, they can practically find anyone! the failure to do so also reflects well on reality, as events from the last three weeks have shown, if you have been reading the news.

we're also introduced to the flipside of the honorable Urich cloth - a Bill O'Reilly/Glenn Beck hybrid who's been commissioned by Osborn to brainwash people all the more to the Goblin's way of thinking. aren't you glad comics aren't written by the conservative right? or maybe its just the sign of the times. if the conditions were different, we would have Captain America slinging his shield and beating up Middle Eastern people (wait, Mark Millar did that in The Ultimates).

Chris Samnee (The Exterminators) brings a gritty feel to Urich's most important journey, and i'm glad to be along for the ride.


you deserve this, America. if you believe ranting idiots like these, its no one else's fault.


imagine if Matt Lauer did that.


hey, i don't see Bullseye in this picture. he's probably killing off survivors.


aw, c'mon! didn't he have burgers in Oklahoma?? are you kidding me??


useless billion dollar technology - no wonder we're in the tank.

brand new ways to die

yeah - i mean, why not??

thanks to Bullseye's creativity (eat that, i-make-promises-i-can't-really-keep-so-my-wife-dumped-me Clint Barton!), we are treated to new methods of killing. they should make a History Channel documentary on this, or update it if they already had.

ever tried tossing Paris Hilton's poodle at someone? no? well, damn you better try it sometime. it could be fun.

next, we have Death by Corndogs!! don't tell the good folk at Nathan's and the Coney Island Boardwalk, or we'd have a massacre on our hands!

as for the comic, Brian Reed said it best: "What the Fuck is this Shit all about??"

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Sinister Spider-Man #4

drive-by readings: Ms. Marvel #42

Ms. Marvel #42 (Marvel) "War of the Marvels, Chapter 1: First Engagement" Brian Reed Sana Takeda Dave Sharpe

upon the bestowing of a new solo series years back, Ms Marvel (the character) is somewhat the equivalent of Power Girl over at the distinguished competition: powerful, majorly underestimated and god-dang loads of sexy. not that its a bad thing, feminists, so unhand the swords. Carol Danvers has long been one of my favorite female characters in the 616 (uh, let's not get into the why), and Brian Reed has breathed new life into her, past the Kurt Busiek Avengers Reborn/Iron Man era (a time i look fondly back on).

with the Dark Reign in full swing, it was interesting to see Karla Sofen a.k.a. Moonstone take over the mantle and with the old costume. you know superheroes never die, so it was just a matter of time before Carol came back from the dead (i think i barely blinked), and engage in a hair-pulling jaw-breaking catfight. yeahhhh!!!!

if the art seems familiar to you, please be reminded that Sana Takeda drew that infamous Heroes for Hire cover with the Japanese hentai tentacle stuff. we know Ms. Takeda can draw pretty girls (see Drain or her website - free plug!), but i'm still ambivalent about putting her on this title. and with the Power Girl reference - if i may draw your attention to the cover of this issue, you can see an appropriately-placed label lest someone raises a fuss. Ms Takeda gamely pushes the envelope a bit.

not sure if it was referenced already, but have Ronin (currently Clint Barton) and Moonstone crossed paths lately? did everyone forget that they used to be an item? or has that been conveniently swept under the rug?

escape clause

uh oh. with the Scarlet Witch out of the picture, this kid Gavin (who has the same reality warping powers like Wanda) will be Quesada/Marvel's Easy Button for future fixes.



so what's gonna happen? Steve Rogers comes back? more mutants? another House of M type event? that's right, screw with the fans a lot more!

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Ms Marvel: Storyteller one shot

the shape of things to come

the Illuminati have gathered one more time, despite the Civil War and World War Hulk (since that series isn't over yet in real-time, we know from looking at these pictures that the principals haven't died - or even mangled badly). this time, a blast from the past is brewing and it may tie in to the events just concluded.

the Elektra Skrull has been brought to Tony's attention, and now they may have a bigger problem than the two previous crossovers. yes, its another invasion, and may even trump the previous Annihilation arcs (i wonder how those two barely crossed with what happened on Earth, save the one time Nova came over to visit his parents).

why don't you shut up, Tony ...


... because Black Bolt has something to say.


yes, i cringed as well. you know what was coming.

shoot. now everyone could really be a frakking Skrull. take that, Cylons!

after dispatching the Skrulls with a couple of nuclear power plants, Tony resumes his its-the-end-of-the-world lecture again. of course, he immediately ruled out the hiring of Gaius Baltar to create a Skrull-identification machine.

of course, Prince Namor will always try to have the final say.

i know who you can trust: the original Super-Skrull. he's fighting on the side of the angels now; get him down here and ask him questions. if he's part of the whole thingamajig, then just send him off to the Negative Zone.

Thor's around, so maybe they can call on him. hey, they need the Hulk here too! it worked in the Ultimates.

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New Avengers: Illuminati #5