the machinist

drive-by readings

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #2 (Marvel) Ed Brubaker Dale Eaglesham Andy Troy Joe Caramagna Carlos Pacheco/Tim Townsend/Frank D'Armata (cover)

what we learned: Ed Brubaker doesn't waste any time in revealing who the big bad villain is. after another Erskine bites the dust because Rogers can't save any of 'em, he does the patented Daredevil schtick and beats up half of Madripoor including the ice cream cart guy, and gets zilch. he starts following the late Erskine's wife, who's a doppelganger for a previous love interest (Steve Rogers, Ladies Man). but of course, that's just to prick his all-American heart.
oh shit moment: anybody remember the beach scene from the Madbomb storyline?
what's next: Steve Rogers, Super Sissy!


his safehouse has HDTV? holy crap! i gotta break into one of those!

regurgitate!

when and where did we see this before? ah, last year!



obviously, the server's assets are much more preferable than that turkey!!

happy thanksgiving, geeks! remember the Native Americans who lived here before you!!

alternative ending, Ultimate Avengers #3

"The good news is that Jesus is coming back. The bad news is that he's really pissed off."

hamburgered Hillary

well, well, we know where Mark Millar's political leanings lie, don't we? after all, he did create the Ultimates.







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Ultimate Avengers #3

drive-by readings: Ultimate Avengers #2

Ultimate Avengers #2 (Marvel) "The Next Generation, Part 2 of 6" Mark Millar Carlos Pacheco Danny Miki Dexter Vines Justin Ponsor Cory Petit Laura Martin

the question has probably been posed out there already: is there still anybody who cares about the Ultimate Universe? i'm not sure what the sales numbers are for this title. suffice it to say it does maintain my interest, with the return of original writer Mark Millar, and exciting new work from Carlos Pacheco. looks like Millar isn't done peeling back the layers of his re-imagined Marvel characters - there's always a nasty surprise hidden somewhere. so what if Cap's not as squeaky clean as the original? we loved him kicking the crap out of Hank Pym. and his son is the Red Skull, trained by the US government in a black op facility reminiscent of Weapon X? bring it on. once Cap learns the truth, he goes underground (not without kissing Hawkeye's face with his boot). man, sometimes Millar makes it hard to like these characters though. and who is blond new (elder) Stark? my guess is Robert Downey Jr.

drive-by readings: Ultimate Avengers #1

Ultimate Avengers #1 (Marvel) "The Next Generation, Part 1 of 6" Mark Millar Carlos Pacheco Danny Miki Justin Ponsor Cory Petit Laura Martin Leinil Yu/Jason Keith (variant cover)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaand Mark Millar's back in the Ultimate line. i confess i haven't read Ultimatum yet from end to end. i'm vaguely aware of Magneto going nuts, a Biblical flood, Wolverine killing Multiple Man, Blob eating the Wasp, and most of the mutants dead as well. now we have the Ultimates - the Avengers - rebuilding their world post-Armageddon. looks like everyone got infected by Hawkeye's suicidal-take-no-prisoners-approach, even Captain America casually tosses bad guys out of a helicopter, or its just a bad day to take on the Avengers. anyhoo, most of it is a flashback with Cap and Hawkeye dealing with A.I.M. and Cap meeting the Red Skull (for the first time) - and the ugly jerk (looking like Crossbones) is ostensibly his son. pretty much Cap goes AWOL after that (more backstory to come) and Nick Fury is brought back to head a special ops team to bring Cap back in.

i've been a fan of Carlos Pacheco (Avengers Forever is a treasured book) and i'm astonished at this new level of amazing interior art - maybe its Danny Miki's inks. suffice it to say: wow.

if anything at all, this is NOT Ultimates 3. and thank God for that.

gobble, gobble

happy turkey eating, everyone!