crushing blow

drive-by readings

The Thanos Imperative #4 (Marvel) Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning Miguel Sepulveda Jay David Ramos/Wil Quintana Joe Caramagna Aleksi Briclot (cover)

what we learned: the not-so-secret Six (Nova, Quasar, Gladiator, Silver Surfer, Ronan and Beta Ray Bill),attack the Cancerverse HQ and they get their licks in. however, Lord Mar-Vell (the fake) is more than a match for any of them. and in one of the quickest turnarounds in the Marvel U, Thanos reintegrates himself (awwwwww - stop whining! this is the Universe of Life!), much to Star-Lord's relief, but returns the favor to Drax.
oh shit moment: Lord Mar-Vell leaves a bomb. sneaky punk. oh yeah, and a version of the Vision gets ripped in half again. the Android Anti-Defamation League is picketing the Marvel offices.
what's next: what? a universe without a smart cranky Destroyer? perish the thought! pun intended!


cosmic deadpan trash talk. now there's a Marvel Studios movie.

do androids dream of eternal sleep

drive-by readings

The Thanos Imperative #3 (Marvel) Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning Miguel Sepulveda Jay David Ramos Joe Caramagna Aleksi Briclot (cover)

what we learned: with a nice nod to that "Vision taking over the world" storyline back when, several things happen here including the revelation that the dying Mar-Vell may have caused this whole thing, and that the Cancerverse may have a weakness that Nova has deemed it necessary to exploit. oh, and he finally has balls.
oh shit moment: never leave a Destroyer to his own devices. and beside a Mad Titan.
what's next: wanna watch a necropsy? do you have an avatar of death available?


eeeennnd ... scene. that's a wrap for Expendables 2!

heeeeeeeeeeeee's back!!!

and its a good thing all of these is separate from the nonsense down terra firma. (via Daily Pop)

snaps: Realm of Kings: Inhumans #3

... where a secret villain is revealed. really, nobody saw that coming light years away? also, it looks like Crystal+Ronan just may not just be a publicity stunt.

dude, its more, like, a whole barrel. word.


ok, stop teasing us. that's a Skrull. (actually no, its just an afterimage).


yes, drop him a line at gorgon@inhumans.hala, gorgeous.gorgon on Facebook, and @stomper on Twitter.


Pietro is gonna watch this on YouTube and he is soooooooo gonna be pissed.


does this mean Magneto is going to follow?

snaps: Realm of Kings #1

... where a hole in our universe leads to our ass.

1) Dr. Gruenwald can't come to the phone right now. he has left the building. or he's just relaxing amongst the pages of the classic '80s Squadron Supreme TPB.


2) Wendell Vaughn, relationship coach.


3) apparently, the Vision has concealed something else rather poorly.


4) witness ... the heart transplant technique of the future!


5) gaze upon the Abyss that is the Thunder God's face. (and while you're at it, a No-Prize to tell me what "FTAGHN" means)


6) what did i miss? how does this ersatz Quasar know about Dr. Gruenwald? (who contrary to what was stated above, has not left the building)

i just can wait to be king

drive-by readings

War of Kings: Who Will Rule? one shot (Marvel) Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Paul Pelletier Andrew Hennessy Guru eFX Joe Caramagna Brandon Peterson (cover)

the one thing i really liked about War of Kings is that it finally elevated Gladiator (no, not Russell Crowe) from a two-dimensional muscle-bound powerhouse into a fleshed-out ethical soldier with leadership potential. actually, DnA, in taking reins of Marvel's cosmic crossovers/space operas since 2006's Annihilation (with Keith Giffen), have breathed new life into C-list characters and moved them up the ladder (ex. Nova, Ronan, Super-Skrull, Rocket Raccoon, Star Lord - even Maximus became more than a cardboard cutout insane villain) or at least made them readable again. with the seeming deaths of Black Bolt and former Shi'ar Majestor Vulcan, Gladiator (true name: Kallark ... you know, like that guy from Kansas via Krypton) tries to hold the fragile Shi'ar Imperium together and at the same time, bury his former Majestrix Lilandra, a casualty of the War of Kings (did somebody tell Xavier yet?). he still thinks himself as a soldier, and prefers to have someone else take the reins of the Empire, whether its someone within the Shi'ar heirarchy or a regent from presumably their new rulers, the Kree/Inhumans. Crystal feels Medusa will appoint her, and she herself is reluctant to take the position. in the end, Gladiator doesn't have a choice: he's the best suited individual at this point for the job. unfortunately, its what suits the Fraternity of Raptors - and the Magus (the now-i'm-crazy-again Adam Warlock). up next: Realm of Kings.

drive-by readings: Guardians of the Galaxy #17

Guardians of the Galaxy #17 (Marvel) "Adam Magus" Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Brad Walker Victor Olazaba Scott Hanna Jay David Ramos Joe Caramagna Daniel Acuna (cover)

just after the War of Kings, half of the Guardians need to take care of the aftershocks of Black Bolt's suicide bomb gambit. simply put, the resulting explosion opens a hole in the fabric of space and its widening every second. Rocket Raccoon takes his half of the team to lay the law down on the surviving Inhumans, but some Japanese tentacle shit starts pulling Attilan inside, forcing them to deal with that emergency. solving that, there's the matter of that hole. Warlock makes a last ditch attempt to hook this timestream onto another unused one (don't ask), but at what cost? ahh, the initial tally so far is a skewered Phylla-Vell (who it turns out, had her own agenda), a Gamora with potentially a snapped neck, and the terrifying Alice Cooper impersonator below:


Warlock, by grafting the current timeline to another (mentioned as one he's familiar with), he sacrifices himself as that other timeline is the one where he went nutso. my head hurts. please consult with Reed Richards, as i am sure he and his ilk would find a solution to this. not. nothing's ever easy for this team and so it should be.

by the way, one thing i enjoy with the whole Guardians revival is the comedy part, mostly revolving around Rocket Raccoon and his wisecracking. also, DnA cleverly explains why Groot keeps saying "I am Groot!" and it took the who-knows-when-he's-sane Maximus to make us understand. holy crap, that made sense.

drive-by readings: War of Kings #6

War of Kings #6 (Marvel) "War of Kings" Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Paul Pelletier Rick Magyar Andrey Hennessy Wil Quintana Brandon Peterson (cover) Mike Choi/Sonia Oback (variant cover)

wow. i keep looking for happy endings and they never happen. silly me. Black Bolt and Vulcan's mano-a-mano results in both of them dead - probably (this is the Marvel Universe after all). one thing we can be sure of, is that Gladiator will be the new Shi'ar boss. here's hoping he doesn't start another war after what happened to Lilandra; he should go after the Raptors (likely the next cosmic crossover, eh DnA?). what's next for the cast of characters? fingers crossed, no one gets canceled (Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova). Alex and Lorna should go back home to Earth though, and be with family again. one thing good out of this, is we get rid of the annoying Vulcan for awhile (why does he talk like an American douchebag? somebody probably edited out "like" from the dialogue).

i think the collected trade would really be worth getting, as i feel this was a stronger crossover, story and art-wise than its Annihilation predecessors.

drive-by readings: The Authority #13

The Authority #13 (DC/Wildstorm) Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Simon Coleby Cliff Rathburn Drew Johnson Ray Snyder Carrie Strachan Wes Abbott

just when i crack open an Authority book for the first time in a long time, who do we have bedeviling my sentimental team of badasses? why, its whatsisname Kaizen the old fart. not sure how he's alive and well - i'm just getting up to speed with this brave new world they're in. let's see - Apollo and the Doc are missing, Jack's a cripple, and Midnighter just went off to find his Sun God. now they're in for a fight as Gamorra sends his superclones and his proxy daughter Cybernary to reclaim the remnants of this world. gee thanks, old fart. Midnighter, when you do come back, make it permanent this time, will ya?

drive-by readings: War of Kings: Ascension #4

War of Kings: Ascension #4 (Marvel) "Fugitive" Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Wellinton Alves Scott Hanna Guru eFX Cory Petit Brandon Peterson (cover)

last time we left Chris Powell, a.k.a. Darkhawk, he wrests back control of the suit from the Raptor Razor, but just right after the latter assassinates Lilandra for Vulcan. this immediately makes him somewhat Sh'iar Public Enemy Number One (depending on who you talk to), and the anti-BFF of Gladiator and the Starjammers. give him credit for making the best out of a really bad situation and taking the fight back to the Fraternity of Raptors. this series started out slow, but ends up a winner. and the open ending paves the way for the next cosmic crossover? right? right??

drive-by readings: War of Kings #5

War of Kings #5 (Marvel) "In Rage and Blood and Fire" Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Paul Pelletier Rick Magyar Wil Quintana Joe Caramagna Brandon Peterson (cover) Adi Granov (variant cover)

with the assassination of Lilandra (you mean it, Marvel? you really mean it?), the endgame is afoot, making the expected collision course between Vulcan and Black Bolt inevitable. the rage burns out of control on the Sh'iar side, none moreso than in Lilandra's longtime loyalist, Gladiator, who's out ripping arms and putting down those he believes betrayed the Royal Throne (how ya doin', Chancellor Araki). the Inhumans in the meantime, are divided in their own house, as Black Bolt hatches a counterplan involving terrigen mists, sound, and himself: in short, he's goin' a-suicide bombing. i've been praising War of Kings for being a well-coordinated crossover, with its simple, tight sequences and exceptional cliffhangers; case in point - Vulcan easily brushes aside the Kree Sentries and bursts into the heart of the Inhuman bomb, and just nods at Black Bolt: "you. let's go." this is i think, the apex of Vulcan's characterization, thanks to DnA, and ultimately thanks to Ed Brubaker, who co-created the 3rd Summers brother in X-Men: Deadly Genesis, and who also has a hand in this month's other much-hyped book (think red, white and blue).

drive-by readings: Guardians of the Galaxy #15

Guardians of the Galaxy #15 (Marvel) Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Brad Walker Victor Olazaba Livesay Jay David Ramos Chris Eliopoulos Salvador Larocca (cover)

past the fisticuffs resulting from being caught in between hostile Sh'iar Imperial Guard and the angry Inhumans/Kree, this issue merely rates an OK overall. sure there were some nice moments, like Warlock cutting loose (yeeech), the ad hoc Guardians always finding a way despite being overmatched, and of course Peter Quill's deadpan-in-the-face-of-death quips. i still give kudos to the writing team for managing the story and the schedules well - this should be a terrific trade paperback.

you know what might've prevented the War of Kings? a Michael Jackson concert. word.

drive-by readings: War of Kings: Ascension #3

War of Kings: Ascension #3 (Marvel) "The End of All Things" Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Wellinton Alves Scott Hanna Nelson Pereira Guru eFX Cory Petit Brandon Peterson (cover)

holy crap, i didn't see that coming. yes, i may be a doofus, but screw you, this is my page. this is also why DnA have revitalized Marvel's cosmic titles in the last 3 years, and made for better entertainment than the crossovers happening in terra firma. deftly springing off from War of Kings #4, Chris Powell rightfully takes back the Darkhawk armor, but at the completely wrong time (you sly foxes, DnA!). so what's the point of gaining the advantage of knowledge over the Fraternity of Raptors (includes the ones from Toronto), when everyone thinks you're just a bully who shoots women for fun?

and hey, somebody answer this for me, as even Google is confused. is it Wellinton Alves or Wellington Alves?

a certain bald man is not going to be happy

and i don't mean Max Brenner. Or Brian Michael Bendis.



should i even hope that this is permanent? or would Lilandra be alive and well in Operation Galactic Storm 2 - Kree Versus Shi'ar Versus Skrulls Versus Technarch Versus Celestials: Here We Go Again in 2011?

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War of Kings #4

i can go die happy now

because Richard Rider is back to being the one true Nova!


and with a sexier Worldmind, to boot. what's not to like?

at the least this:


or it could be worse: like that jewelry commercial with jealous female GPS (can't remember what the hell the brand was).

that's what you call a melee!

Guardians of the Galaxy vs the Inhumans vs the Shi'ar Imperial Guard - hoooooooo-haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!


Dark Reign what? X-Men who?
-----
Guardians of the Galaxy #14

never doubt a raccoon

or the writing duo known as DnA.

another stellar issue. this is why we read comicbooks.

-----
War of Kings #3

oh, its on!

to: Silverhawks (snort)
from: Worldmind



do not think we will take this insult lightly, you winged abominations. "minor guardians of order" indeed. the Xandarians have no use for ugly flying objects as yourselves, as the Earthmen do sometimes to deliver their correspondences in absence of what they call a "postage stamp".

be forewarned that i will be sending my most powerful officer on you to open up that armor and squeeze you out like corned meat.


Richard, it is important that you listen at this time ...

wait, didn't i just take the Nova Force away from that Earthling ...

%%%%$&*#^@%!!
amp;*#^@%!!
amp;*#^@%!!

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War of Kings: Ascension #1

drive-by readings 023409

Guardians of the Galaxy #10 (Marvel) "Blastaared" Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Brad Walker Victor Olazaba Livesay Wil Quintana Joe Caramagna Clint Langley (cover)

i love team books. and i love team books that feature fractured teams that come together a lot more! Rocket Raccoon successfully leads the Guardians in a snatch-and-grab of erstwhile leader Starlord right from Blastaar and his hordes. i'm salivating at the part where Warlock, Gamora, Drax, Heather and Nova rejoin them in time for War of Kings. DnA hasn't let us down so far, and i expect greater things down the road.

Mogo dissed!

for that remark, Mogo and the Green Lantern Corps made a deal with the Worldmind/Nova Corps to strip Richard Rider of the Nova Force (that should actually be my cliffhanger of the week!).

apparently, there's this little-known ruling in the Book of Oa that states, "thou shall not disrespect thy equivalent character(s) in other comics, and vice versa."

i smell crossover battle!