the Turner cover feature #2

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America
in tribute to Michael Turner

falling star

it is time to really say goodbye to Steve Rogers, as detailed in the closing chapter of the Fallen Son series, shepherded by Jeph Loeb.

but if we are expected closure, more questions come to light.


so some substitute is buried in Arlington, and presumably the real body is here in this coffin. and the Shield? where is the Shield? Tony's holding more secrets than J.K. Rowling prior to the last Harry Potter book.

Tony wants Steve buried beneath the icy depths, where his second life started. in a show of solidarity, Namor pledges to safeguard his body.


but is Tony really going to accept that his best friend is dead?


with all the liberties Tony took after Steve died, i can't believe that he might not have given a thought about cloning Steve. he already did it once, and i can't wait to see his reaction when Thor learns of that perfidy. heh, perfidy (thank you, Kurt Busiek).

and with all the hints of the Skrull shit going on here and there .... who can we trust??

and Namor talks about protecting the body as long as he is the ruler of the seas. by the way, in Sub-Mariner #1, i believe a coup against him is in progress ...

sorry to be so cynical. can't help it.
-----
Fallen Son - The Death of Captain America: Iron Man
"Acceptance"
Jeph Loeb/John Cassaday

on your mark, get set ... no.

Fallen Son: Captain America
Jeph Loeb/John Romita Jr./Klaus Janson
Marvel


three deep into the self-contained introspective stories after the death of Cap, Fallen Son: Captain America examines the effects on the long-lost Hawkeye (has there been any, any solid explanation at all how he came back from the dead? no? figures.). right off the bat, the moment he shows himself to Tony Stark, he gets sucker-punched.


Luke Skywalker needed S.H.I.E.L.D. treatment after getting raped by wampas


finding an opportunity to bring another hero to the fold, Tony nudges the always-impulsive Clint Barton into possibly donning the uniform and the Shield. after much screaming and scheming, Clint does agree. but only for a spin.

as i see it, Tony has a point, but its difficult to roll out a new symbol of the American Dream, especially if the previous one had size 25 ones. even one who could capably fill them admirably. why not roll out an armored Captain America robot, Tony? that could assuage your guilt. but nah, it wouldn't work.









we get teased by what could be when Clint shows up in full costume, accompanying Tony to stop two renegade teenage heroes, the Patriot (grandson of the black Cap, Isaiah Bradley), and "Hawkeye" (Kate Bishop, whose costumed identity was offered to her by Cap himself, after Clint's disappearance.

of course, the black guy starts cussing. i mean, how typical is that, Jeph Loeb?

after listening to them (and enduring a skirt costume joke), Hawkeye/Cap lets the two go, to Tony's consternation (his record in attempting to capture the renegade Avengers is now 0-12). they have a final discussion, again putting Tony's sterling reputation in the mud.

reminds me of that time when all Avengers got to live in Camelot-ian times, courtesy of Morgan Le Fey's magic tricks (thank you, Kurt Busiek!), with Hawkeye trying to convince Iron Man to see it from the point of view of the regular guys, but gets dissed.

by the way, with Hawkeye being the latest, how many Cap substitutes has Marvel tossed out there already? actually, the whole exercise is fun, pitting fanboy against fanboy, with their own frothy opinions on who could be the next.

here's Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher, going up against super neocons in the Punisher War Journal.

America ... Fuck Yeah!

this is MVP (Michael Van Patrick) a sort of super athlete with perfect genes (revealed to be the grandson of the inventor of the original Super Soldier serum injected into Steve Rogers). too bad he got killed in the first training mission in Avengers: The Initiative. God who knows whose keeping a sample of his DNA right now, for future use? as maverick/hack auteur Carlo J. Caparas would say, "God Save Us!"

this is what they mean when they say you need it like you need a hole in your head

and we still haven't gotten into the reborn Bucky Barnes yet (a.k.a. the Winter Soldier, a.k.a. Captain America's Boy Toy), who, as per Captain America #26, wants to whack Tony Stark.

speaking of Tony, i think he had a quick fling with Katie Couric, she of the $15 million salary and falling ratings, with his inclusion of colonoscopy in standard physical exams of suspects.

so far, the Fallen Son series has been an enjoyable one, and i'm looking forward to the last two (Spider-Man and Iron Man).

iHaul (Wk 17)

appropriated last week.

	the warring sides of the recently-concluded Civil War try to come to grips with the death of Captain America the same way: hit something. the Mighty Avengers put the beating on Tiger Shark, while the (former) New Avengers duke it among themselves in a secret poker game (guest starring Ben Grimm). i understand the need to tell these stories, i just don't feel comfortable with the cash register mentality behind it. who am i to complain, right? ("right!!!" says the peanut gallery) oh wait, i have one - grieving or not, Peter Parker is a science nerd - he knows what an L.M.D. is.
Fallen Son: Avengers Jeph, Loeb, Ed McGuiness
"I. AM. NOT. TOPHER GRACE."

	gathering myself after i wet my pants when the JLA/JSA teamed up, i followed Bats, Geo-Force, Sandman and the loony Starman - who may be from the 30th Century, and who has teammates scattered in this timeline - and watched them go up against Dr. Destiny and the nth riot at Arkham Asylum. Geoff Johns steps up to the plate - witness his dead-on Batman and the latter's interaction with everyone else. not like i expected less from Johns - i've only begun to read him, but so far its been a blast. and what else is? oh yeah, the life-size replicas of the whole Legion of Superheroes in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Lightning Lad? Ultra Boy? Timber Wolf? Wildfire? holy crap. my childhood just flashed before my eyes. and i just wet my pants. again.
Justice Society of America #5 Geoff Johns, Fernando Pasarin
"And that's for being campy for 3 years!"

	before we go into this whole Ultron-overrides-Tony Stark thing, let me just point out one thing: the Mole Man is always the first test for newly-formed, non-mutant superhero teams. and he always loses. so, back to Ultron. this issue ... well, a few flashbacks, Carol's trial by fire as a leader ("ummm ... Tony?"), and Ares acting stupid (Herc used to do the same, so does this mean Gods act arrogant all the time? no wonder mankind is effed). this seems to be an ensemble comedy piece by Bendis (only Plastic Man is missing ... opps, wrong company), if not for the terrifying things an Ultron can do. and Frank Cho can keep drawing this title until infinity. spasibo, babyyyyyyyyyy!
Mighty Avengers #2 Brian Michael Bendis, Frank Cho
WWCD? throw his shield of course. and then run away.

	so Hippolyta has been resurrected? how did she die in the first place? sorry, i haven't been reading WW prior to Infinite Crisis and the Dodson run (yum). or perhaps i've been staring too much at something else. anyway, we're 3 issues deep in the Jodi Picoult era, and should we be surprised that it deals with the Amazon revolution (check the next book below)? this book had scheduling problems and a somewhat jagged flow (thanks a lot, Allan Heinberg). i guess to keep the fans interested, we need a huge ass fight and a crossover. yes, by all means, entertain us! sino ang pasimuno ng Amazon power?? Hip-Hip-Hip, Hippolyta!
Wonder Woman #8 Jodi Picoult, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson
a birthmark? you mean Wonder Woman isn't ... perfect?! noooo!

	what else would empowered women do in their free time? why, kick male ass, of course! and what better place to do this than in the one place that's a symbol of macho male domination - Washington, D.C., complete with its own phallic symbol. Destroy!!!!!!!!!!! the Circe-controlled Amazons wreak havoc on the nation's capital (how does this thing tie in with the current JLA/JSA storyline?). actually, what i'm more concerned about is how they are going to put the national monuments back together. good thing i already visited most of them before these girls went wild.
Amazons Attack! #1 Will Pfeifer, Pete Woods
heh heh ... he said 'guns.'

	right here is a beautiful tale straight out of old school but set in modern times. the JSA Green Lantern, Alan Scott, is requested by the shady government organization called, umm, S.H.A.D.E. (led by umm, Father Time) to look up Johnny Mimic, a retired crook who can recreate crimes, and who might be able to solve a high-tech theft. Alan reluctantly breaks his agreement not to bother Johnny, and gets chided for it. turns out Father Time has his own agenda (don't they all) and Johnny makes a sacrifice play to save the day. and remind Alan Scott to never trust the government. hey, Tony Stark won't be too happy to hear that. wait ...
JSA Classified #25 Tony Bedard, Dennis Calero
Alan Scott having enough of Cogsworth telling the wrong time

	obviously, this issue reminds me of Preacher - man fights God, film at 11 - except for this one level: God is sore at man because he slept with the Virgin Mary. i know how that sounds, Catholics; put the pitchforks down. its just Robert Kirkman's irreverent take on a holy man taking on evil and having fun along the way. except remove the "holy" part. God confronts the incorrigible Pope Oswald in this issue and gives him the beating of his life - while Jesus and Santa Claus take down a demon by themselves. Battle Pope is always an acquired taste, but i've acquired it smoothly, no problem. hope my parish priest isn't reading this.
Battle Pope #13 Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore
it's God's fault we're all sickos and perverts

	watchudoin', Willis? as in Greg Willis, a.k.a. Gravity, the loser who died in that Beyond! mini-series, has been resurrected to be the new Quasar, protector of the Universe. reminds me of Penance, the artist formerly known as Speedball. ok, let's get this straight: the new FF (Sue and Reed get to honeymoon), looking for Gravity's body, run afoul of the Silver Surfer, who wants to feed cosmic being Epoch to his boss Galactus. of course, this doesn't sit well with Ben and T'Challa. turns out Epoch stole Gravity to resurrect him, but Surfer just wants to do his job. punches are thrown and i applaud the Black Panther taking on the Surfer. maybe when he comes back from his feigned retreat, he'll actually beat him.
Fantastic Four #545 Dwayne McDuffie, Paul Pelletier, Rick Magyar
The Protector of the Universe just got Americanized!

wait ... i can't resist finishing with this:

from Amazons Attack #1

uh, oh. the Men of the Square Table won't like that.

iHaul (Wk 14)

a sampling from last week.

	well, look who's back. and look who's gone as well. Andy Hartnell soldiers on, without J. Scott Campbell, who really draws the definitive DG. the girls are once again called into action, looking for the mysterious (huh?) Master Key, which supposedly shouldn't fall into any hands (except DG's). on the opposite side, there's another badass femme fatale on a collision course with Abbey et al. think for a moment if Greg Rucka or Mike Bendis wrote this. and then we'll holler: Mr. Campbell, please come back!
Danger Girl: Body Shots #1	Andy Hartnell, Nick Bradshaw, Jim Charalampidis
i thought that was what they meant by 'boob tube'

	never read much of this Joe Q-Jimmy P creation; suffice it to say, she was part of the Bad Girl revolution of the mid-90s (all you fanboys drool and wave your mint collection). but just like DG above, if you're going to bring back the character, give it the visual ooomph it deserves. and Vampirella and Lady Death are still around, right? can't you throw money at Adam Hughes? or Terry Dodson? so we have Jane getting tattooed (literally) and ending up in the middle of a firefight between a stupid punk and dealers and cops. next!
Painkiller Jane #0	Jimmy Palmiotti, Lee Moder
ok, i have no excuse for this

	i have three words for you: Too. Many. Avengers. is this your version of martial law? who's to say the E.U. won't form its own superhero army? will superhero boot camp be the answer to loose cannons? as long as the government has an agenda, i don't care how noble Tony Stark's intentions are - this isn't gonna work. what happens when they need to go against the government? will they stage a coup d'etat? i'm sure these questions have been churning in the mind of the happiest man on Earth, Mr. Dan Slott. hi, Dan!
Avengers: The Initiative #1	Dan Slott, Stefano Caselli
what happens, indeed?

	continuing the cash-raking event that is Civil War; Marvel has made out like Tony Stark here - you 'War' profiteers! anyway, does anybody know if Gerry Alanguilan is still alive? because Leinil Yu's art needs him. badly. unless you're slacking off, Leinil. c'mon, do us Pinoys proud once more. at least he's not being a Joe Mad or a J. Scott Campbell. anyhoo, Wolverine has infiltrated the morgue twice already. and each time, he finds out Cap's not there or not alive. just read my blog, Logan. Cap's alive in these pages.
Fallen Son: Wolverine #1	Jeph Loeb, Leinil Yu
this is going to happen: someone frames Stark, then they duke it out. $$$!

	after years of trying to figure out what to do with that bunch of goofy Canadians, Marvel finally killed them off. but they retained that symbol of hardy Canuck spirit, Wolverine. oh, sorry, i meant Sasquatch. and make him the leader of a final Flight - before the USA thinks they're wimps and take over their country too. bad news: American bad guys are running amok. worse news: Omega Flight is to be composed of expat Yanks. worst news: Scott Kolins is drawing the series.
Omega Flight #1	Michael Avon Oeming, Scott Kolins
screenshot of Chewbacca vs. Stormtroopers in the latest Tekken

	oy! there's too much cash cows mooing in the meadows. i don't know how they even got Ash and the Army of Darkness in here, but its all for fun, picking up where that out-of-nowhere hit Marvel Zombies left off (Robert Kirkman himself is a 'consultant'). but really, aren't you sick of the walking dead already? i can already foresee them making Marvel vs DC: Zombies. now that's a cash cow! (pssst, Mr. Art Suydam, nice retouch on that classic Jim Lee X-Men cover)
Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness #2	John Layman, Fabiano Neves
like the kid in Meet The Fockers said: "ASH-hooo!"