Peter and Tony, sitting on a couch

and with this, we say Amen to the Pandora's Box opened by Civil War (God bless its soul).

the mighty daken

drive-by readings

Daken - Dark Wolverine #1 (Marvel) "Empire Part 1" Daniel Way/Marjorie Liu Giuseppe Camuncoli Onofrio Catacchio Frank D'Armata Cory Petit Camuncoli/Marte Gracia (cover) Gabrielle Dell'Otto/Marko Djurdjevic (variant covers)

what we learned: nothing much. we know Daken hates his dad Wolverine with a passion second to none, although is he going to make a move and simply kill him, when he's been bested in their last chickenfight and his ass was saved with that business with FrankenCastle. so if its his time, its his time to do what?
oh shit moment: he's friggin' doing Bruno in Milan, but with claws. and who's the leader of the Red Right Hand? ("Nick Cave!" someone yells)
what's next: there better be a great payoff with Liu jumping off Black Widow and rejoining Way to chronicle more of our androgynous anti-hero/villain, now that Logan's in hell.


you really should be wary of "free wine tastings".

the brave and the bald

drive-by readings

Astonishing X-Men #35 (Marvel) Warren Ellis Phil Jimenez Andy Lanning Frank D'Armata Joe Caramagna

what we learned: we finally meet Kaga, who has an axe to grind against beautiful and handsome mutants. i would too, if i weren't handsome.
oh shit moment: Cyclops almost becomes Wolverine but still shows his goody side. Wolverine is still Wolverine, and introduces his left fist to Kaga.
what's next: keep this creative team rolling, Joe Quesada. and keep the delays to a minimum please.


you're complaining?? i can't even get a hundred readers for this blog!

punchout part 2

drive-by readings

Hulk #24 (Marvel) "The Strongest There Is" Jeph Loeb Ed McGuinness Mark Farmer Morry Hollowell Richard Starkings/Comicraft McGuiness/Farmer/Frank D'Armata (cover) Dale Keown (variant cover)

what we learned: the final battle (yeah, right) between the original Hulk and Rulk (hey, they could be like Shake n Bake in Talladega Nights). Banner's masterplan unfolds and knowing he could beat Ross in a fight (laying waste to DC memorials in the process), backs him into a corner of defeat and humiliation. that is of course, until they need him again. that's a mistake that might blow up in their faces.
oh shit moment: great in-your-face artwork from Ed McGuinness. this is how it should end.
what's next: anybody still wondering why Red Hulk would be in Secret Avengers?


Honest Abe: "and what the hell are you two gonna do about this mess you made??"

punchout part 1

drive-by readings

Incredible Hulk #611 (Marvel) "Sons of Wrath" Greg Pak Paul Pelletier Danny Miki Frank D'Armata Simon Bowland John Romita Jr/Klaus Janson/Dean White (cover) Dale Keown (variant cover)

what we learned: monsters have hearts after all. after almost laying waste to Washington DC and Ocean City, MD (wassup, OC???), Hulk and Skaar finally come to terms and accept their past, and perhaps forge a future. am still weirded out by Banner or Hulk not aware of each other, but the days of dumb Hulk are long gone (save in Marvel Super Hero Squad), so the smart Hulk should not be constrained from Banner anymore eh? for this Heroic Age, let's have one freakin' smart Hulk/Banner and be a positive force in the MU in the foreseeable future.
oh shit moment: Banner hugs Skaar, and we can finally close the book on loose cannons. hopefully.
what's next: Hulk takes Skaar to Disney World!!!


and the snot. don't forget to wipe off the snot.

start engine

drive-by readings

Iron Man #29 (Marvel) "Stark Resilient Part 5: Predators and Prey In Their Natural Environments" Matt Fraction Salvador Larocca Frank D'Armata Joe Caramagna

what we learned: Stark begins his Hail Mary play of getting investors onboard his scheme to save the world. also, Pepper Potts may be back as Rescue but she may need another knight to rescue her, because Tony just blew her off to sleep with the enemy. kidding! of course, he knows there's only one way to find out if the Hammers had anything to do with Ezekiel Stane, and that way is to sleep with Sasha Hammer. oopps.
oh shit moment: nothing much, except if your name is Pepper Potts.
what's next: Hammer Time!


hey, Tones, does she remind you of Rumiko? (k-ching!)

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!

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!!

snaps: Incredible Hulk #610

... where Bruce Banner saves the world again, right before he destroys it. peace will never be in his vocabulary. also, goodbye, Leo?



oh, isn't that father-daughter thing creepy?


Amadeus Cho vs Modok for Biggest Egghead of 2010!!!



always the same mistake: too many dramatics, not enough action. boooooooo!!!


yes, you can also buy it in the Apple App Store for $4.99.


oh, now you want to do something worthwhile??

growing pains

drive-by readings

Invincible Iron Man #27 (Marvel) "Stark Resilient, Part 3: This is What We Do" Matt Fraction Salvador Larroca Frank D'Armata Joe Caramagna Ronnie Del Carmen (variant cover)

more of a layer-building issue, as Tony wrestles with Pepper regarding the resurrection of Rescue. yes, she got the taste of it, and she wants more. rebooted Tony, of course, is much more apprehensive using his tech (surprisingly, he's not like this when he's in the Avengers, right Bendis?). but Pepper is adamant, and Tony has a very precarious bargaining position, considering Pepper saved his ass, and so much more, and he doesn't remember much of it.

hello, Amy Adams.

you can almost taste the flash of the bitterness in her mouth when she says Tony has nothing left to lose, implying that he already lost her too, in a way. i wonder if she has an ulterior motive for being powered up again, as it puts her on not-exactly-equal footing-but-enough to Tony, should she start going nuts (hey, if Marvel wants someone to write that, they will) and exact revenge on him for Happy's death.

but hold that thought. hold the fact that some Comic-Con crazies have perpetrated a massacre in Tokyo subways and only Detroit Steel came to the rescue (why the hell is he even there? you'd think the Japs would be disgusted this reminder of the American car industry would be around them after what happened to Toyota last year). hold the fact that the American military are now impressed by Hammer Industries (you'd think the Americans would be disgusted with anything branded as H.A.M.M.E.R. - oh wait, those are modified Stark-era equipment). hold the fact that Rhodey had a brief crisis of conscience of laying down the War Machine armor once and for all.


no ... we need to give it up for the one ... the only ...



man, for years i wondered what happened to her. now we know. she did a lot better than Tony. bring back the '80s!!!

this is my favorite revival by Matt Fraction, after Iron Fist.

snaps: Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #2

... where our merry band of mutants find familiar enemies in darkest Africa. and no, its not those pesky N'Garai! shame on you word association OCD sufferers! and in this issue, we find more evidence of Messrs. Ellis and Andrews true obsession. to wit ...



let me make a bet that baby vomit is not the usual thing that gets spattered on that spot. right, Emma? (k-ching!)


hey, Nitro! you got a child roaming around here, you deadbeat daddy!!




what is the excuse eh? what is YOUR excuse??



hey, lay off Scott, Ororo! you didn't lose your parents then have to jump off a plane with your little brother at a young age!


if only Jean can see him now (yes, that's next issue's cover ...)

call it a comeback

drive-by readings

Invincible Iron Man #25 (Marvel) "Hammer Girls" Matt Fraction Salvador Larroca Frank D'Armata Joe Caramagna Larroca/Rian Hughes/Tetsuya Aoki/Ryan Meinerding/Herb Trimpe (variant covers)

and the blackest night is over. Tony Stark has regained control of his brain and bodily functions, and its much better than ever. recovering his Extremis backup from that hard drive that was a focal point of World's Most Wanted and Disassembled, Stark is now a true Iron Man, powered by the infinite juice of the repulsor battery in his chest, replacing his organs and making him the best fighting machine ever. truly gone are the days of the suitcase armor (although it has its purposes, as Jarvis demonstrated in Siege).

about the fighting part ... well, apparently, Stark wants to do a 180 and make love this time around. he doesn't have anything left, so Stark Resilient, his new (broke) company as it is, plans to license his repulsor tech to global industries to reduce dependence on current energy sources and use the free alternative. to this end, the military industrial complex may have to turn to Hammer Industries, who's trying to fill in Stark's shoes. i suspect this shift has a lot to do with writer Matt Fraction's personal (hippie?) beliefs, and it does make sense, in the light of world events. he's been doing a bang-up job overall and we're drinking the Kool Aid.

with his Extremis recovery though, there's that caveat of not remembering anything through Civil War, Secret Invasion, World War Hulk, and Dark Reign. pretty convenient way out, i'd say (better than making a deal with the devil and dissolving your marriage, or going back in time and plucking out your teenage self). it'll make for some interesting conversations with his peers, and that's the part i'm really anticipating. speaking of which ...

my favorite part of this whole deal is his eventual reconciliation with Thor, of which his pwning by the latter was a source then of national glee. Thor himself makes the first step, and for once (and i hope for the long term), we get a humble Stark still speaking about himself and his convictions (though he can't remember what he did), but building enough of a bridge from his end. i thought the offer of (and eventual rejection by Stark) financial resources by the Thunder God was a nice touch, and that sealed the deal for reconciliation.

i know the movie's coming out (why else are we dusting off Justin Hammer's legacy?), but it still makes sense in the scheme of things (and in the new Heroic Age theme). if you're not onboard with this new Stark direction, you're missing out a lot.

clothes make the man

or lack of it. hey, does everyone in the Marvel U have stretch costumes these days? for that 0.09% chance that the Leader can turn anyone of them into Hulks??

for War Machine, i guess he needs to have Tony modify the armor that so it can sort of stretch. wait, isn't he like a cyborg?

but what are these Hammer Girls that you speak of?

via Marvel.com and @mattfraction

Tony Stark is back, bigger, bolder, better and shinier than ever in Iron Man: Resilient.

all you need to know about Iron Man #23

let's see Rogers or Barnes or Blake pull that off. you da man, Tones!!!

snaps: Incredible Hulk #606

... where i find myself confused as to what the Fall of the Hulks is all about. well, if it ends up reducing the Hulk population to 1, then that's fine. as much as i liked Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, they begat crazy shit that Peter David would cringe at. we wouldn't get any answers anytime soon anyway (unless you troll the message boards), so let's just make fun of this as we go along. Jeph Loeb contributes to this thing, so draw your own conclusions.

New Yorkers already forgot what the Hulk did a couple of years ago.


how do they get Old Power anyway? Sakaar sends a weekly supply via FedEx?


Dr. Doom is a difficult music teacher to work under.


i guess Skaar doesn't like talking to the hand.


in the last couple of months, Doom has been humiliated by Norman Osborn, the Black Panthers, and now Bruce Banner and the Leader. a dumb ray? even Reed Richards didn't think of that.


"ummmm ... Douchebag!"


we know Jennifer was a snot-nosed kid back then, but this is just ridiculous.

snaps: Astonishing X-Men #33

... where the team gets a little bit closer to the dude named Kaga who read a bunch of X-comics and crossovers in the '90s, found that mutants were a bad thing, and proceeded to use genetics and tech-wizardry to kill our heroes. he even uses the head of Paradigm, a poor man's Douglock, to interface with his techno-organic monstrosities, and as a taunting object. too bad, the two characters who can easily fix this shit - Kitty Pryde and Jesse Aaronson - are not in the picture. or are they?

1) and Scott said, 'let there be light' and there was ...


2) with Jubilee's impending return, i sense a catfight soon for the right to be Logan's Spunky, Wisecracking & Cute Asian Sidekick.


3) and morning, noon and night, i'll give ya ... head!


4) ok ... Cat Beast vs Dog Beast ... who ya got????



5) you and me both, Cyke!!!