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!

things i liked this week

X-Men: Legacy #235 (Marvel)
Mike Carey/Greg Land/Jay Leisten/Justin Ponsor/Cory Petit (cover: Adi Granov)
you know things are really grave (pun intended) when goody-two-shoes Doug Ramsey makes BFF Warlock suck the life-force out of Hodge and the Right soldiers. in other words, the New Mutants should really no longer be called such, becaused they've been bloodied to hell and back already. our intrepid mutants sustain two more blows, and one's a Fallen Angel (if any of you still remember). i don't care if Greg Land is drawing this (and in one panel, Cable's mouth is not symmetrical to his face), this is shaping up to be an exciting X-crossover.


Ultimate Avengers #6 (Marvel)
Mark Millar/Carlos Pacheco/Dexter Vines/Cory Petit/Justin Ponsor/Laura Martin
an ending worthy of past Millar Ultimates books. father and son finally gets the their final 5-minute faceoff, and guess who loses. Carlos Pacheco turns in overall, his best work in recent years (except for random details, like two missing jet needles in one panel, certainly an important element to the eventual conclusion).


Doomwar #3 (Marvel)
Jonathan Maberry/Scot Eaton/Andy Lanning/Robert Campanella/Jean-Francois Beaulieu/Cory Petit (cover: John Romita Jr./Klaus Janson/Dean White)
Doom has Vibranium
the Panther God lets him pass
T'Challa is pissed.


Batman: Streets of Gotham #11 (DC)
Paul Dini/Dustin Nguyen/Derek Fridolfs/John Kalisz/Steve Wands

finally someone takes down Zsasz. Damian's character is getting fleshed out, and DC is doing right with him. i think now he's much more interesting than Tim Drake. thank the God of Comics.

Power Girl #11 (DC)
Justin Gray/Jimmy Palmiotti/Amanda Conner/Paul Mounts/John J. Hill
i wouldn't say its a cop out, but having a cloning tank takes the thrill out of beating the bad guys. but listen, a monthly Power Girl book is always a must. so, please don't cancel this.


Guardians of the Galaxy #25 (Marvel)
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Brad Walker/Andrew Hennessy/Wil Quintana/Joe Caramagna (cover: Alex Garner)

the team is back together again, and i couldn't be happier. hey, wait, according to the future iterations of the Guardians, this 2010 version of them are the only ones standing in the way of annihilation caused by the chronal error of a resurrected Thanos. let The Thanos Imperative begin.

Green Lantern #53 (DC)
Geoff Johns/Doug Mahnke/Christian Alamy/Keith Champagne/Mark Irwin/Randy Mayor/Nick Napolitano (variant cover: Ryan Sook)
Johns allows us a bit of a moment to catch our breath before Brightest Day, and what best way to spend it except to witness playful flirting between Highball (heh - he only has one ball and he's high) and Carol. turns out Sinestro wants to join in. in other news, who's this character who seems to be the sole protector of the Universe back when it was young? could it be ... G.O.D.?


Siege: Spider-Man #1 (Marvel)
Brian Reed/Marco Santucci/Chris Sotomayor/Joe Caramagna (cover: Marko Djurdjevic)
this one-shot is both a treat and a letdown, as Brian Reed follows up on the Peter-Carol angle (which makes sense as he's made his peace with Michelle and the MJ option has slim odds). and we get them beating up on TIKAMG (The Idiot Known as Mac Gargan). but that has no complete closure as it all occurs during Siege. duh.


Dark Wolverine #85 (Marvel)
Daniel Way/Marjorie Liu/Stephen Segovia/Cam Smith/Marte Gracia/Cory Petit/Rain Beredo
not sure why i like this. it has the annoying Romulus. and also the most gay-ass scenes between Logan and Daken, it borders on creepy. maybe its because we finally see the punk get stabbed with the Muramasa blade.


Captain America: Who Won't Wield the Shield (Marvel)
Jason Aaron/Mirco Pierfederici/Todd Klein/Matt Fraction/Brendan McCarthy/Howard Hallis/Stuart Moore/Joe Quinones/Javier Rodriguez
why can't they do these more often? and tone down the Deadpool stuff. is there a law against Assistant Editor's Month? (pssst. its not Assistant Editor's Month. whatever.)

is she talking about Nova?

oh, you mean Thanos! eeeewwwwwwww.

things i liked this week

in no particular order:

Dark Avengers #15 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/Mike Deodato/Rain Beredo/Cory Petit
i wonder why The Sentry's expressing his anger at losing his wife in the form of The Void? why would he even have feelings for her in the first place? with both stellar and exasperating Deodato art, this series encapsulates the beauty of this series, as the world crumbles around the bad guys we've grown to like. denouement is near.


Hercules - Fall of An Avenger one shot (Marvel)
Fred Van Lente/Greg Pak/Ariel Olivetti/Simon Bowland
that was fun, especially a glimpse at the dead Herc's secret liaisons. and not just with the female species! i wish there were a few more guests, like Dane Whitman, Jan (the real Wasp, but dead), and She-Hulk (hey, where is she? Banner's here but she isn't? uh oh). oh, and the Wrecking Crew, Erik Josten, and Mr. Hyde, just for kicks.

Guardians of the Galaxy #24 (Marvel)
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Wes Craig/Serge LaPointe/Nathan Fairbairn/Joe Caramagna (cover: Alex Garner)
let me just say this: not only the missing Guardians are coming back. and on that thought, hello, Cosmo!


Siege #3 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/Olivier Coipel/Mark Morales/Laura Martin/Chris Eliopoulos
hey, its not that bad. for all the crap Bendis got for his dialogue (i actually like his style), this one's got a lot of punching and kicking and shooting and yelling. though i'm still searching for that one big-ass fight scene where everything is thoroughly scripted well and the action flows fuidly and flawlessly (an idea for a regular post i'm toying with), i guess this will have to do. one thing for sure, there won't be a shortage of construction jobs in Broxton, OK.

Nova #35 (Marvel)
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Mahmud Asrar/Scott Hanna/Bruno Hang/Cory Petit (cover: Brandon Peterson)
does this mean there's no second go-round for Nova and previously-the-most-dangerous-woman-in-the-galaxy? and who still says "Blue Blazes"?


Nation X #4 (Marvel)
"Dooptopia" by Peter Milligan/Michael Allred/Laura Allred
the most light-hearted of the stories in this issue is arguably its best. Doop is appointed Head of Criminal Investigations in Utopia. are you kidding me? shouldn't they pick Lucas Bisho- oh. never mind. its Doop, Milligan and Allred. what more do you want?


Green Lantern Corps #46 (DC)
Peter Tomasi/Patrick Gleason/Rebecca Buchman/Keith Champagne/Tom Nguyen/Randy Mayor/Gabe Eltaeb/Steve Wands
sometimes writer Peter Tomasi's brain really scares us.


Devil #2 (Dark Horse)
Torajiro Kishi/Madhouse Studios
Devil Investigation Section officers Takimoto and Migiwa (described hilariously as "straight-laced, procedural and tight-assed" - oh, you Japs) crap their pants when they meet a super advanced Devil temptress named Mariko. when humanity is no longer at the top of the food chain, who you gonna call?


X-Factor Forever #1 (Marvel)
Louise Simonson/Dan Panosian/Jim Charalampidis/Dave Sharpe
at this rate, we'll have New Mutants Forever, X-Force Forever, New X-Men Forever and X-Men Unlimited Forever hitting the shelves by the end of 2010. anyway, Weezie's 5-issue take on the original X-Factor past #64 seems a more reasonable diversion rather than giving Chris Claremont the keys to a car driving off to nowhere, cliffs included. you have villains coming out of the woodwork, and Apocalypse is at the forefront. Cable's still a baby. should be fun.


Batman #697 (DC)
Tony Daniel/Sandu Florea/Ian Hannin/Jared Fletcher
and its only because the identity of Black Mask is revealed - and holy crap, it wasn't Alfred!! and the jerk actually wears his glasses inside the mask. moron.


Incredible Hulk #608 (Marvel)
Greg Pak/Paul Pelletier/Danny Miki/Crimelab Studios/Frank D'Armata/Veronica Gandini/Simon Bowland (cover: John Romita Jr./Klaus Janson/Dean White)
am still a little slow on the uptake on the whole thing here, just like Skaar is, so the Leader is laughing at me. nevertheless, i like the killer ending (its already the end of Fall of the Hulks, and am still behind the eight ball). eagerly awaiting what's next.


X-Men: Legacy #234 (Marvel)
Mike Carey/Yanick Paquette/Michel Lacombe/Nathan Fairbairn/Cory Petit (cover: Clay Mann/Danny Miki/Emily Warren)
a long-overdue story about Rogue, after regaining her sanity and control of her powers (Rogue is a Carey favorite), and her new life as a life coach around Utopia. its quite satisfying to leave that drama of "ah can't touch anyone, ah'll absorb 'em with mah power" in the dust, and just have sane relationships where she can get close to Remy AND Magneto in the same day. hey, i said "close". git yer dirty minds outta de' gutter.


Amazing Spider-Man #625 (Marvel)
Joe Kelly/Max Fiumara/Fabio D'Auria/Joe Caramagna (cover: Marko Djurdjevic)
the foreshadowing has come to pass. the Old Rhino, with nothing left to live for (i'll let you make your guesses) comes to terms with his loss and takes on the New Rhino. and you're left a lot more depressed along with Peter. yes, this is how you wanted your hero. a sad sack loser.

Lady Gaga loves Guardians of the Galaxy

... because it provided her with this inspiration!



you have to thank the Valentinos, Jim and son Aaron, for this one.



really? Taserface?


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Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (1990)

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: 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.

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?
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Guardians of the Galaxy #14

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.

covers of the week

Street Fighter Legends: Chun-Li #1 by Omar Dogan
Guardians of the Galaxy #9 by Clint Langley

right smack in the middle of crap

well, that describes where the current members of the Guardians of the Galaxy are, right now. the good news is, they found their missing erstwhile leader Peter Quill a.k.a. Space Star Lord, who's in trapped in the Negative Zone with Blastaar The Headcase from Too Many Bomb-Bursts. the bad news: they teleported right into the middle of Blastaar's marauding invasion horde headed for Earth.

(thanks a lot, Reed and Tony, for building that stupid prison with two-way teleport facilities).

"middle of crap" also describes where President Obama (what, Colbert didn't win?? LOL) is in right now, and i'm not even talking reality. in keeping with his nature of keeping a cool head and engaging in dialogue and negotiation, the Prez invites current psycho head of American security Norman Osborn aboard Air Force One and face charges of murder from evidence provided by Doc Len Samson. being the brilliant shrink that he is, Samson is completely caught off-guard as Osborn completely takes control of the situation and provides a stunning dog-and-pony show that is sure to stack the odds in his favor and completely discredit his detractors. thanks a lot, Len. fine help you are, useless prick.

oh, and fuck you, Osborn - fuck. you.

(actually, that's more of a complimentary jab at Andy Diggle - he's put me through a lot of wringers during The Losers. good times.)

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Guardians of the Galaxy #9, Thunderbolts #128

guess who's back?

no, not Captain America, but there's a fair share of that going around these days at Marvel.

no, am talking about this guy:


Starhawk used to be a '70s fixture, and i recognize him enough to be in memory shards of my childhood (like playing cards and bottle caps). little did i know about his Hawkman-like nebulous origins.

now rejoining the pages of the resurrected Guardians of the Galaxy (one of current favorites), we see him trading punches immediately with also-recently resurrected (if amnesiac) Major Victory. you know what that means - paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaartaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy!!!



and i'm also pumped at the return of another winged fella (how this ties in to X-Men #500, i do not know) ...


we believe they can fly!!!

cliffhanger of the week #16

#9 - Hunting High and Low

i'm sure i've read the Huntress' origin before but this one peels off more layers. we learn more about Helena Bertinelli's origin as a victim, a balancing act, an apt student of violence, and now, a nemesis of the Sicilian police.

Huntress: Year One #1 (DC)
Ivory Madison/Cliff Richards/Art Thibert/Jason Wright/Sal Cipriano

#8 - Charles Is Not In Charge

what do you mean, Mike Carey? Mr. Sinister has been manipulating the Charles Francis Xavier since he was a kid? the bald eagle and mentor of mutants everywhere? are you shitting me? that makes Essex the actual founder of the X-Men! sacrilege! sacrebleu! (yes, Gambit is in this issue, mon ami.)

X-Men #211 (Marvel)
Mike Carey/Scot Eaton/Brandon Peterson/John Dell/Andrew Hennessy/Dave Meikis/Frank D'Armata/John Rauch/Cory Petit

#7 - Waiting For a Star

this is my new favorite series. getting their first mission off the books was easy. the next, investigating a temporal anomaly that seems to put Captain America in their proximity (comic characters never die), is a little more complicated.

Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (Marvel)
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Paul Pelletier/Rick Magyar/Nathan Fairbairn/Joe Caramagna

#6 - Pulp Fiction

why do we bother when these characters have healing factors? they beat each other to a pulp and an inch, but that inch is enough to make 'em keep on tickin'. i guess we just love to watch a good lickin'. and depicting a good lickin' is what makes Jason Aaron rock so hard! but of course, there's a cliffhanger, although it does seem anticlimactic.

Wolverine #65 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron/Ron Garney/Jason Keith/Cory Petit

#5 - Mercy Mercy Me

embarking on a rescue mission to rescue fellow Lanterns, Kyle, John, Guy et al, run into a planet that's been transformed into one Black Mercy greenhouse, courtesy of that nice fellow Mongul. check it out quick, 'cause the title of this book's about to be changed to Green Lantern Corpses.

Green Lantern Corps #24 (DC)
Peter Tomasi/Patrick Gleason/Drew Geraci/Prentiss Rollins/Guy Major/Steve Wands

#4 - I Was Only Dreaming

a fantasy issue (what isn't?) where Sonja deals with her demons (e.g., all the jerks she gutted in her entire comic book career) and it turns out she's been taking a lot of shrooms and crack. wait a sec ... isn't that ol' Death himself?

Red Sonja #33 (Dynamite)
Luke Lieberman/Homs/Vinicius Andrade/Simon Bowland

#3 - Gone Daddy Gone

should we spill the beans? that Rick Grimes is dead? oh shit.

The Walking Dead #49 (Image)
Robert Kirkman/Charlie Adlard/Cliff Rathburn/Rus Wooton

#2 - Armored War

as if being punk'd by Doom wasn't enough, Tony has to contend with a bigger asshole - his pops! and with Mephisto watching with popcorn. good thing the ol' Stark brain finds a way out of hell, and just in time to go mailed fist against legendary sword with Doom. yes, the ugly one got Excalibur.

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #2 (Marvel)
David Michelinie/Ron Lim/Bob Layton/Chris Sotomayor/Artmonkeys

#1 - My Super Ex-Girlfriend

guess who's revealed to be a Skrull. wait, make that guess who's a Skrull and posed as the Invisible Woman.

Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel)
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa/Barry Kitson/Mick Gray/Scott Hanna/Paul Neary/Chris Sotomayor/Joe Caramagna

calling security

theyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

well, the title at least, and its an all-new crew, albeit one we have not seen before (by "we" i mean those of us who read Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest - shame on you!!!). after those two multiple-issue, cash register-overloading storylines, there's no other way to go, except forming a new Guardians of the Galaxy. yes, space-spanning sci-fi opera is back in season (R.I.P. Battlestar Galactica).

for those who were born when Kurt Cobain was on top of the world, the original Guardians of the Galaxy had these pioneers, whose cute avatars are shown below:


that's from left to right, Major Vance Astro (alternate timeline counterpart of Justice), Martinex, Charlie-27 and Yondu. for other members who joined later, you can look 'em up here.

you're wondering why Astro has Captain America's shield - well, its a long story so go look it up somewhere. you know how to navigate the internets, right?

anyway, the new team (of sorts) was put together by Peter Quill (The Artist Formerly Known as Star-Lord and Now Known Again as Star-Lord), a fast-talking quick-drawing leader of men.


Peter had this bright idea that they should be prepared for the next cosmic problem, instead of just being thrown together all the time and improvising solutions. hey, Bush marched us into Iraq and created more problems, but that's neither here nor there.

of course, who would he recruit except the mates he fought alongside with in the aforementioned crossovers:

Phyla-Vell/Quasar, Quantum Band owner, lesbian lover (of the currently-deceased Moondragon)


the new, improved Adam Warlock (kind of a '90s throwback - oooooo, menacing, enhanced powers etc.)


Rocket Raccoon (& Groot) - yes, a talking raccoon; you got a problem wit' dat?


throw in a couple of half-surprises, like Gamora - The Artist Known as The Deadliest Woman in the Universe, and Nova's FB (but this state seems to be evolving) ...


... and Drax (the Destroyer), all-around badass. purged of his dumbness, he's killed Thanos and a whole lot of organic and techno-organic alien scum. so, better not get on his bad side.



for support staff, we have Mantis, the self-absorbed telepath/pyro ...



... and Cosmo, the Russian talking dog introduced in the Nova series. don't ask me how he talks. he just does. and he's Russian. da.



too bad Nova isn't part of the team, but it makes sense because he's got his own book, and he's too good of a character to just be part of the ensemble (uh, New Warriors, anyone?). i suspect they'll be crossing over frequently (especially after missions when Gamora needs some ... you know).

between the original team and this new incarnation ... i'd go for the one with the raccoon. and Gamora (hoooo-haaaaahh!).

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Guardians of the Galaxy #1
"Somebody's Got To Do It"
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Paul Pelletier/Rick Magyar/Nathan Fairbairn/Joe Caramagna/cover: Clint Langley