things i liked this week

Justice Society of America #39 (DC)
Bill Willingham/Jesus Merino/Jesse Delperdang/Rob Leigh/Allen Passalaqua

and this is how i like my alternate future crisis stories - although it reeks of Days of Future Past (and its not even a broad comics event in any case), the idea that the super-Nazis have taken over the world and defeated most of the good guys, has got me cheering the resistance led by Mr. Terrific. but right at the last second, a twist - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. looking forward to the conclusion (and let it be not a post-event narrative a la Secret Invasion #8)

Avengers Prime #1 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/Alan Davis/Mark Farmer/Javier Rodriguez/Chris Eliopoulos

the Avengers Big Three in an in-between days adventure before the Avengers relaunch (man, how do these guys breathe?). divided fans of Iron Man and Captain America should not miss this, as i expect chockfulls of fanboy goodness (though there might be some mis-characterizations).

Superman/Batman Annual #4 (DC)
Paul Levitz/Renato Guedes/Jose Wilson/Steve Wands (cover: Art Germ)

probably the best Batman Beyond story in years, Terry McGinnis gets to be in an unlikely teamup with an aging Superman in a downtrodden Metropolis to go up against who else, but longtime nemesis Luthor. is this a sign that McGinnis will get to be featured in more high profile stories soon? continuity freaks will nitpick this, but hell, i just want me some Batman Beyond. looks like Paul Levitz didn't miss a beat.

The Thanos Imperative #1 (Marvel)
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Miguel Sepulveda/Jay David Ramos/Joe Caramagna (cover: Aleksi Briclot)

and here we go! with the Cancer-verse growing by the minute and their version of Mar-Vell aiming to wipe out death in this universe of ours (well, isn't that a good thing?), the Guardians of the Galaxy try to balance things out by reinjecting Thanos into the equation. this series is not to be missed as usual, with the great space opera work DnA have been churning out in the past few years, but am a bit apprehensive that this is their swan song and they're going out with a bang. a big bang.

Invincible #72 (Image)
Robert Kirkman/Ryan Ottley/Cliff Rathburn/FCO Plascencia/Rus Wooton

the Viltrumite War begins and it looks like major characters will not survive. when Invincible ends, they should just make a coffee table book of all its gory moments. that's a conversation starter.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37 (Marvel)
Karl Kesel/Paulo Siqueira/Fabio D'Auria/Joe Caramagna (cover: Marcos Martin)
Spidey meets Cap - the original - for the first time. but if Cap first saw him back in Avengers vol. 1 #11, how come he's been using a computer to track down Spidey? it must be that fluid Marvel timeline. also, i bet Cap still uses AOL to get on teh 'Net.


Captain America/Black Panther - Flags of Our Fathers #3 (Marvel)
Reginald Hudlin/Denys Cowan/Tom Palmer/Pete Pantazis/Joe Sabino (cover: Cowan/Sandu Florea/Pantazis)
worth the price of admission: the Armless Tiger Man! man, the Red Skull sure knows how to pick 'em!


Avengers - The Origin #3 (Marvel)
Joe Casey/Phil Noto/Albert Deschesne
the fledgling Avengers track down the Hulk in a circus, where the collateral damage is bound to be high. and they're likely to make mistakes because they're inexperienced and a tad excited about this whole superheroing thing. excellent work by Phil Noto.

Secret Warriors #16 (Marvel)
Jonathan Hickman/Gianluca Gugliotta/Sunny Gho/Dave Lanphear (cover: Jim Cheung/Mark Morales/Justin Ponsor)
just like the best spy-vs-spy conflicts, am already at a loss as to what's going on. yeah i know the ugly guys are the bad guys, but with Nick Fury being revealed as a member of a Shadow Council taking care of the Serpent Crown (Serpent. Hydra. Leviathan. scary creatures.) - unless that was an LMD and Hickman and Bendis are laughing at my confusion. and now, another betrayal. looks like nothing changes in Fury's world, S.H.I.E.L.D. or no S.H.I.E.L.D. i miss Stefano Caselli though.


Hercules - Twilight of a God #1 (Marvel)
Bob Layton/Ron Lim/Mike Cavallaro/Dave Sharpe
no Amadeus Cho, but no matter - Herc's still up to his old shenanigans, mostly saving the world and being drunk. hey, old people need their meds - fact of life. but those pills of lucidity may not save him from an enraged Silver Surfer looking for some payback. catfight!!!

The Brave & The Bold #34 (DC)
J. Michael Straczynski/Jesus Saiz/Rob Leigh/Tom Chu
i took a stab at this, and i liked it. time travel, black holes, a randy robot and a pink fluff. wheeeeee!

snaps: Hercules - Twilight of a God #1

... where in the future, Hercules is a drunken buffoon and his family makes fun of him for being so. things don't change much, do they?


in the future ... bluetooth earpieces are still symbols of DOUCHEBAGGERY.



what's a steriod, pray tell?



man, i only hope i die young. this is embarrassing.


AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

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.

snaps: Hercules - Fall of an Avenger

... where Herc's old pals in the Avengers, the Champions, and the Lady Friends of the Prince of Power gather to mourn him. tales are told, glasses are raised, and tears are shed. but what we really want to know is, what the hell is the Elven Tickler??

look! Wolverine's drinking invisible mead!!


ok, that was Northstar right? but on the cover, it shows Pietro?


hey, hey, hey, who's the Asian around here?!? Amadeus, he's mocking you!


dammit, show us the Elven Tickler!!!


Amadeus has a message for the six people ahead of him on the World's Smartest List.

drive-by readings: Incredible Hercules #133

Incredible Hercules #133 (Marvel) "Road of Trials" Fred Van Lente Greg Pak Rodney Buchemi Emily Warren Simon Bowland Rafael Albuquerque (cover) Salva Espin (variant frame cover)

Greg Pak unites with Fred Van Lente to continue chronicling the Hulk's supporting characters (Herc would kinda take offense to that), and they probably should have called this The Incredible Amadeus Cho, as Herc does not exactly make an appearance (owing to the fallout they had last issue). there is a reason that the Choster (hey, i didn't make that up) is only the 7th smartest person on Earth - the one above him (the tastefully-named Pythagoras Dupree) has him in his sights. but if he succeeds then the eight smartest person would move up the chain, no? anyway, not sure how this Dupree can back up his words because he only looks marginally better than Stephen Hawking. but he may have something to do with the murder of Cho's parents or the disappearance of his sister Marie Curie Cho (at this rate, i should start calling myself Galileo Timberlake). hmmmm. what would Herc do? yes, ask you to pull his finger.

"and for my next trick ..."

"... I will become The Sentry." so announced Hercules today, continuing his Powerhouse Impersonation Tour, after usurping the Incredible Hulk title (to rave reviews, natch!) and now aping Thor. [via Mayjah Spoilers]

Gods get dumped too.

-----
Incredible Hercules #125

cliffhanger of the week #17

#10 - Pump Up The Jam

in the Ultimate Universe, not only is Colossus gay, he's doing drugs! he could have kept the second thing secret, except a bunch of steroid-pumped Canadian freaks just came in, kicked their asses, and left with his boyfriend Northstar. now he wants his mates to take the Banshee drug too, and get some payback at Alpha Flight. surprisingly, boy scout Cyclops agrees.

Ultimate X-Men #94 (Marvel)
Aron Coleite/Mark Brooks/Jaime Mendoza/Troy Hubbs/Edgar Delgado/Albert Deschesne


#9 - The God Squad

while everyone else is fighting everyone else (can't be too careful you know), Hercules and Amadeus Cho take the fight where it matters - right back to Skrull homeworld. and with lots of gods in tow. now this should be interesting.

Incredible Hercules #117 (Marvel)
Greg Pak/Fred Van Lente/Rafa Sandoval/Roger Bonet/Martegod Gracia/Joe Caramagna


#8 - Claws to You

back in Gotham, Selina's quick-thinking puts her in the perfect position to take back all what was taken from her. that means we're gonna see a lot of chick kicking ass before this series is over. can't wait.

Catwoman #79 (DC)
Will Pfeiffer/David Lopez/Alvard Lopez/Jeromy Cox/Jared Fletcher


#7 - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to ...

Diana has lost her mind. to an entity that has no soul. now she's fighting alongside Beowulf in a bar full of sword-bearing drinks. Red Sonja ain't got nothing on her. whoopeee.

Wonder Woman #20 (DC)
Gail Simone/Aaron Lopresti/Matt Ryan/Brad Anderson/Travis Lanham


#6 - The Best Laid Plans

a rogue ex-SHIELD agent wants to prove himself and rebuild the Overkill Horn, but the result of his efforts only prove his skillz are inferior to Stark's and the only thing he can do is stir up a lot of shit. by 'shit', we mean the nano robot cloud just made something a lot more creative than Lego.

Iron Man #29 (Marvel)
Stuart Moore/Roberto De la Torre/Carlo Pagulayan/Jeffrey Huet/Dean White/Joe Caramagna/cover: Adi Granov


#5 - Scales of Justice

an old foe come back and its like he's just never exerted himself. now he wants to reorganize the Injustice Gang, which he's the original founder anyway. this also means all the DC villains have returned from that alien planet in Salvation Run (which of course, is still to be detailed in issue #8!). no matter, this time it seems Libra can give the bad guys their hearts' desire. don't let Hillary hear that.

Justice League of America #21 (DC)
Dwayne McDuffie/Carlos Pacheco/Jesus Merino/Pete Pantazis/Rob Leigh


#4 - The Dark Side

the invasion is not so secret anymore, and the only thing going for the good guys is the Skrulls can't duplicate the Sentry's powers, 'cause he's much more diverse guy than anybody else. so they decide to drive him mad. which may or may not be a good thing.

Mighty Avengers #14 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/Khoi Pham/Danny Miki/Dean White/Dave Lanphear/cover: Marko Djurdjevic


#3 - Old Soldiers

Frank bitchslaps the Special Ops squad assigned to bring him down, but he leaves them alive. infuriated, they track him down again but this time he has lots of bombs and an itchy trigger finger. and he wants to negotiate. just like Teddy Roosevelt.

Punisher #57 (Marvel)
Garth Ennis/Goran Parlov/Lee Loughridge/Cory Petit/cover: Tim Bradstreet


#2 - The Gog Must Be Crazy

so this Gog pretender isn't really Gog, but an avatar of sorts. so when the real Gog shows up ... well, you better make sure you're here next month. these things never end on the negotiation table.

Justice Society of America #15 (DC)
Geoff Johns/Dale Eaglesham/Prentiss Rollins/Alex Sinclair/Rob Leigh/cover: Alex Ross


#1 - Who Lets the Dog Out

a-haha! so its not really Steve Rogers, but its that 50's Cap, who's supposed to be dead. well, if wishes were fishes, blah blah blah. all we know now is the villains are fielding a Captain America of their own, and a presidential hopeful. they keep saying they're neither Democrat nor Republican, but we all know who's the sinister candidate, eh, Hillary?

Captain America #38 (Marvel)
Ed Brubaker/Steve Epting/Mike Perkins/Frank D'Armata/Joe Caramagna