cruisin' for bruisin'

the (time-lost) Invaders are a bunch of arrogant pricks.

here's Namor (whose picture is included in the dictionary definition of "arrogant prick" anyway), busting up his present-day incarnation and inciting the Atlanteans to kick surfacer butt.


and here's the young Bucky (paging Winter Soldier - you need to curb your puppy self!) acting like somebody stole his effin' cotton candy. punk.


its already issue #3, and i am still not impressed with the Stephen Sadowski art. you know i'm just coming here for the Ross covers and the 'story'.

i hope this series doesn't end with backslapping and happy smiles all around. if only for the fact that time travel have dangerous consequences, i vote for putting down those two rabid dogs above (i meant Subby and Bucky, not Ross and Sadowski ...)

cliffhanger of the week #20

#5 - Dream On, Dream Away

someone's trying to use the Justice League's Big Three thru their dreams and its already the second issue and we barely have a clue why. except one of them's named Enigma. whooopee.

Trinity #2 (DC)
Kurt Busiek/Mark Bagley/Art Thibert/Pete Pantazis/Pat Brosseau/cover: Carlos Pacheco

#4 - Children Say

Nightwing is about to kick some bird ass (no, not Robin's) - the Society of the Golden Eagle have birthed their last baby. actually, the cliffhanger here is ... guess who just escaped Arkham? (that prison is as secure as a Windows PC)

Nightwing #145 (DC)
Peter Tomasi/Rags Morales/Michael Bair/Nathan Eyring/Sal Cipriano

#3 - Hand in Hand

the Punisher is now finally classified as a terrorist. looks like Jigsaw's frame is working. SHIELD is gunning for him of course, and also the Hand (yeah those ninjas), who already made him an offer he may not refuse.

Punisher War Journal #20 (Marvel)
Matt Fraction/Rick Remender/Howard Chaykin/Edgar Delgado/Joe Caramagna

#2 - Invasion USA

let's get this straight - the Mighty Avengers have taken down the time-tossed Invaders minus Subby who conveniently escaped. of course, these WW2 heroes (especially Cap) are a little strung out. but why are the New Avengers still talking like its still the Civil War? oh well, let another round of Avenger vs. Avenger begin. by the way, the shot below is as incorrect as can be. there's no subway entrance with that view of the Brooklyn Bridge. shame on you, Steve Sadowski.

Avengers/Invaders #2 (Marvel)
Alex Ross/Jim Krueger/Steve Sadowski/inLight Studios/Todd Klein

#1 - Running Man. Not.

Cannonball just bit the dust, and Cable has the opportunity to run again. but no, nope, uh-uh, not this time. bring it on, Bishop.

Cable #4 (Marvel)
Duane Swierczynski/Ariel Olivetti/Joe Caramagna

cliffhanger of the week #15

#6 - Slowburn

three issues in and we still haven't resolved anything except Cable and Bishop are like cockroaches - they're both pretty hard to kill. it's only in this list because of a mysterious figure bursting in on a helpless stranded Cable. it sure looks like Cyclops but he has two eyes. i swear to God, Lone Wolf and Cub wasn't this grating.

Cable #3 (Marvel)
Duane Swierczynski/Ariel Olivetti/Joe Caramagna

#5 - Blatant Invasion

okay, this would have worked better with Alex Ross doing the artwork. seriously. i'll forgive the gimmick of bringing back Captain America to torture Tony Stark further. but if you were going to do such a 12 issue storyline, you better make it worth our while. the Ross/Krueger team has always been successful, but i don't know if the Stephen Sadowski art is going to be worthy of the story. and yes, torturing Tony is always interesting.

Avengers/Invaders #1 (Marvel/Dynamite)
Alex Ross/Jim Krueger/Steve Sadowski/inLight Studios/Todd Klein

#4 - Child's Play

Cyclops starts training the young X-Men how to take down their former teachers. except we still don't know why Cannonball, Sunspot, Magma and Dani have formed a "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" (snicker). this better not be a dream. or a scam to "let them kids grow up". wait, i think that's what this is.

Young X-Men #2 (Marvel)
Marc Guggenheim/Yanick Paquette/Ray Snyder/Rob Schwager/Dave Sharpe/cover: Terry/Rachel Dodson

#3 - Generation Next

taking advantage of the cash register-busting movie, Marvel rolls out another Iron Man title (i wonder how long this'll last), and puts hot writer Matt Fraction in the driver's seat. in a tangential arc off the movie itself, Obadiah's son Ezekiel is gunning for Tony, with better tools and simpler goals: worldwide chaos and revenge. Tony might want to have a drink before this is all over.

Invincible Iron Man #1 (Marvel)
Matt Fraction/Salvador Larroca/Frank D'Armata/Stephane Peru/Chris Eliopoulos

#2 - In the Army Now

Nick Fury is back, baby! and we get more of the backstory of what he's been doing all this time. with Secret War's Daisy Johnson as his proxy, he recruits a bunch of seeming misfits to combat the Skrull infestation. is this the new Skrull Kill Krew? and i've been transported back to my DD days as Alex Maleev (Alex Maleev!) weaves another gorgeous tapestry.

Mighty Avengers #13 (Marvel)
Brian Bendis/Alex Maleev/Matt Hollingsworth/Dave Lanphear/cover: Marko Djurdjevic

#1 - Taking Names

back to being a space cop, Nova is dispatched to help evacuate a planet currently being the $5 buffet special for Galactus. he has also has to contend with an evil psychotic entity preying on the panicking citizens. to top it off, Nova wants to get Galactus' attention, but the Silver Surfer is playing the uncooperative bouncer. oboy.

Nova #13 (Marvel)
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Wellinton Alves/Scott Hanna/Guru eFX/Cory Petit/cover: Alex Maleev