over the edge

drive-by readings

Daredevil #510 (Marvel) Andy Diggle Antony Johnston Marco Checchetto Matt Hollingsworth Joe Caramagna John Cassaday/Laura Martin (cover)

what we learned: the heroes are getting desperate on what to do with the worsening situation in Hell's Kitchen, and even the Kingpin shows up to goad them to whack Matt before its too late. Tarantula's conscience kicks in, but he's also too late, as White Tiger reveals her true colors, and Daredevil himself seems to be really out of it anyway. in a victory for women's rights, Dakota North knows her way around a SPAS-12 which is cool. in other news, Foggy Nelson is still useless and its a miracle for all of 46 years of Daredevil, he's still alive (faked deaths notwithstanding).
oh shit moment: its cliche, but when its Tarantula who's thrown off a building and smashing into a car below ...
what's next: The Beast is revealed! no, he's not Hank McCoy or that evil one from Age of Apocalypse.


"he say man who wear colorful costume to fight crime look stupid."

shadowboxing

drive-by readings

Shadowland #3 (Marvel) Andy Diggle Billy Tan Victor Olazaba Christina Strain Guru eFX Joe Caramagna John Cassaday/Laura Martin (cover) Tan/Olazaba/Guru eFX (variant cover)

what we learned: with the Ghost Rider sent by the Kingpin to rile things up in Shadowland, it basically turns a testy dialogue into an all-out punch-a-rama, broken up only by the guns of the now-unFrankencastled Punisher. Daredevil, miffed that his minions are not even worthy of battling the Pet Avengers, goes out to find his champion (hint: his name begins with a B and he's dead). Master Izo, the wiseass pint who started this shit in the first place, tells the heroes of the true power behind everything, because that dude right there is no longer Matt Murdock. well, let's see if Moon Knight can take him (oy, your woman's messed up).
oh shit moment: aside from Shang-Chi realizing he's not all that cracked up to be, it probably was when i realized who the hell Matt was digging up. nice revival there, Marvel. death never really means anything - they never try anymore.
what's next: Daredevil gets hornier. just to point out too, that because of scheduling issues, Shadowland #3 jumps in front of whatever you are reading about FrankenCastle, Shadowland: Moon Knight, and Shadowland: Daughters of the Shadow. hey, what are the odds that Bullseye is gonna be the next Man Without Fear?


Shang Chi never felt so embarrassed, not even during his first cancellation.

motoring

drive-by readings

Superman #702 (DC) "Grounded" J. Michael Straczynski Eddy Barrows J.P. Mayer Rod Reis John J. Hill John Cassaday/David Baron (cover) Kevin Nowlan (variant cover)

what we learned: Superman helps out Detroit via some aliens who provide an excuse for some fisticuffs (or else the action fans will be bored outta their skulls) and job creation for the unemployed. a feel-good story, that one hopes were true.
oh shit moment: Batman is such a damper. what, are you breaking out your protocols again? put down that K-gun!
what's next: Arizona needs some assistance on this illegal immigration thing.


hey! that's definitely not Dwight Howard!

rolling to the edge

drive-by readings

Daredevil #509 (Marvel) Andy Diggle Antony Johnston Roberto De La Torre Matt Hollingsworth Joe Caramagna John Cassaday/Laura Martin (cover)

what we learned: Master Izo and Elektra infiltrate the Snakeroot HQ and find out who's pulling the strings. apparently, they have no teleporting device and Matt's not exactly answering his Droid X. so they need to get back to the States by foot. meanwhile, Typhoid Mary shows up at Matt's door, ostensibly to work for him and work him, if you know what i mean.
oh shit moment: anybody seen the new-look scruffy Iron Fist? awesome!!
what's next: something exploded in Shadowland, and i doubt if it was the ninjas who had polished off the burritos for lunch.


then there was that time Master Izo joined Takeshi's Castle (Wipeout for you Americans)

heart of darkness

drive-by readings
man, with the LeBron James reality show, fighting Burning Maniacs and Spiderants in Borderlands, the oppressive heatwave in the East Coast, and this little thing called the day job, i didn't have time to do anything with the funnybooks. trying to correct that ... right about ... now.

Shadowland #1 (Marvel) Andy Diggle Billy Tan Batt Christina Strain GuruEFx Joe Caramagna John Cassaday/Laura Martin (cover)

just like the Stark Tower before it, a new skyline attraction has sprouted up in Manhattan in the Hell's Kitchen district. the Stark Tower, despite being built only a few years ago has been destroyed and rebuilt several times already, probably at a rate not even the original Avengers Mansion endured. will Shadowland go through the same thing?

not if the Avengers have anything to say about it. the Big Three thinks its a blight on the landscape and on the Heroic Age they're trying to establish. Luke Cage and Danny Rand, more of street-level heroes than most and with stronger ties to Matt Murdock, prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt. considering they don't really know what the devil Matt's doing with it (or whatever his endgame is), that's pretty much a big leap of faith, and this series will explore how that's going to turn out.


welcome to this summer's crossover du jour (Second Coming is ending, so what else is out there?). Andy Diggle puts his stamp on Daredevil by placing him in Punisher territory, with the difference being he didn't start out like Frank Castle did. it certainly intrigues the fans as to how this thing will end - has The Hand really changed Daredevil, and will he turn a heel for the foreseeable future? or will he make a last-second turnaround, make the sacrifice play and destroy the Snakeroot once and for all? for Daredevil followers like me, it does make me happy to see the Snakeroot back, and to see Bullseye get the royal asskicking he richly deserves since getting a bullseye carved on his head back in the Bendis run. the last page is an obvious homage to the Frank Miller era. their costumes, now eerily similar, poses the question of "what's the difference between them now?".

not a big fan of Billy Tan, and this reminds me why. he's mostly competent, but there are times when things seem off (like long limbs and weird faces?). that's fine though; it won't dissuade my interest. i'm going to follow Matt down this dark path, and see where it takes him.

prissy prissy bang bang

drive-by readings

Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven #1 (Marvel) Ron Zimmerman Howard Chaykin Edgar Delgado Jeff Eckleberry John Cassaday (cover)

this is where i make peace with the fact that one of my childhood cowboy friends is a fast-drawing elegant metrosexual. right. breathe deeply. exhale. how ya doin', Kid?


that's just his way of saying he blows. i kid, i kid.

Rawhide Kid saunters into Tombstone, where he discovers the Earp brothers have been kidnapped by an old unfriendly acquaintance named Cristo Pike. most of this he learns from his good gal pal, Annie Oakley, who's probably not as fetching in real life.

does "continental lifestyle pleasures" include eating snails and horses? just asking.

he dresses well, he's a deadeye, he fixes hair, and to top it off, he can quiet an unruly crowd and lay a beating on bullies with the best of them. yeah, he doesn't like the name calling so you's better watch that potty mouth, boy.

with the threat of Pike hanging the Earp brothers, the Kid decides to rustle up a posse to mount a rescue, and one of them fellers is probably below:

hey, did you rape Mockingbird?

actually, its a fun read, and riffing off The Magnificent Seven, this looks to be a nice trip back to the Old West, Marvel-style.

say, Kid, what do you do to keep your face clean and smooth while riding out there?



which reminds me ... i need to get Red Dead Redemption so bad.

fall on your ...

Saving the World - Oh, Really Dude!!!

let's see .... Breakworlders, Skrulls, and lately some nasty humans bio-engineering mutants to kill mutants. that's a great record, Abby.

drive-by readings: Swordsmith Assassin #1

Swordsmith Assassin #1 (Boom!) Andrew Cosby Michael Alan Nelson Ayhan Hayrula Andres Lozano Johnny Lowe John Cassaday/Laura Martin (cover A) Joe Corroney (cover B)

so there's this Japanese swordsmith who spent most of his life learning from his father, a legendary swordmaker of his time, and applying capitalist principles on their craft to enjoy the fruits of their labors. in other words, its also about the money, baby!!! turns out not vetting your customers (like those greedy gun shops) can result in crazy stuff. you know, like somebody coming back to use your own tools on you. which is what happens to Toshiro Ono, current single man, as his family is slain by a thief wielding one of his own swords personally purchased from him. now, surviving his own bumbling attempt at revenge, he makes it his current vocation to track down all his swords and make sure they're never used. kinda like Tony Stark and the first Armor Wars. so what's he doing telling his tale of woe to a German general right smack in the middle of the Franco-Prussian War? is he going to be able to politely take the general's sword without a hitch? or is he going to take on the whole Prussian army to do it?

drive-by readings: Buck Rogers #2

Buck Rogers #2 (Dynamite Entertainment) "Future Shock, Part 2: Animal Husbandry ..." Scott Beatty Carlos Rafael Carlos Lopez Simon Bowland John Cassaday and Laura Martin (cover)

and the adventure continues. not a bad issue, as we get some backstory prior to Buck's ill-fated launch into space. apparently, he has to intercept a runaway satellite with DNA-heavy cargo shot out by the last survivor of a plague-infested Fort Heinlein (nice nod, part 1). his new superior, with whom he's at odds with (ah, the boring life of a daredevil pilot) is currently shacking up with his ex, who in this case is named Captain Ashley(?) Deering. fast forward into the future (2519), this time it's a Colonel Wilma Deering (the one we know and spunky too - wait, she didn't actually say her name was "Deering") and she's an Earth Protectorate officer investigating aliens trafficking in human meat and illegal genetic engineering in so-called slaughter ships. breaking free of their captors (hey, look its Princess Ardala), they go through a trash chamber (nice nod, part 2) and promptly eject themselves to space. yes, they're just orbiting Mars. whooopeee.

drive-by readings: Buck Rogers #1

Buck Rogers #1 (Dynamite Entertainment) "Future Shock, Part 1: One Giant Leap ..." Scott Beatty Carlos Rafael Carlos Lopez Simon Bowland John Cassaday and Laura Martin (cover)

considering my only exposure to daredevil spaceman Anthony "Buck" Rogers was the early '80s TV show ("Chicago, Chiii-cago..."), and also that Robot Chicken episode, i'm not familiar with the whole mythos and had to check Wikipedia (heh.) turns out the guy predates even Flash Gordon and Dan Dare, with only John Carter of Mars debuting earlier in 1912. Dynamite has to be commended for taking classic characters (Lone Ranger, Zorro, Green Hornet) and breathing new life into them. ok, so new audiences take note, the basic premise is still the same: hotshot space pilot in current time gets lost (space warp?) and lands in future, where new exciting adventures commence.

just like before, the man out of time encounters a familiar character, Col. Wilma Deering (of course. Erin Gray fan reunion!) garbed in an antigravity suit with a gun. Buck still doesn't get it that he's not on his Earth anymore, and the appearance of an armored walking bear should have made him realize this. of course, he gets vaporized into somewhere else before seeing the bear talk (and even has a name. "Ursunius"? why not "Yogi"?). well, they still got my attention. let the adventure begin.

drive-by readings 021709

I Am Legion #1 (DDP/Humanoids) "The Dancing Faun" Fabien Nury John Cassaday Laura Martin Justin Kelly Crank!

so this is what John Cassaday has been really up to, in between years of penciling Astonishing X-Men (24 issues in 4 years!). Je suis légion, a trilogy originally issued by Euro publishers Les Humanoïdes Associés, has been translated into English via Devil's Due, and Cassaday also lends his scintillating pencils to the project (and maybe a future directing stint?). I Am Legion, a phrase long associated with demons and their ilk, is a fitting title to a tale of mystery involving demonic possession, supernatural weapons and freedom fighters, set in the backdrop of WWII-ravaged Europe. this would look like a Hellboy story, but the protagonist detectives have no superpowers, only their wits and experience. up against Nazis and a demon jumper, they'd better pray to all still be alive by the time this series ends.

Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead #1 (Radical) "Read Me First" Steve Pugh Warren Ellis alternate covers: Stjepan Sejic Alan Brooks Luis Royo

only from the fertile mind of Warren Ellis would there be such a future where the undead coming back to haunt us as wandering electrostatic wraiths ("blue-lights"), and we actually need to employ specialists (DecExs - Detective Exorcists) to deal with the problem (Peter, Ray and Egon unwittingly started the tradition). Alice Hotwire, a cyborg with a personality befitting her name, is the department's top DecEx, but nobody likes her or her devil-may-care attitude. With more blue-light incidents taking place, having battle lines being drawn between the angry immigrant population and the police department adds fuel to the fire. Steve Pugh turns in some nifty artwork, though we'd like to see Stjepan Sejic do the interiors for an issue at least.

Secret Six #6 (DC) "Compound Fracture" Gail Simone Nicola Scott Favi Pina Doug Hazlewood Jason Wright Sal Cipriano

just when you think you're comfy with this title, Gail Simone pulls the rug out from under your dainty baby feet. after surviving the encounter with Ragdoll's sister (ugh), someone in their ranks turn traitor and really mess up everyone else (i think you have an idea who that can possibly be). the next issue better be worth it, and someone better be shot dead. you feelin' me? wait, they're all not dead, right? which means everyone comes back for the big reveal ...

cliffhanger of the week #1

counting down the best (i.e., the ones i read) cliffhangers of the week.

#3
Iron Man #25
Knauf Brothers/Roberto De La Torre


Maya finally learns who "Tem Borjin" is, Sec Def Koonig sings, and Tony goes head to head with the old geezer with rings in his retro Iron Man armor and without Extremis. oh joy.


#2
X-Men #207
Mike Carey/Chris Bachalo/Tim Townsend et al.

though it is a concluding issue, there are still a lot of questions that pushed us over that cliff - starting with "what the hell is going on with Bishop???" who is this new mutant baby? what happens to Gambit? is Sinister really dead? is Charles really dead? what happened to Layla? will Barack Obama win the Democratic nomination?

#1
Astonishing X-Men #24
Joss Whedon/John Cassaday

just whose side's on whose? does Peter have the balls to break this alien world? and with a ten-mile long non-electronic bullet fired at Earth, will the X-Men be able to stop it in time? will i be able to hold my pee? tune back next month! (or months, because this will be allegedly be concluded in a giant-sized issue)

tunnel vision

i knew there was a reason, all these years, that Cyclops is my favorite X-Man.

quick recap: the X-Men get involved in a planetary war between earth and the alien inhabitants of Breakworld, whose technologies have resurrected the once-dead Colossus as an experiment. the aliens want to off all earth mutants because it is prophesied that their world would be devastated by one - and ironically it turns out to be Colossus himself. pursued by the megalomaniac Warlord Kruun, a de-powered Cyclops buys time for the team by taking them on his own, and last we see, he gets jettisoned from his ship and left for dead in the blackness of space. but these are the guys who resurrect dead people.

oh, and everything was just ensemble acting worthy of Oscars and Emmys.

yeah, so the boy scout is turning out to be a worthier leader than his mentor Professor Chuck.

this stunt even earns the occasional grunt of respect from Logan, who has grudgingly accorded Scott that in those few times the writers get it right. and damn, Joss Whedon gets it right, with his nod to exciting space opera (Firefly/Serenity, anyone?) and last-minute saves.

John Cassaday's art gets dirtier and murkier but he's still #1 in my list.

and yes, its a cliffhanger. hope Whedon and Cassaday stay on for another 24 issues.

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Astonishing X-Men #23

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.
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Fallen Son - The Death of Captain America: Iron Man
"Acceptance"
Jeph Loeb/John Cassaday