buckheaded

drive-by readings

Captain America #609 (Marvel) "No Escape Part 4" Ed Brubaker Butch Guice Rick Magyar/Andrew Hennessy Paul Mounts Joe Caramagna Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

what we learned: Baron Zemo agitates Bucky easily and draws him into a trap, and uses Hauptmann to keep Steve, Sam and Natasha busy. naturally, Bucky is soon in chains and en route to Zemo island.
oh shit moment: how many times did Bucky get knocked out in the past six or seven issues? do we want this in our Captain America?
what's next: Bucky finally gets to die in the English channel. grab the popcorn.


Zemo missed out on shooting Cap so he had to make up for lost time.

playing raft

drive-by readings

Thunderbolts #147 (Marvel) "Scared Straight" Jeff Parker Kev Walker Frank Martin Albert Deschesne Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

what we learned: well, well, well, i was wondering when's the first jailbreak attempt going to happen, and Parker didn't waste time. coinciding with the visit of those crazy kids from Avengers Academy, power goes down in the Raft and every jailed loco wants to take advantage. but unlike the event that spawned the New Avengers, this one has the good guys firmly in control. even "Warden Cripple" proves he's not useless when getting a few licks in.
oh shit moment: more like awesome: Luke Cage goes back and gives the Purple Man one more reminder why he should just sit in his cell like a little girl and not mess with the man called Cage.
what's next: did something happen to Crossbones? what's with Juggy's sudden sense of warped justice? and when's Fixer's gonna be outed?

well, somebody's been playing Doom since 1993.

the real illuminati

drive-by readings

Secret Avengers #3 (Marvel) "Secret Histories, Part 3 of 4" Ed Brubaker Mike Deodato Jr. Rain Beredo Dave Lanphear Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

what we learned: you know that Shadow Council that has "a" badass(er) Nick Fury? well, it just might be that this thing stretches back to the wild West days of frontier America. and you know that Texans always like 'em big. not to mention something called "The Abyss" that the wearers of the Serpent Crown are influenced by. apparently, the Watchers (who never just watch) created a bunch of robots called the Archons to guard against the resurrection of The Abyss by his "dark children". Steve Rogers (kinda weird calling him that) and his black ops Avengers are in a bigger pile of doodoo than he thought.
oh shit moment: the Serpent Crown-ed Nova, taking out everyone pretty easily. hmmmm, he never went up against Rogers yet. or Ant-Man!
what's next: this should be the oh-shit moment: the cover to next issue has Steve wearing the crown ... i mean, the Helmet Known as Worldmind!


seems like Nova is pro-equal rights for women - if superhero males can be pummeled, so can the ladies.

z return of z baron

drive-by readings

Captain America #606 (Marvel) "No Escape, Part 1" Ed Brubaker Butch Guice Dean White Joe Caramagna Joe Sabino Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

to kick off the Heroic Age, Bucky Barnes is now firmly and officially the Captain America of these times. and with that ascension, snakes have come crawling out of the woodwork. a certain snake whose name starts with a Z. hey, how come this guy never bites it? its actually a failure for Steve Rogers himself, way back in the Mansion Siege. now Buck has to clean the mess up. interestingly, since this is Zemo Jr., and Buck's the younger Cap, then they should really become each other's mortal enemy and bitter rival.

knowing what we know in Jeff Parker's new Thunderbolts, Zemo already made his official appearance to the world, "recruiting" Luke Cage's team. and i'm a bit stunned to see the Fixer here helping out the Baron, considering its been established that he's switched sides a long time ago. true, he's been a Baron loyalist, but i'm a little sick of (comic) betrayals lately. why can't the bad guys be good for a change? also, why is the Wrecking Crew still on the streets after Siege?


i can take the Ghost being a sleeper, because that guy's just dirt. i assume he's been (re)planted into the Thunderbolts program, but then again what is Zemo's point, aside from the destruction of anyone wearing the Captain America uniform? he's nowhere near going to control the world as it is, and even if he had the Cosmic Cube, that's a hollow victory.


Butch Guice is now handling full art chores, providing a seamless transition from when he was inking Luke Ross. not sure if i'm really sold on the art work though. maybe i just miss Michael Lark.

thunderous

drive-by readings

Thunderbolts #144 (Marvel) "The Boss" Jeff Parker Kev Walker Frank Martin Albert Deschesne Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

the Heroic Age/Avengers relaunch books have been outdoing themselves in the past week. Secret Avengers #1 trumped Avengers #1, and now Thunderbolts #144, with Luke Cage leading the new team, just one-upped Secret Avengers.

Cage has been put in charge personally by Steve Rogers, of rehab/redemption of the wayward superpowered denizens of the Marvel U, and that's a tall order even if Cage has been on the wrong side of the law numerous times (technically, does that include his time with the resistance Avengers during the SHRA?). i'm pleased that ex-Thunderbolts that did display the propensity to reform (Songbird, Fixer, Mach V) are still in the mix, and i hope it stays that way. if not, you can just scrap this program.

just like the Avengers lineups, the new T-Bolts are intriguing. the choices weren't 100% Cage's choices, but then it would be great to see them all work out. especially this guy:


and this guy:


the need for a team tech still falls on the Ghost who sort of straddled the fence in Siege and now has been given another chance. the inclusion of Crossbones is a much convoluted one, as the selection committee wanted to have someone to be the polar opposite of Cage so the others would stay away from. huh? so why is he even there then? betrayal seems to be in the air down the road, especially when the Red Skull comes back (you know he always comes back).

i'm surprised no one has used the (mind-bending) Man-Thing before for teleportation purposes - Osborn didn't see the need except to chop him up for one reason or another. i guess he regenerated himself somehow (did that happen during Frankencastle?). i wonder what happens if he refuses to cooperate. "Man-Thing tired today. go use a chopper."

though am not sold of adding Moonstone (again!) with the group, especially with her new duds that confuses her with Dagger or Emma Frost, i guess they need some kind of energy wielder with some psych background. i hope they all have spinal bomb implants, because when they all decide to go rogue (even more than Sarah Palin), Cage will be in big trouble.

Jeff Parker has hit his stride with the Thunderbolts at the tail end of Dark Reign/Siege, and now he's cranked it up another notch. not only does he give a nod to Busiek/Bagley's Thunderbolts #1 with his last page reveal, his choice of characters are definitely at the least odd and at the most dangerous. the point is to put the readers on edge on every single issue and i'm looking forward to that.

house of secrets

drive-by readings

Secret Avengers #1 (Marvel) "Secret Histories, Part One" Ed Brubaker Mike Deodato Rain Beredo Dave Lanphear Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

for a title or a team with the word 'Secret' attached to it, i don't see them being a secret for far too long. i know its Steve Rogers' version of a black ops team (and NOT having Wolverine in it, because, well, he's already part of one, and he's out in the open in the main Avengers team as their designated dirty-works guy), and the characters more or less operate in the fringes of the Marvel U as its their natural habitat, but i wager their missions would eventually come out in the open with explosive consequences. i mean, what if they found out things that puts them in conflict with other hero teams in the 616? will Steve go against Luke? against Thor? against Reed? he's walking a thin line here, top cop and all that.

but that's for the future. for now, let's enjoy what the fine gentlemen storytellers Brubaker and Deodato give us, and for sure the ride's gonna be a thrilling one. first off, who's on the team? i'm not surprised by the additions of Moon Knight ("Crescent Wrench" - hah!) or Nova (you need a space cadet - and i also want to see if Steve's comment - "what kind of operation do you think am running here?" in reference to covering for every scenario - blows up in his face eventually). i'm not put off by having Valkyrie in - if anything, it gives them some demi-god power sets (remember who took Ares down in that X-Men/Dark Avengers scrap?) and of course, eye candy. no, i'm surprised at the addition of Eric O'Grady - apparently no one bothered to take away the Ant-Man costume from him, not even Hank "I'm Scientist Supreme And You're Not" Pym - who's not been made to answer for his crimes. all you need to be absolved is join the T-Bolts, and accept any offer of Avengership from the first Captain America. so we can say he's no longer irredeemable. does Cassie know about this? oh, wait, it's a ... secret.


Black Widow? Valkyrie? sold!!!

so where does the team's first mission take them? i'm pumped because it involves ... the Serpent Crown! old-schoolers like me remember this piece in Avengers lore as the cause of that whole mind-control-Squadron-Supreme punchup back in Avengers vol. 1 #141-148. now it may not be exactly the Serpent Crown, or rather it may be another version of the Serpent Crown. and it also involves Mars (why else is Nova in this book?), and it also involves this guy:



HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT.

ok, we know Nick Fury's been having Hydra trouble, and he claims S.H.I.E.L.D. was being subverted by Hydra all along. also, he's been revealed to be a critical piece of Hydra or Zodiac as well. this probably confirms it, but it causes much more confusion. its all in Bendis' and Hickman's heads, i guess. wait, can we assume that's Jake Fury/Scorpio?

we have another stellar issue from Mike Deodato, and really, the only thing that annoys me is his love for behind-the-back-downward-angle camera POVs with the characters all posing as action figures (puffed chest, wide stance, arms tense). i mean, come on!


having an idea of what Ed Brubaker is capable of (what? there really is a third Summers brother??), i won't be surprised if he shakes Avengers history to the core by the end of his run.

snaps: Cable #22

... where we've been doing this time hopping for the past year. man, even the fans are tired. good thing the end of this Messiah trilogy is around the corner. so anyway, Hope Summers - now a smoking hot young woman - confronts her longtime (thousands of years in hers, though maybe only 12 months in comic fans' lives) tormentor Lucas Bishop (one thing that gets my goat is the turning of Bishop into a prime grade AAA asshole, though the storyline wouldn't work if he's not the antagonist, given his background and history). yeah, they do talk, but forget about the diplomacy, they just declare that they hate each other and the chase is on once again.

white woman standing over black man - a bit heavy-handed, don't you think?


Bishop screams his anguish when he learns they cut off his beautiful dreads.


1940 Al Pratt would kick the shit out of you, Rockslide.


yes, he was played by Mel Gibson then.


and that's why Bishop can't have any meaningful relationships.

snaps: Thor Giant-Size Finale

... where we come "Full Circle" and do facepalms because we knew right from the start that Loki was going to pull this kind of shit eventually. why can't the Asgardians see that?


1) bowling ball headgear is hot in Asgard right now.


2) and also, pay-per-view. especially those that star Volstagg.


3) DoomBots have harddrive wipes a la cyanide pills. awesome!


4) Bill Killed! (i just wanted to say that. sue me.)


5) and that image will be burned in my memory for 72 hours at least. argh.

break it down again

drive-by readings

Invincible Iron Man #20 (Marvel) "Stark: Disassembled Part 1 - Counting Up From Zero" Matt Fraction Salvador Larroca Frank D'Armata Joe Caramagna Patrick Zircher/Marko Djurdjevic (variant covers)

oooooohhh, maaaaaaaaaan.

this is where i feel Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca are finally hitting on all cylinders - the breaking down and rebuilding of Tony Stark. not that it hasn't happened before (and that one time it was incredulous and the premise was kinda skating on thin ice). this hinges on all the crap that's happening in the Marvel U and makes sense that the disabled body of Stark be entrusted to his estranged compatriots.

Stark executes his final plan to prevent the misuse of his data and tech by Norman Osborn by wholly sacrificing himself, but by leaving himself in a 'persistent vegetative state' (can you imagine Natasha wiping off his drool, and thinking about how she used to have exciting times with this man of action? and then she notices Bucky looking at her. awkward.), he leaves the door open for his comeback (of course! did you not read the advance hype for next year's Seige?), complete with instructions on how to reboot him. its been done before; question is, should the heroes do it? well, of course they do. this is Stark making the sales pitch of his life. i'd like to see this translated onscreen by Robert Downey Jr. it'd be friggin' pitch perfect (pun intended).

let me put in a few spoilers for you (you know you want it) - in his final moments as a public official, he already knows what's going to happen, and he already thought of a solution. and he even starts by self-deprecatingly admitting he's an alcoholic. whooops. anyway, what i liked is his insistence on not apologizing for everything that happened before today - the Civil War, Steve's death, sending the Hulk to space, his ascension, the Skrull invasion and now his impending doom with everyone else hiding in shadows. he doesn't have that much of an answer for the way the bad guys are carving them up save the splitting of their ranks, and he's sick of it (who isn't?). though there is a sense of uppity smugness here, that he seems to think this Osborn problem won't be solved if he's not brought back. again, the Stark ego seeps in somehow. he sort of pulls back in the end, but you get the gist.

and just when am getting buoyed and reinvigorated by Stark's final recorded message, like i'm being inspired to fight the final battle against the forces of evil for the fate of the world, i get thrown a curveball with Pepper asking why is it that only Tony gets to come back all the goddamned time (wait, didn't Tony bring you back too?). still, she's right. damn you, Matt Fraction, damn you.

capping the week of meltdowns

... and mailing it in with crappy Photochopping. thanks to the Holy Taco and Limewire for the inspiration. and real life for being absurd and funny.









-----
Thunderbolts #135, Kick-Ass #7, The Marvels Project #2, Dark Reign - The List: Avengers one shot

because your piece is on my list

drive-by readings

Dark Reign - The List: Avengers #1 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Mark Djurdjevic Mark Morales Marte Gracia Joe Caramagna

ahhh! finally, the front row seat to see always-the-resident-hothead Clint Barton back up his word with action! and it just costs $3.99!

... and of course, you get what you pay for (no disrespect to BMB). if it only it were that easy to kill a sitting corrupt government official - they frown on vigilante justice around here. that's why we looked forward to what Clint was gonna do, after being disappointed with Frank.

and tossing Venmom, i mean Venom out the window, filling Bullseye with buckshot, perforating Daken's throat with an arrow, and standing off with your ex does not cut it. you gotta have follow through, Clint, you gotta have a plan, you gotta think 10 steps ahead. what would Steve Rogers say? i'd say nothing, but he's gonna smack you upside the head.


hey! where's the obligatory "Norman Osborn shoots someone in the head" closing scene?

drive-by readings: Daredevil #500

Daredevil #500 (Marvel) "The Return of the King: Conclusion" Ed Brubaker Ann Nocenti Michael Lark Stefano Gaudiano David Aja Klaus Janson Chris Samnee Paul Azaceta Matt Hollingsworth Chris Eliopulos Marko Djurdjevic/Geof Darrow/Gabriel Dell'Otto/Alex Ross/Patrick Zircher (covers)

and we all thought this Brubaker character couldn't top what Brian Michael Bendis did for our favorite blind lawyer. he also won a what - an Eisner, you say? geddouddaheah!

just kidding. super big fan of Bru, from Sleeper to X-Men to Criminal to Captain America, and to this emphatic conclusion of his Daredevil run. for the first time in a long time, Matt takes a long hard look at his life, and finally makes a decision that has been hinted before but everyone just seemed to go "no, he won't do it ... would he??" and when it happens, they all go "well, yeah ... its about time."

this issue also delves into the long-awaited origin of living-la-vida-loca martial arts sensei Master Izo - who apparently, is a much greater figure than Stick (who's uh, dead for years now, right? - or has he been reincarnated as a blind Asian delivery guy?). the Daredevil/Izo team up is like Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi, only a gazillion times cooler and much more badass. i want Master Izo to be my granddaddy!! he's crude, cunning, devious and insolent and he'll beat up all the bullies in my class!

and Kingpin ... Kingpin ... name me a great DD storyline that didn't have Wilson Fisk's fat (now svelte) ass in it. he may not be as have as much weight (pun intended) as years back when he ruled the underworld, but Brubaker still manages to fit him in such a way it makes sense with his current situation (stripped of his power, demoralized, desperate to find meaning in life). so it stands to reason having Matt take away his golden opportunity to regain his standing will lead to more revenge stories as he might put a lot more effort now into rebuilding what he once had - like making deals with Norman Osborn. little question here: is he still that fat that with two swords buried on his back, he's still breathing? or maybe it was the adrenalin? oh yeah he already got shot in the eye once and still survived. as they say someplace, bad grass die hard.

so where does Matt go from here? certainly not back to Milla (awwww), not back to Dakota (double awwww) and not back to his old life with Foggy (now that's a real friend). no, he's going to do what needs to be done, and that is either lead a criminal organization to a much more benevolent path, or he'll become the World's Most Wanted by 2011. King of The Hand. now that's a Dark Reign.

(props to Ann like-a-girl-from-my-past Nocenti for her little Coney Island tale. Brooklyn represent!)

drive-by readings: Daredevil #119

Daredevil #119 (Marvel) "The Return of the King, Part 4" Ed Brubaker Stefano Gaudiano Michael Lark Matt Hollingsworth Chris Eliopoulos Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

hey, who's playing who here? Daredevil throws in with the Kingpin to fight off The Hand, and now the Fat Man is dealing with Lady Bullseye? WTF??

wasn't it just yesterday that Matt Murdock was taking his lumps when Brian Michael Bendis was writing the title? it seems like ages now, and Matt hasn't even taken a break. oh wait, he did when he had his multiple one night stands with Dakota North! i'm not sure how he is not talking to himself yet, the way Wilson is talking to his dead wife Vanessa. oh, that's right - Master Izo is just a figment of his imagination!

to make things worse, his friends never let him down, so a distraught Foggy asks Dakota for help so she goes and follows Turk to lead her to the Kingpin. of course she gets caught. so for Marvel's resident ladies-man-who-can't-catch-a-break, its just another day in the office (apparently, he now has his own "Commish Gordon"). hey, he could've just accepted Nick Fury's offer to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. oh wait, look how that turned out.

drive-by readings 022209

Thor #600 (Marvel) "Victory" J. Michael Straczynski Stan Lee Olivier Coipel Marko Djurdjevic Mark Morales Chris Eliopoulos Laura Martin Paul Mounts Christina Strain David Aja Matt Hollingsworth with reprinted material from Jack Kirby Vinnie Colletta Artie Simek

Thor celebrates his 600th issue with a bang - and banishment. Loki's subtle manipulations since he switched genders has now borne fruit and causes the Thunder God to leave Oklahoma, i mean Asgard. can you imagine beating up your grampa? man, that's sick. to wash off the bad taste, Chris Giarusso serves up a hilarious summary on everything that happened since this title's reboot. and Stan the Man hits us with a back-up story detailing Thor's relationship with mere mortals, illustrated by David Aja (whom we need drawing a lot more - please come back to Iron Fist). fun, fun, fun.


oh, and here's a cheer and toast to JMS for his Oscar-nominated Changeling. hope you win at least one of three.

cover of the week

Spiderman: Noir #1 by Patrick Zircher
Mighty Avengers #20 by Marko Djurdjevic

euroawesomeness

after meeting my European idols in last month's con, i noted in that post that i will sing and dance on top of the Empire State Building when Mr. Djurdjevic finally does interior artwork. not too long after that, Thor #8 fell into my lap and i felt sheepish to be even putting out a bet like that.

maybe we should revise the bet ... i will sing and dance when he goes on a long run on interiors (just like Mr. Maleev did on Daredevil).

and i can see that Djurdjevic's interiors are worthy of his covers. Joe Q, lock them both down to work for Marvel until they die. seriously.

he draws a mean Jane Foster too (and that's a compliment)

Djurdjevic's art seems to fit better in fantasy books like Thor, which says also a lot about my nod of approval of its current direction.

Thor & Odin vs. Surtur (nuff said)

i know; time is always the issue (exhibit A: Bryan Hitch). but i hope they'll be doing the monthlies for years to come.

xtra:
signage from the aforementioned Euro superstars.



too bad i was unable to grab a #100.



this post is for Gloria.

the awesomeness

need i say more?

yes, actually. i was hoping to finish my Daredevil examination and get up to date before #100 came out. wishful thinking. just like most things in life.

anyway, "the awesomeness" is what i am going to start calling Marko Djurdjevic from now on. methinks we have found the new Alex Ross. and that's not a knock on Ross.