just in time for the elections!

somewhere in Alaska, and in the Tea Party headquarters, heads just exploded.

hey, we want that pleasure too!

ok, we're kidding. we love Foggy despite being a klutz. but don't deny it, you have some Beast in you occasionally.

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Daredevil #511

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."

teething

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Ultimate Avengers #3 (Marvel) "Blade Versus The Avengers, Part One of Six" Mark Millar Steve Dillon Andy Lanning Matt Hollingsworth Cory Petit Leinil Francis Yu/Marte Gracia (cover) Greg Land/Justin Ponsor (variant cover)

what we learned: not sure why this title is still rolling. the first incarnation of the Ultimates were fantastic, and had great resonance with the 616 Universe because they were dark mirrors of the real deal. now its just like scraping the bottom of the barrel. its probably the trendy vampire thing (i'm still chewing on X-Men #1-2) - now they have the undead biting on heroes and the black ops Avengers are called in, because Stick, the lameass Daredevil-who's-not-Matt-Murdock ("Ray Connor"? really?), and possibly the Hulk have all fallen in with the bloodsuckers. basically, its just a Blade comic crossed with the Daredevil and Elektra movies sprinkled with some Kick Ass. Steve Dillon makes it bearable. just.
oh shit moment: just when we're getting sympathetic with Connor, the dork gets bitten. now we just hate the kid.
what's next: is Cassidy gonna show up?


Blade doesn't give head, he takes them.

rolling to the edge

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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)

closer

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Punisher MAX #9 (Marvel) "Bullseye Part Four" Jason Aaron Steve Dillon Matt Hollingsworth Cory Petit Dave Johnson (cover)

what we learned: after Frank guns down a corrupt cop, the NYPD guns after him, but Bullseye takes his sweet time and tries to get more into Frank's head, not to mention irritating the hell out of Kingpin. its 95% amusing, because we all want the mano-a-mano between the Punisher and Bullseye to commence, but somehow you feel it might not be worth it, because status quo reigns here - nobody friggin' dies.
oh shit moment: Bullseye brazenly walking into a Punisher safehouse, knowing he's there and he's going to wipe out everyone.
what's next: just get it on, dammit!!!


no, its black and white, you dumb ass.

arachnot.phobia

so apparently there's this Spider-Man story arc where blood relatives of the late Kraven the Hunter go after the rocky Fantastic Four member known as the ... what? it's not The Grimm Hunt? well, why dincha say so?

just kidding. Spidey's back in capable hands the last couple of years and the recent 'Gauntlet' theme, with all his classic rogues gallery coming back to bitch-slap him was just the prelude, orchestrated by Kraven's family, to finally bring down their arachnid enemy and resurrect their patriarch. i figured i'd wait till the conclusion of the arc before i put it in my two cents worth (roughly 1/8 its value because of the economy).


so what's the deal? first off, i can't believe anyone would call himself "Kraven the Hunter". it sounds cool and all, but Kraven or 'craven' means 'cowardly' or 'characterized by abject fear'. i don't think anyone who fancies himself to be a hunter would like to be seen in that light. is this in reference to the Wizard of Oz, because Kraven is dressed up up in lion gear? ah, i know. its the media who gave him that nickname. Sergei Kravinoff. Kravinoff the Hunter. Kravin the Hunter! then someone makes a typo.

the main perpetrators of this scheme is Kraven's wife Sasha and his purported daughter Ana, and recruit Kravinoff's (crazy) son Alyosha. first up, kidnap Madame Web and Mattie Franklin (the Other Other Spider-Woman). the Madame, for her prognosticating abilities (and in a way, responsible for psychically drugging Peter), and Mattie, as a sacrifice to revive (with assistance from Diablo and Electro) the other Kravinoff son, Vladimir, who now becomes Taylor Lautner. oh, sorry, was that a lion-like creature? again, with the lions. uh, duh.


hunters like to stalk obviously, and no amount of restraining orders will keep them away. Spidey clone Kaine (i try not to think of the '90s, honestly) gets fragged but manages to warn Peter of the impending danger. he's somehow mysteriously being me when i get annihilated by allergies, but manages to rescue (in a way) Arachne (Julia Carpenter - the Other Spider-Woman) from Ana and Alyosha. strangely, they never did date.


another figure from Peter's past shows up: Ezekiel (gaahhh! too many Spiders!), who confirms the "war between hunters and spiders". and just in time, they get to save Araña (who's like the Dora the Explorer of the Spider family) from the Kravinoffs. or not. Spidey's not a hundred percent, so he keeps slipping up, and the hunters take Spider-Woman 2 and Spider-Girl. but wait - if they need just his blood to resurrect their Daddy, why don't they just go get Spidey outright? all this dancing around - and the altruistic Ezekiel leads him right into their trap (CGI and special effects provided by Mysterio), with Ezekiel revealing himself to be the Chameleon (their uncle Dmitri, natch!) - its just theatre. were they aiming for Tonys?


and when the deed is finally done:


do we really get Kraven? or someone who's already short of a few braincells further reduced?


ok, this series was dedicated to JM DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, who were responsible for Kraven's Last Hunt (and Kraven's suicide) and may be an aside saying, "we're gonna bring him baaaaaaaaaack - and y'all can do nuthin' about it!"

Spider-Man as it turns out, is the thread that holds the web together. and if he's weakened or dead, the web is broken. kinda like the Force. so all the creatures in NYC get restless (where's Animal Man when you need him?) and for some, like the lions (yes, the lions) get back to basics and attack humans. you know Hizzoner J. Jonah Jameson is going to blame Spider-Man for all of this the next day, right?


whooop. there it is.


Kraven, for what its worth, finds the whole thing distasteful (he retired on top, fer chrissakes - why would he want to come back?), and even the Chameleon is having second thoughts about it too. even i would be creeped out if i had a daughter who wanted to please me (ok, that didn't turn out right) the way Ana pathetically and desperately wants his approval. she even stabs him when he goes nuts (ok, that was courtesy of Madame Web).

even worse, its not Peter Parker's blood that brought him back ...


yes, apparently, Mysterio is not the only one who knows about sleight-of-hand and special FX. Kaine pulls a last-minute switcheroo, and thus giving hope that we can close the door on this cloning thing. but no ...


Kraven takes matters into his own hands (despite his better instincts) and challenges Spider-Man to a hunt. and even provides the clothing (where the hell did he get the black costume?). by the way, did we mention that Peter did another rising from the grave act? and he's the jokester in the Avengers.


now he's the Spyder (not the sports apparel brand), and he's laying the smackdown on anyone related to Kraven. the strange part is, Kraven gives his "marching orders" but chills out as everyone gets picked off one at a time. then when we get to the inevitable, mano-a-mano, the Spyder gets the upper hand - and takes the high road. because he's the goddamn thread that holds everything together. he's not like Daredevil!!


so, the Kravinoffs teleport out of there (lucky Chameleon slinks back into the concrete jungle with 3 million dollars tax free) and end up in the Savage Land. Kraven dispatches Sasha and Vladimir due to philosophical differences (and when i say "dispatch", i don't mean "sent to the crime scene"). Julia becomes the new Madame Web, and Araña updates her duds with Julia's black costume. Kaine, meanwhile, is dead as a dodo one moment, then rises from the grave too the next. apparently, he will become the first Tarantula who isn't remotely Hispanic.

the whole thing holds up. although i would rather have dead villains stay dead (yeah sure), Kraven is probably the last great Spider-villain that needed to be brought back (please do not bring back the goddamned Jackal!), in keeping with the whole Spider-Man revival (which has been great in the last few years after the awkward One More Day/Brand New Day). its a bit heavy into mysticism and the fantastic, which is a Joe Kelly trademark, but that works well with the Kraven angle. it just became a lot more creepier though, with Ana presumably winning her survival challenge with Alyosha, and returning to jump-start a tribe with her Papa. eeewwww.

by the way, the best line (and a critique of superhero comics in general) is this:


that applies to heroes too!

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Amazing Spider-Man #634-637

a backhanded compliment to Gray's Papaya

not that Nathan's will complain ...

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Daredevil: Cage Match one shot

turning Japanese

drive-by readings

Daredevil #505 (Marvel) "Left Hand Path" Andy Diggle Antony Johnston Marco Checchetto Matt Hollingsworth Joe Caramagna Paolo Rivera (cover) who wants to be the new Wolverine? well, who else but our newest Hand Puppet Master, Matt Murdock. in his quest to turn The Hand into a force of justice (easier said than done), Matt is building bigger prisons and doing networking stuff to get them to follow his lead. whereas Wolverine pretty much chased skirts, drank beer and brawled like a drunken sailor, Matt wants to effect change. i'm just not sure how long this'll last and then we get the next writer having Matt ruminating on his past life as an 'enlightened organized crime boss' and admits to biting off more than he can chew. especially when these Japs find out he really didn't whack Master Izo. despite Matt's noble intentions, he's not going blindly (we hope), as we see other sinister plans are afoot and not just with the obvious antagonist in front of him, the South American daimyo named Bakuto. its one thing to have Danny Rand walking around K'un L'un because he practically grew up there; white guy Matt addressing all these ninjas and samurais right in their own turf seems a little off. good thing they're more or less subservient to tradition, until of course, that opportune moment when they can stick a knife in your back. its fun to explore this new territory left behind by Ed Brubaker, although i can't wait for Matt to get back Stateside and deal with the aftermath of Siege and the re-ascension of his superhero friends.

snaps: Punisher MAX #4

... where "The Mennonite" (uber-cool handle, brah) meets up with Frank and trades tips on crippling moves. also, Wilson Fisk's diabolical plan to take control of the New York underworld is coming to fruition. if the Tea Party hires this guy, its all over.

"no, i am going to use a spade. happy now?"


and then there was that time when Donald Blake ran into Frank Castle.


and there goes the next generation of hardcore Mennonite farmer-killers.


hey, hey, hey!! don't you know competent Asian manicurists are an endangered species??


the Mafia's ignorance of technology puts them at par with the Mennonites then?

closing circle

drive-by readings

Punisher Max #3 (Marvel) "Kingpin Part Three" Jason Aaron Steve Dillon Matt Hollingsworth Cory Petit Dave Johnson (cover) here we get our first encounter between Wilson and Frank, and it ends inconclusively, as they end up killing Mamma Cesare, mother hen to the East Coast mafia. its mildly surprising that they didn't shoot themselves after seeing her in the buff - gaaaah. we also have a mysterious assassin in the mix, a Mennonite who's reluctant to go back to his murderous roots, but a family tragedy may give him no choice. though we have an idea somewhat where all of these is headed, Jason Aaron makes it a thrilling slowburn ride.

eyes wide shut

drive-by readings

X-Men Origins: Cyclops one shot (Marvel) "Eyes Wide" Stuart Moore Jesse Delperdang Andy Lanning Matt Hollingsworth Rob Steen Adi Granov (cover)

we've seen this origin tale many times before, and there isn't much difference now, save that its been tailored for a new generation (thank God they didn't include that iffy part in that Wolverine movie ... but who knows). Cyclops has always been cast as this inspiring yet robotic leader spouting the Xavier credo of mutants-must-coexist-with-humans, but at least in the last decade, there has been this shift towards making him a much more layered individual and not simply a yes-man to his father figures. by having him taken over by Apocalypse, dealing with his demons, having a psychic affair with Emma Frost, and the eventual killing off of Jean Grey, Scott Summers finally shed the doubts nagging him as to what he's really capable of. and with the stepping down of Charles Xavier and Scott's eventual ascent to running the school and uniting the remaining mutants and having their own island, the transformation was complete.

this origin story somewhat ties in to the present because it already shows Scott not making decisions based on what Xavier says all the time. he has his own mind, whether in battling Magneto or making the long-term decision to lead the X-Men in Xavier's stead. it must have been rankling to the professor to have his star student brush him off as he finds his own path, not as a petulant child, but as a confident adult. Mike Carey, Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction have delineated this transition as a very interesting angle in recent years.

i don't remember much of Jesse Delperdang's work save his stint inking Andy Kubert in X-Men and Ka-Zar, but he does a good job here, somewhat veering from Kirby/Ladronn-ish to Kevin Nowlan.

and now for some snaps!

"yes, mistuh Xavier sir, you want me to remove my visor to show you?"


by the way, Scott, spoke to Alex lately?


not being able to shoot Magneto with his eye beams, Scott decides beat him to death with his mask/visor.

king of the mountain

drive-by readings

Punisher Max #2 (Marvel) "Kingpin Part Two" Jason Aaron Steve Dillon Matt Hollingsworth Cory Petit Dave Johnson (cover)

after my initial misgivings, this is a better read than i thought. and no, its not because of the sex and violence allowed in a Max title. and no, its not the edgy scary tinkering of the mind of Jason Aaron. nor is it the simple yet powerful etchings of artist Steve Dillon (who could draw Frank in his sleep). no, it must be ... wait, yeah, you're right.

i think there might have been one or two superb Kingpin origin stories in the past, but this version by Aaron takes a backseat to no one. a master schemer and manipulator, the once-bullied fat boy takes his lumps, bides his time, leaves no loose ends, and is poised to take over current mob boss Rigoletto's empire. which leaves him obviously on a collision course with the Punisher, whom Rigoletto aims to herd into their crosshairs.

its amazing that the non-superpowered Fisk is considered a 'supervillain' in Marvel canon and has gone toe to toe with everybody including the likes of the Red Skull and Hydra and still manages to survive, time and time again. he'll probably still escape a direct confrontation with the Sentry. ok, that's a stretch.

Jason Aaron is impressing me, as usual.

snaps: Siege: The Cabal

... where Norman Osborn starts his descent from the mountain of his own making. Brian Michael Bendis writes these tense moments where everyone is just talking, and nowhere is it more palpable than in Dark Avengers, because these are supervillains talking and scheming behind each other's backs, and it fits. and for every bit he reveals, he teases us with more mysteries. admit it, you like the Dark Reign theme much much more than Final Crisis crossover.

1) for Normie, everyday is Halloween.


2) wrong tree. you should be dealing with Michael Holt.


3) call him ummm, the Goblin Lord?


4) surprise!! Bullseye's not a slob, and they actually sleep in different rooms!!!


5) you'd think they saw a survivor of a chimp attack, or Mason Verger in Hannibal.


6) doesn't he read history? Doom always uses DOOMBOTS!!!!


7) look who got transferred from the GCPD to H.A.M.M.E.R.!


8) how long have you been working with these insane people again? yesterday??


9) they got a new President now? what happened to Barack??

and yeah, they're gonna use Volstagg to recreate the Stamford incident. pick on the fat guys, why don't you?

hand in hand

drive-by readings

Daredevil #502 (Marvel) Andy Diggle Roberto De La Torre Matt Hollingsworth Joe Caramagna Esad Ribic (cover)

so much for killing Master Izo. of course its all a scam; my problem is that: did the reveal have to happen the very next issue? i like stunning surprises. this could have been a long exciting culminating in that reveal by issue #525. oh, well, let's see what else Andy Diggle has in store for fans spoiled by Bendis and Brubaker. art-wise, Roberto De La Torre changed styles from his Iron Man run and is channeling some Bill Sienkiewicz here. it kind of works, but i want my Daredevil to have a bit more consistent detail, like that NYPD cop car bursting through the chain-link gate.

so this is Matt's new life. sitting on his throne, brooding and having daymares, then going on patrol at night with his ninja posse. kinda sweet. no need to worry about court appearances, opening and closing statements, and swaying the judge and the jury. yep, leave that crap to Foggy. wait, he used to do that most of the time anyway.

oh, by the way, for those who weren't paying attention, corrupt lawmen + Daredevil = conflict. i mean, well, its about time. will he cross the line and kill bad cops? apparently, he started with chopping some grubby hands off. well technically, he didn't chop the hand himself. but NYPD vs DD? grab your tickets now!

fat man rising

drive-by readings

Punisher MAX #1 (Marvel) "Kingpin, Part One" Jason Aaron Steve Dillon Matt Hollingsworth Cory Petit Dave Johnson (cover)

so, this is essentially a reboot. i mean, over in the other Punisher series, he's been reborn as Frankenstein. here, we have him harkening back to his mob-killing days, slightly after the Garth Ennis run. i'm just a little confused to have Barracuda referenced here, then the key point of putting in Wilson Fisk as an ambitious enforcer, presumably preceding his ascent to eventual Kingpin status (it is, because that's his wife Vanessa and his son Richard - the future Rose). i guess am just used to have the Frank's timeline in my head. Steve Dillon returns for another go-round, and it remains to be seen if his team up with Jason Aaron, no mean SOB himself, will scale the heights he did with Ennis.

talk to the hand

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Daredevil #501 (Marvel) "The Devil's Hand" Andy Diggle Roberto Dela Torre Matt Hollingsworth Joe Caramagna Esad Ribic (cover)

as Batman might say, "hhhh." Daredevil's finally taken control of the Hand, with one little caveat - a sacrifice of the innocent. i can understand if he actually killed a baby. but Master Izo? really? that alcohol-swilling vice-indulging old prick? even Dakota North isn't innocent. and we all know, Stick (and Mr. Miyagi) notwithstanding, that old martial arts teachers are practically immortal. so who's fooling who here, Andy Diggle?

elsewhere, the Kingpin extends the lifespan of his longtime bootlicking gofer, Turk (oh the stories he could tell his kids!). but its all a ploy of course. everyone has got an agenda. not sure what Lady Bullseye's is though, throwing in with Wilson, even if she worked with Izo to maneuver DD into the position of Hand boss.

wow. the Hand being led by their former enemy, the American red/blonde-haired devil-may-care chick magnet hotshot lawyer. Kirigi must be rolling in his grave.

like, who hasn't boinked a Skrull?

we got Hank Pym, Clint Barton, Johnny Storm (waaaay back), Tigra (preggy!!) ... maybe the Skrull Kill Krew ... and as the evidence above shows, even the ol' Canucklehead himself.


geez. at least y'all coulda used protection! well, didja??



by the way, this issue left me confused. is Elektra just a cold-blooded killing machine, not breaking cover even if she had to whack a lot of S.H.I.E.L.D. guys? this was like poking a ghastly bullet wound.

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Dark Reign: Elektra #5

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!)