mostly a good J Arthur

drive-by readings

Knight and Squire #1 (DC) "For Six, Part One" Paul Cornell Jimmy Broxton Guy Major Steve Wands Yanick Paquette/Michel Lacombe/Nathan Fairbairn (cover) Billy Tucci/Hi-Fi (variant cover)

what we learned: England's Batman and Robin get their own book, and who better to chronicle their adventures but British writer Paul Cornell (i totally miss Captain Britain and MI:13). in this first issue, Knight and Squire whoop it up in their version of The Bar With No Name, only this bar is a DMZ for both heroes and villains (and quite a few arcane characters only a British writer can imagine in his sleep). even Wildcat stops by for a pint or two. everything's hunky dory until somebody starts a fire.
oh shit moment: you could hear a pin drop before everything breaks loose. and artist Jimmy Broxton loves himself too much.
what's next: more Britannia!


ggg
they lied! they still sacrifice virgins!

worming up

drive-by readings

Action Comics #891 (DC) "The Black Ring Part 2" Paul Cornell Pete Woods Cafu Bit Rob Leigh Brad Anderson David Finch/Matt Banning/Peter Steigerwald (cover)

what we learned: Mr. Mind is much more cuter than you think, and i hate caterpillars or multi-legged creatures (even Spider-Man has only two!). and turns out he's the son of the original and he almost got Lex trapped in a state of mind. but "almost" doesn't count with Luthor.
oh shit moment: Superman as an outlaw in Sheriff's Luthor's mind? i smell a mini-series!
what's next: who put up the worm to this? suddenly i want Lex Luthor to kick his ass. Paul Cornell got me hooked. in the absence of Captain Britain and MI:13, this will do for now.


aaaaawww, isn't he cuuuuute??

take heed, ye Yanks.

Paul Cornell on the end of Capt. Britain and MI-13 [via comicbulletins]

drive-by readings: Captain Britain and MI-13 #15

Captain Britain and MI-13 #15 (Marvel) "Vampire State: Conclusion" Paul Cornell Leonard Kirk Jay Leisten Brian Reber Joe Caramagna Mico Suayan/Frank D'Armata (cover)

its just unfortunate that when "Excalibur" has its most diverse and intriguing (dare i say, best) configuration ever, economics didn't agree with critical opinion (or just me) and we get a cancellation notice in two years. maybe it was the long title, maybe the former Excalibur readers fled because there weren't much mutants left in the title. but in 15 issues, writer Paul Cornell, bless his British heart, has assembled a great cast anchored by Pete Wisdom, whom he wrote in a 6-issue MAX series earlier. among his other moves were bringing back Meggan, moving Dane Whitman to the English shores, and masterfully blending British fantasy elements and straight up superheroics. throwing Blade into the mix seemed weird, but made sense in the final story arc against Dracula (yes, really). Leonard Kirk provided the art for the whole run, a solid and steady contributor that's a rarity these days.

hopefully, somebody would come to their senses and relaunch this title anew (preferably with Cornell and Kirk). godspeed, mates; see you all again soon.

drive-by readings Capt Britain & MI13 #14

Captain Britain & MI13 #14 (Marvel) "Vampire State, Part 4" Paul Cornell Leonard Kirk Ardian Syaf Jay Leisten Craig Yeung Brian Reber Joe Caramagna Mico Suayan / Morry Hollowell (cover)

along with Guardians of the Galaxy, this title does not disappoint month after month. kinda reminds me of early-Grant Morrison JLA. this month we learn that Dracula has not really taken over the Earth yet, and our heroes have laid such an elaborate trap, with writer Paul Cornell using previous plot devices to their clever advantage. a great aspect of this rebuilt Excalibur is the inclusion of B-list characters that make sense (Blade, the Black Knight, and now Killpower), and this is the team that it should have been years ago (no dis to Chris Claremont and Alan Davis). and with another cliffhanger on hand, i hope it draws in more readers than before.

anarchy in the UK

or would there be? because Dracula just took over, and everyone should be under his sway.



ok, hopefully we don't get a post-event narrative conclusion a la Secret Invasion.

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Captain Britain & M-13 #13

the paths taken

the bloke known as Captain Midlands traps Captain Britain's new team for Plokta, Duke from Hell and manager of the Mindless Ones, in exchange for boot-knockin' time with his long-dead wife. whooopeee. (Captain Britain and MI-13 #8) in other news, Captains Thames Valley and Northumbria have petitioned said Plokta for licenses for their impending nuptials ...

over in Africa, its a friggin' pain in the arse battling evil telepaths, especially those who can possess anyone. Storm (Queen Ororo to you peasants) is pulling her silky white hair out, asking the Bright Lady how the hell will she defeat her Shadow King-possessed husband, the Black Panther (King T'Challa to you peasants). as of presstime, the Bright Lady had no comments on this turn of events.

wait - could it be this is the one rare time that T'Challa had no friggin' answer for a problem? getting possessed should have been one his priorities to guard against. Batman even had a backup personality hidden away, just in case. that's how you plan, Mr. High and Mighty Black Panther Sir.