Showing posts with label Wolverine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wolverine. Show all posts

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Saturday, October 16, 2010

blacker ops

drive-by readings
Uncanny X-Force #1 (Marvel)
"The Apocalypse Solution, Chapter One"
Rick Remender
Jerome Opeña
Dean White
Cory Petit
Esad Ribic (cover)
Clayton Crain/Rob Liefeld/J. Scott Campbell/Marko Djurdjevic (variants)
what we learned: X-Force just won't die. and though the previous hype for this new incarnation came across as cheesy, Rick Remender's take is fresh and his choice of characters and characterizations are on the money. the new team follows the money trail to a resurrected Apocalypse, and Archangel himself has made the decision to clearly kill the S.O.B. its also refreshing to see someone use Deadpool for his talents as a coldblooded wisecracking skilled killer that he is, and not simply as the premiere wisecracking raconteur of the MU. this is clearly the best work of Jerome Opeña's burgeoning career.
oh shit moment: gone are the days of simply killing human footsoldiers of the anti-mutant forces. Remender ups the ante and puts our heroes in real harm's way. i don't expect this original team to be still intact at the end (you could say the same thing about the past incarnations, but its probably the vibe of this new team).
what's next: the best time to kill Apocalypse is while he's a child.


no one explains how Warren lies down on his back.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

come on down

drive-by readings

Wolverine #1 (Marvel)
"Wolverine Goes to Hell, Part One"
"Last Stand of the Silver Samurai: Scorched Earth Chapter One"
Jason Aaron
Renato Guedes/Jason Latour
Jose Wilson Magalhaes
Matt Wilson/Rico Renzi
Cory Petit
Jae Lee/June Chung (cover)
Steve McNiven/Dexter Vines/Justin Ponsor/Marko Djurdjevic/Art Adams (variant covers)

what we learned: i mistook the hype for this new direction as Daken taking over Wolverine's body while Logan being sent to Hell. but that would've been a cooler premise: its one thing to be reconditioned by the Hand, its another to have switch souls and personalities between two mortal shells. what would the Avengers and X-Men do? kill him? but i digress. some mysterious party (called the Red Right Hand - 'allo, Nick Cave - purported to be the vengeful hand of God) wants Wolverine and his family/friends taken out, and some demon has taken over his body (taking on John Wraith for starters). next up: Logan's current galpal Melita, who's oddly rescued by Mystique. over in Japan, the RRH puts a hit on Kenuichio Harada, and it looks like he doesn't survive the experience.
oh shit moment: you know there's a demon in Wolverine, but that doesn't make it any easier.
what's next: who are these Red Right Handers? kin of people Logan killed over the century?


will.i.am was already goddamned sick of "My Humps".

the death of Magneto




well, apparently not. he's a good guy now. right, Xorn Joe Quesada?

-----
Wolverine: Road to Hell one-shot

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

reflection

drive-by readings

Wolverine: Weapon X #15 (Marvel)
"The End of the Beginning"
Jason Aaron
Davide Gianfelice
Dave McCaig
Cory Petit
Ron Garney/Morry Hollowell (cover)

what we learned: somebody has to write the obligatory Logan/Kurt reminiscing story, and that task falls on Jason Aaron, who does a good job. Kurt, through all their years as X-Men, has been carrying his heart on his sleeve, and even after he's passed on to the afterlife, finally gets through to Logan's hardcase exterior.
oh shit moment: you ever carry a piano up an impassable mountain on foot?
what's next: stories like these lose some of its luster when the character in question gets revived at some point. but then again, its Nightcrawler, and such an event which will then become proof of his faith (betcha somebody's writing that story right now).


yeah, and we will too ... in Essential X-Men!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Peter and the Chicken, Marvel style

drive-by readings

Dark Wolverine #89 (Marvel)
"Punishment Chapter 3"
Daniel Way/Marjorie Liu
Stephen Segovia/Paco Diaz
Craig Yeung/Guillermo Ortega
Antonio Fabela
Cory Petit
Simone Bianchi/Simone Peruzzi (cover)

what we learned: continuing the battle between the Wolverine brood versus Franken-Castle, Logan protects Daken due to a warped sense of honor and fatherhood for a jackass who wants his head on a stake anyway.
oh shit moment: you can feel the palpable glee of each character as they individually one up the other. but it feels like a parody because no one will really die. i mean, there shouldn't even be a Franken-Castle.
what's next: Daken gets the Bloodstone, Frank probably dies and gets reborn (yet again) and Logan wins Father of The Year.


Wolverine's the best at what he does - slicing fingers off.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

begging to be taken out of context



i mean, ummm, really? this couldn't be drawn in a different way?

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World War Hulks: Captain America & Wolverine #2

Sunday, August 1, 2010

pulped fiction

drive-by readings

Franken-Castle #19 (Marvel)
"Punishment Chapter 2"
Rick Remender
Tony Moore
Dan Brown
Joe Caramagna
Simone Bianchi/Simone Peruzzi (cover)

what we learned: Frank Castle and Daken - the rematch! Remender goes full circle after having Daken make sushi out of Frank, and this time, Wolverine's badass kid gets the short end of the stick ... until Papa shows up.
oh shit moment: i think Frank took a lot more punishment back in the The List, but there's still a bunch of cringe-inducing moments here that runs like a "Can You Top This?" contest and fanboys going "whoooaaaaa!" on every turn.
what's next: father and son versus a Frankencastle monstaaaa!!


aw, Logan, you spoilsport. booooooooo.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

it does not compute.

drive-by readings

Wolverine: Weapon X #15 (Marvel)
"Tomorrow Dies Today - Conclusion"
Jason Aaron
Ron Garney
Jason Keith
Matt Milla
Cory Petit
Garney/Chris Sotomayor (cover)

what we learned: i'm still a little doozy. so bad Deathloks from future go back to the past to kill a number of people, one of which is Miranda Bayer, who's part of the future resistance. she's also their agent in the present, and in holding one child hostage (said child set to grow up to be the same Deathlok about to kill her), she brings about the conversion of the Deathlok to find its own humanity. it certainly is ambitious as it gets, but somewhere along the way to this ending, we all got our heads slapped upside down.
oh shit moment: the head of the future resistance - is the same Deathlok who got humanized.
what's next: Kurt lives! no, not Cobain.


machines get personality disorders too.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

the weekly hits

Sea Bear & Grizzly Shark (Image)
Ryan Ottley/Jason Howard/Cliff Rathburn
what we learned: a Sea Bear. a Grizzly Shark. eating people anywhere. that's all you need to know.
oh shit moment: just imagine any moment you could be doing your own thing, then suddenly you're wondering why your head is at ground level and the rest of your body's just ... gone.
what's next: really? you want this to be an ongoing? well ....


Batman: Streets of Gotham #13 (DC)
Paul Dini/Dustin Nguyen/Derek Fridolfs/John Kalisz/Sal Cipriano
what we learned: the Carpenter turns the tables on the Director just in time for Batman to clean up. despite the cheesy dialogue because of the nature of the story, its entertaining. by the way, how does everyone manage to show up at the right time for the board meetings to remind Thomas Eliott of his place?
oh shit moment: nothing much to shit your pants about. although Jenna Duffy has been warned off by Bats, she can't resist the lure of the job of assembling for dangerous people (which means that hauling supercriminals off to jail never works).
what's next: what is Hush up to?


Hulk #23 (Marvel)
Jeph Loeb/Ed McGuiness/Mark Farmer/Morry Hollowell/Richard Starkings/Herb Trimpe/Dave McCaig/Tim Sale/Dave Stewart/Dale Keown/Sal Buscema/Brad Anderson/Ian Churchill/Edgar Delgado/Leinil Yu/Gerry Alanguilan/Marte Gracia/John Romita Jr./Klaus Janson/Emily Warren/Dean White/Jason Keith/Mike Deodato/Rain Beredo (variant cover: Adam Kubert/Laura Martin)
man, i'm tired typing all those credits, but its the only way to give those nods as Blogger's 200 character limit for tags (booooo!) kinda put a damper on the party, and it was a rocking one.

Green Arrow #1 (DC)
J.T. Krul/Diogenes Neves/Vicente Cifuentes/Ulises Arreola/Rob Leigh (covers: Mauro Cascioli, Ethan Van Sciver/Hi-Fi)
what we learned: despite him being kicked out of Star City, Ollie Queen can't help himself and still hangs around. and conveniently a "magical" forest has sprung around the city, giving him cachet to play a man in tights. oh, someone offed his best friend Nunocerda. now Ollie has to throw away his special Nunocerda arrow.
oh shit moment: uh, Ollie stealing food from the rich to give to the poor? yeah. or his stepmom takes his company back.
what's next: team up with his pal Hal and beat up some rent-a-soldiers.

"well ... uh ... actually this is my BDSM outfit. heh."

X-Men Legacy #237 (Marvel)
Mike Carey/Greg Land/Jay Leisten/Justin Ponsor/Cory Petit (cover: Adi Granov)
what we learned: aren't you glad they resurrected Doug Ramsey? and they say diplomatic and linguistic skills are useless in battle. suspiciously, Colossus' broken arm is not shown at all.
oh shit moment: two for me: Magneto bleeding for the X-Men once again in a very long time, and Hope having the balls to threaten the de facto leader of an endangered species. really.
what's next: bring on Bastion!!! (i wonder if Scott Lobdell or Pascual Ferry is reading this crossover?)

see, if only Jean was that frisky ...

Fantastic Four #580 (Marvel)
Jonathan Hickman/Neil Edwards/Andrew Currie/Paul Mounts/Rus Wooton (cover: Alan Davis/Mark Farmer/Javier Rodriguez)
what we learned: Toys R Us is actually a front for Arcade (no longer a premiere X-villain) and the Impossible Man is an NYC gadabout with a semblance of social responsibility (you mean to say no one mistakes him for a Skrull?). much more interesting is Reed's Future Foundation, where a disparate young cast of characters is mentored by Mr. Fantastic to generate ideas for the betterment of mankind. no, not the wrestler.
oh shit moment: the Future Foundation's first project: to cure Ben Grimm! ok, not a total cure, but its a start. the Thing's inability to become human and the subsequent frustration of trying to be normal is a Marvel tradition. Jonathan Hickman, just like Ed Brubaker and that Bucky thing before him, is poised to upend the apple cart.
what's next: don't call him Rocky no more! no, seriously, please let this not be a dead end. Ben needs this as much as we fans do.


Avengers #2 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/John Romita Jr./Klaus Janson/Dean White/Cory Petit
to get to the future, they need a binoculars. then a ride. so they ask Space Ghost Penis to help. then (less than) Wonder Man shows up angry, disappears. then some Horsemen show up, also angry. next issue, they fight.

Secret Warriors #17 (Marvel)
Jonathan Hickman/Alessandro Vitti/Imaginary Friends Studio/Dave Lanphear (cover: Jim Cheung/Mark Morales/Justin Ponsor)
what we learned: smelling blood in the water, Nick Fury unleashes all his teams on the warring Hydra and Leviathan. the narrative though is post-event, as Dum Dum and Jasper Sitwell are grilled in a secret meeting convened by the UN Security Council. oh, and there's a party and Steve Rogers feels like a 20 year old man again.
oh shit moment: Howling Commandos silenced forevermore?
what's next: Howling Commandos silenced forevermore?


Thunderbolts #145 (Marvel)
Jeff Parker/Kev Walker/Frank Martin/Albert Deschesne
i commend Luke Cage for taking the task of running Marvel's rehab program and facing threats with a bunch of guys who might just stab him in the back, front, side or wherever they please. nanites or no nanites, something bad's gonna happen.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (Marvel)
Grant Morrison/Yanick Paquette/Michel Lacombe/Nathan Fairbairn/Jared Fletcher (covers: Andy Kubert/Yanick Paquette)
what we learned: some people might scoff at at the whole Final Crisis/Batman RIP thing as poorly-conceived non-permanent-event ripoff. that may be so, but it allowed us to have Batman & Robin and the Return of Bruce Wayne. in his trek back from the past, Bruce gets involved with Blackbeard the Pirate and upholds his legacy as the Man of Bats in the most amazing way.
oh shit moment: a dazed Bruce takes the cape and takes on the buccaneers with the Bat People. whooooooooo!
what's next: Jonah Hex! Cowboy Batman! yeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaawww!


Wolverine: Weapon X #14 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron/Ron Garney/Jason Keith/Matt Milla/Cory Petit (cover: Garney/Morry Hollowell)
what we learned: this Deathlok is a murderer revived as a killing machine (what's new?). but there's a conscience there somehow.
oh shit moment: the future human resistance decides to go after the civilian identities of the Deathloks in the past - while they're still kids.
what's next: Peace, 'Lok!!


Joker's Asylum: Killer Croc (DC)
Mike Raicht/David Yardin/Cliff Richards/Rodney Ramos/Jose Villarubia/Patrick Brosseau (cover: Francesco Mattina)
what we learned: despite the fear you have for Killer Croc as he chased you down the sewer tunnels of Arkham Asylum, there are bigger and viler beasts among men that you need to be more afraid of. and oh, did Francesco Mattina switch to DC already?
oh shit moment: we knew were it was going but the betrayal was painful nonetheless.
what's next: i think i need to check out the other Joker's Asylum titles i missed.


Power Girl #13 (DC)
Judd Winick/Sami Basri/Sunny Gho/John J. Hill
i know y'all miss Amanda Conner, but you should give this Basri guy a chance. and a serious story for a change.

Green Lantern Corps #49 (DC)
Tony Bedard/Ardian Syaf/Vicente Cifuentes/Randy Mayor/Gabe Eltaeb/Steve Wands (cover: Syaf/Cifuentes/Ulises Arreola, variant: Patrick Gleason/John Dell/Mayor)
what we learned: the rebellious Alpha Lanterns' recruitment drive is in full swing and it may have added Jon Stewart. opps, i meant John Stewart. dumb keyboard.
oh shit moment: who's behind all this nonsense? no, not Tony Bedard! its the i-wanna-die-but-i-cant Cyborg Superman! paging Dr. Kevorkian!
what's next: paging Dr. Kevorkian!

Monday, May 31, 2010

snikts: Dark Wolverine #86 & Wolverine: Origins #48

... where we're kinda sick of all the posturing, ADD-addled, obsessive-compulsive behavior being exhibited by Logan and his extended family. i mean, fine, you all hate each other, just kill the guy next to you and be done with it!!! geez.



y'all have claws. y'all don't know what to do with them.


man, this thing is so gay its not happy anymore.


oh, look, who's upset because Crystal Bowersox didn't win this season's American Idol:


and he has more spit than the winner!!!


and when he asks his father why the most talented people don't win:



now back to Logan; it took you this long to do this???


oh, wait, that was just what Logan wanted to do! what he actually does is imprison Romulus in the Darkforce Dimension inside Cloak. ooooooo-kay. but it took you this long to do that too??

by the way, if its dark in there, how come there's light?


oh, look we got a cutter!!



huh. look, Tyrone's the voice of reason. by the way, dude? you're responsible for the X-Men being trapped in Utopia. if you didn't leave, THEY. STILL. WOULD. HAVE. A. GODDAMNED. TELEPORTER. selfish prick.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

things i liked this week

Thunderbolts #144
Jeff Parker/Kev Walker/Frank Martin/Albert Deschesne (cover: Marko Djurdjevic)
by now, everyone who follows the Marvel U and the T-Bolts in particular are probably in an ICU, for the nerd-neurysm that Jeff Parker gave them last Wednesday. in fact, i am typing this with my mind, because i have lost control of my motor skills.

Secret Avengers #1 (Marvel)
Ed Brubaker/Mike Deodato/Rain Beredo/Dave Lanphear (cover: Marko Djurdjevic)
Avengers fans who also follow the T-Bolts and didn't get to read T-Bolts #144 probably landed first in the hospital because of this.

Wolverine: Weapon X #13 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron/Ron Garney/Jason Keith/Cory Petit (cover: Garney/Morry Hollowell)
the action heats up as Logan and Bucky Cap track down the inventor of the original Deathlok designer. curiosity arises as what's the beef between Logan and Buck (Natasha maybe?). anyhoo, they're unable to prevent Deathlok from reconfiguring himself and they're back on their heels. nice twist: the death of the future amazing Spider-Man.


Scalped #38 (DC/Vertigo)
Jason Aaron/R.M. Guera/Guilia Brusco/Steve Wands (cover: Jock)
Wade the Indian, a veteran soldier, whose lineage include nameless patriots who died for their country, is the luckiest man alive in terms of being able to escape certain death in the jungles of Vietnam. he's even considered unworthy to be killed by the Saigon residents in the final day of the war. now he's back in the US, and there seems to be a connection with him and the late Gina Bad Horse. hmm, Dashielle's dad then?


Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #2 (DC)
Grant Morrison/Frazer Irving/Jared Fletcher (cover: Andy Kubert/Irving)
i confess it took me a couple of reads, but i get it. Bruce reappears in puritanical New England (i presume) and right away puts logic and common sense over the close-minded and religious beliefs of the times. hot on his heels are Superman, Booster Gold, Rip Hunter and the rest of his friends who are impressed by the fact that he survived Final Crisis, but are also there in fact to stop him because, well, that's where things get complicated as Darkseid designed it to use Bruce as a doomsday Trojan horse. but this is Bruce we're talking about here - am sure he also solved that part too.


Thor #610 (Marvel)
Kieron Gillen/Doug Braithwaite/Andy Troy/Paul Mounts/Joe Sabino (cover: Mico Suayan/Laura Martin)
an epilogue of sorts to Siege, but with a final clash with that annoying Ragnarok a.k.a. Clor. i was surprised Tony or Reed ("short-sighted men") didn't show up here to help Thor take him down once and for all, which would also prove that either of them regret ever building that junk in the first place. it was heartbreaking to see Bill (Not Beta) alive in Valhalla, all but touchable by Kelda. and with Loki's disappearance, the wool has been pulled once again over the Asgardians' eyes. i'm glad Thor didn't accept the offer to be king again, because he's gonna be a goddarned regular Avenger from hereon. not sure though where this title goes from here (apart from the rebuilding of Asgard in one form or another). Straczynski successfully brought Thor back, and Gillen ends the chapter with the Asgardians tied in much tighter with the 616 universe.


Detective Comics #865 (DC)
David Hine/Jeremy Haun/David Baron/Todd Klein
so ... you think Jeremiah Arkham was the weakest link eh? the only thing about potentially one of the most damaging Bat villains in years isn't his own man, because he's merely a Joker co-creation.


Mystery Society (IDW)
Steve Niles/Fiona Staples/Robbie Robbins
Nick Mystery is like a modern day Indiana Jones figure but dealing more with conspiracy theories, government secrets and the fantastical. along with his wife, he forms the Mystery Society, but in the present day, he's being hauled off to prison for a variety of charges. this is basically an origin story, but it evokes some Hellboy and some Jonathan Hickman-S.H.I.E.L.D. (you know its good when its being referenced after only one issue).


Amazing Spider-Man #632 (Marvel)
Zeb Wells/Chris Bachalo/Emma Rios/Tim Townsend/Jaime Mendoza/Victor Olazaba/Antonio Fabela/Joe Caramagna (variant cover: Jay Anacleto/Brian Haberlin/Bob McLeod)
easily one of the best storylines of the year, Shed is another prime example why Spider-Man ABND (After Brand New Day) is one of the best Marvel titles again. and if they're making Spider-Man IV, its the Lizard's time to shed, ... i mean, shine!


X-Force #27 (Marvel)
Craig Kyle/Christopher Yost/Mike Choi/Sonia Oback/Cory Petit (cover: Adi Granov, variant cover: David Finch/Matt Banning/Peter Steigerwald)
its a very bad time to be a mutant. Nimrod-class sentinels from the future have trapped the X-Men in San Francisco and have inflicted heavy damages. the 10 pages dedicated to the battle - with no dialogue or sound effects - evoke memories of Superman vs. Doomsday. Cyclops' only card is to send X-Force to that future and somehow shut down the Sentinels with Doug's power (uh, couldn't Magneto or Box do this? oh right, the latter is outside the dome). expect more casualties before this thing is over. and oh yeah, i expect to see that talk between Ororo and Cyke about X-Force.


X-Men: Blind Science (Marvel)
Simon Spurrier/Paul Davidson/Francis Portela/Chris Sotomayor/Rob Steen (cover: Gerald Parel)
goddamn, i like Dr. Nemesis! i want him to be more vocal and more sarcastic and more smart-assy when he's talking to Cyke and the inner council around Utopia (God knows, Hank lost his sense of humor during one of his evolution phases and Bobby isn't that funny). wait, there may not be an Utopia after Bastion is done with them.

obviously, they're NOT Thundercats.

Doomwar #4 (Marvel)
Jonathan Maberry/Scot Eaton/Andy Lanning/Robert Campanella/Jean-Francois Beaulieu/Cory Petit (cover: John Romita Jr./Klaus Janson/Dean White)
this title has taken a backseat to Siege and Second Coming but it really should have been finished even before Soldier Field got blown to bits. and just when you think all is lost, and everything is gloom and (pun intended) doom, this guy shows up:


Green Lantern #54 (DC)
Geoff Johns/Doug Mahnke/Christian Alamy/Tom Nguyen/Keith Champagne/Randy Mayor/Gabe Eltaeb/Nick J. Napolitano (cover: Shane Davis/Sandra Hope/Barbara Ciardo, variant cover: Alex Garner)
what do i like about this issue? hmmm. Atrocitus in the New York subway. Sinestro kind of being the grumpy uncle to Hal and Carol. the continuing mystery of who's collecting entities that used to reside in each ring color (?). and then the appearance of this guy:


Green Lantern Corps #48 (DC)
Tony Bedard/Ardian Syaf/Vicente Cifuentes/Randy Mayor/Gabe Eltaeb/Carrie Strachan/Steve Wands (cover: Rodolfo Migliari, variant cover: Pat Gleason/Mark Irwin/Mayor)
Ganthet continues his attention-hogging drama queen antics by renouncing his Guardianship and becoming a Green Lantern. what's next, he's gonna have his own reality TV show? anyway, some Alpha Lanterns are secretly massing and recruiting for something. what i want to know is: what's Guy been put up to by Ganthet that he claims will result in having his friendship with Hal to be over.


The Thanos Imperative: Ignition one shot (Marvel)
Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning/Brad Walker/Andrew Hennessy/Wil Quintana/Joe Caramagna (cover: Aleksi Briclot)
and just in case somebody dozed off on the cosmic ongoings out there, this is a reminder that Thanos has come back! but he may not be the biggest threat at all - his name starts with the letter M and rhymes with "Barvell". oh ftaghn, oh ftaghn, oh ftaghn!! (wait, fark sounds better)


Power Girl #12 (DC)
Justin Gray/Jimmy Palmiotti/Amanda Conner/Paul Mounts/John J. Hill
need i say more? let's celebrate the last hurrah with the departure of Amanda Conner and the rest of the crew. any chance of having the Dodsons take over this title?