On 19 September, 2007

It's 11:30 on Friday night, and I am very tired, and do not feel like doing things that are more important such as class work, so it's comics blogging time!

[SPOILER WARNING IS POSSIBLY APPLICABLE.]

This past week, I read Avengers books, including (and limited to)...

...Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #16, in which there is Hawkeye, true to form! Everybody thinks he's a criminal at first, but then he proves them all wrong. He also flirts with Storm and Giant-Girl, with skill that actually comes in handy.

...Avengers Classic #4, in which Captain America joins the Avengers! I like seeing the reprints in brightly colored Kirby glory, but I'm also in this for the back-up stories. And this one, naturally, focuses on Cap, and his reintroduction to life. There is a little fighting, but it is mostly just bittersweet.

...a bunch of story bites contained in...

...Marvel Comics Presents #1, in which there is a cockamamie Spider-Man story that I won't try to describe, though it is amusing; a fluffy Ben Grimm and Alicia vignette; the beginning of the Immonens' Hellcat tale; and two other Chapter Ones that are lost on me. I do not see myself following this title religiously. Will they collect the Hellcat story when it is finished, I wonder?

...Jungle Girl #0, which is all about a buxom, scantily clad woman who hunts giant aquatic beasties for a living. In other words, it's about what you might expect based on the cover. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is simply what it is. Which is not my cup of tea.

...and a triple helping of Hulk, including...

...World War Hulk #4, World War Hulk: Front Line #4, and Gamma Corps #3, in which there is a lot of smashing. Most of the smashing occurs in the main title (the Illuminati are compelled to smash each other and in front of a crowd of eager onlookers. It is naturally a disturbing, mostly-'splosion issue. Gamma Corps has somewhat less smashing. About half of it is the tragic story of Ryker and his wife (in flashback), and the rest is the Corps versus the Hulk.

Front Line, because it is Front Line, provides the reporters' perspective on war, and gives us some insight into Sally Floyd's family life. The backup stories are more fun (as usual.) "Costume Division: Death of an Android" continues, the murder investigation progresses, and Korg becomes my favorite Warbound alien. Finally, an extremely goofy "What If?" story. But the highlight of Front Line?

It's Earl! Don't go in there, Earl! You risk seriously bad karma points!

And... that was my comics week. Yes indeed...

On 12 September, 2007

[WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD]

So, yes, I am trying once again to keep up this blog. And I apparently get bored writing review-like posts the same way week after week. How do people do that? Last week I was full of thanks. This week -- well, I'm thankful this week, too (I'm always thankful for comic books) -- but this week...

Well, this past week, I read...

...Gen13 #12, in which we learn all about Percival Edmund Chang. Once upon a time, little Percy was a hard-working uber-genius who spoke formally, wore a sailor suit and got himself beat up a lot. Tired of that, he remade himself into Eddie, a slacking uber-genius who talks casual, avoids clothing wherever possible and gets himself beat up a lot. He also absorbs abilities and shows us that Fairchild's super-strength may be somehow connected to her breasts which begs the question: If she were to choose to undergo reduction surgery for whatever reason, would that be like Samson getting his hair trimmed? Anyway, this is always a fun book! It is! (Hopefully, next month there will be an adventure in outer space. There's no way we've seen the last of Doc Tomorrow in this title.) Now say hello to little Percy!


...Welcome to Tranquility #10, in which Tommy consults with Salabal the Jungle Princess who bakes hallucinogenic cookies and takes Tommy on an astral journey, where we learn that the Fountains of Youth are made possible by an evil television dance show host and that there is a key to defeating the zombies (who are still at large.) There is also a backup story in which we learn that the Liberty Snots used to be very like a super-powered Scooby Gang, complete with a cowardly dog whose current whereabouts are unknown. I think. The story involves attacking scarecrows. (There are attack scarecrows in this month's Gen13, too. Go figure.)

...Wonder Girl #1, in which Cassandra Sandsmark fights stray mythical monsters (remnants of that whole "Amazons Attack" thing); the stigma of being an Amazon (see previous parenthetical); and potential romance with Robin in a highly enjoyable, bright, animated style. All this, and a Save the Hydras protest to boot!


...Fantastic Five #5, in which an extra-mutated Franklin Richards leads his team to Doomstadt for a daring rescue attempt, most everybody gets to blow up a Doombot or three, Lyja gets to be armor, and Reed gets to have some sort of extreme mental showdown with Dr. Doom. This has been an entertaining mini-series, and I do hope there will be a sequel.


And that was my comics week of September the 12th!

Thursday Thank Yous

Thank you...

... Dan Slott and Ty Templeton for wrapping up your run on She-Hulk with a sweet goofy story that ties up loose ends without feeling rushed; for redeeming Mallory Book; and for nearly making me cry with awwww. (It is not mean-spirited either, so Kalinara might like it!)

... Rick Burchett, Cliff Rathburn, Andy Troy and Dave Sharpe for stuff like this:


... Gail Simone for Head; Panda; for not making me buy Countdown even though The All New Atom #15 is technically a tie-in; and also, Head.

... Fred Van Lente and Gurihiru for a colorful romp in Latveria; Doombots on spoked wheels; and convenient penpals.

... Brian Reed for writing Aaron Stack after Warren Ellis.

... Warren Ellis for Aaron Stack as we know him today.

... Greg Pak for balance between verbal sparring and general smashing; and Greg, Carlo Pagulayan, Jeffrey Huet, Chris Sotomayor and Joe Caramagna for this:


... Zeb Wells for the whole snake versus mongoose battle in Snakewoman: Tale of the Snake Charmer #3.