Umm

This house ad appears in Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #43:


I'm guessing that the answer is "no".

Another Great Moment with Susan Storm

This panel is from Fantastic Four #561:


I'm not sure why Alternate Future Sue seems so passive, but Regular Universe Sue is cutting quite a swath through the antagonists.

Take that, Dr. Banner, Jr.!

Great Moments with Susan Storm

So I was planning to post about America's culture of violence (or somesuch) in relation to Gail Simone's Gen 13, but it's going extremely slowly, so here we are with the cliched "Panel-in-Lieu-of-Content" drill.

This particular panel comes from Civil War #4. That was a while ago, wasn't it? Wow. Really did mean to post it earlier but hey, time flies... And Sue Storm moments like this never get old:



Previous Nifty Sue Moments (scroll down for them):
On 10 May, 2006
On 7 June, 2006
On 14 June, 2006
On 16 August, 2006

On 16 August, 2006

Okay, so I'm a month or so behind. But then, so is Marvel, and they are actually working with deadlines.

I have to live up to some linkage (Thanks, Kalinara), though, meaning it's time to get current and worry about catch-up later. It's usually the other way around, and that never works.

Ohh, I'm also having trouble settling on a new avatar. Sheep? Shulkie? Or should I go back to the porcupine? Or find a suitable Gert Yorkes image to crop and resize? Decisions, decisions...

Reading music: Leahy, Lakefield

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

Marvel

Nextwave #7: Warren Ellis tackles Marvel Mysticism, conjuring a demon from the Dank Dimension who eagerly accepts payment in United States currency and Suicide Girls. Demonic forces are unleashed, and of course Nextwave has to deal with them, and of course the demons explode beautifully. (It wouldn't be Nextwave without explosions!)

Before the explosions, though, we see: Dirk Anger sinking deeper into his drug-addled depression; see Monica and Elsa speculating about Captain America's sexual orientation; and Aaron Stack literally hooking himself up to a keg.

Memorable dialogue:

Elsa: What's our E.T.A. to Shotcreek?
Monica: Couple of hours. I just wish the Marketing Plan was more specific about this one.
Elsa: Yeah. "Magic deal." What do you think?
Monica: Could mean anything. Tabby said there was a "Magik" in the X-Men.
Elsa: Didn't Tabby also say that Magik was dead?
Monica: Like that matters. X-Men come back more than Jesus.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Runaways #18 & 19: Oh, Mr. Vaughan. How could you? Why did it have to be her of all characters? *sigh*

Still, hers is a hero's death, and while the Children of the Pride are diminished in number and spirit, they haven't lost their sense of purpose. They've gained a member in Xavin, too, and not a moment too soon, because there's demonic trouble ahead, and Victor still has to take a crash course in Leapfrog piloting.

The Runaways try to deal with their teammate's death, of course. One confides in the Leapfrog; another in Xavin; a third in Victor. Xavin him/herself is also trying to deal with the probable death of two planets, something that doesn't help matters.

It's a lot of good stuff to take in. As usual.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #32: Yes. The light at the end of the dark tunnel is here: the conclusion of the (aptly named) "Frightful" arc and the end of the Millar-Land run. Maybe the new team will bring back some of the magic Ellis and Bendis put into this title.

'Cause in spite of the mystical Atlantean ritual Dr. Doom (in Reed's body) uses to draw the alien out of Johnny Storm's torso, this is decidedly non-magical.

Reed (in Victor's body) deals with the Zombie Four using maggots. (Brilliant!) And Victor eventually takes back his own body in order to play hero, capturing the world-eating alien within himself and leaping into the zombieverse. Boy! Zombies, explosions, and aliens, but... Nah. It's just a little too much. And it's over. Yes.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Eh.

Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #2: Between this and Nextwave, it is Stuart Immonen week! Lovely! And energetic! And fun! (Let's review. Immonen: Fun. Land: Not so much. Or in the words of my AP English class not so way back when: "Beowulf good, Grendel bad.")

Anyway, Annual #2 goes back to the fun and the magic that got me started reading FF in the first place. It's the return of Dr. Molevic, the terribly disgusting Mole Man, plus an introduction to a few of the other Think Tank members. This little group of geniuses is led by none other than Strange Josie, slightly misandric inventor of the Stealth Corset.

Ultimate Mole Man, though. He has a thing for young scientific genius. Specifically, he has a thing for kidnapping them and dictating to them his life story. His hilarious bio recounts early scientific endeavors and devolving his baby sister into a lungfish.

And on. He has quite the bio. The story fluctuates between Mole Man's narrative, and monster-bashing a la Fantastic Four. The Think Tank crew, meanwhile, becomes another heroic team, riding to the rescue with Lemurian-style death weapons. There's even a moral. (Sort of.)

Thank you Mr. Carey and Mr. Immonen. You both rock.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Oni Press

Wasteland #2 focuses on a brewing religious conflict. The wandering protagonists struggle to live off the land, and through it all they worship "Mother Sun" and "Father Moon." (Talk about your symbolic role-reversals. I love it already.) At Abi's request, the village Sun-Singer recounts the legend of A-Ree-Yass-I, an apocalyptic Noah's Arc style tale featuring the aforementioned celestial gods. A flood, an almost empty sky, and a poisoned ocean (among other things) set the people on the path to redemption. That's what the Sunners believe.

But the Sunners are heathens in the eyes of Newbegin's ruling church. And the church is not to be trifled with. Even if the villagers can survive their trek through the desert, will they survive their destination?

It'll be worth finding out.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Week's most memorable moment: I am a sucker for badass Sue moments, like this one from Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #2.

Tentative checklist for 23 August, 2006
(*Indicates a title I've preordered.)

Blue Beetle #6
Elephantmen #2
Women Of Marvel Poster Book (???)

On 14 June, 2006

This week's pile includes 1 (one) DC comic, 1 (one) IDW comic, and 5 (five) Marvel comic books. That's over 71% Marvel and around these parts, that's not atypical. I think I need to use my new Photoshopping skills to make a... badge or something. A Marvel-centric Blog badge. Yes, that would be fun.

Reading music: Liz Carroll and John Doyle: In Play

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

DC

Ex Machina Special #2: The Machine vs. Animal slugfest concludes with a bloody confrontation in a Manhattan animal shelter. The insane Pherson has murdered a police officer and fed him to the pound puppies. He is also holding two workers hostage in order to draw out a somewhat worse-for-wear Mitchell and kill him with said hounds. Needless to say, the whole thing ends messily, and then we're back to the "present," where a conflicted mayor shares his views on the death penalty with a hard-hitting radio host.

This really became more of a "former superhero looks back on his past with regret" story than a Man versus Nature tale. That's okay, too. It's still a good read.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Sure.

IDW

Supermarket #3: Streetwise, Pella is not. She's wanted by the rival gangs her parents represented, and she has only Beta, a Yakuza and a friend, to help her. Well, him and her parents' considerable funds. (How'd she get those funds back, anyway? I'm kind of confused about that; I thought she was locked out of their accounts or something.) She's still obsessed with money. She "look[s] down and wonder[s] what's the current market value of the square foot of pavement [she stands] on" in the richest sector of the city. She ponders wealth to no end, but has no clue about how to go incognito, to stay alive. She is, in fact, learning the real cost of survival. It's a sharp learning curve, Pella comes to see, as Beta kills one of his own to protect her.

The issue ends on a nice West Side Story note, which is actually not at odds with the overall tone of the book. We'll see how it leads into the conclusion, and how much Pella actually grows as a character next month (or whenever the fourth and last issue comes out.) At least, I hope that's what we'll see.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Marvel

Civil War #2: Now, I can't help but wonder whether Tony Stark has staged the Doombot attack on the Big Apple. I mean, Reed Richards and Hank Pym are right there as part of the team that takes it out off-panel, and ever since Stark set up the battle between Titanium Man and Spider-Man, I just don't trust the guy. The ends don't justify these means, Tony! Oi. Sure, Dr. Doom is back in action somewhere, but it still seems like the odds of a set up are damn good.

Meanwhile... Reed's predicting the Apocalypse if Superhuman activities aren't brought under control (and upsetting Sue due to his seeming lack of interest in Johnny's welfare). Tony has doubts. A secret identity is revealed. (For that spoiler, check out some of the mainstream news organizations.) Lots of things are going on, but the main thing is Captain America's new underground safehouse network for illegal vigilantes. The camps are neatly established, and the plot is moving right along in tidy steps.

Also, and I know I don't comment much on artwork, but still... I really dig Steve McNiven now.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Four #30: Click here for a special review.

Marvel Romance Redux: Love is a Four Letter Word: "Hot Alien Love." Just what it sounds like. A female "Homeworld Security" agent falls in love (?) with a Lustarian and escapes Earth to join him on his homeworld. Make of that what you will.

"Buffy Willow: Agent of A.D.D." Another secret agent. This one has a bad case of (you guessed it) A.D.D. The narration is funny, so this one has some redeeming value.

"Mice and Money." Two disgusting people with a rodent fetish get together. Their world is filled with people who enjoy rodents. Mostly as cuisine, but still. Rodents. It's like a twisted version of Pokemon wherein the losing Rattatas and Pikachus end up in the oven.

"Love Me, Love My Clones!" A technophile falls for an android after breaking it off with half a dozen ever-lovin' clones.

"They Said I Was... Insane!" And they'd be right.

Do I Know What I Just Read? ???
Do I Care? ???

Marvel Westerns Two Gun Kid: Matthew Hawk goes werewolf hunting in the present and the past, the premise being that a lycanthrope's curse has followed the gunslinger from 1876 to 2006. And it has touched the current quarry. At least, that's what the Two-Gun Kid believes.Westerns really aren't my cup of tea (unless they're sci-fi westerns, in which case they are très cool), but this is a Dan Slott story. That's probably the reason I was able to get through it at all.

Haven't read the back-up stories yet. I will eventually, but to be honest, the dialect is a bit of a turn-off. Maybe it's just my northern ears. Or maybe the wannabe "Texas cowboy" President's ruined it for me. Probably a combination of factors, but what can you do, right?

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes, what I read of it.
Do I Care? Eh.

Ms. Marvel #4: Is total gibberish just shorthand for someone losing his or her mind, if the reader isn't looking through the crazy-person's eyes? Because, really, do people suffering from psychosis actually say stuff like "I cannot cartel any primrose?" Aside from bad poets on drugs? Just curious...

Anywho, Carol's just sort of starting to recover from her latest ordeal, but she has to deal with her overbearing publicist (who is sort of scary), and an evil other-dimensional sorcerer. That would be where Dr. Strange comes in. The sorcerer, Sir Warren Traveler, possesses the Eye of Watoomb; seems to be after the Wand that goes with the Eye; is somehow connected to Carol via the House of M event (They did actually refer to it as an "event."); and is more than a match for Dr. Strange. In other words, he's scary.

But still not as scary as Sarah Day.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Kinda sorta.

Week's most memorable moment(s): The sweetest Infinite Possibility is the last page and a half or so of Four #30, but this I.P. is a great deal more entertaining...

Tentative checklist for 21 June, 2006
All-Star Superman #4
Giant-Size Hulk #1
Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allen Poe #2
Manhunter #23
The Thing #8 (Last issue. Sigh.)

On 7 June, 2006

There is a great little new and used bookstore kitty-corner from my LCS. I've been a regular there (the bookstore) for, well, years now. I'd been neglecting it of late, due to the distraction that is the comic book store, but I need a little more prose in my life. So back to the bookstore! (Er, also, they've expanded their inventory to include CDs, LPs, and a couple short boxes of miscellaneous comics, from Batman to Witchblade to that copy of Gumby's Summer Fun Special. Heh.) Anywho, I may start writing some "Project Prose" entries that may or may not be comic-book related. (That book of Wonder Woman short stories is, Charlotte Brontë's Shirley is most decidedly not.)

So, right... I best finish these silly blurbs and get to bed. Yesh...

Reading music: Serenity soundtrack

--Warning: Possible spoilers ahead--

Dark Horse

Archenemies #3: I'm sorry to say I never wrote in a letter to the Archenemies team. Should have. Maybe I still will. These guys certainly deserve all the kudos they get and plenty they don't.

Drew and company deliver a fast-paced, fun story, and what could be a candidate for the most violent funeral ever. Secret identities are compromised, major misunderstandings continue, new romance is (possibly) in the air, and Ethan actually displays a level of nobility. Not intelligence so much (That's Vincent's area), but heroism nevertheless. It's a lot of story packed into one little comic. Pity this is only a mini-series.

It's probably too late to shoot off an e-mail, but I might just do so anyway.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

DC

52 Week 1 & 2: Curiousity got the better of me, and it was a light week, so I went ahead and picked up the first two weeks of 52. They manage to cram a lot of different subplots into these things. Booster Gold's android's issues, the Question and Montoya, that... steel guy and his daughter, The Dibny mystery... Geez. Between that and the frequency of the publication, it's a little daunting.

So it's back to my original plan. Pay attention and pick up issues that involve Blue Beetle, but otherwise, just wait for the trade.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Kinda...

Wonder Woman #1 is a fast read with slick (but not soulless) art and very, very handy captions introducing key characters. In other words, a heckuvan introduction for a new reader.

This makes two of the big three. Still haven't touched Batman (not sure why), but between Clark and Donna, we're two for two thus far.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Actually, yeah

Marvel

Civil War: Front Line #1 is a three-parter. The first story, "Embedded," follows journalists Ben Urich and Sally Floyd (both interesting characters) as they work to report on the Civil War for their respective newspapers. Ben is frustrated with his right wing rag (The Daily Bugle), as he feels it's not covering the real meat of the story. Meanwhile, Sally gets an interview and a hot news tip from Spider-Man as she works to stay on the wagon (or not) and cover the liberal side of the big story. It's not a shocker of a story, but it works, and Sally's conversation with Spidey is the highlight of the thing.

The second story, "The Accused," follows the discovery and arrest of the one New Warrior who barely survived the Stamford disaster. It's not pretty.

The third and last part of the comic perplexes me. It attempts to relate the WWII Japanese concentration camps to Marvel's Civil War. This should work. Good people unjustly rounded up for security's sake just because they happen to superficially resemble the bad guys? Sure. Yeah, that fits. There are parallels, it's not a huge stretch. But... Spiderman swinging around and being angsty? I'm just not seeing the real connection. Ah, well...

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yeah...

Fantastic Four: First Family #4: And this is the issue where they all lose it, in their own separate ways. Yes, let the squabbles begin.

Really, the cover about says it all. (Woohoo, my first attempt at a cover analysis. Er, does it count if you've already read the story?)

There we have Reed, his back to us, clad in his unstable molecule uniform. All blue, all business, gazing into the void. To his left is Sue, the really only member of the Four in civilian clothing. She stands rather stiffly, holding one arm with the other. She's very stressed, and superheroing is hardly her first concern. Opposite Sue is Johnny, flamed on, almost smiling, heels on the edge of the platform, probably ready to take off. He's the only one actively using his new power, the only one who really enjoys it. Ben, nearest the front, stands hunched, lamenting his condition.

The platform itself is cracked four ways, though not beyond repair. The pieces may be coming together or drifting apart. It's hard to tell. The team stands facing outwards. We know why this really is, but that configuration is also a practically instinctive defensive position. If they can keep that platform together (and, again, we know they do), they'll be well equipped to fight for what they hold dear.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Week's most memorable moment(s): Again, Sue rocks the force field in Fantastic Four: First Family #4.

Tentative checklist for 14 June, 2006
Civil War #2
Ex Machina Special #2
Green Lantern Corps #1 (Probably against my better judgement, but we'll see. Maybe somebody will talk me into it...)
Marvel Romance Redux: Love is a Four Letter Word
Marvel Westerns Two Gun Kid
Ms. Marvel #4

On 10 May, 2006

When I go to my LCS, usually mid-afternoon on Wednesday of late, there typically aren't many people there. I usually just chat with S. who, as it turns out, is a Marvel kinda guy. T., a DC guy, is cool, too, and knows what I like to read better than I do by now, but S. and I have more to talk about. At least, that's how it seems.

This week, though, I chatted a bit with another customer instead. He was a middle-aged (I think) guy, wearing an ID card from a local hospital (already, a good first impression!), just browsing the comics on the wall as I was. Comfortable guy. So I asked him what I now realize is probably just an idiot newbie question, which I swear I'll never ask again: "So, are you a Marvel, DC, or indie guy?" Or maybe it was "fan," not "guy." Something like that. Whatever. You get the gist. Dumb question however it's phrased. He's a DC, some Marvel. He asked me in turn. "Mostly Marvel." We chatted a bit, mostly about Infinite Crisis, how to understand it I might have to pick up the first Crisis. He pulled Crisis on Multiple Earths 4 off the shelf, flipped through it. Volume 4? Yeesh. He explained that it really wasn't a part of Crisis on Infinite Earths, but... still. (S. is probably right; there are better things for me to spend my money on, meaning things I actually care about.) Anyway... A quick chat about how many layers the DC 'verse has, how much simpler Marvel's is. I came off sounding like a simple-minded idiot but... eh. (I don't want to have to keep track of three competing Captain Americas on a regular basis. That's not wrong, is it?)

So I went to check out, with my three Marvels and two indies. He followed shortly thereafter, a copy of Infinite Crisis #7 proudly in hand. I sort of showed him what I had, but with that She-Hulk cover in there... Okay, yeah, awkward.

At that, I paid, and went on my embarrassed little way, back to the mind-numbing boredom of student work, and the anticipation of reading my modest little haul.

FYI. On an unrelated note, David of Yet Another Comics Blog is generously holding Free Comic Book Month 2, and there is still time to enter.

Reading music: Liz Carroll and John Doyle: In Play

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

Image

Lions, Tigers and Bears Vol 2. #1 : Oh, gosh, that's adorable. Living stuffed animals and good little children versus the evil beasties. I think this might be something worth passing on to my younger cousins. Might even be worth finishing out, since it's a mini-series, not an ongoing. Hard not to enjoy this. So mind-numbingly cute...

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Sort of, yeah.

Marvel

Fantastic Four: First Family #3: Okay. Sue displays force-field powers early on (and is therefore not totally useless), in a way that actually fits with the established origin. Plus, it's awesome. There's enough hostage-bait Sue in the early Kirby/Lee days. We don't need any more of that in this day and age.

Not sure what to make of Reed's adversary, especially since he shows up (sort of) in the middle of a big fight with that giant iguana monster. (It was a most excellent battle.)

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

She-Hulk 2 #7: Let it be first noted that Dan Slott has found a way to make the Hank Pym joke without coming across as crass. Hardly the highlight of the issue, but still worth noting.

But really, on to the comic. Starfox is creepy. Everybody knows this. He is, apparently, endowed with enough power to turn a straight man gay. Not (in the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld) that there's anything wrong with that, at least not the sexual orientation aspect. But the turning? There is something awfully wrong about that. I don't care who the victim was. But Eros of Titan gets what's coming to him, as does She-Hulk's gamma charger in a related event, and the whole scene is more satisfying than it really has any right to be. (Needless to say, Starfox may not be wooing anybody for a while, in the event that he ever does again.)

Meanwhile, on the romantic entanglement front, Jen is still deeply in love with John Jameson to the point of submission, which scares the Wasp; and Mallory is all over Awesome Andy like Wanda on Vision, which scares me. The whole thing also disturbs Pug and creeps out Stu Cicero, whose metacommentary is starting to make me wonder if Stu isn't the Marvel incarnation of Dan Slott.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care?


Edit/Note: This issue has generated a bit of controversy. Not a huge surprise, given the subject matter, but it's also not something I really want to get into, at least not here, in this blog. So...

LET'S MOVE ON, SHALL WE?

You know, I'm really not sure what to make of X-Men: The 198 #5. The ending is ambiguous at best. Okay, let's recap. A big fight, a showdown with Absolon, Johnny Dee working behind the scenes against Absolon and his crew, the apparent death and possible rebirth (or evolution or something) of Absolon.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Not really, no.
Do I Care? Er... No.

SLG Publishing

The Cemetarians #1: I love a good horror (or horrorish) story, but this one just didn't click for me somehow. An evil mermaid in the sewers as a mastermind behind an evil pyramid scheme involving a fake eternal youth elixer made from manitees? Not really my cup of tea, I guess. Hrm. The running manitee gag was fun, though.

Do I Know What I Just Read? I'm not sure. I think so.
Do I Care? Wish I could say I did. But no.

Week's most memorable moment(s): Sue's unexpected yet lifesaving force field in Fantastic Four: First Family #3.



Tentative checklist for 17 May, 2006

Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allan Poe #1
Marvel Legacy: The 1970s #2
Ms. Marvel #3
Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #3