Thoughts on 28 March, 2007

(Yes, I do have thoughts once in a while. They are not necessarily original, but they are there. This format is not original, either. Everybody does this sooner or later. I am a sheep and that's nothing to be ashamed of! I hope.)

Anyway... Six comics this week, taking place in a total of four universes.

Blue Beetle #13

-This issue would make a great jumping-on point for people.

-Two pencillers. I didn't notice until I really read the credits. Actually, I didn't actually notice afterwards.

-Is the Justice League really cool with evil money-worshiping aliens? (The Justice League has a Green Lantern, right?) Is The Reach really, as Jaime says, that smooth?

Fantastic Four #544

-In what issue of Black Panther does Ororo beat up on Clor? I want to see that.

-T'Challa intimidates Tony Stark. Very nice. The Batman Effect is alive and well.

-Is this the first time capes have been worn in the Fantastic Four? Just wondering.

Silent War #3

-So Pietro is a completely irredeemably evil creep. Sad.

-Speaking of, I'm having trouble getting my head around Pietro's time travel methods. For some reason, longer jumps are easier to grasp.

-Note to self: Read X-Factor some day. Layla Miller is interesting. She's creepy in her own special way (and looks even creepier through Luna's eyes), but she lacks the evil. Maybe.

-Is madness infectious?

Snake Woman #9

-I actually like the cover this month. Definitely an improvement over the past few.

-If any characters ultimately survive this title, I will be shocked.

-This title's sole non-creepy characters are actually police. One detective in particular gives Jessica some perspective: A job doesn't have to be or define a person. Sometimes, when a job is ugly, a person can dissociate themselves from it. Jessica, unfortunately, has been letting the serpent define her. Does she realize this? Would it be better if she doesn't?

-If Raj is really one of the Faithful, he has to be one of the smartest. He does not wear the seal that triggers Jessica's transformation. (The seal is the trigger, Jessica is the gun, and the Snake Woman is a bullet that has yet to miss.)

-What the heck is Harker eating that's alive? Do we really want to know? Ew.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #40

-Switching between Scott Kolins and Mark Brooks every so many pages is slightly odd, but not too disorienting.

-There's a four-page ad for the 616 Fantastic Four. This sort of ad is always annoying, but at least this one is logically placed.

-Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ultimate Diablo could probably kick 616 Diablo's arse. Or would, you know, if they met. Regular Diablo needs potions. Ultimate Diablo has a magical eye, a better costume, and disturbing control over the classical elements. Both versions are tied when it comes to the 'stache.

-If your group wears colorful costumes, have strange abilities and otherwise looks outlandish, disguise your operation as a traveling circus. It might work for a few minutes. Just don't expect to enjoy it:

Wonder Woman #6

-A super-hero theme park. In context, that's just odd. (Also, green popcorn looks unappetizing.)

-The Super Real characters could totally take Maxi-Man.

-How long, exactly, has Diana been participating in human society? Does she really not get turnstiles?

Hulk and Power Pack

Some team-ups just seem completely natural, and Hulk and Power Pack is one of them. Assuming Banner sticks with transforming into the childlike savage Hulk, and not Mr. Fixit, anyway.

In this first issue, he does. Hulk and Power Pack #1 is a bright and inviting cartoon, and was especially appealing in an otherwise dark post-Civil War week. Power Pack battles loser villains while cracking all the required Hulk jokes and making it clear that, yes, they are kids. Smart kids, sure, but Jack in particular is obsessed with his hand-held video game, a running gag from beginning to end.

As for Bruce, he's in surprisingly good spirits. Why not? He's off to meet up with James Power, do some sciency things, and his super-powered colleagues aren't actively shooting him off into space. Live is pretty good, considering, but naturally the Hulk puts in an appearance too, and gets to smash a not-so-loser villain of his own.

The whole thing, being a kids' book, is fun and lacks in any real Hulk-related angst. Between that, and the bonus Mini Marvels story... If this ends up in Digest format, it'll make a great gift for one of my younger cousins.

Holy Low-Stakes Bet, Batman!

A while back, Kalinara and I were discussing Heroes over the world's most evil instant messaging service (AIM) and for some reason decided to make a bet on Zach's sexual orientation.

The Terms: Is Zach gay? I said he wasn't, Kalinara said he was.

The Stakes: The loser was to choose and review a book from the winner's pull list. The book was not be one that loser would normally pick up, and the review was to be at least 300 words in length. If Zach turned out to be bisexual, we would both lose. And we had an end-of-January deadline. I assumed that this meant January, 2007. (I'm flexible, though.)

The Outcome: The character was originally conceived to be gay. The network decided to make Zach straight, instead. We both won, but we also both lost, and in this case, losing seemed like more fun. Well, it did to me. Kalinara apparently agreed.

The Choice: I looked over Kalinara's pull list. (Hers is heavily weighted towards DC, mine towards Marvel. Not much overlap, which is helpful when it comes to stuff like this.) I'd already tried quite a few of the titles. A few others were coming out on January 31st, which really messes with the deadline, since I (originally) wanted to pick up a "fresh" comic for this exercise. That narrowed it down quite a bit. Seeing as how I'd never read a Batman comic (assuming that Catwoman doesn't count), Robin #158 seemed like a good bet. Well, it did until I read the solicits and realized that issue would be the second half of a two-issue story. But I stuck with the chosen title, and went with the first part of the story: Robin #157

Anyway... The Review:

I went into this knowing next to nothing about this or any Robin. Now I know that this particular Robin's name is Tim, and that he goes to high school. (I know he goes to high school because there’s a scene there during which he placates an angry girlfriend. He’s good at talking to girls. And keeping secrets. Guess that’s a DC thing.) Tim looks young for a high schooler, some how, but maybe that's more the art than anything. Or maybe Tim is just gifted (with more than the ladies) and talented. That would make sense. Why a gifted and talented youth would feel the need to rescue a cat from a tree, I don't know, but it makes for a fun story. This cat is a big orange furball with a lot of attitude and a big Cheshire grin. His scene with Alfred is priceless; clearly the good butler is not a fan of animals. Non-bat animals, anyway. (Where's Selina Kyle when you need her, huh? Or Holly or whoever?)

Right. The initial mission, being kind of lame (and Robin does acknowledge that it's kind of lame, though not in those exact words), explodes into something a great deal bigger. The mysterious cat leads Robin to dead pushers, disturbingly huge footprints, and various other damage, all of which suggests that there is a large, dangerous creature loose in Gotham City. (How often does Gotham have to deal with stuff like that?)

Naturally, a big fight ensues. Robin versus an angry dragon, and Robin is the underdog. This being a two-part story, a lizard remains at large, and a character I know even less about than Robin appears. Kid with blue skin, pointy ears, horns and way too much eye makeup. Goes by the name of Klarion, according to the cover. (What is it about guest stars showing up on the last page?)

Yeah, it’s a fun comic, and while I probably won’t continue to read the title (if only because my pull list needs trimming), I will at least be reading one more issue.