Indestructible Hulk #4

To contact us Click HERE
Two reviews on tap for tonight, both of them from the awesome Mark Waid!  The first review is going to be Hulk, a character I've never been a fan of... (He's never been too fond of you either...) At least before Waid became the writer.  Now?  Now it's safe to say that I'm becoming interested in Hulk. (Jeez... buy him dinner first, X.)  There's a line I never thought I'd be typing!  So yeah, let's see if Waid can keep the magic up here...

Indestructible Hulk #4:

Summary: We find out that SHIELD has given Bruce Banner his own little town to live in...  Well, sort of, as it's a former atomic testing site in Nevada and is filled with mannequins instead of people...  And yes, that is a little creepy. (A little?! Wait til he starts dating one.) Bruce meets up with his science team, but is called away by Maria Hill, who needs the Hulk's help in dealing with Attuma, who has claimed the entire Pacific Ocean as his sovereign domain. (He must have an amazing realtor...) Bruce is loaded up into a missile and fired into the ocean, where he comes face to face(s) with Attuma and his sea creatures.  Unfortunately for Hulk, one of the sea creatures gets a hold of him and drags him deep into the drink, (The drink? Who are you, Davy Jones?) with no air, no light and crushing pressure. (That's how I feel when I read a Scott Lobdell comic.)

Thoughts: Eh.  This issue was solid and all, but it felt oddly rushed when compared to the first three issues of this series...  We bounce from Bannerville,(And he calls Tony Stark conceited.) to Bruce meeting his science team, to a Hulk mission at breakneck (Gwen Stacy, Never forget!) speed.  It was good and all, but I kind of wanted to see Bruce interact more with his science team. (You would, you nerd.)  Instead it was, "Hey Bruce, here's your team!  Say hello and good-bye, you have a mission!"  So yeah, like I said, a bit rushed.  But rushed or not, this was still a good, solid(if unspectacular) read.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Hope ya can swim, big guy!

Daredevil #23

To contact us Click HERE
One more review for the night, and as promised, it is the second Mark Waid written comic of the night.  Yes boys and girls, it's time to see what's up with Daredevil.

Daredevil #23: 

Summary: This issue gets underway with some guy trying to recreate the accident that gave Daredevil his hyper-senses using convicts and radioactive waste   So far he's been unsuccessful...  From there we head to DD, who is swinging around the city with Foggy Nelson, who was awaiting the results of his medical tests.  The good times are interrupted when DD hears a bunch of people screaming for help, causing him to take off to see what the trouble was.  It turns out the man from earlier has released a bunch of convicts with super-senses into Manhattan, and they are going berserk due to all of the sights and sounds.  DD manages to corral all of the convicts, and realizes that somebody out there was taking personal shots at him.  This issue ends with DD(now as Matt Murdock) meeting up with Foggy at the doctor's office, where Foggy receives some very bad news...

Thoughts: This was a very strong comic.  As usual.  I really don't have any complaints here...  I guess I was a bit confused by the scene at the beginning of this one, since it turned out that the mystery man DID succeed in creating his own Daredevils(kind of).  But the stuff with Matt and Foggy?  The fight between DD and the DD-lites?  DD's thoughts throughout this issue?  All really good stuff.

Score: 8 out of 10.

I knew it!!

Red Hood and The Outlaws #17

To contact us Click HERE
Hey guys, JT here(and X! Yep, I'm crashing another review!!) with my second review of the week, and it's Red Hood and the Outlaws! Now you all know how I feel about Lobdell's work as of late(hint: it sucks!!!), but I figured with him on his way out(huzzah!!!) and James Tynion IV on his way in, I'll read the last few issues as I await Tynion's work, so let's see how things work for Jason after the events of Death of The Family.

Red Hood and The Outlaws #17

Summary: This issue basically focused on Jason dealing with the fallout of the recent Joker events(Huh, that makes sense... In a Lobdell book!?  The hell?!?). He sends an automated car for Roy and Kory, to bring them to meet with him at Wayne Manor, as he goes around the house tying up loose ends. Jason talks to Damian for a bit about how he knows how Damian feels, trying to live up to the Robin legacy and basically tries to bond but Damian(his son!!!!!) doesn't wanna hear it from Jason and brushes him off. Roy and Kory arrive and are happy to see Jason, with Kory hugging Jason and flying him into the air while Damian and Roy waste no time insulting each other. Jason invites Kory in but she thinks she should wait outside, obviously not wanting to run into Dick, who confronts Jason upon his entrance and tells him to promise he'll watch over Starfire, to which Jason agrees(what is she, a stray cat or something?). From there Jason runs into Bruce in the Batcave, and tells Bruce that Superman said Bruce vouched for him, to which Bruce says he doesn't approve of Jason's methods but he can't argue with his results(Bruce would never say that!). Jason then asks Bruce is Joker was right about creating him(dammit Lobdell, stop with this already!), to which Bruce says Joker didn't make him, neither did Bruce, Jason made himself, which Jason seemingly takes to heart. Outside, Arsenal and Robin have finally stopped attacking each other, so Roy throws a football to Damian, and he blocks it, not knowing how to play catch...even though he played with Bruce in Batman and Robin... but... you know Lobdell doesn't read other people's stuff(HA! He took the joke right out of my mouth.). Jason also runs into Alfred, who basically tells him he always has a place in that home and he's always welcome there. As Jason leaves he finally puts on his helmet(big mistake), which he'd recovered from the batcave, and suddenly a hologram message from the Joker pops up on it. He says Jason played a joke on The Joker by coming back from the dead, and he's not laughing. He says since Jason is so determined to be his own man, he'll start him with a clean slate, and Jason's mask releases some kind of acid that burns Jason's face, causing him to scream which brings Arsenal, Starfire, Robin, Batman and Alfred running. The issue ends as Batman removes Jason's helmet, showing his face to be badly burned as a result of The Joker getting the last laugh(ugh...).

Thoughts: FINALLY! This is what I've wanted since Jason came back. We've seen Jason run into the family a few times, his quick team-up with Batman (Dick) and Robin pre-New 52, him helping out during Court of Owls and the Death of the Family storylines, although he mostly sat in the background with his arms folded, and his awesome reuniting with the other three Robins last year, right before Damian decided to challenge each Robin to prove he was the best. But this was the first time we got Jason at the manor, feeling like a part of the family. He got to play big brother to Damian, he had a talk with Dick and we got a bit more of the Dick/Starfire mystery fleshed out, he finally had a talk with Bruce, no helmet, no cowl, just Bruce and Jason talking, and Bruce, in his own way, kind of supported Jason. I will say it seemed kind of uncharacteristic for Bruce to say "I may not agree with your methods, but I can't argue with the results." to Jason, that seems more like something Bruce would think but never say(thank you!), but that aside, I enjoyed them finally talking. And the thing I've wanted since Jason came back after Under The Hood, we finally got to see him talking with Alfred, which was a great moment between those two when Alfred said with everything that's happened, Jason is still always welcome there(Damned Alfred! That's not his house, who's he to just invite people to live there!?). That's why I enjoyed this comic. I even enjoyed the stuff with Damian and Arsenal(not me, it didn't click like Steph and Damian, it felt kind of forced), as well as Joker getting the last laugh because it fits his character. I knew there was a possibility something would happen to Jason's face due to future solicitations and the fact Joker painted in his mask a few issues back, and while I'd hate if Jason is disfigured now or has to wear that helmet all the time now, so much stuff I liked happened in this issue, it's easy to ignore that for now and see what happens(check out JT! What an optimist!). All in all, I was happy to see Jason be a member of the family, and here's hoping it leads to him popping up more in Nightwing, Batman, and other things that make the character seem less like the black sheep of the group(But that's who he is, the black sheep of the group! I don't know if I'd want to see Jason turning into a mini version of Dick or Tim. But yeah, for a Lobdell comic, this was WAY better than I would have expected!).

Score: 7/10. 

Damian: That hat looks stupid. Who are you supposed to be, Redneck Man?
Arsenal: Name's Arsenal, and whats stupid, is a ten year old boy, who thinks I won't kick his ass because he's a ten year old boy.

Alpha: Big Time #1

To contact us Click HERE
First new review of the week is a comic I've been looking forward to for months now!  Literally months!  Yep, it's Alpha time!! (And JT Time!)  For those of you not in the know, Alpha is basically what Peter Parker would be if he were more realistic.  I mean, I love Peter as much as the next guy, (Not if the next guy's me!) but come on, nobody is THAT altruistic! (I am...)  No, Alpha is what most of us would be if we were to get powers.  Not a saint like Peter, not a crazed murderer like the Punisher, but a flawed person who wants to do what's right.  Enough talk, I have SO been waiting to get my hands on this one...  Let's dig in!!

Alpha: Big Time #1: 

Summary: We get things started here by finding out that Alpha's parents ended up splitting up, which led to Alpha and his mom moving to Pittsburgh.  Basically Alpha's life at school is even worse now than it had been, as instead of being ignored by his fellow students, he's being bullied. (Who wouldn't bully an Ex-Hero?)  So yeah, losing his powers has ramped up the sucktitude (nice vocabulary, buddy...) in his life tenfold.  However, Alpha is met by Dr Peter Parker, (picker of peppered pickled peppers) who tells him he wanted to give him his powers back, provided Alpha acted more responsibly with them.  In actuality Doc Parker (who is now Dr. Octopus, for those of you living under rocks) wants to harness the power of the Parker Particles like the real Peter never could. (Somewhere, Hank Pym is so jealous.) So now Alpha has 10% of his awesome powers back!  Huzzah!  Alpha celebrates by taking a flight around the city where he assists some firemen in putting out a fire. He then hears a woman cry out for help and interrupts a mugging in process.  Alpha (After hilariously calling himself Beta...) warns the mugger to back off, but being a criminal, the mugger isn't exactly bright (although he is surprisingly up on current events...) and decides to shoot a gun at Alpha.  Alpha easily deflects the bullet and punches the mugger in the face.  End of problem, no? (Yes?) Well, unfortunately for Alpha, he uses too much power in that blow and apparently kills the mugger! (Bet you're regretting that Punisher line from earlier now...)

Thoughts: Oh, you KNOW what I thought about this one! (Bet he tells us anyway...) Of course I loved it!  Come on, it's an Alpha story!!  Even though Dan Slott isn't writing this mini, I never had any doubt that this comic would be good, as Joshua Hale Fialkov has proven himself to be a good writer in his own right with DC's "I, Vampire". (And the new writer of Green Lantern Corps and Red Lantern)  And he proved here that he knows what he's doing by crafting a good, strong, engaging tale.  We see how Alpha is doing, learn that his life sucks, he gets his powers back, we find out why he gets his powers back, he tries to do good with them, and naturally, because he's Alpha, screws up.  I seriously couldn't ask for much more.  So yes Alpha fans, this was a very good comic, and I am eagerly anticipating the second issue. (You're not the only one!)

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Alpha is the greatest super-hero ever.  There, I said it.

Nova #1

To contact us Click HERE
Second review of the week is the first issue of the new Nova series...  Now, I LOVED the old DnA Nova series, and have been a fan of Richard Rider for quite a few years now.  This comic?  It isn't the Richard Rider Nova...  It looks to be a brand new Nova.  So, who is he?  How did he get the powers of the Nova Force?  And most importantly, will this suck?  We shall find out soon enough...

Nova #1: 

Summary: We get things started by meeting Sam Alexander and his father, Jesse.  Jesse is a high school custodian, but likes to tells stories about back when he was a member of a select group of Nova Corpsmen called Supernovas.  Besides talking about his space exploits, Jesse also likes to drink, so Sam doesn't believe a word that comes out of his father's mouth.  His younger sister, Kaelynn, however, believes all of her father's outlandish tales.  One day Sam comes home and discovers that his father had vanished, which angers him since he thinks his father had cut out on the rest of the family.  Sam takes off, but takes a nasty fall from his skateboard and ends up in the hospital for several days.  One day he wakes up and finds Rocket Raccoon and Gamora in his hospital room.  The two Guardians of the Galaxy tell Sam they had some news concerning his father...

Thoughts: So Sam's dad wasn't a delusional lush after all it seems.  This was an interesting issue for me...  On one hand, the story never really grabbed me...  It wasn't really what I'd call interesting.  Jeph Loeb set stuff up, we met Sam and his family, but none of it was riveting   On the other hand, I liked all of the characters here.  I liked Sam and his family.  So yeah, I was into the characters, but not the story.  Not yet anyway.  I'm gonna guess that Sam finds out that his father died during the Thanos Imperative, and he'll be asked to step in and fill his shoes...  Probably.  I mean, that seems to be the way this one is setting up.  And if that's the case, I'm fine with that.  But regardless, I'll be sticking around for the next few issues to see what comes next.

Score: 7 out of 10.

That raccoon's eyes sure do creep me out...

Captain America #4

To contact us Click HERE
One more review from X tonight, and it should be a good one.  I'll end the night with one of my favorite Marvel Now! titles, none other than Captain America.  Here's hoping this issue is as good as the past two have been...

Captain America #4: 

Summary: This issue picks up 11 years after the events of the last issue.  Yes, 11 years!  Anyway, Cap and Ian are out hunting for the rest of the tribe that took them in all those years ago.  It seems that Cap has become the head of the tribe, which is no big shock.  He's also been trying to fight off the ever growing influence of the virus Zola injected him with.  However, Cap and Zola's memories have been mixing, and Cap fears that Zola was trying to use his mind to get at Ian and the rest of the tribe.  While out on the hunt, Cap and Ian come across a bike with an operational map, which Cap hopes will lead him to Zola and Earth. Unfortunately, Zola's virus overpowers Cap and knocks him out, at which time we see a lengthy flashback from Cap's past.  When Cap comes to he's horrified to hear the Zola face in his chest talking to Ian.  The Zola virus has told Ian all about his heritage(that Ian was actually Zola's child), and was claiming that Cap was a crazed thief.  Cap wraps the face up in a sheet to quiet it(HA!) and tells Ian that it was true that he had come from Zola, but insists that the two of them head to Earth and get the Avengers, who Cap hopes will end Zola's threat once and for all.  From there we head to Zola himself and find Ian's sister, Jet Black.  Unlike Ian, Jet Black, having been raised by Zola is ruthless and murderous.  This issue ends with Jet Black having learned that Cap was still alive from a captive and swearing revenge on his.

Thoughts: As usual, this was a strong comic.  Rick Remender can almost do no wrong here!  I love Cap's plight, I love Ian, and I love the whole setting of this comic.  My only complaint was the rather long flashback sequence, which was good and all, but I'd have preferred to remain in the present with Ian and Cap.  Anyway, this issue seems to be slowly bringing us to the end of this storyline, and I for one am REALLY intrigued to see how things shake out...  Will Ian become the next Bucky?  Will Ian even leave Dimension Z with Cap at all?  And what will happen when Cap comes face to face with Ian's twisted reflection, Jet Black?  Good stuff here, with more good stuff to come!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Damned gabby face!!

Superior Spider-Man #4

To contact us Click HERE
Hey guys, It's your favorite blogger, The Superior JT(and your REAL favorite blogger, The Amazing X!), reviewing the Superior Spider-Man. So, hence my superiority(don't you mean MY superiority?), let's skip all this intro nonsense and get to it!(what a lazy intro... For shame...)

Superior Spider-Man #4

Summary: This issues starts off with The Superior Spider-Man saying how much better he's done than his predecessor, managing to stop even more crimes than Spidey by using his Spider-Bots and catching crimes in areas that Peter didn't patrol, as well as getting criminals to turn themselves in because their afraid of what he's done to Boomerang and Vulture. Otto does shirk his responsibilities when a fire is reported by one of his bots, he tells them to report it to the fire department, as he has somewhere to be. Peter tries to tell him to go back(why should he, it's not his job!), but instead Otto heads to Aunt May's therapy, and she's happy he's turned his life around and is showing up more(Poor Peter... His decrepit aunt likes Ock more...). He pulls a doctor to the side and asks when Aunt May will walk again but he says surgery isn't good for someone her age, and she'll use the cane for the rest of her life. Doc, obviously perturbed, heads to Horizon and invents a device that hooks up to your spine and brain, which allows the injured to walk again, and he wants to test on Aunt May. Obviously, this doesn't fly with Modell, but Parker says he's a doctor, to which after a quick mind scan he realizes he's not, as he's one credit short. A livid Parker storms off, eagerly wanting to be known as "Doctor", once again, so he heads to back to college to get his last credit! Ock's Advanced Physics class is actually taught by an old classmate of his, who he calls a buffoon(cause he is!). Meanwhile, the completely emotional sociopath known as Massacre, manages to break out of Ravencroft Asylum, leaving many dead in his wake. When the Superior Spider-Man finds out, and that it's Peter's fault for not taking him down, he heads after Massacre, while the emotionless villain continues his killing streak. Spidey heads to meet Uatu Jackson (Who I'm starting to think is Miles Morales in the 616...)(I sure hope that's not true, because JT will never let us hear the end of it if it is...) and asks to use his facial recognition software that he let the Wraith use, telling Uatu he can keep his secret. Just when things can't get even more wild, the issue comes to a close as we see someone say he can keep people safe from the Spider, as he knows all of his tricks and knows how to end him, as we see the return of The Green Goblin(YEAH!!!)!

Thoughts: Holy crap this issue was great. First things first, I love the character of Massacre. Dan Slott has done a lot with Spidey, but I think Massacre may have been one of his best ideas. His ambivalence to killing, his weird kind of sense of humor in this issue, I just love that character(Is it because you see yourself in him, JT?  Is it!?). So Massacre is always a plus in my book, but you add in Dr. Octopus being pissed he's no longer a Doctor, returning to school, and taking a CLASS while being Peter Parker... if that's not ripe for comedy (and him saving the class eventually) then I don't know what is. Now Doc making a pseudo skeleton for Aunt May, while creepy and sweet at the same time(the best kind of creepy!), was also great, especially with him wanting to test it on his Aunt, makes it look like Peter is slipping into the deep end, I can easily see Peter coming back to no job, no Avengers and... a Doctorate? Plus, Gobby is back, and Gobby vs. Superior Spidey.... words can't explain how excited I am for that. If there were any slow parts of this issue, It'd probably have been the stuff with Uatu, but everything else was so spot on, I can't complain(sure you can! I would!!).

Score: 9/10.  

Superior Spider-Man: I give you my word Jameson. I will end this man!

New Comic Day! February 20th edition.

To contact us Click HERE
Hey there all!  X here to kick off another New Comic Day!  Huzzah!!  This looks like another strong week, as there are several comics that I have huge expectations for coming out today.  Here's the books I'll be picking up a bit later...  Hellblazer #300, Nightwing #17, Red Hood and the Outlaws #17, Saga #10, Alpha #1(!), Captain America #4, Captain Marvel #10, Daredevil #23, Dark Avengers #187, Indestructible Hulk #4, Nova #1, Superior Spider-Man #4, Thor: God of Thunder #5, Ultimates #21, X-Factor #252.  So yeah, a big 15 book week for yours truly.  I should have 3 comics up for review come Thursday evening, and yes, one of those books will definitely be Alpha #1.  Because Alpha rules.  Besides Thursday, as always, I'll have reviews up on Saturday and Monday too.  And now it's time for me to hand things off to The Man, The Myth, The Legend...  Yes, it's JT time!  X out.

Hey everybody! (Hi Dr. Nick!) JT here after an awesome intro by my ol' pal X, thanks mi amigo. Now, like X mentioned, this is actually a pretty big week for comics, so let's see what I'm picking up. My comic haul consists of Green Lantern #17, Justice League #17, Nightwing #17, Red Hood and the Outlaws #17, Saga #10, Alpha: Big Time #1 (ALPHAAAA!!!!!!), Captain America #4, Indestructible Hulk #4, Morbius The Living Vampire #2, Superior Spider-Man #4, and Thor: God of Thunder #5. So with a total of 11 (REALLY?!) books for me, I plan on reviewing Superior Spider-Man, Red Hood and The Outlaws #17 (I'm shocked too...) and Green Lantern #17. So expect those on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday, and until next time, this is JT, signing off!

Superboy #17

To contact us Click HERE
One more review from me and I'm done for the week!  Huzzah!!  Tonight we finish off the week with DC and Superboy.

Superboy #17: 

Summary: We're reaching the end of the H'El on Earth storyline, as we have Superman, Superboy and Wonder Woman facing off against H'El and Supergirl.  The three heroes realize that their main objective was to halt H'El's machine from destroying the Earth, but before they can make a move, they are attacked by H'El himself.  H'El destroys Superboy and sends him flying, so Supes tells WW to check on SB before taking on H'El himself.  SB pulls himself up and heads after H'El's machine, but is intercepted by Supergirl.  Supergirl batters SB for a while, but he is saved by WW, who decides to deal with Supergirl herself.  With nobody left in front of him, SB makes a dash for H'El's machine, ending this issue 

Thoughts: Damn has this week been mediocre thus far!  Much like most of the other comics I've read this week, I can sum this issue up in a word.  That word?  Meh.  Once again, this wasn't a bad comic book.  Tom DeFalco knows how to write a good comic book(unlike a certain writer who used to do SB...).  This WAS an okay comic.  It just wasn't really for me.  I'm not interested in the H'El on Earth storyline, and I'm not following it at all.  I haven't read an issue of Superman or Supergirl, I haven't spoken to anybody about what's been going down in those books, nor have I read any reviews on those books.  I'm just not interested.  I do think fans of Supes and this storyline would enjoy this comic.  For me though, it was just meh.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Should H'El really be calling anybody an abomination?

Scarlet Spider #14

To contact us Click HERE
Hey guys, JT here(and X too! Move over JT, I'm crashing this here review!!!) with the last review of the comic week before the new books drop tomorrow. Today's review, is Scarlet Spider(Ugh, why did I decide to crash THIS one?!), and it's actually less of a review and more of a rant(Sweet!  I love rants!), so if you're looking for an in-depth review, you shan't find one here(That's par for the course with you, JT! :P).

Scarlet Spider #14

Summary: Aracely ran from the wolves and ran into a street gang called the Sharks, they fought the Wolves by shooting them(How else would you expect to fight werewolves?!)... Meanwhile, Kaine had a dream while dying and after fighting the fact that he's a monster, he finally gives in and agrees he's a monster, giving himself to "The Other"(UGH!!). The issue ends with Kaine sprouting forth from a cocoon with no facial hair, costume or whatever, just looking weird, claws extended and with six eyes.

Thoughts: And I thought Batman and Robin was bad.... X complains about the books he had being mediocre and I get this(Yes, I complained about the mediocre books I had this week... But at least none were painfully bad like this one!). Really? Before I jump into "The Other" stuff, let me say this. Houston must have the baddest ass ghettos ever... because not one person in the Shark gang seemed to be shocked or afraid that they were fighting legitimate werewolves... I mean, I'm from Detroit, and I don't know much about gangs, but I know a bit, and I know that if a gang was confronted by an honest to god werewolf... they probably wouldn't provoke it into a fight(See, I'm from New York and yes, we WOULD provoke a fight with a werewolf! On sight, actually! Furry bastards...). But not the Sharks.... they went to war for Aracely... and I guess Street Cred(Street Cred IS important...)... I was waiting for one of them to say "TEAM EDWARD, MUH'F***A!!!!"(HA!! I love that line...) But... I digress...

For those who don't know, this "Other" crap is from a story called Spider-Man: The Other(Makes sense), in which Peter Parker died and was reborn with new powers or something equally stupid. Anyway, it's generally regarded as a horrible story that's pretty much ignored except when Kaine returned in Spider Island, he told Pete he was reborn with new powers. Anyway, all of that aside, I don't think anyone was lobbying for the return of The Other. Especially considering as JW pointed out, Kaine's been struggling with his "monster" side for the better part of this series, so him finally moving past it, only to literally become a monster in the next issue felt like a slap in the face. I'm hoping he turns back to Kaine soon(Word!), like at the end of the next issue soon, but it really hurt the flow of the character development for me, I mean even if he is becoming a monster to protect Aracely... Kaine seemed pretty capable before he had to give in the The Other. I wasn't a Chris Yost fan before this series due to his subpar run (in my opinion) on Red Robin, but I gave this series a chance and was happy to see how well Yost did with the series and Kaine's character, but if this is gonna be a constant struggle of "I'M A MONSTER!!! I'M A BIG RED MONSTER!!!"(It's Kaine!!) I can't see myself sticking with this series, especially considering the return of The Other...ugh(Damn, one bad issue and JT is all, "I'm out!"). So yeah, all in all, not a fan of this issue or the developments here, here's hoping things go back to how they were two issues ago, as soon as possible.

Score: 1/10.  (Yup, my score would have been roughly the same.)

Kaine: NO! (I said the same thing when I saw The Other.)

Mimosa Justice League of America 1

To contact us Click HERE
This is Justice League of America 1, published by Mimosa (SA Magazine Co) +/- 1963-1964.
It reprints the cover and story from DC Comics' Justice League of America 23 (1963):
"Drones of the Queen Bee!"
It also contains this story from DC Comics' Adventure Comics 250 (1958):
"The Green Arrows of the World"

32 pages,  glossy colour cover, black and white newsprint interior.

Here is the cover of issue 1 and DC Comics' original cover:

See Also:
Mimosa Comics

Ultimate X-Men #22

To contact us Click HERE
First of two reviews tonight is Ultimate X-Men.  Here's hoping this is a good one...

Ultimate X-Men #22:

Summary: Many of the world's governments are mistrustful of the mutant seed the citizens of Utopia came up with, and aren't interested in using it, basically because it would put all of the farmers of the world out of business.  Third world countries welcome it though.  On top of that, Husk returned to Utopia, much to the delight of Iceman and the chagrin of Kitty.  After Iron Man halts another attempted attack on Utopia, he comes up with a plan with Kitty to make the world think the mutant seed was destroyed  while Tony worked behind the scenes to get the seed accepted by the world's governments.  This one ends with Mach Two leaving the main Utopia area with her group of miscreants (now including Husk and Iceman), Iron Man finally leaving the reservation, and a shadowy group of government types plotting against Utopia.

Thoughts: Yeah, needless to say, I was not feeling this comic at all...  It just never grabbed me...  I'm honestly not all that interested in Kitty vs Mach Two(who would be?!), and couldn't care less about those two having a power struggle.  I guess that's probably my main problem with this comic in a nutshell actually.  The only character I care about at all is Jimmy.  I don't like 616 Kitty, Ultimate Kitty, any Kitty!  Add the fact that this series has been kind of stagnant since the mutants arrived in Utopia, and I can easily see myself dropping this series after another issue or so.  Here's hoping something interesting happens soon.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Fun, movies, women, Tony gets it all!

Fantastic Four #4

To contact us Click HERE
This is going to be a rather speedy review, because(spoiler alert!) nothing really happened here!  Onward!!

Fantastic Four #4: 

Summary: Reed and company visit an alien planet and discover that there were cave paintings depicting the Foursome well before they arrive.  Sue decides to let the aliens treat her like royalty for a while, while Reed heads back to the spaceship.  Eventually Sue feels guilty about the way the aliens doted over her and heads back to the ship where she confronts Reed, telling him she knew he was hiding something.  After that we learn that Reed had painted the cave drawings himself with the use of a time machine...  Reed promises to come clean with her to end this one.  Oh yeah, and Franklin has some more nightmares.

Thoughts: Meh.  That, in a word, sums up my feelings for this issue.  Much like Ultimate X-Men before it, this is a series that just isn't doing it for me...  It's okay and all, but there's no one character here that I'm a fan of...  I can't stand the two kids, and the other four are just plain boring.  There's nobody for them to interact with, its just the Four, and nobody else.  And that is already starting to get tiresome for me.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Reed Richards: Father, scientist, artist.

Batman and Robin #17

To contact us Click HERE
Hey comic crew, it's a JT day, I know, I know, contain yourself. Today's review is Batman and Robin, and with the recent events of Death of the Family and the...um... death of the family, let's see how Batman and Robin cope with the fallout.


Batman and Robin #17

Summary: So this issue is basically three stories about the three main characters, Bruce, Damian and Alfred, having dreams about the recent events in their lives. First up we see Damian's dream, where his mom, Nightwing, Joker, Red Hood, and Nobody are all drowning as Damian looks on from a submarine. Damian is approached by another Damian, showing the two sides of him, as he argues with himself about why he kept a batarang, as it was Bruce's way of showing him two sides of himself, like Damian did, as he holds Bruce's head, cowl attached in his hands. He suddenly notices Alfred drowning as well as the other Damian says there's nothing any of them (the family) can teach him anymore. Damian screams Alfred's name while watching him drown and wakes up. When he wakes up he sees a Robin in his room and he and Titus the Dog follow it and it leads them to Bruce's study as a giant bat is sucking the blood out of his neck, and Bruce asks Damian to join them, so Damian screams and wakes up again. Alfred's dream consists of helping Thomas and Martha Wayne before they went to the theater, then he goes into the Batcave door which is the fridge (?) and asks Bruce and Damian if they need help, and he arrives in the basement to see the Bat-Family all Jokerized and Joker swinging a hammer. Alfred tells Joker to surrender and pulls out a shotgun, but Joker says make me, so Alfred blows his head off... well alrighty. Alfred then wakes up from his dream, smiles and goes back to sleep. Bruce's dream consists of him making a paper boat which turns into a real boat and his parents fall off of it, because why not. (This is the part where I just wanna finish the review) Also, Damian and the rest of the crew drown or something. Bat's boat is then pursued by his Rogue galley and he says he doesn't need them as a giant whale comes up and eats his boat and says "HA HA HA HA HA!" as he jumps off of it and is saved by Damian pulling him out of the water. Bruce wakes up and goes to check on Damian and the issue ends as we see Damian dreaming about being on patrol with his father and the two of them ending the night sitting on top of a church and watching the sunrise.

Thoughts: This comic was weird as hell... I... I don't... have words. I could try to say this was their subconscious telling each of them what they secretly wanted and such but I'm not a philosophy major... I'm a guy that reads comics for enjoyment and reviews them for the same reason. So... yeah... Alfred shooting Joker and the artwork is the only reason this got any points.

Score: 2/10

Alfred: I told you that was enough. (I know Alfred... but I bought this issue anyway...)

Secret Avengers #1

To contact us Click HERE
Howdy X-Maniacs!  Today is an X day, so I'll have two reviews up and posted for you guys tonight.  The first is the premier issue of Secret Avengers.  Yeah, I know that there was a Secret Avengers series already, but this is the Marvel Now! version!  Complete with a new team line-up and a new writer!  All kidding aside, this series should be good.  Really, really good, judging by the writer and the team line-up.  Here's hoping this issue lives up to my very lofty expectations...

Secret Avengers #1: 

Summary: This issue begins in Budapest, with Hawkeye having been shot in the gut a few times and getting picked up by some Hungarian arms dealer named Andres Bertesy.  Hawkeye tells Bertesy and his goons that he had no idea how a) he had been shot, and b) what he was doing there.  Bertesy naturally doesn't buy that and tries a truth serum, a telepath and a demon, all of which tell him the same thing, Hawkeye doesn't know anything.  And then Black Widow arrives to help.  From there we flashback to a few hours earlier where Hawkeye and Widow are met by Agent Coulson, who wants them to take part in SHIELD's very own Secret Avengers program.  However, if they join they had to agree to have nanites put in their bodies that would wipe their minds clean of their missions.  Hawkeye and Widow don't want any part of that, but change their tune when Coulson says something(that we aren't privy to) that convinces them to join up.  From there they meet Nick Fury(the new, younger version) and learn what their mission is.  That mission?  Stop Andres Bertesy from selling teleportation tech to terrorists.  With that, Fury, Widow and Hawkeye head out.  Hawkeye ends up getting shot by a goon while working with Fury, at which point his memory of the mission is scrubbed, bringing us back to the present, where he is rescued by Widow.  While Hawkeye is recuperating in a SHIELD hospital, we learn that Fury was under orders to shoot Hawkeye(!), because SHIELD wanted to test the nanite tech out, and Hawkeye was the unknowing guinea pig.

Thoughts: This issue was okay...  I mean, it was a good read and all, but it wasn't anything special.  I enjoyed the twist at the end with Fury shooting Hawkeye and SHIELD erasing that from Clint's memories, but other than that, this issue just didn't do much for me...  I really don't have much else to say.  I will say that I think this will be a really good series going forward.  This issue though?  Perfectly mediocre.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

Yeah, deal with it!

Walking Dead #107

To contact us Click HERE
One more review for the night.  That review?  The Walking Dead.  This comic is ALWAYS a good read, and I'm expecting more of the same.

Walking Dead #107: 

Summary: Rick attacks Negan, fearing that Negan had hurt Carl(or worse), which pisses Negan off, leading to a bit of a brawl between the two men.  After a while, Negan wants everybody to calm down and has Carl come over, alive and unharmed.  Negan explains that he's a reasonable guy, and that's why he didn't do anything to Carl, even after Carl blew away several of his men.  Negan then lets Rick and company leave with Carl, unmolested.  Rick returns to town and tells the group what had gone down, and that seeing that Negan hadn't hurt Carl has left him feeling optimistic about Negan and the Saviors.  In actuality, Carl tells Rick all about the Saviors base, which leads to Rick, Andrea and Jesus surmising that the Saviors weren't as unstoppable as they liked to seem.  This issue ends with Jesus telling Rick it was time to meet Ezekiel.

Thoughts: This was a set-up issue.  Plain and simple.  We moved Carl back to Rick, there were a few other things that came up, and it ended with Rick beginning to come up with a plan of attack against the Saviors.  Boom, simple.  As always, this was a good issue, but there really wasn't much to it.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Who says you can't learn anything from zombies?

Uncanny X-Men #1

To contact us Click HERE
Hey X-Maniacs, Happy TGIF, It's Friday which means this is JT, your resident "Cyclops was right" fan, as well as the half of the blogging team that believes that Emma > Jean, so of course any book with both Scott and Emma is going to be going through me. So, that's my convoluted way of saying, let's check out the first issue (again) of Uncanny X-Men.


Uncanny X-Men #1

Summary: This issue kicks things off with Maria Hill being told by Coulson that they have a visitor that's requested to meet with her personally. She's wary and agrees to meet with him after being told he was thoroughly checked and they're meeting with a bunch of reinforcements outside the room, including Nick Fury Jr. and Coulson. When Hill meets with the Mystery Man, he tells her that he's come to her because she has no dog in the fight, she's neutral in the Mutant Revolution. The man explains by showing her how many new mutants have popped up already, and explains that the only person Hill needs to worry about is Cyclops, the self-appointed face of the Mutant Revolution. He tells Hill that Cyclops' powers aren't working anymore and that he's trying to retrain himself before anyone can find out. He explains that Cyclops has already put together a team including Emma Frost, Magneto, Magik, and two new mutants, an Australian girl that can stop time named Tempus, and a healer that hasn't picked his code name yet. When saving another new mutant by the name of Fabio Medina, the group is attacked by a group of Sentinels, and Scott manages to take them all down after telling having the team stand behind him. According to the mystery man, Scott unleashed a blast that was basically a lucky shot and destroyed the Sentinel's, but since he can't control he powers he could've easily hit a civilian or a teammate. The mystery man tells Hill that she's trying to kill Summers, but she says she isn't, he doesn't believe her but says if she does she'll make him a Martyr, what they need to do is expose him as a broken man, both spiritually and physically. He says Scott should be in jail, he should be healing but instead he thinks he'll be forgiven of his sins by saving every mutant he can find. Hill asks the mystery man why he's there then, revealing the group's traitor to be none other than Magneto. He says he and Xavier rarely agreed, but they shared a dream, and Scott killed Xavier in front of him and destroyed his powers, making him a shell of what he was. He says Scott isn't the face of the future, he's a murderer and he needs to be revealed by self-destructing in public, and Magneto is there to make that happen.

Thoughts: This was an interesting way to start the series in my opinion, I figured they'd tease the traitor for a while, kind of like they did in Runaways, and then reveal who it was. So to start things off with Magneto being the traitor was a bit of a surprise, but I'd already figured it would be him or Emma every since they started showing teasers saying there was a traitor. That aside, I guess the big thing of this issue was they showed Magneto talking to Hill and he was seated for most of the issue and also bald, so some people (like a writer at Bleeding Cool) thought the reveal was a great twist because they made it seem like Xavier.... which is weird because at no point did I ever think this was Xavier.When Hill enters the room he takes a piece of metal out of his mouth and she gets afraid. Why would she be afraid of Xavier in the first place? Also, the fact he referred to Magneto as the "Former Master of Magnetism" when the only people who know his power is screwy at the moment are his teammates made it obvious, and of course anyone who reads Uncanny Avengers knows that Xavier isn't in much condition to do a damn thing now... so yeah, the "twist" never really lured me in, so I was surprised it did for some people. Anyway, that aside, this was a pretty average issue, it was kind of just part two to seeing Scott's team a few issues back in All New X-Men, and outside of Erik's betrayal, nothing memorable happened here. Don't get me wrong, this issue wasn't bad, I guess I just expected more.

Score: 7/10

Magneto: Scott Summer is not the face of the mutant race. He is not the face of the future. He is a murdering monster.

New Comic Day! January 30th edition

To contact us Click HERE
Hey comic fans, JT here with this week's New Comic Day post! After a week of getting my ass kicked by the flu, I'm back in action baby! First things first, thanks to X for covering my books last week, while I sat in bed, ate soup and felt miserable. And that was just from reading Red Hood... but enough about last week, let's see what I'm getting this week. My haul this week includes Aquaman #16, Batman and Robin Annual #1, Injustice: Gods Among Us #1, Invincible #100, Hawkeye #7, Superior Spider-Man #2, Teen Titans #16, and Deathmatch #2. So, with a total of eight books this week, I'll be reviewing Superior Spider-Man #2, Injustice: Gods Among Us #1, and the Batman and Robin Annual. You can expect those reviews on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday, respectively. So now I'll pass things over to my buddy X, and til next time, this is JT, signing off!

And now it's X time!  Hey all, happy New Comic Day, and all that jazz.  It's the fifth Wednesday of the month, so I'm kind of surprised to see JT getting so many books...  Usually they reserve the fifth Wednesday for annuals and...  well, nothing...  Hmm, let's see just how many books I should be picking up...  I, Vampire #16, Teen Titans #16, Invincible #100, Avengers #4, Dark Avengers #186, Hawkeye #7, Punisher War Zone #4, Superior Spider-Man #2...  Wait, so I'm only getting 8 comics!?  But that's as many as JT, and I usually get WAY more than him!!  Weird...  Well, I may pick up Deathmatch #2, but only if my shop got the first issue in as I had requested.  So I may get 9, which makes me feel a little bit better.  So 8 books...  Man, my wallet is gonna be SO happy!  Anyway, I have 7 books I can review there(since JT is taking care of Superior), so I'll post three reviews on Thursday, and two on Saturday and Monday.  As for Thursday's reviews?  Definitely Invincible and Hawkeye.  As for the third comic?  It's probably going to be Teen Titans. It's either that or Avengers, and I'm not expecting good things from either of those comics.  And that'll do it.  Another NCD post in the books.  Until tomorrow night?  Yep, X out.

Happy Anniversary!! Plus pictures!!!

To contact us Click HERE
Hey, guess what?  It was a year ago today JT added his first post here at the blog!  So a big HUZZAH to that!  Bringing JT aboard was one of the better moves I've ever made, and I think all of you guys would have to agree with that.  So congrats on your one year anniversary, mi amigo!  Here's hoping you end up sticking around for many, many, MANY years to come.  Or for as long as you can tolerate me...  And now, a few pictures of JT's namesake, Jason Todd, doing what he does best!

Jason Todd, kicking ass and taking names!

So long, suckas!!!

This is how I oftentimes feel working with JT! :P

Invincible #100

To contact us Click HERE
First review of this week?  That'll be the 100th issue of Invincible.  This series was once right at the top of my must read list, but has recently fallen way down that list...  I don't know what it is, but this title has lost something after the Viltrumite War.  Nothing really important has happened.  The past 25 issues or so are just a blur.  Here's hoping THIS is the issue that turns all of that around, and begins a new era of greatness for this series.

Invincible #100

Summary: This issue begins with Dinosaurus killing Invincible off(!?!).  Well, I figured that was a possibility, but that was pretty low on my list!  But wait!  It turns out Dinosaurus had switched the real Invincible with a clone, which he had learned how to create during his time on the Viltrumite ship, meaning Invincible was still alive... Well, that was a fast death and rebirth!  Dinosaurus tells Invincible that with everybody thinking he was dead, they could continue their work(really!?).  Invincible basically has my response to that, which is, "really?!", and tells Dinosaurus that instead of pushing humanity towards doing things differently, and looking towards cleaner energy, their actions may have had the opposite effect, leading humanity to stagnation and the same old ideas.  Dinosaurus realizes that Invincible was right, and asks Invincible to kill him, which he seemingly does, but off-panel, so who knows.  Invincible walks out of Dinosaurus's base, and is met by Cecil Stedman(Yeah!!).  Cecil and Invincible talk, and Invincible learns that Dinosaurus's plot killed nearly 1 million people.  Invincible is ready to head off to jail for his role in Dinosaurus's mad plans, but Cecil offers him an alternative...  Work with Cecil and the government again, and there's no prison.  Invincible agrees to this idea and heads home to see his parents and Eve.  This issue ends with Eve telling Invincible that she was pregnant...  Again...

Thoughts: Hey, this issue wasn't bad!  This issue was actually going to decide for me whether or not I'd continue buying this series or not.  After reading this?  Yeah, I'll be sticking around for a while.  Invincible basically admitted that he had been making all the wrong decisions and basically acting like a jerk, which is what's been bothering me with him for several issues now.  Now he's working with the awesome Cecil again, and Eve is pregnant again.  Yeah, this isn't exactly breaking any new ground, but hey, this is what I liked about Invincible when I got hooked on the series.  I also liked the fact that NOBODY died!  Well, except for maybe Dinosaurus and like a million people, but none of the characters in this series!  So kudos to Robert Kirkman for avoiding the old tried and true, "It's an anniversary issue, somebody big MUST DIE!!!!!"  So I'll be hanging around for the near future.

Score: 8 out of 10.

I wish I could just blame everything on a clone...

Hawkeye #7

To contact us Click HERE
All right!  Here's one of my favorite comic characters in one of my favorite comic series!  Since I can't wait to dig into this once, I'm going to skip the intro and get right to the action!

Hawkeye #7

Summary: This issue looks at Hawkeye(Clint) and Hawkeye(Kate) and how they dealt with the events of that bastard hurricane/tropical storm Sandy.  Clint ends up helping a friend's father in Far Rockaway, who refused to leave his house before the storm came.  Luckily for Clint and company, they manage to survive due to a rowboat in the old man's attic.  Meanwhile, Kate heads to New Jersey for a wedding, but the fancy hotel she was in loses power and she's forced to head out to try to get some medication for a friend's mother.  She runs afoul some looters, but the neighborhood comes to her defense and the looters get arrested.  The two Hawkeyes meet up later to trade war stories and that's it for this one.

Thoughts: First things first, I grew up in Queens(Ozone Park, to be more specific), my family moved around a lot, but we were always in the Ozone Park/Jamaica area when I was a kid.  My first real job was in South Jamaica, which is right near Far Rockaway, so yeah, I knew all about the various Rockaways Clint and his buddy were talking about.  I've been to 'em all.  But enough about me, back to this story.  It was... well, it was only okay for me...  It never really interested me.  I didn't have any emotional attachment to Clint's friend, or Kate's wedding party...  So I wasn't really all that interested in their plights.  For me, this was a VERY rare miss for me with this series...

Score: 6 out of 10

Blast it, foiled by a can of beans!

Batman #17

To contact us Click HERE
One review on tap for tonight, and it's a big one.  Batman #17, the finale to Scott Snyder's Joker storyline.  Last issue Joker electrocuted Batman, all while collecting the various members of the Bat-family.  Now, we discover what Joker's been up to, and more importantly, what the hell is on those silver platters?!?

Batman #17:

Summary: This issue kicks off with Batman waking up tied to a chair and seeing his four Robins and Batgirl tied up around a massive dinner table, in what looks to be a part of the Batcave.  Each of Batman's allies have a silver platter in front of them, and are wearing hoods...  Hmm...  Next, Joker calls Alfred into the room and we see that Alfred had been subjected to some Joker toxin and had been Joker-ized.  Bats is relieved to see that Alfred is alive, regardless of his current complexion.  Alfred removes the hoods of the various Bat-family members and we see that their faces are adorned with bloody bandages.  Finally, Joker lifts the platters and under the platters are the faces of the various Bat-family members(!!).  It should go without saying that Batman is a bit pissed off about that.  Joker tells Bats that he could stand at anytime, but doing so with set the various members of the Bat-family ablaze, since Joker had doused the room with gasoline and Batman's chair was sitting on flints.  From there, Joker rambles on and on about how Bats wants the Bat-family out of the way, and hopes that deep down Joker would be the man to eliminate them.  Joker then produces a little book that he claims was a hit list that he took from the Batcave, a hit list that told him how to go after each member of the Bat-family.  Having had enough, Bats breaks free of his chair, setting all of the Bat-family members on fire, much to Joker's delight.  Unfortunately for Mistah J, Batman reveals that there was a large body of water above the caves, and blows the roof up, letting the water pour in and put out the fire.  Joker makes a run for it and Batman rushes over to Damian, taking the bandages off to reveal... nothing...  Damian, and all of the other members of the Bat-family, still have their faces, the whole face removing claims were nothing more than a joke.  Nightwing tells Bats to go after Joker, so Bats leaves his allies behind...  At which time they are enveloped in a mess of Joker toxin and begin to brawl with each other.  As for Bats, he manages to catch up to Joker and puts a bit of a beating on the crazed clown.  Joker tells Batman that he had better get back to the Bat-family, since he had poisoned them with Joker toxin and they were probably tearing each other apart.  Batman disregards that, telling Joker he trusts that they can take care of themselves(which they actually do by breaking free of the drug's influence).  Joker makes a break for it and almost runs off a watery cliff, but Batman pulls him back, since he wasn't through with Joker just yet...  It's then that Batman reveals that he knew that Joker NEVER knew the secret identities of the Bat-family members, because Joker never wanted to know.  He simply enjoyed playing dress-up and facing off against Batman, not Bruce Wayne, or Dick Grayson, or any of the rest.  It was always Batman vs Joker.  Batman goes on to tell Joker that he was finished playing Joker's games and spent the year Joker was away digging into Joker's part, his REAL past, and had discovered Joker's real name.  Before Batman can destroy Joker's fantasy world once and for all by saying Joker's real name, Joker shocks Batman with his joy-buzzer and throws himself off the cliff into the waters below, leaving nothing but the little book that he claimed had all of Batman's secrets.  Bats picks up the book and opens it to find...  Yep, nothing but blank pages.  And that's that.  The next day Alfred wakes up in Wayne Manor and Bruce tells him that he knew Joker would never broach the subject of Bruce Wayne.  How does he know that?  Because Bats once visited Joker in Arkham, AS Bruce, and Joker acted oblivious to him, pretending that he wasn't even there.  Bruce also tells Alfred that he had invited the other members of the Bat-family over to discuss what had gone down.  However, everybody ends up texting Bruce to tell him they couldn't make it, apparently miffed at Bats for something Joker told them before Bats regained consciousness...  With that, Bruce returns to the Cave(where we discover he never knew Joker's identity after all) alone.

Thoughts: This was a VERY interesting comic book...  I mean, the writing?  Fantastic.  The dialogue was great, and I DID enjoy the story.  The art?  Wonderful.  Everybody looked and "sounded" right.  But after putting this comic down I couldn't shake the feeling that SOMETHING was missing...  This was a very good little Joker tale(the parts in JUST Batman at least).  But it wasn't REALLY a big event.  It ended with Joker falling to his death(again) and the Bat-family being a bit mad at Bats(again).  Nothing event-worthy really went down.  There was no huge revelation.  There was no shocking death(which is fine by me, actually. I hate senseless deaths).  In the end, Joker didn't know who Batman really was(or better, he didn't care), while Batman didn't know Joker's real name.  The only mystery here is what Joker said to the Bat-family members while Bats was out cold, since it seemed to piss them all off so badly.  Which kind of bugs me, because why in the world would they let Joker get under their skin after all these years!?  Speaking of things that kind of bug me, there's the issue of the secret identities and Joker's knowledge of them...  I've always been in the camp that said that Joker HAD to know Batman's secret identity, but didn't care, since he didn't care about Bruce Wayne, only Batman.  Snyder KIND of agrees with that train of thought, but with a caveat...  He states definitively that Joker DOESN'T care about the man under the mask, only about the mask itself.  Batman is his beloved enemy, NOT Bruce Wayne.  But Snyder takes it a step further and seems to be stating that Joker doesn't know that Batman and Bruce are one and the same...  After this storyline, I don't see how that can be...  Hell, Scott Lobdell basically said that Joker definitely knew Jason Todd was Robin(in Red Hood and the Outlaws #0), and that he made sure Jason was taken in by Bruce Wayne!  Throw in Joker's attack on Haly's Circus, which HAD to be aimed at Dick Grayson, not Nightwing, and it seems that Joker has to know...  I mean, how can he not!?  On top of all that was the whole face-cutting thing...  Why did Joker pretend to cut off the faces of the Bat-family members?  What purpose did that serve?  I mean, why didn't Joker REALLY cut their faces off?  He had the time and opportunity, so there really doesn't seem to be a reason for him to not have sliced off their faces.  Yeah, I know it COULDN'T happen, but really, it probably should have happened, especially since Joker had planned on them all dying anyway!  So yeah, there were a few things here that definitely did bug me.  But then, on the other hand, this comic was a blast to read.  The pacing was great.  Batman's plan of turning the tables on Joker at the end was inspired.  There WAS a lot of good here.  But still, there was just something missing...

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Bon appetit!

Teen Titans #16

To contact us Click HERE
Oh good, it's another Scott Lobdell written comic...  I literally have no idea what to expect out of this issue...  Maybe the Teen Titans will be in it, maybe they won't...  Maybe Red Robin will be in it, maybe he won't.  Hell, maybe Red Hood will be in this issue!  It's not like he was in the comic that has his name in the title!  Well, here we go.  I'm really hoping for a pleasant surprise here...

Teen Titans #16(Death of the Family tie-in):

Summary: This issue opens with Red Hood and Red Robin trapped by the Joker.  Joker wakes them up and shows them that he had caught their fathers(who were wearing hoods), telling them if they wanted the two men to survive, they'd have to fight to the death.  Because Joker is SO trustworthy!  Red Robin wants to think up a plan, but Red Hood decides to attack, even though his father had died in prison...  The two fight for a while, until Red Robin is positive the man who is supposedly his father is a fake, at which time he shatters the window Joker was watching the fight from, leading to Red Hood shooting Joker a few dozen times.  Finally!  But wait!!  It turns out that wasn't the real Joker, but a dummy filled with Joker toxin.  The two Reds pass out and Joker drags them to a cave.  This issue ends with Joker revealing not one, but TWO silver platters to the two.

Thoughts: Hey, here's some good new, Lobdell didn't do the script for this issue, the infinitely more talented Fabian Nicieza did.  Honestly, Nicieza SHOULD be the guy writing this series, but c'est la vie.  This issue was okay, but man were there a mess of holes in it...  Why would Red Hood, of ALL people, even entertain the thought that Joker was really holding his suddenly alive father captive, and would let him go if he DID kill Red Robin!?  I'd believe a politician before I'd believe Joker!  I was happy to see that Jason was going to kill Joker in this issue, because SOMEBODY should, but did anybody really think that Joker was going to die in this issue?!  However, that would sure make Batman #17 an interesting read...  Jason: "Hey Bruce, guess what?  Joker's dead!!"  Bruce: "Already?  Now what do we do..."  All in all though?  This comic was miles better than Red Hood and the Outlaws #16, so that's a win for me.

Score: 6 out of 10.

So Jason Todd doesn't appear in the comic with his name on it, but DOES star in this series...  Weird.

Superior Spider-Man #3

To contact us Click HERE
Hey all, first review of the night is none other than the third issue of Superior Spider-Man!  This is the first issue of this series that I've reviewed, as JT has been the resident Superior Spidey reviewer up to this point.  Here's hoping this issue is as strong as the first two were!

Superior Spider-Man #3

Summary: This issue starts with Mayor Jameson summoning Spidey with a massive Spider-Signal.  Spidey seemingly destroys it upon arriving(or does he???) since he figures it would simply tell his villains where he was...  Take THAT, Batman!  From there, Jameson tells Spidey that the Vulture was up to his old tricks again(which Spidey already knows!), and he ends up getting paired with Carlie on the case, since the two managed to bust Vulture before.  Carlie again notices that Spidey was acting... off, and thinks back to Spider-Man #700 and what Doc Ock said to her...  Spidey fixes the lenses in his mask to track down the electro-magnetic signature Vulture leaves behind and ditches Carlie.  While travelling, Spidey(and Peter) relive a moment Spidey(back when he was still Doc Ock) and Vulture had back in the day.  The gist of the flashback was that Vulture was only in the crime game for the money...  Spidey tracks Vulture down and confronts him, telling him he would give him 50 million dollars from hidden back accounts if he simply retires.  Vulture figures this was another one of Spidey's wisecracks and has his little henchmen attack.  Spidey tires of that and smashes one of the henchmen, knocking their mask off and realizing that the henchmen were actually little kids.  That causes Spidey to flashback to his own abusive childhood, and makes him decide that he had to stop Vulture...  For good.  Vulture realizes that Spidey seemed REALLY pissed and decides to take flight, but is followed by the still angry Spidey.  The two tussle in the air a bit and Spidey manages to direct Vulture over the Spider-Signal from earlier, using it to blind Vulture and then driving Vulture head-first into it, nearly killing him.  Naturally, Carlie is on the rooftop when this happens, and states that the Spider-Man she knew would never do anything like that.  Spidey explains that he couldn't allow Vulture to continue harming people like Carlie and the children, and Carlie seems to accept that, which leaves Peter feeling very worried.

Thoughts: I enjoyed MOST of this issue thoroughly.  The stuff between Vulture and Spidey/Ock was great.  I loved the flashback, and the fact that Ock was going to simply pay Vulture money to go away since he considered Vulture something of a friend.  I also liked the fact that Spidey/Ock decided he was going to kill Vulture here...  Well, I kind of liked it...  I'd have been okay with Spidey/Ock deciding to kill Vulture because he was using children to do his bidding and that was evil.  However, we're led to believe that Spidey/Ock was SO outraged that Vulture made him strike a child, much like he himself had been struck by his father, that he snapped and wanted Vulture dead...  That kind of bugged me because Doc Ock once tried to like, oh, I don't know, destroy the world!!  Was he somehow exempting kids from his extinction plan?  Or was that different because he was dying?  Another thing that bothered me a bit was the end.  I wasn't sure if I should take it to mean Carlie realized that Ock really WAS Spidey, but was a better Spidey, or if she realized he was Spidey, or if she still thought it was Peter...  Or maybe something else entirely...  But yeah, that was a bit confusing.  However, everything besides those two quibbles?  Great.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

To be honest, I deducted a half point because the die was never cast...

Thunderbolts #4

To contact us Click HERE
Second review of this Thursday evening is the latest issue of Thunderbolts.  This series hasn't really hit it out of the park yet for me...  Here's hoping this is the issue that changes that.

Thunderbolts #4:

Summary: This issue gets underway with a furious Red Hulk spiriting off with the body of the Leader, who was shot in the head by the Punisher last issue.  With that, Venom states the obvious(that this "mission" was a mess), and that once he sprung Elektra the group should go their separate ways.  However, Punisher overhears that Madman was also on the island and heads off with Deadpool(Punisher and Deadpool...  The ultimate odd couple...) to deal with him, while Venom rescued Elektra.  From there we learn a bit about the leader of the country the Thunderbolts were invading(don't care...) before heading back to the present where we see that man shoot himself in the head in front of Elektra(still don't care...).  This issue ends with Punisher strapping a landmine to himself and exploding it on Madman, Venom finding Elektra, and Rulk trying to bring Leader back to life with tons of gamma radiation.

Thoughts: Eh.  Once again, this comic just didn't do it for me...  I mean I WANT to like it, but it's just not happening...  Maybe it's the setting, I don't know...  Anyway, there's really not much I can say here.  I didn't love this comic, I didn't hate this comic.  I just read it and moved on.

Score: 6 out of 10.

I would SO watch a Deadpool/Punisher sitcom!

Winter Soldier #15

To contact us Click HERE
And it's my final review day before it's New Comic Day!  Two reviews on tap for tonight, the first being the now Brubaker-less Winter Soldier.  Jason Latour is taking over from the incomparable Ed Brubaker, and has impossibly large shoes to fill.  Here's hoping Latour can keep at least half the magic Brubaker brought to this series.

Winter Soldier #15

Summary: This issue gets started with Bucky wallowing in a bar in Croatia.  It seems he went there to confess some of his crimes to a man the Soviet's had him screw over several years ago.  That went poorly and left Bucky as the only conscious person in the bar...  At least until Nick Fury walks in.  That's Nick Fury Sr, fyi.  Fury wonders why Bucky was drawing attention to himself when he was supposed to be playing dead, and Bucky says something about needing to confront his past before he can face his future...  Okay...  Bucky then says he didn't want to lose himself in somebody else's missions anymore, which is why he broke from SHIELD.  So Fury naturally tells Bucky he had a mission for Bucky...  And Bucky accepts it!  Basically, a deep undercover SHIELD agent has been working with Hydra for the past 30 some-odd years.  Bucky(back in his brainwashed Soviet days) killed the guy's handler, so he'd been on his own since then.  Except now he's finally had enough and walked into a Hydra-run casino and gunned down several high-level Hydra operatives.  Bucky's job is to extract him.  Bucky gets to the old guy with little trouble, but quickly discovers that the faction of Hydra that was trying to kill the old guy dabbled in black magic and just wouldn't die.  It takes some teamwork from Bucky and the old guy, but eventually they defeat the undead Hydra menace.  The old guy tries to sucker punch Bucky(because he's drunk or angry or old or something), but Bucky counters and knocks the old guy out.  The old guy vomits and passes out, and this issue ends with Bucky helping him away.

Thoughts: Well, that sure wasn't what I was hoping for...  Unlike some fans, I went into this comic with the highest of hopes.  I mean, yes I'm a huge Brubaker mark and all, but I was more than willing to give Latour a shot.  And so far?  I'm feeling a lot less optimistic...  So Bucky wants to do his own thing after working with SHIELD for a while.  Understandable.  If that's the case, why does he immediately take on Nick Fury Sr's list o' tasks?!  Weird...  And the main mission in this issue, with the old guy?  It just didn't click for me.  Here's hoping Latour just needed to get a bad issue out of the way before bringing his A-game...

Score: 4 out of 10.

Damn did Fury look OLD in this issue!

New Comic Day! Feb. 13th edition!

To contact us Click HERE
Hey comic fans, JT here so you know what that means!!!! Your day just got much better. Also, it's New Comic Day! Now, before I jump to what I'm picking up and reviewing, I wanna thank all you readers as well as congratulate my buddy X, who after over five years of this blog. finally reached 100 Followers this week, which is a pretty damn impressive milestone if I say so myself. So, congrats to X and thanks to you guys for following what we do here. Now that the sappy stuff is out of the way, let's see what I expect to pick up tomorrow. My haul should consist of Batman #17, Batman and Robin #17, Bedlam #4, Todd the Ugliest Kid on Earth #2, Walking Dead #107, Scarlet Spider #14, Secret Avengers #1 and Uncanny X-Men #1. So with a total of eight books this week, you can expect me to review Batman and Robin #17, Uncanny X-Men #1 and Scarlet Spider #14, and as always my review days are Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. Now, I'll hand things over to my buddy, X, X, X-MAAAAAAN! Til Friday, this is JT, signing off!

Cool, I had no idea we reached 100 followers!  That's great!  Anyway, it's X, and I'll cut the chit-chat and get right to the meat of this post, the comics!  Here are the books I should be picking up...  Batman #17, Superboy #17, Team 7 #5, America's Got Powers #5, Clone #4, Fatale #12, Morning Glories #24, Walking Dead #107, Fantastic Four #4, Scarlet Spider #14, Secret Avengers #1, Ultimate X-Men #22, Uncanny X-Men #1.  So that's 13 books for me, as I get back into the double digits after two very light(for me anyway) weeks.  Now, for this week, something a bit different...  Normally my review days are Thursday, Saturday and Monday.  However, since Batman #17 drops today, and it's being talked up like it's gonna be huge, I'll have a special Wednesday review for that comic up later on tonight.  From there, I'll go back to my regular reviewing schedule.  So make sure to check back for that tonight.  And that'll do it for me.  Until next time, which will be just a few hours, actually, X out.

Venom #31

To contact us Click HERE
Last X review of the week is Venom.  I'm not really sure why I'm still collecting this series actually...  I guess I should blame Rick Remender for doing such a fantastic job with Flash Thompson that I keep hoping this series will turn the corner and be good again...  And every issue I'm disappointed...

Venom #31

Summary: So Flash has moved into an apartment in Philadelphia and meets two of his neighbors.  One is a jerk, and the other is a sassy teenager.  Okay then.  From there we see Flash go out on patrol and try out some different identities since he didn't want people to connect Flash Thompson and Venom together in Philly.  After a long night of crime fighting, we find Flash waking up in his apartment, surprised that all of his stuff had magically unpacked.  After hearing a knock on his door he opens it to find some cops.  The cops tell him his neighbor the jerk) had been beaten into a coma and nobody knows who did it.  Flash immediately wonders if he did it during the night.  This issue ends with Eddie Brock learning that Flash had moved to Philly.

Thoughts: Meh.  This comic wasn't horrible, but it really wasn't all that interesting either.  Flash moves in to a new apartment   Flash goes on patrol!  Flash wonders if he beat his neighbor into a coma!  Eddie Brock talks to an old woman!  See, not the most exciting reading.  I mean, it wasn't horrible, but it also wasn't something I'd go out of my way to recommend.  As I said, it was meh.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Meh.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #20

To contact us Click HERE
Hey comic crew, JT here with my last review of the week, Ultimate Comics Spidey. We left things off with Miles' dad, Jefferson, face to face with a monstrous Venom, so enough jibber-jabber, let's do it!


Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #20

Summary: We start things off with Venom about to kill Jefferson, referring to himself as the "Angel of Death", because he thinks Jefferson is Spider-Man. He's clearly surprised when he's attacked by Spider-Man, since Miles heard the commotion and headed outside, but not before getting some web fluid from Ganke, since he's learned how to make it from Pete's old designs. Spidey distracts Venom as well as he can, but considering he doesn't know how to face someone like Venom, and Ganke's web-fluid doesn't work the way it should, he doesn't fare too well. Jefferson knocks out the nearby cameraman that's recording the fight and takes his video camera,  throwing it at Venom to distract him and give Spidey some time. Venom, obviously pissed at Jefferson's interference, backhands (back-tendrils?) him into a nearby vehicle, causing him to lose consciousness, as Miles' mom watches on and cries. Seeing his dad get hurt amps Miles up, and he takes the fight to Venom, and also leads him away from his house so the paramedics can get to Jefferson and try to help him. Miles eventually remembers his Venom blast and zaps Venom, causing him to screech and fall apart, but he escapes through a sewer drain. Spidey tries to pursue him but the Police want him to surrender, and when he doesn't, they open fire and he escapes using his speed and his camouflage ability. Miles arrives back home and changes clothes, then comes outside just in time to see his Dad being loaded into a nearby ambulance, and one of the paramedics says he may not make it. Miles' mom tells him to go over Ganke's house, as she cries and gets in the ambulance with her husband, and the issue comes to a close with Miles crying to Ganke that this is all his fault.

Thoughts:I had mixed feelings on this issue, I enjoyed seeing Venom but him slinking away through the sewer was weird... is he no longer a person, is he just all symbiote now? I also wish Miles' mom had a bigger role, so far all she ever does is calm Jefferson down, cry, cook, or ask Ganke to go home...A few questions were presented in this issue though, as Venom spoke about the Spider that bit Miles and the "others", so we're left to wonder if he meant other spider or other people that'd been bitten by different spiders. Also, we're to wonder if Miles dad will make it through, which i think is pretty obvious he will, if only because he hates Mutants and masked heroes so much, you know he eventually has to find out Miles is Spidey. Other than that stuff, I enjoyed seeing Miles and Venom face off, but him thinking about how Peter beat Venom instead of just trying to beat him kinda annoyed me. I did like the line he said about how when Peter fought someone in front of his house it leaded to his death though. All in all this was a pretty average issue, It wasn't bad but it wasn't perfect either.

Score: 6/10

Spider-Man: I just reminded myself that fighting super villains in front of his house is exactly how Peter Parker ended up dead. I have to get this away from my house.