Flashback Friday: The Last Time a Comic Utterly Shocked Me

I was thinking about the last time a comic came out of nowhere and surprised me, and it has been a bit, but man was it a shocker. Normally comics solicit certain storylines in advance so you have an idea what the future holds, or a seeming twist is undone quickly. Well, not in my most recent case, which is actually from a bit ago (2011), but still the most recent time I went, "Oh my goodness! I didn't see that coming!" Yes, I literally said it like that.

"Uncanny X-Force," #4 came out in early 2011 and followed a team of mutants who like previous X-Force teams were kind of a special-ops. This series involves them learning how the evil Clan Akkaba has created another rebirthed Apocalypse and the X-Men need him gone before he threatens the World. One hitch to their plan--he is currently in the body of a young kid...

Yes, Clan Akkaba figured the best way to create the perfect version of Apocalypse was not a fully-grown version that seems to always fail fighting humans and mutants alike, but a young boy who is a blank slate that can be taught everything he needs to know. He currently has hurt no one and even seems sweet, but he has horrific potential if his mind is poisoned by the Clan Akkaba.

By the time X-Force stumbles upon this young version of apocalypse they immediately realize they can't kill an innocent kid regardless of his genes as that is what humans have been wanting to do to all mutants for years. They start discussing how they'll take him back the X-Men mansion to raise him right and it all seems to be how you'd expect this to go do until there is a loud, "Bang," drawn and then this:

Fantomex, who had said nothing, shoots the kid silently.  The rest of the issue is them--without many other words--evacuating back home, upset and startled. I honestly did not see that coming, and later it is revealed how Fantomex takes some of the blood to create his own Apocalypse clone in a simulated reality he names, "Evan," in the hopes of testing-out if maybe there could be a good version of Apocalypse (the character went on to pop-up in various X-books) and he was too rash.

Even if that extra step of cloning an Apocalypse designed only for good counters a bit of the initial brutality, I was dumbfounded to see even one member of X-Force would, "Go there," when generally the plot would not do as such. I guess writer Rick Remender wanted to surprise us all (with artist Jerome Opena making everything look great too). The new team finds itself forever a little shaky by what it had to do even if they learn about the helpful clone later on. The rest of, "Uncanny X-Force," was a solid run, but nothing could live up to the bewilderment I felt reading issue #4. So, 2011 was the last time a comic utterly shocked me and hopefully, another one will again sometime soon.

The Latest, "Deadpool 2," Trailer Looks Like More of the Same--In a Good Way

Because I am addicted to the internet I saw that the trailer for, "Deadpool 2," was posted and watched it a couple times already today. It's right above this text and good fun. It basically looks like more of the same from the first movie, and I mean that in a good way. It appears like it will be fun, silly, full of violence, and have a bunch of swearing.

I was amused how the preview name-drops, "X-Force," and even outright says it is basically a way to launch that franchise in one of the trailer's meta-moments. Ryan Reynolds was basically born to play Deadpool and Josh Brolin makes a suitably imposing Cable. It comes out in May with enough distance between it and the release of , "Avengers: Infinity War," that they shouldn't step on each other's toes. Fun fact: Brolin is also the voice of Thanos so he should theoretically get some hefty checks for royalties if he/his lawyers negotiated his deals well.

Film Friday: Three Marvel Comic-Related Movie Trailers/Teasers

A variety of trailers and teasers for comic-book movies that involve Marvel properties have been coming out lately. I thought I would highlight three specific ones that stuck-out in my mind for one reason or another...

Ant-Man and the Wasp

I guess because Scott Lang sided with the losers in, "Captain America: Civil War," he now is in some big trouble with the Government. I say that because he and everyone else are on the run in this trailer. I honestly love Paul Rudd so just watching him do his thing through these movies makes me happy and that we get new strong female hero in the form of Evangeline Lilly officially becoming The Wasp is just stellar as well considering how much of a boys' club the MCU has been for the most part. This ad gets me pretty excited!

Venom

This short teaser looked like a really competent action-thriller movie with weird medical labs, car chases, and Tom Hardy making serious faces. That said, if it weren't for the glimpse of some black goo and the fact that the movie is called, "Venom," I wouldn't have had any clue this movie was about Spider-Man's infamous foe. I understand this thing isn't out until October so they have a ton of post-production to do, but maybe they could've waited until they had enough tech completed to give us at least one shot venom looking all imposing and scary? If the idea of this teaser is to make us want more, it succeeded, but in the wrong way. I do want to see more, because honestly I kind of feel like I saw nothing. Assuming the Sony and Marvel deal allows the MCU to at least be mentioned in flicks outside of the main, "Spider-Man," I would definitely appreciate at least a hint of something, anything, that makes it clear this is a Marvel-adjacent flick.

Deadpool 2, Untitled Deadpool Sequel, Whatever it is?

Clearly for the new Deadpool movie we aren't going to be dropping the meta-elements of breaking the fourth wall with reckless abandon or the cutting of countless jokes. What at first seems like a super-serious glimpse of a depressing sci-fi movie with a ruined future not too unlike, "The Terminator," morphs into Deadpool being...well, Deadpool, as Ryan Reynolds shows why this is the role he was born to play via smashing literal action figures together. Then, we get brief glimpses of a bunch of clips from the movie with what looks like a potential X-Force and plenty of returning faces from the first flick. It's a pitch-perfect way to promote...whatever name this movie is going to end-up having, and Josh Brolin makes a great-looking Cable whose serious sour-face will clearly have some conflicts with risible ol' Deadpool.

My Third Time at the ToyMan Show Was Fantastic!

Today, December 10th, I attended the last Toyman show of the year for much of the morning (and it wraps up soon this afternoon). I have now visited the Toyman show put on by Chris, "Toyman," McQuillen three times in a row, so I'm thinking that illustrates how much I greatly enjoy going to it! Seeing as I am now becoming a regular I'm even more impressed by how the vendors always seem to have a wide variety of stock every show and I always find some cool stuff! Chris has a great variety of vendors at the show as I spent a good deal of time looking at the classic vintage toys, Funko Pops, and comic-books. This visit I did not buy any Funkos but did come across some cool comics! How about I share some of them with you now?

My favorite find this show was a, "slabbed," copy of the first issue of, "Infinity Gauntlet," which I acquired from STL Comics. I've discussed mixed feelings about slabbed books on the blog before, but as I of course have this saga of a story in trade form I just thought it would be neat to display the first issue with its gorgeous cover-art, and while 9.4-and-higher slabs sell for absurdly high sums I got this 8.5 very fairly.

I also stumbled across an old issue of the, "Widow," comic by friend of the blog Mike Wolfer and was pleased to pick that up from a vendor.

The last item of note I got was this snazzy issue of, "X-Force," featuring the second-ever appearance of Deadpool. I don't have the kind of money to pay for his first appearance but the second time he showed-up I can buy!

One other thing at the show which I found really cool was a vendor known as the Comic Grind bus. It looked like a regular bus with lots of decorations from the outside, but once you stepped inside it turned out to be a full-fledged portable comic shop that also could serve food and drink (although it wasn't selling edible items today so as to not impede on the food-sales inside). I talked with one of its creators, Phil Trapp, and told him how impressive the whole set-up was. He thanked me for my kind words and told me about their website where you can actually book the bus to come to parties or special events. I know if I ever hold an event big enough I'd be sure to have them come as I'm gonna save-up some money to get that, "Marvel Spotlight," they had with Moon Knight on the cover!

This last Toyman show of the year was just as fun a time as the other two I have attended and as long as Chris doesn't mind me bugging him about coming to the shows I'll keep writing about them and how awesome they are! You can visit the site here and get excited for all the shows coming in 2018--you'll most likely see me there at a number of them!

One Sentence Summaries Sneaks Back To Smack You In The Face With Awesome

Opener
This is my fourth time presenting summaries of comic-books that are only one sentence long. Yes, sometimes I take advantage of semicolons or run-on sentences but I still feel each comic is only given a sentence so let's not get overly grammatical up in this sucker. Anyways, here are some thoughts....

Main Attraction
Ghost Rider #4
I'm not sure if I enjoy this because it is actually a great comic, or if it is just an okay comic with amazing art by Tradd Moore giving it the sensation that it is better than it actually is.

Thomas Alsop #1
I think the 2nd issue of this is out but I haven't read it yet, although I imagine it continues the clever idea of being like a tale about John Constantine if he were (was?) a fame-whore.

Mighty Avengers #11
I heard this series was possibly being cancelled, which is a shame because besides this and "Avengers Undercover" (which is confirmed as cancelled) I don't really read any "Avengers" books anymore due to growing bored with Hickman's comics and getting sick of Remender's super-dull saga with the Apocalypse twins that seems like it has taken 20-something issues when eight at the most would have been enough.

X-Force #6
I've quit this comic after this issue and I don't get why the writer of this (Si Spurrier) is creating something so mediocre when the X-series he did before (X-Men Legacy) was one of the best series I've ever read; life is disappointing sometimes.

Batman #32
One of the incredibly small number of DC comics I'm still reading, I continue to be a fan of "Batman" for reasons I can't quite figure out beyond that it has at least had the same creative team since launch, told interesting stories, and been creative in its originality while still calling-back to the past....perhaps that's exactly what this kind of comic needs and the very reason why I like it.

The Wicked and The Divine #1
Well damn, that was a really, really enjoyable comic.

The Red Ten #6
Comixtribe's version of a Justice League slowly being killed by a mysterious being on an island in the vein of "And Then There Were None" has actually worked out quite nicely, resulting in a comic I look forward to reading whenever it manages to come out with its somewhat sporadic release schedule.

Closer
That is all my musings for now. I hope I've inspired you to check out some comics and possibly avoid others.

Rant-Reviews--Five First Issues of Random New Series

The Intro
My God, it really has been forever since I've done capsule reviews, hasn't it? The last time I engaged in "true" miniaturized reviews was back in May of 2013 when  I spent a day discussing Marvel comics in the Morning and other publishers in the Afternoon/Evening.

Perhaps I haven't done much in the way of capsule reviews because I've enjoyed  giving more detailed thoughts on certain comics. Maybe I haven't done mini-reviews because I read fewer titles. Perhaps I just didn't feel like it.

Whatever the reason I haven't done these sorts of reviews for awhile. However, because I have recently read a bunch of "first issues" of various series (or mini-series) I thought I would share my thoughts on them in somewhat bite-sized form. None of the comics were bad by any means, but some definitely were great and others just  good. Keep reading to see what I mean...

The Reviews
Loki: Agent of Asgard #1
For quite some time Loki has been written by Kieron Gillen, who sort of rehabilitated the character's image from being a simple one-dimensional bad-guy into the youthful trickster we know and love. From the re-booted "Journey Into Mystery" to his shenanigans in the amazingly-awesome (and sadly just-ended) "Young Avengers", Loki has been doing marvelous stuff thanks to Gillen and his artists. Hence, when I heard someone besides Gillen would be writing this title, Al Ewing, I had some nervousness.

I'm not familiar with much of Ewing's previous work, but have been enjoying his "Mighty Avengers" despite Greg Land's art and thought if the same quality could be carried over to this book all would be fine. Luckily, all is indeed fine and possibly even better, because "Loki: Agent of Asgard" is an incredibly fun romp discussing some of Loki's past and much of what he hopes for the present (and future). This comic has the Loki who is not evil, but more of a fun and lovable trickster. The tone hits just the right mixture of adventure, comedy, and foreboding with a surprising twist at the end,  making for a comic that had me wondering what I was all worried about. This is a wonderful first issue and shows that maybe there are some fresh ideas in the "House of Ideas"/Marvel after all.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Royals: Masters of War #1
This comic basically asks, "What if Royalty, in addition to having everything, also had super-powers?" and then runs with the idea. We have some exposition explaining to us how throughout time Kings, Queens, and their offspring from various nations have had super-abilities, but things are currently at a point in World War II where it is agreed no such powers will be used. At least, that is the case until one of the royal sons gets fed-up with all the pointless death and destruction, and takes action...which then sets us up for future issues which will undoubtedly have lots of fighting between royal-folk who have powers.

Rob Williams (who wrote the awesome "Daken" comics I loved a bit ago) turns in a sturdy script and the art by Simon Coleby makes everything look "grounded" enough that there isn't too much of a disconnect between the 1940's atmosphere and people with the ability to fly--it probably helps no one is wearing a bright costume or such. This is a solid comic, but it hints at much more interesting things coming than which actually occur in this issue. In other words, it is good enough for a flip-through but maybe it'll read better in trade with the whole story collected.
3 out of 5 stars.

The Bunker #1
Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Joe Infurnari have a story here that is a strange mixture of science-fiction, young-adult drama, and a dash of horror. Basically, a group of good friends (some of whom are couples) stumble upon a mysterious bunker when going out to put away a time capsule before they all split up for their various jobs and such they now have. Inside the bunker they discover messages from their future selves that warn how they are going to be responsible for the near-destruction of the Earth. The question now becomes if these letters will help them avoid the mass-death and violence they seem destined for, or only ensure the horrible things we see in the mixture of past-and-present storytelling come true for sure. It is all pretty trippy.

The science-fiction aspects of the story are evident, where I get the feeling of hints of horror would be in how the characters are freaking out and trying to run away from this dark destiny almost as if they were the same youths in a slasher film attempting to dash away from a chain-saw wielding maniac. Plus, the horrible things we hear about and see are almost more scary than any monster could ever be--if only because the idea of humanity almost being wiped out the way the story describes sounds so eerily plausible (and no, I won't spoil just what puts humankind near the brink of extinction, finding out is part of the fun). This comic has a fascinating concept, plays out interestingly, and I wonder just where things will be going next.
4 out of 5 stars.

X-Force #1
This is an odd one. The art is by someone I don't recall ever seeing the work of before, Rock-He Kim, and it is a new "X-Force" comic, kind-of spinning out the previous two that ran for a bit. The odd part is that with Si Spurrier is writing it, there is a quirky and slightly-absurd tone, but Rock-He Kim's art style reminds me of the excessively muscular and tough-style comics of the 1990's. Therefore, it is almost like a tonal clash between the writing and art. Spurrier is pretty much done now with "X-Men Legacy", and that too had a somewhat off-kilter style, but the art matched it. I just feel kind of strange reading dialogue and captions that seem to be a tonal 180 degrees from the art.

The thing is though, it kind of actually almost works. The story is interesting, and the art isn't bad so much as giving me flashbacks to 20 years ago; the weird mashing-up may give a reader weird feelings, but I still liked the comic plenty. I just wonder if Rock-He Kim would be better served on a more serious straight-up action comic and Spurrier would be more complimented by an artist in the vein of his previous collaborators on "X-Men Legacy". I may just really miss "Legacy" however and be trying to imagine this comic being something it's not because as I've said before, "X-Men Legacy" is/was a really, really good comic. This isn't a really good comic, but it is a good one and I'm interested in seeing where Spurrier will be taking the plot and if eventually the art will feel like it meshes better with the tone. We shall see. Oh, and I give Spurrier bonus respect for remembering something most writers forget, that Fantomex likes to pretend he is French and speak with an accent.
3.5 out of 5 stars (the extra .5 is for remembering the accent for Fantomex).

The Fuse #1
As with "The Bunker" this is a science-fiction comic, but this one isn't scary so much as an example of what could occur if you mixed a police-procedural with a futuristic spaceship tons of people live upon. Antony Johnston writes about a gigantic piece of metal floating in space where life sounds kind of miserable, and the idea of a cop volunteering to work there--as one of our protagonists named Dietrich has--sounds utterly absurd. There is humor (much of it from the grizzled old detective, Klem, she isn't one for beating around the bush), some action, and of course a mystery that needs solving and which will hopefully be figured out successfully by our investigators.

While this comic does a good job of establishing our main characters, they do come off as a bit one-dimensional. Klem is older and sarcastic, and Dietrich is serious and clearly a talented officer, but what else is there to them? I also feel as if readers don't really get a feel for what life is like for people who live on the Fuse, or why exactly it is supposedly such a bad place. Perhaps later issues will delve into those matters more, but as it stands now this is a comic that has a great concept and some quality storytelling. The thing that will determine if this is truly an awesome comic is how interesting the current mystery (and future ones) turn out to be, and if there is more to Klem and Dietrich than initially meets the eye.
3 out of 5 stars.

The Closing
A variety of comics have debuted lately, and it is encouraging to see many of them are good as opposed to boring junk. Perhaps I've just been lucky enough to not stumble across a particularly bad comic lately, but we all know they are lurking out there.

I suppose the key is to be open to examining new things, because you never know what fascinating comic you may find. Of course, should a comic be so good you want to get all future issues you may need to cut something else if you are on a tight budget like myself, but so is life.

I hope these new capsule reviews were enjoyable enough to make up for their lack of appearances for some time, and maybe I'll get more up in the future before as much time has passed. I guess the key is there being enough comics I want to talk about, but not do too in-depth with. We will see.

Let's Talk Some More About DC's 3-D Covers, and Novelty Covers in General.

We've gone through two weeks of DC's 3-D cover madness and I've seen different shops respond to it in a variety of ways. From stores I have checked out I've seen some places taking the covers and marking them up immensely and others just selling the 3-D-adorned comics for cover price, i.e. $3.99 if you want 3-D and $2.99 if you want the covers without it. I've written about what seemed good, bad, and ugly in regards to Villain's Month/Forever Evil and how horrendous all this allocation business is. What do I think of the 3-D covers themselves now that I've seen them though? One word, "Eh".

I've been told everything about how the covers looked from that the 3-D wasn't all that impressive to it was amazing (well, maybe I heard one random guy say he thought it was cool, "amazing" is over-stating it). I've seen them in person now and...they are neat, I guess? If I look at the covers just right AKA head-on, and move the comic around a little bit then I definitely see some wiggling-around of the image as if it were popping-out at me.

 It's not a failure as a special-effect, but is it a gimmick that is worth one whole extra dollar? I honestly can't answer that, because I don't know if in the future those copies of "Batman and Robin #23.1/Two-Face #1" that are 3-D will actually be worth the many extra dollars one shop I went by was charging, or if they'll be sitting in the dollar bin with the 3-D material on the cover worth more than the comic itself.

This all leads to the question of if this Villain's Month 3-D cover business is going to be a success or more of a fiasco. From the little data that's in via word-of-mouth from retailers or other random folk, so far things have been going pretty well, with fans perhaps more interested in the event than the silly covers, but plenty of "speculators" are going to stores too and snatching-up all the 3-D covers they can, so who knows how inflated sales are due to speculation.

 I myself hope that Villain's Month goes well, but not too well. I say this because if Villain's Month is a smashing success we may see DC and other companies fiddling around with other sorts of designs and random gimmicks. Should you think I'm being paranoid I would like to point at a post about how Marvel is bringing back the acetate cover for the upcoming "Origin II" comic. I suppose a mini-series that continues telling Wolverine's back-story deserves something snazzy, but I thought all that business of covers with the raised-up-off-the-page images had passed.

As I talked about in my first-ever "Tales from the Dollar Bin" post about the old "X-Force" comic, poly-bagging has been making a return, so between that, variant covers, and now these other gimmicks it is as if the 1990's are here again. You know, the part in history right before that huge crash that occurred in the comic-book market. Clearly I don't want that to happen again because it would be tragic, but I wonder if yet again the comic-book industry is making its way toward such a thing.

As it is, I don't really mind novelty covers, as long as they aren't made artificially rare with a sort of manufactured "scarcity" that makes it harder for me to read the comics I like. Plus, suddenly if they are more expensive due to all the bells and whistles, that is a major pain too. I don't know what is going to happen with novelty and variant covers, but sooner than later something's gotta give. I just wonder what exactly it is that will be "giving", be it the market due to an over-saturation of gimmick covers, fans giving up on all the novelty-covers, or something else. We shall see.

Uncanny X-Force and Fearless Defenders AKA One Series Is Getting Better, One is Getting Worse

I've been reading Sam Humphries "Uncanny X-Force" and Cullen Bunn's "Fearless Defenders". I started out unimpressed by "X-Force", and somewhat enjoyed "Defenders" as I will call them for short. It got to a point I was seriously considering dropping "X-Force" but then something weird started to happen with the series. With issue #7 "X-Force" suddenly improved in quality exponentially and "Defenders" seemed to be less and less enjoyable with issue. In other words, one series is getting better at a startling speed and the other is decreasing in quality at a noticeable rate.

The Rise of  Enjoyment in "X-Force"

Sam Humphries took over the re-launch of "Uncanny X-Force" and had some big shoes to fill considering how amazing Rick Remender's run was. While there were two comics that sort of spun out of that original series ("Cable and X-Force" is the other) this one actually picked up plot points from the old series while Cable's book is more a throwback to the original X-Force mixed with some newer characters.

Perhaps it was the big expectations I had for the book but I found those first six issues quite lacking. All the ingredients for a good story were there with Fantomex (now split into three people, Fantomex, Weapon XII, and the female Cluster), Storm, Psylocke AKA Becky, and even the oft-hilarious Puck of Alpha Flight fame. Everything was just messy though. You had Bishop coming back from the future, an evil force causing trouble, that multi-armed lady from the Mojoverse who always is up to no good, and there was just too darn much going on. Then suddenly the seventh issue came out.

Issue seven and eight of Uncanny X-Force are focused solely on the complex relationship between Becky and three aspects of the original Fantomex. There are jumps in time between the present and past, with the past involving a summer she spent with Fantomex (the one of the three who kept the original name and has the thief aspects) and Cluster (a female version of Fantomex that has the more personable aspects). The present is about Becky and Cluster teaming up to try and rescue Fantomex from the clutches of Weapon XII but with the complication of how because the original Fantomex loved Becky, all of the three new ones do, even the "evil" one.

The interesting aspects of all this is how in the seventh issue Becky realizes she loves both the new Fantomex and Cluster as they are all parts of the original Fantomex she loved. This is one of those rare times a comic has seriously explored polyamorous relationships and the fact that Cluster and Becky are women isn't treated as any sort of, "Look, two females in love, how shocking!" plot aspect but just casually introduced as, "Yeah, Becky is basically bisexual, who cares?" The complexity isn't in how Becky is interested in both a man and woman, but how she is involved with a man and a woman at the same time. Plus, the fact that the man and woman are essentially clones of the man she originally loved makes things even more complicated and soap-opera-esque, but in a good way.

The way Sam Humphries is introducing all these interesting concepts of sexual fluidity and polyamorous relationships into a super-hero comic is wonderful and a series that once was overly confusing with a bunch of plot points now is focusing in on the relationship between four people and how it impacts their lives, along with lots of awesome fighting scenes. I was surprised to find I enjoyed the seventh issue of "Uncanny X-Force" as much as I did and that the eighth issue continued the trend was even more of a treat. The way this comic has improved makes me also reflective of the sadness at how another series that showed promise has become pretty subpar.


The Decline of Fun in  "Defenders"

Cullen Bunn is a friend of the blog (I've interviewed him) so I take no pleasure in speaking ill of his writing. The thing is, when I started this website my goal was to speak the truth about my opinions no matter what, so it is with sadness I report that while "Fearless Defenders" started out as a pretty good read, as of the sixth issue I'm thinking I am done with the series. Between the villain who always has her plans go wrong while insisting it is all part of her master scheme, to how we had one of those, "Everything you know about this character is a lie," moments with Valkyrie, I've found "Defenders" to be slowly devolving into a dull slog. It also didn't help that most of the main characters were coming off as less-interesting versions of themselves...except for one new character I really liked.

The one character whom I found interesting was brand-new to the Marvel Universe, Annabelle Riggs. Introduced in the first issue of "Fearless Defenders", she was smart and funny, plus, as a civilian thrust into a world of super-heroes she was able to provide a grounded view on everything that hero-comics sometimes lack ( what with all the action and explosions going on). She also was gay but it didn't completely define her character, meaning we had a well-balanced, interesting individual who also helped bring some more diversity to the comic's world. Then in the sixth issue she was killed off. Yeah, seriously:

Her death basically happened to stop Valykire from rampaging around, but considering how fast she was introduced and killed off this comes off as the fridging of a character. We have "Uncanny X-Force" introducing all kinds of interesting ideas to its series with Becky's bisexuality and her polyamorous relationship with Cluster and Fantomex, as opposed to how "Fearless Defenders" introduces a bit of diversity in Ms. Riggs and kills her off less than a year after the character comes into existence. Basically, with Riggs killed I've lost the last reason I was still reading "Defenders".

Diversity and Quality
Both "Uncanny X-Force" and "Fearless Defenders" have been telling stories that involve a diversity of sexuality, and both have changed in overall story-quality too (for better and worse). Both introduced sexual diversity in a natural way, but then "Defenders" suddenly killed their diversity off while the other series is only getting more and more interesting. Plus, it doesn't help that the diversity introduced in the form of Riggs to "Defenders" was the only aspect of the comic I was still enjoying.

Clearly, I'm going to continue picking up "Uncanny X-Force" and I eagerly look forward to reading more of it. Meanwhile, next time I go to the comic shop I think I may skim through the seventh issue of "Fearless Defenders" but unless something within its pages especially jumps out at me, the odds are very good it won't be taken home.
Uncanny X-Force #7 and #8: 4 out of 5 stars.
Fearless Defenders #6: 1.5 out of 5 stars.

Tales from the Dollar Bin: X-Force #1

I've created a new segment that should serve to entertain and inform. I hope to do it somewhat-regularly. Now I shall debut it with the description I will always have to kick it off.

There are comics which are worth incredible sums of money, but so many of the most interesting, tragic, or just downright weird can be found for a simple dollar or less in a  store's "dollar bin". There, comics that never gained much popularity can be found alongside those that sold so much as for a copy to be worthless. "Tales From the Dollar Bin" aims to explore these comics, be they a single issue or an entire run of a series. From the great to the miserable, some of the best treasures and worst nightmares can be found in those infamous boxes. Let's have a "tale" now..
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The Twisted Saga of "X-Force #1"

It is no secret that I basically now don't care for Rob Liefeld as he went from a mediocre artist who at least seemed like a really nice guy, to a complete and utter jerk. He used to be quite the hot property though, and this dollar comic I found attests to that.

The first-ever issue of X-Force (in their own self-titled comic, at least) is the 2nd best-selling comic ever, behind the first issue of X-Men back when it was re-released in the 1990's. This comic came out during the speculation-craze when people were buying poly-bagged comics with all kinds of extras (trading cards, shiny covers, etc.) and storing them away unread in the hopes they would someday be worth something. Considering how many copies this comic sold it should come as no surprise that even still in its original plastic bag with the trading card it is basically worthless despite the label on the plastic packaging declaring it a, "collector's item." The fact that there are people who spent so much money out there on comics such as these and then went broke when the market crashed makes the whole thing as fascinating as it is sad.

The comic speculation market, seconds before the bubble popping

At the store where I acquired this first issue of "X-Force" there were four total copies of just the first issue, still sealed in the original packaging along with a few "loose" copies. This got me thinking how all the way back in 1991 someone could have bought this comic, and kept it sealed-shut in the hopes it would someday be worth big bucks. As time went on and the comic-market basically crashed they probably cursed this comic, glared at it with rage, but somewhere deep within their heart hoped it would be worth at least some money at some point, keeping it encased within its plastic prison, never to be read, with only a trading card packed by its side to keep it company.

Maybe one day our theoretical person just gave up, sold all their comics in bulk--the valuable and worthless--and the store where I bought this got a few of the copies, didn't even bother to open them, slapped a "$1.00" sticker on the copies, and shoved the four sealed-up issues of "X-Force" into their dollar bin never to be seen again until someone with a passing interest in curiosities such as these (me) bought one.

How is the comic itself though? Well, its a 90's-era Liefeld "X-Force" comic, that's all you really need to know. It's classic over-the-top Liefeld and otherwise is unremarkable other than how the comic itself kind of stands for everything that went wrong with comics back then--the mindless buying of multiple issues, gimmicks, and the inevitable bursting of the speculation bubble. I mean, the cover seriously declares itself a special collectible twice with the labels on the poly-bag, is that not absurd?

It's 2013 and we're still doing this poly-bag nonsense?

In some ways a comic such as this can serve as a warning to the comics of today. We have poly-bagging making a return with the occasional "big-deal" comic having the wrapper, often to obscure the cover which inevitably gives away a major plot point (that everyone knows anyway thanks to the internet). A mere week ago "Age of Ultron #10" had a little black poly-bag to hide away any secrets within the comic. This of course also served to theoretically make it more valuable to anyone who leaves their comic sealed shut within the plastic, never to be read and enjoyed, but instead treated as some sort of investment in the future.

The Story Comes to its End
I've always felt if you're buying new comics in the simple hope they'll go up in value you're doing comics as a hobby wrong. Go ahead and buy old ones that have some worth and maybe sell them, but if you truly believe that snatching up a hundred copies of some new series or big event's conclusion will make you rich, well, you're living in a fantasy land (although, to be fair, anyone who did pick up a bunch of "Walking Dead"  #1's probably is living the high life right now).

In the end, whether that first issue of a comic turns out to be worth thousands, or barely a dollar, is purely up to the desires of the market and a healthy helping of sheer chance. Only the passage of time will determine if something becomes worth a lot of scratch, or just another...tale from the dollar bin!

Morning Rant Reviews--Four Marvel Comics Of Varying Quality

I of course read a variety of comics, but I thought I would kick-off this morning with some reviews of Marvel comics (as I suppose that is a chunk of what I read) and follow-up in the afternoon with a smattering of other stuff.

Avengers Arena #9
From the start a lot of people were against this book. From the whole thing with it being fan-favorite teen-characters forced to kill each other making those aforementioned fans angry, to the idea that Marvel is no way in hell actually going to let these characters stay dead. Still, this has actually been a pretty good series, and even if it turns out none of these characters are actually killed (or come back to life really soon) this comic has at least done one thing I thought impossible--namely, made the villain, "Arcade" a bit less of a laughingstock (which was cleverly acknowledged and discussed in issue 7), so that's impressive. All of that said, this issue left a little to be desired with more instances of us getting a character's back-story than actually seeing all the conflict in the present. This wasn't bad by any means, however.
3 out of 5 stars.

Uncanny X-Force #4
We are on the fourth issue and I still have little-to-no clue what is going on. Apparently this comic is going to work on hand-waving away why Bishop was trying to kill Cable's adopted daughter, Hope, by throwing in mind-control or something. I find this annoying because pretty much none of the Marvel comics pointed out that Bishop was basically right about Hope as the Phoneix-force-infused X-Men almost destroyed the world and then she came close too during AVX before instead reigniting the mutant race. Doing this whole, "Oh, Bishop was just being made to act weird," story-line sort of ruins all that. Besides that matter though, we have a team that doesn't seem to gel together that well besides the rapport between Storm and Psylocke, and Fantomex is fun but as we don't fill the whole comic with him/her (there are 3 versions now, it's complicated) that can only go so far. At least the art is pretty to look at, but I'm basically underwhelmed by this comic.
2 out of 5 stars.

The Fearless Defenders #4
I like Cullen Bunn as a person, I do. I really enjoyed interviewing him, and I'm a fan of his work on those "Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe/Deadpool Killustrated" mini-series along with his writing on "Venom". All of that said, I'm still just not really digging this series. New character Annabelle Riggs is fun, as she provides a viewpoint like that of what a normal person would feel surrounded by all these heroes, but I just don't really care about all this Doom Maiden stuff no matter how big a threat it is made out to be (and it doesn't help that the villain, Caroline Le Fay, talks like a big baddie but seems to keep screwing up and acting like it doesn't matter)--and the whole "everything you know about this character is wrong!" twist for Valkyrie is another played out technique comics seem overly prone to using. I'll give this another issue or two to come around but right now...eh.
2 out of 5 stars.

X-Factor #256
How many times did I have to tell you people this was one of the best comics out there? I said as much from the earliest days of my blog, all the way to today. I guess I didn't say it enough though for it to matter though because now the series is ending (ostensibly on writer Peter David's terms, and I hope that is true). This issue marks the end of the "Hell on Earth War" story-line and now we'll be going into the book's last arc, appropriately titled, "The End." All of that said, this has been one of the best series ever and this issue helps continue to illustrate that point with a twist ending I would have never seen coming, accompanied by the usual strong plotting and witty dialogue David seems to write with ease. The series will be ending soon but I'll always remember it fondly...and hold out hope that maybe David is ending this series just so he can do something else really cool with all the characters. This is just an awesome issue of a spectacular comic, why do good things have to end?
5 out of 5 stars.

There you have it, come on back in the afternoon for more comic-y goodness.

The Unnecessary Return Of Daken.

If you've been reading my blog, you know I feel Daken's series became amazing when Rob Williams took over. You also know the series ended with Daken dying in the best possible way to tell his story. I discuss all this here.

Now then, if you've been reading Uncanny X-Force you know that a new Evil Brotherhood of mutants has emerged recently, and who is there helping lead it? Daken. God-damn it Marvel, you couldn't even let him stay dead for a year?

"I was dead? Little ol' me? You don't say!"

I know his death was slightly mysterious, the story said he made it that way on purpose so people would always wonder, "What if?" Now you just go and show him alive and kicking. Why? We've gotten a few interesting moments between he and Evan/Genesis/The Possible New Apocalypse. In the latest issue we have a neat scene where Sabertooth basically says he wants to be Daken's adoptive father in a sense...it's all well and good, but Daken was better off dead. I'm disappointed in Marvel and writer Rick Remender. That's all I've really got to say on the matter.

It's still a really good comic though.

Rant-Reviews--Some Month's-Old Comics, And Some New Ones. Quality Varied.

Flip the Switch

Let's talk about comics--some old, some newer, none quite terrible, but some really good. Other ones are just okay. I'll break out the peanut butter and bread so we can enjoy sandwiches whilst reading/writing the reviews. What? You're allergic? Sucks to be you, because I want my chunky peanut-butter.

Mystery Men #5

Yes, this came out forever ago, and yes the last two issues seemed a bit rushed and it still wasn't quite clear why this had to tie in with the main Marvel continuity as the company made a big deal about--"Hey, this takes place before the normal heroes you know of existed and it's in continuity for you 'it has to count' nerds!"--but damn-it, all those complaints aside that should hurt this I still really enjoyed this series. It's like you are dating some girl and you know she's got some serious flaws, but you can't help but be enamored with her. Sure, she's got some human bodies in the basement, but she makes such a delicious mac-and-cheese! This comic may have the flaws, but it's still a really enjoyable pulp adventure with interesting characters that's just plain fun.

David Liss wrote up a good tale even if he had the whole, "It's in continuity, read it!" cloud hanging over his head that Marvel made a big deal of, even if at the end of the day it didn't matter if this comic took place in the Marvel Universe or a some other reality like this one where it seems no matter how many times you say you don't want mustard or mayo on your sandwich you always have to send it back. I don't want mayo, it makes me gag! This comic didn't activate that reflex though, and I'm pretty sure it's out in trade now so you ought to pick it up.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Captain Swing And The Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island #4

Wow. It took forever for the fourth issue of this to come out and then once it did they couldn't pump out the trade fast enough. Then again this was Warren Ellis writing this, and even though he is a great writer, it seems when he is doing something for the Avatar comics line you never know when or if the project will be completed (this applies to other comic-lines and Ellis too, but it is especially bad with he and Avatar). How was the final issue though? Well, it was...decent?

I'm sorry, but it just took so long for everything to come out I had trouble remembering certain things, but I did remember this started out a lot more fun than it ended. If I may return to the theme of relationships, it was like one that starts out really great but by the end just sort of fizzles out--mainly because you realize you no longer have enough money to pay her fee. What? That isn't a relationship, that's prostitution? Well you and I just have different views, my friend. Seriously though, this was passable but not that amazing. It looked nice though.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

Captain Atom 100 Page Special

Well, that was weird. I like Captain Atom, he is a cool character. I was one of the few people who enjoyed that comic which took him to the Wildstorm Universe back when it was actually its own Universe. I mean I absolutely love that series for some odd reason. Then he became some bad guy named Monarch in a terrible DC comic event that counted down to an interesting but weird one by Grant Morrison (Countdown to Final Crisis and Final Crisis, respectively). And then...who knows what happened. Hell, this comic isn't sure. Basically it just kind of goes, "Yeah, some weird stuff happened, but now Captain Atom wants to get over it, so let's put tell a cool tale of him in another dimension that is all sword-and-sorcery style."

Originally these were back-up strips, but this collects them into a...well, a 100 page special. James Robinson and Greg Rucka both wrote them, and its pretty good, even though that terrible temporary team from the "Justice" mini-series Robinson did that was more painful than having a Piranha biting your nether regions while listening to any Celine Dion album. This though, this was pretty decent even if it was a bit busy giving us a tour of the DC Universe at times, or trying to awkwardly explain away Captain Atom's last few years of confusing continuity (which were wiped out in the re-launch that happened anyways). Yeah, this was good.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Cape #1 & #2

First off, this has nothing to do with the apparently atrocious NBC mini-series. No, this is a mini-series related to the one-shot comic based off a short story by Joe Hill of Locke and Key comic fame (along with various books and such). This builds off of that one shot with a story of a man who has powers and does what a lot of people probably would if they suddenly gained some--become quite evil. It's a decent yarn but the main character is just so horrible and doesn't seem to have too much of a reason to be. Everyone was supportive of him, he just turned out to be nightmarish. I guess what he says in issue #2 sums it up. The fact he isn't good at anything but he is good at this, with "this" meaning being a monster. It's fine for what it is, but I like my bad-guys to be a bit like someone you can relate to and not just total sociopaths. The new issue comes out this 28th I believe. I'll be reading it, but more-so out of curiousness. 

2.5 out of 5 stars.

Uncanny X-Force #18

Have you ever read something just totally awesome that you and everyone else loved, but in a weird twist the part some people enjoyed most actually rubbed you the wrong way? Yeah, that happened with this comic. Not to spoil it, but there is this one waaayyyy too sweet moment that occurs that just had me rolling my eyes. However, that is overpowered by the rest of this issue which is just sheer amounts of incredible. Whether it is being serious, funny, full of action, or introducing that last twist that I didn't predict after the ones that I did see coming, this is a quality good time. It took forever for the story to get here in its 9 or so parts, but boy if it wasn't a gas.

5 out of 5 stars.

Shut The Power Down

There wasn't anything too horrible, just some stuff that was a bit mediocre to go with readings that were quite delightful. The moral of the story is that comics aren't always terrible--though I've clearly run into plenty of those if you look through the blog at all.

Rant-Reviews--4 of the few-ish Marvel books I read and T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents

Your Comics Suck, But I Read Them
I said I'd get to posting, and now its time for some rant-reviews. I know I tag any post with a review with rant-reviews, but these that are just nothing but reviews are special--they are really sarcastic and silly. Let's proceed?

Magneto: Not A Hero #1 
The second issue of this comes out tomorrow, and I would have been more excited after the big reveal at the end of the first issue, were it not for the fact that Marvel spoiled that surprise in the solicitation for the third issue of this series! I mean really, what the fuck? Marvel pulled the same move I did when I came out of a screening of the movie Contagion and the theater I was at only has one actual theater because its kind of a bar and lounge with one screen. Therefore, a line forms for the next showing as tickets go fast because people like to see movies at the bar and lounge theater.

So, I leave Contagion and tell everyone, "It was a pig, it was a motherfucking pig all along, but they find a cure!" and 5 minutes later security is ushering me out of the building--not because I was being thrown out, but because I had to be protected from the violent crowd that just had a plot point of the movie ruined for them. You see, people still went and saw the movie, and enjoyed it, but had an important thing spoiled for them by a asshole (me/Marvel) which kind of tempered some of the shock. It was still a cool comic though, and I'm sure they felt the same about Contagion. I wouldn't know, the theater banned me. By the way, that story is more true and less of a joke than I'd care to admit.
3.5 out of 5 stars.



Secret Avengers #19
Warren Ellis continues to show that even though he insults superhero comics, he can write damn good ones, and also has been proving that you can do done-in-one-issue stories. You hear that, Uncanny X-Force? With your 9-parts and more, "Dark Angel" saga that while good has been going forever? You can tell a quality tale within just a single issue of a comic, and have it actually be satisfying! Plus my favorite, Moon Knight is in this and I love him to an unhealthy degree for someone to love a fictional character. I mean goddamn, this was just spectacular and looked pretty darn good too. I actually don't mind the $3.99 this cost, which is equal to Marvel kicking me really hard in the junk and laughing about it. Yeah, there's a reason I've switched to a mostly DC, but if Marvel actually consistently had stuff like this and made it easy to find instead of part of a market flooded with 50 other Avengers books maybe the world would be a better place. You know, the kind of place where Republican Presidential debates aren't more painful to sit through than a dental appointment to with teeth drilled without any Novocaine.
5 out of 5 stars.

Red Skull: Incarnate #5
We all know this guy--the young Johann--is gonna become one of the worst Nazis ever--The Red Skull--and if I've learned anything from movies, its pretty hard if not impossible to make Nazis seem like sympathetic characters. Therefore, writer Greg Pak had his work cut out for him in the process of making this sort-of-contrast to his other comic series, "Magneto: Testament." I guess I should give Pak credit in that early on our "hero" (said with much sarcasm) seems decent enough and slowly gets worse and worse. Still, its a comic about a Nazi, and these days that's about as easy to find as pictures of Lindsay Lohan's hoo-ha now that she is down on her luck and posed for Playboy.

Seriously, did you see those pictures? I heard they had to Photoshop the hell out of them to make her look decent and I just felt weird looking at the images as I still think of her as that kid from the remake of , "The Parent Trap," who had all that potential and flushed it down the toilet to become what she is today--a dime-a-dozen wreck. You know what the problem is with dime-a-dozen wrecks? No matter how interesting they were at first they are still just wrecks now and there are a ton of those. This is a comic about a Nazi, and no matter how interesting Pak makes him in the end there are still all those Nazi comics too. I just compared Lindsay Lohan to comics about Nazis. I am a mad scientist.
3 out of 5 stars (because the effort is there).

Wolverine And The X-Men #2
If you are a fan of Iceman--like, you get a boner anytime you see him appear in comics--then this issue must have made you just jizz/cream all over yourself uncontrollably. I mean seriously, every few years comics talk about how Iceman has all this potential he just has to tap into, and this is one of those issues where he does it and you fans out there have multiple orgasms to it because its so extreme and crazy. Plus those of you who have Iceman-Kitty Pyrde fan-fiction can quit finger-banging/jerking to your imagination as Marvel has made a dream come true with him totally sticking that icy tongue down her throat. Also, this issue has Frankenstein monsters, plural. And it is drawn by Bachalo. How can a person not love this? When writer Jason Aaron has his A-game going quality shit like this just seeps out of his pores. Sadly, sometimes we get miserable junk, but right now everyone should be pleased, or coming if they are Iceman fans. Wow, this review was really lewd.
4.5 out of 5 stars.



T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1
When DC did the big re-launch I was worried I would lose this book. Hell, when Nick Spencer went to work exclusively for Marvel we should have lost this book. However, despite the world itself trying to kill this great series it continues to come out and that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy (and that's not the booze). Seriously, Spencer has had a tough time at Marvel I would say. Iron Man 2.0 was cancelled, his gig on Secret Avengers got terrible reviews, the Doctor Doom mini-series was strangled in the crib--never coming out with even the first issue, and every single day Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso has to be given a sponge bath, and Spencer was the poor guy who got task while Bendis meanwhile gets to play videogames with Breevort (I'm making that last thing up, maybe). Really, Spencer has been having it rough. That's why I'm happy he shines on this book.

The first six issue of the last T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents were amazing. The last four were pretty good but lacked some of the sheer awesomeness. This is somewhere in between and I don't mind that at all. I really enjoyed this. I hope this book keeps going past this mini-series with Spencer on-board somehow, and I hope Spencer has a better 2012 at Marvel than 2011. I mean seriously, if Axel is bathed everyday how does he get so dirty?
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Rant-Reviews--An Avalanche of Comics Part 1

It's been a week since I updated, oh dear. Well, to make it up to you I have a pile of comics from recently and not-so-recently in time I will share my thoughts on...with a vengeance. Expect another avalanche possibly tomorrow or Friday.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade #7
Wait, this series is still going, and we're only just entering the final stretch? Jeez. At least it looks good and has some cool fighting. That's about it, it looks good and fights well, kind of like a woman who's been taught self-defense classes and uses it on you when you get a little too close at the bar and whisper something a little crass in her ear.
3 out of 5 stars.

Nightwing #1
This aknowledges Dick Grayson was Batman for a year, so that's nice. It also has him talking about how he enjoyed being in the circus and fighting some guy who has claws like Wolverine. Not the best thing ever, but I"ll try issue number two and see if I like it.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

Mister Terrific #1
The internet seems all split on whether it likes this or not. Well, I liked it and found it pretty fun and entertaining. Our protagonist has the just right amount of snark, and yeah, the comic does mention race twice in a kind of unnecessary fashion which makes things awkward, but that's the only thing dragging my score down.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

DC Universe Presents: Deadman #1
Wow....I mean, wow. This was actually really damn good. It looked nice, the plot was engaging, and I otherwise was just quite impressed. Paul Jenkins really did a good job writing this--which is interesting as he is apparently helping with the awful Dark Knight comic too (I skimmed it, hoo boy). Seriously, pick this up for however many issues the story is about Deadman.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Uncanny X-Force #15
This was utterly trippy, with the whole super-evolution thing, the great art by Jerome Opena, and some wicked-dark humor. Just awesome.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Wonder Woman #1
I was so confused for much of this comic, until things finally became a little clearer at the end of the issue. Still, I didn't love this as much as it seems some people did. I mean, it was above-average, but I wasn't utterly wowed.
3 out of 5 stars.

Alpha Flight #4
Now an ongoing series (yah) this issue still marginally ties in with "Fear Itself" but not really, and thank God because it would probably make this a lot less fun that it actually is. Good times all around.
4 out of 5 stars.

Ultimate Comics X-Men #1
Another part of the DC new number ones....er, wait. Sorry, let me start again. Part of the new Ultimate comics coming out from Marvel, this is the start of Nick Spencer's run on the series and it's...interesting. I see the formation of what could definitely turn out to be fun stuff, but right now I'm just sort of interested to see where things go. Yes, intriguing is the best word, but not quite fun.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

More tomorrow or Friday.

Rant-Reviews--A Smattering Of Week-Old (Or So) Comics That I Am A Funny Jerk To

It's nearly the newest week of DC comics, and I still have a bunch from the first week (well, I guess second, if you want to count the week just Justice League #1 came out as the first)! I ought to say my thoughts on various things from DC, and why not some Marvel stuff too? Also, I'm going to be silly.

Stormwatch #1
This is decently entertaining, with the moon threatening to destroy Earth, everyone does some fun quips, and it's sort of explained how the ret-con of Wildstorm-Universe characters existing in the normal DC Universe happened (it seems this bunch have been operating in secret, hence them not being involved in all those DC events in continuity that still "count". I was satisfied by this comic, I guess you could say.

The thing is, if DC wanted to just shove the Wildstorm-Universe into the DC one like a mad scientist trying to get a cat and a dog to have sex, this would be the result. It'd be violent, kind of messy, and sort of make you wonder why the hell Martian Manhunter is involved. Yeah, he's helping the mad scientist force the cat and dog to get it on in that scenario too. If that sounds like weird fan-fiction, that essentially is what his appearance is here in Stormwatch. "Let's throw in a mainstream DC-Universe character and show how cool he is!" and so forth. I'm being a little harsh though, as I said, I was entertained. Also, the mad scientist is not writer Paul Cornell, he is doing a good job. The scientist is DC. Cornell is just a lab assistant making the best of what he can. Then again aren't we all when it comes to jobs like that?
3 out of 5 stars.

The Punisher #3
Hm, let me double-check this. Yup, it's an issue-long fight scene with some other stuff interspersed, but still little more than stabbing, blood, and weird green-spit that apparently is acidic because it makes vapors. I would bitch about this, but Checchetto makes such nice art I wouldn't care if this issue were The Punisher shooting old ladies in the face who exchange their pain-killer medication with each other when one of the elderly gals runs out. Yeah, that's illegal, and The Punisher will handle that with extreme prejudice. Is it weird that a comic where the Punisher shoots an old woman in the face sounds more appealing to me than having to read another page of Fear Itself? Yeah, I quit that series. Thank God this has nothing to do with it. This was mediocre but looked good.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

Hulk #38
The Red Hulk barely appears this issue, it is mostly the new Modok (we have a new one?) facing off against some computer-image woman and realizing they have the same goal, then saying he loves her. I thought I loved a woman once, but then she told me it would be sixty dollars for the hour so I yelled, "Trick, you said fourty-five! You can go to Hell!" Trust me when I tell you that story was more interesting than this issue. Maybe the fact it ties in to the aforementioned Fear Itself is what really dragged this series down. This is an old issue though, I think we're on #40 or something, but I quit with this issue, because I'm poor, and it's not from the sex-workers, it's the schooling I'm getting and its cost. I'm just glad I have that nest egg of investments in UBS to fall back on. Wait, what scandal? How much in losses? Oh SHIT!
2 out of 5 stars.

Batwing #1
I couldn't tell if the end of this comic was taking place in the past or present, the plotting was so shoddy. Judd Winick can be hit-or-miss, and this was a miss at the level of accidentally giving your niece smallpox. Yeah, and then she infects her friends and we have a world-wide epidemic, you shouldn't have gone into that lab. Really though, I think DC wants it so that they can pump out books with non-white characters, and then when those books happen to not be given the best talent because they are expected to do subpar numbers, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and DC has an excuse to cancel the books. Then DC's Editor-In-Chief Dan Didio can clamber up the stage and bellow about how, "See? People don't want to read about minorities, so quit bitching about the lack of black folks in our comics and suck down more of this Green Lantern merchandise we weren't able to sell when the movie bombed." Also Didio is naked when this announcement happens, because that is how he rolls. Yeah, this comic looked okay but the story was mostly miserable.
1.5 out of 5 stars.

Uncanny X-Force #14
This was good. Rick Remender writes it well and Jerome Opena returns to the series to provide some stellar art. I've got nothing bad to say, actually.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Justice League International #1
This was fine, but it was just trying too hard. It was like when you're on that first date and you really want to impress the girl or guy, so you keep trying to say jokes that aren't even that clever, or tell stories that make you look cool. Yeah, this comic is that first date. It's a new experience and kind of fun, but also a little painful and groan-worthy at times. Also, the comic really makes it clear the British super-hero lady is a...um...how to put this delicately...sexually active individual. She comments about the various male members of the team and kind of comes off looking, well, easy. She's pretty one-dimensonal in that sense. Then again all the characters are. Batman is mysterious, Guy Gardner is hot-headed, Rocket Red is Russian and is adorable in that Yakov Smirnoff sort of way, etc. etc. Even a mirror has more dimensions...I think. Still, this comic didn't render me a drooling invalid, and it had some fun moments, so I'll give it credit as above-average. I'd ask it out on a second date, to go with our earlier metaphor which has been stretched ever-so-thin.
3 out of 5 stars.

Rant-Reviews--Mutant Teams, Tie-Ins, And New Avengers Barely Avoids Getting Cut From My Pull List

Today we've got X-Factor #220 with a kind of lackluster issue, Uncanny X-Force #11 in an alternate universe, Thunderbolts #158 tying in to Fear Itself decently enough, and The New Avengers actually brings those two separate story-lines its had together finally in an issue that is surprisingly not that bad.

My Comic Book Haul, June 1st, 2011

It's that time again, where I look over my comic haul for the week because I randomly thought this was a good week to comment on the books I picked up ahead of time before I review them. Let's get into it...

Rant Reviews--Iron Man, X-Factor, and X-Force Has Dark Beast!

You read the title right, Uncanny X-Force #10 has Dark Beast! It also contains a comic--in this case Iron Man 2.0 #3--and uses that as an excuse to keep charging $3.99, I suppose. First let's discuss Invincible Iron Man #504 and X-Factor #219 and then I can complain some more about an otherwise good comic.

Rant Reviews--Two Books With Wolverine, A Cybernetic Batman, and Green Arrow Is Just Lame.

We've got Uncanny X-Force #9 with another stand-alone issue that is still good but actually kind of disappointing considering how great this series has been, Wolverine: The Best There Is #6 actually finishes somewhat decently, DC Universe Online Legends #7 drags a bit, and Green Arrow #11 kind of sucks. Yeah, nothing too impressive.

My Haul From Wednesday May 4th.

I haven't done a haul examination in awhile, where I look over the comics I picked up this week, and I got some good ones this time so why don't we do a run-down? I get to give a brief overview of what I've picked up and may be reviewing soon, and you get to laugh at my bad taste in comics if you don't agree with my selections.