[Christian]

Shawn, on 30 October 2009 - 02:58 PM, said:

Christian, on 29 October 2009 - 03:54 PM, said:

Weapon X #6-Wolverine finds himself in an asylum with no memory of how he got there. This is the most fucked up Wolverine story ever written.


Incredible Hercules-I don't understand why everyone isn't read this book. It's Unwritten, if Unwritten were a superhero comic book.
I've been enjoying the Amadeus Cho cycle more than the Hercules cycle myself.
Next issue is a one-shot co-starring Spider Man, so I hope the book isn't wrapping up.

Is it a good kind of "fucked up" with the Wolverine?


And why so certain one of Marvel's best books will be cancelled?

I have a hard time believing that quality comics will survive anymore.
I keep expecting the chopping block for Incredible Hercules, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Agents of Atlas is just around the corner.
Perhaps a new day will truly have dawned for Marvel.

Yes, Weapon X is the good kind of "fucked up".
If you like disturbing elements done with dark humour in Wolverine stories, this looks like one of the best Wolverine stories.

[Balthazar]

Doctor Voodoo #2

Anyone else read this besides me?! This was a ton of fun! I'd say I liked it more than the first issue. Very well-written and great art, especially during the flashbacks! I'm especially glad to see some stories taking place during his child hood. Really has you more into his mindset and understand the character more. The scene with the old man cursing Jericho as a kid was mighty terrifying. Remender is proving that he's the perfect person to write this character and I applaud the whole team for such a strong and grabbing issue.

Was also great to see Remender showing us Matilda, Jericho's aunt and stuff with his parents. This is the first we've ever even heard or seen anything with the Brother Voodoo's parents.

And more Haitian Vodou references that get a good smile from me. Sobo Kessou, the Loa of Strength which Jericho attempts to summon for help against wild giant demon frogs. Sobo also protects people he's with against wild spirits.

Also, the back up with Dr. Strange was a GREAT touch! Is that a reprint?

[Christian]

Great Ten #1-I guess a series about China couldn't help but have a story about Tibet. It's really quite preachy.
It's a very simplistic idea about China.
To the mind of the average Westerner, it seems that nothing else is going on in China other than Tibet.
"Free Tibet!". Sure. Why not? Right to self-determination of all peoples. Agreed.
Although that's probably not the point since the Dalai Lama no longer wants that.
As if everyone doesn't hear this simplified argument revolving around China enough in the media, as if Tibet were this paradisiacal ideal.
I don't even want to get into the simplistic and outright biased usage of the Lhasa rebellion. It was primarily a nationalist and ethnic revolt based in Chinese Communist policy and economic issues, even though it was originally started as a protest by monks for the release of political/religious prisoners.
Anyway, Bedard at least makes a good point about Communist China wanting to replace the old gods with a new god.
If you're going to do such a heavy-handed story, why not discuss Chinese culture so that people in the West who don't know anything about China other than Tibet can learn something about Chinese cultural issues outside that simplistic world. After all, the story is little more than agitprop, so why worry about plot?
I'm disappointed in the promise of such a series.

Deathlok #1-Somehow, this works. In the future, corporations have private armies fighting over scarce resources and have made war into a spectator sport. The surreal, over-the-top elements of a battle being commentated as if it were a football game is somehow just so sick and twisted that it's entertaining. Huston does a good job of just letting it all speak for itself, and it all comes across as dark humour.

Strange Tales #3-Two stand out stories this month. First is a wonderful Fantastic Four strip by Jeffrey Brown. The other is the "untold original Peter Parker story by Lee and Ditko" from Journey into Psychosis.

Secret Six-John Ostrander returns to write Deadshot. I guess it's just a fill-in issue, and Simone is still writing this book, eh?

Dr. Voodoo #2-Oh, I think we have another winner from Marvel.
I like the flashbacks to Drumm's childhood. The rest of the story isn't half-bad either.
The back-up strip detailing the history of Brother Voodoo, by Roy Thomas, is a nice touch too. I like how they've corrected the bigoted mistakes of past stories about voodoo also, such as the fact that Damballah was portrayed as an "evil god" in some earlier stories when he's one of the loa.
The cover to the first issue of Strange is a thing of beauty, by the by. I don't usually go for posters, but I wouldn't mind seeing that one as a poster. It's very Hellblazer-esque.
-Balty-I believe it's a Book of the Vishanti back-up strip from the early-90s Dr. Strange series. It looks like a reprint.
There was a back-up strip in the early-90s Dr. Strange called The Book of the Vishanti which was an attempt to correlate all the mystical elements/characters in the Marvel Universe.

[dogpoet]

Christian, on 05 November 2009 - 09:39 PM, said:

Although that's probably not the point since the Dalai Lama no longer wants that.

I'm dubious that the Dalai Lama has ever given a fuck about anybody in Tibet who isn't a buddhist monk, to be honest. He certainly didn't act like he was all that concerned before the Chinese chased him out of the country, did he?

[Lou K]

Christian, on 05 November 2009 - 04:39 PM, said:

Deathlok #1-Somehow, this works.

Please tell me Deathlok is not a pacifist trapped in a killing machine. That was one aspect that always ruined the character for me.

[Christian]

While this isn't the place for the discussion, Dog, I have my doubts that the Dalai Lama is concerned about anyone except himself, to be honest.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lou-You know how there's this new trend in comics to start the story before the creation of the main character?
Well, this is one of those comics. Luther Manning is the main character, but at this point he's an upwardly mobile soldier in one of the private security companies.
He's treated like the head quarterback on a star football team, because he's the companies best soldier.
He's certainly not a pacifist at this stage.
But, he hasn't become the Deathlok, as of yet.

[Lou K]

Hmmm...sounds interesting. I always hated the Deathlok as a pacifist angle.

The best issue of "What if...?" ever would have been "What if Frank Castle's mind had been trapped in the Deathlok robot?"

[dogpoet]

Christian: have you seen that the last issue of Ambush Bug: Year None has finally been allowed to escape?

[Christian]

No, I had not. I did not expect it to ever see the light of day.
Why such a delay?
Giffen was writing other projects since then (Doom Patrol for one) on time, it must've been the art.

Do you think this might mean that the final issue of Busiek's Marvels:Eye of the Camera will ship?
Sure, it was heavy-handed and a poor follow up to Marvels, but I expected there to at least be a final issue.

[dogpoet]

No idea. I didn't see that one, just the terrible two part deconstruction of Marvels Ellis did shortly afterwards.
Is Busiek that busy at the moment? I didn't think he was writing anything besides Astro City these days.

[Christian]

He has a series coming out from WildStorm by the end of the year. I forget the exact details, but it caught my attention as something I really want to read.
I believe it was described as having something to do with folklore.

He just finished writing the last weekly money grad DC had before Wednesday Comics, about the DC Trinity.
After that, he hasn't been writing anything.

[Shawn]

Christian, you check out the Assault on New Olympus one-shot? Its a good story of Hercules going after Peter Parker for putting the moves on Hebe. Then of course they fight, with Spidey trying to defend Peter. This was all set up for the big event in Hercules, revealing the motivations of Hera and her Olympus Group. And there is an Agents of ATLAS back up picking up directly off X-Men vs Agents of ATLAS.

So I guess AoA is going to be a backup in Incredible Hercules? If so, I'm good with that.

[Lou K]

Batman/Doc Savage was sweet. It's sort of timeless, like an Elseworlds tale. You have zepplin like airships and a young Jim Gordon. But you have a cop with a cell phone. You've got a young, brash Batman that carries two 45s and of course Doc Savage. Great art. Somewhat typical Azzarello word play. But the story is kind of light hearted. Apparently this is to introduce some First Wave event, which upon further inspection sounds kind of cool. It's an early incarnation of the DC Universe populated by Batman, Doc Savage, The Spirit, The Blackhawks...sounds kinda neat. Will most definitely check out The Spirit. The blurb at the back of this comic makes the whole thing sounds really neat.

[Christian]

I'm looking forward to the First Wave event myself.
I skipped this one-shot because the price tag was outrageous.
Rima the Jungle Girl is supposed to play a part in it too.

Dark X-Men #1-That was awful. I see absolutely no point to this series at all. The ending makes it all the more mind-boggling. It's like adding things we don't need on to something that already serves no purpose.

Strange #1-That was....wrong. Dammit! I was looking forward to this series too.
I've always said magic and professional sports don't mesh.
Boy, that art was jarring too.

Star Wars: Purge, Seconds to Die-This is a sequel to Ostrander's original Purge one-shot. It details events directly after Order 66 and Episode III, as Darth Vader sets out to clean up most of the remainder of the Jedi.
Nothing essential, but I like this period of Star Wars lore.

[Lou K]

I picked up Lobo: Highway to Hell becasue I'm a big Sam Kieth fan. But honestly it's like he can't even be bothered anymore. Some of his panels are just doodles that look like they're drawn by a 1st grader.

[slinker]

I kind of liked Stumptown by Rucka, as cliche as the first issue was , there are enough original elements to make it enjoyable.

Christian, on 12 November 2009 - 03:45 AM, said:

Star Wars: Purge, Seconds to Die-This is a sequel to Ostrander's original Purge one-shot. It details events directly after Order 66 and Episode III, as Darth Vader sets out to clean up most of the remainder of the Jedi.
Nothing essential, but I like this period of Star Wars lore.

Me, too. It's the darkest period in the time spanning the films, anyway.