Home Again

We had a lovely time, although it is a lot of work, going on vacation!  Yeesh!  Still, the beer and the wine was cold, the Porsches and Corvettes were speedy, and the tiki bar was much appreciated.  I brought my books from last Wednesday along to read, but still haven't had time to finish all of them, so reviews, are more or less...sketchy.

Squirrel Girl, Ms. Marvel and Hellcat were all a hoot as usual.  A hoot and a half, for sure!  Doctor Strange was good. 

I did buy the new DC Rebirth book. 

It was...well, I was happy to see Wally, certainly.  But...but what the HELL? 

The last few years of 52 DC comics were all the fault of...Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen?  I know that DC has been busy stripping the last wee bits of meat off of the corpse of Watchmen, but seriously?  It pretty much just made me shake my head in complete bafflement.  I...I don't even know how it would even work!

If Geoff Johns had just decided to say, the hell with it, and had Superman standing in the shower, and it all being a dream, I would have been perfectly willing to accept that the last few years were nothing more than an Elsewhere story.  PERFECTLY HAPPY!  But now?  Well, I'll be very glad to know that Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes, Wally, Donna Troy, and a whole lot of other people are back, but now I'm feeling a bit ornery...not to mention skeptical.  It IS possible to just overthink things sometimes. 

And don't get me started on what Marvel has done with Captain America.  I was feeling very kindly thoughts about Marvel...and then they had to go and screw things up. 

So now, although most of my books were really very good, I'm feeling...surly. 

Off Carousing

Um... no posts for a few days... we are off to go camping at beautiful Limerock park, for the Pirelli Challenge. We have spent all week loading up the new camper, de-winterizing, filling the water tanks, propane tanks, and booze tanks.

I am taking my new comics with me however, because this was really a pretty spectacular week!

Happy Memorial day, and see you in a few.

More Tiny Reviews

Only three books this week.  It's great for my pocketbook, but lousy for my beloved Comic Book Store owner Matt.  On the other hand, he's hired a new helper, a young woman, in her twenties, and she is absolutely a ton of fun to talk to, since she's fairly new to the comicbook scene, but so...so enthusiastic!  And since I am usually the only woman in there, other than moms with kids looking for Pokemon cards, she has someone to talk to about all the creeps hitting on her. 

Usually only when Matt is out of the room.  But still.  I love Comics, but sometimes I hate them too.

Anyway.


Lucifer #6

Oh, those wacky Satanists! 

A young woman brings her new boyfriend home to meet the parents, and warns him that they are a little...unusual.  Old hippies, basically, who got stoned a lot and figured out that starting a church was a great way not to pay taxes, and have a lot of sex.  A win/win!  Of course there is more going on than is first suspected, but I will say, that I NEVER saw that coming! 

Different artist, in Stephanie Hans, and she does a fine job.  This is an odd book, but it is a Vertigo book, and one of the few that I read anymore, and well worth your time.


Robin,Son of Batman #12

Now that is one helluva cover!  Damian crouched in the jaws of a Tyrannosaurus!  I just love Dinosaur covers for some reason.  His arms are a little long, it might actually be an Allosaurus, or something. 

Damian is still fighting the Suren Darga, a kid about his size who wants to end the world to make his daddy happy.  Boy, there are a lot of comicbook people who have HUGE father issues.  Batman and Talia are there to help out, and snipe at each other.  Maya has been shot, but she's actually okay, although there is a bomb underneath that Bats has to stay behind and defuse, while Damian, Talia and Goliath go ahead.

Have I mentioned how much I love Goliath?

There is a whole lot of fighting, and the little monster actually wins, except that Damian refuses to give up and resorts to actually...talking, and telling the kid that his Dad is just using him and he doesn't have to die. It takes quite a while, but finally they sort things out, although Damian then slugs him, but there is a more or less happy ending, and the world doesn't...end.  Bats and Talia snarl at each other for a bit, and presumably have hot make-up sex later on. 

Pretty darned good.

International Iron Man #3

I...think that I'm going to be dropping this.  It completely contradicts stuff that is going on with Iron Man in other books, and I just....I just dont' think that I can deal with Bendisisms anymore.  The art by Alex Maleev is lovely of course, and it is a fairly interesting premise, but yeesh...Everyone sounds exactly alike in their dialogue, which is a problem that I have always had with Bendis, and it just gets too distracting after a while.

I actually like the Iron Man from the All-New All-Different Avengers the best, since he's the least dickish.  Unlike the other Iron Mans, he seems to be broke or something. 

I will say that I am staying away as far as possible from the new Civil War cross over.  The original one (NOT THE MOVIE!) was so incredibly and terribly terribly awful, that for years I refused to read Marvel.  I've been reading more and more recently because they have some insanely fabulous books, such as Ms Marvel, Thor, and Squirrel Girl, but I don't particularly like Carol/Captain Marvel, and I've already heard that there is a rumor that they are going to kill off She-Hulk, in which case I may implode with rage.

Seriously, we are still killing off characters for the non-shock value?  That ship sailed YEARS ago.  It shocks no one, it just pisses them off, and pissing off your readers seems to be a poor business plan...just look at DC.  Not that anyone is going to listen to me of course, but it helps to get it off my chest.

That turned dark, awfully quickly!

Just like Civil War II!

Darwyn Cooke

I am so depressed.  Darwyn Cooke has died from cancer. He was an amazing talent, and far too young.  I had just read where he was sick, but I had no idea how sick.  His Catwoman and Wonder Woman costumes are still my all-time favorite versions.  His New Frontier was epic.  I was fortunate to have one of his hard-bound collections that he actually signed, and I will treasure it forever.

Dagnabit.

It's such a horrible shame.

Tiny Tiny Reviews

Not a whole lot out there this week for me.  Everything seems to be either in stasis, or wrapping up, or just waiting for the next mega crossover.  Man, I am so sick of crossovers. 

The All-New All-Different Avengers #9

I like these Avengers. The Tony Stark that appears in this book seems to be a completely different person from the Tony Stark that appears elsewhere, and I can't really reconcile all the various personas, not to mention living conditions and so on.  Oh well...Comics!

Anyway, the new Wasp shows up, except that she is the daughter of Henry Pym, by his first wife?  And raised in the Red Room by the Winter Soldier?  Um...okay, I guess.  And the Vision loses his marbles again.  And Jarvis is tired of working in a moldy airplane hanger, and who can really blame him.  Also Nova has stuff to do.  And a while back, Ms. Marvel was having problems too, so I guess the Band is busy breaking up just prior to the new Civil War.

The old Civil War was a disaster on so many many levels, that it drove me from Marvel for years.  So forgive me, if I can't just leap with joy into the newest version, although it seems to involve Captain Marvel and...you guessed it...Tony Stark. Again.  I wonder who gets unjustly imprisoned, and murdered this time? 

So...meh.

Green Lantern Corp #5

Well, at least Guy gets his pants and his dignity back along with his ring.  We have a flashback of him being beaten to a pulp by his vicious father, which is a bit of a throwback to good old Roland, although he's still a cop, and he beats Guy's mother, which is also new.  I do wish we could go back to his real family.

*sigh*

But anyway, he wakes up and is no longer brainwashed by those Ausras and Dismas, and it turns out that they are World Eaters, and the Darkest Knights.  Well, who knew?  Unfortunately, everyone else is still on their side, so our five un-brainwashed Lanterns have to turn the tide, and Guy knows just how to do it.  By flying in with his face.  Oh Guy.

Naturally, he starts blowing things up, the other Lanterns start to fight, and in the middle of all of it, Iolande shows up with her crew, and they all are confused.  And then Mogo comes in swinging, and oh, it is lovely.  Again, I am sure that this is getting things in order for the new Re-Re-Re-birth going on at DC, but as long as there is a real Green Lantern Corps again, I am all for it.  And Kilowog actually isn't too obnoxious in this one, for a change. 

So...pretty good actually. 


Archie #8

I still have trouble believing that I am reading an Archie book, but oh, it is delightful.  Mister Lodge continues to hire Archie in a vain attempt to get him away from Veronica, but naturally it all fails miserably, so he decides to hire Archie's dad, and promote him...and send them all to live in Singapore for a year.  Archie is disconsolate and so is Jughead, who I am also starting to adore. 

Lodge is running for Mayor, and has....plans. 

It all ends more or less well, and it's just...well it's just a whole lot of fun.

And that was it!

Reviews!

So...many...reviews.  For some reason, I just never got around to it last week.  Not that it really matters,because you all just read what you like anyway.  So a truncated version perhaps.  I may be rethinking this whole review business anyway.

Anyhoo.

Angela: Queen of Hel #7

This is the final issue, dammit.  I LIKED this book!  I can't say that Angela herself is a big favorite of mine, but man I do like Sera and Leah, and they did all kinds of cool Shakespearean things, and I love Shakespeare, and Christopher Marlow was a villain, and then they fought Hela and did cool stuff, and it was just odd and a little peculiar, and metaphysical, and fourth wall-ish.

It wasn't a typical comic book is what I am saying, and the art was amazing and the dialogue was fun, and I'm going to miss it a lot. 

Faustia from an old plot shows up and is ready to destroy everything, but Leah makes a deal, and in the end it all works out, more or less, but I am still going to miss this book.

Black Widow #3

Natasha is being blackmailed into working for the Weeping Lion, who has her stealing stuff from SHIELD, and now she's back in Russia, and apparently stealing something else from her old training grounds, and there are a lot of flashbacks, and it's all pretty good actually.  The art is gorgeous as usual, and it's getting interesting.

Daredevil #6

Oh, Elektra shows up.  Just ducky.  She's mad at DD, but still likes Matt?  I could have sworn she knew his secret identity, but what the hell, I have never really been much of an Elektra fan anyway.  So there is a lot of stabbing going on, that's for sure. 

Okay, if you like a lot of rooftop stabbings.

Doctor Strange #7

The Empirikul is still trying to wipe out magic.  We get a bit of backstory on him, which is interesting, and more Mages are in trouble, and Monako shows up and is simply amazing...too bad about what happens to him.   Bachalo is still knocking it out of the park, artwise, and Aaron is still doing a fine job with the story and dialogue. 

Pretty darn good.


Hellcat #5

This book is simply a hoot.  A hoot and a half.  And the art is fun, and Hedy is just an awful person, and Jen is awesome, and a certain Asgardian Amora-wanna-be gets her butt kicked seven ways from Sunday, and it is just a HELLUVA LOTTA FUN!

I am not interested in Civil War part II in the least, but oh Marvel, you are just making me so happy lately with your quirky books.  (too bad about Angela though)

Howard the Duck #7

This may just be my favorite.  It has Howard and Tara because it apparently takes place before the whole Nexus story, She-Hulk, Daredevil, Spider-Man AND old Captain America...and it is all drawn by Kevin Maguire!

KEVIN MAGUIRE!!!!

Oh pleasepleaseplease make him the reguular artist!

Peter is at a party being a mogul, Jen is trying to figure out what happened to her client, Matt is there to take down her client, and Howard and Tara are there to do their faux detective stuff, and it all centers on the Savage Land, which apparently is now protected by the United Nations.

Incidentally, this is the best version of cranky old Steve Rogers that I have ever read.

Gary Stark (no relation to Tony) is a business man who comes up with a way to control Dinosaurs and sets up a dinosaur theme park, and things go awry...naturally...and god, but those are well-drawn dinosaurs!  And nobody can override his talking mindcontrol helmet, except that Howard, being a Duck, is descended from Dinosaurs, and manages to get control, and they all hang out in the Savage Land for a little vacation...and oh, I am hyperventilating because this is just SO DAMN GOOD!

Read it.



International Iron Man #2

I did not know that Tony was adopted. Apparently he's cranky about it and goes off to Japan chasing his old college girl friend, and stuff happens. It's nice art, but a whole lot of Bendisisms.

Okay, but not really floating my boat.

Invincible Iron Man #9

Is it me, or has it been a while since this was out?  I got International Iron Man confused with this one, and couldn't figure out what was going on at first.  In this one, we still have Tony being kidnapped apparently by Yukio and the Japanese underground Fight Club, and there are Ninjas, and Rhodey shows up and stuff also happens, and Doctor Doom is smarmy.  The art again is pretty, but oh, the Bendisisms is starting to get to me.

And seriously, Marvel, what is with that stupid Luke Cage razor ad, that is stuck right in the middle of the regular story? The first time, I thought it was a part of the actual plot,and it was a second before I realized what was happening, which took me RIGHT out of the flow of the narrative...and who's brilliant idea was this?  Really?

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #6

This is growing on me.  I like Lunella, she's a little scrapper, and a big red dinosaur with puppy dog eyes is just the best.  I like that her parents are so worried and trying to help her, and that she's doing her very best, but that it just isn't quite good enough in the end...when the Terrigen mists show up.

I know that the Inhumans are the new big thing, although they aren't quite my thing...but again, seriously...doesn't anyone object to the idea of them letting lose these stupid Terrigen mists all the time?  It's a health hazard if nothing else, and it can't possibly be something that the Government wouldn't notice.

Ms. Marvel #6

Poor Kamala loses control of just about everything, she's trying too hard to go to school, take care of Avenging, not to mention defending New Jersey, and have a private life, and it's just too much. The giant clone is rampaging, Captain Marvel shows up and she's not happy with Kamala, Iron Man shows up and he's not happy with Captain Marvel.

Oh, and Bruno, trying to get a handle on things, performs a mystical rite to summon Loki.  And he actually shows up!  He's not particularly happy either, although he does bring along his own bucket of popcorn. Bruno thinks that lighting candles will bring Norse gods to visit, but is disabused of that notion pretty quickly.

In the end, things work out more or less, and her brother gets married, and there is a happy ending. For now anyway.

Fabulous as usual.

Squirrel Girl #7

I love a book that has you laughing all the way through it.  This is a take on one of those books that lets you chose which option you are going to take to get to the end, or role-playing or something, and it is just...so...damn CLEVER! And Fun!

Koi Boy and Darleen end up fighting none other than Swarm.  Oh and Galactus is that narrator.  And bees dont' like water.

This is tied with Howard the Duck as my favorite.


 Saga #36

When it comes to more serious books, this is also one of my favorites.  Gus fights the Will.  And does pretty good!  Hazel's teacher is trying to smuggle her out in a box!  Marko shows up and rescues his little girl!  Oh God!  He's trying to rescue Klara too, but she likes it there, and decides to stay, but Petrichor decides she'd love to tag along.  Alana is reunited with Hazel!  And oh, she's pregnant again.

Really, they have things you can take for that.

So...so amazing.

Wow, that was a whole lot of really pretty fabulous books!