Kandou Erik's Blog - Comics, Japanese Stuff and More

Uchuu Kitaaaa! More Kamen Rider Fourze Images!

2012-02-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Kamen Rider Fourze so far has been a great series. The change in tone, setting events in a highschool, is still different - but it's a theme well utilized. The theme of space has also been very interesting. The comedic tone of the series is quite outlandish, even with bombastic fights using weird combinations of powers - but somehow the show manages to make it all work.

Anyway, here are some more images I've collected from Kamen Rider Fourze. You can find my initial Kamen Rider Fourze post here.

Fourze has added some new powers to his cache of abilities. These ultra-powerful Switches transform the suit into new states.

Elec States

Fire States

Foruze's latest power, Magnet States.

The the series has grouped together a variety of different types of students -- all brought over as members of the Kamen Rider Club through Kisaragi Gentaro friendship and perseverance.

This image is labeled as coming from www.modxtoys.com

Wether it's the teachers, students given dark powers, of the core members of the Zodiarts - the obstacles and opposition against the Kamen Rider Club is growing.

One episode had an interesting dilemma, where the group wasn't able to use the portal to the Rabbit Hutch - with Kengo trapped up on the Moon. And, these screen shots don't show it - but NO, using a Rocket Powered bike to fly to the moon does not work. (It's insane and funny to even see it attempted!) Everything works out in the end, though.

This has Gentaro using the weird paint-brush Switch to write on the moon. It says Merry Christmas, and that's "suppose to be" a reindeer.

Yuki's humorous obsession with space has only seemed to get worse.

An upcoming Kamen Rider movie apparently features a female Kamen Rider Fourze.

The newest edition to the cast is Sakuta Ryuusei, who is secretly Kamen Rider Meteor. I really love this design, utilizing the space-theme of the series, but without copying Fourze's style. His transformation music is interesting, though - as it sounds more like Kamen Rider Disco (spinning star-ball on his belt reinforces this)

Ryuusei, though, is among the Kamen Rider Club with a mission - to infiltrate the anti-Zordiarts group. The second Kamen Rider in a series is always a rival of sorts to the main character - so this obviously will put Fourze and Meteor on a collision course against each other, before becoming friends and allies.

Here are hilarious drawings, seen in an episode, of the Kamen Rider Club members in chibi form!

52 In Review: Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. So Far...

2012-02-06T07:15:00.000-08:00

Frankenstein was a title I nearly passed up, and I'm glad I didn't. I was reading Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers at the time, with re-introduced Frankenstein back into comics, so I decided to give issue #1 a try.

I also picked up a sort of lead-in to the series - the Flashpoint tie-in series "Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown". It was only a three issue story, so it went by quickly -- but it presented a unique twist for the Flashpoint Universe, of showing how Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos fought in WWII, and even got the opportunity to kill Hitler! After that Frankenstein and his companions where betrayed by the government, sealed away and put on ice - only awakening in the modern age after Flashpoint Superman's escape from the same government holding facility.

The Flashpoint tie-in wasn't necessary, though, to getting into the clean-slate that was issue #1. I was very impressed with the writing and art of the series. Jeff Lemire, who wrote the Flashpoint tie-in, was writing this series as well, with Alberto Ponticelli on art. Ponticelli's art was a real draw - even though it's not a clean-up art style. His drawings are rough and sketchy - but gives excellent detail to environments and all the oddities this series threw at him.

Grant Morrison's reinterpretation of Frankenstein in Seven Soldiers is probably the leading inspiration for this series -- taking cues from many of his concepts. S.H.A.D.E. Net, for example, was kept - as an online computer access Frankenstein is able to take advantage of. The idea of Frankenstein, working as an Agent of S.H.A.D.E. is a key element from Seven Soldiers. The first issue even works as a kind of continuation from where events ended for Frankenstein in Seven Soldiers.

Father Time, the leader of S.H.A.D.E., who in Seven Soldiers was depicted as a black man wearing a domino mask, appears here as well - but in quite a different form. It was established at some point that Father Time is somewhat immortal - regenerating into a new form every few decades or so. Frankenstein comes back to S.H.A.D.E. finding that Father Time has regenerated into a new form - that of a young japanese school girl. It struck me as such a brilliant and insane idea - having a little girl bossing Frankenstein around. Father Time is the same semi-amoral boss he was before - but now is humorously undersized against Frankenstein's large frame, but carrying the same authority he's always had.

The first issue introduces us to the strange and odd world of S.H.A.D.E., which stands for Super Human Advanced Defense Executive. They are essentially a mad scientist Think Tank, responding to extra-normal emergencies. Ray Palmer (who we know as the Atom; though I don't think DC is reinterpreting him as such, at least not yet) is present as the US Science liaison. He's essentially an observer, there to keep watch on this organization; and boy does it need to be watched over! S.H.A.D.E. HQ is actually a small metal sphere - floating around the world, and using miniaturization and teleport technology. Inside this deceptively small HQ is a large patch-work facility of technology, run by worker golems, called the "Ant Farm". It's simply a mad scientist powder keg waiting to explode -- but that's half the fun of this comic!

The main threat they deal with at first starts in Bone Lake Washington. Monsters appear and run havoc through the town. Soon enough the entire town is simply over-run with monsters - with only S.H.A.D.E. able to erect barriers to contain the outbreak and keep it from spreading. Frankenstein's estranged "Bride", also an agent of S.H.A.D.E., has gone into the town and lost contact.

Arriving on the scene to help quell the monster outbreak and investigate, Frankenstein arrives to find Father Time has a surprise. A new monster themed unit, dubbed the Creature Commandos, are set to join in the mission. Frankenstein is incensed, asking what Father Time has done! Father Time replies "I know, it's pretty cool, isn't it?" This group is actually volunteering - though I'm sure gathering together horror-themed monsters, results of government experiments and such, isn't a coincidence on Father Time's part.

Father Time tells Frankenstein that he's too set in his ways - that he's gotta learn to upgrade. He slips in that maybe if "she" had only loved him... In a wonderfully hilarious scene Frankenstein is yelling at this little girl, saying "My relationship with my wife is of no concern to you!". "She's been your wife in Name Only for at least the last seven decades, and you know it.", Father Time remarks back.

Frankenstein relents and takes command on this new unit. The group includes a mer-woman, Dr. Nina Mazursky; Warren Griffith, a werwolf; Vincent Velcoro, a vampire bat; and Khalis, a mummy who's origin is unknown. This cast of characters, of course cliche, work well in this wacky horror sci-fi comic. Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos storm the gates and cut a swath into the hoard of monsters.

After some fighting they are directed by Khalis to a group of people he senses are alive. Barricaded within a church they find an elderly nun with a large gathering of children. She yells at them, saying "We're all paid up! You won't take another!!" Frankenstein, who is always sensitive to the presence of evil, smacks the woman away - and has the group lead the children to safety. It turns out the monster invasion of this town was a very unexpected thing - as for years this town has sacrificed children to the monsters underneath Bone Lake, in return for their safety. Frankenstein and Nina Mazursky investigate the lake, and find monsters spewing forth from below the water.

It turns out there is a portal beneath the lake - which the monsters have used for years to feed on what was on the other side. This is where The Bride was lost, having been dragged through the portal to the other side.

A spherical ship is put together to safely transport the team to the other side of this portal. It leads to what can only be described as a monster planet - conjoined with Earth through this portal. The group arrives to find an endless hoard of monsters, with the Bride miraculously having survived and defending herself.

After the initial wave of creatures has been fought back, and a reprieve earned, contact with S.H.A.D.E. HQ is reached, allowing the team to hear the information Father Time and Palmer have found out, scanning from the other side. Apparently there are three different continents on this planet, each with it's own unique form of monsters - and all with a massive Titan commanding each faction. The continent they are on contains spider-like creatures. Another has nothing but ogres - and the third dominate the seas.

After running afoul the Spider Titan, and defeating it, they eventually realize that the planet itself is alive. The group of psychics in S.H.A.D.E. HQ began screaming -- as psychic interference through the portal reached them on Earth. The planet is a massive living telepathic entity - and it seems the Titans, and all these monsters, have been infecting and killing this near dead creature. That is the reason for the invasion of Earth - these parasitic Titans want a new and healthier host planet.

A decision to split up is made. Frankenstein and Nina Mazursky take the ocean Titan - since they can both survive under water. The colors and the art in these scenes is wonderful, depicting a swarming ocean - with the largest monster fish eventually discovered and put down.

To help exterminate the ogre monsters, Father Time sends through experimental weapons, through the portal. These object, coming from the "toybox", are untested - with Palmer worried about what he's gotten himself into. You see - these "toys" are massive War Wheels - giant spiked tires, with robotic infantry, and unrelenting firepower to steam-roll over the monstrous forces. These War Wheels are of course controlled by a game controller - with Father Time and his fellow scientist having a fun old time killing some ogres!

It's an incredibly fun adventure all around - with the two remaining parasitic Titans eventually defeated. The planet even sends through a psychic message of thanks, communicated through the psychics. The living planet is free, and now setting out drifting back into space to where it once was. This causes the portal, though, to become fragile - with a limited window to get back home before time runs out. Frankenstein and his group just barely manage to regroup and return in the sphere they came in.

For only 4 issues - this was quite an opening adventure! A lot of cliche staples where utilized - but that adds to the wacky and strange nature of this comic. It might not make logical sense, but there is a historical comic back-drop to it all. The Creature Commandos, for example, are an old and previously defunct super hero concept in DC's stable. Geoff Johns, a few years ago, made a point of reviving them in a Superman story. The War Wheels, also, are an old but fun concept. So this all turned out to be rather fun adventure, with cleaver writing and stellar, if unconventional, art. It almost seems like an indy-book in a lot of ways.

It should be mentioned that with the inclusion of the Creature Commandos, this series, while very fun, has pointedly reminded me of another monster-themed government group: that of Hellboy and B.P.R.D. That's not a bad model to take inspiration from; and its by no means ripping that off. There was one scene, however, at the beginning of issue #5 that has Frankenstein warning off Dwarves, telling them that Tibet is off limits; I could easily see Hellboy in a similar scenario.

While it's cool having the Creature Commandos in the series as well, I actually enjoy Frankenstein the most out of all the group. He's the enigmatic, stoic lead of the series - and has developed a wonderful sense of character, mixing elements Seven Soldiers, and the classic Marry Shelly Frankenstein.

The next issue is a tie-in, of sorts - with Frankenstein recruited by Cadmus to help them solve a problem of theirs. Tying in with O.M.A.C., another monster-themed sci-fi comic - we are treated to pretty much a royal slug-fest between these two niche DC monsters/heroes. Reading the O.M.A.C. side of things isn't required - as they are both depicting the same fight, but from different perspectives.

I really enjoyed seeing Frankenstein tackle this mission solo - allowing him to solely duke it out with O.M.A.C. An unwitting pawn of Brother Eye, a sentient spy satellite, Kevin Kho is transformed into a techno-organic monster, who has been running amok while being hunted. Frankenstein treats O.M.A.C. like any other monster, and O.M.A.C. treats him like any other threat.

While these two are fighting, Father Time is taking advantage of the situation to breach Brother Eye's security. Coming into contact with Frankenstein, Brother Eye naturally tried to hack into S.H.A.D.E. Net, giving Father Time a way into this highly secret device. This, in fact, seems to be the real reason Frankenstein was sent on this mission at all -- just to allow Father Time access to the technology and information stored in the rogue Brother Eye.

The fight between Frankenstein and O.M.A.C. is really gorgeous, as drawn by Alberto Ponticelli. Eventually O.M.A.C. is defeated. With Brother Eye is busy with it's security being breached, O.M.A.C., who usually only repeats commands he's given ("O.M.A.C. Destroy!", "O.M.A.C. Defend!") begins yelling out in a far more emotional and panicked response. Calling out for his "Brother" - the beleaguered cyber monster elicits more sympathy than you might expect. Frankenstein has been ordered to keep on attacking, to give Father Time more time to hack into Brother Eye.

Eventually Brother Eye's security is breached - and is forced to teleport O.M.A.C. away. Frankenstein, who was about to finish the creature off, inadvertently had his entire left arm ripped off, teleporting away with O.M.A.C. Back at S.H.A.D.E. HQ, Nina is able to grow a new arm for Frank. When Father Time drops in, Frankenstein questions him about the real reason he was sent out on that mission. Frankenstein is mad, telling Father Time that his only mission is to protect humanity from the things they themselves cannot bear to face. He says he will not be Father Time's pawn, and if this happens again, he can find himself a new agent.

Issue #6 is apparently going to delve into the past. Over all this has been an extremely enjoyable series! The Frankenstein side of the O.M.A.C. fight was actually better than what happened in O.M.A.C. #5. And upcoming Frankenstein is supposedly going to have to deal with the "Spawn" of Frankenstein. Did he and the Bride have a kid? With this title, I really don't know what to expect; and that's a good thing.

There's also going to be a bonus appearance of Frankenstein in another DC book, Men of War #8. Men of War, written by Matt Kindt, is being canceled - but his final issue is going to combine his writing with Jeff Lemire, to show the secret history of Frankenstein's time during World War II.

That tie-in turns out to be very telling - as it was recently announced that Jeff Lemire is leaving Frankenstein, with Matt Kindt taking over with issue #10. I'm not exactly trilled to see yet another DC 52 title suffer a writer change. I've never read Matt Kindt's work - but Jeff Lemire insists that Kindt is very well suited to taking over the title - saying that, because they are both friends, that Kindt has actually given input and ideas on the development of the new Frankenstein series. The collaboration with Men of War #8 being a prime example of this.

I actually don't mind Matt Kindt taking over. I don't know what to expect from him, in terms of writing -- but if what Lemire said is true, then it sounds like he might really be the perfect fit for taking over the series. So I'm going to stay on board for this title.

52 In Review: Stormwatch So Far...

2012-02-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

I originally picked up Stormwatch #1 for two reasons. My comic store was having a buy 3, get a 4th issue free, of DC's New 52 offerings - but also because of the connection the series had with another title I was already signing onboard for: Demon Knights. What's the connection between these two very different books, beyond them both being written by Paul Cornell? Well, while Demon Knights takes place during the Dark Ages, and Stormwatch takes place in the modern age -- it's explained upfront that Stormwatch's beginnings began with Demon Knights. It's not a "lets guest star in each others book every week" kind of connection - the two series couldn't be further apart: but the connection between the two instantly inspires appreciation for a much grander tapestry that we are only starting to see woven together.

Stormwatch is a key book in DC's New 52 - as it's the series headlining and using the newly integrated Stormwatch Universe, along with many of it's characters and concepts. I never had that much exposure to Wildstorm's stable of books: their biggest hit, "The Authority", is probably where most of the ideas being used for this new title come from. Characters like Apollo, Midnighter, and the Engineer being stars from that book. Apollo and Midnighter, in fact, being injected into the new DCU Continuity provides an instant dichotomy - as these two character where originally conceived as being, essentially, the gay Superman and Batman. They are gay in this series as well - not exactly my favorite subject in comic books - but it in no way detracts from the grand epic narrative this series is giving us. In fact, this series is probably giving more character and depth to Apollo and Midnighter than they ever had in The Authority; they aren't being written as simply a gay Superman and Batman, but rather as more substantial characters.

Since I came onto this books without much knowledge of Wildstorm or it's characters - this series both worked to freshly introduce everything to new readers, while at the same time make it feel like we're walking into an already living and breathing universe. Stormwatch has been around for a long time. They aren't superheroes -- they are the professionals who have been protecting Earth from alien threats for centuries. And boy - these first six issues are jam-packed with threats from all angles.

The first threat seems to come from a gigantic horn, which loosely ties into Superman #1, where a giant alien blowed a gigantic horn. Adam One (Stormwatch's leader), and young Jenny Quantum are dispatched to collect the horn. Adam One is very interesting - as he's the seemingly immortal and aloof leader of Stormwatch, always with his head in the clouds; like he's seeing things differently than everyone else. Jenny Quantum is an 11 year old girl, apparently being mentored by Adam One. She's referred to as one of the "Century Babies"; I'm unsure what that's suppose to mean, beyond her possessing powerful abilities, like creating force fields, teleportation, and manipulating the laws of quantum dynamics.

The horn is transported to Stormwatch HQ, which is a space station resting in Hyper Space - and is referred to as "The Eye of the Storm". It is a large and impressive facility, which is managed by the Engineer - a woman with immense knowledge and the ability to interface with machine technology. She is quite vocal about her displeasure with the quality of Adam One's leadership - figuring that since she runs the station, it should be her actually leading the team.

The Engineer is tackling many problems at once, coordinating the team and various missions. The moon is of particular interest - as energy is emanating from it. A projection, based on those readings, depict a clawed hand menacingly threatening the Earth.

Harry Tanner, known as the Eminence of Blades, has been sent to the moon to investigate. Crashing through the surface Harry is confronted by a gigantic eye-ball, calling itself "The Scourge of Worlds". This creature explains that a great threat is coming to Earth - and that its mission is to make worlds stronger through devastation. The Scourge of Worlds attaches itself to Harry Tanner's brain and tries to download his memories. The history of Stormwatch, dating back to the Dark Ages, is refeered to. Tanner's mind, though, is not that easy to break into. You see, Harry Tanner's outward skill with energy blades hides his true power: the ability to lie, and make you believe his lies. Tanner is actually a very real threat within Stormwatch, and fights back against the Scourges mental intrusion. Eventually the Engineer comes and helps free Tanner.

Meanwhile, Jack Hawksmoor, the Projectionist, and the Martian Manhunter are on Earth trying to track down a powerful potential ally. Dubbed Apollo, after being witnessed on the news and internet fighting Superman - Stormwatch wants to recruit this man - believing his immense powers could help save the world. Apollo doesn't want anything to do with Stormwatch - having shunned the spotlight, and instead wanting keeping his abilities and vigilanteism in the shadows.

The Martian Manhunter and Apollo get into a fight, trying to get Apollo to listen to them. The Manhunter's shapeshifting and strength are on display, proving himself an equal to Apollo Superman-level powers.

Their fight is interrupted by a new assailant - an armored man known as Midnighter - who seemingly takes out all the Stormwatch members, and introduces himself to Apollo. Midnighter believes he has a lot in common with Apollo, remarking that with Apollo's help, he can "kill every evil bastard on the planet." The two's perchance for street-level vengeance seem like a perfect fit to Midnighter.

It turns out the Martian Manhunter had used his psychic powers to fake their defeat at Midnighter's hands. They continue their appeal for Apollo's help - the threat from the moon being a significant danger to the whole Earth.

Adam One arrives through a "Door" (their mode of transportation, to and fro) to meet Apollo, and is able convince Apollo to help. Adam One orders the Projectionist to maintain their team's cover - as the energy emanating from the moon will soon be noticed by the likes of the Justice League.

The Projectionist, who has the ability to be wired in to all internet and communication feeds, is able to redirect the energy signal to a picked-at-random villain. The reaction of the Fox, a low rent villain just punched out by Booster Gold, is priceless "The Moon?! What about the Moon?!"

With Tanner rescued the Moon begins to launch attacks - from rockmen, to monsters - to eventually launching a series asteroids at the Earth - all directed to a nowhere location in Colorado. One of the first asteroids smashes down near a farm - with a horrible monster released from it's core. Apollo is sent into the atmosphere to destroy the rest of the oncoming asteroids.

Jack Hawksmoor, who's instantly become my favorite character in the series, senses that there is more to this location in Colorado than there appears to be. Jack Hawksmoor is known as the "God of Cities" - his particular talent being able to communicate and control cities. He has tracks on his hands and feet, allowing him to walk on walls and up the side of buildings. His powers are far more multi-layered than that, though. When trying to corral Apollo into listening to them, Jack "communicated" with the city, asking it to disorient Apollo. An alleyway suddenly turns upside down. Bricks fly at Jack's command, creating a chair -- his abilities seem quite versatile. There is one downside - Hawksmoor will begin to feel ill and sick if he ever leaves a city. A Church can even be found in Stormwatch HQ, just to meet the necessary requirements to consider the space station a city.

What is the most impressive about the so-called "God of Cities", is when Jack communicates with the cities - depicted as avatars. Jack consults with with the City of Paris, the City of Metropolis, and the City of Gotham. All of them are reflections of those locations. The City of Paris is an elegant and gala socialite, while Metropolis is a young well dressed modern woman. Gotham City, unsurprisingly, is depicted as a monstrous bat. Jack enquires of them why he senses there being a city in this location in Colorado. Paris informs him that there was once a city there. A lost city, the greatest, Metropolis informs. Gotham tells Jack not to listen to them, that those cities don't remember this lost city like he does -- that the madness in him was matched, even exceeded, by this lost city. Gotham further suggests that this city might even be able to help destroy this monster.

Using the teleporting doorways, Stormwatch arrives on the scene in Colorado - to find epic-scale destruction, as this massive monster wrecks havoc. Jack Hawksmoor attempts to initiate communication with the lost city -- knowing it is indeed there, as he remains healthy as long as he's in a city. The team begins to fight the monster. Before you know it, though, the immense monster is able to absorb and assimilate the powers of most of the team. Only Midnighter and Apollo remain, with the Projectionist coordinating things from the space station.

To fight back against the creature, and save free the rest of the team, Midnighter devises a plan to utilize Apollo's incredible powers. Midnighter's singular talent is being an unmatched tactician -- able to intuitively and instantly see what lies in the immediate future, based on everything he sees and knows. Apollo had recently taken out the other asteroids - he wasn't exactly in shape to challenge this creature alone. Knowing that Apollo's powers are solar based, Midnighter has the Projectionist redirect solar energy from the sun, and shoot it right down to Apollo's location. This re-powers Apollo like nothing else, enabling him oppose the creature, and force it to free everyone else.

Once free, the group consults on how to finish this monster off. They ask why Jack wasn't able to communicate with the city. Jack tells them that the city has been asleep for so long, that it thinks all of what is happening is just a dream. He intends to force the issue - breaking into communication with the city. Alba Umbra, the name of the city, is personified as an aged woman, Jack is able to convince the city that it that it isn't dreaming. Alba Umbra asks if the "beasts" are back. Apparently all the people in Alba Umbra where killed - and alchemy had been used to hide it. Telling her that it is a different beast - and that it can help to destroy it; urging Umbra that it has to save itself. It has to wake up! From beneath the surface the ground breaks apart as an ancient city springs to life. The alchemic powers of the city are able to be utilized against the creature - transmutating it into glass; ending the threat.

Adam One has had a peculiar reaction to the city. In fact, his entire behavior during this whole mission has been more "off" than usual. It was hinted at, earlier, that Adam One may in fact be experiencing time differently -- as he might be aging backwards from the start of the universe. There hasn't been any proof of this, but I heard it theorized that Adam One might in fact be Merlin. I don't know if that is true; Adam One is depicted as middle-eastern, while Merlin appears white. They both, however, act very similar -- both of them working on a seemingly higher plane, perhaps aloof to their surroundings.

Whatever Adam One's origins -- his leadership is about to be called into question in a big way. When the team arrives back on the space station, they find the Projectionist with a new visiting guest: a star-like being, claiming to represent the Shadow Cabinet.

The Shadow Cabinet fund and direct Stormwatch. They are the larger-than life bosses in charge -- though what they are, exactly, remains to be seen. This representative has come to Stormwatch, announcing that changes have to be made. New leadership is needed. Adam One's performance has been found lacking, and so this starry man summons a consuming vortex below Adam One, dragging him below to who knows where.

The Engineer questions wether this person is really from the Shadow Cabinet. He says he is, and that he knows them all very, very well. He says that the Engineer is too individualistic to lead Stormwatch. The Martian Manhunter confirms that this person is indeed from the Shadow Cabinet; that he knows what they are, but that he does not wish to lead Stormwatch. Eventually the Projectionist is crowned the new leader of the team.

White the others are pre-occupied with the new visitor, Apollo and Midnighter slipped away, getting to know each other better and looking around the space station. Midnighter says that there's nothing to keep him here. Noticing something amiss, Midnighter convinces Apollo that a proximity alarm has gone off. Apollo goes to an air lock and flies out into the Hyper Space to investigate. This allows Midnighter to come upon Harry Tanner, rummaging through and stealing data takes from Stormwatches library. It seems the prospect of a new leader is bad news for Harry -- as his ability to deceive might have worked on Adam One, and might have worked on the likes of the Engineer -- but the Projectionist was a pick for leader that has sent Tanner running. Midnighter and Tanner engage in a vicious battle. The so-called "Prince of Lies", having shown his true colors, runs into the Projectionist. Explaining that he knows quite a bit about hyper space, Tanner grabs the Projectionist and opens the the air lock, flinging them both out into Hyper Space.

Tanner has planned his escape well - as he had set off an explosion directly next to the giant horn, housed in the storage bay. Tanner teleports away with the Projectionist in tow, while the entire space station explodes.

With the space station tearing apart, its a miracle that Jenny Quantum is able to create a forcefield around herself, Jack, Martian Manhunter, and the Engineer. The Engineer helps support Jenny's force field, keeping them all alive as EVERYTHING comes apart around them! The Eye of the Storm even manages to drop out of Hyper Space and into regular space, making it detectable to the military on Earth.

The station's emergency force fields, though, can contain all of this - but it would mean fully awakening the station. The station, meeting the requirements of being a city, allows Jack to make contact with it. The station, it turns out, was actually a Daemonite creation. (The Daemonites are an invading race, appearing in another DC book "Girfter".) Awakening the long dormant representation of the space station, Jack tries to get the space station to begin repairing itself. The Daemonite representative, though, is not too keen about its current human owners. Why should he repair itself, and allow this station to continue to be used by the enemy of his people? Jack is forced to make a unique deal: in exchange for initiating repairs, Jack offers to keep the Daemonite program awake - and give it a voice on the bridge. Saying that it can lie them, give them false information -- work against them, if it likes -- and make it so they cannot deactivate it at a later date. This seems to be to the Daemonite program's liking - and repairs begin. In almost no time, the station cobbles itself together. Midnighter, who had been sucked into space along with Tanner and the Projectionist, is saved by Apollo.

So, now that the danger has passed - the pieces remain to be picked up. Apollo and Midnighter decide to stay on. With the Projectionist missing, the Engineer is voted to be in charge -- though they don't know wether the Shadow Cabinet would approve. They don't know how to contact them, Adam One having been the only one to know how; it's assumed the Projectionist would have been told before everything went to hell. The Engineer, though, is unsure - not liking that, if she had been picked, Harry Tanner would have stayed on the team. She explains that she had always known about Tanner's lying abilities - but always thought she adequately compensated for any deceit. She now believes she had been wrong.

Still - the pressing matters of the here and now forge the new make-up of the team. Along with a new mandate. A holographic map displays all the caches and secret storage facilities Stormwatch has amassed over the centuries. It's assumed that everything Stormwatch knew is at risk from Tanner, so they need to investigate everything. Some of the items Stormwatch owns are either valuable or dangerous - some of the most powerful artifacts from the hidden history of the world.

That was quite a trip in the space of 6 issues! While I began reading this series as an extension of Demon Knights - it quickly became my favorite of the two titles. The insane collection of innovative ideas and concepts is almost too much to contain. This is EXACTLY what I like to see in comics - stories that present new ideas, concepts, punctuated by depth and excellent writing. This is a powerful beginning for the new series.

What is most sad, though, is that Paul Cornell announced that he was leaving the title. He has said that he will continue to write Demon Knights, and coordinate with the new writer of the series. Cornell says that him being on the book for only six issues was always the plan - to set up and give the series a firm foundation from which to spring off from. I really can't help but think something else contributed to this decision. There where rumors that DC were demanding too many tie-ins to other DCU books. The enigmatic Pandora (the lady foreshadowed at the end of Flashpoint) is supposedly going to be dealt with in the pages of Stormwatch. Basically, I think DC wants to use the series a hub, of sorts, for all kind of connections to the DCU at large. Already tie-ins to other books where made - and they did indeed seem crammed in for little to no reason. The horn, which made a small and nearly insignificant tie-in to Superman, makes me believe this is true. The inclusion of the Daemonites - though worked into the plot concerning the origins of the space station, also screamed of being a marketing-ordered tie-in. I don't mind DC doing that every so often; what I do mind is Cornell seemingly abandoning the book after so thoroughly creating these great first six issues. I don't know the real reason he left - but for me it really shook the foundation of this title, Demon Knights, and the stability of the 52 Relaunch in general. I don't like signing onto books, and then see writers and artists dropping ship the next minute. Especially considering the price of things these days - the comics I buy, I expect some dedication out of them in exchange for my money.

Honestly, though, re-counting the storyline thus far has actually really helped. It reminded me why I kept enjoying every issue; even when I wasn't completely sure what exactly was going on. I think I'll keep reading the series -- at least for now.

Paul Jenkins comes onboard for a two-issue fill-in. Interdimensional raiders are coming to steal Earth's gravity. That certainly seems in keeping with the outlandish, yet straight-faced fare from the series o far. I had head Paul Jenkins had hoped to be named a new regular writer of the series. I would have liked to have seen Jenkins take over -- he's always been an excellent and deep writer. Yet DC announced they are instead going with Peter Milligan. My main exposure to Milligan's writing is from Marvel's X-Statix, a indy-style series about Celebrity Mutants. It was an excellent, yet less serious, take on the idea of mutants. I personally loved that series -- but Stormwatch is a much more serious book. X-Statix was more a parody of the X-Men than anything else. I do think he'll be able to handle to high-minded sci-fi adventures, and the humor thrown in here and there -- but him being the new writer still makes me unsure.

That being said, I'll still give Stormwatch, and by extension Demon Knights, another shot. I really hope Milligan does workout. I think he's going to still be supported by the incredible art of Miguel Sepulveda - which I hope will give the series a sense of consistancy and continuity. It's going to need it, though. It really was a seriously blow to see Cornell leave the title he started so very early. Here's hoping the epic two-century sided tale he started will continue on well!

52 In Review: Demon Knights So Far...

2012-02-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

We've entered the 6th month of DC's Relaunched of their entire line-up, referred to as the New 52. (52 Comics series, all starting at issue #1. Everything is new again!) I already gave my opinions on the first outpouring of issues, here and here. Over all I liked the relaunch - but there are a few titles I thought I'd look at again, to see how they are doing so far. Some of the more fringe titles are of particular interest for me -- as some of them I'm considering dropping. So maybe looking back I'll make up my mind and make a decision on that point.

First up is Demon Knights. Set in the distant past of the Dark Ages, we follow Jason Blood and Madam Xanadu -- both survivors of the fall of Camelot. They are also unique in both being immortal. Xanadu hails from Avalon, while Jason had the unfortunate fate of being bound by Merlin to the Demon Etrigan.

Etrigan and Jason trade places with each other - transforming from one to another when the situation requires. Madam Xanadu is somewhat two-timing Jason with himself -- as whenever the Demon is around, Xanadu professes her love and passion for Etrigan, while demeaning the Demon's weaker half. The reverse is also played up - with Xanadu in love when Jason is around, and disliking of the Demon. She's essentially playing up both sides; thought it's unclear yet wether this is a matter or practicality (the Demon is uncontrollable otherwise), or does Xanadu really love the Demon over Jason?

The two of them meet in a town tavern and by coincidence come into contact with 5 other individuals that comprise the series. Vandal Savage; an amoral immortal caveman who has crossed paths with Blood and Xanadu before. Sir Ystin, the Shining Knight, who professes to be on a mysterious quest. (And who isn't fooling anyone as to the fact "he" is really a girl.) Al Jabr, a middle eastern inventor and playboy, is accompanied by the exiled Amazon Exoristos. A mysterious figure, known only as the Horsewoman, also comes into play later -- she seems very knowledgeable about a great deal of things, and is noted for always being on her horse, as she is paralyzed from the waist down and cannot walk.

These seven people comprise the central cast of the series. They aren't joining up together out of altruism, or anything like that -- more that circumstances force them into helping to protect a town - which has sadly found itself in the way of the Questing Queen and her army. The Questing Queen, paired up with long-time DC evil wizard Mordru, commands a terrible army, comprised of warriors, scavengers, dinosaurs, dragons, and even mechanical dragons. One of the funniest jokes from the series is their solution to most obstacles: "throw dragons at it".

The seven warriors that comprise the supposed "Demon Knights", are set to protect this town against the the Questing Queen's hoard.

Vandal Savage, while a long standing villain in DC Comics, has actually been portrayed in a rather jovial manner. When besieged by dinosaurs, Savage is delighted to be able to kill, and then later eat, these "tasty rare creatures"; he hasn't seen them since the Prehistoric era, after all.

The Demon takes over for Jason and helps out in the fighting. While he doesn't rhyme all the time (like he's done in most other comics), he does on occasion break out a humorous line. He also demonstrates a new ability - being able to sprout wings and fly!

To help protect everyone, Madame Xanadu makes a sacrifice - casting a powerful spell to help protect the village, but seemingly at the cost of her youth. (You know she gets better, seeing as she also appears, in the modern day, in the pages of "Justice League Dark") Still, this sacrifice puts Etrigan in a foul mood. After all the dust has cleared, and the town has a reprieve from attack, the Demon unjustifiably attacks the village priest, scratching his face. While the Priest might have survived such wounds, though disfigured, matters are made worse because the scratches where inflicted by a demon there is no chance the priest's skin would ever heal. He died - much to the shock and distain of Al Jabr.

Exoristos proves exceptionally valuable in battle, with her inherent Amazon strength. She is also inherently off-putting. (The above panel being a prime example of her abrasive attitude.)

She does find some support from a young village girl, who laments that she can't help herself in defending the village. Exoristos tells her of the Amazon creed - that a woman can do anything. The pros of feminism not withstanding - her message of support for her fellow sister ends in tragedy - as the little girl is killed when trying to sneak out of the village and deliver a message for help. The horsewoman, who has been helping to guide their group's defense of the village, shoots Exoristos in anger over the young girl's death, telling her that not all women as free as she is, let alone having the strength she possesses. Exoristos is fine - the Horsewoman pointedly shot her arrow so as not to hit any vital organs. Madam Xanadu later helps tend to Exoristos' wounds. Exoristos had originally been disgusted with Xanadu, seeing how she plays between Jason and Etrigan. Xanadu vaguely explains that it is a plan, of sorts, developed between her and Jason. Exoristos further upsets Xanadu, when she expressed that she didn't realize the women of this world where weaker, having to rely on womanly wiles. Xanadu yells at her, saying she can tell why she was exiled. The Amazon is shocked, asking how she could know. Xanadu in a huff explains that it's her name -- in Greek it means exiled.

Exoristos, simply put, isn't Wonder Woman. Not that WW never rubbed anyone the wrong way with her views -- but Exoristos seems much less experienced in dealing with people in Patriarch's World. She does, however, seem to be the more interesting of the new characters created by writer Paul Cornell. She is introduced with an incredibly abrasive and tough exterior, but that is clearly masking deeper issues underneath. This character obviously has a long and interesting journey ahead of her.

One of the standouts of the series (at least for me) is the Shining Knight -- finally getting her due since being re-interpreted in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers series. Her character is used a bit differently here, but does keep some of the same lore developed for her in Seven Soldiers. She does come from an extremely early age, over nine thousand years ago, during one of the early iterations, and falls, of Camelot. (Camelot, being a cyclical event throughout history is another element taken from Seven Soldiers) Ystin was a soldier who was near death - and Merlin, for reasons not even clear to himself, gave the near dead girl a sip from the Holy Grail. Merlin, who appears to the Shining Knight in a vision whist defenses are prepared for the invading hoard, recounts her life alongside Merlin. He explains details about his own journey with the Holy Grail. I can't claim to full understand everything being imparted here (it was a dream-like sequence) - but essentially having drank from the Holy Grail has made the Shining Knight immortal. Ever since Merlin lost the grail himself, Ystin has taken up that cause in his stead.

A lot is revealed about the Shining Knight in issue #4, when she experiences this vision. Jason Blood, who hasn't heard anything about Merlin since cursing him with Etrigan, is desperate to know what she is seeing. There where some vague, but telling, hints of Ystin's future - like a evil sprit invading her soul. When the Questing Queen, in hopes of dividing this group that is defending the town, seeks to temp some of them to her side - and is shocked to see the Shining Knight among them; figuring that this could only be fate, giving her a chance to defeat the Shining Knight, and prove herself worthy of the Holy Grail. The Questing Queen was even disturbed in her sleep when Ystin experienced her vision -- a connection between these two seems more promising for issues to come.

Issue #5 ends with a betrayal among the group -- as Vandal Savage, who up to now has been quite humorous and delightful member of the group, shows his true colors when he stabs and murders a young boy, to keep secret his escape from the town and to the Questing Queen's side. Apparently Savage had once served as a general in the Queen's army, and seeks to join up again.

The series so far has been good -- but I wouldn't be honest if I didn't mention my own feeling that it's plot has somewhat been meandering around. This opening storyline is obviously not going to conclude with issue #6 - so that means we've been stuck in this same darn village for well over half a year's worth of issues. Not that it hasn't been to the series advantage to take things slow; they have a large cast, and want to give all the characters their proper due. But, still, the fact remains we're still in this town, and still waiting for the Hoard's next attack.

Paul Cornell, who I'd found to be a wonderfully cleaver and insightful writer, has nonetheless failed to completely hook me on this series. The biggest reason I'm leaning to sticking around is merely because of the promise of what is to come. I've seen the build-up of his stories in the past - a full year's worth of Lex Luthor stories in Action Comics, which culminated in one of the grandest moments for the villain in his war against Superman.

There is one problem, though, is continuing to read this series merely on the promise of the epic stories to come: wether Cornell will be there to write them. I don't think Demon Knights is at risk of being canceled, by any means -- but Paul Cornell recently left the writing duties of Stormwatch after only 6 issues. SIX ISSUES! What does Stormwatch have to do with this series? Apparently everything -- as it's been revealed that Demon Knights, and this group of characters, are the beginnings of Stormwatch. How does this medieval grab-bag of heroes and villains turn into the epic secret organization, having protected the world from the shadows all the way to the modern age? The connection isn't completely there yet - but there are hints already in play. Merlin, in particular, is noted for "Watching the Storms". There's also the suspicion (I don't know for sure), that the character Adam One, in the pages of Stormwatch, might in fact be a future incarnation of Merlin. (I heard that being speculated, at least.)

This all screams that a large, and very satisfying tale is being woven here. With Cornell leaving Stormwatch after only six issues, though... Cornell has affirmed that he will still continue to writer for Demon Knights - but it still feels like a second piece of the puzzle has been compromised. Demon Knights and Stormwatch, for me, have pretty much become a pair. If I stick with one, I'll stick with the other. So the question is... will I keep reading Stormwatch, under the new writer coming onboard? Because if not - Demon Knights will also be on the chopping block for me.

Anyway - I'll be back to examine Stormwatch next. (Which can now be found here.)

Avengers vs X-Men

2012-01-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

I get a certain number of books, and plan on what to by from month to month at the comic store. Marvel has been particularly egregious in regards to releasing two issues of the same series in a single month. When the title costs $4 to begin with, and it happens to multiple books I'm getting, then that really starts to hurt. I have definitely dropped some books as a result, and am glad to see certain titles I buy come a conclusion (willingly, or sometimes canceled. As an example, O.M.A.C. is getting canceled with issue #8, and Jason Aaron is leaving Wolverine with issue #304). Anyway - in short - Marvel is really pushing me to make more cuts in the future.

So I found myself conflicted with the announcement of Marvel's new Summer Event: Avengers vs X-Men. This has apparently be building for a long time on both sides of the aisles. It's going to be a 12-issue mini-series, shipping two issues a month. That equals $8 each month, in addition to a supplementary series, titled "A vs X", which is a 6-issues, published alongside Avengers vs X-Men, highlighting the fights between certain characters.

I was really planning on skipping this entire thing. Marvel's last big mini-series, Fear Itself, left me unsatisfied, with a mediocre story and less than entertaining shocking moments. Yet, looking at what this event is offering - I'm getting more and more excited for it. You might point out that this is just a smashing together of franchises -- and it is that; but it's coming along with the culmination of long standing plotlines, about the fate of Hope (the possible Mutant Messiah), and the Scarlet Witch (An Avenger who lost her sanity, destroyed the team, and warped all reality.) Add onto that the long hinted return of the Phoenix Force -- and it begins to feel like a can't miss event. At the very least if should be an entertaining and fun event; so, despite $8 or more, I'm signing onboard.

The Avengers and X-Men have actually had a few skirmishes between each other in the past. This past decade Marvel has transformed the Avengers into a best selling franchise, eclipsing Marvel's previous front-runners: the X-Men. The X-Men have seen a big of a resurgence, as spinoff titles like "Wolverine and the X-Men" and "Uncanny X-Force" have captured fan's imaginations. So it seems appropriate to see both groups challenge each other, now on a little more equal footing.

The Avengers first took on the X-Men all the way back in the 60s, with X-Men #9, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The story basically was a set-up for the Avengers and X-Men to fight each other - while Xavier fought against a villain, dubbed Lucifer, who was trying to destroy the Earth.

Crossovers where pretty rare back in those days - which made them special when they did happen. I bet seeing the colorful heros fighting against each other was pretty exciting back then; I've only been able to read the issue in the black & white reprints of the Essentials series.

There wasn't that much cross-over between both teams again for a long, long time. There was, however, a very obvious cross-pollination, with the Avengers recruiting former Brotherhood of Evil Mutants members Scarlet Witch and her bother Quicksilver. Wanda and Pietro went on to become great heroes and long-standing members of the Avengers. So right there was a deeply set connection between both teams. The connection became even more pronounced when it was revealed that Magneto, the X-Men's biggest enemy, was really the father of both Wanda and Pietro.

The X-Men came into conflict with the Avengers again during the Secret Wars cross-over mini-series. The X-Men where really at odds with the rest of the heroes during that series, intentionally separating themselves from the others, with a mutual suspicion against the other group of heroes. Although a lot of Avengers where part of that series -- it really was more of a whole Marvel Universe-crossover.

The real Avengers/X-Men Crossover took place during the 90s, in a storyline called "Bloodties", which ran through Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Avengers and West Coast Avengers titles. It was actually kind of a personal crossover, rather than a sweeping event; the story was essentially fallout from the X-Men "Fatal Attractions" cross-over, where Xavier, to stop Magneto, erased Erik's mind - rendering him comatose. Fabian Cortez, one of Magneto's more fanatical followers, tried to take over leadership of the Acolytes. He was unable to hold onto the position, though -- as an upstart villain named Exodus took the lead. Cortez subsequently fled and kidnapped Luna, Quicksilver's baby daughter. Fleeing to the mutant slave island nation of Genosha, both the Avengers, X-Men, and Exodus where hot on their trail -- sparking civil war in the already politically turmultiotus country.

The X-Men and Avengers both managed to save Quicksilver's daughter. It was a good cross-over; yet will always be overshadowed during that time in X-Men history, as there was a constant stream of cross-overs nearly every single month. Bloodties was a relatively small one.

So, during the last decade, a lot happened with the Avengers. Brian Michael Bendis took over the franchise, using Wanda Maximoff as the central character to destroy the team, before later rebuilding it from the ground up. The Scarlet Witch has the mutant ability to change probabilities, usually depicted as an energy blast called Hex-spheres, where she can change the probabilities of something in the favor she desires. Like, for instance, she could Hex-blast a book case and make it fall on top of a nearby enemy. Her powers, though, had exponentially increased over the years - to the point where she is able to alter reality itself. John Byrne, during his run on West Coast Avengers, famously had a storyline where Wanda's powers went out of control and she became evil. That plotline was reignited by Bendis - where Wanda's powers had completely overwhelmed her and made her loose grip on reality. There's certainly plenty of precedent to support this course change -- Wanda, married to the robot Vision, "magically" given birth to twins. She had also brought Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man, back from the dead simply by willing it. So Wanda's ability to alter reality was becoming quite dangerous. She killed a number of Avengers, wounding the team so much that they called it quits. The Avengers soon re-grouped, dubbed "The New Avengers"; through the group was very different, with the likes of Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, and the Sentry being members.

Wanda was actually still alive, recovering from the trauma since being defeated by her fellow teammates. Magneto and Xavier were trying to care for her - but the potential danger she posed, if she acted up again, was too great to be ignored. So Xavier called the X-Men and Avengers together. Quicksilver feared that they where going to opt to kill his sister; so Quicksilver tried to get Wanda to save herself.

A brilliant white light subsequently engulfed all of reality. The X-Men and Avengers suddenly woke up in a brand new world - the House of M - in which mutants where the dominant species, and Magneto ruled over the planet. Bendis and Oliver Copiel did a wonderful job, crafting a compelling alternate reality, and having characters finding themselves leading very different lives. Wolverine had Nick Fury's job, being the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spider-Man found himself a celebrity, keeping quite on the fact he wasn't really a mutant. Humans essentially where the outcasts of this society. Eventually a young girl, Lyla Miller, was found to have the mysterious ability to awaken people to their old selves. A large group of heroes where all gathered together and decided to confront Magneto and try and change back reality. Since Magneto was the ruler, the Avengers and X-Men naturally thought it had been Erik who had used Wanda to transform reality. At the end they found out it was really Quicksilver - and during the ensuing chaos of the battle Wanda broke down again; and said these famous words:

"No more mutants."

Reality went white again, with everyone waking up to the world restored. Yet there was a significant change for the mutant community. Wanda had essentially erased the X-Gene from nearly all mutants on the planet. Perhaps because of her familiarity and connection with the X-Men (and the fact Marvel didn't want to end the franchise), most X-Men retained their powers. An estimated 198 mutants where determined to be all that was left. This was a complete decimation of the mutant species as a whole. Where once mutants where projected to be the dominant species within 4 generations -- they where now shunted to near extinction.

The Scarlet Witch was no where to be found.

The mutant race was forced to pull together - with most remaining mutants on the planet all coming to Xavier's mansion. The government tried contain and monitor the X-Men (for their own protection, of course), turning Xavier's school into a mutant reservation.

Things began to change, though, when the seemingly first mutant birth in years occurred. A mad rush to retrieve this girl took place; as the Mutant hating Purifiers, warned of her birth, tried to kill her. Mr. Sinister and his Marauders where also vying to obtain the child. The time traveling mutant, Cable, was able to rescue her. Yet no place was safe for this little girl -- as prophetic warnings abound, either labeling her as the Mutant Messiah, or the Mutant Anti-Christ. One of the X-Men's own, Bishop (another time traveler), even tried to kill her - saying she was the one responsible for the ruined future world he came from. Finally it was decided that to ensure this baby's safety - Cable would take her into the future (very much like had been done with Cable himself, being the son of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops - who sent his son Nathan Christopher Summers to the future to save his life). Cable essentially raised this girl, now named Hope Summers, as his daughter.

When Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, inexplicably gained power in the government - the X-Men, having already fled from Westchester New York to San Francisco, where facing increased threats from both the mutant hating public and the government. So Cyclops enacted a plan, raising the sunken Asteroid M (Magneto's old lair) from the ocean, and making it into an island. Dubbed Utopia, this was to be a place where the last remaining mutants on the planet could live, outside of US Shores. Osborn did not like this, and sent his Dark Avengers (bad guys dressed as Avengers) to try and stop this plan.

Osborn, at the time, had a tentative alliance with the X-Men's Emma Frost. Seemingly both on the same page, Emma donned a black costume and lead a group called "The Dark X-Men"; Osborn's own mutant team, to help form and control public opinion. Emma, though, eventually revealed her true colors by betraying Osborn - allowing Utopia to be established.

Hope and Cable eventually return, with Hope now a young woman. Hope fulfills a bit of her prophesied destiny, using her powers to awaken 5 young people as mutants.

Cyclops, who has become increasingly militant in protecting Utopia, begins to show cracks that will tear apart the team. Magneto even comes to join the X-Men, hailing Cyclops as a true leader of the mutant race. This was quite symbolic; it wasn't Magneto that was changing his ways, but rather the X-Men under Cyclops' leadership becoming more in line with Magneto's way of thinking. This eventually causes a split for the X-Men, as Wolverine decides to open his own school (where Xavier's use to be) - so that the next generation of mutants didn't have to stay and risk their lives as soldiers protecting Utopia.

And that's the story so far, of the X-Men and the Avengers. Osborn eventually went crazy and lost his position of power - and the Avengers returned to prominence, with Captain America now the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Scarlet Witch made a return in "Avengers Children's Crusade". I personally didn't read that series; but there are hints Wanda might use her powers in the future to restore mutant kind.

A kind of prelude, to the Avengers vs X-Men mini-series, was done - featuring Cable returning to try and eliminate the Avengers. "Avengers X-Sanction" essentially served as a brief return for Cable, making one last time-traveling effort before dying to protect his daughter, Hope, who he believes is going to be killed by the Avengers in the near future.

Coming this March Avengers vs X-Men #0 will be published, officially kicking off the big event. The storyline is going to feature Hope and the Scarlet Witch -- with an impending return of the Phoenix Force to Earth. The Avengers are going to be convinced that this will spell disaster, and destroy the World. Hope has frequently been hinted to have a connection to the Phoenix Force - so Cable's prediction of the Avengers killing her may prove true. The X-Men see the return of the Phoenix Force as a prelude to a revival of the mutant race. So a war is going to break out between both teams.

Marvel has a large number of creators bringing their talent to this mini-series. Aprils issue #1 lists Bendis as writer, with issue #2 by Jason Aaron - both issues drawn with John Romita Jr.

Marvel has been releasing teasers of the rivalries between the members of both teams. Like Iceman vs Spider-Man, Storm vs Thor, Cyclops vs Hawkeye, and Wolverine vs Captain America

I don't know exactly how these fights are going to be dealt with in more length in the A vs X companion mini-series. In fact, I don't know who's even going to be writing those issues -- though A vs X #1 announces a split between characters -- featuring fights between Iron Man and Magneto, and The Thing vs Namor.

I really didn't think I'd be excited for this mini-series, and the extra $8 a month it will cost; but it actually is sounding better the more I hear about it. I probably won't buy A vs X, though. Regular issues of Avengers also promise some cool tie-in issues, though. Certain characters are bound to be pulled in two different directions, as Wolverine, Beast, and Storm right now serve as both Avengers and X-Men. I hope it all turns out ok. With different writers and artists collaborating - if not done well it could be a jumbled mess. Fingers crossed.

DC Sex and Violence

2012-01-19T10:51:00.000-08:00

I told them so. A FOX News Station has finally picked up, and sparked outrage about the violence and sex going on with DC Comics. (Bleedingcool shows the video here.)

When looking into the New 52 I wrote this, reacting to some of the violence I was seeing in certain DC Titles:

"I've really enjoyed almost everything about the new DCU Reboot. The comics are fresh and exciting again - but there is one noticeable stain upon the whole initiative: the Batman books. I like the Batman books. I tried two of them this month - and while the issues I tried where good, and not too violent -- that cannot be said for the likes of Detective Comics #1, which had a final page showing the carved-off face of the Joker nailed to a wall. That just added to my disappointment with the Batman-office in general lately, as the previous Detective Comic arch was utterly inappropriately labeled - as it featured cannibalism. I kept hearing how good the story actually was; but I for one was quite disgusted by it - and I'm not even a little kid, which Batman books are more than likely to be given to. The less said about the utterly pornographic Catwoman #1, the better. It's a rather large disappointment to see - that such violent content is being mislabeled as either "T", or "T+" - when it's content that should be getting an "M" rating. Yet DC doesn't want to put an "M" rating on a Batman book - which begs the question why they are allowing such content on one of their lead characters to begin with?! I for one would like to read a Batman book that isn't marred by psychologically scarring violence and sex. I was intending to buy the new Jonah Hex book -- but I put it right back after seeing the prominently displayed dead hooker, nailed to the rafters as a warning for Hex to get out of town. I quite frankly don't know whether to trust the Batman books in the coming future, or the title Green Lantern Corps, written by Batman and Robin writer Peter J Tomasi, which stacked a mountain of dead bodies up as warning to the GL Corps, in addition to slicing up disposable Green Lantern characters every which way. Seriously - DC - get the violence under control!"

Five months in, what I've been reading hasn't been overly violent or worthy of controversy in any way. So I've been pretty happy.

At the time I emailed and told DC what I thought -- asking them to tone down the violence. I said to DC "Does some right-wing family values group need to make an outrage of this kind of content, before you finally start toning things down?" Well, unexpectedly, here's FOX News.

This news report, while making a valid point about violence in books kids have easy access to - also makes some wrong headed assumptions; that comics are only for kids and that violence in media cause aggression in children. That kind of mentality is a holdover from Fredric Wertham and the 1950s Senate Hearings -- all of which was largely debunked, and now considered a sad example of the worst kind of government censorship.

Comics aren't just for kids -- it's a medium, especially for the last four decades, that can easily be compared to the likes of TV and Movies. Yet DC has indeed dropped the ball in regards to their own rating system -- and neglected to remember that little kids do indeed get their hands on these titles regardless: especially the likes of Batman. I'm in no way advocating any kind of censorship -- just some common sense; especially in the face of over-reacting news organizations.

Batman: Court of Owls

2012-01-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

I use to read a lot of Batman titles. Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, Birds of Prey, ect. Eventually things changed and I began just reading only the main titles. After Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's famous Batman: Hush storyline, it became a struggle to find a new defining creative team for the character. Luckily Grant Morrison came in and worked his usual insane magic. I've really just been following his work on Batman, Batman and Robin, and then Batman Inc. When the new 52 line of comics began, I was going to continue reading Batman and Robin until Morrison came back to finish up his Batman run with his upcoming Leviathan story. I also picked up issue #1 of the new launch for Batman, curious and willing to give the first issue a try and see why people where raving so much about Scott Snyder. I've since dropped Batman and Robin -- the storyline there was just moving far too slowly, and without clear explanation about things. As for the regular Batman book? I decided to keep on it until issue #6, for one reason: The Court of Owls.

I don't know what it is about the concept for this new group of villains for Batman -- maybe it just strikes the right cord about secret organizations and conspiracies, wrapped up in an Owl theme.

Or, it could just be the invented children's rhyme used to explain the myth about the Court of Owls in Gotham. Supposedly an urban legend (A real urban legend. Not like that Batman fellow!), the Court of Owls are supposedly a secret organization that has watched over Gotham for centuries.

"Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadow perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them or they'll send the Talon for your head."

A pretty evocative rhyme, huh? That rhyme alone sparked my imagination, and prompted me to read further into the series.

Batman has run afoul a mysterious figure claiming to be the Court of Owl's personal assassin, dubbed "The Talon". Batman isn't one for just buying into rumor or superstitions - he just figures this is someone using the myth about the Court of Owls to target and kill certain people. Bruce Wayne unenviably is on the Talon's hit list.

While Batman steadfastly refuses to believe there is such a thing as the Court of Owls - the evidence keeps piling up. Even in Bruce's own family history -- his great, great-grandfather Alan Wayne, who near the end of his life suffered from aggressive senility, became obsessed about birds. He claimed they where conspiring against him, and eventually he was found running in the streets in his nightgown, claiming that they where everywhere - their nests all around and even in his home. When found by the police they turned away for a second, and Alan Wayne fell down an open manhole to his death. The police don't even know wether he had jumped or had been pushed.

One of Alan Wayne's final words that night had been him warning that they where coming; that the 13th hour was coming. Taking this clue Batman stumbled upon a rather large piece of the puzzle. You see, Alan Wayne had been the person who had built and owned a number of buildings in Gotham. Superstition, fear of the 13th floor, was common-place. Buildings would simply skip the 13th floor, and go from 12 to 14. A space was still built inbetween those floors, supposedly to trap all the bad luck. Batman went to all of these locations, and was shocked by what he discovered. Every building, hidden in that tucked-away 13th floor, was a base of operations for the Talon. Building after building, lairs where found dating back to 1891 and all the way to 2006. These places where the nests of every succeeding generation of the Talon. Finding Batman having stumbled upon his lair, the Talon blew the entire floor of the building up, nearly killing Batman.

Still, after all this, Batman refused to believe in the Court of Owls. It's revealed in issue #4 that, after his parents where murdered right in front of him, a young Bruce Wayne began his first investigation, because he was convinced that the Court of Owls must have killed his parents. Making connections, a conspiracy to kill them, was comforting to this young boy - his mind attempting to create structure to his now shattered life. Even though very young, Bruce was determined - and even nearly lost his life when he accidently became trapped in a building he had thought might be where the Court of Owls are. That one case taught Bruce a very important lesson for being a detective: Never let emotion drive an investigation. After being saved by the police, Bruce accepted that the Court of Owls was merely a myth.

Batman still believes the Court of Owls are a myth. Investigating further Batman was once again attacked by the Talon, who was able to smash Batman's head right against the wall. Batman awoke to find himself in a large maze, with a screen showing people with owl masks, welcoming Batman to The Labyrinth!

The story and writing of Scott Snyder is simply gripping. Greg Capullo's art gives an otherwise serious story energy and fun, but while not loosing the dark mystery of the story.

It makes you wonder, also, why the idea of Owls haven't been used before in Batman stories. Apparently Owls hunt Bats. What I once thought at first was going to be a cool new cadre of villains are turning out to be Batman's worst threat ever. This isn't ending at issue #6, and I'm onboard for the ride. Shows you what trying one issue can get you?

Starting with issue #7, the Batman title is going to feature a back up tale, with a price of 3.99, only a dollar more. I don't really like having needless content being added to each issue - but it looks like DC has realized they have a bonafide hit on their hands. So the Court of Owls is expanding into a crossover event - "Night of the Owls". The backup tales in each issue are going to explore the history the Court has had in Gotham over the centuries. Snyder is going to be writing those stories, with Rafael Albuquerque on art. Here are some sketches by Albuquerque:

So while it's going to cost a little more, I'm sticking around until this Owls storyline is over. I do hope reading just Scott Snyder's Batman series will be enough, and won't force you into reading too many chapters in other series.

Still, I'm pretty happy to see that this storyline is getting the attention it deserves. I think Batman is DC's best selling of all the 52 titles. I just hope it doesn't cross-over into too violent a territory. Scott Snyder wrote some pretty disturbing Batman stories, with cannibals, before the relaunch. Those stories where apparently very, very good - getting rave reviews all around; but it seemed like far too mature a subject to see in a Batman comic. I blame the editors for that. So far the Court of Owls storyline has an acceptable, and less disturbing, level of violence. So for me trying that first issue #1 was a risk. But it's happily turned out to be a risk worth taking.

I only wanted to caution you about that, seeing as I recently voiced a problem with DC and violence. Yet I don't want to undercut how impressive and fun this storyline has been! Snyder creates a living world for Batman to occupy, with detail and explosive action you'd come to expect from DC's premiere Super Hero. Even before hearing the official announcement for "Night of the Owls", I was excited about this story - and I absolutely loved this tagline DC's 52 Sneak Peeks:

"Every generation of the Court of Owls employs its own assassin - always called the Talon. The Talons live their lives in their nests, waiting for orders. They only take orders from the Court, who remain faceless to them. And on a single night in Gotham, generations of Talons will attack."

-- Scott Snyder

This year, Batman will discover that the city he has fought so hard to protect... was never his at all.

Next Console Generation

2012-01-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

It's not here yet completely, but it feels like we're about to move into the next console generation cycle. The Wii U has already been announced, and rumors about the successor to the X-Box 360 are already flying.

Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

I recently jut got a 3DS - which is obviously the next generation for the Nintendo DS System. I'm very impressed by it -- the 3D isn't as nearly eye-straining as people have said, at least on the titles I've played (Super Mario 3D Land, and Mario Kart 7) What I've been most impressed with is the wealth of other features - Augmented Reality Games, Gameboy and DSi Ware downloads. The only problem I've had with it is the joystick. I'm always more comfortable with a D-Pad. It works fine for games meant to work with a D-Pad, but not for nuanced control with older platforming games. This is mitigated by a D-Pad provided right below the joystick - and works well - except for the fact I found it squeaking when using it for a long time. It went away - but it's making me keep hold of my old DS Lite, just for DS games needing a regular D-Pad. Also a word of caution - know what kind of buttons you'll need to use when buying downloadable Gameboy games. The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening plays great, but pressing the select, start, a and b buttons all at the same time - which is how you save the game - is nearly impossible. Luckily saving in-game is made redundant with the Restore Point Save feature.

Oh yeah - and I don't like the Street Pass. I turn it off every time - I wish Nintendo would stopped pushing it at us so hard. It's far too easy to press Power Off, when you're trying to press Start.

Anyway - the 3DS, while having a disastrous start out of the gate earlier this year, looks to be improving. The new lower price and release of quality games obviously being a factor.

The faltering release of the 3DS, though, makes me worried that Nintendo might have become too arrogant about their success with the Wii. I believe their over-reliance on cool gimmicks might have tripped them up. Steps being taken by the company just bring to mind a possible repeat of the 3DS' release. The Wii U's unveiling left fans more confused than excited. We're all taking a step back and relying on the usual dependability of Nintendo - but a second screen controller just seems too weird; like they are trying to do something new just for the sake of doing something new.

What concerns me the most, though, is their proposed line-up on Wii U games. They are obviously trying to bringing back hardcore gamers -- but for me, games with blood and guts doesn't always mean quality or a mature game. I've in fact been a little dismayed with some of the thinking Nintendo has given to bringing us quality games for these systems. Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, and Legend of Zelda are their obvious successes -- but looking at Pilot Wings or Steel Diver being launch titles is just disheartening. I was also surprised with Nintendo not bringing over Xenoblade Chronicles Wii. They have since changed their minds, and are releasing it this April. I hadn't been expecting that game either way, but once word of mouth began to spread, it seemed foolish that Nintendo didn't release it in America to begin with. It sounds like an excellent game - and the reasoning for not bringing it over becomes doubley baffling when you consider they released it in Europe, so a translated version WAS made!

Decision making like that makes me concerned about Nintendo's entry into the next console generation. The only title I'm so far excited about on the Wii U is Dragon Quest X -- with a monthly Online fee already being a concern.

X-Box

For Microsoft and the X-Box 360, they seem to be going in the route of creating a true multi-media gaming machine. Not just for playing games - but also having TV, Internet, and other features. That's all well and good - but it's not immediately appealing to me. I only want my console to play games - not become a host to iTune video downloads. (I don't need more ways to waste my money).

I am somewhat biased about this, though - as I never got an X-Box 360. It looked like a fine system, but their over-reliance on multiplayer games, and requiring a fee for X-Box services shied me away. The one game that was making me consider buying that system was Blue Dragon. I didn't like seeing such frame-rate stuttering in videos, and a total of 4 disks to contain the game... I haven't seen something like that since the Playstation One.

Playstation

For the PS3, like the 3DS it had a somewhat shaky start. I was one of the original adopters, getting the larger 60 GB version of the system. They have since made the system cheaper and thinner -- but I was really happy with how it turned out, as I love having the backwards compatibility of PS1 and PS2 games. Also handy for the occasional Blueray movie! I've generally been pretty pleased with the system -- with the large exception of their loss of User Information to hackers.

The biggest thing about the transition from this console generation to the next is about graphics. With HD Graphics both the X-Box 360 and PS3 have created some truly beautiful and stunning games. Add to that the higher degree of computing power - and the games also became more and more technically impressive. And it's not just been about slapping on a better coat of paint - developers have simply been able to do things on these systems that they could never have done on the likes of a PS2. The graphics have actually become a bit too impressive for some systems to handle. I was very, very excited about LA Noire - but was very unhappy to see it crash and overheat my system. The fatter PS3 apparently was most susceptible to this. I don't know if those issues where ever fixed - but for me, it made buying the game a horrific experience. I was luckily able to return it and get my money back. That title is probably one of the rarer games I've seen technical faults on, though. News of the glitches and lag in a title like Skyrim on the PS3 was very disheartening; and surprising too, since I played both Fallout 3 and New Vegas without much trouble. (Fallout 3 did have some game-stopping glitches at first - but they seemed to be weeded out with patches. Every once in a while something would freeze the game - but generally they both where excellent experiences for me.)

Dependability

That's the thing the PS4 has to do! The same goes for the X-Box 360 -- dependability! The advent of HD Graphics has sort of made video games, visually, hit a wall in terms of getting better. Now all we need from our systems are the same excellent graphics and technical prowess - but without any of the hassle. Video games, nearing the end of a console cycle, usually always show signs of developers trying to do something newer, and better, that the hardware can't always handle. Like their ambition is outstripped by their ability. The next generation of consoles should aim to make a system better able to utilize that ambition to it's fullest, with room to grow.

Sooooo... in short - I'm anxious and concerned about this upcoming console generation - but in generally am pretty please where video gaming has gotten us already. They only need to make it more reliable.

Dragon Quest Art Exhibit

2012-01-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

I heared once it being pointed out how marvelous and miraculous the technology of photographs are. That without what is now a common technology, we would never really know what things in foreign lands actually look like. Photos, and by extension video, allow us to see such things like the Pyramids -- to actually see the immense grander, unfiltered through description or drawing, what the Pyramids look like. This post isn't about the Pyramids, but that was the example that was used when I heard that saying about photographs. It's true, really - photos let us see amazing things from around the world. Coupled with the internet, there's almost nothing that you can't look up and see for yourself - things you maybe never could see in person. So it struck me how wonderful it was that photos on the internet where able to show me something I could never visit: a Dragon Quest Art Exhibit in Japan.

The Mori Art Museum, located in the Roppongi Hills Shopping Center, late last year had a Dragon Quest Art Exhibit. Besides the fact that it's since over - even if I had known about it earlier, there's simply no way I could ever visit such an event. Yet a wonderful article on Siliconera.com gave readers a tour of the exhibit. Dragon Quest is a huge franchise in Japan, and it's history with the country pretty much is the prime example of the Japanese's love of Role-playing Games (RPG). It's one of their pop-culture staples. It was a slow journey for Dragon Quest to gain some measure of acceptance in America (especially in favor of shooter games these days) - but it stands as one of my all time favorite series, stemming all the way back to my childhood and the original Dragon Warrior.

Anyway, the article I read had pictures and gave details to parts of the exhibit they weren't able to photograph. Some of the photos are blurry, but it nicely gave a look at what the museum had to offer. Statues of the famous monsters of the series, screenshots, memorabilia and behind the scenes displays where shown. Although it's something they couldn't photograph, I found it interesting that they had a display showing the gameplay balancing the designers went through, about how much experience and money defeating a monster got you, with them ultimately deciding to making the game more challenging -- little details like that just sound fascinating.

- You can read that article here: Let's Take A Trip To The Dragon Quest Exhibit

- This site also talks about the exhibit, with more pictures as well: Chronicle of a Quarter Century

- Here also is the main Japanese site advertising the event, here.

Looking at the photos from their main website, it looks as if Dragon Quest creators and developers made appearances.

They also had a restraunt serving Dragon Quest themed food, called Ludia's Bar. (A place in Nintendo DS Dragon Quest 9.) In the image above you can see some of the food they had on the menu. The Slime Meat Bun, though... Thinking of eating it sort of makes me ill. Ever since they started selling them as a novelty food, it immediately seemed like a ill-appetizing food to me. It's the idea of eating a cartoon character, I guess, that grosses me out! Plus I alway picture the usually smiling Slime not smiling anymore, scared of being devoured! But I digress...

Photos from the website also show cosplayers greeting visitors -- playing the roles of Ludia and Erinn, from Dragon Quest 9.

Anyway - while I could never have been able to see such a place first-hand, it was nice being able to investigate it through the internet.

Best Video Game 2011

2011-12-23T14:13:00.000-08:00

Best Video Game of 2011: Okamiden (Nintendo DS)

I know there have been some much bigger titles, and much more graphically impressive games in both presentation and gameplay -- but Okamiden served up a surprisingly deep story, continuing the tale of Amaterasu, or more accurately re-treading the same tale, but with a new perspective. Introducing Ammy's son, Chibiterasu was a stroke of genius, as it allowed this game to serve as both a sequel and an off-shoot tale at the same time.

The gameplay was simple, but satisfying - and it delivered on both the functionality and visual style of the PS2/Wii counterpart; Just on a smaller scale. It can sometimes get repetitive, once you know the solution to a puzzle - but I think this serves the game well for younger players, as it does require critical thinking - but not an insane difficulty level. The drawing mechanics, though, are very fun to use on the DS - taking the drawing mechanics of the game play and using it in inventive and effective ways.

Another feature that made the gameplay so fun for me was the pre-order bonus that the game came with: a DS Stylus Brush, to give you more of a feel like you're painting. (I know that wouldn't apply to people now. It really should have come packaged with the game.) It's a larger and fatter stylus - but that proved to be an asset, as it became simple to always hold the pen in my right hand while playing, instead of fumbling with removing the regular stylus in and out of it's slot on the system.

Yet what made this game really stick was the story, and the emotional investment you put into the partners who join with you during the journey. It started off simple enough - but ended with such a surprisingly deep and meaningful ending - that I can't help but pick it for best game of the year. At least the best game for me ^_^ (I know this isn't an objective pick - but it's not suppose to be. It's what I liked the best from this year.)

I hope another Okami game is in the works at Capcom. It's a series that didn't launch well at all, over shadowed by the Legend of Zelda's Twilight Princess (with Link as a Wolf), and the debut of the PS3 - but I think the re-release on the Wii, and now Okamiden on the DS probably faired better. And it strikes me that it would be such a monumental waste for Capcom not to utilize this property again - given new systems like the Nintendo 3DS and the upcoming WiiU - both of which seem perfect for stylus controlled gameplay.

Another reason I feel it would be a waste not to see another entry in the series is that Japanese video game developers seem to have an inferiority complex these days - no longer being on top in the face of competition from western developers. That's the impression I've been getting, at least. I've heard in interviews from Kenji Inafune (Megaman) and other developers about difficulties trying to balance their own innovation along with trying to make their games mainstream. There's also the reverse, of games relying far too much on Japanese Video Game styles, and letting an international appeal be lost in the shuffle. Inafune even lamented that he thought the Japanese video game industry was dying - and shortly after he very publicly departed Capcom, with the desire and goal to make games without corporate interference.

Even though Okamiden is a Capcom game - I think it's one of the best examples of a game having a creative vision. The game is a complete celebration of Japanese mythology - and it's something I deeply appreciated about this series. Simply put, Japanese video games are far from dead - and while Western Shooters are more popular here in America, I can't express enough how important it is to see creative content still coming from Japan. They revived and perfected video game industry -- and they are definitely not being forgotten by Western gamers.

I give a lot of credit to Capcom for supporting Okami with a Wii and DS iterations, but there is a reason Inafune left the company. Capcom announced a large reduction in creating Wii and 3DS games earlier this year. Capcom has also been showing a striking lack of respect for Mega Man as a franchise, specifically not including him in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. While intentional or not, it seems like a slight against Inafune over leaving the company.

This kind of corporate lock-down makes me worried that chances for another Okami game are reduced. I only hope that won't be the case.

In any event, whatever happens to the Okami franchise - this title, Okamiden, satisfied me with extending the already deeply rich storyline, giving a satisfactory ending, but while also leaving things wide open for a future sequel.

Best of Comics 2011

2011-12-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

The Comic Book Revolution Website put out their list of what they thought was best in the world of comics this year. I was adding my two cents in the comments section when I thought, hey - if I'm putting thought into this, why not put my picks on my own site as well. So, here it is. (I'll be back with my pick for best Video Game of the Year)

Here's what I thought was best this year in comics. It's certainly been a year of upheaval, changes and disappointments - but over all I think it's been quite a good years for comics (if you're reading the right books, that is)

Best Event/Mini-Series: The New 52

I know it's not a cohesive story - but it certainly counts as an event. And while it had it's up and downs - I was very impressed by the creative content (both writers and artists), who really stepped up on certain titles. Plus it's just cool to see new people, or older fans, actually buying comics again!

Best Creative Team: Rick Remender and Tony Moore

These two just seem to compliment each other so well. Even if it was for a few pages in, for example, issue #5 of Venom, the pages Moore drew elevated the entire issue, even though a different artist came in to finish the rest.

Best Story Arc: The Dark Angel Saga

Uncanny X-Force has just been incredible, and the promised culmination of all the events in the series thus far did not disappoint one iota. The art was amazing, the writing was cleaver and top-notch - feeling like it was an event, instead of just a single story arc in the series.

Best New Series: Wolverine and the X-Men

What could have been an easy cash-in on yet another Wolverine title - this series surprised me with how original, wacky, and freeing it could be. Creativity abounds in every page, and utilizes X-Men history to make you feel right at home.

Best Ongoing Series: Uncanny X-Force

This year of Uncanny X-Force has just been amazing! Ever single issue feels jam-packed with cleaver, exciting, and dramatic storytelling. It's a spin-off from the X-Men -- but I think this series speaks more to the X-Men being at their best than any other title out right now.

Avengers, the Best of Bendis' Run

2011-12-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

It was recently announced that Brian Michael Bendis is going to be leaving the Avengers. It sounds like he's leaving both titles, and the new Avengers Assemble series after he completes the first arc. You can see what I read here.

I have to say I'm very disappointed about this. I know hating Bendis has become an official sport to some people, or even a well calculated science -- but I definitely was not one of those people. There's a reason his run on the Avengers lasted so long, with him supposedly finishing his run with 200 issues under his belt. Bendis pretty much revolutionized the Avengers since he took over. While I'll admit he made some mistakes along the way - the sum total of his run is very impressive! The Avengers went from what I'd wager was an average selling title - to a franchise that has since eclipsed the X-Men in popularity. That is no small feat; and I wanted to highlight some of my favorite moments from his run on the series.

Spider-Man & Wolverine

Bendis' first 4 issue story arc depicted the end of the Avengers - as the Scarlet Witch lost all control of her powers, killing several heroes - and utterly shattering the team. Avengers: Disassembled, though, lead to a bold new era for the Avengers franchise - as it was rechristened "The New Avengers" - Bendis would bring to bear his dialogue heavy, thoughtful and also erratic storytelling to the series, changing it forever.

One of the biggest changes was the addition of characters who fans immediately decried as not being Avengers material. Spider-Man and Wolverine where probably the most high profile examples of this.

Spider-Man had always been the loner of the Marvel Universe. He had tried joining the Fantastic Four in Amazing Spider-Man #1, but couldn't make it work. In Spider-Man Annual #3, he tried to join the Avengers as well -- but failed there too. When a large scale prison riot exploded - the heroes that came to the rescue would become the basis for the "New Avengers". Captain America, seeing their presence at the event as some kind of destiny, wouldn't take no for an answer: and that included Spider-Man.

Wolverine joined up soon after, running into the New Avengers during their first mission in the Savage Land. While always dedicated to the X-Men first - Wolverine became just as loyal to Captain America's group as he had been to Xavier's. Even though Wolverine clashed with Cap and the Avengers, especially since Wolverine is a known killer (of bad guys); Iron Man convinced Captain America to have him join, because their new group where facing some much darker and more subversive threats - something an old hat espionage killer could be useful with.

Really, though, that was all just context for forcing these characters onto the book. There's really no reason Wolverine and Spider-Man couldn't have worked, being on the book, long before -- it was the adherence to the previous status quo, and those early Spider-Man team-rejection issues, that had prevented it until now. With Wolverine and Spider-Man on the book - the surge in popularity of the title can no doubt be attributed to them being there. It's made a huge improvement to Spider-Man's character, giving him fellow heroes he can rely on; and while Wolverine is now currently serving on 3 to 4 different teams - I always looked at his presence on the Avengers as the place he was sleeping, or hanging out, and would eventually show up for work with the X-Men later. They are comic book characters, after all. Can't we have a little suspension of disbelief, in the name of fun? Bendis has pointedly used Wolverine and Spider-Man as the humorists for the group. I think it's proved pretty beneficial over all..

Luke Cage

One of the best re-inventions brought into the new Bendis-led era of the Avengers was that of Luke Cage. The former Hero for Hire, Luke Cage possesses unbreakable skin; making him very powerful and a good fit to any super hero team. Yet Luke was the definition of a different kind of Avenger. He was street level, usually working to keep his neighborhood safe. Yet when he joined the New Avengers - Luke brought that kind of on-the street, help the common man mentality to the group. There was one issue that particularly highlighted this - as it showed the Avengers going to one of the most crime-ridden streets in Detroit, and simply stood there. Supposedly this is similar to a police tactic - showing overwhelming force in a troubled area, to scare off the criminal element. Supposedly, even though the show of force is temporary, there's still a reduction in the level of crime later on after they have left. (I'm only saying what they explained in the issue. I don't know if police has really used this kind of tactic or not. It sounds like it could work, though.)

There was one moment I knew Luke Cage belonged on the team -- when the New Avengers where in Japan, fighting against a horde of Ninjas. They where fighting at the very top of a high-rise building, and at one point Luke went off and fell all the way down to street level. Not only did he get back up and run right back in the building, but in a humorous moment he silently took the elevator, waiting until it reached the top. Once the doors opened he simply stated he was back, like falling off the roof was nothing.

With Luke being on the team - the introduction of his girlfriend, Jessica Jones, became a welcome addition. Jessica previously starred in a solo Marvel MAX series called Alias. Jessica Jones was conceived as a one-time Super Hero who worked as a private investigator; dealing with cases that involved Super Heroes. Since the series was part of Marvel's mature MAX Line, Bendis was able to cut loose and develop this wonderfully rich and foul mouthed woman. During the series she started dating Luke Cage, and stuck with him when he joined the New Avengers. The Alias series drew to a close, and while Jessica is still the famous swear-filled woman, the appropriately censored (F$%~) wording solved most issues. And while Jessica is Super Powered, her whole thing, from the Aliases series, is about being out of the Super Hero game. While she'd pitch in whenever there was trouble, she has nonetheless remained the tight-less supporting character of the series. She and Luke eventually had a baby together, and tied the knot in the first New Avengers Annual.

Luke became a true leader, though, during the Super Human Civil War. In one of Bendis' best single issues, they showed Luke Cage being informed by Iron Man and the government that he would have to register himself as a super-hero, or face imprisonment. A split had driven the New Avengers into two camps -- Iron Man's government sponsored Avengers, and Captain America's rebels, who refused to participate. Luke Cage had just recently gotten married and had a new baby girl. His morals, though, would never let him sign up for governmental intrusion into their personal lives. So on the night the Super Human Registration Act went into Law, Luke sent Jessica and the baby away, and obstinately stayed in his home, defiantly saying that he was going to do nothing - and see if the Government would go ahead and arrest him for just being himself. They did - and true to form Luke heroically fought back, and eventually joined up with Captain America and the other rebelling Super Heroes.

The Civil War put a permanent wedge between Iron Man and Captain America's camps -- even after Iron Man's side won. Captain America had surrendered himself to authorities - and was tragically shot dead by a sniper on the court house steps. In his stead Luke took command on the remaining rebel heroes. Down and out, on the run from the law, Luke lead the New Avengers in some of their most heroic moments.

Ares, God of War

With the Avengers split up between Luke Cage's group and Iron Man's - a new Government-sponsored Avengers stepped up, in a series called "Mighty Avengers". A new character was recruited to the team - Ares, the Greek God of War. There had been a mini-series earlier that had depicted the fall of Olympus - and Gods like Ares where now stuck on the mortal plane. Ares shifted from a typical enemy of Thor and Hercules - to a father trying to raise his young son, Phobos. Ares is hired by Iron Man to be on the Avengers - figuring that his super-powered and vicious attitude could prove an asset. (It was suggested he was like a mix between Wolverine and Thor). Ares actually proved to be a very likable character. He fought bravely for the good guys, putting his talents as the God of War to good use. His first appearance written by Bendis had some great moments, as the Mighty Avengers fought against an iteration of Ultron -- giving him the chance to show off his comedically awesome and vicious fighting style.

One of the best parts about Ares, though, was his role as as single father. He hadn't joined the Avengers out of the good of his heart - they where offering him a pay check. His son, Phobos, though, would take a path away from his father - when he's recruited by Nick Fury as one of his "Secret Warriors". The young Phobos' skill? He's the son of Ares -- accordingly, like in mythology, Phobos is the God of Fear. Nick Fury was able to teach the young boy about his powers - as he worked on secret missions as part of the Secret Warriors. Even though this took Phobos on a different path from his father (who Ares couldn't really relate to, Phobos being more sensitive) - they still managed to remain on good terms; with Phobos reacting strongly when his father was eventually killed in a later storyline.

Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion seemed to be the culmination of a lot of planning and secrecy. Major revelations HAD to be kept under wraps - as the ultimate guessing game for comics took place. You see, the Marvel Universe over the last several years has been silently invaded. Prominent characters and heroes have been replaced by Sleeper Agents - alien shapeshifters, known as Skrulls; who once where revealed, was it too late to stop them.

This storyline was very well timed - being a natural out-growth of the War on Terrorism we where all living through. Where in real life we where questioning who around us could possibly be a terrorist - this series reflected those societal fears, as suddenly every Super Hero could secretly be a Skrull. There where plenty of heroes to choose from, too! Any hero acting out of character was suddenly a major suspect - Tony Stark, because of his actions during the Civil War, being the most obvious choice. Any Avenger who fans had said could never be Avengers -- maybe they where right? The reveals turned out very well, and nearly broke both sets of Avengers.

The biggest upset, though, was in the aftermath of the invasion - as Norman Osborn, who made the killing shot against the Skrull Queen on national television, suddenly became the recipient of unparalleled fanfare and public trust.

The Dark Avengers

Again mirroring real life issues, but through comic book characters, we saw Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, become a national hero. He dismantled S.H.I.E.L.D. and replaced it with his own organization, dubbed H.A.M.M.E.R. - and became America's top cop, taking Iron Man's place. The public either simply didn't know, or didn't care, that Osborn was once the Green Goblin, a notorious foe of Spider-Man. Yet after being scared into thinking anyone around you could be an invading shapeshifting alien - ignoring Osborn's past mental instability was easy. If this sounds like it's some kind of analogy to George Bush, and the unprecedented powers he was given to fight the "War on Terror" - then it shows you're paying attention. Certainly not a direct analogy - but one that nicely mirrored the frustration many of us where feeling in real life.

In the biggest and most elaborate "F@#$ you!" to the Avengers (who where now on the run), Osborn created his own dark version of the Avengers - who starred in the new title "Dark Avengers". Criminals where propped up, acting dark mirror images of the Avengers. The psychopath Bullseye was dressed up as Hawkeye. Venom was made to look more like Spider-Man. Wolverine's angry son, Daken, took up the classic brown and gold costume his father use to wear. Less than perfect heros from the Mighty Avengers, Ares and the Sentry, helped with the transition of the cast. And Norman Osborn? He dressed himself up as the Iron Patriot, spray-painting an Ironman suit like the American flag - and portraying HIS Avengers as the Super Heroes the public could trust!

It was simply a great series - as we saw Osborn corrupt every part of the Marvel Universe he could touch. The New Avengers shined during this time, as they acted as the usual foil to Osborn's plans. Eventually Osborn would crash and burn, trying to launch an unprovoked Siege of Asgard - where he finally broke down as was seen as the madman he really was. What? An analogy the invasion of Iraq? Now you're just imagining it.

Spider-Woman

Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman, has always been somewhat of a difficult character to get a grasp on. Having no direct connection to Spider-Man probably doesn't help - but her original solo-series has been a fan favorite by many -- though by none more than Brian Michael Bendis. Her stylish costume and hair apparently being highlights for him - Spider-Woman's inclusion in the opening issues of New Avengers was surprising, but welcome. Ever since her popularity faded, she's nonetheless remained a well liked supporting character, acting as a Private Eye for years. Her inclusion up-front as one of the New Avengers finally meant the character was getting her due - and Bendis didn't disappoint with her being the most mysterious and engaging of the cast.

A Spider-Woman Origin mini-series was done as well, updating her origins - and explaining her very convoluted past in a more simple manner. Long story short - Jessica was experimented on by her father, which gave her Spider-Powers. The terrorist organization Hydra took control of Jessica and turned her into an assassin to kill Nick Fury. She failed - but was subsequently recruited by Fury as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Now joining the New Avengers - Spider-Woman supposedly was working two sides of a dangerous scenario - as Hydra recruited her again to spy on the Avengers; yet she accepted under the authority of Nick Fury - who wanted the then down-and-out Jessica Drew to play Hydra's offer against them. She's essentially a double-double agent.

After the Origin mini-series, a new on-going series was promised - with Bendis and legendary Daredevil collaborator Alex Maleev rejoining Bendis on art. The series simply never materialized - which was confusing and disappointing. No explanation was given - but there was a reason for that. During the Secret Invasion, one of the biggest revelations was that Jessica Drew was in fact always a Skrull - the Skrull Queen, no less! That was why the on-going solo series never got off the ground - they had originally planned to reveal Spider-Woman as a Skrull in the first issue, but ultimately couldn't justify selling a Spider-Woman series that wasn't actually starring the real Spider-Woman. As it turned out, it just made the revelation during Secret Invasion more powerful - and made the betrayal even more vicious.

The real Jessica Drew, though, would be revealed at the end of Secret Invasion - alive and well, but now suddenly in a world she hardly recognizes. She eventually joins up with the New Avengers - but her presence on the team is not easy. Her identity had been co-opted in the worst possible way -- and worst yet was that the whole world had seen her face (the Skrull Queen) as the leader of the invasion. It's like having the face of Hitler.

So angered by what a horrible mess her life has become - Jessica is given an opportunity to put her anger and rage to good use - as she's approached by Abigail Brand, Director of S.W.O.R.D. - the government organization in charge of policing aliens on Earth. Brand wants to make Jessica an Agent of S.W.O.R.D. - with the mandate of hunting down the remaining Skrulls hiding on Earth.

The series was just wonderful! The art of Alex Maleev was better than ever - as he mixed a dynamic and stunning new visual style into his already impressive sketchy-art. The first Skrull Jessica tracks down leads her to the Island Nation of Madripoor - a fictional port of call for criminals in Southeast Asia.

The series was doing something especially revolutionary - as Marvel was attempting to do the series both as a digital animated comic, and a regular series. Each issue would be available in both formats. It was an ambitious idea, but it didn't seem to gain as much traction as Marvel might have liked. (It's much easier to simply animate comic-storylines that are already made, instead of doing one concurrently with a monthly series.) What's worse is how this drained Maleev dry. After 7 issues the series ended, with Maleev having enough. It was understandable - he had done essentially 2 year's worth of art, designing for both the monthly book and the animated comic. The series just wouldn't have been the same without Maleev - so instead of bringing in another artist, the Spider-Woman series ended after only 7 issues. It a darn good 7 issues, though.

The Sentry's Fall

During the Siege mini-series, the Sentry, the Golden Hero, finally came tumbling down as the massive threat he really was. Bob Reynolds is a psychologically sick man - an agoraphobic schizophrenic, but with the Powers of a God. His introduction at the beginning of New Avengers was surprising - as Bendis took a character, originally conceived as an elaborate April Fools joke - as Marvel originally purported the Sentry as a long lost Super Hero from the 60s, and integrated him into the Marvel Universe proper. He was a cool concept, but Bendis has never been known for his tact when depicting the mentally challenged. Suffering from some issues myself, I've never felt particularly offended by anything Bendis wrote -- but I knew full well a lot of liberties where being taken when depicting the Sentry's mental troubles. It usually just was used as a way to not make the Sentry the be-all, fix-all hero he purportedly could be, given his power levels.

The Sentry remained one of Bendis' less developed concepts - until the Dark Avengers, where Norman Osborn (being crazy himself), was able to relate to Bob and gain his trust. The Sentry's true origins where revealed, exposing him as the less than noble hero he pretends to be - and during the Siege mini-series, Bob finally went over the edge, by ripping Ares completely in half (it was quite bloody), and going power mad. I simply LOVED the Spider-Look, crawling out of his mouth, showing his decent and transformation into the Void.

The Sentry's tenure as an Avenger probably stands as the most convoluted and frustrating parts of Bendis' Avengers run. But that finale battle, when Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man finally put Bob down -- that was a really great moment.

New Avengers Finale

After years of building up the New Avengers as the premiere super-team, after the Siege mini-series the title would be split up between a more classic Avengers group (putting Captain America, Thor, and Iron man back together again), which would regrettably split the popularity of the New Avengers title. Before that happened, though, we got one last chance to see Bendis' New Avengers embark on a mission before the status-quo change - taking care of the villainous Hood, who after Siege was left powerless and on the run. After years of dealing with this guy, it felt incredibly refreshing to see Luke Cage's team track him down. It was made even better by the incredible art of Bryan Hitch - this one-shot finale issue put a satisfying cap on the series thus far.

Avengers #12.1

Bendis has often been accused of building stories almost exclusively made to be long multi-issue arcs. Thats why this Point One issue of Avengers seemed to high-light for me how good a writer Bendis can be at times - and this point one issue would be an excellent example of Bendis giving his A-Game, and within just a 20-page story. The issue essentially revolved around Spider-Woman going missing while on a mission for S.W.O.R.D. Spider-Woman, since properly returning to the fold after Secret Invasion, has regrettably been disenfranchised ever since then. Her Spider-Woman series seemed to be fulfilling the long-promised spot-light for her - but as explained before, the series only lasted 7 issues. Jessica Drew has been seemingly sidelined all this time - so her focus in this issue was very welcome. The story featured the appearance of a lot of different villains - and essentially serves as a prelude to the Ultron-arc coming up this Summer of 1012. This issue is even going to be offered for free this May as part of Free Comic Book Day - just in time for that story arc. It was a good issue, probably the best contained example of Bendis at the top of his game, especially alongside the incredible art of Bryan Hitch.

Squirrel Girl

Squirrel Girl has been somewhat of a fan favorite since joining the perpetual loser team: The Great Lakes Avengers! A joke team if ever there was one. Dan Slott did a mini-series starring the team, adding Squirrel Girl to the group. Despite being created by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko - Squirrel Girl has been a dismissed loser character for as long as she's existed. Even her premiere story by Ditko was annoying - as it featured Doreen Green, able to command Squirrels, defeat Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom is pretty much the Darth Vader of the Marvel Universe, on par with the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. A running joke has been that since Steve Ditko wrote that debut issue, it automatically is in continuity - so Squirrel Girl automatically PWNS Doctor Doom!

Anyway - Bendis surprisingly brought Doreen into the New Avengers title, which could have felt out of place given the less joking nature of the series. Bendis had a good excuse to bring her in, though! She was hired as the babysitter to Jessica Jones' and Luke Cage's baby. They needed a babysitter who had super powers - and despite the goofy idea of her being able to command Squirrels, Bendis was able to integrate her as a supporting character on the team. He even conceived the idea of Doreen and Wolverine having a romantic untold past! So what could have been a hamfisted inclusion onto the team became an equal parts humorous and sensible plot point. Doreen got to prove herself very soon - protecting her infant charge during a Nazi attack on New York.

Ultron

This is a very simple comment - but a noteworthy one, defining the different approach Bendis brought to the Avengers from the very start. In his opening issues, in Avengers Disassembled, robot Ultrons appeared, attacking the Avengers. For all of Ultron's many appearances over the years - every single writer has re-hashed Ultron's backstory. Over and over again. Bendis pointed that out, to stream-line the narrative, he wouldn't explain Ultron's origins. He's a power-mad robot out to destroy humanity - you don't necessarily need to know that much about him. That's a simple thing - but in 30+ years no other writer has depicted Ultron so simply. It was simply refreshing to see that kind of narrative shift - which for good of ill, for some people, this stream-lined approach to the series has no doubt helped make it more easily accessible to new fans and readers.

Returning Heroes

One of Bendis' biggest and justified criticisms has been his killing off of characters. During Avengers Disassembled, that story killed off several great characters, seemingly for no reason. Hawkeye's death was probably the most prominent and famous one - as Clint did a pointless suicide run on an invading army, which ultimately was made even more pointless by the fact the invading army was a conjured creation of the now insane Scarlet Witch.

Bendis made up for it, though, bringing Hawkeye back in spectacular fashion during the House of M mini-series, where the alteration to reality allowed Bendis to slip an alive Clint Barton back among the living. And not to treat his return lightly, Bendis took a long, long time before even putting Clint back into his traditional Hawkeye uniform. Hawkeye's death was simply pointless - but his return from the dead made all the difference.

The original Vision was also one of the victims of Avengers Disassembled. But recently Tony Stark brought him back out, apparently having been tinkering with him in his spare time. No big story arc or fan fare - the Vision is just back. ...Ta da! It was just a cool and smartly delivered moment - and the Vision's return just feels like a return to form, bringing back such a beloved and classic Avenger.

Captain Marvel, Peter David's Run Part 2

2011-12-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

The Captain Marvel series was in trouble, and a dramatic reboot was done to give the series a second chance. In a contest dubbed "U-Decide", Captain Marvel and two other books would be released - and the one that sold the most copies would continue on, and the others would be canceled. Frankly it all seemed like an annoying stunt - but I was ok with it, if it meant one of my favorite series was going to continue. Suffice to say - Captain Marvel won the contest.

The most immediate change was the design of a new costume. Alex Ross re-designed the new look, using the Kree Armor the original Captain Marvel wore when he first appeared in comics. It was a radical stylistic departure - but it would ultimately serve to indicate how much Captain Marvel had truly changed.

Genis, possessing Cosmic Awareness, tried to extend and master his abilities. This wasn't a curve-ball, plot-wise, as it had always been a running plot thread that Captain Marvel didn't always have complete control over his abilities. Moondragon's telepathic help had guided Genis into becoming more skilled in it's use. So now Captain Marvel began seeing more and more of events surrounding him. It was random, chaotic - as his awareness bolted him from crisis to crisis; from an alien drug dealer to dealing with interstellar conflicts. Genis suddenly could see EVERYTHING happening in the universe! But it was all at once, completely out of his control -- and it drove him utterly insane.

Having now gone off the deep end, Captain Marvel killed people, interfered in almost anything he fancied - and sought to understand where he stands in the universe now. Is he a God? He can see everything - is more than willing to pass judgement on anyone.

Rick Jones became trapped by Captain Marvel - suddenly a prisoner on the other side in the Microverse. The relationship between Rick and Genis devolved more and more as the series went on. Rick was able to manage a bit of control over the Captain - by using their psychic connection to send a mind-blast to hurt Genis.

The first six issues where particularly pivotal. After going insane in the first issue, the second has him examining the morality of killing - and goes to the best source on the subject: The Punisher. Meanwhile in the Microverse Rick is trapped in an extremely cold and harsh environment. He's able to seek shelter in a cave - where he meets a mysterious grey skinned woman. This woman, named Epiphany, is very important for things to come.

Back in the regular universe Captain Marvel has interjected himself into the Kree army - killing a commanding officer and taking his place. Genis' motives for doing this seem to revolve around examining the structure of the people he comes from, but I think it's really just a plot revolving around the new costume that Captain Marvel adopts in these issues. During the course of events, including engaging the ticking off the Shi'ar Empire, Captain Marvel's supposed loyalty as a Kree soldier are tested - as he's ordered to execute a woman who has been found out as a Shi'ar spy. While insane and morally confused on every level - we see there are points where we see some kind of mortality on Genis' part. Instead of murdering the woman - he instead executes himself - firing his gun into his mouth.

Rick, meanwhile, he begun a relationship with Epiphany - which has inspired Rick's musical abilities. While traveling through the Microverse he develops a rockstar career playing the guitar. In the regular universe Captain Marvel, having just blown his brains out, is annoyed to find himself rising out of his own grave. In what may have been a delusion, or an actual experience with the afterlife, Genis finds himself encountering his dead father, Mar-Vell. While Genis certainly might have some father issues - his insane state only makes things worse. Mar-Vell is trying to talk sense to his son - to help him come back from the edge he's clearly gone over. They fight, with Genis beating his father to a bloody pulp - and ending it by dropping Genis' own grave upon him - crushing him. Genis falls over. only to then be greeted by luminous black and white being, dubbed Entropy.

Entropy is brother of Epiphany - and there's a reason they have engaged with Rick and Genis. Entropy, especially, wants Captain Marvel's help with something very important. It seems Entropy is the son of Eternity - a cosmic celestial being in the Marvel Universe who is suppose to embody the universe itself. Entropy wants to end the universe - something Genis is very keen to help with.

Issue #6, the end of the first arc, takes an existential turn - as it features Captain Marvel, Entropy, Epiphany, and Rick. It's one month later (I don't quite understand what happened inbetween, though.) They are all in an entire white void - with Captain Marvel having successfully destroyed the universe. Rick had failed to stop Captain Marvel, and is furious with him. Entropy loves the new experience of the universe having been destroyed. The nothingness is a new concept to Entropy - the first new concept he's ever encountered; as before all he had known was the universe, the universe being his father, Eternity. It strikes him that he should create something - but it's a foreign concept to him. Rick suggests he create what he knows, like any good writer/author would do. Yet where to begin? Captain Marvel has an answer for that:

"In the beginning."

Captain Marvel shoots Entropy in the head - creating the Big Bang. The explosion that ensues re-creates the Universe - and before them now stands Eternity; Entropy being the end and the beginning, has transformed into his father Eternity. Everything is the same as it once was - all except for Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel then finds himself waking up in the same location he had begun his journey in trying to master his Cosmic Awareness. I don't know wether this means that everything in the past 5 issues are moot now - but it ultimately doesn't matter. Captain Marvel is still insane - and Rick is still trapped with him.

The next two issues have Thor guest starring. This appearance by Thor seemed very appropriately timed - as it was during a time when Odin was dead, and Thor was made Lord of Asgard. Somewhat in parallel to how much Captain Marvel had changed - Thor had dramatically shifted gears as well - as he was now injecting Asgard and the Gods into mortal life. Playing God would ultimately be disastrous for Thor - but for right now it was a great time for Captain Marvel to visit, as he wanted to explore the idea of being a god. He had, after all, destroyed the universe and then re-created it.

The story had a lot of theological ideas knocked around, while a pair of Storm Giants attacked Asgard. After making a mess of Asgard himself, the fight against the Storm Giants was also escalating to a dangerous conclusion - which Captain Marvel could tell was coming with his Cosmic Awareness. After having his fun Captain Marvel granted Thor a glimpse into his Cosmic Awareness - to see how the escalating conflict would lead to the destruction of Asgard. Thor was even shown the origins of the Storm Giants' hatred for Asgard - how a promise to them had been broken ages ago. Thor decided to honor the agreement that had once been denied to these Storm Giants. One of them, though, was still angry and still wanted to destroy them - which is why Captain Marvel stepped in and shot him dead.

In the next story arc Captain Marvel witnesses troubles in the Justice system, as a criminal Rick had testified against years ago was set to be put to death. (Rick apparently had managed to make a deal with Genis, so he can leave the Microverse at times.) This man, Karl Coven, had claimed he was an alien - and couldn't be killed. The execution goes as planned - but Coven wakes up, alive and well. Despite his human appearance, Coven really is an alien - and after the ensuing legal battle to try and keep him in jail (even though he was successful executed) Captain Marvel became very interested in the law and the justice system. It was a strange yet thought provoking story.

The story, though, felt a little bit like a derailment - an attempt to do a story not exclusively dedicated to Captain Marvel's mental collapse. When the series was relaunched Peter David very much had Chriscross' dynamic art in mind - as Crisscross can draw an insane-looking face better than any other artist. It was a big disappointment to suddenly find that Chriscross was off the series. I don't know why Chriscross left - but apparently Peter David even thought about reversing directions, and going back to a sane Captain Marvel. (They had rebooted the Universe in the first story arc, after all.) Yet the insane-Captain Marvel storyline continued on ahead. Even though Chriscross was lost, they got some phenomenally talented people to take his place. The colorists for the series did an especially good job making the art look consistent, even though wildly different artists came in and did certain arcs.

While I enjoyed the artist who came in to fill the void, apparently some fans where growing tired of month-in-month-out "Captain Marvel is still insane". It's a valid point - but one I whole heartedly disagree with. While the stories might have meandered around to different subjects, without a clear idea of where it was all leading -- it missed the point of enjoying the examination Peter David was doing on all these various subjects, as seen through the warped lens of Captain Marvel. Peter David has always tackled important subjects, from political to theological - so for me this all seemed exactly what Peter David is best at.

Perhaps the most Peter David-esq story came up next - as he wrote a single issue that pretty much was a parallel to the War in Iraq, with Captain Marvel tormenting an alien leader, similar to George Bush, with antics both funny and dangerous. The story essentially entailed Captain Marvel killing a monstrous villain, Burstarr, and stopping him from attacking this planet. The people and the George Bush-like politician where extremely grateful to Captain Marvel. Graciousness that would not last - as, much like liberators in Iraq, Captain Marvel simply would not leave. It's not a point for point comparison between events in real life, but the commentary was clear. This was probably one the prime examples of Peter David injecting his opinions, especially his political opinions, into his story. I didn't like this issue when I first read it (I had different opinions about the war at the time.) Yet is strikes me now as a good issue to have been made.

In the next issue Captain Marvel suddenly found himself face to face with different versions of himself. Himself as Legacy, the sane Captain Marvel, and the insane one. You see, when the universe was rebooted - there where some holes left over in the fabric of reality. Rick was also meeting different version of his former self. For Rick its disappointing to see where he had come from, his reckless youth - and later trying to be a super hero/partner to Captain America. Rick's younger selves don't necessarily like where Rick is right now either, and what his life has become.

For Captain Marvel it was depressing to see his younger self, Legacy, drunk and irresponsible; the sane Captain Marvel was even more disappointed, seeing a preview of what kind of monster he would one day become. The insane Captain Marvel suggests that if his sane counter-part wants to stop it -- all he has to do is shoot Legacy. Eventually these universal aberrations go away - but the insightful look into who they are and where they have been in life was fascinating.

A change for Captain Marvel's status quo, though, was on the way in the next major arc. It involved the Kree, Skrull, and Shi'ar Empires coming to the same conclusion that something had to be done about the mad Captain. A surprising figure stepped forward, from Genis' home world the Moon Titan: that of Genis' mother, Elysius. This is especially surprising because I believe Elyius is suppose to be dead, but suddenly isn't. Elysius urges Captain Marvel to let them help him him. Captain Marvel is not pleased about this, so he escapes and goes to visit his father's memorial grave. He rants at the grave, proclaiming that Mar-Vell had somehow set her up to this.

Epiphany suddenly appears and greeted Captain Marvel. She had since disappeared after Entropy's destruction and rebirth as Eternity -- and claimed she was there to thank him for his help before. They eventually begin a relationship together. Wether Rick's experience with Epiphany was erased or not, I'm not sure. He was pretty busy being a rockstar and nearly dying during this time; something Captain Marvel may have engineered himself, having grown tried of Rick's complaining. Supposedly Captain Marvel used their psychic bond to influence Rick's mind to have him kill himself. Later the Captain resurrected Rick. It's not addressed immediately - but it becomes clear that Rick cannot see Epiphany there. Is Captain Marvel imagining her there?

It became a moot point, though, when Captain Marvel returned to his home planet, the Moon Titan, to deal with his family. To Genis' surprise a female Captain Marvel greeted him, attacking and trying to take him down. This woman is named Phyla, which Captain Marvel both knows, yet doesn't know. Phyla is Genis sister -- and Captain Marvel's confusion is understandable, since up to now Captain Marvel has always been a single child. It's eventually revealed that when the universe was rebooted, a few things where added and subtracted. Captain Marvel's mother is suddenly alive - and instead of raising and developing one child with Mar-Vell's DNA, Elysius created two children.

Along with Phyla and other members of Captain Marvel's family - they hounded and confronted Genis with all of his actions and misdeeds. They showed him how fractured he had made the universe, and all the damage he was doing -- and addressed the real issue at the heart of it all: Is Captain Marvel really crazy? Clinically insane? Epiphany, unseen by anyone, continually counters their arguments; though seeing someone who isn't there is never a sign of good mental health. They eventually come to a conclusion, that while the unfiltered explosion of information his Cosmic Awareness had caused him to behave as he had - he's still technically sane. His reactions to everything is more the reaction to truly not caring anymore, about anything - because all the possible futures Genis constantly sees now simply consumed him.

Captain Marvel, after having been mentally beat down, is somewhat recovered. Genis even takes on a new costume - similar to his original star-faced costume, but with gray coloring instead of red. (It was a good look; a return to form, but without leaving unaddressed what has happened.) The Kree, Skrulls, and Shi'ar are satisfied with the results - and that his family would keep an eye on Captain Marvel for now.

So Captain Marvel is now sane again (or at least saner). Yet Epiphany is still seen by Genis, telling him that he is still insane; just that for now he's going to play it much closer to the vest.

The next story arc seemed like a new era - one that surprisingly took us into various different future eras. You see - a super powered version of Marlo suddenly returns to Rick's life, having supposedly come from a far distant future to kill Genis, and also Rick for not having stopped Captain Marvel. Whatever had been done to Marlo, to make her young for so long, and give her powers, was also burning her out - as she failed in her mission and died. Rick is heart broken - and wants to find out what had happened, and who in the future had done this to her.

Going into the future Captain Marvel and Rick find a future Earth ruined and decimated. One of Captain Marvel's most powerful predictions, through his cosmic awareness, was what would happen if the Shi'ar, Skrulls, and Kree ever banded together on common ground - and enslaved Earth. Rick and Captain Marvel eventually encounter an older Genis, and his son Ely. They had a future Marlo in stasis - apparently her having succumbed to a disease, and putting her in stasis being the only option to save her. Captain Marvel is able to use the Nega-Bands (which both young and old Genis had), and was able to merge with his older self. It would be temporary - but it gave Captain Marvel twice the cosmic power he now had; and since he was all-powerful right now, this merging gave him the ability to scare off all the aliens off of Earth, saving the human race.

Time jumping again, since this future had not yet revealed everything that happened to Marlo, Captain Marvel is surprised to find that a statue had been erected in his honor, and had since been vilified in recent years as well, with the statue defaced. Genis is able to find his son again - who hates with father as well. Having him be absent from his life, and then appearing every once in a while down the time line has left Ely bitter and angry; and dangerous. And while Captain Marvel had driven the aliens off of Earth, the pro-Earther mentality had consequences down the line. The two of them argued with each other, with Rick eventually switching places with Captain Marvel so that Rick could beat Ely up. In a shocking twist Ely grabs Rick's Nega-Bands, and used some unknown technique to jolt Rick forward through time, leaving the Nega-Bands behind.

Meanwhile, it has to be noted that Marlo and Moondragon are focused on, in the present, during this entire arc. Apparently one of Captain Marvel's enemies, Magus, has been effecting Moondragon.

In the even more further future Rick awakes to find himself in a vast desert where once the statue of Captain Marvel stood. History had gone horribly wrong, especially for Ely. He had learned how to effect the Nega-Bands the way he had by non other than Magus. Marlo has since been released from stasis and cured - and given super powers. Possessing the stolen Nega-Bands, Ely was made aware of Rick's arrival and met him in the desert near where the Titanic now lay.

Giving Rick another pair of Nega-Bands (having been stolen from Phyla's dead body in years past), Rick is able to switch with Captain Marvel again. This is what Ely has wanted, having spend years and years, mastering powers and doing very evil things to become stronger -- all to punish his father. Ely wants to initiate the biggest battle ever conceived - something that would not only destroy the Earth, but leave a mark on the entire universe. Using his stolen Nega-Bands, and with the Magus' knowledge, Ely has become powerful enough to do just that. That's where the biggest and most shocking surprise of the entire series happens. Instead of fighting against his son, Captain Marvel decides on something else. Ely screams for him to stop, pleading that he'll change; Ely is disappearing, being erased from time.

It's a classic morality question: if you could kill Hitler, in his crib when he was a baby, would you do it, knowing all the evil he would do if he grew up? Captain Marvel made this very choice, knowing that when he invariably would return to his own time, that he would live on and have children. Captain Marvel vowed to kill Ely, in his crib as a baby, to stop all the evil he would do as an adult. This was a dark and damning moment -- and while there are all sorts of questions about better options, like trying to raise Ely better, or something like that -- it really comes down to that morality question about Hitler. If you had the chance, would you kill Hitler in his crib as a baby? For Captain Marvel, the answer was yes.

While in the future there where more clues and revelations about what was coming up in future plotlines -- like that Moondragon was seen alongside the Magus, a villain against Captain Marvel. It felt like this time-traveling story arc was only a prelude of things to come. Yet after 26 issues the series was canceled. Supposedly the insane Captain Marvel plotline had gone on too long, especially without Chriscross' art; and even though it had somewhat ended, it was simply too late, with sales dropping. Peter David had one final issue to wrap everything up - and he chose probably one of the more clever ways to do it.

On a base Captain Marvel had previously set up one of the Moons of Saturn (to be base of operations, but still close to his family on Titan), Captain Marvel sat at a desk, at a silent telephone, waiting for a call. Any emergencies that Captain Marvel could help with - where suppose to come in through here. Yet no one was calling.

A very obscure character showed up, however, with the announcement that things where over. This character had been in the series, in the background, since the beginning - as the manager of Marlo and Rick's Comic Book store. It's revealed that this once unassuming guy was actually a cosmic entity, dubbed Eulogy. (Along with Epiphany, Entropy, and Eternity, it became clear that this was all a homage to DC's Sandman series, mirroring the Endless, all characters beginning with the letter D. For Marvel, here the characters all start with "E".) Eulogy explained to the Captain that no one needed him anymore. No one cared. Captain Marvel kept insisting that someone was going to call, at some point. Eulogy said no; people had simply moved on. Eulogy began packing up all the supplies, furniture - everything; clearing it all out, like the dismantling of a set when a TV show is canceled.

The adventure through time had reunited Rick with with Marlo - and with Eulogy coming to wrap everything up, another entity was introduced to put a bow on everything. Dubbed "Expediency", any only seen as hands on a key board, plot lines where quickly tied up. Suddenly Marlo wasn't gay - and she was getting back together with Rick. Rick was also freed from his Nega-Bands and allowed to return to his normal life. All that was left was for Captain Marvel to step through a door and leave. Captain Marvel kept insisting that someone was still out there, and that someone would call. Eventually, though, he walked through the door. The phone began ringing.

That final issue, while very "Meta", examining the failures and struggles of the series, was out of place - but welcome, and honest, giving a bittersweet end to the series.

Captain Marvel would remain in the Marvel Universe, though, joining the Thunderbolts team; supposedly he joined to be a hero again, and make up for his insane actions. A new costume was developed, and Genis even took on a new title as Photon. I only read the first few issues - and later Genis apparently died, heroically giving his life and redeeming himself; but it all felt horribly contrived. For the past few years this C-List hero of the Marvel Universe was developed into an A-Class Villain, which seemed rife with so much potential. But, like it was shown, no one was calling that phone.

Even thought it didn't end as well as it could have - I felt very satisfied with what had been made up to that point. Yes, I would have liked to have seen the series continue - but it at least was given a second chance to begin with.

Captain Marvel, Peter David's Run Part 1

2011-12-01T19:42:00.000-08:00

I use to really love Peter David's writing. From his Star Trek novels, to his legendary Hulk run - I really enjoyed him as a writer. My enjoyment of his work has waned in recent years. One of Peter David's faults is he can sometimes inject too much of himself into his writing - which became a lot more apparent and off-putting during George Bush's time in office during 2000s. I however reacquainted myself with his current on going series, X-Factor - and have loved the Angel-style Super Hero Detective series.

Anyway, one of the series I followed and quite enjoyed from Peter David was his Captain Marvel run. A Kree Alien Warrior, sworn to protect Earth, even against his own people, Captain Marvel was a largely defunct character - having died from cancer in a well remembered death. A son, dubbed "Legacy" was introduced. Supposedly a lover of Captain Marvel's, Elysius of the Moon Titan, had combined Captain Marvel's DNA with her own to create a son - accelerated growth and implanted memories included. Legacy's real name is Genis-Vell (his father's name was Mar-Vell, hence the super hero name). I never had the opportunity to read any of those issues, but by all indications it was another failed attempt to remake an established hero and make him "cool".

Genis, though, got a surprise make-over in the Avengers mini-series "Avengers Forever". In it, Rick Jones (former partner to the original Captain Marvel), became a pawn in a war between two time travelers - Kang and Immortus. Seven Avengers where plucked out of various different point of time in Avengers history to help protect Rick and save the universe. It was an excellent, if convoluted, series by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. Two of the Avengers from the future where Songbird and Captain Marvel, Genis who was updated with a costume more similar to his father's - but with an amazing looking star field adorning his face.

During this series it was revealed that sometime inbetween Songbird's time period, and Genis' - the two would be lovers. Songbird at the time didn't know about this - but their potential romance would be a topic bounced around in future storylines.

The big kicker of Avengers Forever was when Captain Marvel switched places with a future Rick Jones - scarred and missing one arm. Events played out where the young Rick Jones was injured and near death. Captain Marvel saved Rick, but at a cost, by merging him with the current day Genis. When the series was over, and everyone was returned to their own timelines, the current day Rick Jones was immediately connected with the modern day Legacy, now transformed into the star-faced style costume.

Rick Jones, when he was partnered with Mar-Vell, wore a pare of gold bracelets called "Nega-Bands", which when clanged together would make Rick switch places with Captain Marvel. (The other person always being switched over to Negative Zone, and visa versa. Suddenly Rick found himself once again bonded to a hero like this. Although instead of trading places between Earth and the Negative Zone, they now switched places with the subatomic world of the Microverse. Luckily, Captain Marvel now seemingly possessed "Cosmic Awareness", like his father had, which allows him to know everything about his surroundings and the universe at large. Genis now seemed a bit more centered and less childish than he previously was.

That's where the Captain Marvel series by Peter David begins - placing Rick Jones/Captain Marvel in LA, where Rick is trying to repair his relationship with his ex-wife Marlo. Being molecularly bonded to a Cosmic Superhero didn't make that any easier. Marlo and Rick also run a comic store, prime for comic in-jokes aplenty.

The series was very wacky, light adventurous fun, often playing to Peter David's talents, and allowing him to do humor and poke fun at politics, pop culture and about the comic industry in general.

I've only been able to read the TPB, collecting the first 6 issues of the series -- and it seemed to me that it began on a bit of a shaky start. Despite trying to explain various aspects of this weird and wacky universe, characters where introduced that even I was less than familiar with. Chriscross, the artist on the book, did a good job - with a unique style of drawing people; but his art simply wasn't as good it later would be.

A fight/team-up with the Hulk helped with the transition, though; seeing as this series was being written after Peter David was unceremoniously kicked off his critically acclaimed 12-year run on the Incredible Hulk.

Being molecularly bonded to Captain Marvel, Rick had a very "Quantum Leap"-style way of communicating with him - seeing the Captain's reflection in mirrors and reflective surfaces -- though the traditional floating head, denoting their psychic bond, was used as well. Perhaps that was why a ghost was introduced into Marlo's life -- giving her a character only she could hear and speak to as well.

From the very beginning Captain Marvel's control over his "Cosmic Awareness" was always an issue. At first he was seeing events, which where to take place in the future, happening right then and now in front of him. His powers where simply off-kilter -- something that was dealt with by the cosmic super heroine Moondragon, who used her psychic powers to help train Genis in more properly using his Cosmic Awareness. Moondragon became a big supporting character in the series - probably mostly due to her humorously arrogant attitude, and the trouble it caused for Rick.

I jumped onto the series at what turned out to be a VERY opportune point - in a two part issue where Captain Marvel teamed up with Thor. The Mad Titan, Thanos (a big villain of the old Captain Marvel) also joined in - but surprisingly as an ally. They fought against this foe called Walker, who wanted to kill Death. (Death being a longstanding character, personifying the concept.) During the course of this adventure Walker shattered Rick Jones' arm and prematurely aged him to that of an old man. Meanwhile Marlo was in even more danger, as Death had decided to hide inside her body, to escape Walker. Eventually, with the powers of Death inside her, Marlo was able to defeat Walker.

Rick Jones, though, was still maimed and aged. His appearance, not coincidentally, was the same as we had seen in Avengers Forever. Rick even vanishes for a second only to return the next - having just appeared in Avengers Forever. Before that, though, Thanos attempted to cure Rick - which had an effect on Captain Marvel. Genis was suddenly experiencing his life backwards. He woke up in bed, on his home on Saturn's Moon Titan, with his seeming wife Songbird, just now going into labor. Genis was utterly confused, but was able to deliver his second child, Ely.) He then flashed to another time period, one in which Moondragon was an enemy, before flashing to another point - all with clues and details about upcoming storylines and plot-threads. The best part of the issue, though, was when Captain Marvel found himself in the same space as Rick Jones. The two had it out, venting their shared frustration of being bonded together like this. This issue was the first time I saw Chriscross' art - and utterly in contrast to his earlier work on the series - he had improved by leaps and bounds. The coloring of the book, as well, was more stunning.

The series continues on without a cure for Rick's condition. It's not until much later that Rick is returned to his original age, along with his arm. The series then brought in probably their best story arc - "Time Flies". Captain Marvel gets sucked into a portal through time -- humorously appearing on the toilet. That led to this inspired bit, commenting on the struggling sales of the series.

Marlo: "If you really want to know the problem, Joe, it's this. Captain Marvel's gone down the toilet."

Joe: "Really? I mean I know sales haven't been spectacular, but maybe that'll change. Maybe some guest stars, or a four-part storyline with a shock ending..."

Marlo: "See, Joe, I told you you wouldn't understand."

Time Flies saw Rick and Captain Marvel team up with other future-based Peter David characters. Spider-Man 2099, and the future where the Hulk turns evil. It was a wonderful showcase of what the series could do - mixing in humor with great adventure.

One issue afterwords is dedicated just to Marlo - as it goes through her varied history up to then, with a bombshell revelation at the end. It's revealed that Marlo has a deep, deep connection to Death. Marlo had once died briefly, during the Hulk series, but was brought back to life. It was no coincidence that a ghost has been following her all this time, or that Death herself had taken shelter inside her body. Even all the way back in Hulk #418, where Rick and Marlo get married - there was a small and concealed appearance of Neil Gaimen's "Death", from the DC Sandman series. She made that appearance just to congratulate Marlo on her marriage. Apparently Death had cut Marlo a break before, when she had been revived from death. Marlo apparently a death wish, having led a somewhat dangerous life. She's apparently been calling out to Death all her life, and when Death had merged with Marlo before - she brought back a powerful ability along with her. She has command over all Death. She literally could make the Universe die, if she put her mind to it, or even had a stray thought like that.

This is how insanely planned out Peter David's stories can be - laying clues and story threads YEARS in advance! The revelation about Marlo's connection to Death had been long coming - and it's this kind of mix of planning and improvisation that makes Peter David's stories so great.

The series, though, was on it's last legs. A storyline having Genis fight the cosmic villain Magus helped to wrap up the series. Nothing really big or earth shaking happened during these final issues - except for the surprise kiss, and announced romance between Marlo and Moondragon. Peter David is a big LGBT supporter - but even this seemed a bit surprising and controversial.

The Captain Marvel series ended at issue #35 -- but that wasn't the end yet. The series had always struggled in sales, being on the chopping block numerous times before. Fan support had been the only thing keeping the series going so far. The next phase of the series would prove to be somewhat controversial, as it went in a radical and "crazy" direction.

Community on Hiatus

2011-11-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone should be watching Community. It's the best comedy on TV, that has catapulted into a fan favorite series - with engaging characters, inventive stories, and excellent humor. I feel like I'm being blind-sided by this - but apparently Community wasn't doing that great in the ratings. I really don't understand why - I began watching the show with their claymation Christmas special, and upon favorable comments by friends and acquaintances - I began watching it regularly. I also began watching the series with my sister, who seemingly became addicted to the series - going through Netflix DVD Rentals of the first two seasons and all of it's commentary. It's a show worthy of that kind of attention.

When it first came on the air I originally ignored it, because I didn't entirely understand it. Chevy Chase, once a top tier comedian, had long since become supremely unfunny, starring in very bad movies -- so his name on the series didn't draw my attention. Yet, now having gotten into the series, I consider this show to be the best turn his carrier could have ever taken! His unfunny and grouchy exterior in real life suddenly became a hilarious asset - which was put to good use in this series. Chevy Chase was suddenly funny again.

The series has also made all of it's other actors stand outs in my mind. I recently watched Donald Glover's stand-up act on Comedy Central, and while it definitely used much more adult language, was fundamentally an excellent and hilarious show.

Ken Jeong, being launched into the stratosphere with his appearance in the movie "The Hangover", has cemented himself as an excellent comedian - which has proven episode after episode as he played the role of group outsider Chang. (I still can't get over the fact that he's also a licensed medial doctor in real life.)

Anyway - I bring this all up because it was just announced that the series, in the middle of its third season, has been put on hiatus. NBC has said the show will come back. Seeing as how the Office, as a series, is winding down - it seems such a shame that NBC is screwing with their line-ups that work. Again, while a critical darling and fan favorite show - the ratings haven't been as good as they would like. NBC, in general, have usually always been in 4th place in ratings. I really don't understand why, though. Their Thursday Line up are the only prime-time comedies I watch, and Law & Order where favorite mainstays. (Well, until they started screwing with that franchise as well. Now all we have left is Law & Order SVU. I'd really like to see murder investigations again, instead of nothing but sex-crime related plots.)

The Daily Beast Summarized the situation well in this article "Community on Hiatus: Why NBC is Making a Mistake". Despite the less than impressive ratings, the show has a number of factors going for it - including the shocked internet fan response, which might galvanize viewership when the show does return to the air. Yet it strikes me as what's wrong with broadcast Networks in general. Doing stupid things, rearranging shows and canceling fan favorites isn't a new thing -- but if NBC is really looking to get out of being perpetually in 4th place, acting smarter in instances like this really needs to be a priority. Look at what is working well on you're network; If Community isn't doing as well in the ratings, but is getting great reviews - then maybe moving it to after the Office (for example) would be a good idea to get attention. Put more ad support behind the show; use the already established fan base to help spread word. And, most importantly, stop green-lighting bad shows like "Whitney" (which looks like a dinosaur compared to the laugh-track free programs surrounding it), Perfect Couples (which was only mildly entertaining because of the actors starring in it), or "Up All Night" (which just from the commercials looks like a lack luster sitcom with so-so stars). And bring back Law & Order! (As Tracy Morgan on 30 Rock said, upon hearing of L&O cancelation: "But it was a tent pole, A TENT POLE!)

Comic Review: Venom #9

2011-11-29T07:15:00.001-08:00

Venom #9

Review by Kandou Erik

In the previous two issues the Venom series had a significant and meaningful tie-in to the Spider-Island mega event. This issue here follows directly after the fallout, where everyone in Manhattan has been cured - and Flash is left to try and re-connect with his girlfriend Betty Brant. This issue features the wonderful and always welcome art of Stefano Caselli. Caselli's manga-influenced styles shines beautifully here, deftly depicting large action scenes and small human dramas of the characters themselves.

In the midst of web swinging around Manhattan, trying to find Betty, Flash comes upon a large armored super-tank - which becomes an immediate threat to all civilians in it's path. Since Venom is a Government Secret Agent, having the character just stumble upon villains on patrol isn't a regular thing - but it feels nice to see Venom doing his more classic "Lethal Protector" shtick. Anyway - this tank operator is a low rent villain, but is quickly making A-Level villain kills - running over an innocent security guard, and ultimately a mother and child -- all of whom Flash isn't able to save as he attempts to stop the tank. This of course brings out the old style Venom - ready and willing to kill - as Flash looses control of the symbiote once again.

I really don't see how he can continue to be allowed to keep the suit after all these freak outs - except for the fact he's found a shared need for the creature, and visa-versa. I'm beginning to think Flash will eventually end up permanently bonded to the creature - forcing his continued use of the suit. I don't mind that possible plot point, as I very much enjoy seeing Flash Thompson as Venom, but it's certainly not going to be good for Thompson's continued well being.

The super tank is able to seemingly escape Venom, arriving at it's hideout where the villain comes out of it, only to find Venom having hitched a ride along with it. Venom begins to tear into this guy, slicing off his fingers, beating him senseless, and breaking bones. Flash has lost all control - and is even tellingly referring to himself in the plural, indicating the merging/take-over of the symbiote in his mind. In a shocking call-back to the way the original Venom handled things - Flash decides to not only kill his man, but does so by biting off his head and spitting it back out. This isn't an entirely un-expected development, as it's been clear Flash can't always control this creature - but this character defining moment, happening this soon, was pretty surprising to me. It's not that Flash hasn't been forced to kill before, as either a soldier in the army of on other missions as Venom - but this time it was the straight-up murder of a subdued suspect.

Later we find Flash later in his apartment, where Betty walks in and finally reunites with him. A few issues ago Flash's father had died, with a final goodbye letter he had been given to Flash, but that had been lost. Betty reveals that she had written up a cleaned up version, but still had the copy of the letter in her short-hand. She read it to him - giving Flash the bittersweet goodbye to his abusive father. This entire scene, while good in it's own right, seemed somewhat at odds with the previous "head-eating" scene we saw but a few pages before. The self-destruction of Flash is of course going to be dealt with - but it felt like Flash had simply come back from a hard day, instead of coming off of just murdering someone.

This was a good issue, and a defining point for the character - as Rick Remender takes us deeper and deeper into a morally ambiguous story. This issue simply would have felt more impactful if we had seen Flash dealing with what he had done - instead of just wrapping up the dying father sub-plot. That's a small complaint, though. Over all it was a good issue.

Comic Review: Wolvrine and the X-Men #1

2011-11-02T09:20:00.001-07:00

Here is my review for Wolverine and the X-Men #1. You can read it by clicking here, posted on Comic Book Revolution's Review Site. My review was combined with another review -- mine being the second one; so just scroll down to see it.

Batman: Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker Runs

2011-10-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

When reading comics as a young kid, Marvel Super Heroes where always the comics I gravitated towards, reading many X-Men titles during the early 1990s, and jumping onto Spider-Man during the Clone Saga. Those choices where obviously informed by the cartoons I watched -- the X-Men and Spider-Man Animated series introducing me to these characters in the first place. I also equally loved another series -- Batman: The Animated Series. Batman TAS is considered the pinnacle of super hero Animation, and rightly so. Taking advantage of the popularity of the Batman movies, the Batman Animated series continued to introduce a new generation to the character. Bruce Tim and Paul Dini brought to us a noir-drenched world right out of the 1940s - using the old Superman Fleischer cartoons as inspiration. Though while I watched and tremendously enjoyed the Batman animated series - it didn't lead me to reading DC Comics.

When I was going to collage I renewed my interest in comics after a long absence. It's around this time that I gave DC Comics my first real try - picking up Detective Comics #750. It featured Ra's al Ghul on the cover, a villain I absolutely loved from the Animated series.

It's from there that I began reading various Batman-related titles. Batgirl was of particular interest, as I got absorbed into the series about the the silent and deadly, but socially stunted, new Batgirl; Cassandra Cain. The two primary Batman titles, Detective Comics by Greg Rucka and Shawn Martinbrough, and Batman by Ed Brubaker and Scott McDaniel, served to introduce me to the Bat-verse, which they made especially easy by relying on the touchstones and style the Animated Series has developed - which I recognized and helped with the transition from TV to Comic format.

The runs of Brubaker and Rucka proved quite engaging to me as a new fan, while also developing some of the most shocking and unexpected storylines down the line.

Greg Rucka's Run

These two runs are notable for taking place after the devastating "No Man's Land" story arc, where Gotham suffered a powerful earthquake, and was so ruined that it was cordoned off, and deemed no longer a part of the United States. In Detective Comics there is an interesting division between those Gotham Citizens who fled the city, and those who stayed in the city and experienced the horror of No Man's Land.

Renee Montoya and Harvey Bullock where partners in Greg Rucka's run, which often had stories involving the Gotham Police M.C.S. (Major Case Squad). This proved to be an especially comforting element in the series, as Harvey and Renee where prominent in the TV series. Rucka grounded the usually outlandish Batman world, giving details and more understanding to how the city of Gotham operated.

There where a number of outstanding stories Rucka was able to weave in the pages of Detective Comics - ranging from Batman's run-ins Ra's al Ghul, the government agency Checkmate, and the always enigmatic Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face. There where also a number of familiar re-visits to classic villains, again using the styles of the animated series as a touchstone for familiarity.

One story in particular involved Poison Ivy, and what happened to her after No Man's Land. During that time she had taken over Gotham City Park - and was keeping several children, displaced and lost during No Man's Land, and was refusing to give them up.

While dealing with Poison Ivy Batman had a new element introduced to complicate his life; as Bruce Wayne his board of directors had voted for Bruce to have a Bodyguard - a woman named Sasha Bordeaux, who immediately became a pain for Bruce work around without revealing his secret identity.

Another story line crossed over with Superman - as a joint covert operation was taken on between Batman and Superman, to undermine then President of the United States - Lex Luthor. Lois Lane even became involved. It was a cool cross-over, with a pretty simple goal - to replace Lex's Kryptonite Ring with a fake, so it couldn't be used against Superman in the future. During this trip to D.C., Sasha stumbled upon the secret that Bruce Wayne was really Batman.

Another fun story line involved the Mad Hatter cooking up an ingenious new scheme to take control of the minds of the entire G.C.P.D. - using reward coffee cards, in conjunction with nanites in the coffee, to create the mind control effect the Mad Hatter is famous for. (Thinking back, I think this must have been written around the time Starbucks was becoming so prolific.)

With Sasha now knowing who Batman was, she was inducted into his world and trained by him to be his partner. She wasn't at the level of being Robin, by any means, but seeing how Batman operated through her experience was very engaging.

Before I talk about the Batman title, I simply have to mention the art in Detective Comics. Shawn Martinbrough brought a stellar and solid style to the series - having very stiff and cartoony depictions - but which worked excellently for the more cerebral plots Rucka was writing. I was even more impressed by the choice of color -- as the series had different shades of coloring to depict each issue - sometimes just using blue and orange, or grey and green -- infusing the stories with a wonderful noir-style. They eventually did stop doing this, but for when it was there I very much enjoyed the change of pace, and willingness DC had to do something different with the art.

Officer Down

One of the first big Batman-Crossover events was the "Officer Down" storyline, which saw Commissioner Gordon near-fatally shot - launching everyone on a crusade to find the shooter. Batman did eventually find the guy, but was unable to scare him into confessing. Gordon eventually recovered, but walked with a cane and was physically weaker, and had to resign as Police Commissioner. His successor, Michael Akins, was introduced to Batman and the M.C.S., which didn't sit well with everyone. It was a changing or the guards - and was a surprising and interesting change to see occur. Harvey Bullock, though, supposedly dropped a dime on Gordon's shooter, which got the guy killed as a result. Harvey was forced to leave in disgrace. Renee got a new partner, Crispus Allen, who proved to be a very popular character introduced into the series.

Ed Brubaker's Run

While Detective Comics dealt with, naturally, more detective-based plot-lines -- the regular Batman title showed the more Super-Heroic aspect of Batman's life. Scott McDaniel had already been on the title for a while before Brubaker came on-board -- but the two seemed to mesh very well, delivering some memorable stories. I know McDaniel's art isn't everyone's favorite choice, but I always enjoyed his style. His pages where always laid out in a way to give scenes a sense of flow and action - and his talent for drawing martial arts and flying acrobatics always felt energetic and fresh. McDaniel was in fact coming off a very lengthy run on Nightwing, helping to develop that series from the ground-up with Chuck Dixion. Moving onto Batman seemed like a promotion of sorts.

Ed Brubaker's issues usually had an element of relatable human dilemmas. His first two issues featured a security guard, Samuel Jeremy, who worked for Bruce Wayne - and his sad tale of decent, going mad after his family died, and becoming a superb criminal tactician against Batman. Both Bruce, and in his alter-ego as Batman, considered this man to be friend at one point - so both Bruce and Batman struggled to give this guy a second chance when he was up for parole. Circumstances lead Jeremy back to a life of crime, as he didn't think he had anything to live for. Jeremy was specifically hired by the Penguin, as a favor to a mysterious new villain named Zeiss. A robbery plan was set up by Jeremy, but with other motives beyond simply stealing money. Instead of hired thugs, martial arts experts participated in the robberies - all designed to catch Batman in action. Jeremy was eventually killed during these activities - and Batman blamed the Penguin.

A ruthless vendetta and war was launched against the Penguin - though it was hard to strike at him directly, as the Penguin presented himself to the world as reformed and law abiding businessman, which Batman couldn't prove otherwise in court. So Batman took other avenues - like buying the property of the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge as Bruce Wayne, and threatening to tear it down. This crusade soon got out of hand, and left the Penguin extremely vengeful against the caped crusader.

Around this time there was a somewhat silly cross-over promotion going on across the Bat-books -- where in each issue coming out that month would involve Batman dying. It was a stupid idea, and served to really only waste a month's time as writers of all the titles had to work-in some dreamt-up death for the Dark Knight. Ed Brubaker used his issue well - essentially detailing the Penguin's revenge scheme against Batman - and how he'd kill him. It was all revealed to be a dream of the Penguin's, though, as once Batman was dead, the Penguin went after Bruce Wayne next.

There was a nice off-beat story that showed two kids working on a project for school, doing a film investigating wether The Batman really existed in Gotham. This was a fascinating twist to the Batman-mythos, as the more reality-based world that was being depicted prevented the concept of the police actively supporting the actions of a vigilante. So in modern-day Batman comics Batman exists almost as a legend. The Bat-signal, as it's explained to the kids, was an idea to take advantage of the legend to scare criminals. It's shown in Brubaker's run that outside of the police and the criminal element, many people in Gotham don't even think Batman exists (unless they see him with their own eyes, or are saved by him). The kid's documentary is causing no end to stress for Batman, who wants the film shut down. It's not until the Penguin intentionally suggests the kids interview inmates in Arkham Asylum - to try and lure Batman and the kids into a riot, that Batman saves them and gets them to cancel their project; he two kids are just amazed to even know Batman really existed.

The villain Philo Zeiss becomes a decided problem for Batman. The character is very fascinating - as he used these image-capture goggles, wired into his brain, enabling him to see recorded movements of his enemies in slow-motion, making his a dangerous threat to Batman. The staged fight set up the Penguin and Jeremy was done just so Zeiss could capture Batman in action, and record all of his moves. There was a duel plot involved, though, where the operation was designed to get Jeremy killed - to intentionally hurt Bruce Wayne who once considered Jeremy a friend. Why the vendetta against Wayne?

Well, details about Bruce Wayne's past came flooding back as an old crime lord, Lew Maxon, returned to Gotham - along with Bruce's early childhood friend Mallory Maxon - who Bruce had barely remembered before now, because a year after meeting her on summer vacation, his parents where murdered.

Bruce's fond memories of Mallory became tainted in the here and now, as he soon discovered that Lew's daughter was actively involved in their criminal organization. Even worse was their family bodyguard - Philo Zeiss! During this time a hit was put out on Lew Maxon, which Batman intended to stop. The assassin Deadshot took the job, and between fighting against Zeiss Batman fails, and Lew Maxon is shot. Maxon is paralyzed for life - with Mallory taking over for the family business. During the fight Zeiss' special glasses where damaged - and he needed to get them repaired.

When Zeiss returned, and made peace with the employers he had failed, he set a goal to taking revenge on Batman, who Zeiss and Mallory blamed for failing to stop Lew Maxon's shooting. Meanwhile Batman was investigating why the Maxon family had such a vendetta against the Wayne family - enough to try and hurt Bruce Wayne by getting a friend like Jeremy killed, just to hurt him. When he was friends with Mallory Bruce remembers hearing an argument between Lew Maxon and his father at a Halloween party - but couldn't remember why. Bruce feared the answers to his questions, as it involved his father dealing with notorious mobsters. It turns out to be an innocent event, though, as a crew member of Maxon's mob was shot, and they had no mob doctors available to try and save the man's life. They make a desperate plea to Dr Wayne. Even though the man he's being asked to save is a criminal, Wayne agrees to help. Following through with his hippocratic oath, Doctor Wayne saves the man's life. But he angrily tells Maxon that he swore another oath as a doctor - to report all gunshot incidents. Maxon doesn't like this, and Wayne could easily have been killed because of his defiance - but Wayne was Gotham's most public figure, so killing him wasn't an option. Once Batman learned this he regretted ever doubting his father. It was only a few week after helping that gunshot victim that the Waynes where murdered -- though not by Lew Maxon, apparently.

Batman is eventually able to take Zeiss down in a climactic fight. The ability to predict all of Batman's moves makes Zeiss a wonderful villain, and a standout addition to Batman's Rouge's gallery.

A large DC Cross-over event occurs, once again taking over the various titles. Tying in to the "Joker's Last Laugh" mini-series, where the Joker thought he was dying, and infected all other villains with an agent, making them like the Joker himself. In the pages of Batman Brubaker again used the cross-over to his advantage - taking a delusional criminal called Santa Klaus (named by Arkham guards because of his german accent), who went on a spree of attacking people he thought where naughty. He proved even more dangerous, pumped up on Joker-juice - but Batman managed to administer an antidote.

Klaus came back, though, in a Christmas issue where Batman had to work to stop Klaus from delivering exploding boxes to all the people he thought where naughty, and deserved to die. It was a fun twisted little Christmas adventure, and served as a nice calm before the big event due to take over the Batman books for the next several months.

Bruce Wayne: Murderer

Both Brubaker and Rucka's Batman runs where all seemingly leading to this - their largest cross-over event, where Bruce Wayne was framed for murder. It was an epic and startling story-line, that turned all the Batman books on their heads.

The storyline started with a special 10cent issue DC put out, to entice new readers. It didn't prove as successful as it could have been, because the most frequent question new readers had was "Who's this girl? Where's Robin?" At this point Sasha Bordeaux was regularly joining Batman on patrol, dressed in a purple outfit -- and the two where shocked when they returned home from patrol to find an old girlfriend of Bruce's, Vesper Fairchild, murdered and left for dead in Wayne Mansion. Just as Bruce discovered the body the police stormed in, arresting Wayne seemingly re-handed.

Bruce was sent to prison, along with Sasha as his accomplice. All the evidence pointed to Wayne's committing the murder -- and even Bruce's closest allies began having doubts, mostly due to the increasingly erratic behavior of Bruce. In the recent previous years Batman has continually been pushing away friends and family. This event finally pushed Batman over the edge - as he broke down in prison, no longer able to maintain the facade of being Bruce Wayne. In fact, Batman comes to the conclusion that there no longer is a Bruce Wayne; he's used Bruce Wayne as a disguise for so many years - that his true personality is in fact being Batman.

While Sasha remains loyal to Bruce, and keeps her mouth shut - even in the face of life-time murder convictions - she is seemingly abandoned when Batman escapes from prison.

Bruce Wayne: Fugitive

The next phase of the cross-over had Batman escape from prison to continue his mission. All of his friend and allies, from Oracle, Batgirl, Robin and Nightwing are working to prove that Bruce didn't murder anyone. Batman, on the other hand, is intent on leaving the identity of Bruce Wayne behind. In issue #600 Brubaker and McDaniel essentially showed Batman facing an intervention -- which lead to a huge fight between Batman and Nightwing. It all ended when Dick accidently crashed into a display case, housing the costume of the deceased Robin #2, Jason Todd. It was shocking and traumatizing to the entire supporting cast, as an angry Batman pushed everyone out of his life.

While Greg Rucka's Detective Comics, and the other Bat-titles handled the mystery of who really killed Vesper Fairchild - Brubaker gave readers a breather, presenting Batman with a more normal adventure - though also detailing the self-imposed isolation Batman was placing on himself. A new villain, Nicodemus, was taking corrupt police officers and politicians and burning them alive. Batman managed to save one victim, Thomas Hart -- thought the plot eventually revealed Hart to be Nicodemus. Nicodemus was able to get away, vowing to burn the sin-filled Gotham to the ground. The character, though, was never dealt with again, which seems a shame.

There where two issues that seemed particularly important to the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer" saga. One involved a police officer on his death bed who reaches out to Batman, wanting to give him one of his most notoriously unsolved cases: the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Batman remembered the detective after the murders, and listens to the old man's story. The old man hopes that Batman might be able to solve the case he wasn't able to. He also asks Batman if he could try and find out what really happened to Bruce Wayne. The old cop describes how, when he looked into Bruce's eyes those many years ago after his parent's death - he could tell that boy wouldn't grow up to be murderer, that something else must have happened in that case.

The next issue saw Batman team up with Catwoman, where Batman struggles to save the life of a scumbag criminal - taking several point-blank shots to the chest, just to protect this man from death. Batman's powerful armor and protective gear keeps him alive - but another few rounds would surely have killed him. He got away with just bruised and broken ribs from the force of the bullets. When Catwoman asks why Batman would go to such lengths to save a criminal, it dawns on Batman that this trait, of saving anyone - no matter what they have done - isn't something he learned as Batman - it was something he had learned from his father. Batman has finally come full circle during this crisis, realizing that his identity as Bruce Wayne is important.

Finally back to his senses, Batman reconnects with Oracle, Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl. Through their combined efforts they where able to form a theory of who really killed Vesper Fairchild. It's a fairly complicated plot, but one that made sense. See, during No Man's Land Bruce Wayne made an enemy of Lex Luthor, managing to buy out from under Lex rights to much of Gotham, which Luthor had wanted to seize for himself. (He was just taking advantage of the situation, when the city was finally being re-opened and repaired.) Now Lex Luthor is President of the United States - but he still wants to get his revenge against Wayne for slighting him. So Luthor hires the world's best assassin: David Cain. Cain proved to be an interesting choice - as when he was offered the job, he saw the face of Bruce Wayne and remembered that same young kid who had come to him, many years ago, seeking training. (As part of Bruce's training to become Batman.) Cain connected it together - that Bruce Wayne was really Batman, and thus took the job. He murdered Vesper Fairchild, setting everything up for the police to arrest Wayne for the murder -- in addition to leaving clues only allies of Batman would recognize, to make them think Bruce had really killed Vesper.

A plot is hatched to lure Cain back to Gotham, under the idea that the Government wanted him to tie up loose ends. It all leads to Batman confronting Cain in the Batcave and fighting him -- trying to find out the real reasons why Cain had taken the job. See, Cain has a significant connection to Batman's family, beyond having trained Bruce so many years ago: he's the father of Batgirl, Cassandra Cain. He was a horrible father, having trained Cassandra to be a master assassin since birth -- but he lost her to Batman, who took her in and gave her a better life. So was this all revenge, for having seemingly stolen her daughter? A test - to see if Batman was worthy of raising her? Cain was completely defeated, and in a strange form of repentance Cain gave himself up to police, revealing himself as the real murderer, clearing Bruce Wayne of all charges. This entire plot really did seem to be motivated around Cassandra -- which gave the whole experience a sense of purpose beyond simply a revenge scheme cooked up by Lex Luthor.

Epilogues...

Brubaker and Scott McDaniel did two more issues, detailing how a major hit was put out on Cain, as Lex rightfully feared Cain might admit his connection to the whole plot. Deadshot returns to murder Cain, but Batman fights with all his might to save him. Cain doesn't completely understand - as he's willing to die, having failed and shamed himself -- but Batman appeals to Cain, to fight to stay alive for his daughter's sake. After being saved Cain willingly remains in jail, but does not reveal anything about who hired him.

Over in Detective Comics one of the biggest loose threads of the entire storyline was dealt with: whatever happened to Sasha Bordeaux? She remained in prison the entire time - and once the real murderer is revealed, it seems Sasha was stabbed and died in prison. Someone was lying, though, and Batman was determined to figure out who.

It seems a secretive government organization had taken a keen interest in Sasha while in prison. The organization Checkmate recruited her - and having been abandoned by Bruce all this time, she took the opportunity. Her skills learned under Batman served her well in her new life as a secret agent. Batman, meanwhile, was waging a unceasing war against Checkmate and all their operations in Gotham - and made it clear he wouldn't give up until he found out what really happened to Sasha.

So finally Sasha secretly rendezvous with Bruce to explain what happened. Her death in prison had been faked, as she was recruited to be an agent of Checkmate. She had never given up Bruce's identity - not in prison, and not to Checkmate either. It's painfully explained the underpinnings on their entire relationship. They both loved each other - but both their jobs prevented them from ever expressing it to one another. So Batman let his secret be discovered - to let Sasha into his world. It was all very sweet, in a bizarre emotionally screwed up way -- but it was all ruined by the events of the murder frame-up. Sasha asks Bruce never to contact her again.

Other Series...

So, these two comic runs by Brubaker and Rucka are what got me into Batman Comics. It all sort of culminated with the Murder/Fugitive storylines -- all in all it wasn't that bad of an introduction into Batman comics.

After Ed Brubaker's last Batman issue he went and took over Detective Comics (after Rucka had also ended his run). This was to make room on the Batman title for Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's epic "Hush" storyline.

Ed continued writing Detective Comics to a while - but soon was taken off the title. He did, however, continue his seminal work on Catwoman. He completely changed Catwoman for the better - taking her from a crazy love obsessed villain, to a hardcore hero in the poorest sections of Gotham. Plot lines from his Batman run where developed in later Catwoman issues - like the return of Zeiss, who came back an even more dangerous enemy than ever.

Rucka and Brubaker also did a joint venture together - creating a critically acclaimed series "Gotham Central" - focusing on the Major Case Squad of Gotham's Police. Rucka and Brubaker switched off doing different stories during that time, developing new characters - but also continuing the plots of old characters - like Renee Montoya, who was outed as lesbian; Crispus Allen, who tragically died at the end of the series; and the surprise return of Harvey Bullock, even more down on his luck than before when we last saw him. It was phenomenal series - on par with the likes of Homicide Life on the Street. It just happened to take place in Batman's city.

Over all I was deeply impressed by the work these two writers did. I'm very fond of their run, and recently found myself re-reading Ed Brubaker's issues; that's why I wanted to go over it in this post. Their runs wildly exceeded my expectations, as it successfully built on the foundation of what I knew of the Animated Series, and expounded upon it into a far richer universe.

Rick Remender's Marvel Universe

2011-10-18T03:24:00.000-07:00

Rick Remender has quickly become a favorite writer of mine in Marvel Comics. I cautiously jumped on board for his Uncanny X-Force series - and found out in the first issue what an amazing writer he was. He brings a level of weirdness mixed with realism to his stories - coupled with entertaining and emotionally fulfilling characters. Remender took on a second title, Venom, re-inventing the character as a government super-agent. Both series so far have just been incredible, in both depth and scope.

Now Remender has been given a new title - Secret Avengers. Along with phenomenal artist Gabriel Hardman (off his successful stint on "Hulk"), the two are set to take over the series this January, with a "Point One" issue serving to welcome new fans.

The series originally focused on Steve Rogers' group of clandestine super-heroes, pro-actively tackling threats to the world. Since having to take on the mantle of Captain America again - working dangerous secretive ops isn't feasible, so Hawkeye is being put in charge of the group.

Having Hawkeye lead the team seems like a nice twist. It's also very advantageous, as with the upcoming Avengers movie Hawkeye is going to be getting a bit more attention, along with any title he's on. (He's also having a costume-change, to match him more to the movie-look. But beyond that, it's still the same Hawkeye.)

Already, at the New York Comic Con, Remender is talking about some VERY ambitious plans for the series. (Click here for the article) Captain Britain is going to joining the team - and along with him, the entire Omni-verse, and all the history that goes along with that, will be dealt with.

Already in Uncanny X-Force, which has already seen it's fair share of Alternate-Reality adventures, will see the Captain Britain Corps make an appearance.

Since this is going to be a super-powered secret agent series, characters with covert and stealth experience are going to be important - so Venom instantly seems like an easy choice.

So far from preview art, it looks like a number of characters from Steve Rogers' team are still going to be onboard -- Antman, Beast, Valkyire, and Black Widow remain. I don't know what the preview art, showing a Human Torch, is suppose to mean. It could be the robot human torch, or an alternate reality version of the now dead Johnny Storm. (Though, knowing Marvel, that might not be the case for very long.)

Instantly I just love this cast - especially Beast, who Remender has shown he can writer very well, having tackled the alternate reality Dark Beast in Uncanny X-Force. This feels like such good news - as it's yet another series Remender is going to be able to use as a vehicle to do stories the other main titles usually can't. While all the titles, I think, have only coincidently taken on similar themes of secret super-hero black ops - it's a theme that Remender has constantly taken full advantage of - simply giving us stories that are well worth your money.

The future for Uncanny X-Force, while bleak at the moment, knee deep in the Dark Angel Saga, has a bright future ahead, as the series has become a fan favorite smash success. With Wolverine drawing a line in the sand between him and the increasingly libertarian Cyclops, the new "Wolverine and the X-Men" series promises to make Uncanny X-Force (Wolverine's special ops team) very important going ahead.

In the pages of Venom Flash Thompson has been tackling a heroic struggle against himself, as he tries to battle the addictive and destructive effects of using the Venom Symbiote.

Recently the Venom series tied in significantly with the Spider-Man cross over "Spider Island". Flash was tasked with finding a cure for the out-breaking rocking Manhattan (where everyone is turning into Spiders), and found Anti-Venom (Eddie Brock, former host for the Symbiote) having the cure to the disease. Anti-Venom sought to cure Flash of the Symbiote's influence, but Eddie soon found himself being once again consumed by it. Even though, for his own well being getting rid of the symbiote would be the best thing for Flash - he still has a mission to accomplish, so like taking another shot of heroin, he convinces the symbiote to bond with him again.

The theme of addiction is prevalent in the series, as among the super-heroic spy missions it remains Flash's greatest adversary. His former problem of turning to alcohol is another factor due to come up.

I can't wait to see what Remender has planned in the pages of Secret Avengers. With the movie coming, which I'm sure if going to be a big hit, I hope that helps bolster the series - and allow Remender to remain writing such great series.

Kamen Rider Fourze - Switch On!

2011-10-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

The latest Kamen Rider series at first seems like a curve-ball. It's strange and totally different from previous Kamen Rider series - setting the story in a high school, with a over-arching theme of space. It's much more comedic and like a soap-opera - but while it might not be for everyone, I found myself very much enjoying this new series: Kamen Rider Fourze!

"Uchuu Kitaaaa!"

That's the exuberant phrase always yelled out by Kisaragi Gentaro when transforming into Fourze. It's essentially like saying "Space is Awwwwesome!" Gentaro is an exchange student at Amanogawa High School - and he's very odd and off-putting from the get go. He has this goal of making friends with everyone at school. I don't know if that's riffing on the Facebook mentality of today - but it helps to force the character into the lives of people who don't necessarily like him at first.

Gentaro re-connects with Jojima Yuki, a friend Gentaro knew when he was young and was best friends with. She has an embarrassing obsession with space - an interest she still carries with her when she meets up with Gentaro again.

Gentaro's first encounter of rubbing someone the wrong was is with Utahoshi Kengo - a second year student who suffers from a weak body, probably from an underlying medical condition; he's obviously healthy enough to attend school - but a heavy burden has been placed on his shoulders than Gentaro gets caught up in. Kengo's father was a scientist working in space exploration and research - and left a significant legacy to his son when he was mysterious killed while on the Moon. A powerful technology, called Astro Switches, harnessing the cosmic power of space into incredible tools and weapons.

Kengo has been working tirelessly to develop the inventions his father had left him - including a powerful suit called Fourze, which on the Driver-Belt has four slots, using the Astro Switches to create powerful tools or weapons on the four limbs of the user.

Gentaro inadvertently gets involved with Kengo's secret project, which only Kengo and Yuki knew about before. You see, there's a space-portal established in a utility closet at the school - that when you walk through it, it takes you to a base established on the moon - called Moonbase Rabbit Hutch (In Japanese Mythology, rabbits come from the Moon). This place is where Kengo's father supposedly had worked, and is now used as a base of operations by his son.

It's not been explained yet, but there's supposedly a threat of Astro Switches being used for evil by a group called Zodiarts. They begin giving out Astro Switches to people (usually disenfranchised or angry students in school), who use the powers to become fearsome and destructive monsters - so far usually centered around revenge schemes against the the bullies of the school.

If this all sound somewhat cliched - it's because it's suppose to be. At it's heart this show is a high-school drama, and even seems to go out of it's way to portray an almost America-like high school situation. The most popular man on campus is Football star (not soccer; our version of Football), with cliques dividing the school students between geeks, nerds, goths, popular girls, ect, ect. Its all purposefully cliched - but within that framework we've already seen compelling development between characters - even the Queen of the school, the most popular and ruthlessly snobby girl, managing to make friends with Gentaro after she's targeted by one of her jealous underlings.

One of the best ways to make friends, it seems, to simply save them from danger. Because of his health, Kengo is unable to take on the mantle of Fourze. So in his place Gentaro becomes Fourze, doing for Kengo what his body isn't able to. The action and fights are very clever - but insanely wacky.

This image is labeled as coming from www.modxtoy.com

The Astro Switches give Fourze powers on different parts of his body - like missiles coming from the right leg - a drill coming from the left leg - with radar communication on the left arm, an a giant rocket on the right arm. The switches can be interchanged and mixed and matched --, like for his final attack Fourze will use the Rocket Arm and Drill Leg to fly high into the sky (sometimes even orbit, with an assist from a rocket-powered motorcycle) - with Fourze landing the drill directly into the enemy - much in the vein of the traditional "Kamen Rider Kick".

While the identity of Kamen Rider is kept a secret, Gentaro isn't exactly careful about concealing himself when danger strikes. He frequently transforms in front other students - and thus there is a growing collection of friends who become part of the so called "Kamen Rider Club" -- like a school activity, but based around Fourze - and protecting the school.

This is all inherently very silly - monsters showing up repeatedly at a public high school; but there are some explanations to help balance out the wacky nature of the premise.

The Principle, for instance, seems to be the master villain - the one who is distributing the evil Astro Switches among the kids. And even when there's an attack or assault on campus - school doesn't get canceled; with the flat explanation among the teachers that it's "The Principle's Will" that school continue uninterrupted.

While it's all silly, it's a genuinely exciting, exuberant, and charming series. I'm also very impressed with the special effects. A lot of battles happen in doors - and I've seen on some other shows that doing fights inside confined areas can hamper the action -- leading it to look less explosive and cool - and more fake and contrived. The cleaver use to repeatedly tiled camera angles seems to minimize this - and the fights usually do lead outside, or to some location more spacious.

It's a funny a cute series. I admit not everyone might like it, but if you give the series a chance, I'm positive it will turn into something tremendous and great - just like many of the previous Kamen Rider series.

Here's some more images I've collected from the series so far.

This image is labeled as coming from www.modxtoy.com

Quickster Dead

2011-10-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

Quickster sure lived up to it's name. Here's an update for my post about Netflix changing their DVD services into "Quickster": Quickly Leaving Netflix

Update: Well, that was quick. Netflix has announced that their idea for Quickster is dead - saying that it would cause too much confusion to have DVDs and Streaming Services acting as separate companies. Wow - really - did their focus groups tell them that? You'd think that would be something they would have thought of before thinking up such a stupid idea -- but to their credit Netflix has reversed course. Still, I think this whole situation just illustrates Netflix's desire to get out of the DVD-Rental game.

Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword

2011-10-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Next month the latest Legend of Zelda game, dubbed "Skyward Sword" is going to be released for the Wii. This entry in the Zelda franchise is receiving an odd lack of hype or excitement about the game. There are a number of reasons for that - this is another Zelda game being released in the twilight of the Wii's console cycle; smash-hit shooters and other American properties have continually dominated the market, especially in the Holiday season -- add in the disenchantment some gamers have felt towards the Wii and it's lack of hardcore gaming titles, and the fact this entry is HEAVILY motion controlled --- there are just a lot of reasons all grouping together all at once. It didn't help matters when Skyward Sword was first demoed by Miyamoto - and we witnessed a less than stellar first-peek at an unfinished game; instantly making us fear this could become another overly-motion sensitive game with unresponsive or sloppy controls.

There's just been a lot of negativity surrounding this game's release - with all the myriad of things that could go wrong for this entry in the franchise. I also think there might be wee bit of ambivilance towards the series in general since Wind Waker. When everyone first saw this game demoed, it worried people to see a more brighter color pallet, similar to Wind Waker.

Yet now that the game is nearing release, with footage being previewed, I think this might prove to be one of the best Zelda games yet. I myself was quite weary about picking up the title - seeing as I don't always enjoy motion control - but once I saw this trailer:

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Zelda: Skyward Sword - Opening Cinematic Montage, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

That trailer just brought the whole Zelda experience back for me. The art style simply looks incredible, and thus far all the features shown look like they are going to stand up to the test of scrutiny gamers are no doubt going to give the game. I'm not even worried about the motion control aspect, either -- seeing as it's using the Wii-Motion Plus (which is required to play the game), it just looks like all the various motion-sensitive features are going to turn out great.

The Motion Plus requirement was another reason I didn't immediately get on board for this title. I've gone this long not having gotten a game that needed that additional periferial, so having to get it for this one game seemed like an added burden.

When looking I found they had a Special Edition of the game - which comes with a Golden Wii Remote, with the Motion Plus already included inside of it. It costs $20 more than just getting the game itself - but I've frankly always needed a second Wii Remote. It does seem a little gimicky, the remote being painted Gold - but there is also the addition of a Music CD, giving us Zelda Music from throughout the series. (All copies, special or not, are getting the Music CD; but I think only with the first initial production run.) You can find the regular edition of the game here, and the Special Addition on sale here.

As for the story and the game itself - it looks like it's going to have enough of the traditional elements from a Zelda game we all like, but with fresh new takes on the format. The setting, placing Link and Zelda as childhood friends in a floating city in the sky seems very different -- but all the new things I keep hearing about the plot and game mechanics seem like it's going to all come together. Being set in the sky there is going to be Avatar-style flying, atop massive birds. The game may start in the clouds, but soon goes down to the surface. Being focused on sword-play, the story is going to have us see the creation of the Master Sword - instead of just finding it, like it in all the other games. Equipment is going to be upgraded through item collection.

Here are links to some other videos showing off the variety of new things to expect from the game.

Story; this trailer shows elements from the opening of the story, including some gameplay.

Tools and Combat; this trailer shows someone pyshically playing the game, demonstating the swordplay and the use of the Beetle Flyer tool.

Upgrade System; here they demonstrate elements of the upgrade system. You can also see what traveling between the surface and Skyloft is like.

Dowsing; where you use you're sword as divining rod, tracking down specific people or characters.

Skyview Temple; this shows parts of the first Temple you go into, and the new villain Ghirahim.

Tools; this is a Japanese trailer, though there's nothing needed to translate to understand it. It shows uses of various tools, including the bow and arrow, double hookshot, water-jug, and other things. (It also has another piece of music; as I know some of the trailers are just repeating the same tune.)

Hidden Melody; someone found a hidden song, snuck into the music of the trailer which you can hear if played backwards - Zelda's Lullaby theme from the Ocarina of Time.

While this game isn't coming out with a lot of hype behind it - I think it's going to prove to be an exceptional addition to the Zelda franchise.

The Seven Soldiers of Victory - Part 9

2011-10-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

The final chapter of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, issue #1, really brought home how much of a creative experiment this entire series was. Knowing how good and reliable an artist J.H. Williams III already was, Morrison felt he could experiment even more with this final issue, knowing it would turn out good. What you see in this issue is a wide variety of different inter-cut scenes telling the concluding story of each of the 7 characters. Different perspectives, writing styles -- everything is just an insane conglomeration of everything that had come before in the series.

If you don't want to be confused about the various plot-points I'm going to be referencing here, you might want to read the first 8 series of posts I made on the individual characters, which you can find here:

The Seven Soldiers of Victory Part 1

The Seven Soldiers of Victory Part 2 (Shining Knight)

The Seven Soldiers of Victory Part 3 (Manhattan Guardian)

The Seven Soldiers of Victory Part 4 (Zatanna)

The Seven Soldiers of Victory Part 5 (Klarion)

The Seven Soldiers of Victory Part 6 (Mister Miracle)

The Seven Soldiers of Victory Part 7 (Bulleteer)

The Seven Soldiers of Victory Part 8 (Frankenstein)

For a story this large and this epic, starting from the beginning only seems natural. Morrison goes back a bit further than you'd expect - all the way back dawn of man!

It's revealed that the New Gods of New Genesis interacted with early man kind, introducing fire, inspiration, and magic. Great cities where built - and a new breed of man was created to lead mankind - combining primitive man with the power of the gods - Aurakles was born. The original Super Hero.

Aurakles is noted for having red hair and leading his people to create a vast empire. Before departing to leave Earth the gods gave Aurakles Seven Imperishable Items. (Some of which we've seen during the course of the series.) 1.) The Sword Caliburn Ex Calibur, 2.) The Cauldron of Rebirth, 3.) The All-Knowing Father Box (split apart, becoming two magical six-sided dies), 4.) A Hammer, or anvil, able to generate atomic fusion, 5.) The Merlin, a sprite made of living language, 6.) The winged steed Pegazeus.

The 7th item is somewhat shrouded in mystery - being a kind of riddle. The Seventh Imperishable Item is a Spear, never thrown, which can carry death across millennia.

Neanderthal Super Scientists created and launched a Time Engine - which traveled into the far distant future, to Summer's End - the end time on Earth and home to the Sheeda. The Time Engine is found by King Melmoth, who reverse engineers the technology - allowing the Sheeda to travel back in time. This lead to the first Harrowing of Man - as this entire pre-dawn civilization was annihilated and destroyed, with only the remains left to grow again into the next generation of man. (Sowing mankind for the next Harvest.)

The city Aurakles lived in, Gorias, lied in ruins when King Arthur and his knights, lead by the Merlin, discovered a treasure trove of the Imperishable Items -- the sword, and the winged horse, who where offspring of Pegazeus -- Arthur wasn't so callow as to guess the riddle of the Spear.

Arthur and his knights set out to recover the Cauldron of Rebirth from the Sheeda - who had come once again for the Harrowing of Man.

This story, the history of the early world, is being explained to a very specific person - inside the old shack, the Gold Place, located in Slaughter Swamp. It appears like the time Tailor is sewing something - but these scenes are somewhat confusing - even when revealed at the end of the issue. The tailor continues to describe the events that where happening in the present...

Manhattan Guardian

The Harrowing of Man had begun, and the Sheeda where launching a full-scale invasion on mankind, starting in New York. The Manhattan Guardian, Jake Jordan, rides a horse - leading the charge to fight back against the madness. Sheeda soldiers, small and large - and gigantic insects that can be ridden swam all over the city. A sort of "moving newspaper" is depicted in these scenes - combining the comic narrative with a a copy of the Manhattan Guardian Newspaper, explaining different facets of the invasion that was rocking the city.

Jake eventually encounters his girlfriend, Carla, who Jake is able to rescue and win back.

Zatanna

Arriving in New York with an army of winged horses - Zatanna and Misty arrive to try and battle the Sheeda. Misty runs off on her own - intent on taking the throne away from her mother. She has the six-sided die as her weapon, and the Small Flying Sheeda Spine-riders are all leaving her alone, recognizing her as Princess Rhiannon of the Sheeda.

Meanwhile Ali-ka-zoom appears again to Zatanna, urging her to use and release the Merlin (the little homunculus in the jar), and perform the Spell of the Seven. She does that, releasing the powerful Merlin who enhances the spell she enacts "Ekirts Sreidlos Neves!" = "Seven Soldiers Strike!"

Mister Miracle

Having become the avatar for the New Gods, an avatar for the Life Equation, Mister Miracle goes to the Dark Side Club to confront the Dark Gods. Inside he finds Boss Dark Side, where the giant god Aurakles is chained up. Boss Dark Side describes how he had made a deal with the Sheeda. In exchange for Earth, the Sheeda had delivered Aurakles, beloved of the New Gods into his hands.

Shilo tells Boss Dark Side that he can't hide himself anymore, saying he now possesses "God-Sight", and can see the real being within Boss Dark Side's mortal body. Shilo offers Darkseid the best death-defying trick imaginable, in exchange for Aurakles freedom. Darkseid takes that offer - freeing Aurakles and and chaining up Mister Miracle in his stead. Darkseid then draws a gun and promptly shoots Shilo straight through the head.

Frankenstein

From the Sheeda side of the time-stream Frankenstein is able to send a message to S.H.A.D.E., telling them about the treat. Father Time orders Frankenstein to steer that Time Ship, Castle Revolving, over to their side - hoping they can obtain it and use it against the Sheeda. Frankenstein fights off several Sheeda guards protecting the wheel room, taking Castle Revolving through time towards the present.

Klarion

Klarion has arrived once again on the surface, trilled about all the excitement swirling around him. He randomly runs into Misty who recognizes the six-sided die he carries. She asks if he knows what that is. Klarion says it's Croatoan, which means "Fatherbox" in Sheeda Croakspeak. Misty is overjoyed - knowing that combining the two dice it would become a powerful enough weapon for her to defeat her mother with. Klarion, though, is quite enchanted with the idea of knowing he's related to the Sheeda -- even having royal blood within his veins. Teekl distracts Misty and allows Klarion to steal her die, now possessing both. Taking one of the giant riding flies, Klarion escapes into the air.

Klarion is able sneak aboard Castle Revolving and makes his way into the wheel room where Frankenstein is. Using a Witch Brand Klarion takes control of Frankenstein's will and orders the ship to return to the Sheeda side.

Shining Knight

Justina, having snuck aboard Castle Revolving, has been fighting to the death with Goriana, Queen of the Sheeda. Their battle is fierce, with the Queen mocking her - saying the legends tell of how only a group of 7 would ever be able to kill her, and she doesn't see 7 people here. Justina is able to stab Goriana through the heart, and later hack off one of her eyes - but Justina is pushed back against a railing off the side of Castle Revolving. The Shining Knight falls down towards the streets, but is saved by Pegasus - who asks if she ever thought he'd let her fall.

Bulleteer

The Bulleteer is driving in a car through the chaotic streets of Manhattan, hoping to get the injured Sally Sonic to a hospital. Sally isn't quite dead yet, as she wakes up and tries to grab the wheel of the car.

Meanwhile the Queen, having finished with the Shining Knight, has called for their agent, I, Spyder. She asks if he had found the Spear like he had been ordered. I, Spyder, though, turns on her - as the ghost of Greg Sanders had freed him from the Sheeda's control - and fires, with his perfect aim, an arrow directly into the head of the evil Queen - knocking her over the railing and down to the streets below.

As the car Bulleteer drives swerves wildly, struggling with Sally Sonic, the Sheeda Queen is falling directly above them. The Queen hits the ground right in front of the out of control car - is struck by vehicle - fulfilling the prophecy of Aurakles' Spear, never thrown, that would kill the evil Queen. After all the damage she has suffered, Goriana dies for good - unable to ever get back to her Cauldron to heal.

The thing about Grant Morrison's writing is that he writes very smartly - and sometimes can expect too much from the readers to be just as smart. Often it's some in-consequential point in the story that if something flies over you're head, it doesn't matter that much - it's usually not detrimental to understanding the story as a whole. The Spear of Aurakles is probably the most perfect example of that in action. It's a spear, yes -- and the Seven Soldiers all contribute defeating the Sheeda, with the Bulleteer being the head of the spear actually striking the Queen. Yet the riddle of the spear maybe was obvious to Morrison - but I had to look up what it actually meant. In the pre-dawn opening Aurakles is depicted with red hair. Entire panels are in black and white, just to point out his red hair. After hitting the Sheeda Queen a scene later shows Bulleteer in a black and white scene - with her read hair being high-lighted. What exactly is that suppose to mean? Well - it seems scientists have come to the conclusion that red hair might be a hereditary trait from neanderthals. Aurakles being the farthest ancestor possible to Alix Harrower, the Bulleteer - making the Bulleteer driving into the Queen the final imperishable item of man; an attack, started with Aurakles existing - that would eventually lead to the Bulleteer being born and eventually hitting the Queen head, killing her. It's weird, I know - and stretches logic to it's breaking point -- but it all sort of comes together, and make sense.

Epilogues...

There are several epilogues at the end, detailing a bit more of the aftermath of the crisis.

The Tailor, who has been telling this entire tale to an unknown party, reveals that he has been sewing a special coat - a coat able to make a person look like anyone you want. Apparently this coat is suppose to make this person look like Cyrus Gold (Solomon Grundy). Before being sent out in this murder's guise, the tailor reveals who is actually who in this scene. Apparently the Tailor we've been seeing is actually one of the Seven Unknown Men - and the person who's being forced to wear the Cyrus Gold-coat is non-other than the Seven Unknown Men's way-word brother - Zachary Zor, also known as the Terrible Time Tailor, who has been orchestrating all the events of the universe in challenge of his 7 brothers. This entire scene is very confusing, and I still don't completely understand it -- but I think it's suffice to say they want Zor out there to meet the angry mob Cyrus Gold was suppose to encounter (in place of the real Cyrus Gold, who the Seven Unknown Men had killed and drowned already in Slaughter Swamp; to become Solomon Grundy.) Zor, looking like Cyrus, is probably murdered by the mob.

Justina, now in a different time, is set up with a new life at a High School. Ali-ka-zoom has arranged this for her. Justina doesn't know what to do - knowing that her love Galahad is dead, and that she couldn't save him. Ali-ka-zoom suggests that she try and live the life or a normal school girl - and she can go play knight with her flying horse on the weekends. He also tells her of a weird story from history -- of a Golden Age just prior to the great Flood, of a Queen who had supposedly ended the Age of Death -- and the name of this queen was, strangely enough, Queen Ystina The Good. Who knows what adventures are awaiting her.

A single page depicts Klarion, having taken the Sheeda Throne for himself - combining the two throwing dies into the All Powerful Father Box. (His future afterwards is largely left up to the reader - but I can imagine him coming back to the present, with more magical knowledge, to cause more mischief and have adventures.)

Jake Jordan and his family are seen visiting the grave of Mister Miracle. After they leave Boss Dark Side comes to pay his respects as well. He says to Shilo's grave "The Dark Aeon has come. Evil won the war. All is One in Dark Side." After leaving Mister Miracle escapes the greatest trap of all - death itself - with his hands rising out of the grave.

The ending, especially in regards to Mister Miracle's resurrection, is probably the most important part - as the War Darkseid says he won is played out in Morrison's next major project, The Final Crisis.

The Seven Soldier series may not have been a great commercial success - as ideas for on-going series for all seven series where never used. (I'd especially have loved to have seen whatever was planned with the Shining Knight, who form the ending I'm thinking would have involved a bit more time-travel with a rather ambitious goal and end-game for the character in mind.) The success the series saw was that of a creative success - as the medium of comic books was utilized in ways never seen before. The series has long since been labeled an instant classic, and I felt very privileged to have been able to get the Hardcover editions of the series and be able to read it.

While doing research for these series of posts I found an interview Morrison did, looking back on the series after it was over. The interview is no longer available, but using the internet Wayback Machine - I was able to get it. The images of the interview might not work, but Morrison has a lot of insight about how he thinks the series turned out. You can read the interview by clicking here: Looking Back at the Seven Soldiers with Grant Morrison.

The Seven Soldiers of Victory - Part 8 (Frankenstein)

2011-10-04T00:04:00.000-07:00

Frankenstein, being a famous literary and movie concept long since in the public domain has been used every once in a while for comics. DC had a "Spawn of Frankenstein" comic, and I think Superman might have fought some kind of Frankenstein at some point. Suffice to say taking a very famous literary character and turning him on his ear is very tricky proposition - but Morrison came in with some truly brilliant and off the wall ideas that melded the original story in Marry Shelley's tale, combined with the look and style from Universe Pictures - and simply used that as a foundation for further adventures. Frankenstein is probably one of the oddest choices for the Seven Soldier series - but he proved to be one of the most popular.

Frankenstein

Morrison's version of Frankenstein, like the creature himself, is a hodgepodge of various different concepts layered onto the already existing frame work of the original Frankenstein story. Though not directly addressed in the issues that where released, it was discussed early on that Frankenstein had a very colorful past - having one arm from the Archangel Michael, and another arm from a black slave. It is apparently is Michael's sword, though. Similar to the original story Frankenstein's history has him presumed dead and sunk beneath the ice - where he swam through the ocean, eventually coming onto the shores of America; he succinctly describes his time in between as having "Many Adventures". As for taking the name of his creator - he says that he was Frankenstein's Great Work, and that he would bear his signature far into the future, where perhaps it might be honored someday.

Issue #1 starts with Frankenstein on a train in 1870. The train is barreling down the tracks, while inside one of the compartments Frankenstein faces his frequent foe Mister Melmoth. Melmoth, who we saw in modern times in "Klarion", has been roaming the Earth in real-time ever since his wife deposed him as King of the Sheeda. Frankenstein has apparently made a habit of getting in the way of Melmoth's schemes over the years. On this train Melmoth has cultivated a unique form of Sheeda - termed the Circus of Maggots; fat spine-rider Sheeda able to devourer people and suck them dry. A confrontation ensues - eventually ending with Melmoth being decapitated, with his still-screaming head flying directly into the train's stove engine. (Being immortal Melmoth survives - and in the pages of Klarion you can even notice his neck having stitching, as his head was sewn back on.) The fight has caused enough damage that the train explodes and derails off a cliff. The burning wreckage subsequently sits there for well over the next century. The debris has long since been built over - and by the present day a high school sits in the very same location.

This first issues takes a decided weird turn, as it suddenly is focusing on weird high-school drama, of sorts. It features a short disgusting looking student that everyone calls "Uglyhead". While the taunts and jeers from his fellow classmates is cruel - the ugliness inside this boy is decided real. He strangely has found that he's suddenly developed the ability to see people's thoughts. Like thoughts balloons in a comic book, he can see what people are thinking. He begins to believe if he can see what people are thinking - does that make him God? Can he make people think certain things? Apparently he can - as he cruelly takes one of the snobby popular girls, sees the self-hatred she already has, and increases it. Making her believe she's a horrible person, Uglyhead proceeds to destroy this young woman, making her want to gain weight and eat greasy food - develop pimples - to make her look as ugly as she feels.

The high school prom has arrived. People try to stand up to Uglyhead, but he has slowly been taking control of the entire town. Or, more accurately, the Circus of Maggots have reawakened from their buried slumber and have silently attached themselves to almost everyone in school. Uglyhead's telepathic abilities come from the Maggots, using him as a way to corral and control the population they want to feed on.

Sensing a terrible evil is being perpetrated, Frankenstein finally awakens from hibernation deep underneath the school ground. He bursts out of the floor in front of a young woman, commenting that there was still evil in this world.

Frankenstein goes to find the source and encounters Uglyhead. The boy tries to control Frankenstein's mind, but it doesn't work. Frankenstein kills the boy, using the sword of the Archangel Michael to chop the boy's head off.

Frankenstein later burns down the entire school, burying everything. The children where all dead, sucked dry by the Maggots - and the only way to make sure the creatures where finally killed, and didn't spread, was to burn everything.

"Frankenstein Lives!"

Even though he's depicted as mindless monster in the movies - in the book Frankenstein, the doctor's monster was an intelligent and learned creature. The idea that over the years he's developed into a kind of timeless warrior against evil doesn't seem as much of stretch - and Frankenstein is never depicted as being dumb in any way.

The series moves on to a completely different location: Mars! The four issues of Frankenstein are probably the most disjointed of the series - as each issue can be read just by itself, with a single plot-line. There's very little in between, showing how Frankenstein got from one location to the next - making the read between issues a bit jarring. I honestly don't know how Frankenstein got to Mars. There's defiantly technology in the DCU able to get him there - and if he's determined enough, Frankenstein would find a way.

Apparently he's heard about missing children (as seen in the Klarion series). The trail has lead to Mars. Frankenstein seems familiar with the place, though - as he knows how to corral and ride the Flesh Eating Horses of Mars (gigantic insects that spew acid.) Since Frankenstein doesn't breath, having air doesn't seem to be a problem.

I'd like to mention the incredible art of Doug Mahnke. He draws things like its carved from stone - creating powerful and bold images with a grimy and dirty feel - yet it's completely appropriate for a story line, with each panel becoming a work of art in of itself. The landscape of the barren dead Mars is wonderfully depicted - and the bombastic battles in the series carry so much more weight than they might have if done by a different artist.

Anyway - Frankenstein's keen awareness for evil has not lead him astray, as he has found Mister Melmoth's Child-Slavery operation of the surface of Mars. The mining operation is to bring back gold, found on Mars, to help fund his attempt to over throw the Sheeda Queen and take his throne back. Using the high technology of a portal from his manhattan building, travel between Earth and Mars is made easier - especially for adding to the growing workforce Melmoth has created. Frankenstein is able to come in and finally confront his long time foe after so long. Melmoth has a surprise, though - he has a Witch Brand (no doubt obtained on his recent visit to Limbo Town) - which is able to stop Frankenstein in his tracks. The Witch Brand is only suppose to affect Grundies - zombified monsters from Limbo Town. Melmoth reveals why this is possible.

You see, the Cauldron of Rebirth, having been lost into the time-stream by the Sheeda Queen (in Shining Knight), the Cauldron had landed in a very particular place: Slaughter Swamp. The rejuvenation effect of the Cauldron gave the swamp similar properties. (This is why Cyrus Gold, when he originally died in Slaughter Swamp, came back to life as the undead Solomon Grundy - a foe of the JLA and JSA.) Melmoth had his blood drained and replaced with the waters of eternal life. (I think the Cauldron got into the hands of Vincenzo the Undying Don through Melmoth. He was now permanently immortal, so he didn't need the Caulron; and giving it to the Don might have been a way of making sure it didn't get into the hands of his wife. I'm only speculating, though.)

The real kicker, though, was that Melmoth describes a young swiss scientist who wanted to know the secrets of eternal life. In exchange for scientific knowledge Melmoth gave the doctor samples of his blood -- blood that was used to animate the un-dead flesh of Frankenstein! Frankenstein was, for all intents and purposes, a Grundy - and thus vulnerable to the Witch Brand. The young child who had just turned 16, who had recently arrived on Mars, had enough spirit to whack the Witch Brand away from the slave-driver Melmoth.

His will restored, Frankenstein proceeded to put and end to Melmoth, once and for all. Frankenstein was able to get a group of the Flesh Eating Horses to attack and eat Melmoth. He still won't die - but he'll be broken apart into an unmentionable number of pieces, and made into dung from the Flesh Eating Horse's leavings.

Frankenstein then proceeded to lead the freed children through the portal back home to Earth.

Issue #3 depicted an infected water supply that was rapidly infecting all the wildlife, and people - turning them into savage and mindless cannibals. This of course if the kind of evil Frankenstein is drawn to - and finds himself being assaulted by untold hungry critters of the forest. Frankenstein is in a bit of trouble - but a surprisingly welcoming hand, or hands, reach out to save him. Suddenly by his side, fighting with him, is the Bride -- the Doctor's creation after Frankenstein. The Bride has a similar appearance from the movies - but has two extra arms attached to her. Apparently some villain called the Red Swami had brainwashed her and attached two more arms to her, in an attempt to pass her off as a reincarnated assassin Goddess; most likely Kali. A secret government organization had captured her and were able to un-brainwashed her, and she's been with them as an agent ever since. Unlike Frankenstein, the Bride has been awake for all these centuries.

After getting to safety suddenly the Bride points one of her 4 guns at Frankenstein and shoots him. Frankenstein wakes up to find himself in chains. A black man in a bowler hat with a domino mask is there to speak with him. This man's name if Father Time, an enigmatic leader of a secret government origination called S.H.A.D.E. (Super Human Advanced Defense Executive) Frankenstein asks why he's been locked up like this. Father Time explains to him that he had burned down a school; they could kill him right here and now and be fully within their rights. Yet they picked up Frankenstein for a reason - they wanted him to join their organization. Frankenstein doesn't want to join them, but wants to help with the situation he encountered just recently. Frankenstein is released, and along with the Bride, they both go back out to find the source of the madness.

While investigating Frankenstein and the Bride are able to catch up. Frankenstein talks about how much the world has changed - that they aren't afraid of him anymore. He also enquires about their personal relationship - saying the Bride had been made for him. The Bride says it was never personal, but Frank was just never her type: living. They find out the problem with the town, apparently there's a problem with the water. The origins of this problem began with a weapon developed by S.H.A.D.E. that had gotten out of control. The town being a total loss, a decision is made to simply nuke it - as they couldn't let the contaminated water spread. Frankenstein did not like this, and when prompted to get in a helicopter to get to safety, Frankenstein says he would rather walk.

That disconnect I spoke of before, inbetween issues - inbetween issues #3 and #4 is probably the most glaring - as it seemed like Frankenstein had passed on aligning himself with S.H.A.D.E. Though here was again in issue #4 - an official Agent of S.H.A.D.E., walking into the wintery mountains of the Himalayas. Apparently S.H.A.D.E. had tracked down the location of Neh-Buh-Loh. Using an internet connection, wired directly into his mind, Frankenstein keeps in touch with the Bride and Father Time. In the ruined city of Gorias Neh-Buh-Loh was alone, eating the corpse of a winged horse. It was never shown, but I'd have to assume Misty (from Zatanna) had come here and recruited the wild winged horses that live in this area. Neh-Buh-Loh, seeking to fulfill his once ignored order to kill Misty must have arrived there before Misty was magiced away back to Zatanna.

Neh-Buh-Loh is a mess - distraught over what he considers his one flaw. Frankenstein and he fight in a vicious battle - and finally Neh-Buh-Loh is able to be killed.

After that the story shifts to Frankenstein tackling another mission - S.H.A.D.E. seems to be one of the few organizations on top of the Sheeda threat. Frankenstein finds the Sheeda Queen and in the desert, where the of Cauldron of Rebirth is finally being returned to her, and taken onto Castle Revolving. Frankenstein takes the initiative and secretly stows away. It's only briefly seen, but the Shining Knight had gotten there as well, and did the same.

Soon Frankenstein finds himself in the homeland of the Sheeda. They are not aliens, or inter-dimensional travelers -- they are us! They are the life at very end of time. This place is called Summer's End - and the ruined and dying Earth is a horror to behold. Black Flowers, like those seen in Slaughter Swamp, cover the entire planet. This is where the Sheeda originate from - and survive and replenish their stagnant culture by cultivating and eating their own history. The Harrowing of man brings them new ideas, concepts, dreams - everything that makes up a human culture, distilled (in one example) into an apple the Sheeda Queen eats. So horrible and decayed a culture are the Sheeda, they survive only through the consumption of the previous generations of mankind's achievements and drams.

Frankenstein finds 6 mighty flying fortresses; the Sheeda are planning to travel to the present and begin the Harrowing of Man. Frankenstein reaches Gloriana, the Sheeda Queen, to confront her and kill her once and for all. There's a tremendous battle between Frankenstein and Gloriana - with a surprise Frankenstein has in store for her. Her lead ship, Castle Revolving, wasn't his first visit, he tells her, as several explosions rocks the 6 flying fortresses.

Frankenstein is forced to flee, but manages to make it to the wheel room of Castle Revolving. Taking control of the ship Frankenstein prepares to make the Sheeda face judgement. This story ends here, to be continued in the final issue of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

After the Seven Soldiers...

Frankenstein is perhaps the biggest winner of this series, in terms of establishing a new property for DC Comics; though that wasn't immediately apparent at first. Frankenstein made a few quest appearances here and there - his most prominent being his presence in the battles in Grant Morrison's Final Crisis mini-series. Another Frankenstein creature was developed as a short-lived member of the Teen Titans: Young Frankenstein. (Obviously inspired by the Mel Brooks film.) He didn't last long at all, as he was killed by the villain Black Adam shortly after he was introduced. (Almost like he was suppose to be a joke character, and was disposed of after the joke was over.)

Frankenstein also made notable appearance in the the Solomon Grundy mini-series -- seeing as Frankenstein's origins are connected to Slaughter Swamp (birthplace of Solomon Grundy).

Recently, though, Frankenstein returned to prominence in a Flashpoint tie-in mini-series, where in an alternate time-line Frankenstein was awakened during WWII and helped kill Hitler with the help of the Creature Commandos (more movie-themed monsters, acting as military unit.) After Flashpoint Frankenstein received a new series, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. - which I absolutely love, and hope to see continue.