Another Round for My Friends Over Here!

Well, I'm now finishing day one of my two day 'weekend.' It sucks, though, as I planned on playing this one game, inFamous, for the two days. Well...that didn't pan out well. I finished it all in one day.

Well. Crap.


Anywho, while I try to figure out what I should do for the next day, here are a few reviews for you!

JLA Vol 5 - Justice For All

Essentially three separate story-arcs within this book. It is actually pretty huge! The main stories by Grant Morrison feature the JSA, and his re imagining 0f the imps from the 5th dimension! From this point, this is basically just 'filler' until Morrison's final arc, which happens to be in the next volume. It was an ok read I suppose. The artist, Howard Porter, has a problem with Wildcat and Batman. As in, he tends to make Wildcat look like Batman waaaay too much.
The other stuff involved in this arc? Kinda blah. They give service to a few of the DC storylines of the day, such as Batman's No Man's Land stuff and Flash's crisis.

So...it was ok....but not great.

Hulk Vol 2 - Red and Green
Ok, ok, now I'm just enjoying this. Its pure crap! It really is, but I can't stop reading. I think I figured out why...Its like a mindless action movie. You just turn off your brain and watch the awesome explosions! The problem is, I think Loeb, the writer, really thinks he is writing an intriguing and mentally captivating book. So a lot of things try to turn your brain back 'on,' but if you do you'll just start to get ticked off due to all the stupid crap in this book.
Arthur Adams and Frank Cho do the art duties for this volume. Essentially, when this book came out monthly, they were actually two stories per book, with Arthur Adams dealing with the story with the main Hulk...and Wendigos....in Vegas.... and then there is Frank Cho doing the art for the Lady Liberators, led by She-Hulk, trying to beat the crap out of the Red Hulk.
Both are awesome artists that were given a story that tailors to their talents. For Arthur, its awesomely stylized fighting and monsters. For Frank Cho..its the cheese factor. He draws almost every Marvel heroine that isn't a mutant. And then throws in one mutant for good measure. Its readable. The art is phenomenal. So I was happy reading this.

Hulk Vol 3 - Hulk No More
Ah...Ed Mcguinnes is back! Its a Hulk team-up of epic proportions! Hulk, Namor, Dr. Strange, and Silver Surfer versus Red Hulk, TigerShark, Terrax, and Mordo!
This happens to have the greatest line said by a villain ever, "This is the most fun I've had with my pants on!"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

It was funny, it was stupid, but still a great read mainly thanks to the awesome art.

Well..there you go. Three lovely reviews set in!
Laters.

Can't sleep, clown will eat me...

Well, after listening to the awesome podcast over at House To Astonish, I finally found out why I haven't been able to buy any comics from Amazon.com recently.

Apparently, there was a computer glitch between Diamond Shipping and Amazon, that allowed comics that normally cost around 50-60$ to sell for as low as 8$.

And here is me, slapping myself because I totally missed out on this.

Darn.

Oh well, got some comics today, and read some more within the last time I blogged earlier today, feeling generous in wanting to review some more books.

Annihilation: Conquest Book One
Ah, the sequel to the original Annihilation cosmic event by Marvel. Instead of Keith Giffen being the showrunner this time, you have to dastardly duo of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning(known as DnA to Marvel). They have a vast knowledge of the Marvel Cosmos, so one shouldn't worry that new guys run the show. Anywho, this new event starts off with the Kree empire rebuilding, with the help of the SpaceKnights(alas, still no ROM). Well, it has Annihilation, and Conquest in its title so obviously things aren't peaceful for long. A new evil alien entity heads in and takes over, the Phalanx. For those that don't know, think Star Trek's Borg, techno-organic beings that are a virus-entity that takes over other life forms. Bad news for the group. Well, book one goes over the prologue, the Star-Lord mini, and the Quasar mini. The Star-Lord mini is like the last event's 'Super-Skrull' mini, a guerrilla-war tactic against the main enemy. But this time its different! There's a living tree-organism and the ever-awesome Rocket Raccoon! Yep! The Quasar mini is fairly meh, at least until the end. Involves the new Quasar going in looking for the Kree savior. Kinda cool when the Kree savior is revealed, but until then its all standard blah blah 'I'm so unsure of myself' crud.
Other than that, a great start to the new cosmic event!

Nova Vol 1 - Annihilation: Conquest
The first 7 issues of this awesome title, and I'm glad I have this book its just amazing. The first couple of issues actually involve Nova, Richard Rider, going back to Earth and dealing with the events of Marvel's Civil War. Key Word: Deals with Iron Man, and lots of explosions! Then, the last 4 issues are the tie-in to Annihilation: Conquest, and since its written by DnA it ties in very well, without revealing too much of the main series. By the way, the artist Sean Chen, I will literally buy anything that has his name attached. He does great with space-alien stuff, and doubly great for armor based costumes. Great read, can't wait to read the next book.

Hulk Vol 1 - Red Hulk
Oh god....I really don't know why I bought this. When I originally read this, it was god-awful. Jeph Loeb has been utter crap in recent years, and this was no different. I still can't understand why I bought this. I guess I wanted to read something 'dumb' with action. Oh wait! I remember! Has the awesome, kinetic-charged, super-muscled art of Ed Mcguinnes. Whew, you don't know muscles until you see his work.
Now, after re-reading this. It wasn't THAT bad. Its bad, don't get me wrong, but its not that bad haha. It is readable, actually, and I think I know why I hated it originally. Horrible plot, bad characterizations, and they went and reverted Hulk to 'dumb' Hulk, fresh off his run of World War Hulk where he was a uber-badass, now he is all "Me no am happy! Me want to be left alone! Hulk is hulk! Hulk smash!" Eugh.

Oh well. Pretty art though.

Ok. Well thats it for now.

Alrighty then...

Well, to make up for not doing reviews Thursday and Friday, I will just do them today and tomorrow.

Anywho, nothing else left to say so I'm just going to get started on them now!

Ultimate X-men Vol 14 - Phoenix?
Yeah, strange title, this is where Robert Kirkman begins his run on the Ultimate X-men series. From what I've read, this is also where the appeal of Ultimate X-men began to dissipate. The problem being, the artwork wasn't anywhere near as good as previously seen, and the writer seems to just jumble up a lot of old X-men stories into one narrative, and it doesn't mesh well.
The first arc deals with Jean's manifestation of the Phoenix force. Previously in Ultimate X-men, it was believed that she doesn't have it, but of course that was a lie to attempt to control her. Now it is coming out in full swing and the entire team has to attempt to reign her in. Its ok stuff, but has no real 'pop' to it, so its boring. The artwork was just fugly too.

Ultimate X-men Vol. 15 - Magical
The ONLY storyline created by Robert Kirkman that wasn't an obvious retelling of a classic X-men story. Just because it was an original storyline doesn't mean its any good, though. The artwork is still just awful. The storyline, which revolves around a mutant who can get anything he desires, is blah as well. There isn't really anything in this book that has any redeeming value.

Ultimate X-men Vol. 16 - Cable
Kirkman's continuation of a mish-mash of classic X-men titles. This one dealing with the time-travelers Cable and Bishop. This time around, Cable has come back in time to kill Professor X, believing it was him that caused all the future problems of the world. Hoo-boy. There is one twist in this book that was actually really interesting, but its revealed in the first issue of the 6 issue arc, which just ruins any of its intrigue. By this point, one gets the feeling that to read Ultimate X-men is to read some weird person's fan-fiction. Artwork still sucks too.

Ultimate X-men Vol. 17 - Sentinels
Ah yes, more mish-mash. This time dealing with newfound sentinels and the morlocks underneath New York. Ugh. I really don't even know why I'm bothering here, it was just a mess. At least Robert Kirkman doesn't write Nightcrawler with that annoying 'German' accent that never works in comics. I.E. 'Vas is dat? Vhat? Etc etc. Art? Don't even bother its dull as well.

Ok, thats it for today, I promise to review some good books tomorrow!

Oh jeeze...

Well, today was a horrid day. Woke up at 6am, and noticed my truck had a flat. Didn't have enough time to fix it to reach it to make it to my friend's to get to class...so I didn't. Well, I wait till about noon, like a retard to switch out the tire only to find out that even my spare was flat! Ugh, so I went to Discount Tire to get a replacement, and what a surprise they were super busy...moreso than I've ever seen. Well, I go to NTB...and the fact that the place was empty should have been the first clue....the guy in there was just a total retard. Not dumb. Not stupid. NO, freakin RETARDED. So that was a no go, since they didn't have my tire. Finally, going to the supercenter, and paying 30 bucks more than I originally planned, I was able to get it replaced.


Needless to say, its been a bad day, so no reviews today. Sorry.

Oh Great Googly Moogly.

Man, brutal day, filled with tests and writings for other classes.
Anywho, on to today's three reviews!

JLA Vol 4 - Strength In Numbers

The next volume of the JLA run I've grabbed, featuring Morrison's greatest villain yet, Prometheus. This dude is like an anti-Batman, and you love every moment he comes in beating the crap out of the league. Of course it has to end, and it does so pretty cheaply. He is just about to take down everyone, and his...suit...glitches?.. Well technically Steel takes over his technology, but you barely catch that. The good ol' end of the world subplot rears its head towards the end, with the reveal of Mageddon's coming being imminent. Howard Porter is once again on art for the main storyline, with other fill-in artists(and writers) who's work is boring and can't be bothered to remember their names adding more material to this book.

Supreme Power HC Collection 1
The reimagining of the Squadron Supreme through the eyes of JMS and the ever-awesome artist, Gary Frank. Set during real events(from Carter's presidency all the way to George Bush Sr.'s) the story is essentially a 'Place Superman in the real-world, and see what happens' storyline. Don't let that prevent you from reading this, as it is amazing. The story is filled with political intrigue, and the great proverb of 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.' Oh, and its a Marvel MAX book, so that means its essentially a Rated R book. Full of cussing, nudity and uber-violence. Good stuff good stuff. HC Collection 1 covers the first twelve issues of this series, which essentially runs the gamut of the main character, Mark Milton's, life from birth to young adult.
Oh, and did I mention that Gary Frank on artwork is just absolutely amazing? Well, it is! Read it!

Dark Avengers Vol 1 - Assemble!
Ah, the ever-present Brian Michael Bendis brings out a new Avengers book to hit off the recent Dark Reign turn of events over at Marvel. Essentially, this is a continuation of Thunderbolts(the version where Norman Osborn ran a group of crazed villains as 'heroes'), where these crazed villains have now assumed the identities of various heroes. The artwork is done by Mike Deodato Jr., who makes Norman Osborn look like Tommy Lee Jones.
It works actually, I can even picture his voice when Normie talks, and it just makes it pretty sinister. Better than Willem Defoe's snively voice from the Spider-Man movies.
Anywho, its a standard 'bringing the team together' book, but with a twist! Instead of saving normal people, the group goes to Latveria to save Dr. Doom.
Its ok, but gets dull easily, and you grow tired of the uber-talk that Bendis likes to do in his books. But, Bendis knows where he is going with the group, so its great to watch that story unfold.
Average fair, but still an ok read if you can track this down for a cheap price.

Ok, thats my three for today. See you tomorrow with Round Three!

Justice League of America? Where? When? How?

Wow, time flies quick...sorry once again for my pure laziness in not updating this blog.
I have read quite a bit since the last blog post, and amazed that still have a heckuva lot to go. Seems I bought tons of books this year already, and I plan on buying more eventually.
Anyways, in lieu of Spring Break next week, I have quite a bit of free time on my hands, and have prepared a LOT of reviews to be posted onto this blog.

Instead of posting them all at once, I have spread them out to doing four reviews a day, all through Friday.
So expect four more tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday, and maybe even a look at the current books coming out now.

Also, if you haven't yet, check out the new Iron Man 2 trailer, as it is awesome!

JLA(Late 90's series) Vol 1 - New World Order
Ah, now this is what helped my resurgence in comic books! Not necessarily this volume, but this series jumpstarted my desire to read comics again. This stuff was Grant Morrison at his finest, and about a month or so ago, I was lucky enough to stumble upon the entire GM run of this series. This was the JLA run that began in '96-'97 and finally brought back the 'big three' to JLA; Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. The first arc, which represents this volume, is only four issues long, and is one of the shortest trades I own. Regardless, the read was slow-paced and, above all, entertaining.. The reformation of the JLA as the threat of alien invasion, by the white martians, begins! Grant has wild ideas and sneaky subplots that churn throughout his entire run, and they all begin here. The only downside to this arc is that its really tame in comparison to his other issues during his stay with the JLA. Also, the artwork isn't as amazing as it should be. Howard Porter seems like he couldn't find his bearings during these first four issues, but it is still readable and the action is coherent so it works out!

JLA Vol 2 - American Dreams
Another small book, which involves angels and demons, with a short arc in the end dealing with a super-smart villain named The Key. Whereas volume one was too tame, volume two is too out there. The stuff dealing with the angels just comes out of the left field, and there isn't any true cohesion to the whole ordeal. On the other hand, the last two issues that deal with the JLA dealing with the Key are much better. It is truly amazing how Grant condensed four-to-six issues of stuff into just two issues, and its still completely coherent! Howard Porter also should be recognized as this book is loads better than volume one, he finally hits his stride during this one and it is awesome! A drastic switch from volume one, this one shows what happens when Grant can't reign in his ideas into coherent stuff(a la Final Crisis).

JLA Vol 3 - Rock of Ages
How amazing that this JLA arc seems to be where Grant garners his inspiration for Final Crisis. Much you see in this story arc was used in that series as well. This actually angers me a bit, he reused some of these ideas almost to the point of complete 'copying.' Even stranger that both come from the same writer. Lesee...
Turning humans into slaves via helmets? Check.
Anti-life equation rules all? Check.
'Absolute' end of the world until a final deus ex machina comes into play at the very end? Check.
Batman dying? Check.
Obscure heroes win the battle? Check.

Whats sad is that where Final Crisis failed to present a coherent and entertaining story, Rock of Ages(which was done in 97-98) did it even better!! The art by Howard Porter is great, and makes the book really pop. What is hilarious, is that the Darkseid part of the storyline, with all the end of the world stuff, only takes part in two issues of this six-issue story arc!

Annihilation Books 1 - 3
Ahh....the resurgence of Marvel's cosmic line begins here! It all starts with a seemingly unrelated storyline titled Drax the Destroyer, which involves an alien who crashes to Earth, and must redefine himself to survive in the current climate. It all really starts with a huge 'wave' of aliens destroying the cosmos, including the 'space cops,' the Nova Corp. All to reveal that the ruler of the Negative Zone, Annihilus, has pushed in and wants to take over everything in our universe. The stories are encapsulating, and weave in and out of each other with ease. Books One and Two cover the four, four-issue miniseries that act as a prologue to Annihilation; Nova, Silver Surfer, Ronan, and Super-Skrull. Its the Nova miniseries that shows why this collection also includes Drax the Destroyer, as he is called in to help Nova master his new powers and prepare to lead in the war against Annihilus. In Silver Surfer, Norinn Radd must once again attempt to understand why all of these powerful beings do such terrible things, and leads to a decision that is both shocking, and makes sense in regards to the evolution of his character. In Ronan, the accuser himself stands accused, and he must search within to find himself before the Annihilation wave reaches his homeworld and destroys his people. Finally, in Super-Skrull, you get the all-out action book, with plenty of violence, as the Super Skrull invades enemy lines to destroy a powerful weapon before its used against the cosmos.

This all leads into Book Three, which covers the main Annihilation event. Which is a six issue series delving into the all-encompassing war, and how it affects the heroes involved. This stuff really ignited the readers into embracing Marvel's cosmic-opera stories once again, stories that haven't really been delved into since the 80's-90's. The artwork is varied throughout each book, but the number one artist is Andrea de Vito, who is the artist for the main series. It was a spectacle to look at all the alien images conceived during the six-issue run and that makes the artwork pure eye-candy! Of course, Keith Giffen, the main writer, seemingly knows these characters top to bottom, and crafts an intriguing story utilizing almost every Marvel cosmic character known, including the Space Knights!(Alas, no ROM though.) This stuff slowly evolves into a major story that is continued in Annihilation: Conquest, which will be reviewed at a later time.


Alrighty, so thats six books reviewed. Whew. Expect more tomorrow through Friday, as each day I vow to review at least four books!