Batman #9

Written by Tom King

Penciled by Mikel Janin

Cover by Mikel Janin

Published Oct 19, 2016

   The issue opens with the Psycho Pirate standing before Bane, seeking reassurance that he can "always stop", after mentioning he's stopped using the drug Venom. It then transitions to Bruce at Gotham Girl's beside, who tells Alfred that he's going out and that he's accepted Ms Wallers' position... to recruit a team of criminals from the Arkham Asylum to break into Bane's prison. The only way to save Gotham Girl is to get the pirate out of there, but only the most depraved of criminals would be crazy enough to do it. 

   Batman walks the asylums corridors with Commissioner Gordon and Jeremiah Arkham and as they walk, the caped crusader explains to them whom he intends to take. The first is Arnold "the ventriloquist" Weskler. He agrees to help with no questions asked. As they continue walking, Batman notices Gordon lights his pipe with his left hand and makes a note of it. Next up is the Bronze Tiger, Ben Turner. They scuffle for a minute to which the big cat notices Batman has gotten slower. "You've gotten faster" he retorts.

   They're walk takes them to "Jewelee", a catatonic inmate serving a life sentence whom has been in such a state since her partner and lover Punch disappeared. It's then Batman makes his move against the Gordon "impostor", whom turns out to be Punch in disguise. He's apparently broken out of his prison and kept up the ruse long enough to reunite with his old flame. Batman is so impressed with his commitment that he takes the two of them in for his team.

   The issue ends with Arkham protesting his final request - an inmate so deadly Batman can't possibly take her. Batman reminds him that he allowed someone to break INTO his hospital to reunite with another inmate; news that would certainly be harmful if members of the board found out. Reluctantly Arkham allows him to take her. The final page features Batman reuniting with Catwoman, and with that, the issue is to be continued.

   Excellent issue. To me, there's never enough Batman and Arkham Asylum rhetoric, and this book didn't disappoint. Plus Bane, Catwoman, Kite-Man - what more could you want? I'm seriously looking forward to the next issue. Great writing,, great artwork. I give it a 9/10.

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All New Wolverine #7

Written by Tom Taylor
Penciled by Marcio Takara
Cover by Bengal
Published April 27, 2016

   The issue opens with a flashback - Laura standing in the rain and begging Logan not to go. She explains that her teammates at the institute don't like her. He tells her he remembers walking in there for the first time... He had a hard go of it too. He asks her to trust him and drives away. She then wakes up in the apartment with someone clawing at the door, who turns out to be Squirrel Girl and an actual live wolverine.
   She explains that there were some gun toting criminals in a car that crashed into a tree, knocking the tree over and upsetting a family of squirrels. The squirrel patriarch is missing and since Wolverine was responsible for crashing the car, its up to her to help right the situation.
   Gabby suits up to go too, but Laura tells her she can't - in a scene reminiscent to Logan leaving her. So the two of them run off to find the squirrel which turns out to be in an apartment building. Somewhere along the mission, there's a selfie and there's a kid who's hoping it's actually the real Wolverine, and this and that... And Laura apologizes to Gabby for leaving her, and blah blah blah.
   That's really about it. That's the gist of this issue. Luckily a lot of these books I review are on Marvel Unlimited, because if I'd actually paid money for this book, I'd be disappointed. In fact,, if the next issue of this title is as bad as this one, I'm giving up on this book. I give it a 4/10 and it's on the chop block. Hopefully they can turn around what should be a pretty bad ass character.

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The Dark Phoenix Saga - Part 1: The "Light" Phoenix...?

Written by Chris Claremont

Penciled by Dave Cockrum and John Byrne

Published 1976-1977

   For most comic book fans, whenever you hear mention of the Dark Phoneix, you immediately think Jean Gray flying around on fire, looking all possessed and being mad, essentially. But before you can jump headfirst into that realm of the Marvel universe, one wonders where the phoenix force came into contact with Jean in the first place. The following is a quick summary of those events - before the dark part. Encapsulated in Uncanny X-Men issues 101-109, this is the Dark Phoenix Saga - part 1.

   From 1970 to 1975, the Uncanny X-Men were just publishing reprints of the books' classic issues with new covers. The book had seemingly run it's course until Giant Size X-Men #1 introduced a new team of mutants to take the original team's place. More importantly, the title brought on the man who single-handily took Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's creations and slowly turned them into a comic book phenomenon, the incomparable Chris Claremont. 

   In Uncanny X-Men 100, the team fights Dr. Steven Lang, head of the Armageddon project on SHIELD's long abandoned orbital platform. During their re-entry, they realize the ships controls are jammed and as they hurtle towards a deadly and radioactive solar flare, the only way they can survive is if Marvel Girl Jean Gray takes control of the plane telepathically. As they near it, the radiation seeps through her shield... presumably harming her as the plane hurtles towards earth. 

   After a water landing, all of the other X-Men surface from the planes wreckage except for Jean, whom they all assume is dead. As Cyclops plans to dive in to save her, she suddenly flies from the water enveloped in flames and introduces herself, screaming I am fire, and life incarnate! Now and forever, I am Phoenix,.." and with that, a super hero saga was born. 

   As she recovers in the hospital, Professor X requests only Scott stay, and sends the group of new X-men: Banshee, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine on vacation to Banshee's childhood castle home in Ireland, which unfortunately turns out to be his evil cousin's lair. Together. Black Tom Cassidy and the Juggernaut fight the new X-Men before eventually losing. Meanwhile, Jean is alert and awake in the hospital, but quietly tells friends that.. no big deal.. she's come back from the dead.

   Throughout the next few issues, the X-Men face various foes, old and new. Including Magneto, Erik the Red, even Havok. Eventually Jean is released, and when the herald of Galactus shows up, Firelord as he's called, he gets the first taste of her wrath as the Phoenix. At one point, Jean's new powers are strong enough to open a portal to space, allowing a showdown between the Sh'air Empire and the Starjammers, but as their battle rages, the light part of the powers she possesses sees their climax. She becomes an ethereal force, and is able to literally save all of mankind by holding the lattice of the M'Krann Crystal together. It's here that she realizes that with the release of her phoenix force, she has nearly unlimited powers. After the battle, the rest of the team find themselves back on earth. And this time, they know what Jean Gray can do. Over the course of the rest of the books in this series, she uses her powers to help the team and works to understand them. But coming for them all is a time when she realizes she can do anything. And it's only human for that power to eventually become corrupted.

   This run of comics to me really show what Chris Claremont meant to this title. Although his wheelhouse was always dealing with the mystics of space, he gave this legendary group of X-Men their first chance at real life. Although I'm the first one to pretty much gag anytime the Starjammers showed up in these old books, you had to take the good with the bad, the elf with the Ruskie, Cyke with the furball, the bamfs with the banshee screams, and so forth. It's a good run of books and it gets even better in the next few years from this point.

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Extraordinary X-Men #9

Written by Jeff Lemire

Penciled by Humberto Ramos

Cover by Humberto Ramos

Published April 20, 2016

   After being transported 1500 years into the future, Colossus and new mutants Anole, No-Girl, Ernst and Glob find themselves in a deserted wasteland at the base of an Apocolypse shaped temple, and attacked by 3 of his horsemen, one of which is Deadpool. They run away with the ark full of mutant embryos they're trying to protect and get separated from Colossus. 

   They soon encounter a goblin named Moogum who tries to eat them, but first gives them directions across a watery planet and finally to an Iron Man spawned AI called Stark Self in a realm known as Omega World. At first Stark Self says that Apocalypse would forbid them from assisting the mutants, but that their founder would have never turned them away. They tell the story of how Apocalypse rose again in the early 21st century and wiped out scores of races and civilizations. They allow a group of machine-men to assist the X-men. 

   Throughout the course of the next year, they battle across lands fighting fire breathing dragons, huge spiders, and even inhumans. They're finally reunited with Storm and team looking for them, right as the 4th horseman of Apocalypse, who tuns out to be Colossus, prepares to battle them with Moon Knight, Deadpool, and some other scary looking monster thing. He grabs Storm by the neck and tells them that mutantkind ends here by order of Lord Apocalypse and we're sadly left to be continued next issue. 

   I dug where this issue is going. I always love these classic X-Men, and anytime they get to train new mutants, it always leads to something cool. Lemire and Ramos did a great job of highlighting what the team has been doing over the course of the year, and I can't wait to see where it leads. I give it a 9/10.

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Justice League #7

Written by Bryan Hitch

Penciled by Jesus Merino

Cover by Tony S Daniel

Published Oct 19, 2016

   Fear continues to grip the Justice League, one by one. Batman stews in the Batcave when Superman suddenly shows up and starts beating the shit out of him. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman helps Aquaman drag a wrecked US warship onto the shore and they talk about how ungrateful America is. The two of them decide it's time to teach the country a lesson. Back at his high school, Victor scores a touchdown and then starts freaking out that everyone is looking at him weird. Green Lantern Simon Baz sits in the stands wishing he hadn't even bothered to show up. Finally Superman and Batman have a moment of clarity and start talking...

   Back at the restaurant, Jessica cowers in the fetal position flipping out and Flash runs around going through everyone's wallets. She starts to get sick, throwing up this nasty black substance resembling the fear monsters they were fighting the issue before. It attacks Flash, who figures out that they can somewhat communicate through their minds, while Wonder Woman and Aquaman make a stand against the military.

   Batman and supes keep talking through it and realize they're not feeling like themselves. Back at the restaurant, Jess and Barry realize they can fight themselves out of the fear envelopment using the lantern ring blast. The issue ends on a down note though, as Jessica quits the League and... I think, tells Flash she doesn't want to date him but I couldn't really tell. And the rest is sadly to be continued.

   It seems like I'm either complaining because a comic book either doesn't have enough content or too much. This book has just the right amount. Bryan Hitch is A plus and the art is crisp and nice. They pack tons of story into 25 pages and I'm looking toward to the next one. I give it a 10/10.

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Superman #8

Written by Peter J Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

Penciled by Doug Mahnke

Variant Cover by Andrew Robinson

Published Oct 5, 2016

   Superman and Jon work on a science project he has at the Fortress of Solitude. He builds a flying saucer that for reasons unknown, forges with some of the crystals in the fortress, and takes off. Krypto tries to catch it and it explodes, transporting the 3 of them to a mysterious island with several world war 2 ship and tank wrecks.

   A huge, shark like dinosaur suddenly swallows Superman, but some quick eye blasts soon has him being shot out of the monster's mouth. The trio then explore the island, finding several signs of the 70+ year old battle between US and Japanese forces. From above, they continue scouting, but are attacked by pterodactyls. Of course Krypto gets eaten by one of them, but kills the dino and they find him down below. They explore a little more and find more evidence of the preparations for a major military operation, culminating in Superman discovering their story written on a cave wall. What will the three of them do next? Guess we'll have to wait and see next issue.

   This book was pure filler. I know it's being released bi-monthly and that's cool, but the stories are being pushed out so fast, they're not very good. I know it's supposed to be a family affair, and they need some small adventures together to press this Superboy type character, but shelling out 3 bucks for what looks like it was just hastily thrown out is kind of a downer. I give it a 5/10.

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Batman #8

Written by Steve Orlando 

Penciled by Riley Rossmo

Cover by Yanick Paquette

Published Oct 5, 2016

   Batman and Batwoman continue fighting the monster in downtown Gotham while Spoiler and Orphan are still incommunicado in the caves. Meanwhile Duke figures out from the Batcave that Gotham Girl and Nightwing's vitals reveal the presence of Venom - to which Batman realizes is from Bane and traded to Hugo Strange for the Psycho Pirate.

   Finally deciding he's going to have to fight the Gotham Girl monster head on, Batman encases himself in Clayface, forming one of the most non-marketable Bat-costumes ever. It doesn't last long though, as she claps her hands together and sonic boom splatters Clayface off him. Luckily, Duke shows up, defying Batman's orders to stay out of the fight, with a handful of antidote. Back in the caves however, Orphan and Spoiler fire up some flares to burn the mold off of the people inside.. It works, and the people return to normal but their troubles appear to just be beginning, as the mold forms some super, evil monster thing.

   Duke sticks Claire with the antidote gun and she returns to normal, completely unaware as to what happened. As she slowly comes to though, we see Batwoman in free fall during her battle with Nightwing. She says she has a plan but i'll have to wait for the next issue. 

   Not a bad issue. I think it kind of dipped compared to the writing and art of Detective Comics, from which the story was continued from. It's not all that earth shattering of a battle but they can't all be winners. I give it a 7/10.

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Justice League #6

Written by Bryan Hitch
Penciled by Matthew Clark and Tom Derenick
Cover by Tony Daniel
Published Oct 5, 2016


   The issue opens with the Justice League fighting all these black tube deals and it's making all of them irrationally scared. Some of them cower, but some of them rise up against them - most of all Green Lantern Jessica. They form a chain by joining hands and the threat is neutralized. They later all go their separate ways agreeing to meet up later, but not before Batman asks to talk to Superman, who bails on him, and Jessica asking Flash out on a date.
   She's getting ready in her apt and having serious reservations from what to wear to whether she should even go at all. Meanwhile Barry makes it back to his apartment, showers, arrives to the restaurant, changes, and heads back up there all in the span of about 3 minutes. She freaks out when she sees him leaving but he shows back up with flowers - which all have been town off the stems during his running. While this is going on, we see in 2 vignettes that Superman and Batman are both irritable in their own home situations. Back at the restaurant, Flash starts turning into a huge dick, touching her hand causing her to freak out and lantern blast the waiter. She runs into the freezer and somehow Flash phases through the wall. She blasts him through it and presumably runs away... i don't really know.
   The final scene is back at the Kent house, where Lois tells Clark he's been acting weird. She says something about Batman and he yells "DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT BATMAN" and knocks a bunch of tableware over. He then says he's going to go and kill him, which actually made me laugh hysterically.
   I don't know what it was about this issue, but I loved it. All of the Justice League turned into huge assholes, I suppose from whatever exposure they got from the big fear tube things. I've mentioned before how I like it when comics let their characters get some r&r. When they're yelling and being mean to each other - well now... there's a story! I give it a 9/10.

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Superman #7

Written by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

Penciled by Jorge Jimenez

Cover by Patrick Gleason

published Sep 21, 2016

   Superman circles the globe offering his help to various members of the Justice League, with each happily accepting except for Batman...because what else would Batman do? Realizing he's been saving people all night, he hurries home to Hamilton and tags along to the county fair with Lois and Jon. They walk around and take in the sites of everything the country folks of Hamilton have to offer and Clark promises... no superhero-ing.

   Jon runs into Kathy, a local girl who helped him after he had a nasty spill in a previous issue. Her grandfather and her are entering one of their cows in the blue ribbon contest, and thanks to a little convincing, Lois assures her that Jon would love to watch the judging.  Unfortunately though for the citizens of this small town hamlet, some local thieves set their sites on the cash box in the ticket booth. After getting Jon a little exposure at the science fair,  and watching Kathy win the cow show deal, Clark overhears the bad guys planning their heist. He claims to have a case of lactose intolerance which of course Lois sees through, and excuses himself.

   He makes it back in time to hop on the roller coaster with the fam, and as it's going up, word about how a superhero in a medieval suit foiled a robbery manages to get out. Lois looks at Clark coyly, and up up and away they go.

   Every comic book character needs a little downtime. In my opinion, not enough books focus on their subjects getting some r&r. It helps humanize them and frankly, some of my favorite stories are seeing how they relax. Not much action but good story and art. I give it an 8/10.

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Uncanny Avengers #8

Written by Gerry Duggan

Penciled by Ryan Stegman

Cover by Ryan Stegman

Published Apr 6, 2016

   Claire is just another regular, normal boring Pleasant Hill citizen, walking her dog and thinking none the wiser, short of being nagged by a persistent prank caller. She finally decides to answer and the voice guides her into a flashback - Professor X in his study reminding Rogue that she'd be able to recognize and fight psychic attacks. He reveals one more secret to her - the ace of spades. I don't know if this is some Gambit reference or what, but it no doubt means something.

   She goes on to break Johnny Storm from his trance by setting him on fire - later explaining that she thinks Pleasant Hill is nothing but a big prison but not knowing who put them there. She then finds Quicksilver and Synapse in the Pleasant Hill gym, and knocks Ms. Marvel off her bike and and flies her up into the air to bring her back to reality. By the time she returns to the ground, Human Torch has brought Cable, Voodoo, Quicksilver, and Synapse back to their senses. All that's left is finding Deadpool.

   Soon after, a big burly guy with a mustache and a red Hawaiian shirt shows up on a firetruck asking who called 911. Slowly they're all able to break the trance as Wade sadly realizes who he is, throwing out one more curse of Connecticut. They find Iron Man and Spider Man in the Pleasant Hill garage, and the Avengers are almost back to being assembled - only one left is Vision, whom they find in the music store. As they all gather and discuss what the next step is going to be, they're distracted by a gigantic little girl floating in the sky telling them they're not supposed to be awake, and with that, we're left to be continued in All New, All Different Avengers #8.

  This was a good one if you like nostalgia as much as I do. It was a very cool nod to some old school Uncanny that I've been pretty excited to see with these new rounds of X-books. Plus I liked how Kamala/Marvel Girl's hypnotized name was Carol. And let's not forget Rogue took some liberties with Ms. Danver's old costume in the 80's too. Good issue and good storyline, I give it a 9/10.

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Amazing Spider-Man #10

Written by Dan Slott

Penciled by Giuseppi Camuncoli

Cover by Alex Ross

Published Apr 13, 2016

   Fresh off falling to earth from orbit, a very beaten down Spider-Man is forced to face off with Scorpio on the streets of Paris. Spidey seems to be holding his own when Scorpio throws a car towards some bystanders. Fortunately, his advisers Gemini tell him to leave immediately for the train station and Pete tags him with a spider tracer.

   Meanwhile at the Andru Correctional Institute, a mystery man commands the Rhino to break in and spring Curt Conners, aka The Lizard as well as the powerless Electro. Back in Paris, Anna Maria Marconi and Brain, the robot secretly containing the mind of Otto Octavious, follow the signal to the Chunnel, where Zodiac takes control of the conductor using his weird little animal masks for an escape to England. Spider-Man comes over the airwaves and warns the train personnel, giving Zodiac time to prepare. The battle rages on top of the train, with Scorpio again using Spidey's concern for Anna's well-being as a weapon. There's a quick fade back to the prison where we see this mystery man explaining he can reunite these former super-villains with their families for certain services we're sure to discover in the next issue.

   Spider-Man, Anna, and Brain track previous signals he followed from his jaunt in space with Nick Fury to the home of the Zodiac - who turns out to be Vernon Jacobs, Parker Industries biggest share holder and investor. He conference calls all of Pete's employees at one time and finds out Jacobs has terabytes of stored info the world over. Jacobs also hears the conversation and breaks in, allowing Spider-Man to threaten him one last time.

   I enjoyed this issue. The story is getting good and the art was great. These Alex Ross covers are kinda lame but I guess I could understand why some people like them. I give it a 9/10.

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Detective Comics #941

Written by Steve Orlando

Penciled by Andy McDonald

Cover by Yanick Paquette

Published Sep 28, 2016

   Batman and Batwoman are busy fighting the second monster while Spoiler and Orphan try mostly in vain to keep the evacuated citizens of Gotham from killing each other. Meanwhile, Nightwing is en route to Blackgate prison to see what's going on over there, but is quickly passed up by the insane Gotham Girl, still feeling the effects of her fight with the Psycho Pirate. Clayface continues evacuating neighborhood by neighborhood and Alfred and Duke man the Batcave desperately looking for answers as to what these things attacking the city are.

   A slimy ooze is slowly covering the evacuees and making them aggressive and angry. Spoiler and Orphan hatch a plan to raise the temperatures to stop the mold like substance from spreading and communicating. Back on the streets, Clayface is stretched thin and losing stability, he ends up putting citizens in the firing line of the beast Batman and Batwoman are fighting. 

   Back at the prison, Nightwing and Gotham Girl fight to stop whatever monster is hatching the oozelings, but are unfortunately overtaken and transformed into these freaky evil mutants. The issue ends with all the comms being down, nobody able to communicate, chaos ensuing and getting worse and of course... is to be continued in Batman #8.

   The thing I enjoy about DC comics is they're super layered with tons of dialogue and plot points. If you read my blog, you might see that it used to annoy me but I think I'm taking a shine to it. It's making some of these Marvel books look more and more short sighted. Pretty good issue though. 9/10.

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YOU WANT MORE NERDIEST?! Ok then, peep this.

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Just wanted to say that.

   Now back to what I wanted to say. I've always wanted a comic book store and maybe one day I'll get my wish. Until then, I'm still a collector. My stash is getting bigger and bigger, and I've been looking for some good crates. If any of you dudes or dude-ettes know where I can get some good deals on it, please let me know.

   Also, I'm about to embark on the planning stages of a little project on my mind. As many of you know, this website was initially created to read EVERY SINGLE ISSUE of Amaizing Spider-Man, from the 60's to today. I'm still trying to do that, but in the interim, I've found a lot more interest in a lot more comics...

   Another thing I've been looking forward to doing. This might require some filmography... and time. Both of which I don't have a lot of access to at the moment, but none the less. Ok - here's goes. I want to collect every print issue of Uncanny X-Men ever. From 1963 on. I've got an insane amount of them now. Hundreds. Earliest I currently have is #18 from 1960-whatever... I've got tons in the 200's, 300's, 400's, and 500's. Obviously fewer in the earlier numbers but I'm working on that.

Either way, it's something I'll be working towards. Let me know if you wanna trade anything or if you have a lot of comics with mostly X titles in it.

Anyways, yeah. Thanks for reading.

Guardians of the Galaxy 7

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Penciled by Valerio Schiti

Cover by Arthur Adams

Published Apr 13, 2016

   Rocket is walking out of a Badoon prisoner transport, and giving them a steady diet of his signature attitude, just as the Thing falls from orbit and completely scatters the guards. He explains to the last one left, a big one, that he's taking all of the prisoners with them before punching his lights out, only later realizing his earlier entry knocked over their getaway ship.

   Thing tells Rocket to repair the ship while this hot chick alien with blue skin surrounded by other little children aliens of various appearances takes a liking to old Ben Grimm. Unfortunately she doesn't speak english, but luckily a kid in her entourage does. He translates as Thing tells them he's getting every single one of them off the planet. Unfortunately though, they're not quite fast enough and the second wave of badoon guards tries to thwart their escape. 

   Grimm blasts the remaining resistance and before long, they're airborne. The lady he was smitten with does something to him involving a huge flash of blue light. Rocket is clearly jealous of their newfound romance, but doesn't have much time to dwell on it as a worldwide transmission comes across the channels. Star Lord has been sentenced to die for leading the Spartaxx against the Baddoon. What will Rocket, the Thing, and all their rescued prisoners do next? Guess we'll have to wait till the next issue.

   I'm not sure if Bendis is spending most of his time with this book over the others, but it appears he's definitely putting in some work. The story is good, the art by Valerio Schiti, which is the coolest name in comic artistry, is crisp and this book is surprisingly delivering. I give this issue a 9/10.

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Deadpool #9

Written by Gerry Duggan 

Penciled by Matteo Lolli

Cover by Mike and Laura Allred

Published Apr 6, 2016

   Two uniformed SHIELD agents visit the Mercs' apparent undercover SHIELD agent accountant Scott Adsit to ask why his SHIELD login was accessed in Canada. Meanwhile the battle with Sabretooth rages on in front of a school bus, revealing that Sabretooth may not be as guilty as Wade thinks. Eventually, Deadpool is thrown off a cliff and onto the hood of some tourists' car.

   Victor can't understand how Deadpool doesn't remember who killed his parents. Thanks to a flashback, we not only learn that He himself had a pretty terrible childhood. But also that thanks to Butler, Deadpool was tricked into burning his parents to death. Sabretooth tells Magneto he needs to go and set things straight, while meanwhile back on the hood of the car he just fell through, Deadpool take some selfies with a few folks before heading to "meet a guy for a bite...". Where that destination supposedly is, a seedy biker restaurant called Kaminsky's, is where Sabretooth sits waiting - enjoying a few undercooked steaks, and for Deadpool to meet him.

   I know this is a c-level book that Marvel is just screwing around with, and they definitely don't do anything to hide it. The art is bland and the story is empty. I guess it's kind of what I expected, and if it wasn't for Deadpool being a huge movie, I probably wouldn't waste time reading this title. But meh, I guess I'll just keep waiting for something cool to happen. 6/10.

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Old Man Logan #4

Written by Jeff Lemire

Pencils by Andrea Sorrentino

Cover by Andrea Sorrentino

Published April 6, 2016

   Steve Rogers, the old version of Captain America looks at the old version of Logan and tries to calm him down. He obviously isn't having that, snikts out his claws and is immediately knocked unconscious by Cap's shield, sending him into yet another family flashback. He comes to while tied to a tree in Alberta, with Rogers asking him to give him his word to not flip out so he can take off the restraints. He does so, but as soon as he's freed, Sorrentino unleashes a massive 4 page inkspread of the fight between the three of them, cleverly forming Cap's star on one end and a Canadian maple leaf on the other. During the melee, Logan screams something about having to stop the future from happening. 

   Finally settled down, Cap shows him what he brought Logan out here to see - Wolverine's tomb, where almost certainly his body in THIS timeline rests. He explains that in his mind, everyone is dead - his family even killed by a gang of hulks. Hearing enough, Cap lets him go and Logan does what he does best, drifts through the Canadian wilderness. Suddenly discovered by a sentinal, he jumps up for the kill, to which Cerebra (if you've been keeping up with the Extraordinary X-Men) begs to be spared. He then sees Iceman and Storm and like I mentioned, I suppose sets up his re-upped membership to planet X...

   I'm a big fan of this book. I like the abstract art and the stories compliment each other perfectly. You feel alone in this comic which is just how I think they want you to feel. The storyline is good and I'm looking forward to where it's going. 10/10

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Invincible Iron Man #8

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Penciled by Mike Deodato

Cover by Mike Deodato

Published April 6, 2016

   Trying to get to Tokyo as fast as he can to recuse War Machine, Tony meets up with Spiderman and the investigate the last spot Rhodes' armor reported from... a rooftop of an apartment building. They find a piece of a car and surmise that Rhodes' flew a 2007 Corvette onto the roof and then destroyed it. Iron Man then tells Spiderman there were ninjas in the car, which is info I have no idea how he knew. Meanwhile, Rhodes is in trouble but is fighting back... in his underwear. He gets the upperhand on Tomoe and her ninjas however, and is about to escape when Tony and Spidey come bounding through the window. 

   A small flashback sheds a little more light on what happens with MJ's job interview...of which she apparently was hired but then quits. She's upset for reasons unknown, but I guess it helps the story so she storms out. Back in the present, Ironman is immediately stripped of his armor and Spidey his webshooters by Tomoe's super magnetic powers. They all fight back hand to hand and unarmed, and they seem to be doing a good enough job until Tomoe sends her guards away... indicating something huge is about to happen. Tony tells his team to run, while Tomoe tells him that whatever is about to happen will be on him.. And with that (I think) the factory explodes and the rest of the story will obviously be continued.

   I have raved about my boy Bendis and his writing style but this issue was quick and weak. I don't know if he had a deadline or was working on a bunch of other books, but this story is boring and bland. The art was ok but nothing spectacular. He hasn't let me down before but sorry, dudes. Kinda meh. I give it a 5/10.

If you like this description, check out my video review of it HERE or just click below.

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Rants of the Week...

Hey nerds,
   Check it out. Here's me going off on the new Dr. Strange movie. Just something to complain about before it even comes out.

And some other cool stuff to talk about too...

See it HERE or click below:

Lemme know what you think! You know - if you want to. I'm not telling you what to do or anything. I'm not Benedict Cumberbatch or anything. You know that dude would be all in your business giving you grief.

Later taters.

Action Comics #964

Written by Dan Jurgens

Penciled by Patch Zircher

Cover by Clay Mann

Published Sep 28, 2016

   After Superman saves Clark Kent from being thrown off the Geneticron Building, he brings him to one of his "Fortresses of Solitude" for a little chat. Supes uses the globe of revelation on him and determines that everything he's saying is the truth. He also thinks that Clark may be the original Superman brought back to life but his memories of Smallville seem to prove otherwise.

   Meanwhile back in Metropolis, an intruder plants a small bomb at an entryway into Geneticron and the reader is left to assume he gets in. Back at the fortress, Clark tells Superman that the original Superman told him his investigation had put Clark in danger. He told him to hide out while HE assumed both roles of Superman AND Clark until it blew over, but while this was going on, Superman supposedly died. Before taking him back home, Superman asks Clark to write about him to get the public's trust and gives him a special watch in case he ever needs help. Kelex also reveals from accessing Genetircon security footage, the company was holding Doomsday until goons broke in and unleashed him on Metropolis again. 

   Superman and Clark head back and find out the entire Geneticron building is gone and nobody knows where it went. Clark goes back to the Planet and writes a story on why the world should trust this new Superman, who's every bit as good as the original. Superman flies back to the Kent farm and shows Lois and Jon some cool escape pod he's been working on in case they're ever in trouble.

   Finally a mysterious figure stands in front of a ominous, destructive looking ball emblazoned with the House of El logo and says that the path is clear and the only answer is death. And with that we're left with a "To Be Continued".

   I'm new to Action Comics but I can tell you, I seriously enjoyed this story. Like my affection for the Uncanny X-Men, I like old titles and this one is pretty much the oldest still in print. I'm looking forward to seeing where this one is going. 9/10.

If you like this description, check out my video of it HERE or just click below:

Until next time, thanks for reading.  

Spider-Man #3

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils by Sara Pichelli

Cover by Sara Pichelli

Published Apr 6, 2016

   Miles' grandmaw comes over and straight up wrecks it - insulting his dad, taking his phone and grounding him. He goes to his room and sulks. Even one of his friends, Lana Baumgartner comes by and she runs her off. As she's walking down the sidewalk, Miles' dad storms out going down the other way... But walking towards the Brooklyn brownstone is none other than Ms Marvel.

   She sneaks in and tells him that he missed an Avengers' meeting. He explains to her that he forgot, as well as the news that he's grounded. Grandmaw hear's him talking to himself, storms in and Ms. Marvel shrinks down to the size of the Wasp. She listens to the conversation and agrees - Miles should study. Meanwhile in the Bronx, Black Cat walks into the old gangster Hammerhead's pub, roughs up his goons, and tells him she's putting a bounty on this new Spider-Man's head. After some coercing, he's in - setting up next issues conflict... wait for it... purrrrfectly. Ok ok, sorry.

   Back at the Brooklyn Visions Academy, Miles' teacher leads a lecture on what a mutant vs an inhuman is, due to the fact they have a new student in class - former X-Man Fabio Medina, aka Goldballs. Ganke, fresh off of passing notes wondering why his best friend isn't ansering his calls, is thrilled. What's gonna happen next issue? Guess we gotta wait to find out.

   I really like the way Bendis is making this version of Spidey sort of mirror Peter's origin. I guess replace Aunt May with this grandmother and gets a lot spicier. I hope I didn't spot some Lana-Baumgartner=New Mary-Jane, because that's kind of lame. Either way, he's definitely one of my favorite current writers and even though this issue was pretty brief and slim, it's still quality work. 8/10.

If you like this description, check out my video review HERE or just click below:

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Uncanny X-Men #6

Written by Cullen Bunn
Penciled by Ken Lashley/Paco Medina
Cover by Greg Land
Published Mar 23, 2016

   In War Room X in the Savage Land, Psylocke tries again to reach Archangel, who pulls her into his mind and shows her the destroyed city of Green Ridge, Colorado. Hordes of Archangel clones fly above the chaotic scene and he tells her it's up to them to stop him from doing all this. She tells Magneto and the two of them prep the Blackbird for a trip to Green Ridge.
   Meanwhile, Monet and Sabretooth stalk the sewers of New York for their informant, who turns out to be Callisto. After trying to kill Creed, Monet gets her to calm down and they discuss the matter at hand: About how all the Morlocks have been dying. Back at Green Ridge, Betsy and Mags walk the greeting card like streets of Green Ridge. They sense it's a cover of some sort, and Magneto explains how the Dark Riders in their hunt to kill mutant healers, were trying to prove something to unseen masters. There's no doubt these masters were somehow connected to Apocalypse and Archangel. Finally they see where the town is slowly commuting to: A church tent with a service being conducted by a creepy evangelist type introducing the crowd to their savior, the wingless, brainwashed and normal looking Warren Worthington III.
   The epilogue of the issue shows a panel on the Fact Channel debating the need to pass legislation to track and watch mutants. Plus viewers watching from the Hellfire Club to the Uncanny Avengers HQ to the Mojoverse. At the heart of the discussion is the destruction of Genosha seen in the previous issue. Later we see Magneto with Xorn getting a therapy session in Tibet, where it's revealed that the real reason he blew it up was so he couldn't use it as another mutant refuge in the future...
   Pretty good issue overall. Well written and so many plot points, they had to include a mini-story at the end. This issue also had more cameos nodding to old X-Men than I could count - shots of Rogue to one of my favorite villains of all time - Mojo. I'd give it a 8/10.

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All New X-Men #7

Written by Dennis Hopeless

Penciled by Mark Bagley

Cover by Nolan Woodard

Published Mar 30, 2016

   The team gathers in their massive mobile command trailer thing in Paris, trying to put together what happened to Cyclops and how Toad was able to get one over on all of them. Idie googles him and they watch a series of YouTube videos he made documenting his descent into drunken madness. Meanwhile in the catacombs, Cyclops comes to after being strapped to an alter and listening to Toad discuss his plan aloud to murder him. He knows his optic blasts will collapse the area on top of them, but any ideas he can think out rationally are rendered null after Toad knocks his visor off his face with a whiskey bottle.

   Back at the trailer, the X-Men discuss using their mobile cerebro unit to track Cyclops once he uses his optic blast. But they might be too late. It appears Toad thinks that by killing him, it will change the timeline for the better. He has no choice and fires a blast at the ceiling, crumbling the cave around them but signaling to Beast where to find him. They set out on foot while Cyclops drags his injured leg through the catacombs trying to escape.

   Toad realizes he's gonna have to act quickly if he wants to kill Scott, so he follows the blood and empties a kerosene container down the path he'd crawled down. The cave explodes and crumbles under the X-Men's feet. Toad realizes that no timeline has changed and he remorsefully yells out a 'What Have I Done", while a saddened Beast throws his smartphone at the wall because it failed to find their teammate in time.

   Decent issue but a step down from the last. Don't know why it took all issue to build up one plot point, but it was nice not being so busy with it. Nice artwork and I still enjoy the original X-team. But kinda meh nonetheless. 6/10.

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