After a few weeks off for some vacation, I’m back with the new and improved Spandex and Capes – think of it as Spandex and Capes 1.9 – I’m waiting on some art and then we’ll be at 2.0.  

Review ListSeptember 13, 2015

“And so you’re back… From outer space… I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face.” – D. Prince

Previously...Article News:  All right, so let’s talk about the new and improved Spandex and capes.  I’m waiting on artwork for the headers and what not, but I tell you the plan.  I’ve up the number of categories to six to allow for a bit more diversity in my choices for how to categorize a book.  Starting at the top, you’ll still have:  SUPERMAN – These are books that lived up to the highest standards of heroism.  They are what every comic should strive for.  Next, you’ll have  HERO – These were really good, but something kept them just short of greatest.  They’re still great and are worth your time and money.  Then, rounding out the top of the pile, you have SIDEKICK – These are stories that are good and you might want to look out, but I really don’t have anything to say about.  If you follow the series or if you’re interested in it, you should grab these books.  The bad end of things starts with  ANTI-HERO – These books are the opposite of Sidekick books – they annoyed me for some reason, but have nothing really concrete to say about them.  You should really only grab these if you’re collecting.  Next comes HENCHMAN – These books are bad, but not insulting.  It might be the plot, the art, the dialogue, or all three, but in general they tried, they just failed miserably.  Finally, there’s THE VILLAIN – These books are worse than bad – they’re insulting or just a blatant cash grab.  The art, the story, and the dialogue all conspire to make sure that this book treats the reader like an idiot.  Then of course, there’s CHOPPED, which are the books that I will no longer be reading or reviewing.  These very just bad too many, were boring too many times, or simply didn’t interest me.  I’ll won’t leave you guessing as to why I cut a book, I’ll be sure to let you know.  

Comic Book News: Marvel has been announcing a ton of new titles, including Red Wolf,  Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat, and Rocket Raccoon and Groot (which is the series that should have been in place in the first place).  Oh, and Gwenpool – the most blatant money grab in the history of comics.  DC Comics has announced they will be doing their own cash grab with Harley’s Little Black Book.  Marvel also announced that Tony Stark will have a new red head in his life: Mary Jane Waston – which leads me to believe that Marvel has no idea what to do with the character now that she’s not married to Peter Parker.  Dark Horse has shaken up its staffing by replacing their Editor in Chief with Scott Allie.

TV News:  Over on the TV side of things, Flash has confirmed that Harrison Wells will be along for the ride – in some form or another.  Seth Rogen has released a poster and a confusing tease for a release date for Preacher.   Frank Whaley has been hired to star in Luke Cage.  We also got our first tease of Jessica Jones in the newly released trailer.  We also got our first look at the Hawks for Legends of Tomorrow (they really should have just used Society or something for this show).

ReviewHeroAtomic Robo and the Ring of Fire #1 (Tesladyne LLC)
By Brian Clevinger with art by Scott Wegener
I was recently introduced to Atomic Robo through his new ongoing webcomic (found here).  I got so enthralled by the reprints that I started picking them up in print.  This issue follows what’s left of the Action Scientist as they try to rescue Robo and defeat the newly empowered Majestic 13.  This book was great and has a ton of fun packed into it.  It’s great to see these secondary characters take up starring roles and it’s nice that the book manages to keep its sense of humor even without its main character.  I highly recommend this book.

Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War (DC Comics/IDW)
By Mike Johnson with art by Angel Hernandez
This book continues to be a lot of fun.  Between the new ring slingers and the tension between Hal and Kirk, this book is having a blast mixing the universes.  The only objection I have is Nekron – I think it should have been something from the Star Trek Universe that caused the Lanterns to flee.  I think it would have been a lot of fun to say that something like the Q Continuum actually came from the DC Universe.  It would have put an interesting spin on the whole thing.  But overall, a great book and a fun ride.

SidekickAction Comics #44 (DC); A-Force #4 (Marvel); Batman/Superman #24 (DC); Darth Vader #9 (Marvel); Earth 2: Society #4 (DC); Harley Quinn Road Trip Special #1 (DC); Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Four  #19 (DC); Justice League United #13 (DC); Letter 44 #20 (Oni Press); Mandrake the Magician #4 (King); Ms. Marvel #18 (Marvel); New Suicide Squad #12 (DC); Onyx #2 (IDW); Secret Wars 2099 #5 (Marvel); Starfire #4 (DC); Suiciders #6 (DC);

Anti-Hero1602 Witch Hunter Angela #3 (Marvel); Batman #44 (DC); Korvac Saga #4 (Marvel); Siege #3 (Marvel); Planet Hulk #5 (Marvel); Red Skull #3 (Marvel)

HenchmanStar Wars: Shattered Empire #1 (Marvel)
By Greg Rucka with art by Marco Checchetto
So, this is the start to the Journey to Star Wars: Force Awakens and honestly?  I was severely disappointed.  While I understand the need to introduce new characters into the Star Wars Universe, making them the main characters is the wrong way to go.  We spent almost 8 pages of a 20page book following a woman searching for and having sex with her lover.  Something I could not care less about.  Then we find out that there’s another Imperial base on Endor which makes no sense.  These guys could have had men to the shield base to help fend off the rebels in minutes with a couple of transport ships, so where the hell were they when the fighting started?  I mean really.  This book was full of holes and not a lot of fun.  If the next book is this bad, I might be out on this.

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