Change is coming, my loyal readers. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I’ve decided that my format will be changing in the near future – I just need to get all of my ducks in a row. Don’t worry too much about it – I’ll still be news and reviews, it will be the layout that changes for the most part. But that’s coming in the future, today let’s get to the news and reviews, here on Spandex and Capes!
Review List
June 28th, 2015
“I think I prefer being frozen to falling down a YouTube hole.” – S. Rogers
PREVIOUSLY…
Movie News: So Michael Keaton is joining Imagine Agents as both a producer and the star. I never read the series, but it sounds like it could be fun. Oh, yeah, and if you missed it, Tom Holland has landed the role of Spider-Man and has been confirmed for Civil War.
TV News: DC has announced that Phil Klemmer – former showrunner for “Chuck” and “Veronica Mars” – will be the showrunner of “Legends of Tomorrow”. This means that “Legends of Tomorrow” will have a devoted following, but will struggle to reach a wider audience. And Marvel announced that the Secret Warriors will be joining Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., putting a lie to the original premise of the show.
Comic News: Marvel starts things off by giving us a peek at what’s coming after Secret Wars, including Doctor Strange (finally), Spider-Gwen (relaunched after five issues), Squadron Supreme (having very little to do with the original), A-Force (still the dumbest name in comics today), The Totally Awesome Hulk (a 12 issue placeholder for Bruce Banner), and Ant-Man (featuring three reformed criminals). We also got more information on The All-New, All-Different Avengers. And none of it sounds good to me. One, I don’t want to see my heroes struggle for money, I do enough of that on my own. And two, needing to find excuses as to why you aren’t in school is good for a solo comic (and honestly, they gloss over that in there), but not for a team comic. Also, Top Cow announced that Stjepan Sejic is now working for them exclusively and oh, in October, Witchblade is ending.
REVIEWS
Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies (Marvel)
By James Robinson with art by Steve Pugh
So you know what’s interesting about this book? No, really. What’s interesting about this book? Cause I couldn’t find one damn thing to keep me interested. I mean seriously. We had a intro with Tigra – who never reappeared; the origin of Perfection – which we didn’t need; and the introduction of the western Hank Pym – who seems to be less interesting than the real one, which is saying something. We had exactly one page of robot vs zombie action. There is a much better story that could have been told here about the lesser of two evils. Heck, it would have been more interesting if it was the zombie Avengers from the original series. Or anyone with a personality. So I’m out on this one.
Deathstroke (DC)
By Tony S. Daniel and James Bonny with art by Tony S. Daniel
So I’ve been trying to give Deathstroke a chance, but you know what the problem is with a series starring DC’s ultimate assassin? Eventual he has to assassinate somebody that the book didn’t make up. And no one should be able to stop him because he’s the ultimate assassin. Now the art on this book is good, but I’ve never been a fan of Mr. Daniel’s writing and this series doesn’t change my mind. Mr. Daniel’s deaging Slade so he looks more like his TV counterpart was a step in the wrong direction. Part of Slade’s appeal was his iconic appearance. Another part of his appeal was experience and this book writes him like a rank amuteur. In the latest issue, even I knew not to hit the statue. Slade would never make that mistake. So until someone starts getting him right and starts writing stories worthy of the Ultimate Assassin, I’m out.
E Is For Extinction (Marvel)
By Chris Burnham with art by Ramon Villalobos
So let this be a lesson for future endeavors. When you try to ape the work of Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly, you fail. There’s a lot wrong with this book and it’s from what you get when you try to be too cute with the original plot. From the original plot, there’s no way to determine why the original X-Men have been depowered. And I have no idea if Wolverine was 8 feet tall or not, as even after mentioning it great pains were taken to make sure it was never shown. Plus, I’m not sure if Mr. Villalobos is trying to ape Mr. Quietly’s style or if this is just his art style, but either way it doesn’t work. My interesting in this series is extinct.
Superman #41 (DC)
By Gene Luen Yang with art by John Romita, Jr.
Mr. Yang makes his big time debut on what’s arguably DC’s biggest character and he does a decent job. This arc arc takes place before Superman’s identity is revealed and he is depowered, which means DC can have the best of both worlds in its dual Superman comics. Mr. Romita continues to impress with his art and Mr. Yang brings back the one thing I’ve been missing about Clark Kent – his Daily Planet allies. I’m hoping we see more of them by the end of this arc. And the idea that social media may just be the downfall of the secret identity is an intriguing concept and has been the debate of many comic readers over the last decade. The one thing I don’t care for is the overuse of the new “Solar Power”. You’re telling me there’s no other way that Superman could have taken out that robot? Unless he’s getting addicted to being depowered, then that will be an interesting story.
Annihilator #6 (Image); Aquaman #41 (DC); The Black Hood #5 (Dark Circle); Black Widow #19 (Marvel); Captain Midnight #24 (Dark Horse); Daredevil #16 (Marvel); Gotham By Midnight #6 (DC); Grayson #9 (DC); Green Lantern: The Lost Army #1 (DC); Howard the Duck #4 (Marvel); Infinity War #2 (Marvel); Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Four #8 (DC); Justice League 3001 #1 (DC); Korvac Saga #1 (Marvel); Loki: Agent of Asgard #15 (Marvel); Planet Hulk #2 (Marvel); The Punisher #19 (Marvel); S.H.I.E.L.D. #7 (Marvel); Suiciders #5 (DC); Teen Titans #9 (DC); We Are… Robin! #1 (DC); Where Monsters Dwell #2 (Marvel)
The Flash #41 (DC)
By Robert Venditti and Van Jensen with art by Brett Booth
So when Barry Allen came back to the DC Universe, Geoff Johns crafted a new origin story that showed Eobard Thawne (aka the Reverse Flash aka Professor Zoom aka how many titles can one man have?) killing Barry’s mother and framing his father. It was well told, and in the original universe, made sense. The problem is they carried it over to the New 52 where it doesn’t make as much sense as most of the history between Barry Allen and Eobard Thawne doesn’t exist anymore. Mr. Venditti and Mr. Jensen have apparently tried to fix this by tying Thawne, not to Barry, but to his father Henry. Add into this that Henry Allen can apparently call in favors and take charge of Mogul (a villain so obscure that this is the The Flash Wiki entry on him) , Black Mold, and Girder means that this non-powered member of the Allen has more power than Barry Allen. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. The other thing that annoys me is the layout. While the art looks great, the non-traditional layout is beginning to grate on me. While I don’t normally mind it, this time they seem to waste a lot of space on it. One two-page spread had five panels on it and nothing else. When I’m paying $3.00 for a book, I want most of it used for the art.