They sent him to another universe, they tricked him, and they lied to him. They sent him to another world, they claimed he would find peace but instead he found war. Planet Hulk is one of the best graphic novels I have read since the Watchmen, real talk bee! My man Jay let me hold it at work and I fell in love with the story. Basically it involves Reed (Bitch) Richard, Doc Strange, Black Bolt and Ironman. These 4 bitch niggas tricked the Hulk to leave Earth then BOOM sent him to another world where he would become a slave. On the new planet Hulk is very weak and must regain his strength over time, but we all know the angrier Hulk gets the stronger! If you into the graphic novel thing or not, It’s an all around good read. Oh yea IT’S THE HULK BEE!!!! HHTT APPROVED

Marvel Fanfare Monday was supposed to only run during the month of September, but I simply cannot keep some of these pinups to myself!  Therefore, dear reader, here are four more amazing drawings from Marvel Fanfare!  Enjoy!  As always, click on the images to view them larger.

Clea, lover and disciple of Doctor Strange, as drawn by Steve Leialoha in Marvel Fanfare #45.  Looking a bit bemused or perhaps concerned, Clea flies through the dimensions with grace and beauty (She definitely spends more time on her hair than the rest of us).  I have always loved the circles on her Steve Ditko designed tights.  Her costume is pure geometric perfection and Leialoha has certainly showcased it well in this image.  However, as much as I lam loving Clea, my eye is more drawn to the alligator-like creature floating above her.  That detail, the costume and the hair keep me coming back to this piece again and again.

Nightmare, ancient enemy of Doctor Strange, by Mike Mignola.  This is the perfect Marvel character match for the creator of Hellboy and B.P.R.D.  Nightmare is serving diabolical times ten with his shadow sunken face, evil grin, and skull collection.  His dilapidated mount only adds to the creepy factor.
Charles Vess paints a lovely portrait of Medusa and Black Bolt, Queen and King respectively, of the Inhumans.  This image is taken from Marvel Fanfare #45, long before the recents calamitous events of the War of Kings event.  Here are happier times, indeed.  Medusa’s billowing hair whipping at the clouds is an amazing design element and I like where Vess chose to place the sun because I see it as illuminating the heart chakras of the characters.  The sun is highlighting their solar plexuses. I saved my favorite for last.  This is Magik, little sister to Colossus and member of the New Mutants team (Kinda like Junior X-Men, but lately really stepping up).  Magik is a sorceress in charge of a demon realm which is the nexus of her teleportion powers.  Teleporting is her mutant power.  This image is by the critically acclaimed Bill Sienkievicz from Marvel Fanfare #45.  Go read Elektra: Assassin right now.

This Marvel Fanfare Monday we celebrate the lush linework of Colleen Doran!  The pinups presented today were scanned from Marvel Fanfare #38.  In that issue, Colleen Doran also illustrated a backup story written by Jo Duffy featuring Dazzler and Rogue.  It is a gem of a tale in which Rogue steals a musician’s power to play backup for Dazzler so they can save the day (naturally).  It’s a bit like the X-Men meet Gem and the Holograms.  I enjoy Colleen’s pencils on anything, whether it’s her creator owned epic saga A Distant Soil, art for Sandman, Lord of the Rings, or Legion of Super-Heroes.  I found an article about her from Comic Book Resources, but be sure to check out her blog as it is chockfull of amazing things to read!

Above we have a lovely portrait of Medusa and Black Bolt, King and Queen of the Inhumans.  Rarely is Black Bolt shown in such a relaxed manner.  It is particularly bittersweet to see the happy couple so in love after reading War of Kings, Marvel’s cosmic crossover saga, just a week or two ago.  Don’t want to spoil anything for those of you who haven’t read the series yet (I definitely recommend it), but let’s just say these two characters won’t be lolling about in the flower garden together anytime soon.

Balder the Brave from Thor is in deep reflection looking every bit the noble born warrior that he is.  I love everything in this image, down to the smallest of details (for which Doran is famous)!  Balder had his own mini-series in 1985 the contents of which have just been published in a premier hardcover.  You can’t go wrong with this book, dear reader.  The amazing Walt Simonson wrote and drew the entire thing!

Longshot is one of my top 5 favorite blonde crushes in the Marvel Universe and I absolutely adore how Colleen Doran portrays him in this image.  I always loved Longshot’s joyful naivete combined with his beginner’s mind approach to life.  Drawing him surrounded by nature makes a lot of sense to me as does having butterflies fly all around him.  They would be a great spirit totem for such a free spirit!  And say what you want about the mullet, but I like it here.

I saved my favorite image for last as it features Magik, teleporting sorceress of the New Mutants (easily my favorite member of that group with Danielle “Mirage” Moonstar and Doug “Cypher” Ramsey)!  This is one of my favorite pinups of Illyana Rasputin of all time because amazing attention is given to the character in every way!  The stance suggests her mastery, her expression shows her strength, the artifacts represent power and every bit of arcane design gives the reader insight to the complexity that is Magik!

Marvel comics nos ha mostrado un preview del arte del one shot War of Kings: Who will Rule? Escrito por Dan Abnett y Andy Lanning con arte de Paul Pelletier y portada de Aleksi Bricolt, que saldrá a la venta este próximo septiembre

Cuando el Humo se asiente en War of King # 6, ¿Quien reclamará el trono? En  el despertar de la batalla final entre Black Bolt y Vulcan, los destinos de los Kree y el imperio Shi´Ar  deberán ser decididos. Además esta edición, tendrá extras  de los participantes de War of Kings

     The two titular kings, Black Bolt and Vulcan, face each other down in the final issue of the hit sci-fi miniseries, War of Kings.  The two of them let loose on each other, and Vulcan figures out that the craft they’re in is a weapon, though he thinks it’s a just a bomb.  Medusa freaks out about Black Bolt sacrificing his life, and Crystal uses Lockjaw to transport herself to the T-bomb.  On Chandilar, Havok and Polaris watch as everything burns to the ground.  Gladiator, in his grief, picks up the imperial scepter and walks out into the streets, only to be hailed by the Shi’ar as the new Majestor of the Empire.  That’s right.  Gladiator is now the emperor.  Back at the battle, Black Bolt refuses to give in and gives one final shout, one that flays all the skin off Vulcan and leaves him a husk.  That’s right, Black Bolt wins.  Crystal arrives and takes the energy out of the Terrigen crystals.  She convinces him that the idea of the T-bomb was a bad idea.  As she, Black Bolt, and Lockjaw try to leave, Vulcan musters up enough energy to attack him again.  Crystal and Lockjaw teleport away without Black Bolt, and the bomb goes off, tearing a massive hole in space-time.  The conflict is over, and both of the kings are dead.  Or at the very least lost somewhere in the multiverse.

     Wow.  Just wow.  Endings are really hard to pull off, but I should never have doubted Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.  Gladiator as the leader of the Shi’ar?  That’s freaking awesome!  And EVERYONE is happy that Black Bolt won, since basically no one likes Vulcan.  Abnett and Lanning did superb job using Crystal and Gladiator as the emotional and narrative focuses of the story, and both of them have come out of this completely changed.  I think Crystal might actually love Ronan the Accuser, and Ronan has, over the course of Annihilation, Annihilation: Conquest, and War of Kings, become a far more likable character than the Fantastic Four villain he used to be.  I’ll admit, it would have been nice to see more of Nova, the Starjammers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy in the main story.  Havok and Polaris’ little one page ending was rather short for my tastes.  But even still, this was one hell of an ending.  And props to Paul Pelletier for maintaining a high level of quality through every issue.  Not many artists are capable of that.  With Realm of Kings coming up, the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe is as exciting as just after Annihilation: Conquest.  I can’t wait to see what these two come up with next.  But they’re two of the only writers that I know of that can keep things in a constant state of flux without making me feel the dreaded “event fatigue.”

Plot: 9.2      Art: 9.2      Dialogue: 9.2      Overall: 9.2

     The current arc of Mighty Avengers is a massive retcon (my favorite), and this issue continues that trend by introducing a whole new part of Inhuman culture.  In the past, two Tibetan kids wander into the Unspoken’s cave, where he is cultivating Xerogen crystals (huh?) to convince Black Bolt to let him back into Attilan.  One of the kids is killed by the mists, and the other one runs.  The Unspoken hears Attilan above him fly up to the moon, and he realizes that he is too late.  In the present, he has a temper tantrum and uses his powers.  Quicksilver calls the Avengers to ask for help, but the “Scarlet Witch” turns the monitor off.  Stature sees her, but the Witch uses a spell to prevent her from saying anything.  The team decides to temporarily split up while they consider if this team arrangement will be permanent.  The People’s Defense Force reveals that they are fine, and they start attacking U.S. Agent and Quicksilver for invading Chinese soil.  Ban-Luck manages to stop them from fighting.  Vision and Stature gather the Young Avengers to explain what’s been going on, and Wiccan summons the “Scarlet Witch,” who is very angry.  Unbeknownst to them, Ronin is watching in the rafters.

     With these parallel plots, one is definitely better than the other.  The entire Unspoken retcon, which now involves some other mysterious kind of crystal and mutation, is just silly and unnecessary.  I have yet to be convinced that the Unspoken is a compelling character, since he is neither sympathetic nor delightfully evil.  He’s just kind of there.  However, the Stature/Young Avengers/Scarlet Witch storyline is very interesting, since the idea of Loki pretending to be the Scarlet Witch is very interesting, and her repeated clashings with Stature are likewise interesting.  This is still a solid issue, and even the fight with the People’s Defense Force is interesting.  Especially showing Collective Man’s strength.  I just wish that this series’ first really epic arc didn’t have to revolve around a bad idea and a bunch of cameos.  It makes it feel like Dan Slott doesn’t think that it can stand on its own.  I also wish that he didn’t always collaborate with Christos Gage, since Gage tends to dilute Slott’s writing skills.  Khoi Pham’s art also suffers this issue, especially near the end.  All in all, this is the weakest of the three major Avengers titles.  It makes me wonder if a traditional Avengers series really can exist in this day and age.

Plot: 8.4      Art: 8.2      Dialogue: 8.2      Overall: 8.3

Why not join us for the second part of our podcast with our review of Greg Pak’s Planet Hulk and World War Hulk crossovers, the Green Goliath gets a little bit milder! Hey, calming down ol’ Jade Jaws is all in a day’s work for your humble podcasters. If you’d care to listen in, you might find that your pulse rate slows a little as well. We aim to please, and also to soothe and Alex plays a game of “Mad Scientist University” with Dr. Sivana and Victor von Doom!

And we start off this half with Masterpiece Comic Book Theatre–taken this week from the enticingly masculine pages of J. Michael Straczynski’s Thor–only on the Mild Mannered Podcast!

Part 2 (Masterpiece Comic Book Theater, Mad Scientist University, and Our Reviews)

     Half a year into his run on Mighty Avengers, Dan Slott decides to pull out his first major story arc.  It revolves around a character named the Unspoken, a king of great power whose origins are hidden in history.  The first issue reveals that he is the previous king of the Inhumans, who chose to get rid of an object of great power, called the Slave Engine, since it gave his people too much strength.  Black Bolt and his kin challenged this decision and defeated the Unspoken, and, as punishment, they struck his name from the history books and sent him off to live in exile, followed by some of the Alpha Primitives he treated so well.  In the present day, Quicksilver, U.S. Agent, and Ban-Luck, the G.R.A.M.P.A. agent, find the Unspoken in China.  He’s the reason Ban-Luck called them there.  Quicksilver panicks when he realizes who he is looking at.  Meanwhile, Wasp shows the rest of the Mighty Avengers around their grand new headquarters, and Jocasta shows off her new looks.  When Stature spots the “Scarlet Witch,” she chases after her.  Back in China, the People’s Defense Force, China’s resident superhero team, comes to fight the Unspoken.  And the Unspoken annihilates them in a second.

     The Unspoken is a massive retcon that is trying to make itself legitimate through its nature, and I don’t like it.  Even considering the fact that Inhuman history would have been rewritten to ignore this pivotal period, the whole reason Black Bolt became king, which was the death of his father, Agon, would have to be eliminated.  That’s cutting out a chunk of Black Bolt’s origin story.  Additionally, Dan Slott made a major boo-boo.  Karnak never underwent Terrigenesis.  His powers come from intense martial arts training, not the Terrigen mists.  I assume that the only reason that Quicksilver knows who the Unspoken is is that he was technically a member of the royal family when he was married to Crystal.  But it kind of ruins the idea that only a small number of people know who the Unspoken is.  I like the new headquarters, I like the Jocasta revamp, and I still like Dan Slott’s dialogue, especially with Quicksilver.  But I just do not like this idea.  And I really don’t like that he destroyed an entire superhero team, just like Alpha Flight, and even made a joke about that in the comic itself.  Radioactive Man is a cool character, and I really hope he’s not dead.  But the entire existence of the People’s Defense Force is just a tool to prove how powerful the Unspoken is, and I don’t like that either.  And Khoi Pham’s pencils look a lot worse because of John Rauch’s colors, which are too light for my taste.  All in all, this is an unfortunate beginning to what should be a much better arc.  I hope that Slott and his writing partner, Christos Gage, can pick things up with the next installment.  I’ve ended up liking bad story ideas before because of good writing, and I hope that this will turn into another one of thoes instances.

Plot: 7.2      Art: 8.5      Dialogue: 8.4      Overall: 7.6

For a podcast in which we review Planet Hulk and World War Hulk its not as you would imagine all peaceful tones and relaxation exercises! This week, Mike just about loses his fool mind over Mouse Guard, our irregular segment “Sam Bitches A Lot” heats up after Sam discovers Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose.

And don’t forget, you get all of the above, plus our weekly rundown of every trade coming out this week and our picks for the very best of the new releases.

Download Part 1 (The Weekly Releases, Our Picks of the Week, and Sam’s Rant)

MIGHTY AVENGERS #27

DARK REIGN

The Unspoken, Part 1

Marvel Comics

Nach dem letzten – in Summe doch etwas enttäuschenden – Arc, habe ich eine Ausgabe ausgelassen und bin jetzt bei der #27 wieder aufgesprungen. Soweit es angekündigt war, ging es in Heft Nr. 26 ja ohnehin nur um die Zerstörung der Pym-Pocket im Nachhinein habe ich auch etwas Tuscheln gehört, dass Jocasta dadurch verändert wurde. Nach der aktuellen Nummer zu schließen, scheinen diese Ereignisse aber trotzdem zu keinen gravierenden Veränderungen geführt zu haben.

Hank Pym stellt nach Zerstörung der Pym Pocket dem Team das neue HQ vor, das noch größer, besser und abgedrehter ist als es die Pym Pocket war. Einzig auf diese Mini-Tiere wurde verzichtet womit die Hütte ab nun haustierfrei wäre.

Auch Jocasta taucht unbeschädigt auf hat aber ein Upgrade in Petto. Wenn ich das richtig verstanden habe ist sie jetzt mit dem neuen HQ verbunden und kann auf mehrere „Outfits“ zurückgreifen. Die Superkraft auf die jeder gewartet hat…

Die eigentliche Story handelt aber von einem ehemaligen Inhumans Regenten dessen Namen (im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes) aus den Geschichtsbüchern gelöscht wurde und seitdem nur noch als „The Unspoken“ bekannt ist. Jener König ist der direkte Vorgänger von Black Bolt und wurde, nachdem er in Ungnade gefallen ist, von Black Bolt & Co. kurzer Hand gestürzt.

Was Black Bolt aber nicht weiß ist, dass der gefallene Monarch von den ihn liebenden Alpha Primitives gerettet wurde und nun, Jahre nach dem Wechsel, aus irgendeinem Grund in Tibet auftaucht.

Als USAgent, Quicksilver und ne mir unbekannte Super-Heldin (ich vermute Mal von G.R.A.M.P.A.) aus sicherer Entfernung beobachten wie Unspoken ein Team von asiatischen Super-Helden mit nur einem Schlag vernichtet, begreifen sie den Ernst der Lage und beschließen ALLE Avenger Teams zu rufen die es gibt. (Laut USAgent also nicht nur die New, sondern auch die Dark Avengers…)

Meine Einstellung zu diesem Heft ist noch immer dieselbe die ich nach dem Lesen der ersten Hefe hatte. Mir gefallen die Dialoge (diesmal Christos N. Gage) aber der Plot (Dan Slott) ist absolut nicht meine Sache. Ich mag diese „Überdimensioniertheit“ der Dinge nicht. Die Pym Pocket war ja schon ne Sache für sich, aber das neue HQ ist wirklich schon zuviel des Guten.

Das Selbe gilt für die Gegner. Das letzte Mal gab es einen dunklen Magier der den ganzen Erdball in eine Chaos Kaskade zog und auch jetzt kommt wieder ein Gegner der stärker ist als alles jemals da gewesene. Das mochte ich schon bei den Fantastischen Vier nicht und ich finde es hier ähnlich langweilig.

Ehrlich gesagt verstehe ich auch nicht wirklich was The Unspoken falsch gemacht hat. Er war beliebt, teilweise geliebt und auch ein starker Regent. Wenn ich das richtig verstanden habe, hat er sich nur zu Schulden kommen lassen, dass er die stärkste Waffe (Slave Engine) der Inhumans versteckte, da er nicht wollte dass diese in falsche Hände gerät.

Black Bolt & Co. Werfen ihm aber deshalb vor die Inhumans zu Gunsten seiner Machterhaltung zu schwächen. Wenn sie aber ohnehin wissen dass sie ihn auch ohne diese Waffe besiegen könnten wenn er scheiße baut, warum ist sie dann so wichtig? Und es sieht auch nicht so aus als ob Black Bolt jemals ein Gespräch oder einen Kompromiss gesucht hätte. Wie ne Straßen-Gang stürmen sie in den Thronsaal und stellen den momentanen Regenten vor vollendete Tatsachen. Etwas unverständlich für mich.

Als ich das asiatische Super-Team gesehen habe, war ich anfangs ziemlich begeistert, da man ja ohnehin viel zu selten ausländische Teams zu Gesicht bekommt. Als ich allerdings die fantasielosen Namen der Helden gesehen habe (Most perfect Hero, The Ninth Immortal, Lady of the Suns,..) war klar dass dieses Team nicht für die Ewigkeit geschaffen wurde…

Das Artwork von Khoi Pham war auch schon mal besser. The Unspoken wirkt auf den ersten Seiten noch wie ein junger Mann doch scheint er während des Kampfes immer älter und faltiger zu werden. Am Ende könnte er beinahe schon als grauer Hulk durchgehen. Und warum trägt der Typ eine Krone über einen Helm der selbst schon wie ne Krone aussieht?

Auch Karnak habe ich etwas anders in Erinnerung, aber hier lass ich mal durchgehen dass er damals natürlich noch jünger gewesen ist als jetzt.

Na ja, viel Gutes bleibt da nicht mehr zu bewerten. Wer das Team, die Inhumans oder extrem übermächtige Gegner mag, soll sich diesen Arc holen. Ich persönlich fand diese Ausgabe schwach. Ich glaube dass dies jetzt auch die letzte Mighty Avengers Ausgabe für mich gewesen ist.

Keine der bisherigen konnte mich wirklich überzeuge, also für was weiter Geld ausgeben?

2/5

     In the shocking conclusion to last issue of War of Kings, Lilandra Neramani, longtime ruler of the Shi’ar Empire and X-Men supporting character, was killed by the Fraternity of Raptors.  With hopes of bringing the war to a safe, early end dashed, Black Bolt makes the decision to utilize his ace in the whole: the T-bomb, a bomb utilizing the Terrigen crystals to force mutation in those it hits.  Basically, the Inhumans plan to forcibly mutate all others in the galaxy into Inhumans, thereby eliminating the need for war.  Vulcan fights some with Talon, and Talon reveals that he is not supporting Vulcan, but rather, the Shi’ar Empire.  Both Ronan and Crystal try to dissuade Black Bolt from his chosen course of action, but the king ultimately decides to go through with using the bomb.  Meanwhile, on Chandilar, Gladiator goes berserk, and the Starjammers fight to stay alive.  Marvel Girl kills Black Cloak, the leader of the Death Commandos, as revenge for all the members of her family that he killed, and Gladiator kills Araki.  Back with the Inhumans, Maximus reveals that, by using the T-bomb, Black Bolt will sacrifice his own life.  Medusa tries to stop him, but Black Bolt silently moves on.  Vulcan bursts into the T-bomb, and the fight between kings is ready to begin.

     This issue is just epic.  Seeing Chandilar burn, Black Bolt making the fateful choice to sacrifice his life…  It’s great.  Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are truly the kings of outer space.  Vulcan is still the loser that he always has been, but they write him better than most people.  I’ve actually completely forgotten his idiotic origin as the third Summers brother.  Crystal, Ronan, and Gladiator continue to be the emotional focuses of the story, and you can really see that through Gladiator’s narration.  I think it’s interesting that Abnett and Lanning picked these characters, none of whom are the main people involved in the war.  They provide a very interesting viewpoint.  Paul Pelletier continues to do outdo himself in these pages.  I especially like his work with Gladiator.  I must admit that I have no idea what’s going to happen next.  Personally, I much prefer that.  It’s the mark of good writesr to be able to keep you guessing even until the end.  However, I do hope that Vulcan will not see the light of day past the end of this miniseries.  He’s the one blotch on Ed Brubaker’s superb record, and it would be better for everyone, both in real life and the Marvel Universe, if he just disappeared.

Plot: 9.2      Art: 9.2      Dialogue: 9.2      Overall: 9.2

     Well, if you thought War of Kings couldn’t get any crazier, you were wrong.  As most of you know, a major player in this miniseries is dead, and nothing will be the same.  Vulcan complains about the incompetence of his generals and servants, and when a Kree Sentry, modified with Inhuman technology, comes to get him, Talon, a member of the Fraternity of Raptors, rescues him.  Meanwhile, Crystal explains to Ronan the Accuser all the problems going on, the least of which is that attempts to genetically uplift the Kree have failed.  Gladiator, Lilandra, and the Starjammers arrive at Chandilar, the Shi’ar homeworld, to try and retake the Shi’ar Empire.  However, not everyone is happy to see them, especially Araki, and riots break out when Lilandra claims control over the empire.  In a massive crossfire, involving the Shi’ar Death Commandos and Darkhawk, now called Razor, a life is claimed.

     Wow.  Who would have ever thought that even Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning would have the guts to kill someone as important as Lilandra.  Now, the Shi’ar are even more screwed than they used to be.  Personally, I think the Starjammers have lost their fair share of members already (Corsair, Raza Longknife, Hepzibah’s on Earth), and Ch’od lost his hand.  But it seems that the Starjammers are just ill fated.  I have had no idea what was in store for each successive issue of this series, and I’d like to keep it that way.  It’s fun to have no idea what’s going to happen.  Personally, I’d like a little more Black Bolt in War of Kings, so he can just kick Vulcan’s ass into the next dimension.  But, that’s probably not going to happen.  Paul Pelletier is the perfect person for this title, and I think he should just stay in the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe forever.  Clearly, he’s more suited to it than basically any other artist.  I can’t wait to see what happens next!  And I no longer have any idea about who’s going to make it out of this alive…

Plot: 9.0      Art: 9.3      Dialogue: 9.0      Overall: 9.1

Ryanscribbles Ten (in no particular order)

10) Blue Devil

Ah, the proverbial second stringer. Despite DC’s efforts to build Ol’ Blue into a heavy hitter, which he is, they still haven’t quite brought him in the spotlight enough for casual readers to recognize him. I, however, love Blue Devil and almost every team and comic he has been associated with. His brief run in Justice League and leading role in Shadowpact were a great showcase of Blue Devil written well. He’s a supernatural powerhouse who loves to run his mouth and must have been an inspiration for the now famous Hellboy.

9) Red Robin

Red Robin has seen virtually no page time in current DC continuity but he is just Tim Drake with a new name. So all the badass qualities of Tim Drake are distributed over from his Boy Wonder role to his new Red Robin moniker. With only one issue to his name I faithfully put Tim on the list because he has never proved me wrong. He was my favorite Robin, an amazing character, and has a perfect abundance of humor and agility to make him everything he needs to be.

8 ) Black Bolt

When it comes to powerful, it doesn’t get much bigger than Black Bolt. Sure, the Hulk and Thor are some bruisers, but Bolt can break a planet just by talking. He is the stoic and loyal leader of The Inhumans and the king of their entire city of Attilan. He is a proud husband of Medusa and has always been a reliable ally for many Marvel U. characters, spotlighting his royalty not only as a status but also as a character trait.

7) Black Canary

Dinah Lance is many things: a vicious vigilante, a loving and supportive wife, a mother figure, and even lead chairperson of the Justice League of America. She has proved her worth a million times over, being one of the most reliable Justice Leaguers, an integral part of the now disband Birds of Prey and even a member of Batman’s contingency plan “The Network.” She is extremely well trained in not only her superhuman powers but her physical limitations as well.

6) White Queen

A reformed villain, Emma Frost has always been a force to be reckoned with. She has a sharp intellect and a natural ability to lead and she has done an excellent job at helping Scott lead the X-Men (thus far.) However her new entry as part of The Cabal has shown that she still has that malicious cunning that makes her a viable source of power. With her recent secondary power and her various positions in the Marvel U. it will be interesting to see where White Queen ends up.

5) Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)

Although many of the Lanterns deserve credit for being awesome characters, Kyle steals the cake by being on of the first to really bring his imagination into it. After decades of bats, gloves, boxes and hammers, Kyle started finally put some thought behind his will. Kyle is part of a powerful and well reknowned legacy and he brought his A-game to it. Instead of the standard boring GL imaginings we used to get, Kyle started bringing out the big guns with dragons, fork lifts, giant monsters and anything else his comic artist mind could conjure up.

4) Yellowjacket

Although he has been a Skrull for year, Hank Pym is one of the largest (or in this case, smallest) and brightest stars to ever grace the Avengers roster. He is a genius, rivaling the likes of Doc Doom and Reed Richards, and he has gone through more changes than David Bowie through the eighties. Sure, he has one hell of an anger problem but he’s allowed, he’s a hyper intelligent genius superhero. He was married to the hottest little heroine, The Wasp, and now he’s leading his own team of Avengers. I give the man props.

3) Green Goblin

I may hate the man but Norman Osborne is an evil genius if there’s ever been one. He’s cunning, brilliant and twisted in ways that you can’t imagine. He knows how to ruin anyone’s life and he has now weaseled himself into a position that makes him more powerful than any super powered human in all of Marvel continuity. He has his own team of ultra strong “heroes” that follow his every order. From becoming Spider-Man’s arch nemesis to the worlds, he is as evil as they come.

2) Blue Beetle

One of the most underrated legacies in the DCU, the two newest Blue Beetles are extraordinary superheroes. The late Ted Kord was a genius and an essential member to the Justice League for a long time, an optimistic backbone to a team that often needs a boost. Ted brought the gadgetry and the light-hearted feel to the League of old. And now Jamie Reyes is doing the same in a whole new venue. In San Francisco, the new Blue Beetle is the first to fully exploit the Scarabs power, and he’s keeping his happiness up while he still tries to get a hold of his new powers.

1) Green Arrow

Brash. Condescending. Obnoxious. Awesome. Gritty. Liberal. Intelligent. These are all words that can be used to describe Ollie Queen. Oliver is a rugged vigilante, a romantic modern day Robin Hood, and he has become a mentor and teacher to a number of newbies in DC. After his reinvention by Kevin Smith, Ollie has been such an amazing vibrant character. He has been given so much more depth and way more dimension, receiving way more panel time, and even though his solo title isn’t the best funny book on the market, Oliver remains one of the best god damned vigilantes around.

HONORARY MENTION

I hate to leave the Black Knight off of the list but he has been on many of my lists and I honestly deserved these heroes deserved it just a little bit more.

Vlaz’s Ten (in no particular order)

10) Red Robin

9) Green Arrow

8 ) Black Panther

7) Grey Hulk

6) Red Skull

5) Black Mask

4) Scarlet Spider

3) Black Knight

2) Green Goblin

1) Black Cat

By Jonathan Hickman (Script), Sean Chen (Pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (Inks), and John Rauch (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I’ll be honest with you and admit that I had completely forgotten about the Dark Reign: Fantastic Four mini-series until this week’s shipping list reminded me about it. That probably says a lot about the first two issues even though I gave them solid grades.

The Story: The third chapter of Dark Reign: Fantastic Four begins with Sue, Johnny, and two versions of Ben on an air-ship that’s about to be boarded by Skrull pirates. That situation doesn’t last long as space-time collapses and the group is thrust into another version of reality…and then another….Meanwhile, Reed Richards continues to search alternate realities for superhuman peace by using the supercomputer known as “The Bridge.” As for Franklin and Valeria, they remain in the Baxter building while they await the arrival of Norman Osborn and members of H.A.M.M.E.R….

What’s Good: From the airship battle to the wild-west showdown and the alternate reality Illuminati sequences, Sean Chen, Lorenzo Ruggiero, and John Rauch do a great job of visually bringing Jonathan Hickman’s high-concept story to the comic page. The effort makes Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #3 the best-looking book in the mini-series so far. It’s a good thing the visuals do a lot of heavy lifting, as the character work and the concept are barely engaging.

What’s Not So Good: The overarching story feels like it’s stuck in neutral. In short, D.R.: F.F. #3 feels a hell of a lot like #2. Ben, Sue, and Johnny bounce around alternate realities as Reed sifts through alternate realities looking for nuggets of information. Meanwhile, Valeria and Franklin sit around the Baxter Building thinking about what to do in case the rest of their family doesn’t return. Those same things happened in issue two and, as a result, issue three feels disappointingly repetitive and somewhat boring.

Conclusion: Pick up Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #3 at your own risk. It looks nice and has some solid moments, but it feels far too much like the last issue to warrant a recommendation.

Grade: C-

-Kyle Posluszny

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I’m not really sure what to expect out of the Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers mini-series. It’s based around a fun concept and features some nice-looking artwork, but experience has taught me that those things can only carry a series. That said, I highly doubt the mini will wear out it’s welcome in only four issues.

The Story: Mr. Fantastic meets up with Black Bolt and Medusa to find the infinity gems in order to keep them from falling into the wrong hands. However, Lockjaw happens to be the first to find one and so his adventure begins. The first step? Assemble a team that can help find the rest of the gems. Pet Avengers…ASSEMBLE!!

What’s Good: In order for something like Pet Avengers to work, the creative team working on the series has to strike a specific, somewhat challenging type of tone. Fortunately, the team succeeds in doing just that. Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1 is lighthearted, funny, and fun without feeling silly or childish. It’s also interesting and compelling without being overly serious or embarrassed by it’s concept.

Thanks to Ig Guara’s expressive, lively pencil work, Chris Sotomayor’s vibrant colors, and Chris Eliopoulus’ enjoyable, adventurous script, Pet Avengers works surprisingly well. It’s like Homeward Bound: The Search for the Infinity Gems.

What’s Not So Good: While Colleen Coover’s Throg (Frog Thor) section looks nice, it definitely is something of a momentum killer. It goes on for WAY too long and gets in the way of the more important stuff…like introducing the other members of the fairly large cast. The origin (or BORE-igin) story probably sounded a lot more interesting than it turns out to be. (yes, feel free to snicker at my clever wordplay)

Another negative is that there is no escaping the fact that Pet Avengers #1 is pretty much just another “team assembly” book. You’ve read something like this before. And even though it’s charming and stars pets, it’s still extremely familiar and fairly generic.

Conclusion: Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers is off to an entertaining, though unspectacular start. I recommend that anyone curious about the series check it out. It’s a decent, solid piece of animal-centric entertainment.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

     Ever since Annihilation, the cosmos has been going through tons of serious conflicts.  It’s almost like outer space isn’t allowed to rest for longer than a few months.  The newest one, War of Kings, will involve a conflict bewteen the Inhumans, led by Black Bolt, and the Shi’ar, led by Vulcan, along with Blastaar, now king of the Negative Zone, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Darkhawk, and the Starjammers all also in the mix.  The first issue starts the whole thing off with a bang.  We’ve got multiple injuries and possibly one important casualty already.  And Black Bolt and Vulcan haven’t even started beating each other up yet.  That’s going to be one crazy fight there.  After all, a lot of the story behind the war is just manufactured for the sake of seeing them fight.  Not that I mind, of course.  I’d love to see Black Bolt show Vulcan his place in the trash bin of comic book characters.

     Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are great writers, especially for cosmic stuff, and this series proves that even more.  This series, on its own merits, would be a joke, an excuse for another fight after two crippling wars.  And Vulcan is, by all rights, a terrible character.  But these two really know how to write.  For the first time, I think of Vulcan as slightly more than Ed Brubaker’s bastard child.  They organically place the Starjammers into the fray, and they handle all the characters they’ve previously worked with on Annihilation: Conquest perfectly.  I loved the little moment with Ronan the Accuser and the bouquet he had for Crystal.  That was great.  And Paul Pelletier is a great choice for artist.  Most of the people working on the various tie-ins are pretty boring artists, except, of course, Andrea DiVito.  I’m glad that they picked Paul, since both of the Annihilation events had such stellar artists on them too.  This looks to be another great story that will continue the cosmic saga that began with Annihilation.  Stuff will blow up, people will die, and it’ll all be awesome.

Plot: 9.0      Art: 9.2      Dialogue: 9.2      Overall: 9.1

     So, Secret Invasion is over, and War of Kings is on its way.  Secret Invasion: War of Kings is here to bridge the gap.  We get to see things mostly from the side of the Inhumans, who chase Skrull forces into Shi’ar territory and end up pissing off Vulcan.  Black Bolt also gets surprisingly agressive and takes over the whole Kree Empire from Ronan.  ALL of it.  So things are set up for War of Kings.  Black Bolt and Vulcan are ready to duke it out.  And the Inhumans haven’t been this interesting in forever.

     But that’s the problem.  Vulcan still isn’t interesting.  The Shi’ar side is fundamentally less interesting than the Inhumans side.  I don’t know why, since the Starjammers are cool too.  But there’s just something about the characters themselves, perhaps, that makes the Inhumans more relatable.  I’m still looking forward to War of Kings, and I think everyone interested in the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe should be.  But I’m expecting it to be potentially uneven.  Another example of that is the fact that Paul Pelletier’s art is great, and Bong Dazo’s art is mediocre.  I still trust Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.  But they’re going to have to get their act together if they want to make Vulcan a better character, so War of Kings isn’t totally lopsided in quality.

Plot: 8.5      Art: 8.5      Dialogue: 8.5      Overall: 8.5

Okay, so… Secret Invasion: War of Kings.

**** SPOILER ALERT ****

The Inhumans have had enough of being pushed around, Black Bolt’s seriously ticked about having his brain examined by the Skrulls and what they did to  his family, so off into space they go – with a city that is apparently capable of interstellar travel now.

That’s the first “What the smeg??” moment for me.

They chase down the fleeing Skrulls and obliterate them. That’s Bolt’s vengeance for what they did to him and his family, fair enough, I can understand that.

Then three Shi’ar battlecruiser thingies pop up questioning the Inhuman’s presence in hostile airspace (spacespace??) and Black Bolt… who doesn’t do anything without considering the wellbeing of his people… who has no beef with the Shi’ar… a master diplomat with a keen understanding of the ramifications of such things… destroys all three without so much as a hailing call or warning shot.

What. The. Smeg.

Roll on to Kree space. The Inhumans infiltrate the great shield, beat the snot out of the locals with weapons and armour function of resonant energy from Black Bolt’s voice. I can dig that.

Ronan The Accuser, who’s already dodgy after bringing into question his dedication to Kree purity by demanding Crystal’s hand in marriage (which, really, I don’t think he wants – I’d rather think he just wanted to see if the Inhumans were willing to pay such a price for his aid against the Skrulls), is in awe of the majesty of the incoming Inhumans and their cityship – fair enough, I can dig it.

And then he just… hands over the throne.

What. The. Smeg.

I recognise that he never wanted the throne in the first place, but handing it over to genetically altered homo sapiens?? I don’t care that the Inhumans’ origins are intriniscally linked to the Kree – They Aren’t Kree.

Why would a species whose xenophobia and adherence to racial purity  brings to mind Athens during the Peloponnesian War (bonus points to anyone who knows what I’m talking about), suddenly accept rule by a small bunch of folks who just flew through their defences, shot up a bunch of their military, and then just… asked for it?

When did Black Bolt become a nihilist?

When did Ronan lose his principles, pride and testicles?

So basically the entire War Of Kings is being kicked off by a Black Bolt written completely out of character, who kills three entire ship crews for no reason whatsoever, then assumes control of the Kree empire from a Ronan written out of character.

I love me some Inhumans. I love me some Ronan. I do not love me some Secret Invasion: War of Kings.

At least I still have pie. I love me some pie.

By Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (Writers), Paul Pelletier & Bong Dazo (Pencils), Rick Magyar & Joe Pimentel (Inks), and Wil Quintana & Mike Kelleher (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Guardians of the Galaxy #8 definitely piqued my interest in the War of Kings. In addition, the Inhumans mini-series that tied into the Secret Invasion left me wondering about how Black Bolt and company would carry on in the aftermath of the Skrull’s plot. However, I figured it’d be probably worth checking out seeing as how the War of Kings one-shot is helmed by the creative team behind the excellent Guardians series and tells a story about the Inhumans.

The Story: Secret Invasion: War of Kings takes place in the aftermath of the Skrull invasion. With Black Bolt back as the driving force behind the Inhumans, the Kree science projects decide to finally take the fight to those that have wronged them. The Skrulls, the Kree, and the Shi’ar Empire all get a taste of what’s to come in a one-shot that provides all the action and exposition necessary to get readers ready for the War of Kings.

What’s Good: As cool as the Secret Invasion tie-in was at times (loved the way Black Bolt dispatched of his Skrull torturer), I never really “got” why many consider the Inhumans to be so cool. Now I do. They re-establish themselves in a big way throughout the action-packed (extremely colorful) one-shot and it definitely leaves me wanting more. Long story short, I’ve got to hand it to Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning for getting me hooked on an event I had almost zero interest in less than a month ago.

What’s Not So Good: The Inhuman Crystal’s narration throughout the book comes off as a bit too melodramatic and heavy handed for my taste. While I understand that the new Inhuman status quo is literally shaking the group to its very core, a little bit more subtlety would have been welcome. Also, while the artwork looks quite well-done for the most part, it suffers from an annoying lack of detail from time to time. And that’s something I find quite surprising considering the impressive work most of the team has done on the Guardians of the Galaxy series.

Conclusion: Secret Invasion: War of Kings works as an entertaining, action-packed prologue to the War of Kings event. While it has a few flaws, I really enjoyed my time with it. If you are a fan of the Inhumans or are thinking of investing in the cosmic crossover, consider it a must read.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

By Joe Pokaski (Writer), Tom Raney (Pencils), Scott Hanna (Inks), and Guru eFX (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The Inhumans Secret Invasion tie-in has for the most part, been quite successful. It tells an engaging, cosmic chapter in the Invasion story while, at the same time, working to re-establish the Inhumans within the current Marvel Universe. I have had my issues with the series from time to time, mostly concerning the inconsistent artwork and unnecessarily complex storyline, but I look forward to seeing how the Inhumans are going to be situated for the future.

The Story: The Royal Family works to obtain the items necessary to save Black Bolt from the Skrulls trying to make him into the ultimate weapon. Meanwhile, the Skrulls continue their attempts to make Black Bolt crack.

What’s Good: I never thought I would say this but, thanks to the way this particular Invasion story ends, I now find myself interested in the War of Kings. The main reason? The last chapter of Secret Invasion: Inhumans is full of surprisingly effective character work that finally made me feel some emotional investment in the characters and their future. Couple that with some good looking artwork (including a few fantastic full-page shots) and you can consider me happy to have checked out the return of the Inhumans.

What’s Not So Good: The inconsistency in the artwork once again pops up, though it isn’t quite as distracting this time around because it’s kept to a minimum. To be honest, that is my only real complaint with this one.

Conclusion: It’s tough to criticize something that succeeds in doing everything that it needs to do. Definitely check out Secret Invasion: Inhumans #4 if you are planning to follow the War of Kings event.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Less than two weeks, and I still don’t have a deck.

The Modern Manchester tournament at Game ‘08, and I am in charge of making 3 decks.

One possibility is this, my trusty Black Bolt Deck, but in modern age.

Characters – 34
1x Alfred Pennyworth, Faithful Friend
1x Bette Kane <> Flamebird, Reflex Action
4x Black Bolt, Enemy Within
1x Black Panther, Silent Stalker
1x Blizzard, Frosty Friend
1x Bumblebee, Sonic Sting
1x Cammi, Annoying Sidekick
1x Catwoman, Cat O’ Nine Tails
1x Chemo, Toxic Waste
1x Currs, Army
1x Destiny, Doomsday Diarist
1x Dr. Polaris, Polar Opposite
1x Dum-Dum Dugan, Howling Commando
1x Elasti-Girl, Rita Farr
1x Green Goblin, Insanity Unleashed
1x Halo, Gabrielle Doe
1x Harvey Bullock, Gotham Central
1x Iron Fist, Secret Avenger
1x Jubilee, Mallrat
1x Mad Hatter, Mad as a Hatter
1x Maggie Sawyer, Gotham Central
1x Maria Hill, Deputy Commander of S.H.I.E.L.D
1x Pantha, Subject X-24
1x Professor X, Mutant Benefactor
1x Ray Palmer <> The Atom, Tiny Titan
1x Roy Harper <> Speedy, Mercurial Marksman
1x Shadow-Thief, Umbral Burglar
1x The Hand, Army * HYDRA
1x The Penguin, Gentleman of Crime
1x White Lotus, Supermen of America
1x Windslow Schott <> Toyman, Child’s Play

Equipment – 4
4x Quantum Bands, Unique

Location – 7
1x Genosha
1x Alias Investigations
1x Construction Site
2x Birthing Chamber
2x Tarnax IV

Plot Twist – 16
2x Losing the Argument
2x Mobilize
4x Teen Supremes
4x Omega Flight, Team-Up
4x Superhuman Registration Act, Team-Up

The other possibility is this.

ULTRON!

Characters – 25
2x Blizzard, Frosty Friend
4x Green Goblin, Insanity Unleashed
3x Joystick, Fun and Games
1x Radioactive Man, Containment Suit
4x Taskmaster, Super Hero Trainer
3x Bullseye, Closer to God
1x Genis-Vell <> Photon, Cosmic Threat
4x Ultron, Ultron Prime
1x Helmut Zemo <> Baron Zemo, Master of the Moonstones
1x Onslaught, Psionic Spawn of Xavier and Magneto
1x The Beyonder, Inhuman

Location – 6
3x Thunderbolts Mountain
3x Asgard

Plot Twist – 21
3x Death of a Dream
3x Pathetic Attempt
3x Omnipotence
4x Mobilize
2x Collect Them All!
2x Dangerous Liason
3x I Am Doom
3x Heroic Effort
4x Straight to the Grave
4x Messiah Complex

Yeah. Pretty Much.

If I told you it was a simple deck to play, or a simple decklist it would be all bollocks.

Green Goblin, Insanity Unleashed – Giving +1/+1 counters to my opponents characters is amazing. Also pretty good at giving Joystick invulnerability.

Joystick, Fun and Games – Only 3 because Green Goblin is the prefered character, but she is amazing if you do hit her, and can be used to sub in Green Goblin

Radioactive Man, Containment Suit - Only 1 because for several reasons. I only own 1. I don’t want it to turn into a Radioactive Man deck, because it is an Ultron deck.

Taskmaster, Super Hero Trainer – More opposing counters.

Bullseye, Closer to God – Ridonkulous. Replaying him every turn from turn 6 onwards is fun.

Genis-Vell Photon, Cosmic Threat – The largest visible character Thunderbolts have to offer.

Ultron, Ultron Prime – This decks focal point. Stall with him until Baron Zemo and or Onslaught.

Thunderbolts Mountain – Bullseye gets anyone now. Also, pseudo card draw is fun.

Collect Them All! - Helps to get Bullseye, Green Goblin or Blizzard.

Dangerous Liason – The best way of getting rid of a late turn Blizzard or Joystick.

I Am Doom - +1/+1 plus the ability to get shut of a dead character of mine? Hell yeah!

Messiah Complex – Sometimes Asgard isn’t fast enough. Also, sometimes gaining 8/9 endurance is amazing.

So, in case you haven’t worked it out yet. It’s something I slapped together while Rob and Chew were playing a game.

I bought some new sleeves determined to put Ultron in them, and my Gotham Knights version wasn’t really working.

Hopefully this will be a half decent deck, hopefully. Probably not, but I am hoping to have a report up soon. Since an Ultron report is a little more viable than a Black Bolt report, since I won’t be having 13/15 characters out at a time.

This deck is a lot of fun to play, and this makes the whole deck worth it.

Cheers,

Limbo.

By Joe Pokaski (Writer), Tom Raney (Pencils), Scott Hanna (Inker), and Guru eFX (Colorist)

The Story: Medusa, Crystal, Karnak, Triton, Gorgon, and Lockjaw make a risky visit to the Kree in order to set up an alliance that will help the Inhumans find the captured Black Bolt. Meanwhile, the Skrulls get ever closer to unlocking Black Bolt’s emotions in order to use his power as a weapon.

What’s Good: This visually attractive book seems just as interested in re-establishing the Inhumans within the Marvel universe as it is with being a piece of the Secret Invasion puzzle. It is a nice change of pace from the more action oriented tie-ins. In addition, Joe Pokaski does some nice character work and clearly understands what must be done in order to ensure the Inhumans remain relevant, following the event they are being tied to.

What’s Not So Good: By the end of the issue, the plot seems needlessly complex considering that there is only one chapter left in this arc. I sense a rushed, messy conclusion in the near future. Also, while Tom Raney’s pencil work is attractive, there is some facial inconsistency that proves distracting on more than a few occasions.

Conclusion: Secret Invasion: Inhumans #3 scores points for doing something different, but it is still a fairly average book all around. Worth checking out if the characters interest you or the future of the Marvel universe is a concern, but not exactly what I would consider a must-read.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

Ye Gods, #20? We’re up to the TWENTIETH caption contest? That means this’ll be the twentieth time I’m shipping cards out of my trade binder to lucky sods who just happened to have a witticism that impressed whoever I had just that week! ZOMG!

Aaaanyway, here’s this week’s piccie. Not as whimsical as some, but it still irks me how easilly Hulk smote Black Bolt at the opening stages of World War Hulk… Make with the funny!

And just to show I’m not all piss and vinegar, the winner of Caption Contes #19, as chosen by the lovely Stephanie, is…

LORDOFLIMBO!

Fifteen shades of awesomeness, dude. Email me your address at gdaybloke@losthemisphere.com and some card niftiness will be on the way to  you in the coming week!

La familia real Inhumana, al enterarse del descubrimiento hecho por los Illuminati, comienzan una guerra con los Skrulls para encontrar a su rey Black Bolt, pero… ¿En quién pueden confiar?

Iron Mass en la traducción e Ikari en las maquetas.

Click en las imágenes para descargar.

• Secret Invasion: Inhumans #1
• Secret Invasion: Inhumans #2