Ultimate Origins – 02

Guión: Brian Michael Bendis

Dibujo: Butch Guice

Contiene Ultimate Origins 3-5 USA

Comic-book Ultimate. 72 páginas.

¡La conclusión! Lobezno, Nick Furia, Spiderman, Capitán América, Magneto y Charles Xavier… ¿De qué manera están todos conectados? Brian Michael Bendis (Invasión Secreta) y Butch Guice (Capitán América) recorren el Universo Ultimate de una punta a otra para revelar toda la verdad del origen de sus héroes. Mientras seguimos a Bruce Banner y Nick Furia hasta su destino, El Vigilante entra en escena para marcar el incierto futuro que aguarda a la vuelta de la esquina… ¡Ultimatum cada vez está más cerca!

Precio: 4.2 €

Ultimate Origins 02: los artefactos alienígenas han aparecido en los lugares en los que los héroes pasan más tiempo… ¿qué son esos artefactos? La versión Ultimate de los Vigilantes de toda la vida…
Por fin vemos a dónde quiere llegar esta miniserie… a mostrarnos el primer encuentro entre Xavier y Magneto, su amistad y cómo fue degenerando hasta ese odio que sienten el uno por el otro. Pero el “leit motiv” (joer, qué sobrao voy… XD) de la serie es aquel “todo está relacionado” y el que lo relaciona todo es Furia: vemos cómo vuelve al ejército; cómo lidera el ataque contra las instalaciones de Arma-X; cómo es el encargado de relanzar el programa supersoldado – con una muestra de su sangre – con unos científicos… conocidos: el doctor Franklin Storm (padre de Johnny y Susan), el doctor Richard Parker (padre de Peter); el doctor Bruce Banner (Hulk) y Hank Pym (Hombre Hormiga, Hombre Gigante, etc)… Estos dos últimos, apretados por las presiones gubernamentales, prueban su recreación del suero del supersoldado en Banner… que se transforma en Hulk y mata a los Parker… dando así una explicación de por qué Furia siempre estaba encima de Peter en este universo.

En lo que respecta al dibujo, lo mismo que siempre, si te gusta Guice… te gustarán estos cómics y si no te gusta… pues tampoco lo harán estos cómics.
El guión… tengo que reconocerle a Bendis el encaje de bolillos respecto a lo que se sabe del universo Ultimate. Las piezas van encajando una tras otra, poco a poco y, a veces, apretando un poco para que entren bien. Una lectura curiosa.

Ultimate Origins – 01

Guión: Brian Michael Bendis
Dibujo: Butch Guice

Contiene Ultimate Origins 1 y 2 USA

Comic-book Ultimate. 56 páginas.

¡Aquí lo tienes! Casi diez años después de su nacimiento, sale a la luz la conspiración detrás del Universo Ultimate. La primera vez que se encontraron, Bruce Banner dijo a Spiderman que “todo está conectado”. Ahora, ha llegado el momento de descubrir los secretos que algunos hombres han protegido a costa de sus propias vidas. Desde los oscuros días de la Segunda Guerra Mundial hasta el presente, viajamos a través de la historia para conocer la verdad detrás de héroes como Capitán América, Nick Furia y Lobezno… ¡Tienen en común mucho más de lo que pensabas!

Precio: 3.75 €

Ultimate Origins 1: ¡Todo está relacionado! ¡Nick Furia fue el primer supersoldado que sobrevivió al proceso! ¡Logan es el mutante 0 – el mutante del que surgieron el resto -! Y hay un extraño artefacto que aparece cuando se va a producir un salto evolutivo… por ejemplo cuando Steve Rogers se transformó en el Capitán América… y ese artefacto ha reaparecido.
Hay bastantes revelaciones sorprendentes en este número, por el momento no se puede decir demasiado sobre lo que vendrá después… pero parece que van a crear un punto de unión común para explicar el origen de los poderes de los personajes del universo Ultimate. Butch Guice… en su estilo, hay gente a la que le encanta y gente que le aborrece, en mi caso es un punto intermedio entre ambos, realiza un trabajo aceptable y, para mí, cumple. Habrá que esperar a ver cómo siguen.

Danny, Art and Jesse sit down and talk about the Marvel’s Ultimate Universe.

Fourth Wall Special Edition – Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Ugh! I feel like Billy! I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this but sadly it has. I’ve been really busy saving civilization lately. Hopefully the aliens and super ninjas will stay away long enough for me to write some proper reviews soon. I have to at least write long reviews for Final Crisis and Secret Invasion. Anyway, enjoy my negligence!

Mighty Avengers #19 (***1/2) That’s two good MA issues in a row Bendis! You have one more left to go. Make it count!

Conan #4 (****) Always a solid read and hey the Corben stuff is making sense now. This book looks pretty as well.

Grant Morrison Doctor Who #1 (****) I’m not a Who fan, but this is still usual Morrison excellence. It’s very entertaining forgettable fun!

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2 (****) A bit worse than last issue but this is still epic stuff. Plus, Perez’s art has never looked so good!

Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge #3 (****1/2) What a fun series! I’m so in the mood for that new Flash comic. Go villain books!

Green Lantern #35 (****) Yeah it was too long but that won’t matter much in trade. How many origin stories have been better? Oh, and how awesome is Reis?

Secret Invasion: Inhumans #3 (***1/2) More forgettable fun! Pretty art too!

Justice Society Of America #19 (****1/2) One of the most consistently great books out there right now. I like all the Eaglesham art but I don’t like waiting!

Punisher #63 (***1/2) That forgettable entertainment that looks pretty theme continues!

Secret Six #2 (****1/2) Fun! Fun! Fun! But not as great as last issue. Catman vs. Batman!

Amazing Spider-Man #573 (*****) Go JRJR go! Hooray for awesome comics! Stephen Colbert fans must pick this up!

Ultimate Origins #5 (***) Meh. I’ve forgotten it already. Weak last page!

Uncanny X-Men #503 (***) Write better Fracker! You slightly improved here, how about an extreme improvement next time?!

Astonishing X-Men #27 (****1/2) To hell with the haters! This book is awesome! I laugh so much!

Young Liars #8 (****1/2) Very interesting issue! Not as fun, but still fantastic! This is the best book you have never heard of!

Again, I’m so sorry about this crap. Hopefully I can remedy this problem and have awesome new reviews soon. Please comment if you want me to further explain my zany opinions. Sadly, I can’t show all the covers but I will give you this one!

In this episode, the boys talk about comics derailed by the monthly schedule. We dive into Secret Invasion and Spider-Man New Ways to Die. Ben recaps the Granite Con and continues to be confused by Batman RIP. Josh gives us news including Denny Oneil and Stephen Colbert. Reviews and Previews include Ultimate Origins, Mighty Avengers, DC Last Will and Testament, War Heroes, Captain America and more.

Listen to the Podcast here or subscribe via iTunes

We’re back! Chase and Blake, along with their emergency back-up geeks Mike and Kenny set up shop at BSI Comics to record a new batch of episodes! This week, the guys discuss what it’s like to be a comic reader in a hurricane zone, tell about their Gustav and Ike experiences, and most importantly, dish on the comics they’ve read since they’ve been out. In the picks this week, Blake likes Atomic Robo: Dogs of War #2, and Chase endorses Savage Dragon #137. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with us during the unexpected hiatus, and let’s hope we don’t have to do it again. E-mail us with your comments, “Ask Chase Anything” questions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

Episode 85: The Return
Inside This Episode:

Ultimate Origins #4 (**1/2)

Well, it pulled out of that downward spiral. In fact, this issue was even better than last. Unfortunately, it’s still not enough for me to recommend. This issue’s “reveal” was particularly lackluster. Ultimatum is coming, I get it. Stop talking about something big happening and actually show it please. Butch Guice’s art has been mediocre at times, but after looking at this issue, you can see that the man has talent. His renderings are probably the most impressive ingredient in Ultimate Origins. Sadly, this series has turned out to be a moderate retelling of well-known origins with an ultimate twist. Is that really worth your money?

Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual#1 (****)

Ah, another “people from a warped future come to the present” story. Isn’t that kind of boring now? Yes, but it can still be fun when done well. This comes from two Heroes writers, Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite. They’re both fairly new to comics, but they’ve already become quite proficient. As I mentioned, this is one of those future yarns. We get to have some fun discovering what’s happened to all our favorite characters. Don’t worry. We still get to see plenty of the current ultimate heroes. They’re drawn wonderfully by Mark Brooks and Dan Panosian. Panosian is a name I’m not familiar with. I found his art to be quite pleasing though. He has a cartoonish style that I’m very fond of. Some more good news is that this issue may actually contain a clue as to what will occur in Ultimatum. Whether it does or not, this was an extremely entertaining read.

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Butch Guice (Artist), and Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

Well, now I have to go back and re-read every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man.

Ultimate Origins continues its portrayal of a twisted version of the original Marvel universe, similar enough to be familiar, but different enough to surprise and intrigue. The battlefield connection between Nick Fury and Wolverine wasn’t unexpected, but the violent-yet-forgotten encounter between Bruce Banner and a very young Peter Parker sure was. And now every old scene from USM with Spider-Man and Nick Fury can be seen in a different light.

The issue opens in a Baghdad hospital, where Fury is recuperating from the battle that lost him his eye. He is visited by one General “Thunderbolt” Ross, who hasn’t yet grown that white Yosemite Sam mustache. Their discussion brings us up to date on where Fury has been for the past forty years, how he’s changed, and the ways is which he’s like—and more importantly, unlike—Captain America. This sets the stage for the new super-soldier project, where we meet the four chief researchers: Franklin Storm, Richard Parker, Bruce Banner, and a ridiculous, rebellious youth named Henry Pym.

I can’t say more without spoilers, but rest assured Ultimate Origins is not losing any steam. Bendis has been waiting years to tell this tale, and he’s having fun. My only beef is that Guice draws General Ross to look just like Private Fisk from the first issue (ie, like Robert DeNiro). Are they hinting that Ross and the Kingpin are somehow related? Or is Guice just re-using reference material?

Oh, one more thing: we finally find out what those alien traffic-lights are. Frankly, I should have seen it coming. They’ve all got eyes on them, right? And what do eyes do? Sure, they “look”, they “gaze”, but there’s another word… Starts with a “W”…

(Grade: A)

- Andrew C. Murphy

A Second Opinion

We’re four issues in, and I’m not sure what this book is trying to be. After previous issues serving more as one-shots, and some as backup to a larger story, Bendis leaves us to trust him, promising that everything will tie together in the end. But, I have to react to the here and now, and as the moment I’m confused.

This particular issue feels more related to a larger story than a one shot. Even though it’s Hulk’s cover, this issue like much of the series is about Nick Fury. Fury’s the real star of the title so I’m fine with that, but it’s a little misleading to have Banner be such a bit part while he’s on the cover. That’s not to say he doesn’t have an impact, he’s just not the focus. The red-eye thing from previous issues turns out to be part of Ultimate Watcher. I say part, because each one of part of a hive-mind organism. Sound familiar? Re-read Ultimate Galactus. Still, the book reads well, Bendis’ dialogue is sharp and hits all the marks. What amazes me about him is how he keeps up the quality with so many projects. Some would argue that he’s spread too thin, but each book has that something special to keep us all reading.

One of the best parts of the Ultimate line is the artwork, and Butch Guice is no exception. Each title has a level of realism and detail that’s missing from a lot of comics today. Part of that is the fact that the Ultimate U is groomed for film, but the quality of work is awesome to see. If you had told me that a science montage (which is a large portion of the book) could be visually interesting I’d probably laugh. Guice pulls it off though. His ability to make something like taking blood engaging only adds to the punch of his action scenes. Anticipation plays a part in that since it’s a slower book than previous issues, but that pacing couldn’t work without Guice’s stellar pencils.

The biggest problem with this series is that it’s tough to stand on it’s own. Wolverine’s book was part one-shot, part setup. Cap was a retelling of his origin, as was Magneto. Hulk is mostly about Fury with parts of the larger story. Each issue is good, but it’s different month to month. From the writing to the art, it has a lot of good parts but so far Ultimate Origins has yet to feel whole. (Grade: B-)

-Ben Berger

The Stand was the first Stephen King novel I ever read. Back in high school, when they announced a TV miniseries was in the works, my Uncle Todd lent me the book and told me I needed to read it before I watched the miniseries. Despite its prodigious 1,000-page length (and this was the abridged version) I tore through the book very quickly, so you can say that Uncle Todd is directly responsible for making me a Stephen King fan. Now that I think about it, my love of Stephen King is directly responsible for me meeting Erin, so I guess Uncle Todd is responsible for that too. Thanks, Uncle Todd!

Ahem. Anyway, Marvel Comics has already had a lot of success with their adaptation (and then expansion) of King’s magnum opus, The Dark Tower, so it wasn’t a surprise when they announced a second King series, based on The Stand. Captain Trips is the first of six planned miniseries which will tell the complete story of the epic novel. Now, as The Stand is one of my favorite novels ever, it’s hard to divorce myself from my love of that property while reading the comic book, so keep in mind that I critique it as a fan. And as a fan, I must say, writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, line artist Mike Perkins, and colorist Laura Martin are off to a great start.

Captain Trips, like the novel and the miniseries, begins with Charles Campion, a low-level soldier who flees in terror when the base he’s stationed at experiences some sort of accident, releasing something deadly into the air. Campion bolts with his wife and baby son, finally crashing his car into a gas station in east Texas. His wife and son have already succumbed to some flu-like sickness, and Campion has it himself. The true danger isn’t evident to the five men who witness the crash… but it will become so soon enough.

The most amazing thing about the novel is the way Stephen King balances a truly enormous cast. In this first issue, we meet just three of our main characters: Stu Redman, an everyman who bore witness to Campion’s death; Frannie Goldsmith, a pregnant college student; and Larry Underwood, a musician who thought he hit the big time with a hit single, but whose plunge into the entertainment world of alcohol and drugs has him crawling back to his mother in New York to try to put his life back together. The characters are identified and fleshed out quickly. Stu is a strong-jawed, quiet type. Larry comes across as a guy who’s in over his head. Frannie is a girl that you can love right away (although I know Erin is just happy that she doesn’t look like Molly Ringwald). There are a hell of a lot of characters yet to introduce, but the three we meet this time are solid.

Perkins’ artwork is pretty masterful as well. The three leads here each have a distinct look — there’s little chance of anyone mistaking Larry and Stu for one another — and along with Laura Martin’s colors, the artwork creates an air of portent, an ominous feeling like something terrible is about to happen… which, of course, is exactly the case.

With a few exceptions (The Green Mile, The Mist, The Shawshank Redemption… hell, let’s just give it up for Frank Darabont), most film adaptations of Stephen King’s work have failed to live up to the original novel, and even though I liked the TV miniseries, it wasn’t even remotely as good as the book. The Dark Tower has convinced me that comic books are a far more appropriate way to adapt King’s work, and the first issue of Captain Trips only further justifies that belief. It’s a really good comic, and a great start.

Join my Facebook group!

If any of you guys are on Facebook, you may have noticed the new blog app that allows you to track your favorite blogs on the website. Naturally, attention whore that I am, I signed up for it as well. So if you’re on Facebook, please check out the Evertime Realms group. Oh, and also, I still need a couple of people to verify that I am, in fact, the author of this blog (like anyone else would take credit), so if you can do that too, I’d be highly appreciative.

More Reviews:

It’s been a while since I updated this, folks, so there are lots of ‘em. Here are all the Comixtreme.com reviews I’ve written in the last several weeks:

• Amazing Spider-Man #571 (Below Average)
• Ambush Bug: Year None #2 (Good)
• The Dark Tower: Treachery #1 (Very Good)
• DC Universe: Last Will and Testament #1 (Very Good)
• Fables #75 (Great)
• King-Size Cable #1 (Good)
• Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #43 (Fair)
• Secret Six #1 (Excellent)
• Spooks: Omega Team #1 (Very Good)
• Superman #679 (Very Good)
• Trinity #14 (Very Good)
• Ultimate Origins #4 (Fair)
• Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1 (Good)
• Done-In-Ones For August 23: In which I review Air #1, Archie #588, DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar #5, Doctor Who: The Forgotten #1, Madman Atomic Comics #10, Skrulls Vs. Power Pack #2, Tangent: Superman’s Reign #6 & Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #693!
• Done-In-Ones For August 30: In which I review Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1, Halloween: 30 Years of Terror #1, Jack of Fables #25, Legion of Super-Heroes #45, The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #4, Star Wars: Legacy #27 & Voltron: A Legend Forged #2!
• Done-In-Ones For September 7: In which I review Star Wars: Rebellion #16!

Monster Pile-Up (-)

It’s only two bucks. That’s about the best thing I can say about this. I bought it because I’m reading Astounding Wolf-Man and this was supposed to feature “compelling tales essential to each series!” That is a load of bull! I only got 4 pages of Wolf-Man and all it did was inform me of stuff I already knew and spoiled things for new readers! It spoiled a twist that actually surprised me too. I’m not reading the other three titles nor do I want to after reading the samples in here. Oh and they give misinformation about the Astounding Wolf-Man trade to put the ass tasting icing on the cake!

Ultimate Origins #3 (**)

This book is caught in a downward spiral. I really liked the first issue. It revealed some pretty shocking information and had good action and pretty art as well. The second issue didn’t really give us anything shocking but it was still a well-written retelling of Cap’s Origin. That’s cool too. It is Origins after all. But with this issue, again there is nothing shocking revealed. I guess what’s bothering me is how this book began and how it was advertised. This book was supposed to show dark secrets about the Ultimate U and how everything was connected. That theme has been absent these last two issues in a five issue miniseries which isn’t good. There was a little bit of behind the scenes stuff going on here, but it wasn’t anything to get excited or even care about. It’s a decent book when it comes to the retelling of origins, but we’ve already seen a lot of that sprinkled throughout the Ultimate books for eight years. So this was disappointing to me, but hopefully the last two will blow me away.

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Butch Guice (Artist), and Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

Hey, hey, now that’s more like it!

After last issue’s beat-for-beat retread of Captain America’s origin, we’re back in virgin territory. This time it’s the first meeting of Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier (Magneto and Professor X, for you newbies), and the spirit of the story is the same but the details are substantially different, the way it should be in the Ultimate universe.

The book begins with Carol Danvers and the Fantastic Four arguing over what to do about the suddenly-activated alien artifact at Project Pegasus. Then the artifacts (which still look like extraterrestrial traffic lights, if you ask me) start showing up all over Earth, usually in the vicinity of super-heroes. It’s all a little too 2001: A Space Odyssey for me, but I’m giving Bendis the benefit of the doubt.

Next we jump to Canada, where Lehnsherr frees Wolverine from Weapon X, which just happens to be run by his parents. A ten-year jump, and Lehnsherr walks in on Xavier’s classroom (where Xavier is, appropriately, reading Dr. Faustus to his students). They have an entire psychic conversation while Xavier continues to read. Everything is pitch perfect. It’s easy to see what would attract these two to each other, how the man of intellect and the man of action would need each other.

At the end of the book, Lehnsherr brings Xavier to the Savage Land where they will form their isolated mutant community, and so we finally—finally!—have the first half of the back-story to Ultimate X-Men #1. The second half will, of course, end with Lehnsherr driving a steel spike through Xavier’s spine. I wonder what will bring that about? Might it have something to do with the woman Magda that Lehnsherr brings along, and Xavier’s notorious lack of self control around beautiful women? It might be something loftier, more noble, but I doubt it.

Oh, and for those people who doubt Bendis has the smarts to plan a plot-line like Ultimate Origins or Secret Invasion five years in advance (yes, I’m talking about you, Ambush Bug at AICN), remember the opening lines of Ultimate Origins #1, “Listen, it’s all connected. That’s it. That’s the secret.”? Those words were first uttered in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #2. Published when? Over five years ago.

Heck, I know it’s not Shakespeare (or, in this case, Marlowe), but in comics this is about as good as it gets (Grade: A+).

- Andrew C. Murphy

4 stars = Stop reading review and go buy now!!!!
3 and a half stars = Great issue and make room on your trade shelf someday soon
3 stars = Recommended and maybe even trade worthy
2 and a half stars = Recommended
2 stars= Not the best, not the worst, not recommended
1 and a half star = Terrible issue and vocalize your disgust at your next social event
1 star = Awful awful awful and you may want to consider dropping this title
0 stars = Next con you attend where the writer and/or artist are present you should throw this issue in their face

Justice Society #17-

This issue, much like Action Comics, doesn’t move the plot forward all that much, but it’s still a hell of an issue. I probably talk about this in almost every Geoff Johns book I review, but he is one of the best character writers around. He can make you love an iconic character that seemed a bit stale (Hal Jordan or Superman), he can make you love an older character that was never given a chance to shine (Booster Gold), and he can take a completely new character and make you love them (Cyclone). This issue’s great moments include: Maxine ogling the newly healed Damage, oh and a monkey too! The exchange between Mr. Terrific and Dr. Mid-Nite. Ugh there are too many! Anyway, the plot doesn’t develop too much but I love where it seems to be going. Again, it’s more epic storytelling so I’m sure there will be a few naysayers, but I love this book!

4 stars

Secret Invasion #4- Well, again Desiato and Billy got their review out a lot quicker. They seem to be more excited about and enjoy this series more than I do. Although, this was the first comic I read on Thursday. I’m still waiting for this series to live up to its expectations. I was about to breakdown each previous issue but there is no need. Let’s just move on to a few things about this one. Sentry cries, Ms. Marvel tears up, and Agent Brand cries. What’s up with all the crying? I suppose it’s supposed to add to the gravity of the situation, but it’s done in such a way that I don’t think a lot of people will even notice it. Not that it was subtle, but it just didn’t add to the story. This is an event and a HUGE one at that. Every panel should matter but that’s not the case here. Fury blasts Ms. Marvel, ok that’s cool. But is it just pointing out that “who can you trust” thing that we’ve been bludgeoned with over the past six months? Hopefully not, but that does seem to be the way Bendis is writing these days. I see it as more of a question of why. Is Fury a Skrull? Or is this just the Ms. Marvel Skrull thing? If she is a Skrull at this time then it seems her buddies didn’t get the message. We get another green eyes shot that I would think Mr. Yu would be getting tired of. Is Black Widow a Skrull? She is certainly not acting like a Skrull or is she? In this issue we get a close-up of The Hood’s face. Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Tony Stark? I looked at my Hood HC and the character looked nothing like this guy and certainly didn’t have blue eyes. It’s hard to tell though. I’m not sure what I think about Yu’s art. I used to think he was pretty good, but this whole Skrull business has kind of convinced me otherwise. With this and that whole baby thing ugh. That would be interesting if Tony was a Skrull and the Hood was the real Tony. Again, the way Bendis has been writing lately I doubt that’s a possibility, oh well. Thor and Bucky showed up too. I would usually be happy about this, but instead I have just a bad taste in my mouth. This review is long enough with me going into details. Anyway, the important thing isn’t the background. It’s not the tie-ins or anything else it’s just THIS ISSUE. And THIS ISSUE in my opinion was just ok. I got a bit excited over the last issue and I didn’t have that feeling here. It has nothing to do with the “reveal”, but more about the overall quality of the issue and the expectations that one should have about a 4 buck event that has been building for 5 years and is supposed to overshadow the last few Marvel events. I’m a bit of a sad panda after this issue.

2 and a half stars(It’d be lower but I have to recommend it, you should read it at least once)

Ultimate Origins #2- Got to review this quick. Not as great as last issue but still pretty good. It’s cool to see Steve in the early days. Not a whole lot revealed that I remember but it’s still very promising. The art is still nice and so is the writing.

2 and a half stars

With Wanted coming soon to a theater near you, Chase and Blake take the time to discuss the works of writer Mark Millar. Chase is a fan, Blake not so much, but the guys do their best to get to the heart of his work, discuss the Wanted comic book, and talk about their expectations for the movie. In ths picks this week, Blake loves the first few weeks of Trinity, while Chase enjoyed the beginning of Ultimate Origins… then, stay tuned, as each of the guys has a special announcement! E-mail us with your comments, “Ask Chase Anything” questions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

Episode 74: Mark Millar and Wanted

(left-click to listen, right-click to download)
Featured in this episode:

Here it is the new podcast in all the assorted flavors.

For the Week of June, 8th 2008.

Comics

With Jesse, Freddie, Art, Dan, Danny and our special guest Aaron Haaland, co-owner of A Comic Shop in Winter Park, FL.

After a quick introduction, the boys get down to business:
Secret Invasion #3 (3:46)
Ultimate Origins #1 (11:57)
Kick-Ass #3 (27:55)
Avengers/Invaders #2 (35:02)

Quick Mentions:
Skarr: Son of Hulk # 1
Bee Power
Fables

DVD and Videogames

In which Jesse, Freddie, Art and Seth discuss the following:
DVD
Semi-Pro (1:19)
The Machine Girl (3:43)
The Andromeda Strain (9:50)

VIDEO GAMES
Ninja Gaiden 2 (14:32)
Incredible Hulk (15:39)
Lego Indiana Jones (16:05)
Metal Gear Solid 4 (17:45)
Dark Knight Game News (23:50)

Film and TV

With Jesse, Freddie, Art and new member Danny.

In which the main three introduce our new member through the following:

FILM
Mongol (1:44)
Kung Fu Panda (2:20)
Madagascar 2 (7:00)
Zack and Miri (12:40)
The Happening (20:47)
The Fall (28:00)

TV
Battlestar Galactica S4E11 Hub (31:26)

OK, so I saw a blurb somewhere from one of the conventions that the Death of the New Gods did happen and “all will be revealed” about this giant new retcon. I’m curious at least, but not much more than that.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War 2 – This was surprisingly good – much like …Journey into Space? Whatever that last mini with Captain Comic & The Weird was, which it appears to be following. I enjoy both of those characters, as well as Animal Man.

Young X-Men 3 – Please make it stop. This is so obviously setting up a surprise twist reveal…and if it isn’t it’s even dumber than the Final Crisis retcon because now Cyclops is hiding TWO black ops teams? One of them massively under qualified compared to the other? Whatever. And the tattoo guy is still the stupidest new character to come out of the X-House in years. Combat-Blindfold is pretty annoying too, but that at least I can buy as a power progression and could possibly be interesting at some point. Wolfmutant #47 is also stupid. Die him please.

X-Force 4 - This is picking up. I’m not sure if they missed a page last issue that would make the Rahne plot clearer or what…I have to say I’m excited about the last page though. Really excited. I mean, sure, they 100% forgot about Angel’s new healing factor (the only remotely interesting thing about him since he got the feathers back)…but at least this angle has possibilities.

Trinity 1 – Whatever. PS. You can cancel Superman/Batman now. Superman/Batman/Wonderwoman is enough.

Avengers-Invader 2 – Some parts were quite good, including the usage of the “new” Bucky retro-origin stuff. Some were very silly, like the “New Avengers” deciding to randomly break the Invaders out even though they must know about the whole time paradox thing as well as anyone. I wonder what time period this is set in? Right after Civil War but before Skrull Invasion I guess? After Elektra was discovered? I don’t know, it doesn’t make much sense.

Cable 4 – I’ll always love Cannoball and I’m always sad when they kill him. Of course, explaining how every other mutant on the planet died would have been nice, but I guess that would have been too rational. All in all, not a bad issue, and it looks like things will be picking up pretty nicely though the rest of the year. Hopefully the Bishop thing will be resolved in an interesting manner (sadly I just want him dead now that he’s been destroyed and remade as a raving madman) and we can move on to….I dunno what. No idea where they would go with this thing once Cable stops being chased, so I have a feeling the chase will continue.

Nova 14 – A slightly different angle on a Galactus story so far and a decent read at that. I have to wonder at the inclusion of the weird possessing entity – I’m assuming it’s being done to set the thing up as a re-occurring villain, because if not it’s an awful lot of page time for filler.

Secret Invasion 3- Very good. Good stuff here. We all saw the suggestion posed at the end of the issue coming – the answer though will probably surprise either way. My money is on him not being a Skrull and this being another mindgame. PS. Bendis, you’re breaking the rules you just set for the Skrulls two months ago (and broke right after that with the Sentry issue & the Skrull meeting in the broom closet) again. I doubt any of the deaths in the fight will take, but if they do it’s some pretty serious stuff. Makes me wonder if there’s any point to reading any more issues of Initiative set before this.

Ultimate Origins 1 – Pretty decent. More interesting than the whole Galactus/Secret thing (sadly). They are finally showing how this universe fundamentally differs from 616, and doing it in a fairly clear-cut way so far.

Nothing had a cover cool enough to put up this week.

OK, so I saw a blurb somewhere from one of the conventions that the Death of the New Gods did happen and “all will be revealed” about this giant new retcon. I’m curious at least, but not much more than that.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War 2 – This was surprisingly good – much like …Journey into Space? Whatever that last mini with Captain Comic & The Weird was, which it appears to be following. I enjoy both of those characters, as well as Animal Man.

Young X-Men 3 – Please make it stop. This is so obviously setting up a surprise twist reveal…and if it isn’t it’s even dumber than the Final Crisis retcon because now Cyclops is hiding TWO black ops teams? One of them massively under qualified compared to the other? Whatever. And the tattoo guy is still the stupidest new character to come out of the X-House in years. Combat-Blindfold is pretty annoying too, but that at least I can buy as a power progression and could possibly be interesting at some point. Wolfmutant #47 is also stupid. Die him please.

X-Force 4 - This is picking up. I’m not sure if they missed a page last issue that would make the Rahne plot clearer or what…I have to say I’m excited about the last page though. Really excited. I mean, sure, they 100% forgot about Angel’s new healing factor (the only remotely interesting thing about him since he got the feathers back)…but at least this angle has possibilities.

Trinity 1 – Whatever. PS. You can cancel Superman/Batman now. Superman/Batman/Wonderwoman is enough.

Avengers-Invader 2 – Some parts were quite good, including the usage of the “new” Bucky retro-origin stuff. Some were very silly, like the “New Avengers” deciding to randomly break the Invaders out even though they must know about the whole time paradox thing as well as anyone. I wonder what time period this is set in? Right after Civil War but before Skrull Invasion I guess? After Elektra was discovered? I don’t know, it doesn’t make much sense.

Cable 4 – I’ll always love Cannoball and I’m always sad when they kill him. Of course, explaining how every other mutant on the planet died would have been nice, but I guess that would have been too rational. All in all, not a bad issue, and it looks like things will be picking up pretty nicely though the rest of the year. Hopefully the Bishop thing will be resolved in an interesting manner (sadly I just want him dead now that he’s been destroyed and remade as a raving madman) and we can move on to….I dunno what. No idea where they would go with this thing once Cable stops being chased, so I have a feeling the chase will continue.

Nova 14 – A slightly different angle on a Galactus story so far and a decent read at that. I have to wonder at the inclusion of the weird possessing entity – I’m assuming it’s being done to set the thing up as a re-occurring villain, because if not it’s an awful lot of page time for filler.

Secret Invasion 3- Very good. Good stuff here. We all saw the suggestion posed at the end of the issue coming – the answer though will probably surprise either way. My money is on him not being a Skrull and this being another mindgame. PS. Bendis, you’re breaking the rules you just set for the Skrulls two months ago (and broke right after that with the Sentry issue & the Skrull meeting in the broom closet) again. I doubt any of the deaths in the fight will take, but if they do it’s some pretty serious stuff. Makes me wonder if there’s any point to reading any more issues of Initiative set before this.

Ultimate Origins 1 – Pretty decent. More interesting than the whole Galactus/Secret thing (sadly). They are finally showing how this universe fundamentally differs from 616, and doing it in a fairly clear-cut way so far.

Nothing had a cover cool enough to put up this week.