I like them apples

One of my favorite things about Washington is the abundance of fresh seasonal fruit.  During early summer I gorged on cherries (and learned a valuable lesson about eating too many cherries all at once).  Then it was peach/pear season.  I'm generally not a big fan of either, but what I've had were pretty damn tasty.  Now we're into apple season.  There are literally a gazillion different variety and flavors to choose from.  Tonight Kristen and I picked up a half-dozen Pink Ladies, just to try 'em.  I'm open to suggestion, if anyone wants to recommend their favorites.

Speaking of pink ladies, I finally got around to watching "X-Men Origins:  Wolverine."  I give it a solid "meh +":  worth renting, but really nothing spectacular.  Better than the first and last X-Men flicks, but a far cry from X-Men 2, the benchmark of merry mutant movies.

Some of the fights were kind of cool, and I really liked the relationship between Logan and Victor.  Like the first three X-films, I love trying to spot the established characters and see how they're (mis)represented on the big screen.  Gambit and the Blob, for instance, were great.  I'm not sure who the Will.i.Am character was supposed to be (a teleporting Maverick, maybe?), but he was cool.  Now that I think of it, he was a dead ringer for Stretch from Vertigo's "The Exterminators."

But they really screwed the pooch on Deadpool.  Traditionally Deadpool has almost always been a mentally unhinged badass who literally can't stop making constant Spider-Man-esque quips at the most inappropriate times.  It's his thing.  Hilarious and batshit crazy, generally with a sword and a machine gun.  This Ryan Reynolds monstrosity is more like a mute version of Darth Maul, but with lazer beam eyes.  Not good.

Just for reference, here's a visual comparison for those of you unfamiliar with the conflicting versions of the Merc with a Mouth himself, Mr. Wade Wilson.

This is the real thing.

And this is Lazereyes McNo-mouth.  There's no com-parison.

Make Mine Mar--err... Disney?

Oh hey, look! It’s my blog!

Sorry for the hiatus of late, I just haven’t had the willpower to write more than the occasional facebook comment or maybe a topic or two on the new Ada forum, freshly arisen from the ashes of the AEN’s former Hey Martha community message board. I’ve been meaning to jump back on but just haven’t found the right motivating factor. If only something really big could happen, I thought. Some crazy occurrence that catches everyone off guard, like a giant robot being elected prime minister in Japan, a certain beleaguered GOP governor admitting to another extramarital affair with certain notorious lady moose hunter, or the acquisition of the largest comic book publisher in the U.S. by one of the biggest corporate behemoths in the world.

Cue inspiration. This morning Disney announced that it would be purchasing Marvel Entertainment in its entirety for a whopping $4 billion.

Jumpin’ Jeebus. This is huge. It’s easily the biggest news in the comics industry over the past decade. The House of Mouse will soon own the House of Ideas, the Bullpen, the film studios, and everything else even remotely associated with the Mighy Marvel brand.

Reaction to this news has been understandably mixed. Speculation popped up almost immediately, questioning how Disney’s ownership would affect Marvel’s creative process, if Disney characters would suddenly find themselves a part of the Marvel Universe (my favorite quote about the Disney/Marvel crosspollination came from my friend Sam: “If Donald Duck shows up in an issue of X-Men, I quit life.”), what would become of Marvel’s wildly successful film endeavors, and so on.

CBR has an updated version of the story now which covered a conference call made between Disney and its investors shortly after the Marvel news was announced. They have a bulleted list of some of the discussed issues, many of which were of particular interest to Marvel fans. Here are a handful of talking points directly from the article which I found particularly interesting:

-- Existing licensing and distribution deals should remain where they are.

-- Disney executives went to great lengths during the call to make the point that they don’t pretend to be more expert than Marvel is in handling their characters, citing the hands-off relationship Disney has had with Pixar since the acquisition of that studio. Disney said Marvel manages the properties from a business perspective very intelligently and trusts them to make the right decisions for these products for a long time to come.

-- Again, referencing the Pixar deal, Disney finds working as one company with Marvel removes friction and creates value that’s very compelling. Licensing offers very attractive opportunities, but nothing is better than being one. International expansion of Marvel properties through Disney was cited as a potential growth area.

--Cable channel Disney XD is currently running about 20 hours a week of Marvel content and Disney has been looking to license more Marvel content and this deal gives them that opportunity as well as the opportunity to expose these characters internationally.

--With regards to video game publishing, Disney praised Marvel’s licensing agreements with some of the best video game producers and publishers in the business and said moving forward they will consider what’s best for each individual property as each licensing deal comes up for renewal and that there would likely be a blend of licensed and self-produced/self-distributed titles.

--With respect to Paramount’s distribution deal with Marvel and the Iron Man franchise, Disney has every intention to respect the deal that’s in place, but noted that it’s in their best interest, overtime, to become the sole distributor of Marvel films.

--When asked if there was potential for cross-pollination between Marvel and Pixar, Disney said that Pixar’s John Lasseter has met with key Marvel creative executives recently and the group got “pretty excited, very fast.” Disney will look at all opportunities and thinks there are some exciting product that could come from this sort of partnership.

--Disney said this deal is expected to benefit Marvel’s retail efforts, being able to leverage Disney’s shelf space and relationships with major chains and distributors.

(There are a lot of other really interesting points mentioned in the article, I recommend it.)

At first glance, this looks to be a great deal for Marvel. If Disney does what it says, it’ll pretty much be a silent owner of Marvel like it is with Pixar, allowing the company to do its thing while giving it access to much more retail exposure. Existing film licensing deals will also be honored, so it looks like Marvel will retain their in-house production philosophy for the foreseeable future. And Marvel characters/property could even find its way onto the Happiest Place on Earth.

The only thing that I’m concerned with is what (if any) control Disney will have regarding Marvel’s content. Will the family-friendly corporate giant allow Marvel to continue publishing its adult-only MAX line? Will they look the other way when writer Peter David has two more well-established male superheroes locking lips? Will the House of Mouse strong-arm Marvel into establishing a more child-friendly worldview, alienating longtime readers? Will this mean a return of the dreaded Comics Code, or some other form of ridiculous censorship? Will there be tween musicals featuring Miley Cyrus as Kitty Pryde? These are the questions that will keep us fanboys gravely attentive as the situation progresses.

Comics I’ve Read Over the Past Two Weeks

My apologies for the delay, I'd meant to post this a couple of days ago but I've been incredibly busy at both jobs this week. I solemly vow to get these up in a more timely manner. Maybe even on a weekly basis! Anywho, on with the reviewing.

Green Arrow-Black Canary # 21
Let’s just get this over with; this issue, as with all other issues since Judd Winick left the series, was pretty terrible. A bad guy’s come along and put up a sound bubble all around Emerald City. Black Canary’s having flashbacks of a childhood origins pretty much directly ripped off from (Marvel comics’ X-Men heroine) Rouge. The annoying crazy red-head from out of the blue remains an annoying crazy red-head from out of the blue, but with annoying monologue captions to replace her standard annoying dialogue bubbles. Ugh. Suck, your table is ready. The Suck Party, your hostess will seat you now.

The Trial of Thor #1 (One-shot)
Writer Peter Milligan continues his series of Thor one-shot stories looking back at the god’s past with “The Trial of Thor.” CBR’s Chad Nevett called it when he described this issue as “CSI: Asgard.” Basically Thor is set up to take the fall for a series of murders but is exonerated thanks to the mythological forensic skills of the Warriors Three. It’s exactly as weird as it sounds. Points for novelty, I suppose, but this is, thus far, the weakest of Milligan’s steadily above-average Thor one-shots. The one factor that saves this issue from mediocrity is the art; “Conan” artist Cary Nord did all the pencils for the book, making it more than worth picking up just for the art. Like artist Frank Quietly, comic book readers tend to either love or hate Nord. I for one think he’s amazing, as is evident in “Trial of Thor.”

The Mighty Avengers # 26
Okay, I’m starting to warm up to this new Mighty Avengers line-up and creative team. The whole Pym’s-Avengers/Fantastic-Four-beef storyline was actually a lot of fun. It was fast-paced, witty and engaging. And let’s not forget some of the better one-liners I’ve heard in non-Greg Pak comics in quite a while (my favorite in this issue was when Hercules called the Thing a rock troll. Ha!).
It’s a testament to a writer’s ability to focus on an intellectual character and keep him interesting, like writer Dan Slott’s done with Hank Pym. It’s even more impressive when a writer can introduce complex scientific or philosophical ideas and interweave them into a story coherently and in a way that doesn’t make the readers’ eyes cross. Writer J. Michael Straczynski pulled it off in “Thor” with his use of the “Schrodinger's Cat” paradox. Slott does it again here with Reed borrowing from Zeno Elea’s concept of a half-life room. All in all, I like what this comic is doing and I like what it seems to be building up to. And I like over half of the team.

Captain America # 600
Remember in the early 90s when Superman died? We all knew he’d be back. There was no point in even fussing about it. Simply put, there’s not another DCU hero that could ever fill his shoes. No successor could ever do him justice.
I thought the same thing about Captain America. There’s no one in the MU that could step up and wield the shield. When Cap was killed I felt sure that it was all a big fraud, something drummed up by Quesada and the rest of Marvel Editorial to simultaneously capitalize on shock value and try desperately to inject some sort of ramification to that lame duck called “Civil War.” I’m happy to say writer Ed Brubaker changed my mind. At least about anyone else being Captain America. Brubaker’s transformation of Bucky Barnes from his then-status as the butt of every bad sidekick joke into a badass ex-Russian hit-man and finally into a worthy and plausible heir to Captain America was a thing of beauty. He took his time, he did it right, and told a story that made Buck not only the best choice, but really the only choice in becoming the next Captain America.
And now Brubaker’s apparently bringing back Steve Rogers, the original Captain America. In other words, the significance of the past two years, of Buck’s evolution as a character, of countless fucking funeral issues and scenes with Tony Stark crying into his O’Doules and of me slowly learning to appreciate the new Captain America, are all for naught. I hope Brubaker knows what he’s doing, here. I hope he’s not about to sacrifice a really good story because Quesada wants to sell more variant issues and be interviewed by the AP again. He’s proven me wrong before, maybe he’ll do it again here.

Red Robin #1
Not really sure what to make of this one yet. Tim’s no longer Robin; in a strangely awkward scene with Dick Grayson (former Robin himself and now current Batman), the mantle of Robin has been passed on to Damien Wayne, leaving Tim to fend for himself. Why he decides to don that stupid Red Robin costume and accompanying moniker is beyond me. I suppose someone at DC (maybe DiDio?) really loved the Red Robin from “Kingdom Come,” but c’mon. Let’s break away from the endlessly-recycled personas. Tim Drake is the best detective since Bruce Wayne. He could pull off being a completely different character.
Anyway, Tim’s now donned the stupid Red Robin costume, and is on the hunt for Bruce Wayne. Or a way to bring him back to life. Something. This title has potential. I generally like writer Chris Yost’s stuff, his run on “New X-Men” in particular. And I want to like this series, too. But it’s gonna have to step it up for me to keep reading.

Wolverine #74
This issue wraps up both short stories started by writers Jason Aaron and Daniel Way, with pencils by Adam Kubert and Tommy Lee Edwards. As with #73, the first half (the Aaron/Kubert half) carries the second. There’s gorgeous Kubert art, a humorous general tone, a Spider-Man cameo, and an almost-decent explanation as to why Wolverine’s on almost every damn super hero team in the Marvel Universe (he’s overcompensating). Great read. Part two focused on the lame biker story, delivering an equally lame and rather convoluted second half. I really, really wish Aaron and Kubert would stick around, but it’s not going to happen. Next month, “Wolverine” is replaced by “Dark Wolverine,” which will now focus on Logan’s son, Daken. Not sure about who the creative team will be on this one, but I’m not optimistic.

Green Lantern Corps #37
Yep, I called it. Sodam Yat few into the red Daxamite sun and went all ‘splodey on it, causing it to turn yellow. The consequence? Every single Daxamite on the whole planet instantly finds themselves in possession of Superman-esque powers (super strength, flight, invulnerability, heat vision, freezing breath, and an ironic but deadly allergy to lead). Side note: Most Daxamites are also extremely xenophobic and hysterically mistrustful of anything alien. This could be an awesome thing down the line.
I’m not sure why the remaining Green Lantern on Daxam wants to hole up and train a chunk of the populace to properly fight back against the occupying Yellow Lanterns, though. Unstable or not, it’s suddenly several billion supermen against several thousand bad guys. Just point them in the right direction and let the havoc ensue, I say. Also in this issue; green lantern vampire hunters, Hal and Guy work to quell the prison riot on Oa, and the creepy scarred guardian gets even closer to activating the Black Lanterns. Funfunfun issue.

X-Factor #44
X-Factor is the best X-[Noun] team in the Marvel Universe, and also currently the best of the mutant team titles on the stands. This is due pretty much totally to writer Peter David. He’s got a great team, a great premise (a collection of black-sheep mutants tapped by Jamie Maddrox, the Multiple Man, to be a part of a mutant-orientated detective agency), and some of the best plot twists in comics. And best of all, “X-Factor” is relatively estranged from the rest of the X-Men world. Sure, the book gets roped into the unavoidable crossover now and again, but generally speaking this is about the only mutant book out there that doesn’t feature Cyclops brooding, Wolverine slaughtering someone with his claws, and Emma Frost showing off her rack. David’s got a pretty intricate back-story going on, so this title might be a little intimidating to new readers, but some initial confusion is well worth the treat of a comic book featuring Maddrox and Strong Guy.

Batman #687
Yes. Yes. This is exactly what I wanted to see from writer Judd Winick. Morrison gets the Dynamic Dou adventures over in “Batman & Robin,” while Winick focuses on the more nitty-gritty solo Batman stories. And the opener was quite a doozy. Billed as an epilogue to the horrible “Battle for the Cowl” miniseries, this issue did something none of the other Bat-titles have done since Bruce died; it let the characters grieve. In the excitement of Bruce’s demise and the ridiculous “battle” to see who would be next in line to don the pointy ears, no one ever took the time to allow the characters more than a fleeting reaction to the death of one of the most iconic characters in comics. Sure, Gaiman did “What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader,” but that was more akin to Bruce’s internal swan song than anyone else actually dealing with his death. Winick did just that with this issue, and in a particularly poignant manner. I’m not ashamed to admit that the exchange between Alfred and Superman made me a bit misty-eyed.
Overall, this was a great initial effort by Winick. It’s apparent even this early on that his version of Dick as Batman will differ pretty broadly from Morrison’s, but as of one issue, the two titles seem complimentary of each other. I’m really optimistic about this title.

Worst title of the past two weeks: Green Arrow-Black Canary #21

Best title of the past two weeks: Batman #687

What did you guys think of the past two weeks' worth of funny books? Anything good coming up on the horizon?

Comics I've read over the past two weeks (May 27 and June 3, 2009)

The Good, the Bad, the New Mutants. Here are the issues I've been reading over the past two weeks:

The Sword # 17
This is the type of comic that was made for collected editions. And I’m not making a comment on the quality of the book when I say that. It’s the pacing I’m concerned with. It’s slow. Slooow. Which is fine, I like stories that take their time, building as they go. But a deliberate buildup and comprehensive examination of the situation can be a hindrance when you’re confined to 22 pages on a monthly basis. For the most part, creators the Luna brothers have been up to the task, blending pacing with quality story-telling. But this is the third issue (I think) of the same fight, with no end in sight. Granted, when this chunk of “The Sword” is collected in trade, reading all seven or eight issues at once will no doubt be a treat. But individually, staying interested on a fight that takes three to five months from beginning to end is kind of asking a lot.

The New Avengers # 53
Writer Brian Michael Bendis faked me out on this one. I thought I knew who the new Sorcerer Supreme was going to be, and then he went in a totally different direction (although, admittedly a cool direction). But then, just as I’m warming to the idea of the idea of Damion “Son of Satan” Hellstrom being the new SS, Bendis throws another curve and goes back to my original guess. I won’t give away who the new SS is, but needless to say I’m very happy with the choice. And also now hopeful that Hellstrom will get some more comics coverage, he’s one of those forgotten gems from Marvel’s Bronze Age past.
The one thing I really miss in this issue is the lack of Chris Bachalo art. He’s been one of my favorites since the early days of “Generation X,” and it was a real treat to see him contribute to the past few issues of “New Avengers.” Billy Tan, the other artist, is okay I guess. But he doesn’t hold a candle to the detail Bachalo invests in his work.

Green Lantern #41
Did I miss something? Since when is Peter David writing Green Lantern?
David’s not actually writing this issue, but from the climatic end of this issue of Agent Orange vs. Hal Jordan, you could have fooled me. I’ll spare you all the snide remarks about how this is just yet another issue of filler while we all wait for “Darkest Night” to kick off next month. I’ll just say that this issue was entertaining for filler. The art was decent, the greedy warthog people were amusing. Now let’s make with the “Darkest Night” already!

Avengers: The Initiative #24
I’ve noticed a somewhat disturbing trend in my comic book reading. There are several titles I regularly read which are just fucking awful. And yet, every month I throw down three more dollars to see where the awfulness is going now. A case of repressed comic book sadomasochism? Who knows.
In fairness, “The Initiative” isn’t as bad as, say, “Green Arrow-Black Canary,” or some of the final few issues of “New Warriors.” It’s just kind of blah. I’ve got nothing invested in the characters, none of their actions affect me as a reader in the slightest. This series is just mundane. It’s not terrible (yet), but “The Initiative” should have quit while it was ahead. I.E., just before “Secret Invasion.”

Wolverine #72
This was the best issue of “Old Man Logan” to date. Too bad it’s also the last to come out in the regular series. All I can say is that the Giant-Sized special which is supposed to wrap things up will have its hands full.
OML is a really cool story. Writer Mark Millar has a great little thing going with his post-apocalyptic Marvel Universe, full of all kinds of sweet ideas and innovations. And artist Steve McNiven is currently one of the best artists in the industry. The guy’s just fucking amazing. I totally don’t mind the occasional shipping delay caused by McNiven taking his time to deliver quality art, and that’s really rare for me.
But the thing that kills me about OML is the lopsided pacing. Out of the entire seven-part run of OML, four and a half to five issues were nothing but exposition. Granted, it was cool exposition; Millar’s vision of a world several generations after super villains exterminated pretty much all the heroes on the planet and divvied up North America is fascinating. The art, like I said, is absolutely gorgeous. But nothing important in relation to the story (Logan and a blind Hawkeye driving across North America in the Spider-Mobile so that Hawkeye can sell some drugs and Logan can pay his rent) happened throughout the majority of Millar’s run. Part one sets up the plot, part five reveals why Logan’s a pacifist, and part seven restores the old man back to his former self. Everything else was filler. Great filler, like I said, but filler. Now, seven issues later, OML is an issue away from being over and it’s only just now gotten really, really interesting. OML would have been so much better if Millar had only condensed those seven issues into about three. Maybe four. Either that, or he should have taken a page from J. Michael Straczynski’s magnificent ongoing run on “Thor,” and matched drawn-out and satisfying exposition with drawn-out and satisfying plot.
“Snikt.” Dammit, what a waste!

The Incredible Hercules #129
Ye gods, this is a great book. The plot’s solid; the dialogue is humorous, sharp and engaging. Title character Hercules and sidekick Cho are fleshed out and appealing. Writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente do a fantastic job blending ancient Greek myth (specifically the Hercules mythos) in with modern Marvel Universe continuity. This is a comic I consistently look forward to reading every month, and the latest issue is no exception.
My only complaint with this issue is a complaint with the Marvel Universe (and what the hell, the DC Universe too) in general. Herc and Cho travel to Hades in an effort to fetch Zeus from the underworld and throw him out in front of Hera, the current leader of the Olympus Group. Thing is, Hades is boring. The only dead superheroes in the Marvel Universe are the crappy B-listers (ditto to the DCU). I mean, the only two major heroes Herc and Cho encounter are Wasp and Banshee, and deeming either a “major hero” is a serious stretch. And the cast of dead villains assembled by Hades to go up against Herc and Cho at the end are equally embarrassing. Jack-O-Lantern, for chrissakes?! It makes me yearn for the early 2000’s at Marvel, when , as whatsisname put it, “dead means dead.”
Other than that, great book.

New Mutants #2
Sure enough, no mention whatsoever about how Legion’s suddenly alive and well and the same age after being killed by Bishop in the 50s. And why the fuck is Sunspot dressing like an 18-year-old trust fund kid. This was the guy who ran his own branch of X-Corps and the fucking Hellfire Club! Gah! I really hate this title. Some crappy new mutant was chased around and small-town southerners were stereotyped into violent shotgun-wielding hillbillies (when in fact only 60 percent fall into that category). Then Sam flew through some stuff. Suck. Moving on.

Agents of Atlas #5, 6
The shipping schedule on this book is really throwing me off. I bought issues five and six back to back, but I’m not sure if that’s how they were actually released. Oh well. Two more really solid issues from a really solid book. Sarcastic gorillas, death-dealing robots, and cameos by first the New Avengers and then Namor the Sub-Mariner. Jimmy Woo and gang continue to front as an evil criminal empire, all the while working to subvert and destroy Norman Osborne from behind the scene. Their confrontation with the New Avengers was fun, and not your normal crossover fight-then-talk-about-it scenario. The Namor issue was equally interesting, with Venus’ mesmerizing voice having a rather odd affect on a couple of listeners. The art in both issues was stellar, most significantly in issue six when used to portray the new undersea home of the Atlanteans. Just good stuff in general, I highly recommend “Agents of Atlas.”

The Mighty Avengers #25
I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I like this new team of U.N. sanctioned Avengers. The revamped Pym is cool. U.S. Agent is not. Herc and Cho, good; Kid Vision and whatever the daughter of Ant Man’s called, not so much. Quicksilver, awful. Writer Dan Slott just totally dismissed all the character development Peter David put Quicksilver through in “X-Factor.” Slott replaced the newfound depth and complexity of the character with unexplainably restored powers and typecast arrogance.
This issue’s worth picking up, just to read the brutal exchange between Pym and Mr. Fantastic. Not sure how that got past Marvel editorial, but it made me laugh out loud.

Dark Avengers #5
Christ, there are just too many Avengers books out at the moment. Although “Dark Avengers,” featuring villains dressed up as heroes and led by Green Goblin/Iron Patriot (what a great name) is one of the better Avengers titles out there. This issue serves as the bad guy rebuttal for an issue of “New Avengers” a few months ago, when Clint Barton went on live television, proclaiming that Osborn and company are actually the scum of the earth, and probably shouldn’t be essentially in charge of security of the USA. Osborn’s own televised response to Barton’s accusations was very well done, I thought. Writer Brian Michael Bendis lent Osborn’s response that particular “let me break it down for you” rationale made famous by politicians taking an issue and morphing it into something else entirely with just a few words. Osborn is like Oklahoma’s Jim Inhofe, but with weird hair. A fun issue, especially if you’re a fan of primetime cable news networks.

Batman and Robin #1
I have two copies of this book. That right there should tell you how much I loved this first issue. Granted, my comic book shop was running a really weird promotion where subscribers who bought “Batman and Robin” got a second free copy of the title, but still. This was such a badass book that I probably would have bought a second copy anyway.
Grant Morrison has returned to the Batman mythos! Morrison’s triumphant return has made “Battle for the Cowl” obsolete faster than you can say “Countdown.”
I like the reversed dynamic here of the new Batman and Robin. Instead of a serious Batman and lighthearted sidekick, Morrison gives us a patient and bemused Dick Grayson as Batman and an arrogant and fanatical Damien Wayne as Robin. It’s a fun reversal. As of one issue, Dick seems to wear the pointy ears well this time; it’s plain to see he’s no Bruce Wayne, but he’s a fitting successor. Damien’s a little prick, kind of a miniature and more arrogant Bruce Wayne stuck in the body of a 13-year-old kid. Quitely’s art is spectacular. I really like the slightly customized costumes on both characters. The batmobile hover-car will take some getting used to, but I don’t hate it. Villains linked to the circus is a good symbolic choice for Dick’s first adventure as Batman, considering his own childhood. But the part that I loved the most was the teaser for upcoming issues at the end of the book. Dr. Hurt’s making a comeback, baby! Let the Black Glove shenanigans begin!

Worst comic of the past two weeks: New Mutants #2.

Best comic of the past two weeks: Batman and Robin #1.

So what did you guys think of the past two weeks of comic book goodness? Anything phenomenal that I’m missing out on? Did I slam anything you’re enjoying? Do you think Marvel’s gonna bring back Steve Rogers already?

Comics I read over the past two weeks (May 13 and 20, 2009)

Sorry for the delay, a strange mix of time and money issues kept me off the computer and away from the comic book store for a while. But here’s a look at what I picked up over the last couple of weeks:

Green Lantern Corps #36
Hey, did you hear? There’s going to be this huge event over at DC which focuses on the Green Lanterns! It’s ripped out of an old Alan Moore GL story and will focus on not just one, not even two, but seven (I think?) Lantern factions in the ultimate battle royal! The last lanterns standing will thereafter be known as the “Best Color in the Universe!” DC’s latest summer event seems to be made out of equal parts superhero police force, World Cup Soccer teams, and WWE No Holds Barred Something-or-Other. Like all events at Marvel and DC, the hype for the books has actually eclipsed the books themselves. Darkest Night is still almost a month away and I’m already feeling vaguely disappointed. This issue wasn’t so bad, though. Kyle and Guy try to quell a riot the Science-Cells, while Sodam Yat (another character/idea stolen from Moore) gets thrown around by Mogul and does something drastic and possibly really cool at the last minute. GLC has become my favorite of the two ongoing Lantern books, mostly because I’ve always liked the other GLs more than Hal. Sodam’s fight with Mogul was okay, but I’m more interested in what happened in that final panel. Did he just pull a Parallax?

RASL #4

The pace has begun to pick up with this issue. Sal the Camel guy is blackmailing Rasl by essentially saying that if Rasl doesn’t hand over a pair of mystery journals, Sal will devote all his time traveling to different parallel worlds and killing Rasl’s special lady friend in each of them. A strange threat, considering that there are potentially an infinite number of parallel worlds, but whatever. Jeff Smith’s begun incorporating some actual historical events into RASL, starting with the Navy’s botched attempt at influencing electromagnet waves, a la the Philadelphia Experiment, or Project Rainbow. My one complaint with this book is the shipping schedule. This is the first issue of RASL to come out in 2009. Trying to remember what happened in a book whose last issue came out over five months ago is a lot to ask. I know Smith likes to take his time on this stuff, and I can respect that, but c’mon. What else is he working on that could make RASL, a black and white comic of standard length, take so long to get out?

Kick Ass #7
The more I read from Mark Millar’s latest soon-to-be-a-shitty-movie-comic, the less I like. Big Daddy and Hit Girl are Ruby Ridge holdovers who set themselves up to fail, and Red Flame is even more of a douche. Kick-Ass the character is still entertaining, but the honeymoon’s over as far as the series is concerned. Gratuitous violence and nonstop profanity by themselves do not a good story make, as Millar has proven with Kick Ass.

Wolverine # 73
Wait… Seventy-three? Where’s #72, the conclusion to “Old Man Logan?” In an effort to milk its current movie for all it’s worth, the Powers that Be at Marvel decided to push Wolverine #73 out a month early, as it’s a stand-alone story that would be a good jumping on point for the three people in the U.S. who actually liked the new Wolverine movie and were motivated by it to buy the latest comic. Lame.

What’s even more lame is the fact that I really, really liked this issue. Adam Kubert’s back on Wolverine! Even if it’s just for one issue, Adam Kubert’s back on Wolverine! And Jason Aaron’s writing! This is, in my opinion, a dream-team pairing for this title. Although their collective story was only half of the issue, it was well worth the $2.99 I threw down for this issue. I particularly loved the content of the Aaron story, an almost satirical look at how absurdly popular and in-demand Wolverine is in the Marvel Universe. And Adam Kubert’s back on Wolverine! The second half of the book, by Daniel Way and Tommy Lee Edwards, was shit. Something about a biker that looks like John Goodman, and his traitorous son. Hopefully this won’t be the ongoing story once “Old Man Logan” wraps up.

Green Arrow-Black Canary #20

Since his resurrection several years ago at the hands of the dubious Kevin Smith, I’ve absolutely adored Green Arrow. Olliver Queen is cocky, pretentious, womanizing, pig-headed, egotistical, arrogant, and painfully flawed. AKA, me if I could be a superhero. The series had been consistently well-written since its relaunch, and included great writing stints by Brad Meltzer, Judd Winick, and even Kevin Smith (arguably the only decent thing Smith’s done since “Mallrats”).

That said, I’m probably going to have to drop Green Arrow-Black Canary soon. Since Winick left the title, the book’s been on the highway to cancellation hell. Worst of all, the current writer’s just casually destroying the Emerald City sandbox that Winick and company spent years building up. He had a psychotic homemaker kill Brick, for God’s sake. Gah! This issue sucked. I hated it. Moving on.

Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3

What a lousy miniseries. Tony Daniel, stick with the penciling in the future. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, since you penciled Morrison’s amazing Batman run over the past few years. I’d hoped against hope that some of that Morrison-y goodness had rubbed off on you. But lo. Battle for the Cowl has been nothing but an amazing waste of money. Dick’s Batman. Damien’s Robin. That was easy enough to figure out from the end of R.I.P. The entire Battle for the Cowl event has been a colossal waste of time, with no memorable moments or redeeming factors whatsoever. I never thought I’d read a Batman story that made me yearn for “Hush” until I’d read Battle for the Cowl. Now Tommy Elliot doesn’t seem so bad in comparison.

Oh well, Morrison’s back soon with Batman and Robin #1! And Winick’s back on Batman (which will be great as long as he doesn’t try to bring Dick’s parents back from the dead or something)!

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910
I have no idea what just happened or who most of these people are, and I love it. Alan Moore has once again thrown the reader into his Steampunk dystopian version of England, this time in 1910. As before, Moore’s England serves as a meeting ground for any and all characters of English literature from past to present. As with previous volumes, this current incarnation of the League is made up of both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Some survived the Martian invasion, some showed up in Moore’s Black Dossier, some are new to the world. But the great thing is, all (and I do mean absolutely every one) of the characters in League can be traced back to their origins in English literature. The context this gives Moore’s work is staggering. Not only is this great as a stand-alone work, but it becomes even better as the reader delves into the history of these characters. Work like this really challenges the reader to read between the lines and work to find out the full story. I loved it with the previous volumes of League, I loved it with Morrison’s Batman, and I love it with this new installment of League. I can’t wait for issue two.

Best comic of the past two weeks: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910.
Worst comic of the past two weeks: Tied between Green Arrow-Black Canary #20 and Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3.

What did you guys think? Did I miss anything great? Am I totally off-base? Anything I should keep an eye out for?