Spider-Woman: Agent of SWORD Motion Comic

Marvel Comics released their first motion comic this past Wednesday. The star is Spider-Woman. This may not be a character that a lot of people outside of comics know, but I think that she was a good choice.

I think that this format will draw in non-comic book readers. Hey, my boyfriend, Jason watched it and liked it. And he doesn't like comics at all.

The Spider-Woman motion comics is available from i-Tunes for 99 cents, so go get it!

Check out the preview here!

Character Spotlight: Tigra

I was introduced to Tigra in West Coast Avengers during the '80s. (Yes, it was WCA before it became AWC) I fell in love with her immediately. She was unabashedly sexy, confident, and kicked ass. I think that as a young gay boy, I was drawn to these traits. Or maybe is just wanted to wear her black bikini. But really, I think it was the fact that Greer (Tigra) could turn back to her normal human state and blend in if she wanted to, but she very rarely did. She preferred to stand out and revelled in her differences. Looking back on that now, I think that Tigra made a big impression on me. It was ok to be different, if fact it was purr-ferred.

Somewhere along the line, she got mired in yet another storyline involving her "cat" side taking over. Check out her Wikipedia entry if you don't believe me. I loved everything that John Byrne did with WCA, except his treatment of Tigra. Her appearance grew more and more cat-like, as did her behavior. She was slowly becoming a pale imitation of Wolverine or Wolfsbane.
Hank Pym shrinks her to the size of a house cat and then lets her run around the compound killing small animals to eat! Not attractive, honey. The final insult was when Hank finally catches her, he places her inside his lab and then leaves! To deal with "more pressing Avengers' business"!

I was sad when she finally left to hang out with the Aborigines in Australia, but at least then she was left alone.

Her appearances since then have been sporadic. She had a lackluster mini-series by Christina Z and Mike Deodato. Tigra was also a part of the Avengers: Initiative, now the Avengers Resistance. Recently, I have noticed that Tigra has been receiving some attention in the Marvel Adventures imprint. She's been on covers for both Marvel Adventures Super-Heroes and M.A. Avengers. She most recently became a member of the M.A. Avengers. I'm glad that she is not stuck in limbo, but I still wish she had more of an presence.

Upcoming Books: The Torch #1 (of 8)

This upcoming book, The Torch, by Mike Carey & Alex Ross is piquing my interest. I've been interested in the original Human Torch, Jim Hammond, ever since Scarlet Witch revived him back in Avengers West Coast #50 from 1989. The Scarlet Witch had recently gone crazy for the first time! or was that the second? (I'll have to re-read my AWC.) Anyway, she wanted to prove that the Vision, recently disassembled & reassembled sans emotions, was really who he said he was. And not constructed out of the Human Torch's spare parts. All of this ends with Jim Hammond joining the AWC for a while. For a more detailed description, click here.

For this new mini-series, the Torch is buried (again) and the Mad Thinker is involved (again). Mike Carey (X-Men Legacy) is writing with assists from Alex Ross. Patrick Berkenkotter (?) is doing interiors with Alex Ross on covers. And I have to say, I think the cover for #1 (picture left) is stunning. Everytime that I think I'm over Ross' art, he comes out with something else.

So what do you think, retread of old material? A comeback for the first Marvel super-hero? Another example of Alex Ross living in the past? Let me know what you think and I'll let you know what I decide.

Sad News... : ( Captain Britain & MI 13 Canceled

I just found out today that one of my favorite comics is getting canceled as of issue 15. This book by Paul Cornell was always a quality read. He found a take the tarnish off characters that had been misused for years and he created new characters that jumped off the page. I will continue to read this book until it's done. There just aren't enough quality comic books out there. It is a sad day, my friends.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I've been asked about my opinion of the Wolverine by several of my friends, so here goes.

1. It was good. I just want to get that out there. No matter what I say in the rest of this post, I started with "It was good." Very eloquent if I do say so myself!

2. As far as my knowledge of Wolverine's history & "origin" go, the movie stayed pretty true to what has been written in comics. Except, is Sabretooth Wolverine's brother in comics? I know that they've teased a lot of different things, but I don't read Wolverine's solo book. That may have been revealed somewhere over the years and I missed it. I don't know.

3. Wolverine was happy with Silverfox for waaaaaaaaaay too long. Maybe it was the fact that I knew she was going to "die" that made that part of the movie drag for me.

4. Special effects...eh. They were ok. I just didn't have a moment watching this movie that I went "That was cool!" Wanted had better effects.

5. Deadpool. I just...did he?...I don't...ugh. Deadpool's mouth was stitched shut. The MERC WITH A MOUTH's mouth was stitched shut and he had OPTIC BLASTS!!! 'nuff said.

Please don't forget that I said the movie was good. I actually wouldn't mind seeing it again, just to see some things I missed.
My friends seem surprised that I'm not more pumped about the movie. I guess it has something to do with the fact that Wolverine is not one of my favorite super-heroes. He's ok.

This is the cover to Marvels: Eye of the Camera #5. I'm not even reading this book, but I LOVE this cover. I'll have to check out the trade to see if these X-Men appear in it.

This image captures the X-Men as they were when I first started reading comics. These are "My X-Men". I know that it's not a very classic line-up, but it's still my favorite. Hope you enjoy.

Handpicked Comics for 4/15/09

I've decided to try something different this week. Instead of picking one book and talking about it, I'm going to rank the books that I purchased and give you my thoughts about each one.


#1 X-Factor #42 This was my favorite book this week. First off, I liked the art in this issue. Now, I would rather this book get Yardin or Sook back, but if that's not possible DiLandro will be a decent substitute. I did notice that there were 2 artists on this issue, the other one being Santucci. I looked through the issue, but I couldn't distinguish the pages done by a different artist. (I'm usually pretty good at that!)

As far as storyline, I'm loving Madrox, Layla, and Ruby in the future. I can't wait to see what happens there. Longshot's subplot moved along some and my favorite part of those sequences was the way that Peter David and the artists portrayed Longshot's power. I hope that he delves into Longshot's powers and how they work. That would be interesting.
Overall, this is the beginning of a future timeline storyline and I love those. I'm in!

#2 Uncanny X-Men #508 Despite what most people have to say about this book, I'm really enjoying it. I think that Fraction has a good handle on most of the characters. I also applaud him for using a wide-range of characters from Domino to Nightcrawler. They might not all technically be X-Men, but it makes sense that they would be in the periphery.
So, the Sisterhood...Spiral, Chimera, Deathstrike, Madelyne, & 2 Lady Masterminds. I like it. I'm going to be doing a little research into some of the members of this group, because I'm not familiar with all of them. If I come up with something interesting, I'll post it.




#3 Tiny Titans #15 This was one of the few issues of Tiny Titans that devote almost the entire issue to one storyline. I liked it. Usually, this book does several shorter (about 2-3 pages) storylines. This book is still my pick for a great comic starter book for kids.

My Comics Picks for 4/15/09

X-Men Legacy #223 - I don't know about this book. About every 2-3 months I think about dropping it. I'm just not sure if I know what purpose it is surving right now. I'm holding on now because this issues is part 4 of 5 of the current storyline, which has been solicited as the end of Xavier's part of Legacy. Now, I don't know who the comic will be about after Xavier's part is done. Maybe Rogue and Gambit? If that's all it is, I might be gone. Anyway, I'm reading it for now. Let's see if this book can draw me in.

Marvel Comics

By Mike Carey & Scot Eaton

X-Factor #42 - This book is good again. Peter David meandered a bit with this book a couple month ago, but now he's back on track. I'm glad that I didn't abandon this book. (Mmmm...maybe I should stick with X-Men Legacy). This issue we should get more Ruby Summers. Yay!

Marvel Comics

By Peter David & Valentine De Landro

Uncanny X-Men #508- The very controversial Greg Land returns to art duties with this issue. That doesn't matter to me, because I'm going to read it no matter who draws it. I'm very interested to see who is in the Sisterhood of Evil Mutants. I hope there are some members that I know and new members. I think that I see Lady Deathstrike on the cover, but I don't think that I know the rest. I'm also really interested by the new "Proposition X" storyline. Hopefully, this will turn out better than Prop. 8 did.

Marvel Comics

By Matt Fraction & Greg Land

Tiny Titans #15 - This will be a nice breath of fresh air in a very X heavy week. Seriously this comic makes me laugh. Remember when comics did that! Pick it up.

DC Comics

By Art Baltazar & Franco

Justice Society of America Vol. 4 Thy Kingdom Come Part 3 - I'm so glad that this is finally coming out. I don't know why it takes so long for DC to put out their hardcovers and trade paperbacks. I had originally intended to read this series in trade, but was so impatient that I ended up buying the hardcovers! (Wait, a minute...maybe that's why DC takes so long. Curses!) I love Power Girl, so I'm very excited to see how things turn out for her in the Earth-2 world she landed on. I can't wait to get my JSA fix...

DC Comics

By Geoff Johns, Alex Ross, Peter Tomasi, Dale Eaglesham, Fernando Pasarin and Nathan Massengill

Handpicked Comic for 4/8/09

Captain Britain and MI13 by Paul Cornell & Leonard Kirk

If you've been following my blog, you know that this week was a very light week for me. (I know of course the number of people following my blog right now numbers in the thousands, yeah right.) I originally only pulled two books, but alluded to the fact that I would probably try some other books and pick up some trades. I did in fact do this.

By the time I got home, I had purchased Exiles #1, War of Kings:Ascension #1, New Mutants Classic Vol. 4, and X-Men:First Class The Wonder Years in addition to my regular books, Secret Six and Capt. Brit & MI 13. I am very happy with all of my purchases. This made it very hard to narrow my tiny pile down to my Handpicked Comic (patent pending, patent pending, patent pending) of the week.

Finally, I chose Captain Britain and MI 13 #12. Ever since I jumped on this book, even paying extra for back issues, I have loved it. Initially drawing me in with X-related Capt. Britain & Pete Wisdom and then piquing my curiousity to learn about Spitfire, Blade, & Excalibur. And I've realized that's why I love this book.

It revolves around a lot of characters that I know very little or nothing AT ALL about!!

Now having read comics for...20 years?? maybe more, this doesn't happen. I usually have the opposite problem of getting pissed off when a current storyline contradicts something that happened 2 or 3 years ago.

This book usually leaves me feeling that I don't quite get everything that is going on and I love it. I'm surprised by plot turns and am intrigued by what will happen next. My current favorite characters are Spitfire and Blade. Blade?! you say? I know, but he's actually interesting when written by Cornell. Did you know Blade is British? Me either!! Eat you heart out Wesley Snipes!! And Spitfire? Who? I know! I've seen her briefly in Captain America, but I didn't know she was a vampire. That's cool.

I know that I kind of got off point by not reviewing this issue specifically, but the entire run of this book is great and you should be reading it.

Quick summary of current storyline: Dracula is invading Great Britain which he intends to run as a country of vampires! Love it.

Captain Britain and MI13 is your Handpicked Comic for April 8th!!

My Comic Picks for 4/8/09

Secret Six #8 - Confession time. When I started reading this, I thought it was a six issue limited series. I hadn't intended to start reading a new ongoing. This comic, however, has worked its way into my heart. This group of tough, dirty villains is extremely entertaining. I've grown to care about each of these characters. I love that Gail goes there with Ragdoll, who is my personal favorite. This issue is supposed to detail what Ragdoll dreams about. It's going to be gross!!
DC Comics
Gail Simone & Carlos Rodriguez (No, Nicola this issue? Aargh!!)



Captain Britain & MI 13 #12 - This is another comic that I tried very hard not to buy. My plan was to buy this in trade, iFanboy wouldn't stop. Ron, Conor, & Josh were constantly talking about it, so my curiosity won over. (If you're not listening to iFanboy's podcasts, you should be. http://www.ifanboy.com/) Again, just like Secret Six, I'm glad I did. I'm curious to see what Dracula will do next. C'mon, it's Dracula!!
Marvel Comics
Paul Cornell & Leonard Kirk




2 comics!! That's it! This is what happens when you try to switch over to reading the trades instead. I would love to pick up Green Lantern, but gotta wait for trade. Also, I'm waiting until trade for the whole Superman: World of Krypton thing. This light week will probably mean that I'll check out War of Kings Ascension #1. I was going to skip it, but I've been loving War of Kings. I'll probably also pick up a few trade that I've been wanting to catch up on like Spider-Man: Brand New Day or New Mutants Classic.

Well, check back here Wednesday to see what this week's Handpicked Comic will be!!

The Issues That Made Me Drop X-Men #2

#349 "Blackbirds" by Steve Seagle & Chris Bachalo

After #349, I didn't try Uncanny X-Men until issue #353. I know, I couldn't stay away very long. But before I tear into 353 let's look at the issues between that I skipped:

#350 - Covered in "Issues That Made Me Drop X-Men #1"

#351 - Focus on Cecelia Reyes. 'nuff said

#352 - The cover of this issue boasted the following: "The most artists ever on a comic!" Can you believe this was the selling point of this issue? I couldn't and I didn't.

So, #353 focuses on Rogue's "personal crisis". I'm not trying to hate on Rogue, but after almost 10 years of reading about her problems with her powers, you get a little tired of it. The team this issue wasn't a bad line-up.

Storm, Wolverine (These two are always a great start, IMHO)
Rogue, Iceman, Iceman,

Jubilee, Cannonball (I really liked the idea of these two "graduating" to the X-Men)

Maggot, Joseph

We also still have Psylocke and Angel doing the sub-plot thing. Bishop is also kidnapped by Deathbird.

Overall, this issue wasn't that bad. A lot better than #349. But Sauron was going to be the villain next issue.

Rogue drama
+ Maggot, Joseph

+Sauron next issue

_____________

Uncanny X-Men dropped again

Handpicked Comic for 4/1/09: War of Kings #2

War of Kings #2 Abnett, Lanning & Pelletier

This was the first and best book that I read this week. Here's the set up. The Inhumans are now the Royal Family of the Kree, as they were always destined to be. The Shi'ar are ruled by Vulcan who would just as soon as kill you as look at you. So they're at war now to become the supreme power in the universe. (I think that's the simplest summary I could have given. Way to go me!)

Last issue, Vulcan launched an attack against the Kree by attacking during Crystal's wedding to Ronan. (Which will bond the Inhumans and the Kree together.) This issue focused on the Kree's response, which kicked ass!!

My favorite scene was Crystal calming the masses in the infirmiry. It's not very often that the Inhumans are depicted as the royalty that they are, so this was refreshing. This scene shows Crystal stepping into her role as Princess and taking it seriously. She's run from it for so long that it was nice change to see her accept it.

I laughed outloud to Medusa's response to Crystal being called "the People's Princess". Her haughty "Pah!" spoke volumes and referenced the argument between the sisters in "Inhumans: Secret Invasion" (Yay, continuity!)

I got a thrill out of the combination of Kree and Inhuman technology. The Kree Sentries combined with the echo-tech was brilliant. I'm glad that Maximus is being used for a different purpose other than battling Black Bolt. He's a mad genius!! Use his genius!!

The issue ends with Vulcan stating that he is going to kill Lilandra immediately. Honestly, he could and I'm starting to think he should. That would really shake things up. Then maybe Deathbird (after she heals) would finally see Vulcan for what he is and she would rule the Shi'ar. Or Gladiator will somehow step up and rule the Shi'ar. Do I think that Vulcan will really kill Lilandra? No. I think that Gladiator will snap and fight against Vulcan. But, we'll see...

Finally, you should be reading this book. If you like big, cosmic, political, war stories this is for you. And that's why War of Kings #2 is your Handpicked Comic for April 1st! No foolin'!

My Comic Picks For 4/1/09

Flash: Rebirth #1 - Geoff Johns works his magic on Flash. If this is half as good as Green Lantern: Rebirth, it will totally be worth it. Also, Ethan Van Sciver on art. I can't wait to see what he does to make each speedster's "speed force" individual.

DC Comics
Geoff Johns & Ethan Van Sciver



Franklin Richards April Fools - This light-hearted book is nice break from the sometimes too serious world of comic books. It's not on a monthly schedule so it doesn't break the bank. This is a perfect book for kids. I don't save these books. I give them to the kids in my class. They love it!!

Marvel Comics
Chris Eliopoulos

New Avengers Reunion #2 of 4 - This mini-series tells us the story of Mockingbird and Hawkeye's reunion. For those of you not in the know, Mockingbird has been dead for oh, maybe 10 years. (But not really as it turns out, I'm not going to get into all of that right now.) I always loved these two characters in West Coast Avengers, so I'm sold on this book. I like Bobbi's new costume too.

Marvel Comics
Jim McCann & David Lopez

Secret Warriors #3- Nick Fury, Hydra, and tons of new characters. Not really things that I look for in a book, but I heard all the buzz and tried it out. It's actually pretty good. I'm still trying to keep the characters' names straight, but pretty good. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this revelation: Shield was a branch of Hydra. What?!

Marvel Comics

Jonathan Hickman, Brian Michael Bendis & Stefano Caselli

War of Kings #2 of 6 - Abnett & Lanning's Annihilation series kicked butt, Abnett & Lanning's Nova series kicks butt, Abnett & Lanning's Guardians of the Galaxy kicks butt, So guess what? Abnett & Lanning's War of Kings mini-series kicks butt.

P.S. If you haven't read Abnett & Lanning's The Legion or Legion Lost from DC you really should!

Marvel Comics

Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, & Paul Pelletier

Why Kill Carol? Ms. Marvel is Dead...and I Think I Know Why.

Now I don’t have a definite answer, but I have some ideas. Pretty good ideas if I do say so myself.
· Marvel killed off Carol to demonstrate how serious a threat Osborn is. Knowing that a main Avengers character with a solo title can get whacked suddenly ups that ante. Things suddenly seem a little more “Dark”. It makes me worry a little more about Osborn threatening Luke Cage. Hey, Luke!! You better keep a close eye on Jess and that baby!

OR

· I’m also thinking that we haven’t seen the last of Carol. She’s survived some pretty messed up crap in the past; rape, being sucked dry by Rogue, etc. Carol basically exploded in the sky. So, she became a pure energy being…isn’t that what happened to Wonder Man? When the “Dark Reign” is over, Carol coming back to kick Osborn ass is going to rock! So Marvel killed Carol to add some emotional impact to their storyline finale.

OR

· Maybe Moonstone is here to stay. A comic focusing on Moonstone learning what it means to be Ms. Marvel and at the same time dealing with Osborn’s demands sound enticing. Moonstone could really grow as a character and decide to honor Carol’s legacy by actually becoming a hero. I’m not sure how much I really believe this, but it could happen.

OR

· Ms. Marvel sales weren’t that great? They weren’t horrible. Ms. Marvel sold about the same as Wonder Woman every month. (That was the case, but maybe not anymore since Gail Simone is kicking butt!) This change will get some new readers to check out the title that never would have before.

In closing, I think I’m done with Ms. Marvel for right now. I’ve been with the book from #1 and I feel rather betrayed. If I hear that Moonstone as Ms. Marvel rocks, then I’ll come back and check it out.
RIP Carol Danvers

The Issues That Made Me Drop X-Men #1

I am an avid X-Men fan. I always have been. Somehow not being the most popular kid in grade school led me to relate to the X-Men’s struggle for acceptance. Every month I knew I could count on the team to take me on some crazy adventure or explore new depths of my favorite characters.
There have been, however, those issues that were so bad that I just couldn’t buy them. My love for comics had grown exponentially and so did my monthly purchases. So, I began weeding out “the weakest links” to help my money stretch. Now this didn’t start until I hit college and became a more discriminating comic consumer. I usually didn’t stay away for long and there might have been other circumstances in my life that helped cause this, but these issues must have been pretty BAD!!! Below I look back at these offending issues.

#349 “The Crawl” Scott Lobdell & Chris Bachalo
Ok, let me set it up for you. “The X-Men” (Rogue, Gambit, Beast, Joseph, & Trish Tilby) have just returned from outer space and end up in Antarctica at one of Magneto’s old bases where Nanny is giving them a hard time. First off, you know the X-Men are in trouble when Rogue is the headliner. No Cyclops, no Storm, no Jean, no Wolverine, no Prof. X. That’s just sad. We also have Psylocke kicking Maggot’s butt and “sensing great darkness” all over the sub-plot.

The main storyline is Gambit’s past. We’re finally going to find out what Gambit’s “horrible secret” is. Honestly, I decided I didn’t care what it was. Gambit had lost his sheen of newness awhile ago for me. It seemed that Marvel was trying to create another Wolverine and I just wasn’t buying it.
So #349 ends and boasts that #350 will feature the “Trial of Gambit”. So flash forward a month and #350 comes out. This sucker cost $3.99!! Remember, it’s 1997. Books just don’t cost four dollars! Sure it has a foil embossed tri-fold cover, but I’m just not buying it. I’m a freshman in college. I have better things to spend my money on.

So let’s add up these factors:
Joseph
+Maggot
+Trish Tilby
+Gambit’s secret (I don’t care!)
+$3.99
_________________________

Uncanny X-Men is dropped