Hulk #21

Busy week this week. Green Arrow has gone rogue, New Krypton is falling under the assault of Brainiac, Namorita is alive again (sort of) and Spider Man is given a taste of godhood even greater than when he wore the mantle of Captain Universe. Oh, and Namorita is not the only one, Thanos is back.

Let me take this point-by-point. Although the slaying of Prometheus by Green Arrow in the wake of Justice League: Cry For Justice is a logical progression of the story, haven’t we been here before? Green Arrow considered dangerous and on the run from his comrades?

It’s not new to have a hero on the run, pursued by former allies and the forces of the law (although the law has yet to get involved in Oliver’s pursuit, maybe the League want to police themselves). It is a little newer for said hero to actually be guilty of whatever they have been accused of I suppose, but not tremendously so. What a disappointing consequence to what was actually an excellent series. Now we also have Red Arrow/ Speedy I (erm, II if you add in the pre Crisis On Infinite Earths continuity) crippled, and obviously going to receive some form of cyborg arm in the near future. (It would be nice to see Roy gain some form of mystical healing instead, and send him into the weird area of the DCU. After all, with his chequered past, his interaction with Checkmate and other agencies and a new hook for readers, I can see the potential for a hit series with the right writer).

Meanwhile, the second (or third) Speedy is poised to take a moral descent herself, with an arrow pointing at the Electrocutioner’s head.

I still think we have been here before. This is not what I pay my bucks for people!

In contrast, the Last Stand Of New Krypton is wrapping up many of the plotlines hovering in the background of the DCU for the past few years, from the machinations to war by both General Zod and General Sam Lane, to just what the Legion Espionage Squad is doing embedded in the beginning of the twenty-first century, to just what Luthor has been doing since his escape. This is sheer spandex drama at it’s finest.

The most comparable event to this is the Fall Of The Hulks, which we are seeing unfold before our eyes in a most chaotic fashion. I highly recommend that, but don’t expect it to make sense just yet, every reveal just causes more questions, never mind figuring out where this crossover sits in relation to the other big events like Siege.

Ooo, Siege. I’m not saying a word, except I really enjoyed #3, and #4 looks incredibly promising. Not the ending I was expected, but that is good. It’s too early to issue a spoiler on that one. Or on Green Lantern Corps #47, but that also had a nice twist I was not expecting (although in retrospect that was more my bad memory than a dramatic twist).

Now the lead up to Realm Of Kings continued in Nova #35 and Guardians of the Galaxy #24. The conclusion of the Sphinx storyline in Nova was okay I suppose, but then I am often disappointed with Sphinx stories in the last decade or so. Anath Na-Mut is a character that has so much potential, but he is frequently reduced to a two-dimensional villain, as he is eventually here. The resurrection of Namorita we could see a mile off, I only hope that this is some nasty effect of the Fault, and she is actually some soul eating beastie. I used to like Namorita, but this rebirth simply feels cheap.

The Guardians issue is far more promising, as the cocoon on Sacrosanct is opened to reveal Thanos as the newest Avatar of Death. One question here, what is Oblivion doing, selecting the Avatar of Death? Isn’t that Death’s job? Doesn’t Oblivion have avatars of his own?

My final recommendation is Spider-Man and the Secret Wars #4, a fascinating if disjointed tale, set just as Doom claimed the power of the Beyonder. It doesn’t really add a great deal to the continuity, it’s simply a fun romp.

The Waking #1

I haven’t spoken a great deal about the Zenescope range of titles, but I really want to draw your attention to last weeks The Waking #1. At the end of the first issue I still don’t know just what the story is about, but I do know I want to know more. And if this series reaches the same high level of quality that the others of the line do, then I know I will be more than satisfied.

The Waking offers a traditional evil little girl, not that we actually see a great deal of her. Dead bodies rise out of the morgue, well, a dead body at least, not a whole zombiepocalypse. (We’ve must have seen enough of the zombiepocalypse by now surely?) Seasoned with a selection of hard-bitten cops that rapidly become three-dimensional characters, the issue leaves you with a whole sense of wanting more.

Now the standard that I will be holding the title to is the excellent Wonderland trilogy, Return To Wonderland, Beyond Wonderland, and the current Escape from Wonderland. Frequently emblazoned with covers that are attracting the T&A market, but, although I wouldn’t accuse the titles of phenomenal depth, the story rolls along with ease, and a not a few surprises. It delivers a warped vision of Wonderland (like the original was so ‘straight’ in comparison), with a voracious evil underlying the entire realm, a form of madness personified that corrupts everything that it touches. I’ve not seen the movie release yet, but I imagine this version is intensely more brutal. And it’s a far cry from the Wonderland Captain Carrot visited in the Eighties.

Now there’s an image. Captain Carrot alone in Calie’s Wonderland! ‘Cos that is one evil Cheshire Cat, and not even Roger Rodney Rabbit could keep his upbeat attitude after being chopped to pieces a time or two. I can see an inter-company crossover coming on.

Zenescope plan to bring the TV series Charmed to comics in the near future. I wonder if they will be able to find the readers in numbers similar to the Buffy series? It’s a brave effort, unless you look at their other offerings, and I hope they catch a mass market appeal with this.

Still, if you like your horror comics, then Zenescope is well worth a look. In my mind, they are the classics of today, a modern day EC. I’m just waiting for the Concerned Mothers Of America to attack them. After all, if they have been entertained by Glenn Beck, you just know they are lurking out there ready to attack comics again!

Dark X-Men #5

Spoiler alert for Dark X-Men #5. You may want to read the issue before reading this column.

This week saw the end of the Dark X-Men series, and I must admit this has been one of my favourite Dark Reign spin-offs. I was overjoyed to see the return of the X-Man, and I hope this isn’t the last we see of him, but his short term prospects do not appear great. In the future, I would love to see him teamed with Noh-Varr, they now have a lot in common, both screwed over by Osbourne, and both tasked with the defence of humanity on a global scale.

Still, even Nathan Summers was not the highlight of the series for me. Each of this characters (barring maybe Weapon Omega, although he shows promise) have been favourite characters of mine, and each of them have received an abject lesson in this story.

Mystique learns how she has quite clearly backed the wrong horse. Again. You would think she would have learnt by now, but her time as one of Xavier’s operatives and her many encounters with the X-Men seem to have taught her nothing. She leaves the series as owned by Osbourne as when she began.

The Mimic was given glimpses of the potential he could reach. If you happened to read Exiles, then we know what Calvin could be here in the real world, erm, I mean mainstream world (I must remember they are different. They are!). He needs to be put in a team where he can finally, well, grow a pair. Maybe Marvel should have him fall in love and either have a child or lose his partner in an Uncle Ben situation. After all, he could be up there with Nate Grey and Noh-Varr. But not while he remains the poster boy for depression.

Then again, more attention could be paid to his depression, he has been clinically diagnosed if I remember correctly, and that is story worthy in and of itself, but only in a team book. I don’t want Calvin to miraculously recover, it has to be believable else it denigrates the topic, but he needs to walk the path of the hero sometime. After all, we’ve only been waiting since the Sixties.

So Weapon Omega, Michael Pointer, is potentially the most important mutant on the face of the planet according to Nate? Now there’s a tidbit! However, what’s the chances that throwaway comment will disappear into the mists of obscurity?

I’ve not got a great deal to say about the Dark Beast, except how can you not love this character. He is the perfect corruption of everything Henry McCoy is, and long may he reign. He is a perfect sleeping threat, much like Mr Sinister under the shadow of Apocalypse was for so many years.

However, the very best insight has to be how, within the confines of Norman’s fractured mind, both Norman and the Goblin have made peace, and both support each other. We have seen this implied with his many conversations with his reflection over the years, but here we see something new. The Goblin acts in Norman’s interest, rather than simply his own. Has Norman finally found approval from his daddy issues?

Whatever the fate of Osbourne, this team needs to continue. After all they have the explosive chips inside of them in a true Suicide Squad tradition, so who would be the best person to take the reins? Valerie Cooper? Henry Peter Gyrich? Doom? Or maybe some new mover and shaker, taking up the mantle of the late Senator Kelly?

I sincerely hope this is not the last we have seen of this team.  They need a few more members, but they must not fade away, they have too much potential.  Are you listening Marvel?

Age Of Heroes #1

It looks like Marvel have been listening to me, and my love of the 8-page story format, as once the Dark Reign draws to a close in the Siege of Asgard, we launch into the Heroic Age. To celebrate this, Marvel will be launching an anthology title named Age Of Heroes in June, planned in the style of Nation X.

Woohoo! They listen! (I’ll totally ignore the fact that they have obviously been listening to my words precognitively, that would just burst my bubble, and I’m not sure I could stand up to that!)

So this is a tool to assist in the recalibration of the Marvel Universe into a brighter, happier, more positive place. About time one might say, having the deck stacked against the heroes makes for a good story, but it can’t last forever. As fans, we want a break as well, not just for the characters we know and love, but also for ourselves. After all, isn’t that the purpose of escapism?

Still, I worry for the titles future. It’s been a while since an anthology title had any longevity. The relaunch of Marvel Comics Presents didn’t last long, and the previous title, although a very healthy run, rather shot itself in the foot, with stories that were not of the highest quality, and failed to be character driven IMHO.

Mind you, with a team of writers like Kurt Busiek, Rick Remender, Paul Cornell, and Dan Slott and artists like Marko Djurdjevic, Chris Samnee and Leonard Kirk, this is something to really look forward to.

Right, what am I looking forward to this week? When I am starting with Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed #1, I’m not sure the word recommendations can be taken seriously. But nonetheless, have you read the previous series? It’s great!

Otherwise – SWORD #5, The Mystic Hands Of Dr Strange #1, Twelve Spearhead #1, R.E.B.E.L.S #14 and Superman Last Stand Of Krypton #1, which shows the end of the New Krypton storyline is in sight.

Nemesis The Impostors #1

Nemesis – The Impostors #1 was released this week by DC, and I am pleased to say that it contains the same level of crazy that was found in Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape. There remains the same mechanism of staccato storytelling, jumping from scene to scene, forward and backward in time until you manage to piece together just what is occurring. Maybe.

I personally adore this style, where the writer makes you work to decipher the story. Coupled with the enforced empathy that enables you to share in Nemesis’ disorientation, this is a highly satisfying read. This has to be my pick of the week.

One other series that began this week is Marvel’s Girls #1. Although I have really grown to like the revived format of the 8-page story, especially in the pages of Nation X, this was an abject failure for me. Maybe I didn’t get it, but it seemed more to be an issue of ‘What The…’ than a focus on….. In fact I’m not sure quite what is was to be focussing on, but it didn’t hit the spot.

Realm Of Kings: Son Of Hulk #2 is a slower issue, but it remains an interesting story. Hiro-Kala struggles with a newly discovered precognitive awareness, Princess Mari is struggling with another of Arcturus Rann’s depression, and Axeman Bones’ daughter struggles to understand what exactly is going on.

I know how she feels, I’ve been reading Hiro-Kala since he appeared, and even I find it hard to predict what exactly he will do next, or discern what his motivations are for what he does do. That is part of the appeal of this character, whatever his plans are, I expect they will be big. He has not earned the named World-Breaker for nothing, and I don’t expect the homeworld of Jarella to last very long.

Nation X #3

So Diamond Lil is dead.

Well, actually she died a few weeks ago, in the attack of Selene’s techno-zombies or Necroshites on the X-Men’s new home Utopia.

I was disappointed in the manner in which she died, or at least how little attention her death was given. She was treated (in my eyes) as nothing more than a throwaway character, her presence and subsequent death a mere triviality.

Let me get this straight. Diamond Lil is not a throwaway character. She first appeared in Alpha Flight back in 1984, was at first a Gamma-Flight trainee and then fell into villainous ways with Omega Flight.

We were there when she redeemed herself as a valuable ally against the threat of Llan the Sorcerer. We were still there as the major crossovers of the time, the Infinity Trilogy took over the title, and led IMHO to its demise.

We saw her escape Weapon X and fall into the company of the then mutant messiah Mister M, and later return to the fold in arriving at Utopia.

Madison Jeffries, Box had his own story in Nation X #3 last week, but really it was Lil’s story, the story that Madison’s continued presence must always honour. It resolves many of the issues and questions that I confess had occurred to me, and I’m sure many other fellow Alphans. Nation X as a series is growing on me, I’m almost disappointed that the next instalment is the final one, because they may only be 8 page stories, but with a cast as large as the X-Men currently have (possibly greater now than the cast of the Legion Of Super-Heroes), these little shorts are needed.

What am I looking forward to this week? Buffy #33, Adventure Comics #8 Great Ten #5 (if you’ve not read this yet, give it a go), the culmination of JLA Cry For Justice, and of course, Milestone Forever #2.

From the House Of Ideas, The Savage She-Hulks get their spotlight in the Fall Of The Hulks, which gets better as the plot unfolds. Oh, and Hope, the current mutant messiah gets her own one shot.

My recommendation above all others? Avatar’s God Complex #4. Don’t miss it.

Blackest Night #7 The End draws nigh!

Blackest Night is fast drawing to a close (Praise the Light!), and now the Guardians greatest secret is out. Life in the universe originated not on Oa (or rather Maltus, but let’s just ignore that slight continuity error), but on Earth. This is the secret the Guardians swore to keep.

On Earth? Come again?!?

Ignoring the cosmological arguments against this, considering that it was ten billion years ago that Krona’s experiment shattered the universe, erm, then didn’t anymore until Alex Luthor’s tower kicked in and then it did again, and the earth itself is only 4.54 billion years old, this still strikes me as ridiculous.

This is a fictional universe, so one could say that the Guardians altered the evidence to make Earth appear that it is a lot younger than it actually is. I suppose this also allows a period of history where the Homo Magi walked the earth and gives a home to all of the old fantasy titles if they don’t already have a realm to be placed in, which almost makes me want Conan to be part of the DCU rather than the Marvel universe.

Conan is currently licensed by Dark Horse, but then Kulan Gath is still part of Marvel and he started life as a Conan character, and it seems that Marvel are happy to use the Micronauts again, so I assume that the Hyborian Era is still part of Marvel History.

Anyway, I digress. What began for me as a spectacular crossover seems to have descended into a number of clichés and unoriginal plot devices. Having the Light Entity resident on Earth could have been explained through any number of reasons, such as due to it now being the centre of the Multiverse after the events of the various Crises, rather than saying that humanity, or at the planet is older than the Guardians themselves. Not only does this turn decades of DC cosmic continuity on its head, but it seems vastly egocentric, and leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

That is also not to mention the redistribution of rings throughout the Earth-based characters, forming the ‘New Guardians’. I just want to look at these.

Red – Mera. Now this one sort of makes sense, Mera has always had a rough deal and it figures that she would be angry about all that she has suffered. However she has always comported herself with a most noble bearing, and the wearing of the Red Ring seems to be the equivalent of slumming it. Also the Red Ring may well be the way that the writers kill her off considering that it has replaced her heart, and that would be a great waste. Still, if Guy Gardner can survive it, I suppose Mera can.

Orange – Lex Luthor. Cheesy. Very very cheesy. Still, I must shamefully admit it is pretty cool at the same time.

Yellow – Scarecrow. Okay, so fear is his shtick. That’s about as far is it goes, he is neither being used to the best advantage, nor is he necessarily the most appropriate character for this role, where a more minor character could have had a greater spotlight. Wasteful, if you ask me. Plus how much do Sinestro and Scarecrow really have in common? It strikes me they would knock heads nearly as much as Larfleeze and Luthor, as one is order and the other chaos.

Green, well, do I really need to go here?

Blue – Barry Allen. As a symbol of hope, yes, I get it. If the ring is using him to spread hope, that makes sense. If the Ring has chosen him due to his personality, then no, I don’t see that. One thing that has proven to be the foundation of the Flashes is love, as embodied with Joan Garrick, Iris West and Linda Park. Surely the Sapphire Ring would have been a better choice? Plus, I think combining the Flash costume with the Star Sapphire armour would look far more impressive than the current choice. Blue Flash doesn’t do it for me anymore than Wonder-Sapphire.

Indigo – Atom. Indigo represents compassion. So Ray Palmers history of slaughtered loves and betrayal through love and then constantly running away from his problems makes him a suitable candidate for the Indigo light? I rather feel that someone was making up the numbers here without a great deal of thought.

Violet – Princess Diana, the Wonder Woman. Now in concept, this one sort of works for me, and her mini-series was well put together. Still, her Star Sapphire costume mixed with her traditional armour looks abysmal, making this combination cheesy.

These new Guardians seem to be opportunities that have been missed. More minor characters could have been given the opportunity to bear the rings and grab the limelight. Since DC are absorbing the Milestone and Red Circle characters, wouldn’t it have made good business sense to have seen these somewhere in the action? If the Superman titles have managed to include obscure references to them, then I am positive that the major universe-wide crossover could have given them at least a tacit glance, if only to introduce them to new readers.

Dharma contemplates his er, blind spot

And now, the story that you all have been waiting for. Well, that I have been waiting for anyway.

If you have been reading my column regularly, then you will remember how overjoyed I was that the Shadow Cabinet guest-starred in the Justice League of America last year, and I have been similarly enthralled by Static’s membership of the Teen Titans. However, learning that Dharma had ‘folded’ his world into the DCU, or New Earth, was a bittersweet pill. As glad as I was to see these characters again, I wanted to know how this has occurred, thus I was left feeling a little cheated.

No more however. With last weeks Milestone Forever #1, it looks like we will finally get to see the details of how this happened. More specifically, how this happened on the Milestone/Earth Dakota side of the fence, not Infinite/Final Crisis after-effects in the DCU.  I can’t believe that it has been seventeen years since the beginning of Milestone, and I hope their return to the big leagues remains strong for many years to come.

Milestone was a tidy little line, where you could read as many or as few titles as you liked, and always feel that you received a full story. Except maybe the pre-Zero Hour crossover Worlds Apart where the Superman titles encountered Earth Dakota, which remains one of my favourite crossovers. One of it’s selling points at the time was that just like the world itself, the characters came from a highly multicultural stock. It was never the ‘black’ comics company, but it highlighted a greater diversity than the other major publishers of the time.

To me that was slightly irrelevant, which I would like to think was the point the writers were aiming for. These were good solid characters, believable and flawed, entertaining and ones that you could not help but accept into your heart. Except maybe Holocaust, but then we were all supposed to dislike him.

It was interesting to see all the familiar faces again, but presented in a manner that also introduced many of them to new readers, yet I cannot help but think that the issue is only enhanced by familiarity with the characters, else certain scenes may seem a little blasé, such as Rocket destroying Flashback’s crack pipes. (Actually, even having followed Blood Syndicate from start to finish, I still find the scene a little blasé, but there’s a limit to how much can be fit into an issue.)

For continuity cops there appears to be glaring error however. We see Holocaust burn himself away to a skeleton, but supposedly after this, he appears in one of last years issues of The Brave And The Bold. I detect another rewriting of the universe.

But then again, that’s the point of the series. I highly recommend this, and I look forward to bigger and brighter things for the Milestone crew.

Now all I am waiting for is the Blood Syndicate/Mighty Crusaders crossover. Oh, the Crusaders haven’t happened yet? They will.

Uncanny X-Men:First Class 8

What is it about the whole retroactive continuity thing that is so attractive nowadays? It used to be a manner to enhance a previous story, to correct continuity errors or even justify such errors, yet now we have numerous titles on the stands that pump out exactly that – additional stories containing extra looks at past events.

The back-up strip in Classic X-Men, which reprinted the Uncanny X-men early issues back in the eighties, was always for me the whole selling point of the comic. Nowadays we are being treated to the First Class line of titles starring the X-Men, Spider-Man revisiting the Secret Wars, the fall-out from Our Worlds At War seen in the pages of Superman/Batman, and of course Batman Confidential.

These serve many purposes. Firstly they serve to keep the older stories alive, for newer readers. After all, both major companies continuities are complex, daunting, and possibly a little impenetrable to newcomers. Many of the major events of both companies deserve a new look (and yes, to my shame, I am even involving the Infinity Gauntlet or Millenium in that list), especially when we see how much story is provided in events nowadays, Dark Reign, Civil War and Blackest Night being fine examples.

This also makes these crossovers easier on the wallet. I have praised Fall Of The Hulks and Realm Of Kings as being nicely contained, Siege less so, and Doom War looks like it too will have a limited drain on our weekly finances. However, with these many retroactive titles out there, we can always revisit these events. As much as I enjoy the Marvel Adventures or Forever lines, I want to see more of the main continuity, not the latest fashionable alternate reality designed for new readers, and this style is perfect.

Speaking of the current events, so far I figure it this way. Fall Of The Hulks is after Siege, as Thor is readily available. Doom War I think may begin between the two, it depends what happens to Doom at the culmination of that story to see if he is still available to be turned into a gibbering idiot by the Intelligentsia.

What brought this train of thought to mind was reading Uncanny X-Men:First Class #8. I thoroughly enjoyed the issues leading to this, a return to the simple days around the creation of the Phoenix. However, this recent issue was a Leprechaun murder mystery at Cassidy Keep. How can you resist that?

Still, it was news to me that Cassidy Keep was home to three hundred and fifty seven Leprechauns as part of the household staff, and I want to see some more of that.

Doom's victims, and that will just be the start.

So this week sees the commencement of the Doom War, which I have been forward to for some time. Let’s face it, Doom has been fairly active recently, in the pages of Thor, Doctor Voodoo and Black Panther, aside from his infrequent influence as part of the Dark Reign Cabal and his dumping of the Intelligentsia in the Fall Of The Hulks.

Busy boy!

This seems the perfect time for him to act, what with the majority of the Avengers and Asgardians caught up in the events of the Siege,and the various gamma-spawned Hulks similarly caught up in their own business.

If you want to know some of the background of the Doom/Namor/T’Challa triad, this dates back to the halcyon days of Super-Villain Team-Up, and issues of the Defenders. There has long been a power-play between the three of them, alliances made and betrayed with no small regularity. You would think that by now they would all know better, but as ever Doom’s ambition knows no bounds.

I try not to read the advance solicitations that often as I prefer the issues to be a surprise, although I confess that on a number of occasions that I have read them and made assumptions about what to expect, I have been amusingly wrong.

I like the fact that Doom War is not between countries, but between people. Nary a hero has escaped his malicious actions, and it is way beyond time that everyone got together and handed him his head. Still, it’s a curious cast. The FF and the X-Men make sense, but Deadpool? In that crew? Now that is something I will have to see.

What scares me most is a comment I read from the writer of this series, Black Panther’s Jonathan Mayberry, in an interview on Comic Book Resources.

“Deadpool is uncomfortably close to me at times. He’s a smartass, he has an inner life that’s weirdly interactive, and he loves a good fight. Back in my younger days, when I was a tournament competitor in full-contact martial arts and later as a bodyguard, I was known for a deeply inappropriate sense of humor during the most stressful times. People told me that I’d be cracking jokes on the way to the hospital with an icepick sticking out of my stomach – joking with the guy who did it, who was strapped to a gurney in the same ambulance with all the broken bones I’d given him. So – Deadpool – yeah, I get him.”

Although we expect our writers to have an understanding of the characters they write, someone who empathises with Deadpool is in control of the Marvel Universe? I fear for us all.

Against my better judgement, I have recently been reading Deadpool, a character I avoided for years, and I admit now, I was wrong. If you haven’t looked at Deadpool team-up, I highly recommend it.

In the meantime, let’s sit back and watch Doom get trashed. Well, for the time being at least.

Action Comics #886

I’ve mentioned before how much I am enjoying the current direction of the Superman titles, especially Action Comics, and this weeks offering of #886 is no exception. In fact for a continuity cop for myself, this issue has raised the bar somewhat.

The main story featuring Chris (Lor-Zod) and Thara as the latest incarnations of Nightwing and Flamebird, is a telling of the Kryptonian creation myth and the tale of love and betrayal of the original divine duo. It a beautiful tale, full of the standard mythic archetypes and nicely illustrated. Okay, it’s not Alex Ross, but it suits.

What has really fired me up is the back-up story featuring Captain Atom. He seemed to have rather easily deflected criticism and retribution from the other heroes regarding his time as Monarch, and now with the assistance of the Shadowpact, he aims to take on Mirabai. The land here he and Natasha were trapped in, the kingdom of Mirabai has been revealed to be Sorcerers’ World.

Prior to the Final Crisis, erm, Infinite Crisis, erm possibly even Zero Hour back in 1995, Sorcerers’ World in the thirtieth century was what the Gemworld would one day become. This new view of the DC mulitiverse now states Gemworld is but one path to the Sorcerers’ World. I wonder if the old silver age tale of the offshoot of humanity, the Homo Magi remains in continuity? I do believe that there has been some mention of them in the past couple of years.

What I really liked about this is how the writer obviously knows his continuity, not only mentioning Myrra the home of Nightmaster, and the Land of Nightshades; also the Green of the Swamp Thing, the Grey of Matango, the Red of Animal Man (the Vertigo series at least) and even the Jejune realm of Vext!

It was nice to see the tip of the hat to those Vertigo series that featured characters that have returned to the all-ages DCU, as one thing I have been a little frustrated with was the total absence of reference to the old Animal Man series. After all, shouldn’t young Maxine Baker be practically a god nowadays?

That very feature, of retro-continuity and revamp is the only thing that detracts from the first story in this issue. How long will it remain in continuity this time? The DC Multiverse seems to reboot itself every ten years or so. I would hate to think that all this current crop of stories will be wiped away the next time a writer turns their attention to Krypton. The continuity originally lasted say thirty years, taking the pre-Crisis Silver Age as the longest lived example. Lets have the continuity remain in place for at least another thirty years this time.

Else what was the point in the title FINAL Crisis?

Secret Six #17

Reading through today’s shipping list, I noticed DC’s Secret Six #18 coming out, one of a relatively few Blackest Night crossovers this week, and I realised I hadn’t read the previous issue. And so I went and did exactly that.

I’m not sure how it slipped my mind, we have all the Suicide Squad ingredients as we saw in the issue of the same name released recently, Amanda Waller pulling the strings, Belle Reve as a battleground, the Bronze Tiger being as warm and cuddly as ever (oh how I have missed that), and former members raising from the dead.

With the Suicide Squad, that’s a fair number, and not in a nice X-Men way either. Oh wait, scratch that…………

I am sorely hoping the Secret Six do fall under the control of Amanda Waller, because as major player in the DCU she needs a regular home, and let’s face it, we all want to know what she is up to.

For instance, what is her position on the whole General Sam Lane thing? He still remains to be brought to justice, I had rather thought that the World Of New Krypton would bring that particular plotline to a close, but obviously not. I don’t know about you, but I’m actually starting to like General Zod!

Still, there’s no way that Lane can pull off everything he has done so far without Waller knowing about it, surely? Unless I missed an issue that shows she is on the payroll already. I suppose that would make ssense, but something tells me that Amanda wouldn’t go that far. (Oh boy I hope I can back that up, please be nice to me writers!)

So, Suicide Squad and Secret Six have reawakened my enjoyment of Blackest Night, although I have to say, I do miss the weekly-issued crossover event. You know, the one that’s over quickly? Still, there is a glimmer of dawn on the horizon.

Still, as for my hopes for Waller, well, I think the Secret Six will remain free. After all, that is the whole dynamic of the team, and they are a good bunch of characters.

So, let’s give Waller a home people. Or bring back the Suicide Squad for good.

Oh, and recommendations? How can we refuse Adventure Comics #7, and the adventures of Black Lantern Superboy Prime?

Later addition.  Oh.  It’s Conner.  Gutted. I’m still waiting for Prime’s redemption here!

Realm of Kings - Son of Hulk #1

Realm Of Kings: Son Of Hulk #1 offered for me quite a nostalgic flavour, with appearances of the Psyklop (who look quite freaky now), the legacy of Jarella (one of the Hulk’s former girlfriends), and former Micronauts Arcturus Rann and Marionette.  After the relaunch of those characters by Image Comics and then Devil’s Due, I remain confused as to who exactly owns the licence on these characters.

Still, while the majority of people’s attention is focused on the barbaric Skaar, the tale of Hiro Kala shows that the smaller of Hulk’s offspring is probably the more dangerous of the two, and definitely the most destructive, leaving the wreckage of Sakaar only to cause the destruction of a second planet Giausar, weakening the planet’s crust, causing it to descend into warfare and then dangling it like a doggy treat in front of the great devourer Galactus.

He is not a nice guy.  In fact he is the definition of the angry young man, rejected, formerly enslaved, abandoned and master of a power that he hates.

And now he is loose on Jarella’s world?  They have called the Hulk to save them from a new assault of the Psyklop, but of course the Hulk no longer exists as such, and anyway Hiro Kala and his crew were near the Fault, and thus are the next best thing. My childhood memories of great stories are quaking in the cupboard, simply wanting to survive.

I doubt they will.

This is not the best jumping on point for Hiro-Kala’s story, but I still recommend it, I’m sure any of the politics between this Son Of Hulk and his crew will soon become obvious.  But how can you turn down Micronauts and Jarella? (Well, her niece at least.)

The coming Realm Of Kings is looking more and more promising.  Especially since it looks like the Magus will be a player after all!

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #31

During a quiet and rather wet weekend, I was feeling more than a little nostalgic. So to recapture my lost youth (not that I lost it all that long ago), I decided to sit down and have a good read through IDW’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. I had been following the series on and off since it began, but not frequently enough. Some issues in isolation were not fantastic and I let the reading slip.

However, taken in total they are a damn fine read. With the concluding episode of Buffy, a spell was cast so that thousands of Slayers were ‘Chosen’ across the world. This was not spectacularly received by the fans, at least the ones that I know or read of. However, in this Joss Whedon approved series, that aspect is played out nicely, even if it does rather force the Slayers into the role of the X-Men, protecting a world that fears and hates them.

In fact everything that used to occur in the Buffyverse in relative secrecy now appears to be making headline news. The vampire Harmony has her own reality TV show (how does she appear on camera?), the Slayers are seen as some evil cult, and the witch Amy and the now skinless Warren are working for the US government.(Cheney must be hiring again.)

I had forgotten just how infectious the whole Buffy-style (or more appropriately Willow-style) of speech was, until after spending an afternoon reading, I found myself uttering many such phrases myself. I soon, like, regained control of the speech-type thing, and by the next morning made no more word messiness. At all. Zilch. Nada. Complete absence of.

There are a number of points in the story that I’m not totally sold on, but the truth is that everything in the series progresses logically, and if you liked the original TV series, then I think you will like this, hopefully for the right reasons. Don’t be put off by the latest rather retro cover, because as ever, the surviving Scooby Gang members lives are really messed up.

My recommendations for this weeks shipping? Nova #34 (of course), the conclusion of Ghost Rider:Heaven’s On Fire, Realm Of Kings:Son Of Hulk, two more conclusions – Superman World Of New Krypton and Blackest Night Wonder Woman, and if you have any spare coins left, try out The Authority, about to embark on a whole new voyage, so now is a fairly good jumping on point.

Oh, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer #32 of course.

Are the Martians coming?

So, despite the fact that the real Captain America has been wandering around the Marvel Universe for a couple of months now, this week has finally seen the conclusion of the Captain America Reborn mini, and it had everything that we could ask for. Wrap-around cover, the Red Skull possessing a giant robot body, an army of baby M.O.D.O.K.s….

I mean, who can argue with an army of baby M.O.D.O.K.s?

Right, fan-boy gushing aside, there was little in this series that grabbed me. After about the second or third issue the story was predictable, and so all I was waiting for was the series to conclude. And is it me, or was it very very late?

I’ve come to expect from a story at least a few elements of what is featured on the cover. Now I appreciate this would have been a big story had it shipped on a reasonable schedule and the cover is highly symbolic, but I would have preferred a cover that didn’t feature practically everybody.

There were a few nice touches, such as Sin being hideously disfigured like her father. (Euwwww, that is not a thing to call a nice touch!)

Even more enticing was the vision of the War Of The Worlds type scenario, with giant tripods walking through the ruins of New York. Only these tripods look more like something that would come out of the Fault.

Maybe my hopes for the Realm Of Kings storyline reaching earth will come true after all.

Ever since I read the original Guardians Of The Galaxy, or maybe even dating back to the ancient days of Amazing Adventures, I have always wanted to read a skilfully executed version of the Martians invading the Marvel earth. Unfortunately the GOTG never provided that, the best I can think of is actually the Wisdom mini-series, but that invasion was cut short. (And of course, the Martians first strike in that series was where it should be, London.)

Does this one panel make up for a rather lacklustre series? No, but it does whet my appetite for what comes next.

I read somewhere that Batman is also bouncing through time. Well considering he was killed in a space-time well caused by Darkseid’s descent and should really have been resurrected alongside the rest of the universe by Superman’s use of the Miracle Machine at the culmination of Final Crisis, I suppose that makes sense. More sense than a chronal bullet in an assassination attempt. Let’s hope the return of the Bat is a little more spectacular than Cap’s.

Guardians Of The Galaxy #22

I’m wondering just how big the Realm Of Kings is supposed to be, when it finally arrives. In this week’s Guardians Of The Galaxy #22 we will see the birth (or not) of a dark god that impregnated itself within Moondragon and is welcomed by the Universal Church of Truth. (So finally Moonie becomes the Celestial Madonna as she always wanted, only to discover it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.)

We saw last week in Realm Of Kings Imperial Guard, Quasar loose in the Fault, yet hasn’t he already reached Earth? Or at least a version of him with scary eyes did, currently mooching around Project Pegasus.

Then we have the weird Leviathan organisation in Secret Warriors, and of course in the endlessly repeated prologue of Fantastic Four #575 we have chaos in the underworlds. The Old Ones awakening perhaps?

I doubt it, but then again it would be nice. If nothing else Marvel has proved that it can do interlinked story-lines with the recent few years of offerings, that from an editorial perspective are up there with the first and greatest of them all, Crisis On Infinite Earths.

However, Realm Of Kings could offer a great enough threat to finally reunite the Marvel Universe and restore the status quo. After all, there are still a lot of grudges and feuds remaining after the events of Civil War, Secret Invasion et al; and there is nothing like the risk of everything being wiped out to erase such meddlesome distractions.

Still, in the meantime, we have Siege to get through, which is shaping up to be a more interesting story than I first gave it credit for. And dawning over the horizon is coming the Heroic Age , a new direction for Marvel as it casts aside al the darkness of the past few years.

Hmmm. Cast away the darkness? Just as The Fault opens the universe to another where life has won, death is vanquished, and cancerous gods look for new space to expand into?

Yeah. Good timing, that!