The idea of the X-babies meeting up with the characters of the late Star Comics is far better in concept than it is in execution. I should have known.

IDW's Doctor Who #5

Still, I have had my fill of ludicrousness with last weeks Marvel Zombies, so I am happy. Funnily enough, the reprint of Planet Terry’s first issue offered in X-Babies #2 as a back up strip was far more enjoyable than the story itself.

Realm Of Kings: Imperial Guard had a good start, even if the Guard were suddenly mysteriously at ease with following Gladiator’s Majestorship (oo, look, I made a word!). Nothing really happened in this issue, it was just a primer setting up the interpersonal politics and dropping the bombshell that a team is to probe into The Fault, alongside the Starjammers, who only appear on the final page. Still, it shows promise.

The only thing that surprised me in this issue is the characterisation of Hussar, who all of a sudden has revealed a kinder, more reasonable side to her personality. We’ve not seen that before, she had always seem to be cut from more bloodthirsty cloth.

But for my recommendation of the week, I’m going to depart from the Big Two, and look to IDW.

Now I have been a Whovian since I first learned to hide behind the sofa from pepperpots with sink-plungers sticking out of them. I followed the Doctors adventures when he was cast into the wilderness by the BBC and the license was picked up by Virgin. If you didn’t know, the eighth Doctor had quite the career in books and audio plays before the relaunch four years ago with Christopher Eccleston as the Time-Lord. I saw Gallifrey split into duplicates, and saw Faction Paradox learn how to break every law of time. You could say that on this I was a continuity buff, proudly wearing my anorak for no-one to see.

IDW’s Doctor Who series, now on its fifth issue brings together elements of both the original Doctor(s) and the relaunched version. In their current storyline, they have the Krillitane making a bid to dominate or overthrow the Shadow Proclamation with thelp of the rhino-headed Judoon, all newer elements; while the Sontarans, Draconians and the Ogrons are all caught in the crossfire. The latter two I don’t think we have seen since Jon Pertwee travelled the corridors of the Time Vortex.

In fact, the defeat of these other races at the hands of the Doctor in the past make them very unwilling allies in the current plot, and I love it. If you fondly remember the years of Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith (the first time around), then this is a series not to be missed.

Marvel Zombies Evil Evolution #1

Okay last week was not as slow as I initially thought, when at the bottom of my pile I discovered Marvel Zombies Vs Apes: Evil Evolution #1.

It was convoluted, one could say continuity heavy, composed from a facile idea, and wiped itself from continuity before the story had even ended.

I loved every single minute of it! Sheer idiotic genius. I think this weeks full-on return of Planet Terry in X-Babies #2 (they are not MY X-Babies!) will have to be a total masterpiece to compete in any fashion. I’m not going to hold my breath for that.

In fact the whole wiping from continuity thing doesn’t bother me at all, as I was horrified when at one point Monkey Speedball became infected. I really like Monkey Speedball, I liked his interactions with the Initiative, and I want to see a lot more of him. Hell, he may even be an essential ingredient in Robby Reeds rehabilitation one day, as I really don’t like what Marvel have done to him. I don’t want Penance (even though the plotline does make sense), I want my Speedball back! Still, if all I can have is a monkey, I can live with that for the time being.

Monkey-Speedball seems to me like a character that has serious potential, and captures me in a way that Howard the Duck never did. Then again, I like my comics to be fun, but not ludicrous, but that’s just personal taste. Less Bwah-ha-ha, and more of the odd chuckle.

Geek moment here. I say the wiping from continuity thing doesn’t bother me, except for the fact that it flies in the face of how time and dimension travel works in the Marvel Universe. Just as we saw the Zombie-world trapped in a loop at the end of Marvel Zombies Return, (not that that really adheres to the rules either, after all, where did the infection come from?), that loop has now been broken. The early part of the story can be considered to be the alternate reality (Zombie-Ape world, which is still out there) and the time-travel revision returns us to what is considered to be the mainstream Earth(s) of Earth 616, Zombie World and Ape-World. So the infection is still out there and travelling in the Multiverse. Due to its all-consuming nature, we shall see more of it.

And if you take the recent struggle against the Magus dominating all the timelines as seen in Guardians of the Galaxy as a precedent, then surely Kang or Immortus would need to take action. Or are we to have a zombie Time-Keeper?

What to watch out for this week? Realm Of Kings:Imperial Guard is out, continuing the story from the recent special. I like the way these characters have been treated in the new Cosmic Marvel, their three issue mini several years ago did nothing to satisfy me. They have grown far beyond mere Legion rip-offs, and I think this series will prove it.

X-Force #1 continues the X-Necrosha storyline (more zombies – YAY!), and REBELS #10 with the struggle against Starro. Both of these I am looking forward to immensely.

Oh, and did I mention the X-Babies?

X-Babies #1 Cover

It’s here! It’s finally here!

X-Babies #1 hit the stands yesterday, and I couldn’t get to my comic store fast enough. On a general level, I loved it, except……

These are not the X-Babies that I know. Where was Ricochet Rita? Where was Wolvie and Stormy? Or Baby Bishop? Just how many troupes of X-Babies are there wandering around the Multiverse? This is not the set who met Excalibur, or the group that met the X-Men! I feel cheated! And what about the Mity ‘Vengers? Are we ever going to see those little critters again?

Still, all of my questions vanished with the long awaited (by me at least) return of Planet Terry at the end of the issue. That Mojo has been deposed (again), this time by a programmer who wishes to create educational shows (education? From my TV? Who would want that?) is certainly a departure from the revolt of the Spined Ones, or the rise to power of the rival Mojo II.

In Exiles it was implied that there is only one Mojoworld, and one Mojo. Still, that continuity is a mess, and only one Mojo, but at least thousands of divergent Longshots? Mmmm, that makes sense.

This weeks offerings are a mixed bag. Jim Starlin’s Strange Adventures mini comes to a conclusion, of sorts. A continuation of a plot line that began in Hardcore Station, we see Synnar’s quest for omnipotence, depending on six heroes, the Aberrant Six; Comet (formerly Captain); Eye, a character who hasn’t been explored enough; Adam Strange; The Weird, Starman Prince Gavyn and Bizarro (replacing Hawkman after his untimely demise at the hands of a Black Lantern).

This was not what I call a conclusion, and although it promised to be other earlier, it seems like a re-run of Thanos’ quest for power but in the DCU. The only good thing to come out of this series is that the Weird returned to Earth. Starman under goes a transformation at Synnar’s hands that seems pointless. A waste of a good character if this is to remain permanent, I hope it is soon rectified. We had to wait a long time to see the return of Synnar, but I rather hope that this plotline does not drag on for another few years.

My highlight has to have been Superman:World Of New Krypton #8. After facing an attack by the Thanagarians, which has yet to be fully explained, an old face reappears at the end of this issue angry about the Kryptonians stealing the moon of Callisto to provide their artificial world with a moon. Welcome back to centre stage Jemm, Son Of Saturn!

Considering that the Kryptonians grew their planet, why on earth shouldn’t they have the ability to grow a moon? It seems like the Solar System is getting to be a very populated place, and it is nice to see the Saturnians again, and Jemm healthy and in control of himself.

Now, I wonder if we will see the return of the blue-skinned Venusians that Hal Jordan assisted early in his career? In fact I lose track of just how many different Venusian races there were in the Golden and Silver Ages, now that must have been one busy planet!

Other recommendations? Justice League Cry For Justice #4 – Do not miss this!

Well, Blackest Night #1 is out on the shelves, and as set up issues go, it was okay. As I feared however, it looks like the Blackest Night is going to swamp the War Of Light storyline in Green Lantern unless that carries on after this crossover is finished, which I doubt. It does run the risk so far of just being a zombie story I think, but I will refrain from criticism until we are at least three issues in.

Speaking of super-zombies however, the Super-Zombies title from Dynamite has sucked me in. A whole new universe of characters, politics and intrigue established from the get-go, and in four issues I have already begun to care about the characters. This has risen to the top of my must-read list, and if you haven’t seen it already, I advise picking the issues up and giving them a chance. Yes you will be confused as to who everyone is to start with, I still am and need to re-read it to check who’s who. However, I started reading the DC Universe with Crisis On Infinite Earths, and you can imagine how much back-reading I had to do to find out who everyone was there. My only regret is that with Super-Zombies, that back material is not available to dip into.

What has me really pumped however is how the return of the Milestone universe is rolling on, this week in The Brave And The Bold #25, starring Hardware and Blue Beetle. Hardware is his usual sociable self and we see the return of his age old adversaries The System. Oh yeah, and the new Blue Beetle was in it as well.

I adored the confrontation recently between the JLA and the Shadow Cabinet, culminating in Justice League Of America #34, where we learnt just how it is that the Milestone Earth is now part of the DCU. The mysterious Dharma used the power of Rift Fred Benson (from Worlds Collide) to merge his universe with the DCU.

(Erm, from pre Zero Hour to the New Multiverse, did he misfire and shoot past the post-Zero Hour earth? Hell of a pattern that, knit one, drop one, knit one. “Ma, I lost a universe, have you seen it anywhere?)

Anyway, for a geek like me that means for once, all the previously titles still stand in continuity. There was some really good stuff in the old Milestone, and I was very disappointed to see it go.

Now, we’ve seen Holocaust, but I can’t wait to see what’s left of the rest of the Blood Syndicate and what they are up to nowadays.

Of course nostalgia seems all the rage at the minute. Anyone else dig that updated sixties-vibe in Superman World Of New Krypton? And how about the latest revamp of the Red Circle characters? !mpact comics was a bit of a flop, although it too had some good stories. However, I am just old enough to remember some of the actual Red Circle comics themselves. The Crusaders, The Fly and Fly-Girl. Villains like the Brain-Emperor and Eterno.

I am pumped about these, and I look forward to seeing the latter four characters again. The legacy of The Fly with the legacy of Shazam – now that would be an interesting mix.

Oh and have you seen Octobers solicitations? The X-Babies are coming back, but get this, WITH PLANET TERRY! I was too old to read Planet Terry the first time round but that didn’t stop me then, and it won’t stop me now.

Recycling in the music industry is bad. But here in the comic world? It’s good to see all of these old friends again.

As long as they are not zombies.