Secret Six #34; the team recovers from their trip to Hell, Liana's girlfriend's back and you're gonna be sorry, and Bane goes to a carnival.
This is one of those great "cool down" issues, where the bulk of the issue is just about giving all the characters a breather, in between adventures. It's the kind of thing that used to seem more prevalent in comics, but has fallen by the wayside, as comics have become more event-driven. I have the usual complaints about Jim Calafiore's art, and Simone's writing is a little too cloying at times, but this is still one of the best books DC publishes. There's a very fun, visceral formula to this series, that's one part bad people getting murdered in terrible ways, and one part deranged characters saying funny things.
Hulk #34: Planet Red Hulk; the Red Hulk finds himself on an alien planet, and does in one issue, what the Incredible Hulk needed the better part of a year to accomplish.
I was initially pretty skeptical of this storyline, just because it seemed a bit trite to do another Planet Hulk story, so soon. But Jeff Parker's really going to super-compress this storyline, based on this issue. Which will hopefully leave him more time to do some interesting stuff, and make this more than a rehash of another story. Also, it's kind of awesome that Planet Hulk artist Carlos Pagulayan, is also drawing this story.
I'm not following this series month-to-month, but if anyone's been curious about it, pick this one up. It makes for a good jumping-on point.
Thunderbolts #158; the Juggernaut finds a big hammer, the Thunderbolts fight science-zombies, and the Raft suffers what must be its tenth breakout in the past four years.
I wasn't happy with some aspects of the last Thunderbolts issue, but this one felt like a return to form. Pretty much everyone but Boomerang gets a nice action moment, the dialogue's sharp, the art's fantastic, and it plants the seeds for what could be some fun future stories.
Haunt #16; Kurt Kilgore discovers there might be a reason for sticking around after dying, Daniel recovers from a head-wound, and Cobra and Mr. Hurg continue to be the most entertaining characters in the book.
This is an interesting series, in that it's basically Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane, making Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane fan-fiction. It's like they took a ton of prominent elements from their past stories, stirred it all together, and then threw in some genuinely entertaining villains. As always, Capullo's art is great. I imagine I'll stop reading this when Kirkman and Capullo leave the title, but this has really been a surprisingly entertaining book, ever since it launched.
Herc #4; Hercules' day goes from bad to okay to worse, as he gains a faithful steed, suffers a humiliating injury, and then eats a dog. Being mortal ain't all it's cracked up to be. Also, Rob Liefeld is finally vindicated.
After issues #2-3 were
so-so, I was close to dropping this title entirely. But, this one brought me back onboard, with some interesting developments, cool villains, and good humor. It's still weird to see Herc depicted in such a serious style, both in the art and the story, but I feel like this book's finally picking up some momentum. Honestly, this should have probably been the first story of the series.
Irredeemable #26; the Plutonian and friends continue their escape from an insane asylum buried in the heart of a star, Kaidan notes that nice guys finish last, and Scylla says the three little words that every girl longs to hear.
This is another series that I was close to giving up on, but has gotten more interesting with the recent arc, and the Plutonian's struggle to get out of the cosmic equivalent of Arkham Asylum. I still don't really care about any of the Earth-bound heroes, as Mark Waid hasn't really fleshed them out to a great degree, but giving the Plutonian some potential new threats and allies, has made for a neat story.
That is how you start your comic. Great first page, there.
X-Factor #220; Shatterstar and Rahne go for a stroll, get into a fight, and a character returns who I felt pretty sure was dead and gone for good.
This really just seemed like a showcase to have Rahne and Shatterstar talk at each other, but damn if it wasn't entertaining. Shatterstar's arguably the funniest character on the team right now, and Rahne the most dour, so it makes for a good dynamic. It does set up some stuff that honestly doesn't seem all that appealing, but Peter David has really earned my trust when it comes to this book, so I'll continue to read it, as I have since the relaunch. Unless Larry Stroman comes back, because
fuck that art was bad.
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Is The Plutonian a bad guy?
Because it seems that while on Earth he was basically a massive bastard who murdered lots of people
But then I have seen scans of him in other situations which portray him as kind of the hero.
Is it one of those "bad guys becomes good guy" things?
Because I am interested in the series.
So no, he's still a bastard. But, he's shown that, if he could, he'd undo all the evil shit he's done.
Also, Mark Waid has mentioned that the titular "Irredeemable" may not refer to the Plutonian, so it's possible he could achieve some measure of redemption, before all's said and done. But right now, he's certainly not on the path to heroism.
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Plutonian was basically Superman. Then he had a nervous breakdown (the arc of the first book is explaining why that happened) and murdered the world.
After Bane flashes that wad of cash, the carny and his buddies decide to mug him. It ends much as you'd expect.
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Without guns? They only have pipes!
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
There. I just had to say it.
Please take my advice.
Guntha, aka Troll. Half-Asgardian, half-troll, she escaped from a prison with a couple of full-trolls when Asgard was destroyed. The Thunderbolts destroyed her trolls and captured her, and she's latched onto Songbird and wants to be a Thunderbolt.
But speaking of which, what the Hell kind of damn fool agrees to work at The Raft or any supervillain prison where escapes and mass-breakouts are commonplace. The life expectancy for those guards has got to be measured in months if they're lucky.
Also, hazard pay?
This should be everyone's rule
(Tex signal, lit!)
But yeah hazard pay seems like it would draw some people
Plus I bet they only do it for six months or so, then go and do something else
It'd be pretty funny if the Raft Guard job was seen as the kind of posting that the chief gives to his worst guys, troublemakers and so on. That would explain the escape attempts, if nothing else!
Thought the same thing, in the same order after I stopped laughing.
Unfortunately, that stuff doesn't count for much when a magic hammer suddenly crashes through the building, and the Juggernaut goes on a rampage.
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The problem being is that shit like that happens all the g-d time.
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Flashpoint #2, which, knowing what we now know, I wonder if they're going to mash Steve Trevor and Lois Lane together in this new world, as we also get Lois' beauty being magnified:
Marc Spector is so crazy. He dresses up as Spider-Man, complete with fake web shooters, while wearing the Moon Knight suit underneath the Spidey suit.
also Paladin is so cool
o_O
no, bad bendis
Moon Knight has been pretty good for 2 issues. I don't see anything wrong with what Bendis and Maleev are doing. The scenes Blank is talking about was pretty damn good.
Looking forward to seeing more crazy, Echo, and Count Nefaria*.
*Unless that's Monocle. That would be wild.
Well, as goofy as the double costume thing sounds, I think it's actually handled pretty well.
As someone knows only a little about Moonknight, I really am enjoying this series so far. But then again it's really also only issue #2 :P
I thought his version of webshooters were kinda cool. He had these small sticks of the end of a wire that shot out. (kind of like the probe on a taser gun?) He wasn't zipping around with them or anything.
The webshooters were on these metal wrist band things which also had retractable stubby claws for his 'wolverine' persona.
At one point he's getting his ass kicked and Moonknight "sends in" wolverine, he pops the claws and just goes berzerk. Kinda awesome.
As I said earlier, Shocker's my boy (I still love Shocker: Legit). I was trying to fit that awesome picture of him on the rocks into a new sig and avatar but failed miserably.
Thunderbolts has gone from great to my weekly favourite in these past weeks. And I'm glad Boomerang survived, he and shocker better get their buddy-cop on in the Underbolts.
And a selection for this week's "no context needed," another two panels from Heroes for Hire:
I liked it too, it's an interesting take on the character, and I already liked it better than Charlie Huston's version of the character.
Can anyone tell me who's the guy at the end though? It feels like it's suppose to be a reveal of some sort..
Yes, yes. Many thanks.
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I now see that scene in a whole new light. What did Herc do to break him so bad he brings him meat as a supplicant?
how many other red, white and yellow griffins do you know
As for why he's helping Herc, he saved Griffin from being killed by the son of Ares, so now he's following him around like a pet. Gonna be awkward when that guy gets his mind back.
Fucking. METAL.
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so I think dumbGriffin will be sticking around a while at least
There's 5 different Caps, and 3 different Mysterios and Hobgoblins, this can be confusing!
But what I'm really seeing out of this is that Griffin is now a Pet Avenger?
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Ha, I actually own that issue! It was my first exposure to the Griffin too.
Yeah, I know it looked like the Griffin (Obviously), but I swear I had seen him recently in a fairly cognisant state, hence the confusion.
And yes, that is actually quite fucking metal.
something about a human being reduced to an animal state physically and mentally freaks me out a lot