MOTW 5/20/09: Someone dies tonight....

TexiKenTexiKen Dammit!That fish really got me!Registered User regular
edited May 2009 in Graphic Violence
Again, Jack of Fables is MOTW. Or rather, it should be called "Bigby & the Literals"

So here we go!
Bigby keeps being changed from a monkey, to a donkey, then an elephant, and then a pink elephant (which Gary looooooves). Kevin Thorn is wondering why he can't outright kill his creation, and it's theorized that the story goes beyond the creator after so many years out in the open. Then we see who that straight jacket guy is:

jof34a.jpg


jof34b.jpg

Love that superhero line.

So we have Thorn trying to get rid of writer's block by thinking about other things for a bit. But the Page sisters have stolen a car and are going to find him and blow him up (seriously, they have a safehouse filled with Punisher-type guns), so he commands the genres to defend him from them.

And then, just to piss Bigby off, he turns into.....

jof34c.jpg


And Battle for the Cowl #3 goes where we think, but it makes me wonder if
Squire will be the new Batgirl, because she was in this book for a fair amount of time.

It was better than #2, but it was still a bad story.


And Cap #50 was a good birthday issue, although the second half of the issue is filler, and the Hembeck cartoon isn't that great.

Bucky is fighting generic bad guys, but reminiscing about how he never had a birthday party, ever since he was 16 on the Army base. But at the end of the issue....

cap50a.jpg

cap50b.jpg

And Brave & the Bold #23 could have easily been Booster Gold #21, so it was essentially a double ship month for Booster. Good solid Jurgens/Rapmund issue.

This was a pretty "oh snap" moment:
Booster checks in on Magog who he saw Rip fight on one of Rip's missions, who is trying to stop a terrorist group from bombing a school in Kahndaq. The bombs are set to go off on a dead man switch (if the trigger isn't held down it goes off). Magog improvises:

bb23a.jpg

Forget Superman, Booster seems to be the Magog keeper-in-checker after this issue.



Moment of the Weak(s): Uncanny #510 was boring and generic with more Land tracing (he even blurred some naked pics for a dream sequence), and my LCS didn't order any of those G-Man trades, or if they did they didn't put them in the new release section.

TexiKen on
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Posts

  • Sharp101Sharp101 TorontoRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Someone has to name all the villains in the last page of Punisher.

    Sharp101 on
  • noir_bloodnoir_blood Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Who is that next to Spider-Man?

    noir_blood on
  • KyleWPetersonKyleWPeterson Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Invincible
    Oh Cecil, will you ever learn?

    KyleWPeterson on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    noir_blood wrote: »
    Who is that next to Spider-Man?

    mock. yeah. ing. yeah. bird. yeah.

    TexiKen on
  • CrimsondudeCrimsondude Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    TexiKen wrote: »
    cap50a.jpg

    Hey, Tasha... Since this is a night of firsts and all...

    On a similar note, Clint is a slick mofo.

    Crimsondude on
  • LucascraftLucascraft Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Man, Uncanny X-Men. What the hell.

    I don't know why I bother buying this book anymore. Greg Land's art is terrible, and its gotten to the point where I have no idea what the fuck is going on from panel to panel.

    Lucascraft on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Fraction is just trying too hard, and the fight didn't seem like it was that big of the deal. Also, Land is totally tracing the best friend from Boy Meets World to be his Cyclops stand in.

    And aren't the Stepford Cuckoos and Elixir like 16? They shouldn't be talking about stuff like tantric sex (or rather, it shouldn't be implied that they're doin' it). And Land just uses one pose for the Stepford Cuckoos but just replicates the image three times to make them all the same. Weak.

    TexiKen on
  • Peeps ChickenPeeps Chicken Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Hulk is just so laughably bad. Why do I keep buying this crap?
    So, Red Hulk kills Terrax, Silver Surfer, Tiger Shark, Namor, regular Hulk, Dr. Strange, Baron Mordo, and an Elder of the Universe, all in one issue. And even the mini-Marvels at the end sucked, which is no surprise, seeing as how it was written by Loeb's daughter.

    /facepalm

    Peeps Chicken on
  • Futt BuckerFutt Bucker CTRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Hulk is just so laughably bad. Why do I keep buying this crap?
    So, Red Hulk kills Terrax, Silver Surfer, Tiger Shark, Namor, regular Hulk, Dr. Strange, Baron Mordo, and an Elder of the Universe, all in one issue. And even the mini-Marvels at the end sucked, which is no surprise, seeing as how it was written by Loeb's daughter.

    /facepalm

    ...

    What?

    Please tell me it is some sort of dream/simulation/another kind of thing where this didn't actually happen.

    Futt Bucker on
    My color is black to the blind
  • noir_bloodnoir_blood Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    TexiKen wrote: »

    And aren't the Stepford Cuckoos and Elixir like 16? They shouldn't be talking about stuff like tantric sex. k.

    Because we all know that teenagers don't think/talk about sex?

    And I can't decide if what's going on in Fables is awesome, or too self referential for me.

    noir_blood on
  • Peeps ChickenPeeps Chicken Registered User regular
    edited May 2009

    What?

    Please tell me it is some sort of dream/simulation/another kind of thing where this didn't actually happen.
    It was the real characters, but they were pulled out of the time stream so it won't affect reality.

    He killed Green Hulk. He killed Terrax by chopping Terrax's head off with Terrax's axe. Apparently, by the way, Red Hulk can absorb the power cosmic out of Silver Surfer, so he sucked Surfer's power out then killed him. The rest of the book was him basically one shotting the others. He went after Galactus (who did beat him and take back the Power Cosmic, thank god), but then he killed the Elder in about two hits.

    Peeps Chicken on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I edited my statement, but it was heavily implied that they were doing it. You don't have to get all detailed about it, it can be implied. Some stuff can be left to the reader's imagination. Or is it because they're in that hip cool SF that they have to talk about it like some shit out of Dharma & Greg. Bahhhh I'm too angry at how bad Uncanny has been to continue on something so small in a pool so full of suck.

    You also had a teleport scene that made no fucking sense. I hope it pops up on S_D just so someone could explain it better, because it reads like shit.

    TexiKen on
  • Futt BuckerFutt Bucker CTRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I am so not excited for the X-Men/Dark Avengers crossover.

    Futt Bucker on
    My color is black to the blind
  • HadjiQuestHadjiQuest Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Next Month's Uncanny is the back-in-time issue with the science team, right?

    That's all I've wanted to read. I've picked up the last couple issues just to see how terrible it is first-hand.

    HadjiQuest on
  • LucascraftLucascraft Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Is it really Fraction? I have a hard time believe that the guy responsible for the super awesome Iron Man every month is at fault for such a terrible run in X-Men. Its gotta be Land.

    Lucascraft on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Lucas, can you explain the teleport scene at the end? Because from what I read it didn't make any sense
    Spiral stopped someone (Mastermind II) from entering the portal, then threatened to kill her or something? I have no fucking idea

    TexiKen on
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Land certainly doesn't fucking help. But the current arc is terrible.

    Fencingsax on
  • LucascraftLucascraft Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    No, I have no idea what was happening in about 3/4 of the issue.

    I want to know how Emma Frost went from wearing pants and a halter-top to bra and panties mid-page. Did Land forget that he was drawing a super hero book and not a porno?

    Lucascraft on
  • HadjiQuestHadjiQuest Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    When all is wrong with X-Books, and even moreso with Wolverine books, Wolverine: Weapon X makes me smile.

    Although I'd probably prefer to read it in trades. Because I'm thinking there may actually be somewhat of a story hidden here, maybe even slightly moreso than the average Wolvie book.

    HadjiQuest on
  • ManonvonSuperockManonvonSuperock Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I love the "Yo, 'sup, broseph!" stance Spidey has in that scene with Bucky.

    ManonvonSuperock on
  • psycojesterpsycojester Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Hulk is just so laughably bad. Why do I keep buying this crap?
    So, Red Hulk kills Terrax, Silver Surfer, Tiger Shark, Namor, regular Hulk, Dr. Strange, Baron Mordo, and an Elder of the Universe, all in one issue. And even the mini-Marvels at the end sucked, which is no surprise, seeing as how it was written by Loeb's daughter.

    /facepalm

    Okay so you recognise that its absolutely crap, but you still continue to buy it. Congratulations you're to blame for Loebs career.

    psycojester on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • KyleWPetersonKyleWPeterson Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Honestly, how many issues in to the series are we and you're still buying it? Do you really not think your money could be spent on a better book?

    KyleWPeterson on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Agents of Atlas #5 was very good, with some twists on the Atlas/Avengers fight:
    Spider-Man realizes that the Agents are selling Osborn fake weapons, and are wanting to get caught so they can't give Osborn the weapons, so it looks like the Agents aren't screwing Osborn.

    But M-11, from remembering Logan from 1958, blasts his arm off, so they fight because of that. And Venus makes the Avengers cream their jeans so the Agents can escape

    And Supergirl #41 was good as well. An award for "most improved series"
    Supergirl tries to figure out why Lucy Lane is Superwoman, and how she can have Kryptonian powers. After Reactron gets shot in the face, Kara thinks its the discs on the Superwoman suit. Kara then goes crazy, breaking all the suits and ripping the "S" symbol off. Turns out the suit is what's powering her, and Lucy dies. General Lane is shellshocked, and Kara goes someplace to freak out that she killed someone

    TexiKen on
  • CrimsondudeCrimsondude Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    "Woops"

    Re: Supergirl. That seemed a bit heavy handed.

    Crimsondude on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    It wasn't done in a Teen Titans way, and she was upset about her being complicit in her father's murder. Completely reasonable if you ask me.

    TexiKen on
  • Peeps ChickenPeeps Chicken Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Honestly, how many issues in to the series are we and you're still buying it? Do you really not think your money could be spent on a better book?

    :shrug:
    I like Ed McGuinness quite a bit, and the run has actually featured some characters I really like (Valkyrie and the Defenders, among others).

    Edit: Not to mention Art Adams and Frank Cho, who've also worked on it. I'm certainly not buying the book for Loeb. I don't purchase anything else he's involved with currently, but if they pair artists I like with bad writers, I'm prone to keep reading the book in the hopes that the writers get switched. Strangely, I'm a lot less forgiving for bad art paired with writers I like.

    Peeps Chicken on
  • ManonvonSuperockManonvonSuperock Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I love the "Yo, 'sup, broseph!" stance Spidey has in that scene with Bucky.

    Also, what artist is that? -and is he capable of drawing a woman that looks older than 17?

    ManonvonSuperock on
  • noir_bloodnoir_blood Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I love the "Yo, 'sup, broseph!" stance Spidey has in that scene with Bucky.

    Also, what artist is that? -and is he capable of drawing a woman that looks older than 17?

    Ha, I went back and looked at the art again, and you're right. Also, the frame of Bucky blowing out the candles totally makes him look like he's five.

    noir_blood on
  • KidDorkKidDork Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    To continue with the head scratching over Uncanny, did I miss something when Spiral said 'We have your children' to Wolverine?

    As for Emma's clothes-switch, she was wearing proper clothes in her mind, but in reality she was just wearing her bra and panties. Which I don't buy, because Emma surely sleeps in the nude.

    As much as I agree Land's cut and paste of the Cuckoos is weak, I have a weakness for boobs, which explains why I can stare for minutes at the cover with Emma and Maddy cat-fighting. For this, Land is granted forgiveness, temporary though it may be.

    My MOTW, though, had to be Punisher.
    Frank using Ant-Man's helmet to hide on a pizza and then grow back to his six feet awesome through the criminal's body, with blood, guts and pepperoni everywhere.

    I am loving that book.

    KidDork on
  • CrimsondudeCrimsondude Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    KidDork wrote: »
    My MOTW, though, had to be Punisher.

    That came out today? Shit.

    I can't decide which I liked more. Jack of Fables, Ex Machina or FC Aftermath: Dance. Dance has the most potential since it's set in another universe. Jack was expected, though I like the reveal of the straightjacketed guy. Ex Machina had a cool scene at the end and a great panel at the end.
    Of a kid in a stroller being eaten by rats. Good. Fuck 'em.

    Crimsondude on
  • HadjiQuestHadjiQuest Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I'm probably the only person who picked up X-Men Forever Alpha, but it was probably the strongest thing I read this week, since Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance, BftC3, and Uncanny were all terrible; Spider-Man was a huge let down and spoiled the arc; and Wolverine: Weapon X was pretty much just a big fight scene.

    At the end, there are two slight previews for X-Men Forever. The first one is pretty simple, and it's just a big party for reuniting all the X-Men from the various offshoots.

    The second is a preview of a 'flash forward' of the book, to show how much it's going to deviate:
    Wolverine dies.

    Is it permanent? Probably not, but it looks like it would be.

    The newly mentioned story concepts aren't the greatest, as they're almost all the standard recurring plot threads, taken to the extreme. Either way, the 5 or 6 page preview was still miles better than Uncanny.

    HadjiQuest on
  • wirehead26wirehead26 Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Ending of Cap #50 is my MotW.

    Moment of the weak is my comic shop not getting Ultimate Galactus Trilogy, which I wanted. Did pick up Invincible volume 10 though.

    wirehead26 on
    I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!!!
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    HadjiQuest wrote: »
    I'm probably the only person who picked up X-Men Forever Alpha, but it was probably the strongest thing I read this week, since Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance, BftC3, and Uncanny were all terrible; Spider-Man was a huge let down and spoiled the arc; and Wolverine: Weapon X was pretty much just a big fight scene.

    At the end, there are two slight previews for X-Men Forever. The first one is pretty simple, and it's just a big party for reuniting all the X-Men from the various offshoots.

    The second is a preview of a 'flash forward' of the book, to show how much it's going to deviate:
    Wolverine dies.

    Is it permanent? Probably not, but it looks like it would be.

    The newly mentioned story concepts aren't the greatest, as they're almost all the standard recurring plot threads, taken to the extreme. Either way, the 5 or 6 page preview was still miles better than Uncanny.
    Seriously, both the arc and the political storyline are both pretty bad.

    Fencingsax on
  • FaynorFaynor Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I honestly didn't find that much wrong with the plot elements of X-Men, though I did also find many of the panels confusing. However, I blame that on Land since he probably couldn't find suitable pictures to trace so they would make sense.

    How did you not feel the fight was that important? They took the heavy hitters out pretty quickly, even if there was still the young'uns around it's enough for everyone to go "Shit!"

    Also, at the end.
    Did they capture Kwannon? It seemed like the portal effect went in after Logan pushed her away.

    Edit: On a second look through, there is the portal sound effect at the bottom of the panel. Why would Logan give them Kwannon? Oh, Scott's telling me to let her go! See ya, potential informant!

    Oh, yeah, and...
    It doesn't fucking make sense to try and resurrect Jean because she's not dead, Matt. There is no corpse, you fucking tourist!

    Faynor on
    do you wanna see me eat a hotdog
  • HadjiQuestHadjiQuest Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Faynor wrote: »
    I honestly didn't find that much wrong with the plot elements of X-Men, though I did also find many of the panels confusing. However, I blame that on Land since he probably couldn't find suitable pictures to trace so they would make sense.

    How did you not feel the fight was that important? They took the heavy hitters out pretty quickly, even if there was still the young'uns around it's enough for everyone to go "Shit!"

    Also, at the end.
    Did they capture Kwannon? It seemed like the portal effect went in after Logan pushed her away.

    Oh, yeah, and...
    It doesn't fucking make sense to try and resurrect Jean because she's not dead, Matt. There is no corpse, you fucking tourist!


    It was such a colossal mess that the fight had no weight. Because the art is such a clusterfuck, you have to go purely off the dialog, which still feels really disorganized.

    It was pretty much 32 pages of disorientation.

    HadjiQuest on
  • FaynorFaynor Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Are you saying the fight seeming to be a mess is Fraction's fault? If so, I think I'd have to disagree. I doubt Fraction put in his notes, "Make the panels look like shit, please!"

    Faynor on
    do you wanna see me eat a hotdog
  • kfroosterkfrooster Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Agents of Atlas was pretty good. Thought it was pretty funny with the scene between Venus and Spidey. Same goes for Wolverine: Weapon X as they specifically mention how he is "way too overexposed".

    kfrooster on
  • HadjiQuestHadjiQuest Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Faynor wrote: »
    Are you saying the fight seeming to be a mess is Fraction's fault? If so, I think I'd have to disagree. I doubt Fraction put in his notes, "Make the panels look like shit, please!"

    I'm saying the fight was a mess mainly because of the art, but the writing really isn't that strong either.

    It's like the brain automatically toggles a mediocre switch, and so you can't really process the weight of events. I think it might also have to do with how many X-books there are, and how uneven they can generally be.

    HadjiQuest on
  • FaynorFaynor Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    HadjiQuest wrote: »
    Faynor wrote: »
    Are you saying the fight seeming to be a mess is Fraction's fault? If so, I think I'd have to disagree. I doubt Fraction put in his notes, "Make the panels look like shit, please!"

    I'm saying the fight was a mess mainly because of the art, but the writing really isn't that strong either.

    It's like the brain automatically toggles a mediocre switch, and so you can't really process the weight of events. I think it might also have to do with how many X-books there are, and how uneven they can generally be.

    Where did the writing go wrong?
    The Red Queen staged an assault on them X-Men to get Jean's hair (WHICH IS DUMB LALALALA). She used the X-Men's prisoner, Empath, to fuck them up completely and make them cloudy, and caught them flat footed even more with Spirial teleporting everyone.

    The only thing I think was a bit weak was that she wouldn't see through the gaping whole in her plan and try to account for Pixie's magic usage, or X-Men that were offsite. Then again, it was really only a snatch-and-grab, the mission wasn't really intended to cripple them.

    I mean, this isn't the best arc I've read ever but it's not terrible. Seems like the pacing is a bit off.

    Faynor on
    do you wanna see me eat a hotdog
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    The one page splash of Wolverine and Revanche/Betsy/Kwannon was just a waste of a page. Splash pages should make you go "oh snap." It was two people traced on a white background. Who the hell cares.

    The fight was pretty much "Wolverine's fighting again, this time he's stabbing women." And taking X-23 out, a chick who was made to cut people up, made no sense, but I'm willing to go with "Pixie just getting everyone out no time to think" as an excuse.

    And again, the teleporting away at the end made no sense, be it dialogue or art.

    TexiKen on
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