Flip the Switch
Let's talk about
comics--some old, some newer, none quite terrible, but some really good. Other ones are just okay. I'll break out the peanut butter and bread so we can enjoy
sandwiches whilst reading/writing the reviews. What? You're allergic? Sucks to
be you, because I want my chunky peanut-butter.
Mystery Men #5
Yes, this came out
forever ago, and yes the last two issues seemed a bit rushed and it still
wasn't quite clear why this had to tie in with the main Marvel continuity as
the company made a big deal about--"Hey, this takes place before the
normal heroes you know of existed and it's in continuity for you 'it has
to count' nerds!"--but damn-it, all those complaints aside that
should hurt this I still really enjoyed this series. It's like you are dating some
girl and you know she's got some serious flaws, but you can't help but be
enamored with her. Sure, she's got some human bodies in the basement, but she
makes such a delicious mac-and-cheese! This comic may have the flaws, but it's
still a really enjoyable pulp adventure with interesting characters that's just
plain fun.
David Liss wrote
up a good tale even if he had the whole, "It's in continuity, read
it!" cloud hanging over his head that Marvel made a big deal of, even if
at the end of the day it didn't matter if this comic took place in the Marvel
Universe or a some other reality like this one where it seems no matter how
many times you say you don't want mustard or mayo on your sandwich you always have
to send it back. I don't want mayo, it makes me gag! This comic didn't activate
that reflex though, and I'm pretty sure it's out in trade now so you ought to
pick it up.
4.5 out of 5
stars.
Captain Swing
And The Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island #4
Wow. It took
forever for the fourth issue of this to come out and then once it did they
couldn't pump out the trade fast enough. Then again this was Warren Ellis
writing this, and even though he is a great writer, it seems when he is doing
something for the Avatar comics line you never know when or if the project will
be completed (this applies to other comic-lines and Ellis too, but it is especially bad with he and Avatar). How was the final issue though? Well, it was...decent?
I'm sorry, but it
just took so long for everything to come out I had trouble remembering certain
things, but I did remember this started out a lot more fun than it ended. If I
may return to the theme of relationships, it was like one that starts out
really great but by the end just sort of fizzles
out--mainly because you realize you no longer have enough money to
pay her fee. What? That isn't a relationship, that's prostitution? Well you and
I just have different views, my friend. Seriously though, this was
passable but not that amazing. It looked nice though.
2.5 out of 5
stars.
Captain Atom
100 Page Special
Well, that was
weird. I like Captain Atom, he is a cool character. I was one of the few people
who enjoyed that comic which took him to the Wildstorm Universe back when it was
actually its own Universe. I mean I absolutely love that series for some odd reason. Then he became some bad guy named Monarch in a
terrible DC comic event that counted down to an interesting but weird one by
Grant Morrison (Countdown to Final Crisis and Final Crisis, respectively). And
then...who knows what happened. Hell, this comic isn't sure. Basically it just
kind of goes, "Yeah, some weird stuff happened, but now Captain Atom wants
to get over it, so let's put tell a cool tale of him in
another dimension that is all sword-and-sorcery style."
Originally these
were back-up strips, but this collects them into a...well, a 100 page special.
James Robinson and Greg Rucka both wrote them, and its pretty good, even though
that terrible temporary team from the "Justice" mini-series Robinson
did that was more painful than having a Piranha biting your nether
regions while listening to any Celine Dion album. This though, this was pretty
decent even if it was a bit busy giving us a tour of the DC Universe at times,
or trying to awkwardly explain away Captain Atom's last few years of
confusing continuity (which were wiped out in the re-launch that
happened anyways). Yeah, this was good.
3.5 out of 5
stars.
The Cape #1
& #2
First off, this
has nothing to do with the apparently atrocious NBC mini-series. No, this is a
mini-series related to the one-shot comic based off a short story by Joe Hill
of Locke and Key comic fame (along with various books and such). This builds
off of that one shot with a story of a man who has powers and does what a lot
of people probably would if they suddenly gained some--become quite evil. It's
a decent yarn but the main character is just so horrible and doesn't seem to
have too much of a reason to be. Everyone was supportive of him, he just turned
out to be nightmarish. I guess what he says in issue #2 sums it up. The fact he
isn't good at anything but he is good at this, with "this" meaning
being a monster. It's fine for what it is, but I like my bad-guys to be a bit like someone you can relate to and not just total sociopaths. The new issue comes
out this 28th I believe. I'll be reading it, but more-so out of curiousness.
2.5 out of 5
stars.
Uncanny X-Force
#18
Have you ever read
something just totally awesome that you and everyone else loved, but in a weird
twist the part some people enjoyed most actually rubbed you the wrong way?
Yeah, that happened with this comic. Not to spoil it, but there is this one
waaayyyy too sweet moment that occurs that just had me rolling my eyes.
However, that is overpowered by the rest of this issue which is just sheer
amounts of incredible. Whether it is being serious, funny, full of action, or introducing
that last twist that I didn't predict after the ones that I did see coming,
this is a quality good time. It took forever for the story to get here in its 9
or so parts, but boy if it wasn't a gas.
5 out of 5
stars.
Shut The Power
Down
There wasn't
anything too horrible, just some stuff that was a bit mediocre to go
with readings that were quite delightful. The moral of the story is that comics aren't always terrible--though I've clearly run into plenty of those if you look through the blog at all.
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