Marvel’s Dissapointing ” Messiah Complex “ March 17, 2008
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After being disappointed by marvels’ trade edition of X Men ” Endangered Species ” ( and you can read why here ) I thought I would give Marvel and the X Men another chance thru the series ” Messiah Complex “, and yet again, I am disappointed with another X Men tale that seems to lead no where.
The story here is that, there is a Mutant Child born, and this could mean the saving of Mutant kind, and the chase is on, throughout all of the X Titles ( except for Wolverine ) to find this last chance at saving Mutants as a species.
The problems I had with this story are many, from the fact that just about every X Villain team is here for whatever agenda they might have ( except for heavy weights Magneto and or Apocalypse ), to the fact that Bishop is trying to kill this child because he is aware of what happens because of this child in the future, and instead of killing the baby, he winds up killing Xavier…meanwhile, Cable ( Scott Summer’s son from the future! ) takes this child into the future for a fresh start…and possibly setting up the (un)forseen future where there are Mutant interment camps ( or concentration camps, if you like that term better ) and this child is the cause for an event we are not aware of as of yet ( called the six minute war ) at least I have not heard of this war as of yet.
Well dear readers, I’ll just make the rest of this short and sweet..too many loose ends for my liking, and of course a new storyline, X Men Divided, and my comment ( question ) is who cares!!!
I certainly do not, and these little X-cursions have again shown me why I stopped reading these titles long ago.
But if you happen to be a die-hard X-Fan, and you just have got to read this story, well I’ll be selling the whole series in my store. I have it up for sale tomorrow night.
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My Review…Xmen- Endangered Species March 5, 2008
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Hi there.
First, let me say that over the years I have been an ” on again, off again ” X-Fan “…The constant mystery behind Logan’s origin, has at times been entertaining and at times either frustrating or just plain redundant…to the never ending battles with Magneto…the one main theme that has pretty much pervaded the X Men universe is this…these people are Mutants…individuals born with a gene that gives them ( in some cases ) extraordinary abilities…it also ( in every case ) has made them hated and shunned by a society that they always seem to help on one level or another…we have also been privey to tales that happen in the future, in the past, and also in space…we have pretty much seen these mutants in every situation imaginable….so what do you do to make a flagship title(s) interesting again to your readership ( and yes, I’m sure that there are a lot of you out there who have always found and still find the X Men titles worth the price of admission )well first…we drive a mutant crazy or mad if you like that term…which set up the ” House of M ” event, which at the end on what has been termed ” M Day ” one crazy ( or again MAD if you will ) mutant, namely Wanda Maximoff at the end of House, utters these words, in a whisper.. No More Mutants….and the world of the X Men is turned upside down…
After House of M, I did not follow the X titles very much, and I only read Wolverine when that title featured the always entertaining battle between Logan and Sabertooth, and after that ended, I stopped reading…
And then, a few months ago, I was drawn again to the X Men because of the ” Endangered Species ” storyline that would actually be a sort of small insert ( well that’s my term anyway ) that would run through most, if not all the X titles.
Just so that we understand one another, I hate stories that run through several titles of a particular series of books, but I won’t get into that here, as I believe I have already made my disdain for this practice know in another post titled ” Why I Hate Crossover Stories “, but what I hate even more is a story that I have to chase, and doesn’t deliver the goods…like this one.
Endangered Species tells the tale of one Hank McCoy, aka the Beast. A brilliant scientist, who is trying to discover a way to save his species from extinction…a noble cause, and we the reader, are taken through the trials and tribulations that McCoy goes through in this endeavour. During this story we see Hank try to enlist the aid of anyone who might have something to gain or who might have something to lose should there be ” No More Mutants “.
There are several clues as to the final outcome of this story, which comes from Hank’s appealing to the High Evolutionary to his forming what would be a very short lived alliance with the ” Dark Beast “, a Hank McCoy from another timeline… but, for me, in the end, there was really nothing here that was new, nothing that we as real people have not actually experienced in the real world, and so this is not a revolutionary story, and there is certainly nothing here that was worth, first the actual chasing through several X titles to read this tale, nor was the compiled story into a trade edition worth the price of admission…I can only hope that what is to be the final tale of this mutant extinction called “ Messiah Complex “, which I actually went through the trouble to collect, through all of the X titles, will be worth my hard earned dollars, because Endangered Species certainly was not.
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My Top Five List of Alternative Comics To Read Post#4 ” Planet Hulk & World War Hulk “ February 18, 2008
Posted by 54071 in : Comic Reviews, Comics , 1 comment so farOkay, it’s Sunday night, I’m cooking my dinner…I’m hungry and I smell the good stuff in the oven, so lets dispense with rewriting the above title here and just get right into it shall we….
Planet Hulk and World War Hulk were both series that ran thru Marvel’s summer schedule and were also their Summer’s Mega Event, although if my 50 year old memory serves me, Planet Hulk actually finished before the beginning of the Summer but I feel that since they both ran one after the next they deserve to be treated as one entity.
So the question is ” what do you do when you have the most powerful human the world has ever known, and you don’t know what to do with him anymore?”
First, if your his friends, you hold a secret meeting that very few are privy to, and than, as his friends, you set him up…using his ” puny, human, side ” send him on what he thinks is a life saving mission ( to save the earth of course ) to fix a ” Shield ” space unit ( again this is a small detail in this, bigger picture ) this unit being the trap…
An actual, functioning ship that takes you to another planet, in another solar system, where you can’t hurt yourself or anyone else anymore…this planet should be devoid of life, and you can finally have what you always wanted…
” To be left alone “….only one problem with this…you crash land on a planet that is Savage, and is inhabited by savage life forms, and you find yourself a slave on this planet…this would be a devastating turn of events if you were an ordinary, troublesome human….if you were human…but your not are you…you just happen to be..Robert…Bruce..Banner..in other words, you happen to be..
The Incredible Hulk!
Needless to say, the Hulk does not stay a slave for any real length of time…in short order the Hulk becomes a conqueror, a hero, eventually a King….
He takes a bride, who is his equal, she becomes pregnant and will bear his child…until something goes terribly wrong…and what happens from this event leads into the ” World War Hulk ” storyline, where the Hulk returns to the planet and the people who tricked him in the first place…and he doesn’t come alone…he brings his band of warriors along with him, his War-Bound, and the man monster called the Hulk gets his revenge upon those who tricked him, forcing them to live thru the horrors that he had endured, and in the end, having a final confrontation with the only living being ( remember that at this point, the Mighty Thor has not returned from the nether plains of death yet ) the Sentry, who gives back to the Hulk as good as he receives.
In the end, it seems that at the end of this tale, the Hulk is finally destroyed…at the end of his own title…and yet something emerges from the cavernous pit that was left where the Hulk and the Sentry had clashed…and then Marvel decides to rename The Incredible Hulk title The Incredible Hercules…and than there is another new title simple put…
The Hulk…
This was a great read for me, if only just top see the Hulk, finally get the much deserved justice that has always seemed to elude him, unfortuneately, as is always the case there is no retribution with out a sacrifice involved
My Top Five List of Alternative Comics To Read Post#3 ” Civil War “ February 15, 2008
Posted by 54071 in : Comic Reviews, Comics , 1 comment so farMarvel Comics had two big events last year, the first being the one I really appreciated…
Marvel’s Civil War, was their main event that was a stand alone story, but also ran through most ( if not all ) of their main stay titles. I liked the fact that Marvel did this just so I did not have to pick up every single book that might have had a tie into this tale.
The series written by Mark Miller, and pencils provided by Steve McNiven was a seven issue series that I felt was strong enough for me to write a post called ” Comics, Raising Our Social Conscience “, and you can read that post here.
I won’t say too much more here other than the fact that the events in Civil War led up to the Marvel Comics wide ” The Initiative “, the breakup of the Avengers, and the reformation of two different Avengers teams, and of course the Ed Brubaker ” Death of Captain America ” storyline which was felt all over the Marvel Universe, and was also felt in the real world, as Cap’s death garnered newspaper headlines, and could be favorably compared to the hoopla behind the ” Death of Superman ” several years back.
My Top Five List of Alternative Comics To Read Post#2 ” Justice “
Posted by 54071 in : Comic Reviews, Comics , 1 comment so farGood Evening Everyone.
One of last year’s better series ( which lasted all year ) was DC Comics storyline featuring the original lineup of the Justice League of America.
Written and Drawn by comic legend Alex Ross, Justice was DC Comics EVENT of the moment, and what an event it was.
Capturing the feel of the Silver Age Justice League, Ross weaves a tale of intricacies revolving around the dreams ( or just maybe nightmares ) of several characters in the DC Universe…the problem is these dreams aren’t coming to ordinary people, or even to the heroes involved in this story…the dreams are the nightmares of the villains…people who are usually the ones who are not only able to have these nightmares, but are usually the ones responsible for them!
Some of the villains involved are some of the worst in the DCU, including Lex Luthor, Gorilla Grodd, and the Black Manta, and maybe the most calculating villain ( who in my opinion is still one of the most evil ) is Brainiac
The real crux of the story is global destruction, how the heroes deal with real world events, all the while being attacked by the villains, who in their own way question why the heroes have not been able to protect the world from all of these calamities, and even these questions are just another layer to the story and further propel the reason behind why the villains have banded together in another attempt to take control of the world.
Some people have loved this story, while I have read the reviews of others who just were not satisfied with it on some level, whether because they felt that Ross’s paints were limited by Braithwaite’s pencils or they just felt that the story itself lacked any real ( I guess the term would be ) substance.
For me, the story had everything that I was looking for, a grand scale story, top notch art, major heavyweight villains, and the major players of the JLA, in a different time and place, which in some ways ( for an old guy like me ) made the story fresh and relevant.
Imagine, being able to find a story fresh and relevant in todays comics, which doesn’t taught itself as a major event that would change the DC Universe or any universe for that matter forever.
My Top Five List of Alternative Comics To Read February 12, 2008
Posted by 54071 in : Comic Reviews, Comics , add a commentIn a post I wrote last week about ” Comic Superhero Stories becoming too predictable ” I had stated my disillusion with what I have been reading lately in what are becoming just the same old flavor of the month in super hero comics….and after writing that post I decided to start looking at some alternatives to the same old superhero comic formula and here is what I present to you in a top five list of Comics, that I am posting over several days this week…
I have read and totally enjoyed this little tale, so I have linked the book to amazon.com, and I highly recommend this book if you feel the same way I do and want to read something different…
Wanted
by writer Mark Millar and art by J.G. Jones
I picked up this title several weeks ago, and finally got the chance to finally read it and all I can say is …..WOWWWW!!!!!!!
This is exactly the type of opposite formula in a comic character ensemble, that I had been looking for. This is a totally different world than the average hero world we are used to and why…because the BAD GUYS have actually won, and that just seems to ring true for this tale.
Your name is Wesley Gibson, and your life totally sucks!
You work in a cubicle, in a dead end job, taking crap from an African American Female Boss.
Walking home from your job during the week is usually a trial of fire due to your constant abuse from the neighborhood ass***es
And the capper of your miserable existence is the fact that your girlfriend and your best friend are having sex together behind your back, while you pretend to not know a thing about any of it!
Your name is Wesley Gibson, your life sucks….but in one defining rollarcoaster of a moment…all of that is about to change forever!
Without saying too much more about the story ( because I want you to read it for yourself! ) this was the wild ride of a book that I didn’t expect, and this is going to be a movie, out in theatres this year staring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, and Angelina Joli.
For more, here is a link to the website with more info there…
I Am Legend- The Comic Adaptation-My Thoughts January 29, 2008
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Hi There.
I Am Legend, a story by Richard Matheson was adapted into a graphic novel by Steve Niles and with art by Elman Brown
and published by IDW.
I have to admit that I saw this publication in my local comics shop, Main Street Comics for several years before I finally took it home. Of course it didn’t hurt at the time that I was going to go to see the movie with Will Smith ( which I wound up not seeing ) but that doesn’t matter, what does matter is that after owning the book for about two months, I finally finished it.
Now to be fair, the artwork by Brown was just fine, but that’s about all I found likable about this adapted tale.
Making Vampirism into a disease, and trying to find a common denominator to explain said disease, and possibly find a cure for this disease just did not ring true for me, and kinda takes the whole Vampire, Horror idea and kills it for me.
And to be honest, the story just did not hold my interest and I found alot of the story pretty repetitive after a while, and the ending of the tale just makes the title of the tale ( at least for me anyway ) the worst of cliques.
Now, I have never read Matheson’s original piece of literary work, and hopefully the original work is much better than the adapted work presented here.
And as far as the movie goes, I’ll have to wait till it comes out on dvd and see it then, and I can only hope that the movie is much better that the written work that it is based on.
I Am Legend by IDW Publishing December 9, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Comic Reviews , add a commentI purchased the adapted Richard Matheson ” I Am Legend ” trade edition from IDW Publishing by Steve Niles and Elman Brown, and I’m in the middle of reading it now.
Spawn Godslayer- My Pain Continues December 5, 2007
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Does everyone remember when Todd McFarlane was working on a certain web-slinger for a company named Marvel Comics? I remember those days so long ago now…Todd’s artwork was great, and I believe he was also doing most of the writing chores for this comic at the time…I appreciated Todd then…
Now, not so much.
When McFarlane created his anti-hero Spawn, I was on board for the first issue, and followed the character for several years, than like most things in the comics world, Todd stopped doing alot of the art, and at least some of the writing chores on his creation and left it to others to weave their tales of the hellspawn ( as he would later be called ) and as is usually the case for most fans, with the changes, my interest for the character waned, and I stopped buying the title.
We now move forward several years, and I come across a title called Spawn ” Godslayer ” which I wrote about here and if you have already read my review, than you know I wasn’t totally enthralled with the story.
Then to my horror, I found out that there would actually be a ongoing comic of the same name, and I decided to be fair about the whole thing and give the series a chance to show me something…I did, and the series did not.
And it’s not just one thing for me that just doesn’t seem to click with me about this series, it’s everything.
From why the main character is a ” Godslayer ” or killer of gods, to why this title even exists… but I think I have an answer to the latter query…
The truth of the matter is that this is what happens when a creator lets his creation become so diluted, that said character just gets licensed for any old purpose, good or ill.
In this case I think that Todd McFarlane just has gotten too big for his britches, and thus his claim to fame, Spawn has suffered for it.
While when I pick up any Spawn title, I see tons of Mcfarlane self promotion, from deranged ” Land of Oz ” creations, to Characters from the series ” Lost “, Todd promotes them all.
And while I do not see anything wrong with self promotion, especially to grow your business, I think you have to keep your stable in line, and I just think that Todd’s stable has just grown beyond it’s creator control…
That is the only explanation that I feel is plausible as to why Todd has not taken control of this title and given some meat to sink your teeth into to make this comic worth reading in the first place.
I am still reading the storyline ” The Winter King ” and until something drastic happens with the title ( like maybe Todd actually getting involved ) it will be the only story arc that I read of this comic.
If you, have read this comic and have a different view, I mean you actually like this comic, you can drop me a line @snewmark@hvc.rr.com and let me know, or you can just leave a comment right here on Fanboy@50…either way I’d like to hear your comments yea or nay for this comic .
Lew, your fanboy@50
What’s Big and Green and Wants to Smash…Everyone! December 4, 2007
Posted by 54071 in : Comic Reviews , add a commentWhat do you think you would do if you were deemed a danger to the planet, and so your friends decide that what’s best for the planet and for you is to jettison you off the Earth, into space and sending you to what is supposed to be a lush, green, lifeless planet?
Well, first, you would have to be one Bruce Banner, Scientist…caught in the heart of a Gamma Bomb Explosion, trying to save the life of one Rick Jones…and here, your nightmare begins…as a few nights later, you start what will be the first of many transformations into what will become know as the rampaging behemoth, The Incredible Hulk.
Planet Hulk was an epic tale of betrayal, survival, conquest, triumph, and destruction, which would ultimately lead to revenge, on a planetary scale.
And that revenge would become the tale ” World War Hulk “, a five issue series that would shake the core of the Marvel Universe.
The Hulk returns to Earth with his Warbound companions, to make the ones responsible for his exile and destruction of his Homeworld, his Wife, and his unborn child…PAY.
This was probably one of the best stories I have read this year, with art by John Romita Jr, and story by Greg Pak, which had a bit of everything in it..the Hulk learns of what happened on Earth while he was off world…of course I am referring to the Civil War, and the Death of the good Captain….which in the end for the Hulk, just did not matter.
Madison Square Garden, is turned into a Gladiatorial Arena, much like the arena the Hulk had to fight in on the planet Sakarr, and the heroes who betrayed the Hulk are forced to battle one another here, while Puny Humans, sympathetic to the Hulk’s cause, watch on with delight, waiting for the Hulk’s justice, and we definitely see the separation of the persona’s of Bruce Banner and the Hulk, again more in this tale than ( at least in my thinking ) than any other story told of the Hulk in some time.
I’m not going to ruin this for anyone who hasn’t read this series yet, but I will tell you two things…
There will be a NEW Hulk series, and let me tell you, this Hulk is really seeing RED!
And..it looks like there may be a ” Son of Hulk ” comic…but don’t quote me on this just yet…I need to do a bit of digging for this one…
Tomorrow, my take on the continuing Spawn Godslayer series…and more on the son of Hulk!