Superman: World of New Krypton #9 - DC

At the end of last issue . . Jemm, Son of Saturn . . also it's current ruler . . showed up on New Krypton and wanted to know why the Kryptonians thought that they could do whatever they wanted with the universe. Basically, they're mad because Krypton needed a moon. Now that they've terraformed their planet, and atmosphere . . they need a moon to affect the tides and weather. So, they decided to go to Saturn. I mean, why not? They already have at least 61 moons. How's one less gonna bother them? Well . . it did! Big time. That's why Jemm, the ruler himself, has come to put the Kryptonians on notice. 'I'm aghast at the arrogance and feeling of entitlement. That your planet can appear as if out of nowhere and almost immediately begin rearranging the solar system. You're put on notice "Oh, great and mighty council." We will be watching' A Thanagarian delegate also happened to be at the Council meeting. Apparently New Krypton was trying to form an alliance with Thanagar in case they ever needed their help in war. 'We've an accord. That's as much as Thanagar has ever ceded to another planet. But as the Saturnian said . . we will be watching.' So now, not only do they have to worry about a war with Earth, but they also about whether they'll get the support of the other military powers in this small galaxy that we all share. Kal El is also keeping in contact with Zod. Kal is still suspicious of Zod's motives. But . . he is their current ruler. As they're talking an alarm is sounded in one of the Councilor's quarters. Kal, and Red Shard get there to try to figure out what's going on, but when the enter the domicile they find Adam Strange standing over the Councilor's body. I'm a little confused as to how long this series is going to be. In the beginning they said 15 issues. But now in the previews it's listed as 12. So . . I'm not sure if they changed their mind, or it's just a misprint. I only ask because, if so . . we only have 3 issues left. I enjoy this view into the Kryptonian society that James Robinson and Greg Rucka have been showing us. It's all been pretty informative . . and eye opening. I'm guessing we'll probably get a different Superman book out of this when this title runs it's course. I have no idea what that will be, though. Pete Woods and Ron Randall do the art for this issue. Overall, I've been pleased with this book, so far. It'll be interesting to see how this whole 'war' thing is going to pan out.

Batman - the Widening Gyre #3 - DC

This one had me a little confused at first. I'm seeing this romantic story with Bruce and Silver St Cloud, and for some reason my mind went back to just before Final Crisis when Bruce was romantically involved with Jezebel Jet. I don't know how I made that connection, but . . I did. Anyways. This issue focus' on Bruce and Silver trying, once again, to make their relationship work. Silver's parents own a private island Southeast of Miami. Currently Bruce is spending his nights in his nocturnal activity, while spending his days jetting back and forth to this island with Silver. I'm not sure how he doesn't think that this will eventually catch up with him. I mean I'm sure he's sleeping one way, or both, but . . the human body isn't made to be pushed this way. Even Bruce's. Also Bruce has a new friend in his night-time activities . . Baphomet. That's the guy that's been running around town in the Goat-like mask. Bruce . . er, Batman finally catches up with his this issue and they have a nice little chat. Bruce can tell he's a rookie, because he's a little eager . . and cocky. But, he does show the proper amount of respect. Plus . . I just think he's a fan. It's hard to tell through the mask, but . . he seems a little awe-struck to finally be talking to Batman. This is also around the same time that Dick is starting to feel his oats. He's pretty active with the Titans right now, and . . he's starting to get tired of Bruce bossing him around all the time. I think this is right before he cut out on his own as Nightwing. Anyways, Bruce is going back and forth . . and back and forth . . but the issue ends with him taking a swim in the ocean and he comes across Arthur. Arthur can't help but give him grief. Anyways, this issue . . it seems like Bruce and Silver are going though their honeymoon phase. But I think next issue . . soon . . somethings going to have to give . . on one side or the other. And I'm sure we'll see how it affects both of his lives. Kevin Smith and Walter Flanagan are doing a terrific job with this series. After reading this one, Kevin really gives the reader the feeling . . or hope, that maybe Bruce/Batman can have it both ways. He deserves it. Right? But you just know that ain't gonna' happen. I think Kevin does a great job of expressing this hope, and eventual anguish. It's sad . . even though everybody is happy right now, because . . we know how it's gonna' end. And it won't be well! Also fantastic covers by Bill Sienkiewicz and Gene Ha. This is another hit for Kevin Smith.

Doom Patrol #4 - DC

Blackest Night has finally come to Oolong Island. It's coming in the form of previous members, so . . we're getting a little history lesson at the same time. The first one we see is Arani Dasai, Celsius. She was also Niles Caulder's wife . . for a bit. Technically she still is . . he never bothered to get a divorce. She comes with the other members of her group . . Joshua Clay, Tempest, and Valentina Vostok, Negative Woman. And then Robot Man's original body, Clifford Steele, also shows up. It's much the same as the other Blackest Night stories. They show up and try to entice an emotional response, while targeting their hearts. But there are a few little neat tidbits that happen during this story. First of all, the Black-hole guy, you know from the Collider experiment . . he arrives on the island just before all of this happens. We see Rita's outburst when she finally deals with the intrusion of Steve Dayton's mind into her own. Basically, he's been a psychic peeping-Tom. But this is worse, because he can also control here. She's also mad at Niles because he had to have known what was going on. We find out that the Chief has rigged up some way for Cliff to download his memories and experience into a new body whenever an old one gets destroyed. I guess the Chief clones his brain and then leaves them waiting in empty receptacles. Somehow responsometers are also involved. Cliff is also keeping the used up bodies in a mass grave in his backyard. 'I keep count. Sue me.' But this still creeps Larry out. Also because Larry realizes this makes him practically immortal. Like I've said before, it's a creepy Doom Patrol tale as only Keith Giffen could tell it. I think he's doing a great job with this book. Justiniano does the art this issue. In the Metal Men back-up story, the Metal Men have some new competitors. It seems Professor Rumpus, from Helfer University in Evanston Illinois, has also created a new generation of robots. However, he's about to get thrown out on his rump because the University isn't happy with his results . . so they're cutting his funding. He just keeps complaining about how much more funding Will Magnus gets. However, he doesn't know it, because they're hiding it, his 3 robot ladies . . they look like mannequins . . are fully operational. They've just chose not to let him know. But after hearing him complain, they've decided to go out on their own. They're calling themselves Clique. However, they have to get a proper wardrobe before they can take over the world. A great story by Keith, JM DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire. So far . . I'm thrilled with this book. My only complaint? I wish it came out twice a month . . so I could get more of it.

Smallville - Crossfire - Season 9 Episode 6 - CW

Once again this episode it seems like most of the attention focus' on Ollie. So why the picture at the right? Well . . we'll get to that later. Last episode Chloe helped Ollie overcome his downward spiral. She really put him through hell. But, in the end, he realized how much he still savored life, and renewed his appreciation for his friends, his 'gift' and his heroic ideals. So he decides to use that lust for life to help another. His intended target? A street girl named Mia. He sees her in a 'fight-club'. She's a good fighter, but . . she's under the thumb of a major street-urchin. In the comic book, this would be Speedy. Most of the episode is spent on them building their relationship and trust. However, while this is going on, Clark is trying to figure out how to balance his new-found feelings for Lois, with his sense of responsibility for Metropolis and the world. The good news is, with Ollie's revival last episode . . he's no longer in the fight alone. Anyways, Lois drags Clark into this interview for a morning talk-show, and they have to set up faux-dates for their interview story. Lois' ends up being with Ollie. When Clark sees them together, plus when he has to save them from Mia's gun wielding pimp . . he gets jealous. Kind of. They're both his friends, and he wants them to be happy. So he doesn't want his feelings to get in the way. What he doesn't know is that Lois has pledged her undying . . . friendship to Ollie. She's feeling those same feelings for Clark, as is he, and I think she also wants to explore it. Anyways, the episode ends with Clark talking to her in the bullpen, and . . he finally kisses her. The spark has been lit. The good thing about this show . . there's enough characters here that this isn't going to turn in to Lois & Clark. I liked that show. At the time. But that's not what I expect here. There's enough stuff coming down the pike this season that I think their relationship will be building slowly. At least I hope so. And please . . no big 'reveals' this season. Anymore, it seems like everybody knows Clark's secret. Anyways, great show. I watch it every week. Obviously! I can't believe we're almost half way through the season already. Where does the time go?

Secret Warriors #9 - Marvel

I try my darnedest to stay away from all of the Dark Reign companion books, but . . it looks like I'll probably have to pick up the one for this book . . the List. Unfortunately, with a story like this, there's probably to much information in that issue for me to pass up. Last issue Norman Osborn and HAMMER had Nick Fury's team cornered in secret base #20 . . Homerun. Eden is trying to open a portal so that they can get out, but in all the confusion below he got turned around and he can't port blind. So now he, JT and Alex are trying to make their way to the roof to get out. However, once they open the door they find Norman and his Avengers waiting for them. Including Alex's father, Ares. Eden gets the portal open but . . Ares gets his axe caught in it, and they end leading HAMMER right to secret base #22, Inside Straight. That causes the base to initiate 'Fury Protocol 12'. Which includes a data purge and self destruction. They got 5 minutes to get all of their team members out. Luckily they're also a replication facility, so to add to the confusion . . they activate all the LMD's. There's 2 stand-out moments in this fight. The first is when Jerry stands up to Ares. He actually holds his own. Secondly, Yo-Yo gives Bullseye a severe beat-down. Jerry has to pull her off of him. Of course they escape, to Fury base #17 . . the Cocoon. But they get out at the last second, so they bring the base down on top of all the HAMMER agents still in it. Eden tries to console Alex for the loss of his father. 'He's the God of War, Eden. It would take more than a building blowing up to kill him. This isn't going to be over until the day he and I come to an understanding. And that day is coming soon.' While all of this is going on, Nick and John Garrett are playing some kind of game with the US Government. Specifically with the Treasury Dept and a Mister Waters. Waters thinks he's controlling the board and knows everything about Garrett and what he and Nick may be up to. But I get the feeling that's what Nick wants him to think. Nick is proving that he's the master tactician. It looks like everything is going to hit the fan . . soon! Jonathan Hickman is doing a great job with this book. I really like his attention to detail, and how he's balancing out the focus on all of these characters. Plus I'm just happy to see Nick, and SHIELD . . in some form or another . . back up and at it again. Even if it is a pretty small group . . right now. Alessandro Vitti does the art. I like this book. I like the characters, and I like the premise. Plus . . it's got a ton of potential. What more could you ask for?

HULK #16 - Marvel

At the end of last issue . . the Red She-Hulk shows up with Domino's gun and Elektra's sai. First of all . . what do we call her? ReSHULK? ReSHULK and RULK . . what a pair. It sounds like some kine of Afghanistan punk rock band, or something. Or maybe a Russian talk-show. Anyways, we have no idea where she came from . . nor does Rulk, but . . she does seem to be here to help him. Or, I guess I should say . . it seems like she's there at the behest of whomever they're both working for. Probably to assess and contain the problem. Through this . . we figure out another clue to the Rulk's identity. He's not Doc Samson. Actually, if we listen to the banter between ReSHULK and RULK, I think we'll find some clues in there. But I'm not sure what they are. Apparently he considers himself a master strategist, and the way he's behaved lately is demeaning to him and what he holds important. 'I was given a gift of enormous power. Instead of harboring it, I indulged myself smashing things with the same mindless forethought as . . Banner. Weakness can't be taught. It's a flaw of character. I've been blind to my current situation. I could never have anticipated the introduction of Red She-Hulk. She is a major distraction. They exploited my strength and used it as my weakness. The people I've allied myself with may be many things . . but everything they do is for a specific reason. There is a traitor right here. Someone I trusted. Doc Samson.' I know that doesn't tell us alot, but . . it tells us something. I'm just not sure what it is. Plus, in the RULK's narrative this issue, he goes over a story about his father teaching him a lesson about cigarette's. In the story, after he throws up, his father tells him that the lesson wasn't about the smoking . . 'He wanted to teach me that anything in excess would make we weaker.' Anyways . . it seems like I've heard that story somewhere before. The issue ends with RULK on his knees, and the group that he put together to go after Domino . . minus Elektra, but adding in ReSHULK . . is led to his location by Samson. It looks like his intent is to kill him. I'm still amazed that Jeph Loeb has gone this long without giving up the RULK's identity. I'm sure he's got subtle clews strewn throughout these books, but . . we're oblivious without knowing what he's hinting at. I'm a huge fan of Ian Churchill, and I'm glad that he's done the last couple of issues. But, he's using a style that's more like Ed McGuinness' than his own. Which is fine. He's trying to keep the book consistent. But I'd really like to see his take on these characters. Anyways, I like this book, and I love these characters. I just wish I knew what the hell was going on.

Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #2 - Marvel

I'll tell you what . . Warren Ellis writes one hell of a story. My only question is . . with the events transpiring in Ultimate Avengers . . does Tony not know what's going on there? And in that book, his brother, Gregory, and Nick seem to think of him as a fall-down drunk. It appears that after the 'Ultimate-wave', Tony has reformed. Or at least settled down for the time being. But, right now he has bigger concerns. Right now he looking into figuring out who seems to be who is pirating all of his Stark-tech. Last issue he ran into Justine Hammer, his dead rivals daughter. At first he wasn't overly concerned with her, until he found out that she's dying . . because of her father's machinations. He offers to help. In return . . she fills him in on what's been happening on the black market with all of his abandoned equipment. Their first stop? Prague. They're after a Doctor Faustus, who seems to be brokering everything in Europe. Of course on the way over they end up sleeping together. When they go to meet the man they find his bodyguards retrofitted with pieces and parts of Stark-tech. It seems at best experimental surgeries. When Tony gets mad and decides to put a stop to it all, we find out that Dr Faustus is actually MODOK. Apparently he had a problem with ' . . there was an accident with an ill-understood derivation of Richards transdimensional wells, and . .' now MODOK is the size of an action figure and lives within the empty vessel that is the framework of Dr Faustus. But he gives him a name . . Bram Velsing. Apparently he bought Stark's entire data package from Faustus in return for funding his unique medical needs. Anyways, he lives in a place that looks like Dracula's castle. When Tony launches his assault, he's met by Velsing and he's wearing what appears to be an adapted form of Tony's armor. Tony's not amused and the 2 armored men begin slugging it out. It kind of looks like a scene from Transformers or something. As with any story by Warren, this one if filled with lots of unique and original ideas. I can't wait to see what else comes out of this series. Maybe we'll finally get an Ultimate Iron Man book out of this one. There's been what . . 3 mini-series now . . I think? I think it's about time they explored this character in the Ultimate Universe a bit more. Especially since he's not a part of the Avengers / Ultimates anymore. Anyways, this was a great book. Fantastic story, and great artwork by Steve Kurth.

Fantastic Four #572 - Marvel

Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham are doing a 'Fantastic' job with this book. In this 'Solve Everything' storyline, Reed has joined a group of like-minded individuals, literally, in trying to solve Earth's problems. But now just this Earth . . all the Earths. Reeds from every dimension have gathered in this special place to try to fix all of existence's problems. What they hadn't considered, or maybe they did and just ignored it, is that the universe has a plan . . ultimately. It may not always seem like it, but . . there appears to be a set and desired course of action. Having messed with these cosmic plans, one of the various Earth's Celestials decide that it's time to put a stop to this travesty. They come in and strike at the base of the Reeds operations, and take out a lot of them in the process. Our Reed is one of the ones tasked with returning through his door and bringing some weapons back for them to launch an assault. As he goes through the door, one of the Celestials reach for him . . the door takes off his hand. I wonder what Reed's going to do with that. Anyways, he returns and they seem to route the Celestials, but . . in the process Reed learns what the price is for fixing everything. The Reed that the Celestials turned tells him, 'Friends? Family? No one here has those things anymore. We gave all that up for the greater good. The cost of solving everything is everything. How can we think about little things like our personal lives when the fate of all we know lies in the balance? All you will have left is this.' Reed contemplates his brother's words, but ultimately . . he falls back on what his father told him. In a flashback he's apologizing to Reed for the life they've led. And he tells him, 'When you grow up, I expect more. Son . . I expect better. I want you to be a better friend than I was. Be a better husband. Be a better father. Reed . . be a better man!' And it looks like . . for now . . that's what he's chosen. Anyways, while all of this was happening, Johnny and Ben have departed for their Nu-World adventure. But it'll be interesting to see how that world has changed after the Marquis of Death's visit during Mark Millar's run. Also . . the boys don't know it, but . . they have some tag-alongs. Franklin and Valeria have decided to hitch a ride with their favorite uncles. I don't see this ending well, but . . that story continues next issue. Anyways, I think Jonathan and Dale did a fantastic job with their first story-arc here. In the end it's not really resolved, but . . for now it's on the back-burner. I wonder what'll happen when it pops up again? In short . . I love this book. I look forward to it every month. Fan-frikkin-tastic!!

Avengers the Initiative #29 - Marvel

I continue to like this book. I think because it doesn't fit into any defined definitions, as do the other Avenger books. Right now Norman is in control of the Initiative. But . . as we've seen right from the beginning, it doesn't seem like anyone stays in control of this beast for long. Even now it seems like Norman's grasp is tenuous at best. Last issue he capture Night-Thrasher. This issue he's trying to keep Donyell around by promising him to return his brother Dwayne to him. Well, actually . . the good Doctor has cloned him, and the Hood is supposed to be able to return his soul. Tigra goes after some more members of the Brother's Grimm, but . . they've decided to be proactive and lay a trap for her. Not that it matters much. She still gets the upper hand. But she's not after revenge this time. This time she wants information on where Norman is keeping Thrasher, and she wants security information about Camp HAMMER. But before she can get any info, or hurt them to much, Komodo arrives in her human form. She wants to join the resistance. Since Norman took her powers away, with the spin-tech, she can't transform. But she does have information and knows the layout of the camp. Cloud 9 gets disciplined for not taking the kill-shot with Night-Thrasher last issue. I guess she's getting . . demoted. It looks like Constrictor and Diamondback are going to have a little tryst. They're all fighting a new group called RAID, at the Baltimore-Washington Airport when their fight puts a landing plane and it's passengers in jeopardy. It looks like the skidding plane is going to roll right over Diamondback, when . . Constrictor stops it. He saved her life, and those of the passengers. I think this guy is going to change. He seems genuinely moved when one of the passengers kids thanks him for saving his daddy's life. He and Diamondback have a little 'exchange', and later when camp HAMMER is attacked by the New Warriors, we see them in bed together. He tells her to ignore the alarm. But the attack may be in vain . . for a couple of reasons. First of all, Taskmaster and the Hood are trying to ferret out their mole so they've been feeding Komodo and Cloud 9 false information. Komodo is trying to help this group, but . . she may be leading them into an attack. Secondly, with the fate of his brother at stake . . I don't know that Donyell is going to want their help. And finally, through all of this, Trauma has been trying to help Penance . . but he also has to do what Taskmaster has order . . 'keep him screwed up'. It seems like he's reaching his breaking point. He's tired of having to do this to this guy. And the stress is really getting to him. On the final page we see that Nightmare has used him to once again enter our world. I'm not saying that this will necessarily be bad for the New Warriors. I don't know that Nightmare has any choice of 'sides'. But . . I don't think that this series of events is going to be good for anybody . . New Warriors, or Initiative. This may be the wrench that finally tears everything apart. I guess we'll find out next issue. Christos Gage has done a great job with this book. I was certain this book would be cancelled somewhere about 15 issues ago. But . . it's hanging on. I don't know what will happen after Norman gets done with it, but . . I think, at least, it'll still be around in some form or another for us to find out. At least I hope so. Jorge Molina does the pencils this issue.

the New Avengers #58 - Marvel

This issue picks up immediately after Luke collapses, turning himself over to Iron Patriot and his Avengers. They try to gather up the rest of the Avengers, whom they know to be in the building, but . . I think they've bitten off a little more than they can chew. This is a pretty desperate crew now. They don't have much else to lose. Norman decides to go after Carol. On his own? She makes pretty short work of him. I love the exchange between the Night Nurse and Moonstar. It's brilliant. And then, in the sewers, Daken Bullseye and Gargan are trying to go after some of the Avengers who are fleeing the building . . through the muck. They seem to be getting away, until they decide to take a crack at their pursuers. It's hilarious when Daken is trying to sniff them out and then gets cracked square in the face by Cap's shield. Cap wants to retreat, but . . they started this fight. Norman's Avengers aren't just going to let them take their leave now. It seems that they're about to lose, until Cap shoots Ares square in the face with his Luger. He goes down, but . . he soon pulls himself up. 'Impressive!' Anyways, the Hood has finally made it back to his hideout with Madame Masque. This is when he learns that Doctor Jonas Harrow and most of his gang defecting. And, we don't know what the Asgardian Norn Stones have done for him . . yet! On the SHIELD helicarrier, Norman's got some guys working on trying to fix up Luke. But there's nothing they can do until they get Doctor Harrow and the power-dampner on board. Which they do . . eventually, but the issue ends with him going under the knife. We don't know what his final fate will be. And, when the Avenger's finally return to Cap's apartment, Jessica learns what happened of her husband . . and where he's at. She busts out of the building, ready to go save him, but Carol talks her down. 'Jessica, I promise you . . we have a plan.' But . . we won't find out what that is until next issue. We got a lot of action in this issue. And it seems like Brian Bendis moved all the storylines ahead just a bit. But . . we still have a lot of questions too. I worry about the future of this team. It seems like they get more raggedy every issue. However I assume . . I trust . . that Brian has a plan. It just hasn't all played out yet. Stuart Immonen does the pencils this issue. He does a great job. It would be nice if he could stick around for a while. Anyways, overall I liked the book. I don't really like the Hood character, but . . he's part of the story. What can I do? I just hope these guys catch a break sometime soon. I'm rooting for them.

Ultimate Avengers #3 - Marvel

In this issue we meet the new Ultimates team . . I'm sorry, I guess they're called the Avengers now . . Finally! Anyways . . we meet the new team, and see each of them in action . . a little bit. First up is War Machine. As in our world, it's Rhodey, but . . this one seems to bask in the power that the War Machine brings him. When he goes to retrieve a couple of captured soldiers, he wipes out an entire Afghanistan village. The soldiers question the extreme measure of his actions, and he replies . . 'Gimme a break! Five minutes ago they were prepping you for YouTube! Now button it, Michael Moore! I got a call coming in from base command . .' Next up is Gregory Stark . . Tony's older brother. Huh?? That came out of left field. Anyways, Nick describes him as . . 'The man's a damn nightmare. But he's ten times smarter than Tony and completely amoral . . in other words, just the kinda' guy I like doing business with.' We don't really see him do anything. Other than strut around. But he seems to have a huge chip on his shoulder about Tony. Next up is Red Wasp. She used to be called the Insect Queen. She's a former terrorist, but now she's the Secretary of State's body-guard. Apparently she had some reconstructive surgery done by Stark Industries, and they put an 'obedience chip' in her. Next up is the Hulk. Well . . not 'the' Hulk. But rather one of Gregory Stark's design . . 'This isn't the real Hulk. It's a new design grown from Banner's stem cells retaining his hyper-intellect and the monster's brute strength. Code name 'Nerd Hulk'. He should be fully operational and ready for action first thing in the morning.' Also, Stark has Spider-man in a cage. Again, not 'the' Spider-man. Actually . . we're not really sure what he is. Stark warns, 'Don't engage with it. It can drive a man to suicide in 3 or 4 exchanges. One of the technicians slit his wrists only last week.' Nick knows Peter, so he asks, 'Who the hell is this?' Spider-man replies, 'Trust me Nicky-boy . . you do not want to know.' Finally we have the new Black-Widow. Apparently she's Nick's ex, Monica. I guess she's had some 'up-grades' which give he strength, speed and hyper-agility. But the relationship between her and Nick . . her boss . . is tense, at best. Anyways, at the end of the issue the team attempts to intercept Captain America, who's traversing the globe in search of his terrorist son . . the Red Skull. He's in Paris and before the team can make a move, Steve strikes out at them. He seems to take them out, individually, rather quickly. That is until on the final page when he's confronted by a rather large War Machine . . prepped and ready to blow him away. 'Prepare to meet Bob Hope, grandpa!' Mark Millar is writing this book, and it's apparent by the sheer amount of unique ideas contained within it's pages. It really seems like he's cutting loose on this one. I'd hate to be his editor on this book, because I don't know how you'd hold the guy back. Anyways, Carlos Pacheco does the art. It looks great. I know it's called the Avengers, but . . to me . . it'll always be the Ultimates. But that's ok. You say 'tomato', I say 'tomato'. I'm sorry. That didn't sound as good in text. But you know what I mean. Anyways, so far I think it's a good book. I can't wait to see where this one goes.

X-Men Forever #10 - Marvel

With the picture on this cover . . obviously we know what this issue is about. But . . I have to say . . I expected something to happen. I don't know what. Just something. But this ends up being more of an interaction and character development book. There is one flare up between Creed and Remy, but . . I kind of think that was more out of frustration because of the way each of them are dealing with thier loss. And Hank, who now knows that the Consortium is 'up there' . . somewhere . . has blanketed the estate in a holographic projection so that this day they can be left in peace. Oh yeah, and Charles has redoubled his efforts to find a way to slow down this deterioration that occurs naturally in mutants when they expend their power. Anyways, there's a whole slew of visitors to the grounds . . the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Excalibur . . even Bruce Banner and Nick Fury pay their respects. But no like dangling plot threads that we usually see in these quieter issues. Well . . you know what? I take that back. At the very end of the issue . . the last 3 pages . . Scott returns to Alaska after the funeral for a little down time. His grandparents are there to greet him . . they're still alive, and . . his son comes rushing out to meet his dad. 'Daddy! I missed you! I missed you! Can we go fishing, I saw a moose, and eagles, Gran'pa's teaching me to fly!' Hmmm! I'm sorry. Did I miss something? This could be an interesting development. I'm sure it involves Madelyn. Somehow. But we'll just have to wait and see where this goes. But the next issue is called . . 'Snap Trap!' Anyways, I think Chris Claremont is doing a fantastic job with this series. So far I like what he's done, and everything that's happened kind of seems like a natural chain of events. Well . . except for the whole Ororo thing. That was kind of shoved on us. But . . I really can't wait to see where he takes all of these characters. I think it's a great concept and I'm glad that he's running with it. The art this issue was by Paul Smith and Terry Austin. So it was a little reminiscent of day of old. I had a little nostalgic wave pass over me. Just a little. All in all I like this book. And I like the pace it's moving at.

New Mutants #6 - Marvel

I really liked this book. Doug Ramsey is back, and . . and the end of the book, Warlock finally makes his way to Utopia. But . . let me back up a little bit. First of all, the team comes to Utopia to be with the rest of the X-Men. This is the first time that Charles has seen them all back together again. He knows that they've saved his son, Legion, but he's not being allowed to participate in his recovery. And the team need a little R&R after what they've just been through. Now remember, from the X-Necrosha book, all of this is happening at the same time as Selena is making her move on the island. Doug watches the group through the window for a while before he strikes. I thought it was interesting how everything to him is a language . . the way his eyes perceive the light, the gestures and looks that each of the team-members give each other and Charles, and later when they're fighting he perceives their motions and moves as a language . . telling him how to react and counter. I'm glad they strengthened that aspect of this character. Anyways, eventually he does come busting in, and he goes straight for Amara. He gives her a pretty good beating. We're not really sure exactly how hurt she is. But then when the rest of the team react, as I said, they're having a pretty hard time taking him on. He's literally reading their every nuance. That is until Shan takes them over, possessing them all. Because of her control, and their movements, he can't anticipate their actions. It's all gibberish to him. And that's when Warlock comes in. He recovers Doug, after flying off the balcony, and feels that his team-mates have attacked his 'friend'. However, when he tries to help, he quickly finds out that Doug's TO is quickly trying to over-ride Warlock's own programming. The issue ends with it looking like Doug has ripped his 'friend' apart. Zeb Wells also did Doug's story in X-Necrosha, so it was a smooth transition. I really enjoyed the way the whole thing played out, and the added insight into Doug's character. Several times through this book we're led to believe that the real Doug may be coming through the programming . . that he may realize what he's doing is wrong. But it isn't until the final page that it's drilled into us that that's just not going to happen. Zeb did a great job of taking us through this emotional telecaster. I also enjoyed Diogenes Neves pencils. I think he gets better with every issue. I'm so glad this book is back, and I can't wait to see where this storyline goes.

X Necrosha #1 - Marvel

I know this story has been building for a while now . . with Bastion and Selena and all, but . . before I get started on this, there's just one thing I gotta' say. I know I'll probably catch flack for this, but . . this whole thing, with all the mutants rising from the dead and coming back to cause grief for the living . . does that remind anybody else of anything? Come on. I know you know. Ok, I'll just say it . . this whole thing doesn't seem that much different from . . . Blackest Night. I know! I know it is different. It's just kind of coincidental to me that both companies have similar story-lines going on at the same time. I'm just sayin'! Anyways, unlike the other story-line, not everyone is coming back to life here. Just the mutants that Bastion and Selena have picked for their individual teams. And . . those they thought best to strike at their intended targets . . the X-Men. And they're both using the same techno-organic virus . . from now on called TO . . except Selena's is infused with mysticism, 'perverting' the original program. Anyways, we get a little bit of Selena's history here, and find out the make-up of her core team . . Wither, Blink, Senyaka, Mortis and Eli Bard. But there's lot's of other name-brand mutants that she's brought back to cause trouble also. These include Doug Ramsey, the Hellions. Shinobi Shaw, Harry Leland, Pyro, Beserker, Thunderbird, Caliban and Destiny. And the piece de resistance in Selena's bid for power? Hammer Bay . . Genosha. Clayton Crain's picture here . . the 2-page spread of the fallen nation . . is just haunting. It's actually daunting, how intense this picture is. Hence the name of the title . . Necrosha . . Genosha. Get it? Also, sensing what Selena is up to, Bastion decides to speed up his plan. Whatever that may be. And Laura is back at Utopia . . her arm almost completely regrown. Anyways, this sets us up for the story leading directly in to X-Force #21. In the second story, Doug Ramsey and the Hellions break in to the base at Utopia. While Doug does help them, he's also on a mission of his own. Selena has tasked him with taking out her granddaughter . . Amara. This chapter sets up the story, and leads directly in to New Mutants #6. And finally in the last story we get a little view of what Selena has Destiny around for. Basically . . she's second guessing her moves as she progress' along the board . . she wants to assure her outcome. But Destiny ends up going to Utopia and gives Blindfold a message. We don't know what it is, but afterwards Destiny seems distraught. 'No, wait! No, that isn't . . what have I done? What have I done?' Eerie! And this chapter leads in to the story in X-Men: Legacy #231. All in all I thought it was a good book. I just thought I should comment on the comparison. Selena's story was by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, with incredible art by Clayton Crain. The Doug Ramsey chapter was created by Zeb Wells and Ibraim Robertson. And Destiny's chapter was by Mike Carey and Laurence Campbell. I almost didn't pick this one up, but . . with everything going on in the X-books . . I thought I better. I'm glad I did. I'm sure this filled in some holes. And it was only $3.99. I actually expected it to be a couple dollars more. And with my next book being New Mutants #6 . . we move directly into the story.

Wolverine First Class #20 - Marvel

I'm guessing that this story-line is supposed to be some prequel of sorts to the Secret Invasion. In this book, Wolverine and Kitty have been captured by the Skrulls. Luckily though . . Captain Marvel shows up and helps the 2 of them escape what could've been a sticky situation. They were being held by a Super-Skrull. It would've been a stretch for either of them to go up against him.They snatch a transport and crash land back at home. Really . . there wasn't much more to the story than that. A little bit of dialogue between the the Super-Skrull and the Kree warrior, Marvel. And we saw what I guess was the Skrull that would be taking Wolverine's place. But Logan beat him down before they took off. It was an ok book. Just a pretty quick read. I like these early stories with Wolverine, mostly because Kitty is involved. But . . they aren't overly complicated. Anyways, this one's brought to us by Peter David and Dennis Calero. Skottie Young does the cover. It was an ok book. Just not much to it.

Wolverine Weapon X #6 - Marvel

This issue picks up after the previous story-line where Logan was fighting Blackguard and Weapon X. Unknown to him, during that story he was also betrayed by his friend Maverick. Anyways, now . . . now he finds himself locked up in an insane asylum, and he has no idea how long he's been here. He does however seem to be fairly familiar with the order of things around her, and some of it's patients. So he's guessing he's been here for quite a while. He has bits and pieces of his memory, but nothing that he can really put together. The only person really in this whole place that seems sane is Logan's psychiatrist, Dr Rottwell. But that may be questionable. One of the patients confides in Logan that he's seen the Doctor building a machine out of brains in the basement. Anyways, This story basically serves to show us where Logan's at, and to get us a little familiar with his surroundings. The rest? Well, I guess we'll find that out next issue. The only thing of real import that happens is one of the patients is released . . Wendell. The Doctor puts him out like a child into the cold, but he's been here for 13 years so he's not very happy about being out on his own. Within hours he returns and give the doctor a gift . . a sack full of brains. The issue ends with the Doctor taking Wendell into the basement, the incurable ward, and him screaming after the door is closed. I assume this has to have something to do with Weapon X, hence the title. But I don't know what it could possibly be. Anyways, this issue is brought to us by Jason Aaron and Yanick Paquette. With some nice looking covers by Adam and Joe Kubert. It's an interesting story, but . . I just don't have any idea where we're going with this. And we probably won't get the answers anytime soon, because this arc will cover the next 5 issues. Oh well. It's another Wolverine book. If you're a fan, pick it up. If not . . you aren't missing much.

X-Force #20 - Marvel

Ok . . I have to admit . . I like this book too. Maybe not as much as X-Factor, but . . I still like it. I know the X-Men aren't supposed to kill. I know that's not what the 'heroes' do. But . . you have to admit . . it's kind of nice to see these guys take on the 'bad-guys' sometimes with reckless abandon. It's got to be a little liberating for them to fight a 'bad-guy' and they're not sure willing to do, or capable of. If nothing else it would make the playing field a little more even. Anyways, last issue ended with Agent Morales and Laura trying to get out of the facility. Laura knows that she's the only one that can take out the guards, but . . she's one arm short. So she has to even the edge. She loads her trigger scent into the sprinkler system and then sets it off. As she makes her way to the director of the facility, she's on a killer rage the whole way. Just as she makes her way to his office, Kimura tells him to flood the system with water. I don't know why she bothered though. When Kimura gets there, they fight about Laura and she takes him out herself. She could've saved herself the bullet. Anyways, Morales shows up to help Laura and they both get out. During the interim, Morales booby-trapped every flammable part of the facility that she could find. But Kimura still survives. She warns her over Morales' radio that she'll never stop and that she's coming after everyone . . starting with Megan. Shortly after, Domino and Wolverine show up and they take Laura home. Meanwhile, Warren and James have made it back to Warren's house in time to see the destruction caused by Rahne and her friend. They don't know what happened, but soon Hrimhari approaches with Rahne in his arms asking for their help . . specifically Elixir's. And, on the final page, we get a quick glimpse at Necrosa . . specifically Doug Ramsey. I love what Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost are doing with this book. This is how X-Force should've been . . a long time ago. They just never took that final step. Also Mike Choi's art, and cover, is spectacular. But don't worry. We'll see Clayton Crain soon in the Necrosha one-shot. It's only a few issues away.

X-Factor #50 - Marvel

With this issue comes the end of an era . . kind of. This will be the last issue of the current series, but . . don't despair. These characters will be coming back at ya' next month with a simple renumbering. Next month Marvel will reassign this book it's original numbering . . if it hadn't been cancelled and then brought back . . with issue #200. Peter David will remain as the writer. So the book will have it's same great feel. But Bing Casino will be taking over on the art chores. I have no idea who he is, so . . I don't know what to expect. But I'm sure with Peter at the helm, everything will stay on course. Anyways, this issue wraps up our future story with Cortex. Kind of. First we get a flashback as to what led Anthony Falcone to hate mutants so much. And how he was manipulated by Tryp. Back in the future . . 80 years in the future . . Cortex has just been pulled back in time, by Doom and Jamie. As soon as he arrives, Falcone gets a lock on him and realizes that all the mutants will be in the same place. 'All squadrons converge on my signal. Implement operation Clean Sweep! Repeat . .! Clean Sweep! Finally . . Finally . . it's going to be a brand new day.' Falcone's plan is actually kind of ingenious. For years he's been basically spray painting the mutants with specific Hadron particles. First in the camps, and then at the various Sentinel attacks. Now . . now that he's got them all in one place, all he needs to do is open a portal that attracts the Hadron particles and all of the mutants will be swept away into other dimensions. All he had to do was wait until most of them were converged together, and then implement the process. Easy-peasy! But whenever X-Factor is involved, specifically Jamie and Layla, things never really seem to go according to plan. What I don't get is why was Cortex working for Falcone when he knew that the ultimate plan was to rid the world of his brethren? Anyways, Jaime and Cortex fight . . which to me didn't really seem all that realistic because Cortex is so much more powerful. He took it easy on Jamie and I don't really understand why. Then we find out . . after Cortex takes out Fitzroy pretty early in the game, that Layla's power is actually to bring things back from the dead. After Ruby's pleading that's what she does with Fitzroy. I think, ultimately, she did it because he was really the only threat to Cortex. He surprises him from under the boardwalk, and like the siphon that he is sucks off all of Cortex's life force. The problem with all of this is that Layla knows that using this gift causes the recipients to be brought back without a soul. So whatever evil that Fitzroy does . . however bad he becomes . . it's all on Layla's head now. In the end . . Jaime and company win. He's transported back to Detroit, but Layla isn't. That he knows of. It turns out that she actually went further back in time and downloaded her younger self with the information of everything that's happened during her lifetime . . including her trip 80 years into the future. This gives her the illusion of the power that . . 'she knows stuff'. When we now know that her actual power is to bring things back to life. That piece of information came out of left field. I guess I wasn't paying attention to the hints that Peter was leaving us over the course of this series. All I can say is . . wow! This book continues to please and amaze me. I love what Peter's doing here. Valentine De Landro does the art for his final issue here. And I have to say . . it was probably one of his best. It was a great issue all around. I loved the story. I loved the art. I love the characters. And I thought the explanation for all of this stuff these guys have been going through was fantastic. It was a great way to wrap up the current story-line. Now, as to my concern earlier about not being familiar with Bing Casino's work. At the end of this issue we get a 7 page preview of the story coming up in issue #200. I have to say the story, and the art both show a lot of promise. I imagine it'll be a double sized issue, so . . I can't wait to jump in. It's to bad I can't get this excited about every book I read.

WildCATS #16 - WildStorm

How does the saying go? 'It's always darkest before the dawn'? Well this one should read . .'It's always lightest before the fall' Zealot and Savant have gone to Hawaii to enlist Majestic's help. That's why this issue is called Family Meeting. Anyways, they reveal to him that because Tao was tapped into Void's power, he was able to manipulate people everywhere. Majestros included. This seriously pisses him off. So he takes off straight for Max Faraday's island. At the time it looks as if Tao and his forces are going to be to much for all the heroes assembled here. That is until Majestros shows up. He informs Tao that the blades that he's wielding, Nemesis' blades, were forged of the creation engine. 'They can cut through anything. Even what you've become.' When he stabs them both through his chest, he basically switches off his powers. The plan then is to drain his powers. Hadrian figures that he and Max and Void should be able to contain it all. However . . Tao has one more ace up his sleeve. One of his soldiers puts a gun to Max's wife's head. She only lives if they remove the swords. Which Max gladly does. Then . . then he asks Max . . 'One more thing. The Creation Equation. The formula that gave you your powers. Tell it to me.' Everyone is screaming for him to stop, but Max decides that he can't not tell him. The issue ends with Tao floating in the air, looking like he's wielding more power than he ever has. How can they possibly get out of this? This issue was much more exciting than that Gen13 issue that I just read. Christos Gage is doing a fantastic job with this title. I also really enjoyed Shawn Moll's pencils. Besides the Authority, this is probably my favorite WildStorm title. Plus, who can complain about those gorgeous Ryan Sook covers? All around, it was a good book.

Gen13 #32 - WildStorm

I haven't made any secret of the fact that I haven't been very happy with this book since this whole Teenaged Wastland story-line first started. I didn't really liked the story. And I definitely wasn't a fan of Mike Huddleston's art. But, I stuck with it because I love these characters. Well it looks like we finally may be getting a change. I don't know if it'll be good or bad, but in 2 months when issue #33 comes out, Adam Beechen and Cruddie Torian will be taking over on the creative chores. The kids have made their way all the way across the country, in search of Tranquility . . only to find that what's left of it is a crater. So, with issue #33, and the new creative team, they'll begin their trek back across the country with their new team members in tow. Because of their recent adventure up on the floating base, they've discovered that they have some previously unknown cousins floating around . . Gen14. Not all of them made it through the adventure, but . . the couple that are left have decided to join Gen13 on their trek. In a joke, Roxy tells them that they'll meet in the middle and call themselves Gen13.5. I don't think that will stick. But . . whatever. Like I said, hopefully we'll get a better storyline on the way back across the country. I like what I've seen of Adam's work before this, so . . . then again, I never really had any complaints about Scott Beatty's stories. Before this. In conclusion . . the best part about this book . . it wraps up and finishes the Teenaged Wasteland story-line. Yay! It's finally time to move on.

Madame Xanadu #16 - Vertigo

Finally . . Amy Reeder Hadley is back on the pencils this issue. I'm not taking anything away from Michael Wm Kaluta's run . . he's a fantastic artist. But . . this series started out under Amy's, and Matt Wagner's vision. And as the series went along you could definitely see improvement in her work. She's a talented artist that really seems to be coming into her own. So . .I'm just glad to see her back on the title where she got her spotlight. She definitely deserves it. This issue, Nimue, or main character has moved just a little farther ahead into the late 50's. Our story follows a young woman, Betty Reynolds. Her life is normal until one day things start to change. First . . she seems to be having a gravity problem. She can't keep her skirt down, then her hair, and then she floats out of bed. Next she starts going through physical changes. She notices her face looks a bit different. Her naturally blond hair begins to switch to auburn. She's losing weight, gaining height and her bodily features have become more accentuated. Even her finger-nails are growing faster. And they're hard as diamonds. She's 39 years old. How could her body be going through this much change, this late in life, and . . this fast. Finally . . she begins expelling bugs. Bugs seem to be coming from he mouth whenever she opens it. It start out with flies, but then moves on to moths, bees, cicadas, crickets and dragon-flies. It isn't until she starts spitting out cockroaches that she decides to try to seek some help. Doctors can't do anything, and her husband suggests a psychiatrist. Finally her friend Joanie tells her of a friend, also with an unusual problem, that sought an unusual solution. Which leads her to the doorstep of Madame Xanadu. We don't know exactly what's going on here, yet. But Nimue seems genuinely concerned about her new client. 'Why does her case stir such echoes in my heart? Why do these magics bear the scent of . . familiarity?' I have a feeling this has something to do with the good Madame's journey through the DC Universe, but . . I honestly have no idea what, or who Betty could possibly be. This one will be just as much a surprise to me as anyone else. I love the work Matt and Amy are doing here. I can't wait to see where this one goes.

Billy Batson and the Magic of SHAZAM! #9 - DC

I know this book is aimed at teen-agers, but . . I like it. I've always been a fan of Captain Marvel's, and right now this appears to be the only way we're going to get some new adventures from him. That's not to say I'm not happy with this outlet, it's just different from what we've seen before. And way different from the Power of Shazam! series. This issue is brought to us by Art Baltazar, Franco and Bryon Vaughns. It seems that there's a little spill-over from the previous adventure involving Dr Sivana, and King Kull. There's no clear threats, just something mischievous going on. We see it in the way Billy / Captain Marvel is acting. He doesn't seem to be himself. Well . . he is himself. He's just not both of himselfs. Captain Marvel hasn't changed back to Billy in days. It seems like the longer this goes on, the more arrogant and self-concerned Captain Marvel becomes. Mary uses her own magic to finally change him back. But now that he's Billy again, and he thinks about the things that Captain Marvel said and did . . 'I do know one thing . . I can never be Captain Marvel again.' This story revolves around a plot thread of some arsons going on around town. At the end of the issue we find out that when Captain Marvel captured the culprit, he ended up seriously disfiguring him because of his methods. Is this the end of Captain Marvel? I doubt it. But we'll see what happens next issue. I really like this book. But . . I would like to see some other outlet for this character. Somewhere!