This Week In Marvel 2/24/16

So the big news is Iron Fist has found it's Danny Rand in Game of thrones actor  Finn Jones. Not my first choice, but of course this brought a grumble from the idiots of the inner webs complaining that it wasn't an asian actor. This is the pinnacle in stupidity since Danny Rand is blond. Aren't asians being stereotyped as martial artists in the first place? It would be racist for Rand to not be white. Racism has nothing to do about the color it's being vented against. But that is propaganda for you. Now to comics...bringing Uncle Ben back from the dead in Amazing Spider-man's 1.3 issue , not only made we scratch my head and back track to read previous issues, just doesn't have the impact it should and I can think of many more characters who would benefit from being brought back. I always tell myself Squirrel Girl is never going to be good and I am right, this time I'm sticking to my guns as this last issue was just a waste of time. Angela Queen of Hel,  continues to try to hard to push it's lgbt agenda. I have noting wrong with gay characters, ret-conning and making some one gay after the fact I have a problem with. Karnak's second issue is a mixed bag the plot is a little thin, the art is stylistic but well done for what it is. I don't see him carrying a book on his own for long. Drax's 3rd issue is obviously written by a wrestler, because that is what the plot resembles. Decent art and glad to see an old Hulk baddie in the mix. The 4th issue of the All- New In-Humans continues to be a disappointment and plot hole get bigger. They have a healer and Gorgon is in a wheel chair. What sense does that make? It took me a little bit to figure out what was no clicking for me in Hercules. The answer came after pondering the fourth issue. It's the introduction of the new gods based off modern thought that is weak. The art is fine, the action at least shows motion in the ocean, but the new bad guys are paper thin. The 5th issue of Howling Commandos find the series losing momentum and not keeping me as engaged. Venom Space Knight has Thompson separated from the symbiote and they meet up with a big ass space -panda, really the art is what sells the book as the story has gotten silly.


The art in Dare Devil is great. The book has an interesting use of perspective in the display of it's panels.  Steve Roger's seems to be a little forced in this issue, it's all set up with some action thrown in a good balanced book. The All- New X-men continues to be one of the better books despite the heavy handed teen drama. When Angel breaking up with X-23 is the cliff hanger when the rest of the team is throwing down with Blob, then you are heading in the wrong direction. The art is some of Marvel's best and what help ease the sting. This feels more like an X-men book than the other two titles. New Avengers shows improvement in it's 7th issue. Overall the book has been rather hit or miss. I don't care about White Tiger or Power-Man, but it was a smooth read with decent art. Silk continues to work despite it's art into the fifth issue. I'm not a fan of how Black Cat is drawn, but glad to see she how grown into a bigger player in the crime world. Speaking of poorly drawn but getting better as a book Hell-Cat's 3rd issue felt more like a super-hero book. A villain who controls bed-bugs might be throwing her light weights. Ant-man is becoming one of the better books. Some of the side story lines get a little fuzzy, but overall  it has the classic Marvel feel that I want out of books a balance of plot and throwing down. Unsure about the new Giant-man, I had forgotten Pym was dead. So if that is the way it's gotta be then that is the way it's gotta be, but the new guy needs to start working out.

This Week in Marvel : 2/17/16

Ok, this week the Avengers Stand Off Welcome to Pleasant Hill  started off which is leading to Civil War 2. This is basically a massive rip off of  Wayward Pines. Shield designs a fake town with brain washed re-programmed villains, Numbered among them is Bruce Banner. So we know he is not dead. Meaning Cho-Hulk's days as the sole hulk are numbered. Today artwork was laid out with some working pages for an Avengers issue that looks to have the current team of All - New Avengers  minus Jane Foster Thor about to throw down with a horde of heroes that dramatically out numbers them. So far that makes the teams Iron-man, Sam Wilson, Vision, Miles Morales,  and Nova vs
Capt Marvel, Spider-man, War-machine, Foster-Thor, Wasp, Black Panther, Hawkeye, the New Avengers, Deadpool,  the X-men and the In-humans. So the deck is loaded against them unless Steve Rogers, Hercules,  Dr.Strange, Punisher, the Guardians of the Galaxy ( Star Lord was shown on Stark's side ) and Ghost Rider who all appear to not yet be spoken for jump in.



 I read it in the comic book store then I had to read it again online to see if the fourth issue of the Mighty Thor would make any more sense. Odin could have de-powered and cast out Jane Foster with a wave of his hand. It's one thing to be creative , it's another to have no regard for the mythology preceding your story, terrible writing, though the art is improved. The fifth issue of Uncanny Inhumans is a tour of the Quiet Room. Black Bolt's new head quarters, which is a variation of where he hung out during Secret Wars. They build some tension with mis-behavior that Black Bolt will need to lay the smack down on, but it's not the most compelling story. The art is better than most these days.Star Lord has great art , but the story now drags and nothing really happens in this issue, he runs into old friends and gets punched by a girl, what a wuss. The second issue of Sliver Surfer also wastes a little time in it's soap opera and limits his fight with the Thing to two pages and he knocks out Ben with one punch. This really depends upon the circumstances as to how believable that is. I know the Surfer is strong, but that strong? Web Warriors has a few moments like Spider-Ham telling some version of Black Cat that pigs can run faster than humans the book is still a tangled mess, if hundreds of alternate Electros were not enough now add on that many Dr. Ocks. I would prefer to see that many Black Cats, Kravens or Rhinos. It's a tangled mess. Can we kill them all off except for Spider-Man noir, Spider-Ham and Spider- Gwen?

It's good to see Luke and Danny back together. Their first issue back is heavy on the bromance. The art could be better , but overall the book does justice to what these characters are about. Another bromance book that is getting better is Starbrand and Night Mask. Even with the ending of this week's issue still not finding me in a position  of caring if they live or die the book is growing on me. The fourth issue of Squadron Supreme is a vast move in the right direction. Dr. Druid is back up in this bitch, he is more of a bad guy now. Weirdworld seems to click in place here , better than it does in its own book.The 7th issue of Extraordinary X-men is pretty damn good and moves the book in a better direction. They get Night Crawler back and of course justin time for the movie the Apocalypse Wars are about to kick off though I am willing to bet its a slow burn until we get full throttle into that one.

Movie Review : Deadpool

Deadpool is one of those books I skip more often than not because I have reached an exhaustion point with the character, since he not only appears in Uncanny Avengers now, but has multiple books and for the past few years was being forced fed to you due to  his immense popularity. Popularity evident in the almost endless parade of Deadpool cosplay at any convention that was a a fever pitch last year. The movie works off of the same elements that made the character popular an due to the R rating doesnt' have to let up. This redeems the character of Ryan Reynolds previous portrayal in Wolverine Origins. However one thing that should have carried over from the Wolverine movie is absent, namely the Weapon X Program. Instead we have a torture chop shop that is closer to Hostel. Thus creating a vacuum that is filled by made up villains when actual villains from the Marvel Universe could have been used. Deadpool's rogues gallery might not be the strongest on it's own, leaving his scraps from the X-men's table , but there re plenty of villains who have yet to see screen time in the X-men movies that could have fit the bill.

Wait you say, Ajax is in the comics. Sure if we are talking about the big Hulk sized goon from Pantheon. That one is far from a big bad, and I would have been fine with the Pantheon being worked into it. This did not ruin the movie for me since my emotional connection to the character is much less than if this was a Hulk, Thor or Dr. Strange movie. Why did they not make the character Fantomex ? The movie was very entertaining and kept me engaged, I did not feel bad for having to pay 20.00 dollars to see it in Imax, because all the other showings were sold out. As I told me wife the only other movie I am going to pay that much to see again will be Dr. Strange....I guess until 2025 when the Sentry movie comes out or Marvel makes a Hulk solo film.

Everything about the movie was over the top. The action scenes were bloodier than even Daredevil's Netflix show.  We had numerous masturbation references, We had sex scenes , which were just a few degrees less tame than those from Jessica Jones. Is it a kid's movie. Well it depends on how old your child is and how much they like Deadpool. If he is their favorite character, well you are going to have to have a talk with them before and after. He has had little cartoon face time so unless we are talking the video game they would have have to have read the comic book. So they are not a stranger to the kind of adult flavored wackiness, but bringing it to life might be intense and require a bathroom break or eye covering in a few moments like the strip club scene. If they are 12 or older let them have at it. I saw Conan the Barbarian when I was little and it didn't warp me, though I suppose my previous therapist might say that is up for debate.

Will my daughter see this movie? No, but  she doesn't really care about the character, if she wants to see Wonder-Woman on March 25th, well ratings wise it should be a different story. There are plenty f reasons for Deadpool's r-rating all of them are what makes the film work, so props to the studio for not backing down and editing it to a pg-13. Half the dialogue would have needed to be rewritten. Colossus pretty much serves as the movies moral barometer and that would have given his character a less pivotal role. The cgi on him is good and shows how many of the larger than life characters should be handled one day when they hit the screen...I'm thinking Sasquatch when they make a Alpha Flight movie.Speaking of big bruisers, another question is why make up this Angel chick when she could have very well have been Monet?No only do you not have to be a fan of the comic book, but the movie works better if you aren't even thought the tone and the character himself is pretty much intact. No laser beam eyes, though they do poke fun of that depiction as well as Green Lantern. It gladly defies most of the super-hero conventions , except for the origin story which is told in a way that doesn't bog the movie down. The effects and fight scenes are pretty much everything you could want from a Deadpool movie and future Wolverine or Punisher movies could stand to learn from.

Reynolds shows he was in fact perfect for the role with Morena Baccarin once again proving she is more than a pretty face, she adds a bit of an edge to her character and is believable in the role. The girl who plays Negasonic Teenage Warhead, is passable and the villain is typical for what he doesn't would have been better served as real character with more depth. But overall it's a ride that doesn't slow down and keeps you pulled into Deadpools world. Hopefully rumors are right and the Liam Neeson jokes are winks toward him bringing Cable to life which is confirmed in the post-credits scene. One of the better Marvel movies and the best of the X-men films. It was also a great movie for Valentine's.

This Week In Marvel 2/10/16

The big even this week isn't on the shelves , but in theaters as Deadpool comes out. I am not going to see it opening weekend. In fact Dr. Strange might be the last Marvel movie I go to opening weekend. I'm not sure about Civil War, I think it's going to take the Avengers side of the coin into a bad direction. Super hero fatigue is going to be setting in soon after that one when those characters begin to be re-cast. The second issue of Shield, keeps with the tone of the show while setting things up for the Civil War 2 story that is coming. Overall it's a little on the luke warm side. The art doesn't help matters. Weird World has some wacky art, but a story I just can't care about, I will only keep reading it in hopes some one more interesting shows up, like Man-thing or Crystar. Another book with great art wasted on a boring story is the Ultimates.  Not a big fan of the Blue Marvel or the America girl, but you would think the others would do more than just support a Blue Marvel story, which is what the book is turning into. Black Knight loses some of it's charm in the 4th issue, there is only one left and the book is getting the plug pulled on it. I think it would have done better without some much of the Uncanny Avengers, as Dane becomes more of a supporting character.The 3rd issue of Red Wolf finds the book getting dull, they just need to bring in the Texas Rangers, since he was only good as a part of that team. Spider -Gwen has really gone down the toilet. I stopped reading the 5th issue mid way into it. The art is terrible and the story which is trying to be a Netflix drama already is overly dramatic and loses the voice of the main character. Ms Marvel really continues to be a waste of time, its a super hero comic book for people who don't like super hero comic books. Meaning poseurs...


The 4th issue of the All- New Hawkeye, finds the book going in a decent direction, though weighed down with too much back story on Kate Bishop, who really just needs to get put on New Avengers in Clint's place and let him have a solo book rather than trying to balance between two Hawkeyes as we get into the too many versions of the same archetype.
The 5th issue of All New Wolverine, is pretty decent even with the art working against it. Sure Wasp/ Ant-Man shrink down to go inside someone's body and save them is kind of played out concept, they pretty much make it work. One of the clones dies , which is fine by me as why do you need more X-23s running around , that is the problem we already have with too many version of the same hero running around. In All- New X-men X-23 was also the focus as the issue looked at her relationship with the new Angel and in the span of one issue trouble arose in paradise as he began to question her masochistic need to take her healing factor to the limit. Then a beat down from Blob, who I don't remember seeing for some time goes down.This is some of the weeks best art.  What All-New Avengers's fifth issue had going for might not have been what was intended. my take away is that Vision wised up and got the kids kicked off the team. The whole Equinox thing was on the dumber side of things since he is really a Marvel Team Up level of heel. I am glad Foster turned human, the perfect time to kill her off.  She also shows up in Illuminati's 4th issue another comic marred by flawed art, it's a heist plot that is losing a little of the steam.

So things were looking up a little  on the Hulk end. We saw more of Banner's fate in the 3rd issue of Totally Awesome.One of the few books with good comic book art these days. Fing Fang Foom, no longer talks for some reason. Then in this weeks issue of Old Man Logan, Cho-Hulk gets mistaken for the real deal, which you think Logan's nose would have picked up on, so that was a slight fail, but there fight is good and end like most Hulk vs Wolverines , with Logan getting his butt kicked in, despite his healing factor.

This Week In Marvel 2/3/16

A-Force's second issue finds me becoming increasingly unimpressed with not only G Willow Wilson's writing, but knowledge of the Marvel Universe. She tries to make Medusa as powerful as She- Hulk and Medusa's whole head of ginger can only lift close to two tons on a good hair day. So how is that strong enough to throw a being the size of Galactus? The art needs works not sure why She-Hulk and Medusa were the same height. Dazzler surfaces, not sure about her new look and roller derby is not for the biggest pop star in the world who has managers that ensure her face as part of the contract. So too much suspension of disbelief on the basics.The Vision's 4th issue finds the book treading the same water as his wife keeps taking wrong turns every step of the way I appreciate that fact the book is dark, but I would rather have more of the actual Vision in it, this isn't a t.v drama where all the character arcs have to be given time, it's super heroes. Uncanny X-men begins to lose a little of its momentum in the third issue, though the plot is ironed out and Fantomex makes his appearance. If that is all you need from an X-men book then it might work a little better for you it just felt stiff to me.The 2nd issue of Captain Marvel, is not as good as the first , but it is still hands down better than anything Kelly Sue ever did.  I was going to skip the 4th issues Howard the Duck , but despite feeling more like an issue of Guardians of the Galaxy it was better than the first three. Dr. Strange lost some of it's magic in the latest issue, there was a little too much Wong. Not sure about the temple of monk's trained to absorb his karmic repercussions either.

The Invincible Iron - Man is trying real hard in it's 6th issue but is losing some of the momentum, Deodato is my favorite Marvel artist, but the colorist is working against him. Sure War-Machine has gotta show, but the actual Iron Man is stuck trading blows verbally with Victor Von Doom in a Waffle House. Thanks to Bendis Miles Morales , who I used to hate has now taken a place in the Marvel Universe that makes sense, the whole presentation is pretty endearing, but if Blackheart took out a whole team of Avengers Morales is not powerful or experienced enough to hang. But for a first issue it's a good read and might be the weeks best book. However, this doesn't mean that super-heroes are like Barbie and it's fine to three versions of each one in order to look politically correct and market it like Mickey Mouse, who Disney could tell Marvel the value of what makes Mickey an icon, because there is only one of him, sure there is Minnie, but she is not a girl mouse taking on the mantle of Mickey, like She- Hulk isn't a girl claiming to be the Hulk and Spider-woman is a entity unto herself never trying to replace Peter Parker. Silk is her own character and the best job they have done at making diversity make sense and more suited than Kamala Khan.Scarlet Witch is improved in its 3rd issue, different art she now doesn't look like a housewife.The 3rd issue of Guardians of Infinity is really strong, a big throw down and then a second story with Groot and Ben Grimm teaming up. Speaking of space books, not only was Nova more grounded in the most recent issue he was under grounded and trying to disrupt a civil war between the Mole Man's dynasty. The appearance of Miles and Kamala was a little forced, I think they just need to throw the three of them on a new incarnation of the New Warriors.