(no subject)
Oct. 21st, 2004 02:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dewinged-9:27 AM
It's early for me to start typing today. But, I wanted to mess around with talking about this week's comics today, and I eat lunch at 2. I'll get this done if I'm lucky, really. Have a feeling that this will be one of those times the calls will keep blitzing my train of thought.
Aaaaanyway.
Honestly, I only got four books this week. Though, my local shop doesn't carry Fables, until I request it on my pull list and I am a bit behind. I'll pick up the issues of that I'm missing tomorrow, though. But what I did get this week were all books I found myself looking forward to, with a whole bunch of reactions to them.
Teen Titans #18:
Aaaaaaaaaaiiiiieee! When we last left the Titans, at the end of the Titans/Legion one-shot, they had just dropped out of the time stream trying to get back from the future, and we knew back then they they would miss the mark by about 10 years, landing a decade in their future.
Within the first five or six pages, you realize that Not All Is Right, and HOW.
And it's keeping me reading, really. I mean, what happened in the meantime that caused the younger Titans and Changeling to go down this path? Lorena, I don't know much about since I don't read Aquaman, but she seems to have some sembalance of a conscience where Adult Tim, Adult Connor, and Adult Cassie have little to none. Even the younger Tim wonders aloud what would happen that would turn him into Batman?
A number of things could turn him into Batman. What turned him into the Batman who took down Duela Dent by putting a 9-mm to her forehead and pulling the trigger, that's what I hope we find out in this arc.
There's a mystery in this entire story. Why the last page? What was UP with that, besides the chilling image and dialogue? And the Hall of Mentors? I can see the Max Statue being there, but did anyone else notice some of the other Mentor statues? Geo Force? Dove?
Why them? What does the man have planned?
And a panel showing the new Speedy. We know where that's going, thank you Associated Press.
I know I'm going to see/hear it from the other fans: Waaahhh! Geoff Johns is doing this all wrong! He's ruining characters who haven't been around in over half a decade! Waaaa, whine, groan, moan, bitch, complain.
(Of course, some of these are the type who probably want Kole to come back and get her own ongoing series.)
If there's something I know about Johns, is that the story is never truly over, and shit happens for a reason. That's why I like this book so much: whatever happens, it will be followed up on, things will eventually be explained, and the fact that it's not all going to come to us immediately on a silver platter served with a eatra helping of honey mustardm is what keeps me reading.
Besides, do folks REALLY want the titans that happened before? Do they really want Faerber back with the scene-hogging DEO kids? Do they really want the all-powerful-in-their-own-imagination Barry Kitson back?
Foil. Hats. Remember that? FOIL HATS.
And people complain about the current Run of the Titans? They should be fucking Thankful for it.
Besides, Kitson's too busy fucking with the Legion. MY Legion.
Anyway, yeah, it's a dark and scary future and the kids have turned into Dark and Scary people. But it's good, solid story nonetheless.
Identity Crisis #5:
Now, if DC wishes to keep any suspense for this book alive, they have to stop giving shit away in their solicits. The January solicit for Teen Titans mentions Tim dealing with a personal loss, and now we know. Also,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lithera and I called it a while back, among many others.
But the fact of the mater remains: We are no closer to finding out the answer to the mystery then we were four issues ago. I see the League, who is usually a lot more capable, running around in circles to fill up pages. Some deaths, and a possible explination of why there's a new Firestorm all of a sudden, but I am not sure how I feel about that. But Meltzer is just...maybe I'm missing the clues again, or maybe Meltzer is just trying to pad up time.
I mean, Boomerang didn't kill Sue. The death of Jack Drake is going to be connected marginally, if at all, to the murder of Sue Dibny.
Of course, why can't any Robin have any parent that is still alive? (Note: I am not that up on Jason Todd's history. My previous statement might be wrong.)
But Jack's death is not by the same person. I'm not even sure the guy who attacked Jean Loring is the same one who killed Sue Dibny. Not only is there a killer, but they've got copycats now. The original killer didn't send notes, for example.
Man...whoever did this, it /better/ be good. If it turns out to be Joe Random villain who didn't make an appearance in the series up until that point, I'm going to be pissed. Why? Because that kind of resolution makes a reader feel cheated at best, stupid at worst.
Then again, I think it's one of the heroes who's behind all this. But that's me.
And there's that one really troubling question. Owen is Boomerang's son...with Super-Speed. And Digger admitted that the Golden Glider wasn't his mother. If not her, who? I can think of only two female speedsters off the top of my head. One hasn't been around, though has worked with the Rogues before. The other...is unthinkable. Period.
Uncanny X-Men #451:
The cover blurb says it. 'vs. X-23.' And that's pretty much what you get out of this issue, part 2 of a 2-part story: The X-Men, tracking a killer, find X-23 who looks and acts and has claws a lot like Wolverine. Pretty basic stuff, pretty pretty David/Farmer artwork, and decent characters all around, with an ending that has me intrigued. Said ending had nothing to do with the story, which might be the reason.
Now, I'm not sure what to think about X-23. She's essentially a Wolverine to soothe the fanboys who are already obsessed with having Wolverine anywhere, and reaffiring their heterosexuality in the process. (I'm gonna catch hell for that, I know, but geez...Cheesecake Wolverine? Do we /really/ need that?) Not to mention it's all runoff from the NYX series, which I just really loathed for a lot of reasons.
Now, as for Sage...she's infiltrating the hellfire Club again, or something like that. A debt to repay to Shaw? Shaw wants to be one of the Lords Cardinal, one step up from the Lords Imperial where he was the Black King. He wants Tessa's help, but why?
One: Bogan has to be involved somewhere. It would be Sage/Tessa's motivation to strike back at Bogan for everything that happened in Extreme.
Also...I like the idea of Sage, but I wonder if she's not becoming Claremont's new 'star.' Like, every story involves her, and the rest of the X-men are her background dancers. Something I thought about...Claremont /created/ these characters. When I picked up X-Men again with XXM #1 years ago...Sage was there, who used tyo be Tessa, and a lot more fucking powerful than just a telepath. She turned out to be a double agent working for Chuckles in the HFC.
Thought: Claremont created Sage. Do you think this was what he intended all along?
New X-Men: Academy X #5:
In stuff like this, I try to be formal and use the full title, but since I see a majority of 'New X-men' before that as What Is Wrong With Comics, I usually shorten the title in my head to Academy X. It helps.
Now, I still read this. In some ways I like it: likeable characters, story-driven tales, and the Hogwarts-like backdrop of the school itself is something that appeals to me. I just keep thinking something is missing. A story, a character...and I can't explain what it is. It's like that the book is almost there, almost what I truly want it to be, but not quite there yet.
Though, the concept that Michael Ryan might be an artist that stays on the book for more than 2 issues is a plus. A little awkward in some spots, but the characters look distinctive, and the art doesn't suck, which is as much as I can ask for right now.
We pick this up in the final chapter of the Choosing Sides arc. The school's students are divided into squads of 6, and the 'New Mutants' Dani Moonstar's Advisees and the 'Hellions' Emma's advisees have come to clash on what to do about Kevin Ford, who was taken away by the feds last issue. The two teams, with some people on opposite sides than their usual squad, clash, and I found myself liking the eventual fight scene. I like how David/Prodigy becomes an effectic tactical commander, as if accepting what he can do in some ways. It ends up with Sofia and David becoming co-leaders, as an echo of how the original New Mutants were run, co-led by Sam and Dani.
And speaking on 'how the original New Mutants went,' there were some roster changes. Kevin did end up joining the Hellions, which in some ways makes sense. The Hellions were the ones who went after him. But, one of Julian's group didn't go with the Hellions, but rounded up the New Mutants. He even got in the last shot, pummelling Julian with a fly-by from behind, and figured that if Kevin was going to the Hellions, it opened up a spot in the New Mutants.
So, Josh 'Jay' Guthrie joined the New Mutants, like his brother Sam did many years ago. Now, the concept of a Guthrie on a kid-mutant team feels ever so cosmically right, and with Austen leaving the other X-Men book in a couple of months, the New Mutant writers get complete creative control of Josh/Jay. And I could not be happier.
Jay: Kyle, my eyes are up here...and on the other side of my body.
Me: shut up and look pretty, dammit!
But I'm not biased. No, really, I'm not. ;)
RL time: 11:44 AM. Wow, I did get it done.
It's early for me to start typing today. But, I wanted to mess around with talking about this week's comics today, and I eat lunch at 2. I'll get this done if I'm lucky, really. Have a feeling that this will be one of those times the calls will keep blitzing my train of thought.
Aaaaanyway.
Honestly, I only got four books this week. Though, my local shop doesn't carry Fables, until I request it on my pull list and I am a bit behind. I'll pick up the issues of that I'm missing tomorrow, though. But what I did get this week were all books I found myself looking forward to, with a whole bunch of reactions to them.
Teen Titans #18:
Aaaaaaaaaaiiiiieee! When we last left the Titans, at the end of the Titans/Legion one-shot, they had just dropped out of the time stream trying to get back from the future, and we knew back then they they would miss the mark by about 10 years, landing a decade in their future.
Within the first five or six pages, you realize that Not All Is Right, and HOW.
And it's keeping me reading, really. I mean, what happened in the meantime that caused the younger Titans and Changeling to go down this path? Lorena, I don't know much about since I don't read Aquaman, but she seems to have some sembalance of a conscience where Adult Tim, Adult Connor, and Adult Cassie have little to none. Even the younger Tim wonders aloud what would happen that would turn him into Batman?
A number of things could turn him into Batman. What turned him into the Batman who took down Duela Dent by putting a 9-mm to her forehead and pulling the trigger, that's what I hope we find out in this arc.
There's a mystery in this entire story. Why the last page? What was UP with that, besides the chilling image and dialogue? And the Hall of Mentors? I can see the Max Statue being there, but did anyone else notice some of the other Mentor statues? Geo Force? Dove?
Why them? What does the man have planned?
And a panel showing the new Speedy. We know where that's going, thank you Associated Press.
I know I'm going to see/hear it from the other fans: Waaahhh! Geoff Johns is doing this all wrong! He's ruining characters who haven't been around in over half a decade! Waaaa, whine, groan, moan, bitch, complain.
(Of course, some of these are the type who probably want Kole to come back and get her own ongoing series.)
If there's something I know about Johns, is that the story is never truly over, and shit happens for a reason. That's why I like this book so much: whatever happens, it will be followed up on, things will eventually be explained, and the fact that it's not all going to come to us immediately on a silver platter served with a eatra helping of honey mustardm is what keeps me reading.
Besides, do folks REALLY want the titans that happened before? Do they really want Faerber back with the scene-hogging DEO kids? Do they really want the all-powerful-in-their-own-imagination Barry Kitson back?
Foil. Hats. Remember that? FOIL HATS.
And people complain about the current Run of the Titans? They should be fucking Thankful for it.
Besides, Kitson's too busy fucking with the Legion. MY Legion.
Anyway, yeah, it's a dark and scary future and the kids have turned into Dark and Scary people. But it's good, solid story nonetheless.
Identity Crisis #5:
Now, if DC wishes to keep any suspense for this book alive, they have to stop giving shit away in their solicits. The January solicit for Teen Titans mentions Tim dealing with a personal loss, and now we know. Also,
lithera and I called it a while back, among many others.But the fact of the mater remains: We are no closer to finding out the answer to the mystery then we were four issues ago. I see the League, who is usually a lot more capable, running around in circles to fill up pages. Some deaths, and a possible explination of why there's a new Firestorm all of a sudden, but I am not sure how I feel about that. But Meltzer is just...maybe I'm missing the clues again, or maybe Meltzer is just trying to pad up time.
I mean, Boomerang didn't kill Sue. The death of Jack Drake is going to be connected marginally, if at all, to the murder of Sue Dibny.
Of course, why can't any Robin have any parent that is still alive? (Note: I am not that up on Jason Todd's history. My previous statement might be wrong.)
But Jack's death is not by the same person. I'm not even sure the guy who attacked Jean Loring is the same one who killed Sue Dibny. Not only is there a killer, but they've got copycats now. The original killer didn't send notes, for example.
Man...whoever did this, it /better/ be good. If it turns out to be Joe Random villain who didn't make an appearance in the series up until that point, I'm going to be pissed. Why? Because that kind of resolution makes a reader feel cheated at best, stupid at worst.
Then again, I think it's one of the heroes who's behind all this. But that's me.
And there's that one really troubling question. Owen is Boomerang's son...with Super-Speed. And Digger admitted that the Golden Glider wasn't his mother. If not her, who? I can think of only two female speedsters off the top of my head. One hasn't been around, though has worked with the Rogues before. The other...is unthinkable. Period.
Uncanny X-Men #451:
The cover blurb says it. 'vs. X-23.' And that's pretty much what you get out of this issue, part 2 of a 2-part story: The X-Men, tracking a killer, find X-23 who looks and acts and has claws a lot like Wolverine. Pretty basic stuff, pretty pretty David/Farmer artwork, and decent characters all around, with an ending that has me intrigued. Said ending had nothing to do with the story, which might be the reason.
Now, I'm not sure what to think about X-23. She's essentially a Wolverine to soothe the fanboys who are already obsessed with having Wolverine anywhere, and reaffiring their heterosexuality in the process. (I'm gonna catch hell for that, I know, but geez...Cheesecake Wolverine? Do we /really/ need that?) Not to mention it's all runoff from the NYX series, which I just really loathed for a lot of reasons.
Now, as for Sage...she's infiltrating the hellfire Club again, or something like that. A debt to repay to Shaw? Shaw wants to be one of the Lords Cardinal, one step up from the Lords Imperial where he was the Black King. He wants Tessa's help, but why?
One: Bogan has to be involved somewhere. It would be Sage/Tessa's motivation to strike back at Bogan for everything that happened in Extreme.
Also...I like the idea of Sage, but I wonder if she's not becoming Claremont's new 'star.' Like, every story involves her, and the rest of the X-men are her background dancers. Something I thought about...Claremont /created/ these characters. When I picked up X-Men again with XXM #1 years ago...Sage was there, who used tyo be Tessa, and a lot more fucking powerful than just a telepath. She turned out to be a double agent working for Chuckles in the HFC.
Thought: Claremont created Sage. Do you think this was what he intended all along?
New X-Men: Academy X #5:
In stuff like this, I try to be formal and use the full title, but since I see a majority of 'New X-men' before that as What Is Wrong With Comics, I usually shorten the title in my head to Academy X. It helps.
Now, I still read this. In some ways I like it: likeable characters, story-driven tales, and the Hogwarts-like backdrop of the school itself is something that appeals to me. I just keep thinking something is missing. A story, a character...and I can't explain what it is. It's like that the book is almost there, almost what I truly want it to be, but not quite there yet.
Though, the concept that Michael Ryan might be an artist that stays on the book for more than 2 issues is a plus. A little awkward in some spots, but the characters look distinctive, and the art doesn't suck, which is as much as I can ask for right now.
We pick this up in the final chapter of the Choosing Sides arc. The school's students are divided into squads of 6, and the 'New Mutants' Dani Moonstar's Advisees and the 'Hellions' Emma's advisees have come to clash on what to do about Kevin Ford, who was taken away by the feds last issue. The two teams, with some people on opposite sides than their usual squad, clash, and I found myself liking the eventual fight scene. I like how David/Prodigy becomes an effectic tactical commander, as if accepting what he can do in some ways. It ends up with Sofia and David becoming co-leaders, as an echo of how the original New Mutants were run, co-led by Sam and Dani.
And speaking on 'how the original New Mutants went,' there were some roster changes. Kevin did end up joining the Hellions, which in some ways makes sense. The Hellions were the ones who went after him. But, one of Julian's group didn't go with the Hellions, but rounded up the New Mutants. He even got in the last shot, pummelling Julian with a fly-by from behind, and figured that if Kevin was going to the Hellions, it opened up a spot in the New Mutants.
So, Josh 'Jay' Guthrie joined the New Mutants, like his brother Sam did many years ago. Now, the concept of a Guthrie on a kid-mutant team feels ever so cosmically right, and with Austen leaving the other X-Men book in a couple of months, the New Mutant writers get complete creative control of Josh/Jay. And I could not be happier.
Jay: Kyle, my eyes are up here...and on the other side of my body.
Me: shut up and look pretty, dammit!
But I'm not biased. No, really, I'm not. ;)
RL time: 11:44 AM. Wow, I did get it done.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-10-21 01:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-21 01:51 pm (UTC)Cheesecake Wolverine? Bleah.
And, remember, any woman created by Claremont is a twink. If he gets to write her, how long before we see Dark Sage, activating evil uncontrolled mutations in everyone around her? As has been said before, Claremont's attitude towards his female characters is that they are borderline evil, all-powerful dominatrices whose machine-guns he is unworthy to touch.
Still haven't had the money to get my comics for the last few weeks.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-21 02:02 pm (UTC)I don't want to give too much away of what I'm thinking, but today it dawned on me... where the hell is he? So... where's he been???
no subject
Date: 2004-10-21 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-22 06:19 am (UTC)The man's golden time is over. He should just go away.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-22 03:54 pm (UTC)As for Identity Crisis, Boomerang's death has short down my pet theory. But then I ask myself: who sent Jack Drake the gun? Who told Boomerrang to go there in the first place? Who's smart enough to figure out Tim Drake is Robin?
Whoever it is wants a war between heroes and villains. And now two costumes are dead as a result, namely Firestorm and Boomerrang. Boomerrang is supposed to be incompetant, and someone sent Jack Drake a gun. Someone sent Boomerrang there firguring he'd probably get killed as well. And Boomerrang being there makes a handy scapegoat for whoever set him up to let the heroes rest easy for a second and then take someone else down.
So, why have we seen so much of the Calculator in this mini-series?
Or do I need to go back to my original suspect, the Burning Martian?