Off The Rack #83

Off The Rack #83

Monday, March 19, 2018

Took a little road trip Saturday with our friends Brian and Genevieve down to Newboro so the ladies could shop at Kilborn’s on the Rideau. It’s quite an emporium of goods with a huge selection of shoes. Brian and I took some time to scope out any open water for birds. We saw mostly Canada geese but also saw trumpeter swans and merganser ducks. I even saw a merganser surface with a fish in its beak at Westport. We drove to the Opinicon Resort and saw some wild turkeys walking along the side of the road with their feathers shimmering iridescent colours in the sun. There was open water at Chaffey’s Lock where we watched most of the birds that we saw. I even spotted a muskrat swimming around amongst them.

We had lunch in the pub at the Opinicon and I think that’s the first time I have ever been in a pub on St. Patty’s Day. I bonded with the young man playing live music there because his father he was orange and his mother was Chinese. We toured the renovated main lodge after lunch and was very impressed with what Fiona and her crew had done to the place. We will certainly be back again.

 

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New Mutants: Dead Souls #1 – Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Adam Gorham (art) Michael Garland (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters). Most of this new team were around when the first team was put together in 1983. They really were new mutants back then since their powers had just manifested and they needed training. I can still remember Sam/Cannonball crashing into stuff. They’re much older now and a lot hipper. But why Strong Guy? I liked Guido in X-Factor a lot but he seems out of place here. Boom-Boom, Magik, Rictor and Wolfsbane are the other members. This team works for Karma/Xi’an “Shan” Coy Manh, C.E.O of the Hatchi Corporation. They investigate paranormal occurrences and in this debut they fight zombies. I think it was the wrong choice to use a familiar title for this comic book since none of these heroes are “new”. Given their jobs, they should have called this The X-Men Files, but then they’d probably get sued. I had some mental hiccups reading this issue and the art didn’t wow me but if you are fans of any of these heroes you’ll want to catch up with them and continue reading.

 

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Detective Comics #976 – James Tynion IV (writer) Javier Fernandez (art) John Kalisz (colours) Sal Cipriano (letters). Batmen Eternal part 1. The break-up of the team continues after Clayface’s death. Tim/Robin and Bruce/Batman have another falling out. Batwoman, Azrael and Batwing join the Colony and take down some child traffickers. I was ready to bench this Batbook but Tim being seduced by a bad guy at the end of this issue made me decide to keep reading.

 

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Vampironica #1 – Greg & Meg Smallwood (writers) Greg Smallwood (art & colours) Jack Morelli (letters). Another Archie horror book hits the racks with Veronica as a vampire. This reminded me of Blade and Buffy. I thought I was reading a Vamperotica comic with Cheryl inviting boys to do body shots at a party on page one but that just goes to show you this is a mature reader’s book and not your grandparent’s Archie comic. I really like the art in this so I will attempt to keep up.

 

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All-New Wolverine #32 – Tom Taylor (writer) Djibril Morissette-Phan (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). This is a great one issue story to read to check out this book and see why I love it. You won’t get the beautiful Juann Cabal art from the recently completed Orphans of X story but Djibril does a fine job telling this story of revenge.

 

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Action Comics #999 – Dan Jurgens (writer) Will Conrad (art) Ivan Nunes (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Lois’s father is a big fat doodyhead. General Sam Lane’s mistrust of Superman makes me mad but there are people in the real world who share his views and that makes me sad. I hate it when he’s in a story. I didn’t like the way this issue ended either. One of my comic book pet peeves is false advertising on the covers. This issue says “THE FURY OF GENERAL LANE” and shows him attacking Superman with every branch of the US military. Nothing like that happens inside. Waiting until April 18 for the landmark issue #1000 to hit the racks will give me time to get rid of the bad taste that this one left in my mouth. This issue’s redeeming grace was the art.

 

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American Gods: My Ainsel #1 – Neil Gaiman (writer) P. Craig Russell (script & layouts) Scott Hampton (art & colours) Rick Parker (letters). This second arc starts after a four month wait and continues Shadow’s story. This is a series that I can take or leave since I’ve already read the novel. The main reason I keep up is because Scott Hampton doesn’t currently have anything else on the racks right now.

 

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Astonishing X-Men #9 – Charles Soule (writer) Matteo Buffagni (art) Giada Marchisio (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters). A Man Called X part 3. One thing I’m finding as I get older is that it’s hard to keep track of all the super heroes and villains and what their super powers are. Take the bad guy in this story. I don’t know what Proteus’s powers are or how they work. Suffice it to say that what he plans to do is extremely bad for all concerned. I sure hope these X-Men can stop him. There’s a great scene between Old Man Logan and X that made me chuckle.

 

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Weapon X #15 – Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers) Roland Boschi (art) Frank D’Armata (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). Happy Birthday, Old Man Logan part 1. Truth in advertising on this issue’s cover. You’ve got to have one of these every year to show fans how awesome it is to have Wolverine and Sabretooth going at each other no holds barred. I like that there’s a hint that Logan might even kill Sabretooth this time. I can’t wait to read part 2.

 

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Avengers #684 – Jim Zub, Mark Waid & Al Ewing (writers) Paco Medina & Joe Bennett (pencils) Juan Vlasco & Ruy Jose (inks) Jesus Aburtov & Morry Hollowell (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). No Surrender part 10. Not only do they resurrect the Hulk this issue but the secret of Voyager is revealed too. It’s incredible to see the Immortal Hulk back in action. I look forward to next issue’s slugfest between Hulk and Rulk. I think old Thunderbolt Ross is not going to know what hit him. I have been marvelling at the art throughout this weekly story. Every artist, penciller, inker and colourist have done an awesome job of making this visually exciting and pleasing to the eye. I have flipped through every issue again after I finished reading just to look at the gorgeous pages. I think the art is the reason that Avengers is selling so well right now.

 

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Darth Vader #13 – Charles Soule (writer) Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils) Daniele Orlandini (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). I’m not a big Star Wars fan but I give credit to the creative team for making this book consistently interesting. This issue sets up another looming battle between Vader and a mysterious Jedi.

 

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Marvel 2-In-One #4 – Chip Zdarsky (writer) Valerio Schiti (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). Ben and Johnny start their search for Reed, Sue and the kids with the help of super genius Rachna, introduced last issue. I dislike time travel stories as you all well know because it frazzles my brain. Multiversal stories however have always tickled me. Marvel’s Ultimate Universe and DC’s Elseworlds are some of my favourites. I can get into a different universe where a pivotal event changes things, and the one that our heroes land in is really cool. The villain in this story is classic. If you read Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars you’ll guess who it is.

 

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