Monday, May 20, 2019
Happy Victoria Day to all Canuckleheads out there. I feel sorry for the folks that traditionally go camping this long weekend. It sure is soggy. My brother, niece and I proved that it’s not necessarily better fishing in the rain yesterday morning. We caught a lot fewer fish than usual but we still had fun. Hooking, landing and releasing a fish caught with a rod and reel gives me as much joy as reading a well written and beautifully drawn comic book.
Black Widow #5 – Jen & Sylvia Soska (writers) Flaviano (art) Veronica Gandini (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). Nat’s adventure in Madripoor comes to an end. I liked the story but I can’t say that the art was much to write home about. If Jen & Sylvia Soska hadn’t engaged me I wouldn’t have read this past the first issue.
Naomi #5 – Brian Michael Bendis & David F. Walker (writers) Jamal Campbell (art) Wes Abbott (letters). Uh-oh, Zumbado. Get Naomi’s full origin story here and find out who the super villain is.
Marvel Action: Spider-Man #4 – Erik Burnham (writer) Christopher Jones (art) Zac Atkinson (colours) Shawn Lee (letters). Peter Parker is featured this issue as he apprehends the Looter. Such a silly super villain origin story but still fun. We’ll be seeing a more familiar foe next issue though.
Ironheart #6 – Eve L. Ewing (writer) Kevin Libranda (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters). Miles Morales guest stars in this version of the movie Groundhog Day. It’s a nice one issue story.
Spider-Man: Life Story #3 – Chip Zdarsky (writer) Mark Bagley (pencils) John Dell (inks) Frank D’Armata (colours) VC’s Travis Lanham (letters). It’s obvious to me now that these stories are flights of fantasy using significant events in Spider-Man’s life that deviate from canon. They don’t add to what’s currently happening so whether I read the rest or not it’s going to matter little to Spider-Man’s historical record. These have been entertaining so far so I will continue to grab them off the rack to see what else this creative team can come up with.
Last Stop on the Red Line #1 – Paul Maybury (writer) Sam Lotfi (art) John Rauch (colours) Adam Pruett (letters). The nice art prompted me to give this new Dark Horse book a try but constantly wondering what the heck was happening as I read each page almost made me put this comic down before even finishing it. I felt like I was jumping into the middle of a story and was supposed to know who everyone was. I didn’t like how some behaviour wasn’t explained. Why did the detective’s husband ask the guest to leave? Why did the detective strip down to bra and panties in front of said guest? There are monsters killing passengers on a commuter train and I don’t care. I’m getting off before the last stop.
War of the Realms #4 – Jason Aaron (writer) Russell Dauterman (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC’s Joe Sabino (letters). A big player jumps off the injured reserve list to rejoin the fray. A major turning point happens that hurts Malekith and his forces. Get ready for the big battle for Midgard folks. I may be getting tired of these massive battles but when the comics are so beautifully illustrated I will always read them.
Sabrina The Teenage Witch #2 – Kelly Thompson (writer) Veronica Fish & Andy Fish (art) Jack Morelli (letters). Now here’s a comic book with monsters that doesn’t leave me dazed and confused. I don’t know why, but this issue seemed super slim. 20 pages, no ads. I like that.
War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms #1 – Sean Ryan (writer) Nico Leon (art) Carlos Lopez (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). Wow, we haven’t seen the League of Realms since Jason Aaron started this whole kerfuffle in Thor. It seems like years ago. Thor asks Spider-Man to lead this motley crew to Africa where they fight the Angels of Heven. The leader of the Angel forces, Fernande, isn’t totally on the side of evil it seems. This 3-issue mini should be fun.
Batman #71 – Tom King (writer) Mikel Janin & Jorge Fornes (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). The Fall and the Fallen part 2. This whole Bane story seems to be dragging now. I’m not even looking forward to the next issue. I know I’m giving Tom King a lot of leeway here but if something totally stupid happens I’m benching this book.
War of the Realms: Giant-Man #1 – Leah Williams (writer) Marco Castiello (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC’s Joe Sabino (letters). This mini is for all you Ant-Man fans. Scott is sent on a mission by Freyja to infiltrate the camp of the Frost Giants and kill Laufey because the king of the Frost Giants killed Loki. He is joined by Giant-Man, Goliath and Atlas. These are not A-list Avengers. They fail miserably at disguising themselves as baby blue Frost Giants and by the end of this issue wind up in deep doggy doo-doo. This adventure is fraught with danger but this issue played it up for laughs. It was a huge disappointment and I’m not a big Scott Lang fan so good luck with them Frost Giants, gents.
War of the Realms Strikeforce: The War Avengers #1 – Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum (writer) Kim Jacinto & Ario Anindito (art) Java Tartaglia & Felipe Sobreiro (colours) VC’s Joe Sabino (letters). Now this one-shot can be taken lightly because Deadpool’s on this team and he never takes anything seriously. Captain Marvel leads this bunch of heroes that includes Weapon H, Captain Britain, the Black Widow, Lady Sif, Wade Wilson, Venom and the Winter Soldier. It was fun watching these guys kick Dark Elf butts.
Immortal Hulk #17 – Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). They’re hauling out all kinds of old Hulk personas in this book. One of my favourites was Joe Fixit when the Hulk was gray and worked in Las Vegas. Bruce and Joe work together to defeat Bushwacker but the bad guys have a new opponent on deck. If you remember who Emil Blonsky is you’ll know who’s up next.
Daredevil #5 – Chip Zdarsky (writer) Marco Checchetto (art) Sunny Gho (colours) VC’s Clayton Cowles (letters). Daredevil gets by with a little help from his friends as he takes on the Owl and his gang. The end of this issue reminded me of that classic John Romita Sr. cover where Peter Parker is walking away from a garbage can with his Spider-Man suit in it. Will Matt hang up the horns?
Guardians of the Galaxy #5 – Donny Cates (writer) Geoff Shaw (art) David Curiel (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). The search for Gamora continues with help from a special guest star. In case you’ve forgotten, the good guys are trying to prevent the resurrection of Thanos. With the appearance of Hela you can probably guess what happens next.
The Amazing Spider-Man #21 – Nick Spencer (writer) Gerardo Sandoval (pencils) Gerardo Sandoval & Victor Nava (inks) Edgar Delgado & Erick Arciniega (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). Hunted part 5. Spider-man is swarmed by Vermin as seen in The Amazing Spider-Man #20.HU but an unlikely ally saves him from certain death. Now we see if Spider-Man can pass the test that his benefactor gives him. There are a lot of things unexplained in this story that bother me. Why is Spider-Man in his black costume? What is the bad guy’s motive for putting Spider-Man through all this torment? I hope Nick Spencer comes through in the conclusion next issue or I am going to be pissed.
