Monday, October 2, 2017
We spent a lovely evening and overnight stay at the Opinicon Resort (https://www.opinicon.com/). We highly recommend the scenic drive to Chaffeys Lock. The staff there are very welcoming and the food in their dining room is good old fashioned home cooked yumminess. Thanks to Fiona McKean for making our stay extra special.
Wonder Woman #31 – James Robinson (writer) Carlo Pagulayan (pencils) Sean Parsons, Jason Paz & Scott Hanna (inks) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). “Children of the Gods” starts here. Diana finds out about a relative’s untimely demise but the real shocker is who killed him. The villains are new to me but Kirby fans will be clapping with glee.
Archie #24 – Mark Waid (writer) Audrey Mok (art) Kelly Fitzpatrick (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). This sure isn’t your Mom’s Archie Gang. The consequences of the accident continue to affect everyone and in a more realistic way than the old days. This is why I continue to read this book.
Marvel Legacy #1 – Jason Aaron (writer) Esad Ribic with Steve McNiven (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) Chris Samnee; Russell Dauterman; Alex Maleev; Ed McGuinness; Stuart Immonen & Wade von Grawbadger; Pepe Larraz; Jim Cheung; Daniel Acuna; Greg Land & Jay Leisten; Mike Deodato Jr.; David Marquez (additional art) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). This is the big book that hit the racks this week. It’s a good place to start if you’re a Marvel Zombie because it tweaks a lot of major characters and gets you ready for the changes on the horizon for those folks. This did not make me care enough to find out more about Ghost Rider and Starbrand who figure prominently, but it was nice seeing them again. I’m jazzed about two returning franchises but I’ll wait and see how the creative teams handle them when their books hit the racks. One thing I’ve learned from 50 years of reading comic books is that the more things change, the more they stay the same. I’m all for change as much as the next fan but as long as there are good stories to read, I don’t care how different they make the characters, I’ll still read their stories. I had a lot of fun playing name that artists while flipping through these pages.
Batman: The Murder Machine #1 – Frank Tieri & James Tynion IV (writers) Riccardo Federici (art) Rain Beredo (colours) Tom Napolitano (letters). There’s a panel during the fight between Cyborg and this killer Batman that shocked the shirt out of me. It’s a graphic indication of just how dark these Dark Knights are. These new villains continue to interest me.
Saga #47 – Brian K. Vaughn (writer) Fiona Staples (art) Fonografiks (letters). A new villain is introduced as we get a glimpse into The Will’s past. I thought he was dead.
Generations: Sam Wilson Captain America & Steve Rogers Captain America #1 – Nick Spencer (writer) Paul Renaud (art) Laura Martin (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). I used to be a big fan of Captain America and the Falcon but their stories didn’t thrill me much after a while so I stopped reading their books. When Steve passed on the shield to Sam I gave it another shot but still wasn’t swayed to follow their adventures regularly. The whole Secret Empire thing turned me off Captain America completely but this book made me curious to see where both these heroes are going to go from here on out. I’ll give Falcon a look see next month and then Captain America #695 a try in November.
Action Comics #988 – Dan Jurgens (writer) Ryan Sook (art) Hi-Fi (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). You can jump on board this title right here as everything is explained about Superman’s current situation so you can follow the new Oz Effect story with ease. I like the twist that reunites Kal-El with a surprise relative.
Generations: Miles Morales Spider-Man & Peter Parker Spider-Man #1 – Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Ramon Perez (art) Msassyk (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). Miles meets Peter right after the Amazing Spider-Man has his most harrowing adventure. It was my favourite Spider-Man story of all time and still is. Seeing that cover with Spider-Man pinned under all that wreckage and the water pouring down can trigger the feelings I had when I read that comic book for the first time. I remember cheering when he finally struggled free. This issue may not make you a Spider-Man fan but it does show you what the character is all about. Power, responsibility and family.
Batman #31 – Tom King (writer) Mikel Janin (art) June Chung (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). I don’t know if Bruce and Selina are going to get married after “The War of Jokes & Riddles” but if they do I hope Batman makes practical shoes for Catwoman. High heels might be stylish but I can’t imagine they’re much help climbing up the outside of a sky scraper. The last joke made me laugh out loud but it took me a while to get it. I love Joker’s deadpan delivery.
Detective Comics #965 – James Tynion IV (writer) Eddy Barrows (pencils) Eber Ferreira (inks) Adriano Lucas (colours) Sal Cipriano (letters). Meanwhile, let’s catch up with Tim Drake, wherever he is. This mysterious Mr. Oz guy is no longer a mystery if you read Action Comics. What is a mystery is what the fork is going on at the end there.
Mighty Thor #23 – Jason Aaron (writer) Valerio Schiti (art) Rain Beredo (colours) VC’s Joe Sabino (letters). War Thor and Mighty Thor go at it pretty good here with no clear cut winner. I like that Unworthy Thor shows up in this issue too. I was disappointed that Russell Dauterman’s name wasn’t on the cover but Valerio Schiti did not disappoint me. He is an awesome artist in his own right.
