Monday, November 5, 2018
I schlepped my giant laptop to Comet Comics new location last week to write these reviews. Otherwise there would have only been two titles that had any rack copies for me to borrow. My thanks to Becky and Ryan for giving me permission to read their subscription service comics.
Penny and I had a daylight savings time oopsie moment Sunday morning when we went to the Carleton Tavern for breakfast. Sam is always there early and we usually are among his first customers at 9 AM when he officially opens. We hadn’t changed the time in the car and thought that it was really deserted when we got there. It’s usually hopping at 10 AM but our server pointed out our boo-boo and boy did I feel like a goof. I would like to see the twice a year time adjustments go the way of the Dodo bird.
West Coast Avengers #3/LGY #105 – Kelly Thompson (writer) Stefano Caselli (art) Triona Farrell (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). Spider-Gwen is my favourite team member right now. The fight with B.R.O.D.O.K. escalates with more giant mutated women stomping around L.A. The good news is Tigra is now on the side of the good guys. The bad news is Kate got zapped by B.R.O.D.O.K. I love all the dialogue and team members interacting.
Tony Stark: Iron Man #5/LGY #605 – Dan Slott (writer) Max Dunbar & Gang Hyuk Lim (art) Dono Sanchez Almara (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). Self Made Man part 5. Remember Arno Stark? I didn’t. He’s Tony’s brother. This issue features his return and he’s a piece of work. This genius makes Spock look like he’s emotionally unstable. Arno teams up with someone who has already caused Tony problems so the future should be quite interesting.
Extermination #4 – Ed Brisson (writer) Pepe Larraz (pencils) Dexter Vines (inks) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC’s Joe Sabino (letters). This is where we find out why Ahab is trying to kill the young X-Men from the past and how young Cable is trying to save everybody. I knew newbie Nathan was a good guy. It’s too bad the good guys run out of time when Ahab’s harpoon finds its target. You may notice a subtle change in the art as Pepe’s pencils are inked by someone else.
Hex Wives #1 – Ben Blacker (writer) Mirka Andolfo (art) Marissa Louise (colours) Josh Reed (letters). This new Vertigo series is about a coven of immortal witches and the men who are trying to exterminate them. We begin in 1692 with the introduction of the main witches and end the issue in the present (?) where they have been reincarnated, but are unaware of who they really are and their powers haven’t manifested yet. The reason I’ve put a question mark on the present is because it looks more like the 1960s with the way the women are dressed. That bit of confusion was enough to turn me off so I won’t be reading any more.
Marvel Two-In-One #11/LGY #111 – Chip Zdarsky (writer) Ramon K. Perez (art) Frederico Blee (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). The reunion of Ben and Reed starts to fill in the blanks for us fans as to what the rest of Fantastic Four Family was up to after they left Ben and Johnny to go exploring. I don’t think any other writer has impressed me as much as Chip has with how Reed is being portrayed. Just reading Reed’s dialogue makes me smarter. We also meet a new version of Doctor Doom and I like him.
Old Man Hawkeye #10 – Ethan Sacks (writer) Marco Checchetto (art) Andres Mossa (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). An Eye for an Eye part 10. The Hawkeyes cross the border into Canada in Clint’s search for more Thunderbolts targets. This time it’s the treacherous Moonstone. Meanwhile good old Bullseye is still hot on Clint’s trail. The super big bad guy has finally gotten what he wants and that could mean trouble for our hero. I love this alternate future.
Old Man Logan #50 – Ed Brisson (writer) Ibraim Roberson & Neil Edwards (art) Carlos Lopez (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). King of Nothing conclusion. So what did I miss since I stopped reading this book? A lot. I think the run ends here with Logan fighting Maestro, the evil Hulk from an alternate universe. Maestro has taken over the small town on Fort Wells in Canada and Logan aims to free the townsfolk from tyranny. I thought the bad guy was defeated way too easily and the last panel hinting that Old Man Logan dies was wimpy. Fans need not despair though. Dead Man Logan hits the racks in November.
Deathstroke/Yogi Bear #1 – Frank Tieri (writer) Mark Texeira (art) Jeromy Cox (colours) Wes Abbott (letters). This $4.99 US one shot featuring DC and Hanna-Barbera characters is chock full of crazy cartoon silliness. Yogi hires Deathstroke to find a missing Boo Boo. As an incentive to buy the others in this series of crossovers there’s part one of a Secret Squirrel story that continues in “Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound #1”.
Heroes in Crisis #2 – Tom King (writer) Clay Mann (art pages 1-15, 19-22) Travis Moore (art pages 16-18) Tomeu Morey & Arif Prianto (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Harley is great in this story. I love how Tom King is writing her. I was happy to see Booster Gold bite the dust last issue but alas, Skeets shows up to revive him. Wondering who is killing the B-list heroes is keeping me interested.
Jessica Jones: Blindspot Graphic Novel – Kelly Thompson (writer) Mattia De Iulis (art & colours chapters #1-5) Marcio Takara (art chapter 6) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours chapter 6) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). No Netflix? No need for FOMO. I binged this 5-part mystery plus bonus birthday party story in one sitting and that’s rare for me. As much as I like Michael Gaydos’s work on Alias, I much prefer Mattia De Iulis’s art in this twisty cold case. I really liked seeing Matt Murdock, Elsa Bloodstone and Spider-Man showing up in this story. Brian Michael Bendis made me a big Jessica Jones fan and I wasn’t sure if Kelly Thompson could match Brian’s take on Jess but I was very impressed with this story. Even if you’ve never read Alias or know nothing about Jessica Jones you should buy this book. It’s that good.
