Monday, June 11, 2018
Jee-Riz had another successful Capital Trade Show yesterday. Chris has done a lot of work expanding our space and improving our displays. Our continued growth is all due to his efforts. It’s a pleasure to work with him every month. The next Show is Sunday, July 15 at the Jim Durrell Arena on Walkley Road. Drop by and check out our stock of old comic books and magazines. It’s always nice to see old friends and fellow collectors.
Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost #2 – Charles Soule (writer) Matteo Buffagni (art) Jim Charalampidis (colours) VC’s Joe Sabino (letters). This is one of the best revivals of an old character that I have read in a long time. Doug Ramsey/Cypher is an important member of this investigative team but his addiction means he’s vulnerable. I liked that they tracked the killer to Canada eh.
Dazzler: X-Song #1 – Magdalene Visaggio (writer) Laura Braga (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC’s Joe Sabino (letters). You won’t find out what Alison Blaire, the mega pop star named Dazzler, has been up to in this issue but it does set up her return to the racks in one of the X-books. I just read the plot synopsis for this comic book and there are a lot of relevant points missing from the story. Dazzler is in a punk band now. Huh. A big part of this story deals with conflict amongst her fans. Her Mutant fans don’t like her Inhuman fans and they are being anal pores about it at her concerts. Alison uses her dazzling powers to make the point that we’re all in this together and the bullies get put in their place. I like the message but if this were an ongoing title I wouldn’t keep reading because the execution didn’t move me.
Ant-Man & The Wasp #1 – Mark Waid (writer) Javier Garron (art) Israel Silva (colours) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters). The movie hits theatres in July and you’re going to need a can of RAID to deal with the infestation of Ant-Man and Wasp books hitting the racks right now. Don’t expect this to be about Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, the original Ant-Man and Wasp. Maybe it’s the nasty wife abuse in their storyline that Marvel is afraid of. We’ve got the modern Ant-Man and Wasp starring in this book. Scott Lang and Nadia Pym (Hope Pym in the movie, remember Ned in Spider-Man: Homecoming? I wish someone would explain the name change) team up and wind up in the Microverse. I really liked Mark Waid’s Champions and the art is so nice in this that I’m adding this book to my “want to read” list.
Batman: Prelude to the Wedding: Nightwing vs. Hush #1 – Tim Seeley (writer) Travis Moore (art) Otto Schmidt (epilogue art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Prelude to the Wedding part 2. This one shot starts off with my kind of bachelor party. Superman and Nightwing take Batman to a burger joint where he can eat a hamburger with a knife and fork (like the way I do) then the three of them go fishing (something I love to do too). All that’s missing is a few dancers. I was looking forward to seeing them catch fish when all of a sudden Hush crashes the party. There’s a whole thing about friendship and identity but the major twist is the fate of Hush at the end. By then, there’s no hiding the fact that the Joker is lurking in the background. I like that the world will see Batman marrying Catwoman and not their alter egos getting hitched.
Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander #3 – Frank Miller (story & art) Alex Sinclair (colours). This issue was very confusing for me. Xerxes’ assassination in 465 BC starts off this issue and then we flash back to his wedding in 479 BC. I hope we find out what leads to his death in the intervening 14 years.
The Immortal Hulk #1 – Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC’s Cory Petit (letters). This latest incarnation of the big green galoot has hints of Creatures on the Loose and Man-Thing. The way he’s depicted now would scare the purple pants off of people. Al Ewing goes back to this character’s roots where Bruce Banner turns into his alter ego after the sun goes down. He sure is a big bump in the night. I like the idea of the Hulk operating in the shadows and this one speaks in complete sentences. I’m going to keep reading.
Justice League #1 – Scott Snyder (writer) Jim Cheung (pencils) Mark Morales (inks) Tomeu Morey (colours) Tom Napolitano (letters). The Totality part 1. I haven’t been impressed by Scott Snyder’s recent output but wanted to give this a chance to see what he can do with a big super hero team book. I almost stopped reading in despair when I saw that he put my least favourite super villain in this story but he redeemed himself in the end by having this guy eliminated. Okay, so we’ve got a huge threat to the Earth and the whole universe that only all these super heroes can fight against. Meanwhile, good old Lex Luthor has his own team of super villains ready to screw things up. There wasn’t anything in here that made me wonder what the heck is going on even though I didn’t read the whole Dark Night mega crossover, which means I will stick around another issue to see what happens next.
Archie #31 – Mark Waid & Ian Flynn (writers) Audrey Mok (art) Kelly Fitzpatrick (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). I don’t like this version of Archie so why am I still reading this? The story is pretty good, that’s why. Lots of drama as the Blossom twins’ evil dad shows up to extort money from his ex by using the kids. Cheryl and Jason go along but their greed blinds them to the danger they’re in. Meanwhile, Reggie continues to be a real douche and Betty and Veronica keep being conflicted about the bumbling star of this book. I like the mix of serious with the silly.
Deadpool #1 – Yet another Deadpool #1 hitting the racks and I got suckered into reading it. It’s got two stories for $4.99 US so almost a bargain. “Back in Business” by Skottie Young (writer) Nic Klein (art) and Jeff Eckleberry (letters) is your basic Deadpool is hired to kill somebody story with all the expected run on dialogue and mindless mayhem. “Good Night” by Skottie Young (writer) Scott Hepburn (art) Ian Herring (colours) and Jeff Eckleberry (letters) has Deadpool narrating new origin stories since he mind wiped himself and wants to impress his fans. We’re back to the original Wade Wilson now. No demon wife, no best friends with Spider-Man, and no more being a good guy. Just plain old merc with a mouth Deadpool. If Marvel thinks that’s what fans want, then more power to them. I thought this was more of the same even though I was mildly amused by the good natured fun poking at the distinguished competition in “Good Night”. Take away the swearing and sub in Rocket Racoon and you wouldn’t notice much of a difference. As a matter of fact, Rocket makes an appearance in the first story. If you’re looking for a break from serious drama, this will give you a smile at least.
Man of Steel #2 – Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Doc Shaner (art pages 1 – 13) Jay Fabok (art pages 14 – 15) Steve Rude (art pages 16 – 24) Alex Sinclair (colours) Josh Reed (letters). That’s two comic books in a row with a big bad alien riding a space chopper. There’s one in Deadpool #1. Lobo should sue for copyright infringement. Lois and Jon are missing. I have a bad feeling about that. I like Lois and Jon in Clark/Superman’s life. This better not turn out to be another Superman versus Doomsday fight when Rogol Zaar shows up.
