Second Coming: a 50th post special

So this is the 50th post at our little blog here, and rather than waste it on a Gashapon review (which I'm overdue on. For a change.), I thought we'd do a quick write-up on Second Coming, which starts today. This is actually a joint post, so you'll be hearing both of our thoughts.

To sum up, for those of you unfamiliar, Second Coming is about the return of Hope, both literally and (perhaps) figuratively, to the X-Men. It is the culmination of a story arc that started way, way back in 2005 with House of M. Wanda Maximoff aka the Scarlet Witch went coo-coo for cocoa puffs and long story short transformed the mutant population from the millions to a few hundred by uttering the phrase "No More Mutants." In the last 5 years there has only been one mutant born in the entire world: Hope. During the events of Messiah Complex, a mutant baby was born in Alaska which caused all hell to break lose. The X-Men were trying to rescue the baby, anti-mutant groups like the Purifiers were trying to kill it, and Mr. Sinister had his own motives. Cable managed to get the baby, and Cyclops sent him into the future to protect her. This took place at the end of 2007, and the last two years have been spent with Cable and Hope in the future, running away from Bishop, who is convinced the baby brings about a cataclysm for mutants everywhere (There was a brief period called Messiah War when X-Force jumped to the future to help Cable against Stryfe. This ended last summer). As of the last Cable issue, Hope and Cable are coming home, and from every piece of promotional art Marvel has put forth, all hell is about to break loose. It also begs to be mentioned that in the X-Force title, Bastion has risen once again and using his techno-organic technology has brought back to life the deadliest foes the X-Men have ever faced. He now controls an army of thousands and plans to eradicate the Mutant population from the face of the Earth. While the seeds to this plot were planted in the early issues of X-Force, it will come to a head in the pages of Second Coming.

About a month ago Marvel released a free "X-Men Second Coming: Prepare" teaser issue. It consisted of a several page "video diary" of a few of the X-men, and clearly showed that they were traumatized of what was happening. Oh, and there was a body. Which isn't so surprising given all of the tag line that they keep throwing out there:

One will rise.
One will fall.
One will lead.
One will sacrifice.
All will unite.

This event is being set-up as a sort of restart for the X-Men universe. Everything that was set in motion back in House of M by Wanda is coming to fruition here. We get to see if Cyclops putting all of his hope into this little girl to save mutant kind was actually reasonable or not. We get to see what the next step for Mutants are, since as a race they're getting kind of desperate. We get to see exactly who or what Hope is, and what she means for the future. But before we get there we've got 14 chapters, plus two 'Revelations' tie-ins (X-Factor and Hellbound).

Below are some thoughts, and then someday I'll actually post the checklist.

Matt's Take: 5-years worth of back-story moving towards one conclusion makes me nervous. But not as nervous as the fact that Hope is clearly tied to the Phoenix Force. Above beyond the fact that the Phoenix symbol flashed in Hope's eyes on more than one occasion, and that all of the shards of the Phoenix Force have been disappearing lately, the prologue issue had a whole section devoted to "What is the Phoenix Force?" Now, I am mighty particular about how anyone from the Grey family is treated (and let's be serious, Grey and Phoenix are kind of synonymous at this point). I loved Phoenix Endsong, and I don't want a new storyline to trample on the beauty of that arc. Also, after being terribly disappointed by how Nate Grey was treated in Dark X-Men, I'm wary. But wary does not mean I'm walking into this with any pre-judgment on how it will turn out. I am exceedingly excited for the storyline. To be honest, rumors of Second Coming are the whole reason I got back into comics recently. For now I'm keeping my hopes high and my expectations moderate, and hopefully this will pay off like it did for Blackest Night.

Arnab's Take: I am very excited folks and not just because we've hit 50 posts. Matt's already given you guys a recap on what's occurred, so that's great. House of M is really what grabbed me by my jewels and dragged me back into the Marvel world, and for that I am grateful. Second Coming is pretty much the biggest event in the X-Universe this side of the New Millennium, spanning across every single X-Title out there. I've got to say that I am not as nervous as Matt seems to be, mainly because I have faith in Matt Fraction and Christopher Yost/Craig Kyle (Plus the other writers have done pretty damn great leading up. Zeb Wells with New Mutants has gotten increasingly better with the story telling and Mike Carey has been fantastic with Legacy.) The artwork speaks for itself, I should think. With the occasional miss, the X-titles, at least the main titles, have had great artists. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

Like Matt, I also was severely disappointed with the Dark X-Men mini-series, but then again these guys know their stuff, while those guys seemed more interested in how they could completely screw up a mini-series. I can't wait to see the way these folks handle the Phoenix Force. Jean Grey is definitely one of my favorite female comic book characters and I've been known to argue that Jean Grey is the one true host to the Phoenix entity. Granted, I have been known to be wrong. My comic book guy Andy (Comic Attack) has the suspicion that Hope will be the Rachel of Earth 616. I don't know if I agree with him, I do find the thought to be very intriguing. My own personal thought is that the Phoenix got bored of relying on hosts and decided to create itself a physical representation of itself, which would naturally look like the deceased Jean Grey, who is in fact the true host. That being said I would just like to reiterate just how excited I am for Second Coming. I should also add that unlike Matt, at this point at least, I have already read the first issue of Second Coming. I loved everything and will have a better and longer review in the days to come.

Oh and a thought that I would like to leave you all with. Believe in Cyclops as he has long believed in his son and the messiah. The X-Men as an entity has meant everything to Scott since he was a teenager and the survival of the mutant race has meant even more to him since Decimation. He has united the mutant race like none before him nor any after him ever will; Fear his power. And while there will be reason to falter in your faith of him in the days to come and the battle with Bastion and his allies, know that everything he has done has been with the knowledge that the mutant race is dying and survival is the only thing he has been fighting for.

******

Since this blog clearly has more than a passing interest in Phoenix, we'll be covering the story, and we'll try not to fan-boy gush too much. Stay tuned!

Sweet dreams, Sunshine

The Rise of Arsenal ****1/2
What a way to start off this mini-series. The very first thing you see when you start reading is Lian, Roy Harper's now deceased daughter. And what a way for both the writer, JT Krull and the artists, Geraldo Borges and Marlo Alquiza to dig that knife just a little deeper. We witness some of the final moments of poor Lian's life, the attack by Prometheus, the mutilation of Roy, and that's just the beginning. Roy then awakes from his coma and not only realizes that his right arm is missing but that his daughter has been killed. Roy is leaves the League and ends up at the home he only recently shared with his daughter.
This was a great issue. The artwork was nice, the writing was great, but even more importantly the whole issue just meshed well. Roy has always had a bit of a tragic life. Nothing in comparison to the Bat folk, who are surrounded by death, but rather personal tragedy. I can honestly say, I am stoked to see how this turns out.

Can't a guy just show his kids how much he loves them?

Batman 697 ****1/2
What is there left to say about Tony Daniel that I have not been saying from day one. This issue marked the culmination of Tony's first major story, along with the culmination of Dick's first major takedown as the new Batman. Tony Daniel has been doing a tremendous job bringing out Batman in Richard and vice versa. The writing has been progressively getting better with each issue that Tony pens and his artwork has remained amazing. He's been going so great doing both the writing and the artwork, that I wouldn't want to be the writer/artist that is missing their deadline.
There are a couple of key points that should be taken away from this issue. The first is that Dick Grayson is badass. Now, taking into consideration that this was a job that Dick didn't even want to take to begin with, he has taken over for Bruce at a level that is nearly, if not already, That being said, it was particularly ocious in this issue that Dick will be a different kind of Batman, and Dic Grayson Batman. I'm looking to see how things tie up on Selina Kyle's part.

I still stick with this title being one of the best titles out there right now and anyone not reading it is severely missing out on everything.

Gashapon Reviews: March 17, 2010

I'm currently on the hunt for a new comic shop. The problem I'm running into is that I'm so opinionated about things, I don't handle it well when I consider the other patrons to be idiots.

Marvel:

Dark Avengers #15 (****)

Well, that mystery is solved. If I wasn't so lazy I'd go back and see if my guesses were right, but alas. I enjoyed this issue a lot, because it filled in more pieces to the Siege puzzle. And you really begin to see just how unhinged the Sentry really is. Osborn built such a house of cards here, and while hardly unexpected, I find it to be incredibly interesting to watch how it comes tumbling down. And I thought the art was pretty, so there's that.

Gashapon Reviews: March 10, 2010

Arnab tells me that March 17 is a big day for comics, so I figured I'd better focus on getting these reviews out of the way sooner rather than later. Final Fantasy XIII has been slowing me down.

Marvel:

Cable #24 (****)

I give this issue four stars not because it was great, but because I would tell my fellow comic book readers to read this issue and no others, as it sums up in one issue all the ridiculous water-treading of the last four or five months of Cable. Some think Hope is the savior of Mutantkind so Cable takes her into the future to keep her safe. Bishop disagrees so he tries to kill her. Wrap up the chase with a four page montage and we're set. Everything after Messiah War could quite frankly have been a one-shot if you ask me, and if it were, it would look like Cable 24. I'm very glad this ended, as I've been waiting for Second Coming for months now. Is Hope really what they've been, err, hoping she would be? Now we get to find out.

We have to stop him--before he kills again!

What a fabulous week in comics this was.

The Rise and Fall ****
I get around a lot, on the internet that is, and I've got to say that the lead into this story (JLA: Cry for Justice) has been getting mixed reviews. I read it and I thought it was good stuff and quite frankly, this issue did not disappoint. Let me run you through it.
Green Arrow has been driven to murder with the destruction of Star City (his city for those of you not in the know), the dismemberment of his son (Red Arrow-Roy Harper), and the death of his granddaughter Lian. Who could blame him really. Apparently the readers of the world and the JLA. In this book, a one shot by the way that will lead into two four part mini series, Ollie has returned to Star City in the hopes of finding and killing the Electrocutioner (the man that set off the bomb that killed 90,000.) And while the Black Canary prevents him from doing so, she is interrupted by Green Arrow and the Flash who have just found out Ollie has killed. This was a pretty good one shot. I feel that JT Krul, a relative newcomer, has captured the characters very well. Personally, I don't particularly have too much of a problem with Ollie killing Prometheus. I know as superheroes you're not supposed to kill, but there are exceptions to every rule, why not this one. I for one am very excited for boy The Rise of Arsenal and The Fall of Green Arrow.
Now the artwork. I don't particularly understand the purpose of multiple artists to a book, other than I guess maybe it's for time constraints and deadline purposes. That being said, there were three artists to this book: Diogenes Neves, Mike Mayhew, and Fabrizio Florentino. I haven't heard of two of them, but I have encountered Diogenes before (Blackest Night Green Arrow and New Mutants,) and will continue to praise him. Of the other two, one was very good and the other was decent, only time will tell me which was which.

Last Stand of New Krypton #1 ****
I need Last Stand of New Krypton and the following, War of Supermen, to be a great series. I say this because I've never been a die hard Superman fan. As a character I've always felt that he's had this over the top boy scout feel, suffice to say I was not impressed. On the contrary Superboy is one of my favorite characters and I've really enjoyed newcomers Christoper and Mon-El, Thara is decent and Kara tends to be more annoying than anything else. That being said, I shall proceed.
This issue was decent. It wasn't the greatest thing I've read this week, but there was definitely some great stuff in it. General Zod sacrificing his men in attempt to destroy Brainiac's ship, ruthless. Ending up not making a dent but killing hundred of his own soldiers instead, tragic. I find it odd that Superman goes around all the time wearing his Superman outfit under everything he wears. Conner and Mon-El blasting in with the Legion of Superheroes was pretty damn awesome. Zod ordering there arrests, however, was not. I think the best scene though was when Superman is able to penetrate Brainiac's ship, using his past encounter as a model, only to be shot by Lex Luthor. and while you may think I'm a psycho, let me explain why this was the best scene. Nearly all superheroes in the existence of time have a couple major enemies. For Supes it has always been Lex Luthor and Brainiac. And while the readers were aware of Luthor's involvement, I thought it was only fitting for Clark to find out that on the eve of devastation, his two greatest enemies have joined together.

And as a complete side note. Lois Lane is pretty bad ass and believe you me, I don't throw that phrase out just for anybody. I mean with one press of the button she can have the U.S. Army, the President of major companies, or even the JLA or the JSA at her side ready to take orders at a moment's notice. She is one lady you do not want to anger.

Batman and Robin #10 ****1/2
Now this is the Grant Morrison I've come to love. As I've mentioned in my previous Batman and Robin reviews, this series has been great except for the minor blip that was the previous story. This book was action packed. Bruce Wayne leaving clues throughout time, a hidden Bat Cave, Damien being brain washed and manipulated by his conniving mother, Dick being awesome. I think it's great that Bruce has so much faith in his minions to have these outrageous clues in hopes that they cans solve them. I feel bad for Damien, yes I said it, for having what could possibly be the worst mother in the history of time. Can't wait for The Return of Bruce Wayne.
I think that it is safe to say that Batman and Robin higher ups, maybe even Grant Morrison, are making a decisive effort to maintain a certain feel to the artwork in this whole title. Andy Clarke is yet another artist who likes his human figures to be more clay-like than muscle-toned. That being said I did find his technique to be pretty awesome.

Batgirl #8 ****
So began, or is it technically continued, the reunited efforts of Stephanie Brown and Timothy Wayne. Ex-lovers, ex-sort of partners, ex-friends, or whatever they were. Timothy is back in town after his graceful defeat of the League of Assassins and Stephanie Brown is fresh off her near death incident and assistance of the Dynamic Duo. With Ra's hellbent on taking out everyone close to Tim, he rushes back to Gotham for help, only to find Stephanie Brown. This book was a lot of fun. The dialogue between Red Robin and Batgirl were witty and amusing; Bryan Miller has been great writing Batgirl. The artwork, which included a slew of guest artists Talent Caldwell, Yvel Guichet and John Stanisci, had it's share of issues and moments of awesomeness. Unfortunately for you guys, I have no idea who did what pages. As a result, I can only say that one artist was fabulous, another was okay, and the third was a tad wonky. That being said, this issue induced memories of old, when Dick and Barb would have cross-title story lines. Also to add, Stephanie Brown's interactions with Tim made her a much more likeable character, to me at least. And man is Timothy handy with scissors and fabric.

In other news, St. Nick is in fact back in our lives. And this time, by our I mean mine and Dick's.

Red Robin #10 ****
With revelations about Tim's journey coming out left and right, Pru's arrival, and the Ra's coming to Gotham, this issue was action packed. As he has been doing so regularly, Chris Yost has been doing an excellent job writing this book. I can't stand Vicki Vale and feel her coming back to Gotham can only mean bad things. Ra's is acting like a big baby, if you ask me. I get the distinct feeling Prudence has a thing for our little Timmy and to add Stephanie seems to be falling back in love. Thomas Elliot coming in is making me feel a bit antsy, but I'm hoping his greed is enough to reject Ra's. Did I mention that I'm totally digging this cross-title mini-series? The artwork in this, Marcus To, is in my opinion getting better every issue. And here's hoping Tammy Fox has an ounce of secrecy and intelligence her father Lucius is overflowing with. Can't wait for the conclusion.

Nemesis: The Imposter #1 ***1/2
This was one of those last minute throw-ins courtesy of my Comic book guy. Walking around the store, I probably would have walked right pass this one, as the cover gives no indication whatsoever of the actual story. Turns out that this little bad boy, at least for now, is a Bat book. The book followed a fellow named Nemesis, who is driving a car with a gunshot victim passenger, the Joker. Ivan Brandon, who's another person I had not heard of prior to this issue, is pretty good writer. It flowed well and effortlessly, and certainly got me interested as to who this Nemsis is. The artwork by Cliff Richards was great stuff. It was overall a pretty good read. Consider me on the verge of being hooked. I say verge because I'm slowly running out of comic book funding.

The Flash: Rebirth

So, since I didn't really have ANY comics to read last week (actually two weeks ago, I'm just this slow), I figured I might as well whip up a review of The Flash: Rebirth! I read the whole thing last week anyway.


To be blunt, I've always found The Flash to be kinda annoying. Well, not annoying, but no where near my top 5 favorite heroes. Even in the animated Justice League cartoon. Just in the DC universe, I'd much rather talk about Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and sometimes even Supes *gasp* instead of Flash. But then I read Blackest Night, and as Arnab accurately pointed out in his Blackest Night Tie-In Part 3, Barry Allen is kind of awesome. Add to that the fact that in a lot of the Brightest Day promotional releases there has been a strong Flash presence, and that I really enjoyed reading the new Green Lantern Secret Origin series, I thought I'd give it a go.

25 words or less: Overall I enjoyed it, even if I'm not entirely sure what was happening at any particular point.

The story opens with everyone getting ready for a party to celebrate Barry Allen's return. Having not read Final Crisis, it took me a bit (and a Wikipedia search) to realize that's when he had returned. It's kind of evident from the beginning that while Barry is happy to be back in one sense, he's not in others. I guess if you join with the very essence of speed, it's hard to slow down.

Which brings me to my "What the hell is the Speedforce?" portion of this recap. Even after reading the whole series I'm not entirely sure. To pull a Star Trek reference out of my ass, I feel like it's kind of similar to subspace, in that it's this energy that powers all the speedsters and sort of exists across all time. If you learn to control it well enough, you can enter the Speedforce and then exit it at any time? Is that how that works? I think I'm showing how green I am on Flash mythology.

Anyway, Barry suddenly finds that when he touches other speedsters they die, because he's kind of the Black Flash, but apparently that's because the Reverse Flash has started an anti-speedforce which is radiating backwards through history and has somehow infected Barry's speedforce (which we also find out was started by him). However, Barry manages to cleanse himself of the anti-speedforce by running really fast, and then he and Wally go back in time to stop the Reverse Flash from screwing up Barry's past anymore than he already has.

It just seems very convoluted to me. I'll readily believe it's because I jumped into the mythology without getting a proper backing on it. I sort of already knew about the Reverse Flash from reading Blackest Night, but on the whole I spent a lot of time going "Huh?" All that being said, I did enjoy the story, and hopping into a new hero mythology that I was completely unfamiliar with. I found the time-travel twist of the Reverse Flash especially interesting, since I love me a good paradox. Now I have a much better idea of who Barry Allen and Wally West and Bart Allen are now that I've read this, and I think I'm much better prepared to handle what comes after Blackest Night.

So in a final estimation, I'd give the whole series four stars, if I think each individual issue would only get three. I'd definitely read them all together though, as I'm not sure issue 6 was worth waiting whatever ridiculous amount of months it took after issue 5 to get released. Luckily for us, that's not really an issue. Unless you get lost in the Speedforce, of course.

Blackest Night Tie-Ins Part 3

Blackest Night: Flash ****1/2
So as has been made perfectly clear from the get go, Blackest Night is a Green Lantern event. I don't think Barry Allen got that memo. Who are we kidding kids, Barry Allen nearly single-handedly stole the show. And I don't particularly mean specifically this three part tie-in, which was awesome, definitely the best of this bunch, most definitely top 5 tie-in status (which is saying something seeing as there were 25 Blackest Night tie-in stories and 45 tie-in issues. Wow.) But even outside of this tie-in Barry has pretty much changed the direction of Blackest Night. A couple of times. He was the first to die, last to be reborn. He spread word of the Black Lanterns. He single-handedly prevented both himself and Hal Jordan, who is pretty much the leader of the Green Lanterns at the moment, from being reacquired by Nekron. He has what could be the most popular quote of the series, "All will be well." He saved his grandson Bart. I mean, c'mon people. He's pretty much the savior of everyone. Go Bartholomew Henry Allen!
And we're off. This Flash tie-in was fantastic. Seeing as Barry had just made his triumphant return, the first issue was a bit of a history lesson to help those unacquainted catch up. The whole issue takes place before Nekron's grand appearance and Barry is having to deal with the Black Lantern Reverse Flash, not to be mistaken with the currently living Reverse Flash. Barry then makes a pit stop at his old buddy Solovar, the Gorilla's town. Suffice to say Solovar has been dead for many years and is now a Black Lantern. The second and third issues follow Barry as he is becoming accustomed to his temporary role as a Blue Lantern. His being is overcome with a great sense of Hope, which is fitting because he is Hal's best friend. I know, some of you are thinking, who cares. The answer, you, or at least you should. The way the Blue Lantern rings work is that they are based off the emotional spectrum, like the other rings, but without Will, Hope eventually dies out. Thus, the Blue Lantern rings are at their full power when in vicinity of a Green Lantern.
While Barry was quick enough to evade the special Black Rings, unfortunately his estranged grandson Bart (also named Bartholomew Henry Allen II) was unable to do so. I loved, Loved, the Barry and Bart scene. I'd say that it perfectly summed up their relationship, estranged with a desire for more. And that bit of hope is exactly what saved Bart, well that and their joined connection to the Speed Force. What saved them all from the Black Lantern Reverse Flash you ask? Why that'd be the Rogues. The who? No, not those old farts. The Rogues are pretty much The Villains of the Flash-verse. And as such, they were graced with nearly a 50% stake of this series. There are a bunch of them but only two worth mentioning, because to be hones, I only know two of their names. Captain Cold is pretty much the Mr. Freeze of Keystone City. And while he's been known to have a conscience and feel guilt, he's still a Rogue at heart. He takes on an old love of his and is able to freeze his emotions before freezing her in a block of ice.
How'd he save the Flashes you ask? He froze the living Reverse Flash, who was imprisoned and as a result Black Lantern Thawne (I apologize for changing his name, I couldn't stand to write it the other way once more) froze as well. The other Rogue that I have a sliver of a connection to is Boomerang. Those of you who have read Identity Crisis and have a shred of emotion in your heart will remember him as the son of the man who killed Timothy Drake Wayne's father. Well this fool, the son, came to the conclusion that he could "cure" his father by feeding him humans. The Rogues find out and find out that he also killed women and children, which is a big no no. Nice to know even crooks have a code. Suffice to say Cap Cold threw in Boomerang Jr. into the pit where his Black Lantern father was. If you had to pick up one of these issues, it would be this one. No questions about it.
Geez, I almost completely forgot to talk about the artwork. Scott Kolin, I'm not particularly sure I completely loved the art. It's weird, because I liked it all except for their faces. And it's not really that I didn't like the faces, it's just that I thought that they were a bit too cartoony and didn't mesh well with the bodies and their surroundings. But with a different body, those faces would be just fine.

Blackest Night: Wonder Woman **1/2
I've never been a Wonder Woman enthusiast so my review may have a hint of a bias. For one thing, the first issue seemed like it didn't really belong with the second and third issues. I know why it was the way that it was, what with her becoming a Lantern and all, but I felt it still could have been tied together a bit better. Scratch that. Upon rereading the first book, I realize that there was an attempt to set things up for Diana. As she was being attacked by Black Lanterns left and right, she emanated only one emotion, Love. I didn't, however, understand how her Lasso was able to destroy all of the Lanterns, but oh well. The second two issues, in my opinion, were saved by Mera's appearance. I know, I know, you are all thinking, "What an idiot." You are wrong.
Here's what I am feeling. I do not think that Diana has the ability to overcome the powers of the Black Lantern Ring, regardless of when Matt tries to convince me the Violet Ring takes over. I did not appreciate a whole fight scene(Cassie, Donna, Hippolyta and Bruce) that was pure imagination. What a crock. And more importantly, I am displeased with the continued implications of Diana's interest in Bruce. Unless I am missing something, her love of all loves was Clark and frankly, she should keep her Amazonian parts to herself. That being said, I thought Mera's cameo in this was great. I never really knew Mera, but with her resurgence as a result of Blackest Night, consider me interested. And just to wrap things up, I think Nicola Scott is a fairly decent artist, but the man just cannot do faces. I mean, he takes wonky and turns it up a notch.

Blackest Night: JSA ***
So the first two issues of this three part tie-in series were very good. The original Flash and Green Lantern kicking ass is always awesome. The rest of the JSA, who I have only passing knowledge of, were actually pretty interesting. Major plot points. Kal-L made his triumphant return as a Black Lantern as a result of some really crafty thinking on the other Black Lantern's part. Now, the Black Lanterns have not really been zombie like throughout the entirety of Blackest Night, but in this series they were especially witty. I mean, pretending to have a conscience, then fighting other Black Lanterns to assert your trust-worthiness, culminating with a self-explosion, all in order to break the ground to open a pathway to reach Black Lantern Superman. How genius is that? I wasn't exactly a fan of the multiple artist deal, most specifically because Power Girl was god awful ugly. I don't know which artist did what, but one was fantastic and the other was a let down. Moving on, who knew that a Black Lantern ring could move from one body to the next? I certainly didn't. I didn't really think that the conclusion suited the first two issues. I know that the fight scene between Power Girl and Superman was probably meant to be more emotionally taxing, but who are we kidding, it wasn't. And while having that machine take out all of the Black Lanterns in New York was cool, it was just so anti-climactic.

Secret Six 17-18 **1/2
No offense to this series in particular, but I completely forgot this tie-in even existed for the longest while. In fact, I didn't remember about it until I came to write my review. That being said, this wasn't exactly the worst of tie-ins. Other than the fact that I didn't know anyone other than Bane(yes, the man who broke Batman's back) and Amanda Waller (who I utterly despise) and was therefore confused from time to time, the overall plot wasn't too bad. Two teams battling it out. A truck load of deaths. Truces and death threats. Ending with a gunshot and a man changing sides. That's really all you need to take out of this. Unlike the Flash and Wonder Woman tie-ins, and slightly the JSA tie-in, there is little attempt at relating to Blackest Night. This was pretty much two Secret Six issues that happened to have some Black Lanterns in it.

You ever been to New Krypton?

So this was supposed to be a light week and for the most part it was.

First Wave #1 **1/2
So I got this because on of my comic book store's owners said it was the best of the week. He's not one of the usual guys I deal with but he's nice enough. That being said, I was not very impressed. I mean, by al rights I know I should be. I mean DC has been building this new series up like nothing else, what with the preview being in nearly every DC issue I've picked up in the past two weeks. Here's what I've got for you. One, there was no Batman. And I'm in no way implying that all comics in existence need Batman, not that that wouldn't be awesome, but if he's going to be on the cover he could at least make an appearance. I mean, c'mon! That aside, I didn't find the plot to be overall all too exciting. It didn't make me want to read more. Doc Savage's plot wasn't all to interesting to be honest. Plus it didn't help that I kept mixing up his amigos. The Spirit was amusing, but his plot wasn't exciting. My comic book store has different issues that are returnable every week. This was one of them and while I toyed with the idea of returning it, I ended up not doing so.

Adventure Comics #9 ***1/2
I wouldn't particularly consider this an amazing issue or great even. However, I do think it serves it's purpose. With the Last Stand of New Krypton arriving next week, this serves as a great tie-in as well as a fairly informative issue. Brainiac 5, who I confused with his ancestors because they are all named something-dox, was pretty interesting. I did have to wikipedia him because other than Legion of Three Worlds I know next to nothing about him. Granted, it was interesting to find out that without the Legion's help Superman will die. Conner and Mon-El finally get together with the Legion. It was a tad shocking when Con's teacher ripped open his shirt. The darndest thing happened though, as I was looking up Legion of Three Worlds, I realized that Mon-El was there in the future, looking as young as ever. So that begs the question, is that the same Mon-El or is a different universe Mon-El? Also, if that's the same Mon-El, then clearly he does not die. It's times like this that I wish I knew someone that read everything I read. The final story was about a Kryptonian gal who has infiltrated General Lane's ranks. Good for her, at least the Kryptonian's will have one Ace.

Walking Dead #70 ***1/2
So this technically came out last week, but at that time I wasn't sure how I was planning on reviewing this series. As you can tell, I chose to review them by issue. I may make a separate review specifically to catch up from issues 1-69 in the near future. So this issue was pretty interesting. Rick and the gang are are at a new community, which is surprising seeing as the world has gone to hell. Rick with his new haircut, odd, Carl playing football and being happy, awesome. I don't know what to say about this new group of people. I want things to go well, but naturally I have my doubts. I am especially weary as to the past of these new folk.

Gashapon Reviews: February 24, 2010

Arnab asked last week about whether he'd be alright in spoiling comics, and I responded that in issues where something major happens, I tend to avoid it, but in a regular weekly series I have no problems. That's the rule I've tried to abide by all this time without really realizing, but now that I've put it down in writing, I'm going to make a special effort to employ it. Blackest Night continues to be a "Don't Spoil (too much)" book, because you ALL should be reading it. Wonder Woman? Not so much.

Sidenote: I finally read Siege: Embedded #2. Still maintain my lack of a review didn't really matter much.

Holy crap this was a busy week. And keep in mind Arnab reads almost everything I do plus the stuff he reviews.