306. Ultimate Six #2 ... Marvel ...

Let's close out the month of Feb 2015 on a high note with a review from the Ultimate-verse back when it was good, enjoyable except for spotty artwork like this of Trevor Hairsine. I am not sure if it is him, inker or what but his work looks very ... grainy? And this is not the only limited series he did under the Ultimate banner

What's this about?

It's the Sinister Six and how they came to be, Ultimate style, natch!

So all the villains whom Spidey and others encountered are stashed in a hidden bunker under SHIELD and of all people to put in-charge, there is Henry Pym after his massive disgrace in the Ultimates series. Yes, makes no sense. And to make it worse, he is questioning them as if he is a psychologist

Now before you say bad writer, this bit was picked up and commented on by the Wasp (phew). In fact, in this whole issue, what's great is all the tension and people centric moments. We have Nick discussing the fate of the villains with the Ultimates and we get to see how Cap walked off in anger after one of Nick's comments which is so not 616 Cap which is ... cool and more realistic

And then there is the fact that there are only 5 villains in captivity. So who will make up number 6?

Psycho Osborn's answer in the closing panels will leave you wondering WTF

Ratings: 7/10

305. Alpha Flight vol 1 #4 ... Marvel ...

This is John Byrne at his best ... seriously!

Anyway, as the cover indicates, we are treated to the continuing saga of Alpha Flight where as the premier team of Canada, they have spent the past two issues dealing with internal problems that somehow got them encountering a new super-villain who had apparently been part of humanity from the early ages i.e. the dawn of civilization! And the origin story of that including Alpha member, Marrina is now told in full ... as she too is an alien not of Earth!

This issue sees the guest-stars that appeared briefly (cameo) in the last issue making their presence felt as Namor and Invisible Woman enter the fray ... very good fighting sequences as we see the Flight finding each other in the maze, working to help each other out before the final big clash with the villain du jour

This is comic story telling at its best! (Sorry we just loved this issue so)

Ratings: 8/10

304. Spawn #1 ... Image ...

And speaking of an Image founder, one of the top 2 is Todd Mc who came off from a hot launch of a new Spidey title to this, his own comic that is still running until today. In fact, the timing is also good as Todd has been for the past few years back on the comics trail and busy revamping his Spawn trying to regain some readership

I will be honest. When this came out, much as I loved Todd's Spider-Man (not his Amazing Spider-Man run though), I didn't bother with this issue or series until friends lent me and even then, it failed to do much for me

Sure, the design of the Spawn is cool and so are the villains but somehow, I prefer lots of super heroic fisticuffs as opposed to Spawn who is afraid to run out of juice

Anyway, basically, for those not in the know, Spawn is Al, a chap who got iced by the govt operatives and comes back as a hellspawn with limited power that dwindles as he uses them. He is not meant to be a good guy and Hell has definite plans for him but until then, he is his own man as he doesn't know what is going on with him, how he came to be alive again or even who he was back when he was alive as his memories are all scrambled

So he is definitely not your average super hero

In this first issue, we are shown all this confusion as forces now start to surround him while he tries to regain a sense of who he was and his purpose. What I found disappointing is the tools used to communicate the current news event in the form of newscasters. Unfortunately, this becomes a standard tool even in subsequent issues. So while the artwork is awesome, the character design is awesome, I felt that there is too much "subtlety" to the Spawn comics as opposed to outright blow-em-ups

Ratings: 4/5

303. PITT #1 ... Image ...

Sorry we had to jump back to a series we reviewed just a few days ago because upon checking, we found out we started this particular series' review with issue 2 onwards. So here is issue 1

And what an opening issue it is. Dale Keown, hot off his success on Marvel's Hulk had disappeared for months joining the fledgling publisher (then) Image. He was not on the hot creator list that had his own studios like Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld or McFarlane ...

But when his first issue came out, it was such a surprise because here, given time and space, Keown delivers. Naturally, his protagonist who is large like the Hulk. Hehehe!

Basically this issue shows us Pitt coming to Earth and like Terminator, encountering bikers who provided him with his "uniform" that will last throughout most of the series (he doesn't change or shower). Hahaha!

On the supporting cast end, we are introduced to Timmy and his grandpa, both of whom will become central to the focus of the storyline as well as some policeman and glimpses of home

A lot happening, not too much action but the few scenes with Pitt is so awesome that ... you know you will buy issue 2

Ratings: 8/10

302. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars vol 1 #1 ... Marvel (naturally) ...

Well, with the impending arrival of this year's main Marvel event where Marvel will ape DC by having a company wide event that will obliterate all their existing titles (more or less) and restart everything else, including using the title and concept of a limited series from their past (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, eh?) ... so it is only timely that we review the first volume (of which there are 3)

And basically, in this first issue, we are shown that all those heroes who encountered that huge alien device on Earth only to disappear upon walking through its entrance have reappeared in a planet far, far, far away from home

And they are not alone

We have the FF, Avengers, XMen and a ton of villains and to top it all off, even Galactus is brought forth. And while everyone is puzzled and fearful, a voice boomed forth from out of nowhere ... asking them to defeat their foes ... and this said voice will grant them whatever their wish is

Naturally, immediately sides are drawn as parties try to see who will compromise and work with whom best ... will Magneto join the villains or the X-Men? Will the X-Men join the Avengers? Will Spider who at this point in time is still a loner join anyone? And what about Galactus?

With that to lead us off, Marvel knows that we are going to look forward to the future issues as the potential for huge slam-bang action scenes are outlined even though the premise is kind of weak ...

Ratings: 7/10

301. Magneto Testament #1 ... Marvel ...

So what do we review after that 300 momentous limited series?

We take a little jaunt on the side and moved onto a review of a series that reads more like something from Vertigo or an alternative press. And it's Magneto! When a villain who is as complex and colourful as Magneto, you can bet that every once in a while, the publishers will roll out yet another series about him to see if he can generate sufficient interest

And in this series, it attempts to tell the definite history of the man, Magnus

In fact, we start off with his childhood in a country that is slowly being seized by the Nazis coming into power. Here Magnus is still a child without his powers. And we get to see how he suffers in school where if he were to excel, the teachers would assume that he cheated because he is a Jew and only Aryans should come out on top in both theory and practical examinations. I am not sure how extreme real world views were at that time, but perhaps, it is a little over the top in this series? I mean, the entire school against him? Why doesn't he go to a normal school within his community then?

However, not all is doom and gloom yet because we are privy to a generally happy home and family life

And the sad part is, the ending is not strong enough to make you bother with the next issue. The artwork is acceptable, the storyline passable but nothing special to hook you in

Ratings: 5/10

300. Kingdom Come #1 ... DC ...

And here it is ... our 300th review and to celebrate this milestone we are going to review one of the best miniseries ever. Now while others may clamor for stuff like Watchmen (good read but too dense) and Dark Knight Returns (sorry mate) I love this! This is the series that made me pick up the occasional DC comics!

What made this so special, you may ask?

First up, Alex Ross knocked this ball clear out of the park. Whatever he did on Marvels for Marvel (obviously), he upped the ante here and delivered every single panel within. And this is no easy book. There are so many characters, new and old, that he had design or touched up on existing designs and then paint the entire series not just covers. I don't know how long he took, but man, is it worth it!

Oh yes and the writer is pretty awesome too. Hehehe!

Basically, the world has moved on from the regular DC series and what this means is that some of the ... more human heroes would have passed on and that their legacy is being carried by those who may not always share their same altruistic motives

And naturally as with the normal progression of our own society, technology moves but the world grows darker by day and the heroes? They changed until even the way they are garbed resembles those more closely associated with villains. In addition, as those long lived heroes have been beacons of hope, some have become commemorated into cafes and what-not

This tale opens on a spectacular note as we are given excerpts from a thunderous ominous voice. That's right. So good is the artwork and lettering that you could almost feel this happening. And then peeling it back and scaling it down, we are slowly being given a glimpse of the world and how the ordinary people go about it ... except one elderly gentleman who is graced by the Spectre and given a vision of what happened to some of our heroes who have retired

And what happens to those who haven't

But when the times are darkest, when one of the mightiest returns, is it for a new golden age of heroes or something darker coming?

That's the question posed to us but you know if you read the first issue, it's not enough to stop there. You just need to continue!

Ratings: 10/10

299. Pitt vol #1 #8 ... Image ...

There is actually another series we wanted to review but as 300 is looming up, well, we decided to save it for that occasion as it is a big, big, big hit!

So, in issue 8 of Pitt, we finally see the confrontation that has been building. And what's this about?

1. Wroth, Pitt's half-brother finally confronts Pitt in all out battle and if you thought Pitt was tough, well, he couldn't take down Wroth. Even with Axiom, the super powered group, they couldn't and they only finally did because of ... SPOILER ALERT ... Jareb ... who is Jareb? Read the book

2. We finally learn the truth about the relationship between Pitt and Timmy so ... why is that page ... SPOILER ALERT ... blank with only so little words? Damn!

3. We see Rai-kee, the super powered agent cum cop, kick some alien butt!

And all in awesome colours. Need we say more?

Ratings: 8/10

298. Invincible vol 1 #1 ... Image ...

Honestly, I have heard so much good reviews about this but for some odd reason, I didn't bother with this in both trades or floppies. Now don't get me wrong. I am a huge Walking Dead fan and was a fan even before there was an inkling of a tv series. In fact, I started when vol 1 of the TPB in first printing came out and regularly collected it until vol 12

So why didn't I pick this up especially when the artwork is similar, hot writer and best of all, it is in colour? And it has guys with spandex? I have no idea

But somewhere along the line, I got hold of one of those mega-sized collections (3 if I am not mistaken) that had like a dozen or so issues and it was such a good read that I sat down and read until well after midnight and from then on, I was hooked

So I got it in digital and read it up to 75 now ... hehehe ...

For this first issue, what makes it good is that it feels so self contained. You have a young man who grew up in a family where his dad is a super hero who goes out battling villains. Now how does that affect his poor mom who is left wondering if he would ever come home? Naturally over the years, he keeps on coming home in great condition and thus after a while she got used to it ...

And how about his son who now finds out that he may have part of dad's abilities as well?

Well, that's what this first issue is all about. All happy, innocent, teenage coming of age and power kind of story. But beware all you comicbook readers! Nastier times are ahead - betrayals and deaths, alien invasion and nasty psychos, love and sex, team ups and super groups and lots n lots n lots of gore! Yeah!

Ratings: 8/10

297. Gen 13 vol 1 #1 ... Image ...

Can we make it four in a row? Yes, we can. And so for the fourth day, we jumped to yet another new title with a rotation of publishers and none Marvel (be patient all you Marvelites - you know a Marvel can never be far ahead, right?)

Well, this series when it was first launched featured a few notable facts and the first is that it was meant to be Gen X while simultaneously Marvel was coming out with Generation X. So the early ads for this title is actually different than what was finally launched. Not a surprise though as an Image character went from Bedrock to Badrock or vice versa (?)

Anyway, the next important fact is that it featured then unknown but now super popular artist, J Scott Campbell ... here his artwork is a wee bit cartoony with those large eyes and oft times overly proportioned ladies ... but hey even after 20 years, he still has the same characteristics except far more refine ... so you know he didn't waver much

What's the tale like? Well, it seems that the govt is setting up all these exam centers although some are disguised as more fun than serious all over the country in the hopes of locating teens with a special gene that may grant them super powers. Where did these genes come from? Experiment? Natural i.e. evolution? Read on then, eh?

Our main stars at this point are (no names intentionally):

1. Short chunky hairy guy with tattoos supposedly loser Asian American
2. Tall All American Girl with legs and geeky looks waiting to blossom into super bosom we mean super strong gal
3. A bleurgh average bloke who will look like  the human torch
4. A Jubilee wannabe gal who is insecure and will fall in love with 1
5. Another non-Caucasian gal whose sole purpose is to be less popular than the above and while her powers is kinda more powerful than some of them, yet she didn't make much impact here or throughout the remainder of the series

Who are the bad guys? Some government folks who managed to recruit the kids under the pre-text of good for the nation ... you just know that's full of shit, right? Hah!

Ratings: 6/10

296. GCPD #2 ... DC ...

Honestly, this is a hard issue to review and we are not just talking about the themes and diverse characters because this book ... though is about the police officers in Gotham where Batman lives and operates ... reads more like adult-oriented or a Vertigo slice of life book

As this is issue 2 in the series (that lasted more than 3 years) ... I didn't pick it up owing to its "average" covers ... and only tried one issue that had Robin on the cover ... but when it came out on digital and I sampled issue 1, I was hooked

It is great reading!

We have the entire squad of GCPD as potential main stars for each issue along with all others including the coroner, ambulance drivers, etc

And in issue 2, we start off with a crime ... or a murder ... and all evidence points to Mr Freeze. The only challenge here is that Mr Freeze kills his victims now by freezing them ice-solid. But why? He is not a petty criminal. So what is he after? And as it is a supers type of crime, should they call in the Bats or not?

Some are agreeable, others not so and want to prove that the GCPD is equipped to handle all sorts of crimes. Raveling or rather unraveling alongside the clues comes the lives of a few selected officers. We get more hints in each issue as stuff like lesbianism, corruption, drugs etc move to centerstage

And finally because it is early days in this series, we get the bits and pieces of Batman as if he is merely one of an ensemble cast

All in all, a good read

Ratings: 6/10

295. Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 ... DC ...

Well, well, well we were going to save this particular review for our 300th but seeing things as it is, we thought after the success of Fear Agent, how do we follow it up with something that is NOT Marvel but equally huge? And this is it!

First up, while Marvel had its Secret Wars, DC decided at that time that its loooooong history with alternate histories make for a very convoluted universe or universes. And thus they decided to dream up a very very very detailed and huge storyline to sort of clean up their entire multiverse. Did they succeed? Well you read it and decide for yourself

On the art front, all we have to say is that Perez did some of his best work here. There is not a single panel that read as if it is disjointed or felt rushed. Every little detail and emotional nuance is in place and when there is a need for action or some energy signature, it is magnificent. Mind you, this is before the advent of computer colouring and when there is light or energy or glistening ... well ...

Next up, in this first issue, while it has many pages, all we get is a wee bit of the overarching plot. Yet, it is so engaging that it makes you want to read more. Basically we are introduced to a few main players that appear up front. First chap is the crying man who appears as a witness from one dying universe to another as a ... witness. He cannot be seen and he cannot affect anything or anyone ...

And how does each universe dies? A disappearance as if a big eraser is erasing them. So on each Earth, there abounds heroes and villains who will band together in desperation

And amidst all these chaos, we are given witness to a beautiful lady who is transformed and sent to seek out those they believed may assist in stopping the villainy that is afoot. However, all is not right with this lady nor with the one who sent her nor even with ... a shadowy villain ... who is not the shadow beings that attacked the first gathering of heroes ...

Is that enough? Is that confusing? If you answer yes, then please get it and read it

Ratings: 9/10

294. Fear Agent #1 ... Alternative ...

And just when you thought we are only going to do more Marvels with the occasional intrusion by DC or Image ... here's an issue that we thoroughly enjoyed even though the artwork is not our preference but it works so well in this issue ... and lengthy letters page where there are all sorts of discussion going on is just entertaining as heck!

So ... what's a Fear Agent?

SPOILER ALERT

Basically in the near or far future, aliens invaded and earthlings lost. There are pockets of survivors here on earth and out there in space and a ragtag of more organized (read that with weapons) survivors who are dressed up in orange suits fighting the aliens ... so who is our protagonist? He is a loser sort of macho man who drowns his sorrows with non-stop drinking ... flying out there trying to live each day without giving a damn as he has seen too much pain

Do you think this series would be a success if such was all it tells each issue? Obviously not eh?

Naturally Heath is going to run into other earthlings, get suck back onto earth, relationships, betrayals, killings, massacres, genocide and more ... are only to be expected as this series develops

In short, whatever you read here in issue 1 is a hint of all the goodness to come. So BUY BUY BUY

Ratings: 8/10

293. Alpha Flight vol 1 #3 ... Marvel ...

Check out the cover first! Here's a voluptuous woman fully clothed yet managing to look o-so-sexy! All you bad girl pin-up artists should learn a thing or two here especially as you can see even though she has tights on there is no nipple! Don't get me wrong! I do collect the 90s comics from Image a lot

Anyway, in this the third issue, the primary highlights are that we get to see an aspect of Snowbird's abilities that are largely ignored throughout Alpha's issues which is certainly refreshing as I too have forgotten until I re-read this issue

Aside from that, each Alphan finds themselves being challenged with their worst fears by the revealed villain from last issue, the Master of the World ... and he even shares his origins with Marrina (and no it is not cliche) ... and what an unexpected origin it is too ... something I would never have dreamt of

And as for a cliffhanger ending ... yup ... I thought when the word balloon popped up it would be an Alphan ... what an unexpected but delightful surprise! We will not SPOIL it for you by disclosing who are the guest stars since even the covers kept them out of it

Finally, on the flipside, we see more development in Weapon Alpha in Dept H as Mc develops his suit and other operatives come onboard including a certain mutant with claws

Ratings: 8/10

292. Alpha Flight vol 1 #2 ... Marvel ...

Well, if you thought we were just going to do more Ultimates interspersed with Wolverine only ... hehehe ... this is a good break then, eh? We take a time machine and skipped back to the ... 80s ... and to the hey days of John Byrne as he came into his own as both writer and penciller able to churn out monthlies on time!

In this second issue of the series, Byrne ably splits the actual book into two but that's not all he is using for the 2. Second issue = 2 stories = 2 origins.

First up is thanks to the cover we see the development of Marrina. As the Flight does some practise scenarios in the great countryside that is Canada, our resident water girl is suddenly overcome with pain and lashes out injuring fellow Alphans before disappearing and while she swims to only Byrne knows where, we are given flashbacks to how she came to be on Earth and we find out that she is not human!

The ending also introduces us to a new villain who will end up being an arch nemesis of the Flight in the years to come

Now on the flipside, we have the start of the saga of how Alpha Flight came to be ... literally as we see Mc being a government stooge and having a hardtime accepting the fact that his R&D will be used by the military (grow up you moron)!

Honestly? I loved the Guardian battlesuit but not the man inside. Somehow, I never gelled with him or his wife Heather. I like all the other Alphans though even Aurora

Ratings: 7/10

291. Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 #8 (2008) ... Marvel ...

One more day to Valentine's and you may be wondering if this has anything to do with love ... and you are right to wonder because ... F it all this has nothing to do with Valentine's ... hahaha

So what does this comic have? Well coming off our last review you may think we will not enjoy it but this issue definitely has picked up a wee bit more. We kick off with Starlord kicking some Krees (imagine him defeating life-long trained soldiers ... yes please suspend the incredulity for a moment) ... and then we found out how he ended up in the negative zone and now the zone is controlled by ex-Fantastic Four foe, Blastaar who apparently has finally declared himself king after Annihilus has disappeared ...

What about the rest of the GOTG? We get snatches of Mantis, Dog and the Roccoon along with folks like Groot giving a hard time to others while screaming and fighting away but by far the most interesting is Warlock in his new guise of almost emotionless statue like look ... him going after the Universal Church of Truth and their "Believe" power ... and finding out what the F is going on after all with so many players and so many possibilities

But finally this ending? Awesome. You see back in main Marvel U ... thanks to Civil War, there is a prison called 42 and it has its claws from our regular universe to the negative zone ... so in order to breach and conquer our universe ... all the negative zone denizens require is a way into this 42 ... and BANG they will be on Earth ... so will Peter do as he is told or will he ...??? Read and find out

Ratings: 7/10

290. Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 #7 ... Marvel ... (2008) ...

Okay enough Wolvs and Spiders. Let's look to the stars and the surprising hit movie of last year from Marvel - GOTG. I will be honest here. I am a huge fan of the first comic series of which the only person to make an appearance is Yondu. Now Yondu in the comic is a mystic zen type of priest and the Yaka arrow that he controlled by whistling is equally special. However, even though I am reading and collecting comics for 30 years, I am not a purist and am open minded enough because when I go to a movie, I want the movie to be entertaining and not just following the comic blindly ... and of course for the movie to succeed because if it does, there will be more movies and comics to come ... and what a relief that the actual movie was even better than the comic!

But hey this is not a review about the movie

So the first arc of this launch was good. In issue 7, we first have a switchover of artist and while I have nothing against this new chap but opening arc artist was just plain awesome. So suddenly the series felt like it dropped. However, for those of you reading this on a back issue basis or trade, please note that this version of GOTG was running when Marvel was trying to resuscitate its space/ cosmic corner of the comic-verse. So in short almost every arc is either a part or side players for whichever series was running and this is no difference

What is odd is the first few pages where we see the original GOTG and wondering WTF before we are shown that its memories from the female one-who-knows

 Naturally before this is developed further, it's time for fisticuffs. So cue next scene and we see some of the guardians kicking up a storm with the villains of the day some gigantic sized and not so giant sized aliens but it's all good ... cos they are more like grunts no matter how they look ...

Who then is the villain of the piece? It comes at the end ... and not so much of a shock as ... a part of the storyline ... somehow it felt kind of flat. Read it and see what we mean

Ratings: 5/10

289. Ultimate Spider-Man vol 1 #15 ... Marvel ...

After that stunning cliffhanger of a conclusion, is there any doubt that anyone who read issue 14 would pick up 15 be it to buy or to read in the shops? Nah! That's how a cliffhanger should be and so in this issue we pick straight up with school buddy/ bully/ potential friend testing out his theory

Of course, we have the ongoing development of Doc Ock slowly/ fast developing into a super villain but you know, for all the fact that there needs to be a fight every now and then, for me, as a reader who is not a fan of Spidey, I find myself looking forward to more and more of the life of Petey than Spidey but hey it's all good!

And it's a bit of a laugh when Peter is soooooooo one step ahead of Kong ... while the chicks - damn - they come out of the woodwork to give Petey some support ... but where's Spidey since Ock hasn't come on a rampage?

Well, they give us something minor so that Pete can costume on ... but who cares?

Sad to say when I reach the last page, where Ock is going to make his major move, I was feeling kinda m'eh in terms of this cliffhanger ... as it's just run of the mill villain time

Ratings: 7/10

288. Ultimate Spider Man vol 1 #14 ... Marvel ...

Firstly, check out that cover! Rarely has Doc Ock look so good. Usually he is depicted as an overweight loser, in a bad costume, bad attitude, horrible speech patterns and that hairstyle!

Here, in this issue, we get to see his origins, more or less from a famed scientist with an experiment gone wrong and these metal arms that he used as part of his ongoing research ... now grafted permanently to him and responding to his commands and what did our psycho do once he regained consciousness? Why? A rampage (yeah right)!

But more importantly for us in this issue is not Doc Ock

Heck it is not even Peter going through the motions of a day in the life of ... but two things:

1. Gwen stacy ... she who is famed in real Marvel U ... for dying in a fight between Webs and Gobs
2. How Kong, fat bully in Peter's school, day dreamed with a copy of a mag (that has Black Widow on it!) ... suddenly found his wandering mind typing together Pete with Spidey! And that is the last page of this comic! Definitely wanting you to go try this comic
, eh?

Ratings: 8/10

287. Wolerine vol 2 #24 ... Marvel ...

See? We didn't lie. We intersperse a Wolv review with others in this case Ult Spidey and now we are back for one issue, review, okay? Hehehe!

O yes this is the 24th issue in vol 2 but because Millar came in not on a clean slate, he wisely chose to ignore and focus on the storyline. So no double sized issues, no special happenings, no enhanced covers - just great chapter in the continuing arc of Enemy of the State!

As the cover indicates, this time, after the mass killing of grunts in previous issue, SHIELD enlists some aid in the form of those they believe Wolvie may go after so that everyone works together to counter the villain that is our Wolv-ster and in this case, it is DD ... and to our utter surprise, the battle or fight between these two turned out to be quite awesome ... even though you know who will win

Awesome artwork, storyline and pacing - just plain awesome!

Ratings: 9/10

286. Ultimate Spider-Man vol 1 #13 ... Marvel ...

Have you ever thought that a comicbook can be so enjoyable even if they ape a one-act stage/ theater production? If your answer is no, please give this issue a try. As the title so aptly describes, it is about confessions

What confession?

Peter decided to SPOILER ALERT tell Mary that he is Spider-Man and so we open with him in his bedroom talking to Mary, his current squeeze in this Ult-verse of his life. And naturally she initially disbelief him only to change her mind when he had to prove to her

Of course since he is still a young teen living with his aunt, she barges into his room and life every now and then ...

And that's it! That's the entire issue and we read it so fast turning page after page and was so surprised when we reached the end! Wow! A quiet issue that works. A rarity to be treasured, for sure!

Ratings: 8/10

285. Ultimate Spider Man vol 1 #12... Marvel ...

This is it! The big one! Issue 12! And like the first issue of this comic, it comes with no fanfare. No enhanced cover, no double or triple sized page counts no nothing! So what makes it special? Honestly nothing except awesome cover, storyline and artwork! And since it work so well for the first 11 issues, why change a winning formula, eh?

And once again, it works!

This is the culmination of all the big baddies Ult Spidey has encountered so far ... whereupon we have him in the Kingpin's headquarters ... battling lame ass Enforcers gang and the Electro villain ... lots and lots of action panels including even all out fight with the fatman himself although I wonder how Kingpin can break himself out of Peter's spider-webs ... I mean fatman is strong but not that strong!

And the ending?

Wow! What a great ending ... with Kingpin vowing to definitely make a comeback and getting even on a big scale ... you know you are just going to have to buy the next issue if you have been reading this as it comes out! Sigh! Awesome-ness!

Ratings: 8/10

284. Wolverine vol 2 #23 ... Marvel ...

After this review, we will most likely at least have a break between each Wolverine issue, fair enough? So please DO NOT leave us. Waaaaugh! We need your readership and support to keep this blog going on and on and on ... after all, comic collecting and reading is such fine fun!

What makes this issue awesome? Look at the cover. Basically it's Wolverine carving up grunts' time and it reminds us of all those war comics where the best is when there is all out carnage with the villains of that particular comic getting their butts handed to them be it the Nazis in WW2 or those goons in afternoon cartoons with Japanese type robot heroes

Here, after the ride and fast fight with the FF, Wolv manage to escape and be on his way and while everyone is getting more and more antsy, who should run into him but a bunch of grunts? So it's cut, slice, dice time! YEAH!

Ratings: 9/10

283. Wolverine vol 2 #22 ... Marvel ...

Hey hey hey ... when it's so good, you just need to have more reviews and if you are not a fan of Wolvie, do please skip today's entry, yes? Thanks!

And as for the rest of you, from this cover, you know whose turn it is right?

So basically the whole Marvel U ... or at least those residing in New York have been alerted about W's condition and everyone is in lockdown mode as they do not know exactly what W's agenda is or where he will strike next although there are a few potentials and possibilities

And as the cover tells us, inspite of the precautions, our friend W managed to sneak into FF HQ without Reed Richards being aware. Now we know W is great at a lot of things but how the F did he get around Reed and his scientific gizmos? I mean, come on!!!!

But aside from that, this is another good read and by the time the pages are up, you will be left wanting more ... this is one of those instants that even if you have the floppies, it's still nice to have the TPB ... and also the digital copy to read and re-read!

Ratings: 8/10

282. Wolverine vol 2 # 20 & 21 ... Marvel ...

After finally picking up steam in his second volume, Marvel made the right creative change bringing in Mark "Civil War" Millar and artist John Romita, Jr. And with the pair of them, the action octane and the "best there is at what I do" suddenly gave us the whole picture. You know how Wolvie always promises so much tough guy talk and minimal violence scene?

Here? No holds barred, people! About the only thing that actually makes the violence less gory is JR's artwork with its clean lines and almost cartoony figures that packed so much emotion and life!

So what's this arc about? Basically it is the first of 2 joined arc - this is Enemy of the State where Wolvie gets kidnapped and somehow (we won't SPOIL it) brainwashed into serving the Hand (lame ass ninja assassins). And in turn, this means he goes out recruiting selected super-powered villains and heroes for the Hand while simultaneously cutting through those who stand in his way ... and what a lot of people that is and is going to be!

After the arc is over will be where Wolvie stands on the side of the good but for these 2 issues?

Enjoy the violence!

Ratings: 9/10

281. Wolverine vol 2 #13 to 19 ... Marvel ...

You know how some artists are so perfect for some storylines but then looks kind of average on others? Honestly, when they launched this volume of Wolvie ... in the previous I started collecting regularly for 2 years ... but the first look from this, from artist Darick Robertson ... made me drop it! I never even finished reading the first arc ... but ... yes there is a but ... when Robertson did the Boys ... he was PERFECT ... and whenever he wasn't on it, I felt that the series' quality drop! Go figure!

Anyway, that's not so relevant to this arc. All you need to do is our main man, Wolv is minding his own business but as usual, skullduggery abound with people in suits potentially after Wolv and they are recruiting Creed to take him apart or take him down!

We all know Creed by now ... he will have his own agenda and only crazy silly people will go with him!

So the fun begins with everyone chasing after Wolv ... but on a more important point, there is also a female with claws but ... who behaves more animalistic that either Wolv or Creed. Who is she, and how is she tied to their tale?

And lastly, in the final issue, we have fuzzy elf, Nightcrawler guest-star ... even though his inclusion feels unnecessary and tagged on to boost sales

Ratings: 6/10

280. Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 ... Marvel ...

Firstly, this is after the BIG Ultimate universe event called Ultimatum in which Magneto turned the Earth on its magnetic pole causing huge global catastrophe with many people dying including heroes. So the landscape of the Ultimate-verse is changed forever! Seriously!

What happens next? Well, here in Spider's corner, this is what happens next as life resumes and people are trying to go back to normal like going to school. We get glimpses of the various supporting cast including JJJ who is now confused because he did witness Spidey saving people during the disaster. LOADS of emotions going on ...

Even at home when Peter SNOGGED someone ...

And to add to the happy mix, as per the cover, we have a few more guest-stars popping in including Iceman and the Human Torch

All in all, that's what this first issue is about ... it's an aftermath issue ... and villains can take a back seat along with the scheming and planning ... there is a new artist ... but in this light and more upbeat issue, it works so well

Ratings: 7/10

279. Ultimate War #1 to 4 ... Marvel ...

When Ultimate-verse started, it was very self-contained and didn't explode with a ton of series. There were only a few like Spider-Man and X-Men and subsequently we have Fantastic Four and the Ultimates (Avengers) ... so each series came out on their own basis with the occasional guest stars only but the writers and artists? Excellent!

So when the first official cross over limited series came, Ult verse decided to do it in a big way as well and what bigger way than to have all out fight fest between the X-Men and the Ultimates and that's what this series is all about and who better to be the artist than superstar Chris Bach?

In this series, Chris showed what he is truly capable of and yet editors manage to contain his style so that it doesn't get overly convoluted with all sorts of details and clutter (mind you I am a big fan of the Bach!)

Anyhow, what's this about?

Magneto!

Apparently he opened up the series with a HUGE attack on the human population destroying public facilities and human lives and under TV glare! And what happens next? Well naturally the so-called human response is to go after him but pissed off because they all thought Mags is gone ... dead ... and surprised to find that Prof X used his powers to cloud all of their minds. Naturally they call in the Ult to handle both X and Mags!

And as for the X people? Well they are in a mess themselves because this is Mags and they are wondering how they can also salvage their PR with the humans

While the art is good and the promise is a lot, the pay off, the big battle fell waaaaay short! You read the first three issues and there are action ... just not the big fight that you expected and then the final issue? A let down. That is the biggest disappointment here. No real war or even a small skirmish! Sigh!

Ratings: 7/10