2.99 (464) Secret Wars II #3 ... Marvel ... #Avengers

Once more, there is an awesome cover to save this book but once again, this book fails because too much happens off this book itself and none is more apparent than the last page where the Beyonder wanted to see the Avengers only to discover that they are busy in space and dear old Jarvis has no idea when they will be back. What does the Beyonder do? Well, if you only read this book, you will have no idea because one panel he disappears and the next panel he is back depressed and saying "I really made a mess of that ..." whatever that is. See what we mean?

Horrible

But as the cover indicates, this is a tale about the Beyonder learning about humanity's greed for power and control over others except that once he is aware of this, there is no limit to him and thus he even tries to go down to the molecular or atomic level!

But we are skipping too far ahead. The tale opens with the Beyonder learning yet something new - fatigue and sleep. So he sleeps on the sidewalks. However, there is one weakness here in this tale yet again. When he was disturbed by the policeman, we get a recap of how he came to be here. Then later he recapped once more when others asked of him! Ugh!

However, what is more important is that in this issue, he first came across a prostitute ... who naturally has a pimp and sensing opportunity the pimp took him under his wings ... and naturally, the Beyonder outgrew this chap in mere moments (or pages as this is a comic). However, for a human, we can know satisfaction but for the Beyonder all he needs is desire for something and it happens. So he can easily control everyone and when he does that, the happiness doesn't last and he finds himself empty

And so he goes back to talk to all those who brought him upon this road ... and in order to do so ... he needs to release freewill back to them ... and towards the end ... one of these encounters is going to spark him on the road to issues 4 and 5 ... SO no SPOILER ALERT  required as we will not reveal it here

Ratings: 5/10 (again saved by the cover)

2.98 (463) Secret Wars II #2 ... Marvel ... #ironfist

Issue 2's cover is a huge improvement over the entire artwork of 1 - just check it out on this page! Loved, loved, loved it! Unfortunately, while art may have improved, the storyline is still continuity heavy!

At the end of 1 and some of the crossovers, the Beyonder learns that physique is important to convey the right message. His first which is an amalgam of the uniforms of heroes and villains is a confusion and scares people. So he chose Steve Rogers as it seemed that Captain A commands respect. Obviously, it goes deeper than body shape but the Beyonder is like a child at this stage and the opening pages convey this perfectly!

From one scene to the next, he tries to understand sensations and some are quite funny. Example: when he learns that the emptiness he feels is hunger and he tries eating ... except he cannot distinguish between what is to be eaten and what is not!

Now we come to the crossover bit. While the Beyonder waltzes through the city, we see people in a riot and this is thanks to what is going on in FF. However, here it serves more as a backdrop i.e. unnecessary except to get us to buy FF. Sigh! Seriously, at first their issue serves as a backdrop and even when he actually encounters them, it feels unnecessary and forced upon

NO SPOILER ALERT

On the cover we see Spidey. So Spidey's contribution is that since the FF is busy, the Beyonder decides to go to Peter for advice and while some are helpful such as going to the WC (we kid you not), others not quite so

And then there's Power Man and Iron Fist - back when their own series was coming to an end and here is because the Beyonder was asked to go to them for protection (not that he needed it) and advice. And he learnt that there must be payment for services rendered ... and you should see his logic about translating from payment in cash to something ... else ... hehehe!

Ratings: 5/10 (saved by that cover)

2.97 (462) Secret Wars II #1 ... Marvel ... #mutants

With the enormous success of the first secret wars, can there be any doubt that there would be a sequel? No. However, it is so popular, that the title has been shortened and the Marvel Super Heroes has been dropped

Herewith is chapter 1 - where we see the entity that originally assembled the Marvel Heroes has not actually given up on his objective when he permitted everyone to leave his battleworld planet. In fact, so disturbed by he/ it on what he has seen that he felt the only way he could understand is to experience humanity on its own turf

The main challenge I had with this series is the rather rushed artwork. One would think that with such a hit series, they could have assembled a team that takes a bit more time in the work but I guess Marvel at that time decided to cash in as fast as they could and thus this is the result. It's very workmanlike ... not saying bad, mind you ... but if you read it, you would know what we mean. In addition, the reviews at that time, were not so favourable although for me, it is generally a hit as it has more "philosophy" going on in this second series and many things for us readers to ponder upon

I guess if I were to say what's bad ... is the fact that the crossovers are everywhere in this second series ... and you really do need to read them to get the whole picture. Otherwise, it feels quite disjointed and rushed. Even this first issue is no exception

We opened the series straightforward enough with the arrival of the Beyonder to Earth and naturally the first person he made contact with is the Molecule Man as to the Beyonder, this is the first guy he knows who has powers anywhere near his. He is also puzzled why with so much power, Owen Reece does so little and is happy to hide in suburbia watching reruns and eating junkfood with his now flabby gal!

Others who detected his arrival include folks like Prof X who seemed to be ill and managed to send out a distress telepathic call before fainting. This is where we meant by crossovers. You have to read the X-Men to find out why the professor is in this shape. Then you have to read the New Mutants to find out why and how they assembled the team to go after the Beyonder

Now with no one knowing what form the Beyonder would take, it is surprising to see everyone then attacking a being granted special powers by the Beyonder. Everyone here including the Iron Man and Captain America. Once more you need to read other comics to find out how this villain truly came to be and finally ... the abrupt ending. Sigh!

Ratings: 6/10 (lost points cos of artwork and continuity heavy)

2.96 (461) Marvel Super Heroes Secret War #5 ... Marvel ... #avengers

Inspite of what the cover promises (and it does deliver this within the covers), this is an issue that talks about relationship! And it starts a potential fight for affections between the Human Torch and new alien healer along with one other hero - yes we kid you not!

Now, there is so much going on here, that even in our last review, we had to hold back so much info in other not to spill too much of the excitement for you and part of that is when our heroes realizes that a revitalized Galactus is busy assembling his world ship and the machine for consuming the planet. It figures that Galactus now depleted needs a recharge

And of course if our heroes plan to interfere in anyway, naturally Galactus sends one of his many defenders to the planet surface to keep our heroes occupied. It is thus when the villains under the now more brilliant leadership of Doom attacks. And that's how you get that image on the cover

The Human Torch who was hurt in an earlier battle is being treated by an alien healer name Ezaji. Typical of the Torch, he then starts imagining and trying to have a relationship with the alien regardless of species limitations hehehe

Next up is the X-Men ... after the nonsense with Magneto being settled and Mags agreed to fight for the good guys, they went back to the heroes main camp only to see what is on that cover and you just know that there is going to be a battle royale

Another relationship that ends here is that between Mags and the Wasp

While we get a glimpse of Colossus missing Kitty, his missing partner now still on Earth just as they were starting on a relationship that seemed to have legs

See? A relationship issue amidst the action - awesome!

Ratings: 8/10

2.95 (460) Marvel Super Heroes Secret War #4 .. Marvel ... #x-men

The cover alone makes you want to buy this comic ... nay makes you, if you are any casual comic fan, feel that you simply need to buy this comic. I mean look at it. Everyone is trapped beneath the mountain and the Hulk is the only chap able to even give them a tiny bit of breathing space. You just know that the contents if it mirrored the cover even one teeny tiny bit is going to rock! And in this series, the cover is not misleading!

Once more, we open the issue with a huge explosion as we see the heroes fleeing when their base is attacked and destroyed (from issue 3) and while they are scrambling to get to safety and hoping to find new refuge, the villains decided thanks to newly created super woman Titania who hurled a gigantic piece of machinery after the fleeing villains ... that it is not enough (and rightly so)

What do the villains do? Why at this point their most powerful chap is the Molecule Man and he lifts and sends an entire mountain range after the heroes! Hence the cover!

Other things of note here would include the ongoing relationship between the Wasp and Magneto as they seemed to slowly be developing feelings for each other while in other parts of that war torn world, the X-Men are gathering their forces readying for their turn at war!

All in all, another great issue ... except for that cover blurb. We know that the Hulk can life over 100 tons but that cover states billions?!?!?!?!?

Ratings: 8/10

2.94 (459) Marvel Super Heroes Secret War #2 ... Marvel naturally ... #avengers

In view of the current ongoings in the mighty Marvel universe, where the real Marvel universe seems for the moment to have disappeared and all alternate dimensions (read that as popular storylines) now suddenly come crashing back onto the 616-verse, I thought it timely to check this - the first BIG crossover in comics ever and found out ... I never really reviewed the whole series

So here's #2

Firstly, let's check out that awesome cover where you get to see Magneto in all his furious angry self while surrounded by all the other folks that are going to make an appearance here. For those who really do not know what this series is about, shame on you! Hahaha! Just kidding!

Seriously, in short, one fine day, a mysterious object appeared in Marvel's 616 and curious superheroes who entered to check it out got teleported to a world that is constructed before their eyes from chunks of other planets. Then a mysterious voice from beyond said that if they were to conquer their enemies, they would get whatever they can dream of like a gigantic genie granting them wishes

Anyway, from those teleported, there are both good and bad guys and naturally each team separates and tries to find amongst them leaders

If you want something intellectually provoking, this is not the series for you. If you like your heroes and villains teaming up and fighting and switching sides all in the name of good fun, then this is right up your alley and we open the issue with the villains immediately attacking the heroes inspite of not being organized. So as expected they got their asses whupped

However, the more devious of the bad guys i.e. Doom did not join in the melee but instead followed up on something that happened in issue 1 i.e. the defeat of Galactus and thus trying to learn what he could about how Galactus was so easily beaten ...

And while all this is happening, in the heroes' side of the show, they scouted around and found a base for themselves. However, Magneto is in the picture as per the cover. So is it any wonder that another fight is brewing before the issue even closes? Hehehe! Good and loads of action all through!

Ratings: 8/10

2.93 (458) Spawn #3 ... Image ...

Someone asked me why I keep on doing reviews as I am now as of this review @ 458 but my readers are only in the thousands unlike other blogs. Well, the simple truth is that I am writing this for me and if others enjoy it (which I hope they do), then by all means, welcome onboard ... but like any other comic creator, we first have to have a passion. Otherwise, it will fizzle out the moment interest wanes and we will never improve to great heights

That being said ... I do hope that my readership grows because with readership, maybe some day, I can offer free hardcopy of comics as giveaways ... hehehe ... I have now over 10,000 comics in my humble collection

Alright ... we are now in issue 3 of Spawn's journey and this is an issue of amazing artwork as so many pages are filled with nearly splash page sized images and they are awesome! Especially final 2 page splash! WOWIEEEEeeeeee!

Aside from that, in terms of the story, we see progress (finally) as Spawn takes on Violator in his true form and not that of the fat fuck clown. Unfortunately our joy gets halved as we also waste time getting a glimpse of what happens when Al finally catches up to his other half in a fake human guise. Sigh! And finds out a mate of his is also her current beau. Double sigh! Enough already. We want the main event!

Ratings: 6/10 (because of all the pretty panels)

2.92 (457) Spawn #2 ... Image ...

And since we are on a roll reviewing comics that are not that mainstream, let's move back to Spawn. Okay admittedly Spawn was a huge success so much so that it eclipse at that time the so-called mainstream output from Marvel and DC for a few years always hitting the charts at the top few slots. And admittedly McFarlane's detailed kinetic drawings are just awesome to behold especially his covers and splash pages. So why do I rarely review his work?

Honestly, something about it doesn't appeal to me. With the exception of the adjectiveless Spider-Man run that I loved, the rest was just "entertaining". Sorry

Anyway, issue 2. After a huge sales numbers for 1, expectations run high for this issue and the cover alone makes it worth the price of the cover! Look at that cover!

As for the story itself, it is still on origin pace. We see Al Simmons hanging around rooftops in most of the pages still trying to figure out what the heck is going on, how he came back from the dead and what his powers are. There is a funny sequence when he tried to use his powers to make him whole again except that he then became white when he should have been black!

Aside from that, you have scenes of his main nemesis the Clown aka Violator. We see scenes of the Violator going after mafia scumbags killing them one by one ala Marvel's Punisher and not too sure why he is being such a nice guy instead of celebrating the villainy of the regular villains. While on the flipside, in his clown form, he was busy monologuing to an alley cat (we kid you not) ... sigh ...

The best part of this comic for us is for once the usage of TV screens and a print out of news segments because here Todd nodded in acknowledgement on the Dragon, Ninja Turtles and Youngblood and love the comments on changing of costumes!

Other than that, it's a wee bit slow ...

Ratings: 4/10 (would have been lower if not for that cover)

2.91 (456) Villains for Hire #2 ... Marvel ...

Seriously, I have no idea why they rolled this one out. I mean, Misty Knight and the Purple Man. Both are B list at best. Sure Misty has had some decent cameos, guest star, supporting roles - call it what you want but whenever she headlined anything be it with Colleen Wing or others, she has always never achieve moderate success. So what's with this new version, eh?

And here we see the continuing adventures of Ms Knight as her crew of villains go up against yet another job that belonged to the Purple Man and beating him at his game. So is she merely being the good guy using villains or has she decided to vie for one of the top spots of a Marvel baddie?

At this juncture, we know not except that someone who seemed to be her are pulling the nasty shots. And we even see that she is willing to put one in the back, literally, just to achieve whatever she wants. So it is an impressive issue ... not strong enough for her own mini or ongoing but enough to make us intereste in 3 next

Ratings: 5/10

2.90 (455) Wetworks vol 2 #2 ... Wildstorm ...

You know that saying, sometimes you shouldn't go back and revisit places where your memories are so beautifully stored and treasured? Sad to say, for me, in this case, Whilce should not have returned to Wetworks. What he did in volume 1 for his own issues was brilliant and him at the pinnacle of his artistry

This volume told several years later? Sorry, for me it feels like a nod to the first volume and while the story has deviated and evolved but it isn't sufficient to carry the series much and from a weak issue 1 to this, you just know it is going to be cancelled even if Whilce is onboard as artist

So in issue 2 we get more confusion as the plot develops. We see the old enemy from the first volume continue making their plotting and moves but an even more unknown villain makes its presence even more pronounced as it appears to have abilities beyond those of the Night Tribes. All this is of course necessary because our heroes are down to one of the original Wetworks member and assisted by an assortment of new bies that are from a more diverse background. Think of this as the original X-Men that received a much needed shot in the arm, so to speak, when it was relaunched with a more global cast except here ...

The vampire chic is to give it its token women in scantily clad clothing while Ab Death is to fill the quota of mysterious hero (with confusing speech pattern to boot), a weak assed alien or other dimensional cop of sorts and ... well ... you get the picture, right?

Ratings: 4/10

2.89 (454) Ultimate Fall Out #2 ... Marvel ...

For those who do not know anything about this issue, here is the set up. Basically in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, there comes a point in time, when a huge cataclysm hit their world and in one of the many battles during that moment, Spider-Man who is still a teen in this particular version bit the dust. So the title of Fallout is all about what happens immediately after

And this issue is very serious and sad

It opens up with a huge memorial service in a church where Aunt May is supported by family and friends and whom should offer condolences but the Ultimates led by Captain America. Anyone reading initially will thought that what Cap said is touching but trust the writer to upstage even that moment with an even more emotionally visceral punch via Aunt May. And the artist conveys it perfectly! That anger that was boiling just below the surface, the anger that spilled over and just explodes ...

And as for the cover with Thor? Well, that's something that is told as something of an aside where in the world of Thor, tragedy is something that is not the be all and end all for there is Valhalla, the hall where fallen heroes go to stay and it is like a virtual paradise/ holiday forever ... although shades of Loki do appear here and there

All in all a touching issue ... you can just pick this up to read on its own or follow the series. So well written that you are not left grasping at straws at any point in the pages contained

Ratings: 7/10

2.88 (453) Ultimate X-Men vol 1 #7 ... Marvel ...

When one arc ends, another begins and the title of this is Return to Weapon X. With that kind of a header, you will expect this to feature Marvel's most popular hero, Wolvie so why's the Night man on the cover?

Well, the Ultimate take on the Weapon X program certainly has a few surprises in store for us and indeed we open with Nightcrawler being pursued and this is one vicious Nightcrawler who can actually fight and not just stay cute and teleport with a gentle Bamf-ing sound only. Hehehehe!

But unfortunately, after this one great opening chase sequence, the entire issue goes downhill with lots of talking, reflections and some mumbo jumbo about Wolverine and what he remembers of the program. In fact, all this chit chat takes up more than 2/3 of the issue and then ... it ends ... asking us to follow them on the next issue. My answer to this is ... yeah, sure ... let's flick through a few pages first of the next issue before we actually buy it, eh?

Sorry Mr Mark Millar ... too much time spent on setting up

Ratings: 4/10

2.87 (452) Ultimate X-Men vol 1 #6 ... Marvel ...

And from one Ultimate title, we moved to another i.e. the world of the mutants simply because it seems that the powers that be in Hollywood seemed to deem that the world of movies can do with yet another movie coming next year on this particular corner of the comic-verse and so here we are at the end of the first arc in the Ult X - verse

While the first 5 chapters have some really wow angle moment scenes in terms of artwork and that unique palette of colours but all has been building towards this final issue and alas in terms of artwork, there is not a single scene that makes you go WHOA it's good don't get us wrong ... just nothing special for this wonderful ending to a great first arc

We see here the different of the mutant factions that as of last issue were spread across the globe ... broken and disheartened and we were wondering how they are going to cope when Magnus finally comes a calling ... and come he did with the entire Sentinel arsenal at his disposal ... think of the last X movie and you will know what we mean ... so perhaps that movie took a few pages of hints from this particular comic, eh?

But as fate or rather a good writer could manage it, everything turns at the right time. So when Magneto makes his move, each faction of the X-Men team come together at just the right moment to give Magneto shock after unexpected shock that left him literally scarred and reeling ... the ending is great ... not what we hoped for but acceptable and good fun

What more can you ask for, eh?

Ratings: 6/10

2.86 (451) Ultimate Spider-Man vol 1 #17 ... Marvel ...

From the last issue, one would expect this to be the big fight with Kraven, right? Right?

Well, guess what? The answer is no. Unfortunately for whatever the hell kind of reason, the writer and powers that be at Marvel decided to lure us in further and give us yet another issue full of ongoing development on all the various subplots instead of anything on a main issue focus

Hmm ... while last issue was interesting ... this issue feels like it's getting a little bit too much as there is no pay off yet ... and for a monthly ongoing series this is not good

So what actually happens here?

Well, first up let's talk about Kraven. We see that as part of his TV show, he is on a publicity bent trying to set things up including potentially faking certain things but hey this is TV, right? And then naturally all the supporting cast that gives Spider's verse such a warmth and inviting feel gets their fair share of spotlight space

And then finally the cover stuff ... well, this didn't happen even until the last panel. In fact, it was more of an Octopus making a move on someone else and dear ole Spidey getting dropped into the mix by accident and by the time you reach the last page you will be going WTF ... because the fight hasn't even started. Not even one panel!

Grrrr ...

Ratings: 6/10

2.85 (450) Ultimate Spider-Man vol 1 #16 ... Marvel ...

Our overall 450th review! Yipeeeeee and in comicdom, this means something special and for something special, we decided to jump back to Ultimate Spider-Man vol 1 back when it was just Peter Parker, Mark Bagley and that writer hehehe!

Check out that cover! Peter has never looked so good and so "real" like a geeky teenager!

In this issue, we see a number of subplot moving forward and in fact, the title with Kraven is only being developed and finally brought to the fore. But of such strength is the writing and artwork that the entire issue just slipped by and before we know it, we are at the end and going WTF ...

We didn't get the big encounter with Kraven yet ... instead we get to see Spidey and his ongoing problems with authority ... we see Gwen ... and we even get a bit of Octopus plus of course more on Kraven as he finally arrives in America to officially hunt Spider-Man as part of his TV show (yup he is a TV star so you know he is going to be a wash out kind of like the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 movie)

All in all, like we said, it is so well told and drawn that the issue is still highly enjoyable

Ratings: 7/10

2.84 (449) Wetworks vol 1 #3 ... Image ...

If you are ever a fan of Whilce Portacio and Image Comics, the first 3 issues of Wetworks volume 1 are as good as it gets. In fact, for me, rarely has Whilce been better before this or after this. I mean, I loved his X-Factor and Iron Man but here? Awesome and before his work on character faces and physique becomes "stock" style

In this, the third issue of the first arc, we see the final development of our mercenaries/ wet works crew as they transformed from regular humans to humans clad in a bio armour that is golden and learning about the strength and weaknesses of this new armour

And as the cover indicates so no spoilers here, one of the 'works discover that further mutation is possible although at this point, they do not know if it is their own body, their own body mixing it up with the alien golden material or purely the golden armour ... and that's what the fun is in a comic, isn't it? Keep us guessing so we come back for more

Oh yes the villains how can we forget? Well, it seems like though the villains are nasty and powerful, our 'works crew have no problem cutting all those fangs and claws to pieces and in quick time too. Heh!

The joy here is seeing Whilce's work and the 'works team more so than the actual storyline

Ratings: 8/10