2.114 (479) Red Hulk 2008 #28 ... Marvel ...

Thank you thank you thank you ... what are we thankful about? Certainly not the interior artwork cos that is still sooooooo bad (for our tastes that is) ... but the storyline because finally, the 2 tales merged into one

After the nonsense with Namor is over where the Red Hulk didn't get to return the nasty to Namor but instead got chucked out of the waters and hauled away by his own team (boo) ... he is sent to find what happened to the missing A-bomb aka Rick Jones, sidekick extraordinaire and came upon that monster island volcano

Naturally you can expect some joy from seeing all sorts of monsters and dinosaurs but if you have seen Jurassic World just this recent summer, then this is going to be such a bummer for you hahaha!

Anyway, as expected the creatures here are being controlled and so it is up to our 2 powerhouses to find out what is controlling them, the purpose of said control and naturally to turn the tables on those ... which is the intelligentsia ... which are already disassembled (get it?)

However, while we rejoice at the fact that the 2 tales are now one longer tale ... unforch ... the powers at Marvel seem to enjoy this and so they ripped the pages once more to give us back info on the Watchers ... and how something seems to be terribly wrong and all because earlier ... one of the Watchers was manhandled by Red Hulk ... hmmm I would have preferred them interspersing the actual storyline with this ... rather than split into a separate story ... makes it feel painful to read a subplot that is paraded as if it is a flip side tale .... but that's the old comic book reader inside of me bitching ... just ignore this bit, eh?

Ratings: 4/10

2.113 (478) Red Hulk 2008 #27 ... Marvel ...

Well, well, well ... this issue is a huge let down in terms of the main and back up tale. Basically you get more of the same and none of the so-called tense moments are real humdingers either. Since this is a review and not a preview SPOILER ALERT GALORE!!!

First up, at the end of last issue, we see Hulk sort of finally teaming up with Thor to tackle some outer space menace rock. Well, naturally as the Hulk did his share and as he couldn't fly, instead of being left to drift to his deserving end, Thor hauled his ass back to earth. Whooptydoda

Next up, before he can even finish a scrumptious breakfast (not) at base ... Banner has identified yet another threat from the Scorched Earth protocols and this time, it is beneath the sea. Why? So that we have chance to throw in another guest star in the form of Namor

And while the Hulk gives his all, the ending is cool as Namor like everyone else takes a chunk out of the Hulk but hey what about the A-bomb you ask?

Hmmm he continues to be the losing freak by having a loser time in every task he is assigned to and making a mess out of everything ... except that you get the feeling that in this tale at least there is progress for you see, after wiping up the floor with yet another brainless beastie this time Rick aka A-bomb gets swept up in a whirling sea thingie (think Pirates of the Caribbean) and before you know it, he appears in a world where ... there are dinosaurs!

Is this another entrance to the Savage Land?

Read it and find out ... or not

Ratings: 4/10 (ho hum art and story)

2.112 (477) Red Hulk #26 ... Marvel ... #hulk

Regardless of what goes on in the world of movies, every once in a world, a writer comes along that just understands the Hulk and with that, a new awesome run begins. The same has to be said when Ed McG (artist) and Jeph Loeb (writer) join forces for the beginning of the Red Hulk and from issue 1 onwards, it has been just that - awesome!

#26 is part 2 in a new arc where we have new writer and artist onboard who tries hard to spin a new storyline after the resounding success from Loeb. I honestly admit when I first tested the issues, it wasn't for me and I stopped buying the TPB until I found some online stuff ... and while I still wouldn't buy the TPB I did enjoy reading it because the stories while involving villains and heroes in spandex is no longer that cartoony as the first 24 issues ... and surprisingly Gabriel Hardman's harsher and more realistic lines made me missed Ed McG. Trust me when I say this ... I was not a fan of Ed while he was doing other books including Fighting American but this? Wow!

Anyway, in chapter 2, we see Red Hulk still assisting both Banner and Captain America in trying to shut down all the various end of the world scenarios coming online ... thanks to the defeat of the Intelligentsia i.e. Red's earlier villainous group ... as a small way of earning his way back to acceptable status with the rest of civilization

And here in this chapter they encounter a scientific research gone wrong with something absorbing across all humans it comes into contact with and transforming them ... think techno organic if you are a comic fan ... otherwise think Zombies and you get the picture

On the flipside, we see Rick Jones aka A Bomb continuing his efforts as well by trying to take down another monster terrorizing a city. It's weird reading the dialogue because the Rick of old is a wee bit more mature than this Rick who seems and sounds like the 60s or is that 70s Robin of Batman fame

Ratings: 5/10

2.111 (476) Avengers vol 1 #121 ... Marvel ...

The Zodiac like its name sake has 12 villains of which they are either super-powered or have weapons. They formed together to be some sort of supervillain crime cartel and supposedly aiming below the radar. However, they are more like a joke to the Avengers and each time they meet, if not for the running away and coming back again and again bit, they should be easily dismissed by the Avengers

This particular story arc is no different as it is continuing to see from earlier issue where Taurus finally reveals himself as the guy who is funding some of the weapons and nonsense for the Zodiac and he is in the midst of assembling the team trying to find out who is on his side 100% and who are the traitors ...

And naturally caught in-between their domestic problems are the Avengers as they sought to stop the Zodiac ... at first from activating his machinery/ weapon which is a gigantic ray gun atop a building (yaaaaaaaaawn) ... and then with the betrayal of one from the Zodiac they tracked the 12 down only to be caught ... flat footed ... (yaaaaawn) ...

Ratings: 4/10

2.110 (475) Siege #1 ... Marvel ... #thor ... Siege Prologue and Siege Cabal

If based on original numbering, we are at another milestone - our 475th review - woooowheeee! And to celebrate, we turn back the clocks to one of the more seriously comic-ky miniseries from Marvel in the past decade - Siege!

Siege is part of the Bendis-Quesada ongoing yearly shake up of the Marvel U in the sense that it has a core story that impacts a more focused group (which in this series is the Asgardians), a character (Bob the Sentry) and finally move the overall landscape of the Marvel U (replacing Osborn with Cap America)

So is it important? Yes but more importantly, is it exciting? O fuck yes!

Unfortunately I am not a fan of series artist Coipel. He gets the work done but somehow his figures appear slightly "lumpy"? Anyway it's still good reading and the variant by Joe Q is awesome!

A little background - over the years of publishing, we see Thor's world facing Ragnarok, or the end of the Gods quite frequently only to return. In this particular cycle, Asgard is not as populous as it once was and Odin is absent. In addition, the city of Asgard is no longer hovering in its rightful place in space of the Nine Realms but rather appear a few feet above ground level in Oklahoma, USA

Also, due to events in earlier miniseries, Tony Stark and SHIELD lost credibility and Norman Osborn he of the Goblin fame seized said opportunity and deposed Tony. Incredulous as it may seem, Norman now runs the world peacekeeping taskforce Hammer and his own team of Avengers all composed of homicidal maniacs posing as heroes

Finally the Sentry is a hero whose powers are never clearly defined in his own miniseries except the weird tagline that he has the power of a thousand exploding suns or some such which means he is super fast and super strong but has a split personality issue or perhaps there is seriously something darker called the void inhabiting him. He is created using retcon. His origins are said to have been in the Marvel U forever except thanks to the void, he is trying to submerge all info regarding said darker persona and thus the world have somehow forgotten about him (yes I know hard to swallow)

So in issue 1, we see Norman fast losing his grip on sanity once more as his own evil persona starts talking to him, literally and Loki, God of Mischief decides that he is in line to rule Asgard but in order to do so, he has to cleanse the house of its protectors, make it weak so that he can come onboard to bring them back to the Nine Realms

What does Osborn do? He goes to his Illuminati for help only to find that a few of them object including Doom and what Doom does to them is amazing but oh so Doom!

Now the above happens in an issue called Pologue and Cabal

By the time the first issue starts, the stage is set, Norman understands what he needs to do to get the party itself kicking since the Prez of USA didn't allow him to invade Asgard and they used Volstagg the Fat God as the stooge to create a scenario of unease and fear. Then they launched an attack on Asgard without regard for the Prez. He did it with his own Avengers and the Initiative (training ground) easily hammering hard into Asgard!

What an opening arc eh?

Told you this was the real thing

Ratings 8/10

2.109 (474) Captain America vol 1 #603 ... Marvel ...

The primary failure of this arc is that it is straightforward storytelling. There are no more subplots, no loose threads that are being built up issue by issue for a pay-off in the near future or being developed to becoming the main arc and that, I think is an indication that Brubaker is either running out of steam or preparing the way for the next writer by not leaving too many things for next fellow to cope with

Whatever the reasons, it makes one feel a little less excited by the tale because good Marvel tales have always had a fair share of subplots

In this particular issue, this is apparent. We get to see Bucky and Falcon doing their thing thinking they are smart. In their civilian guises, they pretended to be infiltrating the villain's lair while in their superhero costumes, they barged headlong and tried to take them down never realizing that fake Cap has known about their dual identities all along and is actually stringing them on. They deserved it - the arrogant pricks. Hahaha!

What is cool is that they forgot this is one Cap who is even faster and stronger than the original. This means when they faced each other, mano a mano, this Cap can beat the tar out of Bucky or Falcon and our pals got a taste of this bitter medicine in this issue

Ratings: 7/10

2.108 (473) Captain America vol 1 #602 ... Marvel ...

Somewhere along the line ... Marvel decided that issue 600 is significant and with that, Marvel resumed the numbering sequence of the original series and hence after the return of Steve Rogers from the dead (good timing) we see where the Cap series will continue. At this time, you can feel that Ed while still writing great stuff is really slowing down. The stories are still interesting though and this arc called 2 Americas is a great sign of that

Here he digs into old Cap mythos and found a guy who, at one time, was Cap himself as a replacement for Steve Rogers because America deemed that there was a need for a man dressed in the flag. However, the chemicals that gave him enhanced speed and strength also made him mentally unstable although aging is something he and Wolverine shared in common

And so, after the fiasco with the Skull, it is now his turn and he has found a group, fuelled mainly by rage at the conditions of modern America called the watchdogs to join him in his campaign to open up the eyes of the average American

And he will do so by acts of terrorism regardless of who he has to kill to get his way. Nowhere is this more apparent than the opening sequence where he and his people slaughter needlessly. So the stage is set for our modern Cap (Bucky) to tackle him and Bucky thought best to go undercover always forgetting that they have met before and this is one intelligent turkey who remembers him

Ah Bucky you know your fate in comics is but to die eh?

Ratings: 7/10

2.107 (472) Wolverine Weapon X #2 ... Marvel ... #wolverine

So ... if you finished with that first issue ... you know you want the continuation not to be filled with unnecessary filler material but with some pay-off. Does Aaron the writer deliver? Yes, he does. You can tell he himself must be a Wolverine fan because boy does he deliver

In fact, the opening sequence feels unnecessarily painful as he tries to give us a slice of life beyond what Wolverine is going through. So we get to see life in San Fran, the newsroom, etc all of which are booooooooooooring ...

The pace picks up when we see Wolvie tracking down the Ad Men. And when he does, he thought he initially got the drop on them as he plunge right in ... letting them know that he is seeking them and not the other way around. What a great fight sequence

However, more shocks are in store because Wolvie finds out that just as easy as it was for him to turn the tables, the same can be said to be true too. And that ending ... whoa ... you just know you are in for more claw action the next issue, eh?

Ratings: 8/10

2.106(471) Wolverine Weapon X #1 ... Marvel ... #x-men

There was originally a title called Weapon X that explores the mysterious ongoings of this project facility where Wolverine was subjected to in his younger days ... a process that laced adamantium to his bones and making him even more savage

Now you may be wondering why less than a few months have passed before we are talking about Wolverine again. Well, the reason is that while this particular spin off title is obviously trying to cash in on his popularity, what this does (in less than 2 years) is give us a Wolverine who is actually savage and shows us him killing others i.e. happening here and not off panel which is brilliant

Unfortunately the artwork by Ron Garney who has his own following is not to my taste

The title for this arc is adamantium men and you know writer Jason Aaron is just going to rock this like no other. In fact, it is such a great opener that the first pages without Logan making an appearance is fine as we get introduced to a scene in the jungles where the villains met an even worse group of villains

And where is our star character? Well if you wade through a bit further, he is sleeping off a drunken bout in a train. How cool is that?

Naturally it will not be long before he is summoned and dragged down into the mess that is the Weapon X program only to discover that someone has yet again activated the program and this time as the title suggests SPOILER ALERT there is potentially more than one chap besides him running around with adamantium within or a variation thereof!

Ratings: 7/10 (would have been higher if not for the art)

2.105 (470) Hulk vol 2 #50 ... Marvel ... #hulk

Firstly for those who remembered Deodato during the heydays of comics boom in the early 90s, he disappeared for a while before returning to Marvel comics and upon his return, his entire style of artwork has changed substantially to the point that you cannot tell it is the same man. I kid you not. This version is restrained and realistic, none of the cheesecake posturing and growling with spittle flying every which way!

And when he was teamed with Bruce Jones, apparently a long time writer of comics (sorry I didn't know him before this run), it is just plain incredible (no pun intended). You get a feel of intrigue wondering as each issue progresses what is really going on and what is the end game. We see Bruce being led and perhaps in cahoots with someone and naturally there is also the journeyman stuff from the 70s tv show feel here too which is just right. This particular run is also adapted into the 2nd Hulk movie starring Ed Norton which I loved and thought it great except for the special effects on the villain which was quite eeeeuuuuurgh!

Okay

The issue itself - we see once more members of the mysterious organization coming out to the dessert and trying to awaken and coerce a semi-dormant Abomination back to life and activity and initially, he merely laughed at them until they came back with something near and dear to his heart ... and then all hell finally broke loose ... but hey even before the Abomination comes free, the agents themselves proof to be equally nasty the way they infiltrated the base

And as for our star Bruce, well, he is walking through desserts unknowingly being led to a place near where the Abomination is ... and he stopped by a café for a break SPOILER ALERT ... never knowing that the café has food, clothing and even a hot chick for sex we kid you not ... and o yes a new version of Hulk Smash ... something colder, more eerie ... and the way characters are so intensely focus on each other is creepy

You never know from the words, the actions and the facial emotions of what else is hidden behind the surface

Ratings: 7/10 (would have been higher if we had a hulked out sequence)

2.104 (469) Captain America vol 5 #32 ... Marvel ... #marvel

Wow - that's the only word I can give to describe this issue if I were to be pressed for a one-word summary. Artwork, storyline, character development, plot complexity, action sequences - everything works so well here in this issue

For those who read the last review or issue SPOILE ALERT or haven't, the first opening page is great as it doesn't waste time forcing us to read a few pages before we come to the conclusion from last issue's cliffhanger where Dr Faustus wanted to test if Bucky is now back to his old mind conditioning or not by giving Bucky a gun and ordering him to shoot Agent 13!

Anyway, here we see the Widow and Falcon trying to track and rescue Agent 13 and Bucky and finally hitting pay dirt. So they go in hard and fast and we are shown how people with guns like the goons of Faustus are so easily laid to rest by folks like Falcon and Widow. Real cannon fodder there, mates!

And on the more exciting angle, we also see Dr Faustus trying to flee but in a dignified manner. He got everything and everyone in place just as Bucky broke free from his restrains and then we see a conflicting Agent 13 trying to determine if she should follow him, let him go or take him into custody. BANG she was awesome ... and if you thought the scenes of her putting him down was great ... wait a few more pages and see what she does while airborne. A complete switch around!

This is one awesome story!

Ratings: 8/10

2.103 (468) Captain America vol 5 #31 ... Marvel ... #captainamerica

One of the best run of comics in the last decade to come out from the house of ideas, for me, is Captain America. From his first issue right up to the point he moved on more than 5 years later, Ed Brubaker showed distinctly what a great writer can do for a man wearing the flag on his chest without the tales being crummy and cheesy ... and if you think I am wrong, well, the second Captain A movie has a story from his run, so there!

In this issue, if you are reading it from trade paperback, it is volume 2 under the banner THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA. Yup. They renumbered the TPB from that storyline onwards. Ah well ...

The tale covers every which way here as we start in the middle of a huge and busy storyline. We have Tony Stark not Iron Man catching up with a recuperating Falcon trying to figure out how far and how deep are the  Skull's plans while the Winter Soldier is still the Winter Soldier and being trapped by Dr Faustus who is in the employ of the Skull

Alongside them is Sharon, Agent 13 of SHIELD who has been conditioned by the same Dr so that while she is aware of who she is and what she should do, there is yet another persona almost like a second person living inside of her

The good thing about this issue is that it is flashback heavy. By this, we do not mean of the past issues but back to the war days as we see the difference between Cap and Bucky's way of operations. Of course, not everything is what they seemed

But in case you are thinking you can skip this issue, I do suggest you get it because that ending? What a cliffhanger. If you are reading this in floppies, it's guaranteed that you will want to come back for the next issue. SORRY NO SPOILERS

Ratings: 8/10

2.102 (467) Pitt #11 ... Image ... #pitt

Had enough of Marvel? Yeah, we thought so too ... let's move onto something more colourful in the form of early Image comics. I always wish that Dale had let others do more on this series but kept the artwork at the same level then we could have more than two dozen issues of this awesome series

In this issue, the cover is baby Pitt (hehehe) as we finally sees the real origin of Pitt and is told in an innovative manner. The guy who has been coming to Earth hunting for Pitt is named Quagg and he is in the employ of Creed's cruel brother and father and this time, as they finally battled it out with the outcome never in question i.e. Pitt's favour, Quagg did something unexpected ... he injected Pitt with a chemical that gives him a history of what has gone on before

And so we are invited to take a tumble back down to the planet where Creed Hybrid's are created with a glimpse at the scientist eggheads who created a new monster named Pitt. Then we are shown how sibling jealousy nearly destroyed Pitt if not for his own tenacity and his innate super abilities

And ... that's it ... that's the awesome thing about Dale's work. The tales always felt like so short but when you and count the number of pages, there are the same numbers. It is always focused more on pretty story telling panels that actual content. But you will find no argument here because those of us who collect comics do so for both art and story!

Ratings: 7/10

2.101 (466) Rom #2 ... Marvel ... #rom

From all those high of Secret Wars, let's go to a low on another space-faring title except that here the hero is from beyond coming to Earth whereas in Secret Wars, it is heroes from Earth going beyond. Gee how's that for an on-the-spot opening line? Not bad, eh? Heh!

Well, aside from the cover, this issue is average, at best which is a surprise since this is a new series and one would expect a lot to happen in order to capture readers' attention. As it has been a while since our review of this series, a quick recap is as follows:

Rom is a spaceknight - basically a human being from outer space who has sacrificed his humanity by merging into a metal alloy so as to combat a nasty alien race called the Dire Wraiths. Where the Wraiths can shape change and uses magic, Rom and his allies uses technology and after a long war, they managed to kick Wraith butt. However, as the Wraith flees into space, Rom and his team decided not to allow them the chance to ever grow in strength and so chase after them. Rom was the one chosen to come to our fair planet Earth while his brother and sister knights went elsewhere

In issue 2, we see Rom still failing to connect with the human race and making little attempt to do so. Hence as he is so focused on seeking out the Wraith menace and eradicating them, he made a huge mistake here as other humans think he is the alien menace coming to kill humans since the Wraiths are disguised as humans

Unbeknownst to Rom, they not only have civilian guises but have amassed political and law enforcement might as well. And so the Wraiths set others against Rom. Naturally as they used largely human weaponry such as police firearms, nothing does Rom much harm. Still what is apparent in this issue is more the issue of misunderstanding - a point that is repeated three or four times throughout

Well while there is a fair bit of action, when it is Rom against regular people, it is not that entertaining, is it? I mean, it is fine but I can see why in the issues to come this comic needed guest stars to prop it up

Ratings: 5/10

2.100 (465) Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #6 ... Marvel ... #secretwars, #avengers

Wooo-weeeee we hit our 100th review with this post in our second year. So finally we are doing things on a consistent basis. For me, personally, it is an achievement because somehow or other, I have always started and stopped and re-started things. Even this blog is a good example. There is an earlier comic blog that I started but not kept up regularly. So even though I may wish for more followers, what is more important is the sense of achievement and the discipline to finally do something properly

Anyway, for this our 100th issue, we jumped back to the first Secret Wars as it hits issue 6 the middle mark and so far, there is no let up in the formula. Great artwork, character developments all serve to propel  an action driven storyline and this is no exception

Basically, this issue serves as a breather so there is no big action sequences but hey in this series no big action sequences is still full of action. Example: in the opening pages we see the Wasp piloting a ship out of control and crashing in a magnificent explosion only to encounter a mentally deranged Lizard whose strength seems to be increasing and she has to use her charms to calm him down while inside Doom base as he continues to study and understand Galactus, who should intrude but Klaw, the master of sound whose mind is also altered thanks to his body being blown to its essential building blocks in other series? See? Lots of happening

Meanwhile, as Colossus recovers from his earlier beating SPOILER ALERT his dreams started merging between Ezaji the alien healer and Kitty Pryde while the Torch being who he is merely swoops down literally and picks up the woman of his current dreams right in front of an embarrassed Peter

As if that isn't all, we see that Prof X decides to take the initiative to attack the villains and all these came at a price of fighting with Storm who is naturally upset as the Prof has cast her official field leadership role aside at his own convenience. And ... what's up with the intelligent Hulk? He is continuing to show signs of aggression

O and to end this review or rather a review that gives you highlights of what is going on within, if you think the action is not intense, how about Rogue getting whupped? Or Wolvie slashing someone open leaving them near death? Hehehe! Awesome!

Ratings: 8/10