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