Word Cloud: Movie Quotes #18 (Monster Movies)
Battlestar Galactica S2 E14
Spoilers
“Black Market”
The black market of goods aboard the fleet is given some light in this episode that focuses on Lee and his recent struggles since the ejection of the blackbird.
Truth be told, the whole Apollo arch feels sloppy. Much of what was going on, things that seemed to be a huge problem for Lee felt like it just showed up now and did not seem to fit in to what I knew of the character. There were a bunch of things in this episode like that. One in particular is Lee who had been taking up with a prostitute on Cloud Nine, a prostitute who had a child. I was not sure where this was supposed to have come from and it was jarring when she was there.
It was the same thing about the flashbacks to Lee’s former girlfriend prior to the Cylon attack. I knew little to nothing about this woman and, because of that, I had little to no emotional connection to her.
I also was not sure about the relationship between Apollo and Dee. This did not seem like much of a relationship before. It always felt as if Apollo was more with Starbuck, and Dee was with Billy. Maybe I missed something important, but it just felt lacking.
The stare down with Apollo and black market head Phelan was intense and ended surprisingly. I kind of liked that, even if it felt like it went against Apollo’s character. At least that felt like a choice he made to make things better.
Overall, this was not a strong episode and felt as if it lacked the narrative that this show is used to presenting.
Bates Motel S4 E2
Spoilers
“Goodnight Mother”
I really love the relationship that developed in this series between Norma Bates and Alex Romero. Alex, who is anything but an angel, goes to such lengths to help Norma.
Freddie Highmore is exceptional. You can see how he is slipping deeper into his own insanity with every scene. Despite what we know of the eventual fate of Norman Bates, you can’t help but hope he makes it through.
That said, Norman’s mental break this episode was absolutely frightening. You could tell that Norman really believed that Norma was the person who had killed all the other women, even though none of that made any sense. It just fueled his rage and Highmore was compelling the whole time.
The show then juxtaposed Norman’s story of downward spiral with the new hope given to Emma after the lung transplant. The scene of Emma taking her first breaths in the hospital was just as powerful and engaging as the scenes of Norman and Norma.
With all her flaws and lack of trust, Norma Bates truly loves Norman, which makes everything that goes down here even more tragic. Bates Motel succeeds dramatically at making Norma Bates a deeply three-dimensional character and the fact that she winds up dead and in an attic is even more tragic. It provided even more layers to the film Psycho than it had before.
The X-Files S6 E16
Spoilers
“Alpha”
It has been about a year since I started this X-Files rewatch and we have enjoyed some really great episodes. When The X-Files is doing well, few shows can match it. Sadly, there have been several clunkers during this time frame as well, which included the current episode, “Alpha.”
There were some ideas in the episode that could have worked well. It just felt run-of-the-mill and as if the execution of the overall story was just underwhelming.
Several concepts that did not work, that could have worked better with a different script, included the weird “love” angle between Mulder and the canine expert Karin Berquist. While the character of Berquist was quirky and different, her motives were messy and convoluted. Another concept that did not work was the villain and his entire plan, as it were. Dr. Ian Detweiler was initially shown to be the man who captured and imported the dangerous dog, which we first seen locked in a cage on a boat. Later we find out that Detwiler is the dog himself and can shapeshift. How this happened was never discussed and none of this made any sense.
Worse yet was the finale, the final confrontation between Berquist and Detwiler, which was simply laughable. The cliche of a werewolf being impaled on a fence spike is used here in just the most painfully obvious manner.
I didn’t understand why any of this was happening and nothing made sense. It felt as if the entire story between Mulder and Berquist was just constructed so Mulder could get his “I Want to Believe” poster back after his own one burned in the fire set by CSM at the end of season five. Somehow, Berquist had the same poster and somehow, someone sent it to Mulder to have… for no apparent reason.
Season six has had some highs, but it has had its shares of lows too. “Alpha” is clearly one of the lows.
EYG Comic Cavalcade #113
September 1, 2024
2024 is flying by. We’ve reached September already, and, before you know it, we’ll be ringing in 2025.
We are currently running the EYG Hall of Fame ballot on the main page. As I was thinking about that, I realized that I should have announced the EYG Hall of Fame Comic Wing Inductees for 2024 in the EYG Comic Cavalcade. I inducted the following earlier this year: Avengers Annual #10, Saga #54, Future Imperfect #1-2, New Mutants #98, Top 10 #8, The Boys #1, and Tales of the Teen Titans #44. Congratulations to this year’s class.
EBay pick ups this week included The Tick #11 from the original run of comics from New England Comics. I am down to just two Ticks from that first series missing in my collection. I also had some trouble with an eBay seller who apparently couldn’t find two of the books that I had purchased from him. He wanted to replace the books with a couple of other books. This was the second time this had happened, so, just because I was annoyed, I said fine. In the end, he did find the two books I wanted and he also sent me the Amazing Spider-Man variant #666 for free. In the end it turned out acceptable and I got the Amazing Spider-Man books (#554, 632,659,660, and 662) I had ordered.
Books from this week:
Something is Killing the Children #40. “Road Stories Part Five” Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated and cover art by Werther Dell’Edera (Bronze Medalist). This might have been my favorite book of the week as Erica goes through the memories of one of her most traumatic monster fights that ends with an unspeakable tragedy. This “Road Stories” has been some of the best stand alone issues of the series so far.
Last Mermaid #6. Written and drawn by Derek Kirk Kim. The final issue of Last Mermaid, for now. This book has been an amazing one, with beautiful art, with sweeping imagery filling each page. The very end of the book lists a “To Be Continued” tag so it tells me that we may not be done yet with the story of the Last Mermaid.
Life #1. Written by Brian Azzarello and Stephanie Phillips with art and cover art by Danijel Žeželj. DSTLRY have been doing some of the most creative and original books. Admittedly, the release dates of them have been a bit… scattered, shall we say. However, Life#1 has two stories and two covers and brings some solid sci-fi storytelling to comics.
Hello Darkness #2. This anthology series continued this month with a bunch of stories from the horror genre. My favorite one this issue is probably “The Clown” by Azam Raharjo. I love the stylistic black and white this story is presented in. There are other stories from Frederik Hornung, Wes Craig, Robert Hack and Garth Ennis.
X-Men #3. Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Ryan Stegman. Cover art is by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Marte Gracia. Scott Summers has a meeting with Agent Lundqvist in a little coffee house and they have an intense discussion about the X-Men and the future. Scott end the issue looking as if he were having a panic attack. The new X-books have all been very solid to start and I hope they can maintain this quality.
Aliens vs. Avengers #1. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art and cover art by Esad Ribić. I wonder if Jonathan Hickman can ever write a Marvel story inside of continuity? With the resurgence of the Xenomorphs on the big screen, a conflict with the Avengers feels right. This book was pretty good too.
NYX #2. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and art by Francesco Mortarino. Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee did the art on the cover. Young mutants are being lured to the control of the mysterious Mr. Friend and Laura wants to do something about it. A surprising villain is shown as being behind Mr. Friend.
Fantastic Four #24. “If It Wasn’t Forever…” Written by Ryan North and art by Carlos Gomez. Cover art by Alex Ross. Marvel’s First Family continued with the adventure from last issue by trying to help save a little tentacled alien that was choking Johnny Storm. I was not as fond of this space story as I have been of the rest of this run of FF. It was still a competent read.
Saga #68. Written by Brian K. Vaughn and drawn and cover art by Fiona Staples. There are so many awesome characters in Saga that you could go issues without seeing them and not miss out on anything. Saga is one of the easiest and yet most involved reads every month and I am so glad that it has come back to a regular release schedule… hopefully for the foreseeable future.
The Nice House By the Sea #2. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Alvaro Martinez Bueno 9Gold Medalist). The group of people together at the end of everything continue to interact and show more about their characters. They are doing that while wild things are going on around them. Tynion IV still one of the best writers working today and this is a great example of his work.
Deadpool Team-Up #1. Written and drawn by Rob Liefeld. Liefeld and Juan Manuel Rodriguez did the art for the cover. Deadpool fighting dragons? Yes please. But I will be honest and say that the biggest draw of this series is the appearance of Crystar, Lord of Crystallium. I was shocked when I saw him on the cover back in the Previews because I knew he was based on a toy and I did not know that Marvel had the rights to the character. I bought the Crystar books when they first came out and I like the character a lot.
Universal Monsters Frankenstein #1. Written, drawn and cover art by Michael Walsh. This is the third series of Universal Monsters from Image, following Dracula and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Frankenstein is one of the most iconic of all monsters and this fresh take blends the classic bits of the story with some new takes that really work.
Amazing Spider-Man #56. Written by Zeb Wells with art by John Romita Jr. Cover art was by Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz. This is Legacy number 950 for Amazing Spider-Man. I still wish they would just leave the legacy number as the number of the issue, but who am I? I love it when Peter shows how smart he is and he does so when Tombstone tries to deliver a message to Spider-Man by killing his “friend” Peter Parker.
Captain America #12. “The Last Stand of the Front Door, Part 1” Written by J. Michael Straczynski with art by Jesus Saiz. Taurin Clarke did the art for the cover. I am not a fan of this Cap and the demons and this weird door story that has been going on through the Captain America series recently. I hope the “Last Stand” doesn’t take them too long.
X-Force #2. “Igubu Lika-Anansi” Written by Geoffrey Thorne and art by Marcus To. Phil Noto did the variant “Disco Dazzler” cover art. X-Force heads into Wakanda to confront someone claiming to be Black Panther. I do like this new team, but I really do not know the characters very well. I hope to learn more about them as this series progresses.
Ultimate X-Men #6. Written, drawn and cover art by Peach Momoko. Shadow King makes his appearance in this book and it takes an intriguing turn. I am not 100% sure I know what happened, but I do like the seemingly bizarre twist that the book took. I still love how this book is so different than any other X-Men book we have and how this Ultimate book is not just the same X-Men in a different setting.
Drawing Blood #5. Written by David Avallone and art by Ben Bishop. Kevin Eastman did the art on the cover. Shane “Books” Bookman is facing all kinds of troubles. Now the FBI wants a piece of him. Books has to try and weave through the Lithuanians as well as keep his comic publishing company afloat. Oh, and he has to go to Hollywood. While this series originally was not one I looked forward to, by now I am into it and I have enjoyed the last several issues quite a bit.
Void Rivals#12. Written by Robert Kirkman and art and cover art by Lorenzo De Felici. I just complained last issue that things were starting to feel repetitive with this series. So this issue, Solila and Darak head in their own separate directions, with their own missions to complete. We get a powerful goodbye between these two who have spent the last eleven issues together and have developed something more than just friendship.
Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #4. “Haunted, Part 4” Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Paolo Villanelli. Mark Brooks did the cover art. Gwen is going through some troubles in 616 universe. It seemed as much of it was coming from Chameleon. Is it though?
Chasm: Curse of Kaine #1. Written by Steve Foxe and art by Andrea Broccardo. Leinil Francis Yu & Dean White did the cover art. Ben Reilly is back and the focus of this new series which includes his “brother” Kaine. There is also a intriguing appearance from the Eternal Druig and the Mole Man. Lots going on here.
Marvel 85th Anniversary Special #1. This featured a ton of writers and artists as Wolverine and Deadpool’s head take a special tour of the Museum of Heroism in the 85th Century. We get several shorts featuring such characters as Ms. Marvel, Spicer-Man, Excalibur, and a Moon Knight. Koore Andrews did the cover art.
Incredible Hulk Annual #1. Written by Derek Landry and art by Geoff Shaw. Cover art is by Salvador Larroca & GURU-eFX. What more could you want besides Hulk vs. Thanos for the Mind Stone? And you may be surprised who winds up with it. This also includes the sixth chapter of the Death Stone Saga written by Derek Landry and art by Sara Pichelli. Fury and Coulson vs. Nighthawk.
Zatanna: Bring Down the House #3. Written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Javier Rodriguez. Variant cover by Tula Lotay. The Zatanna series is getting stranger by the issue as we get a woman with rabbit ears and we follow her down the Bunny Well. This has been a weird series so far, as a book about using and not using magic should be. And it is only going to get weirder as John Constantine shows up on the last page.
Phases of the Moon Knight #1. “The Once and Future Knight” and “Crusader“. First story written by Erica Schultz and penciled by Manuel Garcia. Second story written by Benjamin Percy and art by Rod Reis. Cover art was by Mateus Manhanini. This is an anthology series that will tell stories of the different Moon Knights over the years. This one starts with the Shroud and ends up with the Moon Knight of the Old Crusades. It is an intriguing concept. I’m not sure there is enough to sustain this over time, but we’ll see.
Other books: Kill All Immortals #2, Nights #10, Killadelphia #35 (Silver Medalist), The Mammoth #3, and The Butcher’s Boy #4.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer
This looks really cool.
Word Cloud: Movie Quotes #17 (Baseball Quotes)
EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week
Week of August 26
It is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY once again. I got a ton of books this week and I have not had much chance to get to them much yet. But the Favorite Covers of the Week MUST GO ON!!!
I have zero Marvel in the top three this week. Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #4 almost made it.
Here are this week’s medal winners.
Bronze Medalist
Something is Killing the Children #40
Cover art by Werther Dell’Edera
A fascinating cover with Eric Slaughter front and center. Whose hand is holding the gun to her head? She looks to be holding a gun off cover too. It tells a story that I am very curious about.
Silver Medalist
Killadelphia #35
Cover art by Jason Shawn Alexander
One of the most interesting Killadelphia covers I have seen. The giant vampire in the back with the huge fans and the series of crosses. I also love the sideways red title up the side.
Gold Medalist
The Nice House By the Sea #2
Cover art by Alvaro Martinez Bueno
What a lovely, and yet scary, cover. The colors are beautiful. The shine across the face of the woman on the cover. It makes me wonder exactly what is going on and that is what a good cover will do.
Bonus Action Vol. 2 Ep 0
Spoilers
I was excited about the news of the return of Bonus Action. However, I was really hoping it would be played on another night than Monday. Simply put, my schedule is bad on Mondays for watching and hour and a half + show on YouTube. So I made the conscious decision that I would be watching this new season on Tuesday nights.
So I watched the first new Bonus Action and it turned out to be a lot of discussion on what is to come in Vol. 2 as well as what the individual players wanted their characters to go through or to face.
There was also a bit of a shock for me. I learned that there were some holiday specials with the group. I had no idea. Checking on YouTube, the holiday specials included “Midnight on Ever Clear” which was almost two-and-a-half hours long, and “Smackdown on the Solstice.” Each of these two featured three of the players in what is listed as “Odd Jobs.” I am going to try to find some time to watch these two videos, but 2 1/2 hours is a huge time commitment at this point. It would have been much easier for me around Christmas… or this whole summer break.
Either way, these characters are a ton of fun and I am pleased to rejoin their campaign, apparently around six months later from the conclusion of Vol. 1.
Only Murders in the Building S4 E1
Spoilers
“Once Upon a Time in the West”
Charles, Oliver and Mabel are back for another round of mystery as they slowly discover what we all saw at the end of the third season, that Sazz, played over the series by Jane Lynch, had been killed by an assassin’s bullet in Charles’ apartment.
Well, it actually took them awhile to find out about Sazz since her body was not in Charles’s apartment and had, apparently, been removed and taken to the building’s incinerator.
Charles had been getting worried about Sazz, since she took off without any notice and that she was not responding to him. There was one mysterious text, but it did not help soothe Charles’s anxiety.
Meanwhile, the threesome headed off to Hollywood when they received an offer which included selling their life rights to a movie studio so they could make a movie based on the podcast. They were introduced to the actors that would be playing them in the movie: Eugene Levy as Charles, Eva Longoria as Mabel and Zach Galifianakis. (By the way, this casting is inspired.)
Meryl Streep reprised her role as Loretta and she and Oliver had a lovely scene together. Loretta tried to talk Oliver into coming out to California with her as she was involved in a TV show.
Scott Bakula also appeared, running into Charles and confirming that Sazz had not shown up for the job of backing him, causing Charles to really start to worry.
This started with a really excellent episode. Steve Martin, in particular, was exceptional with his confused and worried state over his missing friend. Watching him dig the joint replacements from Bulgaria out of the incinerator at the Arconia was horrifying. The response on the text message moments later, as Charles mourned his friend, was chilling.
This has a ton of promise and I can’t wait for next week’s episode to see where they go with it.
The X-Files S6 E15
Spoilers
“Arcadia”
I remember loving this episode when it first aired. I still loved it after this rewatch, but it may have taken a slight step down. Still one of my favorite X-Files episodes.
Mulder and Scully going undercover as a yuppie married couple in a planned community to try and discover why people have been disappearing without a trace is a fantastic premise. It opens the show up to some funny moments as Mulder and Scully interact with each other and the neighborhood and its ridiculously strict rules.
This, I think, is a perfect episode to talk about something that I have truly noticed during this rewatch. I know there were people who thought Scully and Mulder were meant for each other, but this episode showed to me that they just did not have that lover connection. Each scene of them as a married couple, where there could have been sparks with their unrequited love, just lacked any energy and was played as humor.
I have never felt that Mulder and Scully had that “will they or won’t they” vibe of TV pairs such as David and Maddie of Moonlighting, Sam and Diane of Cheers, Richard Castle and Detective Beckett of Castle. I mean, I have no doubt that they loved each other, but more like brother-sister, or best friends. Heck, I would compare the relationship between Mulder and Scully more like that of Adrian Monk and Natalie from Monk. Closer than co-workers. Tighter than friends. Just platonic. Trying to do more feels uncomfortable, and that is the feel of “Arcadia.”
I do like the garbage monster which is revealed as a tulpa, a thought creature brought to life by the planned community leader Gene Gogolak, played by Peter White. However, the third act of the show sure seemed rushed. I think this concept could have been a two-part episode, although I know they kept those two-parters for the mythology episodes and not the monster-of-the-week affairs. I do think this could have worked as one in order to give a little more background to the monster and fleshing out the characters in the community more.
The comedic timing of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson is really great. They work in so many versions of this show. They are such solid actors. It just does not seem as if their characters are in love.
The Greatest American Hero S2 E2
Spoilers
“Operation: Spoilsport”
I think this was the best episode of The Greatest American Hero that we have seen so far.
I actually remember this episode from when I first watched it back int he 1980s because of what was different. In the episode on Amazon Prime that I watched today, there were several songs used as a soundtrack as Ralph and Bill raced around trying to prevent the launch of nuclear weapons via a computer program called Operation: Spoilsport. The nuclear weapons were intended to be a preemptive strike on the USSR and General Stocker (played by John Anderson) was behind the strike, bringing the story of Dr. Strangelove to The Greatest American Hero.
What I remember clearly about this episode was the use of the song “Eve of Destruction.” I believe it was the first time I heard this song and it was so much more powerful with this than the songs than the original songs that were on the version on Prime.
There was a definite thrill in this episode as the chance of a launch of nuclear weapons from a crazed general is a danger that loomed large in the 1980s. Ralph and Bill’s desperation fit right in with the tone of the episode, which still had its comedic flavor, but the humor was in its proper place and was not over used. The threat of nuclear war was real at the time and this story of two heroes doing everything they could to prevent it was epic.
Yes, the special effects are of the 1980s TV variety, but that is not the show’s fault. The storytelling was strong and these two characters reacted in ways that you understood.
Connie Sellecca was reserved for a phone call cameo, apparently since she was pregnant at the time.
We also saw the return of the little green guys who communicated with Ralph through the radio as well as through a dead guy (which was actually kind of creepy).
Great episode.
Battlestar Galactica S2 E13
Spoilers
“Epiphanies”
I am officially unsure completely which side is the good guys on Battlestar Galactica.
The second season has spent much of it so far making it shades of grey. The Cylons are being shown not just as machines that are evil and looking to destroy humanity. And the humans are being shown potentially as warmongers. This episode did not do anything to dismiss that idea. In fact, when they were attempting to take Sharon’s baby against her will, I found myself completely behind Sharon.
As I said, this is absolutely not a show about good and evil. The shades of grey are all over the place.
VP Dr. Baltar surprised me in this episode with his last minute saving of President Roslin. I supposed someone could argue that he was doing this only to save the life of Sharon’s baby.
I was not sure if Roslin was going to be saved at the end, but it does not surprise me that she was. She has been a major character and letting her die off in the middle of the second season would be a huge swing. The show is starting to plant the seeds of problems between Roslin and Baltar as she was having memories of seeing him with Number Six making out.
Then, of course, there is the nuclear warhead Baltar sent to Gina on Cloud Nine. Where is that heading?
The X-Files S6 E14
Spoilers
“Monday”
Some of the best X-Files episodes are the ones where they take a familiar premise from a movie or TV show and give it the X-Files treatment. We have seen movie/TV premises such as The Thing, Speed, Firestarter, Freaky Friday and Twilight Zone among others. This time it is Groundhog Day (although actually, according to Vince Gilligan, more of a Twilight Zone episode, specifically “Shadow Play” from 1961).
Mulder and Scully wind up in a bank near the FBI offices at the same time that a man with a gun (and a bomb) is there to pull off a robbery. It seems that no matter what happens, the bomb goes off killing everyone inside the bank.
However, the bomber, named Bernard, had a girlfriend named Pam and Pam was the one reliving the day over and again and realizing what was happening. She tried everything she could think of to stop the eventual explosion, to no avail.
The show brings up Deja vu in the middle, with Mulder telling Scully that all the terrible things that had happened to him that morning felt like had happened to him before. All Scully could ask was “When did you get a water bed?” which is a hilarious toss back to the two part episode from season six, Dreamland, where Mulder switched bodies with Morris Fletcher who bought the waterbed.
The show’s director does an admirable job of shooting each scene, which could have been very repetitive, in different manners and with different variations, which showed that things could be changed and was not just totally fate.
This was a nice blend of humor, which a lot of these premise episodes leaned toward, and serious drama. It was a very engaging hour of TV and has been a highlight so far of season six.
EYG Comic Cavalcade #112
August 25, 2024
Welcome back to the Comic Cavalcade! This is a little later this week because school has started and it is more challenging to find the time available to read the large number of books I get during a week. Still, I got through the pile this week in decent time.
Todd returned from Connecticut where he spent time at Terrificon last weekend. He got a issue of Spider-Punk signed for me by Skottie Young. He had a bunch of signed books for himself as well as other patrons of Comic World. Thanks to Todd for the effort he put in.
He also brought back four issues of Amazing Spider-Man volume 2 for me. ASM #4, 6, 8, & 11. I have been working on my Amazing Spider-Man collection and Todd has been very helpful with that.
Books this week:
Gotham Central #1-4. I watched the new animated program Batman: Caped Crusader and I saw a YouTube show that was talking about it and they made a reference to a DC series called Gotham Central, which focused on the GCPD and kept the Batman in the background. That sounded very intriguing so I was able to pick up the 40-issue complete series on eBay. I started reading these and they were really interesting. The collection of police officers and detectives of the GCPD dealing with the world of Gotham and its crazy individuals (such as Mr. Freeze in issue one) is fascinating and watching them trying to do their jobs without the aid of the Bat is a great take on the Batman mythos. This series is written by Ed Brubaker who has done some epic crime comics over the years.
House of the Unholy graphic novel. And speaking of Ed Brubaker, he wrote this recently released graphic novel dealing with the past of a group of people who were known, when they were kids, as the Satanic Six. Drawn by Sean Phillips, House of the Unholy has a cool perspective and several twists that push the story forward.
Standstill #1. Written by Lee Loughridge with art and cover art by Andrew Robinson. This is a brand new series from Image Comics that gives us a protagonist who seems to be able to freeze time. I have to say, the book is very thick and the panels are larger than I am used to in a comic, but that entire presentation works extremely well. This was a great issue and I am very excited to see this one continue.
Black Cloak #7. Written by Kelly Thompson and art and cover art by Meredith McClaren. Black Cloak returned with its next story arc after a long break. It is five years after the event of the first story arc, specifically the fire that ended the last book. Essex was out of the Black Cloaks but she is pulled back in to work on a case by her former partner. This is a very extensive world and being able to return to it is a treat.
Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #1-2. Written by Jay Kristoff and art by Tirso. Back up story written by Tom Taylor and featured art by Riccardo Federici. This is a DC Elseworlds series that I usually would not pick up, but the issue #2 intrigued me on the stand this week so I grabbed it and was able to find issue #1 too. This book does some awesome stuff dealing with black and white color design and the arrival of color is shocking. I do love Tom Taylor so his backup story was also a selling point.
Ultimate Spider-Man #8. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Checchetto & Matthew Wilson did the cover art. It is a birthday party for Richard and May. The Ultimate Spider-Man books have been heavily dialogue based so far and I do love the characterization going on in this book.
Man Goat and the Bunnyman: Beware the Pigman #2. Written by Joe Brusha and artwork by Jordi Perez. Cover art was by Igor Vitorino & Ivan Nunes. Phil and Floyd are once more in the clutches of Baphomet and must battle the forces of the demon to try and save themselves.
Blow Away #5. Written by Zac Thompson and illustrated by Nicola Izzo. Cover art by Annie Wu. This series comes to a close with Brynne determining what happened on that fateful night on the mountain, when she filmed what seemed like a mountain climber falling to his death. What she found out was that there was much more to the story. The covers on all of these five issues were always so beautiful.
Namor #2. “The Crimson Swim” Written by Jason Aaron and art by Paul Davidson & Alex Lins. Cover art was by Alexander Lozano. Flashback to the youth of Prince Namor continue in this issue as we meet an important figure in Namor’s past that will now play a role in his present.
Redcoat #5. Creators were Geoff Johns & Bryan Hitch. Cover art was by Bryan Hitch & Brad Anderson (Bronze Medalist). Redcoat has picked up business in this series. We find out the truth about the identity of the Grand Architect, and it is not whom we thought it was. I do like the use of historical figures in this series. It reminds me very much of the early days of Killadelphia.
Wolverine: Revenge #1. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Greg Capullo. Cover art was by Capullo, Tim Townsend and FCO Plascencia. I was kind of looking forward to a new start with Wolverine, but this looks to be a series that is more like Avengers Twilight and is out of continuity. I am not as interested by that considering I have never been a big fan of that type of story. Still, Hickman is a solid writer and I may give this one another chance, but honestly, number one did not really do it for me.
Spider-Woman #10. “Say it Like You Mean It.” Written by Steve Foxe and art by Ig Guara. Leinil Francis Yu & Rachelle Rosenberg did the art for the cover. The latest series featuring Jessica Drew comes to a close with this issue. Jessica is out to help the kids of the Assembly and do whatever she could do to find and help her missing son, corrupted by Hydra. I will miss Spider-Woman as it has been a consistently well done book.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man Annual #1. “On the Road.” Written by Cody Ziglar with art by David Baldeón. The main story of the annual sees Miles heading to Puerto Rico to visit his abuela, Gloria. This story saw zero use of the Spider-Man costume and had Miles just as Miles. And it was great. I really enjoyed this unlikely tale of Miles and his extended family.
Scarlet Witch #3. Written by Steve Orlando and art by Russell Dauterman & Jacopo Camagni. Cover art was by Russell Dauterman (Silver Medalist). Wanda faces off with Lore trying to get back t her life. Quicksilver, Polaris and Darcy are around too.
Deadpool #5. Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Andrea Di Vito. Taurin Clarke did the cover art. Deadpool faces a huge threat named Death Grip and he does not seem to be able to heal any longer. That makes it difficult when his arm is cut off. Deadpool’s daughter Elle is showing that she is quite capable too.
Plastic: Death & Dolls #3. Written by Doug Wagner and art and cover art by Daniel Hillyard. We are learning more about the past of Edwyn and why he may have a certain obsession about decapitation. This has been a very entertaining series so far, as any series can be with its protagonist sawing off heads.
Phoenix #2. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Alessandro Miracolo. Yasmine Putri did the cover art. Jean Grey is very busy in the realms of space trying to redeem the reputation of the Phoenix. However, her mission is not helped by the arrival of her father-in-law, Corsair, especially as he seemed to be naked in much of this issue. That makes for an awkward conversation with Scott.
Red Before Black #1. Written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Goran Sudžuka . Red Before Black is a new series from BOOM! Studios that features two women and a whole bunch of twists. It was a challenging read, but I was very entertained while doing so.
Huge Detective #1. Written by Adam Rose and drawn by Magenta King. Cover art by Paul Pope & Lovern Kindzierski. We are introduced to the characters of Detective Tamaki and Gyant. Tamaki is human and Gyant is a Huge, which is basically a giant. They are working together to solve crimes. This has a noir crime/mystery feel to it and the book does a great job of setting up this new world to adventure within.
Get Fury #4. “Like All the Other G.I. Joes” Written by Garth Ennis and penciled by Jacen Burrows. Dave Johnson did the cover art (Gold Medalist). Frank Castle continues his mission inside Vietnam to either rescue or assassinate Nick Fury. This is a violent book (as it should be considering the characters and the situation) but Ennis does a great job of building the characters around Frank and providing with tense moments.
Giant Size Thor #1. “In Medias Res” Written by Al Ewing and art by Brian Level. Bryan Hitch and Alex Sinclair were the cover artists. Plucking eyes out lose its power if you can just heal them back. This issue not only has Thor surpassing his father Odin by plucking out both of his eyes, Thor and Hercules must face the antagonist literally known as Giant Size Thor. Massively mega.
Daredevil: Woman Without Fear#2. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Michael Dowling. David Yardin & Romulo Fajardo Jr are the cover artists. Elektra (don’t call her Lady Daredevil) takes on the new Punisher and they do not seem to be too anxious to team up afterwards. When you have two characters like this, this is how they should interact. No buddy-buddy. Just trying to kill each other.
Predator Versus Black Panther #1. Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Chris Allen with Sean Damien Hill, Craig Yeung and Lee Ferguson. I really enjoyed the Predator vs. Wolverine from last year, and this, to its credit, felt completely different from that.
Other books this week: Local Man #13, Lawful #3, Blood Squad Seven #4, Crocodile Black #4, Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #6, and Self Help #3.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 