X-Men #14

Part 2/6 of Bloodline. 

Rachel and Monet are chasing down the shooter that seriously injured two students at the Jean Grey school. Monet shows no mercy after the culprit tries to take out bystanders in a trainstation and then suicide, Monet and Rachel go full force at him with disregard to who is watching. 

Back at the school Storm tries to get answers from her future daughter Kymera while Jubilee does what ever she can to teach her infant son to protect himself. “Come on Shogo, push the beep beep.” And Psylocke locks the school down. “Anyone breaches this school. I’ll hear it in my brains.” 

Storm officially made them a team and chooses that they will take a silent vote for leader, no judgements (half of them can read minds… that’s not really going to work). Suddenly there is an explosion in the east wing. The shooter is escaping (because it was a really bad time for a team meeting) the room is burning and the fire suppression has been disabled. Monet and Rachel decide that they’re going to take the guy apart. He’s about to say “You can’t stop the Future” when Kymera comes out of nowhere with her panther and lays the smack down. But she sees a timer on his head counting down. She retreats, a hawk delivers Shogo to her, she calls for her mom then the man explodes and Kymera is sent tumbling (Shogo pushes the beep-beep). 

Outside: Menacing characters plan to attack them again at dawn.

BromoSuperior

with art by Phil Briones. Hellion and co are stuck in Psylocke’s danger room program. This side story isn’t really grabbing me. But Briones’s version of Psylocke is perfect.

Uncanny X-Men #21

There’s so much that’s immediately good about this issue. Cyclops isn’t in control of his powers and he’s attacking the Jean Grey School, Magik tries to mitigate and turns into a demonfaced monster raiser. Storm keeps collected.

And fans are treated to a full page spread of Storm showcasing her badass powers. Stellar.

Then Dazzler (not really Dazzler, really Mystique) shows up to collect Cyclops. 

In Madripoor: the Blob fiends for mutant growth hormone (that they are harvesting from the real Dazzler). Magneto finds him and sees what has been done to Dazzler. Magneto almost scalpels the Blobs face off, but he relents, remembering long past events he lets the Blob run off and he tends to Dazzler.

The phony Dazzler is pushing the X-Men to hand over Scott Summers to SHIELD. It’s Maria Hill who tells Beast that he has an hour to straighten out what has gone wrong with Cyclops. The helicarrier is poised to attack as back up… but it suddenly starts firing. Beast takes Cyclops and Magik to his lab in hope to find what is seeking to destroy them. Quentin Quire (who I have some affection for because he reminds me of my gawky and grungy punkrock nerd boy high school friends) grabs Maria Hill by the head and asks her what’s up. 

And at the end of the issue: Beast has found who is behind the attacks, but it isn’t revealed to the reader. The villain is hidden in a spacesuit.

Chris Bachalo’s art is a little weird, there’s 4 inkers which I think adds to the weirdness. Hank McCoy looks more bizarre than usual. The facial expressions are on point, the action scenes are legit: easy to follow but very detailed. Cyclops shut the heck up this issue. That’s weird. The focus was mainly on the action (with one brief emo hiatus to see Emma Frost pensively fretting for Scott Summers).

Predictions for next issue: Who is in the spacesuit?

Captain Marvel #3

Tic, in Carol’s ship (with her cat) comes back to attack The Guardians (especially Quill to get back at the king of Spartax). The action takes a turn for the funny. Carol and Peter play off each other well, DeConnick paints them with the same sense of humor and it works really well. David Lopez is perfect for this, the way he displays Carol, Tic and Quill’s expressions is perfect.

After Carol decides to take Tic back to Torfa the Guardians go back to whatever they were doing. And Carol tries her hand at diplomacy. It doesn’t go smoothly. She’s aligned with the Galactic Alliance who have been moving these aliens from planet to planet, exposing them to toxins and are attempting to split up families. (Also, turns out Tic was looking for Secret Avenger Spider-Woman who recently got her first taste of outer space in Secret Avengers #2). Then we get serious. 

The people on Torfa are not amused. A white woman with good intentions but no understanding of the complex situation which she seeks to address: who has words rather than actions, thoughts rather than resources, who brings the lower level thinking “Why don’t they just leave there then?”  Perfect. Please read this article written by someone about the privilege and hypocrisy of “voluntourism” because it’s really a smart (and hard to hear) realisation that good intentions aren’t helpful, if people need resources they need resources, they don’t need a bunch of people “helping” (re: exploiting to make themselves feel/look influential and worldly) who have limited knowledge and insight. 

Eleanides drops the knowledge. They are not idiots, they’re looking for a cure. If Carol’s not there to help take care of the sick or find the source of the poison or protect them from the Galactic Alliance… she’s not their champion then, she’s a self righteous white woman unaware of her own privilege. And a comic book explains something beautifully that so many people do not even attempt to understand.

Lopez’s cover is phenom. All of these covers so far have been really simplistic but BOLD. Loving the strictly Captain Marvel golden yellow, red and blue. Primary colors FTW. 

Secret Avengers #3

Awesome week for Marvel titles and I still grabbed for this one first.

Look at the cover! Tradd Moore and Matthew Wilson created this magnificently detailed cover, Widow looks pissed wiping a bloodied nose, Spider-Woman is frantically disarming a bomb and Coulson appears to be in real trouble while still looking hilarious, which is just perfect.

Maria Hill Micromanages the Secret Avengers. Phil Coulson Blows up space stations. Nick Fury has one eye. Black Widow Played by Scarlett Johansson, except when she’s not. Spider-Woman New to the secret team ops thing. Hawkeye Eats about 4 protein bars a day.

Black Widow, Spider-Woman and Coulson are sent to the island Sokotra to neutralize a failed poet with a nuclear device. While they are there, Spider-woman and Widow find themselves against Derrida’s soldiers while Coulson is cowering. Natasha thinks he’s having a PTSD thing. She lets Jessica handle the bad guy while she goes to protect Phil.

Those menacing eyes at the top of the cover? They belong to Lady Bullseye. And she’s gunning for Widow.

Meanwhile the space bomb starts talking to Jessica and tells her that it is going to commit suicide. The bomb’s chosen name is Vladimir. Spider-Woman talks him out of suicide by offering caramel gelato. 

Coulson overcomes his anxiety and jumps in a Jeep, runs over Lady Bullseye. “I just killed Lady Bullseye? Oh my. I’m on a roll.”

I really enjoy this series so far. Consistently fun, quirky and badass. They pull villains and settings from all corners of the Marvel Universe. And Spider-Woman got to kick ass AND use quick thinking and more stereotypically girly means of problem solving. Michael Walsh’s art is kick ass, somewhere in between more classic styles and more modern, some panels switch color schemes (colors by Matthew Wilson) or go with blank backgrounds or silhouettes, it creates momentum and excitement and is well matched to Ales Kot’s quirky writing style.

I will note that Nick Fury and Phil Coulson look like their film counterparts, but the others do not. Including Black Widow, even though they name dropped ScarJo.

The end pages have Fury and Hawkeye going after The Fury who is lost in space.

Agents of SHIELD- Season Finale

May grabs the Berserker staff and get herself, Coulson, Tripp and Skye away from Centipede soldiers. Elsewhere, Garrett is in good health, but Ian Quinn is not amused that they have no more “miracle drug”

FitzSimmons are at the bottom of the ocean. “I broke my arm in the same 2 places I did in second grade.” Simmons has been out cold. Fitz has done the math, no one is looking for them, they’re sinking and low on supplies. There is no way out. …According to Fitz, but there is a way out, it involves glass and ethanol and a defibrillator. Gemma figures it out. The Fitz tries to give her the only remaining air and confesses his love to her. She drags him to the water’s surface where they are saved by Nick Fury! (Turns out the antenna that Fitz had rigged alerted Fury who was looking for Coulson. So while Fitz was being irrational and pessimistic and assuming that he was the only one who could save them, Gemma did have an idea of her own and someone was looking for them. The exchange goes, Gemma: “They told us you were dead.” Fury: “Good I want that to get around.”

Skye and May break in to Cybertek some they can lead Coulson to Garrett, find Mike Peterson’s son and lure Ward out. They do of course and the ensuing fight scenes are amazing. Melinda chased Ward around with a table saw and a nail gun, they tossed each other through plaster walls. She wins.

Skye finds Mike’s son and hacks into Deathlok’s eyeball direction giver thingy (I don’t know what to call it). And Deathlok turns on Garrett knowing that his son is now safe. Garrett who had just been showing off his new strength while fighting Coulson and Fury (which was a wealth of badassery and wonderfully delivered Sam Jackson lines, “Don’t call me sir, I’m dressed like I live under a bridge.”) gets easily handled by Deathlok. (Sort of, Garrett’s down then gets back up- who left him near the tech?! when Coulson comes around the corner with a blaster. It was freaking hilarious)

Then they all tell Ward off. Then they reconnect with Simmons, Fitz is in critical condition and he “might never be the same”. Fury asks Phil to rebuild SHIELD, right after Phil confronts him about TAHITI, “This was in case of emergency break glass sort of thing” “Yeah, like the death of an Avenger.” “That was the death of an Avenger.” And Phil’s face lights up. It’s cute. Patton Oswald comes back (though as Billy Koeing instead of Eric)

Deathlok becomes a hero on the redemption train. 

And then Raina goes to see Skye’s… father, I’m assuming, could be mother. Something with blood dripping from it’s hand.

I like Raina, she went from random woman with a gimmicky wardrobe to a true believer with an insatiable curiosity about evolution… she thinks Skye is the next step. And next season the team (now with Tripplett) is set to seek out and batter Hydra. Cool. Ward could still bust out and be a villain, I don’t think anyone will actually forgive him. I hope. They’d better not.

So everything rounds itself out but we’re still ready to roll for more, Season 2: this fall!

With Ward out and Fitz possibly disabled, Coulsons team is now 1 white woman, 1 woman, 1 mixed race woman and 1 black man. And possibly a differently abled Fitz. Never mind regularly appearing side characters who are PoC and decidedly not evil. Well that’s inclusive. Hearts and flowers for Marvel. 

The finale certainly lived up to anything I could have expected. High hopes for next season.

Loki: Agent of Asgard #4

This series gives no french toast about telling the story consequetively: So we begin with Sigurd (the ever glorious) climbing a mountain to see Kaluu (Master of Black Magic). And He has Gram! The hero’s blade! But Loki is supposed to have that!

In the recent past, Loki is having dinner (baked salmon with lemon) with Verity Willis. Verity is one of my favorite new characters: a human lie detector. She’s a human. She can detect lies from gods, too. Which is how she sees Sigurd who has turned himself invisible with a Lightbender Invisibility Belt stolen from AIM. Sigurd is busting in to steal Gram. Duh. Once he’s busted, Sigurd tries to talk his way out it. But it turn out that the All-Mother has assigned Loki to have Sigurd returned to Asgard. The All-Mother is still displeased that Loki let Lorelei escape and they tell him that either Sigurd is returned or Loki himself will be. 

Sigurd and Loki duel and Sigurd is victorious. Duh. 

Back on the mountain: Kajuu is impressed, and when Sigurd requests that he be put onto the wheel of incarnation, so that when he dies he can be reborn instead of being tortured by Valkyries in Valhalla (a plotline that goes back to New Mutants #43 about 4 years ago). Kajuu agrees to help Sigurd with the sacrilegious deed and he gets Sigurd to sign it in blood.

It’s not Kajuu, it’s Mephisto. And he’s set to damn Sigurd to the torture pits. Only Loki’s gotten there first (and tripled up on invisibility cloaks) and switched the contract: he sends Sigurd back to Asgard and Mephisto back to Hell. Parting words from Mephisto, “It’s what I’d expect from the young punk. Not from you.” He knows that “kid Loki” is gone, and inside is his old pal.

Loki is getting anxious, not about Mephisto finding him out, but about the All-Mother locking up Asgardians for roaming free on Midgard, “In other words, today it’s him… tomorrow it’s one of us.” He asks Verity, Lorelei and Thor to help him on his mission.

“You don’t bring a sword to a Loki fight” is the name of the next issue. I wonder if Loki will come into contact with his alternate self that’s roaming about. But it’s still early in the series yet.

For Asgardia’s finest: Y.A.L.A. (you always live again) 

Not for Sigurd this time, but it’s working for Loki… thus far.

Lee Garbett’s art is well suited, fight scenes are crisp and the look matches the feel of the writing excellently. Something I don’t often acknowledge? The Lettering. Asgardian’s get their old school fancy font, Mephisto gets an odd one, scrolls appear here and there to announce random facts or times. It’s just good. It’s just so good. I have so much love for this series.

She-Hulk #4

She-Hulk is upset about the way her case went. She successfully argued that Von Doom’s son Kristoff should be granted asylum from Latveria only to have Von Doom swoop in (literally) and kidnap Kristoff. And to top it off, they were paid in Latverian francs which the bank considered “conflict currency” and confiscated it. No closer to being able to make the lease, Jen can’t decide if she should get back to work or confront Victor Von Doom. 

To help her choose, she asks fellow lawyer/superhero Daredevil.
They talk shop and then go on some superhero adventures. 

I know many people are not into Pulido’s art (and I get it, it’s kitchy), but it suits the series impeccably. This spread was outstanding:

 

Let’s just face it.

She-Hulk does decide to head for Latveria, but instead of solving her problem with her big green fists she talks it out with Victor Von Doom and convinces him that he’s not raising his son as a leader, he’s raising him to bow down. Then she heads back to her office to recap with her assistant and investigator. She uncovers a case where She-Hulk herself is the defendant- along with a slew of other supes in a suit brought on by George Saywitz. 

I don’t know who that is. Or who Rufus Randall is. Just being honest before I research.

Agents of SHIELD -Episode 21

We’re treated to a flash back 15 years in the past of when Ward met Garret. Ward was in juvie after busting out of military school to burn down his father’s house. They’re playing up this traumatic childhood angle. They kind of already jumped the shark with that with Skye’s background.

The remaining Agents of SHIELD… well, Agents of Nothing, are regrouping. Skye reveals that she implanted tracking software into the hard drive that Ward took from her (which also has the info on the alien DNA that Garrett desperately wants). But there’s another step. A flash drive to activate it needs to be inserted into one of their computers. 

Coulson shows how it’s all connected

Triplett shows up with some antique gadgets. Spy gear borrowed from his Grandpa. The rest geek out, Fitz lights the drapes on fire and May worries about their capability to function as a team. Fitz is wondering what drove Ward to betray them, he hypothesizes that Ward has a killswitch in his eye, or something. Skye says that “he’s evil” that’s it. Which seems odd. She began as a double agent after all, she knows life is more complicated. People have all sorts of reasons. Even if they aren’t good ones.

15 years ago: “Speak up son, I’m not a mind reader” Garrett left Ward in the woods to forage for himself. So this is going to be a “he taught me how to be a man” story.

Coulson and May working together undercover is awesome. They get in to Cybertech and they find that Garrett was the first Deathlok. They throw the whole filing cabinet out a window and they escape. And then have pizza.

Garrett collapses. His organs are failing around the biomechanics. 

Coulson tells Skye that she did the right thing not letting Deathlok kill Ward. Skye still thinks that May has “no feelings” but she opens up that she’s furious, she’s just saving it to take Ward down.

But Fitz still thinks Ward is the victim, and is looking for a reason why. It makes sense for his character. Young, naive, few close friends, good natured: he doesn’t understand why ANYONE would choose to be dishonest when they have a great job and great friends. But seriously… Ward was such an asshole to him. You all hate Ward now, but I’ve hated Ward since he threw Fitz’s sandwich. Since he rubbed it in Fitz’s face that he saved Gemma when Fitz couldn’t. Showoff. Weak and self aggrandizing.

15 years ago: Garrett goes back to the mountains 6 months later with tacos and finds a more capable Ward. Then he shoots all Ward’s stuff. Dude’s a dick.

Gemma and Fitz find Garrett and Ward, Coulson tells them DNE. Gemma wants to throw down. Ward finds them.

10 Years Ago: Garrett and Ward are still in the damn woods. Garrett tells Ward about how SHIELD wasn’t loyal to him when he was blown up by an IED in Sarajevo. How Garrett became HYDRA.

On the plane Fitz pulls out the “buzzer” and electrifies the plane. Garrett collapses. “Ward. Let him die.” Dying Garrett orders Ward to kill Fitz and Gemma, and then we flash to the “final test” of younger Ward in the woods being told to shoot Buddy, the dog who has lived with him in the woods for 5 years. Garrett leads him to believe that compassion is a weakness (the opposite of what Coulson related to Skye earlier “Compassion is harder”). It shows Fitz and Gemma in between Ward not being able to shoot the dog. He shoots into the air and the dog takes off.  But then we see the dog through a scope and it’s implied that Garrett shot Buddy anyway.

“It’s not a weakness, is it.” 

Gemma and Fitz are thrown into the ocean. Coulson, May, Trip and Skye are surrounded by centipede supersoldiers and Ian Quinn pedals his tech to the US gov. Garrett gets juiced up by Flowers and he’ll live to see the finale (Samuel L Jackson will be there)

Somewhere in there Deathlok reminded us that he’s still good dad Mike Peterson under the shiny weaponry, Raina (Flowers) reveals she’s involved out of curiosity. That she can’t resist “special people” (can’t say mutants) and that she feels connected to Skye. She also found out that Skye’s parents were “Monsters” (can’t say mutants)

Comic-book Catch up #4

Featuring Ms Marvel #3, Tomb Raider #3, Lazarus #8

Ms Marvel #3

Kamala Khan is experiencing the backlash from sneaking out. Her parents are upset, she’s still upset with Bruno. Bruno has his own mayhem happening, his brother asks him to steal from his register at the convenience store. Zoe is getting all the attention for getting saved while Kamala tries to get a grip on her powers and ends up in hiding even though she’s the hero in this story. She’s worrying she’s outgrowing her life “like a pair of pants that no longer fit” and in the next moment she’s confronting both teenage drama and an armed robber head on. G Willow Wilson writes teenage well, and she provides insight to the way that Kamala’s culture separates her from others in Jersey City, but also how it bonds her with her friends. She questions authority but is realistically insecure and charming. 

Tomb Raider #3

We’re treated to a bit more backstory on the hard hitting Reyes. In Dublin, her daughter is in imminent danger from the Solarii cult. They want the artifact Lara stole. Only, she still doesn’t remember it. She tries to lie, but the cult members don’t buy it. Suddenly, someone takes aim and shoots the gangsters and Lara breaks a glass over someone’s head. Meanwhile, Sam is in trouble. Lara and Reyes make a break for it, with the men in hot pursuit, Reyes and her daughter split from Lara (I love when characters don’t all orbit the main protagonist, btw. So Reyes calling Lara out on being the cause of this, on being bad luck. Worthwhile). Lara clubs a goon with the a busker’s guitar and grabs his gun. Reyes’ daughter says she was too mean to Lara. Lara finds out that Sam has been taken and throws down, but one goon sneaks up on her- she averts disaster but causing a soccer riot. But the goons just keep coming. Luckily, Reyes shows her daughter what it means to be loyal and double backs for Lara, with a “Don’t thank me, it was Miss Manners here.” And Lara declares they’ll go back to Yamatai to stop this and save Sam.

Sam Nishimura has the best answering machine message of all time. “I’m either off shooting an award winning documentary or passed out drunk. You know what to do.”

Lazarus #8

The first 5 were amazing, a new series with so much promise. One with a female lead (and still more females with their own agendas) that creates a world that is bleak, violent and corporate. One of all out class warfare. How could I not be in love? But the momentum has slowed, flashbacks to Forever’s childhood bog down the series instead of advance it. Currently, Forever is looking for and IED while the Barretts are looking to go get jobs with the Carlyles, they’re headed for Denver. Them and everyone else. Like pioneers travelling to a new frontier, to their last ditch effort: the road is hard. Worse when Forever finds that Denver is the target of this attack. But her father refuses to cancel the lift. Forever is in a race to stop the plot in the final pages. but it won’t be resolved til next month. 

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! Reviews

Teen Titans GO! #1 (DC Nation Super Sampler)

I loved the cartoon but never read the books. They’re just so super adorable that I couldn’t resist. Artist Ben Bates keeps the cooky, spunky bunch looking snazzy while writer Sholly Fisch puts them in far fetched roommate/BFFL situations involving demonic pizza, high stakes minigolf wagers and Raven manipulating a claw machine to achieve the ultimate prize!

All ages comics typically aren’t my thing. But the dynamics of Teen Titans, from the unlikely friendship between perky alien Starfire and underworld spooky girl Raven to Robin’s rivalry with Speedy I just dig it.

The New 52! FUTURES END #0

Central City 35 years from now: The supes are being “assimilated” into robot bugs. (Grown adults came up with this?) Captain Cold and the Flash are buddies, guess things changed after Forever Evil. “Frankenstein” (the monster) has Canary’s head sewn into his chest and he uses her to take out the Flash. This is all orchestrated by Brother Eye and old man Bruce Wayne convinces Terry (Batman Beyond) to go back in time and kill him. But Batman doesn’t kill people. Moral crisis. And Terry doesn’t quite make it to the right place. So we have a rogue Batman who is time displaced on a murder plot. It could actually be interesting. But, it could also be a hot mess. All new WEEKLY that will forever alter the direction of the New 52. Issue #1 is out May 7th. 

I don’t know if I know about enough of the characters. Forever Evil and the cancellation of The Movement is leaving me burned on DC. Maybe. Maybe I’ll try.

Street Fighter #0

A sampler of 3 stories. “Hong Kong Hustle” by Jim Zub, art by Hanzo Steinbach. The art is amazing, bright and large. Did I mention this book is huge? No? It’s huge. A new student of Ken’s is waiting when passerby’s start catcalling a woman on the street. The woman says not to trouble himself, but he says that he has to do what’s right: defending women against street harassment. The coolest. But the woman turns out to be none other than the Strongest Woman in the World. “Your Enemies Closer” gets harder lines and a completely opposite style courtesy of Takeshi Miyazawa. Ken Siu-Chong pens a tale of revenge. “This hammer was too good at smashing things to be locked away in a toolbox just because it had lost it’s nail.” But Juri might just get her chance after all. “Beyond the Hills” is the origin story of Akuma, which takes us into an underground fight club. The story by Chris Sarracini is darker and grittier and art and colors by Joe Ng/Rob Armstrong/Espen Grundetjern suit the mood effectively, but it was my least favorite of the 3.

Guardians of the Galaxy 

3 ministories: BMB wrote the first one. I dig it. Carol Danvers is there. That’s even better. The cover is a bit uninspiring. Tony Stark is discussing sending Corporal Thompson “off planet” (the dialogue is wonderful here) and Stark gives a quick run down of the soon to be cinematic team. The Guardians are surprised when Thompson is in a wheelchair, but more so when he transforms into Agent Venom.  Thanos: the Infinity Revelation previews a coming series. Then we get Spider-Man: Staging Ground by Dan Slott has Spider-man performing Shakespeare. Weird. Heyyyy Carol Danvers wasn’t in any of those stories. 

What did you pick up for #FCBD?