It’s a well known fact that Geoff Johns is the ‘King Midas’ of the DC universe.
He has the ability to turn a certain title that may have a casual readership, into something worthwhile for fans both old and new. There aren’t many characters in the DCU that Johns hasn’t written. He literally resurrected Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern title in Green Lantern: Rebirth, and has done the same with The Flash in Flash: Rebirth.
The guy is comic book gold!
After writing characters such as Superman, Flash and Green Lantern in some of the finest stories I’ve had the opportunity to read, Geoff Johns is now set to write another superhero back into prominence; Aquaman. According to an article over at IGN, Johns will begin writing Aquaman’s story after Brightest Day is finished.
There has been no artist announced thus far so let the speculation begin. I’d like to see a Geoff Johns and Jim Lee team up myself!
I think this will be a great thing to revitalize Aquaman, though the buzz currently going around is that the dweller of the depths has been pretty badass as of late in Brightest Day. As always, we will keep you posted on all developments with Geoff Johns and Aquaman.
It’s here! The newest Green Lantern event! I’m hoping this one is at least almost as good as Blackest Night, and on par with the Sinestro Corps War. And let me tell ya, the first part did not disappoint. Not one bit! In the prologue for War of the Green Lanterns we learn that Krona, a member of the Guardians’ species, and antagonist of the story, was once to be inducted onto the council of the Guardians. And he might still be there if not for his insistence that emotion is a necessary part of being a Guardian, and life for that matter. Because of this he draws the ire of the council and is arrested. It was unclear if he escaped, but the ring leader’s of each emotion are shown visions of Krona’s past where he reprogrammed the Manhunters to turn on the Guardians, and annihilate a whole sector. This sector as it turns out was the homeworld of Atrocitus, the leader of the Red Lanterns who vows vengeance against Krona and those who stand in his way.
And here it is… the debut of the Future Foundation. (and Spidey’s new suit) Although a good issue, there wasn’t much action, just a whole lot of setup. It takes place after the death of the Human Torch and the renaming of the Fantastic Four.
You get to see Spiderman suiting up with the Future Foundation and going on his first mission with them, which is quite brief and involves what seems like rogue AIM operatives attempting to free…. wait for it… the Wizard. Maybe we’ll get to see M.O.D.O.K in action in a future FF issue. But seriously, I’m all for jobber villains like the Wizard being used in comics now, because sometimes the writer can make them a legitimate threat.
The rest of the comics shows how everyone is dealing with Johnny Storm (aka The Human Torch) being dead and gone. Franklin Richards doesn’t want Spiderman sitting in Johnny’s chair at dinner, and Thing is blaming himself for the “matchstick’s” death, his brooding presence being felt throughout.
It was rather inspiring to see the family vibe throughout the Baxter Building in this issue since I haven’t read a Fantastic Four comic since Mark Waid was writing. Nathaniel Richards brings a lot to this family dynamic being a father to the father of the FF. He disagrees with Reed after everyone else agrees with him and shows that Mr. Fantastic isn’t infallible. The big surprise and probably the best part of the issue occurs at the end and the next issue’s title says it all.
Highlight between the asterisk’s to reveal the spoiler and who may very well play a part in the Future Foundation. – *Doom Nation!*
Uncanny X-Force #5.1
Click to Enlarge
I was a huge fan of the concept for X-Force when it first hit the shelves. A covert team of the most dangerous X-mutants tasked with taking on the missions that deal with threats against homo superior, with no compunctions about killing. And by the way they are led by Wolverine, the most kill-tacular character in the Marvel universe. Nothing to not like about that if you’re an X-men fan.
Sadly I missed the first volumewith the team consisting of Wolverine, X-23, Warpath and Wolfsbane along with Domino and Elixir joining later. It is now renamed Uncanny X-Force after the team was disbanded by Cyclops. But Wolverine and Archangel feel there is still unfinished business with the threats against mutantkind so they formed a new team consisting of themselves along with Fantomex, Psylocke and Deadpool.
With issue 5.1, a reader like me who missed all of the previous X-Force titles can jump right in with this issue and it didn’t disappoint. You are given a cut and dry plot and plenty of action. The issue takes place in Australia and involves Lady Deathstrike leading the cyborg Reavers on a mission against the X-men. Their plan is to use Gateway to gain access to Utopia, the X-men’s current residence, and cause mass bombing casualties.
The Reavers are morons who simply hate mutants and want to kill as many as they can with the attack, but Deathstrike only has plans of revenge against Wolverine. It was very interesting to see how Deathstrike is almost certain that Logan cannot be killed by her or the Reavers, but reasons that his honor can be wounded. With the destruction of Utopia, Wolverine would be dealt a very serious personal blow by one of his worst enemies. Unfortunately her use of the Reavers brings back unhappy memories of a past run in for Wolverine and Psylocke.
Long story short, chaos ensues with plenty of dead Reavers.
Age of X Alpha: (X-Men Legacy #245/New Mutants #22)
I bought this issue expecting another attempt at an Age of Apocalypse storyline, like the Return to Age of Apocalypse storyline that never even came close to being a fraction as good as it’s predecessor.
This is actually the opposite of the AoA though, where in this reality the mutants have been hunted nearly to extinction by the human race because there are no X-Men around to stop them or promote peace. The remaining mutants of course join together to survive under the leadership of Magneto.
The first issue is a prologue of sorts, titled Age of X: Alpha, where the mutants are shown at their base talking of how the humans came together after several events including one involving the Phoenix eating Albany. After it was signed into law that having the mutant gene was illegal, the Sapien League began rounding up mutants for execution, imprisonment and sterilization. Even people without the gene who gave birth to mutants are sterilized. AoX Alpha introduces us to several characters we know and love, but who now have a whole different background and even different X-names. You’ll find out why in Age of X chapter one that Wolverine can no longer use his claws or healing factor, and how Cyclops (who is now called Basilisk) escaped from Alcatraz prison.
In Age of X Chapter One (X-men Legacy #245) we are introduced to how the mutants under Magneto’s leadership survive against the humans in their stronghold called Fortress X. Throughout the issue we are introduced to many familiar faces that we have not seen in sometime in the current series and some of the more familiar are already dead at this point. It’s definitely different seeing some of the relationships in this alternate reality. Scott Summers is shacked up with the Acolyte Joanna Cargill, and Storm wearing very little clothing is with Namor. After the action at the beginning and a little dragging in the middle the story begins to get a little interesting again when Kitty Pryde shows up unannounced and Magneto imprisons her until they can figure out why she sneaked into their fortress. Rogue, now called Legacy, finds a camera that Kitty tried to hide before being detained and mysteriously attempts to find out what is on it on her own without telling anyone.
Chapter 2 of the Age of X (New Mutants #22) follows this mystery without revealing anything and actually raising more questions as Rogue is now on the run from her comrades for breaking protocol. What has seized her to make her want to figure the Kitty Pryde situation out on her own and what part does (highlight between asterisks to read spoiler) *Charles Xavier* have to play in all of this?
I hope to find out in the next two parts of Age of X arriving in X-men Legacy #246 and New Mutants #23.
Fear Itself Prologue: Book of the Skull
Click to Enlarge
Book of the Skull sets things up nicely for the upcoming Marvel event: Fear Itself. It starts off with the daughter of the Red Skull, Sin (who is uglier than her dad.) and Baron Zemo making their way to an old base of the Red Skull where Sin seeks a book containing spells and the cover made from dead Atlantean flesh. Upon finding it, she describes it to Zemo as “the Red Skull’s greatest failure.”
Flash back to Germay in 1942, The Red Skull oversees his minions performing a sacrifice of several Atlanteans to an unidentified god or gods. Something is seen riding a bolt of lightning across the landscape and the Skull and his cronies follow it, with Captain America, Bucky and Namor hot on his trail.
The Red Skull and his men end their search in Antarctica, standing over what fell from the skies but never saying exactly what it is. That’s when Cap and company show up to give ’em a fight. Not only do they fight some Nazi scum, but what appears to be a frost giant as well. (You’ll never guess who puts the giant out of commission.) In the end the Red Skull gets away and orders his men to build a fortress around the “thing” that fell to Earth since no one can lift it. This thing is revealed to be a hammer in the end. A very Thor-like hammer indeed…
This hammer is only one of many that will fall to Earth to be recovered by what Fear Itself writer Matt Fraction calls “The Worthy”. According to Fraction the God of Fear might also be called the Serpent and the Worthy are the Serpents avatars of rage and destruction on Earth. Certain characters will be drawn to these hammers and from the looks of the preview in one comic I read today Juggernaut and Hulk may be among them. Not good for the heroes! Can’t wait until Fear Itself kicks off! Overall a fun comic to read and great lead up to the big arc.
Venom #1
This comic kicked some ass. It’s refreshing to see the Venom symbiote get used differently than another supervillain bonding with it. The U.S. government using it on a covert agent during special missions is just plain brilliant. And the suit looked real spiffy. I definitely haven’t seen Flash Thompson in a comic book in a long time and had no idea about his legs being lost while serving in the military. As Venom he is given a second chance to serve his country because the symbiote can create legs for while he is bonded to it.
There is a catch though, Flash can only be in the suit for a total of 48 hours before the symbiote bonds to him permanently. In that situation the overseers of the mission have a kill switch standing by to terminate Flash if that occurs. Since the suit feeds on anger and aggression also, if Flash loses control at any time the suit could take over in which case the overseers of the mission will use the kill switch. Very cool in my opinion.
The storyline of this issue in a nut shell is as follows; there is a scientist selling weaponized Antarctic Vibranium to the highest bidders. The U.S. believes that will destabilize the whole world, so they send Flash/Venom in to apprehend the doctor, while the Jack O’ Lantern is also working for someone to capture the scientist for their own ends. Even though it was a great issue, the Jack O’ Lantern was ridiculous looking, using a rocket broomstick to fly around. Let those words sink in… Rocket. Broomstick. Regardless, I will be picking up the next issue to see where they take the concept.
Aside from Batman, I was formerly unable to read most DC comics due to a lack of interest. I thought the heroes were too clean-cut, boring and flashy. That was until I was introduced to a little storyline called Blackest Night. I most definitely had never read a Green Lantern comic prior, but a friend told me how great Blackest Night was because heroes and villains were coming back from the dead killing everything in their path.
Click to Enlarge
I thought- “Hmmm… zombie heroes and villains basically? I’m in.” Even though they weren’t exactly zombies, that is still the concept that got me interested. I was not disappointed. The story had much more to it than just super powered zombies, and as a first time Lantern reader I had to piece together who the Guardians were, where the other colored lanterns came from, what each light/emotion meant on the spectrum, where Oa was, and what the Blackest Night meant. I had a great time after reading it, going back and reading everything that lead up to it. This included The Sinestro Corps War, Agent Orange, and Rage of the Red Lanterns. I had a better understanding of the Green Lantern universe after reading so much, and graciously appreciated the exciting new world made great by comic writing superstar Geoff Johns.
After Blackest Night I knew that Brightest Day had to be just as good, so that was the next big story for me. I was wrong, and shame on me for believing that Brightest Day was going to be another Green Lantern centered storyline, because it wasn’t. It instead focused on the 12 resurrected heroes and villains, and the reasoning behind their returns during the Blackest Night.
I’m not saying that Brightest Day is in any way a bad series, I’ve actually heard quite the contrary from fellow readers, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. Fortunately for me the upcoming War of the Green Lanternsstory arc will help satisfy my GL cravings when it’s first two parts release today. My review for those will be forthcoming.
Aside from Hal Jordan having a big DC moment to shine in Blackest Night, the Flash also stood out to me as a primary character during the arc. It was rare to see a page where the two heroes weren’t working together, and it was truly awesome to see Flash as a temporary member of the Blue Lantern Corps, because as you know…. he had the ability to instill great hope. I’ve always liked the ‘Barry Allen’ Flash, but I’ve never actually had the desire to pick up a title starring only him. I’m hoping the upcoming Flashpoint event will do for me with the Flash, what Blackest Night did for me with Green Lantern, which is actually have a desire to read a DC character’s comic that isn’t named Batman.
See the Superman jail in the background?
Flashpoint will begin this May, being composed of five issues along with many tie-in books and one shots. However, it was announced at C2E2 that the Flashpoint tie-ins will be self-contained, and not necessary to follow the main story. Personally I like it better when you don’t have to pick up seven titles a week, for six months just to be in the loop which seems to be the trend nowadays with comic events.
Below is an official description of the upcoming arc from ComicVine:
Flashpoint is an event focusing on Barry Allen and the rest of the Flash Family’s efforts to fix the fissures in time, made by unknown forces. It was first mentioned in the sixth issue of Geoff Johns’The Flash, and will later be seen in a five issue mini series written by Johns and drawn by Andy Kubert starting in May 2011. As with Blackest Night, Flashpoint will be accompanied by a fifteen three-issue mini series, as well as a number of one shots, starring characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and more, showing how the event affects their lives.
The series seems very interesting indeed, with these fissures in time having direct effects on many of the main DC heroes. I’m hoping to see a few alternate realities in the spin-off issues, seeing as how time itself is being manipulated, and it appears to be the case according to the promo below:
Oh my….
Bruce Wayne running casinos? Aquaman and Wonderwoman married? Superman detained? Hal Jordan is not the Green Lantern because Abin Sur never died?
Awesome! It has a very Age of Apocalypsevibe running through it, and I assume that Flash and the other speedsters who use the ‘Speed Force’ will be hot on the trail of exactly whatever the Flashpoint is. I cannot wait to get into this story, especially with Geoff Johns writing and Andy Kubert doing the art. Johns has proven himself a genius in breathing new life into characters and making them relevant again, and I have liked Andy Kubert’s art since he was doing X-Men in the 90’s. This seems like a great jumping on point for any passive reader of the Flash looking to expand their comic horizons. (Like me.)
Flashpoint will be speeding to your local comic store in May!
There has been plenty of comic news coming out of C2E2, the Chicago Comic Convention, over the weekend. And even though the following snippet via IGN is not big news, it’s something that we’ve all come to anticipate from a comic book death; a comic book resurrection! The character in question is Nightcrawler who died at the hands of Bastion saving Hope during the Second Coming story arc.
The panel’s response to if he would return was a bit muddled:
“We’ve talked about it within the X-Men office,” noted X-Editor Daniel Ketchum. “It’s always a card on the table. I guess I’ll leave it up to you to figure out, ‘Well, are we going to play to type or go against the grain?'”
I would imagine that means they are conflicted about whether they should bring him back like every other character, or actually try to keep him dead. As we all know, no comic character ever stays dead, but I think their death and inevitable return means more the longer they are gone. So as much as I wish that Nightcrawler would grace us with a return it would be the same old crap with him returning after only a year of being gone.
Below is a small list of X-men who have died and the circumstances of both their deaths and returns. Some of the reasoning behind their resurrections are quite amusing if not completely ridiculous.
Colossus
– Death: Injected himself with the cure to the mutant killing legacy Virus with the full knowledge that in order to spread antibodies the cure would kill the first user. Ballsy. – Return: Turns out he didn’t die, and an alien named Ord switched bodies with a duplicate. Rrrrright.
Psylocke
– Death: Killed in combat by the loser villain Vargas. – Return:Her brother Jamie Braddock reached back in time to stop her spirit from reaching the afterlife. Wow.
Cyclops
– Death:Merges with the spirit of Apocalypse to save his son. – Return: Jean and Cable track down CyPocalypse and separate their two spirits. Sounds like a cheap rip off of The Exorcist.
Professor X
– Death: Accidentally killed by his son when he went back in time to kill Magneto. – Return: Death is undone when Bishop travels back in time and stops Legion. Time travel is super nifty.
Jean Grey/Phoenix
– Death(s): Committed suicide to stop the Dark Phoenix and was also killed by John Sublime…posing as Magneto…posing as Xorn. That’s a crapload of retcons there. – Return(s): Retcon with the Phoenix Force being a copy of Jean, while the real Jean is in a healing cocoon. Yes… a healing cocoon. Brought back to life by the Phoenix Force after the Sublime kill, now living on a higher plane of existence.
And the list goes on – Cannonball, Havok, Storm, Warpath, Archangel, Rachel Summers, Emma Frost, and of couse, Wolverine. This isn’t even all of them either…
With very few exceptions, Comic Book Deaths are a very fickle thing…
Deceived is the newest Star Wars novel to be released on March 22nd 2011. It is by Paul S. Kemp (Michigan resident! Whoo Hoo!) who has already written two other Star Wars Novels so far: Crosscurrent and the forthcoming Riptide. Deceived takes place in the Old Republic era to coincide with events that will take place in the soon to be released MMORPG. Check it out below:
The trailer seems to be a couple of clips from the first two ‘Old Republic’ trailers, while the last clip is entirely new to me. The story focuses on Darth Malgus, who is a pretty big bad ass, and based on an excerpt I read from Deceived, may have a bit more to his character than just a mindless Sith warrior. The video below is how the novel begins:
And here is yet another trailer for the Old Republic starring Darth Malgus. This guy can really take a beating. What happens to him at the end is why he has to wear his imitation Darth Vader mask in the Deceived trailer.
I can’t wait for the book to come out because Paul S. Kemp is a brilliant writer, especially in the Star Wars world. He has already shown that he can write a Sith character well beyond the generic bloodthirsty killer role they play in a lot of stories. Don’t get me wrong, Sith are bloodthirsty killers, but they all have a past. Kemp touched on this in his Crosscurrent with the Sith Lord Saes Rrogon. In one of the preview excerpts from Deceived, Malgus’s past life is delved into briefly, hopefully we get to see more in the rest of the book.
Sound off below on what you think of the news!
Grizzly Bomb 