JL Generation Lost #20
We start off things in Gen Lost with a Flashback to seeing a sixteen year old Max Lord, sneaking a girl into his house. She's worried they'll get caught but he's positive his parents will be in a deep sleep due to how late it is, and they head inside. While walking to the basement Max walked into the kitchen to see his father dead, with a chunk of his head blown out, blood everywhere, holding a gun. We learned that Max's dad Arthur Lord was a good man who'd found out his company was doing bad things, and when he tried to take those things public, he was silenced. At his funeral, Max's mother cries as she angrily tells Max she doesn't believe what anyone said, and she knows Arthur didn't commit suicide and he was murdered. She tells Max to never underestimate powerful people, and when going up against them, plan every step and remember, when fighting bad people, good people are always going to get hurt. From there we jump to present day and we see Max Lord standing over the recently shot-in-the-head Blue Beetle. Booster and the rest of the JLI looked shocked and Booster screams out that Max is a dead man and he'll pay for what he's done. The JLI break through the almost unbreakable walls thanks to Captain Atom and pursue Max as we see another flashback. We see Max apologizing to his mother because his hostile takeover on Chemtech failed. She tells him that Chemtech didn't kill his dad, the men who ran it did, and Max has already dealt with them, but he says he hates seeing the name as a constant reminder of what led to his father's death, and we see it's been bought out by none-other than Lex Luthor. Max mentions that Lex doesn't play by the rules, leading his mother to ask him why he continues to allow evil men who hide behind their businesses when he could be stopping them with his. From there we see Max paid terrorists to take over the United Nations and the Royal Flush Gang to attack the League's headquarters, just so he could manipulate the heroes and form a team with them, the Justice League International. From there we see Max talking to his mother, telling her about his mind control powers that happened as a result of an alien invasion, which I wasn't aware of. He says he's like the league now and how having powers scares him, and his mother tells him it shouldn't scare him, and he's always been able to make people do what he wants, now fate has made it easier. She tells him never forget that he's one of them, and from there we see him drinking in a room. Booster walks in and asks if there are any survivors, and he tells him no, that Coast City is gone. The two talk and Max says he understands that people die and it's God's will and such, but he tells Booster what makes him sick is win the deaths are caused by one of "you" people. He mentions how when Joker shot Babs Gordon that Joker killed sixteen people before Joker locked him up, or how John Stewart's arrogance caused billions to die when Xanshi blew up. He asks Booster if they cause more harm than good by being around. Booster tries to tell Max not to give up hope when Max says that his Mother lived in Coast City. A surprised Booster asks if there's anything he can do and Max says, forget we had this conversation, before making Booster forget. From there we see Max's life from the OMAC's, to killing Ted Kord, to being killed by Wonder Woman, becoming a Black Lantern, and his return. We see how he came back more powerful than ever and made everyone forget, and planned everything, step by step until now. We see him at the present day, telling Booster he's sorry it's come to this but maybe one day he'll understand that he's just trying to help. The issue ends as Max escapes and the JLI try to save Beetle, but appear to be too late. This was a great issue, I loved to see Max's horrible actions being humanized, and showing us why he changed from the fun old Max to the supposed villain he is now. We saw that he had remorse for everything he did, but believed he was doing the greater good, much like Lex. This issue was very well written and one of my favorite so far, definitely my favorite Max-centric issue. I'll give this a solid 10/10.
Teen Titans #92
Teen Titans and Red Robin continues here! We start things off with Tim and Damian, Red Robin and Robin, The Wonder Boy and The Boy Wonder laying into the Calculator Robots while thinking to themselves how annoyed they both are with the other one. Right off the bat we get the obligatory guy love thing between Tim and Connor, as Conner tells Tim he'll always be his Robin and Tim says Connor will always be his clone boy. Who do they think they are, X and I? I kid, I kid.... Anyway... As the Teen Titans take care of the Calc Robots, we see the real Calculator watching them on a giant monitor. He mentions how the Teen Titans are pretty much responsible for the death of his son Marvin, and how it happened over Cassie's leadership and how it's time to return the favor. Kill Beast Boy Calc, Please!!!! From there the Teen Titans enter a club while trying to find Calculator's signal and find out their above him, so Superboy shoots a hole in the floor, cause I'm sure there aren't any stairs or a more stealthy way to do that. JT Krul then shows his amazing writing abilities by having Ravager and Beast Boy say damn near the same thing in the same panel. Nice work, Krul. And, I spoke too soon, because Superboy then drops the horrible line "Now this is what I call Underground." Oh god, is this Teen Titans or Teen Cliche's? Then... Calculator, who's been watching them the entire time, so HAS to know their right above them, says out loud, "Where did they go?" as his camera's just show a hole in the club's floor that's right above his hideout. Really? He's THAT stupid? The Teen Titans break through his wall as he activates more robots, leaving Bart to say "Great, more robots." My sentiments exactly Bart. As the Teen Titans deal with his Robots, one grabs Cassie and Calculator talks about how the Titans don't let anything get in their way, not even the bodies of fellow Titans, and he tells her how basically used Kid Eternity as a phone to call up Marvin from the dead and after it stopped working he killed him. Cassie starts crying for her fallen teammate that was only on the team for like twelve issues. (Looked it up, fourteen issues.) Not long after that the entire team is subdued by the robots, but Robin throws his very sharp version of a Batarang and breaks the mainframe, taking out the robots. Cassie wants to kill Calc for killing Kid Eternity, but Red Robin reminds her thats not who they are. After she tosses him away, Robin goes over and stabs him in the stomach, shocking everyone except Tim, showing that Robin and Red Robin knew Calculator was a robot, but no one else did, not even Calc himself. Also Superboy didn't, even though he should be able to hear heartbeats, see through people and whatnot. Afterwards, Red Robin says something about the team and refers to himself, and Robin gets upset and says he's ready to go back to Gotham, especially since the Teen Titans already have a "Robin". Later, Tim asks Robin if he wants to stay, and Robin says he can't deal with them AND him, and they'd obviously rather have Tim around. When Damian goes back to join Dick, we see him comment on how Damian is more patient, how he's picked up new moves and hasn't used his blades to harm anyone. The issue ends with Damian saying he didn't need the Teen Titans and telling Dick he already had one friend in Gotham and one is more than enough. I enjoyed this issue for the Red Robin/Robin interaction, the swerve ending, the character development with Damian, and Tim rejoining the team apparently. What I didn't like was the way Calculator was made to look like a fool, especially after Tim put him over so much, like Catman in Red Robin, only for him to come out looking like a dud. Also I didn't like a lot of the dialogue, it seemed like some stuff a drunken Chris Yost would write, and Krul is much better than that. But with those as my only gripes I guess I'd give this issue a 6.5/10 rating.
Superboy: I don't care what your costume your or him wears. As far as I'm concerned, you're my Robin, always will be. (More ammo for me and X-Man's Tim/Kon-El wanna date each other theory.)
Power Girl #21
My favorite female Kryptonian kicks things off in this month's issue of Power Girl as she speaks about how we all make mistakes, from the putting your foot in your mouth mistake of congratulating someone on being pregnant when they aren't, or her undressing while the window washers happen to be outside her window, or ripping doors of the hinges with her super strength. We then see she means the recent mistake of beating the crap out of Captain Atom because she thought he was a evil Superman thanks to being mind-controlled by Maxwell Lord. After she's snapped out of it, Power Girl is told she should leave by Booster, which is actually him telling her she should try to find some help in the form of Batman, Superman and some more heavy hitters. From there we see her trying to tell Batman about Max Lord and how he keeps forgetting him. For the record, I'd recommend the comic just on this conversation alone because it was hilarious. After not being able to convince Dick Grayson who Max Lord is, Power Girl says she;s going to find a way to make him believe. From there we see Peej thinking about Ted Kord, and she says how she never took him seriously due to him being so goofy. We see a flashback that someone had broken into a Kord Universal warehouse and stolen some things, and left two dead guards in their wake. So Ted had called in Nightwing, Power Girl, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Wonder Girl, Speedy, Green Arrow and Wonder Girl to investigate. Power Girl tells Ted that this is a team for Darkseid, not to investigate murders the police could do, but Ted remained adamant that he felt there was something bigger going on. He tells her about the mysterious name O.M.A.C. popping up during his search for answers and she said that he should be the one trying to find answers, not calling on everyone else. She and the team of heroes then left, and she said that was the last time she saw Ted, and he was right in his suspicions and it got him killed. So Power Girl goes to Ted's grave and digs up his casket, she takes it to Dick and tells him to scientifically prove that Ted shot himself. Dick starts to say how crazy she is and he won't play along with her game when Batman (Bruce) walks in and says Dick won't do it because Max Lord shy's everyone away from remembering the truth. Power Girl is shocked Bruce remembers and Bruce said so will Dick, and Bruce starts to do the autopsy on Ted. Once the autopsy gets underway, Dick has no choice but to conclude Ted Kord was murdered and instantly remembers what happened. Dick says he'll contact the JLA and Oracle as Bruce and Power Girl head to find the JLI, which will continue in Gen Lost #22. This was a great issue, I loved seeing Power Girl try to prove everything, and so obsessed that she got Ted's body, which was a great touch at how badly she needed Dick to believe her. I also loved that I as right in my speculation months back that Bruce would remember Max since he was away when Max did his worldwide mind-wipe. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the stuff about Starrware, so much so I even omitted it from this issue, since it almost ruined the flow of it, so that aside I'd give this an 8.5/10.
Power Girl: We've been having this conversation for thirty minutes! I get you halfway down the field, boom, you fumble! Your forget again and we're back at home plate!
Batman: You really don't know anything about sports, do you? Action Comics #898
Lex Luthor's Action Comics starts off with Lex, still after the mysterious black orbs, as he's told one is wildly moving around space. While planning on going to get the orb, he's attacked by Larfleeze and his Orange construct, Glomulus. Lex notices that the orb is in Glomus' stomach, and Larfleeze explains that he found it and wants Lex to tell him how to use it so he can get more stuff. Ah, the wonderful gift of greed. Lex plays it cool and says he'll gladly help, telling the only Orange Lantern to hand over Glomulus, but Larfleeze doesn't fall for it, and figures out that Lex's Lo-bot activates the orbs and quickly figures out Lex is on a quest for power. Lex then explains that Larfleeze should be worried because after having a taste of that power he had while being an Orange Lantern. he wants the power back. He then launches a sneak attack on Larfleeze and tells one of his people to start a force field to keep Larfleeze there. An enraged Larfleeze yells that this is his attack and blasts Lex to the ground. Lex sends his Lo-bot to get something from Lab 8, and Larfleeze demands Lex have her come back, and grabs one of Lex's employees. He threatens to kill Lex's "construct" is Lex doesn't comply, and Lex, not wanting Larfleeze to think he cares about any of those people, just shoots the poor man square in the head, killing him instantly. Lex then surprises Larfleeze and pushes him into the sphere he got from The Joker, causing him to disappear. Larfleeze comes out of the orb somewhere in the Antarctic, and keeps shooting at the orb, telling whatever's inside to get back. He says Luthor must be mistaken to want that and no one would want that, even Larfleeze doesn't. which shocks him since he usually wants everything. The issue ends with the robot Lois talking to her boss as she leads Lex towards doom. Well this was an alright issue, I couldn't really get into it though, and I didn't care much about the reveal of Lo-bot's boss, what I did like is the mystery of what scared off both The Joker and Larfleeze, but I'll give this issue a 5/10.
Gotham City Sirens #20
We get things started as we see a very upset Harley Quinn, she explains how she has a quiet rage inside her that she hides behind her happy-go-lucky personality. How that rage only wants one thing, revenge for all the things she's been put through by a certain Clown Prince of Crime. She vows that she's gonna do what no one else has been able to, to kill The Joker. She uses four items to break into Arkham, because she claims that's all she needs. First while breaking in, she encounters an Arkham guard named Officer Hendricks. She remembers how she noticed he admired marbles, and used her fantastic psychiatrist skills to discover that as a kid he loved playing with them, and how he used them to escape and wished there were worlds inside them he could escape away to from his abusive father. So Harley throws marbles his way, and when he picks one up to inspect it, they explode. Harley claims she always liked Hendricks, but her rage won't allow for distractions, because they aren't enough. Harley starts to hallucinate and see's The Joker, she throws a crowbar but it fades through where she thought she saw him. From there, Harley recounts her meetings with Alice Sinner, the current head Director of Arkham Asylum, and how everyone knew that Alice's parents were apart of a mass-suicide cult. We see that Alice once loved a boy who loved her back, and he made her a flower out of fabric, and once they fell in love and were caught, he was forced to repent and act like Alice didn't exist. So she took her revenge and thirty-seven bodies were found at the crime scene, and a fabric-made flower. Harley said she had known Alice murdered those people, but recommended her to be hired at Arkham anyway, because of a request by The Joker, and notes that people with trauma are easier to manipulate. She then drops a flower made of fabric from an above vent onto Sinner's desk, and when she reaches for it, some knock out gas expels from the flower. From there Harley breaks out Basil Karlo a.k.a. Clayface with a crowbar, and we see how he goes crazy when a remake of his classic horror film is changed, and the weapon used to murder his character is changed from a Crowbar to a shoe. Clayface reacts by killing the director with a crowbar as Harley states to Clayface a crowbar represents failure. Clayface, once loose, starts attacking guards due to his anger. The issue ends as Harley heads on her way to kill The Joker and is confronted by her final challenge, Aaron Cash. Man, this was a great issue, it was great to see a new side of Harley, especially one that shows why she's such a damn good threat. Harley has so much talent and ability and I love seeing it utilized, although that Clayface explanation was pretty lame, I'll give this a 7/10.
Amazing Spider-Man #655
This issue of ASM is titled "In Memory of Marla Jameson", and starts off very interesting. For the first ten pages or so there are no words, thought boxes or any text. We see J. Jonah Jameson wake up in bed alone, and shower and shave, and we see he's still wearing his wedding ring. We then jump over to see Peter Parker finishing up shaving, he puts on his Spider-Man suit and gets dressed over it then seems to think while closing his eyes tight, and ends up leaving his Spidey costume on his bed and leaves for Marla's funeral. We see everyone from Betty Brant to Glory Grant showing up at Marla's funeral. We see as Jonah stands over Marla's grave and doesn't shed a tear, all the while with an emotionless face. These pages were done amazingly, they done so little in terms of words but they really hit home, the visuals are what sold it and that was a bold move that really worked out, so kudos to the ASM team. From there we see Peter lie down to bed later that night, as he finally drifts off to sleep he dreams of the night Uncle Ben was killed. This time Peter tries to stop the robber but can't catch him, as we see Uncle Ben in a blood-soaked shirt telling Peter to let it go. He tell's Peter he's at peace, and he's with family and points over to Peter's parents. Peter runs over to them and they turn around, only to see they have no faces. They say that Peter doesn't even remember them, that he thinks of Ben and May as his parents and his actual parents mean nothing to him anymore. From there Peter's family are boarding a plane to the great beyond and he see's Aunt May boarding, when he tries to grab her arm she morphs into Marla, and asks if she was Aunt May would he have found a way to save her. As Marla walks away she says don't worry, she'll be back, she used to build Spider-Slayer's and that makes her a super villain, and super villains always come back. Peter says she wasn't a villain, she was a good person, and she replies, never mind then. I loved that line so much because it really is true in the comic world. Villains come back every day but Uncle Ben or Batman's parents never will. From there we see Peter running around a Topsy-turvy New York that's full of people that have died in his life including Ben Reilly, Kaine, Gwen Stacy and Captain Stacy, and so many more people. He then see's Kraven, Green Goblin, Mysterio and the other villains that have returned from the dead, while his love one's haven't. He then sees vigilante's like Socurge, Punisher and even Wolverine killing off his rogue's gallery since Spidey wont take that step, and even has Captain America tell him to wake up and smell the coffee, even Cap killed Nazi's back in the day. Spidey then has the chance to stop the man who would go on to kill Uncle Ben once again, Spidey catches him and beats him to a bloody pulp, before realizing he was attacking Uncle Ben. Uncle Ben tells Peter that by crossing that line, that's how he'd be responsible, for the death of everything he's given him, and Peter promises he won't. He wakes up in a cold sweat and we later see him vow that from now on, whenever he's around, no one will die on his watch. The issue ends as we see a super villain with hostages, kill a hostage for no reason after making no demands because he can. This was an amazing issue, no pun intended. The look on JJJ's face never changing, Spidey's demons of his past and all the death's that are on his hands. I'll give this issue a solid 10/10 rating for one hell of a great story.
Marla: I used to build Spider-Slayers. That makes me a super villain. And Super Villains always come back.
Peter: But Dr. Jameson, you're not... I know you. You're a good person.
Marla: Oh... well then... never mind.Detective Comics #874
James Gordon starts this issue off, as he's face to face with his son, James Gordon Jr. Commissioner Gordon doesn't look happy to see his son, but after James tries to get his dad to listen for two minutes, he finally complies. He tells his dad he's sorry for all the trouble he's caused him, his mom, Sarah and Barbara over the years. Gordon doesn't believe James, and recounts many times that James has hurt and tortured people over the years from Jocks that teased him to a girl when he was a kid named Bess Keller. James says he's not a good man but he's never killed anyone. He tells his dad about how he left Gotham thinking he'd be able to get away from who he is, and after being hassled in Texas, he wanted to go find the person who did it and hurt him and his family and friends, but stopped himself and checked into a psych center. He says what he found out there is that he is a psychopath, and he's fine with that. He shows his dad that he's in a drug trial that pretty much tames his psychosis, and he says he wants to help people like him. He says he's applied to work with Leslie Thompkins and she knows the truth about him, he just wants his dad to speak to someone at the Wayne Foundation, namely Dick Grayson, and make sure they don't say anything to block him from being considered by Leslie as well. Gordon doesn't answer as James gets up and walks away while telling his dad it's good to see him. Next we see Batman and Red Robin, since he's in everything this month, on stakeout. Tim doesn't think Dick should be on control after what happened with him being poisoned by The Dealer, but Dick, just like Bruce, is too hard-headed to ever take a personal day. While getting the drop on some criminals, the toxin comes back to bite Batman, causing him to make mistakes and get caught slipping by a few criminals. After the assist by Red Robin, they search the criminal area and find a bunch of endangered animals, they try to figure out who's behind it before figuring it was someone new. The issue ends with Commissioner Gordon thinking of his son and their recent encounter. Well this was an alright comic, I feel like signs point at it being James as the culprit and that seems to obvious. I liked the stuff with him and Gordon but the Batman stuff seemed filler and Red Robin was pretty pointless in this, his role could have easily been filled by Robin or even Oracle verbally. I'll give this issue a 7/10 because I'm enjoying the way James Jr. has been portrayed so far.
Gordon Sr.: What's that on your shirt?
Gordon Jr: It's blood, Dad. I killed a waitress while you were talking to Barbara. Her head is stuffed in the toilet of the Men's room... It's just ketchup, see? Deadpool #33
The Merc with a Mouth is back doing what he does best, finishing up with the Hero lifestyle, DP now plans on getting paid, getting laid, and blood getting sprayed. And yes, I did just make that up. He starts his intergalactic voyage going to the planet Ongulia, or what's left of it after it's nuked by it's enemies and goes the way of Krypton. The remaining Ongulians seek help in the Red and Black form of the Regeneratin Degenerate himself, Deadpool. But before that, Deadpool must confront the widow of Macho Gomez, after killing him last issue. She threatens to chomp off DP's stupid head, so he plants one on the big hippopotamus resembling woman, and finds out that he's now married to her through that kiss. Surprisingly, Deadpool is fine with that, but he does have a thing for big chicks and old women, so maybe we should've seen this coming. After a honeymoon, Deadpool joins the family business of towing and recovery, and heads out on his first run, and after a bunch of bloodshed and calling himself Fatty a few times, Deadpool proves to be successful, which proves he's awesome at mostly everything he does. While doing this, he pisses off his boss, who happens to be his wife's brother. While talking about Deadpool with an employee, the employee suggests they bump off Deadpool, and says Deadpool's wife could do better, considering the guy is obviously in love with her. They make a few calls and we come full circle as the Ongulians ask Deadpool to get revenge for them by killing Id, who happens to be a moon. So yeah, Deadpool has to kill a living moon. It's the kind of wackyness that's so stupid that it's hilarious. The issue ends with Deadpool, eager to take on a living moon, accepting the job. This was a stupid, fun comic, nothing more, nothing less. It was perfectly acceptable and fun, I'll give it a 7.5/10.
Deadpool: You want me to kill a planet...
Ongulian: Well, a moon...
Deadpool: You want me to kill a planet. Just say it.Morning Glories #7
This issue of Morning Glories starts things off with a flashback to Mumbai, India, thirteen years ago. We see a man named Abraham, as his guide warns him that people in this area have proved to be liars and charlatans to see special. Abraham asks questions and we discover that the young woman their going to see is an orphan, due to her father murdering her mother. Abraham believes this young woman is the one he's looking for, solely based on faith. When Abraham and his guide walk into the room, the young woman finishes Abraham's sentence and greets him by name which shocks the guide, not only because she knew his name, but because she responded to Abraham in English, which is a language she had never even heard before. He tells the guide that this is the young woman their looking for, and that she is to be given to an adoptive family and her new name will be Zoe. We then fast forward to Zoe at Morning Glory academy talking to Casey, but she seems to be in her own world.When Casey acts what the problem is, Zoe goes off on her, asking why she wasn't made aware of their plan to save Jade. When Casey says she wasn't sure she could trust Zoe prior to that, Zoe tells her now she knows she can't trust her at all. Zoe storms out and walks past the gym and runs notices the cheerleader squad working out, after practice ends she confronts a cheerleader. Zoe, shocked the school even has a cheer team asks about it, and when the young woman asks if Zoe cheers, she takes great offense to it, implying that she's pretty much the Muhammad Ali of cheering all through the facial expressions she gives. (Kudos to Joe Eisma.) We then get another flashback, this time to last year, and we see Zoe on the cheer squad. She and a friend are talking about how they probably won't promote Zoe to Junior Varsity Cheer Captain unless she's dating a popular guy, or at least someone. Zoe makes up the lame excuse of the guy her friend recommends as being too tall, so her friend says maybe she'll date him, and calls Zoe a V-Tard, which just made it's way to my vocabulary. (Kudos to Nick Spencer.) The Cheerleader chatter is cut short when a teacher interrupts and says he hasn't gotten Zoe's friend's paper and she has until five to get it turned in, so she takes off to go finish her paper as Zoe looks on. Back in the present, the Morning Glory squad cheerleader tries to convince Zoe to join, saying she wouldn't even have to try out, but she'd have to pass a initiation ritual. Before she can explain she has to run, but asks Zoe to meet her on the soccer field at ten if she's interested, and she promises the sprinkler's full of hydrochloric acid won't go off then, which I loved because I honestly expected that... well minus the acid part. After she leaves Hunter comes over to say he thinks Zoe was right but she quickly brushes off his sympathy and says she has to trade up on the friend food chain. We then get another quick flashback as Zoe's leaving the gym at her old school she walks past a room and hears her friend crying out, she looks inside and see's the teacher trying to force himself on her, and Zoe clocks him in the back of the head with a book, causing him to fall forward and hit his chin on the desk, pushing back and breaking his neck. Back in the present, Zoe heads to the soccer field (which has goal posts, so I'm assuming that's a slip or they multitask on that field.) Zoe walks up and see's the cheerleaders with a ram, and she quickly announces she's not killing or having sex with it to join the squad. They laugh and tell her it's their team mascot and hand her something. They say what she has is basically a lie detector test and their gonna ask her three questions, two standard and one specifically for her, and if she lies she can't join the squad. They ask her earliest memory and we see Zoe's father strangling her mother while she watches from another room. The next question is what is the worst thing she's ever done, and we see that after she knocked out that teacher and mistakenly killed him her friend admitted the sex was consensual and they were playing a game that was her idea, for her to pretend he was forcing himself on her. After finding that out, Zoe decides they have to get rid of the body, and do so by putting his body in the school furnace. The final question is who is David, which refers to something in an earlier issue. Zoe doesn't ask, and instead runs off. We then see the main cheerleader reports this news to Miss Daramont who seems pleased with the information. The issue ends soon after with Zoe exacting revenge on the cheerleader, but I won't ruin it by saying how. Man, this issue was amazing. It started out great with a piece Zoe's past, then we saw her anger at being excluded, and the swerve with the teacher and the girl really caught me by surprise and the ending was shocking yet satisfying. Now I'm wondering what caused the change from sweet little girl to the "Mean Girl" that Zoe is now. If all comics were this good I'd never stop reviewing, I'll give this issue a perfect 10/10 rating.
Well, this was a long post but I definitely saved the best for last. Here's hoping you all enjoyed my reviews and rantings, and as always week free to comment. Be sure to vote on the new weekly poll as well, and check out the results of the last poll below. Well that's it for me guys and gals, until next time I'm your friendly neighborhood blogger-man, Jason Todd!
Last week's poll asked "Which Bat-family member should have a solo ongoing comic series?"
Last Place with 9.1% - Alfred Pennyworth, but he still makes a mean cup of tea!
Third Place with 18.2% - Cassandra Cain, Well I'm not opposed to her joining the Birds of Prey. ;-)
Second Place with 31.8% - The heir to the Wayne Fortune falls short to his "brother"...
Winner with 40.9% - Jason Todd returns from the grave and gets a series? I wish!
Next Time on Ratings and Rantings
Batman Beyond #3, Streets of Gotham #20, Brightest Day #21, and Green Lantern #63.
"the post that's better than the Best of The Rest" I'm not gonna complain about that because you linked to me, so it's all good! :D
ReplyDeleteFirst off, the thing that interested me the most here were your scores, JT... You had THREE perfect scores, while the rest of the books were mediocre-ish. Seeing your three perfects scores makes me feel better about giving out two perfect scores last week. I kept thinking, "TWO perfect scores?! Who do I think I am, JT?!?" Thinking like that put me in a deep depression, so I feel better knowing that you're still the undisputed king of perfect scores! :P
I haven't read Amazing, Teen Titans or Action yet, so naturally I can't comment on those yet, although I am a bit discouraged to see TT get such a middle of the road score. I was definitely hoping it would have been better.
We seemed to be on the same wavelength with DP, but I scored Detective a good bit higher than you did. I actually enjoyed seeing Tim and Dick team up here. They were always really close(back when Jinx was Robin and Dick was Nightwing)so I liked seeing them get together here. Sure they could have used Damian here, but it was nice seeing Tim work with Dick again. And totally agreed with James Jr. I really liked the way he was written here.
Now on to the polls... I'm fine with Jason winning last week's poll after having some time to think about it. I mean the site IS called Jason Todd's Comic Spot. That right there is an unfair advantage! He SHOULD have won! I can take solace in the fact that the little demonspawn was a relatively close second. Go Damian go! As for this week's poll, I went with Roy, although I probably shouldn't have... It DOES say "current" and currently Roy's character kind of sucks. But out of the 4 he's my favorite, so I went with him. Oh, and before I leave I noticed you called the Deadpool comic "perfectly acceptable". Somebody else we both know and love is ALWAYS using that in their posts too! :D
Haha note to self, insults are fine with links :P
ReplyDeleteI didn't even realize, but hey I had a good haul. Spidey's always good, Morning Glories was amazing, and you know how much I enjoy Gen Lost and Max Lord so that's a given. Also, you're a harsh grader, and you even gave out an 11... so YOU over grade.
TT was just meh, the dialogue is what hurt it in my book but you'll see soon enough. I agree and it's not that I didn't like Tim being there, it's just that he really contributed nothing special, I could see if he used some snazzy detective work, but not even that.
I thought about that when Jason won, like damn he IS the namesake. Go Demonspawn go could be a fun Damian catchphrase. And I knew you'd pick Roy, ya traitor, thats why I put CURRENT :P Lol, I hoped you'd catch that PS line :P
"Haha note to self, insults are fine with links" It works for me at least! I mean I don't mind it when you insult http://xmanscomicblog.blogspot.com/ as long as you make sure to link to http://xmanscomicblog.blogspot.com/ before during or after the insult. :P
ReplyDeleteYeah, but does that ONE 11 add up to THREE 10's? I think not! :P
Yeah, I'll prob read TT and Amazing tonight and have reviews up for Monday. I'll be posting reviews for Brightest Day and Green Lantern tomorrow... I'd have been fine if Dick simply called Jinx on the phone to say "What's up?!" I just like seeing those two interact, no matter how unnecessary it may be.
I think Damian would have to check with The Rock before he tried to use "Go Demonspawn go!" as his catchphrase. :P
Man... being on the other end of the comment blog plug feels so odd. :P
ReplyDeleteLol you're damn right it does!!! Hell you gave out like three tens and a 11 in the last few weeks, jabroni.
Sweet, looking forward to those scathing reviews of GL and BD. And yeah, I'm very interested on what ya think of ASM and TT.
Haha, see stuff like this is what makes you one of my best friends. "That doesn't sound like ANYTHING I say..."
HA!! Now YOU know what it's like! :D
ReplyDeleteI gave out ONE 10 and ONE 11 last week. That adds up to a 21. YOU gave out THREE 10's this week, adding up to a thirty! So I win!! I'm not really sure HOW that logic makes sense, but for my sake let's just go with it...
Dude, scathing is putting it mildly! One wasn't that bad, but I REALLY went OFF during one of those reviews. I'll let you try to figure which was which. Oh, since you really seem to be into Nick Spencer's writing, you should consider giving Iron Man 2.0 a read. It came out this Wednesday and I JUST finished reading it(like literally before I came here to comment!)and I REALLY enjoyed it! War Machine is actually the Iron Man in this one(I guess Marvel figured the book would sell better under the Iron Man name) and it was WAY better than I thought it was gonna be. I'll def be adding it to my pull list.
;-)
Lol yes, and I will continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteYeah, go back and add up ALL the scores for EVERY review and see who wins... ya jerk :P
I know it was BD. And it's an ongoing? I'll probably pick it up since it's by Spencer and you recommended it. Oh, I didnt know Dan Way wrote a Venom series. Their releasing and Ultimate Collection of all 18 issues in a trade, I'll be grabbing that.
You Da Man.
HA!! Jerk! :P
ReplyDeleteNow wait, that would be penalizing me for reading more comics than you! That wouldn't be fair! I bet if we averaged out all of the reviews I did last week and did the same for this post I'd have the lower average score! Huh, now I half want to do that...
I'm not telling... :P Yes sir, it is an ongoing. It had fantastic dialogue AND told a really good story! I'll prob have a review for it up Monday, although I basically just told you what I'll be saying in that review! I didn't know that about Way actually... I wonder if I have it already. I have a few of the older Venom minis, but I don't recall who wrote any of them. I'll have to check that out.
Yes. Yes I am. :D
Lol thaaaats me.
ReplyDeleteHave fun with that buddy, I'll be over here teasing you for giving out so many perfect scores. You're like the Ghandi of reviewing comics :P
It focused on the symbiote or something and somehow it got to Wolverine having it, sounds interesting enough. And yeah that sounds good, I'll have to pick that up then, so far Spencer can do no wrong.
You lost it for agreeing :P
He's a prideful jerk too! The worst kind! :P
ReplyDeleteMeh, in the half hour since I was here last I've lost all interest in doing that... *shrugs* You can say whatever you want, JT. We BOTH know who the REAL Gandhi of Reviewing Comics is! Where the HELL did you come up with THAT one?!? :D
Ah, I don't have that mini. I may have to dig around and see if I can find that somewhere. Cool. Just like that I convinced you to pick up that comic. Sometimes my powers even amaze me!
DAMMIT!!!
You'd know better than anyone, right? Lol
ReplyDeleteHaha my brain is always working overtime, and sometimes it gets pooped and comes out with stuff like that. Also, why are you even still ONLINE? And did you play the DAII demo?
Says the guy that just bought the Morning Glories trade and issue 7.... :P
Woooooooooooo
HA! Touché...
ReplyDeleteWell since you put it like that I'll be signing off now! I was checking out the results from the UFC PPV, which is why I've been wandering back to your blog every now and then. No, I didn't play it yet. The more I think about it the more I think I'll probably wait until next weekend before I play it. That way I'll be primed for DA2 when it drops.
Yeah but I was swayed after reading that big, long, excellent and now world-renowned post you did about Morning Glories. On the other hand I was all, "Iron Man 2.0 was really good, and it's written by Nick Spencer." and you were all, "DUDE! I'll definitely be buying that!!!" Big difference! :D
:/
Ah thank you!
ReplyDeleteLol you make it seem like I told you to get lost :P And gotcha, man, March 8th is looking better and better for me. I just found out not only does DAII drop that day, but also a CD by one of my favorite artists and a free EP by another one of my favorite artists. I love it
Haha well I respect you, but you wont have to worry about that much longer :P And Spencer won me over sucka, not you! :P
:P
See that, you DID chase me away! I hope you're pleased with yourself, JT! :P Sheesh, that sounds like a good day for you. Plus don't we have a b-day to speak of as well??
ReplyDeleteHA!!! Oh well. It was nice to be respected, even if it was only for a few hours. Say what you will, I KNOW it was me who won you over! :D
Is it bad that I'm proud of that? :P And yes, but my Birthday isn't until the 11th of March, but that should be a pretty awesome week.
ReplyDeleteLol if you say so X, if it'll make you feel good then yes, YOU convinced me :P
Yes, it is bad! Very bad!! :P Ah, sweet. I JUST noted that on my handy-dandy recorder, so we'll see if that damn thing actually works...
ReplyDeleteYes!!! I'll hold this over your head FOREVER now!!! BWA-HAHAHAHAH!!!!!
Haha well I'm a baaaaad man, like RIkishi's theme music during his HORRIBLE heel turn. Awesome, we'll see if anything comes of you noting that, which... I....DOUBT :P
ReplyDeleteNooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.... Why couldn't you just cut off my hand Aquaman style!
Isn't it sad when you're better off staying as a fat dude who wears a thong and dances as opposed to a badass heel?! I hate to say it, but you're probably right... :/
ReplyDeleteAnd have you crying for DAYS on end? I couldn't do that to you! :D
Lmao I never thought of it like that... poor poor dancing Rikishi. Dancing for our entertainment like a young Michael Jackson. And yeah, we both know you're a horrible friend in that sense :P Lol
ReplyDeleteHaha, so what do you think is the deal with all the Brightest Day Dust at th end of the last two issues?
It's so true though! He was better off just staying as a dancing oaf! I mean most people would have become MONSTER heels after running Austin down, but it just fell SO flat for Rikishi... I blame the ring attire. Once he turned heel he should have changed his look and moveset.
ReplyDeleteDamn, what the HELL is up with all the X-abuse today?!? I'm a "real monster" and a "horrible friend"!? If I had feelings you can be SURE they'd be hurt right now! :D
JT, PLEASE don't ask me questions about Brightest Day... I thought you knew me better than that...
He did, he wrestled in that leather outfit if I recall... I still think the person who hit him should've been like Test or someone who could've taken that push and run with it.
ReplyDeleteLol I'm trying to guilt you into getting me a gift! Haha, you know you're my buddy :P
Lol come on, humor me.
Ah, you are correct. But I don't think that lasted for too long, did it? That was more like his street clothes than an actually change in outfit. I mean the FIRST thing he should have stopped doing was using the stinkface, because the crowd ALWAYS popped hard for that, and you don't want your #2 heel getting that kind of face heat. I guess it could have been worse, it could have been Big Show or Vince's evil clone or something...
ReplyDeleteWait, you're trying to get me to buy you a gift by calling me a "monster" and a "horrible friend"?! I'd hate to say it but you're going about this all wrong, JT...
*sigh* Fine... Um, I can't say I've really thought about it since most of the time when I finish that comic my mind is a haze of anger and confusion... I guess everybody will be brought back from the dust? I don't know! How about this, what do YOU think, JT? :P
Good point, I don't think he did do the stinkface as a heel though, I can't recall him doing it anyway.... plus I could see it getting heat if he did it to huge faces like Rock.
ReplyDeleteI apologize, buddy ol pal. You're the best friend a guy could ask for and then some. That work? :P
I'd agree, or the dust somehow forms the champion or some stupid crap...
I don't know, I think(although I wouldn't bet on it) that he DID still use the stinkface on faces, and I'm almost positive he used it on Rock. And I still think it would pop the crowd no matter who he used it against. Austin, Rock or anybody in between. That was like heel Billy Kidman using the Shooting Star Press. I never understood the logic behind that. Flashy/showy moves pop the crowd, and as such, at least to me, shouldn't be used by heels.
ReplyDeleteSee, now you're starting to figure it out! :P
Ugh... I could SO see that too! And after he stops whatever threat he has to halt he can split back into all of the dead characters and bring them back to life...
Yeah, I would've had Kidman use something definite and quick he can hit on anyone like a Superkick or something of that nature.
ReplyDeleteYou're right I am, thanks to you, you Greek God of excellence... :P Lol, this is so asinine.
Yep, I REALLY hope that doesn't happen....
EXACTLY! I think he may have used Christian's finisher before he came to the E every now and then, but couldn't after he got picked up. But yeah, a superkick, some sort of DDT, a Shining Wizard, the Salad Shooter(!!!), anything would have been better than the SSP.
ReplyDeleteAsinine or not, I'm sure enjoying it! :D
But alas, it probably will...
Btw, I picked up a work shift and had to get up at 5:30 this morning and work that 7-11 shift which is why I left last nights commentfest.
ReplyDeleteI could see him using a shining wizard or something, I didn't know he used the Unprettier/Killswitch/whatever the hell its called though. And that Salad shooter line had me DYING when I read this comment email at work.
I bet you are, what with the Greek God calling and whatnot.
Yep.... to make Don Hall or something of great stupidity.