Tag Archive: marvel


The Pullbox – Issue #22

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February 14, 2012

Sorry to have missed last week folks, but after a crazy celebration over the New York Giants winning the Super Bowl followed up by a week in Vegas for the 15th annual DICE Awards and I think you all might understand why I couldn’t get around to doing a write-up last week, which is especially sad because it was a very good week for comics. But, the week of February 8th was a very good week as well, especially for Marvel, and so without further ado here is the Pullbox.

1) Marvel – Deadpool #50: Kicking off the first really big event for our favorite Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool #50 starts off the “DEAD” story arc where Deadpool’s obsession with Death has pushed him to the brink (even for him) and so now he is playing his own sick game of chess with X-Force, Daken, The Kingpin, and many others in the Marvel Universe in order to finally fulfill his death wish.

Deadpool has been continually one of the consistently best written Marvel books due to writer Daniel Way writing the entire series up to this point (almost unheard of nowadays) and just when you thought things were going to start drying up and go stale, he kicks off this arc, which looks to shake up what we think of Deadpool in every way imaginable and have us laughing the whole time while he is doing it. Even if remotely a Deadpool fan, pick up this issue as it surely is a sign of big things to come. Or the end of everything. Not really sure which.

2) Marvel – The Incredible Hulk #5: Hulk begins fighting his way through Banner’s island of misfit gamma irradiated animals while Banner deals with his very human enemies on the other side of the island while trying to bring his mad quest to be reunited with the Hulk to an end.

The most shocking thing about this issue was the surprisingly crisp banter between all the characters. And the irradiated monkey poop. Easily the funniest moment of the week because it literally came from nowhere. The best part of this issue though is we finally learn how Hulk and Banner were separated and it was done by none other than Dr. Doom. Once again able to do what no one else in the Marvel Universe could (as is the greatness that is Doom), everything of course comes with a price and so finally it looks as if we are going to get the explosive issue we have been waiting for as Hulk comes face to face with Banner and will likely result in their re-bonding and Doom will call in the favor he earned by separating the two originally.

3) DC – Batman and Robin #6: Robin finally shows his true colors and we find out that he has been playing both Batman and Nobody and Batman tends to be a bit more forgiving of these things, and that’s saying something. 

This story had been drawn out just enough as we learn both a key element of Batman’s past via flashback and Robin endears himself to the audience as we realize he is just a son looking for his father’s acceptance. And in the superhero world, taking down a super villain by yourself would be the logical way to do that I suppose if you’re a 10-year old boy. But Robin is clearly in over his head and that vulnerability all around for the first time from this character I think really keeps him from falling down the Jason Todd path of 25 years ago as fans were starting to get uneasy with the smart mouth brat that is Damian most of the time. It will be interesting how Batman comes in to save the day and it will be even more interesting to see where the book goes from here.

4) DC – The Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #5 (of 5): The Penguin can’t help but resort to his old ways and they finally catch up to him and everything he thought he might have had is once again forcibly ripped away from him. 

This book is great because it helps show off the tragic dimensions of a character like the Penguin as many of the snippets we get where he plays the villain to Batman’s hero play him off mostly one-dimensionally. This book is also a real throwback to how Batman moves and reacts to all the situations around him and panel sequences where he moves silently through the shadows taking down one thug at a time reminds us just how awesome he is in a book that is supposed to be all about the Penguin. A tragic end for this tragic character really drives the point of the mini-series home and was overall a very well written book. If you’re looking for a little more depth from the Penguin for whatever reason, then this is a great series to start with and is highly recommended for all Batman fans.

5) Archie – Mega Man #10: Mega Man’s budding rivalry with Quick Man comes to a head and we start to see the Blue Bomber go a little power mad again as he begins collecting all these new powers. Will Mega Man be able to continue his pursuit of Dr. Wily or will this constant pace finally get the best of him? 

I loved this book because it had a ton of action with more classic Mega Man 2 bosses as Mega Man hits both the halfway point of his boss battles and the halfway point of this story. We also learn a bit of history about the bosses as Flame Man reveals and confirms that he is indeed Fireman 2.0 basically and Quick Man talks about how he is a combination of Gutsman and Bombman. Of course, this pattern will continue for many issues to come hopefully as I can’t wait to see now how Mega Man deals with Airman and the other remaining bosses before dealing with Wily again himself. If you grew up on the Blue Bomber’s video games, there is absolutely no reason not to be reading and loving this monthly right now.

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The Pullbox – Issue #21

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DC’s New 52 is really starting to stall and this week wasn’t much better. In fact, there is only one title from DC I felt was worthy to talk about and since there was a very strong Indie push this week, we’re spotlighting two Indies and one DC title. Marvel maintained the course and was solid, but not spectacular in many ways this week. So, without further ado, here is this week’s pullbox!

1) IDW – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6: A mysterious French parkour ninja is hunted down by the Foot Clan as the Turtles continue to recon this threat. Meanwhile, Baxter Stockman begins to pull out all the stops to help Old Hob catch the Turtles and Splinter and reveals a redesigned blast from the past that should make all TMNT fans jump for joy.

A lot of pieces begin to fall into place for the future of this monthly as the Foot Clan finally reveals itself to the Turtles, Casey Jones and April O’Neil meet for the first time, and Baxter Stockman unveils a new generation of Mousers that look to no longer be the jokes they once were for the Mean, Green, Fighting Machines. If you haven’t been picking up this monthly, now is the perfect time to jump on board because business looks like it is about to pick up.  Kevin Eastman continues to remind us what made the original Turtles great with this series as it balances great humor with superb action on a consistent basis.

2) Comix Tribe – SCAM #1 (of 5): A group of conmen with some extraordinary powers are set up in what was meant to be the heist of their lives. Forced to scatter to the winds after being betrayed by one of their own, they come back together for one more gig in the hopes of sticking it to the man who stuck it to them and still get that legendary heist they were all waiting for.

This comic has everything you want from a first issue and the premise feels like Ocean’s Eleven meets the X-Men as you have a bevy of con-artists with superpowers in Las Vegas. Great art tempered with action, thrills, and a brilliant set-up makes this everything you’d want for $3.99. And amazingly enough, it all comes from one man as Joe Mulvey makes his big debut in comics with a splash. If the rest of this series is anywhere as good as this first issue, Mulvey is going to be a writer/artist to watch in the future in the comics industry for sure.

3) DC – Green Lantern: New Guardians #5: Kyle Rayner and the rest of the lantern color spectrum representatives finally begin to explore the traveling solar system that has revealed itself and are shocked at what they find. Even more surprising though is the reaction the lanterns receive and a new enemy who looks to rise up and make his presence felt by the lantern representatives.

With all the power being wielded between these new lanterns you need a threat that is worthy of them, and a hostile, traveling star system, and its crazy guardian that lives within its sun is a good way to start, so I’m all for a new villain in this case. The big question now though is what will DC actually do with him. This could be when this series really starts to ramp up its action and we finally start to get some answers, but if DC really starts to drag this out, it could get stale fast. One thing is for sure though, this issue is definitely good enough to warrant picking up this month and next month at least to see what happens.

4) Marvel – X-Men Legacy #261: An old foe returns to harass Wolverine and his new school in Westchester as it seems the school has the biggest target in the universe painted on it as they can’t go a week without being threatened with their untimely demise. After harrowing another threat though, Wolverine realizes he may have accidentally shifted that target to Cyclops and Utopia and so now the school has its first official road trip to help out their former teammates.

So as you can tell by the cover, the old foe is of course Exodus and his tremendous psychic abilities always make him an Omega level threat to whomever he should target. The unexpected humor of this issue though was a pleasant surprise as finally after talking Exodus down from his attempted mind wipe of the entire school to force them to unite with Utopia, they then have to follow Exodus as he flies off towards San Francisco to attack Cyclops and his X-Men instead. My only problem with that is that it seems to be bringing the two teams together a bit too soon after they separated so this is a tenuous situation that Marvel needs to handle properly so as not to undo everything that has been done in recent months.

5) Marvel – Astonishing X-Men #46: Cyclops takes on the mantle of leader once again as he and his multi-verse team finally learn that the Savior is his universe’s Charles Xavier. With some interesting drama between Cyclops and the multi-verse Wolverine, all out action then breaks out as they begin their attack on Savior’s tower in the hopes of escaping back to their own realities. 

The action is really the highlight of this issue as it builds to an interesting conclusion as Savior uses the services of Storm and a few other X-Men that he employs in his service to try to hold Cyclops, Wolverine, Emma Frost, Nightcrawler, and Shadowcat back to continue to power his universe’s bio-force. If you haven’t been reading this comic, now might not be the time to jump in as it’s the middle of a very deep story arc, but this continues a great run that Astonishing X-Men has been on since its inception (minus a random gap between issues about a year ago).

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The Pullbox – Issue #20

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January 26, 2012

A solid week all around in terms of releases this week, but it was difficult to pick the best of the best as there were a lot of good comics, but not necessarily great comics. Interesting twists abound as plots are further forwarded, so let’s see how by taking a look at this week’s pullbox!

1) IDW – Ghostbusters #5: After saving Ray from the hands of another minion of Gozer, the Ghostbusters are forced to try to get into shape by William Peck to meet the same standards as the NYPD and other civil servants. Meanwhile, as Venkman and Peck trade classic barbs, a new paranormal entity is causing havoc in Schenectady, New York, having possessed an entire amusement park and only the Ghostbusters are qualified for the job.

I can’t praise Erik Burnham enough for being able to capture the humor and absurdity of the situations that we loved seeing in both the movies and cartoons that many of us grew up with in terms of the Ghostbusters. After a brilliant 4-issue story arc to start the series off, I can’t wait to see what he does next as many details about this new ghost are minimal besides the fact that we know it is pretty powerful. Not to mention I love the paranormal files at the back of the book outlining the powers and abilities of the ghosts we’re seeing to give some insight as if we were a part of the team.

2) DC – Batman #5: Batman is trying his best to fight against the mind games of the Court of Owls, but as he remains lost in the ending labyrinth beneath Gotham, the world above can only wonder and worry what happened to their constant protector.

Almost feeling like a filler issue as most of the issue is simply seeing the effects of what the Court of Owl’s mind games are doing to Batman, the tricks used in the book might actually start to screw with the reader as panels start going sideways and upside down and so as you start turning pages, you’re also turning the actual book. A nice way to really help the reader feel just how upside down Batman’s world is becoming. But we’ve seen Batman overcome mind games before, whether with the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh sub-personality or some other mental training exercise he’s been through so again this is why as much as I love most of Scott Snyder’s work on Batman, this is a bit more of a filler issue, no matter how much I love the rotating panels effect.

3) DC – Green Lantern Corps #5: With John Stewart and some other members of the Corps being tortured clear on the other side of the universe, Guy Gardner is rallying the troops on Oa to stage a rescue mission and bring it to the Keepers. And Gardner is calling in the big guns, specifically a group of Lanterns who redefine the term “tenured” and who don’t know how to pull their punches called “The Mean Machine”. But will even this grizzled group of veteran Lanterns be enough to save Lantern Stewart and the rest in time?

I really like how this issue is expanding the Lanterns a bit more and adding a bit more personality to Corps members outside of those from Earth. I also like that it’s getting Guy Gardner back to his no-holds-barred, dirty tricks, all about results roots as he will do anything to save his friends and you have to love that about this character. All in all, this is a really well-written issue as it looks to build up to an explosive confrontation between Guy and his group of semi-rogue Lanterns and the Keepers, whose awesome origin story as a new enemy of the Lantern Corps is also pretty sweet and is revealed this issue.

4) Marvel – Daredevil #8: The second part of a two-issue crossover with Amazing Spider-Man ends here as Black Cat, Spider-Man, and Daredevil hunt down the thieves of some cutting edge hologram technology. But ol’ Hornhead may have bitten off more than he can chew as it becomes a bit more personal with the Cat. But can her motives be trusted and if he can’t or can, I don’t think Daredevil’s radar sense would be able to figure it out anyway.

The personality that Daredevil gives off and the constant making fun of Spider-Man makes this a particularly great issue and sets itself up that Black Cat, at least for the next few issues, will likely be a guest star as the hologram technology only scratches the surface of what could be a larger and more innate plot with Hydra and other evil global organizations. No matter if you’re just getting into Daredevil or have been following this new series since the start though, this book is most likely Marvel’s best written overall monthly and it only continues with this issue.

5) Marvel – Generation Hope #15: After another mission to find one of her “lights”, Hope doesn’t realize she has actually brought the mind-wiped Sebastian Shaw back into the midst of the X-Men and Cyclops is not happy about it. The X-Men must now decide the fate of one of their once greatest enemies as he is a blank slate and looking for refuge in Utopia. Meanwhile, the rest of Hope’s team come head to head with some Morlock refugees who are furious over their second class status even amongst their fellow mutants.

There were a lot of great X-Men books this week, but the banter between Emma Frost and Hope Summers as they argued over the fate of Sebastian Shaw put this over the top for me. Absolutely hysterical as you see things start to come to a head in the Utopia War Room. Throw in the return of the Morlocks who have almost been forgotten about in Utopia and I think this could continue to be the most interesting of the X-books in the near future.

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The Pullbox – Issue #19

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January 15, 2012

We are back folks! Finally caught up with the back issues I missed over the holiday as well this week’s releases. And let me tell you, that was no easy feat, never mind actually picking this week’s Pullbox. But that was difficult, too. A lot of great comics, especially from Marvel and on the Indie side of things, made for some tough choices this week, but I think that the elite have risen to the top. So here is this week’s Pullbox!

1) Marvel – The Amazing Spider-Man #677: When the Black Cat is framed for a technology theft she didn’t commit, as Spider-Man can attest to since he was with her at the alleged time of the crime, Spidey calls in his old friend Matt Murdock to help him get to the bottom of the case and to help the Cat clear her name.

Although I’ve steered clear of Spider-Man for the most part because I think the character only regresses with every major event he takes part in, this issue sees the start of a brief crossover with a character who has been rejuvenated in past months, Daredevil. And so I decided to pick up this comic and was pleasant surprised. Brilliant artwork and the banter between Spidey and Daredevil is hysterical as they work together over the course of the issue that will be concluded in the next issue of Daredevil. There is also a point in the comic where Spider-Man questions himself and wishes he had Daredevil’s strength of character as he has had more problems than anyone else in the Marvel universe and didn’t really need a cheap character re-launch by pick himself back up. As someone who has been furious at most of Spidey’s writers for a while, that made me feel good.

2) Marvel – Carnage USA #2 (of 5): As Carnage continues his dominance of a small town in the middle of the country, Spidey finds himself getting help from some unlikely sources as he tries to formulate a plan that could finally put down Cletus Kasady for good.

Surprising I know to put a pair of Spider-Man comics at the top, but this mini-series and the last one by Zeb Wells clearly show who should be at the helm of the wall-crawler in the future. His storylines in both these mini-series and the new Avenging Spider-Man show that he knows what Spider-Man fans want. Smart, witty banter between Spidey and his enemies, some cameos from other Marvel heroes once in a while, and to pit Spidey against his more iconic villains instead of working on new threats or some thing more on a global scale that should stick to Avengers stories. Marvel touts that Spider-Man is the world’s greatest super hero. It’s stories like these that actually give them a case in defending that claim.

3) DC – Batman and Robin #5: Damian Wayne has made his choices and has decided that he is sick of being treated like the child that Batman thinks he is. So, when offered a chance to follow “Nobody”, better known as Morgan Ducard, the son of one of Batman’s former teachers, Henri Ducard he took it to satiate his killer instincts. But will Robin actually pull the trigger when the time comes? 

There are a lot of similarities between the development of Damian so far as a character to the original Jason Todd, but the fact this twisted being is in the body of a 10-year-old boy makes it a bit more creepy. With the knowledge of his past mistakes always looming in the back of his mind, it’ll be interesting to see what Batman does to not only win Damian back and if he finally starts to grow into the “father figure” role that Damian so clearly needs, but if he reveals all of his secrets to Damian who so desperately desires his trust just as much as his love. Left open on another cliffhanger ending, the next issue will definitely see some sparks fly and if you want to see just what the future of the Batman and Robin dynamic will be, you’re going to want to start with this issue.

4) DC – Deathstroke #5: Realizing his long thought dead son may actually be alive, Slade Wilson, better known as Deathstroke the Terminator, must also deal with the fact that the closest thing he’s ever had to a friend in Christoph, has just received his head as a very clear message. Along with Peabody, Deathstroke must continue to track down his clearly enraged son while also still dealing with yet another person wearing the Legacy suit. But this newest hunter has some metahuman powers that will put Slade’s own to the test.

Always guaranteed to provide tons of over the top action, this issue continues that trend while bringing up more questions of where Deathstroke goes from here as things just seem to get more and more complicated and he really doesn’t know who to trust as that short list just got shorter. The interesting thing of course will be how he handles this new Legacy and if the running joke of this new character being cannon fodder comes to an end as we also learn the extent of this new Legacy’s powers. We’ve seen some super-strength and some high level telekinesis. It’ll be interesting if there is anything else up his sleeve as he takes on the world’s greatest assassin.

5) Image – PIGS #5: The Russian sleeper cell continues to fracture from within as a new assignment has come their way and requires them to break into a prison to perform an assassination. As the ante has been raised, more of the group starts to hesitate and decides to go with the more subtle approach unlike their first mission, but things don’t exactly go according to plan. Or do they?

With so many comics revolving around super-heroes and crazy powers and worldwide threats from extraterrestrial beings and whatnot, it’s great writing like this that makes me a fan of comics. An espionage thriller like this is a rarity in today’s market, but hopefully it continues for a good long while, or at least as naturally as the story will allow it to. The rift that is forming in the group and knowing everything that is riding on it, you don’t know who to root for as its easy to lose sight of the fact that the story really revolves around bad guys. So now the big question becomes when will the US government start to step in and really up the ante for what is already an interesting and high intensity book.

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New Facebook ‘Marvel: Avengers Alliance’ Game Announced

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THE BUZZ: Disney, along with their social games division Playdom, have announced the plan to launch a new Marvel inspired game for Facebook in the next three months.

The game will feature many of the most popular heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe and will be titled Marvel: Avengers Alliance. In the game, you will play as a new agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. tasked with assembling the greatest team of Avengers yet to battle many of the villains from the Marvel Universe who are converging on Manhattan after a galaxy wide event known as “The Pulse”.

Aside from following this story, the game will also feature PvP battles for players to test their social standing and feature a leveling up system for each individual hero.

EGM’S TAKE: No surprise really to see Marvel and Disney trying to get a game into the social market in time for the Avengers movie release, but the game would likely appeal to fans of the comics anyway no matter when they released it.

From the screens below and the fact you can level up, the game looks to be shaping up into an old-school RPG with the enemies on the left and villains on the right.

It also looks like your character will fight alongside the heroes at the top of the screen in traditional S.H.I.E.L.D. garb. Nick Fury has also been mentioned as head of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the game so the story will likely be less tied to the comics and more to the movies. It should be interesting to see if they use the traditional comic book version of Fury or the Ultimate version portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson like in Marvel’s recent slew of movies though.

The first big question I thought of when I saw this though was when are we going to get a full blown Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 for a console?

To check out the trailer and to get the latest updates on when the game may go to open beta, you can check out the game’s Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/avengersalliance

What do you folks think? Is this going to just be propaganda for the new Avengers movie or will it be a legit foray for Marvel and Disney? What villains and heroes do you think the game should feature? Let us know what you think with comments below!

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The Pullbox – Issue #18

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This last Pullbox of the year before our winter break sees a lot of limited series take the spotlight as we’re simply seeing better potential for more complete stories from these limited series than a lot of monthlies lately. We also feature our first independently published Indie as it doesn’t get more independent than that. So enjoy this Pullbox and we will be back the week of Jan. 11!

1) DC – Batman and Robin #4: Ghosts of Batman’s past continue to haunt him as the son of Henri Ducard, one of Bruce’s most influential teachers, has surfaced calling himself “Nobody”. And he looks to teach Batman a lesson he will never forget. And it may cost him Damian in the process.

The most compelling aspect of this story so far is really the dynamic between Bruce and Damian. As Bruce tries to protect him more and more, he seems to push Damian farther and farther away and possible right into the arms of Nobody. More old-school fans might not appreciate this dynamic though because it has a very Bruce/Jason Todd feel to the banter. Of course, Damian is also Bruce biological son and there is a lot more history in a much shorter time because of his origins than what needed to be laid out with Jason.  Overall, definitely a story to keep an eye on though and very strong so far. It will be interesting to see how this continues to play out and is finally resolved.

2) DC – Deathstroke #4: Deathstroke is up to business as usual as he continues to use his infinite resources to start tying up loose ends and finally verify the contents of that briefcase that has haunted him since the first issue.

After an action packed opening sequence to set the tone of the issue as Deathstroke performs another hit, you would think it was father/son week at the DC offices as we finally learn that the contents of the briefcase are a freshly bloodied Ravager mask and knife insinuating that somehow, Deathstroke’s son is still alive. When you couple this with the bloody conclusion of the issue with a mysterious assailant attacking one of Deathstroke’s allies and you start setting up a few potential rivals for this major DC Universe player. It’ll be interesting to see though if DC strings this out over a few issues much like they did with the reveal of the briefcase or if they jump right into it, but it is unlikely. They’ll look to build some suspense first as Deathstroke hasn’t shown the depth of character in many other ways through these first four issues and this can give them a chance to build some while building up to an epic confrontation.

3) Marvel – Carnage USA #1 (of 5): After months of planning, Cletus Kasady has finally decided how he is going to exact his revenge not only on Spider-Man, but on the entire world.

After the critically acclaimed five-issue series Carnage by Zeb Wells that brought one of Marvel’s best villains back into the spotlight, this mini-series looks to follow up where that left off. While Carnage was hiding, he finds that his powers have grown in new and interesting ways and decides to set up his most elaborate trap for the wall-crawler before making himself a new powerhouse in the world and not just looking to kill a town or a city, but to finally go global. Honestly, if you’re like me and got into comics right around the time of Maximum Carnage, then that story and everything that has come after it still holds a special place in your heart. And to see Zeb Wells start working on these epic symbiote style storylines that make sense really hits that sweet nostalgia spot that Dan Slott has not been able to for me in the main Spidey continuity. Add in Clayton Crain’s spectacular artwork and this is a must for old-school Spidey fans.

4) Marvel – Avengers: Sanction #1 (of 4): The ultimate soldier of fortune is back and Cable is none too pleased with what he has learned. Thought to be dead, he merely timeshifted to a future so distant that only his old time traveling mentor Blaquesmith is there waiting for him. There Cable learns he will be consumed by his techno-organic virus within 24 hours, but when Blaquesmith explains the world he currently stands in is a wasteland because Hope had died before her time, Cable knows what his final mission must be: to go back in time and stop Hope’s would be killers, the Avengers.

Considering this is only supposed to be four issues, expect the action to be hot and heavy. Aside from taking on Captain America and the Falcon in the first issue and using them as bait for the other Avengers, the big question that this series brings up is what will become of Cable now? Will this be his true swan song? Is this how he will be brought back into the fold? And if so, you’d have to assume he would side with Cyclops, right? Lots of questions come from this one issue and by that definition alone, if you’re a Cable fan you need to pick up this issue.

5) Independently Published – Sacrifice #1 (of 6): An epileptic boy with strange tattoos and on an array of medication is somehow connected to the ancient Aztecs and their massive empire from hundreds of years ago.

Time travel, human sacrifice, psychedelic trips, and a lot of questions makes this one of the more interesting comics I’ve read in a while because I have no idea where it is going to go because I barely have an idea where it’s just been. Flashing back and forward through time with each turn of the page keeps you on your toes and the action and plot is definitely intriguing enough to pick up a second issue, but I admit if things don’t start to come together fast, there may be too many moving parts to stick with this the whole way through. But the first issue? Definitely worthy of our indie pick as it clearly has a lot of awesome elements that if brought together in the next issue or two can make for a very entertaining mini-series.

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Pullbox – Issue #17

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December 14, 2011

A lot of comics came out this week, but not too much really stood out as special for me and I’m even tempted to start removing some titles from my pullbox. Action Comics and Red Lantern continue to be mediocre for different reasons…Action has too much going on and Red Lantern doesn’t have enough. Marvel also saw some new monthlies start like The Defenders, but it really just concentrated on forming the team more than anything. So it actually ended up being a good week comparably for the Indies. Spawn, Mega Man, and Last of the Greats were all very solid. But only the most spectacular of all these made it into this week’s Pullbox.

1) Marvel – X-Men #22: A team of Cyclops’ X-Men continue to work with War Machine to track down several dozen Sentinels and hopefully prevent the start of World War III erupting in Eastern Europe.

I love this story arc featuring the return of the Sentinels and seeing the X-Men trying to take down the giant tin cans again. This issue in particular sees the action and the consequences of that action really amp up as the X-Men know that if they don’t disarm the small fleet of giant robots, that the entire world could fall apart. We also see Domino work her way back into the fold and surprisingly see Jubilee really start to contribute with her new vampiric powers showing off some increased agility, strength, and speed. If you’re an X-Men fan, especially an old-school one, the ending only hints at more great action coming up and now is a great time to get on board if you aren’t already.

2) Marvel – Venom #10: Now that the events of Spider-Island are behind everyone, Flash Thompson, the current Venom, has to get back to work as a covert ops agent. Unfortunately for him, the Crime-Master has other ideas and with Betty and the rest of Flash’s family in Crime-Master’s number one henchman, Jack-O-Lantern’s sights, Flash has no choice, but to listen, even if that means going through Captain America to do it.

Going back to the early themes of this monthly, pitting Venom against Captain America in this issue really helps re-establish Venom as the anti-hero he is meant to be. This issue gets everything right back on track after being derailed by the mediocre Spider-Island story line and if you missed the first nine issues, now is the perfect time to get on board as you can pick everything up pretty much from here and expect things to trend upward drastically.

3) DC – Animal Man #4: Animal Man’s family has been split up and he is just starting to become aware of what he and his family mean to the Red and what they have to do to hold back the Rot. The question though is can Animal Man and his daughter come to grips with their lofty responsibility before the Rot gets to the rest of the family?          

I wasn’t very high on Animal Man to start with, but now as things are starting to come together for a cross over between Swamp Thing and Animal Man as Swamp Thing, representing the Green and plant life, and Animal Man, representing the Red and wildlife, will have to combine their forces to put down the Rot. It is a move that makes sense and helps bolster characters that might not be strong enough to really sustain monthlies as originally suspected as they don’t really have the enemies that define them like so many other great DC characters. It’ll be more interesting to see where both characters go from here, but for now this is the perfect place to get on board for both comics as they build towards what could be an entertaining event between the two monthlies.

4) DC – Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #3 (of 5): After the passing of his mother, The Penguin is lost, but finds a kindred spirit one faithful day while visiting the penguins at the Gotham Zoo. Now Penguin has a new person to obsess over and to use his criminal enterprise to gather pretty little baubles for.     
      
This mini-series has been a great look at the psychology of the Penguin the whole way through and to see him find an unlikely love was an interesting twist. But it is only a matter of time I’m sure before the Penguin’s true nature reveals itself and he will end up alone again as the Dark Knight is always lurking in the shadows. With two issues left though it is going to be very interesting to see how everything unfolds as the Penguin isn’t one to go quietly when everything of his is threatened, as we’ve seen time and again in this series as he destroys the life of all those who choose to look down on him in the most creative of ways.

5) IDW – Raphael: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (One-Shot): Even after being re-united with his brothers, Raphael doesn’t feel completely comfortable with the family yet. So when the Turtles go on their nightly patrols, Raphael uses Wednesdays to go out with Casey Jones still as he feels closer to Casey in some instances. Just what kind of trouble can these two get into? A lot more than should possible in a on-shot.                    

This issue is massive for old-school Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans in terms of the new monthly as it introduces Bebop and Rocksteady (pre-mutated) as well introduces a brand new character into the fold, which makes me suspect we can start to see an all-out mutant vs. mutant war at some point with new and interesting animals being mutated and although he has been hinted at, we still haven’t even seen Shredder. I can only imagine what a revamped 2012 version of Shredder could look like as whether a bumbling 80s cartoon villain or the cold-blooded master of the Foot Ninja, he is still one of the most iconic villains out there. This one-shot is a must have and be sure to look for the alternate covers if you’re a true collector!

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Pullbox – Issue #16

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An interesting week this week as it was a rare 5th Wednesday in the month. And when this happens, typically there is a shortage of comics and this month’s victim was DC. Only a couple of DC titles were released and nothing of any note. So, to still meet our required five, I’m going to look at three Marvel comics that at least had a few decent titles come out and a pair of indies. Enjoy!

1) Marvel – Uncanny X-Men #2: As the X-Men continue to try to work their way through Mr. Sinister’s army of clones to get to the headman himself, the remaining Celestials are making an interstellar beeline for Earth, infuriated that their sleeping brother has been tampered with in such a way. Can the X-Men get to the root of Sinister’s plan before the Celestial turns everyone on Earth to dust?

The plan that Mr. Sinister lays out is one of the most nefarious schemes we’ve yet to see from any X-Men villain and puts him in the running again with guys like Bastion to be the number one threat to the X-Men’s plans of a peaceful existence. To see his new power levels and how he handles many of the X-Men’s heavy hitters like they were rag dolls makes you wonder how the heck Cyclops is going to find a way out of this one and compels you to keep reading this awesome series re-launch story arc.. Not to mention I want to see what is going to happen to Emma and how they’re going to reattach her arm when she leaves diamond form.

2) Marvel – Daredevil #6: Daredevil is still trying to get to the bottom of this international terrorist organization conspiracy while saving his new client from becoming the latest loose end tied up by these criminal power players. On top of this we finally learn about the new and mysterious Bruiser who looks to be able to brush off Daredevil’s best moves like they were nothing. Can Daredevil overcome this and save his new friend?

Daredevil has surprised me every issue so far as it finds a way to creatively find a way for Daredevil to overcome each situation thrown his way and this issue doesn’t disappoint as Daredevil’s unique radar sense saves the day for him twice. Tempered by some light humor and cool action sequences, this monthly should be in your pullbox for the foreseeable future even if not a diehard fan of The Man Without Fear as the high quality of this monthly may turn you into one.

3) Marvel – X-Men Legacy #259: Not sure whether to join Cyclops or team with Wolverine in Westchester, Rogue and the rest of X-Men who have returned from Shiar Space are having a tough time coming to a decision. When Rogue meets with Magneto though and hopes to borrow his thoughts to maybe come to a decision herself, she sense something familiar piggybacking on Magneto’s consciousness. Once brought together, Emma finds that each of the space farers have a fraction of this consciousness and once pulled together, a blast from the past looks maybe return to the fold.

With a dwindling number of mutants in the Marvel continuity, the chance to bring back a thought dead character is always refreshing and I don’t think anyone would have seen this coming. If successful, it can add a new dynamic to whatever team chosen by this mystery character while also bolstering ranks. The biggest downside of this issue though is we mostly already know for the most part who from the space farers goes where in terms of Schism, but the return of this new character still makes this a worthy title to pick up and is definitely worth it as our extra Marvel title this week.

4) IDW – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4: Old Hob finally catches up with Raphael as we come to learn just why Old Hob is still so adamant about taking out all the turtles. Just when things look to be their darkest though, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo finally catch up with their wayward brother and once this fearsome foursome reunite, Old Hob starts to realize he may have bitten off more than even he can chew.

Basically closing this opening arc while reintroducing old and new characters alike in a way that should please all diehard old-school TMNT fans, the future is wide open for this book now that Raphael is finally brought back into the fold. The only question now is what threat will emerge to take on the Heroes in a Half-Shell now and just what will happen to Old Hob when he has to report to his mysterious masters that he has failed. Old and new TMNT fans alike should be reading this fresh take on some of our favorites heroes as this book looks to really start amping up now and looks to only improve on an already solid start.

5) Top Cow – The Darkness #95: Jackie is in trouble and from an unsuspecting source: his sister. Revealed to also be a Darkness wielder, Jackie starts to learn just how long the Darkness has been around and has to make a tremendous sacrifice in order to get out of the harrowing situation he finds himself in once again.

Wrapping up this 6-issue story arc as the Top Cow universe prepares for their universal re-launch, which seems to be the theme in comics in 2011, we see Jackie continue to make sacrifice after sacrifice to expel the evil that is the Darkness from the world while trying to avoid the temptation that always come with wielding so much power. The twisted demonic action that has been a staple of this monthly continues and only looks to increase as we steadily approach what will likely be a landmark 100th issue as this sets up the next great story arc for this monthly that will kick off explosively in the next issue. If you haven’t read The Darkness before, now would be a good time to get into it, especially with an awesome looking game related to the franchise coming out in February.

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The Pullbox – Issue #15

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November 29, 2011

After a near two-dozen comics in my personal box last week to sort through, things were easy for me to whittle down this week as there were only a half dozen. Those are the breaks in the comic world: big weeks followed by slow weeks. These five picks though are no slouches and are more than worthy to carry the load.

1) DC – Green Lantern: New Guardians #3: Kyle Rayner has become only the second being in the known universe, along with the deceased Krona, to simultaneously wield the entire emotional spectrum at once and he is furious at the Guardians. The other ring guardians though are hot on his trail, but the big question that has been looming since this started will soon be answered: Where is Agent Orange?  

There is a lot of action in this comic and the big reveal at the end makes perfect sense. It sets up the series for some major impactful events that could start coming as soon as the next issue and really start driving where this monthly will go in the future. It also helps establish the Guardians as truly powerful beings again, as they’ve played the role of victims for a while now, where they shrug off most of what is thrown their way by Rayner. It’ll be most interesting to see how they handle the concentrated efforts of all these different spectrum lanterns though along with the power of the entire orange core coming down on them at once.

2) DC – Batman: The Dark Knight #3: Batman continues to follow the trail this new villain, the White Rabbit is laying out before him, which has him running into all the fan favorites in his rogues gallery. Batman’s desperation has him call in a little Justice League help from the Flash, but even his speed isn’t enough to catch the White Rabbit…yet.                   

It’s always interesting to see how Batman puts the pieces of a mystery together, but what’s great about this opening arc for this new monthly is that each issue has just as many questions popping up as there are answers, as in Batman, and his readers, keep falling down the rabbit hole. I still believe this has the markings of the Mad Hatter all over it, but it should be interesting to see what other twists writer David Finch has in store for us before we get to that end point or what might just change my mind. If you haven’t been reading this, it might be a hard point to jump into now, but if you’ve been reading this series, as I’ve recommended in previous weeks, then this issue is just the next leap forward in this intriguing story arc.

3) Marvel – Secret Avengers #19: Steve Rogers and his band of Secret Avengers travel to the fictional country of Symkaria in Eastern Europe to track down what they believe to be an international drug dealer, but find a more mystical and threatening substance the dealer is pushing instead.

The interesting thing about the Secret Avengers monthly is that each issue recently has been a one-shot. Usually featuring just Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, Black Widow, and Moon Knight, this small covert ops team usually finds themselves in ever-chaning scenarios that require unusual solutions to their even more unusual problems. The question that arises from these one-shots though is if this is building up to something more and if not, how much longer can they keep this monthly interesting by only doing these one-shot stories. At the very least though, this month’s is definitely worth picking up as the team dynamic and unique adventure this group goes on is an enjoyable read from start to finish.

4) Marvel – Wolverine and the X-Men #2: As the attack on the new X-Mansion in Westchester continues from the new Hellfire Club, a series of new and old enemies emerge to test this branch off of the main X-Men and we get a cool surprise from none other than Iceman.            

The second issue of this new monthly is almost sensory overload as we get wave after wave of enemies thrown against Iceman, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Beast, and the rest of the new X-Men. Frankenstein monsters, lizard people, and on top of all that, one of the X-Men’s oldest enemies in Krakoa arrives on the scene to push these new X-Men to the limits. All this while a weird romance seems to be brewing between Idie, one of Hope’s former lights with the ability to project fire and ice, and Broo, the abandoned Brood youngling saved from the S.W.O.R.D. satellite in Astonishing X-Men. If you’ve been paying attention to a lot of the X-Men books in recent months, this monthly is your pay off as everything seems to be coming together in an explosive way and it only looks to amp up even more in coming months.

5) Dark Horse – Hellboy: B.P.R.D: Hell on Earth: Russia #3 (of 5): Hellboy has quit the B.P.R.D. and is missing. Liz Sherman, after incinerating half the planet in order to stop the plague like spreading of the frog people has also going into hiding. Abe Sapien is in a coma. So when zombies show up northeast of Moscow and start acting very un-zombie-like, it’s down to Johann Kraus and Kate Corrigan to investigate, but even the by-the-books Kraus has been acting strangely after all the events that have transpired recently. Can Kraus and Kate get to the bottom of this new threat without losing themselves in the process?                       

If you are a fan of Hellboy or a fan of just some gruesome looking creatures and horrors in comics, this is a mini-series you should be reading. You can jump into this issue with minimal back-story, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice. But at the very least you’d be better off than people not reading this mini-series at all. It has a classic Mignola feel to it and you can’t help but want to push forward with the series as you get engrossed in yet another new mystery of this unique universe that Hellboy has always been set in. And with many of the characters and settings always done in a series of earth tone colors, aside from the always striking reds of blood or Hellboy himself, it gives it a noir feel that you just can’t get anywhere else in comics today.

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The Pullbox – Issue #14

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A mild week for DC made it difficult to pick two that rose above the hoi polloi, while Marvel provided the exact opposite problem as there were more than a handful of worthy contenders to choose from this week. No surprise on the Indie side though as more pretty pesky poltergeists fall to everyone’s favorite guys in gray as they spearhead this week’s Pullbox!

1) IDW – Ghostbusters #3: The agents of Gozer continue to plot ways to bring their master back as the Ghostbusters see a spike in paranormal activity because of it. Old nemesis Walter Peck makes his presence felt as a new threat, loosely termed “The Terror Bear”, as the primary threat on Wall St. Sorry occupiers. I think Ghostbusters is easily the best independent monthly we’ve seen in a really long time as it adds onto the canon that is beloved by so many in ways that make perfect sense. Full of the same humor and dynamic we loved in the movies and video game along with some awesome “case files” on all the new ghouls they face at the end of the book makes this book a joyous read from cover to cover. I only wish it came out more often than once a month as there is no book out now that I enjoy reading more. Hopefully IDW understands the gold mine they have here and backs this for a long and prosperous run.

2) Marvel – Fear Itself #7.3 – Iron Man: Even though Marvel has already moved on and are three issues deep into The Fearless, the aftermath of the Fear Itself event, they pushed out three secondary aftermath issues detailing with what happened to those most affected by Fear Itself: Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man. And each issue has gotten better and better. From the rumors of Bucky’s death being greatly exaggerated, to how Asgard deals with the death of Thor, and now to Iron Man dealing with one of his and Thor’s classic villains, The Gray Gargoyle, and what he did when he had one of the hammers, petrifying all of Paris. I don’t understand why Iron Man is sad, it’s only Paris. Anyway, as Iron Man contemplates what to do with The Gray Gargoyle and works to undo his damage, you really see why Tony Stark may be Marvel’s best character because more than anyone else, he has a tremendous amount of layers. From falling back down to the bottom of the bottle, to cursing all the gods, especially Odin, this is a great read into Tony’s mind and is worth picking up as a one-shot.

3) Marvel – Incredible Hulk #2: As Bruce Banner continues struggling with the fact that part of him is missing with the Hulk, the Hulk continues to let everyone know that he just doesn’t give a damn what Banner is doing without him. Let the world worry about the mutant sharks and warthogs he is creating trying turn him back into a Hulk. Unfortunately for him, Banner, even in this crazed state, is still smarter and more underhanded than the Hulk ever could be. Probably the next best Marvel Universe character, this new issue is slowly building up to what could be a crazy confrontation between Banner and Hulk. Of course, we all know somehow, someway that they will come back together because they need each other so much, but until then, it is really interesting to see them working apart. And whatever does bring them back together, you know it is going to be an event epic enough to be worthy of the Hulk and probably have lots of smashing involved.

4) DC – Batman #3: As Bruce Wayne is forced to do a bit more detective work than normal to draw out these new cultish enemies that worship owls, Batman takes this newly acquired information to finally track down their lair and begin unraveling this cult’s past. But the Owls have eyes everywhere and they are more than aware that Batman is on their trail. A bit of a slow start for this new Batman story as DC is really focusing on expanding his rogues gallery, things definitely picked up this issue as Gotham’s past begins to point Batman on the proper path of these new enemies. Hopefully things will really amp up now, but if you’re looking to know what’s going on, this issue is clearly key to the story arc. Helping to expand on the unsung character of Batman that is Gotham City and this issue should be more than enough to satisfy any and all Batman fans as DC continues its New 52 campaign.

5) DC – Green Lantern Corps #3: Guy Gardner and John Stewart have to call in some Lantern back-up as these new willpower based enemies called The Ring Slayers are proving to be too much for the small lantern scout party that Garnder and Stewart are leading. Once help arrives, although the Slayers are pushed back, not all the Lanterns can escape and now are left to the mercy of this new and unknown enemy as the perimeter defense collapses. With this New 52 from DC, they seem to really be pushing the idea of new foes for some familiar faces and the idea of a new enemy to be based on the same power of the Green Lantern rings is an interesting twist. Could this lead to an unusual alliance down the line? How about the even more emotionless than normal Guardians, how will they decide to handle this unknown force? And more importantly, where do they come from? When a comic has that many questions pop up, you know its something you should be reading as they are basic enough that they have to be answered in future issues.

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