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BO'S WEDNESDAY HEADS UP:
011007 |
"BOCEPHEUS" |
"These reviews are based on the Sneak
Peek titles sent out by Marvel & Image (DC no longer sends them out). It's not
everything that's shipping for the week, but it is a real good cross-section of
this weeks releases. Check the bottom of the page (after you read my reviews)
for a link to some SNEAKY PEEKIES of future titles" |
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 BOOK
OF THE WEEK:
Thunderbolts #110
Comic Review by:
Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Mike Deodato
The new team has taken over and from the first issue it
seems that it will be a great ride. The new Thunderbolts are
hard core criminals instead of the secondary ones that
populated the original team. The team is run by Norman
Osborn and consists of: the Swordsman, Venom, Songbird,
Moonstone (the only remainders of the team seen for 109
issues), Radioactive Man, Bullseye and Penance (who was
Speedball). In order to keep them in line all have implants
that will kill them if they revert too close to their
natural tendencies. We see here that the media will play a
huge part in this book to sell the idea to the American
people that the new T-bolts can be trusted. The book is
mostly conversation but that is needed to get the premise
over to those who haven't been following Civil War (yes, all
three of them). The hero being hunted here is former Captain
America sidekick Jack Flag and Ellis does a wonderful job
establishing the stakes of what is happening thru his
character. He also gives himself an out and the chance to
introduce new characters to the mix if the book lasts longer
than a year. The Deodato art allows him to tell the story
anyway he wants to and some of the reaction shots he does
here are priceless. This will sell better than Nextwave but
actually both are well written and cool books in their own
right.
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price: $2.99
Alternate Reality "1st DAY SALE" Price: $1.79 (That's 40% OFF,
Wednesday Only!)
Alternate Reality Price: $2.54 (That's 15% OFF, All
This Week!) |
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MARVEL ROUND UP…
Amazing Spider-Girl #4 has May Parker encountering
the world's greatest bounty hunter, Mad Dog (and yes, DC had one hero named that
as well but he hunted regular criminals). The issue flows smoothly and the story
is nice if not downright quaint...Runaways #23 follows up on the deal Chase made
last issue to bring back the deceased Gert. We see him getting all his ducks in
a row in one of the calmest manner ever that suggests that the last Vaughan/Alphona
arc will be one to remember. Of course, once Joss Whedon takes over people will
forget this team was even on the title...Agents of Atlas #6 (of 6) concludes the
series and tells of their last mission (well there will be another limited
series coming so you can take that with a grain of salt) in a spiffy way. We
learn more about each member as they learn more about their connections and
origins in another perfectly drawn issue from Leonard Kirk. Jeff Parker was at
one point simply known for a book that few read and even fewer heard of (Interman)
but he seems to have developed a nice niche over at Marvel...New Excalibur #15
continues the search of the Juggernaut to return to the bad ass status he once
was at by going back to where he was exposed to the gem of Cyttorak. He learned
last issue that he wasn't supposed to have been the Juggernaut, Charles Xavier
was. Here, the team learns what the new Juggernaut has to do in order to replace
the old one and that revelation changes the way they will look at him. Tieri
also uses the issue to remind us that Pete Wisdom isn't soft and cuddly either
and suggests that the team is going to have problems long after he leaves the
title for Chris Claremont to finally take over...Wolverine: Origins #10
concludes the Omega Red arc and finishes with an appearance of Logan's son that
shows their relationship isn't going to be a happy one. We see here just how far
Dum Dum Dugan will go to apprehend Logan and what Logan will do to save a friend
in a nasty little issue that comes with a stunning Joe Quesada cover...New X-Men
#34 begins with Mercury still under captivity of the Facility as X-23 fights the
mysterious Kimura. X-23 is able to get away and go back to the Mansion and there
she gains an ally that she doesn't want but it's kind of hard to tell Hellion
no. The marriage between X-23 and the team isn't going to be a conventional
since her world is much more brutal than the one they live in but this book
continues to be one of the best mutant titles going...Friendly Neighborhood
Spider-Man #16 concludes the Vulture arc and creates more questions while
filling in some blanks. The action level here isn't much since one of the
participants is old as dirt and the same people who gave Vulture his new costume
decide to remove him from the picture quick. Peter David does a lot of character
stuff with Deb Whitman (we learn why she did the book), Flash Thompson, the
returning Betty Brant and the mysterious Miss Arrow (who shows another ability)
here as well as leaving a few threads left to play with...Squadron Supreme:
Hyperion vs. Nighthawk $1 (of 4) will fill in for the regular Squadron title as
they wait for more JMS scripts and an artist to draw them. The team here is
Wolverine's Marc Guggenheim and the legendary Paul Gulacy. The story is a
political one that matches up with the current conflict in Darfur and places
Hyperion and Nighthawk right in the middle of it. we dance thru time here and
show a fight between the two back at the base the Squadron works out of before
Mark Milton is sent to the war torn country to find a mercenary using a part of
his ship. The merc is Nighthawk and somehow he is able to do something he
couldn't do when they first fought but we won't learn how until the next issue.
The issue is perfectly drawn.
IMAGE ROUND UP…
Strange Girl #13 has a naked butt on the cover and amputated ladies inside
telling our heroine how to get through the issue. It also has our skinny title
character wandering through another adventure that still doesn't make me want to
sign on to this book. It's not that the book is poorly done it's that I have no
interest here...The Cryptics gets another issue (the book will come out if Steve
Niles has a story while stalling on getting another issue of Bad Planet together
to finish the series) and it's about as goofy as the first so if you want a
monster related chuckle then pick up the issue...Ant #9 has our one handed
heroine fighting alongside other folks in an issue that focuses on her in a skin
tight outfit and moving around showing it off. There was and still is a
following for this book but it still seems to be a pale copy of a pale copy of
most of the books created by Image at it's inception...Godland #15 contains more
Jack Kirby inspired action to appeal to the remaining fans of his work. The book
doesn't want to be anything but a fun read and always succeeds...Meltdown #2 (of
2) has the dying character Flare continue his fight with Maelstrom before
continuing on to his eventual death. He comes to an understanding with Amara
before flying off to save people injured in a train crash. There is no huge
battle with a super villain at the end just him and a fan waiting for the end
game. We also get an aftermath that is quiet but greatly effective and shows
that heroes can and do inspire us to do things we wouldn't normally do. The two
issue series was a bit on the expensive side but was one of the best things
Image did in 2006.
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"See, I told you I'd be
down here. We've got a bunch of SNEAKY PEEKIES of future
MARVEL, DC and IMAGE titles right
HERE" |
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All
Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2007
by their respective owners. No rights given or implied
by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2007 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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OTHER
REVIEWS... |
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RASSLIN' REVIEW |
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Pay Per
Views and House Shows, we layeth the Smaketh- Down on
both! |
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KIDS REVIEWS |
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Dozen's of kid
friendly titles arrive every week and we review the one that
stands out. |
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AT THE MOVIES |
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Every week we
give you our opinion on what's playing at the cinema. |
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