So we missed a week, totally my fault with a local comic convention (Detroit Fanfare) and then Halloween. I just didn’t have time to put this together for you all. So, to make it up, we have a larger than normal sized edition that I like to call Bullet Reviews #132:
ASH AND THE ARMY OF DARKNESS #1 (Dynamite)
I loved Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness movies from the 1980’s and 1990’s. When I heard that Dynamite was rebooting the Army of Darkness comic book series with a new #1, I had to check it out. The best thing about this book is that it picks up right where the Army of Darkness movie ends. Ash Williams, our bumbling hero, was returned to the current time after defeating the Army of Darkness in the past with Merlin and King Arthur. He may not have said all the words exactly right, but the spell sent him back and he was able to return to work at S-Mart in the housewares department. The problem is, he returned with some company. The evil unleashed from the Necronomicon, The Book of the Dead, followed Ash and now, all the customers at S-Mart have become Deadites, undead monsters out to swallow the souls of their victims. Luckily, Ash finds a boomstick with his name on it and shotgun blast after shotgun blast send the Deadites back to their eternal rest. Ash and his friends escape S-Mart and lock all the remaining Deadites inside only to find that they are still in the past in the middle of a barren wasteland. Ash’s friends are killed and Ash is carried away by the one called Weird Beard, or, as we know him, Merlin, who is now possessed by the evil of the Necronomicon. What kind of wizard would he be if he turned down mystical knowledge? In the end, Arthur finds out that Ash may be there and sends away his advisers. As a mysterious knight steps from the shadows, Arthur directs him to find Ash as the world depends on it. This is an awesome start to a new story and I am very excited about it. -Aaron Clutter
(*Check out our full review HERE!)
DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL #4 (Marvel)
The Day all Deadpools die!!! Well, not all, but most of them, anyway. This has been an interesting series continuing the idea that Deadpool, as the only character that knows they are a character has set out to finding meaning in that idea. First, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, where Deadpool decided that he could rebel against the creators by killing all heroes and villains. Then in Deadpool Killustrated, Deadpool ventures into classic literature to kill the foundational characters that the Marvel characters are based from. This series, Deadpool Kills Deadpool, has The evil Deadpool killing every other Deadpool and pulls in the Deadpool from Earth 616 to help save Deadpool-dom. This was a fun series, including Pandapool, the species that endangers you, Female Deadpool, and Galactu-pool. In the end, everyone dies, except of course Deadpool, oh, and Deadpool… and as our Deadpool (the 616) walks away, he contemplates something said by the evil Deadpool. Was Deadpool the progenitor of all things? Seems like an interesting concept, but… naw! I like the humor with a serious spin. Cullen Bunn weaves a good Deadpool tale, but he also knows when things get too campy and he injects the right amount of seriousness into the story. I recommend it. And, coming next year, Night of the Living Deadpool. Yay! -Aaron Clutter
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #8 (Marvel)
Is it just me or did Brian Michael Bendis have an epiphany and finally realize how to write Guardians of the Galaxy? Especially giving the characters voices. He clearly bullshitted his way around the first few issues but did the research that was needed for the last few and by issue #8, (this issue), he has once again brought Guardians to a place of respect. I sure hope Iron Man doesn’t show up in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie just because he has been in the comics thus far. And maybe that is why this issue worked? No Tony Stark, no tiresome banter, no Iron Man hogging Galaxy character’s precious time? I think I’ve got it Watson! Over all Issue 8 was nothing short of fantastic. The artwork fit perfectly! Fransesco Francavilla doesn’t exactly fit with everything but he just makes this series pop in a whole new way! Maybe it was the combination of no Stark, Bendis actually researching these characters, and Frank’s work? We should at least give credit where credit is due, right? So the big cliff hanger shouldn’t be why did Angela save them, the real question should be, Is Angela going to become a Guardian of the Galaxy? Face it, they could use another girl in the Guardians of the Sausage Party Club. If you dropped the title after issue 5 or 6, let me assure you issue 8 is not only a great jumping on point, but proof that Bendis really did DESERVE a shot at writing this coveted title. -Nick Furious
INFINITY #5 (Marvel)
The BIG series event is almost over! And I just don’t know what is going to happen! Too bad Marvel released the big twist months ago by calling the next big event Inhumanity. This has been a fairly intriguing event, but by no means will be considered a classic. Avengers World isn’t going to be about Planet Earth being an Avenger World, no, it will be about the galaxy being an Avenger Galaxy. So those space Avengers called Guardians of the Galaxy? Yeah screw those guys we put up flags for Avengers who have only saved us once. Ever. Why would the Avengers ever help the Skrulls? I get the others ones, even the Kree, which is difficult to grasp even for me, but Skrulls? No way. Let them all rot in hell. The problem with this event isn’t the characters or the story, it is how many characters it has tried to add. We didn’t need fourteen different stories going on at once. This event was a serious struggle to get through and it still isn’t over. Thanos, The Builders, Kree, Skrulls, The Shi’ar, Avengers, New Avengers, Inhumans, AHHHHHHH! Why is everyone yelling!? The Terrigen bomb? Yeah that is something I can support. Bring on Inhumanity. This Infinity thing is already boring. -Nick Furious
(Check out our full review HERE!)
LARFLEEZE #4 (DC)
The lights are going out throughout “Lights Out“, the crossover between the various Lantern series. Is Larfleeze the exception? It appears so. Although we do see Larfleeze get his personal lights knocked out, we don’t see any overlap with the arc that’s taking place in the other Lantern books. Is it because Larfleeze is in some remote corner of the universe? Perhaps. Is it because, maybe, that Relic sees only one harbinger of the orange light? Perhaps (although this issue kind of changes that whole menatlity that Larfleeze is all). Is it because the story arc that Giffen and DeMatteis concocted with a humorous alien Lantern wielder just didn’t fit? Most likely, but that’s OK, because after reading this Larfleeze story I see that Giffen and DeMatteis have channeled their younger selves and delivered an actual funny story, taking me back to the classic days of their Justice League International run. The humor was there. The energy was there. The random fighting was there. All we were missing was G’nort. But with 2 parallel stories going on – one with Larfleeze being attacked by the other wielders of the orange power and the other surrounding his butler, Stargrave, who appears to have someone now to serve but who will eventually (I assume) be re-acquired by Larfleeze… This is what DC has been lacking since the relaunch. This is a fun book. The creators are definitely having fun. It’s not overlapping with the rest of the DC Universe; in fact, it’s expanding it. It’s something fresh. We’re seeing the far reaches of the DC universe, it seems, somewhere even that the Green Lantern Corps have not shown us. It’s a fresh comic, it has humor (without being too bad, although that is sometimes hit or miss), and it’s one of those guilty pleasure books that you just love to read but will rarely admit to in public. -Kelly Cassidy
MARVEL NOW WHAT?! (Marvel)
I remember the classic days of Not Brand Ecch. I remember What The–?! Both of those books had a strong tradition of making fun of Marvel books from within the offices of Marvel themselves. I am guessing Marvel has realized that the launch of their “All-New Marvel NOW!” has taken some fans (and retailers, I am pretty sure) to the end of the cliff where it’s just plain ridiculous. And they have acknowledged that. And in the pages of Marvel Now What?! they poke fun at their own actions and choices. It should be told, though, that the issue had moments but overall… it was no What The–?! OK, the fact that there was a parody scene containing an intentionally poor version of the Rob Liefeld Captain America from the 90s, as well as scenes from Civil War, and the use of Doctor Octopus as the ultimate puppeteer… It was OK. But in a tale that has a lot of fun, who do you want to break the fourth wall? No, you don’t want Deadpool, since that happens in every Deadpool story anyway. There’s nothing special. (Deadpool NOT breaking the fourth wall would be special.) No, you want the Watcher, Uatu. And the story with Uatu was perhaps the funniest tale that took place between the covers of this book. Did it make me laugh out loud? No, but the end was great and at least made me smile. That was more than the rest of the book did. Brief gags, one-liners that the older humorous Marvel books could put to shame… This was an OK read. It was nice to see that Marvel was acknowledging that maybe they know that this whole multiple era of Marvel NOW! this and that is kind of ridiculous and pushed to the extreme. Acknowledging you have a problem is the first step (again, the Watcher…). Hell, the funniest page in the entire book is the 2-panel gag about the download code (and that was actually pretty funny). I picked it up because I loved the humor books. It got a few smiles and one chuckle from me, so that was good. But it was not worth the $3.99 cover price, I’m sorry to say. Not even for the Skottie Young art. -Kelly Cassidy
NOVA #9 (Marvel)
I have enjoyed this story so far, although at times I want to smack the kid. The continuing story of Sam Alexander has been fun to follow and Zeb Wells has done a good job of setting up the possibility of a renewed New Warriors team. The addition of Justice and Speedball does have interesting implications. This issue brings our new Nova face to face with Kaldera, one of Thanos’ many hunters. Kaldera challenges Sam to a fight, no weapons, just hand to hand combat. If he wins, he should kill her, and if she wins, she will kill him. Sounds easy, right? Well, not so easy for Sam with no formal, or informal for that matter, training in combat. Sam knows the only thing he can do is cheat, so he does. Slipping on the Nova helmet he blasts Kalera and frees his mom. His mom tells Sam to kick Kaldera’s butt and Sam, ever the obedient child, proceeds to do just that. Kaldera teleports them to the Slaughtership orbiting the Earth and collapses under Sam’s attacks. Sam is sent back to Earth and Kaldera is punished for her failures. Overall, this was fast paced story, fitting in with the Infinity storyline and showing a little more of the cruelty of Thanos and his crew. I am interested in seeing the progression of this story, as I have always like Nova in the past incarnations. Hopefully, the fallout from Infinity will set Sam Alexander up for some cool adventures. -Aaron Clutter
SUPERIOR CARNAGE #4 (Marvel)
This is the one I’ve been waiting for: Superior Carnage Vs. the Superior Spider-Man! We also have one of the first major failures in the career of the Superior Spider-Man as he severely miscalculates the state of mind of Carnage, he still thinks it’s Cletus Kasady who was lobotomized and can’t think. He doesn’t know the man under the symbiote is a different man who has his full mind intact, even though it’s under the control of The Wizard. It’s a miscalculation that does cost him a lot of people and even leads to an even bigger problem as during the fight The Wizard comes to the realization that Peter Parker isn’t Spider-Man anymore… Otto Octavious is. Things get even worse at the end of the issue when the Carnage symbiote finds yet another new host: The Wizard! What is going to happen then the Superior Carnage learns the secret of the Superior Spider-Man? One more issue to find out!
This series has been the most fun I’ve had with Carnage since he was first introduced way back in 1991. I wasn’t sure about the new look but it really works with his new state of mind (so to speak). Beyond having a great story and art, this series also showcases some of the best Carnage related covers I’ve seen in a long time. The whole package is near perfect and really makes Carnage a threat again, I love it! Plus… some really sweet covers! -Skott Jimenez
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #20 (Marvel)
I knew Spidey and Black Cat wouldn’t have their usual tangle. A cute game of cat and mouse followed by two sex craved kids who want to be bad but really aren’t all that bad, well not Parker anyways. But Otto? Otto straight up punches the bitch in the face. How can you not love this series!? The man is destroying everything Parker every worked for in his life! The issue finally resolves Otto getting Peter his doctorate, Carlie pushing the gas pedal down to the floor as the story of Otto Octavious is finally making head way (noooooo), but it doesn’t matter because I am so wrapped up in the story. I love the good guys and I love the bad guys. Yeah Parker was highly entertaining, but Otto? My dear God the man is such a horrible human being, it is this awesome train wreck that I can’t help but love. To have Otto be the one who actually foiled himself? Even though I never find myself rooting for Otto, I was rooting for him to finally make Parker an official doctor and even that Slott was able to figure out a way to surprise me. Otto is taking money from everyone he can to fund his own business, cut ties with everything that is Otto Octavius, but will he be able to cover up the truth in time? The story of Otto Octavius being the Superior Spider-Man isn’t ending any time soon, but we are moving faster in this story than I had ever imagined. I hate bringing characters back from the dead, but Octavius has destroyed any legacy he had upheld Parker will never be the same again, and that takes some serious guts. I tilt my cap to you Marvel. -Nick Furious
UNCANNY AVENGERS #13 (Marvel)
Gotta be the most adult book in the entire Marvel Line-Up. This issue had it all, sex, violence, and video tapes! Havok and Wasp continue to want to bone dog each other but Cap has to keep reminding them they are on a mission. I bet Cap is wishing he was leader now. Rick Remender continues to know the X-Men better than the current writing team does. Acuna continues to impress me as the artwork gets more intense and dramatic every issue! As the race to save mutantkind continues, a string of new problems are set in motion. Wolverine is tortured by his son for his lies and criminal acts throughout his life. Wanda and Simon get hot and heavy, Rogue takes Wolverines powers to take down Wanda once and for all (yeah right), and Wasp defeats Banshee by going inside his mouth and blowing a hole through his wind pipe! WTF!? Did that just happen! And then after Banshee is thriving in pain Havok unloads every bit of energy he had stored up and some how doesn’t wind up killing Banshee even though is body eerily looks like a smoking corpse. Uncanny Avengers may be the most adult comic Marvel has, but it also the best written comic Marvel has. Yes Fraction has crushed it with Hawkeye, Slott is doing a smash-up job on Superior Spider-Man, etc. But no one is writing the way Remender is for this series. It is smart, harsh, and rough. Leaves no room for apologies, asks for no answers to daunting questions, just makes shit happen. What can I say? I am in love. -Nick Furious
WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #37 (Marvel)
There isn’t a title I hate more than Wolverine and The X-Men. Not because it is sloppy and the artwork stinks, but because Wolverine as the leader of the X-Men is completely preposterous! Uncanny Avengers is the only comic that seems to remember Wolverine is NOT a leader, he is a killer through and through. And X Fans like that! They don’t like seeing him be the leader, they don’t like seeing him hand out life lessons making subtle hints about money being in the banana stand…they want to see him be the savage monster that Charles Xavier really struggled to bring back to humanity. That was a Wolverine I could get behind. He can make threats till he is blue in the face, I don’t buy them anymore. They are like a puppy whimpering. It is pathetic. But enough about Wolverine let’s talk about the worst X event that I can remember, Battle of the Atom. It has gone from cheesy to silly to stupid to redundant to pathetic. I love that Jean wears Xorn uniform. What I don’t like? Take the Helmet away and that is Hope Summers. There is a scene in Scott or Jeans mind not sure who it is, maybe both, where Jean removes her mask and she looks bad. Like seventh grade artwork bad. After that I couldn’t comprehend why anyone would pay for artwork like that! Especially 3.99 a pop! Even the giant fight scene between all X-Men through all time lines was drawn very poorly. Marvel wins at everything but DC crushes them in the artwork department. At the end of the issue a bunch of missiles come flying at them! Oh no! Oh, wait, Magneto has the ability to stop these things anytime he wants. Oh wait he is having problems controlling his power (is that still a thing?) so he can’t save them! If you haven’t figured out then ending was very anticlimactic. -Nick Furious
X-MEN: BATTLE OF THE ATOM #2 (Marvel)
Where do I start with all my problems with this entire event…oh I know! I will start exactly where I left off! So the ending to the last issue was SHIELD fired missiles at the X-Men (all 3 different time lines) and Magneto wasn’t able to stop them because he has had problems with his powers. Oh no! But as the issue opened someone actually asks Magneto if he can get them all and he says he isn’t that good. What!? Are you kidding me!? You are MagFREAKINGneto you got this bro! No mention of him not being able to control his powers? Wow way to drop the ball Bendis. And you have been so kind as to remind us day in a day out that they are having trouble with their powers. Meh, either way a lot of X-Men die but none that are any X-Men from this time line. Future Deadpool, Colossus, Storm’s kid, etc. This entire time the X-Men are all teaming up to take on other X-Men. The whole thing is just a mess. I enjoy the twist and Cyclops is a villain but he isn’t really a villain! Yet they all still treat him like one. Until the end of the issue of course. When Wolverine and Cyclops are once again acting like enemies. Wolverine babbles out some douchey comment about being cool stay in school and Cyclops says whatever dude and then they just leave. But not before the big twist. The giant twist that was created for this entire event! Kitty Pryde leaves the X-Men! And joins…THE OTHER X-MEN! The one she was so horribly against because they killed Xavier! And if that wasn’t enough…THE PAST X-MEN GO WITH HER! And that new baby Jubilee has? The adult version is now stuck with the X-Men! So now Shogo will be hanging out with baby Shogo! Terribly disappointing event. IF they ever killed Wolverine, that would be an event that would knock my socks off. That would be an event I did not see coming. -Nick Furious
