Mike Allred is back drawing Doop! What more do you need to know?!?
Wolverine & the X-Men #17
How do you make the best X-Men book even better? You get Mike and Laura Allred to do the art on issue 17 is what you do! The artist who co-created Doop is back to draw him once again for this one issue. Doop has been a background character in this series since it began, usually seen manning the reception desk or occasionally filling in as substitute teacher. His presence is what convinced me to start buying this book, as he has only appeared sporadically since his previous team, the X-Statix were killed. As good as this book is every single month, I've wanted more Doop. In this issue I get everything I could have hoped for from him.
This issue focuses on Doop and what in the world his roll is at the Jean Grey School. The students think he's a joke. The faculty think he's a shiftless bum. What does Wolverine see in him? We're treated to a series of flashbacks, showing Wolverine practically begging Doop to come fill some mystery position. Doop make Wolverine agree to a series of bizarre and dangerous stunts before he accepts. Wolverine then explains that his school has many enemies who wish to destroy it and his duties on various super-teams keep him away from the school too often for him to properly protect it, which is where he wants Doop to step in. It's Doop's job to seek out and destroy any potential threats to the school! Sweet! Afterwards we see Doop stopping threat after threat, sometimes with violence, sometimes by seduction (seriously..ha!). He stops a nazi bowling league, an aggressive county school board, an intergalactic robot army, Sabertooth, Fin Fang Foom the dragon, outplays the devil in a guitar competition, and shuts down a scathing review from a blogging nun. Thoughout the book he becomes more and more run-down and everyone at the school thinks it's because he's a loser, while he's actually exhausted from saving them from various threats every night. The issue ends with Doop passed out in the hallway wearing one of Wolverine's suits. Wolverine brings him a blanket and says, "Keep up the good work." before walking away.
I liked this issue so much that I kept wanting to stop reading it because i knew it would end. Doop is such a crazy character that you never know what's going to happen and I LOVE random-style humor. It's as zany as a Marvel comic can get and still stay in-continuity. I haven't read a bad issue of Wolverine & the X-Men yet, and this issue sets the bar even higher than normal. So fun. So cool. Great art. Holy crap.
- No Brainer Pick of the Week
Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates #16
I think this MAY be the first Ultimates comic I've bought in the current series. I used to love the Ultimates back when the Ultimate Universe was new, but after the first 2 story archs, the quality level went down to the point where I just didn't feel I had to buy it anymore. I picked this issue up mainly because I read about it in the news, and I like being in the "know" on important events in the comic book world. I have a reputation to uphold, after all.
Quick Setup (I know most of this because I read Ultimate Spidey): In a storyline titled "Divided We Fall", Washington DC was attacked and destroyed, the country is in chaos, states are seceding, sentinels are taking over the midwest, the Carolinas are at war with each other...it's a mess.
In issue #15 the American people voted Captain America President of the United States via write-in ballot (i think that's how it happened). In this issue Cap addresses the nomination in a press conference outside of the Triskellion (SHIELD's base of operations). After listing the challenges ahead, Cap accepts the position and immediately leaves in his jet stating "America is my White House." He then gets right to work, commanding the Thor and IronMan with precision. He flies to Carolina and physically collects the leaders of both sides and forces them to make a truce. He then heads to Detroit where a dictator and his militia have taken control of the city and takes down that guy. In between missions he's warned to follow the proper channels of authority by a smarmy senator. Cap continues doing what needs doing anyway. After the Detroit mission, the new director of SHIELD (I don't even remember his name) gets the order from the senator to destroy Cap's plane because he doesn't play by the rules. The director fires the missile and is quickly knocked down by the Black Widow. As they fight Cap's jet crashes into the control room and he tackles the director, beating him easily and officially firing him for trying to assassinate the President. Meanwhile, Thor is checking out a disturbance in Wyoming which turns out to be an army readying to invade America led (to Thor's astonishment) by his own son.
This was a good issue. It was fun watching a scenario where Cap is elected President and to see what he would do with the title. That being said, I'm still not compelled to keep buying the series to see what happens next. Decent issue though.
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