New Comix! - Week of 9/26/12

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.

New Comix! - Week of 9/12/12

 

Avengers vs X-Men #11
Things are revving up to a thrilling conclusion in the AvX story.  In the past several issues the  Phoenix-powered X-men have become unstable do to their tremendous power and have turned on each other.  Now only two remain, Emma & Cyclops, and they split the power of the Phoenix between them.  In the last issue, the Phoenix's first-pick host, Hope, channeled some weird, mystical kung-fu power (yeah, I know...it's the weak point of the story) and actually hurt Cyclops, sending him to the moon where he took hours regaining his strength before heading back to Earth.  Now the Avengers are marshaling all their forces and have teamed up with the rest of the X-Men in an attempt to curb the ever-erratic Phoenix Two.

The issue starts off with scenes of the non-Phoenix-powered X-Men joining forces with the Avengers and admitting that this has all gone terribly wrong.  At the same time we see the only two inhabitants of the mutant island Utopia, Emma Frost & Cyclops, having a creepy discussion about how they'd like to burn the world and start it all from scratch.  Suddenly Cyclops feels something in his head and flies away.  He meets with Professor X on a beach somewhere and they go back and forth about the Phoenix.  Professor X tells Scott that he's disappointed in him and that he is going to stop him now.  At that point Scott realizes that the professor has been in his head and he has been blinded to the fact that he's been under attack throughout the entire conversation.  Dr. Strange has been holding him in place while the Avengers battle Emma Frost.  Massive action sequences follow with most of the Avengers attacking Scott directly now.  The Scarlet Witch hits him with her hex bolts, which have hurt the Phoenix multiple times throughout this story, but then Emma explodes covers her with fire. Then Hulk smashes Emma into the ground. Then Scott sets Magneto on fire. Then Scarlet Witch attacks Scott again. Then Thor attacks Scott but is swatted away. Then Hawkeye shoots Scott. Then Iceman freezes Scott.  Then Scott says, "I'm sorry, Emma." as he attacks his lover from behind.  She hits the ground and has just enough time to say, "I can't believe you." before he's all over her, holding her down and choking her and attacking her with his Phoenix powers...or something vague.  As she passes out (i guess?) there's an explosion of power and Cyclops has absorbed all of the Phoenix force.  <<SPOILER ALERT>> Professor X steps up to stop him and Cyclops seemingly makes the professor's heart explode in his chest and he collapses.  Wolverine orders Hulk to throw him, Fastball Special-style, but Wolverine is burnt to a crisp before he even gets close.  Scott then falls to his knees and is engulfed in flame.  The last scene is an awesome double-page spread of Cyclops pulsating with power as the Dark Phoenix (see below).  And the issue ends.

I apologize for that long recap, but I couldn't do this insane issue justice if I wasn't detailed.  This hasn't been my favorite crossover event, but there have been some thrilling moments.  This issue was one huge, crazy fight and I thought it was really fun.  I hate to see <<SPOILER ALERT>> Professor X get killed off, but honestly he hasn't been much of a factor in the X-men for several years now.  I'm sure they'll bring him back somehow sometime relatively soon, and when they do, I hope he once again takes charge of the X-men and brings them back together as a school and a team.  Cyclops has done a decent job leading them since the Prof stepped away, but I don't think he'll be doing much leading after the next issue.

Olivier Coipel was back on art duty this issue, which was a very good thing.  He's one of my favorites and in my opinion has done the best job of the rotating artists on this series.  A can't-miss issue for those following the story.  I try to reserve my 5-star ratings for really exceptional books, so this one only scores a 4.  That being said, 4 stars is pretty high praise from me.

- Pick of the Week!

Wolverine & the X-Men #16
For being an AvX-related issue, it has very little to do with the AvX story, or Wolverine's team.  This issue focuses on the villains from the first Wolverine & the X-Men storyline, the all-new, all-pre-teen Hellfire Club.

In this issue we learn all about the backstory of the new Black King of the Hellfire Club, Kade Kilgore.  We learn how the brilliant boy learned to kill at an early age.  How he manipulated his rich father's influence to get inducted into the Hellfire Club as a kid before killing his dear old dad.  We see how he has used the world's new fear of the Phoenix Five and mutants in general to explode his already massive fortune into limitless resources by selling state-of-the-art new sentinels.  By the end of the issue we see him and his 3 best friends, all Hellfire Club elite now, standing outside of Salem Center, NY, the town where Wolverine's school resides.  I don't know what Kade has in store for Wolverine's team, but it won't be good.

Despite being a character-building issue about a character I know and care little about, it was a fun read, well-written with great art by Chris Bachalo.  I have not read a bad issue of this title yet.  As long as Jason Aaron handles the writing, and the same artist team handles the art, this will be a book worth buying.

Oh...and the BEST part of the WHOLE BOOK comes at the very bottom of the last page where it reads, "NEXT ISSU: DOOP!"  YES!!!  I love Doop!  His occasional appearance in this book is what convinced me to start buying it in the first place!  He has been serving as an adjunct professor at the school, but has been little more than a funny background element.  This little weirdo faced off against Thor once!  It's about time he saw sees some action!  I'm hoping the Hellfire kids attack the school and Doop is all that stands between them and the students.  Unfortunately, we have to wait 30 days to find out...GO DOOP!

Conan the Barbarian: Border Fury #2
What a letdown.

This story continues Conan's quest to stop the rampaging of a man who is destroying Cimmerian villages in his name.  With his lover, Belit, a fearsome pirate captain from the South beside him, he tracks the villain across his frozen, mountainous homeland.  Belit is out of her element and realizes that she is slowing Conan down, so she convinces him to go without him and she will try to keep up on her own.  By the end of the issue, it seems that Conan has found the place where his impostor hides, but it's unclear if that is the case or not.

It's cool to finally see Conan's homeland, Cimmeria, that I have heard about for years, but the story is really nothing special.  The downfall with this issue is the art.  In the last issue, Becky Cloonan handled the pencilling and it was VERY unusual art for Conan, but it was very well done and a welcome change.  This issue is drawn by Vasilis Lolos, and it is NOT good.  I don't want to be too harsh here, but it doesn't fit this genre or this character.  If he handles the art in issue 3, I won't buy it.  Not a good choice, Dark Horse Comics.  Get Cloonan back, or find that Cary Nord fella.  He knows how to draw Conan!

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #2
It's been a while since issue 1 came out, but the adventures of an amnesiac Prince Adam continues.

In the last issue we were shown a very different version of Eternia than the cartoon we all knew and loved.  Skeletor has won and taken over the land.  He made He-Man forget who he was and sentenced him to the life of a lowly woodsman in the forest outside of Castle Grayskull.  Apparently the rest of the Masters have forget themselves as well.  Feeling the pull to find out more about his vague past, Adam leaves his cabin and is attacked by Beast Man, who he barely defeats, to his surprise.  He never remembers fighting anyone before, but he has the reflexes of a seasoned warrior.  He continues his journey, not sure what he's looking for.

This issue sees Beastman being tortured by Skeletor for his failure.  In the meantime, Adam has made it to a desert and is in the process of crossing it when he is captured by a trio of nomads and taken to their desert lord, who turns out to be the villain Trapjaw.  Trapjaw sentences Adam to trial by combat the following day.  As Adam fights for his life (again surprising himself with the combat skills he didn't know he possessed) he evades attacks from mulitple nomadic warriors before Trapjaw himself joins the fight.  Without the Power of Grayskull, Adam is no match for him and is about to be cut down when the villain is bowled over by a stampede of desert dragons.  The stampede is the work of one of the nomadic women, who turns out to be Teela and has no idea who Adam is or why she felt like she should risk her life to save him.  They escape into the desert.  Afterwards Skeletor comes to the camp and questions how Adam escaped capture and death.

Okay, the obvious question is, why would Skeletor go through the trouble of making Adam forget who he is and make him live in the woods if he just wants him dead?  He should have killed him back when he won, but didn't for some reason.  He's angry at both of his henchman for not killing him.  I don't get that plot hole.  Other than that, this is a fun, unique take on the He-man mythos and I'm enjoying it.  I feel like they're not taking full advantage of this fun storyline, but as a big He-man fan, i'll take what i can get.

- This wasn't an amazing book, but it was fun and about He-man, so it gets special bonus points.

New Comics! - Week of 7/25/11

It's the RETURN OF AXE COP!  ... oh, and some other comics too.

Axe Cop: President of the World #1 (of 3)
Axe Cop is back!!!  What?  You don't know what I'm talking about?!?  C'mon, man!!!  Axe Cop!!!  He's the awesome product of a 5 year old boy and his talented 30-year-old artist brother!  The brothers have been cranking out the Axe Cop web comic for 3 years now and Dark Horse is releasing the 2nd full-color mini series.  This series is the craziest thing I've ever read.  It's the wildest stories a 5-year-old can come up with expertly drawn by a professional comic book artist!  Malachi (the writer) is now 8, but the stories are just as crazy as ever.  This is the only comic I know of that can out-weird Saga.

At the end of the last mini-series "Bad Guy Earth", Axe Cop killed off all the bad guys in the world by poisoning them and making them poop themselves to death.  The grateful citizens of Earth then made Axe Cop the President of the World!

This series starts off with Axe Cop ruling over a peaceful planet.  He creates a new town in Washington State, called Axeville where he rules from the "Gold House", which is a gold version of the white house.  Axe Cop prays to God asking if the bad guys will ever return.  God tells him there will be a million years of peace, but then the bad guys would attack from outer space.  To ensure this, God places a million-year forcefield around the Earth.  Not wanting Earth's defense to weaken over the next million years, Axe Cop sends all the superheroes into the future to fight the eventual bad guy invasion.  In the meantime, Axe Cop  does his thing, staying perpetually young thanks to his Chief of Staff's healing eye beams.  During this time Axe Cop meets a goo-powered hero with mind-controlling goo powers and dubs him Goo Cop.  He thens meets a talking Gorilla with gun fists, giant-growing powers, and a tail that shoots out jet fighters.  The Gorilla (named Junior Cobbb) comes from Gorilla Planet that is under attack by robot penguins.  Axe Cop, Goo Cop, and Junior Cobbb head to Gorilla Planet to save the gorillas.  They find that the penguins are impervious to harm, so they head to the Robot Penguin planet and disable their master computer, which kills all the penguins.  The gorillas want to recycle the penguins, but Axe Cop sees that their metal is tainted with evil and can't be recycled, only destroyed.  Junior Cobbb grows into a giant and shoots a volcano out of his tail (see below..this is great!), in which the penguins are destroyed.  They then head back to Earth.  Time passes and God's force field disintegrates as the heroes from a million years ago appear thanks to Axe Cop's time portal.  The army of good guys wait and wait and wait but no bad guys appear, so Axe Cop sends the heroes back to their own time and goes to bad disappointed.  He's awoken in the middle of the night by his Chief of Staff, Ralph Wrinkles the dog, and is informed that the bad guys are attacking Seattle and that there are roughly ONE BILLION of them!

Tell me that's not the best comic book plot you've ever heard!  Man, this book is pure fun!  I hope little Malachi makes enough off of this weird character to pay for college.  That would be awesome!

Check out more Axe Cop goodness HERE.

- PICK OF THE WEEK!!!

The Mighty Thor #17
Previously: All of Asgardia had been taken captive by a race of little alien dog nightmare monsters, putting everyone into a dream prison.  Thor escapes, waking up just in time to see The Enchantress and her newly created boyfriend, The Keep, heading for Asgardia's empty throne.

Thor and The Keep start pummeling each other, being that this is a Thor comic and all, and Enchantress drones on about how she created her own boyfriend since Thor wasn't good enough for her (she's been chasing him for eons).  Then Dr. Blake's head starts yelling at Thor and explains how after he "died" the last time, he and Thor were separated.  Thor didn't even notice, but Dr. Blake was left a shell of a person, having only been created by Odin to house Thor's spirit to humiliate him.  In response, Blake made a deal with the Enchantress that ended with him being a disembodied head and The Keep being made from his body.  Thor is bummed that his half host body person was so upset about being separated from him when the rest of Asgardia wakes up and The Keep and Enchantress are uncermoniously ejected from the land.  Thor goes and makes a deal with the nightmare alien dogs that gives them a representation in the assembly of the realms and he gives them Dr. Blake's head to put into a perpetually happy dream.  So weird.

The Keep is a pretty cool looking character and I was hoping for a more dramatic fight between him and Thor.  It wasn't bad, just kinda standard.  The art was pretty good.  The story was just above lame, but below interesting.  I really like Thor, so I'm holding out hope that the next story arch doesn't center around nightmare dogs or emo Oklahoma teenagers (that's a story thread that wasn't worth mentioning...see my previous reviews for some details if you care enough).

- This was a pretty standard Thor book.

Wolverine & the X-Men #14
In the midst of an ongoing war between the Phoenix-powered X-men and the Avengers, Colossus takes some time out to go court Kitty who is acting as head of the school during Wolverine's absence.  Colossus takes Kitty off to have a romantic lunch in a setting straight out of the old testament, with walls of water on both sides and eating their meal on the dry seabed.  Colossus tries to propose, but Kitty shuts him down and warns him that the power he holds is dangerous and changing him.  After a few attempts at love, Colossus gets mad and takes her back to the school.  He then decides to destroy it because Kitty chose it over him (in his mind).  The few remaining X-men on the grounds try to stop him, but don't even slow him down.  Kitty stand her ground and he freaks out on her, throwing her to the ground and telling her that he could kill her, bring her back to life, and maker her do whatever he wanted.  At that he pauses, realizing that he has become some kind of monster and flies away.  Just then Iceman, Rachel Grey, and Angel come back to the school, having left Cyclops's crazy X-team.  Kitty loses no time putting them back to work, as the school has been severely under-staffed.

This series continues to be a fun read and the quiet presence of Doop as an adjuct professor makes it all the better.  In this issue I thought we would FINALLY see some Doop action.  When Colossus attacked he showed up with a huge Cable-sized gun and shot it, but that was all.  We didn't even get to see what Colossus did to him, if anything.  C'mon!  This is the weird little guy who ate Thor's hammer, then spat it back at him duplicated 100 times!  This is the guy who created a wormhole to another dimension by popping a zit!  This is the guy who's brain exploded into pieces and had to live off the backup brain in his butt for a week!  All he can do is shoot a gun at Colossus?!?

Don't get me wrong, I love this book, but they're missing a lot of opportunities with Doop just floating around doing nothing.

- This continues to be the fun X-book to read!