Eric picked Detective Comics #848 as the best book he read this week because it wasn't directly tied in to Batman R.I.P, yet was really good. We also take a look at X-Men: Manifest Destiny#1, Spider-Man loves Mary Jane #2, Trinity #15 and more. We finish off the show by discuss Warner Bros. new idea of making more DC movies but making them all dark, even Superman!
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Written by Brian Michael bendis
Art by Butch guise
Colors by Justin Ponsor
Letters by Cory Petiit
Wow this was a very pleasant surprise.
I've been reading Ultimate Origins since the beginning and I've been been enjoying it but it's never jumped out at me. I guess I find myself looking at it and scratching my head. I love the origin story and the creepy towers and how everything is connected but I think what's kept me from loving this story is that it's setting up Ultimatum, an event that I'm not looking forward and I think that's affecting the way I see this book.
All that aside, this issue was so good that I just went with it straight from the beginning. When we were at the Emerald City Con last year, at a Q & A Bendis said there were a lot of plans for Nick Fury and that we would finally get a Nick fury origin story. In the last issue we were given a glimpse but we got a lot more Fury in this issue and that's never a bad thing.
Ultimate Origins was advertised with the idea that so many things and people in the Ultimate universe were connected without knowing it and I was a little hesitant by that idea but things really came together in this issue and I just absolutely loved it.
We find out what motivates Nick Fury, how Peter's parents died and more and the issue ended with the reveal of the Ultimate Watcher and I knew, hands down, at that point that this was the book of the week.
We had some technical difficulties so this episode is a little late but still here! Eric picked New Avengers #44 as the best book that he read and not for the reasons that you may think. We also discuss the end of Teen Titans Year One, JSA, X-Men Legacy, DCU: The Last Will & Testament and more.
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Written by Paul Dini
Pencils by Dustin Nguyen
Inks by Derek Fridolfs
Colors by John Kalisz
The older I get, the more forgiving I'm getting about continuity issues. I tend to try and make my own continuity in my head, its the only way to make things work sometimes. It also helps me get past small glitches in timelines and just enjoy the story being told. As soon as I stopped trying to make Paul Dini's "Heart of Hush" story work within the confines of RIP and just let it run on its own steam, it really became a great Batman story.
Paul Dini's writing on DC has always been great and a little reminiscent of the old animated series. However, with stories such as the Joker/Zatanna arc along with the current Hush story, the tone of the book has become seemingly darker. Detective Comics now closely resembles the old Shadow of the Bat title of the 90s (which was one of my favorites). Dini has done a wonderful job of taking Hush into an even scarier realm than explored in the Jeph Loeb storyline, really turning Thomas Elliot into the mad surgeon. We've also been given more glimpses into his childhood and life at home. While not terribly original, it does provide more substance for the character. The addition of Selina Kyle is always welcome in this title as well. Selina's reaction as she saw Hushs face shows that Dini still has a few surprises up his sleeve.
Nguyen's art is outstanding. I love his stylized approach to the characters. There's a simplicity that when combined with Fridolfs' inks, the visuals become almost eerie and frightening. This is the Batman that I remember as a kid.
It's been a good year to be a Batman fan and while Morrison is pushing the boundaries of weird in the main title, it's been great to have Dini write a proper, scary sendoff for Bruce Wayne.
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils by Billy Tan
Inks by Matt Banning
Colors by Justin Ponsor
Richaaaarrrrdddsss!!!! To be fair it's not really his fault...and it kinda is. Of course I refer to what I've just read in New Avengers #44. Turns out those pesky Skrulls really cooked up something devious to overcompensate for their lack of imagination and overall smarts. I loved this story for several reasons but I was shocked at the sheer brutality of the Skrull's research. While disappointed by the Illuminati appearance, it was cool to see them together again. I also found myself laughing at the Skrull's seeming lack of any subtly regarding anytime they end an experiment. Instead of hitting a switch or something, it's set blasters to kill! Oh those silly Skrulls!
I've been enjoying these back stories slightly better than the main title and that's not to say the whole of Secret Invasion hasn't been enjoyable. It's just been alot of fun finding out what we haven't been seeing over the last several years. Bendis has also done a great job of making me like Reed Richards who was a character I've never found particularly interesting especially after his actions during the civil war. Overall, the reveal of how the Skrull's were finally able to become successful was a great twist and really shows how integral Richards is to the Skrull's relationship with the rest of the Marvel U.
Tan's art is mainly good with the exception of a few panels where faces look a little melty. Tan does however push the brutality factor and helps convey just how much most of the Skrulls hate humanity. This is juxtaposed with very touching moments such as the scene between Reed and Franklin which would be quite touching under normal circumstances.
Overall, New Avengers continues to be the showcase for the best of the Secret Invasion action. With major reveals in almost every issue, it's great that Bendis is finally letting us in on things that have been playing out in his head over the last few years.
Written by Geoff Johns
Pencils by George Perez
Inks by Scott Koblish
Colors by Hi-Fi
Letters by Adam Schlagman
Yes you're reading this correctly, I picked a Legion book as the best thing that I read this week.
There are some creators that you will follow even if they're doing something out of your comfort zone and Geoff Johns proved to me with this issue that he is surely a creator that I will always follow. I've never really liked the Legion, I always thought the whole time traveling thing was really confusing, plus there's so many members, it's just a lot to keep track of but it worked great here.
The wonderful surprise about this issue is that it was equally a Superboy Prime book as it was a Legion book and I think thats' why it was far more accessible to a reader such as myself. Johns has always said how he loves writing the character and it shows. Prime is such an arrogant little brat that I would normally hate him as a character but to see a Superman family character acting like that is kind of a nice change. I really liked the twist at the end of the issue and I'm excited to see where this is going to go.
I've never been a huge fan of George perez's art. I've been a fan but I just never read a lot of his older stuff so I while I probably didn't freak out about the art as the average DC fanboy would, I really loved it. It was bright and classic, straightforward and just heroic art, I really dug it.
So there it is. I liked a Legion book.(I actually loved this book) and I'm interested to see what other people think. One thing to mention is that they were dropping the name Superboy left and right and I thought they weren't allowed to do that anymore? Huh.
Eric picked Action Comics #868 as the best book he read this week because it finally felt like something noticeable is going on in the Superman Universe. We also discuss Fantastic Four #559, Secret Invasion #5, Booster Gold #11 and more. We finish off the show with our review of Star Wars The Clone Wars. Did we think this was worth releasing in the theaters? Listen and find out!
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