I'm back home. Again. But only briefly. Again. I have got to quit agreeing to help the family with stuff. Diamond didn't ship some of Ken's stuff, so I don't get my Ultimate Spider-Man. I suppose I could pick it up tomorrow, but I might just wait until I get next week's comics. Which is either a damning indictment of my current interest in Ultimate Spider-Man, or a sign I'm just tired. Also, Diamond didn't ship Ken his reorders of Batman and the Outsiders, so I'm S.O.L. on that front as well. So we're left with three books from last week, and is that even really worth the trouble? I suppose it is.
Annihilation: Conquest #6 - The good guys win, some of them die, which was kind of a bummer. I liked one of the newly deceased, and why couldn't it be Adam Warlock? I've got no time for him. The ending gives some idea of where things are at, now that things are settled, but I think it's mostly a preview for Guardians of the Galaxy, which I was already sold on so, I don't know.
I can't help feeling disappointed in Conquest, because somehow it just doesn't measure up to Annihilation. It was still good, generally enjoyable, but not on the same level as its predecessor. There's something about how the story unfolded, it just didn't resonate with me to the same extent. Maybe I need to see more of the Kree's efforts to rebuild their empire after this, and what happened with the parts of space controlled by Ravenous and the Annihilation wave? What are they up to now? I notice that amidst all the races trying to get past the barrier the Phalanx erected, there wasn't any mention of the Shi'ar. I really wish Brubaker and the X-writers would quit bogarting the bird people so they could get in on this. So maybe it's a case of my expectations not matching the goal of the story.
Suicide Squad #8 - That was pretty neat. I like the organized chaos of the Squad's battle against Eiling and his followers, where something is happening all over the place, and what happens in one locale can have a sudden effect elsewhere. Plus, it was nice to see William Heller get blowed up real good (having found a copy of his first appearance in Suicide Squad #4, I'm even happier he got wasted). The two pages of Deadshot carrying out his objective in the time it takes to say "Maurauder", along with Boomerbutt Jr.'s arrival where probably my favorite parts.
Of course, the mini ends with a bit of a thud for me, mostly because, as I've said previously, I'm not really interested in Rick Flag, so what he chooses to do with regards to his earlier life isn't of much consequence, though thinking about it now, his issues are similar to some of the ones Ostrander explored with GrimJack, about what makes a person who they are (Gaunt had that problem frequently, with the numerous resurrections and all). But Rick Flag is no GrimJack, at least, not to me. But that's a minor quibble.
X-Factor #30 - Man, I must be in a funk. I can't even be bothered to post the picture of this month's cover, and it had Arcade on it. That's not a good sign. X-Factor attempts to survive in Arcade's MurderWorld: Mutant Town Edition, and they spend their time the way most heroes that tangle with Arcade do, trying to take the offensive, only to get surprised, and have to retreat until they can try again. It's interesting to see how disjointed the team is, with Monet just taking off after Rictor without waiting for anyone else, and Guido and Jamie getting quickly separated, the team clearly lacks cohesion (not that they've ever seemed to be a well-oiled fighting machine). They do come together near the end though, and I wonder what was the cause of that?
I kind of like the antagonist's reasons for what he's doing, as it isn't just the typical "Mutants are freaks, they gotta die!" spiel. There's bits of that here, but mostly he's less scared of mutants replacing him and his kind in the world, and more scared of returning to where he came from, without any assistance from mutants whatsoever. And of course Arcade is just offering a service, as I don't think he cares one way or the other, as long as he gets paid to have some fun, he'll go along with whatever his employer wants. So X-Factor was probably my favorite of the week, though none of the books were bad, it was just the strongest overall of the three.
OK, hopefully something intelligent and comic-related tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
No more Ms. Marvel? You didn't miss much, it really sucked.
Brian Reed was trying to avoid "evil twin" cliches with the Skrull infiltration of Carol's team, but it was all so anticlimactic that you wonder how the aliens can actually pose a real threat to anyone.
Well, no more of that comic for me either.
I hate to rub salt in the wound, but Ultimate Spider-Man is rather good. A done-in-one tale, and rather spiffy art by Immonen. I think you'll enjoy it.
Suicide Squad was good. I love seeing that Waller can STILL make Eiler crap in his pants. And the Boomer Jr. and Deadshot moment was cute.
I mainly bought X-Factor for the cover. A Glenn Fabry version of Arcade is always a good thing.
I really liked X-Factor this week, though it bugged me that the cover's version of Arcade didn't match the more traditional version in the book.
For me, the problem with Conquest was that the Phalanx never felt as big of a threat as the Annihilation Wave. Probably because they just sat there on Hala instead of moving through the galaxy. Was still good though and I'm looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy.
Hope you get to sit in one place for a few days sometime soon. Just reading about your travels is making me exhausted.
fortress keeper: Nah, I bailed on Ms. Marvel after the conclusion of the arc with the Brood. I didn't feel like dealing with Secret Invasion (which puts me in a bit of a spot when X-Factor's tie-ins begin. Do I stay or go?)
sallyp: Done-in-one? I can't believe it! Bendis must have been replaced with a. . . comic writer from the 1960s!
jason: I wonder why Fabry didn't draw Arcade in his usual attire. I find his bow tie so jaunty.
I think you may be right about Conquest. Maybe if it had gotten to the point where Ultron was ready to send his forces out into the universe, and the heroes have to scramble to stop him. As it was, for awhile there, Ronan was the greatest threat to the Kree, with his scorched earth plan.
As for me, I've got until Saturday, then I start zipping allover the place again.
Post a Comment