What I Bought 6/18/08

Having - as of last night - wrapped up a 3700 mile round trip in about 36.5 hours, I can say I don't know how people who have to fly everywhere for work do it. I know why, because they feel they have to, it's part of the job. Maybe they shell out the extra to fly first class, or maybe they just enjoy it. All I know is, my knees didn't enjoy it at all. Also, after hearing the spiel about the snacks for purchase, and the safety measures, and turning off electronic devices, I started to wonder why it sounded so stilted. I'd figure the flight attendants are used to telling passengers all that, but they go through it as if they read three words off a sheet, say those three words, pause to read the next three words, say those, and so on. Like they've never done it before in their lives. Very curious. Maybe they're told to speak slowly so people can understand them. That's enough talking about flying. Let's talk about comics instead.

Batman & the Outsiders #8 - Rescue mission time. Batgirl gives her captured teammates a chance to go down fighting while Nightwing, Thunder, and the OMAC that isn't show up to help out as well. Also, Metamorpho is somewhat put out when the Outsiders tech support is less than concerned with a giant gun being fired at the moon. What is the gun up to? No idea thus far, though I hope it's going to spell "Penguin", or maybe "Cobblepot". I know, it's more Luthor or Sivana's style, why would anyone do that for Pengy? Well, why not? Penguin's cool.

There's a lot I like about this issue. Batgirl saving her teammates and being cool, even with Green Arrow hassling her (really Ollie, just shut up). Nightwing coming in to help out, though I'm still a little unclear on why he came. Did Bats urgently need to remain at the command post? It's not like he couldn't have had Nightwing drop off Dr. Minadad at the Batcave. I also liked Dr. Minadad learning the drawbacks to using a V.R. interface type thing to control the not OMAC, and his meeting Alfred. FYI, he doesn't know Alfred's name, he just knows him as the "guy who made the sandwiches", and his enthusiasm about that is endearing. Plus, Rex crashed a space shuttle into the International Space Station. Guess he won't be getting to fly the Batplane anytime soon.

Guardians of the Galaxy #2 - No, the shield on the cover does not mean the return of who you think it does. Well, maybe it does, if you're taking the book's title into consideration. Not sure what he's doing here (neither is he), but we'll just have to wait and see. The team tries to close another fissure in space, though Warlock does most of that. Mantis tries to talk to their newly discovered friend, and the team ends the issue being attacked by high-ranking members of the Church whose giant ship they attacked (and saved) in #1. And that's happening inside a Dyson Sphere, if you recognize that term from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I mean, they don't call it that, but that's what it sounds like to me. Abnett & Lanning are really going to use any oddball sci-fi concept they can think of, aren't they? And I love that about them.

I think Rocket Raccoon's being played as a bit of nuisance. Not that he needs to be dead serious, just that he's constantly blathering on about something. I'm not sure why he's so insistent they pick a name. Is he wanting to get some merchandise out there to sell, and he needs a name to put on the t-shirts? Plus, I'd like for someone to get him his rocket shoes. This team needs more fliers, and he'd really useful with the added mobility. Quasar seems to be trying to be the relationship builder on the team. She keeps reaching out to Drax, which is nice, and she also seems very close, or attempting to be, to Adam Warlock. Could be how each of those two connects to Moondragon, Drax having been her father, and the mission that lead to them finding Adam (and then the High Evolutionary) is what got Moondragon killed. I'm somewhat doubtful she'll make a similar outreach to Gamora, who also seems isolated, but I could be pleasantly surprised.

The Punisher #58 - I have no idea what the multiple pages of "photos" were about. I know, they're an excerpt from the book, but I still don't know what we're supposed to be getting from these excerpts. Hopefully, it'll make more sense when the arc is over, as I may have to do some big post trying to pick apart a meaning from all of them when the story is over. They've got to mean something.

Frank spends some time in the cemetery talking with the Colonel who's trying to capture him. Frank lays out exactly why these "generals" want him brought in so badly, and that shakes the colonel up just a little bit, but he remains resolute in his desire to capture Frank, and they know that Castle still won't kill them. Frank tries to fight his way out (I think), but it doesn't go as well as it did last time. Maybe he should have kept the bat.

When I say I think he tried to fight his way out, it's not a reference to the art. Parlov's art is fine with me. I say "think", because part of me wonders if Frank hasn't worked this into some larger strategy. It's hard to believe his strategy involved getting shot in the leg, getting beat on the head with batons, and tasered five times, but this is the Punisher we're talking about, so nothing is impossible. Maybe Frank's trying to recruit allies who would have less compunction with eliminating the generals than he would. Or maybe, Frank is just trying to sucker them into coming close enough for an easy kill. He did call them executives, so they may not be under the protective canopy of "American soldiers". Man, I hating waiting when it comes to this book, though I'm also dreading the end of Ennis' run. I don't want future authors to have to just mimic him, but I wonder if any other version will work that well for me now, I've just enjoyed this version so much.

X-Factor #32 - Val Cooper gives X-Factor an ultimatum. Madrox is sad, and also hallucinating. maybe. Given the subject of his hallucinations, nothing is certain. For a moment there, I was pleasantly surprised as to how the book was going. The team had some bad luck, but they seemed to forge stronger bonds, and it looked like they were going to walk their own path, do their own thing. Maybe things were looking up. So naturally, on the last page things go sour for them again. Bugger. I get that it's a hard life for mutants in the Marvel Universe these days, being so few in number, and yet still hated so much, and life is a constant struggle for them, even more so than it is for your average person. But come on, this is just felt like a bit much.

Perhaps I just enjoyed the thought of them continuing to do their own thing for awhile longer, and that seems to be in dire jeopardy of coming to an end. And of course, Secret Invasion lurks around the corner. I had reasonably high hopes for it earlier, because I figured at least PAD would be using the book's usual characters, as opposed to Messiah CompleX when he kept having to write about X-Force, but I'm less confident now. Fingers crossed that next month's issue gets my attention in a good way.