Your Mom Kills Animals - the PETA comic from 2003

Reading this again – it makes me all the more disgusted by that group.

If you want to save animals, actually work to help them, like the Humane Society.  For all PETA’s talk, they do nothing but get themselves attention, and all of their antics don’t save a single animal.

January, 2010

Welcome once again to another installment of the $40 Pull List Live!

Yes, yes, hello to all our rabid fans! Shout-out to our home fries down in The OC and junk. My name is Brandon Schatz, and with me in the Spam Corporate Annex in the beautiful industrial district of Nanuktuk California is the man behind this madness, the one, the (thankfully) only, Craigerton J. Reade!

Are you trying to get me stoned when I go back home? Oiy!

Anyway, welcome once again to this humble column. This is our the third anniversary of this all-important list, and the first anniversary of Brandon’s triumphant arrival to the column. There are but five titles remaining from the list just a year ago (Jonah Hex, Invincible Iron Man, Green Lantern Corps, Nova, and Avengers), with Jonah Hex being the sole title that has been with us from the beginning. Quite a run that title has had.

Which means we can look forward to it getting cancelled by the end of the year, right? I mean, there’s a movie out in everything!

Also, peace to my chili dogs too. Who are also from The OC.

Why don’t you take your”the” and shove it up your…

Moving on!

JANUARY ISSUES

Jonah Hex #50, $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 12/02/09 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, Art by Darwyn Cooke, Colors by Rob Schwager

Tallulah Black and Jonah Hex begin taking jobs together, and after "celebrating" a successful payday overnight in a bar, Tallulah vanishes in the morning and rides off towards the west. Horace Green approaches Hex on behalf of oil tycoon Arlan Miston with a book of 50 bounties. After some protest, Hex starts working his way down the list.
Meanwhile, Tallulah Black arrives in a town looking for a dress shop, claiming she has left behind her work. She meets with a sheriff who eyes her with suspicion, but eventually welcomes her to the town.

Eventually, the rest of Hex’s targets meet in secret, trying to find a way to end Jonah and save their own skin. They decided that they would be safer in a group – and they set the wheels in motion for trapping and eliminating Hex.

Forward several months, and we see Tallulah Black, remade into a happy woman with child, still being helped by the same sheriff. She buys a plot of land, and with the help of the sheriff builds herself a home on it. By the first snowfall, the house is complete.

Their preparations complete, the bounties spring their trap by sending Eddie Runford to tell Jonah that he overheard that the men were holed up in Silver Springs – the very same town Tallulah now lives, and where she is about to give birth. The "bounties" raid the town, killing the sheriff, and taking it over, as Tallulah is attacked by the whacky fundamentalist dressmaker who wants to cut the child of sin out of her. She succeeds – basically performing a violent c-section, and kidnapped the baby, leaving Tallulah to die on the floor. Hex finds and saves her, and promises to rescue his son. He finally tracks the kidnapper, who has been locked up for murdering the baby. The sheriff tries to protect his prisoner, but eventually decides that Hex should be allowed his vengeance. Hex kills his daughter’s murderer, then goes to complete the list of 50 bounties, before returning his child’s body in a coffin to her mother – departing, as he promised, ending his relationship with Tallulah for her actions.

This issue of Jonah Hex totally reminds me of the episode of Glee, where Shu finds out that his wife was entirely faking her pregnancy – except instead of singing, there’s frontier justice. Come to think of it, Jonah Hex would be much more awesome if the characters occasionally broke out into song. In fact, I want a scene where Jonah wistfully looks off into the distance, as he recites the final stanza of 99 Luft Balloons.

Officially, from here on out, you are not allowed to be reminded of Glee by this title.

This issue was a piece of perfection. It totally broke the usual Hex formula we usually come to expect (and which it would be so easy to slip back into after the Six-Gun War), had some real character development, and was chock full of real story. And the art was fantastic – I want Cooke on this title permanently.

In no way would a musical number make this issue much more awesome.

Or Shipoopi. I want to see Jonah Hex going balls-out Buddy Hackett on alla’ everyone, clicking his heels, singing about love. It would’ve been perfect for this issue.

“Now a woman who’ll kiss on a very 1st date, Is usually a hussy….”

I don’t really think Hex is going to be so tame as to all any deserving woman a mere hussy.

You, sir, do not properly respect the power of Shipoopi.

I certainly do not.

Nova #32, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/03/09 ON TIME
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Art by Andrea DiVito, Colors by Bruno Hang

Nova and Darkhawk, very much alive, fall in the desert before a statue of a sphinx (with a skeleton head). They quickly learn that their lives have been spared by an unlikely hero – The Sphinx, who has saved Richard to serve a specific purpose.

Briefly, for those of you who aren’t familiar with him, The Sphinx was Ramses’ chief wizard – exiled by the Pharaoh after he was defeated by Moses in their "wizards duel." He eventually found the Ka Stone, which granted him nearly god-like powers. After several millennia, he grew bored of his existence and searched for a way to get rid of the Ka Stone, and finally encountered Richard Rider, who he believed held the knowledge that would free him (thanks to his exposure to Worldmind). After a battle with Galactus, a few run-ins with the Fantastic Four (Thing in particular) and the New Warriors, and some time-travel shenanigans, the Sphinx was finally killed by the Puppet Master. At least – so we thought.

The Sphinx alludes to a role he is expected to play in some forthcoming battle – warns that some djinns will come, and on cue they attack under the cover of a sandstorm. The Sphinx is disappointed at their prowess in battle, abandoning them to the sand, but Nova eventually disperses the djinn. The duo finally encounter Reed Richards at a dig near the battle-site and they figure out that The Sphinx has also drawn Reed back in time – this being the Reed Richards from just a month after Nova and the Fantastic Four first met and fought The Sphinx.

The djinn’s attack once more – this time separating Nova and Darkhawk, to battle Darkhawk alone. A version of Black Bolt arrives – and Darkhawk finally returns from his battle, to report that they aren’t on Earth at all, but rather a magical construct of some kind. Black Bolt’s "mummified" companion is unwrapped – revealing an unconscious Narmorita (the original version – not the blue one).

I recognized almost every person in this book – which actually made this fairly boring for me. Normally, when I read space books, I have the internal monologue of fake names I’ve crafted for all the characters in my head. But this pretty much concerned Reed Richards, Darkhawk, Nova, and King Tut. Blah!

That’s not to say that is was bad in any kind of way. It was actually pretty rockin’ and junk. But when you’re used to dudes with ponytails jacking giant planets in the face, it all sort of pales in comparison.

Yeah – as an issue of Nova goes, I have to admit that this one was pretty tame – at least when it came to the cosmic stuff. There is an element of it there, which I have no doubt will be expanded upon this month. For my part – I just love the fact that Abnett and Lanning are going back to the old well of Nova villains to give them a little polish. Maybe we’ll get to see some Condor – or Psionex … something like that, a few months down the road.

It’s also nice to see Reed Richards in this as well. Nova was always closely tied to the Fantastic Four, especially in the early days. Given the right circumstances, that old alliance could make for some decent stories.

Abnett and Lanning used Condor in Guardians of the Galaxy in two of the earlier issues. And fun fact about Psionex, kids: much like old Nova comics, they’re terrible.

Well, since you are totally wrong about old Nova comics, does this make you wrong about Psionex as well?

That’s the thing – Sphinx was pretty horrible too, but here he has a shot. I am still waiting for an upgraded Diamondhead to come back with a vengeance and get a little payback for Nova #2. That would be 40 shades of awesome.

I don’t want Diamondhead to come back, mostly because this site’s content filters would totally black out the fake name I gave him in my head. A silly reason, but we are talking about me here.

My, the mind that came up with *****head is a strange one indeed.

Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #5 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 12/09/09 ON TIME
Written by Jason Aaron, Pencils by Roland Boschi, Colors by Dan Brown

We open with this dude, who is totally metal standing over the wreckage of heaven, where there’s dead angels and junk littering the streets. Quite obviously, there will soon be a reckoning. But first! It’s zombie bikers (and the All New Orb!) vs. a crap ton o’ nuns with guns and the Ghost Riders! Meanwhile, Purple Hat and Wicker Man get all smacked by the Emo Skank and Pitchfork McGee and the Antichrist opens up the gate to heaven! It was entirely like one of those after school specials, where the answer was inside you all along, only in this case there’s the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Aaaanyhoo, a bunch of people die, and the brothers Ghost Rider all make it up to heaven for the big final battle. Will they win? WILL THEY? We’ll have to tune in next time…

Ah, after two issues of tease – the Gun Nuns were very much worth waiting for. That’s classic funny right there.

Dude, you should’ve been hanging around this book at the beginning, when the machine gun nurses were after Johnny. It all blew up in this big confrontation with a cannibal, a possessed highway, and lots and lots of shooting. Seriously, I don’t know where I’m going to find something this fun once this wraps itself up. Le sigh.

Well, I’d say maybe there is hope for another mini, but knowing Marvel, that isn’t likely. The sales are pretty low… but then, it is a mini, so who knows. It is true that this title is pure fun, and it is safe to say that it is completely unlike anything else on the market right now. Sadly, originality and quality seem to be things that the average comic reader just doesn’t enjoy these days, which means next issue is likely the last. Oh well – the ride was good while it lasted.

Invincible Iron Man #21, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/09/09 ON TIME
Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca, Colors by Frank D’Armata

We return once again to Tony’s nightmare – only this time, he manages to get it to progress a little farther. Meanwhile Madame Masque has a conversation with Ghost – who she is attempting to hire to kill Tony Stark once and for all. Pepper grapples with her feelings when the newly returned Steve Rogers arrives and spurs everyone to action. Tony undergoes the surgery to bring him back "online," and we see the process by which Pepper and Maria were used to reach this end from the very beginning – and why Captain America and Thor were needed to finish the job.

Fraction has crafted quite the story here. While Tony Stark makes his demands from beyond the grave, he sounds so arrogant – yet at the very same time, he seems to be apologizing to each of them for the mistakes he’s made in the past. All the while, the story moves at that pace, just a few seconds removed into the future, with all its super-heroic tech talk. You know that what’s being said is completely fake, but spoken with such conviction that you’re convinced that such a confluence of events will in fact bring old Tony back to the land of the living. I enjoy the crap out of this book – and hey, would you look at that? It’s not even going to be part of the impending Siege crossover. You really have to give it to Marvel for not forcing these things.

Thank goodness for that. The last thing this book needs is to be shoehorned into another crossover. So many Marvel titles (DC titles too, but that’s another discussion) are badly broken from being crammed into event after event. It’s nice to see that is shaking out, if only a little bit. This title can only benefit from being left out of this next event – it will give it at least 2 arcs to develop and grow on its own. I am looking forward to seeing that.

This arc has been far better than the last one – short, sweet – to the point, and meaningful. Let’s hope Fraction sticks to this formula for the next couple stories.

Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #1, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 12/09/09 ON TIME
Written by Paul Tobin, Pencils by Patrick Scherberger, Inks by Terry Pallot, Colors by Brad Anderson

We start with a famous scene from Secret Wars – the Hulk lifting the mountain to protect the heroes trapped beneath. We flash back near the beginning of the story, when the newly arrived Spider-Man, Hulk, and Captain America try to make sense out of the Beyonder’s reasoning. They come upon Enchantress, who attacks them, but Hulk quickly puts a stop to the assault. Captain Marvel returns from her scouting mission to report the imminent arrival of the Wrecking Crew. Cap and Spidey have a argument about the Hulk, we flash through a few disastrous encounters with various villains, and we finally see the resolution of Hulk’s battle with the mountain.

You know, I haven’t read Secret Wars? Or Crisis on Infinite Earths, or pretty much anything older than when I got into comics. I have most of these things, but time… she’s a harsh mistress when you’re trying to keep up with the current product hitting the store. Needless to say, I’m coming at this pretty fresh, and I have to say… this is pretty decent. Obviously, there’s a certain challenge involved in taking a twelve issue mini and condensing it to a four issue series – but right off the bat, Paul Tobin squeezed in what has to be at least a quarter of the original mini, without feeling too rushed. Solid work.

Not to be too argumentative, but you got it exactly wrong there. There is no way in the world that any comic produced by today’s standards could condense the 12 issue Secret Wars into a mere 4 issues. In fact, what we saw in this issue didn’t really cover an entire issue’s worth of plot from the original event. Instead of recapping the entire story, it seems like this series is taking bits and pieces of the original, expanding on them somewhat, and telling it from a slightly different perspective. It’s well done – don’t get me wrong, but it barely scratches the surface of the goings on in Secret Wars.

Comics these days are mostly padding and fluff. If they stuffed as much story in today’s comics as they did when Secret Wars was made, they could raise the cost to $5 an issue, and it would be worth it.

Yeah, that would be my big ol’ lack of “old comics” knowledge bleeding through. If it happened before Sensational Spider-Man #0, I really don’t know what I’m talking about. Not that I don’t have these things, it’s just… there’s not enough time in the day, it seems.

Well – this is hardly the worst classic you haven’t seen that might call your geek-cred into question. But this is hardly new – I imagine there are a ton of comic readers out there who haven’t read this series either. One reason I am kind of surprised this title wasn’t released at the same time a shiny new Secret Wars hardcover was released.

Green Lantern Corps #43, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 12/16/09 ON TIME Written by Peter J. Tomasi, Pencils by Patrick Gleason, Inks by Rebecca Buckman, Tom Nguyen, and Patrick Gleason, Colors by Randy Mayor

Right, so Kyle totally dies, and Guy is all “No! My best friend and easy lover!” Because of this, he becomes a Red Lantern. Meanwhile, all these black rings are coming for Kyle, which his girlfriend doesn’t like. But instead of crawling into a fridge, she fights for her man, and ends up bringing him back with the power of love alone, just like the end of Rent, when Roger cured Mimi’s rampant AIDS through the power of his rock voice.

Yes, it’s going to be that kind of Pull List.

And Kyle Rayner yet lives. Man – who needs the Blackest Night event itself when you have this title? I was so amped by the idea of Blackest Night for so long – the disappointment over how horrible that event has been so far would have been neigh unbearable had this title not delivered the awesome. This book also proves that you really don’t need to buy every crossover issue to enjoy an event. This book alone will give you all of the Blackest Night enjoyment you could possibly need.

Also? A Red/Green Lantern Guy Gardner is friggin’ awesome.

This change of fortune for Kyle has me renewing my stance on Guy Gardner’s fate during this mini: dude is entirely going to die. I don’t want him to, but if he goes out like any of the other Lanterns have on this book, he’ll be going out big.

I am actually feeling a bit of the opposite. Not only do I think there will be no deaths at all in this event that will stick, I actually think it is going to undo a few we have seen. We’ve gone from one extreme to another – for a time, both Marvel and DC were making an honest effort to maintain “dead means dead.” Now it seems like they are in a race to see which can make death the most meaningless of states in comics. With Blackest Night, I get the feeling they are going to take things to a new low.

As cool as this issue was, and as much of a relief it is that Kyle isn’t dead – a part of me is kind of ticked he is back already. He died – and he went out like a champ. Over the last 30 days, I made peace with that. Only… it was a lie. And it wasn’t even one of those cliffhanger bait-and switches where you see an explosion and not the body – he was dead and gone, and his ring was even moving on. Poor taste really- you kill a character the right way, only to say “Psyche!!” a month later.

The only way you could make this death worse is to have Elektra kill him off panel in the next issue.

Craig, has the Princess Bride taught you nothing? That dude was only mostly dead, and there was true love waiting for him on the other side. In space. Or something.

Obviously the Star Sapphires have perfected Miracle Max’s miracle pill…

Good thing the dude wasn’t looking to blayve.

Nomad: The Girl Without A World #4, $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 12/16/09 ON TIME
Written by Sean McKeever, Pencils by David Baldeon, Colors by Chris Sotomayor

Nomad breaks free and attacks an unsuspecting Mad Dog and Professor Power, who are scrambling with damage control after the students unexpectedly riot. Some of Nomad’s school friends come together with a plan to help diffuse the riot, and just before the Police move in to contain the violence, Nomad and the cavalry (in the form of the Young Avengers) arrive to lend a hand.

Professor Power and Mad Dog turn on the Secret Empire, in anger over their insistence that the two return to "answer for their failure," and the Young Avengers manage to diffuse the riot with the help of Desmond Daniels. In the end, all is not well – as John Barnes is gunned down by Matt Surman in the aftermath of the riot – convinced that violence then was the way to have their voices heard. In the end, Rikki is consoled by Bucky (as Captain America) at the grave of John as Black Widow looks on from the distance.

To be continued in Captain America #602, huh?

And thank goodness for that. If someone told me a few scant months ago that I would be wishing to see more of the female Bucky created by Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefeld, I would’ve probably made more references to musicals at them. But it seems like Sean McKeever, when left to his own devices, can tell pretty awesome stories with almost any character. As I’ve said before, looking at this book, and a book like Teen Titans really shows you just how different Marvel and DC handle their talent.

True enough. Marvel’s editorial only makes an effort to ruin great titles when they are selling well. DC doesn’t look at sales figures when they decide what to meddle with…

I’ve got to hand it to you – Nomad was awesome, and it has me wanting to read Captain America again. So there is that…

Power Girl #7, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 12/16/09 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, Pencils by David Baldeon, Colors by Chris Sotomayor

Vartox, the Hyperman of Valeron, engages an army of Kashkavon’s (Yeti Pirates?), and believes himself to be victorious, until he learns that the attack is a mere distraction. The Kashkavon detonate a "Contraceptive Bomb" in the heart of Crystal City, sterilizing the populace, and ensuring the death of their civilization. To avert the disaster, the Cosmosis Crystalis reveals a list of suitable women to Vartox (who escaped the Contraceptive Bomb), and he selects Power Girl as the woman who will bear the beginnings of a new Valerian race.

On Earth, Power Girl and Doctor Mid-Nite are in pursuit of the Blue Snowman, whom they easily subdue. At that moment, Vartox arrives to lay claim to Kara. He shoots at her with the Seduction Musk Rifle, which hits Doctor Mid-Nite, which knocks him out and may have stricken him with blindness (ha!). The Blue Snowman comes to, having breathed in a dose of the Musk, reveals herself as a woman, and offers herself to Vartox.

Vartox is impressed with Power Girl’s ability to resist the musk, and arranges for a demonstration to prove his manly worth to her. He produces an Ix Negaspike, an enormous fearsome creature capable of devouring entire planets, and plans to subdue the creature on his own. The Blue Snowman leaps into action to defend her new love, and she is subsequently eaten in seconds. Vartox’s plan goes awry when the transport leash is destroyed, and the creature is set free, unrestrained. Power Girl attacks the creature, and in a grave miscalculation, freezes it and shatters it to pieces. But, as the Ix Negaspike is indestructible and reproduces asexually, in reality, she only manages to facilitate the creature’s reproduction.

It appears as though Gray and Palmiotti are concocting a sly crossover with Jonah Hex here – as Rape seems to be hanging around the edges of this comic. Sure, its a more modern take on Rape, but you would expect him to change a bit between Hex and here.

Well, Rape did have the month off over at Jonah Hex, though there was a disgusting amount of Consensual Sex happening over there. It was almost invoking Rape’s return.

Speaking of crossovers, I have to say that this book had a real similar feel to Ghost Riders this month. Sure, there wasn’t the Hellfire and Brimstone, but there was a good deal of total ridiculousness. A Contraceptive Bomb? Yeti Pirates? An alien superstud on the prowl for a worthy mate to help him repopulate a species? That head ship? The Seduction Musk Rifle? This was camp through and through, and plain awesome to boot. I know when I first saw this title I was hoping for a more serious take on Power Girl – but I am more than happy with this kind of silliness.

Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #6, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/16/09 ON TIME
Written by Victor Gishler, Pencils by Bong Dazo, Colors by Matt Milla, Inks by Jos Pimentel

Deadpool and company crash in a marsh, in search of a dimentional portal – through which he intends to send the head of Zombie Deadpool to his home reality. Their quest isn’t an easy one – on their way, they are attacked by Man-Thing and Lord Falcon. Deadpool and company escape unscathed – and Deadpool takes his Zombie Head and enters the portal alone.

I think I enjoyed this issue. I say I think, because I really don’t remember much about this story. I remember laughing a couple of times, and watching everyone move through the motions, but what can I say. This Deadpool title just isn’t grabbing me like I’d like it to.

I really can’t disagree with you. This book is a ton of fluff – but stacking it up to Power Girl shows it isn’t even pulling out the fluff particularly well. I dunno – I think I am game to try out the first issue of the next arc, but if we don’t see improvement, I may well be willing to send this book packing.

Agreed.

Wolverine: Weapon X #8, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/23/0 ON TIME
Written by Jason Aaron, Pencils by Yanick Paquette, Inks by Michael Lacombe, Color by Nathan Fairbairn

Enter the "hot sexy nurse," strolling down the hall, unwittingly stumbling upon a gruesome scene of blood and death. Because that’s always the way it goes. Wolverine – the perpetrator, cuts the lights, and comes upon the frightened nurse, who begs for her life. Logan pauses… and the nurse inexplicably berates him for sparing her life.

Ah… an illusion.

Logan breaks free, but is put down by a dose of gas, courtesy of Dr. Rot.

Cut to a flashback, and we finally see how Logan got himself imprisoned in Rot’s sanatorium. After a brief recap of those events, Logan finds himself strapped to the table, as Dr. Rot tries to get at his brain. Somehow, Logan manages to call for help – and the sanatorium is about to receive a few different visitors.

Why, it’s Craig’s favourite narration trick! Flashback storytelling! Yayyyy!

Right, so we’re nearing the end of this particular story, and I have to say… I’ve been enjoying it, but it doesn’t have the same spark as the first arc did (which was not on the list). I mean… in that one, Wolverine was being hunted down by people with claws made of out lifesavers, who had guns that shot bullets filled with over thirty kinds of cancer – so anything following that is going to be faced with some stiff comparison.

But we are talking Wolverine here, so the fact that it’s not boring me to tears is a pretty good sign. Did you know that guy is the best he is at what he does? Someone should spread that around.

Honestly, the flashback didn’t bother me in this issue – mostly because it was done correctly. We weren’t bouncing around all over the place in some sad attempt at artsy non-linear storytelling. The time was right to reveal that information, especially since other characters were finally coming into the picture. The flashback served a purpose – and for that reason it was totally acceptable.

I have to admit that I am not in love with this arc. It’s well written – but I do like a different sort of Wolverine story – even a different type of cerebral Wolverine story. But it works – and it hasn’t even occurred to me to consider dropping this one.

Avengers: The Initiative #31, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/23/09 ON TIME
Written by Christos N. Gage, Pencils by Rafa Sandoval, Inks by Roger Bonet, Colors by Edgar Delgado.

Taskmaster’s party is interrupted by a call from Norman Osborn, who intends to visit Camp HAMMER in the morning. Taskmaster rushes into action, and tours the Camp to make sure everything is ready. Meanwhile, Osborn and The Hood talk about Taskmaster’s merits, and how it all ties into a project of Osborn’s called "The Cabal."

The Avengers Resistance gets settled into their new hideout, Taskmaster and Constrictor have a little heart-to-heart, and Osborn arrives to inspect the troops. Taskmaster finally receives the offer of a promotion he was expecting – and after first enjoying the new level of power he gained, one bad encounter with Doom makes him have second thoughts about what is to come.

I had a lot of file customers at the store complain about how ridiculous it was that Taskmaster was invited to the same table as Doom – which, to be fair, they are right about… there is something ridiculous about a dude what wears a Skeletor looking mask (and just so happens to have a photographic memory of every kind of fighting style ever) sitting at the same table as a dude that had his face blown off so hard that he essentially became evil and the ruler of his own country. Also ridiculous? There’s a freaking God of Mischief there too. It’s freaking comics people.

But anyway, this issue should sate those people’s thirst for downfall, as Tasky is shown to be quite out of his element at the “big boy” table. After all, he’s just in it to get paid and laid… not necessarily to be evil, per say.

Funny thing about those gripes is – that was the whole point of the story. How else does one move up in the ranks than by establishing himself as a good and intelligent leader? I would say it is equally ridiculous that Osborne has a place there… Doom could easily have done to Norman what he did to Tasky. They aren’t there because of their power-levels, they are there because of what they can do in the grant scheme of things. And it isn’t a shock that Norman would want someone else there he thinks he could control.

The point of the story is that he was somewhat out of place there. How that impacts the future story will be interesting to see.

That’s it for last month’s books – time to look forward to next month!

The List So Far
Jonah Hex #51, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/06/10
Invincible Iron Man #22, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/13/10
Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 01/13/10
Green Lantern Corps #44, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Power Girl #8, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 01/20/10
Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #7, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #9, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Nova #33, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #6 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 01/27/10
Avengers: The Initiative #32, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/27/10
Batman and Robin #7, $2.99, DC Comics Due Out 01/27/10

We have a few differences this month – Deadpool’s cover price jumped up a dollar, Jonah Hex’s has gone back down, Nomad has come to an end, and Batman and Robin returns from its brief hiatus this month. As it stands now, we should have just enough for one more issue, if we don’t cut anything. Is there anything you are just plain sick of? Do we give Batman and Robin another chance?

Well, there’s not a whole lot that I’d want to cut from the list. The Deadpool book hasn’t really been grabbing me, but the novelty of seeing the different reality versions of Deadpool intrigues me. Batman and Robin, I’ve been enjoying, but it did just wrap up an arc, and in February, it’s going to ship twice… which might cause problems for it. Other than that, I really don’t feel all that strongly about booting anything.
In truth, that makes me want to drop Batman and Robin. If they were planning on shipping twice in February, why bother taking the month off? And as it stands now, we have enough room for a single $2.99 book, but with so many titles weighing in at $3.99 these days, I am inclined to drop it in order to make room.

Right then. Dropped!

I can’t say I will miss it! Onward!

New Titles

That leaves us with $6.74 (before tax) to pick up a new book. I have to say that I really enjoyed Nomad, so much so that I am perfectly willing to pick up Captain America, just to get the back-up stories. Your thoughts?

I wish to impregnate Sean McKeever with my love.

Aaaannnd I’ll take that as a yes.

ADDED
Captain America #602, $3.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 01/20/10

That leaves us with a mere $2.99, or $2.77 before the dread tax and board fee. Unless you can think of something cheaper than that…
There’s Joe the Barbarian coming out from Vertigo. It’s supposed to be one of those fantasies, like Narnia – only written by Grant Morrison. First issue is a buck.

Sounds like a steal to me. We have the room – and who knows, the title may rock. The Grant Morrison thing doesn’t exactly sell it – but who knows… a diamond in the rough? Hopefully it is more WE3 than Seaguy.

ADDED
Joe the Barbarian #1 (of 8), $1.00, DC Comics Due Out 01/20/10

JANUARY LIST
Jonah Hex #51, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/06/10
Invincible Iron Man #22, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/13/10
Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 01/13/10
Green Lantern Corps #44, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Power Girl #8, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 01/20/10
Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #7, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #9, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Nova #33, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Captain America #602, $3.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 01/20/10
Joe the Barbarian #1 (of 8), $1.00, DC Comics Due Out 01/20/10
Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #6 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 01/27/10
Avengers: The Initiative #32, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/27/10

The Math
$2.74 (Bank from December) + $40 (January Budget) = $42.74 $42.74 – $37.89 (January issues) – $2.94 (tax) = $1.91 Banked for February

And with that, we come to the end of our little journey this month! Thanks again to all of you who have stuck with the List since the very beginning. It’s been a blast so far, and hopefully we will see you all again in January 2011.

The OC 4 life, honkies!

The ghost of Shandor attempts to summon Gozer, and the Ghostbusters have to stop him.

Platform: XBox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2, Nintendo DS, PSP, PC (Windows)
Developer: Terminal Reality, Threewave Software, Red Fly Studio, Zen Studios
Publisher: Atari
Genre: Action/Adventure
# of Players: 1, Multiplayer online
U.S. Release Date: June 16th, 2009
MSRP: $59.99 ($39.99 Wii, $29.99 PSP, DS & PC, $19.99 PS2)

So what is not to like about this? A brand new Ghostbusters game, reuniting Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson in their original roles (not to mention Annie Potts, Brian Doyle-Murray, and William Atherton), with writing guidance from Ghostbuster gurus Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis? This sounds like digital gold.

Of course, adding to the hype was this game’s long journey to publication, the famous decade-old feud between Harold Ramis and Bill Murray coming to an end, Activision’s Blizzard merger almost killing it – the years it took for this game to become a reality was almost a movie unto itself.

After all the hype, all the anticipation, the game is finally released. And after I sit down to play it, I have to say that my reaction was a resounding “Meh.”

Don’t get me wrong – there is a lot of positives to this game. The nostalgia factor is through the roofs. Some might complain that the developers chose to cram every single possible reference to the films into this game, but I favor that kind of pandering. It’s a Ghostbusters game. I want to fight Stay Puft, chase down Slimer, and confront Eleanor Twitty. Yeah, some of these elements seemed forced into the story, but they are supposed to be there. The addition of the original film soundtrack and the original voices really added to the flavor. The songs set the mood, and the familiar voices help keep you engaged.

The trouble is, the game itself really is boring. The nostalgia factor is the only thing that keeps you motivated to play the game through to the end. The entire game really comes down to a pair of game mechanics – hitting ghosts with the streams long enough that you can trap them (and doing so), or soaking non-trappable enemies with slime blowers until they die. This you do over, and over, and over again. Of course, killing things over and over is the basis of all games, but a weak design amplified the repetitiveness.

In order to properly explain what was wrong with the game, I have to start by explaining how it worked. You are “Rookie,” an unnamed 5th Ghostbuster that is tasked with handling all of the prototype gear that Egan has developed. This includes your proton pack, which actually functions as four different weapons. The standard proton stream, the shock blast, a more efficient slime blower, and the meson collider. You have a PKE meter that is used to scan and log the different entities you encounter, and also can track your target and any bonus items you need to discover.

So far so good – but the health system is where the game starts to unravel. You don’t really have a health-meter per se. You get hit with enough attacks quick enough, and you are put out of action and need to be revived. As you take abuse, the only visible evidence is a bit of blurred vision that you experience until you recover. You are almost always working with at least one other Ghostbuster, however, and they can revive you. You can also revive them if they get incapacitated – revival means a complete restoration of health.

“Oh, that’s easy!” You must be thinking. And I don’t blame you.

Trouble is – there is no rhyme or reason to the damage you take. You can be wrangling one ghost, and another two will hit you from behind. Or a boss will cause the floor to erupt in flames right where you are standing (and you can’t see). I can honestly say that the only things that really did damage to me during the entire game were things I couldn’t see. And you can give up all idea of “battlefield awareness.” You will frequently end up in a room with multiple ghosts and other corporeal enemies – and the ghosts can often move fast. They swirl around the room, going through walls and generally maneuvering faster than you can ever hope to keep track of. It quickly becomes obvious that your only hope of success is to eliminate the corporeal threats (Which, with the exception of fliers, generally directly attack) first, then move on to the main apparitions, all while keeping an eye out for fallen teammates to revive (their icons appear on the upper right of the screen along with a compass – a handy notification).

This tactic works somewhat well – the random shots from behind get frustrating, especially later in the game when you start encountering things that can kill you in a single hit – but even more frustrating is the absolute idiocy of the other Ghostbusters. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to make them too effective – you wouldn’t want to make a game where you could just stand there while your allies beat the game for you. On the other hand, they seem to have no survival instinct whatsoever. While they are virtually useless in every fight, they are your safety valve – if they are dead, you can’t be revived. And they had a maddening tendency to huddle in tight groups to be blown away by AOE attacks, or to simply run into attacks for no rhyme or reason. To lie there incapacitated, waiting to be revived, as you watch your allies fall one by one isn’t exactly fun.

Of course, when you die, you just start over from the last checkpoint. So no big deal! Well, this is where one flaw leads to another. Ghostbusters has the distinction of having one of the best and worst loading systems I have ever seen in a game.

For starters – you never notice the load time during gameplay. All of the loading takes place during the cut-scenes and is virtually seamless. And since a big part of playing this game is seeing those cut-scenes to get the story. Without death, you can get through this game without any visible load time at all. Level -scene – level – a seamless flow.

But you do notice the load time when you start the game. Anytime you have to load from a checkpoint (meaning, you aren’t getting a cut-scene), the load time is unbearable. Its okay when the game first starts up for a session, but heaven forbid you die. Instead of springing right back into action, you get a several minute break while the game loads. Instead of being allowed to jump back in and throw yourself at a difficult target that managed to kill you, you wait – and watch the same loading cut-scene over and over. After once or twice, it literally makes you want to put the game down.

Of course, there aren’t that many moment in the game, but the dreaded difficulty spike hits a few times in this game, almost at random. You will be progressing along just fine, when all of the sudden you will be slammed with an almost impossible assortment of opponents, coming at you from all directions. And these times are never boss fights – go figure – they happen randomly in a few levels. After you finally sit through the loading screen a few times and get through the bad part – the game slips right back into super-easy mode.

The level designs are horrible. For starters, many of the levels are sprawling outdoor areas, but you have no map. Seriously – they don’t give you a map at all. Even when you aren’t in a sandbox, a map can be an incredibly useful tool. And though the levels are incredibly detailed, they are monotonous, so it is nearly impossible to know where you came from. You end up groping blindly along if you don’t have a trail to follow – and if you get lost (which happens a few times), good luck figuring out which way you were supposed to go. The rooms which do look particularly good (like the Sedgewick ballroom) quickly loose their luster when the proton streams are fired. Those are exactly like the movie, have a tendency to wash-out the entire screen, and totally kill the impact of the iconic locations. In the mundane paths, its even worse.

The voice acting is ok – but you can tell it was frequently phoned in. The worst culprit is Bill Murray – who just wasn’t into it at all. Mercifully, Venkman isn’t present for most of the game, but when he is around, his labored part is painful to sit through. Worse – he has the identical role he had in the first movie, the romantic lead – a subplot that should have been dropped all together. It seems almost as if they wrote the game assuming he wouldn’t do it, but then tacked the part on when they signed him to the deal. It was bad – bad – and it would have been better f he wasn’t in it at all. Of course, Alyssa Milano did do a passable job as his love interest, Ilyssa Sekwyn, but I really could have done without her.

Overall, I really have to say this was a great and a horrible game, all at the same time. Which makes rating it a chore. The graphics were good, but washed out, wrangling ghosts is fun, but the revival/death dance was horrible, and the plot was decent and well thought out, but the voice acting left a little to be desired.

If you are a Ghostbusters fan, play the game. If not – stay away from this game. Far, far away. This game is 100% nostalgia hype, and is only enjoyable to those who call themselves fans. The fact that it is Ghostbusters, and the fact that it hits all the right fanboy buttons makes it possible to overlook what is overall a shoddy game.

Rating:

Like many people, once upon a time, I had my own Geocities site. With a strong dose of nostalgia, I checked – and was surprised to see that my site was still there… untouched since 2002!

So I figured – I might as well preserve this if Geocities won’t! So, even after all these years – still UNDER CONSTRUCTION, my Geocities site!

Reviewer:

In the middle of Marvel’s Civil War, an even bigger threat forces the heroes to overcome their differences to save the world

Platform: XBox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2, Nintendo DS, PSP
Developer: Vicarious Visions, Savage Entertainment, n-Space
Publisher: Activision
Genre: Action/Adventure
# of Players: 1-4, Co-Op Multiplayer online
U.S. Release Date: September 15th, 2009
MSRP: $59.99 ($49.99 Wii, $39.99 PSP, $29.99 DS & PS2)

About 3 months ago I had the opportunity to sit down with this game for a brief period, and was fairly happy with what I saw. As a result, I was pretty eager to get my hands on the full version of the game.

A car accident, a trip out of town, and a broken TV later, I finally got a chance to sit down with this one and give it a full treatment. Honestly, I am not entirely sure it was worth the wait.

The story is a new take on the Marvel event series Civil War. After starting off with events from Secret War , the plot takes us through the familiar catalyst to Civil War – the Stamford Incident. Of course, this leads to the passing of the Superhuman Registration Act, which then requires you (in story) to choose sides. Will you follow Captain America’s anti-Registration Secret Avengers, or follow Iron Man in support of the act?

Your choice really only impacts about a third of the game (the second of three ‘Acts’) because in the final third of the game, Iron Man’s faction loses control of the nanites that are controlling the Supervillains. The nanites’ network has become complex enough to be self-aware – and the two factions must join forces before the entire world is assimilated by the nanites. A little Borgy, but overall, the story ended up being a lot better than its inspiration was, so that is a plus.

The story does make the game a bit short for the price – the fact that you are supposed to play through it twice (once on each side) is supposed to make-up for that, but there really isn’t much more to be had the second time through. At $60… the length is a cause for concern, and might make the game better suited as a rental or a used purchase unfortunately.

Structurally, there isn’t much that separates this game from its predecessor, or even the previous X-Men Legends games. You still control a quartet of heroes as you make your way through the story, smashing opponents and your surroundings alike in an effort to save the day. There are some significant differences that expectedly come from this new console generation, specifically in graphics and the sheer number of opponents you can face at once. The sheer numbers of grunts you face at one time makes the game a lot more palatable than previous incarnations…. you are supposed to be super-powered characters after all, it really never did make sense that 4-8 normal humans would have a hope of beating your team of four, or even coming close.

That does bring me to something I didn’t expect to talk about – power levels. In previous games, the power-levels of all of the playable characters were somewhat homogenized. It made sense – you didn’t want one or two players to totally dominate the game. This formula worked well in both X-Men Legends games and in the previous Ultimate Alliance installment. Things are a bit different this time around – the more powereful characters in comics are quite literally the most powerful players in the game. Utilized correctly, some players end up being almost unstoppable in this game. Hulk and Thor can lay waste to entire boards of opponents in a single stroke. Their durability allows them to stand toe-to-toe with bosses that would flatten “street-level” characters like Daredevil. This doesn’t apply to just bricks – other abilities give certain characters a huge advantage. Wolverine and Deadpool) become nearly impossible to kill thanks to their healing factor. Granted, they can’t dish out the same kind of damage that Thor can, but with a little patience you can virtually solo any boss in the game with either of them.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the other characters aren’t fun to play, but if you want an easy time beating the game, team selection isn’t that difficult.

The voice-acting is fun, and really helps the game’s feel. As you fight, every character has a series of lines, battle cries, or sarcastic comments they use throughout the battle. Sure, they aren’t infinite, and they do repeat occasionally, but they do a decent job with the characters and that little touch gives the game a good feel. They aren’t always totally on character if you consider the comic, but the game has a wider appeal than the funny-books, and if you are a little forgiving those few lapses aren’t bad. The ultimate in hilarity comes at the end of the game, when you uncover the Hulk-ku Audio Track. Of course, if you don’t like spoilers, don’t click this, but if you want a good laugh, you have to listen. Stan Lee also makes a cameo as Senator Lieber, and as usual his voice is unmistakable.

Sadly, those annoying HQ maps have made their return in this version – and while you aren’t sent on a series of missions where you have to find people to talk to this time around, you do need to have a certain number of “unique” conversations if you want to unlock achievements. As in previous games, the HQ portion of the game is tedious, and really breaks up the flow of the game. There is nothing about these boards that couldn’t be accomplished with menus outside the normal structure of the game.

There are also dialogue encounters in game, where you are given three choices in how you respond to the character – Aggressive, Diplomatic, and Defensive. Honestly, this system really didn’t add much to the game. You do eventually get some bonuses for sticking to one kind of response throughout the game (getting enough “points” in a certain category to achieve the reward), but the conversation plays out pretty well the same no matter how you reply. I could have done without this feature all together. It adds nothing to the game, and really does nothing beyond breaking up the action.

Power Fusions are the core attraction of Ultimate Alliance 2. They definitely added something to the game, but not in the way I expected. The marketing for this game promised unique Fusion combinations for each and every playable character combination, but that isn’t exactly what we got. There are some basic kinds of Fusions – and they are varied, but they are hardly different for every single combination. Two big bricks will invariably jump up and down in a clearing attack, where pairing a brick with Wolverine will almost always give you some variation of a Fastball Special. Yes, there are different animations for every character combination… but only because there are different characters in every one. But more often than not, Hulk is either jumping up and down or picking up a huge rock in his fusions.

While the pairings themselves don’t end up being as diverse as you might have expected, the combinations themselves lead to important tactical distinctions. There are three different types of Fusions – Clearing, Guided, and Targeted – and each has specific situations they are best used in. Each Fusion has a minimum number of “hits” you need to achieve to earn an health pack (which can be used to heal or revive a character), which result is almost as important as the damage you cause. Targeted Fusions require you to hit a boss or leader, where Clearing Fusions want you to hit a certain number of opponents. It does you no good to use a Targeted Fusion on a board full of grunts, just as a Clearing Fusion isn’t much good when it is just your team against a boss. If you don’t diversify your team, you might find yourself in a situation where you don’t have the right kind of Fusion available when you need it.

Of course the save spots from previous games have been eliminated in this version (a positive change), so swapping out a character is as easy as hitting pause, but there is a small element of strategy to be had when planning your team.

Graphically, the game is a lot cleaner than previous incarnations, the powers look more impressive. But there were some definite glitches, to my dismay. I can remember one in particular when you are in Wakanda, and have to face-off against the Green Goblin, Venom, and a few waves of nanite-infected enemies. I remember Goblin disappearing at one point during the fight – I just assumed he was dead, and I missed the normal “boss-pause.” I defeated Venom, and then fought wave after wave of grunts. Eventually the waves ended up being trickles, and I started to wonder what was wrong. I couldn’t get out of the room, and there was nothing to activate.

Finally, changing my team to include a flier revealed the trouble – close to the top of the screen, the Green Goblin, trapped inside the elevator. He couldn’t move, and nothing I could do pulled him out. I couldn’t see his energy meter, so all I could do was find a flying character with an AoE attack and hope that did the trick. Thankfully it did – but I was at the point where it looked like I was going to ahve to redo the boss-fight, something that was most irritating.

That wasn’t the only example, but it was the most glaring. Another instance occurred during co-op play, when as Thing I picked up a train-car, and stuck it into the side of a cave wall, which blocked the board. Thankfully there weren’t any enemies, and the obstruction was quickly passed, but throughout my time with this game there were several similar instances that added some needless frustration to the game.

Speaking of co-op, I did get a chance to try out the co-op mode with our own Mark Blicharz. What did you think of the multiplayer mode Mark?

 

Co-op play is virtually the same as single player mode. The big change is I was able to throw cars and buses at Craig, which was fun. Sure it didn’t hurt him at all, but having a bus landing on his head was amusing none the less. The game does become more fun with a friend.

I couldn’t agree more – co-op play does add a great deal to this game, for more than the fun-factor alone. The AI for the computer-controlled allies isn’t that bright… having an actual human playing along with you does make your team function that much better. Plus, difficult opponents always seem to target the character you are controlling in single player, whereas in multi-player they actually just target whichever one of you happened to be closest. That fact alone allowed for a lot more flexibility in tactics, and made things a little less stressful.

And I have to admit, I did enjoy setting off ammunition piles on Mark… who wouldn’t? 

Though if you do play online a headset is needed or you’ll end up saying to the TV “Why is he going the wrong ******* way?” often as I did with Craig.

This is a must. You don’t have to have the headset, but it is better to have one, simply so you can tell your ally what the heck is going on. In this game it can be easy to get turned around, but sometimes one of you will want to go for the main objective, while another will want to go towards an optional objective or a hidden Rune or something to that effect, and you end up with the inevitable tug-of-war.

If you plan on playing any game co-op, get a working headset. That’s just common sense! 

The biggest downside is if you have Juggernaut and the person playing with you doesn’t, he/she would have to download a patch first. Overall the co-op is much more fun than the single player and is the way I’d recommend this game. Solo the game gets repetitive very quickly.

Once again, I have to agree. This game is a lot more fun in co-op. If you have that option available to you, take advantage of it.

I am not sure if this is the case on PS3, but it is definitely true on X-Box. This does lead me to wonder if that will be the case when DLC characters like Carnage become more commonplace, will you need a patch for each of them? This problem does end up highlighting a problem I have with online content – you should get the entire game when you pay for it. The game cost $60, and was actually kind of short for the price. Instead of working on more content, the developers had to spend time prepping a DLC Pack that included more characters for later, on top of “Exclusives” like Juggernaut if you pre-ordered at Gamestop, or Blade and Cyclops on the Wii. The DS version of the game even has a playable She-Hulk! Exclusive characters and post-release downloadable content have hurt the gaming industry, and this game is a good example of that. We paid for the game, give us the whole game! But I digress.

Where this game is simple, it shines. In many respects, this is as close to a modern sidescroller as we will ever get, but for some reason Activision keeps wanting it to be more, to its detriment. You still have some control over how your character levels up if you so choose, but there is a default “Auto-upgrade” mode which is nice, but not quite enough. The RPG elements of the previous game and X-Men Legends were the biggest weak-points, yet they continue to plague the franchise. This game is a smash-em-up, outside maybe making the characters more powerful as they progress through the game, there is no reason at all to go into any detail with customizable stats and power levels. Pausing to level your character breaks the flow of the game and adds nothing to it in the long term. The same goes for the wide array of team-bonus levels you earn and can use in this game. They add next to nothing to the gameplay, and ultimately end up being a distraction that breaks the flow of the game. In almost every respect, this game would become worlds better if it embraced what it was, and stopped trying to be an RPG. Giving the characters a basic power-set that stayed uniform throughout the game, eliminating needless bonuses (pretty much everything except the perks you get for using the Fantastic Four together, for instance) and upgrading, and cutting out those obnoxious Headquarters maps all together would make this game miles better than it is.

Even with the flaws, this is a fun game – I’d even go so far as to say it is better than the predecessor. Ultimately, though, this game would be ranked much higher if the RPG elements, HQ maps, and Diplomacy Conversations were removed – essentially this is an outstanding game with a bunch of extra stuff added that isn’t so good. If you enjoyed the first Marvel: Ultimate Alliance game, you are sure to love this one. Heck, the Slingers fan in me is happy – at the very least Prodigy is in the game, and a boss to boot! If only we got Speedball instead of Penance…

Rating:

7:33 Craig Reade

Welcome to the October edition of the comiXtreme.com $40 Pull List!I am your less-than-distinguished host, Craig Reade, and this is Brandon, the resident plucky Canadian.

7:34 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:34:03 PM

Woop woop! And as always, we’re coming at you live from the bowels of the Spam Corporate Annex in Nanuktuk Ca.

7:34 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:34:37 PM

Mmmm…. SPAMAnyway, let’s get to last month’s books!

7:35

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:35:09 PM

phpmg9D6sJonahHex47.jpg

7:35 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:35:17 PM

Jonah Hex #47, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 09/02/09 ON TIME  Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, Art by Cristiano Cucina, Colors by Rob Schwager   In Part 4 of the Six Gun War, Jonah Hex and company are on the move, but Turnbull sets a trap, and sends his assassins out to spring it at a tavern in a small town.

7:35 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:35:25 PM

In this stunning installment of the stellar Six Gun War story arc, Bat Lash throws Rape a bone when he suggests that the bandits should ask for the horses, rather than Tallulah Black.

7:35 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:35:29 PM

Which is funny, because it’s about doinking horses. Am I right?

7:36 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:36:21 PM

Indeed it is. A surprisingly weak showing by Rape this month. Especially considering that, like all “ugly” comic women, Black’s face is only mildly scarred, and the rest of her is well worth looking at.

7:36 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:36:37 PM

“Tragically ugly” in comic terms seems to equal a lights off girl.

7:37 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:37:09 PM

Supposedly. There was something that scared Rape away a couple of issues ago. Man, here’s hoping for a comeback later in the arc. I miss Rape.

7:37 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:37:38 PM

As for the quality of the book… still pretty good. Although for some reason I didnt quite catch the ending. Was it just me? How did all those people die?

7:37 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:37:47 PM

Well, Tallulah Black did dish out a severe beating to Rape … it is no wonder he is a bit squeemish about facing her again.

7:38 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:38:23 PM

As to the ending, I have a feeling it was those who set the trap who did the killing… I have a strong feeling we will see more at the start of the next issue. This really gets more and more interesting with every single issue. We have gotten a bit of action, but these characters interact well, and the story is progressing logically and quickly, with no sign of the usual Jonah Hex formula. Quite well done all around.

7:38 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:38:58 PM

Overall … the mega-arc is outstanding. Can’t wait for next month. Moving on..

7:39

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:39:00 PM

phpAGMumiGhostRiders2.jpg

7:39 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:39:11 PM

Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #2 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 09/02/09 ON TIME  Written by Jason Aaron, Pencils by Roland Boschi, Colors by Dan Brown   Danny Ketch maked his first appearance, breaking Master Pandemoneum’s arms, and getting him to use the portal in his belly to contact Satan to make a deal.   Meanwhile Hellstorm attempts to kill the Anti-Christ, only to be stopped at the last minute by Jaine, and the two are forced to work together to fend off the attack by Zadkiel’s servants. The Anti-Christ tries to escape in the confusion, only to be caught by Danny Ketch, who finally reunites with Johnny Blaze, and reveals that in exchange for his help, Danny has traded his very soul.

7:39 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:39:40 PM

Okay, there’s just something inherently awesome about saving the anti-Christ because it’s the only way the Ghost Riders are going to save heaven. Plus, the smattering of different places they end up looking for this antichrist… hilarious!

7:40 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:40:48 PM

Indeed… that definitey qualifies as irony. And this title is nothing but pure fun. It isn’t artsy, it is just real quality popcorn fun.

7:41 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:41:32 PM

Its almost impossible to classify this book, but it does it better than any other book even close to its genre on the market today.

7:42 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:42:06 PM

Each issue, I’m laughing and cheering, and a little bit afraid. It’s like the best the grindhouse has to offer… if it had a budget, but kept slumming because it’s fun. Plus, the stakes here are getting huge… seemingly almost too big to handle, and I’m interested to see where Jason Aaron goes with this book.

7:43 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:43:13 PM

No doubt. Pure fun here. With that, we shall move on. Also, as a reminder – please feel free to post your comments! At the appropriate time, we will post some of them and respond to what you have to say.

7:43

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:43:19 PM

phpTLiizrIronMan17.jpg

7:43 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:43:28 PM

Invincible Iron Man #17, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 09/02/09 ON TIME  Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca, Colors by Frank D’Armata   Madam Masque apparently defeats Rescue and kills Pepper Potts. Meanwhile, Tony’s mental degradation worsens to extreme levels, and Natasha sets up the meeting with Captain America that Maria Hill wanted. Tony is shot down by an RPG while flying over the Middle East, HAMMER breaks up Hill and Natasha’s meeting with Captain America and both are captured.   Also, this one came out this month as well:

7:43

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:43:30 PM

php4KekL2IronMan18.jpg

7:43 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:43:43 PM

Invincible Iron Man #18, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 09/16/09 ON TIME  Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca, Colors by Frank D’Armata   Tony abandons his wrecked armor and sets out across Afghanistan on foot, and makes his way back to “where it all began.” (Wait – wasn’t it in Vietnam? Unless the retcon in the movie is now supposed to be cannon) Tony brings the original Iron Man armor online. Pepper emerges – in disguise as Madame Masque, just as Masque herself is discovered locked inside an old Crimson Dynamo armor. Rescue downloads a virus into HAMMER’s systems, but not before the Iron Patriot is lead to Tony’s location.

7:43 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:43:57 PM

So Tony is going all sorts of stupid, and starts forgetting to be super clever. Or rather, he was doing that before, but now, he’s gone straight up retarded, leading Norman Osborne to exactly where Tony is.

7:44 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:44:00 PM

And hey, the other story, with Pepper Potts? That surprised me – as I did not see that final switch coming at all. Even though Tony looks like he’s screwed up but good, he’s still got someone he can count on in a pinch. As for Maria Hill… not sure where that storyline is quite going to end up, but once it collided with Pepper’s, things got highly decent. Now, for the slam bang fisticuff filled final issue of this storyarc!

7:45 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:45:00 PM

You know, as obvious as the switch seemed to be in retrospect, I totally missed it. I knew she was alive – but I figured she was in the armor, or somehow escaped the building.

7:45 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:45:10 PM

Things have finally picked up a little bit! With the end rapidly approaching, threads are starting to come together. I still think we could have gotten to this point in a few fewer issues, but the wait was kind of worth it. Looks like 2 issues in a month wasn’t a bad idea. The story is great, but the padding here is horrible!

7:46 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:46:42 PM

Such is what we are here for! Thanks for being present to be enlightened!

7:47 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:47:06 PM

Agreed, with the padding – but I’m excited for the next issue – seriously, it all really comes down to this, both for Tony, for Fraction, and pretty much for the fans, and this list. If it ends well, I think this book might be safe for some time, but if not… things might be shakey for the future.

7:47 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:47:12 PM

I have a lot of faith though.

7:48 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:48:05 PM

It started so strong… and this arc has been good on the whole, but a whole series of fairly weak issues has dampened my enthusiasm for this book. If the next arc progresses like this one, however, I will definitely be open to replacing it.I do not like excessive padding – no sir.

7:48

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:48:11 PM

phptYYbeTSecretSix13.jpg

7:48 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:48:23 PM

Secret Six #13, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 09/09/09 ON TIME  Written by Gail Simone, Pencils by Nicola Scott, Inks by Doug Hazlewood and Mark McKenna, Colors by Jason Wright   Artemis, Bane, Jeanette, and Scandal regroup and set off to save the Amazons, while the rest of the Six encounter Grendel, and learn a little more about Mr. Smyth’s prison. The prison-break begins in earnest, Catman switches sides. Just when things look to be going the right way, Grendel is freed, and we learn that the imprisoned Amazons were sent there by the United States government.

7:48 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:48:31 PM

While we were teased with it, we did not see Ragdoll dressed up in full Wonder Woman regalia. Not that any of her stuff would’ve fit him really… but it would’ve been the best part of having Wonder Woman as a part of this storyline

7:48 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:48:38 PM

Anyway, this issue felt a bit like Act Two Blues, which means it was more of a means-to-an-end issue as we wait for the big confrontation… but still, the book is decent.

7:48 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:48:45 PM

Agreed – without a doubt.A little better – helped no doubt by the fact that Wonder Woman was unconscious for the entire issue, but the story is still a bit muddled. There are some nuggets there, but it feels like Simone crammed in too many things into this arc. The secret prison angle was good enough – the “Nine Circles” angle with a Devil at the middle seems like a little overkill, and those two items, combined with the needless bit of mystery at the beginning has really kept this story from taking off. Sometimes simplicy works better than complexity… this story is a perfect example of that fact.

7:49 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:49:57 PM

Although… to be fair, the arc before this concerned a “get out of hell for free” card… which seems like it might come into play here really soon.

7:51 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:51:20 PM

Which would indeed make all the Hell stuff make more sense. But still – too much at once. And as a newer reader – that connection wasn’t apparant at all! Anyway… still safe in my eyes so far… unless the budget comes into question. Time to move on!

7:51

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:51:26 PM

phptPrljlNomad1.jpg

7:51 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:51:31 PM

Nomad: Girl Without a World #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 09/09/09 ON TIME Written by Sean McKeever, Pencils by David Baldeon, Colors by Chris Sotomayor   The story begins with Rikki Barnes, the Heroes Reborn sidekick of Captain America, as she struggles to adapt to life in a new reality. She decides she needs to meet to current Captain America, and after finally getting close enough to do just that, she is stopped by the Black Widow. In school, a student running for President of the Student Council gets an unusual array of support. Rikki encounters a strange creature in the basement of her school, and she beats a hasty retreat back to her home, where she finds a package waiting for her.

7:51 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:51:40 PM

It’s… it’s… it’s SEAN McKEEVER! And it’s good, Craig. Man!   For those of you who’ve been keeping track of the List, you know that we jumped onto Teen Titans with the start of Sean McKeever’s tenure as a writer – and boy howdy, was that a rocky run. As I suspected, this had a little bit to do with being “told” what to write in some instances – his first arc was a leftover from Geoff Johns, and he recently told people on the Facebook to pass on the info that he never initiated any character’s death inside Teen Titans, nor was the plot to Deathtrap his (or Marv Wolfman’s)

7:51 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:51:50 PM

And now that he’s back at Marvel… I dunno. It just feels like the magic is back. It might be the difference between the way the companies run their editorial, but either way… wow. If you take this book away from the list, Craig, I might have to punch you in the retina. Hard.

7:52 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:52:24 PM

Overall, not a terrible start. This book has a pretty serious Spider-Girl feel, but without the depth of supporting cast characterization. Hopefully McKeever doesn’t decide to do too much, too soon with those characters. They need a nice organic growth.

7:53 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:53:03 PM

There is potential – that is for sure, but I am not totally sold on its greatness (your man-love for McKeever aside)I am willing to endure it for a while.

7:54 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:54:41 PM

Overall – the weirdness with the students is what bugged me. That might be a good idea, but McKeever really needed an arc for Nomad to establish herself solo – and for her classmates to establish THEMSELVES before pulling the trigger on the weirdness. As it is – I don’t care one bit that they are acting strangely. And that hurts his story.

7:55 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:55:25 PM

Also, a crack about Captain America’s flat chest would have been awesome.

7:55 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:55:52 PM

I’d like to think that I’m fairly objective about McKeever’s work… even if I want to have his sexy word-babies. I agree that I’d care a bit more if I knew about the characters… but really, the fact that he got me to care at all for Rikki Barnes, let alone tell a coherent story is pretty good for me.

7:57 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:57:00 PM

She was a character with some untapped potential – I am glad to see someone decided to do something with it. However – I can say right now that this character is destined for the same second-stringer Marvel hell now occupied by Gravity and his ilk.

7:57 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:57:06 PM

Which is a shame.

7:57 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:57:27 PM

Oh, definitely.

7:57

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:57:29 PM

phppibeiuGreenLanternCorps40.jpg

7:57 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:57:33 PM

Green Lantern Corps #40, $2.99, DC Comics Due Out 09/16/09 EARLY – RELEASED 09/09/09  Written by Peter J. Tomasi, Pencils by Patrick Gleason, Inks by Rebecca Buckman, Tom Nguyen, and Prentis Rollins, Colors by Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltaeb    Iolande retreats from Daxam and arrives on Oa to find it at war, and her parents alive. Kyle struggles with a suddenly resurrected Jade, Kryb tries to escape, and convinces her Star Sapphire captor to aid her in helping the babies. The Alpha Lanterns attempt to take control of the Corps in the absence of the Guardians but are foiled. The Black Lanterns press the attack – Black Lantern Jade and Kyle come to blows, as do Guy Gardner and Black Lantern Bzzd.

7:58 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:58:37 PM

I’m actually already pretty tired of this whole “Blackest Night” thing – but working at the comic store pretty much requires me to keep on top of this event, what with it selling somewhere in the upper squiddly jillions. But I have to say… if I was just reading this book, I’d be cool with it. Keeping it at about this scale, with the characters tied the closest to its creation and fallout… it’d be good.

7:58 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:58:51 PM

Definitely good enough to keep on with, but man, am I getting tired.

7:59 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 8:59:20 PM

I’ve said it many times already – this arc is better than the Blackest Night event several times over. This is exactly what I wanted from that event – it’s a shame that DC felt that this story wasn’t the one worth telling on the main stage. It’s exciting, action packed, and I can’t wait to see what comes next. Blackest Night itself just makes me want to take a nap.

8:01 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:01:22 PM

You are correct – it was Arisia. Excuse the lapse, I’ll blame the rush in which I wrote that recap.Yes – however, I will say this – Blackest Night is WAY, WAY more exciting if you consider this title alone.

8:01 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:01:41 PM

Agreed. Onwards!

8:01

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:01:43 PM

phpfVnkDDDeadpool3.jpg

8:01 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:01:47 PM

Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #3, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 09/16/09 ON TIME Written by Victor Gishler, Art by Bong Dazo, Colors by Matt Milla, Inks by José Pimentel    Deadpool fights back against HYDRA but ultimately loses, and HYDRA claims Zombie Deadpool’s head for themselves. Meanwhile, the Savage Land tribe and Ka-Zar attack HYDRA, Deadpool comes to and escapes with the head and Dr. Betty – only to run into a zombie-fied T-Rex and HYDRA about to engage their scorched Earth option.

8:01 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:01:58 PM

While I’m entirely done with having two sets of Deadpool voices running around, I have to admit, the build to that crazy two page spread in the middle was pretty awesome. For the record, it featured a TON of cavemen, hydra agents, Ka-Zar and his kitty, and a giant friggen zombie t-rex.

8:02 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:02:03 PM

Only in comics.

8:02 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:02:39 PM

The splash page was awesome, though I was sad that Waldo was actually NOT in that scene. Rip-off.Pretty well the same as before – action, light, and fluffy. I am not 100% on Deadpool’s characterization here though… the split personality thing doesn’t work at all. Maybe Gishler just needs more time.

8:03 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:03:01 PM

I really can’t decide if I like this book or not – and being the Deadpool nerd that I am, that is not a good thing.

8:04 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:04:12 PM

I didn’t like the use of the split personality thing when it Daniel Way added another voice to Deadpool – and here, where there’s two Deadpool’s, essentially, it makes things even messier to slog through. Add to that the density of this story… there feels like there’s no breathing room, and like everything is far too constructed. I’m still enjoying the book despite itself almost, but it’s not a favorite.

8:05 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:05:12 PM

The dual voice thing is horrible – I hate it, and it isn’t the Deadpool I have come to love. Deadpool did just fine talking to himself – you never needed an actual second voice to accomplish that.

8:05 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:05:25 PM

This one is definitely on shakey ground.

8:05

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:05:29 PM

phpUZDtrDBatmanandRobin4.jpg

8:05 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:05:33 PM

Batman and Robin #4, $2.99, DC Comics Due Out 09/16/09 ON TIME  Written by Grant Morrison, Art by Philip Tan, Inks by Jonathan Glapion, Colors by Pete Pantazis   Lightning Bug flees from Batman, only to run into the Red Hood and his new sidekick Scarlet, who mete out justice of their own. Batman and Robin stake out a meeting of organized crime lords, and step in just as Red Hood makes his move.

8:06 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:06:22 PM

First Hornet, then Grasshopper a few times  - now Lightning Bug. What is it with insect-themed comic characters?

8:06 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:06:42 PM

I know this won’t sit well witha bunch of our readers… but I think the art by Tan is a major step down, in terms of quality here. There’s an odd kind of alchemy that happens between Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly, and I don’t care what alla y’all say. His art on this book has been stellar.

8:07 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:07:09 PM

TOTALLY disagree. I have to say that Tan’s art is a major step up for this title. From the first page things were clearer – the art was just better all around.     Beyond that, the story is a little crisper here – I like the angle of using viral video to preach a message… it is so easy to manipulate the public on a large scale if you have the right message and presentation. Red Hood and Scarlet are thus-far an outstanding “first” major opponent for the new Batman and Robin… while I think the title could be better, it certainly isn’t terrible.

8:07 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:07:43 PM

Quietly sucked on this book – plain and simple. Tan wasn’t wonderful, but it was legible, and that inof itself was a step in the right direction.

8:07 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:07:50 PM

It seems like writers are drawn to their deaths like moths to a flame. *cough cough*

8:08 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:08:04 PM

Killer Moth better watch his ass I guess.

8:09 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:09:16 PM

Bah. And you’re so very, very wrong about Quietly. I loved the way his scenes played out. The looser line he brought to this book seemed to put a bunch of people off, but really, it just fits Batman more to have the art be a little more kinetic than say… the stiffness of Superman.

8:10 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:10:28 PM

If it’s any consolation, he’s definitely off the book until at LEAST issue 13 now, as Cameron Stewart is going to follow Tan, and Stewart will be then followed by Fraser Irving – all for three issue runs.

8:10 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:10:29 PM

“Looser line” is to sloppy as “decompressed storytelling” is to “Telling a long ass bording story where nothing happens.”Batman’s mood is best captured with effective coloring – not drawing like you are an 8 year old with a box of crayons.

8:11 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:11:07 PM

The longer Quietly stays away, the better for this book, as far as I am concerned.

8:11 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:11:37 PM

Feh. I have no time for your well argued points. It requires thought to type back, and I will have NONE OF IT, you hear?

8:12 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:12:18 PM

Indeed. Sloppy art has been discussed. Time to move on!

8:12

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:12:21 PM

phpgqKZi2PowerGirl5.jpg

8:12 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:12:26 PM

Power Girl #5, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 09/23/09 ON TIME  Written by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, Art by Amanda Conner, Colors by Paul Mounts   Power Girl investigates a strange alien ship that self destructs (by implosion) while she is inside of it. Later, the three alien women who owned the ship are attacked by another alien who was tracking them, and the four brawl, without care to those in the city around them.

8:12 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:12:45 PM

This issue was… weird.

8:14 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:14:05 PM

Entirely agreed. I can see that the team seem to be going for a straight up “fun” book… and like to throw lots of crazy science and space and animals and whatnot into the mix so that Power Girl can punch things. But it takes a delicate touch for a book like this to work well, and this issue didn’t feel like it gelled quite right.

8:15 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:15:35 PM

You’ve got a trio of hot alien delinquents, a ship they destroym, for some reason, along with their super-hot sex bot, Rape makes an attempt at an appearance… then you get what seems to be a cop out to track the aliens down. But they don’t seem to be evil per se – that one showed a little panic over accidentally killing that theif.You know, I think it DID gel well… in a weird way, the presentation was perfect. The aliens arrive, and DIDN’T explain themselves off the bat. In a way, we kind of got to look at it in a way that Power Girl would see it. There is an element of “huh?” there, but it was agressive storytelling, and something almost experimental.

8:15 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:15:45 PM

Maybe I am giving it too much credit, but it was weird, and it worked.

8:16 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:16:51 PM

As fun books go, this one is definitely doing the job far better than Deadpool is.

8:17 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:17:12 PM

For some reason, when you typed “Deliquints”, I read “Debutants”. For whatever reason, that would’ve made the book better for me. But man… I wouldn’t be able to tell oyu why.

8:17 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:17:26 PM

What I’m trying to say is, I have nothing else helpful to say. :)

8:17 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:17:42 PM

That would have been another layer of weird. And as odd as this story was, that would have worked as well.

8:17

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:17:46 PM

phpnUgT0LAvengers29.jpg

8:17 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:17:53 PM

Avengers: The Initiative #28, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 09/23/09 ON TIME  Written by Christos N. Gage, Pencils by Rafa Sandoval, Inks by Roger Bonet, Colors by Edgar Delgado.   Nova has to deal with a member of his team called “Nonstop” who decides to go AWOL after Outback is put on the team. They give chase, and catch her, but are confronted by reporters. Finally Prodigy decides enough is enough, speaks out against Norman Osborne, and pulls his team from the Initiative. The Avengers Resistance try to figure out if it is a trap, meanwhile Osborne scrambles to undo the damage. Komodo quits, and loses her legs and powers. The Force of Nature is sent in to deal with the rebel team. They do well at first, but then Osborne sends in the cavalry and overwhelm Prodigy and his team. But the tables are turned when the Avengers Resistance arrives to even the odds. Night Thrasher is shot and left for dead, and Prodigy refuses to retreat, and suffers a horrific beating, but that attack is caught on tape by telemetry, who posts it on the internet.

8:18 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:18:10 PM

All I can say is – Prodigy better not be dead! Though, if he is, at least he went out better than Hornet did.

8:18 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:18:29 PM

Way, way, way, way better. Especially if it isn’t forgotten. Which it will be.

8:19 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:19:53 PM

Very, very true. Prodigy totally became a man in this issue, and not the jerkface that he’s been portayed as lately. After realizing the full scope of his actions, he gathers up his courage and tells Norman Osborn to go screw, and then he proceeds to be awesome, by getting his butt well and fully kicked.  I know that sounds a little backwards, but trust me. It’s all true.

8:20 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:20:07 PM

Plus, just as we’re all lead to believe that another character is biting the dust, things settle down in the form of an amazing cliffhanger, that totally excuses all perceived slights this death may have garnered. Hot damn! And whoever is doing the covers to this book now? Is just ROCKING it.

8:21 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:21:18 PM

Agreed. That was the manliest ass-whooping he’s ever gotten, and actually really in line with the character. He was always a swarmy prick, but he was a fighter. It came out when he went after Iron Man at the start of Civil War… he was right then, but too drunk to realize his actions made no difference.

8:22 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:22:53 PM

True. But yeah, a great read for Slingers fans… even better if he survives and returns to be AWESOME.

8:22 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:22:55 PM

If Prodigy IS dead, I will be disappointed… that will be 3/4 of the Slingers dead and 1/2 of them gone… but at least he went out with purpose. This would be a good death.

8:23 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:23:27 PM

In comic terms, anyway. But heck – at least he was in a video game… even if he isn’t playable. That’s something.

8:23

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:23:33 PM

phpn95vBDNova29.jpg

8:23 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:23:39 PM

Nova #29, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 09/23/09 ON TIME  Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Pencils by Kevin Sharpe, Inks by Nelson Pereira, Colors by Bruno Hang.   The Upholder Class ship turns out to be the Resolute Duty, presumed missing some 35 years prior. Fraktur, Morrow, and Irani (now wearing the red Probationer uniforms and carrying the rank of Denarian) go with Nova Prime to investigate the ship, and see if any survivors could be found. Worldmind falls victim to a data attack, and the remaining Probationers on Nu-Xandar are left to cope with the resulting damage.   Nova meets another Centurian named Zan Philo, adrift for 35 years, and the group quickly encounters the source of the nano-tech attack – Monark Starstalker, a bounty hunter who has some history with Zan Philo.   His attack weakens Worldmind to the point where Ego can re-emerge, and at that moment, the “Black Hole Sons,” otherwise known as the Mindless Ones break out of their cells and attack.

8:23 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:23:49 PM

A little history about Monark Starstalker – this character is an obscure one that was created by Howard Chaykin way back in 1976 for a one-shot story in Marvel Premiere #32, and he appears here pretty well exactly as he did back then. What plans Abnett & Lanning have for him here remain to be seen.

8:24 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:24:57 PM

You know, the European writers tend to find the weird characters, and make them work completely in just slightly different contexts.

8:25 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:25:00 PM

An interesting but appropriate character choice – he fits with the backstory here.

8:25 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:25:15 PM

It was sad to see Andrea DiVito off this issue. Looks like it will be a short-term thing only to last this issue and the next. The art was passable, however – and I have no doubt DiVito deserved a little time off.

8:25 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:25:27 PM

James Robinson, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis… not Mark Millar, but still, you get the picture.

8:25 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:25:34 PM

Indeed.

8:26 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:26:29 PM

I think DiVito might be moving onto one of the Realm of Kings minis. Still keeping him in the family. And yeah… as always, this issue was great. But as usual with Nova, they all got weird names, and I can never remember who a person is… so I have very little to say about the book. :) Other than it continues to be pretty awesome.

8:27 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:27:05 PM

DnA are putting out an awesome Nova book, I have to say. It keeps getting better. The Red Uniforms are pretty new, I think, but they are a great addition. The Nova Corps has always been about rank distinction, and Probationary seems a good status to add to the mix. They have also done an excellent job remaining true to the rank structure and insignias, and have done a similar job reintroducing old Nova Corps concepts and fitting them into the current universe.

8:28 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:28:02 PM

They have done a brilliant job with Marvel’s cosmic universe – there is no argument there.

8:28 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:28:20 PM

And if it makes sense to bring Ganymede back, you can bet they will.

8:28 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:28:31 PM

Urm-um-eh… who? I suppose time will tell. Meanwhile, imma look that guy up.

8:29 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:29:27 PM

Anyway – Nova is awesome, again, no shock. Moving on.

8:29 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:29:30 PM

- The List So Far   Jonah Hex #48, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 10/07/09  Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #3 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 10/07/09 Batman and Robin #5, $2.99, DC Comics Due Out 10/07/09  Secret Six #14, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 10/14/09 Green Lantern Corps #41, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 10/14/09 Nomad: The Girl Without A World #2, $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 10/14/09  Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #4, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/21/09   Invincible Iron Man #19, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/21/09   Power Girl #6, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 10/21/09  Avengers: The Initiative #29, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/28/09  Nova #30, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/28/09

8:29 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:29:37 PM

- The Chopping Block & New Titles   Well, as you can see, $2.89 is not enough for a new title, which means we have two choices. Either we can cut a title, and add a new book, or we can find a title that has a cover price of less than $2.68. Your ideas?

8:30 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:30:10 PM

Less than $2.68 would either be an Archie book… oooorrr… Vampirella right now. So, it’s cuttin’ time, me thinks.

8:30 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:30:56 PM

Well, the 100% vote for Jonah Hex aside (no way… not only is that book awesome, it is the last book left from the original list), I have a few candidates.

8:31 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:31:47 PM

Nomad: The Girl Without a World Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth Nomad: The Girl Without a World Secret Six Batman and Robin, and Nomad: The Girl Without a World

8:32 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:32:24 PM

Well, I’m enjoying Batman and Robin and Nomad too much to let those go without a fight, so I’d knock those off.

8:32 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:32:46 PM

Well, the Nomad thing WAS a joke.

8:33 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:33:12 PM

I’m not so skinny that I won’t try and fight you Craigers J. Spindly fists, coming straight at you.

8:33 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:33:13 PM

NO! Bad Gabriel Sosa. *spray spray spray*

8:33 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:33:42 PM

Well, that leaves Secret Six and Deadpool. Of the two… I have to say Secret Six is the least enjoyable right now.

8:35 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:35:41 PM

The tension!

8:35 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:35:56 PM

Heh. You guys are breaking Craigs heart! I have to say, both started strong, but they’ve both fallen quite a bit from the beginning.Honestly, if this wasn’t such a strong month, I think we’d be keeping them both,. but… if *I* had to choose one to cut… I’d go with Secret Six. Deadpool only edges it out because of giant zombie t-rex. Slightly.

8:36 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:36:25 PM

On that point, I have to agree. Zombie T-Rex does trump Ragdoll in drag.

8:36 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:36:33 PM

Hmmmmmm…. gah! It’s like Sofie’s choice, if Sofie kind’ve felt indifferent about both of her children…

8:37 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:37:05 PM

I think the difference here is – I am still enjoying Deadpool, but I think it could be better. Secret Six has been off this entire arc.

8:37 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:37:17 PM

I blame Wonder Woman.

8:37 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:37:22 PM

Secret Six it is.

8:37 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:37:37 PM

As far as our new book, I was thinking of going with a reader suggestion from last month. As it happens, it looks like a new arc is kicking off in October. How about:   Wolverine: Weapon X #6, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/28/09

8:38 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:38:46 PM

Woop! Yeah, it’s been a while, so I don’t quite remember who helped suggest it… I know we got X-Factor suggested, and this book, and a few others… and you know… with Jason Aaron writing… I got faith.

8:38 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:38:54 PM

Even if its Wolverine.

8:39 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:39:31 PM

Indeed. If I recall correctly, this will be the third time a Wolverine book is on the list.

8:39 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:39:42 PM

For the purposes of this list, I believe we are. Plus, it’s always good to have some diversity, character-wise. At least when we’re dealing with a scant $40 ‘merican.

8:39 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:39:50 PM

Hopefully it fares better than the last couple times.

8:41 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:41:17 PM

Yeah – for this list, we can’t afford a $5 book. That issue will be great, no doubt, but things like that don’t work on a budget. We’d have to cut another book just to pick it up.

8:41 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:41:27 PM

Oh man… I kind’ve sort’ve end up spending about… $60 a week on comics… after a sizable discount.

8:42 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:42:21 PM

Anyway – Deadpool #900 is a classic example of a book that people on a strict budget can’t get. And something we have to miss out on for the purposes of this column. But hey – hard choices like that is what the $40 Pull List is about.

8:42 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:42:24 PM

Or aboot.

8:42 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:42:30 PM

Craig’s here to be the $40 dollar dude. i am the dancing monkey. :)

8:42 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:42:57 PM

Indeed, eh? Well, I have to be off and pick up a roommate in my magic igloo car. Best we wrap this puppy up.

8:43 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:43:02 PM

Anyway – the final list and the Math! (Sweet, sexy math!)

8:43 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:43:04 PM

Jonah Hex #48, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 10/07/09  Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #3 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 10/07/09 Batman and Robin #5, $2.99, DC Comics Due Out 10/07/09  Green Lantern Corps #41, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 10/14/09 Nomad: The Girl Without A World #2, $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 10/14/09  Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #4, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/21/09   Invincible Iron Man #19, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/21/09   Power Girl #6, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 10/21/09  Avengers: The Initiative #29, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/28/09  Nova #30, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/28/09 Wolverine: Weapon X #6, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 10/28/09      The Math   $.48 (Bank from September) + $40 (October Budget) = $40.48 $40.48 – $34.89 (October  issues) – $2.70 (tax) = $2.89 Banked for October

8:43 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:43:30 PM

Oooh, the sexy maths, yeah!

8:44 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:44:26 PM

And with that, we bring our show to a close! Thanks for watching… and we will see you in Novembers, when we will play “Guess Who” using Brandon’s wacky sci-fi comic character names!

8:44 B. Schatz

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:44:39 PM

Heck yeah! Stay frosty, hosers!

8:44 Craig Reade

Monday, October 05, 2009, 9:44:46 PM

Goodnight!

Reviewer: Craig Reade
Quick Rating: Excellent
Rating: T (Teen)
Official Site

Joker takes control of Arkham Asylum, and sets an elaborate trap for the Dark Knight.

Platform: XBox 360, Playstation 3, PC (September release)
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Publisher: Warner Brothers
Genre: Action/Adventure
# of Players: 1
U.S. Release Date: August 25th, 2009
MSRP: $59.99

The hype for this game has been something else. Sometime a few weeks ago, the buzz about this game went from something you might expect from a decent game, to something people couldn’t stop talking about. I even read a story about it on the Yahoo homepage as the feature story!

Now hype can be a dangerous thing. It has a strange way of inflating expectations, and making a fairly decent game seem like a let-down. So I did my best to ignore the hype, and sat down to play the game. Plenty of time to think about that after I was done.

Obviously, this game is a superhero game, which has its own unique set of challenges. Sometime back in the mid-90’s, game technology advanced to the point where it was no longer acceptable to simply create a basic game and insert a superhero into the lead role. Sure, that worked back in the early days, when you could make a punch-em-up side-scroller and just make the avatar Batman. When you got to the level of platforms like the Nintendo 64, suddenly that formula started to make for a bad game. Anyone else remember Superman 64?

These days, to have a successful superhero game, not only does the game have to be well made, but it has to allow you to in some sense live the comic book experience. Spider-Man 2 (2004) successfully captured the feel of webslinging through Manhattan. X-Men Legends recreated the team-combat dynamic that is so integral to the X-Men comics. In order for Batman: Arkham Asylum to be a real hit, it would have to capture some part of what it is to be Batman – meaning master martial artist, detective skills, gadgets, and shadow-stalking. I am pleased to say that on all counts, this game nailed it.

Combat is fairly intuitive, and well designed. The system is simple – one button attacks, one button does a stun attack, one counters, and one dodges (with a double tap). The system is designed so that you can charge into a group of a dozen opponents, and take them all out without taking a hit. Early in the game, you quickly find yourself just chain attacking, but soon you discover that it is imperative that you not only master the timing of the attacks, but also that you incorporate counters and stun attacks at appropriate moments to keep the combo chain going. You are encouraged not only to win fights, but also to flow from opponent to opponent without taking a hit or missing a shot. The more consecutive attacks you can chain together, the higher your experience bonus is – experience points being the currency you use to purchase upgrades as the game progresses. Without a doubt, the game captures what it is like for Batman to combat multiple opponents that he far outclasses in skill. It really is only the numbers that give the sense of danger – as it would be for Batman. There isn’t a thug in the game that you can’t handle with ease 1 on 1, but in the flurry of combat, one lucky shot can turn the fight around.

Speaking of lucky shots, I can’t tell you how awesome it was to get hit in the head with a pipe in the middle of the fight. One moment you are in control, and then you miss that one counter, and CLANG – the pipe hits. The game actually blurs the screen, almost as if you were looking at something cross-eyed – you see double (maybe triple). You can still fight, and still move, but your vision is disrupted, and you just have to fight through it. An outstanding touch.

Of course, Batman is human, and despite the armor he wears, he is certainly not bulletproof. This game remembers that as well. You should not get shot – ever. Opponents with guns (with some exceptions) are better to take out with stealth – and this game allows for that as well. You can sneak up on opponents and silently take them out, stun them with a batarang or an explosion, or even drop down from a gargoyle and string them up. And yes, there are many occasions where you can drop down on top of a group from above, cape extended, gliding in for the surprise kick. Batman operates well from the shadows – and the variety of high ledges, low walls, and removable floor-crates allow you to find cover easily. So long as you remain aware of your surroundings.

The detective aspect is present as well – and the game wisely handles this in two ways. Of course Batman is a master detective – but how do you incorporate that into a game? Players would want to feel as if they were solving a puzzle the way Batman would, but you can’t translate keen intellect and a talent for observing small details into a series of button presses like you can with combat. Or can you?

Part of the way the game captures the feel of Batman the Detective is with the aptly named Detective Mode. With the push of a button, you engage Batman’s scanner. This will allow you to detect opponents, determine if they are armed or not, find passageways (like vents that can be removed), and even scan for DNA or other traceable elements that will allow you to track a target. If there is something you need to figure out in order to advance the plot, entering Detective Mode will eventually help you find the answer.

Some players might be looking for a little more though – and that’s where The Riddler comes in. Throughout the asylum are the answers to a series of Riddles that Edward Nigma have left for you, as well as some trophies and other bonus items. Solving the riddle requires you locate the solution and basically take a picture of it. For example, the Riddle “This room is the end of days for even the most celebrated killer.” requires that you take a picture of Calander Man’s cell – which you will recognize because it is covered in torn off calender pages.All of the items on the Riddler Grid will give you more experience points, which of course allow you to upgrade your gear. They aren’t required to advance the plot, but they definitely add another dimension to the game, a welcome one if you want

Atmosphere is such a crucial part of this game. To me, the game is somewhat reminiscent of “D” in that respect. Of course, “D” had the misfortune of being released when technology (in particular graphics) were at something of a transitional phase, but one thing it definitely got right was atmosphere. Halo also did this well, particularly when you were first introduced to the Flood. In Batman: Arkham Asylum, atmosphere serves as the mortar that cements all of the great individual aspects of the game together. The sense of danger throughout the Asylum is palpable, and the Joker’s voice taunting you over an intercom as the game progresses really gives the game some meat. Graphics (particularly lighting) and music make you feel danger when it is there, urgency when it is required, and calm when it is time to think. Atmosphere in this sense is something of an intangible, but there is no denying that it was handled masterfully here.

A lot of credit for the quality of this game has to go to the writing and the voice acting. The names might seem familiar to you – Paul Dini writing, Kevin Conroy voiced Batman, Arleen Sorkin voiced Harley Quinn, and Mark Hamill voiced the Joker – a real reunion from Batman: The Animated Series. Of course, this isn’t a game based on that property, but Batman in general, so no worries about the look. Speaking of the look, the folks at Wildstorm were behind Batman’s design for the game – continuing a tradition of comic professionals contributing to the success of games like this. Mark Hamill’s work was key – his Joker has reached an iconic status, and if anyone else was voicing the Clown Prince, it would have been jarring.

The graphics are gorgeous, but the cut scenes can be lacking, especially when you are watching a conversation. They basically use the same models you see in the game during these cut scenes – and that leads to moments of weird stiffness, unnatural eye-movement, and bad lip-syncing. The first instance of this you will notice right away on the opening screen (Press Start!) – you see Batman standing, his cape blowing in the breeze, a real feeling of action. Only his body doesn’t move at all. It is almost like they forgot to put a slight head and arm movement, and the result looks like an unnatural statue wearing a cape. Gotta be honest though – in today’s game industry, too often there is a focus on the quality of the cut scenes, and the game suffers as a result. Far be it from me to complain about a slightly sub-par movie, when the game play is so phenomenal. This game was slightly lacking in the one area where it is perfectly fine to be slightly lacking – there was a dip in quality there, but they deserve points for having their priorities right.

One other bit about the game that was a slightly bigger problem – the beginning. At this point, Batman has captured the Joker, and he is being processed for incarceration at Arkham Asylum. Batman is suspicious because Joker gave up too easily, and decides to accompany the Joker and his guards until he is satisfied that his nemesis is safely in custody. So you walk – and only walk – for at least 10-15 minutes, following the Joker until he makes his move. The voice-work during this time is outstanding of course, but it is long, and quickly becomes something you have to tough out.

Outside the game itself, there are several “challenges” that try your still at both group combat and stalking. I found these to be a blast – but also a great way of honing your skills for some of the more difficult encounters later in the game. The combat challenges were particularly valuable, as they help you get over just mashing X in combat, and actually timing your selected shots. Being able to fight mob after mob without having to die and watch a couple scenes again was a lot of help. Don’t skip these until you finish the main game – you will pick up skills there that will help you beat the game. Plus, its a fair bit of fun. Those challenges also keep track of your scores, which allows you to compete and compare with your friends, or with all online users. A nice couple of extras, and nothing forced.

Is this the “Greatest Comic Game of All Time” as some people are proclaiming it? I really can’t say – that kind of thing is whole lot of hype uttered by some pretty self-important folks.

But there are two things that are absolutely true about this game. One – its an outstanding comic game, that successfully captures what it is to be Batman.

Two – it is plain and simply an outstanding game. You owe it to yourself to check this one out.

Rating: