[QuickTidal]

Yousonofabeeetch

Ferris is saved is my fave tho.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 27 July 2018 - 11:07 PM

[Abyss]

The whole thing was about saving Cassidy, Jenny Sparks dies, Black Bolt doesn’t, they beat the AntiMonitor in the end, Jean sacrifices herself, it wasn’t really Jean, Gambit was Sinister the whole time, Logan’s real name is James, the invaders were White Martians...

[T77]

Alternative Goose, on 27 July 2018 - 03:29 PM, said:

Reading more marvel. I've read pretty much everything Civil War except some of the actual main civil war issues that seem to be stuck in library limbo.

Reading those stories I remain convinced that Iron Man was in the right and cap is an idealistic fool. A strange thing that they don't address though, is that if it's so important to police the powerful, shouldn't Reed Richards and Tony Stark and their tech be subjected to the same scrutiny? Why isn't there some kind of regulation of the insane stuff these two build on a whim? We're talking about people who just whip up gene viruses and wormhole generators and fusion batteries like it's nothing.

They're ridiculously scary if you think about it for a second.

Anyway, onward to The Secret Invasion, The Thunderbolts, Dark Avengers and Siege. I love this stuff. They made Norman Osborn into a great villain and manage to use his insanity to show how lacking the heroes can be in their thinking. It's like when they made Lex Luthor go legit and get into politics.

I like this secret invasion stuff. This has to have been inspired by Battlestar Galactica, right? I love how freaked out everyone is by the skrulls.

Also been reading some new Punisher and Iron Man comics. Iron Man is legitimately hilarious in these new comics. There's this returning segment where he wants Doctor Strange to Hi5 him and he calls them beard bros. It makes me so happy.

Oh and Doc Doom has returned with out his armor and now his face is normal after the Secret War stuff. He's being a good guy and wants to hang out with Stark. This of course freaks him out and again I am thoroughly amused.

I've been working my way through Bendis' massive Avengers run and it touches on a few things you've mentioned. Overall it's solid. I'm up to Avengers vs X-Men now (not just written by Bendis) and I think it's really good. This might be the best part of the run.

[Aptorian]

I definitely prefer Bendis to Hickman. Less hit and miss.

Gotta say I am liking these new comics in the wake of Secret War. The new Avengers are cool, the Champions are cool and I just a couple volumes of a new black ops Thunderbolts team headed up by Red Hulk staffed by Punisher, Electra, Deadpool, Flash Venom and a new red version of the Leader. That's a violent group.

I wasn't actually aware of who Red Hulk was. Seems like a very dangerous character, could be fun as a villain.

Also been reading more Punisher. Has anyone ever touched upon how much damage Frank Castle takes in these stories?

Like, I get it's a comic book, but over the course of a few days Punisher will get shot (Through the chest!), blown up, beaten with a bat, get pistol whipped get blown up again, be tag teamed by prison guards, get stabbed, shot, blown up a third time, appear to be on deaths door and then next issues he has a few bandages wrapped around vital parts but otherwise he's fine.

I know Punisher is tough as shoe leather but does he have a low key healing factor nobody talks about?

[Coco with marshmallows]

Alternative Goose, on 29 July 2018 - 01:27 PM, said:

I definitely prefer Bendis to Hickman. Less hit and miss.

Gotta say I am liking these new comics in the wake of Secret War. The new Avengers are cool, the Champions are cool and I just a couple volumes of a new black ops Thunderbolts team headed up by Red Hulk staffed by Punisher, Electra, Deadpool, Flash Venom and a new red version of the Leader. That's a violent group.

I wasn't actually aware of who Red Hulk was. Seems like a very dangerous character, could be fun as a villain.

Also been reading more Punisher. Has anyone ever touched upon how much damage Frank Castle takes in these stories?

Like, I get it's a comic book, but over the course of a few days Punisher will get shot (Through the chest!), blown up, beaten with a bat, get pistol whipped get blown up again, be tag teamed by prison guards, get stabbed, shot, blown up a third time, appear to be on deaths door and then next issues he has a few bandages wrapped around vital parts but otherwise he's fine.

I know Punisher is tough as shoe leather but does he have a low key healing factor nobody talks about?

If you take issue with that, you should read the full run of Punisher Max.....

[Abyss]

The Punisher is actually Deadpool in disguise.

[Aptorian]

Speaking of Punisher I just read that the comic book artist Steve Dillon passed away in 2016. I knew him from two comics. Preacher and Punisher.

I can't say I was overly fond of his style specifically how he drew faces, but he definitely was an iconic artist. Can't think about Preacher with out Dillons interpretation.

In other news I've been binging the "Thor God of Thunder" run from around 2012-13ish . Just started volume 4 and one of the storylines is in a far future where an ancient All-father Thor picks a fight with Galactus over Earth long after mankind has either died out or left planet Earth.

It's fucking awesome. You'd think Galactus would destroy Thor but Old Man Thor has some serious juice.

[Aptorian]

Finished reading every issue of Marvels Secret Skrull Invasion I could find at the library.

Thinking about it, nothing about this event actually makes sense. The Skrulls had tons and tons of plans, they had super Skrulls designed to counter and overwhelm every single super hero, they eveb had a Galactus Skrull! They took out all of earth's defenses, the earth was covered with an army of battleships and for some reason the whole invasion is defeated because of a fight in central park. Really? Rrrrreaaally? And they just happen to find a ship in orbit where every single cloned hero is aboard? Hmmmmmmm.... What a cop out.

Oh well, at least the lead up to the event was really cool. I especially loved Hercules and a team of God's travelling to Skrull heaven and fighting the Skrulls god. That was awesome.

I was curious about Thor and Cap America just showing up at the final battle. Thor the other heroes greet but nobody reacts to Cap America. At all. When did he come back from the dead? Shouldn't this be a holy shit second coming of American Jesus moment?

I'm reading a bit of Thunderbolts now before starting the siege event. Though many of the villains are b-tier at best I do enjoy this knock off Suicide Squad.

I especially like Bullseye. The comics I read with him in the 80s made him seem like a low level mook. A good antagonist for Daredevil but a limited threat.

In Thunderbolts how ever he is elevated to a hyper violent Hannibal Lecter. It's incredible what good framing and writing can do for a character.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 04 August 2018 - 04:09 PM

[Abyss]

Alternative Goose, on 04 August 2018 - 04:06 PM, said:

Finished reading every issue of Marvels Secret Skrull Invasion I could find at the library.

Thinking about it, nothing about this event actually makes sense. The Skrulls had tons and tons of plans, they had super Skrulls designed to counter and overwhelm every single super hero, they eveb had a Galactus Skrull! They took out all of earth's defenses, the earth was covered with an army of battleships and for some reason the whole invasion is defeated because of a fight in central park. Really? Rrrrreaaally? And they just happen to find a ship in orbit where every single cloned hero is aboard? Hmmmmmmm.... What a cop out.

Oh well, at least the lead up to the event was really cool. I especially loved Hercules and a team of God's travelling to Skrull heaven and fighting the Skrulls god. That was awesome.

I was curious about Thor and Cap America just showing up at the final battle. Thor the other heroes greet but nobody reacts to Cap America. At all. When did he come back from the dead? Shouldn't this be a holy shit second coming of American Jesus moment?

I'm reading a bit of Thunderbolts now before starting the siege event. Though many of the villains are b-tier at best I do enjoy this knock off Suicide Squad.

I especially like Bullseye. The comics I read with him in the 80s made him seem like a low level mook. A good antagonist for Daredevil but a limited threat.

In Thunderbolts how ever he is elevated to a hyper violent Hannibal Lecter. It's incredible what good framing and writing can do for a character.

I enjoyed the whole Dark Avengers thing. It was fun. Agreed re Bullseye tho he had already had considerable development in Daredevil and elsewhere by then. One of my favorite was back in the old Gambit comic when the entire Assassins Guild absolutely freaks out when they realize they’re going up against him.

[Aptorian]

Reading the Avengers/X-men Utopia part of Dark Reign now. I am so very bored by these mutant hate/persecution stories but given the current American cultural climate I guess these stories never stop being relevant.

Favorite bit so far is Scorpion Venom assaulting people in his giant monster form while shouting Stop in the name of the law before he tries to eat them. He's just great.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 05 August 2018 - 05:04 PM

[Aptorian]

Finished Siege/Dark Reign.

I was missing some crucial issues so that was somewhat underwhelming to wrap up.

I don't know what happened to Osbourne or his lackies after the siege. What happened to Thor or Sentry? What happened to Valhalla or the Asgardians? The superhuman registration act is repealed but come on, is it really wrapped up with that clean a bow?

If I had a computer at home I'd subscribe to Marvels online library to figure out what is up and down on that whole thing.

I think the best moment was the epilogue when Ares son, the elementary school God of Fear, invaded the white house and killed most of the secret service to avenge his father and left a threatening letter to the president.

I need to read more if they continue writing the kid like that. Does make you wonder about presidential security in the Marvel universe. Shouldn't there be assigned at least one "Omega level" super powered guard in the White House at all times?

Anyway, I found a giant book of x-force issues collected in one volume. Always wanted to read about that secret kill team Cyclops put together.

The art work in this thing is phenomenal.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 06 August 2018 - 06:30 PM

[Abyss]

Alternative Goose, on 06 August 2018 - 06:28 PM, said:

Finished Siege/Dark Reign.

I was missing some crucial issues so that was somewhat underwhelming to wrap up.

I don't know what happened to Osbourne or his lackies after the siege. What happened to Thor or Sentry? What happened to Valhalla or the Asgardians? The superhuman registration act is repealed but come on, is it really wrapped up with that clean a bow?

If I had a computer at home I'd subscribe to Marvels online library to figure out what is up and down on that whole thing.

I think the best moment was the epilogue when Ares son, the elementary school God of Fear, invaded the white house and killed most of the secret service to avenge his father and left a threatening letter to the president.

I need to read more if they continue writing the kid like that. Does make you wonder about presidential security in the Marvel universe. Shouldn't there be assigned at least one "Omega level" super powered guard in the White House at all times?

Anyway, I found a giant book of x-force issues collected in one volume. Always wanted to read about that secret kill team Cyclops put together.

The art work in this thing is phenomenal.

Osborne was dethroned and thrown in jail. Most of his villains returned to villainous things. Asgard was broken, the Asgardians scattered, Thor uncertain what to do about it. Sentry was reimprisoned in his own citadel I think iirc. Ares' kid shows up in Hickman's SECRET WARRIORS which is awesome.

Assuming that's Remender's XForce run you have there, you're in for a treat.

Just finished reading STAR WARS: INFINITIES, kind of a What If series Dark Horse did where one little thing changes in each movie and the story shifts from there. The ANH version was pretty good... Luke's torpedos failed, the Rebellion is wiped out, Leia is taken in and eventually apprenticed to Vader while Luke finds his way to Yoda without a rescue mission to pull him away. Hilarity ensues. Solid story, nice art.

EMPIRE was just stupid. Luke freezes to death on Hoth, everyone else just sort of does stupid shit until they all team up vs Vader. Lame. Bad art.

JEDI was middle of the set. The mission to rescue Han goes sideways and the heroes are not where they’re supposed to be so thing get bad for the rebels, but more or less work out to the movie ending. Mediocre art doesn’t help. Ewoks eating people does.

[JPK]

So I just finished Injection vol 1 by Ellis, Shalvey, and Bellaire and very thoroughly enjoyed it. The best way I can describe this is Fringe meets fae folklore. A science division is investigating occurrences of otherworldly incidents that are brought about by twisted future tech. I will be diving straight into Vol 2.

[T77]

JPK, on 07 August 2018 - 09:09 PM, said:

So I just finished Injection vol 1 by Ellis, Shalvey, and Bellaire and very thoroughly enjoyed it. The best way I can describe this is Fringe meets fae folklore. A science division is investigating occurrences of otherworldly incidents that are brought about by twisted future tech. I will be diving straight into Vol 2.

I read all 3 volumes and it was real good. I also read Trees by Ellis and it was good too, though not as good as Injection. And I finished volume 2 of his Wild Storm, which was great. Been on an Ellis kick lately.

[Abyss]

T77, on 08 August 2018 - 02:09 PM, said:

JPK, on 07 August 2018 - 09:09 PM, said:

So I just finished Injection vol 1 by Ellis, Shalvey, and Bellaire and very thoroughly enjoyed it. The best way I can describe this is Fringe meets fae folklore. A science division is investigating occurrences of otherworldly incidents that are brought about by twisted future tech. I will be diving straight into Vol 2.

I read all 3 volumes and it was real good. I also read Trees by Ellis and it was good too, though not as good as Injection. And I finished volume 2 of his Wild Storm, which was great. Been on an Ellis kick lately.

Just reread his original 12issue THE AUTHORITY run.
Gods, those are glorious comics.

[T77]

Agreed, The Authority was great.

[Aptorian]

My descent down the Marvel hole continues.

I've read so much the past month I feel like I could do a Bachelor's thesis on Marvel history by now.

Got a hold of some missing issues of the Secret Invasion and Siege which cleared a lot of stuff up. I feel like they under played the godlike nature of the Asgardians during the siege. Thor alone is capable of starting a Norse doomsday for mankind if he wanted, wiping out a bunch of up start villains shouldn't be that much of a hassle.

The Sentry though. Man is he a crazy character. I kind of dislike his power set, too powerful, but that also makes him fascinating as a wild card in every situation. If you want to go by the story told/proposed he's

Spoiler

either the actual biblical God or he's an arch angel or at least the inspiration for this faith.

Which certainly explains his abilities but I don't like the idea that this origin trumps Thor or Ares power.

Anyway I don't get how

Spoiler

him getting punched a lot and smited by Thors hammer supposedly kills him. Since we know he has something a kin to the molecule mans power. He has come back from the dead several times. Only thing that could keep him dead is really him wanting to be dead.

What ever.

I like Parker Robbins/The Hood as a new mid level power player with aspirations. He's got a good power set and a practical super powered gangster mentality. I feel like he's a character that should always be in the background like a super natural kingpin.


After Siege I am jumping around a bit. I've read a couple of issues of the newest Avengers and I've started the Kamala Khan Ms Marvel series.

How does Tony Stark continue to make enemies of all the heroes only for then in the next generation of comics they're back to square one? Is he secretly mind wiping them with nanites?

New Ms Marvel is great. Much like the Champions volume I read earlier, I think they do a fantastic job of writing a new teenage hero for the kids of the 2010s. The writing is clever and up beat. They manage to implement internet age topics and identity politics with out it getting nauseating.

I was one of the people who roled their eyes when I heard they were "ethnizising" another old marvel super hero but they proved me completely wrong with Kamala Khan. Her Muslim, Pakistani(?), New Jersey heritage makes her novel instead of pandering. It's interesting to read a whole different take on the teenage hero stories I adored to read about Spiderman when I was a kid.

I also read through House of M and various M side stories. This seemed pretty throw away, no where the depth or creativity of Age of Apocalypse. I did greatly enjoy the Spider-man portion of this though. He got the perfect life he always dreamed of and then even that fell apart and then he snaps out of the delusion and Gwen is dead and they never had kids together. 30 something years of happiness taken away and replaced with all his hardships.

I loved how when they woke in the tower he was just screaming and smashing things in a comically sad way. You've got to feel for the guy.

Also reading Punisher Max right now. That's some violent comics right there. Punisher when written right is fascinating. It's easy to enjoy him punishing fictional cartoon gangsters but it gets really good when they turn it around on the reader and show the Punisher as a monster rather than a hero. It's best when you're on that edge between wondering whether the world needs castle or he should be dead.

Still my earlier complaint/objection remains. How the fuck does he survive that much physical trauma? He lost a fucking rib in the first issue of Punisher Max! I swear he's secretly a mutant or he's blessed by a deity or something.

Somebody should keep a tally of all the physical damage he takes over the course of the publication history and have a trauma doctor tally how long it would take him to recover or how debilitating the damage would be permanently.

Still reading Rick Remenders X-force. About 300 pages in. That's some good black ops mutant heroics. Favourite bit so far was watching Deadpool slicing off pieces of himself and feeding them to a recovering archangel. That's fucked up.

This post has been edited by Alternative Goose: 18 August 2018 - 06:28 PM

[Coco with marshmallows]

Coco with marshmallows, on 29 July 2018 - 03:47 PM, said:

Alternative Goose, on 29 July 2018 - 01:27 PM, said:

Also been reading more Punisher. Has anyone ever touched upon how much damage Frank Castle takes in these stories?

Like, I get it's a comic book, but over the course of a few days Punisher will get shot (Through the chest!), blown up, beaten with a bat, get pistol whipped get blown up again, be tag teamed by prison guards, get stabbed, shot, blown up a third time, appear to be on deaths door and then next issues he has a few bandages wrapped around vital parts but otherwise he's fine.

I know Punisher is tough as shoe leather but does he have a low key healing factor nobody talks about?

If you take issue with that, you should read the full run of Punisher Max.....

Alternative Goose, on 18 August 2018 - 06:20 PM, said:

Also reading Punisher Max right now. That's some violent comics right there. Punisher when written right is fascinating. It's easy to enjoy him punishing fictional cartoon gangsters but it gets really good when they turn it around on the reader and show the Punisher as a monster rather than a hero. It's best when you're on that edge between wondering whether the world needs castle or he should be dead.

Still my earlier complaint/objection remains. How the fuck does he survive that much physical trauma? He lost a fucking rib in the first issue of Punisher Max! I swear he's secretly a mutant or he's blessed by a deity or something.

Somebody should keep a tally of all the physical damage he takes over the course of the publication history and have a trauma doctor tally how long it would take him to recover or how debilitating the damage would be permanently.

Told ya.

Still really like the stuff in the MAX run overall though, especially Valley Forge

[Aptorian]

It's really good. I'm on the third one, Mother Russia right now. It has cold war old school Nick Fury in it and he's written phenomenally. I love how politically incorrect he's written. Actually anything with Nick Fury is usually great.

It's not often you can say this but Samuel Jackson's Fury is not half the bad ass WW2 era Fury is.

[Abyss]

BLACK SCIENCE vol 7. I hate you Remender.

SAGA vol 8. Nice that this still manages to surprise me a few times per tpb.