Category: Book review

So, before we begin, let me pose a question that has been asked in fiction and is what got me to read this book: how far should you go to prosecute someone for something they haven’t committed yet? I love the All New X Men series, where the original 5 X Men go forward in time to stop a radical mutant movement while having to come to terms with there futures, whether it’s Iceman coming to terms with his sexuality, Beast discovering he’ll lose much of his physical humanity and it will eventually be his end, or in this case, Jean Grey finding out she will be the death of millions as the Dark Phoenix.

A console of planetary figureheads led by J-son of Spartax ( Star-lord’s real father; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) changed that hard). Earth has been put under a sort of quarantine because of the damage done to the universe as well as the amount of super-powered people there. The Guardians of the Galaxy have fought back and forth against this. The problem is, word gets out Grey is alive and well on Earth. This news sparks outrage amongst the others, especially Earth’s former ally Gladiator of the Shi’ar Empire who takes it upon himself, against everyone else’s wishes to have her captured and brought to trial and punished. A crew of mercs attack the X men and manage to capture her; the Guardians investigate thinking it was part of a plot from J-son Quill, showing up soon after Grey was captured. The X men and Guardians decide to free her, but it’s the Guardian’s allies, the Star-Jammers that wrecks Cyclops’s world- meeting his long lost father in space. Can the Guardians of the Galaxy and X men free Jean Grey and bring down a alien empire?

I had a lot of fun with this story and it’s a quick read. My favorite aspect was the interactions between the two teams, like Angel and Iceman being terrified of Groot or a quiet exchange between X-23 and Drax. The character roster and art work is pretty good and may I say the variant covers, which feature a member from each team paired together which are pretty epic. Good news for those who aren’t familiar with either series or it’s characters, there is a character sheet and two detailed synopses that bring you up to speed. The only drawback I have is there isn’t as much action as I would have liked to have seen and while it doesn’t make much sense, I would have loved a quick fight between the two. In the the end as I stated in my post 5 Marvel stories that hooked me and I’d say it’s worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

If you’ve been following our humble blog lately, you’ve likely noticed the villain posts lately, including such as 5 great Superman villains and 5 great Flash villains . Well, let’s face it, when it comes to super hero and villain relationships, none are more enigmatic, traumatic, and psychotic than Batman and Joker. But White Knight asks the question, what if Joker went sane, what would become of Gotham’s Dark Knight?

After the millionth or so go between the iconic figures, enough starts to seem to be enough. The collateral damage Batman inflicts on Gotham is huge but the day is saved; Joker bets Batman he he can be a greater hero and idol in Gotham than him. In Arkham Asylum he begins taking an experimental medication that does the impossible- makes the Joker sane. As Jack Napier, he wins his freedom back in the court of law and begins his long road to saving Gotham. He reignites his relationship with Harley, while breaking the second Harley Quinn’s psyche in the process and begins aiding the police. Meanwhile, Batman is riding the line as Alfred lays dying and he has become more quiet and violent than normal. Not even Mr Freeze’s aid can aid him and his anger is affecting Nightwing and Batgirl, who fight amongst themselves what to do with Bruce. If that wasn’t enough, a horde of Batman’s deadliest villains is running amok and the second Harley, now christened Neo-Joker, is out to get her psychotic hubby back but who be the one to save us and the one to damn us, the former clown prince of crime or the Batman?

I consider this a modern Batman classic but I have some tiny issues. The story is complex and exciting, raising some good points about Batman and exploring the relationship between the two enemies. There is a really good villain cast and Mr Freeze has some good character moments. Napier steals the show for the book and that’s actually refreshing because he’s a separate, flawed character in his own right. The artwork is cool and there is a lot of action. An issue I have is that the story takes a few liberties with Batman’s lore that don’t outright piss me off but one I feel can be used to make a tired ass sequel if followed. In the end, it’s a great story and I consider it to be one of the better Bat stoies. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Originally my plan was to cover volumes 3 and 4 together but the next volume is literally like 3 stories in one where as volume 3 is one solid story. Also to avoid a recap, check out my review on Ultimate Fantastic 4: Fantastic / Doom but essentially we’re wrapping up there primary origin as the 4 embark into the N- Zone, where it’s believed they got there powers.

After facing the nefarious Mole Man and Dr Doom, Reed Richards ( Mr Fantastic) discovers a means to travel to the Negative Zone, the place who’s mere exposure caused there mutations and Doom’s deformation. It takes some talking with the volatile General Ross but Reed gets clearance to venture unto the breach with there custom shuttle, the Awesome. The N Zone is a dying universe, cold and near lifeless. The rules of physics are nearly null and void. The environment has a nasty, almost lethal effect on Johnny and his powers but they can’t go back without answers or empty handed. They come across a mangled space station inhabited by the starving dwellers of the universe, overseen by Nihilus, a eerie fly like creature who is desperate and wants a way out by any means necessary. Can the Four overcome this new threat with a man down and escape this dying hell?

This is a solid book but there is some drawbacks. There are some strong character moments between Sue and Johnny as brother and sister and I like seeing the conflict in Reed stemming from his ambition.  Nihilus does have a creepy vibe to him his motives are sympathetic. A problem that kills the story for me is the fact he’s honestly a wimp. One punch from Thing basically takes him out, and once they return to our dimension Johnny pretty much roasts his damn posse in 30 seconds. I felt like the pacing was off and the beginning was a little too long and the end game was too quick and there were a few times there could have been some sweet action scenes. In the end its a good solid story I think many would enjoy. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Over the past few years I’ve been watching how DC’s rebirth has been going and finally I took my first step in with the newest Green Lanterns series, following the adventures of new Green Lanterns, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz.

Baz, a troubled, arrogant young Muslim found himself in deep trouble with the government only to be rescued by the fabled Green Lantern ring; Cruz is a young woman who had fallen victim to depression, anxiety, and Agoraphobia after a tragedy befell her. Both are assigned to protect Earth by legendary Lantern Hal Jordan, but when he notices the friction between the duo, he assigns them the same power battery, forcing them to work together. What could go wrong? A exiled, fugitive Guardian finds his way to Earth searching for Jordan, finding his way to Baz’s family with a powerful weapon that can potentially dwarf the Green Lantern’s ring. But this event gets swept aside when the Corp’s nemesis and Red Lantern leader Atrocitus plans to unleash Red Dawn on the Earth, infecting the world with rage. Can these rookies work together, get a grip on there powers, and stop the rage?

Rage Planet is a good start for DC rebirth as well as for a Green Lantern or comic fan. Baz and Cruz are solid characters I found relate-able, especially Cruz who struck a note with me. Atrocitus has some awesome moments and some depth to him that makes him one of my favorite Lantern characters. It’s a good start up story and I’d say its well worth a read for fans and readers new to comics. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Suicide Squad

Amanda Waller, one of the grayest characters in DC, heads Task Force X, aka the Suicide Squad. In Pure Insanity, we begin with her being removed from the spot and hot shot politician Vic Sage. Sage wants to reinvigorate Task Force X by making some radical changes to the crew. for one, he enlists the help of super mercenary Deathstroke to provide support for the team, despite the antagonistic relationship between him and Deadshot and against Waller’s strong wishes as well as the new criminal calling herself “Joker’s Daughter”, which pisses off the already unstable Harley Quinn to say the least. Joker’s Daughter and Deathstroke aren’t tagged with the accustomed nano-bombs. The bright side is  the crew has Aquaman’s nemesis Black Manta. The team’s mission- infiltrate a Russian facility on there soil while fighting deadly robots. After the team dissolves into madness, Deathstroke betrays them, Deadshot is damn near crippled, and Manta takes charge, they are thrown into service, this time aided by ninja Manbats and notorious Flash villains Captain Boomerang and Reverse Flash, the team is sent to infiltrate a lab in China experimenting with creating Meta Humans. Waller has her luck cut out for her as bad decisions and the madness of the Suicide Squad threatens to damn them all…

This book is a good example of what I loved from the  Suicide Squad  movie without the dumb shit. The stories are fast paced but there’s still some great character moments- especially from Waller, Harley, and Manta. Manta steals the show in my opinion; this was my first real experience with him and he quickly won my heart. there is some good dark humor and a lot of action. In the end, if you’re new to DC or the new 52, this is a good solid place to start. May the gaming gods bring you glory.