Hondo's Comics Journal

[The NZA]

wait, wait: both volumes of the Knights stuff? cause there was an awful lotta shit by volume 2's end. if its got welcome back frank and that shit from Nixon island - one ended with Frank in the shadows of the white house, barking threats - im sold. i can take or leave most of the rest of it.

 

and wait, the softcover's up for grabs? yeah, fuck, ill take it, im not demanding HC for that book. i just...fuck, i cant afford to go out there again to pick it up, man.

[Jables]

I told you ages ago I had the softcover and you spat on me. In a cyber sense...

 

No I meant whatever MK volume came after WBF- no Saint of Punishers to be seen here, sir. What stood out for me was the Punisher/Spiderman Team-up against the Russian.

[The NZA]

wait, the teamup with spidey was in WBF, yes? the nixon island bit was the rematch, when frank took down the russian the 2nd/final time.

 

ok, so im taking back my spit. are you doing the secret santa thing? is there any force that might compel you towards the post office magically?

[Jables]

I'll just get wifey to do it. We'll wrap it all up in Joel's boxers too.

 

WBF saw Punisher & Russian meet at the behest of Ma Gnucci, it's just the two of 'em with a slight assist from Mr Bumpo, then in the new ongoing knights volume, is the rematch with the cyborg Russian and monster titties. once that's done, then we have Nixon island & what seems to be the final Russian appearance.

[The NZA]

ah, so it does have that shit in it! that's so bought. the only other Knights stuff i wanted was much later and never woudlve made it in there anyway. hopefully, the next one has mostly MAX shit.

 

yeah, fine, smelling of joel's balls works too. i just need that book in my life.

[Jables]

Couple of $5 trade finds in my local store(the place I took you & Joel to, Nick):

 

DV8- A Wildstorm/Ellis creation from what I can see, kinda like an Authority/Stormwatch Junior. Good early Ellis stuff when his nonsensical Britishness still made sense. One of these days all that Wildstorm Ellis stuff is gonna find it's way onto my shelves.

 

Bigg Time: Vertigo trade dealing with a hobo that meets his Guardian Angel and decides to get it all turned around. Haven't finished it, but it's not bad.

[The NZA]

i wanna say panch knows about DV8, who writes the vertigo one? ive not heard of it.

that store was great, by the way. just...pricey, but then so was everything else. i shouldnt have to take out a loan for a halflife headcrab, though.

[Jables]

Yeah one of these days i'll hit the jackpot & Doj'll get one of those headcrabs. You can fuck yourself and your big daddy stealing ways.

[Jables]

FF #561- Holy fuck

they killed Galactus

. Sorry if I seem shocked, I just haven't seen that done in regular continuity before. Still no word on the Hooded man in OML or FF, but the death of the Invisible Woman lives up to it's name in most predictable fashion. This book is so off-continuity it's unfunny. I should probably just stop considering this book marvel cannon now and just enjoy the ride. Especially considering the New Defender's plan for future/past mass migration comes to fruition with the assistance of

Future Wolverine

[The NZA]

i can see where it feels elseworlds like, but again, its got you & me reading FF so something's being done right.

 

Youve so got me piqued on that Hooded Man shit. we're gonna need a thread for that if it pans out; him even being in Marvel 1985 (i think you said he was, right?) + OML is Bendis "Its all cause of Super Soldiers!" type shit.

[Jables]

I may be missing something(ie an issue of OML). And I'm not refuting Millar's readability, I'm just saying we're presented with two very different Wolverines from dramatically different futures, so I'm betting that while the events in OML may come to pass(less likely in the face of all the heroes being dead I guess), the FF one while being more... fantastical(I can't work a thesaurus at 6am. fuck you), may infact be the one. Even if timeloops and dead people confuse me.

 

See Dark reign thread for my other picks this week. Also got the vol 2 HC of Whedon's AXM since i fell off the monthly wagon oh so long ago.

[The NZA]

vol 2 starts with Unstoppable, yeah? i dont know that id buy the one after that, really fell off for me, sadly.

[Jables]

I'm digging it. Sides, I wanted to see where it ended so I could pick up Ellis' run.

[The NZA]

i endorse no part of your prior statement. you will not put these purchases onto anything i said at any point, sir.

seriously, i love Ellis, but i dropped his run a few issues in. ive still not read your Ultimates vol 3, but if you're going down this road, do so only to come back & tell me which you were more into. Act 2 of Astonishing vol 2, sure its Whedon and it had its moments, but...look, you're flying solo here.

[The NZA]

30 Days of Night - 30 Days 'till Death # 2 - i really dont know why i read these books, the series hasnt been solid since Return to Barrow or whatever, i dropped that last space one. anyway, this one's old vamps vs new ones, or shaping up to be that so far anyway. we'll see if i stick with it.

 

Amazing Spider-Man # 578 - yeah, im behind. I read the anti-venom stuff once i was able to push past this all being here 'cause of Brand New Day (...), but this last arc with Mark Waid & whoever that was onna pencils was great, i liked the Roimita Sr looking art. was a fun, self-contained story like Spidey's been needing for years, so its good to see them at least using that horrible, horrible deus ex towards a good end.

 

Captain America # 45 - so yeah, "the death of cap" in 3 acts or whatever has finally tied up. something of a slower ish, despite creating a new villain of sorts, but the book feels undeniably like a Captain America story to me, so bru's still on the money here.

 

Crossed # 2 - ...wow. Ennis is really trying to push it further with bits of this one, not to make a pun. whats worse is, his interview on it says the worst is yet to come. it feels a lot like Ellis' Black Gas stories so far, but more vicious.

 

Ex Machina # 40 - Best of the Week! For me, at least. I totally didnt see this coming; BKV pulls a Morrison of sorts here, and it worked really well. the last 2 or so pages really sealed the deal for me, just a fun book overall.

 

Green Lantern # 36 - so yeah, bish keeps bitching about what Grant's doing to the batbooks, but GL is still the best book DC's putting out for like a year now, my opinion. I really thought this rainbow-spectrum of lanterns woudlve been shitty, but Johns is actually making it work. I really loved Secret Origins, book made me care about Hal Jordan like all the older kids did when i was happy to see Kyle at the helm.

 

Hulk # 9 - yeah, its Loeb, but this is what he oughta be writing; several short stories of dumb action fun. i tend to think most people'll drop off whenever Rulk is finally unmasked, but till then, im enjoying this one, oddly.

 

Invincible # 57 - Kirkman's clearly enjoying himself with this Wolf-Man teamup thing. this book's a credit to him, cause i know im just reading to see what happens when the Viltrimites (sp?) come home to roost, but all these bits between that are still enjoyable.

 

Kick-Ass # 5 - Well, that shit sure took a while to show up. But Millar really shows you the ultimate fanboy dream with this one, upping the ante by a team-up! i was worried he was trying to hard early on with the Heroes analogies, but this is again one of those books that the trade's already bought for me.

 

New Avengers #48 - Best of last week! seriously, youve all read this at this point. Having cap around makes it feel like the avengers are slowly coming back together. the book really gets you excited.

 

Punisher: War Zone # 4 - this one's coming out quick, eh? Anyway, im prolly the party pooper but the direction this one's going in reminds me of their old MK pun arc of "here's the russian, again" and im still not over how much more i liked Ennis writing MAX.

 

Spawn 187 - so yeah, im reading Endgame, and im not sure what's happening pretty much the whole time. Its unsurprisingly not great. i think ill just see what becomes of Simmons, and let it go.

 

Wolverine # 70 - the other best of the week! shit, forgot i already discussed this in its thread...yeah, so, holy shit.

 

Ultimatum # 2 - so this might just be the fun bits before Loeb loses his mind at the end and theyre all robots or some shit, but this was surprisingly dark at certain parts, overall the shock effect theyre going for worked for me, since i missed most of the book's hype.

all the ultimate books are tying into this, and supposedly, the non-USM ones are ending, too? shame, but UXM and UFF havent really been going anywhere for a bit now. UXM had something about Weapon X, Ultimate Hulk Annual had Hulk banging that chick from Squadron Supreme? what? and i dont remember much else.

 

X-Factor # 39 - ok, 2Track got me loving this book a while back, but the art's painfully bad now, and the book'd better pick up steam again or im reverting back to my stance on not being a fan of Peter David's writing.

 

that's it, still waiting on Back to Brooklyn # 3 (Ennis' other book these days) and BPRD: War on Frogs # 3. I got Deadpool # 5 and X-Force # 10 in queve as well, plus a few issues of Immortal Iron Fist to catch up on, but we'll see when alla that happens.

[Iambaytor]

I just read Ruins, Warren Ellis' antithesis to Marvels, what a seriously fucked up book it was nothing short of amazing.

[The NZA]

...right?

props though, i read book 1 years back, didnt find 2 till i found the scan, shit was impossible for me for some reason. the galactus headline, and his awful take in were classic.

[Iambaytor]

They had me with the Hulk

 

Anyhow I read all of Old Man Logan thus far, go to the Wolverine thread for that...

 

Got caught up on the Boys, still waiting for them to actually tell a story (seriously, shit's worse than Lost)

 

Still slogging through Deadpool, up to issue #16 and have decided if they make a Deadpool movie Steve Carrell should totally play Weasel.

 

Read Marvel Zombies 3, Machine Man is like my new favorite character and I am pissed because of all the Midnight Sons Morbius could have picked he picked the c-listers I mean he's got Prince of Hell or whatever the fuck his name is, some chick who might be Rachel Van Helsing?, and Werewolf By Night (what the fuck is he gonna do?). The coolest guy he picked was Man-Thing and his badassery is lessened somewhat by the fact that he has the IQ and self-awareness of algae. Why does Marvel have such a seething disdain for bringing back Mick Bandillio and Dan Ketch? Or shit, even fucking Blade, not fucking Son of Satan and Werewolf by Night! Got dammit I hate Michael Morbius!

 

Read Avengers Disassembled, I had read bits and pieces but wanted to read the whole book. Still one of Marvel's finer cataclysmic events.

 

Re-read Welcome Back Frank, I got the hard-cover and I hadn't read it in a few years and wanted to re-experience the joy.

 

Picked up the first volume of Punisher Max and I gotta say, I'm not impressed. MAX Punisher is a fucking dick, he makes Marvel Knights Punisher look like the fucking patron saint of blowing shit up. I'm pretty sure if MAX Punisher interacted with the characters from WBF he would pistol whip Soap half to death and tell Joan to quit fucking whining and throw the plate of cookies at her. Maybe I'll start liking it more later, but so far Frank Castle is such an unbelievable cocksmith that I'm skeptical.

 

On an impulse I picked up the Devil You Know and Dangers Habits trades of John Constantine Hellblazer. Having never read any Hellblazer before I quite liked them, and how John and Jesse Custer provide nice foils for one-another.

 

Also grabbed the Ghost Rider Vicious Cycle and Life and Death of Johnny Blaze trades. I always though Ennis' Road To Damnation was a one-shot deal, I wasn't it aware it had to do with continuity so I was pleasantly suprised to see it continued the series even if gems like Ruth the Archangel and Buttview are nowhere to be found.

 

Also caught issues 3 and 4 of Kick-Ass. Glad to see that Millar has stuck to his formula and got past the part where there's a good story and has moved on to the bullshit part with a lot of gratuitous gore and curse words. Bravo Millar.

 

And yes, I read all of this today.

[The NZA]

Picked up the first volume of Punisher Max and I gotta say, I'm not impressed. MAX Punisher is a fucking dick, he makes Marvel Knights Punisher look like the fucking patron saint of blowing shit up. I'm pretty sure if MAX Punisher interacted with the characters from WBF he would pistol whip Soap half to death and tell Joan to quit fucking whining and throw the plate of cookies at her. Maybe I'll start liking it more later, but so far Frank Castle is such an unbelievable cocksmith that I'm skeptical.

 

i think i know about where you are.

 

youre talking about frank damn near killing the adulterer guy or so? yeah, he was dickish.

but stick with the microshop arc, skip the kitchen irish shit, and move on to Mother Russia. its fucking great, and past that i enjoyed the book almost the whole way through.

i adored MAX punisher by the end of the book, far moreso than MK.

 

On an impulse I picked up the Devil You Know and Dangers Habits trades of John Constantine Hellblazer. Having never read any Hellblazer before I quite liked them, and how John and Jesse Custer provide nice foils for one-another.

 

who wrote Devil You Know again? also, dont forget, Dangerous Habits starts out Ennis' giant arc, which includes Tainted Love, a few other trades and ends in Rake at the Gates of Hell. The whole arc is great.

 

Also caught issues 3 and 4 of Kick-Ass. Glad to see that Millar has stuck to his formula and got past the part where there's a good story and has moved on to the bullshit part with a lot of gratuitous gore and curse words. Bravo Millar.

 

you did read the first 2, yeah? no idea how you cant enjoy that book, man. so much fun.

[Iambaytor]

i think i know about where you are.

 

youre talking about frank damn near killing the adulterer guy or so? yeah, he was dickish.

but stick with the microshop arc, skip the kitchen irish shit, and move on to Mother Russia. its fucking great, and past that i enjoyed the book almost the whole way through.

i adored MAX punisher by the end of the book, far moreso than MK.

 

Yeah I'm sure I will like it, I haven't hated anything Ennis this side of The Pro, even Wormwood was entertaining even if it was in a mindless way. The first trade ends with

Micro getting his head blown off with a shotgun.

Another bit of Frank's dickery that i just don't think Marvel Knights Punisher and retardo War Journal Punisher would have done. I mean yeah, Frank's always been a dick, but he's reached new levels here.

 

who wrote Devil You Know again? also, dont forget, Dangerous Habits starts out Ennis' giant arc, which includes Tainted Love, a few other trades and ends in Rake at the Gates of Hell. The whole arc is great.

 

Jamie Delano wrote Devil You Know, it's issues 10-13 of the original run apparently which the fine folks at Vertigo didn't feel like putting numbers on the spines of... cunts.

 

you did read the first 2, yeah? no idea how you cant enjoy that book, man. so much fun.

I did indeed and loved them which is why the introduction of gutter mouthed little girls with samurai swords was my what the fuck point. It gave me Wanted flashbacks, and not the good ones either.

 

 

In other news I read Grant Morrison's "We3" which is essentially an R-rated Milo and Otis. Wasn't bad.

Edited January 21, 2009 by Iambaytor

[The NZA]

I mean yeah, Frank's always been a dick, but he's reached new levels here.

 

ennis said interviews, he wanted frank as an interesting, 2-dimensional sociopath in MAX, as that's his take on him. the thing is, in later arcs, youll see much more horrid monsters that frank's taking on, so savagery like that likely wont bother you as much.

 

I did indeed and loved them which is why the introduction of gutter mouthed little girls with samurai swords was my what the fuck point. It gave me Wanted flashbacks, and not the good ones either.

 

yeah, i liked the last issue with the team-up a lot better too.

 

In other news I read Grant Morrison's "We3" which is essentially an R-rated Milo and Otis. Wasn't bad.

 

"Clockwork Orange" meets "Homeward Bound". i loved it, personally; outside of grant doing both all-star supes new x-men as sci-fi books, i think the animal thing is a strength of his, like his old vertigo animal man run.

 

by the by, you mentioned loving the new take on Machine Man - please, please say you read Ellis' Nextwave.

[Iambaytor]

It was like Millar was writing a book about superheroes in the real world and out of nowhere he decided to flip the bullshit switch to the "On" position.

 

Wait... there was a good Animal Man... and it was Vertigo? Next you're going to tell me somebody wrote a good Booster Gold story.

 

I am currently reading Nextwave, and I'd read some before but whoever wrote Marvel Zombies 3 captured the character so much better. Maybe it's because he's the comedic relief in a world of straight men there, but whatever it is that's the best he's ever been.

[Iambaytor]

I just finished the behemoth that is Secret Invasion and feel like a lesser man for it.

 

At its best (which was pretty much limited to only Deadpool and sadly Avengers: The Initiative and lets be honest when I look back on an event and one of my fondest memories from it involves 3-D Man and the fucking Skrull Kill Krew then shit just ain't right) even the Incredible Hercules and Amadeus Cho couldn't soothe the pain of this one. Shit even Black Panther at his most badass wasn't worth the price of admission (which thankfully was free due to torrents.)

 

It's nice to see that they use the same suspense building tactic as the end of the Thriller video. "OMG he's looking over his shoulder with green eyes, he's a Skrull!" And it's nice to know that out of the most catastrophic event in the Marvel Universe the only casualties were:

Some British skrull guy that looks like John Lennon and The Wasp. I mean they could've pulled some serious shit out of the whole Elektra thing and revealed that she never came back to begin with but fortunately everybody was alright in the end including Hank Pym and Dum Dum Dugan who we saw get stabbed in the chest and presumably die. But hey, at least the end of Tony Stark is over and Nick Fury is back. It speaks volumes of how much I hate Tony Stark that I'm pleased to see Norman Osbourne taking the reins. All in all I found this to twice as bad as Civil War and like 3 times as World War Hulk which was admittedly the weakest core book but was the best series on the whole.

 

[Iambaytor]

Okay so in the process of powering through Punisher Max I've finished the Kitchen Irish arc and I gotta say as much as I didn't want to read it based on what everyone's been saying I was surprised how much I liked it. The first 6 issues were shit, Frank was a total cunt and it didn't really feel like an Ennis story, Kitchen Irish reigned in Frank's cuntishness and even had him work with other people without splitting their heads open like ripe melons and the story felt like Ennis' work again brought back memories of some of the finer stories of Preacher and Hitman like where Jesse was sheriff for one story arc or Who Dares Wins or Coffin Full of Dollars. It was easily twice, maybe even 3 times as good as the first six issues so here's hoping it stays the course.

[Jables]

Reading Bru's Books of Doom right now, still having trouble getting my head around reading comics off a screen. Once I can though, I have New Avengers cued up, and Baytor here's reminded me I really need to read the complete run of Hitman.