Rocket Raccoon and Groot Volume Two Issue 1 – Second Printing

Posted by John Klein III on September 16, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 1 2nd Printing

Writer Skottie Young

Artist Filipe Andrade

Color Artist Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letterer Jeff Eckleberry

Design Manny Mederos

Cover Dated March 2016

So we finally made our way to Missoula, so I was able to visit Muse Comics.  It wasn’t a bad store, they only had year old comics but I was able to get this issue and Guardians of Infinity 4 that I thought I bought a while ago but didn’t.  I bought the second print of this issue, which I’m still debating if that bothers me or not.  Not like I ever plan on reselling this comic so I’m fine with it.

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 1 Recap Page

The recap page pokes fun of the eight month jump from Secret Wars 2016.  Rocket and Groot have disappeared.

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 1 StarKitty 1

Eight Months After All That Crazy Secret Wars Stuff.  The Guardians, including Pryde, are under the impression that Rocket and Groot are dead.  Which seems silly, to me, especially from Pryde – as she knows so many people who have come back from the dead.

Grimm being, rather grimm, says he isn’t that affected – which seems super messed up.  This is a rushed funeral for crying out loud, have some respect.  So this is eight months later and Grimm has known them that long, so how long have they been missing?  A week or two?  They don’t even have bodies to put in the makeshift coffin.

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 1 StarKitty 2

Pryde gives Drax a moment to reflect on his two would-be fallen allies.  Drax points out that Rocket loved that gun on the table and Groot was a tree person who only said the same words over and over.  With that, Drax walks away.  Agent Venom has been with the two title characters for a few years now (publication years, that is) so he should be pretty sad too.

Pryde pulls a lever and the coffin goes out inot space.

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 1 StarKitty 3

Pryde says a small speech – as she’s amazing and awesome – that covers this page and the next one.  Heroes do live on in the memories of those who they have saved.

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 1 StarKitty 4

Pryde’s speech include show Rocket and Groot can never been replaced.  Which transitions us to Pockets the Mouse and Shrub who only says “Me are Shrub.”

I do own the fourth issue of this series, so I know how this storyline ends.

Pockets and Shrub’s ship flies through the coffin.  Their ship is being chased by another ship.  They finally get to Harren-3, to receive an item.  Th person they are being paid buy sure does look like Groot, if he was one to wear a hood to conceal his identity.

The Next Morning.  Now they are heading towards C-23.  They are going to meet a Lord Rakzoon.  If you pronounce that aloud, you may get a hint of who that is.  Pockets and Shrub think that name is pretty crazy-arse.

Later, On the Planet Where This Crazy-Ass Tyrant Lives.  Lord Rakzoon sentences the pair to torture and death.  One of the troopers pistol whips Pockets and calls him a rodent.  Lord Rakzoon sentences that trooper to death.  No one should be called a rodent.

Lord Rakzoon is told by another trooper that the pair was here to deliver him an item.  So they shall still be tortured but not killed.  The trooper is still going to be killed, for name calling.

In private, Lord Rakzoon opens a cage and sees Groot!  I do like how Lord Rakzoon asks who he is, setting Groot up to say, I am Groot!  Poor Groot, someone has gone and craved random words into his bark.

Hastings September 2015 Music Videos

Posted by John Klein III on September 15, 2016
Posted in: Fun With YouTube, Songs. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

After two months of no music videos being played, in the store, they have come back in full force!

My favorite has been, Leon Bridge’s Better Man –

Thanks to LeonBridgeVEVO for hosting the video.

This song makes me smile, everytime it comes on.

Metric’s The Shade, is also super catchy.  The video Hastings airs, is just a picture of “The Shade” that I wish they will update to the official video, but they won’t.

Thanks to metricmusic for hosting their video.

See how the second one isn’t all that exciting?  You look at it, and just keep on shopping.

This third and final one, took me a few listens before coming around on it.  That’s the thing about Hastings’ tron, it will always wear you down.

Robert DeLong’s Don’t Wait Up

Thanks to RobertDeLongVEVO for hosting his video.

Took some work, to even figure out who he was, and what the song was called.  I’ve been referring to it as “Restless Mind” but that’s not the title.

. . .

Post 1,175!

New Avengers Volume Four Issue 12

Posted by John Klein III on September 14, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

New Avengers V4 12

Writer Al Ewing

Penciler Paco Medina

Inker Juan Velasco

Color Artist Jesus Aburtov

AIM vs SHIELD Part One

Like Original Sin, Magik is probably going to appear in a splattering of issues but then not appear in any of the other chapters or tie-ins.

New Avengers V4 12 Recap

The current New Avengers are – Hawkeye (Clint), Squirrel Girl, Hulking and Wiccan.  Songbird is an agent of SHIELD and the New Avengers.  AIM, Avengers Idea Mechanics, are Sunspot, White Tiger, Power Man and POD.  Sunspot now owns AIM, he uses them for rescue missions.  They have beef with SHIELD, due to a recent international rescue.  Now AIM is in hiding in the Savage Land. The current members are also the public members of the team.  I’m not sure if, publically, they are actually called “New Avengers.”

Issue opens with Maria Hill, in her typical mood of unhappy.  She is joined by John Garrett, who is 90% robot and looks like he is rocking a Dum Dum Dugan style mustache.  She suspects that Sunspot is going to be swayed by AIM and turn heel.

So that deals with the current storyline, now we get to the Civil War II tie-in.  We get a fun narrative boxes, introducing the All-New New Avengers.  They are represented in the all star cast of characters seen in Civil War II, when the heroes first confronted the Celestial Destructor.

Hulkling reveals his soulsword that Wiccan gifted him with.  Squirrel Girl has lots of questions, so this must be the first time it is seen.

New Avengers V4 12 Magik 1

We cut over to Wiccan’s side of the conversation, as he’s part of Magik and her Sorcerers Supreme.  I like that Wiccan is still considered to be Scarlet Witch’s son.

Doctor Strange acts like Magik’s only role is to teleport these chumps.  Though without her, they can’t accomplish their goals so who really has all of the power?

New Avengers V4 12 Magik 2

I do like having the dialogue being repeated from the main series, it is the simple way to go but that isn’t the way these things usually go

Poor Squirrel Girl is losing squirrels left and right!

New Avengers V4 12 Magik 3

The Sorcerers Supreme cast the Group Spell of Dimension Reversal, from the book of Vishanti, page 2342.

New Avengers V4 12 Magik 4

I like getting the minutes later scene as I’m sure the mages would be quite tired.  Doctor Voodoo is quite tired, Magik is ready for round two – she knows no quit.  Doctor Strange’s back hurts, as he is weak.  Scarlet Witch wants some tea, make mine sweet, please.

Wiccan can’t join his mother as his former boss, Sunspot, calls him.  Cannonball is with Sunspot, Magik should be part of this team.  Maybe Dani Moonstar too! What is she doing these days?  I know Doug Ramsey is around too, pick that guy up too!  That’s how I would do it.  Does Cannonball still have his kid with Smasher?  Or was that an alternate future?

Hulkling and the New Avengers have rejoined Wiccan.  Hulkling asks if Wiccan would be interested in Hulkling staying in his Centaur shape.  Those two are the best.

Sunspot wants his full team back but Wiccan doesn’t want to be an outlaw.  Both Squirrel Girl and Hulkling are curious if Sunspot has a hovercraft made of robot eagles.  A device that is too enticing to ignore.  Sunspot finally has to admit that he doesn’t have that.  Wiccan accepts to have everyone come in.

We see that Sunspot is being watched by Ultimate Reed Richards (does he remember Secret Wars 2015?) he’s going by the name, The Maker.  He’s running the organization, WHISPER, which we are not suppose to worry what it stands for – just like HAMMER.

The Maker has created the New Revengers – Asti, Paibok, Skaar, OMNITRONICUS, Angar (who I know from Songbird’s origins), The White Tiger and Vermin – the awesome Captain America / Spider-Man villain penned by legend JM DeMatteis.

Dum Dum Dugan, who is all machine, meets with Garrett.  Dugan is overseeing the Howling Commandos.  He’s also an alien LMD hybrid.  Garrett takes over Dugan and also the thousand other Dugan LMDs that are in storage and turns them to his own means – which is finding AIM.

I doubt I’ll get any other issues of this series, unless Magik is involved (of course) but this wasn’t a bad issue.  I really have missed Paco Medina’s artwork.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Four Issue 9

Posted by John Klein III on September 13, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Guardians of the Galaxy V4 9

Writer Brian Michael Bendis

Artist Valerio Schiti

Color Artist Richard Isanove

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Cover by Arthur Adams & Jason Keith

Guardians of the Galaxy V4 9 Recap

Yeah, I bought this comic because the recap has new dialogue but using old art, from issue one I believe.  The Guardians have some fun in the recap, hinting at what they would imagine will happen.  Pryde suspects that Quill will get himself captured, which of course does happen.  It is silly.

This is the Drax & Gamora, all green issue.  Is that racist?

Xalda-Volta.  Badoon Correctional Planet.  Dryston Tower.  The Warden’s High Tower.  The warden can’t believe eight people are successfully invading his prison planet.  I guess we have to find out why he doesn’t just press the self-destruct button, like what happened last time.

Drax and Gamora have taken the fight straight to the warden.  These two are the warriors of the group so they are going to enjoy this, the most.

Will we learn who they are going to save?  Drax and Gamora keep shouting that they want ‘her.’  The Badoon are green, so it is an all green issue!

Gamora wakes up and I had to flip back three pages to see if I missed something.  This must be how Gamora found out about the planet.  The She is definitely a former Guardian.  The She is in the same building that Gamora is in.  The chief torturer is Marud, and he’s mostly worried about Thanos coming here to avenge his adopted daughter.  It has to be Angela, right?  Are there other female members that were part of the team that are not Carol Danvers?

The Badoons plan on becoming the main force of the galaxy now that both Kree and Skrull empires are gone.  I guess the Shi’ar don’t want it.  Marud really wants to know where Thanos is, he’s been in hiding since Secret Wars 2015.  She’ll appear briefly in FCBD Civil War II.

Gamora doesn’t know where Thanos is, but she does know where the Black Vortex is.  Avengers Alliance got around to bringing it into their game for Special Operation 35.

We get what happened to Gamora after Black Vortex.  Every time she used her enhanced cosmic power, she lost it.  That’s how she’s normal again.  She hadn’t used the last of it, she’s been saving it for a special occasion.  This occasion.

Gamora has saved Angela, I knew it must be her!  I guess she’s available now that Queen of Hel has ended.  That’s a fast turn around.

I do like these two together, they were so much fun during the Guardians / X-Men crossover, Trial of Jean Grey – the main story wasn’t great but the Guardians part sure was.

Drax updates the two ladies, most of the pairs were successful but Quill got captured.  Angela is putting on her uniform.

Issue ends with Angela declaring their goals – rescue Quill and destroy the Badoon Empire!

I can’t wait for Pryde, Angela and Gamora to share some panel time together!

Civil War II 1

Posted by John Klein III on September 12, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Civil War II 1

Writer Brian Michael Bendis

Artist David Marquez

Color Artist Justin Ponsor

Letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles

Designer Victor Ochoa

Cover Artist Marko Djurdjevic

Since we went to the Hastings’ Launch Party, we received this –

Civil War II Michael Cho lithograph giveaway

Lithograph by Michael Cho, which was also a variant cover.

As we saw from from May’s Civil War Month tie-in, I didn’t get that many comics in the first Civil War that won’t be the case with the sequel as I already know I’m getting five tie-ins.

All I’m hoping for, is to not be on Iron  Man’s side in this event.  As I want to be Team Carol, all the way!

Columbus, Woods-N-Waters Campgrounds.  Ulysses, the Inhuman, is running in the woods.  The Royal Family, plus Human Torch and X-Traitor, Beast – confront him.

Manhattan, Weeks Later.  I miss those cast pages to these big events.  This issue does a great job of putting name boxes next to the characters but I guess that is up to the writer’s preference or maybe editor, I’m not sure.

We catch up to the All New All Different Avengers – Iron Man, Miles Morales Spider-Man, FalCap, Nova and Ms. Marvel.  They are clearly in a middle of a fight.  They are fighting back a Celestial invasion.  As things look bad, Jane Foster Thor comes onto the battlefield.  She’s brought a whole slew of heroes!  It is an extraordinary page, except it is missing Magik from the X-Men corner of the page.  We’ll see her in a bit.

Carol and Tony are friendly in battle.  Tony asks for the doctor’s assistance.

Civil War II 1 Magik 1

We see Doctor Strange and several sorcerers.  They include – Scarlet Witch, Hellstrom, Doctor Voodoo, Wiccan, Shaman and Magik!  I simply love that Magik has been allowed to become a mainstay in Marvel’s magic realm.

Magik gets to show off some of her wit, Bendis was always good at writing her.  They sorcerers cast “the group spell of dimension reversal.  Book of Vishanti, page 2342.”  Which I still like that Bendis continues to cite where the magic spell comes from.

Civil War II 1 Magik 2

Like he tried to do on the previous page, Hellstrom tries to steal the moment with his attitude.

Spider-Man and Spider-Woman are rescuing kids.  Miles is on the page, so I see what the creative team is trying to do there.

Civil War II 1 Magik 3

Doctor Strange announces that the Celestial Destructor is gone.  All of the mages look exhausted but Magik is at least getting to her feet.

Medusa and Beast are impress that the plan worked.  Nova wonders how they got the heads up about this invasion.

Stark Tower, the Next Evening.  Looks like the X-Men all showed up for this party, but not Magik – for some reason.  Tony gives a big speech and everything is genuinely having a good time.

No one still knows how they were given such notice of the invasion.  Carol knew it came from the Inhumans, she is about to ask the question as Tony is already asking.  Medusa pulls aside a select group of heroes.  War Machine, Peter Parker Spider-Man, Steve Rogers and FalCap are all invited.

Medusa introduces everyone to Ulysses, who can see the future.  Everyone wants to know how the mechanics of that works, Tony wants to get Little Jean Grey in the room.  Rogers isn’t sure if that’s a good idea due to the rift between the X-Men and Inhumans.

Jean tries to read Ulysses’ mind but it is unreadable.  Little Jean Grey, the worst.

We get the set up, how Carol wants to use Ulysses and Tony doesn’t want to use Ulysses.  Tony really doesn’t want to get into this as last time he disagreed with a captain, heroes were pitted against each other.  Though I do like how Tony is written, how he points out that Ulysses didn’t see a future, he saw a possible future.  The future he saw, involved the Celestial destroying the world (I imagine) and that isn’t the future that happened.

Ulysses goes into his origins, it basically is the new Inhuman origin of the Terrigen Mist bomb and waking up an Inhuman.

Tony tries another approach about what would happen if Ulysses sees a possible future where a hero has turn bad.  Would everyone turn on that one hero, just because a possible future states they could go bad.

Carol points out that Tony is a futurist, which he is, he wants to protect the future.

Ulysses is impressed that he met Tony Stark, Spider-Man (in a fun moment) says that it s cool but then you get over it.

New Attilan, Three Weeks Later.  Ulysses wakes up, from another vision.  He tells his Queen, Medusa.

Mary Jane tells Tony that something bad happened to War Machine.

There should be a big black page that reads “Go Read Free Comic Book Day Civil War.”  There, the Ultimates (one of Carol’s teams) and War Machine went up against Thanos.  It didn’t go well as War Machine died and She-Hulk was badly injured.

War Machine may have been Tony’s best friend but he was also Carol’s boyfriend – so both leads are sad.  Carol retells Tony the tale of that free issue, in a quarter of the pages.

She-Hulk wakes up but then goes back into cardiac arrest as the issue ends with Tony flying away.

Of the titles that are promoted at the end, I know I need to buy Civil War II : X-Men 1, Deadpool 14, International Iron Man 14, New Avengers 12 and Nova 8.  Like Original Sin, Magik was there for a key moment in the beginning but she may not keep appearing in other titles after the premise has been established.

Would I protect the future (Tony) or change the future (Carol)?  I would change the future, at this moment.

Extraordinary X-Men 10

Posted by John Klein III on September 11, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Extraordinary X-Men 10

Writer Jeff Lemire

Penciler Humberto Ramos

Inker Victor Olazaba

Color Artist Edgar Delgado

Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna

I had to add Reilly Brown & Jim Charalampidis’ Apocalypse Horsemen variant to my Wishlist.

After taking an issue off, we are back!

Extraordinary X-Men 10 Recap

It seems like nothing happened in issue nine that I already didn’t know at the end of issue eight.

Omega World, 3167 AD.  Horseman Colossus is choking Storm, as Old Man Logan tries to free her from his grip.  Cerebro has to fight Colossus off but he wrecks her.  Colossus grabs the ark, that contains 600 mutant embryos.  He and the other Horsemen leave.

Extraordinary X-Men 10 Magik 1

Limbo, Now.  Illyana and Sapna are training, Sapna is getting better with magic.

I like Sapna’s little friend over there in the corner.  Lockheed should be hanging out with Lockheed and so these two could become friends.

Extraordinary X-Men 10 Magik 2

We get a good look of Sapna in her X-Trainee uniform.

It reminded me of Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s trainee uniform from the Deadpool film –

Deadpool Film Negasonic Teenage Warhead X-Trainee Uniform

But it isn’t very similar but I really enjoyed that take of the basic X-uniform from that film.

Illyana wants to really start pushing Sapna but Sapna quotes Doctor Strange, who doesn’t want her going to hard.  Magik tells Sapna a secret, Doctor Strange can be a stick in the mud.  These two are very fun together.  They need a spin off!

Illyana suspects that Sapna can reanimate the dead, which isn’t something I would want to do.  Sapna agrees that it would be gross.  The two of them want to explore the doorways that Sapna can create within Limbo but they want to wait until someone else can defend X-Haven.

Extraordinary X-Men 10 Magik 3

Illyana, showing a tender side, gives Sapna a gift.  The gift is Magik’s old New Mutants uniform, which Sapna really enjoys!  Look at the two of them hugging, so sweet!  I also like Illyana’s headdress things being not too tall, sort of like Batman’s bat ears, not too long and on the shorter side, is how I prefer them.

Extraordinary X-Men 10 Magik mentioned by Jean

3167 AD.  Cerebra can’t teleport or travel through time, so now the X-Men are stranded.  Jean hopes Magik and Forge can save them, now that Cerebra can’t contact them.  Storm doesn’t even know if it is worth fighting as every future she’s ever seen (and there has been plenty!) turn out for the worst.

Iceman tries to rally her together, to keep on fighting.  They are being tested, like they always are.  This could be a fresh start, something he is currently experiencing himself.

Through dialogue, we learn that Colossus and his group of students have been here for a year.  As the team travels over Galactus’ dead body, Anole starts trying to get Glob Herman to talk to Jean, as she has a crush on her.  I’ll be all for those two dating.  She does seem nice enough to talk to him but as they talk, Mole Man’s people grab them from below.  Iceman and Old Man Logan start fighting the Morloids off, and Old Man Logan is going crazy nuts to try to get back to Jean.  That guy needs to calm down about her.

Below, Jean has taken out her would-be captors.  Glob Herman is very impress with Teen Jean.

Extraordinary X-Men 10 Magik 4

X-Haven, Now. Forge tells Magik that he allowed Sunfire to leave, as he wanted to leave and X-Haven isn’t X-Prison.

Extraordinary X-Men 10 Magik 5

Forge is upset that Storm takes him for granted.  Magik gives him some talk, proving that she’s still herself.

Forge realizes he lost contact with Cerebra and Magik takes off to the future – how she is going to get to their exact point, I’m not that sure.

3167 AD.  The X-Men are heading towards the Horsemen’s lair.  Colossus fastball specials Venom toward the X-Men.  Venom lands on Old Man Logan, and the issue ends with Old Man Venom!

X-Men : Worst X-Man Ever 4

Posted by John Klein III on September 10, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Worst X-Man Ever 4

Words Max Bemis

Pencil & Inks Michael Walsh

Colors Ruth Redmond

Letters VC’s Clayton Cowles

Marvel Database finally updated this series, I had already bought this issue on my own.  I have to go back and get the third issue as Kitty is mentioned in it.  I must have overlooked that when I was skimming the comic.  So I’ll review that issue once I own it, which should be the next time I’m at Hastings.

Worst X-Man Ever 4 Recap

In the preceding issues, Mystique and the Brotherhood have tried to recruit Bailey.  Last issue, Magneto captured Bailey.

Worst X-Man Ever 4 Kitty Pryde

This issue opens with a classic X-Men baseball game.  We see Colossus, Cyclops pitching (which he must be great at), Kurt, Storm and Wolverine up at bat.  We see Kitty, in that bottom panel.  That’s who I think it must be, Marvel Database doesn’t list her.  She is wearing a long sleeve yellow shirt with brown shorts.

Worst X-Man Ever 4 Jean Grey

We don’t see Kitty again, which made me think that it was a miscolored Jean but she’s wearing a strip shirt and black shorts.  Plus their two hairstyles are different so it must be two different characters.

Bailey, the star of this series, comes marching up to Cyclops.  Since Bailey has never been on Kimmel, his opinion isn’t worth as much.  Jean states that baseball games are only for the proper X-Men.

These pages have all been a dream sequence of Bailey’s.  Mystique and Magneto are pitching their side to Bailey, who isn’t really listening.  Mystique punches him to his face and he wakes up, back at the school.

I do like Magneto’s comments about how identifying with the minority isn’t so special anymore.  Every minority now has representation in the media and it isn’t hard to get media attention, as social media has made it so that everyone has a voice.

Juggernaut is trying to escape from a bank robbery, the siblings we saw from the first issue are now called “Rags & Riches” Rags being the sister and Riches, is the brother.  He can turn things to gold, and I don’t recall her deal.

Bailey, who has a crush on Rags, jumps on Juggernaut’s head.  Just as a reminder, Bailey has the mutant power to explode like a nuclear missile but he can’t reform after that so that’ll be it for him.

Riches isn’t impress with Bailey.  Also on this mission is Miranda, she snaps her fingers and a giant well is created under Juggernaut and he falls to the center of the universe.

Riches explains that Miranda’s power is to make things disappear, he isn’t impress with her either.  He whispers to Bailey that he has no chance with his sister.  The two get into a fist fight that Bailey doesn’t win.  Storm lightning strikes Riches’ hand, which seems overly harsh as that can cause permanent damage.  At least a senior X-Man was on site for a Juggernaut fight.  The two boys are sent to the principal’s office, which is Xavier in Cerebro.  Xavier gives a nice speech about how they only fight because their time here is limited so they might as well do some good while they are here.

Bailey is moved by Xavier’s speech, as we watch Xavier die.  Bailey turns around and sees Xavier’s dead body.  I knew this wasn’t in continuity but it really isn’t now.  Apparently Riches has another power that we will get into next issue.

Well, I won’t as Kitty isn’t in that issue.  Once I get the third issue, I’m done.  Which is weird, as this was published as a digital comic first.  So I’m not sure why there was a delay between issues as they already had the comic, someone only had to click on the “publish” button.  Anyone know what happened there?  Seems super odd.

Star Lord 7

Posted by John Klein III on September 9, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Star Lord 7

Writer Sam Humphries

Artist Javier Garron

Color Artist Antonio Fabela

Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna

Cover by Mike Hawthorne and Jordie Bellaire

Out of Orbit, Chapter Two

Issue opens with Rocket and Groot playing a table top game.  Rocket is still upset that StarKat has broken up, as they were so happy.

Star Lord 7 StarKat 01A Star Lord 7 StarKat 01B

The Collector, looking more like the Joker here than himself, wants to know why the two Star Lords broke up.

Star Lord 7 StarKat 02

Pryde has learn how to swear in other space languages, it is because she hangs out with Rocket so much.

In the audience, we see Doop, the truly horrible Starfox and Gatecrusher & Hard-Boiled Henry (the Tweedy Bird looking fellow).

Collector wants to know if there is any chance the two of them will get back together.

Star Lord 7 StarKat 03

Both Star Lords want the other to apologize.

Collector has quite the collection and now he is moving onto higher concepts.  Collector was quite taken with Quill, having recently learned his origins.  So I’m taking it this storyline is going to havesome meta references.

The Collector wants to relive their big breakup.

Star Lord 7 StarKat 04

Pryde calls the Collector, a creepy emotional vampire.  Pryde says some harsh things, but dead on, about how she doesn’t want her personal life to be yet another part of some spectacle for a lonely, pathetic, emotional stunted fanboy.  So there’s some meta there, I hope I wasn’t part of that group.  Especially as I’m not all that lonely or emotionally stunted.

Collector turns on the shock treatment and it must have really hurt as look how distraught Kitty looks in the middle panel.

Quill whispers his plan to Pryde, to stall and make up things to buy time.  Quill says he will protect her but she counters that she’ll end up protecting him – which has to be true.

Quill clicks his boots together, which should be sending a distress call.

Star Lord 7 StarKat 05

Collector threatens to rip them down to the molecule level, if they don’t share everything.

Collector reveals that Skrulls are going to be performing reenactments.  They were also the ones who were fighting the Star Lords in former costumes.  They are the Skrull Dining Theater Thespians.

Star Lord 7 StarKat 06

20 Minutes Later.  Quill fakes that Pryde broke up with him as he cheated on her with all three – She-Hulk, Storm & Scarlet Witch.  Kitty will hate both the player and the game.  Which is a super fun line!

Pryde is ashamed and insulted that is the story Quill made up.

Star Lord 7 StarKat 07

20 Minutes Later.  So I imagine that they have to write the story, someone turns it into a script and then the SDTT rehearse it and we are seeing it now.

Quill confesses why she should break up with him –

  1. He has broken every promise
  2. Has the wandering eye of a 14-year-old
  3. He talks over her
  4. His jacket stinks

Pryde is the Superior Star Lord – a spin off title I would totally buy!  We had Superior Spider-Man, how about Superior Star Lord!

Pryde could be dating a younger version of Jeff Goldblum.

Star Lord 7 StarKat 08

This begins the two of them trying to one up the other.  Quill tells that Pryde couldn’t handle his success as a football player, she being his cheerleader.  Pryde, as Captain Marvel (Carol’s current costume) punching him in the stomach, as she was too intimidating for him.  Which I can totally buy.

Quill says their schedules couldn’t match – we get a bit of a Slave Leia Pryde.  Pryde says they were in different places in their lives.

The two start just shouting differences at each other.

Star Lord 7 StarKat 09

Quill is clearly really upset that she stole his hero name and look.  Pryde repeats that someone had to pick up his slack.  Quill, maybe revealing some secrets here – states that Pryde doesn’t care about helping people, she’s all about making sure people love her and to make him look bad.

This stuns Kitty, as clearly anyone would love her if you just read anything that features her.  She’s the best!

Star Lord 7 StarKat 10

Pryde starts to cry, as Quill is a big time jerk.  She made him look bad as she is clearly better at him at so many things.

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Quill tries to apologize.  Collector wants to know how Pryde is feeling and she’s simply done.  She’s willing to be fried to death, to just end this.  Collector must be a good host and producer as he calls this a day.  The two get another shock treatment.

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Pryde wakes up first, she’s exhausted.

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Pryde repeats Quill’s foolish plan.  Quill was faking his rage but then some hard truths came out.

Collector wearing that, what is it, a bathroom?  A skimpy robe of some tiger print – it is not very flattering.  Reminds me of something Joan Rivers might wear, which isn’t great.

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Quill tries to threaten Collector but he is only here to talk to Pryde.  He wants to give her a tour of his collection.  He wants to show her Puck’s ex-wives axes and Wolverine’s browser history – neither sounds all that interesting.

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She does take him up on his offer, I imagine as it is something to do.  Pryde threatens to phase away but he knows she won’t do that, as he still has Quill captive.  Collector knows that Pryde still loves Quill.  Which may be true but people break up with those they love, as life happens.

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Collector offers to free them, if she reveals the truth of why they broke up.  If she doesn’t, he’ll keep her as part of his collection and kill Quill.

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Collector reoffers for her to tell him the truth.  Meanwhile, Quill keeps clicking his heels.

We catch up with Rocket and Groot, as they are too busy fighting over their game (well, Rocket is the one fighting Groot) so the call goes unnoticed and unanswered.

Really enjoying this arc so far!

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Four Issue 8

Posted by John Klein III on September 8, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Guardians of the Galaxy V4 8

Writer Brian Michael Bendis

Artist Valerio Schiti

Color Artist Richard Isanove

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Cover by Arthur Adams & Jason Keith

Whose bright idea, for Dale Keown’s variant cover – featuring the Guardians as Apocalypse’s Horsemen, to include every single member but the one I care about?  That seems so odd to include Grimm but not Pryde.

The team has split up on a Badoon prison break.  Pryde and Quill got some prisoners freed but Quill has been taken captive.  Grimm and Rocket were super successful.  This issue gives us Agent Venom and Groot.

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The double page spread that starts this issue, ends the issue too – classic Bendis move there.  Of course, with the second one being with a different context – we’ll get to that.

Issue opens Flash Thompson and Groot surrounded by Skrulls.

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Knowhere.  The edge of the universe.  Located inside the decapitated head of a Celestial.  The rent is outrageous.  The Knowhere Bazaar.  They invented the sidewalk sale.  They invented it.

Yesterday.  The Guardians are sitting around a table.

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The Guardians of the Galaxy.  It took most of the afternoon for them to decide what to eat.

Gamora is telling them that they have to go to the Basillza Quadrant.  Flash and Grimm express that an entire planet that is a prison, is a tad hard to believe – it does cause a lot of internal questions of how the day-to-day operations work.  That has to be very expensive.  The Badoon, who seems to be the Guardians greatest foe, run the prison planet.

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Pryde decides to draw an odd line in the sand, the enemies prior to her joining the team and the enemies after she joined.  That isn’t how it works, which is what Gamora tells her.  This issue must come before the backup in Guardians of Infinity 7.

Gamora tells Pryde that any enemy of hers is an enemy of Gamora’s and vice versa.  Pryde recognizes that as a very nice thing for Gamora to say.

People start asking who the “she” is that they are going to save but I’m not sure if us readers know who that is suppose to be.

Flash isn’t sure how these eight Guardians are suppose to take on an entire planet.

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Gamora explains why they can’t get an armada together.  Last time people tried a prison planet break, the Badoon straight up exploded the planet – killing prisoners and guards alike.  The Shi’ar, the ones trying to do the rescue, lost people as well.

Gamora, very dramatically, finally lefts her hood – I guess she was waiting for the perfect time to hold off the reveal.

The team is splitting up, Flash gets Groot.  Flash makes an aside to Rocket, that he still doesn’t understand anything Groot says.  Rocket tries to give some advice but Flash isn’t sure if he is suppose to believe it.

So Rocket will break away with Grimm and Drax & Gamora will be the team for next issue.

Agent Flash and Groot jump from the ship and Venom’s suit turns into a glider.  Once they land, Venom starts narrating, aloud – probably trying to communicate with Groot.

Venom finally sees who the prisoners are, Skrulls, which Flash still holds a grudge against for both Secret Invasion and for them trying to steal his symbiote.

There is an aspect of this, where Flash comes off a tad racist towards Skrulls, he does come along though.  The Badoons have successfully taken away the Skrulls ability to shape shift.  I like how Flash uses the term “shape shift” and one of the Skrull prisoners says “we can no longer shift our shape.”  Something about writing it another way, really bring out how silly an expression shape-shift is.  It is up there with brainwash, how silly but effective.

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Flash Thompson will be the hero, this day, but Pryde and the other should have told him who they were saving.  This would probably mean more, to me, if I knew what happened to him and the Skrulls – exactly.  Is that how he lost his legs?  I thought he lost them during the Iraq War?

The Badoon arrive and Agent Venom & Groot start fighting them off but the Skrulls rise up too.  They successfully fend them off and Venom is ready to free all of the prisoners.  One of the Skrulls replies “all of us?” and leads the two Guardians into the caves.  We get the dialogue from the above double splash page – where Venom blames Groot.

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This time, the dialogue changes to Agent Venom stating that everyone is getting freed today.

Pretty fun issue!

Guardians of Infinity 6

Posted by John Klein III on September 7, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Guardians of Infinity 6

Most Dangerous in the Universe

Writer Eric Palicki

Artist Paolo Villanelli

Colorist Rain Beredo

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Guardians of Infinity 6 Recap

Another issue of Guardians of Infinity and another issue that I only care about the backup story.

Knowhere.  Formerly attached to a celestial.  Currently an interdimensional port of call and sometimes home to the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Gamora is trying to get to Maveth and some dumb jerk isn’t giving her his ship.  He calls her the most dangerous woman in the universe.

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Gamora punches D’Clan and takes his ship.  We get Pryde, still as Star Lord.  This story treats us to the ladies of the Guardians of the Galaxy and I’m all for it!  D’clan’s head is upside down, it was like that before.  His chin is on top, then mouth and eyes closer to his neck.  That raises a lot of questions!  Does he worry about digesting foods and having food fall into his nose?

Pryde ovehears how Gamora is heading to Maveth.

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Pryde somehow got on D’Clan’s ship in time.  Pryde is confused as the Guardians have a ship already.  Gamora suspects a lecture is coming, as Pryde has spent a lot of time schooling children.

Gamora was hoping to spare Pryde this mission.

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Gamora has taken Pryde to Maveth.  Pryde comments on the intense sandstorm, Gamora tries to correct her that it is a glass storm.  Pryde, being the genius that she is, double corrects Gamora that glass is sand.  So Gamora is the dummy there!

I like that repeating the panel sequence, but not going lame with it.  Gamora was here, once before, with adopted daddy – Thanos.

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Gamora tells the tale of Maveth, They were a warrior race, that pride themselves on killing each other with better technique – then the bomb came.  Now there are no more of them.  This occurred a thousand years ago, no one has known the location of the planet.  Which is odd as Gamora just said she was here once before.

Gamora, after Black Vortex, sensed there was a second bomb on the planet and that sense memory is what she followed this day.

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The two dames are heading into the structure where their king was buried.

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Pryde references how kings or emperors would bury items with them, so that they can use it in the afterlife, she suspects that’s what the intention was here.  Gamora doesn’t know anything about that, as I imagine she hasn’t taken much interest in Earth.  Has she been there often?  Not from the year’s worth of stories I’ve read.  I don’t believe she was there during Secret Wars 2015’s first issue.

The two ladies move the top of the coffin.

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The emperor is holding onto a canister with the Phoenix Force logo on it.  This is why Gamora didn’t want to bring Pryde, as she has a history of overreacting to the Phoenix Force.  For perfectly natural and justly reasons.

Pryde is offended by that comment.  She also doesn’t like that the bomb didn’t speak to her until Gamora was the universe’s perfect killer.  Gamora corrects Pryde, she was the universe’s perfect warrior.  These two need to spend more time together.

I like, I didn’t pick it up until this late into the story – Gamora always calls her “Kitty Pryde” as if the whole name is her name – which it is.

Gamora wants the bomb, to use against the likes of Thanos or Annihilus.

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The Chitauri followed the two Guardians.  For some reason, D’Clan came along – actually, from the art – I’m sure he was forced to come but I’m not sure why.  It isn’t like D’Clan knew the location of the planet, he just knew the name of the planet that Gamora was heading towards.

Pryde assists in getting these three to safety by phasing through everything.

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The shooting stops and Gamora pulls out two swords.  Pryde wants one of those – which is awesome!

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More awesome is that Gamora does give up a sword and the two start attacking the Chitauri.  The three of them are going to head for D’Clan’s ship.

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Pryde sees that there are too many Chitauri outside.  D’Clan has an autopilot feature but the sand is interfering with it.  Gamora corrects him – proving she didn’t learn anything earlier – that it is glass.  D’Clan has to tell her that glass is sand.  Pryde, I read it as a sarcastic “right?”

They need to get to higher ground, Pryde has a plan.

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Pryde grabs a gun and starts blasting holes.  Pryde is going to skywalk with D’Clan and Gamora has to hold off the Chitauri until the ship comes back.  I like how Gamora is totally up to the task.

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The ship is on the way but it is taking too long.  While touching the canister, it starts making a wheezing sound.  Pryde drops it and shouts to Gamora to retreat – which she does.

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The canister turns from green to red (of course it does!) and explodes.  Pryde just blew up a planet and killed so many Chitauri.  She choose to kill hundreds to protect billions.  That’s the right call.

Gamora has so much respect for Pryde’s warrior instincts.  I do feel like that is a giant moment for Pryde and should be referenced again as lives were lost there and she wouldn’t take it lightly.

Another great backup!