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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.

Rocket Raccoon and Groot Volume Two Issue 3

Posted by John Klein III on August 21, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 3

Writer Skottie Young

Artist Filipe Andrade

Color Artist Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letterer Jeff Eckleberry

I do like Skottie Young as a writer, this should be fun to see him on writing chores but not also on art.

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 3 Recap Page

Fun way to do a recap page, with Rocket explaining the story as a campfire tale.  Earlier in the series Rocket and Groot are presumed dead, the Guardians put on a funeral.  Kitty was there, so I now have to track down the first issue of this series.  Hopefully Hastings owns several of those, as it is the first issue, I’ll find out on Saturday.  In reality, they’re back in time and in space.  I guess they were always in space – but are we all not in space?

Last issue, Groot is on an alien planet and becomes the prisoner of Lord Rakzoon, who is Rocket – but without the memory of Groot.  This wouldn’t be so bad, but Rakzoon doesn’t recognize Groot, and his favorite thing to do is sentence folks to death.

The guards are making fun of Groot. Groot says his name, like he always do, but it doesn’t phase Lord Rakzoon.  Rakzoon does recognize Groot’s language.

Rocket goes into what happened, I guess this series spins out of Rocket Raccoon 5 – thanks Jake T, the editor.  I also guess that Rocket recognizes Groot now.  Rocket ousted the old dictator, by tricking the inhabitants that Rocket was worst than the last guy.  While explaining all of this to Groot, the guards don’t take kindly to be tricked.  Rocket and Groot make short work of the guards.  Rocket always has a plan.

After the guards are dealt with, the previous dictator arrives – as Rocket clearly didn’t murder the guy.  He has a mouse companion and a fuzzy green guy.  The previous guy’s name is Nasoj.  The shrub fellow can only say “me are shrub.”  The mouse’s name is Pockets.

We get the face off of Pockets v Rocket and Shrub v Groot.  Pocket, is a possum, it turns out.

Nasoj tells the guards to kill all four of them, which Pocket didn’t see that coming.  Oh I get it, Possum + Rocket = Pocket.  Pretty clever, Young!  Pocket is also known for having a plan.  The four start running away.

Eventually.  They locate Pocket and Shrub’s ship.  Pocket doesn’t want our heroes to come with them but after a fight, Rocket takes their ship and flees.  Pocket swears revenge!

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 3 StarKitty 1

Shortly after Rocket left Groot on the Desert Planet.  I guess enough time has passed that the Guardians (including Star Lord Kitty Pryde) put on a funeral for Groot.  In comics, I just assume that a full year has to pass before one suspects a person to be dead.  That’s just me, people fall into pocket dimensions all of the time.

Those yellow captions are pretty funny!

Rocket Raccoon Groot V2 3 StarKitty 2

Issue ends with the team being reunited.  Rocket suspects that Quill is in the coffin.

Letters page has letters from – Chuck Lindsey / Andrew J. Shaw / Nathanael Gardiner and Hugh McPeek of Quaker City, Ohio.

Siege Volume Two Issue 4

Posted by John Klein III on April 30, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Siege V2 4

Writer Kieron Gillen

Artist Filipe Andrade

Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg

Double Page Spreads Pepe Larraz & Ian Herring; Gary Choo; Bill Sienkiewicz

Letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles

Issue opens with a fun moment.  Brand and Kang confirm that the man, before them, is Thanos – as soon as he confirms that he is him, they pull guns on him.   Thanos tells them to stop attacking, he only wants to talk.  If they don’t want to listen, he will reactivate the Fury.  Thanos wants to be taken to a small cell now.

This issue, and maybe Old Man Logan 5 – seem to be the only two issues that actually tie in to Secret Wars 2015.

Thanos hints that he knows about pending attacks.  Brand will think about listening to him, and they leave to investigate some leads.  Once Thanos is alone, he asks to talk to Ben Grimm, who is ever present as he is the actual shield.  Grimm isn’t sure why Thanos calls him, “Ben.”  Thanos hints that this conversation will take some time.

Meanwhile, on the top of the shield – Leonardo da Vinci, Ms. America, Kate Bishop and Scott Summers, are chatting.  I like this moment of downtime, something comics could use more of.  They are talking about pizza and parsnips.  Kang gets Summars and da Vinci, as Brand needs their help with interrogation.

Thanos, essentially, wants to unseat Doom, he is a false god.  I believe that Thanos is making references to the Secret Wars 2015 Infinity Gauntlet series.  Now that there is peace, beyond the southern border of the shield – those armies can now turn their attention to Doom.  Thanos offers that they can try to kill him but the attack is about to start . . . NOW!

Siege V2 4 Kitty Pride Lockheed

I can only guess that Pepe Larraz & Ian Herring did the above double page spread.  Choo signed his page and the other double spread looks like Sienkiewicz, especially with the Warlock like things.

The poor Kitty Pride, having to fight on, even though poor Lockheed has fallen.  I do like how the Kitty Pride are either yellow cats or blue cats – great use of her color scheme.

Jack of Hearts has fallen, as have the Winter Soldiers.  Squirrel Girl was believed to be dead, but like she do, she got better.

The Thors showed up and start cleaning up the mess.

Thanos and Grimm get to keep talking.  From my understanding of Secret Wars 2015 6, is that Doom made Battleworld.  He made Human Torch, the sun and Thing into the planet (or at least, the southern hemisphere).  Sue he married and had two children, Val and Franklin.  They made up the Fantastic Four, but they didn’t last.  So this Thing, doesn’t believe Thanos, at all.  Thanos shares, that back in the old Marvel Universe, he loved one that he will see again, only when he died.  If he dies here, he will see Doom’s face, last.  Thing jokes that Thanos is attracted to Death’s cheekbones – there is a nice dark humor, with this series.

I do like Thanos talking, at length, about his respect for the Fantastic Four.  Even though, I don’t know how often the Fantastic Four have run up against Thanos.

I also like how Gillen / Thanos recognize that he will have to really spell this out to Thing.  Doom is pretty petty, when it comes to his rivalry with Richards and his clan.   So it makes sense that there is only one Thing and he is tortured, every day – due to the siege attempts.  There is only one Human Torch, and he has to shine down, onto the planet.

Thing is told how Battleworld is real but it isn’t how t should be.  Which makes sense, what type of planet would have specific realms?  It isn’t like different states, each realm is like an entire planet, unto itself.  Thing should stop protecting this bastardize planet and start fighting for whatever it takes to restore a Doom-less order.

I do enjoy how the enlightened canon has “ENLIGHTENED!” sound effect!  That is all types of fun!  The heroes are using the canon to fight back the Marvel Zombies, including Zombie Wolverine. Zombie Magneto, and Zombie Spider-Man.

Kate Bishop, realizing that arrows are not going to have much of an effect on the living dead.  That she fights on, is what makes her a hero.

Thing materializes where the heroes are, he wants Leo to shoot the canon at him, so that he can answer the age old question – why are we here?  The canon is fueled by the Vitruvian Man, who is actually, Michelangelo, which I’m not sure if this is all in that SHIELD title from a few years ago.

Thing now knows that Thanos was right.  With a powerful right hook, he knocks Thanos down.  Thanos stands, easily breaks his chains and tells Thing that they must fight back.  I’m not sure if Thing has all of his old memories but he knows that his life, that he knew, is a lie.

Thing, in his proper miles long form, stands and leaves.  Miles of the shield are now gone and the rest will crumble, Brand’s War Journal informs.  Thing’s final words, to his friends, were a sound so loud, none could understand.  Not until, Eardevil the Klawyer broke it down, for human ears can hear.  Three words, five syllables.  “It’s Clobbering Time” which is so great.

Thanos tells Brand, Kang and Scott Summers – that he is also leaving to confront Doom.  Kang offers to change history but Brand reminds him that is how the one version of himself died, in issue two.  Things have to play out this way, so that Kang can live.  Kang still attempts it, so he will still die.

I like how Brand and Summers can be friends, on this world.  They started so hostile, back in the Proper Marvel Universe.

This really was a great title!  These Secret Wars 2015 tie-ins seem to be making a point of having fantastic final issues.

Siege Volume Two Issue 3

Posted by John Klein III on April 20, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Siege V2 3

Writer Kieron Gillen

Artist Filipe Andrade

Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg

Double Page Spreads Julian Totino Tedesco; Juan Jose Ryp & Andy Troy; Michael Wm. Kaluta & Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles

The Shield.  Fun joke on the credit page, about the title of the series being about how the story is about a siege, on the Shield.

Siege V2 3 Kitty Pride Lockheed

I believe this double page spread is is done by Julian Totino Tedesco, based off of the TT on the far right.  Pretty great spread!

Not only do we get the hive mind blue Kitty Pride, we also get a pretty large Lockheed!  I do like how Gillen combined Nick Fury with the Fury, old school Captain Britain villain.  Pretty clever!

Brand has sent a request to the barons of Battleworld, send aid now!

Marvel put the pull out ad in the middle of another double page spread.  Super awkward.  The Summers Clones take on Nick the Fury.

Scott tells Brand that he is down to the final 100.  I need to start using “fluster of clucks” as it is fun to both write and say.  Kang is trying to figure out a way to use the timestream to take out Fury.  Brand uses Thing to transport them to the Units.  We learn that the Units are in love with each other, so they are committed to ending Fury and the army of Ultrons.

The Units don’t do that great of a job, taking out Fury but they slow him down.  Kate Bishop and Ms. America don’t stand up, much better, against Fury.  This is all a good distraction, as Kang grabs Fury The Fury and goes through time.

The plural of Units is Unite, apparently.

Kang uses the chronomines to hurt Fury, which actually works.  With Fury out the way, now they have to deal with the Perfection (the army of Ultrons) but they are prepared for that.  The only problem, now, is that they barely survived the fight with Fury.

Siege V2 3 Magik 1

Good thing Magik and Leah arrive!  I’m so glad that Magik lives!  I do like the idea of them traveling on a giant Colossus.

Siege V2 3 Magik 2

I’m not sure who provided the art, for this double page spread.

Through Abigail Brand’s War Journal, we learn the motivation of Illyana and Leah.  Essentially, it boils down to them being in love.  Doom doesn’t care about anything, south of the Shield.  So the two demonic queens fled their domains and dove into the southern realms.

The two are married now, great for them!  They are also in control of the Marvel Zombies.

Siege V2 3 Magik 3

It is great to see Magik, not evil like in Inferno and in the present day of the pages of this series.  Baby Magik, in Giant Size Little Marvel AvX, has been adorable.

The ladies are not going to rejoin the team, they will not serve God Doom, at all.

Siege V2 3 Magik 4

Brand threatens to out them to Doom, but they all know she won’t.

Kang returns, triumphant.  Kang and Brand have a nice hug.

The issue ends with Thanos, the real deal, arriving on the scene.  He surrenders himself to Brand and Kang.

“Time Before the Fall of the Shield : 1 Day and Counting.  There is No Hope.”

Siege Volume Two Issue 2

Posted by John Klein III on March 22, 2016
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Siege V2 2

Writer Kieron Gillen

Artist Filipe Andrade

Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg

Double Page Spreads Yasmine Putri, Kyle Strahm & Jesus Aburtov; In-Hyuk Lee

Letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles

Siege V2 2 Magik 1

The Shield.  Brand is trying to get Leah to not go after Magik.  Leah has to go, she loves her.  As she should!  Leah is sure she can find Thanos, before Kang could.  Brand isn’t looking forward to having to work with Kang, at all.  Leah believes she can find Magik and come back, before the 20th day, when the Shield is philosophized to fall, from a future Kang.  If Leah can find Magik, then Illyana can use a stepping disc to come right back.  Which, if she could do that, Illyana would be there right now.

Siege V2 2 Magik 2

How great is this double page spread?  So many pages like this, in these first two issues!

Brand’s Journal.  Brand likes Magik, immediately – who wouldn’t?  Leah and Illyana got together, as they worked well together, as they both employ magic.  So they were paired up, quite often.  Look how happy Illyana is there!  I didn’t even know she could smile!

Illyana’s prescense brings out the lighter side of Brand – which I like.

I really need to learn more about Leah, Marvel Database makes it seem like she has a complicated short history.

Siege V2 2 Magik 3

Leah is determined to go after her special lady friend.  Leah takes off, confident that she will, both, find Magik and return.

Siege V2 2 Leah Missing

15 Days Later.  5 days Before the Shield Falls.  Which is a crazy time jump!  Kang takes great pleasure in announcing his promotion, as Leah and her Hel-Ranchers have gone missing.  This news takes Brand to her knees.  She is super angry at how Kang went about telling her the news.

Apparently, if Brand fights anyone, if the other person wins – they become the Commander of the Shield.  Summers attacks Kang, so that Brand wouldn’t have to.  This makes Kang believe that Brand is weak.

Summers doesn’t live with any fear, he is like the thousandth clone, so he can be replaced.  Summers reveals that Brand doesn’t make friends easy, or at all.  She has lost few and has even lost her love of her life.

This leads to another two page spread.  Hank McCoy, Beast, has returned to the Shield.  Except he did it as a giant gross worm like creature.  Brand had to kill him with a laser, through the head.  Head shot, boom!

Brand hasn’t loved anything, ever since.  Kang respects Brand now, as her underlings have such loyalty for her.

Later.  Leonardo Da Vinci reveals that Thanos is seeking a glove, one might even call it – an Infinity Gauntlet.  Kang suspects the future Kang was a fake, as any Kang should be a master of the timestream.

Brand wonders what would Fury do, and this segues us to a flashback. Fury believes that Brand is too hard on people.

Brand asks the robots, Unit and another Unit.  There is no Thanos in their database.  Units access the Perfection database, the Ultron database.  This is what the Ultrons have been waiting for, as the Unit robots are bombarded.  The Units believe in 47 years, the Ultrons will own the wastelands – but not the Wastelands where Old Man Logan is from.   Every week, the Ultrons attack one part of the Shield, severely weakening it.

Siege V2 2 Kitty Pride 1

I had to read this page, so many times!

Ms. America calls the pride of blue kitties, Kitty Pride – but I thought she was calling Kate of Bishop, that she was Kitty Pryde.  It was pretty confusing.  I think the cats being blue, like Beast – really threw me off.  Hopefully they appear in anther issue, so that I can make sense of it all.  So it is like five cats, that share a hive mind, like the Cuckoos?  That’s my guess.

On the Wall.  The issue ends with Brand seeing who is leading the Ultrons.  It is Nick Fury!  It looks like the Fury, as he did as the final boss fight of Avengers Alliance 2, but all purple.

Siege 2’s Last Page –

Siege V2 2 Fury Robot

Ultimate Alliance 2 –

Ultimate Alliance 2 Nick Fury Boss Fight

Well, I guess they are not that similar but that was the impression I got.

The official countdown, in Two Days, the Shield will fall.

Siege Volume Two Issue 1

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

Siege V2 1

Writer Kieron Gillen

Artist Filipe Andrade

Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg

Double Page Spreads Andrade & Rosenberg; James Stokoe; Jorge Coelho

Letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles

Before I get too far along, am I the only one who thinks of Karen Gillan, when I think of Kieron Gillen and vice versa? Anyways.

10 Years Ago.  20 Years Too late.  Abigail Brand defeats Ord, of Breakworld, in a Secret War.  Doing so, puts her in charge of the Shield.  She is a Shield-Maiden.  It is exactly what she wanted.

Siege V2 1 Recap 1a Siege V2 1 Recap 1b

Now.  Abigail Brand’s War Journal.  Day 3682.  Which is 10 years and a month later.  I like Gillen’s world building here.  The Shield is 250 feet high and circles the entire southern hemisphere of Battleworld.

Secret Wars 2015 Battleworld Map Complete with Comic Border

The Shield keeps back the Marvel Zombies, the Alien Symbiotes and the Army of Ultron robots.

I also like the logic of this series.  In the main title, we learn that it has been eight years since the universes collided so there is some room to believe that characters could have aged in that time.

Leah, we get her name later, wakes up Brand.

http://marvel.wikia.com/Leah_(Earth-616)

Leah is from Gillen’s time with his Kid Loki saga – from Journey to Mystery to Loki’s solo title.

Leah informs Brand that there were no big attacks, during the night.  Actually, we do get her name on this page, I just missed it.  Brand implies that Leah is leaving, more on that later.  Her replacement is someone Brand is not looking forward to.  Leonardo da Vinci comes into the room.

http://marvel.wikia.com/Leonardo_da_Vinci_(Earth-616)

They head to the top of the Shield.  Scott Summers, one of many as they have a slew of him as clones.  Far as I can tell, no Mister Sinister, in sight.

Lady Katherine of Bishop, who I first saw over in Secret Wars Journal 1, is here – so now I know that the team that protects the Shield, comes from all over Battleworld.  She introduces herself to Ms. America Chavez.

http://marvel.wikia.com/America_Chavez_(Earth-TRN366)

They seem to be fast friends.

Thing, who appears to be both, wearing tighty whitiess as well as being able to merge with the planet surface.  He is their main source of transportation.

War Journal.  Five years ago, Pym-Phalax went into the Deadlands (where the Zombies live).  They were hoping to learn from the Zombies, to better combat the Ultrons.  They lost contact with Pym after two months.  A year later, attacks from Giant Ants (Man) started.

I love the detail of the line, that on their DNA, is a message – Kill Me.  I’m sorry.  I was wrong.  Kill Me.

So intense!

Their solution to this threat is to hook up the Endless Summers to a lense created by Leonardo Da Vinci and they just blast the dudes.

Siege V2 1 Illyana Mention 1

Later.  Brand comments on the name “Giant Ant-Men Zombies” which is a threat one can only find a comic book.  Brand took this position from Fury.

Leah implies that Fury left six months ago and Brand has outperformed him.

Apparently, a group of people went down the Shield and into one of the regions.  Fury was leading them, and Leah is leaving her post to go after them.  She’s leaving as Illyana is out there.  Which leads to me buying this issue and tracking the series.

Leah is a Hel-Ranger and a Shield-Maiden, she will not leave Illyana out there, alone.  I’m not sure why Leah didn’t go in the first place.  Maybe it was more of a routine trip down to the region and things got out of hand?

Siege V2 1 Illyana Mention 2

Brand tells Leah (and us) that Illyana has been gone for a week, so she could still be alive (I hope).

Leah reveals that Beast and Brand were a couple (I do like them together).  It is implied that he died, the same way, going to the surface.

Leah has been the best Second that Brand has had.  Leah finally confirms it, her and Illyana are a couple.  Not an unfamiliar concept with Illyana.  I am, assuming, that Illyana is Magik – as there is only the one character named, Illyana, in the Marvel Universe.

We see who is Leah’s replacement – Kang!  He is going to take charge of the Hel-Rangers.  Kang has experiences fighting Hulks.  Which seems impressive until Brand says that fighting Hulks is nothing like what they have to fight on a daily basis.

I could go for more proper history lessons of Battleworld.  Brand tells Kang about what happen 30 years ago.  There were seven major breaches and the Shield came down.  The regions of Perfection (Ultrons), Deadlands (Zombies) and the Bugs – had a feast of death.  God Doom allowed this to happen, allowed all of the destruction, to happen – until it got to the southern border of Fortress Doom.  Then Doom, with a wave of his hand, fixed the situation.  He allowed millions of deaths and reformed the Shield.  That is one insane decision!

There was another region, Breakland, that doesn’t exist anymore.  Brand was only nine years ago, so she is now 39 – which is older than I thought she was.  Brand swears that she isn’t going to let that happen, ever again.

Brand does not like that Kang isn’t concern about the obstacles.  His carelessness, is going to get millions killed.  I do like Brand, as a character.  She describes the best case scenario – that you fight back a threat on Monday, and they don’t come back until Tuesday.  In the meantime, there are other threats to deal with.  She underlines it for Kang – there is no win, they just can’t fail.

To further emphasize this, Future Kang shows up with a warning.  He thought he could do it but he was wrong.  In 20 days, the Shield will fall.  Secret Wars 2015 is all about countdowns.  Thanos is coming!  This is the Proper Thanos, as no one knows that name.  Makes sense that Doom wouldn’t create another Thanos.  Though he did create Zombies and Ultrons, so who knows what he is willing to recreate.

Issue ends –

Time Before The Fall of the Shield :

20 Days and Counting.

There Is No Hope.

I’m so excited about this series!

Captain America 609

Posted by John Klein III on April 3, 2014
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

209559_20100831214359_large

I own this issue due to the cover, which is one of the Women of Marvel Variants, that has Kitty Pryde as one of the ladies making up the frame.

The Black Widow is brought to us by Mike Perkins and Frank G. D’Armata.

Cover Dated October 2012

First Story

Writer Ed Brubaker

Penciler Butch Guice

Inkers Rick Magyar, Andrew Hennessy and Butch Guice, Andrew Hennessy

Colorist Paul Mounts

Letterer Joe Caramagma

No Escape Part Four

I missed out on all but this one issue of Brubaker’s incredible seven year run on Captain America.  I heard amazing reviews of the run.  I only know Brubaker from his less than stellar (pun intended) run on Uncanny X-Men that he thankfully handed off to Matt Fraction.

Prior to this issue, Steve Rogers Captain America died at the end of Civil War.  He got better.

While dead, James “Bucky” Barnes (who Brubaker brought back to life) gives up his Winter Soldier identity and becomes the new Captain America.  While as the Winter Soldier, he had a relationship with Black Widow, who is a constant companion during his Captain America.

Also a companion is Falcon, who starts this issue with some bruised ribs.

Steve Rogers is back in the world of the living, he was actually bouncing around his own timeline, setting right what once went wrong Beckett-style (he may not have been doing this).  He’s going by Super-Soldier at the moment so that he doesn’t mess with the Captain America brand.  I’m not sure if he’s the Director of SHIELD at the moment, I believe he may be as he was wearing his new uniform in every appearance I saw him as the director but maybe he had it before and kept it after, I’m not sure.

So fun how much this issue ties into the latest movie, with the cast.

Baron Zemo, who I absolutely adore from Busiek / Bagley’s and beyond Thunderbolt run, as well as Avengers Under Siege storyline.  His father’s one claim to fame was that he killed Bucky, Captain America’s World War II partner.  Learning that Bucky actually didn’t die due to his father’s actions, upsets him and he sets out to correct that mistake. Zemo is sporting a new addition to his costume, a purple sleeveless jacket, I’m not sure if I like it and I don’t see what it adds to the classic costume.

In the previous issues, Baron has set out to ruin Bucky’s quasi-good name.  He has revealed to the world that this new Captain America use to be the Winter Soldier.

This issue opens with Bucky getting ready to move out of his apartment (before Zemo reveals that location to everybody in the world) and into a safe house Natasha, the Black Widow, is setting up for him.  This is the smart move, to go underground and wait until this passes.  It isn’t his style but it is the smart play.

Bucky is packing a bag when he passes by his bathroom.  There is a message on the mirror, to come to where he was born.  Bucky smashes the window and takes off.

Black Widow, Rogers and Falcon make it to Bucky’s apartment, as he didn’t go to the safe house.  They see the message.  Natasha knows he was born in Indiana, so could that be where he is heading?  Rogers states that the message is addressed to ‘Bucky’ so he must be heading to Camp Lehigh.

Before they can leave to help Bucky Cap (as Spider-Man started calling him), Falcon notices the birds are squeaking.  Right then, Iron-Hand Hauptmann (had to look him up) fires a sniper riffle at the three heroes.  They scatter and take the fight to him.

Iron-Hand bruises some more of Falcon’s ribs.  Rogers finally grabs his hand, and for some reason, is under the impression that his robotic looking glove is an actual robot hand, so he squeezes it with all of his might.  Iron-Hand lets out this painful howl and Steve is force to be shame face.  That guy’s hand is crushed.

Bucky is wondering why Zemo would want to meet him there, as that place has so many good memories.  It was the last place he saw his father, the first place he met Steve.  All good times, start there.

I like how once Zemo sees Bucky Cap, that Zemo claims he knew Bucky would have come there by mistake.  Which is awesome as I’m not sure if he mutters it or says it to himself but Bucky doesn’t respond to it at all.

So they fight, Zemo brags about his new uniform is double reinforce so that he can withstand Bucky’s blows.  Which must be an important plot point as Bucky has a metal arm, so I imagine that must hurt.  I like it when people who are punched by Wolverine, act as if they got hit by a toaster, as metal bones have to hurt twice as hard, if that thrice as hard!

Zemo throws a gadget on Bucky’s fake arm, shutting it down.  Bucky then tries to take that arm off, which is crazy!  Zemo knocks him out and this story ends with what Zemo meant.  Zemo is going to take him to the birth place of the Winter Soldier, which is the middle of the Atlantic where he should have died.

This is the only issue I own so I can tell you this, Bucky doesn’t die.  He does die in Fear Itself but then that is reversed at story’s end and I know he’s back in a comic to tie in the latest film so he is still around.

Second Story

Writer Sean McKeever

Artist Filipe Andrade

Colorist Chris Sotomayor

Letterer Joe Sabino

Welcome Home Part Two

I really like McKeever, he’s a great guy.  As he’s a friend of mine of Facebook, I feel like I can say he’s a friend of mine.  He was a pretty regular poster over at the Joe Quesada boards, which I loved when they were active.

McKeever has written some very fun and amazing stories over his career.  Not so many with the X-Men besides Mystique, a good run – but no Kitty Pryde appearances, so he doesn’t show up in my kept collection.

I have really enjoyed his creation for Marvel, Gravity.  His runs on Mary Jane and Mary Jane : Homecoming (where he did a very fun take on showing Spider-Man and Peter Parker), then it was rebranded Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane – which was my favorite of the three but it really is all one big story.  Megamorphs, which reunited the New Fantastic Four.  He had the team go to the Xavier Mansion, and had the entire cast of the Whedon / Cassaday Astonishing X-Men crew, minus the one I wanted.  He also had a fun Sentinel ongoing for a while, as well.

Creative own work, if you haven’t read, pick up Waiting Place, it is so good!

Back to his Marvel Work.  So in 1996, Onslaught happened, and with it, the deaths of the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Captain America and the Avengers (but not all of them) as well as Doctor Doom.  By deaths, I mean Franklin Richards sent them to Counter-Earth, a pocket dimension.

Essentially, Marvel sold the rights to Jim Lee’s Wildstorm (FF and Iron Man) and Rob Liefeld’s Extreme Comics (Captain America and Avengers).  Liefeld only lasted six issues, then Marvel sold those two to Jim Lee, essentially.  They were still Marvel Books, but operated through these companies.  Sort of like Marvel Knights but not as in house.

Anyway, Captain America got a new Bucky, this time, a young lady – Rikki Barnes.  Once the heroes went back to their proper Earth, Doom conquered this Earth – now called Counter-Earth (not sure if this is still the case or what has happened since the initial revisits).

At the time of this issue, she is going by Nomad, and is living on the Proper Earth.  Steve Rogers, with his connections, is trying to give her a normal life.  She goes to high school with Spider-Girl, Anya Corazon.  Which that character made things a little hard for May Parker, MC2’s Spider-Girl, publication wise.

Nomad has three days to get back to Rogers with his deal.  Last issue, she broke up a ring of racist criminals.  She punched one of them in the face.  She sees a fellow student with the same injuries and follows him to the next big meeting.

While she is observing them, her cell phone goes off, which reminds me of that episode of 24 where Jack Bauer forgot to turn his cell phone off.

The thugs hear the phone, look up and start firing shots at her direction.  Rogers and the Black Widow come barging through the wall and start taking the villains out.  Steve pushes Rikki out of the day, and takes a bullet to the side.  Rikki is shocked and frozen in place.  This sets her up to be knocked out by the high school student and the story ends there.

There are some fun house ads in this comic that work as a nice time capsule of how many good comics they were releasing at the time :

Jason Aaron’s Wolverine relaunch, where he goes to Hell.

Hickman’s threat of killing one of the Fantastic Four – This ad shows Reed, Ben and Johnny

Parker’s Iron Man fighting Red Hulk

Shadowland Issue Three

Daken, Dark Wolverine

Avengers Children’s Crusade Issue 2

Incredible Hulks 612

Ultimate Comics X-Men (2011)

Posted by John Klein III on January 30, 2014
Posted in: Retrospective. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Of the 33 issues, I own 29 of them!

I own these issues :

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 14 (Granov Variant), 15, 16, 17, 18, 18.1, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33

I am missing then :

9, 10, 11, 12 – all were a concentration camp storyline, not having Kitty but Storm and Colossus – I believe I will pass, thank you.

28 I was suppose to get.

Issues

1, 2, 3, 4, 5            Nick Spencer and Paco Medina

6            Nick Spencer and Paco Medina / Carlo Barberi

7, 8            Nick Spencer with Carlo Barberi

9, 10, 11, 12            Nick Spencer with Paco Medina (boo to these!)

13            Nick Spencer with Paco Medina / Reilly Brown

14            Brian Wood with Paco Medina / Reilly Brown

15            Brian Wood with Paco Medina

16            Brian Wood and Paco Medina / Carlo Barberi

17            Brian Wood and Carlo Barberi

18            Brian Wood and Carlo Barberi / Agustin Padilla

18.1            Brian Wood and Filipe Andrade

19            Brain Wood and Paco Medina

20            Brian Wood and Carlo Barberi

21            Brain Wood and Carlo Barberi also Nathan Edmondson and David Baldeon

22            Brian Wood / Nathan Edmondson with Carlo Barberi

23            Brian Wood and Carlo Barberi

24, 25, 26, 27, 28            Brain Wood with Mahmud Asrar

29, 30, 31, 32, 33            Brian Wood with Alvero Martinez

On my Wishlist :

Only 5 Issues!

1 Bagley Variant Cover

1 Paco Medina Variant

13 Jorge Molina Variant

28 Regular issue

29 Pagulayan Variant

Nick Spencer started the run out with some amazing concepts and  rich characterization.

Brian Wood took over at the halfway mark and made the title into more of a political comic.

Both of them made and continually made Kitty Pryde the leader of mutants and she really became the face of the franchise.

Both had amazing work done on the title.

Such storylines were :

Divided We Fall

United We Stand

Reservation X

Natural Resources

World War X

With this final part over, anything can happen to the Ultimate X-Men as Galataus is next!

I did not realize that we had such a committed cast of artists on the title :

Paco Medina, Carlo Berberi, Reilly Brown, Mahmud Asrar and Alvero Martinez.

The cast was pretty much Kitty Pryde, Iceman, Rogue and Wolverine’s son, Jim Hudson.  Johnny Storm started out in the night under Nick Spencer and then he stayed behind in New York as Kitty and the gang took to Texas to fight the Sentinels.

This version of the X-Men is the second title in the Ultimate Universe, once Ultimatum happen and made mutants truly the outlaws and feared and hated more than their proper Marvel counterparts have ever felt.

It was like Operation Zero Tolerance, except for two years.  It was like Decimation but on a global scale.  Instead of 200 mutants, we only had 20 left in America.

Not too many stories that were basically “Let’s Introduce this character” type of stories.  They had established these characters and were now able to start telling proper stories.

Ultimate Rogue came off very well.  As did Kitty, they were no longer boy crazy young girls but had become women in their own right.

This title was pretty female dominant, which I didn’t realize until right now.

If Kitty wasn’t fighting a faceless government, she was being threatened by Mach Two or Jean Grey.

Iceman sort of disappeared and Jim Hudson was pretty much just Kitty’s boyfriend more than he was Wolverine’s son, except for that Ultimate Wolverine mini.

Nick Spencer started out with Kitty telling the story (from a future point) stating she was American’s number one terrorist.  I can see where that idea sort of drop but in the age we live in, I can see the news outlets continuing to warm people of Utopia in New Mexico.

Such a great series, push come to shove, I would say that it was the better of the two Ultimate X-Men volumes.  It helps that it had two creative voices guiding the ship and I’ not sure what happen to Nick Spencer but Brian Wood has proven to be quite the talent at Marvel and with the proper X-Men.