THORsday Double Review!

This week Marvel is giving us a double helping of Thor-y goodness, so it's only natural that I give you the same. That's right, this isn't Thursday, this is THORsday! We'll start things off with Thor #612.

Kieron Gillen gives us one hell of an issue as Thor and Tyr head off to Hell to face off against the Disir. That's right, this issue is about the god of thunder heading down to Hell itself to fight what are essentially viking zombie goddesses. This is a damn awesome way for Mister Gillen to close out his time on this book and while I am excited to get my hands of Fraction's upcoming run on the book I don't think I'll be bored with stories like this filling the pages of the book.

And before I get on to our other Thor title, I must say that this cover is very, very awesome. We've got Thor surrounded by what I assume are the fires of Hell, which is just awesome. And the preview for next issue shows an even better image of Thor fighting some hell beast with a Ram's head. Awesome.

Our next book, Thor: The Might Avenger, might not have Thor in Hell fighting viking zombie goddesses, but that doesn't stop this from actually being my favorite of the two Thor books this week. While Gillen's book is awesome in a "Hellfire and Brimstone" way, Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee's Thor is a combination of fun and funny with just the right amount of heart that it's officially won me over with it's charms.

The story is a retelling of Thor's origin story, but with a lighter, fun fulled, and humorous tone. Thor has been banished from Asgard to Midgard, and with nowhere to live he finds himself living with Jane Foster, who provides the moral support and reason that the big guy needs while living on earth. This issue he faces Hyde again, who wants to make smooches (of the non-consensual kind) with Jane, and Thor has to step in and save her. Pretty standard until you add in Langridge's dialogue and humor into the mix and this book just works you over with it's lovable charm.

Complementing the writing completely, making everything in this story just that much more great. There's a scene with Thor sitting down and watching TV while eating a sandwich that I don't think would have worked without Samnee's art, giving Thor some brilliantly done facial expressions. And it's not just the humor; it's the drama, the action, and every emotion in between that Samnee captures pitch perfect. Matt Wilson makes it all that much better with his coloring; this bright and warm coloring makes it all that much more perfect.

Without a doubt, books like these and an upcoming movie means that this is a good time to be a Thor fan. And if you aren't reading any Thor yet, pick up either of these books, you won't be disappointed!

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour: The Reviewening (with no spoilers!)

This is it, friends, the moment that everyone on the internet has been waiting for (no not this review!), the final volume of Scott Pilgrim! Oh wait, the internet has had it for about a week now. Well, whatever, I'm reviewing this thing.

I think it's important to note that I love the hell out of this book, enough so that I went to the midnight release party at my favorite comic shop (Brave New Worlds in Old City Philadelphia!). So I'll try my best to gush over it too much, but it may happen and you have been warned.

Alright, so first thing I want to wank on about; holy schnikies is that cover awesome. Look at that thing, it just oozes a feeling of awesome and epicness (I know, I know, but it looks actual epic, not internet epic) that I just can't stop looking at it, even if I scanned it pretty poorly. We've got Scott with his love sword (though I'm trying not to see that heart at the bottom as Scott's testicles and failing hard), with Ramona's image right behind him to his looking kinda glow-y and angelic, and Scott's past loves to his right there, right under Gideon, the evil jerk behind everything. Usually we just get one character on the cover, with two on Volume 4, but here we've got 6 people total, all looking very dramatic. And Scott's got a glossiness that makes him stand out and demand your attention. It's crazy awesome.

As for the actual content in this book, it's awesome. We start off with Scott being at his lowest point yet in the series since the end of the last book (for those of you who haven't read, I won't spoil anything) and we get to see what he's been up to since then. Again, without spoiling anything, a good chunk of this story is getting Scott to man up, grow a set, and fight for the love of his life. We also get to see Scott interact with each of his past loves, and each bit is equally awkward (not writing wise, but situation wise).

We eventually get to our final showdown with Gideon, which takes up most of the next half of the book. This part is pretty crazy and easily my favorite part of the book. I'd go into depth on it, but I'm just going to say read it for yourself. Some really crazy fun stuff happens and that final blow struck made me think of Chrono Trigger. We're then treated to one of the most satisfying endings I've ever gotten to read. Characters will resolve things, surprises will happen and we end the series in a way that is just so damn awesome I really wish I could talk about it without spoiling things.

With O'Malley's art there seems to be a bit of a split in terms of opinions; you either love this art or you despise it. Personally, I'd eat this art up if it were a food and I'd get fatter than I am now. There's a beautiful mix of western animation and anime style here that melts together amazingly well.

In the end, this is a satisfying end. If you love Scott Pilgrim, you're in for a treat. If you haven't read this yet, get off the internet and go buy the first book. If you like video games, comics, cartoons, anime, manga, comedy, action, romance, and just fun in general, read this series; you won't be disappointed.

Booster Gold #35 and Justice League: Generation Lost: It's a Good Time to Be a Booster Gold Fan!

About Six months ago, if you had asked me whether or not I'd be sticking on the Booster Gold book for the next year, I'd have told you that I was actually planning to drop the title very soon. Well today, I'm actually reading two different comics where Booster Gold plays a major role and both of those comics happen to be some of the best stuff I'm reading from DC at the moment. Yes, Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Judd Winnick are helping to make me remember why I love Booster so damn much with Booster Gold and Justice League: Generation Lost.

Booster Gold itself is a blast to read lately. It's got just the right balance of joke-y-ness and heart that it brings Booster back to his glory days of the JLI, yet it doesn't just forget the last four years of major developing that the character has gone through. This issue is no different as we get a good old fashioned Blue and Gold adventure thanks to the magic of Booster's time traveling abilities. Oh, and Big Barda and Mr. Miracle are there, too. Seriously, time travel is the best plot device ever.

Still, I really want to see some more of Booster interacting with Rani, the Daxamite girl our hero saved from Darkseid's forces at the start of this run; not only am I intrigued with the idea of Booster as a dad, but Rani's just a fun character in general. Last issue's best moments came thanks to her and "Boppy" Rip Hunter and this issue we get to see some tidbits of her bonding with Booster's sister Michelle. I'm dying to see her and Booster interact more because she and Booster had some of the best moments of the first issue in this run and I feel that there's more to be had here.

Meanwhile, our other book with Booster Gold is Justice League: Generation Lost. This is more a JLI book than a Booster Gold book, but this issue in particular focuses in on our golden boy quite a bit. It's this issue that seems to solidify him as the leader of this group, which is a development that I think fits right in with what Booster's been building up to in the last few years.

Of course we also get some great moments with the rest of the team; seeing Jaime written this well has me excited to be reading the character again, since the only other option outside of back issues is Teen Titans, which is like calling a dip in a septic tank an alternative to bathing. Then there's the new Rocket Red who's just a fun character to read; an admitted Russian hypocrite who want to be with the Justice League despite his anti-western beliefs and Fire plays the perfect straight man for him. Then there's Ice and Captain Atom, who both have a great moment together towards the end of the book.

Finally there's Max, who makes a damn good villain in this book. He's the bad guy who truly believes he's doing the right thing, and he's a real jerk about it, too. I hate him so damn much and it's for all the right reasons. I could explain what makes him so great, but the cover above this paragraph does it so much better. That smug, classy bastard!

Both books have nice art that fit their respective tones perfectly, thanks to Giffen and Chris Batista on Booster Gold, and Aaron Lopresti on Generation Lost. The beginning and end of Booster are a bit wonky looking, but not so much that I hate it. In fact it's that quirky kind of good that I love. It's different and unconventional enough that people are probably going to hate it, but just offbeat enough for me.

Overall, as the title says, it's a good time to be a Booster Gold fan. His own solo title is everything I love about the character and Justice League: Generation Lost is hands down the best Justice League book AND the best Brightest Day book out there. If you aren't reading either of these books, hop on now!

Fastball Special: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #12

Alright guys, it's late but I feel like busting out another review, so that means it's time to bust out a fastball special! This week is Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #12. We cap off year one with part 4 of "Tainted Love" which is getting to be quite the juicy little story. Drama is here a-plenty and Pete's life is being taken over by a mystery person. This is good stuff and while it's in the middle of an arc you might want to hop onto this title because it's damn good at the moment!

Superman #701 - It's Never Super in Philadelphia

So let's face it; the prologue to this story sucked. I really haven't read many Superman comics in my time, though, and I figured this was a better time then ever to jump on. So, here I go jumping onto Superman with issue #701 with part one of "Grounded". Well, I chose and issue that takes place in my own back yard, Philadelphia, PA. Maybe I chose right?

Right off the bat I have a problem with this issue; the very first caption in the book reads "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The South Side". Maybe I'm being a bit too picky, but this just bothers me to no end. It's not called the "South Side" of Philadelphia, it's called "South Philadelphia" or if you'd like "South Philly". Hell, anybody who's ever watched The Fresh Prince would be able to figure this out; "West Philadelphia, born and raised"! So if the West is called West Philadelphia, the South is called...?

And on another note, the neighborhood Superman is walking through looks more like a nicer part of Northeast Philly than it does South Philly; there's too much greenery and there are absolutely not enough row homes for that to be South Philly. In fact, a quick bit of research would show you that the street depicted isn't even South Philly, it's part of University City, which is A NEIGHBORHOOD IN WEST PHILADELPHIA. JMS and Eddy Barrows, you guys are killing me. Still, they managed to get a few things right; the Diner is exactly like the kinds you'll find in Philly and the Drug dealers the very same. Though I wish I had Kryptonite gauntlets so I could deck Superman (or JMS) in the jaw for using the term "Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich". It's just a "Cheese Steak", dammit!

This issue's biggest crime is that it's boring; Superman is just wandering Philly, gets lunch at a diner, and then decides to take care of the local drug dealers in the neighborhood(edit: almost forgot; he leaves a small child as his messanger to tell the dealers that he wants them out of the 'hood. Good work there Supes!) . He ends his day by talking a suicide jumper out of jumping, because we never get that in a Superman comic, and he ends the issue wandering off to the next city. Really this is like a Superman version of the scene in Forrest Gump where Forrest goes running across America, except Forrest Gump is awesome and this comic sucks.

Anyway, this issue is a walloping disappointment. The cover is really nice, but outside of that this is one boring issue. Don't bother spending the $3 on the price tag because it just isn't worth it. Stick with JMS's Brave and the Bold stuff and maybe his Wonder Woman, but this first issue of his Superman is just bad.

S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider Double CycloneJoker Review: Count Up Your Sins! (Part One...?)

Comic Books aren't my only hobby; I also collect figures, though I don't buy them as often mostly because comics are an expensive hobby as it is. Still, I've always wanted to post reviews of the figures I've bought. Well now I have my own blogamajig to do whatever I want whenever I want, so today I'm going to do my first toy review ever; Kamen Rider Double CyclonJoker from Bandai's S.H.Figuarts line!

The first thing to talk about here is the packaging; I'm not too crazy about it. It's not bad packaging, but it's just kind of bland. You get the name of the product and the Figuarts branding and an image of Double himself that isn't even in color. The back has the standard images of the figure in the character's iconic poses and some japanese text. There's just nothing here that really catches my eye or wows me outside of the figure inside itself. Luckily for me, I'm not a MISB type guy. I take my figures out of the packaging and fiddle with them.

For me the main draw here is the figure itself and this is one awesome figure. Aesthetically this little guy is awesome; he's accurate to the character in the show, his joints are for the most part well hidden (I'll get back to this in a bit.) and his paint job is just fantastic. Even the belt buckle morphamajig is painted well. Perhaps my favorite little detail is the eyes, which have little flashy bits in them, reflecting the light and just looking awesome. In fact, when I look at the photo to the left I can almost here Shoutaro reciting his catch phrase "Count up your sins!".

My one gripe with the figure's aesthetic features are the unpainted joints on the elbows. on the green side really sticks out and keeps it from being a perfect figure visually. It's a shame, too because he's so close.

Another gripe I have with the figure is the wrist joint and the removable hands. The hands themselves aren't hard to work with, but swapping is a bit of a pain because you've got these nubs that you've got to work with and they just don't want to stay still. I almost wish these were more like the Revoltech joints, which are by comparison much more easy to work with. These aren't deal breakers by any means, but they're just tiny tidbits that I wouldn't feel right with leaving out.



This figure's best feature is it's articulation. I can't think of any pose this figure can't pull off, though you'll need a stand to pull off some more of the dynamic poses (I had been planning to put him in the crane pose, but he just doesn't want to do it). This guy isn't exactly a master of balance on on foot. Still, his joints are fantastic and allow the figure a great deal of movement and flexibility. The only limits to this guy are your imagination. Well, that and a stand, which will cost you a bit extra. Still, you should be able to find a stand on just about any of the websites you'd have to go through to get this guy and he's going to cost you around $40 after shipping, so keep all of that in mind when considering this purchase.

Overall, this guy get's my full recommendation; if you're an avid collector you probably already know this line well enough that you don't need my word to convince you. If you're a newbie with the cash to put out for him go for it; you won't regret it. The character comes in 10 other flavors and two other Riders to choose from here. I got mine from Amiami, but Hobby Link Japan, Amazon Japan, and eBay are all worth checking out while you're at it. Just watch out for Bootlegs on eBay and do your homework on the seller!

(I'm thinking about posting a part two which will mostly be images of the figure's different hands, the joints, and maybe some more poses for fun! Tell me what you think and leave any feedback you have at all. I want this thing to get as good as possible and some opinions and critiques would go a long way.)

Fastball Special: Secrect Six #23

Welcome folks, to Fastball Special! Much like this explanation, these are reviews that are short and straight to the point.

Secret Six #23 is a perfect taste of what you might expect from this series; great writing, good old fashioned violence, and awesome dialogue. The art is fantastic, too. Overall, if you haven't jumped on yet, read this issue, if you have jumped on, this is still great. You will not regret it!

Brightest Day #5: This may be it for me!

There comes a time where you find yourself getting fed up with a story that's taking too long to do anything and you just can't take anymore. Well, I've gotten to that point with Brightest Day, the latest is DC's year long event books. I think this may be the point where I check out, folks!

The problem with this series isn't that it's necessarily bad; in fact, I prefer a good chunk of the stories in here. But I just can't stand this awful Hawkman/Hawkgirl story line. It's boring, time consuming, and overall just drains out the enthusiasm I have for the rest of this book. I just can't bring myself to care for these characters and I hate this book for trying to make me do so.

Still, the Aquaman and Deadman stories are actually pretty interesting. Outside of the hilariously relevant "Aquaman tries to stop the BP fiasco" moment in this issue, the Aquaman sections of this book really have me interested. The Deadman story is still good, too. Unfortunately they're simply the side dishes on the plate of steaming crap that is the Hawks. They may look delicious, but there's still a steaming pile of crap there to ruin it all.

Overall I find myself reluctant to even give this book one more shot; Martian Manhunter is the subject of the next issue though, so I find myself conflicted on the subject.

Shadow Land #1: Ninjas, Ninjas, Ninjas

Oh hey, it's summer and you know what that means. No, it's not time to go to the beach, that's silly. No, it's not time to get yourself a new tan. No, friends, it means it's time for a large crossover event. Time for Shadowland, the event where Daredevil becomes evil and throws hordes of Ninjas at everyone!

It's kind of cool to get an event that's actually on a smaller scale. This isn't for control of earth, or for the fate of the universe, instead focusing simply on New York City and the vast quantity of street level heroes that live and operate there. And it's nice to see things scaled down so much.

In our opening chapter, we find Bullseye escaping his captors and getting back to what he does best; killing people with sharp objects. And by people I mean Daredevil, which now means he aims to kill the hand. Of course Luke Cage and Iron Fist want to talk to Daredevil to see what's going on, but good ol' Bullseye beats them to it. What goes down next is Bullseye killing his way through Hand ninjas, the preferred cannon fodder of the street level Marvel Universe, before Daredevil just destroys him. With a (not too) shocking final page, we see that Daredevil isn't messing around here, and as one particular crappy music video shows us, there's no looking back. Until retcons happen, that is.

Billy Tan's art does it's job, even if I'm not necessarily blown away by it. It fits the story well enough and I really can't think of too much more to say about it.

Overall, this isn't too bad of a start. Not much really happens, but what does happen packs enough of a punch to bring me back. Just make sure to avoid those tie-ins, they'll kill your wallet.

Night and Day: Action Comics #890 and The Flash #3

Alrighty folks, time for a two-fer review on this fine Saturday night. Since they both feature something I want to talk about in length after and they both allowed be to use a cliched title, I'm going to review both Action Comics #890 and The Flash #3!

We get things started with Action Comics, which I immediately want to note the distinct banner on the cover. This isn't a Brightest Day book, no this is a Blackest Night Aftermath book, which is what I thought Brightest Day was, but I guess not.

This is a book I've been excited for because this is the time when Action Comics begins following the adventures of Lex Luthor and his quest to regain the powers he had come into during Blackest Night. Yes, he's looking for the power rings, but not the ones you might think he'd be looking for the Black Lantern rings. Why he would want them, I don't know, but he's doing everything in his power to find them. On a disturbing note, Lex has what appears to be a Lois Lane android, which is just plain creepy, though I'd also gamble that it's a sexbot, which is awesome. The issue ends with a twist I did not see coming and boy am I excited to see what's coming next.

Meanwhile, back under the Brightest Day banner, we've got the Flash #3. This new Flash title is something that I'm finding myself fall in love with more and more each issue, if only because Francis Manapul is a beast. His departure from Adventure comics was the first factor to bring me down the path of dropping that title and his name showing up in the solicits for this title was one of the factors that had me itching to pick this book up.

This issue starts us up with Captain Boomerang discovering that he's got a new ability tied into his black lantern revival, before we go back to where the last issue left off. Barry's DNA is showing up on the forensics tests and Forrest thinks Barry has become sloppy, taking the opportunity to chastise him. From here we see Barry and Iris meeting for coffee, which is quickly interrupted by the Renegades, who give chase to Barry.

This leads to a few really cool sequences with Barry using his speed to save Iris and put on his costume. Good to see Manapul and Johns doing this awesome stuff here, though we don't get any sequences as awesome as the Flash dismantling the car and putting the building together that we got in the first two issues; those were awesome. We close the issue with Captain Boomerang showing up to show off his new powers and I'm excited for the next issue.

Overall, both of these are good single issues, but I find both have a common element that I'm feeling conflicted about; the black lantern rings aren't as gone as we think. In Action Comics we have Lex searching for the rings and building a map that may just lead him to finding what he needs to get one for himself. In Flash, we've for Captain Boomerangs new power. So it seems we're not quite done with the Blackest Night stuff just yet and I'm torn on how I feel about this. On the one hand, I was done with Blackest Night 3/4 of the way through the event itself. It was one event book that I'm just glad to be done with. On the other, DC's books have been doing some interesting things with all this. We've got Captain Boomerang's powers, Max Lord seems to be effected with it, and even Firestorm and Aquaman are having side effects of being Black Lanterns who got revived.

Honestly, as long as DC doesn't drag this out too long (though we've got about another 10 months of this so I won't hold my breath), I'll be cool with all this. As things stand right now, I'm intrigued.