Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes: Season 1 Review

Writers: Chris Yost, Brandon Auman, Keven Burke, Chris Wyatt, Michael Ryan, Paul Giacoppo, Joel Sellner, Eugene Son, and Brian Reed

Directors: Vinton Heuck and Sebastion Montes

Starring: Brian Bloom, Chris Cox, Phil Lamarr, Eric Loomis, Gabriel Mann, James C. Mathis III, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Fred Tiasciore, Rick D. Wasserman, and Wally Wingert

The history of cartoons based on Marvel comics is mixed bag of super hero cartoons. From older cartoons that weren't that well animated, to cartoons in the 90's that weren't that well animated, most of the shows made before the year 2000 just weren't that good. Even cartoons that were a beloved part of many fans' childhood, such as the X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons from the 90s, just haven't aged too well. Still, in recent years a few gems have emerged, such as X-Men: Evolution, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, and Wolverine and the X-Men. These were series that not only had great animation, but were also well written, fun shows that any animation junkie can enjoy.

Last year, The Avengers got a new series called Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The series follows the Marvel Universe's greatest team with a very classic line-up of Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, Wasp, Captain America, Black Panther, and Hawkeye.

Now, right out the door, this show is a little tough to get into. The team doesn't actually form until the seventh episode, with the first five episodes being introductions to the various team members with the sixth and seventh episodes telling the story of how the Avengers came together. These are a rough seven episodes, with Captain America's episode being the strongest of the first five and the two-parter being just alright.

Things pick up a bit over the next few episodes as the team begins to get some more interaction. One of the things the writers really got down well is how the Avengers are very flawed individuals. Iron Man is the cool jerk leader whose ego often gets the better of him. Ant-Man is a good natured scientist, but is a little too hesitant to take action at times. Hulk and Thor are both a little too violent.

The writers also do a great job of putting some conflict in there with these characters. Hulk and Thor are quite stand-offish in the beginning. Iron Man and Thor will often argue about just how useful earth technology is. On the flip side, there are times where the conflicts can be a little cheesy, with the worst offender being a mid-season episode where Iron Man and Cap have an argument over whether having a well trained body or technology feeling a little weak considering that these are both rather intelligent men.

Perhaps the biggest strength of this show is just how well it was planned out. While the first seven episodes aren't very strong, they each have elements and plot points that carry throughout the first season and that pay off so well in the long run, with a few future threads hung out there to boot. It really helps that there is such a wealth of stories to draw from, with elements from the comics and movies.

For the truly nerdy at heart, there are also some really cool easter eggs thrown into the show. One example is James Howlett (aka Wolverine) being in the Howling Commandos in the Captain America episode. At another point, Hawkeye jokes that the Avengers should move to the West Coast. It's things like these that show that the writers really care to show that they know the base material well and intend to use it to the fullest.

If the show has any real weakness, it's that it may not be aesthetically pleasing to everyone. This is a very stylized series. Still, designs are very close to the original looks of their comic counterparts, save for Iron Man, who looks more inline with his look from the movies and Wasp, who sports a completely original design. Of all the designs, my favorite is Ant-Man, who has a really cool costume that uses the classic Ant-Man design when he shrinks, and the Giant Man design for when he grows into a giant.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is an all around great cartoon. After the initial hump, which pays off later on, the series really picks up and shows it's stuff as perhaps the finest Marvel cartoon yet. If you love the Avengers, or even just cartoons in general, give this series a look. It can be found on Disney XD, Marvel's website, and on Netflix Instant Streaming.

The 2010 Round-Up: Piggy's Favorite Things! Part One: Comics

So it's December and the end of the year is here. 2010 was a heck of a year for comics as the big two look on the bright side with "Brightest Day" and "Heroic Age" banners showing up on their titles. Meanwhile, Batman was lost in time, Atomic Robo's roster of bad guys shot up, a cop with an axe brought out everyone's inner child, and so much more happened. So here's my list of my favorite stuff from this year in comic.

Favorite Marvel Books:

Atlas and Thunderbolts by Jeff Parker:

If there's one thing that the Heroic Age taught me, it's that Jeff Parker is great at writing team books. In Atlas, he gave us a team the literal revels in it's comic book-y-ness as a Chinese man, a Martian, a Goddess, an Atlantean, a Robot, and a Gorilla teamed up with the 3-D man to kick ass. Unfortunately, it was cancelled, but it got a proper ending and maybe we'll see them again some day. Of course, Mr. Parker did find success with the Thunderbolts, where he made Luke Cage the leader of Marvel's rotating hero team of villains. Month in and month out the book is a genuine joy to read and it's only getting better from here. If any issue in particular takes the cake, it's easily the 150th issue; heroes clashed, a frog guy made me laugh, Iron Man and Captain Rogers got to settle things with their would be killers (Ghost and Crossbones), and Luke Cage learned that maybe this team isn't as bad off as it could be. So with the future in site, I'm glad to say that I'm sticking with this series for the long run.

Amazing Spider-Man by Dan Slott, Fred Van Lente, Mark Waid, Zeb Wells, and Joe Kelly

Amazing Spider-Man has been a damn good book since late 2008, but for me the book really hit a high this year as "The Gauntlet" came out and showed us just how awesome Spider-Man's gallery of bad guys can be. Stories that stand out the most include Joe Kelly's heart breaking Rhino story as well as his unbelievably awesome "Grim Hunt" story that brought back Kraven the Hunter and held several twists and turns that just blew me away. And of course there was the ending to Brand New Day, "Origin of Species" in which Mark Waid told a tale of Spider-Man fighting to protect the child of Lilly Hollister, otherwise known as "Menace". But perhaps the best story arc of the bunch is Zeb Wells fantastic "SHED" storyline, where the Lizard showed us just how scary he can truly be. Together he and Chris Bachalo showed us just how savage and chilling Kurt Connor's inner beast could be. And of course there's Dan Slott, who's taking charge of the book now with "Big Time" which promises to take the web slinger higher and farther than ever before. If you want to jump on and enjoy the Wall crawler, then now is a better time than ever, because the next year is looking to be truly great.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Robert Langridge and Chris Samnee

If you aren't reading Thor: The Mighty Avenger, than you really suck at choosing which comics to read. You're also not alone, because a whole lot of people aren't reading it and that's a damn shame. See Marve's "God of Thunder" got a revamp from Langridge and Samnee and it's actually the best book the company has put out this year. It's also selling so poorly that it's getting cancelled just 4 issues short of completing the full story that the team had initially set out to tell. But enough about that, let's talk about how awesome this book was. Thor: TMA is a book that is made of pure love and joy and it's such a good read every time it comes out. Thor himself is a young, headstrong god struggling to understand why he's been banished, but learning to love the world he's been exiled to through his relationship with Jane Foster. It's a story of love in the guise of a super hero book, unfortunately it's also one that's doomed to have a tragically untold ending. Meanwhile Deadpool has six goddamned comic book on the shelves right now; what the hell does that say?

Assault on New Olympus, Hercules: Fall of an Avenger, Prince of Power, and Chaos War by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente

As this year began, Hercules was left for dead on an alternate earth by his sister Athena so that Amadeus Cho could become her champion. Amadeus Cho then decided that he wasn't going to accept that and set out the bring the big guy back. He succeeded, but then the Chaos King decided to wipe out all of existence. With all the heroes left helpless, Herc has assembled a God Squad to take down the Chaos King and save all of existence. So how was your year again? Yes, Mr. Pak and Mr. Van Lente have had quite a year writing the Hell out of there books and with each one they manage to one up the awesome factor of the story that came before it. Sure, you could read Mr. Pak's Hulk, but this is really where it's all at. Although I'm sure Mr. Pak wouldn't mind if you read his Hulk anyway.

Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis

If you read any of Bendis' books this year that isn't Scarlet, then read Ultimate Spider-Man, because the man is still tearing it up on this book. And this year he hit the 150 mark. 150 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man and the man's still not done yet. This year the wall crawler has had friends move in, he's had to help Rick Jones come to term with his newly gained powers, and he's met twin Chameleons who have torn apart the great image he's had ever since he managed to survive the Ultimatum Wave. As this year ends, he's finding out that he's going to be receiving training from various members of the Ultimates so that he can learn to do superhero-ing the proper way. And coming up in the next year is "The Death of Spider-Man" storyline that hopefully doesn't kill off the Ultimate version of the web slinger and will be pitting the Ultimates against the Ultimate Avengers. I'd be more nervous about this story, but it's an Ultimate book being written by Bendis and Millar, so we could be doing worse.

Favorite DC Books:

Justice League: Generation Lost by Judd Winick

If you told me a year ago that I'd be in love with a book by Judd Winick, I'd laugh at you, but Justice League: Generation Lost has me eating a slice of humble pie. Winick has reunited the JLI and set them against Max Lord who has in return set the World against the JLI. From truly cool stuff, such as Captain Atom taking trips to a nightmarish future and Booster Gold taking a step into the leadership position, to the hilarious new Rocket Red, this is the Justice League book that everyone should be reading.

Action Comics and Knight and Squire by Paul Cornell

Paul Cornell wasn't a name that made me buy comics before this year, but now it's a name that will make me read anything. It all started when he began writing Action Comics, a title I hadn't read at all before he hopped on, but with the premise of a book about Lex Luthor tickling my fancy I had to give the title a shot. Now, about six issues and an annual later, this might just be my favorite book from DC this year. From wild dream battles with Mr. Mind, to Lex brushing off a frustrated Vandal Savage who wants to trap and kill Luthor, to Gorilla Grodd fighting with a giant spoon, Mr. Cornell has turned the insanity and fun up to 11 and made this book the must read book of the Superman title.

Of course Action Comics isn't the only title Mr. Cornell is writing, as he's currently writing both Knight and Squire and Batman and Robin, but since I'm going to be writing about Batman and Robin later, Knight and Squire will have to do for right now. Knight and Squire is what happens when you take a concept and have fun with it; Mr. Cornell has taken this British version of Batman and Robin and turned them into the BBC version of the Adam West/Burt Ward team from the old TV show. This book is silly, fun, funny, and also a little informative. Sure it's hard to understand what they're saying half the time, but that's just part of the charm. Yes, between these two books, there is no way you're not having fun in the DCU!

Batman 700-702,Batman and Robin, and Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison

This year, Grant Morrison wrapped up the huge Batman epic that he's spent the last 4 years telling. He took on the ultimate evil and won, then he got lost in time, then his predecessor turned his evil assassin son into the new Robin, and then he managed to come back from being lost in time just in time to help the new Dynamic Duo take out the ultimate evil, again. Grant's been a busy guy telling the story he has to tell and it's payed off in all the right ways. Bruce Wayne has been a cave man, a pirate, a witch hunter, and even the detective trying to solve his own death. He even became a weapon that Darkseid had planned to use to to destroy time itself, but he managed to undo that. Dr. Hurt faced him at multiple points in time, but again and again Bruce bested him, setting a trap for him that even Hurt couldn't see coming. He showed us why he's one of DC's big three and he did so in such a satisfying way. If you haven't been reading Morrison's Batbooks, than you're insane because they're just that damn good. And with Batman Incorporated just starting up, it's not too late to jump on and see why everyone loses their mind every time these titles come out.

Secret Six by Gail Simone

Secret Six is a title that doesn't stand out that much as a comic book. It isn't the book everyone raves about or the title that everyone tells you to read. That being said, it's a book that you should be reading. Much like the T-Bolts, this is a team composed to bad guys trying to do good things. Not at all like the T-Bolts, this team is led by someone who isn't necessarily a hero. No, this is a team of broken, crazy, complex characters led by Bane, that character that went from being a mastermind Batman villain to a shadow of his former self in the 90s. The fact that Bane is such a great character in this book is just one of the reasons that Gail Simone's Secret Six is one of the best comics that DC is putting out right now.

And it isn't just Bane that's written well; Catman, Scandal Savage, Ragdoll, Jeanette, Deadshot, and Black Alice are all fantastically written characters that keep me coming back each and every issue wanting to see what they team's got in store for me next. Two issues in particular (both one-shots) stand out in particular as really great issues; one has the team captured and sent to an island to face off against some rich jerks and the other has the team re-imagined in the old west preparing to face off against Ragdoll's sister and Slade Wilson. Both are fantastic issues that will be able to sell anyone on this series. And then there's the recently run story where the team has split into two and end up having to face each other in an alternate dimension resembling Marvel's Savage Land where they fight each other wearing loin clothes and riding on Dinosaurs. Yes, it's that awesome.

Favorite Books From Everyone Else:

Darkwing Duck (Boom!Kids) by Ian Brill and James Silvani

Boom!Kids is the little line that could, which is to say that it's the best thing to happen to all ages comics in the last decade. Every book is awesome and the best of the bunch is Darkwing Duck. This book successfully brings the "Disney Afternoon" character back in all of his duck glory. With writer Ian Brill nailing the wit, heart, and joy of the character and artist James Silvani brings art that is so good that you'll never want to look away. This is easily the best looking book that this line has put out and it's easily one of the top 5 best looking books of this year, period. Actually, it's easily one of my top 5 favorite books, period.

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour (OniPress) by Bryan Lee O'Malley

The story of Scott Pilgrim came to an end this year with the 6th and final book in the series and it's easily one of my favorite books of the year. Scott starts this volume out alone and broken after Ramona left him and he was forced to move into his own apartment by himself. He quickly finds himself revisiting each of his past loves and finding out that maybe he wasn't the best boyfriend in the world, let alone a good person in general. Plots are resolved, secrets are revealed, and Gideon Graves finally gets what he's got coming. This is a story about love that's a little more mature than it seems and it ends with two people learning that they're going to have to work together to make it work out.

Atomic Robo Volume 4 (Red5 Studio) by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener

Okay, if you know me at all than this selection shouldn't be any sort of surprise. Atomic Robo is easily my favorite comic book being printed today and I find myself giddy like a school girl for each and every new issue as they come out. That's why I'm glad to say that Volume 4 is the best volume in the series yet. The story revolves around 4 different one-shot issues that all take place within a span of a week, but each and every consecutive incident involves yet another strange foe that highlights just how crazy and wonderful this book is. From Vampires from a different dimension, to a giant Japanese monster not unlike something out of a Kaiju movie, to other enemies such as Dr. Dinosaur and the ghost of Thomas Edison. Each issue stands alone fantastically on it's own, but together it does wield a fantastic story that builds upon the world of Robo in one way or another. It also successfully highlights why I love this book; it's a fantastically hilarious sci-fi action comedy book that takes place in a wonderful world of action science, talking dinoaurs, and just about anything the imagination can think of.

Axe Cop (Axecop.com/Dark Horse) by Ethan and Malachai Nicolle

At the tail end of last year, Axe Cop popped up out of nowhere and took the internet by storm; this comic, made by the brothers Nicolle (Ethan (age 29) and Malachai (age 6)) who have crafted one of the most insanely comics of this year. The process of making this comic is simple: Malachai comes up with a bunch of randomly awesome details and plot points and Ethan puts it all together in a coherent enough fashion and draws it all so that he may put it up on the internet. Almost overnight the whole thing became a huge hit, with everyone falling in love with the genuinely childish nature of the book. Axe Cop is comic book equivalent of how you used to play with your action figures when you were a young child and for that I love it. And I'm not alone, as the title has gained enough fame that Ethan himself is putting off the release of the comic he had originally intended to put out in favor of working on this and Dark Horse Comics has decided to work with Ethan in order to publish the web series as well as publishing a completely original 3 issue mini series. If you aren't reading this, go now. It's free on the web and it features a T-Rex with Gatling guns for arms. Seriously, go read it. Now.

Sweet Tooth (Veritgo) by Jeff Lemire

Sweet Tooth is easily one of the best comics coming out right now, and though I've currently dropped the ongoing in favor of trades, I haven't given up on this title. This story of a young Deer boy and his protector in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is almost wiped out is a fantastic book. Jeff Lemire has crafted a dark sad world where people must lie, steal, cheat, and maybe even kill to survive, where young animal children are hated for existing and find themselves being experimented on in the name of science. It's a great read, though, an it's definitely something anyone looking for a darker, more mature comic out there to read that isn't just a bunch of muscle riddled jerks flying around and punching each other.

The Unwritten (Vertigo) by Mike Carey and Peter Gross

The Unwritten is another Vertigo book that I'm reading exclusively in trade. It's also a fantastic story about a boy who's father turned into an internationally famous character in a series of Harry Potter like books. The story starts as a mystery about whether Thomas is actually the Tommy Taylor from the famous books or not, but quickly turns into a terrific journey throughout all of literature in general. The first two volumes are out now with the third coming next march, though it your feeling up to it, you can also pick it up in individual issues so that you're not left waiting too long for your fix.

So there we go, folks. That's my pics for my favorite comics of the year. Each one is a fantastic read in it's own right, so do yourself a favor and read them all. You won't be sorry. For part two, I'm going to be covering my favorite animated stuff from the last year, which includes cartoons from TV, movies, anime, and everything in between. Part three is going to be Movies and TV. Part Four will probably come in the new year and it will be Video Games. It's going to take that long so that I can get all my Christmas games played enough that I can actually talk about them with some experience under my belt. I might even do a Part 1.5 where I highlight individual one-shot issues that I loved and just what's so great about them as well as a Part 5 about Podcasts and music that I've come to enjoy this year. So look out for all of that coming soon. When the New Year hits I'm going to try and find some other things to talk about before I get back to doing weekly comic reviews. I really want to wait for some newer stuff to hit before I do more reviews. I'll definitely be reviewing the next volume of Fullmetal Alchemist when that comes out. So there. I've put all this out there, let's hope I can get all of this out.

"Thor: The Mighty Avenger" and The Crying Shame

This week, issue #6 of "Thor: The Mighty Avenger" came out and I've already read it. If you've read any of my older blog posts about this comic, then you should already know that I love this title. If you haven't, then I'll tell you now: I love this comic and this issue is no different than the five preceding it. With each and every issue of this book, Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee retell the origin of Thor in a way that is fresh, accessible, and (most of all) a pure joy to read. This is a comic that can read and find something they enjoy in it. Hell, it's pretty close to being my pick for "comic of the year". And yet it's a comic that isn't going to be around much longer.

Yes, unless you live under the internet's most impressive rock, you should know that "Thor: The Might Avenger" is ending as of issue #8. There's a multitude of reasons as to why this is sad, perhaps saddest of which is that Langridge has mentioned that the first full story arc of this comic would run until issue #12. That's right, not only is this comic dying, but it's dying before it can get it's first full story told.

Well I think it's a damn shame. It sucks that this comic is dying like this while lesser books continue to sell like hot cakes. Go into your local comic shop this week and count how many Deadpool books are on the shelves. Last time I checked, it was about 5. Now, I'm going to spoil something about each and every one of these books: they're all terrible. Not a single one is worth actually paying money for. And yet it continues to go on and "Thor: the Might Avenger" is cancelled. Do you want to know why? It's because these Deapool books sell. "Thor: the Mighty Avenger" on the other hand, isn't selling all that well. It's a sad truth about this industry, but it's a truth and it can't be ignored.

So what can we do? Honestly, going out and buying every copy from your local comic shop isn't going to help; they've already ordered and payed for those books. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy the issues of this series: it's a great book and your local comic shop could certainly use the business. But saving the series is going to take a bit more than buying the issues already out. No, what we have to do is buy the issues that haven't come out yet and the trade that's coming out in a few weeks. And not just buying them, but preordering them. Got to your local comic shop and let them know just how much you want this and do so in large numbers. The trade you can either get there, or you can save a few bucks and preorder it from Amazon.com, because they track the number of preorders they receive instantly.

Now, I'm not saying we're definitely saving this title: it's going to take effort from everyone and then some, but if we all go in and Marvel sees our money and hears our voices, than there's a good chance we could just save the day. We have the power, we just have to use it. We can save "Thor: The Mighty Avenger", but we have to do it now or all hope is lost. So when it comes down to it are we just going to watch this wonderful story slip away into the world of obscurity or will we raise our own hammers and utter those famous words "I Say Thee, Nay"?

The Weekly Round-Up: 11/3/10

Howdy-ho, girls and boys, it's The Weekly Round-Up! I took last week off for Halloween or in other words, I decided to be lazy last week and couldn't be bothered to write one paragraph of review for the comics I bought last week. But hey, this week I decided to grace all ten of you readers with my presence! Now then, onto the reviews, because this week has some awesome choices.

If I had to pick a winner for "Best Cover of the Week" It'd hands down go to this book right here, Superboy #1. That's right, the composite clone of Superman and Lex Luthor is getting a series of his own (because Adventure Comics couldn't have been that at all, right DC?) and Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo are ready to take him to new heights. Lemire, for those of you unfamiliar, is the writer behind the fantastic Vertigo book "Sweet Tooth" which is simply amazing. I'd talk about it more often, but I'm only buying it in trade these days and I'm a good deal behind on those. But enough about Lemire's other works, let's talk Superboy!

This issue is a first issue, which means it's introduction time. For an introduction to Superboy, this does it's job pretty damn well. Lemire also does a good job of picking up some of the cool elements of the Johns run from Adventure Comics run by introducing us to the two friends Connor made in that; Lori Luthor Lex's niece and Simon Valentine, boy scientist. It's nice to see that Lemire is not forgetting those two characters, because I liked them both in the 5 issues we got to meet them in and I'm really looking forward to what Lemire has in store for them. There's also a cool little fight between Superboy and Parasite that rounds out the issue and we end with a teaser at what's to come from this book in the future. Lemire is off to an interesting start here.

Art duties are handeled buy Pier Gallo and he does a great job with that. Smallville looks like a small farm town and Superboy and the other inhabitants are all drawn very well. And it's not all just pretty stuff, Parasite looks as gross and monstrous as he should. Still, the real star on art duties is the cover by one of my current favorites in the world of comic art, Rafael Albuquerque. Albuquerque's art combined with those amazing colors just make it stick right out on the shelf and makes me want to pick it up and own it.

So go buy Superboy today, because it's an awesome start to a promising book. But that's not the only thing I bought today!

Best value of the week goes to Amazing Spider-Man #647, which is the final curtain call for Brand New Day's revolving door of writers. Everyone contributes to this one and for 5 dollars you get a whole buttload of comic. So what's the good stuff here? Well first off is "Another Door" by Fred Van Lente with Max Fiumara on art. This is pretty much the primary wrap up story of BND. We've got Vin returning from his prison time, Harry starting his new life as a dad, and Carlie and Pete finally becoming a couple. It's a pretty good story and wraps everything up pretty well while also giving a decent amount of Spidey action, but it's far from the best story here.

The best story in this collection has to be "Norah's Last Night in NYC" written by Joe Kelly with J.M.Ken Nimura on art duties. these two also provided a fun little back up story at the beginning of The Gauntlet, and they're best known collaboration is the fantastic Image comic "I Kill Giants". Well here they come back together to weave yet another fantastically heartwarming tale about Pete's good friend Norah, who is apparently leaving New York to go back "home". when she doesn't give Pete the real reason he decides that maybe it's time for Spider-Man to show up and give a hand. Hilarity and heartwarming goodness ensues. While I'm looking forward to the Dan Slott "Big Time" era, it's stories like this that is really going to make me miss the wonderful adventure that was "Brand New Day". Hopefully this isn't the last time we're gonna be seeing Kelly handle Spider-Man because he's been one of my favorite writers on the book in the last year. And then there's Mr. Nimura who has only gotten to do 2 small stories for this book, which makes me sad because his stuff is outstanding. I really look forward to seeing what this team puts out next.

The only grip I have with this issue is that they do one of those cover galleries where all the covers are tiny to the point where you wonder what the point is. I don't want to look at tiny little thumbnails of these covers, I want these things big and beautiful as they should be! Overall, though, this is a great way to send off the "Brand New Day" team and while it's no ASM #600 it's still a great issue.

Speaking of the end of one story before a the beginning of something bigger, Batman and Robin #16 comes out this week and Grant Morrison ends his run on the book with a bang. Bruce Wayne is back and he's ready to lay the hurt onto Dr. Hurt. What's really cool here is that we're getting to see the first interactions between the Dick/Damian Batman and Robin team and Bruce. It doesn't last long because Bruce has to face off with Hurt while Dick and Damian head off to stop Professor Pyg. The two fights are great, with the duties being split between Cameron Stewart and Frazier Irving. While the two styles are definitely very different, both work equally as well as the other. This is a great way to send off this run. Batman Incorporated is just around the corner, which is the next chapter of Morrison's insanely awesome Batman run and we've got Paul Cornell stepping in for three issues on this book before Tomasi and Gleason step in to take over on this book. So I think it goes without saying that big things are coming on this title and that you better get ready for it.

Before we continue with this week, let's travel back in time to the land of last week. Halloween hadn't yet happened, the Giants weren't World Champs yet, and Hellboy and the Beasts of Burden teamed up for what was definitely the best comic of last week. That's right, Mike Mignola, Evan Dorkin, and Jill Thompson have teamed up to bring Dark Horse's best paranormal investigators together and the two go together better than chocolate and peanut butter! This book is scary, funny, creepy, adorable, and ass-kickingly awesome. Hellboy gets lost after helping some Amish people out and ends up in the BoB's world, where the two end up working together to put a stop to an evil soul and the crazy bag lady who is dedicated to bringing him back to life. Oh, and it's all rendered beautifully thanks to Jill Thompson's amazing art. So go out and pick this issue up, because it's great. And when you're done with it, go pick up the Beasts of Burden Hardcover!

Back in the present, Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente continue on their awesome Hercules run with Chaos War #3. Herc has his team of heroes assembled and he's ready to take on the Chaos King and his army of dead gods and heroes. This issue has some really great stuff going on, from Herc getting to share a touching moment with his dad, to the Chaos King getting ever closer to completing his goal of total annihilation of everything. With one issue left to go I can't help but wonder what this story has left in store for us and if this is it for the Pak/Van Lente Hercules extravaganza. It'd be a great way for this run to end no doubt, but these two are tearing it up so well that I'll be sad to see it go.

And that's it for what I have to talk about this week. Still not enough for ya? Well then do yourself a favor and pick up Iron Man/Thor by Abnett and Lanning, Secret Six by Gail Simone, and Strange Tales. As for me, I'm out. See you next week!

THORSDAY, Part Three: THORSDAY EVERYDAY!

Hey kids, guess what time it is! That's right it's time for THE THORSDAY REVIEW OF AWESOMENESS! What's that? "But it can't be Thorsday because Thorsday is a Thursday pun!" GUESS WHAT POOZERS, THORSDAY IS TOO POWERFUL TO BE JUST ONE DAY SO IT TAKES THEM ALL! Friday? THORSDAY! Saturday? THORSDAY! Christmas Day? THORSMAS DAY! So let's stop whining like little babies and man up because it's THOR TIME!

Today we look at Thor #615, which is the start of Matt Fraction's run on the series, which promises to be awesome. And if you look to your right, you'll see the cover for this issue. I really like this cover; Thor's standing in a heroic pose, looking up to the skies as is to signify that we're about to start up the winding road filled with all kinds of awesome adventure. Behind him stands Asgard, surrounded by dark ominous clouds, signifying that the Siege and fall of Asgard is over and it's time to start picking up the pieces. It's a new beginning and this cover does an awesome job of showing us that. It gets me excited and pumped for what's about to come up after it. And I'm glad to say that the content itself does not disappoint.

This first issue is a bit all over the place; We've got an off screen Asgardian talking with a scientist with a warning about the dangers of Asgard being on Earth, sweet little aliens getting decimated by meaner, planet conquering aliens, and Thor reminiscing on Loki before he heads off to give Balder a much needed pep-talk. Still, it manages to be a good start to a promising run on the book. There isn't much action, but Fraction's got some big threads starting here and I'm excited to see where it all goes. And it isn't all action and danger that's good, there's a hilarious little dialog between Thor and Daniel Blake as well as a funny, if not slightly predictable last page reveal. There's also some heartwarming moments, such as Thor's dialog with Balder. This isn't anything new; Fraction's done this same kind of stuff on Invincible Iron Man, but that doesn't stop this from being good.

My one complaint with Fraction's Invincible Iron Man is that the Larroca art is terrible; with Thor I absolutely cannot complain. The art here is awesome; the beautiful little planet of the doomed little aliens, the sheer savagery of the invader aliens, and a gorgeous two page spread of Thor looking over the fallen Asgard are all fantastic examples of Mr. Ferry's outstanding artistic abilities. This book is simply beautiful. Another visual pleasure is that the lettering here looks like it was done by hand. In a day and age where lettering is done on computers, it's kind of nice to see a comic look like it was lettered by hand. It's one of the things I love about Jeff Smith's comics and now it's one of the things I'm going to love about Thor.

If this issue is anything to go by, it looks like Thor is about to go to some very exciting places. If you haven't picked this issue up yet, you're really missing out because this is tied for my pick of the week!

THORSday, Part Two: THOR HARDER

Two Thor comics are out on a Thursday? Looks like it's time to do another THORSDAY DOUBLE REVIEW! That's right, I'm following up my blog post about how I want to do more than just reviews by giving you maggots a DOUBLE REVIEW! That's the power of two reviews and they're multiplied my THE POWER OF THOR! Did you feel that? That was your soul exploding from the sheer awesomeness of the THORSDAY DOUBLE REVIEW MULTIPLIED BY THE POWER OF THOR!

I'll start you off with Thor 614, which is the final chapter in Kieron Gillen's awesome run on the book. Thor is in Hell and he's summoning the Disir (read: zombie viking chicks) to save Tyr and Hela from getting eaten alive. Needless to say, he wins, and the way he does so is pretty damn brutal. Doug Braithwaite just killed it on the art here and for that I can only give my thanks, because this is how a story about Thor adventuring through Hell should look. Overall this was a great end to an overall awesome run. If I ever reread this story again I'm gonna have to put together an awesome Metal playlist so that I can have the proper backgroung music for something of this magnitude (sorry Scott Pilgrim soundtrack, but you just don't work as well for Thor books!)

Meanwhile, Thor: The Mighty Avenger, continues to be the smash hit of the Summer, as well as one of the books I look forward to the most with each new issue. If you're looking for a place to start reading Thor, this is it; it's out of continuity enough that anyone can pick it up and read it, but it's so well crafted that any seasoned comic fan will just fall in love with it.

This issue we find Thor meeting up with his old friends the Warrior Three and they go out drinking. Then hilarity ensues and I mean actual hilarity; there's a scene where Thor and the Warriors Three are fighting this issue's guest star where there's a dog pile that is just pure comedy gold. Aiding it all is Chris Samnee's fantastic art. If you aren't buying this book, you're missing out, because this is easily in the top five best books that Marvel is putting out right now.

So there we have it; THE THORSDAY DOUBLE REVIEW OF THOR-Y GOODNESS, MULTIPLIED BY THE POWER OF THOR! Don't worry, I'm sure your soul can be put back together and even if it can't, go buy some more Thor, you damn Thor junkies!

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!