#bane vc: how could you think this clone was me?

[righteousruin]

today’s bane appreciation hours go to that think in knightfall in which this man can mask his whole presence from both robin and batman but is instinctively aware of the moment the bat takes his mantle back from prison a city over 

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1154

Monday, March 6, 2017

 Another successful Capital Trade Show with my partner Chris yesterday at the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre. Saw a few more folks that I haven't seen for a while stop by our table. The next one is on April 2 and we hope to be there.

 Congratulations to Brent for 32 years of comic book goodness at The Comicshop in Vancouver. He and Keith continue the proud traditions that Ron Norton established and I wish them many more years to come.

 America #1 - Gabby Rivera (writer) Joe Quinones (pencils) Joe Rivera & Paolo Rivera (inks) Jose Villarrubia (colours) Travis Lanham (letters). Marvel is really loading the racks with female heroes these days and the latest to join the ranks with her own solo book is the leader of the Ultimates. I don't read that book so excuse my ignorance about this woman. The last time I saw her was when she was a Young Avengers team member. Gabby starts this off by having America go to college which was very similar to the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1. We do get a peek at her civilian life as America breaks up with her girlfriend before leaving for college. I thought she was a jerk about it and that started me into not liking her much. Then she meets up with an old Young Avengers teammate and a time travel element is added. That's when I said "hasta la vista, baby". I'm not hip enough to enjoy this book but I think the cool kids will like it.

 Savage Things #1 - Justin Jordan (writer) Ibrahim Moustafa (art) Jordan Boyd (colours) Josh Reed (letters). This is more up my ally. A dangerous dark ally where you could be attacked by a government sanctioned homicidal maniac. The flashbacks show us Cain and Abel being recruited as boys and the present shows them exposing the bad guys they used to work for. Both were part of a covert team of killers that did the government's bidding. I want to see what they're up to now.

 Rat Queens #1 - Kurtis J. Wiebe (writer) Owen Gieni (art) Ryan Ferrier (letters). Yay, the Queens are back on the racks. What happened to Violet's beard? Doesn't matter because that great camaraderie that the Queens have is the same as I remember and that's why I like these gals so much. This new adventure has them fighting a giant Canada Goose with amazing powers. Whoa and zut alors, I can't wait to see what happens next.

 Totally Awesome Hulk #1.MU - This Monsters Unleashed! Tie-in has three short stories and the main reason that I grabbed it off the rack to read is because of the first one called "Flawless Victory" is by Bryan Edward Hill (writer) Ty Templeton (art) Mat Lopes (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Ty and I go way back and I always enjoy his work. If you're a comic book geek like me you should check out his blog at https://tytempletonart.wordpress.com/bun-toons/. He posts almost every week and his stories are a lot of fun, just what comics books should be. The second story "Mind Over Monster" by Bryan Edward Hill (writer) Ricardo Lopez Ortiz (art) Rico Renzi (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters) has Hulk saving South Korea from Xemnu, he of the spiral eyes. The last story "Math is Magic" by Leah Williams (writer) Jahnoy Lindsay (art) Esther Sanz (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters) features Maddy Cho trying to find help with fighting the Leviathons that are landing on Earth and destroying everything. Maddy contacts Lady Hellbender the Monster Queen but what the monster collector tells her does not bode well for Earth. I liked how Jahnoy tried to mimic Frank Cho's style when drawing Lady Hellbender.

 Riverdale One Shot - This features four of the Riverdale teens and boy are they different from the old Archie gang. If you haven't watched the TV show on the CW network this might get you to tune in. "Archie" by Brian E. Paterson (writer) Elliot Fernandez (art) Thomas Chu (colours) John Workman (letters) will shock you with the affair with Ms. Grundy that you may have heard about. "Betty" by Britta Lundin (writer) Jim Towe (art) Glenn Whitmore (colours) Janice Chiang (letters) has my guilty crush Ms. Cooper going to L.A. for a summer internship. "Veronica" by James DeWille (writer) Thomas Pitilli (art) Andre Szymanowicz (colours) John Workman (letters) surprised me again because she and her family are Hispanic. "Jughead" by Will Ewing (writer) Alitha Martinez (pencils) Bob Smith (inks) Andre Szymanowicz with Thomas Chu (colours) Janice Chiang (letters) changed my attitude towards Archie's best friend. I won't watch the show because I don't like who they cast as Betty. They had a chance to usurp Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years as my biggest TV Cooper crush but they failed. I would definitely read another comic book about these guys though.

 Royal City #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer & artist) Steve Wands (letters). I really like Jeff's stories. Trillium amazed me with some of the ways Jeff used his art to tell that story. Essex County made me feel very Canadian. Old Man Logan made me care about Wolverine again. Here we have a story about a family with one missing sibling and it's hard to categorize. At first I thought it was a ghost story but it's much more than that. The Pike family seems typical but their brother Tommy makes them unique. This gets added to my "must read" list.

 Doctor Strange #18 - Jason Aaron (writer) Chris Bachalo (pencils & colours) Al Vey, Tim Townsend, John Livesay & Victor Olazaba (inks) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The answer to "where's Wong?" is revealed. This is a team-up with the Mighty Thor and because Jason writes both books he gave Thor another new cool super power to help save lives and made it look natural. It's very far fetched but it's neat that he thought it up. Now the task of saving Wong from the villain Mr Misery starts in earnest.

 Superman #18 - Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason (writers) Patrick Gleason (pencils) Mick Gray (inks) John Kalisz (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Part 1 of "Superman Reborn" gets deeper into two mysteries that have been teasing us since Rebirth started. The other Clark Kent and the hooded guy with the scythe. I really like the new Superman family with Lois and Jon and I hope DC doesn't go back to the single Superman. If they do, I want a new book like Marvel did with Peter, Mary Jane and Annie. I hated when Marvel unmarried Peter and Mary Jane.

 Paper Girls #12 - Brian K. Vaughn (writer) Cliff Chiang (art) Matt Wilson (colours) Jared K. Fletcher (letters). It's handy to have a universal translator. There's got to be an app for that now right?

 Clone Conspiracy Omega - there are three complete stories in this finale to the most recent clone kerfuffle. "Collateral Damage" by Dan Slott & Christos Gage (writers) Cory T. Smith (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) sets Ben Reilly the Scarlet Spider up with his new solo book out April 26 where he chases after himself. Huh? You have to read "Give Us a Wink" by Peter David (writer) Mark Bagley (pencils) John Dell (inks) Jason Keith (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) to find out what I mean. And finally "King's Favor" by Dan Slott (writer) Stuart Immonen (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Richard Isanove (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) sets up the return of Spider-Man's greatest enemy. How are they going to explain that comeback?

 Batman #18 - Tom King (writer) David Finch (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) John Workman (letters). It's good issues like this one that reward me for sticking to a book the I like through some weaker issues. The fight between Batman and Bane juxtaposed with the evolution of each man as they grew older intensified the growing anger of the villain with each page. I can't wait to see the next phase of Batman's plan.

 Hawkeye #4 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Leonardo Romero (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I was thinking about benching this book once this first story arc ended but Kelly snuck in a special guest star right at the end there that made me want to stick around for the next arc. I wasn't really happy with how Kate defeats the super villain but what happens to the guy later made up for the feel good solution.

 Champions #6 - Mark Waid (writer) Humberto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado with Nolan Woodward (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). I thought the Freelancers weren't going to be that bad after teaming up with the Champions last issue but Mark establishes that they are a bunch of douche bags this issue. Wait until you see what these bullies have lined up for the good guys.

 Unstoppable Wasp #3 - Jeremy Whitley (writer) Elsa Charretier (art) Megan Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I really like Nadia's personality and Jarvis is a hoot. I need fun comic books like this to balance all the doom and gloom that's out there on the racks.

 Monsters Unleashed #4 - Cullen Bunn (writer) Salvador Larroca (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Even more super heroes fighting giant space monsters. I know this might be boring for some fans but the kids love it and I loved the art.

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[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1152

Monday, February 20, 2017

 Happy Family Day. Some folks will have this day off but it's too bad that the warm weather has forced the Rideau Canal Skateway to close down. I walked by it yesterday on my urban hike and it was a stretch of puddles. It was a beautiful warm sunny day as I walked home along Bank Street from Waverley to just south of Heron Road lugging a bunch of books that I borrowed from my partner Chris. It was so nice that not even an oblivious driver splashing me head to toe could wipe the smile off of my face for long.

 Gamora #3 - Nicole Perlman (writer) Marco Checchetto (art) Andres Mossa (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Nicole pulls out a deus ex machina to make me want to read the next issue. So now Gamora has something in common with L'Wit, the last member of the Badoon Royal Family. Made me wonder if Gamora will let the princess live. We'll see.

 Super Sons #1 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Jorge Jimenez (art) Alejandro Sanchez (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). I would have called this new book World's Tweenest. I was happy to see this team-up of Damian Wayne/Robin and Jonathan Kent/Superboy hit the racks because I'm a fan of Peter's stint on Batman and Robin. The first two pages piqued my curiosity before showing us what trouble the two boys have gotten themselves into. I was still wondering what those first two pages were about by the time I got to the last page uh-oh moment. I hope this doesn't wind up with Batman and Superman coming to the rescue. That would disappoint me. I really like these two kids and hope they have a long run.

 Cerebus in Hell? #1 - Dave Sim (writer) Gustave Dore (pencils) Dante Alighieri (inks) Sandeep Atwal (colours) Dave Sim (letters). I moved to Vancouver in late 1979 and one of the first comic books that I bought at The Comicshop was Cerebus #1. I remember picking it off the spinner rack and looking at that red cover with Cerebus drawn like Conan by Dave Sim. I sold my copy years later to a kid from Gibsons during the counterfeit Cerebus number ones scams. My big selling point was that it was authentic and probably one of the very few copies that Dave Sim had not autographed. I faithfully read every issue of Cerebus until the book got too political for me even though I loved Dave and Gerhard's art. I never did finish the run. Here we have Cerebus back on the racks forty years after issue #1 hit and Dave uses Gustav's Dante's Inferno prints with Cerebus superimposed to tell some jokes. I kind of snickered once. There are three more issues to come out and I will read those too just to support poor old Dave.

 Mighty Thor #16 - Jason Aaron (writer) Russell Dauterman (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Part two of "The Asgard/Shi'Ar War" had Thor being challenged by the Shi'Ar gods Sharra and K'ythri and the Asgardian Bor being challenged by the Lady Sif. I love the massive scale of Jason's stories in this book. It's befitting a comic book about mythical gods. Russell's art is just beautiful to behold.

 Batwoman #1 - Marguerite Bennett  & James Tynion IV (writer) Steve Epting (art) Jeromy Cox (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). This is a fantastic first issue introducing the hero to fans old and new. If you've been reading the latest Detective Comics you'll already know what Kate Kane is up to but still the last page surprised me. This new Bat book is going on my "must read" list.

 Kill or be Killed #6 - Ed Brubaker (writer) Sean Phillips (art) Elizabeth Breitweiser (colours). Quite a clever way that Ed came up with for Dylan to deal with the surprise of being seen by the police. I like how the dominoes are being set up for them to eventually fall all over Dylan's life.

 Monsters Unleashed #3 - Cullen Bunn (writer) Leinil Francis Yu (pencils) Gerry Alanguilan & Michael Jason Paz (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Well then, that explains everything. We find out why monsters are falling from the sky and given a hint to how the heroes are going to save the planet. The Inhumans play a big part in the plot.

 Batman #17 - Tom King (writer) David Finch (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) John Workman (letters). How the heck did Damian, Dick and Jason wind up there? I hate when stuff isn't explained from one issue to the next. In part 2 of "I Am Bane" Batman finds out that he can't protect everyone he cares for when Bane gets to Gotham City. The bad guy wants the Psycho Pirate back and he will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. This is intense.

 Wild Storm #1 - Warren Ellis (writer) John Davis-Hunt (art) Ivan Plascencia (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). We haven't seen these Wildstorm characters on the racks for quite a while now so it's okay for Warren to take them and make them into something new. I used to be a big fan of Jim Lee's line of comic books so all these people seem familiar but they have been changed enough to make me interested to see how different they are. I would describe this book as corporate warfare. I want to see how the good guys and bad guys shake out so I'm going to keep reading.

 Doctor Strange #17 - Jason Aaron (writer) Frazer Irving (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This is an issue of "Where's Wong?". The inscrutable manservant is missing and the sanctum is in disarray. Poor Steve is worried sick.

 Superman #17 - Peter J. Tomas & Patrick Gleason (writers) Sebastian Fiumara (art) Dave Stewart (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). This is a great one issue story but Superman fans may be disappointed because the big guy isn't in it. Young Jonathan Kent helps his friend Kathy look for her grandpa in Deadman's Swamp. Boston Brand does not show up but something spooky this way comes. I really like Jon and I'm glad they feature him solo every now and then. I don't think that he should have his own book though, but I won't be surprised to see DC put out a Superboy comic book on the racks some day.

 Clone Conspiracy #5 - Dan Slott (writer) Jim Cheung (pencils) John Dell, Jay Leisten & Jim Cheung (inks) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). "Dead No More" ends with some of the bad guys alive no more. Sure as web shootin' Peter and Anna save the day. Now we'll see what the fallout to the Jackal's nefarious scheme will be.

 Invincible Iron Man #4 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Stefano Caselli (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This is a super fantastic all out action issue with Riri and Pepper Potts fighting Tomoe the Techno Golem and her ninjas. The bad guy is an Inhuman who can take over tech and she has control of both girls' armour. This issue goes a mile a minute but it's paced so well that you don't feel like you got ripped off with a five minute read. Stefano draws the best eyes.

 Punisher #9 - Becky Cloonan (writer) Matt Horak (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Here's another comic book where the star is hardly in it. This issue features DEA agent Ortiz and the bad guy Face. I'm excited for the next issue because Frank goes to Canada, our home and native land.

 Spider-Man #13 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Sara Pichelli (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). We find out more about what happened in Spider-Gwen's dimension in "Sitting in a Tree" part 3. The suspense would normally be killing me but Miles is telling the story to Ganke and Fabio so we know that he's okay. I still want to know if he and Earth-65 Gwen have a thing. This is turning out to be a major crossover with Spider-Gwen so I will be reading the next two issues of that book to get the full story. As Brian is fond of making his characters say, "aargg!".