MIGHTY THOR #706 MARVEL COMICS
Do you hear that? That is the sound of a long time comic fan screaming! Here I was just praising Marvel for the honorable death of Jane Foster and *SPOILERS* they bring her back?! WTF?! For a brief moment we get an image of healthy cancer free Jane Foster preparing to enter Valhalla and then Odinson melts an arm off jump starting Jane’s body with mystic lighting?! No way. I call total BS on this one. Obviously, no one at Marvel is a Doctor Who fan and learned the lesson of keeping a companion too long. So thanks to Marvel for continuing the stereotype of death in comics! Bah! I give it a 5 out of 10 Grahams.
TRUE BELIEVERS CAROL DANVERS #1 MARVEL COMICS
Why review a reprint book? In this case it is to prove a valuable point. Read the title (Stupid wrong image!). It doesn’t say Captain Marvel, does it? Nope, before she was Ms. Marvel, Warbird, and Binary, Carol Susan Jane Danvers (No relation to Supergirl) was an Air Force officer who worked side by side with Marvel’s first Captain Marvel! She didn’t have super powers, a cool costume, or a team affiliation. Born from the creative mind of Roy Thomas during what I like to call the “Give Women a Chance” era of Marvel at the end of the late 60’s, Carol could have easily earned her own title (like Lois Lane) had fate taken a different path. With a movie in production and a guest shot in Infinity War (fingers crossed) Carol Danvers has been respectfully representing her female readers in the Marvel Universe for 50 (Yep, count them!) 50 years! (Ok, well maybe not when she would have to faint to turn into Ms. Marvel, oh and that whole Marcus/baby thing.) She was your Dad’s generation heroine. Suck it, millennials!
THE PRISONER #1 TITAN COMICS
The most recent stab at picking up the storyline from the classic television series. Full discloser, I am a big fan of the original show so you really have to raise the stakes to get me to like a new version. The good news is that this type of story is right up Peter Milligan’s street. Agent Breen is a good character fit for the reasoning of the Village. An agent bucking the system who knows too much and refuses to back down from his plans. Reminds me of a certain Secret Agent Man named McGoohan. And using common sense, Milligan’s story doesn’t divert directly into the world of the tv show but does pay it homage with some telling dialog. Not bad for a title that could never make me happy. I give it a 7 out of 10 Grahams.
GI JOE VS THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN #3 IDW/DYNAMITE
Coming into the middle of this title, I thought I might have to go back and read issue 1 and 2. But to tell the truth, I didn’t need to. This is a straight forward GI Joe vs Cobra story. The fact that Cobra is controlling Steve Austin doesn’t really make a lot of difference. Although, a mind controlled Steve spouts way to much evil villain dialog. And while it was nice to see some of the original mini GI Joe characters spotlighted, the appearance of the Action Teams own Mike Powers is the real treat. I did have this action figure back in the early 70’s and to see his comic likeness leap out of the helicopter was quite the flashback. Number of Grahams totally based on the sense of nostalgia. I give it a 7 out of 10 Grahams.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #29 DC COMICS
In what appears to be the final issue of the title, I am really torn. So I’m going to simply present the facts as I see them. Chronos’s new look, hated it. I miss the old Chronos from the guy who turned his obsession with time into a super villain theme. Or the old Chronos from 1998 series. This version is just an Omni-powered doof. Second, I don’t like this whiney Ryan Choi. And to be honest, I’m not sure what he did that defeated Chronos. Third, not a big fan of this AHL character. Now, on the positive end, we have Batman with a beard. The odd collection of heroes is a fine looking group even though I have a hard time calling them the Justice League. The return to Happy Harbor and the next step, in the Justice Foundation all bring a new sense of wonder. And Hugo Petrus’s art style is showcased here (especially in the last 3 pages.) All in all, this could have been a lot worse. I give it a 7 out of 10 Grahams.
EXILES #2 MARVEL COMICS
While still setting up the storyline, this issues seems determined to spotlight and make us love the Thor Ragnarok version of the Valkyrie. We get some plot points elaborated on but not a lot else. At least until you get to the last three pages. Separated from each other with a broken Talisman, issue #3 seems to be when it starts getting good. We’ll see in 30 days. I give it a 5 out of 10 Grahams.
