Author Archives: Phil

Deadpool #1 — Writer: Daniel Way;  Pencils: Paco Medina;  Inks: Juan Vlasco Secret Invasion tie-in (although, oddly, it’s not given the normal crossover logo on the cover), as Wade plays Bugs Bunny and the Skrulls are just so many green, super-powered Elmer Fudds. Way’s solid on the character, as he demonstrated during his recent Wolverine: Origins guest-shot, so Deadpool fanatics should be pleased; somehow, I’ve never been able to warm up to Deadpool (his breaking of the fourth wall, and invulnerability, make him seem like a Marvelized, more-deadly-but-less-amusing version of Ambush Bug), so, while this was amusing, it wasn’t quite … Continue reading →

The Boys #22 — Writer: Garth Ennis;  Art: Darick Robertson A quiet issue (if they were all plane crashes and heads exploding, it wouldn’t be as much fun), and while most of it’s on the history of Vought-American and The Boys, and their first encounter, the real focus is on Hughie and Annie’s slow-but-steady romance. How Ennis handles these two is going to make or break the whole book — they’re the emotional center, and the viewpoint characters, and their story can be either tragic-but-dramatic or predictable-but-satisfying. The latter is what happened in Preacher (Ennis has a reputation for being … Continue reading →

Marvel Apes #1 (of 4) — Writer: Karl Kesel;  Artist: Ramon Bachs In case you really care, this isn’t about the Marvel heroes turning into monkeys; it’s about Marty Blank — The Gibbon — and a female scientist being accidentally transported to an alternate dimension where everybody was an ape to begin with. Thus, we have Iron Mandrill and Spider-Monkey fighting the likes of Doc Ook and Kong the Conqueror. If those names just made you laugh, congratulations — you’re the target audience for this book. For me, while Kesel’s script and Bachs’s art are cute enough (and good at … Continue reading →

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond 3D #1 (of 2) — Writer: grant Morrison;  Pencils: Doug Mahnke;  Inks: Christian Alamy with Rodney Ramos, Tom Nguyen, Walden Wong and Mahnke Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge #2 (of 3) — Writer: Geoff Johns;  Artist: Scott Kolins DC Universe: Last Will and Testament — Writer: Brad Meltzer;  Pencils: Adam Kubert;  Inks: John Dell and Joe Kubert Unlike Marvel’s Secret Invasion tie-ins, DC’s Crisis mini-series this week are (mostly) worth a look. The Superman Beyond, by Morrison,  is a cosmic adventure-inside-the-adventure wherein Clark is recruited to battle a multiversal disaster, alongside some of his parallel-Earth counterparts like … Continue reading →

The Secret Invasion tie-ins infiltrate most of the Marvel books this week: Nova #16 — Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning;  Pencillers: Wellington Alves and Deraldo Burges;  Inker: Scott Hanna She-Hulk #32 — Writer: Peter David;  Art: Vincenzo Cucca Black Panther #40 — Writer: Jason Aaron;  Artist: Jefte Palo Avengers: The Initiative #16 — Dan Slott and Christos N. Gage;  Art: Stefano Caselli Amazing Spider-Man: Secret Invasion #1 (of 3) — Writer: Brian Reed;  Pencils: Marco Santucci;  Inks: Mark Pennington Thunderbolts #123 — Writer: Christos N. Gage;  Art: Fernando Blanco None of these are particularly crucial to the story, so … Continue reading →