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Drax
19th July 2002, 12:20 PM
Read the comics for the past couple weeks, and have to say I'm somewhat impressed, somewhat disappointed. Uncanny X-Men seems to be going nowhere worthwhile, so I think I'll quit that. I've not read Alias 11 or 12, so I think I'll stop now while I'm out.

I was mostly happy with New X-Men. The new character (Fantamex?) is intriguing, to a point, tho' he's basically a Deadpool without knowledge of guns and with a mindshielding headmask. Nothing too original. The story, tho', is worthwhile. I like the Weapon XII as the villain. I also really liked the comment made about Logan ... "It's Weapon TEN, not X." Pretty cool li'l tidbit that's never before been mentioned, to my knowledge. :D

I'm three issues through Spiderman: Blue (6 issue limited series), which is the story of Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker, using a tape recorder as the plot device through which the story is told. Pretty cool concept. The book is a Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale work, so it should, by default, be decent at least. It's very enjoyable, but not the blockbuster, imo, that Dark Victory was. (Never read Long Halloween or Superman: something for All Seasons (Man for All Seasons? I don't know :roll:), so I cannot compare it to those.)

Last week I read through all four Just a Pilgrim: Garden of Eden books. Too bad the serious is over.... with finality, no less (ie, little chance for further sequels). Very good serious. I enjoyed the 5 issue limited series last year, and this was just as cool.

Lastly, I read through issue 1 of Infinity Abyss, and was disappointed until the last few pages. I missed issue 2 and didn't pick up issue 3 yesterday, since I was just getting around to reading #1. Oopsie. It's a Jim Starlin work, who does space stuff involving Silver Surfer, Adam Warlock, and/or Thanos pretty well, in general. The art is decent to good, the writing a little less so. I read and own all three Infinity trilogies (Gauntlet, War, and Crusade, plus many of the crossovers, tho' less each successive series, and the 2-book PF prequel series). If you've never read Infinity Gauntlet, it's by far one of the coolest series Marvel has ever produced, imo.

Here's the synopsis of Infinity Gaunlet. Thanos learns of six gems in the Universe that, when used together, makes one unto a god. So he gathers all six, creates the Infinity Gauntlet, which contains all six gems, and recreated the universe in his image, all the while trying to impress his perceived true love, Mistress Death. First he eliminates half of the universe's population, and everything spirals from that. In issue 3-4 of the series, all of the Earth's superheroes try to defeat Thanos by taking the Gauntlet from him. (If you've ever wanted to see some of Marvel's greatest die in horrible ways, this is a great book for you, btw. :twisted:) In issue 5, the Universe's protectors and dieties try their luck. Order and Chaos, Eternity, In-Betweener, Avatar, Hate, Galactus, and so on... And fail. Issue 6 is the finale, and quite the finale it is.

If you're at all interested in reading this series, I suggest you first pick up a copy of Thanos Quest (the 2-issue prestige format prequel) and an issue of Silver Surfer #50 (which has a silver-embossed Silver Surfer on the cover, and serves as a direct prequel to the Gauntlet series). Then pick up the tpb of Infinity Gauntlet, and check it out yourself. Very good reading, and the art by Ron Lim is some of his best, if not his best.

Whew. Sorry for the novel. :oops:

Caranthir
19th July 2002, 12:34 PM
The Infinity Gauntlet also features one of the coolest scenes ever in a comic: Captain America, powerless except for his own physical abilities, facing off as the last man standing against Thanos.

That issue showed why Captain America kicks ass.

Drax
19th July 2002, 03:58 PM
Yeah, that was a cool scene. For that matter, I think the whole thing I like most about the series is the spot-on characterization. True, the concept is very cool - what if the most powerful creature in the multiverse was a madman who worships death and Death?

Overpowering the story concept is the fact that each character has motivation for fighting Thanos and talks and acts as you expect them to, as you would love them to. Even those who may not be popular or well-known characters (Nebula or Starfox, for instance).

One of my favorite scenes in the early part of the series is Adam Warlock's conversation with Hulk and Logan, talking about how different they are from the rest of the heroes with their views of life and death and their fearlessness, then asks them if they'd be prepared to kill Thanos if wresting control of the Gauntlet proves too much. Very cool.

Asharad
22nd July 2002, 09:51 AM
I can't remember anything about what I read last week, except that there was a lot of good stuff.

Oh, one thing to not miss- "Y-The Last Man."

In the first issue, every creature with a Y chromosone on the planet dies, except for one guy and his pet monkey. It was great.