Thursday, January 31, 2008
My VS cards
So, there was a call on VSRealms for people to make themselves into VS cards for a set. Of course, I am a big fantasy card designer, so I was interested. I had already made a version of myself a while ago, and decided to go with the flow and make a whole bunch based off of my love of Skrulls. If you saw Stu's blog yesterday, you saw that I had made a piece of art for my Skrull Doll card, well, here are the cards. The art itself is not here, but if you really want to see it, just ask.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Comics that I got 1/30
Wednesday, late, but here. Just a warning to people that may care, but I do have spoilers, as it is my rants about the comics.
Ultimate X-Men 90
Basic Plot: Knowing Sinister faked his own death, the X-Men try to track him down before he fulfills his prophecy and kills 10 innocent mutants.
I got Ultimate X-Men vol 9 when I was at a camp a few years ago. I hadn't brought comics, and hadn't read volumes 7 or 8, but it was awesome. I loved how they took a corny villain who I had never liked and made him into a badass killer, who is trying to just kill mutants to bring Apocalypse, who may or may not exist. Well, Robert Kirkman decided to bring him to life. With this issue, Sinister goes after the Morlocks, as he knows there is a community that isn't dedicated to fighting with plenty of innocent mutants he could kill. I do think Robert Kirkman is an amazing writer, and this is no exception. He can make funny, as in Marvel Zombies or Astonishing X-Men, he can write tragedy as in this issue. Sinister just shoots 5 Morlock kids, needing only 6 more to fulfill the prophecy, then when the X-Men try to take him out, he shoots Angel. There is tragedy and murder in this issue, and I forgot that Kirkman wrote it, because it doesn't quite feel like him, even though I do know it is Kirkman. Bishop indirectly kills Angel, by making Dazzler and Storm miss Sinister when trying to take him out, allowing Sinister the leverage he needs to shoot Angel. With Angel dead, Wolverine is tired of Bishop trying to do all these things because he knows the future, allowing things to happen, that probably are better in the long run, but tragic in the short run. So, Wolverine stabs him as he explains that he wanted Sinister to kill 10 people so that they would be prepared for the coming of Apocalypse, who then forms himself out of Sinister's body, appearing on the streets of New York, claiming that it is the time for Apocalypse. Apocalypse is an interesting villain. I both like and dislike him. Certain things, like his rivalry with Cable, and how he is so powerful, I dislike, but when it really comes down to it, I do realize that he is a good villain. He is the kind of person that will being multiple opposing teams together. Yes, that is the plot of X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse which bases its Apocalypse's look after the Apocalypse at the end of Ultimate X-Men vol 9, which is the same Apocalypse at the end of this issue, which is pretty awesome. What are Ultimate Apocalypse's powers, what can he do? Who knows, but I am looking forward to it.
Captain America 34
Basic Plot: The new Cap A is revealed and he fights AIM, as Red Skull starts his evil plan.
Well, the most obvious choice, Bucky/Winter Soldier, is the new Cap. Sigh, I wish they had made it more surprising. I would have preferred Union Jack, as he would be a choice not many would expect and would be awesome. But, no, it is the obvious choice of Bucky, who performs admirably as Cap. He isn't as strong or fast, but still pretty handy with the shield, and also with his gun, which proves that he isn't Steve Rogers, but he doesn't kill, trying to still live up to being Steve. He designed a new costume because he couldn't wear the same one Steve wore, but being Captain America does something to a person. It makes a person stand for not only himself but for his country, and as much as I didn't really like Captain America, I did respect him for many things that he did. He proves he can handle the shield, when he hits someone behind him by bouncing it off of a couple surfaces, although missing people who were in front of him. This made them doubt his skills as Captain America, but he still got the guy, and shot the AIM members. I really like that there is still a Captain America, because Marvel USA really does need a Captain America, even if it isn't Steve Rogers. The other plot was amusing, with Skull's brainwashed agents shooting protesters, which will make SHIELD look really bad.
Avengers: The Initiative 9
Basic Plot: An MVP clone is given the Tactigon and goes crazy. Meanwhile, Taskmaster tries to train his recruits.
I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying that I love this comic because everything goes wrong. This is probably the biggest thing to happen to the series, and I love parts of it. So, the Tactigon is the weapon that Armory had that killed MVP. It hasn't worked for anyone else yet, but they want to try it on MVP. Of course, the Tactigon is sentient, and being the weapon that killed him, it kind of makes him crazy. The Tactigon or the MVP clone goes crazy, finds out who was there when he was killed and goes off to kill them all. He takes out Baron von Blitzschlag pretty easily and then goes off to find everybody else. He claims that he shouldn't follow orders because he isn't alive, he was killed in action. So he calls himself KIA and goes off. He seemingly kills Yellowjacket (I've thought he was dead before, even in this series, but he could have shrunk), kills Thor Girl and then kills Trauma. Yeah, that was kind of bad. He becomes the Tactigon's greatest fear, but not KIA's, so KIA can still take him out. Then, as he goes after the Gauntlet, he discovers the Gauntlet is gone. Not controlling his own body, the Gauntlet goes to the weapon vault and breaks out this weird scorpion-like tail thingy, which starts transforming him into the thing the Tactigon feared. I just love this series. Awesomeness, even as all falls apart.
Mighty Avengers 8
Basic Plot: With the Venom bomb hitting New York, Iron Man tries to find an antidote.
Ah, Bagley symbiotes. I really do like this storyline, although nothing was surprising, since New Avengers already passed this point. I do like the story, but, like I said, I'm already past this point. Um, it was cool, but too late. The Bagley symbiotes were awesome, like always. Too bad he is going to DC exclusively after this stuff.
Ultimate Spider-Man 118
Basic Plot: Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. Everybody has problems, Human Torch and Iceman both go to high school. They go to the beach.
Immonen is something I am still impressed with. I know I shouldn't be as impressed, but I just can't help, but it is different from Bagley and he is the Ultimate Spider-Man artist. I do love that they made Liz into Firestar. Somebody had to be a mutant, and the most mutant-hating person in school was bound to be a mutant. Overall, it was a fun introduction and fairly light, which was needed after how deep "Death of a Goblin" was. I do love how Spidey is so uptight about his identity, especially when talking with Human Torch (no secret ID) and Iceman (no secret ID). Peter, MJ, Kitty, Kenny, Liz, Johnny and Bobby all end up hanging at the beach after school. Then Liz lights herself on fire. I loved the show (even though it was pretty stupid many a time), and I love how this is going.
New Avengers Annual 2
Basic Plot: The Hood tries to get revenge for the New Avengers disrupting his plans.
Awesomeness. Craziness. The Hood is out of his mind. I had no idea he was this cool. When I read Beyond, I kind of was meh towards him. He had guns, could turn invisible? Whatever. This is totally different though, and awesome. He is posessed by a demon, and has other demonic powers, like being able to see through Strange's cloaking spell (powerful enough to have Brother Voodoo be stumped, or at least say he was stumped), and let everybody else see through the spell. Dr. Strange scares me though. After World War Hulk and everything, he has kind of lost it to an extent. His hands were re-crushed and he is losing his control and he thinks too highly of himself, remaking the arrogance that led to him losing his hands in the first place. The fight was pretty darn cool. Plus, Tigra joined in, especially since she was the one who told the Hood (who has threatened not only her life, but her mother's) where the New Avengers were. Oh, and Doc is out. He is no longer with the team. He has to reteach himself and lock away all the dark magics he unleashed that he arrogantly thought he could control. Ms. Marvel let the New Avengers go, again. She really doesn't want to bring them in, and I don't blame her, especially since I am with the New Avengers on this, but she keeps letting them go. Heck, twice this week, in this and in Mighty Avengers.
Ultimate X-Men 90
Basic Plot: Knowing Sinister faked his own death, the X-Men try to track him down before he fulfills his prophecy and kills 10 innocent mutants.
I got Ultimate X-Men vol 9 when I was at a camp a few years ago. I hadn't brought comics, and hadn't read volumes 7 or 8, but it was awesome. I loved how they took a corny villain who I had never liked and made him into a badass killer, who is trying to just kill mutants to bring Apocalypse, who may or may not exist. Well, Robert Kirkman decided to bring him to life. With this issue, Sinister goes after the Morlocks, as he knows there is a community that isn't dedicated to fighting with plenty of innocent mutants he could kill. I do think Robert Kirkman is an amazing writer, and this is no exception. He can make funny, as in Marvel Zombies or Astonishing X-Men, he can write tragedy as in this issue. Sinister just shoots 5 Morlock kids, needing only 6 more to fulfill the prophecy, then when the X-Men try to take him out, he shoots Angel. There is tragedy and murder in this issue, and I forgot that Kirkman wrote it, because it doesn't quite feel like him, even though I do know it is Kirkman. Bishop indirectly kills Angel, by making Dazzler and Storm miss Sinister when trying to take him out, allowing Sinister the leverage he needs to shoot Angel. With Angel dead, Wolverine is tired of Bishop trying to do all these things because he knows the future, allowing things to happen, that probably are better in the long run, but tragic in the short run. So, Wolverine stabs him as he explains that he wanted Sinister to kill 10 people so that they would be prepared for the coming of Apocalypse, who then forms himself out of Sinister's body, appearing on the streets of New York, claiming that it is the time for Apocalypse. Apocalypse is an interesting villain. I both like and dislike him. Certain things, like his rivalry with Cable, and how he is so powerful, I dislike, but when it really comes down to it, I do realize that he is a good villain. He is the kind of person that will being multiple opposing teams together. Yes, that is the plot of X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse which bases its Apocalypse's look after the Apocalypse at the end of Ultimate X-Men vol 9, which is the same Apocalypse at the end of this issue, which is pretty awesome. What are Ultimate Apocalypse's powers, what can he do? Who knows, but I am looking forward to it.
Captain America 34
Basic Plot: The new Cap A is revealed and he fights AIM, as Red Skull starts his evil plan.
Well, the most obvious choice, Bucky/Winter Soldier, is the new Cap. Sigh, I wish they had made it more surprising. I would have preferred Union Jack, as he would be a choice not many would expect and would be awesome. But, no, it is the obvious choice of Bucky, who performs admirably as Cap. He isn't as strong or fast, but still pretty handy with the shield, and also with his gun, which proves that he isn't Steve Rogers, but he doesn't kill, trying to still live up to being Steve. He designed a new costume because he couldn't wear the same one Steve wore, but being Captain America does something to a person. It makes a person stand for not only himself but for his country, and as much as I didn't really like Captain America, I did respect him for many things that he did. He proves he can handle the shield, when he hits someone behind him by bouncing it off of a couple surfaces, although missing people who were in front of him. This made them doubt his skills as Captain America, but he still got the guy, and shot the AIM members. I really like that there is still a Captain America, because Marvel USA really does need a Captain America, even if it isn't Steve Rogers. The other plot was amusing, with Skull's brainwashed agents shooting protesters, which will make SHIELD look really bad.
Avengers: The Initiative 9
Basic Plot: An MVP clone is given the Tactigon and goes crazy. Meanwhile, Taskmaster tries to train his recruits.
I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying that I love this comic because everything goes wrong. This is probably the biggest thing to happen to the series, and I love parts of it. So, the Tactigon is the weapon that Armory had that killed MVP. It hasn't worked for anyone else yet, but they want to try it on MVP. Of course, the Tactigon is sentient, and being the weapon that killed him, it kind of makes him crazy. The Tactigon or the MVP clone goes crazy, finds out who was there when he was killed and goes off to kill them all. He takes out Baron von Blitzschlag pretty easily and then goes off to find everybody else. He claims that he shouldn't follow orders because he isn't alive, he was killed in action. So he calls himself KIA and goes off. He seemingly kills Yellowjacket (I've thought he was dead before, even in this series, but he could have shrunk), kills Thor Girl and then kills Trauma. Yeah, that was kind of bad. He becomes the Tactigon's greatest fear, but not KIA's, so KIA can still take him out. Then, as he goes after the Gauntlet, he discovers the Gauntlet is gone. Not controlling his own body, the Gauntlet goes to the weapon vault and breaks out this weird scorpion-like tail thingy, which starts transforming him into the thing the Tactigon feared. I just love this series. Awesomeness, even as all falls apart.
Mighty Avengers 8
Basic Plot: With the Venom bomb hitting New York, Iron Man tries to find an antidote.
Ah, Bagley symbiotes. I really do like this storyline, although nothing was surprising, since New Avengers already passed this point. I do like the story, but, like I said, I'm already past this point. Um, it was cool, but too late. The Bagley symbiotes were awesome, like always. Too bad he is going to DC exclusively after this stuff.
Ultimate Spider-Man 118
Basic Plot: Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. Everybody has problems, Human Torch and Iceman both go to high school. They go to the beach.
Immonen is something I am still impressed with. I know I shouldn't be as impressed, but I just can't help, but it is different from Bagley and he is the Ultimate Spider-Man artist. I do love that they made Liz into Firestar. Somebody had to be a mutant, and the most mutant-hating person in school was bound to be a mutant. Overall, it was a fun introduction and fairly light, which was needed after how deep "Death of a Goblin" was. I do love how Spidey is so uptight about his identity, especially when talking with Human Torch (no secret ID) and Iceman (no secret ID). Peter, MJ, Kitty, Kenny, Liz, Johnny and Bobby all end up hanging at the beach after school. Then Liz lights herself on fire. I loved the show (even though it was pretty stupid many a time), and I love how this is going.
New Avengers Annual 2
Basic Plot: The Hood tries to get revenge for the New Avengers disrupting his plans.
Awesomeness. Craziness. The Hood is out of his mind. I had no idea he was this cool. When I read Beyond, I kind of was meh towards him. He had guns, could turn invisible? Whatever. This is totally different though, and awesome. He is posessed by a demon, and has other demonic powers, like being able to see through Strange's cloaking spell (powerful enough to have Brother Voodoo be stumped, or at least say he was stumped), and let everybody else see through the spell. Dr. Strange scares me though. After World War Hulk and everything, he has kind of lost it to an extent. His hands were re-crushed and he is losing his control and he thinks too highly of himself, remaking the arrogance that led to him losing his hands in the first place. The fight was pretty darn cool. Plus, Tigra joined in, especially since she was the one who told the Hood (who has threatened not only her life, but her mother's) where the New Avengers were. Oh, and Doc is out. He is no longer with the team. He has to reteach himself and lock away all the dark magics he unleashed that he arrogantly thought he could control. Ms. Marvel let the New Avengers go, again. She really doesn't want to bring them in, and I don't blame her, especially since I am with the New Avengers on this, but she keeps letting them go. Heck, twice this week, in this and in Mighty Avengers.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Justice League-Justice League Unlimited
Craziness prevails. I decided at some point that I wanted to watch every single episode of the Justice League and every single episode of Justice League Unlimited, following Justice League. Why? Who knows, but either way, I decided to do it and was able to succeed.
I understand why they picked Hawkgirl as opposed to Aquaman and John Stewart as opposed to Hal Jordan or Kyle Rayner, but I still disagree. Being politically correct is okay for certain things, but I dislike when everything is changed by PC-ness. The DCAU is not the DCU, but it is supposed to be as close as possible. With that in mind, it is disturbing to me that there are so many things that are different. If they had not tried to make it the Mag 7 (or founding 7-ish), then I wouldn't have cared nearly as much. With them copying the Mag 7, except switching one GL for another and Aquaman for Hawkgirl, they gain a black character and another female character, and make me unhappy.
After getting beyond that, I was then disturbed by that none of the characters except Superman had their weakness. Supes is still vulnerable to kryptonite, but GL isn't weak to yellow at all (which even if it exists that way now, it didn't then) and Martian Manhunter (always called J'onn) isn't weak to fire. Beyond that, none of the characters were quite as powerful as in the DCU. A GL construct can be broken, but it is a lot more dependant upon the GL's willpower than anything else. John Stewart might not have as much willpower as Hal or Alan, but he still has a fair amount of willpower. GL constructs in the show get broken left and right, just because people are super-strong. Hawkgirl is super-strong to an extent, but not as strong as Wonder Woman, or anything like that. Batman has no powers. However, WW might punch somebody, Hawkgirl might swing her mace, and Batman also punches the same person and the exact same thing happens each time, as they get knocked back. What? Oh, and a GL's ring is fairly invulnerable. It takes a lot to actually destroy or even damage a GL ring. Apparently they have been broken before, but I do remember a GL Quarterly issue in which a GL realizes that if he throws his ring into this machine, he can stop it, as the ring won't be destroyed, but will mess up the machinery (which is all yellow before Parallax), and there isn't much else that can stop the machine from destroying some sentient trees. Either way, it is powerful and almost indestructible. However, a Thanagarian, who is fairly strong, but not Superman level of strength is able to chop John's ring in two, destroying it. Oh, and on another note of GL rings, there is some stuff that says they have to be charged every 24 hours, but they don't ever show him charging it. There are many times, where it seems like more than 24 hours would have passed, but his ring still has energy. Also, GL's do say that their rings can only produce so much power, and then can be exhausted and not be able to produce power until they are recharged. However, a GL ring is actually as powerful the second after it is charged as it is the second before 24 hours have passed since the GL charged it. The ring does not get weaker as you use it, just that there is less time before it powers off.
Once I realized that I could just choose to accept that everything is different and that I should not think of it as set in the DCU, I was able to like it more. I see a character and don't assume I know anything about that character. With that, I enjoyed it a lot more. The Question is probably my second favorite character after watching it, followed by Green Arrow. Of course, I love Flash more than any of them, but Question was really good in the series.
-"The little plastic parts at the end of shoelaces are called aglets. Their true purpose is sinister."
-"Supergirl should lay off the spicy snacks before bed."
"Actually, she has peanut butter and banana sandwiches."
"What, do you go through my trash?"
"Please, I go through everyone's trash."
-"Ah, hah! I knew it. 32 flavors."
Everything he said was hilarious. Green Arrow I love because he is based off of his resurrection, which is based off of how he acted in the 70's, although set today. I have liked Green Arrow, as he reminds me of Batman (no powers), but is still able to get by with his arrows and marksmanship. In the Kevin Smith resurrection, he took out The Demon with his fire-extinguisher arrow. That just makes me respect him a lot more. He plays a major part in Identity Crisis, and I just respect him a lot.
Flash I have loved for a while. If you ask me what super power I want, it is super speed. Flash and other people have made me love super speed. He doesn't come up much as a powerful hero, but it comes up a couple times. The first time is when Luthor and Brainiac merge. After he has taken out the Justice League, Flash runs around the world to get power for his punches. Then he is able to punch quickly enough and shred all of Brainiac off of Luthor. He moves fast enough that he realizes there is the Speed Force, although he also realizes that if he runs that fast again, he'll be sucked into the Speed Force forever and never come back again. The second time is when Flash and Luthor switch bodies. Luthor, in Flash's body, proves why super speed is so amazing. He takes out almost everybody on the Watchtower, some people multiple times, as he tries to get away. Dr. Fate, John Stewart, even Supergirl I noticed for a short time, but he takes them all on, and wins, until Mr. Terrific turns off the gravity, and as Flash tries to get back to the ground, he turns it back on, knocking Flash out. Flash is powerful enough that if he tried hard enough, he could take out most of the League by himself. Plus, his one-liners in the show are the stuff of legends.
All in all, once you get past that it is not the DCU and that you can make no assumptions about anything, you get a pretty fun show that tries to get deep at times, and is somewhat successful.
I understand why they picked Hawkgirl as opposed to Aquaman and John Stewart as opposed to Hal Jordan or Kyle Rayner, but I still disagree. Being politically correct is okay for certain things, but I dislike when everything is changed by PC-ness. The DCAU is not the DCU, but it is supposed to be as close as possible. With that in mind, it is disturbing to me that there are so many things that are different. If they had not tried to make it the Mag 7 (or founding 7-ish), then I wouldn't have cared nearly as much. With them copying the Mag 7, except switching one GL for another and Aquaman for Hawkgirl, they gain a black character and another female character, and make me unhappy.
After getting beyond that, I was then disturbed by that none of the characters except Superman had their weakness. Supes is still vulnerable to kryptonite, but GL isn't weak to yellow at all (which even if it exists that way now, it didn't then) and Martian Manhunter (always called J'onn) isn't weak to fire. Beyond that, none of the characters were quite as powerful as in the DCU. A GL construct can be broken, but it is a lot more dependant upon the GL's willpower than anything else. John Stewart might not have as much willpower as Hal or Alan, but he still has a fair amount of willpower. GL constructs in the show get broken left and right, just because people are super-strong. Hawkgirl is super-strong to an extent, but not as strong as Wonder Woman, or anything like that. Batman has no powers. However, WW might punch somebody, Hawkgirl might swing her mace, and Batman also punches the same person and the exact same thing happens each time, as they get knocked back. What? Oh, and a GL's ring is fairly invulnerable. It takes a lot to actually destroy or even damage a GL ring. Apparently they have been broken before, but I do remember a GL Quarterly issue in which a GL realizes that if he throws his ring into this machine, he can stop it, as the ring won't be destroyed, but will mess up the machinery (which is all yellow before Parallax), and there isn't much else that can stop the machine from destroying some sentient trees. Either way, it is powerful and almost indestructible. However, a Thanagarian, who is fairly strong, but not Superman level of strength is able to chop John's ring in two, destroying it. Oh, and on another note of GL rings, there is some stuff that says they have to be charged every 24 hours, but they don't ever show him charging it. There are many times, where it seems like more than 24 hours would have passed, but his ring still has energy. Also, GL's do say that their rings can only produce so much power, and then can be exhausted and not be able to produce power until they are recharged. However, a GL ring is actually as powerful the second after it is charged as it is the second before 24 hours have passed since the GL charged it. The ring does not get weaker as you use it, just that there is less time before it powers off.
Once I realized that I could just choose to accept that everything is different and that I should not think of it as set in the DCU, I was able to like it more. I see a character and don't assume I know anything about that character. With that, I enjoyed it a lot more. The Question is probably my second favorite character after watching it, followed by Green Arrow. Of course, I love Flash more than any of them, but Question was really good in the series.
-"The little plastic parts at the end of shoelaces are called aglets. Their true purpose is sinister."
-"Supergirl should lay off the spicy snacks before bed."
"Actually, she has peanut butter and banana sandwiches."
"What, do you go through my trash?"
"Please, I go through everyone's trash."
-"Ah, hah! I knew it. 32 flavors."
Everything he said was hilarious. Green Arrow I love because he is based off of his resurrection, which is based off of how he acted in the 70's, although set today. I have liked Green Arrow, as he reminds me of Batman (no powers), but is still able to get by with his arrows and marksmanship. In the Kevin Smith resurrection, he took out The Demon with his fire-extinguisher arrow. That just makes me respect him a lot more. He plays a major part in Identity Crisis, and I just respect him a lot.
Flash I have loved for a while. If you ask me what super power I want, it is super speed. Flash and other people have made me love super speed. He doesn't come up much as a powerful hero, but it comes up a couple times. The first time is when Luthor and Brainiac merge. After he has taken out the Justice League, Flash runs around the world to get power for his punches. Then he is able to punch quickly enough and shred all of Brainiac off of Luthor. He moves fast enough that he realizes there is the Speed Force, although he also realizes that if he runs that fast again, he'll be sucked into the Speed Force forever and never come back again. The second time is when Flash and Luthor switch bodies. Luthor, in Flash's body, proves why super speed is so amazing. He takes out almost everybody on the Watchtower, some people multiple times, as he tries to get away. Dr. Fate, John Stewart, even Supergirl I noticed for a short time, but he takes them all on, and wins, until Mr. Terrific turns off the gravity, and as Flash tries to get back to the ground, he turns it back on, knocking Flash out. Flash is powerful enough that if he tried hard enough, he could take out most of the League by himself. Plus, his one-liners in the show are the stuff of legends.
All in all, once you get past that it is not the DCU and that you can make no assumptions about anything, you get a pretty fun show that tries to get deep at times, and is somewhat successful.
Monday, January 28, 2008
UDE Points Store
I just got my X-Men Assemble! that I ordered from the UDE Points store today. The way I do things, I order only a single card each from the Points store because I like trying to have a set. Do I always get that set? No, but I try with the limited resources I have. I understand that there were fires and that shipping was delayed, but by this much? Come on! Their shipping method amuses me. I do have to ask a question to other people who have bought stuff from the points store. When you ordered your stuff, how many did you order? If you ordered more than one of the same thing, did all of them come in individual packages or all as one package? Because I order one of each, I occasionally (recently, it has been pretty good) get a package containing a single card. There was a lot more space, but I got stuck with my single card, while all the others come at different times. To me, that doesn't make much sense. I think I know what they are doing, though. They are putting together lists of "How many X-Men Assemble! did Person X order?" Then, they ship those. After that, "How many Apocalypse did Person X order?" Then, they ship those. Sure, if all you ordered was 10 X-Men Assemble!, then you're fine. Meanwhile, the person who ordered a single copy of each available card gets screwed with package after package. How many cards can each of those packages I get hold? Because I think the way they do things should be to look at a person's order, and fulfill as much of it as possible in groups of however many cards they want to fit into that package.
Then again, maybe I'm just cranky because the only way I can get MAA cards or cards like them is through the UDE Points store and it gets really expensive. A box and a pack to get a single rare? Come on!. I love the idea of having special cards that you can get through tournaments and then putting them up for sale in the Points store, but I really don't want to spend $60+ to get a copy of Thank Granny Goodness. My suggestion to UDE, take it or leave it, is that you also offer those cards to be bought with actual money. 2 bucks a common, 4 an uncommon and 6 for a rare or something like that. I don't have tournaments near me, so I can't get the cards any other way, unless I want to go online and buy stuff from eBay, but that has not proven to me to be reliable. The idea is great, but I don't think it works that well, or at least not for me.
Then again, maybe I'm just cranky because the only way I can get MAA cards or cards like them is through the UDE Points store and it gets really expensive. A box and a pack to get a single rare? Come on!. I love the idea of having special cards that you can get through tournaments and then putting them up for sale in the Points store, but I really don't want to spend $60+ to get a copy of Thank Granny Goodness. My suggestion to UDE, take it or leave it, is that you also offer those cards to be bought with actual money. 2 bucks a common, 4 an uncommon and 6 for a rare or something like that. I don't have tournaments near me, so I can't get the cards any other way, unless I want to go online and buy stuff from eBay, but that has not proven to me to be reliable. The idea is great, but I don't think it works that well, or at least not for me.
Friday, January 25, 2008
And now for something completely different...
Now, I read the post on Carlos's blog today about his favorite comic moments of all time. Well, I figured that would be a good thing to do as well. You probably already know some of my favorites, so I am doing something different. I am going to pick storylines I like, and go over how VS has made them playable. Shall we begin?
I figured I would start out with something easy for me to do, but then realized this would be difficult. Meh, let's start with Dark Phoenix Saga.
Plot summary: First, Shadowcat and Dazzler are discovered. The X-Men go in teams to try and recruit them and are confronted by Hellfire Club members. Shadowcat is also recruited by Emma Frost, White Queen, who is able to take out Wolverine, Storm and Colossus, taking them prisoner, while Shadowcat discovered that she could phase, getting away. Meanwhile, Dazzler is attacked by Hellfire Club robot-things, and Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Phoenix go to her rescue. They save her and learn about the rest of the X-Men being captured. Then, they go after the White Queen, resulting in Shadowcat helping to break the captured X-Men out, and Phoenix going up against White Queen, easily defeating her. The X-Men triumph and go home. They do realize that the Hellfire Club could be a threat, so they go to Angel, who has money, in order to get into the Club. Then, it is revealed that Angel is actually a member (OMG!), but has no idea what the X-Men are talking about. Still, they venture off to fight the Hellfire Club, with Storm and Colossus going in, and Cyclops and Phoenix going in later, both just going as guests of the Club, looking for fun. Wolverine and Nightcrawler decide to take a different approach and go through the sewers. Once Wolverine and Nightcrawler get there though, they are attacked by Donald Pierce and Harry Leland. Pierce strangles Nightcrawler into unconsciousness, while Leland increases Wolverine's weight to make him collapse, although, with Wolverine's skeleton, he crashes through the floor, landing in a water filled tunnel, being swept away. Meanwhile, up above, Jason Wyngarde, Mastermind, takes control of Phoenix, like he had before, and dances her away from Scott, leading her upstairs, where she then takes out Cyclops. Storm and Colossus hear the noise, rush upstairs, where they are confronted by Sebastian Shaw, who takes some punches from Colossus before taking him out, and then taking out Storm, after she tries to flee. The issue ends with them being happy and Wolverine wanting to take them all out. Then, Wolverine busts in, working his way to where the Inner Sanctum is happily discussing their defeat of the X-Men, gloating away with Phoenix, who believes they are in the times of the Revolutionary War, where the X-Men are traitors to the British Empire. Cyclops tries to free Phoenix through their psychic link, although is met with Wyngarde, who takes Cyclops out, killing him in the mind, and almost killing him in real life. This shock frees Phoenix, who waits until Wolverine distracts everyone, and then frees the X-Men, who then take out the Hellfire Club. Phoenix confronts Wyngarde, who is trying to run away. She makes him one with the universe, making him insane. As they run away, and flee into the night, Phoenix then recites the exact same line as when she became Phoenix, except that this time, she blows up their jet, and changing into a Dark version of the Phoenix. "Hear me, X-Men! No longer am I the woman you kne!. I am fire! And life incarnate! Now and forever- I am Phoenix!" As they crash over Central Park, the X-Men have to face Dark Phoenix, who crushes them, and then flies away into space. In space, she goes off, is hungry, eats a sun, killing the D'Bari (obscure aliens from Avengers 4), and then destroying a Shi'ar vessel before returning to Earth, where the X-Men have been preparing. Beast rejoined with the X-Men and attaches a device that was supposed to neutralize Phoenix's power long enough for her to be defeated. Unfortunately, they cannot, and they are all captured by Dark Phoenix. Then, Professor X confronts Dark Phoenix, and they have a battle on the Astral Plane, and fight for a while, until ultimately, Xavier wins, with the help of Jean Grey who is fighting Dark Phoenix as well. Phoenix is supposed to have left Jean's body, and Cyclops holds her. Then, the X-Men, consisting of Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Wolverine, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey took her yellow and green Marvel Girl costume for the upcoming fight), Storm, Beast and Angel all get abducted by the Shi'ar who have decided that Phoenix must die. Professor X challenges the Shi'ar to Arin'n Haelar, a Shi'ar duel of honor, which Shi'ar have to accept. This means the X-Men have to fight the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, who have a lot of random members. They get taken to the Blue Area of the Moon, where there is less gravity, although still a fair amount, and air to breathe. After a long battle, in which the Kree and Skrull interfere and help to take out the X-Men, only Marvel Girl and Cyclops are left. When Cyclops is hit, Marvel Girl panics and becomes Phoenix again. The X-Men and Imperial Guard fight her and Wolverine preforms a fastball special, throwing Colossus at Jean, who gets distracted and realizes that she should not live, so she goes and takes an alien gun and shoots herself, dying on the moon.
Whew, that was long. Any questions about it can be asked. Anyway, here are some cards that I feel make Dark Phoenix Saga playable:
(These are in no particular order)
Mastermind, Illusion Control (MXS-019)
Look at the art, and you'll understand.
Army of One (MXM-152)
This exact scene is from Dark Phoenix Saga, including the flavor text.
Dark Phoenix, Alien Life Force (MXM-128)
Come on, obvious much?
Dark Phoenix, Cosmic Entity (MOR-164)
Again, really obvious.
Harry's Hideaway (MXM-030)
When the X-Men first meet Shadowcat, they take her to an ice cream place, apparently called Harry's Hideaway. Yay, fun!
Mind Control (MXM-175)
Again, it is representing Wyngarde controlling Phoenix.
Psychic Struggle (MXM-179)
When Jean takes on Emma and crushes her.
Alter Density (MXM-191)
Whee, Wolverine smashing through the floor!
Mindtap Mechanism (MXM-198)
Man, they are obsessed with that image aren't they?
Jean Grey, Phoenix Force (MOR-014 and MVL-017)
Well, you can't have Dark Phoenix without Phoenix. Plus, one of the more flavorful cards of the first set.
Spider-Senses (MSM-012)
What? Why would this be here? Because when Dark Phoenix went crazy, all these beings felt it, including Spider-Man's Spider-Sense going crazy, Doc Strange noticing some stuff, scientists (I think) noticing weird stuff and Silver Surfer all noticing Phoenix going crazy. That's why.
Bamf! (MSM-109)
When they were attacking the Hellfire Club, Nightcrawler bamfed around, just like on the card, especially how he is taking out Hellfire Club goons.
Blue Area of the Moon (MHG-116)
It's where they fought, and where Jean sacrificed herself. 'Nuff said?
Intergalactic Summit (MHG-203)
When Dark Phoenix destroyed D'Bari, then the Shi'ar and everybody got together to discuss destroying Phoenix.
If you disagree with any of these, let me know. If you think any cards should be added, let me know. Basically, anything you want to say, let me know.
I figured I would start out with something easy for me to do, but then realized this would be difficult. Meh, let's start with Dark Phoenix Saga.
Plot summary: First, Shadowcat and Dazzler are discovered. The X-Men go in teams to try and recruit them and are confronted by Hellfire Club members. Shadowcat is also recruited by Emma Frost, White Queen, who is able to take out Wolverine, Storm and Colossus, taking them prisoner, while Shadowcat discovered that she could phase, getting away. Meanwhile, Dazzler is attacked by Hellfire Club robot-things, and Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Phoenix go to her rescue. They save her and learn about the rest of the X-Men being captured. Then, they go after the White Queen, resulting in Shadowcat helping to break the captured X-Men out, and Phoenix going up against White Queen, easily defeating her. The X-Men triumph and go home. They do realize that the Hellfire Club could be a threat, so they go to Angel, who has money, in order to get into the Club. Then, it is revealed that Angel is actually a member (OMG!), but has no idea what the X-Men are talking about. Still, they venture off to fight the Hellfire Club, with Storm and Colossus going in, and Cyclops and Phoenix going in later, both just going as guests of the Club, looking for fun. Wolverine and Nightcrawler decide to take a different approach and go through the sewers. Once Wolverine and Nightcrawler get there though, they are attacked by Donald Pierce and Harry Leland. Pierce strangles Nightcrawler into unconsciousness, while Leland increases Wolverine's weight to make him collapse, although, with Wolverine's skeleton, he crashes through the floor, landing in a water filled tunnel, being swept away. Meanwhile, up above, Jason Wyngarde, Mastermind, takes control of Phoenix, like he had before, and dances her away from Scott, leading her upstairs, where she then takes out Cyclops. Storm and Colossus hear the noise, rush upstairs, where they are confronted by Sebastian Shaw, who takes some punches from Colossus before taking him out, and then taking out Storm, after she tries to flee. The issue ends with them being happy and Wolverine wanting to take them all out. Then, Wolverine busts in, working his way to where the Inner Sanctum is happily discussing their defeat of the X-Men, gloating away with Phoenix, who believes they are in the times of the Revolutionary War, where the X-Men are traitors to the British Empire. Cyclops tries to free Phoenix through their psychic link, although is met with Wyngarde, who takes Cyclops out, killing him in the mind, and almost killing him in real life. This shock frees Phoenix, who waits until Wolverine distracts everyone, and then frees the X-Men, who then take out the Hellfire Club. Phoenix confronts Wyngarde, who is trying to run away. She makes him one with the universe, making him insane. As they run away, and flee into the night, Phoenix then recites the exact same line as when she became Phoenix, except that this time, she blows up their jet, and changing into a Dark version of the Phoenix. "Hear me, X-Men! No longer am I the woman you kne!. I am fire! And life incarnate! Now and forever- I am Phoenix!" As they crash over Central Park, the X-Men have to face Dark Phoenix, who crushes them, and then flies away into space. In space, she goes off, is hungry, eats a sun, killing the D'Bari (obscure aliens from Avengers 4), and then destroying a Shi'ar vessel before returning to Earth, where the X-Men have been preparing. Beast rejoined with the X-Men and attaches a device that was supposed to neutralize Phoenix's power long enough for her to be defeated. Unfortunately, they cannot, and they are all captured by Dark Phoenix. Then, Professor X confronts Dark Phoenix, and they have a battle on the Astral Plane, and fight for a while, until ultimately, Xavier wins, with the help of Jean Grey who is fighting Dark Phoenix as well. Phoenix is supposed to have left Jean's body, and Cyclops holds her. Then, the X-Men, consisting of Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Wolverine, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey took her yellow and green Marvel Girl costume for the upcoming fight), Storm, Beast and Angel all get abducted by the Shi'ar who have decided that Phoenix must die. Professor X challenges the Shi'ar to Arin'n Haelar, a Shi'ar duel of honor, which Shi'ar have to accept. This means the X-Men have to fight the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, who have a lot of random members. They get taken to the Blue Area of the Moon, where there is less gravity, although still a fair amount, and air to breathe. After a long battle, in which the Kree and Skrull interfere and help to take out the X-Men, only Marvel Girl and Cyclops are left. When Cyclops is hit, Marvel Girl panics and becomes Phoenix again. The X-Men and Imperial Guard fight her and Wolverine preforms a fastball special, throwing Colossus at Jean, who gets distracted and realizes that she should not live, so she goes and takes an alien gun and shoots herself, dying on the moon.
Whew, that was long. Any questions about it can be asked. Anyway, here are some cards that I feel make Dark Phoenix Saga playable:
(These are in no particular order)
Mastermind, Illusion Control (MXS-019)
Look at the art, and you'll understand.
Army of One (MXM-152)
This exact scene is from Dark Phoenix Saga, including the flavor text.
Dark Phoenix, Alien Life Force (MXM-128)
Come on, obvious much?
Dark Phoenix, Cosmic Entity (MOR-164)
Again, really obvious.
Harry's Hideaway (MXM-030)
When the X-Men first meet Shadowcat, they take her to an ice cream place, apparently called Harry's Hideaway. Yay, fun!
Mind Control (MXM-175)
Again, it is representing Wyngarde controlling Phoenix.
Psychic Struggle (MXM-179)
When Jean takes on Emma and crushes her.
Alter Density (MXM-191)
Whee, Wolverine smashing through the floor!
Mindtap Mechanism (MXM-198)
Man, they are obsessed with that image aren't they?
Jean Grey, Phoenix Force (MOR-014 and MVL-017)
Well, you can't have Dark Phoenix without Phoenix. Plus, one of the more flavorful cards of the first set.
Spider-Senses (MSM-012)
What? Why would this be here? Because when Dark Phoenix went crazy, all these beings felt it, including Spider-Man's Spider-Sense going crazy, Doc Strange noticing some stuff, scientists (I think) noticing weird stuff and Silver Surfer all noticing Phoenix going crazy. That's why.
Bamf! (MSM-109)
When they were attacking the Hellfire Club, Nightcrawler bamfed around, just like on the card, especially how he is taking out Hellfire Club goons.
Blue Area of the Moon (MHG-116)
It's where they fought, and where Jean sacrificed herself. 'Nuff said?
Intergalactic Summit (MHG-203)
When Dark Phoenix destroyed D'Bari, then the Shi'ar and everybody got together to discuss destroying Phoenix.
If you disagree with any of these, let me know. If you think any cards should be added, let me know. Basically, anything you want to say, let me know.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Beast Boy Legend Deck
Okay, so I want to make a deck featuring Beast Boy as my legend. To do this, I am making it a Doom Patrol deck. I could have done Teen Titans, although I like +1/+1 counters too much. Since Doom Patrol is not a good team on its own (1 of each character through 6 is not enough), I did team-up with Titans, especially since my main 3-drop is a Titan. Anyway, here is the deck list. Any comments and suggestions would be helpful.
Garfield Logan lives!
4 Elasti-Girl, Rita Farr
4 Argent, Toni Monetti
1 The Chief, Niles Caulder
4 Beast Boy, Garfield Logan
2 Mento, Steve Dayton
4 Negative Man, Larry Trainor
2 Zatara, Teen Magician
4 Robotman, Cliff Steele
2 Raven, Demon Spawn
4 Beast Boy, Freak of Nature
4 Call of the Wild
3 Headstrong Charge
4 Misfits
4 Freak Out
4 Heroic Effort
2 Strange Days
1 Heroes of Two Worlds
4 Total Recall, Team-Up
3 Dayton Manor
Garfield Logan lives!
4 Elasti-Girl, Rita Farr
4 Argent, Toni Monetti
1 The Chief, Niles Caulder
4 Beast Boy, Garfield Logan
2 Mento, Steve Dayton
4 Negative Man, Larry Trainor
2 Zatara, Teen Magician
4 Robotman, Cliff Steele
2 Raven, Demon Spawn
4 Beast Boy, Freak of Nature
4 Call of the Wild
3 Headstrong Charge
4 Misfits
4 Freak Out
4 Heroic Effort
2 Strange Days
1 Heroes of Two Worlds
4 Total Recall, Team-Up
3 Dayton Manor
Comics for the week of 1/23
First off, I want to apologize for being late. My current Wednesday schedule is incredibly hectic and it is a miracle I can get anything done. Hopefully, I will continue to update this with my current comic load on Wednesday, but don't be surprised if I can't make it fit and I have to double post on Thursday.
Blue Beetle 23
Basic Plot: Blue Beetle attempts to expose the Reach for who they really are.
For those of you not in the know, the Reach are the aliens who created Blue Beetle's armor and scarab. They are ancient enemies of the Green Lantern Corps and they arrived on Earth, saying they want peace, when Blue Beetle knows they really want war and to kill everybody. With that in mind, Blue Beetle goes off on one of his most interesting journeys of all. I really like this issue. The Reach is panicking and Jaime just makes everything worse. Now, then end is a little harsh and annoying, but hopefully he'll pull through. He isn't stupid, and is in fact rather clever. He is able to make 3 versions of hiumself appear almost simultaneously, pulling Reach World Rippers into 3-space. When the Reach has to simultaneously destroy all three World Rippers, Jaime is able to triangulate and find their ship and take the fight to them. Unfortunately, it doesn't go as planned, but it is still really good.
Ultimate Fantastic Four 50
Basic Plot: The Cosmic Cube Reed created is sought after by the Halycon.
What you say? Basically, Reed created a Cosmic Cube which basically can make Reed do whatever he wants. The Halycon fight Thanos and the Acheron empire, who are bad. Thanos once had a Cosmic Cube. He wants another one. The Halycon don't want the possibility of him ever possessing one again. It is pretty amusing, as Reed has limitless abilities at the moment. Unfortunately, he does have limits and therefore, he isn't all powerful. It is rather amusing, but I readlly didn't like God War, the first time they introduced the Halycon and Thanos, so I don't have high hopes for this. The issue is amusing, but not good. I don't know how to explain it better.
Nova 10
Basic Plot: Nova and Gamora try and fight their way out of something.
Yes, I know this came out a couple weeks ago. For some reason, I wasn't able to get it then, but got it yesterday. Anyway, the stories involving Nova are pretty much only good when dealing with a cosmic event, as far as my taste is concerned. He's fighting the Phalanx inside himself the entire time, while also fighting Gamora who is a Phalanx select and the inside of a wormhole beast-ish thingy. It is kind of complex and pretty far-fetched. I think that all in all, it is pretty good, but that Nova is really only good when in the cosmic events or dealing with the aftermath of them. This story and the couple before just aren't as good as they probably could have been and just leave a lot to be desired. Is it good? It's okay, but not brilliant.
Ultimate Iron Man II 2
Basic Plot: Tony tries to protect and exonerate his father with weirdness and stuff happening.
Well, I like Orson Scott Card, ann am okay with Pasqual Ferry. Not my favorite artist, but whatever. The story is pretty good, although confusing. I do like Tony in this manner and all in all, it is fun. I just don't know fully though. Meh, I guess we'll see. It mainly confuses me because I don't know what half of the things that the people are talking about are, and I think that is intentional. It sounds all convoluted and everything and is an amusing story, although, as I said, we'll see where it goes. Sigh...
Ultimates 3 #2
Basic Plot: The Brotherhood comes for Scarlet Witch's body.
Um, what? In case you didn't know, I loved Ultimates and Ultimates 2. Ultimates 2 is my favorite storyline of all time. Ultimates is my second favorite. Ultimates 3 #1 was something I was looking forward to a lot and I was incredibly disappointed. If it weren't for Ultimates and Ultimates 2, I would never have picked up this issue. I want this to be better. I really do. It just isn't. This issue is better than the previous issue, maybe because I have lower standards, and so meeting those was good enough. Maybe because I am more used to the art by now and am more used to just not expecting to know anything. This one does make more sense and is better, although it is not nearly as good as Ultimates. Oh well. We'll see how this turns out also. Hopefully better than how it is now.
Amazing Spider-Man 548
Basic Plot: Spidey tries to save a bunch of kids.
Well, honestly, I can say that I like the story. Do I like why the story exists, as part of Brand New Day? No. I sincerely dislike, maybe even hate the reason behind Brand New Day. It's a cop out and, you know what, I sound lile a broken record. Whatever. Anyway, I am digging the story and hope that it continues to be good, even if I do hate the reasons behind it. 'Nuff said?
Mighty Avengers 7
Basic Plot: Spider-Woman goes to Tony with Elektra-Skrull and eventually a Venom Bomb hits New York City.
First off, Bendis and Bagley together again. After 110 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man together, you'd think they would be sick fo each other, but no. Now, I love Bagley and his art, but unfortunately, I saw the previews for March and Mighty Avengers 11 has the text, "Marvel Comics says sayonara to longtime penciler Mark Bagley with this bombastic storyline!" Unfortunately, he is leaving Marvel. He drew Spider-Man for a long time, even before Ultimate Spider-Man, and it is sad that he is leaving. He could draw symbiotes like no one else. How appropriate that his last arc is one with lots of symbiotes. Anyway, this issue was pretty good and I do like that Mighty Avengers is trying to catch up to where it should be after Civil War (around issue 9 or so, as opposed to 7). The Venom bomb is amusing and should be great with Bagley art.
Astonishing X-Men 24
Basic Plot: The X-Men try to stop the Breakworld from launching its missile at Earth.
Cyclops has my attention. He has his powers back and under control. Awesomeness. Whedon and Cassady are amazing, astonishing even, and this is the perfect end to their run on Astonishing X-Men. Well, there is still the Giant Size which has the conclusion to this storyline, but it is fairly awesome all in all. Spoilers, like you care, but the missile is no missile, but a bullet. A giant fraking bullet that is aimed at Earth and then launched. At the speed and size of the bullet, it probably would destroy Earth. Like I said, this is pretty cool stuff. I really like Astonishing X-Men and think it is amazing. This is not proving me wrong at all. WOOT! Almost no action, but still an awesome comic. Not many comics have done that for me. This one does. Well, looking forward to the end.
Marvel Zombies 2 #4
Basic Plot: T'Challa and the rest have a plan to do something. Hopefully, they'll succeed.
Well, first off, I know that it says Marvel Zombies 2 #3 on the pic, but that is what issue 4 is. Issue 3 had the Iron Man pic that was supposed to be on 4. Whatever. Anyway, this was another great issue by Kirkman. I really love the zombies and their plan and how it fails and how everything is messy and I just love it. What happens in the story? A lot. Is it confusing? You bet. Does it work all in all? Uh huh. Awesomeness in Marvel Zombies 2 #4. Who cares about spoilers. You know that you don't. Apparently, at the end, Hank is no longer hungry. He is about to eat T'Challa's wife, but he realizes that he is no longer hungry. Considering all he's eaten, I'm not surprised in the least, but the hunger does fade naturally, and I believe that they have just been eating for too long and didn't realize they weren't hungry any more. Oh well. I have no idea what issue 5 will bring, but it better be good. What am I saying? Robert Kirkman, I believe in you.
Blue Beetle 23
Basic Plot: Blue Beetle attempts to expose the Reach for who they really are.
For those of you not in the know, the Reach are the aliens who created Blue Beetle's armor and scarab. They are ancient enemies of the Green Lantern Corps and they arrived on Earth, saying they want peace, when Blue Beetle knows they really want war and to kill everybody. With that in mind, Blue Beetle goes off on one of his most interesting journeys of all. I really like this issue. The Reach is panicking and Jaime just makes everything worse. Now, then end is a little harsh and annoying, but hopefully he'll pull through. He isn't stupid, and is in fact rather clever. He is able to make 3 versions of hiumself appear almost simultaneously, pulling Reach World Rippers into 3-space. When the Reach has to simultaneously destroy all three World Rippers, Jaime is able to triangulate and find their ship and take the fight to them. Unfortunately, it doesn't go as planned, but it is still really good.
Ultimate Fantastic Four 50
Basic Plot: The Cosmic Cube Reed created is sought after by the Halycon.
What you say? Basically, Reed created a Cosmic Cube which basically can make Reed do whatever he wants. The Halycon fight Thanos and the Acheron empire, who are bad. Thanos once had a Cosmic Cube. He wants another one. The Halycon don't want the possibility of him ever possessing one again. It is pretty amusing, as Reed has limitless abilities at the moment. Unfortunately, he does have limits and therefore, he isn't all powerful. It is rather amusing, but I readlly didn't like God War, the first time they introduced the Halycon and Thanos, so I don't have high hopes for this. The issue is amusing, but not good. I don't know how to explain it better.
Nova 10
Basic Plot: Nova and Gamora try and fight their way out of something.
Yes, I know this came out a couple weeks ago. For some reason, I wasn't able to get it then, but got it yesterday. Anyway, the stories involving Nova are pretty much only good when dealing with a cosmic event, as far as my taste is concerned. He's fighting the Phalanx inside himself the entire time, while also fighting Gamora who is a Phalanx select and the inside of a wormhole beast-ish thingy. It is kind of complex and pretty far-fetched. I think that all in all, it is pretty good, but that Nova is really only good when in the cosmic events or dealing with the aftermath of them. This story and the couple before just aren't as good as they probably could have been and just leave a lot to be desired. Is it good? It's okay, but not brilliant.
Ultimate Iron Man II 2
Basic Plot: Tony tries to protect and exonerate his father with weirdness and stuff happening.
Well, I like Orson Scott Card, ann am okay with Pasqual Ferry. Not my favorite artist, but whatever. The story is pretty good, although confusing. I do like Tony in this manner and all in all, it is fun. I just don't know fully though. Meh, I guess we'll see. It mainly confuses me because I don't know what half of the things that the people are talking about are, and I think that is intentional. It sounds all convoluted and everything and is an amusing story, although, as I said, we'll see where it goes. Sigh...
Ultimates 3 #2
Basic Plot: The Brotherhood comes for Scarlet Witch's body.
Um, what? In case you didn't know, I loved Ultimates and Ultimates 2. Ultimates 2 is my favorite storyline of all time. Ultimates is my second favorite. Ultimates 3 #1 was something I was looking forward to a lot and I was incredibly disappointed. If it weren't for Ultimates and Ultimates 2, I would never have picked up this issue. I want this to be better. I really do. It just isn't. This issue is better than the previous issue, maybe because I have lower standards, and so meeting those was good enough. Maybe because I am more used to the art by now and am more used to just not expecting to know anything. This one does make more sense and is better, although it is not nearly as good as Ultimates. Oh well. We'll see how this turns out also. Hopefully better than how it is now.
Amazing Spider-Man 548
Basic Plot: Spidey tries to save a bunch of kids.
Well, honestly, I can say that I like the story. Do I like why the story exists, as part of Brand New Day? No. I sincerely dislike, maybe even hate the reason behind Brand New Day. It's a cop out and, you know what, I sound lile a broken record. Whatever. Anyway, I am digging the story and hope that it continues to be good, even if I do hate the reasons behind it. 'Nuff said?
Mighty Avengers 7
Basic Plot: Spider-Woman goes to Tony with Elektra-Skrull and eventually a Venom Bomb hits New York City.
First off, Bendis and Bagley together again. After 110 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man together, you'd think they would be sick fo each other, but no. Now, I love Bagley and his art, but unfortunately, I saw the previews for March and Mighty Avengers 11 has the text, "Marvel Comics says sayonara to longtime penciler Mark Bagley with this bombastic storyline!" Unfortunately, he is leaving Marvel. He drew Spider-Man for a long time, even before Ultimate Spider-Man, and it is sad that he is leaving. He could draw symbiotes like no one else. How appropriate that his last arc is one with lots of symbiotes. Anyway, this issue was pretty good and I do like that Mighty Avengers is trying to catch up to where it should be after Civil War (around issue 9 or so, as opposed to 7). The Venom bomb is amusing and should be great with Bagley art.
Astonishing X-Men 24
Basic Plot: The X-Men try to stop the Breakworld from launching its missile at Earth.
Cyclops has my attention. He has his powers back and under control. Awesomeness. Whedon and Cassady are amazing, astonishing even, and this is the perfect end to their run on Astonishing X-Men. Well, there is still the Giant Size which has the conclusion to this storyline, but it is fairly awesome all in all. Spoilers, like you care, but the missile is no missile, but a bullet. A giant fraking bullet that is aimed at Earth and then launched. At the speed and size of the bullet, it probably would destroy Earth. Like I said, this is pretty cool stuff. I really like Astonishing X-Men and think it is amazing. This is not proving me wrong at all. WOOT! Almost no action, but still an awesome comic. Not many comics have done that for me. This one does. Well, looking forward to the end.
Marvel Zombies 2 #4
Basic Plot: T'Challa and the rest have a plan to do something. Hopefully, they'll succeed.
Well, first off, I know that it says Marvel Zombies 2 #3 on the pic, but that is what issue 4 is. Issue 3 had the Iron Man pic that was supposed to be on 4. Whatever. Anyway, this was another great issue by Kirkman. I really love the zombies and their plan and how it fails and how everything is messy and I just love it. What happens in the story? A lot. Is it confusing? You bet. Does it work all in all? Uh huh. Awesomeness in Marvel Zombies 2 #4. Who cares about spoilers. You know that you don't. Apparently, at the end, Hank is no longer hungry. He is about to eat T'Challa's wife, but he realizes that he is no longer hungry. Considering all he's eaten, I'm not surprised in the least, but the hunger does fade naturally, and I believe that they have just been eating for too long and didn't realize they weren't hungry any more. Oh well. I have no idea what issue 5 will bring, but it better be good. What am I saying? Robert Kirkman, I believe in you.
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