M.I.S.T. Masonic Illuminati Shriner Templars

Renegade Episode #1

Venom Space Knight #1-3 MARVEL UNLIMITED review

Published: November 25, 2015
Added to Marvel Unlimited: May 30, 2016
Rating: Rated T+
Writer: Robbie Thompson
Cover Artist: Ariel Olivetti 

Today I was looking for a new book to read on Marvel Unlimited and decided to give this book a try. I was interested in it when it was announced, but for some reason I never really gave it a try. BIG MISTAKE! This book was awesome! The art has that classic painted look to it and it fits the story perfectly.

 It starts off with Venom (Flash Thompson) on the run with an unknown weapon in his hand and fighting some baddies that are trying to kill him. The narrative lets us know that he was sent to this planet to track down a chemical weapon from a voice he heard in his head, and he is the "Agent of the Cosmos". He doesn't even know what that means! That leads to some funny situations where he is asking his enemies what that means as he pummels them. He hijacks a spaceship and encounters 803, who is a robot with a deathwish. He wants venom to kill him if he helps him out on this ship.

I liked him right off the bat, and could tell that he was going to be sticking around for a while. Venom learns that a species is being killed for a substance that is in their blood. This angers Venom and they are glad to find out he is going to help them and not murder them. So Venom lays the smack down on the bastards on the ship and asks them if they know what an Agent of the Cosmos does!

The big boss knows all about the symbiotic nature of the Klyntars and uses a sound weapon to remove it from Flash. He his on the ground since his legs are gone and hits a button to open the hatch of the ship sending everyone out into space.

 Venom sees the family that was captive floating in space and about to be lunch so he gets them out of danger while the baddie gets what he deserves.

 He gets them back to the ship and returns them to their home planet. He asks them if they know what an Agent of the Cosmos is and they tell him that they are heroes.

 803 is bummed because he wanted to be left out in space to die and Flash tells him to stop whining since he is a free bot now. So they blast of and encounter...

 ...A GIANT FREAKIN' SHIP! Surprisingly nothing happens with the ship and we get a flashback for issue two of Flash explaining how things have been as a Guardian of the Galaxy.

 So Flash and Venom are on another planet that he was instructed to go to in order to destroy a weapon. He is attacked by some giant space crab dudes that are really no match for them.

 He dispatches them and is heralded by the residents when acid rain comes down. Venom encloses them in the symbiotic ball similar to Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie.They tell Venom and Flash of a drill that is pulling resources from their planet that the crabs feed on causing them to go berserk trying to survive. They destroy the drill and blast off into space again and see the same giant ship! This time te get pulled into the ship with a tractor beam and encounter a very creepy looking Klyntar. They have a pretty rough battle and Venom get the upper hand for a second when she informs him that she is just warming up.

They are stopped by another Klyntar named Myntril and tells Venom that the female is Tarna. They let him know that they were evaluating him to see if he had what it takes and advise him what they are tasked to do. When they part ways Venom is advised that Tarna is going to be in charge of training him.

 We then see Flash at an intergalactic AA meeting. ass the issues ends. We pick up issue three with Flash on a volcanic planet with warrior women battling lava monsters.

 Flash puts on a suit that allows him to walk around as well as handle the elements and conditions of the planet. The catch is the suit can only handle the conditions for thirty minutes.

 He encounters a warrior named Iqa who thinks he is working with the monsters. He informs her that he is there to help and they join forces. They defeat the baddies and destroy the weapon placed in the volcano and...

 Iqa plants a kiss on Flash. and she offers him a place in her husband stable. Very nice!

 He refuses and heads back to his ship where 803 designed new legs for Flash. He is trying to learn how to use his legs and asks 803 who the heck is flying the ship.

 We see that it is Venom and it appears that the baddies were able to get their location and may attack them in issue #4.

 

I can't wait to read the next issue. The question is, do I go buy them now or wait for them to be uploaded to Marvel Unlimited?! I am not sure at this point, but either way, I will review the issue once I read it for sure. If you have Unlimited this is a must read for sure.

I will rate all three issues together since that is the way I read them. The art is amazing, the writing is awesome (It's Robbie Thompson DUH!), and the inks are great. In all I would have to give this a solid 9/10.

Black Panther #5 Review

Black Panther #5 Review *SPOILERS*

Story: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Art: Chris Sprouse
Inks: Karl Story
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99

Okay, right off the bat, I noticed something was off about this book. It looks like someone else was trying to draw in a similar style to Brian Stelfreeze and the inks are different as well. So I look up at the top and Stelfreeze is not written on the top! I was bummed since I do not read solicits, and I wanted this team to follow out the whole arc at least.

As I open up the book, I see Stelfreez's work on the character and recap page and compare it to page one. Let's see if I can get past this, or if it ruins the experience for me. We start off with  T'Challa and his task force raiding a rebel base and finding a group of men with bombs implanted in their chests.

Black Panther channels Rocky Balboa and wants to be hit a few times and says yes as he got hit. This part is either brilliant or just plain nuts, I haven't decided yet. But it is weird as hell for sure. He snaps back to his senses and they layeth the smacketh down on these fools and with the help of Eden (Manifold from the Avengers) they open up a gateway to bring the men with bombs to their base. I didn't think this was such a great idea either, but we will see how it plays out I guess. 

So Black Panther goes into a meeting that he set up with the rulers of Madripoor, Alberia, Genosha, Santo Marco, and Symkaria. Another not so great idea in my opinion. They basically tell him he needs to rule with a heavy hand, they want him to go back to the old ways of ruling "Or somebody else weill". 

We then cut to Ramonda and Shuri in a flashback training as Romonda tells her about a story of foreigners that tried to invade Wakanda. I think this took away a bit from the flow of the book and that it could have been cut down a bit. 

 We cut back to Black Panther as he questions one of the men with the bomb implanted in his chest. They bicker back and forth a bit and we learn that Black Panther knows who he is and knows his brother. and after bantering he tells Black Panther that he will serve his nation, He then tells him that they have a secret pact. Another bad idea? Possibly, we will see in time.

We then transition to one of the men from the council that T'Challa had earlier. This is where I had an issue with the art. It was hard for me to tell which guy this was because three of them looked pretty much the same. I went back to that page a few times and all three had changes in their faces and hair, so I said screw it! One of the white guys was meeting with Tetu, Zenzi, and Zeeke. I was glad to finally see them since this is my second favorite faction in this book. The Midnight Angels are still my #1 faction, but we do not get much of them in the past few issues.

Anyways, we find out white guy #3 was working with Zeeke the wholle time and he wants his money.Poor guy had no idea he was about to get the "Snakes" treatment from that home alone movie that Uncle Frank wouldn't let Kevin watch!!

So anyway, white guy #3 gets whacked and it appears that Zeeke made a snuff film and sent it to the Midnight Angles, Changamire, Storm, and Black Panther as the issue ends.

 Overall, the issue was decent. It was not bad at all, but it was the weakest of the series so far. After the first few pages I get over the difference in the art. The inks are crisp and the book still has that darker vibe, but it had a better feel with the art of Brian Stelfreeze. I have to step back and remind myself that this is the first comic book that Coates worked on as well, so I can understand and forgive the fact that this issue was a bit slow compared to the previous issues. I was going to give this book a solid 7 for sure, since I felt it delivered on filling us in on what is going on and setting up the following issues. After reading it for a second time I felt that I was too hard on Coates and this issue.

Coates is giving me a book that has a solid plot, has a good flow, and has me interested in the villains and supporting cast. These are elements that most books drop the ball on and I drop them from my pull list in frustration. So I need to tip my hat to him for keeping me on board to see what's next. Although this is the weakest book in my opinion for the series, it was still a really good issue.

7.5/10

 

My Neighbor Pennywise

This was from a dream that I had last night. What if Pennywise and Georgie became friends?! I would like to do a few comic strips about this idea, if I can find the time to work on them. Stay tuned for updates...

Spider-Gwen #10 Review

Spider-Gwen #10 Review *SPOILERS*

Writer: Jason Latour
Artist: Robbie Rodriguez
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Release Date: July 27, 2016

It's that time of the month again. NO NOT THAT!! It's that time to review my Spider book of choice! Spider Gwen is hands down the best Spiderverse book out right now. Spidey is just a little bit behind, but that is a great book as well. Okay so let's pick up were we left off. Last issue Frank Castle put his grubby paws on Gwen and she knocked him the hell out.  Issue 10 picks up with that punk Frank running to Kraven for help since he can't handle gwen on his own. Frank goves him his spiel on how they were both predators and that they need to serve "their master".

We then cut to what has to be the best alarm ever, Wham: Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, as Gwen wakes up and realizes that she is at her dad's house. I like the Power Pack poster on her wall and the shirt as well. She vaguely remembers using her powers after beating up Frank Castle. She stopped a thug from robbing a delivery boy pretty easily and her and the delivery boy were off on their way.

 She hears her dad and was about to take off before he finds out that she is Spider-Gwen as we see someone on the roof across the street who we can assume is Kraven since he is wearing Cheetah skin pants. So Gwen tells her dad how her powers were taken away and that she needs to use a devise and serum power ups to get to use her powers. As she was explaining it to her and his reaction all I could think about was Jessie and Zack from the Saved By The Bell episode about caffeine pills.

  

 So she lets her dad know that Frank Castle knows her secret and he tells her that she will need her powers to go up against him, then we see a butt load of snakes released from a back Jake the Snake style. They swarm all over the house and then Captain Stacy gets punched by a giant orangutan, who leaves and comes back with a freakin' puma!

 Talk about bad timing, May Parker comes over with a pot roast for Captain Stacy and is right in the middle of the puma and Gwen. May tosses the pot roast and the puma pounces on hit and is going to town. May gets a water hose, yup a freakin' water hose to hose down the kitty and as Gwen goes to get her serum, that bastard Kraven destroys the device.

 Captain Stacy tries to get his gun and his phone, both items are surrounded by snakes. Is it a coincidence or are these smart ass snakes?! And where is Sam Jackson when you need him?

So Gwen is shaking, and needs her serum just as the puma finished his lunch. It leaps at her and she actually knocked it out on her own. Kraven gets her in a full nelson and comments on her power, so she must still be stronger than average even without her powers to know out a puma and to have Kraven mention it here.

Frank Castle is taking pictures the whole time to use as evidence that Gwen is the Spiderwoman all along, as Captain Stacy catches him off guard. He destroys the camera and knocks him out. He tells Gwen that he called the cops and wants her to split. He will take the wrap for what went down and the evidence against her is destroyed. Gwen refuses to let him stay and knocks him out and splits as we see Kraven there holding on to a serum. Now we have to worry about Kraven getting power from that serum!

As usual the writing and art are always top notch. Just like Black Panther, I hope this team will be working together for a long time. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Spiderverse books, but does not want to be caught up in a ton of crossovers, The Spider-Woman crossover was not long at all, and it was just a small bump in the road compared to books like X-Men that I refused to read for the past five years even though I love the characters.

This book was a great step moving forward, especially after the annual that I did not really care for. This is my Marvel book of the week foe sure, I still need to read the newest Lobster Johnson before I make my decision for the top book of this week. Be sure to look for the full review of that series in the next few days.

9/10

Black Panther #4 Review

Black Panther #4
Writer: Ta-Nehishi Coates
Artist: Brian Stelfreeze
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Release Date: July 27, 2016

 As most of yous guys know, I am a huge fan of this book. It has one of my favorite Marvel Characters and a new writer who is bringing us a new perspective to view Black Panther by. We all know he is the king of Wakanda, we all know he protects his nation and the world from impending doom, we all know that with great power comes great um wrong guy sorry.

As I was reading this book it made me wonder how a new writer to the comic book medium is able to do something that a veteran like Dan Abnett seems to be unable to do, and that is tell the story of a king trying to balance his duties to his people as well as fulfill his role as a hero. So let's jumo into the issue and see if the momentum is still going strong with this arc.

We start off with basically a recap in the form of a meeting with T'Challa and his top advisers. I like this more than giving us recap boxes and it gives you the feeling of watching a movie when an army is going over strategies for a retaliation.

 I like the recap of what happened to the Man Ape too since it ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger. We also see what is happening all over Wakanda as a revolution seems to be occurring all around them. We also see a flashback of a young Tetu and how he deals with charlatans. I wish we had more of these flashbacks so we can see more about his origin. Him, along with the Midnight Angels are intriguing characters, and I am still more interested in them more than Black Panther himself.

Tetu meets up with the Midnight Angels and decide to work together since they have a common enemy. That's not good for T'Challa since they were tough enough on their own. We transition to T'Challa and his mother, and she sets him straight. I really liked this part, it basically is T'Challa saying he has given his all to save his people and the world, and his mom said he never did it willingly. It puts things into another perspective, most super hero comics never really deal with this concepts in a way that doesn't feel forced (again Dan Abnett).

Black Panther then goes to the people with his mother, and it seems as if for now they were glad to see them. Back to Tetu and Zenzi, and he is doing some sort of ritual with a his powers and a mystical type of flower. He then meets up with Ezekiel Stane and shortly after there is an explosion among the group of people where Black Panther and his mother were greeting. There were casualties and his mother was injured in the blast. It looked like she was dead as Black Panther was carrying her like Batman carrying Jason Todd, but we find out that she survived. 

It appears that this will be the point where Black Panther stops treading lightly and will deal with all of these "Terrorists" head on. He basically tells his council that they are terror itself as the issue concludes. I really like the way these panels were done. It gives you the sense of urgency of Black Panther and the concern of the council as well.

So for an issue with not much action, this book still delivered. It gives us all the background information we need moving forward, and keeps me wanting more on the supporting characters. Since issue one this book has a feel of a TV show or movie vibe to it, and it keeps me sticking around for more. The art was not as crisp as other issues, but it was still really good and adds to the over all feel of the book. I really can't imagine how this book would be with an other artist right now. I hope that this team sticks around on this book for a long time. With this series I have the first two issues in print form and the last two in digital. I regret not getting the physical copies to complete my collection, so I may go pick them up or just wait for the trade. I actually think that it would read much better back to back i n one sitting, but with that said, this is still one of the best books out right now.

8.5/10