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

Astonishing Ant-Man #10 Review

Astonishing Ant-Man #10 Review *SPOILERS*

 Story by: Nick Spencer

Art by: Ramon Rosanas

Publisher: Marvel

Release date: July 20, 2016

Rating: T

Price: $3.99

This book has always been a blast to read. As I stated in my last review it was a book that I missed out on during the relaunch and had to go back to get caught up on. We pick right up from last issue with Scott trapped in small sphere by Darren Cross. We get a quick recap of last issue, but not enough to slow us down. 

 One of my favorite parts of the recap was the wacky super villain app HENCH. I would like to see Marvel do a book called Dial H For Hench! Make it happen Axel Alonso!!

 So after the recap, we see Scott's crew taking all the items that Machinesmith said they needed from Cross Tech. Whirlwind decides to scrap the list and just takes stuff that he thinks looks expensive, while everyone else gets only what is necessary (seems like something that will play out later in the plot?). The crew meet up in a truck and are ready to split, but they notice Scott is missing. Cassie shows up and tells them that Cross has her dad and asks them to help her free him. One by one the crew splits only concerned about their cut of the money. It is pretty predictable as to which baddies will be taking off, but it was funny watching them bail from the back of the truck. The best part was when the Magician asked if it will negatively impact his rating on HENCH.

Now we are down to the core of the crew. The ones we all knew would stick around (I had a feeling that someone else would have helped as well, but more on that later...)

 The crew takes off for action and this is were the real fun starts. I love the dialog with Griz and Giant-Man as they take out the guards and the choppers. It was also nice to see the comedy element without them being too goofy or screwing up the plan. These guys have been through enough in the past, so it is rewarding to see them get the shine as they follow through with the plan. Especially since they are working with the other half of the crew gone.

 Ms. Thing takes out a bunch of robot security guards and is able to get a weapon that Machinesmith said would be able to free Scott from Cross. She tosses it to Cassie while she is holding off the robots allowing Cassie to get into the air shaft. We then see poor Scott getting bounced of a ping pong table! This is just adding insult to injury, luckily Cassie shows up and frees her Dad from the sphere and has to shrink down to avoid being take out by Crossfire. Darren Cross is able to get a hold of Scott and throws him out of the window and he is dangling from the ledge as Crossfire is about to shoot him.

We then see Crossfire shot in the shoulder and yelling at Cassie for shooting him. She tells him she didn't shoot him as we see the panel that I actually expected. The Beetle actually stuck around to help Scott, but doesn't want anyone to know. It is like the opposite of Black Cat, and I like it. I can see this developing more in future issues as well.

Crossfire does not believe Cassie and goes to shoot her in retaliation, but Cassie shrinks as he fires and it hits his own nephew Augustine. Cross blames Scott for this of course and he grows larger than the room and grabs Scott and Cassie in his hand is about to crush them. All of a sudden the ceiling gives way and we find out Cassie called in for some reinforcements from the ants. The ceiling comes crashing down on Cross and smashes his head.

Scott and Cassie get away and Machinesmith notices two unarmed drones following Ms. Thing, so he warns her about them. She freaks out and realizes that they are cameras that have been following her for a reality TV show. She calls the producers and asked them to stop recording and not to air any of what occurred since they were committing numerous crimes. The producer basically tells her they will edit it to keep her from going to jail, but its too bad for Scott! As he and Cassie leave Cross Tech, they are swarmed (pun intended) by the cops as the issue ends.

The writing and art as usual are great and you never have any issues following along with the story or figuring out who is in each panel. A few DC books can learn a thing or two about that. This issue didn't have the same movie or TV show vibe to it, but it made up for that with the character development and a plot that can really pay off down the road. Who would have thought that Darren Cross would be a relevant bad guy before this story arc? Not many, I am sure. And if his son dies, it will make him even more of a threat since he has nothing to lose.

Ant-Man is always a sure bet and it never disappoints. I highly recommend this issue and the whole series. If you have not read it before, check it out on Marvel Unlimited or pick up a trade. You won't regret it.

8.5/10

Thunderbolts #3 Review

Thunderbolts #3 Review *SPOILERS*

 Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Jon Malin
Publisher: Marvel
Published: July 20, 2016
Rating: T
Price: $3.99

Out of all the Marvel titles that I read, this book was one that I picked up on a whim and was intrigued enough to keep reading. Issue one was my book of the week when it came out along with Zub's D&D book. I really enjoyed issue two, but felt it was a repeating the same patterns all other ongoing series fall into. Sp how would issue three hold up? Lets find out.

I'll Start with the cover since Atlas is my favorite Thunderbolt! This reminded me of some 80's comic covers minus the dialog boxes. I miss dialog on the covers, it was one of the selling points for me in my youth. Also it is nice to see the cover actually tie into the issue instead of being a splash page not related to the story at all. Anyways, enough of that, lets get back to this book. It starts off with Crystal screaming her ass off like and acting irrationally (Like the leader of the Poison Ivy Club?!) while Bucky tries to explain what went down. The Inhumans are not having it and just start attacking the Thunderbolts. They do a good job telling you who these Inhumans are and what their powers are which is good, since I only followed the Inhumans back in the 80's.  

 My favorite part of the battle was between Atlas and Flint, who I feel like is a ripoff of GeoForce from the Outsiders. It was pretty much a slug fest and the rest of the team is actually getting their asses handed to them. Kobik wants to help, but as usually Bucky tells her no. I would just have her zap those bastards back to their base, but then the issue would be over.

 Fixer has a plan of his own as well. Instead of fighting them, he took over control of their ship and put an end to the fight. I like how Kobik thinks it awesome that they took the ship and she wants to keep it. Bucky tells them what happened and why they had to destroy the rest of the pods, but Crystal still doesn't believe them. Bucky allows them to get control of their ship and return to their base in New Attilan where they explain what happened to Medusa.

 I really liked the art here with Medusa and Lockjaw. It reminded me of their appearances in the Fantastic Four books. Medusa orders Crystal to remind the american agencies that they are not to interfere with the Inhumans or it will be considered and act of war.

 Back on the SHIELD helicarrier we see Maria Hill discussing what went down with the Thunderbolts as one of the agents asked if Kobik was a an Inhuman. We see Cap say it could be, then he is cut off by hill who recognizes it is Kobik right away. This led me to believe Cap knew as well and was hoping they would't figure it out.

 Hill spazzes out and Cap tries to convince her that Bucky must have a good reason for taking her and says that he will bring them back. She isn't willing to wait and put the Thunderbolts on the most wanted list and froze all their assets in an attempt to get them to show themselves. We then see Cap on his cell phone with an encrypted channel that loses signal. The art here has a less blocky Romita Jr. style. I guess it is to make us believe Cap is hydra or it is just a coincidence, either way this bearded bastard refuses to believe Cap is a bad guy and I will wait and see just how this plays out. I am not reading Cap's book, so I have no idea what is playing out there at this point.

 Back to the T-Bolts and we see the team recovering from their beatings and Atlas offers Bucky a beer. He declines, but Kobik wants one! This part made me wonder what would happen if a four year old girl cosmic cube being would do if she was drunk. It would either be pretty funny or scary as hell. Maybe we should see this in a future issue Mr. Zub!

 We cut over to Fixer and Moonstone and these are the two characters that I really hate! I've hated them since the formation of the Thunderbolts!! They discuss Kobik and how Fixer wants to kill her while Moonstone wants to control her. Personally I would like to see Kobik send these two bastards to the cornfields like Anthony Fremont from the Twilight Zone!
You're a bad man! A VERY bad man!

 We also find out that Moonstone has plans for Bucky too, that conniving bitch! (I bet she is in the Poison Ivy club as well.)

Bucky is reading a bedtime story to Kobik and she asks him why she is not allowed to help. He tells her that he is worried that someone will try to use her powers and manipulate her. He tells her about things that he did that he regrets and does not want her to go through that as well. Kobik then offers to take away his regrets and the things that he has done as well. He is silent for a moment and tells her no as he leaves her room. He then falls to the ground and appears top be crying.

When I was reading the parts with the battle it seemed like it was going to be a typical traditional issue that we've all read before. Then when we get to the Thunderbolts, I feel like we are getting some good story telling along with the character development.  This was a strong issue, but fell short of the previous two issues in all. I will continue to read it and I am looking forward to see where the story goes from here.

7.5/10

Space Caveman?!

This is an idea I have for a comic that I want to add to my blog.