Thursday, January 31, 2008

Comics, Comics, Comics

Thursday is here and reviews for the books I picked up are sure to follow. Not much on the news front but if you happend to miss it Joe Q, the Editor in Chief of Marvel visited the Colbert Report. He was on the show to discuss the spider- er um Captain America controversy, even though there is nothing that big about who carries the shield.



Top book of the week and reviews later today!!!

Excelsior Bitches!!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Books for Tomorrow

Happy Tuesday to everyone. As you all know tomorrow is new book Wednesday and unlike last week, where there wasn't much to chose from, the books for the last week of January are shaping up to be solid reads. So here are couple of the books i'll be picking up and why you should too.

Daredevil #104
This arc is one of the best stories in the Marvel universe that has nothing to do with Secret Invasion or Civil War. While everyone is wondering who is or isn't a Skrull, looking for a Capt. America replacement, or making a deal with the Devil ( I won't let that go), Matt Murdock is fighting in Hell's Kitchen. Not only is Daredevil caught in between a super powered gang war, that's destroying Hell's Kitchen, but his wife is slowly losing her mind, due to being poisoned by Mister Fear. Which leaves the fearless one in a tough spot, hunt down Mister Fear to save his wife or stop the the gang war which is putting the city at risk. If your looking for a grittier Marvel hero and a good story pickup this book.

Captain America #34
Were you shocked at the death of Captain America. Did you find yourself rocking yourself to sleep, clutching your replica shield of justice. Well wipe your eyes friend because the Cap is back, sort of. With an Alex Ross cover, the new Captain America premieres with a gun and a new uniform. But the question is, who is the new Cap? If you've been reading this well crafted story from the time of Captain's death, you should already know who has the honor of being called Captain America. If you don't, then that's one of the reasons why you should pick up this book, plus the fact that the Red Skull is making his power play to attack the country.

Excelsior Bitches!!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Loads of Books!!

Hopefully you don't have the case of the Mondays, im not sure they have a cure for that yet. But the book list for this week's comic solicitation.

MARVEL
Amazing Spider-Man #546(2nd Print)
Avengers Initiative #9
Captain America #34
Captain America #34 Epting Cover
Captain America Chosen #6 Charest Cover
Captain America Chosen #6 Brewister Cover
Daredevil #104
Fantastic Four #553
House of M Avengers #4
Hulk #1 (2nd Print)
Marvel Spotlight Ultimates 3
Mighty Avengers #8
New Avengers Annual #2
Spider-Man Swing Shift Director’s Cut
Spider-Man With Great Power #1
Ultimate Secrets
Ultimate Spider-Man #118
Ultimate X-Men #90
What If?Spider Man vs Wolverine.
X-Factor #26(2nd Print)
X-Men Emperor Vulcan #
Zombie Simon Garth #3

DC
Action Comics #861
Action Comics #861 (1 in 10) Incentive Cover
Batman #673
Black Adam the Dark Age #6
Countdown to Adventure #6
Countdown to Final Crisis #13
Death of the New Gods #5
Green lantern #27
JSA Classified #34
Spirit #13
Trials of Shazam #11

Later in the day I'll have news and a review of Young Avengers Presents: Patriot.

Excelsior Bitches!!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Didn't see that coming!!!! X-Men Review(Spoilers)




Ok, I must admit I went into Messiah Complex unsure of what was going to happen. The story has been written by five writers in each of their respective X-Men titles, with two writers on New X-Men.



  • Mike Carey (X-Men)

  • Craig Kyle and Chris Yost (New X-Men)

  • Peter David (X-Factor)

  • Ed Brubaker (Uncanny X-Men)

But, the story leading up to the finale has been pretty powerful, especially if you read the X-Factor parts of the storied event. We find Cable is still alive and wants to raise the child, Rogue is still dead or in a coma from Strain 88, Layla Miller is either dead or stuck in a futuristic mutant concetration camp, and Mystique has killed Mr. Sinister. Considering the writing talent that Marvel had on this book, it would have been cooler if Brubaker or David got the ending for this arc. But, I understand that there was an idea of book sequencing going on, yet I really can't complain with the double-barreled writing of Kyle and Yost too much because this final issue was all about the action. If your looking for characters to get while mutant powers are being thrown all over the place and a giant mutant eating monster is bearing down on Marauders and X-Men alike then this issue isn't for you. The action explodes off of each page as artist Chris Bachalo captures the urgency and desperation every mutant has to either, protect or take advantage of the first mutant baby born since The House of M. Every body wants that child and the art gives more depth to the characters than the dialogue in this final story.



This brings me to the writing which, unfortunatly was shallow to be a final in an arc. To no fault of the writers though, because this book was nothing but a slug-fest. Everyone, including m There was really no way to give characters in this story too much to say when their either being hacked, slashed, shot at, or enter other random mutant power. However, if they had cut back on the action just a little bit and focused on the Cable/Cyclops and Rogue/Mystique familial ties this story would have been a bit deeper. Because of all the action going on it feels like Kyle and Yost toned down the dialogue and this makes the book suffer a bit. But, the ending saves this book from getting a low rating when you have Bishop, the turncoat, blasting Professor Xavier in the freakin' head!!!!! In the end Cyclops pronoouces that the X-Men are gone and that sets us up the next arc, Divided We Stand. In the end I really enjoyed this book, yes there is a lack of writing depth in the story, but the action and the good artwork makeup for a lagging ending.



X-Men #207

Writing-3 out of 5
Artwork-4 out of 5
Overall- 4 out of 5

Morning News or In case you missed it..

More news, later in the day, including, reviews of the final chapter of Messiah Complex and Young Avengers Presents: Patriot.

Excelsior Bitches!!!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Blockbuster and Lackluster (Spoilers)

Before I give you the rundown, lets update the new Spidey, he's broke, lives with his Aunt, and works for the Bugle, which is no longer ran by J. Jonah Jameson, because he had a heart attack. Oh and by the way everybody on the planet has forgotten the Parker was Spider-Man and he is no longer married to Mary Jane.

Now that I've cleared that up, this is the third issue of the month for Amazing and after two issues of catching readers up on how Parker lives in this over the top pitiful,existence the story begins to pick up. However, not in a positve light, because by the time this issue is ends a theif may know that Peter is Spider-Man, Spidey is wanted by the cops on suspicion of murder, becomes a made man in a mafia family, and a new villian by the name of Mr. Negative takes his blood and has a connection to Aunt May.

This story is garbage plan and simple. Steve McNiven's artwork was at its best, as usual but don't try to sell be a pinto and tell me its rolls-royce. Don't get me wrong I really like Dan Slotts writing on the New Avengers: Initiative, the wrtiting flows with the characters and you really get to see these young superheroes revealed as to who they really are and still evolve. That doesn't happen here, this story from day one seemed forced with the idea of, let's see how much random pressure we can put on Spider-Man to gain some sympathy from the readers. That doesn't happen. By the time I finished reading this book I was longing for the pre-One More Day Spidey who had some serious problems, doubts, and fears, that were generated and came together over time. Plus, if your still reading New Avengers he's still in his black suit gearing up for the SECRET INVASION. But, I'm going to assume they will fix that with the New Avengers Annual coming out next week. No amount of fantastic artwork by Steve McNiven can save this book, and I want to make one thing clear, this story is not Dan Slott's fault, I understand these were the circumstances he was given to work with but there is now way to make this work.

The Amazing Spider-Man #548
Writing-2 out of 5
Art-4 out of 5
Overall-2 out 5


After that review I need a sandwich, another review will be up with the latest news later today.

Excelsior Bitches!!!

Some News Points

-It would be nice if Marvel stopped trying to screw with us about Mary Jane., yea we know she's Jackpot. [Marvel]

-I hope you like your teen titans with a hint of Terror.. [Newsarama]

-Joe Q on the Colbert Report Jan. 29?Colbert better give him the business. [Marvel]

I'll have some reviews on some of this weeks titles this afternoon...

Excelsior Bitches!!!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Even in Death The Cap Wins

The official numbers are in for this past years best-selling comic book is....OK ok, if you read the title then you already know, Captain America #25 took the honor. Diamond Comic Distributors released their year end 2007 sales chart and sure enough the Cap's book was number one. Sales of the book could only climb as the death of one of the oldest superheroes garnered huge amounts of mainstream press to break the news of his untimely demise. Honestly, nobody saw the man who bleeds red, white, and blue going in down in an assasination plot while being arrested as a traitor. But hey good news for all you Steve Rogers fans, if Spider-Man can make a deal with the devil, then Marvel can definetly bring back the man who punched Hitler. Keep with the clicks to read the rest of Diamonds report. Newsarama.

Further Reflections on Black Super Heroes By The Penrod







Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt)

I am not going to talk about how Mr. Terrific is a fantastic example of a African-American super hero and how his racial identity is a big part of his character, because that is not the case. For every Black Panther, Luke Cage, and every other modern black super hero; there is only one “post-modern” black super hero and that is Mr. Terrific (and well Spawn, but his face is burned off anyway). His crusade is not defined by being black and his origin has nothing to do with being black; his character just happens to be of that race. Though it may seem that this lessens the characters impact but black comic book heroes are similar to a black sitcom on UPN or the WB; sometimes, it seems, that the characters do very little than perpetuate racial stereotypes. It is refreshing to see a unique black super hero.

Michael Holt’s Mr. Terrific, is a previous Olympic decathelete, has 14 Ph.Ds, and owned a firm called Cyberwear. It seems like overkill, attempting to take the black super hero out of the ghetto, but the concept is that he’s Batman without the initial tragedy of losing his parents. His story changes when his wife and unborn child die, not by murder, but by a car accident. Holt then contemplates suicide until he is met by the Spectre, a familiar of the original Mr. Terrific tells Holt of his now predecessor’s life story. Inspired, Holt chooses take up the mantle of Mr. Terrific, and later Chairman of the Justice Society. That’s where Batman and Mr. Terrific differ. Though both characters are born out of tragedy, Batman chooses to be a hero to avenge his parents while Holt chooses to be Mr. Terrific just because he feels he can make a difference. The real unique quality of Mr. Terrific does not come from his racial identity but his religious identity. In a universe that has angels (Zauriel) and God’s wrath (the Spectre), Mr. Terrific stands out as an atheist. This is as much a part of Mr. Terrific’s character as Daredevil’s Catholicism, but what separates the two is how unrelenting Mr. Terrific is even when faced with the supernatural. This is an excerpt from Infinite Crisis #5:
Ragman: And you still don’t believe in a god? Wasn’t the Spectre a member of the Justice Society?
Mr. Terrific: Before my time.
Ragman: What about guys like Deadman or Zauriel? And my own suit is made up of corrupted souls?
Mr. Terrific: A unique energy that could quantify as a telepathic discharge upon death.
Ragman: So you don’t believe in anything? You don’t have any faith?
Mr. Terrific: Of course, I do, Ragman. Got faith in my team.

The Penrod

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

A Warmup for New Book Wednesday

I went into my local comic book store today to pickup the second issue of Brand New Day and a couple of other books I missed out on last week. But I also went into the shop to see if how many Brand New Days would still be on the shelf. Apparently it looks like the sell-out of #546 will be a One and Done kind of thing because there was a huge stack of Spidey 547's looking quite lonely, sitting next to the mass amount of unbought final issues of One More Day.

I won't hide the fact that I, like many other readers of the Web-head were very displeased with the outcome of OMD. Many fan reactions in forums and other blogs were to boycott the book and seems that the fan boy majority have spoken on how they want to read their Spider-Man. No disrespect to the new team doing this BND arc, but you got put in the middle of something that's unfair to you guys and the dedicated readers of the Spider-Man franchise. I know I'm going to catch heat for this, but I'm still buying the book right now to test out Joe Q's theory about bringing in new readers to the Spider-Man franchise. Once my mystery reader has a couple of issues we'll bust this Spidey myth wide open. New book day is right around the corner and I'll be posting reviews within the next few days.

Excelsior Bitches!!!

The Penrod's Reflection on Black Super Heroes

I figured since Fred’s Gunn has been focusing on African-American super heroes of notoriety due to Martin Luther King’s birthday, that maybe I should talk about a few that I feel people should be more aware of.  

John Henry from Darwyn Cooke’s DC: New Frontier  

John Henry’s costume is made of three elements: the characteristic hammers of his namesake, a black Ku Klux Klan uniform, and the noose that he was hung on.  John Henry is not an in-continuity character in the DC universe, though loosely based off from the character Steel.  John Henry is representative of the void of African-American super heroes in the early silver age; well before Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, or Rosa Parks.  DC: New Frontier is what DC comics would have been in the late 50s if the comic code had not existed.  If Leave It To Beaver or Andy Griffith are glossed over visions of the late 1950s world of Jim Crow, nukes, and Joseph McCarthy; then the reality of the silver age of comics would be New Frontier. 

John Henry gets a total of 16 pages of the story, which is only three less than the Flash. His story is pretty simple, our introduction to him is his family’s lynching. We do not get to see what John Henry’s life was like before his family gets taken away from him but in a Batman sort of way it fits the story. From there we see his uprising against the Ku Klux Klan, dulling out justice by crushing KKK member’s skulls with a hammer. His story, unsurprisingly, ends tragically as he is captured by the KKK. The real tragedy is the terms in which he is captured. Shot and bleeding, John Henry crawls into an alley, only to be met by a little girl. Dying he asks the girl “Please child… help me. Hide me.” The little girl pauses and yells “He’s here! He’s here! The nigger’s over here!” This is the first time, and only time, that that particular word occurs in the entirety of New Frontier, including John Henry’s story. Obviously an artistic choice, the word is more jarring when it cements the character’s death and moreover comes from a child’s mouth.

John Henry’s story is not particularly deep or long at 16 pages, however the simplicity of the story allows for reaction and interpretation by the other characters. A few people when reviewing New Frontier have stated that John Henry seems to be a thinly veiled attempt at diversifying the heroes in the story and a superfluous addition as he has no direct interaction with any other major character. In truth, John Henry (or any black superhero in the 50s) would not be shaking Eisenhower’s hand along with Superman and Wonder Woman. His segregation from the rest of the characters is purposeful, and his crusade and death seems no less important to the characters than the main plot. Martian Manhunter seems to find a kindred spirit in John Henry as a fellow outcast. Lois Lane and Superman are shown appalled when Edward Murrow reports of John Henry’s demise.

If you have ever wondered what African-American super hero would be like during the early silver age, you should look no further than John Henry. If you have not read DC: New Frontier, I strongly suggest that you do.

The Penrod

Joker we hardly knew ye!!! Heath Leadger Dead!!

So as I was thinking about how to write my first review I almost choked on my cookie as I was watching MSNBC, they're reporting that Heath Ledger, the new Joker in the upcoming Batman film, The Dark Knight, was found dead in his SOHO apartment in New York. No news on how this will affect the new Batman film as they have already wrapped up production!!



Updates in due time seducers!!!!

According to news reports the 28 year old actor was surrounded by pills in his apartment.

The actor had recieved praise from Dark Knight director Chris Nolan and his fellow actors for his role as the crazed criminal, The Joker.

As huge Batman fan, I'm still looking forward to this Batman film, but it be as fun knowing that Mr. Ledger will never be able to reprise his role, that some, including myself, believe that he's done a better job at portraying The Joker than acclaimer actor Jack Nicholson.

Rest in Peace dude, You were awesome in A Knights Tale
Heath "The Joker" Ledger
April 4,1979 - January 22, 2008

Updated, click the title for the full AP report.

Quick Bullet Points

I feel I should, at the very least, follow up with my introduction after "Fred's Gunn" did his. My name is The Penrod or just Penrod, this is not some clever obscure reference, it's just my last name. My plan is to post about once a week, as I am not nearly as fastidious as Gunn. My plan is to do more of an exegesis of the medium, as that is not a regular practice. I plan on starting easy and talk a little about whether or not Frank Miller may be a fascist, or at the very least if Dark Knight Returns is a fascist vision. For now, I will list my top ten writers.

The Penrod

Top 10 Writers:

1. Neil Gaiman
2. Geoff Johns
3. Grant Morrison
4. Alan Moore
5. Mark Millar
6. Jeph Loeb
7. Frank Miller
8. Mike Mignola
9. Joss Whedon
10. Brian Michael Bendis

Monday, January 21, 2008

A Reflection on Black Heroes Part Duex

MLK Day is winding down. I hope you all read your copy of Letter from a Birmingham Jail? If you didnt know, I heard the King sneaks into your room and gives you a breakfast sandwich.











Wrong King...Keep on scrolling for the conclusion of the black heroes





Black Panther
-Was the first modern black superhero.
-Originally got his start as a supporting character in the Fantastic Four.
-He Finally got his own book a year after Luke Cage. (1973)
-He's the King of Wakanda, and is the only supplier of vibranium. The same vibranium thats comprises Captain America's shield. Which proves again, if it were't for a brotha Captain America would still look like this..


-This makes him and Wakanda one of the wealthies countries on the planet.
-During the cease fire of the Civil War he married his childhood sweetheart, Storm, of the X-men.
-For more click......................here

Storm
- The first black female to have a lead or supporting role as a super heroine
-Prominent leader of the x-men.
-A total hottie who's one of the more powerful mutants in the X-men universe.
-She's been a prominent member of the Fantastic Four, and leader of the Morlocks.
-In film, the sexy Halle Barry played the role of Storm.
-She marries Black Panther and becomes Queen of Wakanda. Making them the second most powerful couple in the Marvel universe, behind Reed and Sue Richards.
-To get a little closer to Storm click here

For the Finale here are the honorable mentions for other black characters you should study up on.....
John Henry Irons
Falcon
Vixen
Bill Foster
John Stewart


Excelsior Bitches!!!

Oh Dont Kid Yourself Every Wednesday is Xmas!!!!

Happy MLK Day!!!
Bet you didnt know the Doc had a comic book. Sure its in Spanish, but everything else is english, its all about diversifying my friends. Keep scrolling down for mini comic preview this week.


Hope everyone is enjoyed their weekend. Here's the solicitation list for this week.


Marvel


Amazing Spider-Man #548


Astonishing X-Men #24


Iron Man #25


Marvel Zombies 2 #4


Order #7


Punisher #54


She Hulk #25


Ultimate Fantastic Four #50


Ultimate Iron Man II #2


Ultimates 3 #2


Ultimates 3 #2 (1 in 20) Turner Incentive Cover


World War Hulk AfterSmash Damage Control #1


X-Men #207


X-Men #207 (1 in 10) Cheung Incentive Cover


X-Men First Class vol. 2 #8


Young Avengers Presents #1



DC
Blue Beetle #23


Countdown Lord Havok & the Extremists #4


Countdown to Final Crisis #14


Countdown to Mystery #5


Crime Bible 5 Lessons in Blood #4


Detective Comics #839 (2nd Print)


Gotham Underground #4


JLA Classified #51


Legion of Super Heroes #38


Nightwing #139 (2nd Print)


Robin #169 (2nd Print)


Superman Batman #45


Superman Confidential #11


Teen Titans #55


Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters #5


Wonder Woman #16


Im looking forward to X-men #207, if your not reading the Messiah Complex then you are missing out some very good writing and action. Sure the story is in a ton of X-men books, but after House of M, I wasn't sure I wanted to read anything other than X-Factor. If you've been reading from the beginning then you know it hasnt slowed down. Ill be honest Ive not been feeling this Brand New Day gig with Spidey, but Im willing to read this book and spoil it for you die hard fans who are protesting this book....FIGHT THE POWER MY FRIENDS!!!!

A Reflection on Black Heroes

Since it is Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday (even though his birthday is the 15th , but hey, better late than never, right?) I thought I would take this time to briefly break down some of the black characters who were created during and after Dr. King's life had ended.


Luke Cage

-First appeared in Heroes for Hire #1 (1972)

-Created during the Blaxploitation era he was total badass.

-Yet his first uniform made him look like steroid popping Miss America contestant with his tiara and yellow muscle shirt.

-I don't think anybody in Harlem was actually afraid of him. Hey sunshine come and give me a hug. Here's the original Luke... Retro Luke

-He was later revamped, to this...The New Luke

-He then went on to do what any brother from the hood would do after becoming a famous Avenger, marry a white woman and have a baby that may possibly be alien.

-If you want the rest of his story jump this way... Luke Cage

Updates this afternoon....


Welcomes All Around

Greetings comic book fan boys and girls and welcome to SOI. We here at the Seduction will bring to you honest, intellectual (without being jerks) and humorous news, reviews, rumors, and opinions on comic books and the comic book industry. Ill take this time to introduce myself, I'm Fred's Gunn (Bonus points to the person who gets the two names I'm using from the comic/show) and my partner the Penrod will talk about himself later today. I wont give my age but I'm old enough to share a drink with Tony Starks, but of course he'll be having the virgin margarita, and I've been reading comic books since I was a kid. I'll give you some of my favorite writers and this is in no particular order...
  1. Joss Whedon
  2. Mark Millar
  3. Frank Miller
  4. Ed Brubaker
  5. Matt Fraction
  6. Brian Michael Bendis
  7. J. Michael Straczynski

Ill start updating more later this morning, but for now its time to cuddle up in my Buffy blanket and watch some Angel.....(There is no Buffy Blanket nor cuddling but I will be watching Angel)

Excelsior Bitches!!!!