October 2011

Secret Avengers #18

secret-avengers-18-coverThis month’s issue is a fair bit better than last month’s disappointment as Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter and Shang-Chi travel into a Bad Continuum (a malformed dimension of a Multiverse) trying to stop agents of the Shadow Council from removing transmatter from the dimension which could be used as a terrible weapon in the Marvel Universe by transforming the Earth into a sun.

Aside from feeling far more like an Authority story than an Avenger story, the comic is pretty good including a well-designed M.S. Escher like world for our heroes to battle the members of the Shadow Council.

Writer Warren Ellis even gives us an appearance by Arnim Zola (a perfect villain for this type of story), the return of the Beast (who is given most the of monologue necessary to explain the situation), and a fun cameo by Reed Richards which allows the comic to end with Steve Rogers delivering a joke. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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The Mentalist – Where in the World is Carmine O’Brien

  • Title: The Mentalist – Where in the World is Carmine O’Brien
  • wiki: link

the-mentalist-where-in-the-world-is-carmine-obrien

The murder of a local sheriff (Claudia Wells) leads the CBI to begin an investigation which uncovers three suspects: a wealthy businessman (Carlo Rota) who enjoys sexually assaulting young women (Fernanda Andrade), an embezzler on the run (Todd Eric Andrews), and a local kid with a drug problem. The case gets far more complicated by the arrival of Lisbon’s (Robin Tunney) brother Tommy (Henry Thomas).

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Batman, Zatanna, and Monsters! Oh My!

all-new-batman-brave-and-bold-12-coverI’m not sure why many of DC’s best comics come from their kids line or why it’s so hard for comic book shops to stock these, but when I find one I make sure to grab it. The latest issue of The All-New Batman: The Brave And The Bold features Batman and Zatanna and a whole host of cameos from lesser known DC heroes and villains who fit perfectly into a Halloween tale.

Batman calls on Zatanna to help him track down the person responsible for breaking into the House of Mystery and turning Abel into in a tree. Their search for the magic users responsible leads to battles Doctor Destiny and Mr. Mxyzptlk before the true culprit is unmasked.

The final battle gives us a super-sized throwdown between the conjured up villains (Man-Bat, the Monk, Dala, Blockbuster, Solomon Grundy, werewolves, monstermen) and Batman, Zatanna, and their friends (Deadman, the Spectre, Etrigan, Blue Devil, Swamp Thing, Tomcat). However, victory isn’t won with fists but with words as Batman starts to understand how to use the rules of magic to his advantage. Best of the week.

[DC, $2.99]

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The Good Guy Fluctuation

  • Title: The Big Bang Theory – The Good Guy Fluctuation
  • tv.com: link

big-bang-theory-good-guy-fluctuation

Halloween brings amusement for the entire gang at Sheldon’s (Jim Parsons) expense as Leonard (Johnny Galecki) is faced with a moral quandary when a beautiful girl (Courtney Ford) hits on him at the comic book store. As Leonard’s struggles over his loyalty to Priya (Aarti Mann) and his infatuation with an attractive girl who likes, and writes, comic books Sheldon plots his revenge.

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