January 2013

Winter Soldier #14

/ / Comics

Winter Soldier #14Ed Brubaker’s run on Winter Soldier ends with the final issue of the “Black Widow Hunt.” Although I’m happy to see someone else get a crack at Captain America, I fear Bucky’s status in the Marvel Universe could take a hit with Brubaker’s departure, particularly with the choices he makes here.

The first third of the comic is pretty much set-up and the retelling of Bucky’s war with the Soviet sleeper agent Leo Novokov who has brainwashed the Black Widow into believing she is once again an agent of the KGB. I’m not saying the amount of pages spent on catching everyone up are wasted, but it does mean the final battle between Novokov and the Winter Soldier feels rushed and anti-climactic.

More concerning however is Novokov’s victory. Although the Avengers are able to restore nearly all of Natasha’s memories, they can’t make her remember Bucky at all. Aside from making no sense, this certainly opens up new possibilities for the character (including the teased pairing with Hawkeye to mirror the movie characters), but it also means a huge piece of what made this book work will be absent for the foreseeable future. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]

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House of Lies – Man-Date

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: House of Lies – Man-Date
  • tv.com: link

House of Lies - Man-Date

After Tamara’s  (Nia Long) snafu with Pinkus (Kevin Dobson), Marty (Don Cheadle) and Clyde (Ben Schwartz) try to make the best out of their trip to Las Vegas by partying with the douchebag nightclub twins (Evan Hart, Taylor Gerard Hart) in hopes of getting a meeting with Michael Carlson (Mather Zickel), a self-made Vegas millionaire with a renown hatred of consultants.

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The Mentalist – The Red Barn

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Mentalist – The Red Barn
  • wiki: link

the-mentalist-the-red-barn

Jane (Simon Baker) and Cho (Tim Kang) discover ties to Red John while investigating the discovery of three bodies hidden in the basement of a barn for more than 25 years, and 10 years before the first documented Red John murder. When the victims turn out to be members of Visualize, which also owned the barn back in 1988, Jane and Lisbon (Robin Tunney) head to the Visualize HQ to talk with the cult’s second-in-command Jason Cooper (Robert Picardo).

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Supergirl #16

/ / Comics

Supergirl #16I’ll be honest, I haven’t looked at the current Supergirl title since the first days of the New 52 and I haven’t been keeping up with Superman, either. That means I felt a little lost at the beginning of this “He’l on Earth” tie-in, but what I really picked up the issue for, Supergirl going one-on-one with the Flash, the comic delivered.

From what I could understand there’s an alien named He’l who wants to travel back in time to save Krypton. A somewhat smitten Kara is in favor, while Superman is not. While the Man of Steel and (apparently) the Justice League are busy with He’l this issue focuses on the Flash fighting, and trying to talk some sense into, Superman’s stubborn cousin.

There’s plenty of action along with a couple humorous surprises for the Scarlet Speedster as his discovers that Superman not only has a zoo in the Fortress of Solitude but also a dog. The story does a good job explaining how the Flash can keep up with Kara by choosing to focus on how the hero thinks and moves faster than everyone, even Kryptonians.

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