Comics

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #11

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #11Love is in the air in the latest issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten leading to several characters falling flat on their face. Against her better judgement Buffy tries speed dating (where she discovers her fetish for vampires has become common knowledge among the undead). Willow has a transdimensional ecounter. Xander and Dawn continue to fail to make things work. And Giles gets shot down by an old flame who can’t quite come to terms with his current situation.

Although the main crux of the story focuses on just how hopeless the characters collectively are about love the issue does make a couple of big breakthroughs. First, Andrew makes a discovery everyone else was clear about many, many season ago. He also gets a power boost which could lead for an entirely different path for the character going forward. Oh, and remember kitten poker? Yeah, it’s back.

Andrew’s transformation will certainly have consequences, but the big news is the final panel which finally puts Spike and Buffy together again romantically. It will be interesting to see how the comic explores their relationship going forward. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #42

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #42The split within the Turtles is finally explained as Leonardo reveals his plan to Splinter in the latest issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Realizing that both the Shredder and the Technodrome offer very real threats to both themselves and the city Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #42 reveals Leo and Donatello‘s plan to insert Donnie as a double-agent and lure the Foot into a trap allowing the Turtles to pit their two enemies against each other while leaving the Technodrome largely unguarded.

As plans go it’s pretty darn good and makes for a nice twist, although it still leaves plenty of room for something to go wrong and the leaves the door open to either one of the Turtles’ enemies realizing how the Turtles have used them. Of course if it works the Turtles will be able to destroy the war machine as their enemies destroy each other. But if things went down that easily where would that leave the series as the heroes would be left with no enemies to fight tomorrow? Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Snake Eyes: Agent of Cobra #1

Snake Eyes: Agent of Cobra #1Not seen nor heard from in two years since his fall from grace with G.I. JOE and his apparent death at the hands of Storm Shadow way back in Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow #20 Snake Eyes finally returns. IDW relaunched (and eventually cancelled) an entire slate of G.I. JOE titles (including some issues written by Mike Costa) without one of the franchise’s favorite characters over the past couple of years so I’m excited to see the character finally be brought back into play, although I never expected it to be as an agent for Cobra.

The comic itself is vague about how long Snake Eyes has been missing or how long it has been since he signed on with Cobra. What is clear is his current mission which includes rescuing Destro from custody. The mini-series is set to run for five-issues suggesting that Snake Eyes’ time with Destro and Cobra may be limited (and one has to ask is that even Snake Eyes under the mask?). The promise of Storm Shadow’s appearance in the series and yet another confrontation between the two should answer several questions about Snake Eyes’ short and long term future. But for now we can just be happy he’s back in action once more. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Rocket Raccoon #7

Rocket Raccoon #7After crash landing on a frigid planet full of monsters and snow ninjas on the far edge of the galaxy that makes Hoth look hospitable by comparison, things take a turn for the worse. Well, considering Rocket was already using his friend’s arm to fuel their fire to keep them alive while all his weapons froze in the intense cold, things weren’t going all that well to begin with.

Rocket Raccoon #7 offers an interesting premise by attacking the one aspect of Groot that we know to be true – although he can be cut, crushed, smashed, and blown to bits the living tree always grows back. However after being bitten my a space dog that somehow poisons his friend’s regenerative properties, Rocket Raccoon is forced to accept the the very real possibility that Groot might die.

Thankfully there is something for Rocket and his new snow ninja friend Jinx to do as the egg of one of the monsters that poisoned Groot may hold the cure (that is if Rocket can survive long enough on his quest to retreive it). Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 1: The Faust Act

The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 1: The Faust ActWritten by Kieron Gillen in an attempt to “turn the most confusing and upsetting two years of [his] life into a pop song,” The Wicked + The Divine is an odd, often messy, but always entertaining, series. Volume One: The Faust Act (earning points for the pun) collects the first five issues of the ongoing series centered around 12 gods reincarnated into the bodies of teens and twenty-somethings every 90 years. The catch? The gods live these new lives for only two years before dying out and waiting most of a century before their next reincarnation.

The story is presented through the eyes of an uber fan girl Laura who views the gods not unlike the pop stars and celebrities of our world. Being in the right place at either the right or wrong moment (depending on your perspective) allows Laura to meet Luci, the mischievous current incarnation of Lucifer who is arrested for a pair of murders she committed (in self-defense) and a very public third death that only Laura believes she is innocent of.

Jamie McKelvie’s art deftly brings Gillen’s world (filled with pain, hope, ego, despair, envy, and exploding skulls) to life. It’s definitely worth a look.

[Image, $9.99]

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