Comics

Guardians 3000 #1

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Guardians 3000 #1Continuing the back-up story from Guardians of the Galaxy #14, Marvel’s original team of Guardians continue their adventures in the alternate future of the Marvel Universe where the Badoon are overruning the galaxy and leaving very little left alive in their wake.

Taking a page from Edge of Tomorrow (which coincidentally hits shelves this week on Blu-ray and DVD), the Guardians and their new charge find themselves reliving slight variations of the same day’s events as the group attempt to warn their remaining supporters about a disruption to the timeline which Geena Drake is somehow the key to fixing.

Once the time loop is broken it will be interesting to see which versions of Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Martinex, Yondu, and Starhawk the comic leaves us with (I’m hoping for the starry-version of Starhawk). Although I’m not overjoyed with some of the heavy ‘roid rage action scenes by Gerardo Sandoval, it’s fun to see these characters back in action once more. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Magneto #10

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Magneto #10Helping setting up Marvel Comics’ Fall Avengers/X-Men crossover Axis (which I will likely be giving a very wide berth), Magneto‘s search leads him to be captured by the Red Skull who, imbued with a part of Charles Xavier‘s mental gifts, uses his mind to turn Magneto’s own past against him.

Taking place mostly inside Magneto’s mind, Magneto #10 focuses on Magneto attempting to keep his sanity and stop the Red Skull from breaking him (which would happened if not for the timely arrival of the Scarlet Witch, Rogue, and Quicksilver). As to the now mutant-powered Red Skull… meh.

For a comic that has gone out of its way to keep its lead character off the grid throwing him into the middle of a crossover this big is more than a little jarring. That said, the tease at the end of the issue involving Magneto’s rash decision allows readers who stick around to see what an amped-up version of his former self might accomplish. For fans.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Samurai Jack #12

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Samurai Jack #12Sensing that the one object in all the world which he fears in no longer an obstacle, Aku celebrates by putting a bounty on Samurai Jack‘s head when the samurai is at his most vulnerable. With the sword broken, and fighting his way through mercenaries and bounty hunters, Samurai Jack returns home to where he first received the sword but finds only half-remembered memories and no hope no answers to his current predicament.

“The Quest of the Broken Blade” continues to be one of the most intriguing arcs of the current IDW run. Even without his sword the samurai proves he is capable of taking care of himself, but how long before Aku himself takes advantage of the opening and chooses to deal with Samurai Jack one-on-one?

…

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Batman Beyond Universe #14

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Batman Beyond Universe #14Wrapping up the return of the Phantasm who attempts to prevent Terry Ginnis from learning that his father’s true killer is still at large (and tempting him into seeking vengeance), Batman Beyond Universe #14 offers more flashbacks to the events which splintered the Bat-Family and ended any chance of Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon‘s happily ever after.

Although not as strong as the previous month’s set-up, and with several of the final pages setting up future stories I have little to no interest in, Batman Beyond Universe #14 should still be worth a look for fans of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Beyond and curious to see a pivotal moment in the Terry/Bruce relationship unfold.

Filled with plenty of action, hard choices, and Bruce Wayne loosing another adopted son and apprentice, the latest issue of Batman Beyond Universe is worth picking up even for those (like me) who may not stick around to see how the fallout between Bruce and Terry is finally resolved. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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The Fade Out #1

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The Fade Out #1While I was busy moving and trying to keep up with the regular list of titles on my pull list Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips released the first issue of The Fade Out. Wasting no time after wrapping up Fatale, the new noir series is set in post-WWII Hollywood during the Red Scare. With a second printing of the first issue timed with the release of issue #2 (which I have yet to get to) I can begin to see what I’ve missed.

The Fade Out #1 opens with a flawed protagonist, screenwriter Charlie Parish, who wakes up from a crazy Hollywood party to find his movie’s star dead in the other room and no answers for how he or she got there. Fearful of how it looks, Charlie removes any signs of his presence and the studio’s security chief goes even further to re-stage the crime scene to appear like a suicide.

Although it lacks the strong female lead of Velvet or Josephine, there’s much to recommend here as Brubaker and Phillips go all-in for a period crime story with all the trimmings (making use of research assistant Amy Condit) whose motives may take quite some time to unravel. Worth a look.

[Image, $3.50]

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