Comics

Uncanny X-Men #17

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Uncanny X-Men #17Dropped off in the middle of nowhere in a bizarre locale by Magik, the young X-Men (Tempus, Fabio, Celeste, Irma, Phoebe, Benjamin Deeds, Triage, Hijack) are put to the test in a field training exercise to determine both their survival instincts and their ability to follow orders and work together to stay alive. Although the entire group makes it back home in one piece, the casual disregard for Cyclops‘ explicit orders means (for now) that one member of the team is no longer an X-Man.

I’ve got to say I’m not altogether happy with the set-up of this issue as Cyclops throws the unprepared recruits into a dangerous situation without the control of a Danger Room scenario. Although they each perform well in surviving the bizarre super-evolutionary town in Montana, they nearly get taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. thanks to Hijack’s cellphone leading the heroes right to them. And I’m not exactly buying the idea that this is the last we’ve seen of Hijack whose skills are far too valuable not to see him return after he’s “learned his lesson” (if that’s even why he was truly let go). Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Batman ’66 #8

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Batman '66 #8More of an homage to the wacky adventures Batman and Robin were having in the comics than on the television show in the mid-to-late 60s, the latest issue of Batman ’66 pits the Dynamic Duo against professor of Egyptology turned deranged super-villain who actually believes himself to be King Tut.

Originally created for the show, Tut’s inclusion in the comic is appreciated, but the adventure itself involving a time tunnel hidden inside a sarcophagus taking the villain and Batman and Robin into Egypt’s past is pretty damn bizarre (as it the convoluted plot involving time travel for the sole purpose of trading chocolate for gold).

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Teen Titans Go! #2

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Teen Titans Go! #2As in the style of the cartoon which spawned it, the latest issue of Teen Titans Go! includes two wacky adventures for our heroes. The first involves Robin bowing to peer pressure (and his crush to Starfire) and allowing the team to compete on a reality-TV talent competition which becomes more of an all-out brawl when they discover The Brotherhood of Evil are also contestants.

The second-half of the comic involves the consequences of Captain Cold successfully freezing Robin in ice. Eventually thawing their leader, the Titans decide to shrink Beast Boy to microscopic levels in an Innerspace style advneture to send him into Robin to kill the virus making him sick. Of course things go terrible wrong and Robin awakes “years later” with a broken arm as the team tries to play off their various mistakes with a prank.

Both adventures are fun. I like the choice of judges in the first story, and the inclusion of the classic version of Captain Cold (who is honestly surprised he was able to successfully freeze one of the heroes) is terrific. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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She-Hulk #1

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She-Hulk #1I’ve always liked She-Hulk and although her involvement in Future Foundation wasn’t enough to keep me coming back to that series I’m pleased to see the lawyer/super-hero get her own well-deserved title (although I think Marvel misses a huge opportunity by not relocating her to the West Coast as the trouble she could get into with Daredevil, in and out of the courtroom, would be a real treat).

The first issue deals more with She-Hulk’s role as a lawyer than super-hero as she quits here well-paying job at a prestigious law firm rather than trade on her super-hero connections and takes a case of a widowed single-mother who has a case against Tony Stark‘s company stealing her husband’s work.

Although I think it goes too far, the automated levels Stark leaves between himself and any legal problems (even those brought to him by friends) is humorous as things get more complicated and further out of hand before She-Hulk goes into smash mode to get his attention. Overall a solid first issue (even if I’m not sold on the art of Javier Pulido that appears to be aping Mike Allred‘s art on FF). Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Winter Soldier: The Bitter March #1

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Winter Soldier: The Bitter March #1Set in 1966 at the height of the Cold War the new mini-series from writer Rick Remender and artist Roland Boschi gets off to a strong start with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s top two agents successfully extracting a pair of Nazi scientists from a HYDRA base. Personally I could have done with a little less of the monstrous Madam Worm, but Boschi’s art fits style of the comic well and the interaction between Nick Fury and the cock Ran Shen offers several fun panels.

Despite escaping the castle without raising any real trouble from the terrorist organization with plans to use the scientists’ discovery of the alchemy formula (allowing them to duplicate any element in any quantity) to destabilize the world’s economy, Fury and Shen run into trouble with the appearance of a Russian agent who has his own plans for the Nazis.

Offering us a look at the more murderous version of Bucky under control of the Soviets, the issue sells me completely on the idea of Shen alone with an injured Fury on a mountain against a mythical enemy he fears he can’t beat. Chris Eliopoulos also provides an awesome variant cover. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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