Blog

Hey everyone welcome back to R & R! I’ll give you 5 more off my pull list now and then 5 more in part 3. I can’t wait for this week’s stuff to come (hopefully on Saturday as usual- snowstorm) and dig right into those. Let’s get to it!
First up is…DoomWar #1 of 6.
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jonathan Maberry
Artist: Scot Eaton (cover by John Romita Jr.)
All right, so it’s finally here! I’ve been waiting for this one since I previewed it way back when. Let me tell you this one didn’t disappoint. I do wish I would have read the last couple issues of Black Panther to help set things up, but it did pick up nicely even for the non-Panther reader. In the first few panels we see Storm being dragged to a trial and convicted of crimes against Wakanda. The new regime, the Desturi, have sentenced her to death but she lets them know her husband won’t let it happen. Next we see Doom and his cronies trying to break into the Vibranium safe in the basement. The X-Men find out about this “trial” and basically start to formulate a plan to stop it. As they start discussing it, T’Challa shows up on their doorstep asking for help. We then see Doom’s buddy, the Broker, in a room full of Doombots ready to start a war. The X-Men agree to help and go to Wakanda with the Panther to wage war against the Desturi and Doom! Great first issue!  4/5
Next up is…Avengers vs. Atlas #2 of 4.
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jeff Parker (back-up story by Scott Kurtz)
Artist: Gabriel Hardman (back-up story art by Zach Howard)(cover by Humberto Ramos)
This series so far seems to have some potential but hasn’t really delivered anything monumental…yet. In this issue we see the original Avengers appear out of nowhere and start to fight with the Agents of Atlas. After some back and forth, there’s a really cool scene where Gorilla Man bites Pym and turns into a giant ape a la King Kong. Really neat little sequence right there. Venus eventually uses her powers of persuasion to get everyone to stop fighting and listen. The moment of peace comes and goes in a flash because Thor is swallowed up by the mysterious entity that has been plaguing them. What appears in his place is the green behemoth called, The Hulk! Good issue and hopefully this will lead somewhere great. There was also a back-up story with Jimmy Woo that was kind of entertaining as well. 3.5/5
Thirdly I bring you…Realm of Kings Imperial Guard #4 of 5.
Publisher: Marvel
Writer(s): Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist: Kevin Walker (cover by Brian Haberlin)
This series is definitely picking up the pace since issue #1. We saw in this issue, the Imperial Guard and the Starjammers trying to fight their way out of the Fault and back to their universe. Easier said than done. One half of the Imperial Guard is trying to fortify the ship’s hull, while the other is fighting for their very lives against a horde of aliens. One quick note about Guardsmen Smasher though; he is actually Talon in disguise! Talon is part of a race of beings called Raptors that are supposedly the “curators of history and the future”. There’s a really cool panel in the middle of this book where you can see the big bad beast of the Fault coming toward the ship and it manifests itself to look like the X-Men and it’s really creepy. So, the Guard and Jammer’s are fighting with everything they have but the alien is still moving forward. When all appears lost however, Gladiator shows up and tears a hole right through the beast. Next month will bring the conclusion and I can’t wait!  4/5
Fourth on my list is…Dark X-Men #4 of 5.
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artist: Leonard Kirk (cover by Mike Choi)
This series has been nothing short of a huge disappointment for me. If you can find somebody that thinks this series is great, call Dunwich Sanatorium now. The one and only reason I bought this series was for the return of Nate Grey. Marvel couldn’t have picked a worse series to do it in if you ask me. Nate seems more out of place than a Jehova’s Witness at a frat party. Nate has taken up residence inside Norman Osborn’s skull and has fooled just about everybody, except Mystique. How she knows, I have no idea and it hasn’t been explained either. We see Norman and Nate arm wrestling inside his mind for “control”. Nate is sweating and Norman is smiling? Yeah, OK Marvel, if you say so. The issue ends with Normie’s Dark X-Men going into his mind to help but it seems that is exactly what Nate wants.  2/5
Last, but certainly not least is…Doctor Voodoo Avenger of the Supernatural #5.
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Rick  Remender
Artist: Jefte Palo (cover by Marko Djurdjevic)
All I can say is Marvel is making a huge blunder by cancelling this book. It has great action, awesome guest appearances, really cool magical stuff and most importantly it has the ability to suck you in and keep you wanting more. Thanks for the Dark X-Men, the 500 Iron Man comics they’ll put out to hype the movie, and the 20 Spidey titles a month. Those are of course all solid gold hits I’m sure. Well on to the finale of Doctor Voodoo. At the end of issue #4, we saw Voodoo end up in Latveria, asking for the help of Dr. Doom. Victor Von Doom realizes that he needs to help Voodoo or Nightmare will take over the entire planet. We get to see Doom and Voodoo side by side fighting against Dracula, Man-Thing, both Ghost Riders and many more of Marvels mystical characters. In the end, Voodoo and his brother, trick Doom into giving up his personal force field and double cross him after they stop Nightmare. Nightmare cannot infect the vengeance of God, so Voodoo’s brother possesses Johnny Blaze then makes contact with Nightmare. After they lock up Nightmare in some crazy otherworldly prison, Doom tries to steal Nightmare’s power but is then himself possessed by Daniel. The brothers Drumm have a little fun with Doom but then he dispels Daniel. Voodoo punches Doom in the face for his arrogance, but Doom vows to meet him again, very soon. Great issue, great series. Thanks to Remender for this 5 issue gem. No thanks to Marvel  for cancelling it.     4/5
Well, that’s it for now but I will be back in the near future with part 3 of this week’s reviews. See you next time and keep reading comics!
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net