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I’m back and ready to deal out some reviews on 5 more from my pull list. I’ve got 2 Annuals, 2 Limited Series, and a one-shot to talk about this time around.
First up is…Siege: The Cabal #1 (one-shot)
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Lark (cover by David Finch)
This was a pretty good issue all around for me personally. We get to see more of Norman’s secret meetings with his posse but even better, we get to see him talking to his Green Goblin mask. Doom shows up at a meeting and tells Normie to lay off Namor or he’s gonna get a beating. Osborn doesn’t take threats very well so after some heated banter, Osborn’s still unknown muscle comes in and Taskmaster and the Hood nearly jump out of their skins. A huge melee ensues with Norman and his mystery muscle pounding on Doom until he’s neutralized…or is he? It’s really a Doombot that unleashes thousands of little robotic locusts that start to tear apart Avenger’s tower. In the end Sentry saves Norman, but then we see him and his team asking the President to allow them to launch an assault on Asgard. To which he replies, no. Good stuff setting up Siege for sure. 4/5
Next on the list is…Dark Avengers Annual #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Chris Bachalo
This issue was just OK. I’m not a big Noh-Varr fan to begin with so I wasn’t really pumped for this issue because I knew it was all about him. The story showed him trying to understand why humans act the way they do. He meets some chick who tries to help him figure things out but before you know it, the Sentry is in his face and the two are fighting and tearing the block apart. We see after this fight that he is consulting some weird machine that sends and receives messages from his home-world. This device tells him that he’s some grand protector of Earth and gives him some ridiculous looking suit full of gadgets. The one cool thing that happened at the end of this story was that from a rooftop we see Bucky and presumably Steve Rogers watching Noh-Varr and wondering who’s side he’s really on. 2/5
Thirdly I begrudgingly present…X-Force Annual #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer(s):Robert Kirkman (back-up story by Kyle & Yost)
Artist: Jason Pearson (back-up story art by Carlos Barberi)
Alright, well, not much to say about this waste of money other than it was terrible. The story was a waste and had nothing to do with anything relevant. The artwork was atrocious and lacked any real qualities one would think a Marvel book would contain. Even the Hydra agents looked like crap, and they’re probably the easiest thing in the book to sketch.The story revolved around some Hydra agent who knocked up some chick that had a mutant baby, and the baby needs a bone marrow transplant to live. There was one bright spot though: a Deadpool back-up story that was absolutely hilarious. Great stuff right there. It alone was worth buying this crummy Annual. 3/5



Next up is…Psylocke #2 of 4
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Chris Yost
Artist: Harvey Tolibao
I actually am enjoying this Limited Series, although I didn’t have high hopes for it. This issue shows Betsy hunting down her former tormentor Matsu’o Tsurayaba in Japan. We also see a scene of a bunch of ninja from The Hand killing some dude’s wife, and afterward he seems hell bent on killing Matsu’o. We get to see Psylocke kill a bunch of his goons and then just as she is about to find him, Logan’s old friend Yukio kicks Betsy in the face and tells her that she is here to protect him. The fight doesn’t last too long before Betsy gets the best of Yukio. Just as Psylocke thinks she is about to find Matsu’o, she finds the dude whose wife was killed by The Hand earlier. He has also come to kill him and when he runs into Betsy, he blows up the whole house rather than fight her. This LS has been good so far and hopefully it will deliver a “killer” ending (ha ha). 4/5
Finally I present to you…Strange #2 of 4
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Emma Rios
This series has been very refreshing for me so far. Yes it has its magic and Doctor Strange still kind of sulking about screwing up, but it also is showing a lighter side of the ‘ol Doc that hasn’t really been seen before. This chapter shows the young girl from the first issue that Stephen had to rescue from a demonized baseball game, abusing the little bit of magic that he taught her. Nothing epic happened but it was just another issue that felt like a breath of fresh air for Doctor Strange. The young girl gets into some trouble by transporting a bunch of objects to another realm; one that Stephen had made an agreement with that it wouldn’t happen again. By the end of this issue all of that is resolved and Stephen tells the girl that he is going to show her the ropes and how to use her natural ability the right way. Great issue and the artist has sort of a manga style that’s cool too. 4/5
Well, that’s all for now but stay tuned for more in the very near future. I just finished reading this weeks books so it won’t be long until I post more reviews. Until next time.
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net