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Featured

What’s the Deal With Marvel Unlimited Gift Subscriptions Not Working?

September 28, 2014 by Dave 6 Comments

To lead with 100% transparency, I nearly titled this post the far more incendiary “Marvel Unlimited Support is AWFUL” but that’s my emotion talking, and in reality that’s an extremely misleading title. I thought instead I’d take the (pseudo) high road and simply lead with the facts:

Marvel Unlimited support totally failed me on a gift subscription for my Dad.

It’s time we talked about that. [Read more…] about What’s the Deal With Marvel Unlimited Gift Subscriptions Not Working?

Filed Under: Featured, Marvel Unlimited Tagged With: Marvel, Marvel Unlimited

Amazing X-Men #11 Review! Not Much Of A War At All

September 27, 2014 by Travis Bass 1 Comment

Chris Yost and Craig Kyle’s tale about an army of Wendigos spreading across Canada, continuously growing in number, trudges along in the penultimate issue. This issue adds an interesting new level to the story by turning what could be summarized as a zombie story with werewolves, and adding more mystical, godlike elements that should vastly increase the scale and tension to this arc. So, how does issue 11 set things up for the final battle in issue 12?

z
They Have Been Teasing This For Three Issues Now

We begin this issue with the Avengers and Alpha Flight testing out what happens when the Wendigos leave Canada and enter the United States. Since the curse only works on Canadian soil, right when they cross the border, they revert back to human. Captain America states that the Avengers will control the Wendigo plague as best they can and allow the X-Men enough time to stop the problem at the source. We then get to see Wolverine/Wendigo screaming…again…doing nothing otherwise. Hopefully he will actually get to do something in the final issue.

Cutting back to the X-Men and Alpha Flight members who entered the spirit realm last issue, we are introduced to the true villain of this series, Tanaraq. He is one of the godlike beings that draw their power from the land itself (I assume this is limited to Canada), whether it’s the snow, the tundra, or (in Tanaraq’s case) the beasts. Using the spread of the Wendigo curse to vastly increase his own power, Tanaraq intends to wipe out the rest of these beings, become the ruler of the spirit realm, and then conquer Earth itself. The major problem I have with this plot reveal is that it was introduced way too late in the game. If they had introduced this idea of the spirit world around the second or third issue, the writers could have done something cool with the idea of Gods who have been locked in an eternal conflict are suddenly thrown into complete chaos by one God taking control. Unfortunately here it reads as an easy way to up the stakes, and give the X-Men a simple method to end the Wendigo curse.

z5
Cool Idea That This Book Doesn’t Do A Lot With

Something I found rather interesting, and I don’t know if this is because I’m not fully read up on Alpha flight, but a lot of them seem like jerks. I mentioned this last issue about Northstar (a former member), which he comes off a lot better this issue, but Aurora has a really bad attitude this entire issue. Not complaining, it’s just I’m curious if this is the best way to introduce people to Alpha Flight.

z6
Yes, She Is A Good Guy

Carlo Barberi’s artwork is still good at presenting the battles between the X-Men and the Wendigos, and he also does a good job of depicting the spirits (what little they get to do here). While I do enjoy his artwork, I really wish this arc didn’t begin with Ed McGuinness because no one can draw over-muscular characters like he can, and unfortunately his first issue casts a shadow over the rest of the arc.

Overall this issue is alright; not bad, but nothing great about it. It moves along at a nice clip, there are some nice character moments here and there throughout the story, and the artwork was nice to look at. Unfortunately, nothing really stands out about this arc either. The giant plague of Wendigos started out strong, but we haven’t seen how big this thing truly is. The spirit war is cool, but it was introduced in the second to last issue. And of course the Wolverine/Wendigo who was introduced in the second issue of the arc has done a grand total of nothing this entire time. Maybe issue #12 will deliver a truly slam-bang finale to this arc, but it may be a case of too little too late.

CBH Score: 3 out of 5

Filed Under: Featured, Marvel Reviews Tagged With: Alpha Flight, Amazing X-Men, Wolverine

New Avengers #24 Review! The Countdown to the End Continues

September 26, 2014 by Travis Bass 3 Comments

And so continues the fall of the Illuminati, as what began as a group of men trying to save the universe from an unknown threat, has spiraled out of control and left a group of monsters to hold the world hostage while they have their fun exterminating planet after planet. This is the second issue in the “Time Runs Out” story arc taking place between Avengers and New Avengers, and specifically picks up after the bombshell of a last page from New Avengers #23. Shaping up to be an event story without officially being an event book itself, how does this issue continue the story about the death of the all things? [Read more…] about New Avengers #24 Review! The Countdown to the End Continues

Filed Under: Featured, Marvel Reviews Tagged With: Illuminati, Namor, New Avengers

Old-School X-Men with Lincoln Crisler: Uncanny X-Men #201

September 25, 2014 by Lincoln Crisler 1 Comment

Last week’s installment showed Magneto being acquitted of his past crimes, not just by a world court, but also by his actions against Fenris, the children of Hydra leader Baron von Strucker–and his inheritance of Charles’ dream from the Professor himself, just before Xavier was whisked away by the Starjammers to be healed of the injuries he’d been suffering from for nearly the last year’s worth of the comic. The past few issues also set up the return of both Cyclops and Storm. In the absence of the team’s traditional leaders, both Nightcrawler and Shadowcat have stepped up, but what’s going to happen now that Scott and Ororo are back, both accustomed to calling the plays?

The issue, written by Claremont with pencils from Rick Leonardi, opens on a happier note–a full splash page of the X-Men celebrating the arrival of young Nathan Christopher Charles Summers into the world. Cyclops and Maddie’s son, of course, is known to long-time X-Men fans as the man called Cable (though he doesn’t make his adult appearance until over four issues later, in New Mutants #87). It might be worth noting that the only two characters without looks of joy on their faces are Scott, the boy’s father, and Rachel, Scott and Jean’s daughter from an alternate reality. Rachel is understandable, to me at least; in her world, her mother was still alive and in this world, she isn’t and her father has moved on. But Cyclops…well, Cyclops is a jerk around this time period of X-Comics, rivalled only by his actions during AvX, which arguably weren’t completely his own.

201-1
Stay cool, Kitty–now would be a bad time to phase.

In fact, Madelyne pulls Ororo aside to discuss just that, though in broader terms. They discuss the Professor’s departure, Magneto’s assumption of command, and Madelyne’s concern over Scott’s return to the X-Men, where we discover that not only did Scott leave his pregnant wife alone to rush back to the X-Men, but that the whole rest of the team had called to check on her after Nathan’s birth, except for Scott himself. In the end, it’s Rachel who adjusts to this new situation better than her father, cradling the brother she never had in her reality and promising that he’d never see anything like the dark future she’d come from. Of course, taken with what we know of Cable in the X-Comics to come, this is ironic as hell, but even still, Rachel’s the one who becomes Mother Askani in the future and pulls Nathan forward in time to cure him of Apocalypse’s virus. It’s plain throughout their relationship, across time, that Rachel takes being Nate’s big sister seriously, and this is where it all begins.

We cut to the Starjammer, across the galaxy and in a fight with an enemy starship. They win, thanks to the powers of their newest member, Carol Danvers, called Binary. However, the ship is damaged and Charles, though apparently healed up, won’t be going home right away. This gives him time to second-guess his choices aloud to Lilandra, the Shi’ar empress he loves, and to be reassured by her. It’s pretty obvious he won’t have much trouble finding something to do with his additional time aboard the Starjammer. Back at the mansion, Cannonball’s computer eats his term paper, the X-Men pair off for a game of baseball and, when Rogue goes airborne to retrieve Colossus’ home run, we get a cameo appearance from President Ronald Regan!

Even Rogue loves the Gipper. Some guys have all the luck.
Even Rogue loves the Gipper. Some guys have all the luck.

After the game, Kitty goes back inside to grab a shower and overhears an argument from upstairs, in Storm’s loft, which she’s loaned to Scott and Maddie. We cut to the happy couple arguing over Scott’s commitment to the X-Men as opposed to his family. He feels that he needs to stay and lead the X-Men again, that they need him more than ever now that Charles is gone and Magneto’s running the school. Maddie, quite understandably, feels different. Their discussion is cut off by Storm, who’d been downstairs with Kitty. She offers a solution: she, though powerless, still desires leadership of the team, and is willing to duel Scott for the right–if he’s not chicken, of course.

The X-Men kick the New Mutants out of the Danger Room and both teams huddle up in the control booth to watch what’s sure to be the fight of the year. And it is quite a tense affair, though in the end, Storm wins, stripping Scott of the visor he needs to control his powers. Scott is surprised and hurt, of course, but readers who’ve followed the last year or two of X-Men comics probably won’t be. Even powerless, Claremont has always written Ororo as a strong, powerful woman, wresting control of the Morlocks from Callisto in a knife fight and surviving the African desert with nothing more than her wits. And in Cyclops’ defense, becoming a new father is enough to distract any man!

It’s worth noting, as well, how awesome and supportive Maddie is. She understood completely when he left her side when he heard of Charles’ illness, and even during the fight with Ororo, she’s concerned over the pain a loss would cause him, even though she wants him back with her instead of with the X-Men. It seriously underscores what a poor excuse for a man Cyclops is at this point, right up to the beginning of X-Factor this same year, when Jean comes back and he ditches Maddie and Nathan because Jean comes back from the dead.

Ororo for the win! Eat it, Cyclops! Woooooo!
Ororo for the win! Eat it, Cyclops! Woooooo!

The issue’s epilogue shows us Rachel Summers, visiting her grandparents’ home once more, to repair the holoempathic crystal broken two issues ago. She not only restores it to it’s previous condition, but adds her own imprint to the crystal, alongside Jean’s. She may not ever exist in this world thanks to the absence of Jean Grey, but she hopes that adding her essence to the crystal will keep her from ever being forgotten. One thing about this era of X-Men is how Claremont and the editors handling Uncanny didn’t wait for “big” issues to pull out all the stops. Issue #201 is at least as classic as #200, if not moreso (and so is #199, for that matter!).

Next Issue: Phoenix vs the Beyonder! With BONUS Sentinels!

Filed Under: Featured, Marvel Reviews

Agents of SHIELD S2 E1 Review! This Time With Meaning

September 24, 2014 by Dave Leave a Comment

Unlike Gotham which debuted to a fresh, adoring public this week, Agents of SHIELD season two aired last night with a lot of baggage. Season one certainly has its fans, but the general consensus seems to be: Not a very good show, but it got a LOT better after Captain America 2 and the dissolution of SHIELD at the hands of Hydra. I tend to agree, and although I have my own plan for the Season 2 I want to see, I think Agents of SHIELD S2 episode one was able to match the potential exhibited by Gotham in its pilot. So far these are both comic book TV shows defined by potential, and with an entire season under its belt AoS certainly has a shorter forgiveness-leash. Nonetheless, episode one puts season two on the right track. [Read more…] about Agents of SHIELD S2 E1 Review! This Time With Meaning

Filed Under: Comic Book TV, Featured Tagged With: Absorbing Man, agents of shield, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phil Coulson

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