Weekly Pulls

This is the first of many posts that will be in conjunction with ComicBooked.com. From now on, each week I will be doing my usual reviews of new comics I get but one comic each week will be my Pick Of The Week which will be featured EXCLUSIVELY on ComicBooked.Com.
Let's get started, shall we?

AVENGERS & THE INFINITY GAUNTLET #4 of 4
Words: Brian Clevinger & Lee Black
Pictures: Brian Churilla

The conclusion to the lighter retelling of Marvel's Legendary Event concludes!
Will the heroes (and Doom) defeat Thanos and save the universe? If you don't know that answer to that then you haven't been paying attention.
This issue contains the fight between Doom and Thanos over the Gauntlet, as Doom puts the Gauntlet on! But here's the twist, while normally that would be a tremendously bad thing we are saved by the fact that the Gauntlet doesn't work when Doom wears it. He gets attacked by Thanos who quickly rips his head off revealing Doom to be (another) Doombot!
Before Thanos can put the Gauntlet back on Spider-Man snatches it away from him and as the heroes fight Thanos, Spidey puts the Gauntlet on and wish Thanos had "never got the Infinity Gems" which rewinds time, fixes everything and puts Spider-Man in the position of knowing what happened while everyone else forgot...or never knew since the event never took place.  Well, nearly no one knows...Thanos remembers and he's not happy!
Overall this was a very entertaining miniseries and has my approval. The art was fun, the characters were played off very entertainingly and the overall presentation was just plain fun. Marvel has already announced the trade which will be released in February 2011 and will include the first issue of the original Infinity Gauntlet. If you passed on these issues I would highly suggest the trade!

DEADPOOL #29
Words: Daniel Way
Pictures: Carlo Barberi

I'm Your Man concludes with lots of mayhem, loads of guns and fireworks.
Deadpool displays his rather interesting version of intelligence as he tried to figure out which Steve Rogers is a Dr. Bong created clone and which is the real deal.
He displays his version of a well thought out plan by way of total chaos and nothing making sense until the very end.
Overall this was probably one of the best issues of the series since the whole "I'm Deadpool and I want to be a hero" thing isn't pounded into our heads. It isn't like we haven't gone down this road before so it's a little played out but this still remains entertaining.
Also, seeing Steve Rogers actually letting Deadpool run the show is interesting.
Other than that, we all find out, at the issues conclusion, that Dr. Bong is probably no longer a threat of any kind as Deadpool, shall we say, cuts him off from his sonic/bong abilities...
The issue seemed to read really fast though, something I've noticed about most Deadpool books...wonder if I'm the only one who notices this...

FANTASTIC FOUR #585
Words: Jonathan Hickman
Pictures: Steve Epting

3, Part Three: Lots of things going on here so let me break them down:
First we have Reed Richards having to explain to a very annoyed Galactus and Silver Surfer why there is a corpse of Galactus buried deep in the Earth. Reed explains why there is a body there and Galactus takes Reed to this Nu-Earth so he can get further explanations. Once back on Taa II, the home of Galactus, the Devourer tells Reed that there is another reason he wanted Reed to join him. He begins to tell Reed that Franklin's powers have returned.
Second we have Sue trying to create a peace between New Atlantis and Old Atlantis. Namor, ruler of New Atlantis, seems to be going along with the meeting but refuses to give in to many of the demands of the Old. Finally, after explaining the only reason he agreed to the summit was to see the face of the Old, he kills the king of Old Atlantis and proclaims there is only ONE king of the sea: Him.
Then we have two smaller but equally important stories: Johnny and Ben enjoying Ben's week as a full human begin to talk of the future and fatherhood.
And we have the ominous return of Annihilus and the beginning of the 'Second Annihilation Wave'
Lots going on here but it's all laid out and not jumbled. I love it.

THOR, THE MIGHTY AVENGER #6
Words: Roger Langridge
Pictures: Chris Samnee

The Adventures of Thor continues! Thor continues to take Jane Foster around the world, showing and learning of the beauty of Earth and what it has to offer.
Langridge does a good job of showing the conflict inside Thor: on one hand he wants nothing more than to go home to Asgard yet on the other he's fallen in love, even if he doesn't realize it, with Jane Foster and would do anything for her.
During a dream or flashback sequence we see Thor on the Rainbow Bridge talking with a different version of Heimdall. I say different for two reason: 1, he's black and tall. I never really saw him as being taller than anyone else and 2, he's able to change his form. Something else I never knew he could do. He changes to Fin Fang Foom which gives us our cover shot and also kind of let me down because I was hoping to have 3F in the book for real. Despite this, though, it was still good to see another Asgardian in the book. It also makes me curious as to how the others will look and act in this book.
Which brings us to the bad news. Thor, The Mighty Avenger, one of Marvels best all ages books, has been canceled. January's issue 8 will be the final issue. Truely a sad time considering how truely awesome this series is.

Now, jump over to Comicbooked.com to check out my Pick Of The Week!

Weekly Pulls and a Special Announcement!

AVENGERS #7
Words: Brian Michael Bendis
Pictures: John Romita, Jr

New Story! New Member!
First the new member: The Red hulk. I'm sure this excites some people but honestly I don't read Hulk and have no idea, really, what the deal is with the red one. If you're excited he's here though, good for you!
The new story centers on the legendary Infinity Gems. Seems the former crime boss, The Hood, wants to have power and he's somehow learned of the existence and whereabouts of the Gems. The last time we saw them they were in the possession of the Illuminati: Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Dr. Strange, Prof. X, Tony Stark and Namor who all had one Gem and hid them away.
How The Hood found this out I hope gets explained as well as how a common criminal would have the mental strenght to control the gems.
Anyway, in this issue The Hood locates and claims the Reality Gem from the former home of Attilan and the Power Gem from Reed Richards. This could be very interesting especially if the Gems work in unison again.
We also revisit a small story that was introduced in the first issue: Wonder Man's opposition to the reforming of The Avengers. He restates his opposition and then takes off. This could be bad news for the team very soon.

And now, the big announcement:
It's kind of ironic that I only got one book this week while I'm getting a lot next week. There will be a change in how I post on this blog because I was recently invited to join the website comicbooked.com. It's a website devoted to comics, video games and movies, all the things that makes life fun. I'll be posting there under the name Skott Of Fables.
The way this effects my blog here is simple: From now on I'll be posting on both sites with some exclusivity to Comic Booked. What I'm going to do is every week I'll review most of my books here and I'll be picking one book to feature as my Pick Of The Week, that Pick will be reviewed on Comic Booked only. Also, I'll be continuing my Long Box reviews of older books in my collection but they will be posted on Comic Booked first then 3 to 5 days later I will post them here.
I'll have links here and there so there will be as little confusion as possible. This is also only the beginning. The format of this and Comic Booked will be tweeked over time until I'm comfortable with what I'm doing. I don't want to completely neglect this blog, it's my baby, but I'm super excited about the chance to do something bigger for a wider audience as well as a chance to sharpen my skills so Comic Booked will get most of what I'm doing now.
As always any and all feedback is appreciated and I look forward to hearing from you all as well as seeing you on Comicbooked.com!

The Long Box #16: Raise The Dead

RAISE THE DEAD #1-4
Words: Leah Moore & John Reppion
Pictures: Hugo Petrus
April-July 2007

Zombie comics. Seems like they are every where and despite how much people claim to be tired of them they never go away. Where this trend started I really can't say but I'm pretty sure Marvel Zombies had something to do with it.
In 2007, Dynamite Entertainment decided to try their hand at a straight forward zombie comic with a bit of a twist on the way they are done.
You get your zombies and your flesh eating, sure, but you also get realistic human characters. THAT'S the twist. Image's The Walking Dead is the only other zombie comic I can think of that is a zombie comic that focuses on the human characters more than this one did.
Okay, so the story begins with a group of people, 5 adults and 2 children, taking refuge in a bus depot eatery, by trying I mean they are trying to get the doors shut and the security shutters dropped so they don't get eaten. So, we jump in with zombies already ruining everyone's day and no one knows what started it or how to stop it.
We also don't have a military or police presence here really, just a group of ordinary people trying to figure things out and survive. This is handled quite well after the shutters are dropped and the people start talking about what's going on. Everyone has a different opinion of what's going on.
So, what helps this stick out, to me, is how they fill in who our cast members are. Interspersed throughout the story are small flash backs that tell you either how these characters first found out about the zombies or what their lives were like before it hit.
For example, the kids, Maria and her little brother Joseph, are home alone when their mother returns home from work, I presume a hospital. Mom has a bite on her arm and not feeling well, goes to bed. The kids return to watching TV when reports start coming out about attacks. Then a zombie appears at the window and the kids panic, Maria tells Joseph to get their mom while she collects their father's gun for protection. Joseph screams from the other room and Maria gets there to see their mom trying to eat her little brother. This scene ends with the reader realizing this little girl had to shoot her mother in the head to save her little brother.
Other flash backs aren't as involved but seem to connect the characters and give what could be hints as to what started things. The bus driver, Clara, has a scene with meteors falling to earth in her on of her flash backs which ties in with what Luke tells the group. He watches the starts and witnessed the meteor show which hit a medical research facility where another character, Natalie, worked on some kind of research to extend life which, when tested on animals, made them strangely violent.
This gives us two possible ways this could have started and also a great example of how well written this is.
So what are our heroes/zombie bait trying to do? Well, get someplace safe, of course. Natalie tells them of the facility she worked at and of it's shelter with food and electricity that should keep them safe for possibly weeks. They journey there but it isn't without loss. While trying to get to Clara's bus, Natalie gets bit. She knows her time is short but thinks the work she and her boss Dr. Jones have been doing might hold the get to a cure. Unfortunately for her and Luke they don't make it.
Dr. Jones, he's an interesting fellow. He was working on this project for a company (specifics aren't really important) and wasn't working fast enough so his funding gets cut off. Fearing the end of his career he experiments on himself and blacks out just as the facility he's working is is struck by a meteor. The project and experiment seemingly make him immune to zombies. They don't even try to eat him. As his part in this progresses it becomes clear why.
So, with Dr. Jones showing the way, Clara and the kids head to the shelter while Charlie, who's been a jerk the whole time, and Matt, apparently a convict who just got out of prison, try to secure the place.
It doesn't end well.
So, what happens? Well, I really don't want to tell you. I will say this though: don't go around a bunch of dead lab animals or a room full of dead people when there is a zombie plague running wild. Chances are everyone you started with will not be with you once everything is said and done.
Overall this series was very entertaining and the characters really engaging. Little details, such as things going on in the background during flash backs or just how the characters stories connect, make if even more interesting. While the zombies are the body that carries the story the engine is definitely the living characters. People from different backgrounds, ages whatever, being forced together and trying to survive. Some are self serving while others are concerned with as many people surviving as possible.
It certainly feels like it could be a movie. A very entertaining one at that.

Now, the art...I have no complaints about the art. It's consistent and more than does it's part in telling the story. It's dark and moody where it needs to be and fully of emotion where it's important. I really can't say a bad thing about the art.
The covers were fantastic as well. I've posted the covers I have and you'll notice they are by people most associated with Marvel Zombies. The original cover artist, Arthur Suydam, did the main four covers keeping up with his ability to 'zombifie' popular pictures while variant covers were done my Sean Phillips who drew the interiors of the first Marvel Zombies books.
Of course I've been wanting to re-read this for a while but the recent announcement of Raise The Dead 2 really got me off my duff and got me to read it again and I'm glad I did. This story is certainly good for multiple readings!

(Spread) The Walking Dead

The series on AMC is BEYOND awesome! I was worried for a minute there, because it seems like everytime a character or series I like gets put on TV or in the movies they completely screw it up *cough*Ghost Rider*cough* but this is the exception!
AMC is running a contest to spread the dead and spread the word about this series and I'm more than happy to help (plus the prize money is a bonus) so check out this link and help Spread The Dead!

Weekly Pulls

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #648
Words: Dan Slott
Pictures: Humberto Ramos

Big Time Begins! After around 100 issues the Brand New Day Era ended and now we hit the Big Time!
Here's the deal: Beginning with this issue we have a few changes. First, Spider-Man is no longer out three times a month, it's now basically a bi-weekly title as it's now out twice a month. We have a single creative team instead of the rotating teams we've had for the past few years. It's page count increases (this issue is at 56 pages) to 40 pages with a main feature then a small back up story that will actually have some impact or interest to the main story. Finally, the price gets the increase to $3.99 from $2.99.
Honestly, if a $1 increase is the price to pay for this series, after all these additions, I'm good with it.
So, Big Time begins..well, big. Spider-Man, along with his side-kicks the Avengers, move to save the city from giant spider (or octopuses or whatever, depending who you ask) which is apparently all part of a plan by (surprise) Doctor Octopus! While the Avengers fight to save the city, The Chameleon and Electro make their move to deliver something in a hanger for Doc Ock, that got me to thinking about the good old days of the Sinister Six until the next page where I see Sandman, Rhino and Mysterio along with the caption "Headquarters of the New Sinister Six" I love it!
Anyway, Doc Ock has a plan, what it is, exactly, we don't know yet but the attack on New York City was a distraction. I'm eager to see where this leads.
Also, we have someone, or something, stalking J.J.J. At least I think it's stalking him...
Michelle, Peter's evil roommate, moves out and leave Peter without a home. He tries to find a place to crash with nearly everyone including his new girlfriend Carlie Cooper (happy to have her!) and, as always, ends up on Aunt May's doorstep. But he doesn't stay there because J.J.J.'s wife Marla takes him to meet some other scientists and BINGO! Peter Parker has a job and money coming in!
So everything is going in a good direction for our favorite web-slinger for once.
(Even the Daily Bugle is back!)
Now, the Kingpin gets involved and is trying to get something that a fellow scientist the Peter now works with is developing. To get this he hires (dramatic pause) The Hobgoblin!
Overall, this is a great kick off to what promises to be a very exciting new era for Spider-Man and I'm very excited for this! Dan Slott was one of my favorite Spidey writers and I LOVED him on She-Hulk. Humberto Ramos has always been one of my favorite artists and I love his Spider-man so this is a win/win for me!
This issue's back-up featured Spider-Girl by Paul Tobin and Clayton Henry and took place during the opening battle of the main story. Not much to say about it, other than it was fun and I'm starting to get a little more interested in this new Spider-Girl.

THANOS IMPERATIVE #6 of 6
Words: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pictures: Miguel Sepulveda

All good things must come to an end. That is more than true here. The block of stories, the journey that began in 2006 with Annihilation ends here.
Thanos has seemingly betrayed the Marvel universe in order to be killed again and reunited with Death. But, with Thanos there is the plan then there is HIS plan.His plan was to allow Death to come back and be a part of the Cancerverse's reality again.
It came just in time as in the Marvel Universe (the 616) the defenders were pretty much losing. Galactus needed help fighting the massive Galactus Engine, King Blastaar had fled thinking the fight was all but over and the Nova Corps was doing all it could to keep things together.
Suddenly: Death.
She appears and with her touch it all ends for the twisted versions of the 616's heroes. After getting the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy out of the Cancerverse, Nova and Star-Lord decide that Thanos must be contained, after Death spurns him again he goes quite mad. They need to keep him there for a mere 60 seconds until the Cancerverse ceases to exist.
They seemingly succeed but at a very high cost.
The end of the story is the most touching and makes this feel like it's truely the end. Services are held for those lost in the fight: Adam Warlock, Drax, Phyla-Vel...Nova and Star-Lord. The last two are presumed dead because they cannot be contacted and they held their final battle in a collapsing reality against the Mad Titan Thanos.
I really hope this isn't the end, it's hard to believe it's been 4 years since Annihilation but that hardly seems long enough.
Also, was that an Infinity Gauntlet I saw at the beginning of the issue?

THOR #617
Words: Matt Fraction
Pictures: Pasqual Ferry

Okay, so get this: Asgard has been pretty much destroyed, the Asgardians basically understand that with Asgard on Earth it leave a vacuum that is being filled with something very not good and what is Thor worried about? Bringing his brother, Loki, back. Yeah, the Thunder God needs to get his priorities back in place.
Asgard is being rebuilt while the World Eaters are tearing their way through the Nine Worlds heading towards Earth. We even see the first of the refugees of the Nine Worlds appear on Earth in hopes of finding Asgard and safety.
Thor is in France chasing down a kid who is obviously Loki who seems to have lost his memories...a chase ensues and Loki gets his memories back but it still a child...or young man...whatever.
This is certainly not the strongest issue of Thor that I've read since this run began but I'm not fickle, I don't plan to drop it because 1 issue failed to amuse me completely, this upcoming fight between the Asgardians and the World Eaters has my attention. 
I just wish we could get something solid to go with and the artist would stop trying to draw Thor to look like the guy in the upcoming movie.

The Long Box #15: Evil Ernie

EVIL ERNIE VS. THE SUPER HEROES #1
Words: Brian Pulido
Pictures: Justiniano
August 1995

Chaos! Comics had a universe of titles that kept a fairly strong continuity. If something major happened in one title it was felt in another. Good times.
This one-shot is in continuity and takes place after Evil Ernie: Revenge and centers on Dr. Leonard Price who is now in a coma and missing an arm.
While in his coma he begins to dream, though we don't really know this until the end, and in his dream super heroes exist in the world. We see a retelling of Evil's origin but set in this new reality. His parents are heroes who fund the actions of the other heroes. The others know Ernest is abused but feel they can't do anything about it for fear of losing the funding of the Fairchilds. Ernest is telepathic and 'hears' the thoughts of the heroes and begins to hate heroes. They claim to be all about helping people but won't help him.
The next part we go through the Dream Probe (2099) and then Neurotech (2099), Lady Death's intro and the demise of Ernest and birth of Evil Ernie told through the world of heroes.
The main part of the story is the fight between Evil Ernie and 'alternate' versions of Marvel and DC heroes like Batman, Spider-man, Captain America, Wonder Woman, the X-Men and many more. Along the way we are treated to many in-jokes about comics, mostly super heroes stuff, including shots at the Spider-Man Clone Saga and Batman always having something useful on his belt.
Loads of fun, especially if you like the idea of one unstoppable monster tearing through the universe of the Big Two.

Weekly Pulls, Part 3

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #647
Words: Pretty much everyone
Pictures: Same thing

Final issue of the Brand New Day Era! This issue ends up being something of a jam issue featuring stories by the various creators who have worked on the series since Brand New Day (BND) began.
We get some resolutions: Vin Gonzalez, Peter's former roommate and cop, is released from Rykers Island. He gets to resolve a few things with Carlie Cooper, Peter's new love interest and the investigator that helped Vin end up in prison (Vin was innocent as it turns out and Carlie was able to help him get a reduced sentence).
As for Carlie Cooper, she was finally able to get it through Parker's head that she does care for him. It also helped that Peter talked to MJ about it and was given some sage advice.
One of the better panels of this issue was Peter finally kissing Carlie after asking her to be his girlfriend! I have to say I approve!
Norman Osborn is felt here as well. It seems while in prison he became something of a god to Vin. Harry doesn't take it very well and promptly puts Vin on notice...as well as on his back in a pool of his own blood. Another good shot was of Harry's baby dressed as Doc Ock, priceless!
So this is the 'end of an era' issue and it plays out very well. Everyone got their turn and the new characters we were introduced to during BND were put on their paths for the next big thing: Big Time!

I, ZOMBIE #7
Words: Chris Roberson
Pictures: Michael Allred

U, Vampire, Part 1: Things are happening fast! The monster hunters are starting to close in on the gang of vampires but it turns out the vamps were also stalking the monster hunters!
Horatio, one of the monster hunters, is still trying to get that date with Gwen who has been having a hard time finding a new brain to eat. It's that time of the month again and if she doesn't find one soon she goes all Romero on us.
And Eleanor, our hipster ghost, is beginning to learn she may be able to explore more of the world than she previously though!
Three different, yet connected, stories going all at once ad nothing suffers. This is one of the traits I've gotten to really like about this series.
The ending of this issue is very interesting as all through it Gwen has been asking herself questions about her life before death, questions about her parents and such. Imagine the chock when she finally gets to eat the brains of a woman who died in a fire and, as she absorbs the dead woman's memories, she sees herself as a child and feels the love a mother has for her child!

THOR, THE MIGHTY AVENGERS #5
Words: Roger Langridge
Pictures: Chris Samnee

Thursday Morning. The continuing adventures of Thor in a new world, Earth, continues! This time he decided to take Jane on a tour of the planet to explore the wonders Midgard has to offer.
While traveling he flashes back to another recent encounter with his brother Loki who gives him a book of forbidden knowledge. Does Thor still have the book and will it answer the questions he has about his banishment and how he returns home? Time will tell.
They land in Australia, mainly because Jane needs to be on solid ground, and they witness a man in the ocean on a great beast.
Naturally, Thor rushes to the scene and is introduced to Namor, the Sub-Mariner.
They have a very interesting interaction, Namor, it seems, can sense what Thor is in terms of his status and understand he is just as, if not more, powerful that the Mariner is. There is respect there and Namor tries to give the impetuous Thunder God some advice. Will Thor take it is the question.
The interaction between the two men above men is interesting as you don't really see Namor show such respect for anyone in the main Marvel Universe, not right away like this though. I'd be interested in learning more about this version of Namor.

Weekly Pulls, Part 2

AVENGERS #6
Words: Brian Bendis
Pictures John Romita, Jr.

The first story line concludes! The Avengers, along with some help from their future selves and the Next Avengers, fight to save the space-time continuum from being destroyed by a fight between Immortus and Ultron.
The issue begins with the Avengers, mostly Iron Man, trying to convince Ultron that he needs to lose the fight against Immortus, it's the only way to prevent the timestream from being destroyed. It takes some convincing but Ultron is nothing if not a very logical creation. He realizes the Avengers are correct and when the fight occurs he doesn't defend himself and is 'defeated.'
Seems like a quick wrap up to a bigger story but the fall out is interesting. Immortus kills the future versions of Hulk and Stark and sets out to win everything now that he knows how the Avengers defeat him. The Next Avengers, though, fight back and seemingly destroy him in a scene that takes up back to the first issue of the series. I good wrap up, some future storylines hinted at: the future Stark warns current Stark that Ultron will come and will destroy the human race and must be stopped as well as a hint to Bucky Barnes future and it isn't pretty.
Next up: my first interaction with the Red Hulk!

FANTASTIC FOUR #584
Words: Jonathan Hickman
Pictures: Steve Epting

Three, Part 2: The main storyline of the new Kingdoms kind of takes a back seat in this issue. The main thrust here is The Thing. Back in FF #580 the kids of the Future Foundation created a serum that would cure Ben of being the Thing but with a catch: It will only turn him human for one week a year.
That was introduced and set aside until now. He takes the formula and it works.
The reasons this take over from the main story is because we see things differently with Ben. After turning human and getting a bad prank played on him by Johnny, the two go out, at johnny's suggestion to do the things Ben can't normally do.
It begins with being able to walk down the street without being stared at. They take in a baseball game and a poker game. Johnny is in top form helping his friend take in everything he can while he can.
There is a run in with the new Yancy Street Gang, very funny, then Johnny shows how much love and respect he has for Ben. He takes Ben to see Alicia Masters so they can spend some quality time together while Ben is human.
Aside from that we have Sue going to Utopia to accompany Namor to the talks between new and old Atlantis and Reed studies the Fault and has a rather interesting conversation with the Silver Surfer.

JACK OF FABLES #48
Words: Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges
Pictures: Tony Akins

It all starts to come together. We begin by getting caught up with all the characters who have played a major part in this series.
John still has Excalibur stuck inside him and has become a side show attraction known as The Impaled Wild Man.
Raven and the Fables Jack freed from the Golden Boughs are put back on their original path as Raven gets a dream visit from his Spirit Animal reminding him of his purpose: Protect Jack Horner.
This has Raven leading the others to Fabletown which will be interesting because A) Mister Dark is there and Fabletown is gone. Dark's influence on Fables will make this very interesting and B) Raven's Spirit Animal seems to know what its done.
Also, we catch up with the Sisters and learn which one of them is the baby's mother.
Jack Horner, still a dragon, tells Gary of visions he's having which tell us of a big fight that's coming and will bring the End to us.
Yes, The End. It was recently announced that next year will see the release of Jack Of Fables #50 which will be the final issue of this series.

Weekly Pulls, Part 1

Okay, so I have a lot of things going on right now, I'm working on moving my comics and book shelves around, but I have about 3 weeks worth of comics to read so I'll be reading a few a posting reviews as I do them. So, that's why I called this 'Part 1'

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #646
Words: Mark Waid
Pictures: Paul Azaceta w/Matthew Southworth

Origin Of The Species Concludes!
The Lizard 'out smarts' everyone and gets his claws on the Osborn baby! He decides it's a good thing and won't kill the kid because of Norman Osborn tries to hurt him again he will have an ace in the hole, so to speak.
He does notice that the baby seems off and, using Conners' smarts (what he still retains that is) performs a blood test on the child.
Meanwhile, Doc Ock is hot on the Lizard's trail. He 'teams up' with Spider-Man who explains that the Lizard is more reptile than man now. Ock agrees with tells Spidey when all is said and done he will kill the both of them.
Okay, so the long and the short of it is The Lizard figures out the baby isn't what everyone though. He isn't a 'pure blood' Goblin. Spidey verifies it and takes the kid for more tests.
The best part here is Spider-Man used Ock. The Lizard has this effect on people's brains now, the closer you get to him the more you give in to your baser instincts. This let's Spidey manipulate Ock and gives him an out as Ock turns on Lizard for getting into his brain.
In the end, Spidey is cleared of kidnapping charges and the baby ends up with his REAL father: HARRY Osborn!

AVENGERS & THE INFINITY GAUNTLET #3 of 4
Words: Brian Clevinger & Lee Black
Pictures: Brian Churilla

The fun version of Marvel's legendary event continues!
See the Original Death's Head in a single panel cameo!
Witness Wolverine fighting Astrocrows!
Cringe as Doom makes...lunch?
Alright, this issue had me laughing out loud, just like the previous 2 issues did. The story remains: The "new" Avengers are on a quest to the far corners of the galaxy to find out why half of the population of everything disappeared. They hit a few bumps on the road but eventually end up face to face with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet!
A fight ensues and our heroes (and Doom) are defeated!
Seriously, if you want a good fun take on a classic story this is where you want to be. Just imagine: Doom making sandwiches for the others! DOOM! SANDWICHES!! OTHERS!!!
You simply cannot go wrong with that.

THOR, THE MIGHTY AVENGER #4
Words: Roger Langridge
Pictures: Chris Samnee

This series continues to be the most entertaining superhero book I collect. A basic retelling of Thor's origin, of sorts, we know he was banished from Asgard to Midgard to learn humility. We don't know what the argument was about, Thor apparently did something so wrong that Odin forbids anyone from talking about it. We also learn that Thor seems to have lost all memory of the incident and the ensuing punishment.
Good thing the Warriors Three show up! They fill in a few blanks then take Thor out of country to a pub for a good time and some drinks. They have a rather entertaining run in with Captain Britain which leads to one of the most entertaining hero fights I've ever seen!
There isn't enough I can say about how fun this series is in general and this issue specifically. You really need to hunt it down and check it out.

Detroit Fanfare 2010

Alright, this weekend was Halloween for many people but for myself, and my good friends Matt, Libby and Arnie we had the first annual Detroit Fanfare Comic Book Convention!
While the show was small it was still bigger than the Motor City Comic Convention we attend in May...or rather USED to attend. See, Fanfare was a COMICBOOK convention, not a Pop Culture Convention. It was focused more on Comics than anything else.
So...what happened?

Well, first and foremost: I MET STAN LEE! Yeah, the guest of honor this year was none other than the legend himself: Stan "The Man" Lee.
Arnie and I went the full nine yards and purchased the $125 VIP tickets which allowed us full access to first a Q & A session with The Man where we got to hear him speak of his life and times. The funniest story he told was of a party he attended with James Cameron. He said there was a picture taken of them and he wanted to put a caption on the picture, a word balloon, coming from Cameron saying "3-D? That's an excellent idea, Stan!" Very funny stuff.
After the Q & A Arnie and I rushed to get out VIP tickets turned in and got the lanyard that said we ruled over all, then got in line for out photo with Stan. Let me tell you, there was a feeling I've never felt before as I neared the front of the line. The fact that, even for a few moments, I would be standing next to the man who wrote many of the stories that I read nightly, the man who co-created some of the characters I hold in high regard...just to stand next to this man for a few moments...I didn't really know what to say.

Stan Lee Exclusives

After the photo we entered another line...this line was to get something signed by The Man himself. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to get signed and had originally settled on a Silver Surfer book he wrote that was drawn by Moebus but Matt then told me a local Halloween store had a Captain America shield and that clinched it. Why get yet another comicbook signed that will be in a box where no one can see when I can get something I can actually display on the wall signed, something I didn't have before? So I ran out, got the shield and proudly offered it for him to sign, right on the star in the center.

It seemed like it when by far to fast. I have pictures and video of Stan and I will watch them over and over again. It was truely a once in a lifetime moment that I'm glad I took advantage of. Stan Lee is truely The Man.

Before I go any further, I should mention the Stan Lee swag we got: A limited print of Stan featuring him and his co-creations, a Stan VIP card, a lanyard and a Detroit Fanfare Carnage #1 Variant (which I later got signed by the cover artist!)

So, beyond meeting the Idol of Millions, which I'm still jazzed about, the show itself was actually pretty good. It was comicbook focused and not 'pop culture' focused. Comics were everywhere and not a single washed up former TV actor in sight!
After walking through the door I noticed it was a fairly small show, but they managed to set it up in a way that it felt bigger. The energy in the room helped with that as well.
The very first table I stopped at was the Arsenic Lullaby table! I've met the series creator, Douglas Paszkiewicz about 4 times before and I've always gotten a sketch and a new book from him. This time I was able to get both of those PLUS the all-new DVD featuring the animated Arsenic! I do recommend it.

This is all I got

After talking with Doug P. and getting my all-new sketch we wondered around for a while, it was hard to gauge time because there was just so much to look at. Rows of comics and more comics. There were t-shirts and toys of course but it was about the comics this time.
The people were very friendly and everyone was having such a good time that the place in general had a great vibe to it!
So, the show was good, it had a good vibe, it was loads of fun and closing time came WAY to soon. If I had to find a bad thing to say about it it would be....let's see...well, how about there wasn't enough time to look around? I mean some might say there wasn't a lot of vendors or something but this is the FIRST show for this promotion and they pulled in STAN LEE along with 70's icon Jim Starlin (which rocked! I got my Infinity Gauntlet #1 signed buy him to go along with the Perez one I got a few years ago!), and the confusion during the Stan Lee event could have been worked out with a bit more planning but even that still went smoothly.
I'm very much looking forward to next year's show and will probably pass on May's Motor City Comic Con because it's just not as exciting anymore.
Good job to everyone who put this together and I cannot wait until the SECOND annual show!