Motor City Comic Convention 2010

The Motor City Comic Book Convention in Novi, Michigan. Or, as my friends and I call it: Novi.
This year I went with Matt and Libby, we spent quite a bit of money, probably over $400 among all of us, and spend the better part of Saturday there.
First of all let me say the place was PACKED. I've had to wait in line there before but NEVER was the line this long. I swear we were in Canada for a few minutes. The good thing about it was the line moved very fast.
This only happens at a comic convention.
So we paid our fees and got in easy as anything.
With the crowds it was kind of hard to move around but, as is the norm at these things, people were pretty polite about it and there really wasn't much bitching going on. Another REALLY good thing I noticed is the near total lack of body odor. Normally I end up looking through some boxes next to someone who apparently allergic to soap and water but that really didn't happen this year.
People were out in droves and many wore costumes. I wish I had taken more pictures of the costumes but it wasn't easy keeping together with Matt and Libby, so much to look at and really so little time


For me, personally, I was thrilled to meet, again, E.C. Legend: Al Feldstein. He worked on such books as Tales From The Crypt and was an early editor of MAD Magazine.
In hindsight it was probably not a good idea to wear the Comics Code Authority (CCA) t-shirt to meet a man whose career was badly damaged by the stupid thing but what better way to show the overall stupidity of the CCA than to slap it on a shirt and take a picture with it and a man who outlived it.
I also got my EC ARCHIVES: TALES FROM THE CRYPT, VOLUME 1 signed by Mr. Feldstein and a printed signed as well. He was a nice man but seemed a bit bitter over all the jerks who get him to sign something and then toss it on eBay to make money off it. I can promise that will NOT happen to MY items.
Also, this year, I got World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide signed by Max Brooks. The only thing about that that sucked was he was at a panel and I missed it. Ah, well, I still got to meet him.
I told him the Survival guide, while I LOVED it, has pretty much ruined all my favorite zombie movies...he was proud of that. I love a guy who isn't afraid of his work and it's impact.

I didn't do the meet and greet with former WWF Diva Lita though. She was charging $20 for a picture with MY camera. What the hell is THAT about? Lillian Garcia was doing the same thing. Kind of sucked because I was really hoping to meet them.
Another let down was, and this was because of all the people there, the lines for that artists were insane! I would have spent most of my time waiting to get sketches from some of these guys and would have gotten very few and it wasn't worth it so while I had my sketch book I didn't get any sketches this year. This means NEXT year I gotta double the amount of sketches I have.

Beyond the large number of people and something of a let down with the celebs I wanted to meet, Matt and I tried our damnedest to find the lead figures we collect. Not a single one was to be found in the entire show. Guess we'll just have to keep getting them from Nostalgia, Ink. It's worked out pretty good for us so far at least.
Matt DID happen to notice a really cool sword while we were waiting for Al Feldstein. The Sword of Omens from Thundercats. Naturally, Matt had to have his picture taken with it but I was to easily distracted to get my picture taken with it and by the time I realized this it had been sold. But at least ONE of us was able to hold it. And it was very cool.

So, after a long day and a LOT of walking we realized we were running out of money and decided to call it a day with just an hour to spare. But before we went, I just had to make a final purchase. A few years ago there was a Motor City Comic Con Lady Death Exclusive cover and, being the old school Lady Death fan I am (I go back to the Chaos! Comics days) I had to have it. So, since they had another Exclusive this year I decided to grab it as well. IRON MAN #25 was this years book and it's kind of an Exclusive Variant of a variant...really interesting but sadly I was on my way out and didn't get it signed by the cover artist. Ah, well, I got the book at least, right?

So, the day came to an end, we learned it is much easier AND cheaper to bring food, it was nice to sit outside, chat, share are take and relax a bit between runs up and down the isles. I was also very surprised as to how easy it was to get there and back. Tradition holds that we get lost one way or the other. It didn't happen this year. Kind of cool.
Also, I continued by new tradition of getting nothing but trades again this year, with the exception of the Iron Man comic, though next year I think I'm finally going to grab those Marvel Zombies variant covers I need.

So, here are the books I grabbed this year. the Annihilation trades were ALL $5 each! So were the Infinity trades!  So much money saved!

Annihilation Books 1-3
Annihilation Classics
Annihilation: Conquest Books 1 & 2
Arsenic Lullaby: The Donut Cometh
Essential Doctor Strange, Volume 2
Essential Marvel Two-In-One, Volumes 1 & 2
Essential Nova, Volume 1
Essential Spider-Man, Volume 9 $5
Essential Thor, Volume 2
Infinity Crusade, Volumes 1 & 2
Infinity War
Iron Man Vs. Doctor Doom
Spider-Man 2099, Volume 1
Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt

The Pull List

This weekend is the motor City Comic Convention. Because of this I only picked up a few things this week. I plan to have a good sized posting or maybe a series of posts about the convention I'm going to this Saturday along with pictures and video (if I can post video here)

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #631: Shed, Part Two: The Lizard returns in a BIG way. With art by Chris Bachalo this is probably the best Lizard story I've read since SPIDER-MAN #1-5 by Todd McFalane.
Kurt Conners had suppressed the Lizard for a long time but stress and his boss going for the girl he liked allowed the lizard part of his brain to take over.
After killing six people Spider-Man is now on the case. He manages to track The Lizard down to the foster home Conners' sin Billy was staying at.
At first he thought he was to late after finding out the people inside were pretty much dead and Billy was missing.
It turns out that Kraven's psycho-kid took the boy and used him as bait for The Lizard. In what has to be one of the most grisly scenes in a Marvel Comics since Magneto's death in MARVEL ZOMBIES #1, The Lizard decides to prove he is the dominant male by eating the young of Curt Conners.
Overall this is still part of The Gauntlet. This is probably the darkest part of it and is seems all the players are almost in place. What role The Lizard will play remains to be seen.

FABLES #95: Rose Red, Part Two: This issue feels like a great 'set up' issue. We learn about the childhood of Snow White and her sister, Rose Red.
They were very close as children and had some grand adventures including sharing a warm fire with a talking bear and repeatedly saving the life of an old dwarf who has the meanest personality.
Through the story the closeness of the girls is touched on over and over making me wonder what could have possibly come between the two?
I do hope that whatever the outcome of this story is, that Rose will return to her old self again. She's been through a lot and deserves some happiness.
We also get some interesting foreshadowing in reference to Snow White and the future of dwarfs in her life as well as her fist Prince husband.
Still a great series and only 5 more issues until #100!

NEW AVENGERS: FINALE: This takes place after SIEGE #4 (below) and is a taste of what the Heroic Age holds for us: Good guys beating the tar out of the bad guys.
Overall this was a good issue, thought I really didn't care for some of Bryan Hitch's are in some panels and the cover. This wraps up a few more plots points including who was behind the breakout that brought the New Avengers together in the first place.
It also serves as the book end of all the stories that have happened in the last eight years. Not a bad issue but this really could have been the last issue of the regular series instead of being a stand alone thing.

SIEGE #4 of 4: This is it! End ending of a story that has been going for eight years! Through Civil Wars, Secret Invasions and Dark Reigns this is the end of the dark era of Marvel!
It's all out war between The Void, formerly The Sentry, and the Avengers.
Loki tries to make amends for his role in this and pays the ultimate price for it. I have to wonder how long it will be until we see Loki again.
Thor takes on The Void and fails...everyone takes on the void and manages to suppress it for a little while but ultimately, Thor decides what needs to be done and The Void is destroyed.
Now, the Siege is over and new roles are chosen for our heroes. Steve Rogers is no longer Captain America. He's now the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D., basically the New Nick Fury. Iron Man begins the long road to redeem himself, Thor begins his search for a new home for Asgard and the remaining heroes are given the best news of all: The Superhuman Registration Act is REPEALED!
They are no longer fugitives!
The villains turn on The Hood and sell him out for leaving them to burn at the end of the battle.
Overall, very fun and I can't believe how much I missed heroes fighting villains!

Classic Marvel Figurine Collection 4

#1: Spider-Man

Favorite Covers #7

The Atomics #1
Cover Date: January 2000

I got into The Atomics by way of another book called MADMAN also by writer/artist Mike Allred.
Madman is another story altogether but this series drew me in because of Allred's art, it's very 1960's Marvel Pop style and I love it!
This is sort of an old school team book, you have a group of characters, including the stretchy Mr. Gum, who gain powers then, reluctantly at first, join forces to fight bad guys.
The series only ran for 15 issues and had Madman and Erik Larson's Savage Dragon for guest stars.
Fans of old school comics would enjoy this, I'm actually going to be re-reading the entire run again as soon as I can!

Classic Marvel Figuine Collection 3

#58: Yellowjacket and (a tiny) Wasp!

Classic Marvel Figurine Collection 2

#46: Captain Marvel

Free Comic Book Day 2010

Ahhh, free comic book day and all the joys it brings.
Of course, it would bring MORE joy if the people who only showed up for the FREE comics actually stuck around and got into them. But I know of those people some are actually curious about them and others are stupid and think "Gosh! This will be worth something someday!"

Okay, so before I get to my stash of Free Comic Book Day Comics, I want to recap what I did.
Naturally, I went to Nostalgia, Ink. to begin the day. It's my local comic book store and any reason to go there is a good reason. The place was pretty busy, which is nice because it usually isn't. I like seeing people there.
I REALLY like seeing kids in there, even if they have no idea what's going on and have no idea how you handle a comic book you haven't bought yet.
I was there for a few hours talking with other comics fans about the big events in DC and Marvel like Blackest Night and Siege as well as the then upcoming Brightest Day and Thanos Imperative events. One thing I always love is talking about comics with people who know what's going on. Not to sound like a snob or anything but it annoys me when someone tries to impress us by announcing they actually own SPAWN #1 like that's supposed to be impressive. How Spawn became the spokescharacter for the industry like that is beyond me.
Then, after a quick break for food, around 3:30, I headed to my work, Family Video to set up a table there because we were also participating in Free Comic Book Day! It was kind of my idea but it made sense since we have many movies based on comics like Spider-Man and Batman but also many movies were getting comics like Toy Story and Shrek.
I spent 3 hours at the store talking comics, promoting the event, handing out coupons for our store and giving away many free comics.
There was a lot of positive energy there, a lot of fun and I've already got ideas for NEXT years Free Comic Book Day at the store!

So, that was my day, which was capped off by watching a few comic book based animated movies on DVD and here is what I got:

ARCHIE'S SUMMER SPLASH #1: For some reason Archie is one book I look for every year. But I think this is the first time I read one all the way through. I have to admit, it's actually very funny stuff. Not the 'squeaky clean' jokes I expected and the art was fun and simple.
Archie has a long history in comics so gets respect for that even if I don't plan on buying it.

 For more information on Archie Comics, which includes such titles as SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, check out their website at archiecomics.com

BONGO COMICS FREE-FOR-ALL 2010: This is another one I seem to grab every year. Each one has a comic book theme to it and seems to be a stand alone issue. Not bad stuff.
At this time there doesn't seem to be a website for Bongo Comics. Shame.

DOCTOR SOLAR: MAN OF THE ATOM/MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER: Can't say much about this one, I haven't read it yet and basically picked it up because I liked the cover.
This is basically a promotion for the upcoming releases of the two characters later this year from publisher Dark Horse Comics.
They have a full issue preview of these on their website:
darkhorse.com




G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #155 1/2: From IDW comes the continuation of the classic G.I. Joe series started by Marvel Comics in the 1980's. All the classics are here and the stories are told in the classic style. I've never been one for the G.I. Joe comics but this was actually a fun read.
IDW also does Transformers and A-Team comics.
Their website

GREEN HORNET: A preview issue featuring all FIVE of the different titles from publisher Dynamite Comics including: Green Hornet, Green Hornet: Year One, Green Hornet Strikes!, Kato and Kato Origins.
The odd thing is I got a different cover than this one.

 Marvel Comics released two Iron Man themed books this year with IRON MAN/THOR and IRON MAN/NOVA: SUPERNOVA. Of the two I really enjoyed the Iron Man and Thor issue. It's one of the first times these two have interacted with each other since the end of Civil War and the return of Thor.
But the best part: words by Matt Fraction and pictures by John Romita, Jr.!
The Iron Man and Nova issue is basically an introduction to the Marvel Adventures line of all ages comics and a back up feature featuring the Marvel Super Hero Squad characters from the Cartoon Network show of the same name.

THE TICK #1: What can you say? It's the first comics book featuring the Big Blue Bug of Justice: The Tick. I was laughing out loud reading this, as I always do, and had to get THE TICK OMNIBUS, VOLUME 1 off my shelf. Even let a friend borrow it who had never know the joys of a Tick comic book!

YOW! From Drawn & Quarterly comes this collection of comics from years gone by. It's history which is why I picked it up. It's also on paper, not glossy stock stuff, and the pages were made to look aged! How cool is that!

Finally, FRACTURED FABLES from Image Comics. I know, it's out of order, but I picked this one up AFTER Free Comic Book Day when I listed to a podcast of Collected Comics Library. This was mentioned, it sounded fun and it was.

Classic Marvel Figurine Collection

I've been collecting these Eaglemoss Classic Marvel Figurines for a few years now and I get a few new ones every month, finances permitting. I have pictures of them all on my facebook page but I'm redoing the pictures and will post them here as I do them.
These will be posted in no particular order.

 #90: Adam Warlock

The Pull List

Now, before I get into this week's stack, which is pretty small, I just want to say I'm still reading through my Free Comic Book Day 2010 stack and will be posting thoughts on them in the next day or two.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #630: Shed, Part 1: Not only does Spider-Man have to deal with the return of his worst (best?) villains, but now he has to contend with dating, 'Nega-Aunt May' and the return of The Lizard!
This issue is fun, from the start of it with Spider-Man and Black Cat having something of a heart to heart where Cat has to break it to Spidey that they aren't dating...just "having fun" to Peter actually trying to smooth things over with and date Carly (who I love much more than Mary Jane) this one covers all the bases in Peter's world.
In Spider-Man's world, however, things are much darker. The Kraven's are still holding Madame Web prisoner and using her powers to control where the villains appear. The question is can they control the newly returned Lizard?
Now, the writing is light and fun, as this series should be, tempered with just the right amount of foreboding. The art...Chris Bachalo is handling the chores for this arc and I've ALWAYS loved his stuff. His Spider-Man is probably one of my favorites and I always get excited with I see his name attached to a comic I read!

DEADPOOL CORPS #2: Seriously, this series has a LOT going against it. Starting with the art. Who's idea was it to put Rob Liefeld on this book? IT'S HORRIBLE!
Now, beyond the art the writing isn't much better. There are maybe two or three good gags in this book but I have to wonder if writer Victor Gischler even knows who and what the Elders of the Universe are. He doesn't seem to because they are written very erratic. Not like the way they've been portrayed in the past, from writers who knew them.
Bottom line is of the 4, soon to be 3, Deadpool books this is my least favorite and is the only one I wouldn't be sad to see get canceled. Unless I drop it first.

iZOMBIE #1: Now, when it comes to a new series there are 2 things that will get me to look at it: Zombies and a $1 cover price. Add to that art by the always awesome Mike (Madman) Allred and the fact it's a Vertigo title then chances are you have a winner.
This story focuses on Gwen Dylan, a grave digger with a secret...well, a few..
First, she has a friend who's been dead for 40 odd years and is, of course, a ghost. Second, the boy, Scott, who pines for her is a weredog or something...
Then you come to her. She's dead. But she's not. She's a zombie. But not your "uhhurrrr...braaaaiiiinnnssss.." zombie, no, she's a cool chick but she does have to eat brains once a month to keep from going all Night Of The Living Dead.
Now, this was a fun read and defiantly worth checking out. You really can't go wrong with the $1 cover price and at the very least you will know it's an awesome book and perhaps, like me, you'll at least pick up the trades as they are released.
I'd love to get it monthly but I can't afford a new ongoing book...I just hope the covers aren't as cool as the ones on FABLES.

The Pull List

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #629: First of all I would like to say this is something of a personal milestone for me. This is the 100th consecutive issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN I've collected since I started reading this series again. Granted since the series is put out three times a month it isn't a major milestone but it's the longest I've been able to keep up with this series.
Okay, so this month we learn who Captain Universe is and why he has such a hate-on for Juggernaut. Apparently, he was employed in an office when Spidey and Juggy fought their way through it effectively ruining the man's life. So, it's a 'you hurt me I'm going to hurt you' thing.
Another layer was added to Juggy's character here as we see him as a person with a soul rather than a maniac who just destroys everything. After he saves the day, shock to me too, he realizes what he's done to the young man and...apologizes. Very nicely done!
The art is very well done and, well, not really part of The Gauntlet but still a nice story.
We got a special back-up story, at no extra cost(!), featuring Dr. Curt Conners who is better known as The Lizard. Art by Chris Bachalo which I've always enjoyed, and a very nice set up for the Lizard's return in the next issue!

DEADPOOL #22: As DP continues his quest to be a hero he ends up being on a bus in Georgia and the bus gets robbed. Deadpool ends up on the short of of the fight but quickly figures out what's going on and sets out to dish out some justice.
Seems the cops are behind the robberies and have pretty much set things up where they break the law and get away with it.
In the end we had a fairly entertaining issue where Deadpool cracks some decent jokes and, well, it's a pretty typical issue for the character.
Art is alright, a bit boxy but it flows nicely and that's all that matters.
Overall, this felt like a filler issue. Nothing was really accomplished and there isn't a real ongoing story here.
This is something I hope changes very soon with the onset of the Heroic Age.

I really do like the cover though.

FANTASTIC FOUR #578: Alright, things are starting to come together now. A few issues ago an older Franklin Richards showed up to warn Valeria of a war between 4 cities. Over the last few months we've been slowly introduced to 3 of them. This issue introduces the fourth: An all-new Annihilation Wave.
Seems that the wave has taken over the prison that Reed Richards built in the Negative Zone and made it into a city of sorts. That makes this the fourth and final city to be introduced before this war starts.
The series continues to be entertaining and the art is fun and fits the series very well.
It's also nice to have a story that takes a few issues to set things up. I miss that.
And the cover...

How can you not like this cover? It's sweet!

JACK OF FABLES #45: Things come to a head for Jack Frost in this world terrorized by a monster.
First, he isn't terrorizing anything. He just hangs out in his floating station thing and leaves everyone alone.
Second, the witch of the woods who is guiding Jack wants this monster killed because the monster, apparently, dumper her.
Third, the King who wanted Jack to stop the beast set the whole thing up to get money.

This was a fun story, I'm starting to warm up to Jack Frost. It's odd having an actual good guy in this series instead of the asshole that Jack Horner was.
But I miss Jack Horner.

MARVEL ZOMBIES 5 #2 of 5: Machine Man and Howard The Duck end up in the War of the Worlds universe.
This was a fun issue, had a few cool moments and the art is good but this issue seemed like another filler issue.
Maybe it's because I never read the Killraven books and really have no idea who he is and what his deal is but this one just didn't do much for me.
Love the cover though and Machine Man's cracks are top shelf as always!

NEW AVENGERS #64-Final Issue! and THOR #609: Siege! I'm going to do these together since they are both part of the Siege event and neither really had much happen in it. These are filler issues for certain. but I expected it to some extent because SIEGE #4 is coming out soon so these last few Avengers releases will do nothing more than put all the characters in the places they need to be when Siege ends.
In NEW AVENGERS we see that The Hood doesn't have all the control he thinks he has. He loses his powers when Asgard falls and takes off which is what a smart man would do. Where did his powers go? Apparently Captain America, Iron Man and Thor got it. Means they can kick all kinds of ass.
THOR finishes off the Volstagg story and shows the reactions to the fall of Asgard by the Asgardians. It's all coming to a head and these lead in stories to SIEGE #4 have me very excited!

The Pull List

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #628: The Gauntlet continues! It's Spider-Man trying to save Juggernaut from Captain Universe...That sound really backwards to me.
Anyway, here we have Spidey trying to keep people and Juggy safe from a Captain Universe who seems hellbent on killing him. We don't know who this Cap is or why he hates Juggy but the fighting is pretty dang good.
While this isn't really part of the ongoing Gauntlet storyline, I did enjoy the action sequences and the art. Heck, even the cover is fun, kind of reminds me of the covers Marvel used to do back in the 1980's and 90's.
There is a backup story here featuring the recently unemployed Peter Parker who had one of the worst interviews a person could have.
Then again, how could a guy have a good job interview when dressed as Spider-Man and while fighting a rather angry Absorbing Man.
Sadly, Parker didn't get the job and we got a really nice final panel which brought back the early days of the series.

DEADPOOL: MERC WITH A MOUTH #10 of 13: More adventures in the Zombieverse as Deadpool and gang try to figure out a way back to their home universe.
This series is, as you can see, ending with the thirteenth issue which serves as a lead in to the new DEADPOOL CORPS series.
While the book started off pretty fun, I have to admit, Deadpool is starting to get tired from being put in so many books. Perhaps losing this one will help but Marvel is still having a good time pumping this guy into everything they can.
But at least in this issue we found out that A.I.M. Agents are tasty.

DOOMWAR #3 of 6: It's long overdue, this story is.
Alright so this one starts with a recap of everything Doom and Black Panther related starting from the Civil War up to today. I liked this because I'm not a reader of Black Panther's book so I had no real idea how Doom could have gotten to the point he had. thanks to Marvel for working this in.
Now, in this issue we learn about Doom something pretty much what everyone thought for years: Doom doesn't see what he's doing as being wrong or evil, he sees his actions simply as a means to an end. It's not his fault everyone else is to stupid to realize what is going on.
This issue felt like a "take a deep breath because it's all downhill from here" issue. Most of the players are in place and everyone is gearing up for the end of the war against Doom.
Next issue we get the final player: Deadpool!

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #25: Thanos. That's pretty much all you need to say about this issue. Thanos.
Okay, so...here's what we know: The Universal Church Of Truth, now lead my the Magus (called Adam Magus for some reason) had many cocoons. Apparently, for some reason, the goal was to bring back the Mad Titian.
Magus succeeded and Thanos came back only he was feral, insane and out of control. He killed Phyla-Vel without batting an eye and laid waste to the entire planet the Church was located on.
Moondragon, Cosmo and Mantis all tried to access his mind to shut him down but there were powerful blocks.
So, the bulk of this issue is a naked Thanos beating the tar out of anyone who got in his way.
It took the last bit of power in a Cosmic Cube to get the mind right in Thanos. Before being put in a coma he uttered the following: "you...forced me...to live...again...For that...e-everything...d-dies..." Yeah, after years of trying to be at Death's side Thanos finally reached his goal when Drax ripped his heart out at the end of ANNIHILATION. Being forced to live again has pissed the Mad Titan off. The plus is with the gods from the Fault wanting to destroy death i nour universe, Thanos might be the best chance to stop this from happening. Basically, I'm VERY happy to have Thanos back!
Oh, and this cover? I want it on a poster! And speaking of covers that should be posters...

NOVA #36: While the Guardians are dealing with Thanos, Nova has his hands full with the Evil version of the original Quasar and gets a taste of the Gods from the far end of the Fault.
And they are nasty.
It's Nova and Darkhawk fighting to prevent this thing from coming to earth and it's a nasty fight.
Overall, this issue felt like it was a filler, defiantly not one of the better issues of the series but it does help to show the impact of the threat of the Fault and the things that reside in it.
So, next month begins the Thanos Imperative event and both NOVA and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY go on hiatus. I really hope they return as soon as these event is over because I love these books. And, Marvel...PLEASE don't start them over with new #1 issues, that's lame and I'm looking forward to NOVA #50!

SIF: This one-shot follows Lady Sif as she tries to come to terms with being alive again and having her body hijacked by Loki for a long time.
I'm not really sure what the point overall was for having a one-shot but I am liking what I'm seeing from Lady Sif and I hope to see more.
Also, it was nice seeing Beta Ray Bill.
But, really, there isn't much to say about it. Sif is having issues, Beta Ray Bill needs help and she offers to aid him, good fights with freaks in space and we get all this with only the MENTION of the Thunder God himself but Thor does NOT appear in this book at all.
Good for fans of the Thor line but not much here for a casual reader.

The Pull List

Another small week:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: GRIM HUNT - THE KRAVEN SAGA: This ties into the a biggest part of the current Gauntlet storyline running in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.
What we have here is a look into the life and times of Kraven The Hunter. It provided excellent filler and some information about the character I honestly didn't know about.
His brother is the Chameleon? I honestly didn't know that.
So, we get a small story where Madame Web tries to contact Spider-Man in order to warm him of the upcoming storm but get caught doing so and the new Kraven apparently tortures her for it.
We get a Saga style retelling of Kraven's life and times which is very informative. I always like the Saga releases. Besides being free they provide excellent liner notes about the lives of characters and groups. The only thing I wish they would also provide is what books these stories appeared in.
Overall, for a free book, this one is very useful and anyone reading Amazing needs to find this. It'll only add to the enjoyment of The Gauntlet!

DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #894: Franken-Castle! Apparently after the son of Wolverine killed the Punisher he was rebuilt as a Frankenmonster by Morbius The Living Vampire.
I'm sure there was a very good reason for it.
But having Morbius living in the sewers again with a bunch of other monsters really doesn't make much sense...especially when some of those monsters are Man-Thing, the Living Mummy and Werewolf By Night (who was recently infected by the Zombie Virus in MARVEL ZOMBIES 4)
Basic run down here: Deadpool is hired to kill Frank by a woman who says he murdered her accountant husband while trying to kill mob bosses. He searches the sewers and locates the cast of Nightbreed and fights Franken-Castle.
Later, he finds out he was duped by the chick and...well, beyond that there really isn't much to talk about with this issue. It's pretty lackluster and nothing really stands out about it.
Other than Franken-Castle is a very stupid idea.

FABLES #94: First thing I want to say is with this issue, FABLES becomes the longest running monthly series I've collected since issue #1. It's a personal milestone that I think is made even better considering I'm also celebrating 20 years collecting comic books.
Now, the story:
It's not bad, which is normal from this series. There hasn't been a bad issue yet. The main part focuses on Rose Red, Snow White's sister, who had something of a breakdown during the war and the death of Boy Blue shortly after.
Seems Sheriff Beast and his wife Beauty think it's a good idea to remove her from her leadership position in the Farm. It does make some sense though, Fabletown was destroyed and the Fables now face the unknown evils of the Mister Dark who seems to be taking over the former Fabletown area of New York City.
Bigby and Snow disagree, they think removing her from leadership will only strain relations in the Farm which are now nearing a breaking point.
Rose, meanwhile, is still in bed, looking very sickly, and still being lectured by the pig head. After the Pig realizes and admits he's not getting anywhere he changes form. First Blue, which was nice to see even though it wasn't really him, then to the mother of Rose and Snow. That got a reaction from Rose and give the lead into next months origin story. This will also lead into the upcoming 100-page FABLES #100!

SIEGE: LOKI: While all hell is coming loose in Asgard one person is missing from the scene: Loki.
This one-shot tells of what Loki is doing and it's very difficult to tell if he's right or wrong.
He apparently really thinks Asgard should NOT be on Earth and he sets up Osborn to attack Asgard. This also brings about the fall of Osborn as he acts without proper permission and thus ends Dark Reign.
He then enslaves a group of Asgardian women who were cast from any Asgardian afterlife because of their hunger for Asgardian flesh. Very creepy looking chicks who were cursed to only be able to feed on the spirits of wandering Asgardian souls. Which is why they haven't eaten in centuries, these souls never wander from Asgard.
He arranges a dead with Mephisto and leases(?) part of his real for 'a thousand and one years' in exchange for ownership over the cannibal spirits for 'a hundred and one days'
So, Loki has secured the return of Hel, realm of Hela but the big question is: Why? Why go through all this trouble? We're to find out very soon in SIEGE #4 of 4 and THOR #609 but it's Loki's response to Mephisto who also questions the god: "This isn't mischief" says Loki, "This is mayhem. Just watch."

Not a bad week for only getting 4 books. I would recommend all but DEADPOOL TEAM-UP this week.

The Pull List

A little late on this one, I'm sorry but here's what I got LAST Wednesday:

CINDERELLA: FROM FABLE TOWN WITH LOVE #6 of 6: I loved this miniseries! I really hope they work more minis with other characters from the FABLES series.
This issue wraps up the mystery of who was trading Mundy weaponry for magical items. Cinderella and Aladdin end up in a small kingdom in the Homelands where the new ruler has outlawed being anything but happy.
So, who is the villain? Cinderella's Fairy Godmother(!) and she isn't as nice as we thought. Apparently, she got sick of her powers being weakened to the point where her spells fade at Midnight.
So, to fix this problem she took over a small Kingdom called Ultima Thule where the sun sets and it's dark for a very long time. As Cindy says, Midnight comes only once a year.
So, after a quick origin of Fairy Godmother Cindy decides to bring it all down. She uses her final animal friend, Dickory (Hickory, Dickory Dock...) who runs up the clock and the clock strikes one...
Fairy Godmother loses her powers and instead of killing her and she should, Cindy instead hands her over to the poor people she terrorized for a long time.
Great series and, just like FABLES, filled with great art and some of the best covers in comics.

DEADPOOL CORPS #1: Alright, I'm a pretty big fan of Deadpool. I collect all the books he currently has and I was kind of excited about this one mainly because of the involvement of the Elders of the Universe. I love these guys, each is a dick in his own special way.
However...there is ONE major complaint I have about this book which I'll get to in a minute.
Ok, to the story breaks down to Contemplator telling the Deadpool Corps (DPC) about a massive threat that devours the mind much like Galactus devours planets. So, the DPC's first mission is to stop it. The banter between the different versions of Deadpool is alright, there is room for improvement there.
But the confrontation between the DPC and the Elder called Champion was very funny. Although Champion is a little out of character here and very different from the guy who took on Thanos during the THANOS QUEST.
Now, my complaint: Rob Liefeld. Everyone knows I can't STAND this guys 'art' and this issue is no exception. Most artists who start out not so great tend to improve over the years. Most. Liefeld is the exception to that rule. Let me say if he is going to be a long running artist on this series I may just drop it.

MARVEL ZOMBIES 5 #1 of  5: I love Marvel Zombies. This issue is no exception.
So, picking up from MARVEL ZOMBIES 4, we have Machine Man aka Aaron Stack, hopping realities trying to find a cure for the zombie plague.
One thing I like about this is the introduction of the variations of Zombies in the Marvel Universe.
So, Machine Man ends up in an Old West reality tracking down a meteor which creates zombies from ANY dead person regardless how long they've been dead.
Now, this story focuses more on the people who live in this reality that on Aaron. I liked this, it gives you something solid to grasp onto.
When Aaron finally shows up he's right on task, same jokes and same disdain for humans or Fleshies as he calls him. But the truely golden moment was the reveal of his partner during this quest: Howard the Duck! I gotta admit I was just as surprised at this as I was for the Thanos reveal in last months GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.
So, it's Machine Man and Howard The Duck tracking down zombies and looking for a cure and that makes for a GREAT comic! This could very well be the best Marvel Zombies book since the original miniseries!

ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS AVENTURE #3: Let me just say, if you like something different from your zombie comics then you need to track down this series.
You get 3 parts of 3 stories taking place during different times of the Human/Robot vs Zombies War.
Kampf continues the story of a general trying to fight the legions of the undead to protect his wife and make up for the loss of his son and daughter. Though we know his daughter was kill by zombies we don't really know what happened to his son until that last page of this issues installment.
Masques shows how well a janitor does in a Iron Man-type suit while facing the undead. And apparently that isn't very well. He does kill a lot of them but he also takes out a military helicopter and almost takes himself out.
Zuvembies Vs Robots shows a bad situation getting worse as our Witch Doctor creates an even larger army of zombies in hopes of fighting the uncontrolled swarms of the undead in Haiti. It's goes to worse when a group of robots shows up and puts and end to his control...but what happens when voodoo created zombies no longer have someone to control them?