Don't think I've forgotten about
Martian Manhunter has two weaknesses: fire...and SHARKS!
Surely he'll be able to get out of this one using his invulnerability to sharks, right?
Coming soon...this week's comic reviews and...Martian Manhunter meets his greatest foe...an attractive woman!
Hello all.
I just want to inform you that my pal Johnathan Munroe is joining me in celebrating
over at his excellent and hilarious comic blog Paul and John Review. He starts with a post about the first Martian Manhunter appearance (not the one with Batman...that one was weird).
Do check it out. You won't be disappointed.
Join me as we continue
In Detective Comics #227, our favourite Martian-disguised-as-a-detective finds himself facing another dirtbag mobster type. And thank God for the Martian Manhunter, because the chief of detectives really sucks:
Yeah, that's a pretty airtight alibi. I know I never sleep unless I have at least five witnesses.
By the way, there is a chance that the whole "fire = weakness" thing may come up later in this story.
J'onz pulls out some fancy Martian tricks to get to the bottom of this:
That must be a very loud clock.
J'onz finally meets the killer face-to-face, and doesn't give Fisk a positive first impression:
Who is he talking about? Wild look? John Jones? Really? This guy thinks someone else looks weird?:
Anyway, J'onz lays some heat on the guy:
That crook sucks. He's like "How do you know? I mean...You can't bluff me!" He just did, idiot.
Fisk is taking no chances. He orders a couple of his men to take this pesky detective out:
As I've said before, I enjoy J'onz's complete lack of subtlety. Like, Clark Kent would do something like that, but find a way to make sure no one saw him do anything weird. Martian Manhunter has no problem just waltzing through a wall, or turning invisible suddenly, or suddenly appearing in front of someone. And he's always totally calm about it. I can see how it would be really terrifying for criminals.
The car thing doesn't work, so the crooks try another meticulously-planned tactic:
Wait'll you see what's in Fisk's bag of tricks.
Well, I think we all know this is not going to work.
It doesn't work. And Fisk, his bag of tricks apparently empty now, decides to give up.
Nice diaper, MM.
What follows is a pretty excellent montage of Martian Manhunter scaring the hell out of Fisk:
This is so awesome:
Amazing. But then it goes wrong for our hero:
It doesn't look good, but since this all happens on the final page of the comic, things end up wrapping up nicely anyway.
Cool as a damn cucumber. I love this guy.
Due to the recent death of a beloved DC character, I hereby declare the next seven days at Living Between Wednesdays to be
We'll begin with a look at the second Martian Manhunter adventure ever told, from Detective Comics #226. In this story, our hero rigs a baseball game.
Before we get to that, let's see J'onn J'onz (alias John Jones) in action as a detective:
Ah, J'onz...always with the snappy detective banter. I really like that he'll just blatantly walk through a wall to stop some crooks. And then act like he didn't do that at all.
This crook really says a mouthful here, considering he's being arrested at gunpoint:
Very articulate. And J'onz calling him Trigger is great.
Now on to the baseball part of the story!
First of all, I think he'll find with time that this is going to be one of his least unusual assignments.
Am I the only one who thinks that this guy's baseball career would be helped by the fact that he learned how to play in prison? I mean, that's a great gimmick! People eat that stuff up!
Wait a minute...the ability to peer into the future? Well, I'm glad that power didn't stick around for very long. It would have made this detective game pretty easy for him.
So J'onz decides to fix the baseball game. Well, not "fix," really. We'll say "correct." He's correcting the game. To be as he saw it in the future (which is not a power he actually has...so I suspect he's just trying to justify his actions to himself).
Molecular Hypnosis: also not a power he has.
Ok, so basically what he's doing here is making it REALLY look like this Michaels fellow is throwing the game. The mobsters will be happy...but what about the fans? They are going to notice. And wouldn't that be more damaging to his career than a criminal past?
J'onz does not care though. And he's certainly not interested in being subtle about it:
Oh, and here's the best part...the mobsters' reaction:
I love that they are like "What?! He's not losing at all! But let's just wait to see where this is going..."
And then our boy Martian Manhunter decides to make that home run happen. Now the mobsters are stone pissed:
And J'onz stops them by pushing them over. Awesome.
Everything wraps up at the police station with a very weak explanation from J'onz:
What? Not even a pun? Just "Let's just say I was lucky"? How about "Let's just say the mobsters didn't cover all their bases." Or something. Screw you, Martian Manhunter.
Every four to five weeks or so I hit what I call the 'grab bag week.' This was one of those weeks. The big titles this week were, of course Buffy and Dark Tower, but since I don't read those I get an odd selection of sidekicks and minor characters. With a couple of notable Marvel exceptions.
Nightwing #145
This has actually turned itself into a really good Bat title. The current storyline is totally messed up and insane, but very fun. And the Morales art has been fantastic.
This issue is also monumental because, I believe, it's the first time I've seen the word 'vaginally' in a mainstream superhero comic. And it's not even used the way you'd expect in a Nightwing comic!
Robin/Spoiler Special
As I mentioned in the comment section of the last post, I don't really care one way or the other about the lack of memorial in the Batcave for poor Stephanie Brown. I liked her as a character, I hated everything about the War Games storyline, and I am glad that she's back. I think the whole "Hey guys! I faked my own death! Leslie helped!" return is pretty lazy, but I forgive it. I kinda feel the same way about it that I do about Brand New Day: I don't care how they did it, as long as they fixed it.
So this comic was pretty good. Two stories, both by Chuck Dixon and both with great art. I enjoy Robin and Spoiler together. It's got a nice old school Robin/Batgirl feel. Stephanie is the Barbara to Tim's Dick.
Wait. That didn't come out right.
Secret Invasion #3
Alright, here we go.
So, is Tony Stark a Skrull or what? And if he is, is that good or bad? I mean, obviously that's an easy way to explain away why he's such a douche now, but at the same time...
Well, either way, Yu has been at the top of his game with the art on this series so far. And I'll say this: whatever is happening in this whole Secret Invasion thing, it's holding my interest. Keep it up, Marvel!
Jonah Hex #32
Matador vs Bull!
Bear vs Bull!
Hex vs Bull!
Hex vs Scum Bag!
And all with fabulous Jordi Bernet art! Darwyn Cooke is doing the art for the next issue, in which Hex travels to Canada! I can't wait! I'll bet Darwyn draws some attractive mounties!
Justice Society of America #16
I really like comics/television episodes where the characters are granted wishes, so I really enjoyed this.
Damage gets his face fixed! Yay!
Lookin' good, buddy! We should introduce Gog to Jonah Hex.
Overall, I'm not super into this whole Kingdom Come storyline, but I really like this big, happy Gog.
And I like that Black Adam is working his way back into a JSA title.
Midnighter #20
This is a the final issue in a story that, I'm just gonna say it, got pretty bland after Giffen took over. Love Giffen, but this just wasn't a good run. This series started with a fantastic Ennis story about traveling through time to kill Hitler, and continued to be very good until the latest storyline. This issue, however, was pretty good. Certainly very violent, which is the reason to read Midnighter comics.
I am sorry it's canceled because I was hoping for a day that it would get awesome again. Oh well. If only the Morrison/Ha Authority comics would ever continue.
Justice League Unlimited #46
Another final issue. I find it sad when an all-ages title bites the dust, but I guess it's inevitable when the series has been off the air for several years. And, really, the series was more for nerdy adults than kids anyway. The end of this series means the end of the fantastic institution that is Justice League Unlimited. A great show, and a fun comic. This issue, much like every issue of this series, probably had too much going on in it for young kids, which is why Super Friends makes a lot more sense as an all-ages title. But it did make me think that a Green Lantern Corps cartoon series/all-ages comic would be a great idea. I mean, come on...Gnort? Gnort is made for all-ages reading!
Trinity #1
I love the cover because Superman is all "My logo's in focus! Bam!" As an aside...I really hate that Trinity logo. It's like "We need a logo for this series...pile them all on top of each other! No wait...that looks weird...um, blur the bottom two."
I had pretty low expectations for this, after the crushing disappointment that was Countdown. This wasn't bad though. At worst, it was boring. And that's just how I felt. Maybe I just don't have the energy for another weekly. The issue was fine, I just didn't read it and think "Sign me up for another 51 issues of this!"
The Amazing Spider-Man #561
This was SO GOOD. Really, there are no complaints at all about this series so far coming from me. Especially if they are putting people like Marcos Martin on art. (It should come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of Batgirl: Year One).
I never thought I would say this, but Spider-Man is now one of my favourite titles. And JLA is one of my least favourite. What crazy, upside-down times we live in.
Sorry these reviews are so late this week. I was having some computer troubles. Better late than never though, right? And I am trying really hard to not make it never.
A perfect storm of comic books.
Before I even begin, let's look at the all-star line-up of writers we had serving up the good stuff this week: Not one, not two, but three books by Grant Morrison, two by Geoff Johns, two by Ed Brubaker, plus books by Joss Whedon, Jeff Parker, Sean McKeever, Will Pfeifer, and Matt Fraction. Truly an awesome week.
Final Crisis #1
I hear people saying things like "Yeah, I don't know about Final Crisis...I guess I'll just see how the reviews are." To those people I say: guys, seriously. This is a sure thing. It's Grant Morrison and it's J.G. Jones. This is as safe as betting that I will never, ever see the Sex in the City movie.
The first issue was great. Really great. It was exciting, original, insane and laugh-out-loud funny at times.
And the art was beautiful. And most of the tie-ins are going to be written by Geoff Johns! What more do you want?!
Giant Size Astonishing X-Men #1
The most eagerly anticipated book finally hit the shelves this week. This exceeded my high expectations, I don't know about you guys. Just an awesome read. And long! With no ads! I enjoyed having Joss Whedon writing some of the extended Marvel universe characters who show up in this book, including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Dr Strange, and Iron Man.
I also enjoyed John Cassaday drawing them.
I don't care if that facial expression is physically impossible. I LOVE IT!
What if they teamed up for a 3-issue arc on Amazing Spider-Man?! Oh man!
Anyway, this was a very good comic. Worth the ridiculously long wait.
All-Star Superman #11
I can't believe this is almost over. I actually can't stand the thought of a world without new issues of this series. It's heartbreaking. Almost as heartbreaking as this issue was. Man, it was so good.
This series features my very favourite Lex Luthor ever. He's just perfectly written. So arrogant and so brilliant and so funny.
Really, every character is perfect. So as much as I can't wait for the next issue, it's going to be a sad day when it comes.
Batman #677
I don't know how into this event I am as a storyline with tie-ins, but I will reserve judgement. I am really liking the two issues of Batman so far in this story, though. As much as I don't care about Jet Jezebel as a character (her biggest flaw: she's not Catwoman), I did enjoy her sensible opinions about Bruce's probable insanity in this issue.
Seriously, Bruce. She has a point.
I especially loved that she mentioned witnessing the brutal murder of her own father, and how she didn't respond to it by becoming a vigilante in a bat costume.
Overall, this storyline is just really damn interesting, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Action Comics #865
Geoff Johns sets some things right in the world of Superman in this issue. Most importantly, he cleans up this whole Toyman mess that has been happening for decades. He brings Toyman back to being one guy, with one look. No more crazy interpretations. It's well done. And I appreciate it because, yeesh, that shit was getting confusing.
He also is bringing Cat Grant back to Metropolis! Yay!
This really was an awesome issue. I know it's going to get buried under all the other awesome this week, but you'd do well to pick it up.
Green Lantern #31
Geoff Johns again! I've been enjoying this Secret Origins arc because, as I've said before, I'll never get tired of reading Hal Jordan's origin story. And Johns' sense of humour really makes for a great re-telling.
Plus, y'know, gorgeous art. I can't wait until this is collected into a trade and I can sell it to people who want to be introduced to Green Lantern. Although, New Frontier is pretty much unbeatable for that too. But this brings in Sinestro, and these days that's all that new Lantern fans care about.
I loved this panel too:
Oh, Hal, honey. We know.
Daredevil #107
Dakota totally rules. She's just saying what we're all thinking.
Uncanny X-Men #498
Hey, look what I'm reading now!
I think it was the cover with Cyclops and Emma in the sixties get-up from last month that got me interested. Or maybe I was just bothered by the fact that there was a Brubaker title on the shelves that I wasn't reading. Or maybe I just needed a fix while waiting for Giant Size Astonishing. Whatever the reason, I added this title to my pull list and have been enjoying this story arc immensely so far. I also immensely enjoyed the extreme beefcake bondage cover this week. Oh Wolverine. Always getting tied up with your shirt off.
I read an unprecedented number of X-Men books this week, I think. And they were all really good. Besides the ones I'm writing about here, I also enjoyed Wolverine First Class and, as always X-Men First Class (complete with yet another adorable Colleen Coover back-up!).
Blue Beetle #27
Will Pfeifer steps in to guest write this issue and does a great job. It's a fun, wacky story that perfectly suits the title. Plus, there's lots of Traci Thirteen, which I am pleased about. Will Pfeifer rules.
And the cover, by Rafael Albuquerque, is really beautiful too.
Man, how is next week going to live up to this week?! It's just not possible!
Living Between Wednesdays is a place for people who love comic books and superheroes.
