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Wolverine and the X-Men #27 AU Review

Marvel Comics, , , ,

wolvxmen27au

Ultron has destroyed humankind. There are only a few survivors and they are scattered around the world. Most of the superheroes were killed. Wolverine and the X-Men #27 AU, an Age of Ultron tie-in by Marvel Comics, gives us a look at an attempt to prevent this catastrophe from occurring.

Ultron, an artifical intellect, was created by Henry Pym, a founding member of the Avengers. Wolverine, one of the few surviving X-Men, and Sue Storm Richards, the only Fantastic Four survivor, travels back to the past in hopes of finding and confronting Hank, to try to stop him from creating Ultron. Wolverine plans to stop Hank by whatever means necessary.

After arriving at a guarded, off-line S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, Wolverine and Sue decides to split up. Wolverine is to look for a battery, while Sue looks for records, tracking devices, and anything else that will give her an idea of Hank’s location.

Using the monitors to try to locate Hank, Sue realizes the system is set up to monitor everyone on Earth that has super powers. They’re even monitored in their own homes. She watched her life change before her, starting from a particular day at the Baxter Building.

Wolverine attempts to save an alien creature, only to realize the creature is the Brood! After killing the alien parasite, he realizes that he is the one responsible for the Brood becoming evil.

This title is a one-shot. An Age of Ultron tie-in. It is difficult for me to review a one-shot because I do not want to disclose too much information. So I usually just post somewhat of a shell of the story. This way you will have something to look forward to in the story. Like what happened when Sue watched that day at the Baxter Building? Exactly what went down between Wolverine and the Brood?

I really enjoyed this story and it is to be continued in Age of Ultron #6. Well written dialogue. Matt Kindt is the writer.

Great artwork. No complaints in that area. Paco Medina is the artist. David Curiel and Rachelle Rosenberg are the colorists.

VERDICT (drum roll please)

If you are reading Age of Ultron, then you should be reading all the tie-ins. Since Wolverine and the X-Men #27 AU is a tie-in, you should be reading this title as well. I highly recommend this title by Marvel Comics.

Age of Ultron #6 Review

Marvel Comics, , ,

ultron6

Ultron had one goal.  And that goal was to destroy humanity.  Ultron is an artificial intelligence (robot) created by Henry “Hank” Pym, a founding member of the Avengers.

Ultron attempted many times to destroy the world, but the Avengers stopped him every time.  Some predicted he would succeed one day.  And that day has come.  Ultron has destroyed humankind.  There are only a few survivors, scattered around the world.

In the last issue, the surviving heroes travelled to the Savage Land, where they met up with Ka-Zar and Nick Fury.  They soon learned, thanks to a dying Luke Cage, that Ultron is running his scheme from the future.  Nick Fury has been preparing for the annihilation by Ultron for a long time, and has a stash of weapons and gadgets.  He even has an Iron Man costume!  So a small group of them travelled into the future in an attempt to take on Ultron.  Some of the heroes include Nick Fury, Captain America, Storm, Iron Man and Red Hulk.

However Wolverine had his own agenda:  go back in the past to confront Hank Pym to try to stop him from creating Ultron.  I blogged briefly about that in my review of Wolverine and the X-Men #27 AU.

In Age of Ultron #6, by Marvel Comics, Wolverine has travelled back in the past to the Savage Land, Antarctica.  Sensing someone other than himself, Sue Richard appeared.  The two of them found Hank in the middle of an experiment.  An experiment of advanced artificial intelligence.  Wolverine and Sue confronted Hank, but it wasn’t a friendly meeting.

Meanwhile, following Nick Fury’s lead into the future, the time-travelling heroes encounter an endless number of Ultron patrols.  A long and hard battle follows.

I am still enjoying the Age of Ultron mini-series.  Brian Michael Bendis is the writer.  The dialogue is well-written and each issue is always better than the last.  I like the interactions among the characters.  I am especially amazed at how well they are all working as a team.

This story is not only about survival, but trust as well.  With that being said, the only part about the story I didn’t like is Red Hulk’s interaction with Taskmaster.  Whether or not you trust someone is not an issue right now.  There are only a handful of survivors and teamwork should be prevalent.  Red Hulk was quick to judge.  That bought tears to my eyes.

I love the artwork, especially the going back and forth between the past and the future.  The art team for the present includes Brandon Peterson (artist) and Paul Mounts (colors).  The art team for the past includes Carlos Pacheco (pencils) and Jose Villarrubia (colors)

VERDICT (drum roll please)

I highly recommend Age of Ultron.

Ultron #1AU Review

Marvel Comics, , , , ,

ultron1au

Ultron has destroyed humankind. There are only a few survivors scattered around the world. This Marvel NOW! Age of Ultron tie-in depicts how Victor Mancha deals with the catastrophe. In case you don’t already know, Victor is a cyborg created by his father, ULTRON. Yes, Ultron. One of the baddest super villains in the Marvel Universe. Victor was also a member of Runaways, a team of teenage super heroes.

The story takes place in Los Angeles where Victor scours the city looking for survivors. He has already led a few juveniles to safety and provides them with shelter. Everyone he has ever loved has been killed by Ultron, including his mother and the Runaways.

Afraid that the children won’t trust him if they knew he was a cyborg, Victor keeps that part of him a secret. However just as his secret is discovered, all hell breaks loose.

It had been prophesied that Victor would take part in Ultron’s plan. To be a part of the end. Does the prophecy become true in this Age of Ultron tie-in? Grab a copy at your local comic shop and find out!

Because this is a one-shot, I’m not going to say much about the story. But I will say that I enjoyed this title. I like how Victor is handling the destruction of humankind by Ultron. I also like the fact that despite the prophecy of Victor being a part of Ultron’s plan, he dedicates his life trying to NOT becoming like his father.

Written by Kathryn Immonen, the script is detailed and fast paced, yet easy to follow. The story is brought to life by Amilcar Pinna. Great visual storyteller. Not much dialogue is needed to see where the story is going.

VERDICT (drum roll please)

If you are reading Age of Ultron, then you should be reading ALL the tie-ins as well. Ultron #1AU, by Marvel Comics, is one of those tie-ins. I highly recommend this title.

The Fearless Defenders #3 Review

Marvel Comics, , ,

feardefend3

The badass girls of Marvel Comics are back.

Up until now we know that Valkyrie, the demigoddess of Asgardia has failed to select a new group of Shieldmaidens.  Misty Knight was ticked to learn that Valkyrie claimed she couldn’t find any female superheros on Earth worthy to serve on the team.  Now the consequences has to be faced.  The Doom Maidens are rising and Dani Moonstar is being held captive by Caroline LeFay, a villainess who confessed to Dani that she wants to be a Valkyrie.  Carolyn also raised the Doom Maidens.  There is a lot going on in The Fearless Defenders right now, so you need to grab the first two issues, in addition to the current one, if you haven’t already.

My review of issue #1 details why I’m liking this series, and each issue just keeps getting better.

Hela, Queen of the Dead, is aware of the Doom Maidens rising.  Warning the All-Mother, rulers of Asgardia, not to send Valkyrie to confront the Doom Maidens, Hela has resurrected Warrior Woman, aka Hippolyta to take on the Doom Maidens and rescue Dani Moonstar.

Not willing to let Hippolyta fight alone, the All-Mother sent Valkyrie and her two Shieldmaidens to accompany Hippolyta.  Misty Knight and Annabelle Riggs.  YES.  DR. ANNABELLE RIGGS IS NOW A SHIELDMAIDEN! 

Cullen Bunn, writer, is having fun with this series.  Superb dialogue.  Fast paced.  Character interactions can’t get any better than this.  The different character backgrounds and personalities make this series fun and addicting.

We all know Misty Knight,  the Foxy Brown of comics, has a mouth on her.  Sassy, gun-toting, don’t take sh-t from anyone.  She will  beat you down just for looking at her the wrong way.

Annabelle Riggs.  I didn’t like her in the first issue, but now I’m starting to grow on her.  She’s funny plus I want to see how she fares as a Shieldmaiden.

Valkyrie.  The reason they’re all in this mess. By not assembling a new team, the Doom Maidens may have a right to fill the Valkyrior void.  She also has a mouth on her.  She just needed someone to bring it out of her.  And that someone is Hippolyta.

Warrior Woman aka Hippolyta.  A total badass like Valkyrie and Misty Knight.  Arrogant and full of gloat.  Boastful about her days of fighting.  She even talked about the Asgardian armor.  I’m pretty sure she and Valkyrie will be going at it soon after their quest is completed.

I love the artwork.  Will Sliney is the artist.  Veronica Gandini is the colorist.  I especially like the cover page by Mark Brooks.  The cover pages of this title are always nice.  Kind of on the wild side.  It is one of the major selling points for me.

The Fearless Defenders is one of my favorite Marvel NOW! titles.  And I definitely plan to continue reading this awesome series.

VERDICT (drum roll please)

There is no doubt that I highly recommend this title.

Sex #2 Review

Image Comics, , ,

sex2

In my review of Sex #1, I said I would not be reading future issues because the title caught my attention, but not the story.  Well the title caught my attention again.  But as with the debut issue of Sex, I am still clueless as to what this comic is about.

Simon Cooke is a wealthy businessman with a bland personality.  He returned from a 7-month sabbatical last issue, but didn’t appear to be happy or surprised to see anyone.  It was business as usual.  Simon is also modest, showing no interest or arousal at the females at the club he visited.  He also turned away a call girl who was waiting for him at his home.

I tried to make sense out of the story by trying to figure out the roles the supporting characters play in Simon’s life.  So far I haven’t come up with much.  Warren, Simon’s attorney, is a pimp.  There is The Old Man, a gangster that looks older than Methuselah.  Annabelle Lagravenese is the club owner.  She and Simon appear to have a history together.  There is an elderly lady Simon talks to but I don’t know who she is, or her relation to him.  There’s more supporting characters but I know less about them then the ones I mentioned above.

There are more explicit scenes in this issue than the last, which is one of the reasons for my purchase.  Even The Old Man is going at it with a beautiful young woman.  Another reason I bought this title is because I am not afraid of it.  By ‘it’ I mean human sexuality.  This series tackles sexuality.  Temptation.  Worldly pleasures.  Breaking out of ones’ shell to enjoy life.

Joe Casey is the writer.

I like the artwork.  I am a mature adult who is not afraid to say that I also like the explicit scenes.  Especially the panel where Annabelle and Simon are in the Community Lounge.  Good visual storytelling to accompany the dialogue.  Piotr Kowalski is the artist and Brad Simpson is the colorist.

Sex, by Image Comics, is slow and dull.

VERDICT (drum roll please)

Although Sex is a catchy title, the story is not.  The storyline is moving too slow.  I do not recommend this title.

Demon Knights #19 Review

DC Comics, , ,

demonknight19

Cain and his army has reached Themyscira, home of the Amazons. Cain’s quest is to take over the Amazons, the strongest army in the world. And the only way to kill Cain and his horde is by piercing their hearts and decapitation. Or expose them to sunlight because…….they are VAMPIRES!

The Demon Knights (I listed the Knights in a previous post) comes to the aid of the Amazons, but they have one problem. The Knights need Etrigan for his strength but he’s to weak to return to Hell to re-energize. And Jason Blood is refusing to swap. When Lucifer learns that Cain is creating an army on Earth, he returns all of Etrigan’s power, and then some. And the battle begins.

During the battle, Sir Ystin (Shining Knight) made a move that shocked the Demon Knights. Her explanation was that Merlin foretold her of this quest. What prophecy was fulfilled? What happened to the vampires? I am not giving out spoilers. You will have to read it and find out!

So far I am still enjoying this New 52 title by DC Comics. I love magic, sorcery, and monsters. I also like vampires. So I was very anxious to see The Amazons, led by Queen Hippolyta, fight side-by-side with the Demon Knights in the battle against Cain and his army.

I like how Robert Venditti, writer, kept the classic characteristics of vampires. Bloodlust. Victims turning into vampires within minutes. Can be killed by a stab through the heart. Hiding from sunlight.

Bernard Chang is the artist and Marcelo Maiolo is the colorist. The two are great visual storytellers.

I have been reading Demon Knights since the first issue, and I plan to continue following the series.

VERDICT (drum roll)

I highly recommend this New 52 title.