You Know Who

New debate topic: Which mentor figure in comics needs to die and stay dead more, Professor Xavier, Aunt May, or neither?

Agreed. Plus, I've never liked the wingless Cap cowl.

Happy Birthday, good sir!

Preacher, Vol. 1: Gone to Texas: I liked this and will read the rest of the series, but at the same time am not in any hurry to do so. Though the series has an excellent premise and some good characters (Cassidy being my favorite, thus far), this particular volume at times feels like it's trying too hard to be funny (such as what the sheriff does to himself after Jesse tells him to go fuck himself) and is excessively gorey (and this is from someone who loves dirty jokes and doesn't mind gore in movies that much). My favorite part, by far, was when Jesse basically knocked an angel off o Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev, Vol. 2: On the whole a good, well-written read. Bendis writes an awesome Kingpin and Maleev's art is generally pretty good. However, there are number of things keeping me from calling this outstanding as opposed to merely strong: Maleev, to me, is one of those artists who's better during talky, quiet scenes than when he's asked to do fight scenes (especially when Daredevil fights the Owl, one of the most ridiculous supervillains ever conceived in my opinion). The fight between Daredevil and Kingpin that is the turning point in Bendis' run was helped by the fact that veteran artists on Daredevil drew various panels, but some of the panels were either poorly drawn or out of place (those being Janson's, Quesada's, and Oeming's; Colan's was, by far, the best). And though I enjoyed the Black Widow storyline, a super spy getting involved (let alone already having a history) with Matt Murdock felt as out of place as James Bond stepping into a show like The Wire. Batman: The Black Mirror: The best Batman story I've read in a long time. Not only do I now understand the appeal of Dick as Batman (something I didn't quite get from early issues of Batman and Robin, even though I liked them), but now wish he had been in that role for longer than he was. Scott Snyder is the spiritual successor to Frank Miller (or at least 20th century Frank Miller) as far as Batman writers go, and need to seek out more Francavilla after reading this volume. I wasn't as high on Jock's stuff (except for the kickass cover of the third issue in the collection) but it fit the book and was never ugly, per se. Collections: 6

Not really. Richard Parker's former partner (that being Eddie Brock, Sr.) is already dead at the beginning of the series and the Parkers' death is because of something he does, while Mary Jane is Peter's first and predominant love interest throughout the series. More importantly, though, the part about Peter "trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today" is not an ongoing theme in that series, at least not in the earlier books.

Interesting...

The only nominations I take issue with are those of The Tree of Life. Like Avatar, it looked pretty in places, but had little substance and is the very first movie I walked out on.

Do yourself a favor and start listening to a segment of Earth-2.net: The Show called Waiting for the Trade. It is an excellent guide to what comic books you should (and should not) be picking up. Ditto for First Issue Special and Is It Wednesday Yet?. Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev, Vol. 1: Didn't set my pants on fire as much as Brubaker's first trade, but was still a damn good read overall. This is my first exposure to Bendis' hard-boiled crime writing (I know him primarily from Ultimate Spider-Man) and based on the strength of this, I'm not only buying the rest of his Daredevil run but also Powers and Alias. Artistically, I found Mack's work hard to get through but still appropriate for the story Bendis was telling. On the whole, I dug Maleev's sketchy art (though his Mr. Hyde was a bit too realistic for my taste) on "Underboss" and "Out", as well as Gutierrez's cleaner style in the first two issues of the last story arc, "Low Life". Unfortunately, the Dodsons' work on the last issue in that arc was extremely sloppy. Collections: 3

I'm not that big a fan of the Indiana Jones films as a whole. None of them are terrible (except whenever the useless wench from Temple of Doom opens her mouth) or are a waste of two hours, but I wouldn't call any of them spectacular. I'm also surprised how readily accepting Indy is of whatever cockamamie prophecy or legend it is that leads him to the treasure (granted, he needs to buy into them in order for him to go searching for the treasure in the first place, but how do you believe in both Shiva and the Old Testament?)

Everybody who likes mysteries needs to see Forbrydelsen, the original iteration of The Killing.

Actually, Murdock was basically disbarred for suspected vigilantism in Waid's first issue. It took me a while to decide, but I think I gotta agree with Suave on this one for all the reasons he stated.

New fight/debate: Who has had a shittier life, Peter Parker or Matt Murdock?

Just read issue #117. It does, but I still don't feel compelled enough to read the rest of the series, even though Quitely didn't draw the whole thing.

New X-Men- E is for Extinction: Didn't hate it, but wasn't overly impressed by it either. Morrison writes Cassandra Nova pretty well and has decent handle on the X-Men, but she was apprehended and defeated way too quickly for such a powerful villain and the destruction of Genosha didn't have the gravity that it should have on both a writing and artistic level. And as for the art, I actually didn't hate Quitely's work her like I do with most books, although his Emma Frost looks like an anvil feel on her face and Cat-Beast can suck it. Jean's line about the look suiting him reeked of Morrison congratulating both Quitely and himself. Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Took a while for me to get into this one, given the sheer size of the book (the one I read from is the 13-issue trade) and the fact that I'd never read a Cap book before and this book wasn't entirely new reader-friendly. After "The Lonesome Death of Jack Monroe", however, I became fully invested in it. "The Winter Soldier" storyline was stronger than the "Out of Time" arc, but the story of Nomad's demise was the strongest part of the trade and required reading for anyone even partially invested in comic books. The art, from top to bottom, was outstanding and Epting, Lark, Leon, and Perkins were each on the book for a reason. Trades: 2

Awesome episode and can't wait for your next batch of reviews. I was about to post that Mark Millar didn't kill off any members of the Four during his sixteen-issue run, but then I remembered that he had Doom kill off a version of Sue Storm from 500 years in the future at the end of his second storyline. I suppose that counts.

Welcome to the forums. I think in terms of sheer knowledge and expertise at various things, I think Luthor would beat Wayne. But, almost solely because Luthor a) has all this knowledge and yet hasn't utilized it effectively enough to take out the Man of Steel once and for all and b) because he, of all people, hasn't deduced that Clark Kent is Superman, in terms of sheer smarts I'd have to give the edge to Wayne.

Coupling, by Steven Moffat. Check it out.

Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol.8: Cats and Kings A very strong chapter in the Ultimate Spider-Man story. Best parts include Ben Urich's interview with the mayoral candidate, Aunt May laying into Jonah, Peter confronting M.J.'s douchebag father, and Jonah (sorta) reconciling with Peter. That said, I was a bit disappointed that it ended on a cliffhanger (though, admittedly, one that adds a new dimension to the villain). Also, Bendis seems to have forgotten that kids are off school in July and that this version of Jonah doesn't have a Hitler mustache (to clarify, May refers to Jonah's mustache as such, when Bagley's Jonah has one more like John Waters', so its an error in the writing and not the art). Superboy: Smallville Attacks: A collection of a few one-off tales contained within one overarching tale about Smallville. Bought this based solely on the praise Jeff Lemire was given from Mike among others on Earth-2.net: The Show and on the whole really enjoyed it, though the Reign of Doomsday tie-in felt out of place and most of the art in it is hard to follow. It's also said that the plot-thread with the superhero from the future will never be resolved thanks to the DCnU. Contains everything from (sort of) zombies, a Western-style flashback, the Red Mercy (a cousin of the Black Mercy), and best of all--PARASITE FROGS!!! Trades: 36 Happy New Year!!!

Green Lantern

Pardon my ignorance about the Star Trek franchise, but is there an unwritten rule that officers in red uniforms are destined to die (minus Scottie, of course)? Otherwise, I have no idea how this is supposed to be funny.

Hang on--are you all opening your presents early?

The Ultimates, Vol. 2: Was kind of down on the story at first since it seemed needlessly long and the revelation about the aliens came the fuck out of nowhere, but the balls-out action of the last two issues made up for that, particularly with what Thor and the Hulk were doing (though I think the pages with Iron Man's big heroic moment were missing a few panels and Captain America's big retort to the guy he was fighting made me cringe). 52, Vol. 4: Somewhat mixed but mostly good conclusion for a series I was reading on and off, which probably is coloring my feelings about the series as a whole. I was most invested in the storylines revolving around Black Adam and the rest of the Marvel family, Steel vs. Luthor, Renee Montoya, The Question, and Batwoman, and Ralph Dibny, while I was generally couldn't give two shits about the ones revolving around Booster Gold and Skeets, the island of mad scientists, and Animal Man, Adam Strange, and Starfire being lost in space. I will say that the different art styles throughout the whole series complimented each other (though Robertson's issues I feel were over-inked) and J. G. Jones' covers were brilliant. Even though it's by no means a bad or even a middling book, I think this, along with the three previous volumes, will be among those I'll be donating to my local library next week. Trades: 34

This was my introduction to the Christmas Carol story and Michael Caine is my Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Not seeing it. I was not crazy about the last one (but did not hate it) and I do not want to pay money to see Holmes in drag or a Moriarty that looks like a leprechaun. That is all.

Gotham Central, Book One: In the Line of Duty: Wasn't very high on it at first, but my enjoyment increased as the storylines got stronger. "In the Line of Duty" and "Motive" were decent, but "Half a Life" truly is a must-read. As for the art, I was actually down on it while reading the book even though it's good throughout. I think I was spoiled by having seen Lark's art in Daredevil first, which is influenced by David Mazzuchelli's yet has its own voice, whereas here it was identical to Mazzuchelli's apart from the faces. Even so, it's great artwork and I don't think I've ever seen a Two-Face as good as his. Trades: 32