Masters of the Universe is Kind of My Jam

Christmas of 1984, times were tough for my family as we lived in a crammed one room apartment. I was only four years old, so I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. I really had no concept of Christmas, so I was surprised when there were four wrapped presents waiting for me when I woke up that morning.

The first two were Superman and Batman action figures courtesy of Kenner’s Super Powers line. Presents three and four were He-Man and Skeletor of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe collection. To be more specific, it was the Battle Damage He-Man and Battle Damage Skeletor, not the regular figures. Continue reading “Masters of the Universe is Kind of My Jam” →

Planet Hulk # 1 Review

Sam Hunphries and Greg Pak hit comic book fans with a pretty snazzy 1-2 punch as they implement the beloved story arc of Planet Hulk into Marvel’s current big event, Secret Wars.

The other part of the combination deals with a gladiator Steve Rogers and his trusty steed in the form of a giant red t-Rex, Devil Dinosaur kicking ass and taking names.

I couldn’t help but notice the bump up in price compared to the other Secret Wars tie-in books. The book is certainly thicker, but does it add up in the realm of content? Of course, all things in Battleworld leads back to Doctor Doom, who is now referred to as God Doom.

Seeing a beaten down Steve Rogers being forced down at the feet of Doom harkens back to Secret Wars circa 1984. Doom obtained ultimate power in that outing, and Rogers got into his head by turning his own hubris against him.

Their interaction in this current state of affairs dropped some hints about whether or not Doom remembers everything before Marvel’s version of the big bang. It would make sense considering he is the shot caller, but many of the characters remember bits and traces of their past without realizing what it really means.

Enough about Doom and Rogers, though. The book is called Planet Hulk, and you want to hear about how they wreck shop and cause total destruction. Greenland is the name of this Gamma-infested region that has been carved out for Hulk-like beings.

Sam Humphries sets things up nicely by establishing how dangerous this place is as it is conveyed to be the most feared place in Battleworld.

Greg Pak writes a nice little back story that shows life in Greenland before, well, it turned green. The cover had a retro sixties vibe, which almost seemed like a gag at first.

However, even though Battleworld is a bastardization of reality, these are still real people who live their lives until things took a turn for the worst. Pak’s gives Planet Hulk perspective through this origin story.

Most of the time, tie-in books fail to add any real depth to the overarching story they are trying to enhance. While it would have been nice to see more of Planet Hulk in its current form, Humphries did a great job of establishing everyone’s role where green goliaths appear to play background noise to a much larger issue at hand.

Score: 4 out of 5

Secret Wars #2 Review

Enter Battleworld, a new plane of existence somehow created in the wake of the Marvel universe’s destruction. It’s a crazy, dark place where the characters we know have new lives and have taken on radically different roles. A seemingly medieval symmetry encapsulates the motif and lifeblood of this realm.

Various families and houses squabble, politic, and plot to expand their dominion under the watchful eye of one supreme monarch. While there are certainly no songs of fire and ice, I got the impression that winter is coming. Continue reading “Secret Wars #2 Review” →

Secret Wars #1 Review

Time has officially run out. Only two worlds remain.

This is the story that Jonathan Hickman has been building towards since Avengers #1 and New Avengers #1 kicked off the Marvel NOW initiative back in December 2012 and January 2013. Hickman has done something special here as he’s weaved a story that is easy to appreciate regardless of whether you’ve been keeping up with his Avengers’ books or jumped right into the deep end without knowing how to navigate the waters of this universe-ending event.

Secret Wars has been synonymous with Marvel comics since the inaugural series carrying that name occurred in 1984. The Mattel action figures based on the story coincided with the release of the famed limited series. There have been other limited runs using the name, but this 2015 edition promises to change everything……and it does! Continue reading “Secret Wars #1 Review” →

Secret Wars #0 Review

This was the most anticipated release of Free Comic Book Day, as Marvel kicks off its big event of 2015. Secret Wars looks to change the Marvel Universe as we know it, and it will include over 55 books between tie-in issues and special one-shots.

Jonathan Hickman has been the maestro wielding the creative force that has led to this moment, with almost two years of backstory in the pages of his run on Avengers and New Avengers.

Most of the story here shows Valeria Richards telling the Future Foundation about the world incursions the Illuminati tried to prevent. Hickman makes the book new reader-friendly while giving current readers some nice reminders. I loved the artwork in this issue. It was just right and conveyed a sense of world-ending calamity.

There was also a bonus, which included the Marvel Universe heroes battling the gigantic humanoids of Attack on Titan. Manga really isn’t my cup of tea, but the show gets recommended to me daily. Three episodes in on Netflix, and I’m hooked, gave me a greater appreciation for what I had read earlier. The artwork and color were the stars of this particular show and were well-realized.

If you’re a Marvel fan or have been out of the loop for some time, this is the book you need to read. The primer for Secret Wars more than did its job, and you just might find yourself enamored with a completely new franchise.

Star Wars #4 Review

Star Wars #4 serves as the beginning of a new story arc dealing with the fallout of the Empire’s weapons factory on Cymoon 1 being destroyed.

The majority of the book takes place on Tatooine as Darth Vader arrogantly keeps Jabba the Hutt in check while maintaining the assurance of Imperial supplies provided by the mammoth gangster.

Jason Aaron was able to keep the dialogue between the two villains interesting. Vader was steadfast in his demands while Hutt surgically picked his spots to rub salt on the wound of recent Imperial damages. It reminded me of how one would book a match/story in professional wrestling with the idea being one person wins without the loser taking any damage to their credibility or character. Continue reading “Star Wars #4 Review” →

Run Love Kill #1 Review

My initial thoughts after reading this book were, “Holy @$%&! This is really good.”

This creator-owned series follows an assassin on the run named Rain Oshiro who is trying to escape a barricaded city called the Prygat.

There is a pronounced cinematic quality that shines in the opening pages with interchanging scenes of song and sorrow. Continue reading “Run Love Kill #1 Review” →

Darth Vader #4 Review

To say that Darth Vader has fallen out of favor with Emperor Palpatine would be an understatement. The old wrinkly Lord of the Sith talks down to his apprentice in a manner that would get most people Force choked into oblivion. However, Vader is playing it cool for now, and he needs to. Continue reading “Darth Vader #4 Review” →

Taking Artistic License On A Local Comic-Con

I’m late to the party with this one, but I wanted to write about my experience at Beverly Comic Con 2. Some of you might be thinking, what and where is Beverly? Well, Beverly is a city in Massachusetts. It’s about 30 minutes outside of Boston, boasts a population of approximately 39,000, and if you ask its citizens, she is the birthplace of the U.S. Navy.

This sounds like a weird place to hold such an event since most comic book conventions occur in major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, and San Diego. Also, I grew up in Beverly, and for a long time, it was a place that, in my opinion, was allergic to fun. However, over the last five years, there has been a social revitalization that has been inspired by and celebrates art, music, and culture. Continue reading “Taking Artistic License On A Local Comic-Con” →

The Monsters of Jimmy Crumb Review

The Monsters of Jimmy Crumb is a successfully funded Kickstarter project helmed and written by James Patrick, who’s been a writer on Batman and Harley Quinn books.

I had no earthly idea that this book was even a thing. Thanks to a strong recommendation from the nice lady at the comic book store, I took this home and dove right in.

The story wastes no time, making me wonder what I had gotten myself into. The eight-year-old titular character reads an essay in front of his class while a ghostly-looking female is murdering people in adjacent scenes. My thought process immediately came to the conclusion that Jimmy was somehow going to somehow incur her wrath. Continue reading “The Monsters of Jimmy Crumb Review” →