Bottom of the Pile: January 15th, 2014
Aaaand, we're back. Bit of a full week this time...
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"Claremont's Rule: The longer two superheroes of matching sexual orientations remain on a team together, the closer the probability of a serious relationship tease gets to 1." Storm and Nightcrawler have been on teams together since Giant Size X-Men #1 in the mid-70's, so despite having never heard of anything remotely close to them liking each other...here we are. Something to remember when I start back working on Alpha Squad.
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The thing I love the most about Astro City in comparison to every other superhero universe is just how much work goes into the world building, and how casual Kurt does it. This page is essentially this world's Big Three (Winged Victory, The Confessor, and the Samaritan) staring down a list of Winged Victory's rogues' gallery, but its done in such a nonchalant way you'd never notice it if you weren't paying attention to it.
After about halfway in, Matt Fraction's Fantastic Four/FF run was treading a fine line between genius and mildly irritating. With the whole thing almost completely finished now, I can say that I'm impressed with just how much crazy he shoved into 31 issues (with the 32nd due out soon, I'd assume). That said: Can this be the last time we see "cosmic being tries random human food; finds it delicious"? And can it absolutely be the last time said cosmic being mispronounces something that was pronounced perfectly the first time? It was cute circa 2003's Teen Titans' Starfire, but that was over ten years ago now.
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The overly violent heroes...the two people in charge bickering over the "correct" action for their creations....essentially, Justice League 3000 has turned into meta-commentary on DC Comics as a whole. Now whether it's a good book because/despite that? I haven't been able to decide yet. But it's got my interest for at least one more issue.
One of the things that's always bugged me about the Marvel public at large is that they're never very grateful. This scene is reminiscent of Civil War when some random bystander hit Johnny Storm with a brick for something that didn't even occur in New York. They're a very "what have you done for me lately" sort of people.
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I hate to be that guy, but these four panels are the closest we've gotten to the real Diana in over two years. An encouraging, supportive role model to young girls (to everyone, really), and overall capable of doing more than just stabbing people with pointy things and lifting heavy objects.
This would make Thor's godly title a bit of a misnomer, but then I suppose Thor, God of Thunder...and Occasional Trickery doesn't quite have the same ring to it. I will say that this "Malekith the Accursed" arc is both much stronger than the "Godkiller" one, and a nice way to entrench Thor firmly in the realm of high fantasy. Aside from a brief trip to Earth, this whole arc took place entirely within the other eight realms and was still highly entertaining. Too bad the Malekith in the film isn't as entertaining as this one.
Even in the midst of a massive crossover and potentially universe-ending threats, the crew of the Lost Light doesn't lose its sense of humor.
One of the things I enjoyed the most about the Grant Morrison run was that at the end, we were given a harsh reminder that Magneto, at his core, was a villain. Uncanny X-Men 16 brings us back to that, in more ways than just this page portrays. Though knowing the cyclical nature of comics (which can suck in cases like this), I'm certain he'll be back to the side of angels in about, oh...ten years or so.
Welp, that's three weeks down. See you next week.
Author's Note: Bottom of the Pile is a weekly column (or at least, my attempt at said) in which I cover the comics that found their way to the bottom of my pile, thus being the best as I've always been a proponent of "saving the best for last". Since bog standard reviews can be found literally anywhere, coverage can range from mini-reviews to funny comments to commentary on a creator's run or comics as a whole, depending on a wide range of factors including the comic itself, the amount of time I have, and my general mood.
Amazing X-Men 3
"Claremont's Rule: The longer two superheroes of matching sexual orientations remain on a team together, the closer the probability of a serious relationship tease gets to 1." Storm and Nightcrawler have been on teams together since Giant Size X-Men #1 in the mid-70's, so despite having never heard of anything remotely close to them liking each other...here we are. Something to remember when I start back working on Alpha Squad.
Astro City 8
The thing I love the most about Astro City in comparison to every other superhero universe is just how much work goes into the world building, and how casual Kurt does it. This page is essentially this world's Big Three (Winged Victory, The Confessor, and the Samaritan) staring down a list of Winged Victory's rogues' gallery, but its done in such a nonchalant way you'd never notice it if you weren't paying attention to it.
Fantastic Four 16
Justice League 3000
The overly violent heroes...the two people in charge bickering over the "correct" action for their creations....essentially, Justice League 3000 has turned into meta-commentary on DC Comics as a whole. Now whether it's a good book because/despite that? I haven't been able to decide yet. But it's got my interest for at least one more issue.
Superior Spider-Man 25
One of the things that's always bugged me about the Marvel public at large is that they're never very grateful. This scene is reminiscent of Civil War when some random bystander hit Johnny Storm with a brick for something that didn't even occur in New York. They're a very "what have you done for me lately" sort of people.
Superman/Wonder Woman 4
I hate to be that guy, but these four panels are the closest we've gotten to the real Diana in over two years. An encouraging, supportive role model to young girls (to everyone, really), and overall capable of doing more than just stabbing people with pointy things and lifting heavy objects.
Thor: God of Thunder 17
This would make Thor's godly title a bit of a misnomer, but then I suppose Thor, God of Thunder...and Occasional Trickery doesn't quite have the same ring to it. I will say that this "Malekith the Accursed" arc is both much stronger than the "Godkiller" one, and a nice way to entrench Thor firmly in the realm of high fantasy. Aside from a brief trip to Earth, this whole arc took place entirely within the other eight realms and was still highly entertaining. Too bad the Malekith in the film isn't as entertaining as this one.
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye 25
Even in the midst of a massive crossover and potentially universe-ending threats, the crew of the Lost Light doesn't lose its sense of humor.
Uncanny X-Men 16
One of the things I enjoyed the most about the Grant Morrison run was that at the end, we were given a harsh reminder that Magneto, at his core, was a villain. Uncanny X-Men 16 brings us back to that, in more ways than just this page portrays. Though knowing the cyclical nature of comics (which can suck in cases like this), I'm certain he'll be back to the side of angels in about, oh...ten years or so.
Welp, that's three weeks down. See you next week.
Author's Note: Bottom of the Pile is a weekly column (or at least, my attempt at said) in which I cover the comics that found their way to the bottom of my pile, thus being the best as I've always been a proponent of "saving the best for last". Since bog standard reviews can be found literally anywhere, coverage can range from mini-reviews to funny comments to commentary on a creator's run or comics as a whole, depending on a wide range of factors including the comic itself, the amount of time I have, and my general mood.
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