Bottom of the Pile: Jan. 29, 2014

Bleargh.  I need my weekends back.  Whatever.

Aquaman 27

Honestly, you can't blame the thing for not listening to you, Arthur.  You're not really the King of Atlantis.  (Mostly kidding about this, but I do hope this isn't a running gag with Aquaman now, where no one listens to him because he's not the "true" King.)

Earth 2 Annual 2

Earth 2 Annual #2 takes a familiar twist from Flashpoint and adds some unique twists and turns to create a surprising "secret origin" to that universe's Batman.  I just wish "everything you knew was a lie" wasn't such an oft-used trope in comics these days...

Guardians of the Galaxy 11

It's amazing how every time I'm a little sour on this whole "bring back the original X-Men" idea, Bendis pokes just enough fun at it to remind me that it's just comics, and I should really calm down.  Also, "Because they are mad, selfish children who never learn from their mistakes." is probably my favorite line of dialogue from last week.

Inhumanity 2

 

When I see pages like this, it reminds me of the times when the Marvel U actually emulated the real world.  I can only imagine that when another EiC takes over when the Joe Quesada era is finally good and truly gone, we'll see a lot of this stuff retconned/rebooted.  (That said: Can we at least stop acting like cancer is some sort of uncurable disease in a world where you have fucking immortals and people chucking magic about as easily as someone can order a Popeye's 2pc?)

Revolutionary War: Knights of Pendragon

Zombie King Arthur.  The Zombie Round Table.  *sigh*  How come every time Marvel does British magic stuff I hate myself?

 Superior Spider-Man 26

Is it really a good idea to quit the Avengers?  I hear they have great health insurance.  But then, I suppose a man who runs his own company and his own island full of lackeys probably already has that under control.  In all seriousness, Superior Spider-Man 26 represents both a figurative and literal breaking point in Otto Octavius' run as Spider-Man, as he edges towards going off the deep end.  Personally I hope he manages to remain a good guy to the very end though, even if the definition of the word "good guy" has to be stretched in his case.

The Flash 27

Chroma?  So is this the new Rainbow Raider?   Come to think of it, didn't you die a few months back?   Or was that during Forever Evil, which is set after this, I would assume.   Blah.  Comics continuity CAN get confusing.

Thor: God of Thunder 18

"Not to mention the hammer" seems like the prompt for a "That's what she said."   Anyway, Thor: God of Thunder 18 is a heartbreaking story that reminds us of two things: Jason Aaron tells amazing fantasy stories, and that Young Thor is freaking awesome.

Be back next week, or possibly this week, depending.

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.