Jumping in Headfirst

All-New X-Men Annual The candidates for the Sorcerer Supreme seem to get stranger and stranger.  Doom was the second guy to be offered the role, while Brother Voodoo was the third.   Now it's Tony Stark?!    I mean, I realize Stephen's basically a monster now, but can't we get someone who could conceivably be the Sorcerer Supreme for awhile? 

Batman Eternal I've always wondered--how did they get that dinosaur into the cave?  Does Batman have a working miniaturization ray?  Did he ask Superman or Wonder Woman to carry it in?   There's probably a comic where this happened, but I kind of like the idea that at some point a phone call went like this: "Yes, it's Bruce.  Clark, remember that time I made you an all-lead suit to deal with Metallo?  I need a favor..."

Welp, it's that time of the year again.  We're down to the last few days of the year, so before we start hearing all that "new year, new me" bullshit, everyone's got to talk about the Best and Worst moments of 2014.      It's kind of a slam dunk in terms of work because its pretty easy to generate content about what you liked and disliked about the year, but it generates easy hits and I'm pretty desperate for those, so let's have a look at the Most Disappointing Moments in 2014.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual Unintentionally or not, this issue showed me how people can dislike Peter Parker.  He's supposed to be in charge of his own company, with dozens of employees that depend on him, and he can't even read a report?  He spends the whole issue web-slinging about doing things that could've been done by the freaking police.   Look at that last panel!  He just looks like an impulsive man-child who can't sit still long enough to do his job.   Jeez.  Maybe Otto was superior.    

Angela - Asgard's Assassin Not even one issue in and I'm already exhausted with this "nothing for nothing" and "angels balance their debts" stuff they've tied Angela into.  Of course, it doesn't help that in this issue she murders a young king for no other reason than his attempt to make a criminal pay for their crimes.   That's the problem with a society of people who believe material goods can be traded for everything--they believe it works with lives as well.     At any rate, I'm sticking with this book because Kieron Gillen is one of my favorite new writers in comics right now, so let's hear it for blind stubbornness!

I comment on a ton of superhero books on Jumping in Headfirst because in all honesty, that's where my heart is.  I love the complexity of Marvel and DC's ever-growing, ever-evolving patchwork universes.   Some people describe them as a "pain" to keep up with, but not for me.   I grew up reading superhero comics, so as Bane once put it: "you merely adopted cape comics, I was born in them."

A flashback to my birthday.  Amazing X-Men A pitch perfect story starring the unlikeliest of duos--Northstar and Nightcrawler--working together to help one of the few enduring young mutant characters from the 2000s, Anole.  James Tynion manages to approach a sensitive topic with a ton of tact and class, somehow managing to include a Christian character in a story starring more gay than straight characters and not make that guy look like a complete imbecile.   I'm both appreciative and happy to see superheroes still capable of approaching subject matter that isn't "hit a bad guy in the head".    ...Even if one of the biggest moments in the book comes from hitting a bad guy in the head.

Amazing Spider-Man The guy who knows it all being killed before he can supply us with a healthy dose on exposition, cluing us all in on the rest of the plot.  I'm gonna miss that guy.