Sorry, guys. Real life got in the way and I wasn't able to catch up for a while. It's almost better to read three straight weeks back-to-back, since it prolongs the entertainment. I'll try and keep weeks 10 and 11 short, since Week 12 was very eventful.
WEEK 10 -Clark Kent gets FIRED...until he pulls a Lois and jumps out the window to get that elusive interview with Supernova. -Black Adam prepares for further war.
WEEK 11 -Ralph Dibny returns to his storage garage, only to find that the Cult of Conner has reached it and stolen Sue's blouse and skirt. -Renee Montoya and the Question bust in on Intergang (led by Whisper and Abbot, two former Ra's Al Ghul lackeys) and find themselves in trouble before the debuting Batwoman makes the save.
And now...
WEEK 12 -Renee Montoya's pleas to Maggie Sawyer about Intergang fall on deaf ears, as Maggie points out that Renee surrendered her badge voluntarily. She asks "Charlie" what their next move should be, when he simply replies that their answer lies in Kahndaq. -Black Adam uses his power to bring about the river flow for his people. Adrianna (the girl offered by Intergang back in Week 5) tells him that he can use his power to help his people peacefully rather than wage an international war, but Adam won't have it, due to his past history. -Wonder Girl is doing her Super Laundry and notices Ralph Dibny on her couch. This allows Ralph to get the Line of the Issue: "That's where people always get me confused with Plastic Man. He's the clown. Elongated Man is the detective." When he demands answers, Cassie tells him that Sue's a guinea pig. The Cult of Conner wants to attempt to resurrect her before attempting to restore Superboy. Cassie says she only acted sneaky out of fear of Ralph's refusal. Shockingly (or maybe not so, depending on your perspective), Ralph agrees to help. -Black Adam wants to show Adrianna something. He leads her through a secret tunnel under his palace, leading to the Rock of Eternity that holds CAPTAIN MARVEL~! (A-List hero #3), who has absolutely lost his freakin' mind! Cap has been hearing the voices of the Seven Deadly Sins ever since the Rock of Eternity was smashed and they've driven him insane. Adam takes out the scarab that Shazam imprisoned him in originally and takes out the jewel that's attached in order to induct Adrianna to the Marvel family. The transformation is imminent and the issue ends with Adrianna becoming Isis!
THOUGHTS If you missed 10 and 11, go out of your way to catch issue 10. Seeing Clark Kent pull Lois Lane tactics is one of the highlights of this series to date. As for 12, this is THE best issue of the series so far. A lot of plot threads are beginning to turn the corner and the arcs of Black Adam and Question/Montoya are about to collide. And you'll get the official explanation of why the reigns of Captain Marvel are being handed to Freddy Freeman (if the rumor mill is to be believed). Seeing some of those Cap panels in this issue are absolutely chilling and hammer the point home that he's seriously out of his gord. And I can't emphasize enough that this series is doing a fantastic job of re-establishing guys like Ralph Dibny. Ralph's been awesome!
Work is about to slow down, so updates should be back to normal.
I had some free time on a summer hour friday so I read wk.10-11 for free. Perry White shouldn't be firing Clark Kent after all these years even if Kent lost his super powers. Perry White used to play a bigger part in the series and have more character.
The new Batwoman has redhair, large assets, and is shockingly gay. There's some stuff about Will Magnus the inventor. Ralph had already been re-established in Starman.
My main problem with the series is that you can't write/draw a quality comic on a weekly basis. It is slow moving. It lacks the big names it needs (Captain Marvel is not an A-list hero.) The small names it has like Steel, his daughter, Adam Strange- are not too interesting. It also all takes place in the past where as if you read the current issue of any DC comic, you know the end results of 52. So the spoilers aren't even spoilers because it all happened already and there is no new ground to cover.
Not to be completely negative here, so the following are the good comics I read this month that are better than 52:
Superman by Buziak - (writer of Superman: Secret Identity -very good. Superman vs. Intergang.
Superman:All-Star #4 by Morrison/Quietly - surprisingly good given their bad X-Men run. Standalone story, Superman vs. Jimmy Olson.
Batman - 12 pt. Twoface story by J. Robinson. surprise underused cult-fave Batman villain returns. buy the trade.
Spec. Spiderman 28 - Civil War Identity Revealed w/ Iron Man and Doc Ock.
X-Factor:Civil War by Peter David- uncovering the mystery of Day of M - Decimation.
Originally posted by skorpio17Ralph had already been re-established in Starman.
Oh man...if there's one series I miss, it's that. That being said, not much was done with Ralph in anything I'd read leading up to "Identity Crisis" and during its run "Starman" wasn't as popular as it probably should've been, so the argument that 52 is bringing Ralph back to legitimacy is legit, IMO.
Originally posted by skorpio17It lacks the big names it needs (Captain Marvel is not an A-list hero.) The small names it has like Steel, his daughter, Adam Strange- are not too interesting.
I think that's the point, though - to bring the featured characters into the spotlight and make them into A-listers (or at least bring them closer to that level of popularity/exposure).
Originally posted by skorpio17Superman:All-Star #4 by Morrison/Quietly - surprisingly good given their bad X-Men run.
Absolutely off-base. Morrison's run on X-Men was the best storyline since AoA. Cassandra Nova, Beak, Angel, Quentin, and the cuckoos were some of the best characters in the X realm ever.
Originally posted by Super Shane SpearAbsolutely off-base. Morrison's run on X-Men was the best storyline since AoA. Cassandra Nova, Beak, Angel, Quentin, and the cuckoos were some of the best characters in the X realm ever.
I have a hard time accepting Cassandra given her introduction as an unbirthed evil twin. The sibling-revelation cliche is beneath Morrison.
Everything else is gold. He even managed to reinvent Emma as a symapthetic character.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
Man, I can't disagree any harder with you guys. I thought Morison's X-Men was the worst I've ever read. I though all his characterizations were way off base, and he never really found any of the characters' voices. Nothing he wrote ever felt like an "X-Men" story to me.