I’ve been feeling a little under the weather lately, so tonight, I’m taking the advice of my physician and getting some rest. Reviews, hopefully, will be up tomorrow as usual.
Evan Dorkin’s Milk & Cheese hurl in… well, in a lot of stories, actually, but this one’s from MySpace Dark Horse Presents v.2
Tony Stark! Makes you feel! That he’s gonna kick you in the face with a jet-boot!
Yeah, my songwriting could probably use some work, but hey! At least the comics reviews are delivered on time and in an easily digestible format!
That’s right, folks: With the Labor Day delay in comics–unless you’re some kind of Godless Heathen Canadian–time’s short and I only just finished reading through this week’s books myself, so tonight, I’m trying something a little different. After all, while I have been accused of offering “blunt, authoritatively stated” reviews, brevity is the soul of wit, so tonight, I’m going to be summing up my thoughts on this week’s titles in one sentence. Or, you know, two if you count the alt text. Either way, it all adds up to another round of the Internet’s Most Concise Comics Reviews!
Here’s what I bought this week…
…and away we go!
Comics
Amazing Spider-Man #570: It’s hard to tell since this is a franchise that has given us the Enforcers, the White Rabbit, Golden Oldie and Banjo, but I’m pretty sure that for sheer bat-shit crazines to actual enjoyability ratio, Anti-Venom–the former host of Venom who was infected with Negative Antibodies that gave him the ability to cure cancer with his tentacles–is at least in the top five.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #18: In tonight’s episode of Joss Whedon: Feminist, Willow unleashes a spell of such epic proportions that it can only be completed by getting naked for a stirring round of lesbian sex, which explains why it was taken off the curricula at both Hogwarts
Fables #75: According to a conversation I had with Matt Sturges at HeroesCon, the story that finishes up in this week’s issue of Fables was actually the planned ending Bill Willingham had for the book that he just decided to go ahead and do without actually ending the darn thing, which sounds crazy but–since this is Fables–ends up working out pretty well.
Invincible Iron Man #5: In addition to a healthy dose of Jet-Boot Face-Kicking and Laser-Beam Decapitation, this issue of Invincible Iron Man also boasts… well, it’s got Jet-Boot Facekicking and Laser-Beam Decapitation, and what the hell more do you want from Iron Man than that?
Iron Man: Golden Avenger: Hey, aside from the fact that they, you know, want it to sell better, is there any reason this issue of Marvel Adventures Iron Man doesn’t say “Marvel Adventures Iron Man” on the cover?
Marvel Apes #1: Hey, if you’ve ever wondered what JLApe would be like if it was a) like ten times better, b) involved a gorilla luchadore (or Gorilluchadoreâ„¢), and c) took a swerve into hardcore gangland style murder at the end, then brother, have I got the comic for you.
Savage Dragon #137: I’ve never been a big Savage Dragon reader–although when I knocked out the first Essential Archive
Secret Six #1: Despite the fact that Gail Simone has done me the grievous insult of not following me on Twitter-even though she’s following Kevin and Ken and a bunch of other people that I can only classify as “unsavory louts”–I still tend to enjoy her comics, especially the ones where Deadshot and Cat-Man buy ice cream and beat up skinheads.
Street Fighter Remix #0: Only two kicks to the face in the whole damn book, but since a bear does catch a Spinning Piledriver from Zangief, I think we can call it a draw.
Trades
Impossible Territories: The Unofficial Companion to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier: True Fact: While Dr. K is acknowledged in the foreword as a contributor to Jess Nevins’ fascinating annotations, I, who inspired Nevins with my own annotations of the Anita Blake comics*, am totally snubbed.
*: This is 100% not true.
INVASION!: No, your eyes do not deceive you: The cover to DC’s best crossover
And that, my friends, is the rather abbreviated week. As always, any one-sentence questions or comments you might have, such as assuring me that I’m not the only person in the world who picked up Al Jaffee’s absolutely fantastic Tall Tales
Seriously, though: Gorilluchadore. Call me, Marvel.
Normally, Thursday nights belong to the Week In Ink, but tonight was the special, extra-sized last meeting of the Comics Club, and I’m honestly worn out, so reviews’ll be up tomorrow.
For tonight, please enjoy these, the greatest Archie panels of all time:
Yes. It’s a saga.
Sorry folks, but no content tonight either. I spent the day in bed catching up
You know, coughing, stuffy nose, sneezing, aching, fever–
Yeah, but don’t sweat it, Chiyo. Gimme another day and I should be back in action.
Apparently, a week-long cheerebration leaves the immune system in sorry shape for defending the flu. Seek entertainment elsewhere today.
I realize that my schedule for new content’s starting to get downright Campbellian around here, but with the new scanner set to arrive tomorrow, things should be back up and running pretty soon. Until I return, however, feel free to enjoy what is quite possibly the single greatest panel from an Archie comic ever, from a story in this month’s Betty #171 entitled “Happy Ending”:
Okay, okay, the story’s not actually called “Happy Ending.” It is, however, called “The Treatment,” which is almost as good.
Some of you might have noticed that content’s been a little thin around here this week, and while that can be partially attributed to the fact that Dorian Wright got to an issue of The Flash that I was going to write about this week about eight months before I found a copy, the main reason’s that we’re going through a system upgrade here at ISB HQ.
Rest assured, the new Tower of Power’s capabilities dwarf those of our old machine, Scott Vaio, but right at the moment, the upgrade’s left us with, among other problems, an obsolete scanner and no Photoshop to send the pictures to anyway. And as you can tell, scanning and manipulating images is, well, pretty integral to what I do around here.
But don’t fret! Give me a day or two* to get it all straightened out, and things should be getting back to normal around here. So in the meantime, how about we talk about some comics? I mean, after approximately four aeons, Jack Staff Special finally hit shelves this week, and that’s gotta get you excited. And hey, anybody catch The Order this week? Great stuff. And honestly, is it just me, or did Spider-Man sound a little like your friendly neighborhood comics blogger this week?
* –Note: Despite what you may suspect, the fact that I’m taking a day or two off has nothing–NOTHING–to do with the fact that I just borrowed a copy of Guitar Hero. Seriously. I promise.