Friday, April 24, 2026
Looks like Kurt is more careful than Spidey with his comics, but I feel like he puts them back in the bags upside down.
Monday, February 16, 2026
I hardly keep any moldering garbage with my comic collection! Unless you count those Mark Millar books.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
All part of my process! My stupid, stupid process.
Monday, November 09, 2020
Friday, January 19, 2018
"United" should maybe be in quotes there.

Huh, when I picked up the first Secret Six miniseries, I missed an issue; but this time I got all six in one shot: from 2005, Villains United #1-6, written by Gail Simone, pencils by Dale Eaglesham, inks by Wade von Grawbadger and Prentis Rollins.

This was a tie-in leading up to Infinite Crisis, a DC event that I don't recall especially fondly. It also springs off of bits from Identity Crisis, which I remember even less fondly; but the villains are, as the title implies, getting united; to form a unified front against the mind-wiping bastards of the Justice League. One bad guy I didn't recognize signs on, "For Light," as in Dr. Light. Even though you'd think there would be so many problems getting anti-authoritarian types like villains working together, but the Secret Society of Super-Villains is not having a lot of potential members decline membership, until Talia and Dr. Psycho get turned down by Catman. Who was, at that time, a joke. In a recent issue of Green Arrow, he had been dragged off, presumably to his death, by Monsieur Mallah; on the blog we've seen him beat by the Freedom Fighters, Manhunter, and G'nort! Simone rehabilitates the hell out of the character, starting here, and quickly.

Although the Secret Six would go on, I don't think the Secret Society continued long after Infinite Crisis, although the politics of the group's elite is interesting. While Luthor and Talia seem intent on running the venture like a business, with Calculator and Deathstroke as willing, if mercenary, partners; Talia does have to play on Black Adam's sense of nobility, and Dr. Psycho seems like the loose cannon of the lot. No spoilers, but there is a traitor in that group as well, although I'm not sure you could guess without having a pretty good memory of the continuity at that time. There's also a big fight in the last issue, where it looked like the Scarecrow might have been among several blown up, but he's a bit too name to be killed here. Unlike the Hyena, yet another Firestorm villain wasted! (Speaking of, he makes a cameo as well.)

I was glad to get this out of the quarter bin last week, but now I'm not sure if I haven't read it before. Better blog it now before I buy it again...Also, I may have snorted at the appearance of Mr. Terrible.
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Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Every time I have a mini-series missing an issue, drink!

Yeah, that happens way too often for a fun drinking game here. Still, we have a bonus issue though: five issues of the first Secret Six mini-series from 2006, plus the first issue of their 2008 regular series! Well, that's six issues, I guess. Written by Gail Simone, art by Brad Walker and Nicola Scott, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti and Doug Hazlewood.
Darn, I missed the Doom Patrol's appearance, although from the description there, they got jobbed out by the Mad Hatter, who did a short run with the Six. The Hatter was even nuttier than usual here, but had finally started to come around to the team as a burgeoning, completely dysfunctional family; which makes it sad-slash-hilarious when Ragdoll gives him the boot.

Much of this limited revolves around Scandal Savage, her relationship with former Female Fury Knockout, and her father's attempts to coerce her into giving him a grandchild. The latter would be bad enough in any case, but made far worse since her dad was immortal caveman and murder enthusiast Vandal Savage; there's every possibility he wanted a grandkid to eat or harvest its organs or something. And despite being unarguably the team's toughest member (physically) Knockout would get taken out...actually, that would happen multiple times over the title's run! She gets burned down by mercenary Pistolera in #2, but recovers from horrific burns. (Knockout remains, well, a knockout, even after that; thanks to Darkseid's gift of genetic engineering "to stay presentable," I don't think Darkseid cared if guy warriors were burnt lumps of scar tissue or even survived...) Later, on her way for a rematch with Big Barda, Knockout would get got again in what looks like an otherwise fun issue of Birds of Prey (#109) as part of the Death of the New Gods mini. Surprisingly, I think she would still be one of the few New Gods to return after that before the New 52, so good for her.

Still, with Knockout out, the Secret Six would start their regular series down to four members! (Actually, take that back: five. Bane is here, more towards the end of the issue.) Not that I think they referred to themselves by that name, anyway. In the mini-series, Deadshot has a visit with his daughter that predictably goes south; while I didn't feel Catman had as much to do. (Well, there was some stuff with Cheshire...) At the start of the regular series though, after what appears to be a brutal encounter with poachers in Africa, Catman is having a bit of a moral dilemma, which his pal Deadshot blithely pushes through: while they aren't great guys, he figures 90% of the bad stuff they do happens to other bad guys, so whatevs. He also has a disturbing insight to Catman's relationship with the Huntress that I hope is wrong...

Simone has a few plates going from the start: a new crime lord is introduced, from a box; Scandal tries to push through her grief over Knockout, the guys try to set her up with a Knockout-dressed stripper, and the team's latest mission to break out Tarantula seems to be so ill-advised Huntress calls Catman up to warn him. We checked out the last issue several years back, but I still have a lot of issues to fill in here.
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Thursday, March 17, 2016
80-Page Thursdays: Time Warp #1!

I know I've read at least some of DC's 1979-80 sci-fi anthology Time Warp (like the Ditko story, "On the Day of His Return") but just got this one recently: from 2013, Time Warp #1, with stories by Damon Lindelof, Gail Simone, Peter Milligan, and more; and art by Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, Mark Buckingham, and more. This time capsule's from three years ago, so how is it?

Mildly disappointing. Hey, what's the easiest, laziest time-travel story you can think of? One that I'm mildly surprised the original series didn't appear to do, although they did a similar one with Einstein? Yep, time-travelers vs. Hitler. Two variations on that here, and while they are variations, it's been done.

Lindelof and Lemire open with "R.I.P." Trapped in prehistory, Rip Hunter flees dinosaurs, with only begrudging help from his future selves. Gail Simone has a far more imaginative and charming tale, "I Have What You Need," with art by Gael Bertrand, about a candy-maker who can bring back memories.

Simon Spurrier and Michael Dowling's "The Grudge" tells of two scientists' decades of foul-mouthed science pranks, albeit in a PG-13 fashion. (Oddly, other stories had cursing; this one that could've used it did not.) Then another Dead Boy Detectives story, then Peter Milligan and M.K. Perker's sci-fi haunting, "She's Not There."
Maybe three good ones out of nine here? And while I didn't pay the $7.99 cover price, I still paid too much per good one. Need to "time warp" back and warn myself not to bother...
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Monday, March 14, 2016
The Age of finally getting all four issues.

Finished reading Conan Red Sonja the other day. (That's how the title comes up, no 'and' or ampersand or slash or anything!) I got all four issues from the back-issue bins, but from various stores and never all at once!

In this series, Conan and Red Sonja meet only four times over the course of their lives, from young thieves to seasoned warriors. (As opposed to their dozens of encounters in Marvel's comics!) Their meetings and their destiny are tied to the wizard Thoth-Amon and a monstrous bloodroot that could destroy entire kingdoms. Thoth forces Conan and Sonja to battle for their respective homelands, and the loser's will be destroyed!

Conan's badly wounded before that fight, but still holds his own, until he decides to let Sonja finish him. (This was sometime after the death of his beloved Bêlit, and Conan was going through what could charitably be referred to as massive depression.) Will Sonja kill Conan to save her people? Well, you can probably guess, but it's still pretty good. The story does assume Conan and Sonja give a rat's ass for their homelands, though: if they were that great, they'd still live there...
Story by Gail Simone and Jim Zub, art by Dan Panosian.
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Monday, January 25, 2016
They're supposed to be lovable rogues, but up against my guys! Screw them!

Gee, looks like I only read the second half of this crossover, and completely bailed on the issue in the book I wasn't reading at the time. Well, now we have it, meaning the second part will turn up the first of never, unless I cave and just buy it again. From 2011, Secret Six #30, "Suicide Roulette, part one: Like a Star on the Horizon" Written by Gail Simone, art by Jim Calafiore.
Even though the Secret Six were ostensibly villains, hey, this was their book, so they were usually the heroes in their story. And they usually come off pretty well, as when Bane, struggling to ask out a girl, punches a guy inappropriately groping her; and compared to the bad guy of this story, a young slacker named Eric who's given his grandfather's will and discovers grandpa was a super-villain, a founder of the crime organization the 100. Eric quickly takes to his grandpa's legacy, becoming a murderous, sexist thug in short order; starting with hiring the Secret Six to take Oolong Island! Because he wants a volcano base, apparently; even though the island's full of genetic monstrosities, mad scientists, and oh yeah, the Doom Patrol!

Simone doesn't quite nail the Patrol's voice, for me anyway, but pretty close. Actually, even though the Six are unfriendly and dangerous, the Doom Patrol seem mostly confused about what's going on: King Shark bites off Elasti-Woman's leg! Which doesn't really seem to hurt, but still. But it's alluded that the Six and the Patrol had a run-in before, or at least some of them, like Robotman and Catman. And Black Alice badmouths Elasti-Woman's movies--oh, hell no! I want to see the Six beat down, but unfortunately Eric has the volcano blown as the issue ends!

Crud, now I'm not even positive I have the next chapter! Man, even though Simone rebuilt Catman from the ground up, I still wanna see Robotman feed him his teeth!
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Thursday, February 23, 2012
80-Page Thursday: Simpsons Comics #50!

The cover calls it "an 80pg Bongo bumper crop!" and who am I to argue? From 2000, Simpsons Comics #50, featuring stories from Chuck Dixon, Gail Simone, Neal Alsip, and more; with art by Hilary Barta, Phil Ortiz, Mike Worley, and more.
I'm not sure if I expected the Simpsons comic to get to their fiftieth issue, but they're within spitting distance of 200 as I type this. It's always fun to see the writers and artists of the comic hit an idea before the show does, like the lead feature, "Wall or Nothing." When the lower Springfield lake is closed by order of Mayor Quimby, events are set in motion that split the city in two; not unlike the episode "A Tale of Two Springfields" that would air a couple of months later!

There's also an Itchy and Scratchy short, a couple of Radioactive Man features (including a Bizarro World-style visit, where the inhabitants are articulate and thoughtful, since RM is a bit thick) and a visit to Bongo Comics courtesy of Gail Simone and Matt 'Tex' Groening!

I don't read it, or the Futurama book every month; but Simpsons Comics is usually a solid read, as is this issue. Wonder if #100 or #150 were 80-pagers...
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Friday, December 30, 2011
"The End" Week: Secret Six #36!

Another recent finish: Secret Six #36, "Caution to the Wind, part 2: Blood Honor" Written by Gail Simone, art by Jim Calafiore. After a night with his new girlfriend, Bane realizes if he can be swayed by emotion, so can the Bat. With the other seven members of the Secret Six, he plans on attacking Red Robin, Batgirl, Catwoman, and Huntress. Catman vetoes Huntress, so Bane subs in Azrael: they will hurt Batman, by hurting them.

Unfortunately, their source, the Penguin rats them out, and it's Butch-and-Sundance time for the team, as they realize they might not want to hurt innocents, but they are the bad guys. The fact that the Secret Six has earned more respect plays against them as more and more heroes show up: a Green Lantern, two Batmen, Superman and his family, and more. Bane offers the Six a chance "to go out like gods" by dosing up on his Venom. They go out fighting, although Huntress is aware enough to feel like a jerk about it.
Although he would miss them, the Six's defeat was part of Bane's plan: either they would win (unlikely) or he would be free of them, of caring, of emotion making him weak. This is the downside of Bane: Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, and now Simone all tried to move the character forward from "I break you" only to have him put right back. There's a lot that could be done with the character, but the powers-that-be seem to just want the steroid-monster Bat-villain.

Hetero-lifemates Catman and Deadshot were the breakout characters for the Secret Six, so it's a little disappointing they aren't the ones to wreck their gig. Still, Simone does her usual sharp job on the script, and Calafiore isn't flashy, but he does the job even when the script calls for forty-plus characters. I didn't read it every month, but I think the Secret Six will be missed for a while.
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Wednesday, December 29, 2010
"The End" Week: Agent X #15!

Although it was rumored that Deadpool was changed to Agent X in an attempt to avoid paying royalties to Rob Liefeld, Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed debunked that one some time ago. Still, this was a cancellation that hurt at the time, and still stings a little now.
That said, this issue isn't quite as good as Gail Simone's previous two chapters in the conclusion of Agent X; since the preceding issues had the brain-dead (literally, at that time) Deadpool rediscovering his "winkie," his doppleganger Agent X first blowing Pool's brains out before trying to beat him to death, and a spirited discussion about magazines for dogs.
The conclusion is all Agent X and his crew, including Taskmaster, and Deadpool; in a final shoot-out against the telepathic assassin Black Swan. No, not Natalie Portman...although, I probably would've paid cash money for that.

In the end, Agent X is if not himself, content with being "a corpse kept alive with a stolen healing factor." Although this issue features one of his most iconic panels, Deadpool is a little more nonsensical than usual here. (Of course, he seems relatively stable, compared to how he seems to be written now...) That could be because he just came back from the dead, or I suspect Simone may have actually been a little out of practice writing Wade: she does a better job on the rest of the cast.
Deadpool would go on to Cable & Deadpool, and Agent X would eventually make a couple of guest appearances there. I don't think writer Fabian Nicieza liked Agent X that much, though; since under his pen X would have his DNA altered by A.I.M. and end up with arthritis and chronic obesity...a shame, since I liked having him around as the Player 2 version of Deadpool.

From Agent X #15, "Deadpool Walkin', part three: A Means to an End" Gail Simone, 'eulogizer.' Alvin Lee and Udon, 'embalming artists.' Cory Petit, 'floral arrangements.'
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Friday, August 29, 2008



The Lt. Malcolm Reed figure from Enterprise that has been filling the shoes of Bob here, is absurdly taller than a Marvel Legends figure like Deadpool or Nightcrawler. Oddly enough, I actually have another Reed figure downstairs: I think I got one cheap, then got another one with a chunk of the bridge, also cheap. Of course, the one downstairs is in a display of Star Trek figures and holding two phasers; while "Bob" is turning into a poor excuse for a butler.
"Gunny" is from a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer set, a resident of the Island of Misfit Toys. A squirt gun that shot jelly? How is that a misfit? I think that would top kids' Christmas lists now.
If anyone has any idea on this one, shout it out: how many people, if indeed any, has Doc Samson actually helped as a psychiatrist? His treatments of the Hulk have been, at best, stopgap measures, and on more than one occasion has done more harm than good. The famous issue of X-Factor where he examines each of the team, his recommendations are completely ignored, and he seems more than smitten with Polaris. (For her part, Polaris seems hung up about her weight, then managed to drop her imagined fat through the simple expedience of a broken jaw wired shut. She then reveals to Samson her new costume, showing a lot more skin than before.)
The drug Samson mentions giving Pool is a real one, the result of five minutes of "research" on Wikipedia. But the idea for this strip, besides getting Doc Samson, was a comment from Justin over at uatublog/in-between the lines that mentioned around here, it's like Deadpool's taking his medication.
But I thought about that, and Pool can't just take his meds: in this instance, his healing factor would work against him, processing the foreign toxin out of his system before it could do any good. Like Wolverine, Deadpool probably has a hard time getting any sort of buzz from booze (although both chug beer like water, neither ever gets really drunk or a beer gut), and we've seen other drugs fail rather spectacularly for Pool as well.
(From Deadpool #65, "Healing Factor: Prologue" The first issue of Gail Simone and Udon's run. Art with Alvin Lee, Rob Ross, Erice Vedder, A-Zero and TR2. And I love Dave Sharpe's letters.)
So, Deadpool will probably remain at least this crazy for the foreseeable future, and so should all of you! Have a good weekend, and something else next week! Read more!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
I was finally able to watch the ancient videotape copy of Lone Wolf & Cub: "Baby Cart to Hades" that I bought who knows how long ago for ninety-nine cents. So. Frigging. Awesome. I've only read a few of the reprints--a couple of the old First comics ones, and just a few more of the Dark Horse little square digests, and enjoyed them, but was unprepared for how much I was going to enjoy the movie version.
Of course, I had to find this by that random happenstance I'm always on about, but here's a chunk of it to see if it grabs you. There is some sword-skewering action, but it's probably safe for work, hell, it's from 1972:
I'm not going to lazy out all week with YouTube stuff, but this one's worth it. God, I would love a Marvel Legend/DC Universe Classics scale Lone Wolf and Cub with baby cart. Hmm, probably have to sell the cart separately with all the weapons...
Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's Lone Wolf and Cub was also the subject of one of the best parodies in Gail Simone's "You'll All Be Sorry". Keep in mind, it's only a slight exaggeration. Very slight. Read more!













