"Secret X-Force."

The only thing that could've made this more awkward for Logan and Steve would've been if they had also run into Spider-Man with the Fantastic Four. But then, Spidey's membership there isn't a secret, and the FF doesn't usually go in guns blazing, either.

While it bugged me the other day that the new Steve Rogers Marvel Legend towers over my default Cap from series 1; I like having both of them. It's like having the option for sentinel of liberty, upstanding role model superhero Cap; and black-ops secret mission Steve. Sometimes, Steve has to take off the uniform to do things...well, maybe. Maybe 'grey-ops' would be a better way to put it, since even out of uniform he's still Cap, and even if he has to shoot bad guys sometimes, I don't see him going in like Wolvie or Deadpool.

I am currently reading Uncanny X-Force at least occasionally. It hasn't quite blown my socks off yet, although it has moments I enjoy. I also don't really care about Fantomex, even though I'll be buying his figure at some point, and kind of know how I'll be writing him for more X-Force bits. But that and the odd issue of Deadpool are the only Marvel books I'm buying new: both Legion of Monsters and Warren Ellis's Secret Avengers run wrapped, so that's two less...
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The Hodge and the Podge:

A small pile of recent stuff, most of which I haven't had a chance to so much as glance at.

First, Hasbro's second wave of the returned Marvel Legends new Captain America, or Bucky-Cap as I call him. I know I've read a fair amount of comics with him, but I feel vague on the details off the top of my head. With Steve Rogers supposedly dead (but actually launched through time or something...) Bucky Barnes took the mantle of Captain America, and did a pretty good job of it even though it was pretty obvious this wasn't supposed to be a permanent change. But the changeback seemed to come right when a lot of readers were really warming to Bucky...

As a figure, Bucky-Cap is pretty good, but the shoulders' forward articulation seemed just a hair short. Maybe? Maybe I just need to play with him some more and see if I warm to him a bit more. We'll see him again before long, so don't worry. I'm a little worried that the recent Steve Rogers figure seems even more huge now--I had my old ML1 Captain America with him, and he's way taller--and that the upcoming USAgent would have to be even bigger to look right, causing more scale creep. Ah, I don't think that'll bug me for too long.

Also recently, picked up some cheap DVD's, that I have yet to even attempt watching. DC's animated Wonder Woman and Batman: Under the Red Hood. The latter on Blu-Ray, only like the third one I've bought since winning a Blu-Ray player like a year and change ago. And a replacement copy of the Simpsons Movie, which my Youngest stole and is not giving back; and a twenty-five cent spare of Bruce Campbell's Man with the Screaming Brain. Yeah, I already have it, but it was a quarter, and I wasn't about to leave it...

Then, some trades, all under four bucks a piece: hardcovers of Incredible Hercules: Love and War and War Machine: Iron Heart; and paperbacks the Zombie: Simon Garth, Hellstorm: Son of Satan--Equinox, Excalibur Classic Cross-Time Caper volume 2 (that one I actually had the issues of). And I got Robert Kirkman's Destroyer a week or two back: it was OK. Good grief, I think I've forgotten a couple, and I know I passed on a Terror, Inc. one that I probably could pick up later.

Well, it's never a bad idea to stock up, I suppose. And I have a long weekend coming up, so maybe I'll get through some of them.
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There's really only one way to vote, here.

Comics Should Be Good is holding their fourth annual DC/Marvel Character Tournament, and in the second round of the Gotham City bracket Nightcrawler faces Hal Jordan! There is, of course, only one choice.

Vote Nightcrawler, of course. If you vote tonight or I think tomorrow, you can push Kurt through to the next round! Ooh, some readers are not going to like this one...
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Tell me this is in the new Ghost Rider movie.

Ghost Rider messes with some armored car robbers, in Ghost Rider #42, "The Lonesome Death of Johnny Blaze!" Written by Mike Fleisher, art by Don Perlin. The robber in the back is momentarily elated that they've seemingly ditched the flaming biker, before noticing that it's suddenly a lot warmer in there...

The title is a misnomer, in more ways than one: while the Ghost Rider is seemingly fine and spending his nights after the above gang of robbers; Johnny Blaze is suffering a bout of amnesia, and is currently going by the name Frank Ryder. He's fallen in with some racers, including the lovely Gina, whom "Frank" rescues from a flaming wreck, earning him no points with Carl, who planned on marrying Gina for her dad's money. Carl challenges "Frank" to a Formula-1 race, loser has to leave town; and during the race runs him off the road. To "protect his investment" in Gina, Carl clonks "Frank" on the head with a crowbar; but the sight of the crowbar triggers a flashback, returning Johnny's memory.

Carl pushes Johnny's car over a cliff located conveniently next to the track, but Johnny is able to turn into Ghost Rider in time to survive the wreck. I have to wonder if the Ghost Rider ever does the same: "Well, it looks like I'm gonna die...better switch back to Blaze, then..." Ghost Rider doesn't even deliver the usual hellfire boot in the ass to Carl: Gina immediately realizes what Carl's done, and calls the cops. The Ghost Rider, unseen, takes off after the robbers he was chasing earlier--having missed the previous issue, I'm not sure why. Maybe they cut him off in traffic, or GR took offense at a Jesus-fish bumper sticker or something. Later, Johnny realizes he can't remember several days and may never get them back, while Gina mourns the missing "Frank." And in "The Lonesome Death of Johnny Blaze," Johnny didn't die in any sense, Frank Ryder did. I'd demand a refund, if I hadn't paid a quarter for this issue and still kinda liked it anyway.
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OK, this week's month's comics:

Although I bought some cheap trades and some ninety-nine cent Deadpool Corps and MAX issues; I hadn't picked up the bulk of my comics for the better part of a month. Which you probably guessed by the title. And it was a little gloomy, since there were two second-to-last issues and the end of a mini-series. We aren't going to do a lot of scans this time around, since I'm doing this on the fly, but let's take a quick look.

First, Static #7 was a bit more together than the previous issues, but still felt like too little and too late. On the other hand, O.M.A.C. #7 felt like there was a lot of gas left in the tank; as DiDio and Giffen channel a ton of Kirby and have Superman guest-star for a whopping four pages before going into a straight-up Kamandi tribute. And My Greatest Adventure #6 wraps the series with Robotman, Garbage Man, and Tenga not getting anything they want. Seriously, at all.

Demon Knights is the only DC book I've been reading that'll be around in a couple of months, but as the first storyline wraps I'm not sure if I want to stick with it or not. It's not bad, but the siege seemed to run a little long, and the outcome was a bit of a given. (A seeming traitor wasn't maybe, a character aged to near death is back, and they totally had to destroy that village to save it.)

On the other hand, the end of the Lobster Johnson story in Dark Horse Presents #9 is likewise a given, but it's executed better in less pages. I might have to write up this issue for a much-later 80-Page Thursday; but suffice to say I'm enjoying DHP a lot...but not as much as I theoretically could. Future issues are going to have Nexus, Ghost, and Evan Dorkin; and I selfishly want them all in the same issue. Every month.

There was also Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #3, which was terrifying and awesome. Tying into an old B.P.R.D. villain; this issue a mobster's new hires burn down a few buildings and fight the Lobster, but they are more than the mobster realizes. Much more. The mobster should have a lot more fear at this point than he does. Artist Tonci Zonjic is killing it, too.

Lastly, the conclusion of Atomic Robo & the Ghost of Station X wraps that series up nicely, although I think I missed an issue. Gotta get back on that. And I picked up the reprint of Adventure Time #1 for the Youngest, but haven't read it yet. Man, that's a bit light for a month; and I'm sure I missed or forgot to mention some stuff, but we'll get to that as it turns up.
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80-Page Thursdays: Adventure Comics 80-Page Giant!

We've covered a pretty good pile of 80-pagers, and it's pretty rare to find one that is an actual 80-page story. On the other hand, it's rare to find an anthology book that actually was an anthology book, like today's: Adventure Comics 80-Page Giant #1, featuring stories from John Byrne, Tom Peyer, Chuck Dixon, and more; with art by Phil Winslade, Rick Burchett, Kevin O'Neill, and more.


Actually, Adventure Comics wasn't always an anthology, but I read it when it was a digest, mostly featuring Legion of Super-Heroes, the Spectre, and Challengers of the Unknown reprints. Heck, those digests probably were my introduction to those characters. While the Legion appears in this 80-pager, it's mostly for characters that appeared in Adventure's heyday: Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Supergirl, and Superboy.


But the best story in this one is Tom Peyer and Kevin O'Neill's missive from the Bizarro World, "Bizarro Must Think!" Bizarro #1 brings his private, secret journal to a scientist so he can broadcast it to the whole universe. The imperfect duplicate tells about when Superman tried to improve the Bizarro World, which led to the Bizarro Code. It's a funny story, but more than a little sad. Read more!

Guess SOMEone won't be going to "John Carter."

I didn't run out to see John Carter yet, although I'll doubtless see it at some point. That title really needs "of Mars" after it, too. And this strip probably should've been last week, but didn't occur to me until Friday, sorry.

As best as I can gather so far from around the web, John Carter turned out to be a perfectly serviceable little action adventure movie; yet it's still getting hammered a bit: Disney seemingly mis-marketed it into the ground, the movie's budget may have run a bit high, a lot of people seem to be taking an evil glee in its apparent failure, and the hype for the Hunger Games is going to bury it.

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New Bastards up at Poe's!

Did I mention I finished a Build-a-Figure recently? Well, he's in today's Bastards of the Universe strip at Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation! And Poe also has a contest running for a Play Arts Kai Joker figure, so what are you waiting for? Go, schnell!

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Today, Kull vs. Skeletor.

Actually, that looks less like Masters of the Universe's Skeletor, than like Remco's Skullman. (That link is a eBay listing from a while back, but for the price it might be there a while...) Of course, it's actually Kull's usual big-bad, the wizard Thulsa Doom, in Marvel Preview #19, "Riders Beyond the Sunrise" Adapted from a story fragment by Robert E. Howard by Roy Thomas, with art by Sal Buscema and Tony DeZuniga.

I have to wonder how much of a fragment it was, though; since this story seems to start one place, and go somewhere completely different. Kull's councilor Tu is boring the king's crown off with the account of a countess who fled an arranged marriage, to run off with a low-born adventurer. Although it violates a number of Valusia's laws, Kull doesn't really care until he gets word of said adventurer bad-mouthing him. Taking his Red Slayers and Brule the Spear-slayer with him, Kull rides off in pursuit, to a mysterious land east "beyond the sunset."

So, it seems like this is going to be a commentary on so-called civilization against the more-honest barbarism of Kull; but instead the whole thing is a lure set by Thulsa Doom. No longer serving the "serpent," Doom plans on getting revenge out "where neither god nor demon has power." That part doesn't necessarily feel like where Howard might've been taking this one; I kinda think Thomas took an opportunity to wrap up storylines from Kull's cancelled comic.

Also this issue: a Solomon Kane story, "The Footfalls Within," featuring Kane against slavers. Eh, it's OK.

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It happens every so often: the focus around here seems to shift more to toys than comics, or vice versa. I've barely even read any comics this last week, although I did find time to re-read Garth Ennis's first Fury limited and today's book, from 2003, Thor: Vikings, with art by Glenn Fabry.

In the year 1003, the monstrously evil viking Jaekelsson and his band raid a final village before setting sail for the New World. Cursed by a dying wise man and a Nordic runestone, they don't reach their goal for 1000 years; now twisted, undead, and unstoppable. Even Thor can't make a dent in Jaekelsson; breaking both his hands hitting him. Leaving Thor for dead, Jaekelsson and his vikings murder the hell out of several companies of the armed forces, as well as thousands of New Yorkers.

Dr. Strange guest-stars, helping Thor with his injuries and bringing descendants of the wise man through time to fight the vikings, since their bloodline is tied to the curse. (The Avengers have a brief cameo, after having been asskicked by said vikings.) With an aspiring warrior maiden, a crusading Teutonic knight, and a German Luftwaffe pilot; Thor and Strange face Jaekelsson again.

It's a pretty brutal series, and Ennis takes the piss out of super-heroes a couple times in there; so this one's not for everyone, but I like it. I may have to see if I can find Ennis's Spider-Man three-issue story the Thousand now; Fabry did covers for that one too.
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That cell doesn't have a toilet, but you don't think of the Surfer as having to use one...

Concluding the "Dynamo City" saga, Silver Surfer #43, "Termination" Written by Jim Starlin and Ron Marz, pencils by Ron Lim, inks by Keith Williams. The Silver Surfer waits in a cell for trial, with his friend Zeaklar. The old-timer was knocked out last issue, and still hasn't regained consciousness. Having nothing left to lose, the Surfer fights the guard robots, and gets nowhere.

Knocked out again, the Surfer wakes up midway through the trial, as the robot prosecutor accuses him of attempting to murder the Great I. (The judge and jury are robots as well, which again makes me think Dynamo City's upper class were all robots, exploiting the meatbag peasants.) The Surfer exclaims he did not, and the Great I is a vegetable anyway; but his remarks are stricken from the record. For good measure, the defense attorney is unplugged, since it would be a waste of power, the judge tells the Surfer he's guilty as hell. Finally bound and gagged, a litany of witnesses for the prosecution testify; some of whom had actually met the Surfer. The jury renders the verdict:

The Surfer and the still-out Zeaklar are taken to the Termination Platform. While he never thought he'd go out like that, the Surfer does seem to be at least a little relieved that his ordeal there will be over. Worse, Zeaklar finally wakes up, and the Surfer has to tell him they've been tried, found guilty, and about to be executed. Oddly, he's not worried, as the Termination Platform lights up...

...and teleports them into space! While Zeaklar has to suck vacuum for a few seconds, the Surfer's powers return and he creates a cube of oxygen for him. Zeaklar had realized the Surfer was slated for execution, then remembered the method, and that it wouldn't hurt him. He was also smart enough to realize he could get out as well, if Dynamo City wasn't smart enough to use an alternative method of execution. Which is exactly what the arriving guard robots suggest: being sore losers, they try to take the Surfer and Zeaklar back. As you might expect, the Surfer isn't having that.

Destroying the robots, and reconstituting his board, the Silver Surfer plans on tearing Dynamo City apart. Zeaklar protests, and the Surfer asks how, since he was held there for ten years? (It was three years! That's the second odd number error in this storyline...) Zeaklar points out the city's got a ton of robots, and at some point the hull would get breeched, killing the people. The Surfer agonizes over that for a moment, but the only move left is to walk away, giving the cheerfully freed Zeaklar a ride home.

So, what's the moral of Dynamo City? Bureaucracy is evil, but doesn't think outside the box? You can't lay faith in any outside force saving you, since like Drax, it could be hopelessly inept. Ditto any appeal to authority, the I's not listening. Or, is the moral that the only way to deal with a corrupt system is to fold and walk away? I like to think the moral is that when the Surfer was forced to be Galactus's herald again, Dynamo City was the first place they went.

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80-Page Thursday: Batman Family #17!

It's November as I write this, but I had to schedule this week's 80-Page Thursday here: Batman Family #17, featuring stories from Bob Rozakis and Gerry Conway, and art from Jim Aparo, Don Heck, and Michael Golden.

This issue features three stories with a connecting thread: Earth-2's new heroine the Huntress visits the Earth-1 Batman. She comes seeking advice, since she had only recently taken up the cape-and-cowl, against the wishes of her father, police commissioner Bruce Wayne. Although he,and later Robin, are working a creepy kidnapping case, Batman still has time to have a chat with her, and point her in the direction of Batwoman.

Meanwhile, fortune-teller Madame Zodiac offers her "Horoscopes of Crime!" to Poison Ivy and Catwoman. They're skeptical when Zodiac tells them Batgirl will stop Ivy's latest scheme and the Huntress will break up Catwoman's next job. Zodiac tells them, double or nothing; and she's right: Congresswoman Barbara Gordon was near enough to get to Ivy as Batgirl (that's not suspicious or anything...) while Huntress is on-hand to stop Catwoman from kidnapping baseball player 'Catfish Turner.' Huntress has a hard time fighting someone who looks exactly like her dead mom; but pulls it together since this Catwoman is still "just another criminal!" Still, both escape capture with the unseen help of Zodiac, who has another plan in mind...

In their civilian identities, Batwoman and Huntress meet up with Batgirl at the carnival--the second carnival of the issue, they used to be everywhere. The ladies plan on lunch next to the museum...that Zodiac, Catwoman, and Ivy are going to rob. Zodiac wants to steal an anomalous Indian pipe: she's really excited about it, and Catwoman and Poison Ivy really don't care. After a scuffle, the criminals are caught, but Zodiac snaps her bonds, grabs the pipe, and fades away.

Huntress says her goodbyes to Batman and Batgirl in the JLA satellite, then takes the transporter back to Earth-2. But, unbeknownst to them...and fine, I'll never use 'unbeknownst' again...the transport energy and a freak interdimensional storm free the imprisoned Morgaine Le Fey. (I have a feeling that isn't the first time I've seen the JLA/JSA transports inadvertently free someone like that...) She's not wearing the armor and facemask she usually sports; but she's hellbent for revenge on Jason Blood. Teleporting to Blood's apartment, she steals back her Philosopher's Stone, regaining her power.

Meanwhile, Kirk Langstrom, better known as Man-Bat, is anxiously awaiting the birth of his first child; when he's distracted by the commotion of another birth, of a demon-child. A brief fight and the baby reverts to normal, and while the delivering doctor and Man-Bat try to explain to the cops, Blood arrives. When another demon baby appears, Blood turns into the Demon, defeats it, then uses "demon fire!" to drop the exposition on Man-Bat. Together, they stop Morgaine from maybe turning Man-Bat's baby into a monster...maybe. Kirk seemed to have been expecting a son, and got a daughter. Which I think has been retconned, as has large chunks of this issue: the Earth-2 visits, Barbara as congresswoman, maybe even Robin at Hudson U.

So why bring it up? March 14 is given as Catwoman and Poison Ivy's birthday! (And Madame Zodiac's too, no one cares.) Would've been nice if the date fell on a Thursday, but well, now you've got a week to steal them something nice.
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If you don't have it--and you should by now, it was in bloody Hackers over fifteen years ago for god's sake--Tony's mentioning Underworld's "Cowgirl," which I still love unconditionally.

The Target where I've been getting the new Marvel Legends isn't too far from my work. It's close enough that I can walk there on my lunch break...if I run. And by run, I mean, "sacrifice all dignity and run like something's chasing you." And that's if I've kept up on my conditioning, which it being early in the year and the snow's just starting to clear, I very much have not. And since I was wearing two jackets since it was cold, by the time I got back I was if not drenched with sweat, unpleasantly damp. And to further add insult to...well, insult, I guess; Klaw somehow sold out, and only a lone Stealth Extremis Iron Man was left on the pegs; meaning I'm still a leg short for Terrax.

Tony probably doesn't have anything on Stupid Sexy Flanders, but still. The debate rages, however, about the scale for this figure. The Extremis armor is supposed to be thinner and more form-fitting, but does this make Tony look too small? It probably depends on how you picture Tony: straight-up Robert Downey Jr? Reasonably fit playboy? Layabout drunk? Displaying him with Steve and Thor probably further complicates the issue, since they're both much bigger guys than Tony. My guess is it's just a hair small, but since it's exceedingly rare for Iron Man to actually look like a guy wearing armor, that's probably close enough.

Anyway, I always think of a bit of advice I want to say came from makeup and effects man Rob Bottin, creator of the RoboCop movie costume: you can't put a big guy like a Stallone or a Schwarzeneggar in a suit like that, because they look like the Pillsbury doughboy in there. A relatively skinny guy looks good in there, which now makes me wonder if Captain America would've looked worse in his armor than we suspected.

(I'm pretty sure that suit, if it wasn't a full-on iron lung, was doing a lot of medical support for Steve; so it couldn't have been streamlined, at all. But Cap would probably not look right even in good armor. Tony, Rhodey, and occasionally Daredevil can pull it off; but a lot of heroes not so much. Spider-Man's rarely seen web-armor looks like he made it the night before. Thor's armor, while awesome, is like a truck deciding to wear a bigger truck for protection. Namor's armor sloshes, although to be fair Tony's does sometimes as well...)

Come to think of it, this is the first stealth Iron Man I've ever bought. Not bad.
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"Keep Hope Alive."

Of course, the first thing I think of when I think "Keep Hope Alive" is the classic from the Crystal Method. I was just thinking I hadn't listened to that album in forever, but most of the hook of that one is lodged in the old PS2 game Motor Mayhem, a surprisingly fun little vehicle based shooter.

Still don't like Hope Summers, of course; but doing this one I realized I still like Rachel Grey--formerly Summers. When she returned to the X-Men for Claremont's last stretch on the book, seeing her 'dad' Cyclops with the White Queen prompted Rachel to take the Marvel Girl codename and change her last name to her mom's. To the best of my recollection, she didn't seem hurt, just disappointed in Scott; but hated Emma. It was pretty endearing, really. (To be fair to Scott, for a change, he probably shouldn't have to give too much thought to what his daughter from another timeline thinks of him.)

To emulate Nightcrawler's death in Second Coming, we used the killing glove from the DCUC Darkseid. Since I have that piece, not the whole Collect-and-Connect...the "Cable small arms" piece we've used before: from the pre-ML Toy Biz Spider-Man 2099 figure. I really like it, even if I still don't know why they included it with him.

More later today!
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'Kaiju Hellboy' is a bit dismissive, but...

From Giantkiller #4, story and art by Dan Brereton. And it's really a fun series: in California, 1999, Mount Diablo erupts and then just as suddenly stops. That's not the weirdest part: the area becomes swamped with poison gas, electrical disturbances...and giant monsters, straight-up Kaiju.

Using hybrid technology and human and monsters DNA, Dr. Steven Azuma creates Jack, the Giantkiller, and raises him as an American, with a samurai code. Jack quickly takes to killing the monsters, but is he killing his own kind? Will Jack turn on humanity? What caused the monsters' arrival? And, Jack wonders, if he's the only one who can go into the monsters' poisonous environment, who named them for the field guide?

The field guide, Giantkiller A to Z: A Field Guide to Big Monsters, is a great addendum to the main series. In fact, not all the monsters even get to appear in the book! It's a fun read, and might be easier to find as singles than in trade; but man, I wish Jack would've gotten an action figure. Giantkiller, Robot 13, Badger, Ghost, Atomic Robo...that would be my "B.P.R.D. of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

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I thought Amalgam had way more of these...

Spider-Boy gets to his third reboot of the the Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099 in Spider-Boy Team-Up #1, "Too Many Heroes--Too Little Time!" Written by "R. K. Sternsel" (Karl Kesel and Roger Stern) with art by Jose Ladronn and inks by Juan Vlasco.

I think he might have a bit more Superboy than Spider-Man in the mix, but Spider-Boy was one of the more entertaining Amalgam books, and would get an issue in both runs. I'm hard pressed to say if any other books reference the "Secret Crisis of the Infinity Hour," although DC and Marvel did a pretty good job not overlapping characters in that event. There are at least a couple more fake crossovers scattered throughout Amalgam, though; I reckon we'll see another one later.
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(Long past) Time for the Terrible Toyman!

Got the DCUC 18 Toyman for five bucks at Wal-Mart today. Not a bad figure, although mine had a little black paint slop on the collar; and a bit of leftover yellow trim in the right armpit. For the price, can't complain.

Toyman's been out for a while, and OAFE.net has a pretty good review, but It's All True had some great pics for him.

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The Silver Surfer is having trouble brooding without his board...

Silver Surfer #42, "A Second Chance" Written by Jim Starlin and Ron Marz, pencils by Ron Lim, inks by Tom Christopher and Christopher Ivy. Still trapped in Dynamo City, the Silver Surfer is at a loss for what to do next; and old-timer Zeaklar tells him "the same thing everybody else does: you keep right on trying and failing and trying again." That cheerful pep talk is followed by explosions, as all good pep talks should be: the city's security robots are on the losing end of a battle with Drax the Destroyer. Finding proof Thanos was still alive, he got the Surfer's whereabouts from one of the city's robots and came to get him. The Surfer jumps at the chance to get out of there, and Drax takes off...without him! (As mentioned, Drax was pretty severely brain-damaged at that point.)

The incident does snap the Surfer out of his self-pity: the universe could be in danger, and he can't waste his time there. He resolves to explain himself to the city's ruler, the Great I...except he can't get in to see him. Back to self-pity, then. Zeaklar also points out that like himself, the Surfer already has three strikes, and the city law gets tough on the fourth offense: termination. The Surfer figures he has to get out on his next try, then.

A passersby makes a suggestion: energy-casters are hired to make light-shows over the city once a week, cheap entertainment for the masses. The Surfer would be perfect for that, either to earn credits and buy his way out, or use the power against the government, or to merely escape. He invites Zeaklar to come with him, to help with the negotiations.

Reviewing the contract, Zeaklar realizes they would be charged for the power, and would end up owing the suits money. Unfazed, the Surfer tells him to take the deal: he's going to get out, or die trying. Even that plan hits a snag: a power damper prevents the Surfer from pulling enough juice to escape. But maybe he could get to the Great I...

During his light-show, the Surfer's cosmic senses come back. Sensing no evil from the Great I, he makes a break for him, using all the power he was able to absorb. Finally before Dynamo City's ruler, the Surfer makes an empassioned speech, imploring the I to stop the bureaucratic evil done in his name...before realizing the I can't hear him. An upper-crust suit (another robot? Was the whole city robots enslaving aliens?) explains the Great I is senseless, but an immense data processor; and that the Surfer is in a lot of trouble.

As the Surfer is beaten and dragged off by security, Zeaklar realizes his friend is doomed...when it seems he has an idea. He rushes forward and kicks one of the security robots, and is promptly one-punched unconscious. The two are dragged away, to Termination Court...next Friday, the conclusion of "Dynamo City!"
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80-Page Thursdays: Justice League Quarterly #5!

We've looked at some of this issue before, including the General Glory backup (with Mike Parobeck and Ty Templeton art!) and the Mark Waid/Mike McKone lead story: Justice League Quarterly #5, featuring additional stories from Kevin Dooley and Bill Loebs, and art by Jan Duursema and Andy Smith.


Smith does get to do a callback to the first issue of Justice League, but he has to do it with the Global Guardians...that has to be disappointing. Loeb's Fire and Ice story has it's moments, but the tone is kind of all over the place. It's funny, and you do feel bad for the creepy and dangerous stalker, even if I'm not sure you should.

I don't have a full run of Justice League Quarterly, although we may see more from an issue or two. We might even revisit JLQ #3, a personal favorite. I did prefer when they did full issue stories, for the most part.
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