Media Credit:
Photo Courtesy of
idwpublishing.com
“Well personally, I want to slay the dragon.”
Angel the vampire returns after a brief hiatus, Victorian era Batman meets the Challengers of the Unknown, Marvel’s space epic concludes, My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way’s steam punk series continues, and “Speedball” fights Wolverine.
Angel: After the Fall #1 (IDW Publishing) - In this week’s Buzz I talk about Dark Horse bringing Buffy back in Season 8 of the show… only it’s not on TV. The comic books are meant to continue the series as official continuity, utilizing the show’s mythology to tell what happened after the show ended.
After the success of Joss Whedon’s (Firefly, Astonishing X-Men) series, IDW, the company that had been publishing un-canonical Angel series, decided to publish the official Angel Season 6 titled Angel: After the Fall.
Did Angel beat the dragon? Where is Spike? What happened to my favorite demon lounge singer, Lorne? Is Illyria more human than Old One?
To be honest, I don’t care if my questions go unanswered.
I’m just happy that Angel did not fade away.
Media Credit:
Photo Courtesy of
www.marvel.com
Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of
www.marvel.com
Penance: Relentless #3 (Marvel) - Robbie Baldwin used to go by the name of Speedball, a teenage super hero with the ability to generate a force field around himself and smaller ones that he used as projectiles.
As a member of the teen team the New Warriors, Baldwin engaged the living bomb Nitro in Stamford, Connecticut on a reality TV show. Nitro expoded himself, killing a large portion of the town, resulting in the Super Human Registration Act and the Civil War.
The explosion shifted Robbie’s powers to be massive energy blasts that are caused by pain.
As you can see from the image of Penance, Baldwin’s new name, on the left compared to the brightly colored costume of Speedball of the right, a dramatic shift has occurred.
This happy-go-lucky lad now wears a suit filled with spikes to harness his pain powers. He is living in an Iron Maiden.
Now a member of the Thunderbolts, the team of villains turned hero, Baldwin has his own mini-series where he tries to cope with who he now is in the world he inadvertently helped to create.
Media Credit
Photo Courtesy of
www.dccomics.com
Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Gotham by Gaslight (DC) - I have come to terms with the fact that these one shots featuring the Challengers of the Unknown are no more than marketing gimmicks.
The visitations to the various universes should be meaningful and use the world to tell a story that is unique and meaningful not just for the Challengers, but for that universe itself.
But so far as they have trekked through Red Rain and the Wildstorm universes have been no more than a casual handshake. It’s like when political figures have photo-ops with other government officials they don’t know.
It’s a pretty picture for the press. I’m worried about the Countdown: Arena idea now, too… but that’s another post.
I really liked the world of Gotham by Gaslight., the steam punk version of a late 1800’s Batman. I want to see more of it and even though I’m seeing it as a tie-in gimmick, I’m just happy to see it.
Media Credit:
Photo Courtesy of
www.marvel.com
Annihilation Vol. 3 TPB (Marvel) - I was pleasantly surprised by this maxi-series (a series with a defiant end, but more than 6 issues).
While Marvel’s super heroes battled in the Civil War on Earth, the Annihilation war was being fought in space.
Hailing from the Negative Zone, Annihilus, a Fantastic Four villain, embarked on a quest for universal domination.
So far I have only read the first two trade paperbacks, which features 5 miniseries about notable galactic heroes: Silver Surfer, Ronan the Accuser, Drax the Destroyer, Super Skrull, and Nova.
Annihilation reinvents Marvel’s space-themed universe.
This volume is the actual series where all their storylines converge in a meaningful way.
The first two volumes are set-ups for this one and the sequel maxi-series Annihilation: Conquest, which is on-going.
Media Credit:
Photo Courtesy of
www.darkhorse.com
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #3 (Dark Horse) - Gerard Way is best known as the lead singer of the emo band My Chemical Romance.
A long time fan of their music, I was happy to learn about this series, written by Way, on Free Comic Book Day.
The comics very much emulate the kind of black comedy pulp image the band presents.
The series is about a family of super-hero homages, pulp characters in the style of Hellboy.
After the death of their father/mentor, the Umbrella Academy has come back together to save the world from a threat that is so far, unrealized.
So far there has been a lot of build-up in this steam punk-style story and it makes me want the series to be more than 6 issues.
The world here fascinates me.
Matt Knicl: My name is Matt Knicl. I'm a U of I alumn and one of those unemployed English majors Garrison Keillor likes to make fun of. I've been reading comics since high school and one day I would like to write them. My goal is to expose readers to what is out there in the world of comics and using my English powers, show what is worth reading or not. I can be reached at buzz.comics@gmail.com.
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Buzz Magazine
Matt Knicl
My name is Matt Knicl. I'm a U of I alumn and one of those unemployed English majors Garrison Keillor likes to make fun of. I've been reading comics since high school and one day I would like to write them. My goal is to expose readers to what is out there in the world of comics and using my English powers, show what is worth reading or not. I can be reached at buzz.comics@gmail.com.