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Post by The Captain on Feb 21, 2020 8:52:52 GMT -5
Some quick hits: Captain America #19 The cover teased the revelation of the identity of the Dryad, the leader of the Daughters of Liberty, and while the inside delivered that, it was...underwhelming at best. Sure, it's great that this character is back in the MU, but the "how" of it really isn't explained and the "why" is kind of a throwaway. It looks like the story might FINALLY be going somewhere, as Cap's closest allies, Sam and Bucky, are now back in the fold, but with Coates' pacing problems, it might be months before we get any kind of payoff.
My biggest problem with this book is that it has become painfully obvious that Ta-Nehisi Coates has ZERO interest in writing a Captain America book. What Coates really wants to write is a Daughters of Liberty book, but because that would have all of the commercial viability of garbage-flavored M&Ms, he has shoehorned them into Cap's book and pushed the star to the back burner. This was the same complaint I had with Coates' Black Panther book, where it was just as obvious that he really wanted to write a Shuri/Dora Milaje book but had to use BP as the vehicle to do so.
My patience is wearing very thin. I want to read about Captain America, not Coates' pet project to revise history, even fictional history, by putting women secretly behind every major event in US history. Do that on your own time in a book not titled "Captain America" instead of hijacking this one.
3/10
Marauders #8 One of the two new X-books I'm buying (along with the flagship title), primarily because of the choice of characters used (Emma Frost, Kitty Pryde, Bishop, and Iceman) and the power struggle between Emma and Sebastian Shaw.
This issue picks up the thread from a couple of books back, where Kitty is bound and dumped into the ocean by Sebastian and Shinobi Shaw in retribution for her part in Shinobi's "death" and to free up a seat on the Krakoa ruling council that Sebastian wants to fill with his own person, not Emma's. The retrieval of Kitty's body showcases Iceman's abilities and relatively-new "coldness" (pun fully intended), with Bishop having to serve as the voice of reason for his teammate. The scene between Storm and Emma at the end, after Emma tells her of Kitty's passing, is poignant and plays up the long-standing enmity between these two powerhouse females while also creating a bond between them going forward; I could almost swear there were ninjas cutting onions in the room as I read it.
After years adrift, I feel like the X-family is finally regaining its footing in the MU. This is good stuff, month in and month out.
8/10
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Post by The Captain on Feb 20, 2020 17:23:11 GMT -5
Been reading some Weird Western Tales recently, and I've come to believe that Jonah Hex is actually a Witcher.
He kills monsters (human monsters, but monsters nonetheless), has little interest in interacting with other people, and doesn't do a job unless he gets paid.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 20, 2020 17:20:04 GMT -5
Except that they aren't any more. Well a lot of them aren't and that's particularly true of premium cable shows and streaming services. It's even starting to become true on over-the-air TV. No way in the past would a show like The Good Place end on it's natural cycle after four seasons and 53 episodes. The Duffer Brothers have said that they have four to five seasons worth of story to tell. That's becoming increasingly common with television. I'm a season or two behind, but The Good Place is amazing. You're forking right it is. For the entirety of its run, it was the ONLY network show my wife and I watched together (I still keep up with Supernatural, but that only has about 8 more episodes before it goes away). They had a story to tell, a good story, and they ended it just right without dragging it out forever because there was money to be made.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 20, 2020 10:54:48 GMT -5
Turn
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Post by The Captain on Feb 19, 2020 18:31:15 GMT -5
From the gone-way-too-soon Joe Maneely:
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Post by The Captain on Feb 18, 2020 10:12:54 GMT -5
I went with Chinese and pizza, for the simple fact that I can't make either of them for myself as successfully as someone else can.
Never got into Indian food, and I like but don't love Japanese or Thai (although there is a new Asian fusion place near us where I can get really good sushi AND a tasty red curry with shrimp) As for the other stuff, I make a lot of it at home myself. I've been told I'm an above-average amateur cook, and I do my own burgers, BBQ, Italian (love the chicken parm), and Mexican (more traditional rustic than Tex-Mex).
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Post by The Captain on Feb 17, 2020 15:16:37 GMT -5
This year when I an afford it lol theres a few old comic series I want to complete Nightstalkers Blade old Alpha Flight. Maybe lol. Not every single issue. Mostly with issues 70 to the 100s since I didnt even know Alpha Flight was still going on in the 1990s also the old NOW Comics Ghostbusters and Fright Night should be easy to buy and complete since last year I was trying to rebuild my collection of NOW Comics Ghostbusters. I still have issue 2 from back in the day and its really worn out lol where the front and back cover are loose from me when i was a little kid back then where I was kind of rough with whatever comics I had in the mid 1980s PM me what Blade series and what issue numbers you are looking for. I have a bunch of random books lying around and if I have any of what you are trying to find, I can send them out to you. Need to start cleaning up space in my house, so if I have something you want, you are welcome to it.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 17, 2020 10:41:44 GMT -5
All of your supporting cast must eventually gain superpowers and fight crime for a short amount of time. And one of them turns on you, becoming a villain for a while, until you turn them back through the power of "love and friendship".
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Post by The Captain on Feb 16, 2020 19:04:26 GMT -5
Well, I broke yesterday. At my daughter's swim meet, I took some books to read between her events, one of which was Showcase Presents: Wonder Woman, just to give it one more try. Issue #125 was harmless enough, although it was pretty much straight garbage, but issue #126 swore me off of the rest of the book.
That issue "starred" Wonder Tot and Mister Genie, who she rescues from a treasure chest where he's been trapped for 1,000 years and they go on some stupid adventure to find a star to make into a hair clip for her; I tuned it out about half-way through. It's absolutely one of the worst things I've ever read. Who the hell thought that people picking up a book about Wonder Woman wanted to read a story starring a four-year old with a giant genie for a sidekick? And the way Wonder Tot spoke, with crap like "This good time for Wonder Tot to practice gliding. Mommy be so proud to see me now. Swimming in air currents. Like a little fish in the sky (giggle, giggle)!" was absolutely excruciating to try to get past.
Done with it. Will be putting it aside, then taking it to Half-Price Books next time I make a run. Thankfully it only cost me $5 initially, but that was probably $6 too much.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 15, 2020 10:06:45 GMT -5
I always question this approach as well. Every time Marvel launches a new Blade or Nova book, I think to myself "this has 12 issues, 18 tops", and then they usually cut it short and end it at 8 or 10 issues anyway. Marvel is putting out a new Spider-Woman book in March, and she once had a series run 50 issues in the Bronze Age, but realistically, how long is this going to last in the current environment? Will it see 2021?
If they have a story to tell using those characters, is it better to produce it and sell it as a one-shot GN from the outset, or put out the monthly issues over a period of months, hoping to get some sales that way (and most of these kinds of books quickly fall below the 20K or 10K threshold anyway) before getting the TPB on the shelves, getting reduced sales from the GN numbers because X number of people already bought the floppies?
I don't buy mini-series any more, and I rarely give new series a shot unless it is a "big" character (relaunches of Captain America, Dr. Strange, etc.). If I am interested, I either pick up the individual books from the $1 bins six months down the road or trade-wait, since I have a ton of Amazon gift cards and can get them virtually for free.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 15, 2020 9:50:08 GMT -5
Rules of being a 90's superhero.1. Carry a gun...a big gun. Two guns is even better. Bonus points if the weaponry is grafted into your body. 2. Instead of spandex, wear a jacket. One with lots of pockets. Leather preferred but a trench-coat is cool too. 3. Have a superhero name made up of shoving two words together, preferably violent words - e.g., shatterfist, bloodkill, etc. 4. Strike random poses that would look good on a poster or a calendar for no particular reason, even if you're having a deep conversation at the time. ... and pouches. you must have lots and lots of pouches for.... things. And if you're a 90's female superhero, go for the biggest breast implants possible. GGG or larger is preferable, and they have to be perfectly circular, like two cantaloupes stapled to your chest, because that is how breasts, even with implants, look in the real world. Also, don't forget to use the least amount of material possible to cover them. No bra needed, just a couple of thin strips of cloth, usually in an "X" pattern across your chest, should suffice to keep them in place while you are performing all of your acrobatic and fighting maneuvers.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 14, 2020 22:31:45 GMT -5
My wife and I took a step out in faith tonight, as we left our two daughters home by themselves for the evening so we could go on a date, our first one without having to arrange a sitter in a little over 14 years. We went out to a local sports bar to watch the Penguins game and to shoot pool, and we had a wonderful time.
We were gone for just about three hours, and when we got home, it was still standing ans both girls were still alive, so we consider it a win and plan to do it again sometime.
On a "scary for the dad of daughters" note, the sixth-grade boy who lives two doors down from us has a crush on my younger daughter (also in sixth grade) and the feelings from her are mutual. Time to get my machete sharpened and my shovel ready, although it will be tougher now to dispose of a body since they cut down half the woods behind our house to build more houses.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 14, 2020 11:44:52 GMT -5
On!
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Post by The Captain on Feb 14, 2020 11:11:09 GMT -5
You can never kill an enemy, even if they are a homicidal maniac, child killer, or megalomaniac bent on world domination. Better to just knock them unconscious and deliver them to the police, then house them with a bunch of other nutjobs in the local asylum for the criminally insane that would be best served by installing a turnstile at the front gate for all the good actual security does them in light of the near-daily break-outs.
Also, when they do inevitably break out and resume their murdering ways, you need to brood endlessly about how you were unable to stop them from killing again, when you could have easily accomplished that by snapping their neck like a pretzel rod and being done with them. Killing the homicidal maniac that has bonded with an evil alien symbiote doesn't make you less of a hero, it makes you smart for not allowing them to get loose and go on another murder spree. And, yes, all of the blood spilled IS on your head if you keep doing the same dumb thing over and over, especially when the police or the asylum have proven time and time again to be incapable of keeping them incarcerated. Sometimes, you just got to put the rabid dog down.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 14, 2020 10:47:52 GMT -5
Eternal
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