Sword of the Atom Special #3

I took one final look at the Sword of the Atom universe in this special that pulls at just about all the stops. Atom and his new wife visit a neighboring tribal city and accidently set off a biological booby trap. This turns many of the dwellers into rampaging zombies. It’s a race against time to find a cure as well as a race to safety for the Atom in this thrilling final chapter to the Sword of the Atom series of mini-series and specials.

  At the end of this issue was a letter by some of the writers and editors of SOTA asking fans to write in for a permanent series based on Atom’s adventures in the Amazon. I think if DC had decided to let Gil Kane re-team with Jan Strnad on this special, it would’ve happened. While I really enjoyed this creepy tale, the magic behind the art of Sword of the Atom was missing with the new creative team. Now, I don’t know a lot about the publishing world but if you’re trying to get something picked up for regular publication and you’re basing your decision on customer opinion, wouldn’t you put your best people on the project? Maybe Strnad and Kane weren’t but I’d rather stick with the team who knew Sword of the Atom best instead of handing it off to a new team.

   That decision strikes me as proof that DC had no intention of SOTA ever becoming a full-time series. If they had, Strnad would’ve still written this and but Kane would’ve penned and inked it! So, alas, the history of comics pits us with another what if scenario. I think if this is a standard practice of DC in order of making things go away then we also finally have our answer to the age old question “Why did George Clooney’s batsuit have nipples?”

Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Daredevil: Volume 5 (2011-2014)

Volume 5 sees a return to the standard of excellence I’ve expected from Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. I think my biggest problem with volume 4 was that Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson work better when they are a team and have each other’s back. When there’s a hint of doubt in the trust between the two of them, it really ruins the character of this series. I don’t expect things to always be peaches and cream with them but seeing them at ends, refusing to talk to one another, and basically enemies is like the Lone Ranger pursuing Tonto for murder. It just doesn’t work.

   It’s a good thing that Matt and Foggy have reunited because Foggy has just been handed the news that he’s got a very rare and dangerous cancer. While trying to be his law partner’s main line of support, Matt discovers a plot to destroy him and everyone around him systematically. The ploy of the Coyote in Volume 4 comes full circle, when Daredevil learns of a program designed to create virtual ‘clones’ of him by reenacting the accident that blinded him as a child on kidnapped homeless men.

  This issue had excitement, action, and most of all, heart. The art continues to be a highlight of this series as well. I wasn’t much of a Daredevil fan, by the run I’ve had on this series has turned me into one. Not only in this volume required reading for comic book aficionados but so is the entire 2011-2014 Waid/ Samnee run as well.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Sword of the Atom Special #2

Jean Loring and her new husband are forced to return to the world of Sword of the Atom. When Jean is accidently shrunk by one of her ex-husband’s old shape changing device, the machine shorts out leaving her at just 6-inches tall. Meanwhile, a rival tribe of tiny alien Amazons that use hawks for travel and warfare, has attacked the Atom’s people and kidnapped his new bride. Returning to their home base, these air raiders happen upon Jean’s expedition and kidnap her too. Thus it’s ex-husband and current husband teaming up to save the women they love without killing each other in the process.

I rather liked this issue. It was a very good way to progress the Atom storyline while keeping us in the loop as to what happened to Jean Loring after her divorce from Ray Palmer. I think if they had switched back and forth from the action of the Amazon rainforest to the hoo-hum world of Ivy Town USA, the book would’ve been uneven and it would’ve taken the story literally forever to progress.

Kudos to writer Jan Strnad and artist Gil Kane! They did a fantastic job on this issue. Full of action, adventure, romance, and just a pinch of jealousy amongst former and current rivals of the heart, this was a DC special that was truly special.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Sword of the Atom Special #1

  I’m a little torn to this sequel to the Sword of the Atom mini-series. While I am very happy with the ending to this special (it’s the ending to should have happened in SOTA #4), most of this book is a recap of the 4-issue mini-series. After the Atom returned to America, a journalist turned the failing marriage of Ray Palmer and Jean Loring and the Atom’s subsequent adventures in the Amazon into a bestselling memoirs. The events of the book are then used to progress the story forward

   Back in the states, the Palmers decide that divorce is the best option and Ray returns to the rainforest in hopes of reuniting with the tiny race of people he grew to care for and the princess he grew to love. There’s only one problem, shrinking and re-growing from his Atom persona has become a deadly situation so when he finds his ‘people’ it will be the last time he ever changes sizes. But when he and the journalist accompanying him on his expedition stumble upon a drug cartel, the Atom accidentally shrinks for the final time endangering any chances of being reunited with his new family.

This book was around 48-pages but just under half of this book is recap from the previous series. I understand this was needed to keep newcomers to Sword of the Atom in the loop with the storyline thus far. But for someone like myself who did read the first series, I felt a little cheated out of an all-new story.

  But as I said earlier, this issue did end how I wanted the last series to finish. With a very good final act and classic DC art from the mid-1980s, I was satisfied enough to rate this issue Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Daredevil: volume 4 (2011-2014)

   What a stroke of luck! My library had 2 more volumes of the fantastic Mark Waid and Chris Samnee run of Daredevil! That’s awesome. Add to that the fact that one of my all-time favorite artists, Michael Allred does an issue as an added bonus! SCORE!

  In this volume, Daredevil may be going insane. But is it all because of the guilt and trauma he’s racked up over the years fighting the Kingpin, Bullseye, and having just about everyone he loves die tragically in front of him? Or is it because he’s accidentally switched brains with Hank (Antman) Pym? Waid will keep you guessing in this multi-issue mystery fraught with chills and thrills. Just who did put Matt’s father’s remains in his desk while he was fighting Doctor Doom in Latveria?

While the mystery part of the story was fantastic and I loved every minute of it. I wasn’t so happy with this volume’s conclusion. Keep in mind, that I’ve already read the last 2 volumes in the series prior to getting my hands of a couple of the middle meaty parts of this Daredevil sandwich. So, when I say that the storyline involving the antagonist is never revealed. I’m not talking about in this volume. I do realize as I type this that I still have volume 5 to read, so maybe that will come to pass. Regardless, there was something missing to the dynamic formula of Waid + Samnee = Genius. I’m not sure if it was the humor that was off or that there just wasn’t enough of Matt Murdock as a defense attorney in this volume or what. But there was something that was the other volumes before and after that I read that was missing from volume 4.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Sword of the Atom #4 (of 4)

  The final chapter of Sword of the Atom comes to a close. It’s appears that the Atom has saved the day. That is until the main reactor to the city of tiny aliens goes into overload. Looking to prevent a meltdown that will kill the citizens he has grown to love, the Atom must sacrifice not only his life but his happiness and symbolic freedom from his oppressive marriage in one awesome rampage of gigantic proportions.

   The action in this issue was fantastic. However, I was not such a fan of the ending. There are 3 more ‘specials’ set in the ‘Sword of the Atom’ storyline. Hopefully, they will boast a better conclusion to this series than what happens here.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Sword of the Atom #3 (of 4)

The Atom leads his band of tiny rebels in the deepest darkest Amazon against their despotic overlords. Meanwhile, estranged wife Jean Loring is convinced that her husband is still alive and begins a search for Ray Palmer in Brazil. The action ramps up to 11 as betrayal, murder, rampage, and general angst is on this books penultimate menu.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes by Matt Kindt

 In the burgh of Red Wheel Barrow, Detective Gould is the rising darling of that town’s police force. Using cutting edge technology and a network of informants unlike any other, Gould’s never faced an unsolved case. Lately, some very weird crimes have been happening such as the chair thief. Will Det. Gould end this odd crime spree or is there a more sinister purpose behind these strange crimes.

I love a good mystery and this one’s not bad. It’s my first experience reading a Matt Kindt work and from what I read, I’d definitely give it another go. However, I would advise you not to trust everything you see and hear in this mystery and be ready for the strangest assortment of flash backs, flash forwards, and even some flash-sideways (that’s when a character has a daydream of being somewhere else and yet you think he’s thinking about his past.)

This book will challenge you and it will make your head go spinning. But that’s what good mysteries do. In fact, at least 1 crime is left ‘unsolved.’ I’ll leave you to decide which one but believe me theirs is at least 1 mystery destined for the cold crimes unit.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Batman Inc.: the Deluxe Edition

 I wish I had had the chance to have read this edition before I read volumes 1 and 2 of the New 52 Batman Incorporated series. But when you rely on the public library to help you catch up on reading comics with a limited budget, things like this happen. My library had the New 52 editions a good 2 months in stock before this volume came in 2 weeks ago. Oh, well.

In this volume we see the beginning of Batman Inc. with Bruce Wayne making the idea of a ‘Batman in every house’ a publically traded venture. With this step, the beginning of Leviathan and his global war on the Dark Knight begins as Batman recruits more allies into his ‘family.’ Grant Morrison continued to excite me with this dynamic series and while several artists contributed to this volume my favorite remains Chris Burnham, who in my opinion is the definitive artist of Batman in this decade if you’re unable to obtain Frank Quitely.

Though you can read this edition, which contains all 8-issues of series one after Batman Inc. series two, I don’t recommend this as A) some mysteries aren’t so mysterious since you’ll find them out in series 2, and B) there’s quite a bit of back story in this Deluxe Edition that was serious needed prior to reading series 2.

I enjoy quite a bit of this series. Batwoman’s involvement was a little confusing as I know very little about her other than what I’ve read in 52 and Countdown. I didn’t know she was a spy or some other type of mercenary. The commentary at the end of this volume should not be overlooked as it’s very informative as to where many of these characters origination or where Morrison got inspiration for them.

This is another jewel in the glistening crown of Grant Morrison. It’s not to be missed. Anytime you can make a crying baby or a kicked dog, characters who only appear in no more than 5 panels, someone who you truly care about and grieve for their pain and struggle, then you know you’ve latched onto a writer who can deftly create worlds.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Madman with a BBC America (a review of the Season 8 premiere of Doctor Who)

with tonight's  premiere episode, I dressed the part (and yes, I kept the Batman theme going...)

So I've just finished the Season 8 premiere of Doctor Who and I must say, I was impressed. The show has seemed to shift back to it's original roots and I think that's the right move for this Doctor. Peter Capaldi is in some ways like yours truly. He's a life-long fan of Doctor Who whose been through the series ups, downs, and hiatuses and with it, he brings a lot of his fanboy memories of the show with his version of the Doctor.
   There's a lot of potential with Peter Capaldi. Sadly, there's also not a lot of him in this opening episode. But that's okay as regeneration episodes typically focus on the companions and their attempts to cope with a new Doctor. Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Strax try to help companion Clara see that this new man saying he's the Doctor is still the dashing young man she hopped aboard the TARDIS with. He's just different.
   Vastra, Jenny, and Strax steal the show as usual and I think this episode was the first leap to something big with them. The trio is rumored to be in at least 2 more episodes this season and there's been talk of a spin-off with these guys for a while. I think if fans approve like I have, then that fantasy is about to become a reality on BBC America very soon.
   I don't want to give away too much more as many have either not seen it or are waiting to go to the special showing in select theatres this Monday. But I will say that I think the 12th Doctor realizes that he looks a lot like a certain marble salesman from Mount Vesuvius and that I suspect it's going to play with the overall theme of season 8. Maybe there will be a return of Donna Noble??? Lastly, there's a mystery player in this episode and I have a theory about them. Maybe in a couple of weeks, I will explain it but until then.... SPOILERS...


Worth Consuming


Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Sword of the Atom #2 (of 4)

Ray Palmer awakes finding himself garbed as the Atom and permanently trapped at six inches tall. Now the prisoner of a race of aliens who now reside in the deepest, darkest recesses of the Amazon, the Atom is placed in that society’s arena for sport. His opponent is Taren, the leader of a band of rebels who hope to overthrow the despotic Caellich. Also, he’s the lover of the emperor’s daughter.

But when it’s discovered that the deck has been stacked in Atom’s favor by having Taren blinded, the people revolt. This gives Atom, Taren, and the Emperor’s daughter a chance to flee. Once safe,  the Atom becomes the de facto leader and now must earn the trust of Taren’s supporters in order to free all of Taren’s miniature people from tyranny.

All of the action that was missing from issue 1 was obviously saved for this dynamic issue. I was afraid this was going to turn into a John Carter of Mars rip-off. With strange peoples and even stranger technology and creatures, there are some elements just as there is a hint of the classic 50’s B-movie adventure, The Incredible Shrinking Man. However, seeing the Atom as a swashbuckling heroic type was kinda neat. The art continues to be first rate and I loved the thrills, the twists, and the shocks. It doesn’t get much better than this.      Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Sword of the Atom #1 (of 4)

This miniseries is the beginning of all of the marriage troubles between Ray Palmer and Jean Loring. What happens here will go on to affect the DC Universe in a multitude of ways- it’s what sparks the Identity Crisis and the death of one of the most beloved characters in the DCU. It will later reveal Batman’s spying on his fellow Justice League members and for the JLA to disband. The end of this relationship in many ways causes the Big Three of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman to go on a year-long sabbatical that will led the DC Universe into 52, the Search for Ray Palmer, Countdown, and the spawning of the New 52 universe.

   Yes, this single issue, published months before the Crisis has probably been the single issue to most affect the continuity and storylines of the past 15 years of DC Comics. That’s how important the act of unfaithfulness on Jean Loring’s part is to the comics your read today. In some ways, Sword of the Atom #1 is the New 52 as Flash #123 when Barry Allen crossed over into earth 2, is to the Post-Crisis DC universe.

  Here’s the weird thing about this issue. Other than a marriage falling apart, very little else happens in this issue. The sword and sorcery scene on the cover doesn’t ever take place yet as Ray Palmer doesn’t even wear his costume in the entire opening chapter. So, I was a little surprised how such an influential issue could be so dull.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked this opening segment. But it was too much like a soap opera and nothing like a super hero comic. Everything that happens here is needed to (I’m hoping) get the Atom to this microscopic race of yellow-tinged jungle dwellers. But don’t expect much excitement in the way of fighting with anything more than the ammo of two spurned lovers.

The art is fantastic. Plus, I just love the color palette. It’s classic 1980s but it’s the style I grew up with and I just adore it. Issue #1 is required reading but it’s scope of drama compared to what’s on the cover is miniscule at best.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1

  This story is like an ‘untold tale’ in which this takes place during the Wolfman and Perez Crisis but doesn’t appearance in the epic 12-issue maxi-series. In this companion piece, members of the team of superheroes assembled by the Monitor, along with Batman, Nightwing, and the Flash are sent to an alternate earth which is undergoing assault by the Anti-Monitor’s shadow demons.

 The most interesting thing about this story is the characters from the alternate earth. Here, the races are reversed- so Superman is black, the Flash is Asian, and so forth.  Currently in the DC Comics, where the multiverse has made resurgence, there is a black Superman on earth 2. I’ve not read that series yet but I wonder if this book published 15 years ago had any influence on the new earth 2 Superman. I highly suspect this to be a coincidence.

The book also answers the question “How did the Anti-Monitor happen to capture the Barry Allen Flash?” I’ve always wondered that but never could find an answer. Since Marv Wolfman wrote this tale, I believe I got the definitive answer.

Legends: COIE is a great companion piece to the only comic that I actually read annually. The Crisis is my favorite story of all-time and I love getting to get another glimpse into that world once more. If only they could’ve gotten George Perez to do the art, then it would be a perfect extra chapter in an otherwise already perfect comic.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Fred Hembeck Sells the Marvel Universe #1

After the success of Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe it was a no-brainer that a sequel would be forth coming. Sadly, Marvel dropped the ball on this- sorta.

This comic isn’t comprised of all-new material. It’s a treasury of so of Hembeck’s work from Marvel Age. Why Marvel wouldn’t allow Hembeck to create another original story like in Destroys is beyond me. That’s why I think there’s never been a third book to round out a trilogy.

There is one short story about Hembeck and the obscure Marvel Horror character- Brother Voodoo and that’s it! Apparently, Brother Voodoo is the butt to a lot of Hembeck’s jokes but it really isn’t that characters fault. In an article at the end of the comic by Hembeck, he admits that he got Brother Voodoo confused with another character- Brother Power, the Geek, a sort of hippy Frankenstein monster that’s not really bright. I guess it’s understandable as both characters have ‘Brother’ in their name. But Brother Power was a DC character!

Usually, I get really ticked if I buy a comic and I don’t know that it’s just a bunch of reprints. However, since I have no intention of ever collecting a run of Marvel Age books, I’ll forgive it this one time. The cartoons were really funny although some punch-lines got stale (see Brother Voodoo.) The funniest cartoons were Cyclops’ x-traordinary answers to everything and a call-in show in which callers keep getting Quasar confused with Nova. The lamest cartoons were, well, I told you to see Brother Voodoo, right?

Worth Consuming and you should be able to find this in a bargain bin. You’ll just have to look really hard, like I did.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Fairest, Volume 3: Return of the Maharajah

Fairest continues to explore the realms of foreign fables with a trip to the Fables of India and the Indus Valley. Here, a young girl named Nalayani must defend her village from rampaging hordes of were-demons, as all of the men were conscripted by the Adversary during the Fabletown Wars. Her best hope is to search out a new Maharajah that has just claimed the realm but when she finds him, all isn’t as it seems as one of Fables most endearing characters has returned from the dead,

  Bill Willingham’s Fables has dealt slightly with Indian Fables as some characters from the Jungle Book have been major players in the series long past. Thankfully, the writers behind this volume decided to explore never before revealed India fables. As with the Japanese fables in the previous volume, there were a lot of characters that I’ve never heard of before in this story. But that was okay, because the storytelling and art was fantastic. Full of action, adventure, romance, and surprises, Return of the Maharajah is probably going to have a major impact on the main Fables series, if it hasn’t already (and I just haven’t read it yet.)

I look forward to what this returning character will do to the dynamic on both the Farm and in the restoring Fabletown. I’m also hoping that this character’s return might mean a resurrection for a few other characters that I fell in love with and mercilessly got the axe.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Andre the Giant: Life and Legend by Box Brown

  I just love to be the first person to check out a book from the library. It’s like you’re starting a legacy or something. I’d read some reviews of this book a while back and put this on my ‘to read’ list. Then, just a couple of days ago, I saw this on the processing desk so I decided to hang around a little bit to see if it would go out. My snooping paid off as 30 minutes later; I snatched this book off the rack from shelving before it even hit the floor!

  As a kid I would say I had two favorite wrestlers- Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. As a kid, I was taller than the rest of my classmates and a heck of a lot heftier. So, I really could relate with Andre’s humongous size. Years later, I would stop watching wrestling but I still held a fondness for Andre- so much that when my cat Sarakit had kittens a few years back, we named the biggest of the litter Andre.



Had to include a pic of Andre- my little shadow cat. He's so big.

This book is an interesting read into the life of a man that was bigger than life and lived every day that way too. He had acromegaly and it caused him to never really stop growing. That also was a death sentence for him as the excess stresses took a toll on his joints, heart, and ability to age. One thing I didn’t know was that he had a ranch in nearby Ellerbe, NC. That’s about a 2 hour drive and is now on my list of places to road trip too.

There’s some R-rated language and some very bawdy anecdotes about Andre. The man loved to drink, mingle, and play cards and fight. But above all else, he loved to put on a show. The story has some great moments and some very sad ones. But, I wouldn’t trade my experience seeing him on TV as a kid and I wouldn’t forgo the opportunity I got reading his biography first.

Not for all ages, but definitely a fun read for fans of wrestling in the 70s and 80s.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who- New Title Sequence- Thanks to Whovians Like You...

Next Saturday, we get another season of Doctor Who and with that, the Peter Capaldi era begins. Just a few weeks after Matt Smith's departure of the title role was announced, a fan of the show created what he though the Capaldi era opening sequence for the long running British TV show should look like.

  Well, it was announced via Twitter today, that that idea is going to be used for the new season of Who.

You're welcome.

 See, when this concept came out, I instantly fell in love with it. The intro was created by  Billy Hanshaw, a freelance graphic designer from Leeds. It took him about a month to finish this concept and according to Inquisitr- the video went viral thanks to fans on social media. I think it harkens back to the original series while being fresh and interesting.

   Naturally, I shared it and I praised it, challenging fans to get the idea a go and to voice their approval. Thanks to Whovians like my wife and I, I think we were able to make this video so big that it actually got the attention of the producers of Doctor Who over at the BBC. When showrunner Steven Moffat saw it he exclaimed "It was the only new title idea I’d seen since 1963. We got in touch with him, and said, okay, we’re going to do that one.”

  I'm sure the intro we see next week will look a little different when it airs on August 23. The pic used of Capaldi is at least 2 years old and doesn't have the Doctor's hairdo. The BBC is pretty good on keeping a tight drum on spoilers, so I can't show you the actual intro to the new season of Doctor Who.

  So until then, whet your appetite with the original concept by Hanshaw above

Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe #1

  This book came out in 1989 and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. As a kid, one of the highlights of collecting Marvel Comics were the awesome Fred Hembeck cartoons that would occasionally be sprinkled in select issues. He also had a rotating segment in Marvel Age: the official Marvel magazine that was pretty funny. But some of his humor was contained of inside jokes that unless you were older and really knew about the goings on of the comics industry, you wouldn’t understand.

 I found this book recently in a bargain bin and since it was cheap and I remember owning it as a kid, I decided to make it a part of my collection again.

  In this one-shot, Hembeck crafts a tale in which Death is tasked with killing off all of the characters of the Marvel Universe in one day. Nobody is safe from Hembeck’s poison pen. Lawn work becomes Ant-Man’s biggest nightmare while Asgard succumbs to the metal sounds of Ragnorok & Roll music. Daredevil learns the difference between a sigh and a sai while the X-Men face their most dangerous foes ever- Ninja Sentinels!

  The book is absurd but it’s really fun. The art is classic Fred Hembeck- cartoony and I suspect with everyone’s bulbous eyes and oval heads, an influence on Matt Groening’s Simpsons. As the cover says, this romp is a ‘Marvel Massacre’ but I didn’t feel that my time, money, or intelligence was victims to Hembeck’s skewed view of the Marvel Universe.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Power Girl: Power Trips

   For a brief period of time, Power Girl was treated as the IT Girl of DC Comics. I never really got into her mostly based on her appearance. With her Amazonian physique and huge assets, I tried to steer away from her stuff thinking it was mostly a sex comic.

  Then about 3 years ago, something changed. I had just finished up my collection of the Giffen and DeMatteis run of Justice League titles from the 80s and 90s. Being one to hate cliff hangers, I waited until I had these runs complete before I read them. Power Girl, who takes up residence at one time or another in most of these titles, was a dark horse character that I came to love due to her scrappy work ethic and the mystery of her true origin and place of birth. Plus, she’s was/is/ and then maybe wasn’t after all the Earth-2 version of Supergirl. Well, that in my book made her not so bad.

As I read more books starring Kara Zor-L, I became even more of a fan of hers. From her earliest appearances in the 1970s reboot of the Justice Society in All-Star Comics to finding her missing family in Infinite Crisis, Power Girl cemented all of the hype that surrounded her almost a decade ago.

Two titles that boosted Power Girl to a temporary super-star status were JSA and her own self-titled series. Power Trips is a treasury that collects two stories from this era. The first 4 issues is from JSA: Classified, a series devoted to unpublished mini-series starring some of the members of the JSA. In this storyline, the Psycho Pirate seeks to make Power Girl release the truth behind her jumbled origin. I liked this story because it really did help correct some of the mess behind just Power Girl was. After the Crisis, we’d been told that Power Girl was really the granddaughter of the Atlantean wizard Arion, a Legionnaire sent to the past for a mission but stricken with amnesia, and the real cousin of Superman. But Psycho Pirate, who never lost track of what the multi-verse was like before Crisis on Infinite Earths, knows the truth about Kara and will manipulate time and space to help her see the light.

I liked this story, but there are too many open ended plots that never get resolved. At the end of chapter 4, we learn that Lex Luthor is behind this plot and then in the epilogue to Power Trips, we see Power Girl get attacked by Clayface. But by chapter 5, which is a reprint of her premier self-titled series, Kara has moved to New York to star up a research company. There’s no mention of the assault by Clayface and Lex Luthor is never heard from again.

What’s up with that? And do those plot lines ever get resolved?

Thankfully, the next storyline helps me get over this confusion pretty quick. Written and drawn by the dynamic team of Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Justin Gray, the first 12 issues of the 2009-2011 series of Power Girl is awesome. This epic tale has Power Girl battling the Ultra-Humanite, dealing with a photographing Peeping Tom, and fighting off the advances of a hormonal space Casanova that looks an awful lot like Sean Connery in Zardoz. (Don’t believe me, then why does this guy fly a giant stone head for his space ship?)

Power Girl: Power Trips is a massive volume filled with 16 issues. For only $30 and in full color, that’s a freaking steal! The art of Conner and Gray is fantastic and I love the covers, especially to PG #10. Kara’s facial expression on that cover is just classic. While this volume is gigantic, it’s in no way an omnibus. So, there’s still 15 issues of Power Girl out there waiting for me to collect and devour.

I’m trying to collect all of JSA and JSA Classified and with my search for the remaining Power Girl issues now underway, hopefully, I will find out why Luthor wanted Power Girl to know the truth about the multiverse so bad and why Clayface attacks her. I highly recommend this edition and I hope you’ll over look some of the inconsistencies from the first story line and the second. If you can, you’ll be in for a visual treat that’s funny, sexy, and extremely smart.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Adventures of the Thing #3 (of 4)

The reprint mini-series comes to a close with a classic ‘team-up’ of the Thing and the Man-Thing. Technically, they don’t really meet as Ben Grimm, recruited by Nick Fury to test a new SHIELD jet, crashes into the Florida Everglades and is injured and blinded by the destruction. A band of poachers is on the Thing’s trail, thinking him to be a rare orange alligator. Seeing that the Thing can’t defend himself, the Man-Thing runs interference.

Here’s my take on this story. When I first read it, I was engrossed by the drama, fearful for the Thing’s life. But as I write this review, I realize that nothing the poachers have on them would constitute as fatal to Ben Grimm. He’s made of living rock, so nothing short of a grenade launcher is going to kill him. However, the crash did give the Thing a severe concussion, as falls from great heights can break rock. So, the race for SHIELD to find Ben before his injuries kill him is a justified drama. But, I guess having the Man-Thing keep Ben from falling asleep in swamp water isn’t as thrilling as a pair of Deliverance rejects seeking to have the Thing mounted and stuffed.

Again, I am torn about how to rate this book. I had trouble with the plot. Thankfully, the art was okay. As you may know from reading my previews of the first three issues of this series, I was upset that this book didn’t have any new content. Thankfully, I’ve never read this issue before, so there’s a little positivity.

In the end, I think Marvel should give this mini-series another chance. Include the reprinted Marvel Two-In-One story in each issue, but include an all-new team-up in the book as well. You could have the Thing teaming up with the same heroes he does in the reprint or create a sequel to the story with a different hero or even villain. Also, I would like to see the original talent behind those tales reunite for the all new story.

Marvel, if you’re reading this and you use my idea, the only payment I would like is all 4 issues free and a small blurb thanking me for the idea on the title page of each book. I consider that a fair compensation.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Overall series rating: 6.75

Issue reprinted is Marvel Two-In-One #77