Essential Avengers Vol. 3

There's a singular reason to own this book. Sure, if you've got volumes 1-3, you're going to want volume #4. But even if you weren't interested in the material of Essential Avengers Volume 1-3, if you are a fan of the Marvel universe, and you don't mind your reprints in black and white, you will want to own this book because of the Kree-Skrull War!

There have been several cosmic brouhahas in the multitude of pages coming from Marvel Comics. But to truly understand the origin of those conflicts, such as Annihilation, you've got to delve into the adventures of Earth's Mightiest Heroes from 1969-1971. 

Never to be an Avenger Rick Jones finally gets a chance to be a hero. Only because of a strange twist of fate, the one time Hulk sidekick isn't allowed to be his own man. Instead, a pair of cosmically powered bracelets force Rick to become bonded to the Kree warrior Mar-vell. Whenever trouble arrives, Rick activates the bands and he switches places with Earth's newest hero, Captain Marvel- into the Negative Zone!

Jones and Mar-vell's occupation in that inter-dimensional Hell sparks the attention of the Negative Zone's tyrannical leader Annihilus. With the Fantastic Four away, it's up to the Avengers to monitor any disturbances in the Zone. As a result, Jones and Mar-vell's link is severed. Now both can exist on Earth-616 at the same time. This the wheels that will cause an intergalactic war between Kree and Skrull- with Earth in the exact center crosshairs- begin to turn.

Roy Thomas does it yet again! With art by Sal Buscema and Neal Adams, this really is a volume not to be missed. That is if you can find it.. Out of print for over a decade and highly sought after by collectors, the Essential Marvel books are increasing difficult to find. Especially for a good price. But if you happen to come across one in decent shape that's affordable, you should grab it without question! Though you might ask why the editors included an issue of The Incredible Hulk in this volume. While you are supposed to read that issue after a crossover of sorts in the pages of The Avengers, the super team don't even appear in the Hulk book except for a cameo in the recap section of the tale. A good story but really could have been avoided if they just included some sort of blurb that the Avengers didn't have any active role in the Hulk's adventure in a pocket universe in the sub- atomic realm.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Shazam! (2019)

Finally, the REAL Captain Marvel made his modern day debut on the big screen.

Asher Angel portrays orphan teen Billy Batson. While fleeing from some bullies, Batson seeks refuge in a subway car that transports the lad to the Rock of Eternity. There, Billy meets an ancient wizard who imbues the teen with 6 wondrous powers

whenever Billy exclaims 'Shazam!’

With a bolt of lightning, Billy Batson turns into Captain Marvel, played by Zachary Levy

(Chuck). (Due to some clever wordplay, the hero is never called by this name so to not

be hit with a lawsuit by Marvel Comics. But he is listed as C.M. in the credits.) For about

an hour, Shazam is a superhero twist on the Tom Hanks classic, Big.The Big Red Cheese explores his powers with fellow foster kid, Freddy Freeman (It'sJack Dylan Glazer) in hilarious fashion. But this all changes around the Midway point of this just over 2 hour long film.

The change in the film's tone from comedy to mystical thriller occurs when Dr. Silvana makes his presence known to Batson and Freddy. Sherlock Holmes'Mark Strong portrays the normally simpering mad scientist as a total heel. Evil through and through with powers to boot, I think Warner Bros. added some aspects to Dr. Silvana normally seen in fellow Captain Marvel baddie, Black Adam.

After seeing Shazam!, I think it's clear that the Black Adamfilm can be done and done well. But instead of trying to get Henry Cavill to appear in the film as Superman, make Levy's character be the film's protagonist. WB and DC has proven that their Captain Marvel can lead the DC Universe as well as be more socially appetizing for movie goers.

Critics hailed the House of Ideas’ Captain Marvelstarring Brie Larson, as the diversity driven superhero film of 2019. But in reality that honor needs to go to Shazam!People of color, women, the disabled and most importantly, the microcosm that is the foster child program are championed in this film. I strongly made the diversity connection in this film without having to be preached at by the cast of Marvel's Agents

of SHIELD

I really want to get back to the foster family aspect for a moment. Family is the key theme in Shazam!and the roles of Billy Batson and Dr. Silvana show some interesting contrasts. Silvana comes from a upbringing with a father and brother. Yet, he couldn’t be more distant from his

relatives in he was on Mars and they on Earth. Batson, while an orphan, is brought

into a loving foster home complete with 5 foster siblings willing to accept and love him right off the bat.

It’s not often you get to see social services or foster families in a positive light. My wife and I are avid watchers of NBC’s Chicago trilogy of shows and it seems that creator Dick Wolf reallyhas some sort of beef against social workers. If you work in social services or as a foster parent, you really need to get a group of fellow colleagues together and watch this movie. It

will make you feel good about the thankless service you give to your community!

Man, I only seem to be giving this film praise. That’s not to say that I didn’t have some problems with the film. The biggest issue I had was the release date. The film takes places

right around Christmas. Finally, superhero fans have a holiday movie! So why didn’t DC and

Warner Brothers release this in November or December? Were there production delays? Shazam! did around $55 million in the US on opening weekend. But had they released this at Christmas time, I guarantee it would have broke $70!

The other thing I did not like about this movie is something I have had problems with ever since Man of Steel. What is up with the super-slomo action scenes??? Justice Leagueand Wonder Womanwere riddled with these snail’s pace fight scenes. I really had thought Shazam! had risen above that but somebody decided during the film’s climax to slow the pace down by 40%.

And it annoyed the hell outta me!

I was all set to give Shazam!a solid 9 until the very last scene before the credits. I will not give away the spoiler. But it completely redeemed the movie. Let’s just say it was sup-, uh-Marvelous!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Captain Marvel (2019)

I finally saw Marvel's take on a superhero named Captain Marvel. Before you criticize that I deliberately didn't see the movie in some sort of protest to in order to hurt ticket sales, let me remind you that with just about every movie I go to see, I do so with my god son. So between both our work schedules, it just happened to work out that we could both go when we did.

I haven't gotten into the controversy surrounding this movie. When I was growing up, Marvel's Captain Marvel was a black woman named Monica Rambeau. Carol Danvers was either Ms. Marvel, a cosmic powered entity called Binary or for a while, without powers thanks to the X-Men Rogue. The House of Ideas has been trying to make the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel their flagship character for the past several years. And while I think Marvel would have hit a home run berthing Rambeau with the moniker again, I've been okay with the move.

What I haven't been okay with is the trolling. It's not just white males upset that a woman is getting her own movie. The stars and producers of this film have been trolling just as much too. The fighting on social media has turned politica,l in a sort of misogynist vs feminism kind of battle, much like what was going on the 70s with the thwarted attempt to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. And it's really tiring...

Oddly enough, people seemed more open in the 1980s to a black, female Captain Marvel than to a white female Captain Marvel today. Our world has become a toxic environment of a war of words in which the battleground is all platforms of social media. Besides, I am more concerned about Marvel and Disney's fudging of sales numbers than what version of superhero is on the screen. 

I've been investigating for the past year of so on this blog and sister website Outrightgeekery, both company's manipulation of sales numbers for both comic books and films. As of press time for this review, some allegations of Disney and Marvel lying about packed movie theaters and fake mass ticket purchases of Captain Marvel have come to light on other websites. It appears that some theaters were having entire showings purchased as a sell out but nobody actually showed when it was showtime. 

If this happened once or twice, I could see it as maybe somebody wrote the date and time wrong and an entire company outing was ruined. But this sort of thing is supposedly happening nationwide in multiple cities. I'm really hoping that Disney and Marvel didn't pull some sort of pyramid scheme in which to make Captain Marvel a success in some sort of play to make right-wing trolls look stupid. The comic book industry is too fragile right now for some sort of scandal such as this. You can be sure that I will be looking into this further when week 2's numbers drop next Sunday.

Now for the review of the film...

Captain Marvel stars Brie Larson (Kong: Skull Island) in the title role. Her character begins the film as a member of the Kree Special Forces. Larson's character is referred to as Vers, with no idea who she really is- just fractured memories. During a mission to infiltration a Skrull enclave, Vers is taken aboard their ship and interrogated. 

Findings from Vers' memory lead the Skrull to Earth. Vers manages to disable the ship but not before she is marooned on the third rock from the sun. Looking for a way to make contact with the Kree, Vers makes an unlikely ally in SHIELD agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Together, they must uncover the Skrulls hiding in plain site as they are a race of shape shifters, while finding a way to get Vers back home. Or is she already there?

That's all of a synopsis of Captain Marvel you are going to get. The movie is a prequel to every MCU movie (with exception of Captain America: The First Avenger). Over a decade of films have left a slew of dangling plot-lines and unanswered questions of which Captain Marvel does a decent job of answering most. 

Captain Marvel is one-part cosmic odyssey and one-part espionage caper. I've always been more of a fan of Marvel's cat-and-mouse spy stuff over their intergalactic fare. So for me, the best parts involved Nick Fury and Clark Gregg's Phil Coulson, both looking quite young to some CGI magic. 

The movie run just over 2 hours long of which I felt was about 15 minutes too long. Marvel Studios clearly has done some updating of their special effects, after some really poor showings in scenes of Black Panther and Ant Man And The Wasp. However, some fight scenes got repetitive, especially towards the end. That third act just seemed to go on forever and ever and ever.

Captain Marvel was blasted for having a anti-male SJW tone. And while this is a film with a strong female lead, it's not man-hating as some feared. In fact, I feel that some web sites are trying to find hidden messages to claim the film was more feminist that it really was. I refuse to believe that Vers' destruction of a poster for the 90s film True Lies was an attack on a 'racist and misogynist action flick' and more of an answer to director James Cameron's repeated hatred of comic book movies.

If Marvel hadn't decided to fight dirty back at the trolls by fighting dirty, this film wouldn't be so controversial. I also think Marvel/Disney got scared that the trolls would scare away viewers as signs of superhero movie fatigue made the last Ant-Man movie be the first 'bomb' from Marvel Studios.

I still believe that Disney and Marvel are doing something shady with their ticket numbers. The theater I went to confirmed that literally every showing from Friday-Monday were less than half full. Yesterday's 7pm showing had 12 people! Only the Thursday midnight premiere was a sell-out; though only 2/3 of ticket holders actually filled the seats. True, it was midnight on a workday. So, we'll see with the week 2 ticket sales if Captain Marvel was truly a hit or miss.

With Supergirl, Catwoman and Wonder Woman all having beat Captain Marvel as the first female superhero films, I don't think the cultural impact of this picture was as huge as that of Black Panther. While the debate is still unsettled as to whether superhero fatigue has truly set in at the box office, Captain Marvel proved one thing: it's time for a Nick Fury movie!

Yes, Brie Larson is the star of this movie and she does a great job Yet, I was more interested in SHIELD. Both Jackson and Gregg were fun to watch as SHIELD agents in their heyday. However, the actors who stole the movie went by only one name- Reggie, Archie, Rizzo and Gonzo: the four feline actors who played the role of Goose the cat!  What can I say? I'm a cat person. Plus, I kinda want to see a movie starting him and some of the other famous animals in Marvel Comics history!

Captain Marvel was good. Better than I expected and not a preachy as some claimed it would be. From now on if you want to see films about superheroes or comic books, do yourself a favor- stay away from social media. And if you can't do that, then unsubscribe to those media outlets that are liking to fan the flames of dissent and cause fanboys to go for the jugular. It will make your movie going experiences that much more enjoyable if you do!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Power of Shazam

This beautiful 1994 graphic novel written and painted by Jerry Ordway helped usher the true Captain Marvel into the 1990s. 

When the parents of Bill Batson uncover a lost tomb in Egypt, they are betrayed by their expedition partner. Using a sacred scarab artifact, this man turns into Black Adam! But as the scarab is incomplete, Black Adam's power is only at 50 percent! 

Meanwhile back in the United States, Billy is forced to survive on the means streets of Fawcett City, living off what meager earnings he makes from selling newspapers. One night, a mysterious man takes Billy into the Fawcett City subways and introduces him to the wizard Shazam! Now blessed with a score of super powers, it is up to Billy's new alter-ego Captain Marvel to prevent Black Adam from finding the second piece of the scarab and bring his parent's killer to justice.

There was a couple of plot holes in this story. But overall it was a great adventure. Visually stunning, I haven't seen such masterful paintings in comics since Alex Ross' MARVELS. I loved how Ordway stylizes Black Adam to look like Universal Monsters icon Boris Karloff!

The funny thing about this book was I didn't know it even existed until one day I saw an ad for the book in the back of an old DC issue of something from the 1990s. Then a couple of days later I found this book at a thrift store for cheap and I knew that this was an omen of good tidings! I am glad I listen because I really enjoyed this book.

This graphic novel spun off a 47 issue series in which Ordway and later Dick Giordano continued the adventures of the Big Red Cheese! Having really hated that this book ended so quickly, I've now got The Power of Shazam on my wish list!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

(Note: The Power of Shazam had a 48th issue. However, it was a one issue continuation brought about a year after cancellation by the Blackest Night event in 2010. Ordway only did the cover, so I did not include it in my review as that issue should really have been a one shot special.)

Ms. Marvel, Volume 4: Last Days (Marvel Now!)

   With the universe on the edge of collapse, Ms. Marvel gets her affairs in order. But first, she finally gets a chance to meet her hero: Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel. It's a dream come true for the young hero as the two Marvels race to save Kamila's brother Aamir from kidnappers looking to turn him into an Inhuman weapon.
    This volumes collects the end of the Ms. Marvel series created by G. Willow Wilson. But it's not the end of Kamila Kahn and her band of friends and family. She returns obviously with a new series after the events of Secret Wars later in 2016. She had too- she's too gosh darn popular not to return!
    Yes, the new Ms. Marvel was controversial to many by having a Muslim character starting in their own Marvel comic. But I didn't hate this series. I think it was very delicate balance achieved by Marvel with exploring her faith and family morals while showing a young 16-year old girl find her way in a very modern Big Apple 2015. 
    I'm not opposed to new characters of different faiths, creeds, orientations, colors, and sexes taking over the mantle of what the media calls 'white-washed' superheroes. Having a new person as Batman or Spider-Man or even Ms. Marvel, albeit temporary or for good is a staple of comic books. Just don't make Bruce Wayne Jewish all of a sudden and without any explanation merely for the sake of pandering to new readers. That move is just a thinly veiled a cop-out to see more books over good art and superior storytelling.
   This series, not just this volume is the perfect Marvel Now! reading. It's very well written, lots of fun, and has lots of heart. One thing I'm one the fence on, however, is the art. Renderings by Adrian Alpohona and Giuseppe Camuncoli are okay. But for some reason, they both can't seem to get Ms. Marvel's face right. Some panels, she a beautiful young woman and the next, she looks like she's got Super Grover's nose and mouth. 
   CONSISTENCY! That's what the art is missing! It was on the top of my tongue. And don't get me started on the variant covers, they are what a good friend of mine of Facebook would call 'things that (he) could do better!'
    Along with the ending of this series, this volume collects issues from Amazing Spider-Man (2014-2015) #7-8 in which Ms. Marvel teams-up with the essential character in the Marvel Universe that you really must team-up with: you're friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man! A fun read that proved I really haven't been that caught up on the exploits of the wall-crawler.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

   

Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps

The heroes of several alternate universes failed to save the multiverse. As a result, Doctor Doom recreated the Beyonder’s Battleworld in an effort to save himself. It doesn't hurt the he's also set himself up as GOD with his own set of minions and made a decree that to question his authority is an act of blasphemy.

  In this supplement to 2015’s Secret Wars, Captain Marvel has been made the leader of the Carol Corps, an elite team of female fighter pilots who defend Doom's main territory of Hala Field from neighboring Hydra forces. When a near invasion is repelled with the help of the Thor Corps, a sort of Asgardian-powered special forces, Carol learns that one of the Thors’ hammer was forged from a fallen star. Only under Doom's doctrine, there's supposed to exist nothing past the atmospheric barrier erected around the Battleworld. This revelation will put the Carol Corps on a collision course with the wraith of Doom as more events uncover a conspiracy that could shatter the façade of paradise crafted by Doom himself.

  Carol Corps was a pleasure to read. It's my first official foray into the most recent Secret Wars. You don't have to read that series to enjoy this mini- but it helps! I have a lot of questions like why would Doom create a territory for himself so close to enemy forces?

  The important thing I took from this book was that A) Secret Wars is enjoyable and B) thanks to reading lists at the beginning and end of this book, I now know everything I need to read and collect for the entire storyline. In other words, Secret Wars is going on my wish list.

A marvelous effort by Captain Marvel regular series writer Kelly Sue DeConnick with help by Kelly Thompson(Heart in a Box) and as always, more dynamic art by Capt. artist, David Lopez!

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Captain Marvel, Volume 3: Alis Volat Propriis (Marvel NOW!)

   Carol Danver’s sabbatical in space is about to come to an end. But before it does, Captain Marvel must rescue her beloved cat, Chewie from a band of space pirates. But her mission won't be easy as her ship has been sabotaged and Chewie’s captors have a commanding lead over the cosmic powered Avenger. Good thing she's located a wormhole that should beat the catnappers to their destination. Too bad Carol didn't get the message to 'avoid the space envelope’ from her extraterrestrial friends.

  Then the series of Captain Marvel comes to a close when friends of Carol's pay a fond farewell to a fallen friend. Is the dearly departed Captain Marvel or someone close to her? I won't spoil it, folks. You'll just have to read this for yourself to find out.

   This volume contains the last issues of the 2014-15 series before the continuity skewing events of last year's Secret Wars. This volume was a fun read, but it lacked a little of the charm of the previous volumes. I think that's mostly because the only characters in this book are Marvel and her sarcastic spaceship, Harrison. They have some classic moments of banter but most of their interactions involve really horrible puns. 

( Hmmm… Harrison… Chewie… I think someone's got a thing for a certain scruffy- looking Nerf Herder…)

 The final chapter, however, was something special. It had that little spark of heart and humanity missing from the rest of the book. Plus, it cleared up several questions that I had from the 2012 series that contains events just prior to Danver's mission of self-discovery in the furthest reaches of outer space.

   Though this series is through it is not the end of my doings with the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel. I happened to get my hands on her Secret Wars miniseries but don't worry, I haven't spoiled the ending of this series by revealing my reading list as Secret Wars is an amalgamation of different Marvel stories and timelines.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Volume 1

 

  When Batman: The Brave and the Bold aired on Cartoon Network from 2008-2011, the series maintained the already mentioned title throughout the entire run. Now, this might seem like an odd statement to make but it's gotten to be a trend in cartoons for each season to have a new title. A big example of this is Disney XD's Ultimate Spider-Man. The show is called 'Web Warriors' in season three and in  2016, season 4 will be titled Spider-Man Vs. the Sinister Six. BBB lasted 3 seasons without a single name change.  So why did DC cancel the original Batman: The Brave and the Bold comic and replace it with the All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold?

   This mystery is an easy one to solve. Each episode of Brave and the Bold started with a 2-5 minute long opening sequence called a 'cold open.'  In that scene, Batman would be paired with a partner different from the one the Caped Crusader would be teamed with in the main story. The first Brave and the Bold series followed that format. But when the series was relaunched, DC decided to omit that formula in order to devote more pages to the overall story. However, this was not why the first series was canceled!

    The reason for the reboot was due to fan complaints. The villains used were considered weak and uninteresting. The stylization of some characters such as Katana and the Doom Patrol looked nothing like the TV show or even the comics on which they were based and the storylines didn't follow the old-school style of the Cartoon Network show. Thus, fans stayed away from the book in droves.

   Now, I've read a handful of issues from the original Brave and the Bold and I never noticed any of these problems. But, I do think that the 'All-New' version was a little more superior. First of all, the great kids comics writer Sholly Fisch was brought in as series writer. Fisch, along with new title artist Rick Burchett managed to produce a series that was heavy on villains and classic DC lore. It was like reading a print version of the celebrated cartoon.

   So let's take a brief look at the adventures contained in this premiere volume. In the first issue, Superman seeks Batman's assistance in solving a series of crimes in the bottle city of Kandor. Then Billy Batson and Talky Tawny arrive in Gotham and find that the city isn't in the Holiday Spirit. It's up to Captain Marvel to help Batman overcome the mental effects of the Psycho Pirate and save Christmas.

   Did somebody mention that there weren't enough villains? Issue three has Batman and the Flash stuck in a bizarre mirror world of the creation of the dastardly duo of Mirror Master and the Mad Hatter. Then the number of baddies is turned up to 11 when Talia Al Ghul rounds up an assortment of enemies to stop the wedding of Batman and Wonder Woman. Then the Dark Knight teams up with Guy Gardner to save the earth from a horde of Manhunters.

   Speaking Manhunters, in this volume's last story, Batman trains the Martain Manhunter to be a better detective through a number of deduction challenges. This issue was filled with puzzles, mysteries, and surprises as the reader was encouraged to participate in finding the alien shapeshifter.

   I really enjoyed this book. It was tons of fun and a great old-school style read. My only complaint is that the book ended. Well, that and I'm still bitter that the cartoon got canceled. It was a good show! Thankfully, there're several more issues both Brave and the Bold series left for me to collect and read.

   Worth Consuming

    Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

 

Captain Marvel, Volume 2: Stay Fly (Marvel Now!)

 

The adage 'don't judge a book by its cover' applies here. Well, at least that's the case for the back cover. I must have found a misprint at the library because the little blurb on the back of the book didn't match the contents at all.

   In big bold letters, the back cover says that the secrets of Chewie (Captain Marvel's cat) are revealed. That part was true and I'll discuss more on that in a minute. Underneath that blurb is a paragraph that describes Carol Danvers continuing her mission in space by saving a princess from the dread Sspartax, all the while being tempted by a man from her past, guest starring the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Well, there were no Sspartax whatsoever, there was a princess but she didn't need saving, some folks from Carol's past did pop up by they were girls, and one Rocket Raccoon does not a full roster of Guardians make.

   So, let's discuss what DID happen in this volume. Well, as I mentioned earlier, the truth about Carol's cat Chewie is revealed and it's "not a cat." To make matters worse, Chewie has just gone into labor (turns out the 'not a cat' is also not a boy) all the while Rocket lets it slip to the local bounty hunting community that he's got a rare alien in his possession. Then Captain Marvel and her young ward meet up with an intergalactic rock star and must help her find a way to not become the trophy wife of a young Prince. This is where the princess comes in, but I won't spoil who marries who.

     Lastly, Carol takes an emergency trip back to earth for 24-hours to visit a sick friend and winds up in the Big Apple on New Year's Eve. When she and a department store Santa are kidnapped by some deranged foes from Carols past (once again girls, not guys) the Avenger may have to rely on some Christmas magic to save the day.

   Don't get me wrong, this volume by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Marcia Takara was really good. The art was stunningly well executed, with lots of action and humor. Tons of cool Easter Eggs, mostly in the Christmas issues, are sprinkled throughout the book. And did I mention there's a Christmas-themed story in this volume as well?

    It's just Marvel's production team dropped the ball when it came to recording the events that transpire on the back of the book. This is not the first time Marvel has done this in the past couple of years, but this is perhaps the biggest goof they've made as a whole. Not only that but I feel like if you piece together some of the things that happen in this book together with the incorrect plot synopsis on the back cover, you'll actually be spoiled as to what will most likely occur in volume 2.

   I'm torn how to rate this book. The story itself is Worth Consuming but the cover sure as heck isn't. To be fair, I'll only deduct one star from a book I'd otherwise rate a 9.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Captain Marvel, Volume 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More (Marvel NOW! 2014)

  Marvel's reboot if it's universe, Marvel NOW!, has been pretty darn near perfect. However, there's been one restructure that's given just about every one of it's readers headaches has been the renumbering of most of the series just 2 years of the original reboot. These new series didn't retool the Marvel Universe but they did issue in a new change for just about every superhero involved. For example, in the Daredevil series, Matt Murdock and his law partner Foggy moved from the Big Apple to the West Coast.

   In this new series, Linda Danvers has just received another taste of operating in outer space due to her participation in the events of Avengers: Infinity and accepts a mission to represent Earth's Mightiest Heroes to assist with the relocation of thousands of races displaced from the planetary destruction of the Builders. While travelling the stars with her pet cat, Chewie, Captain Marvel meets with the Guardians of the Galaxy, runs afoul of smugglers and space pirates, and uncovers a plot to forcibly relocate a planet full of refugees in order to strip mine it of it's rare and valuable Vibranium. 

    This opening servo of the new volume of Captain Marvel was filled with action, adventure, heart, and humor. But unlike the previous volume, this series wasn't able to reign in all these aspects at the same time. The art was quite good and this made for a good read but it just didn't capture the magic of Danvers' adventures on earth in 2012 and 2013. 

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Adventures of the Thing #3 (of 4)

The Marvel Two-In-One reprint for this story involves a team-up between The Thing and several of his poker buddies. Nick Fury, Jarvis, Wonder Man, Carol Danvers, and the Beast all guest star in this comic. That’s an impressive line-up.

I’ve read this one before and yes, I was miffed that this series is nothing more than 4 reprints of the Thing’s team-up comic in the 80s. But, I love this story. It’s zany and extremely funny.

However, what could’ve sent this issue over the top was along with reprinting this classic issue, maybe Marvel could’ve included an all-new story involving another one of the Thing’s poker nights going horribly wrong. Thankfully, in the recent years, Marvel has learned to do this tactic instead of pulling a stunt that dupes loyal fans into buying a bunch of reissues starring the ever lovin’ blue eyed Thing under the guise of a new series.

Worth Consuming, but only because the story reprinted is a classic!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Issue reprinted: Marvel Two-In-One #51.

New Avengers Volume 2

The Marvel Adventures Avengers is my all-time favorite line-up but now having read 2 volumes of New Avengers, I would have to say that this team is running a close second. Starring Luke Cage and his wife Jessica, they lead the likes of Doctor Strange, Wolverine, Spider-man, The Thing, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Mockingbird, and Iron Fist. This group has heavy hitters, gritty vigilantes, and most importantly: chemistry! I love the witty banter and the hard hitting action of this team.

In this volume the story takes place in 1959 with Nick Fury assembling his first squad of Avengers under President Eisenhower’s Avenger’s Initiative. They’re seeking to take down the Red Skull’s newly formed ‘Fourth Reich’ before too much damage can be done with a new secret formula that could give these neo-Nazis their own legion of Super Soldiers.

Meanwhile, Steve Rogers’ Avengers Initiative has the New Avengers looking to take out a gang of terrorists before they can get their new hideout under operation. When one of the New Avengers is mortally wounded, the past will catch up with the present and the ultimate decision must be made by the rest of the Avengers- let him or her die OR give them the gift of infinite life and infinite pain to boot!

Such an awesome volume. I was thrilled when I found this at the library. I was mighty disappointed when I found out I didn’t check out volume 3! Like I said, the dynamic is fantastic! The art is excellent with different artists drawing the modern and 1959 Avengers teams. I must read more soon!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Universe LIVE! A Reveiw, Part 2

The next Avengers film isn’t due till next year. That means roughly 3 years is going to span between the first movie and its sequel. What a way to keep kids and fans interested but by producing a live action show that keeps the Avengers, Loki, and the Tesseract in the minds of potential movie goers. I also loved that Marvel Universe LIVE! used the many of the voices of the characters from the cartoons. Drake Bell voices was dubbed for Spidey! Adrian Pasdar was speaking for both Tony Stark and Iron Man! Very clever! And the production made sure to use characters from recent Marvel films including the Extremis soldiers and Electro in order to bridge the gap between this show and the movie universe.

Before I sign off, I just want to let you know that you shouldn’t come to this show expecting things to be cheap. Parking was $15 a person and I expect some places like Chicago, Vegas, and New York will be even more pricy. But when you get inside is when things really hit you. For the same price of my parking, you can get a bag of cotton candy and a foam mask of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-man, or Hulk. The mask is really cool but as my wife pointed out “the day I pay $15 for a bag of cotton candy is the day you need to get my head examined.” Super-hero themed snow cones, lollies, and other sweets are around the same price range.

If you’ve read my blog, you know I am a big fan of t-shirts. Marvel Universe LIVE! Was no exception. They had some sweet ones. But at $30 a pop for an adult shirt, I could buy 3 really nice tees at Wal-Mart (5 if I check out their clearance racks!)

  This doesn’t mean that there wasn’t some really cool merchandise that I wanted or that I didn’t buy anything. I highly recommend the Souvenir Booklet. It’s a full colored book that one part program and one part activity/ trivia book. There’s tons of great artwork but very few live-action shots. Actually, there aren’t any except for a ‘behind the scenes’ section. I would’ve liked to have a few pictures of the show in action. As you can tell, my pics are not the best quality. Maybe the show is too new for this. Another reason to get the book however is the free prequel comic book that comes with the booklet. It’s not available unless you buy the booklet. Plus, I give major kudos to Feld Entertainment for presenting the comics bagged and boarded.

Sure, you can see the wires. Granted, the one-liners were corny. Yeah, paying $40 for a stuffed Hulk is a lot of money. And there was a little controversy over the run time being about 20 minutes shorter than expected. But Marvel, Feld, and of course, the House of Mouse put on a great show. I left the show on a high, ready to save my little corner of the world.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Universe LIVE! A Review, Part 1

Last night for an anniversary present, my wife took me to go see the new live action production of Marvel Universe LIVE! My wife was a little concerned that it was going to be too childish and that I wouldn’t enjoy it. But I had a blast!

The show is about 2 hours and is a mix between the Circus, Circe du Soleil, a live action comic book, and a motocross competition! Produced by Felt Entertainment, the creative minds behind Ringling Brothers Circus, Monster Jam, and Disney on Ice, there’s tons of pyro, explosions, and great special effects too!

The story involves the cosmic cube. Thor, having snatched it from his evil brother Loki, smashes the cube into 3 pieces. In response to the loss of the cube, Loki has created a clone of the cube and powers it by having kidnapped some of the X-Men. This new cube forces the Avengers to Assemble and they are joined by Wolverine and Spider-man in the search and rescue efforts.

The Avengers determine that they must split off into 3 groups in order to finding the cosmic cube fractals if they want any chance of defeating Loki. This Justice League style move allows the viewers to see their favorite super heroes face some of their biggest foes- AIM, Hydra, and The Sinister Six are just a few of the biggest baddies in the Marvel Universe popping up in this production.

I don’t want to go into too much more detail about the plot as Marvel Universe LIVE! Is a fairly new production. My site city of Raleigh, NC was just the 2^nd stop in a tour that will travel to almost 100 cities nationwide over the next 2 years. But, I hope that these pics will inspire you to check out the show. However, the entire production was a stroke of marketing genius.

   

Avengers: The Enemy Within (Marvel NOW!)

 

Recently, I read the first two volumes of Carol Danver’s exploits as Captain Marvel. During those reviews, I explained that I read them because I needed to in order to follow the latest Avengers book at my local library. Well, this is the Avengers book I was talking about. I’m not 100% sure why this is considered an Avengers book and not a Captain Marvel title. The book reprints Avengers: The Enemy Within and 2 issues of the Avengers series from the first Marvel NOW! series. But, the star of those issues is Carol Danvers. Not only that, but there are 3 Captain Marvel issues reprinted as well in this book. (All 3 are from the subsequent first Captain Marvel Marvel NOW! series.)

 

In Captain Marvel volume 2, Danvers’ powers were slowly being syphoned from her into a Kree villain from her past. In this volume, that villain has taken things to the next level kidnapping one of her friends. Thanks to Spider-Woman and Thor, the woman is saved, but during the search, Captain Marvel learns that the Kidnapper broke into Carol’s apartment.

 

Well, that means things just got personal and with that, our Kree baddie activates dozens of Sentries across North America in order to bring his Kree home world to our planet and have it take the place of Manhattan.

 

You know, this is the plot of Transformers 3. Normally, I might be impressed with the whole terraforming earth in order to create your own idea of paradise. But, with this book and Dark Of the Moon being released so close to each other, I have to cry a little foul. This was the most creative idea you could come up with? Now that I think about it, wasn’t this the plot of an earlier Marvel NOW! Avengers storyline? Geez- I’m a little annoyed. So glad I didn’t buy this book.

 

Anyway, a couple of hours ago, I thought I enjoyed this book. I now feel like Marvel, which has been long labeled the “House of Ideas,” has finally scraped the bottom of the barrel. The method of using Sentries to form a network in order to user a new nation was clever. And to have Carol Danvers and her Kree powers be the crux of the whole operation was a shocking revelation. I enjoyed the follow-up issue at the end of the book, too. That story involving Carol and the aftermath in NYC was a great issue. But again, I get the feeling that when I boil the plot to The Enemy Within down to its more basic form, I literally seen this movie before.

 

Very good art throughout the book. The dialogue, especially the witty banter between Avengers was awesome. The first act of the book along with the epilogue was some of my favorite Marvel NOW! material. However, that middle act, while action packed, was using some very tired out plot lines.

 

Worth Consuming, but just barely.

 

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

 

Captain Marvel, Volume 2: Down (Marvel NOW!)

 

First I want to say that I love the cover- especially the title and how the background makes it look like the Doctor Who logo from the Peter Davison years. It’s classic and every time I look at it; I get taken back to when I was a kid watching those old episodes of Doctor Who in my Grandmama’s basement. Awesome, awesome cover- I love it!

 

Now on to the meat and potatoes of the book. The first story arc has Carol Danvers in New Orleans, having been summoned by the only other woman to bear the mantle of the Captain. There, the two heroes bicker, meet a blast from their past and investigate a series of missing fishing vessels in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Once back in New York, Danvers learns that she’s got a lesion on her brain and that continued use of her powers of flight could be dangerous should she blackout. Now, I am thinking, using her powers in general might be a bad idea because brain things are serious business. But instead of seeking a second opinion, Danvers focuses on her “Do Not Fly” status and searches for ways to skirt the issue, including souping up a flying motorcycle of Captain America’s.

 

Along the way, Danvers battles an old foe and may be responsible for giving an enemy of the former Kree Captain Marvel a new lease on life. Before the end of the book we learn that Carol isn’t the only person to have been diagnosed with these bizarre legions. Her mentor, Helen Cobb, who tried to steal her powers in volume one, also showed these symptoms and might have died from them.

 

To Be Continued…

 

Up next is the Avengers book that I wanted to read in the first place. It includes 3 issues of Captain Marvel along with some other material. I look forward to reading it, starting tomorrow. If it’s anything like this issue, I am truly in for a treat. With a great storyline, a fantastic cameo from one of my personal favorite characters, Dakota North, and amazing cover and interior art, I am becoming a fan. Don’t blow it Marvel Comics!!!

 

Until then, make mine Captain Marvel.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.