This week had a moderate haul. Since I picked up Batman Eternal #s 1-4 last weekend, and it’s “only” $2.99, went ahead and picked up #5. And having just read Futures End #0, I went ahead and picked up #1 (again, key being that it’s “only” $2.99!). I feel like I’ve been getting All-New X-Factor out of “habit,” unfortunately…really need to catch up on that reading to decide how far I’m actually sticking with it!
Only one Valiant this week–Archer & Armstrong. And the newest Turok…hard to believe that’s already on issue #4! And the latest TMNT Color Classics, re-presenting the final chapter of Return to New York, this time in color.
In the simple amusement of ’90s stuff for only 25 cents, I snagged this colorful Cyber Force issue, as well as Zorro #0 from Topps.
Found a bunch of issues of Jim Starlin‘s ‘Breed, including some sort of gold-foil edition of #1. Pretty sure I have these from last year sometime, but as most of a “run,” figured I’d snag ’em again to be sure.
Ditto on ‘Breed II…
A relatively rare find (for me, at least), snagged the entire six-issue (#s 0-5) mini-series Codename: Firearm. I know I have this series at least once-over, but again…complete series, all right there, for less than half the price of a current Marvel…yeah, pretty much a no-brainer for me.
Finally, A Touch of SIlver #s 1-4. Not sure what to make of these, but they looked interesting. The covers with the photos caught my attention, and for $1, figured I’d get ’em to flip through more at my leisure whenever.
All in all, not a bad haul, with a good mix of new stuff and some nice quarter-bin issues.
Next week I think the Superman arc Doomed starts, and since I’ve been keeping up lately with Superman/Wonder Woman, I’ll probably follow it just for the heckuvit. Plus, I want to get Superman #31 “in honor” of the 1980s’ Superman #31 being one of my first-ever comics.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: All-New X-Factor, Archer, Armstrong, batman eternal, breed, codename firearm, futures end, Jim Starlin, new comics, Turok, weekly haul, X-Factor | Leave a comment »
![Archer & Armstrong (2012) #10 [cover]](https://comicreviewsbywalt.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/archerandarmstrong010.jpg)
I’m continuing to get drawn in, and the odd vocabulary elements are feeling a bit more normal. I’m liking the flashbacks that are fleshing out the present, and beginning to get a sense of the continuity that’s been built from the start of this series. You know something’s being done right when I’m interested in going back to re-read the issues so far just to appreciate the world that’s been built in such a short span of time. The story is engaging and the characters are easy enough to identify with. The art continues on a high note as well. Though I saw this issue’s end coming a couple pages early that ramped up the tension which made the cliffhanger both that much more appreciable and a bit anticlimactic, as if it ended a panel or two too soon.
Three issues in, and I’m quite enjoying this series. Having figured out the art style for the flashbacks vs. the present, I quite enjoy the shifts, as we follow Bloodshot on his quest to find out the truth about his past. While he seeks his past, Project Rising Spirit is determined to remove him from the field permanently. The story kinda sucked me in on this issue; as said, recognizing flashbacks made this a much more enjoyable read and didn’t seem disruptive at all. I like both visual styles as presented here. As I keep saying, I’m enjoying this new take on a “classic” character; even knowing this isn’t the original “version” doesn’t bother me. Sort of a cross between Marvel’s Ultimate Comics line and DC‘s New 52, with the best of both worlds. Definitely looking forward to the next issue.
The cover to this issue puts me in mind of a cover from the early issues of the Wolverine relaunch back in ’03 or so, where we see grumpy Wolverine on the ground, a line of bullet-holes across the wall–and him; and just looking at it, you know someone’s in for a world o’ hurt. Here, we get a look at the two title characters and a scene that kinda plays on the state of things, and (at least to me) comes off as rather amusing. Archer with a crossbow, pondering the Armstrong, who he’s shot umpteen times but calmly (cheerfully, even!) drinking a beer. With his parents’ reality revealed, Archer breaks from them and decides to join Armstrong, and the two begin their quest for the parts of The Boon that are scattered throughout the world. Of course, it wouldn’t be a quest if it was easy, and things sure don’t start easy for the pair. I really like this new take on the characters–it’s fresher and somehow seems a bit more realistic than the classic. I also like that the title characters don’t spend the entire first arc or two against each other–I’m far more interested in how they handle things as a “team,” with such drastically different backgrounds, personality, and abilities. The story keeps me interested, and I like the art–and the character designs. This Armstrong looks younger–and more presentable–than the classic, and somehow, that brings more of a sense of “fun” to the title, amidst the darker, more serious elements.
This issue introduces us to the Fugitoid–an alien scientist in a robot body. This issue as a whole is “the origin issue” for the Fugitoid, detailing the robot as well as Dr. Honeycutt, and the motivations that led to the Fugitoid’s situation. While the essense of the original origin is present, details have obviously been changed–and it works really well for me. The art’s pretty solid, and pulls off the “alien, yet similar to Earth” vibe. The story itself is good, though I found out after reading this that the issue spoils something from the next issue of the main TMNT title–though I didn’t feel like there was anything particularly revelatory, and actually thought this played off stuff we’ve already seen. We get a glimpse of an entire culture that works far better for me than their use in the classic cartoon–taking a campy, goofy concept and making it a valid, reasonable element for the current continuity. The issue ends with no ad for a next issue, and I’m unsure if there will be any more–the first collected volume was 4 issues, and this is the 8th–making another complete 4-issue volume. I hope these continue; as I’ve indicated before–I’d gladly keep buying this companion series to the main title, with different creative teams and spotlight characters.
While the turtles are out searching for Splinter, they are ambushed by the Foot, who want revenge for the death of Shredder. While battling the ninjas, the turtles come across a strange building marked with the letters “TCRI”–which they recognize as the same as what was on the canister of goo that mutated them. When they investigate the building further, they find plenty of oddities, including the inhabitants of the building, and an alien device they’ve built that spells major issue for the turtles’ future. The story is fairly simple, and things kinda scoot along quickly. This is still early in the existence of the TMNT, so for me it’s more the ideas that were put forth than actual grace in execution of the story. The art’s solid, and quite a contrast to contemporary takes on the characters. Still, I like it, and it’s really cool to see this colorized in a single-issue format; if I didn’t know it started out black-and-white and had no attention called to it, I’d have a hard time believing this wasn’t a color comic to begin with. Despite the various collected volumes already out, I hope this Color Classics series lasts long enough to re-present the entire Mirage vol. 1 TMNT series…though I wouldn’t entirely mind if it skips a bunch of the middle stuff and just re-presents the “core” Eastman/Laird stuff of the first 11 issues, Micro-Series, Return to New York, and City at War arcs.
Comic Reviews by Walt 