Comics are Awesome II

[BWprowl]

I notice that Spiderman is using the old costume in this issue, which I suppose (kind of) reconcile the costume seen in "Age of Ultron".

Bwuh? No he's not, it's the Superior costume through and through. Black parts, spiky back spider-symbol, claws and dewclaws, and the lens-eyes, especially since them getting smashed parallel to young Otto's glasses is kind of a big point here. Don't know what made you think it was the old costume.

[Dominic]

The costume in "Age of Ultron" looked pretty much like the old one to me. I dunno. I was just skimming those pages.... "Here is an info-dump of a bunch of shit that happened". I am only going to pay so much attention there.

And, I read some comics over the weekend:

Mega Man GigaMix volume 1:
As much as I like Hitoshi Ariga for his work on MegaMix, this volume fell pretty flat. The first feature story is a lost chapter from "Mega Mix". Ariga cites "grown-up reasons" for the chapter being left out of the original series. It is not a bad story over-all. And, to be fair, I could accept it if it were the weaker offering in this volume. But, as it stands, it feels like Ariga (or Udon as a publisher) is using a cut scene to justify publishing this volume.

The second story is Ariga's take on "Battle and Chase", the "Mega Man" racing game. This story drags on with Silver Age predictability. Even allowing for care chases being difficult to depict in comics, there is not much to recommend this story. Ariga probably would have done better to handle "Battle and Chase" the way he handled the soccer game (as short subject errata), rather than making it a full blown feature.

Grade: C


Dom
-hoping that the other two volumes are better.

[BWprowl]

The costume in "Age of Ultron" looked pretty much like the old one to me. I dunno. I was just skimming those pages.... "Here is an info-dump of a bunch of shit that happened". I am only going to pay so much attention there.

Okay, I think we're getting some wires crossed here. Spider-Man is definitely wearing the old Amazing/Peter Parker costume in his appearance in Age of Ultron, you're right about that. But then you said...did you say you flipped through Superior Spider-Man #6 and thought you saw that he was wearing the Amazing costume there as well? Because he's not, he's wearing the Superior costume, like he has for the past five issues.

[Dominic]

I think it was "Superior Spider-Man". I dunno any more.

[Onslaught Six]

I think it was "Superior Spider-Man". I dunno any more.

A is for Apathy!

[Dominic]

Batman Incorporated #9:
Morrison cuts back and forward in time. Bruce Wayne reacts to Damien's death, and Morrison moves some pieces around, likely more in preparation for the next creative team than anything else. According to this week's CSN, a couple of Bat-books are being renamed following Damien Wayne's death. (Yes, Right after a renumbering, secondary books with cumbersome titles are being given new cumbersome titles while using the same barely established numbering.)
Grade: B/C


Age of Ultron #3 and related cross-overs:
And, another book where the writer's focus shifts back and forth. In the main "Age of Ultron" book, the heroes slowly begin to rally which leads to Cage and She Hulk (assuming the latter survived) making a shocking discover. (The main bad guy is

Spoiler

the Vision

.) In the "Fantastic Four", Reed and the others realize that something is wrong on Earth and head back to investigate (leaving the kids behind). The "other" FF team seems to have been more or less wiped out. And, by the end, Sue is the only one left. In "Superior Spider-Man", the main character's costume is badly damaged enough that it is not readily apparent which costume he is wearing. Slott shows that he is away of the fact that it is rare to see a villain trying to set things right after a "big event" style disaster. And, unfortunately, Slott is not really allowed to have his character do much of anything.

Grade (for even so far): C


I asked the guy at the comic shop, point blank, what he thought "Age of Ultron" was building to. He is not anticipating much of anything more than an "Age of Apocalypse" or "House of M" deal. They big changes that Marvel has been promising will likely not amount to much.


Dom
-did a quick count of comics so far this year, and is down by ~40.

[Sparky Prime]

According to this week's CSN, a couple of Bat-books are being renamed following Damien Wayne's death. (Yes, Right after a renumbering, secondary books with cumbersome titles are being given new cumbersome titles while using the same barely established numbering.)

As far as I've seen, the only book getting renamed is "Batman and Robin", so now instead of Robin, the title will change depending on what sidekick Batman is teaming up with for a given storyline. Such as "Batman and Batgirl" or "Batman and Nightwing" or "Batman and Red Robin"...

[Shockwave]

Red Robin"...

YUMMMM....

[Onslaught Six]

According to this week's CSN, a couple of Bat-books are being renamed following Damien Wayne's death. (Yes, Right after a renumbering, secondary books with cumbersome titles are being given new cumbersome titles while using the same barely established numbering.)

As far as I've seen, the only book getting renamed is "Batman and Robin", so now instead of Robin, the title will change depending on what sidekick Batman is teaming up with for a given storyline. Such as "Batman and Batgirl" or "Batman and Nightwing" or "Batman and Red Robin"...

That is even worse. Why not rename it to "Batman Family," or something, or better--"The Brave and the Bold," a book which historically is "Batman and x team up book?" (Unless there's already a book using that name for some reason.)

[Sparky Prime]

That is even worse. Why not rename it to "Batman Family," or something, or better--"The Brave and the Bold," a book which historically is "Batman and x team up book?" (Unless there's already a book using that name for some reason.)

I think the reason they've gone this route for the title is because they wanted to keep the same dynamic that "Batman and Robin" implies, Batman partnered specifically with one of his side kicks. It may not work as well given that title will have to change as the side kick will now be in rotation, but it is the most 'to the point' way of maintaining what the book is all about.