My New Year’s resolution to “Have Less Wacky Adventures” was going fine until I accidentally died in a mighty battle and was whisked away to Valhalla, the mighty hall of slain Nordic Warriors. Now I’m awaiting Ragnarok and playing beer pong with Baldur, Loki and the rest of the crew. Sigh, so wacky. Of course, it could be worse. As afterlife’s go, I’m having a much better time than Hellboy.
HELLBOY BOOGIE
Hellboy has had a strange retirement from his former job as chief-monster-basher for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, or the B.P.R.D. He’s been drowned, slain by a giant slug, visited the Russian afterlife, came back, fought giants, rejected the crowns of the witches and the world destroyer only to find he was really (SPOILER) the king of England, wielder of Excalibur all along (END SPOILERS) before finally dying again and going to hell. THAT is where things truly get strange. Hellboy in Hell #1 was an alright mixture of Mignola’s stark art and strange pacing. There is little time on world building or tone, just action. With Hellboy in Hell #2 on stands this week, I should hope things may start to clarify on where this book is headed.
LUCKY #15
DC hits their 15th milestone since the reboot, with strong showings this week from The Flash #15, Justice League Dark #15, Teen Titans #15 and more. Teen Titans is reads like a Bat-Book as the Joker takes his fight to Robin’s network. ALSO worth a looky-loo is DC’s phone book of fun, the Showcase Presents of Joe Kubert’s (and others) impressive mixture of War and crazy, Weird War Stories Vol. 1.
BEST OF THE BEST
Picking this week’s top book is going to be tough. New Avengers #1 Now could be a strong contender. Black Panther, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Mr. Fantastic, The Black Bolt, Namor and the Beast team up as the new Illuminati to stop extra-dimensional threats. In Marvel the Illuminati are a group comprised of heroes from humanity, Inhumans, Mutants, Atlanteans and magical beings who have banded together to coordinating efforts to save the world. Sometimes it is a great and beneficial arrangement, like the time they stopped Intergalactic bad guy Thanos from reassembling the Infinity Gauntlet. Other times they get so dang full of themselves they hatch crackpot schemes like launching the Hulk into the sun, ultimately causing World War Hulk. With
Cyclops out of the picture and Professor X. dead, It is really exciting that Hank Mccoy, a.k.a. the Beast is now the defacto “Elder Statesman” for Mutant kind. Although, New X-Men #5 is hitting the shelves this week, too. You’ve been warned, expect some shake-ups in the Mutant status-quo! PLUS, Invincible #99 is setting up the big Invincible #100 events, and that story is on fire! Still, the number one book that I, Heimdal, Frigg, Odin and Freyja are REALLY looking forward too is MARS ATTACKS POPEYE #1, which kicks off IDW’s insane Mars Attacks cross-over event. GO POPEYE, GO! I hope Popeye mistakes one of the alien’s heads as a clear can of cauliflower and gobbles it up for veggie strength! I want to see Popeye eat alien brains!
