Xuthl’s Wilderness Comics and Collectibles Comic Reviews

Well I have to admit that I am having more fun with this blog than I expected I would.  The only thing I am missing so far is comments from you, the reader.  I really want to encourage you to share your thoughts, or if there is a comic title that I have not been reviewing that is really a must read in your opinion, please let me know what it is.

So I read the All New Atom #7&8.  Once again we get the team of Gail Simone and Mike Norton and a cover by Landronn.  The story goes like this:  a strange fairly omnipotent time traveler shows up looking for a professor.  The Atom has no idea who he is talking about, but the traveler insists that the professor will show up, and he tells Atom to let him know when he does or he will kill him.  So next the professor shows up, except he is mysteriously missing half of… well… himself.  As it turns out, he swallowed some sort of time portal and it sent half of his body into the future, where it lives a separate life on it’s own.  In the end it turns out that the professor is suffering from Alzheimers and is a little bit delusional.  The cover work is very nice.  I give it 5/5.  The story is enjoyable.  Kind of gets confusing at times, and that is becoming a Simone trademark in my eyes, but still I give her a 4/5 for this work.  The art is really outstanding.  5/5.  And for relevance I think 2/5 is about the best I can muster.  Total score 16/20.  A good read.  Do not hesitate to pick this one up.

Next on the list is Action Comics #865, written by Geoff Johns, art by Jesus Merino, covery by Kevin MaGuire.  In this issue the Terrible Toyman escapes from his confinement in Arkum Asylum and kidnaps Jimmy Olson.  It is unclear whether Jimmy just happens to be in Gotham and gets kidnapped or if he is abducted in Metropolis and brought to Gotham.  Regardless, Toyman tells the story of his origins.  What turned him bad.  He tells about how he lost hope when his wife died in a hit and run accident.  Eventually Jimmy uses one of Toyman’s Superman dolls to burn through his restraints and activates his Superman signal watch.  Salvation arrives, but in the form of Batman, not Superman.  Bats battles Toyman’s constructs and he grabs Jimmy and starts to run when Superman shows up and obliterates all the little Superman dolls.  Toyman begs Superman to take him to jail so that he will not be considered to be a “Batman villain”.  The end of the story is the most interesting.  It turns out that Toymans “wife” was just another one of his toys.  So, for the cover I am giving 5/5.  It is colorful, it is interesting.  Very effective.  The story I am also going to give 5/5.  Very entertaining!  I recomend this issue.  Art gets a 4/5.  Not perfect, but very strong.  Relevance is where I struggle when it comes to DC books.  I am a self confessed Marvel junkie.  Why I am reading so much DC lately is a mystery.  Let’s just say I have been giving it a try and enjoying it.  I guess that is all that matters.  So, while I doubt this issue will really have any significant impact on anything, I will give it a 3/5.  Overall score is 17/20.  A very good book!

 Over to Marvel we have Amazing Spider-man #561.  This offering is written by Dan Slott, with art by Marcos Martin.  This is the big wrap up of the Paper Doll storyline.  There are some pretty interesting twists here.  First, it turns out that the mystery girl friend of actor Bobby Carr is none other than Mary Jane Watson.  In the first part of the issue we get a glimpse into the origin of Paperdoll, and they kind of establish the fact that she is insane.  Then we flash to where Spider-man is trying his best to get a picture of Bobby kissing with Mary Jane.  If he can get this picture he will be a millionaire!  But when Paperdoll shows up he leaves the camera on autopilot and goes into action.  It is an amuzing battle scene with MJ locking herself in a panic room and taunting both Spider-man and Paperdoll through an intercom.  Spider-man and Bobby eventually manage to defeat Paperdoll and Peter decides that Paparazi is not for him.  He destroys his pictures of MJ and Bobby and most shocking of all, Robbie resigns from the Bugle.  The big news in this issue?  MJ makes several statements which suggest that she may know everything about Peter.  Did she and Mephisto cut a deal?  Does she know the way things really are?  I guess time will tell.  I give the cover 4/5.  I am leaning somewhere between 3 and 4, but I don’t give half marks, so I have to err on the high side this time.  The story gets 4/5.  As I have said before, I really like Paperdoll.  She is a good villain, and the writing on this series is pretty good.  I hate Brand New Day, but I am enjoying the stories.  It is too bad they are wasting such good talent on Brand New Day.  Art in general gets 4/5.  And since it is Brand New Day I give it 1/5 for relevance.  Total is 13/20.  Not bad all in all.

Next up I have Amazing Spider-man #562 written by Bob Gale and drawn by Mike McKone.  This one really disappointed me on many levels.  We go to the “Bar with No Name” where all the MU bad guys hang out and bet on anything and everything.  Some loser called the Basher makes a Youtube broadcast challenging Spider-man to face him.  This Bookie character, who we have been led to believe is a very professional high roller type has actually hired Screwball to pose as Spider-man and take out the Basher, who is also in on the scam, so the Bookie can make some bucks.  Things go bad for the Bookie when the real Spider-man shows up and busts Screwball.  The villains in the bar realize that it is all a scam and they look to take it out of the Bookie’s hide.  We are left with a typical cliffhanger as Spidey shows up in the bar and prepares to battle about a hundred bad guys.  Marvel advertised the heck out of this issue, and the hype kind of backfires.  I was looking forward to this issue, and at the end I was left thinking, “So what?  Big deal!”  The most exciting thing about this issue was the ad for the Secret Invasion HeroClix being released in July.  So, cover gets 4/5.  It i just ok.  The story gets 2/5.  The art gets 4/5.  It is ok, but some of the characters look a little funny.  And since it is Brand New Day, it gets 1/5 for relevance.  11/20.  Maybe you should find somewhere else to spend your comic dollars this week. 

Well that is it for this week.  I had a lot of family comittments that kept me from doing a lot of reading this week.  Family wins out every time, right?

 I did read a few more issues of the All New Atom, but I will not bore you with that review.  I have bought the entire run to date and am reading them as fast as I can, so expect more Atom reviews next week.

The last word goes to Xuthl’s Wilderness Comics and Collectibles which has just made the move from EBay to Comic Collector Live.  Go to http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/LiveData/Seller.aspx?id=cc0608d3-03c2-4b73-81dd-40662b76b9c9 and check out the titles I am offering for sale.  Please remember to consider the cost of shipping as part of the total price.  You will find my prices are often the lowest available.  I have also come across some really nice 1970’s Mego Star Trek Action figures which I am listing on EBay.  If you go to EBay, and enter the community section, you can search for me under the user id xuthl69 and see the items I have for sale.

Also, if you collect current comics, I encourage you to consider ordering your books from me.  I charge cover price plus $3 shipping and handling for the first book and an additional $1 for each book after that anywhere within Canada.  This may sound expensive, but with the cost of gasoline continually rising you really can’t lose.  This is also ideal for readers living in cities and towns without a local comic shop. 

Lastly, if there is a book you are looking for but can’t find, drop me a line and I will see what I can find for you.  I have a good network of sellers and have had great success in the past.  Feel free to contact me at xuthl@yahoo.ca. 

 Again, if you have any comments, I would really love to hear them.  Please leave feedback!

Have a great week!