Yes, I know I owe everyone a review of both last week’s Heroes as well as the current one, but I am behind on my television. Expect reviews of both and the first episode of Dollhouse in the near future. In the mean time, enjoy a look back at a not-so-fondly remembered piece of comics history.
Back From the Edge takes the classic Spidey back in to the lead as he must deal with Nocturne and Puma. With May in the hospital, Peter is dealing with the grief and rage that her sickness causes. This puts him in to a rather annoying Wolverine-style bouts of berserker rage. It sets up the fight between the bestial Puma and the enraged Spidey which goes pretty much nowhere. Thankfully this only takes up the first half of the storyline...
And then we get in to a fight with Daredevil. He questions Daredevil about the “death” of Matt Murdock (part of the Fall From Grace storyline that I will get around to reviewing sooner or later). He wants to end his own secret identity behind, leave his family and friends, and fall in to his current rage. But a battle with Vulture and the Owl leaves him poisoned and quite possibly on the way to death... but that of course doesn’t happen. Daredevil and Spidey team up to go after Vulture and the Owl, get the antidote, and cure Peter. In the process, he realizes his rage is a mistake and heads home to find Mary Jane.
Pretty run of the mill Spider-stuff, with nothing clone-oriented going on... but wait until next time as The Exile Returns...
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Shared Disappointment
Sorry about the lack of posts for the last week and a half! It’s been new baby time in the Ahlhelm household, and much time has been spent welcoming Vanessa Renae in to our living space! But I’m back with some more lovely postings starting today!
While I don’t always agree with our new President (give me a break on the stimulus package), I do have to agree with him on this news from The Onion:
Read the rest of the article here.
While I don’t always agree with our new President (give me a break on the stimulus package), I do have to agree with him on this news from The Onion:
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama expressed frustration Wednesday after members of his cabinet failed to recognize his allusion to the 24th issue of the comic series Savage Sword Of Conan during their first major meeting together.
Obama, whose upcoming challenges include organizing a massive effort to rebuild the nation's infrastructure, was reportedly unprepared for the confused silence he received upon suggesting that his cabinet "team up with Taurus of Nemedia" to secure the necessary funding from Congress.
"If my inner circle of advisers can't even communicate about the most basic issues, how are we going to tackle the massive problems our nation faces?" Obama said during a press conference. "When I tell my cabinet that getting bipartisan support is exactly like the time Conan got Taurus to help him steal Yara's jewel, they need to understand what I mean."
Read the rest of the article here.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Heroes Season 3 Episode 14: A Clear and Present Danger
Heroes returns with “Fugitives” which begins with a bland, rather generic start. As Jessica watches an incredibly pointless TV interview about Nathan Petrelli and his poistion with Homeland Security, she is attacked and captured by a pair of G.I.’s who then call Nathan and tell them they have the “first”. Three minutes in and everything I feared from the commercials seem to be coming true.
Claire refuses to acknowledge Sylar’s death (at least, she’s regenerating a brain) and vows to hunt him down despite Angela’s protests. Claire learns that her mother and Nathan aren’t after Sylar... they want to round up heroes! Oh Noes!!! She learns that Parkman appears to be the first target.
Peter has problems at his new job as a paramedic when he realizes he can’t save everyone. This sadly makes him quite angry. Wow, Pete... time to get in touch with reality. You did a piss poor job saving anyone when you did have all your powers. Remember that girlfriend you erased from existence? Anyway Claire calls Peter. Peter goes to meet Angela and is picked up in a cab and has a brief chat with Mohinder (the driver). Mohinder’s next passenger draws a gun and tells him to drive. The gunman takes him to an ambush, but Mohinder uses his spider-powers to escape. Noah shows up to save Mohinder, starts to question him, but when they are cornered, Noah tases Mohinder and turns him over to the gunman.
Peter meanwhile meets with his brother. Nathan asks him to stay out of the way, Peter refuses, and Noah takes down Peter.
Hiro tries to make Ando in to a superhero, but Ando uses his new Ando-cycle to pick up chicks instead. He is on his headset talking to Hiro when Hiro is attacked (in Japan! Way to go American soldiers!) and captured. Ando uses the tracking chip that Hiro also has implanted to track him back to America.
The deceased African painter appears in Parkman’s apartment and names Parkman the next prophet. Parkman commences to use his new ability. Claire arrives at Parkman's house to warn him... only to both be downed by the government goons.
Sylar, alive and well of course, is in Baltimore, where he has finally hunted down his father. Only this guy isn’t actually his father. His unknown uncle is actually his father. (This is getting a little too soapy for me...) He arrives at the home of taxidermist Samson Gray, possibly his real father (unless his real father is actually his cousin’s father’s masseuse’s uncle’s roommate from college), but Samson isn’t there. He has walked in to another ambush, but despite four taser strikes, Sylar destroys his attackers quite easily. Bullets people, use bullets on Sylar!
Dad tries to free Claire at the shipping facility for the detainees, but she escapes the car, stows away on the departing plane, and frees Peter. Peter steals Mohinder’s powers (which he apparently has to do by touch now), and fights the soldiers. Claire frees the others from the juice that keeps them docile, then heads to the cockpit to take control. She finds her father as co-pilot. Not much comes of this, as Peter accidentally steals Jessica&8217;s power and uses it on the side of the plane. Depressurization occurs with an impending crash landing, and Peter only survives being thrown from the plane by a helping hand from Suresh. (No, I don’t know why he needs a helping hand. He can fly, he should have Claire’s healing abilities now... nothing about flying from a crashing airplane should do him much damage.)
The show ends with Mohinder holding Peter as the plane careens towards the earth.
Despite the dull opening and terrible ad campaign, I was actually impressed by the new direction. If the writers can avoid cliches (and hopefully with Jeph Loeb’s input limited, they can), Heroes actually has the potential to be good again. Hopefully, the fugitive angle we are heading towards doesn’t throw it all under the bus.
We can only wait to next week to find out...
Claire refuses to acknowledge Sylar’s death (at least, she’s regenerating a brain) and vows to hunt him down despite Angela’s protests. Claire learns that her mother and Nathan aren’t after Sylar... they want to round up heroes! Oh Noes!!! She learns that Parkman appears to be the first target.
Peter has problems at his new job as a paramedic when he realizes he can’t save everyone. This sadly makes him quite angry. Wow, Pete... time to get in touch with reality. You did a piss poor job saving anyone when you did have all your powers. Remember that girlfriend you erased from existence? Anyway Claire calls Peter. Peter goes to meet Angela and is picked up in a cab and has a brief chat with Mohinder (the driver). Mohinder’s next passenger draws a gun and tells him to drive. The gunman takes him to an ambush, but Mohinder uses his spider-powers to escape. Noah shows up to save Mohinder, starts to question him, but when they are cornered, Noah tases Mohinder and turns him over to the gunman.
Peter meanwhile meets with his brother. Nathan asks him to stay out of the way, Peter refuses, and Noah takes down Peter.
Hiro tries to make Ando in to a superhero, but Ando uses his new Ando-cycle to pick up chicks instead. He is on his headset talking to Hiro when Hiro is attacked (in Japan! Way to go American soldiers!) and captured. Ando uses the tracking chip that Hiro also has implanted to track him back to America.
The deceased African painter appears in Parkman’s apartment and names Parkman the next prophet. Parkman commences to use his new ability. Claire arrives at Parkman's house to warn him... only to both be downed by the government goons.
Sylar, alive and well of course, is in Baltimore, where he has finally hunted down his father. Only this guy isn’t actually his father. His unknown uncle is actually his father. (This is getting a little too soapy for me...) He arrives at the home of taxidermist Samson Gray, possibly his real father (unless his real father is actually his cousin’s father’s masseuse’s uncle’s roommate from college), but Samson isn’t there. He has walked in to another ambush, but despite four taser strikes, Sylar destroys his attackers quite easily. Bullets people, use bullets on Sylar!
Dad tries to free Claire at the shipping facility for the detainees, but she escapes the car, stows away on the departing plane, and frees Peter. Peter steals Mohinder’s powers (which he apparently has to do by touch now), and fights the soldiers. Claire frees the others from the juice that keeps them docile, then heads to the cockpit to take control. She finds her father as co-pilot. Not much comes of this, as Peter accidentally steals Jessica&8217;s power and uses it on the side of the plane. Depressurization occurs with an impending crash landing, and Peter only survives being thrown from the plane by a helping hand from Suresh. (No, I don’t know why he needs a helping hand. He can fly, he should have Claire’s healing abilities now... nothing about flying from a crashing airplane should do him much damage.)
The show ends with Mohinder holding Peter as the plane careens towards the earth.
Despite the dull opening and terrible ad campaign, I was actually impressed by the new direction. If the writers can avoid cliches (and hopefully with Jeph Loeb’s input limited, they can), Heroes actually has the potential to be good again. Hopefully, the fugitive angle we are heading towards doesn’t throw it all under the bus.
We can only wait to next week to find out...
Monday, February 2, 2009
Evolution Comics is Live!
The first comic serial from Evolution Comics is now available! Click the above link to go straight to the story!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Clone Saga I: Power & Responsibility
Although it’s been covered in more detail elsewhere, The Clone Saga is one of those storylines in comics history that is renowned for showing everything wrong with the era of comics from which it originated. But the mid-90’s are where I came in to comics, and I for one had a fond memory for some of the stories told back in those days. So, for better or worse, I have taken it upon myself to look back at the Clone Saga, one story arc at a time, and remember it for its good and bad. Expect this looks to pop up sporadically on the blog, as I check back in with all the back issues of the story.
The saga opened with “Power & Responsibility”, a our part crossover between all the Spider-books at the time. Aunt May is in the hospital again, Peter is on edge, Mary Jane is getting sick an awful lot, and Ravencroft Sanitarium is under attack by Judas Traveller and his minions. I remember being drawn in to the story of the Clone Saga less because of the clone than to Mr. Traveller himself. Judas seemed like a truly unique character in the Spider-Man stories; a character who carried the potential to be Spidey’s personal Dr. Doom. He was knowledgeable, cunning, manipulative, and absorbed with his own mysterious goals. What a great character that Marvel would eventually throw under the bus as the Clone Saga continued.
Behind its shiny foil covers “Power & Responsibility” really gave us little more than a standard superhero fight of the time period, albeit with the new twist of a second Spidey running around. But it was clear that the clone wasn’t just going to walk away again... and he would have a whole lot more story in the next couple years.
The back-ups by J.M. DeMatteis and Lima Sharp give us a bit of insight in to the mind of the clone (or is he the clone at all...) as we look at the events of Amazing Spider-Man 149 from his perspective. This serves as the real set-up for a lot of the upcoming storylines of the next six to eight months.
All in all, nothing to cry about so far. Good superhero fare with a whole heck of a lot of potential to open Spider-Man to go in interesting new directions. Too bad it would all just fall apart....
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