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Message: [QUOTE="ATenderLad, post: 115988, member: 3864"] I haven't done a general "Here's what's I've been reading" post in a bit, but that's easily fixed! [ATTACH type="full" align="right" width="326px" alt="1741231673628.png"]37660[/ATTACH]Lesse, first off there's Ultimate Wolverine, from a relatively new creative team of writer Chris Condon and artist Alessandro Cappuccio. The latter is also responsible for the colors, and I like his choice to leave a lot of the pencil work visible in the dark sections. (The black on the costume for example, if that's visible on here.) The actual plot is pretty cut and dry, Logan is literally the Winter Soldier of the "Eurasian Republic"....which is just Russia, really. There's not really any meaningful difference from the Winter Soldier, or any number of KGB spy/assassin characters in most fiction; he's just brainwashed Wolverine. Actually, not to harp on the point too much, but being a government weapon after a gray matter rinse is practically *the* Wolverine story, it's been repeated so many times now. The point of these books is to re-imagine/reboot the mainline books a bit, yes, but this is less a reboot and more re-telling, with all the plot beats intact from the old Weapon X origin. It's a bit gritty and violent, but that doesn't really stand out when Wolverine: Revenge is selling right next to it on shelves with a "Red Band" rating. (Come to think of it, that goddamn book *also* has a Russian dystopia run by Colossus just like this one! Why didn't an editor notice they showed up wearing the same dress to the party?!) Hell, even the mainline Wolverine title gets Adult advisory warnings nowadays, skulking through a frozen wilderness collecting heads doesn't really move the needle. If you like Wolverine and bloody action, try....shit, anything. You have a lot of options, this one doesn't stand out much. There's also barely any cross-over between the Ultimate titles so far, so no one's really missing out if they *only* read Ultimate Spider-Man, or just pick up The Ultimates instead. The same applies here, the only bit of lore (sorry) is that The Maker - evil Reed Richards responsible for changing the world and it's history - killed Dr. Cornelius, the guy responsible for Weapon X and jumping Wolverine's bones. Uh, with adamantium, obviously. [HR][/HR] Over in the normal 616-Marvel line, the new event One World Under Doom has started in earnest with the first issue of the event proper and multiple tie-ins across titles. The previous cross-over event, Blood Hunt, saw Dr. Strange give up his station as Sorcerer Supreme to Dr. Doom in exchange for his help quelling a vampire apocalypse. (Comics are silly). Now, Doom declares himself the Earth's Head of State (Head of Planet?), with all the world's leaders swearing fealty to the Latverian king. It's only just begun, but I feel pretty confident that "a wizard did it". Will a wizard un-do it? Stay tuned, I suppose! (Almost certainly though, yes.) [ATTACH type="full" align="left" width="310px" alt="1741231857775.png"]37661[/ATTACH] The main event is being penned by Ryan North, best known for his comedic takes on Squirrel Girl. He's bringing a little bit of that here, with Doom making a dramatic entrance on a T-Rex version of himself from another reality at one point, but the first issue honestly feels like anyone could have written it. I'm hoping more character starts to emerge going forward, but I've read too many big capeshit events; let's not dare to dream, lest we wake to disappointment. The tie-in books, on the other hand...well, I remember collecting the issues around Civil War back in the day. One of the major issues with these issues (so sorry) is they're hamstrung by release dates and editorial concerns; several of them with One World Under Doom emblazoned on the cover only briefly mention the event, because they can't risk readers not being caught up on the main book. In the 00's and 10's, most big events saw publishing delays and the pacing of all the related books would get strained and weird to keep track of. I haven't noticed that with the last few from DC and Marvel that I've read, fingers crossed it doesn't happen here. That being said, tone of these books can vary so...you know what, here's an example. Doom Academy is the new update to the ongoing Strange Academy series, a Harry Potter-esque school setting for young Marvel Mages, run by Strange and other mystic nerds. Apparently Doom gets all of Strange's fucking assets with the Sorcerer Supreme title, so the school and the responsibility of guiding the youth falls to a dude who's been an international terrorist for decades. Anyhow, the book itself is still pretty much the same, young adults in high school worried about grades, relationships, and their teachers secrets; the big difference is the students are all suspicious the headmaster might kill them if they fail a subject. Now, let's contrast that with Thunderbolts: Doomstrike, where Bucky a.k.a. the Winter Soldier and his team get up to some happy-time revolution! Bucky finds a job offer waiting for him from the new King of Earth, offering him a position as the head of his secret police. (With the *admittedly* cool moniker of Fulgur Victoris). The offer is politely declined, with gunfire and a plan to overthrow the mystic tyrant. Doom, naturally, responds by *literally* dropping an orbital nuclear missile on Bucky's hometown in Indiana and framing him and his friends for the event. [ATTACH type="full" alt="1741232161146.png"]37663[/ATTACH] Kinda different, right!? (Really though, I respect that *insane* raising of the stakes, good lord.) It's way too early to say if this event will be worth a read, like most events it'll probably just introduce a new status quo for the next five or six months of Marvel. Nothing to recommend so far. [HR][/HR] Over at DC, the new direction is...mixed. Most of the books are labeled All In, but that's not really an event so much as a status quo, like Heroes Reborn if you're a 90's fan. The main thing to know is the Justice League is back, and bigger than ever. Damn near every hero is a member now, taking clear inspiration from Justice League Unlimited and the animated DC shows of the 90's/00's. The Watchtower satellite serves as a central hub, a shared setting to send unusual pairings of characters on missions or just treat it as a workplace for more conventional drama. There's a couple books building up a mystery involving Darkseid - like Challengers of the Unknown and The Atom Project - but it's just the build-up to the inevitable cross-over between the Justice League and their Absolute universe counterparts. Still though, there's some bright spots. Birds of Prey continues to be a monthly treat, The New Gods is half adventure/half redefining the cosmology of the universe, and then there's Zatanna. Written and illustrated by Jamal Campbell (he even does the covers), I don't remember the last time a debut issue grabbed me so immediately. Zatanna is a stage magician in the vein of Houdini or Siegfried and Roy, thrilling casino audiences with sleight of hand and daring escapes. She's also an *actual* witch, and when her latest venue turns out to be haunted by the ghost of a legendary producer from the golden age of Hollywood, she has to rescue her stage crew from mystic purgatories styled after different genres of classic film. [ATTACH type="full" width="742px" alt="1741232764850.png"]37667[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full" width="742px" alt="1741233137788.png"]37669[/ATTACH] *Small note, I took me quite awhile to notice that I was just writing out the book page for page, like a giant nerd.* Okay let's just say I loved it, and even though it's only a first issue, I heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys magic, old movies, or gorgeous women in fishnets. [HR][/HR] Outside of The Big Two, I haven't ready too much lately. There is Power Fantasy by Kieron Gillen/Caspar Wijgaard, but I think I've already sung it's praises on here. It's great, give it a shot if you want to see geopolitics at the mercy of actual superhumans. Transformers continues to impress, Star Trek: Lower Decks is good for a laugh, and Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theatre is something special. (A lot more brief than the previous sections, but I got side-tracked by work and really lost my train of thought. It's so damned difficult to get "in the mood" to write sometimes.) Hope everyone's reading something fun, comic or otherwise! [/QUOTE]

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