Brain Tunes

Imagine Dragons - Radioactive
I heard this song and thought "that's not too shabby" and while my opinion on is hasn't changed much over time, I did see the video for it and the video is pretty damn awesome. Get ready to watch the greatest cage-match ever...

Trailer Watch: Machete Kills

It's almost sad how excited I am for this movie. Good ol' stupid action. I'm gonna love this one as much as the first.

NB of the Week

-THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT TIGGERS IS I'M THE ONLY RUN-
(-Plus Spoils-)

New Avengers #06 (Blue Hell)
When an Incursion happens, it's a Red Event. So what does Blue mean? It means you're even more screwed. Blue means Mapmakers, who take your Earth in order to help map the multiverse. They kill everything living on it and take it as their own until the next one. The team has no choice but to destroy that Earth and cross the line they never wanted to.

Justice League of America #04 (World's Most Dangerous: 4)
Catwoman has infiltrated the Secret Society of Super-Villains. As she snoops around, the rest of the League track her signal only to find that it was all a trap. As they are ambushed by Shaggy Man, Catwoman is confronted by a mystery man, who decides it's best to put a bullet in her head. The last page is her on the ground, blood pooling underneath her. (Don't worry, she has her own series so I assume she's not really dead)

Captain America #07 (Ashes of Our Fathers)
Zola has taken back Ian (his son whom Steve has raised) and Steve is gunning to get him back. Soon, Zola's full plan is revealed: He is coming back to Earth and infecting everybody with his consciousness and taking over Earth. As Steve tries to still reach Ian, it's too late and he is gunned down by the boy that he raised.

Earth 2 Annual #01 (Secrets and Origins)

Al Pratt takes down a bad dude with the help of the new Batman whose identity was not revealed. Meanwhile, his old partner Captain Steel is going to go into one of the fire pits that Terry Sloan created. Also elsewhere, Mister Miracle and Barda are ambushed by Fury. And Batman needs to find Hawkwoman. Great issue but lots of set-up.

Savage Wolverine #05 (Savage: 5)
Essentially everybody fails. Wolverine stabs Hulk in the head, the alien ting is awoken and everybody then leaves. Only the alien leaves to his master, Visher-Rakk and informs him that he has found a galaxy with planets rich for his feasting. We apparently have a new Galactus. Also Hulk fights a giant ape and gets eaten by a whale. Greatest cameo ever.

Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #01 (Trust Fall)
What the Hell has this book become? Todd has his own memory wiped but is now searching for who he used to be. Starfire apparently now lies about how her memory works (which is a convenient twist that helps DC back-peddle). Roy has a nice talk with Victor Hugo in the past about Ollie not liking him. Where did the fun that this book used have go to?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #22 (City Fall: 1)
Everything starts to come together. Casey is kidnapped by Karai and Alopex in order to flush out the Turtles. When Shredder arrives and wants to speed things up, he stabs Casey through and that's when the fighting begins. However, caught up in their anger, things don't go well for the Turtles. They get a bleeding and dying Casey out by Shredder gets exactly what he wanted: Leonardo.

What the What?

Word is coming that John C Reilly has been offered a part in Guardians of the Galaxy. One would think he'd be the comedic voice of Rocket or possibly Groot but apparently one would be wrong. He has reportedly been offered the role of Rhomann Dey, who was the Nova that, when mortally wounded, gave Richard Rider the Nova Force before death. Even more odd is that in the Guardians movie, the character is said to actually be more of an Agent Coulson type go-between for the Guardians and SHIELD....
I'd be lying if I said I don't become slightly worried about this movie every other week but I'm still excited and will hold any judgement until things start coming out next year.

Brain Tunes: FFDP & Judas Priest

Mostly. Five Finger Death Punch has a new singer with Judas voice Rob Halford. I love these guys more and more and throwing Halford into the mix just helps solidify it.
-HARSH LANGUAGE FOLLOWS. LISTEN AT YOUR OWN PERIL-

NB of the Week

-DOUBLE, DOUBLE SPOIL AND TROUBLE; FIRE BURN, AND CAULDRON BUBBLE-

Green Lantern #20 - Wrath of the First Lantern: Conclusion
Written by Geoff Johns
Drawn by Doug Mahnke

With 64 pages and a hefty $7.99 price-tag, I couldn't put down Geoff Johns' last issue of Green Lantern, the giant-sized finale to the Wrath of the Green Lantern story.
The book begins "Beyond Tomorrow" with a new Lantern wanting to hear the story of Hal Jordan from the Bookkeeper, which is an excellent way to recap everything that Johns has built. The shrouded figure begins and quickly leads us to the First Lantern where they story moves to modern time. Last issue, Sinestro used Baz to escape from the Dead Zone and Hal was left with the crazy idea that in killing himself there, he could somehow get out. After

Sinestro went after Volthoom (the First Lantern), he was struck down and watched the destruction of his home-world Korugar. As Hal dies and Sinestro is beaten, both take a massive turn. In his death, Hal is able to take Black Hand's Black Lantern Ring and Sinestro cries his sacred oath, becoming a Yellow Lantern once more. Back on Oa, the rest of the Corps and Lanterns try to fight off Volthoom. He has restored the emotions back to the Guardians and nothing seems to work on him. Until Hal and SInestro join up and start to make some headway. As Volthoom fights them, he is able to find the one thing that he can use against Hal: the legacy of his father. Sensing defeat, Sinestro decides to break out his big gun. And by big gun I mean he is able to release, take possession & control of the avatar of fear, Parallax. As the new Sinestro attacks Volthoom, it gives Hal enough time to then pull out his big gun. And by big gun I mean he releases and controls the avatar of death, Nekron. Volthoom, it turns out, is the way he is because he harnesses all the emotions that the Guardians expelled from themselves. Nekron is able to remove his emotions, leaving him human. Nekron is easily able to dispel of him after that. However, no ending can end that nicely as Hal and Sinestro begin to go at each other. Surprisingly, a cooler headed SInestro stops things when Hal, trying to stop him from killing the Guardians is informed that it's already happened. While finishing Volthoom, Sinestro wasted no time and did as he promised. Sinestro disappears, leaving Akrillo in charge and vowing he'll not return, the Templar Guardians come in and Hal is left in charge of the Corps (for now). There's a few pages of epilogue where the Bookkeeper tells the new Lantern of the others and how their futures panned out and it's definitely said without words that Sinestro is the new Bookkeeper but it's hard to see happy endings for these characters when we know that the books are all continuing and those futures will probably be forgotten.
Johns took Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern mythology and turned it into something that can last much longer and be utilized to a much greater degree. Was everything perfect? Not at all but that's life and that's how it should be. It's hard to imagine that any writer will be able to bring light to a Lantern title in the way that Johns did but I hope somebody can find something because there's plenty of amazing stories still to be told.

Boobs of the Day

Alice Eve
I first say Ms Eve in She's Just Not That Into You and while I found the movie to be less than enjoyable, I found her to be quite breastacular. After seeing Into Darkness this week (which I thoroughly loved, possibly more than the last one), I was only reminded of why I saw She's Just Not in the first place.

NB of the Week

-MY NAME IS INIGO MONTOYA. YOU KILLED MY SPOILS. PREPARE TO DIE.-

X-Factor #256 - Hell On Earth War: Conclusion
Written by Peter David
Drawn by Leonard Kirk

Where do I even start with a recap? Wolfsbane's son Tier started the Hell On Earth War between the Lords of Hell in which they are fighting for control of most everything. Mephisto has imprisoned the Lords, claiming victory (the killing of Tier was their competition for this). He has also enslaved Multiple Man, using his dupes as an army Meanwhile, quite a bit ago, Strong Guy was killed and brought back without a soul, turning him into a careless douche. His old, budding relationship with M turned ugly and now they hate each other for it. So he accidentally killed he last issue. Tier has now embraced his position as the only one able to "kill" the Lords of Hell and is gunning for Mephisto...
Still here?
Lots of people fight. Polaris leads the charge in the front, along with Jezebel (Mephisto's daughter) who has taken control over the Madrox Dupe Army from her father. As they attack there, Tier has gone in from behind. When Satana comes to the Lords' prison, she finds them all "dead" (sent back to their sections of Hell) as Tier gets her next. Mephisto is all he has left. As both sides converge on the throne of Mephisto, he definitely isn't scared. As he attacks Tier, Shatterstar jumps in for the strike only to be obliterated. Seeing his lover killed, Rictor (You didn't know they were together?) goes in without thinking, also being obliterated. After turning his sights on Wolfsbane, Tier goes berserk, surprising even Mephisto as he begins to tear him to shreds. Until Tier suddenly stops. Having come up from behind and stabbing the child through the chest, Strong Guy has killed Tier. Strong Guy has become the new Ruler of Hell. We're left with Guido bringing M back to life, an apology of sorts for the way everything ended (while making sure she knows she's the reason he did it) and telling her to "Get Out".
Marvel has said that X-Factor, after 7 years under Peter David, is ending. This may be the most underrated title out there. David has taken characters that have been long dead to a reading audience and made them relevant and, more importantly, made them likable. Easily the most quality-consistent book I've read over the last decade (not to mention the second best x-book after Remender's X-Force), this ending left me a bit speechless. 3 deaths (technically four but she got better) and a major character twist for Guido. I have no idea what Marvel is planning for these characters after this series but David has said he is writing another book so my fingers are crossed that it has something to do with them.

Another Day, Another Show

Fox has a new show coming called Almost Human. The only thing I needed to know was JJ Abrams and Karl Urban. Yet another show I'm gonna have to watch.

Count Me In

New lineups for tv are coming out and I'm all in for seeing Michael J Fox back. I believe they said it's gonna be on Thursday night. I'll definitely watch it and give it a shot. Looks pretty good.

Four Colored Frak

Happy Mother's day to all the ladies who don't read my posts. In honor of the mothers everywhere, this week you get to see just how special ladies are to Jonah Hex in issue 10 of the current All-Star Western. Down and out is the perfect time to make sure you get what you're owed from a lady. Even if everybody is watching it.

NB of the Week

-TO THE VICTOR GO THE SPOILS-

Thor: God of Thunder #08 - Godbomb Part Two
Written by Jason Aaron
Drawn by Esad Ribic

I thought long and hard (not really) about putting another issue of Thor as my pick but golly darnit if Jason Aaron isn't writing some of the best Thor in many years. Quick catch-up: Present Thor is with Future Thor, traveling to Gorr's planet in order to stop him once and for all. Unknown to them, Past Thor has been pulled from time and enslaved on Gorr's planet (along with other Gods from all over time and space) and forced to build his Godbomb which will destroy all gods forever...
Young Thor wants to rebel and destroy the Dogs of Gorr and kill Gorr for himself but the other Gods stop him, showing him that his immaturity is only killing more Gods. Turns out that three ladies are already starting a rebellion of their own. And they are the grandchildren of Thor himself. Which is hilarious once revealed because one girl than claimed "I've been having impure thoughts about my grandfather."
Anywho, turns out that as they've been mining dead stars and planets for the bomb over the last 900 years, they've been collecting every piece of unstable matter they came across in the hopes that they would eventually have enough to take down the Godbomb. However, to get it close enough to use, the one doing it would most probably die with it. Young Thor leaps at the chance and takes off with their homemade bomb. As he charges toward the Godbomb, he and the others try their best to stop the Dogs from getting to him. As he goes, he makes one last plea:
 "One last storm. That's all I ask. If today the God of Thunder must die screaming... Them let the sky scream with me!"
Proving he is the true God of Thunder, the skies open with lighting and rain down fire (mother-fudging fire!) and  with one throw, the unstable matter explodes against the Godbomb. Cut back to Present and Future Thor,m they both have their own Obi-Wan moment as they suddenly feel a great disturbance in the force as they draw closer to Gorr's planet. When suddenly from their ship's side climbs Young Thor. After some great banter between the three, we find that the homemade bomb did nothing to the Godbomb. They all gear up and we are given a last page of the three Thors ready to fight.
"The Time for words has past. Now we let the hammers talk."
I can't say it enough. This is how Thor should be. This is how a book about the Gods should be. If you have any interest in Thor at all, this is the place to go. I really don't know how else to sell it. He rained goddamn fire from the goddamn sky cuz he's the goddamn Thor.

Fou Colored Frak

The Fantastic Four have had their share of weird stories, both by design and otherwise. Before the Valeria we now know was part of the FF, there was another Valeria. From another reality. Where Sue and Doom married and had her. After that mess, her and Franklin saved the day with her "dying". Next thing we know, Sue is pregnant. In Fantastic Four(v3) #50, when the ultrasound machine won't work, Sue helps out in a very strange, very creepy way. And to boot, they have the little thing stare up at everyone! This is strait out of a cheesy horror movie and it's never sat well with me. Sue should never be turning me off this much.

Well, At Least People Know...

I was looking through one of those "What Does Your Man Really Mean..." articles tonight, which I shouldn't have because all they ever do is piss me off with how wrong they have me pinned, and this time some lady (I assume they're written by women with how wrong they usually are. Bazinga) got one right. When the idea of a Star Wars obsession came up, this was the response:
"Star Wars is like Dirty Dancing for dudes. Nobody puts Chewbacca in a corner, okay?"
Hey, it's not very poetic but it's the damn truth.

NB of the Week

-Run, Run, Run As Fast As You Can, You'll Never Catch Me, I'm the Gingerbread Man-

Thanos Rising #2
Thanos has a taste for blood. Years after killing all those helpless lizards, Thanos' quest for knowledge has driven him down a dark path and he decides in order to figure himself out, he may was well start dissecting people. After that doesn't pan out, he figures the real path lies within his mother, which just happens to be the one he cuts into next. Dark art, dark story, this mini has nailed two for two in my book.

Dial H #12
Um, a lot of Canadian Dials appear and save our heroes.... I think. To be honest, this series jumps around a lot and isn't the easiest thing to follow at times. Oh and the villain, The Centipede, gets exactly what he wanted at the end. Or at least that's what they told me on the last page.

Artifacts #27
Magdalena and Tom Judge try to track down the Glacier Stone artifact but things can't be easy in comic world as they guy they thought had it no longer has it or his head. They come across Michael Finnegan (the bearer of the Glacier Stone in the last version of the Top Cow U) who is there also looking for something. What they all find is a weird, goat-man with the dude's head tied to his waist and the Glacier Stone in it's hand.
Ultimate X-Men #26
Kitty has to admit slight defeat as the US Army wants to fight and she is left knowing that they may have to defend themselves with the violence she has been trying to avoid. She brings Mach Two back into the mix and they prepare for their possible war. Also, Psylock is a stealthy ninja and knows that Jean Grey is plotting something. Which she is so it's not a surprise to us.

Hawkeye #10
Last issue's death was shocking but who is the killer behind the gun? We step back and see a story of the man before the murder happens (which was a little confusing until it came together at the end). Turns out he has dealings with the Tracksuit Bros and that can't mean anything good for Clint.

Earth 2 #12
Wotan and the new Doctor Strange battle... and not much else. Khalid begins to embrace the Gods and the powers they give him (not that he has much choice anymore) as he takes on Wotan again for the first time (reincarnation does that). He banishes him and all is saved but the life of a hero is never dull and Steppenwolf has come back, setting up the next great fight for the new Wonders.

Age of Ultron #7 (beware the spoils...)
Wolverine and Sue come back to the present after killing Pym in the past. They're unsure what the hell is going on as The Defenders (Colonel America, Star-Lord, Hulk, Dr. Strange, Captain Marvel(Janet/Wasp), Cable(Scott Summers), Thing & Wolverine) attack them, thinking them Skrulls. After a good tussle, Sue and Wolverine are taken down and Tony Stark comes into the picture (and it looks like he and his tech are supreme being number one there now).

X-Factor #255
Mephisto wins. He has beaten the other Hell Lords and has claimed Earth as his new domain. With no other option, Wolfsbane's son decides that if he has to kill him for it to stop, that's the path he has to go down. Also, Strong Guy may have killed M. He certainly thinks he did and she definitely looks it (but in comics, it's never that easy).

Aquaman #19
Everybody plots against everybody in this series. Orm's people are trying to break him out so he can take back the throne while Aquaman is trying to unite water- with land-people while on the throne and and King with the 7th relic wants his throne back. It's like Game of Thrones without the nudity, beheadings and incest.