Yes Please and Thank You

NB of the Week

-IT IS A SPOILS AS VAST AS SPACE AND AS TIMELESS AS INFINITY-

Aquaman #24 - Death of a King: Chapter 6
Written by Geoff Johns
Drawn by Paul Pelletier

Anybody who talks comics with me (or the five of you that read this) knows my distaste for the direction DC Comics has been going with their relaunch of continuity/titles. That being said, I can't also say that I'm so married to any idea from previous stories that I froth at the thought of it no longer being cannon. Give me good writing that tells good stories and you'll get my support. One such book (for the most part) has been Aquaman. Johns has become DC's go-to guy with reinventing characters and concepts over the years (Green Lantern, Flash, Justice League, Batman) so it's not a big surprise he's changing things up here for the King of Atlantis. Which is now a title he can't rightfully claim.
Over this last story, we have gotten the "return" of The Dead King of Atlantis as he comes for the throne he claims he is due. Well, in this issue, we actually find that claim to be complete fact. Arthur straps himself into the ice throne of the Dead King and is shown all the truth. Turns out Dead's name is Atlan and was ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, himself the King of Atlantis. He had finally been uniting all the Kingdoms when his brother decided they deserved to rule more than the others, overthrew his brother and killed his brother's family. Having escaped death himself, Atlan vowed revenge. Over the next years (exact number was not given, sorry) he forged the artifacts that Arthur had been collecting in the previous issues and eventually took back to Atlantis. He laid siege to the kingdom, killing his brother and his wife and with his first words in years, Atlan claims, "Let it all Die!" and he sinks Atlantis. Arthur holds no claim to the throne of Atlantis and is the ancestor of what may be their greatest villain.
Good writer, good story. This is what DC needs. They can't be afraid to change things in this new universe. In fact, that should be they point: revitalize what was old and stale and give us new, fresh stories and takes on characters. It's just a shame that Johns is already leaving the book. I'd love to see what else he has in store for us.

NB of the Week

-BECAUSE HE'S THE SPOILS GOTHAM DESERVES, BUT NOT THE ONE IT NEEDS RIGHT NOW-

Hawkeye #13 - The U in Funeral

Written by Matt Fraction
Drawn by David Aja

It's been a few months since the last Hawkeye issue but nothing misses a beat here. It was a very simple issue telling us once again that Matt Fraction is one of the best at writing human stories.
With a little bit of creative play on the past, we get Clint leading up to the murder of Grills and the leaving of Kate Bishop (and subsequent leaving of Arrow/Pizza Dog) and we find that his brother Barney was there when she/they left ans is also welcomed into the "family" of apartment dwellers (or tenants for those who prefer proper titles. Ya snobs...). But that pails in comparison to the real winner of this story and that's the funeral of Grills. Clint and Kate are cold as they go to pay their respects, Clint knowing that this all happened because he has imposed his life as Hawkeye onto these innocent people isn't sitting too well with his. At the burial, we

see the Tracksuit Bros watching, waiting for the moment to strike again. And most heartbreaking, we get Hawkeye telling Grills father in person about the loss. The issue ends with a very common scene: one the apartment rooftop. Grills father is grilling food for everybody, almost as a thank you for being a family to his son, Barney being accepted in and Clint looking over the roof edge, knowing that this is far from over.
Another book that has been near perfect for me from the start. Not much more I can say. Fraction is amazing on this title. Hawkeye has no right to be this damn awesome. You should read this.

Timm. Snyder.

That's all you need to know.

Boobs of the Day

Melissa Rauch
As any good geek should be doing, I watch The Bog Bang Theory and while it may be penny that gets all the attention of the ladies, Bernadette definitely is a scene stealer. Throw her in some tight cloths and you can start to see why she could give Penny a run any time she wanted.

He's Still Funny

If you haven't listened to some comedy from Mitch Hedberg, you're really missing out. He died in 2005 but I still love hearing his jokes. His mannerisms and delivery are spot on with his odd humor. Do yourself a favor and listen to some of his stuff
(Fair warning, there is a little bit of harsh language)

NB of the Week

-SPOILS BEWARE... YOU'RE IN FOR A SCARE-

Infinity #4 (of 6)

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Drawn by Jerome Opena & Dustin Weaver

Infinity has been pretty damn amazing from it's start but if you haven't been reading Hickman's full run on Avengers, you could be a little lost. Here's a quick (for me) recap of where things stand before this issue:
The Builders (the world changers that Hickman created in the very first issue of his Avengers run) have come to destroy Earth. They demand servitude from all races and such but Earth must surrender and then be destroyed. The Avengers are in space trying their best to stop them. Back on Earth, Thanos is continuing his quest to kill all the offspring he has sired (as seen in Jason Aaron's Thanos Rising mini) and is down to his last son that is also part Inhuman. In order to save that child and the rest of the Inhumans, Black Bolt and his brother Maximus have created a terrigenesis bomb. When Thanos attacks Bolt, his cry not only destroys their beloved city of Attilan, crashing it down into New York, but it also releases their bomb across the world.
In this issue (finally), we start seeing the effect the bomb has as people all across the world begin to change. Throughout time, the Inhuman races have splintered and faded and some of the genes have been crossed and mixed as they lived with other races (namely human). Any bloodline that has Inhuman genes is changed, including the son Thanos has been searching for. Once a healer for the village he lived in, his transformation has killed everybody there (I do believe Marvel has said he has the powers of both "life and death" so no idea how it exactly happened or what it means for him yet).
Back in space, Captain America and the Space Council have decided the best thing to do in order to save as many as they can is to surrender to the Builders, just as Ronan the Accuser and his Kree already have. Cap sends in the best messenger they have: Thor. Thor says a prayer to Mjolnir as he hurls it far into space, for they will allow him no weapons, and begins to try and work a truce. Builder says there will be no give and take and that Earth shall die. As this happens, Gladiator (back with Captain America) is surprised to find that radar is showing an incoming trajectory. Cap answering that "It's a reckoning". Mjolnir has traveled around a burning hot sun and has flung itself back to Thor. As the Builder lectures him, we get the setup and pay off we're all giddy for:
"Humanity should have the good sense to know their story is over. Mankind should know they are done."
"And what if I am not just a man?"
And as their alarm begins to sound, Builder turns just in time to see it's too late. Mjolnir finds the mighty hand of Thor once again, killing the Builder in order to do such. Thor calls a rally to the Kree and all their Accusers to rejoin their cause and fight once more as free men. Gladiator and Cap send our issue off with words of hope that maybe not all is lost:

"What follows after this?" Gladiator asks.
"Now we win."
As I've said, this may all be a bit confusing and a bit much if you haven't been reading Hickman's run but golly damn does he know how to rally the troops. I was amped and ready for a fight after this issue. We know that, for the most part, the Avengers will likely win. But even with that, I want to cheer them on every step of the way. I can't wait to see how this mini ends and I can't wait to see what happens with all the random Inhumans popping up (Hint: it leads to a new ongoing book by Matt Fraction).

NB of the Week

-THE SPOILS OF GETTING WHAT YOU WANT IS GETTING WHAT YOU ONCE WANTED-

Earth 2 #16 - To The Victor...
Written by  James Robinson
Drawn by Nicola Scott

The issue was pretty strait forward up to the end so forgive the short synopsis.
Steppenwolf and his army are attacking the World Army for control of Earth. His Hunger Dogs are kicking the collected asses of The Wonders and Steppenwolf is taking out the WA. In flies Green Lantern to stop Steppen but before he can get to far, Steppenwolf's Dog, Brutaal, flies in and helps pound Scott into submission. Steppen then grabs a reporter (who has been narrating this issue) and begins to claim to her camera that he shall be the new ruler of Earth. That he is the God that they shall all bow to. And before you can shake your fist at him, Brutaal slams down and karate chops him down in half. As Brutaal begins to speak of how Steppenwolf was selfish and only sought to conquer for himself, he reveals his true identity: Superman! "Hail Darkseid" is the last we see as the survivors fly off to whatever safety they can find. Earth has lost.

This was James Robinson's last issue (DC bastards) and boy did he go out with a bang. Normally Superman going evil wouldn't get a thumbs up from me but on this world, where they've shown there's little hope, him doing Darkseid's work somehow fits perfectly with the tone. The world needs heroes again and this only proves it further. This has been a damn good read from it's start and I can only hope that the writer taking over can do Robinson's story justice. Thankfully, it's the writer who has been doing Justice League: Injustice For All so he knows a little about writing a Superman who has lost control and taken over things.