Comic Box Recap for December 11, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

 

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Captain Marvel #13

Well, my disappointment was overwhelming for this particular issue. It started off fine, with Carol going after Tony. Then it all fell apart when she went into her pocket dimension…

It appears that she’s killing clones of the Avengers. Carol gives her reasoning behind what she’s doing – to save Kree refugees, which is admirable and she’s doing in it in typical Carol fashion. I’m not digging Vox Supreme. I really don’t like the idea that Carol barfed up her new suit – it’s just gross. None of this story is going the way I expected and certainly not he way I like.

Fantastic Four #17

I enjoy this book, most of the time. This issue was fine until the very end. I’m not down for a change to their origin story and I may be dropping this book. I thought the whole thing was going to be some weird connection for Johnny, not all of the Fantastic Four.

I like the wholesome messages in the story, but I’m just not down for anything like an adjustment to their origin story. It was totally fine the way it was. I don’t know why they have to change it from an accident to something more… malicious.

IDW

Star Trek: Voyager: Mirrors & Smoke One-Shot

I was super excited to pick this up and read it after reading two disappointing books this week. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! There are far too few Voyager comics, and almost no Mirror Universe Voyager content – but that’s because the Terran Empire had almost fallen to the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. I think the date (non-official canon date) of the Empire’s fall is around 2500 – give or take ten years.

I.S.S. Voyager gets lost in the Delta Quadrant, just like U.S.S. Voyager does in the prime universe. But MU Janeway decided to conquer it as a pirate queen instead of looking for a way home. She’s much harsher and takes literally no smack from anyone. She’s totally bad and I love it! Sign me up! I’ll serve under MU Janeway any day!

Image

Battlepug #4

I was just as excited for Battlepug as I was the Trek book this week. I love this book so much and this issue was awesome! I will admit, I was a little worried about the whole dimensional portal thing though. I didn’t want like a weird multiverse thing going on, but it appears to just be different worlds rather than different realities. (Please… don’t be different realities – just different worlds…) The giant people are keepers of sorts and Siglund’s actions have had repercussions that a child couldn’t have predicted. I don’t think Missus Queen has any idea what she’s unleashed either. I can’t wait to see how the Kinmundian takes on this challenge!

I also noticed the Star Wars reference, which I thought was absolutely great! The part where Kinmundian is in the ice cave with the giant white hairy creature is a reference to when Luke was upside down in the Wampa cave. The scene is pretty close to the Star Wars scene, until the Kinmundian uses the creature like a hammer to break the ice loose around his feet. I loved it!

I’m still curious about where Sprinkles is going to end up. Will he stay with the Kinmundian or go back to Siglund? I can’t wait for issue #5 – it can’t get here soon enough!

Conclusion

I really hope that Captain Marvel gets back on track after this arc. I wanted Star to be the ‘dark’ Captain Marvel. I want Fantastic Four to get back on track too. I will continue to buy Captain Marvel, regardless of where the story goes but not Fantastic Four. If it doesn’t get back on track in the next issue or two, I’ll cancel my FF sub. Star Trek books are always great reads for me. Battlepug has delivered once again and left me in high anticipation of the next issue!

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!

Comic Box Recap for November 20, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

 

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Captain Marvel #12

Well, I was thrown for a loop in this issue. I thought Star was going to be the dark Captain Marvel. Guess what – I was WRONG! This issue starts with an epic fight between Carol and Thor, which ultimately ends with Thor’s beheading. We don’t actually see Carol do the deed, so it’s possible that it could be a facade, but there’s no way to really know until we’re told for sure. But something is obviously going on because Carol does NOT want to hurt Thor. But in the end, she delivers Thor’s head to Vox Supreme. If you read Death of the Inhumans, you’d know that the Vox are the next stage of evolution for Inhumans. They were engineered by the Kree to rid their subjects of the humanity in them. The Vox leader is Vox Supreme, who we see here – and he’s terrifying! We know that Carol is part Kree, but because she’s on the side of Humanity, she probably has no ability to control or manage Vox Supreme.

I want to know how this all started. How did he get Carol under his influence? Did she really kill Thor? Is she really going to kill the other Avengers? We know comics like to resurrect characters all the time, so if the Avengers die, are they going to stay dead? Where was Vox Supreme hiding? Is the Kree behind this? So many questions and more keep coming to mind. It’s times like this that I wish I was able to read the entire story in one sitting, but I have to wait for the next issue to release!

Heycat Comics

David #1

Well, I wish there was more to this first issue because I’m not completely sure where this is going. The writing isn’t bad, and it’s a good issue as far as background context goes, but I need more. It’s a tragic story about a kid who’s zombie-like. The cause was from a curse put on his mother while she was pregnant with him, by a woman in New Orleans. His mother died in childbirth and his father hid him from the world. His father died and so he went looking for the woman that cursed his mother. We end with him burning her shop down. So, I’m confused as to where this story is going. I need issue two to be able to make a solid opinion on the story as a whole.

I love the art for the story, and it’s in black and white – not color. I like some stories being done in black and white, like this one. I think the decision to not do color was a good one for this title.

IDW

Star Trek: Discovery – Aftermath #3

This story was good. It wasn’t amazing or great, but it was a good filler story for the gap after season two. It gives us the events that led Spock to his decision for returning to Starfleet and it also shows us more of L’rell’s resolve and her love for the Klingon Empire. She will do what it takes to protect the Empire, even if it means she has to destroy her own ship.

The Shadows of Kahless seem like a group of radicals and homegrown terrorists. I wonder if they’re going to show up anymore in future Star Trek content? If you like seeing additional story material, this series is a good one to read.

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Outer Darkness #12

WOAH!!! I thought the crew was DEAD! I had no clue that it was a hallucination. Well played, Mr. Layman. Did Afu Chan know they weren’t dead when he did the art for issue 11? If he did, he didn’t put any indicators in the art for that previous issue. I was also convinced Admiral Prakash was dead too. Surprise! He’s not! My heart can’t take this! Admiral Prakash kind of planned on Rigg pulling these shenanigans. He didn’t plan on his daughter staying on the Charon though so there’s a wrench thrown into his plan now, whatever that plan may be. I think it’s something to do with bringing Rochelle back. This should be a wild ride in season two!

We still have a pregnant, time-displaced nun hiding on the ship, and Satalis with his own ship now en-route to catch the Charon. I’m so excited to see what happens with all of this! Everything I thought I knew is a lie! Rigg isn’t as cold and cruel as I thought he was – because he didn’t actually murder a bunch of folks.

I want to see this as a TV series… someone please make this. This is too good to not be a series!

Conclusion

I enjoyed all the books this week, and even had an additional book – David. I picked that book up at the Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention on November 16, so I worked it into this week’s recap. That weekend was the release of David. I wasn’t disappointed with any of the books this week. Outer Darkness is the gem of the bunch with Captain Marvel shining almost as bright.

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!

Comic Box Recap for November 6, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

 

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Fantastic Four #16

I’m really loving Dan Slott’s writing on Fantastic Four. It’s a great story with an obvious message that the world needs to hear. For such an advanced civilization, they sure are stuck on some old fashioned mistakes – mistakes we’re still making today. Ignoring those that need help – especially those that gave their lives for their world – is terrible. But what makes it even worse is that the Overseer (and maybe other people too) segregated and discriminates against those same people. It baffles me that this world couldn’t find enough love and heart to help those that didn’t get the benefits that the Unparalleled have. Ben Grimm is an inspiring individual and probably my favorite of all the Fantastic Four.

As for Sue and Reed, I figured they would go along with the Overseer dude for as long as they felt they could. I’m a little confused as to what Reed knows about the Overseer though. The big secret seemed to be that he’s hidden away the failed attempts at creating Unparalleled by shipping them to Lowtown. But apparently Reed knows something else and I hope we’re enlightened on what that is in the next issue. I also really liked his clever idea to use Sue’s force fields as a way to signal Ben and Johnny.

And speaking of Johnny, I totally ship him and Sky! They’re too cute together! But, I’m afraid that she’s in on whatever the Overseer is doing and so it won’t work out for the two of them. I kind of feel bad for Citadel too. Poor guy got stuck in the middle of all this. I hate saying this, but I truly hope that all of the Unparalleled are just minions to the Overseer and that none of them are aware of anything he’s doing wrong.

I’m just really excited about this book and hope it continues like this!

Absolute Comics Group

White Widow #3

I was so confused when I started reading this issue, until I realized that I missed an issue. There was a #2.5 ‘extended’ issue that released and I missed it. I read #3, but I was a little lost and felt like I was missing something by not reading #2.5 – even with the notes explaining things. I do not like important information being put into ‘extended’ issues or additional issues that have unusual numbering. Maybe I’ll be able to find #2.5 and get back on track.

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Space Bandits #5

What a way to end their mission! It was obvious that something was going to go wrong during the heist, but I had hoped that Thena and Cody would have discovered Viggo’s deceit sooner and been able to leave him behind. I knew Cody would have a backup plan of some kind, just in case things went south. It was a surprise to me when I saw she chose the Nature Reserve, which was very smart of her. I really like Cody, but I was actually shocked that she didn’t consider the possibility that Kaiser Crowe would be in on such a big heist to begin with. But it all worked out in the end and the girls made off with the loot!

Those two even tried to make things right for several of the folks they had wronged along the way. Sure, they kept most of the loot for themselves, but at least they did something to help some other folks. It really does show what kind of people they really are.

I don’t think I know who the guy and the boy are at the very end, other than bounty hunters of some kind. They look familiar, but I can’t recall if I’ve seen them before or not. Hopefully there’s more Space Bandits coming!

Conclusion

Even though I had some confusion with White Widow, I still liked it. I absolutely loved FF and Space Bandits. I started reading this Space Bandits issue today and before I knew it, it was done. If I get lost in a book like that, it means I’m seriously digging it. I hope there’s more to come and I will be super disappointed if that’s all there ever is!

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!

Comic Box Recap for October 30, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

 

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Doctor Strange Annual #1

There were two stories in this annual: “A Hallowed Evening” and “Treat”.

The first story, “A Hallowed Evening” is a lighter read that doesn’t take itself super serious. I thoroughly enjoyed the Halloween themed fun. I was surprised, but also not surprised at how much of a jerk Strange was. He was overly rude to Zelma, who is supposed to be his apprentice and friend – in some capacity. But overall, this was still a fun read.

Talk about going from zero to a million in one second flat! We went from a fun, not-too-serious, Halloween story to a story of a murder demon that wears the skins of folks and corrupts others that they’re close to. It was terrifying but also another good story. The murder demon thing is hunting a sword called the Gu Baodao (which has a bunch of special characters that it won’t let me add here). We find out that it’s not actually a sword, but a spell that’s tailored for Wong to use against Strange, should he go crazy or turn evil or something. But using that spell to kill Strange would kill Wong too. Now, I can’t recall if this Gu Baodao has been mentioned before in a Strange book, but it made this terrifying story even more morbid and dark – and I love it. Well done, Pornsak Pichetshote, well done.

Dark Horse

Invisible Kingdom #6

I’m not sure what happened to me with this issue, but I feel like I dredged through it until the last three pages. I don’t know if I just wasn’t digging the content or what, but I had a really hard time reading this month’s issue. I don’t mind a story about weird love triangles, but something about the way Eline was acting bothered me a lot. I didn’t get the impression that she was as childish and immature in the beginning as she acted in this issue. Vess isn’t acting like herself either. She’s much more aggressive and easy to agitate. It could be the stress of recent events, but I don’t like the change in their personalities. I guess we’ll see what comes of all of this – if anything.

When I got to the moment that Turo boarded the ship, I was much more tuned in. For a scavenger of sorts, he seemed more reasonable than what I expected. He just wanted to steal the Sundog… he was going to let them be guests on his ship. That definitely seems more reasonable than other scavenger types because they kill you first and then take your stuff. What I think Grix and crew should do – leave Turo on the Sundog and steal his ship. That might put Lux a little behind on tracking them. I guess we’ll have to wait until late November to see what happens next!

IDW

Stark Trek: Year Five #7

It sounds like the silvery-blackish Tholian might be a shape-shifter of sorts. The Tholians refer to it as a ‘trespasser from beyond the stars’ and they mention that it took their form again. Being a huge Trek fan, my mind instantly jumps to the idea that it’s a Founder. But I highly doubt that’s the case. In TOS, there were several creatures that could shape shift or take on the appearance of other creatures. It could easily be any one of those (maybe not the M-113 Salt Vampire), but Trelane comes to mind first. This whole ordeal seems a little too involved and too intricate of a plan for Trelane though. He has a flighty personality and the longer something is drawn out, the more bored he gets and is likely to move on. I highly doubt Trelane’s directly involved in this. It’s also possible that it’s a creature or person that we’ve never seen before. I remember in the first issue of this series, there was an ominous dark humanoid figure that had a weapon of some sort pointed at Kirk. That figure’s speech bubble was also black with white text, just like the dark Tholian. I am willing to bet that the dark Tholian and the shadowy figure are one in the same! If not, those two are from the same species of shape shifters. Whoever this entity is, they’ve woven a web of deception and have tried to start an interstellar war between Tholia and the Federation.

There’s some trouble that occurs in this issue – the Enterprise hits a Tholian Web! They also discover another ship trapped in the web. The ship is from a race of aquatic humanoids called the I’Qosa. Ayal is all that’s left of the ship’s crew, but they’re more than willing to help Kirk and Sulu with a plan to free the Enterprise from the web. Before they can fully implement their plan, the Tholians start to close in!

Here comes my ‘but, wait a minute’ voice. Tholians can’t be exposed to low temperatures for an extended period of time, because their carapace will crack and they’ll die. They require a temperature of 480 Kelvin (207 °C, 404 °F) and anything 380 Kelvin (106 °C, 224 °F) or less could spell trouble. So my ‘but, wait a minute’ voice says: “But, wait a minute – how are the Tholians bip-bopping around in open space?” Are the web filaments generating extreme temperatures as well as energy, allowing them to scurry about like spiders? Are they wearing super thin translucent space suits? Are they immune to space temperatures of 2.73 Kelvin (-270.42 °C, -454.75 °F)? I’d love to know what’s going on in this final panel because I can’t find any information that explains it. The best assumption I have is that the energy from the web filaments helps them generate heat. Hopefully this gets explained or someone can point me to the information I need to help me figure this out.

Conclusion

I liked all three books this week. I wouldn’t say I loved them all, but definitely liked them. Invisible Kingdom was my least favorite, which is surprising to me. It’s usually one of my favorites. Star Trek was my favorite this week, even with the weird Tholians in space thing going on. The Doctor Strange Annual was just a fun read.

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!

Comic Box Recap for October 16, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

I would like to apologize for the tardiness of this article. I was extremely busy, and the Memphis Comic Expo was fast approaching – so I had to prep for that. There will not be an article for October 23, 2019 because I didn’t have any comics come in that week that I read for this article series.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Captain Marvel #11

In this issue, it was an all or nothing situation for Carol. She didn’t stop Star by ripping the device from her own chest, so she put it back in. That seemed to be all she needed to get close enough to Star and then rip the device from Star’s chest instead. Carol tried everything she could think of before resorting to those measures. There were folks standing up for her against Star too, including a little girl that Star slapped really hard. Star has to be one of the meanest villains I’ve seen Captain Marvel face in recent years. Nuclear Man was just a bigot and misogynist. Star is downright cruel.

Carol seems to be more at peace with herself now and she actually explodes her alcoholic beverage container. It takes great strength to stand against a bad habit and Carol is definitely strong enough to beat this.

On the final page, we see Star is alive in the Raft – but not for long! There’s something weird going on with Star and the Reality Stone. Star says that she IS the Reality Stone, not just that she possesses it. I’m confused as to how the Reality Stone came into her possession to begin with. Being punched by Captain Marvel shouldn’t transfer the stone to someone else… It has to have something to do with that Kree device and the power drain. In any case, it looks like things are going to get rough.

Spider-Man (Abrams) #2

I can’t express how happy I am that I picked up this title. I’m enjoying it so much more than anything Spider-Man related since before the One More Day arc. And that excludes Scarlet Spider related stories – those are obviously the best because he’s the best Spider… Abrams and Abrams are doing a magnificent job at writing this story. I like that Ben is very different from Peter, but also a little sad that he’s so very angry. I do like that he expresses himself a little different than what Peter did most of the time. Peter had to put on a mask to be able to beat up folks. Ben just beats up bullies – no mask. He’s also really honest with his feelings towards Peter.

I really love Faye. I also love that she’s an activist, but I would like to see her take a more ‘legal’ route. I like that Faye now knows Ben is the new Spider-Man too. I think the two of them can really do some good together and with Faye knowing who Ben is, it’ll take some of that strain and difficulty off of their friendship. She’s got the cutest costume s the Marker. It seems like it might be a nod to Black Cat, maybe?

Ben’s first real bit of trouble was significant. Not only was it a rescue mission, but it was also a test of his abilities. He’s now realized that he has a lot to learn from that encounter that he doesn’t know was staged by Cadaverous. I hope that Peter coming home will help them bond a little bit, but something tells me that’s not going to be what happens. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Dark Horse

The Orville #4

When we left the Orville in the last issue, they were deep in Krill space with a group of folks that think the Krill are their brothers and sisters in the eyes of Avis. The crew tries to disguise the Orville as a Krill ship to deter any nosey Krill – doesn’t work – no surprise. They spend some time hiding in an asteroid and realized that the crew from the transport ship is kind of crazy. They’re willing to die instead of helping the Orville escape to safety. Well, almost all of them. I think John really struck a chord with Celeste. She changes her mind and decides to help the Orville, against the wishes of Darden. And the two sheep, I mean other crew, decide to follow her example. They seem like they’ll follow whoever is the alpha at the time. I wonder if they would have helped defend her against a physical attack if Darden had tried to beat her up? The facade that tricked Darden and his crew into unlocking their ship’s controls worked and the Orville’s crew was able to escape as planned.

Conclusion

I loved all three of my books this week. I’m really digging Spider-Man by Abrams and Abrams. I’ve seen such negative criticism about Spider-Man and I honestly don’t get it. I was skeptical of the series at first, but now I’m super happy that I subscribed to it.

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!

Comic Box Recap for October 2, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

 

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Doctor Strange #20

BATS!!! Bats is in this issue – and for more than a brief cameo! He actually has a conversation with Strange! I was shocked, but extremely happy. Now, I’m not silly enough to think that Mark Waid has read anything I’ve written about Bats – the man has probably never heard my name, and I doubt he’d care what I had to say anyway. But my faith in Waid has been restored – not that he needs my faith. Let’s see if he keeps my favorite secondary character in the pages of Doctor Strange.

I definitely enjoyed this issue, and would have even if Bats weren’t in it, but his presence elevated my enjoyment. I think Strange needs Bats, not only as a sounding board but also as a voice of reason at times. Bats brings up the dilemma that a friend and I were discussing: If Strange is in the middle of surgery, what does he do if there’s an invasion or attack from a being that only he can deal with? Strange doesn’t answer well enough for me. He brags about his ability and says, “And if I still can… …how can I not?” That ego of his was showing!

I can’t express how happy I was to see Kanna back again as well. She’s my next favorite secondary character, after Bats. She definitely brings out something in Strange’s personality when she’s around him. Her skills as a technomancer are also really handy. I really hope we see more of her (and Bats) in future issues.

Fantastic Four #15

I say this all the time, but I honestly mean it and can’t stress this enough – this is the perfect family friendly book. This is a book I would recommend reading to younger children and I really don’t think the Fantastic Four gets the love they deserve.

I really loved how this issue was written because it was different and interesting. It was written from the perspective of the aliens on an alien planet that the Fantastic Four ‘invaded’. Now, we all know that they weren’t invaders and one of the aliens probably misinterpreted an ancient prophecy or text. The Unparalleled are a group of heroes, like the Avengers, that intercept any threat to their planet with the help of the Overseer. There’s a bit of fighting and you can tell the Fantastic Four are holding back and trying to communicate, but you can’t read what they’re saying. Some of it looks like it could be deciphered, but I don’t have that kind of patience. Thank you, Reed Richards, for fixing the universal translator. During the fighting, Ben was booted into what they call Lowtown where he encounters hostile folks. Johnny is knocked out and taken away by Sky. The scuffle between Sue and Reed and the Unparalleled ends and they’re taken to the Overseer who tells them that they’re staying there, forever.

I don’t know how much I trust this Overseer guy. He sees everything and I’d expect no less from someone with a name like Overseer. Telling the Unparalleled where the danger is isn’t his only duty – he apparently can tell folks who their soulmates are. Normally that wouldn’t stand out to me, but during the story, I was under the impression that Citadel and Sky were soulmates… until the last page. Sky tells Johnny that they’re soulmates. Are they actually soulmates or is she just crazy? And I know the Fantastic Four won’t stay on Spyre but I’m anxious to see how they get out of there. I think the Overseer is a crazy dictator person disguised as a sane caretaker of sorts. I guess we’ll see in the issues to come!

Image

Sea of Stars #4

Dalla is a crazy person and not very nice. She wants to kill Kadyn’s friends, the monkey and whale. She’ll kill Kadyn too if she feels like she has to and take that artifact from inside him. I knew I didn’t like her! She’s not a ‘bad guy’ in the classic sense, just misguided. I highly doubt the Zzazteks will accept her back even if she brings Kadyn to them. They might just kill them all. Her bird is just as crazy as she is. I guess we’ll have to wait until next issue to see how all this plays out.

Gil is in so much trouble! I can’t believe he’s fought this long and this hard and he just gives up! I get that it’s discouraging to see Kadyn’s signal disappear, but how can he know that something bad has happened? He’s got to think about this! The battery just died in Kadyn’s helmet. The battery in his helmet almost died, so how can he not take that into consideration? Why does the loss of the signal have to mean something bad? I just want to reach into the panels of the book and shake some sense into him!

This has been an interesting book so far and I really can’t wait for the next issue. I could see the Zzazteks taking Gil back to their base or camp or whatever, and then here comes Dalla with Kadyn. There’s a happy reunion before the two realize that the Zzaztek are going to kill Kadyn for the artifact. I would not be surprised if something totally different from that happens.

Space Bandits #4

I can’t believe Cody messed up with the details about the weapons. If not for the facility’s security and manager stepping in, they’d be dead at the hands of Bowser Weex. Lucky for Cody and Thena, they onknowingly made an unlikely friend with the Telepathist. But how much of that was the Telepathist and how much was the actual manager and staff?

I’m so happy Cody got a glimpse of where Cosmo is at and I’m also glad she’s being smart about it and not collecting him right away. Kaiser Crowe seems like the baddest of all the bad guys she had teamed up with and having her beloved Cosmo in harms way would be a bad idea.

And I’m speechless in regards to Thena and Viggo. Is she really that stupid to think Viggo isn’t pulling another con? I saw right through it immediately and I sure didn’t fall for his lies. Cody better be smart and convince Thena that Viggo is a born jerk. It wasn’t a surprise when he contacted his buddy with the info about Cody and Thena, but I was definitely surprised when I saw who his buddy was – Kaiser Crowe!!! That was a twist I was not expecting!

Conclusion

I absolutely love when all of my books are great! What a pleasant week, with lots of great stories to read. There were lots of crazy people this week! There wasn’t anything that stood out as obnoxious, boring, or the like this week and I’m looking forward to the continuation of these books as well as the new content next week.

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!

Comic Box Recap for September 18, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

 

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Spider-Man #1 (Abrams)

I had no clue what I was getting into when I ordered this book. I ordered it because Henry Abrams and J. J. Abrams are writing it. Being the big Star Trek fan that I am, I was interested to see how the two Abrams handled one of my childhood favorites, Spider-Man. Well, there was a flurry of emotions for me when I read this book. I felt like I was discovering Spider-Man all over again. I was floored after reading this issue and immediately took to our local Discord server to tell folks that they should be reading this book too.

To start with, the death of Mary Jane caught me by surprise. I didn’t quite believe she was dead until I saw the funeral. Being that this is more of a What-If? type book and not tied directly to the main continuity, it’s not beyond imagination to believe that they just killed off a major character. But the panels leading up to that page would have you believe that Peter is the one about to die. It’s masterfully done, not just in the writing, but the artwork too. What a way to start a mini-series.

Twelve years after MJ’s death we see Ben, Peter and MJ’s son, as he’s struggling to help a fellow classmate against a bully in school. He tosses the bully named Roland (very reminiscent of Eddie Brock) though a door. Ben is very different from the way Peter was as a child. He’s got a temper and seems to cut lose on those he feels ‘deserves’ it. Peter seems to have drowned himself in work and has avoided being a father, leaving Ben to be raised by poor Aunt May. Ben starts to show signs of spider powers and it’s Aunt May, not Peter, that enlightens Ben to Peter’s superhero side in an attempt to help him understand what’s happening to him.

On the topic of the bad guy – I think his name is Cadaverous and I have no clue who he has in that tube that looks like a stasis chamber. His demeanor and the stasis lady remind me of Mr. Freeze from Batman, who is probably my second favorite Batman villain. I’m very interested to learn more about this villain and the lady. I am so excited for the second issue and it can’t get here fast enough!

Albatross FunnyBooks

Grumble #10

Jimmy the warehouse is just so gross and I love it. I’ve had nightmares about getting eaten by a warehouse… thanks to Norton’s grotesque art and Louise’s perfect coloring. The inside of Jimmy… (boy that sounds weird when I read it back to myself) …is just super horrendously gross in all the best ways. I really do love all the gross things! If a fantasy/horror comic can make me shudder while looking at it, then it was done right. Jimmy has all kinds of goodies hidden away inside of him: an Atari arcade machine; cars (one I think is the Shadow’s taxi or maybe Dick Tracy’s car?); what appears to be a Chinese shrine; a Dalek; Dr. Who’s Police Box; and some other piece of pop culture tech that I don’t recognize. And amidst all the pop culture goodies, we find Arachne’s Fang. Eddie reaches for it and Tala tries to stop him. I knew Tala was going to try and double cross Eddie! That was inevitable.

And can I talk about just how freaky gross it is to have folks running around inside another person and shooting lasers and bullets right through them? Those bounty hunters had zero concern for Jimmy while shooting at Eddie. There was Jimmy juice everywhere! My goodness, that sound so gross…

Right after Eddie and Tala escape from Jimmy the Warehouse with Arachne’s Fang, Tala is shot by Joe and is now dying in Eddie’s arms. Eddie, with Joe pointing a gun to his head, uses the Fang to undo the moment that Tala is shot. Joe is left ‘glitching’ and Tala is good as new. So did Eddie actually do it to save Tala, or to stop Joe from shooting him? Eddie acts relieved that Tala is alive, but I will question Eddie’s motives forever.

Sammy survived too and came to collect from Eddie. Eddie was able to con him into taking the used Fang, which will be active again in 200 years. And poor Jimmy is caught by authorities, stark naked.

Well, this is it until March of 2020… And that’s when we’ll catch up with Eddie and Tala in Memphis! Why is March 2020 so far away?!

IDW

Star Trek: Year Five #6

Okay, so the artifacts are the main suspect in all the communication issues. Apparently they’re making folks hear the intent behind everything that others say. The entire crew of the Enterprise has Uhura and Bright Eyes to thank for discovering that too. This issue was mostly how the crew handled getting around the communication issues and also them dealing with a Klingon ship. But because Klingons typically speak what they mean, it made it easier for Kirk to avoid hostilities with them.

I love seeing Uhura doing what she does best. She was a role model of mine before TNG aired and she continues to be an inspiration for me. Seeing so much of her in this series has made my heart very happy.

The very last panel says ‘End’ in the bottom corner, but the next page shows the cover for #7 – not to mention there are lots of things that haven’t been resolved yet. I’m not sure why it says End unless it means the end of the mini story. In any case, issue 7 can’t get here fast enough!

Conclusion

I absolutely love when all the books in my box are so entertaining! I was so surprised with Abrams’ Spider-Man story and I seriously can’t wait to get the next issue. I always love my Star Trek books, and Grumble is just too good to not read!

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!

Comic Box Recap for September 11, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

 

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Captain Marvel #10

Well, I know nothing. I’m apparently terrible at deducing things and I absolutely relate to Carol when she talks about how much she hates not being able to see the whole picture. I want all the relevant details, plain and simple. This is one of the many reasons I love Carol Danvers – I relate to her way more than any other female character in the Marvel universe. Until Minerva revealed the missing pieces, I was right there alongside Carol, scratching my head. The message on the wall, “You’re not as smart as you think you are” hit me as hard as it hit Carol.

It had become pretty obvious that the device in Carol’s chest was draining her powers, but I was in the dark about where her power was being drained to, until they revealed it. I like being surprised sometimes when I read a comic. I like some predictability, but I like the shock of discovery too. I really thought Minerva was Star and I never would have guessed it was Ripley Ryan, the reporter. I guess there are folks that had it figured it out from the beginning, but I definitely wasn’t one of them! And I also didn’t see Star’s backup plan until she revealed it. Star is a nasty antagonist that I really like and I’m on the edge of seat, waiting to see how Carol’s going to get out of this!

Doctor Strange #19

I have really enjoyed the last few of issues of Doctor Strange. I really like the baddie of the week format. This week’s troubled spirit was particularly nasty. He caused accidents that killed people and this time, he almost killed a little boy. I guess it’s a good thing that Doctor Strange was in the neighborhood.

The one thing that really bothers me is how easy it was for Strange to restore his hands when he’s searched forever and is just now using this source. Why didn’t he go Channok before now? Probably because this is his first appearance… but seriously, I don’t like that Strange suddenly knows where to get a spell that could restore his hands. The spell was contained in the Book of Even Odds. It’s a huge risk to use that spell in the first place because the price is steep and unnamed. I guess we’ll see how this turns out in the coming issues.

Dark Horse

The Orville #3

I’m not sure what happened, or if I read the original solicits incorrectly, but I wasn’t aware the series was going to continue beyond the previous two issues. I’m certainly not complaining! I’m definitely down for more Orville content. This is another two-part story and I assume it takes place directly after the previous story. I love all of the thought provoking topics that are presented in this issue.

I knew Darden and his crew were up to something. I didn’t think it was actually malicious and I still don’t think it is, unless they’re killing folks. I’ve always been someone that looked at religion as a private practice. What these folks are doing isn’t hurting anyone – unless they’re killing folks and severing their heads. The ritual does use a severed head, and apparently they had one from what Gordon said. But was it real or synthetic? Studying other cultures is never a bad thing. It becomes toxic if that culture does despicable things and folks take up the practice. I want to know if the severed head was acquired by killing someone or if it was a prop or whatever. If they didn’t kill someone to get it, and it was just a prop, then I don’t see what the harm is in letting them worship Avis. And if they want to fly into Krill space and potentially die, that’s their choice. The only issue I see with them doing that is that they could have sensitive information about the Planetary Union that the Krill will try to extract from them.

And I knew that the feedback Dann detected was going to come back and bite them later! I’m sure some residual feedback is common in daily operations, but when you’re watching an episode or you’re reading a story and something like that is mentioned, it’s typically because it’s going to be referenced later. And the feedback was more than just a minor reference! That feedback was a cleverly implanted program that slowly altered the ship’s course to keep them moving toward Krill space.

I feel like there are several lessons to be learned in this issue. We also won’t know if Darden and his crew have a malicious intent until next issue, but I feel like they just want to be left alone to worship Avis – and hopefully not go around severing heads off unsuspecting individuals.

Image

Outer Darkness #10

And just when I thought this book couldn’t surprise me anymore, this issue comes out. I wasn’t surprised that the crew fell victim to hate blossoms. That just seems like a normal thing to happen to them. I am surprised that their collective hate flowed in such a controlled manner. I would have expected what happened in the mess hall to happen ship-wide. But there were individuals that kept their composure even under the effect of the hate blossoms. I was surprised that Agwe didn’t explode when Rigg cut loose on the Crone. I was surprised that Satalis made his move on Rigg so thoughtlessly, even under the hate blossoms’ control. You would have thought he’d have had a more methodical and planned approach and not be so careless. And I was also surprised that Rigg held those particular actions against him when he’s not holding himself accountable for his intent on harming the Crone. And yet again, I was surprised that Rigg showed kindness towards the Crone in allowing her to keep her cat on the bridge.

Satalis is on his way to be fed to the ship’s engine, Gallu. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it happened or not. I could see Rigg tossing him to Gallu and Satalis getting eaten; or some kind of intervention, divine or otherwise, keeping Satalis from the maw of the god engine. Guess we’ll find out in the next issue!

Conclusion

All of my books were great this week. I always look forward to Outer Darkness, which is a favorite of mine from this week along with Captain Marvel. Doctor Strange is on the right track again, though I don’t know how I feel about his hands being restored. We’ll see how it goes. I’m glad the Orville wasn’t just a two part series and I think I misread the solicits initially. Can’t wait to see what comes in next week!

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!

Comic Box Recap for September 4, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Fantastic Four #14

I appreciate there are PTSD related topics in this issue and I appreciate that Ben was shown working through his issues, but it seems kind of fast. While some folks can deal with and overcome their personal traumas quicker than others, Ben seems to have done it in like a day or two. And maybe he didn’t fully work through all his issues and we’ll see it resurface, but I hope someone doesn’t see this as a normal timeline for dealing with something like PTSD.

I thought it was a bold move for Reed to recreate the ship. I applaud him and Johnny for their enthusiasm in trying to complete their original mission in such a nostalgic way. I can’t help but feel like something is going to go wrong though, because it always does. I thought it was sneaky to manipulate Ben by putting a dummy H.E.R.B.I.E. in the pilot seat. I can’t believe they did that to him! But it got him on the Marvel-2 and in the pilot seat. I really hope this mission works out and that Johnny finds whatever is calling to him.

The only thing that’s bothering me right now is how Ben knows that Alicia has abilities like Puppet Master and he hasn’t talked to her about it yet. I really want him to address it and I hope it doesn’t cause a rift between them.

IDW

Star Trek: Discovery – Aftermath #1

This story takes place after the events of the second season of Star Trek: Discovery. There are more glimpses into Spock’s past and how those events affect his decisions in the present. There is a side story about the Klingon Empire that’s going on at the same time. Seeing Kor, the TOS Kor but with ridges, made me very happy. He looks just like Kor from the show too! Tony Shasteen has done an awesome job with the art and J.D. Mettler’s coloring is very nice as well.

We get some interesting peeks at Pike and L’Rell discussing the potential beginnings of a peace talk. She shows great leadership with the way she speaks to Pike, but she then tells the council that it’s all just a sneaky, underhanded way for the Empire to get information on the Federation.

I noticed that Pike and Spock were walking in the same place that we see in Spock’s flashback. That moment from the flashback must be special to him, even if he doesn’t say it. He wouldn’t still go there if it wasn’t. This was a great issue and I am very much looking forward to the next issue.

Image

Battlepug #1

This comic released this week but I have a different article planned for it, so I won’t be recapping it in this article. Stay tuned!

Sea of Stars #3

Kadyn is very much a child. He does not need to be unsupervised in space, so I’m glad that the monkey and whale creatures are there with him. He taunts a huge predator and almost gets his whale friend eaten! And I thought that person at the end of the previous issue was an antagonist… now I’m not so sure. Whale calls the person a Zzaztek, and that Zzaztek is claiming Kadyn is Quasarro – some god of theirs. So is that person really an antagonist or are they one of the good guys? I can’t wait to see where this goes.

Gil is super lucky. But I can’t believe he survived that faster than light speed travel just to crash the ship on a planet with a toxic atmosphere. He seems to get lucky, but then again, is he really lucky? A plant crushes his helmet and he bites it in self defense, but finds out its vines are oxygen sources. Lucky or not? I can’t tell at this point. He’s barely getting what he needs to survive each time something goes wrong. And now, he’s being attacked by Zzazteks. What’s going to go wrong next? What’s going to barely work out next? I’m so hooked on this story and I want to know what’s going to happen next!

Section Zero #6

Well, I wasn’t expecting the time differential between that lost cryptid world and the main world. I expected 20 years to have passed for Tina too, but only about a year or less had gone by for her. So they discovered the secret hideout of the Ghosts, where they were stashing all their weapons, and they were able to take them down for now – with Carlos’s help. They even rescued a woman named Lava that’s a shaman of sorts and can control one of the elemental ring things. Curio’s diabolical plan was thwarted too and we finally discover the story of how Tina survived being blown up. I feel a little silly that it wasn’t until this final issue that I realized Carlos was Sargasso. When he takes the curse back from Sam is when it hit me.

It feels like everything was wrapped up nicely and I definitely appreciate that there are no lose ends. There’s such a wonderful happy ending and I wasn’t expecting that. I was pleasantly surprised.

Space Bandits #3

Well, another one bites the dust! Cody and Thena are working their way through the baddies and another one, maybe two, are done for. First, they go after Skinner who has taken over a resort by having one of his thugs boil the owner from the inside – with his mind. Skinner is enjoying the prospect of making bunches of money when Cody and Thena show up. There’s a hiccup and Thena is thrown out a window – and should be dead. But because of the special restorative fish things that are native to the planet, Thena is back on her feet and obliterates all the dudes.

The book leaves off on a cliffhanger with Bowser, seriously messed up on drugs and sex, held at gunpoint by Cody and Thena. So far, Cody’s plans have been working out, even when there are hiccups. I’m curious to see what happens with Bowser. I’m not sure if they’re going to be lucky enough to just pop him or if he’s going to fight back. Whatever happens will be exciting!

Conclusion

I had five books to read for this article and not a single one of them disappointed me. I enjoyed each one of them. Section Zero has come to a conclusion with this final issue and I will miss it. But Battlepug is here to replace it! Make sure you watch for my special Battlepug article, coming up soon!

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!

Comic Box Recap for August 28, 2019

Greetings Fellow Comic Fans!

In my Comic Box Recap article series, I want to talk about each of the comics that I read from my subscriptions that week. I don’t always read all the comics I order, because I’m only collecting some of them. Others are ones I may have started reading, but lost interest in but I still order them. You never know when you may want to go back and revisit a series at a later date.

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

Do not read any further if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS!

Marvel

Doctor Strange #18

Finally!!! This was a huge relief for me. I finally get to read a Doctor Strange story about the weird and unusual ‘baddie of the week’. He really lets his jerk side show in this issue too, with how rude he is to the family that lives in the house. He was nice enough to ring the doorbell, but he just ignored the family or was short with them. But to be fair, he was fighting an interdimensional aquatic demon… So they should have taken his advice and kept quiet so he could focus. At least Gene (the dad) was able to give Strange some helpful advice in combating Xennerak. Ironically, Xennerak was like a clog in a pipe and Gene is a handy man of sorts, so he knew how the best method to clean the pipes. When the threat of Xennerak was neutralized, Strange’s attitude was much more relaxed and he even fixed the family’s home before he left. That was the honorable thing to do and I appreciate that he did it.

I definitely enjoyed this issue much more than several of the previous issues. I hope this trend continues, with entertaining stories that don’t involve galaxy ending events like Galactus eating all of the worlds in the magic universe.

IDW

Star Trek: Year Five #5

This issue was absolutely fantastic! It’s apparent that the artifacts the Enterprise beamed up are either contaminated with some kind of mind altering affect – or – they’re not really artifacts, but weapons. They could also have been a device for interpreting languages that have somehow malfunctioned and are skewing communications. But again, they could also be a type of mental weapon that was planted on Hesperides I on purpose, just for the Enterprise. Or they could be the weapon that destroyed the civilization of Hesperides I, and the Enterprise is just unlucky in picking them up. A great side effect of whatever these ‘artifacts’ are is that they appear to have bridged the communication gap between Uhura and the Tholian, Bright Eyes. Bright Eyes doesn’t seem to have any hostile intent toward Uhura and even apologized for destroying the teddy bear.

I’m curious to see what happens to this Tholian. I’m also curious to see what is actually causing the communication breakdown and how the artifacts are related to that – if they are. I can not wait for the next issue!

Conclusion

I was so pleased with my books this week! I can’t express how happy I am to see the return of simple ‘baddie of the week’ in Doctor Strange and I look forward to more issues like that. Star Trek is always entertaining and I always look forward to the next issue.

What are you reading?
Is there a series I should be reading?
You can drop me a line here or find me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty!
Thanks for reading and remember to like, follow, and subscribe!

A good book is the best vacation!