This is the Geek in Review, the segment where we discuss the top stories in geekdom from the past week. Here are some notable developments:
NBC’s Heroes was notable for being one of the biggest highs in superhero television, followed by one of the lowest lows. Heroes started out so well, with interesting characters, a bag full of mysteries, and awesome superpowers. Unfortunately, as the seasons wore on (and the infamous writers strike did its damage), the show ground to a halt. The show increasingly looked directionless and frustrating.
Waid and Samnee’s run concludes with this dramatic issue! Only to start right back up again with issue #1 next month… Yeah. Only in comics.
This issue picks up where the previous left off: with Matt Murdock revealing his identity to the world. If you had any doubts as to whether or not this really happened, rest assured, this issue puts all doubts to rest.
Waid and Samnee have done such a fine job with Daredevil. There’s really nothing left to say about these two that hasn’t already been said. It has been one of Marvel NOW!’s most critically acclaimed books, to boot. It’s no surprise when you think about it. Waid and Samnee are two men at the height of their abilities. It would certainly be sad to say goodbye to this stellar team, but lucky for us no one is really leaving. Well, save for Daredevil, who is moving to San Francisco.
Frank is still on the trail of some cartel baddies, the Howling Commandos still have their sights on the Punisher and, randomly, Electro makes an appearance.
This issue offers up plenty of Frank killing bad guys. I feel like the body count in this series is already pushing 20 or 30. Maybe a bit excessive. The only thing showing a little restraint here is the art by Mitch Gerads. If there’s anything holding this series together, it’s the art. There’s even a nice little nod in there to David Aja’s Hawkguy, which is appropriate considering Gerads lines mimic that exact same style. Frank even gets a new dog, akin to Hawkeye’s Arrow, named Loot.
Nova gets an All-New jumping on point with issue 13.NOW! Beta Ray Bill makes an appearance and Nova joins him in his effort to take down the villain, Captain Skaarn.
This is one of many #1/.NOW issues released by Marvel to give fans a fresh introduction to their characters. Some have been more successful than others. Lucky for us, Nova slows down just enough to allow new fans to jump right in with what’s going on.
With news of Channing Tatum potentially playing Remy Lebeau in a Gambit solo movie, we chose to highlight the character by looking at some recent comic books. Consider this the day of Gambit, Part II!
Nothing has been confirmed about this movie officially, but we decided to take a look at some Gambit comics anyway. Specifically, we chose to look at the most recent run by writer James Asmus and main artist Clay Mann.
Marvel releases its newest superhero title, New Warriors. A group of young adult and teen heroes that have been around since the 80’s. Meet the new lineup: Nova, Scarlet Spider, Hummingbird, Speedball, Justice, Sun-Girl, Water Snake and Haechi.
How fitting that Scarlet Spider writer, Chris Yost, would take up this new title after the cancellation of the former. At least here he gets to continue developing Kaine, if only to share the spotlight.
Superior Spider-Man, set to end with issue #31, begins it’s final arc with Goblin Nation. The Green Goblin has taken control over the criminal underworld. Which leads us to wonder, is Ock-Spidey really “superior” after all?
When Dan Slott seemingly “killed” Peter Parker about a year ago, many fans were up in arms about it. Enter Superior Spider-Man, a comic were the villain becomes the hero. It’s a divisive creative move for some fans but, personally, I love the concept. This has created new and interesting story lines that we never would have seen with Peter Parker under the mask. Aside from a few vocal, rather negative, detractors to the series, people have really been eating it up, present company included!
Jennifer Walters skates by making a living as a New York City lawyer and spends the rest of her time Hulking out and beating up bad guys. When a woman in need comes to Jen for help, she agrees to take a case against her friend and Avengers teammate Tony Stark.
It’s becoming apparent that writer Charles Soule can do no wrong. The past 3 weeks he’s been on fire. 1st with Thunderbolts, then with Red Lanterns last week and now She-Hulk #1. But this issue in particular soars beyond the others.
X-Force is back! This Cable-led crew includes Fantomex, Marrow and Psylocke. They’re mission: to give mutantkind a stake in an ever-changing world, one that, in the past, hasn’t viewed them so kindly. They feel the best way to achieve this is to steal some kind of cyberweapon. Go figure.
Writer Simon Spurrier seems to have a handle on Cable and the kind of leader he is. He has a way with these characters and in expressing their personalities. The problem with the dynamic of these characters, though, is Psylocke being reduced to mother hen for most of the issue. I don’t tend to think of Psylocke as the “level-headed” member of any team, but this team is so screwy it sets her up to be one of the only sane people in the group.
It’s 1966. Hydra has captured two people who can create something called the Alchemy Formula. Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Ran Shen go out to retrieve these two scientists, only to have a wrench thrown in their plans by, non other than, the Winter Soldier.
You have to appreciate Marvel giving new prospective fans the chance to get to know their characters before the movies come out. By this, I’m talking about Winter Soldier and his appearance in the upcoming Captain America sequel. Marvel could hardly have done better than tasking Rick Remender with the job of returning Winter Soldier to a brand new monthly series. Remender’s current runs on both Uncanny Avengers and Captain America are highlighted by his ability to tap into the “old ways” of writing comic books. What he crafts here actually even feels like a Stan Lee issue from 1966 – one of the really good ones.