The Mast Reviews: Thursday's Comics (22/4/2010 & 29/4/2010).

You've got blog on you.

I was trying to decide how to do this, because there were nowhere near as many comics as I thought, but still a lot. I was weighing up what matters more when having a blog; is it giving readers lots of content, or quality content?

I opted for quality. Thus, I stumbled upon a new policy. Unless it's an on-going series, I will cease to review things that I don't feel are of good quality. For example, to keep up with issue #23 of Deadpool, you need to be told what happens in this month's Deadpool #22.

One-shots don't really need reviewing unless they're good or they add something to proceedings.

With that said, here is a combination of last Thursday's comics and this Thursday's comics!


Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #10

Just when I thought Deadpool might be having a little bit of a quality resurrection, there's a two doses of shit over a couple of weeks.

Having already been cancelled three issues from now, I really find it hard to even invest into this series anymore. I can't say that I feel the story will go anywhere either. Oddly enough, I do think it could have, given time. Given time, given more variation, Victor Gischler could be an ideal Deadpool writer.

This issue basically just continues from where #9 left off. Deadpool and Co. are being cornered by the three zombified Marvel characters, lead by Absorbing Man. They are also ambushed at the same time by agents of A.I.M., which proves to be quite fortuitious. Chasing down the easier option of fodder, the zombies pursue the soldiers and Deadpool tries to escape with his friends. Absorbing Man attempts to stop them, so Deadpool grabs this enormous rocket launcher thing from Dr. Veronica and tells them to clear out. He fires it into what appears to be the support of a building, the Chrysler building.

It collapses on him as Deadpool runs boyishly away. I thought that was kind of a funny, Deadpool-esque element. That's what we have to settle for nowadays, I guess.

Anyway, the search continues for Headpool's headless body so everyone can then go back to where they came from.

I suppose in and of itself it's not fair to call this issue shit. It's Marvel. I love Marvel to death, but their handling of Deadpool is abominable. Bringing me to the next point...


Deadpool #22.

Not only has Deadpool already done the wannabe hero thing, but he's already done it better than Daniel Way is trying to do it.

His tiny encounter with Spider-Man showed promise. Daniel Way, allergic to this it seems, has completely regressed and had Deadpool end up fighting a hillbilly family. One of which is called White Lightnin'.

I...I don't know.

Until a more steady, lengthy arc of quality can be said to exist, I don't recommend this series.


Thor #609.

And...


The New Avengers #64.

Thor #609 and The New Avengers #64 are getting a dual review because, though good, they sort of just detail the Siege of Asgard in what appears to be a manner that's unnecessary. I mean, I get that the main battle is saved for Siege's main four-parter, but they could've at least made the tie-ins as grand.

We're treated to Loki getting throughly exiled from Asgard in Thor #609, which made be respect King Balder a great deal more. Loki is never down or out, though. Whatever his end game is, I'm sure it's brilliant. Definitely the most improved villain in Marvel. He's just so goddamn sneaky, it's almost like violence-less viciousness.

Thor wasn't even in the issue, which bugged me.

The New Avengers #64 gives us some more alternate views of the Battle of Asgard. Most of it centres around Asgard being destroyed by The Sentry and how everyone reacts to this. Mockingbird is revealed to be alive under the rubble, shocker there. There is an intriguing turn when Loki takes away the power of the Norn stones from The Hood and his villains, however. The Hood and Madame Hydra escape and go on the run, powerless. He's really scared that when this is all settled, they'll be thrown in jail for life, to which Madame Hydra insists he has something that they'll never suspect or see coming.

I'm gonna let The New Avengers and Bendis get away with being a bit filler-y right now. This was, sadly, the final numbered issue of The New Avengers first volume. A series I have read and loved since 2005, save for The New Avengers: Finale next month, is coming to an end. I've followed it through Civil War, Secret Invasion and Dark Reign. It has been a terrific series and I can't really fault it for having a couple of issues that are dry.

I'm going to miss it. Thor is being written, post-Siege, by Matt Fraction. This pleases me! He writes a MEAN Thor and his current run on Iron Man is to Iron Man what Frank Miller was to Daredevil.


X=Men Legacy #235 (Second Coming: Chapter 4).

What an opening, and it picks up RIGHT where the previous chapter left off.

Cameron Hodge has sliced off part of Karma's leg foot and is about to deliver a killing blow when Cannonball rams him clear of her. The X-Men are shown bombing along a highway in pursuit of Cable and Hope, but they are swiftly ambushed. Ariel is killed in the blast and Wolverine is charred beyond belief, but still fine.

The other battle continues, but the New Mutants appear to be getting ever more overwhelmed. Cypher, in desperation, makes Warlock break his promise to never kill. He uses his alien ability to take over the body of a Purifier drone and fights Hodge with it.

The fight doesn't last long and it ends with him completely ripping Hodge's bio-organic head from his body.

Cable and Hope are holed up in a remote place in the desert, assured that while they are safe, they don't have long. This leads to an outside shot of their hiding spot being surrounded by Purifier soldiers. Luckily, the X-Men show up in time to finally taken them out and get Hope into their custody. The plan is for one Rogue to absorb powers from each of the X-Men and, with Nightcrawler, get Hope back to Utopia.

With Bastion tracking Cable, or at least the virus in Cable's cyborg arm, Cyclops thinks that they will be diverted to them as opposed to Hope. They take a moment to prepare themselves for the incoming enemies as Hope, Nightcrawler and Rogue take off.

I am really, really loving this story. As I was discussing with Andrew of Gosh! Comics, it's SO focused. It knows exactly where it's going and how to get there, despite having no main series and different writers on each tie-in. The next chapter was a week away...but I got them together due to the delay.


X-Force #26 (Second Coming: Chapter 5).

This is where shit gets mega serious.

With the New Mutants rushing back to Utopia in hopes of stopping Karma from bleeding to death and the X-Men and Cable ready to do major battle with Bastion's warriors, a lot was poised to happen. An incredibly exciting issue with a very tragic end (AND IT'S ONLY CHAPTER 5!).

Bastion is informed of Cable being stationary and recommends that they go after him and the girl immediately. Bastion, however, has other ideas. Sinister ideas, indeed.

Hope, Nightcrawler and Rogue continue their escape across the country. Nightcrawler cannot teleport continually, with two guests, without being extremely drained. As a result, they pause for a rest in an alleyway. Just as they are about to make their last few teleports, a gigantic flash of light appears. Rogue immediately orders Hope to get behind her as she summons all the powers loaned from her X-Men friends.

It's Bastian, or at least an extremely lethal representation of him. Rogue viciously attacks him, but he emotionlessly deals with her repeated attempts by knocking her unconscious. He approaches Hope and tells her that she must be destroyed on account of what he has seen her become in the future. Right at that point, Nightcrawler leaps into the way and receives a punch through his torso for his troubles. I was suspecting he'd be the one to go, if any, but it was still sad to see a character so likeable meet such a violent end. The tone and the execution of this death scene was amazingly well done.

Considering how many deaths are occuring right now, it was stand-out. Perfect.

He uses his remaining strength to teleport himself and Hope to Utopia, destroying what is revealed to be a drone of Bastian's in the process. Upon arrival, Hope tries to keep him alive, but he tells her she is worth it and that he believes in her. With that, he takes his last breath.

Everyone on Utopia is filled with absolute grief, understandably. When Wolverine arrives, he is almost reduced to sobbing and tears. THAT is how you make a death scene count, you know? If you want to make ME care, make me see why I should. To see everyone else rocked by this is what added to it. It's a very powerful moment and really does drive home what's at stake for mutant kind, and what has been sacrificed to keep Hope alive, even if nobody knows WHY she's the Messiah yet.

Back at their base, Bastian and his crew reveal that they have more plans yet to put into action (Not surprising, it's a story 13 chapters long). One can only imagine what those are.

I must say, if you're not reading this...then you're missing out.

It's an absolutely MAGNIFICENT series, it truly is. It's such a focused story and it has such a grand sense of impending doom, but triumph in with it. This story really does make you feel like something serious and important is happening.

Yost does an amazing job with X-Force and this issue is no exception. I really, really like it. His ability to characterise each character uniquely is making me want to go back and read the rest of the X-Force issues now. Maybe I'll even get the trades. The art is VERY good also, but then again, Mike Choi is a pimp like that. It's not terribly unique, but it's VERY detailed. The man knows details.

I also picked up the X-Factor tie-in, but it doesn't seem to be too relevant so I'm gonna save myself some time. If it becomes relevant, I'll fill you in later.

Seriously, guys. Second Coming is the shit right now, get onto it!

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That's about all I've got right now.

Stay tuned for the continuation of Daredevil Month on Sunday AND...a VERY special post tomorrow. Not an interview or anything, but something VERY exciting pertaining to comics.

Thank you ALL for reading. Comment, tell your friends and eat your vegetables.

Until next time, peace.

-The Mast.

The Mast Reviews: Iron Man 2.

You smell funny!

Thursday's Comics, due to being a double edition and me already having THIS post to prioritise, will be coming tomorrow as ONE post.

Now, let's just get right on with it. It's not too arrogant to say that I am the greatest man in the world. I also happen to be many people's go-to-guy on all this comic-esque. This review has been awaited and requested by millions of people, so I shall give you what you desire.

First, a spoiler-free summary of my thoughts. Then, I will go into detail about what I loved or loathed about the movie.

Ready? Take off!


Iron Man 2.

Spoiler-Free:

I saw this in IMAX and I recommend strongly that you do so wherever available, first off. Secondly, the movie itself; what do I think of it?

Iron Man 2 is better than Iron Man. It IS, in many ways, what I thought it would be. That being a typical Marvel sequel. It had the elements I expected: more characters, more action. It lacked what I was dreading, though. It lacked a lack of focus, and it lacked a sense of Spider-Man 3ism in that it never felt like any of the characters were unnecessary or shouldn't have been there.

Robert Downey Jr. tends to play Stark in a little more of an eccentric fashion than I'd have liked. It seems his ability to deal with the pressure of his position lead him into more comedic moments than it did serious ones, but I still deny there was or is probably anyone better suited to Stark. He's Stark to the core, and I can't take that away from him. Aside from the aforementioned eccentricity, he turns in a marvelous performance. When they DO get it right and Stark does start to show some of the more negative signs that come with his lifestyle, combined with being a superhero, he does so with competence and believability. Not just acceptable believability, either.

My biggest worry was that it would succumb to Marvel Sequel Syndrome. That being more characters, more action, worse story, worse movie. It didn't. The reason a lot of people will feel this isn't as good as the first is because it's not the first time we see Iron Man. We'll never have that first time seeing him suit up, we don't see the genesis, the tale of how Stark becomes Iron Man.

This should not be held against it, as nothing's new forever. What it does have is an additional genesis story, or stories. Stark is essentially re-learning how to live life, how to be himself and what matters now. He is faced with the fact that he can no longer be a carefree playboy, flying above his concerns and the concerns of the world. In this particular thread of plot, the movie successfully avoids being what I hoped it wouldn't.

Don Cheadle is very fine as Rhodey. I prefer him over Terrance Howard (The previous movie's Rhodey), actually. I do feel that he wasn't as spot on with Rhodey's character as R.D.J. is with Stark, but the dynamic between the two definitely hearkens back to some of their comic dynamics. I loved that. Then, of course, there's War Machine. All I'll say is that he lives up to the hype. Remember how Hollywood sold Revenge of the Fallen on Devastator? "We've got the Constructicons! They combine to form a big robot! We included a three second clip of him in the trailer!", only for his inclusion to be the worst waste of a climactic event in cinema history.



War Machine is not like that. War Machine shows up and you know they didn't falsely advertise in the trailer.

Mickey Rourke's character, Whiplash, was something contentious to me at the beginning. I didn't like how they gave him one character's name, but another's powers. When you see the movie, it all makes sense and is an acceptable and well-done/thought out departure from the comics. A stellar actor who commands more with just a glance than most actors can dream. He played his part well. I'm not entirely convinced it was a role made for him, a role that someone out there couldn't have been better in, but he was very enjoyable. They pulled a gambit similar to the one seen in The Incredible Hulk in that an origin is told throughout the opening credits. Whiplash's/Ivan Vanko's beginnings are what start off the movie.

This leads into the ball-bustingly cool first scene with Iron Man.

Sam Rockwell wasn't the Justin Hammer I originally hoped he'd be, but he still gave as good a shot at stealing the show as the rest of the cast. Truly one of the world's absolute finest actors and, again, his departure from the comics version of Hammer was necessary and ultimately well done.

Some scenes do seem like they suffer from intention. There are some moments where a more serious tone was required, but not entirely conveyed. Some cases where a serious tone was conveyed happened to be done at slightly inopportune times. I appreciate what they tried to do, though, and in many ways it did its job. The scene where Tony indulges himself a bit too much needed to be more of a downward spiral than a rising laugh moment, but the way in which he is reeled in perfectly counterbalances it.

Overall, the story is a surprisingly compelling and well-orchestrated tale of how a man is thrust into dealing with life at supersonic speed, due to his own influence, despite his desire to cruise through it at his own pace. As the characters are dragged into the world of Tony Stark, they all come together to form a purpose and are all there for a reason. The first and second acts are brilliant, but may leave some wondering when everything's going to kick off. If the criticism of the first one not having a sustainable and worthwhile third act was justified, it's roundly trounced and silenced in the sequel. One of the most pulse-quickening, fun and exciting third acts of superhero movie history.

The action scenes are not as plentiful as I'd expected, however I do NOT believe this means there wasn't enough action. What was there was brilliant and any more WOULD have been overkill.

Let me just say it: It's not The Dark Knight. It's not better, it's not worse. It just is. It's not like comparing Iron Man and Spider-Man movies. Batman is an entirely different mythos, premise and character that deserves to be left where it is. Iron Man is as excellent a franchise in its own right, and it too deserves not to be compared.

I loved this movie. I gained a maddeningly large amount of respect for Jon Favreau when watching the special features of the first movie. It was his baby, such an intense labour of love that truly does come through on screen. Iron Man 2 is absolutely no exception. There were so many little things that I could tell were done for my kind, and I appreciate that beyond words. There were things thrown in for Saturday night popcorn munchers, and I can appreciate that too.



Iron Man 2 raised the bar for the superhero genre, in my opinion, and when all was said and done? I could safely say it was my favourite superhero movie of all time.

Go see it, then see it again. Be warned, this is geared more toward fans of the first one and fans of comics/Iron Man more so. It's not a movie I think you are guaranteed to jump in and enjoy if you've either not seen and liked the first, or if you don't like comics.

Still, I can't recommend it enough.

Oh, and uh...stay after the credits...

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT:

I will leave a space so you don't accidentally read them.








































That should be enough.

Multiple geekgasms were had. There were points where I was almost frenzied, I kid you not. These movies are great, but you really cannot grasp how much more enjoyable they can be if you are into the comics, though.

The opening scene after the during-credits scene...it's the scene you've all seen from the trailer. He flies through the roof of the Expo Centre, lands on the platform and his armour is peeled away to reveal a tuxedo. As he lands, the chorus from Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC kicks in. It's really quite magic.

Let's move onto my gripes with the movie. Black Widow was underused as I expected she would be, she wasn't even given a name. My biggest issue with her was, as expected, no Russian accent. It's kind of unacceptable to me. Scarlett Johansson is a millionaire because her job is to act, so put on a Russian accent please. Do what you are paid to do. Not to say she wasn't good in this movie, because she was. She just wasn't...Black Widow. She wasn't the Black Widow I know and love.

In fairness, I must concede that many people may not have as big an issue with this as I did. I am a Daredevil fan of 18 years, and Black Widow is a huge part of his comics (Iron Man's, too). I recognise that I was always going to be more critical of her role and use than most, so just go in knowing that.

Maybe it's just me. Scarjo made a good point in saying that it's not very covert of a spy to show up and start talking in a Russian accent out of nowhere. In that case I accepted Natasha Romanoff (Her real name which they DID give her) using an assumed name, Natalie Rushman, and an American accent. What they SHOULD have done is had her immediately revert back to her real accent when she revealed herself to Stark in costume and Nick Fury introduced her. Tad disappointing as a reveal, really. Fury and Stark are chatting in a diner near the end and she just arrives in uniform.

She did go from pedestrian and sultry new girl to complete bad-ass toward the end. That bit was Black Widow that I know and love, and Happy Hogan's role in that scene was truly brilliant. Some would knock Jon Favreau for playing a character in his own movies, but he is such a gem.

The War Machine/Iron Man Vs Hammer Industries Drones fight was delicious. It was beautifully juxtaposed with them planning how they're gonna take these things out with strategy, only to realise they spent too long bickering and the drones had arrived. The revelation of Whiplash actually having a final form beyond that of the breathtaking racetrack scene was VERY pleasant. It added that coolness of having an opposing armoured villain, without repeating it from the first movie. If you think he looks intimidating in the racetrack scene, wait until you see the armour. This appears RIGHT at the end of the electrifying third act, and serves as the final showdown.

Samuel L. Jackson is...Sam Jackson. I'm not convinced he's Nick Fury in spirit, but he isn't in it much, so whatever. He does nail the Ultimate version, which he is supposed to be, but I never cared for that version. Perhaps that's why. Most of his scenes allude to The Avengers, especially at the end where Stark is deemed unfit to join as a member, only as a consultant (We all know that'll change).

The inclusion of Captain America's shield was cause for major geekout by me. It guest-starred in the first one for half a second, but you see Stark and Agent Coulson holding it in this one (No further details are indulged). Then...of course...came the biggest geekout, spaz-fit moment for me...

After waiting for the credits to finish, you are treated to Agent Coulson's car showing up in a New Mexican desert (Fury and Coulson previously alluded to a situation down South). He walks over to what appears to be a dig, but is actually a MASSIVE impact crater. He turns, raises his cellphone to his ear and says: "Sir? We've found it."

The camera pans down and what do we see embedded in the desert dirt? Mjolnir.

The hammer of Thor.

If you're reading this and you know me, you know my reaction. I threw my hands up and shouted out "YES!", much to the hilarious surprise of many around me.

Here's honestly hoping that his movie is as amazing as it has the potential to be, because Iron Man 2 set the standard.

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Thanks for reading this review, I know a lot of you have wanted to get your hands on it and I hope you enjoyed it.

Catch the blog tomorrow for Thursday's Comics, and come back on Sunday for the continuation of Daredevil Month!

Comment, RSS me, tell your friends and all that good stuff.

Until next time, peace.

-The Mast

The Mast Blogs: Flying Jerks & The Devil's Associates.

Curses!

Due to a volcanic ash cloud, caused by the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, planes all cross the U.K. have been grounded. I'm not sure how many, if any, incoming or outgoing flights are allowed. This means that Thursday's Comics were not delivered! What's the deal with all these flying jerks? Given that there were about six comics for me to buy this week, I must say that it will be a bumper edition of Thursday's Comics next week. Depending on how many comics come out, on top of the six I couldn't get today, it may be a two-part post.

It does present me with an opportunity to continue Daredevil Month, however. I planned to do this yesterday, but I was under the weather, health-wise (Again!). Speaking of Daredevil, I have to give a shout out to this website:

The Man Without Fear: A Daredevil Fan-Site.

It's run and operated by a fan of around 25 years and has been running since 1996. It has lists of issues, mini-bios, appearances, wallpapers etc. You name it, it's there. It's a wonderful site and does a great service to newcomers. Check it out!

Anyway, let's talk some delicious fiction!

The Devil's Associates.



Throughout Daredevil's 45 year existence, he has encountered and experienced a number of different associates. Some were friends, some were enemies, some were lovers and some were any variation of those. It's my personal opinion that Daredevil has been blessed with some truly excellent supporting characters, and given that he has always operated on the cusp of the mainstream, but mostly under the radar, a lot of these characters are partially or entirely unknown.

This entry is designed to give you some idea as to who's who (Most importantly, anyway. Who wants to read about Man-Bull? Nobody!) in the world of my favourite vermillion vigilante.


Franklin "Foggy" Nelson.

In the immortal words of Bob Ross, everybody needs a friend.

First appearing where it all began, in Daredevil #1, Foggy is Matt's work collegue and best friend. They first met as Matt studied law at Columbia University, at which Foggy was also studying law. Initially a target for bullies and thugs, Matt defended him and the two struck up a strong bond. A future and very important figure in Matt's life would also meet their acquaintance at Columbia. Some chick named Elektra Natchios...or something.

Matt began dating Elektra to Foggy's disdain, he considered her to be very off-putting and warned Matt to keep his wits about him. This is ironic, actually. At this point she wasn't someone Foggy had any reason to be suspicious of. More on that later...

After Elektra left the university, Matt and Foggy switched to Harvard Law School and graduated together. When deciding to open up the now legendary Nelson & Murdock law firm, they hired a secretary to work in their burgeoning practice. This turned out to be none other than Karen Page, with whom both Matt AND Foggy developed feelings for.

Over the years Foggy has been a concerned and loyal friend to Matt, visiting him in prison after his identity was outed (Currently, it's been covered-up to a degree) and risking his life by being involved with him. He had a very close scrape with death, which turned out to be him faking it as he went into witness protection. Despite his loyalty, he is a strong-willed man who isn't afraid to put Matt in his place. Upon his deal with the Kingpin, Foggy fired Matt from the company they built together.

As it stands right now, they seem to maintain a friendship, albeit strained.


Karen Page.

Also making her bow in Daredevil #1, the apparantly impossible-to-find-pictures-of Karen Page tends to define the "Distress" in the term Damsel-in-Distress a little too much.

As you can read above, she first met Matt when he started up the law firm with Foggy. Karen Page doesn't really have as much of a frequent role in Matt's life as others have, but the impact she left (Yes left) him with, both times, is undeniable.

Aware of Matt's double-life and arguably Matt's truest love, Karen Page eventually left the series after breaking up with him and heading to Los Angeles to pursue her acting dreams. She was not seen again until Born Again, Frank Miller's definitive Daredevil story. It's revealed that she had failed in her attempts to become an actress and had spiralled into a heroin addiction and making money from porn. Her desperate need for money caused her to sell Daredevil's identity, leading to the events of Born Again.

After the end of Born Again (Which I WON'T spoil), she returned at the beginning of Kevin Smith's Guardian Devil arc. Again, Matt was floored by the scent of her perfume before he even saw she'd returned. She most certainly knows how to make the guy's mind do gymnastics. Just after Matt had been told that he must kill a baby due to it possibly being the anti-christ, she turns up and tells him that she has A.I.D.S., falling crying into his arms. I'll save the rest for my review of Guardian Devil! Needless to say, Karen plays a part.

She remains one of the only female characters I really loved reading. SO utterly and truly damaged, she was as much a danger to herself as anyone else. A great character.


Mr. Fear.

Showing his not-so-famous face for the first time in Daredevil #6, the man once known as Zoltan Drago was the proprietor of a wax museum. As it was slowly running out of business, he sought to create an elixer that could turn his wax models to life.

Why would anyone do this? Well, for the very '60s reason of creating an army to strike back at those who have shunned him, of course! It doesn't work, but instead of discovering an elixer capable of spawning an army, he discovers is acts as a powerful gas, a gas that he can use to fill his enemies with paralysing fear. Thus, Mr. Fear! This may remind you of Scarecrow from DC, a character who pre-dates Mr. Fear by about two decades. Oh well!

Zoltan was eventually defeated and imprisoned by Daredevil, but there have been a number of people to take up the mantle. I always feel Mr. Fear, rip-off or not, was underused. He was always promoted as a great contrast to someone being billed as The Man without Fear, but it never seemed to materialise in my opinion. Maybe due to the aformentioned comparisons.


Owl.

Daredevil #3 brings us Leland Owlsley (Because you have to foreshadow your inevitable villain name in your surname), a crooked businessman who used his various businesses as a means to dodge taxes...at first.

Tired with being nothing more than a simple corporate crook, he began recruiting thugs for Owl's Gang (God, the names. I love you Mr. Lee, but come on). Naturally, somewhere along the line he takes a serum that appears to give him owl like abilities (What are the odds?); gliding, razor sharp talons, augmented strength and agility.

It turns out that he's actually a mutant and this actually just improves his strength.

Cliched beginnings aside, I really like Owl. Maybe it's the bird of prey thing, but he has an inherent viciousness to him, even in those early days, that just seemed genuinely threatening. What's better is that he rarely fought anyone in a fight, choosing to delegate such matters to underlings and fellow crimelords. When he DID begin to cross paths with our crimson crime-fighter, he proved to be no slouch. He gave Daredevil one of his most pivotal fights in Daredevil #80/#81, and to be fair, has give him a fair share of war wounds.

After he appeared to be killed at the hands of The Hood in The New Avengers #33, back in 2007, he returned as part of the returning Kingpin's plan. His last great encounter with Daredevil ended with a slightly unhinged Daredevil brutally cutting his nerves and putting him in the hospital. Some villains just don't get breaks.

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I was going to include Elektra in this post, but I covered her (Ba-zing!) in my co-post with Paul, entitled The Top 10 Best Non-Powered Heroes & Villains, and you can read that here.

Sometimes a curious or intriguing enough supporting character can be enough to draw someone into a comic series, so I hope this post went some way to giving you a bit more to think about. The saying goes that a hero is only as good as his villains, and Daredevil has a great supporting cast.

Again, apologies regarding the lack of Thursday's Comics, but next week will hae so much goodness for you. I'm amped about the next part of Second Coming, man. Saying that, I may end up with the next two parts due to delays! We shall see!

Thanks for reading and giving my blog your time. Don't forget to spread the link around and comment your asses off.

Until next time, peace!

-The Mast

The Mast Blogs/Reviews: Catch-Up with Daredevil & Daredevil #506.

Is this your homework, Larry?!

Welcome to the Mast, your number one stop for everything. Well, if everything involves and includes comic book reviews and ramblings. We are about to continue with Daredevil Month, and it's a post I've been waiting to make for a long time.

I love detailing plots, but I figured that to spare your eyes I would encapsulate Daredevil's current goings-on as briefly as I can, but will probably fail due to how much I love this series.

Let's get to this badness!

Daredevil's New Calling: Daredevil #500 - #505.

Matt Murdock, our beloved crime-fighter known as Daredevil, hadn't had the best run of luck as we headed into the 500th issue of his on-going series. Ed Brubaker's run had seen Matt endure a strained relationship with P.I. Dakota North as well as struggling with his regular crime-fighting duties by day and by night (Lawyer is his profession, do not forget).

During a particularly arduous and on-going conflict with the ninja death cult known as The Hand, Matt turned to the one man who nobody expected him to side with, out of sheer desperation, the returned crimelord of the Big Apple, the Kingpin. It cost Matt even more of his life's work as a sacrifice, due to his best friend and partner-in-law, Foggy Nelson, firing him from the firm upon hearing of his agreement with the Kingpin.



Now, before we go on, I must take you back a bit further. In Daredevil #111 (Vol. 2, it was re-numbered to #500, and Vol. 1 number, at what would have been issue #120 in Vol. 2), Lady Bullseye (An assassin for The Hand) shows up in New York to take part in the plan of The Hand's crime-lord Hiroshi.

Not caring much for their ceremony, ritual and tradition, she found herself looked upon with disdain. Long story short, she causes a mess in Daredevil's life and after confronting him, shockingly offers leadership of The Hand for him to accept. Naturally, he declines.

The Hand relocated to Spain and Lady Bullseye, at Hiroshi's order (We discover this in Daredevil #500), assassinates the new girlfriend and children of none other than? Yes, Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. She stabs him, telling him that it was a message from Matt Murdock. All the incentive he needs to return to his former stomping grounds.



Coming back to the events of Daredevil #500 and a few issues prior, the Kingpin had his own ideas for The Hand, having returned to New York. Using the aptly titled Lady Bullseye, Fisk began to etch out ways to eventually control The Hand himself. He naturally betrayed his deal with Daredevil by breaking the ever-lethal Owl out of prison and having him kidnap Dakota North. Daredevil, taking advice from a mysterious and blind sensei named Master Izo, begins to consider his invitiation to lead The Hand.

Discovering that the Owl had been working for Kingpin, he rescues Dakota North and lethally paralyses Owl in the ensuing fight.

Aware of the Kingpin's not-so-surprising betrayal and after convincing himself that under his grasp, the cult could be used to do good, he interrupts the ceremony whereby Wilson Fisk is about to presumably become leader of The Hand himself. A rather brutal battle breaks out with Daredevil taking one of The Hand's lords hostage and forcefully accepting the invitation. This madly angers Fisk, as two of Daredevil's conditions are that Lady Bullseye and Fisk are never associated with them again, to be forever considered enemies.



Now leading The Hand, Daredevil enters dangerous new territory. He severs ties with his public associates and is lead into the dungeons of The Hand's headquarters, accompanied by his new comrades, White Tiger and Black Tarantula, for his testing. This is where Daredevil #500 ends.

I fear I may have gotten some of those details hazy, or even in the wrong order, but the jist of it is: Daredevil was having a rough time with The Hand, they offered leadership to him, he declined and they fled. The Kingpin returned to snatch The Hand for himself in an attempt to get revenge on an assassination attempt he wrongly believed Daredevil was responsible for. As he's about to be initiated, Daredevil crashes the party and accepts the leadership. Daredevil now leads The Hand.



That's the basic premise of the storyline beginning from Daredevil #501 as Ed Brubaker's fantastic run ends and Andy Diggle's begins.

Slowly but surely, it becomes harder for Matt Murdock to not only separate himself from Daredevil (If there was such a distinction), but to make decisions in-keeping with his own sense of morality and ethics. After his testing is a success, still unsure of his role in this, he is told that he must offer a sacrifice if he is to lead. Seemingly betraying Master Izo at their request, he chains him up and causes a heart attack with a swift blow to the chest.

It's revealed later that Izo was in on it and, through meditation, slowed his heart to the point that it seemed dead; allowing Daredevil to lead The Hand with clean hands of his own.

Working on an as yet unknown project named Shadowland, Daredevil begins attempting to use The Hand to clean up New York City in the wake of Norman Osborn secretly allowing his criminals to run riot over the place. Crooked cops and common crooks alike begin falling at the blades of The Hand, and Daredevil begins to become an increasingly violent and more dominent aspect of Matt's personality.



This leads him and his close associate, White Tiger, to Japan, where he seeks to push his plan forward by convincing the native and elder members of The Hand that the organisation can be used to do good. Naturally, the idea of a gaijin (Foreign devil) warping The Hand into something like this is frowned upon by certain members. Bakuto, especially. Bakuto is a brash, modern and anti-traditionalist member of The Hand who only seems to love its penchant for killing. As long as they remain bad and murderous, he's fine with the way things are.

All is not as it seems, however, because someone wants Bakuto dead...someone within The Hand itself. All leading us to...


Daredevil #506.

How BEAUTIFUL is that cover art? I own all 506 issues of Daredevil, let that be known. So I do not say lightly that this is probably my favourite Daredevil cover at EVER.

Anyway...

Bakuto gets cursed with magic that causes him to see people as demons when they are not. We're talking MAJOR paranoia trips here. During an attempt on his life, Daredevil shows up and saves him, twice. Still unconvinced, partially due to the magic, Bakuto vows to expose why Daredevil would want to kill him.

The big reveal in this issue is that White Tiger, possibly under the spell of The Hand's hypnotism, has been plotting against Daredevil this whole time, alongside the other elders.

They ask her if he suspects anything and she says that he views her as being "as pure as the driven snow.". I have to believe that she's under some kind of spell here, because she'd fight to the death for Matt. It's a very tense, suspenseful story! Made even worse by the fact that there isn't another issue of Daredevil until JUNE! I think so, anyway. We're getting a one shot next month entitled Daredevil: Cage Match, where he fights Luke Cage for some reason. I'm guessing it's plot relevant, but not much is known. Same goes for the July five-parter known as Shadowland. A big year for Daredevil, it seems.

I HATE THAT. Grr, never mind. Andy Diggle is the shit and I'm happy to wait on Left Hand Path's (The current arc's title) conclusion.

This really is the most consistent comic out there, it always has been for me. Since Kevin Smith took over back in November 1998, with the exception of an issue here or there, I can honestly say that every writer has knocked Daredevil out of the park. He's a character whose series has been blessed with great writer after great writer.

If you want to get into comics and can only stomach one issue to keep track of, it's Daredevil. TRUST me. If anyone, ANYONE, wants a heads-up on where to start or any good stories to read, drop me a comment.

---

Typical, huh? I finally get around to catching everyone up on Daredevil and we don't get any more Daredevil until June! Anyway, sorry this took so long, and stay tuned for more goodness coming for Daredevil Month, including my interview with Daredevil WRITER, Andy Diggle!

I hope you're all doing well, take care.

Until next time, peace.

-The Mast

The Mast Blogs/Reviews: The Lure of Blackest Night & Thursday's Comics (15/4/2010).

You're MAD, you are!

It occurs to me that I sort of miss having a lot of comics to review on a Thursday. For the most part it's been only three or four per week. That will pick up when The Heroic Age starts, oh yes. More on that next time.

Alex at Comicana Comics roped me in...again. Instead of waiting for the trade paperback of Blackest Night (DC's 2009/2010 eight part mini-series), I bought Blackest Night #1..#7 and #8. I read #1 and it's THE MAAAD NOTE. Oh man. Anyway, after Daredevil Month is over, I will have the remaining five issues and will review them!

With that said, THURSDAY'S COMICS UP IN THIS PIECE, YO!


Deadpool Team-Up #894.

Remember how I said this series is throwaway because the issues are self-contained, one-and-done stories that can either be good one month and bad the next?

This is one of the bad ones. I swear to you, this comic stinks so bad that I'm not even going to review it. I'm just going to tell you to steer clear of it.

I say this as a Deadpool fan, so there's a possibility some of you may desire picking it up. That aside, the art is disgraceful, the plot is patently absurd even for a one-and-done, and the patience I have with allowing this series to continue is at melting point.


New Mutants #12 (Second Coming: Chapter 3).

My problem with tie-ins is that they can too often be surplus to requirements. They cost money and in the event that they offer nothing legitimately new to the story, they can be a waste of said money. A lot of tie-ins just bear the banner of whatever arc is occuring, without actually being a tie-in.

Second Coming is not one of those. It's a singular, cohesive story that lacks a main series and doesn't suffer for it one bit. Each chapter takes place almost immediately after the next, but what's clever is that each chapter cleverly involves whatever team's series would be hosting the next chapter. For example: At the end of Uncanny X-Men #523, the New Mutants appeared by order of Cyclops and were about to play their own part in the battle. They're about to launch a separate attack on Bastion's underling, Cameron Hodge and his army of 100 men in robotic exosuits.

This is immediately where the third chapter picks up.

Cable and Hope are still under pressure from the Purifiers and the X-Men/New Mutants have shown up to extract them. A very large, exciting battle ensues whereby Colossus rages on some soldiers due to Magik (Illyana Rasputin, sister of Colossus) being incapacitated by them. Nightcrawler is taken out next, and it begins to show that the Purifiers have specific means of neutralising certain X-Men.

Cable and Hope escape and are both at a loss as to how they could have been discovered just 30 minutes after checking into the motel.

During the battle, Karma of the New Mutants had been mentally manipulating the enemies. She tries this with a mutated Cameron Hodge and is attacked for her troubles (Honestly the creepiest man ever, and the techno-organic mutation makes it worse), with her leg impaled to the ground by one of his legs. The issue ends with yet another cliffhanger!

There's a shot of Rogue in there somewhere, on Utopia, as she says she has something to tell Cyclops (I think). She's one of the main characters in X-Men Legacy, which is where chapter four takes place.

What I love about this is that due to the amount of series' involved, you're never more than a week away from the next installment. This is quite a good move from Marvel, simply because it will avoid the series dragging out. It IS 14 chapters long with about six additional one-shot tie-ins, so it's a big load. It ends, all being on time, in July.

Finally, an X-Men story arc that's packed full of quality. I'm so glad to see the writers meshing well, too. Zeb Wells continues the solid and suspenseful feel of this story in this issue, and the internal art comes courtesy of Ibraim Roberson. I want to give special mention to the art, because it's absolutely brilliant. There aren't many extravagant set-pieces to show it off, like you'd expect from someone like Coipel or Deodato, but he's a very good artist and draws these characters well.

Of course, how can I not mention that cover? I swear Adi Granov is an alien, because his covers are never poor. I love every cover he does. He appears to be doing all the covers to this story arc, too. He's done the first three, he's doing chapter four, so we can only hope! I love how he draws Colossus, man. So epic.

Anyway, I'd definitely advise getting onto this series. Get down to a comic book store and grab the first three installments of this. You won't regret it, I promise.

---

The Siege one-shots began today (One-shots focusing on Loki, Captain America, Spider-Man and the Young Avengers). Spider-Man is next week, but I couldn't get the other three due to them selling out. As soon as I do, I'll update this post with the reviews.

Daredevil #506 came out today, and I had planned to have brought you all up to speed on the series by now. Alas, I haven't. Daredevil Month will continue on Saturday when I post Catch-Up with Daredevil, though. It will be a summary of all events from Daredevil #500 to my review of #506. Thereby allowing me to incorporate Daredevil's series into Thursday's Comics from now on.

Thanks for anyone reading this, as always. It's a pleasure.

Until next time, peace.

-The Mast

The Mast Looks Back: Vol. 7 (Born Again).

I'm a dude who's playing a dude, disguised as another dude!

Daredevil Month is finally upon all your stupid faces! I was scouring my comic collection and bouncing ideas off friends to determine just what would be the best way to crack open a month dedicated to my joint-favourite character of all time.

I realised there would be no better way than to start off with what many call the definitive Daredevil story.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the first post in Welcome to the Mast's Daredevil Month!


Born Again.

Before we get into what this story's about and my review OF it, let me give you a bit of background.

The Birth of Born Again.

Born Again was a story arc that ran in Daredevil's first volume from issue #227 to #233.















Those are the covers to the indivdual issues in order of release, from February to August 1986. I wasn't even a year old, crazy.

I think those are some pretty amazing covers! Click for full size versions.

Frank Miller returned for a second run on Daredevil after Dennis O'Neill left the book. They co-wrote Daredevil #226 and one month later, the first issue of Born Again hit shelves/stands, whatever it was back then. Accompanied by artist David Mazzucchelli, Frank Miller wrote what many consider to be the arc that turned Daredevil from a second tier character to a major player in the Marvel Universe.

Born Again: The Review.

Born Again is the tale of Matt Murdock's fall from sanity and ruination at the hands of Wilson Fisk, known to many as the Kingpin.

Years prior to this event, Karen Page had left New York City to pursue a career in movies. We see her at the beginning of Born Again, a shell of her former self. Her failed career, or attempt at one, resulted in her becoming a pornographic actress with a heroin addiction. In an attempt to gain money to satisfy her habit, she sells the identity of Daredevil, and so this begins the nudge that began the toppling of dominos in Matt Murdock's life.

It's at this point that the real trouble begins. If you could choose an enemy to have your identity to fall in the hands of, the furthest name from the preferred slot would be the Kingpin. Unfortunately for Matt Murdock, that's who manages to receive this information. Upon clarification that this information is correct, he slowly and accurately begins to tear Matt's life down from the inside.

What makes it so hard and painful to watch, especially if you have any attachment to Matt's character, is the way in which the Kingpin does it. He has his accounts frozen by the I.R.S., causes a foreclosure on his house and even uses his criminal influence to get a police officer to say that he saw Matt pay a witness to alter his case. The latter development causes Matt to endure a court case and, though winning, he is barred from practicing law. On top of all these events, the Kingpin makes life generally unbearable for Matt.

Matt tries, with increasingly violent methods, to find out who is behind it all and does so with no positive findings. In a momentary overreach and lapse of ruthless skill, the Kingpin has Matt's house firebombed. Knowing this to me a signature act of the mob, Matt deduces that the Kingpin is behind his currently dire predicament.

Destitute and now homeless, Matt finally becomes mentally unstable and has a hard time trusting anyone. He falls victim to flights of fantasy and begins to convince himself that Foggy Nelson, his best friend and partner, is conspiring against him.

As the story progresses, Matt's life takes bad turn after bad turn. Ben Urich, his only hope, finds evidence of the Kingpin's role. When his source is killed and he is beaten into hiding, Matt is once again left on his own. Confronting the Kingpin in a weakened state, Matt is beaten and restrained in a taxi with a bottle of liquor. Instructing his goons to push the taxi into the river, the Kingpin expresses joy at the fact that he defeated the only good man he knew, rendering him destitute and broken along the way. The final nail, he says, will come when the taxi is discovered and he is disgraced forever for the apparant drunken suicide.

Matt's resurrection of sorts comes when he frees himself from the car. This is part of the story where the theme of resurrection and indomitable spirit in the face of evil and adversity comes to light.

He tries to stop a robbery and is stabbed for his trouble, further highlighting the heartbreaking dark times of Matt Murdock. His mother (He doesn't actually know it's her at this time) nurses him back to health as he crawls to a convent for aid and shelter. During his convalescence, he rediscovers faith in his Catholic roots and sets out to regain his life somehow, with a few star-studded guest appearances!

Due to the very dramatic and twist based nature of this incredible story, I've decided to end the review here. I really think it's best read in person, trust me.

On that note...

How You Can Get It.

You CAN read the full synopsis here, or buy it from any good comic store in trade paperback format. The hardback is also available, as all compilations are at first.

If you cannot get it from a comic book store, or do not have one at convenient length, buy it from Amazon.Com or whatever regional Amazon site suits you best.

If you would enjoy buying the single issues, you'll be pleased to know that they do not actually cost that much! You can definitely get them in an eBay bulk sale, or even in singular form they are very affordable.

Why It's an Important Part of Daredevil's History.

I REALLY, STRONGLY recommend this story to ANYBODY. Even if you're not into comic books that much.

This story shows Matt Murdock deal with a madly influential, powerful and resourceful crime lord, and he does it mostly as Matt Murdock. He does not appear as Daredevil until somewhat near the end. It's a great example of how the truest heroes are still human inside, and are heroes despite the costume.

Mazzucchelli's art is captivating and has somewhat of a coloured noir feel to it. Frank Miller entirely changes the dynamio of these two arch-enemies throughout this story and things aren't ever the same again as a result. It's not a story that happens and then ends up forgotten. Even today there is a hefty weight of tension between the two.

A truly important tale of one man's indestructible will to fight against his tormentor and a cautionary tale of how ghosts can come back to cause irrepairable or very nearly irrepairable damage to your current life.

Do not die without having read this story.

---

Thank you all for reading the post that kicks off Daredevil Month, and do not forget to keep checking back for all the posts that I'll be making during it.

Daredevil is an amazing, awesome and perfectly memorable character, yet he is still someone that operates juuust below the general consciousness of comicdom. He's not a star like Spider-Man, and that's why I'm doing Daredevil Month. Hopefully, when all's said and done, you'll know more about Daredevil and maybe even spent some time and money on getting to know the character personally!

I'll be back with the next installment in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled!

Thanks!

Until then, peace.

-The Mast

The Mast Reviews/Blogs: Thursday's Comics (8/4/2010) & ANOTHER Special Announcement.

This is NOT tangerine bicycle!

I know what you're thinking and you're wrong. I did NOT miss Thursday's Comics! Ironically, I would have because I was sick and couldn't get to the store. With that said, they were not delivered anyway due to a shipping error.

Nevertheless, I am here with what should be a pretty recommendation-heavy post. Simply because this week was pretty good for comics.

People have been asking me to do a Blackest Night retrospective (OUTSIDE OF MY BLOG, MIND YOU! SINCE YOU'RE ALL SO ALLERGIC TO COMMENTING, YOU SCUM!). I will do that as soon as I buy the necessary trade paperbacks, and I will do this when they come out.

For now, let's get to the printed gold that you all come here for (Yes, you all. I will delude myself until proven otherwise).


Deadpool & Cable #25.

No, this is not the 25th issue of ANOTHER Deadpool series. Cable & Deadpool had a self-titled, acclaimed on-going series that surprisingly ran for 50 issues. Its sales were allegedly abominable, but all of those who read it generally seemed to love it.

This, the final issue of Cable's on-going series, co-stars Deadpool. It's kind of a tribute to the unofficial duo I suppose. I was glad, because they are so great together. If you guys and girls haven't ever read an issue of Cable & Deadpool, please go buy the first trade paperback. It's SUCH a great series.

Anyway, this is set during Messiah Complex, the X-Men storyline where Cable kidnapped Hope Summers (Named after) when she was a baby and took her to the future to protect her. It's an unrevealed piece of the story and it actually does fit quite well. It shows how Deadpool helped them escape the Purifiers and hold off their pursuers long enough for Cable to make the jump to light spe...I mean the future.

I bought it because it's a Deadpool appearance, but I'm reviewing it because it's a really decent read. You probably won't appreciate it fully unless you've read and enjoyed Cable & Deadpool (Since this was for us fans of the series, more or less), but you can still get enjoyment from it. It's a pretty stand-alone story, too. I just told you all you need to know about the plot. It's some really decent co-writing from Cable's Duane Swierczynski and Deadpool artist, Paco Medina; the man currently drawing my favourite Deadpool.

Pick it up if you can. It's fun, and Deadpool actually gets to kill a few things while breaking the fourth wall (In a REALLY cool way, I might add)! A rarity!


Deadpool Corps #1.

I've been anticipating this based on curiosity if nothing else.

The Prelude to Deadpool Corps, as I've said, was mostly a pleasant surprise. So, how was the opening issue of Deadpool's latest on-going? Decent.

The Corps get the lowdown on what exactly they're up against...kinda. The Contemplator tells them that there's a gigantic cloud thing (Not unlike Hytherion from Transformers: Alternity) that is going around and devouring consciousness of all things. The Corps, as a result, go off to stop it. They're not told how they can, or why them, but they do so.

The problem I have is that Gischler seems to think everyone has to speak with a humourous tinge, due to it being a Deadpool book. The cosmis entities make jokes etc and it doesn't fit too well. There's a part where they encounter Champion, who insists he test their worth by fighting them, and they trick him. Whilst stranded on the uninhabited moon as a result of The Corps, he begins muttering to himself comedically. It doesn't really work because he's not, to my understanding, a jocular character.

There's a pretty sweet, very well veiled Enter the Dragon reference in that Corps/Champion scene, though. Bruce Lee is one of the ways to my heart, so that gave me a chuckle.

Nothing much happens beyond that, truth be told. They stop off at a Mos Eisley-esque planet to refuel and end up getting into an excellently brutal bar fight. Champion shows up again, after being rescued by Gardener, and the issue ends with Deadpool about to fight him.

The worst thing about this issue is Liefield's art. Again, I can't hate on the man too much because he co-created Deadpool and I enjoyed the way he drew Deadpool in the early '90s. Up until not long ago, he drew my favourite Deadpool. Now, I've sort of realised that his Deadpool is quite shit in the modern day, as are all his characters, and comics are better off without his art.

His backgrounds are utterly DIRE. I believe he's only on the first issue, but I can't be sure. I think he did the cover for the next issue, but if he's the on-going artist then that's gonna knock points off.

Still, early days. There's promise, but I doubt this'll be a GREAT series. It'll probably become what Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth is, especially with that being cancelled and ending after issue #13.

I'll let you know in four or five issues time whether or not this is worth your money and free moments.


Uncanny X-Men #523 (Second Coming: Chapter 2).

Hmm.

Not long ago I was saying how Uncanny X-Men had become very boring and had confirmed everything I suspected about the X-Men titles. Well, in this tie-in to Second Coming, I find myself eating those words.

My review of the first chapter is in the previous week's Thursday's Comics, so go check that out.

Cable and Hope are still on the run and everyone is still after them. I have a feeling this is the tone that'll be set for the first couple of chapters, but it's ok, because it's AWESOME. Fraction writes X-Men, like almost everyone does, poorly. This story is something he's doing a very good job of taking part in, though.

It never feels slow, dull or pointless. Every little interaction reveals something more about the characters involved and you never feel like you want the comic to end. The part where Cable and Hope are discovered by Bastian's goons in the motel is especially tense and well paced.

The big reveal in this issue, I guess, is that it's finally revealed to the other X-Men that Cyclops had secretly formed X-Force as a wetworks team. I'm interested to see how this changes their view of the moral leader, and how that effects their ability in the field.

Second Coming is seemingly doing a COMPLETE 180 on my correct perceptions of the X-books. Every team, every squad seems to have a part to play, and all parts seem to matter. The next chapter is New Mutants #12, and if that continues the trend then I will be pleasantly surprised. It feels, like I said previously, like an old-school '90s X-Men story. The kind where all the tie-ins were actually good and had a purpose.

Not to mention that Adi Granov is REALLY knocking these cover art pieces out of the park. The first one was excellent, this is excellent and the cover to New Mutants #12 is suitably epic and solid in every good way.

The pitfall of this kind of multiple-writer arc is that if one writer sucks, it brings the whole feeling down. Let's hope whoever's writing New Mutants is good.

It's out next week, so join me.


S.H.I.E.L.D. #1.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

THIS...is promising. THIS...is something I am DEFINITELY excited about. This series tickles my geek fancy on numerous levels, so let me tell you why.

I have always been a major history buff, I've always had a mind and love for science. Not necessarily because of academic (Although I excelled in both), but because I just appreciate things like that.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s premise is, to summarise: The organisation has existed for longer than we know. It goes back as far as Third Dynasty Egypt, so we're talking 2700 B.C. here.

A young man named Leonid, in 1953, is invited to join The Shield. What is The Shield? It's what S.H.I.E.L.D. began as. The story is told to Leonid through flashbacks, so it works especially well for the reader.

Back in Third Dynasty Egypt, the Egyptian pharoah known as Imhotep fought and defeated an invading alien threat. This alien threat was The Brood, known throughout Marvel as a bug-like alien race.

Throughout the ages many great legends have been defenders against off-planet threads, members of this secret group. From Galileo to Leonardo da Vinci, all were secret defenders of civilisation. Dedicated to ensuring the world did not meet its end before its time. In a nutshell: All of these dudes were the superheroes of their day, in their own way, and many of Marvel's cosmic entities had visited Earth long before we were aware.

The repeated line that they all share in their scenes is: "This is not how the world ends.".

There's a great scene where Da Vinci is working on his flying machine, but it actually turns out to be a suit with wings. Seeing him soar through the sky in a steampunk precursor to what Iron Man has today...it's wonderful.

My favourite part, though, was an amazing scene wherein Galileo is adjusting a machine. THE machine, you all know which. His assistant says: "How do you know your machine will stop it?", or something to that effect. You're wondering what IT he's referring to, then he steps out onto a balcony and you see Galactus in the distance, towering over the city.

The art is just...it's truly befitting a comic of this style. The sheer amount of saliva I am losing over the prospect of where this series could go...I can't even tell you.

Leonid's father, known as The Night Machine, returns to him after being missing for so long, clad in a technologically advanced armour, and leads his son to an attic containing all kinds of devices. Just as he gets into a fight with Howard Stark and Nathaniel Richards (I totally geeked out, man), he locks the door behind his son. The comic closes with Leonid wandering around this epic, caverous observatory-esque room, until he is told to "ring the bell" and "wake the watch".

Standing there is Leonardo Da Vinci, apparantly having time travelled to the 20th century. He states that he possesses that which will save all things, and the issue comes to a close.

I was floored not so much by the issue alone, but by how mouth-watering of a concept this is, and what possibilities could arise from it. It's not really going to fuck with continuity either, because nobody has really suggested that the Marvel Universe goes that far back, with a few exceptions (Apocalypse was a born mutant from First Dynasty Egypt).

What's curious is that Galileo states that how the world ends is a true secret, as if they all know how it'll happen, as if there's some kind of destined way that it's supposed to come about and that's why they must stop it happening prematurely. Very cryptic, I love it. I think that's what they all mean when they say the quote.

I have a variant (Not the cover shown here), but I am not entirely sure that was the best option. It's entirely sketched in black and white, as is the comic itself. I don't know if that's the point of the variant or not, but if the actual comic was meant to be in colour then get that. I will, probably. Though, having the sketched, pre-inked version gives it a nice kind of blueprint feel. It actually makes the series seem more authentic.

Definitely keep your eyes peeled for my continued reviews of this, or better yet, go buy the first issue!

---

Daredevil Month will begin on SUNDAY, due to this post coming a day late, but it will be in full swing from then on. That is, of course, barring any circumstances in which I can't post.

Now, I hear you all wondering what the special announcement is? Well, I am very, VERY pleased to announce that I will be having none other than Mr. Andy Diggle on Welcome to the Mast!

The current writer of Daredevil's on-going will be gracing this blog with a text interview in the coming month! This is tremendous and very exciting to me, being that he WRITES DAREDEVIL AND EVERYTHING! He told me to mail him the questions when I have them, so I'll be doing that soon and as soon as he gets back to me, the interview will be up!

Pretty sweet, huh? I come through with the exclusives, don't mess.

That's about all I've got time for I'm afraid. So come by on Sunday to see what I've got in store!

Until then, peace.

-The Mast.

The Mast Blogs: Epic News Makes Your Host Happy.

Bang!

I'm back from vacation, but I have a rotten chest cold. Health problems seem to wanna punish and follow me! Regardless, I'm 60-70% sure I'll have Thursday's Comics tomorrow. Daredevil Month begins on Saturday, so be sure to check that.

For now, I bring you a quick update that made me salivate.

Remember all the blacked-out teasers for Marvel's upcoming Secret Avengers series, written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Mike Deodato? Do ya? DO YA?! Well, two members were revealed today.

One was this guy:



Beast. He was an expected edition, but I still think people expected someone else. I've always been indifferent to him, so I will just wait to see how it pans out.

The second revelation is what got my geek-hairs standing up. Check it:



War Machine, baby! Oh yes!

I hoped they'd put Rhodey on SOME variation of Avengers, and they did! This is DEFINITELY a series you will NOT WANT TO MISS! May 2010! Pick this stuff up!

I should see you lovely folks tomorrow.

Until then, peace.

-The Mast

The Mast Reviews: Thursday's Comics (1/4/2010).

This blog post will self-destruct in five seconds.

IT WON'T! DON'T LEAVE!

Welcome to another edition of Thursday's Comics, courtesy of Welcome to the Mast.

Due to time constraints, I will have to get right into this, unfortunately. Nevertheless, for a week of three comics, it was a pretty decent one. A bad one for the wallet, though!


Prelude to Deadpool Corps #5 of 5.

I wondered what this issue would be about, considering there are four members of the Deadpool Corps and their issues have all passed. This was just a set-up issue that went a bit of the way to explaining just what they have been formed for, and by who.

The Contemplator and Grandmaster; two major, MAJOR cosmic entities, each have their own ideas as to what group of individuals is best suited to combat this coming threat to the universe. The Contemplator feels his chosen group (Deadpool Corps) are best suited, whilst Grandmaster feels his group would be best. His group happens to be a collective of intergalactic, teddy bear pirates. Don't ask.

The Contemplator challenges Grandmaster to a test; if his team wins, they get to save the universe and vice versa. This test turns out to be capture the flag, only revealed as such toward the end of the comic. It's a pretty amusing issue, but it is what it is.

I would say that it's not necessary as a buy, even when the trades come out. It's been kinda fun though. I would say two of the five have ben very good, one has been ok and the other two have been mediocre.

The art is computer generated, however. I must say, this was disgraceful. The art was utterly terrible and I hope that it never graces another comic. Be ashamed of yourself, Baker!


Realm of Kings: Inhumans #5 of 5.

With the revelation that Queen Medusa was behind Maximus' betrayal this whole time, the issue begins with Ronan and Crystal lambasting her, asking for justification.

As a means of uniting the nation and re-affirming faith in the Inhumans, Queen Medusa decided that she would instigate the attacks and then, when successfully defended, the people will have firmly re-established faith in the Kree Empire.

The really interesting part comes just as it looks like this mini-series' was fixing to be an enjoyable, though useless piece of work. Triton's (Remember? He was analysing The Fault?) ship returns and crash lands into their city. As they all arrive on the scene and crack the ship open to help the assumed survivors, a gigantic creature from The Fault bursts out. It swiftly begins choking Crystal with one of its tentacles as Ronan hammers away at it.

These things really are grotesque and horrifying. I really cannot fault the design. They aimed for The Fault to appear nightmarish and boy, did they ever nail it.

Triton emerges and tells Gorgon that the remainder of his crew were infected and began to merge into this creature. After a struggling battle, Queen Medusa shows up with an epic army of chorus sentries, swiftly ordering them to destroy the creature, which they do with great efficiency.

The issue rounds off with an emergency message from Gladiator, calling the galactic council to order in wake of this threat he has experienced. I'm guessing this ties nicely into the end of Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard, which actually shows Gladiator at that meeting.

The issue ends and it prepares us for the next arc, The Thanos Imperative. I am fucking HAPPY that one of my favourite villains of all time is back, and presumably will be written by Dan Abnett. It all, I believe, kicks off in June and I am way more optimistic about it. Realm of Kings wasn't great, but if this coming arc really does turn out to be an epic one, I'll forgive it. It DOES involve The Fault and more to the point, THE SILVER FUCKING SURFER is involved. One third of my Marvel trinity is coming back into play.

I do recommend getting hold of the trades of Realm of Kings: Inhumans AND Imperial Guard, just because. If you haven't done so, get War of Kings too! It came before Realm of Kings and it's really, really good. They won't be out yet, but when they are, expect a heads up on this blog.


X-Men: Second Coming #1 (Second Coming: Chapter 1).

A one-shot that begins the far-reaching and long-lasting Second Coming story arc.

I was not sure at ALL whether or not I wanted to buy this, but it's always so tempting. You don't want to give yourself MORE comics to buy, only to find out that the story ended up sucking, but you don't want to miss out on it early. If it DOES turn out good, you've then got to re-trace every back issue, and that can be tiresome.

So, I caved and bought the starting issue.

The build-up to this arc was mainly prominent in Cable's latest series. Hope Summers was the first mutant born after Scarlet Witch went cuckoo in House of M, so she's pretty special. This story was told in X-Men: Messiah Complex, an arc whereby everyone was after this prodigal newborn, culminating in Cyclops telling Cable to take her to the future as a means of protecting her.

Bishop, Cable's sworn enemy, saw her as a mega threat and said that she needed to be killed before she becomes what he "knows" she'll become. This lead into Messiah War, a story in which Cable and Hope time hopped whilst trying to avoid Bishop and Stryfe while under the protection of X-Force.

Eventually, they beat Bishop somehow (I don't read Cable), and Hope decided she wanted to return to her home timeline, the main timeline.

Thus, Second Coming begins.

Cable and Hope return and are immediately accosted by robotic hunters, they defend themselves to the best of their ability while Cable figures a plan out.

Meanwhile, on Utopia, Cyclops is giving a speech about how there were 181 mutants left after M-Day and that number drops every day. They face the crisis of admitting that unless more mutants are born, they'll become extinct eventually. Coincidentally enough, or fatalistically enough, Cerebra picks up Cable's signal. Cyclops knows he brought Hope back with him and promptly organises various teams of X-people to bring her in safely, knowing that bad guys are after her too.

Hope is being heralded as the mutant messiah, and Cyclops goes so far as to say that nothing and no-one is as important as Hope right now.

So begins a rather exciting and violent cat and mouse chase as various organisations attempt to apprehend Cable and Hope, with the X-Men and company on their tail too.

I generally do enjoy the writings of Craig Kyle and Chris Yost, so I'm not surprised they seem to have a grasp on where to go with this. It's a MASSIVE story arc, though, and it clocks in at about 14 chapters, including a couple of one-shots and a three-parter. I hope that if I invest in this series, I do not get let down. I am not exhibiting a great amount of faith here, but I'm definitely not going to be completist. If the series isn't still giving me enjoyment by the half-way mark, I'm bailing.

I would NOT recommend this to any of you looking to get into comics, simply because it's too much work. This sort of thing is more for comic devotees. Still, if it's any good, I'll let you know my final thoughts in July when it all wraps up. That's IF I stick with it.

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That's all I've got for you guys today! I'm on mini-vacation from tomorrow until Tuesday, so Daredevil Month may not get underway until then. Additionally, next week's edition of Thursday's Comics may be split into two parts and finished on Friday. Why? Because there are SIX comics coming out that have Deadpool in ALONE. Due to the fact that my faith in Deadpool has been slightly re-affirmed, I will be getting these. If they're all worth reviewing, I will. If not, I shall not.

The point is, if there are lots of other comics coming out that week, I will not be able to fit them all in on one sitting without going insane. I just thought I'd give you a heads up.

Anyway, thanks very much for reading, comment if you like, tell your friends and I'll catch you people next time!

Until then, peace.

-The Mast