Due to very unfortunate circumstances I was unable to film with Iyare on this week's episode of Direct Edition, which sucks, because I really wanna guest again. I love that show and those who make it.
Be sure to go check it out and subscribe if you haven't, or tell those you think might like it to do the same.
Also, to the super-tough person who attempts to leave me negative comments and simply gets them laughed at and deleted, I hope you do realise the contradiction of calling someone a pussy while anonymous.
Still, send me your address and I'll send you an autographed picture. I love ALL my fans.
This week was a pretty damn good week for comics. I bought some comic backing boards because I needed them, but I got home to find out they were too small for the sleeves. I'm O.C.D. about my comics, shut up. Now I have 100 backer boards that I bought for £8 and can do nothing with them.
Don't forget, this Saturday comes my interview with Mr. Dan Abnett! Definitely something you'll wanna check out if you've been loving the cosmic stuff. For now, though, COMICS!
Thursday's Comics.
Deadpool: Max #1.
Most of you know, I have wanted an unleashed, violent and explicit Deadpool depiction for a long time now.
Despite being out of continuity, I really did always want a MAX series for Deadpool. What is MAX? MAX is the adult off-shoot of Marvel comics really. Anything with the suffix of MAX means it is explicit and for older readers. The Punisher had his most acclaimed series when Garth Ennis penned The Punisher: MAX, for example. It's simply way more suited to some characters.
Deadpool: MAX #1 sees a down-on-his-times guy named Bob (Always Bob) telling a voice on the other end of a telephone about his last mission. Deadpool was hired, or decided, to assassinate reclusive head of A.I.M., Hammerhead. To infiltrate the building he crafted a careful plan that involved this mole, Bob, getting anally raped, beaten and generally threatened by a sadist named Bruno. All while feeding Deadpool information.
Through various fake death scenarios, Deadpool finally gets to the paranoid Hammerhead and shoves a combat knife through his face. The proficiency with which he kills the guards is just...unf. It's what I've been waiting for. A snarky, rather mean and understated, yet still hilarious Deadpool.
It's all here, really; violence, death, nudity, harsh language. This is shaping up to be yet another series that resurrects the reputation of Deadpool among fans. Like I said, it's just such a shame it's not in continuity.
I don't know if I'd consider it a jumping on point as far as getting to know Deadpool, but if you feel like giving it a whirl, by all means do! The artwork is pretty zany, but Deadpool looks very lean and assassin-like. He really does look gracefully lethal and ironically centered in a chaotic art style. I like it.
Avengers Academy #5.
Another part origin, part continuation issue.
Striker gets the treatment this time, and it's a little cliched to be honest. The most obviously brash and arrogant one is shown to have been a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of one of many men his fame-craving mother would bring home. A true golddigger, she used him to get famous when she couldn't any longer.
It's typical and it sort of takes away credibility from any angst he may have. He re-tells his origina to Jocasta as she mindlessly wanders around the mansion at night, which I felt did give it a nice touch.
The story progresses with him hitting on various students, Veil and Finesse in particular, and lashing out during a training section. This time they bring in none other than Steve Rogers to teach the kids about hand-to-hand combat. It's brilliant, really. Hazmat (How I love thee) remarks that this session is dumb because she could just fry him if she wanted to. At this point, like a pimp, Steve just throws Finesse's baton at her chest and says something about how she COULD kill him, but he COULD'VE aimed for her trachea and caused her to suffocate to death too.
His main lesson is that even an unarmed, non-powered opponent can be lethal. It's pretty neat seeing Mettle and Reptil all starstruck. Striker is less impressed and begins getting impatient about how they should be famous and not hiding away, which really worries Steve. Nobody, according to him, ever joined The Avengers to be a celebrity or to get fame.
Christos Gage is doing really, incredibly well giving each character motive for something else. There really is so many possibilities for these characters, as I've said before. The art gives great characterisation to the characters, too. Even with Hazmat's mask, Mettle's expressionless face etc, they're FULL of personality.
The issue culminates with the students being exposed after Whirlwind mounts an ill-fated attack on Hank Pym. Striker proposes that they don't wind up with the adulthood to match his childhood, and that if they don't combat the press now, it'll get worse. The school is exposed and Striker wraps up his story to Jocasta, whose red eyes provide the closing shot of the comic.
If I haven't sold you on this series yet, I'm not sure what more I can do. It's one of my favourite on-going titles right now, it really is. Hazmat is someone I feel an immediate bond with and truly hope she gets used more.
Join the class, people.
Uncanny X-Force #1.
Is it my birthday? No? Then why the epic Deadpool trend?
He's not in it for much this issue, but what he DOES do as a new member of the NEW X-Force? Oh boy. Infiltrating an ancient temple, looking for an unnamed (It's obvious who it is) enemy, he rants and raves to himself WITHOUT THE TWO VOICES IN THE HEAD. It's so funny. The team seems very well balanced, all the characters either have workable history or could easily build a great connection.
The concept of Fantomex/Deadpool interaction just makes me smile. Also, Wade's looking mighty slick in his new black/white/red lenses X-Force threads.
That's where we end up, basically. Warren Worthington III is struggling to control his Angel/Archangel, but does so with the help of his lover, Psylocke (Mirroring Scott/Emma, but I'll try to dig it). Fantomex is the new guy, and Wolverine's the old guy. Deadpool is the guy Archangel has been sending on tracking missions for a year, all leading up to this point.
Deadpool gets captured after he informed the team that he has found what they're looking for, and when we later catch up with him and they save him, he is singing Conga by The Miami Sound Machine while being tortured. That's just...I love that. That's just typical Deadpool, he WOULD like Gloria Estefan, and I love that Remender knows that.
The target is revealed to be none other than the reverted child form of Apocalypse. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I doubt we're meant to. Archangel harbours a grudge against Apocalypse like NOOOOOO other. It's one of the biggest in Marvel history. So, naturally, Wolverine's a little concerned about his emotional state. There's just lots of great threads of story to be worked with here. I just hope Deadpool isn't a fleeting member.
Deadpool's continuity really is all out of goose right now, though. Where does this take place? When? All in relation to Daniel Way's shit, I mean. I don't care much. I'll just assume Uncanny X-Force is where he's at currently.
Opena's art is just eye-damagingly pretty. Solid, watercolour-esque and very, very fluid. The sequence at the end of this book (With MORE Deadpool bad-assery/shitty joke telling) shows how everything flows. He almost has a Kirby-like touch in the sense that everything is like quick punches.
GET ON IT, YO. Seriously. Such a cool opening issue.
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I didn't get S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 or Chaos War #1. The former because I forgot and the second because by the time I got my hands on the comic, there was one left and someone in the store was specifically asking about it, so I did my good deed and gave it away. Shame, because I think there's only gonna be a second printing variant now.
You MAY get this post updated tomorrow, because I may go back and get my backer boards/comic sleeves. We'll see.
I'm probably dropping S.H.I.E.L.D. from Thursday's Comics. It's one issue every two months and so densely packed that it probably reads better as trades. So, what I'll do is just review it once every...four issues. I might even wait until it's finished and just do one huge review. I've heard it won't be a full on-going anyway. It's probably, conceptually, my favourite on-going. We'll see where it goes.
That's about all I've got for you today, folks. Thanks so much for reading.
-The Mast
