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!

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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

The Mast Blogs: Themed Months & Sculpted Perfection.

Shatter his lenses, from the INSIDE!

No reviews, but his post contains cool stuff therein!

Themed Months.

Over the past couple of weeks I've felt like I've been stricken by writer's block. Every Thursday I throw an edition of Thursday's Comics out there, and that's all good. When deciding what to do with the space in between, however, I draw a blank.

I never really know what to do reviews off, I have LOADS planned, but I either don't have all the parts or comics necessary to review them, or I haven't figured out how. So, what I'm going to do is dedicate selected months to selected characters and, maybe once or twice a week, do a post about them.

It might be a character bio, it might be a review of some of their important story arcs, it might be a review of their first appearance or it may be something else.

This will not occur every month since, if I don't have the necessary tools, I have to buy them.

With that said, April will be Daredevil Month. Something I've been wanting to do for a while is get EVERYONE who reads this up to speed on Daredevil. It's the one series I buy that I have no included in Thursday's Comics, simply because so much has happened.



My original plan was to do a huge, summarising post of his second volume and lead it all the way up to #506, which comes out in April. However, I've decided to mix it into Daredevil Month.

I've already reviewed his first appearance, so I'll link to that when the time comes. Expect reviews on his important story arcs and a detailed history that tells you all you'll need to know about Daredevil and the important people in his life.

I really, REALLY love Daredevil, so I hope it'll garner some kind of attention, or you guys and girls'll let me know what you think in comments. Also, feel free to post ideas on themed months I could do! Maybe there's a character you'd wanna know about, yet you just didn't know where to start Let me know, I'm open to suggestions.

Now, just when you thought it couldn't get geekier...

Sculpted Perfection.

As some of you will know if you know me personally, I am a big fan of comic-based sculptures, statues, action figures etc. You name it and if it's of good quality, you can be I'll like it.

China-based (I think!) company Hot Toys are known among collectors for being the PINNACLE of life-like figure production. Their Masterpiece line is legendary due to the amount of life-like detail that they put into their figures and sculptures, not to mention all the additional details. They don't necessarily specialise in comic book characters, they do movie characters, with a few exceptions. Naturally, they end up making a lot of them to do with comic book movies. Their more legendary pieces include the Joker, Iron Man and various Watchmen characters.

You can check them out HERE.

For those who can't be bothered, here's a peek at what you're dealing with here:



That's the actual head-sculpt for their T-101 figure. That's the realism that Hot Toys brings to the table. As for comics:





Utter, frightening perfection. In addition to the visual realism, the clothes are madly detailed too. From leather shoes, to individual playing cards and real buttons/shoelaces, everything on these figures is tip-top. These are absolutely not for kids, they're for collectors.

Iron Man, for me, is one that I craved. They released all versions of his armour from the movie (Mark 1, Mark 2 and Mark 3), as well the figure of Downey. Jr where he's testing the flight boots.

Here's their Mark 3 figure:





I really wanted that, or the Mark 2 (Which just looks SO slick):



On top of everything, the eyes, chest and hand repulsors all light up. Naturally, it comes with changeable heads, because there's only so much you can really expect them to engineer.

However, none of them really made me think that they were worth their price point. Bearing in mind the detail and specs of these figures (Read them on the site), you can't expect them to go for cheap. Hot Toys will ask you for up to $200 U.S. dollars for one of these things. I'm not entirely sure on shipping.

Personally? I do not deny this price point, as I believe that is absolutely worth it. I've seen a few of these in person and they really are the most bang for those bucks. I just didn't really feel comfortable with them being MY bucks.

Until I saw this...









I don't think the word "Masterpiece" fits this thing, but I know I want it. It's not due out until July or August time, but goddamn. How about that?

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Sorry to have rambled! Still, it's all comic related and that means it's ALL good. Speaking of Iron Man 2, us U.K. folks get the movie on April 30th. I WILL be reviewing that movie here, so any of you North Americans who do not want it spoiled and wish to wait until May 7th, AVOID my post.

Thanks for reading, people. Don't forget to check back on Thursday for another edition of Thursday's Comics, feel free to leave comments and keep your eyes open for Daredevil Month!

Until then, peace.

-The Mast

The Mast Reviews/Blogs: Thursday's Comics (25/3/2010), What's Coming Soon & A Slight Celebration.

Oi! What's goin' on 'ere?!

Welcome to the Mast, I'm your host. My name's The Mast. I don't have a middle name, though it'd probably be "Awesome". The Awesome Mast. Yep.

Anyway, thanks for joining me for another edition of Thursday's Comics.

As Siege winds down, the tie-ins become less and less relevant, but still very enjoyable. As The New Avengers is ending in two issues time (Well, one issue and a special), I suppose these books could be considered filler. It's nevertheless a great series and I've enjoyed it very much.

The point is, these reviews may not be massively in depth because there are no longer any new arcs, just Siege tie-ins.

Still, this week was a pleasing week for comics and I think you'll find something you like, or at least enjoy reading it.


Haunt #6.

With the first story over and done with, Haunt #6 comes at us as a very handy and interesting recap of prior events. I suppose this is so newer, interested fans can get on board fairly easily and that's an admirable trait.

Not forgetting that there are regular readers who'll buy this book, the recap is actually told from the point of view of Mirage. For the uninitiated, Mirage is the woman Kurt Kilgore was gonna leave his wife, Amanda, for. This issue picks up nicely as they're planning to run away together, continues throughout Mirage's actions during and after Kurt's murder. She's eventually seen leaving a photo of Kurt by Amanda's bed in apology for everything that's happened.

I'm really looking forward to the next arc of this series, seriously. If you find this series interesting, grab the first trade paperback.

Things look like they're going to start getting heavily supernatural and with a lot more villains along the lines of Haunt.

Don't miss this.


Prelude to Deadpool Corps #3 of 4.

As you'd know from my reviews, this mini-series sees our favourite crimson-clad criminal anti-hero universe hopping at the request of an unknown universal entity, for an unknown (To the reader) purpose, recruiting a team of alternate universe versions of himself.

This time it's Headpool and it's quite funny and quite awesome. This is honestly one of the most fun and enjoyable Deadpool comics I've read in ages. Headpool is retrieved from a boat and used as a collectable by a hunter and his crew of pirates on a deserted island. Oddly, they're the same pirates from Deadpool #14, so I'm guessing this is set in the main universe.

Not only does it have some funny lines, but it has some truly brutally comedic violence. Deadpool shoots, stabs and maims his opponents in order to get to his body-less compadre. He even breaks some old, fat guy's neck! It's really pretty lethal and lethality is what Deadpool has been SORELY missing.

Is Gischler finally on the edge of giving us the Deadpool comic we've been dying for? Let's hope so! With each passing issue of Prelude to Deadpool Corps I am awaiting Deadpool Corps #1 even more!

I STILL want some more violence, some sardonic/corrosive wit and some more serious storylines, as well as the death of his head voices. Aside from that, Gischler has been a blessing.


Deadpool #21.

I've been wondering where Daniel Way is taking this story, because it showed promise.

The Hit-Monkey story comes to a close and without much achieved. That said, it's still an improvement over the abominable issues that were #13 onward until #19. The issue starts with Deadpool being studied/inspected by Reed Richards, with Spidey in attendance. Not much really happens in this issue besides Deadpool trying to hunt down Hit-Monkey and take him out.

There is a genuinely hilarious part at the beginning where Deadpool is trying to shoot his guns with his feet, a-la Hit-Monkey and it results in him shooting his feet off, or toes. I liked that.

The art is wonderful, Barberi really does a great job with the flat, yet rounded and robust style he uses. To date, he draws one of my favourite Deadpools. The writing just needs to be better. Get Gischler on it, seriously, Marvel.

The way this issue ends is kinda interesting, actually. Deadpool's in jail and Spidey busts him out, only to tell him to get the Hell out of New York. They get into a debate about how Deadpool says he wants to be the good guy and such. Spidey tries to explain that he doesn't want to be a hero, he wants to be loved for being the hero and that it's not the same. Deadpool says it is, smirks and the issue ends.

I want his main series to be his BEST series, it's just...not happening. I'm curious where it's going, though. I'm especially curious if, with ever decreasing sales, they'll end up entirely cancelling Deadpool rather than finding someone great to write him.

This is a make-or-break year for Deadpool, guys. Let's pull for my boy, because I love him to death. Deadpool's my heart.


Thor #608

This is what I meant about things getting kind of filler-ish. Thor's series seems to cover the Siege arc by saying: "Ok, here are loads of Asgardians fighting. Siege is happening.".

The main focal point of this story is Volstagg's showdown with the Thor clone, Ragnarok. There's honestly not much to the issue besides that, really. The art, courtesy of Billy Tan, is solid as ever and Kieron Gillen clearly writes a good Thor. I just feel like he got on the trolley at an inopportune time, really. He came on after J. Michael Straczynski's AMAZING run and Matt Fraction is taking over after Siege.

It ends with Volstagg giving as good as he gets, ultimately being over-powered and seeing Asgard fall as Sentry flies right through it (See my Siege #3 review). When Ragnarok says that the "false Asgard" will fall, Volstagg says he fears it may be true.

I'm not sure I'll be following Thor after Siege. It may be a trade thing for me, but that remains to be seen.


The New Avengers #63.

I'm not about romance or love in my comics, simply because I never feel it's done to its potential. With that said, one of my favourite elements of The New Avengers is Luke Cage's dynamic with his wife, Jessica Jones-Cage. I really, really love the way they interact and the way Bendis writes them, especially in this issue.

It's one reason I'm so excited for the second volume of The New Avengers, because they're both on the team (She's becoming Jewel again).

This issue has a partly set around the time of Siege #2 and during Siege #3.

With all the variations of the Avengers converged on Asgard, the gigantic battle is covered and inter-cut with pre-battle conversations with some of the characters. The Cage family are seen discussing what's going to happen during or after this battle, the future etc. Ronin and Mockingbird are seen doing the same. It's a very love/bondship based issue that weighs heavily on the premise of the future being bright.

It actually works SO well. Like I keep saying, the way we're heading into this Heroic Age is pinpoint so far. It truly feels like the heroes are breaking through a thick, black raincloud and looking for a ray of sunshine. Naturally, the brighter the day, the darker the nights...so it's not ALL gonna be gravy.

This issue is, again, kind of filler-ish. I just can't be mad at it, though. It's an issue and a special away from ending and it's still enjoyable.

I wish Immonen was staying on it, though. I hope he's on at least ONE of the new series', but we'll see.

There are SO many trade paperbacks of The New Avengers, with a couple more to be released before the whole collection is available. With that said, I cannot recommend this series enough. Buy the first one, just the first one. If you like it, buy the next one. If you don't, take it back and get a refund. Just...please try this series out.

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Now, what's coming up on Welcome to the Mast? Some very, VERY nice editions of The Mast Looks Back, one of which involves a comic I am SO happy to have got a hold of and one involves the next in my review of DC's essential trade paperbacks (In my opinion). Besides that, you never know what I'm gonna throw your way!

I've got a notepad file FULL of notes on my oft-referenced Daredevil post, so there's that too.

Don't you guys and girls forget about the huge event that's coming in the next month or so! The release of Iron Man 2!



Get out there on opening day, see it. See it twice. See it THREE TIMES! Let's break records.

This is also a bit of a special occasion for me because this is my 50th post!

For something that I thought I was too lazy to pursue, it has come a long, long way. I really am proud of this blog, as humble as it still is. I really didn't think I'd have the perseverance to put up long posts without any indication that people are reading it, but I do. I do because that's how you GET readers.

I'd love more comments, just to let me know who IS out there and what effect I AM having, but love is love and if you read this, thank you. 50 posts in and I've interviewed two idols of mine, one of which is a Marvel writer. I can't ask for more. Thanks for joining me on the ride.

Anyway, that's all I've got for you right now, but 2010 is a massive year for comics and Welcome to the Mast is only going to get more active! Take care, tell your friends and thanks for reading!

Until next time, peace.

-The Mast