With their last release, The Question, back in 2005, the Seattle-via-South Carolina post-hardcore band Emery won me over enough to curiously anticipate their third and current album, I’m Only a Man.  While they started with screamo tendencies, The Question was much catchier collection of songs and evolution of the band’s style.  For this third release, the band has changed things up enough to prevent repetition, while retaining a familiar sound.  Some chances are taken, mostly to the benefit of their sound.

One of the things about Emery that has the ability to either frustrate or amaze me is their inability to give you a straightforward song 9 times out of 10.  While still having a pop-hardcore overarching shell, within the span of a single song the style and tempo might swing multiple times in completely different directions.  The point is illustrated best in the song “Don’t Bore Us Get To the Chorusâ€? that goes from falsetto chorus to moody waltz to beat pop within a 2-3 minute span. Whether you like it or hate it, it’s definitely not the same thing you hear elsewhere.  While the album does have its fair share of pop-hardcore tracks familiar to older fans, this album continues the attempt to widen their style.  The screaming is pretty limited this time around, taking the opportunity to showcase the vocal abilities of Devin Shelton and Toby Morrell – who both work very well independently and playing off each other.

Yet even despite these initial praises, it took me a long time to actually like the album.  The experimentation doesn’t always seem to work (especially the use of electronics) and on my first listen, I was actually turned off by most of it.  But over a few more sittings, it did grow on me a bit and in part I think my expectations negatively colored my reception.  Though the band grew a lot between their first and second album, I don’t think the same leap was made between the second and third.  Some of the weaker tracks seem just slightly off-target or fall a bit short, but I still hold out hope that they’ll figure out the magic formula by the time their fourth album comes out.  Overall a good try, but well short of a knockout punch. 3 out of 5.

Countdown To Final Crisis - #20
A bit of an off-issue after a few good ones, falling back into trying to give you too many divergent stories and losing cohesiveness. The Piper/Trickster storyline had really fallen far after such a good start, but I’ve been drawn back ever since Trickster died.  The Karate Kid / Una story seemed to take a dumb turn with Una’s love confession, and highlighted some really bad art by Howard Porter (just too many lines!).  Everything is still building towards something big, but hopefully the next issue will get back on track in giving some more enjoyment along the way.

Grade: C+

New Warriors - #6 – Crap Book of the Week
I have been on the fence about this series and I think the axe is falling on the chopping block. It’s not horrible by any means, but really hasn’t blown me away since the first few issues.  It’s weird, I should love it – the art’s nice and the characters are nice fanboy service to the X-fans (Stacy X revealed in this issue – yikes!), but I really don’t feel vested in the story and characters.  Oh well, it was nice knowing you.

Grade: D+

Green Lantern #25 – Book of the Week
WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! This was AWESOME! To be honest, I had really started to lose faith in the Sinestro Corps series as of lately, but this was truly a great bookend to the stellar one-shot to kick off the series.  Oddly I found Cyborg Superman’s death and resurrection some of the most interesting panels in the book.  Can you just let a brother die? Great, now I’m hooked on GL for at least another two years.

Grade: A+

New Avengers #37
I actually think I’ve liked the more “colorful� issues of lately, which are strong contrasts to Yu’s art, but I think it still looks good. The Hood storyline was a bit of a letdown, but there’s still hope for a fun blowout fight in the Annual.

Grade: B

X-Factor #26
I’m glad that we have Halo Spartans protecting our future. A bit of a slower issue, but the X-Force / Reaver fight looks promising. Also, I am close to getting weary of the Cyclops / Professor X cat fight and I hope they don’t make “Angry Scottâ€? a permanent thing.  Still getting a kick out of Cable’s baby carrier uniform.

Grade: B

Hailing from Victoria, British Columbia, the now quartet has put out Happiness, LTD., their second major label release and third full release overall.  Their last album, Elevator, was slicker and more commercially appealing than their debut album, but didn’t quite capture the attention they had hoped for and was a little too uneven in quality, leading it to be labeled a failure in some circles.  Interestingly, instead of trying to replicate the indie love after their first album, they’ve set out to try and make an even more produced and polished album to try again in winning over a bigger audience.

For an album entitled, Happiness LTD., it’s ironically the most subdued album from the band.  Where Make Up the Breakdown was choppy and spiky, Happiness LTD.  pulls it all in to try and smooth out both the melodies and instruments.  If these were intended to be pop-ballads ready for radio, this is probably the best shot that they have. But how good is that?  Some of the tracks are catchy enough to keep our Brit-pop loving toes tapping, but I think some of my worries about this album stem to Hot Hot Heat being more about the music and fun energy than the lyrics.  For those missing the old times, there are a few tracks left (5 Times Out of 100 and My Best Friend) that have the old feel of recklessly running forward at full-blast, but the majority of the album progresses at an even pace that definitely feels slowed-down for these guys  (see Waiting for Nothing that crawls at a painfully slow speed.)  I keep going back and forth about how I feel about a slower Hot Hot Heat, and ultimately I respect them going that direction because their strictly jingle-jangle style would probably have run out of steam at some point.  However, I can’t say that I always loved the output of that direction either, since it leaves them indistinguishable from the ten gazillion other indie pop bands.

In the end, the new album should appeal to old fans and if any of the singles hit the radio it should find a few new ears looking for something danceable, but won’t blow up the charts.  If you like what you hear, it wouldn’t hurt you to pick this up.  But if you don’t there isn’t really a big loss on your end.  Happiness, LTD. from Hot Hot Heat chugs along getting a 3 out of 5.

Had some extra reviews, so you'll see some new reviews over the next few days.

Dashboard Confessional – The Shade of Poison Trees
Chris Carrabba, the original singer for Further Seems Forever, frontman for Dashboard Confessional, and the sole culprit for bringing my personal pet peeve of crowd singing at concerts to life in full force, is back with his fifth original release.  Anyone who’s followed his career is aware of the sharp difference from the very stripped-down sound of just him and his guitar from his first two releases compared to the full-band products of more recent years, which have polarized some fans, including myself, who either strongly like or dislike the transition.  For me, while I don’t want to curtail any growth or exploration as a musician, I really missed his stripped-down style.  When I last saw him in concert a few months back, it was ridiculously different feel than when I had seen him during tours for his first album.  While my enthusiasm for each subsequent Dashboard release has been met with diminishing returns, hearing that The Shade of Poison Trees was a return to his acoustic roots made me optimistically curious.

The album sounds sharply different at first with the lead track, “Where There’s Gold,â€? which is a great start, blending the sound of his earlier music with his more obtuse lyrics of recent.  However as the songs pass, you begin to realize that the album isn’t quite a “return to old formâ€? as possibly envisioned.  We do get subdued pop songs that sound like his older songs, but they still hold onto the developed instrumentation of latter releases.  Looking back, I think it was a somewhat smart move as his old acoustic style really has a low ceiling in terms of sustained creativity.  But somewhere in their move away from simplicity, the songs still suffer from being unmemorable or sounding dangerously close to previous songs.  Lyrically, nothing has changed in the continued offering of self-conscious confessionals around the same emo trinity of love, conflict and betrayal.  In my opinion, it’s nothing horrible, but that really depends on which side of the emo fence you fall on.

In the end, The Shade of Poison Trees ranks better than his last few albums, but falls a bit short of his first two releases. If you have been curious to try out Dashboard Confessional, this isn’t a bad one to try out – but it isn’t the best one either.  Either way, it just isn’t that memorable in the end, fitting the “passable fillerâ€? description seen in another review.  Dashboard Confessional’s album, The Shade of Poison Trees, gets an average 3 out of 5.

Man, I'm in a weird mood tonight, with late comics again.

Countdown to Final Crisis #21 – Yo mama so dumb she thought Countdown to Final Crisis meant the last season of Jerry Springer.
Grade: B+

JLA #15 – Yo mama’s butt so big she makes Ed Bene’s ladies look like Unicef posters.
Grade: B+

Buffy #9 – Yo mama so dumb about this book of the week that when she saw BKV, she thought it was the new value meal at Burger King.
Grade: A+

Avengers Initiative Annual #1 – Yo mama so ugly she got startled by the last page because she thought she was looking into a mirror
Grade: B+

JSA #11 – Yo mama gets around so much that she hooked up with more guys than the JSA has members.
Grade: B

The repercussion of holidays leaves me getting my books on Monday…again.  Therefore, irrelevant reviews in limerick form!

Countdown to Final Crisis #22

Jimmy Olsen’s story wasn’t so bad;
Trickster dying made the Rogues rad;
Come soon Morrison’s run;
Final Crisis should be very fun;
Mary’s butt shot made me very mad.

Grade: B

Green Lantern Corps #18

Is the Sinestro Corps over yet?
Hopefully just one more issue I bet;
Ion’s beat down made me glad;
The yucky art mad me sad;
Event please conclude well so I don’t regret.

Grade: C+

Daredevil #102 – Book of the week (tie)

I thought this was the best issue in a while;
Mr. Fear’s character really showed some style;
How does Razor Fist take a pee?
The cover made me jump with glee;
Will Daredevil ever be able to smile?

Grade: A

X-Men #205 – Book of the week (tie)

Another solid issue for the mutant event;
Baccalo’s art for the battles was worth every cent;
Gambit stabbed in the chest!
Cable’s not dead, you surely jest!
I wish more Marvel events like this went.

Grade: A

All Star Batman & Robin #8

DCBS made a shipping mistake;
This instead of Batman for heaven’s sake;
Jim Lee’s art is so great;
Batman has such a weird mental state;
This series hilariously takes the cake.

Grade: B+

Pol here from the Fuzzy Typewriter podcast to serve up some musings on this rainy Turkey-Day Eve.

First, I'd like to thank Louis for inviting me to write this guest blog while he's off wedding the girl of his dreams. I wish both of you the best of happiness together, and many, many appliances. Much love, man.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in America. Many strange birds will be consumed, some of them violated by beer cans and deep fried in vats on our patios. A few will be stuffed inside as many as two other birds before making their way to our gullets. Of course, most turkeys will simply enter the oven surrounded by hopeless expectations of domestic grandeur. Calculated measures will be taken to recreate the perfect lacquered orange symmetry of the poultry seen on television, only to be dashed when the bird emerges from under tinfoil looking like a level boss from the original Doom. We will suddenly remember the yam (that Brigadoon of root based vegetables which appears but once a year). Cranberry sauce will plop into styrofoam bowls, still retaining the texture of the aluminum can; smooth, glossy, and eerily ribbed, as if for her pleasure.

Family may be there too. They will need to be if all of this food is to be done away with. They will probably wear sweaters and tug at specially designed jeans with hidden elastic waistbands. They will ask us things that make us uncomfortable like, "Did you miss me?" And there will be much wondering. Whether we'd involve ourselves with such people if our blood weren't so similar. Whether anyone else has noticed that one of the cousins, probably named Glenn, is well on his way to becoming a serial killer (he does seem to know most of the tendons in the creature he just carved). Whether anyone will notice if we slip quietly out the window to go climb a tree with one of the cousins who isn't Glenn or remove the air from the tires in Uncle Dennis' new S.U.V.

We wonder. Whether things have changed, if anyone else has noticed, if the magic of the holidays has a half life. We gather here this night around the charred husk of a previously magnificent (if incredibly inept looking) bird--once considered by Benjamin Franklin to be the benchmark of fine feathered American friends--to give thanks betwixt the bickering.

And who is to blame?

Well, the pilgrims for one. Eternal masochists (They even wear buckles on their shoes), those confounded puritans set sail from one dismal gray island to another. New items of interest like bears, cougars, and disease kept this from simply being a lateral move, swinging the scales toward harrowing downgrade. And for what? The right to come up with a new holiday and an opportunity to bury fish and corn in the same hole. A-maize-ing.

Then there's us. We kept ourselves just healthy enough to survive to the next endurance challenge. (It should be mentioned that those of us who've indulged in the many layered turducken deserve a little less shame in this staying alive business.)

And now that we're here at this wretched gathering, what are we to do? There are no Thanksgiving carols. No gifts. No elves or blinking noses. In recent years it's even a bit early for snow in most regions. There isn't even any mail. This leaves turkey and family and all the baggage entailed therein. The glum consolation that this bird gave its life to endow us with the chemicals needed to make us drowsier than on most nights, an excuse to yawn and drive home early. What are we to do?

Well, hopefully at this point in the piece you're saying, well...it isn't nearly all that bad. I hope so anyway. I hope only a small part of you relates to this holiday hyperbole. That's healthy. Because everyone in your family truly is addled, and many of these dinners turn volatile. We're all a little stressed out. But we make the effort to come together, no matter the size of the table. Whether the turkey is something you took down in the woods beyond the highway with your dad, or from a grocery store, whether it's not even a turkey at all. Maybe it's Chinese food. Could be Froot Loops. Maybe it's just a phone call. We do it because we have to, and maybe we leave with a bruise or a restraining order. But next year we're gonna try again. Because it's worth the pause.

Thanksgiving is maybe the only chance each year to stare frustration in the face and be thankful for the good stuff anyway. It's a year's worth of stress crammed into one day like cranberry sauce in a can (or again, a duck into a goose for you turducken crazies). If we can survive this day, we can survive all the other ones. It's perspective. And like the yam, you're not gonna see it again for a whole year.

There's nothing all that glamorous about a turkey. There's nothing glamorous about Thanksgiving. But there's something special about saying thanks. You get to gloat about all the things you have that maybe somebody else doesn't. You get to make your own Academy Award speech. Sitting down. In stretchy pants.

*******

Pol Montgomery, 23, is the host of Fuzzy Typewriter, a creative lifestyle podcast dedicated to inspiration and what we do with it. He lives in Philadelphia with his parents and two goldendoodle puppies, but he's thinking about kicking them all out so he can have one room with just a tire swing in it.

Why do we keep allowing this to happen?

I recently watched the documentary The Devil Came on Horseback.  The film tells the story of the devastation and genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan through the eyes, recollections, and photographic evidence of retired U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle.

The Devil Came on Horseback is an informative film.  One of the largest roadblocks to greater international outrage with regard to the genocide in Darfur is a lack of realistic and complete media coverage of the events on the ground.  Reporters haven’t been allowed into Darfur.  The Devil Came on Horseback, and its principal Brian Steidle, shows us the horror of the situation in gruesome full color detail.

Ultimately, The Devil Came on Horseback is also empowering.  One of the things that serve as a constant backdrop for the story in the movie is Steidle’s feelings of impotence in the situation that he’s seeing.  He was unable to carry a gun as an African Union observer.  He was frequently stopped from intervening.  They even implied that his mandate was to document the situation rather than take a position on it.  He decides that he must do something anyway in the face of this.  Steidle has gone on to become an activist fighting for the cause of the people of Darfur.

The genocide in Darfur continues unabated to this day.  The government of Sudan and their militias are responsible for the deaths of 400,000 and the dislocation of an additional 2,500,000.  The goal of the Arab government is to drive the Africans from the province by whatever terrible means they deem necessary.

The most pertinent question to be asked about the genocide in Darfur sits atop of this article.  Why do we keep allowing this to happen?  People like to use the phrase “never againâ€? with regard to the Holocaust that happened before and during World War II.  Did they really mean it though?  Are we all committed to “never againâ€??  It doesn’t seem so.

The world has seen genocide time and again since the Holocaust.  Genocides have occurred in Rwanda, Cambodia, Russia, Bosnia, and several other countries.  It would seem that we’re all desperately in need of a “never againâ€? attitude.

How do we get there?  We need to stand up and be heard.  I plan to do whatever I can.  I’ll send hand-written letters to my Congressional representatives, I’ll donate money, and I’ll try to do what I can to get people talking about this.  It’s important to do these things.  It’s important to not sit idly by and allow the worst instincts of humankind to fester, boil over, and destroy everyone that they come into contact with.  Destruction is the definitive end result here.

Please join me in this.  We all need to take this opportunity to scream “never againâ€? from the rooftops and mean it.  This isn’t a political issue.  It’s not about right or left.  It’s about all of us declaring that we will “never againâ€? allow murder, rape, and destruction to become the way of life anywhere on our planet. 

For more information, please check out The Devil Came on Horseback (available from Netflix for online or home viewing).  There’s also a wealth of information on the internet at sites like http://www.savedarfur.org and http://www.sudandivestment.org. 

It’s well past time to take a stand.

In Other News

I’d like to first say thank you to those of you that read this.  I know that it’s a bit of a departure from what most of you are used to from me.  I just had to get it off my chest.  I hope that it makes an impression on you and a difference in your thinking with regard to the crisis.

Also, I’d like to thank Louis for allowing me the chance to guest blog here for the day.  It’s an honor to be regarded.  I’d also like to say that I met Louis online almost a year ago now and that he seems like a genuinely decent guy.  There are too few people like him left in the world. 

In conclusion, I’d like to say congratulations on your wedding Louis.  I’m really happy for you.  I wish you and your wife a long and wonderful life together.

--Fred

Hello, I’m Will Eslinger or, as some of you know me, Six Gun (editor’s note: Six Gun is not my real name, just a screen name) writer of Entertaining Grime. Louis asked me to fill in this week with a column and well, here I am. At first I was going to write about my Christmas list this year, but I thought that that was either a) too pretentious or b) too much work (you decide) and decided to take you all on a 7-15 minute journey through my various media indulgences of the past week.

Got my books late, so we’re doing 10 word reviews this week.

Astonishing X-Men #23 – Book of the Week
Whedon makes Scott Summers a super stud. Best cover ever.
Grade: A

Uncanny X-Men #492
Messiah Complex continues its awesomeness. Loved Cyclop’s treatment of Charles.
Grade: A

The Immortal Iron Fist #10
What the freak is going on? Starting to get confused.
Grade: B-

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #8
Can’t wait to see how this story concludes. Whedon’s week.
Grade: A-

Countdown to Final Crisis #25
Ron Lim’s art was a nice surprise.  Story still fun.
Grade: B

Avengers Illuminati #5
I ordered this book? Cool. Even more excited for Skrullmageddon.
Grade: A

Grades: NBA-Themed
A - Celtics star trio
B - Barkley commentary
C - Greg Oden / Sam Bowie comparisons
D - Kobe fussiness
F - Knicks management incompetency

X-Men: Messiah Complex - Book of the Week

JSA #10

Grade: A

Countdown to Final Crisis #26

Grade: A-

Daredevil Annual #1

Grade: A-

Batman #670

Grade: B

Grades: Heroes Themed
A – Kristen Bell sexy treachery
B – Mr. Bennett one-finger jujitsu
C - Nathan Petrelli unibomber beard
D – Micah pseudo jeri curl
F – Claire’s bf creepy stalking

Thunderbolts #117 - Co-book of the week
I have loved the series more with each issue and I love the build up in this arc.  Ellis has slowly been making Penance more of an interesting character and I really dug Doc Samson’s therapy session with him, as well as getting a look into Samson’s utter disgust with the Thunderbolt members. Deodato’s art of the unflinching shots of Robbie was awesome and effective. The pieces are being set in place for things to just completely combust internally and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

Grade: A

Countdown #27
Pretty solid issue overall. Either Jason Todd is the complete jerk we usually think he is or doing the “I’m going to infiltrate the bad guysâ€? routine.  I’m choosing the latter, though the end with his acceptance of Monarch’s proposal left me curious to see how this turns out.  While I’m not really a fan of his, he seems to have the most personality compared to Donna Troy and Kyle Rayner, so I don’t mind him taking a lead in the story. Shadowpact fighting Mary Marvel and Eclipso gave us some nice action, but doesn’t really do a whole lot in the end to advance her story. The Rogues meet up with Two-Face was nicely leading into the upcoming Salvation Run, but they really need to lay off the gay jokes.  Did anyone else hope that Two-Face was just going to pull a pair of scissors out of his pocket? Someone unchain them already! Bonus points for the layout/art of the Two-Face origin in the back.

Grade: B

Daredevil #101 - Co-book of the week
Kudos to Matt Hollingsworth for some greatly colored backgrounds that made me actually stop and look closer at the shading behind some of the initial Milla headshots. I was a little let down by issue #100, but I felt that this issue nicely picked up the story.  The unraveling of Matt was compelling and nicely offset by the slower (but just as emotionally compelling) moments of his visits to Milla during the night. Overall, I had a great time with this issue, but it was the shocking last page introduction of The Hood into picture that took it up a notch.

Grade: A

Green Arrow: Year One #6
Part of me is glad this was the last issue of the mini-series. Jock is a wonderful artist, but I didn’t find myself super drawn into the story. Maybe I’m just not a huge Green Arrow fan.

Grade: B-

Green Lantern Corps #17
The multiple artists on the issue was a killjoy and I can totally understand the rising body count of unknown soldiers not really doing it either.  Overall, I still love the Sinestro Corps storyline, but here’s my big request: Show us the fights that matter! The Anti-Monitor fight was one panel (if it’s over) and they’ve now teased Superboy Prime fights in both the last GL and this issue.

Grade: B

X-Men #204
A nice reprieve before Messiah Complex kicks off.  Mike Choi’s art was a welcome change from Mr. Ramos, but I don’t really like how he draws men with long hair (Gambit, Sinister) – makes them look like effeminate Asians. The splash page of Rogue and Gambit was pretty though.  Endangered Species…is over. Amen.

Grade: B-

Grades: Office-Themed
A – JAM
B – Concussion Dwight
C – Bankrupt Michael
D – DWI Roy
F – Chaffing Andy

JLA #14 - Co-book of the Week
As I’ve begun reading more DC titles, I feel like JLA (and JSA) are really hitting the spots that the X-books did for me back in the day with the big superhero brawls and action. Yeah, this arc isn’t brain science, but I’m more than adequately entertained by McDuffie’s run so far.  I got a huge kick of the panel where Superman just flies into the Injustice League base and chucks Parasite into the next galaxy. (And yes I laughed at the same joke in WWH: X-men. Twice.)

Grade: A

Captain America #31 - Co-book of the Week
I’m making my way through the Omnibus and I’m just completely won over by this series now.  The WWII false flashbacks were cool, but I was more interested in the scenes of Tony, Falcon, and Black Widow figuring out what’s going on. The end was a nice cliffhanger although I’m not really worried by it. I used to wonder how long this series would go without Steve Rogers; I don’t really think of that anymore.

Grade: A

Countdown #28 - Crap book of the week
The Piper/Trickster origin story illustrated by Van Scriver was awesome and I loved the layout of it. As for the actual issue of Countdown, it was ok, but a drop from the better issues of late. The Jimmy Olsen story doesn’t bother me as much, but the moth-person seemed really dumb.

Grade: D+

Captain America: The Chosen #3
I really am not sure whether I find this series interesting or dumb. The art by Mitch Breitweiser is awesome and seems to be in that dusty vein like Alex Maleev. But the story is really where it starts to go off the rails. Captain America is sick and dying and learned to mentally project himself everywhere? And he can draw really good? Is that even Steve Rogers?  Being of Marvel Knights, it’s out of continuity, but it’s on that verge of being a little out there for me.

Grade: B-

Grades: Buffy Themed
A – Angel era Buffy
B – Nick Fury Xander
C – Confused Willow
D – Werewolf Seth Green
F – Token love interest Riley Finn

Green Lantern #24 – BOOK OF THE WEEK

From the opening spread of Superboy Prime leading the Sinestro Corps charge to Hal and Kyle tearing out of Parallax – I LOVE this event! My only one gripe is that the event ends next issue and I wish there was more coverage of the war.  Maybe it’ll be covered in the GL Corps or the Sinestro Corps one-shots, but I wished for more fight scenes with Superboy, Cyborg Superman, and not to even mention the Anti-Monitor. I want to see them tearing it up and getting torn up by the superheroes, not all these random lackeys wearing yellow. Really though, that stems from my love and desire for more of this series.  Art by Reis was great!

Grade: A

New Avengers #35

A very interesting issue of the Hood consolidating the super-villians. Now where’s my Marvel Universe handbook? The Hood seems ready to mess up the superheroes, but I feel like there’s a disconnect between Bendis’ version and BKV’s version.  Bendis has him much darker and ruthless and I’m wondering if we’ll ever get to explore that in-between time. Also, I wonder how Marvel’s going to get around all these super-villians knowing identities and families after all is said and done.  I smell ret-con!!! I also wonder how much this issue was influenced by Frank Cho taking his sweet time with Mighty Avengers.

Grade: B+

Runaways #28

This book still comes out? Michael Ryan’s art seemed a whole lot better this issue and I’m enjoying Whedon’s direction with this arc now. I’m not sure how I’d feel if Gert comes back.  Molly’s “He makes you do chores?â€? comment was classic.

Grade: B+

Countdown #29

I thought this was a pretty solid issue again giving ample time to most arcs, though I really need a DC universe handbook supplement to tell me about Lord Havok (which I only recognized thanks to the ad in the book) and the Newsboys Legion.  Why are Piper and Trickster still tied together?  Can’t someone just shoot or cut that thing off?

Grade: B

New Warriors #5

Please tell me that Black Panther is Night Thrasher! That guy must be working on commission, with all the books he’s popping up in.  Also, I know most of the team is old X-men, but someone needs to just put in some Checkmate-esque intro page so that we know who is who.  Oh, and Night Thrasher disbanded the team. Decent issue, but not great.

Grade: B-

Grades: Sickness Themed
A - That sickness where you cough up money
B - That disease where eating pizza is the cure
C - That fever just bad enough to stay home from work
D - That flu that has explosive diarrhea as a symptom
F - That sickness you don't tell your parents about

Buffy #7 - Book of the Week.
I'm glad these are fictional characters, because else I'd have to worry about BKV being a stalker. He REALLY has a handle on these characters, especially Faith, and proves that his last issue wasn't just a fluke. The twist at the end was an added bonus, showing that this arc isn't entirely separate from the rest of the Buffy-verse.

Grade: A

Green Lantern Corps #16
The Corps series is just like a super fun battle. The Corps getting to use lethal force almost made a close pick for book of the week. I only had a few nitpicks with the issue, one being that Kilowog's fight with the Sinestro baddy didn't really get fleshed out.

Grade: A-

Countdown #30
I agree with all the praise for this issue and am digging the multiverse traveling. The issue really benefited from spending extended time on one story. I think I'm just not a fan of Jesus Saiz's art.

Grade: B+

Uncanny X-Men #491
The Magneto appearances were nice and sadly the highlight of this issue. Thankfully this arc is over as Masque and the Morlocks really didn't do much for me. Still, a better issue than some in the past.  Bring on Messiah Complex!

Grade: C

Grades: Wendy’s Themed
A – Frosty
B – Spicy Chicken Sandwich
C – ¼ Single Burger
D – Cold baked potato
E – Sewer smell at the register

Avengers: The Initiative #6
This was an incredibly frustrating comic, in the sense that I’m not sure whether I liked it or want to pretend that it never existed in Slott’s pretty fun run on the series so far.  One minute I thought it was garbage, the other I thought it was pretty good. Weird. Let’s evaluate:

Good:
-Getting to see the “at-home� Gauntlet
-The classic “who-dun-it� feel of the book
-The New Warriors beef between Justice and Rage
-Uy’s art at some points: His action scenes are somewhat interesting

Bad:
-Uy’s art at some points: I have no idea who Justice was kissing (finally relieved to realize it wasn’t Cloud 9)
-What the freak is up with the ending?
-Tigra

Grade: C

Captain America – The Chosen #2
Mitch Breitweiser can draw beautifully, but I’m really not sure if I like the series so far. On some level, I feel cheated because Captain America isn’t really the central focus of the story (so far), which is ok, albeit somewhat confusing and hasn’t done much for me so far.

Grade: C+

The Immortal Iron Fist #9
Love the tournament story, could do without the Hydra sub-plot. I absolutely love any time Luke Cage and the Heroes for Hire show up in the book. If Brubaker and Fraction wrote Heroes for Hire I would buy it no matter how many tentacles were on the cover.

Grade: B

Batman #669
Well, the Club of Heroes plot comes to end in a satisfying but not overly exciting manner.  Overall, I did like the arc, which thankfully showcased the lovely art of J.H. Williams III. However, I do have one knock against him in that he may create very creative frames, but I felt that they were confusing at times to follow what was going on.

Grade: B-

The Spirit #10
I thought this was absolute garbage.  The parodies of YouTube and radio personalities just seemed way too easy and not something I would have expected Cooke to explore. Mix that with a somewhat ambiguous ending and this is oddly my crap book of the week.

Grade: D-

Green Arrow: Year 1 #5
Jock’s art is pretty – ok, I concede that now. But the story doesn’t seem to have much meat to it. Thankfully, there is tons of action here to make it enjoyable.

Grade: B

Countdown #31
Crime Society – awesome. Joker backstory – awesomer. Mary Marvel kills some folk – awesomerer. I’m curious what the Mr. Mxyzptlsfjlskdjflks story is all about.

Grade: B+

X-men #203
Lot of action with the Mauraders, but this definitely felt like a transition issue where not too. Thankfully tons of stuff happens here, instead of the snail-paced Uncanny series. I was getting into the action and thought to myself, “Wow, there’s a lot of pages left, so more cool stuff is coming!� But then I realized it was Endangered Species.

Grade: B+

Justice League of America #13
Wow wow wow wow! Such a fun issue! I’m sorry McDuffie for all the hate mail I sent you after Fantastic Four.  And Benetiz’s art certainly adds to the fun feel of this arc. Pick of the week.

Grade: A

New X-men #42 – Skottie Young deserves major props for successfully trying different art styles (take notes Salvador Larocca!): burnt style (Deadpool covers), manga style (Magik arc), retro style (the cover), and what I call dusty style (this issue).  I may not like them all, but wow, I’m impressed how different they all are. But as for the story, this is my first non-Magik related issue and I’m really glad I stayed on. I didn’t really get all the Purifier storyline, but it really played off of the “X-men as a familyâ€? theme I really like. Seeing the Astonishing team trying to take care of the New X-Men was great (esp Wolverine randomly running the back of one scene chasing after Pixie). It wasn’t a masterpiece in the traditional and technical sense, but at the end of the day this is the one that captured my attention and whimsy the most. Pick of the week. Grade: A

Countdown #32 – The art seemed extra wonky (esp on Piper) this issue. I like how some plotlines are running into others (ex: Rogues / Zatanna).  Just a normal issue.  Crap book of the week.  Grade: C-

World War Hulk #4 – More smashing. Ready to see the end of this, not because I dislike the series, but more just to move on. I’m actually kind of interested to see Sentry battle the Hulk next issue. Grade: C

Captain America #30 – Wow. Wow. Wow. This was a great issue and combined with getting the omnibus this week it rekindled my amazement with this series (esp after taking a while to be won over).  One very interesting thing for me is his handling of Tony Stark, which is probably my favorite portrayal of him post-Civil War. With the way things are going, Iron Man might be coming in to save the day.  Only under Brubaker’s handling would I actually be rooting for that.  Grade: A+

JSA #9 – Pick of the Week. I’ve only been reading JSA since the Lightning Saga, so after two character-focused issues, I was wondering if the book was capable of also doing normal superhero mission storylines as well.  Johns basically proved me doubly wrong, both setting up the Kingdom Come sequel (very excited) and having a fun group time in the community.  Eaglesham’s art is once again serviceable, but his illustrations of Power Girl make me think that if a JSA movie ever comes out, Serena Williams should be in the running to play Power Girl – hey it worked for White Chicks, right?  Also, Alan Scott looks like he’s one foot in the grave; is he really that old?  Grade: A

Green Lantern #23 – Wow, that Anti-Monitor is big. It’s good to see the various Lantern storylines start to converge and the great thing is that it feels like the roller coaster is just about to reach the top before the crazy plummet (into fun).  Jordan using the Sinestro rings definitely has to be one of the highlights of this series. Can’t wait to see Superboy Prime come into action. Grade: A-

Spider-man Fairy Tales #4 – This has been a surprisingly fun series. Here we see Peter as a knight trying to win the affections of Gwendolyn, completely unaware of the adoring servant MJ.  In the light of OMD, there seemed to be tons of allusions to MJ being out of the picture, but hopefully it was just coincidental.  Nick Dragotta illustrates the tale for Cebulski in a manner that seems very fitting for the medieval tale.  It’s not mind-blowing, but just a fun re-imagining of the mythos.  Grade: B

New Avengers #34 – Good but not great. Thankfully they took the time to downplay the “Who’s a skrull?â€? issue and make some leeway in the Hood and symbiote sublots.  I’m normally a Yu lover, but some of the faces seemed very over-sketched in this issue and I never would’ve known that Logan got his nuts blown off unless for his subsequent jokes.  Grade: B

Daredevil #100 – Art was great, no disagreements there. As for the story, it was good but somewhat of a letdown in light of my expectations from the cover.  And calling it over-sized doesn’t count if half of it is a reprint. Grade: B

Countdown #33 – In this week’s mini-podcast, I’m going to try and defend my reasons for sticking with Countdown. The Rogues consistently are the highlight of the story and I liked how it bled into the previous Zatanna storyline.  I’m not thrilled with the Mary Marvel story, but I’m hoping the arrival of Kyle Rayner (inconsistency aside with the current GL storyline) will pick up the Atom storyline.  It’s been worse, but by default, this is the crap book of the week.  Grade: C

Thanks to DHL not shipping over the weekend, my reviews are even later than usual.

Incredible Hulk #110 – I love Amadeus Cho, but by the end of the book I was getting weary of his “Hulk is not a killerâ€? theory; I’ll let it slide this time because I have really come to like the character and how they illustrate his thinking during battle.  I’ve generally liked how they’ve been using this book to flesh out the WWH story.  Has Hercules always been this funny?  He makes me laugh at least once every issue.  Grade: B+

New Warriors #4 – Finally the group gets to go to battle and the death of a teammate ups the odds at least.  The series hasn’t gotten either severely better or worse since the reboot, but serves as a nice bookend to Avengers: Initiative (which I hope they have some interaction with down the line).  I’m in it at least until they reveal Night Thrasher’s identity.  Jubilee really needs a cooler costume and code name…and possibly a breast reduction (has she always been that busty? Geez…).  Grade: B-

Uncanny X-men #490 – Ugliest cover this week. The fleshing out of Masque’s purpose was helpful but the slow burn of the plot didn’t make for a super exciting issue (except for Warpath getting ugly-fied).  Grade: C

Countdown #34 – ARGHHHHHH! We get the Rogues, but absolutely nothing of the Deathstroke interaction. The Flash confrontation was necessary and should make for some interesting stuff to work with. The Atom storyline is just too much off-panel.  Look at the big brains on Jimmy! Grade: B-

Checkmate vol 2 – I was really hoping this would’ve had the Outsiders crossover in it. Not so much. Checkmate is one of those books that I need to re-read to fully catch all the detail. Grade: Undecided

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #6 - I have been really harsh on this series so far, but Brian K. Vaughn's first issue in his run really knocked it out of the park. BKV REALLY has a handle on Faith and her voice and for the first time I felt like I was watching the TV show. Amazing. Grade: A

Sorry, but it looks like KT - #67 will be delayed until a further date. The powerbook may have processed its last bytes, leaving me computerless in the meantime. Is it bad that I kind of wish it died so I could get a new computer (thank you extended warranty!)?

Amazons Attack #6 – With the splash page of the battlefield at the end of issue #5, I held out hope that this very disappointing series would at least have a fun mindless battle at the end.  Nope.  Just like every previous issue, the story was a fragmented mess due to the story playing out in other DC titles.  Instead of getting to see the JLA/JSA slug it out with Amazons, we only see the aftermath and Wonder Woman confronting her mother. While I like a fight that involves throwing an entire plane at your enemy, the conflict resolves way too cleanly and has very little of the action somewhat alluded to at the end of the last issue. The surprise ending has interesting implications, but requiring wikipedia to tell me who it was and why the events are important really speak poorly of this lackluster mini-series.  Grade: F

Avengers: The Initiative #5 – Overall, I thought the book was ok (despite “Hulk needs fiberâ€? face shots), but had some points that prevented it from being great (or at least good).  The introduction of the covert team could lead to some fun stories, but right now I don’t really care for some of the team (Constrictor, Trauma, Bengal).  Mutant Zero is an interesting introduction, but really teeters the line of possibly being absurd and needlessly cryptic. Cloud Nine’s questionable methods and changes could lead to a potentially interesting side story.  I feel like this series would really benefit from a JSA-character exploration approach.  Grade: C

Countdown #35 – One of my biggest gripes about the series ended up biting me in the butt this week.  All along, I’ve been hoping that they would cut down on the number of storylines being addressed in a single issue to allow them to have more than one page of development per issue. Unfortunately for me, that meant sacrificing the Rogues storyline right at the cliffhanger of Deathstroke showing up. Most of the other storylines were on par with how they had been going, but I’m worried that the Search for Ray Palmer plot will suffer from “Amazons Attackâ€?-itis (the disease of too much going on in another title).  The Parallax story was nice with the Sinestro Corps event going on, so I hope a Sinestro one will be coming down the pipeline.  Grade: C

WWH: X-men #3 – If the New and Astonishing X-teams weren’t able to take down the jolly green giant, do the Uncanny and X-Factor teams really stand a chance? It seemed like a bit of let down and I kind of felt like Hulk when he asks who all these heroes are.  More mindless mutant beatdowns. While I liked the Jersey joke when Hulk pulled off Rockslide’s arms in issue #1, did we really need it rehashed with Monet?  And while I like seeing Colossus getting his arms broken and Wolverine getting the snot kicked out of him, the Hulk/Professor X confrontation was sorely lacking in this fight-fest.  Like WWH, the low stakes in the fight seemed to limit the excitement.  The only change coming out of this series was Juggernaut’s seemingly return to being a baddie.  Hopefully he’ll get an updated costume out of it. Grade: C-

Thunderbolts #116 – Book of the week.  While in the minority, I have really enjoyed Ellis’ run so far (especially as of the last few issues) and was really curious as to his plans for the next arc, which still aren’t fully clear except for the introduction of the Mindwave character. I generally feel Thunderbolts is at is weakest when they try to harp on one aspect of the character (Venom as a hulking beast, Bullseye as the clean-up man, Penance as sucky one), but now that we’re past the first arc, I think Ellis is taking more time to flesh out the characters and team dynamics in intriguing ways. Moonstone/Osborn plotting against Songbird, Venom actually showing emotion…but the craziest thing is that the best scene of the book actually belongs to Penance?!?! Yeah weird, but I’m loving it. Grade: A

Spirit #9 – I skim comics during my first read and then go back to do a closer re-read. Needless to say, I didn’t quite pick up on everything on my first read during the narrative-intensive points. Haven’t gotten around to re-reading yet. Grade: Incomplete

Batman #668 – Got caught up on this current arc with this issue and #667 and I’m really enjoying this series. Yes, it’s a simple whodunit, but I think Morrison is doing it in a very fun way. I don’t think I’ve seen Williams’ art before, but I really dig it (esp the spreads where the frames are laid in the glove outlines).  I had to re-read both issues twice to get familiar with the cast of characters, but a small price to pay for feeling good about adding Batman to my reading list.  Grade: A-

GL Corps #15 – The Sinestro Corps storyline is still plugging along strong in my opinion.  The sheer number of green and yellow lanterns flying all over the place is somewhat confusing for someone who isn’t too familiar with the series, but not significant enough to deter my enjoyment so far (case in point, my realization that Mogo was the name of the planet and not the lumpy alien Green Lantern).  I’m looking forward to the Lost Lanterns fighting the Anti-Monitor in the next issue. My only gripe about this issue was the art, which seemed very poor at spots.  Grade: B+

Countdown #36 – This was a fun issue and I’m looking forward to Deathstroke’s involvement in the rogue plotline.  Mary Marvel’s plotline looks like it’s taking off and I’m actually intrigued by it now. The search for Ray Palmer seems a little to disjointed, wandering from one battle to another, but the last panel of the mystery watcher seems to foreshadow it developing a bit more. The best part of this issue? Batman asking why Jimmy Olsen is wasting our time. Grade: B-

Green Arrow Year One #4 – With this and the last issue, I’ve had somewhat of a tempered enthusiasm about the mini-series. Looks nice and Ollie’s shooting people with arrows – should be a winner. Guess I expected it to be good and it met those expectations without striking me as being incredibly great. Call it the Daredevil Syndrome, I guess.  Grade: B-

X-men #202 – I’m glad I jumped back on with this arc and am really getting drawn in by how grand it is both in character/team involvement and story.  Ron’s comment about the involvement of many x-teams was really poignant and was something that I really have missed during my return to reading the x-titles.  The X-men are one huge family and Carey is making sure to touch that point.  We’re getting a bit more of the reasons behind the Marauders’ attack, but I’m hoping the future issues expand on why Sunfire and Gambit have aligned with Sinister.  Grade: B+

Halo #1 – Crap book of the week.  Ignoring the givens (Maleev art great), I’m not sure if I really cared for this issue. If it’s a Halo comic, I want it to be filled with Master Chief popping head shots all over the place. We got maybe 4 pages of Master Chief and a bunch of pages about two characters that I’m not really attached to at all.  Using a video game comparison, I feel like this was similar to Raiden popping up as the main character in Metal Gear Solid 2.  I’m curious to see how this series plays out and will pick up the rest of it, but this issue (by itself) was not very good.  Grade: C-

In light of the 4th, we have a patriotic firework-themed review extravaganza:

New Warriors #2 - The "that explosion was so big, I lost sight and sound for a minute" award for the week. I'm still completely sold on this series so far as a nice compliment to Avengers: The Initiative.  Aside from a weird ending panel of Jubilee where her head seems a bit too small for her body, I really enjoy Medina's art. Cartoony? Yes, but I'm loving it. The mystery of the NW still sticks and the appearance of Jubilee was great in this issue. The wheels might fall off down the line, but I'm on for the ride for now. Grade: A

Runaways #27 - The "oh shoot, I accidentally lit the whole bag of firecrackers on fire, run now" award for the week. I've been very critical of Whedon's run so far, but I sat back and put aside that negativity and found myself enjoying this issue. I thought the time-travelling thing would be boring, but I've liked the twist at the end and the potential emotion to come from that. Also seeing Karolina pummel the would be attacker was nice. OK, Joss, you've won me back for now... Grade: A-

Battling Jack Murdock #2 - The "I held onto the M80 too long and all I got was this bloody stump of an arm" award for the week. I liked this book, but what really won me over was the scene where Matt confronts his dad. When Matt stood up to his dad after the first hit, I thought that'd be it. Instead, we see Jack become even more of a despicable person, despite our desire to want to inherently like him. Grade: B+

Countdown #43 - The "that firecracker went up my nose and now I can't smell things" award for the week. I missed out on Bart's death, so I can only imagine how much more poignant this would've been. I enjoyed them flipping between a lot of the storylines within the funeral, most enjoying the Piper & Trickster scenes.  And finally we get to begin the search for Ray Palmer.  Forerunner still hasn't become appealing. The big gripe I have for the issue is the art, which looks really bad at times.  Grade: B

Uncanny X-Men #488 - The "that's all it does?" award for the week. I question whether I should've hopped back onto UXM. It wasn't horrible with signs of the eventual build to finding Magneto, but was far from being good/great. Grade: C-

Jonah Hex #21 - The "is it going to go off? let me check- oh crap, get out of the way!" award for the week. I thought I had dropped it, but still ended up picking it up. Seriously, for the last few issues I had to re-read just to figure out what the heck happened. I really don't understand how this issue concluded.  Maybe I'm dumb (probably). Dropped. Just not for me.  Grade: D

Marvel Zombies vs. AOD #5 -  The "oh wait, these are chopsticks, not bottle rockets" award of the week. It's over. Done. Grade: D-

The good doctor is here to check out the health of this week's comics, with Avengers: Initiative #3 sharing the pick of the week.  Uncanny X-men #487 is the crap of the week.  Take a deep breath and we'll begin the examination.

Countdown #47 - After a temporary slowdown last issue, the plotlines pick back up with some good action (Mary Marvel getting her powers back, Trickster and Piper explaining their motives) and a new plotline as well (I learned who Holly Robinson was). While I'm not a huge fan of the Amazons Attack crossover at the end, hopefully this issue was a good sign that the series is back on track after falling flat last issue. My only complaint was the art, which was really bad at some points.  Diagnosis: Minor dehydration.  Grade: B

Omega Flight #3 - About freaking time Beta Ray Bill came into play (even though I'm not sure exactly how). There's only two issues left and it seems like a whole lot hasn't happened and Guardian is almost becoming the team's Penance (whiny guilty one).  Not a fan of the art. I feel like I'm finishing this series out of obligation just to complete the issues. Diagnosis: Obsessive compulsive. Grade: C

Daredevil: Battlin' Jack Murdock #1 - Wowsers! Love the cartooney art and look into Matt Murdock's not so proud papa. The one page of him clutching his newfound son was touching. Co-pick of the week.  Diagnosis: Clean bill of health. Grade: A-

Jonah Hex #20 - This issues started off so good, with Jonah freakishly using a vulture's head to cut rope. Then the story jumped around too much for it's own good and ultimately resolved with not much sense of why or point. This is coming close to being dropped. Diagnosis: Schizophrenia. Grade: B-

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #4 - The last page where Buffy says "Oh...Kay" is pretty much how I felt about this issue. There was a lot of fun action, but the story seemed a little unfocused.  Unless the rest of the arc improves, I'm probably dropping this when the story ends.  I've liked the art less and less with each issue, sometimes having a hard time figuring out who the character is. Diagnosis: Vertigo.  Grade: C

Avengers Initiative #3 - I really love how this book is turning out and possibly could be my favorite Avengers book out currently. Slott is doing a great job balancing a huge cast of characters (though I'd love to see more of Cloud 9) and the art is great. The Spidey interaction was predictable, but still fun to see, while growing Komodo a bit as a character that I actually care for now.  Diagnosis: Clean bill of health. Grade: A

Marvel Zombies: Army of Darkness #4 - Ugh. While I was looking forward to the visit with Doom, the jokes and such didn't seem to hold up and the superficial nature of this book is teetering the line between campy fun and just silly.  (The cylons reference totally took me out of the book.) I hope the next issue brings back the magic that had me in love with the series when it first started. Diagnosis: Degeneration. Grade: C

Uncanny X-men #487 - Worst book of the week. Brubaker may have better things at the end of the arc (Magneto's return foreshadowed), but nothing really stood out in the story so far for me. I have been a huge fan of Larroca's art on previous X-titles, but it was horrible here and I feel like he was trying too hard to match Brubaker's darker tone.  The art felt like a series of oil paintings. The only thing saving it from an F is that Vulcan didn't show up.  Diagnosis: Botulism. Grade: D-

New Warriors #1 - While I'm not totally sold on having this title, the story was fun enough to keep me on for the next issue. The surprise return of Beak was a nice plus. Fun ride so far, but we'll wait to see if I stay with this book.  Diagnosis: Clean bill of health. Grade: B+

We're NBA themed this week!

Daredevil #97 - The San Antonio Spurs of this week. You know they're going to be good, to which it sometimes gets expected and somewhat gets "boring" because of it. Then all of a sudden, they turn on the accelerator and just crushes everything in its way.  After being tied up in legal whatnot and such the last two issues, I finally felt that the action ramped up with the Gladiator just going berserk. The introduction of the "mystery" villain adds another level of intrigue. The cliffhanger is in danger of wandering into the cliche of Matt's women getting messed up, but I'm somewhat confident Brubaker won't let it fall into that rut. Grade: A

JSA #6 - The Miami Heat of the week. Seriously, this issue makes no sense and the Lightening Saga is utterly confusing. And the next issue introduces ANOTHER character? How the mighty have fallen. Grade: D

Spiderman Fairy Tales #1 - The Golden State Warriors of the week. Picked this up on a whim and I really enjoyed it. Definitely the surprise of the week. I thought the art was unique and really fun and the examination of MJ's character was fun (esp in light of the whole statue). It won't win any Eisners, but was a really enjoyable ride. Grade: A-

Amazons Attack #2 - The Cleveland Cavaliers of the week. I'm still surprised that I'm reading this series, but it has quickly become one of the DC events that I look forward too. It probably won't win my love for being the best comic ever, but it's been fun trying and getting pretty close. Grade: B

Illuminati #3 - The Washington Wizards of the week. Did anyone really care? Completely irrelevant.  Grade: D-

Countdown #48 - The Detroit Pistons of the week.  This was the first week where I wasn't completely blown away. So far, I've enjoyed the Countdown train, but this week it seems to just meander a little bit. Far from bad, I just expected a little more. Grade: B-

Captain America #26 - How does one follow up the death of Captain America? Ed Brubaker and crew have had several months to figure that out, finally releasing issue #26 after a several month delay. After reading through the issue, I'm not quite sure what warranted the delay, as none of the events hinge or spoil other issues in the Marvel Universe.  In this issue, we start to see the after-effects of Cap's assassination playing out through those closest to him: Sharon Carter (dealing with the fact that she killed him), Falcon (straddling the line between pro and anti-superhero registration), the New Avengers (trying to deal with the loss of their leader), his enemies (Red Skull and company), and ultimately Bucky (ending on a vow to kill Tony Stark).  The emotion of the issue is somewhat strange, as we've already had several months to digest and move on after Captain America's death.  To be thrown back into that, just seems like the Marvel Universe is a step behind the real world.  The alluded arc of Bucky hunting down Tony Stark is interesting, but seems somewhat meaningless, as we know he won't kill him. (Yes, one could very well point out that we didn't think Cap would die either.)  The unfolding of events after Cap's death is just getting started and should bloom wonderfully under Brubaker's care; it's just very early in the process.  As a result, we have to start out with an issue that is somewhat of a let down, but necessary to hopefully get us to a better place.  Grade: B-

Fantastic Four #546 - For kicks, I jumped back into FF with the introduction of the Black Panther and Storm as temporary replacements for Reed and Sue, somewhat curious of the adventure in outer space battling the Silver Surfer and Galactus.  Now after three issues, I'm pretty sure I'm ready to drop the title.  The space romp wasn't a complete disaster, but there just isn't enough here to keep me willing to drop money every month for it.  In this issue, we have the conclusion of the battle against Galactus and his heralds.  Black Panther bailed on the fight last month and we see him heading back to his country to pick up some secret weapons, including some frog statues that can instantly teleport people when they are arranged to do the nasty - real classy stuff.  Returning to the battle, the newcomer Gravity joins the FF to ultimately defeat the heralds and energize Galactus enough to move elsewhere for his next meal and once again the FF save the universe.  Elsewhere, Reed and Sue get a distress call, which is alluded to be due to the introduction of the FF zombies into this world.  Up until that last point, I was pretty ready to drop this title with no qualms, due to the barely average plots and dialog and subpar art.  The dangling of some zombie action however, made me hesitate slightly.  Marvel seems to be milking the zombie franchise quite a bit lately, which somewhat bothers me that they're possibly showing up here, but I have to admit that I find them to be dumb fun.  So will I continue to read this book?  Game time decision next month, I guess.  Grade: C-

Spirit #6 - Let's start with the best thing of this issue: the art and layouts.  On my second reading of this, I fell in love with the way Darwyn Cooke set his panels and how the scenes got laid out.  The two page spread of the opening credits seems almost straight out of a movie.  I've liked Cooke's art in general, but it seemed to really stand out here. The one let down here is the story itself, which fortunately somehow manages to avoid becoming a punk stereotype trainwreck, but has too much focus on the Almost Blue character, enough so that the Spirit isn't really seen much in this issue and he seems actually very tangential to the whole story.  I didn't find myself sympathetic to Almost Blue, so I wasn't very invested in his eventual ending.  Other than that, a great issue this week.  Grade: B+

Countdown #49 - Have I said how much I'm enjoying this weekly series so far?  It's pretty funny I have that feeling even though I really don't know too much about the characters.  Here we see the resolution of the Jimmy Olsen / Killer Croc battle (of which I hope they explain Olsen's sudden super powers), the Trickster and Piper trying to prove that they're "rogues," the Monitors giving us more backdrop on their mission, and the surprising return of Black Adam.  The Black Adam storyline was one of my favorites in 52, and I have a mixture of excitement for his return and hesitance that they he may quickly become stale due to overexposure.  During its short life so far, Countdown hasn't quite cracked that upper echelon of books I am super excited about coming out that week, but has definitely been one I'm glad to get to read every week.  I know there will ultimately be a lull in the series sometime during the year, but I love it so far. Grade: A-

Had the great opportunity to be the guest blogger for Wil Eslinger this week. Check it out!

The Office Finale. Only one blog without a social life ready to comment on the episode minute by minute. Here we go…

0:02 Jim has his “sexy-hot haircut�…ready to promote his next movie, License to Wed. I look forward to seeing the plethora of commercials. First Pam / Jim awkward moment.

0:03 Pam’s wearing blue. Is that part of the new wild Pam?

0:04 Dwight’s crying now? I’m ready for Bizarro Superman to show up now. Oh wait. First Pam / Karen confrontation of the night. Oh, don’t hold back Karen…and you didn’t.

0:05 How does one choose between Pam and Karen? Millions of nerdy men all over the internet are spending too much time debating that. Including me.

0:06 Creed’s blog gets 10 million hits right now.  The first man to register that site is rolling in cash right about now.

0:11 “Welcome to the hotel hell. Check in time is not, check out time is never.� Another Dwight quote I can use along with however many other million people that watch this show.

0:12 Pam has the best “crap why am I hearing this� faces. I would pick Pam, definitely, at least for this minute.

0:13 Jan’s in jeans. What’s up with that business casual crap? She’s really falling apart after Michael.

0:15 Wait, hold on, did Jan just completely change outfits?

0:16 Oh…that’s why. Yikes. The boobs are even red for that “fresh out of surgery� look. Gross.

0:17 First commercial for License to Wed (John Krasinski’s upcoming movie with Robin Williams and Mandy Moore). I predict three more before the night is over

0:20 Is Jan’s new boob job what Power Girl would look like in real life?

0:21 Second awkward glance between Pam and Jim.

0:23 Michael’s cupping Jan’s boobs. America’s censors are start picking up their phones.

0:24 Jim’s nose looks a lot bigger without the slacker hair

0:25 Man, Karen is short. I would definitely pick Karen.

0:26 Did Jim change clothes again? Seriously, where are the continuity police?

0:30 Michael made some more boob jokes. That’s all I could write this minute, because they weren’t really funny.

0:32 Pam’s back in pink. It’s like her kryptonite.

0:33 Who will go to corporate, Jim or Michael? That’s more predictable that the guess that there will be two more Pam / Jim interactions, one Angela smarmy joke, and one Creed theft by the end of this episode.

0:37 Wait, that’s two commercial breaks without another ad for License to Wed.  Did it already get cancelled?

0:38 Pam asserts herself again. Pam retakes #1. Karen better step it up.

0:39 Where’s Toby?

0:40 Jan’s chest area just got a little pixilated on my HDTV. Wow, those censors sure act fast. Or maybe, I just need to get better component cables.

0:41 I forgot to place my bet on having a Jan mental breakdown in the episode.

0:43 Local news talks about Jenna Fisher’s recent accident. Pam gets another sympathy vote, she’s up on Karen by two now.

0:48 Awkard Jan mental breakdown. My dog needs to go outside now, seems like a good time to let him out. Probably didn’t miss too much.

0:50 “I’m going no where,â€? says Michael.  Same thing could be said for this…ok, that was too easy.

0:51 The Dwight / Pam friendship is somewhat fun. Better not be a Dwight / Jim / Pam triangle next season, else I’m turning in my “I love Pam Beesley� membership.

0:52 Pam love note. I should have seen that coming. I’m off my game.

0:55 Pam: “I’m sure we’ll stay friends.� Cue Biz Markie song…

0:55 OHHHHHHHH SNAAPPPPPP! I paused it right when he asked her out to dinner. Shades of the ending of the British version flooding into my mind. I’m scared to press play.

0:55 (Jaw agape, minor tear of happiness coming to my eye. Holding it down…be a man, be a man…)

0:58 Evan Almighty, I’m intrigued…

0:59 What? Ryan’s leaving. Haha. Take that Kelly.

0:60 Oh well, not super awesome, but still enjoyed the episode. See you in the fall! I’m sure I’ll have been sued by the Sports Guy on ESPN by then.

Louis' 5 stages of reading comic books

Excitement: Countdown #50 - Having just finished 52, I'm even more excited to be participating in Countdown. So far I haven't been disappointed and was happy to get the Jimmy Olsen / Joker meeting so quickly. I don't really know much about Mary Marvel or the Rogues, but I'm strapped in for the ride. Grade: A-

Confusion: JLA #9 - I've just hopped on for the lightening saga and after JSA and the previous JLA, I thought I somewhat understood what was going on. After this issue, I realize I really don't. Talking apes, a lady with her head cut off, Power Girl making out wth Hawkman, Dawnstar's crazily impossible costume. At least the art was pretty. Grade: C

Shock: Ulitmate X-men #82 - I had more hope for the Nightcrawler / Morlocks subplot, but now him and Toad are POWs. Bishop's off creating a new X-men team and the spoiler at the end was not really all that exciting. I really wish the "legendary" mutant was not who it was revealed to be. I wanted a new character, not bringing back a previous one I could care less about. Art was horrible. Looked like Cyclops was wearing a red bra over his eyes. Grade: C-

Disgust: Mighty Avengers #3 - Bendis, why can't I quit you? For every step forward (crazy Sentry slugfest), this issue has one step backwards for me (the horrendous Pym/Tigra scene). I've gone off enough on my issues with Cho. This book has really teetered on the "too campy" line with each issue, and the thought balloons (which I like at times) is pushing it towards that. But...I feel contractually obligated to keep buying a Bendis book. Seriously, what the freak is going on with Iron Man? Grade: C+

Hope: Fallen Son #3 - I really wish this came out before last week's New Avengers. Knowing that Hawkeye is Ronin kind of spoiled this storyline b/c you knew he wasn't going to stay as Cap. I'm digging the small links from each issue, which gives the series some elements of continuity. #1 was ok, liked #2, #3 gave me hope for the remainder of the series. Grade: B+

Kwok Talk episode #59 out tomorrow. Word to your mother!

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America: The Avengers
This issue marks the second chapter in the Fallen Son mini-series, written by Jeph Loeb and featuring a variety of artists, that takes a closer look at the toll of Captain America’s death on the Marvel Universe.  Loeb takes his cue from the five psychological stages of grief.  Our first issue had Wolverine in DENIAL.  Here, we’ve moved on to the next stage: ANGER.

I found the first issue to be pretty but of little substance; my expectations for this issue were somewhat low, wondering if it was going to be another one-shot that really made no difference. Well…you can’t win them all.

The story still is somewhat isolated, with the Mighty Avengers off fighting Tiger Shark and the New Avengers taking in a game of poker, but elements of the first story play out in the events of this issue. With Iron Man MIA having to deal with Wolverine on the SHIELD Helicarrier, and Wolverine showing up in the New Avengers storyline after his confirmation of Captain America’s death, my previous $3 investment was made a little more tolerable.

Anger has a both subtle and overt corruption of our natures and Loeb utilizes the simultaneous storylines to try and touch various points on the spectrum.  The traditional form of anger shows itself in the Mighty Avengers plot, as Ms. Marvel allows herself to unravel and project her anger onto an unfortunately beaten Tiger Shark.  Namor, sardonically quoted as “the poster boy for anger management,â€? shows up at the end to deliver our school afternoon special by pointing out that beating up all the sea creatures in the world won’t bring back their fallen comrade.  

The New Avengers plotline has a subtler, and hence more effective, examination of anger.  While the Mighty Avengers are off saving the world, the New Avengers are trying to take their mind off the tragedy with a night of poker, joined by the Thing.  Here, their anger over the situation is repressed as the team (except for a despondent Spiderman) tries to ignore the situation, allowing their feelings to seeth into curt and biting remarks at each other. Even with this single issue, the point is conveyed that the team’s chemistry is shot without their leader and the individual members haven’t been able to work out their grief. Spiderman becomes the catalyst in this storyline as he finally breaks down and you see his anger finally work its way out. (The emotional cycle will play out with Spiderman in Chapter 4.)

With the end of both storylines, the issue at hand is not any better. Captain America is dead. The reality of it is finally beginning to set in and it hurts a lot. They are a step closer to the end of the stages of grief, but not quite out of the dark valley.  While I don’t think this series will be a masterpiece by the time we finish chapter 5, Loeb has me optimistic for the remainder of the series. After a lackluster start, Chapter 2 has a little more emotional meat that we were hoping fore. 4 out of 5.

(Oh, I totally forgot to talk about the art. Ed McGuinness (Ultimates) is the artist slated for this issue and I thought he did a great job, having not seen much of his other work before. The two teams have such wildly divergent art styles in their respective books and McGuinness seemed like a fitting compromise.  Bright coloring, cartoony yet clear)

I admit it; I’m a complete tool for Method for no apparent reason other than being initially attracted to the packaging of their products.  The company seems to pride themselves on their simplicity and eco-friendly products, which does somewhat ease the pain of their premium prices. And now the company is back with their latest offering: the O-Mop.

So what separates their disposable mop from the Swiffers of the world? When you pick it up, the first thing you notice is the immense size of it, which covers nearly double the amount of floor space a Swiffer would.  I found it somewhat beastly at first, but quickly appreciated it (more space coverage = less mopping).  The size of the mop does have one knock, in that it doesn’t easily break apart for storage purposes.  Perhaps Method product owners are a prideful bunch, because we have no choice but to display this behemoth. 

The handle and shaft is curved, which results in resistance when you push forward.  As a result, you do have to exert more when you push forward, but I guess the added friction should help in cleaning more effectively.  If you need to go under a tight spot, the handle easily swivels so that the curved handle can go underneath furniture.  The disposable sheets are similar to Swiffers, but it also comes with a reusable wet mop rag that attaches to the mop via Velcro.  Use it, then just wash it, which is nice in reducing waste.  Also included is a Lemon Ginger mop solution with. I thought it to be a weird combination at first, but I like how it has a sharp, yet subtle clean scent to it.

The mop comes in around $20, which is a bit steeper than other brands, but if you’re in the market for something new cleaning wise, it’s a solid pickup. 4 out of 5.

You can only cram in so much material into a 30-minute podcast and often times various reviews get left on the wayside. Hopefully, on the podcast off-weeks, Extra Verbiage can fill that gap between episodes.

This past week, I actually decided to use my DVR and one of the things I recorded was Gorillaz: Live at Harlem from the HD Music Channel. Would I consider myself a Gorillaz fan? Lukewarm at best; a band with interesting concepts and great singles, but having a hard time putting out an overall great album. As a concept band emphasing both the visual and audio, however, I was curious to see how the band would translate live.

Some surprises, some disappointments.  You would naturally expect the band to have a great visual performance, which did feature stills and cartoons of the "Gorillaz" but there didn't seem to be anything cohesive about the showing - somewhat like a series of comic panels lacking a story. I think an opportunity was wasted to tell movie-like stories or have an animated band, just something more than just stills.

The band's frontman, Damon Albarn, stayed pretty much hidden through most of the concert, only being in a position to be seen in the latter third of the concert. Instead the spotlight was on the various background singers and guest musicians that appear on the album. Being a guest on a Gorillaz track would seem to make for an easy paycheck - just show up, sing your part, and see you later. Heck, MF Doom just showed up in video, he didn't even have to show up live. Others, like De La Soul and Dennis Hopper, showed up to do their part.

Perhaps my expectations were too high for this. I wanted to be blasted visually and musically and while both were good, I feel like I've seen many other bands have visual presences just as effective with a simple light system. It was good, but I wanted it to be mindblowing.  And as a result, this concert really didn't do that much to sway my opinion of the band. If you are a fan, check it out, but if not your hour and a half will be just be as well served elsewhere.  3 out of 5.

After a flurry of votes to start out of the gate, the podcast seems to have stalled on the Digg.com rankings. Currently, we sit in the art/culture section ranked between a Harry Potter podcast and Absolute Poker TV.

Keep us moving up! Click here to vote for the podcast on Digg.com!

Oh yeah, and feel free to write a review for us in the iTunes music store...happy thoughts, please.

Hi everyone! Just to make things simpler, I've decided to move the "official" show page here. Libsyn has a knack for podcasts in particular, so it seemed to be a pretty natural choice.  ...Except that it took me 50 episodes to realize that.

Anyways, those of you who have subscribed to the show via RSS feed in iTunes will need to go to the link below and resubscribe to the show. (Just click the "iTunes" button on the page.

www.kwoktalk.libsyn.com/rss

Episode #50 comes out Saturday! Thanks to everyone who's downloaded any episode 1-49!