Breaking news! The Kwok Talk podcast has been traded for second round pick and a player to be named later! While I'm packing my locker, feel free to enjoy reviews and discussions of:
-Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton - Knives Don't Have Your Back
-Young Avengers Volume 2: Family Matters
-Sinestro Corps #1, Xmen #200
-The Lion King musical
-Our first offerings from the summer list: Powers, Guns n Roses, Heroes
-Manhunt II for the Wii - AO rating
-Amazon's Harry Potter strategy
-USC recruiting
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Question of the week: What do you think of the AO rating for Manhunt II for the Wii?
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Click here to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes & write us a review. (If not, Sinestro will kill you with something yellow!)
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Click here to vote for the podcast on Digg.com (If you do, USC will give you a full ride scholarship!)

It's getting freaking hot, which means summer is here. Fortunately we're here with our summer reading/listening/watching list to get us through the summer days. We also review Fell Vol.1: Feral City, Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney for the Nintendo DS, Gracie, Bjork's new album Volta, Spiderman Fairy Tales #1, World War Hulk #1, squirrel attacks, and getting hit in the nuts.
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Question of the week: Would you rather get hit in the nuts with a tennis serve or attacked by a squirrel?
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Click here to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes & write us a review. (If not, Phoenix Wright will have an objection!)
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Click here to vote for the podcast on Digg.com (Hulk will give you a hug if you do!)
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Hey! We're on VIRB.com! Be our friend!

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+

What could be more fun than a short work week after the Memorial Day weekend? How about episode #60, with reviews of Explosions in the Sky's album - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, Eets: Chowdown for Xbox 360 Live Arcade, Checkmate: A King's Game, The Arcade Fire live in Chicago, and rats the size of cats. Gross.
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Question of the week: What's your favorite Memorial Day activity?
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Click here to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes & write us a review. (Mr. Terrific will think you're...er...terrific.)
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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-