Exiles #100 (Marvel - Claremont / Grummett / Hanna / Quintana) - Adios, Exiles! They’ve left their footprints across the multiverse for a hundred issues, but what threat will make Blink and Co. close up shop for good? It’s not what you expect! And what’s this we hear about an all NEW EXILES. So here we are at the end of what has been, in my opinion, on of the best X-books ever. What made this series so incredible, was the vastness that a time-traveling parallel world jumping book can do! Looking back on the last 99 issues, Countdown certainly could take a lesson or two. This is the one X-book that you could be fans of the non-mutant Marvel characters and see them pop up often. This is also the one X-book that you didn’t need to be the master of X-trivia minutia to follow :). Modern day legend Chris Claremont and Exile writing partner Tom Grummett give fairly good closure on Blink, Nocturn and Thunderbird. And for the rest of the team, we are set up and ready for Exiles: Days of Then and Now! The only bummer to this “Giant-Sized” final issue was that they reprint Exiles number one for you, which is half of the Giant-sized-ness. If you have never picked this up, well worth your time getting those trades… no offense to all of our friends who sell new comic merchandise, but you can find Exiles trades at most cons, bargain bins and online auctions for half price or less. Well worth your time and money!

Issue Grade: B+

Series Grade: A

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All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #8 (DC - Miller / Lee) - DC’s take Part 1 of Frank Miller’s and Jim Lee’s two-fisted thrill ride ends here, yet it’s only just begun! The Dark Knight links a brutal psychopath to the Flying Grayson’s murder, and the streets of Gotham run red with terror! Dick Grayson is reborn to wage war on crime! The newly banded Justice League fans out, trying to catch a bat!  I know it’s been about a month since this came out, but given that we have had eight issues in about 2 years, and the issue #9 doesn’t come out until February (if it’s not late), I figured this review is ahead of schedule, if we use the All-Star calendar.  Surprisingly this issue actually has quite a bit content… an interlude with the Joker, a cameo from Cat Woman, Green Lantern and Batman’s opinion of him, the origins of the name Robin and young Dick getting in Batman’s face and asking him what the deal is with the giant robot T-Rex.  Even though I poke at the tardiness fo the book, it is filled from cover to cover with clever writing.  The downside to this book (beyond the obvious scheduling issues) is that this issue has the same feel as the first… dark, dark, dark.  There has been no development in the characters and Batman and his supporting cast has become very predictable.  The upside to this book  is that Frank Miller and the All-Star team is showing us a different version of known and loved characters (for lack of a better label, the All-Star universe could be one of the 52).  And I think the DC fan base is very interested in this.

DC might find the readership of and interest towards the All-Star books jump if there was one All-Star book that rotated characters and creative teams, allowing the fans to see this darker universe and yet not be on the schedule of talented comic book rock stars like Frank Miller and Jim Lee.

Grade: B (would have been A- but points were taken off for being late)

I was surfing my MySpace friends when I noticed that artist Greg Horn posted some new artwork. I take a look and I see this painting with the title “SHE’S A SKRULL!” under it.

This is the cover for Ms. Marvel #25 which comes out next month. I don’t read Ms. Marvel, but I haven’t heard that she’s a member of the Skrull invasion force. I figured if it’s news to me, it might be news to some of you.

Enjoy!

I haven’t see I AM LEGEND yet, a good buddy of mine tipped me off to this little nugget after he saw it. I don’t think this is anything more than Warner Bros. using the properties they own in unique ways.

The hopeful geek in me on the other hand thinks that this could be an early warning of things to come. It is a fact that Warners is continuing their SUPERMAN and BATMAN films , even putting the characters on the same big screen in George Miller’s JUSTICE LEAGUE movie due out in 2010. Wolfgang Petersen was involved in doing a BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN movie before Brian Singer’s SUPERMAN and Christopher Nolan’s BATMAN went ahead, so we know that Warner Bros. has this concept on the brain.

Safe House

Here’s the lowdown…

• There is a brief review of Identity Crisis (for those not knowing what happened to Sue Dibny)
• This issue gives the backdrop on what has happened to Ray Palmer, who apparently is the key to the Great Disaster
• At the end of Identity Crisis, after putting his ex-wife into Arkham, Ray Palmer shrank away
• He travelled from world to world until he met a “mystic” who told him of the layout and story of the Multiverse
• Ray looked at different Earths, until he fell upon Earth 51
• Here, he saw Earth 51’s Ray Palmer die and he took his place and tried to live the perfect life
• Earth 51 is a world where in the span of 5 years the Justice League has wiped out all the bad guys and then retired
• The Challengers show up and ruin Ray’s plan
• After all of the backstory has been explained to all present, Bob the Monitor powers up his gloves and says he is going to eliminate the multiversal anomoly and terminate Ray Palmer
• Meanwhile in the outreaches of space, Mary Marvel beats the crap out of Eclipso and chases her down to kill her
• Origin of Dr. Light
• One of the best things of all… no Jimmy Olsen!

As far as this series has gone, Countdown #18 has been one of the best to date. Giving us the backstory on Ray, showing Bob’s true colors and letting us know that Mary Marvel was not as naive as she appears. It looks like DC i supping their game as we get closer to Final Disaster.

Issue Grade: B

Kissmas Special (Platinum Studios - Dixon / Rodriguez / Ruffino / Enbury) - Platinum’s summary This KISSMAS season, the Four who are One must use their powers (both supernatural and musical) to replace the Aurora Borealis so Santa Claus can guide his sleigh. If Demon, Starchild, Chikara, and Celestial fail, an evil spirit could rule the earth forever. Talk about your fun Christmas specials, not meant for your eight year old. Just like the summary says, this one-shot written by Chuck Dixon involves a cult bent on world destruction, an inter-dimensional demon, KISS hijacking a NASA shuttle, a battle in space and a tattooed, biker, sword-wielding Santa. As you can imagine the plot is way for fun than analytical, I don’t even believe this is in the KISS 4K continuity. Comic artist icon and all around good guy, Tone Rodriguez gives the reader great fantasy visuals for this imaginative book. Kissmas is a great read that is sure to make you smile, but at a $4.99 cover price, this book is great for the KISS fan or as a nice post-Christmas present. But probably not one fanboys will just pick up for the heck of it!

Grade: B

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When readers first caught Damage Control Inc. in Marvel Age Annual back in 1988, no one though the idea could last twenty years… but from the company that couldn’t keep Bucky dead, you never know what is going to happen. In January fans will be treated to the World War Hulk Aftersmash limited series tie-in Damage Control #1. The series will be written by Fantastic Four uber-scribe Dwayne McDuffie. His present run on FF is one of the best things to happen to the flagship title in quite a while. Interestingly enough Dwayne was also one of the co-creators of the original segment nineteen years back. The series will be drawn by talented newcomer Salva Espin. For those fanboys who might not be old enough to know, Damage Control Inc. are the folks in the Marvel Universe who the government calls to do the clean up after major super-hero / villain throw-downs. Their not-so-well-known adventures have included cleaning up Manhattan after Galactus battled the FF / Avengers, replaced streets and infrastructure after Spidey downed the Rhino and they have legally gone after Doctor Doom for damages rendered. From Marvel - Luckily for Damage Control’s profit margin, WORLD WAR HULK created a situation in desperate need of their expertise. Jade Jaws flattened the island of Manhattan, but now with the monster subdued the clean up can begin. “It made sense to have a mini about people cleaning up the aftermath of WORLD WAR HULK, so we figured, why not call up Dwayne and ask him to write it” explains editor Nate Cosby. “He was good enough to say yes, I tried to help him with whatever insider Hulk info I could, he came up with the take on it, and voila, the Damage Control quiche you’ll be enjoying soon was baked.” This book should be a great fusion of action and comedy and with McDuffie at the helm, it should fly… put it on your pull list!

Check below for up-coming art!

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Madame Mirage #4 (Top Cow - Dini / Rocafort) - Top Cow’s summary Mirage cuts loose in this issue and stretches her powers to the limit as she unleashes an all out assault on Aggressive Solutions International’s headquarters! Mirage is through toying with the villains of ASI… or is she? Paul Dini continues to let the genre-busting Madame Mirage Series take names and kick tail as he takes what seems likes the most used stereotype in modern day story-telling “The Femme Fatale” and takes the reader down the most unexpected, yet enjoyable roads. In the last issue we got a good look at what Mirage is and where she came from, now we see her in full-force busting through ASI’s meta-villain line-up: Pachy-Doom (think Marvel’s Rhino), Weeping Willow (goth-villainess with living hair), Aphrodisiac (a Barbie with pheromones), Dude (a surfer-boy hulkling) and by far the most original baddie that I have seen in a while - Cotton-Eyed Joe, a southern country styled teleporter. Mirage gives each their turn and gets herself inside to the core of ASI. Where in the last frame, she offers her services. Paul Dini is one of the best writers out there, in his Mirage book, he has shown his talents are not only wide but deep. Very few writers could be as good as he is, writing with as much diversity in characters as he does. Kenneth Rocafort’s pencils are excellent… come on, a battle between a femme fatale and a goth bad girl is only as good as it is drawn, and very similar to Paul Dini, Kenneth Rocafort comes out on top. Madame Mirage continues to be one of the best new series this year!

Grade: A

She-Hulk #24 (Marvel - David / Moll / Olazaba) - From Marvel Want to know what’s up with She-Hulk? This is the issue to find out: Visit her new home. Meet her new neighbors. Say hello to her new boss. And share her first encounter with the man who may become her new love interest…or her greatest enemy…or possibly both. This was the “catch up with Jennifer and get most of the fine details” issue. Being the fine story-teller Peter David is, he didn’t want to go too long without giving the readers some of the fine details. Jennifer has now brought back bail jumper Rocky Davis, with only a nominal amount of collateral damage and is not necessarily the most loved bounty hunter working for Freeman Bonding. We formally meet Jazinda, the skrull in disguise that is Jenn’s new partner and we get just a glimpse into Jazinda’s backstory (you can’t tell me this won’t play into Secret Invasion). Jennifer is now living at Dona Little’s trailer park, is the life of the neighborhood and is now a motorcycle enthusiast. And Shulkie’s new antagonist who only introduced himself as Raisin Bran, seems to blow things up in that “pipe-bomb-terrorist” sort of way. While Peter David fleshes out his story, Shawn Moll continues his great run of being able to pencil everyone’s favorite green hottie. This fantastic creative team is taking the She-Hulk series out of the off-beat, almost independent, comedy category and moving her right back into the heart of the in-continuity Marvel Universe. If you think about, She-Hulk has been a member of the Avengers, Fantastic Four and has been a mainstay character for years, it will be interesting to see if she can fully integrate back in. The cover by Mike Deodato and Rainer Beredo is a send up to the classic Hulk cover.

Grade: B+

Star Trek: Year Four #5 (IDW - Tischman / Conley) - description from IDW - The U.S.S. Enterprise is dispatched to observe a Quark Gluon Plasma experiment at the Gemini Science Station—in orbit between two suns—in an effort to learn more about the beginning of the universe. But the formation of a black hole from the experiment’s outcome means eminent danger for Spock and Dr. McCoy who are stranded on the debilitated science station. Once again, IDW flexes it’s Terek muscles and shows that that it has caught Gene Roddenberry’s original spirit. For the fifth issue in a row David Tischman has successfully made an old Trek fan feel like he was watching new episodes of the original show. And Steve Conley’s pencils capture the perfect blend of the melodrama and action. This book is pure fun, if there is any criticism at all it would be that issue seemed to run too fast. If nothing else IDW Publishers have shown that they know how to a well established property and run with it well. Trekkies (and Trekkers for that matter) are some of the most avid fans in existence and this series has been praised almost universally by the masses.

Grade: A-

Sometimes you wonder where some independent comic companies will be 18 months from now… well, I don’t have to wonder with IDW, my bet is that they will be even further ahead in the game. The sort of quality they have put inot their Star Trek books have made me wait in anticipation for their new Doctor Who series.

More Trek to come from IDW… upcoming special issues and series:

• 01/08 - Star Trek Alien Spotlight: The Borg
• 01/08 - ST TNG: Intelligence Gathering mini-series
• 02/08 - Star Trek Alien Spotlight: Romulans
• 03/08 - Star Trek: New Frontier (Peter David)
• 04/08 - Star Trek: Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment (D.C. Fontana)
• 05/08 - Star Trek: Assignment Earth (John Byrne) - about Gary Seven
• 06/08 - Star Trek: Mirror Images mini-series

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