Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars 44 (Age Of Apocalypse Edition)

As a comic geek it is probably a bit surprising that I never read the original Age of Apocalypse when it came out in 1995-1996.  That was a time period where I had started to move away from comics.  Partly because of other interests and partly financially, my time and money was getting funneled into girls, university, girls, music, food, transportation, girls and did I mention girls?

To this day I still haven’t read it, but I have read the Secret Wars version of Age Of Apocalypse which I will take a spoilery look at after the break.

Be sure to check out our latest Secret Wars Power Rankings, which also features links to the other parts of my read through.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars 39 (E Is For Extinction Edition)

Many of the Secret Wars tie-ins have familiar names like Infinity Gauntlet, Planet Hulk and Civil War.  For most of the series with names you have heard of before, reading the original series is not usually required.  I found E Is For Extinction to be the opposite of that.

While I guess I cannot really say because I haven’t read the original run by Grant Morrison, I really felt like I was missing something with this series.  Not that I couldn’t understand it, but for 4 issues I felt like there was an inside joke that I was missing out on.  Tom Kelly has also made some comments about them nailing the tone and feel of the run.

After the cut I’ll take a spoilery look at E Is For Extinction #1 thru #4.  For those that have read Morrison’s run, feel free to jump in and let me know what I’m missing, or what would help me understand this series better.

Be sure to check out our latest Secret Wars Power Rankings, which also features links to the other parts of my read through.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars XXIX

So, not unexpectedly I’m way behind in going through all of Secret Wars.  But give me a break, there are over 200 issues and counting to this event.  At least the Secret Wars main series being so extremely late and now extended an issue gives me until at least December, if not 2016, to finish up “on time”.

After the cut I’ll take a spoiler filled look at the latest issue of the main series: Secret Wars #6.  As well, I’ll finish off my review of the series Old Man Logan.  I previously looked at Parts 1 and 2 and in this post I’ll examine Old Man Logan #3, Old Man Logan #4 and Old Man Logan #5.  I’ll save spoilers until after the cut, but let’s just say, we have another disappointing ending to add to the pile.

Related links:
Secret Wars Power Rankings
Tom’s Road To Secret Wars: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7.
Other parts of this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

Marvel’s Badass Females Ranked, Because That Is What We Do Here

Actually, more what they do over at MorphSuits, but we like to spread the love.

After the break, see how you farvorite female Marvel heroes fare.

Gabbing Geek 45: Geek World Cup Draft!

Gabbing Geek 45: Geek World Cup Draft!

The latest podcast episode covers new July movies, Star Wars news, Ghostbusters, and an amazing all-geek all-female soccer draft that will blow your mind!  Give it a listen now or jump after the break to read more!

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars Part Nine (Old Man Logan Edition)

Old Man Logan was a popular storyline that ran through the regular Wolverine title (and one Giant Size) for eight issues back in 2008/2009.  Written by Mark Millar with art by Steve McNiven it is set fifty years in the future where supervillians have won the day and Logan is long since retired.  I won’t spoil anything here, but it is well worth hunting down in trade format.

The story has proven to be so popular it has caught the eye of Doom who made it a domain on Battleworld.  There are even rumors of it being the basis for Wolverine 3.  I’m skeptical of that, but it would help to explain how ageless Wolverine has aged so much since the 2000 release of the first X-Men movie.

After the break we’ll look at Old Man Logan #1 and #2.  Or as Ryan likes to call them, #1 and #1.5.  We’ll get into that…

Also, if you are like me and haven’t read all of Johnathon Hickman’s Avengers run leading up to Secret Wars, be sure to take Tom’s Road To Secret Wars course at gabbinggeekuniversity.com.  The reading materials are online here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six and Part Seven.

And that course is a prerequisite to the other parts of this series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three,Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight

Original Geek Art: Peanuts X-Men Mashup

Do you love X-Men? Do you love Peanuts? Well then feast your eyes on this awesome Peanuts/X-Men mashup. There is so much cute going on in this photo I don’t know where to start! How about playing a game of “Find the Woodstock Gambit?” Or how about giving props to artist Amelia Davis – Ms. David – we thank you! And for the rest of you, head over to Etsy to get your own print here.

He’s Back! Do You Really Care How? The Death And Rebirth of Colossus

I think he forgot a parachute here.

Most big comics crossovers and story lines generally promise a death.  Most of the time, the death is someone nobody really cares about.  The death could be someone who rejoined the group after a sufficiently long absence, or some minor character, or someone no one really got around to liking anyway.  Sometimes readers can even eliminate a few contenders by looking to see which characters have solo books that aren’t being canceled anytime soon.  And sometimes the death is something even readers know won’t last very long, since the story itself seems to have set up a return somewhere along the line.

Then, occasionally, there’s a death that seems to come out of nowhere to a character people largely love, and in a way that just seems really cheap, with no clear path to return the character to the land of the living.  One such death would be when Colossus was killed off in the pages of Uncanny X-Men.

Slightly Misplaced Comics Heroes Case File #9: Beak

Well, he can sure fill out a jacket.

Grant Morrison was, at best, a crazy fit for the X-Men.  He came onboard at a time when X-Men continuity was extremely tight and tried to make some interesting changes that long term didn’t stick too well.  To be fair, at least one of his changes didn’t really make a lot of sense.  Having Magneto working undercover in the Xavier School as the mutant Xorn, claiming to be a Chinese mutant healer with a star for a brain, wasn’t a bad idea, and even the helmet blocking the psychic scans of Professor Xavier, Jean Grey, and Emma Frost works, but it never explained how he fooled Wolverine’s advanced senses.  Likewise, Morrison’s take on Magneto as some sort of flaky cult leader who had trouble taking out a single NYPD officer with a handgun was rather embarrassing for the longtime friend and foe of the X-Men.  No wonder Chris Claremont reversed that whole thing the minute he got back and declared Magneto was never Xorn.  Other ideas of Morrison’s, like secondary mutations, the U-Men, and Cassandra Nova had lasting effects to one degree or another, but the final image of his run was Cyclops and Emma Frost making out on top of Jean Grey’s grave…with her approval from some point in the distant future.  Yeah, it was a screwy run in many ways, and Morrison’s style of storytelling may not fit too well with Marvel Comics, while DC’s emphasis on spectacle and wonder over personality seems to work out for him fine.

That said, Morrison gave the world Beak during his time on the X-Men, and that alone was a stroke of masterful storytelling.