Best Covers of the Week 8/31/16

Welcome back Nerdmigos. Another Wednesday and another Best Covers of the Week Segment.  Even though it is the dreaded fifth Wednesday of the month there is still plenty of great covers out this  week. I struggled picking this weeks winner.  Some of my favorite artists came out with covers this week, but had to go in a different direction.

Enjoy, here it is

 This Week's Winner

Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens 2 By Glenn Fabry

Just waiting for the little mouth to come out and bite me.

 

 

Runner Ups

4001 AD #4 By Clayton Crain

Love the composition on this one and the level of detail blows me away.

 



Afterlife With Archie #10 Variant by Jim Balent

Afterlife With Archie By Francesco Francavilla
 

Had to include both covers on this book.  

All-New Wolverine Annual #1 By Cameron Stewart

This is a cover that really calls my name and I can't put my finger on why. 

Guardians of the Galaxy #11 By Arthur Adams

Colors really pop and Venom and The Thing on this cover.

 



Justice League of America #9 By Jim Lee

Jim Lee and Batman, do I need to say more?

 



Postal #14 By Linda Sejic

Love how it looks like an innocent girl until you look closer and there are weapons everywhere

Tokyo Ghost #10 By Sean Murphy

The covers for this whole series has been great.

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #1 By Kevin Eastman

This book has a 2 other covers that could have been her, but Classic Eastman and Turtles has to be on the list. I try and always get the B cover of the ongoing Turtles book because they are usually Eastman Covers.

Rotten Tomatoes Screwing Suicide Squad??? Nah...

After seeing Suicide Squad this weekend, I wanted to write a piece about Rotten Tomatoes.  I read the reviews posted by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, which tempered any expectations that I had for the movie. It appeared that WB wanted to use Suicide Squad in the same way that Fox used Deadpool.  A brash action comedy that helps launch their respective movie-verse. Whereas Deadpool was an undisputed success, Suicide Squad was met with mixed results. The critics lambasted it with a 26% rating.  However, as of this morning, the audience gave the movie a 68% and it raked in over $575 million dollars.   

 
This got me thinking to a conspiracy theory that I have heard pretty regularly about the Disney/Marvel corporate offices. The theory goes to say that Marvel/Disney pay critics a kick back to give their movies good reviews regardless of the movies actual content.  Further, the theory states that Disney/Marvel pay critics to review WB/DC movies poorly. At first glance this theory seems ridiculous, but it keeps popping up in message boards and in conversation.

Therefore, I went to the numbers to look at the data and found some interesting, but far from conclusive results. First I created a list of comic book movies whose source material was from Marvel or DC Comics, not including their independent branches. I went back to 1998, when Blade came out. Blade looks like it was the first comic book movie, which did not feature Batman or Superman, which did relatively well.  I also included a few Disney movies, based on comic books or comic bookish in nature, in order to see if their number varied from their Disney Marvel venture. Here are the results for each studio.

Fox – The biggest difference between critic’s reviews and audience reviews were for X-Men: Apocalypse, a 23% difference.  Twice a movie was rated higher by critics than Audiences, X2 and Daredevil, never thought I would write that sentence. The lowest rated movie was Fantastic Four with a dismal 9%, tied with Catwoman as the lowest movie on this list.  The highest rated movie was X-Men Days of Future Past with a 91%.

 

Disney/Marvel – The biggest difference between critic’s reviews and audience reviews were for Thor: The Dark World, 11% difference. There was one instance a movie was rated higher by critics than Audiences. The lowest rated movie was Thor: The Dark World with a 61% and the highest rated movie was Guardians of the Galaxy with a 91%.

 

Marvel – The biggest difference between critic’s reviews and audience reviews were for The Incredible Hulk, a 4% difference. Three out of their five movies were rated higher by critics than by audiences and once they were rated the same. Their lowest rated movie was Incredible Hulk at 67% and the highest rated movie was Iron Man with an impressive 94%, tied with Batman: The Dark Knight for the highest rated comic book movie on this list.

 

Universal – Universal has only produced The Hulk. The Hulk was rated significantly higher by critics than by audiences, a whopping 32% better.  This is the biggest rating gap, where the critics liked the movie better than the audiences. 

DC/WB – The biggest difference between critic’s reviews and audience reviews were for Suicide Squad, a 42% difference, followed by Batman v. Superman with a 38% difference. These two movies are by far the biggest difference in rating between Critics and Audiences. Only one movie was rated higher by critics than by audiences, Superman Returns, which is a little surprising. Their lowest rated movie was Catwoman at 9%, tied with Fantastic Four for the lowest rated comic book movie on this list. The highest rated movie was Batman: The Dark Knight with an impressive 94%, tied with Iron Man for the highest rated comic book movie on this list.

Sony - The biggest difference between critic’s reviews and audience reviews were for Spiderman wherein the critics liked it 22% better than audiences tied with Ghost Rider where audiences liked it 22% better. Three out of their six movies were rated higher by critics than by audiences, all three Spidermans. Their lowest rated movie was Ghost Rider at 17% and the highest rated movie was Spiderman 2 at 93%.

New Line Cinemas - The biggest difference between critic’s reviews and audience reviews were for Blade Trinity a 36% difference, which happened to be their lowest rated movie at 24%. Their highest rated movie was Blade 2 at 57%.

 

 

Lionsgate - The biggest difference between critic’s reviews and audience reviews were for Punisher a 34% difference, which happens to be their highest rated movie.  Their lowest rated movie is Punisher: War Zone, which received 27%.

 

Disney - The biggest difference between critic’s reviews and audience reviews were for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a 22% difference. Their lowest rated movie was the Lone Ranger at 31% and their highest rated movie was Tron: Legacy tied with John Carter at 51%.

In conclusion, it appears that the theory that Marvel/Disney is paying off critics to review their movies better than they should be and give negative reviews to movies that are not made by them, does not hold up.  It appears that after the Marvel Disney merger in 2009, they were getting the same marks as before the merger. Additionally, Disney movies that came out under the Disney brand that were incredibly big budgets movies did not seem to fare will with critics.  

6 Random thoughts

1.      I do find it interesting that the two biggest gaps between critics and audiences happen to be DCU’s two newest movies that are trying to compete with the MCU.

2.      Marvel/Disney’s worst critic rated movie is Thor: The Dark World at 66%, better than Lionsgate’s, New Line’s and Universal’s best critic rated movies. 

3.      I find it funny that Suicide Squad, Green Lantern and Ghost Rider all have a critic review of 26%.

4.      Batman Begins and Deadpool both are rated at 84%. Does that mean that Deadpool 2 will be as good as Batman the Dark Knight?

5.      Spiderman 3 is rated better by critics than Man of Steal, Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad.

6.      Marvel/Disney have no stinkers, Fantastic Four, Daredevil & Catwoman I’m looking at you. 

Rotten Tomatoes Rating as of 8/26/2016

Fox

X-Men: Apocalypse C 48% Aud 71%

Deadpool C 84% Aud 91%

Fantastic Four C 9% Aud 19%

X-Men: Days of Future Past C 91% Aud 91%

The Wolverine C 69% Aud 69%

X-Men: First Class C 86% Aud 87%

X-Men: Wolverine Origins: C 38% Aud 59%

X-Men: Last Stand C 58% Aud 62%

X2 X-Men United C 86% Aud 85%

X-Men C 81% Aud 83%

Fantastic Four C 27% Aud 45%

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer C 37% Aud 51%

Daredevil C 44% Aud 35%

Elektra C 10% Aud 30%

Marvel/Disney

CA3 C 90% Aud 90%

Antman C 81% Aud 86%

Avengers2 C 75% Aud 84%

GOTG C 91% Aud 92%

CA2 C 89% Aud 92%

Thor 2 C 66% Aud 77%

IM3 C 79% Aud 79%

Avengers C 92% Aud 91%

Marvel Movies

CA C 80% Aud 74%

Thor C 77% Aud 76%

IM2 C 72% Aud %72

The Incredible Hulk C 67% Aud 71% (Universal was involved)

IM C 94% Aud 91%

Universal

Hulk C 61% Aud 29%

DC/WB

Suicide Squad C 26% Aud 68%

Batman v. Superman C 27% Aud 65%

Man of Steel C 55% Aud 75%

GL C 26% - Aud 45%

Jonah Hex C 12% Aud 20%

Batman: TDKR C 87% Aud 90%

Batman The Dark Knight C 94% Aud 94%

Batman Begins: 84% Aud 94%

Superman Returns C 76% Aud 61%

Catwoman C 9% Aud 18%

Sony/Columbia

ASM C 73% Aud: 77%

ASM2 C 52% Aud 65%

Spiderman C 89% Aud 67%

Spiderman 2 C 93% Aud 81%

Spiderman 3 C63% Aud 51%

Ghost Rider C 26% Aud 48%

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance C 17% Aud 32%

New Line Cinemas

Blade C 54% Aud 78%

Blade 2 C 57% Aud 68%

Blade Trinity C24% Aud 59%

Lionsgate

Punisher C 29% Aud 63%

Punisher: War Zone C 27% Aud 42%

Disney

Tron: Legacy C: 51% Aud 53%

John Carter C 51% Aud 60%

Prince of Persia C 36% Aud 58%

The Lone Ranger C 31% Aud 51%

New Number 1's 8/31/16

Sup Dudes, Another week, another list of new number ones coming out. I am not going to include Annuals on this list and may or may not include one shots, depending on the week. My pick of the week is definitely Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe. The Suicide Squad offshoots have kind of seemed DOA, but if you are a fan they are worth checking out. Army of Darkness has a rabid following and that following will be picking up Ash 4 President.

W: Paul Allor A: Damian Couceiro

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #1 - Introducing a new era in TMNT! This series will explore characters and story-lines that are pivotal to the IDW TMNT universe! When a mysterious new mutant targets Baxter Stockman, it will be up to the TMNT to reluctantly save him. Little does everyone know that a larger trap is being laid by a new arch-foe! Plus a back-up story from TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman and comics legend Bill Sienkiewicz!

A Kevin Eastman Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I'm in. I know it is just a back up story, but as long as they are not in the hands of Michael Bay, I love the Turtles. I may have also blacked out that Turtles in Time Movie, YUCK.  The ongoing for this one has been incredible and one of my favorite books. If this can bring that kind of quality story telling and visuals, this book is going to be a hit.

W: Mike Mignola & Chris Roberson A: Ben Stenbeck

  2. Witchfinder City of the Dead #1 - Sir Edward Grey, occult adviser to the queen, confronts flesh-eating corpses and discovers a temple beneath London. The mystery that compels him the most is what the sinister Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra wants with it-and from him.

This seems like a Sherlock Holmes mixed with the Walking Dead and magic. I have never read anything by Mike Mignola or Chris Roberson, but I usually try and give everything a shot so why not.

W:Garth Ennis A: Carlos Ezquerra

3. World of Tanks #1 - Garth Ennis (Preacher, Hellblazer) joins Carlos Ezquerra (Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog) to create a tense war story inspired by the massively popular (over 110 million players!) online game World of Tanks. An untested British crew inadvertently commands an unconventional Cromwell tank into France while hunted by a hardened German panzer unit.
This is something that I will be picking up for sure.  I love to read anything about WWII and who doesn't love tanks. Garth Ennis is a great writer and I am sure he has something good planned. Corlos Ezquerra seems like a very fitting artist for this type of book. I think this book will sell well and may even sell out.  I know that a lot of people are/were obsessed with this game, throw in Garth Ennis and maybe Dark Horse has a monster on their hands.

W:John Ostrander A: Gus Vasquez

4. Suicide Squad War Crimes Special #1 - When a retired American politician is taken to Europe and tried for alleged war crimes, the USA must recover him from an allied nation before terrible truths are revealed. Enter the Suicide Squad, who storm the Hague itself to save America from her own dark secrets. The writer who started a revolution, John Ostrander returns to the Suicide Squad for the first time in a decade to tell one of his boldest and bloodiest stories ever.

I am a fan of Suicide Squad and Amanda Waller.  She thinks she always knows what's best and will do whatever it takes to get it done, no matter how ruthless. Waller killing all her lackeys in the movie was one of the best scenes.   However, since the movie was less than stellar I think a lot of people lost interest in these one shots.  Unfortunately, this book still have a $4.99 cover price.

W:Elliot Serrano A: Diego Galindo

5. Army of Darkness: Ash 4 President: One Shot - He's faced off against demons in Hell. He's battled the dead in the future. He's even combated the armies of darkness in space. But Ash Williams has never gone up against evil in an arena like this: the political arena! From the writer who brought you 'Hail to the Queen, Baby' and 'Ash Saves Obama' comes the off-beat adventure that answers the question: 'What if Ash Williams ran for President of the United States?' When the Necronomicon Ex Mortis gives him a cryptic message, Ash Williams enlists the help of a beautiful psychic to help him track down the agent of the 'Great Darkness', an evil so great that it threatens both humankind and the demon realm. But what happens when the search for truth takes Ash on a trail that he never expected... the campaign trail?

I mean there is not much to say here, you are a fan of Army of Darkness or you aren't.  Seems like a fun/goofy comic that I am sure will make tons of fun of politics in general and maybe specifically Trump and Hilary.

W: Matt Hawkins. Bryan Edward Hill A: Antonio Rojo 

6. Eden's Fall - Top Cow combines three of its most provocative titles (THINK TANK, THE TITHE, POSTAL) in an unflinching fable of revenge and consequence. FBI Agent James Miller (THE TITHE) follows a sociopath into the off-the-grid town of Eden, Wyoming on a personal mission of vengeance. The price of this vigilante justice will be paid in blood, and both Eden and James Miller will never be the same.

I have really enjoyed Postal and will probably pick this up.  I was thought the first issue of The Tithe was meh but had potential. I haven't read Think Tank, but a crossover looks to be pretty intriguing.

Think these all suck or I missed something.  Holla at your boy in the comments section.

Five Must Buys 8/31/16

Books coming out on 8/31/16

Sup Fellas.  Another Happy Monday.  As you know this is the dreaded fifth Wednesday of the month, the Wednesday that sometimes breaks the bank. Luckily no DC Rebirth stuff comes out this week. This is a strong week for Independents. Unfortunately, we can't buy everything that comes out each week, even though we probably would if funds weren't an issue. So here are the 5 that you may want to spend your hard earned cheddar on.

W: Warren Ellis A: Jason Masters

James Bond #9 

EIDOLON, Part Three: Bond is sent to breach a secret base in the depths of England, alone, without back-up, and fully deniable: a place from Cold War history, with only one way in and one way out, while the forces of security services all over the world are seemingly ranged against MI6, and all Bond has is his gun and a few pieces of a bloody, dark puzzle.

Warren Ellis has been crafting a great James Bond story in this book. It is the James Bond that we know and love that is ruthless in accomplishing what he wants to get done. He still always has the perfect quip to say, while kicking a$$ and taking names. This series makes me long for the days of playing four player Goldeneye on the N64.

W: John Layman A: Chris Mooneyham

Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens #2

Want to make apocalypse stew? Throw in four Judges, one insane genetic scientist, a smattering of emoji-based cultists, a dash of Predator, and a pinch of essence of xenomorph, mix, and retreat to the nearest bunker. In this issue, Dredd follows a criminal cult leader into the Alabama Morass. A crew of Predators arrives on Earth to rescue a kidnapped comrade. And they both unwittingly wander into the territory of a revenge-obsessed, gene-splicing scientist who's just gotten his hands on a xenomorph skull, and the universe's deadliest DNA!

Hopefully this will build off a strong debut issue. I love all three properties and when you throw them all together into one book, what could go wrong, right?  The first issue was mostly setup, but laid the groundwork for what could potentially be an incredibly fun book. The look and feel of the book is very Judge Dreddish. If you are a fan of any of these properties, this is a book you should definitely pick up.

  

W: Roberto Aguire Sacasa A: Francesco Francavilla

Afterlife With Archie

'Betty, RIP,' Part 5: 'Interlude with the Pussycats.' Before the end of the world began, a female pop trio was setting charts on fire. But in a world of TMZ and paparazzi-driven media, somehow these women kept their private lives a secret from everyone... until now. A full-access interview promises to show the tragic and terrifying origin story of Josie and the Pussycats.

If this book would be able to keep a consistent publishing schedule, this book would be a monster. I have never been an Archie fan and actually made fun of this book when it came out.  However, my LCS and my sister made me read the first issue and I was hooked. I love Francavella's art and the story telling has been great so far.  Everyone that has given this book a chance and is a fan of the Zombie genre have greatly enjoyed this.

  

W: Rick Remender A:Sean Murphy

Tokyo Ghost #10

The final confrontation for the future of mankind is here. It's Debbie Decay, Mother Nature's own samurai savior, vs Davey Trauma, the Living Singularity. Critically-acclaimed creators RICK REMENDER and SEAN GORDON MURPHY wrap up their tale of tech addiction, unintended consequences, and love in a world populated by the disenfranchised and isolated.

 I am sad to see this series coming to an end.  I have always enjoyed Remender's storytelling and Sean Murphy's style.  Remender says that this is the end, but that if their schedules work out that they may continue the book on. He goes on to say that he has an idea for the next 20 issues if he can find the time. Hopefully he will. The world building in this book has been incredible and the story telling masterful. I would probably recommend this book even if the story wasn't great based off the art alone.

Star Wars: Han Solo #3

• As The Dragon Void race gets more intense, Han's rebel mission gets more deadly!
• Can the Falcon hold up to one of the most intense flights of its career?
• What's worse for Han, failing Leia? Or losing a race?

 As you may be able to tell, I am a total Star Wars fanboy. This helps me with my Star Wars fix.  This has been much better than the Chewbaca mini-series and does capture Han's voice.  I love that the Falcon is such a big part of the story because what is Han without the Falcon. It made the Kessel run in 12 Parsecs.

Think I missed something or recommenced one that sucks?  Let me know in the comments.

Shoulda Woulda Coulda

Sup Muchachos.  Today I am going to write about books that had a great premise and did not execute.  They could have been so much more, but fell flat.  Those books that you really wanted to like and kept reading with the hope that it would improve.  There are plenty of examples and most of them are crossover events.  I had high hopes for Original Sin, Forever Evil, Convergence and possibly Civil War II. 

Today, I am going to write about Futures End that came out a couple years ago and was a weekly.  First off, I admit, Batman from Batman Beyond are two of my favorite characters and Batman Beyond going back in time and being able to interact with everyone in the DC Universe in their prime had me chomping at the bit for this book.  The premise was basically terminator with DC Characters. Robots in the future called brother eye have turned most of the heroes into cyborgs hunting the rest of the heroes and the human race. 

The first issue/zero issue came out on Free Comic Book Day and it hooked me. Flash in the future fighting next to Captain Cold against Wonder Woman and Frankenstein. Batman Beyond then travels back in time to stop this future from happening. He has arrived 5 years later than he wanted and the events that lead to his future are already taking place.  With the 5 year gap in time they could have free reign to any character they wanted.  They also had the 5 year gap wherein they could transform whatever character they wanted into whatever roll they needed.  They did this a little with Batman helping to create Brother Eye and Tim Drake going into hiding/retirement. Instead they focused on Batman Beyond, Frankenstein, Firestorm, Mister Terrific, Stormwatch, The Atom and Grifter. Most of these characters held no interest to me, but I did enjoy Grifter and Frankenstein.

With Batman Beyond now is the past he attempts to stop his future from happening by going against.... Drum Roll Please..... Mr. Terrific, WOMP WOMP WOMP.  Seriously, that is the villain that you are going to make in this book.  Yeah he was being manipulated by Brainiac, but come on.  Batman should have been the villain being manipulated by Brainiac. How much better would that have been, Batman versus Batman Beyond.  Additionally, this is something that Batman would have done and the old Bruce Wayne even told Batman Beyond not to trust Bruce. Add in the fact that Batman Beyond is from the future with a suit from the future and his full utility belt, he cant break into Terrifitech Tower by himself and keep Brother Eye from coming online. Even if he couldn't, he couldn't recruit a better team than Plastique, Key and Coil?

Overall I thought the story was convoluted and elements were explained poorly or not at all. The Earth-2 encampment on Cadmus Island didn't fit that well and made little sense and Fifty Sue was annoying.  I did like the elements with Tim Drake and Constantine, but they tried to do too much in too many issues. There were times when you wouldn't see character for a couple issues and you were like wait what is happening with them or they would try and cram everyone in one book but nothing really happened or was explained.

 

Then there was the 1 shots with the 3D Covers.  This was basically a What-If book for every character and book that was out that took place 5 year from Futures End or ten years from continuity.  I really enjoyed some of these, but they were definitely not for everyone. The ones involving Superman were not for me, but I thought the Green Arrow, Swampthing, Constantine and most the Bat books were pretty good.  Batgirl with a Bane element was interesting as hell and I enjoyed it. I loved the 3D covers and most of the art was amazing.  The Constantine cover is still one of my favorite covers.  Him putting on the Helmet of Fate.  Yes please.

Overall this was an incredibly ambitious project that I hoped would turn into a great story.  Unfortunately, this turned into a convoluted story that was meh. They could have used all their A characters and did something really cool and then either retconned it, make it take place out of continuity or just add more time travel so that it doesn't happen. How cool would of it been to see Batman, Green Arrow, Flash, Superman and Wonder working together on something that ends the world with Batman Beyond and a couple cool Earth-2ers fighting against them.  Turn it into an Injustice: Gods Among Us, type book were good guys are fighting good guys because they think they know what's best for everyone. That seems to turn out the best stories like Civil War, Flashpoint Aquaman versus Wonder Woman or Injustice: Gods Among where Superman ends up killing Green Arrow.

Disagree with me? What would you have liked to see happen in Future's End?  Let me know in the comments.


 

Review for 8/24/16 Comics

Hermanos!! Every week I am going to review 5 D.C. books, 5 Marvel books and 5 Independent books. I would like to do it every Thursday, but looks like I am not going to be able to do it until Fridays.  I am going to try and review the best of the best for the week.  I will be using the grading system, A for Excellent, B for Good, C for Meh, D for Ugh and F for so bad, I couldn't finish it.

I apologize for the short review. I got called into work and could finish the last 8 books that I was reviewing.  I will finish up tonight and post the remaining reviews tomorrow.

Book of the Week

Generation Zero - B+

Generation Zero lays some ground work for what potentially could be a great book.  It is the cliche high school cliche of  cliques exaggerated, coupled with parents versus teens.  Throw in a murder mystery and a super powered Scooby-Doo team and you get Generation Zero. This issue introduces us to the main character in high school have normal teen problems. It also show you the relationship that she had with her now murdered boyfriend. Her father being the Sheriff and potentially being involved in a cover up of her boyfriend's death has me interested.  

D.C.

Batman: Detective Comics 939 - B+

Tynion has been killing it lately on Detective Comics.  Adding Clayface as a good guy in this team book is a great addition.  Tim Drake as Robin has been a strong character and lives up to the genius hacker that he is supposed to be.  Watching the dynamic between Batman and Batwoman, where Batwoman has earned Batman's respect and trust, or as much at it can be earned.  Batman has always and will always hide information from his team.  He is Batman.  If you are a Bat fan, this should be a book that you are reading.  There is one panel that really stood out and blew it out of the water, a two page spread where the story is taking place in the bat symbol.   

Deathstroke 1 - B-

I have never really read anything by Priest before, but I am enjoying the beginning of Deathstroke. This would have gotten a stronger grade, but the time jumps were a little confusing.  Deathstroke is always a bada$$, but it is interesting to see him wrestling with his wife and to fin out that she trained him.  They may not be the best parents, but sure seems like they could do some damage.

Action Comics 962 - B

I have really enjoyed this arc of Action Comics.  The ending was a little weak but overall pretty good.  I don't find Doomsday that compelling, but enjoy anytime Superman gets his lunch handed to him. The ending was a pretty typical affair with a little help from his friends.  The interaction between Wonder Woman and Superman still seems a little weird and I don't know if that is part of the whole New 52 Superman and Wonder Woman relationship making it weird or that he is just a new Superman is making it weird.  There is the Mr. Oz character adds some intrigue, but have seen a lot of people claiming that this is the Watchman's Ozymandias.  Superman versus Ozymandias would be an awesome crossover.

Blue Beetle: Rebirth 1 - C+

Blue Beetle Rebirth reintroduces Ted Kord as Blue Beetle and keeps Jaime Reyes and his Scarab as the other Blue Beetle.  It looks like Ted Kord will be an Oracle type to Jaime Reyes.  I can't help but hear the Young Justice's Blue Beetle voice of Jaime Reyes every time I read Jaime's lines in this comic. The setup is interesting and has potential, but the villians were weak and a little boring. I did love the fact that Doctor Fate makes a brief appearance in this issue.

Titan 2 - B+

I have never been a Teen Titans or a Titans fan, but this book has really got my attention. At first I thought Kadabra was a lame character, but him making a copy of the team was awesome.  ***SPOILER**** Garth is my least favorite character on the team and it looks like they kill him off at the end of the book.  I am hoping that they replace him with Aqualad/Kaldur. I am convinced that this is the book that is going to follow the Watchmen integration into the DC Universe. Kadabra acknowledges that the time stream is off and Wally West was lost in time.

Marvel

Star Wars 24 - B+

This book was awesome as always.  The rebels pulling off an impossible job with Luke, Leia and Han at the front of everything. Aaron has captured Han's voice and the interactions between him and Leia are perfect.  The visuals look great and the space battles are spot on. This is a Star Wars book that gives me my fix before Rogue One comes out.  There is a reason that this is one of Marvel's best selling books. Every Star Wars fan should be picking this book up.

Steve Rodgers Captain America 4 - C

A lot of people got their panties in a bunch when it was revealed that Captain America was a double Agent for Hydra.  HAIL HYDRA.   I liked the premise, a new take on Captain America. Everyone knew that it wasn't going to last. This was a wordy book with a lot going on, but nothing really happening. I was hoping for more Captain America action. I do like how the premise that tehy are using where Captain America and The Red Skull are going to be fighting for control of Hydra.

Dealpool 17 - B-

This is Deadpool being Deadpool story. This is a light and funny book that basically ignores Civil War II. This has a little bit of an Archer feel to this book especially the ending. This seemed like a story more fitting for Deadpool And The Mercs For Money book. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent looks like a dead on replica of one Amanda Waller.

Ulysses 1 - C+

This has an interesting premise. A lot of people have been hating on The Inhumans, saying that Marvel is trying to force The Inhumans down the fans throat to basically replace the X-Men. Ulysses is going to learn to use his powers/be trained by Karnak, which leads directly in to Civil War II. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that Ulysses is going to be killed off soon. 

Independent 

American Mythology Dark: Werewolves and Dinosaurs 1 - C

This is one of those it is so bad it's good books.  This is Back to the Future mixed with Men In Black mixed with Werewolves and Dinosaurs.  The premise is ridiculous, but fun. Smith is the Doc Brown Character to Cade, who doesn't know what is going on or what he just got mixed into. The only reason I picked this up was because my LCBS guy said I would enjoy it and it had a giant T-Rex on the cover. Who doesn't like Dinosaurs

Kingsway West 1 - B

Another strong start to another independent book. A western mixed with some magic in an alternative history.  A no nonsense cowboy blowing people away when they mess with him.  This book has a little bit of an Old Man Logan feel to it.

Atomic Robo 1 - C-

This was kind of a goofy WWII story that stars a robot millionaire as a spy.  There is no real heart here and the story is on the weaker side.  The art is good, but looks more suited for the Sunday comic strips.  A lot of science talk that really didn't catch my attention.   

Lake of Fire 1 - C

A young man sets off to become a man by joining the crusades. I have never been a fan of any story that has been related to the crusades. This book was really wordy and starts a little slow, but this book does have potential.  I will probably pick up issue to see where they are going.

My Top Ten Comic Based Cartoon Shows

Sup Vato Locos.  This is another segment that I would like to do weekly called My Top Ten.  This week I am choosing to spotlight the 10 best comic based cartoons.  I am not including any manga and for the most part am going to stick with the Marvel and DC.  There are plenty of shows that I may have left out that deserve to be on the list, but these were the best of the best.  Nostalgia factor may have gotten to me so I apologize in advance and I think that 2-5 could be mixed up in any order depending on the day.  So here it is the ten best shows based of cartoons. Enjoy!!!


Honorable Mention: Spiderman Unlimited - This show did not get much love while on the air, but it was vastly underrated. Here is the plot according to Wikipedia.
While covering the launch of John Jameson's one-man mission to Counter-Earth(another Earth located on the far side of the Sun), Spider-Man attempts to stop his two symbiote adversaries Venom and Carnage from boarding the shuttlecraft. Blamed for Jameson losing contact with our Earth by J. Jonah Jameson of the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man becomes a target of persecution by the media and the public at large, with a bounty placed on his head. Believed to be dead after saving a person's life in a fire, Peter Parker uses the ruse to embark on a mission to retrieve John Jameson on Counter-Earth. His new Spider suit using nanotechnology discreetly borrowed fromReed Richards to design a new suit that incorporates built in webshooters, stealth technology and anti-symbiote sonic weaponry. Making his way to the planet, Spider-Man learns that Jameson has fallen in with a band of freedom fighters opposed to theHigh Evolutionary whose Beastials, hybrids of animal and humanoid attributes, are the dominant species whilst humans are the second-class minority.

Although this isn't technically based on any comic book and an all new story line was created, it was still a great cartoon. The suit was different nanotechnology that was awesome and there were some twists and turns that you didn't see coming. With familiar characters with slight twists on them all.  Good guys being bad, bad guys being good. Almost Planet of the apes with Spiderman.

10. Superman: The Animated Series - This series was the quintessential Superman story. The boy scout that saves everyone and always does the right thing. They had a lot of fun crossovers with the Flash, Green Lantern, Batman and Lobo. I still maintain that this is the best Lex Luthor and Brainiac outside of the comic books themselves.  Occasionally, Superman would be a little overpowered for the villians that they had assigned him in the show, specifically Toyman and Weather Wizard. However, Parasite and Lobo knocked Superman around pretty good.  If you have not seen this show, you have to watch either the episode with Lobo or the episode where Batman disappears and Superman steps in to the Dark Knight's shoes with Robin guiding him.

9.  The Tick - The Tick was an incredible goofy offbeat superhero show, but it was entertaining and different than anything that had been done at the time or anything else that was on.   It basically made fun of every other show on this list.  It seemed like the Tick just fought people until his sidekick thought of something or did something that would save the day.  Then the Tick would take all the credit. It was done in a way where kids would still think its funny and may learn something, but that adults could laugh and enjoy it themselves. I remember My dad hated this show and would rarely let me watch it because it was too stupid. I think that also made me like the show even more since I wasn't supposed to be watching it. 



8. Justice League - The Justice League was basically a continuation of two other shows on this list, Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series.  However, this introduced Martian Manhunter, who was freakin awesome as well as Jon Stewart.  I was always a Hal Jordan Green Lantern guy, but this opened my eyes to a tough as nails Jon Stewart. This also gave plenty of screen time to a smart mouthed Flash, a no nonsense Hawkgirl and a Wonder Woman who you did not cross. The best part of this show was that the first couple of seasons were at least two episodes long, so the first episode would always leave you thinking that the League was in trouble.   Season three and four were not as good as the first two, but it did introduce other characters that were awesome to see like, Aquaman, who cut off his own hand. Additionally, you got to see Green Arrow, The Question, Huntress and Wildcat. There were a couple of time traveling episodes that were fun as well. Overall this was a great show that you should check out if you have not.  It is currently on Netflix.

7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - When the evil Shredder attacks, these turtle boys don't cut em no slack. One of the greatest theme songs of all time. Ninjas that are turtles that are trained by a rat.  Do you really need to know more?  This was the late 80s where punk was still in, just look at Rocksteady and Bebop.  I have rewatched some of these episodes and the first season really does not stand the test of time, but it does get better from there.  It was the typical kid good versus evil, but really nothing deeper than that.

Looking back at this show, it had one goal in mind, to sell you toys. With that being said, it was still a fun idea and captured every kids imagination.  Kids were always fighting which turtle they wanted to be. The Turtle van was one of the greatest toys that I have ever had.  Also, do you remember that the foot soldiers were robots in the cartoon.  I totally forgot about that I have watched the live action movie too many times. 


6. Black Panther - This was my introduction to Black Panther. Although it was a motion comic and may not technically be a cartoon, but the show was amazing.  The episodes were short, around 13 minutes, but still amazing.  SPOILER** The best part of this series is when Captain America gets his lunch handed to him by Black Panther.  This actually made me go back and read a lot of Black Panther Comics.  If you are interested in learning more about Black Panther, this is a great jumping on point.




4. Batman Beyond - Batman Beyond was every kids dream, get trained by the original Batman and have all his toys while fighting crime and going to school on the side. This had a lot of mature issues to deal with, like Terry's dad being murdered, corporate espionage, bullying, betrayal and responsibility.  It is always fun to see what the future holds for some of our favorite characters. One of the best episodes was where Bruce was taken by Talia to a Lazarus pit to make him young again. It was a great throw back and was great to see Terry and Bruce fighting side by side.  Also, there was a Return of the Joker movie that was great and incorporated a Batgirl and Robin element along with the original Joker.  This is one of my favorite animated movies and is a must watch for any batman fan.

4. Spiderman - The opening sequence alone blew me away as a kid.  Computer Animated opening sequence with great ninety's music. Wikipedia says that Joe Perry of Aerosmith did the music, which I had no idea until I started writing this and kind of blows my mind. This show did a ton of crossovers with other Marvel characters that were awesome.  They brought in  Blade, The Punisher, Daredevil, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Doomsday, Captain America, Red Skull, Iron Man and War Machine. The villains were all grade A in this show. They brought them all in, Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Venom, Carnage, Rhino, Scorpion, Shocker, Chameleon, The Lizard, Morbius, The Vulture and The Kingpin.  For the longest time I thought that the Kingpin was the main villain of Spiderman.  This show was so well done and mixed in a moral of the story each week while still being super entertaining. They captured the voice of Spiderman so well in this show.  Smart mouthed, funny and struggling with juggling his job/studies and his Super Hero duties. This is a must watch for any Spiderman fan.


3.X-Men - The Animated Series - One of the greatest opening theme song in a cartoon history, fighting with TMNT, Spiderman and Duck Tales - Da na na naaaaaaa na naaa Da na na naaaaaaa na naaa.  Wolverine pull back!!!! This cartoon is what made me love the X-Men. I hadn't had any exposure to the X-Men before this series.  Gambit and Wolverine were my favorite for sure, but Beast and Colossus were awesome as well. I loved the Sentinels, Omega Red and Magneto. I cannot say enough good things about this cartoon. Recently I have watched these again and some of it is pretty cheesy, but  most of it is still amazing. For a kids show it has the typical good versus bad, but it depicted social injustices that happen every day.  This show also had the coolest action figures around. My cousin had the Black Bird, which always tempted me to push him down, take the plane and run home.  Had he not been my cousin, this may have happened.   


2. Young Justice - I have never been a Teen Titans type of guy, but this story was so well done that
you will be hard pressed to find someone that did not like it. This story is a great coming of age story for the young sidekicks trying to find their way.  The Team starts out with Superboy, Robin/Dick Grayson, Kid Flash/Wally West, Aqualad/Kaldur, Miss Martian and Artemis. This was the first time that I thought Aqualad was actually bada$$ and wish they would have developed him like that more in comics. This is also the case for a couple other characters as well, including Sportsmaster, Red Tornado, Dr. Fate, Beast Boy, and Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes who either I wasn't familiar with them or thought that the character was boring and or weak. 

The story telling was amazing with complex and mature issues.  I found and watched this show as an adult so no nostalgia factor gets in the way.  This is a must watch for anyone who likes the super hero genre. It is currently on Netflix and there have been rumors that a potential season 3 could be picked up by Netflix.  A rumor is probably all it is, but it still would be awesome if it happened.  From everything that I read, this show was cancelled because it was not selling enough toys. Whether it is true or not, this show was amazing and it being cancelled is a travesty.


1. Batman: The Animated Series - This will always the Batman that everything is compared to. This revolutionized cartoons and help launch 3 shows on this list, Batman Beyond, Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League and was the template for any darker cartoon that weren't just for kids. There were a couple goofy episodes, but for the most part, this was a perfect cartoon. The Noir feel, with old looking cop cars, blimps, and the occasional tommy gun, was so unique and incredible. This show was rebranded a couple of times, first to Batman & Robin, then The New Batman/Superman Adventures, which lead into the creation of Justice League.  The Animation was revamped in season 3 and 4, which had its pros and cons.  Even today this cartoon stands up to the test of time. The voice acting was cast perfectly. The supporting cast was carefully crafted and perfectly executed in Alfred, Bullock, Gordon and Montoya. The villains were dynamic and intriguing especially Catwoman and Mr. Freeze. This show also created vastly popular Harley Quinn, who just starred in Suicide Squad.

Don't agree with me, think I missed one or rated something too low or high?  Call me out in the comments.  Thanks again for taking the time to read.