The Least We Can Do #1 (re:view)

The Least We Can Do #1
Elisa Romboli (artist, creator), Iolanda Zandardino (writer, creator)
2022
Image

Welcome to a whole new adventure with… the Least We Can Do! Uriel joins the Eclipse Rebel to make her Golden Stone shine bright like a diamond. Let’s get it!

There can be 99 people in the room and only one believes in you which is the case of Uriel when she’s joining the Eclipse Rebel. Seems like everyone else really is a meanie to Uriel. Doesn’t help that Uriel is so timid but I really do hope she grows into herself during the course of the series, especially in the first issue she gets little to no support and even in flashbacks, she’s the Cinderella of the family (with no prince or princess to call for herself). I do live for character development! I would hope that the team would support her as in her timid nature she does become more of a danger to the team and herself out on the field. 

I love the illustrations and the huge influences of London with Big Ben, Tower Bridge, red telephone boxes and a double-decker bus making an appearance. It’s a nice departure from the typical art style of superhero comics that I have become so accustomed to.

Subscribe? Yes, would love to see how Uriel grows in her team and what adversaries come up for her

Radiant Red #1 (re:view)

Radiant Red #1

Cherish Chen (writer), David Lafuente (artist), Miquel Meurto (colourist), Diego Sanches (letterer)
2022
Image Comics

 Welcome to a whole new adventure with… Radiant Red! Satomi has to find her ground as she has quite a bit to juggle with. Let us dive in!

I have to say that I’ve not read any comics from the world of Radiant Black and only found out about it from reading the letter from inside the issue! It’s pretty easy to pick up though as it seems to be Satomi trying to find herself as she contends with a mysterious person making threats, a reporter jumping right on to her and family matters. Can relate.

I’m loving the fact that I can jump into this world as I journey with Satomi to find who she is. She seems to have a supportive sister but then her sister just about rugby tackle her figuratively speaking. It offers a really grounded storytelling which can provide respite to following event after event from the comic book behemoths.

The art isn’t quite as defined as I would like but I do love the graininess which makes it a bit raw looking. The character designs are super amazing especially Radiant Red’s costume design!

It does close off with a short story with a different Sonya who has their date gatecrashed by two sparkly people. Her transformation into a wolf hybrid seems not to have put their date off which reminds of the character of She-Hulk. Can one like two sides of the coin that is ultimately the same person? I would say so and so did their date.

Subscribe? Yeah, I’d give it another spin. Looks promising.

 

True Believers: Annihilation - Mantis #1 (re:view)

Welcome to a whole new adventure with... comic for your dollar! This time the Avengers face off against a god (ahem, tell me something new there). Let us dive in!

I actually remember reading this in the pages as a reprint in UK's Avengers United which I guess is a testament to the unique storyline as it's kind of a weird one I would say. Having a quick scander online it seems that Lion God hasn't made a massive impression in the Marvel Universe but they seem to be - umm - shall we say unique as they come. 

The issue goes dark when a human sacrifice is needed so that the Lion God has a vessel to inhabit. They do seem like a very formidable opponent for the Avengers in that the Lion God can influence people and create an army by doing so. He also possesses Black Panther it's so strange that the advantage of this power is not taken. I mean send me in and I'll get the job done better (paint me a supervillain any day with amazing blush and on-fleek smokey eye). Also, the god can magically bring forth lions that catch Scarlet Witch off-guard and Black Widow stuck up a wall (that's two Avengers out of play). Send a few of them in and you'll have a field day. The Lion God abandons his groupies and lets go of the possession of Black Panther which ultimately leads to their downfall and easy defeat. Okay, now I get why the Lion God may not have appeared so many times in the history of Marvel comics and I'm getting the sense of why being a supervillain seems to be taking over me.

I would have thought Black Panther would have putten up a better fight with the Lion God as it seems to be someone from his turf. Except he gets influenced like the likes of his people and it's subdued for the most part of the issue. It takes a god to take on a god as Thor shuts the Lion God down in the end. Would have been interesting to see the powers of a Lion take on the powers of the Black Panther but that's that.

Natasha is almost the MVP in the issue with her speaking her mind when they're doing their plans. Being the newbie in the group, she doesn't shy away from it which is a very admirable quality to have. She takes out the lion and lioness very easily and tells Lion God to never underestimate her. She so bad-butt until she ends up stuck up on the wall until Iron Man saves. She did good for a new starter though. 

I almost forgot the issue's title characters. Mantis just a fleeting moment of appearance in the comic!

Subscribe? Yes

I'm writing a book "How to be a supervillain 101"

True Believers: Annihilation - Mantis #1 (reprint of Avengers volume 1 #112)

Steve Englehart - author

Don Heck - artist

Frank Bolle - inker

John Costanza - letterer

Petra Goldberg - colourist

Marvel - publisher

X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong #1 to #5 (re:view)

X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong #1 to #5
Greg Pak, Greg Land, Matt Ryan
2005
Marvel

Welcome to a whole new adventure with… X-Men! The Phoenix force is right back at it again and she wants some L-O-V-E. Emma better watch yo back as she’s coming for ya!

I remember reading this some time ago during my teen years but warrants a second reading or a “re:view” (wink wink) especially after seeing it going for £4 for the set at Gosh! So yeah, the Phoenix is let go by some Shi’ar lackies in an attempt to destroy it once and for all. That’s going to end so well. It’s here that the Phoenix has a conscience rather than a conjoined conscience in Jean’s mind. It’s different and sheds a whole different light on the Dark Phoenix Saga which holds such a place in my heart and is referenced in the past with the psychic link between Jean and Scott.

I mean this is a 5 issue mini-series but a hell of a lot happens. It does well to juggle the different characters coming together as well as providing a huge amount of breathing space to develop the mind behind the Phoenix force. Some get their moments but I feel like at the expense of other characters getting short-changed like the pain Wolverine goes through to repeatedly attempt to kill off the Phoenix and the sha-blam moment for Storm taking down the Shi’ar transport plane in all her splendor, whereas Colossus and Kitty get subpar which was disappointing. They all play a part in being Jean’s family and Colossus deserves to be there for her more than anyone else, and Kitty gets one-liners here and there which don’t seem to make any impact on the overarching scheme of the story.

I had an “oh snap” moment with the return of Quentin. There’s an interesting conversation to be had about the ethics and morality in doing such a thing but I guess we have witnessed an evil Beast in the past (or future however you want to put it). I quickly worked through the 5 issues. What’s more, I would have loved to see how Emma and the Phoenix feel when they’re occupied together but I can see Emma relishing the moment and umm... relishing more than a moment with Scott.

There were so many Jean and Phoenix moments when she exclaims “I am you” when she rips the Phoenix out of Emma. Giving me that Heathcliff and Catherine vibe that they belong together but are not good for each other. I mean if only Jean can see the future as the Phoenix Force has been around the block quite a few times. The other moment was when Emma projected the minds of everyone to say that they love her. All you need is little bit of love. I live, girl, I live! 

Subscribe? Yes!

Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler #1 (re:view)

Welcome to a whole new adventure with... some X-tra big sized bonanza! Nightcrawler returns back to the mansion after Krakoa opens a portal there and an investigation ensues as the team take on a haunted mansion. Let's dive in!

The story and the plot is well put together but it does feel kind of on the short side and rather that it explored more in the creepy side in the mansion itself. I mean it feels like forever since I've been in the X-Mansion and forevermore now that's everyone's in Krakoa. It would feel synonymous with great horror tropes to play with rather than going all alien up in this house halfway through the issue. 

Ironically, I remember there was a X-mas X-Story involving Illyana who haunts Colossus and now someone else is doing the haunting on Illyana. Anyway, I'm super excited as Nightcrawler is my fave X-Men (Marvel NC was my username on Runescape!) and it's always a great joy to see him go on an adventure. 

I love the art style to which is actually the same artist I grew up with when I was reading them in the UK Collectors' Edition of Essential X-Men which is always nice to make that connection. The art does feel nostalgic and makes a nice return for me in the X-Men universe. 

There's so much fun getting scared which I felt they built up using atmospheric tropes of bringing some familiar dead characters back into the fray (I can only assume everyone is back from the dead following the House of X event). The build-up to the horrifying mid-issue reveal is quite the one to stay around for. Despite being a giant-size issue, the issue itself felt short though but that could just be the testament of wanting more of the good from it (I guess it is hard to fill in so much in so short of pages available on hand). 

It's actually quite nice to see the team come together and use their suited abilities to the changing situations instead of being relegated to the background. It's also the introduction of two characters for me with Cypher and Eye-Boy being two of them with their weird and wonderful abilities on display. 

Subscribe? Yes

Haunted X-Mansion - yes, yes, yes!

Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler #1
Joanthan Hickman - story and words
Alan Davis - story and art
Carlos Lopez - colour artist
VC's Clayton Cowles - Letterer
Tom Muller - Design
Publisher - Marvel

True Believers: King in Black - Iron Man/Doctor Doom #1 (re:view)

Welcome to a whole new adventure with... Iron Man! Iron Man dukes it out with Dr Doom to get his mitts off his equipment. Let us dive in!

Gosh, you could always forget when Iron Man was in the closet about his identity. Live that double trouble life that is Tony Stark/Iron Man. It's funny how no one questions how they're both never in the same room yet Iron Man is supposedly Tony's bodyguard when in actual fact they are both the one and the same. 

Anyway! I'm surprised Tony has all the money in the world but not enough manpower to protect his goods when his cargo is being ransacked at sea except Iron Man saves the day. I mean Iron Man can't save the day for EVERY cargo being shipped... he got other things to do! Like... firing his staff on the spot for selling their goods to Doom. Permission to misbehave? Denied! Being savage is all in a day's work for Tony. 

Tony better watch his back as Doom's lackey seeks revenge and ultimately sashayed both him and Doom literally in a portal. It's kind of interesting to see so many people against Doom even the people of Latveria. I'm so used to seeing Doom idolised by the citizens of the country that I felt that they always seemed to be attuned to his evilness as being good. 

It's trial and tribulation for Iron Man as he has to use his brains to overcome his adversaries. Long gone are the days when superheroes used to explain their thinking in getting out of sticky situations which is exactly what Iron Man does during this issue in overcoming a trap, an illusion and the fight against Doom. There's a science behind it. Science, yes.

Subscribe? Yes!

Where they at?

True Believers: King in Black - Iron Man/Doctor Doom #1 (reprint of Iron Man volume 1 #149)

David Michelinie - plot/writer

John Romita Jr. - penciller, art

Bob Layton - plot/finished art

Joe Rosen - letterer

Bob Sharen - colourist

Marvel - publisher

Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1 (re:view)

Welcome to a whole new adventure with... Spidey! Pete gets called into Ravencroft to see Smythe turn over to the "good" side. Let us dive in!

The cover is a strange bag of a mix of characters for a Spider-Man comic but it is a "Symbiote Spider-Man" so here to live for it. Ironically though, Spidey saves a kid who mistakes him for Daredevil. Have to say that I don't mind being saved by Spidey if ya know what I mean - uh, ha ha ha - oh, never mind. The story does take several turns and it does feel slightly disjointed with the supposed storyline of the Watcher and Kang thrown in the mix of Kang siphoning Watcher's knowledge to save the universe while we have Peter fighting some shadow beings. All in a day's work!

Of course, Uatu the Watcher always makes a grand speech wherever I see him and this comic is no different. There's no Watcher appearance without one of his famous speeches. Kang's another character who I guess is trying to "save" the universe (I guess he's thinking that) but I'm curious if he really is or that he thinks he is doing so. I'm guessing the big threat has something to do with the King in Black crossover event.  

Can't believe anyone in the right mind would give a supervillain of epic proportions tools of any sort to carry out experimentations and that's what they do at Ravencroft in the form of Smythe who has always wanted to take down Spidey for decades. Who even runs this clown show? Cannot wrap my head around this! Smythe manages to unleash these very sinister and creepy looking shadow creatures that I would not want to be caught in the dark with. Black Knight in shining armour comes in to save the damsel in distress Spidey. They look cute together.

Mister E as in Mystery! Get it? Oh uh... I'll see myself out...

Anyone looking for Rocket should probably lower their expectations as he only makes umm... one appearance in the whole issue.

Have to say the art in this issue is solid with everything being easy to read from the expressions, kicks, flairs and backflips to exploding spaceships. It's all there in full glory. I guess there's a lot to have fun with this issue too with street-level to cosmic proportion fun. Get it, girl!

Subscribe? Yes!

Give Spidey a crown!

Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1
Peter David - writer
Greg Land - penciler
Jay Leisten - inker
Frank D'Armata - colourist
VC's Joe Sabino - letterer
Marvel - publisher

WandaVision Season 1 Episode 9 (re:view)

Welcome to a whole new adventure with... Wanda and Vision! It's go-time for Wanda and Vision as they fight for their right to part-tay. Let us dive in! (spoiler alert)

It's witch Wanda versus witch Agatha... who's the better witch? There's only one way to find out... FIIIIIGHT!! It's quite the opener with Agatha stealing some of Wanda's mojo away from her with each spell cast towards her. I mean Wanda really does have her work cut out for her. The Wizard of Oz reference killed me and I was loving it. I love that Wanda sends her children to their room when Agatha has no trouble fetching them. Wanda is quite the quick learner from picking up tricks from Agatha such as teleportation and rune casting. I would have to say Agatha is quite right in the regard that Wanda doesn't know what she's unleashed especially she's kept a town under her spell and manipulated reality. Oh snap, Agatha will be quaking in her boots. 

The Vision and Vision fight were both pretty equal until Vision pulled the philosophy trick out of the hat. It's a very clever moment I found than one that always plays out in Marvel that fisticuffs always seem to solve the issue but the brain play does in this situation. Also, love the small attention to detail in that they took it to the library. The library is open. 

The artistry of the show is amazing with the battle sequences between Vision with white Vision and Wanda and Agatha especially the last battle sequence with the full Scarlet Witch reveal just gave me goosebumps. The moment went Wanda was bringing the wall down was just a beautiful and sad moment when we find out that her family all tied to the hex so she couldn't remove them or her family will pretty much vamoose (got a bit teary too - sob sob). Wanda's Scarlet Witch costume was just breathtaking and really well designed.

Team Monica seems to all have small parts which serve a higher purpose though. I mean I could do with a bit more of them in the episode as they've always been such fun characters. I really do hope that I get to see more of them in the future (of course, Monica will serving some looks in Captain Marvel 2). Don't even get me started on Fietro as the character was a slight let down as the revelation is that he's Ralph umm... Bohner (Agnes's "husband"). 

Gosh, the ending got me. Dang it, it got me so bad. I cried even before I knew it was going to happen... the moment with the children and the final conversation between Wanda and Vision just sent me over the edge. I was such a blubbering mess. 

Subscribe? Yes

Sob, sob sob, sob!

True Believers: Annihilation - Odinpower #1 (re:view)

Welcome to a whole new adventure with... a comic for your dollar! This time I'm bringing the might of Odinpower. Let us dive in!

Gosh, these recent True Believer issues are giving me a lesson in superheroes and what they can do with their powers. It was Silver Surfer travelling so quick that he can travel in time and now it's the other half with Thor whirling his hammer so quick that he can space warp. They both can make a deadly c-c-combo! Not much going on in Thor's side except Lady Lorelei trying to seduce the heck out of Thor but I think her sis Enchantress might have something to say about that. She gonna zap that wig into space. Lorelei does have the greatest power of all time with the power of sexuality. Rogers was gonna rat on her but one kiss from Lorelei resolved that. Should have worn rubber lips (Batman & Robin ref).

The main course is Odin's tale of woe and empowerment! Have to say I have no idea Surtur outside the Thor films but he does prove quite the big baddie in this as he gives Odin and Bros a run for their money. Let's take a pause here and appreciate the names of the bros being Vili and Ve (and I sing Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?). They literally join together like a Go, Go Power Rangers to form a mega Odin and clunk clunk goes their sword. I'm surprised with the combined efforts couldn't take out Surtur in one go yet Odin is able to rain snow in Surtur's volcanic lair.

Not much context at the beginning for it to stand on its own but the ending was served in epic proportions dished out to Michelin standards. It does have a poignant ending in that you feel for Odin in having lost his brothers so that they can trap Surtur and give up their powers to juice Odin up. What is with it though that Odin does not like Thor partnering up with a human lady and not a robot. 

Subscribe? Yes

Is that a tear in my eyes? No, I have hay fever!

True Believers: Annihilation - Odinpower #1 (reprint of Thor volume 1 #349)
Walter Simonson - art and story
John Workman, Jr - letterer
Christie Scheele - colours
Marvel - publisher