Who'd Like A Cocktail? #255

Yeah, you tell . . . hey, hang on, that's what I do . . .

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #252

I hear that all the time, though thankfully never from Mrs Earth-Prime

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #247

Can I get an "Amen" on that, people?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #240

It's a fear a lot of men have, you know...

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #236

Some people just can't get the hint

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #232

Dr Thirteen proves smart men can be stupid too

Thank You, DC

I've said time and again that the thing I like most about comics is when they're fun. Sure, I like a good angst ridden, violent, sweary book as much as the next reader, but it's when they make me smile and laugh that comics are at their best for me.

So it is with great pleasure that I read the interview with Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis who are teaming up once more on the new Larfleeze ongoing book:

Giffen: Larfleeze is a chance to do a fun comic book, surrounding him with new characters, new villains, new ideas, new sections of the galaxy. New, new, new, new, new, new, new. 

I guarantee six major, new, cosmic villains in the first 12 issues, as well as alien worlds and all kinds of craziness with Larfleeze. 

And fun. No deep thoughts, no misdirection or trickery. You just come in, there's Larfleeze and look! He's having an adventure, with a bunch of exciting new characters and concepts. At the end of the book, you say, "Yeah, I had a good time reading that book." 

DeMatteis: If it's not fun, we shouldn't be doing it. These are comic books!

I will definitely be buying this book.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #212

That's squirrels for you - always looking for the good in people. Usually in their ears.

Threshold #1

The solicitation:

Written by KEITH GIFFEN
Art by TOM RANEY
Backup story art by SCOTT KOLINS
Introducing THE HUNTED, spinning directly out of this month’s GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS ANNUAL #1!
Featuring the New 52 gallery of space heroes: The Star Rovers, Star Hawkins, Space Cabbie, Tom Tomorrow, Captain K’Rot, and Star Ranger!
Also introducing Jediah Caul, a disgraced Green Lantern stripped of his power ring, who is hunted for sport on a televised reality show!
LARFLEEZE steals the spotlight in his first ongoing series of backup stories! What happens when Larfleeze, the ultimate hoarder, is robbed...of everything!

Come on - it's Giffen writing a bunch of old space heroes and Larfleeze! What's not to love?

Keith Giffen Writing New DC Space Series

And I for one couldn't be happier with this news: Keith Giffen is writing a new ongoing series called Threshold for DC, set in space and which "will star DC's sci-fi heroes and villains" as well as having a back-up featuring Larfleeze, the Orange Lantern.

The news does come with a side serving of sadness, however, as during the interview linked above, Giffen says that the story "spins out of the Annual and the last issue of Blue Beetle"

So while we're getting a new on-going, we're also losing Blue Beetle although - and this helps ease the pain - Jaime Reyes will appear in the pages of Threshold as the action takes place near the Reach homeworld.

And Jaime's not the only character Giffen will be playing with. Along with a new lead - an undercover Green Lantern called Jediah Caul, Giffen's obviously raided his old copies of Who's Who and come up with this lot:

"we're using the original Starfire, we're not using her name, and we're changing her look a bit. We're just using that basic back-story she had and the environment that she might have come from. 

Another example: We've got Star Hawkins and his "gal Friday" Ilda, except in our case, Star Hawkins is a little bit of a shadier kind of street informant, and Ilda has been programmed with his ex-wife's memories, and they hate one another. 

My favorite so far is Space Cabbie as Travis Bickle [from Taxi Driver]. He's a crazed, paranoid street source for helping Hunted contestants stay clear, but he's a maniacal conspiracy nut like Travis Bickle."

Space Cabbie?!

In Giffen we trust.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #164

Arkham fails to produce a worthwhile threat.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #160

If you have to make something with a grenade, I'd vote for a curry.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #156

Yeah, Kyle, you'd have thought that, wouldn't you?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #111

Is it wrong to find a centuries old immortal blue man throwing up funny?

Christmas and New Year delayed me getting hold of my comics hence the bumper delivery today!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #107

Because he's the Batman! Duh!

• THE BOYS: HIGHLAND LADDIE #4 - I really like Starlight. She's honest and smart enough to realise that something's fishy with how Wee Hughie got sight of that footage. And she's willing to put them both through the wringer in an attempt to salvage their relationship. Another excellent issue.
• BRIGHTEST DAY #14 - Deadman gets taught a lesson as we have a quick tour through his past and hey, what do you know, the resurrected Batman turns up. Oh, and Deadman and Dove get together at last - Hawk's going to be pissed!
• DC UNIVERSE: LEGACIES #7 - wait, John Stewart became Green Lantern after Armageddon 2001?! That makes no sense at all! Nice to see the highlights of the Death of Superman as well as Knightfall, though. And hey, Brian Bolland artwork on Camelot 500! Damn fine issue.
• GREEN LANTERN #59 - "You can't erase your crimes by putting on a ring." Ummm, isn't that kinda what you did, Hal? I don't see you serving time in a Sciencell for the death of Kilowog or Sinestro. Oh and I don't know what's funnier: Larfleeze stealing Flash's wallet or the fact that somewhere in that skin tight uniform Flash finds room to keep a wallet!
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS #54 - interesting bit of back story on the Weaponer and who knew that skinny Sinestro could fight so well hand-to-hand?
• JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #51 - heh - the Atom explaining about parallel worlds to Alan Scott; like he needs a lesson on the Multiverse! Another big fight with lots of exposition.
• POWER GIRL #18 - you know, with the recent balls-up of Ice's origin over in Justice League: Generation Lost, I was expecting Winick to mess this title up as well. Thankfully, he's surprised me by turning in a decent story again of Power Girl vs Divine, but I'm still nervous about the long-term prospects.
• THE STAND: HARDCASES #5 - the Free Zone Committee are in place and everything starts to gear up now.
• ZATANNA #7 - a fill in issue is always a bit worrisome but Adam Beechen turns in a great one-shot issue. This really is a charming series!

And what made me smile:

I shall now be using this repeatedly for the Friday Night Fights!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #92

Hector Hammond's secret is out!

• GREEN ARROW #2 - well what do you know, looks like I was right. Isable Rochev turns out to be Ollie's mother after all. It's nice to see Green Arrow and Green Lantern palling round again, but wasn't Jordan all fired up a couple of months ago to bring Ollie to justice? Don't me me get Justice League: Cry For Justice out to double check, please.
• GREEN LANTERN #56 - hmm, is that cover and tag line reference John Carpenter's In The Mouth of Madness by any chance? Either way, Larfleeze makes a welcome return and Hector Hammond gets a makeover as all old GL villains do under Geoff Johns.
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS #50 - you know, if Cyborg Superman would just stop killing people, you could almost feel sorry for the guy.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #6 - despite the over the top build up from The Source blog the other day, this was something of a holding issue I felt. The team had already decided to catch Max Lord - remember that stirring last page from #5? To have Captain Atom suddenly have another, bigger reason to stop him sounds a little redundant.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #47 - the main story's meandering a little now; a few issues ago it really felt like this series was picking up again but it really sort of a mish-mash of things. A few fight scenes, some snappy dialogue, but I'm not getting a real sense of the characters or the plot if I'm honest. The back up featuring Red Tornado left me with a question, though. Just about every time a robot goes haywire, you can almost guarantee dialogue written thus: "1101011010100100" Am I the only one who reads that as "One one zero one zero one one zero one zero one zero zero one zero zero." in the voice of Bender from Futurama?
• TEEN TITANS #85 - seriously, I skimmed this entire issue. All I got was "Oh, where's Raven?" "Oh the Wyld's dangerous!" "Oh, where's Raven?" "Keys!" "Doorways!" "Clumsy dialogue!" I swear, if I didn't know JT Krul was coming on board soon, this title would be the first one I'd have dropped in years.
• Co feature COVEN OF THREE - nice, snappy fun featuring three of the DCU's lower level magicians facing off against some old JLA foes. This is good.

And what made me smile:

Larfleeze finds out about Santa - brilliant!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #61

Yet another double sized issue this week as I was away celebrating my wife's birthday last weekend. Had I been around, this is what I would have picked up:

• The Brave And The Bold #29 - not a terrible story, but neither did it really do anything either. The Geek's jaded view of the present when compared to the 60's is naive to say the least: the 60's were all peace and love but the present's all gloom and isolation? Nonsense - both the past and the present are much too complicated to be summed up in six panels.
• Justice Society of America 80-Page Giant #1 - I've long enjoyed the occasional 80-Page Giants as the anthology format allows for a good mix of stories, throwing out some gems along with others that are a little so-so. Unfortunately, this whole issue landed on the so-so side of the fence with nothing really standing out as anything special for me. That's also the risk you take with anthologies, I guess.
• The Stand: Soul Survivors #2 - the survivors start coming together as they head for Mother Abigail's place. Excellent art as always but, by necessity, still a somewhat truncated story.

And what made me smile last week:

Black Lantern Turkey!

But on to this week's comics now:

• Blackest Night #5 - man, those last couple of pages? I read those and just said "Holy crap,"
• The Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead #6 - the fall finally came despite the boobytraps and defences the gunslingers put in place.
• Green Lantern #48 - the All Lantern Corps finally gets together and romps straight into the pages of Blackest Night #5. Damn, I'm enjoying this series!
• Justice League: Cry For Justice #5 - Warning! Events depicted on the cover of this comic do not represent the contents of the same! Ollie? You're really going to leave Roy bleeding on the floor just to run off and get the bad guy? Man, you should be looking after your boy first.
• Justice League of America #39 - yay! Vibe's back! Steel's back! Justice League Detroit's back together! (Hey, I liked the Detroit-era League and I'm not afraid to say it)
• Justice Society of America #33 - well, we knew the big split was coming so no surprise there, but the story itself was still satisfying.
• Project Superpowers: Meet The Bad Guys #4 - is that an ED-209 the Scarab's fighting?!
• Teen Titans #77 - you know, I almost feel sorry for Deathstroke with the amount of Black Lanterns he's got against him!

And what made me smile this week:

Heh - Agent Orange may be a psycho but he's funny with it.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #52

Here we are again for another round of cocktails:

• Blackest Night: Titans #1 - Black Lanterns! Ed Benes! Butt shots! Joking aside, not a bad start - the ghostly pram/stroller in Donna's room was a nice, creepy touch.
• The Boys: Herogasm #4 - 9/11's always going to be an emotive subject even when dealing with an alternate history of it. Ennis handles it very well.
• The Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead #4 - the centre cannot hold / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
• Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink #4 - oh wow, it's the return of the long dead brother complete with super-villain name. And this series started off so well.
• Green Lantern #45 - oh boy is Agent Orange in trouble now!
• Justice Society of America #30 - Dr. Fate's back! Oh yeah! Could do without the bickering but I guess that's building to the JSA All-Stars series coming soon.
• The Last Days of Animal Man #4 - Jeez, poor old Buddy's getting put through the wringer here.
• Project Superpowers: Chapter Two #2 - you know, with such a huge cast in the Superpowers universe, it'd be nice if someone annotated it . . . Seriously, though, this is good stuff.
• Teen Titans #74 - poor Kid Devil, not to mention Kid Eternity.
• Wednesday Comics #8 - hmmm, toss up between Metamorpho and the Flash this week I think.

And what made me smile this week:

Heh - pink bunnies have never done it for me.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #39

A bumper haul this week:

• Battlefields: The Tankies #2 - if it weren't for my self-imposed family friendly position on this blog, there's several scenes I'd love to quote from this issue!
• Crossed #5 - and the same goes for this one!
• Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink #1 - much as enjoyed Sturges and Willingham's Final Crisis Aftermath: Run, I wonder if DC saved the best till last? This was really good.
• Green Lantern #41 - Agent Orange gets an origin story of sorts.
• Justice League of America #33 - with the news that Dwayne McDuffie's been fired from writing this title, I have to wonder what's going to happen to it. Is Geoff Johns going to take over as has been rumoured?
• Justice Society of America #27 - and talking of Johns, Jerry Ordway's fill-in story's not bad at all.
• The Last Days of Animal Man #1 - picked up on the off chance it might be good and, for a first issue, it's not bad.
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 1910 - wooyay! Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill! Damn this is good!
• The Stand: American Nightmares #3 - the trip through the Lincoln Tunnel - one of the best scenes in the original book - and they managed to nail it here!
• Teen Titans #71 - poor old Ravager's out on her own but at least she's got the back-up feature next month.
• Trinity #52 - and that's it, it's all over and, for me, was a better Crisis than that Final one.

And what made me smile this week:

An Alan Moore one-liner from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 1910