Who'd Like A Cocktail? #241

Oh, how things could have been different...

Who Was Who Is Who #11

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, and with DC's New 52 well under way (how long are they keeping that title do you think?) I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Demolition Team's chance.

DAILY PLANET - yes it's in place, no I'm not counting it. Why? It's a newspaper, people!

DARK CIRCLE - Legion villains, I'm pretty sure they're not coming back any time soon but that's where Dave Sopko, the official COEP Legion go to guy comes in. He says "Doubt we'll see them in the near future, short of a conversational mention here or there. I think that they will show up eventually, but probably a few years down the line."

DARK DESTROYER - villain from Atari Force. Do I have to say anything more?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #137

Because, you know, a man of science would really be worried about his soul.

Friday Night Fights - Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

Friday Night Fights returns, hosted by the ever-present Spacebooger. This time round, it's another selection of free-for-alls though the prize fight will have a theme hinted at by the "Fight Life" title above which, unless I'm very much mistaken, shows the Posse from the excellent Blue Beetle series.

But enough of that for now - click the link below to check out my first fight of Fight Life!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #93

Negative Man speaks the truth in Doom Patrol #13

Life gets in the way sometimes, hence nothing much happening here over the last few days, but hey, look: comics!

• BLACK TERROR #11 - I think Phil Hester's settled in to the writer's role now; Black Terror's dialogue is fun to read and, for most of this issue, he's simply not interested in navel gazing. Fighting a duplicate of himself that's meant to shake him to his core? He doesn't care, he's just having fun beating the crap out of it! On the whole, this is pretty good stuff, though there was one thing that made me laugh but that's at the bottom of this list . . .
• THE BOYS #45 - that lovely, innocent looking cover belies at least one cat getting out of the bag in this issue: Starlight coming out as a supe to Wee Hughie. It's a sad tale that leaves the poor lad in a hell of a state, particularly when Butcher makes an apparently honest attempt to reach out to him.
• BRIGHTEST DAY #7 - so the White Lantern finally explains to everyone it brought back why it did so. And, of course, the answers are about as enigmatic as you'd expect. Anyone thinking we were going to get straightforward reasons must be disappointed! Still, nice to see Miss Martian looking better than she did at the end of last issue.
• CROSSED: FAMILY VALUES #3 - as brutal as this issue is, it wasn't the subject matter that left me feeling a little uneasy, rather it was the art. For some reason, this issue's artwork seemed more cartoon-like than any previous, more amateurish almost. Some of it felt just a little too gratuitous, really, a feeling that Jacen Burrows's work on the original series never induced. I hate to sound so negative (I do try to be fairly upbeat about comics on this blog) but the art just let this issue down.
• DOOM PATROL #13 - whereas this issue that focused on Elasti-Girl was, quite possibly, the best of the run so far. An origin tale of sorts, Rita reveals her big secret to the rest of the Patrol and looks to be settling her divorce in a permanent way. This is a really nicely done issue which lets us get inside Rita's head and heart and shows that Giffen can do more than laugh out loud funny.
• JSA ALL-STARS #9 - as Cyclone calls King Chimera on whether or not he's going to make a move, the rest of the All-Stars meet up with their old friend Brainwave who's obviously on exposition duty this month. And just in time, too, as the kids he's been looking after turn out to be Paradorian gods! Damn, I love this book!
• Co-feature LIBERTY BELLE & HOURMAN - you know, I could see Icicle, maybe even Tigress, reforming after this storyline. They work well together with the two JSA-ers and it'd be something of a shame to have them return to villains of the month once this story wraps up.
• MAGOG #12 - so that wraps up this series, then, although there's the forthcoming special that'll tie-up the actual storyline. An enjoyable series on the whole, mostly down to Giffen's writing again, but not, I think, one that actually had any lasting impact. Sure, Magog gets a name-check in Brightest Day this week as someone that Max Lord has to stop, but I think it likely he'll either fade away or become a JSA anti-hero/pseudo-villain as Black Adam did.
• SECRET SIX #24 - how often to you get to enjoy an issue without knowing what the hell's going on!? The Six are in some alternate dimension/universe/dream state and it looks like Junior's behind it all. The banter between Jeanette and Deadshot was wonderful and the Punch and Judy dolls looking like Joker and Harley Quinn was just genius! Can't wait to see where this goes.
• THE STAND: HARDCASES #3 - oh Harold Lauder, you sad, pathetic man.

And what made me laugh out loud:

The. Worst. Costume. Ever!

People moaned about Wonder Woman's new look that was unveiled a couple of weeks ago, but seriously, this has to be the most ill-conceived design for a costume I've ever seen. Two bandoliers criss-crossing her chest?! It's like something a 13 year-old boy would come up with - bullets and boobs!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #60

As I was away last week, this week's Cocktail is yet another bumper sized double issue!

• The Boys #36 - the violent yet poignantly tinged origin of Mother's Milk comes to a close.
• The Boys: Herogasm #6 - Ennis's ability to lay sub-plots down that probably won't be referenced or see fruition for years to come is often overlooked by those concentrating on the profanity/violence or humour of his stories. The repercussions of this series will be worth looking out for.
• Doom Patrol #4 - the Blackest Night comes to the rest of the DCU and there's got to be nothing weirder than fighting your own resurrected corpse as Robotman finds out!
• Metal Men second feature - oh, I swear, it's like Justice League all over again with these guys! And hey, I'm not complaining!
• Magog #3 - more Giffen this week and while the main character isn't engaging me fully yet, I'm happy to tag along for Keith's writing.
• Project Superpowers: Chapter Two #4 - hmmm, that's a different take on Zeus.
• Project Superpowers: Meet The Bad Guys #3 - kinda strange introducing a bad guy for Samson considering what happened in Chapter Two #4 . . .
• Red Tornado #3 - ah, the old bad guy fooling newbie ploy. Like that isn't going to back fire on Red Volcano.
• Secret Six #15 - how cool is it to have John Ostrander writing Deadshot again? And how gratifying is it to have it be a damn good story?

And what made me smile:

Magog tuning out the usual supervillain blabbering!

And here's what I picked up this week:

• Black Terror #5 - honestly? I thought this series ended last issue. I'd forgotten all about it. Saying that, when it does turn up, it's still pretty good.
• Booster Gold #26 - nice to see Jurgens hasn't forgotten a couple of things left over from earlier issues (like the whereabouts of Goldstar for example) but at the same time this was something of a sentimental issue; you couldn't help feeling sorry for Booster and his inability to find the right words at Blue Beetle's eulogy.
• Chronicles of Wormwood: The Last Battle #2 - man, this series just gets better and better!
• Green Arrow / Black Canary #26 - still don't like Sienkiewicz's art. Sorry.
• Black Canary second feature - hmmm, you know, for once Kreisberg has me interested again in the story he's thrown together here.
• Green Lantern Corps #42 - that last page: damn it. I really liked that guy. Yeah, yeah, Hal's the one and only and all the rest of that but I've been with this guy from the start. Crap.
• JSA vs Kobra #6 - I've really enjoyed this story and it's a shame to see it end.
• Punishermax #1 - I pay next to no attention to Marvel continuity but isn't Kingpin the long time Daredevil/Spider-Man foe? Does this take place before then or what> Methinks I need to hunt round on the interwebs for the answer . . .

And what made me smile this week:

Steve Dillon, back on the Punisher!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #17

I had a hard time choosing this week's Cocktail post (which I'm endeavouring to make a little more regular than they have been of late.)

Green Lantern Corps #22 seemed little more than a vague attempt to give Boodikka a background; Countdown To Final Crisis #7 was confusing to say the least, and not just because the heroes ended up on an Earth other than their own; Green Arrow And Black Canary #6 sported the gorgeous artwork of Cliff Chiang which, if I'm honest, is fast becoming the only reason I'm reading it; and JLA Classified #54 brought the series to a somewhat limping end.

Meanwhile, Countdown To Mystery #6, Lord Havok And The Extremists #5 and Salvation Run #5 were all in the running for the post and Booster Gold #7 almost pipped it but it was Suicide Squad #7 that really nailed it for me this week.

As I mentioned before, John Ostrander's writing on this series - once the somewhat laboured return of Rick Flag was out of the way - has been spot on and with the Squad in action and with just a single issue left, this is easily one of the best mini-series out there.

It's the turn of the bad guys again to steal the spot light as The General betrays the rest of the Squad with his fellow traitors at his command.

Not only can this issue be seen as a lesson in how to become a turncoat after laying some very careful plans, but it also reveals the sound someone's head makes when it is literally squeezed off their shoulders.

General Eiling's plans don't all go according to plan, though, as Plastique rejects his call to betray the Squad and instead informs Bronze Tiger of his intentions, just as another of Eiling's lackeys - Cliff Carmichael - takes control of Chemo, resulting in the death of Windfall. Carmichael himself, though, is quickly dispatched, leaving Chemo running wild.

With the Squad divided, it isn't long before the two sides are pitched against each other, fighting in the rubble as they wait to find out whether Flag and Deadshot have managed to find and kill the board.

That, in itself, may not be the easiest thing due to Deadshot having been partially blinded in one eye and having to deal with Marauder who, under Eiling's orders, is protecting the board.

Unlike some of the more recent events in - among other series - Countdown To Final Crisis - the deaths that take place in Suicide Squad seem much more believable. Ostrander isn't killing characters for the sake of it or to make a point or to try and create an event. These characters are dying because the story demands they do, and while it's a shame to see even the bad guys die, I can at least accept those deaths within the context of the story.

There's only one more issue to go and it's looking to be a corker but please, DC, give John Ostrander a monthly title again.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #13

Despite being really busy with boring things like work, I'm going to endeavour to get back into the weekly swing of things as far as the Cocktail posts go. Having said that, I'm away next weekend so that one might be delayed as well.

Tricky one this week: The Four Horsemen came to a satisfying conclusion with #6; Green Arrow And Black Canary #4 almost redeemed Judd Winick's urge to kill every hero from the previous issue (though I still have reservations which I'll deal with in another post); Green Lantern Corps #20 almost made it but the short hand conversation between Kyle and Guy rankled a little; Countdown To Final Crisis #16 killed a lot more people; Salvation Run #3 almost got the Cocktail for the great surprise ending; The Boys #14, while a good solid read, didn't do anything spectacular; and the frankly bizarre Teen Titans Lost Annual #1 was just too . . . bizarre to cope with unless you'd taken as many drugs as Bob Haney had.

Which you couldn't because he'd taken all of them. All of them.

As you can tell from the picture, though, it was Suicide Squad #5 that stood out for me this week.

Having taken his time in explaining how Colonel Rick Flag (previously thought dead) was back in the Squad, John Ostrander's story begins to pick up pace nicely as the first mission for the new Squad is placed in jeopardy before the members even leave the warm and welcoming corridors of Belle Reve prison.

Giving the bad guys the most attention this month, Ostrander neatly reveals that The General is still as devious a son of a bitch as he ever was. Unknown to Amanda Waller, the Squad's leader, The General is in control of Flag and plans to sell the Squad down the river to the very people they're due to go up against.

On top of that, Bronze Tiger has to reprimand Captain Boomerang for pissing off Deadshot, neatly foreshadowing an upcoming conflict between the pair. Deadshot and the original Boomerang were never the best of friends and with the new Captain's ill considered attempt to annoy him, it's certain that things will quickly come to a head.

Rather than rush into explaining how Flag returned, Ostrander once more showed what a damn fine writer he is by bringing him back in a way that, while bizarre, made perfect sense within the larger world of the DCU. Using the same steady flow, he has built the series towards what promises to be a damn fine climax which should hit just before Final Crisis.

I for one can't wait.