This Week's Book Recommendations Thanks to Daryll B! Appearing Regularly at The GrindHouse!

Live From A Stack of Books.....

A lot happened this week that I'm going to need time to process. So in the meantime, here at a bunch of books!

The Ultimates enter the fray in Contest of Champions #7 by Al Ewing and Rhoald Marcellius as we find both teams captured and being "punished" by Maestro and Punisher 2099. Well, things actually get worse and I'm loving it. Ewing is nailing the characterization of the players and his Dwayne Taylor is scary fun.

Archie is looking for a bit of revenge on Reggie and the ways he tries in Archie #7 by Mark Waid and Veronica Fish are hilariously Archie in concept and execution. Nice to see the role Pops plays here and I think it is the first time I have seen Mr. Mantle, Reggie's Father, on the page...

A tale starts to lead to a point within Dreaming Eagles #4 by Garth Ennis and Simon Coleby. And as the action in the past picks up, we see a dawning of a realization of the future in the son's reactions. Morals and human conditions under warlike circumstances prove how Ennis has mastered both..

Say hello to Grandma Morales in Spider-Man #3 by Brain Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli. And she's determined to keep him on the right path. Chaos ensues for the whole family as she proceeds to make his (and his pops) life miserable. Perfect time for Kamala Khan to stop by right? Hilarious!

We learn more about how our resident invisible bodyguard gets mixed up with the Primatech Company in Heroes Godsend #2 by Joey Falco and Roy Allan Martinez. Farah goes in for one thing and, well, let's just say no one could be prepared for this. I still have give kudos to the creative team on how they are handling the 9/11 portion of this. So many potholes avoided..

We are coming to the endgame in Rachel Rising #41 by Terry Moore. Lilith is getting antsy and decides to do the one thing that Rachel isn't ready for. And when Zoe and her condition is discovered, the question now is Rachel's mental state in preparation for battle with Malus. Outlook looks bleak....

Darby Pop brings back a legend in Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises #1 by Shannon Lee, Jeff Kline, and Brandon McKinney. The Master of Fluid Master Arts is seemingly back in 2012 California, trying to get adjusted to today's society. All the while, a corporation wants him back! Hello deep end of the pool! Interesting start to this...

You heard our show. You have read our Twitter feeds. Black Panther #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze is a must get folks! Coates seemingly cherry picks from parts of T'Challa's recent and fabled history to craft a hairy situation for the King. Civil unrest, disillusioned friends, enemies at the gate, and T'Challa is....distracted?!?!?!?!?!? The Road to the Land of the Dead is paved with....

A hero falls as the trouble deepens in Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5 by James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II. Time is running out on our favorite teens just as Ra's Al rul and Shredder's plans come to fruition. So this is a PERFECT time to insert Damian Wayne to stir the pot. Yeah....

The ultimate battle with Anti-Matter is joined in A-Force #4 by Kelly Thompson, G. Willow Wilson, and Jorge Molina. Singularity believes that she needs to take him on alone. Can Medusa and She-Hulk put aside their stubborn behavior long enough to rally a team to help her? And who'll be left standing? Once again, the interactions overshadow the fight here...

Remind me to never let Alan Scott negotiate for me after Earth 2 Society #11 by Dan Abnett and Federico Dallocchio as he says the one thing in a leadership meeting between bickering cities that will ensure a war. Meanwhile, Ted Grant and Batman are still in battle with Hourman and Nimbus. And just wait until you see how the Amazons survived...

Deathlok shines in Agents of SHIELD #4 by Marc Guggenheim and German Peralta as the team has to fight The New Avengers over Rick Jones. Meanwhile, Coulson travels deeper into Pleasant Hill and a villain well known to show fans makes his debut to make our team's life a little harder.

Enter a land of fantasy where danger is omni-present in Erathune #1 by Sebastian A. Jones, Darrell May, and Sheldon Mitchell. Grown-Up Niobe is fierce with a Xena vibe and the Stonebread Family seems to be a force to be reckoned with. Now let's see if the upcoming war with dark forces follows through with these hints of awesomeness dropped here.

Awaken from a walking dream are what our heroes are doing in All-New All-Different Avengers #8 by Mark Waid and Andy Kubert. The Unity and "Misfit" team are still in the nightmare that is Pleasant Hill as the supervillains are running wild. All the while, Kobik is trying to find her way. So of course it is up to Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales, and Deadpool to save the day. Wait. What? We're screwed...!

GLC Edge of Oblivion #4 by Tom Taylor, Aaron Kuder and Adrian Syaf turns all conceptions we had on its ear as we find out more about Marniel. Kilowog, Guy Gardner, Simon, and Two-Six are amongst her captured Green Lanterns with John planning the breakout. And this is just when the table is overturned and Taylor, in his fashion, forces you to look at every situation here in a different light. Insidious Tom. VERY crafty Sir.

On that same tip, I had to go and retrieve GLC Lost Army by Cullen Bunn, Jesus Saiz, Cliff Richards, and Javier Pina to see what planted the seeds for oblivion. Cut off from their universe, the Green Lanterns must survive a very familiar yet wild setting and understand the bond between themselves as enemies come a calling. ESPECIALLY 2 of their most dangerous menaces. Good story and pacing....

Once again I have to place Autumnlands #10 by Kurt Busiek and Benjamin Dewey as my book of the (last 2) week. As the journey to find what is poisoning the river continues, the Hero gains and (unwanted) traveler. Of course this takes a back seat to a magical explosion and, well, I don't even know how to describe the last page. Dewey? Pure nightmare fuel Man. I blame my insomnia last night on you!

I'll end on the character that has inspired my last week: Black Panther The Christopher Priest Complete Collection Volume 3 by Christopher Priest, J. Torres, Sal Velluto, Jon Bogdanove, Jorge Lucas, John Buscema, and Ryan Bodenheim. Included in this tome, a resolution to the Ross/Mephisto body swap thing; 2 Black Panthers; a whole lot of time-travel; the debut of the Golden Frogs; T'Challa vs Tony Stark; Wakanda vs The United States and oooh! Is that The Hulk and Wolverine??? Yeah we are all over the world and the place here. Let's see if you can keep up...

Two Weeks of Books. A lot of gems. Next Week: Goldie Vance! ActionVerse! Power Man & Iron Fist! Shaft! Clean Room! Astro City! So my quality reading shall continue!

Thanks for reading! Until Next Time, Keep Fantasizing!