Book Reviews and A Lot of Anger... Yup It Time For Daryll’s AfroBlog!
So once again I put my foot in my mouth and have to prove out my points after yesterday's show:
-I stand by my position that you want to introduce Squirrel Girl into TV after her successful comic following, fine. You want to do it in a humorous team dynamic, cool. That group she was a part of is called The Great Lakes Avengers. NOT The New Warriors. Ordinarily, I could let something like this go and see how it is handled BUT not with the Warriors. You see, Fabian Nicenza and Mark Bagley's 90's team was my New Teen Titans replacement. The book touched on, in no particular order:
-Racism -Sexism -Privilege -Cultural Identity -Social ills -Domestic Abuse
And THIS is the book that Marvel/Disney wants to turn into a COMEDY to accommodate Squirrel Girl? NO WAY!
Then we ran out of time before I took aim at my fellow fans but I will give y'all a glimpse of my anger here. I let you all off the hook when you failed to support David Walker's first Shaft series. When sales were down on the second series Imitation of Life, I got a little steamed. You came out and supported his brief Cyborg run and have been loving Power Man & Iron Fist so I relented. BUT he released Nighthawk, his most socially relevant book yet centering on one hero's never ending fight to clean up one city of corrupt elements from all sides. If the book was crap, I wouldn't be mad HOWEVER I know our podcast hyped it up along with Black Girl Nerds, FanBros, 3Black Geeks and others. Not only on air but on Twitter and Facebook. We reviewed it and spread word about its quality. It was talked about on sites like Bleeding Cool, Newsarama, Comics Alliance & Comic Book Resources...
...and it still is going to be cancelled after issue 6...
Business is business I understand BUT what got my goat is the amount of "I didn't know this book was out" or "Why am I now finding out about this?" answers I heard from "smart" fans of color on the net after the news.
REALLY? REALLY?!?!?
Fans that will fight to the death over little things in big budget movies. Fans that will get pissy over changes on favorite characters that will happen 6-8 months down the line, didn't know that this book was out...let alone that its excellent issue #4 is on the stands as we speak?
I CALL BULLSH_T!
We finally get a current book that is reflective of what is going on in our communities and is taking a smart approach to things like Black Lives Matter, a system that is tilted against a lot of people, violence within our community and police brutality... and we didn't support it.
I'M EMBARRASSED & ANGRY!
But most of all, I'm sorry David Walker. I'm sorry that our folks can't put actions and money behind their words. Remember this uproar? "Where are the books with leads of color Marvel?" "Where are the writers and artists of color?" "We tired our the same lily white heroes. It 2016, where's the diversity?"
Well we had it in Nighthawk... and we let Mr. Walker and staff down. You can all just be quiet now OR you can preorder the ^&%&^% out of the the collected edition when it's made available at your comic shops. This is a HUGE step back and.....F IT! I got to be happy again so time for the books...
Earth 2 Society Annual by Dan Abnett, Bruno Redondo, Diogenes Neves, & Rex Locus picks up where issue 15 left off with Huntress in pursuit of Grayson's son. Meanwhile Dick is giving an oral history of Batman and everything that has happened to him and his world. All the while, Ultra-Humanite is pulling strings on his children to recover the ancient Atlantean technology and control the world's future. A lot of balls in the air but great insight on this Earth's Grayson.
YES! I get two of my favorites, Mightor and the Impossibles appearing finally in Future Quest #4 by Jeff Parker, Doc Shaner, Ron Randall & Hi-Fi. With one, we find out that there's a greater connection to the threat than we thought. With the other, there is a sly introduction during the Frankenstein Jr part of the story with a promise of much more in issue 5. And just wait until you see FEAR's inner workings! Nostalgia is a very, VERY awesome thing
James Bond 9 by Warren Ellis, Jason Masters & Guy Major - Here's the thing about the intelligence community: you can't trust anyone at face value. Bond and his whole division are going to learn that the hardest foes are ones that have worked with you. And that may just be enough room for the the bad guys to succeed.
Civil War Choosing Sides 5 - In the 1st story by Chip Zdarsky & Ramon Perez, Alpha Flight finds their resolve tested by none other than the Canadian Prime Minister. Just wait until you see the PM's friend. In the 2nd story by Enrique Carrion, Annapaola Martello, & Nolan Woodard, Welcome back Colleen Wing! Just wait Misty. Your mission with the Howling Commandos is going to get heated. In the 3rd story by Declan Shalvey & Jordan Bellaire, it is Fury vs Fury as Nick Jr tracks his leads to Nick Fury??? Um. O-oh...
Within Howard The Duck 10 by Chip Zdarsky, Joe Quinones, & Jordan Gibson, the puppet masters revealed. The room has gotten crowded. Mojo craves ratings! Time for Howard to pull out Quack Fu as the battle spreads to Earth. But be warned: when Mojo is involved in anything, chances for a happy ending or neat resolution are slim.
Ms. Marvel 10 by G Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona & Ian Herring - While I'm on the heartbreak side of the street, dammit G Willow Wilson! She plucks all the strings in this one. Kamala relives parts of her past with a friend who's gravely injured. Her current charges are seemingly wanting to strike out on their own and nothing will be the same. Happy Birthday G! This issue was powerful!!
So how much deeper can Han get? Well in Han Solo 3 by Marjorie Liu, Mark Brooks & Sonia Oback, Imperials got him shackled and are looking to end the race. Chewie got a little bodyguarding problem. And this still only the first of 3. Yeah... This going to be a long trip... ESPECIALLY since it looks like they are going to run afoul of an old acquaintance.
Miles is not in a good place right now Spider-Man #7 by Brian Michael Bendis, Nico Leon & Marte Garcia. Ulysses' predictions about The Hulk got him totally on edge. His internal doubts about his meeting with Tony Stark got him questioning everyone in tights around him. Good thing he got a couple of familiar faces to drop in. And with that all said, he doesn't have a clue what is going on with his parents...yet. Because that last page....WOW!
Mach-X is having a crisis of conscience in Thunderbolts #4 by Jim Zub, Jon Malin & Matt Yackey. Unlike the others, he was ok with Pleasant Hill and is caught between that and his loyalty to the team. So it is a perfect time for the Squadron Supreme to attack looking for "the weapon". Meanwhile, Moonstone is scheming big (like that's new) and Bucky might be in the same place as Abner. Go Team!
4001AD #4 by Matt Kindt & Clayton Crain features the final battle between Rai and Father with all of New Japan and quite possibly Earth hanging in the balance. A quite different finale than a lot of people will be used to BUT no less thought provoking in regards to Valiant's future...
I am loving Bloodhound. Let me get that out of the way before I get into Bloodshot Reborn #16 by Jeff Lemire, Mico Suayan & David Baron. Bloodshot has his hands full trying safe/stop Deathmate and really makes the only decision that makes sense... with Bloodhound's help of course. We have reached Cabin in the Woods levels people!
I also picked up:
The Valiant Official Handbook which gave me a "Who's Who" for the updated universe.
Guardians of the Galaxy In The Year 3000 Volume 2 - Continuing my 90's nostalgia
Astro City Volume 9: Through Open Doors (collects Astro City Vol. 3 #1–6)
Astro City Volume 10: Victory (collects Astro City Vol. 3 #7-10 and Astro City Visitor's Guide #1)
Astro City Volume 11: Private Lives (collects Astro City Vol. 3 #11-12 and 14-17)
Astro City Volume 12: Lovers Quarrel (collects Astro City Vol. 3 #18-21 and 23-24) (Sue me! I love Kurt Busiek's universe here)
Hawkeye & the Thunderbolts Vol 2 - You already know how much I love the Thunderbolts....
Dark Night: A True Batman Story - Paul Dini's harrowing account of his trauma and anxiety after a mugging. Yet another example of how a comic book story can rise above the medium. Gripping. And Eduardo Risso's pencils made it even more haunting.
I also picked up Infinity Inc Volume 1: Luthor's Monsters by Peter Milligan & Max Fiumara which follows the surviving members of the team after the events of 52 and their power loss. Natasha Irons especially isn't left in a good place. Interesting view on the addictive qualities of the metagene...
Whew! That's a lot of books. And I didn't even include my Shaft novel pickups or the Bendis All New X-Men stuff. I need something for the next blog! LOL
Thx for reading folks! Until Next Time, Keep Fantasizing!
I tried reading DW's Nighthawk. I enjoyed the first arc of Shaft and his brief run of Cyborg but I couldn't get into Nighthawk. The artwork was pathetic and the character was not all that interesting. He should have tried making him be a little more unique in terms of his personality. I do however like DW and I will continue to read his work.
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