Spider-Man #1

Well, I never read the previous Miles Morales comics, because I generally avoided the Ultimate universe once it got so pointlessly screwed-up. So a lot of this is backstory I’ve never been aware of, and some of it is stuff that I’ve learned by reading what other people have to say about it.

So let’s start from the top. Miles Morales is the Spider-Man from the Ultimate universe, and he now lives in the main Marvel Universe. He’s not alone — his family is here, too, including his mother, who actually died several years ago. Some of his friends are here, too, including his best pal Ganke. But all is not rosy in Miles’ new world — he’s not doing well in school, and he has to cut class to go fight supervillains.

And the latest supervillain is a doozy. By the time Miles shows up on the scene, he’s already beat the stuffing out of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Vision, and Scarlet Witch. His name is Blackheart, and he’s a huge and absolutely terrifying demon — and he’s way out of Miles’ league. So why does he beat it so quickly? And why does that make Peter Parker so angry?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Lots of cool character work on Miles and his supporting cast, and the action is good, too. My lone quibble — this is the first Marvel comic I’ve seen in ages that didn’t come with an intro page summary — and this one really needed it for people who weren’t more familiar with Miles.

Captain Marvel #2

Carol and the members of Alpha Flight explore the derelict spacecraft that crashed into the space station last issue. It’s dark and spooky and unpleasant, and there’s goo everywhere, and some dead aliens, and way too many automated defense systems. Even when they get back to the space station, the trouble isn’t over. The enemy attacking them is probably aboard the ship — and Captain Marvel sustained more serious injuries from the ship’s defense systems than she thought…

Verdict: Thumbs up. Fantastic horror-movie atmosphere on board the spacecraft, and it’s great to see Alpha Flight doing more than standing around looking purty.

Klaus #3

Lord Magnus’s men sic a bunch of dogs on Klaus, but his wolf Lilli scares them off. By the time the guardsmen make it to the square, they find Klaus’ footprints and Lilli’s pawprints — and they start worrying they’ve got a werewolf on their hands. The captain orders his men to watch every door, so Klaus will have to find another way to get toys to the poor children in Grimsvig. Meanwhile, children are sending their wishes up chimneys, Magnus’s wife is keeping secrets, and there’s something horrible hiding inside the mines.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Good story, fun art — but with another four issues to go, we won’t finish this Santa Claus origin story ’til summer. That’s just poor planning, y’all.

The Vision #4

With Viv recovered and back home, it seems that happy days are back for the Visions — but Virginia still has her mysterious blackmailer holding the secret of the Grim Reaper’s murder over her head. Most of the kids at school don’t like Vin or Viv — except for Viv’s lab partner, Chris Kinzky, who Vin beat up after she was injured. But Chris likes Viv a lot — which is going to make it really uncomfortable when it turns out that his dad is the blackmailer…

Verdict: Thumbs up. As creepy as always — and now starting to read as much like a Greek tragedy as anything. There’s no way anyone is getting a happy ending out of this, not a chance in hell.

Spidey #3

Poor Peter Parker has money troubles — and even worse, Aunt May does, too. But can he do anything to help when all his free time is taken up by school, being bullied, and fighting supervillains? And speaking of supervillains, the Lizard is back, and he’s growing a ton of mini-lizards in an attempt to take over the world. So where does Spidey have to go to track down the Lizard’s lab? The sewer, of course. And who does he run into down there? Even more mini-lizards and one great big angry Lizard. Can Spider-Man make it back to the surface alive?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Beautiful art and a fantastic, classic story. This comic is just wonderful, and it’s weird that it doesn’t get a lot more attention.

Howard the Duck #4

So Howard — now the Living Nexus of All Realities — has been captured by a cosmic baddie called the Stranger, but he’s quickly rescued by a woman named Scout, who is the new Herald of Galactus. But actually, she isn’t — she’s just a human who mugged Alicia Masters for a bit of the Silver Surfer’s metal so she could get cosmic powers. In fact, she’s a Galactus fangirl, and the Big G doesn’t think much of her. But the Silver Surfer rescues Howard, briefly, and even gifts him with enough of the Power Cosmic to turn him all silvery and nakedy. He and the Guardians of the Galaxy rescue each other — and then it’s right back into the clutches of the Collector.

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s entirely fun, and it’s great to see Howard with some real power for once, even though we can expect it to last maybe two pages in the next issue…

A-Force #2

The giant monster called Anti-Matter wants to destroy Singularity — and anyone else he can, too. He gets Medusa good and angry, and she uses Inhuman technology to teleport him to the moon. Singularity then teleports Medusa and She-Hulk to Japan, where Nico Minoru is trying to live a normal life. Of course, Anti-Matter returns, and Nico manages to “un-make” him — but this is still a temporary solution, because he will re-form. They all meet up with Captain Marvel, then go looking for Dazzler, hoping she can hit Anti-Matter with more light than he can process, giving them the opportunity to study him quickly and learn what his weaknesses are. They find Dazzler playing roller derby, and she’s a lot more punk-rock and a lot angrier than she used to be. But can she help fight off the monster?

Verdict: Thumbs up. This issue is a lot more fun than the first. There’s a lot more action, much more fun dialogue, and cooler characterization. It’s also great to finally see Nico and Dazzler again. (Do you think there’s a database in the Marvel offices to keep track of all the magic words Nico uses, since she can use each one only once?)

I had a week or so off from reviewing anything, and I’ve got a mighty backlog of comics. So instead of struggling to review every single comic I got in the last two weeks, let’s just look at the stuff that was most worthy of being looked at.

Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! #1

Marvel’s been producing a lot of fun comics lately, but even matched up against Squirrel Girl, Ms. Marvel, and Howard the Duck, this one was uncommonly fun. The story focuses on Patsy Walker, a.k.a. Hellcat — a character who migrated from romance comics in the 1940s-’60s to superhero books in the ’70s. Most recently employed as an investigator by attorney Jennifer Walters, Patsy meets up with a fairly inept rookie telekinetic supervillain who she bonds with and actually reforms, thanks to their shared love of the theater musical “Wicked.”

But Patsy’s going through hard times — She-Hulk can’t afford to keep her employed, and she’s already been living in a storage room. Luckily, Ian, the reformed villain, offers to let her stay at his apartment, and while Ian visits the local gay bookstore, Patsy meets the proprietor, Tubs Hale, an old friend and supporting character in the Patsy Walker comics. She also learns that Hedy Wolfe, her frenemy from the comics, has gotten the rights to her comics and has started republishing them. All that, plus Patsy has an idea for a new business helping metahumans get power-appropriate jobs.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Like I said, it’s a very fun comic, with wonderful writing by Kate Leth and wonderful art by Brittney L. Williams. It’s a great story that combines Hellcat’s superheroism with Patsy’s comedy-romance roots. This one looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Spidey #2

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s teenaged Spider-Man vs. the Sandman! Also teenaged Peter Parker vs. history class!

Verdict: Thumbs up. Holy banjos, for a comic I’d never even heard of the first time I saw it in the store, this one has zoomed up to the top ranks of my favorite books. I love just about everything about it, but definitely gotta give mad props to Nick Bradshaw for his jaw-droppingly amazing artwork. That cover is just plain spectacular.

Astro City #30

The continuation of last month’s adventure on the planet Zirros. Young Zozat is an alien from a species that often comes into conflict with the First Family. He’s been raised to hate Earthlings, but when he encounters an injured member of the First Family, he inadvertantly reads his mind and gets the real story — the FF wasn’t attacking for no reason — they were trying to retrieve a family member who’d been kidnapped by the Zirr. Meanwhile, his military-drafted sister is due to report for duty so she can become part of the Zirr’s latest Ultimate Weapon — a giant monster composed of a huge number of Zirr soldiers. Will the First Family prevail? And how will Zozat be affected by his contact with Earthlings?

Verdict: Thumbs up. More great development of the Zirr cultural mindset, and Zozat is a fun character — I doubt we’ll see him again, but it’s nice to know that he’s out there somewhere in the Astro City universe…

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #2

Devil Dinosaur runs around New York pulling Lunella Lafayette along by her bookbag while the prehistoric Killer Folk get busy learning how to survive in the Big Apple. When they finally get Lunella separated from Devil Dinosaur, there’s gonna be trouble.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Half the book is a wonderful chase scene involving a huge dinosaur, and the other half is the Killer Folk figuring out modern-day customs and language — and both parts of the story are plenty funny.

Jughead #3

Jughead has been expelled from school after Principal Stanger planted a knife in his backpack. Of course, everyone knows it’s a frame-up, including Jug’s parents, so his dad goes to the school and tells the principal, whoops, no, that was my knife that I left in my son’s pack by mistake. Stanger’s stuck — no one believes Jughead is violent, and his folks are sticking up for him, so Stanger can’t leave him expelled. While Jughead is wallowing in misery at Pop’s Diner, he has another one of his dreams and imagines himself to be a superspy uncovering the principal’s latest evil plots — but do his dreams have some basis in reality?

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s not quite as inspired as the previous issues — though the badassery of Jughead’s dad is really something to behold. And I’m kinda starting to suspect that Jughead’s final theory on what’s behind all the shenanigans of Principal Stanger and the new teachers may have some merit…

Spidey #1

Here’s this great new series by Robbie Thompson and Nick Bradshaw focusing on Spider-Man when he was still in high school. He tangles with the White Rabbit, does badly on a pop quiz, get pushed around by Flash Thompson and rescued by Gwen Stacy, and visits Oscorp just in time for an attack by Dr. Octopus. Can puny Parker save the day — and what more terrible menace is now keeping an eye on him?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Fantastic story and art — the art is very reminiscent of Art Adams, by the way, which is definitely a good thing. And it’s always great to be able to revisit Peter Parker’s youth — Spidey’s glory days were definitely his high school years, and while this is modernized quite a bit — the Wall-Crawler takes a selfie of himself and White Rabbit after he defeats her — this story still has the feel of the classic era.

The Totally Awesome Hulk #1

Well, Amadeus Cho, 19-year-old Korean-American smartass, buddy of both the Hulk and Hercules, eighth smartest person in the world, now has gamma-spawned powers of his own. So he runs around the world with his super-genius sister Maddy, beating up monsters (and often getting beat up by them, too), and getting accustomed to how gamma radiation messes with his own rage issues. So is life gonna be all sunshine and bacon cheeseburgers for Amadeus?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Okay, I could take or leave Frank Cho — he draws pretty, but his arrogance always makes me want to find more interesting artists. But Greg Pak writing Amadeus Cho? Yeah, I’m down with that.

Prez #6

The whole country is freaking out about the cat flu, and Boss Smiley and his corporate flunkies have crafted a bill to let them cure the flu, but also give them the right to patent any living organism. President Beth Ross thinks that sounds like bull, and she throws ’em out. The bill gets passed over her objections, but a very wealthy supporter manages to patent the DNA of the corporate goons himself and threatens to sue them for existing. Meanwhile, the former War Beast drone, now calling herself Tina, wants to live her own life and is looking for a new job. Might that include protecting the President from deranged cat-flu worshipers?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Very nice political satire with a cool sci-fi edge. (The comic makes a point that Tina is transgender — which I’m not sure is entirely accurate for an only-recently sapient genderless robot. Personally, I think what makes her really interesting is her embrace of evangelical Christianity…)

Sensation Comics #17

The final issue of this series features a story by the great Trina Robbins. Wonder Woman meets up with the Cheetah, who reveals that the plant that grants her cheetah-like powers is almost extinct — and without it, she’ll die. Diana agrees to fly her to the island where the berries are native and help her harvest the last of them, but her invisible jet is shot down. They discover a mad scientist has been using the berries to transform animals into quasi-human forms. When Lex Luthor sends his goons to shut down the project, a bloodbath ensues. Can Wonder Woman rescue everyone? Can the Cheetah be saved? Or will she become worse than ever before?

Verdict: Thumbs up. The cheetah-human hybrid really is tailor-made for an “Island of Dr. Moreau” pastiche, right? The art by Chris Gugliotti is a bit funky, but I’m really happy to see any and all stories by Trina Robbins, so it’s all good, as far as I’m concerned.

All Star Section Eight #6

The miniseries wraps up with Sixpack getting to hang out with Superman in the Fortress of Solitude. Sixpack confesses that he’s afraid he’s not real, that his adventures are just the hallucinations of a drunk freezing to death in an alley. But Supes tells him it’s all real, shows him a statue of Sixpack as one of the world’s great heroes and… hands him a bottle of whiskey. But just as Section 8’s leader is ready to go, the rest of his team is falling apart. Will there be anyone to save the world from All-Consuming Evil?

Verdict: Thumbs up. The rapid self-destruction of the team is really the funniest bit of the issue, though the hallucinatory Superman telling Sixpack “It’s going to be okay” while  handing him a bottle of rotgut is grimly hilarious. Still, I do wish this issue had lived up to the promise of the previous one.

Well, my children, it’s the end of another thoroughly gruesome week, and one measly weekend just ain’t really gonna settle things down for us. But it’ll help. So let’s celebrate while we can with everyone’s favorite: FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

Tonight’s battle comes to us from February 1983’s Marvel Two-in-One #96 by Tom DeFalco, Ron Wilson, and Mike Esposito. Ben Grimm is stuck in the hospital after a rough battle, and now a whole bunch of supervillains are on the way to finish him off.

But Marvel’s superheroes aren’t gonna let Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew down, are they?

That’s a bunch of Marvel’s greatest superheroes beating up on the Rhino, MODOK, and a bunch of Moloids. Not a bad way to kick off the weekend, is it?

Gotta get this finished in a hurry today, so here’s our weekly dose of… FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

Tonight’s battle comes to us from December 2012’s Punisher: War Zone #1 by Greg Rucka and Carmine Di Giandomenico. There’s a reason why people without superpowers should not get into a fistfight with Spider-Man.

That’s it — you guys have a great weekend!

People, I don’t have much of anything I want to blog about today, so I’m just gonna sit here and deliberately stir up trouble.

What I am about to reveal here is the complete, objective truth.

For example:

Who was the best Green Lantern?

Answer: Kyle Rayner.

No, definitely not Hal Jordan. He’s always been a shallow, generally uninteresting character. “Fearless test pilot” isn’t a personality all by itself, and the people out there who seem to freakin’ worship Hal strike me as some of the weirdest people on earth. Yes, that includes the “Hal’s Emerald Attack Team” fanatics and Geoff Johns. As for the rest of them, Guy Gardner’s generally fun, but he’s mostly a gag character. I like John Stewart, especially in the Justice League cartoons. Simon Baz is too new. But Kyle, the last Green Lantern, uncertain, awkward, crab-masked, completely aware of his own fears, freelance artist with the no-yellow-impurity power ring? Kyle was the best.

Who was the best Flash?

Answer: Wally West.

Definitely, definitely not Barry Allen. Having a crew cut and a bow tie makes him the *worst* Flash. Wally was funnier, cooler, more interesting in every possible way — and of course, he was far, far, far faster.

Who was the best Robin?

Answer: Dick Grayson.

Really, I guess the best answer would be “Anyone but Jason Todd.” Because I really like all of the Robins. But Dick was the first Robin, he was Robin for the longest time, and he eventually ended up being the best possible Nightwing, so I’m giving the circus kid the crown.

Who was the best Batgirl?

Answer: Stephanie Brown.

Not to take anything away from Barbara Gordon or Cassandra Cain, because they were pretty cool, but as grim and gritty as the Bat-verse generally is, it was just plain awesome to get to read a Bat-title every month where the lead character wasn’t an emotionally-crippled basket case. Steph was fun and funny and had the best dialogue.

Who was the best Aquaman?

Answer: Bearded, hook-handed Aquaman.

Because I don’t care who writes him, the clean-shaven, orange-shirted nonentity from “Super Friends” just sucks on every possible level.

Who was the best Hawkgirl?

Answer: Kendra Saunders.

Mostly because I liked the idea of a Hawkgirl who, at least initially, didn’t want to be the back half of “Hawkman and” — she didn’t love Hawkman, and she wanted to be her own person. She was even in relationships with people other than Hawkman. Eventually, she fell in love with Hawkman in a way that felt more organic, realistic, and worthwhile, and that was fine with me. She certainly didn’t deserve to get exit-stage-lefted the way she did…

Who was the best Green Arrow?

Answer: The one with the beard.

I liked Connor Hawke, but he’d never be the equal of his dad. And Ollie without a beard just looks like a dork, so he’s gotta have the ridiculous beard.

Who was the best Hulk?

Answer: Angry green stupid Hulk.

I liked the Professor Hulk, actually. And the Green Scar was cool. Joe Fixit is always fun. But angry green stupid Hulk is the strongest one there is.

Who was the best Spider-Man?

Answer: The Peter Parker married to Mary Jane Watson.

Because Spider-Man isn’t Otto Octavius, and he doesn’t make deals with the Devil.

What are the best zombies? Fast or slow?

Answer: Slow zombies.

To quote Max Brooks: “Ha ha, there are no such things as fast zombies!”

So there we go, friends and neighbors, all the mysteries of life cleared up. Go on about your business, please.

American Vampire #29

Pearl Preston and Skinner Sweet are tracking vampires in ’50s Hollywood, hiding out in the mansions of directors and stars. Claiming to be investigators for the House Un-American Activities Committee, they pay a visit to producer Wells White, who shows off his pet lions before Pearl and Skinner catch sight of his vampire guest. While Pearl takes care of the vampire, White turns his lions loose on Skinner — not that a bunch of lions have much of a chance. But who’s behind the sniper who kills White? And what kind of hold do the Vassals of the Morning Star have over Skinner Sweet?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Just a good issue. I like the vamps’ cover of “Oh, hey, we’re with HUAC — you got any shady connections we need to know about?” Makes it a perfect fit for the paranoid ’50s.

Justice League Dark #11

Felix Faust is trying to get into the government’s vault that contains all of the most powerful magic items in the world, while the JLD struggle to contain him and his pet demons. Meanwhile, Madame Xanadu seeks out Timothy Hunter, a kid in London who may be the only magician in the world powerful enough to safely use the Books of Magic — but he insists there’s no way he can help them. Can John Constantine prevent the Books from falling into Felix’s hands?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Ehh, it’s alright. Mostly a big punch-up. Still not sure I’ll ever get used to the idea of John Constantine and Timothy Hunter running around on the superhero side of the DCU.

The Amazing Spider-Man #690

While Spider-Man tries to corral Morbius the Living Vampire, Dr. Curt Connors is back at Horizon Labs trying to turn himself back into the Lizard — and using the rest of Horizon’s staff as guinea pigs. Can Spidey capture Morbius and make it back to the lab before all of his coworkers are turned into giant lizards?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Worth it more for Connors’ internal monologue than for just about anything else.

Today’s Cool Links:

• This was pretty entertaining: “Heroes Rise: The Prodigy” — they call it an interactive novel, but think of it as a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book where you get to be a superhero. Go give it a shot — it’s free.
• What’s wrong with the Big Two? Kevin Church and Benjamin Birdie bring the truth.
• Here’s the most depressing, but still most amazing, essay you’re going to read all day.
• The Humble Bundle, previously known for offering independent video games at a pay-what-you-want rate to help charity, is expanding to music.

Popeye #3

So there’s this guy called George W. Geezil — not a guy from the Popeye cartoons, but an old character from the “Thimble Theater” strips — and he’s had a mad-on about Wimpy for as long as anyone can remember. Wimpy always mooches his hamburgers and just generally irritates the tar out of him. “You are flies in mine zupe!” he’s always yelling. And Geezil hatches on a scheme to get rid of Wimpy once and for all — he’s got himself a masked monster of a prizefighter called the Phantom Crusher, and he wants to put on a big boxing match between Wimpy and the Phantom Crusher! Popeye doesn’t like an unfair fight, so he decides he’ll act as Wimpy’s trainer in the weeks before the fight. Can he get Wimpy to eat his spinach and exercise? Not if we know Wimpy. So does Wimpy stand any chance against the Crusher? Not if we know Wimpy. But what happens when Popeye discovers that the Crusher and Geezil are resorting to cheating?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Vastly silly fun from beginning to end. Excellent action, even if it is fairly silly action. Great dialogue, even if it’s pretty silly dialogue. This is something to get if you enjoy a nice dose of silliness in your comics. And if you’re dork enough not to enjoy silly comics, more pity on you.

Worlds’ Finest #3

Huntress and Power Girl are still fighting the highly radioactive Hakkou in Tokyo, and he’s definitely got them on the ropes, until Huntress manages to douse him in radioactive coolant, causing him to flee before he absorbs too much radioactivity. From here, we get a flashback to the heroes’ earlier days on our Earth, as they try to research their alternate-universe counterparts and as Kara makes her plans to discover more about Michael Holt’s dimensional research. Back in the present day, Power Girl saves a jet from crashing, then the heroes discover that Hakkou has absorbed so much radiation, he’s turned into a giant monster! Can they stop him before he destroys Tokyo?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Good story, good action — I gotta admit, I’m getting a lot more enjoyment out of the middle section, drawn by Kevin Maguire, about Helena and Kara’s more civilian-level adventures exploring the new world they’ve found themselves in. Not that George Perez’s work is anything to sneeze at — but he does get stuck drawing that awful Power Girl costume…

The Amazing Spider-Man #689

The Lizard has been turned back into Curt Connors — but inside, he’s still the Lizard, enraged at being transformed into a weak, amputated human, furiously trying to figure out a way to get himself changed back and then kill everyone he can. His devious mind realizes he can use Michael Morbius’ weaknesses against them all — he knows the Living Vampire hasn’t drunk any blood in a while, so he keeps mentioning blood to make him think about how hungry he is, and once Connors is left alone in Morbius’ lab, he pumps a bunch of blood into the air vents. Morbius snaps and puts the bite on one of the scientists at Horizon Labs. While Spidey pursues Morbius across the city, Connors lures Max Modell into his lab for some unorthodox experiments.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Good action and dialogue. Some good twists and turns in the story, too. You can tell Dan Slott is having a lot of fun writing Spidey — let’s hope Marvel doesn’t take him off the comic when they do their soft reboot this fall…

The Amazing Spider-Man #688

Morbius the Living Vampire thinks he’s finally figured out a way to change the Lizard back into Dr. Curt Connors permanently — Spider-Man has his doubts, because after his last transformation, the Lizard had declared that he’d finally killed Connors’ personality, and capped off that claim by murdering his own son, Billy. And Spidey isn’t real happy with Morbius anyway, because he discovered that the vampire discovered his potential cure by digging up and experimenting on Billy Connors’ corpse. But the Wall-Crawler is also upset with himself for letting Silver Sable die last issue, and the Lizard has killed too many people while hiding out in New York’s sewers. Can Spider-Man and Morbius really cure the Lizard once and for all?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Excellent action, plenty of Spider-Angst — it’s been a while since Peter Parker was as unhappy as he’s traditionally been — and a nice little twist to wrap things up.

Fatale #6

In the present day, Nicolas Lash wonders what happened to the beautiful Jo, he meets up with a private eye who tells him there’s a safe deposit box with his name on it. If Lash claims it, the private eye wants a ten percent finders fee. But when they check out the box, it’s empty — and the bank manager remembers the private eye being here before with Jo. And then the supernatural hitman comes after Lash. And people, that’s just the prologue!

In the main story, our timeline is focused on Los Angeles in 1978, where our protagonist is Miles, a B-movie actor hoping to score some coke and an invite to a hot party that may get him some better roles. He goes looking for one of his dealers, a girl named Suzy Scream, at a sleazy party sponsored by a sleazy debauchery cult. And when he finds Suzy, she’s just killed the cult leader because he’d been trying to stab her to death — and there’s some oddly horrific home movie playing in the basement, too. Miles sneaks Suzy out of the party and crosses paths with Josephine, now living as a recluse to avoid accidentally ensnaring the innocent with her supernatural powers. But what is Josephine going to say when she sees the movie Miles smuggled out of the party?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Outstandingly creepy, especially the sequence from the ’70s. I mean, everything from the ’70s. I think sometimes we forget what a very unusual decade the 1970s were — cults were out and proud, sex was kinky, drugs were everywhere, sideburns were long, fashion was awful, film was brilliant, and Marvel Comics had multiple comics for sale that had the awesomeness of Satanism as a selling point. The violence and supernatural elements added on here merely increase the creepiness of the setting by a few degrees…

Today’s Cool Links:

• A friend of mine wrote this, and he’s a really great guy. And I think it’s worth asking ourselves: Why do our soldiers need to rely on a guy working on his off-time to get them the counseling help many of them need?
• Short video on what probably happened when DC told Alan Moore about “Before Watchmen.”
• Sometimes, you have to feed the trolls. Sometimes, you have to feed them the barrel of a gun.