Comics

The Perhapanauts: First Blood and Second Chances

You Missed That Issue! – Invincible #12

Welcome to a new series spotlighting some of the best single issues in comics from the past decade. You will not find Watchmen, Sin City, Dark Phoenix Saga or Action Comics #775 anywhere on this list. These are comics that, with a little effort, you’ll find on the Internet or lost in the back issues of your comic book store. Because this article is not a review, and since these issues are not necessarily new, any surprise, cliffhanger or death will be spoiled in an attempt to show why the book shouldn’t have been missed. So that being said, welcome to: You Missed That Issue! Invincible #12.

Character Affinity: Thunderstrike

You know what would be really cool, if Marvel would bring back Thunderstrike to the 616 universe. You read that correctly, I would like to see Thunderstrike back in the Marvel universe. For those of you who do not know, Thunderstrike was a character back in 90’s that became Thor for a short time after his disappearance in the Marvel universe. Once Thor returned, Odin creates a new weapon calling it Thunderstrike hence the characters creation.

I know, not a lot of people enjoyed Thunderstrike, at best he’s Thor-lite. But come on, Marvel has brought back other characters: Wonder Man, Mockingbird, Bucky, and WarMachine. Some of these characters were a great idea to bring back, others eh… not so much. But for some reason they’re here to stay. So why not bring Thunderstrike back from the dead?

Hit Monkey – Review

Hit Monkey is a monkey assassin, but sadly, not a very good one. He’s just a monkey that knows how to shoot a gun. He began as a digital comic on Marvel.com that grew in popularity “forcing” Marvel to actually print the issue.

The Joker’s Asylum II – The Riddler

Being unfamiliar with the origin Joker’s Asylum one shots, I seized the opportunity to read the first one shot, The Riddler, for Asylum II. My first impression was that it was a story written for a child and may have been a discarded episode from Batman Animated Series. The fact is that writer Peter Calloway (Brothers & Sisters), not surprisingly, writes the issue very much like a TV show.

This episode… sorry, I mean issue, begins with the Joker keeping the other patients at the Asylum awake with his wacky antics. He breaks the fourth wall looking out at the reader and tells them a tale about a riddle the Riddler couldn’t solve. The Joker continues narrating, as the reader is shown an art heist by none other than the Riddler. Everything is going fine until one of the hostages’ stands up to the Riddler and asks him what exactly he thinks he’s doing. From that moment on the Riddler is infatuated by the red head.

Heralds 1 of 5

It’s Emma Frost’s birthday and being the spoiled rich girl that she is, she doesn’t want anything cliché on her special day. She doesn’t want Paris, so Cyclops takes her to Paris casino. She doesn’t want to be with people she knows, so Cyclops surprises her with a room full of strangers. The fact is she hates it, but loves it at the same time.

The room full of strangers also happens to be a room of superheroes as well… and they’re all wearing mustaches. Wearing a handle bar mustache is Jen Walters a.k.a. the She-Hulk. In the daintier French mustache is Patsy Walker the Hellcat. The rest of the room includes Valkyrie of the Secret Avengers, Monica Rambeau from the Agents of H.A.T.E. and lastly Agent Brand from S.W.O.R.D. The one common link they all have is… absolutely nothing! In fact it’s probably one of the strangest ensembles in comics.

Image Comics – After the First Course

Image Comics’ CHEW marks the first quarter of its run with a special 15th issue

Berkeley, CA – 9 June 2010 – CHEW is a certified hit, and to celebrate CHEW’s 15th issue, which marks the end of the first quarter of the book’s run and hits store shelves September 29, writer John Layman and artist Rob Guillory are thanking fans with a slew of special features.

“We wanted to do something really special for CHEW #15,” says Layman. “Honestly, we never thought we’d make it this far, and we wanted to do something above-and-beyond for the fans and retailers who have supported us.”