If Ed McGuinness draws it I will buy it. It’s become that simple. Fall of the Hulks takes center stage this week and it’s about time. Rounding out our other panels are vengeful planets, cosmic thugs, life-sized action figures, and ridiculous villains with ridiculous costumes and even stupider names. Here it is, the Panel of the Week!
Hulk #19
Sweet Christmas, we still don’t know who the Red Hulk really is? In fact, the things we don’t know about Rulk could fill an entire fan blog. I suppose we know he was created by a bunch of baddies called the Intelligentsia. A bunch that includes what might be my new favorite villain, M.O.D.O.K. So in that respect I view Rulk as sort of a Serpentor. Except without a cool flying podium to issue orders from. As long as Marvel editors remain tight lipped about his story we have to settle for full, double-page splash panels like this one. Wait, that’s all I wanted anyway. Carry on.
Green Lantern Corps #44
If Deadpool can have three ongoing series how can Mogo, a sentient planet, not have at least one? In GL Corps #44 things are not going well for the troops in green. Not going well until their buddy the friggin’ planet shows up. And not only is Mogo a planet but it’s a much bigger planet than the one their on! I thought for sure Mog’s was going to make fists out of tectonic plates or something. Instead he (she?) eats a few thousand black lanterns. Eats them! Well played.
Mighty Avengers #33
Does everyone know who Absorbing Man is? He’s a marvel baddie who takes on the properties of whatever he touches. Last issue he touched a cosmic cube, well a crappy cosmic cube. What does he do next? He puts on his favorite house-sized biker shorts and grows a hundred feet tall. Which, honestly, will get you punched in the face by the Sentry every day of the week.
Joe the Barbarian #1
I’m prepared to give Grant Morrison some slack because of his past awesomeness. So I’m going to overlook the miserable pacing of issue #1 of Joe the Barbarian. Of course, the art of Sean Murphy is not hurting either. After pages of formulaic childhood alienation setup we get to see Joe thrust into a fantasy world of his own making. Those are his action figures all growsed up. They haven’t been made ‘real’, you can still see the points of articulation on their knees and elbows. Yes, that is Batman. It’s a Vertigo book, after all.
Superman Batman #68
There is really no great reason to pick up this series (which should have retired 30 issues ago) but it is the start of a new arc and I generally like both of the title characters so what the heck, I thought. For my money I got an Army of Two knockoff villain fighting Bats and this guy, NRG-X, fighting Supes. I can’t help but notice that this get up looks a good deal like the SHIELD Mandroid armor. Anyone else getting that?