Posts tagged tate’s

I just think of a few of my favorite things…

October 28, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Compared to the last couple of weeks, this nine-book review is going to seem tiny. Well, all I have to say is, tough tomatoes, I refuse to pick up more Marvel than I have to.

For some reason, Time Masters made no impression on me other than, “Boy, Hal Jordan is a prize douchebagel.”. Anyone else see that? I mean, there he and Booster are, stuck in a cell made of nothing before it turns into a crushing cage, and all Hal does is bitch about how Booster is a famewhore. Yes, Harold “Highball Hal” Jordan calling someone else a thrillseeking famewhore. The irony just rolls off the page in freaking waves. Oh well, only two more issues to go of this…this. I can’t even think of a word to describe it, and fail train is already taken. Moving on.

What was it I was saying about the lovely ladies of the Dark Knight last week? Something about how they’re awesome? After reading this week’s issue of Zatanna, I stand behind that statement even more. I mean, the girl managed to wriggle out of a deal with Mammon, the demon god of wealth and greed, by the skin of her teeth, that’s something to respect. Not to mention how she handles Zach when he goes all teenager-y on her. Yeah, Miss Zatara has worked long and hard to be the best the magical world has to offer, and I think she deserves to be there.

Okay, so the last two The Road Home one-shots are this week. My general opinion? Ehhh. I mean, the Oracle one-shot wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t something I’m planning on buying. It was nice to see Hawk and Dove in something other that Brightest Day, though. The final issue in the set, the Ra’s al Ghul one-shot, wasn’t great. It was interesting, don’t get me wrong, and Vicki Vale is officially in on the secret, part of the Batclan, but but just didn’t pull me in like some of the others did.

God damn it, Judd. Do you just hate Tora, is that it? You break up her and Guy, make her a whiny emo bitch, have her get so riled up that she goes completely beserk and turns into a killer icicle, and now you change her backstory completely. Seriously, patricide? Was that really necessary? You know what? Screw you. I’m not letting this into my canon. Tora is awesome, she’s not a killer.

What do you get when you cross Deadpool, the Thing, and professional wrestling? About 30 pages of references I don’t get that make me laugh anyway.

Before I review the Supergirl Annual, I want to tell y’all a little story. Back at the Tate’s tent sale in 07, I found an issue of Legion of Superheroes from the same week that Supergirl died in Crisis on Infinite Earths. In it, Brainy was mourning Kara’s death, and watching clips of her from a thousand years hence. It was that issue that really made me get it. Kara and Brainy were one of those couples that was destined to never end up together, no matter how hard they tried to. A thousand years is a pretty big age gap. And while in my personal canon, Brainy always ends up with Lyle (I grew up reading Reboot, bite me), the tragic love story that is Supergirl and Brainiac 5 will always be one of my favorites. Now, onto the issue. It was pretty good, touching on how Kara had gone to the future once before when she accidentally hopped dimensions as well as timestreams. And then it brought to mind this one little question; how is Kara going to die this time? Her last death wasn’t even a death, it was an erasing. She was one of the big sacrifices made in Crisis on Infinite Earths, though the Supergirl character itself was reborn a few years later. But if this death is recorded within the halls of time, obviously she wasn’t erased again, just killed. So what’s going to happen? How many more years of Supergirl do we have to look forward to? Your guess is as good as mine, Superfans.

So for weeks I’ve been hearing about how this new issue of Teen Titans is gonna rule. New creative team, new team within the book, Bart and Kon are back, Rose is gonna be bringin’ the sexual tension…it was supposed to be awesome. Well, I’ve read the issue.
Damnit, they got me again! I’m not gonna say that that was the best Teen Titans team I’ve ever read (sorry, nothing beats the New Teen Titans lineup by Marv and George for me), but this was definitely the best the Teen Titans have been since 03. Nothing against the 03 lineup, but with Tim, Starfire, and Cyborg out of the way, there’s more of a chance of seeing a Bart storyline, or something focused on Rose, like the Dark Side Club arc was. Here’s hoping that this series doesn’t become something of “The Kon and Cassie show featuring the Teen Titans”, because that would suck. The ending really makes me look forward to the next issue because frankly, Damian just makes everything better.

Oh man oh man oh man. I’m trying not to add emoticons here. I swear to aiesha, I just joygasmed. He wasn’t dead! He was just…having a hallucination of Death as we know her, and arguing his head off! Oh, Lex. I do so love you. The Jimmy Olsen second feature has, wait for it, drunk aliens! No, Supes didn’t go on a bender, the Dalwythians are in town. Who are these strange creatures? Well, they’re partiers from another planet (didn’t Power Girl do that in her second arc?), and they can get drunk on oxygen. Unfortunately, the planets they party on don’t always survive the experience, so in order to save the world, Jimmy has to make Metropolis the most boring place on Earth! Well, Lex isn’t there so for me, check.

That was this week in comics, lords and ladies. I think I’m gonna hurl a little, so, I’m gonna go lie down.

If you’re in Broward (or Dade or West Palm or South Florida in general), take the time this weekend to stop on by Tate’s Comics’ annual Halloween tent sale! Fill up a longbox for $35, and all back issues inside are 50% off! There’s more info on their website, http://www.tatescomics.com , or on their Facebook page. Speaking of Facebook, if you haven’t yet, add Touchof Grey to your friends list, because that’s me! Well, actually, it’s The ToG Blog, but still.

But wait, there’s more! Finished with the Tate’s sale? Still have money jingling around in your wallet? Stop by the grand opening of Florida Super Comics in Davie! Yes, Florida Supercon has a store now, holy crap! For a limited time only, subscribers with FSC save 40% on their comics! Look for me at both sales, dressed as the Flash! This is ToG, reminding you to spay and neuter your children. Peace!

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Well, this is awkward.

April 7, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

I am of course talking about the latest issue of Red Robin, but you’ll see.

Let’s start things off with JSA: All-Stars. Essentially, Courtney and Al are trapped in a dimension of demons called the Subtle Realms. They still have a thing for each other but can’t do anything about it, morally, because she’s 17 and he’s like, what? 25? And yet the hormones are still a’flowing. Oh, and did I mention that they’re fighting pretty much the entire dimension? Or that neither of them have any powers in this dimension? It sort of adds to the sexual tension in its own way, mainly because neither are sure if they’ll make it out alive. The tension is lifted briefly when they kiss and Courtney confesses that she’s still in love with him. And then it’s off to fight the…I dunno. Dimension boss or something. Meanwhile back on earth, a new steampunk-meets-Van-Helsingesque heroine named Anna Fortune emerges to fight the Lord of Tears. She is badass and friends with Doctor Fate. She also took down the Lord of Tears single handedly. I really want to see more of her. Sand is a part of the team now, and Power Girl has a dirty mind.

Not even joking. After Kara has to explain to Stargirl’s parents where their daughter is, Sand comes up to her and tells her, “I’m all yours, if you want me.” Kara’s face that panel is pretty much worth the price of the issue.

Anna Fortune has a spell that can help save Courtney from the other dimension, except that she’s kinda been fibbing about how experienced she is with magic so…I foresee shenanigans in the near future.

In the second feature, Jesse and Rick have teamed up with Icicle and Tigress to track down an artifact that can heal people, as well as find the other half of the book they’ve been trying to get their hands on for the last five issues.  As usual, it ends with Jesse and Rick being mushy.

In Batman and Robin, the secret, more twisted side of the Wayne family emerges. Thomas Wayne (version 1765, not Bruce’s daddy), the devil-worshipping black sheep of the Wayne family, seems to have minions in the present day, or followers of the same cult, at least. They attack Damian and…some guy named Sexton who isn’t really Sexton. I honestly have never encountered the character before, so I dunno. Oh, and by the way, Talia is controlling Damian through his new spine. I have no idea how that’s possible. And then she hands the controls over to Deathstroke so that he can kill Dick. WHAT.

Moving on.

Tim, Pru, and Steph go up against assassins sent by Ra’s al Ghul in Red Robin, but the real targets are twelve other people close to him. Tam and Vicki Vale are two of the targets and are…working together to stay alive. Tim resorts to near-torture tactics for information, which may be the new normal for him. And when Dick and Damian show up, Dami goes apeshit and attacks Pru, and Tim puts him down. Sweet. Steph saves Vicki and Tam, but only after accidentally hearing the (fake) bombshell Tam’s dropped about how she and Tim are engaged. Awkward.

Flash: Secret Files and Origins has been rescheduled more times than any other book I can think of that came out this year. Y’know what?

Totally worth the wait.

The art is amazing, the little stories involving the Flash Family and the Rogues were excellent, and HOLY CRAP Scott Kolins, I sort of like you again. Seriously, look at the comparison between Keystone and Central City. Gorgeous. Definitely a book to pick up. Don’t forget, the new Flash book by Johns and Manapul drops next week!

Oh, and speaking of things not to forget, this Saturday and Sunday is the first big sale of the year at Tate’s Comics on University Drive. Fill a longbox for $35 outside in the tent, or pick up back issues for half off! Also, the Super Spotlight for this month is the Flash, which means you get a 20% discount on all Flash merchandise!

For more information visit www.tatescomics.com

Hope to see you there!

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Comics Review!

March 13, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

This week, although my wallet wept, I still picked up my comics. I’m beginning to think it may not be worth it.

Titans, what the hell happened? After the last arc, I knew there’d have to be a “cooldown” issue, but c’mon! It was 25 pages of blah! You’ve got until next month to shape up, or I’m dropping you. And could the hinting about where Jericho is hiding be any more blatant? Geez.

Gen 13, while I’m not expecting the awesomeness of the previous “15 Minutes” arc (the world having ended, and all), please try a little harder. Caitlin kissing Bobby, causing Sarah to take a hike, was not touched on at all. No one even wondered where she was all issue! The main focus seemed to be Eddie surviving the half-pike (or whatever it is) of death, finding out where the stoner skaters were getting their food (PEOPLE! The soup is made of PEOPLE!), and finally, the cliffhanger that was Eddie being pushed into the giant cooking vat. If he does die, I’ll be sad to see him go.

Booster Gold, stop where you are right this second! Michelle is not allowed to go emo over the fact that she’s not supposed to be alive! Knock it off with the depress-o-fest, or I’m bringing in the hoses! Though, at least we now know why Rip didn’t try that hard to save Ted. He knew that if Ted was still in the picture, Booster would never get married, and he would never be born.

Green Arrow/Black Canary is starting to bug me. Since the departure of Mia and Connor, Ollie and Dinah have been riding the fast train to splitsville. I mean, I hope they work out whatever they’re going through, but I still think we may be seeing a quickie divorce in the near future.

Thank God for R.E.B.E.L.S.. Seriously. Brainiac on Brainiac snark is so wonderful, I can’t even tell you. This may become my favorite monthly series, even if it’s sort of turning into a sort of  Legion of Superheroes of the past. Starhaven? Oh, pleeeeease tell me he’ll be off to Durla or Naltor next. And if anyone in DC is reading this blog, PUT LOBO IN R.E.B.E.L.S.! PUT LOBO IN R.E.B.E.L.S.! PUT LOBO IN R.E.B.E.L.S.!

In sadder news (to me, at least) Frank Quitely seems to be working on Batman now, if this week’s DC Nation is any indication. This is the man who made Apollo (of The Authority) hideously ugly. He will be drawing the batboys, and I do not like how his Robin looks almost as much as I don’t want to think of what he might be doing to Dick. God help us all.

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