All New X-Men has the X-factor

So i've decided to kick off my Marvel NOW journey with All New X-Men #1 and what better place to start. I've had my hit and miss moments with the X-men in recent years - with Cyclops in particular, but this first issue has pretty much restored my faith.

Fresh off the heels of AvX and Scott's reign of terror, Bendis is beginning to take us back to the core of the X-men in an attempt to restore it's original values and ideals - which its recent incarnations appear to have forgotten (not that i'm bitter or anything...). However this will be a battle from 3 sides...

So to the present, and cue Scott, Emma and Magneto attempting to track down mutants discovering their powers, and offering them a safe haven.
As I said in my 'slanderous' account of AvX, i'm Team Scott, so I was pretty happy to see him taking this route...in my eyes he doesn't have to atone for anything, but hey.

Lest we not forget the new leaders of the pack. Storm, Bobby, Kitty and Beast still provide a very strong backbone for what's left of the X-Men, and Storm brings her weatherbitch fierceness in a way that I don't find annoying surprisingly ..and I really think that this is an Ororo that I can actually begin to like (Halle Berry ruined her for me soz). And for the first time I feel like their all on an even footing - they're all gonna bring something to this fight.

And finally the golden oldies. I've always been a major fan of the original X-Men lineup (Bobby Bobby everywhere..) so it was great to see them together again in all their glory. I also think it's a great way to bring back Jean without her being to annoying and phoenixy and to reassemble a team that we tend to forget about and no long really associate each other with. I really hope that they take their own stance on the events (in other words, i'm not very keen for them to team up with Wolverine)

So those are the contestants, lets move on.
The artwork of Immonen, Grawbadger and Gracia is strong, really strong, and the type of work that i've come to expect from some of the best X-Men issues. It's vibrant, consistent, dazzling, yet dark and the double page spread in which we witness a new mutants powers first appearing is pretty electric. Basically, I love it.

ANXM#1 is definitely at the top of my Marvel NOW list so far, and with Bendis behind the wheel, i'm pretty sure that the best is yet to come (cheesy much?).

So what would doom do? he'd find himself a nice little spot on his doom shaped sofa and be prepared to dig deep, cause a lot of time and money is about to be reinvested into our favourite misunderstood mutants.

Kate Kane..Woman of the hour?

I'm slowly making my way through DC's new 52 and getting to grips with who's who and as I mentioned last month, Kate Kane aka Batwoman, is definitely one to watch.

With no relation to Batman, aside from being an insanely wealthy, none powered vigilante, Kane character is one of many DC characters now 'breaking the fourth wall' (so to speak), reppin' a diverse society as a red headed, army brat lesbian. I'm still playing catch up, (as I threw myself in at #12) but thanks to the good people at Wikipedia and Orbital Comics, I think i'm almost there.


Batwoman #0 provided a great back story to Kane and it read very much like a dark Manhattan Noir film, which I thought was pretty awesome. Kane is beautiful, slick, strong but pretty damn damaged (hey who isn't), but this only adds to her strength as a Gotham city's latest Bat. By the end of the issue I felt pretty caught up on Kate herself although, still pretty lost about what the hell was actually going on...(being 11 issues behind will do that do a girl)

On to #13 and it's all getting a lot clearer and my favourite comic noir has brought in the big guns in the form of Wonder Woman and can I just say woah...sexual tension much? I get the feeling they're doing this on purpose. But either way Kate and Diana are looking set to kick some arse and take some names.


There search for Medusa takes them through some pretty stunning art work (Blackman)- including a double page spread of them in a maze. If you were confused, then imagine how they must have felt.

It really does feel like this is beginning to build into something, and i'm pretty intrigued to find out the end result. So until November 21st i'll keep catching up.

So what would doom do? He'd stick on his best detective hat and mac and set out into the mean streets of Gotham in search of his next fix of Batwoman.

Arrow: Bullseye or Near Miss

First off, I would like to apologise for the post title, its horrific, I know, but anyway on to the actual topic, Arrow. The new Green Arrow TV series, the first episode has now been seen, so I assume the bitching and moaning can start.

To begin with I am briefly going to mention the inevitable comparisons that will be drawn between this and Smallville. Both have imposing mansions and sinister bald men, both seem to have somewhat similar styles and both have leading male characters that put the rest of us 'normal' males to shame. Seriously I could barely look at myself in the mirror after seeing Stephen Amell, but this is only the pilot with plenty of room for it to develop,and I for one am looking forward to it.

For a pilot this was very good, well put together, already an engaging (if somewhat cliché  but then again what do you expect?) story that holds a lot of promise, coupled with some very impressive and well shot action sequences. Its exciting, just the right mix of violence intimidation and humour, whether intentional or not, for example, the line Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) delivers to Walter Steele (Colin Salmon) over dinner, superb. Also, COLIN SALMON!!!!! About time we saw some more of him, surely with his presence alone we have great promise for the show, we could certainly have a hit here.

I certainly think it benefits from being a little more gritty than previous hero based series have been, tends to add a bit more realism don't you think? It is by no means perfect, but then again what show is *cough* Firefly *cough*. However, it was enjoyable, it didn't drag by, it seemed well paced enough, but we will see if they can keep that up in future episodes. To give too much praise or criticism now would I feel be premature  the show has quite literally only just begun, what I will say is that it is worth seeing, and that I have high hopes for future episodes, a lot of work seems to have gone into it and I think that will pay off. 

So, is it a bullseye or a near miss? Well I'm going to annoy you all and say it was a near bullseye, but enough about me, What Would Doom Do?

Doom would watch, with a steady gaze and stern expression, then write a reminder on a post it note about the next episode and stick it on the fridge, along with with the gas bill, yeah, that really should be paid. 

They beat the crap out of Robin?!

Well obviously my first reaction was "Who the hell bitch slapped Robin?!"...and oddly enough that was all it took for me to buy Danger Club #4.

I'm pretty new to the work of Landry Walker and Eric Jones, but if this series is anything to go by then I am more than happy to get well acquainted. Without giving too much away (it REALLY is something you need to read for yourself!) This series pretty much takes Kick Ass and Lord Of The Flies, throws them in a big pot and stirs it up until it's over flowing with awesomeness.

It is dark right from the premise, set 3 months after the earth's mightiest heroes have all disappeared (presumed dead) in search of an intergalactic threat, leaving behind only their teenage sidekicks to defend the earth. But like all teenage-run societies, it is pretty much hell. Instead of banding together they are against each other, with the most powerful among them declaring himself their savoir and demanding loyalty.

Issue 1 kicks off with a small group of renegades plotting to overthrow the mini dictator and that's when it gets pretty fucking awesome. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the pages...the gruesomeness of it all is almost unbelievable! Not that gruesome bothers me, but the fact that these are all teenagers, kids who are so lost, and sad, that killing each other without any thought is one of the only releases. But this aspect is definitely my favourite if I'm honest and crude.

In every issue so far the double page spreads are the centrepiece to amazing scenes, and not just fighting, there's some cosmic shiz in there too that really doesn't disappoint. I can honestly say that by the end of each issue I constantly find myself saying "Huh? but that's not meant to happen?! What comes next?!". There have only been 4 issues so far and I really am thinking that a fairy tale ending seems impossible for these teenagers - especially the main protagonist Kid Vigilante. 

I can't express how exciting this series is already, and the first issue is definitely one of my favourite opening titles since the Young Avengers (I'm noticing a theme here...) It's smart writing, violent, awesome art and a humorous homage to superheroes past and present (we've even got ourselves a teenage Nick Fury and a withered Captain America!)

But what I particularly love is the detail of story telling by Walker and Jones. They work perfectly together to narrate and visualise harmony and disharmony simultaneously...which is rather..odd.
At the beginning of each issue we are presented with (an old comic style) opening page, and everything that Walker and Jones are attempting to tell us can be seen right here.We see a world that was once colourful, and full of heroes and friends who once helped each other, now turning on one another. This contrasts greatly with the story that lays ahead, and even more amazingly with the cover art and I bloody love it.

Danger Club is one of a few awesome titles comin' straight otta Image Comics at the moment - including Saga (Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples) and i'm very excited for  Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde's forthcoming title Nowhere Men Nov. 2012). I'm very happy to say that my head is well and truly out of the Marvel/DC arse.

Saga

Nowhere Men

So, what would doom do? he'd start investing in some Latveria shares...how else will he fund this serious Image Comics habit that's about to take hold.

Marvel NOW! Point One: A collection of my thinky things

Well, its been bought, its been read, its been mulled over and thoroughly thought through.
So here are my rash and entirely irrational thoughts on Point one and the teasers contained within.

The framing sequence (or the stuff with Fury and Coulson) is good, solid art work with decent writing and lots of questions raised. Plus we get to see a badass Coulson, fantastic. Looking forward to more of Fury and Coulson and their crazy, frolicking fun.

Next up is the Star Lord introduction, yes, I will definitely be picking this up. I've been a long time fan of Peter Quill and I'm very interested in seeing how this develops and seeing Bendis' and McNiven's handling of the character, considering the last time they worked together we got the Sentry, I'm excited to see what happens. Plus the artwork is pretty, always a plus, thank you Mr McNiven. I think we have a top selling run here, I'm very excited to see how the Guardians of the Galaxy turn out, I was a fan of them before, and I hope to be a fan of them again, with a start like this, I think I will be. Over to you Bendis

Nova, no, sorry but no. I think it may be that I'm still biased towards Richard Rider, I don't seem able to move on from DnA's Nova and the Annihilation wave and War of Kings and all that cosmic awesomeness  I cant see myself picking up this new Nova, I didn't connect with him immediately as I did with Rich. And no Worldmind?! maybe this is still to come, but still.... It also felt like it was pandering to a younger audience, both in terms of writing and artwork. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that, but its just not for me, though I will still keep an eye on how it develops, maybe it can win me over.

Young Avengers/Miss America, again similar complaints as with Nova, but I will reserve judgement on this one till we see the rest of the team and let things develop a little. Young Avengers have a great selection of characters and relationships and I am a fan of Kieron Gillen ( did you see his work with Uncanny X - Men? Wow), so I'll probably be picking up the next few issues of this to see how things go. And I'm sure my co-contributor will agree, its not Young Avengers till we have Wiccan and Hulkling there.

Ant man, this is an odd one, really not to  sure what to make of it. Did I enjoy it? I think so. Do I love the work of Matt Fraction? Yes I do. Did I like the Artwork of Michael Allred? It's growing on me, it reminds me of the Golden Age, I may grow to love it, or hate it, only time will tell. I think this could be a slow burner, I'll be keeping an eye on it, and I suggest you do the same.

Cable and X-force, this is a definite yes, mostly because I love Forge, but still seems awesome to me. We had Forge fixing his own brain?! How can you not love it already? so far its been very well put together, and I particular like the Cable reveal at the end, thank you Sir Gabriel Hernandez Walta. Really looking forward to seeing the future of this one, very excited to see the introduction of the other characters. And I have no idea the direction the story will take, you never can tell with Cable, so even if its terrible at least it'll be fun finding out.
Gotta love some X-force.







What Would Doom Do?
Why, go read it again of course, then make a note of all the release dates for the titles he is most looking forward to, which just so happen to be the same as my favourites, me and Doom, sitting in a tree....

Avengers VS X-Men : A Loser’s story

After having it in my possession for over a week, I finally got round to reading the closing issue of Avengers VS X-Men. Why did I wait so long? Was it because I was too sad to see the story end? Was I not ready to see Hope finally accept her destiny? Was I attempting to delay the inevitably of the Scarlet Witch finally finding redemption for her “mutant genocide”.

Of course not.

The simple reason was that after all the hype I couldn’t bring myself to read what was sure to be a very unfulfilling and predictable end to an unfulfilling and predictable series. Harsh you say? Maybe. I guess I should focus on what went right with the series:

Iron Fist had some pretty sweet moments: 
Especially in the final Issue...one young Danny Rand finally earned his place on the Avengers mantle...but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he goes berserk and puts that Iron Fist in the wrong place...

Mutant life was restored: 
Yes, one Wanda Maximoff managed to restore mutant life with the utterance of “No More Phoenix”...and with that the golden bird was gone, and its life force scattered - returning the powers of mutants all around the world.

A good set up to Marvel NOW:
Loose ends were tied up and nearly all the major marvel players were involved...exactly what you need before embarking on a new series.

But the amazing lead up to this one moment, (provided by my faves Jimmy Cheung and Allan Heinberg in [Young] Avengers: Children’s Crusade ) was somewhat deflated I felt...

So what was so wrong with it?

This shit just got real:
I found myself really comparing this series to real life, in other words ‘normality’ vs ‘difference’, this really would be a sociologists dream. I was quite confused by the idea of Cap and his band of superpowered heroes (but human let’s not forget) ‘waging war’ on those who were ‘different’ – Cyclops and his band of mutants. The Avengers became the very people that the X-Men have fought so hard against. It seemed all too like “Lets eradicate the ‘mutant threat’ by destruction and control”. And it’s safe to say that by issue 2 I was very much on the side of the X-Men.

Inconsistencies:
I’m a massive fan of Jim Cheung (who did the cover art for the main series) and although I knew that he didn’t illustrate the issues, I thought the calibre of the artwork would be off the scale...no offence to Romita...I just wasn't feelin it...although Kubert did a great job with the final issues. I felt the writing was great, but just didn't gel well with the art.

     Scarlet Witch who?:
All the hype and she was barely the eye candy of the main series which is a damn shame. Let’s be honest now, as per usual Cap and Iron Man were the stars of this show...Cho did a great job with AvX #0...Wanda looked ah-MAZING but she was definitely overshadowed.

    Heroes on the run: 
Umm, i'm pretty sure that Cyclops, Colossus, Namor, Majik, Emma Frost have saved the world like countless times...so what if they made a tiny little "let's erase the world and start again" mistake...who hasn't? I mean look at Iron-Man and Cap...Civil War and a few dead superheroes much? Talk about forgive and forget...

So what would Doom do? he'd have eaten the Phoenix for breakfast and worn Cyclops' silence of the lambs-esque shackles like a crown.

Who the hell are the Young Avengers?

I've been waiting to do a Young Avengers (The 2005 brainchild of Allan Heinberg and Jimmy Cheung) post for a while, but since the end of Children's Crusade (which is AMAZING by the way...go and read it, like now...whilst you're at it start from Young Avengers #1) it's all gone quiet, and we were all left waiting to know what would be next for our favourite young heroes.
Well today that question was finally answered.

With all the hype around Marvel NOW! starting to build, today Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie broke the silence and have finally brought them back to life! But not as we know it...This is the NEW Young Avengers...and i'm not quite sure how I feel about that to be honest.

The Young Avengers are my favourite characters/team on the Marvel roster, I literally love them, and i've followed their journey pretty much from start to end.

The team (without any spoilers for you YA newbies) of Wiccan (Billy Kaplan), Hulking (Theodore Altman), Iron Lad (Nathaniel), Patriot (Elijah Bradley) and later Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Vision (Jonas), Stature (Cassie Lang - daughter of Scott Lang, Antman II) and Speed (Thomas Shepherd) are teens aged 15-17, trying to juggle normal, awkward teenage life with the thralls of superherohood. But perhaps the most intriguing bit is that they all have special links to the Avengers of past and present. (dun, dun DUN!)

The amazing artwork of Cheung (whom I had the pleasure of meeting and babbling to at London's Super Comic Convention) and awesome writing of OC guru Heinberg are pretty much perfect. They completely capture the tone of the young teens and manage to balance the humour and trials of teenage-hood with the complications of heroism.

There are tears, tantrums, AWESOME revelations and plenty of sarcasm, making Heinberg's and Cheung's Young Avengers some of the strongest (characterwise), interesting and engaging Marvel characters to date. And I bloody love them. I can't express how strong the story for these guys is, and its definitely something to add to your collection, especially Young Avengers #1-12 and Avengers: Children's Crusade #1-9

Flash forward to 2012 (although only 5 months on from the last issue of the YA) and my favourite squad appear to be making a return...but whilst Wiccan, Hulkling and Hawkeye have remained, Speed, Patriot, Vision and Stature are nowhere to be seen (although readers of YA will know why Vision and Stature are unimportant to this heh). Instead, they are joined by Miss America (basically Patriot with long hair and boobs), Marvel Boy (Nor-Varr...last seen in YA /Runways: Civil War...but basically a Kree version of Speed...even sporting the white hair) and a young Loki.

Now, whilst I am more than excited for the return of the Young Avengers i'm keen to know what this means for the characters that have already been developed...will the same relationships remain? will Patriot be returning and most importantly will Speed play any role in this new line up?! Is there even any room for him now?! He's a personal favourite of mine (and many others) and very integral (kinda) to the story of the YA as well as Wiccan! Only time will tell...and i'm more than willing to give Gillen and McKelvie a chance...but they're really not giving anything away...especially with the reveal of 2 pages from Young Avengers #1...

I felt that this team was strong enough as it was, although the final issue of Childrens Crusade did leave you thinking "what's next...", and with pretty much all the questions answered and mysteries solved (not including obvious plot holes...), was CC #9 the unofficial ending for my favourite team??

So this is the next chapter for the Young Avengers...let's see what you got Gillen and McKelvie...

What Would Doom Do? he'd weep into his pillow ruing the day that he ever crossed the Young Avengers...but maybe he'd give this reboot chance...for a little while atleast.



RIP my Young Avengers?

Marvel NOW (but not right now)

Off the back of our Previous NOW themed post I would just like to say,What? Huh? But...what?

Yep, I'm still in the process of trying to get up to date on past titles, let alone the new ones, and now (no pun intended) we're going to have a bunch of 'new' titles thrown at us.Why not have a short break, let the slower of the pack catch up with the current/previous titles rather than be left behind and picked off.

Or are all current titles ending with them having no relevance to the new titles, or just being renumbered, or morphed into one giant amorphous comic shaped being that will eat all other comics and spew them out with the word NOW stamped on the front? (To be honest I'm hoping for the latter). Does this mean we are going to be faced with a few months of being told the same origin stories again, but with different pictures, or are things going to be so radically different that we don't even notice?

Though I am of course still going to be buying I them, I may bitch and moan, but let's face it, I'm still weak and easily swayed. And do have a certain fondness for any issue that's numbered 1, I think its the optimistic completionist in me, one that will never be happy since it seems many titles will now be renumbered and never truly end, hence meaning I can never truly feel that I have a full collection.

Whether of course marvel can pull this off remains to be seen, will it just be a hiccup in the numbering, or will it be a significant change? Or will it just be another pointless gimmick? Who knows, but I still believe we will be getting some excellent stories out of it, whether these are in the comics, or about marvel I don't know. But I can't wait to find out.

Rory and Amy's last stand

And so it ends. 2 more companions lost and the Doctor is alone once again. A very epic end to an epic journey for possibly the best companions of the Doctor Who reboot.

Rory, Amy and their dashing Dr find themselves in an angel ridden New York, where they are reunited with River Song (the AMAZING Alex Kingston) in a race again time to save Rory's future.

There are bowties, tears and a time eating Statue of Liberty. But seriously, this is definitely an episode that is not to be missed. Go watch it. Like, now.

Marvel Mania

Still on my quest to become a Carol Danvers convert (slow and steady), I finally got my hands on Captain Marvel #2 & #3, and it was definitely worth the wait.

#2 doesn't waste any time in throwing you right back into the action. Within 10 pages you witness a moment of sentimentality, a theft, a world record attempt, a failed record attempt and finally some good old fashioned girl power. Did I mention there's a little bit of 'timey wimey' (to quote Dr Who) business in there. Without giving too much away, Danvers finds herself in an unknown place and time (hint hint) fighting alongside an all female pilot squad.

Just when you think things couldn't get any-more confusing and timey-wimey, #3 plummets you right back into the warzone, and Decconick throws in another curve ball in the shape of some serious Kree armada. And once again Soy's artwork is effortless as the fight scenes have your eyes dancing across the pages. I really am enjoying Soy's work, and these issues are made even more explosive because of it.

Captain Marvel #2 / #3 definitely tick all the boxes, and Danvers gets to play both the saved and the savior. Definitely one to watch.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2

Eight solid hours, one bucket of chicken, two dogs, three friends, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. I thoroughly recommend it. No split screens, just you and your team (npc or  friends) and a screen full of superheroes, henchman and a whole lot of chaos. I can honestly say that for most of the time I had no idea what's going on, I didn't know who I was, who my friends where, I didn't even know if I was hitting anything, all I knew was that things where happening. Lots of things, big things, powers everywhere, bodies flying, and of course, barrels blowing up.

You may not know what's going on, but you know its good, and you definitely know you're enjoying it. And not its not only the gameplay that's enjoyable, there is also the array of heroes to play as, which a large selection ready from the beginning and more unlocked as you go along. Couple this huge choice with the option of swapping out characters midplay and you're spoilt for choice, with hours of re-playability packed in.

However, there is a downside, a dark, sinister downside, an obsession, an obsession that grips you in its icy embrace and refuses to let you go until you've sated it. The obsession of new costumes, each hero comes with an alternative costume for you to unlock, and pretty soon you'll be itching to see them all.

So if you'll excuse me I'm off to unlock more costumes, and generally laugh maniacally as I watch the chaos unfurl and the bodies fly. Maybe this time I'll actually be able to tell what's going on and who's doing it.

The Hypernaturals follow up as promised.

Right, as mentioned previously, in the post I'm sure you all read, here is the follow up post regarding 'The Hypernaturals' issue one. Which if you haven't read by now then I really don't know why I bother. Though I feel I should also say here that spoilers may possibly occur, so no complaining.

Anyway, back to the point at hand, now, if you did read the previous Hypernaturals themed post then you'll know that I left a clue as to the topic of this discussion which I can now reveal to be, 'the desire to leave a mark on the world'. Something that many people desire, and some even achieve, within The Hypernaturals we can see three different ways of leaving a mark, and three different characters.

For the first, we have Thinkwell exampling leaving a mark by way of intellect.Now this is very wide ranging, from creating a new equation to explain everything to writing a book or creating a painting. The ability to leave a mark on the world by making people think, or changing the way things are done, using creativity, imagination and intellect to be remembered and live on. Not only does Thinkwell use his intellect to fight, he also teaches, leaving a mark by sharing knowledge. He, like some of us wants to be remembered for his intellect, not his ability to fight, his ability to share knowledge to better the world through intelligence

Then we have Bewilder, who shows us the more personal way of leaving a mark, through our direct relationships with others. She builds close personal relationships ensuring she will leave a mark on others and live on in memories. She even goes as far to work in public relations, working with the media and so constantly being seen and heard. We want to be loved, thought about and remembered, which in today's world can be accomplished through appearing in reality TV. Relationships can be created with the masses through which a mark can be left, not always positive, but still left.

There is even the literal,  a mark can physically be left, perhaps through building,creating something that can live on and be seen by people. This could be something as complex as a building to something as simple as a shelf or chair. Then there is also destruction, you may be remembered for destroying something as well as creating it. Just like Sublime, literally leaving his mark on the world, ensuring that he will not be forgotten. Sublime, just as others do, just want to be remembered, they want to be able to point to something and say they did that, they need a mark of their existence to justify their lives.

We can also see what happens when you leave a negative mark, a mark that you didn't want to leave, what happens when you are remembered for something that you just want to forget. A mark that haunts you, that destroys you, a mark that was unintended, such as that left by Hatch Groman, and if you want to know what that mark is start reading 'The Hypernaturals'.

And with that I will leave you to get on with whatever it is you were doing or are meant to be doing. (Hint: Reading The Hypernaturals)

The Hypernaturals

Relatively new in the comics world, but already of great standing (and one of my new personal all time best series) is the new collaboration from the dynamic duo Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett 'The Hypernaturals' with science fiction, inky alien fingers, a smokey mouth and a mystery to say the least.

Which if you haven't picked up the first copy of yet you really should, it has gone to multiple printings. i wont give much away here since the fun is in the reading yourself, especially for the final page. Though what I will give particular mention of how DnA have expanded the universe of 'The Hypernaturals' through the very clever use of adverts, namely by not having any, or at least none that are real. Hopefully something we will see more of. The creativity and imagination of this pair continues to astound me, and whats more is they have the talent to back it up, in terms of both writing and artwork. And not only here, take a look at their run on Guardians of the Galaxy, some of the best Cosmic Marvel I've read in a long time.


And now for some homework for the next post, also regarding The Hypernaturals, read it, and have a think about what it tells us about our selves. I'll give you a hint as to my idea and hence what the post will be about, 'marking'.
I'll see you back here whenever I get round to writing the next post.

The drunken rambles of a comic fangirl

Definitely a less philosophical tone than the last post...awks...

Just a general lovelorn appreciation of one of the most hated men in the Marvel universe...the one and only Hank Pym. A genius and a douche at the same time. How the hell is this possible. Marvel makes us adore and despise their most important characters at the same time...Iron Man (the registration act), Scott Summers (Crazy arsed Phoenix control, but the list goes on), Magneto (the mind and metal boggles), Punisher, Tigra (turncoat...can you see the theme emerging?)...and Pym definitely sits at the top of this list in whatever costume he has chosen to wear. But yet...he evokes a sense of pride, perhaps a shameful one, but who can seriously hate a character that has spent most of his superhero career trying to redeem himself.

I still don't think that his character has been fully addressed, and he and his actions have been left in a state of limbo, as a result the readers have been unable to move on also...either way...there was wine, therefore Hank Pym is an absolute LAD.

I proper sober review to follow...