Unwinnable

Some villains get a bad rap. When we meet them on screen or print we often don’t have the opportunity to hear their side of the story or see things from their perspective. Enveloped in the plot, rooting for the hero is purposely distracting. It doesn’t seem fair. So I’ve spent some time thinking about some of my favorite discredited fictional villains and, by using only what I know about them contextually, have built their side of the story in hopes of clearing their names. (more…)

The Punisher #5

(Marvel – writer: Greg Rucka; art: Marco Checchetto)

I’m going to say this, and I need people to stick with me: Kids ruin everything. I’m not talking about having children – I think children are great; I’m not a father, so I live vicariously through friends of mine who are parents. While kids always add an element of humanity to stories, they usually do so to stories that could do without it. Think Phantom Menace – Jake Lloyd is awful! More recently, I tried to watch Terra Nova, but the baby daughter (whom they smuggled in a backpack) killed the show for me.

And I’m afraid The Punisher is next. (more…)

Venom #6

(Marvel – writer: Rick Remender; art: Tom Fowler)

This is an event tie-in that is not completely necessary to read, but it does reveal a major spoiler – one that I won’t say here. But whereas I’ve enjoyed the previous Venom issues, this one was a mess – both in its visuals and its story. (more…)

Venom # 2: (writer: Rick Remender; art: Tony Moore)

First off, Tony Moore’s art is awesome in this issue. He perfectly captures the insanity of the symbiote as well as Kraven’s madness. I think what I liked most about this issue was how Rick Remender dropped us, as readers, into a world that made no sense.

We feel as lost as Flash does as he tries to battle the recently resurrected Kraven (who goes on to crush a giant spider, then drink its venom – pretty friggin’ cool!). There’s an unbelievable amount of violence and action for such a short comic, and while I know Marvel has failed, in the past, to do a Venom series, they may have actually found a way to make it work.

Flash Thompson is a likeable enough guy. He’s a war veteran who was wounded while on duty, the result of which was his legs being amputated. The symboiote regrows those legs, so readers can see how Flash would have a need to be bonded to the suit. The symbiote also gives Flash greater strength, agility, and the power of Spider-Man. Adversely, the suit makes him go crazy. So I can’t say the “we” appearing in Flash’s thought boxes by the end of the issue surprised me.  (more…)