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Off the Racks: All-New Invaders #1, Detective Comics #27, and ElfQuest: The Final Quest #1

In this, Chris Eberle's first appearance in an 'OTR' episode, Chris earns his Recent Release Reviewer's credentials as we dissect the nostalgic All-New Invaders from Marvel; the gigantic Detective Comics (Vol. 2) #27 from DC; and the esoteric ElfQuest: The Final Quest from Dark Horse. Also, a few brief remarks about Paul Cornell's new Wolverine series and the new Ms. Marvel #1. (1:36:04)

Listen here.

Comments

  • ElsiebubElsiebub Posts: 338
    Great episode.

    I enjoyed 'Tec #27 more than most of you guys and feel that its coverprice was justified. I'm pretty sure it was more than twice the page-count of standard $4 DC Comics these days, and probably nearly FOUR times the page count of standard $4 Marvel Comics, and yet it "only" cost $7.99 and had a nice cover and binding. I'm possibly prejudiced because I used LCS store credit to buy it, but I still feel that it was a great package, despite being somewhat uneven. The Tomasi story was definitely the best. And I actually LIKED the Gothtopia lead-in; I haven't been reading Detective but I will probably seek out the next few issues of this one storyline being done by Layman and Fabok. There were nitpicks one could give to many of the stories--and you guys did a good job of listing them--but I certainly think this issue was a cut or two (or three) above most anniversary issues. My only real disappointment was Snyder's futuristic vignette, which seemed like a hodgepodge of Paul Pope's "Year 100" and the last story Morrison did in Batman #700. Not a bad little story here, but I expected a bit more.

    Oh, the secret to Francavilla's story is that the boy is a young James Gordon Jr. Batman saved him once in "Year One" and he's saving him again now. But James Jr. will go on to become a fascinating villain in "The Black Mirror" storyline from a few years ago, to which Francavilla contributed. (Unfortunately, by the END of "Black Mirror" James Jr. degenerated into a generic serial killer. But for a while I think he had a lot of potential as a villain!)

  • Mr_CosmicMr_Cosmic Posts: 3,200
    edited February 2014
    Invaders was the only one of these I read and it was a buy for me. I think reading the All New Marvel Now Point One(or whatever it's called) gives a nice set up for this issue where we see more of why the Kree are after the lost machine. Yes, a set up issue but it was exciting and well done..I'm jazzed to see where this goes.

    Re: Fang

    We've seen the Imperial Guard replace it's members with near duplicates before. Hobgoblin, Neutron, Smasher, etc have met their demise only to later be replaced.

    In fact one membership list I've seen lists Fang I-V!

  • MattMatt Posts: 4,457
    Listening to the discussion of Detective Comics #27 (vol. 2). Skipping to the Scott Snyder storyline. I know he is being hailed as an amazing Batman writer, but here's another example why I cannot dig his work on the character. There have been countless storylines where Batman does not take any shortcuts to his longevity. I cannot see Batman voluntarily cloning himself or inserting his brainwaves into other people to keep the fight ongoing. One of the things that draws me to the character is that he won't use supernatural or cheat methods to continue his fight. He doesn't use the Lazarus Pit, Venom, etc. to shortcut his life and war on crime.

    M.
  • CorwinCorwin Posts: 549
    edited February 2014
    All New Invaders - Remender's Secret Avengers dealt with the Decendents or the hybrid species of homo synthezoid. They looked to Jim Hammond as their Grandfather.

    Basically back in WWII a British Division of the Weapon Plus program consisting of scientists named Father, Mother and Brother tried to reproduce the creation of Jim Hammond. After meeting with failure Father resorted to Magic using the Orb of Necromancy to give life to their failures. (We find out that Father had some ties to Otherworld (as in Captain Britain)and somehow stole or hid the Orb in another dimension...I forget exactly how it goes.)

    So Father, Mother and Brother have a falling out about what to do next and Mother frees the synthezoids who escape into the world and eventually breed with humans. (Thus homo synthezoid aka the Decendents). Father goes on to work with the Weapon Plus Program and eventually gathers the Decendents into an army. He infects the world with nanotechnology which threatens to convert humanity into human/machine hybrids making the world into the perfect Decendent Utopia. It all comes down to Hammond who has to choose which species lives and which dies. He destroys the Orb of Necromancy committing genocide and wiping out all the Decendents whom he felt a kinship and originally sided with. Shaken he walks away from the Secret Avengers to find seclusion. Before dying Father says that one Decendent has managed to survive.

    Mother is believed to be the old woman often seen with Fantomex. Whom he calls Mother.

    Brother is believed to be either the Grandfather or Father of Brian (Captain Britain) Braddock, Betsy (Psylocke) Braddock and Jamie Braddock.



    Imperial Guard - in Hickman's Avengers we learn that the Imperial Guard literally has training schools of Guardsmen who will eventually graduate to the Imperial Guard when their namesake is deceased. This is where we get the Smasher who is currently on the Avengers. Jason Aaron's Wolverine and the X-Men Annual #1 follows up with Kid Gladiator in this school but unfortunately he's the last Strongtonain (?) so he's the only Gladiator in training.
  • Thor_ElThor_El Posts: 136
    edited February 2014
    Strontian. :)

    And yeah, the Guardsmen-in-training are called "Subguardians" until they get assigned to the Guard proper where they get promoted to "Superguardian" status.
  • playdohsrepublicplaydohsrepublic Posts: 1,377
    edited February 2014
    Corwin said:


    Imperial Guard - in Hickman's Avengers we learn that the Imperial Guard literally has training schools of Guardsmen who will eventually graduate to the Imperial Guard when their namesake is deceased. This is where we get the Smasher who is currently on the Avengers. Jason Aaron's Wolverine and the X-Men Annual #1 follows up with Kid Gladiator in this school but unfortunately he's the last Strongtonain (?) so he's the only Gladiator in training.

    We also see the new recruits taking their predecessors place in either War of Kings or Realm of Kings (I can't quite remember) so its a pretty well established tradition, at least in the last decade or so.
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967
    Another great show guys! I give All New Invaders a BUY, and I agree with @Mr_Cosmic on his review. Will have to BORROW the Detective 27, but I have no intention of looking at the Elfquest whatsoever. I sort of felt bad for @JamieD because you could sense that he has a lot of affection for that title and they may have let us down by poorly structuring this release. Maybe I will look at it in trade one day...
  • Any plans for additional "spotlight" series retrospectives, ala "Spotlight on Avengers of the Silver Age," "Spotlight on Xmen of the 90s" etc? In particular, you guys had mentioned doing a Thunderbolts spotlight at some point. Would be interested in what you see coming down the pike in coming weeks, months.

    Thanks. I enjoy your show very much. Very informative / entertaining.
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967

    Any plans for additional "spotlight" series retrospectives, ala "Spotlight on Avengers of the Silver Age," "Spotlight on Xmen of the 90s" etc? In particular, you guys had mentioned doing a Thunderbolts spotlight at some point. Would be interested in what you see coming down the pike in coming weeks, months.

    Thanks. I enjoy your show very much. Very informative / entertaining.

    They CGS crew actually has already tackled those eras in the past. Check some of the following links:
    http://www.comicgeekspeak.com/episodes/comic_geek_speak-1761.php

    http://www.comicgeekspeak.com/episodes/comic_geek_speak-1645.php

    http://www.comicgeekspeak.com/search.php?search=spotlight


    I'm hoping for a Marvel Cosmic Spotlight soon...
  • Appreciate the response. I know that though. :-)

    I was asking for any plans they have to do other ones.
  • Any plans for additional "spotlight" series retrospectives, ala "Spotlight on Avengers of the Silver Age," "Spotlight on Xmen of the 90s" etc? In particular, you guys had mentioned doing a Thunderbolts spotlight at some point. Would be interested in what you see coming down the pike in coming weeks, months.

    Thanks. I enjoy your show very much. Very informative / entertaining.


    Expect the first in a series of Fantastic Four Spotlights to appear very soon. Daredevil to follow, in celebration of that character's fiftieth anniversary.

  • Expect the first in a series of Fantastic Four Spotlights to appear very soon. Daredevil to follow, in celebration of that character's fiftieth anniversary.

    Excellent! Thanks, Murd!

  • Re: Invaders #1

    Anyone else think Jim Hammond jumped the gun just a bit in the scene where he ends up burning down the garage where he worked? No attempt to try and rescue/resuscitate your boss, Jimmy boy? Really? None? You're not gonna even try? *sigh*

    I did like the way Hammond was handled though. You could really get a sense of his lack of confidence / vulnerability as a superhero and how much he preferred just trying to be "human."

    Can't decide if Major Liberty was just a "red shirt" (the Star Trek kind btw, as opposed to the 2nd year freshman NCAA types) or if he's going to end up playing some further role? Seemed odd to give him that much attention just to bump him off like that.

    I own the first 20+ issues or so of the original 1970's Invaders from when I was a kid. I want to say the series even started off with the Nazis gaining control of some 2nd rate Norse Gods? I distinctly recall one of them was named Donar and was supposed to be a Thor knockoff. Or actually, I want to say maybe they were aliens who the Nazis brainwashed into thinking they were Norse Gods? Eh, I can't remember. Man, it sucks to get old!

    And on one final note, what a BS move by the Kree in kidnapping/torturing Namor, not to mention burning Hammond's town down, after we saved their butts in the Infinity saga. Ungrateful bastards.
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967
    I read that wrong.
  • I read that wrong.

    Hey, no problem. I appreciate you going to track down those links for me.

    And I'm with ya, btw ... a "Marvel Cosmic" spotlight would definitely be on my wishlist.
  • Great show, guys!! I love the Off the Racks episodes. They sometimes make me try a title I wasn't going to get before I even hear the episode. I might be on the fence on a title and then I hear that you all are doing an Off the Racks episode covering it and it will make me buy it to try it for that reason alone.

    I read All-New Invaders #1 and Detective Comics #27. I absolutely loved All-New Invaders. I can definitely see Murd's point of giving some more focus to the other characters since they are the more known characters to draw readers in, but much like Shane, I was happy to read about the Golden Age Human Torch because I know very little about him. I loved the mix of cosmic with World War II heroes. I feel like we get this grand story that still focuses on the characters. I really liked the short story for All-New Invaders that we got in Marvel Now Point One (in fact it was one of the few stories I actually liked a lot in that issue). I loved the art as well. This was a buy for me.

    I enjoyed Detective Comics #27 and glad I read it. I would give it a strong borrow. I loved the first story and the Gothtopia story. I won't be getting all of the crossover titles (just the titles I get anyways), but I like this world that was created. I am disregarding the first story as anything solid for the new 52 for the origin of the Joker since we pretty much got his new origin in Zero Year. Then again, this could play into the whole thought that we never know which origin is his real origin. It took nothing away from my enjoyment of the story. I really liked the Snyder and Murphy story as a unique tale. The other stories were fun and enjoyable overall. I don't think I had any that I wish I had not read. I agree that starting with the Syndicate story was the way to go.

    As far as the story by Francavilla I believe was possibly a call back to the Snyder story in Detective comics that ended Detective Comics in the old DC, Black Mirror, and still seems to be part of continuity. I am willing to put money down that the son at the end is James Gordon Jr. I would have to go back to those stories to see if Batman saved him once in that story or in one of the later stories featuring him as a small boy. I think it was meant as a nod where if Batman had not saved James Jr. there may not have been some of the problems from this character later in years (a different take on the whole, if you could eliminate Hitler as a child to avoid the later tragedy he brings, except this one showing Batman saving without knowing what comes later because of the save). Hope that clears it up....if I'm right about that being what it was.
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967

    ... a "Marvel Cosmic" spotlight would definitely be on my wishlist.

    I'm very excited that @Adam_Murdough has announced "the first in a series of Fantastic Four Spotlights". That topic may indeed lead to some Marvel Cosmic discussion. After all, that's where it all began.
  • Anyone having a problem downloading today's "Comic Talk" podcast via itunes? I use an android "podcather app" (I may have just made that term up. Not sure) in order to download podcasts from itunes. The one that dropped last night isn't downloading for me.
  • Mr_CosmicMr_Cosmic Posts: 3,200

    Anyone having a problem downloading today's "Comic Talk" podcast via itunes? I use an android "podcather app" (I may have just made that term up. Not sure) in order to download podcasts from itunes. The one that dropped last night isn't downloading for me.

    I don't know about iTunes but when I refreshed the podcast app it was there.
  • CorwinCorwin Posts: 549

    And on one final note, what a BS move by the Kree in kidnapping/torturing Namor, not to mention burning Hammond's town down, after we saved their butts in the Infinity saga. Ungrateful bastards.

    We're talking about the Supreme Intelligence...so no not surprized...
  • Just getting to the end of this episode, at the Elfquest discussion, and I wonder if the problem with this first issue is because it isn't the first issue for the "Final Quest" storyline? There was a double-size special prior to this first issue.

    image

    I don't know if there's any explanation in that book (I have it, but have yet to read it), but I wonder if they did offer an introduction there and felt there was no need to do it here. Which does not absolve the Pinis or Dark Horse for this poorly thought-out decision. It's too bad - sounds like a missed opportunity for a series that I, too, have enjoyed.

    chris
  • alienalalienal Posts: 508
    Nice episode! Lots of food for thought...
    ALL NEW-INVADERS#1: BORROW for me, too. I guess I'm with Murd and Chris E's assessment in that the writing was a bit off and the book overall didn't grab me enough to justify the 3.99 price tag.
    DETECTIVE #27: BORROW...I didn't find any fault with the price in that there was a lot of bang for my buck. However, since I wasn't getting Detective regularly anyway, I wouldn't have bought this unless CGS was also reading it.
    ELFQUEST: THE FINAL QUEST #1: BORROW...I thought the book was quite charming and I really liked the back matter pages a lot! I'm just not very invested in this quest so it was a one time buy for me. And since I really didn't know what was going on, it was quite difficult to get into it.
    Wow, 3 borrows...not a good month for books that I don't usually buy. ;)
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