Legen--wait for it---dary Comic Book Highlight for 4/22/09

Cover of the Week: Thor 601 (Djurdjevic Variant)

So what does a God listen to on his IPod?

Amazing Spider-Man #592 Highlights

Ah, don't you just love these nice father and son moments.

Spider-Man had to ruin such a tender moment.

Spider-Man really knows how to get under the new mayor's skin by making headlines of The DB and Frontline newspapers.

Our first look at the new Vulture. Still don't know what to think of this new version since it only appeared in one page.

Warning the following image may cause temporary blindness. You've been warned!

Not again! My eyes, it burns.

Detective Comics #853

This weeks finale part to "What Happened to the Cape Crusader?" was filled with a ton of great images and I especially like how this one shows that as shown in The Dark Knight Returns that with Batman gone Joker stops being insane and returns to how he used to be before becoming Joker or Red Hood.

It was cool to see that out of all the Robins it was Dick Grayson's version Robin that was given time to tell his story of how Batman fell.

I like that it had been Bruce's mom, or someone who has taken her form that was with him this whole time watching his funeral and the different versions of his death.

With a heroes like Batman, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Superman if their is a way for those iconic characters to go is go out fighting to save others lives.

See the next image.

These three page were flat out some of my favorite images in the past year. I love that how it kind of literally gives Bruce a storybook ending.

And so it begins again!

Daredevil #118 Highlights

Gotta love Master Izo as he lectures Matt on the roof top while also throwing back a few drinks.

Even in death passed girlfriends, or in Wilson's case wife, will find a way to haunt you. It's their gift.

Talk about not seeing this coming. But I have to say with all the crap that is going on in his life sometimes enough is enough and Matt should at least have one friend in his life. Right?

For the first time ever, I am actually interested to see what The Owl does. Will he join The Hand and "betray" Kingpin or will the Hand kill him or something else?

Guardians of the Galaxy #13

I say every team book story arc should start with a barroom brawl. Maybe then all the team books (specifically JLA and New Avengers) can be at least 1/3 as fun as Gurdians of the Galaxy.

This scene just cracks me up. I love how Rocket Raccon just calls dibs on all of the teams heavy hitters and then proceeds to tell Star-Lord not to ruin their nice moment.

See this is why teams should never have more than one psychic on their team. Damn telepathic inside jokes.

Black Bolt's "go f*** yourself" look at Star-Lord's request for this war to end is priceless

Legacy Shorts: Comic Book Reviews for 4/22/09 (200th Post)

For my review of Amazing Spider-Man #592 click here.

Daredevil #118

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Michael Lark, John Lucas, & Stefano Gaudino
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth

Story - Return of the King: Part Three

Review
Even though Brubaker has moved "Return of the King" in a methodical pace so far this has been an enjoyable story. But for some reason the pace of this issue felt more slow than methodical. Don't get me wrong this was still a good read but after the past three excellent issues of Daredevil this issue did not live up to the potential set by the previous parts of this story.

Though I will say that I love the meeting between Matt and Master Izo. Even though it was an obvious question to ask it was nice to see Izo call Matt out on why he is teaming up with the Kingpin and why he is trusting him. I love Matt's answer were he says that while he is teaming up with Kingpin to take down the Hand that he does not trust him. It does a nice job setting up one or both stabbing the other in the back in the future.

Issue Rating
Story: 7.6/10 - Brubaker continues to move this story arc in a methodical pace and does a nice job with all of the dialogue.
Art: 7/10 - Though the art fit the gritty feel of this book I'm still not a fan of Lark's art.
Overall: 7.3/10 - "Return of the King" continues to be a good read but I hope this story arc starts to get things in gear as you can only move in a methodical pace for so long (except if it is Captain America).

Detective Comics #853

Creative Team
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Andy Kubert
Inker: Scott Williams
Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Story - Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Part 2 of 2

Review
Though I enjoyed the first part of "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" I was not blown away by that issue. But that changed with this issue. Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert combined to tell one of the best Batman stories that I have read. This issue does a phenomenal job giving the Dark Knight a story book ending of sort.

Gaiman does a great job not only paying respect to all Batman's history but also showing that Bruce Wayne is Batman and that Batman is Bruce Wayne. While it has been argued who is the real persona this issue shows that one exist because of the other.

Issue Rating
Story: 10/10 - Gaiman does a phenomenal job paying respect to all of Batman's history and weaves a story book ending for one of the greatest characters ever.
Art: 10/10 - Even though Kubert may be a slow artist the artwork he provides in this issue was just plain beautiful as he is able to adapt his style to pay respect to the all the artist that have drawn Batman and all of the characters related to him.
Overall: 10/10 - "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader" may go down as one of the greatest stories in the long history of the Dark Knight. This story is made to read in one sitting to get the full experience of how great this story is.

Guardians of the Galaxy #13

Creative Team
Writer: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist: Brad Walker
Inker: Victor Olazaba
Colorist: Wil Quintana

Story - Peacemakers

Review
After a string of issues that have lack the punch of the first half dozen or so issues of Guardian of the Galaxy this issue brings back that fun from when this series started. And it is no surprise as this issue is not only a War of Kings tie-in but also brings back the whole team back together to stop the war between the Shi'ar Empire and Inhumans.

From the opening scene in the bar to the Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon scene were Rocket gets dibs on all the heavy hitters for his team to the last few scenes this was pure fun. And after this issue I hope that we get a mini-series seeing the adventures that Rocket Raccoon had with the Starjammers in the past. I would be the first in line to buy that mini-series, so Marvel make it happen.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.6/10 - DnA bring GOTG back to the fun series it was in its first 8 issues as the team tries to stop the war going on with the Shi'ar Empire and Inhumans.
Art: 7.8/10 - Walker artwork continues to improve as he provides this issue with some good art though there are some inconsistencies.
Overall: 8.2/10 - War of Kings and everything related to the event continue to be a fantastic read and I can't wait to read the next issue of all the Marvel cosmic titles.

Legen--wait for it---dary Comic Book Highlight for 4/15/09

While this is an old video I still think this is video by Monty Oum called "Haloid," a battle between Master Chief and Samus, is pretty bad ass and for those who have yet to see it you should check it out here and if you have seen it it is worth watching again It is epic:

Cover of the Week: Green Lantern Corps 35

Great cover with Sinestro with wings constructed by his ring. To bad that it was Sodam that used these energy wings instead of Sinestro.

Amazing Spider-Man 591 Highlights

Well that is one way to make sure no one learns your identity.

Talk about having a hot hand. (Lame, I know but I couldn't resist)

Officially this happens before his New Avengers reveal though I hope this does not become a trend for this next year. The only other hero that should (re)learn Peter's identity is Daredevil.

See what happens when you miss out on two months of your life. You miss out on voting.

Captain America 49 Highlights

Sharon sure has some crazy ass nightmares.

'Bad Cap,' simple but I like it.

The common theory going around is the man shown in the timestream is Steve Rogers. My guess is that it may actually be one of Red Skulls old bodies and that he actually planned on having his mind transferred to this new body.

Green Lantern Corps #35 Highlights

Green Lantern Corps continues the war between the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps. Throw in one Red Lantern and things sure get crazy in a hurry.
One of the coolest looking Corps members we have seen yet.
Talk about adding insult to injury.
Angel got nothing on Sodam as he rocks some pretty bad ass wings while kicking the Sinestro Corps assess.
The truth hurts does it.

Is Soranik Sinestro's daughter? Or is it someone else that we have yet to see. Whatever is the case things don't look good for this Green Lantern

Oracle: The Cure #2 Highlight

Entering the virtual world has never looked like this.

Legacy Shorts: Comic Book Reviews for 4/15/09

Captain America #49

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Luke Ross
Inker: Rick Magyar
Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Story - The Daughter of Time

Review
While I have been enjoying seeing Bucky strike out on his own and carry this book alone for the past six months I will say that Cap started to feel stagnant as Brubaker only focused on Bucky. Now this isn't a bad thing it since Brubaker has done a great job showing Bucky is a perfect Captain America and that his story of taking the role is just as interesting as when Steve was in the role, if not better. The reason Cap started feeling stagnant is that as a reader I want to know what has been going on with Sharon and Sam post-Death of Captain America arc. It is a testement to how well Brubaker has written all of the characters in this book that even supporting characters like Sharon and Sam have become just as interesting as the lead character. And finally after a six month absence we get Sharon and Sam return to Cap in this issue that starred Sharon, with Bucky not appearing at all in this issue.

With this opportunity we finally see what has happened to Sharon and to some extent Sam. While I did feel bad for Sharon with all the torture she had been through this issue really brings home just how much torture mentally she put in during her time with Dr. Faustus and the Red Skull. With Sharon remembering all that she has been through and the image of a man in the time rift Brubaker seems to be ready to start his next big chapter of a story that is as much about Captain America as it is the whole supporting cast.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.5/10 - There is no one that is able to develop characters like Ed Brubaker as he continues to shine with how he has been able to make the supporting cast of this book just as intriguing as the star.
Art: 8/10 - Luke Ross provided plenty of good art and is just what is expected from the art on Captain America.
Overall: 8.25/10 - With issue 50 and 600 hundred coming up the following two months Brubaker and his crew of artist look to continue the ball rolling in what continues to be the best comic book on the market.

Oracle: The Cure #2

Creative Team
Writer: Kevin Vanhook
Artist: Julian Lopez
Inker: Bit & Norm Rapmund
Colorist: HI-FI

Story - Big Trouble in Hong Kong

Review
I will hand it Lopez that he impressed me with his artwork as Vanhook gave him plenty of stuff to draw from the action scenes in Hong Kong and in the virtual world Lopez impressed me with his artwork. To bad I can't say the same about the story. Oracle is definitly one of my favorite DC character but for some reason I just don't like this story about her hunting down the last bits of the Anti-Life Equation. Also I kind of feel that DC missed their opportunity with the aftermath of Final Crisis since personally other than Batman dying and the artwork the event wasn't to memorable. Now I dug the virtual world that Oracle went into as it reminds me of the virtual world from the New Adventures of Johnny Quest. But I would much rather see Barbara try and put her life back in order and realize that maybe she has spent to much time in front of the computer and not enough time socializing with the outside world, outside of her superhero friends.

With how all the team books are in such a disaster mode right now I would like Barbara maybe take up an active role in a team like the JLA or her own team and maybe coming out of this mini-series she will do that. But for now this is just a disappointing mini.

Issue Rating
Story: 5.3/10 - Though Vanhook has a nice handle of Barbara's character the story that he has placed Barbara in is just not that appealing to me
Art: 8/10 - Lopez did an impressive job with the artwork. His art has definitly improved since his short stint in Titans.
Overall: 6.65/10 - This might have been a better mini if it was not picking up leftover storylines of Final Crisis and instead just focused on something else, but with one left I may pick up the last issue just to see how this story turns out.

Blog Update

Over this past weekend I was invited by Rokk, who runs the popular Comic Book Revolution blog, to join the Revolution as a contributor. I was quick to accept the invitation as Rokk runs one of my favorite and it is an honor that I was invited to join his blog.

So what does this mean for Comic Book Legacy? I will say that Comic Book Legacy is going nowhere. I will still be running this blog. And with some of the big ideas Rokk and the rest of the Revolution has in mind there are some surprise in store for both this and the Revolution blogs.

So what is actually going to change is that instead of posting my cartoon reviews here on this blog you can read my reviews for all the comic book cartoons over at the Revolution. I will also on occasion provide a comic review over on the Revolution but I will still be posting reviews for the big event books, like Battle for the Cowl, War of Kings, and Blackest Night, here on this blog. But what will change for my reviews is that I will probably do more reviews in the form of the Legacy Shorts that I've been running for the past month.

Now I will still be posting up anime reviews for Bleach and Code Geass here at the Legacy. One thing that I will change is that instead of posting up the anime reviews later in the week I will try and post them on Sunday just to get them out sooner. Though because of the GI Joe animated movie that is premiering in the place of Bleach this week and Code Geass still on reruns there wont be any anime reviews this week but hopefully next week we will get a new episode of at least Bleach.

Finally I will still be posting the Legen--wait for it--dary Comic Book Highlights of the Week every Wednesday. One thing that I thought might be cool to add to the Legen--wait for it--dary Comic Book Highlights of the Week would be to post some fan made video from YouTube that could be videos of cartoons, anime, video games, movies, trailers, etc.

I hope that you enjoy the changes and be sure to catch cartoon reviews over at Comic Book Revolution.

Double Shot Anime Review: Bleach 110 &111

"Reopening of the Substitute Business! The Terrifying Transfer Student"

Review
After a long filler arc Bleach finally returns to the story being told in the manga. This first episode was packed with a ton of plotlines for fans of Bleach to look forward to.

Unlike almost every episode of "The Bount" arc this episodes does a great job using character development, action, and comedy that Bleach is known for. Kon was used perfectly as the comic relief in this episode from his complaining to being stuck in the body of a doll to when Ichigo puts him in his body to take care of and him saying how he isn't going to get Ichigo arrested but he sure will have fun. With the Grand Fisher, in his new Arrancar form, it should be interesting to see if he will try and fight or run. And speaking of the Grand Fisher it will be fun to see how much more powerful the Grand Fisher has become as he was already powerful as a Hollow but now his power should be doubled or tripled.

Along with the introduction of the first Arrancar we are also introduced to the first Vizard in Shinji. He definitely made his presence felt from joking around in his introduction at school to how introduced himself to Ichigo by trying to strike him while Ichigo's back was turned. With Shinji not only having a Hollow mask but also having knowledge of Ichigo also having a Hollow mask it brings to question how much knowledge he has about what has been going on and were he is getting all of his knowledge.

In the last bit of introduction we got the first appearance of Uryu's dad, Ryuken Ishida. Up until this point he has only been mentioned in passing but in the few seconds he appeared in at the end of the episode gives the viewer the idea that he may be one of the strongest characters in Bleach. It should be interesting to see what kind of dynamic Ryuken and Uryu share as we know that Uryu does not like his father.

Overall this was a great start to the "Arrancar" arc and is a nice return to form for Bleach as there is a lot to look forward to what should be an excellent character and action driven story.

Episode Rating - 8.5/10

"Shock! The Father's True Identity"

Review
In the second new episode we got on Saturday Bleach continues its return to form. Continuing from were the last episode left off Ryuken comes in and save his son from getting eaten by two Hollows. And if this episode is any indication, Ryuken may be one of the strongest characters in Bleach with how he was able to take out the two Hollows in three shots, one to save Uryu and two to defeat the two Hollows. Also up until now Uryu has been seen as one of the most powerful Quincies there has ever been with what Captain Mayuri said but with how powerful Ryuken is it looks like Uryu still has a long way to go before coming close to his father's power level. It will be interesting to see the method Ryuken uses to give his sons powers back and what it means for Uryu's relationship with Ichigo.

I am a bit surprised that the mod souls that were introduced for "The Bount" arc (Ririn, Kurodo, and Noba) are still around as it is rare for characters to be introduced in a filler arc continue to be around in an anime. Still they brought some fun dialogue as they share a nice chemistry with Kon though I hope they only make rare appearance since they did get annoying towards the end of "The Bount" arc.

What really made this episode was the appearance of Isshin, Ichigo's dad, in his Soul Reaper form. With the knowledge that Ichigo and his sisters are half-Soul Reapers it gives a nice reason why Ichigo and his sisters have so more much spiritual power than regular humans. Isshin showed off some nice strength as he was able to defeat the Grand Fisher, who was in his released form, in just one swing off his sword. I liked the explanation Isshin gave of how once a Soul Reaper attains the ranking of Captain that they have such control of their spiritual pressure that they are able to regulate how big their sword becomes. It is a nice call back to when Ichigo has a rookie Soul Reaper and had that huge sword because he was unable to control his spiritual pressure. Also it will be interesting to see how and why Isshin waited until now to show that he was/is a Soul Reaper.

Even though Ichigo and crew didn't appear much in this episode seeing Isshin and Ryuken in action made up for it as this another great episode.

Episode Rating - 8.8/10

Green Lantern Corps #35 Review

Creative Team
Writer: Peter Tomasi
Artist: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Rebecca Buchman
Colorist: Randy Mayor

Story - Emerald Eclipse

Review
It is hard to pin point when it happened but I have started enjoying Green Lantern Corps much more than its big brother title Green Lantern. But one of the things that I have come to realize is that my favorite titles I get each month are Ultimate Spider-Man, Captain America, and Daredevil. The big reason for these titles being my favorite is because while they have had one tie-in arc, Civil War for Cap and Ultimatum for USM, they have mostly stayed away from having to tie-in to the big events going on in their companies. Instead the beauty of USM, Cap, and DD is that each story arc is only used to build off of stories told during their run and also building to events that are contained to their own titles and not to some big crossover or big mini-series event that is company wide.

Now I think I am adding Green Lantern Corps to the list, because while it is building towards "Blackest Night" Tomasi is doing it in a way that is in context to the story he is telling. Tomasi isn't looking to introduce a massive amount of characters like Johns has been concerned with over in Green Lantern. Going back to "Sinestro Corp Wars" it seems that every issue since the end of that big story arc all Green Lantern has become is one big prelude to "Blackest Night" as Johns has concerned himself with introducing all of the different Lantern Corps that the only Green Lantern Corp member that is being developed in the title has been Hal Jordan. But for GLC it seems to only be concerned with telling wild and crazy space stories, which should be the case when telling cosmic stories, and developing characters that are already known to fans.

And this "Emerald Eclipse" feels like it is a sequel to "Sinestro Corp Wars" as the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corp continue their war, with one Red Lantern Corp member thrown in. There was no holding back when it came the bloody violence Tomasi and Gleason give the reader. Gleason does an awesome job with the artwork with the help of his inker and colorist, Buchman and Mayor, to show that war is not for the weak at heart.

But maybe my favorite part of this whole issue was the introduction of the new Sinestro Corp member that is one huge snake that encircles Daxam. That was just a great visual to see that creature that just in its short appearance it has already become one of my favorite (visually) of all the Lantern Corps members.

Continuing with Daxam, it was cool to see the aftermath of Mongul and Arkillo's battle as we see how the Mongul lead Sinestro Corps have taken over Daxam. You sure don't want to be on Mongul's bad side as Arkillo has been made to wear his tongue as a necklace due to him questioning Mongul's rule of the Sinestro Corps. This helps to build the Mongul vs Sinestro batlle we should be getting in the future as that should be an epic clash between the two most powerful members of the Sinestro Corp members.

Up until the last issue I wasn't a big fan of Sodam but within these past two issues Sodam has become a much better character as he has risen to become a leader. I liked how Tomasi showed that the Sodam's dad is basically a leader of a cult with how he makes the Daxam people commit suicide instead helping to lead his people to fight and not back down just because an alien threat has taken over Daxam. With the speech Sodam gave to inspire his people to fight it should make the aftermath in Daxam and who will be in power in the planets government a very interesting sub-plot.

As for the ending of this issue there are several ways the last line from Sinestro can be taken. But my hope is that Soranik turns out to be Sinestro's daugther as it should not only take the Sinestro and Soranik relationship into an interesting place, with the father being a former Green Lantern and the daughter being a current Green Lantern, but should make the Sinestro and Kyle Rayner rivalry into a greater level with Kyle is having a relationship with Soranik. This could actually put Kyle right up there with Hal as Sinestro's greatest rival.

Issue Rating
Story: 9/10 - Tomasi continues to make Green Lantern Corps just as an important title as Green Lantern heading into "Blackest Night." And Tomasi has actually made GLC much more enjoyable than GL.
Art: 8.6/10 - Gleason cartoon-style artwork is a great fit for GLC and I loved the new Sinestro Corp member design that we are introduced to in this issue.
Overall: 8.8/10 - Green Lantern Corps #35 was a great read and if you are a fan of sci-fi stories GLC is a great title to pick up as it has all the cosmic goodness that you expect from stories in space with some kick ass looking alien creatures.

Amazing Spider-Man #591 Review

Creative Team
Writer: Dan Slott
Artists: Barry Kitson, Jesse Depergang, & Dale Eaglesham
Colorist: White Troy & Chuckry

Story - 'Nuff Said

Review
The last issues of Amazing Spider-Man was a lackluster start to this two part Spider-Man/Fantastic Four story, with the revelation of Peter's knowledge about what happened in One More Day. Also the last issue had a weird energy as it dealt with a past adventure of F4 and Spider-Man in the Macroverse, their current adventure in the Microverse, the OMD mindwipe, and also the aftermath of the previous Menace arc. Something about these elements being placed in one issue just didn't seem right especially the cut away scenes to the aftermath of the previous Menace arc.

But it seems that Slott realized this problem with the previous issue and presented all these story aspects flowed nicely into one story. For some reason this issue felt a little more of an oversized issue than just a regular issue. This was one of the more deeper issues of ASM post-OMD with so many different plot elements being hit with Peter and Johnny arguing about Peter not wanting to revealing who he is to his friends, the war Spider-Man and F4 are trying to stop, and the scenes of what happens in the two months "real time" Peter misses out.

The one big difference from the last issue to this issue of ASM that helped improve the quality of the story was how the stuff in Peter's life that he was missing out on for those two months he missed flowed much better in this issue and actually help the desperation of Spider-Man wanting to go back to Earth as he missed out on a lot. I don't want to spoil the big ending for people who have yet to read this issue but I will say that during the two months Peter missed a lot of his supporting cast were rebuilding their lives from what has gone on with Brand New Day up until now. But if you do want to spoil these elements, especially the ending, or already read this issue I recommend reading the story run over on amNew York website were Slott and Waid talk about the ending of this issue and the 24/7 arc that starts in the next issue, which you can read here. All this stuff that went on during those two months also sets up Peter in both his normal life and his life as Spider-Man in an interesting setting as not only will he have to catch up to all that has happened but also adjust to these new developments as they are major developments that affect every part of his life.

As I said before, the revelation of Peter having knowledge of the mindwipe that happened in the OMD took some of the steam of a Spider-Man/F4 adventure. Though the explanation Slott gives (which is that when Peter unmasks, either willingly or by force, that person who sees his face will remember everything about Peter pre-OMD) was a rather simple explanation but once getting over the anger of OMD just being brought back into ASM, just because of how much I hate that story, I guess an explanation that was necessary when Peter reveals his identity to his other close superhero friends such as Daredevil and the Avengers. Though I said this when the whole mindwipe thing happened but I would have liked it that at least the F4 and Daredevil would still know Peter's identities as I think they are as crucial to Peter's Spider-Man life as his other supporting characters are are to his personal life. I just hope that Slott and the other Spider-Man writers, and Bendis, use this explanation given by Slott as a way to have other characters outside of the F4, the Avengers, and Daredevil learn his identity as it would be weak storytelling.

Now as far as the adventure Spider-Man and F4 had in the Microverse it was a pretty good adventure that felt like one of the old Fantastic Four adventures with Spider-Man tagging along as it was more a journey to fix what they did to this world due to their previous scientific adventure in the world. Kitson did a great job illustrating the war going on and how crazy the war got once Spider-Man and the F4 got involved. I loved how he drew Spider-Man and Johnny bickering while they were fighting their way through the Dregan Empire. Along with the Thing telling them both to shut up Slott and Kitson did a great job with the crazy battle scene. I also like the first page were Kitson and Depergang was headless once unmasked.

Also I did not mind that Eaglesham did the artwork for what was happening in the two months Peter missed back on Earth. With how he drew Spider-Man in the final pages I would love to see him get a whole arc on Spider-Man as he nails Spider-Man and his supporting cast by giving them a combination of their old and new school look.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.4/10 - Slott shows that he has a great handle of both Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four characters and reminds of how much I loved his Spider-Man/Human Torch mini-series.
Art: 8/10 - Though I would have preferred only one artist do the whole issue Kitson, Depergang and Eaglesham combine for a nice looking book.
Overall: 8.2/10 - This was a strong finish to this two-part arc and am excited to see were the Spider-Brain Trust take all the developments that happened in this issue for the next few arcs.

Cartoon Review: The Spectacular Spider-Man Ep. 4

"Market Forces"

Review
It has been enjoyable to see Peter interact with his high school friends. Each character has quickly been established for new fans to understand each character personalities and also for older Spider-Man fans it is interesting to see how the writers of this show are combine different versions of these characters personalities from various Marvel Universes. And this episode did a nice job showing the reprecussions of Peter's actions from the last episode as his Gwen, Eddie, and Harry are still mad at Peter for bailing on them.

But still for some reason this show felt like it was missing that one thing that is needed to complete the Spider-Man Universe: The Daily Bugle. Even though we have had some nice comedy from Peter as Spider-Man and with his supporting cast at school the true comedy gold of any Spider-Man comic, cartoon, and film always comes from Peter's interaction with the Daily Bugle staff especially from J. Jonah Jameson. Out of all of the Spider-Man characters the one character that never changes no matter the universe is Jonah. The writers really did a great job showing just that angry, never stop for a second attitude that he has as the editor of The Daily Bugle that makes him funny. It was funny seeing him kick Peter out for just being a kid in his newspaper office and than makes Betty Brant go get him once he is told by Betty that he just kick out the kid who took the Spider-Man pictures. It was something that was quick but funny Jonah comedy.

Also it was interesting to see that the writers address the age difference between Peter and Betty. In the early Amazing Spider-Man comics Betty was actually Peter's first girlfriend but the age difference between the two characters, even though the reader kind of had an idea that Betty was between 18-20 years old and Peter was 16 years old when they went out. It was nice to see Peter try and get Betty to go with him to his school dance as his date only to be shot down.

Speaking of the dance we also got the mention of a certain redhead in this episode for the first time. It was a nice callback to the original way Stan Lee introduced the character as she is only mentioned by name only.

Up until this point the writers have stuck to the original villain with only a few deviations to their origins but not their name. So it was a nice change of pace that the writers combined two characters to make one as Montana from the Enforcers became the Shocker instead of him being Herman Schultz. I have to admit I have always liked the Shocker character and the animators did a great job with the fights between Spider-Man and Shocker. In the first fight Shocker was able to show off some nice power as he completely dominated the fight which gives him some credibility instead of being a joke like his Ultimate Universe counterpart. And it was good to see Peter use his mind and some clever quips to make Shocker beat himself.

With Peter finally having a job, him having to make amends with his friends, the mention of a certain redhead, and Norman commissioned to make some villains for Spider-Man fight to so he doesn't get in the way of the Big Man's plans these next few episode look to be better than what we have already seen from this young cartoon.

Episode Rating - 9/10

Legen--wait for it---dary Comic Book Highlight for 4/8/09

Cover of the Week: Daredevil Noir #1

Even though we've seen this cover many times over, especially in Daredevil comics, I like the whole black with a little bit of red to the Daredevil Noir version. And the rain affect on the cover is pretty cool.

Battle for the Cowl #2 Highlights

I present to you Jason "The Mass Murder and Child Shooter" Todd. At this point all that potential growth Jason had coming off his return in Under the Hood has been completely wasted as DC has decided that he should be their version of Punisher.

Talk about identity theft. Jane Doe is certainly one chick you do not want to mess with.

Though Gotham City burning is nothing new still Daniel kicks ass in this scene though I would have preferred if it was Two-Face or Penguin behind Gotham burning not Black Mask.

The beast, or in this case the bat, has been awaken as Dick is finally ready to take his rightful place in the Batfamily as the heir to Bruce's mantle and kick Jason Todd's ass.

I still don't understand why Jason just had a crowbar just laying around in his "batcave." Oh wait, that is suppose to be symbolic of his death at the hands of the Joker. That's clever. NOT!

Maybe Tim will eat a senzu bean to heal that huge wound from having a batrang the size of a football in his sternum. Now that would be a twist.

Dark Reign: Hawkeye #1 Highlight

Norman Osborn has to be the number 1 most incompetent leader there has been. Wait, Luke Cage was the leader of the New Avengers not to long ago. My bad I meant to say Norman is the second most incompetent leader with Luke Cage being the first. My bad!

Shouldn't this be the question that is asked by all reporters in the Marvel Universe in every title Norman appeared in for the first few months.

I know some fans want Iron Man or Captain America to be the ones to take Norman down but how sweet would it be if Hawkeye shot him right in his black heart and walked away saying he is done being the "hero?"

See now there is a signiture that she will never forget. Norman isn't going to be to happy about this.

Green Lantern #39 Highlights

And so the Orange Lanterns are born. To bad for the supposed Guardians of the Orange Corps learned first hand that greed is not something to be controlled. (I know, bad pun. Sorry!)

I like this twist of Hal not leading the Blue Lanterns as a Blue Lantern but a Green Lantern as Hal has the power to power-up the whole Blue Lantern Corps. It should be interesting, especially with how the Guardians treated Hal in this issue, if Hal does join the Blue Lantern's and how he will be able to find the hope to power all their rings.

Philip Tan really turned up the creepiness level as he shows that the Orange Lanterns may be the most out of control of all the Lantern Corps.

Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #4 Highlight

See know this is a Rulk that I like. I wish Ultimate Rulk would go to the 616 Marvel Universe and go Ultimate Hank Pym on 616 Rulk's ass.

War of Kings: Ascension #1 Highlights

I love Talon's powered-up armor. Alves did an awesome job with his look of Talon in this issue.

Though I prefer Talon's power-up armor more I like that Marvel has decided to finally upgrade Darkhawks costume as this new power-up form gives Darkhawk a definite power upgrade to go up against someone like Nova.

Wolverine: Weapon X #1 Highlight

See that is what happens kids when you wake a sleeping bear from his nap.