Monthly Poll: What was your favorite 90s comic book cartoon?

The start of another month means the start of a new poll. For this months poll I decided to go a little old School and ask what is everyone's favorite superhero cartoon that ran through the 90s. The choices are:

1) Batman (1992-1999) - includes The Animated Series, Adventures of Batman and Robin, and New Batman Adventures
2) Fantastic Four (1994-1996)
3) Iron Man (1994-1996)
4) The Incredible Hulk (1996-1997)
5) Spider-Man (1994-2000) - includes The Animated Series and Unlimited
6) Superman (1996-2000) - includes The Animated Series and New Adventures of Superman
7) Teenage Mutant Niinja Turtles (1987-1996)
8) The Tick (1994-1996)
9) X-Men (1992-1997)

Anime Review: Code Geass: Lealouch of the Rebellion R2 14

"Geass Hunt"

Review
I forgot to mention this in my review for last weeks episode that now that R2 has passed its mid-point the series got a new opening credits and theme song. Evidently the new song is called "World End" by a Japan band called Flow. And I have to say that out of the five opening credits and songs this series has this is my favorite one so far. It does everything an opening theme should do by having a lot of energy to the music while showing a some great anime action to go along with it. Now I wonder if like in its first season if R2 will have an new ending theme song for the last two episodes and if it does what it will be and look like.

With that said I have to say after the surprise death of Shirley in the last episode I really did not know were the writers were going to take this episode. I knew that Lelouch would look to get revenge on those who caused Shirley's death but what I didn't know what approach he would take to get that revenge. Even though Lelouch has usually maintained a calm and always in control persona due to genius intellect he has shown in a few episodes to be very erratic when he becomes emotional. Other than the last episode there have been two other instances were we saw that emotional side of Lelouch that has caused to throw caution at the wind: in episode 25 of R1 when VV kidnapped Nunnally and most recently in episode 10 of R2 when Kallen was captured by Xingke. In both instances it is what caused Lelouch to lose the battle he and the Black Knights were involved with at the time.

So because of those previous two instances were someone close to him was taken away it almost felt that it was being set up for another loss in the battle field for Lelouch. But luckly for us the writers were able to take the ending from the last episode in order to further the plotlines that were build at the end of R1 and at the start of R2. And if there was ever a point in this show were the comparison between Lelouch and Light Yagami, from Deathnote, was most evident it was in this episode. Not only was Lelouch able to come up with an intricate plot to destroy the Geass Order and VV but he was able to do it in manner that felt like one of the biggest massacres in anime. Just the amount of blood spilt on this episode was incredible. No one was safe from Lelouch wrath. Not children. Not women. Not men. Not old people.

The animators were at the top of their game in this episode with all the action and killing that went on in this episode. Along with the battle music the animation was top notch. The battle between VV and Lelouch with his Black Knights was just as good as any battle seen in Code Geass. My favorite part of the battle was the look on Lelouch's face when he wasn't able to blow up the Vincent to kill Rolo and cripple VV.

I was glad that after the massacre and VV's defeat the writers finally used the ending to finally show us what the Emperor's plan with the Sword of Akasha. It will be interesting to see if the Emperor will able to succeed in his goal to kill God and what role Lelouch, VV, and CC play in his plans. And I wonder what connection CC and Lelouch's mom had in the past since we saw them together in the flashback that started this episode.

Along with this plotline add in Suzaku's threat to use Refrain on Kallen to learn who is Zero, Kallen and Nunnally conversing about Lelouch, and the Black Knights having some internal conflict in the group the next few episodes look to continue the dark path the second half of R2 is walking towards. At this point I really don't know were all the various plotlines are going which is what is making Code Geass such a fun anime to watch.

Episode Rating - 9.3/10

Legen--wait for it---dary Comic Book Highlight for 2/25/09

After everything that happened with Scans_Daily being shutdown late last week I was a bit hesitant to post the Legen--wait for it--dary Comic Book Highlights for this week. I'll admit that I did visit Scans_Daily every once in a while since it was one of the only place that I could find images of back issues. I never actually saw anyone post full issues of comics on the site but I due believe the reports of that happening since the rules for the community board weren't well regulated.

I understand that there are a lot of people in the comic book blog and forum world that are pissed off the site was taken down but what I do not understand is all the hate Peter David is getting. If David reported to Marvel that full issues of his work were being placed on Scans_Daily than it is in the full right that the site be taken down due to copyright infringement. For anyone that owns a business knows this is a serious offense, and as someone who is currently finishing up a degree in Marketing, it is something I have had to watch out for when going out to do marketing research. You can't put the Nike Swoosh symbol on your product without getting permission of the Nike corporation and it is the same with posting full issues of comics or anything that is owned by someone/thing. So while I understand that people are pissed but their anger is misplaced since it is not Peter David and/or Marvel's fault but the fault of those users who actually posted those full issues or couldn't wait to spoil issues for a comic by posting the images the day the comics were released.

Now I hope what happened to Scans_Daily is an isolated incident and I will be able to continue to post images from comics that I get since I like having a post that allows me to give some much deserved focus on the artwork of the artist working on all these titles since the bulk of my reviews talk mainly on just the writing. Hopefully I will be able to continue post the Legen--wait for it--dary Comic Book Highlights. Enough talk here are some of the best images of the week:

Cover of the Week: Nova #22

I already praised the cover for Nova #22 in my review for this issue but it is still worth mentioning how great this cover is. This cover just gives Nova a Green Lantern Corp feel that has been building for the past few issues.

Captain America #47 Highlights

Bucky shows why he is one of the best at what he does as he kicks the asses, and blows $#!% up, of Dr. Chen's highly armed and trained men.

Bucky should know better than try to pass something through Black Widow's eyes.

Bucky should really take Black Widow's advice more as Namor is about to learn.

Green Lantern #38 Highlights

While not as awkward as in issue #20 this scene still has awkward feeling to it.

Are we getting closer to seeing a White Lantern?

Isn't it obvious Hal your becoming the White Ranger.

Carol + Violet Lantern = Hal's Worst Nightmare.

Some interesting images from the Green Lantern Origins and Omens back-up.

Nova #22 Highlights

No, can't say it. Must resist the urge to say..........."Beam me up, Scotty!" Dammit DnA.

Richard should know better than to mess with Worldmind.

DnA take a nice jab at "Batman RIP" with the title for the next issue.

Teen Titans #68 Highlights

See now that is a kick ass design for a house.

Though this was a weak issue I was glad to see that Eddie got some closure.

I am betting that outside of the pregnant girl that is blackout and the Kid Flash costume that everything here will happen in the Teen Titans, Titans, Vigilante crossover.

Thunderbolts #129 Highlights

Don't make Doc mad. You will not like Doc mad.

I always thought it was called the Goblin Glider not the Bat-Glider. Well I guess that since Batman is "dead" the name is up for grabs that even Norman wants the mantle.

How much do you want to bet that President Obama wont be regretting those words.

Ultimate Spider-Man #131 Highlights

While I am not a big fan Immonen art I have to admit that he did a great job with all the splash pages in this issue.

This has to be the smartest conversation I have ever read.

Yet another minor Ultimate Universe hero bites the dust in the disaster known as Jeph Loeb calls Ultimatum.

First a flood and a release of all the supernatural creatures. It can't get any better for Spider-Man.

Legacy Shorts: Comic Book Reviews for 2/25/09

Nova #22

Creative Team
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist: Andrea Divito
Colorist: Bruno Hang

Story - The Rapture

Review
How awesome is the cover to this issue? The cover alone is worth the price of admission. Without even reading the issue you can tell what two thirds of the issue is about. Juan Doe gives us what may be the cover of the year.

The content within the issue is just as good as the cover. DnA continue to do an excellent job building up the Nova Corps, and really the whole Marvel cosmic corner, into becoming Marvel's answer to the Green Lantern Corps. And this issue is probably gives us the biggest parallel between Nova Corps and Green Lantern Corps. Just seeing the massive amount of recruits Worldmind gains to join the Nova Corps was a sight to see and Andrea Divito does a nice job filling in and showing all the people's surprise to seeing other people being lifted up into the sky and then the excitement of the new Nova Corps recruits as they gain their powers.

While I would have mind it if DnA would have stretched out the subplot of whether Worldmind was really mind controlling all the Nova Corps members, minus Richard, or if Richard was really losing his mind but I was fine that they revealed it now instead of having to make this subplot last for 5 to 10 issues like other writers like to do with their subplots (cough*Bendis and Loeb*cough).

It was a cool reveal that the reason that about 98% of the Nova Corps membership were from Earth was because Worldmind had an easier time controlling humans easier, due to his time inside Richard, than other alien species. It was a cool twist that makes sense and makes me wonder if with those 5 other Nova Corps members that are a different species if we will be seeing more members from their home planet become members once Worldmind figures out their brain patterns. And the ending to the issue was just an great hook ending and I can't wait to see were they take that plot thread and how Wendell will factor into helping his friend out.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.5/10 - DnA just continue to pack Nova with twist that as soon as you think you wont be surprised of what happens next you are.
Art: 8/10 - Divito does a great job giving us nice artwork on this issue and I hope that he is the permanant artist on this title.
Overall: 8.25/10 - Nova just continues to rock and has quickly become Marvel's answer to Green Lantern.

Thunderbolts #129

Creative Team
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Robert De La Torre, Carlos Magno & Scott Hanna
Colorists: Frank Martin & Giovanni Kosoki

Story - Hammer Down Part II

Review
Even with all the A-list villains Thunderbolts used to have now being showcased over in Bendis's Dark Avengers this is still the premier villain title. Just like Ellis before him, Diggle is able to access that sick and vicious side of his writing in order to give this title the chaotic, bonechilling feel a title filled with villains should be like.

Even though Norman has shown to still have a villainous side to him as he tries to act as the hero over in Dark Avengers and Invicible Iron Man it here in the Thunderbolts were we are able to see that insane, slimy, and underhanded Norman Osborn we all know and love in full affect. Just seeing how Norman is able not only to convince President Obama that he is not the Green Goblin but also be able to discredit Doc Samson was a thing of beauty. Though I would have liked it if this part of the story lasted a little bit longer since the second half of the issue felt a little slow and boring as it sets up the next storyline.

And even though I would like to continue to get Thunderbolts I just can't afford to have to pick up another title, Deadpool, due to War of Kings and Battle for the Cowl starting this month I will probably pick this title back up once that crossover is over.

The only thing I did not like about this issue is the inconsistent art we got in this issue as we had Del La Torre and Martin on the art duties. Even though both artist were able to maintain the dark feel this book should have I would have preferred that De La Torre did the art for the whole issue.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.8/10 - Marvel couldn't have chosen a better writer for this title as Diggle is able to give all the various villains their own unique voices that allow each one to be multi-dimensional characters.
Art: 7/10 - Though the art was fine it felt a bit inconsistent as De La Torre and Martin shared art duties.
Overall: 7.9/10 - Even without A-list villains Thunderbolts continues to be the best title on the stand for seeing villains doing what they do best.

Green Lantern #38 Review

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
Inkers: Onclair Albert
Colorist: Nei Auffino

Story - Rage of the Red Lanterns: Part 4

Review
Does anyone else have that old Power Rangers theme song running through there head when they read this issue or was it just me? Just something about seeing Hal as a hybrid Green, Red, Yellow, and Blue Lantern just had me hear that old White Ranger song from when I was a kid. The whole color and emotional spectrum kind of gives Green Lantern a feel of Power Rangers meets Captain Planet.

Still, Green Lantern #38 did a good job closing this Red Lantern arc. Geoff Johns has done an impressive job showing how differently each Lantern Corp behaves and fights during battle. Through the leaders of each Corps you can see how all the different corp members are suppose to fight in order to get the maximum out of their Rings. with Hal and Kyle it is shown that the Green Lanterns are all about focus with them being the most creative while fighting due to using different constructs to fight there enemy. With the Yellow Lanterns Sinestro shows that they are a group all about precision looking for an opening in there enemies attack (just like fear preys on the weakness of a human). Then with the Red Lanterns they are all about brute force as they get stronger the angrier they get. And the opposite is for the Blue Lanterns as they are all about finding their calm center similar to those who are practitioners of Tai Chi. The last group is the Violet Lanterns who seem to employ more manipulation as they try and "convince" those they fight to believe in love. All of these various styles is what has made it fun to see all the Lantern Corps fight one another as it brings a some unpredictability to all the fighting. It will be interesting to see when we see how the Orange, Idingo, and Black Lanterns fight and what they will bring to the table as each one pushes the other to their limits.

With all the various fighting styles Johns also does a good job giving us some nice dialogue in order to convey just how chaotic the fighting between the Red, Yellow, and Blue Lanterns are. Johns did an especially nice job showing all the conflicting emotions he has within him as he has to deal with the Red and Green ring each vying for control and later the Blue. Hal has always had trouble controlling his emotions as he is all over the place sometimes and that he is still suffering from the affects of being combined with Parallax for so long. It will be interesting to see what the after-affects will be of Hal having three different rings on at the same time. The hybrid Green, Red, and Blue Lantern became during his short fight with Atroticus was a very cool to see and adding more foreshadowing to Hal becoming a White Lantern that I mentioned in my review for issue #37.

Also I liked the idea of the Blue Lanterns are only at their strongest when they are next to a Green Lantern. Hope has already been shown to be the strongest of all the Lantern Corps so they did need to have some sort of weakness. It will be interesting to see were Johns goes with this as the Blue Lanterns try and build more of a relationship with the Green Lanterns. It will also be interesting to see how the Guardians feel about this as it is two of there former Guardians that are now leading the Blue Lanterns.

I also thought it was a cool thing that Johns addressed the fact that Mongul and Arkillo are battling one another for control of the Sinestro Corps over in Green Lantern Corps. It makes me look more forward to the fight as we will see Sinestro and those loyal to him intervene. It looks to be a bloody battle as we see a triple threat match between three of the strongest members in the Sinestro Corps.

Even though I enjoyed this issue I did have some problems with this issue. My biggest problem with this issue is that it felt more like I was reading a prologue to Blackest Night than a closing chapter to the Red Lantern arc. I understand that we are building towards Blackest Night were we see Carol joining the Violet Lanterns, the tease of Sinestro joining the fight on Daxam (which I don't see us getting for a while), Atroticus looking for another prophecy, more Blue Lantern recruitment, and teases of the Orange and Black Lanterns felt like a bit much. Up until now Johns has done a nice job keeping the flow to feel natural but shifting through these scenes, especially at the end of the issue, it just reminds me that we are still a ways of before Blackest Night resolves as there are still many events that need to happen before the War of Light happens.

Also the other problem I had with the issue is actually the Origins and Omens back-up. I found the last page to be very cool with some interesting images of the future. The thing I did not like is that the back-up story before the last page seemed to take place after the Agent Orange story arc that is suppose to take place in the next few issues of Green Lantern. It bothers me that they mention that one of the Green Lanterns talking to John asking him how he feels after his fight with the Orange Lanterns. Also that we see Hal back to normal as a Green Lantern since the last time we saw him he was seen as a hybrid Green and Blue Lantern. Outside of the last page I have not read any Origins and Omens that actually had spoilers for a storyline which is what the back-up story in this issue does.

Now as always Ivan Reis does an excellent job with his art as he crams a lot of detail in his art. Reis gives this issue a frenetic pace as you do not know who will come out on top in the fight between so many different characters. He does an excellent job giving us plenty of beautiful art especially when it came to the splash pages.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.2/10 - Even though Johns seem to be splitting his focus throughout the issue he still did a nice job keeping the flow of the dialogue feel natural and not forcing anything.
Art: 9/10 - Reis continues to do a fantastic job as he shows that he is one of the best cosmic artist in the business.
Overall: 8.6/10 - Even though this issue read more like a prologue than an actual closing chapter it was still a very entertaining issue that has me looking forward to all the various plotlines that are being build as we head into Blackest Night.

Ultimate Spider-Man #131 Review

Creative Team
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Colorist: Justin Ponsor

Story - Ultimatum Tie-In

Review
One of the biggest gripes I have had against Secret Invasion, Final Crisis, and Ultimatum is that they all lack an emotional attachment that a reader should have for the various characters when reading the big events. Now even though these past few issues of Ultimate Spider-Man have only been meant to be tie-ins to Ultimatum Bendis has done a great job making these issue have a big event aura about them while still making it feel like an Ultimate Spider-Man story.

The great thing about these past few issues is that it has done an excellent job showing the desperation of Peter and his supporting cast as they try and deal with the chaos going on around them. Just watching Peter as he goes around trying to save as many people as possible while in his Spider-Man costume drives the point home of just how horrible the tidal wave caused by Magneto is. It is one of the times were Bendis dialogue helps to show just how tired Spider-Man is as he is trying to keep his cool by constantly being sarcastic. If Spider-Man ever took a break to get some rest and think for a moment about what is going on around him he would go crazy.

The Hulk's involvement in this issue did help to bring in some fun little dialogue as Spider-Man tries to make Hulk help him save people by trying to dumb down what he says to the Hulk. Once Spider-Man gets Hulk to help him it feels like things are starting to look up and that maybe our hero will be able to get out alive from the disaster. But as with everything in his life nothing goes as Spider-Man would like as he sees in the ruble the death of one of his heroes, which I wont spoil in this review. Things only get worse as the Hulk goes into Savage mode and all the creatures held by Doctor Strange's house come out as the barrier of was destroyed by the tidal wave. All of this on top of the involvement of Spider-Woman searching for Spider-Man and the supposed cat fight between MJ and Kitty, if we are to believe the solicit, the next issue should between wonderfully hectic.

While I have not been the biggest fan of Stuart Immonen's artwork on USM I have to admit that Immonen has given us some above average art these past few issues. And wouldn't you know it that as soon as I have gotten use to Immonen's art it is announced that he will not be doing the artwork when this title is relaunched. Still Immonen along with Grawbadger and Ponsor turn in some impressive that helps give this issue a big blockbuster feel by showing just how much damage the tidal wave caused to New York City.

Now even though I enjoyed all of the things going on in this issue I just can't help but feel that the Doctor Strange subplot that ended this issue was shoehorned into this issue in order to be able to extend this tie-in arc. The truth is that I have been waiting for an arc involving Doctor Strange and Spider-Man teaming up to stop Dormammu or another one of supernatural character in Marvel's library of villains since USM #71 involving that nightmarish experience Peter went through the last time we saw Doc Strange's house. So it just seems that this was a story Bendis meant to get to but because Ultimate Spider-Man (Volume 1) is ending after these tie-in issues Bendis placed this story in here so as to start with a clean slate in Volume 2 of this series.

Also I am a bit disappointed that we haven't seen Johnny since the first issue of this arc. I was really looking forward to the development of the Johnny and Spider-Woman 'relationship' but it seems that we are not going to get a resolution to that subplot in USM since Johnny is supposedly dead with his sister and the Thing looking for his soul over in Ultimate Fantastic Four.

Issue Rating
Story: 8.4/10 - Minor gripes outside, Bendis continues to be money on USM as he does an excellent job showing the magnitude of what Magneto has caused in his revenge for the deaths of his children.
Art: 8/10 - Immonen art continues to improve as it seems the disaster scenario caused by Ultimatum is a perfect setting for his artwork to shine.
Overall: 8.2/10 - Even though this arc ties into Ultimatum Bendis and Immonen have done a great job making this arc stand on its own.