FF Vol. 3 Premiere HC [2012] by Jonathan Hickman

FF VOLUME 3 PREMIERE HARDCOVER

The Future Foundation escape the attacks by Annihilus forces by activating the panic function of the Baxter Building which teleports them away to Latveria. The last Reed of the Interdimensional Council has captured Doctor Doom where they are confronted by Nathaniel Richards and Kristoff. Nathaniel reveals to Valeria that he sent the adult Franklin to see her and to bring the FF to Doom. Together for the first time the FF, Doom, Kristoff, Nathaniel sends the last Reed back home to face the Celestials.

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

- A dying Earth will spark the return of Galactus

- Franklin Richards takes on the Celestials however is sent to Limbo

- Nathaniel and Valeria buy 27 minutes for Galactus to stop the Annihilation Wave

- Doom hold off the Celestials to buy time while the Last Reed dies by the Celestials

- FF closes the bridge before the Celestials could pass through it

- Nathanial and Valeria has managed to buy 28 minutes and the Celestials arrive

- Power Pack arrives to take the FF to the Hub to reunite with the Fantastic Four

- Both FF and the Fantastic Four take on the Celestials until future versions of Valeria and Franklin Richards arrives

- Franklin speaks to Galactus and lets him know they will face the end of the universe together

- Reed Richards dumps all the debris from the impending invasion to the Negative Zone

- The FF have an orbital space station above the Baxter Building

- Johnny Storm become roommates with Peter Parker

- Valeria gives Doctor Doom a universe to rebuild with the Infinity Gauntlet

This hardcover collects

FF #12 – 16

RECOMMENDED – 4 OUT OF 5

New Avengers Vol.3 Premiere HC [2012] by Brian Michael Bendis

NEW AVENGERS BY BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS VOLUME 3 PREMIERE HARDCOVER

Following Secret Invasion Norman Osborn became Top Cop of the Marvel Universe ushering in Dark Reign. His reign unraveled when he decided to declare war on Asgard and used the Sentry to achieve his objectives. Now Norman Osborn has been imprisoned within the Raft but is now awaiting transferred so he will stand trial in the international criminal court. The New Avengers were tasked to safely execute the transfer by Commander Steve Rogers. However Norman Osborn escapes with his loyal H.A.M.M.E.R. Agents and releases Dr. Wentworth.

The New Avengers deal with the menace of Ultimo which was sent by Norman Osborn to steal one of Tony Stark’s armor at a Stark Resilent satellite laboratory. After failing to steal one of his armors, Osborn was able to get a genetic extraction from Wolverine and self-destruction the Ultimo robot. 

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

- Osborn recruits Skaar who is the son of Hulk from the Savage Land

- Barney Barton who is Hawkeye’s brother joins Osborn’s Avengers

- Doctor June Covington joins Osborn’s Avengers as the Scarlet Witch

- Osborn gives Ai Apaec a pill to become a six-armed Spider-Man

- Madame Hydra AKA Viper is sick of losing and joins with Osborn

- The Gorgon brings the former members of the Hand to H.A.M.M.E.R.

- A.I.M stole and repairing Thor’s clone body Ragnarok to join Osborn

- Victoria Hand sends the wrong coordinates while sending the right ones to Osborn

- Osborn deals with the monster menace in Miami as the New Avengers arrive

- The New Avengers gets blamed for the fight against the Dark Avengers

- Norman Osborn sends the clone Thor to deal with the New Avengers

- The New Avengers defeat Ragnarok and dump his body on the Dark Avengers

- The New Avengers return home to the Avengers Mansion which is seized by the US Government 

- Dr. Strange transports the New Avenger back to his home and Luke Cage finds out his wife left

- The New Avengers confront Victoria Hand who reveals she is working for Captain America

- Victoria Hand calls Osborn to let her know she wants to come in

- Skaar finds out Hydra has Captain America and yells “Avengers Assemble”

- After taking on the Dark Avengers, Skaar rescues Captain America as the New Avengers arrive

- Luke Cage heads towards Jessica Jones’ office to find his wife has left him for good

This hardcover collects

New Avengers #16.1

New Avengers #17 - 23

RECOMMENDED – 4 OUT OF 5

    

  

Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol.1: The Ring Bearer HC [2011-2012] by Tony Bedard

GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS VOLUME 1: THE RING BEARER HARDCOVER 

The various Lantern Corps members from various space sectors are decommissioned and looking for a replacement. The various rings are attracted to Green Lantern Kyle Rayner which attracts angry members of various Lantern Corps who believe Kyle stole the Lantern rings. However Saint Walker finally arrives and gives Kyle the benefit of the doubt.

Both Saint Walker and Kyle head to Sector Zero the home of Planet Oa to find Ganthet. However Ganthet has been lobotomized by the other Guardians of the Universe and his emotions have been removed. As the Guardians prepare to attack Kyle, the various rings are placed on Kyle’s other fingers so he now wields the entire emotional spectrum.

The rings overpower Kyle and remove themselves from his fingers. The orange ring is actually an Orange Lantern construct Glomulus. The other ring bearers finally arrive to confront the Guardians of the Universe however they are soon defeated except for Glomulus who awaits his master Agent Orange and his Guardian Sayd. 

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

- Larfleeze and Sayd attack and escape with the New Guardians back to Okaara

- Sinestro Corp member Arkillo gets his tongue back from Saint Walker

- Sayd reveals the space vessel Darery which is the size of a solar system

- The New Guardians investigate the Orrery to find out who is stealing their rings

- Citizens from various planets including Okaara and Tamaran

- Invictus is the protector of the Orrery and the sworn enemy of the Larfleeze

- Archangel Invictus arrives to take on the New Guardians

- The history between the Angels of Vega and Larfleeze is revealed

- The Orrery is the life-size model of the Vega system which is heading towards the Planet Okaara

- Invictus asks Green Lantern Kyle Rayner to slay Larfleeze 

This hardcover collects

Green Lantern: New Guardians #1-7

RECOMMENDED – 4 OUT OF 5

    

The Flash Vol.1: Moving Forward HC [2012]

THE FLASH VOLUME 1: MOVING FORWARD HARDCOVER

Barry Allen discovers his friend Manuel Lago is killed after clashing with the Flash dressed one of a group of terrorists. Thes terrorists wanted a portable genome re-coder. However shortly afterwards Manuel arrives however he is captured by cloned copies of himself. Manuel was part of a military experiment which allowed a soldier to regenerate any injury.

The Flash goes to Dr. Darwin Elias of Mercury Labs who tells Barry he is not thinking fast enough. Meanwhile Iris has plans to interview Captain Cold at Iron Heights Prison. After killing the original scientist who created the program, the Manuel copies called Mob Rule kidnap Dr. Elias because the copies are dying after a few months. Barry rescues his friend the original Manuel however is shot by Mob Rule.

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

- Manuel’s copies are discarded body parts of him regenerated back

- Dr. Elias agreed to help Mob Rule rewrite their DNA

- The Flash saves Iris West from the criminals within Iron Heights Prison

- The Speed Force is creating time rifts

- The Flash takes on Captain Cold who doesn’t use freeze pistols

- Captain Cold blames the Flash for the blackout making him unable to help his sister

- Barry asks Iris to help out Patty on a cold case

- Dr. Elias builds a treadmill to absorb the excess Speed Force from the Flash

- Flash goes critical mass and causes a wormhole into the Speed Force losing Iris in the process

- Flash creates another wormhole using the treadmill to find Iris as well as powers the city

- Flash enters the Speed Force only to find called Turbine trying to get out

This hardcover collects

The Flash #1-7

RECOMMENDED – 4 OUT OF 5

    

    

TV Review: The Walking Dead [2010-2012]

The six-episode series is based on Robert Kirkman’s comic series about the zombie apocalypse. Police officer Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors overrun by zombies. Series premiere on October 31, 2010 on AMC.

     

MAIN CAST

Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually)

Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break)

SUPPORTING CAST

Laurie Holden (X-Files)

Jeffrey DeMunn

Steven Yeun

CELEBRITY APPEARANCES

Lennie James
Noah Emmerich

SEASON 1 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

01 – Police officer Rick Grimes wakes up in a post-apocalyptic world of zombies

02 – Rick rescues a group of survivors trapped by the walkers however leaves one behind

03 – Rick finally reunites with Lori and his son Carl while going back to get his bag of guns

04 – Glenn is kidnapped by gang members who want an exchange for the bag of guns and ammo

05 – The survivors bury their dead after the attack and head towards the CDC

06 – Season Finale: The CDC counts down towards an impending explosion as the survivors are trapped inside

SEASON 2 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

01 – Sophie goes missing after being chased and Carl is accidentally shot

02 – Shane gets a respirator for Carl for his surgery as the search for Sophie begins

03 – Shane sacrifices someone so he can get the respirator to save Carl

04 – A walker is stuck in a well and Lori discovers she is pregnant

05 – The search for Sophie continues as an unexpected situation arises on the farm

06 – Rick teaches weapons training to the group and Rick discovers about Lori and Shane

07 – Shane decides to rid the walkers on the farm as the whereabouts of Sophie is discovered

08 – Rick takes out two vagrants as Shane burns the walkers from the farm

09 – Rick saves a vagrant and brings him back to the farm

10 – Rick and Shane are undecided and fight about what to do with the vagrant

11 – Carl confronts a walker who reaches back to the farm and infects Dale

12 – The climax between Rick and Shane reaches its peak

13 – Season Finale: An army of walkers heads towards the farm

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – 5 OUT OF 5

Kick-Ass 2 HC [2012] by Mark Millar & John Romita Jr.

KICK ASS 2 HARDCOVER

Mark Millar stated that if the first story dealt with heroes then the sequel deals with the villains. Kick-Ass dreams of becoming a superhero slowly unravels into a nightmare. Mindy McCready trains Kick-Ass to her her sidekick however she makes a promise to Marcus Williams to cease being Hit-Girl. Kick-Ass is introduced by Doctor Gravity to the members of Justice Forever and has a new partner called Battle-Guy. The team takes down a prostitution ring and after a month Justice Forever became twelve members strong.

Dave’s father discovers his son is Kiss Ass as Justice Forever headquarters is destroyed by Mother-Fucker formerly Red Mist, Mother Russia, and his Toxic Mega-Cunts. Next Mother-Fucker finds Katie Deauxma and gang rapes her.

NYPD has decided to track down all the heroes and villains through their IP addresses and arrest them. Dave’s father is arrested as Kick-Ass receives a warning from Mother-Fucker his father is next. 

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

- Dave’s father is beaten and hanged at Riker’s Island

- The funeral for Dave’s father is held and Kick-Ass is kidnapped

- Kick-Ass is rescued by Hit-Girl and both head to Mother-Fucker’s Headquarters

- Hit-Girl discovers Mother-Fucker and his gang is hitting Times Square

- Dave’s apartment is bombed and multiple explosions rock the city outside Times Square

- Mother-Fucker gives his gang ten minutes to destroy Times Square

- Both Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl arrive with an assembly of costumed heroes

- Hit-Girl takes on Mother Russia and decapitates her

- Kick-Ass beats the crap out of Red Mist and accidently falls from the roof

- Hit-Girl is captured by the police and subsequently arrested for multiple murders

This hardcover collects

Kick-Ass 2 #1–7

RECOMMENDED – 4 OUT OF 5

  

  

Avengers Vol. 3 Premiere HC [2011-2012] by Brian Michael Bendis

AVENGERS VOLUME 3 PREMIERE HARDCOVER

Following the events of Fear Itself, Steve Rogers assembles a new team of Avengers at the Avengers Mansion. Meanwhile an S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Dr. Carolina Washington collects DNA samples from various victims of Civil War, Death of Captain America, Secret Invasion, and Fear Itself. Dr. Washington goes to A.I.M. which refers her to H.A.M.M.E.R. where Norman Osborn welcomes her after she offers the genetic secrets of the entire superhuman population.

Former Secret Warriors member Daisy Johnson who is now S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent questions former Captain America John Walker on the breakout of Norman Osborn from the Raft. Johnson later confronts Captain America to inform him that H.A.M.M.E.R. is everywhere.

Captain America asks the Black Panther to rejoin the team however he refers his wife Storm. Tony Stark reassembles the Vision and Rogers brings Johnson AKA Quake on the team. As the new Avengers team is assembled and presented to the public, a holographic transmission appears of Norman Osborn accusing them of a litany of crimes.

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

- Hawkeye and Spider-Woman deal with Hulks at Thunderbolts Mountain

- Red Hulk and Storm are taken down by mechanical wasps at Osborn Industries

- Iron Man’s armor is compromised and attacks his team member the Protector

- Each member of the Avengers are defeated by the Norman Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R.

- Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Woman, and Red Hulk are tortured by H.A.M.M.E.R.

- Quake tracks down the location of Norman Osborn who is at the Avengers Mansion

- Madame Hydra asks the President to include both H.A.M.M.E.R. and Osborn as the new peacekeeping force

- The President denies their requests and Madame Hydra unleashes her troops on U.S. Forces

- Quake arrives at H.A.M.M.E.R. Headquarters demanding the release of the Avengers

- Several Avengers escape only to face Osborn who declared himself leader of the world’s peacekeeping force

- Osborn undergoes the Super-Adaptoid program and becomes anything he touches

- The Red Hulk punches Osborn and he transforms into a Purple Hulk

- Quake gives Osborn a heartquake as the Protector and the Avengers touch him all at once

- The New Avengers arrive and all the Avengers take down Osborn

- 3300 members of both H.A.M.M.E.R. and A.I.M. while Hydra flourishes

This hardcover collects

Avengers #18 – 24

RECOMMENDED – 4 OUT OF 5

  

    

Avengers: The Children's Crusade Premiere HC [2011]

AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE PREMIERE HARDCOVER

When Wiccan loses control of his powers the Avengers fear another Scarlet Witch. The Young Avengers decide to search for his mother which could be the key to Wiccan’s future and freedom. With the help of Magneto who was recently made aware of his two grandsons Wiccan and Speed, the Young Avengers transport themselves to Wundagore, Transia the place where the Scarlet Witch was raised. Shortly afterwards Quicksilver arrives and together they search for the missing Scarlet Witch.The two year series beginning in 2010 seems to be the prequel to the upcoming Avengers Vs. X-Men event in 2012. The Avengers, X-Men, Young Avengers, and the Avengers Next are all in this series giving it a large cast and a great story.  

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

- Wiccan and Speed meet Magneto who also wants to search for his daughter Wanda

- The Young Avengers and Magneto battle the Avengers before teleporting away

- Quicksilver attempts to murder his father Magneto however hits a Wanda Doombot

- Wiccan disguises himself as the Scarlet Witch to infiltrate Dr. Doom’s castle

- The Avengers follow Wonder Man’s energy signature to locate the missing Wanda 

- Wanda with no recollection of her past is engaged to the King of Latveria Dr. Doom 

- Both Wiccan and Wanda struggle against Wolverine before being saved by Iron Lad

- The Young Avengers escape into the timestream with the Scarlet Witch into the past

- The Young Avengers meet Scott Lang before the events of Avengers: Disassembled

- Scarlet Witch returns with both the Young Avengers and Scott Lang to the present

- Beast suggests undoing what Wanda has done and contacts X-Factor for a volunteer

- Wanda restores Rictor’s powers as the X-Men arrive 

- Cyclops and the X-Men want the Scarlet Witch brought to justice

- Captain America explains Scarlet Witch is still an Avenger and will protect her

- The X-Men and Avengers have a short battle before Scarlet Witch puts them to sleep

- Scarlet Witch teleports the Young Avengers back to Castle Doom 

- Doom was responsible for amping up Scarlet Witch’s powers to bring her children back to life

- Scarlet Witch, Wiccan, and Doctor Doom attempt to reverse M-Day

- Patriot interrupts the spell removing the altering powers of the Scarlet Witch

- The powers have now transferred into Doctor Doom who has a restored face

YOUNG AVENGERS ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS

- The Young Avengers become the Avengers in the future along with Kang

- Iron Lad trains the Young Avengers and faces against their first villain Electro

- Electro got away and broke out super-villains at the Raft seen in New Avengers #1

- Kang convinces Iron Lad to travel back in time to save the Scarlet Witch 

- Kang and the Avengers managed to trick Iron Lad to become Kang and destroy the Avengers

- The X-Men and the Avengers discover Doom not Wanda has her mind-altering powers

- The Avengers, X-Men, and X-Factor battle Victor Von Doom

- Wiccan and the Scarlet Witch manage to defeat Doom as Cassie Lang is killed by Doom

- Iron Lad destroys Vision before retreating into the past to save Cassie

- The Young Avengers disband as the events of Spider-Island and X-Men Schism take hold

-  The Avengers announce not matter what the Young Avengers will always be Avengers

This hardcover collects

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #1-9

RECOMMENDED – 4 OUT OF 5