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Agent Orange finally arrives.
For months now, fans have been anticipating the arrival of the various color offshoots of the Green Lantern Corps. If any Color has been hyped the most in the build up to the “War of light”, it’s been Orange... Namely Agent Orange, and the specific part of the emotional spectrum it controls, Greed.
As other parties have tried to manipulate the emotional spectrum for their personal gains, it seems Agent Orange seeks to deny this. It seeks total control over the Orange energy is draws power from, instead of enlisting others to help in its cause. Agent Orange doesn’t share its power, as the Controllers soon find out within the first few pages of the book. And Agent Orange seeks to punish those who wish to retake what was already given, which the Guardians discover at the end of the book. Apparently Greed and revenge go hand and hand in Agent Orange’s Book.
On the other end of the Spectrum, we find Hal Jordan continuing to deal with the duel green/ blue power ring issue. Learning in the last issue the blue rings only work in the presence of a green ring, we now discover as to why Ganthet and Sayd have chosen Jordan to wear the blue ring. If anyone was best suited for a ring powered by Hope and redemption, it’s Hal Jordan.
But as Jordan soon realizes the only way to remove the blue ring is to use it in a case of hope, the ever knowing Guardians discover Jordan has been “corrupted”, and transport him to Oa, where they try to remove the blue ring forcefully. I actually find this scene quite clever; as it is those who are corrupted themselves, try in vain to cleanse another they deem corrupted.
And so begins the battle of the light, the Blackest of Night, and the never ending fight of the control, and suppression, of the emotional spectrum. I can’t wait for the next chapter.
9/10
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Monday, April 13, 2009
Review of Green Lantern # 39 (DC Comics) By Eddie R.
Review of Solomon Grundy #2 (DC comics) By Eddie R.
A Touch of Irony.
Being a loyal Green Lantern Fan, when I heard DC was coming out with a 7 part Solomon Grundy Series, I kind of rolled my eyes and sighed.. I mean haven’t we been down this road before??
We all know that Grundy has been around in the Green Lantern mythology since the Golden Age, and has been portrayed as both docile and unspeakable evil, mindless brute to a cold and calculating evil genius, depending on the reincarnation cycle. For as many stories involving Grundy, no one really touched on this cycle and the reason why Grundy turns out this way? That is, until now.
To me this current series, which I feel is an “unofficial tie- in” to the upcoming DC “Blackest night” event, has begun to explore the role Grundy was created for in the first place.
Long before the idea of the Guardians, or even the Green Lantern Corps, there was just Alan Scott, who used the “mystical green energies” of an emerald train Lantern to shed light over dark evil under the guise of The Green Lantern. This “dark evil” took on the typical Golden Age themes of crooks and gangsters, but one evil in particular seemed to be a thorn in Alan’s Scott’s side over the years.
This thorn was Solomon Grundy.
I found it quite ironic that within the series first issue it’s revealed Grundy, who has been “reborn” into his original mortal form of Cyrus Gold this time around, is under a curse, and is offered a way out by the one and only Phantom Stranger. The Stranger tells Gold if he can find the instrument of his death within seven days, Cyrus can break the cycle of the curse, and be free once and for all.
There’s only one catch......there are bigger, darker mystical forces at play here than what anyone realizes. And the first case of irony to which I speak is the “whom” The Phantom Stranger puts in charge of Cyrus Gold.. This “irony” is Alan Scott.
From issue #2 of the series, we learn more about Cyrus Gold’s history, we see that someone has been setting up a series of events which will lead Cyrus’s damnation. The last panel of the first page gives us a visual clue as to “who”. My guesses are this person resides in a certain “House of Mystery”, to which I will let the readers discover on their own.
Battles ensue between good and evil, and much light is spread upon this dark tale. Cyrus changes into Grundy once again, as a result of him not being able to control the dark urges controlling him. But, it is after this transformation, where Grundy accidentally frees Bizzaro from a Lexcorp delivery van.
For some reason, Bizzaro takes a liking to Grundy, wanting to become friends with him (in traditional backwards fashion), but Grundy wants nothing to do with him. It is this backwards friendship which is my second irony. Now that Bizzaro has found someone like himself, he gets rejected.
All I can hope for is the next issues theme is just as “ironic” as the first two, and it looks like it just might be.
8/ 10
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Review of Booster Gold # 19 (DC Comics) By Eddie R.
Reality Lost: Epilogue
To be Honest, I was never a fan of Booster Gold when growing up.
There was just something about him which turned me off. I mean over the course of reading comics for 25 + years, I had bumped into Booster on occasion in various books, but I never really went out of my way in order to seek him out, or to learn more about this character who happened to show up just after the Crisis on Infinite Earths back in 1986. 
So when I began to read the weekly series “52”, I felt kind of disappointed when they added Booster as a Subplot. To my surprise, as weeks went by, I began to get interested not only in the part which Booster began to play, but the role he had taken on as a “Reality Cop” with Rip Hunter. At the end of 52, I was left with a sense that Booster was going to play a much bigger role in the background of the DCU.
I was also left wanting more. More Booster, more Rip, more changes to reality.
So when DC announced an ongoing Booster Gold series, I was in hopes that this wasn’t some lame attempt to shoehorn Booster into a series, after showing such a strong potential in 52, which was destined to end far much sooner than it should be. And I am happy to say that my hunches were right.
If anyone asks me about the current state of the DC universe, I tell them to go read the current Booster Gold series. Just like Booster is portrayed as “the greatest hero you never knew about”, I.M.O this book is like that for the DCU. With so many factors currently in play, it’s hard to understand what’s going on and where things might be heading, but somehow, the writers always manage to bring us up to speed and give clues as to where we are heading. The best example of this is the Chalk Board in Rips Hunter’s lab. Never has a device plot been so effectively used. And the current issue of Booster Gold continues to build on this.
Booster Gold #19 is the epilogue to the 5-part “Reality Lost” story arc, which marked the return of Booster Gold’s creator, Dan Jurgens, as both writer and penciler to the series. Setting up a scenario where Booster must continually “clean- up” after himself via a series of time travel events, Booster alters the current reality to the point where Rip Hunter no longer exists. During the same period, Booster’s sister, Michelle, gets abducted by a mysterious figure imprisoned within the time stream, who then shows her the reason behind her continued existence. Michelle’s reaction is one of heartbreak and crying foul, for feeling she has been cheated out of a life, unlike her brother. The way she rectifies the situation will leave readers wondering what consequences will come of this.
It is also during this “clean up”, where Booster encounters a few situations where he ensures the birth and demise of his best friend (and soon to be back up feature) Blue Beetle. Booster also enlists the aid of the one person he knows he can trust with helping is such a major task... Himself.
While I was glad to see this story arc come to an end, I am left with the question as to if this adventure has had any effect on the current state of the DCU?
And just like clockwork, in the background of the last panel, the Chalk Board appears, and it shows me things are about to get interesting once again.
9/10.
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Marvel Comics On-Sale 04/15/09
Hey there True Believers, here’s your official list of comic books, collections and posters arriving in comic stores on April 15th, 2009. For more information on any of these titles, and on upcoming mighty Marvel releases, please visit http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?date=2009-04-15 or contact your local comic book retailer at 1-888-comicbook. Stay tuned each week for a brand new list of Marvel releases so that you’ll never miss your favorite heroes in action!
Comics On-Sale:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #591
CAPTAIN AMERICA #49
DARK TOWER: SORCERER ONE-SHOT
ENDER'S SHADOW: BATTLE SCHOOL #4
HALO: UPRISING #4
INCOGNITO #3
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #11 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
LORDS OF AVALON: KNIGHT OF DARKNESS #5
MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES #10
MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION #1
MOON KNIGHT #29
MOON KNIGHT #29 WOLVERINE ART VARIANT
PUNISHER #4 (DR)
PUNISHER #4 MCKONE COVER (DR)
RAMPAGING WOLVERINE #1
SECRET INVASION AFTERMATH: BETA RAY BILL - THE GREEN OF EDEN ONE-SHOT
SQUADRON SUPREME #10
SUB-MARINER COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
SUB-MARINER COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL MARTIN VARIANT
SUB-MARINER COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL BREITWEISER SKETCH VARIANT
THE STAND: AMERICAN NIGHTMARES #2
THE STAND: AMERICAN NIGHTMARES #2 PERKINS VARIANT
THE STAND: AMERICAN NIGHTMARES #2 SKETCH VARIANT
ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS. HULK #3 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
UNCANNY X-MEN #508
UNCANNY X-MEN #508 WOLVERINE ART VARIANT
WOLVERINE #70 MCNIVEN 3RD PRINTING VARIANT
WOLVERINE NOIR #1
WOLVERINE NOIR #1 CALERO VARIANT
X-FACTOR #42
X-MEN LEGACY #223
X-MEN LEGACY #223 DJURDJEVIC 70TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT
X-MEN LEGACY #223 WOLVERINE ART VARIANT
Collections On-Sale:
ESSENTIAL DAZZLER VOL. 2 TPB
EXILES ULTIMATE COLLECTION BOOK 1 TPB
FOOLKILLER: WHITE ANGELS TPB
HULK VOL. 2: RED & GREEN PREMIERE HC ADAMS COVER
HULK VOL. 2: RED & GREEN PREMIERE HC CHO COVER (DM ONLY)
IRON MAN: LEGACY OF DOOM TPB
MARVEL APES HC
MIGHTY AVENGERS VOL. 4: SECRET INVASION BOOK 2 TPB
MIGHTY AVENGERS VOL. 4: SECRET INVASION BOOK 2 TPB (DM ONLY)
PUNISHER: WAR ZONE - THE RESURRECTION OF MA GNUCCI PREMIERE HC
PUNISHER: WAR ZONE - THE RESURRECTION OF MA GNUCCI PREMIERE HC (DM ONLY)
SPIDER-MAN: KRAVEN'S FIRST HUNT TPB
WAR IS HELL: THE FIRST FLIGHT OF THE PHANTOM EAGLE TPB
WOLVERINE: DANGEROUS GAMES TPB
WOLVERINE: LOGAN TPB
Posters On-Sale:
DARK WOLVERINE POSTER
*DR= Dark Reign tie-in
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SHOUT! FACTORY AND HASBRO ANNOUNCE US and Canada HOME ENTERTAINMENT DEAL ON HASBRO’S CLASSIC ANIMATED SERIES TRANSFORMERS AND G.I. JOE
Shout! Factory and Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) today announced a multi-year, multi-property alliance to bring the original animated TV series THE TRANSFORMERS and the G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO animated series, along with MY LITTLE PONY Twinkle Wish Adventure to the home entertainment marketplace. The announcement was made today by Shout! Factory founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos, and Lisa Licht, General Manager, Entertainment & Licensing, Hasbro.
Under the multi-year agreement, Shout! Factory will be the exclusive U.S. and Canada home entertainment distributor for the original animated TV series The TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO DVD franchise properties, and a MY LITTLE PONY animated direct-to-DVD release.
“TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE and MY LITTLE PONY are three uniquely celebrated brands and are part of the American cultural fabric,” stated the Shout! Factory founding partners. “Given the breadth of Hasbro’s toys, games, television and live-action feature films, we are thrilled with this premiere alliance and to be able to bring these timeless original animated series and new titles to multiple generations of fans.”
“Shout! Factory has a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for our brands and we are very pleased to be aligning ourselves with them,” said Lisa Licht, Hasbro’s General Manager, Entertainment & Licensing. “This agreement is in sync with our strategy of working with premier companies to provide people with a wide-range of entertainment beyond traditional toys and games.”
Shout! Factory plans an aggressive rollout of these Hasbro titles later this year utilizing the same sales and marketing strengths that has made them one of the leading independent DVD suppliers in the home entertainment industry.
Over the years, Shout! Factory has cultivated strong relationships with major Hollywood studios and organizations through a series of strategic content partnerships with ABC Studios, DIC Entertainment, DIRECTV, Dreamworks Television, MGM, NBC Universal Consumer Products Group, Nelvana, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Jetix, 4Kids Entertainment and others.
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SKAAR IS COMING!
PLANET SKAAR PROLOGUE (MAR092571)
Written by GREG PAK
Penciled by DAN PANOSIAN
Cover by ALEX GARNER
Parental Advisory…$3.99
FOC—4/23/09, On-Sale—5/13/09
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DARK HORSE OFFICIALLY JOINS THE DIAMOND FOC PROGRAM!
Dark Horse officially announces participation in the Diamond “Final Order Cutoff” program, or “FOC” for short. Dark Horse first announced the intent to participate in this program at last fall’s Diamond Retailers summit in Las Vegas, Navada to a roar of applause heard throughout the casino.
Dark Horse's final FOC dates will be tied to the calendar day twenty days before the Diamond on-sale date for comics, and approximately three months for graphic novels. Dark Horse will begin including FOC dates for some of our line as early as the May 2009 edition of Diamond’s Previews catalog.
"We are pleased to announce this move to the FOC,” Dark Horse President, Mike Richardson stated. “As every comics retailer knows, times are tough. It is important that Dark Horse not only support them with great product, but with our best efforts to make their ordering decisions as easy as possible. This system will help every retailer who orders Dark Horse product and should lead to better business for all of us."
Dark Horse hopes that participation in the program will help to further instill confidence in the publisher’s consistently strong lineup of releases and continued commitment to the direct sales market in an ever-changing economy.
Dark Horse’s FOC program will begin on Monday, April 20.
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