WEIRD SCIENCE MARVEL COMICS PODCAST EP 31: MARVEL COMICS, X-MEN, VIDEO GAMES AND FINGER BANGS

Marvel Comics Reviewed: Tony Stark: Iron Man #6, Doctor Strange #8, Web Of Venom: Carnage Born #1, Jim's Quick Books (Captain America #5 and Shuri #2), Immortal Hulk #9, Branden's Quick books (Thor #7, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #312 and Spider-Force #2), Spider-Geddon #4 and Uncanny X-Men #2

Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill ep. 116 - Action Comics Weekly: Green Lantern, Part Three! (1988/89)

I Think I Contracted Malvolio

Welcome back, comics enthusiasts! In this episode, our weary weekly warriors Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) continue their look at the Green Lantern stories included in Action Comics Weekly, tackling issues #624 to #635 from 1988 and 1989! Consisting of one long story written by Christopher Priest and drawn by M.D. Bright, our calendar-efficient pair tackle every sweet second of Hal Jordan's dalliance with Captain Atom, and his meeting a three-hundred year-old ring-bearer named Malvolio! It's the only time this character ever appeared in comic books, so you won't want to miss it!

Throwback Thursday: Mortal Kombat X #1 Review

Blood Code Unlocked

Written By: Shawn Kittelsen
Art By: Dexter Soy
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: January 6, 2015

Before we get into this issue I just want to say that Mortal Kombat was huge for me when I was a kid and I'm sure for a lot of you out there it was the same.  So here we are twenty years later and the tenth game is about to come out and to lead us into this new game we have this digital first comic to guide us to where the story will go.  Now for me I was heavy into the games up until after Mortal Kombat 4 and then I did play the hell out of 2011's Mortal Kombat reboot so I've at least got that going for me when I go through this book.  As you may know from playing the last game, time travel has gone and changed everything you thought you knew about the Mortal Kombat story and when we left off I remember Raiden, Johnny Cage and Sonja Blade being the only survivors and what looked like us about to get into a new type of Mortal Kombat 4.  Here's the thing though, from what I've read it seems that Mortal Kombat X takes place twenty five years after the events of the last Mortal Kombat game, so we've got a lot of time to catch up on here............ I hope I know what the hell I'm talking about in these reviews.  Let's check it out.

Throwback Thursday: The Flintstones #1 Review (2016)

Meet the Flintstones

Written By: Mark Russell

Art By: Steve Pugh, Chris Chuckry

Lettered By: Dave Sharpe

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: July 6, 2016

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

I remember a time I was in elementary school, and some know-it-all girl decided to inform me that the Flintstones wasn’t realistic because cavemen didn’t co-exist with dinosaurs. I stared at her blankly. That’s the unrealistic part? Barney Rubble plays a record made of stone on the beak of a pterodactyl, and you’re incredulous that they appear in the same scene together? This may be when it dawned upon me there is a contingent of persons in the world that are unable to suspend their disbeliefs. You see it in comic books all the time: someone pointing out the inefficiency of a costume or the improbability of some cosmic event. Sometimes it seems like Hollywood is in the grips of people of this bent, what with all the “realistic” updates of stuff like the Transformers, which I would like to point out is a toy line of CARS THAT TURN INTO ROBOTS. “What this fantastical farce is missing is realism!” You might get the impression that this issue of the Flintstones suffers from this sort of update, but you might be wrong. I was just reminiscing on this one stupid memory pertaining to the Flintstones because I read the comic book. You’ll have to read my review to find out how it is!

Throwback Thursday: Dark Night: A True Batman Story Review (2016)

Some Enchanted Evening, You May Find Your True Love

Written By: Paul Dini

Art By: Eduardo Risso

Lettered By: Todd Klein

Cover Price: $22.99

Release Date: June 21, 2016

We all learned what this book is about months before its release: it’s about a night in 1993 that Paul Dini got mugged. My first reaction was, “Big deal! So Paul Dini, acclaimed animator, writer, and creator, got mugged. Did he run out of Emmys to throw at his aggressors? Maybe one of his throngs of admirers picked his pocket as he was being helped into his golden chariot. Stepping on stairs made from piles of cash. Wearing a tuxedo jacket made from African elephant skin.” I mean, I grew up in New York where nearly everyone gets mugged at least once in their lives. It’s just one of many shitty things that can happen in your average day. But then I thought, well this is Paul Dini, who brought some of the best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, among many, many other great cartoons to my television. He’s written some of my favorite comic books, including the Heart of Hush, which is pretty much the only story featuring the character Hush that I find worthwhile. So I had to give him the benefit of the doubt and check out Dark Night: A True Batman Story, and see if I could sympathize with him or merely envy his linen tablecloth made from the actual linen that wrapped the mummy of King Tutankhamen. What did I think? You’ll find out if you read my review below!

Throwback Thursday: New Gods Special #1 Review (2017)

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The Exciting World of Fictional Politics

“Orion of New Genesis” 

Writer/Penciller: Shane Davis 

Inker: Michelle Delecki 

Colorist: Alex Sinclair 

Letterers: A Larger World’s Dave & Troy 

“Teeth of the See” 

Writing and Drawing: Walter Simonson 

Coloring: Laura Martin 

Lettering: John Workman 

Reprinted New Gods Material By: Jack Kirby 

Cover: Davis, Delecki & Sinclair 

Cover Price: $4.99 

On Sale Date: August 2, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

It’s the 100^th Birthday of Jack “King” Kirby, and DC is cranking out a bunch of Kirby-related one-shots during the month of August to celebrate the occasion. Though it comprises some of the DC Universe’s bedrock, his Bronze Age work for the company isn’t as well-known or –regarded as his work at Marvel…where they are celebrating the King by not even publishing the flagship title he co-created with Stan Lee. Well! We can’t worry about the missteps and rudeness of others, can we? No, we can worry only about our own house, so let’s see what’s what in my review of New Gods Special #1, right here!

Throwback Thursday: Sandman Oversized Special #1 Review (2017)

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It Was Only in My Dreams

Written By: Dan Jurgens, Steve Orlando, Jack Kirby 

Art By: Jon Bogdanove, Rick Leonardi, Dan Green, Jack Kirby 

Colored By: Madpencil, Steve Buccellato 

Lettered By: Willie Schubert, Wes Abbot 

Cover By: Paul Pope & Lovern Kindzierski 

Cover Price: $4.99 

On Sale Date: August 16, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! This month of Jack Kirby Specials gets better and better for me, since one of my most favorite Kirby (and Joe Simon) properties is the Sandman! The Sandman is, generally speaking, on of my favorite characters; from the gas mask-wearing Wesley Dodds and the Simon and Kirby yellow and purple costume revamp, to the Bronze Age superhero monitoring dreams with Brute and Glob, to Neil Gaiman’s goth version that is arguably best-known, I love all of these versions. But the Bronze Age Sandman gets the least recognition! So let’s recognize it together, in my review of Sandman Oversize Special #1, right here!

Throwback Thursday: The Multiversity Guidebook #1 Review

MY MIND!

Written By: Grant Morrison
Art By: Marcus To, Paulo Siqueira, Dave McCaig, Hi-Fi
Cover Price: $7.99
Release Date: January 28, 2015

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

The Multiverse continues to get weird with this installment to it's tales of wonder.......Was that too over the top?  Going into this book I really didn't know what to expect.  Was it going to be a simple guidebook telling me all about the different Earth's within the Multiverse?  Was it going to continue with the cursed comic story?  Was it going to introduce new worlds and unite the ones that we've already seen?  As it turns out, it was yes to all of this and man is this a monster of a book because of it.  Now I'm going to try my best to convey what went down in this over over sized issue, but knowing me, I'm probably going to screw it up along the way, so bear with me as we jump into The Multiversity Guidebook, where hopefully we don't go into sensory overload and our brains turn to mush.......... I think that's what Morrison goes for with his writing.  Let's check it out.

Harley Quinn #54 Review

Snooze Tube

Writer: Sam Humphries
Artist: Lucas Werneck
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: November 21, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

I am taking over Harley Quinn from Reggie because...well, he has had enough!  Yep, he's given up on the book and so it comes back to me.  I am the biggest Harley Quinn fan in the Weird Science playpen, but is that just a case of the tallest piece of cheese in the flea market?  Probably, but here we go with this week's issue...

Damage #11 Review

Damage Fights Things ... Again. 

Writer: Robert Venditti
Art Team: Aaron Lopresti, Matt Ryan, Hi-Fi, Tom Napolitano
DC Comics
Release Date: November 21, 2018
Cover Price: $2.99


Here we are in this weird state where the New Age of Heroes books are being canceled left and right, making any informed reader question this line of books future going forward, yet Damage remains one of the few still standing. With no news of its demise on the horizon Damage sets his sights on fighting a version of the Justice League this month, set up from last issues cliffhanger, so let's get right into things and discuss what happens. 

American Carnage #1 Review and Spoilers

Right Here, Right Now

Written by: Bryan Hill

Art by: Leandro Fernandez

Colours by: Dean White

Letters by: Pat Brosseau

Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 20, 2018

When the new wave of Vertigo titles was announced to great fanfare earlier this year, there was only one that really caught my eye. Since first encountering his writing in The Wild Storm: Michael Cray, I've come to appreciate Bryan Hill as a thoughtful writer of action comics and a refreshingly calm and personable presence on Twitter. And here he was being announced as the writer of a six-part mini-series dealing with themes of racial tension and violence in the age of Trump, an increasingly vocal pushback against the perceived excesses of political correctness and the social justice movement, and the reemergence of white supremacy exemplified by the tragic events of Charlottesville. I was intrigued and a little worried. The potential for American Carnage to be a simplistic anti-Trump spleen-venting (the title is lifted from arguably the most controversial section of Trump's inauguration speech) or a jeremiad on the dangers of white (gun) violence was certainly there, but Hill is a writer I've begun to trust, so I approached this first issue with more hope than trepidation. Let's find out if I was right, eh?

Justice League Dark #5 Review and **SPOILERS**

I Made a Mess of Myrra

Writer: James Tynion IV 

Pencils: Daniel Sampere 

Inks: Juan Albarran 

Colors: Adriano Lucas 

Letters: Rob Leigh 

Cover: Nicola Scott & Romulo Fajardo Jr. 

Variant Cover: Clayton Crain 

Assistant Editor: Andrew Marino 

Editor: Rebecca Taylor 

Group Editor: Marie Javins 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: November 21, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Hecate is suppressed, and Circe is probably gonna chill out…for now, so what’s in store for the Justice League Dark from here? Probably some creepy magic shit. Get a clue from my review of Justice League Dark #5, which is posted below!

Aquaman #42 Review and **SPOILERS**

Ghost Dad

Writer: Dan Abnett 

Pencils: Lan Medina 

Inks: Vicente Cifuentes 

Colors: Gabe Eltaeb 

Letters: Steve Wands 

Cover: Eduardo Pansica 

Variant Cover: Joshua Middleton 

Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea 

Editor: Alex Antone 

Group Editor: Brian Cunningham 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: November 21, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Aquaman is powerless, skewered in the guts by Poseidon’s trident last time we saw him. So why does he still have his own series? I bet there’s a good reason, and you might find out by reading my review of Aquaman #42, commencing now!

Justice League #12 Review and **SPOILERS**

The Odd Gods

Writer: James Tynion IV 

Art: Frazer Irving and Bruno Redondo 

Colors: Irving and Sunny Gho 

Letters: Tom Napolitano 

Cover: Jorge Jimenez and Alejandro Sanchez 

Variant Cover: Lucio Parillo 

Associate Editor: Rob Levin 

Editor: Paul Kaminski 

Group Editor: Marie Javins 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: November 21, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

The Earth, she’s-a still drowned. Maybe a gigantic fluffy towel could solve this problem? Maybe they’ll give it a shot in Justice League #12, which I have reviewed for your convenience!

Teen Titans #24 Review and **SPOILERS**

Tight Times for the Titans

Writer: Adam Glass
Artist: Bernard Chang
Colorist: Marcelo Miaolo
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: November 21, 2018

Hmm... from that cover, it looks like our Titanic Teens might be... trapped!

Well, lucky for me... I'm kind of a sucker for that kind of story... though, it usually has to do with a stuck elevator and a pregnant woman.

These stories are usually claustrophobic not only physically... but emotionally as well, and lemme tell ya, I can't get enough of 'em!

Nightwing #53 Review

Moving On

Written By: Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza

Art By: Travis Moore, Patrick Zircher, Tamra Bonvillain, Andworld Designs

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 21, 2018

It's time to jump back into Nightwing, where last issue we left Ric Grayson face to face with the new Nightwing, Detective Sapienza.  Yeah, that had to be a bit of a mind fuck, but I'm sure more of that will come as the Scarecrow comes more into play with each issue.  Let's jump into this and see what Ric Grayson does with the knowledge that Bludhaven is being taken care of by someone other than him.  Let's check it out.

Lucifer #2 Review and **SPOILERS**

Lucifer #2
Written By: Dan Watters
Illustrated By: Max Fiumara & Sebastian Fiumara
Colors By: Dave McCaig
Letters By: Steve Wands
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: November 21, 2018

Wow, a Newsarama quote... that sure says something, doesn't it?

Well, no... not really.

Though, I am surprised to see something with their name attached to it that doesn't have anything to do with a clickbait Top 10 list!

Good on ya!

Sideways #10 Review

Storytellers: Kenneth Rocafort and Dan DiDio

Art by: Kenneth Rocafort, Daniel Brown, and Dave Sharpe
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: November 21, 2018

I had a strange reaction to this issue. I kind of enjoyed it.

This is surprising because I've actively disliked it for the past… perhaps three or four issues. The book fell apart when Derek's mom died but now he's back from his boring Dark Multiverse adventure, which baffles me with its existence. I can't believe that happened.

Batman #59 Review

Qu'est-ce Que C'est...
Writer: Tom KingArtist: Mikel JaninPublisher: DC ComicsRelease Date: November 21, 2018Cover Price: $3.99
I liked the last issue of Batman (not as much as some people mind you!) because Tom King started showing me that he indeed has a larger story going on and is ready to get to it.  Yea, he still plays the game of "fill in the blanks" that drives me nuts, but the blanks got a tiny bit smaller...if that makes sense.  Well, it does to me so I'll go with it!  So, does this issue make the blanks even smaller, or better yet, make them disappear?  Listen, don't ask for miracles (ha!) here!  Let's dive into the issue and see what I thought...

PREVIEW: American Carnage #1

Writer: Bryan Edward Hill
Artist: Leandro Fernandez
Publisher: Vertigo
Release Date: November 21, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

A new, thrilling crime saga from the writer of WILDSTORM: MICHAEL CRAY and the artist of The Old Guard! Disgraced FBI agent Richard Wright is offered a chance for redemption when his old mentor sends him undercover to infiltrate a white supremacist group believed to be responsible for the death of a fellow agent.

PREVIEW: Sideways #10

Writer: Dan DiDio
Artist: Kenneth Rocafort
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: November 21, 2018
Cover Price: $2.99

In the wake of his mother's death, Derek learns that home is where the hell is. Despondent over missing her funeral and shunned by his father because of it, Sideways reunites with his best friend Ernie for some heart-to-heart talk. Her family life is in shambles, too, as Derek learns her folks are divorcing and splitting up the family. The heartbreak prompts them to take a quick jaunt to Paris, where Sideways ends up getting called into action because of a terrorist attack. A hero in France but a pariah at home, Sideways ponders his future-but he may not have much future left, as Dark Star Sciences boss Leto learns he's back and dispatches super-assassin Bolt to capture him. Maybe stay in Paris for another croissant instead?

PREVIEW: Harley Quinn #54

Writer: Sam Humphries
Artist: Lucas Werneck
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: November 21, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

Harley and failed Female Fury Petite Tina go road-tripping! With their lives a roaring dumpster fire, Harley and Tina decide to get out of town for a mini-vacay, and wind up driving each other crazy instead. An unplanned detour leads them to run afoul of a new baddie called Minor Disaster, whose so-called "Disaster Dial" only causes small calamities such as texting your ex and pooping your pants. Harley and Tina must now put their differences aside to stop Minor Disaster before she spells disaster for them both!

PREVIEW: Damage #11

Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Aaron Lopresti, Matt Ryan
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: November 21, 2018
Cover Price: $2.99

It's the showdown almost a year in the making: Damage versus the Justice League! All Ethan Avery wanted was to be a hero. But instead, the military turned him into Damage, the one-hour monster of mass destruction. Now, at the top-secret military installation where Damage's story began, the most powerful superheroes in the world arrive to end it. Ethan must choose between surrendering himself into captivity or fighting the heroes he aspires to be for his freedom. This can only end one way: Damage versus Superman!

PREVIEW: Batman #59

Writer: Tom KingArtist: Mikel JaninPublisher: DC ComicsRelease Date: November 21, 2018Cover Price: $3.99
Caught between Batman and his unseen enemy, the Penguin has to think on his feet to avoid being taken down by either side. If he chooses one way, he goes to jail; if he chooses the other, he ends up dead. Then again, the choice seems obvious. Is Batman ready for a new kind of avian sidekick?

PREVIEW: Nightwing #53

Written By: Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza

Art By: Travis Moore, Patrick Zircher, Tamra Bonvillain, Andworld Designs

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 21, 2018

Who is Dick Grayson? That’s the question haunting him after the devastating injury he suffered in Batman #55. Now, as he continues to struggle physically and emotionally, how can he stand against the terrifying “fear germ” unleashed by the Scarecrow?

PREVIEW: Justice League #12

Legion of Dam

Writer: James Tynion IV 

Art: Frazer Irving and Bruno Redondo 

Colors: Irving and Sunny Gho 

Letters: Tom Napolitano 

Cover: Jorge Jimenez and Alejandro Sanchez 

Variant Cover: Lucio Parillo 

Associate Editor: Rob Levin 

Editor: Paul Kaminski 

Group Editor: Marie Javins 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: November 21, 2018

-->“DROWNED EARTH” part three! It’s Batman, in a full-body cast, versus the Legion of Doom! Get a ringside seat for the craziest fight in comics as a bedridden Batman battles The Joker, Lex Luthor, Gorilla Grodd and Sinestro! Meanwhile, Aquaman locks tridents with Poseidon and Mera discovers an ancient secret that could change the fate of Atlantis—and the entire Earth—forever!

"Drowned Earth" continues, and it looks like Batman's entered the fray! Love on some sweet preview pages, just below.