Panel Discussion: Scans from Rasl, The Cabal, Runaways, and More

Every week Geekanerd throws their books in a scanner to bring you the best, worst, and weirdest panels from the week's comics. Moderate SPOILERS after the jump.

Project Runway Award - Ms. Marvel #38
Wow, Emma Frost. We all knew your original costume was purposefully sexy but...you just grabbed it out of one of those sleazoid porn/lingerie stores on 8th avenue? Girl could have at least paid for it, it probably cost like $30 bucks. Stay classy, Marvel!


Most Horriffic Death - Rasl #4
Make sure to click this for the full effect. These saliors crewed a ship that was teleported as part of a millitary experiment. But every sci-fi geek knows if there's one kind of future-tech you don't want to mess with before it's ready, and that's teleportation. The guy in the middle panel is the most horrifying, with the majority of his head and face stuck in an iron beam. The guy behind him is so scared he turned into The Scream!

Movie Moment - Runaways #10
Even superheroes like to pretend that they're Jedi.


Most Irresponsible Use of Superpowers - Ms Marvel #38
As previously seen in other Dark Reign titles, now that the Avengers team is staffed entirely with villains, cops on the Superhero Cleanup Beat will have to get used to dealing with a lot more corpses.

Banana Randomizer Award for Achivement in WTF - Runaways #10
In comics, the whole dramatic premise of "magic" is anything can happen at literally any time. In this climactic scene, the villian manages to steal whatsername's powerful staff, when a heretofore undiscovered giant dragon EXPLODES OUT OF IT and eats him alive. Problem solved!

Best Acting - Dark Avengers #4
Usually we don't give out the best actor award for one panel, and we ESPECIALLY don't give it out to a character as photo referenced as the new Tommy Lee Osborn. BUT: I just love Norman's expression in this issue-ending panel. I've really enjoyed Osborn since he's been on anti-psychotics (OR IS HE), we've seen him in a lot of very desperate moments that are generally rare in mainstream supervillians. His palpable fear at seeing the Sentry alive and well after being killed for like the BILLIONTH TIME is a nice moment to end on.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Runaways, Jack of Fables, Thunderbolts and More

Cute OverlooaaAHHHG! - Runaways #8
This panel combines Geekanerd's love of zombies with our lesser-known love of cute stuff. But here's the weirdness...this zombie disease is only supposed to effect those who have had plastic surgery. Are we meant to infer that this lady is so into appearances she got her little "fashion accessory" a face lift too?! Or maybe tail/ear clipping counts...either way, poor puppy. At least he seems to be making the most of his newfound zombie strength by running amok.

Burn of the Week - Mercy Sparx #3
This dude finally gets his own anti-heroic splash panel, and it gets ruined by an off-screen insult. That's all the context you need.


Best Actor - Deadpool, Thunderbolts #130

I never read much Deadpool but Andy Diggle gives his some great meta-banter and artist Bong Dazo (lol) matches the comedy with some fantastic facial expressions...MASKED facial expressions!
Curious wonder! And what's with those little bubbles? Are they sick bubbles, from the smell?

Old school Warner Brothers dread! This is some Wile E. Coyote shit.

Cockiness!
And again, WB Cartoon-Style lovesickness! This is a wonderful page...details like his pinky-out grip on his gun and buckling knees make this a classic pose. And he's actually right to react this way- Black Window 2 might look like a generic blonde comic babe, but check out her sexy Russian-accented malaprops! Who can resist?


Most Creative Use of Superpowers - Runaways #8

This manga-tastic issue of Runaways had lots of fun momments, but these two examples of the kids using their powers in simple yet functional ways made the kids all the more easy to identify with. It'd be pretty sweet to have a campfire on your foot whenever you wanted...I'd like to see him try to light a cigarette with it. Don't smoke, kids!

Movie Moment - Mercy Sparx, #3
Here we see Mercy Sparx, Demon extraordinare, re-enacting a pivital scene of Joel Schumacher's popular remake of Birth of a Nation, Falling Down.


SPOILER SPACE!



Spoilers for Jack of Fables #32 and Runaways #8 below!


Best Use of Repeated Panels - Jack of Fables #32
Direct your attention to the left side of this panel. If you find out a group of girls you've been having casual sex with for the last several years are in fact your half-sisters, that's the makings for a long freakin' bus ride right there.

Best Splash Panel - Runaways #8
You need to click on this for the full effect. As cute and fun as the art is in this book, Takeshi Miyazawa really brings the nightmare on the last page. A giant monster made of zombies...arms and legs sticking out every whichway. Oh god. The more I look at this, the more I feel like I need to go outside and get some fresh air.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Runaways, Thunderbolts, Teen Titans and More

Product Placement Alert - RunawaysMarvel has been working the Wii into their books for a while now, but this is a great example of product placement that fits naturally into the world of the story and serves a purpose. Seeing the younger Runaways playing Wii Fit Snowboarding hammers home once again that these are just kids, despite being super-strong, from the past, and whatever else. Also it's really cute that Molly managed to find a pink cat-ear hat for her avatar.

Perfectly Symmetrical Violence Never Solved Anything - Street Fighter II: Turbo
Alternate title: Fearful Symmetry.



Most Tear-Jerking Reunion - Teen Titans
Okay so the art here has the characters looking a little gross and sickly, but they ARE in hell. Eddie's family has presumably been condemned to hell ever since he made his ill-advised deal with the devil over a year ago, and Eddie is such a sweet, dumb kid, the consequences of his mistake really broke my heart. But here, we see that his Aunt seems to be doing okay, and Eddie gets a chance to react like a real kid, instead of a stoic superhero. Of course this may be some sort of demon trick; this being DC no one can ever have a truly happy moment with family, but that aside, this was a satisfying payoff to a story set up ages ago.

Spookiest Display of Emotion - Wonder Woman

Damn, Donna! Whatever Wondie did, I'm sure it doesn't merit turning into a black hole of eyes and teeth.

Movie Moment - Thunderbolts
GET OFF MY PLANE!

Scrappiest Team - Teen Titans
Wow, the Teen Titans have really fallen on hard times. One n00b, one depowered n00b, and the only vet is Wonder Girl. WONDER GIRL. Hey, they're not the JLA, but at least they're keeping a positive attitude. I wish the book would actually follow the exploits of these three for a while...I'm guessing it would involve a lot of hanging out at food courts. And why not? I would read that. I would. Unfortunately two less interesting characters join a few pages later, depriving us of the Beetle-Devil-Cassie team-up we've been waiting for. I'm blaming Dan DiDio.

Worst Acting - Justice Society of America
Yikes. I know it can be hard to act without eyebrows but...that is less a expression of nostalgia and warmth than it is a death's head rictus. If someone looked at me like that I would walk away from them.

Burn of the Week - Runaways
Three hits on YouTube! Now that's a burn.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Blue Beetle, Runaways, Superman/Batman and More

Every Monday, we at Geekanerd rip panels from last Wednesday's comics and post the best, the worst, and the weirdest. Those who didn't read books last week, beware of minor spoilers.

Clearest Example of Batman's Insanity - Superman/Batman #52
In case you need context, Lil' DC heroes and villians have invaded, and the JLA needs to sort it all out. But what you need to know is none of the big heroes ever really lay a hand on the Lil Legion of Doom, I mean they're just so cute, and they're kids, after all, you can't exactly beat up a kid...unless you're a crazy Bat Man, of course. And look at that white-rage expression in his eyes; Batman just sees some Joker-based entity and he goes all "Kill Bill".

On an unrelated note, Catwoman's mid-kiss expression is priceless. This book is amazing.

Awards for Best Actor, Best Coloring, and Most Misleading Cover, after the jump...


Best Actor - Jaime Reyes, Blue Beetle #31

Andrew Coelho is a Blue Beetle artist from around the time the series started, and he's fantastic at wringing sharp, teenager-appropriate expressions from Jamie's armor-abstracted face. Let's examine...

Here we have embarrassed teenager eye-roll. You can really hear the "MooOMM!" intonation of his line.
With just a little lower-lid action, here's the perfect picture of an awkward superhero photo op.

One might call this expression "whedonesque"...

This moment works on the strength of the script alone; this thug just punched Jaime's mom at the hospital she works at, just as Jamie busts in. His expression in the lower panel is a really funny yet touching expression of a young kid who's so angry, he just swings out and doesn't care about having a cool, scrunched up hero face. It's like if " >: O" were a real facial expression.

Best Use of Color - Runaways #2
Last month my only gripe with the new Runaways creative team was that Christina Strain's colors were too "day-glo". But this week I had to eat my words, cause her it's her bright and neon pallete that makes this scene especially remarkable. I can't remember seeing water colored like that before in a comic, but it's instantly evokative of the way the ocean actually looks during a sunset. Great stuff.

Movie Moment - Superman/Batman #52Any fans of The Hudson Hawk out there? In that movie, there are two henchmen named Igg and Ook. And when they are eventually killed with bullets to the head, they grunt out "Igg!' and "Ook!". I rest my case.

Most Misleading Cover - Back to Brooklyn #1 (Variant Cover)How could I not get this comic? That's my subway train stop, and that girl is smokin' hot and looks like she could be a real badass hero/antihero. But you know what? She's in the comic for like two pages, and she's not attractive, tough, or heroic. She's not anything. She's like gray wallpaper, which is pretty much the color pallete of the actual book.

Now That's Comedy - Runaways #2I feel like this is really funny even out of context. Though I've been wrong before.

Snap Judgements: Reviews for New Avengers, Superman/Batman, Runaways, and More

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST. Beware some potential spoilers.

Superman/Batman #52 gets an A from AHR

Any criticism I might have about this book is negated by the fact that I read the entire thing with a huge smile on my face. It's part 2 of 2, but here's all I needed to know; cute lil DC characters drawn by former Blue Beetle artist Rafael Albuquerque. Michael Green, he of the both excellent and horrible Lovers and Madmen story, serves up some moments of sheer cute-larity. Even when things go dark, they don't get ugly. WAN MORE PLZ.

Runaways gets an A from AHR

Fun and funny art, plenty of LOLs and :(s. Also lesbians. And you know you're reading an awesome book when you have a gay couple who are being hated on not because they're gay, but because one of them is a skrull. Oh Marvel, you'll win me over yet! I haven't read much of this title, and if you haven't either, check it out; they do a great job filling new readers in on what's going on.

Blue Beetle, New Avengers, and Avengers: Initiative, after the jump...

Blue Beetle #31 gets a B from AHR

This series continues to be really good. Not John Rogers good, but better than 85% of all superhero comics good. It's certainly the best thing I've read by Matt Sturges. I like the border patrol arc, maybe Jamie can take on the housing crisis next?

Avengers: The Initiative #17 gets a B from Albo

As tired as I am of Sectret Invasion, The Initiative does a pretty
good job of telling interesting stories with the mega event as its
backdrop. Ant-Man, stranded in this series after his brilliant Robert
Kirkman solo series got canned, finally gets a moment to shine with
his particular brand of false, cowardly "heroism." There's also a
great pep talk from Nick Fury wherein he goes on about how the
"Greatest Generation" were really just a bunch of scared kids in
trenches, just like you.

New Avengers #45 gets a C from Albo

Man, I bet I would just love this issue if I had read all of that "No
More Mutants" crap a while back. There's a cool alternate reality,
some classic "Back to the Future" style flashbacks where we get to see
a famous scene from a new perspective... All kinds of cool stuff. Oh,
yeah, but I don't know what the hell is going on. My fault, I know, I
know.

Panel Discussion: Scans from Wolverine: Saudade, Welcome to Hoxford, Final Crisis and More

A Note on Blades - Wolverine: Saudade
There've been a lot of interpretations of Wolvie's claws over the years, some better than others, but I gotta say this one really works for me. They remind me of time before it was "revealed" that he has had bone claws since adolescence, or even before it was "revealed" that the claws were an unforseen byproduct of the adamantium lacing process. These finely crafted, downright designed sumbitches remind me of those glorious days when Wolverine was an unfortunate Canadian mutant who was made into a living weapon by mysterious people for a mysterious purpose. *Sigh* Those were the days. Let's see some more of these beauties.
Awesome! So dangerous!


Best Pop Culture Reference - Runaways/Avengers #1
Haw. She said a Harry Potter thing.

Best Deal With The Devil - Amazing Spider-Man #571
So apparently Spidey's deal with the devil that made everyone in the world forget his secret identity also made it impossible for anyone to use an ounce of brain matter to rediscover the fact. Norman Osborn, actual GENIUS, finds Peter Parker's camera set up to take pictures of Spider-Man to sell to the papers, and comes to the conclusion that Peter is just a front for Spidey's side career as a photographer. Gah!


Cute Overload - Welcome to Hoxford and Patsy Walker: Hellcat #3

This was a good week for mice in comics.

First up we got a li'l rattie who comes to speak to psychotic serial killer Raymond Delagdo in the voice of his dead mother. I love the cartoony silloutte in the third panel. Things don't end well for this rat, but at least he had his moment in the sun.

Meanwhile, in Hellcat, this truly adorable snow lemming shows up to guide our hero to...something, I didn't really read this issue, I just tuned in for this adorable ball of cuteitide.

I HAS A CAREER; IZ A BOUNCER. U FOLLO NAO, KTHXBYE.

I also can see the headlines now; "Area Cute Thing Bites a Thing, Is Chubalicious". "Chunktastic Mouser Seen Hanging In There, Baby".

Too Much Information - Wolverine: Saudade
Oh, man. That's just a bit more of Wolverine than I really was hoping to see today. But what the hey, the ladies seem to love it:

Scariest Panel - Welcome To Hoxford #2This is some serious nightmare shit, right here. The way that the monster is holding the woman's glance THROUGH the door is the scariest part. He knows where she is, and he's a' comin.

Whammy of the Week - Runaways/Avengers #1
Whoo doggies! That's how I like my power bolts; all Dragon Ball Z'ed out and in full technicolor, complete with a unique and persuasive sound effect. I also like to imagine what swear word she's screaming, especially in light of the All Star Batman & Robin fiasco.

Most Unpleasant Panels of the Week - Young Liars #8
I'm not going to try to explain to you what's happening here. Not because you won't understand it, but because I don't want to understand it.

Banana Randomizer Award for Achievement in WTF - Final Crisis: Revelations #2
Good lord; so if Batwoman had her own series, is this the sort of adventures she'd be having? I don't know if my sensory perceptions could take it. I can barely parse out what's going on in this one panel, let alone a whole book.

After very careful inspection, I count three guys, five submachine guns, a lot of debris, and I guess that's Croc at the bottom? Or possibly an actual crocodile? I think with more balanced coloring this might have been a coherent but still crazy splash page, but as it's a big black, red, and green blob.