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 Mercy Sparx, Black Lightning Year One, and Detective Comics

Best Art - Black Lighting Year One #1
Blue Beetle is no more, but artist Cully Hammer lives on, bringing another less-than-popular minority superhero to life with kinetic energy and gorgeous urban backdrops. This is just one particularly beautiful panel from a good old fashioned foot chase scene, no superpowers, no lasers, just men in motion and trash cans getting knocked over. Good stuff.

Most Courteous Death - Detective Comics #852
I know my Panels have been kind of a Hush lovefest for the last several months, but dammit, I just can't get over how Dini made him into such a great villain so quickly! In this issue we hear more of his inner voice, and his "gentleman psychopath" persona is nicely displayed in this quartet of panels where Hush ponders how best to get rid of a ladyfriend. He goes with poison, so as to spare both his victim and the boat's upholstery any unnecessary bloodshed.

Burn of the Week - Mercy Sparx #2The part I really like here is the act of tossing someone out the window and saying, "Later, Whore!" It's just really hard to come back from something like that.

Downer of the Week - Black Lightning Year One #1
This is like the forth season of The Wire on crack. Jefferson Pierce is trying to be an awesome principal in the ghetto of Metropolis, and as soon as he starts to get through to one of his thuggish students, the other kids essentially crucify the poor kid to the school's trophy case. Where did they even get those big wooden stakes?! This is all in issue one, by the way. Jeesh.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Mercy Sparx, Amazing Spider-Man, Street Fighter II: Turbo, 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 SPOILERS.

Beatdown Of The Week - Mercy Sparx #1

Man, we haven't had one of these in a while! But demonic anti-hero Mercy Sparx stole our hearts this week with her repeated blows to the head in her fight against a rogue angel.

Mercy starts things off right with a face punch into a bathroom mirror.

They take it outside, and Mercy doles out a classic knee to the face.

Kick to the head! This girl is awesome.

After Mercy wins the fight and takes the angels halo, she throws in an extra right cross, just because.

The angel defeated, Mercy is forced to end her reign of head smashing. Or is she? Man down! All in all, five different varieties of blows to the head in seven pages. Numbers don't lie, this book is awesome!

Dumb and crazy art, Spider-Man loses it, and the most forced cliffhanger ever, after the jump...


Uh, Yeah... We Got That - Monster Size Hulk
At one point in the story Bruce Banner locks a werewolf in a cage... And in case you aren't perceptive enough to identify a padlock, the artist throws you a bone with a big ugly Photoshop "LOCK" label. Thanks guys.

Most Extreme Foreshortening - Street Fighter II: Turbo #1
I don't really have anything to say here. Just...that is some serious foreshortening. The more you look at it, the more bizarre it becomes.

Dr. Spidey - Amazing Spider-Man #573
Look at what a good job Spidey did administering first aid to himself using webbing as bandages. The only problem? In one hour that dude is gonna start bleeding out.


Worst Cliffhanger - Street Fighter II: Turbo #1

I really loved this book, but I can't resist making fun of it. Do yourself a favor and read this next page...c'mon, it takes place "In Alaska"!

Got that setup? In case you absolutely refuse to click that panel, I'll tell you what Ryu is thinking as he meditates by the fire: "If Akuma shows his face at the tournament for our rematch as he promised, I will be ready to avenge your death, Master...I swear." Got that? Then the door creeeeks open - who could it be???


....wait for it....


OH SNAP.

He Raises a Valid Point - Amazing Spider-Man #573
I imagine it's pretty frustrating to have a villain like Norman Osborn, who can die a bagillion times and still come back to be a big pain in the ass. So it makes sense that Spidey would find it pretty easy to justify breaking his Golden Rule.

Snap Judgements: Street Fighter II Turbo #1, Fables #77, and Welcome To Hoxford #3 and More

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

Mercy Sparx #1 gets an A from AHR
Devil's Due Publishing is already publishing one book about an anti-hero ass-kicking punked-out girl who busts supernatural foes, do they really need two? The answer is yes, if they're both really good. And Mercy Sparx, like it's soul-sister Hack/Slash, is really good. I love stories that take the war between heaven and hell into the modern era, and this book does it with just the right amount of relaxed humor and genuine badassery. The main character, despite looking like a Coop illustration, is a great female lead; she's cool, violent, and boorish, a completely believable young demon who the author treats like a real protagonist, not just a sexy avatar to hang the plot around. The art is a little rough around the edges, but it's a minor complaint. Here's hoping the quality level stays up, this could be a contender.

Fables #77 gets an A from DEgan
This book almost never disappoints. Even after the conclusion of a years-spanning story arc, the overall story doesn't skip a beat; and all without feeling like we're rushing from plot point to plot point. Bill Willingham is one of the best (if not the best) paced storytellers in comics today. We dive right into Fabletown dealing with the aftermath of their victory against "the empire"... and all the bureaucratic problems this may pose... I personally didn't know how the series could continue after the war's conclusion, but Willingham has introduced multiple new story elements that having me craving more. If you don't read Fables, get caught up and start reading-it's the book I most look forward to every month.

Reviews for Welcome To Hoxford and Street Fighter II Turbo after the jump...

Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge #3 gets an A- from DEgan
The flash was one of my first superhero comics, so I've always had a soft spot for the Rogues... and this title under the Final Crisis banner, while almost completely unrelated to the Final Crisis (whatever that actually is), is probably my favorite. Some of the best treatment of the rogues in a long time-Johns really treats each character lovingly. Unlike Batman's rogues gallery, whose personalities are defined by their mental disorders-the Flash's rogues all seem to be defined by their obsessions. And they compliment each other perfectly. Plus this series has continued to show how these dorky-on-the-outside super villains are in fact some of the believably biggest badasses of the DC universe. However, I was looking forward to this title tying into the crisis at the end-and at the conclusion of this story (though an awesome cyclical finish to their journey as Flash killers) all hopes of this story melding with the Final Crisis seem thwarted.

Street Fighter II Turbo #1 gets an B+ from AHR
Here's what happens in this issue: we meet the main fighters, they all do a special move, they all talk about going to the tournament, and at the end there's the most awkward, forced cliffhanger I've ever seen in a comic. And I loved every page. The art is banana bread nutzo, with action sequences full of perspective so forced it'll make your stomach turn. I'm trying to say I enjoyed this, which is really saying something since I mostly picked it up to get some pin-ups of Vega (and there AREN'T any!).

Welcome To Hoxford #3 gets an B- from AHR
Villain on villain dynamics can be a lot of fun if everyone is genuinely and uniquely evil; it creates some unusual and interesting social situations. In this issue, we get some survival horror where the all the survivors are serial killers and sex maniacs, and there's really no heart of gold to be seen. The big problem is this book is literally very dark, as in lots of shadow, and Ben Templesmith has given all the convicts very similar faces, so even though we've got a lot of colorfully horrible characters, it's next to impossible to tell them apart. Also there's also some rape sensationalism (just the threat, not the act), which while believable in context, is kind of unpleasant to read. Still, this book is solid horror, and the art, when distinguishable, is top notch.