Panel Discussion: Scans from Mighty Avengers #15, Final Crisis #2, New Avengers #42 and More

Every week we at Geekanerd rip panels from our comics and put them on display here, recognizing the best, worst, and weirdest moments of the week. Beware some major SPOILERS.

Click the pics for high res goodness!

Celebrity Cameo Corner - Thunderbolts #121

How long has Penance been Edward Norton? I read the entire Deodato Thunderbolts run and only now did this jump out at me. And regardless of how you feel about photo referencing, isn't it a little unadvised to model a Marvel character off an actor who is playing a DIFFERENT Marvel character at a theater near you?! Or is this some sort of insane cross-promotion? Are they trying to tell us that Penance is really Bruce Banner? I'm sure it's all something to do with Secret Invasion. - AHR

Every Man's Worst Nightmare - Mighty Avengers #15
Hank Pym experiences every man's worst fear: that the cute naked co-ed you're sitting in bed eating ice cream with will transform into a Hulk tranny and kick your ass. -Albo

Hero Most In Need of A New Costume - Robin, Teen Titans #60
Tim, you're not the Boy Hostage any more. You're not flipping around the sidelines while Batman does the dirty work. With this in mind, you MIGHT want to re-enforce the spandex outfit at least to the point where Clock King (CLOCK KING!) can't stab you in the stomach like he's punching a hole in a Capri Sun. - AHR

Someone Call Tony Stark... - Avengers: The Initiative #14
A method for detecting Skrulls has been found! They loooooove pickles and strawberries! And I love Dan Slott for being goddamn hilarious. -Albo

What I loved about that moment is that Skrull Man uses quotes when he names the food, because it's so unfamiliar. You know he's internally pronouncing them as "pick-ELLES" and "straw-BERRIES". -AHR

Most Chilling Ending - Avengers: The Initiative #14
This issue has a hell of an ending, with the first actual method of detecting Skrulls (other than the aforementioned Skrullian T'Manja berries mention earlier) being fritzed by a Skrull who's actually a good guy but happens to be in hiding because he's genuinely afraid of the predjudice that will be leveled against him if he is revealed. So he "hacks" the Skrull-detecting goggles, and now poor Delroy faces the very Twilight Zoney twist of "seeing" that EVERYONE IS A SKRULL. I fear for his mental health. Great end to a great issue. -Albo

Snappingly Good Dialogue - Mighty Avengers #15
"I didn't kiss anyone. And I could have." I know it doesn't seem like much, but it's just the sort of biting non sequitur that you rarely see in comics but often hear in actual relationship arguments. Not that I would know, because any ladies I let into my life worship the ground I geek on, but that's beside the point. -Albo

Project Runway Winners - Final Crisis #2
Japanese club kids plus superhero outfits = the height of geek chic. I wonder if these are all J.G Jones originals, or if he found some superhero fashion reference material? I thought I recognized some of these looks from the recent exhibit at the Met Museum, but no dice. Fashion aside, the best thing in this panel is the guy in the Stormtrooper/Samurai suit, proving once again that Star Wars fans will use any event as an excuse to cosplay. - AHR

What I Hate About Secret Invasion - New Avengers #42
So much of Bendis' "flashback" stories are just a slew of Skrulls hanging out in some dark New York warehouse talking. Not about anything all that interesting. You know, "Sentry is a threat... We should figure out how to get Stark out of the picture... The plan is coming along nicely..." Blah blah blah. It doesn't help that I often can't tell who the hell everyone is supposed to be.

Malpractice Lawsuit in the Making - New Avengers #42
I've really racked my brain for any plausible explanation, but... Can those blobs on the operating tray be anything BUT breast implants?
Hydra Nurse: "But Doctor, her chart says she's in here for power renewal, not--"
Hydra Dr.: "Silence, Nurse! Scalpel!"
And I guess that's how she went from manageable C-cups to these monstrosities in the same issue:
It's only fair to note that the second Spider-Woman is actually Spider Skrullette. Which only raises more issues. -Albo

Cute Alert - Teen Titans #60
That long gaited, big feet teenager walk is too adorable. I like it when action books aren't afraid to get a little cartoonish, when appropriate.

Someone Please Explain... - New Avengers #42
What exactly is supposed to be happening at the end of this issue? What's the "film melt" effect supposed to mean? Surely I'm overlooking something obvious... Help, Geekanerds of the world! -Albo
[UPDATE: The internets work fast, ladies and gentlemen. Alex Zalben of Pulp Secret and Comic Book Club stepped in like the crack of Indiana Jones' whip to let me know the same film melt effect was used in the first issue of House of M, which coincides with what's happening in these panels. Guess I should have read that. Thanks Alex!]

Snap Judgments: Reviews for 1985 #2, Final Crisis #2, The Initiative #14 and More!

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

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite TPB gets an A+ from AHR

This is a must have. First of all, Gerard Way's six issue story is so good it makes me a little anxious; how can comic that's so smart, so refreshing, be the freshman effort of a pop star? It makes me question everything I know about the world. Aside form the main story, the extras in this book are superb: a highly credible introduction by Grant Morrison, in which he mentions listening to The Black Parade on loop while writing the brilliant Batman #663, genuinely impressive original character designs by Way himself, a wonderful piece of promo art by artist Gabriel Ba, and the Free Comic Book Day one shot in which the world got it's first taste of the Academy. Get this book. Cherish it.

Reviews for Avengers: The Initiative #14, Final Crisis #2, Mighty Avengers #15, Walking Dead Vol 8, Thunderbolts #121, 1985 #2, New Avengers #42.

Avengers: The Initiative #14 gets an A from Albo

This has been a "pick up and scan in the store" book for me for months now, along with Amazing Spider-Man and anything that looks a little sexy. But I swear, once I started seeing what was going on within these pages I had no choice but to buy it. Dan Slott takes what could have been a pretty ordinary *COUGH*mightyavengers15*COUGH* Hank Pym-is-a-Skrull story and turns it into a hilarious situation comedy. The issue starts with some flashbacks that show Pym Skrull having to using his hidden extra powers to escape particularly tough scrapes, and then attributing his miraculous survival to "shrinking a lot." Needless to say, Pym Skrull thinks the gullibility of Earthlings is hilarious. There are many more standout moments, such as an Initiative cadet's "discovery" of Pym as a Skrull based on his choice of lunchables and a very Twilight Zoney ending that will make your heart sink. Highly recommended read!

Final Crisis #2 gets a B+ from AHR

For the first half of this book, I was sure it was going to get an A. I LOVE the Japanese superhero team. I wish DC would let Grant Morrison write a guide to the DC Universe, where he just makes everything up. His inventions and reinventions are almost always way more fun and interesting than anything that existed before. I even love what he's doing with the Monitor in this book; it reminded me of parts of Jonathan Lethem's Omega series, oddly enough. But parts of this book are so hard to understand, and so full of made-up space jargon, it feels like a slog in order to get to the next fun bit. Also, if I was a fan of Martian Manhunter, I think I'd be pissed by the one-page funeral scene. Didn't Bart Allen get like, an entire book to himself? He's not even a JLA-er!

Mighty Avengers #15 gets a B from Albo

If you like naked people, this is certainly the Avengers book for you. There are only seven pages in the book that DON'T contain a nude or only partly clothed individual. Anyway, Bendis seems intent in telling the bulk of Secret Invasion through flashback stories, no doubt to illustrate how fiendishly clever he's been these past few years. This one's all about Pym being replaced by a Skrull, and while I certainly can't claim the read isn't enjoyable (Bendis crafts some great little scenes here) I can't help but ask "Why?" when I'm all done with it. I didn't feel like I came out with any important information I didn't have going in. And surely I'm not the only one sick of these frickin' "warehouse talks" the undercover Skrulls seem to have every other night (See New Avengers review below).

The Walking Dead Vol 8: Made to Suffer TPB gets a B- from AHR

I got a little frustrated with this arc of this story, because I felt kind of dicked around with. There are a few too many "gotcha" cliffhangers, which at least won't be as irritating in trade paperback seeing as you don't have to wait a month to realize what seemed to be a horrifying twist was actually just a misunderstanding with no consequences. Thought to be fair, there are a hell of a lot of game-changing events in this book, and some very gut churning moments for long-time readers. But the supervillain-style antagonist of this story arc really gets on my nerves, and his dystopian post-apocalyptic society reminded me too much of Mad Max meets A.I. I never could reconcile it with the intimate, relatable world the story had inhabited beforehand. Also the zombies kind of fade into the background, and that's never a good sign.

Thunderbolts #121 gets a C+ from AHR

Not as fun as the Green Goblin rampage of last week. Not enough angry Moonstone. Too many panels where characters are simply running from one place to the other. And where's Venom? Did he die in the last issue? I can't remember. But; Bullseye comes back, and he's making up for lost time. Lost MURDER time. I liked Ellis' work on this title a lot, and am sad to see him go; I wish this mean, somewhat silly book could have gone out with more of an absurdly violent bang.

1985 #2 gets a C from Albo

Is it a second issue thing? Is Mark Millar just incapable of following up a strong first issue with anything but a dull slog of a story? Much like his Kick-Ass, the first issue was a fun, fresh, exciting setup and the second is just plain dull. Aside for the introduction of some new mystery, this book squanders the momentum it had coming in. Nothing happens. It's that simple. I'll still pick up the next one, though, because if Kick-Ass #3 was any indication, Millar really knows how to pick up the pace after a dull sophomore issue.

New Avengers #42 gets a D from Albo

As mentioned above, I am so sick of reading these scenes of standing around in a warehouse talking about their strategy to destroy the humans. There are invariably a few Skrullettes who look exactly the same and I'm not sure who's who and I'm so bored I can't even muster the energy to figure it out. Yes, we know Jessica Drew is a Skrull. Yes, we know she's working for Hydra and Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. Why don't you tell me something new, BMB?

Snap Judgments: Dead, She Said #1, Amazing Spider-Man #560 and More

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. There are probably some spoilers herein. Arranged from BEST to WORST.

Dead, She Said #1 gets an A from Albo
The more of Steve Niles' work I read the more I like the guy. I picked up 30 Days of Night when it was on the stands back in the day and came away feeling it was a little thin. But Simon Dark, among other things, has made me take another look. This horror noir story starts with a private dick waking up and cracking his way out of rigor mortis... That's right, he's "dead," shot through the belly and he's determined to figure out why. Giant ants may be involved. Smart, original, well worth your dollars.

Reviews for Amazing Spider-Man #560, Mighty Avengers #14, and Fantastic Four #557 after the jump!

The Amazing Spider-Man #560 gets a B from Albo
Not much more to say that I didn't say in last week's review of #559. Just a solid Spidey story from Dan Slott with killer art from Marcos Martin. We learn a little more about "Paper Doll" this week, and she's turning out to be a pretty cool villain. Different, at least. Also this ish contains the return of a major Spidey character we haven't seen since this whole Brand New Day stuff started...

The Mighty Avengers #14 gets a B from Albo
Frank Cho being so slow of an artist forced Bendis to approach his Avengers books in an interesting way--he was trying to thread the two books into one ongoing story, but since Mighty was taking so much longer than New he ended up creating a lot of flashback stories as filler for New in order to keep the books on roughly the same timeline. Well now that's become a real style of his, as most of his Secret Invasion tie-in stories skip around in time more than a season of LOST. I say it works, even if it does get a little tough to put all the pieces together in my head. This ish in particular is about how the Skrulls have approached the "problem" of the Sentry, and it's a testament to the new era of comics that their solution isn't just "hit him really hard," because as we (and they) know, that never works for the bad guys. Well, except maybe Doomsday.

Fantastic Four #557 gets a C from Albo
Ahem. To defeat a giant robot that pummeled every Marvel hero in existence and destroyed dozens of military complexes around the globe, Mister Fantastic builds a bigger robot (which he inexplicably dubs "Anti-Galactus"... wtf?) in an AFTERNOON and bases his whole battle strategy on the ASSUMPTION that the robot's creator included him in a list of people that it couldn't harm. When he could have, oh I don't know, CALLED HER JUST TO MAKE SURE. Lazy storytelling from a guy that's probably too busy out promoting the movie adaptation of Wanted to give a damn. On a positive note, there is a really sweet scene at the end (which I woulda given an "A" if it were a standalone story) where Reed takes Sue out on an anniversary date--back in time to the moment they first met. And as a gift he gets her a ring with a "stone" that's actually a micro-galaxy with "over forty trillion couples ... all loving each other like I love you." What kind of softy have I become when I open a comic and prefer the date scene to the giant freaking robot fight?! Am I losing my Geekanerd touch? Or is Millar just better with character moments than action?

Panel Discussion: Scans from All-Star Superman #10, New Avengers #39, Transhuman #1 and More

Every week Geekanerd brings you the best, worst and weirdest panels from our week in comics. If you didn't read your books, there will be giant SPOILERS. Click the images for high res action!

Best Opening Page - New Avengers #39Albo: This issue is basically a Maya solo story, so starting through her eyes on a silent page (she's deaf) is perfect. The hand reveal is a wonderful "fade in", and the subtle touch of leaving the right side of the last panel open elegantly guides our attention to the next page. David Mack's got them skillz.

Saves, Skrulls and Slurs after the jump!

Best Save - All-Star Superman #10AHR: What really gets me about this sad, elegant sequence is the first long panel of the girl dropping her cell phone. It's a lonely image that sharply conveys a final decision to close off from the world. I think it gets to the heart of what makes Superman unique that even with all the crazy shit going down in both his life and the world at large, saving people from their own personal despair still registers on Superman's hero-sense. He wants to save everyone, and it's nice to believe he can.

To Me, My X-Monkeys - Transhuman #1
Albo: These familiar-looking primates are interspersed within a double page gag where a number of genetic engineering test monkeys are being evaluated.

Doom Gets Serious - Mighty Avengers #11
Albo: "You're a fat piece of furniture... Cow-mouth... Whore's Heart..." This is not your daddy's Dr. Doom.

SkrullWatch '08 - Mighty Avengers #11
Albo: To escape Dr. Doom's clutches earlier in the issue, Spider Woman did some wacky energy crap she's never done before. Needless to say, this makes Black Widow nervous because the earth is infected with shape shifting aliens and exhibiting a heretofore unknown power is suspicious behavior. Plus that look Spidette's giving the reader in panel four is totally evil. The complication is that Spider Woman is the person who brought the Skrull invasion to Iron Man's attention in the first place, when she brought Skrullektra's corpse to him. My guess? Skrulls are too smart to reveal themselves so recklessly, and Black Widow's nervousness isn't Skrullspicion (I can do this all night, ladies) but concern that HER SKRULL INTEL ISN'T COMPLETE. Oh yeah, babies, THE BLACK WIDOW IS A SKRULL!!!

Best Threat - Ravager, Teen Titans #57
AHR: "The only thing I'm scared of....is that I might not get a chance to hide your body before my teammates show up." There's nothing I love more than when a pseudo-evil member of a non-evil team gets a chance to cut lose and show their sadistically insane stripes. It's worth noting Ravager does indeed kill this so-called Persuader (worst villain name ever), or at least she would have if Robin hadn't killer-proofed her lightsabres(!) so they operated only on a non-lethal setting(?!), thus denying both Ravager and the reader a cathartic murder spree. *Wamp wamp waaaaa!*

Smooth Talkin' Mutie - New Avengers #39
Albo: If I had moves like Logan... Man what I could do.

Nerd Alert - New Avengers #39
Albo: You betcha Hawkeye Ronin has an MC Chris t-shirt.

Snap Judgments: Quickie Comic Reviews for March 26, 2008

Geekanerd's second attempt at writing short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST.

Blue Beetle #25: A+
This comic makes me want to be a better man. - AHR

Mighty Avengers #11: A
Probably the best Dr. Doom story I've ever read. Really! - Albo

New Avengers #39: A
Finally the Skrulls are here! Too bad they're pansies. Aside from the lame Skrull fight this is a fantastic standalone Echo story. - Albo

Teen Titans #57: A
An entire issue of Ravager sneering, quipping, and being excessively violent; that, my friends, is exactly what I came to see. - AHR

All-Star Superman, Transhuman and Gunplay after the jump...

All-Star Superman #10: B+ from AHR, C from Albo
A collection of moments that are alternately confusingly plot-heavy and timelessly emblematic of why folks love Superman. The issue feels disjointed without a single clear narrative line to reassure the audience that the book will eventually become coherent, but like most of Morrison's work it's worth the effort. - AHR

Trying to do way too much at once. Where the hell is Morrison going with this? - Albo

Transhuman #1: B from AHR, C from Albo
Setting a story about genetic engineering in the innately evil world of corporate pharmaceuticals is a stroke of GENE-ius, and despite a constraining "documentary" storytelling device (which visually translates as all talking heads all the time) it's a surprisingly fluid read and if you make it to the middle you get a great comedy interlude with monkeys and violence and X-Men jokes. - AHR

Comic masquerading as a documentary on genetic engineering and human manipulation. All info, no story, no thanks. Hickman's Pax Romana is a much better read with similar themes. -Albo

Gunplay #0: C+
The first bit of a soon to be released graphic novel, which judging from the first few pages I thought was going to be an anti-racist revenge fantasy/vaguely racist castration anxiety nightmare, and though this issue indicates a story more thoughtful and nuanced than that, you get the sense that the preview ends before the interesting stuff starts, which seems like a gamble, marketing-wise - and by the way, I'm not crazy for thinking there are castration themes in this book, like mid-way through a dude gets his balls grabbed. - AHR

Albo's Comic Book Pick & Pan for March 12, 2008

Pick of the Week: The Mighty Avengers #10
Story by Brian Bendis
Art by Mark Bagley, Danny Miki, Allen Martinez & Justin Ponsor

I’ve been feeling like this book has gone off the rails a bit since artist Frank Cho left, with bullet point storytelling and some seriously ugly art by Mark Bagley. But this issue was a nice side adventure that did away with both of those problems. It was rather self-contained and well-paced, and somehow the 70s era coloring (this is a time-travel story!) vastly improves the look of Bagley’s linework. The story itself primarily follows The Sentry, who doesn’t realize he has traveled back in time to the 70s and is trying to make sense of everything—there’s no Avenger’s Tower, Thor is alive… It’s all very confusing for a man with a history of severe emotional disorders, and he starts freaking out a bit. What’s cool is that he hasn’t traveled back to the Marvel 70s that we remember, but the one that REALLY happened, before everyone forgot The Sentry ever existed (Confused? Go read his Wikipedia page). The Sentry’s unique position in the universe is integral to Iron Man’s plan to get back to our time without mucking up the space-time continuum. It’s just good storytelling when things can come together so elegantly.

Hit the jump to see what got panned...

Pan of the Week: Avengers: The Initiative #10
Story by Dan Slott & Christos N. Cage
Art by Stefano Caselli & Daniele Rudoni

I don’t even know what to say about this book other than that I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to get out of it anymore. This was a really fun series back when it was about these kids training and whatnot, but now we’re building towards the end (?) and I’m not sure what the hell is going on. I mean, I know who is fighting who and all that, but there’s a lack of import to the proceedings… For some reason I just don’t care about all these people dying (and gruesomely so!). There’s so much crap going on at once that I can’t focus on the characters… And not to spoil anything, but if the whole point of this series was to re-introduce the New Warriors with D-List characters then consider me swindled.

These reviews were originally published as part of Pop Culture Shock's Picks & Pans.

Panel Discussion - Scans From Batman and the Outsiders #4, Mighty Avengers #9, Locke and Key #1 and More

Deja Vu - Batman and the Outsiders #4
Ooh, a reprogrammed evil robot joining the Outsiders? Good idea! What could possibly go wrong?!

Hydra Has the Sexiest Nurses - Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death
No wonder those goons in green always go down without much of a fight... The infirmary is staffed by hotties of epic proportion!

Most Inappropriate Use of Expressionism - The Flash #237
This panel would not at all be out of place in a show exhibiting expressionist takes on the horror of war. I like that about it. This whole issue feels like a tremendous rush job in terms of art, so perhaps this was just a first attempt at "upset" that came out so over-the-top crazy the artist just couldn't resist actually finishing and turning it in.

This next panel, on the other hand, is a total disaster. Depth, perspective, scale and shading all mashed together in a three car pile up. DC, if a book is late, I can live with that. This hurts me.

Best Actor Award - Tyler, Locke & Key #1
Throughout this scene Tyler has such a wonderfully authentic look of fear. Even after his attacker is dead, he is terrified with what he's done.

Overkill Alert! - Mighty Avengers #9
What happens with Earth's Mightiest Heroes storm Dr. Doom's castle? THREE DOUBLE PAGE SPLASHES IN A ROW. Man o man. My opinion on this has vacillated between disgust and admiration. I'm not a big fan of Bagley's art and only buy the book for Bendis' words, so three solo Bagley pages didn't interest me on my first glance. But when going back, I realized that these pages were pretty good for Bagley, and that much action should be exciting. Once I put together more pieces and realized Bendis' whole idea with this book is to make it a really traditional superhero book (bringing back word balloons and all that), the splashes started making more sense. Still, I can't help but think something like this is a bit of a waste.

Panel Discussion: Scans From Captain America #34, Batman #673, Black Adam #6 And More

Every week we at Geekanerd rip panels from our comics and put them on display here, recognizing the best, worst, and weirdest moments of the week. Click the pics for high res goodness, and beware some major SPOILERS.

Scariest Silver Age Refugee - Bat-Mite, Batman #673
We all know Grant Morrison loves to take the goofiest possible characters from the Silver Age of DC and imbue them with all sort of dramatic significance. He turned Egg Fu into a monster of the atomic age, and the Club of Heroes into a portrait of unanswered ambition, and here we have his reimagined Bat-Mite, who appears in Bruce's hallucination as a sort of herald of things to come. I actually found his appearance to be a little restrained, i.e. not as horrifying as Grant could have made him. That is until I looked closely at these panels and saw frigging SPAWN peaking over his shoulder - thanks for the nightmares, Tony Daniel.

A boatload of scans from all the Avengers books, Black Adam, Y: The Last Man, Captain America and more after the jump...

SkrullWatch '08 - Avengers: The Initiative #9 and Mighty Avengers #8Take special note of this spooky suit's comment: "The Tactigon is the deadliest weapon in the universe. It's not doing us any good sitting here." Huwha? Aren't we supposed to say "The Tactigon is the deadliest weapon in the universe. Let's keep it safe here or destroy it or something, but whatever we do we can't give it to an unstable clone of a super-soldier." For those keeping score, that's exactly what he does. And when said unstable clone of a super-soldier begins KILLING ALL THE SUPERHEROES in the building?
Translation: "Meh. Let's give him the space he needs to kill all sixty of these guys, and then we'll start worrying about other possible sources of resistance to our Skrull invasion." You heard it here first, folks...

GYRICH IS A SKRULL!

Meanwhile, the big Avengers are fighting off a symbiote infestation that is turning New York's population into a swarm of rampaging Venoms and Carnages and whatevers. A lot of our heroes are affected, but some aren't. A couple have good excuses: Iron Man's suit protects him and Wonder Man is ionic, not biological. But a couple of others have no evident excuse for not changing into Skrulls.
Sentry? Ms. Marvel? Luke Cage? I can almost give Sentry a pass because he's a Golden God or something like that, but I don't think Marvel editorial will be able to resist the heart sinking moment of having humanity's best hope against the Skrullian hordes turn green and smile a big ole wrinkly smile. And Luke Cage? He really should have been affected, he's like a half step away from being a normal human.

SENTRY, MS. MARVEL AND LUKE CAGE ARE SKRULLS!

Brand New Complication - Mighty Avengers #8
So part of this whole "Brand New Day" business is that no one knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Not one person. Everyone remembers that Spider-Man revealed his identity during that whole Civil War fracas, but no one remembers whose face was behind the mask. What they apparently do remember, as shown in this panel, is the secret identity of the Scarlet Spider: Ben Reilly, the identical Peter Parker clone who dressed up like Spider-Man and had all the same powers. I think Tony Stark would have a good lead on the identity of one of the unregistered fugitive heroes if he'd just think about it for a second. And wouldn't he want to investigate after realizing that there must be some funny business going on to make him (and all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records) forget what Spidey revealed on national television?
UPDATE: It's been pointed out on the Newsarama forums that this book (and most current non-Spidey Marvel books) takes place BEFORE "Brand New Day," because Spidey is still in his black costume... But then why doesn't that screen say "Peter Parker/Spider-Man?"

Most Satisfying Payoff - Black Adam: The Dark Age #6
The big question in the Black Adam series is how bro got his powers back, after having his magic word changed in secret by Captain Marvel. Well, within mere hours of traveling to Billy Batson's hometown and saying everything he sees out loud, Adam hits on this Rockwellesque diner and figures it out. While I don't completely buy that even a dim-bulb like Capitan Marvel would change Adam's word(s) to what amounts to an inside joke (P.S, if it could be more than one word, how about a 500-word string of gibberish, Cap?), his panel is hilarious. There's the silhouetted soda-jerk frozen in shock, with only the all-important egg cream in color. Adam's extremely understated look of satisfaction, and barely a hint of surprise. And that kid....love the detail of his blown-in-half straw, but here's what's killing me; that kid looks like someone. At first I thought it was the boy from the Incredibles...
And while the expressions are similar, I can't help but think I'm missing the most obvious visual reference. I thought maybe a Norman Rockwell print, but no. Anyone?

The Power of Fandom - Batman #673
As I mentioned last week, Batbooks have been throwing out references to a Batcave memorial (or the lack thereof) to former-Robin Stephanie Brown for months, and in #674 we finally saw what so many fans have demanded and petitioned for. Sort of. This is a fantasy sequence, but as Project Girl Wonder curator Mary Borsellino points out, this panel at least shows Batman mentally equating Stephanie with his other Robins, and shows that she has an equal place in that lineage. Funny when you consider that while it took solicited fan opinions to kill one Robin, it took unsolicited fan opinions to give another Robin a life after death.

Cute Overload - Black Adam: The Dark Age #6
That is one cute seal. Or is a manatee? The face kinda looks like an otter. Let's just say it's an adorable sea creature, and for your information Black Adam does not punch through it's brain, he instead enlists his little guy to help him escape his persuers. I assume a Sea Buddies: Black Adam and Otterseal one-shot is already in the works.

Massacre of the Week - New Avengers Annual #2
Ooh, Steven Strange never shoulda taken Zom outta that bottle to battle the Hulk. When The Hood's hoods attack and things are looking bad, the Master of the Mystic arts snaps and lays out everyone in the room, heroes included. Looks like somebody doesn't have the power to court what he has called upon.

Biggest Deal - Captain America #34
Man, that Death of Captain America story really had legs. Unlike those guys! Get it, cause Bucky permanently crippled them! Oh, Marvel! Who's legacy won't you piss on?

Sympathy for a Skrull - Avengers: Initiative #9
This Skrull in disguise is sitting there being like "Oooh, if only they knew the power I held in this ring, things'd be different. They'd fear me, respect me! Soon, I'll show them my ring of power, and th....AAAACK!
Shit gets torn off.

Corniest Pun - What If? Spider-Man Vs. Wolverine
Alternate category: Best Panel Ever.

Most Needlessly Disturbing Image - Captain America #34
Jeez, I know things are rough in the Marvel Universe these days, but do we really need to see non-violent protesters at the gates of the White House get shot to bloody pieces by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents? Okay, mind control, blah, blah, still, this is over the top, there's not even a point being made. The story just called for something to happen that would cause a PR crisis for Tony Stark, I see no reason to bring up the loaded associations that come with images of government agents firing guns into crowds of protesters. I see we're tastefully spared the sight of bullet-riddled female corpses, I guess that would be going too far.

Best Spin On A Classic - Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse #1
The superhero suit-up sequence has been parodied to death, and was probably killed for good by that butt-shot in Batman Forever. BUT, I've never seen the sheer childlike sense of empowerment these boys-and-their-toys montages evoke demonstrated as well as it is in that first panel.

Saddest Moment Ever - Y: The Last Man #60
SPOILER REMINDER
You can have your 355 death. That had nothing on this heartbreaking end of the road for two best friends. The last men.

More of Geekanerd's Panel Discussions...