The Next Level: January 2011

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Level 8 - Week of 01/29/11

Captain America #614

This issue continues the "Trial of Captain America" storyline. For those of you who aren't in the know, the current Captain America was a brainwashed Soviet sleeper agent (Codename: Winter Soldier) during the Cold War, and in the previous storyline, this information was leaked to the public. Cap was arrested and put on trial as a potential traitor to the United States.

This issue can be broken into three major sections. The first section (which I personally found to be the most boring) had the Black Widow and Falcon get captured by Master Man and the evil forces of Skele...I mean...Sin.

The second section of this issue focused on the trial itself, and the testimony of several characters. I'm usually fairly interested in legal situations such as this, and as a result really enjoyed this section of the issue. The third section ties into this one, as someone working for Sin (or as he calls her the "Red Skull Lady") attempts to shoot Cap, but is taken down by Steve Rogers and Bucky. This... well, for a lack of a better term, flunky... is carrying a DVD which has Sin making her declaration: Bucky shows up at the Statue of Liberty, or she blows it up. Using the skills of Dr. Faustus, Bucky successfully escapes and moves to take on Sin.

As someone who fell off of Brubaker's run on Cap after Steve Rogers returned, I came back for the "No Escape" arc, and found myself fairly interested in this trial. I'm anxiously awaiting the next issue. And I know that some people out there are not big fans of Captain America, but my god you need to read Brubaker's run. It's golden.

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Avengers #9

So, if you'll recall, back during Level 3, I mentioned that I was fairly eagerly awaiting this issue. Somehow, I almost totally missed it when I was at the comic shop. Fail, right? Anything, this issue didn't disappoint.

The major crux of this issue is the public reveal of the Illuminati. And you know what, I'm not sure I like how it happened. Steve Rogers kinda...lost his wits, and it seemed a bit, out of character.

That said, we know now that Parker Robbins (The Hood) has the two of the Infinity Gems, we know how get got them, and we're ready for the games to REALLY begin.

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Age of X: Alpha

Confession Time: I LOVED the Age of Apocalype crossover in the mid-90s. I thought the story was excellent, and it made quite an impact on the Marvel Universe proper. So when Age of X was announced, I was thinking we might see some sort of tribute story. This isn't the case, and I couldn't be happier about it.

The Age of X seems to be a dystopian future wherein Mutants are nearly extinct. Most of the issue is set up, but the reveal that the character Basilisk is actually the alternate-Cyclops was fantastic, and beautifully explained.

There was no plot to unravel yet, and all we know about the Age of X story was revealed in promo pieces. So, while I'm enjoying it, I'm fairly confused.

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Next Week: Our weekly reviews as well as the announcement of our next Spotlight.

Thanks for reading, and as always, feedback (nextlevelstaff@gmail.com) is welcome.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Level 7 - Recap of Rage!

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, and Welcome to The Next Level. We are your source for comic book opinions and debates. I’m your host Stefan, and I’ll be here with you discussing Comic Books, Video Games, and other items of note. Please note, for a purely gaming blog, I'd recommend Pwning Pat's Game Blog.

This week, I received a special request from reader, "Neil S". Neil has asked that I write a small retrospective describing the essential storylines to prepare for the upcoming Red Lanterns series this June. Please Note that the Red Lantern storyline is just a small part of the larger War of Light storyline which exploded into the Blackest Night crossover. I'd recommend reading the whole thing, but I will be confining this post to items of note with regard to Atroticus and the Red Lanterns only. Also, since this post will be covering a group of characters integral to a major DC Comics storyline, SPOILERS follow beyond this point. You have been warned.

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Green Lantern: Secret Origin

This book is the post-Infinite Crisis (and possibly post-Final Crisis) origin for Hal Jordan. It depicts Hal receiving his ring for the first time, and the first meeting of Hal Jordan and Sinestro. However, what this book also features is the the first battle between Atrocitus and Hal/Sinestro, and the (fantastically devised) backstory of Atrocitus.

Abin Sur, Hal's predecessor as Green Lantern of Sector 2814, has returned to Ysmault to gain more information about the prophecy of the Blackest Night (his initial visit covered in the short story Tygers, by Alan Moore). Abin takes Atrocitus to Earth, but is killed when Atrocitus overpowers him. The majority of the story sees Hal dealing with the Green Lantern ring for the first time, but the last leg of the book shows a battle between Hal and Sinestro taking on Atrocitus.

The ending of the book (related to the Red Lanterns) shows Sinestro placing Atrocitus back on captivity on Ysmault, as the symbol of the Red Lanterns is shown in Atrocitus' eyes as Sinestro flies away.

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Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns

This book is the first major incursion of the Red Lanterns. Within it, Atrocitus manages to unleash the rage within him, by killing the remaining lifeforms on Ysmault. This act causes the Red Light to be unleashed, with Atrocitus becoming the first Red Lantern.

The Red Lantern Corps mounts an attack on the prisoner transfer, sending Sinestro (captured at the end of the Sinestro Corps War) back to his home planet of Korugar, and kidnaps him. They fight a fantastic battle, but the majority of the Red Lanterns are shown to be little more than uncontrollable animals. Please note, this book also contains the first appearance of the Blue Lantern Corps.

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Blackest Night and Blackest Night: Green Lantern

The Red Lantern Corps plays and integral part in combating the Blackest Night. I'm intentionally being vague here, as I will be highlighting this metaseries in a spotlight in the near future. In the Blackest Night series, the Red Lantern Corps don't come into play until nearly the halfway point of the story, but they forge a peace treaty with the other Corps, and agree to help fight the Black Lanterns. Blackest Night Green Lantern, on the other hand, focuses on the leaders of the seven Corps, and shows Atrocitus begin to heal from the pain of his past. This series also spotlights the Red Lantern named Bleez, who will play a significant role later on.

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Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps

(AVOIDING SPOILERS for Pwning Pat) During the Siege of Oa, a well-known, and well-loved Green Lantern is killed. Overcome by rage over this loss, his partner becomes a Red Lantern and fights the Black Lanterns. While the dead Lantern is eventually resurrected, and the partner is able to give up his Red ring, this sets the stage for a very important event to come.

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Green Lantern - The New Guardians

As part of the peace treaty forged with the other Lantern Corps, Atrocitus stays on Earth to hunt a being who is stealing the entities which are manifestations of each of the Seven Corps. While Atrocitus is successfully able to control and contain the entity of Rage, he must now face the Entity Thief - The Mad Guardian known as Krona.

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Green Lantern Emerald Warriors: Last Will

In this book, several items of note related to the Red Lantern Corps are revealed. Firstly, Guy Gardner, Arisia, and Kilowog are joined by Red Lantern Bleez in order to find the cause of a power drain across all seven Corps. (This drain is in PART due to the machinations of Krona, but Guy knows that Krona is not the only cause). It is revealed that Atrocitus has developed a permanent link with the Green Lantern who formerly joined the Red Lantern Corps (and honestly, if you can't figure out who I'm talking about by looking at the above picture...well, fail), and Guy, Bleez, and the others find a warlord in the Unknown Sectors preparing to launch an assault on the Green Lantern Corps.

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So that's the Red Lantern Recap of Rage! Sorry for the lack of detail, but I really don't want to spoil this story for my readers. I hope that by outlining which books contain developments related to the Red Lanterns, my readers will be able to read the stories for themselves.

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Stay tuned next week for our weekly reviews, and our Spotlight.

Next Week: Reviews of Captain America #614, Age of X: Alpha, and our Spotlight: The SINESTRO CORPS WAR!

Thanks for reading, and as always, feedback (nextlevelstaff@gmail.com) is welcome.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Level 6 - Week of 01/22/11

Brightest Day #18

With this week's issue of Brightest Day, one of the major storylines comes to a close, adding some seriosuly needed

depth to another. The first page of the issue is a silent tie-in to The Flash, wherein Captain Cold attacks Captain Boomerang for freeing the Reverse-Flash. (For those of you wondering why this scene is involved, the first story arc of The Flash - Dastardly Death of the Rogues - was branded a Brightest Day tie-in). The second page involves not-so-Deadman wondering why the White Ring is charging up, remarking that it feels like the day he died, but omniously states, "I don't think I'm the one who's going to die this time."

The rest of the issue is a fairly good fight on Zamaron, with the Hawks and Carol Ferris trying to take down the Predator. Eventuallly, the Hawks succeed, and Queen-lady is killed. At this moment, the White Light illuminates both Hawkman and Hawkwoman, and it speaks: "Mission Accomplished". Okay, not to be a nitpicker, but I went back and read Brightest Day #7, and I don't see how the Hawks accomplished the mission. Anyway, the Hawks are really happy, as they are finally together, and the curse forcing their numerous resurrections has been broken.

IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED, PLEASE SKIP TO THE NEXT REVIEW! MAJOR SPOILERS FOR BRIGHTEST DAY BELOW! HIGHLIGHT TEXT IF YOU WANT TO READ!

The Hawks are sent to Earth by Carol Ferris in order to get busy. In the midst of getting busy, the White Ring on Deadman's finger reaches 100%, and he is teleported to the Hawks. He rematerializes in a full White Lantern uniform, but finds that he can't move, and he has the White Ring aimed at the Hawks. After the Entity (read Blackest Night and Brightest Day #7 for more details on the Entity) orders the Hawks to spend their lives away from each other, and the Hawks tell the Entity to stuff it, the ring activates, and burns (I think) the Hawks to ashes. Deadman stands in the ashes completely shocked at what has just occurred.

SPOILER-FREE ZONE

Wow. To call this a turning point in the Brightest Day storyline would be an understatement. I CANNOT WAIT for the next issue. If you've been following Brightest Day, read this issue!

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Green Lantern Corps #56

So here's the thing that I've noticed about Green Lantern. Some writers haven't gotten it, but Geoff Johns, Pete Tomasi, and now Tony Bedard have got it.

SINESTRO IS A BADASS!

My god, this issue started kind of weak, with the Sinestro Corps moving to attack the Thunderers and Weaponers of Qward. The Green Lantern Corps attempted to defend Qward, without breaking their truce with the Sinestro Corps, in order to prevent another Sinestro Corps War. This, honestly, was really weak.

But all that changed when Sinestro himself entered the battlefield (in an ABSOLUTELY beautiful page). The Weaponer moves to attack Sinestro with a spear created by the White light, but Sinestro creates a wall of energy to stop the spear. Everyone is shocked when the spear fails to destroy the wall, and Bedard hits it out of the park with this little bit of dialogue: "I can see how you got the drop on these Green Lanterns. But now you face Sinestro!". The Weaponer attempts to attack Sinestro, but gets his ass kicked, until the Thunderers return armed to the teeth.

This issue sucked at the beginning, but Bedard can write Sinestro. MY god, can he write Sinestro. If you like Sinestro, and you don't care about this story, read this issue.

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This week, I received a special request from reader, "Neil S". Neil has asked that I write a small retrospective describing the essential storylines to prepare for the upcoming Red Lanterns series this June. Well, I think that's a great idea, and I will have that retrospective up by the end of the weekend.

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Stay tuned next week for our weekly reviews, and our Spotlight.

Next Week: Reviews of Captain America #614, Age of X: Alpha, and our Spotlight (tying into the Sinestro is a badass theme): The SINESTRO CORPS WAR!

Thanks for reading, and as always, feedback (nextlevelstaff@gmail.com) is welcome.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Level 5 - Week of 01/15/11

Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #6

This issue is a direct continuation from issue #5. Basically to catch people up, Guy Gardner has revealed his secret pact with Ganthet and Atroticus, which infuriates Arisia and Kilowog. After describing his apocalyptic visions in detail, Kilowog and Arisia split, feeling that they cannot trust Gardner any longer, leaving him with Red Lantern Bleez.

They track down the enemy, Zardor, and Bleez (in probably her most awesome scene ever) dispatches all the defenses of a world. Guy moves in to attack Zardor, but is stopped by both Zardor's awesome power, and a possessed Sodam Yat (wearing the new symbol that Yat burned into himself in issue 4).

So the issue was okay, nothing special. I should note that I'm not a huge fan of the Guy Gardner character, but I'm starting to warm up to him. However, this issue does present a possible road for a tie-in with the upcoming War of the Green Lanterns storyline, wherein Zardor is taking control of the minds of Lanterns, and as the issue ends, he's trying to control Guy. Since we know from the solicitation information that Guy and Hal are the two leaders of the two sides of the conflict, it adds a new dimension to the story. However, I must admit, if the war happens only because someone is possessed, I'll be a little disappointed.

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Daredevil Reborn #1

Okay, confession time. With the exception of Born Again, I'd never really read that much Daredevil until a few years ago. I then picked up the Omnibuses of Bendis' run, and Brubaker's run, in time for Andy Diggle to take over on the character. I loved what they did. I even loved Diggle's first arc on the title, leading into Shadowland. Shadowland ITSELF on the other hand? Mixed bad. I didn't like the idea that Matt was possessed, nor did I like the ending per se, but what I really liked is that the responsibility for Daredevil taking his first life, falls squarely on Matt Murdock, and not on the demon possessing him.

So I've caught you up, here's this issue. Matt has travelling blindly (no pun intended) since the Fall of Shadowland. Matt essentially crosses into a little town, where everyone (including the cops) are seriously corrupt and want him dead. This desire to want Matt dead is increased when the cops find the documents (from Brubaker's run), indicating that Matt Murdock is most likely Daredevil. Matt stumbles upon a mass grave, and the cops prepare to kill him.

Wow. Despite being someone who's loved Daredevil in recent years, this issue SUCKED. I'm really hoping the rest of the series picks the quality back up a notch. My biggest concern is that Diggle will make Daredevil a bit more of a "superhero" again, rather than a vigilante. Bendis' run did such a good job of keeping him off in the side of the Marvel Universe, and Brubaker's run made him more central, but still able to deal with the consequences of his own actions in his own sandbox. Diggle seems to want to bring Daredevil back into the Marvel Universe, and while I have no problem with that in theory, if the execution of this means Shadowland and this issue? I'm not impressed thus far.

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Stay tuned next week for our weekly reviews, and our Spotlight.

Next Week: Reviews of Brightest Day #18, Green Lantern Corps #56, and Invincible Iron Man #500, as well as the announcement of our next Spotlight.

Thanks for reading, and as always, feedback (nextlevelstaff@gmail.com) is welcome.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Level 4 - Spotlight on Daredevil: Born Again

To my readers, we at The Next Level are great fans of both gaming and comic books. But once in a while, a game or book is so good that it deserves some special recognition. If you would like to nominate a book or a game for the Spotlight, please send an email to nextlevelstaff@gmail.com with a brief explanation of why the book or game deserves its own segment. This week, we will be shining the Spotlight on Daredevil - Born Again.

Frank Miller had already completed his legendary run on Daredevil in 1983. However, in 1985, he began work on what we at the Next Level consider to be his best piece of work with the character. The story of Born Again is wonderfully simple, yet intricate at the same time. Karen Page, former secretary and girlfriend to Matt Murdock (Daredevil), had become a heroin addict and was the star of several pornographic movies. Her addiction to heroin drives her to sell the information that Matt Murdock is Daredevil for some drugs. This information eventually reaches the Kingpin. Kingpin gives the order to kill everyone who ever touched the envelope the information was in (hey, 1985 remember? no e-mail), while he vows to test the information.

Through his connections, Kingpin is able to get the bank to foreclose on Murdock's house, freeze his assets, and render him effectively homeless. This unbalances the already-nigh-unbalanced Daredevil as he thinks all forces in his life are out to get him. At that moment, his home is firebombed, and he realizes who is really responsible...

Unfortunately, in his unbalanced state, Daredevil is handily defeated at the hands of the Kingpin, who orders his men to kill him. Murdock does survive, but is wounded severely and falls under the care of Sister Maggie, a nun working a church nearby. It is revealed that Maggie is in fact Murdock's lost mother.

All throughout the book, there is a subplot of Karen trying to avoid the Kingpin's assassins whilst trying to find her way back to Matt. During this portion of the book, Daredevil is confronted with several trials, but I personally found it lacking. This portion of the book is saved only by the Ben Urich subplot, as he tries to expose the Kingpin, but is tortured into silence. Eventually, near the same time that Karen finds Matt, Ben finds his own inner courage to tell the story that needs to be told.

Sidenote: There is a rare scene of J. Jonah Jameson talking to Urich in this section which is EASILY one of the best I've ever read.

With all of our lead characters in place, we are finally heading toward the climax of the story

At this point, Kingpin hires Nuke, a soldier with the American Flag tattooed across his face. Kingpin appeals to Nuke's malformed sense of Patriotism and turns him loose on Hell's Kitchen. As Nuke destroys and kills, a billy club strikes him, and we see...

Wow. That image sends chills down my spine every time. And when you read this book, it'll send chills down your spine too. This is the first time since the opening pages we see Matt Murdock in costume, and by god, it was worth the wait!

Daredevil manages to take down Nuke, and the Avengers step in to lend a hand. This battle is amazing, and I will do no good in trying to describe it. All I can do, I implore you to read it. At the conclusion of the battle, Daredevil and Captain America discuss the ramifications of Nuke's identity (which I revealed in Level 3), as Nuke escapes military custody and goes on another rampage. Though Nuke is killed (later retconned to be merely seriously wounded) by a Military Aircraft, Daredevil takes the Body to Ben Urich, who now has irrefutable proof of the Kingpin's widespread influence in the military.

In the end, Wilson Fisk's respectable image in the media is shattered, and Matt Murdock begins to enjoy his life again.

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This is Frank Miller's BEST WORK!

I cannot say this enough: BUY THIS BOOK! Or at the very least, READ IT! You don't even need to know Daredevil to enjoy this work.

If you liked this book, I'd recommend continuing with "Guardian Devil" or jumping directly into Brian Michael Bendis' run on Daredevil, which is amazing. If you have any comments about the spotlight, please send an email to nextlevelstaff@gmail.com . Your comment may be addressed on next week’s post.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

JOINT REVIEW #1: DC UNIVERSE ONLINE

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, and welcome to the first joint review by The Next Level and Pwning Pat’s Video Game Blog! My name is Stefan and I’m joined today by the queen of the video game Blogosphere, Patricia!

Hey all! Welcome back and thanks for continuing to read my blog. I hope this review is worth the read (spoiler: it is) and you will enjoy it. I was really looking forward to this game because I was hoping that I would get a decent break from World of Warcraft and plus – COMICS AND VIDEO GAMES. Really, it’s the best of both worlds. I was a little disappointed that you can’t actually join the Green Lantern Corps or be part of Joker’s Goonies but in a way, it makes sense.

Personally, I was super excited by this game, melding two of my greatest loves: COMICS and VIDEO GAMES! So enough with the preamble, let’s get into to the game. First, let’s talk about the install... It’s LONG! Make sure you have at LEAST 20 gigs free on your hard drive prior to the beginning of the process. The install itself is about 16 gigs, but leaving the 4 gig margin of error is probably a good idea. Be prepared for this installation to take a LONG time (mine took 3 hours to be exact). During the installation, I actually read the comics that I’ll be reviewing this weekend on The Next Level (shameless self-promotion ftw!)

For your information, I’m in Crisis server and my user name is “Alex Forrest” (from the movie Fatal Attraction? SHE WAS SCARY, OKAY). Oh, and I’m a villain. Obviously. I had a lot of fun during customization and I actually found myself puzzled at what I wanted my character to be like. From choosing your power set (being DPS, tank, healer, etc), to Movement Speeds (whether you can fly, be super fast, or extremely acrobatic), Weapon Styles, Morality, Personality (which will effect only your character’s posture and when you do a emotion such as dance), and lastly, your Origin and Mentor (for Hero there is, Batman (Tech) / Superman (Meta) /Wonder Woman (Magic) and for Villain there is, Joker (tech) / Lex Luther (Meta) / Circe (Magic). After that, you can create your Costume which took forever to make my girl look amazingly evil. Although it doesn’t exactly matter what you choose as you end up getting new armour to put on later.

After you’ve created your character, you wake up captured on Brainiac’s ship. This works like a tutorial level, complete with a simple boss fight. The idea of this is a method of learning your controls. And, let’s face it, these controls took a little bit of getting used to, isn’t that right, Patricia?

The controls, particularly on the PS3, were a little ... weird, to say the least? I don’t know how to explain it, but for the better part of the tutorial, I found myself fumbling a lot with the controller and kind of hoping for the best. The worst is probably when you press Start and go into your inventory, friends list, etc. It took a very long time for me to really get acquainted with it and I believe it is just simply because it is not as easily accessible as if I was playing on the PC.

After your escape from the ship, you’ll be brought to a safehouse, which depend on the alignment of your character. Once this is done, you can either begin to accept missions or explore the world.

At the beginning, your mentor decides to message you and HELLOO! THEY need YOUR help. What kind of mentor is that!? Anyways, you must go and do some meaningless task for them while they just sit back and watch you suffer. The game does become real fun after the initial run-through; from questing to instances to general exploring. I feel like the game is big enough to keep me enticed but not so huge that I feel like I’m lost and don’t know where to go back to.

So from Stefan, I’m suggesting a purchase of DC Universe Online assuming one of the following three conditions are met: 1) You’re a fan of MMOs, 2) You’re a fan of DC Comics and its shared universe, or 3) You have a group of people to play with. The game has some work to be done, but all-in-all, it’s a good experience with lots of potential and room for growth. What do you think Patricia?

I agree with Stefan. It is a simple MMO though, so it is still great for those casual online players such as me. I think that as of right now, buy the game only if you really know you will enjoy it and you will have people to play it with. I think the most crucial part of this game right now is having someone to enjoy it with. For those on the fence, I would wait before purchasing it – wait until they can patch certain things up and see if it continues to grow in popularity or fizzle out quickly.

Alright ladies and gentlemen, this was the first (of what will hopefully be many) joint reviews by The Next Level and Pwning Pat’s Video Game Blog. Coming up this weekend on The Next Level: Reviews of Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #6, Daredevil: Reborn #1, and our Spotlight on Daredevil: Born Again. Patricia, what’s coming up next on Pwning Pat’s Video Game Blog?

Next up on my blog, a game to look forward to in 2011 that didn’t quuuite make the list but definitely caught my eye and attention. What shall it be? Who knows... you’ll find out soon! It’ll be worth reading, trust me.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Level 3 - Week of 01/08/11

Batman Beyond #1

Let me preface this review with some facts: I LOVED the Batman Beyond cartoon. I thought it was a very interesting piece of work, and I loved the universe it created. Naturally, when the Batman Beyond miniseries was released earlier this year, I gave it a shot. I felt that the miniseries took the same character and universe in a slightly more mature direction, which i enjoyed. Then, it was announced that due to the success of the miniseries, the series would be relaunched as an ongoing series.

Which brings me to this issue. Don't get me wrong, it was okay, but the tonal change of the previous miniseries has been completely stripped away. Had Bruce Wayne not mentioned the events of the miniseries in passing, I would have honestly felt that this issue was set in a brand new continuity. The plot revolves around a worker in the Justice League tower being diagnosed with some sort of terminal condition. In response, he steals transmuting powers from the Justice League safe (Because EVERYONE has access to the safe, right?) and proceeds to threaten innocent lives.

The one saving grace of this issue was something that clearly pointed out the differences between the future Batman, Terry, and Bruce. When Terry informs Bruce that his mother and brother are in the building being threatened, there is a pregnant pause before Bruce asks, "...Could you treat this like any other situation, and do what has to be done?". Terry's response is pitch perfect, as he responds, "God, Bruce....could you?". Fantastic. The look on Bruce Wayne's face is priceless. All in all, this book's nostalgia factor has worn off, and needs to wow me in the next two or three issues, otherwise, I'm dropping it.

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Ultimate Captain America #1

I love(d) the Ultimate Universe. The stories seemed much more topical and relevant when compared to some of the standard (or 616) Universe. I especially loved the Millar/Hitch Ultimates and Ultimates 2. However, since Ultimatum, I read the first issue of each Ultimate book, and dropped what I didn't like.

Which is what brings me to this issue. This issue was billed as the fight between the Captain America of World War II and the Captain America of Vietnam. Now after reading this issue, I swear I had read this issue before, branded as Ultimate Comics Avengers #1. Think about it: Covert operation? check. Mystery Super-Soldier Helping the enemy? check. Mystery Super-Soldier beating the holy hell out of Cap? Check. Mystery Super-Soldier revealing his identity as someone related to Cap or Cap's origin story? check.

The only reason I'm staying on with this book is the identity of "Captain America of Vietnam". It's Agent Frank Simpson -- Nuke. For those of you who are NOT aware, in the standard Marvel universe, Nuke was a Super-Soldier engineered to follow in Cap's footsteps, and fight in Vietnam. I wasn't particularly thrilled that they just made Nuke the Cap of Vietnam in the Ultimate Universe (considering what they did with Ultimate Cable a few years ago), but I'm gonna cut them some slack. Also, considering Nuke factors heavily into next week's Spotlight post of Daredevil: Born Again, I may be giving it a few extra points.

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Avengers #8

Sorry guys, but I hate Romita Jr's art. I find it SO DAMN BLOCKY! It works great for Iron Man, but badly for most other people.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, I really enjoyed this issue. The art on this series has kept me away from it, but everyone has said it was excellent, so I decided to give this issue a try. And I was certainly not disappointed. The plot of the issue revolves around Iron Man re-assembling the Illuminati (with Medusa taking the place of the recently deceased Black Bolt) revealing that SOMEONE is going after the Infinity Gems.

The dynamic between Steve Rogers (the previous Cap) and Iron Man is fantastic. The sequence where Rogers orders Maria Hill to track Iron Man, leading to the confrontation at the end of the issue was brilliant. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next issue

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Brightest Day #17

So, what do you do when you think you've blown up the universe? Look for Shadows! Wait, what?

This issue of Brightest Day has three portions: Firestorm, the Hawks, and not-so-Deadman. In the Firestorm portion, they realize that instead of blowing up the universe, they were thrown into the centre of some Shadow Demons (the warriors of the Anti-Monitor whom Deadman fought waaaaaaaaaaaay back in issue #3). They are directed to Qward, home of the Sinestro Corps, to try and protect the White Lantern from being stolen by Deathstorm. Quick note here: Aren't Kyle Rayner, Hannu, Soranik Natu, and Ganthet on Qward right now fighting the Weaponer? Doesn't the Weaponer also wield the White Light? Ah son, it's about to go down.

In the Hawkman/Hawkgirl portion of the story, the evil queen lady (sorry, I totally forgot her name, and I hate this portion of the story so I don't care to go back and learn it) invades Zamaron, home of the Star Sapphires. After a brief struggle, she usurps the Predator entity. Yawn.

In the other story, Boston Brand (Deadman, who is now alive...and I really wanna start calling him Aliveman) meets his grandfather again, and takes him for a motorcycle ride. While they are enjoying life, the White Ring on Brand's finger states "Power Levels: 1%" || "Power Levels: 2%". So the ring is being recharged by their joy for life. But what is it being recharged for?

I'm most interested in the Firestorm story, and least interested in the Martian Manhunter story (which wasn't even part of this issue, hooray!). As long as we get some sort of interaction of Qward, I'll be a very happy camper.

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Stay tuned next week for our weekly reviews, and our Spotlight.

Next Week on Spotlight: Daredevil - Born Again. The Kingpin has figured out who Daredevil is and begins to systematically destroy his life. But Kingpin is going to learn that "A man without hope, is a man without fear."

Thanks for reading, and as always, feedback (nextlevelstaff@gmail.com) is welcome.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Level 2 - Week of 01/01/11

The Flash #8

This week's issue was a profile of Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash. For those of you not quite in the know, this incarnation of the Reverse Flash wields the power of the Negative Speed Force (as revealed in The Flash: Rebirth). One of the major differences between the Positive Speed Force (the source of power of The Flash family) and the Negative Speed Force, is that the Negative Speed Force allows for a form a time travel that allows history to be changed. While a key point in The Flash Rebirth, this plot point had been left alone...until this issue.

Early into the issue, it seemed fairly ordinary as it began to tell the origin story of the Reverse Flash. The dialogue seemed simple and to-the-point, until a few pages in, when the book begins a rewind effect. This effect shows earlier panels from the book with reversed lettering and red lightning across the pages (red lightning being a sign of the Negative Speed Force at work). This pattern ran throughout the book, as every obstacle a young Eobard Thawne encountered was erased by red lightning. The issue closes with Thawne discovering the uniform of the original Flash and declaring he will be the Flash of his timeframe (the 25th Century), while the Eobard Thawne freed from Iron Heights in the previous issue is shown to be the man who had been removing the obstacles from his own life in his past (and our future...ugh, time travel makes tenses difficult).

The issue concludes with an examination of the Negative Speed Force, including an ominous line of dialogue hinting that when mastered, it would unleash far more devastating abilities. I don't know about you, but I highly enjoyed this issue, and continue to highly enjoy this series. I've got high hopes for the upcoming Flashpoint miniseries. For those of you who are not fully aware of the Flash's universe, I'd recommend reading The Flash Rebirth, and then The Flash - Dastardly Death of the Rogues, to get caught up.

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Green Lantern #61

I've gotta say, after last issue's reveal, I was really excited knowing that the next issue would be coming out so soon in relation to the previous. Then, I read the issue. Don't get me wrong, the issue was fantastic, and I loved it, but I was really hoping for a bit more story. Instead, we get a side story focusing on Atroticus and the Butcher. At first glace, it would appear to be a simple profile story, similar to the issue above, but in reality this book played out much differently.

First, we get a fairly interesting struggle between the Butcher and the Spectre. For those of you who have been following Green Lantern since Rebirth, seeing Spectre battle an emotional entity provides a sense of satisfaction denied to us in the Spectre/Parallax fight of Green Lantern #50/51, and is amazingly drawn. The Butcher takes a human host for the fight, but is drawn to Atroticus. Atroticus shows why he is the leader of the Red Lantern Corps and traps the Butcher. The following sequence with the Spectre attempting to Judge the former host of the Butcher and Atroticus' attempts to stop him is fantastically written as both an examination of Atroticus himself, and an examination of retaliatory punishment in general.

However, it does lead to the only misstep of the book. The following is a mild Spoiler for last month's issue of Green Lantern. The Spectre refuses to judge Atroticus because his mission "against Krona is a Holy one". I'm sorry, but what the hell does that mean? Yes, it makes me want to read next month's issue and all, but come on, give me a bit more than that!

All in all, this book seems to be slowly building to the War of the Green Lanterns, and I cannot wait.

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Thanks for reading, and as always, feedback is welcome.

Level 1 - Spotlight on Green Lantern Rebirth

In 2004, the Green Lantern franchise was a mere shadow of what it is today. Despite having an active and moderately popular Lantern in the form of Kyle Rayner, DC Comics higher-ups decided to revitalize the franchise by handing over writing duties to Geoff Johns, who had previously revitalized The Flash. Johns then set about restoring the iconic Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, to the title role of the book in a miniseries that today is still considered to be a turning point in the Green Lantern Mythos.

After being bonded to the Spectre in 1999’s Day of Judgement, Hal Jordan’s character had been out of the public eye, save for a few minor appearances and a short-lived series. When Geoff Johns took over Green Lantern, he sought not only to revive Hal Jordan, but the concept of the Green Lantern Corps itself. The story of Green Lantern Rebirth is the story of Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner. Rayner travels the stars and uncovers a conspiracy designed to destroy the Green Lantern Corps and one of its greatest soldiers, Hal Jordan. However, the scariest thing about this conspiracy is that, it has nearly already succeeded, as the Corps was destroyed and Hal Jordan was dead. With the aid of Ganthet of Oa, the truth about Hal Jordan, Parallax, and the fate of the Green Lantern Corps is revealed.

What made this storyline so significant is that it set the stage for Green Lantern stories literally for YEARS to come. Also, it was written as the perfect gateway book. A non-comic fan can read this book, and enjoy it thoroughly. I’ve actually used my copy of this series in hardcover format to convert many non-comic readers into avid followers of Green Lantern. I would highly recommend going to your nearest bookstore and purchasing a copy of the TPB or HC of Green Lantern Rebirth. Also, if you have some extra dough lying around, picking up the Absolute Edition of Green Lantern Rebirth is highly recommended as it really accentuates the unbelievably stellar art. In addition, the Absolute Edition contains a backup story from Green Lantern Secret Files, a one-shot released between Green Lantern Rebirth and the relaunched Green Lantern series. If you liked Green Lantern Rebirth, continuing onward to “No Fear”, the next book in the series is the next logical step. If you have any comments about the spotlight, please send an email to nextlevelstaff@gmail.com . Your comment may be addressed on next week’s post.

Level 0

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, and Welcome to The Next Level. We are your source for comic book opinions and debates. I’m your host Stefan, and I’ll be here with you discussing Comic Books, Video Games, and other items of note. Please note, for a purely gaming blog, I'd recommend Pwning Pat's Game Blog.

This week marks the first public release of the Next Level, and as such it will be focused mainly on reviews and our special feature, the Spotlight. Each post will contain weekly reviews (usually posted on Saturdays) both by our staff and reader-submitted. Once every two weeks, our regular post will be followed by a post devoted to a particular item of note. Listeners can provide feedback, and suggest reviews below via a comment or by emailing nextlevelstaff@gmail.com.

Shortly after this post, I will be reviewing two issues from last week, and our first Spotlight feature. Each Saturday thereafter, I shall endeavour to post reviews from the pull list of our staff. Readers are encouraged to post constructive thoughts via the comment section below, or sent to our email address.

Please be advised that these reviews may contain mild spoilers for the books, but nothing major will be revealed without an explicit warning.

Alright everyone, thanks for reading, and prepare for the Next Level