Welcome back to the Geek Pride Comic Blog. This week we talk an elusive Captain Marvel, Suicide Squad and vicarious sexual frustration…
Ben Fee: Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie do gods in The Wicked and the Divine #1 – loved it, would read again. Highly recommended and a lot less hipstery than Gillen’s previous stuff.
Laura Maier Swainston: Wicked + Divine is amazeballs.
Andy Haigh: I love Black Widow Phil Noto’s art is gorgeous and it’s currently unentangled in any other Marvel bollocks which is always a relief.
AH: Tricksy cover of themonth goes to Guardians of the Galaxy which features Captain Marvel on the cover but not in comic at, like not even a mention.
BF: I know! I thought it was just me! Is she the new Wolverine “let’s stick her on the cover to sell more issues?”
Mike Orvis: This week I have been mostly reading Suicide Squad. I know this going to upset people, But the SS Harley is the most thought out and interesting Harley I’ve ever read. A massive departure from the beaten wife, this Harley kicks serious A, whilst still retaining that abused mentality that you would expect from someone that’s been through what she’s been through. King Shark is the most unexpected comic relief. But seriously, where’s Deathstroke?
Callum Tyndall: I may be about to display a shameful lack of knowledge here but is Deathstroke meant to be a big part of the squad? I thought he was more of a solo act who was really mad at the Teen Titans for some reason. Aside from that, King Shark basically just wins the series by randomly eating people in a way that should be grotesque but is actually hilarious.
AH: It’s Deadshot in Suicide Squad not Deathstroke unless it’s changed
CT:I really like what they’ve done with Harley too, particularly as taking her away from joker made her actually do more. Deadshot is present as ever in the squad and probably my favourite just because a load of the others are kind of half arsed at the moment. It’s a good series and they play their parts but characters like El Diablo just bore me. I think the squad always just struggles with the fact that a lot of the characters are kind of B-list and because they’re meant to be government operated they can’t properly let loose in the same way a character like the Joker can. I’d love to see them get a proper big event to themselves, not any of this cross-title money-sucking crap, just a multiple issue, full-on event that makes them really work.
CT: I got Red Hood and the Outlaws Volume 4 which is simultaneously awesome and bullshit in that it cameod Green Arrow, Arsenal got a gun that is most accurately compared to a freight train and the League of Assassins got a big role but it continued to expand on the whole “Jason is a mystic ninja who has to fight evil demigods” story which in theory sounds cool but in practice pisses me off because it’s just kind of silly. The first three volumes were great in that they focused on the team getting together and just being badass without, aside from Starfire, being absurdly over powered. The mystic stuff was mentioned but wasn’t hugely important
AH: I loved the whole space opera arc in Red Hood that was great the art was great too but I think a new writer came on after that and it went a bit shit.
CT: Yeah the space stuff with Starfire was cool but unless they get away from this mystic crap soon I’m probably going to lose interest..
AH: Yeah I thought the same it seems to just be in first gear most of the time.
AH: Have to mention Red Sonja as it’s one of the best examples of sexual frustration in comics, seriously I think Gail Simone jokingly referred to the current arc as “The quest for bone” on Twitter. The art from Walter Geovani is great too, I think it gets overlooked due to Simone being a high profile name.
LMS: Every issue of Red Sonja leaves me feeling more and more sexually frustrated on her behalf… thanks Gail Simone…
More fun and games next week, but in the meantime check out more from today’s contributors here:
Ben Fee; Callum Tyndall; Andy Haigh; Mike Orvis; Laura Maier Swainston
