[REVIEW] End of Month Reviews #26 - February 2006 [spoilers]

[Saxon Brenton]

[REVIEW] End of Month Reviews #26 - February 2006 [spoilers]

Reviewed This Issue:
      Academy of Super-Heroes #65  [ASH]
      The Goddess And The Bomb #3  [Misc]
      Godling #6  [Misc]
      Green Knight #6  [8FOLD]
      Master Blaster Special: Super Bowl Special  [LNH]
      Matthew Almighty  [LNHY]
      Peelix The Cat: Broken Heart's Valentine Special  [LNH]
      Swamp Patrol #23  [Starfall]
      Web Of Mainstream Man #2-3  [LNH]


Also posted:
      Net.heroes on Parade TEB Vol. # 1: The Terrible Ones


     The RACCies awards should be posted sometime in the next week,
assuming I can get motivated to finish writing the thing.  Mercifully
where are only a small number of stories posted this month.
     Spoilers below:

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Academy Of Super-Heroes #65
'Two Faces'
An Academy of Super-Heroes [ASH] series
by Dave Van Domelon

     I dunno what I was expecting in a face off between the Leviathan and
the Spirit of Venus - maybe a Kirby-esque scene of high bombasticity
leavened with a possible fight scene (yes, I've been reading too many
comic books :-).  Instead we get an amusing and to-the-point dialogue
that reads something like a Piers Anthony novel (it's almost civil, and
doesn't contain any screaming or profanities: 'Ahem.' 'Go away.' 'I don't
think so.')  Of course, given the nature of the beings involved what
appeared was probably not a direct representation of their conversation,
but rather a translation into English from some esoteric form of
communication - but that doesn't invalidate the point.
     Anyway, the fall-out from Peregryn's actions in freeing/de-deifying
the Viaus continues to settle as the various groups try and adjust to
the new political landscape (and parallel plot structure has Arin and
Nancy similarly adjusting to the implications of Chris's loss of time
powers back in Milwaukee).  Along the way we get more ape action with
the Raging Mad Mountain Gorillas, and it looks like Q'Nos is planning
spoilsport actions.


The Goddess And The Bomb #3
'Pain, The Other, Other, Other White Meat'
A Miscellaneous [Misc] series
by Rick Hindle

     Clusterbomb wakes up in hospital after having been retrieved by the
Protectors and, eventually, is able to discharge himself to go and ask
for help from the super team in rescuing Athena from the Great One.  They
turn him down, and he has to rescue her himself.  Meanwhile, the Great
One is continuing to hold Athena prisoner and engaging in casual torture,
but for the most part he seems that he's waiting for Clusterbomb to
arrive, probably as per the arrangement with Aspen Carthage.  In any
case a mysterious woman (again, probably Aspen) points the way for
Clusterbomb, and has a frame-up arranged for when he rescues Athena.


Godling #6
'Last Words'
A Miscellaneous [Misc] series
by Jochem Vandersteen

     A more personal story this issue: Godling gets a bit of angst at
not wanting to intrude between Monica and Wade, and again over a failed
attempt to say goodbye to his remaining family, his gaoled brother Jake.
Meanwhile Master Destiny is going through more minions.  However, at
end Godling has an idea about how to fight Captain Wrakk which I really
should has seen coming: when you have the powers of the Greek gods, this
includes the smithing abilities of Hephaestus to make appropriately
powerful weapons.


Green Knight #6
An Eightfold [8FOLD] series
by Tom Russell

     So, Martin finally gets to be the Green Knight, long after he'd lost
interest in it.  Still, the Green Knight costume is a well armed and
armoured suit, so it's useful for going after the Psychopomp and his
goons and therefore nothing to simply dismiss out-of-hand.  But I think
I'll refrain from referring to him as Green Knight or even Green
Knight II just yet.
     This issue is lengthy, partly to include the various flashback
scenes which indicate Martin's ongoing secret origin as an impoverished
child, apprenticeship to the Green Knight as the kid sidekick Acro-Bat,
later affair with Raina, and later return from fighting in Iraq the
prompts him to give up the identity of a vividly costumed superhero and
its associated code to never take a human life.  I'm of two minds about
putting so much of Martin's origin and motivations in one issue; on the
one hand it makes for a useful jumping on point for new readers, but on
the other it's not as though a lot of the information couldn't have been
presented in earlier issues, perhaps briefly reprised during the detective
work in the first half, and then explored in depth during his battle with
the fear ray.
     Oh yes, the fear ray.  From a clue left behind by the Psychopomp
Martin tracks down the villain and his goons down to a convalescent home
where the Pyschopomp is torturing people with a ray gun that induces
guilt and fear from that guilt.  It seems that Psychopomp has become even
more of a sick puppy these days, and is now simply inflicting emotional pain
on people since 'everyone is guilty of something'.  And of course the
Psychopomp manages to use the ray on Martin, and of course he manages
to overcome it.  The important thing is that along the way Martin seems
to be respecting the sanctity of Ray's mask and the code of conduct that
goes with it.


Master Blaster Special: Super Bowl Special
A Legion of Net.Heroes [LNH] one-shot
by Tom Russell

     Oh dear.  I think my sense of humour is becoming nastier as I get
older.  Along with _Matthew Almighty_ and last month's _Master Blaster:
Frickin' Lame Special_ this is one of the few things which I've actually
laughed out loud at recently.  I enjoyed lots of other stuff, but these
things were the ones which sprang surprises at me which had me chuckling,
and it tended to at the obnoxious bits.  In any case, Master Blaster
takes advantage of WikiBoy's powers to gain Super Bowl tickets, and they
go on a road trip to get there.  Various vignettes occur along the way.
I was most amused by the Condolezza Rice cameos, but the Gregory Dingham
appearance was amusing as well.  Then Mo-Zart the Ever-Living and his
animal men minions attack, and there's a fight scene.


Matthew Almighty
A Legion of Net.Heroes Y [LNHY] one shot
by Martin Phipps

     The irascible God of the Looniverse Y decides to inflict a new form
of punishment on an atheist (who doesn't so much disbelieve that God
exists, but rather disbelieve that God created the Loonivese) by giving
him God's job just to see how badly he copes.  Along the way there's a
revisiting of the huge breasts and two noses jokes, but basically this
is about how Matthew divides up the power and responsibility and manages
to cope reasonably well.  Of course, for all of God's bloodyminded
vindictiveness he does have a very good point about human nature not
being satisfied with merely being health and happy in-and-of themselves.
I would also add that IMNSHO Matthew should have made his wikicopies to
be able to blend into their respective populations but at the same time
be able to stand apart from them so that they could see the big picture
and thereby give people what they needed rather than what they wanted.


Peelix The Cat: Broken Heart's Valentine Special
'Killfile Warts'
A Legion Of Net.Heroes [LNH] one shot
by Jesse Willey

     This is a quick reprise of the _Peelix The Cat Last Night Show_ from
late last year.  This time Peelix interviews the author, Jesse Willey.


Swamp Patrol #23
'Deep In The Heart Of Texas'   (Continuity Breakdowns  part 6)
A Starfall [STARFALL] series
by Jamie Rosen

     Now what was the phrase I was using this time last year?  'Jamie
Rosen returns to RACC ('falls back onto the face of the internet')...'
Okay, that's probably a bit too facetious, but still.  Anyway, the Patrol
arrives at an Old West style town, remember all the weird scene shifts
that they've been through lately, and are getting a bit peeved by it.
They even begin to sift through possible suspects and what they should
do about it when they are interrupted by an attack by dinosaur riders.
At end the purported source their problems reveals herself and claims to
be God.


Web Of Mainstream Man #2 and 3
A Legion of Net.Heroes [LNH] miniseries
by Tom Russell

     Mainstream Man and Pocket Man continue to track down the miscreant
who put an indie comic in mainstream Man's comic pull.  However, when
Pocket Man is kidnapped by being dragged into one of his own pockets,
only Mainstream Man is left to carry on the search.  And of course, the
point of what we've seen so far casts doubt on Mainstream Man's ability
to carry out this responsibility.
     In the third issue Time Waster Lad uses his powers to derail the
plot with a recollection of the Purple Muffins shaggy dog story.


----------
Saxon Brenton   University of Technology, city library, Sydney Australia
     saxon.brenton at uts.edu.au
The Eyrie Archives of Russ Allbery which collect the online superhero
fiction of the rec.arts.comics.creative newsgroup can be found at:
     http://archives.eyrie.org/racc/

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