Monday, April 13, 2009

Weekly Comic Reviews for April 8th, 2009 -- SPOILERS

Well, I had hoped to get this review in on the weekend but I had a busy couple of days. I only had the one book last week, Ultimate Wolverine VS Hulk #4, so let's get to it shall we. And SPOILERS abound!

Ultimate Wolverine VS Hulk #4 -- I have to be honest, I found this issue somewhat lacking. Right from the start it seemed obvious to me that Betty would be She-Hulk in this universe so the issue felt like it dragged as they try to point to it being Jen Walters. It may also have to do with the time shifting as we are once again taken back into the past to see how it all came about, leaving the ending to this issue just moments after the ending to last issue. It just doesn't feel like anything is progressing. I'm pretty confident that will change with issue 5 since I can't see any reason to go back again (but I could be wrong). And all this is weird for me because I really think I should be getting into this book. The art is great, the dialogue smooth and witty, and the story is an intriguing one, but something about the execution of it just isn't hooking me. I wonder if it would be any different had I waited for the TPB.

I also had the opportunity to read Valerie d'Orazio's Memoirs of an Occasional Superheroine. I'm honestly still digesting it, going over and over a lot of thoughts and feelings that it's brought up for me. Right from the start, it's raw, it's powerful, and it's heart wrenching. I can't put into words just how much I admire Valerie's strength, to go through what she's gone through and be where she's at now, both personally and professionally.

The thing that has me thinking the most is that I'm opening my eyes more fully to the people I've associated with, some as friends and some as no more than acquaintances who shopped at the same comic store. Now I'd like to say that none of them came close to the people Val writes about but the truth is, I don't know. There was and always will be the rumours about one guy or another but that's all I ever heard, rumours. Heck, I've had several rumours spread about me, some from people I considered my closest friends. But I do know that I see bits and pieces that connect those people and the ones Val writes about, from the somewhat socially inept to the downright creepy. I'd have to admit to putting myself somewhere in the "somewhat socially challenged" category. And I still wonder about that guy who I saw at some conventions with the store name "Kool Kards and Komics" (the K's were always in big letters).

Perhaps one day I'll have some more coherent thoughts on this and I'll come up with something clever and insightful but that's all I have for now.

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