Peach the Destroyer: Issue 042

Click for full size

Good morning, Destroyers! I'm sorry that this almost covers the same basic ground as last week's comic, but as soon as I found out about the Acoustic Kitty project, I just knew I had to work it into Peach the Destroyer continuity. Hopefully you'll let this shameless bit of self indulgence slide. Trust me, next week things are going to start getting CRAZY!

And now, our weekly comic reviews... (warning: spoilers)

Avenging Spider-Man #3

• We've had two solid issues of Spider-Man being…well, our friendly subterranean Spider-Man, quick with the jokes and funny one-liners. In this issue, he has a very nice scene with Jameson where we see that bravado crack as he explains why he can't show up at the Avengers' without Red Hulk.
• If I remember correctly, this book was advertised as being "THE DEATH OF RED HULK!" which is about as hyperbolic as the last issue of regular ol' Amazing Spider-Man. It's a good thing, too, because Red Hulk's got some good character moments, too, especially when Spider-Man picks on him.
• In the end, Spider-Man uses his greatest power of all: his mile-a-minute mouth to solve things. And, in his subterranean empire, the Mole Man promises vengeance for being pitied.

Kirby: Genesis #5

• This is a big, bad, backstory-heavy issue that lays out a lot of the Kirby: Genesis story of early Earth. I'm not going to ruin it because, like the best Jack Kirby stories, it's a little weird, a little trippy, and very intriguing.
• I'm going to admit…after reading a ton of this books' tie-in titles, I got a really good fist-pump moment when I saw Silver Star.

Justice League Dark #5

• Um…this is issue five and I still don't understand what's going on.
• The wackadoo arc with Enchantress and June Moon and a nursery rhyme wraps up…which may have been the source of over half my confusion.
• There's a good, coherent scene towards the end where everyone's (finally) in one room together. Unfortunately, it's far too brief.

The Savage Hawkman #5

• After Hawkman thinks he's crazy because he saw dead people, he wonders if maybe the nth metal inside him is poisoning him. It's an interesting and, heck, rational train of thought and I applaud him for thinking of it.
• Hawkman's translation vision gets amped up to 11 when he looks at a mysterious book, making the symbols come to life as violent visions.
• Most of this issue felt like setup for the new arc…although I really loved the issue-long slow build towards the last page reveal of the new Gentleman Ghost.

Teen Titans #5

• This was just a great all-out action climax to last month's issue as Superboy pummels the Teen Titans roster one by one.

Superman #5

• So the issue starts with Superman…absorbing another alien storm and becoming fairly blatantly possessed by whatever entity's been possessing people this arc.
• Superman destroys some "giant Fleischer robots" while being possessed. Hey, DC, want to try being a tad more subtle in those references?
• The end…I'll be honest, the end manages to feel like a little bit of a copout, but at the same time, I kinda want to see what happens next month.

Aquaman #5

• This was a very strong "setup" issue, much like Hawkman. An ancient Atlantian glyph is found that has a secret message from Atlantis. A SWAT team from Atlantis come to retrieve it and, long story short, Aquaman winds up in the desert.
• I really liked Aquaman's "vision quest" vision of his father. And the secret message when we finally got to see what it said.
• The next issue tantalizingly promises "Mera takes on the world!" I can't wait, even if (or maybe especially if) it's straight out of The Currys of Atlantis.

Justice League #5

• Y'know, there's something almost refreshing in seeing a police officer ask the Flash who he is. I'm not sure why…
• On the other end of the spectrum…wow. Green Lantern's seriously pompous enough to just yell "GREEN LANTERN'S GOT THIS!"? I could see Guy "one punch!" Gardner trying that line, but Hal Jordan? Seriously?!
• Green Lantern at least got some cool points after getting beat on by Darkseid by fashioning a cast for his arm with his ring. A few pages go by and…I guess he stopped concentrating or his arm was just dirty or something because his cast is all of a sudden gone. Cyborg reminds him his arm's broken and the cast shows back up. It's a nitpick, but c'mon, DC, Justice League is supposed to be your flagship book. Have someone look through it before going to press!
• This issue is like an episode of Home Improvement. Batman plays the part of Wilson, giving Green Lantern the advice that the team needs to play football instead of baseball. Green Lantern, playing the part of Tim Allen, botches this message up terribly when he relays it to the team. I swear, I was half expecting Al to pop up out of the rubble to say "I don't think so, Hal."
• And Batman did something dumb and wound up on Apokolips. World's greatest detective, indeed.

Well, that's all for this week. Come back next week to see what new twists and turns lie hidden in the past!