[continued from previous message]   
      
   one-shots and miniseries side stories, because Humphries is writing like a   
   junior high student who has just discovered he can shock people with writing.   
   Neutral.  $4.99 each.   
      
        Sonja Reborn #2-3 (of 6): Dynamite - The flashbacks largely catch up to   
   the start of #1, establishing why Maggie was actually going after Skye in   
   that portal-containing subway line.  Where her motivation in #1 seemed a bit   
   petty and stereotypical "jealous lover" in nature, it's revealed to be more   
   along the lines of "My life is ****ed now, might as well settle some petty   
   scores before I go to prison for all the crimes that'll be coming out now."   
   This simultaneously justifies her running hot and cold on Skye (she was never   
   THAT invested in killing her, and now Skye seems like a lone anchor to   
   sanity) and sets up the possibility of eventually getting used to this new   
   life and wanting to stay (since there's nothing worth going back to).  Not   
   that she's even remotely used to it at the moment, and most of the   
   present-day time involves her being convinced she'll wake up at any moment,   
   especially if she dies, which does not do much for one's survival chances in   
   the Hyborian Age.  Fortunately for her long term survival but unfortunately   
   for her piece of mind, the end of #3 has her get a visit from one of the   
   mysterious entities from #1 and she acquires at least a surface read on   
   Sonja's memories, if not an explanation for WHY she's been dumped into the   
   redhead's life.  As the Goon Show would say, "This is where the story really   
   starts, folks!"  Still not keen on the interior art, it's a pity Sejic   
   couldn't do the interior and not just the covers.  Mildly recommended, it   
   might work better read all in one go as a trade collection though.  $4.99   
   each.   
      
        Vampirella #5 (Legacy #680): Dynamite - Where The World To Come and the   
   current Vampirella arc both play with alternate futures where the hero   
   becomes the villain, the reasons behind the choices that led to it are far   
   more personal for Vampi.  She wants to protect her son.  Protect the world   
   from the corrupt rulers who would destroy it, and her son along with it.   
   Protect her son (who hates her) from an alien invasion.  And somehow not   
   notice that it's got her all cyborged up and sitting on a metal throne of   
   skulls like a villain in a Heavy Metal Magazine story.  Road to hell, good   
   intentions, etc.  Telling yourself you're being rational when you're not even   
   close to rationality. As with The World To Come, I suspect this will hang   
   together better as a finished story than being read in chunks over several   
   months, but for now just mildly recommended.  $4.99.   
      
        Star Trek Lower Decks #11-12: IDW - Another two-issue arc, this one   
   focusing on Cetacean Ops (and various acronymic puns on that), tying up a bit   
   of a loose thread from Star Trek IV.  Namely...sure, you brought back a mated   
   pair of humpback whales, but that's not gonna result in a viable population,   
   so what happens next time the probe returns?  So, it's back to the 20th   
   Century in search of more whales!  The resulting story that comes from this   
   interesting premise is...okay.  It feels a bit too paint-by-number, though,   
   often throwing in references just to have references, and I feel like   
   Sheridan is working under the assumption that it's goofball comedy and   
   doesn't need to make sense.  While some of the actual episodes were like that   
   too, those weren't the better ones.  Very mildly recommended.  $4.99 each.   
      
      
        Expected next time: December will likely be another skip month, but   
   since the stuff above shipped at the start of November I might have enough   
   built up by mid-December to ship again.  When I next have a shipment,   
   whenever it is, it'll be more of the titles above (even if I decide to drop   
   Gatchaman, there's still a least one issue already in my folder), plus the   
   Peter Cannon: Thunderbolts series from Dynamite.   
      
      
        Dave Van Domelen, "Strange and I have a...COMPLICATED relationship."   
   "I'll bet you hit him.  You HIT him, didn't you?"  "Just the ONCE." - Moon   
   Knight and Scarlet Scarab, Moon Knight Fist of Khonshu #13   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)