Was the whole krakoa era a horrible mistake? Even now, the comics are full of X-Men talking about how they want to avenge it, but why on Earth should we care about their insane ethnnostate, where they betrayed all their supposed principles?

Kicking Hickman off and not letting him finish his story was the mistake. Doing Krakoa in the first place was not, the franchise was dead in the water before Hickman breathed new life into it.

I am in love with your ultimates Superman story arc

But there is one question that is nagging me

If the fortress of solitude is in the phantom zone, what’s keeping the criminals there from breaking into the fortress and fucking up Clark?

My take is it is in the Phantom Zone at the start, and Superman shifts it back into reality after acquiring it. He would have to fight a bunch of the Phantom Zone prisoners first for control however.

Any comment on the recent casting news for the Kent family in Superman (2025) ?

Two camps with reaction to the news: either Gunn is casting no-names and revealing it this lately because he plans on using them in the future more, and thus doesn't want expensive options, or the Kents will barely be in the movie (and will probably die). I personally think that Pa is definitely going to die as the emotional climax of the movie, evoking All-Star.

Superman will have to choose between his Pa or saving everyone else, and he'll of course choose to save everyone else. But losing his father will give the audience a reason to emotionally care about the big CGI battles with the Engineer or Ultraman or whatever.

As for the casts themselves, I'm fine with them. Ma looks like you'd expect, Pa on the other hand definitely evokes a Midwestern farmer more than Pas typically do. Let's hope that if Gunn does opt for a "wise old Pa consoling Clark" scene that it manages to pull that off without infantilizing Clark. It could easily go bad, I've seen soooooooo many people asking for basic bitch pep talks where Clark comes home crying that Lex called him a slur and Pa gives a speech about how life is hard but you gotta keep going. Ugh, spare me from that please. I trust Gunn to do something more compelling than that.

Any comics this week?

theastroharness asked: Comics this week? (hope you are feeling better)

Superman #13 - Cackled when Kara was able to break out because she knows Coluan tech thanks to Brainiac 5. An example of "everything is canon" working in her favor. Brainiac himself appears "infected", what is going on there? Hope it's not merely leftover bullshit from Perpetua. Sandoval is a beast on art, he's crushing it here.

World's Finest #26 - Pleasantly surprised, this arc is entertaining me when I expected it to be another bore like the Amazo arc. Imps are tolerable and pairing up Batmite and Mxy with the hero they're not normally associated with works well. Also I enjoy seeing the villain imp fanboys empowering their idols, and am very happy to see Waid write another Superman villain in Parasite. Mora's design for him might be my new favorite look too.

Wonder Woman #8 - Hey King picked up on Diana being FemJesus too! This arc definitely hasn't sold me on Sovereign being the arch nemesis, but it has made me a fan of Sov as someone who should remain a reoccurring Wonder Woman villain. He is the Patriarchy in every manner, corrupting everything into a means of control. King's critique of religion/Christianity would have been stronger served if he had also touched on Diana being a devout pagan, and what that means for her. It's the one criticism of his handling of WW I agree with, while he's done an excellent job touching on her world and showing why she's awesome, he hasn't really gone too deep into who Diana is. Contrasting her being a true believer in her gods with Sov being a nonbeliever who only uses religion to benefit himself was a missed opportunity.

Green Lantern: WJ #6 - Rules, it's kind of frustrating to me that the pacing is perfect here whereas PKJ's pacing for Hulk is much more uneven.

Ultimate Black Panther #3 - Meanwhile this remains an entertaining read... but I'm seeing criticism that once again we get a lot of other characters driving the plot while T'Challa is merely along for the ride, and I can't argue against that. We need some scenes of T'Challa taking the lead, show him attacking Moon Knight's forces or contributing in some way. Here he just follows Killmonger down a cavern. This was such a quick read and the end page reveal didn't hit because I have no clue what I'm looking at. It's a big green glowing ball - so what? What am I seeing here? Art is fantastic at least.

Giant-Sized Hulk #1 - Heading to Vegas next? Could we be seeing the other alters return? Be a shame if a trip to Vegas didn't include the return of Joe Fixit.

So, just as Marvel got the movie rights back,they let one their biggest names completely reinvent the X-Men, and then after a few years all of it got sent to shitter to center their billion dollar franchise and the entire multimedia line around nostalgia for a 20 year old cartoon. This is gonna look real fucking weird in retrospect, right?

Well the show certainly worked out for them. Against all odds it seems to be... good? I am skeptical that will translate into better sales for the comics but we'll have to wait and see.

Wel, not only is Hickman somehow NOT writing Ultimates, but they actually got the never would hapen in million years dream pick for it.

Making the 6160 Ultimates into the 1610 Liberators is such a brilliant twist.

They're not super-cops, they're terrorists. They're not upholding the status quo they're trying to change it. Instead of being celebrities they have to use secret identities to avoid the Maker's Council. It's the perfect kind of modernization, keeping the spirit of what the original Ultimates were, a reaction to the present status quo, but more reflective of today's world. Immediately after 9/11 people wanted their heroes to tackle the "real threats" which most saw as terrorists. Now the "real threats" that most Americans think of are the shadowy cabals who run our lives: the billionaire tech bros, the "deep state", the military-industrial complex. Pitting the 6160 Ultimates against those guys is a hell of a hook, one I'm extremely eager and excited to see play out.

Comics this week?

Throwing in some from last week too.

Kneel Before Zod #4 - Something to unpack about Zod making the same choice that Jor did, sending the Kandorians off in a rocket to save them. First I need to see where this is going though. Oh man am I eager to see the reunion between Zod and Lor now with the reveal that Lor got his mom and brother killed.

Batman #146 - This whole arc would be much stronger if it was Hugo Strange in place of the Zdarsky OC.

Action Comics #1064 - Strong start! Delivered the Sinestro Corps War vibes I wanted to see, and Lord is Sandoval's art gorgeous. Laughed at Brainiac creating the AI as a trojan horse which no one thought twice of since it seems like such a Lex move.

Green Lantern #10 - Beautiful art, not really buying the big deal about the UP Lanterns using the Emotional Spectrum. All they've actually done is make red axes instead of green.

Fantastic Four #19 - Weakest issue thus far, just didn't do anything for me.

Incredible Hulk #11 - Enjoying it still, but we need to get back to the Eldest plotline. Supposedly issue 13 is going to be a pivot back to that, hopefully PKJ has the sales to get him through to where he wants to go.

Immortal Thor #9 - Been burnt out on meta stories but I am engaged enough to see where Ewing goes with this. I'm assuming there will be more at play than mere MCU bashing.

Whatever you're goign through, wishing you best luck!

Anonymous asked: Hi! Just wanted to say that I hope you get better soon! I wish you well

Anonymous asked: How are you feeling now?

Thanks for the well wishes. Not out of the woods yet but I am feeling better!

Comics this week?

Dealing with some medical issues so I might not be as active for a bit.

Ultimate Spider-Man #3 - Oh Peter, are you even trying to keep your identity a secret? First he all but tells Ben and Jonah that he’s the guy in black the Bugle is focusing on, then he gets outed by Harry because Harry controls his suit’s tech in the wake of taking over Stark’s Company. Hmmm kinda feel like that’s setting up Peter to ditch the picotech and go with a homemade/cloth suit. I’m dying to see how the Parker/Osborn double date goes now that Peter and Harry know each other’s secret identity. How soon before MJ and Gwen find out what their husbands are up to (I was thrilled to see Gwen was married to Harry in 6160). Loved the scene with Peter taking May swinging through the city, that’s muh Spider-Man. MJ and Richard clearly suspect something is up, and with the rate Peter is botching keeping his identity a secret, it's only a matter of time until one or both of them learn what he's been up to.

Tec #1083 - Over the years I’ve grown tired of the “Batman always wins” mantra, but this? This struck a chord with me. Bruce is full of sorrows but no regrets. Batman understanding that he could fail, but choosing to try anyway? Moved me in the same way PKJ recently did with Superman in the Warworld Saga. And I loved the line “people shouldn’t have to look UP for hope and salvation. They should merely have to look AROUND.”

The Flash #7 - Recent medical bills have forced me to drop this.

Incredible Hulk #10 - Decent backstory exposition for the Frozen Charlotte. Not sure if Earls can pull off the kind of fight scene this arc needs though.

Hey, have you read Steve Orlando's Titans's special on Donna ? Because to me that was a great show of what she brings to the table. Definitely made her click for me, so maybe it'll make you like her too.

King beat Orlando to it with WW#5! Seeing Donna try to outsmart Diana, and how she was the only Wonder who talked to Diana as an equal, made her status as the “younger sister” click for me. I can’t say she’s a fave still but I am for the first time since reading her Byrne origin put me off, interested in her.

Would you describe the Donner and STAS versions of Supeman as being "baseline level" characterizations for him? (I meant STAS specifically, not counting JL and JLU).

Yes absolutely. The "baseline" for a character is really what the general public thinks of as being true, and like it or not, the Donner films and the DCAU have a much stronger claim to that status than the comics have had in ages.

An opinion on the recently extended Luthor family?

Letica turned out to be a fat load of nothing, Lena II is intriguing but we have to see if Williamson has a plan for her. All I'll say is keep her on the side of "good" albeit with some moral flexibility and I think she might prove worth keeping around.

Opinions on Jeremy Whitley?

Never read anything of his, sorry.

What do you think about the rest of Greg Pak’s Hulk post Planet Hulk/World War Hulk?

Some good stuff in there, but never recaptured the highs of those first two storylines. Actually now that I think about it, Pak's Hulk and PKJ Action are very similar in that regard though I enjoyed PKJ Action more. I am a fan of his Skaar mini and I loved this moment:

So yeah even after those two epic storylines, Pak gave us some all time great Hulk moments.

Last year, I've seen some X fans whining about Ewing perhaps leaving to write Fantastic Four and how he would be wasted on a loser book, and man, screw them. How many great projects never happened because that franchise had to snatch A-listers to do some of their weakest work on it?

I actually wouldn't want Ewing on F4 either, because I'm loving the Ryan North run and would hate to see it cut short. Ewing would probably do a great F4 run and I'd love to see him take the book next. With that out of the way, the X-Books are a black hole that destroys talent. While I'm not as high on Ewing post-Immortal Hulk as others are, he deserves better than wasting his time writing 90s nostalgia porn like the From Ashes lineup seems set to do.

Really though it's time for Ewing to jump ship to DC. I know he doesn't have the same affection for DC as he does Marvel, but that's all the more reason he should do it. He needs to shake things up again the way he did for Hulk, and switching to DC would do that.

What do you expect from Teen Titans movie?

Expect? Either the cartoon roster and hopefully some of the storytelling, or New Teen Titans. Probably will have Kara in Donna's spot if they want to put her on the Titans after her movie.

Are Jeremy Adams and Josie Campbell the best new writers at DC?

I desperately want to see Josie Campbell write a Supergirl ongoing. Fingers crossed that's something DC is discussing, but yes I do see her as an up and comer. Adams I'm more mixed on. He's generally fine, he writes the comics online fans claim they want. Light and "hopeful" books with lots of continuity nods are his specialty. But his sales are generally soft and outside of GL I don't tend to stick with his work. Still I think he fills a niche in DC's roster that makes him an asset to keep around, even I don't think he'll ever be a "big" writer.