Some of My Friends Read Comics

Vision's got his own TV show now, that's neat. We decided we'd read the Vision and Scarlet Witch 4-issue miniseries from 1982 by Bill Mantlo and Rick Leonardi. There was more meat on the bone here than we expected!  And in lieu of a long-read, we also read Giant-Size Avengers #4 from 1975 which featured the wedding of Vision and Scarlet Witch! When it comes to wedding issues... it's not exactly up there. Zero meat on this bone. Next Time: FF (2011) #1-5 by Jonathan Hickman & Steve Epting

We've got Zelda fever! We've already covered the mangas for Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, so this time we're doing something a little different. We're doing the Link to the Past manga that was serialized in Nintendo Power 32-43, written and drawn by Shotaro Ishinomori. It starts out very faithful to the game, but there are some unexpected deviations. And then we're finally done with Ultimates when we cover issue 13! Book redeemed? No. Next Time: Vision & Scarlet Witch (1982) + Giant-Size Avengers #4  

We're taking a trip to Weirdworld! What is it? We're not really sure. But Jason Aaron and Mike del Mundo rebooted it as part of Marvel's 2015 Secret Wars event. It's got everything: underwater monkeys, crystal warriors, and great art. But is it any good? Then we continue Ultimates with #12, where we finally learn what Captain America's A doesn't stand for. Next Time: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1992) by Shotaro Ishinomori (don't confuse it with the 2005 manga by Akira Himekawa)  

It's time for some modern crime stuff that's based on a true story and also totally made up. It's Christopher Cantwell and Tyler Crook's Out of Alcatraz! Based on the infamous escape from 1962, it follows the story of the 3 mysterious inmates who were never found again. Interesting stuff!  Then we move onto Ultimates #11 which gave us a lot to talk about! Like why did the bad guy spend half the issue monologuing about his plan and then change it? Next Time: We investigate Secret Wars (2015) by reading WeirdWorld instead!

We decided it's time to try another comic book crossover and we think we may have finally picked a good one for once: Archie Meets Batman 66' by Jeff Parker and Michael Moreci.  It's campy, it's old timey, and it knows it's dumb as hell, so let's go for it. Plus the art by Dan Parent and the covers by Mike Allred are perfectly primed to make middle-aged nerds weep. Then we read Ultimates 10, which unfortunately also made us weep.   Next Time: Out of Alcatraz by Christopher Cantwell & Tyler Crook

This might be it. The worst comic we've ever read. Marville, a miniseries from 2002 written by Marvel's Editor in Chief at the time, Bill Jemas. It's a fever dream of a comic that starts as a Smallville parody, but it becomes more. Oh it becomes so much more! Please join us for this bizarre piece of garbage. Then we keep going with Ultimates in issue #9, where there's a fairly inconsequential fight! Next Time: Archie Meets Batman '66!

We've never read a Supergirl comic and it's time to change that! We're taking a look at Tom King & Bilquis Evely's 8-issue miniseries, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which also serves as the inspiration behind her new movie. But is it secretly a Coen Brothers movie in disguise??? Then we're continuing The Ultimates with issue #8 where we meet some new cast members! Next Time: We celebrate April Fool's Day with Marvel's Smallville parody, Marville (2002)!

It's The Heroic Age! All the Marvel heroes are friends again and there are no villains! Or something like that, and the Avengers want to keep it that way. So they're training up a team of brand new recruits in Avengers Academy while also lying to them. Perfect. We read an unprecedented NINE issues of this series, all so we get to Taskmaster and talk about him. Then we continued Ultimates with #7, and it definitely had some pictures in it. Next Time - Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

We're going back to the early 90s to another Robin miniseries where the Joker is wild. It's called Robin II: Joker's Wild, and Batman's not in this one, Robin's flying solo! We get some interesting looks at how he interacts with Batman's supporting cast when he's not around. And we also meet some of Robin's own supporting cast. We didn't know he had friends. Then we go onto Ultimates #6 where we distinguish the Ultimates from their 616 counterparts. Next Time: Avengers Academy (2010) #1-9

Woop woop! X-Men alert! It's a double-sized grab bag of X-titles! First up, we're taking a look at Uncanny X-Men #200 where Magneto is on trial in Paris in front of the UN. We get some weird twins and some space aliens. Then we finally get into the Age of Apocalypse finale with X-Men Omega. And then we gotta keep going with Ultimates #5, in which we get meet the Incredible Inappropriate Hulk. Next Time: Tim Drake fights the Joker for the first time, in "Robin 2: The Joker's Wild!"