Agatha All Along, Deadpool/Wolverine, Acolyte

I’ve got a massive backlog of movies/shows that I’ve been wanting to review.  Let’s see how much I remember of some of these.

Agatha All Along

I think this is the first MCU show that I haven’t watched as it came out on a week-to-week basis.  I had little interest in Agatha as a character, even with the wonderful Kathryn Hahn in the lead role.  (“Poncho!”)

I binged this with my wife while on vacation over three nights.  Thoughts:
What I liked:

• Patti LuPone.  I know her as Broadway royalty, though I haven’t seen her in anything.  She’s wonderful here, and her spotlight episode is the best part of the show.  Her character arc is the most compelling, and it ends with a satisfying poignancy.

• The Salem Seven.  At least with how creepily they were portrayed.  Horror-lite, which is the best way I like my horror.  (I’m a wimp.)  They were handled way too easily.  Negative satisfaction on that front.

• I’m looking at the cast pics for the Salem Seven, and they’re all gorgeous model-types.  Why???  They were cloaked and masked in black the whole time.

• The first performance of The Witches’ Road.  Haunting with lovely harmonies.  

• Agatha’s relationship w/ her son.  Because I’m a parent and a sucker for these kinds of things now.

• Sasheer Zamata.  “Isn’t that the person from SNL??”  Did not expect to see her in a dramatic role, but she acquitted herself nicely.

• Aubrey Plaza.  She always plays Aubrey Plaza.  But in the right roles, that’s all that’s needed.  

• Between Billy, Agatha, and Rio, this is the most LGBTQ representation I’ve ever seen in the MCU.  I hope they keep going in this direction.  

What I didn’t like

• Not a fan of Joe Locke’s performance as Teen.  He annoyed me for most of the show, until his origin story in the penultimate episode.  He got a lot better after I understood his motivation.  Though I wish they spent more time w/ how traumatic it is to be a 13-year old trapped in the body of a 16-year old.  (And he started out as a 10-year old!  How is he making it through school?  He’s making out w/ a 16-year kid!  It’s Big all over again!)

• The Wiccan costume did not translate well to the screen.  Looked like bad cosplay.

• Hahn is generally wonderful, and the campiness is intentional.  But sometimes it was too much for me.

• Debra Jo Rupp.  Will always love her for Friends, but she annoyed the crap out of me here.

• I don’t buy the team up at the end.  It wrapped things up too easily.

I was never entertained, but I will never want to watch this again.  (Maybe the Lilia episode.)  I don’t need a second season, but I’d be happy enough to see Wiccan and his found-brother in a Young Avengers movie/show.

Worth watching: Yes

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Fine

Updated MCU TV rankings

1. Hawkeye

2. She-Hulk

3. Wandavision

4. Ms Marvel

5. Falcon/Winter Soldier

6. Loki

7. Agatha All Along

8. Echo

9. Moon Knight

10. Secret Invasion

Acolyte

Things I liked:

• Manny Jacinto.  By far the best part of the show.  I want a show with him as the main character, going around the universe corrupting the good and kicking ass.

• The lightsaber battles were super tight.

• Wookie jedi!

• Carrie-Anne Moss as a Jedi.  She’s so badass, I wanted more of her in action.

• Ahmed Best.  So good to see him back in the Star Wars universe.  Hopefully it was a better experience this time around.  I don’t blame him at all for Jar-Jar.

Things I didn’t like:

• Lee Jung-jae.  I haven’t seen Squid Game, so this is my first exposure to him.  I found him to be wooden and didn’t sympathize with him at all.  Didn’t buy him as a Jedi master.

• The twin protagonists.  Didn’t care about either of them at all.  

• The story wasn’t interesting enough to warrant the Rashomon format.  This wasn’t worth watching once, let along multiple times.

• So much of this series was filler.  It could have been cut down to half its length and still served its purpose.

I’m not sorry this was cancelled, but I am sad we may never see Jacinto wield a lightsaber again.

Worth watching: Yes (barely)

Would watch again: No (except for the fight scene on Youtube)

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Deadpool & Wolverine

Things I liked (this is off the top of my head 6 months after seeing it)

• Hugh Jackman.  He will always be great in this role, selling the humor, the action, and the pathos.  The guy can do it all.

• All of the Wolverine variants.  Loved.

• Ryan Reynolds.  As perfect for Deadpool as Jackman is for Wolverine.  Period.

• All the cameos.  X-23, Blade, Gambit, Elektra, Torch, Yukio! - every single one of them elicited a joyful clap of the hands.

• Emma Corrin.  One of the best MCU villains I’ve seen, she was genuinely scary.  (Those fingers in the brain!)  Corrin oozed charisma, and I would love for her to be the overarching big bad in the upcoming X-Men movies.  (Would never happen, though)

• The humor was what I expected, and I laughed through most of this.

• Perfect post-credits tag.

Things I didn’t like

• This movie ruined “Like a Prayer” for me.  I love that song, and I can’t hear it w/out thinking of this film anymore. 

• The movie runs out of steam.  I was ready to tap out by the time the Deadpool army showed up.

This needs a rewatch, but I still have pleasant memories of this film.  

Worth watching: Yes

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Pretty good

Updated MCU rankings

1. Avengers: Endgame

2. Captain America: Civil War

3. Captain America: Winter Soldier

4. Spider-Man: No Way Home

5. Avengers: Infinity War

6. Shang-Chi

7. Avengers: Age of Ultron

8. Ant-Man/Wasp

9. Avengers

10. Spider-Man: Homecoming

11. Captain America

12. Dr Strange 2

13. Thor: Love and Thunder

14. Spider-Man: Far From Home

15. Iron Man 2

16. Black Widow

17. Black Panther

18. Iron Man

19. Ant-Man

20. Dr Strange

21. Deadpool & Wolverine

22. Iron Man 3

23. Thor 3

24. Captain Marvel

25. Thor

26. Thor 2

27. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

28. Guardians of the Galaxy

29. Guardians of the Galaxy 2

30. Guardians of the Galaxy 3

31. Hulk

32. Eternals

33. Ant-Man/Wasp: Quantumania

New comics

It’s been a month since I’ve been to my LCS.  Here’s some of what I bought:

DC vs Vampires: World War V 5

Matthew Rosenberg does a great job of weaving multiple storylines together.  And like Tom Taylor did with DCeased, he manages to squeeze in an “oh shit” moment with just about every issue.  This month, it’s what Nightwing’s been doing with the Flash this whole time.  Chilling.

Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter 6

This was one of the prettiest comics I’ve read in a long time.  Tirso’s work is flat out gorgeous.  

Fantastic Four 27

I get the same thought reading this that I do w/ Mark Waid’s current work: I feel like I should be liking this more than I am.  Not prepared to quit on it yet, though.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 5

By far the weakest issue of the run.  It focuses on the villain, not the Turtles, and though it’s well written, I just don’t care as much about this guy.  

Absolute Superman 2

Rafa Sandoval is channeling major Steve Epting vibes here, which isn’t that bad of a thing.  This is still my least favorite of the new Absolute titles.  (Not a strong month for Jason Aaron.)  But it still has promise.  

Batgirl 2

Still a fun, action-oriented comic that feels like a throwback to the 2000’s.  

Detective Comics 1092

Can’t get over how much I love Mikel Janin on interiors.  Also surprised by how un-Tom Taylor this title feels.  It could have been written by any competent writer, and lacks that Taylor flair.  Giving it time.  

Batman: Long Halloween: Last Halloween 4

Cliff Chiang!  This series continues to illustrate just how massive a difference an artist can make on the tone, feel, and success of a comic book.  It’s truly a collaborative effort. 

New comics

New comics!

Battle Action 1

I’ve never heard of Rebellion Comics before, but I’ll go anywhere that Garth Ennis is writing war comics.  Here, he continues his work on Johnny Red.  It’s as good as it was before.  I may have to pick up the earlier Battle Action trades, it looks like Ennis did more Johnny Red stories there.

Absolute Wonder Woman 2

Wonderful.  I don’t know if I’d like Hayden Sherman’s art anywhere else, but it’s perfect for this.  Ready for more.

Detective Comics 1091

I didn’t expect Bruce to take the de-aging drug.  But I guess when Superman gives his blessing, it’s okay.  I’m just so happy to see Mikel Janin’s art again.  

JLA Unlimited 1

I was certainly going to give this Mark Waid/Dan Mora collaboration a shot.  It’s a take on the excellent cartoon series, where every hero in the DCU is a member of the team.  The result is fine, but nothing more.  I won’t be getting more.

Question: All Along the Watchtower 1

This ancillary miniseries is more of what I’m looking for.  I’ve always been a Renee Montoya fan as a detective.  I watched her downward spiral and subsequent transition into the Question with skepticism, but I’m on board for this interpretation by Alex Segura and Cian Tormey.  Montoya’s got a great look (cowboy detective!) and delicious interpersonal drama lined up (Kathy Kane’s the team!).  This should be fun.

Batgirl 1

This reads like a Chuck Dixon comic: Lots of action, just enough plot to tie it all together.  Cassandra Cain and her mother, Lady Shiva, are forced to team up against ninja.  That’s more than enough for me.

Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween 3

What a difference an artist makes.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mark Chiarello’s work.  I knew he was an artist, but mostly knew him as an editor.  Jeph Loeb is definitely a writer whose work rises and falls with the quality of his penciller.  All of a sudden I’m way higher on the rest of this series, especially w/ Cliff Chiang next in the lineup.

Jenny Sparks 4

I’m prepared to call this mini the rare Tom King piece of trash.  This is just plodding along, boring, pointless, and a negative on the entertainment scale.  Off my list, I think.

Black Canary: Best of the Best 1

Luckily, King is back on track with this much simpler story.  Black Canary versus Lady Shiva for reasons yet to be disclosed.  Ryan Sook is almost amazing here, but some of his drawings are a touch stilted.  This would probably be better w/ a different artist, but I’m not really complaining.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4

TIme for Donatello.  A fun, twisted single-issue tale from Jason Aaron and Chris Burnham.  An excellent start to this mini, and now we’ll see where things go with the brothers reunited.

New comics

An LCS that I go to occasionally (usually whenever they stock an issue my usual shop doesn't have) has a perpetual "Buy 2 TPBs get 1 free" sale.  This time around, they had enough for me to splurge: The first four trades of the Tom Taylor All-New Wolverine and the two Terry Moore Motor Girl collections.  I picked up the last two Wolverine trades used online.  (How are they already out of print?) 

All-New Wolverine 1-35

I've actually already read these online, so I knew they were good enough to pick up on sale.  Particularly the delightful issue 31, where Honey Badger and Deadpool take out an animal testing facility.  Zombie sloth!  Taylor is on point with this run, combining humor and heart with his usual skill.  Very happy to add this to my collection.

Motor Girl 1-10

At this point, I'm buying Terry Moore trades more out of habit than anything else.  The craft is always top notch, but the stories are rarely more than fine.  But he's worth supporting, so I don't really mind.

Catwoman 70

In a completely predictable move, I'm dropping this after two issues.  I was bored reading this, and there wasn't enough of the awesome new costume.  

Wonder Woman 15

When Tom King is on, he's on.  Even when he uses a gimmicky device like this issue's "Princesses jumping on the bed," he makes it arresting and a completely satisfying read.  I continue to worship Daniel Sampere's art.  The "Elysium" backup story is equally obvious with its repetitive nature, but again, it totally plays.  

Batman and Robin: Year One 2

Good enough to pick up for a second month, but not enough for me to put on my sub.  We'll see how much longer I go with this.  

Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter 5

Great main story, but the backup Aquaman story may have eclipsed it at this point.  Love the "Aquaman raised by the Kents" take.

Jupiter's Legacy: Finale 2

I'm only in this because I'm pot committed.  And maybe it'll read better in one go.  I've never been a Tommy Lee Edwards fan.  

Venom War: It's Jeff 1

It's always a delight to see Gurihiru in action, and nothing's cuter than Jeff.  But even Jeff can't make Venom interesting.  My daughter still loved it, though.

Ultimate Spider-Man 11

Still fun.  Still in.

Asgardians: Thor

I'm not sure if Greek myths are just better than the Norse ones, or if George O'Connor is just more inspired by the former.  I'll keep getting these because I believe O'Connor is worth supporting, but they're just not as good as the Olympian series.  I am looking forward to his interpretation of Ragnarok. 

New comics

New comics!

Plastic Man No More! 2-3

I thought this was going to be a redemptive story, Plastic Man pulling himself back together both literally and figuratively.  Instead, it’s about Eel O’Brian’s continuing downward trajectory as things just get worse and worse.  He’s constantly making bad choices, excusing them in the name of a greater purpose.  He’s lost his way, and while it makes for an interesting character study, it’s not that fun to read.  Great execution by Christopher Cantwell and Alex Lins, though.

Birds of Prey 12-15

Yes, yes, I dropped this because the story arc was crap.  Still true, but iFanboy gave the new arc a good review (starting w/ issue 14), and there was a sale at my LGS.  Man, I really hate the Worlds Without End arc.  But this new one is admittedly a lot better, so I might stick around for it, on a month-by-month basis.  

Absolute Superman 1

It’s funny-not-funny that the Absolute title I was most interested in (the only one I preordered) is the weakest one.  It doesn’t resonate the way the Wonder Woman and Batman comics do, but I trust Jason Aaron.  Though on second thought, his last Superman work was pretty horrible.  (Hate Bizarro!)  Going to give it at least another month.

Batman: Long Halloween: Last Halloween 2

Klaus Janson may be a legend, but his art does less than nothing for me.  I do not enjoy looking at it.  I’m inches away from cutting this.  The story is completely forgettable.  (Jeph Loeb has fallen so far in my estimation.)

DC vs Vampires: World War V 4

Another chapter in an entertaining story, but not much more to say.

Absolute Batman 2

This is so fun.  Nick Dragotta is channeling Dave Mazzucchelli, and Scott Snyder is at the top of his game.

Helen of Wyndhorn 6

Tom King and Bilquis Evely wrap up another super successful team up.  Beautifully drawn and written.  Only the framing story w/ the cassette tapes is an utter fail, and the ending is completely anticlimactic and disappointing.  

Batman: Dark Age 6

I think I read this more out of morbid fascination than anything else.  Mike Allred’s art is so compelling in its ugliness.  And the story by Mark Russell doesn’t suck.

Big Burn 2

Not as good as the first issue, but still entertaining.  And the final page reveal is obvious but effective at moving things along.

Aliens vs Avengers 1-2

This future dystopia is stunningly generic, and it’s Jonathan Hickman at his cold, emotionless worst.  Esad Ribic does what he can, and the Alien IP is strong, so I’m still in.

Rainbow Rowell She-Hulk

She-Hulk 1-15

Sensational She-Hulk 1-10

I picked up these five trades at my LCS’s annual Halloween sale.  Not sure why I didn’t pick up this Rainbow Rowell run while it was coming out, but I’m sure happy to have the opportunity to read it now.  This is delightful in every way, with a wonderful rotation of artists, each perfectly suited to capture She-Hulk’s power and sexiness.  

New comics

New comics!

Detective Comics 1090

So this is where Tom Taylor went after finishing off Nightwing.  And with Mikel Janin, most recently seen by me doing a drive-by on Wonder Woman.  Hopefully he stays longer than the one? two? issues he lasted that time.

Taylor kicks things off w/ a massive retcon; Thomas Wayne once saved Joe Chill’s life on the operation table.  Dun dun DUN!  Doesn’t feel necessary, but there’s no question of me sticking around.

Babs 3

A lot more fun than the previous issue, where I had dropped the title from my pull list.  (Too late to keep this from making it into my box.)  Not enough for me to bring it back, I think.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House 5

The plot’s been a bore for the entire story, but the character moments and art have sparkled throughout.  It averages out to an above average effort from Mariko Tamaki and Javier Rodriguez.

Absolute Wonder Woman 1

I’ve never heard of artist Hayden Sherman, but this is stunning work.  Kelly Thompson has me intrigued with this take on Diana, and the unanticipated Absolute line at DC is now two for two.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3

Cliff Chiang is the next top shelf artist to draw this title.  It’s Leonardo’s turn for Jason Aaron’s treatment.  This is super fun.

Plastic Man No More! 1

Christopher Cantwell puts a human face on the happy go lucky hero, forcing him to deal with his mortality in a world where no one takes him seriously.  I don’t read all of Cantwell’s work, but I’m always impressed when I do.

Jenny Sparks 1-3

Not Tom King’s best work.  I’m not digging the “Captain Atom-as-immature-Doctor-Manhattan” hostage situation, and Jenny Sparks isn’t much more than an attitude right now.  At least this is a shorter series.