As I read AVX #2, I began to notice something strange. All the focus of the story is on Hope and her connection with the Phoenix. Yet, you see in the background Scarlet Witch just observing the events. And writing something significant in her notebook ( no spoiling here). While the whole event is about Hope, I personally believe that she is a red hearing for the true threat: Scarlet Witch herself. Why not? After all, all it took for her to screw the mutant population was " No More Mutants". I can actually see her joining with the Phoenix and then reseting everything before she screwed it up. It's a cop out, but lets be completely honest, Marvel isn't known for admitting their own messes. And in a way, I think this is how AVX will end somehow. It's just me, but what you guys think? You think I'm Wrong or something else. Cause I think this is a soft reboot in disguise. Thanks and voice your thoughts.

As April and May come closer, big events are coming to both houses of comics this year. Marvel Comics are bringing their main event Avengers vs. X-Men this April. Promotion for this event is as high as the upcoming film The Avengers. It’s no surprise to see all this promotion. Marvel hasn’t had a good year and since the reboot of DC’s New 52 has made DC Comics at the top of comics’ sales. Marvel has the edge on dollar value, but unit sold are much lower than DC Comics. And with this big event, Marvel is all in for it to succeed. The fact that they have heavy hitters on both writing and art like Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, John Romita, Jr., Oliver Coipel and Adam Kubert is a clear and present indication that they are all in on this being their comeback to the top.

On the other hand of the spectrum we have an upcoming event inside the Batman family books called “ The Night of the Owls”. As seen in the issues 1-6 of Batman, Scott Snyder is giving us an enemy as old as Gotham City itself, and one that has managed to stay under the noses of Batman for a very long time. For a while even Batman thought the court was a fairy tale. Bad for him, the Court is real and it nearly cost him his life. He barely managed to survive but the Owls are just starting to flex their muscles. Virtually all Batman books will deal with this event (except Batman Incorporated and Batwoman…yes Detective Comics just changed their story to try and fix in on the night as well), so it’s the first crossover event of the New 52, but limited to the Batman series. Promotion of this event is slowly but surely mounting up among fans and I personally am more exited about this event than AVX.

What you guys think about both events? I expect both of them to be successful in their own way, but then again, I am a little worried about Marvel overstretching AVX beyond what was intended to do (AVS vs. as a good example) and the tie ins to the events. So what you guys think?

As previously mentioned in Part I of what I read, now I have to deal with The books I have abandoned reading and why. Sometimes budget constraints other times you become disappointed with the direction of the story, and other times it just sucks. It is never easy see a book you grew up with turn to something horrible and see yourself say goodbye to it. Here is the list:

1.Amaizing Spider-Man: After the disaster of Civil War and the nice comeback of back in black, joe quesada had to ruin it with the now infamous One More Day. After that I just stopped reading altogether this title. I'm sure i am not the only one, but even with the point one issues, I have very little incentive to go back to this one.

2.Uncanny X-Men vol 2: After the rather idiotic SCHISM, the X-Men are divided between Team Cyclops and Team Wolverine. I gave both this one and Wolverine and the X-Men a chance and to be honest , I'm sticking to Wolverine. Kieron Gillen tries to sell you out on the fact that Cyclops and his more militant X-Men are the better choice. Hope the mutant messiah acts like a spoiled brat, Storm is needed because of her powers ( not her as a person), and they are isolated in a island in between San Fransisco. This honestly is NOT the X-men I grew up with so no thanks.

3.Red Lanterns: Of the New 52 of DC Comics, this was my first ( though not last) disappointment. Written by Peter Milligan, this book had a lot of promise, but instead suffers from a lot of problems. And given that in the Green Lantern universe, things are shaping up for a war with the Guardians of Oa, this book feels out of place in that context.

4.Superman (New 52): Unlike Grant Morrison's Action Comics run, this one written by George Perez is a total borefest. Superman behaving like Superman of the OLD DC UNIVERSE. The whole point of this reboot is to give us the audience a fresh look at Superman.

5. Detective Comics: With everything that is happening with the Court of Owls, I am disappointed at what Tony Daniel has done here. Even though the Dollmaker was fun and creepy, I would save my money for the good events.

6.Batman The Dark Knight: Of all the Batman books, this one is by far the worst. It's pretty much everything than you can do wrong with Batman and more.Even though The Night of the Owls event will include this book, it will star Red Robin, as a special appearance. Avoid this book.

This ones I have decided to eliminate from my buy rooster list. I have a few on a special list I like to call the Pending List. The ones on this list are just ones that if they don't get better I will eliminate from my buy list if they don't get better:

* Green Lantern Corps- I have high hopes that this book will stay on my buy list, as things look promising back again in the upcoming months ahead.

*Justice league International- This one is a wait and see if it gets better. I hope it does, otherwise I will eliminate it from my rooster.

*Justice League Dark- Same as JLI, only a little more hopeful.

There it is. What you guys had to drop and which ones are pending?

I'll be honest and say that thanks to DC Comics New 52, I was able to return to comics. I did not started as a DC fan (except for the shows like Batman The Animated Series), myself growing as a Marvel fan. But as the first decade of the 21st century unfolded, I got lost and confused with the crossover events that Marvel kept launching. I read Uncanny X-Men and at times I felt lost with what was happening. Plus X-Men started to suck around the time of Deadly Genesis. Then Civil War came and I decided to leave the comic world for a while.

With the New 52 , i decided to return to comics and I must say that after 6 months of reading from DC, Marvel, Image and Dark Horse, I have given my full attention to several of their comic lines. Here I start with the list of what I'm reading :

1.Action Comics- Grant Morrison on it. So far it's fun if a little confusing at times, but I like the way Morrison is handling this one.

2.Aquaman- Making Aquaman cool and badass was really hard to do but Geoff Johns have managed to do what many considered impossible. There are many jokes on the comic itself poking fun at Aquaman, but its funny and awesome. A keeper.

3.Batgirl- Seeing Barbara Gordon back as Batgirl is great and she is better because of it. Never liked her as Oracle ( cause of her constant self loathing) and Gail Simone is doing a good job of writing her.

4.Batman- Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are THE dynamic duo in this BADASS in the extreme. So far, A Court of Owls is among the best Batman stories written and I am beyond exited for the Night of the Owls event. More exited than Avengers vs X-Men to be honest (feel free to disagree).

5.Batman and Robin- Seeing Bruce and Damian Wayne together is classic gold in itself and both of em trying to find their place as father and son is great. Another high favorite. Peter Tomasi is hitting a home run on this one.

6.Flash- Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato are giving Barry Allen a hell of a ride. With the story of Mob Rule, I am hooked on the Flash.

7.Green Lantern- Geoff Johns keeps giving hit after hit and giving Sinestro a surprise return as a Green Lantern and Hal Jordan as an unwilling sidekick has been a fun ride and it will go on for a foreseeable future.

8. Green Lantern : New Guardians- Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham, Harvey Tolibao and Batt have made a nice jewel out of the aftermath of Blackest Night, Brightest Day and War of the Green Lantern. Seeing Kyle Rayner interact with the other members of the other lantern corps totally worth it.

9.Justice League- Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. That alone is enough but then again, seeing the League interact as an action flick is so much fun.

10.Teen Titans- Many fans grew up with Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy as the core group. This is NOT the main characters in this incarnation of the team. We see Red Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Solstice, Bunker, Skitter and Superboy (maybe). Barely able to stay together, this team is the ultimate definition of dysfunctional teamwork and it's fun to watch. Scott Lobdell is making a good jewel out of this.

11.Ultimate Comics Spider Man - Many may have criticism on Brian Michael Bendis for his work on Regular Marvel Universe, but on Ultimate Marvel, he is spot on. Introducing Miles Morales and the world after Peter Parker's Ultimate Demise. From the new character to the new suit, Bendis along with Sara Pichelli's art is near perfection. Good art, good read, this is one of the few from Marvel I buy.

12.Ultimate Comics X-Men- I collected all tpb's from Ultimate X-Men and after Ultimatum, things are very very bad for mutants on Ultimate Universe for the very bleak future. Nick Spencer ( Morning Glories) is writing the dark and bleak future. One of my personal favorites since it's showing us what happens when the Days of Future Past becomes the present day situation. Regular Marvel Universe may not do it, but Ultimate Marvel is another story altogether. My personal favorite.

13. Winter Soldier- Never liked Bucky Barnes as Captain America, but as the Winter Soldier, he is in his best element. Ed Brubaker has done an incredible work in adding a covert op section in the whole craziness of regular Marvel Universe. Bucky along with Black Widow do some crazy missions that the regular superheores cannot do. Another good one from Marvel and at $2.99, it's not that bad.

Part 2 will be on what I no longer read ( and why I abandoned them). What you guys read and what you like about em

In the Ultimate Marvel Universe (Earth 1610), things are not all right. Peter Parker died saving his family from the menace of Ultimate Green Goblin and the Sinister Six. Nick Fury returned in charge of SHIELD (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) but the victory of his return was short lived. Captain America feeling guilty for the death of Parker resigned, the budget of SHIELD was pretty much cut in half, and now things are getting out of hand in his renewed watch. Unlike the Regular Marvel Universe (Earth 616), actions here have consequences and repercussions so I have managed to detail a list of enemies that SHIELD and Fury have to deal with or how the situation has been initially handled (warning spoilers ahead):

1.Ultimate Reed Richards – After being abandoned by Ultimate Sue Stormm and beaten in the Ultimate Doom Trilogy, Richards managed to escape the N-Zone and started the Children of Tomorrow, a hyper accelerated evolution of mankind were he is now the Maker. While expanding to create the City, Richards and his Children managed to defeat SHIELD big time, and depower and destroy the city of Asgard, permanently de powering Thor. Richards have made it clear beyond doubt that he will not strike unless stricken first.

Threat assessment: Beyond High

Personal Opinion: Fury fears Richards because he’s the smartest person on Earth and Fury has nothing Richards want. And destroying Asgard has made Fury desperate enough to try to recruit back Rogers to persuade the President against striking back at Richards. However, Rogers declined and now Fury is about to use his covert mutant team Ultimate X at the front lines of the counter attack. This will not work because of certain actions, which I will discuss in the next one on the list.

2.The Mutants- Not directly SHIELDS’ enemies, the revelation that in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, mutants were created trying to recreate the Super Soldier Program and the capture or exterminate order given against all mutants that may resist (Executive Order 3144), well let’s just say that mutants are not going to take it anymore. As illustrated in Ultimate Comics X-Men, mutants are beginning to fight back and the government’s control of them is beginning to break. Nick Fury himself told the president that The Ultimates are in no shape to enforce that order (after the ass whooping they got from Richards). And given that the Nimrods Sentinels have gone rogue (no pun intended) with a kill order of every mutant, the government has definitely lost control of the situation. Ultimate X (Jean Grey now as Karen Grant, Liz Allan and Derek Morgan) has deserted Fury and SHIELD for the safe haven of mutantkind. And given the choice between safe haven beyond the reach of the US Government that is hunting them, well mutants will fight to get to that safe haven.

Threat Assessment: Beyond High

Persona Opinion: The mutant situation along with Richards’ children has shown the limits of SHIELD and the ability to handle the situation. And when the mutants decide to unify and beat the crap out of the government that has been hunting them. Fury and the government have no choice but to eliminate Executive Order 3144 or else suffer the consequences of a civil war and another ass kicking by Richards. A compromise for them is the best option around since they have very little choice in the matter. Can’t wait to see how this goes.

3.SEAR and The People- Another enemy of Fury is the People of SEAR (South East Asia Republic). The government of SEAR managed to manufacture The Source, a Super Mutant Serum that turns normal humans into super mutants. After liberating themselves from the tyrannical rule, the brothers Xorn and Zorn have made the twin cities of Celestials and Eternals. While both brothers have philosophical differences they are united in defending each other, thus inviting all mutants in the world as a safe haven from persecution.

Threat Assessment: High If provoked

Personal Opinion: This is what the mutant revolution could turn into if they unite against the government that created them and hunts them keep on their current course. Even after giving The Source to Hawkeye, they are unable to analyze and reverse engineering for their own purpose. This shows that the US Government is suffering from a brain drain. And since Richards has decided to do his own thing, things are looking dire for Fury. However, SEAR is not going to attack unless provoked, which is good news for Fury to concentrate on other matters at hand. However, Ultimate X has decided to stay and thus draining Fury of valuable personnel. And going in there and kidnap em is NOT an option. Fury could loose a hell of a lot of people to SEAR due to government policy of capture or kill mutants.

I think I have given a nice resume of the current threats Fury has right now. What you guys think???

sorry for the low res but it's a work in progress otherwise enjoy

For every fan of Ultimate Marvel Universe, Everyone knows that everything changed with Ultimatum. And every fan of Ultimate Marvel HATES Ultimatum and Jeph Loeb because of what he did. He broke the status quo in such a way that even till this day in 2012, it comes as a shock and disbelief. And we hate him for doing so. But the truth of the matter is that in retrospective he broke the ultimate taboo (pun intended) by showing us the end battle of the heroes in which the dark future starts and the heroes fell. It’s true the in Ultimatum the heroes won, but at a high price. The X-Men were decimated, the Fantastic Four broken (turning Reed Richards mad) and severely injuring the Ultimates.

And looking at the Ultimate Universe today in the Post-Ultimatum world, things are not getting better. But lets be realistic, the regular 616 Marvel Universe started to suck since Civil War. Not because of the repercussions of the event but how Marvel Comics have mitigated and in some cases erasing the consequences (One More Day for Spider Man fans). And Fear Itself was a hell of a letdown. Plus the X-Men have become a disappointment (Schism and Uncanny X-Men) with the exception of Wolverine and the X-Men. Jeph Loeb did what many wanted but at the same time did not wanted to see: the end battle. Cause to be honest, 616 Universe always, always, ALWAYS gives us one variation or another of the dark and dystopian future in which everything is screwed up and yet it never happens no matter how bad the situation gets. But by breaking that taboo and showing us just how the world went bad, and the consequences of such actions. THERE IS NO TURNING BACK (for the bastard that wrote OMD) and seeing the world forward, it’s pretty cool. A new Spider Man (black/Latino), the X-Men managing thru the ugly truth ( the x-gene was created by the government and not evolution) and the Ultimates getting their asses handed to them by crazy Reed Richards (now the Maker) and his Children of Tomorrow (an evil Future Foundation). It’s a world that is going to hell quickly, but with the taboo broken, they can do awesome stories such as this. And even though we hate Loeb for Ultimatum, in retrospect, it was the next logical step. And breaking taboos is what comic books are all about. To tell stories that often needs to be heard and told in an awesome way. The truth may free us but it hurts like hell. And that’s what happened in Ultimate Marvel Universe. I still dislike Ultimatum. And my first comic I bought is Ultimate Spider Man #2 and Ultimate X-Men #4 so trust me when I say that I HATE ULTIMATUM, but to be honest, looking back, it was necessary. What you guys think of it?