Brennan's Top 5 Hypest Workout Tracks

What's going on Otaku Faithful?  This is the GREATBLACKOTAKU who has FINALLY made his way back from the glitz and glamour of his tiny YouTube channel to the domain he paid good money for with a highly requested list of what I listen to when I work out.  So heres a list of my top 5 songs currently on my workout playlist.

For those who don't know, as a football player, when I'm not practicing or studying the game I am generally in the weight room, especially in the off season where working out is essentially my job.  Needless to say the daily 5-6 hour grind goes a lot faster when listening to some of my favorite tunes.  But first, I'll start off with some "situational honorable mentions".

Best "Alarm Clock" Song:

I sleep pretty hard, and need about four alarms strategically staggered to get me out of bed.  All different songs, but this is the one is the last line of defense.

Fly Away by TeddyLoid

Fast start, and too loud to ignore.  Loved the tune since I first heard it on the show.  Also one of my favorite OSTs.

Best "WAKE UP GET HYPE" Song:

I wake up pretty early in the morning to start my day, so after an energy shot I need a good "WAKE UP GET HYPE" song to listen to on the short car ride to the stadium.  Usually a song that I can sing along to and get the brain firing.

Movin' on without you by Utada

Don't judge me.  This song has been on my iPod for literally 10+ years.  I know all the words.  Dat voice.  Dat chorus.  Based Hikki.

Best Rehab Podcasts:

A solid chunk of my work days this off season consist of rehab outside of the weight room.  I always liked talk radio, so podcasts were a natural transition during the more boring parts of my day.  I've got a solid weekly rotation, but three are set in stone.

Monday: Solomonster Sounds Off here

Tuesday: Super Best Friendcast! here

Wednesday: Houston Wrestling Radio here

If you're into podcasts, these come highly recommended.  Also, if you want to listen to a podcast I'm semi-regularly on, check out the Kings of Things here!

Onto the actual top five!

5. Before My Body Is Dry by Mika Kobayashi

The perfect song for when a set is beating you down.  By the time you hear "DON'T LOSE YOUR WAY" you feel like you can lift a mountain.  A great addition to my play list from day one.

4.  MARIA&JOKER and Etsuraku Camelia by Nana Mizuki

Technically two songs, but because they are right after one and other on the Ultimate Diamond album, I don't think I've ever listened to just one in a row.  MARIA&JOKER gives me my jazzy Cowboy Bebop fill without being too mellow with killer vocals.  Etsuraku Camelia (which I guess there is no trace of on YouTube) sounds like a much more traditional Japanese song, with face melting guitars that rounds out a great one two punch.

3.  Gianism Shichi by Nightmare

The first riff draws you in and doesn't let go until the songs over.  Funky, hard hitting, and up beat, this has consistently been one of my favorite Nightmare songs since I started listening to them, and great during cardio.

2.  Ascended Master by Versailles Philharmonic Quintet

I used to always say I've been a Versailles PQ fan since before they were "Philharmonic Quintet".  Now I have to say I've been a Versailles fan since before they were not a band (T-T).  Anyways, I always have had a thing for symphonic metal and Versailles did that wonderfully with a visual kei twist.

1.  Kagerou by Sadie

This was a tough one, seeing as any Sadie song from UNDEAD 13+2 or MASTERS OF ROMANCE could have made my top five, considering those albums have been on my pre game playlists since high school.  At the moment, Kagerou is the hypest, though that changes from year to year.

That just about wraps it up, hopefully you enjoyed my list and found some new artists to listen to!  Be sure to suggest more blogs you'd be interested in reading, because I think thats going to be the new direction for this site.

GREATBLACKBLOG on Google Glass: I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS

Hola Otaku faithful, I know we've been gone for a while but your favorite member has returned to the Blog with a new series for you, GREATBLACKBlog reviews Google Glass. Last week I applied to become a Google Glass Explorer. The application was fairly simple name, e-mail, address, and where and how I intended to use it. A week later I received an e-mail saying I had been approved to become an Explorer.

There is my gorgeous mug with my Google Glass Explorer Edition 2.0. I chose the white model because I'm a sucker for sci-fi tropes, future things HAVE to be white duh. It does come in a couple different colors, there's the white, black, grey, blue, and tangerine. There are also a number of frames you can stick onto the front, however unless you need the prescription lenses I don't think they warrant the $225 a pop. Now after my initial trials I think there are a few things worth noting, the first is that the Google Glass DOES NOT operate on the LTE of the connected device , meaning you either need a wifi connection or the ability to turn your phone into a hotspot to be able to use it to its full extent. It should also be noted that your contacts do not transfer unless you have them linked to a Google account, since I have an Iphone this proved to be a pain so I made account for the important people and synced them to our next subject. MyGlass, the Google Glass companion app, while the app is entirely functional I've always had trouble using Google stuff on my Iphone, the interface is extremely sensitive and feels wonky. Aside from that the interface itself is really fun, I was happy to find out the hands free "wink to take pictures" is actually totally functional and doesn't trigger every time you blink I was also really happy to find out Google's voice control is a lot more accurate than Siri. I also made a phone call on it in its vanilla state which worked fine, and again with the earpiece included with it and that was even better. All in all my only real issue with the hardware was that it seems to need very good lighting, especially since my room is generally dimly lit. All in all I'm very happy with the product, BUT and its a big but, we must address the elephant in the room, the $1500 price-tag for this early access model is pretty steep, I would definitely suggest waiting for the retail model, but if you're a technophile like me, it could be worth it if you get accepted to be an explorer.

If you wanna keep up with my discoveries playing around with Google Glass feel free to subscribe to my twitter, @MoMoneyBillson or just stay tuned with to the blog I plan on doing an in depth Google Glass App review once I get a chance to test a whole bunch out.

-MB

Raw Review 12/30/2013

Hola Otaku-Faithful and welcome to yet another installment of our weekly RAW review. This is the third fifth installment so you guys know the drill, lets get right into it

 

Punk Promo

-PUNKS FIRED UP

-WOW PUNK IS A GUY JUST LIKE ME… EXCEPT RICH… and doing what I wish I could do for a living… this comparison isn’t really holding up anymore



-Yup your year was 2011/2012

-HABEEB IN THA SHEBD

-TIME FOR JUSTICE

-please Dean muh respek for US Title, Why you throw?

-wwe.com where is my WWE Universe Zodiac

-Dean please go we all know Rollins is the best

-CM Punk please stahp muh JUSTICE

-TIME FOR BRAD MADDOX



-BRAD MADDOX KNOWS WHATS UP

CM Punk vs Seth Rollins

-Sweet throwback yellow trunks on Punk



-I hope they keep Shield break up on the slow burn like they’ve been on, commentary makes this sentiment seem unlikely

-Shut Up MAGGEL

-Dean wielding the US Belt MNM Style



-TWITTER TWITTER TWITTER TWITTER TWITTER TWITTER



-Seth Rollins has been having some great matches recently, I hope they push him hard coming out of the Shield

-I’m hoping Rollins just barely pulls out the win so all can remain JUSTICE with the world

-DAT SEQUENCE



-RORRINSU BOMBU

-Shield’s greatest strength is their use of facial expressions its high tier

-CONTINUITY! Rollins finally learns how to dodge that Roundhouse after getting hit with it every night

-Wasn’t a fan of that sell on the clothesline

-All dose facial expressions

-Dat Pack Mentality

-Dat JBL being a two-faced git



-I never got the cross body roll through counter, wouldn’t it still hurt?

-SHIELD PLEASE NO

-SHIELD PLEASE

-This isn’t good guys, who will enforce my JUSTICE without Shield

-;_;

AUTHORITAH and Daniel Bryan Segment

-Brad Maddox making all these PPV tier matches

-I am impressed too Stephanie Mcmahon

-Steph if this is anything other than “The Royal Rumble” you’re wrong, objectively wrong. The main event of The Royal Rumble is The Royal Rumble

Steph Announces The Royal Rumble

-Thank you Dear Leaders of WWE Authority, you have never been wrong and are worth of all praise



-A montage FOR THE KING \__O____/

-THANK YOU BASED RANDALL

-LOOKS LIKE JOHN CENA IS CASHING IN HIS JOHN CENA IN THE BANK FOR ANOTHER TITLE MATCH. WHAT A SURPRISE



-Also, Steph was wrong, Main Event is The Royal Rumble

BNAO BNAO BANANANANANA YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH I WERK ALONE

Steph Walking in Hallway

-implying Randy Orton vs John Cena #289387389287329938 is a big announcement

-Time for HHH to GO OVER

Curtis Axel vs Dolph Ziggler

-Curtis Axel please get off my TV until you learn how to cut a promo

-Ziggler please don’t become Kofi 2.0 Mid-card Jobber for life

-PLEASE THIS PROMO IS GOOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING WWE

-INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAM

-I don’t have high hopes for this match

-Axel isn’t even that bad in the ring, its just I don’t care at all about him, he has given me no reason to

-RK- errrrrr ZIGZAG OUTTA NOWHERE

-hopefully this is a sign of an upturn for Ziggler

-that was a great match but I wish I had been invested in it

OBLIGATORY WWE APP SEGMENT

-WWE APP WWE APP WWE APP WWE APP WWE APP WWE APP WWE APP

BIG E vs FAAAAAAAAHHHHHNDAAAAAAAAHNNNNNGGOOOOOOOOOH

-Summer Rae please

-This is one of those matches where I would be more hype if I hadn’t already seen it a couple times

-Gosh Dang Big E moves really well for a guy his size



-SUMMER PLEASE STAHP

-OHHHR INDIAN DEATHLOCK, I always loved this move glad to see it being used

-This mat wrestling

-muh obligatory mentioning Anderson Silva’s mangled leg

-THREE AIN’T ENUFF MAN I NEED FIVE

Booker T and PTP

-I feel like this segment may be a little racist

-SPINAROONI!

-BAD NEWS BARRAH

-NO SPINAROONI 4 U

-2deep4me Wade

-2muchtruth4me Wade



-No Spinarooni4me

Sandow and QT3.16 Renee

-Sandow laying down some truth

-SANDOW PLEASE DON’T GO

Sandow vs THE GRAN KHALIL

-Oh god this is gunna be really bad isn’t it

-Why is Khali still employed he’s in such bad shape right now

-VICIOUS SANDOW TIME

-Shut Up Maggel

-Am I bad person for thinking the Miz would have been a better choice than Khali…

-WE STILL HAVE SANDOW!

R-Truth vs THE MAIN EVENT PLAYA

-Eh this seems like filler

-I like how Woods actually pays attention to the match during commentary, Michael and King should take notes

-Monster Brodus should be good

-I think the slower methodical psychology works better for Brodus vs the fast dance-y squashes

-Woods putting Brodus over despite him being a heel, commentary should take notes

-TIME TO DANCE

TRIPLE H ANNOUNCEMENT

-ON YOUR KNEES DOG

-TIME TO WELCOME BACK BATIS-

-I guess this makes sense, Triple H puts bad blood with Orton Aside, he can do it with Bork too

-Its best for business

-PAUL HEYMAN PROMO TIME

-I like that Bork Shirt

-BORK WANT WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

-BORK SMASH FOR WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

-WOAH HEY WOAH HEY

-OH SNAP this is like Godzilla vs King Kong

-IBDS HABBENID

-those screams are terrifying

-F5 WITH THE GREATEST OF EASE

-Well that made all the terrible stuff I just waded through worth it

Divas Match

-Thank goodness that's over

More Authoritah and Brad Maddox

-THANK YOU BASED BRAD

-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Daniel Bryan vs Wyatt Family Gauntlet Match

-Eh I'm not as hype for this match as I should be, should be good though

-DEA-

-This should be a great match as I've said I enjoy big vs little guy match-ups

-THAT CHAIN OF SUBMISSIONS

-YEAHYEAHYEAH

-I like that Gator Roll

-FIGHTING SPIRITUUUU

-NOPE

-Zack Ryder Sign Sighting

-FIGHTING SPIRITU PART 2 ELECTRIC BUGALOO

-YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

-WOAH DAT BOMB

-YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES Lock

-DAT BOOT

-BUSAIKU KNEE KICK

-ROUND 2 START

-Rowan please don't kill the Daniel

-DAT PANCAKE

-LOLROLLUP

-ROUND 3 BRAY WYATT WE COMMIN FO' YOU

-NO LEAVE THE DANIEL TO ME

-Bray's tattoos always make me think he's bleeding

-2SPOOKY4ME

-THAT COWARD BRAY WYATT

-That could have had a cooler finish in my opinion, but I guess its fair considering 3 on 1

-DOUBLE DOOZLE

-2SPOOKY4ME

-I like this promo

-BRYAN PLEASE NO

-NOT THIS WAY

Jerry's Final Thoughts

-Lackluster RAW, I was hoping for more for the last show of the year

-Highlights for me include Punk vs Rollins, The Opening Promo, The Gauntlet Match, Brad Maddox being a scummy brown nose, Bork Laser return/Pterodactyl Calls, and Bad News Barrett

-Low Points just about everything else, Khali vs Sandow Divas match, Brodus vs Truth

-Honorable Mention Axel vs Ziggler was a technically great match but there was no reason to care about it

-Sign of the Night: "I CU 2 Much"

-All in all a very middling RAW you'd be better off watching the RAW Rebound on Smackdown which has been amazing the past few weeks.

GREATBLACKBLOG ep. 1: Angry Whoppers?

Check it out and spread the word!

Comic Book Post 12/26/2013

Hola Otaku-faithful, as you may or may not have noticed there was no New Comic Book Day Review this past Wednesday. The reasons being 1.) since Wednesday was Christmas, New Comic Book Day was Tuesday 2.) very little was released, due to Christmas so it wasn't worth a trip to the comic shop. So in lieu of a comic book review I'll do a post on a general topic:

 This is Cyclops; and this is why he's WRONG

For those of you who are fans of Marvel, especially the X-men series Cyclops has become a subject of a lot of controversy.  Many people point to last years Avengers vs X-men event as the point where Cyclops "changed". However, these changes in Cyclops began much earlier, I would say as early as the time right before Marvel's Dark Reign event and reaching their peak during the establishment of Utopia, Cyclops' Mutant Capitol.

So what exactly is so wrong with Cyclops? Many people say his actions during Avengers vs X-men where his master plan of "HURR DURR LETS CONTROL PHOENIX FORCE CAUSE IT ALWAYS WORKS OUT SO WELL! MUH M-DAY! MUH HOPE SUMMERS! MUH MUTANT UTOPIA!" However, I'm going to disregard this maybe it was all just an episode of poor judgement brought about by desperation, or even some kind of fancy ruse carried out by the Phoenix Force itself (despite the fact that these actions are in character for the Scott Summers I've come to know and dislike). I am also going to disregard his murder of Professor X, the man who raised and taught him, and chalk that one up to Phoenix Force madness.

Instead let's look at the ideology Cyclops had adopted which would result in the establishment of the island of Utopia. Scott seemingly adopted the idea that mutants where inherently superior to normal humans, and that they deserved to have a home of their own, free from humans. So much so that he goes around recruiting(kidnapping) mutants he perceives to be able to improve his Utopia. Sound familiar?

 

You may say, what's wrong with that, the Marvel universe has always treated Mutants terribly. Maybe Cyclops is right. Me and my good friend The Wolverine would simply reply by saying

That's right, Cyclops is so wrong that Wolverine is the voice of reason in this scenario... The Wolverine is the voice of reason in this scenario, in case that didn't sink in James "Logan" "The Wolverine" "Sniktbub" "I'm Going To Stab You In The Face With My Adamantium Claws Because I'm A Canadian Weaboo" Howlett is the voice of reason in this scenario. Even Scott's younger brother Havok, a former member of the Brotherhood, devout follower of Magneto somehow manages to have a more positive outlook/ goal for mutant kind. Rather than strive for a world where mutants live separate and superior to humans Havok decides to work with the Avengers after the events of AvX to create a world where there is no difference between men and mutants, a world where the distinction doesn't exist, the world that Scott Summer's murdered mentor Professor X had worked for. 

While the Cyclops of the past may have been a cool guy who shot Punches from the Punch Dimension out of his eyes. He has basically become Magneto 2.0 except much less likeable and much more WRONG. So in closing enjoy this picture of Iron Patriot giving Cyclops a much deserved helping of FREEDOM.  

Let me know in the comments if you agree/had your mind changed about Cyclops (lets be honest, no one actually thinks Cyclops was Right) and remember to share this on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ if you want to see more content like this.

Christmas RAW Review!

After braving the savage wastelands that were Toys R Us and Best Buy two days before Christmas, I am rewarded with the responsibility of writing the review for the RAW Christmas Special, because no good deed goes unpunished.  And while I'll maintain that 90% of the shoppers shopping the week before Christmas are scumbags (another blogpost for another day), I have little time to dwell on the atrocities I was forced to witness, because RAW IS ON! 

"Something is very wrong with the good Santa..."

-  I get why these Christmas episodes exist, seeing as the product is geared toward children now.  At least this year's installment of Raw Christmas looks to have a better storyline than "face Del Rio runs over Santa".

-  Kane pls stop... what are you even...  I honestly didn't mind the Libertarian Kane angle... but they've done so little with it it's kind of sad.

-  The card actually looks decent tonight.  Maybe the matches will make up for the Christmas puns.

-  I forgot that RAW wasn't live tonight.  The prerecorded cheers and boos reminded me.  Are they even trying to make it sound like a sound effect?

-  We hate Cena guy pls go.  You are the worst kind of fan.

-  WWEWH Champion.  Do they see how silly that looks.

-  Kane still has superpowers.

-  12 Divas Jingle Belles match...

Start the Divas stopwatch.

- At least we'll get AJ emasculating the announce team.

- K8lyn wearing camo because TEXAS.

- Quick tags, great tag team fundamentals.

-  AJ pls.

-  This spot... pls stop... no... the crowd is booing...

-  I don't know why but I always feel like these hair brained Diva's spots are Natalya's ideas.

3 minutes and 40 seconds too long.

-  Good start, who can keep this momentum going?

- >more miles than Santa clause... WWE stahp.

- Magical runes in that tattoo gave Sin Cara the ability to speak english.

- We know, Sin Cara had a comic in Mexico.  We know how to use the app.  Die Cole Die.

-  JBL using the same bad jokes every week is making me not like him.  And not in the heel sort of way.

-  I'm actually about to put my TV on mute.

-  Hunico isn't as mobile as Mistico was but he's much more consistent.  Also, I don't think Hunico runs with a gang of masked luchadores. 

Pic related, it's Mistico and his thugs.

-  Now normally, in the event of a Smackdown review, we here at GREATBLACKBLOG have our Vomit chans locked and loaded.  However last week, Smackdown was better than RAW.  Hopefully this becomes a trend.

-  Why is bad Santa homeless?

-  Big Show: from main events to diapers in only a month.

"I'm not Dave Batista"

-  I wish they could have kept the Batista thing under wraps... I love Big Dave and would have marked my dreads off if I didn't see it coming.

-  ITS NOT SNOWING IN AUSTIN WWE IS A LIAR. 

-  I actually saw TLC live, and the Wyatts are only cooler in person.  I'm interested to see where they actually go with this, but odds are it goes nowhere and leads to Daniel Bryan losing to Sheamus at Wrestlemania in 18 seconds again.

-  Wait a minute... are Smackdown stories overflowing onto RAW? 

-  Never got a chance to say it, but Goldust was AMAING at TLC.  The fact that he's busting out new moves at his age is a testament to just how good he is, and the opportunity WWE missed with him before.  Hurricanranas?  Not even "The Natural" Dustin Runnels did that!

TIME FOR BRAY

(just kidding I love you Bray...)

-  Honestly, I wouldn't mind if DBD joined the Wyatt family.  So long as he starts caving peoples heads in again, I'm down for anything.

-  YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH

-  I had Taco Bell yesterday.  It was a mistake.

-  I get a serious case of beard envy watching this match.  All I can ever grow is this crappy goatee.  Lord only knows I would have rock a full on Hollywood Hogan.  BROTHER.

2SPOOKY4ME

UNLEASH THE DRAGON

-  "Daniel Bryan has small nipples."  "I wonder if they're actually friends in real life."  "That black haired guy is so regular." "Does he have a third nipple?" #stuffmygfsaysduringraw

-  GOLDUST PLS STOP BEING SO AMAZING.

-  I love how Bray made sure to still get a peck on the forehead before doing Sister Abigale.  Very fun match.

-  DAH

-  DAH?

- DAH.

-  What do I have to do to get WWE to send me a title?

-  I'm blaming JBL and Cole for killing Wade Barret's career.

-  Singing contest.  This can only go well.

-  MAH BOY XAVIER WOODS KILLING IT THOUGH.

-  If this was 2002, Troof and Woods would have had to have beat Brodus Clay for the Funkadactyl's contracts.

-  Renee Young is a qtp2t though.

-  Gran Khalil may be the most confused person on the planet.  I guess it has been about seven years since the Eugene gimmick.

-  Christmas present on a pole match?

"RUSSSSSOOOOOOO!!!!"

-  That feel when you've caught up to RAW and have to watch commercials.  HARD TIMES DADDEH.

- I don't even want to watch this.  This time last year Dolph was beating Cenee in the PPV main event.  I'm not going to watch this.  Onto /wooo/ I go.

-  And I'm back.

-  Tribute to the Troops has always been one of my favorite annual events.  To bad it comes off as super forced in these commercials.  Or maybe I'm over critical.  Or maybe they made me this way.

- Kevin Hart is in too many things.  I guess you have to ride the lighting while you are hot.

-  I could always tell the Bella's apart (even before crisis) but I honestly can't tell the Usos apart.

-  Austin pls...

-  The THIS IS AUSTIN spot is pretty funny.  I lol'd.

-  Yes, you too could stop wrestling and become a superstar actor like The Rock!

-  I'm going to go ahead and not watch this too.

-  Well RAW is starting to drag on.  Main even should be good though.

-  Cena Punk Big E promo was fun.  Felt very old school, kind of felt like the mega powers.  I let out a chortle.

Big E is Miss Elizabeth...

-  I just noticed that Cesaro's jacket says Tony and Swagger's says Big Hoss. BAHAHA.

-  This match...

-  Los Matadores haven't lost on Christmas week...

THE RIDE NEVER ENDS

- Kofi coming out for what I can only assume as filler.  As long as the Miz stays off my TV we'll be alright.

-  Roybeck ween.

I hope they build Ryback to be fed to Batista.

-  The SHEEL looks united again.  I'm glad that they appear to be going with a very slow burn to their break up.  They deserve better than breaking up on a whim.

-  Don't let me down, main event.  I've suffered through so much.

-  Reigns is a perfect example of how much someone can improve without anyone noticing if you surround them with the right people and book them properly.  Looking forward to watching him eliminate 20 guys at the Royal Rumble.

Punk loves round housing Dean.

-  Big 5 is the hot tag and nearly won the match... is this... the rise of 5???

-  Another DQ finish to RAW.

-  A pretty exciting finish to RAW,

Christmas RAW is a necessary evil, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  If anything, reviewing these shows makes me realize how freaking long these three hour shows are.  To me... it just too long and too much filler.  Like a shonen anime.  I very much prefer the one our format of NXT or even the two hour format of Smackdown.  

But what do you think?  Is RAW unbearably long?  Or should it be longer?? And what did you think of this year's Christmas edition of Monday Night RAW?  Let us know! Leave a comment or send a tweet!

- BW

New Comic Day Review 12/18/13

Greetings and Salutations, welcome back to the GREATBLACK Comic Review. This was a light week for me but this was probably one of my best hauls in a while. So without further ado lets get this review underway.


The Superior Spider-Man #25 (ongoing)
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Humberto Ramos

I'm a big fan of the Superior Spider-Man run, but as of late the pacing has been all wonky in the books and this issue revs that wonky pacing to the max. Here we see that the Venom Symbiote has attached itself to Spock (Spider-man/Doc Ock), after removing it from Flash Thompson last issue, and Spock declares himself "THE SSSSSSSSSSSSSUPERIOR VENOM". Now here is where things get wonky/rushed. Spock rushes out, attacking Cardiac and Flash and then proceeds to beat up a whole bunch of street level thugs, a couple D-List Villains, and yell at Aunt May (;_;). Oh yeah, and if that wasn't a lot to cram into an issue, The Green Goblin and his Goblin Army are doing stuff too, and Carlie got sprayed with the Goblin Serum... To be honest I think the title is being rushed for some reason or another and Darkest Hour, which in my opinion should have been a two month (4-5 issue arc) has been compressed into 3 issues. Now that may be an editorial complaint but Slott has definitely not dealt with the issue properly and his characterization of Spock has become almost random, and basically forced to fit into whatever he needs it to be rather than keep it consistent. Over all, I feel like this issue has been another step down from the fun that used to be "Spock's Wild Ride".


Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #8 (ongoing)
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Marco Checchetto

As of late this has really been the Superior Superior Spider-Man Comic. Christopher Yost seems to have a better handle on the character of Spock. However, more importantly he has a more consistent depiction of Spock's character, and the changes we do see are logical ones. In this issue we see Spock struggling with having failed in his Superior Six project and nearly destroying New York. He decides that he is an inferior Spider-man and go to the Avengers to find a way to restore Peter Parker to his body. However on the way he meets Earth's Mightiest Scumbag The Submariner Namor. Namor is currently being hunted down by Wakandan assassins. To my, and Spock's surprise Spock actually saves him, and during their face off with the assassins they discover that the assassins are actually robots, robots that are about to EXPLODE! Spock risks his life to save the day and realizes what it means to be Spider-Man, that no matter how bad things get Spider-man will always push through and save the day, and he punches that scumbag Namor in the face. While the story seems a little far-fetched the dialogues between Spock and Namor are what really shines, and along with the other issues of Superior Team-Up we get a cool little window into how Spock thinks, and we get to see him slowly but surely understand what it means to be a hero.


Scarlet Spider #25 ( FINAL)
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: David Baldeon

Man these Spider Family books are dropping like flies. Last month it was Venom and this one its Scarlet Spider, both of which were amazing titles that were unfortunately overshadowed by more popular titles. In this issue we see Shathra come to consume Kaine while he struggles with whether or not he is a monster or a hero. However, when the lives of his friends are put at stake he embraces his inner monster to save the day. Although he is run out of Houston as a monster, we see him now in Mexico and despite vowing never to be the hero ever again we still see him saving the day. The charm of Scarlet Spider is really its compelling main character, Kaine. One of the Clone's of Peter Parker made by the Jackal we see Kaine constantly struggling with what he thinks he is, a monster, and what he strives to be, the Scarlet Spider the mantle of his "brother" Ben Reilley, one time Spider-man and the original Scarlet Spider. This is a great story about redemption and I highly recommend picking up the trades, and if you like it fear not The Scarlet Spider will be returning in a few months as a member of the New Warriors.

 
Thunderbolts (Annual)
Writers: Ben Acker and Ben Blacker
Artist: Mateo Lolli

I reviewed Thunderbolts last week and let you guys know how much I liked it and what exactly I liked about it. This issue had more of the same and with a huge face lift. Even though I never had an issue with the art in this it was nice to see a polished version of such a fun book and the story they used for this was a lot of fun. A rogue Dr Strange is forcing everyone to be nice, gang warfare has stopped, Villains are eating ice-cream with heroes, and mobsters are doing charity. Only one team can stop this, the Thunderbolts. After going on various humorous sorties to obtain magical weapons capable of combating Dr Strange and a mind-wiped visit to W.A.N.D, SHIELD's Witchcraft Alchemy and Necromancy Department, they face Dr Strange. However, it is revealed that this isn't Dr Strange but the evil fairy king whose weapon... IS JOY! As the other members of the Thunderbolts succumb to joy all seems to be lost, but what the fairy king doesn't realize is that the Punisher doesn't feel joy and blows his head off. This book had a ton of hilarious panels and a fun story I highly recommend it.

   

Lastly we have X-men #14, the first appearance of the Sentinel, and a mini-bust of a Sentinel. I bought this as a gift for a friend and the friendly people at my comic shop were a huge help in picking this out. I told them what my friend liked and they told me about the book, and while one of the clerks went to snag the issue another had produced the mini-bust. They cut me a sweet deal on the two and now I have a radical gift to give my friend. So let this be great reason to go to your local comic shop if you can instead of using an online service or a chain like Newbury Comics.

Well, that's it for my pull list this week. Let me know in the comments if you agree/disagree and I'm always looking for something new to read so make some suggestions as well and I'll try and get my hands on it, and remember to share this on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ if you want to see more content like this.