Amazing Spider-Man #589

Amazing Spider-Man #589
Written by Fred Van Lente and illustrated by Paulo Siqueira
Published by Marvel Comics

In this issue Spider-Man fights the Spot, a bad guy who is going after gangsters and killing them because they hurt his son and put him in the hospital. Spider-Man doesn’t want anyone to get killed so he fights the Spot so the gangsters don’t get killed.

In the beginning of the book Peter Parker missed his train and he goes to visit his Aunt May. There’s a guy in a Ghostbusters shirt there. A bunch of gangsters want to do nice things for Aunt May because they don’t want her telling everyone that they’re bad guys and stuff. The bad guys go on a boat to start planning things and they buy all these guns that are really, really powerful.

The Spot shows up on the boat and starts coming out of his spotty dimension and starts attacking the gangsters. His hand pop out of one of the holes with a knife and he stabs one of the gangsters in the chest. Then Spot’s top half comes out of another hold and he strangles one of the other gangsters. Spider-Man is trying to take pictures of the gangsters and when he sees the Spot start killing the gangsters he goes to fight Spot. Spider-Man saves the leader of the gangsters and Spot goes after him and keeps punching and kicking him from all these little spots that keep popping up.

I really like the fight between Spider-Man and the Spot. I like how the Spot used his powers to pop up all over the place and have just a leg come out to kick or an arm come out to punch or stab someone. The best part was when Spider-Man ended up punching himself in the face when he hit Spot. I also liked the ending with the way the guy is all crazy.

Spot pulls Spider-Man into his dimension and they start fighting and Spider-Man says he’s going to be sick. When they come back out Spider-Man punches Spot in the chest but his fist comes out of the other side of Spot’s head and Spider-Man ends up punching himself. Then the Spot throws a spot in the middle of the air and then he throws the gangster though it. The Spot made the guy transport very far away to another city but Spider-Man is able to save him by webbing him up.

Spider-Man wants to know why Spot is killing people because he never did that before. Spot writes a note that is supposed to say all about how his family got hurt because of the gangsters and that’s why he wants to kill them but his note is just full of all these different kinds of spots and no words. The Spot gets away and Spider-Man sort of figures out what’s going on so he grabs one of the other gangsters and scares him by threatens him by talking all scary and stuff.

I thought it was a really good comic. I wish there was more fighting with the Spot because he doesn’t show up until the middle of the book. I like the Spot a lot and think he has very cool powers. I hope he is back in the comic again because I like how he uses his powers and the way he and Spider-Man fight. There were a lot of funny parts in the comic, too with the guy who was wearing the Ghostbusters shirt and the way Spider-Man kept talking about how Batman’s voice is in the movies and how talking like that would hurt his throat. I like the way the art was done, too. I think that the Spot looked really cool and I like the way he drew the fights with different spots all over the place. And I like how he drew the last page with the gangster going crazy worrying about being attacked all the time.

My Rating: 9 out of 10

The Muppet Show #1

The Muppet Show #1
Written and illustrated by Roger Langridge
Published by Boom Studios

I didn’t watch a lot of Muppet Show on TV. I saw some on the computer but mainly I watch their movies. I think it’s cool that they did a comic book about it because when there is a cool TV show or movie like the Simpsons you want more stories and usually the comics are pretty good about making more stories.

In the comic, Kermit the Frog is really depressed and sad. He keeps thinking about the swamp where he was born and the other Muppets are worried about him. Fozzy Bear and Gonzo keep trying to figure out ways to make him happy and Fozzy tells some jokes and keeps wearing silly disguises but Kermit doesn’t really pay much attention to him. It’s mainly Kermit’s friend Robin the frog that keeps thinking of better ways for Kermit to be happy.

I liked that there were a lot of different shorter parts in the book with shorter stories about different characters but all of it was really about helping Kermit feel better about himself. I think the best parts of the book were the pages that had the little toads in them. In the first story the toads are all sitting on a long and they keep blowing up. They’re getting scared because each time they move or say something or even breathe they blow up. Then they’re in Heaven on a cloud and they’re happy and think everything is great and then they start falling off the cloud.

Another part that was really funny was when Robin was asking the Swedish Chef to make a special dinner for Kermit and the Chef thinks that cooking Robin up will be delicious. Robin gets thrown in the pot and the Chef keeps talking funny like ‘cooka dee froggie, froggie’ and stuff like that. Robin gets away and tells the chef not to cook any frogs and then the Chef finds the toads playing cards and starts talking to him with a big knife hidden behind his back. And then there are other parts of the comic where people are doing different things and the Chef is in the back chasing the toads around with a knife. That was funny.

Robin helps Kermit sing a song about the swamp and that makes him feel all better and he’s happy that all his friends were trying to help. Then Kermit says everyone has to get back to work and start working on the show again. Then they sit on a roof and talk about how lucky they are and wonder what a Gonzo is.

I like that the comic had some funny parts in it and they made the Chef act crazy like he does in the show and movies. Some of the characters don’t look like they are drawn exactly like how they really look but I’m surprised that the artist is able to draw so many characters and things on the page. There are a lot of pages where like five or ten different characters are drawn and that’s a lot. I think its cool that they did a Muppet Show comic and I want to read more of them if they come out.

My Rating: 9.5 out of 10

New Avengers #51

New Avengers #51
Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Billy Tan, Chris Bachalo, Matt Banning, Justin Ponsor, Tim Townsend and Antonio Fabela
Published by Marvel Comics

There are a few different things going on in this comic. In one part of the story this bad guy is being attacked by a monster that says he can become the new Sorcerer Supreme because Dr. Strange isn’t going to be allowed to be in charge of it anymore. Then Dr Strange meets up with some kid in a diner. The kid has magic powers and Dr Strange was hoping that he would be the new Sorcerer Supreme but he isn’t sure if the kid is right for it. Dr Strange tells him that there are a whole bunch of people who have magical powers and they all want to be the Supreme because then they’ll have the all of that power and even Dr Doom might want to try. Then Dr Strange gets attacked by the bad guy who was battling the monster in the beginning of the book.

I like how the artist drew all of the magic stuff and the monsters. They did a really good job of putting a lot of stuff into the pages and making it look really cool and really spooky. I like how the monster’s skull was flaming and had all these things popping out of it and all these other creatures were around it.

The part I liked more was when all of the Avengers were at the table in their base talking about how they should go after Osborn and how they have to take care of some other things. The first thing they want to do is pick a new Captain. They say Captain America should be the leader since he always is but they have a new Captain America on the team and he doesn’t want to be the leader. They also think that Luke Cage should be the leader since he has been the leader already for so long but he says that he never was the leader. I don’t know why he says that but he does and he doesn’t want to be the leader of the team. Eventually they pick Ronin as the leader because he’s been around for awhile and he wants it.

The first rule that Ronin makes is that everyone should be honest with each other. He says that since there used to be Skrulls who impersonated heroes they need to be able to trust each other and know who they are so he tells Spider-Man that he has to take off his mask. Spider-Man is worried and I it was funny that the artist drew him with the spaghetti sticking out of his mouth all sloppy.
Spider-Man says that it’s too dangerous and he can’t take his mask off for any reason but the rest of the team says if he doesn’t take his mask off then he has to leave the team. On the next page Spider-Man takes off his mask. When people find out he’s Peter Parker, Luke Cage’s wife says she had a crush on him in school and that makes Cage really mad. I think it was a mistake that Spider-Man took his mask off. Someone could betray the team and then a whole bunch of other people are going to find out who he is. I think he should have either left the team and went on his own again like he is in his own comics or figured out a way to stay on the team without taking his mask. If Luke Cage still owes Osborn his favor for finding the baby he might tell him about Spider-Man and that will be bad.

I liked the art and the story in the comic but it would have been better if there was more action in it. I kind of like the magic stuff with Dr Strange and the way the bad guys are really creepy even thought I don’t really like Dr Strange. I think the Avengers should have been doing more than just talking about stuff though.

My Review: 9 out of 10

St Jude Children's Research Hospital

St Jude Children's Hospital Fundraiser

Some of the people in my school are doing a Math a Thon to raise money for St Jude Children's Research Hospital. The hospital helps kids who have cancer and tried to help them whether their parents have money or not.

I'm getting sponsors who will donate money to the hospital depending on how many math problems I can answer from the Math a Thon book. Some people were sponsoring without the math questions, too. I think it'd be cool if some of the readers were able to help St Jude Children's Hospital, too and if they want to help they can send my dad an email at grayhaven05@hotmail.com or go on the St Jude site.

Here is what their website says the hospital is all about:

"St. Jude is unlike any other pediatric treatment and research facility. Discoveries made here have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. With research and patient care under one roof, St. Jude is where some of today's most gifted researchers are able to do science more quickly.

St. Jude researchers are published and cited more often in high impact publications than any other private pediatric oncology research institution in America. St. Jude is a place where many doctors send some of their sickest patients and toughest cases. A place where cutting-edge research and revolutionary discoveries happen every day. We've built America's second-largest health-care charity so the science never stops.

All patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude without regard to the family's ability to pay."

www.stjude.org

Batman: Battle for the Cowl #1

Battle for the Cowl #1
Written and illustrated by Tony Daniel
Published by DC Comics

The real Batman went crazy and battled a guy who said he was his dad and then he got captured by Darkseid and the two of them shot each other. Batman got killed by Darkseid’s eye lasers and his body was burned up and stuff. All the bad guys in Gotham City know that Batman is missing and think that he’s dead so they start causing more problems. I know that this story is supposed to be about all of Batman’s friends like Nightwing, Robin, the old Robin and Alfred helping protect the city and they are going to battle people like Two Face and Hush to see who is going to get the be the new Batman. I think Nightwing deserves it since he’s really cool and he’s been with Batman the oldest. Alfred knew him longer but he’s too old.

I like that all of Batman's friends were helping the city because everyone is upset that Batman is dead, like the Batman and Robin from other countries who were helping out. The part where Robin was teaming up with the girl was good and I liked his motorcycle a lot. I like how the Riddler was asking Comissoner Gordon if Batman was dead and Gordon just ignored him and I thought it was cool when the batsignal went off with RIP written on it.

Black Mask looks like a cool villain and I like how he freed all the other bad guys to have them team up together and if they don't work with him he melts their faces off. I think it was cool when he blew up the big jail and set it on fire so they can’t go back there.

I really thought that the first Batman they showed was going to be the old Batman who wore the armor since he looked kind of like a robot and the colors in the pictures were red. But I think that Batman and the one on the last page were the same one. I don't know who that one is.

I like Robin putting on the Batman suit but I don't think anyone would believe that that's the real Batman because he's just a kid. One of my favorite parts was when Croc ate Damien's girlfriend and Damien got scared when he was alone with all the bad guys. I can’t believe that Croc just ate the girl like that. I also thought the part when Alfred beat Dick with the bo staff was pretty cool. Alfred probably learned a lot of fighting skills from Batman and I think it’s neat to see him using them to help train with the others. I still think Dick is going to end up being Batman even though he says he doesn't want to. He's the toughest and has been around the longest.

I wish there was a bit more fighting in the book. The good guys were running away a lot instead of beating up the bad guys. I want to see all the good guys team up against all the bad guys soon. And I saw a picture where there were a few other people dressed in different Batman costumes so I hope Nightwing is going to be one of them and he’ll get to be the real one unless the real Batman is going to come back.

My Rating: 9.5 out of 10

The Scrapyard Detectives

The Scrapyard Detectives
Issue #1 by Bill Galvan and Chad Denton
Issue #4 by JM DeMatteis and Bill Galvan
Published by Diversity Ink

The book is about a group of kids named Jinn, Raymond and Robert who try to figure out answers to different problems. In the first issue a new family comes to live in the neighborhood and everyone is wondering about them. The kids want to be friends with the new boy that lives there and everyone is becoming friends. The new boy, Lisan shows everyone a bunch of flowers that his mom planted on the day they moved in. The flowers were special because the family was so happy to move into their new home.

At night someone sneaks into the new family’s home and crushes all the flowers. Lisan was really upset because the flowers meant a lot to them and they didn’t have anything to remember the day by. Lisan and his family were from a different country and the detectives thought that someone ruined the flowers and were upset at the family because they are different.

The real person that was the one who ruined the flowers was one of the detectives little brother. He was angry because his sister wasn’t paying a lot of attention to him. He was mad because she was spending more time with Lisan and not with him. Jinn told her brother that what he did was hurtful. She said sometimes people do bad things against people from different countries or that look different and those are called hate crimes and her brother felt bad because he likes Lisan and didn’t want anyone to think he hated the family.

Another issue takes place awhile later and Lisan is a member of the group. Jinn is really upset because it’s the two year anniversary of the day someone hit her with a car and put her in a wheelchair. Jinn was practicing how to walk again with a doctor but was tired and angry and didn’t want to do it again. The other detectives are mad when Raymond’s cousin Katie comes to visit. Katie wants to be a detective too but Raymond doesn’t want her to be part of the group because he says she’s annoying and always follows her around. The other people in the group want Katie to be part of the group because she is really nice and made her own cool t-shirts with Scrapyard detectives written on them.

Lisan doesn’t know why Jinn is upset and the other boys tell him that a few years ago a boy named David hit Jinn with a car while she was skateboarding. David went to Jinn’s house to apologize to her for the accident but Jinn is very mad and will not accept his apologize and doesn’t care why he did it and calls him a spoiled rich kid. Later Katie goes out on her own to talk to David to find out what’s going on with him and Jinn. David’s mom died and his dad was really upset and it was making David really sad. He wanted to run away because he didn’t think he had anyone to talk about and he wasn’t thinking right. He ran a red light in his car and accidentally hit Jinn. Jinn eventually forgave David, which made him happy and Raymond apologized to his cousin for being a bully.

At the very end of the comic it says that the story is 7 months later and it’s snowing out and Jinn knocks on David’s door. She is standing instead of in a wheelchair and asks David if he wants to go for a walk and he is smiling.

These comics are pretty easy to read. I like that they are about kids who do cool stuff like build inventions and do detective work. I also like that sometimes they think there are people like witches in town and later on they think that aliens from a UFO are living in someone’s basement. I think it’s funny when they plan to go after someone and it turns out that they’re wrong. There are a bunch of different issues with the Scrapyard Detectives but I just wanted to read the first and fourth issues so far. They were really good and I’m going to read and review the other issues soon.

My Rating: 9 out of 10

http://www.smilesfordiversity.org/scrapyard.php

All Hail Megatron #8

All Hail Megatron #8
Written by Shane McCarthy and illustrated by Guido Guidi
Published by IDW

I know a little bit about the Transformers. I saw the movie and some of the cartoons and some of the toys but I never read the comic before. It was a little hard to figure out what was going on because there were a lot of issues before this one. On the first page it tells you a little bit about the book and what happened before. That made it easier to figure out what the story was about but I got confused about who was who since I don’t know that much about Transformers.

One thing I liked a lot was the art. The Transformers looked really cool in the comic. The movie ones are okay but they all sort of look the same when they are in robot form. You can tell what they are when they transform but when they’re robots a lot of them look exactly the same. I like that in this comic the Transformers all look different. They are different sizes and colors and even the faces look different. I thought it was a little weird that you can see their teeth when they talk but it’s not a big deal.

There is a lot of action in the book. The good Transformers are running away from the Decepticons and a bunch of them are hurt. One of the good guys betrayed them to the Decepticons and no one knows who it is. They Autobot made a deal with the Decepticon Starscream to destroy the bad guy leader Megatron. No one likes him. Even his own guys don’t like him and Starscream just wants to be the leader anyway so he doesn’t care what happens. The Autobots and Decepticons have been having a war for a long time and the Autobot wants to go to his home planet and let the Decepticons have Earth if they made the deal and kill Megatron together. The Autobots are really mad about the deal because they found out about it too late.

My favorite part in the book was when the Decepticons found a couple of humans hiding together and asked if they wanted to play a game. The Decepticons are so huge that they wanted to do crazy things like pull on the humans and stuff and basically they ripped the humans apart. And then he’s like, ‘they’re so messy’ and wonders if he can put them back together. They didn’t show anything, though. He was just talking about what happened. I really liked the chase over the cliff, too. I thought it was weird that the Transformers didn’t just fly from one side to the other but they were hurt so maybe they couldn’t use those powers. They were still able to get away and blow up the one bridge that was still working so the bad guys couldn’t follow them.

The ending was very creepy. The Autobots are talking about how they were ambushed and wondering if there were any other traitors and then there is a picture of this creature that looks like it’s a mix of being a robot and a human. I have no idea if it is another Transformer or something else or if it has any sorts of powers.

I liked the book. I just need to find out who some of the characters are because I don’t know a lot about the Transformers. I really like how the artist draws all of the different robots and how they look when they transform. I think the Transformers look a lot better in the comic than they do in the movie and I’m probably going to read the next issue at least to find out what is going on.

My Rating: 8.5 out of 10