2015-03-20 BD Nostalgia 6

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- Action Comics 40 - Guardians Team-Up 3 - Amazing Spider-Man Special 1 - Live Action Movie of Naruto is ON...

- Top 5 new Anime to Watch for Winter 2015

Content Volume 3 | NUMBER 6

With the recent reboot of the DC universe, a lot of people are asking where the industry will go from here. Will this be a genuine new start for the comics or is it just another publicity stunt? This isn’t really new. Publishers are constantly trying new stories and plotlines to attract readers. Sometimes these changes make the character better.

Other times, they have no real impact. Other times, it’s a complete disaster that angers fans and alienates casual readers, making the character even less popular than before. That’s why we decided to take a look at some of the worst comic book publicity stunts ever.

March 20th 2015

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Comics section SPOTLIGHT 04- 7 Worst Publicity Stunts in Comic Books COMIC NEWS 12- All-New Captain America 5 14- Guardians Team-Up 3 16- All-New X-Men 39 18- Amazing Spider-Man Special 1 20- Green Lantern: New Guardians 40 21- Action Comics 40 22- Detective Comics: Endgame 1 24- DC’s Lead “Convergence” Writer Shares Secrets of the Multiverse Mash-Up

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INTRODUCTION 30- Doom COMICS PREVIEWS 44- Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier 006 50- Cyclops 011 54- Batgirl Endgame #1

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BD Nostalgia is published weekly by SM DESIGN. Editor/ Publisher: Sylvio Martins, Editorial Office: 5330 Desmarteau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H1K 2N9 | 514-299-1593. All characters © their respective owners. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © their respective authors. ©2015 BD NOSTALGIA. DIGITAL PRINTING IN CANADA.

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60- Witchblade #181 Comic Books This Week 64- comic Book listings 74- covers of the week ANIME/MANGA NEWS 76- Live Action Movie of Naruto is ON...

78- Assassin’s Creed movie is on 79- Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ 80- Alice in Borderland Manga Enters Final Arc 81- No Game, No Life Anime Gets English Dub in-depth ANIME review 82- Aldnoah.Zero (10-12)

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GUNDAM ENCYCLOPEDIA 90- Mobile Suit Gundam 00 94- Mobile Suit Gundam 00F A to Z to Anime/Manga 106- Top 5 new Anime to Watch for Winter 2015 114- Interview with Rumiko Takahashi!!

Anime Flashback 116- Mazinger Z Artwork 118- Magic Knight RayEarth

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Editorial What I love about this Some people ask me, “What I love about this?”, the answer is easy, I have live all my life living and learning. From one side to the other, people tend to ask me a milion questions. And I answer them one after the other. Now, I tell them read the magazine,... by reading it you will know all that you need. And that’s it. Last week I finalized the news website. I found it too big for its purpose,... now it is easier, faster and more intuitive.

See ya next week guys.

Sylvio Martins BD Nostalgia

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7 Worst Publicity Stunts in Comic Books 4

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7 Worst Publicity Stunts in Comic Books With the recent reboot of the DC universe, a lot of people are asking where the industry will go from here. Will this be a genuine new start for the comics or is it just another publicity stunt? This isn’t really new. Publishers are constantly trying new stories and plotlines to attract readers. Sometimes these changes make the character better. Other times, they have no real impact. Other times, it’s a complete disaster that angers fans and alienates casual readers, making the character even less popular than before. That’s why we decided to take a look at some of the worst comic book publicity stunts ever.

7. Superman Gets Electrical Powers In the late nineties, Superman was in trouble. Sales were slipping again, but he had just been killed and brought back to life.

So DC came up with a plan to kill Superman’s identity. They not only changed his costume, but his powers. For vaguely explained reasons, Superman lost all his old powers and suddenly transformed into an energy being with electrical powers. Even

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his costume changed, losing the cape. Funny thing, though - readers didn’t care to see the Superman they knew for decades become a completely different superhero. That’s why Superman abruptly got his powers restored and everything went back to normal. Well, sort of.

6. Wonder Woman Loses Her Powers In the 1960’s, Wonder Woman’s popularity had sunk to her lowest levels. In a desperate attempt to make her relevant and capitalize

on the popularity of the spy trend, Wonder Woman lost her powers and became a secret agent. While the stunt did get attention, readers didn’t exactly embrace the new Wonder Woman. After all, Diana Prince without her powers isn’t really Wonder Woman. She’s just a woman. In the end, no less than noted feminist Gloria Steinem make a public call for Wonder Woman to get her powers back.

Which she did.

Kyle Rayner. Unfortunately, it backfired.

Readers were outraged at their beloved hero becoming a villain, and Rayner never really caught on like Jordan. It took ten years to fix this by claiming Jordan was possessed by an alien monster, and readers are still upset about it.

Lantern. But how to get readers to accept the new Green Lantern? Simple. Make the old Green Lantern Hal Jordan into a mass murderer. In “Emerald Twilight,” Jordan snaps because his city is destroyed, attacks all the other Green Lanterns, and becomes the supervillain Parallax. His reign of terror is only stopped by a new Green Lantern,

superheroes for Image) would fall in love, but their meeting creates an amalgam universe. An ambitious mini-series that took characters from two different companies, was designated by colors instead of numbers, spanned over a dozen issues, and was intended to be read in any order, Deathmate was already a challenge. Yet it got worse

4. Deathmate Crossover In the early nineties, the two independent comic companies Image and Valiant decided to collaborate on a crossover event 5. Green Lantern called Deathmate. The premise was that SoBecomes a Supervillain DC wanted to shake things up for Green lar (one of the flagship superheroes for ValLantern - introduce a newer, younger Green iant Comics) and Void (one of the flagship

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when most of the major writers refused to almost destroyed the comic industry. get involved, and those creators who were involved didn’t really want to do it. Then 3. Spiderman Image Comics, already known for its repu- “Revealed” to be a Clone tation for unreliability, ran late on their half I won’t bother to summarize the entire event of what came to be known as the Clone Saga, because even the writers themselves didn’t have it figured out. What it boils down to is that Marvel decided that Peter Parker was too happy, what with his wife and child and successful job, so they decided to get rid of it. Specifically, they tried to erase twenty years of continuity by claiming that the Spiderman we knew all those years was just a clone, and the real Spiderman is a homeless guy who would just walk in and take over. The low point

of the series. That made Deathmate an even bigger disaster financially, because readers would pre-order the comics, then cancel the pre-orders in frustration when the comics didn’t show up. Then the retailers would re-order the comics, but by then no one wanted to buy them, so the unsold comics sat on shelves. It didn’t help that Deathmate was poorly written and drawn to begin with.

This stunt backfired horribly, leading to so much frustration and skepticism about the companies as a whole that sales for both companies’ regular titles plummeted, Image was when a stressed-out Peter Parker backand Valiant closed, and some even blame handed his pregnant wife, MJ. Sales of SpiDeathmate for the comic crash of 1996 that derman actually declined during this peri8

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od to the point where they had to retcon it again, and have it turn out that Peter really wasn’t a clone after all, turning the whole thing into a complete mess.

2. Spiderman’s Marriage Gets Erased The comic book one-shot One More Day

has become almost as reviled among fans as the Clone Saga. After Aunt May is mortally shot, Spiderman turns to Mephisto (the Marvel Universe version of the Devil) to save her. Mephisto agrees to do so, only in exchange for Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s marriage. This leads to history itself being rewritten so that Peter and Mary Jane’s

marriage never existed. Marvel was again apparently motivated by a desire to make Parker more accessible, but it turned out just the opposite happened. People have questioned the entire concept, from why Peter Parker would turn to the Devil for help to how to reconcile decades of stories revolving around his marriage. The fallout

is still going on with sales of the book dropping (although Marvel insists it’s a general downturn in the industry, not One More Day-related).

1. Superman Dies You may be surprised to see this as number one. After all, for years the comic industry BD Nostalgia

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has been telling readers that the “Death of Superman” storyline was a triumph. Record sales, bold new characters like Steel, praise from the industry for DC daring to do what no one else dared. All true. What they never talk about it what happened afterward - the collapse of the entire comic book industry.

Chuck Rozanski makes a compelling argument that it was the death of Superman that caused the speculation bubble to burst, and comic readers to leave in droves. That’s because of two things.

publishers were willing to do anything (including exploit the real feelings we have for our heroes) just to sell a few more copies.

Two, the issue where Superman dies ended up being worthless.

That’s when we all collectively realized that if a comic about the death of Superman wasn’t worth anything, nothing was, and the whole comic collecting industry was a big joke.

We’re still feeling the effects of this publicity stunt, because the industry One, anyone who actually believed Super- is shrinking, people are more likely to man would stay dead felt betrayed when watch a movie about Batman than read he came back. It established once and for the latest issue, and paper comics are goall that nothing is real in comics, and that ing unsold on newsstands.

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Marvel Reviews

All-New Captain America 5 Sam Wilson trades one loss for another in “All-New Captain America” #5. Rick Remender and Stuart Immonen neatly loop together their plot threads from the previous issues and Sam’s triumph is satisfying, fast-paced and utterly him. While the issue’s big reveal doesn’t exactly manage to surprise, it is at least exciting. As this run goes on, Marvel’s new Captain America continues to provide he’s damn good at his job.

Though I appreciate the approach in principle, I still don’t enjoy Remender’s moment-to-moment narration of Sam’s thoughts.

The frequent fragments -- “No possible way -- Steve’s voice…” -- are distracting, and they don’t always add anything that the visu12 BD Nostalgia

als don’t already convey. Less is more with an approach that is meant to increase immediacy and tension, but Remender doesn’t edit himself down. For example, when Sam uses his powers to control a swarm of birds, there are two captions about his thought process: first, “Focus on them” and, immediately after, “Make them understand.” I know that alternate scripting is generally in bad taste but just one of these phrases would have gotten the point across just as strongly and more succinctly. Remender’s approach can work if he pares down and trusts the reader, but he isn’t quite doing that yet. That said, there’s a lot to like in the issue. It’s a classic superhero comic with all the sneak attacks, surprise appearances and improbable escapes that a

reader could want. Villains and heroes leap in and out of the panels, and punching and stabbing provide most of the solutions. It’s true that the story relies too heavily on coincidence and “A-ha!” theatrics. Sam struggles but the solution rarely comes as a result of his endurance or toughness. Instead, a possibly-dead or currently-forgotten character will appear to remove the problem. As a result, there’s sometimes a disconnect between the intensity of Sam’s internal monologue

in the Captain American style. It’s no easy task to convey Sam’s state of mind when the reader can’t always see his eyes, but this creative team still manages to convey his exhaustion and accomplishment.

Marte Gracia’s colors are darker than I expected, with shadowing that really leans into the black inks. It matches the passion and anxiety of Sam’s narration, so I can see why the issue is colored that way, but I’d have loved a touch more brightness. As with

and the cartoonishness of the plot points. It’s old-school absurd -- luckily, forgivably so.

Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger handle the pace and panache of the story well.

They’re particularly effective on the splash pages, such as the entrance of the Leaper, where their stronger inks and more detailed definition give the pages energy. There isn’t much innovation or visual playfulness here, but it’s all done very solidly and very much

the narrative disconnect mentioned above, sometimes the moment isn’t as serious as the colors might suggest.

Despite my reservations, issue #5 has me sad that “All-New Captain America” will end after the “Secret Wars” event. Remender writes Sam as a tough protagonist who’s a pleasure to cheer for, and I hope we’ll get to see more of him in the near future.

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Marvel Reviews

Guardians Team-Up 3 With the sixth chapter of “The Black Vortex” filling its pages, “Guardians Team-Up” #3 feels as though this title was created to house a chapter of the event and keep things humming along. However, writer Sam Humphries and artist Mike Mayhew embed Ronan the Accuser into the heart of “The Black Vortex” saga, making a tangential case for applying the term “team-up.”

ically, the more successful and memorable issues of “Marvel Team-Up” felt like a Spider-Man story with a visiting guest star but, in “Guardians Team-Up” #3, the star of the show is clearly Ronan and, collectively, the Guardians barely register beyond ensemble players in a sprawling cast. Star-Lord gets the most dialogue of the Guardians, but he’s played for laughs more than ability.

It matters very little what title is on the cover of this chapter of the saga, as the principal players in the story remain the same.

“The Black Vortex” is a story about the Guardians of the Galaxy and the X-Men. Ronan joins them in a comic that happens to be the sixth chapter of that shared adventure, as this story follows the base formula for Marvel’s traditional construction of a team-up: bring together interested parties, pit them against a common foe and send everyone on their merry way after. Histor14 BD Nostalgia

“Guardians Team-Up” #3 gives readers what Marvel perceives they want: more stuff with “Guardians of the Galaxy” on it. Mayhew’s image of Ronan hefting Hala sells the cover but, like the interior, it matters very little what else is set as a distractor: this is an image of Ronan, take it or leave it. As for “Guardians Team-Up” as a series, it is underwhelming so far, but I’m still holding tightly to the promise and potential packed into any “team-up” adventure.

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Marvel Reviews

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All-New X-Men 39 Chapter five of “The Black Vortex” welcomes readers into the Brian Michael Bendis-written and Andrea Sorrentino-drawn “All-New X-Men” #39 with the enhanced Angel bursting through the panels in an inferno while he chastises Laura. Readers are quickly afforded an update on Laura’s predicament.

tone variations to compensate for the stark shadows Sorrentino draws, but the success rate varies from panel to panel. The page depicting the three different cockpits as the marshaled forces of the X-Men and the Guardians split off is one of the most impressive passive panels of the story and is much more visually compelling than the flat-toned shocker panels that are Maiolo’s That single image of Warren and Laura signature move. with fragmented panels falling away from it magnificently blends Sorrentino’s draw- Bendis’ story is one of transition. He slips ings with Marcelo Maiolo’s colors. Letterer bits to Sorrentino to keep the story grinding Cory Petit follows Bendis’ lead and keeps forward but, in reality, “All-New X-Men” the dialogue to twenty-six words in four #39 is a story about who is going to go balloons across the spread. That image de- where and who is already there. Aside from picts the most dynamic action in “All-New the panels aflame, a two-panel skirmish X-Men” #39, which is definitely a transi- punctuates the issue, setting up the story tion issue that resets the game pieces and for future chapters as “The Black Vortex” adjusts the perspective on the board. Only continues to spew forth strife. By using this one other image in the issue combines the issue to set up all of the characters that had talents of the assembled creative team so fallen over in previous chapters, Bendis completely, but that page comes together as gives readers a chance to learn more about an anti-tourism poster for Hala as the Black Laura on the good guys’ side and Thane on Vortex-enhanced characters unleash hell the darker side of this collision, but neither upon the Kree homeworld. character does enough to lock the roving lights down into a spotlight.

Sorrentino’s art is not unlike black and white photocopies that have been run “All-New X-Men” #39 marks time bethrough more than a generation or two: tween “The Black Vortex: Alpha” and “The the shadows are black, the highlights are Black Vortex: Omega.” As the fifth chapter stark white and there really is nothing in and near-midway point of the multi-title between. Whatever the case, the end result event, it serves as halftime, giving readers is that there are some truly great panels in and creators a chance to catch their breath.

“All-New X-Men” #39, but there are also Rather than providing a pep talk or bolstersome real headscratchers with surprising ing wounds sustained thus far, this issue inconsistencies, as it seems more important does little to inspire further action. It is althat young Jean Grey have freckles on her most as though this issue simply could have face than to maintain the shape of her nose occurred between panels and the story and or the distance between her nose and lips. readers would be none the worse for missing it. As it stands, however, it may be a Maiolo’s colors are both a solid match for struggle to recall just what exactly did occur Sorrentino’s understated drawings and a in “All-New X-Men” #39, save for some handicap. He’s tasked to use gradients or dynamic imagery.

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Marvel Reviews

Amazing Spider-Man Special 1 “Amazing Spider-Man Special” #1 by Jeff Loveness and Luca Pizzari is the first issue of a three-part crossover story, “Inhuman Error,” that will be continued in “Inhuman Special” #1 and “All-New Captain America Special” #1. Although the plot is heavily focused on the Inhumans, Spider-Man gets to lead with the first issue and exposition.

introductory scene at a coffee shop works to establish Peter as a regular guy, although it’s trying a little too hard. Spider-Man’s nonstop, self-deprecating quips and exaggerated romance problems make the reading experience fun, though. Pizzari’s energetic line and sense of timing both carry the humor well. The full-page spread of Spider-Man swinging and singing with his burrito in hand is a hilarious moment. When a kid thinks that Spider-Man is Blade, it’s just ridiculous enough to be funny, even if the event itself strains belief.

Spider-Man fans aren’t going to be disappointed on the basis of Spider-Man’s characterization. Spidey gets plenty of panel time and cracks plenty of jokes. Loveness’ lines for Spider-Man are the highlight of If “Inhuman Error” is meant to be another “Amazing Spider-Man Special” #1. His springboard for the Inhumans, it fails. Meportrayal of Peter Parker is old school. The dusa has her usual effect of grandeur and 18 BD Nostalgia

inapproachability. Her interaction with Spider-Man is amusing, but it doesn’t deepen her characterization to have her play the straight man to his funny man. Despite attempts at team banter and a sequence of Spider-Man shaking everyone’s hand, the Inhumans remain bland. The plot moves quickly, but nothing much occurs. The villain is revealed at the end of the issue, and

ing is good example of how a coloring can squander the effects of pretty pencil work.

Woodard interrupts the effects of some of Pizzari’s background details by using flat monotones or garishly mismatched color tones that look muddy on the page. The only exception is how he makes Medusa’s hair look liquid and powerful, enhancing Pizzari’s muscular linework for her tresses.

neither his cliché-ridden dialogue nor his revenge motive creates a lot of suspense.

Specials and Annuals have a bad reputation for stories that don’t matter and, unfortunately, “Amazing Spider-Man Special” #1 fits that stereotype. The A-list characters stay A-listers and the B-listers don’t get reflected glory. The dull plot diminishes the brightness of Loveness’ humor and Pizzari’s visual energy. Maybe things will get spiced up when Sam Wilson shows up, but the story feels lightweight and minor so far, and the Inhumans don’t improve their appeal enough to make them matter to the reader.

Pizzari’s anatomy is off in the more ambitious panels, but his line has an attractive amount of bounce and variation. The ambition itself is commendable. Spider-Man looks lithe and acrobatic in the large variety of poses that Pizzari puts him in, even if the details in bones and muscles are occasionally wrong. In certain panels, he nails the dramatic effect, like in first appearance of the “floating island of doom.” Woodard’s color-

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DC Comics Reviews Green Lantern: New Guardians 40 Doug Zawisza

While the June DC Comics solicits seem to tip readers off to spoilers at the end of “Green Lantern: New Guardians” #40, writer Justin Jordan and the art combo of Diogenes Neves and Roge Antonio do not feed directly into that solicitation text. Instead,

while Antonio is sketchier, slightly more daring and unpredictable. Antonio handles the dynamic final confrontation between Rayner and Oblivion, making that single exchange the most visually dynamic page in this comic. Colorist Wil Quintana contributes to the dynamic with glows and effects that blend seamlessly with Antonio’s art. While Quintana fills the panels, letterer Dave Sharpe brings a wide array of effects to the word balloons. Some of Sharpe’s exclamatory font choices lack fire, but the choices for Oblivion’s dialogue and the White Lantern’s words resound through their balloons.

Jordan uses the extra pages of the issue to button up the loose ends and drive through the checklist of series’ conclusion requirements, including characters flying off towards the reader, declaring a new beginning. Rayner and Star Sapphire Carol Ferris remain at the heart of the story, but Jordan checks in on a handful of other characters in the battle against Oblivion. Saint Walker and Mehenash Exeter, in particular, carry themselves well throughout this comic as Jordan continues to check boxes on his way out the door.

the creators focus on wrapping up Kyle Rayner’s struggle with the Life Equation.

Uneven artwork from Neves and Antonio (with inks from Marc Deering and Daniel Henriques) limit the sizzle that “Green Lantern: New Guardians” #40 delivers. Neves’ style is cleaner and more inline with what could be perceived as a DC house style 20 BD Nostalgia

With “Convergence” on the horizon and a host of titles set to end, DC is sure to have some stories that underwhelm just as surely as it will have some tales that surprise readers. Unfortunately, “Green Lantern: New Guardians” #40 just hits enough notes to do the job of finishing the series without bringing anything spectacular or memorable. Jordan, Neves, Antonio, Quintana and Sharpe give readers a complete tale that has some nice moments, but it simply burns out too early.

Action Comics 40

Greg McElhatton

With a “Bizarro” miniseries set to drop post-”Convergence,” it makes perfect sense that Greg Pak, Aaron Kuder and Wil Quintana would squeeze a Bizarro story into “Action Comics” #40 before the book goes on hiatus for two months. Unfortunately, the comic is a little light on plot or drama, without having enough punch lines to distract you from those vacancies.

The thrust of “Action Comics” #40 is fairly simple; Superman has pulled through a rip in the dimensions to Bizarroworld, where planets are square and moons really are made of cheese. When Doomsday makes an appearance, things start to get really strange.

Pak’s script follows up on the idea of there being a Doomsday virus and just what that would mean on Bizarroworld. As funny as the end result is, it’s an isolated moment in a book that otherwise rehashes everything we’ve seen about Bizarro over the years. There’s nothing new or particularly original being presented to the reader.

Where “Action Comics” #40 does succeed is Kuder and Wil Quintana’s art. Kuder’s rippling, fluid art looks great when drawing slapstick, which is exactly how to best describe

Aquaman swinging a narwhal by its horn in order to attack. Bizarro himself looks wonderfully over-inflated and ridiculous, exactly as this strange parody of Superman should. The depiction of Bizarro infected with the Doomsday virus is even more absurd, taking the hideous Doomsday character design and making it ludicrous. The best part of the comic is the conclusion, though, when Kuder and Quintana ramp everything up for the end result of Doomzarro’s rampage. The cuteness is accentuated only by the blinding colors; the two deliberately go as overboard as possible to emphasize the end result. The art does the heavy lifting here, bringing a little spark to where the story just never quite gets moving.

As a primer/refresher for who Bizarro is, “Action Comics” #40 succeeds. However, reading this comic, I don’t feel a huge burning desire to pick up “Bizarro” in June, and that’s frustrating. The humor isn’t present nearly enough to compensate from the lack of anything out of the ordinary. It’s perfectly average once you factor in the art, but that’s not the note that I wanted “Action Comics” to go out on for a few months until “Convergence” comes to a close.

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DC Comics Reviews Detective Comics: Endgame 1 With “Convergence” on the horizon and “Endgame” currently running its course in the pages of “Batman,” writer Brian Buccellato grabs artists Roge Antonio and Ronan Cliquet to detail the event’s wide-ranging affects in the streets of Gotham. Unfortunately, “Detective Comics: Endgame” #1 feels less like a tie-in and more like an inventory story to lock down shelf space.

Roge Antonio draws the first half of the issue. His style is a shadowy, sketchier version of the work that Rafael Albuquerque does, but it fits the story and brings just enough of a visual essence of Breyfogle to move this story along and make it feel like a tribute. He doesn’t overdo the backgrounds by any stretch, but that really doesn’t matter in a story that struggles to find its footing.

This comic floats in space a bit, trying to be part of the larger narrative, but ultimately spinning in its own orbit. That is compounded by a story that grabs a heretofore untold thread, layers over well-intended sentiment and runs rampant with convenience.

Ronan Cliquet picks up the tale as Lonnie leaps between buildings but gives readers the end result. Lonnie is shown solidly on the roof but, when Antonio left him, he had just leapt. From there, Cliquet’s art lacks pizzazz whenever one of the Bat-family is not on panel.

The thread focuses on a kid named Lonnie who is trying to reconnect with his mom while all of Gotham goes crazy in the wake of the Joker’s chemical attack.

The sentiment taps into a visiting a character co-created by Norm Breyfogle: Anarky.

When they are around, however, the art still has moments where it struggles to completely come together. Spoiler is too tall when she’s introduced. Lonnie runs right next to a crazed mob to scare them, and the tranquilizer guns that conveniently appear lack ingenuity beyond simply being a syringe-based version of a rubThe story puts masks where they’re berband gun. needed, drops Lonnie in with a group of similar teens who just so happen to want Introducing Lonnie and his compatriots, to help him and a trail of breadcrumbs Dax, Dre and Riko (even though we arthat leads the teens to follow Lonnie as en’t given clarification between Dre and he happens across the extended Bat-fami- Riko), Buccellato is certainly planting ly in battle. There’s also a rare typo from seeds for future tales but doing so in a letterer Dave Sharpe (“What the neck?!”) most haphazard manner. However, where and broken story flow where the artists the stories grow from and the shape they change guard. There are so many story take will certainly be an interesting sight leaps, as a matter of fact, that it felt like to see. pages or panels were missing at several points in the narrative. Buccellato clearly The overall execution of “Detective means well and makes an effort to intro- Comics: Endgame” #1 is rushed and duce new characters, but this issue just distractingly uneven, making this a stotries to be too much. ry that will struggle to be remembered as part of “Endgame.”

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DC Comics Reviews

DC’s Lead “Convergence” Writer Shares Secrets of the Multiverse Mash-Up Jeff King may be a new face to comics, but he’s an old hand when it comes to dealing with alternate universes.

The television writer has contributed stories to such alternate reality-heavy series as “Stargate SG-1” and “Continuum,” a resume which put him on DC Comics’ radar for “Convergence” -- the upcoming event series that reopens the pandora’s box of the publisher’s multiple realities. Over the course of April and May, “Convergence” will take over the DC line. In addition to the King-led eight-part “Convergence” series that serves as the event’s main storyline, 40 different 2-part series will revive lost characters from past major cross-universal events like “Crisis On Infinite Earths” and “Zero Hour,” along with more recent ones, including the currently running “Multiversity.”

Joined in the event-opening #0 issue by 24 BD Nostalgia

“Futures End” co-writer Dan Jurgens and on various chapters by comics veteran Scott Lobdell, King is charting the course of where the entire DC Universe will go and what it will become, alongside a wealth of artists including Ethan Van Sciver, Andy Kubert, Ed Benes and more. DC’s Earth 2 heroes star in the event -- after their own planet was destroyed as part of the weekly “World’s End” series -- along with a cosmically enhanced Brainiac. When Brainiac begets a new threat called Telos, every reality the Superman foe has collected samples from will crash into the lives of Alan Scott, Jay Garrick and the rest of the Earth 2 survivors.

DC Promises Big Changes as “Convergence” Winds Down in May With so many stories and so much history flowing into this event, CBR News spoke with King to get a better sense of his master

gate SG-1,” or “Continuum,” more recently. What I did was take a starting point of “Earth 2” heroes that are coming into my series. There’s a gorgeous Ivan Reis/Joe Prado cover where you’ll see some of the people who will be featured prominently in the series, including my villain, Telos. But everyone knows that Green Lantern will be involved in a big way. We’re also picking up not only from “World’s End” and “Futures CBR News: What was it that served as the End,” but we’re also picking up threads most compelling hook for you when you from “Doomed” and “Action Comics” and were offered the chance to essentially de- also from Grant Morrison’s “Multiversity.” stroy and then rebuild the DCU. How did you approach the task of telling this story that’s built on all the work done in “The New 52: Futures End” and “Earth 2: World’s End”? plan for the worlds of the DCU. In our talk, King describes his own history as a reader of DC Comics, how DC’s legacy heroes present the perfect opportunity to craft a mega event that doubles as a relatable family tale, the way in which Telos twists the expectations for Brainiac stories to come, and what, exactly, will be left of the New 52 when all is said and done.

Jeff King: First off, I’m kind of standing on the shoulders of giants here because it’s not just those books, it’s the 75-year history. And specifically, it’s everything since “Crisis” and how that’s changed the landscape of the characters. For me, I’ve learned a lot from Dan Jurgens on #0 and Scott Lobdell, who’s been helping me out on parts of #1 though 8, but it’s also been talking to people like Brian Azzarello and Scott Snyder and Geoff Johns and Daniel Wilson coming out of the “Earth 2” books.

We all get, give and share information. DC Editorial also plays a huge role in that -- especially in a huge event like this.

What I did was come to the project with a background in TV series with big, rich histories and world building, like “Star-

It’s really connected, in a meta way, to all of those things.

Readers of DC Comics can fall into any number of camps in terms of their familiarity with the deep details of DC’s cosmology. From a passing familiarity with the Justice League all the way up to having a PhD in DC continuity, where would you place yourself on the spectrum coming into “Convergence”? And where did you end up as a result of writing it?

My background with DC was mostly the BD Nostalgia 25

DC Comics Reviews loved a weird part of the DC Universe has a chance of that character or idea appearing somewhere in this event. But as the person who’s tasked with making this a coherent story that’s more than odd worlds, who is the character that grounds you in what’s going on and drives the story forward?

Well, I’ve got a great set of characters, again, that you see in that first cover. You’ll see Superman Val Zon, Alan Scott as Green Lantern, Jay Garrick Flash, Thomas Wayne Batman -- you’ll also see the Dick Grayson from Earth 2. All of those characters brings the history they’ve just experienced in “World’s End” to this, but they also bring a new set of expectations because they’ve grown and changed in those books.

What really stoked me from the beginning is what I get to do with those characters. I really wanted to let Thomas Wayne and Bruce Wayne meet for the first time, and I wanted to have Dick Grayson be a part of that. You’ll see various characters’ connection with their analogues from other universes. Imagine Alan Scott meeting up with Hal Jordan and with Kyle Rayner and John Stewart. Imagine Jay Garrick meeting up Barry Allen and with Wally West and the kids.

Fastbak [from the Zoo Crew] may even make an appearance!

That’s what was remarkable for me: to take the characters with a history since “Crisis.” I don’t think I appre- defined role in the story, put them up against ciated how daunting this project was going a great villain like Telos and then have the to be when I agreed to do it. [Laughs] I think rest of the DCU fold into it.

Brainiac has been stealing these cities and I probably should have run for my life.

Part of the appeal of the whole “Conver- these various timelines all the way through gence” event is that anyone who’s ever the 75 years of the DC Universe, and par26 BD Nostalgia old Kirby books -- “New Gods” and “Forever People” -- and also things like “Metal Men.” Obviously, I knew the Batman and Superman world too, but that stuff was really my introduction to DC. It’s only been coming into “Convergence” that I’ve really been able to appreciate the 30 years of DC

ticularly since the time of “Crisis,” so we’ll see all of those characters making appearances at some point. Some of the monthly solicitations give you snapshots into the characters that we’ll feature.

One of the ideas that’s frequently cited as a unique facet of the DC Universe is one of

point, we’re all that on some level. We’re all somebody’s daughter or father, depending on where we are in our own timeline, just like the characters of the DCU. As you spread out the tapestry of the DCU -- especially when people like you are such good curators of the history, and you bring

legacy. What does that idea offer you, thematically, as you crash these various analogues together?

One way or another, each of these characters has some kind of defining event that I looked at as being pieces of an evolution almost of a single person. In another way, it makes them all brothers and sisters in a family, and that’s what I look for in a story. I look for a family relationship, whether it’s a parent and a child, or a pair of siblings. Because from a commonality stand-

new fans in to talk about them and get more educated -- it means people can understand, appreciate and have more access to this history. Even if your favorite character happens to be Hal Jordan, you have a feeling or an appreciation for where Kyle fits into that story. Or John, or however the larger life of the story extends. That makes a story like this that much richer for the fans.

On the opposite side of those heroes, I get the sense that there’s a villainous aspect to the same idea here. We’ve known Brainiac BD Nostalgia 27

DC Comics Reviews as a collector of worlds, but Telos as a new force seems to be an offshoot of him that has his own ideas. Where does this new character diverge from his “Father” and how does that complicate the story?

You must be prescient! Have you ever been a mind reader? [Laughs] Without saying too much about it, I will say that Brainiac and Telos are intimately connected, and we’re going to reveal something about the meta history of Brainiac’s role in the DCU. That’s connected to what Grant Morrison has been doing in “Multiversity,” and it 28 BD Nostalgia

speaks to some ideas that came through in “Doomed” and in “Action Comics” #35.

I can tell you that we’re going to have a rich understanding of those characters, and you’re going to see a very complicated relationship between Brainiac and Telos. Initially, the odds for our heroes are not going to be pretty because of that.

As all this is going on, there is this multitude of two-issue tie-in series which revisit past eras of the DC Multiverse. And we’ve noticed that those minis roll out week-by-week with each new wave addressing a different event in DC’s past from “Flashpoint” to “Zero Hour” to “Crisis” and so on. Can we assume that the story of the main “Convergence” series will also kind of rotate through those past eras as each new weekly issue arrives?

That’s a really good question -- and the answer is that, in the unfolding of the conflicts that have been set up by Brainiac’s original plan, you’ll see an intention to go back through that timeline -- that series of consecutive events. But other than that, everything is leading up to one final conflict, and you’ll see that in our story.

As you’re very new to writing comic books, how have you responded to playing in the DC Universe? Is there any one character or franchise that you’ve found yourself most drawn to as you go?

Oh jeez. [Laughs] I think the relationships in the Bat family and also all of the connections between the characters I didn’t formerly understand or appreciate that I do now -- I couldn’t even begin to start! Ev-

ery event that’s happened up to this point, whether it be “Flashpoint” or “Zero Hour” or “Kingdom Come,” all inform and serve as background for what’s to come in “Convergence,” but with a twist.

One thing a lot of readers associate with these series is reboots, and DC has already announced a slew of new, diverse titles coming out after “Convergence” wraps. As all the stories you’re referencing here reshape the DCU in their own way, can you say if, when your series is done whether the universe will be in exactly the same shape it is, slightly different than it is or completely different than it is now?

While “Convergence” has proven to be an even bigger challenge than King expected, he’d love to come back to the DCU for a return engagement [Laughs] I feel like, as the new kid, it’d be presumptuous of me to go right in and destroy everything. I think the fans are going to love the story that we tell, but I do feel like, coming out of “Convergence,” we’re setting the table for a whole new generation of stories to be told with characters old and new that in the past, either by continuity or by canon, would be the thing where a nay-

sayer might have said, “You can’t do that.”

Now, the possibility is there that we can.

Looking forward for yourself, now that you’ve gotten into comics and the DCU, are you feeling like there are characters or concepts you want to continue to write moving forward?

I’ve been a lifelong fanboy and always wanted to have the opportunity to take the time to write a comic, so this is a bucket list item for me, for sure. And the answer is, “Absolutely.” It’s all a matter of whether my schedule works out to allow me the things I’d like to do, though we’ve been talking a bit. So if people like “Convergence,” maybe I’ll be lucky enough to get a chance to do this again.

And finally, for people stepping into “Convergence” cold without having read all the background issues when your #0 issue arrives on April 1, what is the element or scene early in the story that they should watch out for to carry them forward into the series?

You should look for Brainiac. You should look for the relationship between Brainiac and Telos, because that will tell you a lot about the story going forward.

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DOOM 30 BD Nostalgia

Real name: Victor von Doom Occupation: Monarch Identity: Public (What does Doom have to fear?)

Legal status: King of Latveria, with full diplomatic immunity in the United States (The Fantastic Four can’t even touch Doom, but I guess America sees Doom’s ways are correct.)

Place of birth: Gypsy camp outside of Haasenstadt, Latveria (now Doomstadt) the capital of Latveria.

Group affiliation: MENSA First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR Vol. 1, #5.

Height: 6’ 2” (with armor 6’ 7”) Weight: 225 lbs.(with armor 415 lbs.)

Eyes: Brown / Green (depending on artist) Hair: Brown Face: Scarred

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Known Superhuman Powers: Doom is a genius in physics, robotics, cybernetics, genetics, weapons technology, bio-chemistry, and time travel. He is also self-taught in the mystic arts. Doom is a natural leader, a brilliant strategist, and a sly deceiver. Doom can exchange minds with others. He possesses some mystical abilities, such as casting bolts of eldritch energy and invoking mystical entities (principalities) for additional support. While empowered by the Haazareth, his mystical powers were on a par with those of Dr. Strange.

Doom wears a sophisticated nuclear-powered titanium battlesuit which grants him superhuman strength, contains jets for flight, houses a personal force field, and discharges concussive force blasts; he can also electrify his armor’s surface. The armor contains a 4-hour air supply, and can be sealed for travel into outer space or underwater. Special attachments to the armor have included a molecular-expander, which can cause molecules to expand into the size of boulders, and various devices for absorbing the energies of others (such as the Silver Surfer).

Doom’s many inventions include a variety of robots, such as robot duplicates of himself (Doombots), Latveria’s robot police force (Servo-Guards), an army of unstoppable robots designed only to destroy (Killer Robots), as well as robots designed for slave labor and non-humanoid models used for special posts; his time machine, with which he can travel through space and time; and a shrink ray.

History: Victor von Doom was born to the Zefiro travelers (“Gypsies”) Werner and Cynthia in Latveria, a small European country which grew out of Hungary and was ruled by King Vladimir Vassily Gonereo Tristian Mangegi Fortunov, Baron of Sabbat, Baron of Haasen, Baron of Krozi. Victor barely knew his mother, a witch who had invoked the demon Mephisto for power, which raged out of control before she was finally slain by a soldier. Before BD Nostalgia 33

dying, she asked Werner to protect young Victor from Mephisto. Victor’s father, a doctor, was forced to treat King Vladimir’s wife. When Werner could not cure her cancer, Vladimir blamed him for his wife’s death, and Werner fled with Victor. Werner died from exposure to the cold while protecting his son. Before dying, Werner placed Victor into the care of his best friend, Boris, and tried to warn his son of the fearful life he foresaw him falling into, but he died before he could make Victor understand.

Discovering his mother’s mystical artifacts, Victor schooled himself in sorcery.

He began an annual contest against the might of Mephisto, attempting to set his mother’s soul free. By the time he was a teenager, he had also become a scientific genius and used his inventions to wage a one-man war against the monarchy of Latveria, always a step ahead of them. His genius was heard of even in America, and he was invited to New York’s State University on a scholarship. Victor had been in 34 BD Nostalgia

love with Boris’ granddaughter Valeria, but he left her behind as his desire to acquire knowledge and the means to seek revenge on others consumed him.

Arriving at State, Doom was greeted by Reed Richards, a fellow student who was interested in rooming with him, but Doom rejected his offer of friendship.

Throughout his university days, Doom pursued a petty rivalry with Richards, convinced of his own superior intellect.

Doom’s greatest invention was a machine designed to rescue his mother’s soul from the netherworld. Richards tried to warn him of a flaw in his calculations, but Doom was too proud to listen. He activated the machine, and it literally exploded in his face. Expelled for the explosion, Doom sustained only a few facial scars, but believed his looks had been ruined. Filled with self-loathing, he left America for Tibet, seeking new enlightenment. There, he found the Aged Genghis, one of the enigmatic Immortal Nine; the now senile sorcerer directed him to seek out a long-lost

order of monks. Doom made them his servants and had them forge his first suit of armor, designed to hide his features from the world. Doom had them press the mask to his face before it had cooled, ensuring that if his face had not been hideous before, it was now.

Sub-Mariner turned on him, and Doom was cast adrift into space.

He was saved by the alien Ovoids, who taught him how to exchange bodies with others. With this new power, he had Marvel Comics creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby lure Mr. Fantastic into a trap so that Dr. Doom then conquered Latveria, slay- he could take over his body. However, the ing King Vladimir, imprisoning his son Fantastic Four saw through Doom’s facade Rudolfo, and having a robot duplicate of and he was forced back into his own body, Rudolfo surrender the Latverian crown to then accidentally cast into the Microverse. him, after which he renamed the capital city, Haasenstadt, as Doomstadt. He used But the Microverse proved to be merely his genius and technology to transform a new challenge for Dr. Doom’s genius Latveria into a paradise where no citizen rather than a prison. Doom conquered Mirwants, no one is threatened by war, and all wood, the kingdom of Princess Pearla, and praise Doom-- or face the consequences. brought the Fantastic Four there as prisonDoom maintained a puppet prime minister; ers. Aided by Ant-Man (Hank Pym), the the outside world was largely unaware of Fantastic Four escaped and followed Doom Doom’s status as ruler, tending to dismiss back to Earth, where they battled him his existence as a myth. Doom stepped up aboard his Flying Fortress, from which he his scientific prowess, designing a time threatened to unleash chaos throughout the machine and robotic duplicates of himself globe--when the FF thwarted his plan, he (Doombots). In one of his earliest time escaped again. Doom soon attempted to retravels he journeyed back to World War II claim his abandoned Flying Fortress from and considered killing Adolf Hitler for the military custody, but the newly-formed crimes his Nazi regime had inflicted upon Avengers intervened and he was forced the Zefiro and other travelers, but ultimate- to destroy it. Dr. Doom next empowered and sent the Terrible Trio (“Bull” Brogin, ly decided to leave him to his own fate.

Armed with his genius and the Yogi Dakor & Harry Phillips) against the might of Latveria, Victor set for himself Fantastic Four, but this plot also failed, and three goals: to rescue his mother, to prove ended with Doom cast into space by a Sohis superiority over Reed Richards, and to lar Wave, a fate he had meant for the FF. conquer the world. By this time, Reed and He was rescued by the time traveler Rahis friends had become the Fantastic Four, ma-Tut, who was so impressed with Doom so Dr. Doom sought them out and abduct- that upon his return to his own time, he ed the Invisible Girl. He forced the other created for himself the masked identity of members to journey back in time to recov- Kang the Conqueror. Rama-Tut had suger the gems of the legendary sorcerer Mer- gested to Doom at the time that they might lin for him; but Mr. Fantastic tricked him, actually be the same person, though this bringing back a chest full of chains instead. eventually proved false.

Although the FF survived Doom’s attacks, Doom escaped them by using a Doombot Dr. Doom next engaged Reed in a mental as a decoy. Dr. Doom next formed an alli- battle at the Latverian Embassy to deterance with the Sub-Mariner, believing that mine who had the greater intellect. They their mutual hatred of the FF made for a employed an encephalo-gun which would natural partnership. Doom nearly cast cast the loser into Limbo, and Doom the Baxter Building into the sun, but the seemed to win the contest; but Reed had

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actually hypnotized Doom into believing Reed was cast into Limbo. When Doom was freed from the mesmerism by a Latverian hypnotist, he again targeted the Fantastic Four, who had temporarily lost their powers, but was humiliated in the ensuing battle when the Thing regained his powers and angrily crushed Doom’s hands inside his gauntlets then allowed him to slink away, furious that he had been forced to become the Thing in order to stop Doom.

Doom, in turn, never forgot the Thing’s actions that day.

When Reed Richards was to wed Sue Storm, a spiteful Doom used an Emotion Charger to send scores of super-villains to the wedding site, but they were defeated by the FF and their super-heroic wedding guests. Reed ultimately undid the assault with a sub-atronic time displacer which sent all of the villains back to before Doom summoned them with no memory of what had occurred. Reed and Sue’s wedding 36 BD Nostalgia

took place without further incident. Doom engaged in new schemes, once stealing the Silver Surfer’s powers, which he lost by challenging the barrier Galactus had placed around the Earth. He also swapped bodies with Daredevil, but this farce was foiled by the FF. Doom’s obsession with the FF once nearly led him to sacrifice an entire Latverian village to kill them. Doom has also played deadly games with his robot, the Prime-Mover, games which have manipulated Nick Fury and Shang-Chi into battling robot duplicates of enemies such as the Yellow Claw and Razor-Fist.

Diablo once tried to force Doom into a partnership by holding his long-lost love Valeria hostage, but Doom used his time machine to cast Diablo into the future. He saved Valeria, but then lost her again--Valeria was ashamed of Doom’s petty gloating over Diablo’s fate. Doom’s throne was threatened by its rightful heir, Prince Rudolfo, who was assisted by the extra-

terrestrial Faceless One. Doom also had to contend with his rogue creation the Doomsman, and with the Red Skull, who attempted to claim Latveria for himself. The Black Panther, ruler of Wakanda, foiled Doom’s attempt to steal Wakanda’s Vibranium, but Doom intended to make an ally of T’Challa one day. Doom also accumulated various power objects, culminating in his using the Cosmic Cube to usurp Galactus’s power, but Reed stole the Cube, reversed its effects, and erased the events from everyone’s memory. Doom once fought sideby-side with the FF to save the Earth from the Over-Mind, acknowledging that while he had no love for them, he would not allow anyone to threaten Latveria.

was due. After rejecting Doom’s offer of a new alliance, Namor reluctantly sought Doom’s aid when the people of Atlantis were rendered comatose and Mr. Fantastic could not revive them. Namor aided Doom against Andro, formerly the Doomsman, who had brought many of Doom’s robots under his control through a self-created religion; Doom in turn aided Namor against his enemies Dr. Dorcas, Tiger Shark, Krang and Attuma. Still, Namor could not bring himself to fully trust Doom, so Doom ruined the water rebreather suit Namor needed to survive at that time, and threatened to destroy Atlantis unless Namor pledged his allegiance to him. Namor was forced to comply.

When the Faceless One sponsored another Latverian revolt, Doom hired Luke Cage to spy on them in the United States; however, he then refused to pay Cage for his services, so Cage tracked Doom down in Latveria and fought him to a standstill until Doom finally agreed to pay Cage what he

Learning of Namor’s fate, the FF came to Latveria to aid him, only to discover that the United States had signed a non-aggression pact with Latveria, forcing them to depart. Surviving an assassination attempt by the vigilante Shroud, Doom subsequently mind-controlled the Avengers into fighting BD Nostalgia 37

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Attuma for him. Finally, after receiving Namor’s aid against the Red Skull, who had slain Rudolfo and briefly usurped control of Latveria, Doom made good on his bargain, restoring the Atlanteans to consciousness; Namor then ended their partnership.

Following this, Doom spread a neuro-gas into Earth’s atmosphere to bind the entire world’s population to his will. His authority was challenged by the mutant Magneto, and they fought, manipulating the Champions of Los Angeles, Avengers and Hulk into fighting for their sides. When Doom was attacked by the Ghost Rider, his mask overheated and he was forced to remove it, inhaling his own neuro-gas; this rendered him unable to control anyone affected by the gas. Via power gained from the Negative Zone, Doom accessed the netherworld, only to be overwhelmed by spirits

posing as his parents.

Realizing that his villainous actions had injured Latveria’s reputation, Doom planned to abdicate the throne to his “son,” actually a clone of himself named Victor von Doom II; but his son’s true origins were exposed, and Doom was forced to slay the clone when it turned against him. However, this plot had merely been a ruse for Doom to take mental control of the United Nations using his Solartron Complex. After he was exposed to multiple images of his own face projected by the Solartron, Doom went completely insane and was imprisoned. Prince Zorba, Rudolfo’s younger brother, reclaimed his family’s throne from Doom, but Doom was freed

by Boris and regained his sanity.

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the Fantastic Four’s minds placed into miniature synthetic bodies, living a mostly-idyllic life in the miniature town of “Liddleville” within his Adirondack castle. Doom hoped this would prevent the FF from interfering with his attempts to

regain the throne, but the FF managed to turn the tables on him and he wound up imprisoned within a synthetic body in Liddleville. The Puppet Master, furious at how his stepdaughter Alicia had been treated by Doom’s world, led an army against 40 BD Nostalgia

him there. Doom sought aid from the alien Micronauts when they passed through, but was finally rescued when his Doombots activated a contingency plan to return his consciousness to his own body. Learning that Latveria had fallen into anarchy without him, Doom convinced the Fantastic Four to assist him in overthrowing the now-insane Zorba and retaking his throne; Doom himself slew Zorba. A young Latverian boy named Kristoff Vernard was orphaned by Zorba’s forces, and Doom took the child under his protection, making him his heir. Another man, Alexander Flynn, claimed to be Doom’s true son, but that was later shown to be a falsehood created by the mutant telepath Shadow King.

Unleashing Terrax against the Fantastic Four, Doom was disintegrated when Terrax exploded in a blast of cosmic energy. Using the Ovoid technique, Doom transferred his mind into the body of an onlooker, Norman McArthur, instants before his death. He eventually regained his original body from the Beyonder, who sent him back a short distance in time to participate in the “Secret Wars” on his artificially created Battleworld. There Doom briefly usurped the immense power of not only Galactus, but the Beyonder himself, though he eventually lost all of his stolen power. Back on Earth, Doom once more achieved world domination, using the Purple Man’s mind control powers to subjugate the global population. Although Doom was able to solve most of

the world’s problems by using his work in Latveria as a model, he found the mindless obedience of humanity unsatisfying, and ultimately allowed the Purple Man to slip from his grasp during a conflict with the Avengers and Namor.

After Terrax seemingly killed Doom, his Doombots had activated a contingency plan whereby Doom’s past experiences

were implanted within Kristoff’s mind so that he could assume Doom’s role. Kristoff went mad, believing he was Doom trapped in the body of a child. While Kristoff ruled Latveria, one of the Doombots, believing itself to be the true Doom, made a weak attempt at overthrowing him. Finally, the true Dr. Doom returned to Latveria following a time travel adventure, and he retook the throne from Kristoff. Soon after this, he helped cure Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura),

a new member of the FF who had become a grotesque “She-Thing.” Doom used her to spy on the FF, but she eventually gave in to her conscience and turned against him.

He transformed her into an even more grotesque creature as punishment.

Doom often attributes his many defeats to his Doombots; perhaps the most humiliating case is when Squirrel Girl defeated a Doombot by sending her squirrels to chew apart the wiring in its armor. Another Doombot participated in the “Acts of Vengeance,” teaming up with the other prime movers--who were unknowingly pawns of the Asgardian trickster-god Loki--against new foes.

Other Doombots, such as Mechadoom, have even turned against Doom and pursued their own goals, though such betrayal rarely long survives Doom’s discovery.

Doom has seen to it that Latveria’s history is constantly revised to suit his needs, employing the mysterious Editor to affect all such changes. Doom tends to blame failures on underlings--such as Gustav and Gert Hauptmann--who seldom live to fail again. Doom claims to have a contingency plan for every situation, and regards the FF’s victories over him as mere setbacks. Doom’s greatest victory came when, after years of combating Mephisto, he and Dr. Strange finally rescued the soul of Cynthia von Doom from Hell, allowing her to pass on to a better afterlife.

After briefly usurping the cosmic energies of Aron the Watcher, Doom was severely wounded while seeking the power of the alien Hunger. Doom attempted to take Reed with him and the pair were seemingly disintegrated in a powerful energy blast; however, the immensely powerful Hyperstorm had teleported them away. Long believed dead, Doom was freed from his extradimensional prison by the Fantastic BD Nostalgia

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Four and Kristoff, and aided them against Hyperstorm. Returning to Earth, Doom seemingly died yet again, this time alongside Earth’s heroes battling Onslaught; but Doom and the others were preserved in the new Counter-Earth, created by Franklin Richards, and Doom lived out a new life in which he was an old friend of Bruce Banner, Reed Richards and Tony Stark, who had all been members of a fraternity called “Knights of the Atomic Table.”

But history repeated itself, and Doom became a villain on this Earth as well. When the heroes regained their memories, Doom helped them return to their own Earth via the Negative Zone, but when he attempted to abscond with Franklin, Doom was assaulted by Thor and cast back to Counter-Earth. With no super heroes to oppose him, Doom soon became ruler of Counter-Earth. He recruited Divinity, Dorma, 42 BD Nostalgia

Lancer, Shakti and Technarx as lieutenants, and won a decisive victory over the powerful Dreaming Celestial, which had attempted to claim Counter-Earth for itself. For a while, Doom ruled both Counter-Earth and Latveria simultaneously by projecting holograms back to Earth, but he ultimately found that Counter-Earth could never equal the utopia of his Latveria, so he returned to Earth to resume his duties in Latveria, leaving Lancer to rule Counter-Earth in his stead. Doom has shown an infatuation with the X-Men’s Storm (Ororo Munroe). Via the powers of a defective Cosmic Cube, Doom once merged two realities, creating one in which he ruled Earth as emperor, with Storm as his queen.

Like all of such efforts to achieve supreme power, however, the power was eventually usurped from him, and normal reality restored.

When Thor led an unauthorized invasion of Slokovia, a country neighboring Latveria, Doom aided the Avengers in fighting their rogue ally-manipulating events so that when Slokovia’s government collapsed, Doom moved in and annexed the

country, adding it to Latveria. Dr. Doom assisted in the birth of Reed and Susan’s daughter Valeria Richards, who was named after Doom’s childhood love, but Doom only performed this act of kindness as part of a grander scheme. Having recognized that it was in magic that he was truly Reed’s superior, Doom forged an alliance with the demon Haazareth and sacrificed to them his greatest love, Valeria. The Haazareth increased his mystical might to the point where he was a threat to even Dr.

Strange. Dr. Doom fashioned for himself new armor from his former lover’s body and made Valeria Richards his familiar. He wielded his new mystical power against the Fantastic Four, attempting to break them as he never had before, sending Franklin Richards to Hell and torturing the FF. Once again, Reed defeated him by both mastering some magic himself and turning Doom’s own pride against him by having him claim to acknowledge no superior in front of the Haazareth. The Haazareth took Doom into Hell with them, but he left “parting gifts”-- a traumatized Franklin and a scar down the left side of Reed’s face.

Determined to devise a final solution to Doom, Reed created an infinitely large Mobius dimension to serve as Doom’s prison, and had all of Doom’s backup equipment in Latveria destroyed. Doom briefly escaped the prison by taking mental possession of the FF, but was ultimately forced back into his own body.

Doom escaped from the Mobius dimension while chasing after the Mjolnir (Thor’s hammer) which was flying through the dimensions following the fall of Asgard. Returning to Latveria, Doom assumed that he was worthy of the hammer since it appeared for him and went with a troupe of robots to obtain it. He was met by the FF, who wished to stop him. Doom reached the hammer, but found he was not worthy of lifting it. Angered, Doom returned to Latveria, where he currently resides.

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comic books this wee ComicList: New Comic Book Releases List for Wednesday, March 18, 2015. This work, a list of the comic books, graphic novels, and other products that should be available in your local or online comic book shop this week, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License, and is © 1995-2015 Charles S. LePage. Information provided by our friends at Things From Another World. Visit GoCollect and use their next-generation, near real-time comic book price guide. To find a local comic book shop, please browse The Master List of Comic Book & Trading Card Stores. Check out the Comiclist Community Page, the Comics Price Guide Forum, Facebook and Twitter for discussions about your favorite comics.

PLEASE NOTE- Not all of these titles will arrive in all stores. Let me know if any of the names or numbers are wrong. Items with release dates not been verified by Diamond Distribution are individually noted.

PUBLISHER TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, PRICE IN U.S. DOLLARS (“AR” means “ask your retailer for the price”) 12-GAUGE COMICS I.C.E. Critical Mass #4 (Of 4)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99 ALTERNA COMICS Billy The Pyro Volume 1 GN, $14.99 ALTUS PRESS Doc Savage The New Adventures Volume 8 The War Makers SC, $24.95 AMP! COMICS FOR KIDS Big Nate Say Good-Bye To Dork City TP, $9.99 ANDREWS MCMEEL Pearls Before Swine King Of The Comics TP, $14.99 ANTARCTIC PRESS Furry Tails #1 (One Shot), $4.99 Steam Tales #2, $3.99 Tales From The Creep #1 (One Shot), $3.99 ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS Sonic Saga Volume 7 Dark Mirror TP, $11.99 ASPEN COMICS Fathom Kiani Volume 4 #2 (Cover A Giuseppe Cafaro), $3.99 Fathom Kiani Volume 4 #2 (Cover B Alex Konat), $3.99 Fathom Kiani Volume 4 #2 (Cover C Agnes Garbowska), AR

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week ATOMIC BOOK COMPANY Museum Of Mistakes The Fart Party Collection TP, $24.00 BONGO COMICS Simpsons Comics #219, $2.99 BOOM! STUDIOS Bee And Puppycat #1 (Jeremy Sorese SDCC Variant Cover), $9.99 Bravest Warriors 2014 Impossibear Special #1 (Jeremy Sorese SDCC Variant Cover), $9.99 Burning Fields #3 (Of 8)(Cover A Colin Lorimer), $3.99 Burning Fields #3 (Of 8)(Cover B Riley Rossmo), AR Day Men Pen And Ink #2 (Cover A Brian Stelfreeze), $14.99 Eternal #3 (Of 4)(Cover A Frazer Irving), $3.99 Giant Days #1 (Cover A Lissa Treiman), $3.99 Giant Days #1 (Cover B Shelli Paroline & Braden Lamb), AR Giant Days #1 (Cover C Meredith Gran), AR Lumberjanes #12 (Cover A Carolyn Nowak), $3.99 Lumberjanes #12 (Cover B Brittney Williams), AR Peanuts #26 (Cover A Charles M. Schulz), $3.99 Plunder #2 (Cover A Skuds McKinley), $3.99 Regular Show #21 (Cover A Andy Hirsch), $3.99 Regular Show #21 (Cover B Ilias Kyriazis), $3.99 Robocop #1 (Mike Henderson Baltimore Comic-Con Variant Cover), $9.99 Rocket Salvage #4 (Of 6)(Cover A Bachan), $3.99 Sons Of Anarchy #19 (Cover A Toni Infante), $3.99 CARTOON BOOKS Tuki Save The Humans #3, $3.99 COMIC SHOP NEWS Comic Shop News #1448, AR Comic Shop News Spring 2015 Preview, AR COSMIC TIMES Giant Robot Warrior Maintenance Crew GN, $9.99 DANGER ZONE Zombie Tramp #9 (Dan Mendoza Variant Cover), $4.99 Zombie Tramp #9 (TMChu Regular Cover), $3.99 Zombie Tramp #9 (TMChu Risque Variant Cover), $4.99 Zombie Tramp #9 (Winston Young Vampblade Variant Cover), $4.99

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comic books this wee DARK HORSE COMICS Angel And Faith Season 9 Library Edition Volume 1 HC, $29.99 B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth #129, $3.50 B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth Volume 10 The Devil’s Wings TP, $19.99 Baltimore Volume 5 The Apostle And The Witch Of Harju HC, $24.99 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Panel To Panel Seasons 8 And 9 TP, $24.99 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 10 #13 (Cover A Steve Morris), $3.50 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 10 #13 (Cover B Rebekah Isaacs), $3.50 Chronicles Of Conan Volume 29 The Shape In The Shadow And Other Stories TP, $19.99 Chronicles Of King Conan Volume 10 The Warlord Of Koth And Other Stories TP, $19.99 Courageous Princess Volume 1 Beyond The Hundred Kingdoms HC (3rd Edition), $19.99 Dark Horse Presents #8 (Cover A Francesco Francavilla), $4.99 Dark Horse Presents #8 (Cover B Mike Grell), $4.99 Deep Gravity TP, $14.99 EI8HT #2 (Of 5), $3.50 Frankenstein Underground #1 (Of 5), $3.50 Groo Friends And Foes #3, $3.99 Mind MGMT #31, $3.99 Oh My Goddess Volume 47 TP, $12.99 Oink Heaven’s Butcher TP, $17.99 Shaper #1 (Of 5), $3.99 Strain The Night Eternal #7, $3.99 Tex The Lonesome Rider HC, $49.99 Usagi Yojimbo Saga Volume 2 Limited Edition HC, $79.99 Usagi Yojimbo Saga Volume 2 TP, $24.99 DC COMICS Batgirl #40 (Cameron Stewart Movie Poster Variant Cover), AR Batgirl #40 (Cameron Stewart Regular Cover), $2.99 Batgirl Endgame #1 (One Shot), $2.99 Batman Eternal #50, $2.99 Batman Superman #20 (Ardian Syaf & Sandra Hope Combo Pack Cover), $4.99 Batman Superman #20 (Ardian Syaf & Sandra Hope Regular Cover), $3.99 Batman Superman #20 (Tony Harris Movie Poster Variant Cover), AR Batman Superman #20 (Tradd Moore Variant Cover), AR Batwoman #40, $2.99 Earth 2 World’s End #24, $2.99 Green Lantern New Guardians #40, $3.99 Infinite Crisis The Fight For The Multiverse #9, $3.99 Injustice Gods Among Us Year Three #12, $2.99 Justice League Of America Volume 2 Survivors Of Evil TP, $16.99 Kitchen #5 (Of 8), $2.99 New 52 Futures End #46, $2.99

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week Ocean Orbiter Deluxe Edition HC, $29.99 Red Hood And The Outlaws #40, $2.99 Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman #8, $3.99 Strange Sports Stories #1 (Of 4)(Mike Mitchell Variant Cover), AR Strange Sports Stories #1 (Of 4)(Paul Pope Regular Cover), $4.99 Supergirl #40 (Emanuela Lupacchino Regular Cover), $2.99 Supergirl #40 (Marco D’Alfonso Movie Poster Variant Cover), AR Superman #39 (John Romita Harley Quinn Variant Cover), AR Superman #39 (John Romita Jr. & Klaus Janson Combo Pack Cover), $4.99 Superman #39 (John Romita Jr. & Klaus Janson Regular Cover), $3.99 Superman #39 (John Romita Jr. & Klaus Janson Variant Cover), AR Superman #39 (Shane Davis Variant Cover), AR Superman Wonder Woman Volume 1 Power Couple TP, $16.99 Superman Wonder Woman Volume 2 War And Peace HC, $24.99 Teen Titans #8 (Alex Garner Movie Poster Variant Cover), AR Teen Titans #8 (Bengal Regular Cover), $2.99 Teen Titans #8 (Blank Variant Cover), AR Trinity Of Sin #6, $2.99 DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING Solitary #2 (Of 4)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99 DIAMOND PUBLICATIONS Game Trade Magazine #182 (not verified by Diamond), $3.99 DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT Altered States Doc Savage #1 (One Shot)(Billy Tan Black & White Variant Cover), AR Altered States Doc Savage #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Billy Tan), $3.99 Altered States Red Sonja #1 (One Shot)(Billy Tan Virgin Variant Cover), AR Blood Queen Vs Dracula #1 (Of 4)(Jay Anacleto Virgin Variant Cover), AR Bob’s Burgers Volume 1 TP, $17.99 John Carter Warlord Of Mars Special (Cover A Lucio Parrillo), $4.99 Lady Demon #3 (Cedric Poulat Virgin Variant Cover), AR Lady Demon #3 (Cover A Joyce Chin), $3.99 Lady Demon #3 (Cover B Cedric Poulat), $3.99 Lady Demon #3 (Cover C Mike Mayhew), $3.99 Lady Demon #3 (Joyce Chin Black & White Variant Cover), AR Lady Demon #3 (Mike Mayhew Artboard Variant Cover), AR Lady Rawhide Lady Zorro #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Mike Mayhew), $3.99 Lady Rawhide Lady Zorro #1 (Of 4)(Mike Mayhew Black & White Variant Cover), AR Legenderry Red Sonja #2 (Of 5)(Cover A Sergio Fernandez Davila), $3.99 Legenderry Red Sonja #2 (Of 5)(Sergio Fernandez Davila Black & White Variant Cover), AR Project Superpowers Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Tula Lotay Virgin Variant Cover), AR

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comic books this wee Red Sonja Vulture’s Circle #3 (Cover A Jay Anacleto), $3.99 Red Sonja Vulture’s Circle #3 (Cover B Walter Geovani), $3.99 Red Sonja Vulture’s Circle #3 (Cover C Lucio Parrillo), $3.99 Red Sonja Vulture’s Circle #3 (Jay Anacleto Black & White Variant Cover), AR Red Sonja Vulture’s Circle #3 (Walter Geovani Black & White Variant Cover), AR Solar Man Of The Atom #10 (Cover A Marc Laming), $3.99 Solar Man Of The Atom #10 (Cover B Jonathan Lau), $3.99 Solar Man Of The Atom #10 (Jonathan Lau Black & White Variant Cover), AR Solar Man Of The Atom #10 (Marc Laming Black & White Variant Cover), AR EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS DC Batman Automobilia Figurine Collection Magazine #53 (Batman #52 Joker Roadster), $20.00 DC Batman Automobilia Figurine Collection Magazine #54 (Legends Of The Dark Knight #80), $20.00 DC Superhero Chess Figurine Collection Magazine #78 (Desaad Black Pawn), $16.00 DC Superhero Chess Figurine Collection Magazine #79 (Stargirl White Pawn), $16.00 Marvel Chess Figurine Collection Magazine #28 (Bullseye Black Pawn), $16.00 Marvel Chess Figurine Collection Magazine #29 (Scarlet Witch White Pawn), $16.00 Marvel Chess Figurine Collection Magazine Special #2 (Rocket Raccoon & Groot), $38.00 Star Trek The Official Starships Figurine Collection Magazine #36 (Oberth Class), $20.00 IDW PUBLISHING Angry Birds Transformers #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Marcelo Ferrerira), $3.99 Angry Birds Transformers #4 (Of 4)(Cover SUB Guido Guidi), $3.99 Bigger Bang #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Vassilis Gogtzilas), $3.99 Borderlands #7 (Cover A Agustin Padilla), $3.99 Borderlands #7 (Cover SUB Salvador Velazquez), $3.99 Dragonlance Chronicles Volume 1 Dragons Of Autumn Twilight TP, $24.99 Dungeons And Dragons Legends Of Baldur’s Gate #5 (Cover A Sarah Stone), $3.99 Dungeons And Dragons Legends Of Baldur’s Gate #5 (Cover RI Tyler Jacobson), AR Dungeons And Dragons Legends Of Baldur’s Gate #5 (Cover SUB Max Dunbar), $3.99 Fly Outbreak #1 (Of 5)(Cover A Menton J. Matthews III), $3.99 Fly Outbreak #1 (Of 5)(Cover RI Jason Edmiston), AR Fly Outbreak #1 (Of 5)(Cover SUB Lukas Ketner), $3.99 G.I. JOE A Real American Hero #211 (Cover A S.L. Gallant), $3.99 G.I. JOE A Real American Hero #211 (Cover RI Larry Hama), AR G.I. JOE A Real American Hero #211 (Cover SUB Ron Wagner), $3.99 Garbage Pail Kids Love Stinks #1 (One Shot)(Cover DC Dean Haspiel), $4.99 Jack Kirby Mister Miracle Artist’s Edition HC, AR Judge Dredd #28 (Cover A Mark Torres), $3.99 Judge Dredd #28 (Cover SUB James O’Barr), $3.99 Little Nemo Return To Slumberland #4 (Cover A Gabriel Rodriguez), $3.99 Little Nemo Return To Slumberland #4 (Cover SUB Eric Shanower), $3.99 Millennium #2 (Of 5)(Cover A Menton J. Matthews III), $3.99

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week Millennium #2 (Of 5)(Cover SUB Photo), $3.99 My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic #28 (Cover A Andy Price), $3.99 My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic #28 (Cover B Sara Richards), $3.99 My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic #28 (Cover RI Mary Bellamy), AR Orphan Black #2 (Cover A Cat Staggs), $3.99 Orphan Black #2 (Cover RI Phil Jimenez), AR Orphan Black #2 (Cover SUB Photo), $3.99 Powerpuff Girls Super Smash-Up #3 (Of 6)(Cover A Derek Charm), $3.99 Powerpuff Girls Super Smash-Up #3 (Of 6)(Cover SUB George Caltsoudas), $3.99 Rocketeer The Complete Adventures TP, $19.99 Star Trek Planet Of The Apes #4 (Of 5)(Cover A Rachael Stott), $3.99 Star Trek Planet Of The Apes #4 (Of 5)(Cover RI Photo), AR Star Trek Planet Of The Apes #4 (Of 5)(Cover SUB J.K. Woodward), $3.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44 (Cover A Cory Smith), $3.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44 (Cover B Kevin Eastman), $3.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44 (Cover RI Tadd Galusha), AR Transformers #39 (Cover A Casey W. Coller), $3.99 Transformers #39 (Cover RE Travis Sengaus), AR Transformers #39 (Cover RI Sara Pitre-Durocher), AR Transformers #39 (Cover SUB Livio Ramondelli), $3.99 Transformers All Hail Megatron Deluxe Limited HC, $125.00 X-Files Season 10 #21 (Cover A Francesco Francavilla), $3.99 X-Files Season 10 #21 (Cover RI Matthew Dow Smith), AR X-Files Season 10 #21 (Cover SUB Photo), $3.99 IMAGE COMICS Alex + Ada #13, $2.99 C.O.W.L. #9, $3.99 Chrononauts #1 (Cover A Sean Gordon Murphy & Matt Hollingsworth), $3.50 Chrononauts #1 (Cover B Matteo Scalera), $3.50 Chrononauts #1 (Cover C Declan Shalvey), $3.50 Chrononauts #1 (Cover D Dan Panosian), $3.50 Chrononauts #1 (Cover E Fiona Staples), $3.50 Chrononauts #1 (Cover F Ryan Ottley), $3.50 Deadly Class Volume 2 Kids Of The Black Hole TP, $14.99 Invisible Republic #1, $2.99 Lazarus Volume 3 Conclave TP, $14.99 Madame Frankenstein TP, $16.99 Manhattan Projects The Sun Beyond The Stars #1, $3.50 Nightworld Volume 1 Midnight Sonata TP, $12.99 Nixon’s Pals HC, $19.99 Outcast By Kirkman And Azaceta #7, $2.99 Prophet Volume 4 Joining TP, $17.99

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comic books this wee Punks The Comic #5, $3.99 Red One #1, $2.99 Revenge TP, $14.99 Reyn #3, $2.99 Rumble #2 (James Harren 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.50 Satellite Sam #12, $3.50 Secret Identities #2, $3.50 Sexcastle GN, $15.99 Spread #6, $3.50 Stray Bullets Sunshine And Roses #2, $3.50 Thrilling Adventure Hour Presents Sparks Nevada Marshal On Mars #2 (Of 4), $3.50 Witchblade #181 (Cover A Gabriel Rearte), $3.99 Witchblade #181 (Cover B Stjepan Sejic), $3.99 Zero #15 (Cover A Ian Bertram & Tom Muller), $2.99 Zero #15 (Cover B Jeff Lemire & Tom Muller), $2.99 KENZER AND COMPANY Knights Of The Dinner Table #218 (not verified by Diamond), $5.99 KODANSHA COMICS My Little Monster Volume 7 GN, $10.99 Seven Deadly Sins Volume 7 GN, $10.99 LOCUS MAGAZINE Locus #650, $7.50 MARRS MEDIA Rue Morgue Magazine #153, $9.95 MARVEL COMICS All-New Captain America #5 (Marguerite Sauvage Women Of Marvel Variant Cover), AR All-New Captain America #5 (Stuart Immonen Regular Cover), $3.99 All-New X-Men #39 (Alexander Lozano Regular Cover), $3.99 All-New X-Men #39 (Andrea Sorrentino Cosmically Enhanced Variant Cover), AR All-New X-Men #39 (Faith Erin Hicks Women Of Marvel Variant Cover), AR All-New X-Men Volume 6 The Ultimate Adventure HC (Premiere Edition), $24.99 Amazing Spider-Man #16.1 (Arthur Adams Regular Cover), $3.99 Amazing Spider-Man #16.1 (Simone Bianchi Variant Cover), AR Ant-Man #2 (Mark Brooks 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Avengers By Kurt Busiek And George Perez Omnibus Volume 1 HC, $125.00 Avengers Omnibus Volume 2 HC (Alex Ross Regular Cover), $99.99 Avengers Omnibus Volume 2 HC (John Buscema Direct Market Variant Edition), $99.99 Black Widow #16 (Phil Noto Regular Cover), $3.99

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week Black Widow #16 (Vanesa Del Rey Women Of Marvel Variant Cover), AR Bucky Barnes The Winter Soldier #6, $3.99 Captain America And The Mighty Avengers #6, $3.99 Cyclops #11, $3.99 Deadpool’s Art Of War TP, $12.99 Guardians Of The Galaxy And X-Men The Black Vortex Alpha #1 (Ed McGuinness 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $4.99 Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 4 Original Sin HC (Premiere Edition), $24.99 Guardians Team-Up #3 (Andrea Sorrentino Cosmically Enhanced Variant Cover), AR Guardians Team-Up #3 (Gustavo Duarte Variant Cover), AR Guardians Team-Up #3 (Mike Mayhew Regular Cover), $3.99 Hulk #13, $3.99 Loki Agent Of Asgard #12, $3.99 Magneto #16, $3.99 Marvel Masterworks The Invincible The Iron Man Volume 9 HC, $75.00 Marvel Masterworks The Invincible The Iron Man Volume 9 HC (Direct Market Variant Edition 216), $75.00 Marvel Universe Avengers Assemble Season Two #5, $2.99 Marvel Universe Guardians Of The Galaxy #2 (Of 4), $2.99 Moon Knight #13, $3.99 Ms. Marvel Volume 2 Generation Why TP, $15.99 Princess Leia #2 (Of 5)(Alex Maleev Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #2 (Of 5)(Terry Dodson Regular Cover), $3.99 Punisher #16, $3.99 Silk #2 (Arthur Adams Regular Cover), $3.99 Silk #2 (Phantom Variant Cover), AR Silk #2 (W. Scott Forbes Variant Cover), AR Star Wars #1 (John Cassaday Signed Edition)(Bonus Package)(Dynamic Forces), AR Star Wars #1 (John Cassaday Signed Edition)(Dynamic Forces), AR Star Wars #1 (Ken Haeser Remarked Boba Fett Sketch Edition)(Dynamic Forces), AR Star Wars #1 (Ken Haeser Remarked Chewbacca Sketch Edition)(Dynamic Forces), AR Star Wars #1 (Ken Haeser Remarked Darth Vader Sketch Edition)(Dynamic Forces), AR Star Wars #1 (Ken Haeser Remarked Princess Leia Sketch Edition)(Dynamic Forces), AR Storm #9, $3.99 Superior Spider-Man Volume 3 HC, $34.99 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #2 (Erica Henderson 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #3 (Erica Henderson Regular Cover), $3.99 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #3 (Gurihiru Women Of Marvel Variant Cover), AR Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #3 (Jill Thompson Variant Cover), AR United States Of Murder Inc Volume 1 Truth HC (Premiere Edition), $24.99 Wolverines #11, $3.99 MOONSTONE Green Lama Unbound Prose Novel SC, $12.99

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comic books this wee NEMO PUBLISHING Undersea Adventures Of Capt’n Eli Volume 3 GN, $9.99 NORTHWEST PRESS Completely Unfabulous Social Life Of Ethan Green GN, $24.99 Politically Inqueerect Old Ghosts #1 (One Shot), $7.99 Rise Comics Against Bullying #1 (not verified by Diamond), $4.99 ONI PRESS Courtney Crumrin Volume 7 Tales Of A Warlock GN, $24.99 Princess Ugg #8, $3.99 Terrible Lizard #5 (Of 5), $3.99 REBELLION Grievous Journey Of Ichabod Azrael #1 (Of 6)(Dom Reardon Regular Cover), $3.99 Grievous Journey Of Ichabod Azrael #1 (Of 6)(Garbett Variant Cover), $3.99 RED ANVIL Unit 5 #1, $3.99 SANCTUM PRODUCTIONS Doc Savage Double Novel Volume 80 SC (James Bama Variant Cover), $14.95 Doc Savage Double Novel Volume 80 SC (Robert G. Harris Regular Cover), $14.95 Shadow Double Novel Volume 93 SC, $14.95 Shadow Super Pack Volume 2 The Origins Collection SC, $44.95 SELFMADEHERO Pride And Prejudice Selfmadehero Edition GN, $19.95 SEVEN SEAS ENTERTAINMENT D-Frag Volume 4 GN, $12.99 Kokoro Connect Volume 3 GN, $12.99 Servamp Volume 1 GN, $12.99 Strike Witches One-Winged Witches Volume 2 GN, $12.99 TIME CAPSULE PRODUCTIONS Ace Magazine #1, $7.99 TITAN COMICS Captain Stone #4 (Of 6), $3.99 Doctor Who The Twelfth Doctor #6 (Blair Shedd Regular Cover), $3.99 Doctor Who The Twelfth Doctor #6 (Subscription Photo Cover), $3.99 Third Testament Volume 3 The Might Of The Ox HC, $10.99

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week UDON ENTERTAINMENT Katamari Volume 1 HC, $24.99 Manga Classics The Scarlet Letter HC, $24.99 Manga Classics The Scarlet Letter SC, $19.99 UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI Peter Bagge Conversations HC, $30.00 VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT Divinity #2 (Of 4)(Cover A Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic), $3.99 Divinity #2 (Of 4)(Cover B Tom Muller), $3.99 Divinity #2 (Of 4)(Cover C Rafa Sandoval), AR Divinity #2 (Of 4)(Cover D Diego Bernard), AR Divinity #2 (Of 4)(Cover E Lewis Larosa), AR Ivar Timewalker #3 (Cover A Raul Allen), $3.99 Ivar Timewalker #3 (Cover B Brian Level), $3.99 Ivar Timewalker #3 (Cover C Michael Walsh), AR Ivar Timewalker #3 (Cover D Ramon Villalobos), AR VIZ MEDIA Master Keaton Volume 2 GN, $19.99 YEN PRESS Gabby And Gator TP, $10.00 ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT Charmed Season 10 #6, $3.99 Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Robyn Hood #8 (Cover A Chris Delara), $3.99 Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Robyn Hood #8 (Cover B Mike Capprotti), $3.99 Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Robyn Hood #8 (Cover C Rich Oritz), $3.99 Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Tales From Oz Volume 2 TP, $12.99

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covers of the week

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Anime/Manga - News

Live Action Movie of Naruto is ON...

One of the famous Shonen Jump series that roared into a massively popular anime series, Naruto is adapted into live action musical play beginning this month in Japan. The play is part of Naruto Shin Jidai Kaimaku Project (Naruto’s New Era Opening Project).

The play is still ongoing in Japan, making tours in a few cities in the country but knowing the massive appeal of the franchise in South East Asia, the play will also be touring Singapore, Malaysia and Macau too.

The Singaporean gig is scheduled around 6-7 June 2015 at Resort’s World Theatre while it will be held in The Venetian, Macao on 22 – 24 May. Now, for the Malaysian leg, the musical will be happening on 30 – 31 May 2015 at the Malaysian International Exhibition & Convention Center near MINES, Seri Kembangan Selangor.

How good is their production value and their costumes? You can check it out below to gauge just how serious they are in bringing out the spirit of the franchise and making it live on stage.

Castings are Yuki Kimisawa as the veteran 76 BD Nostalgia

ninja Hatake Kakashi, Kazuhiro Hinakawa as the Third Hokage who is the leader of a ninja village, Miho Imamura as the mysterious ninja Haku, and Asahi Uchida as Momochi Zabuza, the main baddie. And finally, actor Koudai Matsuoka plays the titular hero Naruto Uzumaki, and Ryuji Sato plays as his rival/close friend Sasuke Uchiha.

Malaysian Naruto fans will have to fork out RM398 (SS) or RM298 (S) or RM198 (A) or RM98 (B) class tickets. TicketPro also gives the diagram to show the position of seats from the stage here:

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Anime/Manga - News

Assassin’s Creed movie is on It is on! Micheal Fassbender’s Assassin’s Creed movie is scheduled to hit cinemas on 21 December 2016. What’s more, there is a possibility that Tony Stark himself, aka Robert Downey Jr might appear in the movie not as cameo but as one of the important characters in the Assassin’s Creed flick. According to IGN he will reportedly be portraying Leonardo da Vinci, the famous Italian Renaissance Era inventor.

Fassbender said the Assassin’s Creed film will be respectful of the game but the same time, the actor also pointed out that “we also want to bring new elements to it and perhaps our own vision of things that already exist in the game.“

Sadly the source for IGN’s report, MoviePlot has already been taken down which brings some doubts to whether or not RobIn a nutshell, Fassbender will be Desmond ert Downey Jr will actually appear in the Miles, who is a seemingly normal bartender video game based movie or not. So at this but is kidnapped by a sinister corporation point, take it with a pinch of salt. to be inserted into a hi-tech machine called “The Animus”. The machine allows its user Nevertheless, fans of the game might be to relive their ancestor’s lives via DNA looking forward to the movie in 2016 espememory, which in this case the company cially with the movie sporting said actor is wants to use him to retrieve information on definitely icing on the cake. “powerful and dangerous artifacts.”

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Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ The new trailer features the special moves of the Z warriors, including Master Roshi’s Kamehameha, Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon, and Krillin’s Destructo Disc. The trailer also features the Z warriors fighting Frieza’s 1,000-person army, and a small cameo by Jaco from Jaco the Galactic Patrolman.

“Frieza,” who will be revived in the film.

Toriyama noted that he thought of the title while listening to “F” by rock band Maximum The Hormone, whom he came to know personally through a friend. The song itself features Frieza as a motif, and will be used as a “battle song” during one of the battle scenes in the film. The band originally released the song as its eighth single in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ will pre- July 2008. miere in both 2D and 3D in theaters across Japan on April 18, although advance screen- Toriyama is personally credited with the ings will be held before then. The film will original concept, screenplay, and character also be the first Japanese film to open in 3D designs of the new movie. Dragon Ball Z IMAX Digital Theaters. animation director Tadayoshi Yamamuro Funimation will host the North American is directing the new movie. Pop idol group premiere on April 11 in Los Angeles. The Momoiro Clover Z (Sailor Moon Crystal, company then plans to release the film in Bodacious Space Pirates) is performing the more theaters with an English dub this sum- film’s theme song, as well as voicing roles mer. in the movie, playing “angels” of hell that Toriyama said in an interview in Novem- reside where the protagonist Son Goku’s ber that the ‘F’ in the film’s title stands for enemy Frieza has been imprisoned.

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Anime/Manga - News Alice in Borderland Manga Enters Final Arc Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday Sunday S to Weekly Shonen Sunday beS announced on Wednesday that Haro ginning with the 19th issue on April 8.

Asō’s Alice in Borderland (Imawa no The manga revolves around Ryōhei Arisu (pronounced the same way in Japanese as “Alice”), a male high school student who is irritated with his intolerable everyday life. One night, he tags along with his bad friend Karube and Chōbe to hang out in town. However, the town is suddenly covered in giant fireworks, and when he came to his senses, Ryōhei noticed that no one else was around. Finding themselves in a different world, Ryōhei, Karube, and Chota are forced to participate in survival games, or die right off the bat. The three fight to live, as well as find a way back to their own world.

Asō began serializing the manga in Weekly Shonen Sunday S (formerly Shonen Sunday Chō) in 2010. The manga’s 12th, 13th, and 14th volumes shipped with original video anime (OVA) episodes.

The spinoff series, Alice in Borderland Chi no Kyokuchi - Daiya no King-hen Kuni no Alice) manga is entering its last ran from October to February in Weekly arc. The magazine also announced that Shonen Sunday. A special chapter will dethe series will be transferred from Shonen but in the 19th issue.

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No Game, No Life Anime Gets English Dub

Section23 Films unveiled its July release slate on Tuesday, announcing that Sentai Filmworks will release No Game, No Life with an English dub in addition to the Japanese audio.

The series will ship on July 28 in DVD and Blu-ray for US$59.98 and US$69.98, respectively. A special edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack will also ship for US$129.98.

On the internet, they’re legends: the tagteam duo known as BLANK, famed for their incredible game-playing skills. In the real world, however, the lives of 18 year old Sora and his 11 year old stepsister Shiro have been spiraling out of control.

Now existing as shut-ins, they rarely leave their house and are unable to be separated without suffering panic attacks. Games, for them, are the safest retreat from reality. Until they win a chess match against a mysterious opponent known as Tet and find

themselves pulled into a game bigger than any they could have ever imagined. Now, in a world where the outcome of games determines the fates of both civilizations and species, they must defend Humanity in the ultimate challenge, vying against a host of otherworldly competitors for the right to rule them all! But if they fail, it means slavery or destruction for all mankind. No pressure, of course! Can two misfits who can barely handle their own lives somehow rise to the occasion and save the human race?

Section23 Films will also release Patlabor 2: The Movie, Is the order a rabbit?, The Familiar of Zero F, One Week Friends, Windy Tales, Guardian Ninja Mamoru, and Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky in July. Each will be available on either Blu-ray or DVD except Windy Tales and Guardian Ninja Mamoru, which will be DVD-only.

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81

Deep into Anime...

Aldnoah.Zero

by Theron Martin Episodes #10 The end of episode 9 saw Princess Asseylum being strangled by Rayet (ironically using the necklace that was supposed to be a good luck charm). While actually keeping Asseylum dead this time could have had some interesting potential consequences, it also would have made the story being set up completely unfeasible. Thus she survives, but this time there is no gimmickry about it; given that she was found almost immediately, being revived by proper use of an AED, CPR, and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is quite feasible. (And that scene was almost certainly storyboarded by someone who has actually been through CPR training, since the details shown are quite precise to the training I have had myself.)

What follows brings to a head Rayet’s situation and feelings and more clearly elaborates on why she went after the princess last 82 BD Nostalgia

(10-12)

episode, as well as laying barer Asseylum’s own feelings of guilt about how the war got started. The former rounds out Rayet’s characterization nicely, while the latter does not carry anywhere near as much gravitas because it has been touched upon far less to this point. Though Rayet is imprisoned for what she did after being subdued (by Inaho, naturally), the impression that she is let off too easily (especially by Inaho) is hard to escape, as whether a confused and emotionally taxed girl or not, she did just very determinedly try to kill the best hope the Terrans have for ending the war and openly admit that she was a party to conspirators. What her fate will be once the Deucalion makes it to the Earth Forces’ Russian stronghold is left up in the air at the end of the episode.

But that isn’t the only important development which transpires. On the Vers front Saazbaum shows Slaine the Vers side of what happened at Tanegashima and explains more about the circumstances in

the Vers Empire which led to the original war 15 years ago and, by implication, have everything to do with the current war. He describes a land mighty on technology due to Aldnoah but short on viable land and resources and a rulership which turns to propagandizing against Earth and ultimately war to keep its deprived and discontented citizens in line. Some of the details have parallels a little too close to the rise of totalitarian states in Germany and Japan in

ic push. And given how the episode ends, where that push is going is quite clear; next episode looks very likely to return to the action front. In that respect the writing works well enough, though it still does not seem to know what to do about characterizing Inaho and flounders some in handling Asseylum.

Essentially, the problems that the series has at this point are long-standing ones rather than any new development, and the things that it has been doing well it continues to

the 1930s for some kind of allusion to not do well. have been intended. Lt. Marito and Captain Magbaredge’s lingering issues concerning Episode 11 Been disappointed by the relative dearth of Tanegashima also get another nudge. serious action the past couple of episodes?

So in other words, this is primarily a Episode 11 makes up for it, and in a big way, character development-focused episode, as it serves up the biggest barrage of action one which looks intended to put the main since the Tanegashima incident and some of players in place before the next big dramat- the series’ most intense sequences to date.

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The start of the episode is a bit slow, as the first 2½ minutes merely recap the end of episode 10. While that is an annoyingly long recap, it does allow a smooth transition into the feature event of episode 11: Saazbaum’s Landing Castle’s strike on the Earth Forces HQ. Even with the base being buried deep, and even with the Deucalion on its side,

questions certainly lingered about how the Earth Forces could possibly hope to defend against the attack that viewers all knew was coming, since they were still out-teched.

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tions quickly became even bigger when the Landing Castle showed that it had a fully array of bunker-busters at its disposal. How, then, could the Earth Forces possibly hope to hold out, even with Inaho’s tactics on their side?

And that’s where the big twist that we knew had to be coming arrives on the scene: Aldnoah tech automatically shuts down when the one who activates it dies (or, apparently, goes into cardiac arrest), but a royal family member can also forcibly shut down even something activated by someone else.

As ass-pulls go, it’s a remarkably logical and reasonable one, and has some extensive ramifications, too; consider how much of a check that gives royalty on unruly subordinates, how messy that could make a civil war, and how that gives Saazbaum an even more powerful and specific tactical reason for wanting the princess dead if he actually knows about it, as it would make her his one vulnerable point. In a narrative sense the princess having this ability continues a long-standing tradition from fantasy stories of a female character having the mystical power to stop a malevolent force but needing to be escorted to the proper location by the hero so that she can work her mojo.

But that is merely the desperate hope presented to the protagonists. Aside from a scene where Asseylum comes to accept that too many of her own people are too much against her for her to take anything less than the most drastic action, the bulk of the episode is in the action. We get to see that Eddelrittuo isn’t just an escort/handmaiden; she has some serious driving skills of her

own to handle what looks like a Humvee that well under that much duress. We get to see how circumstances work out for Rayet to end up in a Kataphrakt again. (Yeah, despite her being locked up, we all knew that would happen, didn’t we?) And we get to see the almost insanely audacious plan to assault Saazbaum’s Landing Castle directly so that Asseylum can work her mojo – although of course that doesn’t happen without complications, since this is only still episode 11. So much is going on, in fact, that Slaine largely get left out.

they can really deliver.

And, for the moment, that’s totally fine.

Even without him the episode has no shortage of spectacle, no lack of tension. We may not be seeing much for direct mecha-on-mecha fights, but this is where the cool factor of this series lies. Bold maneuvers based at least somewhat on logic and tactics, dramatic flair, and a good sense of action timing – all of it ties together for a big batch of blowout fun. Yeah, if you have had a problem with Inaho being a little too perfect or too composed then the events shown here will only reinforce that impression, but episode 11 still reminds us that when the writers and production staff get their act fully together,

which presaged the opener with a significant amount of recap as a lead-in, this one starts immediately with the opener then gets right down to business, picking up at the second where episode 11 left off. The Deucalion has crashed into Saazbaum’s castle, leaving the advance attack team to pry out Princess Seylum.

When Saazbaum’s Kataphrakt comes crashing down, someone has to hold out against him to cover the other two escorting the princess, and role naturally falls to Inaho. Like the boss bad guy that he is, Saazbaum’s mecha’s ultimate form naturally has traits of all of the previously-seen Vers

EPISODES 12 For all of its 12-episode run Aldnoah.

Zero has been a story about dramatic events played out at least partly on a stage of heavy-duty mecha battles. The final episode of the first season, aptly-named “Childhood’s End,” lives up to that with a course of events that is intense, bloody, and in places shocking.

Unlike the previous couple of episodes,

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Kataphrakts, but unfortunately for Saaz- I will not get into how the episode conbaum he’s facing someone who has sur- cludes because some things should remain vived fights with all of those mecha before a complete surprise, and there are some and knows how to exploit their weaknesses. stunning turns of events in the final cou-

ple of minutes, including at least one (and possibly two) twists that almost no one will have seen coming. All I will say is that what happens in those last couple of minutes raises some massive questions about where the series will go next when it resumes in the Winter 2015 season (a fact which is confirmed by the episode’s final screen). It isn’t exactly a cliffhanger ending but may have as well been one.

Even so, things get hairy, Slaine eventually arrives on the scene, too, and then things get really interesting. And it isn’t over even when the princess manages to play her ace in the hole – not by a longshot.

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There are some points that can be discussed, however. Many (including yours truly) have complained about Inaho’s emotionless behavior, and while this episode does not do much to change that, glimmers of him actually emotionally reacting to things do finally start to show, including one telling scene where he actually smiles – and given the timing of that scene, it was doubtless intended to be loaded with meaning. About

what, exactly, is not entirely clear and will certainly be fodder for much debate. The other Earth Forces mecha pilots finally get to do a bit besides just be decoys and Slaine gets to play the “caught in conflicting loyalties� role to the ultimate degree. Saazbaum also has a few interesting things to say here, too, ones which suggest even more strongly that the writers are trying to draw parallels to real-world situations, especially the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip under Hamas rulership.

those two points it succeeds strongly. Regardless of how one feels about what happens with the characters, this is the flashiest and most involved animation of the entire series. With a musical score that is right on the money whether in full hype or silent running modes, the episode delivers all of the impact and intensity one could hope for, with the only real flaw being that the combining power-up sequence for Saazbaum’s Kataphrakt drags on longer than it really needs to.

The comments he makes are more subtly Doubtless the ending is going to generate provocative than those heard in a mecha se- mixed reactions and a lot of heated disries like, say, Flag, but they have some edge cussion. If its goal was to keep talk about it alive during its off-season, though, then to them nonetheless. on that point it succeeds magnificentBut for all of the character dramatics, the ly. The season has had its shaky points most critical point here is whether or not the on plotting, backstory plausibility, and action component works, whether or not the character development, but at least it episode fulfills its role as a spectacle, and on ends with a bang.

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Encyclopedia:

gundam part 8

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Mobile Suit Gundam 00 90 BD Nostalgia

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (Kidō Senshi Gandamu Daburu Ō?) is the 11th installment of Sunrise’s long-running Gundam franchise.

Kawai. Uniquely, Gundam 00’s 50 episodes were split into two 25 episode seasons, the first Gundam series to do so.

In the year 2307 AD, fossil fuels have all It is directed by Seiji Mizushima and but vanished and the distribution of enwritten by Yōsuke Kuroda, with character ergy is unbalanced. Humanity now relies designs by Yun Kōga and music by Kenji on three large-scale solar power systems controlled by three multinational power blocks: the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (Union), the Human Reform League (HRL), and the Advanced European Union (AEU).

With this nearly inexhaustible source of energy benefiting only these three powers and their allies, constant warfare erupted around the globe among minor countries for precious fuels and energy.

Countries whose economy relied solely on the sale of fossil fuels were plunged into poverty and some even believed that the solar power system threatened the BD Nostalgia

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“promised land of God”, resulting in the twenty year-long Solar Wars.

Unknown to the general public, however, is that the A-Laws use their unchecked power as a means to oppress freedoms, doctrines, and ideologies through the use of inhumane tactics under the guises of “unity” and “world peace”.

Such a chaotic reality has lead to the creation of a paramilitary organization in possession of four highly advanced humanoid mobile suits called “Gundams” and a mysterious technology known as the “GN Drive”. They call themselves Celestial Be- Celestial Being, fully aware of the ing, and their goal is nothing less than the A-Laws’ misuses of power, has arisen from complete eradication of war through the the ashes of defeat to eradicate the A-Laws and set the world on the true path to peace use of war itself. once more. Armed with Aeolia Schenberg’s gifts of the Trans-Am and Twin Season 2 Four years have passed since the Unit- Drive Systems, Celestial Being hopes to ed Nations Forces’ victory over Celestial correct their past mistakes and atone for Being. Humanity, having established the the damage caused by the A-Laws, aided Earth Sphere Federation, forms an inde- by the resistance group Katharon. pendent police force separate from and with authority over the ESF Army known Unknown to both Celestial Being and as the Autonomous Peace-Keeping Force, the A-Laws, however, a third party callor A-Laws. Given unfettered discretion, ing themselves the Innovators is manipA-Laws is charged with the duties of fur- ulating both sides of the conflict from ther unifying the world’s nations, enforc- the shadows, all the while claiming they ing the will of mankind, and disposing of are carrying out Aeolia Schenberg’s resistance groups and terrorist cells as they true plan. see fit.

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Mobile Suit Gundam 00F

Mobile Suit Gundam 00F (00F Kidou Senshi Gandamu 00F?) is a manga side story that ran in conjunction with Season 1 of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and the sequel to Mobile Suit Gundam 00P. It was written by Tomohiro Chiba and illustrated by Kōichi Tokita.

The manga features the Celestial Being group called Fereshte (Persian: ‫ هتشرف‬lit. angel; Japanese: Fereshute), which deploys the Second Generation Gundams, the GNY series. In the story, Fereshte was proposed by the former Second Generation Gundam Meister, Chall Acustica, and was approved

by Veda to support Celestial Being from the shadows. 00F was first published on 2007 in Gundam Ace, which ran the story between the issues of December 2007 to July 2009. The manga had spanned to 4 volumes. After the story had ended, it was replaced by its manga sequel, Mobile Suit Gundam 00I. Fon Spaak - A criminal forced by Celestial Being to become a Gundam Meister.

He dislikes Aeolia Schenberg’s ideals except the part about using the Gundams to

change the world. As an untrustworthy character, he’s shackled and has an explosive brace on his neck. Normally handcuffed, when piloting a Gundam, Hanayo will release the handcuff.

Chall Acustica - She’s the founder and leader to Celestial Being group Fereshte.

She was recruited into Celestial Being since she was a young girl. She appears to have negative memories about being the pilot to Gundam Plutone.

Hanayo - A cat themed Haro that can interface with Veda’s terminal. It’s unclear if this Haro has any unique abilities, but if it’s made like any other Haro it can interface with other systems in Celestial Being to communicate and control.

Sherilyn Hyde - A young little mechanic to Fereshte. She’s often seen with her Hanayo and although young, she was trained

by Ian Vashti to repair/maintain the Second Generation Gundams.

Eco Calore - A spare Gundam Meister who was once a candidate to be a Third Generation Gundam Meister Hixar Fermi - A Gundam Meister on orders from Veda to follow Fon Spaak, who BD Nostalgia 95

has been working independently from Fereshte. While Hixar appears to be the same man from Mobile Suit Gundam 00P, his personality is markedly different and he is shown to have a remotely-detonatable explosive strapped around his neck.

Hayana - A girl who follows Hixar Fermi, Hayana possesses high physical capacities most would not imagine from her appearance. Registered as a Gundam Meister in Veda, she is capable of taking control of a Gundam remotely. Hayana is considered Hanayo’s “sister” and resembles her, but views Hanayo with hatred

and attempts to kill her.

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Chapters #F01 [Another Gundam Meister] The story begins in between the main series’ episodes 1 & 2. Fereshte was analyzing the current situation of the primary group and making their assessment over their recent battles. Fon Spaak was making his assessment over the Enact and giving his analysis over Celestial Being’s first two missions. As the video of Aeolia Schenberg was playing on the screen, Fon revealed that he doesn’t sympathize with Aeolia’s ideals. Eco criticized Fon for what he had said despite being a Gundam Meister, but Fon cleared it out that despite not agreeing with Aeolia, he does find it interesting how the Gundams will change the world. Later, while Chall was thinking of her past and current development of Fereshte, they got their first mission.

They have received orders to attack HRL forces located in CS35 area. Chall ordered Fon Spaak to sortie with a masked GNY001F Gundam Astraea Type F, but he opted for GNY-004 Gundam Plutone. Chall seemed to have an uncomfortable history behind Plutone and was reluctant to approve of Fon’s choice as Plutone had no mask, but he had Hanayo patch through Veda to get approval. Fon left to sortie with Plutone and told Chall, “I’ll change your past self with your Plutone!”

#F02 [GN-002 vs GNY-002F] The story begins in between the main series’ episode 4, the Taribia Republic conflict, when GN-001 Gundam Exia was attacked by Graham Aker in his SVMS-01E Union Flag Graham Aker Custom. Eco Calore was surprised by the new Custom Flag and had Fon Spaak give his assessment over the new unit. Fon reluctantly described the Custom Flag’s strength and weaknesses. Eco was surprised by Fon Spaak’s ability to give a fast logical assessment just by looking, which Fon responded that nothing can escape his sight.

While toying around with Eco, Fon Spaak was given a new mission to assist fellow Gundam Meister Lockon Stratos, piloting the GN-002/DG014 Gundam Dynames Torpedo in their intervention at HRL’s orbital elevator. From there, Fon Spaak is to give Lockon/Dynames support with Gundam Sadalsuud over destroying underwater mobile units. While Gundam Dynames Torpedo was attempting to acquire a firing solution, Fon Spaak used Sadalsuud’s sensor’s to acquire target and relayed tactical data for Lockon (not aware of Fon Spaak’s assistance). While Fon was laughing in Sadalsuud F, Hanayo revealed a pair of glowing eyes within the shell of the Haro. #F03 [Azadistan] The main story takes place in between the main series’ episode 12-13. Fon Spaak participated in the mission in Azadistan using the GNY-003F Gundam Abulhool Type F. During the mission, a barrage of missiles from an unknown source attacked the construction site of Azadistan’s Solar Receiver Facility Fon left the comrade, Lockon Stratos, to follow the source of the missiles. During the pursuit, Flag Fighters, Daryl Dodge and Howard Mason, were also following the target who fired the missiles. To prevent the Flags from catching the target, Fon covers the unit’s escape by firing GN Missiles. While following the target, Fon noticed that it was an Moralian Enact. Fon chased the Enact through the desert, and recognized the pilot as Ali

al-Saachez, who at the same time was shocked that someone could pull of a midair transformation. After recognizing the mercenary, Fon left the airspace, noting that it was more interesting to let Ali live.

Afterwards, while reporting to the crew, he explained that he would let Setsuna F. Seiei deal with Ali. During Setsuna’s decision to land Exia on Azadistan unarmed to hand in Rasa Massoud Rachmadi, Fon expressed support on his actions, citing how Setsuna wanted to change the world with his own power. #F04 [Celestial Being vs Fereshte] The story happens at the last part of the main series’ episode 15. In the starting scene, Fon in a AEU-05/05 AEU Hellion Perpetuum watched Exia get bathed by Agrissa’s plasma field. Before the Union, AEU,and HRL performed their joint military exercise, Fereshte figured out it was trap to capture the Gundams. Chall Acustica decided not to help Celestial Being, in accordance to Veda’s orders not to interfere with the exercise. Fon Spaak sortied out anyway, wanting to see the outcome of the battle. Before heading out, Fon hinted to a possibility that Veda had been hacked. Back to the present, a new Gundam suddenly appeared on the battlefield, rescuing the Gundam Exia and surprising both Fon and Setsuna. Later, back at Fereshte’s base, the team expressed their uncertainty about the new Gundam team and the credibility of Veda with the turnout of the events. The new group, revealed to be Team Trinity, then came into contact with Fereshte and, acting on Veda’s wishes, ordered Fereshte to hand over the 0 Gundam with its GN Drive. Without the 0 Gundam’s drive, Fereshte would be effectively disbanded. Opposing Team Trinty’s demands, Fon Spaak with Hanayo piloted the Gundam Plutone and battled Team Trinity. Johann Trinity cited Fon’s action as a treason to Celestial Being and had Fon’s neck restraint detonated. A burst of blood immediately covered Fon’s helmet.

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fight Team Trinity; 10 minutes before his while, Hanayo and Fon continued to drift in space. Fon’s body temperature is dropheart starts failing. ping rapidly and his bleeding stops, but he slipped into a coma. Hanayo decided not #F05 [Feelings... and Hopes] Fon Spaak has only ten minutes until his to follow Veda’s commands and decides to heart fails as he battles Gundam Throne save Fon’s life.

Zwei. Michael Trinity released the GN Fangs and severely damaged the Gun- #F06 [Aeolia] dam Plutone. Hanayo activated Gundam Astraea F’s Trans-Am activation during Aeolia’s message to the Gundam Meisters.

The chapter begins with Joyce Moreno treating Fon Spaak’s injuries. With Ian Vashti there too, the old Krung Thep Crew were reunited and each of them reminisced the old days. During the conversation, Chall’s tragic past was explored. Moreno offered Chall to meet Ruido and Marlene’s daughter, Feldt, but she said there was no need. After their meeting, time has come to past, spanning from the main series’ episode 17 to 21. Chall and Eco were discussing about the recent events and the connection of the traitor to UN’s GNX-603T GN-Xs when the alarms from Fon’s room went on. However, as they checked it out, it was only Fon calling to see them after waking up. The whole crew were glad Fon Spaak was ok. Later on, Fon Spaak and Hanayo sortied in Astraea F to check the situation outside. Meanwhile, on the Moon, Alejandro Corner’s actions set off a system trap. The trap unlocked the ‘TransAm System’ on the four Ptolemaios GunMeister 874 System and took control of dams and Gundam Astraea F, giving them Plutone as a last ditch resort to stop Fon access to the full power and capabilities of from fighting. Nena Trinity read through their GN Drives.

Fon’s info as she watched the scene. As Michael Trinity was about to rip out the #F07 [Last Support] GN Drive from the Plutone, Gundam 874 Fon Spaak headed out to face the enemy overload Plutone and escaped with Fon UN Forces at the supply docks as Fereshte through the Core Fighter. In response, Jo- recover Celestial Being’s essential suphann Trinity used the GN Mega Launch- plies. He encountered a patrolling group er to shoot them down, but 874 managed of six Orbital Flags at the Supply Dock to evade. The Team Trinity then retreated Area 923 GS and proceeded on elimiand ordered the Fereshte to retrieve the 0 nating them. The Fereshte later managed Gundam’s GN Drive as soon as possible. to save their supplies in 4 of the supply With Team Trinity receiving restricted docks. With the relative easiness of the opdata from Veda, Fereshte concluded that erations, Fon began to suspect something. there was someone with higher access He checked his info on Celestial Being damanipulating from the shadows. Mean- tabase and asked Hanayo to check Veda.

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Hanayo confirmed to him that Veda wasn’t “tracking” them and the Ptolemaios. She explained that their data were treated as non-existent and the Meisters still retained their privileges. As she continued to check into Veda, she also found out that the UN Forces had finally defeated Celestial Being and that the traitor behind Veda was Ribbons Almark.Later, Fon and Hanayo headed to the battlefield in Lagrange 1 to salvage anything from Celestial Being they could find.Fon and Hanayo found the GN Drive that Kyrios ejected to the battlefield and were able to retrieve it.They also found the wrecked Nadleeh but Fon decided to leave the unit and the pilot within it. #F08 [Hixar Fermi] Season 2 of Gundam 00F starts; it continues on what happens during the four years before the return of Celestial Being. The chapter starts out with Hixar Fermi walking through Paris noticing the news of the battle between the PMC and the UN Forces.

The PMC defended against the UN Forces to preserve their independent army but they were defeated by the UN’s GN-Xs. Fon went to watched the battle in Gundam Abulhool F and immediately left the battlefield afterwards. Back at Fereshte’s secret base on Earth, the team were transferring the GN Drives into Gundam Sadalsuud F from Astraea F2. Chall was thinking about Fereshte’s new purpose as Celestial Being had been defeated and the world was uniting as one. Despite the circumstances, she believed that the GN Drives they possessed would come important in case that Celestial Being decided to return. At that same time, Hayana and Hixar infiltrated Fereshte’s base and went on to steal the Gundam Sadalsuud F with Dynames’ GN Sniper Rifle. Just as they were about to head out, Fon Spaak with Hanayo, piloting the Abulhool F, burst through the wall and challenged Hixar to a fight.

Being through the Tarot Cards.

The world was uniting just as “The Emperor” (Ribbons Almark) had planned.

Despite their destruction though, Celestial Being was fated to return, just as the upside-down “Death” had promised.Through the cards, Hixar and Hayana’s purpose was shown; the hope (“The Star”).Hixar pointed another card, which showed the Goddess of “Justice”, the Astraea.Back to the current situation, Fon Spaak, piloting the Gundam Abulhool Type F, burst through the wall, ready to fight Hixar.On the side, Chall Acustica was surprised that Hixar Fermi, a comrade of her who was supposed to be dead, was alive all this time. Fon transformed the Gundam Abulhool Type F to flight mode and rammed it to Gundam Sadalsuud Type F’s cockpit.

However, Hixar managed to easily stop the attack.Fon then attacked the Sadalsuud point blank using the Abulhool’s secondary head vulcan, but it was still ineffective.

Sadalsuud then threw Abulhool across the hanger. Hixar was using the Sadalsuud’s featured mini GN-Field to defend against Fon’s attacks. Fon used Abulhool’s vulcan again but Hixar blocked it again with a GN-Field.Hixar and Hayana then ran off with Gundam Sadalsuud Type F through the broken wall that Fon made earlier.Fon decided not to pursue, letting Hixar have the spare GN Drive.However, he later head out to search for Hixar himself, giving in to Fereshte’s request to find him. Later that night, Hayana attacked Hanayo and destroyed the Haro that she was in. At the same time, Fon Spaak found Hixar Fermi at the HRL’s Orbital Elevator.

#F10 [One that Observes the World] The scene goes back to when Hayana destroyed Hanayo’s Haro terminal. Hayana threatened to take the Astraea F2 too, but decided to not take it to hide what she had done from Hixar. Chall appeared and asked Hayana about Hixar, and Hayana answered that Hixar was really alive. Before leaving, #F09 [The Dance of Destiny] The story starts with Hayana and Hixar she revealed a terrorist threat in HRL Orreading the fate of the World and Celestial bital Elevator. Meanwhile, the scene goes BD Nostalgia 99

back to Fon and Hixar at the HRL Orbital Elevator. Hixar explained that despite of anything, his true purpose was only to observe. Fon then provided his own intentions, “To observe, decide and to act!” The two were suspected by the patrolling HRL guards, but there was nothing in the database to hold against them, confirming to Fon that Hixar was also a Gundam Meister protected by Veda. At the same time, Fon also sighted the terrorists who were planning to bomb the HRL Orbital Elevator, but the men immediately detonated the bombs they were carrying upon arrest. The scene changes back to Fereshte as Sherilyn tried to recover Hanayo. Inside Veda, upon seeing Sherilyn, Hanayo pleaded to Veda to make her return to Fereshte.[104] After Veda granted her request, Hanayo saw the situation at the HRL Orbital Elevator and immediately told Sherilyn of what was happening. Back at the Orbital Elevator, the terrorist’s Hellions started heading to the Pillar of the Orbital Elevator. Hixar retreated from the scene using Gundam Sadalsuud’s miniature GN-Field. The UN Forces’ Tieren Antiaircraft Cannon Types took down all but one of the Hellions.

Captivated by Fon’s earlier remark (“Observe, Decide and Act”), Hixar shot down the remaining Hellion, ignoring the fact that he was not supposed to interfere with the situation. #F11 [Reason to Live] The chapter begins with Hayana waking up after having nightmares about Hanayo.

She swore to herself she wouldn’t rest until she erased Hanayo’s existence. Hixar, who was present, applaud her for having a reason for living, but reminded her not to do any unnecessary actions like what she had done back in Fereshte.Later, the two headed to the Midwestern Africa. While there, they bump with Fon Spaak. Despite the increase in support for the poverty plagued area under the present UN, anti-UN sentiments continued to grow. With this, the UN finally decided to weed out the anti-UN groups in the area through force and 100 BD Nostalgia

restricting aids. However, Fon noted that despite the situation, people would still decide to fight. Hayana argued that Veda had already stated that the situation is hopeless, but Fon responded that Veda was not absolute. Hixar then questioned if Fon incited the people to fight, for it ironically would put Fon against Celestial Being.

Fon answered that even if the main Gundams were still active, he would gladly fight against them regardless. In Fereshte, Chall went to see Sherilyn’s progress on fixing Hanayo’s terminal. After tending to Sherylin, who was sleeping, Chall talked to Hanayo about Hixar and how she was confused that he was still alive. Later in Africa, the Anti-UN Group in the area started fighting against the UN Forces. Observing in Sadalsuud with Hayana, Hixar was in shock, as Fon’s ability to surpass Veda made him question about his own value. A GN-X has spotted the Sadalsuud, but Fon rescued them in time, stating that Hixar could find his answer as long as he has the original GN Drive. #F12 [Gundams and the World] A journalist named Anar Ugai has evidence that Gundams still exist and tried to sell the info to various military organizations. Behind the shadows, Hixar observed the situation in accordance to Veda’s orders, wondering how the info would affect the world. At Fereshte, Chall and Fon talked about the rapid unification brought by the UN. Fon commented that things like government, ethnicity, and religion were going to be destroyed and ignored in the new world order. Chall argued that despite so, conflicts were still going to be eliminated, but Fon noted it was not going to happen; he would still continue to fight.

Chall tried to stop him, as it goes against Celestial Being’s ideals, but Fon argued that Celestial Being was already gone. He added that if she believed that the organization was still alive, she should search for it instead. After Fon had sortied out with Astraea F2, Chall was left torn between Fon and her obligations to Celestial Being.

their doubts, they decided to rely on Fon’s power to succeed in their latest mission plan. Meanwhile at Fereshte, Chall called out Sherilyn and the rest of Fereshte for an emergency briefing. She decided to continue upholding Fereshte’s purpose of supporting Celestial Being. Therefore, she announced that Fon had to be branded a traitor and that they should seek Hixar’s help to hunt him. Despite their doubts on Hixar, Chall decided to make use of Hixar’s #F13 [Anti-Federation Forces] The chapter starts out with the chapter skills and intel connections to Fereshte’s explaining Fon’s past and his past relation advantage. Hanayo contacted Hayana and with Ali al-Saachez. Back to the present, prepared for the meeting. Back in Africa, Going back to Hixar, the journalist who carried the info about the Gundams was killed by the HRL authorities. This made Hixar to conclude that the world was not ready with the idea of Gundams returning.

Former Gundam Meister, Setsuna F. Seiei, was also observing the situation. Meanwhile, Fon met up with a mysterious Mobile Suit Group.

it was revealed that it was Fon’s idea to let Anar get an info about the Astraea F2.

As Fon’s team gathered, he explained his intentions of using them in his armed interventions to get the attention of the people who looks down from up high in exchange for his service on fighting the UN Forces. After Fon had left, the members of the Anti-UN group talked to themselves about their thoughts on Fon Spaak.Despite

Fon Spaak and the Anti-UN Forces began their mission of invading a military missile base. Their plan was to infiltrate the base and take the armaments that was stored there. During their operation, a group of GNX-607T GN-XIIs suddenly appeared to intercept them. Back at Fereshte, Hixar and Hayana was called into Fereshte, and Chall designated Hixar Fermi as their new Gundam Meister.

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#F14 [A New Stage] The chapter starts with Fon fighting with the three GN-XIIs while the rest of his teammates pressed on to the military base.

At Fereshte’s base, Fereshte’s meeting with Hixar and Hayana continues. During the meeting Hayana lunged an attack on the Haro containing Hanayo, but Hixar or-

telling the group beforehand and told the group he would use the rockets to launch to space. The Anti-UN Forces then joined with Klaus Grad’s Katharon. As Fon headed to space, Hixar and Hayana followed him using the Orbital Elevator Train.

Hixar accepted Fereshte’s proposal to get back the real him that he had lost by defeating Fon Spaak. #F15 [Euclides] The chapter starts with Fon Spaak’s supposed plan of dropping raw material asteroids down to Earth back in 2299 AD. Fon’s reason for fighting was to take down those who manipulate and twist the rules to their own desires. Back to the present, Fon was planning a scheme to drag out the one who manipulates the UN from the shadows. Meanwhile, Hixar and Hayana launched in CB’s Space Container and decided to check Celestial Being’s facilities to search for Fon. The scene then shifts to Celestial Being’s base in Lagrange 2 as Ian and Linda Vashti were discussing about the Twin Drive System and the eventual return of Celestial Being. Back at Fereshte, Chall remembered her first meeting with Fon Spaak. While Sherilyn was working on Hanayo’s Haro, Hanayo talked to herself about Chall’s dilemma and her own desire to help Fon. Not long, Sherilyn finished working and asked Hanayo to take care of Fon Spaak. She upgraded Hanayo’s Haro so that Hanayo would be able to send her back-up data to other Haro terminals. Using the ability, Hanayo was able to find Fon, who was presently working on launching the Fereshte factory ship, CBS-68 Euclides. As the two were reunited, Hixar Fermi located Fon’s whereabouts. Fon launched in Astraea F2 to face Hixar in Sadalsuud F. Just then, the Euclides was launched from the secret asteroid base.

dered her to stop. Hixar agreed to Chall’s demands and asked for his mission, which Chall explained that he’s to hunt down Traitor A13, Fon Spaak. Back in Africa, the Anti-UN Forces continued to press on to their objective. During the operation, a group of the Anti-UN Forces received an unexpected help from Katharon. In Astraea F2, Fon managed to destroy all of the GN-XIIs in the area. At the end, they managed to invade the military base, but #F16 [Assault] learned that there were no armaments in- The scene returns to Euclides launchside the base aside from outdated rockets. ing while Fon and Hixar face off. Hixar Fon already predicted the situation without attempted to shoot down Euclides, but 102 BD Nostalgia

Hanayo activated Euclide’s GN Field in defense. With Euclides out of the resource satellite, Fon relayed to Hanayo their retreat, but Hixar told them to stop. Fon then questioned why Hixar wasn’t attacking him and wondered if Hixar already reached his limit of acting on his own accord. He added that Hixar was deluding himself to believe that he could actually defeat and kill him. Hixar confirmed Fon’s assumption that he feared making a mistake and killing another person important to the Plan; he was still haunted by his past of killing a former comrade, Grave Violento. To force Hixar to make up his mind, Fon activated Astraea F2’s Trans-Am and viciously attacked Sadalsuud F. Hixar responded with Sadalsuud F’s Trans-Am, but he still didn’t retaliate. Fon then decided to retreat from the scene, taunting Hixar for refusing to fight him. As Fon head out with Euclides, however, Hixar made up his mind and decided to shoot Astraea F2 using Dynames’ Long Range Rifle. The shot damaged postTrans-Am Astraea F2, but Hixar didn’t pursue as Sadalsuud F’s Trans-Am also came to an end. Back at Fereshte, Sherilyn tried to convince Chall to cease their hunt for Fon, as he was once their close comrade. However, Chall tearfully explained that she couldn’t bring herself to do that as it would disregard the ideals of Celestial Being that her fallen comrades have fought and sacrificed their lives for. The two then exchanged a tearful embrace, sending their feelings to Fon. Several months later, Fon attacked an Earth Sphere Federation factory in Lagrange 1. From a far, a man piloting a Black Plutone watches over. #F17 [Project Start] After the battle, Hanayo alerted Fon about an incoming GNY-004B Black Gundam Plutone. Fon got a hint of its allegiance and started attacking it, but the Black Plutone didn’t retaliate and requested instead to board the Euclides. With the pilot (Bring Stabity) and questioned his purpose on showing up to them in Plutone.

Bring denied having any hidden message

in using the Gundam, explaining that it was being used as a reference for a new line of mobile suits. He then explained that he was there to support Fon, who had the power, they believed, that could replace Celestial Being. Fon was happy to get assistance, but made it clear he would only do things his way. Bring didn’t mind, as long as Fon’s actions would benefit mankind, but Fon doubted that his plans would be of the kind. Bring argued Fon wouldn’t be the judge of that, but Fon threw it back that neither was Bring. With Bring’s silence, Fon then revealed that Bring wasn’t human, surprising both Bring and Hanayo. Bring was forced to reveal the identity of his group, the Innovators.[198] Hanayo expressed her doubts on Bring’s sudden appearance, but Fon still accepted Bring’s offer. Meanwhile, the Fereshte was keeping track of Fon’s condition through Hixar’s reports. Hixar, with Hayana, was still searching for Fon, and vowed to defeat him and put an end to his Project. Back in the Euclides, Hanayo summarized their plan of dropping asteroids on major military bases on Earth. Astraea F2 and Black Plutone sortied as guards for the asteroids.

On the way, Hixar’s Sadalsuud F appeared and began shooting at the asteroids. Fon went ahead to face Hixar, exposing his back to Plutone. However, Bring didn’t bite and shot Sadalsuud F’s right Sensor Shield instead. The fight between Hixar and Bring began. #F18 [Explosion] This chapter continues with Sadalsuud F vs. Black Plutone. The Innovator Bring Stabity tried to convince Hixar to stop opposing the “Project” as it coincide with Aeolia’s Plan. He even added that Hixar was the same as him, an Innovator, a superior race created for carrying out the Plan.

Hixar was shocked by the revelation, but argued his life’s purpose was his to decide and not for such Plan. With that, Bring decided that Hixar had rebelled against Aeolia’s Plan and proceeded to fight him.

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Regetta were also observing the situation, talking about the effect of the asteroid drop on the masses, and the formation of a powerful military force as a result of it. At the former Union Tower, ESF forces gathered to protect the structure from the incoming asteroids. At Fereshte, Sherilyn explained her plan of getting in touch with Celestial Being. By using the same concept on how Veda keep track with the solar reactors,

Am, Bring noted that Hixar wouldn’t be able to stop the “Project” anymore. However, Hixar argued that Bring didn’t know Fon’s real nature well enough.At that time, the asteroids that Fon had launched exploded, with its debris spreading to block the sunlight from the Solar Orbital Ring.

Fon let out a menacing laugh.

she had planned to increase their solar reactor’s transmission so that Celestial Being would be able to track their location.

Despite the risk of being traced by the Federation, Chall approved of Sherilyn’s plan.

Back to Hixar and Bring’s duel, Hixar activated Sadalsuud’s Trans-Am to reach for the discarded GN Sniper Rifle and started firing at the enemy Plutone. Bring responded by activating GN Field. However, Hixar’s attacks managed to penetrate through and ultimately destroyed Plutone, forcing Bring to retreat in the Core Fighter.

After seeing Sadalsuud F ending its Trans-

The surface was in chaos because of the power outage that resulted from the spreading debris covering the Solar Energy Generators. The ESF forces scrambled to the Tenchu and La Tour in response, trying to prevent another possible terrorist act on the areas. The first phase of Fon’s plan was completed. Hixar then called out to Fon and demanded an explanation to what Fon’s real motives were. At Lagrange 3, Linda Vashti received the transmission from Fereshte. As it turned out, Fon’s actions worked on the benefit of Fereshte as the ESF at the present was too distracted

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#F19 [Veda]

from ever detecting their transmission.

With that, the Fereshte couldn’t help but think that Fon hadn’t forgotten about them all this time. Back in Euclides, Fon and the rest were heading to the dark side of the moon. Fon told Hixar that he had found the exact location of Veda, to Hixar’s surprise. Fon used the recent crisis to analyze and find the place which was most prioritized in receiving power during the power outage; the place which was no other than Veda’s location. The two later sortied with their Gundams to face the inevitable Mobile Suit Force waiting ahead of them, one of which was the GN-XXXB Black Gundam Rasiel. Hixar was shocked to see the Rasiel, as it reminded him of his late friend, Grave. Surprisingly, the Gundam was piloted by a clone Innovade of himself; a copy of Grave was piloting the GNR-000B Black GN Sefer. Hixar decided to face the combined GN-XXXB + GNR-000B Black Sefer Rasiel, while Fon faced the Black Innovator versions of Astraea, Sadalsuud, Abulhool, and Plutone. #F20 [Fon Spaak] Fon faced all of the Black versions of the Second Generation Gundams. Hixar tried to help him, but was intercepted by the Black Sefer Rasiel. The Hixar clone sent some Proto Bits to attack Sadalsuud F, forcing Hixar to counter using TransAm. At the same time, Fon activated Astraea F2’s Trans-Am and simultaneously destroyed the enemy Astraea, Abulhool and Sadalsuud. Bring, who returned with the Plutone, tried to shoot down Asraea F2 while it was attacking, but Fon managed to dodge. The two began to fight in close quarters. Back to Hixar’s battle, Sadalsuud F’s Trans-Am had come to an end, but Hixar managed to destroy most of the enemy Proto Bits. The Hixar clone praised him for his skills, which made Hixar respond that he was far more than what the clone could ever imagine. He then destroyed the GN Sefer pod, which was piloted by the Grave clone. Hixar continued that the fact that the two were created only

to be copies set their life to have no value at all. Out of anger, the Hixar clone began rushing to Sadalsuud F. Hixar faced the approaching Rasiel, countering and ultimately destroying the enemy Gundam.

Before the damaged Sadalsuud F retired from battle, Hixar noted that the difference between them was that the experience of losing the real Grave had made him stronger. Back to Fon and Bring’s duel, Bring was to stab Astraea F2 on the chest using the beam saber, but Fon activated Astraea’s GN Reflector, bending the beam saber to hit Astraea F2’s left arm instead.

Fon immediately countered and destroyed the Black Plutone, forcing Bring to retreat.

After the battle, Fon landed on the moon and went to Veda’s terminal.[253] In there, Fon began talking to Ribbons, whose voice was resonating around the hall. Ribbons noted that because of Fon’s actions, his plan have moved accordingly. He had prepared Fon’s death in battle as a reward, but Fon still survived the ordeal. However, Ribbons declared he would not let Fon have Veda and had its main control moved to another terminal. As the last power supply on the Moon had been cut, Ribbons bid Fon a farewell. Fon was last shown with a twisted menacing grin on his face.

Forward to sometime in 2311 AD, Chall Acustica, Eco Calore, and Sherilyn Hyde have returned to Celestial Being. Hixar Fermi and Hayana, on the other hand, continued to pursue Fon for the Fereshte. Fon Spaak had left the Gundam Astraea Type F2 on the moon and had disappeared along with Hanayo, the Euclides and Veda’s old Main Terminal.

After the incident that Fon caused, more workers were sent to space, expanding the space development around the Earth’s orbit. The ESF has also developed the A-Laws to effectively counter terrorism. With the world moving forward, Chall wondered when will Fon would make is appearance once again.

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Top 5 new Anime to Watch for Winter 2015

Winter is passing by and pickings are slightly slim for new anime.

We’re likely to fill our anime-watching schedules with the 2nd and 3rd seasons of Durarara, Tokyo Ghoul and Kuroko no Basket. But if you’re looking for more than just the usual popular ones, here are 5 anime that you should give a try this march 2015.

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1. Ansatsu Kyoushitsu (Assasination Classroom) Announced back in November, this popular manga is finally hitting the telly this winter. There is an evil octopus seeking world domination on the loose and he’s

will destroy Earth within a year but offers mankind a chance to change their fate. He does this by teaching the students not only regular subjects, but the ways of assassination. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has also placed a bounty of ÂĽ10 billion to

my teacher! This next anime promises to be as crazy as the introduction sounds. It features a group of students that try their best to kill their homeroom teacher and for good reason. Their teacher claims that he

whoever among the students succeeds to kill their teacher. But with tentacles and super powers to spare, will the students succeed in killing this octopus?

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2. Death Parade We mentioned a while back that this was coming out and now here it is. Produced

by Madhouse, this series is based on a short animated film written and directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa for the Young Animator Training Project (Anime Mirai 2013). Each episode is a separate story where humans that die, do not go to heaven or hell but in-

stead land in a mysterious bar called Queen Decim. Here, the bartender gives these humans a game to play but if they lose, they also lose their lives. Ultimately, it is a test to see how far humans would go in order to fight for the right to live. From the trailer, this promises to be a rather disturbing psychological trailer coupled with stunning animation.

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3. Saenai Hiroin no Sodatekata (How to raise a boring girlfriend) Ever wondered how to turn your girlfriend into superwoman? Well this series isn’t entirely about that but it is about Tomoya Aki, a fellow otaku who goes through a few twists in his love life when he has a chance encounter with Megumi Kato, one of the most beautiful girls in his school. The an-

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ime follows his aim to create a game to sell at Comiket with a doujin group comprised of Eriri Spencer Sawamura, artist and childhood friend, and Utaha Kasumigaoka, a game scenario writer. Using Megumi Kato as his game inspiration, one wonders how things will turn out if she realises the kind of heroine Tomoya Aki has turned her into.

4. The Rolling Girls This Pony Canyon production shows potential for having a good plot as well as heartwarming scenes as four girls are sent out to calm a post-war japan. After the Great Tokyo War, each prefecture in Japan was split into independent nations ruled

by different prophets called “Mosa” and an army called “Mob”. As the prefectures battle to take over more territory, four Mob girls from Saitama named Nozomi, Yukina, Ai and Chiaya are sent to travel around Japan to mediate the battles between these new nations.

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5. Kantai Collection (KanKore) Turning card games into animations seems to be a growing trend. Based on a game by Kadokawa and announced just a while back, the anime is set I a world where mankind has lost control of the seas and the world is threatened to be taken

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over by the deep sea fleet. The only ones who can battle the seas and their large creatures are the warship girls, who possess the spirits of naval vessels. As strange as the plot sounds, the trailer shows great action and the girls look pretty cool as they fire missiles and other naval ammunition through their special powers.

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Interview

Big Comic Original 40th Anniversary Interview Rumiko Takahashi!!

which won the Shogakukan Newcomers Award. Subsequently “Maison Ikkoku” This year Big Comic Original is cele- was a big hit which appeared in Big Comic brating its 40th anniversary. The cre- Spirits in 1980, followed by “Ranma ½,” “Inuyasha, and “Mermaid Saga” which were also big hits. She first appeared in Original in 1980 with “Wedded Bliss” and in 1987 she began her yearly “Rumic Theater” series with “The Merchants of Romance”. She is the winner of the 26th and 47th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shonen category and the 18th and 20th Nebula Awards for manga.

Original is sort of like udon, it has a large variety of stories in it.

This is Original’s 40th anniversary and I’ve actually been a happy reader for all 40 years. So many great authors have written for the magazine and were readers before they were creators. In 1987 “Rumic Theater” debuted in Original and has appeared yearly since that time and has been wellloved by our readers.

Translated by: Harley Acres

Question: Tell us about your first encounter with Original.

Takahashi: I was reading from almost the first issue. I was a high school student at the time, but anyway, I was buying it for “Abu-san”.

ators and celebrity readers who have supported and appeared in Big comic Original over the past 40 years will appear in this column! Our sixth edition Question: So you were a Shinji Mizushiwill go one round with the popular “Ru- ma fan. What was your first impression mic Theater” creator herself, Rumiko of the magazine?

Takahashi: Other than “Abu-san” I read Takahashi!

“Haguregumo” and I started reading a few other things too I think like Ryohei [Volume 6 Rumiko Takahashi] Saigan’s “San[Profile]: Born October 10, 1957 in Ni- choume no Yuuhi” (Sunset on Third igata Prefecture. In 1978 she debuted in Street) and before I debuted his “ProfesShonen Sunday with “Those Obnoxious sional Retsudan” (Professional BiograAliens” followed by “Urusei Yatsura” phies)...

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Question: In the early days of the magazine many of the series were in a gekiga style which comes as a bit of a surprise now.

Takahashi: I certainly remember (laughs).

Toru Shinohara had a serial, Hitoshi Hirano’s “Sahara” (written by Kazuo Koike), and Moribi Murano’s “Kakine no Majo”.

Question: As a high school girl in the 70s was it hard to decide what you wanted to buy?

Takahashi: Well, the stories that were appearing in Original were good. At that time

I was also buying Shonen Sunday, Magazine, King and GORO and later even Garo!

Whatever Ryoichi Ikegami happened to be publishing in at the time. In general, I would buy them depending on the creators who were publishing there. I didn’t feel embarassed about it. (Note from Harley: These are all boy’s and men’s magazines, I do not know if we should have an editors note clarifying that and there are not typical magazines bought by high school girls).

Question: In “Abu-san” both the protagonist and the author are originally from Niigata. Do you think there was

some fellow sensibility that you shared with them?

Takahashi: Sunday’s “Otoko do Ahou Koshien” (with Mamoru Sasaki) and Magazine’s “Yakyuu-kyo no Uta” were two others that I was really into that Mizushima-sensei did and he always seemed like he was from Osaka to me (laughs). Come to think of it, he came to Niigata for an autograph session when I was in high school.

I got a drawing of Abu-san standing next to Kyuuichiro Kokuritsu. It is something I still treasure to this day. Abu-san was handsome, he was something I hadn’t seen in shonen manga before, he was an adult.

Question: Did you ever think that years later your work would be published alongside Abu-san?

Takahashi: Of course it was an honor. I didn’t have that feeling as much since I am only published once a year (in Original), but it was still an honor.

From the beginning when I published “Merchant of Romance” I felt like I was stretching myself, no doubt about it. It wasn’t because of my age, but anytime I appear in Original I feel like my works have a more grown-up appearance.

It was almost like, “oh Dad is home with his magazines that kids think are good too.” So ages can vary but they’re stories of fathers and housewives. Every year, in the editorial meetings it seems that it will be a story that really captures a sign of the times, a darker story that still has a happy ending. Maybe because it’s always around the New Year. *laughs* Meanwhile Original is loaded with radical stories, it’s addictive, there is such a large variety of ingredients in it, even if you only feel like having udon. This “Big” magazine is sort of like soba. (laughs) BD Nostalgia 115

Anime

Mazinger Z Mazinger Z (Majingā Zetto?), known briefly as Tranzor Z in the United States, is a Japanese super robot manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974.

and spinoff series, among them UFO Robot Grendizer and Mazinkaiser. It was a very popular cartoon in Mexico during the 1980s, where it was dubbed into Spanish directly from the Japanese version, keeping the Japanese character names and broadcasting all 92 episodes, unlike the version aired in the U.S.

Plot Mazinger Z is an enormous super robot, constructed with a fictitious metal called Super-Alloy Z (Chōgokin Zetto?), which is forged from a new element (Japanium) mined from a reservoir found only in the sediment of Mt. Fuji, in Japan. The mecha was built by Professor Juzo Kabuto as a secret weapon against the forces of evil, Mazinger Z has spawned several sequels represented in the series by the Mechan-

It was adapted into an anime television series which aired on Fuji TV from December 1972 to September 1974. A second manga series was released alongside the TV show, this one drawn by Gosaku Ota, which started and ended almost at the same time as the TV show.

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Flashback ical Beasts of Dr. Hell. The latter was the German member of a Japanese archeological team, which discovered ruins of a lost pre-Grecian civilization on an island named Bardos (or Birdos, although some inconsistent translations have identified the island as being the actual Greek island of Rhodes); the civilization was loosely based on the ancient Mycenae, and was called the Mycéne Empire in the series.

One of their findings was that the Mycene used an army of steel titans about 20 meters in height (compare with the Greek legend of Talos). Finding prototypes of those titans underground which could be remote-controlled and realizing their immense power on the battlefield, Dr. Hell goes insane and has all the other scientists of his research team killed except for Professor Kabuto,

who manages to escape. The lone survivor goes back to Japan and attempts to warn the world of its imminent danger.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hell establishes his headquarters on a mobile island, and plans to use the Mechanical Beasts to become the new ruler of the world. To counter this, Kabuto constructs Mazinger Z and manages to finish it just before being killed by a bomb

planted by Hell’s right-hand ‘man’, Baron Ashura, a half-man, half-woman being.

As he is dying, he manages to inform his grandson Kouji Kabuto about the robot and its use.

Kouji becomes the robot’s pilot, and from that point on battles both the continuous mechanical monsters, and the sinister henchmen sent by Doctor Hell.

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