This week's picks

Sorry about the somewhat erratic posting schedule this week (that may only concern me). I've just started a new job that I will, in theory, get paid for as opposed to this one which I only pretend to get paid for (unless someone wants to start doing that, right, literally anyone?). That could mean more erratic posts in the future. My thought is that either things will get much better with scheduling posts or much worse. We'll talk about it later, you guys. Anyway, this week's a little bit tricky because there weren't many standouts and, in fact, the non-standouts weren't all that good anyway. Let's talk about it ANYWAY.

Avengers Arena 15

This one never really has a non-standout issue and this week's was no exception. Some more character-building, even this late in the game and even with the character we're building dying in this issue. I think we're in for some really stellar finale books coming up. There's still so much to do in this book, so many plots that need wrapping and so many characters who need arcs resolved. The main villain of the piece hasn't come close to even being touched pretty much since issue one. Now Apex and Death Locket might be in the best position for that but god knows what way they'll go when we get down to it (mostly what way Apex will go and which way Death Locket will have to go as a result). That's not even to talk about what's going to happen with Anachronism as his girlfriend, with whom it seemed to be getting rather serious fairly quickly, has been killed by a monster his best friend, who not so secretly has a bit of a crush on him, turned into. Guys. That's a real sentence I just wrote about this series. Why aren't you reading this series?

Captain America 11

Another nice entry into what has been a pretty reliably solid new series for Cap. There's decidedly less action in this than in the first ten issues, giving Cap and the audience a chance to kind of catch their breath (though Nuke is still all action all the time). Emotionally, though, taking a breath isn't necessarily what Cap wants to do. He's still reeling from the loss of both Ian and Sharon and now he's being asked to reacquaint himself with a time period he left more than a decade ago. That's not easy for anyone, let alone someone who has so much loss in his past. The way to hopefully get through it? Forget the past, focus on the future. As good as separating from the past might be for Cap, who has always been anchored there in some way or another, it's still a bit of a gut-wrenching moment as he piles all of his memorabilia on the roof and sets it aflame. Tough stuff. Really interested to see what next issue brings.

Ultimates 30

This one came as a bit of a surprise to me. Not the quality of the book, that's been pretty solid for a good time now. It wasn't really on my radar for the last pick though until as I was doing my last check over the list of new comics this week. This beats out primarily Avengers and Deadpool (Mighty Avengers is somewhere not far behind but far enough out that it was only going to make it if every other book got injured this week). Avengers had, I think, just as good of a plot and solid writing but really, the male gaze thing I talked about in my review of it lingers for me as a big negative. Deadpool makes a surprise pull but I think Preston and the middle of the issue in general slowed the book down a bit too much to make the final leap. Ultimates, though, was a great lesson in tone and momentum swings, which are huge in a book like this. The plot has remained interesting and the characters have been key as every Ultimate gets a chance to shine at one point or another in this one. There's a lot to like here, even if it got a little muddled in the middle and maybe a little too "don't peak behind the curtains" at certain points. Solid stuff.


Best Cover
Avengers 19
Yu and L. Martin

Well, I mean, this one. Sure the issue lost some points for male gaze but boy if this cover isn't beautiful. Great characterization of Carol. Great, kind of haunting image. Fantastic colors. If I was in the comic shop and not concerned with reading every single issue of every single week, I'd look into buying this one to find more out about this character who resembles Captain Marvel but maybe in this reality I don't know her history so like, why's she on fire? The last issue of Captain Marvel featured Carol going Binary too but it wasn't quite as dramatic nor impressive as this (also I think it kind of ruined the surprise at the end of the issue, frankly). Really nice cover here.

Indestructible Hulk 4, Thor: God of Thunder 5

Indestructible Hulk 4
Waid (w) and Yu and Alanguilan (a) and Gho (c)

There is always a challenge involved in crafting a Hulk series. You would think, given that he's one of Marvel's oldest and most profitable characters, it wouldn't be so tough. I mean, all comics are tough to craft (in theory), but wouldn't Hulk just fit into that definition? As hard as any other? No, not really. It's a similar problem to Thor's (HEY, LOOK WHAT REVIEW HULK IS TEAMED UP WITH THIS WEEK!) in that, as their titles would imply, they are not standard superheroes. One is indestructible, one is a god. It makes finding enemies a little tougher. It also means you don't have the old standby of showing heroism by making one of them stop a mugger or something occasionally. Neither one is particularly useful on that end. Well, they would be, but they'd also likely kill the mugger (even if on accident) and Hulk might kill anyone else nearby. Of course, that's one of their big differences. Thor can always think (how well depends on the interpretation and on who would answer) whereas Hulk is often mindless. Sometimes he gains intelligence, sometimes he's Banner as Hulk, sometimes the Hulk has a more brash and less human personality but an understanding one nonetheless. It all varies. And that's where Hulk's complicated. Not only do you have to find villains that threaten him (which end up being impossible villains for anyone else), you have to understand the Hulk you're trying to write. This is, for me, why this series has so much potential.

Waid isn't shy about how he wants to show Banner. He also isn't shy about who he wants Hulk fighting. Whether or not Hulk has any level of intelligence...it's a little too early to tell, I think. So far, we're leaning no but there's certainly chance for that to shift. But Banner is the driving force right now, which is almost always untrue about Hulk books. I mean, they're titled "Hulk" in some manner or another. We don't read "Bruce Banner" in the same way we don't read "Tony Stark" or "Steve Rogers (excluding the 'Steve Rogers: Super Soldier' mini)." There are some exceptions but they're very rare. So for the alter-ego of the superhero to drive the book, especially an alter-ego who is typically so separated from his other persona (for example, Tony Stark IS Iron Man. Peter Parker IS Spider-Man, usually) to drive the book, we know the sort of change Waid is going for. Tie that to the fact that, in the last two issues of the four total issues, Hulk has been submerged in lava and pulled to the deepest depths of the sea and we can start to piece together the potential of this book. And it's shaping into a pretty fine book. If Waid can keep characterizing Banner as strongly as he is, there's no reason this formula can't work. It's just one that hasn't really been done before. It's taking an old character with a longstanding history and pointing the camera at a different angle, just like I've talked about with Remender's Captain America. And it's one of the many reasons comics are great.

Thor: God of Thunder 5
Aaron (w) and Ribic (a) and Svorcina (c)

While one of Hulk's motivations for punching stuff really hard is simply to be left alone or to just punch stuff really hard, Thor has a bit more humanity to him and a lot of his reasons are more driven by the people and gods he cares about. Sure there are times where he fights for glory or for fun; he's a warrior of Asgard, that's kind of what they do. More than Hulk, though, there are weights to Thor's stories that involve actively trying to save people or institutions he's tied to. Hulk doesn't have a ton of people nor institutions he's tied to, so it comes up a little less frequently. Characters like Thor and Hulk, who have seemingly boundless strength and might be invincible, tend to get into these kinds of situations. It's, I think, best exemplified by this comic. How do you threaten someone who might not ever feel truly threatened? Attack the things they don't have control over. Other people, society, whatever else.

This series so far has focused on Gorr, the god-killer. Right there we know that, while Thor is certainly in danger of running afoul of a possible "god-killer" (you know, being a god and all), the threat is perhaps greater to the institution that is godhood. It's an angle of Thor we don't see too often, his fraternity with other gods. Obviously his connection to other Asgardian gods is well-established, but writer Jason Aaron creates many other gods to lord over many other peoples. Thor might not know all of them but he certainly knows some and he has common ground with all. Whether or not he cares about them directly, he cares about them for what they are. Sure he'd care if Gorr was a people-killer but a.) he might not be as intimidating, and b.) everyone probably just looks like a people-killer to Thor. Gorr is different and his hunt has taken the life of gods close to Thor. More than that, Aaron has framed this story in three main parts, viewing a young and brash Thor captured and tortured by Gorr in their first encounter, a present day Thor who is finding god corpses and aims to hunt down the god-killer after centuries ignoring the threat (not a little out of fear), and a future Thor who is the last god Gorr has to kill. Now, through the magic of comic books, present and future Thor are both in the future and aiming to end Gorr's dominion. It's a great framing device because, not only does it establish Thor's well-known character arc (young, arrogant warrior to hardened, respectable, solemn Avenger to the eventual wise, likely noble king of Asgard), it explains this threat through time and also makes Thor a little more culpable in the creation of Gorr. This was already a great book before this issue, but this issue goes out of its way to begin to explain Gorr's motivations and his strengthened tie to Thor. Next issue will likely provide more of that, as it's going to deal with his origin or, as the back of the book calls it, the Gorrigin. Fantastic. That alone would make me recommend this book. Good thing it's worth reading otherwise.