All-New Ghost Rider 1
Hawkeye 18
Superior Spider-Man 30
REAL BEST BOOK OF THE WEEK:
Captain America 117
Sunday, March 30, 2014
This week's picks
Another long and exciting week of Marvel comics down so it's another attempt to choose the three most worthy of recognition this week. Tricky in a week full of ambitious number ones, game-changing ultimate or penultimate issues, and fifth issues of varying degrees of interest. Look, lots of books out this week, is what I'm saying. Let's pick some.
All-New Ghost Rider 1
I don't know that this is truly one of the top three books of the week (it edges out books like UNCANNY AVENGERS, NEW AVENGERS, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, SILVER SURFER, etc.) but it is the most ambitious of the new books out this week and probably of all the other books out this week. The unique art style and coloring, on top of the creation of a new character who tries to shield his younger brother from the darkness of the world suddenly becoming one of the darkest anti-heroes out there, made for a book that feels like it's got places it can go. For a number one, not being locked in to some specific trajectory so early on feels like such a big first step. Robbie Reyes has a whole world out in front of him and we'll see that world with art that isn't really any where else on the shelves right now.
Hawkeye 18
Don't get me wrong, I adore this series. But as a reviewer, it was almost a relief when HAWKEYE stumbled a bit in production and took a little longer to come out than it normally would have because then there were wild cards in the weekly pull list post. With HAWKEYE rocketing out several times in the last month+, it's almost a given that it's going to wind up on this list every single time. Annie Wu's art is tremendous and matches the tone and style of Fraction's writing for Kate, the story is compelling and engaging, the characters in Kate's new life are well-developed, and the stakes of the story rise at what seems like the perfect speed. It's a phenomenal series. Don't let the fact that it's regularly up on this list make you feel like it's going to stagnate at a certain point, albeit a rather high point. Each one makes it on to this list for all of the same reasons but also entirely new reasons. It's clearly Fraction, Aja, Wu, and Hollingsworth aren't really up for doing the same thing twice at any point with this book. Check it out if, for some ridiculous reason, you haven't already.
Superior Spider-Man 30
I'll be honest, this one, like so many issues of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN or even AMAZING SPIDER-MAN before it isn't necessarily as clean as the books I tend to pick and put up here (which is why these books tend to go through waves of making the list and not making the list); it often has a little more over-explanation than I'm looking for in a book, maybe a few too many mentions that Spider-Man 2099 is from the future, maybe it gets a little more heavy-handed and leaves a little less to the audience. HOWEVER, Slott and Gage both clearly understand the reasons we're involved in a Spider-Man story and even though we all pretty firmly knew that Peter Parker was on his way back (particularly as solicit news broke it a couple months ago) seeing him get back into action is fulfilling in every way as a Spider-Man fan. So as the trials and tribulations of the Superior Spider-Man come to a close, Gage and Slott do a fantastic job to get us back into the swing of things (PUN) with Peter Parker's triumphant return. Boy, he's got a lot of cleaning up to do. Nothing's ever easy for that guy.
REAL BEST BOOK OF THE WEEK:
Captain America 117
I mean obviously this was the best book of this week and any other week it "debuted." WATCH, AS RED SKULL ENACTS HIS MOST DASTARDLY PLAN: NOT PAYING FOR A CAB RIDE ACROSS TOWN.
All-New Ghost Rider 1
Hawkeye 18
Superior Spider-Man 30
REAL BEST BOOK OF THE WEEK:
Captain America 117
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Revolutionary War - Omega 1, Miracleman 4
Revolutionary War - Omega 1
Lanning and Cowsill (w) and Elson (a) and Rosenberg (c)
Killpower has emerged from Hell as Mephisto's servant and he's intent on bring Hell to Earth and making his former friends pay for leaving him behind and forgetting about him. Some of the plot, including how the demons were able to get through to Earth and some of the specifics of the plan, comes to light but that's for yesterday and today is for taking down Killpower and his demons. The heroes who were captured and linked up to the portal to power it are freed and immediately dive back into the fight, as do all the heroes we've seen so far. Even Liger manages to keep moving, trying to call the wounded heroes to action. Demons are attacking all over the world and it's up to the UK heroes to stop it. When all hope seems lost, Motormouth appears and stuns Killpower enough that he comes to his senses a bit. Not a boy any longer, he recognizes that he's done bad things and that he can't escape them and that Mephisto used the rage deep down inside to control him. He begs that they kill him before he loses control to it again and, while Captain Britain and Motormouth refuse, plenty of the mercenary characters hear his plea and accommodate him. With Killpower dead, Dark Angel is able to use his mind and the demonic power of all the demons around to force Hell back down and close the portal for good. There's some wrap-up as the heroes go their separate ways; Dark Angel continues to be bound to Mephisto, Liger and Keller (now free of his demon) enter the portal to try to save Kether Troop, Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom return to their roles, etc. Captain Britain sends us off, saying that there's a history of secrets, murder, and magic beneath London but that the streets and heroes belong to the future.
It's a fine send-off as everything wraps up rather nicely. Not everyone could be saved but it's a nice introduction to a lot of these characters who are primed to go off on their own adventures should anyone feel the urge to write them or to follow them. One of the downfalls of this series, simply through its design, is that it's really hard to get a sense of a lot of the characters. Many appeared only in one book prior to this finale, where everyone appeared but no one character had much screentime, and those books were all team books of a sort, barring perhaps Dark Angel and Motormouth. As a result, a couple of the characters (like Dark Angel and Motormouth) are characterized fairly well, at least as well as a single issue can cover, while others hardly feel explored at all. Hopefully a series like this does lead to more sorts of events or interactions with the Marvel Universe et al (Dark Angel has already made her way over to IRON MAN and characters like Captain Britain, Pete Wisdom, and Union Jack are no strangers to many of the more-known heroes) because there's clearly plenty to see here, even if this event wasn't a great place to see it all. At the end of the day though, isn't that the best outcome for which this series could have hoped? That people out there would read it all the way through and say "I'm not sure that was my cup of tea (British), but I'd be interested in seeing more of these characters?" Mission accomplished, I'd say.
Miracleman 4
A. Moore (w) and A. Davis and Leach (a) and Oliff (c)
HEY EVERYONE, before I start this review it's worth noting that I missed the last issue because I had other things going on and this was the easiest book to cut from my schedule. Now that it's back on there, I'll recap very briefly: Miracleman and Kid Miracleman, now not a kid and totally evil and super-duper powerful, fought some more and just when it looked like KM would win, he accidentally said "Miracleman" and changed back to little 13 year-old Johnny Bates. He was taken into care as he seemed like he wasn't responsible for the actions of the villain but we know that that villain is still in him, just biding his time. Meanwhile, the government sent out an old project they'd abandoned when they thought supers were gone, a failsafe plan, and they sent him, a man named Evelyn Cream, to kill Miracleman. Miracleman learns some more about his powers with his wife Liz and Liz reveals that she's pregnant and it's Miracleman's kid, if there's any difference between Michael and Miracle. Michael goes two months later to see if there's work for him at the newspaper and, on his way home, Cream shoots him in the gut, using a baby as a hostage so he can't transform into MM. Now on to this issue!
Evelyn Cream shot Mike Moran with tranquilizers and brought him back to a safehouse. In that safehouse, he explains that he's betrayed his employers but he's done it because he believes Miracleman can help him and that he can help Miracleman. He informs him that Miracleman was created by a branch of the government called the Spookshow for a project called Project Zarathustra and that the Spookshow is responsible for the A-bomb that nearly killed him and killed his friend Young Miracleman. He also tells Miracleman that there's a bunker for Project Zarathustra still out there, a bunker that the Spookshow's chief Sir Dennis Archer doesn't want found. He also warns MM that the trip could be dangerous and full of traps but MM has no problem with that and the two take off. He has no problem as soldiers come to kill him and land mines go off around him and even as a bomb erupts beneath his feet. The final defense, a failed and now crazed superhero borne from Project Zarathustra named Big Ben, also fails to even slow MM and soon he and Cream are in the bunker, examining video reports where MM learns that he and the other two young men were experimented on after being pulled from the system as simply the orphaned children of war veterans. What's more, they had done extensive testing on the would-be heroes in a sort of virtual reality environment that had kept them under for eight years and had instilled false memories in them. The tipping point for MM is finding out that the brains behind Project Zarathustra is none other than his one time perceived biggest villain Emil Gargunza. He trashes the bunker, causing thousands of pounds of damage, and the two depart, leaving Big Ben, who heard about his failed origin, nearly comatose behind them.
It continues to be a really interesting story (it's hard to keep saying that because it's a story that's thirty years old and it's impossible to be anything but absurdly late to this party) and one that pretty masterfully updates the old comics for this new world and new universe. I've given a lot of credit in recent days to books like IRON MAN, which took the original origin of a character and shifted it just enough so that there's a wealth of new stories and a huge twist for the character but still respected everything that came before. Likewise, Ed Brubaker did a fantastic job in CAPTAIN AMERICA of rewriting the Invaders and aging Bucky a bit to make it more believable while simultaneously showing him as doing more of the black ops kind of stuff the Invaders needed to have done, an origin for Bucky that makes far more sense but still carefully treads around the old comics. In the reverse, I talked just earlier THIS DAY about a terrible change to an origin when Marvel decided to ruin Falcon's first appearance by retconning it to all be a ploy to get at Captain America while also setting back his character a solid few decades. This one certainly lands in the category of the former examples as Moore wonderfully respected the early stories, leaving them intact, but made the story entirely his own and updated it to work in a world that was far more cynical and wanted something darker, like Moore and Frank Miller were able to provide. It's impressive stuff and good storytelling. The books tend to be a little wordy as the narration tends to really kick it up a notch in a way that modern comics rarely do but you hardly notice it while you're reading because it's usually worthwhile stuff. This one's a classic for a reason, keep checking in on it.
Lanning and Cowsill (w) and Elson (a) and Rosenberg (c)
It's a fine send-off as everything wraps up rather nicely. Not everyone could be saved but it's a nice introduction to a lot of these characters who are primed to go off on their own adventures should anyone feel the urge to write them or to follow them. One of the downfalls of this series, simply through its design, is that it's really hard to get a sense of a lot of the characters. Many appeared only in one book prior to this finale, where everyone appeared but no one character had much screentime, and those books were all team books of a sort, barring perhaps Dark Angel and Motormouth. As a result, a couple of the characters (like Dark Angel and Motormouth) are characterized fairly well, at least as well as a single issue can cover, while others hardly feel explored at all. Hopefully a series like this does lead to more sorts of events or interactions with the Marvel Universe et al (Dark Angel has already made her way over to IRON MAN and characters like Captain Britain, Pete Wisdom, and Union Jack are no strangers to many of the more-known heroes) because there's clearly plenty to see here, even if this event wasn't a great place to see it all. At the end of the day though, isn't that the best outcome for which this series could have hoped? That people out there would read it all the way through and say "I'm not sure that was my cup of tea (British), but I'd be interested in seeing more of these characters?" Mission accomplished, I'd say.
Miracleman 4
A. Moore (w) and A. Davis and Leach (a) and Oliff (c)
Evelyn Cream shot Mike Moran with tranquilizers and brought him back to a safehouse. In that safehouse, he explains that he's betrayed his employers but he's done it because he believes Miracleman can help him and that he can help Miracleman. He informs him that Miracleman was created by a branch of the government called the Spookshow for a project called Project Zarathustra and that the Spookshow is responsible for the A-bomb that nearly killed him and killed his friend Young Miracleman. He also tells Miracleman that there's a bunker for Project Zarathustra still out there, a bunker that the Spookshow's chief Sir Dennis Archer doesn't want found. He also warns MM that the trip could be dangerous and full of traps but MM has no problem with that and the two take off. He has no problem as soldiers come to kill him and land mines go off around him and even as a bomb erupts beneath his feet. The final defense, a failed and now crazed superhero borne from Project Zarathustra named Big Ben, also fails to even slow MM and soon he and Cream are in the bunker, examining video reports where MM learns that he and the other two young men were experimented on after being pulled from the system as simply the orphaned children of war veterans. What's more, they had done extensive testing on the would-be heroes in a sort of virtual reality environment that had kept them under for eight years and had instilled false memories in them. The tipping point for MM is finding out that the brains behind Project Zarathustra is none other than his one time perceived biggest villain Emil Gargunza. He trashes the bunker, causing thousands of pounds of damage, and the two depart, leaving Big Ben, who heard about his failed origin, nearly comatose behind them.
It continues to be a really interesting story (it's hard to keep saying that because it's a story that's thirty years old and it's impossible to be anything but absurdly late to this party) and one that pretty masterfully updates the old comics for this new world and new universe. I've given a lot of credit in recent days to books like IRON MAN, which took the original origin of a character and shifted it just enough so that there's a wealth of new stories and a huge twist for the character but still respected everything that came before. Likewise, Ed Brubaker did a fantastic job in CAPTAIN AMERICA of rewriting the Invaders and aging Bucky a bit to make it more believable while simultaneously showing him as doing more of the black ops kind of stuff the Invaders needed to have done, an origin for Bucky that makes far more sense but still carefully treads around the old comics. In the reverse, I talked just earlier THIS DAY about a terrible change to an origin when Marvel decided to ruin Falcon's first appearance by retconning it to all be a ploy to get at Captain America while also setting back his character a solid few decades. This one certainly lands in the category of the former examples as Moore wonderfully respected the early stories, leaving them intact, but made the story entirely his own and updated it to work in a world that was far more cynical and wanted something darker, like Moore and Frank Miller were able to provide. It's impressive stuff and good storytelling. The books tend to be a little wordy as the narration tends to really kick it up a notch in a way that modern comics rarely do but you hardly notice it while you're reading because it's usually worthwhile stuff. This one's a classic for a reason, keep checking in on it.
A+X 18, Survive 1
A+X 18
Vision and Kitty Pryde: Krueger (w) and Sliney (a) and Mossa (c)
Captain America and Cyclops: Duggan (w) and Yardin, Lolli, and C. Smith (a) and Mossa (c)
In story the first of this final issue of A+X, Kitty Pryde and the Vision have been unknowingly transported to the remains of Murderworld, the first Murderworld to which Arcade brought the X-Men. They move around only to find that they are unable to use their powers there and can't figure out why. They're faced with ghostly images of many of their friends and loved ones, both living and dead, and eventually faced with images of Arcade's murdered victims. The last part doesn't really seem like a trap and Kitty and the Vision are astounded to find that Murderworld itself has gained sentience but, unlike its creator, it doesn't like all the things it's been tasked with doing. It wants the two heroes to shut it down, ashamed of everything it's done in the past. They convince it that it's a separate entity from Arcade now and that it can make its own path. Murderworld restores their consciousnesses to their bodies (everything had happened in their mind, which is why they couldn't use their powers) and they leave as friends. Not an awful little story here as we see two characters with very similar powers and similar sentiments work together to help another being with loads of guilt and a tie to machinery.
The second story is the conclusion of the long-running Captain America and Cyclops team-up which finds Cyclops and his team leaving Latveria before Doom arrives back but not before destroying a ton of his stuff and stealing his new Doombot prototype. Back at the ranch (GUYS, THAT'S A SAYING BUT IT'S ALSO LITERAL HERE), Cap convinces Agent Adsit that these Skrulls are totally fine and encourages him not to arrest them. He does the same for Cyclops when Cyclops returns, though he advises him to seek legal counsel and still defend himself in court to allow the legal system to clear him. They begin to bicker again and Tempus shows up to try to get Scott out of the situation without any issue but Dr. Strange also shows up as a counter measure to ensure that Tempus doesn't show up and steal Cyclops away. They talk amicably and prepare to leave while Cap and Cyclops begin to fight one another once more. Not a lot more to talk about here that I haven't talked about in all my other reviews for A+X so far. Fitting then that this is the last one. So ends a series that was somewhat ill-advised in the first place and lasted WAY longer than anyone probably thought it should but proved ultimately harmless.
Survive 1
Bendis (w) and Quinones (a) and Beredo w/ Quinones (c)
With the events of CATACLYSM now in the past, everyone is sifting through the wreckage to see what will come of it all. The frame of the issue is a eulogy for Captain America that Tony gives to the hero crowd (though he mentions Thor's loss too). In the course of the eulogy, he mentions what has happened and what will happen as a result of it and the hard work that Cap always inspired, segueing into both a short look at lawyer Franklin Nelson (Foggy!) meeting with Monica Chang about how she's going to be put on trial for failing to protect the world just as SHIELD is likely to be dismantled in the wake of this disaster. Tony's part of the speech that highlights Cap's tendency to be reborn segues into a look at Reed Richards investigating the ruins of the Baxter Building and talking with Sue about the future and how he's learned about the potential they all have from the other universe and that something will need to replace SHIELD. Tony's talk about young heroes taking up the mantle of Cap cuts to Kitty talking with the President of the United States about furthering the mutant goal and about how the President has been trying to pass pro-mutant legislation, a goal he hopes will be furthered by Kitty's recent heroic actions. Finally, Tony's speech about how he can't keep the Ultimates going with Cap and Thor gone leads to a look at Spider-Man and Spider-Woman helping in the clean up and talking about what happens next for all of them, including deciding that the two of them, plus Kitty, Bombshell, and Cloak and Dagger, will be forming a new Ultimates.
Lots of information in this issue as Bendis paves the way for the new look of the Ultimate Universe, one that will re-launch with new ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR, ULTIMATE X-MEN, and ULTIMATES titles. There's not a ton of heart or real character building in this book but it accomplishes its job as it very clearly sets up the next phase for the Ultimate Universe. I'm still not convinced that Captain America is dead and this book did very little to confirm anything, even despite the funeral and so on and so forth. It's on to a brand new day for the Ultimate Universe and it seems like all of the pieces are in place to get things started. Check this book out if you want to see where it's all heading but it's entirely avoidable if you've simply heard the announcements for the upcoming books (thanks for ruining another book, solicits!).
Vision and Kitty Pryde: Krueger (w) and Sliney (a) and Mossa (c)
Captain America and Cyclops: Duggan (w) and Yardin, Lolli, and C. Smith (a) and Mossa (c)
The second story is the conclusion of the long-running Captain America and Cyclops team-up which finds Cyclops and his team leaving Latveria before Doom arrives back but not before destroying a ton of his stuff and stealing his new Doombot prototype. Back at the ranch (GUYS, THAT'S A SAYING BUT IT'S ALSO LITERAL HERE), Cap convinces Agent Adsit that these Skrulls are totally fine and encourages him not to arrest them. He does the same for Cyclops when Cyclops returns, though he advises him to seek legal counsel and still defend himself in court to allow the legal system to clear him. They begin to bicker again and Tempus shows up to try to get Scott out of the situation without any issue but Dr. Strange also shows up as a counter measure to ensure that Tempus doesn't show up and steal Cyclops away. They talk amicably and prepare to leave while Cap and Cyclops begin to fight one another once more. Not a lot more to talk about here that I haven't talked about in all my other reviews for A+X so far. Fitting then that this is the last one. So ends a series that was somewhat ill-advised in the first place and lasted WAY longer than anyone probably thought it should but proved ultimately harmless.
Survive 1
Bendis (w) and Quinones (a) and Beredo w/ Quinones (c)
Lots of information in this issue as Bendis paves the way for the new look of the Ultimate Universe, one that will re-launch with new ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR, ULTIMATE X-MEN, and ULTIMATES titles. There's not a ton of heart or real character building in this book but it accomplishes its job as it very clearly sets up the next phase for the Ultimate Universe. I'm still not convinced that Captain America is dead and this book did very little to confirm anything, even despite the funeral and so on and so forth. It's on to a brand new day for the Ultimate Universe and it seems like all of the pieces are in place to get things started. Check this book out if you want to see where it's all heading but it's entirely avoidable if you've simply heard the announcements for the upcoming books (thanks for ruining another book, solicits!).
Deadpool 26, Guardians of the Galaxy 13
Deadpool 26
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Koblish (a) and Staples (c)
Another flashback issue for DEADPOOL as we go into the past to find Deadpool teaming up with Nick Fury to stop a time-traveling Hitler from scouring the timeline and killing Nick Fury to stop all of the interferences the Howling Commandoes have caused. Hitler gets his hands on a time machine when, just like has happened so often to him, a time traveler comes attempting to kill him and he defeats the time traveler. He goes through time trying to destroy Fury at various points in his life but has finally honed in on what Hitler sees to be his weakest time; his time between the war and the CIA. Cable and Deadpool have figured out his plan and are time jumping to try to save him. A giant battle ensues and Hitler actually succeeds, but not before Deadpool can send off a postcard which Cable receives in the future, allowing him to jump to the moments before Fury and Deadpool die and save them. The three of them slaughter Hitler then place him in the bunker while Deadpool yells through the door as Hitler about how he's going to commit suicide knowing the war is unwinnable.
This book is right on the edge of being maddeningly frustrating because there are parts of it that, ignoring how offensive some people may read it, are truly very funny and then there are parts that just carry on way too long and seem to be for no one's benefit. For example, I don't have any idea who is finding the many narrative interjections and editor's notes funny, particularly given how pervasive they are. On the other hand, there's a lot of really funny material in here, both in idea (the idea that Hitler constantly has to battle time travelers coming to kill him) and in the writing and things (in a sentence I never thought I'd find myself writing, Hitler is kind of the funniest part of this book). The style of the book, just as the style of all these flashback style issues, mimics a different time in comic history and it does a good job representing that time. Some really funny stuff in here but it's hard to really outright recommend this one because it is kind of hard to get through with all of the unnecessary stuff.
Guardians of the Galaxy 13
Bendis (w) and Pichelli and Marquez (a) and Ponsor (c)
Jean has appeared in the middle of the fight and announces that she understands that she's been the Phoenix and they're right to be upset about it. However, she says, it's not like anyone else would have been able to control the Phoenix either so it's ridiculous to put her on trial when the Phoenix was always going to come and always going to be an unstoppable force. On top of that, the Shi'ar killed her entire line on the off-chance it might help, which isn't sitting well with Jean and she fights Gladiator using newfound power, an ability to meld her telepathic and telekinetic powers together, rather in the way that Psylocke does but maybe even bigger because anything goes, right? Oracle finally calls the fight off mid-battle and rebukes everyone, but it does the job of making sure everyone keeps away from one another, though Scott uses the opportunity to threaten at Gladiator for a while. They all go their separate ways and, upon returning home, Kitty kisses Peter Quill because I'm so mad and Scott announces that he's going into space with his dad and Kitty continues to be an ineffective professor and I'm still so mad.
Hey guys, if you like regular Bendis stuff and double-page spreads, you'll absolutely love this issue. That's about what I can say for this because I'm really having some trouble wrapping my mind around it. Bendis is doing so much to write his own history (as he is wont to do) that he's making things more and more ridiculous. On top of that, his go-to relationship stuff is always love triangles and, hey guys, I'm real sick of them, about as sick of them as I am of Bendis choosing the character he likes the best and flooding them with girls. This also continues to make it known that Kitty is perhaps the worst choice for mentor of these kids as she continues to show literally no control over them despite being completely capable in whatever other role she takes on in other books. GUYS. I'm really frustrated. If you like this book, I really am happy for you and I hope that you continue to do so. I'm also hoping that GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY returns to the state it had been at before - it was certainly a slightly better book than ALL-NEW X-MEN and it's very clear that this TRIAL OF JEAN GREY crossover has been altogether too permeated with ALL-NEW X-MEN to really land with me. It also goes to my theory that Bendis is better writing solo titles than team books, at least in my view of him, and so adding multiple teams to this one didn't help anything for me.
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Koblish (a) and Staples (c)
This book is right on the edge of being maddeningly frustrating because there are parts of it that, ignoring how offensive some people may read it, are truly very funny and then there are parts that just carry on way too long and seem to be for no one's benefit. For example, I don't have any idea who is finding the many narrative interjections and editor's notes funny, particularly given how pervasive they are. On the other hand, there's a lot of really funny material in here, both in idea (the idea that Hitler constantly has to battle time travelers coming to kill him) and in the writing and things (in a sentence I never thought I'd find myself writing, Hitler is kind of the funniest part of this book). The style of the book, just as the style of all these flashback style issues, mimics a different time in comic history and it does a good job representing that time. Some really funny stuff in here but it's hard to really outright recommend this one because it is kind of hard to get through with all of the unnecessary stuff.
Guardians of the Galaxy 13
Bendis (w) and Pichelli and Marquez (a) and Ponsor (c)
Hey guys, if you like regular Bendis stuff and double-page spreads, you'll absolutely love this issue. That's about what I can say for this because I'm really having some trouble wrapping my mind around it. Bendis is doing so much to write his own history (as he is wont to do) that he's making things more and more ridiculous. On top of that, his go-to relationship stuff is always love triangles and, hey guys, I'm real sick of them, about as sick of them as I am of Bendis choosing the character he likes the best and flooding them with girls. This also continues to make it known that Kitty is perhaps the worst choice for mentor of these kids as she continues to show literally no control over them despite being completely capable in whatever other role she takes on in other books. GUYS. I'm really frustrated. If you like this book, I really am happy for you and I hope that you continue to do so. I'm also hoping that GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY returns to the state it had been at before - it was certainly a slightly better book than ALL-NEW X-MEN and it's very clear that this TRIAL OF JEAN GREY crossover has been altogether too permeated with ALL-NEW X-MEN to really land with me. It also goes to my theory that Bendis is better writing solo titles than team books, at least in my view of him, and so adding multiple teams to this one didn't help anything for me.
Captain America: Homecoming 1, SPECIAL REVIEW: Captain America 117
Captain America: Homecoming 1
Van Lente (w) and Grummett and Hamscher (a) and Sotomayor (c)
A movie-universe tie-in title as Captain America and Black Widow, not too long after the Battle of New York (as seen in Marvel's The Avengers), visit Cap's old neighborhood in preparation of Nobel Prize winning scientist Professor Amanat arrival in the neighborhood. Everything's not as it seems though as a black ops team traces and follows Cap and Widow's footsteps as they tour the area before two agents descend on them as they enter a back alley. Cap and Widow, of course, have been aware of them the entire time and are prepared, easily putting down the two agents and getting to work trying to figure out who's trying to kidnap Amanat. After they beat up more agents and manage to find the location of the agents' base, Cap realizes that the plan to kidnap Amanat is already underway and hurries down to the street to protect her motorcade. He saves her and, with the help of Black Widow, they manage to take down the remaining agents who were hoping to force Amanat to build a bomb for them. Amanat reveals that she chose this neighborhood because, like Captain America, she grew up there and it's long been a haven for immigrants.
The movie tie-in books are rarely anything to really write home about but they give potential new readers a chance to understand the form of a comic book and give everyone a chance to maybe dig a little bit deeper into the movie characters as separate entities from the comic characters. There's not a lot added to this though we get a nice look at Black Widow and Captain America's relationship as they've clearly been working together on ops like this for a while now and we get to see that Cap has grown somewhat familiar with the new world around him, understanding and citing concepts like WiFi and signal jammers and so on. It's not a bad book and it's certainly a decent set-up for the relationship these two are bound to have in the upcoming (ONLY A WEEK NOW, EVERYONE) Captain America: Winter Soldier. STILL, worth a review because it comes with a reprint of the original 1969 CAPTAIN AMERICA 117, the introduction of the Falcon and a TOTALLY GREAT ISSUE that I shall be reviewing AS WELL as a special BONUS REVIEW.
Captain America 117
Stan Lee (w) and Gene Colan and Joe Sinnott (a)
Red Skull has the Cosmic Cube and has used it for his most DEVIOUS of plans! He's swapped his body with Captain America's (FORTY+ YEARS BEFORE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN) and cast Steve, now in Skull's body, to the Island of the Exiles. The Exiles, of course, are former co-conspirators of the Red Skull whom he betrayed and have been cast to their own inescapable island, meaning that, on top of being Nazis, they're all gonna be really mad to see the Red Skull there and probably won't listen if the Skull explained he was really Captain America (not that it would help matters with them). Of course, they run into each other and Steve is quickly attacked, though ultimately saved by a falcon swooping in and attacking his attackers before flying off to safety. The distraction was enough for Cap to flee and plan his next move. Fortunately, Cap's a soldier and knows how to use mud to make a passable face-disguise that covers his entirely red skull (??). MEANWHILE, Skull is now in CAPTAIN AMERICA'S BODY and we all know what kind of havoc that could mean! What's he up to? Gaining secret information from SHIELD or the Pentagon? Sabotaging missions that would further America's standing in the world? Deleting all the contacts from Steve's phone? No, he's kind of just kicking around, letting the paparazzi take pictures of him and signing autographs. This is a pretty weird plan, Red Skull. Back on the island, the newly-enfaced Steve meets the man behind the falcon attack, Sam Wilson. Sam, a man from Harlem, explains that he and many others came to the island after being promised work only to find that the Exiles are totally evil and no one can get off the island. He does what he can to sabotage them or to help his fellow workers but there's a limit to what he can do, even with his seemingly mentally-linked falcon Redwing by his side. Steve knows a thing or two about inspiring people so he gives Sam a quick course in hand-to-hand fighting and tells him that he needs a costume, something to act as a symbol to his people. Together they design a green and yellow costume and prepare Sam, now named the Falcon, to fight.
Guys, it's impossible to overstate how much I love this issue. Between this and the issues that follow it, we get SO MUCH GREAT CAP STUFF. I've also only ever seen this in black and white in one of the big ol' Cap collections so it's great to see it reprinted in color here and it makes Steve's mud-face EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE. But seriously, I absolutely love this introduction of Sam Wilson. Marvel seriously botched the character up down the line, retconning some ridiculous twist into this that said he was a pimp in Harlem who was sent to do this job to befriend Cap so he could betray him or some such because apparently some people decided that Sam was maybe too progressive when he was introduced and they'd like to negate some of that. Leaving all that out of it though and looking at Sam as a character in this issue and the issues that directly followed it, Sam Wilson is the first big African-American superhero and here he is, not even ONCE mentioning that he's African-American, just as it never comes up for Steve. It's played EXACTLY the way it should be: as not a big deal. Just two guys coming together and becoming friends after sharing common experiences and personalities. It's perfect, it never feels like an attempt to make a statement or anything like that, and it's completely negated by the garbage Marvel would later try to tack on for literally no reason at all. Ugh. Anyway, let's not forget how absolutely amazing Red Skull's plan is here. He gets in Cap's body and he's like "hey, better stroll around town and let the public adore me for a while!" It's fantastic. He goes on to start trying to ruin Steve's reputation in what might still CONTINUE to be the least diabolical plan anyone, let alone chief Nazi, made-of-evil Red Skull, has ever come up with when he's simply just kind of a jerk to those reporters and refuses to sign an autograph for someone. Guys. Comics are amazing.
Van Lente (w) and Grummett and Hamscher (a) and Sotomayor (c)
The movie tie-in books are rarely anything to really write home about but they give potential new readers a chance to understand the form of a comic book and give everyone a chance to maybe dig a little bit deeper into the movie characters as separate entities from the comic characters. There's not a lot added to this though we get a nice look at Black Widow and Captain America's relationship as they've clearly been working together on ops like this for a while now and we get to see that Cap has grown somewhat familiar with the new world around him, understanding and citing concepts like WiFi and signal jammers and so on. It's not a bad book and it's certainly a decent set-up for the relationship these two are bound to have in the upcoming (ONLY A WEEK NOW, EVERYONE) Captain America: Winter Soldier. STILL, worth a review because it comes with a reprint of the original 1969 CAPTAIN AMERICA 117, the introduction of the Falcon and a TOTALLY GREAT ISSUE that I shall be reviewing AS WELL as a special BONUS REVIEW.
Captain America 117
Stan Lee (w) and Gene Colan and Joe Sinnott (a)
Guys, it's impossible to overstate how much I love this issue. Between this and the issues that follow it, we get SO MUCH GREAT CAP STUFF. I've also only ever seen this in black and white in one of the big ol' Cap collections so it's great to see it reprinted in color here and it makes Steve's mud-face EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE. But seriously, I absolutely love this introduction of Sam Wilson. Marvel seriously botched the character up down the line, retconning some ridiculous twist into this that said he was a pimp in Harlem who was sent to do this job to befriend Cap so he could betray him or some such because apparently some people decided that Sam was maybe too progressive when he was introduced and they'd like to negate some of that. Leaving all that out of it though and looking at Sam as a character in this issue and the issues that directly followed it, Sam Wilson is the first big African-American superhero and here he is, not even ONCE mentioning that he's African-American, just as it never comes up for Steve. It's played EXACTLY the way it should be: as not a big deal. Just two guys coming together and becoming friends after sharing common experiences and personalities. It's perfect, it never feels like an attempt to make a statement or anything like that, and it's completely negated by the garbage Marvel would later try to tack on for literally no reason at all. Ugh. Anyway, let's not forget how absolutely amazing Red Skull's plan is here. He gets in Cap's body and he's like "hey, better stroll around town and let the public adore me for a while!" It's fantastic. He goes on to start trying to ruin Steve's reputation in what might still CONTINUE to be the least diabolical plan anyone, let alone chief Nazi, made-of-evil Red Skull, has ever come up with when he's simply just kind of a jerk to those reporters and refuses to sign an autograph for someone. Guys. Comics are amazing.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Savage Wolverine 16, Origin II 4
Savage Wolverine 16
Isanove (w and a)
Wolverine and Sofia have been locked up and, despite his protestations, won't be released until he can see a judge the next day for claims of disturbing the peace. The peace in the station doesn't last long either, though, as Marion, Pierre, and their hired guns come to the prison to finish off Wolverine and get their girl back. They've been tipped off by one of the officers that Wolverine is being kept there and promised that they'll be able to take him but the chief refuses, saying that's not how things are done. Quickly the situation comes to all guns drawn and gets more hectic when Peter, who has been following Wolverine and Sofia, enters with a machine gun he took out of the back of the gangsters' car. After some tense stand-offs, the guns start going off and the body count ends up rather steep as every cop ends up dead, Wolverine ends up pretty shot up (though ultimately okay), the gangsters we don't really know end up dead, and Peter ends up fatally wounded. Wolverine manages to get Sofia out as Pierre and Marion tend to their own wounds before taking the very near-dead (Wolverine thought he was dead and wasn't able to carry his body as well) Peter with them. Wolverine and Sofia return to the place where Elias' other kids are laying low and finds that things have only gotten worse as Vicky has finally succumbed to her sickness.
It's the very definition of things going from bad to worse for Wolverine here as the kids he was tasked with taking care of begin to drop like flies, most of them in front of him. Isanove has done an excellent job showing one of those stories that you know has probably happened in Wolverine's dark past but that you never really want to think about. There have been plenty of stories about Wolverine's past and just how they've shaped the dark and brooding man today but you occasionally need ones like this to show just how dark it could get. Isanove has come at this with exactly the right eye for the time period and the drama, not to mention a pretty solid take on Wolverine, who has taken almost a backseat to everything else that's happened lately as we've focused on villains Marion and Pierre and even on Peter more than Wolverine over the last couple issues. Still, a good writer can absolutely pull off a Wolverine-in-the-background sort of Wolverine story because he's the type of character who isn't going to push and shove his way into the foreground. More contemplative and more quiet than most, Wolverine can absolutely be a vehicle for action and let the story take place around him when he's handled well. It's pretty good stuff here and it's accompanied by really appropriate art (probably helps when the artist you're trying to communicate with is yourself) and a perfect tone for the book.
Origin II 4
Gillen (w) and Adam Kubert (a) and F. Martin (c)
Clara, Creed, and Logan have been on the run for a month now, moving frequently as Logan continues to have trouble with trust and every day human interactions. He lashes out and attacks when startled and word of who he is has spread, meaning they can't exactly stick around after he reveals himself. Though Clara still sympathizes with Logan and though he's actually begun talking with them now about himself and his past, Creed can't help wondering if maybe he would have been better off with Sinister's experiments. Clara shoos him away after he says it and that night, Clara and Logan talk more and eventually, of course, fall into bed together. Creed sees them from a rooftop across the street (little creepy) but looks on. The pair are woken up as Sinister's men have found them and barge into the room. Logan refuses to be taken and goes berserk as they try to bring him down. In the middle of the fight, he turns and accidentally stabs Clara through the chest. She tells him it's okay, hoping he'll calm down, before she falls to the ground. As the memories of those he's loved and hurt flood through him, he sees red, seemingly giving in to the berserker. When he comes to, he's covered in blood and standing over the bodies of all of Sinister's men and Clara. Creed bursts in and falls on the floor beside Clara. He tells Logan they need to get revenge and, as Logan tells Creed that he loved her, Creed reveals that Clara is his sister. With Logan and Creed out of the apartment, Clara's good eye opens.
More action and a good look at Wolverine's emotions carry this issue as Gillen delves deeper into who Logan is at this moment in time. He remembers what he's done to his mother and his other loved ones and he remembers what happened with the wolves and the polar bear and what Essex has pulled him away from by trying to capture him. He has clearly gained some humanity back with the help of Clara and maybe even with Creed but now that he's killed someone else he loves (this is Wolverine after all, he's certainly not done doing that) it's a matter of where he goes next. One of the most stunning things about this series has been the way the art and the colors and the layout of the pages have all worked so brilliantly together. After a relatively standard format to start this issue off as Logan and Clara work on bringing back his humanity and showing off their love for one another, the issue's action changes up the format of the book, with more chaotic panels and tight camera shots before we get a wide panel of Logan stabbing Clara followed by a series of quick bursts while all of Wolverine's most painful memories sear through him. After that is an entirely red page as Wolverine goes berserk followed by another large panel of a bloody and shocked Logan before the book returns to a more standard format when Creed returns. It's a wonderful layout and it's expert comic presentation as Gillen, Kubert, and Martin direct you through the comic to make you feel as much as possible for the book and to make sure you're torn out of the comfort the beginning of the book provided just as Logan is torn out of the safety and comfort he'd been finally starting to find.
HEY EVERYONE, this is my 616th post on the blog and THAT FEELS IMPORTANT, given the universe designation of the main Marvel Universe! To celebrate, I, uh, have nothing planned. So, sorry, this kind of snuck up on me so I guess I'll just go the normal route of saying thank you so much to anyone who's ever checked in on this blog. You're all aces.
Isanove (w and a)
It's the very definition of things going from bad to worse for Wolverine here as the kids he was tasked with taking care of begin to drop like flies, most of them in front of him. Isanove has done an excellent job showing one of those stories that you know has probably happened in Wolverine's dark past but that you never really want to think about. There have been plenty of stories about Wolverine's past and just how they've shaped the dark and brooding man today but you occasionally need ones like this to show just how dark it could get. Isanove has come at this with exactly the right eye for the time period and the drama, not to mention a pretty solid take on Wolverine, who has taken almost a backseat to everything else that's happened lately as we've focused on villains Marion and Pierre and even on Peter more than Wolverine over the last couple issues. Still, a good writer can absolutely pull off a Wolverine-in-the-background sort of Wolverine story because he's the type of character who isn't going to push and shove his way into the foreground. More contemplative and more quiet than most, Wolverine can absolutely be a vehicle for action and let the story take place around him when he's handled well. It's pretty good stuff here and it's accompanied by really appropriate art (probably helps when the artist you're trying to communicate with is yourself) and a perfect tone for the book.
Origin II 4
Gillen (w) and Adam Kubert (a) and F. Martin (c)
More action and a good look at Wolverine's emotions carry this issue as Gillen delves deeper into who Logan is at this moment in time. He remembers what he's done to his mother and his other loved ones and he remembers what happened with the wolves and the polar bear and what Essex has pulled him away from by trying to capture him. He has clearly gained some humanity back with the help of Clara and maybe even with Creed but now that he's killed someone else he loves (this is Wolverine after all, he's certainly not done doing that) it's a matter of where he goes next. One of the most stunning things about this series has been the way the art and the colors and the layout of the pages have all worked so brilliantly together. After a relatively standard format to start this issue off as Logan and Clara work on bringing back his humanity and showing off their love for one another, the issue's action changes up the format of the book, with more chaotic panels and tight camera shots before we get a wide panel of Logan stabbing Clara followed by a series of quick bursts while all of Wolverine's most painful memories sear through him. After that is an entirely red page as Wolverine goes berserk followed by another large panel of a bloody and shocked Logan before the book returns to a more standard format when Creed returns. It's a wonderful layout and it's expert comic presentation as Gillen, Kubert, and Martin direct you through the comic to make you feel as much as possible for the book and to make sure you're torn out of the comfort the beginning of the book provided just as Logan is torn out of the safety and comfort he'd been finally starting to find.
HEY EVERYONE, this is my 616th post on the blog and THAT FEELS IMPORTANT, given the universe designation of the main Marvel Universe! To celebrate, I, uh, have nothing planned. So, sorry, this kind of snuck up on me so I guess I'll just go the normal route of saying thank you so much to anyone who's ever checked in on this blog. You're all aces.
Amazing X-Men 5, All-New X-Factor 5, Marvel Knights X-Men 5
Amazing X-Men 5
Aaron (w) and McGuinness and Vines (a) and Gracia (c)
With all of the X-Men by Nightcrawler's side again, they prepare for war with Azazel's ship. Nightcrawler and his friends do what they can to keep Azazel and his pirates at bay but they begin to make a real push against the X-Men and, after Wolverine is stabbed through his back, Nightcrawler is forced to consummate his deal with the Bamfs, the terms of which are still unknown to us. He goes through with it, despite the pleadings of an also-Heavenly Charles Xavier in his head, and the Bamfs pile on Azazel, forcing him to Earth, while Nightcrawler and the X-Men make their way back out of the portal. The deal that Nightcrawler made chained Azazel to Earth, meaning he can't take over Heaven or Hell or anything out there at the cost of his own soul. But hey, Nightcrawler's back!
I still don't really like this arc in its conceit. I think it's a dangerous move to bring Heaven and Hell into a universe that can't possibly abide them. Well, okay, Hell already exists in the Marvel Universe so I suppose it's not that much of a stretch to say that Heaven is there too but the truth of the matter is that Hell works in a somewhat different way than the typical model of Hell. Heaven, then, seems just like a place that would contain the souls of all of the heroes that have ever died and how do you close that door once it's been opened? Obviously heroes don't exactly suffer from overly long deaths, but dropping Heaven into the equation seems both like it's going to bring up religious issues and just be a possible panacea for any deaths that are still to come. On top of that, the scale of the story almost didn't seem big enough; I don't know that it ever truly found its footing here and I particularly don't like introducing Heaven so blatantly with a story that doesn't really shine. I continue to be very torn on Ed McGuinness, who has all the basics of drawing really mastered but whose characters (particularly the women) have really child-like faces (Storm on the cover of this issue terrifies me more than most things in the world). But hey, Nightcrawler's back!
All-New X-Factor 5
David (w) and Di Giandomenico (a) and Loughridge (c)
When Gambit wakes, Danger is standing in his room. She explains to him that his kiss introduced organic counteractions to the programming Nil had done to erase what she once was but that she fears it wasn't enough and needs more counteracting. Gambit doesn't really know what this means and he leaves more than a little shaken. Meanwhile, the introduction of Danger to the team has made things a little trickier around the office as she recognizes immediately that Quicksilver had left through the bathroom window and run somewhere before running back and pretending to be finished with the bathroom based on his heart rate and she deduces that Harrison Snow is having an affair with his assistant when she scans that the assistant has Snow's DNA on her in ways that suggest such an affair. Of course, everyone denies these allegations and Danger is left doubting herself even more. Finally, when X-Factor is brought into a business meeting with the head of an up-and-coming tech business that Snow wants to buy out, Danger immediately recognizes that the man isn't human. As everyone protests Danger's accusation, she plunges her hand through his chest to reveal his true nature. It's the Magus, head of the Technarchy and father of former New Mutant Warlock, who turns up apparently on the side of his one-time enemy Magus as X-Factor faces off against him. Warlock appears to save his father and the two escape while X-Factor tries to put everything together. Polaris decides they need to go see Cypher to understand what's happening with Warlock.
The introduction of Danger to this team has already made the book a good deal more interesting. It's thrown another dynamic in with this team and it's already showing how much more difficult it's going to be to keep secrets around here. With the reveal that Danger can sniff out everyone's little lies, we're able to see just how much of a powder keg Peter David has built with his core three characters and with Harrison Snow, who is still obviously set to be the villain of the piece. In that way, this issue has to be the strongest so far of the bunch and it hints that things may continue to improve as we get a little deeper into a new plot and as we start to establish new members for the team (color me surprised if Cypher and/or Warlock doesn't end up on the team when all of this is said and done). There are perhaps a few too many nerdy references in here for the characters - I have no doubt that they don't sail over the head of anyone reading it but I don't believe that some of the characters would actually make them let alone make them in the situations in which they are made (Snow makes a Doctor Who reference to the head of the other company and then quickly explains that it's a Doctor Who reference for literally no one's benefit in his first time meeting the other company's head). Still, the plot is moving, the characters are coming into their own, and everything's working out one way or another so let's hope this ball keeps rolling.
Marvel Knights X-Men 5
Revel (w and a) and Peter (c)
The dream-Xavier shows up at just the right time as he gives Kitty all of the inspiration she needs to continue fighting and to inspire Krystal into doing what she can to give them an army and to find her way to Darla. Meanwhile, Rogue and Wolverine, their recent fight put aside, re-enter the fray near Darla and manage to keep things chaotic for the young mutant while she begins to panic and tries to use the drugs she got from the head of the cult to up her powers. Kitty and Krystal, leading a Krystal-controlled team of bikers back into the town, cut a swath through the battles and all of the X-Men present begin to get added help when they create their own backups in the form of dream-Storm, dream-Nightcrawler, and dream-Colossus. While the fight rages, Krystal makes her way to Darla and tries to talk her down. Though it's a struggle to convince Darla that she's not doing the right thing here, Krystal eventually succeeds and gets Darla to give up the fight and let the X-Men help her. Finally everything begins to calm down and, to help a little bit more, Krystal convinces the press that everything they'd seen from the outside of these fights were created by a mine cave-in and subsequent explosions from that.
It's a nice little ending for what has been a nice little series. One of the most apparent things about writer/artist Brahm Revel throughout this series has been a true love for the X-Men. He cares who these characters are and where they've come from and, while this story was a sweeping tale about two scared mutants in a town that hates and fears what they are, it's what really drove the story all the way through, right up to its ending with the dream-X-Men team coming to the aid of fellow X-Men Wolverine, Rogue, and Kitty Pryde. The book reads as a real love story to the X-Men while managing to create and craft a story all distinctly its own, aided by Revel's outstanding art. I liked a lot of the things that were happening in MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN (thanks, in large part, to the incredible Marco Rudy art) but I think this series stands a little better as a complete story. Certainly a story worth telling and I think we can safely say, now that the newest batch of MARVEL KNIGHTS books have all been completed, this little experiment of reintroducing the MARVEL KNIGHTS line was a success.
Aaron (w) and McGuinness and Vines (a) and Gracia (c)
I still don't really like this arc in its conceit. I think it's a dangerous move to bring Heaven and Hell into a universe that can't possibly abide them. Well, okay, Hell already exists in the Marvel Universe so I suppose it's not that much of a stretch to say that Heaven is there too but the truth of the matter is that Hell works in a somewhat different way than the typical model of Hell. Heaven, then, seems just like a place that would contain the souls of all of the heroes that have ever died and how do you close that door once it's been opened? Obviously heroes don't exactly suffer from overly long deaths, but dropping Heaven into the equation seems both like it's going to bring up religious issues and just be a possible panacea for any deaths that are still to come. On top of that, the scale of the story almost didn't seem big enough; I don't know that it ever truly found its footing here and I particularly don't like introducing Heaven so blatantly with a story that doesn't really shine. I continue to be very torn on Ed McGuinness, who has all the basics of drawing really mastered but whose characters (particularly the women) have really child-like faces (Storm on the cover of this issue terrifies me more than most things in the world). But hey, Nightcrawler's back!
All-New X-Factor 5
David (w) and Di Giandomenico (a) and Loughridge (c)
The introduction of Danger to this team has already made the book a good deal more interesting. It's thrown another dynamic in with this team and it's already showing how much more difficult it's going to be to keep secrets around here. With the reveal that Danger can sniff out everyone's little lies, we're able to see just how much of a powder keg Peter David has built with his core three characters and with Harrison Snow, who is still obviously set to be the villain of the piece. In that way, this issue has to be the strongest so far of the bunch and it hints that things may continue to improve as we get a little deeper into a new plot and as we start to establish new members for the team (color me surprised if Cypher and/or Warlock doesn't end up on the team when all of this is said and done). There are perhaps a few too many nerdy references in here for the characters - I have no doubt that they don't sail over the head of anyone reading it but I don't believe that some of the characters would actually make them let alone make them in the situations in which they are made (Snow makes a Doctor Who reference to the head of the other company and then quickly explains that it's a Doctor Who reference for literally no one's benefit in his first time meeting the other company's head). Still, the plot is moving, the characters are coming into their own, and everything's working out one way or another so let's hope this ball keeps rolling.
Marvel Knights X-Men 5
Revel (w and a) and Peter (c)
It's a nice little ending for what has been a nice little series. One of the most apparent things about writer/artist Brahm Revel throughout this series has been a true love for the X-Men. He cares who these characters are and where they've come from and, while this story was a sweeping tale about two scared mutants in a town that hates and fears what they are, it's what really drove the story all the way through, right up to its ending with the dream-X-Men team coming to the aid of fellow X-Men Wolverine, Rogue, and Kitty Pryde. The book reads as a real love story to the X-Men while managing to create and craft a story all distinctly its own, aided by Revel's outstanding art. I liked a lot of the things that were happening in MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN (thanks, in large part, to the incredible Marco Rudy art) but I think this series stands a little better as a complete story. Certainly a story worth telling and I think we can safely say, now that the newest batch of MARVEL KNIGHTS books have all been completed, this little experiment of reintroducing the MARVEL KNIGHTS line was a success.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Hawkeye 18, Indestructible Hulk 20
Hawkeye 18
Fraction (w) and Wu (a) and Hollingsworth (c)
Kate's mysterious friend from the cat food aisle is on his way out of LA, despite Kate's objections. Before he goes, he gives her his demon cat, which she immediately wants to return. Hoping against hope that he hasn't left yet, she and her neighbors Marcus and Finch go to the address on the cat's carrier to return it, finding an unexpected mansion of a home. Inside, they find Kate's friend, Harold H. Harold (the H. also stands for Harold) bleeding on the couch, muttering that he's going to die in LA. They take care of him and hear his story, which explains just a whole bunch about him. He was a crime writer out in LA to search all the weird crime beats and to uncover crazy stories. When he sold one of his stories to Hollywood, he got wrapped into all new intrigue and inadvertently ended up on the radar of Count Nefaria and his daughter Madam Masque. He accidentally discovered that they've been involved in murder and re-creation, Frankensteining people together from their Hollywood features. With the secret revealed to Harold, he's never been able to leave LA. Every time he tries, he gets run off the road or beat up or something. This time was no exception. Kate buys a ticket in his name out of the city and accompanies him to LAX in the hopes that she will see him on the plane personally, or at least gets a sense of the people after him. While trying to watch over him, none other than Flynt Ward the weed lord (from way back in HAWKEYE 14) turns up and escorts him out with his jackbooted thugs. Kate, Marcus, and Finch try to follow but eventually lose sight of him. Kate, who had learned that her police "contact" had actually been friends with Harold from Harold's crime writer experience, goes to see Officer Caudle about Harold's story and his subsequent disappearance. She tells him everything she knows and he tells her to disentangle herself from it before she winds up hurt. Madam Masque sends a threatening note along to Kate as well as a serious message when Harold winds up dead, arrowed to the Hollywood sign, and Kate's trailer ends up ablaze (Lucky and the cat are okay).
Another phenomenal issue of HAWKEYE and it's hard not to point out here just how impressive this series continues to be. Beyond all the things we already know about how great this series is, one of the things that I haven't talked about too much is just how different the Clint and Kate issues are. Not just that they are in different places with different casts and different artists, it's a wholly different writing style. Kate, of course, is more loquacious and more outgoing than Clint but even beyond that; there's a greater focus on the story and the backstory. There's just so much happening and Fraction so clearly understands his characters and is able to shift almost effortlessly between them, developing completely different voices for each one and building stories that suit each character and that very clearly change depending on which character is leading the book. Wonderful and well-done. The decision to swap between Aja and Wu for the art, while almost startling at first considering how great David Aja is and how great he's been for this book, has been nothing but the most amazing decision as Annie Wu absolutely kills it each and every time out.
Indestructible Hulk 20
Waid (w) and J. Bennett and R. Jose w/ Hanna (a) and Staples (c)
As the kidnapped Jessup is told about the operation that his kidnapper, Ted Goodrich, is running, the rest of Banner's team is forced to work with Hulk to try to get him back. Jessup immediately understands that Goodrich's setup, based on the work of underground experimental scientists who failed badly, is incredibly dangerous and tries to plot a way to stop it. Meanwhile, Hulk's team manages to breach Goodrich's hideaway while Jessup sacrifices himself to his new Inhuman so that he and Hulk can attack the biggest concern, a massive and unstable power source. Eventually Jessup drains all of Hulk's strength, powering himself up incredibly, and takes the brunt of the explosion. It reverts him back down to his human self and Banner commands they stay in Goodrich's lab (Goodrich and his assistant died trying to rip open a cocoon they had stolen) to help Jessup instead of returning to SHIELD only to draw the ire of Maria Hill. Banner returns and explains what happened to Hill but tells her that the team was lost and that he had no idea what happened at the end. She doesn't believe him and is sick of dealing with him. He returns to his lab and is promptly shot in the back of the head.
Geez, pretty abrupt ending to that one, huh? Anyway, the story of Jessup and Banner's lab team as a whole comes to an end here as Banner releases them into the wild. Banner also has made some revelations here, realizing that maybe his "Hulk destroys, Banner builds" mantra isn't as applicable as he thought it was; throughout the series, for all the good Banner has tried to do, he's done just as much destroying as Hulk thanks to his ego and his desperation. It's a real "Who Shot Mr. Burns" ending to this one as we're likely to rejoin this story at the start of its new "season," a rebooted Hulk series coming with the rest of the ALL-NEW MARVEL NOW! relaunches. This one continues to baffle me a bit as Hulk seemed to start in the midst of the ALL-NEW relaunches, or certainly close enough and, while the change seems pretty obvious, it doesn't sound like it's a change the size of, say, Daredevil moving to San Francisco or Captain Marvel moving to space. We'll just have to see. Still, if this is the wrap-up to this series, it's certainly been a worthwhile one. There have been ups and downs but a pretty good core throughout, one that shined the spotlight on Banner and only used Hulk in a more limited capacity. Interesting idea and Mark Waid certainly did a solid job getting his point across.
Fraction (w) and Wu (a) and Hollingsworth (c)
Another phenomenal issue of HAWKEYE and it's hard not to point out here just how impressive this series continues to be. Beyond all the things we already know about how great this series is, one of the things that I haven't talked about too much is just how different the Clint and Kate issues are. Not just that they are in different places with different casts and different artists, it's a wholly different writing style. Kate, of course, is more loquacious and more outgoing than Clint but even beyond that; there's a greater focus on the story and the backstory. There's just so much happening and Fraction so clearly understands his characters and is able to shift almost effortlessly between them, developing completely different voices for each one and building stories that suit each character and that very clearly change depending on which character is leading the book. Wonderful and well-done. The decision to swap between Aja and Wu for the art, while almost startling at first considering how great David Aja is and how great he's been for this book, has been nothing but the most amazing decision as Annie Wu absolutely kills it each and every time out.
Indestructible Hulk 20
Waid (w) and J. Bennett and R. Jose w/ Hanna (a) and Staples (c)
Geez, pretty abrupt ending to that one, huh? Anyway, the story of Jessup and Banner's lab team as a whole comes to an end here as Banner releases them into the wild. Banner also has made some revelations here, realizing that maybe his "Hulk destroys, Banner builds" mantra isn't as applicable as he thought it was; throughout the series, for all the good Banner has tried to do, he's done just as much destroying as Hulk thanks to his ego and his desperation. It's a real "Who Shot Mr. Burns" ending to this one as we're likely to rejoin this story at the start of its new "season," a rebooted Hulk series coming with the rest of the ALL-NEW MARVEL NOW! relaunches. This one continues to baffle me a bit as Hulk seemed to start in the midst of the ALL-NEW relaunches, or certainly close enough and, while the change seems pretty obvious, it doesn't sound like it's a change the size of, say, Daredevil moving to San Francisco or Captain Marvel moving to space. We'll just have to see. Still, if this is the wrap-up to this series, it's certainly been a worthwhile one. There have been ups and downs but a pretty good core throughout, one that shined the spotlight on Banner and only used Hulk in a more limited capacity. Interesting idea and Mark Waid certainly did a solid job getting his point across.
All-New Ghost Rider 1, Silver Surfer 1, Iron Patriot 1
All-New Ghost Rider 1
F. Smith (w) and T. Moore (a) and Staples and Daniel (c)
Robbie Reyes lives in East LA with his brother, a handicapped child, and works on cars at an auto shop during his days. Desperate to get his brother out of their neighborhood, he trusts no one and does the work every day, hoping to earn and save enough every day to get them to a safer place. The first issues shows Robbie at work, protecting his brother from bullies, and steering his brother back home past crime scenes and gun shots. Late at night, he breaks into the shop where he works and takes the car he's been working on (which seems like a modified Charger BUT I have what could quantifiably be called the tiniest amount of car knowledge and I'm guessing at that based on the fact it kinda looks like Michael's car in Burn Notice. Seriously, that's the research I did on this) out to a street race, where the winner will be given fifty thousand dollars. He's on the verge of winning the race when a helicopter shines a light on him and demands he pull over. He tries to outrun and outmaneuver it, believing it to be the cops, but is eventually forced into an alley. He emerges from the car with his hands up, ready to give himself up in the hope of leniency, but he's promptly and brutally gunned down, slaughtered by men who apparently aren't cops but are a big ol' drug cartel seeking the contraband in his car's trunk (what, did you not even CHECK the trunk Robbie?). The men leave Robbie in the alley and set the car ablaze, preferring to leave no real evidence. The fire engulfs Robbie and out of it comes the all-new Ghost Rider, with a fresh set of wheels.
The best way to describe this book is "kinetic." It moves well both in pacing and in the art style. Tradd Moore's cartoony style allows him to draw speed lines and shooting flames without the slightest hint of irony and that's what makes the book work. Felipe Smith does his part by crafting a character who we can't help but like (literally can't help it. It's a real save-the-cat moment to have his first real act be saving his wheelchair-bound brother from the absolute worst people in the world but its hard to even see that as overly cynical because this is comics and comic characters are BUILT on doing exactly that sort of thing, brother or not) and with whom we sympathize. We want him to get out of East LA and we understand why he's willing to "borrow" the car to do it, even going so far as to enter an illegal street race and risk imprisonment or what-have-you. Also nice is that the appearance of Ghost Rider doesn't come as a complete surprise despite the fact that Robbie Reyes seems like an entirely good guy and Ghost Rider is a spirit of vengeance because Moore's art shows the spirit creeping in around the edges well before the final transformation. I could see people being turned off by the cartoony style of the book, perhaps even especially core Ghost Rider fans, but I think it's the best way for this book to work. Definitely a solid opening for ANGR (a pretty fantastic abbreviation for the series, far ahead of ALL-NEW X-FACTOR'S ANXF), worth checking in on before it gets too involved.
Silver Surfer 1
Slott (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)
Dawn Greenwood lives in Anchor Bay, a small seaside New England town, where she and her father run a very popular bed and breakfast while her twin sister Eve advertises for it worldwide (hard to say that you have to suspend your disbelief that a B&B would advertise all over the world when I'm going to go on to talk at great length about a character called the Silver Surfer without any such warning). Eve travels the world, just as she's always wanted, while Dawn stays at home in the little town she's always loved. Recently though, it's started to dawn on her (DAWN, GET IT?) that maybe she's missing out a little. MEANWHILE, Silver Surfer, in his endless quest to redeem himself for his past with Galactus, has saved the people of Brundlebus 3 by rekindling their sun with his power cosmic (they are a tiny people) and has subsequently been tabbed as champion by the very secretive Impericon, a planet that takes great pains to shield itself from Heralds of Galactus. Surfer is unsure what any of this means but he allows himself to be taken there and, eventually, agrees to be their champion against the foe they've been fighting for so long, a potential world-destroyer named the Never Queen. Unfortunately for Dawn Greenwood, Zed of the Impericon takes precautions in case their chosen champion refuses to help and, with a machine called the Motivator which shows the past, present, and future of a given champion, Zed has learned that the being who means the most to Silver Surfer in all the cosmos is Dawn Greenwood and has subsequently captured her in the hopes that Surfer will comply. Surfer is outraged that they would use such means, particularly as he had already agreed, but admits he doesn't know who Dawn is.
It's a brand new solo title for Silver Surfer and this one shows hints of sticking around. It seems like people are ready for a new SILVER SURFER and the team-up of Dan Slott's often fairly light-hearted writing and Michael and Laura Allred's always light-hearted and colorful art seems to be a near perfect blend. The first issue maybe cuts a few corners here and there, particularly with the introduction of the Motivator, a machine that seems specifically built to move this plot forward, an almost literal deus ex machina but like, one that just moves the story along instead of ending a story, but overall it's a good read and one whose tone and pace certainly work well. One of the strengths of this issue is the pacing; though there's a lot to establish here, as with any new series, Slott makes good use of quick cuts to keep the book flowing and to make sure readers want to keep up. No one really has time to feel bored throughout the course of the book which ensures people will at least have some sort of opinion by the end; the worst situation would be if no one finished the book, as is sometimes the case with Marvel cosmic characters and with regular human characters getting a spotlight, particularly new ones. It's certainly a good start for a book that I expect to do pretty well, particularly if this is the kind of effort that Slott and the Allreds are going to keep putting forth (which, knowing all of their past work, I'm sure it is).
Iron Patriot 1
Kot (w) and G. Brown (a) and Charalampidis (c)
It's a new age for James Rhodes as he trades in his War Machine look and name for the more peaceful sounding (depending on who you are) Iron Patriot. With the new name comes a new take on his role in the world; he's no longer going to be a weapon for the United States military to wield, but rather a homeland based defense and recovery asset. He's going to do what he can to make the United States better and to help the world where he can. His new role, which has been approved by Congress and the president, also means that he's been spending a bit more time with his father, Terrence Rhodes, and his niece Lila Rhodes, daughter of James' deceased sister. Lila is a budding engineer and quickly jumps to her uncle's aid when a member of Congress decries Rhodes' new position. As nice as the sentiment is and as powerful as it apparently is in this world (her online video supporting Rhodey goes viral very quickly), it unfortunately paints a bit of a target on Lila as a shadowy organization after Rhodes decides that they'll be kidnapping two people instead of one in their attempt to hurt Rhodey. He's hurt enough, though, when he attacks randomly appearing monsters in the Gulf of Mexico and his armor shuts down.
A new direction for Rhodes and a focus on his family life are the cornerstones to this young book and I think it's probably a good way to go. There have been enough stories about Rhodey's involvement with the military (though obviously this still plays on that because it's unavoidable) and with Tony Stark that getting away from it and deciding to focus on his family and, in turn, Rhodey as a person is likely the best way to get new stories out of him. There are very few military-based Marvel superheroes and even fewer that are military while they're superheroes. There are certainly stories to be told with the new Iron Patriot and writer Ales Kot clearly wants to explore those sorts of stories. Overall, the book works pretty well and the art style, though nothing particularly groundbreaking, works for the tone of the book. As nitpicky as this seems, the end of the book feels a little off as suddenly the narration changes to an almost memoir-esque narrative, with Rhodes talking about the events we're seeing in the past tense. It could very well be building to something bigger down the line with the tense change and the more formal sort of tone, but in the moment it's jarring and foreign. Still, doesn't ruin the book overall which is a fine first issue. Hooray, three for three on first issues debuting this week! Marvel is taking risks and launching new solo titles and they're WORKING. TWO of these, it should be mentioned, feature a minority in the lead role (I don't think "silver" is a minority). Long overdue and still probably not enough.
F. Smith (w) and T. Moore (a) and Staples and Daniel (c)
The best way to describe this book is "kinetic." It moves well both in pacing and in the art style. Tradd Moore's cartoony style allows him to draw speed lines and shooting flames without the slightest hint of irony and that's what makes the book work. Felipe Smith does his part by crafting a character who we can't help but like (literally can't help it. It's a real save-the-cat moment to have his first real act be saving his wheelchair-bound brother from the absolute worst people in the world but its hard to even see that as overly cynical because this is comics and comic characters are BUILT on doing exactly that sort of thing, brother or not) and with whom we sympathize. We want him to get out of East LA and we understand why he's willing to "borrow" the car to do it, even going so far as to enter an illegal street race and risk imprisonment or what-have-you. Also nice is that the appearance of Ghost Rider doesn't come as a complete surprise despite the fact that Robbie Reyes seems like an entirely good guy and Ghost Rider is a spirit of vengeance because Moore's art shows the spirit creeping in around the edges well before the final transformation. I could see people being turned off by the cartoony style of the book, perhaps even especially core Ghost Rider fans, but I think it's the best way for this book to work. Definitely a solid opening for ANGR (a pretty fantastic abbreviation for the series, far ahead of ALL-NEW X-FACTOR'S ANXF), worth checking in on before it gets too involved.
Silver Surfer 1
Slott (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)
It's a brand new solo title for Silver Surfer and this one shows hints of sticking around. It seems like people are ready for a new SILVER SURFER and the team-up of Dan Slott's often fairly light-hearted writing and Michael and Laura Allred's always light-hearted and colorful art seems to be a near perfect blend. The first issue maybe cuts a few corners here and there, particularly with the introduction of the Motivator, a machine that seems specifically built to move this plot forward, an almost literal deus ex machina but like, one that just moves the story along instead of ending a story, but overall it's a good read and one whose tone and pace certainly work well. One of the strengths of this issue is the pacing; though there's a lot to establish here, as with any new series, Slott makes good use of quick cuts to keep the book flowing and to make sure readers want to keep up. No one really has time to feel bored throughout the course of the book which ensures people will at least have some sort of opinion by the end; the worst situation would be if no one finished the book, as is sometimes the case with Marvel cosmic characters and with regular human characters getting a spotlight, particularly new ones. It's certainly a good start for a book that I expect to do pretty well, particularly if this is the kind of effort that Slott and the Allreds are going to keep putting forth (which, knowing all of their past work, I'm sure it is).
Iron Patriot 1
Kot (w) and G. Brown (a) and Charalampidis (c)
A new direction for Rhodes and a focus on his family life are the cornerstones to this young book and I think it's probably a good way to go. There have been enough stories about Rhodey's involvement with the military (though obviously this still plays on that because it's unavoidable) and with Tony Stark that getting away from it and deciding to focus on his family and, in turn, Rhodey as a person is likely the best way to get new stories out of him. There are very few military-based Marvel superheroes and even fewer that are military while they're superheroes. There are certainly stories to be told with the new Iron Patriot and writer Ales Kot clearly wants to explore those sorts of stories. Overall, the book works pretty well and the art style, though nothing particularly groundbreaking, works for the tone of the book. As nitpicky as this seems, the end of the book feels a little off as suddenly the narration changes to an almost memoir-esque narrative, with Rhodes talking about the events we're seeing in the past tense. It could very well be building to something bigger down the line with the tense change and the more formal sort of tone, but in the moment it's jarring and foreign. Still, doesn't ruin the book overall which is a fine first issue. Hooray, three for three on first issues debuting this week! Marvel is taking risks and launching new solo titles and they're WORKING. TWO of these, it should be mentioned, feature a minority in the lead role (I don't think "silver" is a minority). Long overdue and still probably not enough.
New Spider-Man 2099 series announced
Marvel has just announced the start of what seemed to be an inevitable new SPIDER-MAN 2099 series, slated to launch in July. The series will be written by comics pro and current ALL-NEW X-FACTOR scribe Peter David (who broke the news on his blog at http://www.peterdavid.net/2014/03/27/spider-man-2099/ - sorry, the app doesn't allow hiding that link dudes and dudettes) and drawn by former FEARLESS DEFENDERS artist Will Sliney. Hopefully there won't be too many future swear words but what are the chances of that?
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Superior Spider-Man 30, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 11
Superior Spider-Man 30
Slott and Gage (w) and Camuncoli, Dell, and Pallot (a) and Fabela (c)
Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 are locked in combat with the new wave of Spider-Slayers when Goblin reveals to Spidey that he has Anna Maria and that he'll have to leave 2099 to fight a battle he can't possibly win by himself if he wants to save-oh, he left? Okay, cool, he's going after Anna Maria, leaving 2099 by himself. Spidey doesn't know where to go but he's intercepted by Menace as she flies by, taunting about their new captive. He follows her underground while, inside of Doc Ock's mind, Peter Parker continues to see Doc's memories. He gets to the point of Ock's memories where he manages to swap consciousnesses with Peter and, just as Peter's whole life flashed before his eyes then, it flashes before the ethereal Peter's eyes now. Suddenly, instead of losing himself to Ock's personality, he's regained all of his memories, all of the Spider-Man times and the Peter Parker times and all of his entire history. Fully charged by this, Peter jumps into Otto's mind again just in time to find that he's wavering about saving Amy Chen, the girl Otto saved alongside Cardiac and another captive the Goblins have taken, worrying that he'll injure himself and there will be no one left to save Anna Maria. Peter leaps into action, taking over the body and forcing Otto to swing in and save the girl. Peter, his presence again known to Otto, yells at his enemy and tells him that now isn't the time for plotting and planning, it's the time to act. Otto admits his weakness and the two leave, discussing what's happening. Otto reveals that he has overcompensated and has deemed himself superior only because he didn't really believes himself to be, whereas Peter always played down his intelligence and abilities because he was never so arrogant. Otto concedes that Peter truly is the superior one and rushes back to Parker Industries. He goes into his lab and enters the mindscape, deleting all traces of Otto's villainous history and even of his recent history, making sure to wipe the slate clean and leaving only the consciousness of Peter behind. Back in control at last, Peter dons his original costume and prepares to once more face off against Green Goblin.
This is the major turning point for the series, no question. Finally the moment we've all waited over a year for has come and we're rewarded by Peter taking control in his ever impressive way. The planner is replaced by the man of action in a time where action is most necessary and Otto's seemingly final act in the body he took such measures to steal is to learn a real lesson about heroism FINALLY. It's a huge moment and, while this is clearly the A-story, it's not the only thing happening. The Avengers continue to fight their fights (all the while reminding us their current feelings on Spider-Man and so on), Spider-Man 2099 continues his fight against the Slayers and Alchemax (all the while reminding us he's from the future), and the city is turning on J. Jonah Jameson thanks, in part, to Alchemax revealing that he commissioned and signed off on the Slayers despite Liz Allan's warnings that he shouldn't. On top of that, Liz is hiding something to do with this whole goblin mess and that will likely come to a head as we reach the conclusion of this storyline. Lots still to come here. Worth picking this book up for the reappearance of the triumphant Peter Parker and the special reprint of BLACK WIDOW 1 that comes tied to the book.
Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 11
Shinick (w) and Checchetto, Frenz, and Buscema (a) and Rosenberg (c)
In the middle of Goblin Nation, we take a quick look at a former relationship between Otto and Norman Osborn as Otto reminisces on a time when the two teamed up after (one of) the death(s) of Norman Osborn. They managed to put aside their differences and got along amicably enough as they built up plans to destroy Spider-Man, building up a friendship in the process. Of course, Norman's a bit crazy for Otto's liking and the craziness rears its head on more than one occasion, finally coming to a head when, after a heartfelt talk about their friendships in the past, Norman tracks down and hospitalizes a woman to whom Otto was once engaged, hoping that the pain in Otto's soul makes him realize what Norman is trying to accomplish with Spider-Man.
I'm not a big fan of this issue simply because I don't really buy it. Sure I can see a tentative team-up between Goblin and Doc Ock happening but I don't believe that either truly would form any sort of bond. Also, there's a sense between both this and SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN right now that they want Goblin built into the Joker of this universe (there were even chases in SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN this week that reminded me a little of the famous Batman story THE KILLING JOKE) and I have some amount of trouble believing this if only because we've seen enough of Osborn's backstory that it's hard to draw those comparisons. We've seen him be human and simply cold without any sort of craziness to him and then, on occasion, we've seen that craziness come back up. This one feels very all or nothing and, in truth, is more all than nothing. I have some trouble buying the conceit of this book and, on top of it, I don't love the writing as a whole. Maybe I just don't care and there's more to be talking about in the middle of Goblin Nation.
Slott and Gage (w) and Camuncoli, Dell, and Pallot (a) and Fabela (c)
This is the major turning point for the series, no question. Finally the moment we've all waited over a year for has come and we're rewarded by Peter taking control in his ever impressive way. The planner is replaced by the man of action in a time where action is most necessary and Otto's seemingly final act in the body he took such measures to steal is to learn a real lesson about heroism FINALLY. It's a huge moment and, while this is clearly the A-story, it's not the only thing happening. The Avengers continue to fight their fights (all the while reminding us their current feelings on Spider-Man and so on), Spider-Man 2099 continues his fight against the Slayers and Alchemax (all the while reminding us he's from the future), and the city is turning on J. Jonah Jameson thanks, in part, to Alchemax revealing that he commissioned and signed off on the Slayers despite Liz Allan's warnings that he shouldn't. On top of that, Liz is hiding something to do with this whole goblin mess and that will likely come to a head as we reach the conclusion of this storyline. Lots still to come here. Worth picking this book up for the reappearance of the triumphant Peter Parker and the special reprint of BLACK WIDOW 1 that comes tied to the book.
Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 11
Shinick (w) and Checchetto, Frenz, and Buscema (a) and Rosenberg (c)
I'm not a big fan of this issue simply because I don't really buy it. Sure I can see a tentative team-up between Goblin and Doc Ock happening but I don't believe that either truly would form any sort of bond. Also, there's a sense between both this and SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN right now that they want Goblin built into the Joker of this universe (there were even chases in SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN this week that reminded me a little of the famous Batman story THE KILLING JOKE) and I have some amount of trouble believing this if only because we've seen enough of Osborn's backstory that it's hard to draw those comparisons. We've seen him be human and simply cold without any sort of craziness to him and then, on occasion, we've seen that craziness come back up. This one feels very all or nothing and, in truth, is more all than nothing. I have some trouble buying the conceit of this book and, on top of it, I don't love the writing as a whole. Maybe I just don't care and there's more to be talking about in the middle of Goblin Nation.
New Avengers 16, Uncanny Avengers 18
New Avengers 16
Hickman (w) and R. Morales (a) and F. Martin (c)
Namor has returned to the Illuminati to see how the research is faring. He's not particularly into the research aspect, not being one of the many geniuses on the team, and believes that preparing to destroy worlds rather than studying ones that have been destroyed is the way to go in this situation. He enters one of the observation rooms where Black Panther is recording data and the two trade barbs very briefly before getting into business. In this case, the business is T'Challa showing Namor that, in the forty worlds they've observed, one has survived incursions twice in different manners than the Illuminati have used. The world in question, Earth-4,290,001, has seen its share of invasions and super-powered coups, the most recent of which has left a team of six in charge of protecting the world. Those six, Boundless, Doctor Spectrum, the Rider, the Jovian, the Norn, and Sun God, have banded together to save the people of Earth multiple times and have been called to do so twice more during incursions. As individuals, they are powerful enough to withstands many attacks, including those of the Mapmakers (who they seem familiar with) but as a team they're able to even stop the incurring worlds. The Norn, though it does him great personal harm, is able to use his magics to destroy the incurring world on his own.
For a while now, the book has been more about gathering research and strategies and seeing worlds fall as if to drive the point home to the Illuminati that their attempts are futile and that, as has been the mantra of the entire series, everything dies. Panther's latest discovery, though, seems to point in another direction. Not only does this team withstand two incursions, shattering planets that would destroy their own, Sun God himself even makes a speech á la Reed Richards wherein he says "Everything lives. It lives before it dies, and we are judged by what we do during that time." It's a pretty powerful speech and it's one that shifts, ever so slightly, the running speech and tone of this book. It's very clear that these heroes have seen tremendous hardship - Hickman makes that clear in a little scene between Sun God and the Rider - but their outlook is the glass-half-full side of Reed's continual glass-half-empty approach of "Everything dies. I accept that." It'll be interesting to see where this new data leads. On top of that, as an issue in and of itself, I think Hickman does a pretty fantastic job once again writing the Namor-Black Panther dynamic. It's very clear that these two do not like each other but they are acting very professionally as they discuss matters bigger than either of them. It's one of the things I like about the kings of the Marvel Universe (Namor, Black Panther, and Black Bolt chief among them): each and every one of them cares more for the protection of their people and act accordingly. Here they put aside their feud because, although their people are at war with one another, the destruction of Earth is the bigger threat to their kingdoms. Solid stuff. Rags Morales does a solid job bringing it to the page as well.
Uncanny Avengers 18
Remender (w) and Acuña (a and c)
Smash cut to Planet X, the new mutant planet, several years down the line. Among all the mutants who have created their new planet, full of beautiful and impressive architecture and seemingly a more functional government, are two enemies of the state. Havok still feels responsible for the death of the Earth and refuses to allow Eimin's propaganda, which explains to the populace that Thor and the Avengers were responsible for the death of their world and for holding back mutants, to color his view of the Earth that was. He knows how the final battle happened, as does his wife, the human stowaway Wasp. It's been several years since the loss of Earth and the two have a child now, though parenthood has not stopped them from working to restore their home planet. With the help of Hank McCoy, fellow human supporter, they've realized that their only hope is to bring down the tachyon dam still around the planet. They have no idea if their plan will work as all experiments rely on the wall being down before they can be tested but Alex and Janet set off anyway, pursued by Blob (whose X-gene was reignited), Toad, and Magneto. They manage, after a long and exciting chase scene, to bring down the dam but Janet is captured in the process. Alex returns to his home to find that Kang has finally been able to bring his reinforcements.
After months of teasing, Planet X is here and it's everything you might have imagined. Remender, who is so fond of abruptly jumping forward in time as evidenced by CAPTAIN AMERICA, here jumps maybe five years forward or so onto this planet, where the guilt that drives Alex is palpable and we can really see what a planet full of mutants would look like. It's not that much of a stretch to believe that, upon waking from their pods, the mutants were easily convinced that their life now and here was better. Eimin probably didn't have to do too much propaganda spreading, which is kind of the beauty of this whole conceit. Things probably are better for mutants here. They have a whole planet which, sure, at first was probably jarring but now that it's been several years, they're starting to come into their own. Remender's done a solid job here and the decision to send us into the future as well as off-planet really pays off. The first instinct is to think that the followers of Xavier would want to save Earth and even the humans on it. However, it makes a whole lot of sense that once they settled in, it's everything even the staunchest human supporter could want. The only reason Havok and Wasp haven't decided to just hedge their bets and settle down (other than the reason that Wasp is a human and probably not well liked for it) is that they know the truth of what's happened and the truth about Eimin, not to mention the guilt each of them feels for the loss of the Earth and their teammates. Hank, of course, is just a pretty swell guy so he wants his planet back too. Really interesting stuff here and a great call to skip ahead of the kind of shock and awe phase of the new planet. Daniel Acuña continues to do phenomenal work on the title and really drives home the tone and look of the new world. Very good book all around.
Hickman (w) and R. Morales (a) and F. Martin (c)
For a while now, the book has been more about gathering research and strategies and seeing worlds fall as if to drive the point home to the Illuminati that their attempts are futile and that, as has been the mantra of the entire series, everything dies. Panther's latest discovery, though, seems to point in another direction. Not only does this team withstand two incursions, shattering planets that would destroy their own, Sun God himself even makes a speech á la Reed Richards wherein he says "Everything lives. It lives before it dies, and we are judged by what we do during that time." It's a pretty powerful speech and it's one that shifts, ever so slightly, the running speech and tone of this book. It's very clear that these heroes have seen tremendous hardship - Hickman makes that clear in a little scene between Sun God and the Rider - but their outlook is the glass-half-full side of Reed's continual glass-half-empty approach of "Everything dies. I accept that." It'll be interesting to see where this new data leads. On top of that, as an issue in and of itself, I think Hickman does a pretty fantastic job once again writing the Namor-Black Panther dynamic. It's very clear that these two do not like each other but they are acting very professionally as they discuss matters bigger than either of them. It's one of the things I like about the kings of the Marvel Universe (Namor, Black Panther, and Black Bolt chief among them): each and every one of them cares more for the protection of their people and act accordingly. Here they put aside their feud because, although their people are at war with one another, the destruction of Earth is the bigger threat to their kingdoms. Solid stuff. Rags Morales does a solid job bringing it to the page as well.
Uncanny Avengers 18
Remender (w) and Acuña (a and c)
After months of teasing, Planet X is here and it's everything you might have imagined. Remender, who is so fond of abruptly jumping forward in time as evidenced by CAPTAIN AMERICA, here jumps maybe five years forward or so onto this planet, where the guilt that drives Alex is palpable and we can really see what a planet full of mutants would look like. It's not that much of a stretch to believe that, upon waking from their pods, the mutants were easily convinced that their life now and here was better. Eimin probably didn't have to do too much propaganda spreading, which is kind of the beauty of this whole conceit. Things probably are better for mutants here. They have a whole planet which, sure, at first was probably jarring but now that it's been several years, they're starting to come into their own. Remender's done a solid job here and the decision to send us into the future as well as off-planet really pays off. The first instinct is to think that the followers of Xavier would want to save Earth and even the humans on it. However, it makes a whole lot of sense that once they settled in, it's everything even the staunchest human supporter could want. The only reason Havok and Wasp haven't decided to just hedge their bets and settle down (other than the reason that Wasp is a human and probably not well liked for it) is that they know the truth of what's happened and the truth about Eimin, not to mention the guilt each of them feels for the loss of the Earth and their teammates. Hank, of course, is just a pretty swell guy so he wants his planet back too. Really interesting stuff here and a great call to skip ahead of the kind of shock and awe phase of the new planet. Daniel Acuña continues to do phenomenal work on the title and really drives home the tone and look of the new world. Very good book all around.
Avengers 27, Avengers Assemble 25
Avengers 27
Hickman (w) and Larroca (a) and F. Martin (c)
The Avengers are fighting the Avengers from an alternate universe, meaning that AIM has suddenly realized their responsibility in unleashing these Avengers on Earth and in losing their brand new super Adaptoids. It's not an enviable position for AIM and they certainly don't want to be tied into this whole situation. While the core of the Avengers fight their dopplegangers, Banner meets with the other Banner, learning that he's been lobotomized and had the part of his brain that recognized and enabled emotion removed. He no longer gets angry and he now turns into the Hulk by a remote control wielded by his Avengers, who act more as conquerors and slaughterers than heroes. Bruce decides to test the sociopath theory by striking him in the back with a wrench, believing that he still has the ability to Hulk. As the Avengers take down their counterparts one by one (along with shocking revelations like their Iron Man is a crazed Jarvis who killed Howard and a baby Tony and took the mantle himself and that their Captain America is actually a General), Hulk turns up, but all actions indicate that he's the other Hulk. Before anything can be conclusive or before the fight can be satisfactorily ended, AIM pops in and puts a temporal field around them, stopping time momentarily so they can capture the other Avengers and bring them back with no record of their interference. Meanwhile, the super Adaptoids have found AIM's multiverse gate and intend to enter it as explorers.
I'll be honest, I kind of keep forgetting this story is going on. That's not to say I don't like it. I think there is a lot to like here. The foes are interesting, seeing what the goal of these Avengers is has proven interesting, AIM's involvement is compelling enough, the dialogue and characters are working pretty well, etc. Still, I think the downfall of this series is that it started with such a boom, carrying multiple arcs that fit under the same umbrella for so long, that it's hard to parse it out into another story. I'm sure that will get better (and likely when the book starts double shipping again it will be easier) as we move forward but it is a little hard to keep this book straight. As I said, though, there's a lot to take away from this book and most of it is completely worthwhile. As a note, I'm not willing to go out there and speculate right now that the super Adaptoids who have just entered the multiverse to explore have anything to do with the Mapmakers or whoever else over in NEW AVENGERS because I have a blog to run and can't get into such speculation, but if everyone else wanted to go ahead and work up that theory and just give me the credit I'm sure I'd manage. FUN FACT: If you buy this book this week, it also comes with a free ALL-NEW INVADERS 1 at the end of it, so if you've been looking to check that out and maybe feel out AVENGERS for yourself, now seems like a prime opportunity. Or save your dollars for a fantastic issue of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN with a free copy of the also-fantastic BLACK WIDOW 1.
Avengers Assemble 25
DeConnick and Ellis (w) and Buffagni, Meikis, N. Edwards, and Ienco (a) and Redmond (c)
Toxic Doxie is on to her last AIM hideout, knowing that the Terrigen cocoon she's seeking is there and ready to strike some more retribution on the organization that attacked her and, in her eyes, stole her prize. The Avengers have been made aware of her attempts and go so far as to warn AIM (their newfound diplomatic immunity is proving irritating ALL OVER THE PLACE, says Cap) before sending out their own team to try to protect their enemies and recover the cocoon themselves. They burst into the hideout just after Covington and make their way through the AIM scientists that are still standing, leaving bodies and banter in their wake. Anya makes it to Doxie first, wearing a gas mask to protect her from a gas Covington's just dispersed that keeps the other Avengers out for the time being. A brief fight ensues and Spider-Girl comes out the victor, prepared by her various mentors over the last few issues. It's a complete success for the Avengers (though they weren't able to arrive in time to save all the AIM scientists and undoubtedly they'll all lose some sleep over that) as they apprehend Toxic Doxie and recover the cocoon. Steve tells Spider-Girl that they're available to her if ever she needs them and tells her that she'll fit in just fine with them, eventually sending her the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes ringtone she'd so coveted from Spider-Woman.
It's a fitting end to this book as we get to see a little bit of everything that this series built itself on. We see a team that enjoys being together and that works well together. We see a well-trained Anya managing to take down a villain by herself thanks to her preparation and skills. We see Spider-Woman and Hulk being friends, Hawkeye being taken down a few pegs, the Captains being leaders, Black Widow getting her information, and so on and so forth. It's a more classic superhero book with the team quipping and saving, unambiguously being heroes. I've repeatedly said throughout this blog that AVENGERS ASSEMBLE acts as the more mainstream, the more lighthearted Avengers title and now it's ended by putting a solid period at the end of that sentence. And as the book makes its rather sweet exit, so too does Kelly Sue DeConnick make a rather sweet exit from the book with a nice little poem, Goodnight Moon style. Goodnight, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE.
Hickman (w) and Larroca (a) and F. Martin (c)
I'll be honest, I kind of keep forgetting this story is going on. That's not to say I don't like it. I think there is a lot to like here. The foes are interesting, seeing what the goal of these Avengers is has proven interesting, AIM's involvement is compelling enough, the dialogue and characters are working pretty well, etc. Still, I think the downfall of this series is that it started with such a boom, carrying multiple arcs that fit under the same umbrella for so long, that it's hard to parse it out into another story. I'm sure that will get better (and likely when the book starts double shipping again it will be easier) as we move forward but it is a little hard to keep this book straight. As I said, though, there's a lot to take away from this book and most of it is completely worthwhile. As a note, I'm not willing to go out there and speculate right now that the super Adaptoids who have just entered the multiverse to explore have anything to do with the Mapmakers or whoever else over in NEW AVENGERS because I have a blog to run and can't get into such speculation, but if everyone else wanted to go ahead and work up that theory and just give me the credit I'm sure I'd manage. FUN FACT: If you buy this book this week, it also comes with a free ALL-NEW INVADERS 1 at the end of it, so if you've been looking to check that out and maybe feel out AVENGERS for yourself, now seems like a prime opportunity. Or save your dollars for a fantastic issue of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN with a free copy of the also-fantastic BLACK WIDOW 1.
Avengers Assemble 25
DeConnick and Ellis (w) and Buffagni, Meikis, N. Edwards, and Ienco (a) and Redmond (c)
Toxic Doxie is on to her last AIM hideout, knowing that the Terrigen cocoon she's seeking is there and ready to strike some more retribution on the organization that attacked her and, in her eyes, stole her prize. The Avengers have been made aware of her attempts and go so far as to warn AIM (their newfound diplomatic immunity is proving irritating ALL OVER THE PLACE, says Cap) before sending out their own team to try to protect their enemies and recover the cocoon themselves. They burst into the hideout just after Covington and make their way through the AIM scientists that are still standing, leaving bodies and banter in their wake. Anya makes it to Doxie first, wearing a gas mask to protect her from a gas Covington's just dispersed that keeps the other Avengers out for the time being. A brief fight ensues and Spider-Girl comes out the victor, prepared by her various mentors over the last few issues. It's a complete success for the Avengers (though they weren't able to arrive in time to save all the AIM scientists and undoubtedly they'll all lose some sleep over that) as they apprehend Toxic Doxie and recover the cocoon. Steve tells Spider-Girl that they're available to her if ever she needs them and tells her that she'll fit in just fine with them, eventually sending her the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes ringtone she'd so coveted from Spider-Woman.It's a fitting end to this book as we get to see a little bit of everything that this series built itself on. We see a team that enjoys being together and that works well together. We see a well-trained Anya managing to take down a villain by herself thanks to her preparation and skills. We see Spider-Woman and Hulk being friends, Hawkeye being taken down a few pegs, the Captains being leaders, Black Widow getting her information, and so on and so forth. It's a more classic superhero book with the team quipping and saving, unambiguously being heroes. I've repeatedly said throughout this blog that AVENGERS ASSEMBLE acts as the more mainstream, the more lighthearted Avengers title and now it's ended by putting a solid period at the end of that sentence. And as the book makes its rather sweet exit, so too does Kelly Sue DeConnick make a rather sweet exit from the book with a nice little poem, Goodnight Moon style. Goodnight, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Comics this week
AAAAAAAHHHHH guys we got too comfortable! After a crazy loaded January to kick off 2014, we all settled right into a considerably slower February and March, reading and reviewing maybe 14-17 books a week, a totally manageable number. Now that number SKYROCKETS up to the mid-twenty range! We're talking 22, maybe 23 (if I count CAPTAIN AMERICA: HOMECOMING, a cinematic tie-in book, which I may or may not depending on availability and also how stressed I get) new releases this week. There are a handful I am not so excited about but, as ever, a bunch that I'm very excited about. Let's read about those some, hm?
All-New Ghost Rider 1
I'm not a big ol' Ghost Rider fan, whether we're talking Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch or whoever. WELL THIS ISN'T ANY OF THOSE. Robbie Reyes picks up the (Robbie) reins as the all-new Ghost Rider in this already well-liked (well, by Marvel editor Tom Brevoort in any case) series. In any case, the book looks interesting as Marvel continues to want to put out a variety of different looking books for different types of fans. Hoping for a good debut for this all-new character.
Avengers Assemble 25
This is the final issue of AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, a book that has been steadily one of the more fun books in the Marvel Universe, giving us a look at how the Avengers work together and how they deal with some of the more not-so-Thanos related problems that may crop up. Continuing the arc with Spider-Girl, the Avengers will all finally come back together to stop the wicked Toxic Doxie herself, Dr. June Covington. Should be a good finale from aces Kelly Sue DeConnick and Warren Ellis.
Hawkeye 18
Back over to Katie-Kate on the other side of the country for some more West Coast Adventures! Things are right on the precipice of getting pretty crazy as the deranged Madame Masque has tracked her prey down and now no one in her new life is safe (except, one would hope, Lucky the dog). I know everyone at this point has checked this book out and also loves it so I hardly have to recommend it here but lookie here, that's what I'm doing.
Silver Surfer 1
Dan Slott kicks off a brand new SILVER SURFER series with artist Michael Allred and it aims, presumably, to humanize everyone's favorite cosmic being, the ever-popular Silver Surfer. Guys, I'm a pretty big Norrin Radd fan and a big fan of both Dan Slott (who I'm eager to see on a non-Spider-Man related book) and Michael Allred. Hoping that this one is a great new beginning to a an often under-seen character (though I have some amount of worry that, based on some of the promo art and previews, that it will kick off a little too similarly to the eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who).
Uncanny Avengers 18
Guys, I struggled and struggled with this one. There's so much coming out this week that it was really hard to pick the top five. Do I pick SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN 30? What about AVENGERS 27 or NEW AVENGERS 16? And ANOTHER new launch with IRON PATRIOT 1? Man, who's to choose? So I went with UNCANNY AVENGERS because we ought to show it some respect. It's been building to this Planet X for a long time and now, fresh off the destruction of Earth, we're ready to see what it looks like after all that. Plus, talk about a sure thing. This book has been solid for 17 straight issues. Not many others out there can say that (it doesn't help my case that HAWKEYE is sitting right there, two entries up from this).
All-New Ghost Rider 1
I'm not a big ol' Ghost Rider fan, whether we're talking Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch or whoever. WELL THIS ISN'T ANY OF THOSE. Robbie Reyes picks up the (Robbie) reins as the all-new Ghost Rider in this already well-liked (well, by Marvel editor Tom Brevoort in any case) series. In any case, the book looks interesting as Marvel continues to want to put out a variety of different looking books for different types of fans. Hoping for a good debut for this all-new character.
Avengers Assemble 25
This is the final issue of AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, a book that has been steadily one of the more fun books in the Marvel Universe, giving us a look at how the Avengers work together and how they deal with some of the more not-so-Thanos related problems that may crop up. Continuing the arc with Spider-Girl, the Avengers will all finally come back together to stop the wicked Toxic Doxie herself, Dr. June Covington. Should be a good finale from aces Kelly Sue DeConnick and Warren Ellis.
Hawkeye 18
Back over to Katie-Kate on the other side of the country for some more West Coast Adventures! Things are right on the precipice of getting pretty crazy as the deranged Madame Masque has tracked her prey down and now no one in her new life is safe (except, one would hope, Lucky the dog). I know everyone at this point has checked this book out and also loves it so I hardly have to recommend it here but lookie here, that's what I'm doing.
Silver Surfer 1
Dan Slott kicks off a brand new SILVER SURFER series with artist Michael Allred and it aims, presumably, to humanize everyone's favorite cosmic being, the ever-popular Silver Surfer. Guys, I'm a pretty big Norrin Radd fan and a big fan of both Dan Slott (who I'm eager to see on a non-Spider-Man related book) and Michael Allred. Hoping that this one is a great new beginning to a an often under-seen character (though I have some amount of worry that, based on some of the promo art and previews, that it will kick off a little too similarly to the eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who).
Uncanny Avengers 18
Guys, I struggled and struggled with this one. There's so much coming out this week that it was really hard to pick the top five. Do I pick SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN 30? What about AVENGERS 27 or NEW AVENGERS 16? And ANOTHER new launch with IRON PATRIOT 1? Man, who's to choose? So I went with UNCANNY AVENGERS because we ought to show it some respect. It's been building to this Planet X for a long time and now, fresh off the destruction of Earth, we're ready to see what it looks like after all that. Plus, talk about a sure thing. This book has been solid for 17 straight issues. Not many others out there can say that (it doesn't help my case that HAWKEYE is sitting right there, two entries up from this).
Marvel's "Next Big Thing" Announced: SPIDER-VERSE
Hey everyone. Quick word as news just broke on this yesterday after a teaser image last Friday. Marvel has announced in one of their "Next Big Thing" press calls that one of the next big events will be the SPIDER-VERSE, a coming-together of every Spider-Man-ish creature created by Marvel, not to mention a few that haven't yet been created. That's right; everyone from Spider-Man 2099 to Noir Spider-Man to Spider-Ham and so on and so forth will join forces with (or face off against, as it's being teased) Peter Parker's Spider-Man.
It's still a ways out so details are a little sparse but the event will be headed by Dan Slott, of course, and Olivier Coipel, probably best known for his work on THOR. Slott and Spider-Man group editor Nick Lowe have also confirmed that the initial villain of the series will be Morlun, a Spidey villain created back in 2001 and responsible for actually killing Spider-Man (he was later reborn thanks to SPIDER-LORE and suddenly had more spider-like attributes to him including organic web-shooters, just like in the movie that was released TOTALLY COINCIDENTALLY right around that time). More details on this one as they emerge. So, you know, over the next eight months. But for now, just check out that promo image and think about, even if it's perhaps a little gimmicky, how cool this could be.
It's still a ways out so details are a little sparse but the event will be headed by Dan Slott, of course, and Olivier Coipel, probably best known for his work on THOR. Slott and Spider-Man group editor Nick Lowe have also confirmed that the initial villain of the series will be Morlun, a Spidey villain created back in 2001 and responsible for actually killing Spider-Man (he was later reborn thanks to SPIDER-LORE and suddenly had more spider-like attributes to him including organic web-shooters, just like in the movie that was released TOTALLY COINCIDENTALLY right around that time). More details on this one as they emerge. So, you know, over the next eight months. But for now, just check out that promo image and think about, even if it's perhaps a little gimmicky, how cool this could be.
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