Harvey Award nominees announced

The Harvey Awards are among the most prestigious of the awards given to comic professionals. The nominees for the awards, which will be presented in September, were announced today. As is typical for this Marvel-centric blog, I'll be highlighting a few of the choices out of the House of Ideas (creative name, by the way).

Best Colorist:
Marvel alums Laura Allred, Laura Martin, and Jordie Bellaire were all nominated for Best Colorist, though only Allred was specifically nominated for her work on a current Marvel book (SILVER SURFER). Her work there is stunning and the crazy cosmic art of Michael Allred on the book certainly requires Laura to be at her best at all times on the series. Laura Martin also does excellent work and has been recognized for it in the past, with a couple of Eisners and a Harvey Award already under her belt. She has done loads of incredible work for Marvel over the past couple decades. My money, though, goes to Jordie Bellaire, a once up-and-coming colorist who seems to have really hit her stride with books like JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, MAGNETO, MOON KNIGHT, and THE VISION, among many more from Marvel in the past five or so years. Bellaire is unbelievably talented and an outspoken force-for-good in the comics community, shining a light on colorists and the under-represented in comics. Check out this sweet AV Club interview with her for some examples of her art and a good look into her history.

Best New Series:
The only new Marvel series the Harveys nominated this year was THE VISION, by Tom King, Gabriel Walta, and Jordie Bellaire. THE VISION has been lauded since its first issue for its complex portrayal of the titular Vision, his relationship with his family (a wife, and a teenage boy and girl, all of whom he created), and their relationship with a world that finds them, in the best case, creepy. Though the book has featured excellent art from Walta and Bellaire, and a compelling story with multifaceted characters, it hasn't really grabbed my attention in the way that other instant standouts like Fraction and Aja's HAWKEYE and Hickman and Epting's NEW AVENGERS. Admittedly, that's a tall order, and I'm not exactly sure what counted as a new series last year (though I'd hazard a guess that books like UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL and SPIDER-GWEN might be in the running; who knows, what with all the reboots and events). That said, THE VISION is certainly worth a read and it's not particularly a surprise to see it on this list.

Most Promising New Talent:
The only Marvel entry here is the aforementioned Tom King from THE VISION. Read above for my thoughts!

Special Award for Humor in Comics:
Chip Zdarsky is Marvel's only official entry in this category for his work on HOWARD THE DUCK, a book that is certainly always entertaining and decidedly worthy of consideration in this spot. It is baffling, though, that books like UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL (which consistently delivers laughs) and even Zdarsky's work as an artist in SEX CRIMINALS aren't even mentioned (particularly when USG -spoilers- is mentioned later among the nominees). Many of the other nominees in this category have other ties to Marvel, with Marvel regular James Asmus (GAMBIT) making an appearance for QUANTUM AND WOODY MUST DIE! and Elliott Kalan (SPIDER-MAN AND THE X-MEN) getting the nod for UNITY. Hard for me, a fan of The Daily Show and The Flophouse podcast, to vote against Kalan here, but Zdarsky would definitely merit a win here.

Best Cover Artist:
Marvel great David Aja (HAWKEYE, IMMORTAL IRON FIST) is nominated here for his work on HAWKEYE (which seems to never be out of the running? I guess maybe we'll all just keep throwing it back into consideration), but it's literally impossible for me not to root for Mike Del Mundo (X-MEN LEGACY), here nominated for his covers on ELEKTRA. It's worth noting that Del Mundo has also been doing the covers on THE VISION and they've also been (perhaps unsurprisingly) unbelievably good. Also bears mentioning that Marvel artist Paolo Rivera is nominated for his work on THE VALIANT for Valiant Comics.

Best Continuing or Limited Series:
The only Marvel book in contention is UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL, which is truly a phenomenal book. Though I wouldn't say that USG ever really faltered, even out of the gate, writer Ryan North and artist Erica Henderson have found their voice and the results have been stellar month in and month out. If you haven't been reading this book and enjoy well-written and really fun comics, check it out. I do think SPIDER-GWEN could also have gotten a nod here but, as I mentioned in a previous post, Marvel's had a bit of a weird year, so the lack of other books didn't really irritate me as much as it has in the past. Other former and current Marvel talents Kelly Sue DeConnick and Jason Aaron also see some love here for BITCH PLANET and SOUTHERN BASTARDS, both from Image Comics and both with a derogatory B-word in the title isn't used derogatorily. Is this a key to success? Check in after the Harvey Awards to find out! (It's not).

Best Writer:
Only G. Willow Wilson gets the nod from Marvel proper (and she's certainly deserving; I feel like I've fawned over MS. MARVEL enough for you to know all the key points I'd hit, so let me just say that it's incredible, Wilson is spectacular, and let's move on), but other Marvel past and present writers like Jason Aaron (SOUTHERN BASTARDS; apparently I should have kept reading that one), Jeff Lemire (BLOODSHOT REBORN, though he's also writing about half of Marvel's current line), Brian K. Vaughn (SAGA, which will be nominated forever and ever, evidently, not that it's not good. He's also a former Marvel writer, but like, technically, probably everyone nominated has worked there at some point in some capacity), and Mark Waid (ARCHIE, but also DAREDEVIL, ALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS, and others) also get the nod. Whoops, that was somehow all one sentence.

Best Artist:
Chris Samnee is already worthy of every ounce of praise you could foist on to him. Declan Shalvey recently compared him, entirely in earnest and with merit, to Jack Kirby. So his nomination for DAREDEVIL is fully deserved. Jason Latour is nominated for SOUTHERN BASTARDS, and while he hasn't done any real recent work for Marvel as an artist, I want to just point out again that SPIDER-GWEN (which Latour writes) is really very good.

Best Single Issue or Story:
SILVER SURFER 11 was fine. Just fine.

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 6, Moon Knight 7

Sorry about the late post on this one, it was SUPPOSED to come yesterday at 2 PM but I GUESS that wasn't what Blogger wanted to do. And we all work on what Blogger wants to do.

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 6

Things have gotten stranger and darker in New York as Brenda reveals herself again to be a little more than just a college student writing a report and as Li's police force is decimated by Davos, hoping once more to claim his birthright with the help of loyal monsters and the recently captured Pei and her newborn dragon baby, who is pretty adorable. Meanwhile, Iron Fist has been saved by a strange old man referred to as The Fooh and by his childhood friend Sparrow, now blind. Danny flashes back to his childhood with memories, real or dreams, of his father arriving in K'un Lun after his seeming death, rescued by the people of K'un Lun. It also turns into a flashback about Danny's mom having an affair with Harold Meachum which Danny found out about. Sparrow helps to refocus him and he decides that, even with his chi source gone and his iron fists diminished, he's ready to fight.

There's a lot of cool stuff happening here and some really interesting story telling, all helped by Andrews' great art (and check out that cover, it's real neat). It's also a pretty deep read and re-cast of Iron Fist's already remarkably dark origin. By the same token, I'm not sure I needed the affair with Meachum to cement my interest in these things. Affairs very rarely appeal to me and at this point they often seem cliche. I will say, in its defense, I think it's stronger here because Andrews has done such a good job to show that Danny's father had gone totally crazy and had disconnected from reality, even going so far as to have Danny's mother, in the throes of passion, say that she just wants Harold to make her feel something. So there's a little more of an emotional affair aspect going on but it still feels a little trite to me. Regardless, still a strong issue, check it out for a really neat little dragon, a fantastic cover, continued gorgeous art, and a compelling story. Can't do much better than that.

Total Score: 4/5


Moon Knight 7

A seemingly almost equally well-equipped ex-soldier has appeared on the scenes in New York targeting a visiting general who has committed some sort of crimes that the soldier has been privy to. Regardless, though, the general is a traveler in the night and therefore under Moon Knight's protection so a chase ensues throughout the city with Moon Knight eventually using his glider to stop the would-be assassin. He knocks the AWOL soldier out in time to answer the man's phone and learn that the woman behind the attempt is, in fact, Moon Knight's psychiatrist.

Though this is apparently the start of a continuing storyline, unlike the first six issues, Brian Wood goes to great lengths to make this issue read in the same way that Ellis and Shalvey's run read. There is a bit more dialogue as the soldier gives direction to his drone, which slows the issue a little but sets up the technology nicely, but Moon Knight acts and speaks in very much the same way he has throughout this volume, which is appreciated. Smallwood's art is very impressive, perhaps more expressive than Shalvey's (though I think I like Shalvey's style a bit more) and Bellaire's colors continue to be astonishing. The twist of Moon Knight's doctor being the benefactor of this assassination attempt is maybe one more twist than is necessary, but I'm still interested in learning more so it's certainly not enough to wave off. Strong first entry for the new creative team.

Total Score: 4/5

Moon Knight 5, Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 4

Moon Knight 5
Ellis (w) and Shalvey (a) and Bellaire (c) and Eliopoulos (l)

A young girl has been kidnapped by a crime family. She's being held in the fifth floor of a six story abandoned building by a dozen or so guards. Moon Knight makes his way to the fifth floor.

I put down every issue of this series going "this book is awesome." It's a number of things and I think that it's a number of things I've already talked about with this book. Each issue gives a slightly different flavor and the flavor of this one is a far more brutal and less mystical one. Khonshu only plays a role insofar as his tie to Moon Knight. There are no spirits and there are no curses. This one is just Moon Knight making his way through a series of thugs who stand no chance against him. It is brutal and it is devastating and it is truly a phenomenal comic. As ever, one of Ellis' strengths on the book remains his understanding of how to keep quiet during the action and how to let Moon Knight's terseness speak volumes. Declan Shalvey does a phenomenal job both with the still moments and with the intense action just as Jordie Bellaire does a stellar job setting the tone. Check this issue out.

Total Score: 5/5


Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 4
K. Andrews (w, a, and c) and Caramagna (l)

In a flashback to before Danny left for K'un Lun (on his present journey), we see a night between Danny and Brenda where she, having lowered his defenses and seen through his false callousness, gets him to confide in her, at least a little, and talk to her about his parents. That night, his mother, a monstrous skeleton not unlike the father he ran into at the end of last issue, comes to him while he sleeps and scolds him for looking back at her when she told him not to, for watching her get ripped apart. Brenda stays through his whole episode and calms him back to bed, though it's still a restless night. In the present, his maybe-father/monster insults his connection to Lei Kung and compares it to his connection and perceived failure to his own father. Danny raises his iron fist to strike with the power of Shou-Lao, K'un Lun, and the tree of immortality only to find that, with those destroyed, he has no power.

Danny's demons are very real and they're facing him down one by one. Andrews, on top of his phenomenal art and strong writing, has a real sense of tone and character for this book. The flashback to time spent with Brenda isn't necessarily what the audience is expecting but, after reading it, it feels like it's exactly what we needed. He's not a callous jerk, he's not humorless because Andrews has decided that's who Danny has always been, he's just a guy with a lot going on and a public face that differs from his private face. If you had fears that maybe this was signifying a massive shift in who Iron Fist has been in the past, I think you can relax. It might be a bit of a shift, perhaps leading to someone who's a bit darker underneath, but it's not anything that shouldn't be expected. Really solid book, very compelling art, perhaps a little risqué for younger readers. Only in America could I call this book risqué because it has sexual themes whereas I called MOON KNIGHT awesome and brutal with no such warning. Pretty weird, right? Guys, I have observations like this for DAYS. LOOK AT THAT COVER, EVERYONE. GOOOOOOOOOD week for covers and this is likely the best one.

Total Score: 5/5

This week's picks

The week that I earlier proclaimed to be "an embarrassment of riches" insofar as what books would be released ended up living up to its hype, providing plenty of really good issues to explore. It was one of those weeks that helps someone who might be a little burned out get excited about just sitting down and binge reading every issue. ANYWAY, it still wasn't as hard as I'd have thought to pick the top three but note that there aren't too many ways you can go wrong this week choosing a book or two to pick up.

Black Widow 7

In a week of great character moments and defining issues, BLACK WIDOW 7 stood out as one that I'll be thinking about for some time. This issue was the perfect juxtaposition of Natasha's role in today's world and exactly how the world sees her and the role she used to try to play when comics didn't want their heroes to kill at any cost. Now it's a bit murkier and Natasha knows her position and isn't afraid to take someone out. This whole series has shown her struggling with which jobs to take and how blind she should be to the jobs she takes and it's made the audience comfortable with everything she does, including the more minor or abrupt killings (like the guy from whom she took the computer virus in this issue, the messenger she would replace). Now, as Natasha thinks about the need for friends, we see her judged by a former extremely close friend and found to be untrustworthy. It's a tough blow to Natasha and it burns here. Nathan Edmondson is doing phenomenal work on this title (and on PUNISHER) and Phil Noto is absolutely destroying it on the art of this book. Just a really great series that you need to be reading.

Moon Knight 4

This one takes a spot on this list without too much contention if just because it fits so nicely into the world Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, and Jordie Bellaire have created. There's an interesting story with a creepy but satisfying twist at the end and Ellis, as always, knows just when to pull back and let the art reign. I think I've mentioned here before that my first experience with now top-5 (for me, at least, but probably for EVERYONE, right?) artist Jamie McKelvie was Ellis' SECRET AVENGERS 16 (another book that centered on Moon Knight, in fact, though there were plenty of other great characters to be seen there). It was another standalone issue (like each of these MOON KNIGHT issues so far, though "standalone" is maybe too broad a term for this series) and it involved an entire city created beneath Cincinnati, one that was prepared to bomb the city above. Even amidst how heavy that plot obviously was, and how much it was to explain in just one issue, Ellis pulled back for pages at a time to let McKelvie's art carry the load and it worked incredibly. That's what this series has done in full. Declan Shalvey's art, which I've always liked a lot but never seen like this, carries this book in a lot of ways but it never feels like the writer is trying to overshadow that or speak unnecessarily to explain something we can see on the page. Really great book, one that (like the rest) you'll just fly through because you're so engrossed (and they read really quickly) but you'll catch yourself flipping through again and again to see the art.

New Warriors 5

I don't necessarily know that this is one of the three best books out there this week (I don't know though, it's definitely up there, competing against titles like IRON FIST: THE IMMORTAL WEAPON, CAPTAIN AMERICA, AVENGERS WORLD, PUNISHER, and even a couple others) but I wanted to shine a light on it here because I think, maybe along with SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN, it does the most this week to really affirm its tone and the feel of this book. In just five issues, Chris Yost and his artists (typically Marcus To but here Nick Roche) have established such a strong feel for this book and created such a unique tone to enforce that feeling. It's fun and it's exciting but that also doesn't trap them into going too light. Instead, there are a few dark moments in this issue that work perfectly amidst all of the fun and energy here, particularly as Speedball is stunned out of his re-found happy-go-lucky attitude by the mention of Stamford and his time as Penance. It's a jarring moment, one that's perfectly timed and excellently executed (particularly in this issue, as we watch Roche's very kinetic and almost cartoonish depiction of Speedball actually stopping). I can't guarantee that this book is for everyone but I'd encourage everyone to try it; like with Yost's SCARLET SPIDER before it, I think NEW WARRIORS is so sure of its characters and so sure of its place in the universe and its tone that it's going to continue to be a strong book for as long as it continues.

Moon Knight 4, Iron Fist: The Immortal Weapon 3, Magneto 5

Moon Knight 4
Ellis (w) and Shalvey (a) and Bellaire (c) and Eliopoulos (l)

Moon Knight has been contacted by a Doctor Skelton, a sleep scientist who had worked with one-time ally to Marc Spector Peter Alraune. Skelton is having troubles with his sleep studies as all of his patients, hooked up to machines and drips in his small office provided by the university, have been going slowly insane after having the same dream. Moon Knight, sworn to protect travelers in the night (which also includes protecting people in dreams), returns to the office with Skelton and goes to sleep on the floor of one of an open, damp and smelly room. He enters an incredibly colorful and psychedelic hellscape where seemingly every piece of the landscape has the face of a man pleading for death. Moon Knight explores the area for a bit and then abruptly wakes up and crashes into Skelton's office, dragging him out by the hair and throwing him into the damp and smelly room, where he rips up the floorboards to find a corpse wrapped in a bag rotting underneath. Skelton explains that it was a random guy from Craigslist who'd first participated in the study and who had undisclosed medical problems that reacted badly to the drugs Skelton used and that Skelton had been forced to hide the body or else he would be shut down. Moon Knight explains that he's been rotting there with his own fungus and with whatever else Skelton put into him, that they've "been breathing in his dreams."

Another amazing outing for this MOON KNIGHT book which finds Ellis doing one of his favorite things, weird and creepy science, and finds Shalvey getting to really play with a new environment and play with the constructs of dreams, while Bellaire gets to colors some extraordinary new settings. Just a really phenomenal book, one that really flies by but that you'll have no trouble going back to when it's over, one that you'll really want to flip through a couple of times just to see everything that Shalvey and Bellaire are doing, let alone the interesting story and the ever tight-lipped Moon Knight (which comes somewhat at odds with the Moon Knight in ORIGINAL SIN who was rather a chatterbox this week's issue). I said in my pre-game this week that this is a series that will, even just three issues in, undoubtedly be a phenomenal book for as long as Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey want to stay on it and, oh hey, what's this news now? Brian Wood and Greg Smallwood are taking over the series starting in issue seven in September? CURSE YOU, IRONIC LINK.

Total Score: 5/5


Iron Fist: The Immortal Weapon 3
K. Andrews (w, a, c) and Caramagna (l)

As Danny returns to K'un Lun to find it in ruins with the Thunderer, his old master and current Yu Ti of the mystical city, decapitated, something inside him rather snaps. Between the present and a slew of flashbacks, we see Danny trying to keep his rage down and his rage turning into fear as he worries about who he is and what he'll become, that his fear is based on unleashing death. Thunderer was an instrumental part of learning that about himself and now he's dead and Danny wasn't there to stop it. Fellow immortal weapon Prince of Orphans is onsite to help K'un Lun recover and asks Danny to step up and eat the fruit of immortality that he declined when he was first given the choice. Then, he'd rejected it because he sought vengeance on the man who he believed killed his parents, Harold Meachum only to be denied that vengeance because Meachum was old and frail, already practically dead. Now he's offered the fruit in the hopes that he'll stay and be a new and stable Yu Ti, a guiding hand as K'un Lun rebuilds. He declines it and kicks down the tree, demanding vengeance and attacking the Prince of Orphans. he's thrown out from K'un Lun and into the snowy Himalayas where he runs across some sort of beast that appears to be his father. Meanwhile, Brenda, the girl he slept with in issue one, is trying to watch over the little messenger girl but things are complicated when Davos (it's always Davos) comes to kill her.

On top of a very clear love of Iron Fist and the mythology surrounding Danny Rand and K'un Lun, it seems as if Kaare Andrews sat down and thought out every single thing about Danny Rand. He compiled his origin and his past and his present and tried to map out who the character was. Though Danny has recently been something of a stable voice, guiding perhaps angrier characters like Luke Cage or Daredevil, and giving his time and powers freely (well, since Heroes for Hire, anyway), you can absolutely see where Andrews is coming from. Spider-Man every single day is reminded and pushed by his origin, by the fact that he let Uncle Ben die with his own inaction. Yet here's Danny Rand, a guy who, as a child, saw his crazed father fall to his death and his mother torn apart by wolves as he pressed forward to a city where he would be relentlessly trained to be a weapon, and he opens up a nice dojo in town for kids to come train with him. I'm not saying that's impossible or crazy or anything like that, no. Absolutely people come back from horrifying childhoods. But still, Andrews obviously looked at Danny and said "well there's clearly more to it than that." And that's the story we're seeing. It's a story set in the present but with very strong and obvious ties to his past. And it's just an astounding book to look at. Also, I like that cover and the next cover looks AMAZING.

Total Score: 5/5


Magneto 5
Bunn (w) and Walta (a) and Bellaire (c) and Petit (l)

Magneto is recovering between missions. Removed to small-town America, he plots his next steps and restocks his supply of staples and other small magnetic things. He meets with a man to learn a new target he can attack but, before he can set out, he's found by a woman wishing to help him. Briar Raleigh is a woman with a metal leg and a dossier on the entire SHIELD team set to hunt Magneto. He decides to hear her out as she promises to lead him to much bigger scores, including the Marauders, than any little random informant could give, though he's not without his suspicions. It's possible those suspicions are well-founded as we're privy to a flashback wherein we see that she lost her leg in a Magneto attack on Seattle some time prior.

Briar Raleigh, though a name I'm not sure I can get behind (though I'm not eye rolling at it like certain Verity Willises), seems an interesting addition to this book. Someone with questionable motives giving apparently useful information to Magneto and being the person who can lead him in a direction. Whenever you have a character who can point a protagonist in a direction you have the potential for an interesting character. One like this one, who has questionable motives and no known history, seems particularly useful, especially given how many enemies Magneto's made. It's a little like Isaiah in BLACK WIDOW but it's hard not to believe (though this could be just what Edmondson wants us to believe) that Isaiah is a pretty good dude, at least good for Natasha. In this case, Briar Raleigh (does not flow off the tongue, nor does it flow off the keyboard) may well be giving Magneto information now only to lead him to traps later. Fun stuff. Can't complain on this one.

Total Score: 5/5

SUPER QUICK REVIEWS: Nova 17, Magneto 4

Nova 17
Duggan (w) and Medina (p) and Vlasco (i) and Curiel (c) and Deschesne (l)

Sam wants to help his mother out of their financial woes but, as so many have learned before him, there's not a lot of money in superheroing. Meanwhile, his comings and goings have attracted the attention of plenty of UFO-seekers and his mom requests he keep a lower profile. They talk about the possible eviction and about his dad, who Sam tells his mother is alive, according to the news he received from the Watcher. Sam decides he'll talk to the Watcher more to try to get help (but he won't, because ORIGINAL SIN).

It's a little bit of a rest issue here after the long space-based arc with Beta Ray Bill but it does its work to ground Sam a little more. One of the challenges of such a book is to make sure that it still feels human, even with all of the space travel and such. It's helped by the fact that Sam is just a child so he's limited in how long he can go without returning to Earth. As such, it's a nice break issue and it helps to keep this series feeling pretty human, even if it means we're not seeing a huge advancement in the plot. The writing is still pretty strong and the characters get a chance to really shine through in this one. Medina and Vlasco do some solid work here as well, I don't usually have anything to complain about with them.

Total Score: 5/5


Magneto 4
Bunn (w) and J. Fernandez (a) and Bellaire (c) and Petit (l)

Magneto has found a base of Purifiers who have been taking unsuspecting mutants (particularly those with more evident physical mutations) to "a farm where they can be free" which, of course, means to their death so they can be studied. Magneto wrecks through the compound and adds the names collected by the Purifiers to his giant list of lost mutant names.

With the first arc over, we get a standalone issue here, a sort of standard "this is my mission" issue which finds Magneto going after standard hate-based enemies the Purifiers. It's not a bad issue, per se, and it's a good standalone of "this is what Magneto does," but it does feel a little perfunctory, as if it knows it's just filling space. Javier Fernandez does a pretty good job stepping in for Gabriel Walta but the art star here is Jordie Bellaire, whose colors take us all over the world to all sorts of environments and still she manages to keep the book feeling like the series has so far and make the art leap off the page. Full marks, as ever, to Bellaire.

Total Score: 4/5

Moon Knight 3, Magneto 3

Moon Knight 3
Ellis (w) and Shalvey (a) and Bellaire (c) and Eliopoulos (l)

Moon Knight finds himself up against a gang of punk rock ghosts who he quickly learns he cannot touch though they can touch him. His first encounter with them goes badly and he returns to his mansion to consult with Khonshu, who advises him to use some of the various tricks and tools he's picked up from Egypt in his travels. The next night, wearing all new armor that looks more Egyptian (including a Khonshu-like mask) and is capable of touching ghosts, Moon Knight sets out again and absolutely destroys the punks, eventually tracking down the source, a music box left behind bye a deceased member of the gang underground where they all once died.

Story
The story of this one takes a back seat to introducing more of what we can expect from this series as a whole. The story, of course, is apparent through the issue as Moon Knight sets out to defeat ghosts but the key in this one is seeing how he interacts with Khonshu and how he's set himself up in this new world. We've seen his wealth in action in all sorts of ways already, from his car to his tools to his flying glider (which gets a little more screen time in this one), and now we're seeing the fruits of his travels, a plethora of ancient Egyptian artifacts that, in some cases, he admits he doesn't remember buying. There's a lot happening here but Ellis is keeping it pretty firmly below the surface for now. 4/5

Character
Moon Knight keeps doing what he's been doing to kick this series off. He's assisting the police, he's keeping his dialogue to a minimum, only interjecting a few words here and there, and he seems to be mostly enjoying himself. Ellis' vision for this book was putting Moon Knight in a situation where his craziness helped him, made him stand out. He travels around at night wearing all white. His glider swoops in and out of the city with ease. He finds criminals. He's not trying to be stealthy, he's not Batmanning it out there, he's attacking criminals head on and it's working. With that attitude and with the new Khonshu information, it feels rather like we're learning quite a lot about Moon Knight without the need for a lot of dialogue or any narration. 5/5

Writing
Ellis has kept the writing pretty limited, as I said above. The quick bits of dialogue and the times when it's used most (Khonshu has the largest chunk of dialogue when he's telling Spector that he needs to be prepared for any adversary he may come across but it's used in the quiet moments, with Spector sitting at home with his various identities) give the book the exact sort of pacing it needs. It's fast, it's action-packed, and it's creating our character and his world well. 5/5

Art
Declan Shalvey continues to absolutely kill it with his designs, including the new fight-the-dead suit, and his action sequences. Jordie Bellaire is on fire with her amazing colors (it's always going to stand out, this white on night, which is very much what this book is counting on and what it will rely on and Bellaire is proving that it will sustain). It's all extremely cool while sticking to the somewhat creepy that this book needs. More outstanding work. 5/5

Miscellaneous
The book reads about as fast as any book out there right now, given the limited dialogue and the great action. You want to just keep reading it but you also want to stay on each page and examine each panel.

Total score: 5/5


Magneto 3
Bunn (w) and Walta (a) and Bellaire (c) and Petit (l)

Magneto finds the lab responsible for creating the new breed of Omega Sentinels and begins to make his way through the ducts, eventually finding project leader Dr. Elizabeth Alain. He deactivates a few incomplete Sentinels and sends a paper clip into Alain's arm to make her talk about what's happening in the lab. She tells him he has it all wrong, that they don't want to hurt mutants, they simply want to create a refuge for people who don't want to be subject to the whims of mutants. She believes that the place they're creating will be a sanctuary for people afraid that mutants will destroy the world and it calls back memories of Genosha for Magneto. Sentinels destroyed his mutant utopia and killed millions so he's not particularly sympathetic to an idea for human sanctuary patrolled by Sentinels. He finally kills Alain and sets the area to self-destruct, taking the giant Sentinel within with it.

Story
Though he's wiped his first real objective off the map (though it took more time than it once would have, as he points out), there's still plenty to come for Magneto as he realizes too late he should have pressed Alain for more information about who guided her to the Master Mold to create her Sentinels. Still, all in all it's a pretty successful first outing for Magneto as he manages to bring down an Omega Sentinel factory, regardless of its true purpose, and has also managed to stay a step ahead of SHIELD and whoever else may be chasing him, though a destroyed lab with a giant Sentinel sticking out may paint a picture of where he's been. 5/5

Character
There's been a lot to get into with Magneto so far as we've now covered his tragic Holocaust past and the horrors of Genosha, two of the biggest influences in his life. There's a lot of regret in his Genosha attempts and Bunn makes sure it comes to the forefront here, creating a parallel in the story to Genosha, but for humans, and showing us effectively why Magneto has such a specific bone to pick with Sentinels and Sentinel creation. Magneto's doing some horrible things but Bunn is making sure to cast it in such a light that we understand his motives for doing them, even if we're Professor X sympathizers. 5/5

Writing
The tone of this book continues to be incredibly dark, shifting back and forth from tragedy to impending tragedy. The strongest thing that Bunn has done has been to infuse this book with an overall sadness. There are plenty of dark and gritty books out there, probably plenty that are better than this one, but making sure that the tone is always tinged with sadness and regret gives it a much more palpable feeling. It humanizes Magneto in a way that just showing him as angry can never do. I think it's Bunn's strongest Marvel work since VENOM and it may prove to be stronger than that. 5/5

Art
Walta's art shines and really focuses on the humanity of these characters (I hate writing about "humanity" for mutant-based books but it seems a particular affront to Magneto), giving some real emotion to everyone involved. Bellaire again comes through with some great color work, giving everything exactly the right tone and fluctuating between past and present with lots of red in the past and a mix of blues, blacks, and grays for the present. Real tone building work with this art and these colors. 5/5

Miscellaneous
This book continues to be really impressive, going above and beyond what I expected of it. It's not hitting on the same sorts of awe-inspiring notes (for me) as something like BLACK WIDOW or X-MEN LEGACY or HAWKEYE, to name a few, but it's really very technically good.

Total score: 5/5

Eisner Award nominations announced!

The prestigious Eisner Award nominations have been announced for 2014 and Marvel finds its name strewn all about the list. As this is a Marvel based blog, I'm only going to really talk about the Marvel nominations, though I may use very loose pretenses to talk about other people too (fair warning). The full list of the nominations can be seen here.

Marvel saw nominations in a number of categories particularly for Fraction and Aja's HAWKEYE. I'm going to list off the categories and say who is competing in them with a particularly highlight on the Marvel nominee and likely some running commentary on my thoughts on the nomination.

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
-DEMETER, by Becky Cloonan (self-published) (Cloonan could be seen at Marvel last year as one of the guest artists on the two-part finale of YOUNG AVENGERS. Check her work out, it's continually strong stuff)
-HAWKEYE 11: "Pizza Is My Business," by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel) (the infamous dog issue is highlighted here because it's GREAT)
-LOVE AND ROCKETS: NEW STORIES 6, by Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics)
-VIEWOTRON 2, by Sam Sharpe (self-published)
-WATSON AND HOLMES 6, by Brandon Easton, and N. Steven Harris (New Paradigm Studios)

Very excited to see HAWKEYE 11 on the list of nominees. HAWKEYE is a great book with a number of incredible single issues and it seems hard to pick just one but it's hard to go against this choice. Also cool to see Marvel on here at all alongside a number of indie titles; Marvel typically doesn't write for single issues so the idea that one issue from a meaningful run would be chosen is pretty neat.

Best Continuing Series
-EAST OF WEST, by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta (Image) (Hickman, obviously, is a big part of Marvel over the last several years and EAST OF WEST is one of those books I keep telling myself I'll get around to reading at some point. His other non-Marvel work is often just as heady, if not more so, than his Marvel titles, like the incredibly interesting THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS)
-HAWKEYE, by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel) (I believe this is the second nomination for HAWKEYE as best continuing series in two years but I'm certainly not about to do any research)
-NOWHERE MEN, by Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde (Image)
-SAGA (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples) (I believe SAGA won this category last year but, again, saying so definitively would require more research than I'm willing to do right now. Marvel fans will know Vaughan from legendary runs on books like ULTIMATE X-MEN and, most notably, RUNAWAYS)
-SEX CRIMINALS, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky (Image) (Fraction makes a second appearance on the list here for the Mature Readers Only title SEX CRIMINALS, probably one of the most fun books out there right now)

I'm disappointed in myself for only really reading two of the series on this list. SAGA is another one I keep telling myself I'll read and I really should read NOWHERE MEN as it's one of the big staples of Image comics. Nice again to see a superhero series cracking through the incredible lineup of entire genre-encompassing work that Image is putting out. It's a testament to how good and how inventive HAWKEYE is that it's considered here.

Best Writer
-Kelly Sue DeConnick, PRETTY DEADLY (Image); CAPTAIN MARVEL (Marvel) (Kelly Sue DeConnick gets the nomination everyone agrees she deserves for her incredible series with Emma Rios, also nominated, PRETTY DEADLY as well as the fantastic CAPTAIN MARVEL)
-Matt Fraction, SEX CRIMINALS (Image); HAWKEYE, FANTASTIC FOUR, FF (Marvel) (Fraction is at the absolute top of his game just a couple years removed from his own fear that he was on his way out of comics. Hard to vote against this guy. Also a little surprised that his work with Howard Chaykin on SATELLITE SAM isn't recognized here)
-Jonathan Hickman, EAST OF WEST, THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS (Image); AVENGERS, INFINITY (Marvel) (Similarly surprised that NEW AVENGERS isn't mentioned here. Hickman too is seeing a lot of payoff for his story-driven epics that all deserve a lot of credit)
-Scott Snyder, BATMAN (DC); AMERICAN VAMPIRE, THE WAKE (DC/Vertigo) (I kind of fell off of BATMAN as it started to feel like it was requiring too much universe reading to truly keep up but there's no doubt that Snyder can write a great story. I've been interested in AMERICAN VAMPIRE and THE WAKE but, if this post proves nothing else, it should prove that I have a whole bunch of comics I'd like to read. Did I tell you guys I'm all caught up on INVINCIBLE? Pretty cool, huh?)
-Eric Stepenson, NOWHERE MEN (Image)
-Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA (Image)

Geez, hard to pick a winner out of this bunch. Like I said above, Fraction's on the absolute top of his game and his great work on HAWKEYE rocketed him to great books like SEX CRIMINALS and SATELLITE SAM. Hard to go against that, though he has worthy adversaries here including Hickman and DeConnick. I would be a little sad to see a non-Marvel writer win this but it's hard to argue that the nomination committee (or whoever it is that does this) pretty much nailed this category.

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior art)
-Andrew C. Robinson, THE FIFTH BEATLE (Dark Horse)
-Sonia Sanchez, HERE I AM (Capstone)
-Fiona Staples, SAGA (Image)
-Ive Svorcina, THOR (Marvel) (Svorcina gets a well-deserved look here for his run of art in the THOR books, though I guess I didn't realize Svorcina was the one responsible for the painting-like feel of Ribic's work. This is why colorists deserve more attention)
-Marguerite Van Cook, 7 MILES A SECOND (Fantagraphics)
-Judith Vanistendael, WHEN DAVID LOST HIS VOICE (SelfMadeHero)

Best Cover Artist
-David Aja, HAWKEYE (Marvel)
-Mike Del Mundo, X-MEN LEGACY (Marvel)
-Sean Murphy/Jordie Bellaire, THE WAKE (DC/Vertigo) (Jordie Bellaire, colorist extraordinaire, makes her first but not last appearance on the nomination list)
-Emma Rios, PRETTY DEADLY (Image) (She's an incredible artist; everyone should check out PRETTY DEADLY. DeConnick herself said on a recent Nerdist Writer's Panel that she feels she took maybe a little too long to start clearing up some confusions in the plot but that Emma Rios' art kept people onboard long enough to keep them interested and to get them to some of the reveals - I'd say DeConnick isn't wrong, it's very easy just to look at the book)
-Chris Samnee, DAREDEVIL (Marvel)
-Fiona Staples, SAGA (Image)

Really packed house with Marvel artists here, so it's hard to make a pick, not to mention Rios on PRETTY DEADLY. Okay, it's not too hard. I've adored all of Mike Del Mundo's covers on my much beloved X-MEN LEGACY so obviously that's what I'm picking. Very excited that he's getting attention for said covers. A little sad not to see Jamie McKelvie on here for the stunning YOUNG AVENGERS covers but I guess you can't fit everyone.

Best Coloring
-Jordie Bellaire, THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS, NOWHERE MEN, PRETTY DEADLY, ZERO (Image); THE MASSIVE (Dark Horse); TOM STRONG (DC); X-FILES SEASON 10 (IDW); CAPTAIN MARVEL, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (Marvel); NUMBERCRUNCHER (Titan); QUANTUM AND WOODY (Valiant) (Geez, Bellaire is just ALL OVER THE PLACE on a slew of amazing books. Again, colorists deserve tons of respect and it's nice to see Bellaire getting a good deal of it here. She, along with fellow nominee Matt Hollingsworth, does a great job keeping the tone and feel of a book the same even as the artist switches from issue to issue while still letting the art shine through in its own unique way)
-Steve Hamaker, MYLO XYLOTO (Bongo); STRANGERS IN PARADISE 20TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 1 (Abstract Studio); RASL (Cartoon Books)
-Matt Hollingsworth, HAWKEYE, DAREDEVIL: END OF DAYS (Marvel); THE WAKE (DC/VERTIGO)
-Frank Martin, EAST OF WEST (Image) (Martin is also a great Marvel colorist, though his work isn't referenced here)
-Dave Stewart, ABE SAPIEN, BALTIMORE: THE INFERNAL TRAIN, BPRD: HELL ON EARTH, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, HELLBOY: HELL ON EARTH, THE MASSIVE, THE SHAOLIN COWBOY, SLEDGEHAMMER 44 (Dark Horse)



Lot of really good nominees on this list and just another reminder that I have to read more comics. Also nominated for various categories include names people familiar with Marvel will recognize like Francisco Francavilla (Best Limited Series for THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT), Christopher Sebela (nominated for Best New Series for HIGH CRIMES), Greg Rucka (also nominated for Best New Series for the fantastic LAZARUS), Ben Acker and Ben Blacker (Best Anthology for the amazing and much recommended THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR graphic novel from Archaia), and, of course, Jack Kirby (Best Archival Collection/Project - Comic Books for IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB at DC - good luck voting against Jack Kirby).

Moon Knight 2, Magneto 2

Moon Knight 2
Ellis (w) and Shalvey (a) and Bellaire (c)

A sniper is targeting individuals connected by their mutual past. Though each of them, with the exception of this sniper, works for banks and other large financial companies now, they were all formerly part of a special ops group. The sniper was abandoned at the end of an op and, in his mind, left to die while they all went on to make lots of money in other fields. His life apparently over, he's made his way back to kill each of them. He's reached eight by the time Moon Knight tracks him and the two battle on a rooftop and even into the office building of the ninth person. Moon Knight holds his own in the fight, dodging bullets and using his tech to keep up. He knocks the sniper down and the pair of them are surprised by the ninth member of the team appearing and shooting the sniper in the head before explaining to Moon Knight that they had all gone their separate ways and that he was just the tool. Where the gun had once had power, they'd all but him realized in the end that it was the banks that truly have power.

This is what a MOON KNIGHT story should be. It's dark to the point of graphic and it's unsettling to the point of chilling. The story is presented in neat eight panel grids to start, four rows of two panels as these seemingly random people go about their daily lives. Each page, including the first one, someone is shot. The next page is then laid out the same way but with an emptiness where the victim's panel was. Meanwhile, the sniper's story is told in some of those empty spaces, a clean black font on a pure white background. It's calm, it's collected, and, eerily enough, it's meant to sounds like it's Moon Knight's origin. He was a mercenary, he was left to die on an operation that went south in a foreign country, now he's taking revenge on the others who wronged him. It's all told in the third person and the sniper isn't shown until the first eight targets are dead and the story has been told. In fact, Moon Knight, who appears after all of that as well, appears first. It's a scarily well-written and well-presented story as Ellis and Shalvey force the audience to wonder if Moon Knight's snapped or, even when we learn that he hasn't (any more than usual), if he's capable of this sort of retribution. Really great story, magnificently presented in a way that seems so obvious now but that I couldn't have pictured before I read it. If you're not too disturbed by assassinated people and maybe a little bloodshed, it's worth flipping through this one. Really fast read, kind of stunning when you're at the end suddenly.

Magneto 2
Bunn (w) and Walta (a) and Bellaire (c)

Magneto pays a visit to the shantytown that the Omega Sentinel he destroyed pointed him towards while a SHIELD team pays a visit to the place where Magneto destroyed the Omega Sentinel. They learn nothing there but Magneto quickly realizes there's something wrong with Down Acres and interrogates one of the men there. He learns that people come regularly and take someone away; they used to offer "work" but none of the workers ever returned so people started to get suspicious. Now they're taken away while every other person tries to keep his or her head down. Magneto waits until night when the vans come and attacks the men, brutally killing them. He gets information from one of them before also killing him.

Another pretty brutal outing for Magneto as Bunn begins to characterize Magneto more as the Holocaust survivor with a purpose. We see a memory of Magneto's where he and a pair of friends went to steal bread for their families in the camps but one of his friends is captured and promised freedom and food for his family if he gave up the names of his conspirators. His friend gives up the name of his other friend but doesn't mention Max. Leaving Max out of it led Magneto to learn that brutality works and that he was meant for something bigger in life. It's a bit of a strange message for Magneto to have learned but the point is made and it seems particularly relevant here. There's nothing like humanizing one of Marvel's most human (well, mutant. You know, very specifically not human in his case) "villains." The SHIELD team following Magneto serves as a ticking clock sort of plot point, like the special SHIELD team out to find Punisher over in PUNISHER. You know that it'll come to a head at some point, it's all a matter of when. Not a bad story for Magneto and one that I think has the potential to grow.

This week's picks

Tricky week this week. There weren't many that were true standouts based on the impact they had or the glee I felt reading them. I toyed with just knocking the "top three" down to one or two but the day I can't figure out three comics worth reading shall be a very sad day indeed. This isn't, then, necessarily the three comics that, if you're going to buy comics, are the ones you should go for (with the exception of MOON KNIGHT). Instead, these are the ones that really went for it this week and certainly are worth mentioning.

Moon Knight 1

A pretty good first entry, giving us a look at our hero and the problems he'll be facing this time out. Of course, they're in the same ballpark as the problems he's dealt with before, but Ellis is taking a slightly different approach to them, giving them an almost more mythological feel to them, which is, of course, a nice move. Shalvey and Bellaire are incredible and the series is off to a solid start. This one should be fun and I'm sure it's going to be one that really makes us think and that will be different than everything we've seen from Moon Knight before.

Punisher 3

This series continues to really press on what makes a solid PUNISHER book. It's raw, it's calculated, it moves with logic and reason, and it's not afraid to get its hands dirty. I don't know that it's in my list of favorite books being released by now (geez PUNISHER, BLACK WIDOW took literally no time to crack that list, it's taking you upwards of three issues) but it would have to be a really phenomenal book to win me over to a PUNISHER solo series. He's not my guy, I get that. With that said, Edmondson's put together a compelling book with an interesting lead and some good supporting characters. Mitch Gerads, for his part, has done a terrific job selling me on LA and on the sort of war Frank is fighting. Keep an eye on this one.

She-Hulk 2

I'm in favor of the SHE-HULK series in just about every aspect. I've immediately come to like Charles Soule (as has, it seems, the entire comic industry, given the raves I've heard about books like SWAMP THING over at DC), I like the idea of more female-led books, I like She-Hulk as a character well enough, and I'm happy to check out Pulido's art. Still though, the book hasn't exactly gripped me the first couple issues out, though it's certainly putting a lot on a book to ask that it work for me right away like I'm expecting. I'm not necessarily asking for that, I think, just stating that this one hasn't burst out of the gate like so much HAWKEYE, BLACK WIDOW, or NEW AVENGERS. Regardless, it's certainly establishing its world and its tone, both of which will be paramount for the book ahead. If it can keep this up and keep pressing, it'll find itself in an awfully favorable position when the stories start hitting.

Moon Knight 1, Magneto 1

Moon Knight 1
W. Ellis (w) and Shalvey (a) and Bellaire (c)

Moon Knight, Marc Spector (or whatever name he may go by at any given time), is back in New York after a recent spell in LA that saw his personality, long thought to be Dissociative Identity Disorder, fractured into three separate entities on top of the Moon Knight one. These identities were, unlike the identities he'd taken on in the past, in the form of Captain America, Spider-Man, and Wolverine. He's started fresh in New York with a new style and new methods; he dresses in an all white suit and goes out at night helping the police solve crimes and going after the perpetrators himself. One such perpetrator is a murderer who has killed strong people all over the city and taken parts of them. Spector tracks him to the tunnels below Manhattan and quickly finds him. He hears him out, hears his story about being an old SHIELD agent wrecked by an IED and trying to put himself back together after being booted from SHIELD. The people he killed didn't matter to him because, in his opinion, they were wasting their strength. Before the killer can attack, Moon Knight reveals that he'd thrown one of his crescent knives into one of the machines keeping the man alive, avenging the travelers he'd killed. Smash cut to just before returning to New York, Spector learning from a doctor that he doesn't have DID, he has "brain damage." His brain was "colonized" by Khonshu, the Egyptian god that brought him back from the dead, and Khonshu has applied his own four aspects, Pathfinder, Embracer, Defender, and Watcher of overnight travelers (and, occasionally, Khonshu's violent aspect of "The One Who Lives On Hearts"), to Spector's brain. Spector's brain then tries to assign personalities to each aspect to make sense of the split. The issue ends as Spector, fresh off taking down the rogue SHIELD agent, returns home to his giant, empty house to see his other two personalities, Steven Grant and Jake Lockley, and Khonshu himself welcoming him home as his son.

Very interesting first issue. This is a tough character to really get into as a comic book writer, one who
differs from so many of the other Marvel heroes. Obviously you can break him down just like any other Marvel character and put him in a camp like "anti-hero" or "vigilante" or "violent mercenary" or "crazy" but that doesn't really get to the root of it. We don't read DAREDEVIL because we like "vigilante" books, we read DAREDEVIL because we like Daredevil and who he is and what he stands for. To that end, Moon Knight is one of those characters that's harder to ascribe a history to. He has a very clearly stated origin but even that is one that gets muddied up by everything that's come after it. Warren Ellis' first take on Moon Knight, then, is to fix that origin in place. He died. Khonshu brought him back. Khonshu's four aspects (five if we include the violent one that kind of pervades the rest when it comes out) have taken up space in Marc's mind. Moon Knight is born as a protector of travelers because that's what Khonshu's about. Period. I don't think it's the flashiest first issue or the most profound first issue I've ever read but I DO think it's possible that this is exactly what this series needs to start with. The last MOON KNIGHT series was Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev and had some really good bits to it but they definitely went for the flashier start, revealing that Moon Knight was talking to Cap, Wolverine, and Spidey but actually just talking to himself because he's CRAZY. Flashy but not too too far removed from who Moon Knight is. Now Ellis is here to say "this book is different than that one but HERE'S WHY that one fits in with this new definition." Very cool start. Good Shalvey art and great Bellaire colors. Should be a lot of fun going forward and now that our ground rules are kind of set, we should have a lot with which to press forward. Only sad I couldn't track down a Skottie Young variant cover (at right) today at my LCS.

Magneto 1
Bunn (w) and Walta (a) and Bellaire (c)

Magneto's left the X-Men and he's on a vengeance tour, tracking down and killing those who have hurt mutants. His first victim, as far as this book goes, is a Doctor Hatcher in Missouri, a man who donates regularly to groups like the Purifiers. He hunts down people like that or ones who kill mutants and he kills them to keep them from doing more harm and to make them answer for their crimes. So far he's kept quiet enough that SHIELD and any other faction that might be after him hasn't pinned him down yet but he knows they're on the lookout. He travels to a town in California that has seen three mutants killed in recent weeks and he manages to find the man responsible, though he's surprised to find that he's handed himself in prior to Magneto's arrival. Magneto isn't satisfied with this, though, sure that the man will slip through the cracks of the legal system and be back on the street in no time. He barges into the police station (where the man is being held) and attacks the police officers before coming upon the man himself. The man warns him to stay back but Magneto advances on him, causing the man to reveal that he's a somewhat crudely put-together Omega Sentinel, a Sentinel in the body of a person, and he attacks Magneto involuntarily. Magneto is able to rip the machinery from the man, though it deals fatal damage to the victim, who reveals that these things were put in him somewhere near Down Acres.

Neat little entrance to the world of Magneto here. As I mentioned in my pre-game this week, Magneto solo books tend not to last very long if they're launched at all. I think part of the problem with a villain-led book is that the villain has to be big enough to care about (which usually means they're pretty evil like Red Skull or Ultron), complex enough that we care about what happens to them (good luck finding too many of those beyond individual arcs), and they have to be trying to do something that isn't taking over the world (no one wants to read a full series where Ultron tries repeatedly to eliminate all human life, especially if the book's conceit is forcing us to route for Ultron in that situation). Magneto's tricky because he certainly fulfills the first two qualifications but he's rarely not trying to exterminate humans or take over the world so it's hard to be on his side. This issue is setting up a book where he's on a one-man war against other people, not mutants vs. humans on the large scale but mutants vs. humans on the small scale. More than that, even, it's mutants vs. genocidal and bigoted humans, humans who would kill or support killing mutants. Although it's an anti-hero book at its core, it makes Magneto pretty unequivocally understandable and it means that, even if you're not so into killing, you can see where he's coming from enough to care what happens to him. Pretty neat stuff. We'll have to see how this one goes in the long-term.

New Moon Knight Series Announced!

A new MOON KNIGHT series has just been announced and boy is this one pretty exciting. Set to launch in March, the new series will find Moon Knight up against what writer Warren Ellis dubs "weird crime." Because yes, the writer on this MOON KNIGHT series will be Warren Ellis. And that's not all: we're also getting art from Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire who I as recently as this past week lauded for being "on top of [their] game." I love Moon Knight and think he's a really interesting character and it's exciting to see Warren Ellis re-entering the Marvel Universe (I think his last foray was his set of one-shots during the transition between Ed Brubaker and Rick Remender on the last volume of SECRET AVENGERS, where he actually wrote Moon Knight for a time, though that won't have been his last by the time the new series drops; he's set to co-write a few AVENGERS ASSEMBLE issues with Kelly Sue DeConnick starting, I believe, next issue). The way Ellis describes him nicely puts him into perspective, too. He's a man who wears a crescent shaped cape and all reflective white and who only goes out at night; there's not anyone out there who can't see him coming and that's who this guy is. Exciting times abound.

Journey into Mystery 655, FF 11

Journey into Mystery 655
K. Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

Whatever is in this space station is infecting Gaea and Skuttlebutt/Ti Asha Ra and Sif is pretty sure at this point, especially as she looks upon the new and monstrous form of Gaea, that this is not all for the best. They manage to rescue Ti Asha Ra, who tells them that the ship is insistent on finding new lifeforms and it's accepted Ti Asha Ra now that she is melded with Skuttlebutt because that makes her something new and different, maybe better. Now the ship has its hands on Gaea and boy, looking for a new lifeform and you find that and it's pretty exciting. However, it's also a little more than the ship can handle and it's losing a little bit of control, now zooming at Earth in the hopes to find more new and pure lifeforms. Sif and Beta Ray Bill get to the front of the ship to try to stop it from getting to Earth and are somewhat quickly restrained by the new Gaea. Sif manages to break through and communicate with Gaea and the ship and explain the everything in the universe is the way it is and there's no changing that. Plenty of things simply are and there is no way of fixing that; it's not a problem to be solved, just a puzzle which can't be perfected, only nurtured. Her talk is good enough to stop the ship and release Gaea and Ti Asha Ra who, along with Sif and Bill, crash-land in Asgard. The book (and the series) ends with another nice moment from Sif who, in talking with Gaea, confesses that she truly hated the experience of being the source of the now burgeoning garden in Asgard.

Really sad to see this series go. I've been a supporter of it for some time and I think Immonen's really found the voice for Sif, both as it pertains to this series and as it pertains to the character as a whole. It's been an entirely lovely ride with absolutely gorgeous art and color (this issue really outdoes itself) and I'm sad that such a reliable and different series has to fall by the wayside. It's been such a fun and fresh experience with plenty of stellar moments and drama laced with natural and flowing humor. There are laughs in nearly every issue, genuine ones, that don't come from a place that feels like they needed to add laughs and so stuffed a few jokes in. Instead, they're natural and everything fits every character. There are really great bits to this book and every new issue I came out happy with the outcome. You can't ask for more than that. I hope to see Sif (and particularly this Sif) again soon. But guys, really, buy this book. I don't care if you don't know what's happening with the series or the arc, the art and the writing will be more than enough to get you through the single issue. Sad to see this one go. It's bee a great run.

FF 11
Fraction (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)

So I was wrong in my pre-game and this is actually the second to last, I believe, issue of FF helmed by Fraction. Anyway, let's push on. Maximus the Mad is free and roaming the halls of the Baxter Building (kept badly under wraps by Ahura and company), Julius Caesar is now a teacher of the Future Foundation, and the new Fantastic Four are trying to use Caesar's time machine to return to the moment the old Fantastic Four left (that's a weird sentence, that is). The new F4 are yanked out of the timestream, though, by the Impossible Man, a character from the '60s who has always been more of a jokester than a villain. He does mess with them a bit but ultimately tells them he'll help them find the old F4 if they take his son, Adolf Impossible, back to the FF with them. They agree but find it a little hard coaxing Adolf to come with them. Eventually he consents (thanks in no small part to Medusa) and the Impossible Man tells the F4 that the other F4 are on the verge of being lost into a parallel dimension. Meanwhile, Caesar meets and introduces himself to Maximus and the two form an easy alliance.

Speaking of books that are fun, this is definitely one of them. Every issue, like with JiM, has several easy laughs and pretty natural writing (JiM's writing is both natural and Asgardian-unnatural, which is a super interesting thing to come across). Even after 11 issues, it's a little hard to get a read on this team as a team, which I think is a really smart idea. Maybe I would be against it if these people were all good friends and we weren't getting the team-vibe out of them after this long but these guys are mostly acquaintances (with the exception of Darla who didn't know any of these guys beforehand) and it shows. Not only are they acquaintances, they're acquaintances who were only supposed to be needed to band together for four seconds. Now they find themselves in the tough position of needing to be a full fledged superhero team and work together with no desire or ideas on how to actually do that. It's shining through particularly well right now as She-Hulk snipes sarcastically at everyone and Darla does what she can (as something of a newbie to this world) to band everyone together. Medusa is likely the most fit to lead the team as the long-time queen of Attilan but no one trusts her after the Wizard's manipulation. Scott, who seems to be the actual leader (after taking Reed's spot on the team specifically), is still coping (poorly) with the death of his daughter not long ago and Ant-Mans don't tend to make the best leaders. So it's an immensely interesting team dynamic, and one that seems to be coming to a head right now as tempers flare. Oh, and the Impossible Man is pretty funny here. Good stuff, you guys.

Gambit 15, Journey into Mystery 654

Gambit 15
Asmus (w) and C. Mann and S. Mann (a) and Rosenberg (c)

After weeks of impressive thievery, Gambit finds himself at a bit of a crossroads. Is the thievery fulfilling enough to return to full time? Should he go teach at the Jean Grey School again? Would he make an awful Avenger if he took up Rogue's offer of joining the Unity Avengers? Could he and Pete Wisdom get along together if he went to work for him, taking up an offer that I'm not sure was ever extended? To add to it, he's brought more than a little attention to himself in the thieving community with his recent exploits and now someone is trying to get to him by stealing the NYSE bell, which signifies the start of the day for the stock market and which was always a goal of Gambit's, and leaving clues that he's sure to respond to. He and Fence investigate but it's likely Gambit won't like where the investigation leads.

This probably final arc of Gambit (not sure how long the arc is planning to go but the book isn't far from its final issue) will see Gambit pitted against his past, among probably other things and it's off to an interesting start as Remy has to start piecing things together here to try to get a jump on someone who clearly has a significant jump on him. This isn't like Joelle or Cich, who he had to get involved with before they knew who he was; this is someone who is targeting Gambit for one reason or another who Gambit has to work backwards to match. The writing of this book, as it has for a while, alternates between fluidity and somewhat clunky dialogue with Gambit throwing in a few somewhat forced jokes to keep up his "wisecracking Cajun" persona. There are a couple of vague references to distaste with the 1% and wealth and everything but none of it really adds to his character as none of it is said with any sort of passion beyond "ah well, I'd like ta steal from more people and they have a lotta money and Robin Hood, ya know?" (Perfect Gambit, nailed it) That's been kind of an issue with this series throughout; for everything we've seen from Gambit I'm not sure we've actually learned anything new about the character or anything even particularly compelling. Sure he had a love interest in Joelle mixed against his love for Rogue but the things we knew about Gambit prior to this, the things that were set in stone for his character, were essentially "thief," "Cajun," "womanizer," and "wisecracking." I don't know that anything in this series has characterized him beyond that in any way, leaving the series still readable and enjoyable, but somewhat forgettable. Can every issue bring some revelatory truth about a character? I don't know, probably not. But some should. I can't honestly say that any have, to this point, in this series.

Journey into Mystery 654
K. Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

Sif and Bill are dealing with their problems in their various manners, with Sif trying to track Gaea and Bill agonizing over the loss of Skuttlebutt. Sif manages to find Gaea in the garden Bill had been rejected from and discovers that the garden has worked wonders on the All-Mother, leaving her rejuvenated and fresh. Sif doesn't feel comfortable with how quickly it's happened and wants to return Gaea to Asgardia but Gaea is wary of that, as she feels her sickness was brought on by all of the Stark Technology used to build Asgardia leaving her with little real plant life to keep her happy. Meanwhile, Bill has been found by Skuttlebutt, now inhabiting the thought-dead body of Ti Asha Ra, pulled out of the ship by the entity that's driving this whole story and put into the new body. Something sinister is afoot and Sif needs to get to the bottom of it before it corrupts everything.

Unlike Gambit, there's less that's been explored in Sif's character over the years so there's more for Immonen to really introduce for her. That said, I don't think it's been an easy task for Immonen to take a great warrior of Asgard(ia) and cast her in this new light, one that really gives her a full-fledged personality and one that, at times, has the ability to be something silly and fun. Frankly, this book has been astoundingly good each issue and it's almost entirely on the back of Sif, who does exactly what's needed of her for the plot but does it with a character that's wholly entertaining. This story is certainly an interesting one with some sinister machinations behind it and a solid mystery for Bill and Sif to get to the bottom of but the driving force is certainly the writing and the characters themselves. Like I said with Gambit, there are times where certain writers know that the dialogue should be fun but don't seem to have anything particularly fun to say, so they strong arm some predictable joke in to take advantage of the timing. Here, as with just about every issue of Immonen's JiM, the writing flows pretty naturally and the quick and fun writing catches you off-guard. Sometimes the humor comes from the situation, sometimes it comes from the snappy dialogue, sometimes it comes from the tried-and-true Asgardians talk funny method but it almost all always works. Schiti's art perfectly compliments it, giving exactly the right feel to every situation and Bellaire's colors continue to be among the best in the industry. Letterer Clayton Cowles gets in on the fun too, setting up word bubbles nicely to give a sense of flow to the conversation, directing your eyes to read the dialogue the way its meant to be read (I don't highlight letterers enough but they do some pretty astounding work. The general rule of thumb is that if you're pointing out a letterer, it's never because they've done something well, just because they've screwed something up. They're kind of the referees of comics). Solid book throughout and another particularly good issue. Here's a panel from this issue because I found it especially funny (not sure it is out of context but whatever, my blog my rules) and I don't think I'm going to highlight it at any other time this week.

Colorists

Like I said after missing last Monday's post, I want to write something on the importance of colorists in comics. However, the more I sit and try to think about what I'd say, the more I realize I'm totally unqualified to say it. I qualified myself for this whole comic blog idea because I have read and currently read and will continue to read a ton of comics. I'm pretty up-to-date on Marvel history and characters and I know enough about writing and about character to consider my own opinion somewhat worthwhile. More than that, if I was looking for a blog to read about comics, I think I'd want to read something like this one. That I could judge for myself. I can't truly qualify myself for a post about colorists because art tends to take a backseat to story and character with me. It's a bad thing about the way I see comics and I wish I was better. If I actually dedicate the time to looking at the art and fully experiencing it, that might be different, but I know I'm not coming from an artist's background. I like what I like and it almost always serves to better the book for me, but rarely does it hold the book up on its own.

Still, it's an important topic and one I'd like to speak about, so here goes. Before I start, I recommend anyone interested read colorist Jordie Bellaire's recent post on the role of colorists and the respect they're afforded (or disrespect, as the case may be). She knows why more about it than I do, clearly, and she's a smart lady. I also consider her in the top of the field, alongside people like Bettie Breitweiser and Matt Hollingsworth. Any of these three people CONSTANTLY make me jump back to the start of a book halfway through because I'm asking who colored it. Either that or I figure out a page in that it's one of them because their style is so defined for each book they work on. It may switch between books (hence the sometimes-confusion) as applicable but their skill is unquestioned. Of the three, I'd have to start with Breitweiser.

Bettie Breitweiser was the first colorist I really noticed. It did not hurt that she was the regular colorist on Brubaker's books, such as Captain America, Cap and Bucky, and Winter Soldier (at various times). The mood she sets with her colors is unmistakable and ALWAYS fits the noir style of Brubaker's writing. There are only a handful of artists who make me stop mid-book to identify them. Breitweiser was definitely one of those artists. I say "was" because I'm more or less at the point now with her where I can pick out her colors at a glance. I'm thrilled to say that she's going to be taking over as the colorist on Brubaker's creator-owned Fatale series.

Jordie Bellaire is all over the place in Marvel. She's taken on coloring duties for so many books and frankly, none do her justice as much as the colors on the last issue and next issue of Captain Marvel. Filipe Andrade's art is absolutely incredible, I can't deny that. The more that I look at it, the more I want to look at it, which is kind of a weird place to be in. However, his shapes are kind of all over the place, and his figures are often positioned strangely. Characters stretch in odd directions, they contort their bodies in interesting ways; it's chaos. Andrade's art is absolutely the type of art that needs a confident colorist to create mood and to explain how a person's body moves like that. Bellaire's shading aids in both those things while her soft colors match the tone of Andrade's pencils and of Kelly Sue Deconnick's writing.

Matt Hollingsworth epitomizes why I'm such a bad person to write about this (that's why I saved him for last). He only recently jumped on to my list. Like, really recently. Like since issue seven of Hawkeye. I had known going into that issue that the regular artist, David Aja, wasn't drawing it. On page one, though, I had to close the book again and check because I was so sure it was still Aja. The book still felt EXACTLY the same as when Aja, whose art I adore, drew it. But it wasn't Aja keeping the tone the same, it wasn't even Fraction's writing. It was more immediate than both of those; it was Hollingsworth's colors that made it feel like the same book I love. But that's not even why I'm such a bad person to write about this. I'm such a bad person to write about this because Hollingsworth has colored TONS of books that I've loved, including an issue of the newest Daredevil series, Brubaker's run on Daredevil, Brubaker and Fraction's run on Iron Fist, an issue of X-Force, and so on. I've come across him THAT MANY TIMES and only after Hawkeye 7 did I go "oh geez, he's awful good." But he is. He's awful good.



Look, I can't tell you why colorists are important. Jordie Bellaire should have already done that above. Hopefully the galleries of the colorists above and more will show you how important colorists are to the comic industry. So respect your colorist, guys.