Hey everybody, pretty busy week for comics with a few books that you'll definitely want to keep an eye on (and a few that I'm certainly not going to tell you to). Here are some examples!
Avengers 35
This recommendation comes with a bit of a caution: this will start Hickman's grand conclusion to his AVENGERS time (if memory serves and I'm not just making that up) called TIME RUNS OUT, so it's bound to be a pretty big issue but it's also $4.99. Don't get me wrong, it's meant to be an extra-sized issue so it may be worth that extra dollar after all. I just tend to be wary (and everyone else should be too) of Marvel putting out so many extra-priced books. I'm all for people getting paid appropriately for their work but I worry what all of these releases could mean for my wallet going forward.
Daredevil 8
We're back in San Francisco after a brief New York/Wakanda detour for the ORIGINAL SIN tie-in and this issue will kick off a new arc about THE PURPLE CHILDREN, seemingly the many offspring of persuasive villain Purple Man (or perhaps just some dumb kids under his thrall, though illegitimate love children makes more sense to me for a guy who has persuasive powers and is a real creep). Purple Man, despite being a real creep, obviously has some scary potential and Daredevil fighting children should be fun. Wait, maybe I could word that better.
Edge of Spider-Verse 2
I think this event has the makings of some really interesting stories (I do tend to like well-done alternate dimension stuff, we'll see if this falls into that camp) and this, I believe, is the debut of the much advertised Spider-Gwen, the alternate universe Gwen Stacy Spider-Person. Could be fun!
Elektra 6
I really like this book, you guys. Give it a shot, willya?
Thor: God of Thunder 25
This one edges out UNCANNY AVENGERS, AVENGERS WORLD, and SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN as it marks the start to a really monumental shift for Thor, who we last saw in ORIGINAL SIN being told some secret by Fury that caused his hammer to IMMEDIATELY deem him not worthy and drag him down to the moon's surface. What was that secret? Who will be deemed worthy? What's the secret origin of Malekith? Possibly all that and maybe some more, up this week!
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Leftovers 9-10-14
Wowwwwww, managed to knock out enough books that I only have SIX ISSUES to quick-review today. Not saying I'm super-duper proud of myself but it'd be okay if you were all super-duper proud of me.
All-New Ultimates 8
The Ultimates meet to figure out their next plan, particularly where they're going to live and how they're going to operate now when Spider-Man tells them that J. Jonah Jameson offered them "whatever they need" to help and maybe he could help with this. Meanwhile, the Femme Fatales, a new villain group with some sort of puppeteer over them, attack Manhattan. The Ultimates dispatch them well enough but constant bickering between Cloak and Dagger comes to a head and the two remove themselves to break up. Oh, and the Future Foundation shows up for some plot device and someone is watching them/researching them on some monitors. You know how it goes. The series continues to drag with exposition and would-be playful dialogue hampering the pacing. The banter during the fight is as constant and as head-shakingly frustrating as it's ever been. Total Score: 2/5
Deadpool 34
In another throwback story, this one tied to ORIGINAL SIN, we learn that Deadpool used to work willingly (sort of) for Butler, giving him his blood and doing jobs for him. His personality is still there but there is an element of coercion to it. Things come to a head when Butler, testing the limits of Deadpool's subservience, sends Deadpool to kill his own parents. After a brief encounter with Alpha Flight, Deadpool burns his childhood home down with his parents sleeping inside. He returns home to find Carmelita on Butler's doorstep with little Ellie. Butler takes a blood sample from Ellie before Deadpool sends them away, shouting about how dangerous he is. He also leaves Butler's employ, leading to Butler to capture him covertly whenever he needs a new sample. Back in the present, Adsit has seen all of this courtesy of the truth bomb but Preston refuses to let Deadpool know about it. It's a pretty strong issue with the expected amounts of '90s comic-book references and homages which tend to be a lot of fun but can also carry on a little long. Instead, here, Duggan and Posehn front-load the issue with such references (making it a little bit of a drag but not giving it enough time to really slow things) and then really put some weight in the back half. Pretty strong stuff. Total Score: 4/5
Fantastic Four 10
Thing learns that She-Thing runs his Ryker's prison wing as dictated by someone higher up on the food chain, Sue steals one of the Fantastic Four transports from under SHIELD's nose, Johnny continues to party, and Reed finds himself alone in a fight in Chicago against the Wizard and the women of the Salem Seven, only surviving the fight with the appearance of Scarlet Witch. It's funny that this book should come after the '90s throwback DEADPOOL issue because that issue made fun of the '90s tradition of long-winded mid-fight exposition, among other things, then here all of that is in a real, non-tongue-in-cheek FANTASTIC FOUR book. Just further highlights why books aren't written that way any more. As ever, this book drags, the dialogue is terrible, and nobody has a thought they don't shout to the world. Total Score: 1/5
Magneto 9
Magneto sets off for Genosha, where he's learned more atrocities are being committed. He recalls times in the concentration camp as he finds mutants and Inhumans imprisoned at Genosha, held by the Red Skull, who Magneto soon learns has old friend Charles Xavier's brain. In his anger and his desire for justice, he goes alone to attack Skull and his S-Men only to be humiliated by the S-Men and captured. It's as dark an issue as that summary would make you expect, but it's a pretty good issue as Magneto fails for pretty much the first time in this series and as we get a little bit of a teaser of what we can expect out of the upcoming AXIS. More strong work out of Bunn, Walta, and Bellaire on this series. Total Score: 4/5
New Warriors 9
Scarlet Spider wants to quit the team and the mountain has brought him "home," which, to his chagrin, means Houston. He and Justice fight about the team and about Scarlet Spider's heroism but the two are interrupted by Choke the Bear, a giant former NBA mascot granted insane powers and size by a meteorite that once crashed through his court and landed on him. As Scarlet Spider tries to leave, hoping that Choke, who is set on fighting a villain in Houston, will follow him, he runs into old friend and police lieutenant Wally Layton who tells him that he was wrong when he blamed Kaine for Houston's problems, that Kaine really was a hero and saved the city and his own life multiple times. Kaine reluctantly goes back and, with the help of Justice, takes Choke down, even more reluctantly agreeing to stick with the team. Meanwhile, Aracely reveals to Speedball that Mictlan is coming and she will die soon. This issue is a lot of fun and Yost again shows off his prowess for taking any character, giving them a unique voice, and making you care about them. Everyone on the team gets at least one line this time out and there's not really a wasted line. Everything is meant to color a character or to advance the plot and it all works really well. Excellent work as ever and the book continues to be a really entertaining read. Really sad this one's ending. Total Score: 5/5
Nightcrawler 6
Nightcrawler and Scorpion-Boy team to fight their way through the Crimson Pirates in their attempt to save mutant genius Ziggy Karst. Together they plow through the pirates with seeming ease and Nightcrawler begins to believe there's more to it than the pirates just killing a bunch of people to get to Karst. Indeed, when they finally rescue Karst (who is immediately taken with Rico), they find that the pirates have been shooting everyone but the guns have been teleporting them to interdimensional slaver Tullamore Voge. Nightcrawler uses the gun on himself and rescues the civilians and Ziggy, returning home triumphant again. The book continues to be really start-and-stop with the dialogue and exposition stepping on the toes of the plot and the character-building. The plot twists, too, seem to come out of nowhere, which is kind of what you want a plot twist to do but a twist doesn't mean anything if there's absolutely no precedence for it, as in this case. This is a new mutant we know nothing about being attacked by pirates we haven't seen in decades for a slaver we haven't seen in decades and it's all over and done with in one issue. What a weird book. Total Score: 2/5
All-New Ultimates 8
Deadpool 34
In another throwback story, this one tied to ORIGINAL SIN, we learn that Deadpool used to work willingly (sort of) for Butler, giving him his blood and doing jobs for him. His personality is still there but there is an element of coercion to it. Things come to a head when Butler, testing the limits of Deadpool's subservience, sends Deadpool to kill his own parents. After a brief encounter with Alpha Flight, Deadpool burns his childhood home down with his parents sleeping inside. He returns home to find Carmelita on Butler's doorstep with little Ellie. Butler takes a blood sample from Ellie before Deadpool sends them away, shouting about how dangerous he is. He also leaves Butler's employ, leading to Butler to capture him covertly whenever he needs a new sample. Back in the present, Adsit has seen all of this courtesy of the truth bomb but Preston refuses to let Deadpool know about it. It's a pretty strong issue with the expected amounts of '90s comic-book references and homages which tend to be a lot of fun but can also carry on a little long. Instead, here, Duggan and Posehn front-load the issue with such references (making it a little bit of a drag but not giving it enough time to really slow things) and then really put some weight in the back half. Pretty strong stuff. Total Score: 4/5
Fantastic Four 10
Magneto 9
Magneto sets off for Genosha, where he's learned more atrocities are being committed. He recalls times in the concentration camp as he finds mutants and Inhumans imprisoned at Genosha, held by the Red Skull, who Magneto soon learns has old friend Charles Xavier's brain. In his anger and his desire for justice, he goes alone to attack Skull and his S-Men only to be humiliated by the S-Men and captured. It's as dark an issue as that summary would make you expect, but it's a pretty good issue as Magneto fails for pretty much the first time in this series and as we get a little bit of a teaser of what we can expect out of the upcoming AXIS. More strong work out of Bunn, Walta, and Bellaire on this series. Total Score: 4/5
New Warriors 9
Nightcrawler 6
Nightcrawler and Scorpion-Boy team to fight their way through the Crimson Pirates in their attempt to save mutant genius Ziggy Karst. Together they plow through the pirates with seeming ease and Nightcrawler begins to believe there's more to it than the pirates just killing a bunch of people to get to Karst. Indeed, when they finally rescue Karst (who is immediately taken with Rico), they find that the pirates have been shooting everyone but the guns have been teleporting them to interdimensional slaver Tullamore Voge. Nightcrawler uses the gun on himself and rescues the civilians and Ziggy, returning home triumphant again. The book continues to be really start-and-stop with the dialogue and exposition stepping on the toes of the plot and the character-building. The plot twists, too, seem to come out of nowhere, which is kind of what you want a plot twist to do but a twist doesn't mean anything if there's absolutely no precedence for it, as in this case. This is a new mutant we know nothing about being attacked by pirates we haven't seen in decades for a slaver we haven't seen in decades and it's all over and done with in one issue. What a weird book. Total Score: 2/5
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Amazing Spider-Man 6, X-Force 9
Amazing Spider-Man 6
Black Cat unmasks Spider-Man on live TV but Jameson inadvertently blocks the shot the entire time in a swing and a miss at humor. Silk manages to bust Peter out of the fight before any lasting harm can come of it but they know now to be prepared for Electro and Black Cat at every turn, which is good because the villains, on the sort-of coerced advice of Sajani, plan an attack on Parker Industries' big reveal of their new Electro-depowering tech. Everything at the press conference goes crazy but the ultimate result is a massive explosion that falls on Parker Industries and Spider-Man's rep, though it does indeed manage to depower Electro. Black Cat escapes and finds herself back in the good graces of a slew of underling supervillains, pledging to become the queen of the thieves, while Silk gets an internship with a news station in hopes of finding more about her family, and Peter feels rejuvenated by the success of the Electro device and believes he's in a good place with his work and his friends Sajani and Anna Maria, who are whispering even now about undermining some of his work.
I've already voiced some disapproval and concern about this book as it has focused on a pair of villains who just come off as crazy and well out of their own character, particularly Black Cat (I think Electro has been slightly better and a little more interesting). Cat has oscillated between petty criminal and vigilante for some time now so this full U-turn to hardcore crime boss because she's been wronged continues to seem really far-fetched. It may seem overkill to keep harping on that but right now that's what the entire story hinges itself on so it's impossible to overlook or to overstate its significance. What's more, the writing has been exposition heavy and the repeated attempts at jokes and humor have come off forced and mostly weak. I think there are interesting nuggets here and there (Sajani's sort-of betrayal, Anna Maria as sort-of sidekick to Spider-Man, Peter's determination to "heal" supervillains, etc.) but they're hard to find right now beneath the problems of the book.
Total Score: 2/5
X-Force 9
X-Force has been revealed in the desert and, despite Dr. Nemesis' hopes for a dialogue, a fight breaks out between X-Force and Pete Wisdom's team. Meanwhile, Agent Mel, the leader of the soldiers, is taken right from under their noses by the guerrilla Quaddees they were chasing in the first place, which, along with the insane power the seemingly least powerful soldier has, serves to end the fight and open a dialogue, to Nemesis' satisfaction. The soldiers in this unit have volunteered for superpowers, essentially, that will kill them all within a year but that will aid Volga until then. Now aware of their situation and the stakes, they agree to accompany X-Force to find their missing commander. When the team finds her, they're overwhelmed by powered-up Quaddees. Psylocke and Meme manage to bust through and read the captured Mel's mind, learning about the experiments and the power of the soldiers. Unfortunately, there seems to be no reasonable way out of this scenario so X-Force is x-forced to stick to Mel's plan, which involves her own team self-destructing, more or less, to take out the Quaddees and to stop their own powers from getting out into the work. Wisdom leads his team back home, though he warns Cable first about the bugs around them as Volga's spies (which we saw just two issues or so ago).
Things remain a little confusing this issue, as they were last issue, but Spurrier's managed to clear up enough and to keep a lot of the banter entertaining enough to allow us to proceed with the story. It's a true in media res story overall as we only get bits and pieces of the soldiers' mission, only the parts we need to know as they pertain to X-Force, which makes for a bit of a confusing issue but still allows us to come out the other side with a slightly better sense of our team and of Volga's capabilities, not hurt by Wisdom's reveal. It's a particularly strong Dr. Nemesis issue (a character Spurrier unabashedly loves, and rightfully so) as his unending disdain for superheroes finds a real home with this team. Some strong writing and fun character moments (one of the constant joys of this series is watching Fantomex repeatedly assert he is the best as whatever he's doing only to be proven wrong immediately, a joke that never seems to get old) carry this one.
Total Score: 4/5
I've already voiced some disapproval and concern about this book as it has focused on a pair of villains who just come off as crazy and well out of their own character, particularly Black Cat (I think Electro has been slightly better and a little more interesting). Cat has oscillated between petty criminal and vigilante for some time now so this full U-turn to hardcore crime boss because she's been wronged continues to seem really far-fetched. It may seem overkill to keep harping on that but right now that's what the entire story hinges itself on so it's impossible to overlook or to overstate its significance. What's more, the writing has been exposition heavy and the repeated attempts at jokes and humor have come off forced and mostly weak. I think there are interesting nuggets here and there (Sajani's sort-of betrayal, Anna Maria as sort-of sidekick to Spider-Man, Peter's determination to "heal" supervillains, etc.) but they're hard to find right now beneath the problems of the book.
Total Score: 2/5
X-Force 9
Total Score: 4/5
Inhuman 5, Ms. Marvel 8
Inhuman 5
The former king of Attilan, whose name has been stricken from the records and is referred to now as the Unspoken for the crimes he committed, has proposed to Medusa in the hopes of helping her lead New Attilan, though really to find more Terrigen. She, of course, rejects him, but does not imprison him, hoping to live up to her new welcoming stance and to find out the location of Black Bolt, which the Unspoken claims to know. As soon as he's left alone, the Unspoken enters a secret passageway which leads to a secret wealth of Terrigen, a depleted but extremely important resource for the Inhuman community and the source of the Unspoken's powers. Medusa, of course, never trusted the Unspoken and followed him down there in the hopes he would lead her to more Terrigen, assuming if anyone knew of any, it would be him. Unfortunately, he's able to take some of the Terrigen, allowing him to access his tremendous powers (he can pretty much do anything when he has the Terrigen) and he quickly takes over the city.
I've talked a lot about how the biggest flaw of this book is simply the timing. After numerous delays on the front end, this book is coming out about a year after the Terrigen Bomb went off in INFINITY, leaving Soule tasked with defining the past of the Inhumans, establishing the present of the Inhumans, and seeding for the future of the Inhumans, all while trying to do it quickly to keep up an overall series pace. The story itself is pretty interesting and the characters, when given a chance to breathe, can mostly hold their own, but the pacing tends to break down a bit as exposition wins out occasionally, like in this issue when Medusa gives a paragraph explanation of the Unspoken that is clearly only for the benefit of the reader and ends up being clunky and forced in the moment. I want to note here, because I don't think I ever really stress this, that isn't necessarily a dig at the writer; it's his job to tell a story and get people to understand that story and take interest in that story. It may even be an editor saying "hey, we need to explain who this guy is and we don't really have time to ease it out." Regardless of whose fault it is, though, it ends up hurting the book as a whole and it happens a couple of times. Hopefully the series will reach its potential as Soule gets the book to a place where he can feel confident just pressing forward.
Total Score: 3/5
Ms. Marvel 8
Ms. Marvel is having no luck finding leads back to the Inventor but is having luck finding giant Inhuman dogs as Lockjaw finds his way to Jersey and Kamala promptly adopts him. She and Bruno use the Facebook of the mutant teenager Wolverine had been looking for to try to learn more about her abduction. They use the location tracking on her last weird post to find where she was abducted and Kamala learns that Lockjaw is more than just a giant dog who likes hugs as he teleports her instantly to the spot. Together, Kamala and Lockjaw investigate the area and end up in a fight against one of the Inventor's big machines, this time powered by one of the kids she found at the house in Greenville. They take down the machine by removing the power source and she brings the protesting guy to the hospital, making her late for school and drawing more suspicion from her friends and classmates. That suspicion, sadly, isn't allayed as the Inventor sends another bot after Kamala at school after dropping a homing beacon in her bag. Will Kamala and the extremely helpful and great Lockjaw be able to save the school and keep her identity secret? Going to be particularly hard as Kamala can't seem to change her appearance!
Another great team-up as Lockjaw finds his way to Kamala on the orders of Medusa. Though he inspires fear and alarm in everyone else who sees the massive dog walking down the street, Kamala instantly takes to him, giving us another great look at the spirit and character of Kamala. One of the most impressive things about this series is that it feels like Kamala has been around forever, even if the story feels new. It's a testament to G. Willow Wilson's writing that Kamala feels so real and deep after just eight issues. Perhaps more interestingly, I'm not a hundred percent sold on the story or the series villain and I'm still totally onboard with this book as a whole. I think there's certainly still intrigue there for the story and villain but that's been a little less defined than Kamala so far, intentionally so but still potentially problematically. However, Kamala carries the book so adeptly that you're absolutely willing to give the plot a pass for a while, happily entertained by the characters in the book.
Total Score: 5/5
I've talked a lot about how the biggest flaw of this book is simply the timing. After numerous delays on the front end, this book is coming out about a year after the Terrigen Bomb went off in INFINITY, leaving Soule tasked with defining the past of the Inhumans, establishing the present of the Inhumans, and seeding for the future of the Inhumans, all while trying to do it quickly to keep up an overall series pace. The story itself is pretty interesting and the characters, when given a chance to breathe, can mostly hold their own, but the pacing tends to break down a bit as exposition wins out occasionally, like in this issue when Medusa gives a paragraph explanation of the Unspoken that is clearly only for the benefit of the reader and ends up being clunky and forced in the moment. I want to note here, because I don't think I ever really stress this, that isn't necessarily a dig at the writer; it's his job to tell a story and get people to understand that story and take interest in that story. It may even be an editor saying "hey, we need to explain who this guy is and we don't really have time to ease it out." Regardless of whose fault it is, though, it ends up hurting the book as a whole and it happens a couple of times. Hopefully the series will reach its potential as Soule gets the book to a place where he can feel confident just pressing forward.
Total Score: 3/5
Ms. Marvel 8
Ms. Marvel is having no luck finding leads back to the Inventor but is having luck finding giant Inhuman dogs as Lockjaw finds his way to Jersey and Kamala promptly adopts him. She and Bruno use the Facebook of the mutant teenager Wolverine had been looking for to try to learn more about her abduction. They use the location tracking on her last weird post to find where she was abducted and Kamala learns that Lockjaw is more than just a giant dog who likes hugs as he teleports her instantly to the spot. Together, Kamala and Lockjaw investigate the area and end up in a fight against one of the Inventor's big machines, this time powered by one of the kids she found at the house in Greenville. They take down the machine by removing the power source and she brings the protesting guy to the hospital, making her late for school and drawing more suspicion from her friends and classmates. That suspicion, sadly, isn't allayed as the Inventor sends another bot after Kamala at school after dropping a homing beacon in her bag. Will Kamala and the extremely helpful and great Lockjaw be able to save the school and keep her identity secret? Going to be particularly hard as Kamala can't seem to change her appearance!Another great team-up as Lockjaw finds his way to Kamala on the orders of Medusa. Though he inspires fear and alarm in everyone else who sees the massive dog walking down the street, Kamala instantly takes to him, giving us another great look at the spirit and character of Kamala. One of the most impressive things about this series is that it feels like Kamala has been around forever, even if the story feels new. It's a testament to G. Willow Wilson's writing that Kamala feels so real and deep after just eight issues. Perhaps more interestingly, I'm not a hundred percent sold on the story or the series villain and I'm still totally onboard with this book as a whole. I think there's certainly still intrigue there for the story and villain but that's been a little less defined than Kamala so far, intentionally so but still potentially problematically. However, Kamala carries the book so adeptly that you're absolutely willing to give the plot a pass for a while, happily entertained by the characters in the book.
Total Score: 5/5
Avengers Undercover 10, Avengers 34.1
Avengers Undercover 10
Plenty of the world's superheroes are trapped underground in Bagalia while the various crime organizations wreak havoc on the surface world, exactly as masterminded by Baron Zemo and his new Masters of Evil. Unfortunately for him, Cammi managed to stowaway with her unlikely partner Arcade and hack into Zemo's network, which Arcade's former partner Miss Corriander had designed to hack SHIELD. Unfortunately for Zemo, Corriander's system worked off of her initial Murder World designs, allowing Cammi to reinstitute Arcade's "god-mode," but for herself. She easily defeats the Masters of Evil and uses Zemo's SHIELD broadcast (typical super villain) to explain the actions of her and her friends to the world, chiding people for their excitement in the Murder World footage and reminding everyone that she and her friends are still teenagers doing their best to navigate an impossible world. She drops the mic and flies away as the kids and heroes start to repair things. So ends the current saga of these kids and their good vs. evil struggle.
I'm on record as having really liked AVENGERS ARENA despite initial low expectations. I came into this book still on an ARENA high and found myself immediately enjoying this new entry, though aware that it could have just been residual good feelings from ARENA. With the series now ended, I think there is no fear of that. This certainly served a different purpose than ARENA and was maybe a little less engaging because of that and because it moved on a much different timeline, but it definitely still holds up. Strong dialogue and tone and a nice speech by Cammi seals the deal on this one, though I can't help feeling that the issue was rushed a little bit. I kind of like that Cammi solves it all so quickly entirely by herself but it means that the giant plot that led to this moment took only one issue to resolve, which screams of a rushed deadline to me. Still strong work and this final issue ends with a total score that matches what I'd rate the series.
Total Score: 4/5
Avengers 34.1
A child has been kidnapped by the supervillain Mauler, who claims the boy is his real son. Hyperion startles the adopted parents of the missing boy when he appears in their home (he heard them sounding sad from god knows how far away). He examines the area and begins his investigation, eventually leading him straight to Mauler, who has already killed a cop in his attempt to escape with the boy. Hyperion, remembering back to his own father and planet and the lessons instilled in him about being a superhero, allows Mauler to attack him repeatedly (and unsuccessfully because Hyperion has unbelievable strength) while he attempts to talk things out with the villain. Eventually Mauler reveals that his actual biological son died in an accident recently, a fate Mauler had tried to avoid by putting the boy up for adoption in the first place. He took this kid because he looked like the villain's own son and now he's killed a cop and has to answer for his crimes with the police, but not with Hyperion's crazy power. Hyperion returns the boy to his parents and vows to protect Earth the same way.
As with most point ones, this issue has very little to do with the current storylines and more to do with giving readers an in to a book and to a character. Hyperion remains something of a mystery (though he essentially boils down to "Superman") but Ewing does what he can to showcase both Hyperion's attitude and his near limitless power. It ends up feeling a bit out of place in AVENGERS, which has been heady, somewhat dark, and often confusing in Hickman's run to this point. By contrast, this book couldn't be more direct in getting its point across, and purposefully so. It has strong moments but can't help feeling cheesy in the same way that earnest Superman stories tend to exclusively come off cheesy. So I guess mission accomplished?
Total Score: 3/5
Plenty of the world's superheroes are trapped underground in Bagalia while the various crime organizations wreak havoc on the surface world, exactly as masterminded by Baron Zemo and his new Masters of Evil. Unfortunately for him, Cammi managed to stowaway with her unlikely partner Arcade and hack into Zemo's network, which Arcade's former partner Miss Corriander had designed to hack SHIELD. Unfortunately for Zemo, Corriander's system worked off of her initial Murder World designs, allowing Cammi to reinstitute Arcade's "god-mode," but for herself. She easily defeats the Masters of Evil and uses Zemo's SHIELD broadcast (typical super villain) to explain the actions of her and her friends to the world, chiding people for their excitement in the Murder World footage and reminding everyone that she and her friends are still teenagers doing their best to navigate an impossible world. She drops the mic and flies away as the kids and heroes start to repair things. So ends the current saga of these kids and their good vs. evil struggle.Total Score: 4/5
Avengers 34.1
A child has been kidnapped by the supervillain Mauler, who claims the boy is his real son. Hyperion startles the adopted parents of the missing boy when he appears in their home (he heard them sounding sad from god knows how far away). He examines the area and begins his investigation, eventually leading him straight to Mauler, who has already killed a cop in his attempt to escape with the boy. Hyperion, remembering back to his own father and planet and the lessons instilled in him about being a superhero, allows Mauler to attack him repeatedly (and unsuccessfully because Hyperion has unbelievable strength) while he attempts to talk things out with the villain. Eventually Mauler reveals that his actual biological son died in an accident recently, a fate Mauler had tried to avoid by putting the boy up for adoption in the first place. He took this kid because he looked like the villain's own son and now he's killed a cop and has to answer for his crimes with the police, but not with Hyperion's crazy power. Hyperion returns the boy to his parents and vows to protect Earth the same way.Total Score: 3/5
Friday, September 12, 2014
Hawkeye 20, Captain Marvel 7
Hopefully there aren't many but please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors, particularly today. I wrote a slew of reviews (today's and tomorrow's) on my phone away from the comics and autocorrect REALLY hates comics, I tell you what. Nearly as much as I hate proofreading. So we're all to blame.
Hawkeye 20
Harold H. Harold has been killed and one of Kate's arrows is responsible. She's brought in for questioning but talks her way out of it with Caudle, who still doesn't like her but realizes she couldn't have done it. With the help of her LA friends, the flower shop owner who she helped in her first solo adventure, and the suddenly not-dead Harold, she sneaks into Masque's complex, finding herself suddenly on the losing end of a battle with her henchmen, though not before she manages to steal some really important client files of Masque's, including her father's. She escapes but returns to torch Masque's home as payback for her own torched trailer, which puts her back in the grasp of some more LMD henchmen (for, of course, that is what Masque's business dealing in bodies is and explains the lives of the rich that Harold stumbled on so long ago and Harold's own death and reappearance) and of Masque herself. She manages to walk away from the fight thanks to a timely rescue by SHIELD, who interrogates her but has no ground on which to stand in their interrogation, particularly when Kate questions their involvement, given the LMDs. She settles things up, borrows money from Marcus and Finch (who she refers to as "the best family a girl could have," d'awwwww), and heads home, calling her father and vowing to stop him.
The series is ready to merge into one story once more with Kate headed back east and it leaves me torn. I really love this book and obviously the first 15 or so issues with both Hawkeyes together were excellent but it's a testament to the strength of this series and the strength of Annie Wu that I don't want this to end just as much as I want Kate and Clint reunited. Fraction's Kate, in her first solo arc, has definitely proven she has the ability to stand on her own, showcasing skills and charisma at every turn. It's been tons of fun; credit to Marvel for trusting Fraction with this and for bringing in relative unknown Annie Wu to absolutely kill with a big spotlight on her. This book doesn't land nearly as well, even despite Fraction's writing, with any other artist. As far as this issue goes, fantastic work all around, Kate continues to be one of the most fun characters to read out there and her energy and excitement bursts off the page. There are great long-jokes, great quick-jokes, great references snuck in (the old cranky Hallmark card lady gets referenced! There's a "It's Chinatown" reference too but the cranky old Hallmark card lady is that funny that I'm not even going to mention the Chinatown one), and overall an excellent book.
Total Score: 5/5
Captain Marvel 20
Captain Marvel has returned from her first arc successful, but it hasn't stopped the nightmares she's plagued by, namely a nightmare wherein she cannot protect the people she loves and fails them when they need her most. In perhaps happier news, she's found herself traveling with Tic, who stowed away after their first adventure, and the pair of them return to Carol's ship, currently being grudgingly watched by Rocket Raccoon, who immediately begins fighting with Carol again about the possible alien nature of her cat. Their fight is interrupted by a spaceship latching on to and breaching Carol's. Matters are made worse when Tic finds Chewie the cat sitting on a host of apparent offspring, perhaps confirming Rocket's assessment that a very dangerous Flerkin has made its way onboard.
Despite the nightmare to kick this one off and the tension by the end of the issue, this one is certainly more light-hearted than any of the first arc of this CAPTAIN MARVEL volume. Just about everything both Tic and Rocket say is played for laughs, some hitting well and some missing the mark a bit. It also feels a bit like we're missing a scene here as Carol sees Rocket and IMMEDIATELY tears into him for...watching over her ship and cat for her. Granted, Rocket changes some things on her ship and hates the cat, but there's nothing wrong with Chewie as Carol returns and the changes to the ship aren't cited as problems, which makes Carol just come off as aggressive and ungrateful. As I said, I think there are grounds for a fight present but those grounds never feel like the reason she attacks. It's not an awful issue and certainly guest artist Takara does a very good job filling in, but it never feels fully together the way DeConnick has made us accustomed. Such is the price of repeated success.
Total Score: 3/5
Hawkeye 20
Total Score: 5/5
Captain Marvel 20
Total Score: 3/5
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Death of Wolverine 2, Edge of Spider-Verse 1
Death of Wolverine 2
Armed with the knowledge that Viper has put the contract out on him and with a fairly new Iron Man helmet with which to barter, Wolverine travels in a fairly lax disguise to Madripoor and meets with one of Viper's underlings to set up a meeting with her, showing off the Iron Man helmet and offering to make a deal. When the underling brings him, she immediately knows who it is (he's really not hiding it) and she sics her real henchmen on him. He easily beats them and moves on to questioning his ex-wife. She admits that she's just subcontracting another job she got for an extraordinarily wealthy client, one whose name she refuses to divulge. She promises more answers if he can defeat Sabretooth in battle, which he does but only by the skin of his teeth and the intervention of Lady Deathstrike, who reveals her name has also popped up on the hit-list Viper put out to the world's mercenaries. Viper herself has disappeared and Lady Deathstrike suggests the pair of healers team up before learning Wolverine's not healing any more and rescinds her offer, instead hoping she can defeat him and trade his freedom for hers. However, she's surprised to find Kitty Pryde reaching through her chest before she can act.
Charles Soule just signed an exclusive contract with Marvel (his DC titles will continue through next March though, giving him time to wrap things up if you're reading those) and it continues to seem like an ace move by Marvel, who has proven in the last couple years that it's dedicated to keeping good talent around as best it can with the use of exclusive contracts (Kieron Gillen jumps to mind) and new titles (I'd look to someone like Dennis Hopeless for that, or Sam Humphries, though I haven't liked as many of his titles). So far, DEATH OF WOLVERINE is proving another in a long line of really compelling and exciting stories from Soule, who I lauded for revitalizing THUNDERBOLTS and for kicking SHE-HULK off to a very fun start (jury's still out a little bit on INHUMANS but I'm mostly liking it so far, just confused by its timing). This is the Wolverine I've been missing from his solo title the last couple years, one who faces danger head-on but doesn't always go in half-cocked. He's quiet, he's threatening, he's quick-witted, he's tough, he's maybe a little bit menacing, and...he's going to die? Geez, now I'm sad again. Really solid second issue with a number of twists and turns that generally work for me and some great art from McNiven.
Total Score: 5/5
Edge of Spider-Verse 1
In 1939, the magician Mysterio wants to take real control in the city and he aims to do it by taking the blood of the vigilante Spider-Man (Noir). Though he's working under the control of the Kingpin right now, he hopes to infuse Spider-Man's blood, which he believes is truly from the spider god Anansi, with his own and gain his mystical powers. Teamed with his own magic and illusions, he believes he could run New York City. He lures Spider-Man out with a threat on Spider-Man's old lover Felicia Hardy. Though Mysterio manages to trap Spider-Man, the vigilante breaks out and defeats the magician, though it doesn't stop the pounding of his danger-predicting sixth sense. Suddenly, a masked figure approaches, threatening to eat the Spider-Man, when another Spider-Man (Superior) appears, distracts the figure, and transports Spider-Man (Noir) out to meet in 2099 with a handful of other Spider-Mans (assorted).
EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE, the new Spider-Man event, has its official debut on the heels of a prologue in the suddenly continued SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN and the Spider-Man offices at Marvel make a good call by kicking things off with Spider-Man Noir, one of the more interesting ideas and visually compelling (particularly with Isanove's skill and affection for noir) Spider-Men we've seen. It's a strong first entry as writer David Hine manages to give us some good backstory and character development despite having to start in the middle of a story that isn't actually the story he's tasked with telling, which he gets to. LOOK, it's late and I'm tired and I KNOW my sentences are breaking down by the second but these books are both event books and AVENGERS 34.1 didn't really justify being in the first day so here we are. Anyway, good book, still an interesting premise even if we didn't really learn anything we didn't already really know from SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN 32.
Total Score: 4/5
Charles Soule just signed an exclusive contract with Marvel (his DC titles will continue through next March though, giving him time to wrap things up if you're reading those) and it continues to seem like an ace move by Marvel, who has proven in the last couple years that it's dedicated to keeping good talent around as best it can with the use of exclusive contracts (Kieron Gillen jumps to mind) and new titles (I'd look to someone like Dennis Hopeless for that, or Sam Humphries, though I haven't liked as many of his titles). So far, DEATH OF WOLVERINE is proving another in a long line of really compelling and exciting stories from Soule, who I lauded for revitalizing THUNDERBOLTS and for kicking SHE-HULK off to a very fun start (jury's still out a little bit on INHUMANS but I'm mostly liking it so far, just confused by its timing). This is the Wolverine I've been missing from his solo title the last couple years, one who faces danger head-on but doesn't always go in half-cocked. He's quiet, he's threatening, he's quick-witted, he's tough, he's maybe a little bit menacing, and...he's going to die? Geez, now I'm sad again. Really solid second issue with a number of twists and turns that generally work for me and some great art from McNiven.
Total Score: 5/5
Edge of Spider-Verse 1
EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE, the new Spider-Man event, has its official debut on the heels of a prologue in the suddenly continued SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN and the Spider-Man offices at Marvel make a good call by kicking things off with Spider-Man Noir, one of the more interesting ideas and visually compelling (particularly with Isanove's skill and affection for noir) Spider-Men we've seen. It's a strong first entry as writer David Hine manages to give us some good backstory and character development despite having to start in the middle of a story that isn't actually the story he's tasked with telling, which he gets to. LOOK, it's late and I'm tired and I KNOW my sentences are breaking down by the second but these books are both event books and AVENGERS 34.1 didn't really justify being in the first day so here we are. Anyway, good book, still an interesting premise even if we didn't really learn anything we didn't already really know from SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN 32.
Total Score: 4/5
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