Welcome, welcome! We’ve got a big heaping of good books this week for you to check out, and on top of that we now have a new writer! Everyone please welcome to the weekly review panel Mr. Brandon Burpee. Brandon comes to us from David’s neck of the woods in Alaska and will be a regular from here on out. You may have noticed his previous articles, including an extensive write-up on Maggot, and if you read that article then you probably love Maggot now. Either way, it’s a good week for comics, so let’s dive right into it.
BOOK OF THE WEEK: Spider-Woman #2
Matt’s Thoughts: Spider-Woman is a series that we, as fans, have waited a long time for. Originally, it was wanted around the time when we didn’t know that she was the queen of an alien race that had come to our planet to kill us all and take over our home because someone else screwed up theirs. At that time, Bendis held back from making a comic. Fair enough. Now that we have it, we have a dark and gritty noir-esque tale featuring the returned heroine we had all grown to love kicking ass and taking names. And this issue is full of just that: a hell of a lot of ass kicking and a hell of a lot of name taking (though, more emphasis on the ass kicking). And it’s pretty awesome.
Spider-Woman continues to read as smooth as silk, and Maleev handles the art direction perfectly. Spider-Woman is very much a return to the writing that first put Bendis on the map, and it’s a welcome return. Of course, without having followed Marvel for a while, you might be in the dark a bit, especially when it comes to the ending, but even so. Spider-Woman is essentially a reward for sticking with New Avengers and all of Bendis’ crazy ideas with Skrulls and invasions, and it’s a very worthwhile present. Suffice it to say, Spider-Woman works very well as Book Of The Week.
David’s Thoughts: Spider-Woman was really not a series that interested me that much at first. I thought she was a character that was vastly overrated by the fact that fan boys loved how David Finch illustrated her curves and really that was it. Yet, I couldn’t resist picking up a new series from the former Alias and Daredevil team of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, and I must admit, the concept intrigued me. Agent Brand of S.W.O.R.D. deputizes Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman) to be an Agent of S.W.O.R.D., and her job is to hunt down undercover Skrulls in the world (her motivation: the Skrull Queen posed as her, making her one of the most hated people in the world) and neutralize them, whatever means necessary. With that said, even with the concept and that team, I had no idea I’d enjoy this title as much as I have been.
Really, this title is basically a more action oriented version of Alias, with this book being part spy (complete with flying cars!), part detective, and part super-powered romp (Drew using her charisma powers, if that’s what you’ll call them, is a huge highlight of the issue). Bendis clearly is comfortable both with the character and the subject matter, and Maleev is on his game here as he was off his game on that horrid Halo title he and Bendis did together a while back. This is stellar work from two outstanding creators, and it belongs in everyone’s pull box month in and month out.
Gil’s Thoughts: When it came time to pick the BotW, I initially picked something else, mainly because Spider-Woman wasn’t on my pull. But I decided to relent, being the super nice guy I am. But I can say I’m glad I did, because this book was crazy good.
I actually watched the motion comic, and I wasn’t really feeling it. I thought it was a tad on the slow side, and Jessica’s British accent was actually a bit irritating. Thankfully, the comic loses the lag and the odd voice-overs for a more straightforward comic experience. Bendis crafts a fantastic noir story that’s filled with intrigue and aliens. Maleev’s art was excellent and is the perfect match to Bendis’ writing.
Continued belowIf you can’t tell, I’m adding this to my pull list.
Brandon’s Thoughts: I pick up the print issues of this title as well as the motion comic on iTunes. It seems silly but I bought into it. I wish I hadn’t. The print version and the motion comic version are the same material done differently but in the end the same product. While I do enjoy the two products I must say the print version is the superior. I say this only because the voice of Spider-Woman in the motion comic is irritatingly not what I would have expected her to sound like.
While the voice thing may be a personal hang up for the motion comic I find that it hurts my experience with the print version because as I read the title I hear THAT voice no matter how much I would prefer not to. There is nothing I can do about it now but hope that once I haven’t seen the motion comics for some time I’ll stop hearing it. Until then that is the only element of this book I don’t enjoy. So to be fair since it honestly isn’t part of the book I have to say the book is morphenomenal!
The combination of Bendis and Maleev has been pure gold on titles like Daredevil and Alias and continues to be so here on Spider-Woman. Jessica Drew comes across as a sexy super heroine who is very insecure with her place in the world yet very confident in her abilities.
You can clearly see Bendis’ love for the character in the way that he has brought her to the forefront of the Marvel universe over the course of his Avengers stint but it is more evident here than ever before. His certainty of her character shines through in this issue as the voice of the character is consistent and well developed.
Maleev does not disappoint here either fanpeeps. His art carries a dark style that makes this a top-notch espionage book. He brings us great chase scenes as well as some intense violence and blood. Maleev’s art continues to be a unique style that adds a gritty realism to the book that it couldn’t dream to have without him.
I personally will stay with this title as long as BOTH Bendis and Maleev are on it. If one of them leaves it will be evaluation time. It will be hard for Marvel to fill either of these guys’ shoes. The motion comic on the other hand I think I’ll have to pass on once this current arc has run its course.
So if you aren’t picking this title up you may want to rethink it. I mean who wouldn’t want to read a great title like this. Well unless you’re a Skrull or a Skrull sympathizer. Are you?
MATT’S REVIEWS
Dark Avengers #10
Can I start my review in a non-conventional way? Yeah? Ok. What the frak just happened? No, seriously. That ending. It’s one of those moments in the book where you have to just ask, “How much of this is really happening right now?” And really, it’s not just the ending, it’s the whole damn book! While I like Dark Avengers a lot, this issue was just full of WTFs and odd character portrayals.
First off, we’ve got Norman showing up after having been secluded for some time. What’s up with him? We don’t know. Is he answering? Nope. This one factor could somewhat change the entire meaning of the ending, which in and of itself is pretty off the wall and something worth pondering over until the next issue. We all knew Norman was going to lose it, but in this ending I have to ask, did he just lose it? Or did that just happen? And you know why I’m so confused about it? It’s because I’m such a huge friggin’ comic nerd and yet I still had to go onto Google after reading the ending and see if other people saw what I saw and see what they thought about it, because I couldn’t wrap my head around the scenario.
Continued belowIn other odd moves, the whole team is acting weird. Mac’s depressed, which is crazy because we just had a mini about how happy and amazing Mac’s new life was (though the book chalks it up to being on new medication). Then there’s Moonstone, who is apparently in heat, and going after suave Hawkeye (wtf?). And finally, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SENTRY?
Now, Marvel’s solicit of the book reads, “Oh hey, you know how Norman Osborn was once the Green Goblin but he got it under control and now he’s one of the most powerful people in the free world? Oh, and you know that whole thing about him being a ticking time bomb who could snap at any minute? Yeah… you might want to check this issue out.” That right there gives me a possible idea of what I just read, which would in theory make sense, because like I said that ending is a bit off the wall. But why? There are still a lot of unanswered questions in that last few pages, and you know what? I love that. There are very few books that end and leave me really curious about the book, at least curious enough to hop on Google and search what others thought. Most times, an issue will end and I will say “Cooooool” or “huh” or some sort of variation on this that basically translates to, “Well, this book is great, can’t wait until the next issue!” But this one? OH man. I really want to know what happens now.
Either way, what has been rather up and down in it’s content as to whether I really like it or not, this issue of Dark Avengers really hit it home. Now that the crossovers are over and the end of Dark Reign has been announced, knowing that the end of this story is coming has really helped Bendis focus in writing his story to bringing it towards an epic conclusion. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this story goes from.
Final Verdict: Buy
Mighty Avengers #30
Any book that has a shirtless Clint Barton on the front cover is sure to be good (arguably the straightest thing I’ve said all week). I’ve been a big fan of Dan Slott’s work, especially recently in Spider-Man and this book, and I believe this issue is a great example of why. Slott’s handle on his bit of the new world order is great, and his ability to write a story that feels so classic in it’s Avengers motif attracts my natural nerdery into the equation. I’ve been a big fan of this arc, and last week’s “AVENGER’S ASSEMBLE!” really got me excited for this issue, and I was not let down.
In this issue, the Avengers continue to try and figure out how to deal with the Unspoken while Hank Pym defies all sense and grows outside our universe. It’s an interesting story as we’re introduced to.. well, the Universe, and the concept of the Scientist Supreme! In other words, this is pretty classic Avengers here. We’ve got the world threatening super villain and a supreme mystical scene changer. It’s what I’ve always loved about the Avengers, and in all honesty, I like this era of the Avengers much better than Bendis’ work. Pull in the fact that this does something that hasn’t been done in Avengers in a while (pull in all Avengers teams to battle the menace) and you’ve got a winner in my book. Plus, the team itself is great. Hercules? USAgent? Yes please!
Of course, there is the one point of contention that David usually brings up, and that is the artwork by Khoi Pham. David really doesn’t like his artwork, and as I read the issue this week, I honestly don’t really see why. I believe Pham’s drawing ability does a great job of shaing the heroes in all their various forms, muscular or not. His Hercules looks really great, and I loved the way he drew the Dark Avengers with no pupils. Really? I think David is too mean, because this really isn’t bad at all.
Continued belowEither way, another great issue in a great run by a great writer. I love Dan Slott’s work and I believe this whole arc is a great example why.
Final Verdict: Buy
Amazing Spider-Man #609
Man, this issue was really something else. In a good way, of course. Whether it’s bringing back the Spider-man characters from when I read the book as a kid or it’s taking shots at Kanye “I’mma let you finish” West, this book just really does it for me, which is a great change of pace for how I used to view the book in the “Brand New Day” world.
In this book, we continue the story of Damon Ryder as he continues his quest for revenge against Ben Reiley for the murder of his family. Of course, we the reader know there has to be more to the story than that, and the book does a great job of splitting between flashbacks and the current story as we gradually see the demise of the friendship between Ryder and Reiley. In fact, as the story reaches it’s end, we’re left with not one but two cliffhangers as to the ultimate fate of both Peter and Ben. It creates a nice juxtaposition and really emphasizes the different facets of the story. What I’m trying to say is – it’s just damn good writing!
A lot of people are worried that in bringing back Ben and Kaine, we’re in danger of recreating some of the insanity that was the ’90s era of comics, but I believe that the book is handled really well with the return and inclusion of certain characters. Kaine isn’t overdone as he used to be, and Ben only appears in flashbacks. It’s definitely not overdone, and if anything, this whole book feels like a treat to me as a long time fan of Spider-Man. It’s odd that they would include it now in the “Brand New Day” world, but at the same time it feels like, “OK, here’s a book I’ve been reading a long time, and now it’s rewarding me by bringing back stuff I read when I was younger.” We could say that about a lot of the superhero books these days, especially with the upcoming Necrosha and the return of Empath in X-Men Legacy, but this book rings true to me most of all.
The only thing I’m not 100% on is the art. Here’s the thing: on some pages, it looks glorious. The fight between Kaine and Spidey at the beginning is very well drawn. However, when Peter goes home and talks to Michelle, and when Spidey hitches a ride on top of a subway car later? That stuff just looks, for lack of better words, “derpy.” The physiques are all out of whack and the characters either look droopy or overly buffed out. It’s a very unstable set of artistry.
Other than that though, I loved this week’s issue. The book has been on a steady rise of great stories ever since Character Assassination. Everything before then I’m still VERY iffy on, but once Character Assassination ended, and ESPECIALLY when we hit issue 600, this book has been getting better and better with every issue.
Final Verdict: Buy
Batman: Streets of Gotham #5
I loved this book right from the first issue. I was really hesitant into getting it, but as it turns out I absolutely love it. The book provided a great spotlight on the smaller aspects of Gotham, but still relied mostly on Batman, and it’s story telling technique was so good. We had the return of Zsasz and Firefly, and Dini’s story was shaping up (and still is shaping up) to be absolutely explosive in issue #7. But, in the mean time, we have fan favorite Chris Yost and his two-part story starring Huntress.
Huntress is not a character I’ve been overly attached to or familiar with, but I roll with it. Yost’s talent as a writer and Ngyuen still doing all the artwork in the book make me a very happy camper. The book takes a slightly darker tone than usual in this issue, as Huntress hunts Man-Bat through the book while the story is juxtaposed of the latest man of God in Gotham. It’s a pretty twisted tale, and by the end of it, I’m left looking at the book and saying “Whaaa?” The story ties-in very well to the post-Final Crisis world of Gotham, and what I love about this book is that while it’s a Batman tale, it’s focus on the inner lives of people in the city creates all these interesting ways to provide the story. This is something Yost fully utilizes in his tale, as the final crash of the book leaves you confused and nervous as to what just happened.
Continued belowNeedless to say, despite the departure from the regularly scheduled program and writer, Yost comes in and absolutely nails it with the story. Cue more superb artwork from the criminally underrated Dustin Ngyuen, and you have a must buy book of the week.
There’s also a back-up feature on Manhunter. Manhunter is another character I haven’t really followed in her career as a heroine, but this one little story is pretty good. I loved the artwork a lot, and the story mainly focuses on the antagonist as he relates why he’s about to cause the havoc to come. Throw in a little Two-Face at the end, various cameos of villains, and it’s a worthwhile read for a back up story. I really haven’t been reading most of the back-up stories in the books I buy, except for Metal Men (in Doom Patrol), Ravager (in Teen Titans), and Question (in Detective Comics), but from this one little bit it’s definitely something to keep my eye on.
Final Verdict: Buy
DAVID’S REVIEWS
Invincible #67
Ho hum, another amazing issue of Invincible. This was a very entertaining one that once again featured the teaming of Omni-Man and Allen the Alien (along with Kirkman and Cory Walker), and it was a journey across the galaxy collecting destructive objects and things that could help the Coalition of Planets finally take down the Viltrumite threat. This arc being the prelude to war, you would think it would be the calm before the storm, but it really wasn’t. This issue is as action packed and as funny (Nolan staying at Allen’s apartment is a perpetual laugh machine) as we’ve come to expect from this series, and after so much intense action and the growth of love with Invincible and Atom Eve and Conquest and the rest, it’s nice to have a nice adventure with a bit of plot movement and levity thrown in.
Kirkman does a great job of not making these issues throw away ones, as he marches us onward towards the Viltrumite War, collecting inventive weapons and as per usual tying in his other characters as he sees fit. It never feels forced though, nor does the act of collecting these items ever fail to entertain. This issue is the perfect segue into the beginning of the war, with next issue bringing the return of Ryan Ottley and I’m guessing Nolan and his son Mark (aka Invincible) reuniting. Another top issue from one of the best titles out there.
Final Verdict: Buy
Ex Machina #46
Ex-Machina is odd in that out of all of the excellent projects Brian K. Vaughan has taken on (Y the Last Man, Runaways, Pride of Baghdad), it’s arguably been the most ignored one. I’m unsure if it’s because it is a Wildstorm title or what, but as we get closer and closer to the finale (4 issues after this!), it’s becoming clearer that BKV and Tony Harris’ opus is on par with the best work either of them have ever done.
This issue finds multiple story threads coming together, as the storyline featuring the White Box influenced Suzanne Padilla and our hero Mitchell Hundred finally colliding. This of course is bad news, as she has been effectively turned entirely evil by the White Box, not to mention super powered, and that spells bad news for Hundred. It’s a tense and exciting storyline, but in true BKV fashion he effortlessly combines that with a flashback depicting Hundred’s first use of one of the weapons he created that he had dreamt about and the shocking reaction it brought out in a criminal, and a storyline that ties in very neatly featuring Hundred’s mother and his old compatriot Kremlin. All three storylines combine via one very important object, and I feel as if that object will be the crux of the entire storyline as we get closer to the reveal of where Hundred’s powers come from and what his ultimate fate is.
Tony Harris brings it, as per usual, using his unique brand of photo referencing art to depict the actions within these pages. Tony Harris is one of the most underrated artists in the industry right now, as every time he does work it’s incredible. This is the best work he’s ever done, as he’s found a perfect partner in BKV for this title. With just four issues left, I highly recommend getting on your horse and catching up with this series for the exciting conclusion. It promises to be one of the best finales in recent memory.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: Buy
The Brave and the Bold #28
I’ve been reading this series from the beginning, as it started off as a very underrated team-up series written by Mark Waid and drawn by George Perez and slowly turned into a roller coaster of quality after they left the title. With issue #27 though, J. Michael Straczynski started writing with Jesus Saiz on pencils, and the rest, as they say, is history. The first issue was surprisingly great, pairing Batman with an unlikely partner in Dial H for Hero. With expectations recalibrated and this issue starring two favorites (Barry Allen/Flash and the Blackhawks), I expected another very solid issue.
This issue is far more than solid. JMS manages to turn this issue from a superhero/sci-fi story into a story of war, sacrifice, and what it means to be a hero. Not only that, but his point-of-view he shares is absolutely powerful, as he uses the Blackhawks and Barry Allen to effectively share what it means to be an American and how sometimes people forget that. It brought to mind Garth Ennis’ story from Hitman where Superman and Tommy Monaghan met on a rooftop (one of my favorite single issues ever), which means this is a damn good issue.
Jesus Saiz is an artist whom I’ve always liked after his work on Checkmate, but never really thought of because he works so rarely. Thankfully, he’s now on a high profile project with a top creator because his work so far has been stellar, as everything about his art works. The clean lines, the kinetic feel, the realistic layouts and staging of action sequences, the emotion on faces…this is the work of a budding master of artistic storytelling.
I will say this: to me, even with Invincible, Invincible Iron Man, and Ex-Machina all having superb issues this week, to me, this was the book of the week. This was powerful and unique storytelling by two great creators. I wholeheartedly recommend this title, and the beauty is you can jump on whenever. The stories are one-shots!
Final Verdict: Buy
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #46
Oh, KotOR. I started picking this series up in the very beginning because of my adoration of the first Knights of the Old Republic game, and while it occasionally touches on subjects from that and does have fairly interesting lead characters, it’s never escaped the central problem: terrible artists and an extremely not polished writer. When word came from the Retailers Summit that this was going away with issue #50, that news was met by yours truly with a mixture of joy (because I don’t have to read it anymore) and apathy (because I saw it coming). Not exactly an endorsement.
This story arc, as written by series writer John Jackson Miller, finds our hero Zayne Carrick embedded with the Crucible, a vile group of slavers who tormented his love Jarael and abduct people to force them into becoming soldiers. It’s an interesting enough set up, with a sub plot of Jarael and the rest trying to get support to rescue Zayne (they lost their contract with mercenaries — I HATE it when that happens) to go with it. The problem is Miller is a solid plotter but an absolute amateur at maintaining dramatic tension and telling cohesive narratives. It reminds me of when I pick up a comic from the 60’s today, and while I enjoy the novel plotting I think “really? Do villains really need to share their entire plan? Does the lead character need to think out everything?” It’s bush league writing smothering solid plotting through and through.
Brian Ching is the artist for this arc, and he’s actually fairly solid. This is especially in comparison to other artists on this title, but his work is engaging, energetic, and solid enough storytelling. Sometimes he will have a mishap where something completely unexplainable will happen (How did that knife turn upside down so fast?!), but compared to the rest of the artists on this title he’s basically the love child of Alex Ross and Pia Guerra.
Continued belowAt this point though, this title is clearly done. My only hope is we get a finale that wraps up the Zayne/Jarael relationship, as that is the one narrative string that is still actually going. The rest of the characters have effectively become background material that the two characters bounce ideas off of, which is sad because the extensive cast used to be a strength. Basically, at this point ending this series will be a mercy killing.
Final Verdict: Pass
GIL’S REVIEWS
Chew #5
Only five issues in, and Chew is quickly becoming one of my favorites. If you’re not reading it, you really should. It has one of the most unique premises. For those who haven’t it’s about a guy who is a ‘cibopath,’ or someone who can read the history of an object by eating it. So you can imagine how hairy this can get so soon. Well, our hero, Mr. Tony Chu, tastes blood to get information out of people, and even partially eats a DOG to get information he needs out of people. It seems like it should be unsettling, but it really isn’t.
The art is one of the best things the book has to offer. It’s really offbeat, but essential to telling such an offbeat story. Since the book itself is a mixture of horrific revelations and laugh out loud moments, I can’t think of any other artists who could ever think of taking the reins. The script, like I mentioned, the strangest thing I’ve read, but it does not diminish from the overall fun of the book. You actually seem to have a, excuse the partial pun, guttural reaction to the morbid actions Chu has to take in order to find his man.
And he sure does. In a twist I won’t share here, he finds out who killed the food critic, and it’s someone he knows. What follows is probably one of the most realistic fights in comics I’ve seen lately, despite its cartoonish style.
There’s really nothing else to add but that you really should be reading this. The first arc just ended with this issue, so you should definitely pick up the trade and catch up. It’ll definitely be worth it.
Final Verdict: Buy
Angel vs. Frankenstein
I am a big Buffy fanatic. I use that term both figuratively and literally. And Angel is probably one of my favorite characters in all of television. So when I saw a one shot featuring him and Frankenstein’s Monster, I had to get it. After a bit of troubles, I did, and let me tell you, it was worth it.
First of all, this was written and drawn by someone you might have heard of. Oh, just this young writer named JOHN BYRNE. Yeah, the John Byrne who rebooted Superman in the 80’s, and wrote or penciled almost any superhero you can think of. And here he is, writing one of my favorite characters ever. If you can’t tell, this is exciting.
The book itself is only a one shot. It also takes place in the past, when Angel still lacks a soul, and is running around Switzerland causing all sorts of havoc, like Angelus is wont to do. Well, while having his vampiric fun, he’s pissed off the wrong undead monster, because now he’s after Angelus’ afterlife.
This book is classic John Byrne, from the art to the writing. And while the writing is really good, if a little on the slow side, the art here is the highlight. I mean, Byrne still has some of the cleanest pencils on the market, and it’s only accentuated by the crisp and lush inks. It’s truly a sight to behold. Its old school, but it’s not dated at all. It’s absolutely lovely.
As I said, the script does start a bit on the slow side, eventually leading to a climax that is one of the most dynamic fights all month. I even wish this were a little longer, if for nothing else, more fighting. It’s absolutely glorious.
If you’re a fan of the Buffyverse like I am, you should definitely pick this up. If not, but are a fan of Byrne, it’s definitely worth while just for that. I mean, what do you have to lose? The book is only $3.50.
Final Verdict: Buy
Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #4
Ugh. I think that while I’m adding a book to my hold, it’s time to drop something too. And with that, I review Merc with a Mouth.
What started as a fun romp in the Savage Land for Deadpool has officially worn out its welcome. I was originally having fun with the brothers Deadpool and Headpool, but turns out you CAN have too much Wade Wilson. It can already be exhausting enough to have an actual inner dialogue on top of an already wacky character, but now we have a fourth personality coming into play with Headpool, the Zombified Merc with Nothing But a Mouth. It had its novelty at first, but now I just don’t care. I actually want Hydra to get a hold of the damn thing if it means we don’t have to hear him anymore. There are also odd comedic decisions taking place, as the A.I.M. Leader is talking about wanting to own a Kite Shop. I’m one who can appreciate random, but that’s not even random, it’s just stupid.
I will admit there are SOME fun moments. Like when Wade pictures the zombie T-Rex as Barney, the Purple Dinosaur. Yeah. And the nameless Hydra lackey who declares war on Deadpool for the sake of acquiring Headpool. That would have been fun if it weren’t for the sloppy art.
The art is pretty bad too. There’s no real cohesion going on, oddly thought out. I don’t really know what was going on, but I really lost it for this book. Maybe it’s just Deadpool overdone.
Final Verdict: Pass
Blackest Night: Superman #3
I was not looking forward to reading this. After the bad taste Blackest Night: Batman left in my mouth, I was wary about reviewing another tie-in to Blackest Night.
Thankfully, this was A LOT better than the arc featuring the caped crusader. The book itself splits time between Smallville and New Krypton. Both being Kal-El’s adopted home. But the best thing is that it ties into New Krypton fairly well (if admittedly a bit out of order in continuity.) and there is AN ACTUAL END. Sure, Superman still has to go face off against whatever lies ahead in the Blackest night, but at least there was closure to this story.
First of all, and shockingly, Martha Kent is smarter than Batman. An old lady out thought The World’s Greatest Detective. I guess Dick isn’t technically the world’s greatest detective, but he’s freaking Batman. He should be on top of this. Ugh. Second, both Superman and Superboy finish their duel to the death with Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman and black Lantern Psycho-Pirate. No freezing themselves until they dead get bored. Nope, it’s just an actual fight.
Robinson here kills it. With Geoff Johns busy with a thousand and one other things at the moment, he’s handling this book REALLY well. While it will have to go back into the main event at least, there is a real sense of closure to the book. And the art, provided by the tandem of Eddy Barrows and Alan Goldman, is stellar. I really got the sense of emotion the characters were feeling, and not simply because the dead see in the emotional spectrum. It’s really great.
Really, while I was starting to suffer from Event Fatigue, this made me feel better. I really enjoyed the Superman tie-in, and not just because I’m a Superman fanboy. But if you’re suffering from the effects of Event Fatigue, it’s worth at least a browse.
Final Verdict: Browse
BRANDON’S REVIEWS
Invincible Iron Man #19
Invincible Iron Man under Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca’s watch has quickly become one of Marvel’s crown jewels. It has been both creative and ambitious while not losing focus on its roots in past continuity. Fraction has turned Tony from the “evil” prick he became coming out of Civil War into a character unsure of his actions and finally back into the loveable guy who has flaws but in the end does what’s right.
The World’s Most Wanted Arc has been a blast of a ride from beginning until the end in this issue. The knock down drag em out fight between Tony and Norman Osborn is not quite what you’d expect from a comic battle but that is what has made this title so good. Fraction gives us a great arc with an ending that doesn’t disappoint.
Fraction has done quite a bit here in this arc. He has established Tony’s new supporting cast as a crew of incredibly badass chicks. One of which, Pepper Pots, even has her own Iron Man suit that is totally kick ass and serves a unique function of saving instead of defending or attacking. Fraction also has been able to make a character like Maria Hill a multi faceted character that people can find themselves often times rooting for. A stark difference from the cold and hard character she was introduced to us as.
The ending of this arc is actually one of the best parts of this issue as we find that Tony had drawn up a living will and had named a certain doctor as his physician with whom the decision to pull or not pull his plug belongs to. It’s a great twist that will probably mend some fences that were blown up in Civil War. It was a shocking conclusion that I didn’t see coming but welcome whole-heartedly.
The art here from Larrocca is gorgeous as usual. I remember when he first switched to this style on X-Treme X-Men and it has since evolved into something uniquely his. While it isn’t the most awe inspiring art on the market it is still a look that never hinders but always accentuates a title.
Where this title goes in the next arc is yet to be seen but I know I am personally excited to see how it unfolds as the aforementioned doctor assumingly will come into the title more regularly at least for awhile. It should provide for some great interactions between characters and possibly pay off plot threads long dangling. Now if only Fraction’s Uncanny X-Men was as good as this! 😉
Final Verdict: Buy it!
X-Men Legacy #228
When Mike Carey took over X-Men with his rag tag team of X-Men he was new to the X side of Marvel. Once he completed his stuff going into and coming out of Messiah Complex he had established himself as one of the more creative members of the X-Office writing staff. Then it switched to Legacy and the team element disappeared and I wont lie so did some of my attention. With the addition of Danger and other elements I was starting to become kinda bored and put off. It seemed like the whole initial Xavier story was more of the same drag his name through the mud garbage that has been prevalent in the last decade as it relates to Xavier. As a fan of Xavier I wasn’t impressed. While he did redeem some of that in the end I feel more damage was done than good.
Now we’ve moved out of that and Rogue is the centerpiece of the title. With newfound control over her powers and a new mission statement it seems the title has a clean slate to move in a completely new direction. Whether this direction is better, the same or worse has yet to be seen but this issue more or less begins the journey to find out which it will be.
The story is a continuation of the Annual from this year where the long exiled villain Empath, from the Gen-X glory days, snags one of the young mutants from Nation X. Rogue in this issue follows over to Empath’s exile location in an attempt to reclaim the child. Not much else happens honestly. It comes across as more of a set up issue despite it’s being the second chapter of four. I would have liked to see a little more happen.
My main complaint of the story though is the character in dangers name. Bling! Is a stupid name. Bling would be ok but Bling! is ridiculous. How do you pronounce “!”? Do you say Bling Exclamation or just yell her name every time and thus the “!” is assumed. It’s ridiculous. While I could see a kid writing it down as that and thinking it’s cool why would it appear that way in speech and thought bubbles?
Continued belowAnyway, while I’d like to have a more concrete idea of how this title appears to have changed I can’t really say I know all that much about it at this point. Not much is established and nothing in the plot is moved forward. While not a bad issue by any means it isn’t the solid start to a new beginning I was hoping for from Carey.
Final Verdict: Wait for trade
DCU Halloween Special ’09
I love Halloween! It is my favorite holiday by far. So every year when DC does this little special I pick it up. I tend to hope for greatness while expecting disaster, usually getting something in between. This year’s issue was no different. While it had some shining moments overall the title was nothing spectacular.
The best story of the issue was written by Adam Schlagman and penciled by Mark Bagley. It revolved around Guy Gardner and his love for Halloween. He decides to throw a Halloween party at his bar, Warriors, on OA. He invites all his friends and puts a lot of heart into it. While the story is light hearted mostly it also has flashes of his abusive father and the things Guy endured during past Halloweens as a child. It gave the story a great emotional hook that made you love Guy even more despite his rough exterior and cocky demeanor. It was a story that fit the one and done nature of the special but also put some meat on the bones if you will. Oh and Ice’s costume? Well, you have to see it for yourself!
While the Guy Gardner Halloween was great the opening and closing sequences starring Bizarro were also pure gold. More so the opening than the closing but all the same they served as excellent bookends to the special. The opening with Bizarro playing a trick by beautifying the house got a solid laugh out of me.
Other stories failed to provide the same entertainment and instead were dreadfully bad. The Wonder Woman story was especially bad and seemed to serve no purpose other than to say that Wonder Woman, an intelligent warrior well tested on the battlefields, would be afraid of a Blair Witch type movie. It was very unbelievable and presented the character in a rather silly and demeaning light. All in good fun some will say. Not I, pure lameness.
For the price of $5.99 I wish that more of the stories were of higher caliber. I know it is a Special and it has a higher page count so it costs more but would it be too much to ask to get some higher quality?
Final Verdict: Browse
Dark Reign – The List: The Incredible Hulk
I first want to say that Greg Pak has consistently been the best Hulk writer since Peter David in my opinion. His Planet Hulk arc was incredible. It gave us a new iteration of the Hulk as well as provided us with an entire world of possibilities. Even after he blew the hell out of it fun things like Skaar, Planet Hulk and the Warbound continued to provide fun and interesting story elements. His ability to write the Hulk character and his mythos is made to look even better when compared to the horrid run of Jeph Loeb over on Hulk.
Pak’s ability to serve up great stories using the Hulk characters is evident in this issue. His handling of the very dysfunctional relationship of Skaar and Bruce Banner is full of witty interactions that also add an element to the Hulk not seen before. Although, I must admit some of Skaar’s dialogue seems very American English based for a dude from space. This can be overlooked in my opinion but is still worth noting.
Pak also provides a great bit of character interaction between Norman Osborne’s right hand lady Ms. Hand and Bruce Banner through this issue. It is an interaction that quickly does more for Ms. Hand than has been done for her since her inception. We go from knowing very little about her other than she clearly has ulterior motives, if you’ve been reading other titles she appears in, to being a near Banner level intellect. That’s a pretty impressive bump up the ranks. While this may rub some fanpeeps the wrong way I can accept it and am interested to see where it goes. The interaction is a battle of intellect vs intellect. Chess like strategy with the two moving each other around the chessboard until one walks away victorious.
Continued belowThe art is also appealing to those who like to look at pretty things. Ben Oliver provides some great panels with his art being slightly reminiscent of Salvador Larroca’s art on Invincible Iron Man. It has that no ink shaded pencil look. While not as good as Larroca’s art it is still beautiful and it works very well here. His Skaar is a fierce sight to behold and comes across as the giant brute that he is with great action posing!
The issue is much like the other List titles in that it helps to push certain storylines ahead that I can only assume will begin to payoff with the Siege event that Marvel revealed last week. No spoilers here but someone looks to be on the fast track to returning to form.
The one thing I didn’t like in this issue is something I complain about all the time. Reprints in the backs of Marvel books. I’m so tired of them. In this case I will say it is tolerable. It is a reprint of a story that is quickly mentioned in the title, done so I’m sure to justify it’s inclusion, and doesn’t cost the reader any more than usual to purchase it. So while I skipped it others may read it and won’t have to deal with any of the usual hassles associated with Marvel’s reprinting in the back of their books. I just wish they could do something cleverer than give us reprinted back issues. Something Like Hickman’s charts in The List: Secret Warriors.
Final Verdict: Buy it if you like Pak’s Incredible Hulk. Otherwise, Trades it is
