This week on reviews, I’ve got a unique blend of major superhero books and major indie/Vertigo pride. Before we get to that, here’s our ratings system.
0: Uwe Boll will direct the adaptation of this comic
0.1 – 1: Burn upon touching
1- 1.9: Abysmal
2.0 – 2.9: Art. Writing. Editing. All bad.
3.0 – 3.9: You’d be a masochist to pick this up.
4.0 – 4.9: “I’ll give it another month…but that was not good.”
5.0 – 5.9: “Really? The Watcher? In the face? I guess it was fun.”
6.0 – 6.9: “Hmm. That was decent.”
7.0 – 7.9: Well made but a few problems
8.0 – 8.9: Nearly flawless
9.0 – 9.9: Outstanding
10: Perfection. Issue of the year contender
This week my reviews include Strange Tales 2 #1, Thor #616, House of Mystery Annual #2, and Invincible Iron Man #31. Two major collection books featuring top Vertigo and Indie talent! Two of Marvel’s Big Three and their flagship books! It’s a big week for me folks.
Click behind the cut for my thoughts.
Strange Tales 2 #1
Written by: Various
Illustrated by: Various
Given that there was a LARGE cast of creators on this issue, all of whom come from a world of indie sensibilities more so than superhero, I knew this would be an interesting blend with some ups and downs, just like the first volume of Strange Tales. But with a list of creators that included Rafael Grampa, Kate Beaton, Jeff Lemire, Jhonen Vasquez and a whole lot more, I figured, how the hell wouldn’t this be a VERY worthwhile purchase, even with a $4.99 price point?
Well, quite simply, I was right and it was a damn good book, as the stories were almost uniformly great, with the tales ranging from highly entertaining (Kate Beaton’s “A Distraction”) to a very original ode that cuts right to the core of the character (Rafael Grampa’s Wolverine story).
One way or another, these stories were fresh takes on the character. You know that right off the bat with Nick Bertozzi’s (“Rubber Necker”) story on the inside cover – “Who Will Watcher the Watchermen?” It follows a young man who dresses like The Watcher and quickly draws the attention of the vacationing Uatu, who is interested in what life is like when you really live it up. Living it up meaning beating up The Leader and binge drinking at a strip club. Combine that with the image of Fake Watcher in prison being demeaned by the duo of Arnim Zola and The Shocker (“Shake that little moneymaker, bitch!”) and you have maybe the single most original and ridiculously entertaining story I’ve ever seen in the Marvel universe.
Strange Tales gives you stories that you’d never come to expect. For example, the gorgeous and touching tale of the brawler Wolverine taking on the young buck Deadpool in a fighting league that only features characters with healing factors. Sure that is the framing of the story, but deep down it’s about the fact that Wolverine has trained himself over the years to not be affected by any physical pain, but when the girl he loves leaves him because of what he mad her do, it still breaks his heart (“I can’t heal from every kinda hurt, darlin’.”) It’s honestly one of the best takes of Wolverine I have ever seen – period.
Then, there’s the aforementioned “A Distraction,” a tale from Kate Beaton (Hark, a Vagrant) in which Spider-Man wants to have a nice, calm evening but Kraven won’t leave him alone. The simplicity of this story dovetails into a very resonant charm, as Beaton’s art is cute but extremely energetic and fun (the panels in which Kraven completes his hunt and when his date decides to give in to the magic have to be my two favorite panels of the week) and her storytelling is fresh and funny as all hell. The thought of Spider-Man distracting Kraven with an invite to Prom is spectacular and ridiculous, and something that is pulled off incredibly well by the talented Beaton.
Continued belowAs I said, not all stories are hits. I didn’t really connect with Frank Santoro’s Silver Surfer story (which was hard to follow from a paneling standpoint) or Jillian Tamaki’s Dazzler story, but they were excellent efforts even if I didn’t enjoy them personally.
That’s the thing about this book. It’s Marvel taking a bunch of extremely talented creators that don’t typically work with super-heroes and telling them to run wild. And they do, and because of that, the results are varied. But the efforts are always inspired, and when they hit, they hit hard. Strange Tales 2 #1 is a remarkably fresh and enjoyable read, and something I couldn’t recommend enough to both superhero and independent comic fans.
Final Verdict: 9.2 – Buy
Thor #616
Written by: Matt Fraction
Illustrated by: Pasqual Ferry
I love Matt Fraction’s Thor.
There. I said it.
He and Pasqual Ferry, in two issues, have made this book the widescreen, larger-than-life smash that I’ve always wanted. It tackles big ideas and the small moments that encompass them with equal aplomb, and Fraction is thriving with these characters. His handling of the honor and intensity of Thor, plus his unreasonable love for his brother, is stellar. He writes perhaps my favorite Volstagg ever. The new villains he created? Awesome.
Basically, I think everything Fraction has done so far with the book has been exceptional, and I’m enjoying this book perhaps more than I ever have. The fact that he’s continuing JMS’ story with Kelda and Bill makes him all the more my favorite, as I found that to be the best part of his run (besides the art). He’s got a keen grasp on the history of the book and the tone of the characters while still feeding fresh ideas into its pages. It’s already quite possibly my favorite Marvel work Fraction has done.
It helps a lot that his artistic partner Pasqual Ferry has took the leap from very good artist to great artist, as his work in this book is nothing short of breathtaking. I love the page in which Kelda is first shown…the detail and composition of the page is gorgeous, and my eyes widened as I drank in every aspect of the page. Previously, I’d had problems with Ferry’s art simply because I felt like he skimped on backgrounds and detail, but so far in this book he has been killing it.
All in all, this is quickly rising up the ranks of my favorite Thor runs even through just two issues. Fraction and Ferry are a dream team, and I can’t see where they take us next.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy
House of Mystery Annual #2
Written by: Various
Illustrated by: Various
I bought this book purely on a whim based off the creators involved, as I don’t actually read House of Mystery. But given that it was a Halloween special (my favorite holiday) and that it featured Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Matt Wagner, Brandon Graham, Mike Allred, Chris Roberson, and a slew of other creators, I had to get it.
And I’m glad I did. It’s a damn solid book, and one that featured a format I didn’t expect whatsoever.
The central story is that you have four children who were cursed back in the 1950’s after vandalizing a gypsy’s home on Halloween. It seems that they are forced to wear their costumes and maintain their size for the rest of their life, and they also are forced to move from house to house trick-or-treating for an eternity. An eternal Halloween if you will.
The central story finds them at the House of Mystery, and Matt Sturges alongside artist Luca Rossi do a superb job of telling a tale that is inviting even to me as someone who doesn’t read the book. The four cursed ones get into the House of Mystery on Halloween and are quickly introduced to someone who could possibly lift the curse from them, and what transpires is darkly entertaining and extremely well told by Sturges and Rossi.
Continued belowThe surprising aspect of this book is that the four trick-or-treaters end up crossing into other Vertigo books, as they visit Madame Xanadu (Wagner and Graham), I, Zombie (Roberson and Allred), Hellblazer (Peter Milligan and Giuseppe Camuncoli), and most surprisingly a return to Carey and Gross’ run on Lucifer. The stories range in quality to me, as I found the Hellblazer story to be the least connected and thus the least interesting. I liked how Roberson and Allred took an opportunity to tell some backstory for Gwen from their book, I liked the look at Lucifer’s world post the Carey/Gross run, and I LOVED the Madame Xanadu story. Combining the prodigious talents of Matt Wagner and Brandon Graham was an inspired one, and I hope this gets Graham even more rep because this guy is an artistic monster that should be one of the biggest names in the business.
For fans of Halloween and just good storytelling, I recommend this book. While the Hellblazer story didn’t really work for me, everything else did enough to make this a worthy purchase.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Buy
Invincible Iron Man #31
Written by: Matt Fraction
Illustrated by: Salvador Larocca
