I don’t have anything very clever to say for this week’s introduction, so instead here is a video of a kitten.
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 Thor: For Asgard #2, Thunderbolts #148, Brightest Day #10 and Joe The Barbarian #7. A different mix this week, with some new titles I love and some not so new titles I’ve been rather hard on.
Check out all the reviews after the jump.
Thor: For Asgard #2
Wow. I am LOVING this book. When I grabbed the first issue, I didn’t expect to like it even half as much as I did. With the second issue, I really feel that every Thor fan should be getting this. It’s just that damn good of a mini.
The book takes place in an alternate universe, where Thor can’t use his hammer, Asgard is doomed to winter, and Odin is missing. An enemy lurks in the shadows, and Thor is having a great trouble keeping the peace. To make matters worse, the winter is causing the trees in Asgard to be unable to bloom, and without the gift of the golden apples, the immortals are doomed to die. With this issue, Thor decides that it’ll be a good idea to send Asgardians to Midgard across the Bifrost Bridge in order to try and find a new place to grow their fruit, but with a traitor in their midst, the issue does not end on a very high note.
Alternate reality stories can sometimes be odd, but Rodi has Thor down. This issue really wowed me with his storytelling ability and it’s focus on the action sequences. It’s a mixture of an Asgardian epic and a political thriller. There are certain typical Thor characters missing from the tale, which leads me to believe certain conspiracies are taking place, but Rodi doesn’t let any of his cards slip. This could honestly be the regular Thor book as far as I’m concerned, because after Gillen’s run my expectations on a Thor story are rather high, and this is hitting all the right marks. Rodi’s characterization of Thor especially, as illuminated in the opening sequence, is very true to the character, and setting the story mainly in Asgard pre-Ragnarok/JMS/etc. allows him to have a real godly feel to the book.
Of course, half of that greatness comes from Simone Binachi. I might have mentioned this last time I reviewed the book, but I’m really not a fan of his work normally. This book has solidly changed my opinion on his art to the point where I’ve gone back through my collection to double check that this artist and the artist of the books I didn’t care for are the same (they are). Binachi has a real epic flavor to his work that just fits Thor in every way. He has interesting use of panels that heighten the action sequences and make the straits all the more dire. On top of that, there is a sequence at the end where the rebels against Thor introduce a new weapon that just looks astounding. It’s like a mixture of a modern techno-futurist Thor (i.e. what I assume we’ll get from Fraction based on Ferry’s art) and elements of Kirby and his Eternals designs.
The second issue of this mini left me rather pumped. I rarely get excited over minis like this, but I can’t wait for the next issue. I really can’t recommend this mini enough for Thor fans. It’s big, it looks great, and just two issues in it’s one of my favorite minis that I’m currently purchasing. Marvel has had a lot of great titles in their Marvel Knights line, but Thor: For Asgard is climbing it’s way up to the top of my list at the moment.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 9.3 – Buy
Thunderbolts #148
Thunderbolts is assuredly one of my favorite new titles on the market. Jeff Parker came in and, much to my surprise, created one of the best feeling Thunderbolts books in a long time. I was a huge fan of Ellis and Diggle on the book, but Parker has a flare all of his own that makes the title work and harken back to it’s original purposes and feel. This is the good guys training the bad guys to do good, and everything about the title works.
Well – except for one little thing. I’m not really feeling the Shadowland tie-in aspect.
Now, I’m actually a fan of the whole Shadowland ordeal unlike other writers of the site. I find the event to be a roller coaster of highs and lows, but for the most part, I’m for it. With this issue, I’m just not feeling the tie-in element very strongly. In between dealing with Daredevil, Luke Cage calls in the Thunderbolts to help take care of some of the ninja problem. I understand why Parker would tackle this event with his team as Luke Cage is so important to the dynamic of the book, but the issue feels rather forced. So far, we haven’t had an opportunity for Parker to do anything with the Thunderbolts since the book first started in the wake of Siege. Since then, it’s always been reacting to other books rather than doing it’s own thing. We had a one issue crossover with Avengers Academy (which was amazing), and now we have a Shadowland tie-in. Unfortunately, I just don’t buy the story. Thunderbolts versus the Hand? Well, alright. I’d rather see them do something else though.
The issue is still strong, though. My disappointment for the issue only stems from my weariness of tie-ins in general. While Thunderbolts being inserted into the continuity of Shadowland seems a little flimsy (I doubt we’ll see any connection in the main title, or even have Luke Cage mention the T-Bolts), the characterization here is still strong. Before they join the fight, there is a great moment of Crossbones in the cafeteria in the raft that reminds you, hey – this guy killed Captain America. The team had been getting kind of likable in a sense, but Parker reminds us that these are villains first and foremost, and as much as they seek redemption we shouldn’t just give it to them because of funny one liners. You can tell Parker really enjoys writing these characters.
Shalvey steps in as a new artist for this issue and has some great moments in the art department here as well. We get to see the characters outside of their costumes a lot this issue, and he really drives home the creepiness for Ghost (who apparently has no name anymore) and Crossbones. Shalvey’s art mixes really well with what Walker brought to the table, and the two feel like a good mesh. It reminds me of when Immonen stepped in for Hitch – it was so chameleonic and flowed so well, that I didn’t even notice it wasn’t Walker at first. (I still can’t quite get over Songbird’s new hair cut, though.)
Thunderbolts might be in the midst of a crossover, but the book is still a strong title and a new favorite. The crossovers aren’t going away any time soon (with #150, we get a crossover with Avengers), but I can’t wait for the book to begin it’s own arc by itself. For now, I enjoy seeing the Thunderbolts integrated with the rest of the Marvel U – to an extent though. The Shadowland element does seem a little forced, but Parker handles it well and places it in a disconnected enough element that it can be part of the Shadowland continuity while also not really interfering or having direct impact with the main storyline. I’ve still got my fingers crossed for when the Avengers crossover ends, though.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – Buy
Brightest Day #10
Despite how much I used to love Geoff Johns and the Green Lantern books, ever since the end of Blackest Night I’ve been somewhat of an avid naysayer for Brightest Day. I follow the book as a DC fan, but I don’t enjoy the book that much. My main complaint is that usually nothing really happens, and the story just meanders with various characters. This issue doesn’t change from that formula just enough, but it ends on a high note that makes me say “… yeah, ok, I’d like the next issue now.”
The issue moves the focus to Aqualad and Firestorm. While the cover is fairly misleading, inside Aqualad is given the truth of his lineage. His parents are adopted, he was given up by Mera at birth, and he learns that Black Manta is his true father (though he doesn’t seem to accept this fact at all). However, the issue gives a great spotlight on Aquaman and delivers the moment you’ve all been waiting for – the moment where Geoff Johns turns Aquaman, a character who is much belittled by both comic fans and non-comic fans alike, a 100% badass moment. We’re talking “catching darts in the air and snapping it in one hand” badass. I knew that out of Brightest Day, we’d all be given a new appreciation for the character (and assumedly, a new ongoing). I’m just glad to see that he’s given his time to shine.
Over in the Firestorm part of the book, I’m not as pleased. In Firestorm’s story, we’re given a new retcon for his origin and the power behind the matrix. It’s a lot of pseudo-science based on admitted rumors (in the book), and it doesn’t end on a high note. I’ve never really been a fan of Firestorm, and I honestly find this angle of the book to be one of the more boring stories. The book continuously tries to make his (their?) plight seem interesting, but it never really does it for me. On top of that, changing the origin of the matrix felt like a really forced moment of the comic that was clearly being done to try and make the character more relevant and interesting. The fact that it didn’t left me feeling rather empty in that regard.
It’s hard to actively comment on Brightest Day, to be honest. I can tell that when it’s all done, I might enjoy it a lot more. Right now, if I compare it to it’s sister book in Generation Lost, I think it honestly pales in comparison. This isn’t Johns and Tomasi’s strongest work by far. Usually I’m a glorified fanboy of their writing (especially Tomasi at this point), but the fact that I only really get into half of the story doesn’t really bode well for the title. I can’t lie and say I might drop it because I won’t (can’t?), but it’s one of those books that I never get excited to read.
On the other hand, the art for the book is great. Ivan Reis proved his greatness to the world with his art in Blackest Night, and having him stick around in Brightest Day is great. Like I said, Aquaman gets a truly badass moment, and he looks effortlessly powerful. Black Manta also comes out really strong when he appears to ruin the day, and the two in juxtaposition of each other equal to “awesomeness.” I can’t wait to see them throw down (hopefully next issue, though I doubt it), and if Reis is the one in charge of that battle, I’m sure it will look effortlessly brilliant. Reis is such an incredible talent and such a catch for DC. While Brightest Day may not read great, it certainly looks great.
I’m still ultimately iffy on the book. I had high expectations and still have high hopes. The book hasn’t really met any of my wants, though it has hit the Aquaman storyline I expected. I’m really excited to see more of Aquaman and Black Manta, but I couldn’t care less about Firestorm and nothing about that has changed. Every time Gil reviews the book, he says it’s getting better -and he’s not inherently wrong. But it’s only half good here. I’m still waiting for the whole thing to be great.
Final Verdict: 7.1 – Buy
Joe the Barbarian #7
This book continues and continues to amaze me on all fronts. I am an admitted Morrison fanboy, yes, but the book manages to captivate my attention and interest on such a greater level beyond just that fact that it is slowly becoming one of his finest works in my eyes, as well as the eyes of critics and many people that I know.
With this penultimate issue, we are given the greatest sense of urgency as everything begins to come to a climax. Joe himself is coming closer to facing his own death as his insulin withdrawal grows worse, and the line between reality and fantasy is further blurred. The story becomes chaos as Joe flips between what is real and what is fake, and the question starts to really be pushed: how real is Joe’s fantasy? And of course it all comes crashing down at the end when the line is truly drawn and we are left contemplating not only who the villain truly is but what he’s truly doing.
Joe is an incredibly powerful story, and one that I’ve grown into relatively quick. Morrison really manages to get quite effective here, pulling us in to this tragedy and allowing us to partially make up the rules for ourselves. Joe is as real as you want it to be, and the more I read into it the more I feel like both universes have to exist at the same time, which makes Joe’s abandoning of one for the other all the more tragic. We still have no idea what happened to Joe’s best friend Jack the Rat as well, and with frequent allusions to him made I can only imagine the worst, here at the end – though a triumphant return is briefly hinted at. It all comes down to this story of a small boy wrestling with his own imagination during what is admittedly a horrific affair, and I find that it’s something that we the readers can all ultimately relate to, insulin needs or no.
Sean Murphy tells this powerful tale vividly this issue, which features a lot of the action of war that has been promised throughout. Faces return here at the end, and I love Murphy’s inclusion of well known characters throughout the tale that helps remind us of the reality of Joe’s fantasy. Toys are coming to life here, and Murphy includes just enough recognizable characters to pull this across. His back and forth between reality and fantasy is also pretty incredible, featuring an impressive mixture of shading and illumination to represent the darkness of the basement and the gloominess of the battle.
Joe the Barbarian has one issue left, but out of all the things currently being published by Vertigo, it’s by far one of the finest. Grant Morrison has found ways to reinvent his own wheel many times over, and I feel like with this he has hit a universal understanding. It features Morrison’s patented “weirdness” at times, but it’s straight forward enough that people who don’t enjoy his more chaotic writing can feel quite at home with it. And with a penultimate issue that still manages to hold the same emotional relevance that previous issues have already had (if not more than), it’s safe to say that Joe the Barbarian is destined for greatness.
Final Verdict: 9.1 – Buy
