Since I resumed collecting comics regularly in 2011 after several years of sporadic collecting I have come to realize that I have, at least this year, been collecting more comic books on a monthly basis than ever before in my life, and it feels more than a bit excessive, no matter how much I'm enjoying the books. The good news for me, though, is that Marvel Comics itself is solving my problem by ending three of the series I'm currently collecting, namely Daredevil, Young Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man.
The bad news is that some really good comic books are going out of publication.
Daredevil is probably going to go through another relaunch. For several years, this title has been in a state of flux in terms of sales, and although this incarnation has been selling pretty steadily, Marvel probably feels they can hawk a few more thousand copies of the book with a different creative direction and team, or perhaps even format, given the increasing popularity of digital comics.
Young Avengers was always going to end, that seems to be the nature of how this book is published for some reason. It'll come back someday, but without the current creative lineup. That, and the fact that Loki is no longer a kid (as of issue #1) provide me a great opportunity to hop off the bus once the series wraps, though I do so with some sadness.
Sadly, though not only is Ultimate Spider-Man closing down for good, with no more reboots on the horizon, but the entire "Ultimate" universe is being scrapped as well, apparently consumed by no less than Galactus himself, the world eater. The silver lining is that Miles Morales will apparently make the jump to the regular, and now sole-surviving Marvel Universe.
The closure of the Ultimate universe makes sense; the books haven't been selling well for years, and basically everything that's "cool" and "edgy" about them has already been imported into the "proper" Marvel Universe. Not only that, but the story quality is nowhere near what it was when the line first launched at the turn of the millennium. It hasn't been for quite some time, with the exception of Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, which I have, for the most part, enjoyed.
What's sad about this development is that much of what is good about the Marvel Universe nowadays has its roots in the Ultimate Universe. Heck, a good chunk of the Marvel Cinematic Universe owes its existence to the Ultimate Universe, such as Samuel L. Jackson's portrayal of Nick Fury. For all of that, the birthplace of all these good ideas is being shut down for good. I take some consolation knowing that the very best of these comics will no doubt live on in reprints and in digital format, but there's really something about the end of a creative era that makes me take pause.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom
Mark Waid (w)
Chris Samnee (a)
The hardcover, which reprints a four-issue miniseries, begins with pilot Cliff Secord, aka the Rocketeer, having to save the niece of his mentor Peevy Peabody, Sally, whose plane is falling out of the sky owing to acts of sexual harassment against her by a Civil Aviation Authority officer. The Rocketeer saves the plane and its occupants from a fiery crash, but learns that his alter-ego Cliff is grounded for failing to pay the government his monthly pilot dues. That, however, turns out to be the least of his problems as a mysterious villain pulling into Los Angeles in a ship filled with an even more mysterious cargo will soon be gunning for him and his rocket pack, putting him and everyone he cares about in mortal danger.
Having read this book, I came to understand the appeal of the late Dave Stevens' creation, and even formulated a little armchair theory as to why the movie tanked at the box-office.
If I understand correctly, The Rocketeer is to 1930s, 40s and 50s pulp fiction what The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is to 19th century literary characters. It's not quite the same thing; after all the Rocketeer (who was, himself, created in homage to the pulpy Rocket Men serials of the 1940s) just lives in the same world colorful characters like Doc Savage and King Kong, while the LXG basically are the characters from literature (and conveniently, public domain). Still, the references that littered this book, from the appearance of Doc Savage bad guy John Sunlight, to mention of King Kong and Skull Island, were plain as day for anyone who either recognized them straight away or cared enough to look them up (as I had to do in the case of the Doc Savage villain, considering I'm not a DS fan at all).
In terms of these references, and even in terms of overall story, the book was fun to read. Mark Waid, who writes Marvel's Daredevil in a similar "swashbuckling adventure" tone, nonetheless significantly shifted creative gears here; this book is lighter in tone than DD (though surprisingly bloody in some instances). Waid's DD is still the better book overall, but Waid still turns in some solid work here. It's the little details I appreciate. Waid's characters talk like they actually lived in the forties, with their temporally appropriate idioms and expressions and more or less topical references. Perhaps less credible was a black guy occupying what seemed to be a fairly high-level government position in 1940, when racism in the U.S. was a lot more blatant than it is now, though considering the setting was in California and not in some state in the deep south I suppose it was possible.
As for Samnee, he is absolutely in his element here. I first fell head over heels for his work in his five-issue stint on Captain America and Bucky, which featured stories set in the 1940s and 1950s, and when the individual issues of this compilation came out last year I was thrilled at the thought of Samnee revisiting that period, because to my mind there is no one among today's mainstream comic book artists quite like him in terms of drawing that specific period in history (I was, unfortunately, unable to pick up the individual issues because my retailer simply didn't order enough copies). I was a huge fan of the way the recent Captain America: The First Avenger film (directed, incidentally, by Joe Johnston, who helmed the Rocketeer adaptation) had a nice old-fashioned feel to it, with a few modern twists, and to my mind Samnee captures that exact vibe: a perfect mix of the old and the new. His artwork here, especially his rendering of the Rocketeer, is so crisp and striking that it would not surprise me in the least if, years from now, many of the images appearing here are used just as often in identifying the character as those of creator Dave Stevens. It is icing on the cake that, as an added feature, the hardcover contains several pages containing Samnee's rough pencils for all four issues, and offers a great deal of consolation to folks like me, who were unable to get the individual issues and had to settle for the hardcover. I know I've said something like this before, but art like Samnee's is the reason I still buy comic books; his images enthrall me like no other medium can.
As enjoyable a read as this book was, it was far from perfect. The grand scheme of the villain, for one thing, is distinctly harebrained, and, quite honestly, the sort of thing that is more likely to come from the mind of six-year-old Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes fame rather than that of a villain who is meant to be even remotely dangerous. The ultimate fate of the bad guy sort of bears out just how idiotic his plan was, and though I suppose it was meant to be humorous, I'm not completely sure that it was.
Another thing that irked me about the book was how, while it said a lot about what made The Rocketeer, as a property, a cult favorite, it told me very little about what makes the actual character, Cliff Secord, really tick. What really motivates the guy, apart from the desire to fly and make out with his hot girlfriend Bettie? This also hit home for me why the Rocketeer adaptation was never going to be particularly successful as a movie property, especially not at the time of its release. Even setting aside the fact that he isn't super-powered, Secord is not a particularly remarkable character, he's not particularly clever, nor does he have a particularly outstanding characteristic like Tony Stark's crazy-cool charisma or Clark Kent's farm-boy charm. At some portions of the story he isn't even particularly likable. Still, I'll admit that often times he does have an 'everyman' vibe that makes it fairly easy to relate to him, even if he has a bombshell of a girlfriend. I attribute that largely to Waid's writing and Samnee's visualization, the latter of which is a far cry from the 6'3, square-jawed movie-star who played the character in the movie.
When The Rocketeer came out in 1991, it followed the significant success of movies based on extremely well-known comic book properties like Batman and Dick Tracy, who between them had over a century of publication history at the time. The Rocketeer, in sheer contrast, had only been in existence for less than a decade, and had a much more limited fanbase. Of course in the interest of avoiding lawsuits, Disney dropped all of the "pulp culture" references. Cliff's Bettie Page-lookalike girlfriend became a more generic Jenny Blake, the rocket pack was invented by Howard Hughes and not Doc Savage, etc. As a result, the film played pretty much like a straight-up superhero adventure...one that no one really cared to see.
Oddly enough, Disney has been contemplating a remake of this property, not seeming to realize that since the failure of that movie, the superhero Iron Man, who effectively has a rocket pack and then some, has rocked moviegoers' socks off for four movies in a row, and has basically made poor old Cliff Second completely redundant as a possible film franchise. I honestly don't think this character, who would now feel like a low-rent Iron Man in comparison, would really find much of an audience.
In print, though,with adventures like this and with the likes of Waid and Samnee at the creative helm, the character can really soar.
3.5/5
Having read this book, I came to understand the appeal of the late Dave Stevens' creation, and even formulated a little armchair theory as to why the movie tanked at the box-office.
If I understand correctly, The Rocketeer is to 1930s, 40s and 50s pulp fiction what The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is to 19th century literary characters. It's not quite the same thing; after all the Rocketeer (who was, himself, created in homage to the pulpy Rocket Men serials of the 1940s) just lives in the same world colorful characters like Doc Savage and King Kong, while the LXG basically are the characters from literature (and conveniently, public domain). Still, the references that littered this book, from the appearance of Doc Savage bad guy John Sunlight, to mention of King Kong and Skull Island, were plain as day for anyone who either recognized them straight away or cared enough to look them up (as I had to do in the case of the Doc Savage villain, considering I'm not a DS fan at all).
In terms of these references, and even in terms of overall story, the book was fun to read. Mark Waid, who writes Marvel's Daredevil in a similar "swashbuckling adventure" tone, nonetheless significantly shifted creative gears here; this book is lighter in tone than DD (though surprisingly bloody in some instances). Waid's DD is still the better book overall, but Waid still turns in some solid work here. It's the little details I appreciate. Waid's characters talk like they actually lived in the forties, with their temporally appropriate idioms and expressions and more or less topical references. Perhaps less credible was a black guy occupying what seemed to be a fairly high-level government position in 1940, when racism in the U.S. was a lot more blatant than it is now, though considering the setting was in California and not in some state in the deep south I suppose it was possible.
As for Samnee, he is absolutely in his element here. I first fell head over heels for his work in his five-issue stint on Captain America and Bucky, which featured stories set in the 1940s and 1950s, and when the individual issues of this compilation came out last year I was thrilled at the thought of Samnee revisiting that period, because to my mind there is no one among today's mainstream comic book artists quite like him in terms of drawing that specific period in history (I was, unfortunately, unable to pick up the individual issues because my retailer simply didn't order enough copies). I was a huge fan of the way the recent Captain America: The First Avenger film (directed, incidentally, by Joe Johnston, who helmed the Rocketeer adaptation) had a nice old-fashioned feel to it, with a few modern twists, and to my mind Samnee captures that exact vibe: a perfect mix of the old and the new. His artwork here, especially his rendering of the Rocketeer, is so crisp and striking that it would not surprise me in the least if, years from now, many of the images appearing here are used just as often in identifying the character as those of creator Dave Stevens. It is icing on the cake that, as an added feature, the hardcover contains several pages containing Samnee's rough pencils for all four issues, and offers a great deal of consolation to folks like me, who were unable to get the individual issues and had to settle for the hardcover. I know I've said something like this before, but art like Samnee's is the reason I still buy comic books; his images enthrall me like no other medium can.
As enjoyable a read as this book was, it was far from perfect. The grand scheme of the villain, for one thing, is distinctly harebrained, and, quite honestly, the sort of thing that is more likely to come from the mind of six-year-old Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes fame rather than that of a villain who is meant to be even remotely dangerous. The ultimate fate of the bad guy sort of bears out just how idiotic his plan was, and though I suppose it was meant to be humorous, I'm not completely sure that it was.
Another thing that irked me about the book was how, while it said a lot about what made The Rocketeer, as a property, a cult favorite, it told me very little about what makes the actual character, Cliff Secord, really tick. What really motivates the guy, apart from the desire to fly and make out with his hot girlfriend Bettie? This also hit home for me why the Rocketeer adaptation was never going to be particularly successful as a movie property, especially not at the time of its release. Even setting aside the fact that he isn't super-powered, Secord is not a particularly remarkable character, he's not particularly clever, nor does he have a particularly outstanding characteristic like Tony Stark's crazy-cool charisma or Clark Kent's farm-boy charm. At some portions of the story he isn't even particularly likable. Still, I'll admit that often times he does have an 'everyman' vibe that makes it fairly easy to relate to him, even if he has a bombshell of a girlfriend. I attribute that largely to Waid's writing and Samnee's visualization, the latter of which is a far cry from the 6'3, square-jawed movie-star who played the character in the movie.
When The Rocketeer came out in 1991, it followed the significant success of movies based on extremely well-known comic book properties like Batman and Dick Tracy, who between them had over a century of publication history at the time. The Rocketeer, in sheer contrast, had only been in existence for less than a decade, and had a much more limited fanbase. Of course in the interest of avoiding lawsuits, Disney dropped all of the "pulp culture" references. Cliff's Bettie Page-lookalike girlfriend became a more generic Jenny Blake, the rocket pack was invented by Howard Hughes and not Doc Savage, etc. As a result, the film played pretty much like a straight-up superhero adventure...one that no one really cared to see.
Oddly enough, Disney has been contemplating a remake of this property, not seeming to realize that since the failure of that movie, the superhero Iron Man, who effectively has a rocket pack and then some, has rocked moviegoers' socks off for four movies in a row, and has basically made poor old Cliff Second completely redundant as a possible film franchise. I honestly don't think this character, who would now feel like a low-rent Iron Man in comparison, would really find much of an audience.
In print, though,with adventures like this and with the likes of Waid and Samnee at the creative helm, the character can really soar.
3.5/5
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Superior Sales for Spidey
It's been eight months since Marvel Comics swapped Peter Parker's mind with that of his arch-nemesis Doctor Octopus and it seems that the title has seen its best sales in years.
When Marvel undid Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson courtesy of One More Day, there was quite a bit of buzz, and the old adage "there's no such thing as negative publicity" held true for the first year or so after the new status quo, but soon it became clear that apart from the occasional "event" story line, like 2010's Big Time or 2011's Spider-Island, the title was simply not capable of maintaining its sales levels prior to One More Day. Now, though, that they've replaced Peter Parker with Doc Ock and have not given any indication as to when, or even if Peter will be back, Marvel's got the book selling in the high 80,000s every issue, sustained sales that the book hasn't seen since J. Michael Straczynski left in 2007.
It's a curious thing that a superhero book in which the title character has been replaced by his worst enemy is being more enthusiastically received than when when he was actually in it, but having followed the new status quo for fifteen issues now, I think I finally understand the appeal of it all...enough, I daresay, to hazard a guess as to the appeal of the title right now, as opposed to its lack of appeal coming off the "relaunch" of the then newly-single Peter.
My theory behind the lackluster sales, even years after "One More Day" was because audiences knew for sure that Peter Parker's marriage was never coming back, even though they were lured back by the occasional event, they would eventually go back to the realization that the status quo they desired would stay gone, and would leave the title as soon as the event was done.
By introducing this new development, Slott has basically challenged the readers, and more likely himself, to see how long he can sustain a somewhat anomalous status quo, the way Ed Brubaker was able to keep Captain America out of his own book for two years. And by gum, it seems to be working.
To my mind, there has been no significant spike in the quality of Slott's storytelling; I liked the stuff he did even when Peter Parker was still occupying his own mind and body. Slott hasn't exactly raised his game, and even though some of the artists working with him, like Humberto Ramos and Ryan Stegman, have, I don't think they could have influenced sales this much without something else at work.
The big difference, I think, is that Slott has put the character in a place where the readers know he isn't supposed to be, and basically teases them with the possibility of restoring a status quo that they will accept. Basically, he continues to tease the readers with the possibility that Spider-Man's supporting cast will see past outward appearances and will recognize that Peter is no longer in charge of his own body, and ultimately, with the possibility of Peter's return, but so far, Ock has beaten the odds every time and has stayed in control. It's the tease and frustration, I think, that is the key to the book's success. Basically by tantalizing readers with the promise of bringing back the good guy and then denying them at the last possible minute, Slott manages to string them...us...along month after month. It helps, I think, that he's giving some pretty good stories in the process.
After all, this isn't a case of Doctor Octopus living life exactly as Peter Parker would have, which was basically what the late Ben Reilly did. He is still every inch the murderous egomaniac he was when he took over Peter's body, and therefore Marvel and Slott are making it clear that he's no hero, and that for all of his delusions, he isn't the "superior" Spider-Man he fancies himself to be. Also, Slott seems to strongly suggest that the house Otto Octavius has built for himself is basically a house of cards which will come crashing down on his head quite soon.
The only question, then is when, not if, "good" will triumph and all will be restored to the way it should be. It's my theory that the mere possibility of that happening, perhaps, is what keeps people coming back. Of course, the alternative would be to suppose that readers like their Spidey dark and capable of crippling or murdering people on a regular basis, which is a somewhat sadder prospect I would rather not contemplate.
Personally, I maintain that Ock will stay in charge until it's time to promote the next Spider-Man movie, but with sales as brisk as these, who's to say Marvel won't let him stick around for awhile? It's clear he hasn't quite worn out his welcome just yet.
But then, there's also the possibility that the "ultimate" version of Spider-Man, Miles Morales, who will be moving to the "616" Marvel Universe by the end of the year, could be the one to take Ock out and assume the mantle of Spider-Man. THAT would be a very interesting prospect indeed...
When Marvel undid Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson courtesy of One More Day, there was quite a bit of buzz, and the old adage "there's no such thing as negative publicity" held true for the first year or so after the new status quo, but soon it became clear that apart from the occasional "event" story line, like 2010's Big Time or 2011's Spider-Island, the title was simply not capable of maintaining its sales levels prior to One More Day. Now, though, that they've replaced Peter Parker with Doc Ock and have not given any indication as to when, or even if Peter will be back, Marvel's got the book selling in the high 80,000s every issue, sustained sales that the book hasn't seen since J. Michael Straczynski left in 2007.
It's a curious thing that a superhero book in which the title character has been replaced by his worst enemy is being more enthusiastically received than when when he was actually in it, but having followed the new status quo for fifteen issues now, I think I finally understand the appeal of it all...enough, I daresay, to hazard a guess as to the appeal of the title right now, as opposed to its lack of appeal coming off the "relaunch" of the then newly-single Peter.
My theory behind the lackluster sales, even years after "One More Day" was because audiences knew for sure that Peter Parker's marriage was never coming back, even though they were lured back by the occasional event, they would eventually go back to the realization that the status quo they desired would stay gone, and would leave the title as soon as the event was done.
By introducing this new development, Slott has basically challenged the readers, and more likely himself, to see how long he can sustain a somewhat anomalous status quo, the way Ed Brubaker was able to keep Captain America out of his own book for two years. And by gum, it seems to be working.
To my mind, there has been no significant spike in the quality of Slott's storytelling; I liked the stuff he did even when Peter Parker was still occupying his own mind and body. Slott hasn't exactly raised his game, and even though some of the artists working with him, like Humberto Ramos and Ryan Stegman, have, I don't think they could have influenced sales this much without something else at work.
The big difference, I think, is that Slott has put the character in a place where the readers know he isn't supposed to be, and basically teases them with the possibility of restoring a status quo that they will accept. Basically, he continues to tease the readers with the possibility that Spider-Man's supporting cast will see past outward appearances and will recognize that Peter is no longer in charge of his own body, and ultimately, with the possibility of Peter's return, but so far, Ock has beaten the odds every time and has stayed in control. It's the tease and frustration, I think, that is the key to the book's success. Basically by tantalizing readers with the promise of bringing back the good guy and then denying them at the last possible minute, Slott manages to string them...us...along month after month. It helps, I think, that he's giving some pretty good stories in the process.
After all, this isn't a case of Doctor Octopus living life exactly as Peter Parker would have, which was basically what the late Ben Reilly did. He is still every inch the murderous egomaniac he was when he took over Peter's body, and therefore Marvel and Slott are making it clear that he's no hero, and that for all of his delusions, he isn't the "superior" Spider-Man he fancies himself to be. Also, Slott seems to strongly suggest that the house Otto Octavius has built for himself is basically a house of cards which will come crashing down on his head quite soon.
The only question, then is when, not if, "good" will triumph and all will be restored to the way it should be. It's my theory that the mere possibility of that happening, perhaps, is what keeps people coming back. Of course, the alternative would be to suppose that readers like their Spidey dark and capable of crippling or murdering people on a regular basis, which is a somewhat sadder prospect I would rather not contemplate.
Personally, I maintain that Ock will stay in charge until it's time to promote the next Spider-Man movie, but with sales as brisk as these, who's to say Marvel won't let him stick around for awhile? It's clear he hasn't quite worn out his welcome just yet.
But then, there's also the possibility that the "ultimate" version of Spider-Man, Miles Morales, who will be moving to the "616" Marvel Universe by the end of the year, could be the one to take Ock out and assume the mantle of Spider-Man. THAT would be a very interesting prospect indeed...
Friday, August 16, 2013
Infinity #1
(w) Jonathan Hickman
(a) Jim Cheung (pencils) Mark Morales, et al (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
Two words, however, were able to entice me to pick up Marvel's latest event, Infinity, after what I can only describe as severe event fatigue: Jim Cheung. I've been a huge fan of the guy's work since the first run of Young Avengers started in January 2005, and I have tried to pick up every book he's drawn since then, like the odd issues of New Avengers, and the New Avengers: Illuminati miniseries. Much to my annoyance, he never seemed to have a regular, or even sustained gig.
That changed with Avengers: Children's Crusade, a massive nine-issue limited series which actually led into Marvel's last publishing event, Avengers vs. X-Men. When I missed the first few issues of ACC due to being preoccupied with other things, I consoled myself with the thought that I would just pick up the trade paperback someday. Unfortunately, however, the trade paperback has proven to be extremely difficult to find. As a result, when I found out Jim Cheung would be drawing an over-sized first issue of Marvel's summer event Infinity, I knew I had to get my Cheung fix.
Not having been a fan of writer Jonathan Hickman's work in Secret Warriors, and not having picked up any of his Avengers or Fantastic Four books in the last couple of years, I really wasn't getting this book on his account, or because of the "next Marvel event" hype. I was just eager to see 40+ pages of glorious Jim Cheung art, and on that front Cheung most definitely delivered. The fact that Hickman's story is actually quite engaging, if not quite accessible, was basically just gravy.
To make a long story short, Thanos the Mad Titan is gunning for the Earth (again). There seems to be a tad more to his machinations than just launching an all-out invasion; he sends one of his emissaries, a nasty customer called Corvus Glaive, to a world called Ahl-Agullo to exact a tribute, then later sends another, a hideous four-armed, eyeless assassin to the Inhumans' world of Attilan to quite literally pick the brain of their king, Black Bolt, for secrets which remain undisclosed to the reader. Black Bolt chases the creature off Attilan, but not, it seems before it has obtained certain knowledge from him. In the meantime, threats across space are coming to the attention of the Avengers, as races such as the Kree start sending out distress signals, and it becomes clear that the Earth is in the path of what seems to be an imminent invasion. A team of Avengers headed by Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) heads off into space to head off the threat, leaving Iron Man (Tony Stark) behind to secure the Earth if they fail, and not knowing that they may well be playing right into Thanos' hands.
When Hickman co-wrote Secret Avengers with Brian Bendis, basically revealing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been run by its archnemesis HYDRA for years, if not all along, I was taken right out of the story by what I felt was a gratuitous, shock-for-shock's-sake story twist and pretty much avoided anything Hickman wrote after that, including his Avengers relaunch from earlier this year. However, I cannot find any fault with his writing here; he builds suspense, he presents the action clearly and coherently, and writes some pretty crisp dialogue. I still have issues with the accessibility, though, as things have quite clearly changed for the Avengers since I last picked up an Avengers-related book, which was not even too long ago. The good news is that Hickman's run does not appear to be absolutely required reading, as the story seems easy enough to follow.
Still, this story could have been written by a hack like Scott Lobdell, Chuck Austen or almost anyone who worked on a Marvel book from the mid-to-late 1990s and I would still probably give this issue at least three full stars; Cheung's work here really is just THAT good. Maybe it helps that Hickman, an accomplished artist himself, has given him a script that plays to his visual strengths, but even if that's the case Cheung takes Hickman's script and elevates it. It's worth pointing out that Cheung designed many, if not most of the new characters, all of them bad guys, that appear here, and they really look quite fearsome.
Of the "Young Guns" promoted by Marvel in 2004, Cheung has most consistently impressed me over the years; I got tired of David Finch quite some time ago, the quality of Steve McNiven's work seems to have declined over the years, especially every time he's given books with monthly schedules to finish, and Trevor Hairsine just seems to have vanished. Olivier Coipel is probably the only other artist of that bunch who's even near Cheung's level right now, having improved quite a bit since I first saw his work, but he just isn't quite there. I'm interested to see what Dustin Weaver and Jerome Opena, who share art duties on this miniseries with Cheung, have to offer, and considering that the little I've seen of their art is thoroughly impressive, I think that as far as pretty pictures goes, Marvel has pretty much a winner on their hands here. I just hope the story is up to snuff as well; I wouldn't want to have the series to give three star ratings all the time.
4.5/5
(a) Jim Cheung (pencils) Mark Morales, et al (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
Two words, however, were able to entice me to pick up Marvel's latest event, Infinity, after what I can only describe as severe event fatigue: Jim Cheung. I've been a huge fan of the guy's work since the first run of Young Avengers started in January 2005, and I have tried to pick up every book he's drawn since then, like the odd issues of New Avengers, and the New Avengers: Illuminati miniseries. Much to my annoyance, he never seemed to have a regular, or even sustained gig.
That changed with Avengers: Children's Crusade, a massive nine-issue limited series which actually led into Marvel's last publishing event, Avengers vs. X-Men. When I missed the first few issues of ACC due to being preoccupied with other things, I consoled myself with the thought that I would just pick up the trade paperback someday. Unfortunately, however, the trade paperback has proven to be extremely difficult to find. As a result, when I found out Jim Cheung would be drawing an over-sized first issue of Marvel's summer event Infinity, I knew I had to get my Cheung fix.
Not having been a fan of writer Jonathan Hickman's work in Secret Warriors, and not having picked up any of his Avengers or Fantastic Four books in the last couple of years, I really wasn't getting this book on his account, or because of the "next Marvel event" hype. I was just eager to see 40+ pages of glorious Jim Cheung art, and on that front Cheung most definitely delivered. The fact that Hickman's story is actually quite engaging, if not quite accessible, was basically just gravy.
To make a long story short, Thanos the Mad Titan is gunning for the Earth (again). There seems to be a tad more to his machinations than just launching an all-out invasion; he sends one of his emissaries, a nasty customer called Corvus Glaive, to a world called Ahl-Agullo to exact a tribute, then later sends another, a hideous four-armed, eyeless assassin to the Inhumans' world of Attilan to quite literally pick the brain of their king, Black Bolt, for secrets which remain undisclosed to the reader. Black Bolt chases the creature off Attilan, but not, it seems before it has obtained certain knowledge from him. In the meantime, threats across space are coming to the attention of the Avengers, as races such as the Kree start sending out distress signals, and it becomes clear that the Earth is in the path of what seems to be an imminent invasion. A team of Avengers headed by Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) heads off into space to head off the threat, leaving Iron Man (Tony Stark) behind to secure the Earth if they fail, and not knowing that they may well be playing right into Thanos' hands.
When Hickman co-wrote Secret Avengers with Brian Bendis, basically revealing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been run by its archnemesis HYDRA for years, if not all along, I was taken right out of the story by what I felt was a gratuitous, shock-for-shock's-sake story twist and pretty much avoided anything Hickman wrote after that, including his Avengers relaunch from earlier this year. However, I cannot find any fault with his writing here; he builds suspense, he presents the action clearly and coherently, and writes some pretty crisp dialogue. I still have issues with the accessibility, though, as things have quite clearly changed for the Avengers since I last picked up an Avengers-related book, which was not even too long ago. The good news is that Hickman's run does not appear to be absolutely required reading, as the story seems easy enough to follow.
Still, this story could have been written by a hack like Scott Lobdell, Chuck Austen or almost anyone who worked on a Marvel book from the mid-to-late 1990s and I would still probably give this issue at least three full stars; Cheung's work here really is just THAT good. Maybe it helps that Hickman, an accomplished artist himself, has given him a script that plays to his visual strengths, but even if that's the case Cheung takes Hickman's script and elevates it. It's worth pointing out that Cheung designed many, if not most of the new characters, all of them bad guys, that appear here, and they really look quite fearsome.
Of the "Young Guns" promoted by Marvel in 2004, Cheung has most consistently impressed me over the years; I got tired of David Finch quite some time ago, the quality of Steve McNiven's work seems to have declined over the years, especially every time he's given books with monthly schedules to finish, and Trevor Hairsine just seems to have vanished. Olivier Coipel is probably the only other artist of that bunch who's even near Cheung's level right now, having improved quite a bit since I first saw his work, but he just isn't quite there. I'm interested to see what Dustin Weaver and Jerome Opena, who share art duties on this miniseries with Cheung, have to offer, and considering that the little I've seen of their art is thoroughly impressive, I think that as far as pretty pictures goes, Marvel has pretty much a winner on their hands here. I just hope the story is up to snuff as well; I wouldn't want to have the series to give three star ratings all the time.
4.5/5
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Born Again: A Look at Mark Waid's Take on Daredevil
Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer who moonlights as a superhero clad in red tights called Daredevil, has been one of my favorite comic-book characters since 1993, when I read the miniseries The Man Without Fear by Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr. Some top-level creators have worked on the character over his fifty-year publication history, including Miller, David Mazuchelli, Bill Sinkiewicz, Kevin Smith, Joe Quesada, and Brian Michael Bendis among others. The latest creative heavyweight to take on Marvel's sightless crusader is award-winning, fan-favorite writer Mark Waid, of Kingdom Come and Fantastic Four fame.
I had actually quit Daredevil several years ago, almost a year before Brian Michael Bendis left the title. I actually have almost all of the issues written by Bendis and drawn by his collaborator, Alex Maleev. I was a fan of Waid's work on Fantastic Four, but had not really seen the need to pick up Daredevil, which, from what I had heard, had sort of spiraled into a bit of silliness a few years back when some geniuses in Marvel editorial decided to build a publishing event around him and have him get possessed by a demon.
Then the positive reviews started pouring in for Waid's approach, which was actually a bit of a throwback to the pre-Miller, pre-noir days of the character, and I sat up and took notice. By that time I was no longer regularly collecting comic books, but the thought that one of my favorite characters was getting some love from the critics prompted me to seek out the trade paperback of Waid's first six issues on the book, which proved to be surprisingly elusive.
Then, the pot was sweetened when Waid was teamed up with artist Chris Samnee, whose five-issue run on the series Captain America and Bucky absolutely captivated me, and I ended up buying an issue that took place right smack in the middle of a storyline. As has so often happened to me, I bought the later issues first and ending up driving from my usual haunts in Quezon City to virtually the southernmost tip of Metro Manila, namely Alabang, just to buy the earliest issue of the story, and I have to say, it was worth the trip. Not only that, but I finally found, in Fully Booked, the collection of the first six issues. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.
Of course, I should have expected no less from Waid, but I was struck by how much he seems to get the character. I was also delighted to see that he could handle Matt around a courtroom just as well as the action sequences. To my knowledge, Waid isn't a lawyer, so it's clear he has done at least some homework on the things that lawyers have to know, certainly a lot more than lesser talents (whom I will not name) who have worked on this character ever bothered to do. While he has distanced the book's overall tone from the noir atmosphere with which the character has been most commonly associated since Miller's run, Waid expressly acknowledges the character's history (with a somewhat humorous reference to one of Miller's single most influential stories, "Born Again") and even throws in a couple of dark little story twists of his own, including a pretty tragic one that continues to unfold, involving Matt's law partner and longtime buddy Foggy Nelson.
With these stories, Waid has really crafted an era for the character that is at once entirely consistent with some of the best stories that have ever been published featuring him, and that is at the same time completely its own thing. If a lot of people appreciate this book the way I do, then in the years to come, people will talk about Waid's run with the same fondness they have for Miller and Bendis.
The icing on the cake, for me, is the work by not only Samnee who is easily one of my favorite comic book artists these days, but Waid's other previous collaborators on this book, like Paulo Rivera and Marcos Martin. This is a run I can definitely see myself picking up in collected edition form someday.
I had actually quit Daredevil several years ago, almost a year before Brian Michael Bendis left the title. I actually have almost all of the issues written by Bendis and drawn by his collaborator, Alex Maleev. I was a fan of Waid's work on Fantastic Four, but had not really seen the need to pick up Daredevil, which, from what I had heard, had sort of spiraled into a bit of silliness a few years back when some geniuses in Marvel editorial decided to build a publishing event around him and have him get possessed by a demon.
Then the positive reviews started pouring in for Waid's approach, which was actually a bit of a throwback to the pre-Miller, pre-noir days of the character, and I sat up and took notice. By that time I was no longer regularly collecting comic books, but the thought that one of my favorite characters was getting some love from the critics prompted me to seek out the trade paperback of Waid's first six issues on the book, which proved to be surprisingly elusive.
Then, the pot was sweetened when Waid was teamed up with artist Chris Samnee, whose five-issue run on the series Captain America and Bucky absolutely captivated me, and I ended up buying an issue that took place right smack in the middle of a storyline. As has so often happened to me, I bought the later issues first and ending up driving from my usual haunts in Quezon City to virtually the southernmost tip of Metro Manila, namely Alabang, just to buy the earliest issue of the story, and I have to say, it was worth the trip. Not only that, but I finally found, in Fully Booked, the collection of the first six issues. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.
Of course, I should have expected no less from Waid, but I was struck by how much he seems to get the character. I was also delighted to see that he could handle Matt around a courtroom just as well as the action sequences. To my knowledge, Waid isn't a lawyer, so it's clear he has done at least some homework on the things that lawyers have to know, certainly a lot more than lesser talents (whom I will not name) who have worked on this character ever bothered to do. While he has distanced the book's overall tone from the noir atmosphere with which the character has been most commonly associated since Miller's run, Waid expressly acknowledges the character's history (with a somewhat humorous reference to one of Miller's single most influential stories, "Born Again") and even throws in a couple of dark little story twists of his own, including a pretty tragic one that continues to unfold, involving Matt's law partner and longtime buddy Foggy Nelson.
With these stories, Waid has really crafted an era for the character that is at once entirely consistent with some of the best stories that have ever been published featuring him, and that is at the same time completely its own thing. If a lot of people appreciate this book the way I do, then in the years to come, people will talk about Waid's run with the same fondness they have for Miller and Bendis.
The icing on the cake, for me, is the work by not only Samnee who is easily one of my favorite comic book artists these days, but Waid's other previous collaborators on this book, like Paulo Rivera and Marcos Martin. This is a run I can definitely see myself picking up in collected edition form someday.
Loki, Loki and More Loki: Young Avengers #5
(w) Keiron Gillen
(a) Jamie McKelvie, Mike Norton (line art) Matthew Wilson (colors)
This is the first (and, I hope, the only) time I will be reviewing an issue so long after its original release, but I enjoyed Young Avengers #5 so much that it's worth the much belated review.
After "borrowing" Wiccan's powers at the end of issue #4 and seemingly leaving the rest of the Young Avengers to fight a losing battle against magical copies of their dead parents, this issue basically opens with Loki apparently being taunted by the soul of the child whose body he is currently occupying. He is basically faced with the dilemma of what he wants to do, which is not yet clear, and what he has to do, which is to help the Young Avengers out of their jam. Considering that the series is called "Young Avengers" and not just "Loki," it should be pretty clear how he decides, and the ass-kicking battle that follows is some of McKelvie's best work that I've seen so far. Gillen, however, doesn't just tie things up neatly; he leaves Loki's true motivations a mystery that will probably reverberate through this series in the issues to come.
Gillen and McKelvie have put together a five-issue story arc which, while slightly decompressed at times, is still eminently readable and will probably stand up to multiple re-reads.While the first issue, and arguably this entire storyline, was kick-started when Wiccan cast a spell he shouldn't have, basically it's Loki who finishes what Wiccan started, but not without some lasting effects; basically the whole lot of them, including those of them who swore never to be superheroes again, now have to stick together. As reasons for forming superhero teams go, the one presented here feels more believable than the usual story trope of wanting to unite in order to dispense justice and all of that; these kids are stuck together because their lives depend on it, apparently, and a great deal of them, with good reason, have little to no trust for Loki, who seems to be the glue holding them all together. It's a highly combustible mix that could make for some really good reading in the months to come and which, in Gillen's and McKelvie's capable hands, probably will.
4.5/5
(a) Jamie McKelvie, Mike Norton (line art) Matthew Wilson (colors)
This is the first (and, I hope, the only) time I will be reviewing an issue so long after its original release, but I enjoyed Young Avengers #5 so much that it's worth the much belated review.
After "borrowing" Wiccan's powers at the end of issue #4 and seemingly leaving the rest of the Young Avengers to fight a losing battle against magical copies of their dead parents, this issue basically opens with Loki apparently being taunted by the soul of the child whose body he is currently occupying. He is basically faced with the dilemma of what he wants to do, which is not yet clear, and what he has to do, which is to help the Young Avengers out of their jam. Considering that the series is called "Young Avengers" and not just "Loki," it should be pretty clear how he decides, and the ass-kicking battle that follows is some of McKelvie's best work that I've seen so far. Gillen, however, doesn't just tie things up neatly; he leaves Loki's true motivations a mystery that will probably reverberate through this series in the issues to come.
Gillen and McKelvie have put together a five-issue story arc which, while slightly decompressed at times, is still eminently readable and will probably stand up to multiple re-reads.While the first issue, and arguably this entire storyline, was kick-started when Wiccan cast a spell he shouldn't have, basically it's Loki who finishes what Wiccan started, but not without some lasting effects; basically the whole lot of them, including those of them who swore never to be superheroes again, now have to stick together. As reasons for forming superhero teams go, the one presented here feels more believable than the usual story trope of wanting to unite in order to dispense justice and all of that; these kids are stuck together because their lives depend on it, apparently, and a great deal of them, with good reason, have little to no trust for Loki, who seems to be the glue holding them all together. It's a highly combustible mix that could make for some really good reading in the months to come and which, in Gillen's and McKelvie's capable hands, probably will.
4.5/5
Friday, May 3, 2013
Young Avengers #3 and #4
(w) Keiron Gillen
(a) Jamie McKelvie and Mike Norton (line art) Matthew Wilson (colors)
In a day and age where the best-selling comics are generally those that feature status-quo altering events, line-wide reboots and enough variant covers to fill a long box, it is nice to read a comic book in which the creators' sole preoccupation is to tell quirky, fun stories rather than make huge waves in the industry, and Young Avengers is just such a book.
Issue #3 has Loki, Wiccan and Hulkling face off against what appears to be Loki's father, frost-giant Laufey, who gets the better of them and is apparently about to kill them when America Chavez flies in and saves the day. She makes a disturbing disclosure to Hulkling and Wiccan about Loki, and the four of them try to figure out how to deal with the problem at hand by hanging out, at all places, at Mary Jane Watson's club. It is clear that Wiccan's spell to summon Hulkling's dead mother has somehow summoned magical facsimiles of all of the parents of the young Avengers. Unfortunately, all of the faux parents track the four of them down to MJ's, and mayhem ensues.
In issue #4, Noh-Varr, a.k.a. Marvel Boy and Kate Bishop join the fray, and are able to help their fellow young Avengers escape the clutches of the fake parents (with Marvel Boy's fake parents joining the fun as well) but it becomes evident that unless they figure out a way to completely undo Wiccan's spell, it's a gift that's just going to keep on giving.
My beef with issue #2 was basically that Wiccan and Hulkling didn't really seem to have a plan for undoing Wiccan's spell, other than to go to Asgardia, and all things considered, it becomes evident that they didn't really have a plan at all, though they apparently are gaining insights into what the problem is. Issue #3 was basically an extended fight sequence and, while entertaining was not that much of an improvement over issue #2, but issue #4 has some really interesting things going for it, the kind of things that had me picking up this series in the first place.
The first thing that really grabbed me about issue #4 was how Gillen and McKelvie staged Noh-Varr's incredible action sequence, which is hilarious and exciting all at once. Having just read Grant Morrison's Marvel Boy miniseries, and having read about his vision for the character, it strikes me that more than any other writer who has handled the character since Morrison (yes, including the vaunted Brian Bendis), Gillen "gets" Noh-Varr.
Another highlight of this issue happened midway through it, when Loki started manipulating Teddy (Hulkling) by suggesting that the only reason he and Billy (Wiccan) were together as boyfriends was that Billy had manipulated reality to make it so. After all, it is Billy's superpower to change reality. Of course, Loki being Loki the odds are good he is basically messing with Teddy big-time but the plausibility of what he tells Teddy is what was really striking, as well as the suggestion that Billy may not even be aware of what he's doing. Loki messing with people's heads is what makes him utterly compelling him to read; THIS is the kind of thing I look forward to in a book starring Loki, and the fact that he's doing to people who are purportedly his allies in this issue makes things all the more intriguing. I can't help but wonder and eagerly anticipate what Gillen plans for this title down the line.
3.5/5 (issue #3)
4.5/5 (issue #4)
(a) Jamie McKelvie and Mike Norton (line art) Matthew Wilson (colors)
In a day and age where the best-selling comics are generally those that feature status-quo altering events, line-wide reboots and enough variant covers to fill a long box, it is nice to read a comic book in which the creators' sole preoccupation is to tell quirky, fun stories rather than make huge waves in the industry, and Young Avengers is just such a book.
Issue #3 has Loki, Wiccan and Hulkling face off against what appears to be Loki's father, frost-giant Laufey, who gets the better of them and is apparently about to kill them when America Chavez flies in and saves the day. She makes a disturbing disclosure to Hulkling and Wiccan about Loki, and the four of them try to figure out how to deal with the problem at hand by hanging out, at all places, at Mary Jane Watson's club. It is clear that Wiccan's spell to summon Hulkling's dead mother has somehow summoned magical facsimiles of all of the parents of the young Avengers. Unfortunately, all of the faux parents track the four of them down to MJ's, and mayhem ensues.
In issue #4, Noh-Varr, a.k.a. Marvel Boy and Kate Bishop join the fray, and are able to help their fellow young Avengers escape the clutches of the fake parents (with Marvel Boy's fake parents joining the fun as well) but it becomes evident that unless they figure out a way to completely undo Wiccan's spell, it's a gift that's just going to keep on giving.
My beef with issue #2 was basically that Wiccan and Hulkling didn't really seem to have a plan for undoing Wiccan's spell, other than to go to Asgardia, and all things considered, it becomes evident that they didn't really have a plan at all, though they apparently are gaining insights into what the problem is. Issue #3 was basically an extended fight sequence and, while entertaining was not that much of an improvement over issue #2, but issue #4 has some really interesting things going for it, the kind of things that had me picking up this series in the first place.
The first thing that really grabbed me about issue #4 was how Gillen and McKelvie staged Noh-Varr's incredible action sequence, which is hilarious and exciting all at once. Having just read Grant Morrison's Marvel Boy miniseries, and having read about his vision for the character, it strikes me that more than any other writer who has handled the character since Morrison (yes, including the vaunted Brian Bendis), Gillen "gets" Noh-Varr.
Another highlight of this issue happened midway through it, when Loki started manipulating Teddy (Hulkling) by suggesting that the only reason he and Billy (Wiccan) were together as boyfriends was that Billy had manipulated reality to make it so. After all, it is Billy's superpower to change reality. Of course, Loki being Loki the odds are good he is basically messing with Teddy big-time but the plausibility of what he tells Teddy is what was really striking, as well as the suggestion that Billy may not even be aware of what he's doing. Loki messing with people's heads is what makes him utterly compelling him to read; THIS is the kind of thing I look forward to in a book starring Loki, and the fact that he's doing to people who are purportedly his allies in this issue makes things all the more intriguing. I can't help but wonder and eagerly anticipate what Gillen plans for this title down the line.
3.5/5 (issue #3)
4.5/5 (issue #4)
Monday, April 29, 2013
Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore (Direct to DVD Animated movie)
I have yet to see any of the original "Marvel Anime" direct-to-video miniseries or films that came out around two years ago, but because I was quite keen on seeing how my beloved Marvel characters would look given the anime treatment, I quickly bought Hiroshi Hamazaki's Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore when I saw the DVD on the shelves in a shopping mall. I didn't even know it was a brand new release.
The story of IMROTT basically begins with Tony Stark about to launch a new satellite (named "the Howard" after his late father) into space, a machine which will have access to electronics all over the planet, supposedly for the greater good, when the launch is attacked by a mysterious assailant with several high-tech minions and a highly-advanced personal suit of armor which exceeds even Tony's tech. The attack leaves Tony's friend, Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes, aka War Machine, fighting for his life, and Tony is out for vengeance, even if it means dodging S.H.I.E.L.D. and teaming up with the Punisher.
Yes, this "anime" version of the world's favorite armored Avenger is every bit as stupid as the plot synopsis sounds. It's complete and utter drivel.
The first truly grating aspect of it was the dialogue, with the villain of the piece spouting unbelievably pretentious pseudo-philosophical gibberish that sounds annoying enough in the countless original anime films from which it was lifted, but sounds downright insufferable here. The English dub is at least marginally better than the dialogue suggested by the subtitles (yes, the subtitles, presumably of the original Japanese dub, are radically different from the dialogue uttered by the characters in English, as stupid as that may sound), but it can't remedy some inherently idiotic conversations among the characters.
The characterization is equally poor; this is hands down the dumbest iteration of Tony Stark I have ever seen in any media. His reasoning for refusing to cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D. is flimsy, even more so his "team-up" with the mass-murdering Punisher, and worst of all, his "solution" to fighting an enemy who appears to be smarter and better-equipped than he is proves to be downright laughable: he tries to hit him. When that doesn't work, he tries to hit him again. Good God.
Speaking of characters, the visual design of the main villain was similarly grating. While I understand the directive was to give the characters, all of whom are actual comic-book characters, the "anime" look, Punisher (again, who has no real place in this travesty of a story) looks ridiculous, and the whole androgynous look for the bad guy Ezekiel Stane has been done to death in countless other anime. If they had made him into something approaching the bald hipster rebel he was when he appeared in the comics, even an "anime" take could have worked. His appearance, though, coupled with his his voice actor (more on that next) just made his character utterly forgettable, or more appropriate, yet another forgettable aspect of this bad joke of a film.
Finally, the English dub of this film features more of the generic, cookie-cutter voice acting I have come to despise about so many English-dubbed anime films or series. I almost enjoyed Norman Reedus' turn as the Punisher, but at the end of the day, the character really has no reason for being in this film in the first place.
The film's lone redeeming feature is the animation, and, of course, nobody does fighting robots better than the Japanese. War Machine done in anime, in particular, was one heck of a treat. If only for that, this film was not a complete waste of time.
But it sure as hell came close to being one.
1.5/5
The story of IMROTT basically begins with Tony Stark about to launch a new satellite (named "the Howard" after his late father) into space, a machine which will have access to electronics all over the planet, supposedly for the greater good, when the launch is attacked by a mysterious assailant with several high-tech minions and a highly-advanced personal suit of armor which exceeds even Tony's tech. The attack leaves Tony's friend, Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes, aka War Machine, fighting for his life, and Tony is out for vengeance, even if it means dodging S.H.I.E.L.D. and teaming up with the Punisher.
Yes, this "anime" version of the world's favorite armored Avenger is every bit as stupid as the plot synopsis sounds. It's complete and utter drivel.
The first truly grating aspect of it was the dialogue, with the villain of the piece spouting unbelievably pretentious pseudo-philosophical gibberish that sounds annoying enough in the countless original anime films from which it was lifted, but sounds downright insufferable here. The English dub is at least marginally better than the dialogue suggested by the subtitles (yes, the subtitles, presumably of the original Japanese dub, are radically different from the dialogue uttered by the characters in English, as stupid as that may sound), but it can't remedy some inherently idiotic conversations among the characters.
The characterization is equally poor; this is hands down the dumbest iteration of Tony Stark I have ever seen in any media. His reasoning for refusing to cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D. is flimsy, even more so his "team-up" with the mass-murdering Punisher, and worst of all, his "solution" to fighting an enemy who appears to be smarter and better-equipped than he is proves to be downright laughable: he tries to hit him. When that doesn't work, he tries to hit him again. Good God.
Speaking of characters, the visual design of the main villain was similarly grating. While I understand the directive was to give the characters, all of whom are actual comic-book characters, the "anime" look, Punisher (again, who has no real place in this travesty of a story) looks ridiculous, and the whole androgynous look for the bad guy Ezekiel Stane has been done to death in countless other anime. If they had made him into something approaching the bald hipster rebel he was when he appeared in the comics, even an "anime" take could have worked. His appearance, though, coupled with his his voice actor (more on that next) just made his character utterly forgettable, or more appropriate, yet another forgettable aspect of this bad joke of a film.
Finally, the English dub of this film features more of the generic, cookie-cutter voice acting I have come to despise about so many English-dubbed anime films or series. I almost enjoyed Norman Reedus' turn as the Punisher, but at the end of the day, the character really has no reason for being in this film in the first place.
The film's lone redeeming feature is the animation, and, of course, nobody does fighting robots better than the Japanese. War Machine done in anime, in particular, was one heck of a treat. If only for that, this film was not a complete waste of time.
But it sure as hell came close to being one.
1.5/5
Turning Point: A Review of Ultimate Spider-Man #s 21 and 22
(w) Brian Bendis
(a) Sara Pichelli (line art) Justin Ponsor (color art)
With these two issues, series creators Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli complete what is arguably the single most important story arc of this series so far, and the repercussions will no doubt be felt by young Miles Morales, a.k.a. Spider-Man, for the rest of his life. Miles' confrontation with Venom, who seems bigger, more grotesque, and more brutal than he has ever been, comes to a head. Venom puts Miles' dad, Jefferson, whom he mistakenly believes to be Spider-Man, in the hospital. Miles is able to ward Venom off with one of his "venom blasts" but Venom then follows the stricken Jefferson to the hospital, forces Miles to follow. Throughout this, Miles has to fend off questions from ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned police officer Maria Hill, who has essentially figured out Miles' little secret. Miles finds the rampaging Venom at the hospital, engages him and...tragedy ensues.
One could say it was only a matter of time before Miles's decision to assume the Spider-Man mantle left by the late Peter Parker would yield disastrous consequences for him, but I was a little surprised at the turn of events in this particular issue so soon after the story arc in which Miles' Uncle Aaron basically tricked him into being his enforcer, fought Miles, and then died in a fiery explosion. Apparently, though Bendis was just getting warmed up back then; the events in issue #22 will have life-changing consequences for Miles down the road. It is quite impossible to say more without spoiling things.
As life-changing issues go, Bendis and Pichelli handle this one with the appropriate gravitas, and in the case of the action sequences, with flair. Although the whole four-issue arc is, with the exception of the first issue, basically one gigantic fight sequence, it's the fallout from this that will really define Miles as a character, and both Bendis and Pichelli really made sure the stakes were sky high.
For me Pichelli was the star of this particular show. Bendis, practically Marvel's go-to-guy for talking heads issues, smartly stood aside and let his visual storyteller flex some serious muscle. Issue #22 is deeply tragic both for its consequences for Miles and for the fact that it will be Pichelli's last on this series as she is moving over to another Bendis book, Guardians of the Galaxy. Well that's one very special woman out of Miles' life. I am keen to see what David Marquez, who will take over as the book's regular artist next issue, can bring, considering his work over on All New X-Men has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Interesting times lie ahead for Miles Morales, that's for sure.
4.5/5
(a) Sara Pichelli (line art) Justin Ponsor (color art)
With these two issues, series creators Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli complete what is arguably the single most important story arc of this series so far, and the repercussions will no doubt be felt by young Miles Morales, a.k.a. Spider-Man, for the rest of his life. Miles' confrontation with Venom, who seems bigger, more grotesque, and more brutal than he has ever been, comes to a head. Venom puts Miles' dad, Jefferson, whom he mistakenly believes to be Spider-Man, in the hospital. Miles is able to ward Venom off with one of his "venom blasts" but Venom then follows the stricken Jefferson to the hospital, forces Miles to follow. Throughout this, Miles has to fend off questions from ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned police officer Maria Hill, who has essentially figured out Miles' little secret. Miles finds the rampaging Venom at the hospital, engages him and...tragedy ensues.
One could say it was only a matter of time before Miles's decision to assume the Spider-Man mantle left by the late Peter Parker would yield disastrous consequences for him, but I was a little surprised at the turn of events in this particular issue so soon after the story arc in which Miles' Uncle Aaron basically tricked him into being his enforcer, fought Miles, and then died in a fiery explosion. Apparently, though Bendis was just getting warmed up back then; the events in issue #22 will have life-changing consequences for Miles down the road. It is quite impossible to say more without spoiling things.
As life-changing issues go, Bendis and Pichelli handle this one with the appropriate gravitas, and in the case of the action sequences, with flair. Although the whole four-issue arc is, with the exception of the first issue, basically one gigantic fight sequence, it's the fallout from this that will really define Miles as a character, and both Bendis and Pichelli really made sure the stakes were sky high.
For me Pichelli was the star of this particular show. Bendis, practically Marvel's go-to-guy for talking heads issues, smartly stood aside and let his visual storyteller flex some serious muscle. Issue #22 is deeply tragic both for its consequences for Miles and for the fact that it will be Pichelli's last on this series as she is moving over to another Bendis book, Guardians of the Galaxy. Well that's one very special woman out of Miles' life. I am keen to see what David Marquez, who will take over as the book's regular artist next issue, can bring, considering his work over on All New X-Men has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Interesting times lie ahead for Miles Morales, that's for sure.
4.5/5
Saturday, April 13, 2013
What Separates Heroes from Villains: A Review of Superior Spider-Man #6
(w) Dan Slott
(a) Humerto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado (colors)
How much I liked this issue should be evident from the fact that today, I have already read the issue after this, issue #7, and yet I will not adopt my usual practice of interviewing two or three issues at a time. This is the issue where Dan Slott makes the the best argument for the most outrageous storytelling stunt in Spider-Man's publishing history since the Clone Saga.
This issue starts on a much lighter note than the ending of issue #5, in which Spider-Man/Otto Octavius murdered the villain Massacre. Here, apparent lightweight bad guys Jester and Screwball pull a prank on New York City mayor J. Jonah Jameson and stream the prank live on the internet. The video gets thousands of hits, which actually plays into the pair's hands as Screwball's "phishing" software is busy gathering credit card numbers and other financial information from the subscribers. Jameson, however, is more concerned about getting his new best friend, Spider-Man, to teach the two a lesson. It's one Spider-Man is willing to teach, but not before Otto Octavius gets the lessons he needs to finally obtain Peter Parker's doctorate. Otto finds himself taking a liking to his diminutive prodigy of a teacher, Anna Maria Marconi, and is angered by students who make fun of how small she is.
When Spider-Ock eventually confronts the two online pranksters, they manage to prank him as well, but whereas Peter Parker would have taken it in stride and just dealt with the two of them accordingly, Otto's reaction is considerably more extreme.
It was always a given to me that it was only a matter of time before Ock starting acting like the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing, and when I reviewed the last two issues I expressed concern that, perhaps, writer Dan Slott was showing his hand a little too early.
What sang to me about this issue, though, was how Slott showed that Octavius has, in many ways, lived a life just like Peter Parker's. Both were bullied, both had traumatic experiences in their youth, and both were outsiders. It was how they dealt with this adversity that ended up defining what kind of men they would grow up to be, and even though in many instances in this series, Otto has proven more sensible than Peter used to be in similar conditions, there's more to being a hero than being efficient; in the end, what matters is how one reacts when the chips are down.
Of course, Otto's aberrant behavior brings him on the radar of many of Spider-Man's supporting cast in a very bad way; Mary Jane notices, Carlie Cooper's suspicions are reinforced, and the Avengers take note as well. There's quite a bit of trouble brewing for Spider-Ock on the horizon.
This issue sees the return of longtime Spider-Man artist Humberto Ramos on art duties, and while I have long had mixed feelings about his artwork, I think he was a perfect fit for the story that unfolded here, from the lighthearted first act to the decidedly darker twist it took in the end. For better or worse, this guy has really left his mark on this character and I will venture to say that his name may yet be mentioned in the same breath as some of the greats some day, though I really wish he could get a better handle on his anatomy. I realize his drawing is highly stylized, but even on a good day, he is quite often all over the place. Still, for this issue I will forgo the usual complaints; that's how happy I am with this one.
While I imagine Peter will be restored to his body in time for the next Spider-Man movie, I think it's safe to say that whenever he gets back in the driver's seat, he is quite likely to have a heck of a mess to clean up. I used to roll my eyes and say I'd be back when Peter was, but if Slott and his rotating crop of artists keep up this standard of quality I can almost say I'm ready to stick around for the whole ride, however long it may be.
Rating : 5/5
(a) Humerto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado (colors)
How much I liked this issue should be evident from the fact that today, I have already read the issue after this, issue #7, and yet I will not adopt my usual practice of interviewing two or three issues at a time. This is the issue where Dan Slott makes the the best argument for the most outrageous storytelling stunt in Spider-Man's publishing history since the Clone Saga.
This issue starts on a much lighter note than the ending of issue #5, in which Spider-Man/Otto Octavius murdered the villain Massacre. Here, apparent lightweight bad guys Jester and Screwball pull a prank on New York City mayor J. Jonah Jameson and stream the prank live on the internet. The video gets thousands of hits, which actually plays into the pair's hands as Screwball's "phishing" software is busy gathering credit card numbers and other financial information from the subscribers. Jameson, however, is more concerned about getting his new best friend, Spider-Man, to teach the two a lesson. It's one Spider-Man is willing to teach, but not before Otto Octavius gets the lessons he needs to finally obtain Peter Parker's doctorate. Otto finds himself taking a liking to his diminutive prodigy of a teacher, Anna Maria Marconi, and is angered by students who make fun of how small she is.
When Spider-Ock eventually confronts the two online pranksters, they manage to prank him as well, but whereas Peter Parker would have taken it in stride and just dealt with the two of them accordingly, Otto's reaction is considerably more extreme.
It was always a given to me that it was only a matter of time before Ock starting acting like the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing, and when I reviewed the last two issues I expressed concern that, perhaps, writer Dan Slott was showing his hand a little too early.
What sang to me about this issue, though, was how Slott showed that Octavius has, in many ways, lived a life just like Peter Parker's. Both were bullied, both had traumatic experiences in their youth, and both were outsiders. It was how they dealt with this adversity that ended up defining what kind of men they would grow up to be, and even though in many instances in this series, Otto has proven more sensible than Peter used to be in similar conditions, there's more to being a hero than being efficient; in the end, what matters is how one reacts when the chips are down.
Of course, Otto's aberrant behavior brings him on the radar of many of Spider-Man's supporting cast in a very bad way; Mary Jane notices, Carlie Cooper's suspicions are reinforced, and the Avengers take note as well. There's quite a bit of trouble brewing for Spider-Ock on the horizon.
This issue sees the return of longtime Spider-Man artist Humberto Ramos on art duties, and while I have long had mixed feelings about his artwork, I think he was a perfect fit for the story that unfolded here, from the lighthearted first act to the decidedly darker twist it took in the end. For better or worse, this guy has really left his mark on this character and I will venture to say that his name may yet be mentioned in the same breath as some of the greats some day, though I really wish he could get a better handle on his anatomy. I realize his drawing is highly stylized, but even on a good day, he is quite often all over the place. Still, for this issue I will forgo the usual complaints; that's how happy I am with this one.
While I imagine Peter will be restored to his body in time for the next Spider-Man movie, I think it's safe to say that whenever he gets back in the driver's seat, he is quite likely to have a heck of a mess to clean up. I used to roll my eyes and say I'd be back when Peter was, but if Slott and his rotating crop of artists keep up this standard of quality I can almost say I'm ready to stick around for the whole ride, however long it may be.
Rating : 5/5
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Guardians of the Galaxy #1
(w) Brian Michael Bendis
(a) Steve McNiven (pencils) John Dell (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
After being somewhat underwhelmed by the oversized ".1" issue of this relaunched series, I was a little more encouraged by the contents of this issue, both in terms of the script and the art.
The story kicks off with a strong focus on Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star Lord, the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy and the heir to the throne of the Spartax Empire. Of course, the only problem is that he has no interest in actually ascending to the throne, or talking to his father, J'son, the current king. Of course, this doesn't stop J'son from approaching him and telling him that Earth has been declared off limits to everyone in known space. This revelation, of course, enrages Peter as he is certain that by making this declaration, J'son has virtually painted a target on the Earth. Peter is therefore determined to protect the Earth, even if it means going against his father's wishes. Fortunately, he has more than ample help in the form of his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy: Gamora, Groot, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and new recruit Iron Man (yes, Iron Man).
March was a bit of a banner month for Brian Michael Bendis, whose current monthly workload now includes this title, Ultimate Spider-Man, two X-Men books and the Age of Ultron miniseries that also launched last month. He is an incredibly prolific writer, and it is no wonder that books set in the Marvel Universe are continuing to thrive even in the wake of the departure of writers like Mark Millar and Ed Brubaker from writing regular Marvel U books.
The book wastes little to no time getting Quill into the thick of things with a tense confrontation with his dad followed by two fight scenes before the issue is done, as well as a pretty intense cliffhanger. People who love to moan about Bendis' propensity for doing talking heads books have absolutely nothing to worry about.
I'm also happy to note that artist Steve McNiven, whose work was a little hit-or-miss for me last month, is in top form here, from the confrontation Star Lord has with his father to the balls-to-the-wall action scenes later in the issue. Still, after having seen McNiven's bare pencils on a comics-related website, I am constrained to conclude that John Dell's inks, with due respect, do not quite do McNiven's hyper-detailed pencils justice. I would have been happier to see the likes of Mark Morales or Dexter Vines backing McNiven up here.
I think the reason for Iron Man joining up with the Guardians has been covered elsewhere, though of course I can't help but roll my eyes at such a blatantly commercial gambit which serves no other actual purpose than to boost the book's sales profile. Clearly, Iron Man is now the new Wolverine (a character who has been included in a ridiculous number of Marvel books, no matter how illogical his participation).
I realize this review is a little late, considering I was caught up with other things and had a lot of comics to read when I got this, but considering that this is a pretty high-profile book I still thought it worth churning out. Besides, I also wanted to point out how appalling the proofreading in these books is getting; at the second to the last page, Bendis has Gamora saying "you're" instead of the more appropriate "your." I can almost hear Ross Geller of Friends yelling "Y-o-u-apostrophe-r-e means 'you are;' y-o-u-r means 'your!'" at Bendis. That, and the fact that Kitty Pryde actually says "more better" over in the pages one of Bendis' many other books, All New X-Men, has me convinced that perhaps Bendis is working a tad too hard these days. That must be a heck of a mortgage.
In any case, grammatical sins notwithstanding, this book, being one of the only two books I will review out of the nearly dozen comic books I picked up in the last two weeks, is definitely worth following, if this inaugural issue is any indication.
4/5
(a) Steve McNiven (pencils) John Dell (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
After being somewhat underwhelmed by the oversized ".1" issue of this relaunched series, I was a little more encouraged by the contents of this issue, both in terms of the script and the art.
The story kicks off with a strong focus on Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star Lord, the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy and the heir to the throne of the Spartax Empire. Of course, the only problem is that he has no interest in actually ascending to the throne, or talking to his father, J'son, the current king. Of course, this doesn't stop J'son from approaching him and telling him that Earth has been declared off limits to everyone in known space. This revelation, of course, enrages Peter as he is certain that by making this declaration, J'son has virtually painted a target on the Earth. Peter is therefore determined to protect the Earth, even if it means going against his father's wishes. Fortunately, he has more than ample help in the form of his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy: Gamora, Groot, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and new recruit Iron Man (yes, Iron Man).
March was a bit of a banner month for Brian Michael Bendis, whose current monthly workload now includes this title, Ultimate Spider-Man, two X-Men books and the Age of Ultron miniseries that also launched last month. He is an incredibly prolific writer, and it is no wonder that books set in the Marvel Universe are continuing to thrive even in the wake of the departure of writers like Mark Millar and Ed Brubaker from writing regular Marvel U books.
The book wastes little to no time getting Quill into the thick of things with a tense confrontation with his dad followed by two fight scenes before the issue is done, as well as a pretty intense cliffhanger. People who love to moan about Bendis' propensity for doing talking heads books have absolutely nothing to worry about.
I'm also happy to note that artist Steve McNiven, whose work was a little hit-or-miss for me last month, is in top form here, from the confrontation Star Lord has with his father to the balls-to-the-wall action scenes later in the issue. Still, after having seen McNiven's bare pencils on a comics-related website, I am constrained to conclude that John Dell's inks, with due respect, do not quite do McNiven's hyper-detailed pencils justice. I would have been happier to see the likes of Mark Morales or Dexter Vines backing McNiven up here.
I think the reason for Iron Man joining up with the Guardians has been covered elsewhere, though of course I can't help but roll my eyes at such a blatantly commercial gambit which serves no other actual purpose than to boost the book's sales profile. Clearly, Iron Man is now the new Wolverine (a character who has been included in a ridiculous number of Marvel books, no matter how illogical his participation).
I realize this review is a little late, considering I was caught up with other things and had a lot of comics to read when I got this, but considering that this is a pretty high-profile book I still thought it worth churning out. Besides, I also wanted to point out how appalling the proofreading in these books is getting; at the second to the last page, Bendis has Gamora saying "you're" instead of the more appropriate "your." I can almost hear Ross Geller of Friends yelling "Y-o-u-apostrophe-r-e means 'you are;' y-o-u-r means 'your!'" at Bendis. That, and the fact that Kitty Pryde actually says "more better" over in the pages one of Bendis' many other books, All New X-Men, has me convinced that perhaps Bendis is working a tad too hard these days. That must be a heck of a mortgage.
In any case, grammatical sins notwithstanding, this book, being one of the only two books I will review out of the nearly dozen comic books I picked up in the last two weeks, is definitely worth following, if this inaugural issue is any indication.
4/5
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Jumping the Gun: A Review of Superior Spider-Man #s 4 and 5
(w) Dan Slott
(a) Giuseppi Camuncoli (pencils) John Dell (inks) Antonio Fabella(colors)
After three issues spent setting up Spider-Man's new, somewhat more brutal status quo, writer Dan Slott (sort of) wades into the decidedly murkier question of how far Spider-Man is ready to go to take down criminals. This arc sees the return of Massacre, a villain whose sole power over Spider-Man is his utter lack of human compunction, who breaks out of Ravencroft the mental institution in which he is confined, and in fact kills someone who has been a pretty important supporting character in the last several years. Otto Octavius/Spider-Man tracks him down with the help of one of his fellow employees at Horizon Labs, child prodigy Uatu Jackson who has developed facial recognition software which Otto then plugs into his spider-bots. Massacre, meanwhile, has made a deal with a software magnate to kill while wearing the logo of the company's rival, all for a fee, of course. The stage is set for a very bloody showdown that will put the new Spider-Man's moral compass to the ultimate test.
What makes Spider-Man's new adventures so engaging to read these days is Otto Octavius' markedly different approach to fighting crime from the one Peter employed, which is, in many respects, better. It's a tad more devious in some respects, but thinking about it, Otto's using his resources at work to make robotic spiders isn't any less ethical than Peter's using his employer's tech to build himself spider-armor, especially considering that they both serve the same purpose: to fight crime. There's more to Otto's methods than just thinking like a bad guy; he is actually more pragmatic in several respects than Peter ever was, and the fun is in noticing these little details so I won't spoil them for anyone who may yet read this book. Apart from the fact that, as a Spider-Man fan for the better part of three decades, I can attest that Peter has never adopted these methods, I have noticed that Slott seems to be very good with his Spider-Man lore, so I can more or less take him at his word that this is all very new for Spidey.
This is actually why I found myself disappointed with how the story panned out.
It's been quite clearly established in the first few issues that the current status quo, however long it may last, is ultimately a temporary one. One may argue that this was done to reassure fans that their beloved Peter Parker will be back swinging webs eventually. The reason I'm on board for this is I want to see how Slott is able to develop Otto as he walks the proverbial mile in Peter's shoes, and I have, save for a few niggles here and there, actually been pretty happy with the balance Slott has struck between Otto's egomania and villainous tendencies and his redeeming qualities, which could not have been the easiest stuff to write. It would really have been interesting to see him develop as a character before having to confront the really heavy stuff, such as the question of whether Otto is capable of killing in the name of crime fighting, something Peter was never willing to do.
How Otto makes his decision is something I will not spoil, and to be perfectly clear it is not even 100% clear how the story turns out, but suffice it to say the fact that he was confronted with the situation so early in his tenure as Spider-Man was what disappointed me, and to make the catalyst for this event a villain as dull as Massacre, who is basically a one-trick pony, makes the narrative decision all the more grating.
What was surprisingly easy on the eyes, though, was Camuncoli's art. The only other time I've ever seen Camuncoli was when did some last minute subbing for Steve McNiven over on Captain America last year, and I have to say I was not thrilled. I kind of groaned when I saw his name on the previews, but he turned in some rather solid work here. He's also got a pretty good handle on how to draw Spider-Man. Also, his cleaner line work, abetted by John Dell's inks, is a welcome break from Ryan Stegman's scratchy work over the last three issues.
What ultimately irks me about these two issues is that it feels like Slott is peaking way too soon here. He could have had Otto-Spidey dish out his slightly edgier brand of crime-fighting for a few issues more before tackling the deeper, stickier issue of how far he is prepared to go, which would have made for some pretty interesting reading down the line. As of now, he has put him on a collision course with several of his fellow heroes, something which Marvel has already been hyping for months. Sales on this title have been good, so really,I don't see any reason for Marvel to go rushing back to their former status quo just yet. I honestly hope Slott has more up his sleeve, and will take his time with the current situation.
To be quite fair, though, for all their flaws, the issues were still pretty readable.
3.5/5
(a) Giuseppi Camuncoli (pencils) John Dell (inks) Antonio Fabella(colors)
After three issues spent setting up Spider-Man's new, somewhat more brutal status quo, writer Dan Slott (sort of) wades into the decidedly murkier question of how far Spider-Man is ready to go to take down criminals. This arc sees the return of Massacre, a villain whose sole power over Spider-Man is his utter lack of human compunction, who breaks out of Ravencroft the mental institution in which he is confined, and in fact kills someone who has been a pretty important supporting character in the last several years. Otto Octavius/Spider-Man tracks him down with the help of one of his fellow employees at Horizon Labs, child prodigy Uatu Jackson who has developed facial recognition software which Otto then plugs into his spider-bots. Massacre, meanwhile, has made a deal with a software magnate to kill while wearing the logo of the company's rival, all for a fee, of course. The stage is set for a very bloody showdown that will put the new Spider-Man's moral compass to the ultimate test.
What makes Spider-Man's new adventures so engaging to read these days is Otto Octavius' markedly different approach to fighting crime from the one Peter employed, which is, in many respects, better. It's a tad more devious in some respects, but thinking about it, Otto's using his resources at work to make robotic spiders isn't any less ethical than Peter's using his employer's tech to build himself spider-armor, especially considering that they both serve the same purpose: to fight crime. There's more to Otto's methods than just thinking like a bad guy; he is actually more pragmatic in several respects than Peter ever was, and the fun is in noticing these little details so I won't spoil them for anyone who may yet read this book. Apart from the fact that, as a Spider-Man fan for the better part of three decades, I can attest that Peter has never adopted these methods, I have noticed that Slott seems to be very good with his Spider-Man lore, so I can more or less take him at his word that this is all very new for Spidey.
This is actually why I found myself disappointed with how the story panned out.
It's been quite clearly established in the first few issues that the current status quo, however long it may last, is ultimately a temporary one. One may argue that this was done to reassure fans that their beloved Peter Parker will be back swinging webs eventually. The reason I'm on board for this is I want to see how Slott is able to develop Otto as he walks the proverbial mile in Peter's shoes, and I have, save for a few niggles here and there, actually been pretty happy with the balance Slott has struck between Otto's egomania and villainous tendencies and his redeeming qualities, which could not have been the easiest stuff to write. It would really have been interesting to see him develop as a character before having to confront the really heavy stuff, such as the question of whether Otto is capable of killing in the name of crime fighting, something Peter was never willing to do.
How Otto makes his decision is something I will not spoil, and to be perfectly clear it is not even 100% clear how the story turns out, but suffice it to say the fact that he was confronted with the situation so early in his tenure as Spider-Man was what disappointed me, and to make the catalyst for this event a villain as dull as Massacre, who is basically a one-trick pony, makes the narrative decision all the more grating.
What was surprisingly easy on the eyes, though, was Camuncoli's art. The only other time I've ever seen Camuncoli was when did some last minute subbing for Steve McNiven over on Captain America last year, and I have to say I was not thrilled. I kind of groaned when I saw his name on the previews, but he turned in some rather solid work here. He's also got a pretty good handle on how to draw Spider-Man. Also, his cleaner line work, abetted by John Dell's inks, is a welcome break from Ryan Stegman's scratchy work over the last three issues.
What ultimately irks me about these two issues is that it feels like Slott is peaking way too soon here. He could have had Otto-Spidey dish out his slightly edgier brand of crime-fighting for a few issues more before tackling the deeper, stickier issue of how far he is prepared to go, which would have made for some pretty interesting reading down the line. As of now, he has put him on a collision course with several of his fellow heroes, something which Marvel has already been hyping for months. Sales on this title have been good, so really,I don't see any reason for Marvel to go rushing back to their former status quo just yet. I honestly hope Slott has more up his sleeve, and will take his time with the current situation.
To be quite fair, though, for all their flaws, the issues were still pretty readable.
3.5/5
Sunday, March 10, 2013
The Adventures of Kid Loki and Friends: A Review of Young Avengers #1 and #2
(w) Keiron Gillen
(a) Jamie McKelvie w/ Mike Norton (line art) Matthew Wilson (colors)
In 2005, writer Allan Heinberg and artist Jim Cheung surprised people with the original new series Young Avengers, a title which was originally believed to be a poorly-conceived spin-off of Marvel's most popular property at the time, New Avengers but which turned out to be so much more in terms of narrative heft and overall quality. Heinberg's characters were utterly compelling to read, and Cheung's art was A-list quality. Notwithstanding decent sales, though, and a pretty positive impact among readers, the series did not last more than twelve issues before it went on what was described as a "hiatus" apparently due the fact that writer Heinberg's many other writing commitments prevented him from getting the book out on a regular basis. Heinberg was later able to get enough scripts together for the mammoth miniseries Avengers: The Children's Crusade, which reunited him with artist Cheung about two years back, but between those two series the Young Avengers have been little more than supporting players in other Marvel characters' books, with the occasional appearance in the pages of Marvel's "events" like Secret Invasion or Siege. After Children's Crusade wrapped, it looked as though the Young Avengers having their own adventures in their own book was going to be a thing of the past.
Fortunately, however, Marvel had other ideas, and as a result, last month the Young Avengers, albeit with a tweaked roster, started appearing in their own monthly book once more.
Of the original Young Avengers, only Kate Bishop aka Hawkeye (a redundant name if ever there was one, and one I sincerely hope Marvel changes, if not now then eventually), Billy Kaplan aka Wiccan, and Teddy Altman aka Hulkling remain, though they have been joined by new members Noh-varr, or the Kree warrior formerly known as Marvel Boy/Captain Marvel/The Protector, Miss America, a fledgling powerhouse of a superhero, and most significantly, Kid Loki, the actual god of mischief who has cheated the death that he apparently suffered in the Siege storyline, only to be transformed into a child.
Issue #1 begins with Kate Bishop apparently just having enjoyed a roll in the proverbial hay with Noh-Varr (the hay actually being his orbiting spaceship), shortly after which they are attacked by Skrulls. Meanwhile, Teddy and Billy are having issues; Teddy has resumed superhero work on the sly despite the team resolving at the end of the cataclysmic events in Children's Crusade to hang up their tights for good. Billy finds out, and they fight, with Teddy reminding Billy of all they have lost. Teddy reminds Billy of how lucky he is to still have parents considering that the Skrull who raised him, the only mother he knew, was killed. Feeling guilty for giving Teddy a hard time, Billy decides to do what any good boyfriend would do and raise Teddy's mother from the dead by pulling her out of one of the universe's many time streams at the moment before she was evaporated by the Super Skrull.
Meanwhile, Loki, who is apparently freeloading at a diner, senses that Wiccan is about to cast a spell and, appearing on top of the apartment building where Billy and Teddy live with Billy's parents, tries to counteract it before he is interrupted by Miss America, who is about to pummel him when he magically slips away from her grasp, but not before their fight attracts Teddy's attention.
The spell works, with Teddy's mother apparently very much back from the dead, but it is not without its consequences.
In issue #2, Wiccan and Hulkling learn that the latter's apparently resurrected mother is not quite what she seems, with dire consequences for them both. Not even the Avengers are able to bail them out of this situation, and they find themselves imprisoned in a curious fashion. Of all people, it's kid-Loki who bails them out, ostensibly because he wants to help them, but at least partially because he needs someone to settle his considerable tab at the diner. Wiccan and Hulkling, who somehow feel Loki has had a hand in their predicament, then apparently decide that the best thing to do with Loki is take him to Asgardia, which is basically the rebranded Asgard, floating over Oklahoma.
Gillen won me over with his run on Thor, which I recently picked up in collected form, and when I found out he was writing the further adventures of Loki and that the Young Avengers were finally coming back to their own regular series, albeit without series creators Heinberg and Cheung, picking up the new series was an easy decision.
For the most part, I was happy with issue #1, though there were some details that stifled my enjoyment the tiniest bit.
For one thing, the depiction of Wiccan in particular was a bit of departure from the way he was written by Heinberg and drawn by Cheung. I always found him a well-written character, and having him recite Gillen's dialogue here was quite a treat, save for the fact that he's gone from being a superhero who happened to be gay to being, to paraphrase Nathan Lane's character from The Birdcage, a bit of a screaming queen, from his flamboyant hair to his mannerisms. Heinberg didn't make a big thing of this when he was writing the book, despite the fact that he himself is openly gay. This little storytelling tic doesn't detract significantly from his character, but it distracts from what matters most to the story. Another very minor niggle I had was with the notion that Kate Bishop's parents would be fans of sixties music considering that, considering Kate's age, they would probably more likely have grown up with the likes of the Bangles and the Go-gos (80s music) than the Ronettes (60s music). That's an even more minor concern than my objections to Billy's characterization, but it was still a slight distraction, though the action sequence that followed it was incredible. The overall issue was pretty solid.
Issue #2 was a bit more problematic for me. It was a lot of fun seeing kid-Loki interact with Wiccan and Hulkling, with the scene in which he frees them from their magical prisons being a visual treat and his dialogue with the two of them in the diner being particularly amusing, especially his dig at Wiccan's codename, which made me wonder if Loki even knew that Wiccan originally called himself "Asgardian." However, Wiccan's and Hulkling's eventual decision to haul Loki off to Asgardia doesn't make the most sense to me, because even though it is suggested that they believe he is behind their woes I still got the impression they were going off half-cocked instead of having a real plan. Well, they are teenagers, after all, and they may have made a mistake they may yet live to regret.
As Gillen's writing goes, however, the pacing here feels a tad slower than the stuff he had going on during his run on Thor. I breezed through these issues with the impression that little had happened, although of course, the twist at the end of issue #1 was still a doozy. Also, although all of the characters to be featured in the book have already shown up, it appears that I may yet have to wait for at least another issue or two for them to get together as a team, assuming it even happens within this story arc. There's arguably something very deliberate to Gillen's pacing, and it does seem on the one hand like he's lining things up for a big payoff later in the arc, or in the series, but considering that my first exposure to his writing was his Thor stint, which had several explosive three issue-arcs (and a couple of one-shots at that) contained in one big volume, his work here still feels relatively static. Still, his gift for lively and compelling dialogue still shines through here. Gillen, I would like to point out, writes an exceptional Loki.
Another truly exemplary aspect of this new series is the work of Jamie McKelvie, aided in some capacity by Mike Norton. While McKelvie is probably mostly responsible for Billy's new look that I kind of find a little too "beauty parlor gay" his character work is otherwise beyond reproach, as are his panel layouts, which I first glimpsed in the Siege: Loki one-shot reprinted in the aforementioned Thor volume. In particular, when the battle between Noh-Varr and the Skrulls breaks out in the first couple of pages, McKelvie's depiction of the action is pretty outstanding. I wasn't too thrilled with Matthew Wilson's palette of colors, though, considering I'm a bigger fan of the more "showy" colorists like Laura Martin and Morry Hollowell. Overall, though, the art is one of this book's strongest points.
Reservations about Gillen's pacing aside, this is a very engaging book and compares decently enough to the other titles in the Marvel NOW! line, even though it is not my favorite. Still, it is the only book Marvel has right now featuring Loki, and after reading Gillen's take on him over in Thor I can say with certainty that this is a book I want to follow.
3.5/5
(a) Jamie McKelvie w/ Mike Norton (line art) Matthew Wilson (colors)
In 2005, writer Allan Heinberg and artist Jim Cheung surprised people with the original new series Young Avengers, a title which was originally believed to be a poorly-conceived spin-off of Marvel's most popular property at the time, New Avengers but which turned out to be so much more in terms of narrative heft and overall quality. Heinberg's characters were utterly compelling to read, and Cheung's art was A-list quality. Notwithstanding decent sales, though, and a pretty positive impact among readers, the series did not last more than twelve issues before it went on what was described as a "hiatus" apparently due the fact that writer Heinberg's many other writing commitments prevented him from getting the book out on a regular basis. Heinberg was later able to get enough scripts together for the mammoth miniseries Avengers: The Children's Crusade, which reunited him with artist Cheung about two years back, but between those two series the Young Avengers have been little more than supporting players in other Marvel characters' books, with the occasional appearance in the pages of Marvel's "events" like Secret Invasion or Siege. After Children's Crusade wrapped, it looked as though the Young Avengers having their own adventures in their own book was going to be a thing of the past.
Fortunately, however, Marvel had other ideas, and as a result, last month the Young Avengers, albeit with a tweaked roster, started appearing in their own monthly book once more.
Of the original Young Avengers, only Kate Bishop aka Hawkeye (a redundant name if ever there was one, and one I sincerely hope Marvel changes, if not now then eventually), Billy Kaplan aka Wiccan, and Teddy Altman aka Hulkling remain, though they have been joined by new members Noh-varr, or the Kree warrior formerly known as Marvel Boy/Captain Marvel/The Protector, Miss America, a fledgling powerhouse of a superhero, and most significantly, Kid Loki, the actual god of mischief who has cheated the death that he apparently suffered in the Siege storyline, only to be transformed into a child.
Issue #1 begins with Kate Bishop apparently just having enjoyed a roll in the proverbial hay with Noh-Varr (the hay actually being his orbiting spaceship), shortly after which they are attacked by Skrulls. Meanwhile, Teddy and Billy are having issues; Teddy has resumed superhero work on the sly despite the team resolving at the end of the cataclysmic events in Children's Crusade to hang up their tights for good. Billy finds out, and they fight, with Teddy reminding Billy of all they have lost. Teddy reminds Billy of how lucky he is to still have parents considering that the Skrull who raised him, the only mother he knew, was killed. Feeling guilty for giving Teddy a hard time, Billy decides to do what any good boyfriend would do and raise Teddy's mother from the dead by pulling her out of one of the universe's many time streams at the moment before she was evaporated by the Super Skrull.
Meanwhile, Loki, who is apparently freeloading at a diner, senses that Wiccan is about to cast a spell and, appearing on top of the apartment building where Billy and Teddy live with Billy's parents, tries to counteract it before he is interrupted by Miss America, who is about to pummel him when he magically slips away from her grasp, but not before their fight attracts Teddy's attention.
The spell works, with Teddy's mother apparently very much back from the dead, but it is not without its consequences.
In issue #2, Wiccan and Hulkling learn that the latter's apparently resurrected mother is not quite what she seems, with dire consequences for them both. Not even the Avengers are able to bail them out of this situation, and they find themselves imprisoned in a curious fashion. Of all people, it's kid-Loki who bails them out, ostensibly because he wants to help them, but at least partially because he needs someone to settle his considerable tab at the diner. Wiccan and Hulkling, who somehow feel Loki has had a hand in their predicament, then apparently decide that the best thing to do with Loki is take him to Asgardia, which is basically the rebranded Asgard, floating over Oklahoma.
Gillen won me over with his run on Thor, which I recently picked up in collected form, and when I found out he was writing the further adventures of Loki and that the Young Avengers were finally coming back to their own regular series, albeit without series creators Heinberg and Cheung, picking up the new series was an easy decision.
For the most part, I was happy with issue #1, though there were some details that stifled my enjoyment the tiniest bit.
For one thing, the depiction of Wiccan in particular was a bit of departure from the way he was written by Heinberg and drawn by Cheung. I always found him a well-written character, and having him recite Gillen's dialogue here was quite a treat, save for the fact that he's gone from being a superhero who happened to be gay to being, to paraphrase Nathan Lane's character from The Birdcage, a bit of a screaming queen, from his flamboyant hair to his mannerisms. Heinberg didn't make a big thing of this when he was writing the book, despite the fact that he himself is openly gay. This little storytelling tic doesn't detract significantly from his character, but it distracts from what matters most to the story. Another very minor niggle I had was with the notion that Kate Bishop's parents would be fans of sixties music considering that, considering Kate's age, they would probably more likely have grown up with the likes of the Bangles and the Go-gos (80s music) than the Ronettes (60s music). That's an even more minor concern than my objections to Billy's characterization, but it was still a slight distraction, though the action sequence that followed it was incredible. The overall issue was pretty solid.
Issue #2 was a bit more problematic for me. It was a lot of fun seeing kid-Loki interact with Wiccan and Hulkling, with the scene in which he frees them from their magical prisons being a visual treat and his dialogue with the two of them in the diner being particularly amusing, especially his dig at Wiccan's codename, which made me wonder if Loki even knew that Wiccan originally called himself "Asgardian." However, Wiccan's and Hulkling's eventual decision to haul Loki off to Asgardia doesn't make the most sense to me, because even though it is suggested that they believe he is behind their woes I still got the impression they were going off half-cocked instead of having a real plan. Well, they are teenagers, after all, and they may have made a mistake they may yet live to regret.
As Gillen's writing goes, however, the pacing here feels a tad slower than the stuff he had going on during his run on Thor. I breezed through these issues with the impression that little had happened, although of course, the twist at the end of issue #1 was still a doozy. Also, although all of the characters to be featured in the book have already shown up, it appears that I may yet have to wait for at least another issue or two for them to get together as a team, assuming it even happens within this story arc. There's arguably something very deliberate to Gillen's pacing, and it does seem on the one hand like he's lining things up for a big payoff later in the arc, or in the series, but considering that my first exposure to his writing was his Thor stint, which had several explosive three issue-arcs (and a couple of one-shots at that) contained in one big volume, his work here still feels relatively static. Still, his gift for lively and compelling dialogue still shines through here. Gillen, I would like to point out, writes an exceptional Loki.
Another truly exemplary aspect of this new series is the work of Jamie McKelvie, aided in some capacity by Mike Norton. While McKelvie is probably mostly responsible for Billy's new look that I kind of find a little too "beauty parlor gay" his character work is otherwise beyond reproach, as are his panel layouts, which I first glimpsed in the Siege: Loki one-shot reprinted in the aforementioned Thor volume. In particular, when the battle between Noh-Varr and the Skrulls breaks out in the first couple of pages, McKelvie's depiction of the action is pretty outstanding. I wasn't too thrilled with Matthew Wilson's palette of colors, though, considering I'm a bigger fan of the more "showy" colorists like Laura Martin and Morry Hollowell. Overall, though, the art is one of this book's strongest points.
Reservations about Gillen's pacing aside, this is a very engaging book and compares decently enough to the other titles in the Marvel NOW! line, even though it is not my favorite. Still, it is the only book Marvel has right now featuring Loki, and after reading Gillen's take on him over in Thor I can say with certainty that this is a book I want to follow.
3.5/5
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Preparing the Way for Marvel Studios' Next Big Thing: Guardians of the Galaxy .1
(w) Brian Michael Bendis
(a) Steve McNiven (pencils) John Dell (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
After playing coy for a few months following the explosive success of The Avengers at the global box-office, Marvel Studios has announced that the next property they plan to launch will be based on their long-running title Guardians of the Galaxy. In support of this effort, Marvel's publishing arm has recruited two of their top talents, writer Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers) and artist Steve McNiven (Civil War) to reboot the comic-book series of these characters and, Marvel hopes, raise their profile a bit in time for the movie's 2014 release date.
Guardians of the Galaxy #.1 is the origin of Peter Quill, aka Star Lord. It begins thirty years before the present, around the time of his conception.
His mother Meredith Quill is living by herself somewhere in rural America, having apparently just broken up with her boyfriend or husband, when a spaceship crash-lands, and the lone occupant, a human-looking man, crawls out. He later wakes up in Meredith's house and introduces himself as J'son of Spartax, a king from outer space. As he spends the following days repairing his ship, he and Meredith fall in love, and from their romantic encounters Meredith conceives a child. Unfortunately, J'son has to return to his planet of origin, where he is fighting a fierce war which, he claims, the earth is not ready for, and for which reason he cannot take Meredith with him. After J'son takes off, leaving Meredith only a space-gun and their child to remember him by, Peter is born and grows up without a father, and all of the resentment that comes with that. Fortunately, however, as he grows it becomes clear that he has an innate spunk and an inclination to help the helpless. Unfortunately, when he's ten years old, the aliens at war with his father come back to his mother's house with something very nasty in mind for him and his mom.
Considering that this issue is meant to kick off a series designed to elevate a B-list (or arguably even C-list) Marvel property to the A-list, I was somewhat disappointed to see A-list creators Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven doing the comic-book equivalent of phoning in their performances.
Bendis' script starts off with some promise, with a lonely but spunky Meredith Quill talking to her mother on the phone, then interacting with J'son of Spartax, first with alarm, then trepidation, then finally affection. Their conversation when J'son eventually returns to his intergalactic war is written well-enough, and to me there was some genuine emotion there.
Ironically enough, it's when their son, Peter, supposedly the main character of this new series, is born, that the story starts to go downhill.
Bendis comes out strong with some nice character-defining dialogue for Meredith Quill, who is portrayed as an emotionally-strong woman, who is capable of recovering from a bad relationship and holding a gun to an alien, but one who is not beyond starting up a relationship with the same alien she has nursed back to health. Of all the characters depicted in this issue, her arc was easily the most interesting, and that could have rubbed off on Peter had Bendis' script had them interacting more. Then again, while Bendis is easily one of Marvel's most talented writers, he has had his low points and oddly enough it's on the "tentpole" books that the quality of his writing tends to dip. Had he written this book the same way he did his run on Daredevil I would probably have enjoyed this issue much more than I did, but apart from those brief, well-rendered character vignettes with Meredith Quill, Bendis seems too preoccupied with the notion that he's setting up Marvel's next big thing to really shine here.
The bigger disappointment, for me, was easily Steve McNiven's artwork. I have been a fan of this guy since I first saw previews of his work on the defunct series Marvel Knights: 4. I bought up back issues of the long-gone Crossgen series Meridien on account of his work. This guy is one of my favorites, and yet, for all of my adoration of his work, it really falls flat here. I could blame inker John Dell, but it isn't just down to sloppy inking here; to me McNiven's pencils look nowhere near their best. I've seen his art looking off before, but as near as I can recall this was when he was under the duress of deadlines; this series kicked off his run (unless it was belatedly prepared after the real issues of the series were in the can) so I can't understand why he starts off his new series so weakly.
The book is not without its pluses; with 31 pages of story it's a good 10 pages thicker than the usual comic-book these days, and even McNiven on an off-day is still better than most other artists at full-strength.
The thing is, this issue was meant to introduce a new series that has been billed by Marvel themselves as "the year's biggest book," so I can't help but feel underwhelmed by what I actually read. I can only hope things will pick up when the book starts in earnest with issue #1.
3/5
(a) Steve McNiven (pencils) John Dell (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
After playing coy for a few months following the explosive success of The Avengers at the global box-office, Marvel Studios has announced that the next property they plan to launch will be based on their long-running title Guardians of the Galaxy. In support of this effort, Marvel's publishing arm has recruited two of their top talents, writer Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers) and artist Steve McNiven (Civil War) to reboot the comic-book series of these characters and, Marvel hopes, raise their profile a bit in time for the movie's 2014 release date.
Guardians of the Galaxy #.1 is the origin of Peter Quill, aka Star Lord. It begins thirty years before the present, around the time of his conception.
His mother Meredith Quill is living by herself somewhere in rural America, having apparently just broken up with her boyfriend or husband, when a spaceship crash-lands, and the lone occupant, a human-looking man, crawls out. He later wakes up in Meredith's house and introduces himself as J'son of Spartax, a king from outer space. As he spends the following days repairing his ship, he and Meredith fall in love, and from their romantic encounters Meredith conceives a child. Unfortunately, J'son has to return to his planet of origin, where he is fighting a fierce war which, he claims, the earth is not ready for, and for which reason he cannot take Meredith with him. After J'son takes off, leaving Meredith only a space-gun and their child to remember him by, Peter is born and grows up without a father, and all of the resentment that comes with that. Fortunately, however, as he grows it becomes clear that he has an innate spunk and an inclination to help the helpless. Unfortunately, when he's ten years old, the aliens at war with his father come back to his mother's house with something very nasty in mind for him and his mom.
Considering that this issue is meant to kick off a series designed to elevate a B-list (or arguably even C-list) Marvel property to the A-list, I was somewhat disappointed to see A-list creators Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven doing the comic-book equivalent of phoning in their performances.
Bendis' script starts off with some promise, with a lonely but spunky Meredith Quill talking to her mother on the phone, then interacting with J'son of Spartax, first with alarm, then trepidation, then finally affection. Their conversation when J'son eventually returns to his intergalactic war is written well-enough, and to me there was some genuine emotion there.
Ironically enough, it's when their son, Peter, supposedly the main character of this new series, is born, that the story starts to go downhill.
Bendis comes out strong with some nice character-defining dialogue for Meredith Quill, who is portrayed as an emotionally-strong woman, who is capable of recovering from a bad relationship and holding a gun to an alien, but one who is not beyond starting up a relationship with the same alien she has nursed back to health. Of all the characters depicted in this issue, her arc was easily the most interesting, and that could have rubbed off on Peter had Bendis' script had them interacting more. Then again, while Bendis is easily one of Marvel's most talented writers, he has had his low points and oddly enough it's on the "tentpole" books that the quality of his writing tends to dip. Had he written this book the same way he did his run on Daredevil I would probably have enjoyed this issue much more than I did, but apart from those brief, well-rendered character vignettes with Meredith Quill, Bendis seems too preoccupied with the notion that he's setting up Marvel's next big thing to really shine here.
The bigger disappointment, for me, was easily Steve McNiven's artwork. I have been a fan of this guy since I first saw previews of his work on the defunct series Marvel Knights: 4. I bought up back issues of the long-gone Crossgen series Meridien on account of his work. This guy is one of my favorites, and yet, for all of my adoration of his work, it really falls flat here. I could blame inker John Dell, but it isn't just down to sloppy inking here; to me McNiven's pencils look nowhere near their best. I've seen his art looking off before, but as near as I can recall this was when he was under the duress of deadlines; this series kicked off his run (unless it was belatedly prepared after the real issues of the series were in the can) so I can't understand why he starts off his new series so weakly.
The book is not without its pluses; with 31 pages of story it's a good 10 pages thicker than the usual comic-book these days, and even McNiven on an off-day is still better than most other artists at full-strength.
The thing is, this issue was meant to introduce a new series that has been billed by Marvel themselves as "the year's biggest book," so I can't help but feel underwhelmed by what I actually read. I can only hope things will pick up when the book starts in earnest with issue #1.
3/5
Friday, March 1, 2013
Uncanny Avengers #2 to #4
(w) Rick Remender
(a) John Cassaday (line art) Laura Martin (colors)
I feel a little remiss at not having reviewed issues #2 and #3 of this series when I got them, but I guess I was just too busy at the time. In any event, with all four issues in my hands it was easy to read them and appreciate the story as a whole, and even the individual chapters on their own merit.
In issue #2, Avengers Captain America and Thor review the carnage wrought by the mutant Avalanche on a large portion of New York City, though their newest recruit, Alex Summers aka Havok was able to help save lives during the confusion. Part-time Avenger and X-Man Wolverine expresses displeasure with Captain America's decision to recruit Havok as the face of the mutant/superhero cooperative effort, but Havok then has a "hallmark" moment with a civilian who expresses gratitude for saving his life, and it becomes clear that Cap made the right call. Meanwhile, Rogue and the Scarlet Witch remain captives of the Red Skull and his crew of S-Men. Red Skull uses his newly-acquired telepathy to enthrall the Scarlet Witch, while Rogue attempts to escape.
In issue #3, the Red Skull's war on humanity, which he attempts to package as humanity's war on mutants, kicks into high gear as he, now wielding the power of the late Charles Xavier's brain, troops his S-Men into New York City, together with Rogue and the Scarlet Witch (neither of whom escaped, obviously). It is here that they find themselves doing battle with Captain America, Thor, Wolverine and Havok. Red Skull and his S-Men may prove too much for them to handle, especially considering Red Skull's new skill set.
In issue #4, the slugfest between Captain America and his Avengers on the one hand and the Red Skull and his S-Men on the other amid the telepathically-induced attempt at genocide in New York comes to a head, and though the battle may be over, it is clear that the war has only just begun.
In my review of the first issue of this series, I said that, not having read Avengers vs. X-Men I wasn't entirely sure where these characters were coming from, and I can the best praise I can give these issues is that four issues later, the merging of two distinct groups of Marvel characters is starting to make more sense. The intermingling, though, does not feel quite as organic as writer Rick Remender and the rest of Marvel would no doubt like it to be. I suppose it made perfect sense to them to put Captain America's archenemy in this book and give him an anti-mutant agenda so that he would become as terrifying to the X-Men as he is to the Avengers, but to me the connection still feels a tad forced (almost as forced as shoving Wolverine into the Avengers' roster nearly ten years ago just to propel sales upward did).
Speaking of Wolverine, apart from some face time in issues #1 and #2 and some brooding moments he actually takes the backseat as far as character moments go, with Havok being the lead mutant character in this particular story. Remender seems to enjoy playing Captain America off Havok in this series, whether it's in the more sedate moments or during the times when Cap finds himself subtly influenced by the Red Skull's telepathy, and even though Cap himself handpicked Havok to be on his team one wonders where Remender will take this potential rivalry down the line. It was gratifying to see the reasonably well-written storyline end in four issues contrary to the six-or-eight issue trend that seems to dominate lately, but apart from a few skirmishes, a major plot development or two, and one big throwdown at the end, it does not feel quite as significant as the events taking place in what has been billed as the flagship book of the Marvel NOW! era should. This feels like a waste of a golden opportunity to make a splash of a new series which merges two of the publisher's most popular properties.
What is not wasted at all, though, is artist John Cassaday's stunning art, which is well-complemented by Laura Martin's lush palette of colors. While some fans and reviewers have expressed displeasure with the redesign of Havok's head gear, I personally did not mind all that much, although his superhero tights appear to have been redesigned to accommodate a pair of baggy trousers. I'm not really sure. It was a delight, though, to see Cassaday work on Captain America for over four issues, which is the longest he's worked on the character since relaunching his solo title over 11 years ago with writer John Ney Reiber. The character has never looked better. Unfortunately, this book was fraught with delays, apparently to give Cassaday time to turn in his stellar work and so as not to delay publication further he will be spelled by artists Olivier Coipel and Daniel Acuna, assuming he even comes back to the book eventually. Now, I am a fan of both these artists, but I will most definitely miss Cassaday's work.
4/5
(a) John Cassaday (line art) Laura Martin (colors)
I feel a little remiss at not having reviewed issues #2 and #3 of this series when I got them, but I guess I was just too busy at the time. In any event, with all four issues in my hands it was easy to read them and appreciate the story as a whole, and even the individual chapters on their own merit.
In issue #2, Avengers Captain America and Thor review the carnage wrought by the mutant Avalanche on a large portion of New York City, though their newest recruit, Alex Summers aka Havok was able to help save lives during the confusion. Part-time Avenger and X-Man Wolverine expresses displeasure with Captain America's decision to recruit Havok as the face of the mutant/superhero cooperative effort, but Havok then has a "hallmark" moment with a civilian who expresses gratitude for saving his life, and it becomes clear that Cap made the right call. Meanwhile, Rogue and the Scarlet Witch remain captives of the Red Skull and his crew of S-Men. Red Skull uses his newly-acquired telepathy to enthrall the Scarlet Witch, while Rogue attempts to escape.
In issue #3, the Red Skull's war on humanity, which he attempts to package as humanity's war on mutants, kicks into high gear as he, now wielding the power of the late Charles Xavier's brain, troops his S-Men into New York City, together with Rogue and the Scarlet Witch (neither of whom escaped, obviously). It is here that they find themselves doing battle with Captain America, Thor, Wolverine and Havok. Red Skull and his S-Men may prove too much for them to handle, especially considering Red Skull's new skill set.
In issue #4, the slugfest between Captain America and his Avengers on the one hand and the Red Skull and his S-Men on the other amid the telepathically-induced attempt at genocide in New York comes to a head, and though the battle may be over, it is clear that the war has only just begun.
In my review of the first issue of this series, I said that, not having read Avengers vs. X-Men I wasn't entirely sure where these characters were coming from, and I can the best praise I can give these issues is that four issues later, the merging of two distinct groups of Marvel characters is starting to make more sense. The intermingling, though, does not feel quite as organic as writer Rick Remender and the rest of Marvel would no doubt like it to be. I suppose it made perfect sense to them to put Captain America's archenemy in this book and give him an anti-mutant agenda so that he would become as terrifying to the X-Men as he is to the Avengers, but to me the connection still feels a tad forced (almost as forced as shoving Wolverine into the Avengers' roster nearly ten years ago just to propel sales upward did).
Speaking of Wolverine, apart from some face time in issues #1 and #2 and some brooding moments he actually takes the backseat as far as character moments go, with Havok being the lead mutant character in this particular story. Remender seems to enjoy playing Captain America off Havok in this series, whether it's in the more sedate moments or during the times when Cap finds himself subtly influenced by the Red Skull's telepathy, and even though Cap himself handpicked Havok to be on his team one wonders where Remender will take this potential rivalry down the line. It was gratifying to see the reasonably well-written storyline end in four issues contrary to the six-or-eight issue trend that seems to dominate lately, but apart from a few skirmishes, a major plot development or two, and one big throwdown at the end, it does not feel quite as significant as the events taking place in what has been billed as the flagship book of the Marvel NOW! era should. This feels like a waste of a golden opportunity to make a splash of a new series which merges two of the publisher's most popular properties.
What is not wasted at all, though, is artist John Cassaday's stunning art, which is well-complemented by Laura Martin's lush palette of colors. While some fans and reviewers have expressed displeasure with the redesign of Havok's head gear, I personally did not mind all that much, although his superhero tights appear to have been redesigned to accommodate a pair of baggy trousers. I'm not really sure. It was a delight, though, to see Cassaday work on Captain America for over four issues, which is the longest he's worked on the character since relaunching his solo title over 11 years ago with writer John Ney Reiber. The character has never looked better. Unfortunately, this book was fraught with delays, apparently to give Cassaday time to turn in his stellar work and so as not to delay publication further he will be spelled by artists Olivier Coipel and Daniel Acuna, assuming he even comes back to the book eventually. Now, I am a fan of both these artists, but I will most definitely miss Cassaday's work.
4/5
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Tripping Through Time: Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine
(w) Jason Aaron
(a) Adam Kubert (pencils) Mark Morales (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
Two posts ago, I reviewed the first five issues of Brian Bendis' and Stuart Immonen's All New X-Men series, and one of my comments was how silly I find time-travel stories in general because of how messy they can get and how hard it eventually becomes to keep track of everything. It was gratifying, therefore, to read a story that not only acknowledges but actually embraces how ridiculous time-travel stories can get in this collected edition of the six-issue miniseries starring Spider-Man and Wolverine that came out around two or three years ago.
After trying to stop what appears to be a simple bank robbery, Spider-Man and Wolverine find themselves bouncing through different times, including the beginning of the world and its impending end. Apparently, some mysterious diamonds which were being stolen during the robbery are the objects responsible for the pair's time jumping woes, many of which encrust the baseball bat of a mysterious new character named Czar, who seems to know a lot more about the predicament of Spidey and Wolvie than he is about to let on, and who seems to have the whole time travel thing very much under control. Czar, however, is not the real threat, and the whole reason why Spider-Man and Wolverine are now trapped out of their time is that they are being manipulated by a familiar behind-the-scenes villain.
Before reading this, I was not all that familiar with Jason Aaron's work, though I had read at least one Wolverine one-shot he wrote some years back in which, oddly enough, Wolverine was more a supporting character, playing second-fiddle to an incorrigible criminal whose ultimate fate was to end up as shish kebab on Wolvie's adamantium claws. His work here was definitely more entertaining than the somewhat somber (and bloody) sort-of-Wolverine story, and while I wasn't always "down" with his characterization of Spider-Man, he wrote him well enough, and in any case Aaron kept things moving fast enough that I did not have to dwell too much on characterization. I was also not fond of the new villain Czar, who can either be viewed in two ways, neither of them particularly positive: he can be viewed either as an utterly forgettable character or as an arguably racist caricature. There was one amusing moment, late in the storyline, involving versions of himself from different eras, but little else that would justify him appearing again in another story. If nothing else, though, he serves this story well enough. The behind-the-scenes villain whose identity I will not spoil here is always a fun character when written well, and much to Mr. Aaron's credit he definitely did him justice here.
Most importantly, Aaron has handled the time travel aspect of the story, always somewhat tricky business, rather skillfully, and I could almost hear him saying, between the lines, that if something seemed ridiculous about the story, it's probably because it was. I won't exactly be emptying the back-issue bins in search of his work from now on, but he's definitely a writer whose work I can categorically say I enjoy.
For me, however the main selling point of this collected edition was the art of Adam Kubert, whose work I have been acquainted with for a while but who only really popped up on my radar when he illustrated Dan Slott's "Dark Reign" one-shot starring Spider-Man, as his take on the character was, to my mind, anyway, something quite special. Kubert delivers here in a big way; his take on Spider-Man is the most dynamic I have seen since the days of Todd McFarlane. I say this as a fan of several other artists who have drawn Spidey since McFarlane left Marvel in the 1990s to found Image Comics, including John Romita, Jr., Steve McNiven, Chris Bachalo, Joe Quesada, Stefano Caselli and (sometimes) Humberto Ramos. In short, for me, Kubert's take on Spider-man is one of the best I have seen in years. His other figures and faces, including his take on Peter Parker, still have that sketchy quality to them that has characterized not only his work but that of his equally renowned brother Andy, but in drawing the web-slinger in action he is simply in another realm of artistry altogether. Part of me cannot help but wonder how long Kubert has wanted to illustrate Spider-Man given the attention he has lavished onto his artwork here. To be fair, there's a lot to love here apart from Kubert's depiction of Spider-Man, but for me that's easily the highlight.
The events of this series are of more consequence for Wolverine than they are for Spider-Man, again for reasons I will not spoil, but overall the series was a genuinely fun and engaging read. It's exciting and urgent but still light and enjoyable reading, and in an era where premium seems to be placed on shattering the status quo it was nice to read a meaty volume (originally having been six issues) in which the creators were simply focused on telling an entertaining story.
4.5/5
(a) Adam Kubert (pencils) Mark Morales (inks) Justin Ponsor (colors)
Two posts ago, I reviewed the first five issues of Brian Bendis' and Stuart Immonen's All New X-Men series, and one of my comments was how silly I find time-travel stories in general because of how messy they can get and how hard it eventually becomes to keep track of everything. It was gratifying, therefore, to read a story that not only acknowledges but actually embraces how ridiculous time-travel stories can get in this collected edition of the six-issue miniseries starring Spider-Man and Wolverine that came out around two or three years ago.
After trying to stop what appears to be a simple bank robbery, Spider-Man and Wolverine find themselves bouncing through different times, including the beginning of the world and its impending end. Apparently, some mysterious diamonds which were being stolen during the robbery are the objects responsible for the pair's time jumping woes, many of which encrust the baseball bat of a mysterious new character named Czar, who seems to know a lot more about the predicament of Spidey and Wolvie than he is about to let on, and who seems to have the whole time travel thing very much under control. Czar, however, is not the real threat, and the whole reason why Spider-Man and Wolverine are now trapped out of their time is that they are being manipulated by a familiar behind-the-scenes villain.
Before reading this, I was not all that familiar with Jason Aaron's work, though I had read at least one Wolverine one-shot he wrote some years back in which, oddly enough, Wolverine was more a supporting character, playing second-fiddle to an incorrigible criminal whose ultimate fate was to end up as shish kebab on Wolvie's adamantium claws. His work here was definitely more entertaining than the somewhat somber (and bloody) sort-of-Wolverine story, and while I wasn't always "down" with his characterization of Spider-Man, he wrote him well enough, and in any case Aaron kept things moving fast enough that I did not have to dwell too much on characterization. I was also not fond of the new villain Czar, who can either be viewed in two ways, neither of them particularly positive: he can be viewed either as an utterly forgettable character or as an arguably racist caricature. There was one amusing moment, late in the storyline, involving versions of himself from different eras, but little else that would justify him appearing again in another story. If nothing else, though, he serves this story well enough. The behind-the-scenes villain whose identity I will not spoil here is always a fun character when written well, and much to Mr. Aaron's credit he definitely did him justice here.
Most importantly, Aaron has handled the time travel aspect of the story, always somewhat tricky business, rather skillfully, and I could almost hear him saying, between the lines, that if something seemed ridiculous about the story, it's probably because it was. I won't exactly be emptying the back-issue bins in search of his work from now on, but he's definitely a writer whose work I can categorically say I enjoy.
For me, however the main selling point of this collected edition was the art of Adam Kubert, whose work I have been acquainted with for a while but who only really popped up on my radar when he illustrated Dan Slott's "Dark Reign" one-shot starring Spider-Man, as his take on the character was, to my mind, anyway, something quite special. Kubert delivers here in a big way; his take on Spider-Man is the most dynamic I have seen since the days of Todd McFarlane. I say this as a fan of several other artists who have drawn Spidey since McFarlane left Marvel in the 1990s to found Image Comics, including John Romita, Jr., Steve McNiven, Chris Bachalo, Joe Quesada, Stefano Caselli and (sometimes) Humberto Ramos. In short, for me, Kubert's take on Spider-man is one of the best I have seen in years. His other figures and faces, including his take on Peter Parker, still have that sketchy quality to them that has characterized not only his work but that of his equally renowned brother Andy, but in drawing the web-slinger in action he is simply in another realm of artistry altogether. Part of me cannot help but wonder how long Kubert has wanted to illustrate Spider-Man given the attention he has lavished onto his artwork here. To be fair, there's a lot to love here apart from Kubert's depiction of Spider-Man, but for me that's easily the highlight.
The events of this series are of more consequence for Wolverine than they are for Spider-Man, again for reasons I will not spoil, but overall the series was a genuinely fun and engaging read. It's exciting and urgent but still light and enjoyable reading, and in an era where premium seems to be placed on shattering the status quo it was nice to read a meaty volume (originally having been six issues) in which the creators were simply focused on telling an entertaining story.
4.5/5
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Trying It Before I Knock It: A Review of Superior Spider-Man issues #1 to #3
(w) Dan Slott
(a) Ryan Stegman (line art) Edgar Delgado (color art)
I always knew that Marvel's act of replacing Spider-Man's consciousness with that of his arch-nemesis Doctor Octopus was a stunt, and felt a little insulted when Marvel insisted that the change was permanent. I understood the rather obstinate misdirection of course; it was only by selling the storyline as a permanent alteration of the status quo that they could get the attention that they did.
I wasn't initially interested in seeing this story play out (I was willing to wait until Peter came back, and in any case I stopped collecting The Amazing Spider-Man on a regular basis some time ago). When I leafed through an issue, though, I decided to give the first few issues a shot.
Superior Spider-Man is basically the story of Doctor Octopus occupying Peter Parker's body, and with the first conclusion of the first three-issue storyline, it is my honest opinion that Dan Slott has made a pretty convincing case for this radical, albeit temporary shift in status quo.
In his first few days as Spider-man, Otto Octavius goes about the business of being a superhero, determined to be a better Spider-Man than Peter Parker was. In some ways, he actually is, using his skills with technology and the resources at his disposal courtesy of Peter's job at Horizon Laboratories to broaden his reach; who needs to listen to police scanners when dozens of robot spiders are all over the city watching out for crime, after all? In the course of the first three issues, the new, "superior" Spider-Man takes on a new iteration of the Sinister Six and a more heavyweight Spider-Man villain, the Vulture, and for a change, wins, a rather pleasant feeling for Octavius.
He is considerably less successful, however, at living out Peter's personal life; Otto spends issue #2 making advances on Mary Jane, only to be frustrated at every turn. Interestingly enough, though, Otto makes a decision that is surprisingly selfless at the end of the issue.
One part of his personality that Octavius cannot seem to unlearn, however, is the brutality with which he dispatches his foes. Although he does not kill anyone, by the end of issues #1 and #3 he actually comes pretty close, and the latter does not go unnoticed by Peter's ex-girlfriend Carlie Cooper, who also happens to be a policewoman.
(mild spoiler alert)
Of course, another complication to the story is that Peter Parker is apparently not as dead as people thought he was at the end of Amazing Spider-Man #700; he lurks somewhere in the back of his old body's mind, and manifests as a "ghost" beside Octavius. He actually stops Octavius from killing a supervillain, though Otto is not aware that his old enemy is still around. It's an amusing and encouraging story device, as it is through this that Marvel establishes that at some point, Parker will be wearing the webs again, though it is overplayed from time to time.
(end spoiler alert)
When Marvel Comics unmasked Spider-Man at the end of Civil War #2 then-editor Axel Alonso boasted that they had something like two years' worth of stories to tell with an unmasked Spidey, but by the time they hit the "reset" button called One More Day, they had only told a little over one year worth of stories.
Truth be told, with well over a year between now and the premiere of the next "Amazing Spider-Man" movie, I'm hoping Marvel actually shows some balls and sticks to this current status quo for awhile before returning Peter Parker to his body in a grand, lavishly-illustrated six-issue story arc or something like that. Slott is off to a pretty good start, and it would be a shame if they called it a day too quickly. There's something fascinating about looking at Spider-Man's life from a supervillain's point of view. Octavius is clearly still an egomaniac, but not only is Slott letting us see another side of him; he's actually showing us readers why Doc Ock would actually make a very effective Spider-Man, and the reasons are entirely consistent with the things Ock has done as a character over the last several decades. In some ways, it actually plays out like an extended What If? issue, and is actually a lot of fun when appreciated that way.
The weak link, unfortunately, is artist Ryan Stegman, whose scratchy line work, as hard as this may be to believe, actually made me miss Humberto Ramos (who will be taking up the art duties for issues #7 and 8) and definitely made me miss Stefano Caselli, who has long since moved on from the webslinger. Stegman is a competent artist; he tells the story well enough, and there's even a hint of J. Scott Campbell in some of his characters, but his work just doesn't sing to me. Still, Slott could have done a lot worse in terms of choosing his collaborator.
I doubt I'll stick around for the entire "Doc Ock as Spider-Man" storyline, whether it lasts a year or five, but I can at least say now that I gave Slott the benefit of the doubt, and will probably stick around for a few issues more. Much to Slott's (and Marvel's) credit; what they've done here is something unique. Plenty of superheroes have died, from Jean Grey to Superman to the Human Torch, only to come back eventually, and Spider-Man himself has been replaced by his clone, but this is a first; outside of the odd What If? or Elsewords issue I don't think this particular plot twist has ever played out for this long. It will inevitably get old, of course, as all gimmick-based status quos tend to do (and as will Brian Michael Bendis' "original X-Men out of time" shtick), but what's worth following is how well Slott plays it out, and if the first three issues are any indication, the Spider-Man fans who came back after the dust settled from the furor kicked up by The Amazing Spider Man #700 should be in for a treat.
4/5
(a) Ryan Stegman (line art) Edgar Delgado (color art)
I always knew that Marvel's act of replacing Spider-Man's consciousness with that of his arch-nemesis Doctor Octopus was a stunt, and felt a little insulted when Marvel insisted that the change was permanent. I understood the rather obstinate misdirection of course; it was only by selling the storyline as a permanent alteration of the status quo that they could get the attention that they did.
I wasn't initially interested in seeing this story play out (I was willing to wait until Peter came back, and in any case I stopped collecting The Amazing Spider-Man on a regular basis some time ago). When I leafed through an issue, though, I decided to give the first few issues a shot.
Superior Spider-Man is basically the story of Doctor Octopus occupying Peter Parker's body, and with the first conclusion of the first three-issue storyline, it is my honest opinion that Dan Slott has made a pretty convincing case for this radical, albeit temporary shift in status quo.
In his first few days as Spider-man, Otto Octavius goes about the business of being a superhero, determined to be a better Spider-Man than Peter Parker was. In some ways, he actually is, using his skills with technology and the resources at his disposal courtesy of Peter's job at Horizon Laboratories to broaden his reach; who needs to listen to police scanners when dozens of robot spiders are all over the city watching out for crime, after all? In the course of the first three issues, the new, "superior" Spider-Man takes on a new iteration of the Sinister Six and a more heavyweight Spider-Man villain, the Vulture, and for a change, wins, a rather pleasant feeling for Octavius.
He is considerably less successful, however, at living out Peter's personal life; Otto spends issue #2 making advances on Mary Jane, only to be frustrated at every turn. Interestingly enough, though, Otto makes a decision that is surprisingly selfless at the end of the issue.
One part of his personality that Octavius cannot seem to unlearn, however, is the brutality with which he dispatches his foes. Although he does not kill anyone, by the end of issues #1 and #3 he actually comes pretty close, and the latter does not go unnoticed by Peter's ex-girlfriend Carlie Cooper, who also happens to be a policewoman.
(mild spoiler alert)
Of course, another complication to the story is that Peter Parker is apparently not as dead as people thought he was at the end of Amazing Spider-Man #700; he lurks somewhere in the back of his old body's mind, and manifests as a "ghost" beside Octavius. He actually stops Octavius from killing a supervillain, though Otto is not aware that his old enemy is still around. It's an amusing and encouraging story device, as it is through this that Marvel establishes that at some point, Parker will be wearing the webs again, though it is overplayed from time to time.
(end spoiler alert)
When Marvel Comics unmasked Spider-Man at the end of Civil War #2 then-editor Axel Alonso boasted that they had something like two years' worth of stories to tell with an unmasked Spidey, but by the time they hit the "reset" button called One More Day, they had only told a little over one year worth of stories.
Truth be told, with well over a year between now and the premiere of the next "Amazing Spider-Man" movie, I'm hoping Marvel actually shows some balls and sticks to this current status quo for awhile before returning Peter Parker to his body in a grand, lavishly-illustrated six-issue story arc or something like that. Slott is off to a pretty good start, and it would be a shame if they called it a day too quickly. There's something fascinating about looking at Spider-Man's life from a supervillain's point of view. Octavius is clearly still an egomaniac, but not only is Slott letting us see another side of him; he's actually showing us readers why Doc Ock would actually make a very effective Spider-Man, and the reasons are entirely consistent with the things Ock has done as a character over the last several decades. In some ways, it actually plays out like an extended What If? issue, and is actually a lot of fun when appreciated that way.
The weak link, unfortunately, is artist Ryan Stegman, whose scratchy line work, as hard as this may be to believe, actually made me miss Humberto Ramos (who will be taking up the art duties for issues #7 and 8) and definitely made me miss Stefano Caselli, who has long since moved on from the webslinger. Stegman is a competent artist; he tells the story well enough, and there's even a hint of J. Scott Campbell in some of his characters, but his work just doesn't sing to me. Still, Slott could have done a lot worse in terms of choosing his collaborator.
I doubt I'll stick around for the entire "Doc Ock as Spider-Man" storyline, whether it lasts a year or five, but I can at least say now that I gave Slott the benefit of the doubt, and will probably stick around for a few issues more. Much to Slott's (and Marvel's) credit; what they've done here is something unique. Plenty of superheroes have died, from Jean Grey to Superman to the Human Torch, only to come back eventually, and Spider-Man himself has been replaced by his clone, but this is a first; outside of the odd What If? or Elsewords issue I don't think this particular plot twist has ever played out for this long. It will inevitably get old, of course, as all gimmick-based status quos tend to do (and as will Brian Michael Bendis' "original X-Men out of time" shtick), but what's worth following is how well Slott plays it out, and if the first three issues are any indication, the Spider-Man fans who came back after the dust settled from the furor kicked up by The Amazing Spider Man #700 should be in for a treat.
4/5
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Douchebags with Super Powers: A Review of Supercrooks
(w) Mark Millar
(a) Leinil Francis Yu (pencils) Gerry Alanguilan (inks) Sunny Gho (colors)
The irksome thing about much of Mark Millar's earlier creator-owned work published under Marvel Comics' Icon imprint was how much of what he did was basically a riff on existing superhero conventions; Kick-Ass, the film adaptation of which bears the tagline "with no power comes no responsibility," is Spider-Man with a twist. Superior, which features a nigh-invincible superhero with a frail alter-ego, is basically an amalgam of Superman and DC Comics' Captain Marvel, but with a twist. Nemesis was marketed as having the premise of a character who was as smart as Batman but as evil as the Joker. Of course, there was a twist to this, too, and a bit of misdirection involved.
Supercrooks Millar's second collaboration with Leinil Francis Yu after Superior is refreshing in that it hearkens back to Millar's earlier creator-owned work like Wanted. It's not quite as original as either of those two (as a couple of reviewers have said, it's basically Ocean's Eleven but with superpowers, extreme violence, and lots of swearing) but it seems to rely a lot less on shock value than work like Kick-Ass, with its foul-mouthed, mass-murdering 11-year-old girl, or Nemesis, the marketing of which apparently got the hackles of some folks at DC Comics up because it seemed like Millar was using Batman to plug a book that basically had nothing to do with him. This is a more pure Mark Millar at work here; one who seeks more to entertain than to offend.
Supercrooks is the story of a down-on-his-luck supervillain, Johnny Bolt, who has just done five years in prison after a superhero named Gladiator foiled his attempt at a robbery, when he is approached by a friend of his, Carmine, who is in a bind; he tried to trick the casino of a supervillain by employing a psychic accomplice, only to have the whole plan backfire, with the supervillain, a character named the Salamander, not only killing Carmine's psychic sidekick but telling Carmine to pay him $100 million in a month or forfeit his life. Johnny then hatches a plan for a heist that will not only pay Carmine's debts but will make him and whoever helps him very rich men. His girlfriend and one-time partner-in-crime Kasey protests that he will probably just go to jail again considering that there is a proliferation of superheroes ready to kick the crap out of him if he tries yet another heist, but Johnny counters that the main reason for all his failures is that his planned heists have all been in America, which has the highest concentration of superheroes in the world. His solution, then is to pull a job in Spain instead, where there are no superheroes. He gets his old gang of supervillains together, but the target of the planned heist may be too much for even a whole team of supervillians to handle; Johnny has set his sights on the nest egg of a retired uber-villain, the nastiest in the business, called The Bastard, who has as his bodyguard an ex-superhero with something like twenty-seven different superpowers called the Praetorian. Johnny's got a plan for every contingency, though, and in this case it helps that one of his recruits, a rather unlikely choice, is keeping a nasty little secret. Still, the idea of stealing nearly a billion dollars from a guy who can explode people's heads with his mind does not exactly inspire confidence, and Johnny and his crew may yet find themselves in way over their heads.
It's a pity that Millar has garnered a bit of a reputation for saying or writing things meant to shock people for shock's sake, as he is a genuinely talented writer. The good news is that with this story, his proclivity for shock value takes a back seat to his storytelling skill. This story really is Ocean's Eleven with superpowers, and though it's got a somewhat familiar storytelling cadence and some elements of predictability to it, it's a lot of fun to read. It helps that Millar has created a solidly scripted leading character. Johnny really is a likable rogue, even though, when he's getting his teeth knocked in during one sequence late in the story, it's hard to argue against his deserving the beating. His supporting cast, while nowhere near as well-developed as he is, are colorfully scripted, and not just because of the four-letter words that come out of their mouths. Particularly noteworthy are the Diesel brothers, a pair of nigh-indestructible supervillians capable of growing back just about any appendage that is ripped from their body. Their ability provides the basis for the book's single most graphic sequence and it's a doozy. It's the closest Millar comes to writing for shock value in this book, but it's played mostly for laughs and as far as I'm concerned it works like a charm.
One minus for me here, though is some really unimaginative code names for some of the characters. Carmine, a supervillain in his youth, was called "The Heat," another crew member who can turn intangible is called "The Ghost," while the big-time supervillain Johnny and his crew plan to rip off is called "The Bastard." This isn't exactly the first time Millar's come up with some really lame-ass code names; in Wanted, the lead character was called "The Killer," after all. One might argue he's doing it on purpose, but to what end, I really don't know. He almost makes up for it with a really cool name for a superhero like "Gladiator" but when another superhero is named "Praetorian," which is only a hop and a skip away in terms of theme, even if he is Gladiator's ex-teammate, it just feels a little bit like Millar skimped on the effort in thinking up really cool codenames.
Like fellow Ultimate Marvel architect Brian Michael Bendis, Millar has an almost preternatural ability to attract some of the most talented artists in the comics industry to work on his books, including Civil War collaborator Steve McNiven, Marvel Comics legend John Romita Jr., and the artist of this work, the inestimable Filipino artist Leinil Yu, who brings along with him another of my favorite Filipino artists, Gerry Alanguilan, and Indonesian colorist Sunny Gho. There's a crispness to Yu's work here that I haven't seen anywhere else. His linework has always been amazing, but the first couple of issues of this story, to me anyway, showcase his talent working on a level even higher than his norm. Maybe there's something to be said about the way Millar plays to his artist's strengths. Whatever the reason, Yu and his co-artists Alanguilan and Gho are really firing on all cylinders here. Also, it's thanks to the participation of my two countrymen that there's a lovely little Easter Egg for all the Filipino comic book readers at the end of the comic book in which a Filipino casino attendant speaks in Tagalog. It's good for a nice hearty laugh.
Overall, Supercrooks is a very entertaining read. It's not something destined to turn the industry on its head or break the internet in half, and it doesn't quite stand on par with Millar's best like his first run on The Ultimates, but it's a memorable read nonetheless and definitely worth adding to the collection.
4/5
(a) Leinil Francis Yu (pencils) Gerry Alanguilan (inks) Sunny Gho (colors)
The irksome thing about much of Mark Millar's earlier creator-owned work published under Marvel Comics' Icon imprint was how much of what he did was basically a riff on existing superhero conventions; Kick-Ass, the film adaptation of which bears the tagline "with no power comes no responsibility," is Spider-Man with a twist. Superior, which features a nigh-invincible superhero with a frail alter-ego, is basically an amalgam of Superman and DC Comics' Captain Marvel, but with a twist. Nemesis was marketed as having the premise of a character who was as smart as Batman but as evil as the Joker. Of course, there was a twist to this, too, and a bit of misdirection involved.
Supercrooks Millar's second collaboration with Leinil Francis Yu after Superior is refreshing in that it hearkens back to Millar's earlier creator-owned work like Wanted. It's not quite as original as either of those two (as a couple of reviewers have said, it's basically Ocean's Eleven but with superpowers, extreme violence, and lots of swearing) but it seems to rely a lot less on shock value than work like Kick-Ass, with its foul-mouthed, mass-murdering 11-year-old girl, or Nemesis, the marketing of which apparently got the hackles of some folks at DC Comics up because it seemed like Millar was using Batman to plug a book that basically had nothing to do with him. This is a more pure Mark Millar at work here; one who seeks more to entertain than to offend.
Supercrooks is the story of a down-on-his-luck supervillain, Johnny Bolt, who has just done five years in prison after a superhero named Gladiator foiled his attempt at a robbery, when he is approached by a friend of his, Carmine, who is in a bind; he tried to trick the casino of a supervillain by employing a psychic accomplice, only to have the whole plan backfire, with the supervillain, a character named the Salamander, not only killing Carmine's psychic sidekick but telling Carmine to pay him $100 million in a month or forfeit his life. Johnny then hatches a plan for a heist that will not only pay Carmine's debts but will make him and whoever helps him very rich men. His girlfriend and one-time partner-in-crime Kasey protests that he will probably just go to jail again considering that there is a proliferation of superheroes ready to kick the crap out of him if he tries yet another heist, but Johnny counters that the main reason for all his failures is that his planned heists have all been in America, which has the highest concentration of superheroes in the world. His solution, then is to pull a job in Spain instead, where there are no superheroes. He gets his old gang of supervillains together, but the target of the planned heist may be too much for even a whole team of supervillians to handle; Johnny has set his sights on the nest egg of a retired uber-villain, the nastiest in the business, called The Bastard, who has as his bodyguard an ex-superhero with something like twenty-seven different superpowers called the Praetorian. Johnny's got a plan for every contingency, though, and in this case it helps that one of his recruits, a rather unlikely choice, is keeping a nasty little secret. Still, the idea of stealing nearly a billion dollars from a guy who can explode people's heads with his mind does not exactly inspire confidence, and Johnny and his crew may yet find themselves in way over their heads.
It's a pity that Millar has garnered a bit of a reputation for saying or writing things meant to shock people for shock's sake, as he is a genuinely talented writer. The good news is that with this story, his proclivity for shock value takes a back seat to his storytelling skill. This story really is Ocean's Eleven with superpowers, and though it's got a somewhat familiar storytelling cadence and some elements of predictability to it, it's a lot of fun to read. It helps that Millar has created a solidly scripted leading character. Johnny really is a likable rogue, even though, when he's getting his teeth knocked in during one sequence late in the story, it's hard to argue against his deserving the beating. His supporting cast, while nowhere near as well-developed as he is, are colorfully scripted, and not just because of the four-letter words that come out of their mouths. Particularly noteworthy are the Diesel brothers, a pair of nigh-indestructible supervillians capable of growing back just about any appendage that is ripped from their body. Their ability provides the basis for the book's single most graphic sequence and it's a doozy. It's the closest Millar comes to writing for shock value in this book, but it's played mostly for laughs and as far as I'm concerned it works like a charm.
One minus for me here, though is some really unimaginative code names for some of the characters. Carmine, a supervillain in his youth, was called "The Heat," another crew member who can turn intangible is called "The Ghost," while the big-time supervillain Johnny and his crew plan to rip off is called "The Bastard." This isn't exactly the first time Millar's come up with some really lame-ass code names; in Wanted, the lead character was called "The Killer," after all. One might argue he's doing it on purpose, but to what end, I really don't know. He almost makes up for it with a really cool name for a superhero like "Gladiator" but when another superhero is named "Praetorian," which is only a hop and a skip away in terms of theme, even if he is Gladiator's ex-teammate, it just feels a little bit like Millar skimped on the effort in thinking up really cool codenames.
Like fellow Ultimate Marvel architect Brian Michael Bendis, Millar has an almost preternatural ability to attract some of the most talented artists in the comics industry to work on his books, including Civil War collaborator Steve McNiven, Marvel Comics legend John Romita Jr., and the artist of this work, the inestimable Filipino artist Leinil Yu, who brings along with him another of my favorite Filipino artists, Gerry Alanguilan, and Indonesian colorist Sunny Gho. There's a crispness to Yu's work here that I haven't seen anywhere else. His linework has always been amazing, but the first couple of issues of this story, to me anyway, showcase his talent working on a level even higher than his norm. Maybe there's something to be said about the way Millar plays to his artist's strengths. Whatever the reason, Yu and his co-artists Alanguilan and Gho are really firing on all cylinders here. Also, it's thanks to the participation of my two countrymen that there's a lovely little Easter Egg for all the Filipino comic book readers at the end of the comic book in which a Filipino casino attendant speaks in Tagalog. It's good for a nice hearty laugh.
Overall, Supercrooks is a very entertaining read. It's not something destined to turn the industry on its head or break the internet in half, and it doesn't quite stand on par with Millar's best like his first run on The Ultimates, but it's a memorable read nonetheless and definitely worth adding to the collection.
4/5
Monday, February 18, 2013
All New X-Men #1 to #5
Writer: Brian Bendis
Artists: Stuart Immonen (pencils) Wade Von Grawbadger (inks) Marte Garcia (colors)
It gets harder and harder these days to review individual comic books. Between my schedule, the "decompressed" nature of many comic-book storylines and the fact that comic books nowadays contain only twenty pages of story, reviewing a single issue is starting to feel a little tedious, considering that my reviews may even contain more text than the comic books themselves.
Still, the beauty of the "decompressed" era of comics is that by waiting for several issues to pass before posting a review I find myself able to better appreciate how the individual issues fit as parts of a whole.
Brian Michael Bendis, in particular, writes this way and as a result it is easier to review his new series, All New X-Men, in clusters rather than as individual issues.
All New X-Men, which takes place in the wake of the cataclysmic events that occurred in the Avengers vs. X-Men miniseries, in which founding member of the X-Men, Cyclops, acting under the influence of the Phoenix Force, murdered the founder of the X-Men, Professor Charles Xavier. The X-Men are divided into two camps, basically Cyclops' group of X-Men and Wolverine's, with the former espousing a revolutionary, somewhat violent agenda.
Desperate to stop him, the Beast/Henry McCoy comes up with a bold idea: to bring the five original X-Men forward in time so that young Scott can confront his older counterpart and, Beast hopes, bring some sense back into him. Of course, as with all the best laid plans, things go amiss, and the X-Men from the past are, in a word, appalled. Of course, apart from his depression at the way things have ended up, Beast has other problems to wrestle with as well; apparently he's mutating yet again, and he fears that this time the mutation may kill him.
In the course of the issues, two crucial things happen to the original X-Men that pretty much change them forever; they encounter Cyclops and his new teammates, who include their archnemesis Magneto, and the teenaged Jean Grey not only sees into the mind of the future version of her boyfriend, thereby knowing for certain that he killed the X-Men's mentor, but also sees her entire, tragic future, courtesy of the older version of Hank McCoy's memories.
Now, to be clear I am not a fan of time-travel stories because of how hard it is to keep track of the rules, but as time-travel stories, go, the premise of this one is particularly hard to swallow because by moving the original X-Men forward in time, Hank McCoy has basically ensured that, unless and until they go back, they will not be around for any of the things that happened to them between the past and the present, a situation which should have catastrophic consequences considering how many times the X-Men saved the world. Hank McCoy's solution seemed short-sighted and rather unlike something that someone as smart as he's supposed to be would devise.
As difficult as the premise is to accept, though, Bendis' script is still pretty entertaining, and even though his usual dialogue seems rather ill-fitting for the original mutant team at times, the story still flows well enough.
The series is basically propelled by its "teens out of time" element, and in this aspect Bendis excels. While I could never put aside my problem with the repercussions of the X-Men being removed from their time, I was entertained by seeing their reaction to being in a future far removed from the world they knew.
Bendis has always had a good eye for collaborators and this talent is exemplified here by his choice of veteran artist Stuart Immonen. Immonen, whose work I have followed since he teamed up with Warren Ellis on Ultimate Fantastic Four and later, the well-regarded Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., is quite arguably one of the most capable storytellers in the business, even if he isn't always the flashiest artist around. For one thing, I can categorically say that his characters are hands down some of the most expressive in all of comics. This is crucial when depicting the emotional wringer that the main characters in this book are going through. Truth be told, for me, Immonen was the main selling point of this series, and the icing on the cake is that he's going to be spelled by David Marquez, whose art I also enjoy immensely.
Still, this book hinges largely on a story device that has to be resolved eventually because obviously, the X-Men cannot spend too much time OUT of their time and for that I fault Bendis, who clearly came up with the idea. It's an engaging book in its own right but one wonders how sustainable it will be without this conceit of the X-Men being "out of time" or even how quickly this novel story premise will get old.
3.5/5
Artists: Stuart Immonen (pencils) Wade Von Grawbadger (inks) Marte Garcia (colors)
It gets harder and harder these days to review individual comic books. Between my schedule, the "decompressed" nature of many comic-book storylines and the fact that comic books nowadays contain only twenty pages of story, reviewing a single issue is starting to feel a little tedious, considering that my reviews may even contain more text than the comic books themselves.
Still, the beauty of the "decompressed" era of comics is that by waiting for several issues to pass before posting a review I find myself able to better appreciate how the individual issues fit as parts of a whole.
Brian Michael Bendis, in particular, writes this way and as a result it is easier to review his new series, All New X-Men, in clusters rather than as individual issues.
All New X-Men, which takes place in the wake of the cataclysmic events that occurred in the Avengers vs. X-Men miniseries, in which founding member of the X-Men, Cyclops, acting under the influence of the Phoenix Force, murdered the founder of the X-Men, Professor Charles Xavier. The X-Men are divided into two camps, basically Cyclops' group of X-Men and Wolverine's, with the former espousing a revolutionary, somewhat violent agenda.
Desperate to stop him, the Beast/Henry McCoy comes up with a bold idea: to bring the five original X-Men forward in time so that young Scott can confront his older counterpart and, Beast hopes, bring some sense back into him. Of course, as with all the best laid plans, things go amiss, and the X-Men from the past are, in a word, appalled. Of course, apart from his depression at the way things have ended up, Beast has other problems to wrestle with as well; apparently he's mutating yet again, and he fears that this time the mutation may kill him.
In the course of the issues, two crucial things happen to the original X-Men that pretty much change them forever; they encounter Cyclops and his new teammates, who include their archnemesis Magneto, and the teenaged Jean Grey not only sees into the mind of the future version of her boyfriend, thereby knowing for certain that he killed the X-Men's mentor, but also sees her entire, tragic future, courtesy of the older version of Hank McCoy's memories.
Now, to be clear I am not a fan of time-travel stories because of how hard it is to keep track of the rules, but as time-travel stories, go, the premise of this one is particularly hard to swallow because by moving the original X-Men forward in time, Hank McCoy has basically ensured that, unless and until they go back, they will not be around for any of the things that happened to them between the past and the present, a situation which should have catastrophic consequences considering how many times the X-Men saved the world. Hank McCoy's solution seemed short-sighted and rather unlike something that someone as smart as he's supposed to be would devise.
As difficult as the premise is to accept, though, Bendis' script is still pretty entertaining, and even though his usual dialogue seems rather ill-fitting for the original mutant team at times, the story still flows well enough.
The series is basically propelled by its "teens out of time" element, and in this aspect Bendis excels. While I could never put aside my problem with the repercussions of the X-Men being removed from their time, I was entertained by seeing their reaction to being in a future far removed from the world they knew.
Bendis has always had a good eye for collaborators and this talent is exemplified here by his choice of veteran artist Stuart Immonen. Immonen, whose work I have followed since he teamed up with Warren Ellis on Ultimate Fantastic Four and later, the well-regarded Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., is quite arguably one of the most capable storytellers in the business, even if he isn't always the flashiest artist around. For one thing, I can categorically say that his characters are hands down some of the most expressive in all of comics. This is crucial when depicting the emotional wringer that the main characters in this book are going through. Truth be told, for me, Immonen was the main selling point of this series, and the icing on the cake is that he's going to be spelled by David Marquez, whose art I also enjoy immensely.
Still, this book hinges largely on a story device that has to be resolved eventually because obviously, the X-Men cannot spend too much time OUT of their time and for that I fault Bendis, who clearly came up with the idea. It's an engaging book in its own right but one wonders how sustainable it will be without this conceit of the X-Men being "out of time" or even how quickly this novel story premise will get old.
3.5/5
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
And Now...Venom. A Review of Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #s 19 and 20
(w) Brian Michael Bendis
(a) Sara Pichelli (line art) Justin Ponsor (colors)
After the six-issue crossover with the other "Ultimate" line titles, the Ultimate Marvel universe version of Spider-Man, Miles Morales, is back to his own adventures, this time facing off against a character who's been a Spider-Man staple since he was first introduced in the late '80s: Venom. While Venom's appearance in this title was teased in issue 16.1, it's only now that we readers get to see him in his full frightening glory.
In issue #18, Miles runs out of web fluid and turns to his friend Ganke to unlock the secret of the formula that the late Peter Parker has left behind. In the meantime, Detective Maria Hill investigates the death of Betty Brant (as detailed in the aforementioned UCSM 16.1) by interviewing Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, and Venom wreaks havoc on the now derelict Oscorp Industries facilities. Miles' dad Jefferson, on the other hand, is reaping the unwanted consequences of having fought HYDRA during the "Divided We Fall" storyline.
Issue #19 features an extended throw-down between the new Spider-Man and Venom, with some rather shocking though not entirely unexpected collateral damage resulting.
Brian Michael Bendis does not waste a whole lot of time leading into the Venom confrontation; the issue spent on setup is well-judged, with plot developments from the last story arc being nicely followed up, such as the question what would happen to Miles once he runs out of webs (i.e. will it be that simple to recreate the fluid from Peter's formula? The answer is amusing), and what is the backlash of things like Betty Brant's death and Jefferson Davis' actions? Issue #18 touches on these issues quickly and judiciously, with two of them, Brant's death and Davis' fate, left as questions to be resolved in the issues to come.
It would be easy to dismiss issue #19 as nothing more than a slugfest, but to my mind the context for it was pretty well-established in what was basically a talking-heads issue. One could say that Bendis got all of the talky-talky stuff out of the way so that he could focus on the battle. Not only that, but there are plenty of fun vignettes in the Venom fight, such as the results of Ganke's first attempt to produce web fluid, Miles' attempt to disguise his voice from his parents and his attempts as well to remember how Peter Parker beat Venom previously. There is quite a bit going on in the course of the fight.
And what a fight it is, courtesy of returning artist and Miles Morales co-creator Sara Pichelli. I was already a fan of Pichelli's when she took time off from this book to draw the Spider-Men miniseries, but what was immediately apparent to me upon seeing her return to these pages was that she has significantly stepped up her game, perhaps in response to the favorable response her substitute artist, David Marquez, got during his stint on the book. Her signature style is still very much intact, but the level of detail packed into the two issues, especially her frightening depiction of the very well-known Venom, is simply on another level compared to her previous work. Her action sequences always had a nicely dynamic quality to them, but here, they couldn't jump off the page any more if the comic book was printed in 3-D format with glasses to boot. This is wonderful stuff. I really hope Pichelli sees this storyline through to its conclusion, because she is a huge part of what makes this confrontation as engaging as it is.
Soon I will have been following UCSM for two years, which is the longest consecutive streak of single-issue comic book collecting I have done since I stopped collecting regularly in 2006. While the last story arc was a little bit of a hiccup in terms of the storytelling quality, I have to say that on the whole Brian Bendis has really pulled me in with this particular vision for Spider-Man.
4.5/5
(a) Sara Pichelli (line art) Justin Ponsor (colors)
After the six-issue crossover with the other "Ultimate" line titles, the Ultimate Marvel universe version of Spider-Man, Miles Morales, is back to his own adventures, this time facing off against a character who's been a Spider-Man staple since he was first introduced in the late '80s: Venom. While Venom's appearance in this title was teased in issue 16.1, it's only now that we readers get to see him in his full frightening glory.
In issue #18, Miles runs out of web fluid and turns to his friend Ganke to unlock the secret of the formula that the late Peter Parker has left behind. In the meantime, Detective Maria Hill investigates the death of Betty Brant (as detailed in the aforementioned UCSM 16.1) by interviewing Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, and Venom wreaks havoc on the now derelict Oscorp Industries facilities. Miles' dad Jefferson, on the other hand, is reaping the unwanted consequences of having fought HYDRA during the "Divided We Fall" storyline.
Issue #19 features an extended throw-down between the new Spider-Man and Venom, with some rather shocking though not entirely unexpected collateral damage resulting.
Brian Michael Bendis does not waste a whole lot of time leading into the Venom confrontation; the issue spent on setup is well-judged, with plot developments from the last story arc being nicely followed up, such as the question what would happen to Miles once he runs out of webs (i.e. will it be that simple to recreate the fluid from Peter's formula? The answer is amusing), and what is the backlash of things like Betty Brant's death and Jefferson Davis' actions? Issue #18 touches on these issues quickly and judiciously, with two of them, Brant's death and Davis' fate, left as questions to be resolved in the issues to come.
It would be easy to dismiss issue #19 as nothing more than a slugfest, but to my mind the context for it was pretty well-established in what was basically a talking-heads issue. One could say that Bendis got all of the talky-talky stuff out of the way so that he could focus on the battle. Not only that, but there are plenty of fun vignettes in the Venom fight, such as the results of Ganke's first attempt to produce web fluid, Miles' attempt to disguise his voice from his parents and his attempts as well to remember how Peter Parker beat Venom previously. There is quite a bit going on in the course of the fight.
And what a fight it is, courtesy of returning artist and Miles Morales co-creator Sara Pichelli. I was already a fan of Pichelli's when she took time off from this book to draw the Spider-Men miniseries, but what was immediately apparent to me upon seeing her return to these pages was that she has significantly stepped up her game, perhaps in response to the favorable response her substitute artist, David Marquez, got during his stint on the book. Her signature style is still very much intact, but the level of detail packed into the two issues, especially her frightening depiction of the very well-known Venom, is simply on another level compared to her previous work. Her action sequences always had a nicely dynamic quality to them, but here, they couldn't jump off the page any more if the comic book was printed in 3-D format with glasses to boot. This is wonderful stuff. I really hope Pichelli sees this storyline through to its conclusion, because she is a huge part of what makes this confrontation as engaging as it is.
Soon I will have been following UCSM for two years, which is the longest consecutive streak of single-issue comic book collecting I have done since I stopped collecting regularly in 2006. While the last story arc was a little bit of a hiccup in terms of the storytelling quality, I have to say that on the whole Brian Bendis has really pulled me in with this particular vision for Spider-Man.
4.5/5
Sunday, January 13, 2013
And Now...Spider-Ock
Last month, Marvel Comics and writer Dan Slott generated considerable attention with the 700th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, arguably their flagship title. All they had to do was kill Peter Parker. To their credit, there was something decidedly novel about the way it was done. In issue #698 Peter swapped bodies with one of his worst enemies, Doctor Octopus, who happened to be dying at the time. Doc Ock's body then died two issues later, and Peter's mind supposedly along with it. It was the the culmination of a storyline that, according to Slott, has been brewing since issue #600 way back in 2009 in which Doc Ock's progressively deteriorating condition is first disclosed. I actually have that issue, so I can attest to this.
The cat is sort of out of the bag now, as it has been revealed in Superior Spider-man #1 that Peter Parker isn't really dead; he's, for lack of a better description, a disembodied consciousness, one that's apparently even capable of influencing Doc Ock's decisions on a subconscious level as he prevents Ock using his body to kill supervillains. So instead of a "permanent" change as was strongly suggested by Slott and Marvel's marketing crew, in order to quell the more cynical fan reactions, this development is more of an extended storyline, the idea behind which, I suppose, being to follow Peter's journey back into his own body, and to see what happens to it in the meantime. Marvel's marketing materials are already teasing that Spider-Ock gets booted off the Avengers, no doubt because he's still an egomaniac and a prick.
Down the line, I may give this story a look in collected form, but I really can't help but shake my head at all the hype that basically surrounded what is destined to be a finite storyline, much line the Clone Saga of the 1990s, in which Peter Parker was replaced by his clone. In fact, to the credit of the creators of the Clone Saga, the change they had in mind, however harebrained, was a permanent one, and it was only violent fan reaction (in the pre-internet age, no less) that stayed their hand. The thing is, the only way to really get people's attention is to fool them into thinking that the plot development is for keeps.
In a way, Marvel are in a better position now than they were when they destroyed Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson; because that change was always envisioned as permanent it was inevitable that they were going to alienate fans. Now that the truth has been revealed about the Spider-Ock saga, fans who may have been ready to drop the book with the apparently demise of Peter Parker may now be willing to give this story development a chance to see where Slott can go with it.
The ball, therefore, is in Slott's court, and Marvel's.
The cat is sort of out of the bag now, as it has been revealed in Superior Spider-man #1 that Peter Parker isn't really dead; he's, for lack of a better description, a disembodied consciousness, one that's apparently even capable of influencing Doc Ock's decisions on a subconscious level as he prevents Ock using his body to kill supervillains. So instead of a "permanent" change as was strongly suggested by Slott and Marvel's marketing crew, in order to quell the more cynical fan reactions, this development is more of an extended storyline, the idea behind which, I suppose, being to follow Peter's journey back into his own body, and to see what happens to it in the meantime. Marvel's marketing materials are already teasing that Spider-Ock gets booted off the Avengers, no doubt because he's still an egomaniac and a prick.
Down the line, I may give this story a look in collected form, but I really can't help but shake my head at all the hype that basically surrounded what is destined to be a finite storyline, much line the Clone Saga of the 1990s, in which Peter Parker was replaced by his clone. In fact, to the credit of the creators of the Clone Saga, the change they had in mind, however harebrained, was a permanent one, and it was only violent fan reaction (in the pre-internet age, no less) that stayed their hand. The thing is, the only way to really get people's attention is to fool them into thinking that the plot development is for keeps.
In a way, Marvel are in a better position now than they were when they destroyed Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson; because that change was always envisioned as permanent it was inevitable that they were going to alienate fans. Now that the truth has been revealed about the Spider-Ock saga, fans who may have been ready to drop the book with the apparently demise of Peter Parker may now be willing to give this story development a chance to see where Slott can go with it.
The ball, therefore, is in Slott's court, and Marvel's.
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