written by Joe Kelly
drawn by Ed McGuinness (p) and Mark Morales (i)
colored by Jason Keith
When Marvel's premier superhero, who also happens to be one of its chattiest, meets up with its renowned, patently amoral Merc-with-a-mouth, sparks, and more importantly, one-liners, can be expected to fly.
Such is the case in Spider-Man and Deadpool, a team-up book of sorts between Marvel's one-time number one hero and its number one antihero, in which Deadpool whisks Spider-Man away from a fight with the villain Hydro-man in order to do battle with the ancient evil demigod Dormammu and his dreaded Mindless Ones. Upon their escape, Deadpool makes arguably the strangest proposition Spider-Man could imagine: he offers him a job. It's not exactly an offer Spidey can't refuse, but if he thought that was shocking, he should see what Deadpool's plans for Peter Parker are...
Kelly's story is a reasonably fun single issue tale that sets the stage for what's to come, and he's got a good feel for Spidey's patented snappy dialogue, as well as his new status quo as CEO of his own company. Of course, Kelly is regarded as a definitive Deadpool writer, so I would imagine his characterization is spot-on, though as a causal Deadpool fan at best, I don't really have that much basis for comparison. Still, the story wasn't all that outstanding. The real draw for me here was Ed McGuinness, whose work I've liked for some time.
The good news here is that, not only does McGuinness live up to his billing as the quintessential Deadpool artist, he proves to be easily the best Spider-Man artist I've seen in quite some time, especially considering that the artists who worked on the title with any sort of regularity lately were limited to Humberto Ramos and Giuseppe Camuncoli, of whose work I am not the biggest fan. I had a hint of what McGuinness could do with the character from various covers he's drawn over the years, but this is the first time I've seen him do a full issue featuring the character, and the only question I find myself asking is why the heck Marvel didn't think of putting McGuinness on a Spider book sooner.
I had actually once imagined McGuinness an ill fit for Spider-Man considering his bulky depiction of Superman, but when I saw glimpses of how he would interpret the webslinger from appearances in other comic books, as well as various covers, I got the impression that he really could capture the sleekness and dynamism of the character. His variant cover for the Amazing Spider-Man relaunch back in April 2014 evoked John Romita Sr.'s work, and more and more I found myself wishing Marvel would give him a regular Spidey book, and almost two years on, my wish has been granted.
As first issues go, this one's pretty low-key, all things considered, but it seems that Kelly and McGuinness have big things in store, and I'm definitely on board for now.
8/10
Monday, January 11, 2016
Monday, January 4, 2016
Time to be More Than Tokens or Cannon Fodder
This post actually started out as a review of the first three collected editions of Marvel Comics' "Ms. Marvel" starring Pakistani-American Kamala Khan, all of which I genuinely enjoyed reading, but as I thought of what to write, I started wondering to myself "why aren't there any Filipino superheroes in the Marvel Universe?"
I then remembered a rather entertaining Iron Man story by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca which was published in 2008, the year Iron Man made his successful big screen debut, which featured not just one but a whole team of Filipino superheroes, the Triumph Division, whose sole apparent purpose was to get blown to smithereens by lackeys of the story arc's villain, Ezekiel Stane, son of the film's villain, Obadiah Stane. While I thank Fraction for the gesture, the characters were ill-conceived and utterly expendable. Much more promising, however, was another Filipino superteam, the Diwata, that was given mention in the same series, but nothing more.
It has been seven years since that story, and yet the Triumph Division remains the only Filipino team of superheroes that a casual Google search turns up.
And yet, there are several superheroes from cultural minorities populating the Marvel Universe. They sure aren't the majority, but there have been more than enough superheroes of African, Chinese, Japanese, Latin American, Pakistani and even Vietnamese descent to show that diversity isn't a completely alien concept to editorial, who have, after all been headed by people of Latin American descent like Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso. As I mentioned, Filipinos got a proper shout-out in the pages of a mainstream Marvel book, only to be completely ignored afterwards.
The fact that Ms. Marvel, of Pakistani descent, gets her very own book and membership in the Avengers, was sort of the straw that broke this camel's back. I'm guessing it helps that one of Marvel's editors nowadays is of Pakistani descent.
I suppose that, key to whether or not a particular character gets further attention, reader response plays some kind of role, and so it disappoints me that, for all of the Filipino comic book geeks here and around the world, there simply wasn't enough of a response to Marvel's attempt to introduce a whole new wave of heroes into one of the most cherished fictional universes in pop culture.
I also find it mildly ironic (and I think this is the proper use of the word) that, even though there have been a slew of very talented Filipino creators, mainly artists, working at Marvel Comics since the 1970s, the creators who actually introduced Filipino superheroes into their pages are an American and a Spaniard. I like to believe that any of the several Filipino creators currently working at Marvel could have some ideas for a character or two they'd like to fight alongside Spider-Man and Iron Man, but for whatever reason, none of them seem to be getting any traction.
Don't get me wrong; I'm only too happy to read the adventures of Filipino superheroes and related characters in our own homegrown comics. I am a regular reader of Trese, and I just gave "Sixty-Six" a rather unorthodox superhero book, a glowing review in this very blog. As someone who grew up with Marvel Comics, though, I really would love to see at least one character of Filipino descent running around that universe, someone who eats things like lechon and adobo and who speaks Tagalog and whose parents pray the rosary. I mean, we Filipinos have given Marvel some of our best talent for at least forty of its seventy years of existence, and I hardly think it'd be too big a bone for them to throw us to give some panel time to our own heroes. Matt Fraction, God bless him and his slipshod research into Filipino culture, at least bothered to try. Maybe it's up to us to really champion the creation of at least one.
I realize this isn't the most pressing concern in the world right now, but when I think about the audience that Ms. Marvel has found, something that would have been unheard of even as recently as ten years ago, I find myself thinking of how a Filipino superhero could be similarly well-received, and considering how well-placed Filipino creators are in the comics and animation industry, I think it's at least worth suggesting.
I then remembered a rather entertaining Iron Man story by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca which was published in 2008, the year Iron Man made his successful big screen debut, which featured not just one but a whole team of Filipino superheroes, the Triumph Division, whose sole apparent purpose was to get blown to smithereens by lackeys of the story arc's villain, Ezekiel Stane, son of the film's villain, Obadiah Stane. While I thank Fraction for the gesture, the characters were ill-conceived and utterly expendable. Much more promising, however, was another Filipino superteam, the Diwata, that was given mention in the same series, but nothing more.
It has been seven years since that story, and yet the Triumph Division remains the only Filipino team of superheroes that a casual Google search turns up.
And yet, there are several superheroes from cultural minorities populating the Marvel Universe. They sure aren't the majority, but there have been more than enough superheroes of African, Chinese, Japanese, Latin American, Pakistani and even Vietnamese descent to show that diversity isn't a completely alien concept to editorial, who have, after all been headed by people of Latin American descent like Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso. As I mentioned, Filipinos got a proper shout-out in the pages of a mainstream Marvel book, only to be completely ignored afterwards.
The fact that Ms. Marvel, of Pakistani descent, gets her very own book and membership in the Avengers, was sort of the straw that broke this camel's back. I'm guessing it helps that one of Marvel's editors nowadays is of Pakistani descent.
I suppose that, key to whether or not a particular character gets further attention, reader response plays some kind of role, and so it disappoints me that, for all of the Filipino comic book geeks here and around the world, there simply wasn't enough of a response to Marvel's attempt to introduce a whole new wave of heroes into one of the most cherished fictional universes in pop culture.
I also find it mildly ironic (and I think this is the proper use of the word) that, even though there have been a slew of very talented Filipino creators, mainly artists, working at Marvel Comics since the 1970s, the creators who actually introduced Filipino superheroes into their pages are an American and a Spaniard. I like to believe that any of the several Filipino creators currently working at Marvel could have some ideas for a character or two they'd like to fight alongside Spider-Man and Iron Man, but for whatever reason, none of them seem to be getting any traction.
Don't get me wrong; I'm only too happy to read the adventures of Filipino superheroes and related characters in our own homegrown comics. I am a regular reader of Trese, and I just gave "Sixty-Six" a rather unorthodox superhero book, a glowing review in this very blog. As someone who grew up with Marvel Comics, though, I really would love to see at least one character of Filipino descent running around that universe, someone who eats things like lechon and adobo and who speaks Tagalog and whose parents pray the rosary. I mean, we Filipinos have given Marvel some of our best talent for at least forty of its seventy years of existence, and I hardly think it'd be too big a bone for them to throw us to give some panel time to our own heroes. Matt Fraction, God bless him and his slipshod research into Filipino culture, at least bothered to try. Maybe it's up to us to really champion the creation of at least one.
I realize this isn't the most pressing concern in the world right now, but when I think about the audience that Ms. Marvel has found, something that would have been unheard of even as recently as ten years ago, I find myself thinking of how a Filipino superhero could be similarly well-received, and considering how well-placed Filipino creators are in the comics and animation industry, I think it's at least worth suggesting.
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Filipino Superheroics at Their Very Best: A Review of "66"
written by Russell Molina
illustrated by Ian Sta. Maria
Comic books, like movies, have been around for so long that it's quite hard for any creator to come up with an original concept, or at least, a fresh take on something as old as superhero adventures. When creators are able to come up with something that, if not necessarily original, feels new, this is definite cause for celebration.
"Sixty-Six" is one such example; it is the story of elderly store-owner Celestino Cabal, who lives out his days in contentment, taking care of his wife suffering from dementia and enjoying the occasional long-distance phone call with his daughter, who lives in the United States, when on the evening of his sixty-sixth birthday, amid a terrible event that nearly takes the life of his wife, he finds himself endowed with extraordinary strength. Upon discovering he has super powers, in particular super strength, Celestino, having read superhero comic books as a child, does what anyone with both a sense of wonder and social responsibility would do: he fights crime.
It's fun at first, of course, to take down lowlifes like muggers and rapists, but before he knows it Celestino finds himself facing tougher, similarly super-powered threats, and considering that many of them are children being manipulated by a shadowy criminal syndicate, he does not know if he will be able to take the fight to the next level.
I've encountered Ian Sta. Maria's work twice before, in the English-language "ashcan" Ultracops, and in the collected edition of the fantasy-themed "Skyworld." Both works featured extraordinary art, but to my mind, both also fell somewhat short in the story and dialogue department.
In writer Molina, however, Sta. Maria has found a collaborator who not only plays to his strengths as a draftsman but coaxes some remarkable storytelling techniques out of him that weren't in either of his previous works that I've read. This book is an absolute joy not just to read but to absolutely consume from cover to cover.
Celestino Cabal is a truly endearing character, and the true strength of Molina's storytelling is how he takes the time and effort to compassionately establish who his lead is before shoving him into the thick of the action. It's thrilling to see him action against criminals, but the little moments, like the moment Celestino discovers that his powers do not include flight, a lovely bit of slapstick comedy that keeps the tone of the story buoyant, along with the dialogue of the wheelchair-bound, double-amputee of a neighborhood watchman ("barangay tanod") whose story as to how he lost his legs constantly changes. The Tagalog onomatopoeia sprinkled throughout the book is a real treat as well, and I was actually able to learn at least one new word from it. When the story does hit some serious notes, I really appreciated how much Molina and Sta. Maria had invested in the characters. When Celestino's enemies hit back at him where it hurts late in the story, the tragedy is palpable.
As someone who has been reading and enjoying superhero comic books for over three decades, I can say without exaggeration that this is one of the stronger efforts I've seen from any pair of creators of any nationality in several years, and I am thoroughly looking forward to the next installment, which should not take too long considering that this collected edition of Sixty-Six is actually a compilation of stories that ran from 2013 to 2014.
I've seen many copies of this in bookstores and comic book stores all around Manila, and having enjoyed this book so much I feel it behooves me to encourage others: if you're looking for something really fresh in the superheroics department, this is a great book to try.
8.9/10
illustrated by Ian Sta. Maria
Comic books, like movies, have been around for so long that it's quite hard for any creator to come up with an original concept, or at least, a fresh take on something as old as superhero adventures. When creators are able to come up with something that, if not necessarily original, feels new, this is definite cause for celebration.
"Sixty-Six" is one such example; it is the story of elderly store-owner Celestino Cabal, who lives out his days in contentment, taking care of his wife suffering from dementia and enjoying the occasional long-distance phone call with his daughter, who lives in the United States, when on the evening of his sixty-sixth birthday, amid a terrible event that nearly takes the life of his wife, he finds himself endowed with extraordinary strength. Upon discovering he has super powers, in particular super strength, Celestino, having read superhero comic books as a child, does what anyone with both a sense of wonder and social responsibility would do: he fights crime.
It's fun at first, of course, to take down lowlifes like muggers and rapists, but before he knows it Celestino finds himself facing tougher, similarly super-powered threats, and considering that many of them are children being manipulated by a shadowy criminal syndicate, he does not know if he will be able to take the fight to the next level.
I've encountered Ian Sta. Maria's work twice before, in the English-language "ashcan" Ultracops, and in the collected edition of the fantasy-themed "Skyworld." Both works featured extraordinary art, but to my mind, both also fell somewhat short in the story and dialogue department.
In writer Molina, however, Sta. Maria has found a collaborator who not only plays to his strengths as a draftsman but coaxes some remarkable storytelling techniques out of him that weren't in either of his previous works that I've read. This book is an absolute joy not just to read but to absolutely consume from cover to cover.
Celestino Cabal is a truly endearing character, and the true strength of Molina's storytelling is how he takes the time and effort to compassionately establish who his lead is before shoving him into the thick of the action. It's thrilling to see him action against criminals, but the little moments, like the moment Celestino discovers that his powers do not include flight, a lovely bit of slapstick comedy that keeps the tone of the story buoyant, along with the dialogue of the wheelchair-bound, double-amputee of a neighborhood watchman ("barangay tanod") whose story as to how he lost his legs constantly changes. The Tagalog onomatopoeia sprinkled throughout the book is a real treat as well, and I was actually able to learn at least one new word from it. When the story does hit some serious notes, I really appreciated how much Molina and Sta. Maria had invested in the characters. When Celestino's enemies hit back at him where it hurts late in the story, the tragedy is palpable.
As someone who has been reading and enjoying superhero comic books for over three decades, I can say without exaggeration that this is one of the stronger efforts I've seen from any pair of creators of any nationality in several years, and I am thoroughly looking forward to the next installment, which should not take too long considering that this collected edition of Sixty-Six is actually a compilation of stories that ran from 2013 to 2014.
I've seen many copies of this in bookstores and comic book stores all around Manila, and having enjoyed this book so much I feel it behooves me to encourage others: if you're looking for something really fresh in the superheroics department, this is a great book to try.
8.9/10
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