written by Charles Soule
drawn by Ron Garney
inked by Matt Milla
Following a five-issue story line that was primarily a bunch of talking heads, writer Charles Soule puts Matt Murdock and his alter ego Daredevil right back in the thick of the action with a tale that brings Matt to China, in search of his protege Sam, aka, Blindspot, who, after being blinded by one of the Inhumans a few story arcs back, has disappeared. Matt has been taking up Blindspot's mantle as protector of Chinatown, thanks to Blindspot's sister, a struggling barista who has reluctantly taken on the task of translating the requests that people used to leave for Sam, when she finds a request addressed to Daredevil himself, or as the Chinese literally translates, "Night Devil Hero," and in fairly short order, Matt takes a leave from his job at the District Attorney's office, who are now hugely grateful to him for his incredible feat before the Supreme Court, and heads to China.
Following the engrossing "Supreme" storyline that was actually heavy on consequence but light on action, Soule, joined here by series mainstay Ron Garney, delivers a perfectly judged return to chop-sockey action for the hero of Hell's Kitchen, and while we only get the action towards the end, it promises to be a very interesting three-issue arc as we discover what has become of Sam.
Soule expands Matt's new world a little bit by introducing another new character, Sam's barista sister who flat out resents her brother for not helping her out more and brings a nice bit of variety to Matt's generally noble cast of characters. She doesn't get much "page time" but there's potential for this character.
Garney's in fine form here. He's no Stuart Immonen (the last person to draw a major Marvel book set in China), but it was really nice to see him render a new environment for DD in the form of the mountains of rural China.
Part of me can't help but wonder if Marvel, first with its "Parker, Inc." storyline over in the pages of "The Amazing Spider-Man" and now this, isn't taking a page out of Hollywood's book and deliberately setting stories in China in an attempt to hook Chinese readers and basically expand their readership. It's not too far-fetched an idea. Personally, I won't mind if the stories are well-conceived, like this one is.
8/10
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Astonishing X-Men #2 and #3
written by Charles Soule
drawn by Mike Deodato (issue #2), Ed MGuinnes (issue #3), Mark Morales (issue #3)
colored by Frank Martin (issue #2), Jason Keith (issue #3)
After being blown away by the first issue of this series, I found the second issue surprisingly underwhelming, even as the third one recovered a bit.
Essentially, the second issue continues the journey of five X-Men ("old man" Logan, Gambit, Fantomex, Rogue and Mystique, who was previously masquerading as Beast) to the astral plane, where they seek to confront and defeat Amahl Farouk, aka the Shadow King. Meanwhile, Psylocke, who is enabling them to enter the plane, remains in London, accompanied by Angel and Bishop, and all three of them are in a standoff with British authorities. Each of the X-Men has to fight off the illusions constantly being cast by the Shadow King in this realm.
In issue #3, the X-Men find themselves separated in the astral plane, and the focus falls squarely on Logan, who makes his way past Farouk's non-stop barrage of illusions, only to find himself confronting Professor X himself.
Personally, I don't get the merit of this concept of having writer Soule team up with one superstar artist after another; the narrative feels somewhat disjointed, and even though Soule tries to address this by giving each issue a "done in one" feel, for me it undermines the overall flow of the story. While he started out strong with the first issue, the second one kind of felt like it was treading water, though to my mind he recovered nicely with the third issue, which seems to finally give the story some direction, though I imagine he's only got two to three more issues to wrap up this story arc, at best.
I've never been much of a fan of Mike Deodato, but to my mind this is the best work I've seen from him in a while. Still, it didn't really help what I felt were some pacing problems. I am, on the other hand a fan of Ed McGuinness, though this issue isn't the best I've seen from him, even when compared to his recent work like Spider-Man/Deadpool.
Knowing as I do that this series won't regularly feature the work of Jim Cheung, as I mistakenly believed when I picked up the first issue, I'll probably move on after the first arc is done, unless someone amazing in the vein of Arthur Adams comes along.
6.5/10 for issue #2
7.5/10 for issue #3
drawn by Mike Deodato (issue #2), Ed MGuinnes (issue #3), Mark Morales (issue #3)
colored by Frank Martin (issue #2), Jason Keith (issue #3)
After being blown away by the first issue of this series, I found the second issue surprisingly underwhelming, even as the third one recovered a bit.
Essentially, the second issue continues the journey of five X-Men ("old man" Logan, Gambit, Fantomex, Rogue and Mystique, who was previously masquerading as Beast) to the astral plane, where they seek to confront and defeat Amahl Farouk, aka the Shadow King. Meanwhile, Psylocke, who is enabling them to enter the plane, remains in London, accompanied by Angel and Bishop, and all three of them are in a standoff with British authorities. Each of the X-Men has to fight off the illusions constantly being cast by the Shadow King in this realm.
In issue #3, the X-Men find themselves separated in the astral plane, and the focus falls squarely on Logan, who makes his way past Farouk's non-stop barrage of illusions, only to find himself confronting Professor X himself.
Personally, I don't get the merit of this concept of having writer Soule team up with one superstar artist after another; the narrative feels somewhat disjointed, and even though Soule tries to address this by giving each issue a "done in one" feel, for me it undermines the overall flow of the story. While he started out strong with the first issue, the second one kind of felt like it was treading water, though to my mind he recovered nicely with the third issue, which seems to finally give the story some direction, though I imagine he's only got two to three more issues to wrap up this story arc, at best.
I've never been much of a fan of Mike Deodato, but to my mind this is the best work I've seen from him in a while. Still, it didn't really help what I felt were some pacing problems. I am, on the other hand a fan of Ed McGuinness, though this issue isn't the best I've seen from him, even when compared to his recent work like Spider-Man/Deadpool.
Knowing as I do that this series won't regularly feature the work of Jim Cheung, as I mistakenly believed when I picked up the first issue, I'll probably move on after the first arc is done, unless someone amazing in the vein of Arthur Adams comes along.
6.5/10 for issue #2
7.5/10 for issue #3
Norman Osborn's Spiritual Journey: A Review of The Amazing Spider-Man #32
written by Dan Slott
drawn by Greg Smallwood
colored by Jordie Bellaire
I'll admit, when I saw the cover for this issue, I groaned. After all, Slott had only just finished a four-part story pitting Spider-Man against the Green Goblin, and for him to revisit the character so soon felt like a creative cop-out. I was pleasantly surprised by what I actually read.
Humiliated by his most recent defeat at the hands of Spider-Man, Norman Osborn agonizes over ways to restore his Green Goblin persona, which Spider-Man has since suppressed through the introduction of nanites into Norman's system which biologically suppress that part of Norman's personality. Therapy doesn't work, surgery doesn't work, and when Eastern medicine fails Norman as well he is at the end of his rope, when he receives a suggestion from his acupuncturist to visit a place somewhere in Asia, which Norman promptly does. He stumbles on a monastery where three old monks greet him and offer to teach him their ways...provided he can pass their test.
This issue doesn't really serve any narrative purpose and I think its only real point is to give the series' stellar regular artist Stuart Immonen a well-deserved break after consistently amazing work on the past two storylines. It's pretty much a throwaway issue, albeit a pretty good one, thanks in no small part to Greg Smallwood's excellent art and Jordie Bellaire's nicely textured coloring. Slott looks like he's taking easy here as well, having fun with this little done-in-one.
7.5/10
drawn by Greg Smallwood
colored by Jordie Bellaire
I'll admit, when I saw the cover for this issue, I groaned. After all, Slott had only just finished a four-part story pitting Spider-Man against the Green Goblin, and for him to revisit the character so soon felt like a creative cop-out. I was pleasantly surprised by what I actually read.
Humiliated by his most recent defeat at the hands of Spider-Man, Norman Osborn agonizes over ways to restore his Green Goblin persona, which Spider-Man has since suppressed through the introduction of nanites into Norman's system which biologically suppress that part of Norman's personality. Therapy doesn't work, surgery doesn't work, and when Eastern medicine fails Norman as well he is at the end of his rope, when he receives a suggestion from his acupuncturist to visit a place somewhere in Asia, which Norman promptly does. He stumbles on a monastery where three old monks greet him and offer to teach him their ways...provided he can pass their test.
This issue doesn't really serve any narrative purpose and I think its only real point is to give the series' stellar regular artist Stuart Immonen a well-deserved break after consistently amazing work on the past two storylines. It's pretty much a throwaway issue, albeit a pretty good one, thanks in no small part to Greg Smallwood's excellent art and Jordie Bellaire's nicely textured coloring. Slott looks like he's taking easy here as well, having fun with this little done-in-one.
7.5/10
Saturday, August 26, 2017
The Fate of Parker Industries: A Review of The Amazing Spider-Man #31
written by Dan Slott
drawn by Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger
colored by Marte Gracia
The "Secret Empire" tie-in story of this title draws to a close as Spider-Man makes a last stand against a new and improved Doctor Octopus, who is determined to take Parker Industries and all of its secrets from him. This was, after all, the empire Doc Ock had started to build while using Peter's stolen body, and Otto Octavius feels distinctly entitled to it, but he has no idea of the lengths to which Peter is willing to go to protect the world from the arch-villain's bloated ego, even if it means giving up everything.
I wonder exactly how Dan Slott would have written the conclusion to his "Peter Parker as a CEO" storyline without this whole "Secret Empire" event providing a convenient backdrop. It never felt like a long-term storyline, and personally I feel that it doesn't really suit him all that well. That said, I am glad that there was at least one writer who decided to take Peter down that road instead of having him perpetually living paycheck to paycheck. I'm still partial to the Straczynski days where Peter was a youthful schoolteacher, but I recognize that after a while that could feel stagnant as well. In any case, Slott makes good use of the storyline by having Peter make a well-intentioned, if somewhat rash decision to fight Doc Ock and HYDRA, and bring this particular storyline to a reasonably satisfying conclusion, albeit one that raises the inevitable question: what's next?
I liked how, more than some prosaic desire to "take over the world," Doc Ock was motivated more by hubris and a sense of entitlement than anything else in his drive to wrest Parker Industries from Peter. After having seen a more nuanced portrayal of the character in the best-selling Superior Spider-Man title, I wouldn't have much cared for a more traditional, two-dimensional motivation for the character. The thing is, this isn't the Ock that realized his own inadequacy and willfully ceded Peter Parker's body back to him; that one's gone for good. This Ock's consciousness was pulled from slightly earlier in the timeline thanks the time-traveling arc in Superior Spider-Man back in 2013, and later, a universe-jumping story arc in the massive Spider-Verse crossover. Confusing? I agree, but I do understand that Slott had to give the character wiggle room to still be a bad guy, or else his sacrifice and redemption in the penultimate issue of Superior Spider-Man would have gone for naught.
While Slott attempts to redeem Peter from his poor decision-making that led up to this moment, he is, in my opinion, only partly successful, as I maintain that Ock would not have gotten as far as he did, even with HYDRA's help, without Peter being ridiculously careless. After all, Peter was getting the better of Doc Ock back when he was still a kid. In any event, Slott's scripting is a step up from the last issue, and I apologize for thinking that this story was going to be artificially stretched out into four issues when, in fact, it's been nicely wrapped up in three. Nice work by Slott.
I'd be remiss at this point if I didn't mention the amazing art by Immonen, Von Grawbadger and Gracia. It's worth saying that this team has managed to deliver consistently outstanding art for nine straight issues, without fill-in artists or delayed shipping schedules. This is a feat virtually unheard of these days, and even my favorites like Chris Samnee have had to take a breather every now and then. Immonen's work here is the best I've ever seen from him, and I've been following a lot of his work since he teamed up with Warren Ellis on Ultimate Fantastic Four back in 2004. These days I find myself fantasizing about a one-shot or OGN featuring Immonen's pencils painted over by cover artist Alex Ross. That would really blow me away.
As "Legacy" draws near I find myself interested to see what plans this team has for Peter, as they supposedly involve a "different" role with the Daily Bugle. It'll be nice to bring Peter back to a familiar element of his life and I hope Slott's scripting is more sure-footed than it's been these last few issues. At any rate, as long as Immonen et al are onboard, then so am I.
7.5/10
drawn by Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger
colored by Marte Gracia
The "Secret Empire" tie-in story of this title draws to a close as Spider-Man makes a last stand against a new and improved Doctor Octopus, who is determined to take Parker Industries and all of its secrets from him. This was, after all, the empire Doc Ock had started to build while using Peter's stolen body, and Otto Octavius feels distinctly entitled to it, but he has no idea of the lengths to which Peter is willing to go to protect the world from the arch-villain's bloated ego, even if it means giving up everything.
I wonder exactly how Dan Slott would have written the conclusion to his "Peter Parker as a CEO" storyline without this whole "Secret Empire" event providing a convenient backdrop. It never felt like a long-term storyline, and personally I feel that it doesn't really suit him all that well. That said, I am glad that there was at least one writer who decided to take Peter down that road instead of having him perpetually living paycheck to paycheck. I'm still partial to the Straczynski days where Peter was a youthful schoolteacher, but I recognize that after a while that could feel stagnant as well. In any case, Slott makes good use of the storyline by having Peter make a well-intentioned, if somewhat rash decision to fight Doc Ock and HYDRA, and bring this particular storyline to a reasonably satisfying conclusion, albeit one that raises the inevitable question: what's next?
I liked how, more than some prosaic desire to "take over the world," Doc Ock was motivated more by hubris and a sense of entitlement than anything else in his drive to wrest Parker Industries from Peter. After having seen a more nuanced portrayal of the character in the best-selling Superior Spider-Man title, I wouldn't have much cared for a more traditional, two-dimensional motivation for the character. The thing is, this isn't the Ock that realized his own inadequacy and willfully ceded Peter Parker's body back to him; that one's gone for good. This Ock's consciousness was pulled from slightly earlier in the timeline thanks the time-traveling arc in Superior Spider-Man back in 2013, and later, a universe-jumping story arc in the massive Spider-Verse crossover. Confusing? I agree, but I do understand that Slott had to give the character wiggle room to still be a bad guy, or else his sacrifice and redemption in the penultimate issue of Superior Spider-Man would have gone for naught.
While Slott attempts to redeem Peter from his poor decision-making that led up to this moment, he is, in my opinion, only partly successful, as I maintain that Ock would not have gotten as far as he did, even with HYDRA's help, without Peter being ridiculously careless. After all, Peter was getting the better of Doc Ock back when he was still a kid. In any event, Slott's scripting is a step up from the last issue, and I apologize for thinking that this story was going to be artificially stretched out into four issues when, in fact, it's been nicely wrapped up in three. Nice work by Slott.
I'd be remiss at this point if I didn't mention the amazing art by Immonen, Von Grawbadger and Gracia. It's worth saying that this team has managed to deliver consistently outstanding art for nine straight issues, without fill-in artists or delayed shipping schedules. This is a feat virtually unheard of these days, and even my favorites like Chris Samnee have had to take a breather every now and then. Immonen's work here is the best I've ever seen from him, and I've been following a lot of his work since he teamed up with Warren Ellis on Ultimate Fantastic Four back in 2004. These days I find myself fantasizing about a one-shot or OGN featuring Immonen's pencils painted over by cover artist Alex Ross. That would really blow me away.
As "Legacy" draws near I find myself interested to see what plans this team has for Peter, as they supposedly involve a "different" role with the Daily Bugle. It'll be nice to bring Peter back to a familiar element of his life and I hope Slott's scripting is more sure-footed than it's been these last few issues. At any rate, as long as Immonen et al are onboard, then so am I.
7.5/10
Murdock's Turn to Shine: A Review of Daredevil #25
written by Charles Soule
drawn by Alec Morgan
colored by Matt Milla
And so "Supreme" draws to a close as Matt Murdock makes his case before the United States Supreme Court for allowing confidential superhero testimony in criminal prosecutions. It's a tense moment; the most fearsome opponent Matt faces here are Wilson Fisk's lawyer and the ten justices of the Supreme Court, and the outcome of this confrontation has the potential to change everything.
The ending of Soule's courtroom epic, while quite straightforward without any special, last-minute twists, is nonetheless everything I hoped it would be, and is basically Matt Murdock's finest moment as an attorney in the character's fifty-three year history. Even without punch-ups (though a pretty funny symbolic one takes place as Matt Murdock argues his case) the issue is genuinely exciting, and ends on an extremely high note, something not often seen in this iteration of Daredevil, which has marked a throwback to the the gritty storytelling of the 80s. There's little more I can say about this story, even though I certainly would certainly like to sing its praises, without spoiling plot points, so I'll leave it at that. Soule has written a significant milestone for this character, and he managed it without having him throw a single physical punch. It's refreshing to see storytelling that doesn't involve the hero saving the day through feats of physical derring-do, and Matt's dialogue late int he issue about the difference between his work as Daredevil and his work as a lawyer is downright inspiring: as Daredevil, he gets to save the world, but as a lawyer, he gets to change it.
While I still am not a fan of Alec Morgan, who's been drawing this story for three issues straight, I will admit that he's a good fit for this type of story, and that the issues I had with him in his past work aren't really evident here.
It's nice to know that Marvel has some pretty big plans for this character as evidenced by their advanced solicitations, because with the work Soule's been turning in, especially with this specific story, it's good know that DD will be getting his moment in the spotlight again, and not just as one of the Defenders.
8.5/10
drawn by Alec Morgan
colored by Matt Milla
And so "Supreme" draws to a close as Matt Murdock makes his case before the United States Supreme Court for allowing confidential superhero testimony in criminal prosecutions. It's a tense moment; the most fearsome opponent Matt faces here are Wilson Fisk's lawyer and the ten justices of the Supreme Court, and the outcome of this confrontation has the potential to change everything.
The ending of Soule's courtroom epic, while quite straightforward without any special, last-minute twists, is nonetheless everything I hoped it would be, and is basically Matt Murdock's finest moment as an attorney in the character's fifty-three year history. Even without punch-ups (though a pretty funny symbolic one takes place as Matt Murdock argues his case) the issue is genuinely exciting, and ends on an extremely high note, something not often seen in this iteration of Daredevil, which has marked a throwback to the the gritty storytelling of the 80s. There's little more I can say about this story, even though I certainly would certainly like to sing its praises, without spoiling plot points, so I'll leave it at that. Soule has written a significant milestone for this character, and he managed it without having him throw a single physical punch. It's refreshing to see storytelling that doesn't involve the hero saving the day through feats of physical derring-do, and Matt's dialogue late int he issue about the difference between his work as Daredevil and his work as a lawyer is downright inspiring: as Daredevil, he gets to save the world, but as a lawyer, he gets to change it.
While I still am not a fan of Alec Morgan, who's been drawing this story for three issues straight, I will admit that he's a good fit for this type of story, and that the issues I had with him in his past work aren't really evident here.
It's nice to know that Marvel has some pretty big plans for this character as evidenced by their advanced solicitations, because with the work Soule's been turning in, especially with this specific story, it's good know that DD will be getting his moment in the spotlight again, and not just as one of the Defenders.
8.5/10
Monday, July 24, 2017
Superior Doc Ock Out to Ruin Peter's Life...Again: A Review of The Amazing Spider-Man #29-30
wrtitten by Dan Slott
penciled by Stuart Immonen
inked by Wade von Grawbadger
colored by Marte Gracia
The "Secret Empire" crossover makes its way into the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man as the newly-minted Superior Doctor Octopus--who's basically Otto Octavius in a cloned body of Peter Parker, complete with Octo arms--teams up with Hydra to take back the company he founded, namely Parker Industries. Peter, who naturally rebuffed Doc Ock's initial attempts to take over the company, is caught up at first in the battle against Hydra, led this time by Captain America, of all people, but when he realizes that Doc Ock is gunning for his last standing operation in Shanghai, he makes what he fears may be Parker Industries' final stand.
As a long-time reader of Spider-Man (30 years and counting), I get that "CEO Peter" is not the most relatable iteration of the character. I also get that Spider-Man is at his best when he's being put through the wringer, as Slott is clearly doing now, and the end goal is to basically strip him of his company, which seems to have been made clear by the writing and marketing of future issues. Sure, Peter's company may have been working on things like curing disease and renewable energy, but Marvel's already got one billionaire scientist superhero, so it's high time for Spidey to get "demoted" back to lovable loser, right?
Well, I have no problem with Slott taking the character back in that general direction, or at least away from a direction that has Peter looking too much like Tony Stark lite, but I confess I'm not at all crazy about how he's going about it.
I don't have any problem believing that Doc Ock could outwit Peter; I accepted that he was able to do it in the events leading to his tenure as the "Superior" Spider-Man, but the story conceit that Doc Ock could still pull surprises on Peter regarding his own tech and his own company is just bad writing. After all, Ock basically killed Peter, for all intents and purposes. One would imagine that Peter would exert utmost care when it came to dealing with anything that Ock might have had a hand in developing, including all the Parker Industries tech, especially after finding out, over in "The Clone Conspiracy," that Otto was still alive. Otto shouldn't have been able to pull the surprises on Peter that he has pulled so far. I'll grant that maybe Slott still has some surprises up his sleeve, but the fact that Otto's gotten this far with Peter without having been shut down is either Peter being incredibly crafty or incredibly stupid. Either way, the writing just feels unnecessarily contrived to justify a four-part arc to fill up yet another trade paperback.
It's a good thing for this story, however, that Stuart Immonen and his frequent collaborators Wade Von Grawbadger and Marte Gracia are around. I am a huge Immonen fan; I have all twelve issues of Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., the first eleven issues of All-New X-Men, and even the six issues of Ultimate Fantastic Four he drew for Warren Ellis. The guy is just supremely talented, both as a storyteller and an illustrator, and the remarkable thing about his work on this book so far, six issues into his tenure, is that he seems to have gotten even better than he already is, which is really saying something. He's just drawing on a whole other level here, and I want to be around for every issue of it. Had it been Giuseppe Camuncoli or even Humberto Ramos drawing these stories I'd already be gone because of how disagreeable I find Slott's scripting. Wade von Grawbadger inks him just about better than anyone else, and Marte Gracia make his already vivid images pop even more.
Thanks for saving this book for me, Stuart, Wade and Marte.
6/10
penciled by Stuart Immonen
inked by Wade von Grawbadger
colored by Marte Gracia
The "Secret Empire" crossover makes its way into the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man as the newly-minted Superior Doctor Octopus--who's basically Otto Octavius in a cloned body of Peter Parker, complete with Octo arms--teams up with Hydra to take back the company he founded, namely Parker Industries. Peter, who naturally rebuffed Doc Ock's initial attempts to take over the company, is caught up at first in the battle against Hydra, led this time by Captain America, of all people, but when he realizes that Doc Ock is gunning for his last standing operation in Shanghai, he makes what he fears may be Parker Industries' final stand.
As a long-time reader of Spider-Man (30 years and counting), I get that "CEO Peter" is not the most relatable iteration of the character. I also get that Spider-Man is at his best when he's being put through the wringer, as Slott is clearly doing now, and the end goal is to basically strip him of his company, which seems to have been made clear by the writing and marketing of future issues. Sure, Peter's company may have been working on things like curing disease and renewable energy, but Marvel's already got one billionaire scientist superhero, so it's high time for Spidey to get "demoted" back to lovable loser, right?
Well, I have no problem with Slott taking the character back in that general direction, or at least away from a direction that has Peter looking too much like Tony Stark lite, but I confess I'm not at all crazy about how he's going about it.
I don't have any problem believing that Doc Ock could outwit Peter; I accepted that he was able to do it in the events leading to his tenure as the "Superior" Spider-Man, but the story conceit that Doc Ock could still pull surprises on Peter regarding his own tech and his own company is just bad writing. After all, Ock basically killed Peter, for all intents and purposes. One would imagine that Peter would exert utmost care when it came to dealing with anything that Ock might have had a hand in developing, including all the Parker Industries tech, especially after finding out, over in "The Clone Conspiracy," that Otto was still alive. Otto shouldn't have been able to pull the surprises on Peter that he has pulled so far. I'll grant that maybe Slott still has some surprises up his sleeve, but the fact that Otto's gotten this far with Peter without having been shut down is either Peter being incredibly crafty or incredibly stupid. Either way, the writing just feels unnecessarily contrived to justify a four-part arc to fill up yet another trade paperback.
It's a good thing for this story, however, that Stuart Immonen and his frequent collaborators Wade Von Grawbadger and Marte Gracia are around. I am a huge Immonen fan; I have all twelve issues of Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., the first eleven issues of All-New X-Men, and even the six issues of Ultimate Fantastic Four he drew for Warren Ellis. The guy is just supremely talented, both as a storyteller and an illustrator, and the remarkable thing about his work on this book so far, six issues into his tenure, is that he seems to have gotten even better than he already is, which is really saying something. He's just drawing on a whole other level here, and I want to be around for every issue of it. Had it been Giuseppe Camuncoli or even Humberto Ramos drawing these stories I'd already be gone because of how disagreeable I find Slott's scripting. Wade von Grawbadger inks him just about better than anyone else, and Marte Gracia make his already vivid images pop even more.
Thanks for saving this book for me, Stuart, Wade and Marte.
6/10
Friday, July 21, 2017
A Book Finally Worthy of the Epithet: A Review of Astonishing X-Men #1
written by Charles Soule
penciled by Jim Cheung
inked by Mark Morales
covered by Richard Isanove and Rain Beredo
It's been a while since I've followed any of the X-Men books with any regularity, so when I picked this book off the shelves I knew very little about it, except that Charles Soule, a writer whose work I am increasingly warming up to, and Jimmy Cheung, an artist whose work I adore, were working on it. I hadn't even read any of the marketing materials, so I had next to no expectations, and I gotta say, even if I had gone there with expectations, they would have almost certainly been exceeded.
A mysterious force begins attacking psychics all around the world, claiming the lives of the weaker, isolated psychics, before it finds Psylocke, one the X-men and a particularly formidable target. The assailant attacks her just the same, prompting to reach out with her powers to whichever X-Men are close enough to help. Those who come to answer the call are Bishop, Angel, Rogue, Gambit, (Old Man) Logan, and Fantomex. They converge on the scene of the trouble, in London, not a moment too soon, as the psychic attack has caused Psylocke's powers to go wildly out of control, with a lot of destruction as a result. Can they stop the destruction and go after the real threat before it's too late?
When Charles Soule tried (unsuccessfully) to launch an Inhumans book two or three years ago with superstar artist Joe Madureira, I was almost emphatically underwhelmed by the story and left the title as soon as Madureira did.
Maybe it's because Soule has grown as a writer or maybe it's just because the X-Men are somehow more interesting than the Inhumans, but this book works a lot better than the Inhumans relaunch did. For me it was down to a number of things, like a good handle on characters, good pacing and a nice, done-in-one vibe to the issue which nonetheless kicks off something bigger. And Jim Cheung's art sings to me more than Madureira's did. As a kick-off issue that has to juggle an ensemble cast, it doesn't always hit the marks, but it does set up the action very efficiently, and offer the tiniest bit of exposition as to the characters. It's worth pointing out, though, that it won't make that much sense to anyone picking up an X-Men book for the very first time, though people who've been exposed to the characters through the movies will recognize most of the characters. As a push of the "refresh" button on the X-Men, this works for me. I still prefer Soule's more intimate work over in "Daredevil" but he's shown he's up to the challenge of relaunching an X-book.
As for Jim Cheung, well, as high as my expectations were upon learning he was drawing this book were, he's somehow managed to exceed them. The difference between this and his previous work could be down to Mark Morales' inking or Richard Isanove's brilliant colors, but Cheung absolutely shines here and sets the bar really high for Mike Deodato Jr., who's set to draw the second issue. Whether it's the action sequences (which dominate the book), or the quieter moments, Cheung really hits all the marks, and with a huge splash-page/money shot at the very end of the book he's got me absolutely hooked for the next issue.
The storytelling pace is good and the art is out of this world, though in some instances, for some reason, the dialogue doesn't work all that well for me, especially with the inter-team banter, but it's early days for this iteration of the Astonishing X-Men, and that feels like a distinctly minor quibble.
I don't know if I'll stick around for more than the first arc, but if nothing else this book is off to a solid start.
8.5/10
penciled by Jim Cheung
inked by Mark Morales
covered by Richard Isanove and Rain Beredo
It's been a while since I've followed any of the X-Men books with any regularity, so when I picked this book off the shelves I knew very little about it, except that Charles Soule, a writer whose work I am increasingly warming up to, and Jimmy Cheung, an artist whose work I adore, were working on it. I hadn't even read any of the marketing materials, so I had next to no expectations, and I gotta say, even if I had gone there with expectations, they would have almost certainly been exceeded.
A mysterious force begins attacking psychics all around the world, claiming the lives of the weaker, isolated psychics, before it finds Psylocke, one the X-men and a particularly formidable target. The assailant attacks her just the same, prompting to reach out with her powers to whichever X-Men are close enough to help. Those who come to answer the call are Bishop, Angel, Rogue, Gambit, (Old Man) Logan, and Fantomex. They converge on the scene of the trouble, in London, not a moment too soon, as the psychic attack has caused Psylocke's powers to go wildly out of control, with a lot of destruction as a result. Can they stop the destruction and go after the real threat before it's too late?
When Charles Soule tried (unsuccessfully) to launch an Inhumans book two or three years ago with superstar artist Joe Madureira, I was almost emphatically underwhelmed by the story and left the title as soon as Madureira did.
Maybe it's because Soule has grown as a writer or maybe it's just because the X-Men are somehow more interesting than the Inhumans, but this book works a lot better than the Inhumans relaunch did. For me it was down to a number of things, like a good handle on characters, good pacing and a nice, done-in-one vibe to the issue which nonetheless kicks off something bigger. And Jim Cheung's art sings to me more than Madureira's did. As a kick-off issue that has to juggle an ensemble cast, it doesn't always hit the marks, but it does set up the action very efficiently, and offer the tiniest bit of exposition as to the characters. It's worth pointing out, though, that it won't make that much sense to anyone picking up an X-Men book for the very first time, though people who've been exposed to the characters through the movies will recognize most of the characters. As a push of the "refresh" button on the X-Men, this works for me. I still prefer Soule's more intimate work over in "Daredevil" but he's shown he's up to the challenge of relaunching an X-book.
As for Jim Cheung, well, as high as my expectations were upon learning he was drawing this book were, he's somehow managed to exceed them. The difference between this and his previous work could be down to Mark Morales' inking or Richard Isanove's brilliant colors, but Cheung absolutely shines here and sets the bar really high for Mike Deodato Jr., who's set to draw the second issue. Whether it's the action sequences (which dominate the book), or the quieter moments, Cheung really hits all the marks, and with a huge splash-page/money shot at the very end of the book he's got me absolutely hooked for the next issue.
The storytelling pace is good and the art is out of this world, though in some instances, for some reason, the dialogue doesn't work all that well for me, especially with the inter-team banter, but it's early days for this iteration of the Astonishing X-Men, and that feels like a distinctly minor quibble.
I don't know if I'll stick around for more than the first arc, but if nothing else this book is off to a solid start.
8.5/10
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