Part 2 of 2:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #661: For the first time since the launch of BIG TIME in November, Dan Slott was in no way involved in writing this issue. He has been credited as the sole writer for the series since that time and is the overall architect, but Fred Van Lente has been co-writing some issues. However, in order to give Slott some breathing room for "SPIDER-ISLAND", the big Spider-event for the summer, his old collaborator on MIGHTY AVENGERS and AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE, Christos Gage, takes over writing two issues. He doesn't come alone, and brings his AVENGERS ACADEMY cast with him. In terms of marketing, this is a good move; ASM consistently sells in the Top 10-15, or at least double what ACADEMY sells. Exposing more readers to them can't be a bad thing. Furthermore, since Spider-Man was the ORIGINAL teenage super hero in Marvel, he makes perfect sense to be a guest instructor for the cadets - the web-slinger makes this point himself. Fortunately, Gage is smart enough to not assume too much advance knowledge of AVENGERS ACADEMY from Spidey's readers, nor does he have his characters hog the story. The issue flows very well from the last one, with Spidey and the rest of the Future Foundation taking on a giant gorilla. When Giant-Man arrives and asks for a substitute teacher for his Academy, Spidey makes his case as a former licensed teacher. Unfortunately, these aren't his fellow classmates of Midtown High from the pre-Internet years; the Academy cadets are often overconfident and feel they know better than their mentors. Much as with AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE, Gage works well by feeding off of subplots that Slott had established in prior issues, such as the villain of this two part story (Psycho-Man, who always had a great name but a cheesy design). Part of me was a little dismayed that Spidey was in over his head as a teacher (although he likely hadn't done the job in at least a year and was probably rusty), but with Psycho-Man having been in the background, it made sense that Peter was off his game a bit - he IS the villain that turned Sue into "Malice" after all. The artwork by Reilly Brown is incredibly strong, especially when flanked by Victor Olazaba on inks and John Rauch on colors. The interaction between Spider-Man and Gage's cadets is loose and natural, and while the appearance of a super-villain is obligatory, it is also essential to showcase that while these kids may be more street smart than Peter was at their age, he still has a lot he can teach them (and they a lot to learn).
The only thing holding this issue back is the back up strip by Paul Benjamin and Javier Pulido which isn't bad but ultimately pointless. It covers a "day in the life" of Peter Parker, which naturally includes a "To Do" list and some villain battles. The artwork is nice, although Pulido is naturally in the same class as Marcos Martin and Steve Ditko in his work. The "Infested" subplot takes a break, and for a run that some feared was entering a rut, this is a solid diversion.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #38: Not a glitch or a joke! This is my first issue of AXM since Joss Whedon and John Cassaday finished their much delayed run on the title with issue #25 (or the super special, whichever you prefer). Warren Ellis has had his own lengthy and delayed run on this issue, before the start of this new era. This is the start of an arc by Christos Gage, who I naturally adore as a writer for his work on AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE, AVENGERS ACADEMY, and MIGHTY AVENGERS (among others). He will alternate with Daniel Way, who I had enough of on GHOST RIDER, writing every other issue. While I haven't paid for an X-MEN story in years (and a non-Whedon story in even longer), Gage was enough of a draw for me to dive in here. Given that ASTONISHING X-MEN has devolved into the "pointless adventure book absent from continuity with UNCANNY X-MEN or X-MEN or whatever is the flagship these days", it usually is a solid place to jump in and follow someone. I mean, I like Kieron Gillen too, at least on THOR; he isn't worth wading into the X-Men again with after all these years (or Loki).
This all said, this issue was underwhelming for me. On the bright side, I believe that Gage is such a solid story teller that even an "underwhelming" issue for him is usually no worse than average by overall comic book standards for me. Unfortunately, such a script really needed a dynamite artist to distract and impress for it, and Juan Bobillo isn't that for me. He isn't a bad artist, and I'd prefer him to Chris Bachelo, but this story needed an artist of a little higher caliber. A comic can read better than it should if it has a great script and an average artist, or an average script and a great artist, and ideally should have a great script and a great artist. But the other end of that extreme doesn't elevate this for me. Bobillo draws women fine, and handles the aliens like Lockheed and the Brood fine; however, he makes Beast look like some cross between a troll and a Klingon, and his Colossus isn't very inspiring. The colors by Chris Sotomayor and inks by Marcelo Sosa are good, and again, I don't think the art is BAD. It just isn't something that dazzles me, which I could say for the whole issue.
As mentioned, this is another X-Men vs. Brood story. The angle this time is it naturally involves Beast's girlfriend Brand from S.W.O.R.D., an agency that deals with aliens. An experiment to try to figure out how to remove a Brood larve from it's host has gone wrong, and now Brood are occupying the station. Faster than you can say "ALIEN", a squad of X-Men tag along with Beast to sort things out on a rescue mission. The cast on the cover are the cast you get; Brand, Beast, Colossus, Shadowcat (still in her "I'm trapped in ghost form" suit), Lockheed, and Storm. Also, it seems Lockheed can now talk in some odd alien language that those close to him can figure out, Chewbacca and RD-D2 style. I assume this is a hold over from the S.W.O.R.D. series, but I could be wrong. He COULD talk in the old days, but it was very rare. At any rate, I didn't mind it and a scene where he and Kitty finally make peace after parting on bad terms is actually pretty sweet. The characters all interact well with each other as old allies, which makes sense. Brand, actually, doesn't appear much aside for the opening and end pages, but that likely will change in the next issue (and if you can't tell what has happened to her in a Brood story, you haven't been reading X-Men long).
Probably the most awkward bit, which likely is more to do with editorial than Gage specifically, is Beast grousing about not being able to enlist his Secret Avengers allies to help because they're "supposed to be covert". The problem is they're only more "covert" than standard Avengers teams. Steve Rogers, who is very recognizable and well known, is willing to jump through ROXXON windows without a mask or even gloves that cover his fingertips. The team are willing to beam down to Hong Kong in broad daylight to counter a terrorist strike. Thus, I really don't see the problem with intervening with a crisis with aliens in space, considering they recently went to Mars of all places, considering War Machine's armor can likely breach orbit, and Valkyrie doesn't need to breath in space. Plus, S.W.O.R.D. is itself a secret organization mostly unknown to the public. Again, these clashes between the covert premise and the execution of the Secret Avengers are more Brubaker's fault than Gage's, but it still is an awkward line. He might have been better off claiming they were "too busy" at this juncture. The rest of the story is average and about what you'd expect. The X-Men go in, smash some aliens, things go predictably wrong in the cliffhanger, cue TO BE CONTINUED. I'd wanted to give Gage a full investment here, but $3.99 books really can't afford to be average, so I'll be iffy on trying part two. Hopefully, it falls on a slow week.
HERC #3: This is FEAR ITSELF issue, by which some villains that escaped the Raft explosion in FEAR ITSELF #2 wind up here. Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente continue with their relaunch of Hercules' ongoing title with a new direction for the character. No longer mentoring Amadeus Cho and lacking his godly powers, Hercules has remained a super hero due to his eons of battle experience as well as enchanted weaponry. After defending the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn from the Hobgoblin last issue, Herc has become a local celebrity in his local Greek immigrant neighborhood. While he still seeks to destroy the Warhawk gang, his co-worker and lover Rhea convinces him to embrace his local fame to become a "man of the people" around their block - at least to support the ATHENA restaurant where he works. What follows is a hilarious one page sequence before some escaped super-villains go on a bank robbery (standard villain procedure) and Herc is convinced to intervene - complete with a new costume made by his fans. Hercules has sported new costumes before, besides his Greek duds designs by Jack Kirby, but this may be one of his better redesigns. The climax brings about a massive siege between Herc, the villains, the Warhawks (led by Kyknos, son of Ares) and a new goddess who changes the playing field dramatically. Neil Edwards and Scott Hanna do the artwork (with colors by Jesus Aburtov), and while it is great for the action sequences, Edwards struggles with some of the physical comedy elements. An unexpected highlight is that Pak and Van Lente don't treat all of the escaped villains as expendable action fodder - the Man-Bull (a discarded Daredevil villain) probably gets more to do here than he has in years, if not over a decade.
The trade collection of CHAOS WAR was one of Marvel's top ten selling trades in April, and that may have helped HERC #1 sell better than any Hercules comic has since at least 2009, which is a considerable feat. While many relaunches are done just to spike sales for one or two issues, Pak and Van Lente have used the opportunity to make a legitimate change with their title character and to a degree their direction, and that gamble is paying off. While Edwards appears to possibly be struggling with the schedule (this should have double-shipped in April, not May), it remains another worthy installment in the mighty INCREDIBLE HERCULES opus that these writers have produced since 2007. Like with AVENGERS ACADEMY, this is one well criticized but small book that Marvel has shown some editorial support of, which is a promising sign.
HEROES FOR HIRE #7: Much like HERC and other titles this month, HEROES FOR HIRE is double-shipping; a lark Marvel seem to be keen on lately. Perhaps to make up for many of their $2.99 priced books only having 20 pages without any announcement, unlike when DC did so? At any rate, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning start the second arc on their high quality but poor selling relaunch of this series, which unlike AVENGERS ACADEMY or HERC doesn't quite have a stable audience yet. Perhaps as a sign of that uncertainty, Spider-Man has guest starred in two issues in a row, with a third on the way. It is somewhat refreshing to see Spider-Man, and not Deadpool, Wolverine, or Ghost Rider, as the guest character flung at struggling series. The Punisher did show up for two issues, in what was a cameo performance. In this second arc, Misty Knight and Paladin are trying to make a genuine go of their new "heroes for hire" set up, now that the Puppet Master has no longer been pulling the strings from afar. The problem is that no other heroes will join them, which means when Spider-Man happens along, Misty is overjoyed to include him. Paladin, as a professional mercenary who has developed very unprofessional feelings for Misty, sees him as irritating competition. Unfortunately, all of the underworld scourges that Misty and Paladin thought they'd uprooted during the Puppet Master era are still plaguing the streets with a vengeance, and Capt. America's old sparring partner Batroc shows that he's more than an accent and funny outfit. Tim Seeley (HACK/SLASH, ANT-MAN & WASP) fills in for art here for Brad Walker, with Jay David Ramos on colors, which works out well for both the action and comedy of this issue. Paladin comes close to breaking the fourth wall about what kind of ranked hero he is (as well as alluding to characters set to star in future issues, if the solicitations are accurate). While the lack of recognizable characters may be what is hurting this book in terms of sales, it is an enjoyable romp for a pair of writers best known for space operas that plays well with the leftovers of SHADOWLAND.
THUNDERBOLTS #157: Maybe it is the shadow of FEAR ITSELF about to yank away some of Jeff Parker's cast here, or maybe it is long term story tic that refuses to improve itself, that made this issue seem a bit mundane despite itself. It takes place before FEAR ITSELF #2, but since that took place already, we can predict what is about to happen for some characters. The artwork is by Frank Walker and Declan Shalvey, with two inkers in tow and three colorists - clearly, a deadline to be met.
Parker's strength as a writer is in his character interaction - he relies on it so much that it is practically the only reason to keep coming back to his stories. While he does subplots and character arcs, these rarely involve a reoccurring threat or villain figure. He simply writes teams of characters who fight random oddness in strange locations. This was charming for the AGENTS OF ATLAS for years, although it did have moments where it wore out some welcome. This is the same for his run on THUNDERBOLTS, only here he has certain things he didn't have to worry about in ATLAS. His cast isn't stable here, and this is more firmly attached to the Marvel Universe. Rick Remender in VENOM is having Flash Thompson do similar missions yet still has a reoccurring villain as well as a secondary villain show up. Ed Brubaker in SECRET AVENGERS had a defined cast of villains causing all the problems (to a fault). This series is the opposite of SECRET AVENGERS, where the physical threats are all short term and random. In fact the only time it wasn't was for SHADOWLAND, and that was only because they fought some ninja. The lack of a central villain makes issues like these, where there are too many characters and too much going on to focus on, seem blander than it should.
The "alpha" squad of Thunderbolts (Luke Cage, Moonstone, Ghost, Man-Thing, and Satana) are fighting some sort of floating demonic Nazi castle, but to be honest I totally forgot about it and needed to read the recap page to remember. Even after, all it provides is some strange designs to be punched for a few panels. Maybe the demonic Nazi "captain" of the castle will be a reoccurring villain, and maybe he won't. The "real" story is in warden Walker as well as Fixer, Songbird, and Mach-V assembling a "beta" team of Thunderbolts - which they'll need sooner rather than later. As could be predicted last issue, Mr. Hyde was slipped "controlling nannites" in his serum, so Zabo is thus kept in control. The rest of the beta-team include Gunna/Troll, Shocker, Boomerang, and Centurius. They're immediately deployed to help deal with some zombies in Iraq. The issue ends on a cliffhanger, with one of the "beta" team seemingly to die.
Parker seems to have taken Mr. Hyde literally, as his new costume looks very much like the Victorian garb he wore in LEAGUE OF EXTRA-ORDINARY GENTLEMEN. I have to admit it isn't such a bad design, complete with walking cane. It simply feels too on the nose, like Grant Morrison's justification of making Beast feline as, "all Beast versions in Disney and stories are lion men". I like the inclusion of Gunna's axe (apparently all Asgardians have magical weapons), and Shocker's T-Bolt costume isn't bad - he's the beta team member I am most interested in. There is one decent bit where the "alpha" team are forced to face their own fears by a spider-demon, but it plays out like about every "face your fears" sequence in fictional history. Everyone blubbers about it until someone does or says the Maguffin word that ends it. This is used to justify Juggernaut being left behind on the Raft, so he can become Worthy in FEAR ITSELF #2, and it usually feels rushed. I hate to imagine how awkward Man-Thing's departure may be. Considering that Parker was making a go at reforming Juggernaut, it is a shame to see it all become moot like that.
Anyway. The characters remain strong, but this book needs a reoccurring villain in the worst possible way, and has for quite a while now. Without one, extra busy issues like this can sometimes feel more mundane than they should. Perhaps there was some rush to make the new 20 page format, combined with double-ship months, but I've read better issues of this.
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