Be Thankful for the Pre-Thanksgiving BOUGHT/THOUGHT! 11/21/12

[JewishHobbit]

First off... Happy Early Thanksgiving to all my Hype peeps. As funny as it sounds, I'm very thankful for each and every one of you. Without the hype I'd have no one to talk to who didn't know that Nick Fury is white or that Harry Osborn has never been the Hobgoblin. It's good to have comic book friends, even if I'll never meet any of you

Now, on to the week's supply of comics. I'll start by saying I skimmed the ever secretive (and recently spoiled) Amazing Spider-Man 698 and I don't see the big deal. I saw the ending and shrugged. It certainly isn't the first time I've seen that twist. Oh well. I hope all the Spidey readers out there enjoy it.

As for what I did buy, I got what was expected. I passed on Batwoman and Nightwing, officially dropping the two of them. And I picked up Indestructible Hulk on a whim, though I told myself I wouldn't.


Indestructible Hulk #1 - I wasn't going to buy this. I'm trying to DROP books, not add them, but there was just something about this comic and there always has been since it was announced. I love the creative team and I knew that if I skimmed the book, I'd buy it. So why did I pick the thing up?! So yeah, bought it.

I ended up enjoying the issue enough to likely pick up the next. I'm not saying that this is an ongoing buy yet but it's on my trial list. I enjoyed he art and the story. Waid is a fantastic writer and Lu has always been a favorite of mine. I like the new status quo that Waid sets up here and I like Maria Hill as a cast member (hopefully that lasts). I'm curious were the story is heading so I'm on board for now.

Daredevil 20 - The other Waid book this week was fantastic as usual. It's his work on this title that ultimately got me to buy Hulk. I like this current storyline and love the Spot. Not a big fan of the new look and this issue brings enough questions regarding that that I have no idea what to expect from the concluding issue. The art is great, storytelling fantastic, characters wonderful... just all around great issue.

I just hate that I dropped the book for so long. I feel like I'm new again witout knowing what's come before. But I'll tell you one thing... it's great to be back in Daredevil's world.

Wolverine & the X-Men 21- Man, two issues in a row that bored me. I really didn't care for last issue because I just don't really care about Angel. This one didn't have Angel... I just didn't care for it. I was bored all the way throughout and find myself not interested in the next issue in the slightest. What is going on? Hopefully it's just a lull in Aaron's run and not a sign that he peaked on the title pre-AvX.

Art was good though, as you can always predict from Bradshaw. There's that at least.

Uncanny X-Force 33 - I'm going to make an anouncement that is difficult for me... I'm thoroughly bored with this book. It was my top book through the Dark Angel Saga and I've clung to that all this time, but I've just realized that I've only enjoyed maybe 2 issues since then. This was the concluding chapter of Final Execution I believe (or at least it read like it, and next issue is the last one) and I just didn't like this story at all. There were too many villains, most with no real build up or reason to be there. The story with Evan didn't live up to any expectation I had. The Logan/Daken story here was supposed to be the heart-felt close of this saga but without any build up before it began and I found it to be cold and boring. Logan kills his own son and I shrug. I mean, he killed the rest of his kids a year or two ago so his felt tame.

Ultimately, when I think of his title, I'll think of the first half of it as one of the best runs I've ever read. I'll remember the second half with a shrug, and that's a shame. Personally, I think Rememder just overstayed his welcome. That, of course, is simply my opinion.

Justice League 13 - This was a decent issue. While nothing overly memorable I at least enjoyed the experience of it. Cheetah is established. Wonder Woman and Superman's relationship expands and Batman's apparently spying on them.

This is all building toward the Trinity War apparently, like the fact that Cheetah is apparently working with someone and planned to be captured and is now waiting for Black Manta.

I guess we'll see how it plays out.


Best and Worst of the Week

Best: Daredevil - Man I missed this character. Love it!

Worst: Wolverine & the X-Men - This is the first time this issue's ever been here (I think), unless it was here last issue. I don't remember. Hopefully the series picks back up. It was my favorite for months.

 

[CConn]

Captain America #1 was pretty awesome. I don't necessarily think what happened in the issue was the best thing I ever read or anything, but the status quo that Remender created in the opening of the book, as well as the many seeds he's planted for future issues and storylines really - with all due respect to Brubaker - really makes you not miss his series all that much. It's a definitely new direction, but one that - while totally different, and much more weird than the last series - is a good one, that seems to promise a fun mixture of fantasy situations, with very real emotion and mature character progression. I'm still not a fan of JRJR, but Dean White's colors definitely makes his art more bearable for me.

 

[Donnie Darko]

Haven't been to the store yet. This week, my store is doing Captain America, Hulk, and Journey Into Mystery all for $3.99. They did All New, Legacy, Fantastic Four, Thor, and Assemble all for $10 last week. They sucked me in with that one. Speaking of sucking... X-Men Legacy.

 

[CConn]

Indestructible Hulk #1 was pretty great as well. Now, I might be an utter idiot, but I actually liked the early portion of Aaron's run. Sure, it was ridiculous, but I kinda really liked the idea of Hulk and Banner split in two, of Banner going inside due to not having the Hulk, etc., etc. Waid's approach is, well, the exact opposite; it's a story of a well adjusted Banner who's come to terms with sharing the same body with the Hulk. It's that concept that kind of makes this series a really fitting follow-up to Aaron's original concept; Banner's seen what happens when he gets away from being the Hulk, now he's trying a different, better way of coping with his "disease." It's a cool concept, Waid seems pretty intent on overpowering both Banner's brain and Hulk's might to the max - which is always fun, IMO - and Yu's art is solid and, again, complimentary to Silvestri work in the previous volume.

 

[squeekness]

Uncanny X-Force 33 - I'm going to make an anouncement that is difficult for me... I'm thoroughly bored with this book. It was my top book through the Dark Angel Saga and I've clung to that all this time, but I've just realized that I've only enjoyed maybe 2 issues since then. This was the concluding chapter of Final Execution I believe (or at least it read like it, and next issue is the last one) and I just didn't like this story at all. There were too many villains, most with no real build up or reason to be there. The story with Evan didn't live up to any expectation I had. The Logan/Daken story here was supposed to be the heart-felt close of this saga but without any build up before it began and I found it to be cold and boring. Logan kills his own son and I shrug. I mean, he killed the rest of his kids a year or two ago so his felt tame.

I thought the Logan/Daken interaction here was pretty well done. But what gets me here is that I don't believe for a minute that Daken actualy died. The Heat drug didn't do it in his solo nor do I think simple drowning did here either. A nasty beat down yeah, but not a fatality. Daken will be back sooner or later. Just like Sabes and Logan always fight again eventually.

 

[CConn]

Amazing Spider-Man #698 was probably the best issue Slott's done on Spider-Man. The way he so seamlessly meshed classic Spider-Man history with the current status quo was pretty much pitch perfect, and is what I've been looking for in a Spider-Man comic for in a long, long time. As someone who honestly doesn't even read ASM regularly purely due to Ramos' art, Elson was - to repeat myself - exactly what I've been looking for on Spider-Man. The last page (or rather, multi-page) reveal was unexpected and exciting, but I really can't see Slott just costing the book to SSM #1 on a reveal that's already happened.

 

[OrangeCloud]

Haven't picked up anything yet, but glad to hear praise for Cap and Hulk.

 

[OrangeCloud]

Indestructible Hulk #1 - I thought it was superbly done. Fascinating take on Hulk compared to what has been done as of late, I think, and the art was quite well done. Consider this sucker on my pull list. Out of the NOW books that I've read, only Thor has done it better.

Captain America #1 - Admittedly I'm not the biggest fan of Cap's, so it may not hold true for the rest of you folks, but I thought everything about this new book screamed average - story and art alike. I'll give it a few more issues before fully judging it because, really, not much happened, but it did set up for quite a few potentially great stories.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Logan kills his own son and I shrug. I mean, he killed the rest of his kids a year or two ago so his felt tame.

I disagree here. What made Wolverine killing his children in Aaron's run was that it was pure shock and awe, but it had repercussions not only on Wolverine, but Daken as well since he sent his brothers and sisters to be slaughtered.

What makes Logan killing Daken in Uncanny X-Force effective is that unlike his other children, Logan recognized Daken as his son. There was no shock and awe here, it was Logan realizing that he cannot save his son. For years since his inception, Logan has been trying to save Daken, but Daken refused to be saved from the darkness. So he had no choice but to put Daken down like the dog he is.

The emotion that Aaron portrayed in his run on Wolverine was shock. This time, Remender is giving us remorse and pity for Wolverine because unlike the last time, Wolverine actually tried to save his child.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I've not read Aaron's Wolverine run. I just know he killed them, so the circumstances surounding it matters little in my mind. They're still similar.

And again, my biggest gripe with it is that Remender did no build up to this with Daken. He just shows up with this plan and ultimately dies for it. I wish he'd have led into it somehow to set the stage for this plan. Sabretooth's involvement feels even more out of left field.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I thought the Logan/Daken interaction here was pretty well done. But what gets me here is that I don't believe for a minute that Daken actualy died. The Heat drug didn't do it in his solo nor do I think simple drowning did here either. A nasty beat down yeah, but not a fatality. Daken will be back sooner or later. Just like Sabes and Logan always fight again eventually.

Actually, it's been pretty well established for quite some time that drowning can kill Wolverine. And since Daken is pretty much exactly like his father in terms of power sets, a simple drowning can most likely do the same to him as well.

 

[runawayboulder]

I've not read Aaron's Wolverine run. I just know he killed them, so the circumstances surounding it matters little in my mind. They're still similar.

And again, my biggest gripe with it is that Remender did no build up to this with Daken. He just shows up with this plan and ultimately dies for it. I wish he'd have led into it somehow to set the stage for this plan. Sabretooth's involvement feels even more out of left field.

Remender said in interviews that for Final Solution, he was using a lot of stuff Aaron had used in his stories. I understand that most readers aren't up on every interview posted across the internet but I'll give him a pass.

 

[squeekness]

Actually, it's been pretty well established for quite some time that drowning can kill Wolverine. And since Daken is pretty much exactly like his father in terms of power sets, a simple drowning can most likely do the same to him as well.

Yeh but while Daken tried to drwon wolvie in a pool, this time Wolvie drowned Daken in a puddle, not quite the same thing in my book. I would have believed it more if he had given the kid some cement shoes and sent him down deep, you know what I mean?

 

[Dread]

Having stuffed myself with turkey and spoilers, now it is time to share in the leftovers!

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 11/21/12:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #698: In a week with two excellent Marvel Comics written by Eisner award winner Mark Waid hitting comic shops, it takes quite a lot for a comic to surpass that. Yet this comic succeeds because it employs a few clever narrative tricks despite the fact that its cliffhanger has been ruined by Internet rumors for weeks. Having worked on the last few issues' scripts alongside Christos Gage to gear up for this final haul, Dan Slott is back to solo writing chores for AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and set to wrap up this volume of the web-slinger's series in style. Utilizing a trick which WATCHMEN is lauded for, the cover is actually the first panel of the issue, which sees the dying Dr. Octopus apparently mumbling what may be his last words. Yet that is hardly where this story ends, but where it begins. On hand for the artwork is Richard Elson with Antonio Fabela on colors; these are new contributors to Slott's two year run on ASM, yet their work seems to clearly fill the void in style left by the departure of Stefano Caselli.

This issue kicks off "Dying Wish", which will be the three issue arc which wraps up ASM with a 700th issue next month before the central web-slinging series returns as SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN in January 2013. Having overcome two Hobgoblins last issue, Peter Parker seems to enjoy a peaceful day in which the worst villain he has to fight is a poseur and the biggest challenge is juggling a date with MJ with a hospital visit with his aunt (who was injured a few stories back). Things get complicated when Peter gets a call from his Avengers allies, and after that things are turned on their head. What makes this issue excel this week over a double dose of Waid is that while many comics benefit from a re-read, this one benefits from such a thing immediately once the climax happens. Scenes leading up to it which seemed odd or excessive then have more nuance and make more sense. Elson and Fabela, meanwhile, produce art which draws back enough from the past to make effective use of flashbacks and classic designs (such as Peter Parker's hairstyle) while still looking sharp at modern designs.

In fact the only demerit to this issue is the very fact that aforementioned cliffhanger had been rumored online for a month or so, and in essence is an old storytelling plot. It is the execution which makes it stand out, and for a tired trope as what this issue reveals, it is handled in an effective manner. Dan Slott has teased that he will have to go into hiding once this arc is finished, which means it will either be exceptional or infamous. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN has had far too many infamous stories in recent history, so one hopes it will be at the other end of the pendulum. Considering the success Slott has had overall on this solo run, including with "epic" stories like "Spider-Island" and "Ends Of The Earth", the odds of this arc ending at the positive end of the spectrum are high. Regardless, this is a vital time to read ASM, and this issue kicks that off with quite an exclamation point.

DAREDEVIL #20: This Eisner award winning series continues to push along with producing exceptional serialized superhero comics, avoiding the fluff and fanfare of crossover events or editorial reboots like "Marvel NOW!". Writer Mark Waid, artist Chris Samnee and colorist Javier Rodriguez continue on introducing readers to Daredevil's newest arch nemesis, Coyote. Delving more into the villain than in the previous issue, the origins of the Coyote remain more of a mystery than even Daredevil thought; while the D-list Spider-Man villain known as the Spot is involved, he isn't Coyote. While the issue deliberately runs with the "villain gives a monologue about his evil scheme" trope, at the very least Daredevil is aware of it and it works to show what a sadist that Coyote is. As always, issues of this series spotlight their artist and Samnee's art is beyond exceptional and makes the script read even better than it is - which is a feat since Waid seems at his prime with this run. Daredevil has long been a hero who has desperately needed an influx of new arch enemies - especially since his two most notable ones are either dead (Bullseye) or back in their parent title (Kingpin). Furthermore, Waid manages to turn capers such as mafia murders or human trafficking which have been overdone in many TV crime shows and put a disturbing new twist on it. Reviews for this series can seem as repetitive as for other noteworthy series such as Image Comics' SAGA; that is simply because this series really is that good, and fans of quality comics are either already on board or should be. Comics such as this run of DAREDEVIL make up for many of the shallow and vapid stunts Marvel editorial performs with other series through sheer excellence. Considering how desperately Daredevil needs fresh rogues, hopefully Coyote sticks around as much as Mister Negative has from ASM.

DARK AVENGERS #183: Jeff Parker and artist Neil "I'm Not Bryan Hitch" Edwards bid a farewell to the team formerly known as Thunderbolts while gearing up for the latest roster reshuffle of the cast, which by this stage is the 3rd or 4th within the past 2.5 years or so that Parker has been on this book. I was excited about seeing the Dark Avengers and the Ex T-Bolts clash, but I must say it has been a disappointment. Long running members such as Man-Thing, Santana, Centaurius, and Cain Marko of all people are bid farewell so Parker can focus on who is left. Luke Cage is also apparently leaving, despite barely appearing in most of this run. This thing still seems to be devolving into a mess and while I am always interested in what comes next and this still remains a cheap book (as in, not $3.99 an issue), it is no longer a book I look forward to but one I get due to inertia. Yes, I care about what happens with John Walker or Troll or maybe Moonstone, but I am wondering how long I will stick with this. I keep expecting it to get canceled for low sales and Marvel to take that decision from me, but it keeps hanging in there by its fingernails. Maybe this 5th reshuffle will be the charm?

INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #1: The relaunch engine that is the "Marvel NOW!" push continues with another reboot of the Hulk's regular ongoing series. The Hulk is a franchise which has entered some meteoric highs and some embarrassing lows in recent times. Hulk's main book was selling very well during the Greg Pak led PLANET HULK/WORLD WAR HULK era as well as the Jeph Loeb launched HULK/Red Hulk era, but have since fallen to rather mediocre sales levels considering that this is a character who has appeared in three feature films within nine years. To this end writer Mark Waid is now trying his hand at the "green Goliath", which is a rare Marvel comic series he has never been involved with long; he has enjoyed quality runs on CAPTAIN AMERICA, FANTASTIC FOUR and recently, DAREDEVIL. Along for the ride is artist Leinil Yu, who has been on many titles which include WOLVERINE and NEW AVENGERS, alongside Sunny Gho on colors. The gist of the premise is that Bruce Banner considers transforming into the Hulk as a life long condition akin to cancer or diabetes, and thus he wants to manage a way to utilize it and his "Banner time" effectively, while working with SHIELD. This premise is obvious because Waid has chosen to have Banner literally sit in a cafe explaining it to readers, which is the only downside of the issue. While Yu is not at his best with long dialogue scene, he's done a lot of such on NEW AVENGERS and thankfully the second half of the issue features an impressive battle against one of Marvel's old villains. Waid has chosen to make Banner less of a maniac than some previous writers have, but still eccentric and following some cues from the Marvel Studios films. Yu's action sequences are where things really shine, and he is effective at portraying Hulk as a monstrous force of nature, and not just a green wrestler. While this issue offers no additional pages for its $3.99 cover price, Waid and Yu do offer a debut issue for a new take on an old character which does tell a complete "episode" within one issue. This is a far better relaunch issue than IRON MAN #1 two weeks ago, and encourages sticking around for at least an arc.

IRON MAN #2: Kieron Gillen continues to pen his relaunch of Iron Man's main title, and Greg Land continues to shamelessly Photoshop trace from porn, "IRON MAN" screen shots and wrestling magazines. This clash between decent script and "trace by numbers art" continues to be an odd mix for me, but I do appreciate how Gillen has made each issue part of an overall arc yet tell a complete tale in each one. Iron Man is off to re-collect the Extremis techno-organic virus, after its creator was murdered and it was sold by A.I.M. to roughly five buyers. After shaking down A.I.M. last issue, Stark heads off to some Symkarian island to match wits with some blokes who fancy themselves the modern-day Knights of The Round Table - and to them, Extremis is the Grail. They offer to give it to Iron Man should be best their new armored "knights" in combat, and one of them is someone from the old Soviet empire who has a grudge against Stark. The twist is that Iron Man's newest nemesis is a determined woman behind the armor, which is the sort of plot twist which dazzled people in the 80's at the end of the METROID game from NES, but in 2012 reads a bit flat. Naturally, Iron Man wants little to do with an armored competition and is just out to win, by any means necessary. Not a bad story, but the art doesn't help and this is hardly as good as some issues of Gillen's AVX: CONSEQUENCES or even THOR were.

MINIMUM CARNAGE: OMEGA #1: This is the final chapter of "Minimum Carnage", which has run across both VENOM and SCARLET SPIDER as well as launching from MINIMUM CARNAGE: ALPHA. It naturally pays homage to two series from the 90's; MAXIMUM CARNAGE and naturally, PLANET OF THE SYMBIOTES. Things are kept quite simple for writers Cullen Bunn, Chris Yost as well as artist Lan Medina doing most of the tale with Declan Shalvey and Khoi Pham doing epilogue material; a whopping four inkers are in tow as well. Carnage has escaped the Microverse and wound up back in Houston, Texas after the entire intergalactic gambit to have him aid in the destruction of two universes has failed. His "rebirth" in this plane results in roughly two dozen people being murdered, which leads Kaine and Venom/Flash Thompson have to apprehend him as well as prevent reporter Katy Kiernan from being added to Carnage's already triple digit body count. While Carnage reforms himself out of the blood and flesh of his victims, the heroes re-materialize at several inches tall for half the issue, although regaining their true height doesn't make the battle any easier. It is simply a fight, and a pretty crazy one with Carnage gaining additional powers and being as crazy as ever. Thompson and Kaine have a clash of morals which does seem a bit odd since it leads one to believe that Thompson is above murdering a target, which he isn't. I can't say this is of the level of quality that many of the "space events" were or of the level of "ENDS OF THE EARTH" or "OMEGA EFFECT", but it still was a wonkier adventure with these characters than I expected. That said, I am glad it is over before it wore out its welcome and can get back to normal SCARLET SPIDER issues. As for Bunn on VENOM, he continues to "do no harm", but he lacks the oomph of Rick Remender so far.

 

[Dread]

Actually, it's been pretty well established for quite some time that drowning can kill Wolverine. And since Daken is pretty much exactly like his father in terms of power sets, a simple drowning can most likely do the same to him as well.

Way back in the 80's in WOLVERINE, Tiger Shark gave Wolverine a good run for his money via that method of attack. Of course, back then Wolverine sometimes needed days or, gasp, weeks to full recover from extreme injuries, so such is life.

 

[Red]

No Captain America Dread?

 

[Dread]

No Captain America Dread?

No. It is an odd thing to explain. I never read CAPTAIN AMERICA until the Ed Brubaker run, and by the time I caught on/listened to everyone on SHH who suggested to read it, Brubaker was already over 2 years in. Thus, Brubaker = Cap to me even when in later years he started to wane. Now, ideally I do like Rick Remender; he's kicked ass for me on VENOM and SECRET AVENGERS. But I just don't care for the alter-dimensional premise he has for CA, and I can't envision the book under someone else.

I maybe could for Mark Waid, but Waid already wrote the book in the 90's and I doubt he'd do it again. INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK likely replaces it in terms of budget.

 

[runawayboulder]

I wouldn't be the least bit shocked if Waid wrote Captain America again.

 

[moraldeficiency]

Catching up a bit with a few issues...

ASM 698: Good issue, well written. Not such a shock, and not worth the uproar it's gotten. This is actually a pretty tired premise. Just a build up issue though.

Iron Man 2: Man I'm loving this series now. Tony is just so tony from the way he addresses people to him cheating. His dressing down of author about how he'll always be disappointed cause he lives in fantasy land was great. The russian lancelot woman's way of using the armor was something I've never seen addressed before. You can tell Gillen really put some thought into this with the level of research, creativity and detail. Loved it from start to finish.

JIM 645: Finally got this issue in (was sold out). God I love this book, though this issue I hated/loved so much. Knew the ending would be something like that, but it still broke my widdle heart. Can't wait for more of loki and his plots. I love how gillen really gave us a complete story here. Every issue, every single issue built the plot and contributed. I have never read a comic where a writer manged to do this so well and JIM, I'm going to miss you (I have no desire to check out SIF, though maybe that will change). My favorite part of this had to be loki and thor's talk, but everything was beautifully done.