Belated Bought/Thought, August 26th 2009

[JewishHobbit]

Yeah, I'm reading those same books, JH; just haven't started the second part or the newer minis.

They're just as good a the first mini

I was loving The Twelve even more; but, I guess the word is it might never be finished, since Michael Straczynski is so peeved at Marvel.

Just one more thing that OMD ruined

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Let's be honest, here; the Twelve was probably never gonna get finished anyway. It was already way behind by the time OMD hit.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Yeah, but I like pinning as much on OMD as possible. It makes me feel better

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Fair deuce.

 

[Dread]

I'm odd man out this week. I went into reading Nova expecting brilliance, and I felt like I read a poor man's Green Lantern Corps. That isn't to say that the writing was bad; it's just I don't care one bit for any of these new Nova Corps members. I'm sure my reading is biased towards those two factors (all the hype and my dislike for this Nova Corps storyline), but I really enjoyed the first bunch of issues of the Nova series, and not so much this new Corps direction.

Finally, Fantastic Four #570. Another new direction for Marvel's first super team (doesn't it seem like this title is always going in a new direction, desperately trying to find a writer that will bring it back to greatness?), and I'm somewhat interested in what I read. (I don't like the depiction of Reed, though...seems too muscular, looking more like Cable than Reed Richards.) It's neat that this story picks up from previous stories; but, I'm seriously feeling as if F4 will never be near the top of my reading list. I don't know how to put what I feel about it in words....maybe that I feel it's all been kind of a downer. For me, the greatest F4 stories were in the 80's. I think there is one writer who come bring this comic back to that greatness, and that's Slott.

To be honest, the NOVA franchise has almost always been a bit of a rip on the Green Lantern stuff. It was in 1976 when it launched and it still is now. More so than QUASAR, whose "quantum bands" are akin to a ring. My philosophy is that if you are going to rip something off, go all the way and find at least some angle to work with. The Nova Corps at Marvel have two things going for them; the universe is in chaos, and their authority is not universally accepted. They're seen as independent peace-keepers akin to maybe a space NATO; someone you may want to see in a crisis but not everyone respects or feels is needed. It was only until recently when they became "space cops"; when Xanadar was still viable they simply served as Xanadar's army.

Dan Slott would probably rock on Fantastic Four, but that title usually sells about 20k worse than MIGHTY AVENGERS does; it would be demotion for him. Especially since ASM runs likely take a lot of his time, hence more collaborations with Christos Gage (which to be fair always produces good work). The Fantastic Four do seem like a franchise in flux, but that is because they are. They've been around so long that drastically changing them won't work; on the other hand, they've been around so long that much of the line ignores them, and they don't matter as much as Spider-Man, X-Men, the Avengers, or even the Hood right now. It has to take more than a great writer to make it work, it also has to take heavy promotion and both retailers and readers willing to buy into that hype like they did for NEW AVENGERS in 2004. That isn't always guaranteed. I mean, Marvel genuinely promoted AGENTS OF ATLAS well, and readers didn't bite. The Four, honestly, suffer the same problem as Superman or even Spider-Man at times. They were innovative for their time, but over the years every franchise and their mother took some element from them and tweaked it, and now it's old school. It's like the inventor of cassette tapes being viable in the era of digital downloads onto iPods. It would take more than a slap of paint or the illusion of change (oooh, look, Storm and Black Panther have joined!). It would take a long term plan, top to bottom renovation, NEW AVENGERS style promotion, a writer with SOME rep, and a perfect storm of retailers & readers buying into it. Especially considering the Fox films hardly helped.

The Four were around years before the Avengers or the X-Men; they even have a year or so on Spider-Man. They should somehow remain essential. Maybe it means seriously dealing with the consequences of Franklin being a mutant and how the world relates to that; simply ignoring it robs of drama. Who knows. If anything, if Doctor Doom is planned to be the one to end Dark Reign, it would at least help boost the Four if he became the big bad of 2010 or 2011.

Let's be honest, here; the Twelve was probably never gonna get finished anyway. It was already way behind by the time OMD hit.

Inked artwork for issue #9 was shown online a month or two ago, so I figure issue #9 will ship before the end of the year. After that, who knows. Marvel of course could just finish it with whatever notes JMS left, but that would require the sort of editorial cajones they haven't had for about four years of YOUNG AVENGERS, so I doubt it.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Ok, I got off my Marvel books, and decided to read something else, while enjoying watch the Seahawks defeat the Chiefs tonight.

Frank Frazetta's one-shots haven't been particularily memorable. The cover art is great, then the story is usually just ok. With the latest, Sorcerer, it's a bit better than most. In fact, Death Dealer makes a one page appearance in this...but, the focus is mainly on a Sorcerer, who makes a deal with a demon. It's really all biding time for the next Death Dealer comic, which seems to be taking forever to come out.

28 Days Later is an off-shoot of the movie, seeing a group of American military trying to get into London to see the results of the contamination. They recruit a woman, one of the "Manchester Three," who somehow survived the zombie invasion. (That story to, no doubt, come in a future issue.) Of course, you can pretty much figure out what happens next...The Americans are gung-ho and singing their praise, while the woman is the one with the real smarts, needing to save those with supposed superior force. Sure, it's not anything new; we've seen it all before. But, I liked both 28 Days movies, and I've seen much worse in zombie comics.

Herogasm #4 continues this Boys off-shoot, and could easily be a normal Boys storyline. This issue focuses on the back story of the Vice President, the events of 9-11, and how Vought-American is controlling the government. If you like The Boys, you'll like Herogasm...if not, it's best to skip it. (Plus, if you haven't been following The Boys, you'll be confused about many of the references, especially when it comes to Vought-American.) This issue is really dialogue heavy, giving us mainly background.

Boom has really taken up the role of providing us with kid's comics, and their latest, Monsters, Inc. #1, is about what I've seen from their other Pixar productions. They aren't that funny for adults or kids (I read this one outloud to my daughter, and she didn't chuckle once). The only series of books I'd recommend in their kid line is Muppet Show. Those always make me laugh, especially if you were a big fan of the old Muppet Show or the movies. (I'm even loving the Muppet's take of classic literature, like Robin Hood.)

Finally, one of my favorite miniseries out right now, I Am Legion #5 by DDP. I only picked up issue #1 because I loved the cover, and am glad I did. This is a great, old school kind of story set in the early 40's, with the Nazi's trying to gain an edge in the war by studying mystical forces. In this, it's a type of vampire who can control the thoughts and bodies of other humans and animals. Most eerie of all is the little girl, who is the main focus of these studies. This comic is filled with characters; so, you really have to pay attention to each page. I find myself almost needing to reread the previous four issues to remember who is who. If you guys have a chance, see it in a bargain bin, or anything like that, I highly recommend checking it out.