Spoiler review time!
DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 7/27/11:
INVINCIBLE #81: After so much time spent in space (about eight issues), Mark Grayson/Invincible is continuing to adjust to life back on earth. This hasn't been easy; his mother has decided to go into space with his father Nolan, a former despot, and his long time girlfriend Atom Eve has endured (and unleashed) no end of drama. Mark's attempt to save Las Vegas from new enemy Dinosaurus went spectacularly wrong, and this causes another of his enemies - the vengeance minded PowerPlex - to come after him again. The focus of these past two issues, but especially this one, is for Mark to re-examine his crusade as a super hero and perhaps see what is and isn't working, and how much of a difference he does make. While he tries to save people, and has, civilians have still died in his battles, and his failures also are costly. The bank robber with his own home-made tech that Invincible talked down last issue brings a new subplot in for this issue, and Mark seems to be shifting into a more pragmatic individual. Series creator and writer Robert Kirkman has seemed to address the lack of major enemies for Invincible, and has thus sought to amplify Dinosaurus and PowerPlex in these regards. Both have sympathetic angles, but can also be dangerous threats. One may expect Galaxia - the last new villain Kirkman introduced before THE VILTRUMITE WAR - to return in due time. The dilemma of the schedule means that this story hints at the finale of GUARDING THE GLOBE, which is at least 2-4 months behind schedule. While this series can offer epic battles and even high octane gore, it is these smaller, quieter issues that often showcase the strength of the franchise.
Longtime artist Ryan Ottley continues to knock things out of the park on art. The only hiccup are the colors by Nikos Koutsis and Mike Toris - their style takes getting used to, and their angle of making people's skin purple in low light is awkward. While this may not quite be the highlight of the series thus far, it is still a franchise that does bold things and make the reader feel that past events always have consequences and that the central characters all grow and change - and not always in expected ways. Given that Image Comics always finds new ways to repackage old material into larger and larger phone book sized trades, now is as good a time as any to catch up.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #666: After months of "Infested: The Road To Spider-Island" prelude material, mostly being a few two page sequences here and there, Dan Slott finally starts off on the biggest storyline that this series has had since he took over for it as the solo narrative drive in November: SPIDER-ISLAND. While Slott's run has seen him have some co-writers on a fairly consistent basis - often Fred Van Lente and Christos Gage, who even filled in for two issues - he is still the top script-slinger of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN right now, and has apparently been preparing for this stretch for some time. Stefano Caselli is the artist of this issue, and Humberto Ramos will soon be stepping up to the plate in an issue or two. The duo have remained in their roles of the title's top two circulating artists - the riddle is finding a third, as Marcos Martin vacated that role for DAREDEVIL very soon into BIG TIME's run. While this issue flows organically from the previous issue, it isn't essential reading. In fact, this issue goes through great pains to summarize several months of subplot from previous issues as well as from the Free Comic Book Day Special via narration boxes and editor's notes - all in service to extra readers coming in for the hype. Whether this will occur is unknown, but AMAZING SPIDER-MAN has been able to boost sales several thousand copies through promoting a particular story arc, and SPIDER-ISLAND has been promoted to the hilt. Perhaps it is an unfortunate detail that after months of covers that promised preludes to this story, this issue is also a prelude, or at least a prologue.
The gist is that while it may seem that Peter Parker/Spider-Man has his life in order, the consequences of hitting the "big time" is that when things go wrong, they go wrong on a massive scale. Spidey is on two Avengers teams and the FF, he gets to work as a hotshot inventor for Horizon Labs and still swing as a solo hero. He has a steady (even if often stale) girlfriend in Carlie Cooper and even his aunt May has settled and is planning on moving on to Boston with her new beau. While Spidey never has a moment to rest, he is managing to juggle it all well, and it feeling a sense of accomplishment that he's stopped "stumbling" into being a hero. Unfortunately, his old enemy the Jackal has returned with a new evil scheme - he has unleashed a horde of bed-bugs upon NYC that bestow Spider-Man like abilities to anyone they bite. Thus, the gimmick of SPIDER-ISLAND is that more characters will be gaining spider-powers due to this; from average citizens to named supporting cast members to even other Marvel heroes like Shang Chi and the formerly powerless Spider-Girl. While Spider-Man has lost his "spider-sense", Shang Chi and the new Madam Web (Julia Carpenter) have sought to train Spidey in martial arts to compensate, hinting that he'll need it in the coming conflict. As Carpenter can see into the future, she speaks in terms that will seem common to readers - hinting at the future while telling the hero nothing constructive, definite, or useful - like every precognitive seer in known fiction. At the very least, Spidey himself mocks this trope.
The return of the Jackal is one of few reappearances that marks special attention. A villain created in the 70's, he has been linked to the Spider-Man Clone Saga ever since then. He was at the center of the massive revival and explosion of said storyline in the 90's, and hasn't been seen sense. The story was so loathed by the end that for years, Marvel has sought to wash it's hand of it - not even mentioning details or characters from it. That stance has eased a bit since 2008, and Marvel has sought to goad fans of the original clone - Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider - for about two years (and even as recently as this weekend). Marvel brass seem to love the idea that a story and character that were universally hated barely a dozen years ago now have entire online communities of ravenous fans begging for a come back. What this does for the Jackal is that it makes his return an event precisely because he hasn't been overused to oblivion in about a decade's time - perhaps Marvel could learn this lesson with other villains? There is something to be said for a villain who comes around once a decade, but it is always something big - versus a villain who shows up a dozen times a year until fans are sick of him (Norman Osborn, Hood, Magneto, Bullseye, Red Skull, etc.). So not only has Jackal made sure to empower more Manhattanites for some dark purpose, but he has one of his original clones, Kaine, working for him as a tarantula-like monster, and is actively recruiting some of the recently empowered. He is working for a mysterious woman, and the final pages portray a previously "perfect clone" being further enhanced and transformed. The story also covers other supporting characters like Betty Brant, Carlie Cooper, Flash Thompson/Venom, (more on him later), J. Jonah Jameson, and even Phil Urich (the new Hobgoblin). Nothing is wasted and it all is woven together into a fine tapestry, or web if you will.
Fortunately, Slott is a master at shifting tone. While this issue has plenty of suspenseful and dramatic moments in service to the larger arc, there is a lot of humor to be had. From fun references to "SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS" to super hero poker games, the issue does not treat it's "epic" tale with so much seriousness that it becomes a parody of itself - unlike FEAR ITSELF. Slott even is willing to poke some fun at Jackal and his clone fetish while portraying him as his major villain, for example. Urich's subplot with Norah Winters continues to evolve, and he is quite an engaging figure as a youthful Hobgoblin who is a darker mirror of who Peter used to be as a freelance photographer. In fact the only hiccups may come only to fans who know too many details. Jackal claims that Kaine was his third clone of Peter Parker, which is false - that would be Spidercide, who is presumed dead (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spidercide_(comics)). Still, who IS that "perfect" clone? Is it Reilly reborn? Or some previously unseen clone? While it is likely the latter, Marvel will tease the former to the hilt.
Handling the entire 30 page story, Caselli's art is on top form, matched perfectly with Marte Gracia's colors. Caselli has done some great work for AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE as well as SECRET WARRIORS, but is doing some great things on his regular ASM tours of duty. This issue is no exception, and while Ramos' pencils have gotten stronger lately, Caselli always seems to hit a home run here.
This debut issue to SPIDER-ISLAND goes as well as anyone could have hoped. It refreshes the subplots for both long term and new term readers, has drama, horror, as well as humor and heart, utilizes Spidey's cast and connections effectively and gets the reader pumped for the next issue in about two weeks. While FEAR ITSELF is chugging onward as a very loud dud of a story, SPIDER-ISLAND has so far risen to the occasion and the spotlight. This could very well be the tale of Slott's career, and as of the starting gun, he's off and running.
FF #7: This is my dud of the week, for a second straight issue. The best thing about it is the cover by Mark Bagley, whose artwork I'd love to see on FANTASTIC FOUR again. Jonathan Hickman has decided to take a two issue detour to set up the return of the original Inhumans from space and explain how Black Bolt came back from the dead in WAR OF KINGS. That might be tolerable if it required 40 pages of exposition to explain, but it doesn't. The last issue went on and on with techno-babble from the Supreme Intelligence that basically said that Boltagon is the Chosen One so he can't die. And in this issue? Apparently, Black Bolt fell through "the Fault" after his fight with Vulcan, fought some tentacle monsters for a few pages, until Lockjaw decided to pick him up. Didn't the Inhumans search the Fault during REALM OF KINGS and were unable to find a body? Or did they just not squint enough? How could Black Bolt still be in The Fault after all this time after the Cancerverse was destroyed by Thanos?
So, Black Bolt comes back, his supporting cast gasp, the Inhumans decide to be ***** to the Kree and leave Ronan in charge as regent while they return to earth for the big Inhuman gathering. Because Boltagon is THE CHOSEN ONE, he gets to have five wives, and Medusa doesn't seem to mind. I guess when you marry your cousin, you're glad to finally be able to mix up the gene pool a tad. At the very least, Hickman continues the tradition of the Inhumans acting like total ***** to everyone who isn't one of them, and then whining about how they're misunderstood. Isn't that why the X-Men haven't scored mutant rights yet?
My issue isn't that Hickman took the time to go into exposition about how and why Bolt is back. After WAR OF KINGS, that was needed. At the very least, he displays enough knowledge of WAR OF KINGS continuity to make me believe he at least skimmed its Wikipedia page, which is more than Bendis has ever done. My issue is that he's spent two entire issues on this when it easily could be been done in, at most, about half an issue. Even one issue would have stretched it - two is something Matt Fraction would do. Greg Tocchini continues his fill in run on art, and while he isn't bad, he's no Steve Epting or Barry Kitson. Paul Mounts does colors, but in the end the art isn't the problem. The problem is Hickman bringing his story to a screeching halt for two entire issues of material to set up stuff that back in the 80's might have been done by Steve Gerber in about 4 pages. And this doesn't even get into the idea of this being the second issue of FF without the FF actually in it. In real business, selling something claiming one thing and in fact producing another is fraud, and it ends in a fine or prison. In comics, it's just a Wednesday. Isn't it great that the rules of business don't apply to the comic book industry?
I imagine issue eight will try to get back to the big War story in progress, only after two issues I have forgotten virtually everything about it. Hickman often has his eye on the long game to the point that he abandons character stuff to weave in his emotionally detached plot, but it has not gotten to the point where it is starting to irritate me. I've hung on for his entire run; in fact, I've now read the Four through four creator runs (JMS, McDuffie, Millar, and Hickman). Right now Hickman's style reminds me of some spoof super-sight character who can see perfectly items from 100 miles away, but is blind for anything closer. At any rate, I've been more than fair with FF, and since I am aboard DAREDEVIL now, maybe it it time to cut something that isn't $3.99 for a change. This book is on notice.
SECRET AVENGERS #15: This issue completes the run of MORNING GLORIES’ writer/creator Nick Spencer on this title that Ed Brubaker left (or abandoned), which stands at four issues (three regular, one “0.1” issue). Up next, Warren Ellis for six issues, but nothing more for the moment. If any Avengers title looks to exist solely to sell extra Avengers comics, at $3.99 no less, it is currently SECRET AVENGERS. Initially launched under the perfectly sound premise of, “Ed Brubaker sells comics, let’s give him an Avengers title”, it now stands as the third (of four) Avengers titles. It is still a Top 20 seller as of June, so it isn’t going anywhere. Thus, a pity it has become so aimless. If Spencer did have any genuine ideas for this series or any of the characters within it, there is little he could do within four issues – especially as he had to leave all the toys as he left them for Ellis, who is a “bigger” writer. Thus, Spencer has filled the pages with some “done in one” stories that each focus on a particular character, and usually wind up ending on a preachy tone in regards to a moral or ethical dilemma, usually ripped from the headlines. This is also the end of Scott Eaton’s tenure as artist for this title; Mike Deodato Jr. was deemed too important to waste on this run, so thus he got to draw NEW AVENGERS.
If even a six issue run on a comic is sometimes considered a “drive by”, then four issues is barely a bathroom break. Despite that short time and the editorial things back-stage, I wish I could say Spencer’s run has been a success despite it all – but it hasn’t. After a promising, if preachy, 0.1 issue, Spencer’s scripts devolved a bit for issues #13 and #14, providing some highlight panels but little that was memorable. Fortunately, issue #15 swings back into more promising material, although Spencer still relies more on a soap-box than on any dramatic action. As the cover suggests, the focus of the issue is on Black Widow, and this actually is a somewhat worthy FEAR ITSELF tie in. In this issue, Widow gets to emote a little bit over the death of James “Bucky” Barnes in FEAR ITSELF #3.
The first issue lectured about the WikiLeaks scandal; the second about tolerance, and the third about romance in the military (or something). This issue lectures about paparazzi and the cynical, tabloid culture of the media, and especially the youngsters who run it. The Black Widow finds that a tabloid, apparently called “THE UNEXPECTED TRUTH”, has begun a story claiming that Captain America isn’t dead. Her emotions still raw from basically watching Barnes, as Cap, die on the field of battle in her arms, storms the headquarters of the tabloid and demands they either turn over the evidence of Barnes’ survival or shut the story down. What follows is a debate amongst the reporters as well as their editor-in-chief about issues of death, revival, loss, and moving on. At first, the false story is justified by the staff as being due to the fact that superheroes tend to return from the dead at an incredible rate, including Captain America. Then it shifts into an “us vs. you” argument with the “normals” in the room resenting that Black Widow and her superhero friends get to cheat death while common folk like them get sick, die, and that’s it for them. Initially angry, Natasha actually turns things on their ear by pointing out that in a world in which death isn’t definite, that means trauma can never be properly healed from, since one always literally expects a loved one to return and thus never moves on. The issue ends with the idea that Natasha – who is herself nearly ageless – has become more than human, but an icon, and that comes with privileges and prices. The one flaw in Natasha’s argument is her suggestion that death itself is far worse than a coma, and thus more traumatic to recover from; this is flawed because many deaths in comics are undone by suggesting the death itself never occurred. Steve Rogers wasn’t shot to death; he was merely hit with “time bullets”. In fairness, the examples that Eaton shows in the art are of characters who genuinely returned from the dead – Hawkeye, Adam Warlock, Daredevil (recently) and even Colossus. The fact that Scarlet Witch killed and revived Hawkeye like a rag doll several times did ware on him psychologically for a time, before his persona defaulted back to “smug wisecracker”. Wonder Man used to be on edge due to his frequent deaths and resurrections, but now his only personality is being a tool.
Spencer raises some good points, and it is nice to see that Natasha is more than a kick ass spy in a leather suit that she can never seem to zip over her bust properly. It is an interesting debate that if it were properly acted out on a stage or a TV screen with good actors, would be riveting. However, this is an Avengers comic and it comes off a tad preachy, even when it is still interesting. Then again, given how Brian M. Bendis has chosen to write NEW AVENGERS for about six years, paying $4 to read about superheroes talking is perhaps expected by the audience.
If a writer was tasked to write four issues of an Avengers comic that were obligated to accomplish no concrete change, yet tie into FEAR ITSELF, the no-brainer solution would be to write four issues of a popcorn action movie where the characters just punched at Nazi mechs and “the Worthy”. Spencer has attempted to wrest “deeper” stories out of his assignment, but he probably would have been better off releasing his inner action movie. While Brubaker’s year on the title wasn’t perfect, it always had far more action than this. At the very least, this issue ends things on a high note compared to the previous two. Eaton’s artwork is fine, although talking heads don’t usually play to his strengths.
This will be my final issue of SECRET AVENGERS. While not a bad book, it is not worth its cover price. If not even Marvel care enough about it to give it a sense of direction, why should I invest in it more so? A title that changes creative teams three times in under two years is the definition of poor or ill thought editorial strategy. If I wanted this, I’d have read more DC comics the last few years. The fact that it is still a Top 20 book while a superior title with a clear direction, AVENGERS ACADEMY, hovers at the bottom of the Top 85 says much about how retailers and fans order based on hype and prestige more than quality.
Nick Spencer did the best with a poor hand; perhaps his flaw here was overplaying it.
t:
from me. I'd rather have a nice story, though.
