Bought/Thought August 5th, 2009

[CaptainCanada]

Best of the Week:

Captain America: Reborn #2

The first issue of this was fairly heavy on scene-setting, ie, introducing all the characters to new readers and recapping the events of Steve's death in #25-42; which was necessary, but a bit dull for people like me who had already read all that stuff. Things pick up here as, among other things, Osborn confirms what the Red Skull's original plan was (which should have been obvious to anyone who wasn't a numbskull already, of course). In a touch I liked, for once a confrontation between two normal humans and two superhumans ends with the superhumans winning, rather than the underdogs Batman-ing their way out. This leaves New Cap and Black Widow as guests of Osborn, who's definitely making a big play here. The scenes of Steve travelling to a random World War II battle and the moment of his getting the serum are decent overall; the first is a formula action scene, the second is very strong, as Steve acts out the moment while agonizing over whether he should do anything to save Dr. Erskine. Brubaker continues to do a great job of incorporating a lot of other MU characters into the story; in this issue, Reed Richards puts in an appearance. Two issues in and so far the Hitch/Guice combination is keeping things on time, and the art is pretty strong. While not spectacular yet, this is very good stuff so far.

War of Kings #6

This was overall a pretty good "event" story (though it's really a pretty standalone miniseries; given how much "event" has become conflated with "crossover", it might not be correct to apply it here), though the addition of the Who Will Rule? aftermath one-shot (matching up with the Inhumans-centric prologue) means that there's a certain lack of finality to this (and not just in terms of setting up future plots, I mean that exactly what happened isn't all clear). Black Bolt and Vulcan duke it out something fierce, including a really vicious demonstration of Black Bolt's scream at close-range, though apparently Vulcan can recorporialize himself; the resulting explosion leaves both of them...indeterminate, since the explosion literally rips a hole in time and space (I was really expecting Crystal to die in this as a martyr to Black Bolt's quest, but she didn't; nice, because this miniseries made me really like her). Gladiator, as I predicted from the start, gets the mantle of the Majestor thrust upon him by the crowds of Chandilar (though Admiral Ka'ardum's suit for peace leaves some question as to exactly what the relationship between the two states is; given how much the earlier issues stressed Black Bolt as the source of their echo-weapons' power, I'm not sure either state is in a position to dominate the other). The one group that didn't get handled well here is the Starjammers, who basically had their story hijacked; Polaris had a few good scenes with Crystal, and Rachel's killing the assassin last issue was a strong moment, but otherwise they're deep background, and here they just "walk away". Great art from Paul Pelletier, particularly the page of Gladiator standing before the mob.

 

[Dread]

August kicks off with a bang with quite a large weeks. Many books, many books that are over $3. Adds up quicker than it used to. As always, full spoilers.

Dread's Bought/Thought for 8/5/09 - Part One:

DYNAMO 5 #23: An ad in the very late GEMINI #4 claimed that the big 25th issue of this title is being planned for September, which seems unlikely unless two issues of this come out this month or next. Faerber and crew accomplished that in Feb. of this year, but that was to cover being a few months late. This time at least there is some reasonable excuse; co-creator and regular artist Asrar had been tasked with some WAR OF KINGS digital story art (reprinted in WAR OF KINGS: WARRIORS) with Matteo Scalera filling in many pages. Asrar only draws 4-5 pages of this month's issue, for instance. Still, at least this issue came 4 weeks after the last. The erratic schedule is the only downer about this book. That, and paying $3.50 for 20 pages of story, although given what this sells at, it makes financial sense. X-MEN: GHOST BOXES from Marvel asked far more coin for less story recently.

A few subplots come to a head or carry along in this issue, which has been Faerber's strength on this title. The steroid drug Flex has become a fad at Tower City, empowered enraged junkies into metahuman threats. The team shape-shifter Myraid had been taking the drug to boost his physique for some time. Now, an overdose has turned him into Whiptail, the D5 universe's Lizard cipher. The timing of this is bad, as the team was in the middle of a desperate struggle against their newest villain, Brain Trust (a guy empowered by 5 brains, with the brawn to match). When virtually every Flex user turns into Whiptails at once and begin to overpower FLAG forces, Maddie orders a retreat from Dynamo 5 and offers Brain Trust a deal. Aid in creating an antidote and leave Tower City, and her team won't bother him/them. It's akin to a Marvel superhero team offering to let a villain loose so long as they promise to leave New York and go bother Jersey or something. Brain Trust agrees, and the Whiptail crisis is over. This leaves the team to once again catch Myriad in some sort of lie, as well as for Father Gideon, who has reactivated the team's enemy and half-sister Synergy against the squad, claiming to be a child of...Maddie Warner, rather than Captain Dynamo. Someone call Jerry Springer!

To be honest, the Myriad on steroids story hasn't been one I have been especially taken to. While he is technically an alien, he's also the team's only "African American male", and it does seem like a bit of a stereotype that he would become involved in a drug story. It isn't Faerber's fault that it has become so, but he does have the problem of playing into a story cliche. At least this time he seemed more contrite, and more eager for his teammates and half-siblings to forgive him. This is a change from when they all learned he was an alien, a reveal that led the team to break apart. At the very least, this time it seems their bonds are stronger, including Spencer, who until now has usually been an aimless loner. Still, "black guy on steroids/drugs" is old hat. Why not have one of the lady members of a team hop up on 'riods for a change? It isn't like female athletes don't take them. It's just as overexposed.

Scalera's art is very good; I had a hard time distinguishing it from Asrar, which is proper for a fill in stint. Riley doing the colors for the entire issue helps but I like fill-in runs whose style doesn't clash too dramatically from the main artist, to maintain that seamless flow. A fill-in art job that is vastly different breaks the illusion a bit. Luigi Novi has a short B&W strip about Slingshot, playing on the mild letters page in-joke that she rarely gets covers to herself.

Overall, despite me feeling that the Myriad subplot is a bit cliche, I thought the rest was fine. The Flex story comes to a natural and quick conclusion, Brain Trust will obviously effect the team again, and the threat of Synergy & Father Gideon is coming to a head soon, with obvious team connections. Synergy is also Capt. Dynamo's daughter, only unlike the Dynamo 5 who all gained but one of their father's powers, she has all five abilities. If only the schedule improved and it sold well enough to go back to being $2.99 (it was for about two issues, but sales didn't hold), it'd be perfect. As it is, it's a perfectly entertaining and solidly written superhero team book that sadly is rather ignored. C'mon, people, is it really THAT much worse than NEW AVENGERS or X-FORCE?

AGENTS OF ATLAS #9: We often criticize books that run late or behind schedule, so in the name of fairness, it is worth standing up and applauding books that are ahead of schedule. In seven months, this title has released nine issues and counting. In an era where Quesada and DiDio make excuses for slowpoke talent and books that fall months, a half year, even years behind schedule, AGENTS OF ATLAS is one book, along with INCREDIBLE HERCULES, that proves it is more than possible to maintain a monthly schedule, and even go beyond it, without the universe imploding. True, it means most artists only draw 2-3 issues at a time, but is that really such a horrendous thing? The world didn't come to a end because Bryan Hitch didn't draw the last issue of Fantastic Four. It is a smack of professionalism for an industry that so often lacks it, and hopefully it spreads. To put this in perspective, Jeff Parker and his AOA crew could take a break for full two months, and fans would have no right to complain, because the book would still be on schedule so long as issue #10 came out in November. As solicits show, Parker and Crew have no intention of doing this.

Another thing worth applauding is that unlike many titles that Marvel launches, get great reviews but then sink like a stone in sales, Marvel has genuinely tried to support this book. After the mini ended in 2005, they kept the franchise alive with the odd one-shot tale now and again in anthologies like SPIDER-MAN FAMILY and two SECRET INVASION appearances. House ad previews for the first issue were in virtually all of their titles for a month or two, in addition to the customary Newsarama article. And in October, a 2 issue meeting with the X-Men is happening, obviously to try to improve sales on this book with some of the leftover X-Men audience. It's a worthy effort. I would argue that the X-Men franchise is itself not as healthy as it was even 5 years ago, and spin-off ongoing series have difficulty catching root, much less "random" mini's and one-shots not tied to an event. Even a token WOLVERINE one-shot often struggles to break the Top 60 these days. On the other hand, obviously hooking in whatever X-readers had been reading the Stajammer/Emperor Vulcan stuff has allowed WAR OF KINGS to sell quite well for a modern space event (unless the Inhumans were seriously a bigger draw than we thought), so it could work. At any rate, AGENTS OF ATLAS has become a common thing in the comic biz. It's excellent, and the sales are terrible, because everyone is buying NEW AVENGERS or HULK or the crossover du jour featuring color coded rings. Issue #6 in June finished at #99 of the Top 100, with just over 22.5k sales. It's still seemingly slipping at about 10% or more a month or even at a fortnightly rate. Books that can't sell above 22,000 copies are axed. Still, at least this time it would be unfair to blame it on Marvel; they're promoting it, they're supporting it, they're even going to try to use the X-Men to boost it.

It is worth mentioning, though, why the modern direct market so often chews up and spits out quality books. The market that Marvel & DC have created ensures that only books deemed "important" or "hyped" enough, by company event, talent, usually both, succeed and the rest usually fall and die. Of course this becomes a problem when said company launched a quirky book that editorial likes, but the audience seems to ignore. It is a pattern that is becoming depressingly common. At any rate, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. I kept saying I would have been pleased to merely get another 6 issue mini after the 2005 one wrapped, and at least this way I should get another 14 issues of material, at least.

After a random adventure with the Hulk last issue (perhaps itself an attempt to get attention, much as the fight with the New Avengers earlier), the team and series is back on track with it's main story of Jimmy Woo's agents running the Atlas Corporation, a nefarious organization that they want to reform top to bottom and do good with, albeit still using the cover of being criminals to get things moving. Basically, a team that runs with the gimmick of the GREEN HORNET 1960's TV series (which was itself a little ahead of it's time in an era that worshiped the slap-hammy BATMAN series). Woo's old 50's flame Su has become the Jade Dragon, running a cartel in China that seeks to rival the Atlas group. While the rightful heir to Golden Claw's empire, he was too traditional to bestow it to a woman, so she went out and took it. Unlike Woo, her motives are hardly altruistic, and she seems to be in no mood to rekindle a romance that ended a half century ago. She also has her own dragon advisor, Yao (as opposed to Woo's dragon advisor Lao), and her own death robot to counter M-11. And ninja's, even though they're in China and ninja are Japanese. At any rate, Jade Dragon sees Woo as a romantic hostage, while Woo has no intention of being one, and a fight breaks out. The rest of the Agents drop off Bruce Banner before flying to the rescue. For once Venus' song doesn't save the day and the team is handed a very brisk defeat, with retreat their only option.

Dan Panosian does the art and it's pretty solid. I haven't seen his work before but it fits AGENTS OF ATLAS very well. Basically one has to be able to draw gorillas, robots, and aliens well alongside regular costumed characters. Ex-SHIELD agent Derek Khanata has been added to the team, although he hasn't become so ingrained that he makes the covers or recap pages yet.

Basically, another solid issue of another great team book that doesn't sell like it should. But at least this time it isn't Marvel's fault.

THOR/HERCULES ENCYCLOPEDIA MYTHOLOGICA: Finally got my hands on a copy of this. For a handbook it is rather "meh". It does basic info about various god races well, but the Bio's themselves are very brief. There are many bits where you could obviously tell that COPY/PASTE was their friend. Still, for a completist like me, it's a solid buy I get a lot more entertainment time out of than most comics.

 

[Dread]

Part II: The Reborn Review

CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #2: One supposes a cynic might quip that for a mini series that tells you what will happen in the freaking title, it still takes five issues to actually happen. Once upon a time people used to mock a comic character by saying, " they're so lame, it takes them two or three issues to appear in their own comic". Then, of course, Bendis revitalized the world in 2000 by taking 7-8 issues to do a 21st century version of the Lee/Ditko origin of Spider-Man. Ah, modern story pacing. At any rate, Brubaker is operating at his usual pace for a CAPTAIN AMERICA story, in which the story neither moves too fast or too slow. It will take it's time getting there, as the pace is hardly what I would call breakneck, but it appears methodical and one rarely regrets it. It attains the balance that other "decompressed" writers usually fail at.

Given maybe a month's lead in time for this series, cynics are also wondering how long Bryan Hitch can maintain timely art, and wondering when inker Butch Guice may end up drawing entire issues himself. It may be inevitable but it also has yet to occur. Hitch was on time with most of his FANTASTIC FOUR issues lately, but he also had more lead-in time. Memories of him taking about 3-5 months for issues of ULTIMATES 2 are still fresh. Granted, when people would ask why that book was late, Millar would blame Hitch, Hitch would blame the inker, the inker would blame his mutt, and it was like a local politics meeting. So far, though, things are gravy. Hitch is settling into Brubaker's style, which usually uses 5-6 panel pages or more, with only one double page spread (which itself has 3 panels); different than Millar's style.

Basically, last issue (or in CA #600), Sharon Carter randomly remembered that the gun she shot Steve Rogers with wasn't as real as it seemed, and therefore he might still be alive. Steve's heroic allies, especially James Barnes (New Cap) have taken to investigating this lead. While this still feels very much like a story that is basically a CAPTAIN AMERICA story given a new mini for sales, Brubaker at least is doing a job of including other characters beyond the heroes who he has used in CA, like Widow and Falcon, such as Hank Pym and in this issue, Mr. Fantastic. There still seems to be amnity between the two men, but nowhere near the school-yard taunts of MIGHTY AVENGERS. While I usually get a hoot out of Dan Slott's portrayal of Pym, warts and all, I do sometimes wonder if he is overplaying Pym's "weirdo" hand a bit every time I read REBORN and see Brubaker's approach, which is simply to have him competent. The world is big enough for both I suppose. At any rate, Reed has discovered something funny about Carter's genetics, while NOW instead of a gazillion months ago going, "Hmm, I was curious about Steve's corpse's quick decay". Brubaker is doing his story no favors trying to claim it was all planned for two years with bits like that. Then Reed would have investigated it sooner; it was only CAPTAIN FREAKING AMERICA, not a dead bum. They only fought Thanos together in INFINITY GAUNTLET and stuff. But I digress.

Bucky and Widow are left with the task to reclaim some of Arnim Zola's machines for clues from HAMMER, only Zola is working with Osborn and now the pair have to deal with Ares and Venom. While Hercules may be able to mop the floor with the two, Buck and Widow clearly aren't, and they are promptly defeated and captured after a good show. Come to think of it, Barnes gets captured an awful lot. But, so did James Bond I suppose. Brubaker more or less has Osborn outright state that Red Skull's entire plan was to place his mind in Captain America's super-soldier body; "killing" him was just a means of getting access to said body and removing Steve's consciousness. That subplot's been in CAPTAIN AMERICA for a few years, but since it bled out over several years, it does help that Brubaker reminds people, especially as not everyone may have been reading Cap that long. Honestly that's hardly a new plan for the Skull, Brubaker simply executed it differently. At any rate, now Osborn is in charge and he wants to have Rogers be revived under his control. He's also leaked to the media that Sharon Carter was "the second shooter", to further discredit ex-SHIELD agents and SHIELD in general.

Meanwhile, Steve's psyche continues to zap across the time-stream of his life. Some people have made this seem epic because we are seemingly going to learn more about Steve that we didn't learn from his previous 1,567,988 flashback sequences over the past seventy some years. While the sequences are well drawn and the narration is fine - Brubaker's always had a solid voice for Cap - it really just covers basic ground. Cap fought hard battles in WWII. Met FDR. Goes through his origin again. Regrets lives he couldn't save. It's basically Captain America 101, for anyone who missed the last ongoing series, the last few one-shot's, or so on. It's like Superman having a flashback about a farm and his Ma and his dog again. It's something that has been so overdone that it is almost at the point of parody. Buy that CD-ROM edition of all of Cap's comics, take a shot every time there is a flashback, you'll be drunk as a skunk before the end of the Silver Age. Again, that isn't entirely Brubaker's fault, and to his credit he's weaved the flashbacks into the story as a time-travel journey for Rogers' soul rather than just filling pages. But in the end it really is just filling pages. The point may be to remind the audience of who Steve is, and why he should return or deserves to or whatnot, but so far it hasn't told us anything new or even original about him that wasn't known before, during, or after his death. And in a way that is the problem with Steve; he's perfect. Grew up poor, became a hero, is able to kill but isn't remorseless about it, regrets lost lives, and so on. He has no flaws. He never makes a mistake. Brubaker seems to be clinging to the idea of Cap feeling he is "always too late" to save some people, like the scientist who created the super-soldier process, but that's grasping at straws. Any superhero could have such pangs of guilt at times. And that was what made the move for James Barnes as Cap so brilliant, even if editorial and even Brubaker himself underestimated how brilliant it was. It allowed a Captain America with, gasp, flaws or, shock, a few skeletons in the closet to show up. He had a similar experience to Steve's yet wasn't Steve. He was old yet he was mostly written for a modern audience. It seems such a shame to give up all that potential after two years merely for a quick cash in and a movie, both fleeting ventures. The one time in Marvel comics where using an old idea was executed well and was both of good quality and high selling, and even that wasn't good enough for a market that lives on "mini events" like a wrestler on syringes, unable to stand without another shot.

There are plenty who will say that is Steve's strength as a character. That he isn't complicated, that he has that idealized "old world morality" and unflinching virtues and whatnot. And it is a strength; the first 25 issues of Brubaker's run showed that. You could argue for a Marvel universe stuck in a bleak shadow for a few years now, it might even be timely. But it is a double edged sword. Once Osborn is gone, once the bad guy is beaten, once Red Skull goes down, what next? Is there a next? Does Steve go off on a "journey", awaiting Brubaker's inevitable successor? Does Barnes go back to being a side-kick, a demotion? Does Marvel seriously believe audiences will buy TWO Captain America books, even if one may end up not written or co-written by Brubaker (and maybe even with; Brubaker's DAREDEVIL hardly lit up the charts, and IMMORTAL IRON FIST is canceled. His UNCANNY X-MEN sold okay, but a monkey on a typewriter could keep X-MEN over 50k so long as the art was decent)? Hence the dilemma to this entire event.

I understand pacing, and the story itself is executed well. If anything, Brubaker is a master at solid execution. In that regard if he co-wrote something with Bendis, I am curious as to how it may turn out. But if the time travel flashbacks aren't going to say anything we don't already know about Steve or why he should return, then we may as well get him off the slab and back to punching terrorists in the face now rather than issue five. The simple reality is there may be nothing more to reveal about him. Imagine that, a character created in 1941 having no unexposed nook or cranny to his life. Shocking. I'm not saying it is at all bad or uninteresting and I am settling down on the idea of Rogers returning, since it is inevitable and probably always was. To be fair Marvel kept him dead more than twice as long as DC kept Superman dead. I am saying is that execution can only go so far to pad out what is a basic, unoriginal idea. Even the best prepared ham sandwich in the universe is still a ham sandwich, not a t-bone steak. Cap reviving is a no-brainer. Many wonder what the point of a death is if the resurrection is taken as a formality in stories. It's an uphill battle for Brubaker, I imagine. Trying to write a story everyone and his dog saw coming in a manner that still has some twists and still is up to his high quality standards is an incredibly tall order. It isn't easy. Which is why I have questioned the entire exercise so soon, and whether it really will be worth it.

Still, the individual parts are good. The action pacing is superb as always. Brubaker has a solid voice for his characters and pulling in threads from his past stories. And at 29 pages of story, it is worth being over $2.99 in price; Marvel just doesn't have a price range between $2.99 and $3.99 (fans don't deserve one, apparently; maybe we don't if we allow books like AGENTS OF ATLAS to sell poorly). He's making the best ham sandwich he can. And it's a damn good sandwich, maybe even among the best. It just ain't a steak, and I won't pretend it is. A resurrection is a resurrection is a resurrection. You can do it with time machines or clones or magic belly button lint. They can only be done so well, can only seem so original to today's cynical, jaded audience (present company included). It's a dead end street with only one path and nowhere to turn.

Great read. Limited idea.

Up Next: DESTROYER #5, GHOST RIDERS: HEAVEN'S ON FIRE #1, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #16, MARVELS PROJECT #1 & WAR OF KINGS #6

 

[Tron Bonne]

Doom Patrol 1 was pretty good. I'm really not too familiar with Doom Patrol, I've read bits and pieces of their various stories here and there over the years, but I've never actually sat down and went through their catalog. It's been on my 'to-read' list for quite some time, but it's one of those things I put on the back burner too long.

Despite my almost total unfamiliarity I enjoyed the issue though it was all introduction and set-up. This, of course, is probably a benefit to moi because of before mentioned reasons, but I find myself more then interested in the characters and where the story is going.

Metal Men is another that I'm pretty unfamiliar with, but I loved the back-up. Really fun, and got quite a bit down in just 10 pages. I may have to put some of the MM stuff on my 'to-read' list next. This is easily worth an extra dollar to me, I think I'm on board for now.

There was a Magog preview, it was only 3 pages, but I'm pretty sure I died inside a little

 

[JewishHobbit]

Liked War of Kings 6 for the most part though I'm left really wanting more. Have there been any aftermath stuff announced? I know Nova and GotG are still coming but I've not heard of anything giving us focus on the Inhumans, Kree, Shi'ar, Gladiator, or Starjammers. I've grown attached to all these people and they're kinda left hanging after the dramatic end.

 

[Dread]

Liked War of Kings 6 for the most part though I'm left really wanting more. Have there been any aftermath stuff announced? I know Nova and GotG are still coming but I've not heard of anything giving us focus on the Inhumans, Kree, Shi'ar, Gladiator, or Starjammers. I've grown attached to all these people and they're kinda left hanging after the dramatic end.

There will be at least on "epilogue" style one-shot down the pipeline, as noted in an interview with CBR.

 

[MightyAvenge]

Man, Black Widow (Natasha) is really skating on thin ice.

Spoiler

Natasha is posing as Yelena (Black Widow II)on Normans Thunderbolts.

 

[javi1024]

you didn't close your spoiler tag.

 

[MightyAvenge]

Sorry.

 

[javi1024]

Amazing Spider-Man #601 - nice single-issue Peter story. its nice to see that they are addressing OMD and its changes more and more. and its official [BLACKOUT]MJ KNOWS![/BLACKOUT] that brings the potential of alot of interesting stories to come. my only gripe would be Pete getting drunk and doing the nasty with his roommate. i know he's the "everyday man", but something with that just doesn't sit well with me with him. 8/10

Street Fighter IV #3 - lets be honest, your not buying a Street Fighter comic for the engrossing story and compelling character exploration. this issue offers a quite lengthy, beautifully-drawn fight between El Fuerte v. Viper, and then Sakura v. Viper. but what is great about this title is that it does help me finally understand just who Crimson Viper is, what the hell the BLECE Project actually does, and what Abel's true identity is. 7/10

 

[javi1024]

Sorry.

ehh i just realized that these threads it doesnt matter with spoilers anyway

 

[JewishHobbit]

Amazing Spider-Man #601 - nice single-issue Peter story. its nice to see that they are addressing OMD and its changes more and more. and its official [BLACKOUT]MJ KNOWS![/BLACKOUT] that brings the potential of alot of interesting stories to come. my only gripe would be Pete getting drunk and doing the nasty with his roommate. i know he's the "everyday man", but something with that just doesn't sit well with me with him. 8/10

Yeah, he makes selfish deals with devils, gets drunk, and sleeps around.

That's the Peter I remember... wait...

I was debating on giving this arc a shot since I bought American Son and will be buying the Ben Reilly arc. That's actually what made me decide not to buy it. This is just getting stupid.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Iron Man and The Armor Wars #1
Did anyone else read this? I was unsure whether to get this or not, eventually deciding to pick it up. I'm glad I did. It was a simple, fun read, a throwback to Iron Man's early years, and as a result refreshingly free from continuity. It seems like a book designed for fans of the movie, with Tony Stark here drawing much from Robert Downey Jr's roguish portrayal. And funnily enough, it's Tony Stark who's the main focus of the book rather than his crime-fighting alter ego, with much of the issue dominated by Stark having to battle armored foes without the help of his Iron Man technology. It's a lightweight read, but still pretty enjoyable.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Another good issue of Invincible Iron Man. Tony/Pepper manage to take down Masque temporarily and Pepper pretty much throws herself to the wolves so that Tony can escape (a decision which he berates himself for). Meanwhile, Hill's apparently been all traumatized by the Controller. I don't know if I really buy this, I mean I guess it makes sense but she seemed to shrug off Controller with ease so it wasn't as if she endured it for two issues or something and we as the audience felt that torment. It just sort of popped out of left-field for me. Its a nitpick to be sure and minor one at best.

Poor Hood. Fraction has continually berated him in this series from Osborn calling him something akin to small time to Masque dumping him at the mere prospect of hooking back up with Stark. I love it.

I very much enjoyed the scene with Norman fiddling with his Iron Patriot armor revealing he understands some of the tech but can't get his armor running like Stark could. If Tony still had his wits and halfway decent suit he'd take down Osborn with ease, but from the previews it looks like Tony'll be facing him in his mark I armor.

As for the disc that Hill's carrying to Captain America - my guess it is Extremis tech.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Poor Hood. Fraction has continually berated him in this series from Osborn calling him something akin to small time to Masque dumping him at the mere prospect of hooking back up with Stark. I love it.

Considering that the Hood has a girlfriend and child, I don't feel bad for him that Masque chooses Tony over him considering that he cheats on her constantly.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Heh, true enough.

 

[Alastor]

So I picked up all of Invincible and The Walking Dead this weak. Wow...I'm seriously blown away. If you're not reading these, do yourself a favor and pick them up.

 

[Dread]

Dread's Bought/Thought for 8/5/09 - Part Three:

DESTROYER #5: One of the better selling Marvel MAX mini series (it sells about 13k a month, which is near what INVINCIBLE sells, which is pretty damn good for MAX books that usually sell 10k or below) wraps up it's run. Robert Kirkman's last Marvel work before he told them to kiss off (in so many words) is a far better effort than his two or so years on ULTIMATE X-MEN. Corey Walker's artwork is as great as ever as the tale of the aged hero comes to a close. Sort of.

Playing against expectations, much as Kirkman has done many times in INVINCIBLE, aged hero Keene Marlow doesn't actually die. It seems as if right after discovering what a mistake it was asking his ex-partner Turret to quit for the sake of his daughter (who Turret married), Marlow's heart finally gave out. Or did it? It seems that every time his heart's "coughed", as has happened a few times in the course of the series, Keene is met by an angel of death. Or in this case, three. Only he doesn't go quietly. Apparently if you're bad ass enough to beat them, you get to live a little longer. The scene works as dark comedy with the Grim Reapers all begging Marlow to let them take him to the underworld, for their own sake. He doesn't let them and it seems this time, his heart's healed enough that he's no longer dying. However, he decides to retire on his own terms and allow Turret to take over the Destroyer mantle. His daughter Felecia is angry with her father for not telling her that her husband Darius was Turret because while she understood Keene wanting to spare her the turmoil his own wife has endured for fifty years, is also is selfish to deny the world a hero like Darius. In a world where the finales to mini's usually end in a bang, this one was a quiter ending. It wasn't even as violent or gorey as some prior issues.

There's a cute ending with Keene's grand-daughter Haley playing with a domino mask. Maybe a third hero in the Marlow family?

Five issues and there never really was a lot of an origin issue. If you don't know Keene Marlow's origin from the 1940's, there's not even the fainted hint of it. You don't even really know Darius' origin, either; just that he has similar powers to Destroyer, only he's still in his prime. The story works without you knowing that stuff, but part of me wonders if it could have been better had those bits got thrown in. Otherwise you take things at face value, and Destroyer is a typical hero with typical villains (with names like "Scar" or "Bruiser"), only he's doing the old hero routine. It's a fun read if you're a Kirkman fan, but I'm not sure it offers much if you aren't.

I enjoyed the read. I wouldn't mind another go, although with Kirkman estranged from Marvel, it seems unlikely. If you're a Kirkman fan or just want a done in five tale about an aging superhero facing Father Time and tearing back guys apart with a lot of cursing, and who REALLY looks like John McCain, it's for you. The moral of the story is that retirement is for sissys. It doesn't matter how old you are, you don't retire no matter how much your body is falling apart until you kill so many Grim Reapers that your heart heals and you can retire on your own terms. Or until you turn 120 and then the Grim Reaper union will REALLY eat it if you don't die.

GHOST RIDERS: HEAVEN'S ON FIRE #1: Basically GHOST RIDER #36, only with a new title, a new number one, and an extra buck. The logic here is that instead of canceling a book at issue #41 since sales had fallen below 22k a month, best to sell the last arc as a higher priced mini so that even if sales for every issue fall below 20k or so, Marvel makes more cash in the short term. There's no extra story for the price; you just get a reprint of GHOST RIDER #1 from the 70's, and not even the whole issue. It's great that Jason Aaron is getting to finish his GHOST RIDER story, but I question the point of irritating whatever few people were reading that book by trying to squeeze an extra dollar out of them. Breeding contempt for, what, maybe an extra few grand in sales? Got to love that, "blood from a stone" editorial policy.

The title, at least right now, isn't accurate; there is only one Ghost Rider here. The story, for those who missed it, is that the evil angel Zadkiel is the real source of the Ghost Rider's power, and he just overthrew God from Heaven. He tricked Dan Ketch into killing the other Ghost Riders aside for John Blaze, absorbing their powers and using it to smash open the gates of Heaven. After that, Blaze, Ketch, and Caretaker's daughter Sarah went their separate ways, convinced the world was over and to not bother. All three were convinced to give saving Heaven another go through various forces. Blaze through a token ancient master/little kid, Ketch through...idle travel, and Sarah through some time-traveling cyborg Ghost Riders from the future. Very stupid. Ghost Rider and Cyborgs do NOT mix. At any rate, Sarah and Blaze are together again, convinced that Zadkiel can be overthrown.

It's a self contained book, this, yet I get the feeling it might get higher sales if Marvel treated this as a major development for their universe. I mean God's DEAD. Really, really dead. Lucifer Lite is sitting in charge of Heaven. That's major mojo that's at least as deadly to the world than Loki swapping genitals. No other heroes seem to care, though. Which is a shame. This could have been gold for a Champions reunion.

In fact the only hero who seems to be on the trail is Hellstorm, the Son of Satan. Only he looks nothing like he used to. He's lost the hair and got shaved by Ra's Al Ghul's barber it seems. Last he was seen, it was in LAST DEFENDERS forming the last incarnation of that team in Jersey. I mean he's a F-Lister so it isn't a big deal, it was just a bit of a twist. It seems that now that Zadkiel has taken over Heaven, he wants to prevent the Book of Revelations from coming try by literally killing the Anti-Christ so that Jesus can't return. So evil gangs of angels are killing off Satanist folks looking for the boy, but he's managed to slip. Blaze and Sarah, meanwhile, figure out the scheme by beating down two of Zadkiel's agents who run a New Age shop.

If you like your supernatural horror superhero stories with awkward dabs of liberal propaganda, this is the issue for you. Blaze and Sarah go off searching for the anti-christ. No anti-christ in Vegas or Hollywood. The White House? "He was here, but he's gone". Ah, Aaron, you card. If you'd made that joke in 2001, when Clinton had just left for Bush, you'd never work in comics again. Thankfully, though, bashing Republicans is easier than shooting fish in a barrel. And just as predictable. The anti-christ, as it turns out, is in Wall Street, because the fallen economy has rekindled the old axum that anyone rich is evil; which is why, notice, Iron Man has to lose his fortune to redeem himself (Danny Rand is no longer rich, evil). This will be the same Marvel that will deny ever tapping on politics for stories, even though they have done so for 60 years.

The anti-christ, as it turns out, is a pale teenager named Anton Satan, which, in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN style, insists is pronounced, "Shuh-TAN". He's gotten his superiors in the banking biz to all commit suicide at once so he gets promoted within two weeks. Unfortunately, his ******edly obvious name gets him found out by Zadkiel's agents quick. Aaron reveals his sense of lore when he has Jaine Cutter, Hellstorm's lover from his 1990's comic book series, who hasn't really been seen since a Thunderbolts annual in 2000. She shows up to save "Mr. Satan", but quickly is overwhelmed. It was a good bit of continuity, and using it for a story's advantage. Another case of that is Blackout and Deacon busting the new Orb out of a prison hospital to take another stab at stopping Ghost Rider. The Orb was always a lame villain, and the fact that he has an imitator now is even lamer. And awesome.

I could have done without the obvious, "kick a dog when he's down and the situation is moot" Bush-shot that might have been funny half a year ago, almost, but I am interested in how Aaron's ending this. Things are on their heads in the occult world, of course. Satanists are now the heroes (or victims), and angels are now the bad guys. Or at least a select few angels. Thankfully, Haut is onto other projects (I think a PUNISHER book), and Roland Boschi returns to GHOST RIDER art. Which is good, his stuff's great for this kind of tale. So we have Zadkiel after the anti-christ, Hellstorm, Sarah and Blaze out to save him, and three villains out to kill Blaze. But where does Ketch fit into all of this? Things look to be mighty interesting. Aaron's done a solid job of picking up the pieces from where Daniel Way left them, and I'm interested in seeing how he settles things. Even if you'd think God would just ask Thor and Hercules to please kick Zadkiel's ass out of his chair for him, or something. Don't gods have a union or something?

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #16: World's Most Wanted continues to it's 9th chapter, but it's really just part of an ongoing story since issue eight. Give credit where it is do, Salvador Larroca has been doing covers and interior art on this book since issue one with little delays and no fill in's. That's become a rare feat for many artists these days. His art has become as part of the book as Fraction's story and it would be strange to see the book without him.

This book has also just won an Eisner Award for "BEST NEW SERIES" of 2008. Now, while I'm all for acknowledging this book with some sort of award, I don't really consider it a "new" series. It was just a relaunch of IRON MAN. By that logic, HULK is a new series. Or WEB OF SPIDER-MAN coming up. At any rate, expect to see that slapped on a cover at some point. These were the same Eisners that gave ALL-STAR SUPERMAN an award for, "Best Ongoing Series" even though it was a 12 issue "maxi" series that just happened to run so late that it could be entered two years in a row. Technicalities; they're not just for letting criminals get away with stuff, folks!

As of last issue, Norman Osborn was still chasing Tony Stark for SHIELD information on superhero identities he has in his head, and Stark has been running all over the world blowing up his armor stockpiles and zapping his brain so he loses his memories, but also his intelligence. It's FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON meets THE FUGITIVE with armor and explosions. This time, Madam Masque has both Stark and Potts holed down in Russia, and is forcing Stark to choose. This is the issue where Fraction truly runs with his ability to make insane villains captivating. He writes Masque as one of the most insane female villains you will ever meet. Her face is scarred, but her mind's far worse. She'd scare the cape off Bruce Wayne, she's so nuts. He also isn't as captivated by the Hood as Bendis is, as he writes her as willing to toss Dormammu's table cloth wearer to the curb the moment she thinks Stark is scabs again. Potts and her armor, "Rescue" (don't laugh, it beats "Iron Woman", "Iron Girl" or "Lady Iron Man" that were likely her other options) step up to give Stark a chance to flee to Afghanistan. He hates doing it every step of the way, but still does it. Is it chivalry to allow a woman to save a man for once, or is it being a coward to leave her to die fighting your psycho ex? There's no easy answer, and Fraction explores that well.

In the B-plot, Black Widow is still harboring Maria Hill, whose sanity is breaking down from her post-Controller-stress syndrome. It's meant to show why she has been acting all erratic; it was a little sudden but I think it worked. Her escape from Controller was far too quick and I am glad there is lingering trauma from it. It won't give Brubaker's Fautus/Carter stuff any competition, but it's still solid. Iron Man's back in his 70's armor. The only downside is that while him losing the Extremis was inevitable, I am not sure what the point of tucking back his intelligence does; the point of him is that Stark is an intelligent bastard. On the other hand, Fraction is trying to take some of that away and have Stark kind of see himself, I guess. At any rate, it's still a solid title, and this month's issue was pretty good, better than some of the last.

THE MARVELS PROJECT #1: Brubaker and Epting unite for some 1940's action. Only this time, it isn't Captain America; it's trying to put Marvel's Golden Age heroes into a more modern context and tie them together cohesively. Some people have feared retcons, but honestly I'm not. The 40's had a damn lot of superhumans, and it makes sense to tie some of them together. Some of them already were tied together; attempts to re-create the super-soldier serum created the Destroyer(s), after all. The 6 page preview was seen across Marvel's line, and the rest of the issue is pretty good. No massive bang's, but a bit of quality.

The focus character is Dr. Tom Halloway, who will eventually become the vigilante known as the Angel, who showed up around the same time in the 40's as the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner, just in the back-up strips. It seems he grew up the son of a prison warden, learning about crime and whatnot, but is working at a nursing home now. He becomes the favorite doctor of Matt Hawk, an old man with fantastic stories about the age of "Marvels" that are coming. As it would turn out, Matt Hawk was the old gunslinger called the Two Gun Kid, who naturally met Hawkeye and the Avengers in time-travel adventures. It seems he eventually would go back to his own time and die in 1938 peacefully, but not until he inspired at least one more masked vigilante to look out for the underdog. Around this time, FDR is having secret intelligence meetings trying to beat the Nazi's in the race to create the first super-soldier; to that end, agents Nick Fury and Red Hargrove are set to get Dr. Eskine out of Germany to defect to America, where he naturally will create Captain America. The Nazi's are bombing Atlantis points and using Atlantians in their experiments for said serum, earning the wrath of Namor. And in New York, Dr. Horton creats the andriod Human Torch, which scares the populace, but also the Nazi's.

Things come a head when the Human Torch escapes his tomb to experience the world, which causes riots in the streets of New York. Halloway rushes to aid a family by pummeling some thugs, beginning his first foray into crime-fighting. There's an air of MARVELS from the 90's about this work, with the modern handling of the late 1930's era of Marvel. The art by Epting is superb and the subject matter is handled seriously, but still with that faint sense of wonder that existed back then. Times were dire, but something incredible is just around the corner. Namor is given an excellent reason for joining the Allies in World War Two, or at least his reason is properly magnified and made clear. Halloway is a character who hasn't done a whole lot even in some 70 years beyond fight crime in the 40's and form the Scourge outfit in the 80's and 90's, and Brubaker seems to be handling him very well as a POV character. Epting's art with Dave Stewart's colors looks brilliant, especially the segments with Human Torch, capturing the mystique and pulp horror of the character.

To be honest, this could actually end up being a higher quality story than REBORN. There isn't much to say, but it was quite a good debut issue. Brubaker's just the man for this kind of task, as he always handles Marvel's Golden Age characters with research and dignity, seeing the world from their POV rather than making them "pedestrians" and watering them down. Golden Age comics were usually very simple and hammy, even though the world itself wasn't. It was just as complex as things are now, just in another way. Brubaker's great at capturing that, and he's the perfect man for making Marvel's storied past look a bit more modern, while maintaining it's classic feel. A definite recommendation.

 

[Dread]

Bought/Thought for 8/5/09: The Final Chapter!

WAR OF KINGS #6: Havok was robbed. His one chance of greatness since, well...ever, and he never even got close. This, my friends, is how B-List characters stay there...forever. If you want to upgrade them, you need to have them step up and do incredible things, even if it doesn't make any sense. Bendis did those things for Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Purple Man and The Hood, and it all worked out well. While Abnett & Lanning continue that with Nova, and want to do that with Darkhawk, Havok clearly was the big loser in this event. Cyclops wouldn't have failed to avenge Corsair. It would have made perfect sense, and been very dramatic. Oh well.

Aside for that, it's a worthy end for the space event of the year, which by throwing in the Inhumans and some spare X-characters, has sold rather well. It should finish up above 40k, which is almost twice what the rest of the space books sell. Black Bolt and Vulcan have their big show-down for the face of two empires. Vulcan keeps bragging about how tough of a mutant he is, which is why every punch Bolt lands is satisfying. On the other hand, Vulcan calls Bolt a hypocrite for willing to activate his own H-Bomb type device to end the war, and he does have a point.

The best accidentally hilarious line was Medusa telling Karnak, "My husband doesn't tell me anything." That's like Black Widow going, "I could never stand Daredevil never telling me how I looked". Classic! On a better note, Crystal steps up big here, deactivating the Terrigen Mist crystals to prevent Bolt from mutating the universe. Unfortunately, Vulcan isn't quite dead, and the two of them seemingly die when Black Bolt lets loose a scream and blows the ship up, creating the very tear in space and time that, over in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, the gang leans will ultimately destroy everything. That's how to weave stuff together into a tapestry.

Over with the Shi'ar, Havok and Polaris comment on how the Shi'ar seem finally finished, as the empire fails around them. Gladiator leaves a church with Lilandra's special staff, and everyone declares him ruler. Lord, the Shi'ar are like the people of Metropolis, worshipping anyone who has an "S" on their chest, or holds a staff, or something. Technically, Gladiator at best would be a regent; Deathbird is Queen of the Shi'ar, she just is currently comatose. Of course they could, y'know, figure out what an election is or something. It's an ending that feels like a beginning, but more of an ending than a Bendis written event. There is an epilogue issue after this, which is good, since the story kind of just stops right after the explosive climax.

Black Bolt had a noble sacrifice and a pretty good fight with Vulcan; Pelletier really drew the hell out of the issue, and the colors rocked. But the problem was what I had mentioned in earlier reviews; there was no emotional connection between the two men. Sure, Vulcan had the Imperial Guard pooch Crystal's wedding to Ronan, but he wasn't personally there. If anything, Gladiator was the one who beat Bolt down that day. The covers all had them fighting, and it was a "war of kings" after all and they were the kings. A good fight has emotional ties as well as great moves and pacing. There was no emotional draw between the two men, not as there would have been between Vulcan and Havok. I was afraid of this since about WAR OF KINGS #2, and I was right. Bolt needed the moment as well, I suppose. I have no doubt that he isn't dead, though. Least there was a body with Lilandra. Characters like Havok, though; longtime but forgotten X-Men who spent generations under the shadow of another, get one and only one chance at greatness in the comic book world. They have to either take it, or spend the rest of their time tredding water, doing nothing relevant. Colossus is the sad, prime example of this; besides taking Proteus down in the 70's, can anyone name one truly epic thing he has ever done? Really? You can't. Beating Ord doesn't count; Ord lost to Lockheed. Beating Venom doesn't count; everyone but Black Widow beats Venom these days. And Havok PRE-DATES Colossus. Yeah. That's how long he has been waiting. The universe a cruel place for some characters. I was looking forward to Havok stepping up here. Instead, all he did was fail to save Lilandra, and get his ass kicked by Darkhawk. What could have been.

At any rate, a smashing finish. Not as good as it could have been, or as epic, but still better and more epic than SECRET INVASION was. Frankly, I'm probably looking foward to where this will lead for NOVA and GUARDIANS. Kang, anyone?

 

[IFryKids]

I have my doubts that Black Bolt is dead, and I seriously doubt Vulcan is dead as well. I don't have a problem with Havok not getting the "win" in the end, since it really seems that the whole purpose of the last issue was for Black Bolt and Vulcan's battle to cause the bigass hole in space. I'm sure Vulcan will return soon enough, and then another x-mini or two will continue to tell that story, and hopefully the x-writers will let Havok have the final kill.

 

[CaptainCanada]

THE MARVELS PROJECT #1: Brubaker and Epting unite for some 1940's action.

So your store got this? Mine didn't, and Marvel's website now has it scheduled for next week.

 

[trodge]

So your store got this? Mine didn't, and Marvel's website now has it scheduled for next week.

I didn't see this at my shop either...

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

He writes Masque as one of the most insane female villains you will ever meet. Her face is scarred, but her mind's far worse. She'd scare the cape off Bruce Wayne, she's so nuts.

When she put her mask on Tony's face the word that came to mind was CREEPY.

 

[Dread]

I have my doubts that Black Bolt is dead, and I seriously doubt Vulcan is dead as well. I don't have a problem with Havok not getting the "win" in the end, since it really seems that the whole purpose of the last issue was for Black Bolt and Vulcan's battle to cause the bigass hole in space. I'm sure Vulcan will return soon enough, and then another x-mini or two will continue to tell that story, and hopefully the x-writers will let Havok have the final kill.

The rule is if you never see a body, they aren't dead. And as Captain America proves, even when you do, they aren't dead. It was a big explosion, so it's possible Bolt is floating somewhere comatose in space or in that space/time fissure, and Vulcan is pure energy.

The problem for Havok is WAR OF KINGS was the stage when more people were paying attention. Barely 30k people a month bothered with the Starjammer stuff, or KINGBREAKER. Beating an opponent is meaningless if the stage isn't big enough to get attention. Iron Fist could beat down Norman Osborn at the end of IMMORTAL WEAPONS #6, and it won't matter because no one reads it. It would only matter if it happened in NEW AVENGERS.

So your store got this? Mine didn't, and Marvel's website now has it scheduled for next week.

It appears not every shop got this. Mine did. It was even a variant cover.

When she put her mask on Tony's face the word that came to mind was CREEPY.

Very creepy. Fraction handles psycho characters pretty well. It was great how quick she was willing to forget Dormmamu's Bed-Sheet Man for Stark's Uni-Beam.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Over with the Shi'ar, Havok and Polaris comment on how the Shi'ar seem finally finished, as the empire fails around them. Gladiator leaves a church with Lilandra's special staff, and everyone declares him ruler. Lord, the Shi'ar are like the people of Metropolis, worshipping anyone who has an "S" on their chest, or holds a staff, or something. Technically, Gladiator at best would be a regent; Deathbird is Queen of the Shi'ar, she just is currently comatose. Of course they could, y'know, figure out what an election is or something. It's an ending that feels like a beginning, but more of an ending than a Bendis written event. There is an epilogue issue after this, which is good, since the story kind of just stops right after the explosive climax.

Considering that Vulcan may possibly be alive and the populace doesn't yet know that he's dead, Deathbird would be considered to be overthrown just like her husband.