December ticks away and another week with comics passes along. Let's get to it. As always, rants and spoilers are unfiltered.
Dread's Bought/Thought for 12/16/09:
CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #5: Of Six, suddenly. Glad that this is first alphabetically, get this out of the way, the week's big event comic, and the subject of scorn and drama.
I've made this rant a few times already, so I will be brief. Marvel, in either deluded ignorance or blind greed, perhaps both, have sought too much of a good thing. About 3-4 issues in, they allowed/tasked Brubaker and Hitch to extend the REBORN mini to six issues, instead of five. Probably so they could charge another Lincoln for the hardcover. There are a few reasons why this was done, and not all of them work. There is one theory that considering how well BLACKEST NIGHT has been doing for DC, that Marvel would be pooched within the Top 10 sales without REBORN, and adding another issue will better bridge the sales gap before SIEGE starts, because normally Janurary 2010 would have had nothing to compete. REBORN has only outsold one issue of BLACKEST NIGHT, but it usually is always in the Top 5, if not the Top 3, when it ships behind it. Marvel won't cop to the sales angle, of course. Joe Q has taken the "deny the obvious and assume you're smarter than the rest" style of leadership, and it trickles down. The official Marvel angle is that REBORN was so good that they wanted to allow Brubaker and Hitch an extra issue to breathe and better tell the story; or rather, to better tell the climax. But, this theory works worse than the sales angle. It doesn't work because editorial has done nothing to compensate down the line. The rest of the Marvel Universe was expecting and planning for REBORN to be over 12/16/09. They were expecting Rogers to be back, body, mind, and soul, NOW. Instead he isn't. It will be another 4-6 weeks. And in that time, we will likely get more issues in which Rogers returns prematurely besides that NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL or INVINCIBLE IRON MAN. We will get the Brubaker written WHO WILL WIELD THE SHIELD next week, which acts as an EPILOGUE to a story that has now been extended. And likely no end of silliness.
To those outside the circle of Marvel editorial, trapped in the harsh place that is the actual real world as it is, CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN exists for only a few reasons. The obvious one is to revive Steve Rogers. The other is to explain how. The latter has already been done, via confusing time travel shenanigans that almost make complete sense if you just squint and go along with it. I reread REBORN and I believe the story is that the gun that Faust gave Carter shot "time bullets" that only seemingly killed Rogers but in fact froze his body in some sort of "time coma" state, and when Carter smashed the time window machine later, she somehow zapped Steve Rogers through a time loop reliving his own life over and over. Skull, Zola, and Dr. Doom have now fixed up everything, plucked Rogers' body from the time stream and slapped Red Skull's brain inside of it, a Nazi square through Steve's American round hole. But to be honest, the "how" of a resurrection, whether Superman or Cap, is exposition and little more. The real meat of it is capturing that "awe" factor, that "oh, yeah!" type moment with the hero finally is revived, fully. And this moment relies almost exclusively on it only happening in the main story. Marvel, through editorial ignorance, has ruined this.
Just when REBORN really and truly needed to be the only book with Steve Rogers, it feel behind and now is one of the last books to include him. I imagine as the weeks go on it will only get worse, and worse. Only Mark Millar is worth stopping the presses to make sure one of his precious "die, meatball!" hack-works runs properly. No other writer is worthy of such effort, apparently. In fact, the only real mystery this title even has now is whether or not Red Skull is trapped with Steve Rogers after he is really "back", and even that is ruined. I'm calling it now; doesn't happen at all. Otherwise it'll come up in another book before this one. It is that simple.
And it really is a shame that Marvel has created this editorial cluster**** because despite all of the hand-cuffs of the story, Brubaker is really trying to make this exceptional through execution alone. REBORN has a task to appeal to casual fans who may not have read much of his CA run while still pleasing those who have read it for 3-4 years. It has to deliver the editorially mandated event as well as try to be a story about something more than a dead guy sitting up. In fact, with this issue, virtually all of the exposition is done. Now is the time for the big climax, the major action and the massive explosions. Bryan Hitch has some more of his trademark double page panels here laying in scenery and trippy images, but by and large he works well with Butch Guice and Brubaker is a more firm director of the action with him that Mark Millar is at times. Or at least has a different pace. As of issue #4, Steve Rogers is back, or at least his body is. The Red Skull has finally taken (or retaken, as he has plotted this before) Rogers' super soldier body, and has trapped Steve's mind inside a Nazi Dreamworld of NYC. Naturally, Sharon Carter is horrified. Fortunately, before you can wonder why there was any point to reviving the Grand Director with a "Skull-Cap" (catchy, ain't it), James Barnes leads a motley crew of Avengers to rescue Steve and Carter and take down the Skull once and for all.
Naturally, it doesn't go as planned. Vision is captured almost immediately, and the rest of them are quickly outgunned by Skull-Cap, Sin, Crossbones, and an army of MODOK clones. Or technically, "MODOKSH" clones, if Crossbones' explanation is correct. So before the Lincoln monument you get this double duel, of Barnes fighting Skull-Cap in real time while on the psychic plane, Steve takes on Skulls's psyche. Brubaker knows how to write this action so it is kinetic and exciting, even when you know precisely how it all is going to end. Hitch is mostly successful in delivering on his end, although part of me still misses Epting on this kind of stuff. I must say, while the band of Avengers shown here are consistent with the rest of the story, although I must say it is weird that there isn't one "heavy hitter" member. I mean this entire battle would have gone a lot easier if Hercules or even Luke Cage were here. It would have been murder considering how close the costumes are, but including John Walker in this story somehow earlier on might have been cool, since he was the "last" major official replacement for Captain America before Barnes (who is still alive, or isn't evil, that is). But these are just minor, random quibbles. Overall it is a perfectly good comic on the merits. The beats are what you would expect, the artwork is quite fine, there is a lot of action and some memorable lines and sequences.
It simply has the entire weight of a botched editorial decision behind it. If Marvel truly did not know that extending REBORN by an extra month, if not longer since it skipped October, would mess with books down the line JUST as SIEGE started, as well as ruin the effect of this climax on nearly every level, then they are ignorant to the point of incompetence. If they knew and did not care, then all the claims of having artistic and narrative integrity for their creators are just that; words.
Marvel cannot have it both ways. They cannot rely, and over-rely, on fans who buy five, six, twenty books a week for sales in the short and long term and then continue to craft schemes that somehow punish fans who engage in this strategy with either high prices, ruined surprises to stories, or both. I mean solicits, okay, you don't have to read them. But reading INVINCIBLE IRON MAN and REBORN in the same month? Does one have to ruin the tale of the other? Marvel's strategies often wax between one overreaction to the next, without any sense of strategy or modest comprehension. Marvel either should have delayed certain titles that take place after REBORN was due to be finished, or not have stretched REBORN in the first place. Any less is making excuses for incompetance and poor planning, and the world is the way it is because of such excuses.
A fine comic with a fine creative team, trying to turn plastic into gold, sadly mired by being run by an editorial board of 100 monkeys at 100 typewriters, hoping to create the works of William Shakespeare. It, and we, deserve better, especially for $3.99 an issue, $23.94 for the series. I could see AVATAR twice for that much. No wonder comics lose to other media. Other media doesn't tolerate this sort of **** up. You wouldn't extend a season of ANGEL by one episode without warning and then air episodes from the next season before the now late "true finale". This kind of **** would not happen. Ah, comics. And comic editors, sometimes Quesada himself, wonder, "how did fans get so angry, so hostile, so bitter?" Well, stuff like this. Looking right at it. Being punished even for enjoying a solid run until now by sheer incompetence that no fan would deliberately have come up with.
Least MARVELS PROJECT is free of this kind of baloney.
The variant cover (of 3) that I got was the John Cassaday cover. I wonder how many months it took him, and what project he put off or was late for in order to do it. Other than that, fine. Cap hanging by his stars and stripes shower curtain.
REALM OF KINGS: INHUMANS #2: Like night and day. REBORN has an editing team of Lauren Sankovitch as Associate Editor and Tom Brevoort as normal editor. Knowing how tight that this issue is tied to MIGHTY AVENGERS #31 and #32, and seeing how tightly and wonderfully it ties into both with no margin for error and as even a chance for screw ups as all the Steve Rogers sightings, I guessed, "my, I bet the space books have a totally different edit team". And lo and behold, I am right. Mike Horwitz & Rachel Pinnelas are the Associate editors with Bill Roseman as the general editor. We need to name and remember those who deliver competence and efficiency every single month without any mistakes or excuses, and those who...well, deliver competence and efficiency less often with more excuses (or at least those who compromise quality for other things less often).
Digressions aside, this is essentially like an extra issue of MIGHTY AVENGERS this week, yet it also works wonderfully as an Inhumans issue due to shared histories. Without any major articles or hype machines, the two books this month were in total harmony. What could have been a spit-and-cough cameo by the Avengers as a sales stunt (MIGHTY AVENGERS still sells more than twice what many of the space books sell) instead became worthy fodder for an issue to explore Crystal a little. Abnett & Lanning didn't have to take things this far with Dan Slott's story, but they did, they executed it wonderfully, and they didn't mess up. Their reward is most comic fans who will pay $12 for a "KICK-ASS" movie likely don't even read or have heard of their work. Travesty.
I read this issue before MIGHTY AVENGERS #32 but in truth it doesn't matte what order you read them in; neither book repeats scenes entirely (the scene where Pietro hands the Inhumans the Xenogen crystals is drawn from another angle from Crystal's POV in the narration) and both work well with the other. It's Marvel continuity at it's finest next to great writing at it's best from two reliable masters. The artwork is by Pablo Raimondi and that works very well too. The Avengers were just popping into Kree space to return the Xenogen crystals to their rightful owners after taking them from Unspoken. Also as part of this plan was Quicksilver attempting to smooth over his crimes against his former family via lies, a ploy that works well with all but Luna, his daughter. The team manages to stumble right in the middle of two crises attacking the Inhumans at once. The larger one is Devos, a C-List FF villain from the 90's (he used to team up with Paibok the Power Skrull all the time), a cyborg who has a vengeance fetish against aggressive races, and seeks to punish them by destroying them. His plan basically involves blowing up a lot of stuff with armored robots from a space pod. The Avengers aid in the battle, and Abnett & Lanning manage to capture Slott's voice for the team quite well, aside for Hercules gaining his "thou art" lingo. For once, U.S. Agent is making a joke instead of being the butt of one! Unfortunately, the Inhumans are eager to prove themselves as rulers to the Kree and see the aid as one-upmanship. Gorgon competes with Hercules during the battle, while Karnak has newfound respect for the "new" Hank Pym. Meanwhile, something has triggered the Alpha Primitives to attack Ronan and Crystal, but the pair are saved by Quicksilver; they also didn't really need the aid.
The true strength of the issue is the reward for fans who pay attention that it has in regards to Crystal. Imagine, a Marvel book that REWARDS an attentive, intelligent reader with a decent memory! Under most normal circumstances, Crystal has treated Ronan's whole marriage schtick with all the emotion of a root canal. Every type of romantic overture that Ronan attempts, Crystal bats away with some sort of shrug, or statement about how their marriage is only ceremonial. The only time she seemed to care about him was when he was practically on his death-bed in WAR OF KINGS. But now with Quicksilver, the overconfident ex-husband showing up, what does Crystal do? Why, she practically hangs off Ronan's arm! She defends him and calls him "sweet" to Pietro! She even kisses him without it having to be some royal Kree ceremony! For an Inhuman, that is a perfectly human reaction to have for an ex, to try to show that you are better off. But, Ronan had better watch his back; Crystal seems innocent, but she's loved and left Johnny Storm, Dane Whitman, and Pietro Maximoff. One day his blue rear will be in the ex pile just like all the rest. Those tight yellow costumes fool people. Hell, Pietro could share stories about how marriage didn't stop her from cheating, and that was a non-ceremonial marriage!
This kind of soap opera is of course fine stuff, for the Inhumans or for any comic in general. It continues to give Ronan a real sympathetic beat as a character, which is pretty good. Keith Giffen made him cool by having him smash people with his hammer, but Abnett & Lanning have chosen a gentler approach that still is effective to flesh him. The scenes with Karnak and Hank Pym managing to work in harmony are also quite good, as Devos is quickly defeated. A more lasting threat is that old Captain Marvel/Avengers rogue, Zarek, an old time Kree "elite" who is none too happy about the Inhumans and wants to be rid of them post haste. I don't recall Zarek doing much of anything since the 90's; talk about obscure!
Interestingly, while Wraith from the WRAITH mini hasn't shown up since ANNIHILATION CONQUEST, his Kree pirate lady-pal, Ra-Venn, continues to get around. She and Triton start to try to explore the Fault to try to find Black Bolt. They'd better be careful; that sort of think hasn't worked well for Quasar or Nova lately.
On the whole, a better issue than the first (and the first issue was no slouch!) that continues to set more obstacles in the lives of the Inhumans while spring-boarding marvelously from a side mention from MIGHTY AVENGERS.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #32: Working well off (and with) ROK: INHUMANS #2 this week, this issue continues from the last while setting up the next story in classic monthly serial fashion. Dan Slott is alone for writing (no aid from Christos Gage this month) and semi-regular artist Khoi Pham returns as well. The inkwork seemed much stronger here, which is good because Pham is usually only as good as his inker (and some of his stuff without a professional inker has not been his best). Granted, I actually like Pham's artwork just fine regardless.
Considering that SIEGE is set to start next month which will bring an end to the DARK REIGN theme, the time is now for any teams that haven't fought or at least agrued with the Dark Avengers on panel to do so. This issue, as the cover shows, has exactly that. It ties well into ROK: INHUMANS as well as some past arcs of INCREDIBLE HERCULES, where Herc & Cho fought Osborn's team. A new threat, or rather an old threat becoming much more dangerous, arises. The true strength of this issue, though, is in the characters. About half the issue features the team catching their breath and interacting in the Infinite Avengers Mansion, and it's great stuff. The mark of a solid cast is when simple scenes like this can easily be worth three greenbacks by itself. Hercules having arm-wrestling matches with Stature. Vision Jr. losing to Amadeus Cho at chess despite being built from 31st Century stock (by Kang himself). Hank Pym making John Walker a new shield and flaunting his "Scientist Supreme" title, much to Walker's chagrin. Quicksilver all but steals the issue with his own thoughts, and brief chat with Jocasta. He's sought to clean the slate with the Inhumans, only to strike out with his daughter, perhaps for the last time (and naturally continue the cycle of bad fathers that Magneto started). He continues to stay on the team to be reunited with "Wanda", who he always misses. The rest of the team has also not informed him that they are all now aware that "Wanda" is an impostor, although they do not actually know she is Loki in disguise.
Loki, for his part (he's finally male in MA; for a while THOR was actually
ahead of this book) continues to manipulate the team to vex Norman Osborn, who is near his breaking point and his Cabal is in shambles. After successful missions in France and Italy, the Mighty Avengers continue to be seen globally as the "real" Avengers, and not Osborn's "official" crew of sadist and whack-jobs. On top of this, Loki constructs a crisis using an old pawn, Absorbing Man, to go on a rampage at Project PEGASUS, in which he actually absorbs some of a cosmic cube! Yikes; a brute with the power to control reality; not fun.
But before that, the Mighty and Dark Avengers have to survive a press conference without killing each other. The one panel exchanges between Osborn and Pym are classic, signature quoting stuff. Slott dialogue at it's finest.
While Absorbing Man is hardly the highest profile villain around, Slott has constructed a story where he is made into a powerhouse instead of a chump who even Daredevil can defeat. All the while Cho, Jocasta and Jarvis work as Avengers tech support, which is another cool touch for now. It was good to see a comic in which the media and at least some characters haven't forgotten what monsters Osborn and the Dark Avengers are, and call them for it.
Some could say this is a set-up issue, but it is still a very good one; better than some of the last, I think. And I actually enjoyed the Unspoken arc. The Dark Avengers have been spanked by everyone from the Young Avengers to the X-Men to the Agents of Atlas to the X-Babies to Poppa Smurf, but if any team deserves to spank them, it is the Mighty Avengers. Can't wait for issue #33, which is just as it should be.
