Bought/Thought February 11, 2009 - SPOILERS

[Phaedrus45]

Not to worry...I have friends who could hook me up if I needed that. But, since I have two kids, that part of my life has been over for a long, long time.

 

[bryanss3]

One time he read a Chris Claremont comic published after 2000... and liked it!

I wouldn't surprised if I myself did that. :facepalm

 

[Phaedrus45]

One time he read a Chris Claremont comic published after 2000... and liked it!

It's true, it's true! I was one of the only people who really enjoyed X-Men: The End....all 15 issues!

 

[Aristotle]

Not to worry...I have friends who could hook me up if I needed that. But, since I have two kids, that part of my life has been over for a long, long time.

Come on dude, don't let those kids eat your dreams like that! Just drop them off at a Colorado hospital, which you can totally do now, and get back to THE LIFE!

Either that, or just do it after they go to bed. It's not like the smell of opium is gonna wake them up, because they don't know what it smells likeORDOTHEY?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It's true, it's true! I was one of the only people who really enjoyed X-Men: The End....all 15 issues!

Ugh, that series offended me with its self-indulgence. The Avengers, the Hulk, and others can have great The End stories in one or two issues, but the X-Men somehow need 3 mini-series? F*** you, Claremont.

 

[BrianWilly]

I have no problem with Thor being banished from Asgard for killing Bor.

etc

But the thing is, again, this very book had some stories at the end showing Odin and other Asgardians being circumspect and prudent about punishing people willy-nilly for things just 'cause some rule or another says so. "WTF Balder did you just abandon your company in the middle of ****ing battle to rescue a ****ING BIRD BABY WTF now you die oh wait lolprankd Im actually gonna reward you for it" and "WTF Loki you broke that man's giant ***** while he was using it, he coulda been hurt!...oh wait, Thor's being all honorable or some****, let's let Loki off."

I just don't like the fact that Bor was killing innocent people and was gonna kill more innocent people wasn't taken into consideration, hell it wasn't even mentioned. Because that's pretty much the exact sort of extenuating circumstances that would give any honorable person pause, that any law but the most bassackwards medieval doctrines would take into consideration. Could Balder and Thor have taken that into account and still arrived at their conclusions? Possibly. But we don't see that step. It feels like JMS took the easy, gimpy way out of explaining his way around that, takes a few shortcuts around the neighborhood, 'cause he wanted to tell whatever story he wants instead of bothering to come up with an explanation around it. And so it, in turns, makes it seem like Balder, Thor, Loki, and Asgardian Law itself skips a few steps in linear logic and just arrives at whatever conclusion best fits whatever.

Thor never registered. He may have objected to the SHRA on grounds outside of that, but to this day he skirted the entire issue on tenuous "diplomatic" grounds that Tony had to come up with (only 'cause he couldn't force Thor by...force...but still). For him to flaunt the law of the SHRA on the grounds of him being pissed about how it was carried out against his friends (and that whole clone thingy), but also adhere to the "The law is the law and the letter of the law under all circumstances" stance...it makes his original objections feel broken.

 

[Manic]

Pluggity plug plug mirror plug.

Interesting thing about the comics I bought this week: Most of them were either an issue #17 or #3.


ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #17
Writers: Joss Whedon and Brian Lynch
Penciler: Franco Urru
Publisher: IDW

I don't know what's going on with Joss Whedon and comic covers that mimic tabloid magazines, but this is the second one this year. And it's only February. The first was January's Buffy #21. At least this month I received the "A" cover, which is typically prettier than the "B" cover.

That point, using a seamless segue, brings me to the art in this issue. I've never been a fan of Urru, but I think his art is starting to grow on me. You know, in his final issue. It certainly helps that the colorist, Fabio Mantovani, adds definition to the characters' faces, which previously looked flat and ill defined.

As for the story, this issue picks up one month after Los Angeles' return from Hell. All of the citizens of LA remember their stay in Hell, as well as Angel standing up to defend them. Now Angel and his crew are local celebrities and heroes. Angel is getting approached by fans all the time. A librarian even offered to help him conduct research on the missing Wolfram & Hart office building, even going as far as to give the case a silly name. It appears as though Angel and Nina are officially done as a couple, which is sad because Nina was the only woman to give him some good nookie without being under the influence of a spell, taking away his soul, or getting knocked up. Spike received a free car from a grateful LA car dealer, and the car is predictably crappy. Gunn is in the hospital, recovering from the injuries he sustained from the night of the TV series' finale (gotta love time travel), and Illyria (whose motivation is now purely fueled by the guilt of killing Fred) is guarding Gunn to make sure no demons try anything. Lorne appeared in exactly eight (maybe nine) panels across three (maybe four) different pages, and said absolutely nothing.

There's apparently an official new addition to Angel Investigations, and it's George the magical floating psychic fish-like creature. It looks like he's operating as Spike's new sidekick (sorry Andrew), and he's giving most of the funny one-liners in this issue.

This issue was all about denouement, as this was the final issue of Angel: After the Fall. In a manner of speaking, that is. In only two weeks, IDW is releasing issue #18, which will officially retitle the comic as Angel: Aftermath. It's like the first seventeen issues were the sixth season we never got to see on TV, and the upcoming issues will be a kind of seventh season. This was a good conclusion, although it feels like something that should've been tacked on to the end of the climax instead of being given its own issue. It was more amusing than anything, and heartbreaking in a few other spots.

Skippable, but nice. If anyone wants to jump onboard, I'd suggest waiting for the February 25th issue, which should begin a new storyline and feature an all new story & art team.


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BOOSTER GOLD #17
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Penciler: Dan Jurgens
Publisher: DC

When we last left Booster Gold, he had been hurled through time by a mysterious knife, and ended up fighting in World War I. Booster's sister, Goldstar, is looking for him with Skeets in tow, traveling inside one of Rip Hunter's time spheres. The knife has once again dumped Booster into another time period, only now he's an in alley witnessing an adventure he had only thirteen issues ago. Not being a complete idiot, Booster stays back and lets events play out as they should. He then finds out he has another task to perform involving Barry Allen before he became the Flash.

I'm going to stop there, because trying to explain the events of this issue would be impossible without going over all seventeen issues of this title, and maybe some of DC's old weekly 52 comic. As with all stories involving time travel, this book has become totally incomprehensible to new readers. If you're already reading Booster Gold, then this was a decent issue that's going to have you scratching your head about the future of the timestream when Booster decides to team up with a past version of himself. If you haven't been reading this title, start from issue #1 before reading this. Seriously, you'll have to.

This issue also featured an additional six pages featuring a prelude to DC's upcoming Green Lantern: The Blackest Night crossover. The Green Lanterns' bosses, the Guardians of the Universe, have a forbidden-to-read chapter in their sacred Book of Oa that foretells of the great catalclysm of... The Blackest Night. In this issue's prelude, a Guardian named Scar has defected, and is transcribing her predictions of the future into the Book of the Black. This issue-backing prelude is basically a waste, as all it does it tell us readers that Booster will be too preoccupied to take part. The backup pages' saving grace is the fact that it briefly goes over Booster's origins, which makes for a nice refresher.


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CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 #10
Writer: Paul Cornell
Penciler: Leonard Kirk
Publisher: Marvel

It's the greatest superhero book you're not reading!

This issue begins with Dr. Doom forging an alliance with Dracula. I'll type that again, as it bears repeating. Dr. Doom is forging an alliance with Count Dracula. On the moon. It turns out Dracula's land (which I can only assume is Transylvania) borders with Doom's kingdom of Latveria (which I suppose means Latveria is somewhere next to Romania), and Dracula wants the aid of Doom's allies (Norman Osborn and his Cabal) in taking over Great Britain and making that his new kingdom. This would put Dracula and his horde of vampires far away from Doom's people, provide Dracula with access to Britain's vast magical reserves, and give the Cabal a powerful new ally. The deal is struck, and the two men part ways.

Meanwhile, we're treated to the good guys all enjoying themselves at a pub. Pete Wisdom has more game than The Football Association, Lady J handles her bevy like a champ, and Blade is an all right bloke once he stops acting like a thick American ponce.

In case it hasn't become obvious, I'm trying to write this review as British as Americanly possible.

As always, Kirk's pencils are well nice, and complimented nicely by Brian Reber's colors. Kirk does a good job of making everyone feel human, displays emotions believably, and you can see just how pissed everyone is at the pub. Blade and Lady J share another snog, and are on the verge of starting a real relationship. Of course, when Blade walks Lady J back to her place, they both decide to get all daft and walk away, robbing us readers of the chance to see hot, vampire-on-vampire love. There's also a scene where Faiza accompanies Black Knight to Wakanda to reclaim his ebony blade. Their ride back to the UK is uncomfortable, as neither will admit that they fancy the other.

I'm out of slang, but I'm going to recommend this issue to all new readers. It's the beginning to a new storyline, features a few amusing scenes, and has a pretty tense cliffhanger at the end.

Cheers.


----------


GREEN ARROW AND BLACK CANARY #17
Writer: Andrew Kreisberg
Penciler: Mike Norton
Publisher: DC

At the end of the previous issue, we learned that Green Arrow saved some random woman from being physically abused by her husband. Now that woman is completely obsessed with him. Not "fangirl" obsessed, either. I'm talking "carved a scar onto her chest, wants to personally take on his rogues gallery by herself, and wants to kill his wife the Black Canary" obsessed. In this issue, she demolishes the local police station, captures the recently arrested Merlyn (the world's best supervillain archer), gets a feisty new haircut, and then cuts out her beautician's eyes.

Broad is crazy.

There's a backup story in this issue, once again of Scar hyping up The Blackest Night. The majority of the backup tells of the first time Black Canary ever used her powers. As a teenager, Dinah suffered from all the same random crap teenagers suffer. Her guy friend Sam, who was clearly in love with her as he listened to her pine over some other boy, encouraged her to let out her frustrations with a primal scream. That was the last we'll ever hear of Sam.

The main story in this issue actually felt very short. The pacing isn't bad, as it mainly focuses on Crazy Stalker Ho, but it's clear that we've lost a few pages thanks to the backup pages with Dinah's origin. I'm not sure if there was a printing error, but there are two pages thrown into the backup story that deal with the man Dinah unknowingly made deaf recently. They had nothing to do with Scar's warning of The Blackest Night, and featured none of her narrated caption boxes. It's almost as if those pages could've been in the middle of this issue, but where thrown in the back because Scar's story needed to be six pages long.


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THOR #600
Writers: J. Michael Straczynski, Stan Lee, and Chris Giarrusso
Pencilers: Olivier Coipel, Marko Djurdjevic, David Aja, Chris Giarrusso, and Jack Kirby
Publisher: Marvel

It's the issue Thor fans have been waiting for!

In case you didn't know, Marvel relaunched Thor's comic in 2007 with a new issue #1 written by acclaimed Spider-Man writer and Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski. Twelve issues of his run have been released so far, but instead of continuing with issue #13, Marvel has decided to add up the issues of Thor's older comics and Journey Into Mystery appearances, and rounded the number to 600. Somehow. That brings us this month's extra-large spectacular issue. An issue so large, you may need a friend to help you carry it out of the store.

Thor #600 features eight stories, written and drawn by a plethora of talented comic book creators old and new. The first story is a continuation of Straczynski's current series. It's the first part of a storyline titled "Victory" and it is amazing. Straczynski, Coipel, and Djurdjevic are on their A-game in this one. It's grand, beautiful, intense, exciting, and heartbreaking all at the same time.

The second story is drawn by David Aja, and features the return of Stan Lee. Lee tells a tale of Thor in his more memorable years, battling alongside the Avengers. Lee's writing is still a tad formal by modern comic book standards, but it appears he's taken a cue from Straczynski and eased up on the Ye Olde English in Thor's dialogue. It's a fun, short adventure, and Lee works well with relative newcomer Aja.

The third story is a Mini Marvel funny page story written and drawn by Giarrusso. As with all Mini Marvel comics, this one features everyone's favorite superheroes in the form of small children put into humorous situations. This one retells the past couple of years of Thor comics with a silly slant, complete with a verbal running gag.

The remaining five stories are reprints of old Journey Into Mystery tales from the 1960s, as created by the dynamite team of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. The stories appear in their classic, original forms, with no newly added colors or edits to Kirby's artwork. They're a great treat in the back of the book, and one of the rare chances you'll get to see classic Thor comics in full color.

Thor #600 was great, the highlight of this week's reading experience, and a must-own for any Thor fan. Even one of the new ones like me.


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THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ #3 of 8
Writer: Eric Shanower (created by L. Frank Baum)
Penciler: Skottie Young
Publisher: Marvel

This is a nice comic for anyone who wants to relive a classic fairytale. Marvel's rendition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (which, yes, is now in the public domain) doesn't have any modern twists or unique alternate versions of the tale. It is Baum's original play in all its glory, changed into the form of a comic book. If this was a childhood favorite, pick up the comic. Or just grab an old copy of the book. Whatever. If you're not familiar with the tales of Oz, or your only exposure was the 1939 film, then read this comic and the play. You'd be surprised how much was left out of the movie, and how many little things were changed (like making the silver slippers into ruby to show off the film's brand new technicolor technology).

It's a comic for all ages, too. Parents, make a monthly ritual with your kids. At least for the next five months or so.


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X-INFERNUS #3 of 4
Writer: C.B. Cebulski
Penciler: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Publisher: Marvel

The X-Men have arrived in Limbo, and they're on a mission to get back Colossus' baby sister Illyana! Oh, and retrieve a portion of Pixie's soul as well. If they have to. Sadly, the team has teleported into the middle of hostile territory, leading to a massive action sequence that features Colossus running entirely on emotions, Pixie zoning out into another one of her psycho stabby-stabby moments, and Wolverine going berserk and practically finishing the fight by himself. For Illyana, things have gone from bad to worse, with Belasco's daughter Witchfire making her moves to retake the throne of Limbo and enslave Illyana & Pixie.

For all of the past stories this miniseries calls back to, it feels a bit underwhelming. It's not bad by any means. This just feels like something that would've been a regular story in the New X-Men ongoing comic, if it was still being published. It's more of a sequel to the New X-Men story about Illyana and Pixie than it is the original Inferno crossover, and doesn't have nearly the same scale or sense of grand importance. This story literally gives the impression that only two characters' lives are at stake, and the status quo would've remained unchanged if Illyana hadn't recently become so violently obsessed about her quest. Then again, I can't blame someone for going crazy because they lost their human soul.

Camuncoli provides good pencils, and is also the only artist drawing Pixie these days who remembers that there are black streaks in her pink hair. I like the way he renders the teenage characters, although it sometimes feel like he overdoes the shadows around peoples' eyes. It's like everyone is wearing a ton of eyeliner.

 

[yenaled]

I bought a bunch of comics today.

But all I care about is reading All Star Superman Volume 2.

 

[Marcdachamp]

Really light week. Only stopped by the shop because I was hoping Mini Marvels would be there (WOOT! It was!) and because I won't be able to get books next week. Some thoughts:

Amazing Spider-Man- Man... that ending really has me curious. Hell, this whole arc really has me wondering about the book. Obviously the shipping schedule leads us to know some things before they happen, but this arc really throws everything up in the air. Vin, Harry and Lily... we've seen the supporting cast really inflated over the last year, but this arc makes me wonder if it's all crashing down. And if it does... where will the pieces fall? 9/10

Avengers/Invaders- We're on issue 8 of a twelve issue series, but I'm feeling like we're rushing to a conclusion. That could just be this issue, but the surprise villain from last issue shouldn't just be brought in and dispatched so casually. Hopefully he's not done in this series. Otherwise, I feel like this book is starting to hit it's stride. 7/10

Spider-Girl- I was kinda hoping the "Brand New May" would be revealed as a Skrull. I think that would have been interesting, and maybe added some relevance to current events in the MU. After all, Defalco has proven that he's not unwilling to bring in more recent events. He totally could have managed to lure in fans of Dark Reign and maybe start some buzz, though. Oh, well. That's probably why May's getting shuffled over to Spider-Man Family and losing her own book. Interesting that he's leaving the whole "which one's real" up in the air, though. 7/10

 

[CaptainCanada]

Best of the Week:

Captain Britain and MI13 #10

The much-hyped (for this book) “Doom and Dracula on the moon” story begins (all the fuss around that particular element reminded me very much of the Mighty God-King’s discussion of fan perceptions of “awesomeness” on a conceptual level) with a sort of prologue that is also an epilogue to the preceding arc; Cornell seems to like these, as #5 also fit this role. This sort of issue has tended to fall by the wayside in the trade era (and also because of the need to keep readers hooked more strongly), but it can be done well, and Cornell does it well. There’s a series of character vignettes: Pete and Brian go out trolling for babes, Jackie and Blade go on a date to an SAS bar, Dane and Faiza head to Wakanda to recover the Black Knight’s sword (which is dealt with in the space of two pages). I wasn’t sure about the Jackie/Blade thing when it was introduced, but their scenes in this issue are done quite well, and I’m glad that Jackie is finally getting some significant time (she was my favourite going in). Dane and Faiza’s flirty relationship has hit its first real angst wall (which, based on the end of the issue, is only going to get worse; I totally called the end, though, based on the preview). Leonard Kirk is back to doing the whole issue, and it’s his typical quality stuff. Dracula’s scheme gets going by the issue’s end, and it looks like England is in for some trouble. Dracula’s a good choice for a villain; so far, this title hasn’t really been big on villains with real characterization: the Skrulls were just the typical mass of green men, Doctor Plotka came closer, but the emphasis was more on the fantasies he supplied then on the character himself. Dracula, though, has a very well-known persona, which Cornell plays with here, adding in a bit more of Dracula as a ruler/strategist than is often seen. So far, so good; it’d be a shame to lose this book any time soon. It’s rather strange that this doesn’t have a “Dark Reign” banner on it, but this issue has gotten quite a reasonable bit of promotion on its own anyway.

Thor #600

Thor’s book hits its six-hundredth issue (there’s debate over the arithmetic, but I think it makes sense; there wasn’t a Thor #1, true, but there was a Thor #480+; the goal is to get the book in sync with the final numbering of the original volume), and JMS’s main story arc for the first thirteen issues (fourteen, really, since this is double-sized). I’ve been of two minds about this series almost from the start; every issue demonstrates that JMS is well-versed in the realm of Norse mythology and understands how to translate the majesty of the divine onto the page. Moments like Thor’s recollection of his past life in the first issue, or his communication with Steve Rogers in #11, show this. At the same time, looking over these last fourteen issues’ worth of material, it’s also rather amazing how little Strackzynski has actually accomplished on his run so far. He’s brought back Asgard and most of the main cast (with the story-related exception of Sif), but he’s not really done a whole lot with most of them; Thor’s return has barely touched on any of his acquaintances in the wider Marvel Universe. The best stories so far have been those when JMS confines himself to a narrow structure: the two-parter in #7-8, the aforementioned Cap-related issue #11, and Loki’s little time-travel escapade in #12. Kvetching about length aside, my biggest issue with the primary arc that comes to its climax here is Loki. Now, for the most part, Loki’s plan here is comprehensible: he travels back in time to curse Bor into snow, then, in the present, unleashes Bor to pit against Thor, a battle which will either lead to Thor’s death or banishment, with the latter the resulting outcome. However, the part of this that just doesn’t work, and, indeed, isn’t really necessary, is that it requires everyone in Asgard to, on no account, trust Loki. Oh, sure, they all make noise about how they don’t trust Loki and are watching him (but they aren’t), but they let her live in Asgard, listen to her when she speaks, in Balder’s case, confide in her, and just generally act like they’ve never been screwed over by Loki before. What’s worse, Loki’s demeanour this whole time has been that of a cackling stage villain (particularly now, where it becomes so blatant that she might as well hang a “muahahaha” sign around her neck). This whole story would make much more sense if Loki was actually pretending to be Sif. At the very least, Thor seems to have realized that perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to let Loki into the city, though it’s too late; Balder momentarily sends Loki away, but one imagines, given how big a chump he’s been so far, that he’ll soon be listening to her again. Certainly, though, things are heading in an interesting story direction. On art, Coipel and Djurdjevic each contribute, and live up to their usual standards.

So does everyone just realize how bad his writing is, but you all just still choose to see it as good writing?

Stan Lee's contributions these days are nostalgic little callbacks to his Silver Age glory. Nobody really expects anything more than that in a less-than-ten-page little story. It'd be like complaining that Mini-Marvels reads like agglomerated message board snark: kind of the point.

I will say that David Aja is kind of a weird choice to illustrate a Stan Lee story.

 

[javi1024]

Batman - "What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader"- This was really interesting. It throws you off a little at first, but I think that's the point. I enjoyed the Alfred story more with an interesting take on the creation of Batman's rogues. And two big thumbs up to Kubert- loved his retro costumes. 8/10

Amazing Spider-Man - "Character Assassination: Interlude"- I don't know what to say about this issue. Once they revealed Lilly was Menace I kinda already figured her origin and objective. The experimental serum was a cool idea, but the idea of her basically turning into a disfigured MAN doesn't sit well with me (they probably should have made Menace a little more gender neutral. It wasn't in any way bad, but I would have prefered them just continuing with the more interesting parts of this story (Vin and his partner, Spide's arrest) than devoting a whole issue to Lilly. 6/10

 

[roach]

It's true, it's true! I was one of the only people who really enjoyed X-Men: The End....all 15 issues!

I enjoyed X-Men:the End when I read it as a whole instead of one book at a time.

 

[GNR]

I bought a bunch of comics today.

But all I care about is reading All Star Superman Volume 2.

Sure it was one of the best superhero books of all time,but #10 is one of the greatest comics I've ever read.That ending....boy....that ending.

 

[Havok83]

Thor went back to its original numbering?

 

[Manic]

Thor went back to its original numbering?

It looks like they rounded off to 600, but yeah. Original numbering.

 

[Havok83]

It looks like they rounded off to 600, but yeah. Original numbering.

thanks I hate when series do this. Im glad that its back to the original numbering but what I dont like is how companies, especially Marvel relaunch titles back to #1 and then go back to the original numbers. Makes a mess for collectors. Thank god they never did this with Uncanny X-men or X-men, which I actually thought they would have a few times but they instead just renamed the book a few times. Sucks that they cant go back to the original numbers with the Avengers since they split that series in 2

 

[Manic]

Avengers left off somewhere around #500 before the New relaunch, right? Just wait until New and Mighty both have roughly 50 issues and they're ready to merge them back into a single book. Avengers #600.

 

[Dread]

A rather expensive week for 6 comics, considering only two of them were $2.99. One ongoing title finishes a run just shy of two years and THOR makes a bimonthly appearance and returns to normal numbering. Let's get upward and onward, with full spoilers ahead!

Surprisingly, I didn't notice any tacky Valentines Day special comics from Marvel. Guess they're still busy from DARK REIGN (i.e. "I Can't Believe Bush Is Out Of Office"), Obama-ASM reprints, and Wolverine appearances. It also seems that Marvel & DC are using variant covers on any book within the Top 100 to make desperate boosts.

I still am amazed that ASM is having an arc called CHARACTER ASSASSINATION. I thought many of us thought that was ONE MORE DAY. Kidding! At least truth in advertising exists these days.

Dread's Bought/Thought for 2/11/09:

BOOSTER GOLD #17: Another month, after cover gimmick, this time ORIGINS AND OMENS, which means a back-up story at the end of the issue recaps Booster's origins while giving us the "omen" of some evil female Guardian. The origin is nice, although I've read about 3-4 versions of it the last 3 years, and I could care less about the omen bit.

The rest of the issue is more time travel hyjinks with Booster Gold, who has been transported from World War I to Central City, and more specifically, BOOSTER GOLD #4 I believe, when he, Flash, Kid Flash and Supernova were fighting in the background of Barry Allen's origin sequence. This means that Booster has to figure things out while staying out of the way of his "past self" as well as making sure nothing happens to effect Flash-history. Naturally, things don't go as planned. While investigating why he was pulled there, and once again finding the Egyptian Time-Travel knife, Booster is discovered by Chronos as a hood, and Barry Allen. Booster has to use some luck and some goofy acting to make sure Barry's life gets the bolt of destiny. Meanwhile, Michelle is hanging around with the mysterious Time Traveler guy (who may be Chronos), whose goal is to gather the Egyptian knife from three separate time periods and merge their power. The issue ends with Booster having to team up with his past self (at least a few issues in the past).

Some of the time travel paradoxes really make my head heard if I think about them too much; BACK TO THE FUTURE handled this while still keeping things simple, but Jurgens and Co. aren't having so easy a time. Fortunately, the title doesn't take itself completely seriously, allowing for comedic interludes, so this helps somewhat. Jurgens & Rapmund's art is stellar and it is always good seeing Jurgens reunited with the character he created after over twenty years. Chronos of course always makes for a suitable villain in a time travel series like this, even if his new design just makes him look like Pink Silver Surfer (or perhaps The Empathoid, a minor Spider-Man threat no one remembers). I am curious how Booster constantly meeting versions of himself effects his memory. At any rate, this was a typical issue of BOOSTER GOLD; great art, some adventure with a dash of humor, no stress or bleakness, and a build-up to a climax next issue.

As unintentional hilarity, Chris Brown's GOT MILK advert is within this issue, taken and approved before his Rihanna abuse charges came to light and could not be canceled. Still, coming from the company that led Gail Simone to coin the WOMEN IN REFRIGERATORS term, I think the endorsement is appropriate. Just a shame it won't pop up in an issue with Dr. Rape, I mean, Dr. Light.

ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL #4: I am aware that I am virtually alone in reading this series, but while it is hardly a forgotten Eisner worthy gem, in a way it makes me sad that Sentry came out 7-9 years ago, because Blue Marvel/Adam Brashear is a superior version of a similar character in virtually every way. Grevioux indulges in some Mary Sue tendencies with his creation, but not nearly as many as Paul Jenkins did. Adam has a better origin, potent but reasonable powers, a more socially relevant backstory, and unlike DARK REIGN, is timed perfectly to the current administration's beginnings. The problem, of course, is that this is a random Marvel mini by a creative team that is not well known that got virtually no promotion; as such, it debuted at 17k and was selling 12k by December 2008, struggling to remain within the Top 200. It certainly isn't THAT dire, and should the title character survive the finale (which I gather he will), I wouldn't mind seeing him utilized in the Marvel Universe in the future. He offers more than the Sentry, who is literally a Stepford Cuckcoo.

That said, from the moment I saw the cover, I was curious if Grevioux would make a continuity error, and he has. The cover shows Blue Marvel and Namor meeting/fighting, and as the issue reveals, they met in the 60's (especially as Adam's superhero headquarters is underwater). There is only one problem; Namor was not King of Atlantis or having water adventures from 1960-1962. Marvel has dated at 1958 the year that Paul Destine, a.k.a. "Destiny", used the Serpent Crown to destroy Atlantis and give Namor amnesia, thus rendering him a land-based deralict until the "modern age", i.e. 13-15 years ago. Aside for being controlled by Golden Claw in 1961 at some point, this period was usually unchallenged. Namor only started regaining his memories/sanity after fighting the Human Torch (Johnny) at the start of the Four's career and getting more ocean contact. If one doesn't believe me, one of those Update Marvel Handbooks has all this. While it isn't a huge deal, and I am sure some Handbook writer could find an easy way around it in the future, it was a bit of a hiccup for me. Especially as Adam could have easily met Namor on land during those years he was a wandering amnesia case.

While this story obviously takes place some time before the start of SECRET INVASION, for the first time, some of those Skrull revelations help it. As Adam Brashear is meeting with Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and "Yellowjacket" to address the threat of Anti-Man, "Yellowjacket" says some borderline racially ignorant things. If this was the normal Pym, this might be a problem, but knowing it is now a Skrull helps it go down a bit easier. Reed is impressed by Adam's intellect (he is a scientist after all) and his origin is revealed. Turns out that Blue Marvel was not a mutant; Trask and those 60's senators either assumed he was, or simply brought up mutants alongside the rest of their racial tension concerns to lump it all together. It isn't drinking some random godly serum, like Bob Reynolds had. It's a typical science experiment explosion, which empowered Adam but also rendered his friend and ex-Nam buddy even more powerful, and unstable as Anti-Man. He draws energy from the Negative Zone and this reality at uncharted levels.

In preparing for the rematch with his arch foe, still smarting over the break-down of his family (Iron Man, to his credit, offers to try to repeal some of those JFK era executive orders and fix Adam's records), he runs into another "old friend", Namor. That makes two, counting Uatu. Now, this might seem indulgent, until you recall that Paul Jenkins made Sentry the instant best friend of the Hulk, the Inhumans, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and probably Galactus. In comparison, Grevioux isn't nearly as indulgent. The only problem I had is that he struggles to write Namor, making Namor seem friendlier than he usually is; I mean, Namor outright LAUGHS with Adam. Namor never used to smirk at Steve Roger's wisecracks. On a better note, I did like the philosophical differences between them. Namor relates to Adam's experiences as his skin color is different than most Atlantians and it was something he had to overcome. Namor encourages Adam to be more militant than he is willing to be. That, basically, is the problem with Anti-Man; Adam's former friend turned foe is so aggressive in wanting racial equality, as well as the powers-that-be to suffer for past racial crimes, that he is basically out to do the typical "perform a huge disaster to force mankind to unite against a common foe" bit. The issue ends with Anti-Man seemingly defeating Adam with ease and setting out for such a disaster. With the Fantastic Four, Avengers and some of the Initiative proving unable to beat him in the first issue, of course, who can stop him now?

I did find it interesting that a white guy like Anti-Man seemed to be hundreds of times more ruthless and aggressive about solving racial issues than the star character, who is African American. While Adam has been of course frustrated with what he has experienced, and regretful, he doesn't dwell on anger nor is he militant; ironically, that has made him a pariah with more aggressive "Black Power" groups as well as with white bigots.

Mat Broome and Roberto Castro (as well as two inkers) continue to share art duties on the book, and do a great job on the whole; Namor at least is drawn better than Uatu was. While the story has some continuity hiccups at times, and in others is a bit standard, I genuinely like the character of Adam Brashear/Blue Marvel. While he is another retconned Silver Ager coming out of retirement, his origin has far fewer contrivances or outright unrealistic weirdness as Sentry's does. And while Blue Marvel was a hero in the 60's with some experience, his superhero career wasn't nearly as long as other heroes, so in a way he is a veteran who still has things to learn in the trade. While the story may remind some of THE AMERICAN WAY, Adam isn't as militant as New American was (not that NA's aggression was a problem; for that character it was appropriate), and it is good that he avoids some cliches of black heroes. Few new characters are perfect after the end of their 5-6 issue debut; they often need time and future stories to iron out the kinks and smooth the edges. Grevioux's writing for this series has probably been stronger than some of his work on NEW WARRIORS and I wouldn't mind seeing Blue Marvel again after issue #5 wraps. Adam Brashear is a man who hasn't allowed his life's tragedies and society's prejudices to warp and twist the man he is inside, that that is the brand of true heroes.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 #10: You know a title is in trouble when half the promotion for this issue was various Marvel people telling Newsarama, "We haven't canceled it (yet)!" The book has fallen to 21k sales in Dec. 2008, below the Top 125 at #130 for the month. The per-issue sales drop has gotten stable, at least helped by variant covers (from 10-20% drops per issue to about 4.5%), but this is a book that may be selling around SPIDER-GIRL numbers in the American direct market (14-15k) by the time it gets stable. I honestly wonder how many issues it has to sell in the U.K. and how many trades the first arc has to move for Marvel to consider that a respectable figure for a $3 comic. The talent involved is great, and the stories are terrific, but sadly that hasn't seemed to matter; much as THE ORDER came and went launching from THE INITIATIVE, this title is doing likewise with SECRET INVASION. Still, the book will survive past the year barrier, and a relaunch is possible; critical buzz has been high.

The promotion for this issue actually wasn't the cover, but a showing of the first page, with Dracula meeting with Dr. Doom on the moon. This issue states that Dr. Doom has returned to Latveria and regained his country; that clashes with some DARK AVENGERS material, but I frankly don't care. The purpose of the meeting is a bit of diplomatic villain banter; Dracula is going to create a nation for his "children of the night" in an area strategically near Doom, and wants assurances from him and his "new allies" the Cabal that there will be no interference. Had Bendis written this, Osborn and not Doom would be there, so I am glad Cornell is on hand to remember who the REAL top villain dog in Marvel's elite should be. Doom seems interested in the proposal and goes about making half-promises if anything, as Dracula reveals his plans to take over Britain, as it is a nexus for sorcery. Dracula, arguably the most powerful vampire on Earth (at least besides Varne, who was supposedly the first vampire), is very much interested in magic and conquest. I like this take on Marvel's Dracula; rather than existing as a cliche for Blade/Vampire Hunter stories, Dracula is returning to full on mystical super villain mode, harnessing technology and his vampire minions and connections to take stuff over. Reminds me of the era where he was fighting the X-Men and trading blows with Colossus (yes, Dracula's strength class is at least 75 tons in his prime).

This of course means big trouble for Britain's defenders, MI-13 and Capt. Britain, who are all busy on their own endeavors after thwarting Plokta last issue. Brian and Peter are on a double date, with Braddock trying to get over the stress of seeing his seemingly dead wife Meggan again; Wisdom just wants a score. An even better sequence is Jackie taking Blade out to some of her bar hang-outs and trying to coax the stiff slayer to loosen up a bit and act like a person more than a cliche. Romantically interested, Blade starts to actually take the stake out of his rear and loosen up (he even mocks some of his typical posturing). Even better than that is some time with Black Knight and Faiza, who is actually dressed as his "steward" as he reclaims the original Ebony Blade from Wakanda. This now gives Dane two swords that are corrupt and capable of leading him to bloodlust, which naturally worries Faiza, as well as his literal "stone heart". Dane promises that he can handle the blades, and that his heart is the effect of Sersi, his ex-lover. There is of course tension between the two which is more complicated than it seems. Dracula, of course, decides to ruin everyone's night by blowing up the knights and the double-daters with some suicide vampire missles (literal vampires as missles). Spitfire's son Kenneth seemingly returns, and Dracula becomes Faiza's father's uninvited guest.

Leonard Kirk's artwork is terrific as always, depicting complicated armor, daters, and vampires excellently while making it look easy. Cornell appears to be having a blast with Dracula and manages to avoid cliches with him, writing him as a more than worthy supervillain who is more than capable of taking down an entire nation, much less a team of superheroes. Considering Blade has tried to kill Dracula many times, and has lost allies to him, this should provide tension for him as well, plus at least showing that joining the British team coincides with his quest against vampires.

The cover is also subtle and great.

I was glad that the "where is the real Ebony Blade" subplot has finally been settled with Dane reclaiming it, and his interactions with Faiza, who holds Excalibur, are also pretty good. Knowing that Plokta did indeed tempt Brian with Meggan in the flesh, of course, adds more tragedy to his turmoil, as well as some genuine hope for a reunion.

Overall, it is yet another great team issue for a great team book; Marvel has tried to revive the British super-team comic for several years, and hey, who know the best way to do that was to remove Chris Claremont? Too many readers are bypassing this title, though, so enjoy it while you can. Marvel at least seems to desire to keep the book around, so if a relaunch is in the cards after this arc, it may be for the best.

 

[Dread]

NEW WARRIORS #20: The end of yet another NEW WARRIORS series. This time an ongoing, and unlike the last stab at one in 1999, it lasted beyond a year. For those curious about the price, this is a $3.99 comic that isn't inflated by reprints or sneak previews; just 34 pages of story. You pay for an issue and a half, and get an issue and a half. No complaints. It also is our second dose of Grevioux this week.

This has been a strange series, NEW WARRIORS volume 5. Launched at the end of CIVIL WAR, with the NW's roles in that crisis being pivotal, it seemed like a no-brainer to give the franchise another try. In a way, AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE did as well, casting Justice, Rage, and other former New Warriors as central or reoccurring characters. Grevioux, however, chose to do very little with the old cast. He brought back Donyell Taylor, formerly known as Bandit (and technically an ex-NW himself) and last seen in some GAMBIT issue years prior, back from limbo, chopped off his legs in a car accident and had him become a new Night-Thrasher. The reformed thief now wants to honor his dead brother's name. Specifically, he wanted to assemble various devices to revive his brother via time travel. To that end, he recruits a series of vulnerable ex-mutants and former X-Men/Generation X members, such as notable characters like Jubilee and Chamber, mid-carders like Beak and Angel (not Warren), and who-knew's like Stacy X and Redneck, among others. Giving them technology, Donyell forged them as New Warriors, rebelling against the SHRA and Iron Man's seemingly fascist leadership tendancies. They beat down some villains, lost at least one member to the Zodiak Gang, and Jubilee/Wondra constantly had trust issues with the manipulative Taylor.

There are parallels to the old series, of course. Midnight's Fire and Silhouette showed up. There were some references to A:TI and the books sometimes complimented each other. Night-Thrasher has always been a leader who manipulates the team for his own mysterious purposes at times, and Donyell feel into that trap as Dwayne did. Much as Tom Defalco literally chose his cast for the original NEW WARRIORS by flipping through the Marvel Handbook and picking obscure heroes at random, it seemed Grevioux did the same, plucking forgotten or almost forgotten (and depowered) X-characters. Most of them were former stars of series like GENERATION X or even ACADEMY X who had been left meaningless by M-Day. There was even a fight with Justice's team of Old Warriors, called Counter-Force.

There were some major issues, though. The cast was too entirely large and characters got lost in the shuffle; Phaser's sister Tattoo dies very quickly and the loss is bately felt; Christian himself seemed to vanish into the background often. For every member that rose to the fore, especially Jubilee and Jono, there was one who seemed forgettable. The story was a bit decompressed and took well over a year to establish things, like a general direction or who Night-Thrasher was. It was stuck in an era where everyone saw Iron Man as a borderline villain at worst, and as that era quickly passed by 2008, the book seemed dated very quickly. It also had no central threat, beyond the SHRA enforcement. Regular artist Paco Medina left for greener pastures as well, and it took the book a while to have reliable drawing talent pick up the slack. Brown & Jones do here, and have for the last few issues.

The latest and final arc has been a time travel adventure, but not nearly as carefree as ones in BOOSTER GOLD tend to be. Trying to escape into the past with his Ka-stone powered time machine, Donyell and the team are ambushed by Agent Sykes and her cape-killer squad, where Stacy X and Redneck are killed. All are flung into the machine, which takes them about 30 years into the future, and that is where things get screwed up. Dwayne is back from the dead, traded armors with Tony Stark, and has taken over the world and rules it with an iron fist, where any super-being is zapped to the Nth Dimension. Donyell is of course tempted with his heart's desire, his living brother, but ends up having to side against his team, capturing them last issue.

I was expecting a time travel paradox; I was expecting it to be revealed that Dwayne was alive because, at least according to "fate", Donyell was supposed to go back in time or otherwise succeed in saving him. Only, of course, Dwayne turned out as a worse tyrant than Stark ever was and it was some horrible mistake. That never happened, which leaves Future Iron Man existing as more of a symbol of Donyell's character flaw than as a story angle. A nightmare could have accomplished a similar revelation as Donyell had this issue, in about half the time. Someone also narrates the first few pages from the perspective of the captured cast, and I was unsure if it was supposed to be Jubilee or Sonia. There was no explanation of why Dwayne was alive in the future, perhaps because Grevioux assumed it was inevitable that someone would revive him, or something. Without a well thought out reason, though, it just exists as plot convenience, which is a shame.

The rest of the story ends as one could predict; Donyell comes to his senses, frees his allies, and leads them back to the time machine. He ends up killing Future Dwayne in single combat before freeing the heroes, or at least some of them, from the Nth Dimension, and one included himself. That bit worked out better. The Warriors return to default 616 and Donyell disbands the team, noting how he was wrong and that a team could not exist without trust. Jono and Beak still seemed loyal, but Jubilee and the rest seemed to agree that a break was inevitable. Out of all of them, I think Jubilee/Wondra has been revisioned the best out of the cast, and I hope this aspect of her isn't dismissed in a future appearence (especially as Donyell allowed them all to keep their hi-tech gear).

Donyell, as Night-Thrasher, returns in AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #22 and it would have been fitting to have an ad for that issue, but this book was running a month behind, likely due to the extra 12 pages of content. Not everyone liked this book, and many abandoned it before the end, but at least it had a proper ending. Grevioux took a risk, and while it wasn't handled perfectly, I can respect the idea of taking a risk on something, doing something unexpected. That said, Gage is having yet another NW revival in A:TI, and I think that may be closer to what many of the fans wanted. Still, Donyell is a part of that, and Grevioux was the guy who had him fill his bro's armor. His ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL has some stronger stuff in it, and hopefully Grevioux works on his craft and returns in the future. The New Warriors, however, are due a rest, at least in terms of ongoings. At the very least, it lasted longer than any volume since the first (which ran 75 issues). Can't wait for AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #22!

PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #5: A mini that was also completely under the radar, even worse than ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL. It debuted at 17k and managed 12k until issue 3. A two month delay made issue #4 slip all the way to 8.5k in December, and the sales for this last issue will probably be embarassing. Although honestly, what was Marvel expecting? This was a sequel story to the Hellcat tale by Kathy Immonen from MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS, a series that hardly sold better by the time that tale wrapped. It got little promotion and was shoved out with the rest. Plus, the story was a bizarre, goofy sugar-rush that had little to do with what Marvel is doing, beyond Iron Man running the Initiative (at least as of last summer). Both Marvel & DC have trained their fans to not bother with books that "don't matter" or are underpromoted, and this is no exception.

In terms of quality, let's say it was far better than Claremont's BIG HERO 6, which sold so poorly that the final issue may be the first mainstream Marvel comic to sell below the Top 300.

Hellcat, the only superhero stationed to Alaska by Iron Man, was tasked to rescue a missing girl by a tribe of Alaskan mystics. Turned out she was just staying with her yeti boyfriend. After TKO'ing the fiesty girl with a punch and trying to escape her ice ship, Hellcat and her magical critters are stuck embedded on a glacier, teetering towards death. With more goofy girly banter than TOTALLY SPIES on acid, Hellcat manages to return the girl to her parents, organize a family compromise, and give Iron Man a report of a job well done. Lafeunte does the art, and his style is terrific for the tone of the story, matching it perfectly; better than Immonen's husband did in MCP (which was also goofy).

Hellcat of course is a long and storied character. A Betty/Veronica clone in the 50's, she was revived as a mystically empowered heroine in the 70's and spend long stints as a Defender, doing things like being turned into a demon, marrying the Son of Satan, and going insane. With a design more like a wrestler than a "hell-feline", Patsy Walker is difficult to make unique in many stories. When handled seriously, as done by Gage in A:TI #21, Walker comes off as fairly mundane; just another cat-themed heroine, not to be confused with Tigra. Kathy Immonen, who almost writes Patsy as another character, at least helps her stand out more. She merges the superheroine aspects with the Golden Age dating heroine history to sort of create a supehero as created by Sailor Moon. While, yes, Hellcat did have a mental health history, she is almost another character entirely. That said, this is a version I could imagine going on a shopping trip with Squirrel Girl and having an "AWESOME" time. Still, there is the idea that like Squirrel Girl at times, she is written as more of a schtick than a character. But at least it is a distinctive schtick.

Maybe it has a bit of a lesson; the trick to rejuvenating an old D-Lister sometimes doesn't invive a death or bleakness.

That said, this was a series that was fun for a read but offered little substantial, and once I file all 5 issues into a box, I will probably forget them.

 

[Dread]

Last comic, I promise!

THOR #600: After 12 issues of a relaunched series, Thor returns to original numbering for his 600th issue, a trend that Joe Q made popular once Bill Jemas had completely left the stage. Jemas was a fan of lower numbered issues with lower numbered prices; Joe Q like 3 figure issue numbers and comics over $3 too. Least he's consistent.

THOR of course is a title that has become late rather often. This is only the 4th issue of THOR within about 10 months. This may have had some effect on sales; Normally a 90+k seller by issue #8, it slipped to 87k in May 2008, and then started slipping nearly 4-5% per issue in sales. In December, running at least 3-4 months behind original schedules, it was under 74k. This isn't anything to worry about, of course. These are still Top 15 numbers. In 2003, Thor was selling at 31k, so even with the title's sales falling some 27% within a year, it's over 130% higher than it was in ages. In years past, THOR usually was struggling to remain in the Top 65. Plus, JMS has been getting earned critical praise for THOR, so in any way, it was a hit. Keeping him on a shelf for years to cement an idea, creative team and demand obviously has worked out for Marvel in every way that counts; one could suggest trying that patient approach for some other sagging character franchises. 600 issues is of course quite a milestone, even though Thor originally took over the anthology, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY.

This issue is very, very strong; the best issue since the last, and the first time Thor gets off his rear and fights something in his own title since, well, May 2008 (or 4 issues ago). I like the status quo set up by the ending, and see potential in it. However, much like with DARK REIGN, the problem is swallowing the ludicrous scenario that sets everything up. DARK REIGN hinges on Norman Osborn, a character who has killed REPORTERS, who has blown up the Daily Bugle building, who was committing acts of domestic terror less than 4 years ago, who has been exposed as a maniac for years, essentially becoming America's unelected commander-in-chief because he shot a Skrull on national TV. That is akin to the Son of Sam leading a successful mission that kills Osama Bin Ladin in Afghanistan and then becoming head of the Pentagon with everyone blindly gushing about it. It's completely ridiculous, running counter to any and all rational human thought or reaction, which is saying a lot for a superhero comic. JMS' THOR arc, while not quite that bad, runs on a similar ridiculous set-up situation.

Basically, Thor is an idiot. Balder is an idiot, and an easily led pawn. Loki is the ever brilliant cunning God of Mischief, but it is easy to be cunning when your adversaries are idiots with short memories. We are supposed to feel bad for Thor by the end of the story, but Thor, and Asgard, basically got what they deserved because they all were naive idiots in service to JMS' story. And the shame of it was that with a minor concept rewrite, it didn't have to be.

In this issue, Loki's schemes from the start of the series, and as revealed last issue, come to fruition. Having gone back in time to be the one who eliminates Odin's father Bor, Loki in modern day chooses to revive Bor. Casting a sensory distortion spell around Thor's grandfather for good measure, Loki unleashes the berserk Asgardian in Manhattan, where he proceeds to smash up the city and slaughter people, believing everyone is a demon and being unaware of the time lapse. Jane Foster calls Donald Blake about the crisis, and Thor immediately bursts into action. After finding no way to reason with the brute, and having never met Bor before (or, apparently, ever seen a painting of him, or been told what he looked like by Odin or anyone else), Thor finds himself in conflict with a menace who is every bit as powerful as Odin, maybe more so. Thor rallies with all of his might, and it is not enough. Summoning the Avengers with their infamous battle cry (which apparently worked to kill the entire Skrull Armada in SECRET INVASION), we are teased with Iron Man's shadow but instead it is Norman Osborn, Iron-Patriot and his Dark Avengers team. Quite why anyone believes the unregistered Spider-Man (Gargan posing as Spidey) is an adorable hero just because Osborn says so is a mystery. Setting on killing both threats, Thor and Bor basically dispatch the team (the look on Osborn's helmet when Thor throws him practically through a building into another district is priceless) before locking helmets once again, forcing Thor to kill his enemy. Loki is ever ready with Balder, who informs Thor of his heritage with the warrior and that the distraught thunderer has now officially killed the patriarch of Asgard, and thus is exiled. Thor's attempt to explain the situation is dismissed, and Thor makes no attempt to deny the act or the letter of Asgardian law, and steps off. Loki, meanwhile, announces wanting to move to Latveria, run by his pal, Dr. Doom.

Now, it goes without saying that most of the issue is very, very strong stuff. The action is paced very well and almost makes you forget about how little Thor himself has done in the book for months. Coipel and Djurdjevic unite for 41 pages of story, with Coipel drawing the "real world" action and Djurdjevic drawing Bor's vision of the world, as per Loki's spell. This naturally allows both artists to share the 41 page workload in a way that fits with the story, much as IMMORTAL IRON FIST does with flashbacks (or at leas Brubaker & Fraction do with them). The action panels are pulse pounding, bold things. The idea of tempting you with an Avengers reunion is clever, and of course while it got old seeing heroes pummeling heroes, DARK REIGN at least allows them to pummel villains posing as heroes, which works out better. And honestly, the idea of Thor being exiled from Asgard is one that I think has potential. Lord knows that as king of Asgard, Thor did little for ages besides sit on his duff. At least in exile, Donald Blake can travel the land and manage to fight threats that don't come to his door, or maybe even aren't all Norse magic themed, like the Dark Avengers or, gasp, new enemies. It has been a while since we saw such a dynamic with Thor, although Odin had banished or punished him at various points in history. Now JMS has a stab at such a story.

The problem is that all this good stuff is reliant on you buying that Thor would blindly trust Loki and assume he/she would never resume old schemes. This is to assume you can buy Balder, who values truth over all, choosing to trust Loki more than Thor simply because Loki exposed one secret that Thor kept for a genuinely honest reason. You also must assume that everyone else in Asgard has forgotten all those years that Loki tried to kill them all with schemes or armies or coup's, including the last Ragnarok that killed them all for good for a bit, and would also have no problem with Loki sniffing around or being Prince Balder's key advisor. Being able to buy all that is absurdity on it's face, a twist of reactions to suit a story outline when that outline needed an edit to work.

Let me use this as an example, as some posters are a bit stubborn about this point. Imagine a story in which Lex Luthor leads an attack on Metropolis that ends up killing every man, woman, and child in the city, including Lois, Jimmy, Perry, Superman's allies and Superman himself. By a twist of fate, Superman returns from the dead; no coma baloney, he was DEAD, and comes back like a Messiah. Through various Kryptonian tech or magic or whatever, Superman manages to find the souls of his lost friends and citizens and rebuilds Metropolis as well as his pals in new bodies. The only Metropolis citizen he cannot find is Lois. At some point, Luthor returns in a female body. He notes the sheer technicality of "well, all my old crimes were in that old body and this is a 100% new body, you made them yourself so you know they're 100% pure. It is unfair to punish me for old crimes, and all I want is to return to Metropolis and be a teddy bear." Now, Superman would have to be naive to believe this, and a sheer, complete fool to allow it without some probationary period, limitation, or even someone to keep an eye on Luthor. Superman decides to be a sheer, complete fool. The female body Luthor is using is Lois', and somehow Superman cannot detect it (even though it has the same skin and hair color). Luthor then goes on to do what any 10 year old WWE fan could predict; manipulate things and pull schemes, including alliances with outside enemies and even staging some attacks by monsters. Luthor reveals some secret that Kal never told Supergirl about their heritage/Fortress of Solitude whatever. Superman's reason is, "I genuinely wanted to protect you, and the longer I put it off, the harder it got, and I am very sorry." Supergirl chooses this moment for dismiss Superman forever and exclusively listen to anything Luthor tells her. Supergirl is soon manipulated into exiling Superman from the city, and usually either allows Luthor to do her talking, or asks "What should I do?" when a crisis emerges, or a rule needs to be explained.

If such a story took place, the message boards would be aflame with people screaming about what an idiot Superman is, how could be so blindly trust Luthor after all those old schemes, how could Supergirl, or the citizens of Metropolis, or whatever. No one would let that absurd plot conveniene slide. But because THOR is a story about Norse gods, it appears some people believe they should act like the most naive and gullible of humans, dismissing all past history and evidence, especially when it regards safety. Thor allowed the snake into the Garden of Eden without any reservations. He deserved what he got, and Balder and the rest will deserve their fate, and there is no getting around that, no matter how damned good the fights are, or where the status quo leads. That one absurd element is a rotten cherry oozing puss onto a wonderful sundae.

As I mentioned in a discussion on the topic in December, and other posters have mentioned, the easy way out would have been to have Loki simply pretend to be Sif. He is literally wearing her body anyway. This would have allowed this situation to play out almost exactly as it has without Thor, Balder, and the rest needing to be naive idiots to make it work. The real Sif would still be trapped, and an inevitable revelation and showdown with Loki would go unchanged. Even this issue's terrific battle sequences would have remained, and most of last issue and prior issues. It is so glaring obvious that one could deem it insulting that a longtime professional TV and comic writer like JMS couldn't come up with it, or chose to dismiss it. The only think lost with this edit would have been the idea of Loki, literally, hiding as a wolf in sheep's clothing in full view, acting as some said as a self motivated politician rather than a cackling supervillain. The only problem is that Loki was still acting like a supervillain that wouldn't have fooled a four year old child with a learning disability, and that politician angle can't work with the above mentioned absurdities. Maybe JMS wishes it was 1967 when he was writing this story when thet dynamic MIGHT have played out better, but it isn't, and it is about time A-List writers realized they are not the first, or last, good writers on a franchise, and to get over themselves.

The issue was great. The direction is looking up and is genuinely interesting. The only problem is that it requires swallowing an awfully big whopper whole, and I can't. In some ways this is worse than Thor always fighting like a bum with the Avengers or against Hulk/Rulk. This is about Thor as a character being gullible and dumb, and it clashes even with other aspects of JMS' story and relaunch, and take on him. Maybe it is for this reason that THOR is one of my favorite titles, but it isn't nearly as dear to me as NOVA, INCREDIBLE HERCULES, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, IMMORTAL IRON FIST, Slott's MIGHTY AVENGERS or CAPTAIN AMERICA (don't take the listed order literally). Good writers take their franchises and characters in exciting directions with great character and action moments. Even better writers do all that without expecting their audience to swallow a bold-faced story flaw as a foundation to all that.

There is an 11 page back-up story by Stan Lee and Aja, based around the "Cap's Kooky Quartet" era where Thor seeks to go live with Sif on Earth and avoid all this problems on Asgard, only to be inspired by a child he saves as Donald Blake (who of course is a Thor fan). It's pure 60's era camp, but Stan Lee was always good at that. I've read far worse 11 page stories lately.

There also are a series of 60's reprints where, ironically, the moral in a few of them is not to dismiss the greater good or greater morality because of a rule in the sky somewhere, something Balder and the rest of the Asgardians apparently have forgotten since Odin's death. There also are about 5-6 pages of THOR's last 599 covers that took about 2 minutes on Photoshop to form and to justify the $5 price. Could Marvel have been willing to knock the cost down to, oh, $4.50 or $4.75 without the reprints and cover glances? No.

A good issue, marred by that gaffe at the premise phase, that JMS has allowed to continue for his own convenience, and at the price of a stronger tale.

 

[THANOSRULES]

I think the whole LOKI thing would have had more weight if he/she would have been more or less a "good" character for a year or so before the current direction.

Ive always wanted LOKI to be displayed more true to mythology..

 

[imdaly]

Avengers left off somewhere around #500 before the New relaunch, right? Just wait until New and Mighty both have roughly 50 issues and they're ready to merge them back into a single book. Avengers #600.

Well, actually, since New Avengers #50 and Mighty Avengers #22 will hit this month...and since Avengers ended at #503...we'd hit Avengers #600 on the month after New Avengers #62 and Mighty Avengers #34 hit.


...that's assuming that both books stay monthly until then, and if we don't count Dark Avengers.

 

[Keyser Soze]

While you make a fair, understandable point, Dread, I can’t say I agree with you. I have often said that, with this run on Thor, it seems like JMS is aspiring to construct a Shakespearian tragedy in the guise of a Marvel Comic. And, of course, if you look at Shakespeare’s tragedies, you will see similar such contrivance. But Othello is not an idiot for believing Iago is his friend, nor is Hamlet stupid for failing to kill King Claudius when he is repeatedly given the opportunity to do so, instead waiting until he has lost everything and faces certain death. What makes these characters tragic heroes is that they are undone by their own goodness, fate and villainy turning their greatest strengths into fatal flaws. And it would appear JMS intends for the same to be said of Thor, and even Balder, in how Loki gains the titular “victory” over both of them.

I think it’s a narrow perception of the story to say “Thor is duped by Loki” or “Balder is now on Loki’s side and has turned against Thor.” Neither of these is the case. Thor makes it very clear that he sees through Loki’s charade. He even hits home this idea by, I believe, repeating the promise of “fire and darkness” that he vowed Loki would face if she betrayed him again, back in #5. Balder too, though he might not KNOW it as Thor does, at least suspects foul play from Loki. This is made abundantly clear when he attacks Loki after Thor’s banishment, and condemns her “black tongue”. Thor is no idiot. Balder is no idiot.

But the crucial issue that is being overlooked in this discussion thus far is exactly who Loki is talking to when she gives her speech about the ancient rule of Asgard, and questions if Thor should be considered above the law. She might be talking about Thor, and she might be addressing Balder, but she is directing her speech at neither. Her speech is in fact intended for the assembled masses of Asgard that fill the Great Hall during Thor’s trial. It’s easy to miss them, as they are never the focus of any panel, merely appearing in silhouette. If anyone could be accused of “idiocy” or “gullibility” in this situation, it would be them. We’ve seen in previous issues that they are stewing under Thor’s reign, that they are discontent with their situation. Loki has put careful work into fuelling those fires of disillusion. And now she has gathered them all, all these people who do not know the first-hand context of the situation, all these people who do not know how Thor had no choice but to take lethal action, all these people who simply know Thor – long known as an arrogant hothead in his youth, now seen as at least an inferior king to Odin – has killed Bor, first King of Asgard. And before them all, Loki now asks Thor and Balder if they will respect the law they swore to uphold.

And this is where Loki defeats Thor and Balder. Not through deceiving them, but by outplaying them. She takes their inherent virtues, and uses them as weapons against them. Say what you want about mitigating circumstances, Thor killed Bor. Thor knows that, however justified he may be in pointing the finger of blame at Loki, with the way Loki has framed the situation, any denial of guilt on his part will be seen by the populace of Asgard as flouting their rules for his own ends. Loki knows he knows, and relishes it. She has him nailed to the wall. Because after he’s fought so hard to restore Asgard, and rebuild their community, he is not going to risk tearing it apart through civil unrest. His hands are tied.

Nevertheless, you can tell that Balder, if Thor had asked, would have risen to his defence. It’s not like Balder’s suddenly all like “Damn you, Thor, you traitor, you scum! You’re the only one I can trust now, Loki!” Thor essentially falls on his own sword for Balder. He knows that, even if he were not banished for killing Bor, his days as a beloved, trusted leader in Asgard are over, he can not be the strong leader they need. Balder can. Thor knows a leader is what Asgard needs, even if it can’t be him. So, like I say, Thor falls on his sword with that big speech where he accepts his fate. And with that speech done, Loki turns her focus to Balder, and the population’s eyes are on him. Now that Thor has passed the crown to him, is he going to appear inconsistent or indecisive? If he makes a ruling that favours his friend, his leadership credibility too is compromised before all of Asgard. So, with Thor’s acceptance, he makes the only ruling the cards dealt to him by Loki allow him to make. His hands, too, are tied.

This is not to say Balder is infallible. It is clear his will is weaker than Thor’s, that he will be a weaker king than Thor. And Loki is busy at work battling at Balder’s defences, trying her utmost to poison Thor in his mind, plant seeds of doubt in his thoughts. For now, he is resisting, but should he ultimately be swayed against Thor, all this groundwork means it will be a credible transformation, rather than simply a contrived plot device.

And THANOSRULES, JMS knew we would all see through any attempt to portray Loki as "good" from a mile off, and any surprise "she was evil all along!" twist would be utterly telegraph. So he wisely bypassed all that and let us see right from the get go she was her old evil self, even while this was kept secret from the rest of the story's cast. Dramatic irony, another device of Shakespearian tragedy.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I really can't stress enough how little Loki has to do with what Balder's doing. Loki makes suggestions here and there, but he's just spurring Balder onto decisions he probably would've made on his own. Balder is pretty much nobility incarnate. He believes in the truth and the rule of law. He's loyal to a fault, so the best dramatic tension for him comes when his loyalties are divided. His loyalties are certainly divided now, between his best friend and the principles of Asgard, which he suddenly finds himself in command of.

Loki has manipulated him here, of course, but it's nowhere near as heavy-handed as everyone calling Balder an idiot makes it out to be. Loki's merely chosen what to show Balder; Balder himself has arrived at his own conclusions. So far, Balder has learned that Thor is basically abandoning Asgard every day, to the detriment of his subjects, in favor of adventuring on Earth and spending time as Don Blake; Thor is essentially keeping the other Asgardians prisoner in their own home with condescending claims that they're "not ready" to face Midgard; Thor and Odin lied to Balder for his entire life about Balder's heritage; and now Thor has killed a member of the royal family, which is about as serious a crime as you can possibly find in Asgard--the equivalent of bald, unabashed treason in any other country. Given all of that and Balder's personality, he's doing exactly what he believes is right and Loki has very little to do with it at this point. Frankly, if Balder were a lesser man or had a shred of ambition, Thor would probably have been deposed 2 or 3 issues ago, back when his negligence as a leader led to the death of one of his subjects.

Also, the severe nature of the punishment for Thor's killing of Bor has the answer to the question everyone's asking about why Loki is tolerated: he's a member of the royal family too, remember? Saying that no one should believe him (which no one does, really) and that he should be killed is all well and good, but the same law that makes killing Bor such a heinous crime applies to Loki as well. As I mentioned before, Thor already got punished even more harshly than he is now when he finally did try to kill Loki years ago.

 

[JewishHobbit]

It's true, it's true! I was one of the only people who really enjoyed X-Men: The End....all 15 issues!

It's alright Phaed. I'm with you on that one. I even liked Claremont's Neo stuff