Bought/Thought - February 25th, 2009 - Spoilers!

[sandwraith]

Oh Gawd...What's with the ambiguous reviews on NOVA #22??!! I just got out of camp and I really need to know what happens!

 

[moraldeficiency]

hahaha, so no NA/DA fight, eh? God damn I can predict bendis through and through. Was spider-man an assclown in this fight like usually?

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

He was okay. He actually punched someone which is remarkable for a Bendis comic.

 

[moraldeficiency]

did eight people comment on how annoying he was?

 

[Marcdachamp]

Huge week (I was out of town last week), weighing in at $43 after discount. Mostly great week, with some mediocre and one terrible.

Ultimate Spider-Man- PICK OF THE WEEK! Say whatever you want about Ultimatum, but it has resulted in one of my favorite arcs in this book. Bendis is really giving us the feeling of an epic disaster as the cast deals with the impact of Magneto's attack. The real star, however, is Stuart Immonen. Each issue has been more incredible than the last. The scene with Jonah watching Spider-Man underwater? My jaw just about hit the floor. The scene where Peter is first dealing with the Hulk? Big check on that, too. Thank God he's moving on to New Avengers, because I'd be crushed if Marvel didn't grab this man for another gig. 9/10

New Avengers- This book is real. Bendis could have easily stuck to the conventions of comics and given us a brawl that ended in the New Avengers waving their fists in the air saying "We'll stop you Norman! One of these days!" Hell, it might have still been decent. But instead, he has the characters act realistically. It's funny, but I honestly think Bendis is one of the best writers to handle Clint Barton in years. That ending was great. This issue also had very great character interaction, ("You had sex?"), terrific art (brilliant choices for each segment) and a nice twist. This is great comics. 9/10

Captain America- After a few issues that left me a little cold, I'm really getting into this arc. Brubaker kind of eased us into his next big storyline, and now I'm glad he did. We're really getting an opportunity to see Bucky as his own Cap and not just a Steve clone, a point that Bendis and Epting also tackled quite nicely in NA this week. Guice does a wonderful job on art this week, perfectly fitting the darker tone. 9/10

X-Force- I love this book. It's dark, it's got an awesome premise and it's my favorite X-Book now that Whedon and Cassaday left Astonishing. That last two page spread was chilling. 9/10

X-Factor- It was impossible for this issue to really top last month's gigantic shocker. While we get a really terrific follow-up here, and a great last page, I kind of assumed... THAT... would happen at some point, due to a quote from one of the first issues in this volume. How's that for leaving spoilers vague, PAD? 9/10

Dark Avengers- Magic can be a tough thing to pull off in comics. There's a lot of silly history and crazy dialogue that can turn off readers if you aren't careful. Luckily, Bendis balances that out with showing the formation of the team. Bullseye is great here, and it's going to be quite interesting to see where the team interaction will go. Also, nice to see the Sentry back to being a scary badass. 8/10

Hulk- Loved this. McGuiness is used perfectly. The way he draws these characters is really quite something. Each page is just more fun to turn than the last. Definitely eager for next issue already. 8/10

Transformers: Maximum Dinobots- Furman can really pull at my nostalgia strings. He truly has a taste for underused Transformers, bringing in a group I never expected to see. He also brings in some fun, classic Decepticons, and further bridges the gaps between this and All Hail Megatron. Fun arc, thus far. 8/10

Amazing Spider-Man- Good. The tracer conclusion is getting very interesting. I have to wonder if fans that didn't read the first Spider-Man Extra would feel like the issue were rushed, though. JR kills on this issue, too. 8/10

Thunderbolts- After last month's insanity, this just felt rushed. It's not the story, it was the art. I love De La Torre, but he's barely here and the art change is NOT a smooth transition. Marvel is typically very good with multiple artists in a single issue, but in this issue it's distracting and obvious. Ant-Man and Paladin are both fun though, and I'm ready for the Deadpool brawl! 7/10

Avengers: The Initiative- Pretty good, but I'm gonna say that it loses a point for killing off another Scarlet Spider. That was just stupid and silly. I hate fights where everyone else gets out okay except for someone that's easily replaced. Now that we only have one Scarlet left, they can't go that route again, so at least there's that. 7/10

Runaways- Not too bad. Moore does a good job on the dialogue and interaction, and it's nice to see Miyazawa again. Plots pretty out there, but that's kinda how Runaways is. 7/10

Transformers Movie Prequel: Alliance- Boring. Not terrible, just terribly uneventful. 5/10

Fantastic 4- Pretty much the same as the above. 5/10

Mighty Avengers- Hoo boy do I disagree with you guys. Take everything I said about New and Dark Avengers this week and completely toss it out the window for this book. This is easily one of the worst books I've bought in a long time. The cast has potential, but that's it. We have the worst example of a "comic booky" story. How in the hell would you describe this issue to another person? There's "comic booky" fun and "comic booky" stupid. Hulk is fun, this is stupid. I love Slott's work most of the time, but this is a stupid comic. Bova? Chthon? Of all the Avengers villains to start with right out the gate, this is who you pick? Oh, and the rest of the world is dead unless the team reverses time for the 8 billionth time in comic book history? Any other cliches we can run through? Hey, maybe the team will fight one another before banding together to stop the main villain? Ugh, dropped. 1/10

 

[SouLeSS]

The lack of chatter on Blue Beetle 36 is disturbing.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I just read it at lunch today. It was a good ending, but it's still upsetting since it's still an ending. I liked that Jaime's thoughts were for his family while he plummeted to his apparent doom, especially how he was concerned that his death would rob Milagre of her innocence too soon. Sad to see Nadia go, and I wonder if we'll ever see any payoff to Hector apparently becoming Jaime's new, scarab-stealing nemesis. Carlo Barberi's art was okay, but it lacked a lot of the personality that Albuquerque brought to the book. Shame he couldn't have come back to draw the final issue. Still, good read all around and I'll miss the series.

 

[SouLeSS]

I wish that page with Ted towards the end (the hologram malfunctioning) would have been an amazing last page. Although the way they ended it worked too. "Reboot complete" indeed.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I actually thought the Tedogram would save Jaime from his fall. But instead he just shuts himself off. Still, nice to see Ted again.

It was cool how Jaime was going through how Dan and Ted would've handled the situation before he's finally like, "Wait a sec... that guy has wings." Nice contrast between the three Beetles.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Dark Reign Files: As the title says, "Know Your Foes!" This handbook is basically a who's who of current Marvel villians you'll find in various titles, whether they link with Dark Reign or not. This handbook isn't concerned with power levels, but presents the information to Norman Osborn into five rateable categories: Threat, Loyalty, Influence, Power, and Expendability. The bios, unlike many handbooks, aren't very expansive. It fits three villians per page, giving a brief background and an assessment of their usefullness to Norman. It's all slightly interesting; but, as handbooks go, not a must-have.

7/10

Hulk #10: The art in this title really fits the dialogue; because, it's all very cartoonish. Having NOTHING to do with what's gone on before, this issue reads like a comic from the 70's. (Well, actually the first 5 pages of a comic from the 70's, because they'd be able to tell this tale in one or two issues back then.) Like all previous Hulk issues, it's a fast read. I think you don't spend more than 5 minutes on a single issue.

Basically, The Collector and his brother, The Grandmaster, are playing a game with Earth's superheroes and villians. Hulk's heroes, the Original Defenders, are grabbed through time and space, all with the promise that if they win, they can get back their lady loves. The villians, calling themselves the Offenders, consist of Red Hulk, Baron Mordo, Terrax, and Tiger Shark. As I said, this advances the previous story in no way. It always seems like you can find more negatives to Jeph Loeb's story than positives...but, by now, you know what you are getting into, and it's a bit easier to accept his crap.

6/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #131: There is a part of me that is really pissed off at the fact the Ultimate Universe might come to an end. Sure, it hasn't been the best thing coming out of Marvel in the past couple years; but, some of the titles have been a lot more entertaining than a good half of what DC puts out. (Plus, I love the way they handle the Ultimate Universe, where anyone can die and anything can happen.) After reading Ultimatum #1, I was stoked about this big event. And, with each tie-in, that excitement hasn't left. Just looking at page 3 & 4...WOW! (I won't lie, though...there are glitches...like Jonah using a computer right after this devestation. All I could think of is how is he getting power to run it.)

Really, nothing beats pictures of devastation, especially when you include well-known landmarks. It's what makes you go see movies, like Day After Tomorrow and War Of The Worlds. As long as that devastation doesn't invade our real world (it's still very jarring when I'm watching an old movie, and I see the Twin Towers), it's a thrill. To this day, one of my favorite Batman events was when the Earthquake hit Gotham. Just seeing the heroes trying to save people amidst the devastation; and, this issue grabs the same sort of attention.

It's about the human emotion; and, Bendis is in his element. Say what you will about his ability to handle action sequences; but, you can't slight him on the other. He does such a great job of giving us a new look at the Hulk...and, then when Spidey finds Daredevil dead...again, WOW! My only complaint was I became so engrossed in this story, that discovering the last 8 pages was a preview of Dark Reign Fantastic Four was maddening. I was expecting more story! I WANTED more story!!!

10/10

I have so many comics to read this week. But, it's been a busy day, and I've only gotten to those three.

 

[SouLeSS]

It feels like a good close to the series to me. He started off alone, and he built this entire network of allies around his area, and in the Super hero world. He fought a bunch of locals and protected the local area, but he also stopped the Reach invasion of Earth.

I just wish he'd be in another book other than Teen Titans and Brave / Bold every so often. So long as the proper person is writing him, he's one hell of a character with one hell of an ensemble cast. The Peter Parker of this generation, so to speak.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I completely agree. McKeever did all right with him in this week's Teen Titans, though. I like the friendship/friendly rivalry between him and Eddie, and I'm looking forward to how he interacts with Static.

 

[hippie_hunter]

New Avengers- This book is real. Bendis could have easily stuck to the conventions of comics and given us a brawl that ended in the New Avengers waving their fists in the air saying "We'll stop you Norman! One of these days!" Hell, it might have still been decent. But instead, he has the characters act realistically. It's funny, but I honestly think Bendis is one of the best writers to handle Clint Barton in years. That ending was great. This issue also had very great character interaction, ("You had sex?"), terrific art (brilliant choices for each segment) and a nice twist. This is great comics. 9/10

Spidey saying "You had sex?" was funny but asides from a few moments here and there New Avengers #50 was just awful. The characters don't act realistically. They just keep talking and talking and talking in an incredibly annoying fashion. There were realy only two funny moments but every other time, the rest of the panels were filled with nothing but dialogue balloons.

And Bendis writes Clint Barton horribly. And he downright takes a **** on Bucky. Last I knew, Spider-Woman wasn't a part of the New Avengers, Cap hated bringing Wolverine onto the team, Iron Fist wasn't a part of the Avengers when he was alive, and he fought against Ms. Marvel in the Civil War. Personally I think if he were alive and chose his Avengers it would be Iron Man, Thor, and the Kooky Quartet.

Mighty Avengers- Hoo boy do I disagree with you guys. Take everything I said about New and Dark Avengers this week and completely toss it out the window for this book. This is easily one of the worst books I've bought in a long time. The cast has potential, but that's it. We have the worst example of a "comic booky" story. How in the hell would you describe this issue to another person? There's "comic booky" fun and "comic booky" stupid. Hulk is fun, this is stupid. I love Slott's work most of the time, but this is a stupid comic. Bova? Chthon? Of all the Avengers villains to start with right out the gate, this is who you pick? Oh, and the rest of the world is dead unless the team reverses time for the 8 billionth time in comic book history? Any other cliches we can run through? Hey, maybe the team will fight one another before banding together to stop the main villain? Ugh, dropped. 1/10

What's wrong with you

Slott would at least respect the characterization Brubaker is doing with Bucky, unlike Bendis.

 

[kguillou]

I'm really trying to like Slott's MA but...i just cannot. In my opinion, Slott's approach is i dunno, a little too old school for my tastes. The panels are cramped up, too many narration boxes and i just dont feel like the danger is serious. Plus pham's artwork is...eh, i think he coulda chose a better artist to start the series off with a bang.

Maybe i'm just too used to Bendis' contemporary take on the avengers, but when Bendis presented danger, you really felt like some serous s*** is happening. Something's just missing in the execution here, i like the concept, i really like the roster, but the execution isnt working.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Reign In Hell #8: This ended up being one of the better DC minis I've read over the past few years. I saved up most of them until the last issue; as, there are many of DC's hellish characters within and knew I'd get a bit confused if I didn't. So, last night and today, I read issues 3-8.

There were a few changes to the DCU taking place in this title. Foremost is Hell now being ruled by Lady Blaze, especially after deceiving Satanus. I also loved the writer, Giffen, bringing back Lobo in a big way. Gone was the clownish anti-hero we last saw in 52; this is a Lobo that even the old lord of Hell feared. (I believed it was stated that this is the "Original Lobo," and many past appearances have been bad clones or something.)

8/10

Green Lantern #38: Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps has been so good for the past few months, with everything leading up to their big event, Blackest Night. While Loeb has made all the different colored Hulks a joke, the writers on both titles have made their different colored Lanterns extremely interesting and well thought out. The twists in this issue alone are great, from learning that a Blue Lantern's power can only work in the proximity to a Green Lantern to the effect of putting the blue ring on Hal's hand when he already had on a red and green ring. Not only that, this issue links into events happening in Green Lantern Corps with Sinestro's reaction to Mongul's attempt to take over as leader of the Yellow Lanterns. Best of all, while so much is happening, it's not at all confusing

9/10.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm really trying to like Slott's MA but...i just cannot. In my opinion, Slott's approach is i dunno, a little too old school for my tastes. The panels are cramped up, too many narration boxes and i just dont feel like the danger is serious. Plus pham's artwork is...eh, i think he coulda chose a better artist to start the series off with a bang.

Maybe i'm just too used to Bendis' contemporary take on the avengers, but when Bendis presented danger, you really felt like some serous s*** is happening. Something's just missing in the execution here, i like the concept, i really like the roster, but the execution isnt working.

The book does have a bit of a problem with impressing its scope upon the reader, but otherwise it's fantastic. I guess you have to be a classic Avengers fan who's basically been starving for real Avengers action during the Bendisvengers stuff for the last few years to appreciate it as fanatically as some of us do. You can fairly feel Slott's love for the classic Avengers dripping off of every page.

 

[Phaedrus45]

What happened to all the Sticky Threads???

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The big guy thought they were getting out of hand, so he pruned them.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Trinity #39: FINALLY! A decent issue comes out of Trinity as things FINALLY pick up...and, best of all, for the first time (I think) the issue isn't broken into two separate stories. The battle for Metropolis begins with things looking pretty dire for the good guys. (We won't mention how ridiculous the two page spread of villians all floating in the air looks.) I loved how we got the flashback of Xor's transformation via the frog...and, one of the best scenes in this entire series was Morgaine FINALLY taking care of that annoying creature that road his back, saying "enough of that prattling distraction." I've been thinking that every time I saw him!!! Even the ending has me eager to read the next issue. I can't believe I'm saying it...but, that was a decent issue.

7/10

 

[hippie_hunter]

Maybe i'm just too used to Bendis' contemporary take on the avengers,

Having the Avengers be an underpowered street level New York City team that makes no sense at all to have characters like Ms. Marvel, Captain America, and Wolverine on the team is not contemporary. Having the Avengers be a team comprised of villains is not contemporary. New Avengers before Civil War was a contemporary take on the Avengers, Bendis' Mighty Avengers was contemporary was a contemporary take on the Avengers post-Civil War.

Post-Civil War New Avengers and Dark Avengers are not contemporary. The Avengers are supposed to be Earth's Mightiest Heroes. You know...Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, and whatnot. The Avengers are not supposed to be Heroes for Hire meets Wolverine, Clint Barton, and Spider-Man. The Avengers aren't supposed to be a bunch of *****ebags. But the worst part is that Bendis just constantly goes off saying how THESE are the Avengers all while taking a dump on the characterization of Bucky and Clint Barton.

but when Bendis presented danger, you really felt like some serous s*** is happening. Something's just missing in the execution here, i like the concept, i really like the roster, but the execution isnt working.

Yes, ninjas and the Hood is serious **** happening

 

[kguillou]

Lol, you know what i mean man. I mean Bendis has this way of making a situation seem really bad (dont worry i completely agree that the ninjas were lame). The first arc of NA for example, when the villains broke out of prison, normally that wouldnt be such a big deal but Bendis and Finch portrayed it in a way that made you say "holy s***, spiderman, daredevil and cap are getting they're asses kicked bad." It seemed like a really dangerous situation, even though prison breaks happen all the time in comics. To me thats pretty cool that you could take something like that and make it seem blockbuster. I think part of it though was Finch's artwork, Finch portrayed events in a way that made it look like a big deal even though it really wasnt. Pham doesnt really have that same punch in my opinion.

 

[Dread]

This is easily what I usually call a "wallet buster" week, with Feb. seeming to save most of their releases for the end of the month, with a few of them being oversized $3.99 stuff. Without ad revenue, which has fallen off within the last month or so from comics (both DC and Marvel may have 10 pages of interior ads in their comics, but most of them are for in house products, not from outside companies).

As usual, full spoilers and rants ahead. I do not look forward to typing reviews on such huge weeks, let me tell you. Let's take a bite at a time.

Dread's BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 2/25/09:

BLUE BEETLE #36: A fitting way to start the week's typing, as this is the final issue of the ongoing series. Much has been said about it already, with a vocal minority of DC fans raising some internet emotions about the passing of this book. Frankly, though, one should be amazed it has lasted this long. It was selling below the Top 100, hell, below the Top 125 for years now. Even DC has canceled quite a few titles long before they fell to about 10.5k sales a month (BLOODHOUND comes to mind from a few years ago; I actually liked that book, too). Some mocked DC for going through with canning this book now that the Jaime Reyes Beetle has popped up in BATMAN: BRAVE AND THE BOLD on CN, but as predicted, that had no effect on sales; the show debuted in November-December 2008 and sales on BLUE BEETLE have gotten a bit more stable in a way, but have not increased. While 10k a month would be fine for a smaller third party company like Dark Horse, Image, Dynamite or others, for DC it is very low. The fact that this title can say it lasted 3 years in this market, especially a good year or so below the Top 115, is a testiment to DC's patience and editorial support. Many good books die without that. Marvel would have axed this book at the end of the Jones run, if not before.

Much as the cover suggests, which is drawn by prior interior artist Cully Hamner, this is the end of the series, and the tone is somber. Barberi proves to be the final interior artist for the book and while not as defining on the book as Albuerque was, I still enjoyed his work. On the writing side, Sturges had a hard task filling in long term after Jones left (and after a few fill-in stories by some rotating talent, none of which were bad by the way), but I think he pulled it off well. This book ends as it began; one of the few bright spots in DC's monthly catalogue of Silver Age butt-****ing. It was a book that has pleased fans of all ages, rather than the rest of DC which seems happy to sacrifice fans in their 20's for ones in their 40's.

In some ways, this final 2 parter reminds me of a lighter, shorter version of the storyline NOVA is currently going through; a squad of aliens who were enslaved by the Reach and bonded to Scarabs have taken Jaime's example and overthrown the Reach at various worlds, and seek to spread their version of justice across the universe. Unfortunately, their version of justice involves overthrowing any governments they find on various planets they deem too "authoratative", including Earth, preferring civil war to "rigid order". In some ways they remind me of Communists, only from space, and much like Communism, what sounds wonderful in theory is devistating in practice. Jaime has refused to lead them, and such a squad of them are attacking his school and ruining what was to be a dance night with his pals and girlfriend.

The issue in a way makes sure to embrace the themes at the heart of BLUE BEETLE as a title and character, rather than being lost in the spectacle, something more comics should try to do more often. Jaime Reyes is a young legacy hero who owes much to his mentors and whatnot, but struggles to honor them as well as be a man unto himself. He uses bits and pieces of various Beetle's, such as the Scarab used by Dan Garret, and some of the brainy tactics of Ted Kord, while trying to figure out the best way to grow up into his own. He utilizes Kord's hologram technology to save his secret identity, but unfortunately is unable to save one of his "tech support" characters, Nadia, from being killed in the attack. Nadia had been in the book a while but had only started getting some more "fleshing" an issue or two before her death, so in a way it wasn't too surprising and in a way I am glad it wasn't a longer term character, like Traci 13 or even Brenda. It does however prove the ratio that females in comics are far more likely to die than males in given adventures many times. This enrages Hector, the other tech-support guy, who at the end of the issue is seemingly bound to a Scarab of his own and would obviously be built up as the next series villain if the series was to continue. In a way it was a shame to end things here. Still, better to end while the quality is high than when it isn't. Leave the fans wanting more.

Jaime, as usual, uses a combination of guile alongside his mastery of the Scarab's powers and his bond with it, which is unique unto itself, to deactivate his enemies and save the day, albeit not without suffering 27 days of powerlessness, including a stay in the hospital due to injuries from the fall from space. A lot of the personal narration from Reyes, especially some of those pages where he is seemingly falling to his death, are pretty powerful stuff especially since we know this is the final issue. There is a farewell to Peacemaker, only one of many great supporting characters on the book, and a thanks to all the prior talent across the past three years that made the book what it was. For a final issue, it seemed to tug at all the right strings and rather than simply be about a fight, or a death, it ended as it began; about a character.

Quite a lot of bad things happend to DC's universe after INFINITE CRISIS, but BLUE BEETLE was that one exception. DC did almost everything in it's power to try to boost sales and keep it going as long as they have, and at least they have created a more than worthy character who has transcended the comic page and become a key character in an animated TV show (which is quite fun in itself). Jaime's adventures continue in TEEN TITANS, but I haven't bothered with that book before knowing that, and I'm not about to start. It would be a lie to say that BLUE BEETLE was the best book ever, or was free of some contrivances or plot mishaps (some plotting of the Reach threat was awkward at times). It was simply a very good superhero book from one of the main two in an era whan that can seem to be a rare, often unrewarded feat. There are books that come and go, or that I eventually drop, that quickly fade from memory and I almost forget I collected them. BLUE BEETLE won't be one of them. I can only hope this, my final SHH review of the series, was as good as the title deserved. All I can say for those who missed the ride is to give it a shot in trade, and I would be thrilled if this run got some ABSOLUTE style hardcovers. Through animation use, and other titles, at least the character will not fade to limbo, but continue.

Vaya con dios, Jaime Reyes.

ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #13: Robert Kirkman continues his "one time in '09", although just barely with this title. In this issue, Wolf-Man ends up being arrested by the feds after staying too long at his wife's grave-site. However, most of the issue focuses on butler Dunford's discussion with Chloe after another long night training with Zechariah about her father. The teasers promised an "origin" for the man and in a way it is helpful, as some have complained that Gary Hampton was a bit of a basic character, acting like many typical "male leads" in supehero comics. Of course, so does Mark Grayson in INVINCIBLE, and that hasn't been a problem there. Part of me wonders why Gary didn't try to flee from the authorties and don his costume, which supposedly absorbed "lunar light" for brief werewolf powers in daylight; I don't think he's ever used that feature. Even a half minute of power could have been sufficient to flee. Oh, well.

Dunford notes how Gary started from humble beginning and stumbled onto wealth by happening to support a couple of musicians who struck it rich after their single was used in a popular film. Gary fell into business to acquire more success, but was guilted by his quick raise to fame and often spent just as much time giving to charities or making sure workers from companies he bought were maintained or compensated, including Dunford. Unfortunately, this led Gary to often neglect his family, which led his wife to cheat on him with a business rival long before that fateful night at the camping lodge. In fact, that camping trip was to be an attempt to reconcile their family, which was of course when Gary became the Wolf-Man and this drama was invaded with mysticism. In many ways, then, Gary made some of the same mistakes as Wolf-Man as he had as a business-man; fell into his work so much, with good intentions, that his eye was off the ball at home. Gary also trusted the wrong man in Zechariah. Chloe at first doesn't wish to hear this but eventually admits that she still does love her father, which is why she wants to kill the werewolf he has become, seeing none of her father in the "monster" and believing her father is long dead.

And so while Gary is sitting in prison and ultimately convicted of his wife's murder at trial, Chloe is training with Zechariah, who has made her some sort of vampire/blood slave. In the Whitewolf VAMPIRE: THE MASQUARADE game, vampires could empower humans into being "ghoul" type beings that were stronger than normal mortals but not quite vampires by having them share in their blood, and it is unknown whether that is what Chloe has become or if she is a full on vampire like Sgt. Superior and the other members of his superhero team. Zechariah is an odd villain at times; one gets the feeling that he is more ambitious than malicious and some of his worst actions were crimes of passion or things he didn't plan on, such as killing Gary's wife or having Chloe bond to him out of vengeance. Even vampirizing the superhero team was done to "save" Wolf-Man from the consequences of killing one of them during his "full moon" bloodlust. Zech is a villain, but one who has become one almost by accident over the centuries by not realizing his methods of "helping" make more sense to him than others, and by covering up his sins. Considering I have seen a lot of "stock vampire" villains before, and that Joss Whedon tried to make similar villains in some of his works (such as Ord, who awkwardly tried and failed to straddle the line between comic-relief villain and threat villain), I think Kirkman has pulled it off here.

This book is one where a status quo barely exists for long and weird thing can happen, although likely not as weird or dark as WALKING DEAD. Oh, and the Triple Threat learn they are no match for an Elder Werewolf.

Next issue starts what may be a brief prison stint, least for dramatic purposes. Still, an "OZ with a Werewolf" could be interesting for an arc or so. While this isn't as good as INVINCIBLE, it's far better than Marvel's WEREWOLF BY NIGHT projects have been in ages and embraces a lot of the mythology around the werewolves, just does so in a modern, superhero style way.

DYNAMO 5 #20: After a gap of some 2-3 months of lateness, we've gotten a great deal of D5 material within the last four weeks or so; issue #19 finally shipped, two weeks later was the .99 issue #0 that was about 13 pages, and now another full issue. That is basically about two and a half issues within a month's time. A fitting compromise for some lateness.

A properly timed issue, this story dealt with a bit of romance for a Valentine's Theme (although issue #21 promises an actual date between Hector Chang and Firebird, so that may surpass this in theme). While helping Scrap move into her new digs at Tower City, the team learns that Slingshot has been dumped by her mostly-off-panel boyfriend via text message, which is dismissed as being shallow. Scrap agrees to let Myraid move into her apartment with her rather than continue to live at a hotel, while Gage is confused about the sexual orientation of his alien half-brother (which sounds as complicated as it is; RUNAWAYS territory basically). This drama is interupted by a supervillain attack, but not the typical one. Strong-Suit, who was apprehended in issue #0, is having a destructive fight with his jilted lover, War Chest. She is naturally a bit of a stereotype and an intended mockery of female characters with large breasts, although not as much of one as the YOUNG JUSTICE character Mighty Endowed (but more of one than the often mocked Power ****, er, I mean Power-Girl). This time Scatterbrain's psychic powers don't work to stop the seemingly unbeatable Strong-Suit and Myraid saves the day by telling War Chest what she wanted to hear from her beau, which was an apology.

With the battle settled, Gage uses his assertive nature to help Hector finally ask out Firebird on a date, and the issue ends with the threat of Synergy, another one of Capt. Dynamo's children, only with his full combined powers, being reborn. It was a cute scene and the interaction between the two is often quite funny; the nerd with the jock for a half-brother. There is a back-up strip with a story about some of the chaos that Tower City suffered immediately after Captain Dymano's death, and a note in the letters page that Jay Faerber's other Image superhero book, NOBLE CAUSES, has been cancelled after many years. Expect more guest stints from the Noble family here. Asrar's art is top notch as always.

The same ending for this book's reviews every month. Fearber and Asrar don't seek to reinvent the wheel with D5, simply tell superhero stories very well, which is how they should be done. The characters are interesting, the art is solid, there is usually a ton of action and while serious things happen, the book doesn't always take itself seriously, either (such as this month's supervillain lover's spat). What's not to like? Being a superhero fan without giving this book a chance is almost a sign of Big Two favoritism.

UMBRELLA ACADEMY: DALLAS #4: Speaking of non-big two superhero books that should be given a try, another issue of Gerald Way & Gabriel Ba's excellently quirky series, UMBRELLA ACADEMY. This may go down as the best comic book ever written by a rock star in history.

The book is still delightfully eccentric, a weird cross of MONTY PYTHON, Mike Mignola style stuff and VENTURE BROS. Spaceboy has a bit of a hallucination before Seance reveals that he has survived death and uses his powers to put an end to the assassins who have captured them. Then then seeks to zap both of them back in time via a corpse's time machine to, while they don't know it, meet up with Number Five and Rumor's time travel mission to prevent the elder Five from killing JFK. Meanwhile, Kraken waits for a subway, and the main villian John Perseus gets in some very funny banter with his board of directors. Oh, and apparently Seance didn't quite manage to unhook a nuclear bomb that seemingly blows up the world.

The standard stuff, really. An issue that sounds like an acid trip in review, and in reading it...it is probably like an acid trip, but a very good one. Not that I would know. I just hear rumors.

Far quirkier and less straightforward than DYNAMO 5, this would be the good Dark Horse alternative to superhero comics if one wants a good break from Marvel & DC sometimes. In a way this is a set-up issue, but a very hilarious and enjoyable one. And hey, any non Star Wars/Buffy DH book that can sell within the Top 100, or hell, within the Top 85, is worth checking out.

Next: THE MARVEL STUFF!

 

[Dread]

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #22: Billed as a DARK REIGN tie-in, but honestly aside for the minor subplot of Ultra Girl having to return to her normal costume rather than wear her original Ms. Marvel outfit that Danvers gave her personally because Osborn ordered it, this has nothing to do with DARK REIGN. It is in some ways fallout from prior stories, such as the Shadow Initiative tracking down wayward member Hardball, who now has a commanding position within HYDRA, and about Clor, creation of the Skrull Pym Imposter who killed Goliath during CW who has not returned for a rampage. Gage continues with his fast paced action for his solo run and Ramos' art still bares some signs of rush and simplistic inks (to say the least), but considering some of the muddy work he has done with X-MEN and RUNAWAYS, for Ramos this isn't too bad. He excells with inhuman characters like Slapstick, Komodo, and Gargoyle but often struggles with those who are supposed to have proportion.

After Justice gets a defining moment by referencing his brief tenure as Avenger during the Busiek/Perez era to denounce Clor as a monster, the New Warriors engage in battle after saving Gorilla Girl from a ghastly fate. Not only does Gage do a great job with all of his characters, but he also provides a bit of a testament to how tough the real Thor must be, if even his cyborg clone can take on the New Warriors as well as another dozen heroes from the Initiative on EN MASSE and not only is Clor not defeated, but he manages to claim a fatality in zapping one of the Scarlet Spiders, leaving only one behind. It is a bit like KIA, but honestly, how many characters screamed "canon fodder" beyond the Scarlet Spiders? One is all you need, and there still is that MVP clone elsewhere. Blitzschag and the remaining Spider manage to save the day by proving to Clor that he is indeed not the real Thor and that he is merely a pale imitation of him. Rather than be defeated, Clor is emboldened with the story of Asgard no longer being a mystical realm, but on Earth and proclaims Thor to be unworthy of his status, and flies off to challenge him. Tarene says farewell to Trauma, who has mixed emotions given the bond he had with her Skrull imposter, as she flies off to find Thor as well.

This is a good place for both characters, honestly. Their ideal place would be as part of JMS' THOR title. Clor is a sufficient enemy for Thor, a standard "evil clone" version only unlike some of the others, is unlikely to become a hero (like Beta Ray Bill, Thunderstrike, Red Norvell, and even Tarene all ended up becoming; hell, a bunch once made up "The Thor Squad" or something). Tarene would make a good supporting character. The only dilemma in that scenerio is that would require JMS to actually write them into his THOR series, and he usually is clearly too busy dealing with Asgardian melodrama (as WWE style storyline) mixed in with endless interaction with local yokels. What do I realistically expect to see in future issues of THOR; a A:TI tie in stemming from this issue, or another 6 months of Thor wandering, random Loki/Balder updates and some "excellent but pointless" morality lessons from Thor/Donald Blake interacting with random characters we never will see again, and more than likely fighting wayward Norse monsters? Be honest. Aside for fighting Iron Man early on in THOR, JMS hasn't really bothered including his title with what other titles were doing for most of it's tenure, and a fight with the Dark Avengers last issue won't convince me that he will bother with more at a rate of more than once every ten issues. His THOR sells 80k by mostly being it's own thing, and like with Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel doesn't want to force editorial bits into it, even to a fault.

Now, if Fraction decided to do a one-shot or short mini involving Clor and Tarene with another artist, though, call it DARK REIGN THOR, I could see that as likely.

Elsewhere, Typhoid Mary dons her near-nekkid costume now that her identity as Mutant Zero has been revealed, I mean now that they are in Madripoor, and they quickly run afoul of Hardball and HYDRA, and what appears to be the new Scorpian hanging on Hardball's arm, which naturally makes Komodo jealous. I liked Hardball/Komodo together and was a bit irritated that Slott & Gage shattered that relationship for nothing more than a shocking ending to an annual, and while it has provided a good threat for the Shadow Initiative, that feeling remains. Hardball handled his situation with HYDRA and the Power Broker in the worst way possible, falling into what is becoming a common trap of trusting an offer made by the worst villain more so than any other possibility offered among a world of heroes (see ONE MORE DAY; surely there was some way to save May in a realistic situation via cloning or some Mr. Fantastic style baloney, instead Peter and MJ sell their marriage to Mephisto, after which Joe Quesada STILL believes that no one can figure out that his BND is figuring out the revamped continuity as they go, over a year later, and has no set plan right now). It is a bit weird to see Scorpian with HYDRA, though; I know she was created by them, but wasn't she working for SHIELD and fully registered?

At any rate, after an Initiative/New Warrior reunion in the aftermath of the battle with Clor, Justice continues on his crusade for his namesake by reclaiming the original MVP's body from the lab for proper burial. Gauntlet notes that the New Warriors are technically fugitives and despite the assistance he is under orders to bring them in, although he would work with them to try to clean up their records. I like that Vance among all of them is the one with the moral compass, although it makes me understand why he often has no place within the Initiative; he's literally too good for them. Also worth noticing is Prodigy, bitter over being branded a criminal merely for disobeying the SHRA, aiding in the fight against Clor anyway.

This title hasn't missed a beat since Slott's departure from writing duties, but frankly I doubted it would; Gage is a good writer and had been co-writing the book since issue #8 (or the first annual, whichever your pleasure). He's managed to balance out a freakishly large cast and have a story that seems to be telling two at once without everything seeming garbled. And while Ramos is an ill fit for this book, he is putting in some good work on it, better than his usual. He is still woefully miscast on most superhero titles, though, albeit not as much as Scottie Young or Chris Bachelo. The next issue looks to continue the Hardball plot with the Shadow squad while having Ultra-Girl stuck between her loyalty to Vance and the Initiative, which looks to be interesting. The book sold about 47k in Jan. 2009, which is a slight dip from it's old average of about 50k, but the title has always waxed and waned with crossover tie-in's. Still is no cause to worry; at 47k at nearly two years in, it is selling better than many titles do at a debut. This still remains one of my favorite Marvel titles, albeit not as "favorite" as some of the other books out this week. Still, I have no concerns for the direction on it right now, which is good when one of the launch writers leaves.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #47: The countdown to issue #50 continues as Bucky invades Prof. Chin's lab in China in an attempt to keep the menace from turning the dead robot hero Jim Hammond into a weapon, clad as the Winter Soldier. He is allied with Namor as well as Black Widow, who has discovered some more of his secrets. He had a plan, but it is all going to pot.

More superhero espionage thrillers from Brubaker and Guice, filling in well for Epting. Bucky reasons that he did not engage this mission as Captain America not only due to trying to get a psychological edge against Chin, who vows revenge on Buck for killing his wife in the 60's, but to keep the mantle of Captain America free from his sins as Winter Soldier, which is a simple and effective reason. Natasha, herself an ex Soviet soldier, also reasons that Bucky still feels guilt over his time as the Soldier and may subsconciously want to be punished more for it. Bucky is captured by the Chinese and tortured by Chin, who has used what he has learned from the Torch to create a "fire-virus" akin to something from LIVEWIRES from a few years ago. The Man with No Face has somehow captured Namor the Sub-Mariner and they plan to use him as a test subject for it. Meanwhile, Natasha learns that she was Bucky's Plan B, arriving upon his sub with a note and his Cap costume inside.

There is a part of me that wouldn't mind seeing Captain America fight enemies that America is actually fighting now, rather than constantly continuing to battle the PC friendly forces that America last fought in my grandfather's time, such as Nazi's or "Orientals". The only time Cap did was in 2003 and it was more of a "I apologize that I must be so rough with you as you use children as pawns and attempt to blow us all up and blame everyone but your own corrupt society for your hardships" sort of allegory. However, Brubaker manages to do this in a way that doesn't seem like it is trying to be PC friendly, because he is trying to explore his character of Bucky Barnes, and as always does an excellent job. Still, it does say something to me that in comics it is still perfectly alright to depict Germans and Chinese/Japanese/Koreans as evil, wicked villains who almost never need a motivation, but heaven help any writer who dared make a Middle Eastern one these days. It tells me that political correctness is hypocritical. Brubaker manages to avoid all these hardships, though, by never losing his characters, even the villains, within the spectacle of his stories, which often have a lot of action and explosions.

The crux of this story of course is having Buck's present as Captain America collide with his past as Winter Soldier as well as his past with the Invaders and his quest to attone for one and live up to the other, and have it be the ones he wants. Even Chin to some degree has a clear motive for his actions, or at least more of one than Red Skull and his cronies usually had. While some are concerned about the upcoming Marvel retcon series from Brubaker about the Invaders, I am not so concerned because this is the guy who revived Bucky and actually had it work; Marvel gives a lot of excuses about stories being more important than continuity and Brubaker is one of the few writers who actually proved that excuse as being true, sometimes. I am enjoying the break from Red Skull after all those years and am enjoying this Cold War era thriller. After nearly four years, Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA is still one of the best Marvel books they publish and among the best runs in years, and can be easily caught up on via HC and trade.

DARK REIGN FILES: The obligatory Handbook style dossier keyed into the main event, such as the Files for CIVIL WAR and THE INITIATIVE from Iron Man's point of view. I usually get hours of entertainment from these riding on mass transit, so they often are always worth the money. It is what you would expect, written for Norman Osborn's benefit by, seemingly, Quasimodo (the cyborg, not the Disney ogre). Solid, although I must say the one thing I did want to comment on was the hilarious blurb on Page 1 professing to know the identity of FACADE.

He was the villian in a bit of a "mystery" story from WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #113-116, circa 1994. This was the run of WEB written by Terry Kavanagh which was chop full of 90's style schlock, including many armored characters (including the "Spider-Armor") and cameo's by Gambit or Ghost Rider (as well as the story that turned Betty Brant from secretary to uzi-slinging femme fatale). FACADE is the name of a bulky, shoulder padded, color clashing "indestructable armor" that Spider-Man naturally ended up short circuting and beating in combat. But before that, the armor's wearer killed photograph rival Lance Bannon and the mystery of that murder was never resolved. A slew of minor characters for the arc were suspected of the murder of Bannon (after he had snapped a photo of the armor or something), but both John and J.J. Jameson were connected to the murder as well. After the destruction of the armor, FACADE slipped away and never was seen since. Losing Parker's photography rival was a bit of a shame at the time, especially to so twisted and useless a culprit. Remember that back in 1994, four part stories were a rarity, and four part stories where the murderer in a murder mystery was unrevealed were even rarer; did the WOS-M team believe FACADE was the next Green Goblin or even Jackel (who hadn't been botched in the Clone Saga yet)? Out of any villain, FACADE proves that the death of a supporting character and a story that is more conveluted and complicated than good does not make a classic. Spider-Fan.Org reviewed this series for their index and theorized FACADE was most likely some random guy named Archer Bryce, but it matters little. I just thought it was an interesting ode to a 1994 disaster of a Spider-Man story in an era when many writers and editors have learned nothing from it, nor the hubris from that era.

The rest is peachy keen, though. Worth the cash for Handbook collectors.

FANTASTIC FOUR #564: And what better segway into a Mark Millar comic book than a tale about misfocused comic writer hubris from another era? In this issue we get a Christmas issue in Feb. 2009. The cover promises that nothing as lame as superheroes having turkey dinner in full costume will occur, as if interior pages with Thing's token random fiance and a few plodding sequences that serve no purpose other than to justify Hitch taking a month to draw a page aren't lame. As if the novel design quick of making costumes "realistic" by adding lines, zippers, pouches, and pouches with zippers and lines isn't lame.

Still, this issue isn't bad, if not a bit slow. The Fantastic Family travels to Scotland to have Christmas dinner with a distant cousin of Reed Richards I am unsure has been mentioned before. Considering the writer is himself Scottish and would know the layout of the country well, mighty convenient, eh? Any rate, it is a light character piece in which the Four embrace the tranqulity of the place to enjoy a quiet holiday together, even if Johnny is playing at Santa or Reed invents flying jackets for his children as presents. At the end of the story, Val is seemingly kidnapped, or goes missing, and that will likely set up the "Attack of Dr. Doom's English Teachers" arc, which would be funny if this was UMBRELLA ACADEMY but alas this is FF on an absurdly serious arc. I still don't buy Debbie as a real character more than a shoehorned nuance and I am ticking down the issues until we learn she is a Skrull, or a demon, or a Doombot, or something.

That isn't to say the art isn't pretty, which it is, and some of the interaction and story are poor, which they are not. I just wonder why "the Four's Christmas" needed a whole issue. Maybe the reason why the Four struggle to sell above 55k is for the past year or so they have been removed from what the rest of Marvel is doing, with obligatory mini's to fill that gap. That may work for the X-Men, but not the Four.

Not a bad issue, but this is more of a part of an act, not a story unto itself. Still, those surprised at aimless decompression in a Millar/Hitch comic hasn't been paying attention. Now that I have whittled my pull box down to ditch NEW AVENGERS and Bendis ongoings, FANTASTIC FOUR from Millar/Hitch has officially become the worst thing I still buy every month (not that it is terrible, but not nearly as good as it thinks it is; this is basically the last 3rd of the McDuffie run, only with more press). I'll likely stick with it until the Hickman run but if that doesn't wow me, I may not stay.

 

[Darthphere]

It's funny, but I honestly think Bendis is one of the best writers to handle Clint Barton in years.

Kill yourself.

 

[Mr. Green]

Yes, ninjas and the Hood is serious **** happening

It actually was pretty cool, in context.