Bought/Thought February 3rd, 2010

[CaptainCanada]

Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #3 - a somewhat awkward ending. This series basically exists between issues of Blackest Night, so there's not really anything notable to wrap-up here to provide any closure. Rucka tries to get that through some sort of coda to Diana and Mera's interactions, but even that seems to hinge on an unspoken revelation about Mera that will be addressed elsewhere. Great art (Scott's guest shot on the main title should be fun), and Rucka knows how to write Diana, but the series itself has a hard time justifying itself.

Criminal: The Sinners #4 - for whatever reason, even though these noir stories are good, I have a hard time writing any lengthy commentary on them. Brubaker and Phillips know the score, and that's about all that needs to be said. It's hard to see how Tracy walks away from this one, in all honesty.

Invincible Iron Man #23 - this arc started out very well, but it's rather quickly descended into dullness. Tony's internal conflict isn't very interesting (and only partly because it's perfunctory; of course he's coming back; most things in fiction have guessable endpoints, but the journey I don't find especially interesting, which is deadly). The character interaction between Pepper and Maria is the best part of this issue, as they find out they each slept with Stark. However, Ghost has got to be the most ******ed assassin ever. Seriously, if Fraction was trying to bring some old Iron Man villains back into the spotlight, this really doesn't work.

Siege #2 - if the current pace keeps up, this will be easily Bendis' best event. Unexpectedly, he's so far been pretty good at a straight punch-up story - which is pretty much all this is, but it's well-choreographed by Olivier Coipel (Bendis really needs his artists to be good at designing action sequences, because from all appearances he's not; Immonen similarly kicked things up a notch over in New Avengers). I'd called the death, being somewhat foreshadowed in the first issue and pretty predictable from the preview of #2. Take that, people who were convinced it was going to be Bucky in the face of all logic! There's some pretty hamhanded setup for Phobos to make a dramatic entrance in #4, but otherwise it's good; even Bendis' dialogue is a lot better here. He writes a believable Captain America inspirational speech, which is hard, actually, without going cornball.

Wolverine: Weapon X #10 - following the second arc, we get a one-shot dedicated to Logan deciding whether he really wants to get into a new relationship, since Melita, the reporter who's been featured throughout this series, is clearly interested. There are a lot of of one- or two-page appearances by other women in Logan's life (mostly platonic ones), my favourite being a conversation with Storm. There's also a great appearance by Luke and Jessica that follows up on the idea that Logan's really good with kids. Melita's well-written here, and it'd be nice for her to stick around for a while. C. P. Smith's adequate as a fill-in artist, but I don't think he quite suits this story. Aaron really gets Wolverine, and he knows how to write good, simple stories featuring him. Keep it up. Next arc with the Captains America should be fun.

 

[squeekness]

I liked Seige #2 as well but was left with a very nagging question -- how do the events of that last issue of Dark Wolverine fit into all of this? At the end of DW Daken skewers Osborn in the middle of the battle in some kind of "screw you!" fight. Yet in Seige 2 you see Osborn ordering Daken around and he remains in fine condition the whole time, no bickering between the pair at all. I am so confused.

 

[runawayboulder]

I wondered that too, but I guess all will be revealed after the Dark Wolverine SIEGE tie-in.

 

[squeekness]

I hope so. I just find it aggrevating when tie ins are that far off, you know?

 

[bryanss3]

that's probably a look into what Daken is capable of or what he'd like to do at that moment. Norman Osborn is not going to die in siege.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I hope that he will.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Daken got ruined.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Norman Osborn will die in Siege. Mark my words.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Okay, so I did some catching up this week, so if I mention anything here that isn't new, that's why.

Astonishing X-Men 32-33 - I'm so torn on this title. This arc is much better than the previous one but it still feels disjointed from the rest of the X-Men books. But I do love Jimenez's art, and I like the random dead characters being used. As a fan of students I like that Laurie Collins was used, and seeing a Krakoa/Brood hybrid was interesting, and I really love that old X-Force arc with the New Hellions, so seeing Paradigm was a treat... though when he supposedly died I have no idea.

I hate that this does feel so disjointed from the rest of the X-Men though because it's better than Uncanny at the moment.

Hulk 19 - I don't buy Hulk and don't care for it really. I like Incredible Hulk due to Skaar, but Hulk itself just doesn't do it for me.... [blackout]so why did I enjoy this issue so much [/blackout]

I had extra money that I wasnt expecting so I decided to pick this issue up form the Fall of Hulks storyline and because I figured the taking of Reed Richards would be important to the overall storyline. I didn't realize how much I'd actually enjoy the book. I was thoroughly entertained from page one to page last. Rulk actually came accross as a character and not just some big brute, which is a BIG shift from back when I actually read this book. And honestly, the only thing keeping me from buying more of this at the moment is that $4 price tag. Though chances are, I'll be picking up the rest of the Fall of the Hulks issues as I can afford them. Especially the next one when they go after Beast of the X-Men! (and I love that he's officially one of the top 8 smartest people )

Cable 23 - For the first time since Messiah War, I actually found myself semi-enjoying this issue. That's because Cable and Hope show up in a time they've previously been and we get to see Sophie again, who we last saw in issue 5. It was actually a little sad seeing Cable having to leave her again

And I kinda laughed when Bishop took that dude's finger who was pointing it at him, and turned it around and jammed it back inside of the man's own chest.

Still eager for this title to end, but at least for the first time in a long while, I actually wasn't too disappointed with the book.

Blackest Night: Wonder-Woman 3 - I've not been buying the Blackest Night tie-ins (save Batman) so I hadn't bought any of this mini either. I don't even pick them up or skim through them anymore. But on a whim (or maybe it was the eye appealing cover, I don't know) I decided to skim this one. And being that I saw it actually fit nicely with the actual Blackest Night mini (which is wierd for a BN tie-in) I decided to actually pick it up. The good thing is that I didn't need the other two issues at all. It reads smoothly between the most recent issue of Blackest Night and Green Lantern 50.

The issue itself was pretty good as well, but I guess Rucka can nearly guarentee that. I like his stuff for what little of it I've read. There's a little bit of the same old with Wonder Woman having to deal with someone dead from her past, and in this case it's Maxwell Lord, who she killed in the Omac Project leading into Infinite Crisis, but it was done well and for only a few pages. The rest of the story dealt with WonderWoman as a Star Saphire and showed some very good interactions between her, Carol Ferris (also a Star Saphire) and Vera (now a Red Lantern). So It actually feels like it fits in nicely with Blackest Night and isn't just dealing with dead people.

And I was surprised in the ending when we learned that Wonder Woman apparently loved Bruce Wayne but never said anything about it to him. I don't know if that's new or something established, but I didn't know anything about it, so that's cool.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Siege 2 - Okay so this was a great issue. Really good! Save for one thing .... [blackout]"Yeah you know what ticked me off... when Sentry rips Ares in half in the issue of Siege that came out today!" ..... yeah, that's what the guy at the comic shop said while I was standing right next to him with a copy of it in my hands [/blackout] Yeah, so that ticked me off, but the issue itself I enjoyed. That scene was pretty good and made me like Ares better (as I'm sure he'll be back eventually). It was cool seeing Maria Hill show back up again and hit Osborne in the belly with a rocket launcher to save Thor. I've not read Iron Man, so it's odd to find that I've kinda missed her. Daken getting fried was cool. And I'm glad that the resistance includes both the Young Avengers and the Secret Warriors... but a little sad that the Mighty Avengers weren't included.

And yeah, good ending. I loved seeing the 4 panels on the last page all the same of Iron Patriot looking up, with each one showing the reflection of Cap's Shield coming at him. I kinda felt like it needed one more page of the actual team showing up, but it didn't hurt without it.

Siege: Embedded 2 - I said last issue that I won't be buying anymore of these issues due to how let down I was with it, but I figured, I had extra cash, I'll give it one more issue.

I should have left it on the stands. Just about nothing happens. There's some cute lines with Volstagg, but it was boring as can be. And once again, the cover is misleading. I like Urich, but not enough to buy anymore of these. If they end up falling on a slow week I'll consider buying them, but likely I won't be.

Realm of Kings: the Son of Hulk 1 - So Hiro-Kala's story continues, and it's not too bad. I have no interest in the Microverse so this wasn't as good as Hiro's previous story. But granted, when Skaar just became "Son of Hulk" and it began to focus on Hiro-Kala, I wasn't thrilled with it until the final issue... then I LOVED it. So I'm hoping this picks up by then as well. And the solicit for next issue "Galactus, Herald of Hiro-Kala" has my interests peaked. And there was mention of the Enigma Force, and as someone who's loves Captain Universe I'd love to see that show up here as well.

Nova 34 - SKREW YOU PHAED! THIS IS NOT THE MOST OVERRATED BOOK OF THE PAST YEAR!!!!!!

And with that said, this arc has been a little ho-hum for me, but I think it really picked up with this issue. I complained last issue that the young Sphinx's gathered forces were a very odd selection that I just couldn't get into, but this issue states why he chose them and NOW I understand and like it.

The two Sphinx's pair up their pawns for battles, best 2 out of 3 wins. I've always liked that type of storyline and in this one I think the Darkhawk/Gyre battle was the most interesting. I also like that in that battle we learn that there are more of the Fraternity of Raptors awakening every day, and Darkhawk learns that Talon is still alive... and we learn that the Fraternity of Raptors have a master, though we don't know who it is yet.

While I loved Darkhawk's original origin, this revamp of it has really won me over to the point where I was looking through my old Darkhawk comics the other day and was thinking about how inferior that plot was compared to this one.

All in all, good issue.



And that's it.

I also got caught up on Batman (from when Tony Daniel started writing) but I haven't read them yet.

 

[squeekness]

Siege Embedded #2. Yeah the story here might not really go anywhere but it was still fun. Know why? Because Volstagg is just a hoot and half. I find him hilarious and I enjoy his antics and misunderstandings of the human world. I thought this was still fun.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Tough to read my comics this week, as I'm reading a very good book, called The Book Thief. They stick it in the Young Adult section of your local bookstore; but, I feel it belongs more in the normal fiction section. Anyway, I highly recommend the book. Here is the blurb on the back of the book describing what the novel is about:

"By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But, these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster father hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down."

In a bit of a twist, the novel is narrated by Death...and, while the first 30 pages takes a bit getting into because of this narration, things pick up quickly. My only problem with the book is that my box of comics are a bit more uninteresting...but, it's Thursday, and I want to get some reviews in.

The Boys #39

This comic got a lot better the past four issues with the backstory of the various characters...but, now we get back to our normally scheduled programing. The issue begins with the question, "What I know?" and the head of The Boys answering "Everything." By issue's end, Wee Hughies relationship is finally discovered by Billy, and his answer changes to "Nothin. Absolutely Nothin'. That's what I fu$#in' know." (That's not a big spoiler, as the cover depicts The Boys looking at Wee and Rebecca making out.) I didn't enjoy this issue as much as the origin issues that came before; but, still, it was nice to see the story progress and having Wee's relationship finally come out in the open. In that respect, I'm very interested to see what comes next.

The Lone Ranger #20

Jeez All-Mighty! This is the slowest moving comic I read, I swear. In this issue, Cavendish finally discovers where The Lone Ranger is hiding out; meanwhile, The Lone Ranger and Tonto decide to take the battle to Cavendish. I'm kind of sensing things might take a turn for the worse, as both parties are setting out to find the other, leaving Linda and her son alone. At least next issue, we can hope for a little action.

28 Days Later #6

I think I'm starting to like this title a bit more than Walking Dead. Sure, Walking Dead is still very enjoyable; but, at least with 28 Days, you get plenty of zombie action, all while progressing the backstory on the characters. Things aren't looking that good for the three remaining survivors of this story, as one is very sick, blind and dying. It gets very intense, as the two health characters debate what to do with the sick one...and, at one point they are trapped in the back of a tarped truck with a horde of zombies around them.

Legends: The Enchanted #0

A $1.00 comic that previews the upcoming hardcover graphic novel. It's 22 pages of story and 4 pages of art, and well worth the cheap price. In this comic, the Enchanted are a people who have healing charms, which allow them to kill giants and other fantasy-type villians without worry about being killed. The problem is that the villians have discovered a way to kill the Enchanted, taking away their healing powers. It's grabbed my interest, and I'll probably buy the graphic novel, as I haven't been disappointed by a Radical comic yet.

Nova #34

It's young Sphinx vs. old Sphinx, as they battle for possession of their Ka Stones. Caught in the middle are the two teams of heroes and villians, who must battle in assisting their respective Sphinx. It's something we've seen quite a bit, most recently in Loeb's Hulk. I have been enjoying this story; but, I felt this issue took a step back....probalbly because it took me back to that Hulk storyline. Why must each hero battle against a villian...and, why does the outcome of their battle determine which Sphinx is going to win?? It seemed kind of pointless, and I stand by my statment,

NOVA IS OVERRATED!!!!

Siege #2

Ahhhh...a Bendis event, where each issue will be filled with scenes you love and hate equally. At least with Siege, you get plenty of action...and, the scenes that need expanding or aren't included are nicely presented in the various tie-ins. (For example, why does Sentry have no problem taking out his friend, Ares? Read the tie-in. Where have the Avengers been while the initial battle of Asgard has been going one? Read the tie-in.) Marvel does tie-ins well, unlike what we've been getting with DC's Blackest Night.

So, what did I love about this issue? 1) Ares' realization that Osborn has been playing him for a fool. 2) The Ares/Sentry battle, and especially that unexpected ending to the battle. 3) The brief appearance by the Secret Warriors, especially the anticipation of when Phobos learns of his father's demise. 4) Thor taking down Daken with one blow. And, 5) the final page.

What didn't I like? 1) Those stupid little comments that Bendis will throw in, like Karla saying "woof" to a defeated Thor. 2) Thor allowing himself to be taken away from the battle. 3) Seeing Steve Rogers talk to the assembled heroes, and having to see Spider-Man hanging from the ceiling like a total dweeb. (I know the artist thinks this looks cool, but it just seems idiotic to me.) And, 4) After the Brubaker's events in Who Will Wield The Shield, seeing Bendis totally ignore it by letting Steve take the mantle of Cap in the upcoming battle.

Those things I didn't like are pretty much minor complaints; and, I the pros greatly outweigh my petty cons. I'm really enjoying this event very much. For a couple years, it seemed that Bendis was going through a bit of a slump; but, I think he's back on his game. I'm enjoying New Avengers more than I probably ever have and his Spider-Woman comic has been fantastic. Even with Ultimatum, his final issues on Ultimate Spider-Man really stood out.

Siege Embedded #2

This is a nice tie-in, especially as Bendis is know to use b and c-list characters for the purpose of his story and quickly drops them after outliving their purpose. Case in point: Volstagg. Brian Reed picks up where Bendis left off..which also explains why we haven't seen Volstagg taking place in the battle for Asgard.

I'm enjoying this cross-country trip with the two reporters and Volstagg, where we get an equal amount of humor and social commentary mixed with a bit of action. Brian Reed takes a swipe at the television/political enviroment and how mid-America is sometimes easily persuaded into aping what the Limbaugh's and Beck's have to say. (I'm guessing a person's political beliefs might determine how much they enjoy this comic, too. Reed's clearly on one side of this fence.) Good issue. I enjoyed it very much.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Lame death for Ares in Siege. He'll be back and all, but still, lame, lame, lame death. He crosses Osborn so Osborn's brainless lackey kills him. I'm looking forward to Osborn fighting his own battle for once and getting firmly b****-slapped by the end of this mini.

Which, granted, is what made this issue pretty good overall. Bendis managed to keep the momentum building. His dialogue didn't even bug me in this issue. Thor's speech about defending his home at all costs was pretty all right, in fact. And the big splash page of the various Avengers all lined up, ready and willing to rush to Thor's aid, got me right in my creamy fanboy center.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Tough to read my comics this week, as I'm reading a very good book, called The Book Thief. They stick it in the Young Adult section of your local bookstore; but, I feel it belongs more in the normal fiction section. Anyway, I highly recommend the book. Here is the blurb on the back of the book describing what the novel is about:

"By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But, these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster father hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down."

In a bit of a twist, the novel is narrated by Death...and, while the first 30 pages takes a bit getting into because of this narration, things pick up quickly. My only problem with the book is that my box of comics are a bit more uninteresting...but, it's Thursday, and I want to get some reviews in.

Hey cool. As it turns out, my wife and I run a book club called "Pick 3" where one person picks 3 books and everyone decides which of thoes 3 books we're going to read next. I've actually been debating my last option and The Book Thief is one of the major ones that has me interested.

With you're recommendation I'll make it the official 3rd book for me this month.

So, my 3 options are now:

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
Redwall by Brian Jacques
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

 

[Phaedrus45]

Ok, a batch of not-so-good comics.

Wolverine: Savage

Just what we need....another Wolverine one-shot. This tale is rather silly, as Logan begins this issue fighting The Lizard, only to draw the ire of the owner of a Sushi resturant. (This story is actually called Sushi...so, not sure why the cover says Savage.) After all her knives get destroyed, he decides to help her out by using his claws to fill a large sushi order...and, in the process learns that her old man has been gone for a very long time looking for the secret ingredient to a ramen dish that has kept the family owned resturant in business. He goes in search of the old man...only to be swallowed by a giant lizard-type monster. Inside the belly, he finds (naturally) the old man.

Nothing special here...lets go on to our next comic.

Cable #23

Oh boy. Even though JH gave this comic a mild recommendation, I hated it. This title has been getting worse and worse, and this issue just feels like we're biding our time until X-Men: Second Coming. Sure, we get to revisit a time from Cable #5...but, it's a very brief visit that only succeeds in killing an old character. Maybe I am going to look forward to Deadpool appearing back in a Cable comic, starting with issue #25.

Speaking of Deadpool...

Deadpool Team-Up #896

The first issue of this new Deadpool series, issue #899, was pretty darn good. Since then, it's sucked eggs pretty bad. Even the team-ups haven't been that spectacular. Case in point, this issue teams up Deadpool with U.S. Ace. Don't recognize the name? Well, he first appeared in the 80's with a 12 issue series, called U.S. 1. (Yep, that comic bombed. Nobody was really interested in reading a superhero comic about a trucker.) Since the cancellation of the series, U.S. Ace has been in space with the She-Hulk...and, now he's grounded back on earth.

Teaming up to deliver a mystery payload, Deadpool and Ace get attacked by a group of gun-toating, motorcycle-riding racoons. (The same company that made Rocket Racoon, it's explained, has made these deadly varmits.) This combination of racoons and truckin' is suppose to be humorous...but, none of the jokes really work that well.

I will say I didn't totally hate this issue, only because 1) I enjoy seeing these obscure characters from Marvel's past, and 2) I really, really, REALLY hate racoons!! When I see racoon roadkill on the side of the road, I actually cheer. (Don't worry, I could never purposefully kill one myself...but, don't get me wrong, I am damn tempted at times!!!) Just be aware...if you don't share those two passions, I don't think you'll enjoy this issue very much.

Speaking about obscure characters from Marvel's past...

Son Of Hulk #1

We get the return of the Micronauts!!! Well, actually, just two of them: Arcturus and Marionette. Definitely not the two most exciting of characters...but, still for a fan of the old 80's Micronaut series, I was quite excited. Not only that, we get to return to Jarella's world from the Hulk comics of the 70's. Plus, after the fantastic final issues of Son Of Hulk, I had some great hopes for this mini.

Great expectations are often dashed when it comes to reading comics. This comic just didn't read very well. Son Of Hulk had left me with the hope of seeing Hiro-Kala going in search of Skaar...but, instead we get some downtime from that with this weak Realm Of Kings tie-in. Somehow The Rift sucks Hiro-Kala into it, sending him into the microverse, where he rescues the niece of Jarella and her people from some weird alien invasion. Eventually, the Micronauts will get involved...but, that will probably come next issue, as we're just briefly introduced to them in this first one.

No great sequeway here...

Ultimate X #1

I not only got one cover of this issue...not just two...but, three covers of Loeb's new series, Ultimate X! (Yeah, it's not really worth that, as this is a story we've seen plenty of times before in other alternate realities.) Don't automatically dismiss this book, especially if you are a big hater of Loeb's Ultimatum and Hulk comics. He actually does a decent job setting up this first issue, and it's passably entertaining.

Resulting from the events of Ultimatum and the death of Wolverine, Kitty Pryde is sent on a final mission by Logan, that upon his death she'd deliver a package to a teenager in Canada who is being raised by adoptive parents, James and Heather Hudson. It's no mystery that the package tells this kid, Jimmy Hudson, that his true father is Logan, and that he's a mutant.

I'm not sure if I enjoyed this comic because I was expecting so little out of a Loeb story...but, even though it's nothing original...and, even though it's extremely predictable...it still was nicely written with some decent art. Out of these five comics, it was the one I enjoyed the most.

 

[Dread]

Feb. 2010 is upon us and that means more comics. Actually a small week, but one where there is a big event issue among us.

As always, rants and spoilers are full force.

Dread's Bought/Thought for 2/3/10:

GHOST RIDERS: HEAVEN'S ON FIRE #6: This mini series skipped last month and by virtue of being a small, somewhat unimpressive week, this was my Examiner Book Of The Week. Of course, that means this issue had to be better than an issue of NOVA, which to me is always a difficult feat. This is not only the end of this six issue mini, but the end of Jason Aaron's 21 issue run on GHOST RIDER, after having done a terrific job taking over the last ongoing title launched from Daniel Way. He inherited a nasty retcon, but managed to work it well into his story. Artist Roland Boschi returned for this mini, alongside two colorists to handle this.

This issue was IT. The grand finale to 20 issues of story, as well as possibly stuff from the Way run. Blaze and Ketch take on Zadkiel in Heaven to free the throne of God. Aside for a C-List Defender (Hellstorm), no other superhero seemed to notice or care. Hellcat was too busy having cancer or something. But that wasn't all! The Anti-Christ, who now calls himself "Kid Blackheart", adds to the madness by leading an army of demons into Heaven to try to take over the territory for Hell. And down on Earth, Sara has to taken on the Deacon in a knife/sword fight.

To be honest, Zadkiel goes down way too quickly, although to be fair to Aaron, the reasoning makes sense. He is too powerful for Ketch and Blaze to beat single-handedly. John Blaze is met by his dead wife Roxanne and encouraged to lead others into battle; all of the Ghost Riders that Zadkiel manipulated Ketch into killing are in Heaven, and they are rallied easily for the final battle. Quite a few of them are recognizable from the GHOST RIDER ongoing series, including Phantom Rider. I suppose Ketch fans could still be irritated, as he pretty much gives up and needs Blaze to pull him back into the fight, but I haven't minded it. The biggest conflict are the Ghost Riders vs. Kid Blackheart and his demonic army in heaven, which provides a few double page splash action sequences. The issue ends with Blaze, Ketch, and Sara riding off into the sun-set for more adventures.

It only hit me now that the set-up of two Ghost Rider brothers riding around fighting evil, and they're both messed up drifters, seems to smack a little of "SUPERNATURAL", but that's a good thing. Aaron didn't invent the idea of Ketch and Blaze being brothers, and has made it work out. Ketch seems the more messed up of the two, but Blaze is no prince either, so it evens out. Throwing in a chaste ex-nun Caretaker just adds to the flavor. While Aaron's run hasn't been flawless, and I've never said it was, it was a far improvement from Way's launch. It mixed action with B-Movie style horror as well as kooky 70's comic horror, and Aaron had a wealth of knowledge about some obscure villains like Orb and Big Wheel, and so on. Sales for this mini didn't evolve beyond the diminishing sales for the GHOST RIDER series when it ended with issue #35, around 22-19k an issue, below the Top 100 by this point. Which means that hopefully Marvel learns from MOON KNIGHT to give the Riders a break, such as about maybe a year or so. But I will say that whatever is due for the Ghost Riders in the future, Jason Aaron would be my top pick to write it. He's doing WOLVERINE: WEAPON X and PUNISHER-MAX since hitting GHOST RIDER, but he's really managed to have a voice on the franchise. Off the top of my head I can't think of any writer who's been as good on GHOST RIDER in a good long time; Howard Mackie had his day on GR in the 90's but beyond that, it's just been Aaron. But if this is the end of his involvement on the franchise, he's had a worthy finish. I've read better finales, but compared to, say, REBORN #6 the other week, this is perfectly fine and enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised that this was a Book Of The Week for me.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #23: Still a good issue overall, but decompression is seriously starting to become a problem for Matt Fraction here. "WORLD'S MOST WANTED" was at least 1-3 issues too long and it is looking like this 5 issue arc biding time until the middle or end of SIEGE and the launch of the movie in May has some serious drag. There are good moments, but every issue seems to have some. At this point it is like needing 6 issues of a book named REBORN to actually rebirth Steve Rogers; we know Stark will be back, we know he'll be a good guy again, just get to the point. Salvador Larroca and Frank D'Armata continue on the art, and with almost 2 years straight of the exact same creative time, I am partly curious if they want to make a go of the Bendis/Bagley record that USM has (which broke the Lee/Kirby 100 issue record).

Tony Stark is still comatose, and still stuck in his own head. Only this time Dr. Strange is trying to lead him back to life, which is actually a good use for him. For someone who can't even cast a spell in Mark Waid's STRANGE, he certainly seems of decent power level here. Marvel and Bendis believed the big idea to "fix" Dr. Strange was to strip him of his rank and "de-power" him, but guess what; his power level STILL is dependent on whatever writer is using him. So, guess what? All he needed was either a firmer editorial hand and/or finding quality writers for him. Heaven forbid, right? I am always amazed when professionals who should know better are the last to know certain things. At any rate, Stark's subconscious mind seeks to continue to punish him and want to prevent him from becoming Iron Man again. It works as more penance for Stark's many "sins", especially Civil War and the Initiative, but the self-induced lobotomy served that purpose, and now it borders on time-filling.

But, beyond the Dr. Strange usage, there is good stuff. Fraction continues to allow Potts and Hill to all but carry an issue by themselves. They both find out that Stark slept with both of them, which makes things very awkward. I'd argue that both ladies should know full well that Stark is a man-****e, and unless he used mind control, force, or drugs, they still had a choice in sleeping with him, but whatever. It still made for an interesting moment. The Ghost, meanwhile, continues to stalk them, and may be the closest to actually killing Stark in years.

I have one minor continuity question; why is James Rhodes no longer a cyborg? Or seems to have access to his War Machine armor, even? In the old days that might have warranted a footnote, but Joe Q seems to think those are the devil, still. And it does seem odd that some of the same superheroes who showed up to try to revive Stark now abandon everyone when his body needs to be protected, even Black Widow (who doesn't have an ongoing series YET). It seems a bit obligatory. Fraction might have done better to included at least one B or C lister besides Rhodes who would have cared and stuck around, like Capt. Ultra or something. Like, "of course the heroes have to leave, so Ghost is a threat and the suspense remains". And while it is true, it seems more obligatory than it seems. The trick of writing is to write and not make the tricks seem obvious. Better luck next time, Fraction. Can't win them all.

Still, not a bad issue. Just not one of the better ones. I do think at 5 issues, this arc has drug on a bit long. I got annoyed when Bendis would drag out every mundane plot point to five issues, and it would be a shame to see Fraction fall into the same trap.

NOVA #34: Written by Abnett & Lanning as usual, but with fill-in art by Mahmud Asrar, co-creator/artist of DYNAMO 5 (which is now on haitus at Image, but should return soon) who has started doing more work for Marvel. He's drawn some space one shots, and he drew AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #32 last week. It certainly is good to see him getting around. This issue continues the "Riddle Of The Sphinx" story and is more of an ensemble issue than prior ones. Nova still narrates, and gets a major fight sequence, but the focus is spread out. Bruno Hang's colors, as always, are home runs.

Old Sphinx is fighting Young Sphinx over control of their Ka Stone(s). Old Sphinx sought to use the time-hole Fault to repower himself from "time cancer", but involving his younger self from Egypt has caused an internal war, as the young'un wants to command both Ka Stones and be omnipotent. But will the Old Sphinx try for the same ploy if given half the chance? Of course he does, and does. But that's only the cliffhanger. Let's talk about the rest of the issue.

Young Sphinx has summoned his own time-flung champions, Kang style, and they all are powered by amulets or gems; Moonstone, Bloodstone, Basilisk, Man-Wolf, and Gyre, another Raptor (from the Darkhawk subplot). Nova faces off against Moonstone and manages to use Philo's move against her, while the rest of his allies are split up. Mr. Fantastic's match against Bloodstone all but stole the issue for me, although Namorita gets in some good speeches and poses against Man-Wolf. Things get weird when Black Bolt apparently is sent to the future and not only learns of Attilan's destruction and his own death, but the death of Medusa during something called "the Shadow War", before being offed by Basilisk. Doesn't that mess a lot of things up if Bolt is killed in the past? Eh, the Fault has all sorts of weird rules, and I expect it to be sorted out next issue. But it does allude to more trouble for the Inhumans.

Darkhawk naturally wins against Gyre, but it seems that Sphinx is able to easily control beings who are themselves empowered by gemstones, which makes sense in a crude sort of way. Powel must be sick of being the pawn of megalomaniacs lately. First he's made to kill Lilandra, and now this.

The artwork was good and I liked some of the action, but this issue seemed to exist to build up to next issue's climax. That's hardly a crime, and it was more intense than a Fraction Iron Man issue that is just build-up, but it is just build-up. Still, it was cute to see that even Nova can learn from Philo's experience despite being "the Nova Prime". If the Fault can break so many rules of time and space, why can't Namorita return? It's basically become a big Maguffin to explain whatever Abnett and Lanning want, but it makes space-sense so that isn't a demerit. I mean, even Brubaker used the Cosmic Cube for that purpose in CAPTAIN AMERICA.

BTW, no comic that sells at #100 of the Top 100 could be called "overrated". If it was, it'd sell better. Imagine if I called SWORD "overrated". It's canceled at issue #5 and sold like 10,000 copies. That'd be untrue, obviously.

In fact the only thing I didn't care for was the cover; the poses looked awkward and Brandom Peterson has been making some generic covers. It's high time Marvel abandoned the Bill Jemas era of "bland covers for resale as posters" and put more thought into them line wide.

 

[Dread]

Part II: The SIEGE Rant

SIEGE #2: I love how abysmally low the standards are around SHH for a Bendis event. "Hey, this wasn't complete buffalo feces, so it's brilliant!" I, on the other hand, have far loftier standards for the writer that is an editor for all intents and purposes. NOTHING in Marvel would move if Bendis himself did not allow it. Marvel would, and has, allowed Stan Lee to write for DC before they'd give up Bendis. No, SIEGE isn't that bad so far; but it isn't above average quite yet, either. Right now it has been an extended fight scene for the last 1.5 issues, which means that Oliver Coipel is behind a lot of the success. Especially in this issue, where Sentry vs. Ares is the major highlight.

Continuing from last issue, Thor has been beaten down Rodney King style by Iron Patriot, all of the U-Foes aside for Vapor, Sunstreak, Moonstone, and Quicksand (and Taskmaster, but only in AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #32), after a minor assist from Sentry. SIEGE #1 at least made it look like Thor was hit with a nuke-style mushroom cloud blast, which is somewhat more dignified than Bendis' last defeat of him in his FREE COMIC BOOK DAY issue. I mean, even the Hulk would almost be staggered by a nuke. Wolverine was taken down for a whopping 3 pages by a nuke once. And to Thor's credit, he isn't outright defeated. When Maria Hill and some schmuck (who is so obviously supposed to be Will, until someone probably reminded Bendis that Will is dead, that it isn't funny) show up to drag Thor out of the battle zone. Random Schmuck Jason is at least strong, able to drag Thor to a pick-up truck considering the guy weighs like 400-800 lbs of Asgardian muscle. Thor still has enough juice left in him to save them from Moonstone & X-Ray so they can escape, and even later blasts Daken to a crisp (literally).

The irony is that in AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #32, Diamondback goes on and on about being conflicted about what to do, because she knows she has doesn't have the fire-power to beat Osborn and his goons as they beat him down, but isn't sure Thor would have anything left to save her if she gave him any kind of opening. SIEGE #2, at least, shows that Diamondback was wrong. Hill gives Thor an opening, he zaps two of them and escapes. Poor, tragic Diamondback. A:TI #33 should be damn interesting as a result. Part of me is wondering if Gage will have Diamondback go along with Hill, Thor, and Jason. I mean, he was willing to add Taskmaster into the beat-down at the end of SIEGE #1.

At any rate, the major crux of the issue is Ares learning from Balder (who, to give credit, actually fights Ares to a draw for about 2-3 pages, which is major considering how easily Sentry flattened him last issue) that Osborn, surprise surprise, lied to him about this war. So he goes to kill Osborn, and Sentry, ever the minion, fights Ares to the death. At this point I don't think anyone can say that Sentry has been written as anything less than the perpetually manipulated psycho goon of whatever armor clad maniac happens to be running the show, whether a maniac with good intentions like Iron Man was, or just a garden variety maniac like Osborn is. In wrestling, a heel character will often have minion characters to throw at babyfaces who challenge them, or even rival heels, and that's when Sentry is, the minion of whatever heel is in charge, and has been for at least 3 years. This fight is MUCH better paced than the beat-down of Thor last issue, which means either Bendis is getting better or he realizes to let Oliver handle it (much as the action in USM was usually decent, considering it was drawn by Mark Bagley, who excells at action). And while Ares puts up a valiant show, the mute Sentry finishes him off, Carnage style. I wasn't irritated because, frankly, gods have come back from far worse deaths than being torn apart. That, and I was never a fan of Ares. It didn't irritate me as when JMS had Will kill off an Asgardian. That annoyed me.

Steve Rogers is also stirred to action when he sees Thor be beat down on TV, which does make sense. He gives his 1,658th motivational speech to a band of heroes, and while it is good, it seems to highlight the fallacy of just handing the mantle of Captain America back to him. Imagine how much more interesting this might have been had Rogers still been dead and James Barnes had to give his first real motivational speech to rally superheroes for a big fight; not just an issue of New Avengers, but an event with actual stakes. Instead, that's gone, and will never, ever happen. Or if it does, have any worth because Rogers is back. That's not a knock on Bendis, just the editorial philosophy. Brubaker, bless him, still seems intent on keeping Barnes as Cap, but he doesn't seem to realize that with Rogers back, all he is doing is delaying the inevitable. Does anything that happens over at DC with Grayson as Batman have any value with Wayne on the way back? No, not one iota, to anyone with reasonable comic reading experience. No one editorally will give a damn about Barnes once Brubaker leaves the franchise, and he'll have to eventually. Even Chris Claremont wrote his last story on the Uncanny X-Men series proper. What Barnes has now is some good last stories before limbo, possibly. But, I digress.

Rallied around Rogers are the New Avengers (minus Iron Fist), the Young Avengers, and the Secret Warriors. I was partly disappointed to not see any of the Mighty Avengers there (beyond Vision Jr. and Stature, by technicality), but Dan Slott probably has a means of keeping them busy. Bendis would have won some bonus points had Rikkie Barnes/Nomad been there, but, alas, that would mean reading someone else's work. I mean you'd think Rikki of all heroes would have been there. But, another digression.

Bendis reveals what his anti-climax will be, having Nick Fury tell Phobos to remain behind, which means that Phobos will all but certainly save the day in issue #4 when the adult heroes prove incapable. Which they will. Bendis events have a motif of adult, experienced heroes being unable to win anything that counts. If you want the victory, they need luck, or some kid out of nowhere. Phobos is literally a kid out of nowhere. I don't read SECRET WARRIORS and care nothing for him. Yeah, he'd be avenging his father (something Havok wasn't allowed to do in WAR OF KINGS), but that's probably the most tired trope in all of fiction (and a double standard one; anyone who was devoted to avenging a mother would be seen as a whipped momma's boy, but avenging a father is always solid narrative motivation). I don't want to see a kid with glowy eyes beat the bad guy.

The cliffhanger is another common product of Bendis; not a bad idea, but poor execution. The climax is that out of nowhere, Captain America's shield flies towards Iron Patriot's helmet. One supposes the easy thing would be to show a panel of Cap about to attack Iron Patriot, or maybe a single splash panel of the shield coming. But, no. Instead Bendis chooses to show the reflection coming across 4 panels, and while it would be a common storyboard sequence in a cartoon or movie, Bendis fails to understand that comic books is a static medium and it merely came off as tedius. A for effort, D for execution. But couldn't we say that of everything he has written since 2005, maybe?

This is $4, and to be fair, there are 25 story pages, so you have 3 bonus pages of story for your extra buck (and glossy covers, Oooooooooo). The other bonus is a 3 page text sequence of Fury leading the Secret Warriors in a drill meeting. It's standard stuff. You can't tell who is talking without art, and it seems every Bendis conversation with a team has one character as the Gruff Lecturer, one as the Sarcastic Pip, and others getting in a mundane line or two as pure functionality. This conversation was no different than the one between the Hammer team last issue beyond the topic, and Bendis doesn't see it, and no Marvel editor would dare tell him. Still, considering Bendis could easily stretch that 3 pages of script into an entire 22 page issue if he so desired, I'd say it is worth an extra dollar to behold. I do appreciate that Marvel apologized for the page error last issue with the Hammer meeting, and it is worth noting that Marvel was willing to print a large font apology for a minor printing error, but was not willing to apologize for the years of delay of ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS. HULK in any printed way. Or for DAREDEVIL TARGET. Or for botching CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN in so jaw droppingly stupid a move, you'd have thought it was assistant editor's month. So, apparently, Marvel is willing to apologize for minor printing discomfort that cost a reader nothing financial, but are not when errors or lapses cost real financial loss or genuine enjoyment. Good to know. That's like someone who apologizes for not saying "bless you" when someone sneezes, but feels no remorse for running a pyramid scheme.

At any rate, SIEGE is fine so far. C+/B- territory right now, right about average. But, this is the midway point. How many Bendis stories or events were going okay until the midway point and the devolved into utter rubbish, complete with an anti-climax, stupid ending? In that case, I am reserving total judgment. I don't expect this to end well and until it does, I still don't. Coipel's artwork is nice, and when left alone to handle the action, he's fine at least. No, SIEGE isn't bad so far, nor is it good, but that's not enough for me to hail the most overrated comic writer of Marvel's stock a champion of the event circuit. I imagine SIEGE would be lucky to end up half as good as ANNIHILATION CONQUEST.

 

[CaptainCanada]

No one editorally will give a damn about Barnes once Brubaker leaves the franchise, and he'll have to eventually. Even Chris Claremont wrote his last story on the Uncanny X-Men series proper. What Barnes has now is some good last stories before limbo, possibly. But, I digress.

From all appearances, Bucky's return has been very popular; assuming that he's still around when Brubaker's run is over, I would expected him to have a long life part of Steve's cast.

I was partly disappointed to not see any of the Mighty Avengers there (beyond Vision Jr. and Stature, by technicality), but Dan Slott probably has a means of keeping them busy.

Based on the solicits, Slott's going to have them get there by an alternative road as a story point (apart from the guys who'll be fighting Ultron).

 

[squeekness]

Ok, a batch of not-so-good comics.

Wolverine: Savage

Just what we need....another Wolverine one-shot. This tale is rather silly, as Logan begins this issue fighting The Lizard, only to draw the ire of the owner of a Sushi resturant. (This story is actually called Sushi...so, not sure why the cover says Savage.) After all her knives get destroyed, he decides to help her out by using his claws to fill a large sushi order...and, in the process learns that her old man has been gone for a very long time looking for the secret ingredient to a ramen dish that has kept the family owned resturant in business. He goes in search of the old man...only to be swallowed by a giant lizard-type monster. Inside the belly, he finds (naturally) the old man.

Nothing special here...lets go on to our next comic.

Guh, this one shot was so juvanile it was pathetic. I am so sorry I paid the $4 for it. Logan is not like this, running around slashing things like they don't matter (Oh, it will grow back!). Blech. I expect more mature story telling from a Wolverine title, like the newest ish of Weapon X which was really good and I am not sure he even fought anything in it. What a night and day difference between the two books. The one shot was a complete waste of money.

 

[Dread]

From all appearances, Bucky's return has been very popular; assuming that he's still around when Brubaker's run is over, I would expected him to have a long life part of Steve's cast.

I won't until I see it. It's become more common than not for new creative teams to abandon any plot elements from the last guy that they don't like. So long as the next writer doesn't demand Barnes leave the New Avengers before Bendis is ready, I doubt anyone in the editorial board will give a spit.

Of course I admit it is cynical to start whining about the "digression" of the next creative run on CA when Brubaker hasn't even hinted at when he wants to end his own, but c'mon. This year will be his 5th on the franchise. Few writers stay on any franchise much longer than that anymore, at least without a break. At least writers who didn't also launch said title, which explains Bendis and USM.

Note that while JMS wrote ASM for 7-8 years, Bendis' run on Daredevil ended before 5 full years (55 issues - 4.5 years of material). Ironically, Brubaker took over from Bendis on that. I'd love if Brubaker lasted on CA as long as JMS on ASM, but then again I'd have loved for CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 or BLUE BEETLE not to be canceled, but life's life.

Based on the solicits, Slott's going to have them get there by an alternative road as a story point (apart from the guys who'll be fighting Ultron).

I see. Again, as I said in my review, I imagined Dan Slott has his team occupied revolving SIEGE, since it does have a tie-in.

It still would have been cool to have seen Nomad rallied around Rogers, even if she's fighting the Secret Empire with Arana in a sewer in a back-up strip in CA right now. And even though her mini finished with sales of like under 9,000 an issue (which is TERRIBLE; that barely outsells SONIC THE HEDGEHOG).

For the record, it does show how slow Marvel is to adapt to change that they still release a random Wolverine one shot every other month. The one in December barely sold in the Top 100. There's no place for them. Some cynics theorize that Marvel publishes so many books to dominate DC by sheer numbers because they know retailers will always order SOME of any Marvel book.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

This one's purely a "thought" about my comics this week: I bought only 4 issues and spent under $15. That was kind of cool. Probably an all-time low for me, not counting those times I picked up just 1 issue that I couldn't find before.

 

[CantThinkOfAName]

Of course I admit it is cynical to start whining about the "digression" of the next creative run on CA when Brubaker hasn't even hinted at when he wants to end his own, but c'mon. This year will be his 5th on the franchise. Few writers stay on any franchise much longer than that anymore, at least without a break. At least writers who didn't also launch said title, which explains Bendis and USM.

Note that while JMS wrote ASM for 7-8 years, Bendis' run on Daredevil ended before 5 full years (55 issues - 4.5 years of material). Ironically, Brubaker took over from Bendis on that. I'd love if Brubaker lasted on CA as long as JMS on ASM, but then again I'd have loved for CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 or BLUE BEETLE not to be canceled, but life's life.

Also ironically, when Brubaker took over DD after Bendis, he ran with the characters that Bendis created (Milla Donavon, White Tiger). Well, I guess it's not irony since what you're saying hasn't come to pass. I guess it's more ironic based on what you're saying.

JMS last few years on ASM kind of sucked, and Chris Claremont's third or fourth run on Uncanny X-Men apparently sucked. Writer's shouldn't wear out their welcome. I wouldn't mind if Brubaker left sometime soon, after he's fully established whatever status quo he's going for.

 

[runawayboulder]

I think Brubaker has a ton of Cap stories left in him. Half of those 5 years were the Death of Captain America.

 

[Phaedrus45]

In thinking whether something is over or under-rated, I'm only thinking about my buddies here at The Hype. It's about the extent of my comic talk; and as such, certain low-selling titles get seem more talked about and hyped that what sales would reflect.

Ok, so I just read to really good issues.

Wolverine: Weapon X #10

I haven't been a big fan of this series; but, this single standalone story was fantastic! (And, as someone else said, not a single bit of action is involved.) Logan is falling for his reporter gal friend, and while his heart tells him yes, his brain gives him plenty of reasons to walk away. I laughed so much...and, the sex talk gets a bit candid. (Can you imagine Logan having sex while the X-Men are fighting the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants??!!??) Of course, being a dad, my favorite scene was Luke Cage and Jessica trying to find the Binkie.

Marvel Heart Breakers

I had no hope for this one-shot, as it's clearly another marketing strategy by Marvel to lure in some female readers. Shockingly, it's very, very funny! In years past, this would have been called the Valentine Special, of which none of the stories were ever particularily good. Times have changed! We get a really nice cover featuring Boom Boom, and the second I read the splash page (called Boom Boom's How To Get A Guy In Four Panels), I knew this wasn't gonna be a snooze fest. The first story features Spider-Man, back in his college days; then, we get an extremely funny story featuring Boom Boom and Elsa Bloodstone, as they complain about the boys in their pasts; the third story is more sentimental, as we get an epilogue of the old X-Men mini from the 80's, Beauty & The Beast; and, finally, the only non-interesting story of this title, featuring Snowbird.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Criminal: The Sinners #4 - for whatever reason, even though these noir stories are good, I have a hard time writing any lengthy commentary on them. Brubaker and Phillips know the score, and that's about all that needs to be said. It's hard to see how Tracy walks away from this one, in all honesty.

Criminals: The Sinners #4

I know what ya mean, Cap'n Canada. I'm enjoying this Lawless story, even though it started out a bit slow. Can't wait to see how they wrap up all the lose ends with the final issue of this story. The ending wasn't much of a surprise, in terms of the kid giving Lawless the heads-up at the last second.

Iron Man #23

This issue is another snooze-fest, as Tony is being instructed by Doctor Strange into accepting Iron Man back into his heart. (Yeah, sounds very religious...I accept Jesus into my heart!) Too much of these last four issues have been spent in Tony's dreamworld; and, frankly, it really does zip to advance the story. Fraction is just taking a story that should have taken one...two issues tops...and, just dragging the whole thing out. I do want to see Ghost fight Iron Man....and, I did like the scene where Maria Hill and Pepper Potts realize they shagged Tony at around the exact same time...but, this story is making Captain America Rebirth look brilliant in comparison. Hell, give me a giant Red Skull anytime over this!!!

The Indomitable Iron Man

Another black and white one-shot comic by Marvel that really isn't worth the price. We get four stories (the last being prose without art), and none we anything to really write a long review about. Even the black and white art wasn't that nice looking, except for the third story. Skip it, skip it, skip it.

Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire #6

So much build up in the past year about the Ghost Rider's final battle with Zadkiel; and, it all just fizzles in the end. What could have been a nice all-out, drag-down fight is over just as soon as it begins, and the reader is left saying, "Is that it??!!??" I really have been enjoying the direction Aaron took this title in since taking over the Ghost Rider writing chores; but, this can only be described as a disappointment.