Dread
TMNT 1984-2009
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October is proving to be another "feast or famine" in terms of shipping schedules. Last week? 2-3 books. This week? Three times that. Wacky.
As always, full spoilers. B/T threads without spoilers are wimpy.
Dread's Bought/Thought for 10/10/07
BOOSTER GOLD #3: This book is officially SUPERHERO QUANTUM LEAP as Booster Gold, with Booster & Rip traveling back to various time-periods and genres to save a member of the Justice League targeted for death each month. This time, it's Superman whose adoptive parent's ancestor is about to get whacked in the 1800's, which means Booster does a Western and we meet DC's best, and perhaps only, noteworthy Western character, Jonah Hex (who has an ongoing I believe, that gets good reviews). After blowing away one nosey stranger, Hex manages to connect with Booster long enough to share some drinks and information; it is very funny but also feels obligatory. You can't shake that feeling of, "Of COURSE Hex can't just blow Booster away, too, because the story wouldn't work". But because this title is played for laughs half the time, Johns & Katz can get away with some plot holes now and again. Speaking of Johns, as he easily becomes the most overworked writer at DC these days, ask most fans and their opinion of him shifts, but this book is mostly about fun and nostalgia, as well as genre hopping. Next issue has a time travel team-up with the Barry Allen Flash and the Wally West Kid-Flash, which may remind many of a time when this sort of thing was special, and not mindlessly repeated without any sort of pizzazz. The art is good, it has decent action, good pacing, a complete story every issue (with the overall subplot linking it all together), and some very amusing dialogue (Booster Gold Drunk = Hilarious). He may be "The Greatest Hero You've Never Heard Of", but hopefully this won't become a DC book no one hears of. Unless it starts steering downhill dramatically, I'll be aboard for a while. Booster Gold's a great character, least if you like some underappreciated, self-defeating (and ever so human) types every now and again in the demigod mix. He's flawed but those flaws make him both entertaining and sometimes more "real" than Superman or Batman. I just wonder how much mileage Johns & Katz will make of the overall "Supernova/Time Criminal" storyline becore it becomes tedious. It's only been 3 issues, and some writers can easily stretch this for over a year, so I'm hardly impatient yet, especially when it's been so readable and light.
FANTASTIC FOUR #550: Yes, there's a reason they're no longer "new"; Storm & Black Panther leave at the end of this issue (lest they need to change the title to the Fantastic Six, which wouldn't fit the FF initials). And for the life of me, those INITIATIVE banners need to stop; that subplot has nothing to do with the story and hasn't for issues now. McDuffie is definitely an old-school guy. First we have an upteenth rematch with the Frightful Four and we're back to the age of some cornball technobabble and futuristic devices that look rather retro (like a device to summon the Silver Surfer that looks like an RC car control). And the Thing says stuff such as, "Like fun you will!", back in the days before PG cussing or even censored swears were allowed. This won't be for everyone, but I've been able to sit back and enjoy it for the most part. The Four (or Six) have to save the Universe from collapsing because some aliens accidentally created a device that basically gave Eternity an infection, which has spread and threatens to undo him (and this all reality). Included in the story is Dr. Strange, which makes sense because Eternity first appeared in his stories if I am correct, and you can marvel as the Sorceror Supreme does all sorts of incredible things like battle hordes of other-dimensional monsters, repear the embodiment of the universe and reveal truths with his Eye of Agomotto (and whimper that in NA he can't even save people from a falling plane or duck ninjas). Also included is Gravity, who McDuffie offed in BEYOND! but was left to resurrect and awkwardly "rewind" when Marvel's editorial board decided to resurrect Capt. Marvel, rather than allow Greg to become a new one. In a way, Gravity is a bit of a plot device as the Watcher requests him for his control over the element of gravity (and you really can't trust Graviton). Watcher promises to restore Greg's secret identity afterwards, which has me curious. I also wonder if Greg bothered to tell his girlfriend he was back alive before he went back to Wisconsin. Because if not, well, that's F'd up. I also suppose obsessed Storm fanboys (Claremont, and others) will be pleased with Strange claiming only he and Storm have the will to house Eternity's consciousness for a time (granted, he could have meant out of the group of them). The universe gets saved, the Wakandan royals shuffle off and the Four touch palms. The last narration panel seemed a little ill fitted, like there was a page cut off, but otherwise it was a fine little story. I also have to add that if ANNIHILATION did anything wrong, it was returning the Silver Surfer back to his original status quo in his first Silver Age appearance of serving Galactus, theoretically because that is what happened in FF2. That is the sort of obvious rewind stuff that is crippling DC and hardly fits at Marvel sometimes. Granted, I didn't read the Surfer mini's, but it just seems like a step backwards, undoing some 30+ years of development for Radd. This Four run hasn't been for everyone, especially coming off Waid's which was easily the highpoint of the decade for them, but I've enjoyed it.
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #24: Or, ONE MORE DAY Part 2 of 4, and the final issue for FNSM I believe, before they are all merged into AMAZING. Which is a bit silly when you consider this was originally launched for Peter David to have a Spidey book and replaced some other canceled Spidey-book and now is gone after 2 years. But, anything to try to tighten up a line and yet ship more than one actual title once a month for him. Naturally, the big rumor from interviews with JMS is that Peter discovers some magical way to undo May's death, but the process means somehow undoing or negating his marriage to MJ, which somehow creates Jackpot. If that is true, then I may barf now. I have consistantly disagreed with Marvel Editorial's decision that all of what has plagued Spider-Man as a character was because of his marriage. Untrue. What has plagued him were a parade of writers who were uninterested in expanding or developing a supporting cast or finding interesting new ways to write and amp his enemies (without relying on the same damn 6 characters over and over), and editorial decisions that called for Spidey to lose his "everyman" angle further by joining the Avengers, moving into a tower and then exposing his identity on camera. And JMS is partly to blame for that; yes, he made May a wonderful character again, but chose to make her and MJ Peter's entire life. He did nothing but be Spider-Man or hang out with his wife and mother figure. No social life whatsoever. Which is fine if he was a 57 year old man, but he is supposed to be 27 at the eldest. No one under 30 is that boring, and those that are usually aren't as exciting to read about. Spidey was at his peak when his civilian social life, with loves, friends, and supporting cast, were as interesting as the villain of the week, and it is a shame writers Slott and Kirkman couldn't have gotten on this franchise 4 years ago, because they both seem to understand this concept and have utilized it in other books. Even USM for a time understood this. But rather than constructively try to fix this, Marvel is going for the quick fix, which never, never EV-ER has worked with ANYTHING, ever. At least not for long. I look forward to Slott on ASM, and even the idea that Jackpot is MJ as a superhero, but I know damn well that Joe Q has been willing to sell his soul to Satan to end the Parker Marriage, like it is his lifelong vendetta, and I might respect that except for the fact that I know Marvel has ADHD with most major decisions. Within a year, or less, if the marriage is undone, Marvel will flirt with redoing it, only "in a modern way" so it automatically is superior now than it was 20+ years ago, because anything that wasn't done on Joe Q's watch doesn't exist, or at least is "less equal". Perhaps this is merely another facet of this current mentality in society, that something that isn't done now, in the 21st century, doesn't count as much, and stuff done before has to be "redone" in the now to be "more official". But it is getting irritating to me, and I'm only 25, and perhaps sickened by all the remakes of films and shows that are usually inferior.
That rant over, the story itself has it's ups and downs. Joe Q's art is always rooted in the 90's a bit, and flipping through it reminded me of the way some SPAWN issues looked back then. It isn't bad, though; Joe's skill as an artist was never something that most held against him. It has led to delays in the event, however, as he also has EIC duties. Last time, Spider-Man found out that May is beyond medical science, so now he turns to his one pal who may offer something more; Dr. Strange. In a way, Strange's enterence seemed to pretend that the pair aren't serving together in the New Avengers right now, which I didn't mind because Bendis' Strange is usually massacred. JMS obviously likes magical themes and he handles Strange well enough; Strange understands the turmoil his ally is going through and while he doesn't do what Spider-Man asks, tries to use magic to help Peter understand that it simply is May's time, and nothing he can do can change fate. He makes a point at the end for Peter to at least remain with May until the end so he can bid farewell. JMS even ties things into some of his past ASM issues, before SINS PAST came along and he officially leaped the shark. There's a bit of "look what I can do" with connecting things, but it works well. It was definitely reckless for Spider-Man to dive into the magic stuff like he did, but I could understand it; wouldn't YOU try anything to save someone you loved, especially your mother figure? On the downside, we revisit May's shooting and Joe Q has made it far gorier than Garney did, which in a way cheapened it for me. I once compared it to DC's vicious treatment of some of their heroines and I was argued down because the shooting itself wasn't very bloody; but here, there is an extra bucket of red stuff thrown in. Artist interpretation, I guess. But I can tell you the exact page and panel where an otherwise interesting story lost me; the last panel, with a mysterious little girl offering other-dimensional salvation. DIDN'T WE GET THAT WITH HOUSE OF M!? Some obnoxious, living Mary Sue Maguffin device who serves to fill some plot hole the size of the bloody planet Jupiter? And wasn't that character an utterly annoying waste until it was left to another writer to make her interesting? I got the dread that this girl is JMS' Layla Miller, and it will fall on Slott to make her not retch-worthy (perhaps as Jackpot). Why should I have faith in a writer who was behind SINS PAST and THE OTHER and spider-totems and other fiction turds? He's been fine on THOR, but he's a bit over the hill on Spidey, IMO. I was ready for anything, but not for another snot-nosed magic brat. I would literally have preferred Spidercide, using both the Infinity Gauntlet and Carnage's symbiote, with the Stacy Twins as assistants. I would have preferred the Beyonder in his DISCO FEVER clothes (which actually would make some sense as he and Spidey were kind of pals). I would have preferred Howard Mackie and another Osborn actress retcon. Please, dear sweet Kirby, not another lifeless Cosmic Tween Maguffin. Basically, what was otherwise readable for almost 2 chapters seems to be realing for a gutpunch in the latter two halves, and I am officially bracing for the worst. On the plus side, the issue has a nice long Handbook bio for Mary Jane, and a reprint story, to further justify paying $4 for it.
GHOST RIDER #16: This may not be high caliber stuff, but at least it doesn't piss me the **** off like endless backward Spidey events or Bendis comics. Flawed as it is, I close the book with a smirk on my face. This one seems like a bit of a middling issue; Ghost Rider fights some more Satan corpse avatars and the two mysterious angels remain mysterious, only arrive on the scene. Ghost Rider had to rescue a little league team last issue and doesn't get to it this one. Blaze's big bold plan isn't quite revealed as his gal pal starts to get some pressure and second thoughts. There is still some nice action and some dark humored dialogue, and Way may have a plan for this, but I am starting to grow indifferent, and unless the finale offers some great potential for the subsequent arc, this may be my last. Nice art, though.
NEW AVENGERS #35: On the cover, right there, is the single most ******ed thing I thought I'd never see; Wolverine with a Venom symbiote. Both Logan and Venom were hotter than they ever were in the 90's and even teamed up once or twice, and amazingly even back then, in the 90's, such an idea was considered too stupid to be used (least outside a WHAT IF, which I believe had an issue where Venom bonded with Thor). Bendis obviously feels likewise. I couldn't be in the least bit interested. THANKFULLY, aside for a page towards the end, the symbiote invasion seems to be saved for MIGHTY AVENGERS, which is at least two months behind schedule, and most of this issue deals with The Hood gathering up super-villains as the new Kingpin, which is one of Bendis' more interesting recent storylines. He is good at the urban crime noir stuff and this issue has The Hood give your expected "aspiring organized crime boss" speaches, and that is all done fine. But the really awesome thing about Bendis is for every one thing that he writes that is good, he throws in some sort of error or element or angle that either equals it out, or overwhelms it. The most major of which I may touch upon in a second, and that is his feeling Tigra was deserving some sort of vicious beating, because heroines aren't targeted enough by criminals in the history of superhero comics. Firstly, what is the bloody POINT of the entre SHRA if beat cops are going to assume the worst of registered heroes and SHOOT AT THEM, try to arrest them!? Really, you'd think out of all states or cities, NY/C would be the MOST up to date with it as they are the FOCAL POINT of American heroics. The ENTIRE PURPOSE of the argument for registration was for scenes like that one being ELIMINATED. Not even that, Tigra is also an actual police officer, and thus should have had the brains to perhaps wear her badge on her belt now that she is registered. But this is Bendis' problem in a nutshell, he has great ideas for scenes and moments and if the rest of Marvel's continuity or common sense don't match, he just writes it on anyway. And then there comes the Hood's meeting pages. The speach itself is alright, decent reading. But the characters on panel, my god, it is like a checklist of continuity/character muggles, even considering some of the "formerly dead, now alive" characters from The Raft from the title launch. Who is at this meeting, which is supposed to be AFTER the CW (and after Cap's death and so on)? Nitro, who is supposed to be Namor-food. Armadillo, who is with the Rangers or Modok's 11, depending on where you fit things. Foolkiller, a vigilante who wouldn't DREAM of showing up to a criminal meeting unless it was to "kill some fools". Purple Man, who is supposed to be hiding in Canada (although to be fair, MODOK'S 11 screwed that up first, and since Bendis feels he owns and created Purple Man after ALIAS, I'll let it slide). Constrictor, who is supposed to be with the Shadow Initiative (and Bendis is in no way clever enough to later claim, "he was spying for Gyrich", because that would entail he cares about coordinating his books with others, when all current career evidence shows Bendis couldn't in the least bit be interested with that stuff). Rampage, in full armor, despite the fact that Stuart Clarke has been running with the Punisher in PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL for an ENTIRE YEAR now; are we to assume his armor was stolen, forever find No-Prize excuses for Bendis? And no, that isn't Red Skull, that is a lone Blood Brother, talking like a punk and who should probably be short on some power without his bro around. Then there is the Griffen, who instead of being a beastial monster as he was the last few times he was used, now suddenly has intelligence and wants to run with mafia villains. No use complaining about villains last seen carted off to jail, since jail can never hold them anyway (and Millar can stew on it). Plus you have characters who should seriously be enemies, like half the U-Foes in the same room with Crossfire, Mr. Fear, and Mandrill weren't out to kill them a mere two years ago in SPIDER-MAN: BREAKOUT. There have been a few Mr. Fear's, but the other two leave fewer excuses. I mean maybe it seems like nitpicking for a generic baddie gathering, but for chrissakes, stuff like this shows no one bothers to edit anymore. And with Yu's pencils, half these guys would be unrecognizable without McCaig's colors (many are even with). I did like how Hood got underworld cred for surviving a fight with Wolverine. More questionable is The Hood overpowering Tigra with a few pistol-whips and a shot to the leg. If Bendis wanted to research, he could have realized that the Hood can fire electric blasts, and used that to defeat her. Just because McDuffie forgot that for BEYOND! doesn't mean Bendis had to. It just seemed a bit, off, Hood overpowering her as if she was a human vigilante without physical powers. The demonic hood can likely be a maguffin for any sort of strength boosts, but, jeez, you got his invisible thing down and done well, why not do EVERYTHING well? But that is why Bendis is infuriating. He can't just get everything good, or everything crap. He mixes the two so it just gets frustrating to read. And Bendis should be proud that he delivered a bit of Misogynist Heroine Violence that almost made me think I was reading a DC comic, where that stuff has become disturbingly common (power drills, anyone?). I just wonder how he'd feel if someone decided to smack Jessica Jones around like that, is all. The baddies manage to use their Deathlok to rob a bank and then move onto greener pastures. I like the general idea here, and as usual, Bendis has chosen to surround his moments of brillance with moments of illogic, crap, or annoying dialogue (I swear, if I read "oh come on" from him one more time, I'll scream). NA is a very frustrating book, and I hate reading it. Hate it to death. It can't just suck or be good, it has to show it CAN be good but then surround itself in utter crap as, what, a balance? Add in the fact that Bendis is the unofficial EIC, and his power over the entire line will show next year for SECRET INVASION. People tell me, "settle down, Dread, he'll soon fade away like Byrne and Claremont", but my thing is, I don't have a decade or two in me to wait, and I dread the universe he wants to leave in his wake. If any book that I buy often that, if dropped, would cause me to be a happier person, it is this one. But like some damned trainwreck, I can't stop watching, and Marvel insists on making it and Bendis so damned important to the line, and my shop overorders this crap and for 10% off I may as well give him one less.
As always, full spoilers. B/T threads without spoilers are wimpy.
Dread's Bought/Thought for 10/10/07
BOOSTER GOLD #3: This book is officially SUPERHERO QUANTUM LEAP as Booster Gold, with Booster & Rip traveling back to various time-periods and genres to save a member of the Justice League targeted for death each month. This time, it's Superman whose adoptive parent's ancestor is about to get whacked in the 1800's, which means Booster does a Western and we meet DC's best, and perhaps only, noteworthy Western character, Jonah Hex (who has an ongoing I believe, that gets good reviews). After blowing away one nosey stranger, Hex manages to connect with Booster long enough to share some drinks and information; it is very funny but also feels obligatory. You can't shake that feeling of, "Of COURSE Hex can't just blow Booster away, too, because the story wouldn't work". But because this title is played for laughs half the time, Johns & Katz can get away with some plot holes now and again. Speaking of Johns, as he easily becomes the most overworked writer at DC these days, ask most fans and their opinion of him shifts, but this book is mostly about fun and nostalgia, as well as genre hopping. Next issue has a time travel team-up with the Barry Allen Flash and the Wally West Kid-Flash, which may remind many of a time when this sort of thing was special, and not mindlessly repeated without any sort of pizzazz. The art is good, it has decent action, good pacing, a complete story every issue (with the overall subplot linking it all together), and some very amusing dialogue (Booster Gold Drunk = Hilarious). He may be "The Greatest Hero You've Never Heard Of", but hopefully this won't become a DC book no one hears of. Unless it starts steering downhill dramatically, I'll be aboard for a while. Booster Gold's a great character, least if you like some underappreciated, self-defeating (and ever so human) types every now and again in the demigod mix. He's flawed but those flaws make him both entertaining and sometimes more "real" than Superman or Batman. I just wonder how much mileage Johns & Katz will make of the overall "Supernova/Time Criminal" storyline becore it becomes tedious. It's only been 3 issues, and some writers can easily stretch this for over a year, so I'm hardly impatient yet, especially when it's been so readable and light.
FANTASTIC FOUR #550: Yes, there's a reason they're no longer "new"; Storm & Black Panther leave at the end of this issue (lest they need to change the title to the Fantastic Six, which wouldn't fit the FF initials). And for the life of me, those INITIATIVE banners need to stop; that subplot has nothing to do with the story and hasn't for issues now. McDuffie is definitely an old-school guy. First we have an upteenth rematch with the Frightful Four and we're back to the age of some cornball technobabble and futuristic devices that look rather retro (like a device to summon the Silver Surfer that looks like an RC car control). And the Thing says stuff such as, "Like fun you will!", back in the days before PG cussing or even censored swears were allowed. This won't be for everyone, but I've been able to sit back and enjoy it for the most part. The Four (or Six) have to save the Universe from collapsing because some aliens accidentally created a device that basically gave Eternity an infection, which has spread and threatens to undo him (and this all reality). Included in the story is Dr. Strange, which makes sense because Eternity first appeared in his stories if I am correct, and you can marvel as the Sorceror Supreme does all sorts of incredible things like battle hordes of other-dimensional monsters, repear the embodiment of the universe and reveal truths with his Eye of Agomotto (and whimper that in NA he can't even save people from a falling plane or duck ninjas). Also included is Gravity, who McDuffie offed in BEYOND! but was left to resurrect and awkwardly "rewind" when Marvel's editorial board decided to resurrect Capt. Marvel, rather than allow Greg to become a new one. In a way, Gravity is a bit of a plot device as the Watcher requests him for his control over the element of gravity (and you really can't trust Graviton). Watcher promises to restore Greg's secret identity afterwards, which has me curious. I also wonder if Greg bothered to tell his girlfriend he was back alive before he went back to Wisconsin. Because if not, well, that's F'd up. I also suppose obsessed Storm fanboys (Claremont, and others) will be pleased with Strange claiming only he and Storm have the will to house Eternity's consciousness for a time (granted, he could have meant out of the group of them). The universe gets saved, the Wakandan royals shuffle off and the Four touch palms. The last narration panel seemed a little ill fitted, like there was a page cut off, but otherwise it was a fine little story. I also have to add that if ANNIHILATION did anything wrong, it was returning the Silver Surfer back to his original status quo in his first Silver Age appearance of serving Galactus, theoretically because that is what happened in FF2. That is the sort of obvious rewind stuff that is crippling DC and hardly fits at Marvel sometimes. Granted, I didn't read the Surfer mini's, but it just seems like a step backwards, undoing some 30+ years of development for Radd. This Four run hasn't been for everyone, especially coming off Waid's which was easily the highpoint of the decade for them, but I've enjoyed it.
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #24: Or, ONE MORE DAY Part 2 of 4, and the final issue for FNSM I believe, before they are all merged into AMAZING. Which is a bit silly when you consider this was originally launched for Peter David to have a Spidey book and replaced some other canceled Spidey-book and now is gone after 2 years. But, anything to try to tighten up a line and yet ship more than one actual title once a month for him. Naturally, the big rumor from interviews with JMS is that Peter discovers some magical way to undo May's death, but the process means somehow undoing or negating his marriage to MJ, which somehow creates Jackpot. If that is true, then I may barf now. I have consistantly disagreed with Marvel Editorial's decision that all of what has plagued Spider-Man as a character was because of his marriage. Untrue. What has plagued him were a parade of writers who were uninterested in expanding or developing a supporting cast or finding interesting new ways to write and amp his enemies (without relying on the same damn 6 characters over and over), and editorial decisions that called for Spidey to lose his "everyman" angle further by joining the Avengers, moving into a tower and then exposing his identity on camera. And JMS is partly to blame for that; yes, he made May a wonderful character again, but chose to make her and MJ Peter's entire life. He did nothing but be Spider-Man or hang out with his wife and mother figure. No social life whatsoever. Which is fine if he was a 57 year old man, but he is supposed to be 27 at the eldest. No one under 30 is that boring, and those that are usually aren't as exciting to read about. Spidey was at his peak when his civilian social life, with loves, friends, and supporting cast, were as interesting as the villain of the week, and it is a shame writers Slott and Kirkman couldn't have gotten on this franchise 4 years ago, because they both seem to understand this concept and have utilized it in other books. Even USM for a time understood this. But rather than constructively try to fix this, Marvel is going for the quick fix, which never, never EV-ER has worked with ANYTHING, ever. At least not for long. I look forward to Slott on ASM, and even the idea that Jackpot is MJ as a superhero, but I know damn well that Joe Q has been willing to sell his soul to Satan to end the Parker Marriage, like it is his lifelong vendetta, and I might respect that except for the fact that I know Marvel has ADHD with most major decisions. Within a year, or less, if the marriage is undone, Marvel will flirt with redoing it, only "in a modern way" so it automatically is superior now than it was 20+ years ago, because anything that wasn't done on Joe Q's watch doesn't exist, or at least is "less equal". Perhaps this is merely another facet of this current mentality in society, that something that isn't done now, in the 21st century, doesn't count as much, and stuff done before has to be "redone" in the now to be "more official". But it is getting irritating to me, and I'm only 25, and perhaps sickened by all the remakes of films and shows that are usually inferior.
That rant over, the story itself has it's ups and downs. Joe Q's art is always rooted in the 90's a bit, and flipping through it reminded me of the way some SPAWN issues looked back then. It isn't bad, though; Joe's skill as an artist was never something that most held against him. It has led to delays in the event, however, as he also has EIC duties. Last time, Spider-Man found out that May is beyond medical science, so now he turns to his one pal who may offer something more; Dr. Strange. In a way, Strange's enterence seemed to pretend that the pair aren't serving together in the New Avengers right now, which I didn't mind because Bendis' Strange is usually massacred. JMS obviously likes magical themes and he handles Strange well enough; Strange understands the turmoil his ally is going through and while he doesn't do what Spider-Man asks, tries to use magic to help Peter understand that it simply is May's time, and nothing he can do can change fate. He makes a point at the end for Peter to at least remain with May until the end so he can bid farewell. JMS even ties things into some of his past ASM issues, before SINS PAST came along and he officially leaped the shark. There's a bit of "look what I can do" with connecting things, but it works well. It was definitely reckless for Spider-Man to dive into the magic stuff like he did, but I could understand it; wouldn't YOU try anything to save someone you loved, especially your mother figure? On the downside, we revisit May's shooting and Joe Q has made it far gorier than Garney did, which in a way cheapened it for me. I once compared it to DC's vicious treatment of some of their heroines and I was argued down because the shooting itself wasn't very bloody; but here, there is an extra bucket of red stuff thrown in. Artist interpretation, I guess. But I can tell you the exact page and panel where an otherwise interesting story lost me; the last panel, with a mysterious little girl offering other-dimensional salvation. DIDN'T WE GET THAT WITH HOUSE OF M!? Some obnoxious, living Mary Sue Maguffin device who serves to fill some plot hole the size of the bloody planet Jupiter? And wasn't that character an utterly annoying waste until it was left to another writer to make her interesting? I got the dread that this girl is JMS' Layla Miller, and it will fall on Slott to make her not retch-worthy (perhaps as Jackpot). Why should I have faith in a writer who was behind SINS PAST and THE OTHER and spider-totems and other fiction turds? He's been fine on THOR, but he's a bit over the hill on Spidey, IMO. I was ready for anything, but not for another snot-nosed magic brat. I would literally have preferred Spidercide, using both the Infinity Gauntlet and Carnage's symbiote, with the Stacy Twins as assistants. I would have preferred the Beyonder in his DISCO FEVER clothes (which actually would make some sense as he and Spidey were kind of pals). I would have preferred Howard Mackie and another Osborn actress retcon. Please, dear sweet Kirby, not another lifeless Cosmic Tween Maguffin. Basically, what was otherwise readable for almost 2 chapters seems to be realing for a gutpunch in the latter two halves, and I am officially bracing for the worst. On the plus side, the issue has a nice long Handbook bio for Mary Jane, and a reprint story, to further justify paying $4 for it.
GHOST RIDER #16: This may not be high caliber stuff, but at least it doesn't piss me the **** off like endless backward Spidey events or Bendis comics. Flawed as it is, I close the book with a smirk on my face. This one seems like a bit of a middling issue; Ghost Rider fights some more Satan corpse avatars and the two mysterious angels remain mysterious, only arrive on the scene. Ghost Rider had to rescue a little league team last issue and doesn't get to it this one. Blaze's big bold plan isn't quite revealed as his gal pal starts to get some pressure and second thoughts. There is still some nice action and some dark humored dialogue, and Way may have a plan for this, but I am starting to grow indifferent, and unless the finale offers some great potential for the subsequent arc, this may be my last. Nice art, though.
NEW AVENGERS #35: On the cover, right there, is the single most ******ed thing I thought I'd never see; Wolverine with a Venom symbiote. Both Logan and Venom were hotter than they ever were in the 90's and even teamed up once or twice, and amazingly even back then, in the 90's, such an idea was considered too stupid to be used (least outside a WHAT IF, which I believe had an issue where Venom bonded with Thor). Bendis obviously feels likewise. I couldn't be in the least bit interested. THANKFULLY, aside for a page towards the end, the symbiote invasion seems to be saved for MIGHTY AVENGERS, which is at least two months behind schedule, and most of this issue deals with The Hood gathering up super-villains as the new Kingpin, which is one of Bendis' more interesting recent storylines. He is good at the urban crime noir stuff and this issue has The Hood give your expected "aspiring organized crime boss" speaches, and that is all done fine. But the really awesome thing about Bendis is for every one thing that he writes that is good, he throws in some sort of error or element or angle that either equals it out, or overwhelms it. The most major of which I may touch upon in a second, and that is his feeling Tigra was deserving some sort of vicious beating, because heroines aren't targeted enough by criminals in the history of superhero comics. Firstly, what is the bloody POINT of the entre SHRA if beat cops are going to assume the worst of registered heroes and SHOOT AT THEM, try to arrest them!? Really, you'd think out of all states or cities, NY/C would be the MOST up to date with it as they are the FOCAL POINT of American heroics. The ENTIRE PURPOSE of the argument for registration was for scenes like that one being ELIMINATED. Not even that, Tigra is also an actual police officer, and thus should have had the brains to perhaps wear her badge on her belt now that she is registered. But this is Bendis' problem in a nutshell, he has great ideas for scenes and moments and if the rest of Marvel's continuity or common sense don't match, he just writes it on anyway. And then there comes the Hood's meeting pages. The speach itself is alright, decent reading. But the characters on panel, my god, it is like a checklist of continuity/character muggles, even considering some of the "formerly dead, now alive" characters from The Raft from the title launch. Who is at this meeting, which is supposed to be AFTER the CW (and after Cap's death and so on)? Nitro, who is supposed to be Namor-food. Armadillo, who is with the Rangers or Modok's 11, depending on where you fit things. Foolkiller, a vigilante who wouldn't DREAM of showing up to a criminal meeting unless it was to "kill some fools". Purple Man, who is supposed to be hiding in Canada (although to be fair, MODOK'S 11 screwed that up first, and since Bendis feels he owns and created Purple Man after ALIAS, I'll let it slide). Constrictor, who is supposed to be with the Shadow Initiative (and Bendis is in no way clever enough to later claim, "he was spying for Gyrich", because that would entail he cares about coordinating his books with others, when all current career evidence shows Bendis couldn't in the least bit be interested with that stuff). Rampage, in full armor, despite the fact that Stuart Clarke has been running with the Punisher in PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL for an ENTIRE YEAR now; are we to assume his armor was stolen, forever find No-Prize excuses for Bendis? And no, that isn't Red Skull, that is a lone Blood Brother, talking like a punk and who should probably be short on some power without his bro around. Then there is the Griffen, who instead of being a beastial monster as he was the last few times he was used, now suddenly has intelligence and wants to run with mafia villains. No use complaining about villains last seen carted off to jail, since jail can never hold them anyway (and Millar can stew on it). Plus you have characters who should seriously be enemies, like half the U-Foes in the same room with Crossfire, Mr. Fear, and Mandrill weren't out to kill them a mere two years ago in SPIDER-MAN: BREAKOUT. There have been a few Mr. Fear's, but the other two leave fewer excuses. I mean maybe it seems like nitpicking for a generic baddie gathering, but for chrissakes, stuff like this shows no one bothers to edit anymore. And with Yu's pencils, half these guys would be unrecognizable without McCaig's colors (many are even with). I did like how Hood got underworld cred for surviving a fight with Wolverine. More questionable is The Hood overpowering Tigra with a few pistol-whips and a shot to the leg. If Bendis wanted to research, he could have realized that the Hood can fire electric blasts, and used that to defeat her. Just because McDuffie forgot that for BEYOND! doesn't mean Bendis had to. It just seemed a bit, off, Hood overpowering her as if she was a human vigilante without physical powers. The demonic hood can likely be a maguffin for any sort of strength boosts, but, jeez, you got his invisible thing down and done well, why not do EVERYTHING well? But that is why Bendis is infuriating. He can't just get everything good, or everything crap. He mixes the two so it just gets frustrating to read. And Bendis should be proud that he delivered a bit of Misogynist Heroine Violence that almost made me think I was reading a DC comic, where that stuff has become disturbingly common (power drills, anyone?). I just wonder how he'd feel if someone decided to smack Jessica Jones around like that, is all. The baddies manage to use their Deathlok to rob a bank and then move onto greener pastures. I like the general idea here, and as usual, Bendis has chosen to surround his moments of brillance with moments of illogic, crap, or annoying dialogue (I swear, if I read "oh come on" from him one more time, I'll scream). NA is a very frustrating book, and I hate reading it. Hate it to death. It can't just suck or be good, it has to show it CAN be good but then surround itself in utter crap as, what, a balance? Add in the fact that Bendis is the unofficial EIC, and his power over the entire line will show next year for SECRET INVASION. People tell me, "settle down, Dread, he'll soon fade away like Byrne and Claremont", but my thing is, I don't have a decade or two in me to wait, and I dread the universe he wants to leave in his wake. If any book that I buy often that, if dropped, would cause me to be a happier person, it is this one. But like some damned trainwreck, I can't stop watching, and Marvel insists on making it and Bendis so damned important to the line, and my shop overorders this crap and for 10% off I may as well give him one less.
