Bought/Thought for 7/20/11 - SPOILERS!

[Phaedrus45]

DC Universe Online Legends #12

I guess this series will come to a fast conclusion soon? I don't remember seeing it solicited with the New 52...unless they just plan to let it finish it's 24 issue run. What's missing for a while is the adventures in the future, where Superman and many of Earth's heroes are dead; and, now we just get the present adventures, where Superman is being targeted by Lex and Braniac, and many of the people from the Daily Bugle have gained superpowers from those heroes who have lost theirs. Lex has learned that Superman is Clark Kent; but, his love for Lois Lane has made him want to put a halt to his plans.

Not a great series; but, I still find myself entertained enough. I'm just wondering if the original plan is being sped up to reach that September deadline. A mild .

DC Comics: The New 52! Free Comic

We get a preview of Justice League, where we see action from 5 years previous. It looks good and jumps off the page; but, it also seems to be a lot of flash and very little substance. Will people jump on this in droves, as all past JLA history seems to be shunted aside? I'm sure they will. But, it also feels like DC just Ultimate-ized their entire Universe in one fell stroke. (Or, maybe with the reveal that Lois isn't married to Superman any longer, we've actually been Mephisto-ized.)

A free preview always gets a from me.

Marvel Universe Vs. Wolverine #2

I loved the previous mini, Marvel Universe Vs. Punisher; but, I think this one is even better. We don't get a lot of jumping around in time; and, instead, we get a clearer idea of what happened when this virus his this Marvel Universe. Good story, the art blends itself well with the story, and I cannot wait for the next issue. Love that The Punisher makes an appearance this issue, also.

Daredevil #1

Is this comic really as good as I feel it is, or am I just happy the past year of garbage is finally swept away in one fell stroke? Probably a bit of both, but already this might be my Comic Of The Week. Waid doesn't bother to bog the reader down in the past, almost ignoring the events of Shadowland and what came after...and, with one issue, it feels like I've gotten my old Matt Murdock back. Where Diggle went wrong (trying to emulate Brubaker and Bendis' style), Waid makes this book his own. It's now fresh and original. Even the art is a style vastly removed from what came before. I loved the opening action with The Spot...and, DD kissing the bride was awesome! That scene alone makes readers know we've gotten past gloomy, depressing Matt...and, for those who might question the total shift in personality for Matt, Waid provides an explanation in the last part of the book with an extra story. t:

War Of The Green Lanterns: Aftermath #1

I liked this epiloge more than last week's final issue of Green Lantern. We only get one brief scene with Hal, as he returns to Earth without his power ring. Instead, most of the action (well, not really any action, but lots of dialogue between Lanterns) takes place with the other members of the Corps. Maybe this is why I liked it. While we do see Kyle and John, we're also treated to a healthy dose of the alien Lanterns for once.

Good issue.

Abattoir #6

This Radical comic comes to its conclusion; and, while the ending was okay, it was how I expected the whole thing to end. Crone would come out on top, and the main character would eventually go nuts. A bit of a disappointment, really. I liked issues 1-5; but, this last one felt a bit sloppy.

Sergio Aragones Funnies #1

A nice first issue. Sergio gives readers some of his classic strips, like we've seen in the pages of Mad Magazine; but, he also puts some humorous stories he's seen over the years in the comic. I especially liked the story of his father trying to use Mexican college students as Indians on a movie set.

True Blood #6

Not nearly as good as the tv show, but so much better than the first mini that preceded it. We actually get a decent story about tainted Tru Blood shipments, and I loved that characters from throughout the seasons showed up throughout the story. Best of all, the story is pretty up-to-date with events in the television series.

A good ending to a decent second mini. Too bad that first series might have made many readers not give this one a chance.

Avengelyne #1

Liefeld tries again with this character, last seen about a year ago in a one-shot. Events from that one-shot actually have some significance to this story; but, it's not essential to a reader's enjoyment. What's good is this first issue is much better than that one-shot; but, what's bad is that the story and art isn't anything that I can still recommend. (Too bad the cover artist isn't used with what's inside. It's all a bit too cartoonish.)

 

[Tron Bonne]

I think they are just letting the DC Universe comic finish its 24 issue run. I seem to remember it was solicited with its regular numbering in the October solicits.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

You know, it's funny...I remember when Ultimate began to take-off everyone was speculating Marvel would nix their main comics and replace it with the Ultimate line. DC just bypassed the whole Ultimate process and went straight for the replacement. Funny how that works out.

 

[runawayboulder]

Without getting to in depth for now, DD and Avengers Academy tied for the best books I read this week and this was a BIG week. I still want to go back and re-read and digest this weeks offerings but the previous mentioned books were the runaway winners this week.

 

[Dread]

This week didn't have many comics - especially since INVINCIBLE #81 decided to be a week behind schedule - but it was satisfying. Spoilers ahoy.

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 7/20/11:

AVENGERS ACADEMY #16: This is the second issue of this series' crossover with FEAR ITSELF, and that both provides the ore for Christos Gage's story as well as limits the pay-off from it. As the cover notes, Giant-Man takes on Absorbing Man, who is now one of "the Worthy", who is empowered by evil Norse god energy (and a hammer). This is a rematch from the 7th issue, which allows the series to have more narrative flow than one would have thought. Justice and Quicksilver, meanwhile, are fighting the equally "Worthy" Titania, while their cadets are still trying to survive their own deployment. The glaring thing about FEAR ITSELF crossovers is similar to tie-in's with WORLD WAR HULK or to a degree CIVIL WAR; while key antagonists can appear in other books, they cannot be defeated in any book that is not the core mini series or a tie-in written by the writer of said series (such as INVINCIBLE IRON MAN). Thus, the battle between Creel and Pym is destined to end in an anti-climax, even if Gage comes close to pulling it off. Tom Raney continues his run on these issues, as he's just tagged in for Sean Chen - alongside Andrew Hennessy on inks and Jeromy Cox on colors. This may remind some of the fact that Tigra, one of Gage's main characters in this series, has a grudge against the Hood, which can never been resolved here because he is the lead villain in the "more important" NEW AVENGERS book. The fact that Gage still can wrest a solid story around fighting a villain that he is editorially not allowed to depict as actually being defeated speaks wonders to his skill.

The latter half of the issue deals with Veil attempting to save civilians in the chaos that is the battle in Washington D.C., which is quite tragic and harrowing; much as Mettle's was last issue. This is a fine issue, although Gage has written better ones of this series; if his average is A-, this is a solid B+ issue.

DAREDEVIL #1: It has been quite a long and strange trip for Marvel's "Man Without Fear". Under the three consecutive runs of writers such as Brian M. Bendis, Ed Brubaker, and Andy Diggle, the character's life became more and more bleak, with less and less of a way out. First his secret identity was exposed, then he went to prison, then he decided to rule Hell's Kitchen as a crime lord, and then he decided to take over the mystical Hand ninja cult. In last year's SHADOWLAND event, which ended back at the start of December, Murdock was flat-out possessed by a demon and forced to be confronted and defeated by a host of "street" heroes, including Iron Fist, Elektra, Punisher, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Shang Chi, the Daughters Of The Dragon, and Wolverine. Freed of the demon, Matt Murdock seemingly died, but had actually just vanished and fled New York to atone for his sins. Thus, his main DAREDEVIL series technically was canceled. This journey was covered in the first half of 2011 with the DAREDEVIL REBORN mini series. Now, as a part of Marvel's "BIG SHOTS" promotion - relaunching "Marvel Knights" style urban heroes with big creative teams - DAREDEVIL gets a fresh #1 issue and a new creative team of Mark Waid and artists Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin.

Like many fresh #1's should, there is a brief recap of Murdock's origin in the first page and then things delve right into the action. Waid explains enough of Daredevil's messy recent history to keep new, old, and casual readers informed without bogging the story down. All one needs to know is after yet another tragically grim and depressing period of his life, Murdock has returned to New York and seeks to re-establish his career as a lawyer as well as his "side gig" as a vigilante. As Daredevil, he gets off to a dramatic re-start by foiling a kidnapping at a mafia wedding. Unfortunately, things don't go as well for Murdock as a lawyer - his status as being "widely suspected" to have been Daredevil causes havoc in his attempt to resume being a defense attorney with perennial partner Foggy Nelson. While Matt and Foggy are the only regular characters set up in this relaunch, new assistant D.A. Kirsten McDuffie makes her presence known. A supporting cast has usually proven difficult for Daredevil, since many of Murdock's associates besides Foggy have either been killed off or driven insane, or both. Was it mentioned that he had a lot of bleak stories in the past?

While Waid is a very good storyteller - able to tell a simple yet engaging tale with a lot of action, humor, and wit - it is the art which comes close to stealing the show. While this debut issue is $3.99 - as a part of Marvel's constant desire to cynically milk readers - it allows both Rivera and Martin to showcase their talents. Rivera draws the lead 21 page story, while Martin handles a ten page back up strip. Their styles are different, yet compliment each other very well; both are inspired by Steve Ditko, yet have quirks and modern advances all of their own. The colors of Javier Rodriguez (for Rivera) and Munsta Vicente (for Martin) compliment the pencils beautifully. How Murdock's "radar sense" is depicted is given a complete redesign and it works marvelously (pun intended). As Waid is trying to write a more light-hearted, or at least less bleak, superhero tale, the colors match this angle well. Rivera manages to go wild with the issue's "villain of the month", the Spot. This DAREDEVIL doesn't look a thing like many other Marvel comics in terms of artwork, nor does it look much like the artists who were on the title since Alex Maleev drew it, which is a good thing to stake out a claim for originality.

In this relaunch, Waid does not neglect the recent history - even if Foggy seems to have gotten over his pal becoming a demonic ninja VERY quickly. At the same time, Waid is trying to steer the character away from the consistent train of bleak, miserable, and gritty stories (which began from Frank Miller's iconic run in the 1980's) and something that is more mainstream and upbeat. Murdock himself seems to have decided to try to cope to his horrible life, for the moment, by trying to be more adventurous and upbeat rather than brooding, which is an interesting approach. A character called "Daredevil" should have a bit of a "devil-may-care" attitude - which he did have for most of the 60's and 70's. In fact the only dilemma to Waid's strategy is that he may be relying on the rogues galleries of other characters, such as Spider-Man, than on Daredevil's own. The reason is that aside for, literally, about four or five rogues, Murdock doesn't have many regular adversaries. Still, there is little excuse to not try to rehabilitate some of them or to create some new ones, and hopefully that is something Waid attempts within his first year. While Waid has continued to do some freelance writing work for Marvel, such as issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN or a STRANGE mini last year, he hasn't had too many extended runs on an ongoing title since FANTASTIC FOUR back in 2005. DAREDEVIL gives him a chance to define himself on a franchise that desperately needed a rinse cycle for the first time in years.

If one has been reading DAREDEVIL for years and wants to read the character doing more than grimacing in the rain and fighting ninja, or is curious about the character, or hasn't read much of him for years, this is a solid launch to give a shot. Initially bought out of curiosity more than design, this has proven to be a worthwhile purchase. It is still a shame Marvel continues to break their vow of late 2010 and sell debut issues of ongoing titles at a higher price than subsequent issues (because the debut issue is the best selling one), but at least the extra pages make it justified. Plus, isn't it good to support something from Marvel that won't be involved in a crossover?

As an FYI to ASM fans, Michele Rodriguez is mentioned as an attorney Murdock seeks to refer a client to.

FEAR ITSELF: THE HOME FRONT #4: This anthology series, which merges Marvel’s consistent FRONTLINE companions to events with their AGE OF HEROES style anthologies chugs along. As per the norm, the issue has four stories of varying length; two of them are serial, but one of them is ending this issue.

The lead in story is still “Fatal Errors” starring Speedball, as written by Christos Gage, drawn by Mike Mayhew, and colored by Rain Beredo. As a member of Gage’s cast of AVENGERS ACADEMY, this serial is often a solid compliment to the events of that book. After coming to terms with the people of Stamford, Connecticut for the events of CIVIL WAR, Speedball has been bouncing across the country trying to defend small towns from the wrath of “The Worthy”, the evil hammer carrying minions of “The Serpent”, the big bad of FEAR ITSELF. The theme seems to be that he does his valiant best, but ends up only delaying the inevitable or ensuring that slightly fewer civilians are maimed. This time, he tried to save St. John’s, Newfoundland from Attuma after Alpha Flight are nowhere to be had – they’re busying being arrested by Canadian conservatives in their own series. Much like against Juggernaut last issue, Speedball does his best and earns some public respect, but it isn’t good enough. The question is, did he survive the aftermath? Since there’s another three issues left, I’d assume so. Some thrilling action and great artwork, even if it is getting repetitive. Battles can seem tedious when it is a foregone conclusion that the baddies cannot lose in any book but the main one. Still, this chapter was less bleak than the first two, which is progress.

The second strip is the finale of “The Age Of Anxiety”, which has been a Jimmy Woo/AGENTS OF ATLAS story written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Elia Bonetti, with colors by John Rauch. It is the first major Agents story not written by Jeff Parker, and it seems to show. Milligan is a bit awkward with the characters, and the fling between Namora and Woo is quite random. However, this final chapter is the strongest, which is positive. Woo and the gang escape the lost Nazi castle they infiltrated, and while Woo and Namora have broken up, the boss man shows there are things he values more than tactical knowledge. This has been an uneven story, but the artwork has been fine, and it ends properly.

Howard Chaykin offers another one page “a moment with” tale which continues the trend of the previous four issues by being completely pointless. It focuses on a random Atlantian named Kida who is torn between loyalty to Namor or Attuma. Edgar Delgado does the colors, and I would probably rather one of the stronger strips be a page longer than see more of these.

The issue ends strongly with another Blue Marvel story by Kevin Grevioux called “Legacy”, with art by MC Wyman, inks by John Wycough and colors by Wil Quintana. For those not in the know, the Blue Marvel is an original character that Grevioux created in the 2008 mini series ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL alongside artist Mat Broome. It detailed Adam Brashear, who was an all around college athlete, scientist, and Korean War veteran who gained super-powers and became a famous hero of the 1960’s. Due to it being the dawn of the civil rights era, once the public learned he was black, he became such a divisive figure that JFK privately gave him the medal of honor while ordering him to retire. He was forced to come out of retirement when his arch nemesis returned, and has sought to revive his super hero career after since; at least to a degree. The series sold poorly for a few reasons; Grevioux is not a big name, this was coming off an awkward run on NEW WARRIORS, Blue Marvel was a new character, and this was during CIVIL WAR when anything that wasn’t connected to that story was lost in the shuffle. Similar to the Sentry, I often feel the character is better in virtually every respect, and he could benefit from being well written on a team book. Still, Marvel seems to give Grevioux a chance to tell more stories with his creation once a year in anthologies; the last was in AGE OF HEROES #3, circa Sept. 2010. This time, Blue Marvel nearly causes an international incident removing a Chinese submarine from his damaged underwater lair in time to prevent a catastrophe from an anti-matter experiment. In seven pages, Grevioux throws in a conflict between Adam and a U.S.S. naval captain, a fight with a sea-monster, and some additional exposition. The strip is likely confusing and cluttered to those unfamiliar with the character – most readers – but for those who aren’t, it’s a solid romp. ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL was collected in a trade in 2009 and can be had on Amazon for about $17; while it isn’t Eisner worthy, it is a perfectly engaging introduction of an interesting new character in Marvel. A better Blue Marvel tale would have him battle more contemporary enemies, but as Grevioux only has about 7-8 pages a year to write with, he often chooses to keep Adam on the fringes.

For $3.99, this has 32 pages of story, and this month, all of the strips are pretty good. The Chaykin page continues to be a low light of this anthology, but as it is only a page, it is easy to skip. Next month offers an alliance between Amadeus Cho, the new Power-Man (Victor Alvarez), the new Thunderstrike (Eric Masterson), X-23, and Spider-Girl – presumably written by Fred Van Lente. That alone will be worth the cover price. For this month, though, the overall package is more positive than usual.

HERC #5: Pay no attention to the cover, which depicts the titular hero fighting some sort of evil magical woman; absolutely no scene inside the comic comes close to that - in fact, the woman doesn't even resemble Hecate, the main antagonist of this arc. At any rate, Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente continue their relaunch of INCREDIBLE HERCULES, which currently ties into FEAR ITSELF. Sadly, sales for this series have nose-dived so badly, that it may be amazing if this series reaches a 10th issue. To recap, Hercules lost his godly power in CHAOS WAR, but has utilized enchanted Greek weaponry to become a vigilante protector of Brooklyn. Evil goddess Hecate, and son of evil god Ares, Kyknos, are exploiting all of the fear that is being sowed by "the Worthy" to reshape the borough into their own twisted image in an attempt to revive Ares. Herc is harassed by his own worshippers (who prove to be "fanboys", essentially) and is forced to team up with D-List villains like Man-Bull and Basilisk to survive. Griffen has once again devolved into a lion-like steed, as he once did in John Bryne's run of NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER in the 90's. Pak and Van Lente have always had a flair for proper use of discarded characters, and their treatment of Man-Bull and Basilisk as unlikely cast members showcases that.

On the downside, the premise is that Hecate is re-making Brooklyn and either possessing or re-creating every man, woman, child and pet in the borough - yet certain plot convenient characters seem to be immune to that by sheer whim. While Neil Edwards - who at times can seem like a poor man's Bryan Hitch - is a great artist for high adventure with twisted monsters, he struggles with comedy. Thus, some of the amusing one-liners seem a bit more flat than if this had been drawn by past INCREDIBLE HERCULES artists Reilly Brown or Rodney Buscemi. It does seem like despite the obligatory crossover, Pak and Van Lente are trying to weave in longer team subplots into this series - thus, it is a shame that it may be canceled within a few issues' time. Marvel have proven tenacious with this franchise run, willing to keep it going via mini-series at times, much as they did for AGENTS OF ATLAS for a couple of years. While not up to par with some of the better issues of their time on HERCULES material, it is still enjoyable reading for three greenbacks.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Daredevil was... good? I liked it. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's so much fun to hate on it to people who love it. But now Waid and Martin are making it actual fun. So I'll stick with it for a while, at least.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Marineman #6

The final issue of this series was decent; but, kind of predictable. We don't get nothing new, as origins go. Marineman was developed by an evil Nazi (really? is the Nazi angle still being used today??), ensuing fight happens, and Marineman must decide to capture the villian or save the helpless female love interest. Doesn't sound like much of a ringing endorsement...BUT, there was a real innocence to this comic. With the first issue, I would have dropped it from my pull list; but, I forgot. And, by the time I was three issues in, the book had greatly improved. It's a bummer that the final issue was $4.99...and, I doubt will see another series after this. (I remember seeing at the bottom 300 list, if I remember correctly.)

Pricey book; but, if you find it in the bargain bins, give it a try.

Retroactive 1970's: Batman One-Shot

These retroactive books seemed like a neat idea. I just wish they would a) would have been a buck cheaper OR b) given readers a bit more. It's a high price to pay for nostalgic writings by original writers from the era in question. For Batman, we get Len Wein. His story could easily fit in that era, and characters and events from the past come up throughout the story. (It's also 24 pages of new material.) The second feature is a reprint from the same writer (sadly, not the same artist); and, the one in this comic was better than the lead-in story. What stinks...and, a disappointment at the price we pay, is we don't even get to see the original cover art for that comic. Also, it would have been nice to have a page in which the original writer could have discussed their time on the comic back in the 70's. (Kind of like how Marvel has a nice writer's page for their Marvel Vault series.)

Nice comic, but it could have been better thought out.

Retroactive 1970's: Wonder Woman One-Shot

And the award for "Worst Cover Of 2011!!" I don't think Diana has looked any worse, and the interior art is just as bad. It's made even worse when you see how much better the orginal 1970's artist was in the reprint story. This original story read very quickly; and, after reading the reprint from Dennis O'Neil, I wonder how quickly he phoned this new one in. Disappoint in the story, but kind of neat to see the reprint, where Wonder Woman had given up her powers and was going all Kung-Fu in her book. Again, no original cover..and, to even discover what the issue number was, you have to read the small print at the bottom of the final page. (Oh, and this reprint is "to be continued.")

Pick up the Batman and skip this if you're interested in checking this out.

Spider Island Spotlight One-Shot

Kind of a deceptive Spotlight issue. Half of the book is devoted to Spider-Man books, like Spider Island, Venom, and his team ups with Wolverine; but, unless you've looked at the book before buying, you wouldn't know the hodgepodge of material in the second half. There is a section about the greatest Thunderbolts of all-time (I have no arguments with the five listed: 5=Ghost, 4=Mach V, 3=Baron Zemo, 2=Moonstone, and #1 is Songbird), Heroes For Hire interview with Abnett and Lanning, a story on All-Winners Squad, an interview with Alpha Flight writers, and an interview with Janet Lee (who does the Jane Austen comics). I wouldn't be so bothered, but for a promotional device, Marvel should not be asking $3.99 to try and convince us to buy their other stuff...especially stuff that has nothing to do with Spidey. (Oh, and the interviews didn't seem anything that special.)

 

[RockSP]

Marineman #6

The final issue of this series was decent; but, kind of predictable.

Well, dang. Didn't know this was canceled (or was it a mini all along?) My shop didn't put it in my box, either

 

[Dread]

Daredevil was... good? I liked it. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's so much fun to hate on it to people who love it. But now Waid and Martin are making it actual fun. So I'll stick with it for a while, at least.

Wait, you tried DAREDEVIL!?

Damn.

I just lost the only thing I could throw at you as justification for why I don't try reading certain characters.

 

[Themanofbat]

If I bought DareDevil #1, then my compulsive collector side would make me track down issues #362 to #512...

 

[El Bastardo]

Daredevil was... good? I liked it. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's so much fun to hate on it to people who love it. But now Waid and Martin are making it actual fun. So I'll stick with it for a while, at least.

Our little Corpy is growing up.

It's so cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute.

 

[runawayboulder]

Our little Corpy is growing up.

It's so cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute.

I thought we were going to have to send him to one of those special brainwashing boot camps.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Okay... BIG week and a dang fine one at that. There wasn't really a single issue that was below good... and that's big news being that 2 of the titles have gotten my lowest remarkes the last month or two.

Batman: Gates of Gotham #3 (of 5) - This is a mini that I wasn't going to bother with and ended up caving because it just really caught my eye. This issue ended up being as good as the first two and I am really loving this story. Snyder, Higgins, and McCarthy have created a great story here. I hear Snyder came up with a lot of the plot and Higgins is scripting most of it (I don't know how true that is) but this book is definately getting me excited for Snyder's Batman relaunch in September.

I think my favorite thing about this book is that it doesn't actually focus on Bruce. I've always been a fan of the "other guys" in just about anything I am interested in, and the fact that the focus of this book is on Dick, Tim, Damian, and Cassandra.... I think that's great. I also like Hush so the fact that he's a minor role is a bonus.

War of the Green Lanterns: Afterman #1 (of 2) - I honestly wasn't a huge fan of War of the Green Lanterns and only liked two scenes in the whole thing (Mogo and Sinestro). This issue though was fairly enjoyable for me. As I said before, I'm a fan of the "other guys" and being that Hal was barely here and we get some good face time for Kilowog, Salaak, Vath, Hannu, and Natu. I liked the scene between Ganthet and Saint Walker. The issue was good enough to keep me interested. Between last issue of GL, GLC, and this issue, I'm not as bored of the title as I've been for a while. Hopefully it'll continue the upwill swing. It needs it.

Daredevil #1 - I really enjoyed this issue. I'll start by saying that I went into this issue excited for Marcos Martin but I think Paolo Rivera blew hiim away! I enjoyed the first half of the book so much I assumed it was Martin until I got to the second half and recognized Martin's work and then compared the two. So way to go, Rivera

I do find it funny that the first page alone is completely written by someone else (Fred Van Lente). It bored me but was necessary for a first issue.

As for the plot... it was fine. I'm one who love the darker tone of the book and I'm not that excited that it's swinging back to the happier days but I love the character enough to adapt. I felt that Waid did a fine job with it. He's moving forward while acknowledging just enough of the past to make it feel linear. I have a feeling that his Shadowland days will be brought up and dealt with more following this issue with Cap showing up.

I liked the issue a lot and am looking forward to the future of this book.

And Spot was awesome

Avengers #15 - Issue 13 sucked rhino balls, issue 14 sucked monkey balls (which is less than Rhino balls), but this issue didn't suck at all. I've gotten used to the talking heads approach for this arc but whereas issue 13 was all over the place, this issue really deals with Spider-Woman's feeling of inadequacies. She puts up a great fight against the Hulk (as do Ms. Marvel, Protector, and Hawkeye) and I thought the whole battle (contained in one issue mind you... way to go Bendis) was very good and thought out.

Now keep in mind that I've not been a huge fan of this title since the relaunch but I think this could[/b] be my favorite issue of the title to date. I was thoroughly entertained.

Iron Man #2.0 - I loved this issue. I don't know that it does much for Jim Rhoads at all but as a fan of Iron Fist this arc was the bee's knees. It really ties in two previous storylines from Iron Fist's recent past: The Eight City from the Immortal Iron Fist title, and Agamotto from the first 6 issues of the New Avengers relaunch, both of which I liked.

Jim gets his moment, which is good, but all in all this was an Iron Fist story aided by Jim, the Weapons, and Dr. Strange. I thought the Handsome Monkey King was an interesting character and I'm totally sold on the continuation of his and Iron Fist's story in Monkey King's oneshot coming out shortly. I'm actually very excited for it.

So though this arc did nothing to bring me onboard Iron Fist 2.0 perminantly, it certainly pleased the Iron Fist fan inside. Aces

 

[JewishHobbit]

Now for the X-Men books:

Uncanny X-Men #541 - You know how I said the X-Men world was doing fantastic until last issue? It reached a screeching halt... but it picked back up with this issue. I don't know what it was but I was just loving every page and panel of this issue.

Even Land's art didn't bother me... you know... I'll even go so far as to say I kinda enjoyed it. Colossus getting knocked into the air before a sign for "Orbit" gum was funny as can be. I can usually point out pages of things I didn't like about Land's art but in this issue I only really didn't like Sadie when she first showed up in Emma's mind and Hope standing there all powered out. That's it. Everything else felt fairly flowing and legit. I didn't get the "magazine" vibe at all from this issue.

Now as for plotting... it was good. Cyclops had some good lines here, my favorite being, "PLan B implies we only have 26." I thought Gillen did a good job with the cast he assembled to face the Juggernaut. I liked that Cecelia Reyes was used (for as small as it was) and the idea to bring in the kids to stand close enough for Hope to leech off of to break Juggernaut's helmut was nice. And Teon's "flight" plea was really good. I like how Gillen handles the Generation Hope kids in both this book and the main title.

So yeah, definate jump from last issue's lull. I'm still loving the X-Books but it's bugging me how overpriced they're getting and I'm still worried about Schism... but for now, I'm a fan (what am I kidding, I'll always be a fan).

Generation Hope #9 - Speaking of Generation Hope. This was a good issue but not great. They promoted this issue as the one people will be talking about all decade or something like that but it just wasn't. The cover is cool but the promotion and the cover took away from the story.

Basically, we have a new mutant that shows up and he's an ugly one. Generation Hope take off for him but the new mutant is friends with jerks who try to make him an online sensation during his distress. The kid takes a knife to the bathroom and kills himself before Gen Hope can help him. Issue ends with Zero (the new name for Kenshi I think his name is) going to the dead mutant's friend's house to kill him in his sleep. Wolverine shows up and talks him out of it and we learn some of Zero's history and why he's so upset that this guy drove the new mutant to suicide.

Now, it was definately a good issue but going in I knew that someone would die. Judging by solicits I knew it'd be a newly discovered mutant. And juding by the promotion I knew it was going to be something Marvel would try to play up... so a lesson to learn or something... and I was right. Therefor, nothing in this issue really struck me as "wow."

That aside, looking past all of the spoiler crap ruining the issue, the plot really was pretty good and I felt the final scene with Wolverine and Zero was very good. Zero really is turning into one of my favorite characters in this book. Good stuff.

Sales are in the tanks on this book but it seems like Marvel's sticking to it post Schism at least, giving it room to breath. Hopefully it'll get better because it's really starting to grow on me. It wasn't good at first but it's an aquired taste.

X-Men #15 - This storyline was good. It started amazing and then toned down a bit but I felt this conclusion was really good and could potentially introduce an interesting new villain to the X-Men Rogues gallory. There's not really been any good villains introduced in a decade so the Evolutionary is a welcome addition. We get some back story on the story between the Evolutionary's, the first class of X-Men, and the original Brotherhood and we saw how it was all erased from their minds before now.

In the current storyline (and in the flashback) all but one of the Evolutionaries are destroyed. The last one is basically told to "F" off by Cyclops. The Evolutionary seems to be greatly depowered, which is good because overpowered villains gets old, and he ends the issue in a cave vowing to disregard his old mission and to focus on killing Cyclops. Man... I hope that's followed up on too. Cyclops himself could really use a Rogues Gallory and the Evolutionary could be an interesting addition.

X-Factor #222 - And now my least favorte X-Book that I read (maybe tied with Daken... which I may have dropped... I haven't decided yet).

I wasn't blown away by this issue but it was decent. I like the characters and that drives the book for me but, as is often the case, the plot does little for me. The only plot that has me even remotely interested is Monet and Strong Guy... and the hint a few issues ago that David would deal with the Longshot/Shatterstar relation. Sadly, one of those so far are only a mention and the other a small subplot. The core plot bores me.

I actually thought it could get interested in the end but was disappointed. Someone mentioned that their only chance was by having another mystically-based monster on their side. Then we saw a silhouette of someone watching who seemed to know what was going on and I thought David was going to bring back Baron Mordo or whatever his name was from a few arcs ago. I thought bringing that back would be interesting but instead it turned out to be Warwolf-by-Night... who I don't give a lick about.

Really, I should probably drop this book (and I have 3 times so far) but I just like the characters far too much, despite the boring and uninspired plotlines.



Best and Worst of the Month

Best: Avengers #15 - Yeah, this surprised the crap out of me (almost as much as I feel the 3 best books this week were the 3 Fear Itself tie-ins... wierd). Bendis just did a fantastic job with Spider-Woman and company here and I even liked Bachalo's art. It was more reminiscant of his Generation X days, or at least the battle scenes were. His talking heads weren't as good but I can get past that.

Worst: X-Facotr #222 - As I said before, this was't a bad issue but it continues being the least favorite comic I read (X-Men or otherwise). I just think that this book would do so much better if Peter David left it. It ran it's course and he's just trodding it along and I'm not a fan. I guess Schism is supposed to bring about some interesting changes to the book or something and I hope that helps but for now, I'm bored.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Our little Corpy is growing up.

It's so cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute.

I will never grow up. I'll go to my (probably early) grave with the emotional maturity of a 12-year-old.

 

[El Bastardo]

I thought we were going to have to send him to one of those special brainwashing boot camps.

Someone acknowledged a post I made in a Bought/Thought thread!

I will never grow up. I'll go to my (probably early) grave with the emotional maturity of a 12-year-old.

TWO people acknowledged posts I made in a Bought/Thought thread!

It's like I'm a real boy and not made of wood a'tall. Such a... strange... feeling.

 

[El Bastardo]

Marksmen #1 from Image Comics - You know, when cheap comics come along, I tend to pick them up. And this one had a $1 price on the cover. Why not? You don't expect much. How bad could it be?

Why, gentlemen and possible ladies, let me tell you. It's worse than you think it could be.

The art fits the general subject material, but it doesn't flow. It's stilted, lacking even the jump from panel-to-panel that some painted work has, even the very-painted work from Radical Comics. These are images drawn on the page, not pictures that allow us to move through our subconscious.

The writing lacks flow of actual speech and, in a number of cases, actually lacks certain pieces of necessary grammar. I'm a stickler for commas - as all editors should be, might I add - but they can be missed in some cases. It looks sloppy, if you ask me, but you didn't and got my answer anyway. Sucky, right? I know. Who feels as if they're not getting the most for the SuperheroHype dollar? Show of hands.

Well, now you know how I feel having not gotten the most for my one-dollar comic. The dialogue was missing ****ing periods to separate sentences.

I'm not even going into plot, because it came off as somewhat promising, even if they squeezed way too much into it, and I might get more depressed than I do dealing with simpletons and stupids regarding A Dance with Dragons.

Now I'm angry.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Flashback first, from this week and the last.

Booster Gold #46

While not a whole lot really happens in each issue, I still find I'm enjoying it quite a bit. This Doomsday story is much more interesting than the garbage happening in Action comics; and, I'm happy that the Flashpoint tie-in is going beyond the original three issues that Jurgens told me about at the last Comicon.

Emperor Aquaman #2 and Wonder Woman and the Furies #2

There feels to be a slight drop off on my enjoyment of the second issues in the Flashback tie-ins. Still, some are entertaining, especially ones (like these) that fill in backstory to preceeding events. Both of these books compliment each other, letting the reader know how the war between the Atlanteans and Amazons came about. Wonder Woman is more devoted to that, this issue; as, Emperor Aquaman mainly deals with Aquaman's origin and explanation of his hatred for humans.

Deathstroke and the Curse Of The Ravager #2

Not enjoying this tie-in as much as others. I thought one of the awesome moments in the main series was seeing Deathstroke killed by Aquaman; but, this mini brings him back to life. Deathstroke as a pirate does very little for me, and having Warlord be his rival just makes no sense.

Deadman And The Flying Graysons #2

Good issue. We're basically seeing the origin of what this possible team of circus folk will turn out to be. The Amazons are after Dr. Fate's helmet, and in this issue we get quite a few deaths (namely, Mama and Papa Grayson). Krul does a good job, especially compared to his dreadful Green Arrow series.

Legion Of Doom #2

I can see some people liking this mini; but, it does very little for me. This Legion is contained in a prison, and the tie-in involves them forming after a prison break. I'm not a Plastic Man fan; but, seeing him as a villian made him a bit more interesting, at least.

A mild, mild .

The Outsider #2

Meanwhile, this villian-centered mini is much more enjoyable. I would like to see this character beyond the Flashback event. It's much better than the regular Outsider book has been since...maybe ever. We get a lot of flashback to how The Outsider came into power with this issue.

Citizen Cold #2

This villian-centered book is a bit different, at least. It's a villian posing as a hero. I just wish I cared about Captain Cold enough to enjoy the book more. A mild .

Frankenstein And The Creatures Of The Unknown #2

I'm so happy that this series will continue somewhat when The New 52 hits the stands. It's my favorite of the past two weeks, and reminds me of FrankenCastle quite a bit. I remember reading the Creature Commandos when I was a kid, and Lemire does the monsters of DC a true justice in his story.

A big .

 

[Phaedrus45]

Marksmen #1

El Bastardo hit this one right on the mark. Even though this issue is only a buck ... even though you get 32 pages for such a low, low price ... even though the art is even halfway decent ... it's utter garbage. Trying to depict a Mad Max type world where most of the population has been decimated because of our government collapsing and the cities engaging in a civil war, this whole book reeks of a writer who steals from quite a few franchises to try and make his book. The characters all have codenames (although, you'll be scratching your head as to why, with so few people around). That's not so bad when you hear the real names: Admiral McCoy (Bones???), Dr. Heston (Charles??), and the main character, Drake McCoy (guess he's related to the Admiral). The villian of this comic, The Duke, looks like a Jonah Hex rip-off; and, naturally, he has an evil sidekick, The Deacon.

Bad book. Bad, bad book!

Walking Dead #87

Another decent issue; but, as I mentioned last month, I find myself becoming bored finally with all the dialogue and talking between characters. It's all becoming more soap opera than thriller/horror. Heck, even at the end of this issue, Carl wakes up for (what should have been fatal) his gunshot wound, and has selective amnesia or something.

I know this book has always been about the character's interaction; but, the thrill was in knowing a zomibe attack could happen at any time. Now, the zombies just aren't that scary any more, and besides turning this book into a melodrama, I'm not sure Kirkman has many new ideas of where to take it. It's almost feeling like Walking Dead has run its course. Natually, though, Kirkman is riding this baby to the bank, as we get an excerpt of his upcoming Walking Dead novel at the end.

Ultimate Fallout: Spider-Man No More #2

While last issue devoted itself primarily to Spidey's world, this issue begins with the funeral, and then shows us of other things happening in the Ultimate Universe. We get a short Thor feature by Hickman, where Thor dreams of Asgard and we see Spidey partying with those in Valhalla. Then, we get a Rogue short by Nick Spencer showing how she's on the run and homeless. The best in this book is Bendis' opening, as the reader feels for Aunt May. The scene with her and Jameson is especially touching.

Of course, this is all going to lead us into the new Ultimate books coming soon. I still find myself excited about this universe, and can't wait to see what the various writers of the new books bring to the table.

Executive Assistant: Lotus #1

All part of "The Hit List Agenda," I picked up my first issue last week and enjoyed it quite a bit. I made sure I called up my LCS and had them get me a copy of the first two issues, "Executive Assistant: Iris" #0 and #1. Even though I enjoyed Lobdell's Orchid more, it was still entertaining. (Although, I must admit I don't see how all these books are suppose to tie in to an overall theme, besides showing us four new Executive Assistants.

This new issue, Lotus, follows the same theme as the previous two books. It's nothing that will exactly blow you socks off, as each character is pretty two dimentional. Not a lot of characterization going on, besides showing who they are and how they came to be an Executive Assistant. Still, I like the pure escapism aspect to the books. It's just good fun with lots of hot women kicking butt. (Sometimes, that's all you need in a book, especially after reading the dialogue heavy Walking Dead.)


From the previous week, a few notes:

Incredible Hulks #632 was kind of nice, even though I'm getting tired of Pak and his multicolored Hulks. I hold out hope the A-Bomb is no more after the events of this issue. Probably not, though. Red She-Hulk was able to revert back to normal. It was cool to see the Troyian's back as a villian.

Godzilla: Gangsters & Monsters #2

While the main series is getting all the attention, this mini is really the much better product. We have more of a sense of a story, rather than just seeing a bunch of monsters causing havok around the globe. There is a central character (a police officer who's naturally with a corrupt police force...and, who a mob boss is determined to kill) who gains control of Mothra in order to exact his revenge.

Lady Mechanika Collected Edition & Lady Mechanika #2

On a whim, I decided to pick up both of these issues, and they didn't disappoint. Beautiful art and a decent story. It's a bit dialogue heavy; but, the reader feels like they get their money's worth, at least. It's hot woman Executive Assistant...but, with a bit more umph and characterization.

I used to avoid Aspen books like the plague; but, now I'm hooked on two of their books. I just might have to check out some of the new stuff they have coming out.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Ugh, I'm still waiting on Lady Mechanika from Heavy Ink. I thought they were getting more stock soon. Glad to know it's good for whenever I do actually get them, though.

 

[Phaedrus45]

More reviews!

Oh, and about Captain America. It was decent; but, I have to admit to some disappointment. (Some slight spoilers) I thought the movie was really good...until Cap's first assignment overseas. The set-up was fantastic, lots of good humor, and I thought the audience gets a real feel for who Steve is. It's afterwards that things go slightly downhill.

Am I the only one who felt absolutely no connection with Bucky? His death wasn't even that spectacular. Like with the comics, it should have come in during the final battle; so, when Steve wakes up in the present time, it has more of an impact.

Also, why make the attention on Hydra and not the Nazis? The Nazis are the perfect enemy, and having the Red Skull turn on his allegiance just weakened the plot. You could still have Hydra be a major factor; but, it greatly diminished Cap's involvement in the war.

It almost would have been better to make two movies from the scripts. A good amount of time was spent with his origin; but, I felt the war scenes were lacking. The writers obviously had to show his first assignment and get quickly to him being frozen in ice...and, Cap's involvement in the war was lessened to a great degree. (The danger, of course, is if the first movie didn't do well, you're risking having a second come out before The Avengers got released.)

I did like Peggy Carter in the movie. They did a good job with the romance. I did hate the use of the Cosmic Cube. Red Skull uses it as a weapon to shoot at people?? About the only neat idea was linking it with Odin.

Onto reviews.

Iron Man 2.0 #7

As I keep saying, Spencer has brought us possible the best War Machine series ever. It's not 100% awesome; but, it finally makes me interested in a character since he was introduced to us in the 80's. It does suck that the Palmer Addley storyline has been delayed for this Fear Itself tie-in; but, I understand the reasoning. Also, it was cool to see the Immortal Weapons, again. I'm definitely excited about Fear Itself: The Monkey King.

Invincible Iron Man #506

I was prepared to dislike this issue, after the fantastic couple of issues with Tony's battle against the Grey Gargoyle. Expect no action and lots of Fraction dialogue. Thing is...this book really grew on my by issue's end. First, we get a crucial continuation to the events in the last Fear Itself main issue, where we see Tony sacrificing his sobriety to Odin. (I hated that idea; but, now, this issue shows the payoff.) IF YOU ARE READING FEAR ITSELF, THIS IS A MUST ISSUE TO GET!!! It shows Tony working with the Dwarves to make weapons powerful enough to, at least, stand against the hammer-enchanted villians. Oh, and the dwarves are funny as hell! One of my favorite lines all year, when talking about Thor's hammer, is when the main dwarf says, "We built that %$#% hammer that &^%% son of his whips around like it was his &^%&." (Yeah, these dwarves curse like a sailor...maybe even moreso!)

Oh, and the ending makes you realize how bad Tony's sacrifice is going to haunt him.

Fraction has finally turned this book around. For about seven or eight issues, I've been really loving this title again. t:

Generation Hope #9

I don't know. I guess I just wasn't feeling this issue. Gillen tries to send us a message straight from the headlines, as a mutant kills himself after his supposed-friend outs him to the world. To me, it kind of cheapens what homosexual teens are having to deal with. This is not a one instance occurance that some who is gay teen has to deal with. The suicides are probably built upon incident after incident of hazing an individual; thus, this issue slightens the impact.

Avengers #15

More talking heads. Not only do we have it in Bendis' New Avengers, but he's doing the same thing here. Plus, he finally has Hawkeye and Spider-Woman making out in public.

I like what Bendis is doing in other books; but, his Avengers still sucks. So sad that we get more of this, and the much better Scarlet is on a probably permanent hiatus.

X-Factor #222

And, now to JH's least favorite book of the week. (He'd think this was the best book of the week compared to the awful Marksmen #1!) Yeah, it's really not that good. Am I the only person who wished to GOD that they'd just finish with the Rahne pregnancy storyline would just get aborted?? They've ruined one of my favorite characters by turning her into someone she isn't; and, this book has no identity any longer. David has brought in the C-list of mutant heroes; and, they just don't gel together. Where before we had a tight knit group working at a detective agency, now it's a hodgepodge of cast-offs. Heck, they don't even seem to be doing any work.

If this book was cancelled, I think I'd rejoice. While it has potential, David seems to have lost his muse.

Skaar: King Of The Savage Land #5

This will definitely be in contention for Best Mini of 2011. It was just a fun read; and, how fortunate that Skaar got away from all the multicolored Hulk madness that Pak keeps dealing with. This is Skaar as I want to see him. Heck, this is Ka-Zar as I want to see him, too! Loads of guest stars that go from one predicament to the next. Sure, there isn't much to this book; but, it's filled with action and thrills. LOVE IT!

Here is hoping for more Skaar of the Savage Land.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Oh, and about Captain America. It was decent; but, I have to admit to some disappointment. (Some slight spoilers) I thought the movie was really good...until Cap's first assignment overseas. The set-up was fantastic, lots of good humor, and I thought the audience gets a real feel for who Steve is. It's afterwards that things go slightly downhill.

Am I the only one who felt absolutely no connection with Bucky? His death wasn't even that spectacular. Like with the comics, it should have come in during the final battle; so, when Steve wakes up in the present time, it has more of an impact.

Also, why make the attention on Hydra and not the Nazis? The Nazis are the perfect enemy, and having the Red Skull turn on his allegiance just weakened the plot. You could still have Hydra be a major factor; but, it greatly diminished Cap's involvement in the war.

It almost would have been better to make two movies from the scripts. A good amount of time was spent with his origin; but, I felt the war scenes were lacking. The writers obviously had to show his first assignment and get quickly to him being frozen in ice...and, Cap's involvement in the war was lessened to a great degree. (The danger, of course, is if the first movie didn't do well, you're risking having a second come out before The Avengers got released.)

I did like Peggy Carter in the movie. They did a good job with the romance. I did hate the use of the Cosmic Cube. Red Skull uses it as a weapon to shoot at people?? About the only neat idea was linking it with Odin.

SPOILERS

I liked Bucky fine but did feel that he had a cheap death. It wasn't bad though. The only thing I really didn't like about the movie was the ending. I felt like they tried to seguay into the Avengers too much but it made the ending of this movie too awkward. They should have ended it with the reactions to his death and the after credits scene be his getting pulled from the ice with someone giving the order to thaw him out. I feel like they went too far with the ending.

Also, I wasn't a big fan of the soundtrack. It sounded too 70's or 80's war movie, or A-Team or something.

But all in all I really did love the movie. I do think it was up there with Iron Man and Thor.

X-Factor #222

And, now to JH's least favorite book of the week. (He'd think this was the best book of the week compared to the awful Marksmen #1!) Yeah, it's really not that good. Am I the only person who wished to GOD that they'd just finish with the Rahne pregnancy storyline would just get aborted?? They've ruined one of my favorite characters by turning her into someone she isn't; and, this book has no identity any longer. David has brought in the C-list of mutant heroes; and, they just don't gel together. Where before we had a tight knit group working at a detective agency, now it's a hodgepodge of cast-offs. Heck, they don't even seem to be doing any work.

If this book was cancelled, I think I'd rejoice. While it has potential, David seems to have lost his muse.

I completely agree in every aspect. I liked Rahne until David had her jump Rictor's bones. That felt out of character for her but I was willing to look past it... then with X-Force wolf-sex and then back here with her attitude toward Shatterstar and Rictor and lying and all that. David's just turned her into a very unlikable character.

And he has way too large of a cast and it really isn't gelling. The aging of Layla, return of Rahne, and then quick additions of Shatterstar, Longshot, Darwin, and Pip just threw the whole feel of the book for a loop. I love every character on this team individually but I'm not feeling a thing for this book anymore.

Skaar: King Of The Savage Land #5

This will definitely be in contention for Best Mini of 2011. It was just a fun read; and, how fortunate that Skaar got away from all the multicolored Hulk madness that Pak keeps dealing with. This is Skaar as I want to see him. Heck, this is Ka-Zar as I want to see him, too! Loads of guest stars that go from one predicament to the next. Sure, there isn't much to this book; but, it's filled with action and thrills. LOVE IT!

Here is hoping for more Skaar of the Savage Land.

My shop didn't get it in

 

[El Bastardo]

I completely agree in every aspect. I liked Rahne until David had her jump Rictor's bones. That felt out of character for her but I was willing to look past it... then with X-Force wolf-sex and then back here with her attitude toward Shatterstar and Rictor and lying and all that. David's just turned her into a very unlikable character.

And he has way too large of a cast and it really isn't gelling. The aging of Layla, return of Rahne, and then quick additions of Shatterstar, Longshot, Darwin, and Pip just threw the whole feel of the book for a loop. I love every character on this team individually but I'm not feeling a thing for this book anymore.

Peter David didn't write the wolf-sex in X-Force. As for her character, she's acting within the confines of how she's been written for the past several years, which in large part has been determined by David himself, since he's used her the most. She was a bit lighter initially, but come X-Force (Yost/Kyle) she came to have a much heavier conscience weighing her down, and David has continued that while using the aftermath to begin redeeming her. It's pretty obvious and by-the-book character development, using something of an addict blueprint. Maybe she isn't "likable," but she isn't being badly-written.

As for the additions of cast, they weren't quick, and they aren't recent. The aging-of-Layla storyline that saw her brought back and brought Shatterstar on the team was back in early-to-mid 2009, I think. The additions of Darwin and Longshot were during the Secret Invasion tie-ins, and that was what, 2008 to 2009? It's not like two comics came out and we had ten new people, and there's been plenty of time since then. These characters have a home in the book, and they fit the motley crew assembly that volume three of X-Factor has been about since the beginning. Pip's most recent, but come on, he's in, what, four panels an issue? Yeah, that's horrible.

David just writes the series with long-term goals and plans in mind, which is all he's done since the beginning. In a medium of serialized stories, he writes some of the most serialized stories, where most writers typically write with some single-issue containment even in a three-, four-, or six-part arc. The occasional single issue droops in quality depending on David's content, but overall the series remains in a constant state of long-term quality.

Not liking it doesn't make it a bad comic. It just means you don't like it anymore, for whatever reason/s.

I don't mean that to be jumping on your back and hitting your head with a mallet, mind you. Please don't take it that way. I just know you write, or you did at one point, and writers should know that difference.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Peter David didn't write the wolf-sex in X-Force.

Oh, I know that... I didn't mean to suggest he did but I can see how I wasn't clear on it.

As for her character, she's acting within the confines of how she's been written for the past several years, which in large part has been determined by David himself, since he's used her the most. She was a bit lighter initially, but come X-Force (Yost/Kyle) she came to have a much heavier conscience weighing her down, and David has continued that while using the aftermath to begin redeeming her. It's pretty obvious and by-the-book character development, using something of an addict blueprint. Maybe she isn't "likable," but she isn't being badly-written.

I can see the direction shes been going. My gripe is that she really shouldn't have gone there to begin with. I believe in character progression but when that progression goes against everything the character's been established to be I feel that is just bad plotting. Peter David's handled Rahne horribly. She was great in the Madrox mini and the earliest issues of X-Factor but she went downhill quickly and still isn't recovering. We have this good catholic girl who's faith was extremely important to her, suddenly having sex with two guys very quickly and then lying to one about the baby within her and hating on one of them and their boyfriend for being gay. Rahne wouldn't do any of those things.

I think I'm just getting tired of all these dark twists in characters and plots thta the X-Men have gone through over the decade or so. Starting with Cyclops's affair with Emma and Jean's attempted affair with Wolverine to now... the X-Men are just a dark mirror of what they were and I don't much care for it.

As for the additions of cast, they weren't quick, and they aren't recent. The aging-of-Layla storyline that saw her brought back and brought Shatterstar on the team was back in early-to-mid 2009, I think. The additions of Darwin and Longshot were during the Secret Invasion tie-ins, and that was what, 2008 to 2009? It's not like two comics came out and we had ten new people, and there's been plenty of time since then. These characters have a home in the book, and they fit the motley crew assembly that volume three of X-Factor has been about since the beginning. Pip's most recent, but come on, he's in, what, four panels an issue? Yeah, that's horrible.

Two people returning to the book after hiatus's and then 4 more new characters added to the team in, what, a year and a half? That's quick for so many new focuses and to not lose anyone who was already on the team. We have 11 people in this book (including Darwin who is just out for a few issues). I just don't think Peter David can handle that many characters at one time.

David just writes the series with long-term goals and plans in mind, which is all he's done since the beginning. In a medium of serialized stories, he writes some of the most serialized stories, where most writers typically write with some single-issue containment even in a three-, four-, or six-part arc. The occasional single issue droops in quality depending on David's content, but overall the series remains in a constant state of long-term quality.

Oh, I get that he writes with long-term goals. I actually prefer that over the arcs thing everyone does (I prefer long runs or done in ones, not much in the middle). But I just feel he handles it horribly. His plots, in my opinion, aren't good, and he doesn't utilize the characters well. I don't feel like Madrox, Siryn, Layla, or Longshot have done much of anything important since around issue 50 prior to the 200th issue. Really, no one has. Things are happening but the only things that are being focused on is the homo/heterosexual triangle and Guido's plot with M and being resurrected. That involves exactly 5 1/2 characters out of 11 with the rest standing around doing forgettable things.

Not liking it doesn't make it a bad comic. It just means you don't like it anymore, for whatever reason/s.

I never said it was a bad comic, just that I'm not getting any enjoyment of it and that I feel Peter David isn't handling it like he used to.

I don't mean that to be jumping on your back and hitting your head with a mallet, mind you. Please don't take it that way. I just know you write, or you did at one point, and writers should know that difference.

No worries... and yeah, I still write. Just finished the editing phase of my most recent book and am currently hoping to find an agent to help pursue my dreams of publication

And maybe it's BECAUSE I write novels that I'm so critical of David's work. Also because I know he can produce better work than he's been producing.

 

[Phaedrus45]

I have to agree with JH on this one. When X-Factor first started up, after the excellent Madrox mini, it had a clear direction in mind. Messiah Complex (was that the name of it?) derailed that direction quite a bit; but, who knows, maybe David intended to Layla to become all grown up, even without that event that sent Layla and Jamie into the future. Either way, it took away from the central force behind the team. (And, bringing Layla back as an older, having sex with Jamie, female did nothing to improve on it.)

Next, with X-Force taking away Rahne, the team makeup shifted again. What was once a tight, well-cast team now started to deviate greatly from the original script. Was David told her was going to lose her, and thus screwed up his own plans? I'd like to know. And, like with Layla, bringing her back has done nothing to improve the situation. Her character has been changed; and, the light-hearted way in which the storylines have dealt with her feelings on Rictor's homosexuality has lessened the impact and message that could have been sent. (But, I understand that Marvel might be afraid of this subject.)

Now, the adding and losing of teammates hasn't been quick; but, none of the new crew has done diddly for me. Pip has really not added anything to the mixture; and, old fans of Warlock have to be scratching their heads at that one.

I think the last issue that really wowed me was the false pregnancy issue. That was fantastic. Then, I did like the Richards storyline; but, Valeria Richards was just another version of Layla, before becoming younger...and, sadly, there was no way she was going to be an integral member of this book.