Naturally, the issue of the day for many will be the first BND issue by Dan Slott & McNiven, ASM #546, on the heels of OMD and all of the outrage about it. As I answered in the NYC Signing topic set up by Slott himself, I didn't actually buy the issue. I flipped through it in Brooklyn, and I was tempted, but after I flipped it, I saw some images I wasn't happy with and it hit me that regardless of how good, bad, or mediocre the issue is, the emotions are too raw and I just wouldn't give it a chance and wasn't in the mood to buy it. I may inevitably buy 'em in back-issues, or trades, but for now, nope. There may be some who don't believe me, but that's up to them, really. I got to meet Dan Slott and have some comics signed, so I actually am in a chipper mood.
Plus, Dan Slott apparently knows me by my long reviews, which is always a plus.
As always, spoilers ahoy.
Dread's BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 1/9/08:
THE SPIRIT #12: The last issue of the Cooke & Co. launch of this title ends with a bang, with one of the best stories of the run so far, which is saying something. Cooke, Bone & Stewart have managed to take a Golden Age franchise and present it in a new and very cinematic type way, without trying to "hip" it up too much, but playing with the moody period a bit. This issue sees a showdown between Spirit and his arch-nemesis, the Octopus, but the crux of the story is having to get involved in a case that involves his murdered contact Hussein and his first and lost love, Sand Saref. It is an emotional tail of things that couldn't be and star crossed lovers and all that, but it manages to work here. Spirit is also a bad-ass, not afraid to throw a martial-arts chick face-first into a table, by her leg. OUCH. There may be some that may be irked at no real "resolution" of some events, save for the El Muerte storyline from last issue, but with a franchise as old as this you really can't make any bold moves, but to play with the toys you have. The series will continue with another creative team, but I came aboard for Cooke, and I doubt I will stick around with him. A great run while it lasted, the inevitable HC will be worth getting.
GHOST RIDER #19: The end of the Daniel Way run, and he seems to be cribbing from more of his "Ennis Ripoff" notes because he throws in more Southern cop stereotypes than a hundred Hollywood pictures. Oooo-weee, ev'ryone tokes lahke ann ee-diot 'n is my-tea stoopid to boot, y'all! Dixie has to somehow keep the police outside her motel room from storming in for the next 30 minutes, and the cops oblige through sheer hick stupidity. I get this sort of humor was all the rage during the height of Bush-phobia a few years ago, but with the president a lame duck it has more than worn out it's welcome. Ghost Rider is still coming off another demonic Marvel retcon, that is that he isn't bonded with a demon at all, but an angel. The only way that works is that either Zarathos was a fallen angel, or you just don't count a lot of the past generation's worth of stuff, and it doesn't really work. But what does work is Saltares' great art and Blaze's rather clever plan to kill off the Devil from the mortal plane without sticking all of his power into one body; he kept one of Luci's avatars alive but brain-dead, so when the Devil expects a final-showdown, he's actually at 50% less power than expected, which gives Ghost Rider the element of surprise. Still, one might argue that being able to slay a demon with even half the power of a Hell-Lord is a feat worthy of a Sorceror Supreme more than a Spirit of Vengeance, but I thought it was pretty cool. Unfortunately, Dixie is killed in a police crossfire and Blaze is too angry at the two-timing angels to give a fig about her, which I saw as rather cold, even for a man bonded to a demon/angel thingie. Even Frank Castle feels remourse for the woman he accidentally got killed in P:WJ. As the Way run ends, I can only say that his 19 issues would have gone down a lot better had he decided not to muck with GR's past, from trying to wiggle Mephisto out to the angel nonsense, and simply got down to his stories, because without that stuff it is more readable. Jason Aaron & Roland Boschi start next month with #20, and seeing as this book's sales have skidded into the Top 70's, they may only have an arc to prove themselves before it reaches axe territory. Much like MOON KNIGHT, this is a book I don't hate at all, but I was starting to grow apathetic too, and the change of creative team is just the breath of fresh air that I need to stick things out another few issues and see what sticks. Considering The Initiative, though, it is amazing no other heroes care about a flaming biker roaming around the midwest. Go loopholes!
MIGHTY AVENGERS #7: Running at least 2-3 issues behind due to Frank Cho's sluggish schedule, Mark Bagley reunites with Bendis for his last Marvel gig before jumping ship to DC for the first time in his career (beyond his SPIDER-MAN/BATMAN crossover one-shot of the 90's), and it is for yet another symbiote story. Good lord, this man has had to draw so many of them, I'd love to get his opinion on 'em. It also is amazing how despite a cover that calls for hulking "venoms" standing over the fallen Avengers like victorious wolves, Cho still manages to aim some lady's ass at the camera (in this case, Natasha's), albeit I have seen more obvious cheesecake from him. Is Cho a mainstream professional or trying out for Eros Comics? Jena Jameson's got a comic coming out, he'd be perfect.
Anyway, I have written at lenth about my detest for the symbiote invasion story from NEW AVENGERS, which this was supposed to tie into many moons ago. Symbiotes have pretty much been DOA for nearly a good decade now, and much like ninjas and Ronin, Bendis keeps trucking them out in stories, and people still keep on not caring. But, luckily, this issue has very little to do with that until the last few pages. As the cover notes, it is more of a SECRET INVASION thing, as well as some time to breathe after the end of the Nekkid Ultrona arc. As we have seen in every on-time Bendis book, Jessica Drew takes the Skrullektra body to Stark and informs him of the theories of invasion, which Stark buys. He also allows her back on his team, an act that Ms. Marvel is appalled at not even being informed or briefed of, further proving the theory that she was merely handed "leadership" position over the team to placate her pangs of guilt and also because she's probably the only one who would GIVE authority back to Stark if he ever goes down in a mission, as he did against Ultron. The Avengers talk in the tower about stuff and the thought balloons are kept to a minimum, so they aren't so stupid. But there are still the annoying Bendis quibbles. One of them is illustrated perfectly by this exchange.
"I want to make a toast."
"You want to make a toast?"
"I want to make a toast."
Seriously, that is an entire panel. And that is a WASTE. Why do we need two characters to basically say the same line thrice? In the name of his "ghetto realistic dialogue", Bendis creates dozens of scenes like this in every arc that are just complete wastes and they annoy you especially when he DOESN'T have certain characters say, maybe, 1-3 lines that often could cure half his continuity hiccups. There are reasons why fans can imitate Bendis' style to mock him and yet are 100% accurate; sometimes they almost seem as if by machine. Bendis brags about being about 6 months ahead of all of his books in scripting, but seeing how he basically copies & pastes lines like this a LOT, I can understand how. Bagley, as always, does a great job with mainstream Marvel work, especially when he has more time with these issues than he did with many of his USM issues, which sometimes shipped bi-weekly. There also is a bit where Wasp trucks out some new designs for Wonder Man, deeming it a "fashion intervention" because he is wearing his old 70's gear. It is cute if you look at it like that, but begin to think and it seems irritating. Firstly, none of her models have good designs that aren't rip-off's. Secondly, Wasp has literally had hundreds of designs for her own costume, and 85% of them stunk; the one she has on now is basically Hitch's from Ultimates, streamlined (which she has had for years now). And thirdly, blaming Wonder Man's character for Cho's decision to dress him retro-style seems almost insulting, especially as he's back in his superior costume from before MIGHTY AVENGERS #1 anyway (the one from the Busiek/Perez relaunch, basically). And finally, Ponsor the colorist, or Lanphear the Letterer, must be color-blind if either believe tiny (font 7-8 maybe) light green text on bright yellow captions is natural to read. But aside for that, MIGHTY AVENGERS is still Bendis' better and more enjoyable Avengers title. At the very least, Bagley is a stronger artist than Yu for the symbiote stuff, considering how many he has drawn over the past 15 years. He shines with the hero scenes and Bendis does have some cute moments here. Frankly, this is the book many may have wished NEW AVENGERS would have been; more mainstream superheroic instead of "Bendis seeks to fix what ain't broke about superheroes, and instead makes them brooding whiners". Not a fan of the symbiote story, but I will only have to bare with one issue of it, before seeing how Bendis ruins Dr. Doom. But for now, not too shabby. Bendis still won't grow beyond his faults, because he has been editorially coddled for the past 3-5 years, but for what it is, not too bad for him. Some timely issues from Bags will be appreciated.
NOVA #10: Hey, the scene on the cover actually happens in the issue! Abnett & Lanning (DnA) score again. While Nova himself is mostly on the sidelines of ANNIHILATION CONQUEST, his own ongoing is still a high caliber space adventure series with great art (Alves does a great job as usual) and solid story from the Han & Chewie of Marvel Space Heroes. After teleporting from Knowhere last ish, with Gamora & Drax close behind, Rich and Gamora, his ex-lover turned techno-organic enemy, wake up in an unfriendly mystery location, at each other's throats and then forced to rely on each other again to survive. Not only does Nova have to rely on waning powers and an inhuman Worldmind, but on being near "the deadliest woman in the galaxy" in more ways than one. Yeah, Alves has some cheesecake moments with Gamora, but he keeps them to a minimum. Much like the prior 2 issues, DnA mix things up by having some classic "horror" moments intertwined with their space stories, such as being in unknown territories haunted by strange sounds and weirder creatures. Rich and Gamora go over their past relationship during ANNIHILATION, noting why they worked and ultimately, why they didn't. Rich learned that Gamora really was a bit too bloodthirsty for his liking, and what attracted Gamora to Rich, his bold-faced, fly into the heart of evil-esque heroism, also made her feel too guilty over her own past (even if she has been on the side of angels a few times). They manage to escape together despite their differences, and the crippling virus, and the scene on the cover comes about, and the result may be shocking for some! I doubt anyone is really dead, though, because it "isn't his style". The issue ends with Rider literally 2 hours away from either death or Phalanx posession, rocketting into the heart of the Technarch race. This sets up the annual, which hopefully is of the IMMORTAL IRON FIST variety and essentially acts as another issue rather than a filler. I didn't think anything could get me to actually not go, "Hey, I miss Cosmo already", but this issue did, because it was very strong despite only 3 major characters. Hopefully this isn't the end for Gamora, because the pair have a bit of play together.
PUNISHER: WAR JOURNAL #15: This book by this point is an acquired taste; it has Punisher, but it is often lighter-hearted, or at least less serious than the MAX books, and has him fighting super-villains constantly. And he doesn't always kill 'em. You either like this, or you don't. If you take Punisher seriously, seeing him basically become a stereotype like Brock Samson for laughs may irk you. But I don't, so I have really enjoyed the hell out of this. The sequence where Castle takes on Gibbon while narrating about how he did and didn't envision dying is ****ing priceless, and doesn't feel as awkward as stuff from NEXTWAVE did. Yes, the Frog-Man in this issue is the mysterious "third one" who is probably the Leap-Frog from Dardevil a few years back, and he is swiftly killed by Al Kravenoff, who is not only friggin' insane, but seems to be inhaling some MGH from the Impossible Man, which allows him to "pop" and teleport about the area. It isn't outright said the MGH was lifted from Impy, but it seems the only possible solution, and given the events of Parker & 'Ringo's SPIDER-MAN & THE FANTASTIC FOUR mini last year, it is very possible to have swabbed some of Impy for MGH. Considering the potential of Tiger-Shark and how often he has missed it, I was somewhat miffed that Castle seems to overpower him rather quickly, but I let it slide for now. It was cool seeing Castle's reactions when he found weapons, like Man-Bull's horn (punched off by Grizzly), or a pipe when he's having his showdown with Kraven, which is interupted by the Rhino. Gargoyle & Swarm also have a cameo, and Silver Sable is recruited by G.W. Bridge into his new Wild Pack, and it is good seeing her somewhere. One minor quibble; Wegener, who has done a great job coming in after Cory Walker's issue, forgot that Vulture's fingers were supposed to be broken, because they looked fine here (unless we want to say that even Vulture can regenerate now). Rhino even gets to save Punisher and he gets off by accidentally making Castle recall Stuart Clarke's lover, who he "accidentally" killed while at the mercy of Hate-Monger's hate-rays. And hasn't everyone wanted to knee Kraven in the nuts? Frank does. I never thought I'd see "fun" and "Punisher" in the same book, but that is really the best way to describe Fraction's run at this point. Not for serious vigilante/Punisher fans, but for those of us weary of grim/bleak anti-hero fare, like the typical issue of MOON KNIGHT, this is a great interlude.
THE TWELVE #1: The other big launch this week, JMS & Christ Weston seek to add to Marvel's vastly underutilized Golden Age characters, considering DC has been making hay with JSA for years now, and that quite a few of their longtime characters from that generation, like Jim Hammond and Steve Rogers, are dead. The designs from Weston have been previewed and debated, and some of JMS's hints about how the team survived into the modern era were met with some skepticism, especially in the wake of his Spider-bungles. But, THOR at least shows that JMS still has some pep, he simply had been on ASM far, far, FAR too long (to which everyone replies, "YA THINK!?"), and The Twelve can also be put into his "good" pile, at least for the moment. With 12 characters and each issue seeming to center around one of 'em, people are even calling this a WATCHMEN rip, and to that I say, "So?" Shouldn't most writers at least try to match the character depth, the flowing artist direction, the mature subject matter, and the relevance that WATCHMEN gained? Especially with characters who are relative clean slates. The story is introduced by Phantom Reporter, one of a bunch of Golden Agers who took part in WWII in 1945 and wound up being captured and cryogenically preserved by Nazi scientists. The Nazi's wanted to dissect them to create their own "supermen", or at least more of them as they already had a few, like Master Man, Power Princess, and so on. Note at this point, Red Skull himself could have been considered a "tourist", a cute past term that JMS coins for a costumed character with no superpowers; no cloned super-soldier body, Skull was just a wonk in a mask with "death dust". Weston's art is great, detailed but not too much so, and while he is as faithful to their outdated costumes as he can be, the last page notes that at least some of 'em don new duds, so I am being lenient for now. It made sense that the Nazi's didn't anticipate the Russians, or at least some didn't, and fortunately after the heroes are found, they are revived by U.S. forces and in the wake of CIVIL WAR, their placement as leftovers from "the greatest generation" is exploited to get some extra hands on the Initiative side that some of the old time generals can trust. It makes sense, and I liked the subtle way that Phantom Reporter figures out what year it actually is. This is obviously the first part of a 12 issue story and after introducing the characters and the status quo, there are few pages left, but for an intro issue, it did more than plenty of others I could mention (the entire team is assembled in this issue, for instance). And if the last page is any hint, Blue Blade may not be surviving it. We have a long way to go and probably quite a few flashbacks and flash-forwards until the end, but with so many characters to dust off, I expect it so I don't mind it. JMS & Weston convince me this has direction and promise, and that is most of the battle right there. Even for an intro, I liked it. And yes, the cover is supposed to look like a beat-up comic. Dynamic Man looks like he is about to poo on the cover, though, and Blue Blade is the swishiest superhero, ever. But that's no biggie for now. Bring on more, I say. Perhaps it does seem odd that with so many "neo-Nazi" elements to have survived WWII, from Skull to Hydra and so on, that they'd have so easily lost track of 12 frozen metahumans and a robot, but I've seen wonkier elements be utilized for far worse storylines (heroes with over a decade of friendship and experience suddenly becoming mortal enemies who hate each other in the hour of need over a law very similar to one they debunked about 15 years prior, for instance). Color me interested.
