Bought/Thought for July 14th, 2010 with SPOILERS!

[Dread]

Into the middle of July now and this will be what counts as a "small" week compared to two large weeks. Sales figures for June are out, and at least one Marvel comic has been axed due to them (with another likely). On the bright side, the quality here is quite good overall. Full spoilers ahoy.

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 7/14/10:

BOOSTER GOLD #34: We're a few issues into the Giffen/DeMatteis reunion era of this title, and while it still provides for funny stuff, a part of me is feeling it is swaying too far in the opposite direction of the Dan Jurgens run. Perhaps this is meant to be the funny spin off book to JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATIONS LOST, and if so that is a problem, as I am not reading that. Chris Batista apparently had problems making the deadline, as Keith Giffen actually draws five pages of this issue himself. While he's good enough to be a professional, his style, at best, looks quite rough and clashes with Batista's finer pencils (and Rich Perrota's inks). Booster is still on his mission to stop the revived Max Lord, who the rest of the world doesn't remember. He's taken to venturing back in time to the Justice League International era (the era that Giffen & DeMatteis became famous for) in order to find some artifact that the rest of the DC heroes will believe, and that Lord can't smudge over. Unfortunately, this means running into his old friends, who expect Booster to act like the moronic fop he was in the past. It also means running into Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle who Lord murdered, without blowing the whole "space time continuum" thing and warning his pal about his death. As such, Booster has to yuck it along, as Rip Hunter feels Booster is wasting his time while Skeets frets over his emotional well being over bringing up the past.

While Booster is having adventures in the past, both Rip and Booster's sister Michelle want the titular hero to start dealing with Rani, the little girl from the future that he saved from death by bringing into the past. Booster feels he isn't mature enough to be a father, but there is hardly an adoption agency for time-lost orphans. Shame Bruce Wayne is currently lost in time as well, since he's NEVER rejected a good orphan when offered one. It's never too early to start training a replacement sidekick; you never know when Joker or Black Mask or Mad Hatter will shoot, kill, and/or mutilate a current one.

Most of the issue involves Booster playing along with one of Ted's schemes to earn some cash, taking up a job looking for a Cliff's Notes version of a magical tome for the Vatican. This also leads to a team up with Mr. Miracle and Big Barda, who were also JLI members at the time and the latter at least has no love lost for the duo. Things risk becoming too absurd when the villain of the piece, "Hieronymous, The Under-Achiver" and his oafish comrade with a cartoonish German accent, arrive. On the one hand, it is funny stuff. The problem is that issues of BOOSTER GOLD under this team often feel more like a series of skits glued together into a story, rather than a story that happens to have comedic skits in it. The difference is critical, even for a comedy. A comedy that still has a legitimate story to it is often what Mel Brooks seeks to achieve. A film that is a series of skits shoved together into a whole is any one of the forgettable NOT ANOTHER _____ MOVIE style comedies (SCARY MOVIE, SUPERHERO MOVIE, TEEN MOVIE, EPIC MOVIE, etc). While Dan Jurgens mostly abandoned any sort of comedy in order to tell dramatic time-travel stories, I sometimes feel that Giffen & DeMatteis have gone too far in the other direction - telling comedies that are forced to also be superhero stories here. The major caveat to that criticism is that most of it is legitimately funny, and the read is always enjoyable. Batista's artwork also serves the writers quite well with facial expressions. I think the biggest dilemma is the lack of suspense that a lot of Jurgens' stories had, which makes the issues more forgettable and me less eager to read the next one. This duo may have been the ancestors of what Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente have done on their INCREDIBLE HERCULES material, but they are also no longer in the same league in that at least on this title, they aren't as able to transition from drama to comedy as well.

For those who wanted Booster Gold to be a superhero comedy again, though, I imagine it is a blast. I have a sense of humor, the dilemma is that it is like the prior run aimed to be JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED in style, and the newest one has sought to be BATMAN: BRAVE AND THE BOLD in comparison. It takes getting used to.

ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #1: If it feels like a while since the last issue, it has been; issue one shipped in May. This issue continues this team-up tale between the titular heroes by writer Jason Aaron (WOLVERINE: WEAPON X and GHOST RIDER) and Adam Kubert (BATMAN, ULTIMATE X-MEN, X-MEN in general in the 90's). Perhaps the schedule is to better serve Kubert's penciling speed. Mark Morales puts in solid inks with top notch color work by Justin Ponsor; it is a very pretty comic to look at. The actual story, however, is an acquired taste. One would think upon being told that Marvel is releasing a Spidey/Wolvie team up mini series for no real reason other than to put another trade paperback featuring Spider-Man and/or Wolverine in the book stores, they would ask what could possibly be done with either that hadn't been seen before. Jason Aaron's answer is to have the two skip across time from one bizarre setting to the next. Seems old hat, right? CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN, THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, even LOST have all made this trope common these days. Aaron's answer is to embrace over-the-top comic book elements to it and to try to be as unpredictable as possible. The last issue had dinosaurs and Wolverine leading a tribe of ape-men. This issue takes place in the alternate future that those actions created. Spider-Man is the last human on earth, the ape-men are all that's left of society (who worship Logan like a god), and oh, there's a robot version of Devil Dinosaur roaming about.

It all has to do with these weird crystals that are somehow the key to all this time foolery, providing a reliable Maguffin device. It also involves the Orb, one of Ghost Rider's C-List enemies who has become the source of the two stars' problems. This is a comic that has Logan choosing to meditate by destroying robots while forcing Spider-Man to wear a costume that has "LAME" stenciled on the rear, while at another moment almost touching on philosophy. It is a comic you read to see how absurdly mental it is willing to go. Aaron proved to make the last volume of the GHOST RIDER series very entertaining, and one could say that he's hardly taken the easy route here with these two.

This isn't for everyone, but for those who like a bizarre action romp with their heroes, or are morbidly curious and don't mind some laughs, this is for you. It isn't connected into anything that either character is doing in their own titles, but is also four dollars a pop. It's either worth a look for one with a small pull list, or a book too far for one with many. If this is a series intended for novice fans, one wonders if going for a bizarre story is the wisest idea. But since when did Marvel know how to lure in new, novice fans? This is probably best for the jaded fan who thinks he or she has seen it all.

AVENGERS ACADEMY #2: That cover is pretty interesting. Not only does it show that the teaching staff at the Avengers Academy have no qualms with messing up a classroom, but Quicksilver looks like he is GLARING at anyone who looks at that cover, as if threatening to race off the cover and pummel you with tiny digitally colored fists if one doesn't buy it. Don't worry, Pietro, I'll obey your will this time. The only downer is despite appearing on the cover, Speedball is not in the issue within.

Christos Gage's format is to use each issue to focus on a different one of his new students, all of whom are original creations of his except for Reptil (who he introduced into Marvel from a TV cartoon and a line of toys anyway). The first issue focused on the "every girl" Veil, and that was a wise point of view for a debut issue. Now that he feels he's hooked his audience, he chooses another heroine, Finesse, to cover. The contrast couldn't be more stark. Gage is wise in that he tells you enough about Finesse so that the reader understands why she is the way she is, but the story never bends over backwards to make her sympathetic. She has her moments when some might start to feel bad for her situation, until she turns around at the end of the story and proves to be the ***** that she seemed to be at the end of issue one. She actually makes Maria Hill look like a sweet teddy bear. She makes Abigail Brand look soft and humorous. In short, she's the ultimate alpha female, but her power set probably made that unavoidable. She's one of those "almost a mutant prodigy" types like Echo, Bullseye, or, especially, Taskmaster. She is able to learn and imitate any skill or knowledge with exceptional speed - mastering advanced math and quantum physics as a toddler or being a pool shark by around second or third grade. Her ability naturally doesn't work on figuring out people; so while she may be full of statistical information about teenagers or may be able to logically deduce a proper outcome to follow, she cannot figure out why people make the choices they make or how to interact with them well. Combine this with her ability to pretty much do anything she sets her mind to without putting in as much of the work or heartache, and she is someone who could become the next Reed Richards, or the next Doctor Doom. The obvious choice of parenthood, Taskmaster, is mentioned right off but Gage is also smart enough to leave it ambiguous; just a taste and it could go somewhere, or nowhere.

That isn't to say that Finesse is the exclusive star of the issue. The other kids all get their moments to interact with each other during training, which includes a fight with Arsenal, an old Avengers enemy. This was actually a ploy of Quicksilver, who wished to see how the kids would react in a battle that was not announced, while still being "non-lethal" and thus training. Pym and Tigra are none too pleased about this, and even Jocasta admits that she'd been manipulated a tad into agreeing to it. The students are not amused by their less than perfect peers. They're put off about being lied to about why they were recruited (because the Avengers feel they were the most messed up by Osborn, and want to prevent them from becoming villains, while telling them how exceptional they are). Veil very obviously has a crush on Justice, which can't end well. Mettle doesn't seem to be quite as shy as Reptil is, and he's a guy whose encased in a red robot body from the Red Skull collection. Hazmat is aggressive, but has a tough condition to get used to. Striker is about as much of an a-hole as Finesse is, and I'd be surprised if they didn't become a couple. I'd say ship both of them off to Baron Zemo and just get the inevitable over with, but I'm a cynic.

At first Finesse tries to reach out to Dr. Pym, seeing him as a fellow prodigy, until Pym steers her towards Quicksilver, which definitely backfires on them. Some could argue that Pietro put himself in the position he is now in, but Finesse is still the one seeking to exploit it. While she may or may not be related to Taskmaster, she appears to be far more ambitious than he is, and is many times as dangerous. At least potentially. Unlike the others, Osborn didn't have to threaten or torment her to get her cooperation, and she seems to like the "info" that villains are willing to offer than heroes. For me, she's the character where I'll feel pleasure every time someone hits her in a fight, but every team has one of those. Striker provides the male counterpart, and I am curious what his story will be. I would say making a squad of six trainees and then making a third of them unsympathetic is a risky move that not any writer can pull off, but Gage isn't just any writer, and I am curious where he's going. I mean, hell, he made Johnny Guitar into a tragedy in about 15 pages and made Gauntlet tolerable. He made Taskmaster into a blue-collar star of many issues. Perhaps the difference is that Taskmaster, despite his talents, has known defeat and humility, while Finesse still bares what is sometimes called, "the arrogance of youth". A critical defeat could either inspire or traumatize her.

Although I'll give Finesse the same advice I usually give the Inhumans - it wouldn't be so hard to get people to accept you if you don't act like a complete a-hole at every opportunity.

A solid second issue, and this continues to be a series I look forward to and expect great things of.

NEXT: GORILLA-MAN #1, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #28 & THANOS IMPERATIVE #2

 

[CaptainCanada]

Part 1: The Joy of X

X-Men: Second Coming #2 - the finale/epilogue to a fairly solid event. This functions as sort of a postscript, with various writers and artists offering different post-crossover vignettes. I hadn't anticipated this format, but that was because I'd thought they were going about the repowering differently. What we're getting here is a slow, mysterious rollout, and that works too. Gives reason to be optimistic. The writers have done a great job establishing Hope as a character (and her scene with Magneto here has some real promise).

Heroic Age: Uncanny X-Men #2 - basically a second epilogue; much like with the first one, I mistook who we'd be seeing interacting with who here. We get Cyclops and Steve, like I guessed, but Beast interacts with Molly, and Hope with Reed (and Franklin, which was a neat scene, though the way she appears to be naked under the scanner while talking to him is kind of creepy). Beast's design under Steve Sanders' pencils still looks really jarring, but whatever. And I really, really liked the development with Steve, who actually decides to use some of his credibility to help the X-Men with PR (presenting Cyclops with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the Oval Office) and make the public trust mutants. It only took 40 years.

Second Coming: Revelations: Hellbound #3 - Kyle and Yost's semi-wrapup of the Magik/Pixie storyline they originated in New X-Men hits a decent finale. You can pretty much call the major Magik/Pixie plot beats, but it's satisfyingly executed. The only thing I hadn't anticipated was Gambit (as Death's Horseman) turning out to be the main villain of this excursion, but that was a nice surprise. Some characters got more to do here than others, but it's only three issues, so that's to be expected. I really wish these guys had more time to write comics, because they really get the X-Men in a way most writers don't.

X-Force: Sex and Violence #1 - this was announced a looong time ago, but I guess it takes Dell'otto a long time to paint things. Wait aside, it's a pretty basic story: Domino gets in trouble, Wolverine tries to help her resolve it, they fight. There are some amusing details, such as Domino just firing her guns into the air, in the opposite direction from her target, and since she has luck powers the bullets still hit the targets she wants. Kyle and Yost write a good Domino, a mix of roguish charm and a certain hint of grey amorality, and their Wolverine is solid as always. It's not their most compelling stuff, but I like the characters, so it's fine (and it's their last writing for Marvel for a bit, I imagine).

 

[WolfCypher]

Amazing Spider-Man 637
The conclusion of Grim Hunt was quite good. The art was excellent, the dialogue was great (I'm liking Spider-Man dialogue that takes a serious tone instead of a light-hearted humorous route, because personally, when the writers try to make Spidey funny, they haven't been doing a good job and to me he just comes off annoying...). Despite the other names on the art, Checchetto's was my clear-cut favorite. I wish he could do more Spider-Man art (he also handled some of Anti-Venom's New Ways to Live art). The way he uses shadowing on the characters faces really helps show their intensity and adds to their facial expressions.

I was happily surprised with two things in this book. SPOILERS, but first was [blackout]the death of Madame Web and her transferring her powers into Julia. It makes all the sense in the world. Arachne already has psionic powers, so why not make her the next Madame Web?; this aso leads into Arana...of course with Julia no longer Arachne, Arana takes up her mantle...we knew she was going to get promoted to "the new Spider-Girl", but I wasn't expecting her to don Julia's costume.[/blackout] Secondly, [blackout]Kaine becomes the new Tarantula, a Spider-Man villain's namesake that hasn't been used or heard of in years! What kind of changes to Kaine's character will come about?[/blackout]

This issue did a very good job with the Kraven family drama, while still keeping the confrontation between Spider-Man and Kraven intact and heated. Neither took away from the other. The newly resurrected Kraven was at an all-time high here. And of course they went the predictable "Spider-Man pushed to the edge of killing omg" route like they always do in these types of stories, where Spidey has gone over his so-called breaking point...but having a certain psychic spider show him what his actions might do was cool...I liked seeing this possible "future" where Peter kills Kraven and finds himself too far gone.

After the "Hunt" is over, the Kraven family goes through some radical changes (although for the most part, I saw this family's fate miles away), and with the new status quos of Madamae Web, Arachne, and Arana, I can't wait to see what Marvel has in store for them (if I'm reading ASM by then...I bounce back & forth with this title).

The only back-up story I read, like with the last issues, was the Kaine/Kraven back-up. I thought the last ones were good, and this one delivered, as well. Just as "Grim Hunt" took a lot of references from "Kraven's Last Hunt", this feature did the same. Not much I want to talk about here. I liked this flashback story...didn't bother to read that Stan Lee Spidey...thing.

This was a good arc, but I do have my gripes for the arc overall...I'll post that stuff over in the Spider-Man topics/boards, though. Can't wait for the TPB (anytime I havethe individual issues and still want to TPB itself, you know it was a good arc).

 

[squeekness]

Part 1: The Joy of X



Second Coming: Revelations: Hellbound #3 - Kyle and Yost's semi-wrapup of the Magik/Pixie storyline they originated in New X-Men hits a decent finale. You can pretty much call the major Magik/Pixie plot beats, but it's satisfyingly executed. The only thing I hadn't anticipated was Gambit (as Death's Horseman) turning out to be the main villain of this excursion, but that was a nice surprise. Some characters got more to do here than others, but it's only three issues, so that's to be expected. I really wish these guys had more time to write comics, because they really get the X-Men in a way most writers don't.

THis series was okay, but I was a bit disappointed that after they got Remy to come back around, no one seemed to question why it was that he flipped out in the first place. It was like they all already knew about his struggles with Death, even though he'd been keeping it all a secret. I felt like it was just glossed over.

X-Force: Sex and Violence #1 - this was announced a looong time ago, but I guess it takes Dell'otto a long time to paint things. Wait aside, it's a pretty basic story: Domino gets in trouble, Wolverine tries to help her resolve it, they fight. There are some amusing details, such as Domino just firing her guns into the air, in the opposite direction from her target, and since she has luck powers the bullets still hit the targets she wants. Kyle and Yost write a good Domino, a mix of roguish charm and a certain hint of grey amorality, and their Wolverine is solid as always. It's not their most compelling stuff, but I like the characters, so it's fine (and it's their last writing for Marvel for a bit, I imagine).

This was a good read as well. I did enjoy it. I thought the art was great with all the washed out colors and all. I can't wait to read the next one.

 

[Dread]

Part II of II:

GORILLA-MAN #1: Really, with a cover like that, should I really have to provide a review? If that cover alone can't spark your interest, I doubt a lot of text will. It seems like it has been a while since I've seen a cool Dave Johnson cover. Like Leonard Kirk, he's a great artist who seems cursed to work on exceptional franchises that die very quickly. The last ongoing series I recall Johnson drawing the covers for was BLOODHOUND, a short lived series from DC from about 4-6 years ago. While Marvel and Jeff Parker see GORILLA-MAN as a potential break-out character from the ATLAS series (which has been announced, by Parker, as being canceled with issue five due to low sales), I imagine retailers will just order this like a spin-off of ATLAS, and the sales for this mini will be ghastly. I do hope they're at least better than the spin-off material for other ATLAS characters, such as the NAMORA one shot or the MARVEL BOY: THE URANIAN series. It is a shame that ATLAS is getting the can so quickly, but this is one case where Marvel isn't to blame too much. I do believe asking retailers and fans to try new or quirky franchises with a cover price of $4 is suicide, but Marvel stopped looking at reality objectively about 18 months ago. Still, the franchise existed just as one 6 issue mini and a one-shot in an anthology here or there before last year, when Marvel gave it 11 issues, then a few mini's, a back-up strip in INCREDIBLE HERCULES, an appearance in THUNDERBOLTS, and launches that tried to capitalize on two events (DARK REIGN and HEROIC AGE). Retailers and fans haven't bitten. Their loss.

It is worth a mention that DC's Vertigo line has started offering debut issues for $1, and that sales on subsequent issues have actually gotten so stable, so fast, that DC was able to recoup any losses they suffered. Then again, DC better understands and capitalizes on the trade market, especially with Vertigo books - Marvel still believes any fan who calls themselves a "trade waiter" should die in a fire, at least corporately (individual writers vary on opinion). Perhaps Marvel would see more success with lessor franchises like AGENTS OF ATLAS or YOUNG ALLIES (which had a weaker debut than ATLAS did, and thus may also be canceled around issue five or six any week now) if they offered a low price to try the first issue and then kept the book as cheap as possible, as in under $3.99. Hell, make every issue $2.89. Proclaim proudly, "NOW A DIME CHEAPER! GIVE IT A HOOT!" See what happens. If the book may die in five issues anyway, what's there to lose?

I digress. While Marvel may not have always employed the best strategies to get ATLAS to last, they did keep allowing material of it to print, including spin-offs and whatnot, and it just never took. Maybe fans and retailers have no taste. Maybe this is the price of Marvel & DC spending at least half a decade training them to only respond to "big & important" titles and to ignore anything that isn't. At any rate, Marvel's given ATLAS a great try, and a few years back I'd have been happy with another six issue mini, and instead I got 16 issues of two ongoing series as well as two mini's and a slew of spin-off mini's like this as well as guest appearance stories. As a starved AGENTS OF ATLAS fan in 2006, I'm satisfied with the effort.

Considering Ken Hale, the Gorilla-Man, is arguably the most popular character of the team, it seems almost overdue that he's gotten his own mini. I was actually stunned when the Uranian got one first. After all, Hale's met the original X-Men (in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS). I actually don't subscribe to the philosophy of "apes/monkeys are always funny" like some do, but Ken is the rare exception; Jeff Parker always gives him great lines. This issue sets up the tone of the series, that it is still an ATLAS story, just from Ken's perspective. He spends the morning breaking up the art thefts of a very bizarre and hilarious villain, Borgia Omega, who has an army of soldiers and female assassins. Ken actually hires one to work for ATLAS and that thwarts the villain's scheme. While SHADOWLAND and the last year or so of DAREDEVIL have made a big deal about the idea of a hero running an evil organization for good, that's been the AGENTS OF ATLAS premise for years. Jimmy Woo gives Ken a pic of the next threat to go after, and Hale picks a man who seems to have claimed the cane of someone from his past.

While Hale's origin of killing the mystical gorilla-man to assume his immortal form has been told before (and unlike Brubaker, Parker doesn't see the need to repeat an origin 3 times a year), Parker instead offers flashbacks into Hale's past before he encountered the supernatural in the Congo. When he was just a scrappy orphan at the dawn of the Great Depression, being taken in by a rich tycoon who needed a plucky assistant and pilot for his business. Uranian's image inducer allows Ken to assume a form that is pretty much what his human form would look like, which provides cover for his newest mission in Africa. This leads him and his contact into a fight with masked savages. Quite a fine cliffhanger. Also included is the origin story of another "Gorilla-Man", Dr. Nagan, who went on to become one of the Headmen (perhaps the most bizarre group of villains around, who usually fought the Defenders). A better extra is a two page TWITTER style Q&A with Hale, which is pretty damn entertaining.

The allure of the character is that while Hale is a cursed man, suffering for eternity in a form that makes it hard to connect to people, he isn't a whiner emo about it and makes the best with what he's given. If only more characters took that route, they'd find themselves far more sympathetic and enjoyable, like Gorilla-Man is. I doubt that he'll become as big a breakout star as Marvel envisions, but it wouldn't be a bad thing.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #28: As the top Iron Man book written by Matt Fraction, a writer who Marvel envisions as A-List, this is an "important" book, with IRON MAN LEGACY being the less important, B-title. In LEGACY, Fred Van Lente is able to accomplish within 22 pages: A fight with Radioactive Man; Fights with Titanium Man & Crimson Dynamo; an appearance by Dr. Doom and Pepper Potts; and finally, an army of Iron Doombots. What does Matt Fraction accomplish in 22 pages? Iron Man and War Machine go to Tokyo, get punk'd in a P.R. disaster by the Hammer women, and then some more talking with Hill and with prospective applicants for Stark's new company.

Yes, this is SERIOUSLY a comic that expects you to pay $3 in order to see pages and pages of a job interview process. That's a process most people would rather skip, for free, in REAL LIFE. At the very least, covers have stopped bragging about that Eisner win from last year.

To be fair, this issue is better than the last one. I get that it's about tension and suspense more than action. It's about setting up the Hammer women as legitimate threats to Stark without having to rely on absurd "Chessmen" for obligatory fights like the 80's era did. There's a connection between them and Zeke Stane, which may have been forgotten as that arc started off the series almost two years ago. And the dialogue is pretty good on average. The problem is that Fraction's pace on this book is very, very slow. Some have claimed an editor, not a writer, decides how long an arc should or will be, but at any rate, this is a very slow, written for the trade series. Nothing of consequence happens in less than six issues, and it often takes longer. For every issue that is excellent and fast paced, you tend to get 1-2 that middle and muddle, that seem to stall for time. And if I wanted that, I'd watch soccer.

After almost 3 years, I can't say I didn't give this a try. I like Fraction overall, but if anyone needed a co-writer or an editor who demanded every arc be at least an issue shorter, it's him. I'd rather keep Gillen on THOR to be honest, but Fraction may drive up sales again. And Fraction's no Bendis, at least outside of UNCANNY X-MEN; he's capable and talented, and even his boring issues aren't offensive. But my interest in this title has waned a lot in the last year, and this arc could be my last. Assuming it ends before 2010. Hey, WORLD'S MOST WANTED ran about 12 issues, who knows. The dilemma is with Marvel's pricing, I'll end up dropping a $3 book from my pull list, only to replace it with a $4 book.

THANOS IMPERATIVE #2: Now here is a nice fast paced book! Abnett & Lanning continue on their annual space epic mini, and sales for the debut issue last month are in. Apparently, the Inhumans and some spare X-Men being in WAR OF KINGS really helped jazz sales on that; it debuted at some 64k. Frankly I'm surprised we've seen so little of Havok, Polaris, and the rest of the Starjammers since. This series debuted at about half what WAR OF KINGS sold, which is at least higher up than where NOVA and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY were selling, at a lower price. And in truth this event series feels a lot more organic than the last two. For ANNIHILATION CONQUEST and WAR OF KINGS, the starring characters seemed inserted from out of nowhere to avoid relying on the natural stars of the space books; Nova was punted from ANNIHILATION in favor of Phyla and Warlock, and both he and the Guardians played second fiddle to the Inhumans and resolving an X-Men plot in it's natural place. This time, Nova and the Guardians are front and center. The development of the Fault across their two books is coming to a head here, and they're not sitting in the sidelines so someone else can solve it for them - they're right in the thick of it. Even Silver Surfer is in essence a supporting character next to Nova or Peter Quill.

The battle against the invaders from the Cancerverse at the other side of the Fault continue. Theirs is a universe where life has won, and where nothing can die. In the 616 universe, they can die, although most prove unnaturally hardy. Even Nova has to break a sweat and use maximum force to blast through the spiky, tentacled monster fodder. He and Quasar are on the front lines, and in carrying over with a plot point brought up an issue or two ago, they know that things have gotten bad when the "abstracts" - embodiments of the universe like the Celestials and Galactus himself - show up to fight. You know it's heavy when giant Jack Kirby designed gods appear and can stand in the middle of space while blasting things with gestures. This does give Silver Surfer quite an entrance, and while I still don't care for his demotion back to being "janitor of the apocalypse" with Galactus (had to use a Tick line there), he is used quite effectively here. As a star he's boring as dirt, but as a supporting character he's far more interesting.

The other part of the issue focuses on the Guardians (or most of them) escorting Thanos into the Cancerverse so he can basically live up to his moniker as the embodiment of death. Simply being in a universe where death doesn't exist causes Thanos to pass out, and while things get philosophical at points, Abnett & Lanning know when to have some fun and just throw in a fight against the Cancerverse Defenders. The team dispatches with them quickly (Cosmo even takes down the Cancerverse Hulk very quickly, nobody tell Jeph Loeb about it or he'll have Rulk punch through time and kill him), but in the Cancerverse, one never dies; you just get up and look more twisted than ever. Only Thanos appears capable of killing anything in that universe. Drax is less than thrilled, since his entire mission in existence is to kill Thanos (it's easier than being a father). The banter between Thanos and Quill is quite good as well.

The only bit that seemed to move too fast was a bit where Major Victory has been captured, and tossed into the brig with Namorita. He was one of the Guardians who stayed behind on Knowhere, alongside Jack Flag, Moondragon, Bug, and Groot. So does that mean they were captured too? Or in a fight? Did I skip a scene? It brings up the plot point that Cancerverse Mar-Vell is collecting anyone he thinks "doesn't belong in that time", and is looking for the embodiment of death - Thanos. If it leads to Major Victory getting more to do, I don't mind - out of the Guardians, he's usually the one given the least development, at least aside for Groot or Bug. Part of me is hoping for a Nova/Marv showdown, as well as hoping Namorita isn't sacrificed to appease editorial. Let her live in space, damn it! Everyone is better in space! They actually treat heroes with respect out there! The X-Men could've been happy decades ago if they just left for space!

Miguel Sepulveda does the art, with some exceptional color work by Jay David Ramos; Sepulveda's pencils and inks were good in previews, but the colors really help them pop more. I love the beginning where Nova is trying to tell Worldmind that he isn't upset over Namorita being kidnapped while he is very clearly fuming. It certainly is a very pretty comic and continues the streak of good artwork on the space books.

I don't know what the future portends for the space line. NOVA ran for 3 years and GOTG for more than two; If Marvel was willing to relaunch Moon Knight a few times, it seems absurd for them to give up on the space books. It is possible that both titles could become a single anthology - which is often the last act of a line in it's death throws; just ask 2099. But it would be better than nothing. The space books have a small but devoted audience, and Nova wouldn't have been a SECRET AVENGER if Marvel didn't allow it, so they probably do see a use for the space line. Still, for me, damn the sales on this one. This event finally has the characters I love from the space line front and center, not playing second fiddle to others for sales. I want to see Quill or Nova or even Quasar take on the big bad, not Black Bolt. I'm psyched for this and can't wait for the next issue, as it should be.

 

[Dread]

Heroic Age: Uncanny X-Men #2 - basically a second epilogue; much like with the first one, I mistook who we'd be seeing interacting with who here. We get Cyclops and Steve, like I guessed, but Beast interacts with Molly, and Hope with Reed (and Franklin, which was a neat scene, though the way she appears to be naked under the scanner while talking to him is kind of creepy). Beast's design under Steve Sanders' pencils still looks really jarring, but whatever. And I really, really liked the development with Steve, who actually decides to use some of his credibility to help the X-Men with PR (presenting Cyclops with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the Oval Office) and make the public trust mutants. It only took 40 years.

That is funny, isn't it? After 40 years, and after waiting until about 90-95% of mutants are depowered or dead, FINALLY Steve Rogers and the Avengers want to use their pull to sway the public. Really, the Fantastic Four should have been front and center doing that by the 70's, when their kid turned out to be a mutant. If I were the X-Men, I'd at least be cynical.

Emma Frost had a good point during CIVIL WAR, which was, basically, "Where were all the heroes when our babies were dying in Genosha? Where were the Avengers during EVERY CRISIS THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO OUR ENTIRE SPECIES THROUGHOUT THE BEGINNING OF TIME? Nowhere. Why the hell should we help YOU in your hour of need when you're NEVER there for us for ours!?" And then of course Bishop helped anyway. And Wolverine muddled about on a solo adventure. Usually all the Avengers have done to help mutants is accept a few token muties into their rosters from time to time and that's really been it.

At least we know how the X-Men, the last, dying survivors of a class of people being hunted to the last by cartoonish fanatical bigots living on the Island Of Misfit Superhumans, fit into "Heroic Age". It isn't by undoing M-Day, or at least swinging to a middle ground between "millions" and "198" (and less since Selene iced a few of those 198, and that 198 includes mutants from other realities like Sugar Man or Nocturne). No, it's because Steve Rogers says the heroes have the X-Men's back this time. Well, we'll see. Marvel wasn't willing to have their mutant social relations expand to a realistic place during the Grant Morrison era, when the books sold twice what they do now - I have no faith they'll do so now. But we'll see.

Second Coming: Revelations: Hellbound #3 - Kyle and Yost's semi-wrapup of the Magik/Pixie storyline they originated in New X-Men hits a decent finale. You can pretty much call the major Magik/Pixie plot beats, but it's satisfyingly executed. The only thing I hadn't anticipated was Gambit (as Death's Horseman) turning out to be the main villain of this excursion, but that was a nice surprise. Some characters got more to do here than others, but it's only three issues, so that's to be expected. I really wish these guys had more time to write comics, because they really get the X-Men in a way most writers don't.

X-Force: Sex and Violence #1 - this was announced a looong time ago, but I guess it takes Dell'otto a long time to paint things. Wait aside, it's a pretty basic story: Domino gets in trouble, Wolverine tries to help her resolve it, they fight. There are some amusing details, such as Domino just firing her guns into the air, in the opposite direction from her target, and since she has luck powers the bullets still hit the targets she wants. Kyle and Yost write a good Domino, a mix of roguish charm and a certain hint of grey amorality, and their Wolverine is solid as always. It's not their most compelling stuff, but I like the characters, so it's fine (and it's their last writing for Marvel for a bit, I imagine).

You wouldn't be so enthused with Kyle & Yost on the X-Men if you'd watched "WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN". Their conclusions from that related to the idea that Logan is the be all and end all of the team, and that Cyclops is basically a sack of flaws with legs, not a character or a leader. Which I guess has made X-FORCE made sense, since that's Logan leading a squad of X-Men.

Their answer to reviving ACADEMY X was also to slaughter characters like a horror movie and pretty much take the survivors and put them through so much, they'd consider the torment of the "SAW" franchise a relaxing vacation. The kids who whine about Avengers Academy shouldn't be shown the Thunderbolts to be "scared straight" - they should be shown the X-Mansion, which, as Spidey once quipped, is the only school that has an ever-increasing graveyard on campus. It's the only school where their answer to who is the best in the class is who survives a "fight to the death" battle royal among the rest of the students. It's the only school where the principal teaches you to be more ruthless than your worst enemies to survive, so much so that now Magneto is on staff playing "good cop" to Cyclops.

The problem with the X-Men in terms of tone is that it is almost a parody of itself. It's angst ridden for the sake of being so. It's dark because it doesn't know how to be anything else. And it drives away anyone who's gotten past the "I cut myself to feel alive" phase of their lives. And it is hard to evolve past that when there are fewer mutants alive than members of a Facebook fan-page living on an island being slowly killed off one by one.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Avengers Academy's second issue was decent. Not as good as the first, but that's likely due to Finesse being the mouthpiece for this issue. She's an incredibly irritating character, not to mention she's an archetype we've seen a billion times before in comics: super-smart person who's really stupid when it comes to being "normal." Her narration throughout most of the issue was like nails on a chalkboard to me, but the ending mostly made up for it. I'm interested to see where she and Quicksilver go from here. McKone's art is good enough, although I'm still not really a fan of it.

The Thanos Imperative was awesome. I love the huge scope of this series. It's still irritating to see the Silver Surfer rendered into a barely conscious zombie these days--I wasn't aware becoming a herald again erased people's entire personalities--but the payoff of his appearance, with all the cosmic abstracts showing up to help against the Cancerverse, was worth it. Other than that, the plot chugs along nicely. There's a cool moment between Thanos and Star-Lord where Thanos has to re-evaluate Star-Lord's flippant attitude, which I liked. Curious to see how Vance and Namorita wind up fitting into everything. Sepulveda's art still doesn't quite do it for me. He has a lot of good pages and even a couple great ones in this issue, but there are also a lot of places where his art looks downright sloppy, like, oh, anything involving the Silver Surfer. I don't know if he just drew contours and relied on his colorist to handle the shiny effects, but the Surfer winds up looking more muddled than shiny.

Justice League: Generation Lost continues to be fun. I'm really glad I got over my initial skepticism and gave it a try. This issue features a turning point for the team in that they actually become a team for the first time in the series. They're finally past their indecision (collectively, although it seems Ice is still a bit of a holdout) and they're no longer just being swept along by events; they've committed to standing together and trying to take Max down.

A great side-effect of how that happens is that it also provides what I choose to think of as an explanation for the Martian Manhunter's very notable absence, since he was a staple member of the JLI back in the day. If Max orchestrated the JLI's reunion, it makes sense he'd want to keep J'onn out. J'onn was never considered a f***-up like the characters who've found themselves back on the team, so he might actually pose a serious threat to Max. Without J'onn, though, Max has a JLI he can feel good about sending out into the world while remaining safe in the knowledge that they're not smart or good enough to endanger him personally (although obviously I expect they'll prove him wrong).

I'll just repost my thoughts on Superman #701 from the Superman thread:

I bit the bullet and picked up #701 because I liked the preview and it was a small week anyway. It was pretty decent. BeeDub nailed it when he said Superman got a little sanctimonious at times, but overall it was okay. I can't really call it "good" at the moment because the situations Superman encountered in Pennsylvania this issue were about half good and half mediocre. More than anything else, though, I like that JMS has nailed the tone of Superman as a character.

I was initially skeptical about this approach with Superman wandering the nation because it felt like another gimmick right after we'd gotten off of the gimmick of Superman trying to live with his own people on New Krypton. I didn't want that; I wanted to finally get back to Superman just being Superman. JMS kept saying this arc was about Superman reconnecting with everyday people, but I think that description is backwards. This is exactly what I wanted: Superman being Superman, just within the context of walking around the country with people reconnecting with him. It's not perfect by any means; JMS overdoes it a bit, making the comic a bit too preachy at times. But even if I don't agree with how JMS is portraying Superman (I mean, really, has anyone ever thought of Superman as that special kind of *****ebag who spouts quotes at people?), I appreciate the overall goal he seems to have in mind. Dispense with the stunts and just let Superman be Superman again. It's what he's best at.

Finally, I also picked up World War Hulks: Spider-Man vs. Thor for two reasons: 1) Keiron Gillen, and 2) Spider-Man actually made me chuckle in the preview. I haven't found Spider-Man funny in a long time, so I figured it deserved a try just for that. Leave it to Gillen to take a concept as stupid as various superheroes gaining Hulk-like strength and the characteristic idiocy that goes along with it and turn it into something worthwhile. Spider-Man and Thor are a seemingly random combination, but I loved the parallels Gillen drew between them. Through flashbacks and the best he can manage with their stilted, grammar-defying dialogue, Gillen compares Thor's overbearing desire to fight to the bullies of Spider-Man's youth and Spider-Man's bookishness to Loki's treachery in Thor's youth. I never would've thought of that myself, but it makes perfect sense now that the characters are stripped down to seeing things through brains as astoundingly dumb as the Hulk's.

Oh, there's also a Cyclops/Iceman story in here, but it's mediocre. Scott and Bobby grew up together, so obviously they have unresolved issues, which, now that they're Hulks--surprise!--they fight about. Meh.

 

[bored]

ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #1: If it feels like a while since the last issue, it has been; issue one shipped in May. This issue continues this team-up tale between the titular heroes by writer Jason Aaron (WOLVERINE: WEAPON X and GHOST RIDER) and Adam Kubert (BATMAN, ULTIMATE X-MEN, X-MEN in general in the 90's). Perhaps the schedule is to better serve Kubert's penciling speed. Mark Morales puts in solid inks with top notch color work by Justin Ponsor; it is a very pretty comic to look at. The actual story, however, is an acquired taste. One would think upon being told that Marvel is releasing a Spidey/Wolvie team up mini series for no real reason other than to put another trade paperback featuring Spider-Man and/or Wolverine in the book stores, they would ask what could possibly be done with either that hadn't been seen before. Jason Aaron's answer is to have the two skip across time from one bizarre setting to the next. Seems old hat, right? CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN, THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, even LOST have all made this trope common these days. Aaron's answer is to embrace over-the-top comic book elements to it and to try to be as unpredictable as possible. The last issue had dinosaurs and Wolverine leading a tribe of ape-men. This issue takes place in the alternate future that those actions created. Spider-Man is the last human on earth, the ape-men are all that's left of society (who worship Logan like a god), and oh, there's a robot version of Devil Dinosaur roaming about.
[/quote]


Could they possibly rename this mini "Spidermandi, the Last Boy"

 

[Dread]

Could they possibly rename this mini "Spidermandi, the Last Boy"

Possibly. Although Wolverine is always with him.

I also forgot the part that had Doom, the Living Planet/Devourer of Worlds. Aaron is totally mental, but I'm enjoying it so far. He's not as far into the realm of the bizarre as Grant Morrison here, but is probably only one tab of acid shy.

 

[runawayboulder]

DD #508 - Diggle's nailing it right now! I wasn't as skeptical as others were about Shadowland but now 2 parts in I am loving this crossover! Diggle's often delayed DD Shadowland setup is paying off right now. The big picture is starting to become clearer as DD most likely is being possessed by The Hand (or possibly something else more sinister).

Foggy and Dakota try to get to Matt finally but are cut off by the very bad girl, White Tiger. There's a lot going on here like Elektra being recruited by Izo, White Tiger trying to convince Matt to send Black Tarantula away to South America (he may end up being the deciding factor in this) and Detective Kurtz getting involved.

Plus you've got Cage, Iron Fist, Punisher, Moon Knight, Spidey and the Avengers looming. Plus the Kingpin and Lady Bullseye. This is gonna blow up nicely soon. I may have to rethink picking up those SL tie-ins I was initially turned off by.

ASM #637 - The Kraven's always bring out the absolute WORST in Spidey. And by worst, I definitely aint talking about the story quality. Grim Hunt has been a terrific companion/sequel to Kraven's Last Hunt, one of my all time favorite SM saga's. Pete always gets into serious ass-kicking mode whenever he dons the black costume (which is why I love those duds).

Pete gets downright brutal with the Kravinoff's nearly killing Kraven before Arachne intervene's as the new Madame Web now that the old one had her throat slit by Sasha. Arana more or less becomes the new Arachne (although she says she isn't going to change her name to Spider-Girl). The Kraven's end up relocating to the Savage Land (which is downright ).

I loved how Kraven lamented over his "masterpiece" (KLH) being ruined and ends up killing or shunning half of the family. I can't wait to see his return eventually or where Julia Carpenter or Arana end up next. Too bad we have to deal with 4 issues of OMIT, which I AM NOT looking forward to. Especially after such a solid story like this.

X-Men Second Coming #2 - Second Coming has been quite a stellar crossover. It started off with a bang, losing some momentum halfway through, before picking up speed and recovering in the end. This issue is all aftermath/no action. It does set up the next chapter for the X-Men perfectly. Hope is now without Cable for the first time in her life and is either misunderstood or feared by many of the students on Utopia.

The one man who wants to reach out to her is the one she probably hates the most in this world, Cyclops. (BTW, Scott was in MAJOR D-Bag mode by basically firing Rogue.) Magneto, ever the sly devil, begins to reach out to Hope like Emperor Palpatine reached out to Anakin Skywalker....taking advantage of her anger and fear, of losing/being without Cable. Magneto is supposed to start messing around with Rogue again in X-Men Legacy, he may end up forming a rebellion against Scott down the road.

Hope also has an interesting moment with Emma, which may indicate she is being controlled by Jean Grey/The Phoenix Force. Say what you want about the little "messiah", the writers have done a great job of developing her as a character.

The best development is that mutants start popping up all over the globe again finally. I was a bit indifferent about the wipe out of Mutants back in Decimation, but I'm glad it's finally being fixed. Wolverine also goes behind Scott's back and reforms X-Force, something I'm gonna say right now, better be addressed by the Avengers when Logan gets exposed. I may have the motive that I really don't want him on the Avengers but Bendis (or whoever) can't ignore this when the time comes.

Superman #701 - I've always liked JMS for the most part and haven't read Superman in a while so it seemed natural to jump on with "Grounded" one of the most interesting concepts for the book I've heard in forever. I know it must kill the longtime Supes fans that want to see Kal-El just punch things/bad guys as per the norm but I like the idea of him hitting street level in order to reconnect with Earthlings. The scene at the end where Superman made the analogy of being in a box that says hero on it and asking normal people what are you doing outside of the box was absolutely great. I'm looking forward to where JMS decides to take this. The real question is will JMS be able to keep my interest on Superman after "Grounded" ends in a year....? We shall see.

Invincible Iron Man #28 - Fraction has been barely keeping me on IIM lately. I'm honestly not too thrilled with a long drawn out storyline again as it seems "Stark Resilient" is going to go for another 4 issues. The writing was good enough to keep me going this month for now. I don't have a problem with Larocca's art like some do, so it's a non factor to me. It's weird that after WMW and Stark Disassembled I'm really ready to drop this book. I'm gonna be patient though as I love Maria Hill and am growing fond of the Hammer girls. But I'm hanging by a thread Fraction...

 

[runawayboulder]

BTW, I know this is off-topic but since most read this thread....I saw the Green Lantern movie costume.....really terrible. Very underwhelming.

 

[Dread]

BTW, I know this is off-topic but since most read this thread....I saw the Green Lantern movie costume.....really terrible. Very underwhelming.

I think with a CGI suit, it is the sort of thing that might look better in motion on a big screen rather than on the cover of a magazine or a small PC pic. That said, while I understand that WB wanted to take Green Lantern's "energy construct costume" thing literally, I do wonder if they over-thought it and merely ensured their film would be more expensive. Remember; if ANY non-Batman DC film flops, WB get scared ****less for at least six years - remember "SUPERMAN RETURNS" (which collapsed under the weight of high expectations and a staggering budget). Of course if "GREEN LANTERN" does as well as "IRON MAN" as WB hopes for and expects, this is academic.

For me, though, I get more psyched about costumes that actually exist, that could be displayed and whatnot, like the outfits for "THOR" or "IRON MAN". While the Iron Man films employ a lot of CGI for nearly every motion scene with Shellhead, the suit is real. The CGI just enhances what is really there. It isn't the same as digitally painting it on an actor.

I also wonder whether the fact that to the average person who maybe at best heard of Green Lantern from the Justice League TV cartoon, that Green Lantern is John Stewart to them will be a problem. Will confusion effect box office sales?

I cover this sort of thing for weekly Comic News articles at my Examiner link below. One should really check those out. I even make Sprite Comics for each one!

 

[Tron Bonne]

Superman #701 - I've always liked JMS for the most part and haven't read Superman in a while so it seemed natural to jump on with "Grounded" one of the most interesting concepts for the book I've heard in forever. I know it must kill the longtime Supes fans that want to see Kal-El just punch things/bad guys as per the norm but I like the idea of him hitting street level in order to reconnect with Earthlings. The scene at the end where Superman made the analogy of being in a box that says hero on it and asking normal people what are you doing outside of the box was absolutely great. I'm looking forward to where JMS decides to take this. The real question is will JMS be able to keep my interest on Superman after "Grounded" ends in a year....? We shall see.

You know, I rarely comment on this kind of stuff, but the main complaints towards this move were more than simply, 'I want to see Superman hit stuff'. I already went into it this way more than I care to in the main Superman thread, but I personally don't understand this generalization since that kind of stuff really was not the main criticism for the idea behind 'Grounded'.

 

[Dread]

The point of having JMS do sweeping, "controversial" stories on SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN is very much like when Grant Morrison hopped on X-MEN; the aim is to try to get more new or old fans aboard to replace any current fans who bail in disgust. That actually worked for "NEW" X-MEN, although both the X-Men and the entire market in general were different in, say, 2001-2004 than they are now. The X-Men never sold as poorly as Superman and Wonder Woman were in the 21st century. DC is hoping that for every Super or Diana fan who bails the book, they'll get maybe two newer fans to try it out. The question will be whether it works.

Marvel did this on a broader scale with BRAND NEW DAY with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and it's success has been mixed and remains controversial even two years later. According to Marvel (who's NEVER lie), subscriptions went up. Sales overall have fallen since there were ASM and two other titles in 2007, but then again, those Spider-Books had relied on crossovers since 2005. And sales can spike for specially promoted stories. So one could argue in terms of sales, considering the economy, it has been a success. As for critical response, it usually depends on how big a fan of the marriage one was. At the very least, Spidey outsells the X-Men and Wolverine again.

If it doesn't, it is possible DiDio could sort of force JMS to cut a 26 month opus a little short in about as gracious a manner as he tends to handle that sort of thing. If he does, though, expect JMS on everything from LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES to SUPERFRIENDS.

I will agree that while I have heard some criticisms about the "no punching stuff" angle of JMS' ideas for SUPERMAN, they're not the main ones. My criticism was whether it was wise to pluck Superman away from his status quo after he had already been away from it for at least a year. Plus, JMS has basically done the same plot three times in a row; "get powerful iconic hero to reconnect with the people and preach to the bumpkins or have the bumpkins preach to him" - did it in THOR, is doing it in SUPERMAN, and goes much farther with WONDER WOMAN. To me he's become a writer who has a vision and sees characters in that light, whether they should be or not. Such as all Cyclops ever sees is red.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Well, as I've said in the past, I don't oppose the idea per say, but making it into a 12 issue self-quest arc is just dumb. You don't need that kind of stuff to have Superman connect with people. It's great when Supes comes to the people, but like all these kind of things, there comes a time when it's truly great and when it becomes sentimental and heavy-handed.

Superman never ever stops to help the normal person...

Spoiler

Look there, Morrison just did it in 5 panels of 1 page for God's sake. These kinds of things are at their best when they're scattered on a less sentimental level.

Though, to be fair, some reaction I've been reading says it's not as bad as it sounds. A lot of it is apparently Superman just going around helping and being himself, so maybe it'll work out, but there's still aspects of it I don't like. The length, and just the general concept. That whole box analogy may intrigue others, but to me it just sounds like injecting dark age pessimism to the last character and title that it'll ever belong in.

As I've also said though, if it can help revitalize Superman's sales, I guess I can't completely hate it. Though, it is kind of sad, to me at least, that this is the kind of stuff that makes people take interest (I feel the same way about WW), but whatever and such, my superhero tastes apparently aren't of anyone but myself nowadays.

God strike me, but I think Garth Ennis might be the guy to write the ideal Superman run I've been wanting to read (I just feel dirty saying that ****).

 

[runawayboulder]

I want to see Garth Ennis write every major character in comics (Marvel or DC) just once. Especially Captain America. Call me crazy but I think it would be outstanding.

And as far as the new take on Superman to lure in new readers, I know the feeling that longtime Superman fans are dealing with. I've dealt with Morrison on X-Men (which I absolutely loved), BND on Spider-Man, Clone Saga, Wolverine on Avengers and especially Bendis on Avengers. It's a tough pill to swallow for a loyal fan, I'll agree. At least you know up front that it's for only 12 issues and not a permanent change to status quo.

It's working too. Superman #700 cracked the top 10 for the first time in a long time, yeah it may have been partly because of it actually hitting 700, but I think the hype behind "Grounded" was the main factor.

 

[CaptainCanada]

At least we know how the X-Men, the last, dying survivors of a class of people being hunted to the last by cartoonish fanatical bigots living on the Island Of Misfit Superhumans, fit into "Heroic Age". It isn't by undoing M-Day, or at least swinging to a middle ground between "millions" and "198" (and less since Selene iced a few of those 198, and that 198 includes mutants from other realities like Sugar Man or Nocturne). No, it's because Steve Rogers says the heroes have the X-Men's back this time. Well, we'll see. Marvel wasn't willing to have their mutant social relations expand to a realistic place during the Grant Morrison era, when the books sold twice what they do now - I have no faith they'll do so now. But we'll see.

No doubt they want to keep things relatively small (from what editorial has said), but I'm fine with this rollout for now. It solves the "you can't have any large numbers of new mutants" question, which was always the single-biggest issue, and it indicates that there'll be more.

You wouldn't be so enthused with Kyle & Yost on the X-Men if you'd watched "WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN".

I own it on DVD.

Their conclusions from that related to the idea that Logan is the be all and end all of the team, and that Cyclops is basically a sack of flaws with legs, not a character or a leader.

That's not at all how they've approached him in the comics, which suggests the cartoon was a directive from higher-ups who wanted to prioritize Wolverine. They write a very strong Cyclops (and a really good Cyclops/Wolverine dynamic).

Anyway, the tone of the books isn't anything like what you describe - certainly not with Fraction, Carey, et al. writing.

Part 2: The Other Guys

Daredevil #508 - this is now a crossover tie-in, but honestly for the most part the tone of the book feels the same (no other superheroes in evidence here; indeed, we're back to focussing on Foggy and Dakota, who've been intentionally minor presences in Diggle's run so far). The reaction to Matt killing Bullseye from them is really over-the-top to me - dude deserved to die, and that's really it; but whatever, that's expected from this sort of story. De La Torre's art is his typical strong work. We also get what appears to be the beginning of the Beast manifesting, which I'm sure will strike some people as a copout, but whatever - Matt's clearly got a role to play in his decisions, and he has to still be usable when this is over. Plus, the return of Izo and Elektra, two great characters.

Invincible Iron Man #28 - no book manages to quite annoy me so much a this one; I've decided to drop it like twice now, and yet I still keep finding just enough that interests me to keep reading it. And yet it never gets beyond average-with-potential except in fits and starts. Fraction is devoting a lot of time to Tony's new company and their project, which strikes me as a bit of a fool's errand, because there's no way that editorial is going to let Tony's new cars of the future overtake normal autos in the MU. Once again, I'm thinking this will be my last arc.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I want to see Garth Ennis write every major character in comics (Marvel or DC) just once. Especially Captain America. Call me crazy but I think it would be outstanding.

And as far as the new take on Superman to lure in new readers, I know the feeling that longtime Superman fans are dealing with. I've dealt with Morrison on X-Men (which I absolutely loved), BND on Spider-Man, Clone Saga, Wolverine on Avengers and especially Bendis on Avengers. It's a tough pill to swallow for a loyal fan, I'll agree. At least you know up front that it's for only 12 issues and not a permanent change to status quo.

It's working too. Superman #700 cracked the top 10 for the first time in a long time, yeah it may have been partly because of it actually hitting 700, but I think the hype behind "Grounded" was the main factor.

Well, you see, it's not even an issue of this being a new, alienating direction for the character. It's just a heavy-handed and sentimental 'exploration' of something Superman has always done. Like I said, I'm not against the idea behind the concept, but the way in which it's being handled.

 

[Dread]

No doubt they want to keep things relatively small (from what editorial has said), but I'm fine with this rollout for now. It solves the "you can't have any large numbers of new mutants" question, which was always the single-biggest issue, and it indicates that there'll be more.

Yeah, it seems to me that SECOND COMING #2 has reached a sort of middle ground. There won't be "a million, maybe" mutants (because god forbid, a million mutants on a planet with about 6-7 billion humans may as well be a majority, right), but there'll be more than 200-300 of them, and allow creators to create new characters again. Without new mutants, or enough of them to form actual communities in society, the central metaphor is gone and the X-Men became, essentially, the Inhumans (since the actual Inhumans are in space). I still think what Marvel editorial thinks is a sizable minority and what anyone who lives in the real world in real life thinks is one are two different things, but at least M-Day has seen some sort of compromise solution, at least until CHILDREN'S CRUSADE wraps.

I own it on DVD.
That's not at all how they've approached him in the comics, which suggests the cartoon was a directive from higher-ups who wanted to prioritize Wolverine. They write a very strong Cyclops (and a really good Cyclops/Wolverine dynamic).

In interviews for the show, Kyle at least seemed to state very emphatically that he wanted to explore "a broken Cyclops" in W&TXM; see what was left without Xavier or Jean. In the cartoon, which more people saw on TV than will EVER read the X-Men comics, that answer was Cyclops would basically be a series of flaws with a power, not a character nor anyone who was a leader. The less said of his "BREAKDOWN" revelation (which implied in the W&TXM world, Cyclops never was the leader of the X-Men, and in fact wasn't even a competent X-Man until Jean came around to lead him by the hand), the better. I think if they wanted to handle it better for the TV show, they could have. They didn't, perhaps because they wrongly assumed it would get a second season.

Invincible Iron Man #28 - no book manages to quite annoy me so much a this one; I've decided to drop it like twice now, and yet I still keep finding just enough that interests me to keep reading it. And yet it never gets beyond average-with-potential except in fits and starts. Fraction is devoting a lot of time to Tony's new company and their project, which strikes me as a bit of a fool's errand, because there's no way that editorial is going to let Tony's new cars of the future overtake normal autos in the MU. Once again, I'm thinking this will be my last arc.

You're right about this. If Marvel wouldn't let Reed Richards flood the world with Kirbytech to better mankind even in the 21st century out of fear of losing that "real world" feel, there's no way Tony's Repulsor Car can go to a natural conclusion. Plus, who wants to read about a job interview process?

I blame Ultimate, and Bendis in particular, for making the mundane into the expected, for getting editors and fans used to arcs in which a hero doing nothing counts as development.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Predators One-Shot

If you still plan to see the movie, skip this review. Some things are in spoilers...but, other aspects might be given away.

Decent movie...but, lousy "official sequel." While we do get to see the

Spoiler

two remaining characters[/spoilers] stuck on this distant planet, they act nothing like the characters in the film. Even the predator doesn't act like he should, as much of the time he's uncloaked. This is just lazy writing intended to soak up a few bucks to those who might hope for more after the ending had a bit of a cliffhanger.

Age Of Reptiles: The Journey #4

I love Ricardo Delgado's Age Of Reptiles. While a lot might not happen within this comic, so much is really going on in each frame. I love his art, and the final fight between the T-Rex mom and underwater beast was amazing. I just hope we don't have to wait another 15 years for another installment.

30 Days Of Night/X-Files #1

This is a pretty neat idea for a crossover. I had no plans in getting this comic; but, seeing the cover made me decide that this X-Files story might be more interesting than the last...and, it's gotta be better than the movie that came out a couple years ago.

Since this is the first issue, I'm not really sure how much I'll be enjoying it as the story goes forth; but, I will say that it's what I expected in this crossover. Mulder and Scully travel to Alaska, after a trucker finds a slew of wrecked rigs and bodies with their heads removed. One problem with this X-Files story is there really isn't any mystery with anyone familiar with 30 Days Of Night. Still, it was an ok start, and I am interested in what happens next.

Avengers Academy #2

This new Avengers title has been interesting; but, there is a part of me tired of this same old storyline that I've read a few times from Marvel and DC. (That being, youth being trained to handle their powers; but, they aren't really like your classic heroes. They kind of skew towards the darker side of things.) It's just Avengers: The Initiative with a new name, numbering, and characters. Also, we've seen the approach of a different character being the narrator of the comic with each issue numerous times, also. (That's not a bad thing, as we get to know them a bit more this way. It just took me away from the story a bit, as I was thinking of how similiar the story is to others I've read in the past.)

I do like the blackmailing of Quicksilver part of this issue...and, it's interesting how Gage is taken Avengers: The Initiative and wove it into Mighty Avengers.

The Heroic Age: Uncanny X-Men One-Shot

I guess this should be read after X-Men: Second Coming #2...but, it didn't spoil my enjoyment...or lack of enjoyment...of either comic. So, we see Beast quit again...Scott still being a *****e...Scott having a rather idiotic sequence where he goes to the Savage Land to kill some dinosaurs (Nice seeing someone who is on the brink of extinction killing a beast who's also extinct, except for this Savage Land) .... Beast having a heart to heart with Molly Hayes from Runaways (drawn very badly...Molly should look cuter and more child-like) ... and, Hope being checked out by the Fantastic Four. It all ends with Cyclops being given the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, which makes him even more of a *****e as he throws it into the ocean in the end in a grand display of declaring his freedom from others. (Seriously? You get an award from the President, and you repay that honor by making an idiotic statement of how you're going to change??!!??)

There are a few nice parts of this comic; but, the Scott sequences and badly drawn Beast/Molly segments left me feeling less than thrilled.

 

[Drz]

Look there, Morrison just did it in 5 panels of 1 page for God's sake. These kinds of things are at their best when they're scattered on a less sentimental level.

Don't judge the two when you've only read All-Star Supes.

 

[Phaedrus45]

X-Men: Second Coming #2

Four stories that are suppose to be interconnected by the events in Second Coming, yet most of the time, they lack any emotional impact ... which is strange, since this issue is suppose to remember the sacrifice of Cable. Maybe it's just that we've seen the X-Men surrounding a cofffin before it gets put into the ground too many times; but, I just wasn't feeling it. To me, the most powerful scene is rather small, where Hope is talking to Magneto. Now, THAT is a scary scenario!

Chapter three seemed a bit silly to me. Wolverine is being scolded by Storm for his role in leading X-Force...and, by that stories end, Cyclops disbands the team, only to have Wolverine start it instantly back up. Worst of all...Deadpool joins the group.

The final chapter was given away when I read the Heroic Age One-Shot before this comic. For some strange reason, Hope's arrival has led to the emergence of five new mutants.

Of course, this is all promotion for the various X-titles that the stories will be continued in. It does work in that regard, and I really hope the Magneto/Hope relationship expands further, with Magneto going back to his old ways.

Amazing Spider-Man #637

The conclusion to Grim Hunt, and Kelly did a fantastic job. This is kind of an important issue, as various things in Spidey's universe changes. Madame Web is killed off, and Julia Carpenter is given her powers....many members of the Kravinoff family are killed off...Arana takes on a new costume....and, Kaine transforms into a new character, Tarantula. Best of all, I LOVED that Peter wore the black costume for his showdown with Kraven. t:

Ultimate Spider-Man #12

Two things bring this issue down a bit for me: One, we've read this story just last year in ASM, when Cameleon took Peter's place for a day and wreaked havok on his life; and, two, they SERIOUSLY need to get a new artist for this book. Just looking at the cover, MJ looks more like a librarian than her usual hot self. That said, Bendis tells a decent tale, and I enjoy this Ultimate title more than any of the others.

Daredevil #508

I find it interesting that Diggle is co-writing this comic with Antony Johnston, and since that's happened, I've been enjoying the comic a lot more. I like that Daredevil has gone back to that old black costume that premiered in the 90's...and, things are a bit easier to understand, now that it appears that DD appears to be possessed in some fashion. My only question is how in the heck was DD able to build Shadowland so quickly??? I guess the ninjas also have some fantastic building talents.

Iron Man Noir #4

The first two issues, that made Tony Stark more Indiana Jones than Iron Man, were a lot more fun that the final two. Once Tony got into the armor, I felt things went a bit downhill.

 

[Texas]

No doubt they want to keep things relatively small (from what editorial has said), but I'm fine with this rollout for now. It solves the "you can't have any large numbers of new mutants" question, which was always the single-biggest issue, and it indicates that there'll be more.
I own it on DVD.
That's not at all how they've approached him in the comics, which suggests the cartoon was a directive from higher-ups who wanted to prioritize Wolverine. They write a very strong Cyclops (and a really good Cyclops/Wolverine dynamic).

Anyway, the tone of the books isn't anything like what you describe - certainly not with Fraction, Carey, et al. writing.

Part 2: The Other Guys

Daredevil #508 - this is now a crossover tie-in, but honestly for the most part the tone of the book feels the same (no other superheroes in evidence here; indeed, we're back to focussing on Foggy and Dakota, who've been intentionally minor presences in Diggle's run so far). The reaction to Matt killing Bullseye from them is really over-the-top to me - dude deserved to die, and that's really it; but whatever, that's expected from this sort of story. De La Torre's art is his typical strong work. We also get what appears to be the beginning of the Beast manifesting, which I'm sure will strike some people as a copout, but whatever - Matt's clearly got a role to play in his decisions, and he has to still be usable when this is over. Plus, the return of Izo and Elektra, two great characters.

Invincible Iron Man #28 - no book manages to quite annoy me so much a this one; I've decided to drop it like twice now, and yet I still keep finding just enough that interests me to keep reading it. And yet it never gets beyond average-with-potential except in fits and starts. Fraction is devoting a lot of time to Tony's new company and their project, which strikes me as a bit of a fool's errand, because there's no way that editorial is going to let Tony's new cars of the future overtake normal autos in the MU. Once again, I'm thinking this will be my last arc.

I feel the same except I was getting the trade and finally dropped that

 

[runawayboulder]

It's not really the 90's costume....close. That one had armor 90's style shoulder pads. This one is waaay cooler.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Don't judge the two when you've only read All-Star Supes.

I already know what happened by what you told me. Are you lying about what happened? As I said in the Supes thread, what was accomplished differently? Just more words added to the exact same solution. Anyway, you can take it to the Superman thread, since this isn't the place for it.