Part II of II:
IRON MAN/THOR #1:This is a new mini series from Marvel, starring two of their hottest characters right now. Given how both Iron Man and Thor are appearing all over the place lately, and have multiple titles unto themselves, having the two team up in a mini series makes sound sense in a marketing standpoint. I just wonder when the day will come when the circle is complete and we get a mini next year called SPIDER-MAN/WOLVERINE/CAPTAIN AMERICA/THOR/IRON MAN/DEADPOOL. Hey, aren’t most of those in AVENGERS? At any rate, this mini series also marks the first work written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning that isn’t a comic set in outer space (like NOVA, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY or THANOS IMPERATIVE), but on terra firma. The two writers, collectively dubbed “DnA” by themselves and fans (seriously) are critical darlings; their work on Marvel’s space titles has been of exceptional quality for three to four years now. However, sales have dove tailed since many of the “important” books rose a buck in price, so the duo are moving into the more “mainstream” Marvel universe with this and HEROES FOR HIRE, which is launching in the near future. On hand for the art is Scot Eaton (FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN: MESSIAH COMPLEX), with inks by Jaime Mendoza and colors by Veronica Gandini.
This is part one of four, and reads very much like part one of four. As the characters are well known, there is no need to introduce them or their status quo; the story simply picks up and gets along with things. Unfortunately, the pace on this is a little slow in terms of layout. Within 22 pages, most of them have no more than four panels, with quite a few splash pages or two panel pages. Perhaps only two or three pages have at least five panels. While this gives Eaton and company a lot of room to play up the visuals, it means by the time the story seems to get to a key beat, the issue is over. For $4 a pop, this issue sadly is a poster child of critics to trash Marvel’s new pricing strategy by claiming that psychologically, many comics do not give enough story to justify a $3.99 price tag. To be fair, more happens here than in the last issue of THOR by Matt Fraction and Pasqual Ferry, which is also $3.99.
To a degree, this debut plays things a little too safe. When you have a story in which two powerful heroes team up, what is likely to happen? If you guessed, “they fight villains from each of their rogues galleries”, you win a cookie (to be delivered via the Internet in the year 2767). A threat has been going about employing at least two villains, who have seen major upgrades in power, to steal various items of magical and technological power. For the moment Thor and Iron Man are still on mostly separate paths, but will likely link up next issue. There is some action and the mastermind is revealed in the final page – a villain these writers have utilized in prior work, such as ANNIHILATION CONQUEST who both Thor and Iron Man have battled (although mostly Thor).
Abnett & Lanning have a good voice for the characters, and they have chosen some lesser known but still very powerful villains for their titular heroes to fight. There is even a scene for some minor comedy at the ruins of Asgard (in Oklahoma) between Volstagg and his “pet”. The fact that the villains who Iron Man and Thor face have been “upgraded” is noted, rather than the heroes simply being thrashed.
The biggest dilemma will be if one feels this is a “satisfying chunk” of story for four dollars. If one wants to pay for more than a few minutes worth of light action reading, then this might be worth skipping, or waiting for the trade on. If one likes solid art, some quick action and just wanting to read an Iron Man/Thor team up without having had to have read either of their comics, or AVENGERS, and enjoys simple stories that don’t try to reinvent the wheel, this is the mini series for you.
TASKMASTER #3: Fred Van Lente's third comic of the week, and hands down the most awesome. I had decent expectations for him on this character, but despite that, this series has been a pleasant surprise. He has taken a a bit of a caper style plot for Taskmaster, sprinkled on a dash of "MEMENTO" with a whole bucket of enjoyable craziness. Jefte Palo's artwork, atop of Jean-Francois Beaulieu's colors, suits the series well. Much like with Brubaker and Fraction had with IMMORTAL IRON FIST, Van Lente has been handed a character whose origins have been vague, at best, for over 20 years and thus there is a lot of room to add stuff without retconning much. Atop of that, the threats Taskmaster fights are utterly insane. This issue, you get what the cover promises; a town where everyone is Hitler (or at least dresses and acts like him).
Taskmaster's origin is pretty much detailed here, and he is definitely not a mutant. He is basically an ex-SHIELD agent who got involved in trying to stop all of those ex-Nazi mad science stuff that was still common in early 60's Marvel (the story where the Fan Four fought the Hate-Monger is referenced) and took one of their then latest "super serum" type formulas. Unfortunately, while it has allowed Taskmaster to mimic and retain an impossible amount of skills, it has cost him his long term memory, which includes any attachment to anyone. Steve Rogers is none too thrilled when Nick Fury reveals Taskmaster's past to him, and it seems some mess from Fury rises to the fore every few months these days.
The highlight of the issue, though, is the revelation of the arch villain of the arc as well as his ridiculously named organization. The sequence where he proclaims it and then "interacts" with his minion is worth the cover price alone, and is destined to be scanned on 4chan and go viral. Mercedes the waitress is also more than she appears; a lot more. Van Lente has taken what could have been a random companion piece to the finale of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE and really made it into something grand. There's not a hint of pretentiousness here, even though there are serious moments between the hilarious insanity.
There isn't a whole lot more to say. It's a series that is better than you think it is if you aren't reading it. Nab the trade, if back issue hunting isn't your bag. It's $4 a pop for four issues, but it's leagues better than quite a few ongoing titles at $4, including a few I read.
YOUNG ALLIES #6: You'd never know it by the pink cover, or the trade dress, but this is the final issue of the series. Issue seven was solicited and had a cover image, but isn't to be. It is saddening, but not surprising; sales were in the toilet. I saw shops order more of GUARDING THE GLOBE than this. In hindsight, it was a bad idea to launch a new ongoing title with a franchise no one knows, starring C-List characters, at $4, the same week as AVENGERS ACADEMY #1. How low were sales? So low that Marvel didn't go through the baloney game of saying it was "on hiatus" or merging it with another soon to be canceled book for a bit (as BLACK WIDOW and HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD are going to be). Nope, it was hidden in a Diamond previews page, but it was clearly canned. It is a shame. This had a vibe of being the NEW WARRIORS for the new decade, but I guess the market is far too weak to sustain that. Thus, it joins the same six issue scrap heap as SWORD or ATLAS. The sheer amount of aborted launches of new titles have gotten so embarrassing that while Marvel is trying to figure out a new pricing strategy for some books, they are aware something has to be done.
This is a somber issue to end the series on, and likely a good one as it is a done in one. The focus, as the cover implies, is on Firestar. It summarizes where she has been (Hellions, New Warrior, Avenger, cancer survivor) and brings in Emma Frost, her old Hellions leader who is attempting to recruit her into Utopia in the name of "trying to look out for her". Honestly? Utopia is probably the unsafest place on earth. A naked hooker walking in Latin Kings territory is safer than anyone at Utopia. You're as likely to be maimed or killed or sacrificed by Cyclops there as you are to see the Blackbird there. If Emma Frost cared about anyone, she'd be seeking them to move anywhere else. But, that's just me being cheeky about the state of X-affairs. The story grinds down to various forces trying to decide who Firestar should be or where she is now, rather than her. It isn't the most original tale nor the first time it has been told with Firestar (who, to a degree has been a bit of a wasted opportunity since she immigrated from NBC in the 80's), but it is executed quite well. It isn't an earth shattering issue, but you get what the cover promises and it is effective at what it wants to do.
The Young Allies are still an unofficial team, and while not everyone likes that, I thought it gave the book more of an identity. Rikki is the one who wants to unite everyone into a squad, but the rest of the characters aren't too interested. Still, because they seem to occupy the same area of Manhattan, they keep running into each other like neighbors anyway. Much like Christos Gage, McKeever is aware that just because an issue stars one character, the others don't have to just fade into the background and do nothing. Toro is living in the same abandoned warehouse as Rikki, and the two are trying to figure out how to get along. Arana still has to get used to calling herself "Spider-Girl", which still feels like some unnatural expectation everyone thrust upon her (which it is; a brilliant way of turning an editorial decision into character angst). While Firestar isn't eager to join up with a team, she and Gravity are "crime fighting partners", and Gravity at least wants to become more, at the expense of his civilian friends.
If there is one hiccup, it seems that Emma Frost is almost going out of her way to act like a complete witch in her chats with Firestar, then seems genuinely surprised when Angelica becomes hostile. Even without the bad history between them, I'd want to flash fry her, too. To her credit, her secondary mutation makes it moot, and it could be argued she was aware of things and wanted to allow Angelica to vent (or see if she would). In the end of course Firestar decides to take the reigns of her own destiny, at the very least by agreeing to a newspaper interview. The issue ends with a memorial at the site of Warhead's attack on the WTC, and it felt real to have a memorial service for some random act of super villainy in Marvel. Disasters as bad as 9/11 happen in the Marvel Universe every other week, but they rarely get reflected on unless it's ore for an event. It also sent a blunt tone for the end of the series. It ends with a memorial, attended by the cast. Ouch. More often than not, the "this got hosed" page where the writer tells the fans of his canceled series not to kill themselves (or words to that effect) continue to often be somber reads.
It is hardly the end for the Young Allies. SPIDER-GIRL is getting her own title. McKeever will continue to write his NOMAD back up strip in CAPTAIN AMERICA, and the team will be featured in ONSLAUGHT UNLEASHED (both drawn by Filipe Andrade). And Paul Tobin will have a crossover mini with them and AVENGERS ACADEMY next year. This may be the end of artist David Baldeon on the series, which is a shame as he was great for the young heroes. Chris Sotomayor's colors were also great, but he gets around more. There just seemed to be so much potential here that may not get to flourish, but them's the brakes in this new age of spam and $4 comics. While I was sad to see ATLAS go, I at least got a damn lot of material beforehand. This was done in six issues.
SPIDER-MAN SAGA: While I'm in the mood to pick at wounds, this was a freebie from last week. It has some Handbook Bio's in the back of newer characters in the Spider-Verse. Since I don't read ASM, these summaries are really my only exposure to the stories and new characters who show up therein. While it may be wrong to judge years worth of material based on a freebie Cliff's Notes summary, I do think some things come across. I can see why editorial is shifting to one writer (Dan Slott) and two issues a month; the rotating cast of writers often had too varied a tone to their work, so that there was an awkward balance between the sweet and kooky and the angsty and dark. Having one writer at the helm of the ship rather than a half dozen should help things.
Overall, I got the sense that what is bogging down the series is a lot of needless complications. If removing the marriage was supposed to clear that up for ASM, it has failed miserably. The continuity is just as much of a mess as it was before, it not worse. The cure was at least as bad as the disease, if not worse. It also needlessly divided fans into three camps: those who hated the marriage and are glad it is gone and enjoy the series; those who liked the marriage but have remained; and those who liked the marriage and left in protest, or not long after it was undone. If a series is selling six figures three times a month, that's no problem. If a series, unless for appearances by Barack Obama, only sells six figures in TOTAL three times a month, that's unwise. The efforts to not only end the marriage but ERASE it from 20 years worth of stories has resulted in so much needless tacky complications, retcons, and confusing gibberish about what does and doesn't count anymore, that in a corner of DC, Hawkman is pointing and laughing. And that's a good comparison. If you want to get a taste of what reading any DC book is like, in which you can't figure out what counts and what doesn't, what is pre or post crisis, and what does and doesn't count seems to change by the year for some characters (like WONDER WOMAN), read ASM. There were so many other ways to end that marriage, and Marvel chose the one that has created more problems later on. Why are editors who are paid handsomely to have some foresight have so little of it?
But it isn't just the OMIT stuff that is needlessly complicated. The climax of The Gauntlet seems to involve a lot of rubbish about resurrections, sacrifices, Kaine coming from nowhere just to become a new magical Tarantula, Grim Hunter coming back as a lion-man, various spider-females swapping names like they were baseball cards, and so on. It's all to emulate KRAVEN'S LAST HUNT, I get it, but the summary reads like comics about comics than a story, if that makes sense. Plus, do we really need a new Vulture who literally EATS PEOPLE? Way to take the name literally. Lizard eats his own son, and Peter Parker seems to bounce between one empty and pointless relationship or subplot after another. If that twenty year marriage isn't worth spit, why should we squeal if he has a one night stand with a roommate? Or Ms. Marvel? The return of Black Cat to the fore is pretty cool, but considering that Spider-Man could literally just go steady with any one of the 500 super heroines he knows yet chooses to keep this ridiculous ARCHIE charade of a social life that is an endless merry go round of anti-climaxes and wasted potential, it almost seems like an experiment in fan endurance. The challenge of making new villains also remains. Mr. Negative has penetrated, but Menace is really just another Goblin in all but name (and, like many female characters, as soon as the identity was revealed, Menace had to suddenly get "hot" in her powered up guise). American Son as a concept for the time actually isn't a bad one, but I don't know if it will or has ended well. There seems to be too many repeated legacies and homages to homages than genuine new ideas.
Above all, I see Jackpot at best is a wasted opportunity and at worse is a walking embodiment of editorial baiting and switching the very fans they aim to rid themselves of by ending the MJ thing. She is also a walking example of needless, tedious complications. When introduced, the lure was that she was possibly MJ, with super-powers. She looked a lot like MJ, she wore a lot of green, and her name was an obvious reference. But that's too simple, and it might dare risk bringing an old relationship to a new dynamic level (now Peter has to worry about HER at night for a change). Can't have that. No. She's some random woman who was an MJ fan who sold that identity to another woman who was also keeping up the look who overdosed on drugs so now the original random woman is back. I swear, Spidercide has a clearer origin. What drug down a lot of comics in the 90's, and a lot of things in real life, is that making something complicated is seen as equal to making it GOOD (or efficient), and it isn't. From this free peek at ASM, I see that the franchise is bogged down in that same editorial thinking. It doesn't have to be good; just complicated, confusing and convoluted.
I see some cute moments, and some sweet storylines (the idea of May and JJ's father hooking up actually isn't bad at all), and some interesting angles (JJ as mayor), but few of them involve Spidey himself. I get a sense of the whole not always being the sum of it's parts within the past year. I also feel that the gimmick of relaunching Arana by basically tearing away everything that made her unique and giving her someone else's costume and name is going to fail, and fail miserably. Which is a shame, because Paul Tobin and Clayton Henry are a solid creative team forced to launch a dud in waiting. There is no way that will last beyond ten issues. It may be a chore even lasting ten issues.
Putting the fate of the Spider-verse 100% in Dan Slott's hands has to be an improvement from the back and forth. Maybe I am full of it for judging what is at best a base summary of a lot of material; I mean, a handbook bio for RUNAWAYS likely makes it sound mundane. But it's the editorial whims that seem to effect this series the most, and they're what keep me away. They've what have kept me away for most of the last 15 years, and they'll be what continue to keep me away until they get some new blood or half a clue. The problem was never trying to fix what wasn't broken. It was in getting too scared to take the character to logical conclusions, and execute it well. And even if that begins in the Slott era, needlessly irritating a third of the audience with all these stunts can't have been ideal. No Marvel franchise can shrug off the threat of losing a third of it's audience; most can't even survive losing 5% of their audience.
