BOUGHT/THOUGHT for September 19, 2007

[PhotoJones]

Not a bad week at all. I got a couple of books in from last week that my store didn't order which I've been looking forward to, plus my week's pull list. Spoilers ahead!

World War Hulk #4 - With every issue of this mini, I compare it to Civil War. And when i think about that, there really is no comparison. CW was Marvel's attempt at a serious, ripped from the headlines event that would "shake the foundations of the Marvel Universe to it's core." WWH is fun. It's what the people pay to see. It's like a good Bruce Willis action movie. Plot, schmot. Just blow some **** up and people will be happy. I've got no problem with that. In fact, that's what I was hoping for when this started. And whatever the ending next issue, it'll still be better then CW.

The book opens where we left off with Dr. Strange (channeling Zom) confronting the Hulk and his Warbound. It's a pretty spectacular fight, and one that only JRJR could handle this well. I will say that Strange fans are going to be both giddy and pissed at the same time, though. The latter is to be expected, though. This is a Hulk book, after all. The way Pak handles the end of the battle is what I would have expected anyway. Oh, and there's a few panels dedicated to showing that Hulk is not a murderer, and that his grudge is not against humanity as whole. Bless you, Pak.

From then we see Madison Square Garden filled with New Yorkers in support of the Hulk's cause, who have come to see the accused heroes do battle against one another. Pak takes a moment to remind the reader why these people would feel the way they do, and the spotlight is given to three people in a double page spread who have reasons of their own to want justice against the heroes. My favorite was a woman who lost her husband at the hands of renegade Inhumans during the events of Silent War #2. The reference instantly won me over. Pak is reaching Slott like levels with me. Also shown is Tom Foster who talks about his uncle's death by Pym/Richards/Stark's Clor. The last one rang a little hollow with, but I suppose it's relevant. It's a young women who holds nothing against the heroes really other then the fact that Strange channeled a demon. Yeah, it's about as lame as it sounds, but whatever. The important part is that all the while, Tony, Reed, Black Bolt and Strange and forced by the obedience disks to stand and listen. And then they fight. Again, JRJR does so well with these action scenes that it's like he's just showing off. That talented bastard.

Meanwhile, there's a nice flashback scene involving the Sentry and Iron Man, in which we learn just why he doesn't do anything. I mean, we know why (he's nuts) but it's much more effective and sympathetic to the character when he explains himself instead of the silent treatment we've gotten from him the last three issues.

The end of the issue naturally ends on a cliffhanger of epic proportions. There's only one person who can stop the Hulk, or else the heroes will die at the hands of each other. The Hulk has made his decision and their battles with each other (again, courtesy of the obedience disks) will continue until they are all dead. Is the Hulk a killer? Not yet he's not. And judging by what's at stake, and who's coming to the rescue, I don't think he'll be a killer, directly or indirectly, anytime soon.

Irredeemable Ant-Man #12 - The farewell issue. Kirkman manages to tie everything up in a pretty reasonable fashion. Nothing seems forced and for the first time, Eric seems seems to be genuinely honest. Honesty however, is not always pretty.

Back in his daily grind as being a SHIELD desk agent, Eric is visited by Veronica, Chris' ex-girlfriend, who reveals that she's pregnant with Eric's baby. This is my favorite scene. Not because it's funny, because it's not. And not really because it's heartbreaking, although it is. It's my favorite because Kirkman is writing about real life. Real people worry about custody battles, child support and single parentage. Now superheroes do. It just struck me as something weirdly out of place in a Marvel comic book, and also extremely refreshing. You'll never hear Peter Parker talking about visitation rights, but it's nice to see that Kirkman was given a looser leash then most writers are given when it comes to this kind of subject matter.

And what's really sad is that Kirkman won't be around to handle Eric's complex love life anymore. He'll appear in Avengers: The Initiative, but it's a team setting and there just won't be enough time to tell stories about his life outside the mask, which is really the meat of this book. He's two women in his life. One who is pregnant with his child but who he has no interest in and the other, a girl he might be in love with, who doesn't even know his real name. Those are some everyman problems, right there. I'd go so far as to say Eric O'Grady might be this generation's Peter Parker, warts and all. Not in character, but in theme.

I'll be sad to see the book go, but I'll definitely be looking forward to his superhero adventures continuing in A: TI. Kirkman sets that up, too. The reasoning is that because no one's had the time and real life experience in the Ant-Man suit like Eric has, he'd be the best candidate. Their top SHIELD agents just can't get the hang of the thing and it's Tony's idea to put Eric back in the suit and put him through some Danger Room-like tests. Obviously he aces them, and he's sent to Camp Hammond to be a part of the Initiative. What's interesting is that it's implied his training is to last a year before he's sent back to SHIELD. Hmm...a year in A: TI to gain some spotlight exposure before Volume 2? A fan can hope.

Also picked up are Captain America #30, Marvel Comics Presents #1, The Umbrella Academy #1, Zero Killer #2, Dynamo 5 #7, Annihilation Conquest: Quasar #3, The Programme #3 and my books from last week, Compass #1, Parade (With Fireworks) #1 and Miriam #1.

 

[Darthphere]

Ok.

 

[Red]

Meat.

 

[PhotoJones]

Meat rules.

 

[PhotoJones]

Captain America #30 - The last panel is what gets me. I was so sure of Brubaker's plans for the series. Steve'll stay dead for a couple years, then he'll make his triumphant return, right? I really don't know anymore. I seriously wonder if there will be a new Captain America. I mean, I know at some point, Marvel will bring Steve Rogers back. It might be 2 years from now, it might be 20 years from now. I'm speaking in terms of Brubaker's plans. I won't spoil anything. It's too good to spoil. This is solidly in my top 5.

 

[Purple Man]

Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special: Witty, sexy, and fun. The whole team really brings their A-game this time around. Not sure about the GA/BC series, but this was rather fun.

Captain America #30: Not much to say. Still a must read. Story progresses. Nothing to really point out.

World War Hulk #4: Hulk saves some bystanders. Makes Black Bolt, Iron Man, Mr.Fantastic, and Dr.Strange fight eachother. Sentry finally decides to get out there and take the fight to green genes. Can't wait until next issue.

Countdown #32: Still waiting for things to pick up. Though it has nothing to do with the story, I found Supergirl and Wondergirl margarita hunting to be the highlight of this issue.

Flash #232: I'm still quite happy that Waid is back on the book. Issue seemed a little flat though. We learn about the crazy tentacle monsters. Good book, and I'm definitly warming up to Jai and Iris. Great to see Wally with a family. Next issue can't get here soon enough.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Captain America #30

I don't normally do the "Pick of the Week" stuff, but this, this is my Pick of the Week. To not do so would be an insult (and this was overall my most enjoyable week for comics in a while; all four titles were very enjoyable reads). Unlike photojones2, I fully intend to discuss spoilers, so avoid this review if you haven't read it yet, because if ever there was an issue that spoilers would ruin, t'would be this one.

The basic plot of this issue is Bucky's attempt to take down Sin, Crossbones, and the Red Skull, finally outed as hiding in the mind of General Lukin. He's able to defeat the first two in hand-to-hand combat (there are some great lines here, notably Bucky asking Sin if she's ever fought anyone who wasn't an innocent bystander), but the Skull pwns him with a single word; a shutdown code built in by the Soviets. The only reason the Skull allowed the fight was to see if Bucky was ready to kill Crossbones (he was, briefly, before the Skull dissuaded him from doing so roundaboutly). Meanwhile, Black Widow makes contact with the Falcon, suggesting they (plus Sharon) team up in their search for Bucky. Falcon doesn't have any objects to the team-up (and, really, who would refuse a team-up with two hotties like that?). They head over to see Sharon.

And that's where we get to the big twist of this issue (well, two twists). The one everyone will be talking about was sort of picked up by Newsarama in their review/interview (intereview?) of #29 with Brubaker; Brubaker artfully dodged the issue, but it stuck in my mind that he didn't say it wasn't true. Well, in this issue, the stick is blue (red, white, and blue, that is), which means that Sharon is knocked up! And the Skull uses her to gun down and capture Falcon and the Widow. And Iron Man is their only hope for rescue.

Wow. He went there. But then, that’’s really Ed Brubaker’’s Captain America run summed up. He goes there, and he goes there awesomely. He brought back Bucky, and it was awesome. He killed Cap, and it was awesome. Sharon is pregnant with the child of the man she killed, and a hypnotized assassin, and Bucky is now also en route to being a hypnotized killer, and everything depends on Iron Man to save the day, and it’’s awesome. Brubaker’’s handling of Tony in this title puts everyone else to shame, even the guys who write Iron Man. This is the perfect post-CW Tony. JMS should hang his head in shame (well, he should have done that anyway, but even moreso now).

The last few issues were a bit slow, and I was beginning to wonder if we weren’’t losing a bit of the magic that has pervaded this whole run of thirty glorious issues, but this issue restored all my faith. Brubaker is king. And if you aren’’t buying this title, you should be.

Green Arrow/Black Canary: Wedding Special

I wasn't planning on buying this, but I bought the Black Canary miniseries, which ends with her accepting, so I thought, what the hey? Plus, I like Amanda Conner’s art.

And it’s quite a bit of fun, actually. It rather awkwardly coexists with the JLA Wedding Special of last week, covering some of the same events, and posing the question of how exactly this fits in with the whole "Injustice League Unlimited" story; it doesn’t, as far as I can see (some of the same characters are involved in both evil gangs). And yes, a gang of supervillains does try to kill everyone (even the supervillains seem aware this is cliche, but that it’s worth trying anyway. Deathstroke and Doctor Sivana take the lead).

The tone of the story is enjoyably light (16 panels of various people expressing joy, shock, dismay, or amusement at getting their invitations to the wedding; I identified most of them, except for top row #2 and #3, third row #1, and fourth row #2 (who may be Lois Lane, based on her later appearance)), until the end, where things take an unexpected turn (as everyone expected, really), suggesting I may actually get the first issue of the series (goddamnit).

The art is great for all the characters, although it doesn’t sell drama quite as well as comedy. Also, Dinah appears to have only two bridesmaids; Huntress must be pissed.

New X-Men #42

Sort of an epilogue to the "Quest for Magik" arc, this is maybe the single best issue of New X-Men yet. The story is called "Children of X-Men", and sees Cyclops and the Astonishing X-Men decide to make an effort to get to know the kids, while the kids deal with various little issues, and their archenemies the Purifiers, unseen, really, since the end of "Crusade" with #27, return, and are once again plotting to kill Dust, which they failed spectacularly at previously.

The students do a big survey to try and figure out who the youngest mutant alive is (they discount Molly, Tito Bohusk, and Franklin Richards for various reasons), because they think said kid must be a symbolic target. It’s the kind of irrational but realistic thing I could see happening in this situation. Elixir has become a brooding shut-in, contemplating cell death because of his new mastery of his powers. David has apparently been lying to Surge about his death in Limbo, with everyone trying to cover for him, except Laura/X-23, who gives a clinical description of how he was eviscerated. However, Surge later revenge-kisses Julian/Hellion, leading to Laura popping her claws in anger. Is X-23 going to have to gut a *****? And we get an explanation for what’s been going on with Rockslide’s powers ever since he was atomized in #31.

I was unsure about Young’s art during the "Magik" arc, but it’s perfect here. So, of course, he’s leaving with next issue.

Meanwhile, something actually happens in the "Endangered Species" backup. Will wonders never cease?

World War Hulk #4

This story has been flying strangely under the radar almost since the first issue dropped, which is kind of unfair, because it’s really good. Romita’s art is an acquired taste, and I still don’t like how he draws women, but for the fights it’s good.

This issue sees a Hulk vs. Zom-Strange fight that is the best yet, because the Hulk gets his ass handed to him for a while, before doing what he always does, and rallying through brute strength to achieve victory. But those opening pages were pretty damn sweet; Hulk getting repeatedly punched through the chest.

This issue establishes that the Hulk is not interested in hurting innocents, and will even try to save them, but it also establishes that he’s planning to murder all the heroes in cold blood, so it’s sort of a one-step-forward, one-step-back thing. I’m still squarely with the Illuminati in this. Kick his ass, Sentry!

 

[Kevin]

Wednesday!

 

[PhotoJones]

The Umbrella Academy #1 - I'm very impressed with this. This is one of the better debut issues I've ever read. Gerard Way certainly knows how to craft a charmingly absurb story, that's for sure. The art by Garbriel Ba is delicious. His pictures jive perfectly with Way's words. The cadence in Way's words is also great in that the tone is strongly tongue in cheek, while treting the subject matter (often times humorous) as being deadly serious. A good way to explain it is that this is like a Tim Burton movie. Lighthearted and a bit morbid at the same time, with a touch of Victorian gothic.

Marvel Comics Presents #1 - I'll break this down by story:

Vanguard - "Is this in continuity?" was my first reaction. Whoever or whatever "Vanguard" is or means, there was apparently a cosmic looking Captain America guy in Yokohama, Japan in 1944. That's in one of the three prologues before chapter one in this 8 page story. Chapter one begins with two detectives investigating the murder of a John Doe in a building in dowtown Manhattan that no one seems to own. They're only clue is a composite sketch of an "unusual man" looking very much like a Watcher. Color me confused. My guess is that this is going to be a parallel dimension story. Perhaps the cosmic Cap is indeed Steve Rogers from an alternate timeline. And I doubt this Watcher is Uatu. I'm both intrigued and miffed that this all I get for now. The artwork is very cool. It's very Olivetti-inspired, but with less exhaggeration. The dialogue is very organic and real and that's enough to keep me interested for now.

Hellcat - So cute I threw up. Screw Squirrel Girl. Patsy Walker wins my contest for most adorable Marvel heroine. Like the character's personality, this story is both flighty and lighthearted. Somehow, there's at least three Patsy Walker's running around, although I think there's a lot more then just three. The Immonen's make for a great team. Kathryn's script is charming and Stuart's art is just perfect. He's a gem. I can't wait for more.

Unfriendly Neighborhood (Spider-Man) - The hell? This is beyond strange. I know it's supposed to be fun, but damn. Thank God it's a done in one. Yikes.

Weapon Omega - This one's really good. I enjoyed Oeming's Omega Flight, and this a fairly natural continuation of that mini. For some reason, Michael Pointer's powers have been fizzing out and no one seems to know why. It looks like it's connected to a red headed woman quarantined to a room somewhere on base. And at first it seems that the USAgent is there for comedic relief by just being the *****ebag thug that he is, but he's up to something and may know a lot more then he's letting on. This while story seems like a primer for a new Omega Flight project and Andrea DiVito is a good replacement for Kolins. I've seen him do better work than this, but he might have been rushed what with WWH: X-Men. I'm hooked.

To Love a Man, Not a Monster (The Thing) - This one is my favorite. I'm a sucker for a good Ben Grimm story. It's basically 8 pages of Alicia Masters recanting past dates with Ben and how they've always been disasters, but also how they've always managed to laugh about them and continue on. I wish their relationship was something that was played up more in FF. Nelson's words and art are beautiful. It's not something that's breaking new ground but it's just a really solid read about a heartwarming character and his girl.

All in all, I'd say this project is off to a pretty good start. The talent is there, the fun is there and in at least one case, the mystery is there. I enjoyed it and I'll definitelt be picking up the next issues.

Annihilation Conquest: Quasar #3 - I was really hoping to get at least some new information as to who the savior is. This issue just seemed like filler to me. Moondragon is now stuck in her dragon form and of course Phyla's decided not to leave her. It's like sometimes the whole story has to take a backseat while Phyla and Moondragon makeout or something. It's gotten old, and it just seems forced. I mean, c'mon Marvel. We get it. They love each other. I never saw Reed and Sue or Scott and Jean tripping over themselves to hug each other in battle just so they could tell each other "I love you". That's grosser than the thought of Phyla making out with Heather in dragon form, if you ask me. The splash page of Phyla riding Heather was pretty awesome, though. But yeah...filler. The plot didn't progress other then to drain the power from the Quantum Bands. They're still no closer to their goal and we're no closer to the mystery of the savior.

 

[SouLeSS]

So I picked up Immortal Iron Fist, because everyone is like THIS BOOK IS AMAZING, and I figured it would be a good point cause its a new arc. Anyway, I don't know if I'll be on board with this book. I mean, it was alright, but no where near as awesome as everyone said it would be. But I'll read it for this arc, cause its supposed to be some big tournament which the idea is kinda cool sounding to me.

Also, the big fat dude sayin his move before he did it took me out of the comic book, and into a manga. I mean, theres plenty of differeneces between Manga and Comics, but one of the basic things that I read comics for is because no one says the moves they use like they do in comics.

XFactor this week was good. Though I wanna know what kinda moves that main guy can do, cause apparntly he can shapeshift, use optic beams, teleport, and control / influence people mentally. What else they gonna give him, near invincible skin and megaton punches?

 

[PhotoJones]

The Image Edition:

Compass #1 - This wasn't bad. It's a setup issue, for sure. I bought it mainly because of Cebulski and partly because I'm trying to give manga a decent shot. I figured this was as good as any to ease myself into it. The art is colorful and crisp and Cebulski's script is fast paced and hip. It's about four young witches who have to carry on their respective clans' practices after some robots crash their pow-wow and kill everyone but them. It looks like this is going to be a magic versus technology story, and those aren't bad if done right. I'll stick around for at least the next issue to see where this is really heading.

Dynamo 5 #7 - This book, like Invincible, is not one to scrimp on action or story progression. In a battle that would have taken Bendis five issues to write, Faerber gets in down to about five solid pages, leaving the rest for plot advancement and characterization. Chrysalis is beaten and her daughter Synergy has her memory wiped by Scatterbrain so she can lead a normal life. The big reveal at the end is that [BLACKOUT]Captain Dynamo's body is in FLAG posession and he might not be dead at all[/BLACKOUT]. Great read.

Parade (With Fireworks) #1 - This is one of those books that you sit down in a big comfy chair to read. It's based on a true story passed down to creator Mike Cavallaro who retells it here in comic book form. It's a slice of life kind of story; the kind that usually revolves around hipsters and pretension. Instead, this sort of slice of life revolves around a tragedy in a quiet Italian town. It's very well paced and beautifully drawn. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something a little left of the mainstream.

 

[Marcdachamp]

The Umbrella Academy #1 - I'm very impressed with this. This is one of the better debut issues I've ever read. Gerard Way certainly knows how to craft a charmingly absurb story, that's for sure. The art by Garbriel Ba is delicious. His pictures jive perfectly with Way's words. The cadence in Way's words is also great in that the tone is strongly tongue in cheek, while treting the subject matter (often times humorous) as being deadly serious. A good way to explain it is that this is like a Tim Burton movie. Lighthearted and a bit morbid at the same time, with a touch of Victorian gothic.

Way has a lot of credit with me after The Black Parade, but I'm trade-waiting. It's nice to see it's already receiving a warm reception, though.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

World War Hulk #4

Strange/Zom tears Hulk up bad. I mean he's punching holes through the dude repeatedly. Strange ultimately loses, as we all expected, and its pretty much for the reason we all thought it would be: he was losing control and basically threw the fight.

Anyway, the Hulk judges the Illuminati and forces them to fight which actually turned out to be pretty cool. Especially the little bit where Iron Man hacked the Death's Head guards, however short lived that victory was.

Sentry finally goes into action at the end setting the stage for the final issue. Some of the fights so far in WWH have been on the rushed side so that fight had better be nothing short than epic. Here's hoping that Pak can deliver an exciting conclusion.

A few flaws here and there, particularly the scene where the heroes' sins were being declared by their victims and that chick called Strange on becoming Zom was weak.

4/5

Captain America #30

Lots of **** goes down. Bucky kicks ass, surprisingly nearly escaping his predicament last issue, only for the Red Skull to play his hand putting an end to all of that.

Iron Man finally figures out that Sharon was the shooter, but it may be too late since she guns down Black Widow and Falcon in the last few pages. Obviously they're not dead but it was a good cliffhanger nonetheless. Oh and she might be pregnant with Cap's baby.

Speaking of Cap, we find out he's asked Tony to save Bucky and find a new Captain America. Is Stark going to put the two together and gives us our new CA?

5/5

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Hellcat - So cute I threw up. Screw Squirrel Girl. Patsy Walker wins my contest for most adorable Marvel heroine. Like the character's personality, this story is both flighty and lighthearted. Somehow, there's at least three Patsy Walker's running around, although I think there's a lot more then just three. The Immonen's make for a great team. Kathryn's script is charming and Stuart's art is just perfect. He's a gem. I can't wait for more.

I was very pleasantly surprised in how well they nailed the character's personality, considering how long it's been since Hellcat has been featured anywhere...good stuff.

 

[PhotoJones]

I was very pleasantly surprised in how well they nailed the character's personality, considering how long it's been since Hellcat has been featured anywhere...good stuff.

Yeah, the Immonens seemed to do their homework. I just looked through it again and I can't get enough if his art. I really wish he was doing something else besides USM.

 

[GNR]

Stu was at my shop this past weekend.Got him to sign my copy of Secret Identity.Great guy,love the variance of his art.I enjoy the look of his Sercet Identity and Rising Stars stuff as much as the Nextwave or USM pages I've seen.

 

[PhotoJones]

What Rising Stars work did he do?

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

I'm not in the mood to post any real reviews so I'll just list titles, a short remark and the scores for today:

Annihilation Conquest: Quasar #3

I've pretty much posted all my problems with this title in the Annihilation Conquest thread. Suffice to say this has definitely been a disappointment for me.

2/5

Tales of the Sinestro Corp: Parallax

Pretty cool confrontation between Parallax and Kyle with some action, which I wasn't expecting so that was a nice treat. The final few pages were especially nice, featuring the beginning of Kyle's escape.

4/5

Shadowpact #17

A bit of a step up, the last few issues have been boring. The art is absolutely gorgeous, although the grotesque parts are especially grotesque. Hopefully we're headed for some kind of endgame now and things can start to really get moving.

3/5

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #20

I recently picked this series up, of which my thoughts on it as a whole can be seen in the Star Wars thread in Misc comics.

Anyway a lot of fun here. Favorite bit was when Mandalore questioned if the Jedi and the Republic were really in this together, just a nod to the game but a seamless one. Malak acting heroic is always good for a laugh. Those anti-saber gauntlets sure came in handy. Looking forward to next month.

4/5

 

[GNR]

What Rising Stars work did he do?

He did one issue from Book 2.

Cap #30 - Very fast read,wish I hadn't read the previews.So the

Spoiler

"you take my breath" line was Cap realizing Sharon did it?I hope so since that was pretty cheesy sounding way back in #25.

Everything is really hitting the fan and I'm glad to see Iron Man finally suit up in this.

Thor #1-3 - Very satisfied with adding this title to my list.I've heard complaints of not alot happening,I even groaned myself after skimming #1 way back when,but this is such a good book.Thor has a real commanding presence,just as a God should have.The townspeople are written really well and are not overly cliched.Haven't read any new JMS in a while,but I forgot how flawless he is with dialog.The Iron Man fight was effective and Thor's speech after the ownage was just perfect.The last page of #3 just spoke volumes.I hope JMS and Coipel stay on for a long time,lots of potential here.Any word on the length of their run?

Also,I hope at some point soon,we get to see Thor and Hulk's reaction to Cap's death.All we got from Hulk was a "...".Even seeing Thor at Cap's monument with a monologue would be nice.

 

[Dread]

Missed a day due to family affairs. Glad to see the B/T is in capable hands. I do enjoy the reviews of others. This was a sort-of average week for me with 6 books, but as 4 of them are over $3, it was more expensive than usual. Still, one of those rare weeks where I like everything I bought and nothing pissed me off, or felt like a complete dud. Not to say they're all perfect, but just saying is all. Can't have this forever, though, otherwise I'd get lazy and forget what good stuff is, if you don't occasionally run across some not.

As always, full spoilers. photojones2 basically summed up damn near every comic I read this week, and the temptation to just be lazy for once and post under 100 words per comic is there. I probably won't, though. It is early and I have energy.

Dread's Bought/Thought for 9/19/07:

DYNAMO 5 #7: The final issue of the first "arc" of the book (the 3 part Chrysalis Affair and the 4 issues preceeding it with the fledging team) and the final issue priced at $3.50 (Image announced starting with #8, it will be $2.99). This time the price is more justified because it is 24 pages with zero ads, anyway. The trade is coming soon and at under $10 it is SUCH a steal I can't do anything but recommend it. I mean, that's less than a full price movie in the city for most areas, and you'll get more enjoyment out of it. The issue is crammed with material; the Dynamo 5 escape FLAG custody thanks to Augie & Slingshot while Maddie, who has injected herself with the Whiptail (Lizard Lite) formula, is battling the armored Chrysalis and her newest stepchild from her cheatin' husband, Synergy (who has all of his combined powers), who was impersonating Capt. Dynamo to lure Maddie in. Asrar's art bares some sign of rush in some panels but it is nothing to get miffed about and all the action is well paced and lovely, with superhero battle on several fronts. Soon as Whiptail-Maddie is subdued, the team uses teamwork to dispatch with the villains, and it is good to see the team cohesively coming together after a few issues of near-misses and lucky saves. After all, the Ultimates couldn't do that in twice the issue count. We also learn some of those fun facts about the heroes, like the specs on their teleporter and the fact that Visionary's visor isn't simply for show. Gage/Scatterbrain also takes a heckuva lot of damage for someone who doesn't have any durability powers; guess being a musclebound jock has advantages. The loose ends are wrapped up except one, which again flirts with the notion that Capt. Dynamo isn't dead (or rather, blows the lid wide open). Some could be concerned with the idea that DYNAMO 5 may end up repeating their "Is Capt. Dynamo really dead?" storyline in the near future, but Faerber manages to add new tweaks to old formulas and make them entertaining. Besides, the next issue doesn't mention it in promo's, so it likely would be built up. Besides, most superhero comics have had some repetition; we could all name endless "mainstream" comics from the Big Two on spin-cycle. So I am willing to cut DYNAMO 5 some slack for now and see what comes of it. The "evil government branch" aspect does get a little old, but, again, nothing too shabby either. The main focus is on the superhero action and how the team works as a unit and a family and in that it always scores aces. It seems Image is strangely becoming a nice break for people who like superheroes but sometimes need a respite from Big Two convelution, recycling, crossovers, events, rehashes, creative team bungles, and so on. What a difference a decade makes, eh?

IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #12: The final issue, because comic book fans outside the internet message board community avoided it. Despite no less than THREE attempts to have it tie into more popular books or events, this is the end of the road for Kirkman, Hester, Walker & the gang on the adventures of Eric O'Grady. Some people are holding out hope the digests will allow for a relaunch, much as the digest/trade market revived RUNAWAYS and SHE-HULK, but I usually don't hold my breath. I read a few books I would have sacrificed to keep this one afloat if I had the power, but I don't. The final letter column from Kirkman shows that this was his favorite book to do at Marvel and he likely will miss it a lot. The irony is I don't think it sold much worse than a slew of DC books, such as BLUE BEETLE, which outlive it because apparently DC has lower expectations for ongoings. But, deep breath, best to focus on the positive. The positive is this issue wraps up Kirkman's story in a satisfying way for O'Grady fans yet leaves plenty of room for further adventures and appearences, which are due in AVENGERS: INITIATIVE #8, which is a Top 15-20 seller. Dan Slott will take the ball and likely run with it the best he can; he's reliable like that. Turns out O'Grady's massive load of lies to Iron Man after being saved from the sadistic Mitch last issue paid off, as he is back at SHIELD and isn't charged. He does manage to help Black Fox escape custody (although it is ironic in post-CW Marvel that a harmless elderly cat-burglar like Black Fox was set to ship to the hellish N-Zone, but Bullseye, Norman Osborn, and Venom get to kill for the feds), and talk with both leading ladies in his life. There are hints that after everything, Eric wants to make a stab at being a better man, although it either will be a long road, or an endless road. He ditches the preggers ex for his current girlfriend Visioneer, who he has genuine feelings for. There is a lot of introspective dialogue with Eric and it sells the story a lot better than fisticuffs. Fortunately for him, no one else is as skilled in the armor as he is, so for the sake of their Initiative rush order on heroes (if they want a team of at least 7 in 50 states, they need some 350 trained heroes, not including the Mighty Avengers, The Fantastic Four, The Rangers, GLC, and The Order, or any other official teams). The end pages are classic Eric ("he's got this"), and a proper send-off for yet another of those great little books that no one read and thus ends before it's time. It does make that cover to A:I #8 look somewhat puzzling, as Yellowjacket knows about Eric and would have little reason to want to fight him, unless the cover is intentionally misleading (as many are; I mean, Hardball didn't fight Hulk and the Warbond solo as issue #4 suggested) or there is some other hook there (I could easily see Eric sleeping with Janet or some other woman Pym wanted). As I have always said, Eric is one of the more original "legacy" characters to come across Marvel simply because he is NOT what you expect of heroes. He's actually not "irredeemable", but he is selfish, arrogant, and sometimes a real insensitive creep. He is in many ways the LAST person you would want to throw a suit of armor at. But in real life, most people are not as selfless or noble as the majority of heroes are, so folks like Eric balance out the pool. Sometimes fate smiles on people who aren't the perfect candidates for empowerment (yet aren't criminals, although being a peeping tom is a punishable offense if someone could prove it), and there are stories there. Farewell, IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN. Can't wait for A:I #8 and hopefully this title can be relaunched. Kirkman was gold on this; IMO his best effort for Marvel, and topping MTU says something.

WORLD WAR HULK #4: After much anticipation, especially after #3 came out literally 2 weeks after issue #2, the prenultimate chapter of WWH appears. Granted, we had hints of this from some of the tie-in's and build-up. Hulk and the Warbound have gathered in Madison Square Garden with their alien/robot horde and some New York supporters to stage gladitorial bouts with his captured charges. The fact that some people for various reasons would want to see the heroes run in makes sense; I mean, in New York, you can find people who support NAZI's or Osame Bin Ladin, much less someone like The Hulk who has for some periods been a hero. Or people who just hate the establishment. But before we get there, we have the Hulk vs. Zom-Posessed Dr. Strange, which allows a sort of metaphor as Dr. Strange finds himself unable to control the primal rage of the demon Zom, which is something Hulk has thrived on; being fueled by boundless rage. In the end, Dr. Strange makes the same damned mistake that everyone who has battled the Hulk has seemed to do; fight on the Hulk's terms in a slugfest, and Hulk never loses those. Never. I can't remember the last time a tanker type actually TKO'd the Hulk without some sort of alternate tactic. At this point Hulk could punch out Galactus or a Celestial. To be fair, Pak & Co. have been saying up and down that Hulk is "stronger than he has ever been", and he once shattered an asteroid nearly the size of Earth in one punch, AS GREY HULK. In addition, out of all the threats, Dr. Strange has been given more page-time than even Iron Man and stated from the beginning he could have killed Hulk outright, but couldn't, which became a non-option after his attempt at psychic reason ended in broken hands. To give the Sorceror Supreme credit, unlike anyone else so far, he managed to maim one of Hulk's Warbond; Hirom not only seemed defeated, but lost an arm at the elbow. This issue cements more than any that Hulk is after vengence, not justice, and despite sympathy is the "villain" of the peace. He all but acknowledges that there are doubts as to whether the Illuminati caused the blast that destroyed Sakaar, but he doesn't care; he is too caught up in "eye for an eye" vengence and steamrolling anyone who gets in his way. Korg and Hirom are the only voices of reason in his Warbond as Elloe, Brood, and Miek are cheering his plummet into Red King-like oblivion. This also isn't about Sakaar, but about all the years of efforts the various heroes have taken to contain, stop, or destroy the Hulk. The fact that sometimes the Hulk actually did endanger people (quick example; when he was "Mindless", he literally took a hostage to get Thor to drop his hammer for a fight) is not a factor to him. Out of all of them it made sense that Strange was willing to endanger himself rather than use his full arsenal of spells on Hulk when he could, considering he was the only one of the Illuminati who was on a team with him the longest and out of all of them may have been the closest to Banner. Pak manages to recall continuity with references to SILENT WAR and CIVIL WAR (and Tom Foster really can't be Night-Thrasher at this point methinks) and manages a serviceable reason, given past material, why Sentry can't fight until it is plot-convient. Still, I stand by my belief that Sentry is a walking plot device and set of phobias and flaws rather than an actual character, and he isn't even a good tanker because most of the time since his return aside for killing Carnage, he got TOSSED. If anything can redeem him, though, punching out the Hulk may be a good one, if that is indeed how it ends.

In the end, though, the story works better than CW because unlike CW, it isn't made for subtle stuff. It is an action blockbuster and rarely tries to pretend to be more. It isn't using Anti-Terrorism/Anti-Bush paranoia to be trendy and current, it just is providing lots of punches and explosions. The irony is Millar would have been stronger on a story like this than he ever was on a mess like CW was at times, although I am glad Pak is where he is here. CW tried to me more, so it encouraged heavy criticism on it's merits and on that it collaples if you dig too deep. This one is a simplier, more emotional story. Plus, Pak and Romita Jr. pace action well, and I am a sucker for that kind of stuff. Yeah, it is a shame no one in the main title even tried to use tactics that previously worked against Hulk's weaknesses aside for Reed, but then again, how many "one man action movies" would have been solved with a mediocre sniper? You have to go along with genre expectations in order to enjoy a series like this. If you can't, then you won't. For this I can, so that is about it. I hope the ending will be satisfying, because I doubt I could stomach a 3rd Marvel event in a row with an unsatisfying finale; I leaning towards Hulk finding out Miek or Brood or Elloe caused the explosion and, being appeased, departs. Because I doubt after not even Bendis allowing Sentry to definitively defeat something important that he is about to TKO the Hulk of all characters. Not even Thor has been allowed to defeat the Hulk outright. If the story has any flaw that can't be avoided it is that the middle segment has felt deliberately elongated by genre expectations. Such as for various reasons Sentry can't fight until #5, or other characters not allowed to fight Hulk using things like gas or gamma-absorbers (out of everyone, only Darwin thought of that in WWH: X-MEN and Hulk had too much for his body to handle) or whatnot because Hulk can't lose until #5. One of those stories where things HAVE to happen and it can sometimes feel artificial. Like, "Oh, of course everyone has to try boxing Hulk" and whatnot. That isn't to say it isn't a pleasure to read and see, and isn't well paced, and isn't A Material...but it is what it is, too. Still, that is better than having a story that just isn't built in any way towards the desired conclusion, as CW became. And it has heroes allying despite grudges against a common threat, with some themes presented clearly and accurately.

WWH works because while it isn't perfect, it is the first event of the Joe Q era to actually work as a satisfying comic first before fulfilling sales/editorial objectives. Here's hopin' for that dazzling finale.

ANNIHILATION CONQUEST: QUASAR #3: Apparently the fact that I am not major fans of Phyla or Moondragon and thus am limited in knowledge helps me avoid feeling miffed about any issues Gage has with the material. I essentially read it as is, and it is a very functional and capable story so far, although there are definite hints of internet fan-fiction romance with Quasar hugging her dragon-esque lover here (and you can take those "riding" scenes however you want). They seemingly find "the savior" of the Kree, but Super-Adaptoid has gotten to him/her first and Quasar is forced to sacrifice her stored Quantum Band energy to save the planet's natives from the Phalanx. I do agree with some critics that Gage seems to have taken the shorthand cliche of "Quantum Bands = Marvel Green Lantern ring" too literally, but aside for that he is producing more capable, engaging, readable and enjoyable work. This is worse than STARLORD and NOVA, but easily better than WRAITH to me. And all four of those books are fine reads. I would love to see Gage on an Avenger book or some higher grade book sometime. Granted, his WWH:X-MEN outsold FRONTLINE and did very well, so Marvel is sure to give him more stuff to do. Lilly's art is quite good as usual and the panel placement was better here than the layouts of some past issues. I am genuinely interested in how Quasar & Moondragon get past Super-Adaptoid and who the savior is, which is the whole plot of the series, so Gage did his job. The cocoon reminded me of Adam Warlock, who emerged as HIM once upon a time, but I doubt it. That probably would be too wishful (out of all of Marvel's space types, he is the one major figure left who needs some redemption via ANNIHILATION). The Phalanx are easily the best thing to happen to Adaptoid. I mean, yes, he was always simular to AMAZO (one wonders which name is sillier; least S-A sounds like a robot name), but now he has some motive or direction and I like Lilly's take on his composite Avenger design. With so many Avenger villains becoming Thunderbolts, it is good to see some being amped. He's a better known robot who unlike Ultron rarely had as direct a motive, so this is good.

 

[Dread]

Part II. The character limit kills me every ****ing week.

MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #1: This is one of those old-time "Marvel brand" titles that had Marvel in the title and in the past had a long run, despite some rather loose premises. Usually this meant that over time, one A-List character became the main draw and it became one of their unofficial titles. Examples: Marvel Team-Up had the premise of having two random heroes "team up" for a story, and it quickly became an unofficial Spider-Man title with him the hero of choice; one relaunch was even called Spider-Man Team Up to be blunt during the Rielly era. Kirkman's MTU ironically managed to avoid relying on Spider-Man as a crutch beyond the first 6 issues, but didn't last beyond 25 issues and even that was a while considering it dove from the Top 100 by around issue #18 or so. Then there was Marvel Two-in-One, which quickly became like Marvel Team-Up, only with Thing being the unofficial main character. The prior volume of Marvel Comics Presents started in the late 80's-early 90's and from the get-go relied on Wolverine for the main draw, and it became an unofficial Wolverine title back in the era when the concept of Wolverine in 3 ongoings (an X-book, MCP and his solo) was rare. Sam Keith rose to fame doing Logan stories on that book. MTU showed that the appeal for some of these sorts of titles may not be high in terms of sales, but they always provided a dose of Marvel adventure that takes some break from what the rest of the line is doing. Unfortunately, without that sense of relevance, it relies on the draw of the creative team. Especially since you get 12 pages or less of each story a month. Much like MTU's debut issue, it chooses to have a cover with many Marvel characters, including those featured in the actual issue (Spider-Man and Hellcat, with Thing on the back; just try not to look at Man-Thing's, eh, bush; EWWW). It will double as a decent fold-out poster at some point. The first story gets off to a slow start about Vanguard, or rather, a story about some random images of wars past and present with a mysterious murder and the newest police woman/agent who is also a near supermodel with a low cut shirt, by Guggenhiem & Wilkens. Vanguard himself looks a lot like Capt. America but has a cool costume, and Wilkens' art is nice, and I appreciated someone in the comic book industry having some balls and showing some actual Middle East terrorists that don't have some sympathetic reason. Still, it was the slowest installment of the book as the rest were bursting with energy.

Hellcat's story from Kathryn & Stuart Immonen was incredibly fun and bouncy and I can't wait to follow it; it manages to blend Hellcat's post Silver Age superheroine identity with her pre-60's "teenage dating girl" title of Patsy Walker (y'know, back when Archie and Betty & Veronica sold lots of copies). Finally we get another heroine who isn't dark or broody or ****ty or mean and this is something considering she literally dated the son of a demon and was revived from death once. Hellcat's costume has even survived the 90's affair and looks as classic as it ever did, right down to eyebrows sewn on a mask (looks better on her than Adam West) and a SASH (looks better on her than Corsair). Spider-Man gets a weirdo "dream or is it?" story from Stuart Moore with some FANTASTIC art by Clayton Henry which is a lot of fun. Koslowski and DiVito team up for the lone follow-up to OMEGA FLIGHT's success with a story that delves on the new Guardian trying to attone his guilt and learn how to be a hero, but his power levels are deminishing and he may be absorbing life-force from other people (along with U.S. Agent keeping tabs for someone, possibly the feds). Tentakill, BTW, appears to be a new enemy, which is good because there should be replacements for types like Rhino, Mr. Hyde or Grey Gargoyle who seem to be perennial punching bags. The Thing story by "Nelson" (ha HA) was very endearing and was argueably my favorite from the book, although most of the rest were a lot of fun so it was a close call (liked the alternate Spidey who kept psychically revealing his identity; that is the one written by Bendis). The #1 issue has 5 stories and scores 4-1, with the Vanguard story likely needing more time to assert itself. Not too shabby, it just remains to be seen if the audience will respond with the kind of bite that Marvel expects. Hopefully they do. There has to be some sort of fun in the Marvel Universe these days.

TERROR, INC. #2: This is also "fun", but in a darker kind of way, being MAX. The Terror escapes being boiled in acid by swapping bodies, from roadkill to cat to abusive *****e, but without his lover's arm (encased in metal), he is rotting faster and at risk of succumbing to his darker instincts, which is bad as he thrived in the age of barbarism. Terror has some banter with Ms. Primo and then sets out to avenge his "bodyparts" lady from the mysterious figures out to take Terror down. In a way it reminds me of the anime GOLGO 13: THE PROFESSIONAL which built sympathy around a hitman by having him face some nasty corporate/government agencies who slaughtered all his associates to get at him. Only, y'know, with more body-parts thrown in. I like this angle to Terror and the story is a mix of urban noir and supernatural gore. I am really enjoying this one, and if you've been hesitant to try a MAX series that wasn't PUNISHER, try this one. The Terror is an oddball character; he obviously has some sympathy because he carries around his ex's arm to recall "the only bit of goodness" he had and he acknowledges he can lose control over his dark impulses. Imagine Ares as a Zombie, perhaps. The issue ends with Terror pissed off and surrounded by his enemies, which means the blood is about to hit the fan next month. A surprise pleasure.

BOUGHT for 9/19/07:

Captain America Omnibus (#1-25, plus Winter Soldier Special and Anniversary), CA #26-27, 29-30: Don't worry, nothing too elongated now. I ordered the Omnibus on Amazon.com because they were offering it a good 37% cheaper than the retail price. Unfortunately, they seem to be getting it about 1-2 weeks later than shops and since I was a cheap ass and picked SUPER SAVER SHIPPING, that means I won't get it 'til mid October. But I am investing now and getting the back issues after #25 where the HC leaves off. I just have #29 left and that shouldn't be hard to find considering I managed to find the two before it at my bumptin LCS in Brooklyn. At this point with maybe some $60 invested I almost had BETTER enjoy the book otherwise I'd have feel like I wasted it. Granted, back when anime was on VHS, I dumped a lot more on worse fare. And I am sure everyone could provide a laundry list of "bad" books that I buy. A good sign is not only that I am liking Brubaker on Iron Fist, but I have barely gotten a taste of Winter Soldier and I think I probably will like the character, which is good because he apparently is Brubaker's focal point. I can live with the fact that Brubaker may be one of many writers who can work magic with some things but is an ill fit with others, in his case, the X-Men. Anyway, in about another month I'll join you about all the CA fuss.

 

[Purple Man]

Don't worry Dread, you'll absolutely love Captain America.

If not for plot and art, then the simple fact it's not written by Bendis should suffice.

I also think Sentrys agoraphobia is great. In DC having Superman flying around works, but in Marvel he would squash any and all threats, leaving all the other heroes without much to do. In the mighty Marvel manner, the more powerful the character, the bigger problems they usually have.

 

[Dread]

Don't worry Dread, you'll absolutely love Captain America.

If not for plot and art, then the simple fact it's not written by Bendis should suffice.

I also think Sentrys agoraphobia is great. In DC having Superman flying around works, but in Marvel he would squash any and all threats, leaving all the other heroes without much to do. In the mighty Marvel manner, the more powerful the character, the bigger problems they usually have.

Thanks for the advice. Anything non-Bendis is suddenly better to me.

Anyway, I understand that about Sentry, but I've really not seem him used in any way that presented any sort of shred of being a character besides his crippling disabilities since he returned 3 years ago. It seems everyone just uses him as a plot device hero, where his rep seems better than his record.

I'd be more jazzed if Thor was the blond demigod off to save the world from Hulk instead of Sentry. Thor at least had a better excuse, being dead for a while.

 

[PhotoJones]

Farewell, IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN. Can't wait for A:I #8 and hopefully this title can be relaunched. Kirkman was gold on this; IMO his best effort for Marvel, and topping MTU says something.

I agree. It's no secret that I loved the book, but I would also put it above MTU (even when it was at it's best) as Kirkman's best Marvel work. I know you're not holding your breath and you're probably wiser for it, but I have a feeling this book isn't done just yet. I'm going to hold out for just a little bit longer and see what Eric's exposure in A: TI does for him as well as the digest sales.

 

[Purple Man]

I'd be more jazzed if Thor was the blond demigod off to save the world from Hulk instead of Sentry. Thor at least had a better excuse, being dead for a while.

While I can't wait to see how Sentrys calming aura works on the Hulk, I have to agree that Thor will be sorely missed in WWH. Also the Juggernaut should have made an appearence in the main book instead of that crap we got in WWH X-Men.