BOUGHT/THOUGHT for Wednesday, February 28th

[PinnyPed]

Marvel have already announced that there's going to bea frontline series for every event for the forseeable future. (at least until the sales start to tank)

So, c'mon everyone. Stop buying it!!! We know a threat when we see one.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Why is noone reviewing the Heralds of Galactus book today?

I read it last night on the can, so I'll pick up everyone else's slack. Spoilers ahead...

Heralds of Galactus: Terrax and Stardust: It's no secret that I loved Annihilation. ****ing loved it. So of course I'm happy to see all of the stuff that's spinning out of it now. This is the first post-Annihilation Annihilation tie-in, and it definitely sets the bar high.

First, the Terrax story: Even if you didn't already know it before you read this story, there would be no doubt in your mind afterwards. Terrax. ****ing. Rules. Every Terrax fan who's had to suffer through seeing him get his ass kicked at every turn for the last five years or so finally gets their due. I'm not going to recap every bit of the story, but basically Terrax, Paibok, and the Delinquent break free from the Wave's control after Annihilus dies and end up on a backwater planet currently ruled by Randau the Space Parasite. Randau's enslaved not only the natives of the planet, but also any aliens who venture too close and crash onto the planet's surface. One such alien is a female Centaurian (yes, she's from the same race as Yondu--bet you never thought you'd see Guardians of the Galaxy references again, did you?), who requests the trio's help after Terrax brags that he wields the Power Cosmic. He laughs at her request at first, but after Paibok basically challenges his manhood by recalling his past defeats, along with some bonding time with the girl after which he begins to empathize with her plight (although he never admits such feelings, of course), he agrees to kill Randau. Paibok and the Delinquent are predictably taken out early in the fight, leaving Terrax to duke it out with Randau. The Space Parasite is called that for a reason--he absorbs energy from anyone he comes in contact with. Terrax attempts to overload him by forcing a vast amount of the Power Cosmic into him, but Randau apparently can't be overloaded--instead, he grows about ten feet and can now channel the Power Cosmic into energy blasts like Terrax's. He makes his big mistake when he kills the Centaurian girl, which pisses Terrax off. Terrax realizes that energy attacks are not an option, so he switches off the energy flow to his axe and uses it as a regular axe, slicing Randau in twain and gaining the undying love of the ex-slaves on the planet. Only, the ex-slaves have been slaves so long that they don't want their freedom. They immediately demand that Terrax takes over where Randau left off, which enrages Terrax. He destroys the entire planet, leaving himself, Paibok, and the Delinquent as the only survivors, and then flies off, leaving his two ex-companions on their own. Not a really meaty story, granted, but it's excellent for what it is--a pure action story that shuffles off some of the stigma Terrax has gained and restores him to his former badass status. I only wish the Centaurian girl had survived. The image of Terrax flying around on a rock with his Centaurian wench clinging to his leg looks cool in my head. Oh well.

The Stardust story is the superior of the two, in my opinion. Stardust, who's basically been an enigma since his debut in Stormbreaker, finally gets an origin. Apparently, Stardust is a decidedly unique member of a race called the Ethereals. The Ethereals are a weird mix of energy and subatomic particles left over from the Big Bang. They gained sentience and organized themselves into a civilization, but Stardust wasn't content with their fleeting, ephemeral existence. He wanted substance. Thus, he modeled a body for himself after the solid-matter beings of the universe (whom the Ethereals refer to contemptuously as the "corporeals") and set off on his own. That brings us to his servitude to Galactus and then his "death" in Annihilation. If you thought Stardust was dead after his suicide run in Annihilation, well... you'd actually be right. He's basically atomized at the start of the issue, but apparently, thanks to his unique heritage and the Power Cosmic, he's able to pull his constituent particles together and resurrect himself. He finds himself back in his home galaxy, where he's accosted by three members of his race. They ***** at him for acting like a corporeal and declare that they and the 50 other Ethereals who make up their collective (called a "Strangepac") are all that remains of their race, thanks to the Annihilation Wave. They tell Stardust to rejoin them, but he refuses and they come to blows. Stardust wins, but is shocked at what he's done. He absorbs the Strangepac to preserve his race, despite his differences with them. He then goes superluminal and searches for Galactus. When Stardust finds him, Galactus is still weak from his captivity. Stardust begs Galactus to allow him to search for planets to sate him, but Galactus says he already has a herald--the Silver Surfer. Moreover, Galactus claims that his weakness is such that he needs a new energy source to recover. Stardust, desperate to get back into Galactus' good graces, offers up the Strangepac. Galactus consumes it and allows Stardust to become his second herald, noting that Stardust's willingness to exterminate his own race surprised even Galactus. Recovered but still hungry, Galactus then sends Stardust off to search for planets, which Stardust does. As he goes, Stardust laments that he is now the last of his kind, but consoles himself by saying he could do no less for the one being in all the universe that he "truly loves." It's twisted but kind of poignant, and it worked well for me. We finally get some insight into Stardust's origins and motivations, which are both pretty interesting. Before the gay jokes set in, I'd just like to note that I took Stardust's ending comment to mean that he loved Galactus as Christians love God--he views Galactus as the most perfect being in reality and believes that in serving him, he's fulfilling his ultimate purpose. Which, to me, makes him easily the most intriguing herald ever. I'm glad he'll be sticking around for a while.

So, both of the stories in this one-shot were good. Stardust's was better because it had a lot more depth to it than Terrax's, but Terrax's story was a lot of fun and kept with the overall tone that Annihilation set better than Stardust's, I think. Camuncoli's artwork is always great and his work on Terrax's story was no exception. He handles the action scenes with a great, kinetic feel that kind of reminds me of Jim Calafiore in some ways. Christos Gage is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers, as well. This is another good story that flows really well, in the tradition he's set with Union Jack and Stormwatch: PHD. Nothing feels extraneous or drawn-out, and I think pacing is definitely one of Gage's strong points. On the Stardust story, the team was Stuart Moore (who wrote a great Firestorm until his recent departure) and Mike McKone. Usually I'm not a huge fan of McKone--his poses and faces are always kind of awkward to me. Here, however, McKone does some great work. Note to Marvel--anytime you need some amorphous energy blobs, McKone's the go-to guy. Moore's story is excellent, as I noted above, and fleshes Stardust out so well that he now actually feels like a real character rather than a throwaway villain from Stormbreaker who somehow beat the odds and got a second appearance.

This issue's got me looking forward to the Firestorm/Silver Surfer one-shot next month. If the B-list heralds can provide such great stories, the A-listers have gotta be pretty sweet.

 

[Dread]

I look at it this way--Marvel has always pegged itself as the more realistic universes, with people who disagree with the heroes intent, regular joes who have to worry about the rent as well, that kind of deal. And this is realism at it's "finest"--no clear line between good and evil, just a series of grays.

When I read a comic, I'm not really reading it for simple heroism. It's not that I hate it, but all I care about is a good story. And while I didn't LOVE Civil War, I didn't hate it, and I'm entriqued as to what kind of stories this Brave New World will bring.

I know all about the "grays". The problem is that these days at Marvel (and DC too, I mean IDENTITY CRISIS was itself full of moral ambigous stuff; did they refuel THAT trend too!?), we see nothing BUT the gray. And I'd argue that CW was worse; FRONTLINE #11 seemed to imply that both sides were wrong. Cap, even if Sally Floyd attempted to explain it in an arrogant way, had "lost touch" with the will of the people, and superheroes had become "undemocratic" (no one votes for them). He chose the wrong way to fight the war, even if that was for Millar's crude summer blockbuster plot (intrigue? Pfft, no one bought V FOR VENDETTA. Let's see slugfests!). Iron Man was much worse, outright ordering the mutilation and assassination of people and ordering heroes in gulags.

What a lot of people claim to like about Marvel heroes is they "make mistakes". But after CW, and coming off HOM, and DISASSEMBLED, and even in some ways DECIMATION (where the X-Men allow an obviously bigotted federal agent to turn their Mansion acres into a mutie concentration camp because they don't want to be "outlaws" again), it seems like Marvel heroes are making NOTHING BUT mistakes. There's never any outright triumph anymore, no rallying, just heroes screwing something up. Over and over. Flawed as it was, least INFINITE CRISIS had heroes prevailing over SOMETHING. Even if that had it's share of problems. ANNIHILATION ignored that trend, and didn't have as many cooks stirring the pot, and was a stronger story for it. Giffen didn't get bogged down in "all the damn psychobabble", as Cap put it in CASUALTIES OF WAR (IMO one of the better tales to come out of CW).

The landscape after CW is potentially interesting, or at least Marvel has some potentially good series coming out; Slott's mini, OMEGA FLIGHT, THE LONERS, etc. But the road to get there just feels like more of the same obsession with non-heroic heroes and turmoil that is becoming old hat. Maybe if DISASSEMBLED and HOM didn't result in the same themes, it wouldn't seem so bad. But after 2-3 straight years, it's becoming just as repetitive as Talking Gorillas, just the Gorillas aren't considered narrative shorthand for depth like "darkness" is.

Where is this work of art you speak of?!

It was on the page after the Alex reveal, where they usually have letters and ask the creative staff some random question. Criag the inker supposedly drew it, and he's darn good.

This gets its own separate, "special" review.

Civil War: Frontline #11
So basically, because Captain America doesn't have a myspace profile or vote for American Idol, he is a horrible American and fights for the wrong things. W...tf? I think a poster on scans daily put it the best..."America is shallow and decadent, how dare you suggest it should stand for something greater! Join the rest of us in celebrating mediocrity and things that appeal to our most base natures!" Okay, just...Skrulls. The answer is Skrulls.

There are quite a number of comics out there that make me go "W...tf?" when I read it, mostly because it's a crappy comic or a stupid idea or bad writing or something. Very rarely, there are comics out there that make me go "W...tf?" because it's just too confusing or hard to understand or follow; these are in the rarity because I can usually follow a complicated storyline reasonably well or, even if I don't, it doesn't usually bother me.

Even more rare are the comics that make me go "W...tf?" because they are both completely crappy and nearly impossible to understand. Prior examples of this include Peter Milligan's run on the X-Men and Chris Claremont on Excalibur v2. We can now add Jenkin's Civil War: Frontline to this list. Because wow. I don't even know what to think right now. This really is the sort of work that someone should be fired over. Yeah. There, I said it.

First of all...Marvel, do you actually understand what you're implying here? Do you understand what you just did? You just had Iron Man assassinate dozens in cold blood. You just made Iron Man a murderer. Or have we forgotten already about the Atlanteans who got snuffed by Osborn in that warehouse? Because you're telling us that it wasn't Osborn out of control that did it; you're telling us that he was never out of control, and that Tony Stark was playing him like a puppet at all times. Basically, he pulled threw those pumpkin bombs himself. He pulled that trigger himself. Do you understand what this actually means?

Second of all...for the love of all that is good and Buffy, why? Why would he do this? For the heroes to have something to unite against? But...what? What if Atlantis decides to side with the anti-regs and just retaliate against the pro-regs? Which they actually ended up doing! And hell, on that note, why would the Atlanteans retaliate over this at all? Osborn was a supervillain. Everyone knows that. He doesn't represent the American people or its government (well, until now he didn't) any more than Nitro did. And all that Namor did upon learning about Nitro was to take the guy home with him and torture him, he didn't declare war over it. Even if he did it would be based on the wildest impulses and the slimmest of likelihoods. And even then, it's not remotely a certainty that it would unite heroes on the side of registration. So basically, Tony was banking on a probability of a probability of a probability. He lowered himself to work with an unwilling human nanite slave and ordered assassinations of the innocent...for this? I mean, hell, Stark himself laughs it off, saying that it doesn't make any sense. By the end of the story, it still doesn't make any sense!

So we're at the end. Ben and Sally have uncovered the big truth behind the whole thing with utter finesse and the worksmanship of master journalists, they've confronted Tony Stark about it who does a fair impression of a deer caught in headlights...then what? Apparently, they choose not to release the story.

Wait. W...tf?

Why exactly...don't they release the story? They just walk away whilst making some sarcastic comments at Tony? But...why? I'm seriously, completely drawing at blanks here. I'm trying to apply any manner of logical human response to this turn of events, and I can't.

Is it because they truly do understand why Stark did what he did and respect his sacrifice? There's little indication from the story to suggest so...and even if they do, that's hardly reason enough to withhold news of this magnitude. Is it because they've unconsciously turned pro-reg and don't want to damage the process of the SHRA? Sally shows palpable leanings towards the idea of registration by this point, but Ben shows none whatsoever. I mean, Urich quit the Daily Bugle for the precise reason that he knew it was a stilted newspaper that wouldn't publish this story, and then with his newfound liberty he...doesn't publish it this story. And it sounds even more ridiculous on the tail end of all that nonsense regarding how much more objective and impartial they were going to be from now on; this is pretty much the exact opposite of being impartial!

On that note, let's talk about Sally Floyd "seeing the light." She say that before, she was basically just another J Jonah Jameson, or a liberal version of him; utterly opinionated, utterly stubborn, obsessively sticking to whatever side of the story that will affirm what he believes, no matter how wrong. So now she claims that she isn't that way anymore, because a conversative senator verbally pwned her or something. Except...except that she obviously is still that way. She's still pigheaded and self-righteous and not the slightest bit objective, except that now she's switched to the other side of the argument! She, in a sense, has become more like Jameson than ever before!

So what are we left with? Stark gets away with murder, literally (but remember, he feels really really bad about it! This gives him depth! This means you should relate to this character!), while Captain America is in prison because he didn't download Paris Hilton porn off of Youtube. Welcome to Marvel! Hey you there, put out that @#$%ing cigarette before we sic some nanites on you!

(Incidentally, what's even more hilarious about that little "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND AMERICA" spiel is that Steve Rogers probably has the biggest hard-on in the universe for the World Series...hello, he's from the 40s, you think he doesn't watch baseball?? And NASCAR? Anyone who's been reading Brubaker on Captain America could probably tell you that Steve would go utterly bonkers for that sht!)

Sweet Lords of Kobol, I hope World War Hulk: Frontline isn't like this. To paraphrase Dread, this is one of those things (arguably the majority of things at Marvel) that makes everyone look horrible and makes you feel bad and calls it a story. And to paraphrase Peter David, it's easy to make someone feel bad. It's making them feel good that's hard

(1.5 out of 10. The lowest I have ever given to any comic I've rated here. Ever.)
(4 out of 10 for the entire series)

Solid review. I feel the story was written well, even if it goes down painfully, at least in comparison to Millar's WWE style. But I agree with your points, and am eager to move on from CW.

Once upon a time superhero stories used to include a theme that standing up for what was morally right was something worth fighting for, even if you were a minority. Now the theme seems to be on general consensus, even if the price for it is fascism.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Ok guys (Darth!) I can't pick up my comics till next week and I need a review of the Heralds of Galactus stat!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

So mine wasn't good enough, basically?

 

[Brainiac 8]

So mine wasn't good enough, basically?

I'll have to check, I didn't see anyone review it...

 

[Brainiac 8]

I read it last night on the can, so I'll pick up everyone else's slack. Spoilers ahead...

Heralds of Galactus: Terrax and Stardust: It's no secret that I loved Annihilation. ****ing loved it. So of course I'm happy to see all of the stuff that's spinning out of it now. This is the first post-Annihilation Annihilation tie-in, and it definitely sets the bar high.

First, the Terrax story: Even if you didn't already know it before you read this story, there would be no doubt in your mind afterwards. Terrax. ****ing. Rules. Every Terrax fan who's had to suffer through seeing him get his ass kicked at every turn for the last five years or so finally gets their due. I'm not going to recap every bit of the story, but basically Terrax, Paibok, and the Delinquent break free from the Wave's control after Annihilus dies and end up on a backwater planet currently ruled by Randau the Space Parasite. Randau's enslaved not only the natives of the planet, but also any aliens who venture too close and crash onto the planet's surface. One such alien is a female Centaurian (yes, she's from the same race as Yondu--bet you never thought you'd see Guardians of the Galaxy references again, did you?), who requests the trio's help after Terrax brags that he wields the Power Cosmic. He laughs at her request at first, but after Paibok basically challenges his manhood by recalling his past defeats, along with some bonding time with the girl after which he begins to empathize with her plight (although he never admits such feelings, of course), he agrees to kill Randau. Paibok and the Delinquent are predictably taken out early in the fight, leaving Terrax to duke it out with Randau. The Space Parasite is called that for a reason--he absorbs energy from anyone he comes in contact with. Terrax attempts to overload him by forcing a vast amount of the Power Cosmic into him, but Randau apparently can't be overloaded--instead, he grows about ten feet and can now channel the Power Cosmic into energy blasts like Terrax's. He makes his big mistake when he kills the Centaurian girl, which pisses Terrax off. Terrax realizes that energy attacks are not an option, so he switches off the energy flow to his axe and uses it as a regular axe, slicing Randau in twain and gaining the undying love of the ex-slaves on the planet. Only, the ex-slaves have been slaves so long that they don't want their freedom. They immediately demand that Terrax takes over where Randau left off, which enrages Terrax. He destroys the entire planet, leaving himself, Paibok, and the Delinquent as the only survivors, and then flies off, leaving his two ex-companions on their own. Not a really meaty story, granted, but it's excellent for what it is--a pure action story that shuffles off some of the stigma Terrax has gained and restores him to his former badass status. I only wish the Centaurian girl had survived. The image of Terrax flying around on a rock with his Centaurian wench clinging to his leg looks cool in my head. Oh well.

The Stardust story is the superior of the two, in my opinion. Stardust, who's basically been an enigma since his debut in Stormbreaker, finally gets an origin. Apparently, Stardust is a decidedly unique member of a race called the Ethereals. The Ethereals are a weird mix of energy and subatomic particles left over from the Big Bang. They gained sentience and organized themselves into a civilization, but Stardust wasn't content with their fleeting, ephemeral existence. He wanted substance. Thus, he modeled a body for himself after the solid-matter beings of the universe (whom the Ethereals refer to contemptuously as the "corporeals") and set off on his own. That brings us to his servitude to Galactus and then his "death" in Annihilation. If you thought Stardust was dead after his suicide run in Annihilation, well... you'd actually be right. He's basically atomized at the start of the issue, but apparently, thanks to his unique heritage and the Power Cosmic, he's able to pull his constituent particles together and resurrect himself. He finds himself back in his home galaxy, where he's accosted by three members of his race. They ***** at him for acting like a corporeal and declare that they and the 50 other Ethereals who make up their collective (called a "Strangepac") are all that remains of their race, thanks to the Annihilation Wave. They tell Stardust to rejoin them, but he refuses and they come to blows. Stardust wins, but is shocked at what he's done. He absorbs the Strangepac to preserve his race, despite his differences with them. He then goes superluminal and searches for Galactus. When Stardust finds him, Galactus is still weak from his captivity. Stardust begs Galactus to allow him to search for planets to sate him, but Galactus says he already has a herald--the Silver Surfer. Moreover, Galactus claims that his weakness is such that he needs a new energy source to recover. Stardust, desperate to get back into Galactus' good graces, offers up the Strangepac. Galactus consumes it and allows Stardust to become his second herald, noting that Stardust's willingness to exterminate his own race surprised even Galactus. Recovered but still hungry, Galactus then sends Stardust off to search for planets, which Stardust does. As he goes, Stardust laments that he is now the last of his kind, but consoles himself by saying he could do no less for the one being in all the universe that he "truly loves." It's twisted but kind of poignant, and it worked well for me. We finally get some insight into Stardust's origins and motivations, which are both pretty interesting. Before the gay jokes set in, I'd just like to note that I took Stardust's ending comment to mean that he loved Galactus as Christians love God--he views Galactus as the most perfect being in reality and believes that in serving him, he's fulfilling his ultimate purpose. Which, to me, makes him easily the most intriguing herald ever. I'm glad he'll be sticking around for a while.

So, both of the stories in this one-shot were good. Stardust's was better because it had a lot more depth to it than Terrax's, but Terrax's story was a lot of fun and kept with the overall tone that Annihilation set better than Stardust's, I think. Camuncoli's artwork is always great and his work on Terrax's story was no exception. He handles the action scenes with a great, kinetic feel that kind of reminds me of Jim Calafiore in some ways. Christos Gage is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers, as well. This is another good story that flows really well, in the tradition he's set with Union Jack and Stormwatch: PHD. Nothing feels extraneous or drawn-out, and I think pacing is definitely one of Gage's strong points. On the Stardust story, the team was Stuart Moore (who wrote a great Firestorm until his recent departure) and Mike McKone. Usually I'm not a huge fan of McKone--his poses and faces are always kind of awkward to me. Here, however, McKone does some great work. Note to Marvel--anytime you need some amorphous energy blobs, McKone's the go-to guy. Moore's story is excellent, as I noted above, and fleshes Stardust out so well that he now actually feels like a real character rather than a throwaway villain from Stormbreaker who somehow beat the odds and got a second appearance.

This issue's got me looking forward to the Firestorm/Silver Surfer one-shot next month. If the B-list heralds can provide such great stories, the A-listers have gotta be pretty sweet.

I'm sorry Corp, didn't see that.

Awsome review, and now I can't wait to pick up my copy. I love they are finally doing stuff with their cosmic characters.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Ya know, folks, we all worked out the kinks in the bought/thought thread system last year, an' it worked out fine until recently.

One of the most agreed upon provisions was as such: B/T Threads should be STARTED after you've read the comics you've bought and have thoughts on them. There's no prize for being the first to start the thread, or on how many threads you start. If you're gonna start the thread, make sure you have your reviews ready to go. And if you're concerned someone else will start one while you're writing your first post, write it somewhere else then copy and paste it.

Really, don't get why we're havin' such difficulties lately.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Because Jake has issues.

 

[yenaled]

I read it last night on the can, so I'll pick up everyone else's slack. Spoilers ahead...

Heralds of Galactus: Terrax and Stardust: It's no secret that I loved Annihilation. ****ing loved it. So of course I'm happy to see all of the stuff that's spinning out of it now. This is the first post-Annihilation Annihilation tie-in, and it definitely sets the bar high.

First, the Terrax story: Even if you didn't already know it before you read this story, there would be no doubt in your mind afterwards. Terrax. ****ing. Rules. Every Terrax fan who's had to suffer through seeing him get his ass kicked at every turn for the last five years or so finally gets their due. I'm not going to recap every bit of the story, but basically Terrax, Paibok, and the Delinquent break free from the Wave's control after Annihilus dies and end up on a backwater planet currently ruled by Randau the Space Parasite. Randau's enslaved not only the natives of the planet, but also any aliens who venture too close and crash onto the planet's surface. One such alien is a female Centaurian (yes, she's from the same race as Yondu--bet you never thought you'd see Guardians of the Galaxy references again, did you?), who requests the trio's help after Terrax brags that he wields the Power Cosmic. He laughs at her request at first, but after Paibok basically challenges his manhood by recalling his past defeats, along with some bonding time with the girl after which he begins to empathize with her plight (although he never admits such feelings, of course), he agrees to kill Randau. Paibok and the Delinquent are predictably taken out early in the fight, leaving Terrax to duke it out with Randau. The Space Parasite is called that for a reason--he absorbs energy from anyone he comes in contact with. Terrax attempts to overload him by forcing a vast amount of the Power Cosmic into him, but Randau apparently can't be overloaded--instead, he grows about ten feet and can now channel the Power Cosmic into energy blasts like Terrax's. He makes his big mistake when he kills the Centaurian girl, which pisses Terrax off. Terrax realizes that energy attacks are not an option, so he switches off the energy flow to his axe and uses it as a regular axe, slicing Randau in twain and gaining the undying love of the ex-slaves on the planet. Only, the ex-slaves have been slaves so long that they don't want their freedom. They immediately demand that Terrax takes over where Randau left off, which enrages Terrax. He destroys the entire planet, leaving himself, Paibok, and the Delinquent as the only survivors, and then flies off, leaving his two ex-companions on their own. Not a really meaty story, granted, but it's excellent for what it is--a pure action story that shuffles off some of the stigma Terrax has gained and restores him to his former badass status. I only wish the Centaurian girl had survived. The image of Terrax flying around on a rock with his Centaurian wench clinging to his leg looks cool in my head. Oh well.

The Stardust story is the superior of the two, in my opinion. Stardust, who's basically been an enigma since his debut in Stormbreaker, finally gets an origin. Apparently, Stardust is a decidedly unique member of a race called the Ethereals. The Ethereals are a weird mix of energy and subatomic particles left over from the Big Bang. They gained sentience and organized themselves into a civilization, but Stardust wasn't content with their fleeting, ephemeral existence. He wanted substance. Thus, he modeled a body for himself after the solid-matter beings of the universe (whom the Ethereals refer to contemptuously as the "corporeals") and set off on his own. That brings us to his servitude to Galactus and then his "death" in Annihilation. If you thought Stardust was dead after his suicide run in Annihilation, well... you'd actually be right. He's basically atomized at the start of the issue, but apparently, thanks to his unique heritage and the Power Cosmic, he's able to pull his constituent particles together and resurrect himself. He finds himself back in his home galaxy, where he's accosted by three members of his race. They ***** at him for acting like a corporeal and declare that they and the 50 other Ethereals who make up their collective (called a "Strangepac") are all that remains of their race, thanks to the Annihilation Wave. They tell Stardust to rejoin them, but he refuses and they come to blows. Stardust wins, but is shocked at what he's done. He absorbs the Strangepac to preserve his race, despite his differences with them. He then goes superluminal and searches for Galactus. When Stardust finds him, Galactus is still weak from his captivity. Stardust begs Galactus to allow him to search for planets to sate him, but Galactus says he already has a herald--the Silver Surfer. Moreover, Galactus claims that his weakness is such that he needs a new energy source to recover. Stardust, desperate to get back into Galactus' good graces, offers up the Strangepac. Galactus consumes it and allows Stardust to become his second herald, noting that Stardust's willingness to exterminate his own race surprised even Galactus. Recovered but still hungry, Galactus then sends Stardust off to search for planets, which Stardust does. As he goes, Stardust laments that he is now the last of his kind, but consoles himself by saying he could do no less for the one being in all the universe that he "truly loves." It's twisted but kind of poignant, and it worked well for me. We finally get some insight into Stardust's origins and motivations, which are both pretty interesting. Before the gay jokes set in, I'd just like to note that I took Stardust's ending comment to mean that he loved Galactus as Christians love God--he views Galactus as the most perfect being in reality and believes that in serving him, he's fulfilling his ultimate purpose. Which, to me, makes him easily the most intriguing herald ever. I'm glad he'll be sticking around for a while.

So, both of the stories in this one-shot were good. Stardust's was better because it had a lot more depth to it than Terrax's, but Terrax's story was a lot of fun and kept with the overall tone that Annihilation set better than Stardust's, I think. Camuncoli's artwork is always great and his work on Terrax's story was no exception. He handles the action scenes with a great, kinetic feel that kind of reminds me of Jim Calafiore in some ways. Christos Gage is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers, as well. This is another good story that flows really well, in the tradition he's set with Union Jack and Stormwatch: PHD. Nothing feels extraneous or drawn-out, and I think pacing is definitely one of Gage's strong points. On the Stardust story, the team was Stuart Moore (who wrote a great Firestorm until his recent departure) and Mike McKone. Usually I'm not a huge fan of McKone--his poses and faces are always kind of awkward to me. Here, however, McKone does some great work. Note to Marvel--anytime you need some amorphous energy blobs, McKone's the go-to guy. Moore's story is excellent, as I noted above, and fleshes Stardust out so well that he now actually feels like a real character rather than a throwaway villain from Stormbreaker who somehow beat the odds and got a second appearance.

This issue's got me looking forward to the Firestorm/Silver Surfer one-shot next month. If the B-list heralds can provide such great stories, the A-listers have gotta be pretty sweet.

Cheers for that Corp, I was debating on if I should pick it up or not. Guess I will sounds great.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'd definitely recommend it.

 

[Darthphere]

I'm going to go buy it right now! Literally!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Do it! I dare you.

 

[Red]

Iron Man #15: Featuring the 1000th Jim Steranko cover homage!

This issue sets up our favourite ferous fascist as Director of SHIELD. Having apparently gotten over his whole "Armour Wars" phase, he's now equipping special SHIELD units with lesser Iron Man armours (or, at least, equipment); clearly not top-rated stuff, but advanced. Anyway, Dum-Dum Dugan, looking remarkably good for a guy who was impaled recently in Wolverine: Origins, complains that Stark is wrecking SHIELD's military discipline and turning into something akin to a corporation (suggestion boxes, day care, casual Fridays).

We also further the plotline of the return of the Mandarin, as that ex-Taliban fellow finds a seemingly immortal elderly man rotting in a Chinese prison (he doesn't eat, drink, or sleep).

I really pity the work that the Knauffs have to do in this title, writing Tony as a more or less straight hero in the face of the recent events of Civil War. They do a pretty good job, overall. Art is now being done by Ms. Marvel's former artist, and it's good, although I really wish they could get this title an artist akin to McNiven or Cheung, who both deliver Iron Man much more appealingly than he's drawn in his own title.

Bingo!

 

[Darthphere]

Do it! I dare you.

Ok, I did, and it was awesome. Terrax ****ing pwns, and Stardust has piqued my interest.

I don't know if Marvel would ever do it. But they should really do like an anthology type ongoing called Heralds or some ****, I would totally buy it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I would buy it even more than you.

 

[Tropico]

I would buy it more than you and then again when it came out in Spanishian!!

 

[yenaled]

I think I'd just buy one.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I would buy it more than you and then again when it came out in Spanishian!!

I'd special order the copy that came out in the UK. Two Englishes = better than English and Spanishian.

 

[Darthphere]

I just finished Eternals and all I have to say is "Oh snap!" literally.

 

[Tropico]

Don't bother. Sucky Yenaled killed it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, way to interrupt the flow, yen.

 

[yenaled]

Sorry guys

 

[PhotoJones]

So, c'mon everyone. Stop buying it!!! We know a threat when we see one.

when exactly did all this frontline bashing start?

last time i checked, the phrase "better than civil war proper" was all the rage...

 

[Darthphere]

when exactly did all this frontline bashing start?

last time i checked, the phrase "better than civil war proper" was all the rage...

It still was, and like I said, the issue was ok, the only scene that sucked was the Sally Floyd/Cap scene.