Bought/Thought January 2nd, 2009

[CaptainCanada]

I
Namora's greatest desire is... disturbing.

That was shown in Agents of Atlas #, er, 5 I think.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

That she wants to bone her cousin? Dang, I gotta re-read Agents of Atlas, it seems.

 

[CaptainCanada]

It's one panel, when Venus flips out and shows everyone's greatest desires.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I vaguely remember that scenario. I hope Parker does something with that in the new series. It's kind of weird to just have there, looming in the back of your mind whenever you see Namora. It's Atlantis, not Arkansatlantis.

 

[CaptainCanada]

First Cousin-marriage is certainly not unknown in human culture (I'm not sure the degree of consanguinity has ever been established with them); many an Austen novel ends with cousins getting hitched.

In the second issue of this arc, I assumed that Namora's "You couldn't?" when Namor says he couldn't care less who she sleeps with was an expression of disappointment that he's not even slightly jealous.

 

[NinjinSteve]

Wolverine Old Man Logan

You cannot pick apart the Wolverine SPOILER by saying it's out of nowhere for shock value only.

Throughout Millar's ENTIRE Old Man Logan arc so far he established tons of weird stuff and unlikely battles during the fall of the heroes

Magneto defeating Thor

Baxter building on top of a GIANT Loki

Hulk family with the Fantasticar

Peter Parker's kids

Millar established WELL beforehand this wasn't you're average Universe with all kinds of crazy **** having gone down during the final battles -

the ENTIRE story arc is made up of Shocks therefore the reveal worked it was fitting and was badass

 

[CaptainCanada]

Magneto defeating Thor

Magneto's done that in the past, both in 616 and Ultimate, going back to the 60s.

My biggest issue with this story is trying to figure out when it diverged from out timeline (seems to have been pre-"Avengers Disassembled", given the status quos of the various teams before the great disaster).

 

[Dread]

My issue with the thing in Millar's "Old Man Logan" arc is that villain has no beef with the X-Men or Logan and it really makes no sense whatsoever that he would be the one who finished them off. Without dramatic weight to it, it seems random. Random works in real life but not in fiction; Steve Ditko and Stan Lee famously argued this when they wanted to reveal Green Goblin's identity. Especially as he is hardly a mercenary type. Plus, it's Wolverine; you'd think they would have done some baloney like he "smells past" the illusions or something. They've never let HIM beat him. Hell, they couldn't even let him beat Daredevil. It's like some dark future where DC let Jimmy Olson beat Deathstroke with a spork.

Plus, yeah, the plot is basically Logan in WANTED. What I am enjoying in the modern crop of writers is they are proving unable to come up with new ideas a LOT sooner than writers of the Silver Age did. Most writers could go on for 10-30 years before spin cycle. Nowadays most writers can barely manage five.

Especially since the idea, like CIVIL WAR, was basically the same as the ACTS OF VENGEANCE in the 80's-90's where the super-villains seemingly got together and their big bold plan was to have heroes face unfamiliar opponents. It never worked. But, whatever. I'm not reading it so it isn't my place. I was just commenting.

Reviews coming up a bit later. It was actually a good week for comics for me.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Yeah, but you'd think the obligatory X-villain with a grudge would have done so. But, well, Mark Millar admitted it himself on Newsarama. A story to him is simply an "awesome moment" that needs some sort of pesky, needless explanation to explain how we got there. I used to write stories like that, too. Then I graduated junior high.

No wonder Hollywood loves him.

"Comprehensive villain team up that toppled all the heroes"?

It's been attempted before. Quite well in fact in a crossover called Acts Of Vengeance.

That, and Mysterio was hardly what anyone would call a "Daredevil Rogue" when he plotted against Matt Murdock during the Guardian Devil storyline...

Also; Mysterio apparently faced the original X-Men years ago, so it isnt really like he came at them out of nowhere...

 

[Blader5489]

My issue with the thing in Millar's "Old Man Logan" arc is that villain has no beef with the X-Men or Logan and it really makes no sense whatsoever that he would be the one who finished them off.

That's exactly what makes it work. Why would it be Magneto or Sinister who manages to take down the X-Men, after they have failed so many times in the past? It only makes sense that they send someone Logan is unfamiliar with.

But this is pointless, because you clearly have an ax to grind with Millar, as you seemingly do with all big-name writers, so I'll just leave it at this: Wolverine was awesome this week.

 

[Dread]

It's been attempted before. Quite well in fact in a crossover called Acts Of Vengeance.

That, and Mysterio was hardly what anyone would call a "Daredevil Rogue" when he plotted against Matt Murdock during the Guardian Devil storyline...

Also; Mysterio apparently faced the original X-Men years ago, so it isnt really like he came at them out of nowhere...

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS' continuity is a bit fudgy. I was not aware it was canon.

I mentioned the ACTS OF VENGEANCE. Ironically, it led to Congress wanting to pass a law similar to the SHRA, which various heroes, notably Wasp, Wonder Man and Mr. Fantastic, argued against successfully. All three, non-Skrulls, would be pro-SHRA about 10-15 years later.

That's exactly what makes it work. Why would it be Magneto or Sinister who manages to take down the X-Men, after they have failed so many times in the past? It only makes sense that they send someone Logan is unfamiliar with.

But this is pointless, because you clearly have an ax to grind with Millar, as you seemingly do with all big-name writers, so I'll just leave it at this: Wolverine was awesome this week.

Not every big name writer, and I have liked some Millar stories. Hell, this week had two. You know this.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

I noticed that the dialogue in the Wolverine preview sounded suspiciously familiar. Then I remembered why: it's essentially the backstory of Wanted.

Anyway, I've read some good comics and one meh one so far:

Avengers: The Initiative was great, in spite of somewhat dodgy art. Not bad, just not too consistent in places. Kudos to Slott and Gage for taking what might've just been a dry housecleaning issue in anticipation of the new status quo for Dark Reign and adding a couple of plot threads that are actually compelling. The personnel changes are handled sort of around the main plot threads, which is nice. First thread is, of course, the Shadow Initiative's new objective, which is to apprehend Hardball. I'm going to assume "apprehend" actually means capture so he can be brought to justice for his treachery, but I'm well aware that it's 99.999% certain to mean "kill on sight," given this book's (and, in fairness, most of the Marvel universe's) track record with that sort of thing lately. Next is Hank Pym's (re)acquaintance with his life post-Skrull, and whoever wrote it (I'm gonna guess Slott, what with the upcoming move to Mighty Avengers) did a cracking job of it. It could've easily been really cheesy, but I like that Jocasta is helping Hank work through his issues. It's pretty clearly going to lead to some sticky relationship stuff that I'd rather not think about, but for now it's good, especially that bit at the end where Hank mans up and takes responsibility for the infamous backhand from way back when, unlike certain other wifebeaters who shall remain nameless and wear webs
.

Yeah, it seems very likely Hank and Jocasta's relationship will become more serious in the near future. I'm all for it, but...well...does Jocasta even HAVE a vagina?

 

[Blader5489]

Not every big name writer, and I have liked some Millar stories. Hell, this week had two. You know this.

Guess I'm a little out-of-date on my "Dread facts."

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Magneto's done that in the past, both in 616 and Ultimate, going back to the 60s.

I seem to remember Thor beating Magneto in an old Journey Into Mystery issue, although i may be mistaken as i havent re-read any of those in years...

How did he kill Thor in the Old Man Logan book?

 

[Red]

Captain America was a bucket full of awesome. I love the idea Bucky was more effective as Winter Soldier.

However I don't approve of Dread's new avatar...

 

[fifthfiend]

And it doesn't make sense because?

Here's an idea, let's try this "thinking" thing that's so big with the kids nowadays. Let's see, a story whose entire premise is that Wolverine goes ape**** on the X-Men, and nobody on the whole team thinks to make any effort to stop him as he murders them. Because they'd be worried about hurting the guy with nigh-instantaneous cellular regeneration. The same guy they've had no problem whatsoever shutting down on the, what, hundred million other occasions he's lost his **** on the rest of the X-team.

Now let's work real, real hard and see where there maybe might be a flaw there?

But someone will say hey Fifth you big fuddy-duddy you're not supposed to think about stuff. You're supposed to look at the pretty pictures of a bunch of dead people and go AWESUM cause oh man it's SO AWESSUM and that thinking business is for losers and hippies and Democrats. Well, I guess you've got me there.

Why on earth would any comics writer ever take time out of his day to tell an actually coherent story, when you can just draw twenty pages of ol' Wuffles slapdicking a pile of corpses and watch the fanboy **** fly?

Captain America was a bucket full of awesome. I love the idea Bucky was more effective as Winter Soldier.

However I don't approve of Dread's new avatar...

Yeah I gotta be honest, the old one had a charm that this one kinda lacks.

 

[cdk]

Jack of Fables 29 - was good stuff
Avengers: Initiative 20 - was uneventful
Herc 124 - I like where this is going and the cousin thing reminded me of the simpsons

Jebediah Springfield: People, our search is over! On this site we shall build a new town where we can worship freely, govern justly, and grow vast fields of hemp for making rope and blankets.
Shelbyville Manhattan: Yes! And marry our cousins.
Jebediah Springfield: I was- wha... what are you talking about, Shelbyville? Why would we want to marry our cousins?
Shelbyville Manhattan: Because they're so attractive. I... I thought that was the whole point of this journey.
Jebediah Springfield: Absolutely not!
Shelbyville Manhattan: I tell you, I won't live in a town that robs men of the right to marry their cousins!

 

[DBM]

Yeah, it seems very likely Hank and Jocasta's relationship will become more serious in the near future. I'm all for it, but...well...does Jocasta even HAVE a vagina?

I think the better question will be, if she does have a vagina, why did Ultron build one?

 

[Marcdachamp]

Punisher War Journal- PICK OF THE WEEK! Man, what a perfect final issue for this series. Fraction has effectively replaced the only real deaths of the series, and we get some interesting character developments along the way. I really liked Frank's relationship with the Rhino, and it's nice to see him show up here. I never would have thought he'd make a good supporting character for Frank, but Fraction proved me wrong. This series wasn't always perfect, but it was a really nice ride, and this issue made me feel nostalgic for the rest of the run. Just like a good finale should. 9/10

Fantastic 4- Millar said he wanted to do some very different things with this book, and he's really delivering on that promise. The whole idea hits home when you have a funeral for someone in attendance. Really unique angle. Hitch does some great work, too. Loved his Spidey. 9/10

Transformers: All Hail Megatron- The house of cards begins to crumble as the Decepticons begin to fight amongst themselves and the Autobots start to unify. The art is stunning as ever, and the new take on the Insecticons is pretty cool. Really enjoying this series. 9/10

Wolverine- Someone on the board already called it, but damn this was crazy. McNiven KILLED on it. I wonder if they could pull off a movie... 9/10

Captain America- Good stuff. This arc wasn't as solid as the rest of the series, but let's face it, Brubaker set a high bar for himself. Plus Cap gets two villains out of this arc (one "classic", one new) and an interesting mystery. I hope he finds a way to reference the events over in Avengers/Invaders. Seems like a no-brainer. 8/10

X-Force- Good issue, but damn it can be hard keeping up on all the history here. I hope Choi continues to rotate with Crain. His art was cartoony at times, but still fitting. I really like his facial expressions. Nice to see Vanisher sticking around. 8/10

Avengers/Invaders- Not bad. Two more villains are thrown into the mix, and both could be very interesting. This might make a hell of a collected edition. Very old school in some ways, but keeping in check with current continuity. I just hope they tie it back to Secret Invasion and Captain America. 7/10

Avengers: The Initiative- I think I'm dropping this soon. I like the premise, but a lot of great characters are leaving, so I'm not sure if I'll stay. The art could be better, too. Some very nice twists, though. We'll see. 7/10

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Punisher War Journal- PICK OF THE WEEK! Man, what a perfect final issue for this series. Fraction has effectively replaced the only real deaths of the series, and we get some interesting character developments along the way. I really liked Frank's relationship with the Rhino, and it's nice to see him show up here. I never would have thought he'd make a good supporting character for Frank, but Fraction proved me wrong. This series wasn't always perfect, but it was a really nice ride, and this issue made me feel nostalgic for the rest of the run. Just like a good finale should. 9/10

Yeah, i also liked the way Rhino mopped up the floor with the Wrecking Crew a few issues back! Finally, some much needed respect for the guy!

 

[Marcdachamp]

Yeah, i also liked the way Rhino mopped up the floor with the Wrecking Crew a few issues back! Finally, some much needed respect for the guy!

Honestly, outside "Flowers for Rhino," I never really cared for the guy, but Fraction really made me a fan of him in this series. I like him as the dopey thug with a good heart. It's a great take on him.

 

[The Overlord]

My issue with the thing in Millar's "Old Man Logan" arc is that villain has no beef with the X-Men or Logan and it really makes no sense whatsoever that he would be the one who finished them off. Without dramatic weight to it, it seems random. Random works in real life but not in fiction; Steve Ditko and Stan Lee famously argued this when they wanted to reveal Green Goblin's identity. Especially as he is hardly a mercenary type. Plus, it's Wolverine; you'd think they would have done some baloney like he "smells past" the illusions or something. They've never let HIM beat him. Hell, they couldn't even let him beat Daredevil. It's like some dark future where DC let Jimmy Olson beat Deathstroke with a spork.

Plus, yeah, the plot is basically Logan in WANTED. What I am enjoying in the modern crop of writers is they are proving unable to come up with new ideas a LOT sooner than writers of the Silver Age did. Most writers could go on for 10-30 years before spin cycle. Nowadays most writers can barely manage five.

Especially since the idea, like CIVIL WAR, was basically the same as the ACTS OF VENGEANCE in the 80's-90's where the super-villains seemingly got together and their big bold plan was to have heroes face unfamiliar opponents. It never worked. But, whatever. I'm not reading it so it isn't my place. I was just commenting.

Reviews coming up a bit later. It was actually a good week for comics for me.

Yeah but you get sick of same villains fighting the same heroes over and over again, it gets kinda boring after a few decades. Back in the silver age villains were way less strict about having set heroes to fight, a silver age issue could have a villain appear from a different series, just to mix things up.
Back in the Silver age, red Skull killed Peter Parker's parents, that's way more out of the blue then this.

Besides they can easily come with a reason for this villain to fight the x-men, he is a villain, he doesn't need much motivation to fight heroes: maybe he was hired to it by someone else, maybe he wants to steal their tech, maybe he thinks if he can kill the X-men he will become famous or maybe he wants to rob their house. The fact is the X-Men have been shut off from the rest of MU over the past 20 years, so I think some more interaction and having them fight villains from other series could be fun.

 

[THANOSRULES]

I think the better question will be, if she does have a vagina, why did Ultron build one?

She could use an image inducer like vision used too..anyway shes a robot..he's hank pym...he can build one.

he probably already has.

 

[GoblinScrier]

What If Secret Wars aka Doctor Doom keeping Beyonder's power is the ultimate Doom fan explosion to see Doom just lay to waste everything insight...the sight of him in holographic images all around the world was just awesome...best line of the year:

"Ladies and gentlemen, God exists...and he's Latverian!"

'Nuff said...

 

[Dread]

First week in 2009 and we have a smattering of comic books to work through, with some books of quality and quite a few "reveals" this week. Since Wednesday was not a legal holiday, I do wonder why comics had to be two days late. I mean, if they came out 12/31/08, then most people would have been off for work Jan. 1st and easily gotten them; retailers might have even saw a slight sales increase due to simple convenience. Oh, well. The pleasures and dilemmas of a cottage industry.

In general news, Newsarama has been buzzing that the Spider-Man "dailies" newspaper strips, which I had no clue were still being done, have shifted into BRAND NEW DAY with the start of the new year. It seems MJ isn't safe anywhere. Joe Quesada is like Proctor and MJ must be Sersi, to those in the know.

As always, full spoilers & rants ahoy.

Dread's Bought/Thought for 1/2/09:

BLUE BEETLE #34: Two issues from the end of the line; DC had no choice, and honestly a three year run for a non-A-List launch title is pretty good in 21st century terms. I mean, over at Marvel, not even seemingly "hot" characters like Rogue or Gambit could sustain a book for three years. Given how DC has been dumb with planning lots of things, BLUE BEETLE was one area where editorial apparently did a good job. The regular writers left a while ago and from fill in's to the newest (and last) writer, Sturges, the tone of the book has been kept consistent. The book launched from INFINITE CRISIS and Beetle was quickly thrown into TEEN TITANS and they had guest stars from Green Lantern to Batman to Superman, etc. DC honestly gave it a good try.

In this chapter, as the cover suggests, there is the "showdown" between Beetle and the new Doctor Polaris. The pacing of the fight is a bit awkward; Beetle's zapped by a magnetic blast and presumed dead, but it turns out his armor was merely "faking" it to get time to come up with some energy signature that cancels out and weakens magnetism. Beetle ultimately TKO's Polaris with a large arm canon, almost off panel, and he is arrested. Albuquerque naturally draws the issue very well and some of the sequences of the fight are fine, but some bits of it seemed awkward and disjointed. Compare it to some of the Brubaker/Epting stuff in CAPTAIN AMERICA and one can see what I mean. Not an issue breaker at all, just something to notice. Like it could have been better than it was, especially as Doctor Polaris was arguably the best major villain the title has had, and also one of the last.

One of the highlights of the issue, besides the showdown between hero and villain, are the chat between Brenda and Paco about their budding relationship. It was both hilarious and touching, which is not an easy balance to manage.

The subplot about illegal immigration is settled, perhaps a bit too cleanly, but considering there are two issues left, I can understand. Speaking of which, I was surprised that Polaris was beaten so quickly with two issues left and a character supposedly slated for death (all bets on Mariposa). Next issue promises an alien invasion and I hope the last two issues are able to connect a bit to this arc, rather than just being filler to peter out, because the title deserves better.

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #20: The last issue of A:TI co-written by series launch writer Dan Slott, after which he moves onto MIGHTY AVENGERS (Taking Hank Pym & Jocasta with him) and leaves the title in the capable hands of Christos Gage, who has been co-writing it for the past 13 issues. Kurth returns on art for the departed Caselli, who is officially on SECRET WARRIORS now.

For major spoilers, Eric O'Grady/Ant-Man III is dispatched to the THUNDERBOLTS, to get ordered around by Norman Osborn. After all the drama and debate over Mutant Zero, it turns out she is Typhoid Mary. Power and combat wise, it makes sense I suppose, although there leaves more to be explained. While she always was presumed to be a mutant, one wonders why she cannot remain in one area for very long; perhaps due to her sanity? She always had about 3-4 personalities; Mary, who is gentle and passive, Typhoid, who wants to sleep with you before ninja-killing you, Bloody Mary who is a complete man-hating telekenetic psycho, and Walker, who is somewhat balanced. She has used swords and knives, but never guns too often and she never seemed capable of TK super speed. Although considering that most of the Shadow Initiative are former criminals, like Bengal or Constrictor, Typhoid Mary does fit in with that crowd. She makes more sense than Copycat or Jean Grey in this situation, and she has appeared on plenty of comic book covers (like DAREDEVIL, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS and even some Spidey comics, where her Bloody Mary persona debuted), but when it was revealed, my reaction was , "OH? Oh. Alright." At the very least, she's higher up the rung than Copycat.

The real meat of the issue is Hank Pym seemingly having dinner with the deceased Janet Van Dyne and hashing out some of his unresolved feelings towards her; it turns out this is of course Jocasta using a hologram. Coming off of SI: REQUIEM, it still remains very clear that Pym is working through mourning issues. From having Jan's robot double (basically) act as her and even answer for her from beyond the grave to wearing Jan's costume, Pym clearly is going through grieving ways in interesting and sometimes borderline obsessive ways. Seeing that as a step on a path, I can accept him becoming "He-Wasp" on that level. I expect there to be some sort of tension between him and Jocasta and honestly don't mind it too much. We accepted 30 years of Wanda and Vision crushing because Vision had Wonder Man's brain patterns. Then Wonder Man kept coming back from the dead and all that. Reversing the genders a bit works for me, and if Ultron ever returns, must irritate him. Jocasta was supposed to be HIS bride, and she's having "feelings" with the creator he hates? Coming off being pummeled by Phyla, that'll sure get Ultron's rivets in a twist.

Gauntlet also becomes the seniority officer at Camp Hammond, which isn't good because he is the sort of guy who shove protesters to the side in a feat of democracy and then order a death hunt on Hardball, who is now a full on HYDRA commander. While the Shadow team isn't officially out to kill him, I am certain if it happened, Gauntlet would be awarding medals, not criticizing. Slott perhaps struggled with the idea that while those in the military are taught to kill, they aren't taught that killing is always the first option and one is NEVER to feel ANY pangs of remourse or mercy for any enemy, and if one does, drill sarge calls you a weak, worthless coward. I am curious if Gage will be able to handle that sort of balance better off solo. This is honestly a camp that needs Justice now more than ever to balance out Gauntlet's disposition, although I am curious if that would happen.

I also was glad that not everyone was gung-ho with 3-D Man killing Crusader at the end of the last issue. While Delroy of course was justified in over-reacting, and some bloodlust in war happens, it also makes sense that at least SOME of the heroes who had gotten close to Crusader and saw his genuine heroism would feel that Delroy had overstepped a bit. The Skrull Kill Krew of course disagrees and 3-D seems to go off to join them. They certainly will need new members after all but Ryder are dead.

The issue ends on a cliffhanger with the revelation that "Skrullowjacket", much like Harry Osborn, set some plans in motion for revenge in case of his untimely death, which means reactivating the cyborg clone of Thor, which was torn into bits by Hercules (or Storm, depending on what you read last). While part of me would rather Clor face off against the genuine article, that would mean JMS having Thor actually DO something, and that clearly is not a part of his agenda at any point. Better off that Clor stays with A:TI. The challenge will be doing the "rampaging living weapon created by the Initiative starts to pick it apart" in a way that doesn't repeat the themes of KILLED IN ACTION.

The highlight of the issue was clearly the human drama between Pym and "Jan" that merely does more to convince me that Pym is in good hands with Slott and that MIGHTY AVENGERS is going to be something mighty special, pun intended. As for this issue, it is a good ending for the SI affair as well as for Slott as monthly co-writer (although Gage claims he will be working from plots discussed with Slott for a bit). Gage's last solo issue was quite good and I have no doubt that A:TI will remain of consistent quality without Slott at the helm. A better, more important installment then a few of the Invasion tie-in's before it, this arc of A:TI wraps up about as well as one could expect. I will miss Caselli on art, even if he struggled with a monthly schedule (without lead in time, he usually couldn't handle more than 2 issues before delay), though. Hopefully Gage will have enough time to iron out his own flair for the book; there still is a place for the Initiative, even if it was compromised by Skrulls. There are a lot of states in the union that need response teams.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #45: The ending of this three issue arc, but in a way not the end of the story as it is merely a prelude to a bigger one. It is in this way that Brubaker has proven a master at the serial storytelling art in CA. Rather than finishing stories in neat tidy trades 4-6 issues at a time, his stories flow from one issue to the other where actions have reactions and past details are brought up. Enough happens in every issue that one never feels like "nothing happened" as is far too common with a lot of decompressed writers. This "finale" is another sign of that.

We learn that the mysterious man is "The Man With No Face", a Chinese super soldier type of being that Bucky encountered during his Winter Soldier days who now has returned in a scheme to steal a top secret artifact from the U.N. with the mercenary Batroc the Leaper in tow. "Faceless Man" has a creepy design and is virtually invincible save for electrical shocks, which stun him. New Cap tries valiantly to stop the theft and hold off the villains, but ultimately needs Black Widow to bail him out with "Faceless Man" and the baddies escape with their loot. As some predicted, it turns out to be the andriod corpse of the 1940's Human Torch, who died several years ago. Appalled by his old Invaders ally being experimented on, James vows to do right by his old comrade, and of course this justifies why Namor would show up in later issues. Whether as allies or adversaries, Namor and Hammond always went way back.

The cover is good although looks similar to some others in the arc, enough that I had to do a double take to make sure it was not a duplicate issue. Not everyone has been a fan of Ross' art but I thought he was a capable fill-in for Epting, who is due to return. Part of me likes the idea of James keeping some elements of the past from Black Widow because she wouldn't let him complete the mission otherwise. CA has always been a balance of superhero and espionage and that clearly hasn't been effected with Steve's death; in fact it has increased with Bucky's Winter Soldier past; it is a clear example of a retcon that worked because it added so much to the mythos.

The fight sequence between New Cap, Faceless Man, Batroc and the others is the usually goodness from Brubaker; whether it is Epting or other artists, it always flows well, looks quite cinematic and is always exciting. Quite a lot of "action" writers could learn a thing or two from him.

Not much more to comment, as there never is with CAPTAIN AMERICA. It is a reliably good title, has been for years, and one either is reading it or not. It sells within the Top 10-15 like it deserves, which is a happy coincidence; quality is rarely rewarded in sales. While everyone is seemingly counting down the months before Steve's return, I maintain that Brubaker has created that rare awesome legacy and it would be folly to throw it all into the dustbin in favor of a perennial status quo. At the very least, give him years to define himself as a proper Captain America, rather than a stunt. The proper evolution of Bucky was as Captain America; without that, a lot of the good stories to come of the death may as well have never happened. For once, let a franchise evolve instead of simply changing the paint (oh, if only the X-Men or Spider-Man could do that). Brubaker's done that, and it is a rare thing to be supported and cherished, least while it lasts.

Sales have remained solid; unlike other titles, where spikes in sales happen due to crossover tie-in's, CA has often gone through spikes simply at various points in the story; CA sold 72k in October while over 75k in November; even a variant cover wouldn't amount to that increase entirely. It is selling about double what it was during some of the first 1-2 years during the run. It is a hit on every level, for clear and obvious reasons. This issue is no exception. In fact, picturing CA without Brubaker is almost hard to fathom; we have a writer in his peak still doing a masterwork run. If there is any justice, he will last on CA at least as long as JMS meandered on ASM (which was about 7 years).

FANTASTIC FOUR #562: The irony of the Millar/Hitch FF run is that while solicts seem to want to fool the reader into thinking that this is one of Millar's normal works, where someone could die at any second, Millar isn't telling that kind of story here. It clearly comes off that he likes the Four far too much to kill any of them and is simply trying to tell far out adventure stories with them. In many ways it isn't much different than the McDuffie run. If anything, McDuffie was the one who did the "stunt" of changing the roster for about a year, or having Michael Collins & Gravity tag along for stretches of time. He also did an "alternate future time travel" story, and I think Millar's overall was a smidge better. It sold 61k in November, which is good for the Four (who often have fallen to 40k sales during various years), although it clearly isn't the hit some may have expected after ULTIMATES 2. Honestly, I am enjoying it overall. In some ways, this issue is a microcosm; I liked 75% of it, and 25% of it irritated me. That may not sound good, but that is far better than many stories from Millar. There is imagination, a lighter tone and even some heart. While it probably gets more attention than it deserves sheerly due to the creative team, hey, that's what star-power is for.

There is a Funeral for Invisible Woman, but not what solicts made you think. It is for the Future Sue, who was murdered by Dr. Doom last issue for revenge for his kidnapping and torture. As she was not evil, and because the Four apparently haven't lost their morals in the current "HYDRA soldiers/Skrulls/ninjas aren't people so feel free to slaughter them mercilessly" Marvel Universe, they hold a funeral for her death. Besides the alternate reality New Defenders (which include Old Man Logan, his son Hulk Jr., and a noble version of Ultron named Alex instead of Mark), the Young Avengers, New & Mighty Avengers, former Four members Storm & Panther, even Gravity show up. The only caveat is one bit clearly shows Wasp from behind, which means this takes place before SECRET INVASION. Honestly, over 60k for a run that is clearly separated from the current continuity by at least 6 months is pretty good in today's market.

Sue gives some words and naturally reacts to things with her family, her reacting to her seemingly future death and all, but not in an overly angsty way, but in a way that felt genuinely human. I had forgotten Millar could write actual people instead of vulgar punch-lines or action movie cliches. Johnny makes up with "Psionics" (still a dumb name) and Mr. Fantastic bonds with Valaria, who has revealed her own super-intelligence.

The art from Hitch is what you would expect. He likes his leather and zippers, and sometimes struggles with non-zippery costumes, but everything looks fine here. He gets Thing right, which is good.

Now for the 25% that irritated me. Franklin obviously feels jealous about his little sister getting Reed's attention now, which is fine. But his "wish list" had "powers" on it when, unless Mephisto erased it, Franklin does have super powers. HEROES RETURN was only maybe 1-2 years ago in Marvel Time, right? He was part of the Power Pack for quite a while. He should know that he either has powers, or has the potential for vast power. It just seemed to me that Millar sees Franklin as some average toddler when he should be more than that by now. Part of me also wanted to add a third item to that list: "Puberty after 40 years". Seriously, aging this damn kid to 13 so he can have adventures could solve so many problems for the Four and no writer has had the cajones.

The other thing was, of course, Thing proposing to Random Teacher Debbie after a whole 8 issues of courtship. I understand what Millar is trying to do, have Thing fall for someone who is "normal" and whatnot, but it feels very wrong. Much as the last bit merely magnified the problem with Franklin, this story part merely magnifies the utter failure of Marvel editorial for about 2-3 years to acknowledge that Ben and Alicia Masters patched things up at the end of THE THING #8. Aside for MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #1 from Norton, no one else has acknowledged it happened. Something like Ben rekindling his romance with his longtime love is NOT the kind of thing that can or should be easily omitted or swept under the rug. It was wrong of McDuffie to write the book for about a year and half without bringing it up and it is also wrong for Millar to completely omit it. The same editorial group that is all but ordering Cyclops to act like a *****e over at the X-books should have been able to handle this. A situation as important as a proposal has to feel real and genuine, and this doesn't. For all of Marvel's hatred of the Parker marriage throughout the last 15 years and 2-3 EIC tenures, that was one of the last marriages they had that felt genuine, honest, and human. Maybe that was why it didn't fit in. It was the publicity stunt that worked. It made the others look bad. Much like the exceptional kid makes all the classroom dullards look, well, like dullards. Despite their best efforts, they had Spidey grow up. So it had to die.

But I digress.

The issue ends with an interesting bit with Dr. Doom talking to Reed in prison in a bit of a Lecter ish sequence before announcing some of his mentors are coming to Earth. I just want to know how the heck Doom was re-arrested. Surely he had to have put up some kind of fight after killing Old Sue. Sadly, having dramatic things happen off panel has been a Millar story trick since ULTIMATE X-MEN, and it often stifles some potential.

Overall, a solid issue, as usual. While hardly perfect, Millar is telling a lighter hearted story than he usually does and I get the feeling he genuinely likes the franchise and the characters, and isn't quite out to just draw a knife and carve his initials into it like a lot of writers on franchise work. Sure, he writes Johnny as a token immature idiot, but Reed, Sue, and Ben are usually fine, and three out of four ain't bad.

NEXT: INCREDIBLE HERCULES #124, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #8 & KICK-ASS #5.