Bought/Thought January 4, 2012.1

[JewishHobbit]

So I went to the shop today and got some new stuff but also 3 back issues that I had missed. I missed Children's Crusade last week and I have no idea when Magneto: Not a Villain #2 came out but I got those. While skimming the back issue wall for those two I also picked up and skimmed Carnage U.S.A. and it intrigued me, so I bought it. I haven't read Carnage yet but it doesn't seem to be required reading. I'll reviews all of these below. In fact, I'll start with them.

Carnage U.S.A. #1 - I was a huge Carnage fan back in the 90's and hated when Bendis killed him off. I always thought he could be a bigger threat in the Marvel Universe than he was portrayed and it's good to see that that's happening now. I, for some reason, likely budget, skipped on the Carnage mini and now I'm kinda wishing I'd have picked it up.

This issue, I thought, was really good. The art here fits the creepy plot, though I don't like the way Crain's Thing looks (stop snickering). I thought Wells did a good job with everything and I especially like how Cletus is written. I'll have to go back and get that Carnage mini and maybe that Carnage vs. Venom one. I've not read either of those. I will likely continue on with this mini to its end. It's just so nostalgic seeing Cletus as a major threat again.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade #8 (of 9) - And the story that never ends is nearly over. Only one more issue and I THINK it's solicited for next month. I had the ending of this one spoiled for me (by my own fault) in last week's B/T thread but it didn't take away from the plot at all. I thought this was very good. As I was expecting, Heinberg is laying the groundwork to take away Wanda's being at fault for all the bad things she did, primarilly House of M, by putting the blame on Dr. Doom.

Honestly, I felt that this issue could have been stretched out to two. The idea of a near omnipitent, even greater than the Beyonder's power, taking on the X-Men, X-Factor, the Avengers, and the Young Avengers, just really sounds awesome. Sadly it's quick and you don't see much of it. I'd like to have seen more of that battle. But the story is good anyhow and the ending is sad.

Fortunately, I don't think that Cassie is really dead. As I stated elsewhere, I think she will be brought back with magic (probably Wiccan's since Wanda is tapped) but the cost (as magic always has a cost) will be her losing her father, Scott, again... but not before getting a meaningful goodbye moment for closure this time.

I'm eager to see the conclusion and even more eager to see what's in store for the team after this wraps up.

Magneto: Not A Hero #2 - Again... I'm a huge 90's buff so Joseph being back tickles my tootles (there's a slogan for ya! Just made it up and it was so stupid I kept it). And I hate when former heroes return as villains but it actually works kinda well in this plot. Basically, the roles are switched and Joseph is the tyrant and Magneto is the hero. This works though because when Astra brings Joseph back (completely in connection with the Magneto Wars when Joseph died... points to Young for that) she reeducates him in how he should be. Now he's how she intended him to be when she created him without the distraction of his being lost and educated by the X-Men.

I like what's happening here and I'm eager to see how the rest of it plays out. I'm worried, though, that Joseph will die again and nothing will come of this. I also really like that Young is really playing with continuity here, including the forgotten minor plot of Astra being a founding member of the original Brotherhood.


Now for the new stuff...

Defenders #2 - I really enjoyed last issue but this one did very little for me. I'm not sure who is supposed to be narrating the book or if it's a character at all and so I found that distracting. John isn't a very good villain at all. He bores me. I've never cared about the animal men of Wundagore Mountains (at least not when the High Evolutionary was involved). I like Iron Fist, as always, but that was about it. I like how he healed himself and when he tried to scare Red She-Hulk while incapacitated. Pretty good stuff there.

I hope this is just a second issue lull but we'll see. The next arc promises the Immortal Weapons so I'm on the book through that story at least. Beyond that it's open.

Avengers Annual #1 - I would assume long time fans of Wonder Man would hate this plot as they have from the beginning in Avengers #1, maybe even more due to the retcon that actually makes a lot of sense from what I hear.

Basically, Wonder Man is peeved and doesn't seem to be under any sort of brainwashing... but he's realized that he may not even be real. Basically, he died... he's dead... dead is dead... but he was brought back by Wanda. Was it really him or did she just create him on a whim? That's his thinking. He was created out of thin air and isn't really Simon at all. The real Wonder Man is still dead.

He believes that he's the very first sign of Wanda's disturbing power level and no one spotted it because they WANTED him to be back. Disassembled and House of M could have been prevented at that point but wasn't. Osborn's Dark Reign could have been prevented but wasn't. Civil War could have been prevented but wasn't. Ultron could have been prevented but wasn't. Etc.

I never read the issues dealing with his death or resurrection but with everything that's gone on with Wanda since Disassembled I think it makes sense. I've never liked Wonder Man so this retcon doesn't bother me any, though I understand if it would bother others. The only real hope here is that in the end Wonder Man vanishes from his prison in an odd scene and it makes me wonder if there's more here than we're seeing.

I did like his team though and I hope they return at some point, maybe during the Ultron War. I specifically liked Ethan Edwards and his reasoning for being on the team. Anti-Venom's reasoning was also good and in character I felt (though this obviously took place prior to Spider-Island and Fear Itself due to him and the tower being in it).

Good issue, not worth the price though.

Avengers: X-Sanction #2 - I enjoyed this issue more than the first one. The flashbacks with Hope growing up was nice and the Cable/Iron Man fight was better than the Cable/Cap fight. I also like that Red Hulk is next. I'm curious how Loeb will write him now that someone else has taken his reigns.

It was an alright issue, though I'm still not big on McGuinness' art. It's a simple plot but that's fine. I never expected depth and I've not gotten it. It's just a basic simple comic.

Uncanny X-Force #19.1 - And we get our first glimpse of the Age of Apocalypse ongoing. Similar to how Venom launched out of an Amazing Spider-Man .1 issue, AoA is launching from an Uncanny X-Force .1 issue.

I actually liked this a lot more than I thought I would. It's sad seeing so many Age of Apocalypse characters dying off one by one and two more very important ones die here (Magneto and Rogue) and we're left with just two survivor members, Sabretooth and Jean Grey.

The plot is that while on the 616 they learned of M-Day and so they've cloned Wanda (without Magneto's knowledge) and Jean is trying to get her to depower the mutants telepathically world wide. Well, it ends up only working a few feet around her so guess who was depowered... Sabretooth and Jean Grey. So that's why they're with the human resistence... they're human as well.

And so we have Jean and Sabretooth with the human resistance against a world full of evil mutants lead by Logan. Crazy book. I didn't give a lick about these new humans initially but I really liked William Stryker here, now called Prophet and I liked how they got that name for him. He's not religious in the AoA but he studies his enemies until he can predict what they will do, as if he were prophecying their moves.

So yeah, likely I'll get this ongoing. I figured I would because I love X-Men, I loved the Age of Apocalypse, and it's branching out of Uncanny X-Force, which I love. But this just solidified it. I already budgeted for it anyhow.

And can I say that I loved the original "Enter Now: The Age of Apocalypse" logo on the cover. Nostalgia! I'm loving that the 90's is coming back.

Uncanny X-Men #4 - You know how I said the first three issues of this title sucked and that I can't recommend it to anyone? Well, I take that back with this issue. It's a done-in-one issue that loosely ties in with the previous arc but mostly stands alone. It was so creative using an old idea that I was sad to find it only being one issue. And like Young in Magneto, Gillen uses great continuity here.

Basically, the whole book is from the point of view of a single member of the Phalanx. He is happy to have been in the collective, never alone, always in perfection. We learn that back during their initial invasion (Phalanx Covenant) he was taken captive by Sinister and separated from the Hive Mind. This was how Sinister, last arc, managed to learn how to create a Hive Mind with himself. After last issue Sinister returned and destroyed the lab and the Phalanx with it. Phalanx ended up surviving and took the life force of worms enough to survive until a child found him. He grew to like this girl and converted her to Phalanx, eager to share in the Hive Mind but he learns that Sinister took that from him and he ended up only killing the girl and absorbing her into hiimself. Distraught, he saught to absorb enough people to create a spire to call more Phalanx so that he can be part of their Hive Mind again.

The X-Men show up and battle and ultimately the Phalanx learns that he is not separated from them but that he is the last of his kind (as a result of Annihilation Conquest). Distraught he basically sacrefices himself in battle with the X-Men and dies.

Wow, that was a great and almost sad story from the mind of an alien villain. I've always been partial to the Phalanx (again, 90's NOSTALGIA! ) so this issue was the bees nees for me. I loved it from beginning to end and Gillen's reenvigerated me with his book. Super stoked now!

My only regret, though the story is better the way it happened, but I liked the idea of the last Phalanx taking a name for itself and becoming its own character. Oh well... his death to end it all was a better ending plot-wise.

X-23 #20 - I thought this was a fantastic issue. Jubilee and X-23 head to the Jean Grey Academy and play some football with Iceman and Gambit. Laura is back and forth on whether to stay with Cyclops or stay with Wolverine and so her and Jubilee go out dancing (well, Jubilee dances, Laura doesn't dance) and Laura spies a pimp who was friends with the one she used to be with. Long story short, she stabs him in the crotch and goes on a night-long mission to free all his girls. In the end Black Widow shows up and she learns that the Avengers had been watching her for a while and offers yet another offer... the Avengers Academy.

She's left with the choice and tells Wolverine that she's made her decision and he tells her that he'll miss her. Then she says goodbye to Gambit, who had become a father figure for her, and hits the road. Next issue is the last issue where her 21 issue-long road trip of self discovery comes to an end and she lands in the Avengers Academy (to once again wonder who she is, despite having already found herself here )

This series is so good that I hate to see it end, but then again Liu is a fantastic writer and this ending frees her up to write Astonishing X-Men in an ongoing status so that excites me (and costs me an extra buck a month ). I want to follow Laura but I skimmed this week's Avengers Academy and it just didn't do it for me. She was barely in it. I might get it on a lighter week but I skipped it for now. My Laura adventures MIGHT end next issue but we'll see.


Best and Worst of the Week:

Best - Uncanny X-Men #4 - This was just a really good, unique issue. Gillen did a great job here. It's probably my favorite issue of his run so far and is on par with Wolverine & the X-Men for the first time in 4 issues.

X-23 was a close second place here.

Defenders #2 - I just wasn't feeling this issue. I hope it's an off-issue and not more of Fraction's sucktitude that got so old in Fear Itself.

 

[CrimsonMist]

Really satisfying week:

Swamp Thing #5 picked up the pace from last month's issue. Alec and Abby encounter William Arcane for the first time and his army of dead pigs and cows. Alec, for the first time, gets in touch with the Green to kick some ass and Alec and Abby has their first romantic moment together, relaying a dream each used to have about a boy made of leaves and a girl made of bones loving one another. The panel of them kissing is beautifully rendered by Yanick Paquette and the writing leading up to that moment is superb. Meanwhile, another agent of The Rot, a Professor Robert (last name not given) has infiltrated the patch of Brazilian Rain Forest inhabited by the Parliament of Trees, while an incapacitated William shouts with glee that The Rot has won. This significantly pushes the plot forward with a much needed urgency. As Alec relays a story to Abby about how he's always felt that the Green protected him, even as a child, I think he's beginning to understand his place in this huge battle. And as he and Abby reignite their past together, Alec is, in my opinion, leaning closer to to playing into his role as the ultimate Green Elemental Warrior. Keep an eye out also for some more easter eggs as well. This time the references are to: Andy Diggle(Diggle shotgun shells), The Anatomy Lesson(Anatomy Lessons trading cards), Enrique Breccia(Breccia Snacks), Martin Pasko(Pasko Diner), Richard Corben(Corben & Co.), and Nestor Redondo(Redondo Shoes).

Animal Man #5 was also really solid, but I think Swamp Thing was better this month. It always alternates between these two. But in this issue, we see more of the Third Hunter of the Rot attacking Ellen and Cliff. Socks, a Red elemental in the form of a cat and Maxine's new pet, informs Buddy that Maxine is top priority and that everyone else(Buddy, Cliff and Ellen) are all expendable to which Buddy gets pissed. The Rot, while kicking Buddy's ass, also tricks Maxine into calling on all the animal life in the area to attack it in an effort to save Buddy. The animals consume the Hunter and become infected with the Rot as Buddy and his family flee in Ellen's mother's R.V. The book ends with Socks saying that only the Swamp Thing can save them. This had me squirm with glee. This cross-over is supposed to occur during issue 7 of both titles and I anxiously await it. Lemire's writing was top-notch this month. It was mostly serious drama this time around. A few joke moments, but the severity of the situation overshadowed that and it's alright by me. Travel Foreman I guess couldn't hit the deadline so Steve Pugh, whose only other work I'm familiar with is the Saint of Killers mini-series for PREACHER)who completed the last several pages. The style, while keeping relatively close to Foreman's layout style, is noticeably different and feels a bit more like generic comic art. Aside from that, good stuff.

American Vampire #22 was just flat out awesome. I think this has been the best issue since the Devil In The Sand arc. Not to say I didn't enjoy what came after, but in terms of characters and writing, this is the book has been in a while. And it's certainly nice to have Rafael Albuquerque back on art duties. The last arc had Jordi Bernet on art duties, and while Bernet's artwork harkens back to the days of EC and is very loose in style, I don't think his artwork was really appropriate for this book and really took me out of it. But Rafa is back and better than ever. I really love how he can tweak his style to fit each era that the book takes place. It's beautiful to look at. And Scott Snyder has hit a new high here with the creation of Travis Kid. Think James Dean if he hunted vampires. He's ****ing cool. And Snyder clearly has fun writing him. He's quick, charismatic, witty, and just flat out cool. He can also kick ass(I really wanna see Snyder start writing Damian in BATMAN now). The opening pages are some of Snyder's best, and when Travis gets to meet his girlfriend's parents, well...it needs to seen to be believed. It totally took me surprise and when it continued, it had me rolling. This arc is gonna be a fun one, I can tell.

Goon #37 got a little preachy. This book deals with unions and sweatshops, taking much of it's influence from the real life Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911 in which a factory fire killed 146 women and teenage girls due to poor safety regulations. The same happens in this book, and the very few survivors and family members of the deceased seek to topple the man responsible for the deaths by hiring out The Goon for protection from the Factory Owner and his union busters. The Goon and Franky hit a few people in the face and that's really it. I dare say that The Goon and Franky feel intrusive in their own book. They don't really do much. This issue is devoid of much of the humor that fills the book traditionally(especially The Goon #15, the last time Powell did a story about unions), and even though there was a whole year dedicated to making The Goon's life as miserable as it could get, it felt out of place here, mainly because the main character felt out of place. Since the book returned to a regular schedule after a long hiatus, I've been fairly disappointed by each issue. I think I've only liked 2 of them. But because it's bi-monthly, I'll keep buying it. I don't think I could ever drop The Goon even if I wanted to.

Fatale #1 sold me good. Nazis, the occult, possible Lovecraftian connections, noir. Mr. Brubaker, you may have my money. I loved it Sean Philips' artwork is great (there's one splash page that screams of Jack Kirby, pre-Marvel Superhero. You'll know it when you see it). Speaking of which, I've always preferred Brubaker's crime/noir outtings like Criminal over his superhero stuff because, while Gotham Central, Gotham Noir and Incognito has superhero undertones, they're strictly crime/pulp/noir comics. Captain America may be good, but I'll take this stuff any day. Good stuff.

The Punisher #7 was probably the weakest of the week, but I'm not complaining. Rucka had Michael Lark and Stefano Guardino, his Gotham Central cohorts, doing art duties here and I wish they'd stick around. We get some more insight into why Ozzy Clemons is so hell-bent on bringing in The Punisher(has to do with a two-part story from the first Punisher on-going and a cross-over with Daredevil, issues 10 and 257 respectively, in which The Punisher botches a court case bringing to justice a man who spiked bottles of aspirin with cyanide due to reasonable doubt on the evidence in determining what weapons in the man's apartment were the man's and what were Castle's.) It's a really solid issue though it nags at me that a cop as perceptive as Clemons, while deducing that someone else is killing members of the Exchange(he assumes Frank has a partner) hasn't figured out that Rachel Cole-Alves, the bride who survived a massacre on her wedding day, is the second person, working independently of Castle on her own mission for vengeance. It should be plain as day. Ah well. Good stuff regardless. Also, the book mentions that Walter Bolt, Ozzy's partner is fooling around with Peter Parker's ex, Carlie Cooper. That hasn't been touched on in this book if I recall. Has anything been going on in the Spider-Man books in regards to this?

Action Comics #5 was, while not perfect, probably the single best issue of Morrison's run so far. We get Superman's origin in this issue and it's pretty damn compelling. Any gaps within the first 4 issues are explained here to a satisfying point. The back-up story about Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent getting married and struggling to have a baby was outstanding. The only thing I didn't like about this issue was the introduction of yet another story element regarding the Legion of Superheroes and time travel. For starters, the story started in the first four issues was put on hold to tell Superman's origin and now we're getting yet ANOTHER story element introduced. It felt out of place and ruined what was otherwise a great issue. This was a problem I had with Morrison's run on Batman. The three issue Black Glove arc comes out of NOWHERE and interrupts the storyline in the issues before it. And when The Black Glove arc ended, the book resumed where it left off. It's annoying. But for a moment, Morrison's writing was perfect. It was compelling and emotional and just flat out fantastic. We'll see where it goes. I'm actually looking forward to it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I actually picked up Avengers Annual because I was curious to see what Wonder Man's actual reasoning was for fighting the Avengers and it was a relatively light week. As much as I hate seeing Simon turn villain again, the scenes with Beast were kind of nice. Dell'Otto did a great job of showing the pain Simon's actions were causing Beast all over Beast's face. But yeah, other than that and a few fun panels of the Revengers freaking out against Thor, it was basically just Bendis s***ting all over great characters for no reason. Simon's reasoning is utterly ridiculous. The Avengers have done plenty of good, but they've also f***ed up a bit, so they should disband. Doesn't that just leave Earth open to all of the threats they stopped in that "good" column? He never articulates anything remotely resembling a better means to achieving what the Avengers have without the messy other stuff that he's now so hell-bent against. The other Revengers' motivations are even worse; most basically boil down to, "The Avengers did something that pissed me off, so f*** 'em!" It's not about exposing the alleged corruption that Simon sees at all, which makes Simon a hypocrite on top of an idiot. It's a plot hole the size of Texas, but no one calls Bendis on it because he's the moneymaker. Lame.

Action Comics was good. This is about the seventh time I've seen Superman's origin revamped over the last decade or so, but Johns does a pretty good job with it. He even got me to like Krypto a bit. The backup detailing the Kents' quest to have a child was pretty moving too. Andy Kubert's art doesn't really complement Morrison's style as well as Rags' does: Morrison tends to be a "big picture" writer, so it's usually up to the artist to convey things like the characters' emotions in any given scene. Rags does that exceedingly well. Kubert, not so much. He comes from the same school as Jim Lee, where cartoonish "grim" and "surprised" expressions by rote abound rather than the spectrum of emotion Rags can put on characters' faces. But he still tells the story well enough, so I'm not complaining.

Swamp Thing and Animal Man march toward the ends of their first arcs, both essentially telling the same story of the Rot's emergence as the primary villain to both the Green and the Red, respectively. So far Animal Man seems to be doing a better job with it, perhaps because of the more personal stake Buddy has in the form of his daughter Maxine. Swamp Thing's got Alec and Abbey Arcane connecting/reconnecting, but because of the odd nature of Alec's relationship to the elemental Swamp Thing, it comes off vaguely awkward to me. I never really liked the twist of William, the main representative of the Rot in ST, being Abbey's long-lost baby brother, either. Still, both series are good, and the twists at the end of each of their issues this week are certainly worth returning for. Paquette and Foreman both do an excellent job of portraying the Rot in their own unique way, too. It's cool to see the commonalities flowing through both of their interpretations.

Irredeemable picks up where Incorruptible left off last week. While each of the previous issues of this arc have dealt with aspects of Max Damage and Plutonian's origin, this one starts to tie them together and examine the layers in the nature of their relationship. They're very intertwined; that much was clear from the moment Waid introduced Max as Tony's nemesis. But the revelations in this arc--that Max was the first accidental victim of Tony's uncontrolled rage, that Max seems to define himself wholly by Tony, etc.--paint a much more intimate and complex picture. I'm really excited to see Max's side of this next stage in their relationship in the next Incorruptible issue.

Also, we get to see Tony's adolescence under the only foster parent who really mattered to him: Bill Hartigan. Perhaps predictably, Bill is very much a twisted mirror image of Superman's Jonathan Kent; he has all of the stern, Midwestern values that mold both Superman and Plutonian's worldview but lacks the compassion and tenderness that Kent showed to make Superman a well balanced person. Bill overcompensates for his adopted son's powers by strictly denying him any and all pleasures. On Christmas, he and Tony smile and laugh as Tony opens his presents... and then Bill directs Tony to wrap them back up so they can take them to a hospital for less privileged kids. He denies Tony dessert because "a boy who can take anything he wants needs to learn not to want more than he needs." Waid does a great job of portraying Bill as a complex individual over only a few pages: he's not cruel, he simply takes his sense of responsibility for Tony's powers too far, establishing Tony's repressive nature that will one day implode and result in his total meltdown.

The only thing that bugs me about this issue is the monumental stupidity of its last-page cliffhanger, but because of Max's presence there, I'm assuming that will be clarified in Incorruptible's next part of this arc.

Avengers Academy turned in another solid issue. I like that Gage doesn't draw things out too much; the threat of Jimmy Marks hiding his Dire Wraith nature while wreaking havoc at the Academy is over by the end of this issue. Future-Reptil is the real star of this issue, as his collusion with Jimmy to victimize the other Academy students and staff forces him to examine his own inner conflict between wanting to ensure his future and his remorse over all the pain he'll have to cause the other Academy people to do that. Ultimately, his better nature wins out and he rebels against Jimmy rather than serve White Tiger up to him, forcing Jimmy out into the open when he takes over the minds of Reptil, X-23, and Tigra and forces them to attack Pym and the rest of the staff. That's the cliffhanger the issue ends on. Presumably, the change of heart means that future-Reptil will have to come clean about who he is after this is over. I could see Gage having him worm his way out of it by claiming Jimmy controlled him all along, but I hope that's not the case. I'm a little tired of future-Reptil's cloak-and-dagger subplot and anxious to see Gage move onto other, more interesting stories. The art for the issue is solid, provided by Tom Grummett. I thought he was just a fill-in until I saw the box on the letters page declaring him the new regular penciller. I think he's a good fit and I'm looking forward to seeing his work regularly again.

 

[runawayboulder]

Tom Gummett's style totally fits the book perfectly.

As for the Wonder Man debacle, Dread and I talked about it in last weeks B/T thread yesterday. Heinberg is trying to pin all of Wanda's actions from Disassembled on to Doom last week then this week Bendis goes against that with Simon declaring he died a long time ago and the man now is just a creation of a mad woman. GOD DAMN IT Marvel, it's either Doom or it isn't, don't contradict yourself in the matter of SEVEN DAYS!!

Dread brought up the point that Bendis has something against former members of the WCA, it's funny because it never occurred to me there was a pattern after all this time.

Hawkeye - blown up during Disassembled, brought back in House of M to be dissolved into cubes.....then he becomes a ninja.

Mockingbird - nearly killed off then given the super soldier/infinity formula hybrid whatever the hell it was turning her into a tank character instead of the former super spy Jim McCann just spent a year and a half trying to reintroduce everyone to her roots again.

Vison - gets blown up twice in 6 years and tossed in limbo

Iron Man - only used as the token drunk when needed

Scarlet Witch - out of nowhere became the biggest, craziest c**t in the Marvel Universe, that followed up destroying the Avengers in 2004 to wiping out the mutant race in 2005.

Wonder Man - went from not wanting anything to do with the Civil War to enforcing it's policies to becoming a GIANT LUNATIC ASSH**E. So basically, in a political analogy, he went from Switzerland to the United States to North Korea.

I'd like to know why he's got such a hard on for that team. Boy o boy, Marvel's got problems and it all starts at the top....

 

[JewishHobbit]

Tom Gummett's style totally fits the book perfectly.

As for the Wonder Man debacle, Dread and I talked about it in last weeks B/T thread yesterday. Heinberg is trying to pin all of Wanda's actions from Disassembled on to Doom last week then this week Bendis goes against that with Simon declaring he died a long time ago and the man now is just a creation of a mad woman. GOD DAMN IT Marvel, it's either Doom or it isn't, don't contradict yourself in the matter of SEVEN DAYS!!

That's not really a contradiction. Doom claims that he is the reason for Disassembled and House of M (the destructive days of Wanda) but it is never suggested that she didn't actually have that power, only that he used her.

Resurrecting Wonder Man was the first hint of that power, prior to Doom controling her.

It works.

Dread brought up the point that Bendis has something against former members of the WCA, it's funny because it never occurred to me there was a pattern after all this time.

Hawkeye - blown up during Disassembled, brought back in House of M to be dissolved into cubes.....then he becomes a ninja.

Techincally he made Clint fairly popular by killing him off and then brought him back. I think it's Bendis' fault that Clint is at the height of his popularity. I mean, lord, he's on the Avengers, Avengers Academy, Secret Avengers, Avengers Assemble, and in that Avengers solo book. There's more demand for him now than before Bendis killed him.

Go Bendis.

Mockingbird - nearly killed off then given the super soldier/infinity formula hybrid whatever the hell it was turning her into a tank character instead of the former super spy Jim McCann just spent a year and a half trying to reintroduce everyone to her roots again.

I think the trump here is that Bendis brought her back from the limbo of a decade or more long death. He can kinda do what he wants at this point. And so far he's only improved her (as in he's moved her forward instead of pulling her back or keeping her stagnant). It's not his fault if another writer writes her better.

Vison - gets blown up twice in 6 years and tossed in limbo

Blanking out on this one. When was the second time?

Iron Man - only used as the token drunk when needed

Oh, you're stretching this one very thin. He has only showed him as a drunk once under someone else's influence. Other than that he's been Avengers leader alongside Cap and Luke.

Scarlet Witch - out of nowhere became the biggest, craziest c**t in the Marvel Universe, that followed up destroying the Avengers in 2004 to wiping out the mutant race in 2005.

No argument on this one.

Wonder Man - went from not wanting anything to do with the Civil War to enforcing it's policies to becoming a GIANT LUNATIC ASSH**E. So basically, in a political analogy, he went from Switzerland to the United States to North Korea.

Plot isn't finished yet but Wonder Man sucks, so who cares

 

[runawayboulder]

That's not really a contradiction. Doom claims that he is the reason for Disassembled and House of M (the destructive days of Wanda) but it is never suggested that she didn't actually have that power, only that he used her.

Resurrecting Wonder Man was the first hint of that power, prior to Doom controling her.

It works.

To be fair, when Doom said it, it was almost a throwaway line. I had to make a post about it here to see if anyone else picked up on it like I did. But it is certainly going in the direction that Doom was behind everything regarding Wanda, so in Children's Crusade #9, Wanda will claim her innocence, blame Doom and the Young Avengers will corroborate her story since they were there. Welcome back Wanda, all is forgiven and Wolverine goes back to Cavern X grumbling, all pissed off with a 6 pack in hand. Bendis refuses to buy into it.

Another thing to remember is that the Wonder Man arc was over a year in the making. New Avengers annual came out months ago. The Wonder Man plot was first introduced in Avengers #1 then forgotten about for 7 months when it was picked up again in Avengers 7 or 8 for a brief few minutes. Children's Crusade was over 5 years in the making. Both sides can frankly kiss my butt over this whole thing. I yearn for a day when guys like Bendis and Heinberg are no longer a factor at Marvel.

Techincally he made Clint fairly popular by killing him off and then brought him back. I think it's Bendis' fault that Clint is at the height of his popularity. I mean, lord, he's on the Avengers, Avengers Academy, Secret Avengers, Avengers Assemble, and in that Avengers solo book. There's more demand for him now than before Bendis killed him.

Go Bendis.

Hawkeye fans certainly started crawling out of the woodwork, I'll give you that one. But it was the type of unexpected, very very cheap death that would cause silent fans of the character to be outraged leading to clamoring of his return and major popularity. Did you still think there were Gwen Stacy fans out there when Sins Past happened? I was surprised there were so many. I guess you can make the argument that the internet is only good for pissing and moaning but I try to hold firm to my convictions as a fan.

I think the trump here is that Bendis brought her back from the limbo of a decade or more long death. He can kinda do what he wants at this point. And so far he's only improved her (as in he's moved her forward instead of pulling her back or keeping her stagnant). It's not his fault if another writer writes her better.

No no no no no. That excuse is only good for your own creations. If that rule applied to everybody, there would be creative chaos. Jean Grey would come back tomorrow and become pregnant with sextuplets, 3 from Scott and 3 from Logan. Jim McCann was moving her forward instead of making her stagnant, not Bendis. Bendis ignored the work of others as usual and made her worse than stagnant, he made her unreadable.

Blanking out on this one. When was the second time?

I'm a bit foggy but it might have been Secret Invasion. It was a teased return and I remember Bendis laughing about it during one of those behind the scenes pieces in Wizard. Bendis said laughing "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him". I know he was making a crude joke that I didn't find funny because the one thing Bendis' treatment of Vision proved.....it was that Bendis is afraid of complex characters like Vision that eternally struggle as a machine with emotions. That's why he was jettisoned for years, Bendis isn't good with stuff like that and that is why we got founding New Avengers:

Captain Stabby Mcstabbin' Wolverine and The Amazing Spider-Man-Child - now with more premature ejaculation jokes.

Oh, you're stretching this one very thin. He has only showed him as a drunk once under someone else's influence. Other than that he's been Avengers leader alongside Cap and Luke.

Maybe but he did have a hand in turning him into the biggest militaristic ***** this side of Scott Summers.

No argument on this one.

Good because I'm tired of typing.t:

Plot isn't finished yet but Wonder Man sucks, so who cares

Yeah it is. Bendis may not get a chance to revisit it after the Osborn story and the Avengers/X-Men war coming up.

And you suck.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The Vision got blown up again during Chaos War: Dead Avengers, I believe. He, Captain Marvel, and a couple of the other dead Avengers who returned due to the Chaos King's whole schtick sacrificed themselves again to save civilians.

Oh, you're stretching this one very thin. He has only showed him as a drunk once under someone else's influence. Other than that he's been Avengers leader alongside Cap and Luke.

 

[chamber-music]

Avengers Annual - While I'm not entirely sold on Wonder Man becoming a villain (don't get Avengers writers long running desire to turn Avengers into villains) I do love the fall out from Simons actions. The general public and media turning against the Avengers and fearing the secrets they keep from them is intresting especially in this information age of things like Wikileaks, phone hacking, reality television.

With Civil War we saw Superheroes turn against one another seeing the Avengers loose support of the people would be intresting.

Did Simon teleport away at the end?

Uncanny X-Force 19.1 - I've always found AoA universe somewhat grim but it seems even darker now its like a hopeless fatale world of death and destruction. I do really enjoy it though.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade - I really like Young Avengers but this wrapping up of various storylines from House Of M, Avengers Dissambled is boring me a bit a little too late.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Punisher was great this week. Ozzy lays down the law with Bolt on why the Punisher is no friend to the cops rather beautifully, then reveals he knows about his information leak to the Punisher and tells him to shut it down. Then he deduces that the Punisher wasn't working alone on his most recent slaughter of Exchange criminals. I'm beginning to like Ozzy quite a lot. Also, is it wrong that I kind of want Frank and Rachel to have run off after the cliffhanger last issue and fallen in love, like a twisted, murderous Nick and Norah Charles? As weird as it might initially be to see, the Punisher and a female Punisher as something like a reverse Bonnie and Clyde could be really interesting. It'd also help humanize Frank a bit, which is basically the only element missing from Rucka's otherwise great run so far.

 

[chamber-music]

Corp I thought you hated The Punisher?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I usually do. He's generally a very one-dimensional, boring *****e. But I also usually enjoy when he's written well, i.e. in Ennis' run, some of his older comics, and now Rucka's run.

 

[runawayboulder]

Corp puts a front about hating stuff.

He totally buys ASM and Uncanny X-Force - I seen him.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I... I rub them all over myself at night before I go to sleep.

 

[chamber-music]

Swamp Thing And Animal Man - Both solid as usual. Really intrested in seeing the conclusion to the rot storyline.

 

[Themanofbat]

I actually picked up Avengers Annual because I was curious to see what Wonder Man's actual reasoning was for fighting the Avengers and it was a relatively light week. As much as I hate seeing Simon turn villain again, the scenes with Beast were kind of nice. Dell'Otto did a great job of showing the pain Simon's actions were causing Beast all over Beast's face. But yeah, other than that and a few fun panels of the Revengers freaking out against Thor, it was basically just Bendis s***ting all over great characters for no reason. Simon's reasoning is utterly ridiculous. The Avengers have done plenty of good, but they've also f***ed up a bit, so they should disband. Doesn't that just leave Earth open to all of the threats they stopped in that "good" column? He never articulates anything remotely resembling a better means to achieving what the Avengers have without the messy other stuff that he's now so hell-bent against. The other Revengers' motivations are even worse; most basically boil down to, "The Avengers did something that pissed me off, so f*** 'em!" It's not about exposing the alleged corruption that Simon sees at all, which makes Simon a hypocrite on top of an idiot. It's a plot hole the size of Texas, but no one calls Bendis on it because he's the moneymaker. Lame.

Action Comics was good. This is about the seventh time I've seen Superman's origin revamped over the last decade or so, but Johns does a pretty good job with it. He even got me to like Krypto a bit. The backup detailing the Kents' quest to have a child was pretty moving too. Andy Kubert's art doesn't really complement Morrison's style as well as Rags' does: Morrison tends to be a "big picture" writer, so it's usually up to the artist to convey things like the characters' emotions in any given scene. Rags does that exceedingly well. Kubert, not so much. He comes from the same school as Jim Lee, where cartoonish "grim" and "surprised" expressions by rote abound rather than the spectrum of emotion Rags can put on characters' faces. But he still tells the story well enough, so I'm not complaining.

Swamp Thing and Animal Man march toward the ends of their first arcs, both essentially telling the same story of the Rot's emergence as the primary villain to both the Green and the Red, respectively. So far Animal Man seems to be doing a better job with it, perhaps because of the more personal stake Buddy has in the form of his daughter Maxine. Swamp Thing's got Alec and Abbey Arcane connecting/reconnecting, but because of the odd nature of Alec's relationship to the elemental Swamp Thing, it comes off vaguely awkward to me. I never really liked the twist of William, the main representative of the Rot in ST, being Abbey's long-lost baby brother, either. Still, both series are good, and the twists at the end of each of their issues this week are certainly worth returning for. Paquette and Foreman both do an excellent job of portraying the Rot in their own unique way, too. It's cool to see the commonalities flowing through both of their interpretations.

Irredeemable picks up where Incorruptible left off last week. While each of the previous issues of this arc have dealt with aspects of Max Damage and Plutonian's origin, this one starts to tie them together and examine the layers in the nature of their relationship. They're very intertwined; that much was clear from the moment Waid introduced Max as Tony's nemesis. But the revelations in this arc--that Max was the first accidental victim of Tony's uncontrolled rage, that Max seems to define himself wholly by Tony, etc.--paint a much more intimate and complex picture. I'm really excited to see Max's side of this next stage in their relationship in the next Incorruptible issue.

Also, we get to see Tony's adolescence under the only foster parent who really mattered to him: Bill Hartigan. Perhaps predictably, Bill is very much a twisted mirror image of Superman's Jonathan Kent; he has all of the stern, Midwestern values that mold both Superman and Plutonian's worldview but lacks the compassion and tenderness that Kent showed to make Superman a well balanced person. Bill overcompensates for his adopted son's powers by strictly denying him any and all pleasures. On Christmas, he and Tony smile and laugh as Tony opens his presents... and then Bill directs Tony to wrap them back up so they can take them to a hospital for less privileged kids. He denies Tony dessert because "a boy who can take anything he wants needs to learn not to want more than he needs." Waid does a great job of portraying Bill as a complex individual over only a few pages: he's not cruel, he simply takes his sense of responsibility for Tony's powers too far, establishing Tony's repressive nature that will one day implode and result in his total meltdown.

The only thing that bugs me about this issue is the monumental stupidity of its last-page cliffhanger, but because of Max's presence there, I'm assuming that will be clarified in Incorruptible's next part of this arc.

Avengers Academy turned in another solid issue. I like that Gage doesn't draw things out too much; the threat of Jimmy Marks hiding his Dire Wraith nature while wreaking havoc at the Academy is over by the end of this issue. Future-Reptil is the real star of this issue, as his collusion with Jimmy to victimize the other Academy students and staff forces him to examine his own inner conflict between wanting to ensure his future and his remorse over all the pain he'll have to cause the other Academy people to do that. Ultimately, his better nature wins out and he rebels against Jimmy rather than serve White Tiger up to him, forcing Jimmy out into the open when he takes over the minds of Reptil, X-23, and Tigra and forces them to attack Pym and the rest of the staff. That's the cliffhanger the issue ends on. Presumably, the change of heart means that future-Reptil will have to come clean about who he is after this is over. I could see Gage having him worm his way out of it by claiming Jimmy controlled him all along, but I hope that's not the case. I'm a little tired of future-Reptil's cloak-and-dagger subplot and anxious to see Gage move onto other, more interesting stories. The art for the issue is solid, provided by Tom Grummett. I thought he was just a fill-in until I saw the box on the letters page declaring him the new regular penciller. I think he's a good fit and I'm looking forward to seeing his work regularly again.

Corpy... I usually find your reviews interesting to read, but when you fail to put issue numbers, it takes away any and all desires to pick up your favorite books at the shop...

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Sorry. I don't even look at issue numbers anymore. I just go by what I picked up this week.

Besides, we both know issue numbers are essentially meaningless at this point anyway.

 

[runawayboulder]

I... I rub them all over myself at night before I go to sleep.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Sorry. I don't even look at issue numbers anymore. I just go by what I picked up this week.

Besides, we both know issue numbers are essentially meaningless at this point anyway.

And that is very sad. I'm the exact same way.

Marvel and DC, especially Marvel, treat issue numbers as an inconvenience and method to just pick up extra fans. They used to mean something. I used to get excited and countdown to the 25th issues (50, 75, 100, etc.). I could always count on them being something special, especially the 50's and 100's. Now none of it matters. Marvel killed it and DC followed suit.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, it used to be something special when a comic hit a milestone like whatever-hundred or 25 or 50. Ever since I actually counted the issues of Journey into Mystery/Thor and realized that its #600 issue a couple years ago was actually not its 600th issue, I kind of stopped caring about issue numbers. Now, with Marvel swapping titles between series left and right, it's even worse. I don't think anybody could really say what number The Incredible Hulk would be at if Marvel tried to bring it up to its proper numbering at this point, what with Incredible Hercules, the relaunches, Hulk, Incredible Hulks, etc.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Doesn't that just leave Earth open to all of the threats they stopped in that "good" column?

Not really considering that there's S.W.O.R.D., S.H.I.E.L.D., the X-Men, the Defenders, the Fantastic Four, and other groups and organizations. You can even make the argument that some of them are better suited than the Avengers to take on such threats.

The other Revengers' motivations are even worse; most basically boil down to, "The Avengers did something that pissed me off, so f*** 'em!" It's not about exposing the alleged corruption that Simon sees at all, which makes Simon a hypocrite on top of an idiot.

Not really. Anti-Venom completely agreed with Simon's goals. Century sided with Wonder Man due to guilt surrounding Wonder Man's death, he most likely agreed with Simon. Goliath agreed with Simon because you can essentially blame the Avengers not working for his uncle's death.

Half the team essentially agrees with Simon. D-Man is just crazy. Virtue felt threatened by the Avengers. And really only two of the Revengers were dedicated to the cause of "**** the Avengers." I admitted point out I have no idea what was going on with Devil-Slayer though.

 

[Dread]

Another new year, another full slate of comics and spoilers to sling. Onward!

(It is interesting how I have started a debate here based on some comments from last week's B/T topic. More on that AVENGERS ANNUAL and replies later.)

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 1/4/12: Part 1

ACTION COMICS #5: In a bit of an awkward twist, the arc revolving around a young Superman battling a Metropolis full of corruption and a Brainiac invasion takes a break for a couple of issues to focus on re-telling Superman's origin. The cover says "IT BEGINS...AGAIN!", which is ironic given how many times Superman's origin has been retold, and how little it ever really changes. The core building blocks are still the same, as they always are; 1986's MAN OF STEEL is still the biggest departure, and the involvement of Brainiac on Krypton harkens to the animated series of the 90's. In comparison, IDW was far more willing to get creative with the new Ninja Turtles' origin than DC is with Superman. In fairness, this take at the origin is closer to the Golden Age version than from 1986's version or the Richard Donner film version with crystals from the late 70's, merely updated. Probably the biggest major detail shift is that Jor-El initially wanted to flee with his family into the Phantom Zone, but General Zod was eager to mutilate him on the other end, and Krypto (yes, the Super-dog) sacrifices himself to stop that. The rocket to earth was a prototype originally made for an animal, which is why only Kal-El can fit inside it. Writer Grant Morrison ties this into issue #2 with the "deformed calf" being mistaken for an alien bit, and guest artist Andy Kubert puts in some good work. The finale is told from the spaceship's point of view, and then takes a twist to introduce some time travelling villains and even a LEGION OF SUPERHEROES bit. A detour in the middle of the main arc can be awkward, but is something Morrison sometimes does - even in ALL STAR SUPERMAN, which is likely the work that inspired DC to put him here (besides the whole "awesome sales" thing).

As with the last issue, there is a back-up strip which helps pad out the page count due to the cover price. The last issue was a STEEL strip, and this issue is a strip by Sholly Fisch and ChrisCross focusing on John and Martha Kent. Naturally, they are a devoted and humble couple in Kansas who tried mightily to have a child, but were unable to conceive. Naturally, a rocket crashing in a field changes their lives forever. It's simple, but sweet. Given how so much of DC's New 52 seems inspired by the early 1990' era of Image Comics in terms of talent and designs, it is refreshing to see a writer like Morrison feel at home modernizing more classic details. Even if one could imagine that Superman's origin is so well known, even potential real life alien life forms know of it.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #5: This is the end of the first arc of this secondary JUSTICE LEAGUE series – or perhaps tertiary since JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK has become a cult hit, even if it sells about 2400 copies less. In fairness, JLI is still outselling titles such as X-MEN, WOLVERINE, SECRET AVENGERS, and X-MEN LEGACY. It is also a rare New 52 DC comic in which the creative team has not yet been announced as shifting as of the 6th or 7th issue. It is still written by Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti is still the regular penciler, with Matt Ryan on inks and Hi-Fi on colors. It could be inevitable that Lopresti may need a fill-in artist to cover an issue or two, but that’s par for the course. An initial awkward part of what this series offers, alongside a diverse cast. In fact, the biggest flaw is the cover by David Finch has a mysterious black haired woman on the right side of the cover, which indicates it was drawn before the tan haired Lady Godiva was added to the roster.

In this last chapter of “The Signal Men”, the full roster is assembled and they pit all of their power, skill, and even spunk against the alien planet scavenger Peraxxus. The earth is being torn apart by the giant alien robots Peraxxus controls and employs like miners and the U.N. backed League which was partly organized for public relations now genuinely has the fate of the earth on their shoulders, despite having just met a day before. Booster is still a fledging, inexperienced leader, and Guy Gardner/Green Lantern doesn’t like him. Most importantly, Lady Godiva feels underpowered as someone who merely animates her own hair like Marvel’s Medusa, but without her hair being akin to steel strands. As has been said before, this Justice League title improves upon some flaws of the roster in the core book; it consists of four women and four members who are not Americans. The biggest flaw of this opening arc remains the fact that Peraxxus is a new threat who remains in the mold of so many vaguely overpowered, gaudily dressed alien maniacs who became a dime a dozen during the Ron Lim run on SILVER SURFER and ADAM WARLOCK in the 90’s. Jurgens and Lopresti would have been wiser to have used an actual DC rogue who was decently known, such as what the main JUSTICE LEAGUE title is doing with Darkseid.

Lopresti’s artwork and Hi-Fi’s colors work well together to produce a comic that offers what consumers of team superhero action should want. They work well with spaceships and space scenes, energy blasts, and no end of complicated costumes. While the battle with Prexxus is inconclusive, the heroes end up saving the world, a conclusion that was never in doubt. The key is the execution here. While it may not dazzle people like Mark Waid’s DAREDEVIL, Jurgens offers a comforting and entertaining superhero team. The characters have solid banter with each other, and the ladies on the team actually offer more than eye-candy. Some of the characters do fall into stereotype (Guy is a jerk, Rocket Red talks in pigeon English, the Asian hero is uber-efficient, Batman is Batman), but all of this manages to gel together into a satisfying whole.

JLI is what can be called “meat and potatoes” superhero stories. It offers a proper mix of great art, quips, an over the top plot to thwart and enough action and diversity that it should please most fans of the genre. It may not be innovative or daring, but it also isn’t insulting or controversial. Its most “shocking” moment was possibly having luddite like terrorists spout sound-bites from critical Tumbler sites around the first two issues, but it also isn’t a book that is sexist in any major way, either. DC and the entire New 52 could probably use more books like this, and less books like VOODOO, CATWOMAN, and RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS in these regards. As a $2.99 priced book, it is a less expensive option for DC fans who like their team books more diverse, less full of sausage and perhaps even “safer” in terms of content. With Booster Gold being seen as a TV worthy franchise, it will be interesting to see whether or not this title will be effected by that.

I am one of the rare readers who went with this Justice League book instead of the big one by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, and in all honesty I haven’t felt disappointed or that I’ve missed out yet. Perhaps that is merely because it has smaller characters that it utilizes well.

SUPER-DINOSAUR #7: As the second major collaboration at Image Comics between Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard, some may find themselves comparing it to ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN. While this comic is also behind schedule as that was, it still isn't as absurdly late as AW-M was. However, sales for it are diminishing at an alarming rate given Kirkman's namepower and how rock solid THE WALKING DEAD and INVINCIBLE are in comparison. While this was (sadly) expected for an "all ages" title - which is often assumed to be "kiddie", and while Image's sales standards are far more lenient given that they rely on creator owned properties, this series may struggle to survive to see a 25th issue as ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN did. But, to be fair, even PUNISHER struggles to last over 25 issues between volumes these days. The shame of it is that while it isn't for everyone, this is a perfectly fine all ages action series akin to some cartoons on CARTOON NETWORK such as "GENERATOR REX" or the amazingly long lasting "BEN 10" franchise; one wonders if a TV network could be it's eventual home. "FIREBREATHER" got a CGI animated TV special on CN, after all, which was likely a vaguely disguised pilot if the ratings had taken off.

Much like many Kirkman serials, this series advances the various subplots in every issue, and also includes a lot of action per issue. There seems to be an eye for merchandise, or at least an homage to how many Saturday morning cartoons operated, in that every issue seem to introduce new armor for Super-Dino or Derek or a new robot for a cast member. This is actually a quiet issue for the heroes as they remain inside their base for a change. Derek and Super-D vanquish a training simulation, while they pare off with their new friends. Super-D is jealous that he's being replaced by a girl in the young Derek's life, but her sister Erica is willing to pal around with him. Dr. Dynamo makes a faustian bargain with his enemy Max Maximus to save his wife, and Squidius, Exile, and Tricerichops pal their next moves. This is thus a stop-gap issue that serves to advance the things from issue seven and lead to issue eight. The art and colors are fine, and it's another solid, if not exceptional, issue for the series.

It's an aquired taste; you'll either like it or you won't. It's more fun than HAUNT, and one would assume THE INFINITE.

AVENGERS ACADEMY #24: 2012 begins as 2011 ended, with AVENGERS ACADEMY once again atop the pile of my comics for a week! This issue welcomes Tom Grummett (NEW THUNDERBOLTS, ROBIN, NEW TEEN TITANS, SUPERBOY, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, CHAOS WAR: DEAD AVENGERS) as the new regular penciler on this title, alongside Cory Hamsher as the new inker. The reliable Chris Sotomayor handles the colors, taking over for Jeromy Cox. This is an arc in-progress, but to be honest, the issue almost wins the "best of" spot just for the cover blurb alone - "COEDS VS. CAMPUS CREATURE!" Wasn't that a 1970's "grindhouse" film? A lost Ed Wood project? The best part of this detail is regular writer Christos Gage actually delivers upon it in the story itself, and the result is hardly disappointing.

The previous issue got some online buzz; X-23 joined the roster and Striker came out of the closet. The issue also advanced the subplot of the book since issue #21; a future version of Reptil (in the body of his younger counterpart) is busy trying to ensure his own future happens - even if that means aiding in a slaughter at the Avengers Academy. To this end he has joined forces with Hybrid, a discarded villain from the old ROM series of the 1980's who is both still a rare "evil mutant" as well as not restricted by a faded toy license as Rom is. Hybrid isn't a trendy ecologically friendly car, but a mix of human and Dire Wraith alien genes who gets off on eating people (and their energies). He hasn't appeared in a Marvel comic since 1997 (X-MAN #31 to be precise), but makes his triumphant return in this series as the sort of menace horror movies are made of. "Future" Reptil has struck a Faustian bargain with Hybrid to accomplish his aims, and this issue gets into how far he is willing to go for the sake of his own "potential" future. While his perspective is key for this issue, Gage wisely splits focus across several other characters. Ava Ayala - the latest White Tiger - shares the lion's share of the focus with some emotions and exposition, but other characters and subplots are also brought forth for some panel time. Readers are reminded the "who killed Jocasta" mystery is in play, even if the answer by now is obvious. The love triangle between Mettle, Hazmat and X-23 also pops up again, as does Butterball, one of Gage's creations from AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE.

If there is one downside to the issue, it is that some scenes appear "choppy" in that they seem like scenes in progress which began organically off panel. "Future" Reptil speaks with both Tigra and Ava to further his plot, and both scenes begin in the middle of some major emotional exposition; Tigra talking about her son living elsewhere and Ava recalling her origin story. These scenes are still good, but appear less fluidly than perhaps some may be used to. Gage is wise to fathom that most readers will not know who White Tiger was, as he was a C-List superhero from the 1970's who has suddenly become a legacy. Reminding readers that the amulets that empower the White Tiger come from K'un L'un - the realm best known from Iron Fist - is also wise. Gage adds a lot of life to Ava and the legacy here, and her brutal origin flashback actually did happen, as shown in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #50-52, circa 1981. Given that Gage is a fan of obscure characters (like Hybrid), it is curious if Gideon Mace - the grunt level Luke Cage villain who killed the Ayala family and has not been killed off or seen since - will appear in the book at some point. Mace was a "disgruntled psycho soldier" villain who was common in fiction during the Vietnam era, who plotted to kill off superheroes one by one and was perhaps wise to start out with a lower level one like White Tiger instead of, say, Captain America. The amulet originally just gave the first (and subsequent) White Tigers enhanced physiques, but Ava actually becomes possessed by it, which makes things interesting for potential stories.

Grummett's first issue on art couldn't be any better. He has a timeless quality to his work which seems ideal with action sequences and younger heroes, which this book has in spades. His work may remind some of classic artists like Dan Jurgens, George Perez or even Mark Bagley. From Sentinels to aliens to explosions, it's all in this issue for three dollars.

Despite some months in the past (and future) which will double-ship, AVENGERS ACADEMY is suddenly one of few Marvel comics which will see over 24 issues published in one volume without the series being canceled or relaunched. Sales fell below 24,000 copies for the first time in November, but remain solid enough that the series should easily see a 30th issue and beyond. It has been some time since Marvel invested in new characters alongside lesser known characters helmed expertly by a writer who isn't a household name, but AVENGERS ACADEMY is paying off in spades in terms of quality and potential. Hopefully more of that comes to fruition in 2012.

 

[Dread]

Part 2:

AVENGERS X-SANCTION #2: The previous issue by Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines and Morry Hollowell wasn't something I planned to buy, but it also happened to ship on a slow week. This is a heavier week and thus this series' mediocrity proves to be its undoing. While this is sold as a prelude to AVENGERS VS. X-MEN later this year, it may as well be called CABLE VS. THE AVENGERS. In the previous issue, Cable took down Falcon and Captain America, and in this issue, he takes on Iron Man. His motivation is that he's learned that his adopted daughter Hope - key to the future of mutants - is killed or otherwise removed from the equation by the Avengers. Despite cheating death and dying of his techno-organic virus, Cable has committed to taking down the Avengers one by one. Unfortunately, the flaw in that logic - trying to battle an organization which includes dozens of superheroes with under 24 hours of life left - takes it's toll as he starts to cough up by the time he faces his fourth Avenger at the end. In theory Loeb has some interesting concepts in his matches here. Both Cable and Captain America were soldiers out of time, while both Cable and Iron Man are "futurists" who are one with technology. In the end, however, this simply devolves into action sequences where Loeb's star manages to overcome the opponent regardless of sense, which is how Loeb wrote HULK for some time. Speaking of which Red Hulk - who under Loeb's pen, literally punched out Galactus - shows up at the end and will fight Cable in the next issue. Which of Loeb's pet characters will be allowed to prevail? Will Red Hulk's defeat wind up making more sense than how Cable beat Cap or Iron Man?

McGuinness' artwork and Hollowell's colors are solid, and in fairness this isn't as horrendous or tedious a story as FEAR ITSELF or AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE is or were. Some of the flashback scenes between Cable and Hope are actually quite sweet, and it gets easier to see what motivates Cable here. Given how terrible or insulting some of Loeb's recent stories were, the fact that AVENGERS: X-SANCTION is actually "okay" is a step in the right direction for the longtime scribe. In essence, this is a no-brains summer action flick, take it or leave it.

DEFENDERS #2: After falling from grace on INVINCIBLE IRON MAN and producing a narrative turd like FEAR ITSELF last year, Matt Fraction desperately needed a hit like this to help justify his status as major Marvel writer in their stable of talent. There have been better Marvel relaunches last year - VENOM and DAREDEVIL being the notables - but this relaunch was a solid way to end 2011 on a high note. Picking up from the previous issue, the roster is all assembled and on their way on their first crazy adventure - tracking down the Nul the Breaker Of Worlds (one of "THE WORTHY" from FEAR ITSELF who possessed Hulk) and stopping his rampage. To this end they have traveled to Wundagore, and get into a prompt battle against Prestor John and the High Evolutionary's Ani-Men warriors. The art is by Terry and Rachel Dodson on pencils and inks (respectively), and as this comic is written in classic "Marvel Style", Terry Dodson may as well have a co-writer/plotter credit as well. Sonia Oback handles the colors and does an exceptional job, aside for one bizarre error with Red She-Hulk's hand on the first page. While Prester John and the Knights Of Wundagore may not be most people's ideal villains, and a subplot from FEAR ITSELF isn't a gimmick that can last forever, this relaunch works because it captures the spirit of what made DEFENDERS in the 70's and 80's work. It was called a "non-team", but that was absurd; there were long term members across the span of the series, which this series acknowledges with Dr. Strange, Namor, and Silver Surfer. THE DEFENDERS of old was always the "quirky team book", the book about the characters who didn't usually get along in which they battled all sorts of bizarre and far-out threats. Beyond some snarking from Namor, this team gets along well enough, but Fraction is naturally a fan of some strange mystical and sci-fi details in his stories. The text blurbs at the bottom of the pages are also back, and while many are appeals for other Marvel comics, some are delightfully random ("You are breathing the air of Caesar of Hannibal of Da Vinci of Galileo") or funny ("That was a good ad"). It will be interesting to see how well this sells or how long it lasts, but so far it has been an unexpected joy to read, and the best stab at the DEFENDERS franchise in year.

THUNDERBOLTS #168: Jeff Parker's elongated run on this exceptionally long running Marvel team franchise continues, with an issue focused on Luke Cage. While technically the warden of this incarnation, Cage has been mostly off panel in recent issues. This is due in part because the last few issues have mostly focused on the T-Bolts members who fled into the past (which were all of them aside for Ghost, Songbird, and Mach-V), and perhaps because Parker wisely assumes Cage gets a lot of face-time over in NEW AVENGERS or sporadic guest appearances elsewhere. Matthew Southworth provides fill-in art with Frank Martin Jr. on colors. We get a break from the time travel shenangians for once, to explore what the rest of the former T-Bolts raft staff are doing. Luke Cage is a one man bounty hunter, tracking down Raft escapees or other "special" cons on the loose. Normally Songbird and Mach-V would help them, but they're left behind to entertain their federal superiors on another of their evaluations. This leads to snarking on both sides; the T-Bolts program is a disaster, and allowing Ghost to phase back in time after the escapees risks him escaping, too. Of course, it was the federal overlords who decided Crossbones would make a good T-Bolt and insisted on a magician. While Cage makes quick work of Ox and Fancy Dan (but which Ox is rarely known as there's two of them; they're twins) at a bar, he runs into some problems tracking down Soundwave, and instead runs into Mr. Fear. To a degree this is similar to the Songbird themed issue a while back, where Cage is confronted with his worst terrors in general and his perceived failings about the Thunderbolts program in particular. Mr. Fear escapes, but Cage survives, and has a few recaptured cons to haul back.

Sales are dwindling slowly but steadily on this book, and after nearly 170 issues, one wonders how much rope it has before Marvel gives it a rest for a while. Parker has had some fun with this title, and this issue is better than many because it actually has some villains in it instead of "random oddness" as a weekly obstacle. I probably liked this issue more than the last two, in fact. Hopefully this time travel thing won't be bogged down too far. Parker waxes and wanes on this title, and hopefully the last wane is over with.

VILLAINS FOR HIRE #2: What once was planned as a five issue mini series is now four, and one wonders what edits had to happen to script drafts between Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning over it. If one includes the 0.1 issue, this technically had five issues already, and six sometimes pushes things for an arc. Even Ed Brubaker often has arcs of his on CAPTAIN AMERICA end after 4-5 issues. The art is by Renato Arlem, but as there are two colorists, there is some hint of rush. The overall art is fine, however. The gist of this series is that Purple Man and obscure NAMOR villain Headhunter are seeking to organize an underworld business using the "villians for hire" model. Killgrave had come up with the model in prison, and employed Puppet Master to utilize it to possess heroes to do his bidding. Misty Knight nixed that and began utilizing that experience for a new incarnation of Heroes For Hire. But now she's learned that Purple Man has escaped and is making a run on his own idea, with a squad of hired super-villains (such as Bushmaster, Shocker, a new Death-Stalker, and Monster, a vaguely named new baddie from H4H). This issue runs through the obvious bit; the audience knows Misty is behind a rival gang of villains competing with Killgrave, but he doesn't. Thus, he sics Scourge to spy on Knight and confirm things.

The twist is that Knight seems to not merely be running an undercover op manipulating villains. "DnA" are trying to run with the idea that she's genuinely running a criminal racket and is seeking to eliminate competition, not be a street hero anymore. Her squad are beating Purple Man to legitimate robberies and scores, after all. Paladin confronts Misty about this, and things don't get pretty. While Purple Man and Headhunter always seem a step behind in terms of raids, they ultimately take advantage of the fact that "villains for hire" are just that, and will turn on one boss for another who pays better.

The biggest blemish is the recap page. They're a good idea, but are often poorly written; they sometimes have typo's and often leave out vital information or are intentionally vague (which defeats the purpose of "recap"). This page screws up which villains are working for which boss entirely. Each "boss" has 6-7 villains working for them and the recap page gets a third of the affiliations wrong. It's genuinely confusing if you actually paid attention to the recap page and then read the comic afterward. Recap pages are a good idea to try to make issues friendly for new or lapsed readers; it simply is a shame it isn't utilized or executed well. But couldn't the same be said of many Marvel initiatives? For the record, Misty Knight's crew are Bombshell, Crossfire, Killer Shark, Nightshade, Stilt-Man, and Speed-Demon. One amusing detail is the new Stilt-Man is a woman, but insists on being called "Stilt-Man", as if feminizing it would effect her reputation in the underworld. Maybe she/he is a transexual? I initially theorizes that Scourge could be Paladin undercover, but that theory is dashed; he's either a repaired Nuke from THUNDERBOLTS or someone new wearing Nuke's Scourge costume.

There are some niggles. Purple Man and Headhunter are quick to buy that Misty is now a mob boss because she seems to blast Paladin for real, as if an energy blast could not be faked. Give how many Daredevil villains are in this mini, from Killgrave himself to new versions of Death-Stalker and Silt-Man/Woman/It, it makes me fret that Mark Waid apparently doesn't have access to them in DAREDEVIL and instead has to have Murdock fight random baddies like Klaw, Spot, or Mole Man. Perhaps Waid will take some of these new legacy villains or Killgrave himself after this series is done and run with them? Given how small DD's rogues' gallery is, part of me is disappointed when they "graduate" to other books, leaving DD himself to fight the lamers from other hero's galleries. Overall, I think H4H was a better title, but this is a perfectly engaging idea for a final arc on that property, so I anticipate the next two issues. It's certainly better than ANNIHILATORS stuff has been.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Not really considering that there's S.W.O.R.D., S.H.I.E.L.D., the X-Men, the Defenders, the Fantastic Four, and other groups and organizations. You can even make the argument that some of them are better suited than the Avengers to take on such threats.

Right, because none of those organizations have ever had any problems. The X-Men haven't been a step or two behind several reality-altering threats of their own, the Fantastic Four haven't nearly destroyed the world a few times due to Reed's experiments, and SWORD and SHIELD are always on the ball and effective against all threats. The fact of the matter is that the Avengers are the first line of defense and are at the center of the whole superhero atmosphere. Those other organizations are concerned with their own issues. The Avengers are the ones who step up when all of Earth or the whole universe is threatened 9 times out of 10. And anyway, those other teams' existence clearly doesn't mean that there's nothing for the Avengers to handle, so the best-case scenario is that those other teams pick up the Avengers' load and eventually get overwhelmed.

Not really. Anti-Venom completely agreed with Simon's goals. Century sided with Wonder Man due to guilt surrounding Wonder Man's death, he most likely agreed with Simon. Goliath agreed with Simon because you can essentially blame the Avengers not working for his uncle's death.

Half the team essentially agrees with Simon. D-Man is just crazy. Virtue felt threatened by the Avengers. And really only two of the Revengers were dedicated to the cause of "**** the Avengers." I admitted point out I have no idea what was going on with Devil-Slayer though.

No, most of the team is using Simon as a convenient excuse to vent their own rage at the Avengers. Anti-Venom is the only one who actually agrees with Simon.

Century is doing it out of guilt, not because he agrees with anything. He failed Simon, so if Simon came calling to do anything, he'd have gone right along with it. The Avengers just happen to be the target Simon aimed him at.

Goliath is bitter because of his issues over his uncle's death, which is fair but still isn't any indictment on the Avengers' effectiveness. The superhero civil war may have developed its sides around Iron Man and Cap, but it went far beyond the Avengers and everyone chose their sides knowing full well that they were going to war. If anything, he should be fighting Iron Man and Reed Richards, not the entire Avengers; the majority of the current Avengers were on his uncle's side and were just as outraged when Ragnarok murdered him. Hell, Simon himself was on the side of the people who built Ragnarok. Goliath's not looking for culpability, he's just an angry kid lashing out at the most convenient target.

Virtue hates the Avengers because they defeated the Skrulls in Secret Invasion. Whether the Avengers are corrupt or not, he doesn't care, he just hates them and wants to strike back at them.

Atlas and Captain Ultra straight up just admit that they're jealous because the Avengers never let them join their ranks. And yeah, Devil-Slayer and D-Man are just weird and have their own crazypants reasons--neither of which have anything to do with the Avengers' alleged corruption, mind you.

 

[hippie_hunter]

As has been said before, this Justice League title improves upon some flaws of the roster in the core book; it consists of four women and four members who are not Americans.

Actually the JLI roster consists of seven members who are not Americans. As a matter in fact, I would say that the one flaw with the current JLI roster is that it is not American at all. The two members of the team that do come from the United States represent the interests of other organizations, not the United States while the rest of the team represents the respective regions that they come from.

It's why I think that Captain Atom is a much needed addition to the roster to represent the United States.

 

[Pyro Man]

Actually the JLI roster consists of seven members who are not Americans. As a matter in fact, I would say that the one flaw with the current JLI roster is that it is not American at all. The two members of the team that do come from the United States represent the interests of other organizations, not the United States while the rest of the team represents the respective regions that they come from.

It's why I think that Captain Atom is a much needed addition to the roster to represent the United States.

His book will probably get canned in the near future so that may very well free him up.