Bought/Thought July 22nd, 2009

[CaptainCanada]

Best of the Week, Part 1:

Immortal Weapons #1: Fat Cobra

I picked this up on a whim (I read and enjoyed the first two trades of Brubaker & Fraction's Iron Fist; been meaning to get around to the other stuff), and it was one of the more pleasant surprises recently. Now, with Jason Aaron writing, you can usually expect a certain level of quality. Fat Cobra's origin sort of treads a line, since it does what is by now a fairly standard story device: gives a seemingly cheery character a tragic backstory. But it works, and the story ends by promising that he'll drink away the knowledge again and go back to being his happy self. And it's not just sadness; Aaron leavens this with a lot of one-panel mentions of fantastical adventures that has a very Fraction-esque feel (teaming up with Nick Fury to fight werewolves on the Moon, for example; or teaching Elvis kung fu). A bunch of different artists work on this issue, and it works quite well. There's also a backup by Swierczynski following Danny, which will run through the whole series. At 36 pages for 3.99, this is a very nice package.

Incredible Hercules #131

Never change, series, never change. Always one of the more pleasing reads of the month, this issue does indeed introduce some big changes into the title: Herc and Athena are now tasked with looking after a prepubescent version of Zeus who drank of the river Lethe voluntarily, while Cho, convinced that he can't trust Athena (and, for some reason, he seems to direct his anger primarily at Hercules) anymore, strikes off on his own to find his sister Maddy, who is apparently not dead. Much as was the case with the "is Athena a Skrull?" notion, the fact that the series has been so forthright here with the possibility that Athena is behind his parents' death makes me reasonably sure that she isn't (also, if she were, she played her hand here uncharacteristically poorly). Contrary to my expectations, Aegis is still in the Underworld by arc's end, but I doubt we've seen the last of him. This series' rotating art has been a point of some debate; the artists have been pretty good overall, though; Smith was the only one I didn't really like, and he only did two issues. This three-parter was done primarily by Ryan Stegman, and I must say that I really like his art here. Anyway, next up: Thor!

 

[Dread]

Bigger week than expected, which means either I wasn't paying attention or some of those advanced Diamond lists were off. I was expecting about four comics and ended up with nine of my regulars. Not that I am exactly complaining. It just was unexpected. I'm almost curious if my shop sold some stuff early or not. We have a new mini launch, the end of a mini, a late mini, and a finished ongoing! Upward and onward!

As always, spoilers and rants are at maximum velocity.

Dread's Bought/Thought for 7/22/09:

GEMINI #4: Not too long after Jay Faerber launched his new superhero ongoing at Image, DYNAMO 5, and while he was still full steam ahead on NOBLE CAUSES (which recently ended after 50 issues), he launched a 5 issue mini series called GEMINI alongside artwork by Jon Sommariva, who has a very cartoonish style, similar to Scottie Young in some ways. The first two isuses were more or less on time. The third issue was late. And this 4th issue is actually eight full months behind schedule; issue #3 shipped in November. I remembered because that was also the last time an issue of Marvel's THE TWELVE came out. Supposedly the 9th issue of that has been drawn and inked, but no word of when it will be out yet. The question becomes, which late title do I have more sympathy for? A book that met an 8 month delay after shipping 8 issues out of 12, or one that shipped only 3 issues out of 5? GEMINI is a lower selling Image title, but it also is higher priced as a result (although $3.50 for some Marvel books would be a bargain). Both mini's aren't really tied to anything major, so it's not as if things were really thrown out of whack. The three year delay of the Lindeloff ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS. HULK likely caused more issues. This issue guest stars the Dynamo 5 team, but in some ways it almost seems obligatory, a way out of certain situations for the character more than an organic piece of the tale.

As for why there has been such a delay, I have no idea. DYNAMO 5 has at times been 1-3 months behind schedule, but that can sometimes be blamed on that series' co-creator and regular artist Asrar getting sporadic work from Marvel's space department, which requires either a gap in D5 issues or a fill in artist, who usually needs time to patch together a few pages. Faerber's an old Marvel writer, he won't begrudge Asrar or another collaborator getting work elsewhere. I have no clue what was the delay on GEMINI #4, though. Either Sommariva had either gotten another gig or needed more lead in time than Bryan Hitch needs, or Faerber simply couldn't handle some three titles at once for a near half year, and GEMINI hit the skids until NOBLE CAUSES ended. Some writers, like Dan Slott, can't handle more than two titles at once for long without delay. They usually are writers who put more care into their work, unlike cookie-cutter-dialogue Bendis.

At any rate, we continue with the overdue story in progress. The "hook" to Gemini is that he is a superhero who was created and run by a shadowy organization called "The Constellation" and he has a tech support staff that watches over him, along with brainwashing protocols that keep both his civilian and superhero identity unaware of each other's existence. At the start it seems weird but efficient, but as the story goes along, the reader is probably meant to sympathize with Gemini's ex-handler Regan Clark, who feels Gemini/Dan Johnson is being manipulated by this group and should have a life of his own. The Constellation apparently has other operatives/superheroes at their disposal, such as the Lynx who showed up in issue two. Regan has gotten Dan out of the grid and at least partly aware of what has happened to him, and they flee by train to Tower City, the home of Dynamo 5. The Constellation's "terribly mysterious" leader makes a call to D5's simularly mysterious founder Maddie and the Dynamo 5 are dispatched to apprehend Gemini. Ambushing the pair at the Tower City train station, they overwhelm Dan until D5's resident psychic jock Scatterbrain starts rooting around in Dan's head, "activating" his Gemini persona and making the fight much more complicated. Eventually Gemini's "tech support" people shut him down, but Regan manages to convince Scatterbrain and the rest of the Five that Gemini is truly being used, and so Scatterbrain "re-activates" Gemini right in the middle of his reprogramming sessions at Constellation.

While I like Faerber's stuff on DYNAMO 5, from the start this mini has seemed more "okay" than exceptional. It is basically akin to Kirkman's TECH-JACKET in the realm of his body of work; more of a sketch than a finished product. Gemini's powers are a bit basic and generic; he has stock superhuman physique and a healing factor Wolverine would die for (he can literally regrow his head, which is how this mess started in issue #2). His design is a bit complicated and while Sommariva makes it work, Asrar drew Gemini on the cover of the DYNAMO 5 ANNUAL and he couldn't quite get a handle on it. The plot point of, "superhero discovers that the corporation/company that made and runs him is wicked and seeks to enslave him" hasn't exactly been as done to death as many others in superhero comics, but it's not quite as unique as Dynamo 5's hook. Dan Johnson himself is also a bit of a stock hero, naive about his origins and needing to be led by the hand by Regan Clark, who may as well be Exposition Woman, to get into the real meat of the story by midway point. In his Gemini persona, he is more brash and wise-cracking, and while some of his one-liners are amusing, they also come off as a bit "generic funny hero" type. Considering the power set, I wouldn't be shocked if some considered Gemini "a poor man's Deadpool" in some regards. Earlier issues had a subplot of a non-Constellation heroine, Luna, being romantically interested in Gemini, but he couldn't pursue that because he was too busy being the company's unwitting pawn. I am curious to see if that goes anywhere by issue five, since Regan likely also is into him. The style of art manages to work for it, although it is jarring seeing the Dynamo 5 in such a style.

All in all this issue as well as the series haven't been bad at all. But it's not such a strong concept that an eight month delay can be shrugged off. I don't see as much life in this franchise and find the title character a bit too stock for the moment. Maybe he'll be better as an "on the run" hero? Like ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN? But, see, Wolf-Man has already done that, and probably will do it better. Faerber at the very least usually doesn't take his stories nearly as serious as, say, X-FORCE or their ilk take themselves, so his stuff is always fun. Even some of his "meh" concepts like this are still enjoyable for me. Much like I tracked down Kirkman's lessor Image superhero stuff like TECH-JACKET and CAPES and while those were hardly his best, I still got a kick out of them. That said, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who isn't a Faerber fan unless issue #5 really kills, and would instead recommend DYNAMO 5. If this mini was meant to test the waters for a GEMINI series, then I can't imagine the near three-quarters-of-a-year delay helped any, even for Image's low sales threshold. Gemini just doesn't leap at me with potential like some other launches like, say, FEARLESS last year.

INVINCIBLE #64: Kirkman sure had me and many INVINCIBLE readers fooled. A bunch of us were wrong about the last issue and where it would lead, and it's one of those rare moments in comics where being proven wrong by a writer isn't a bad thing, but a glorious thing.

Basically, in the conclusion to CONQUEST, Mark Grayson's virtual deathmatch against the impossibly powerful Viltrumite agent named, well, "Conquest" ends. Despite the covers and the gorey attack last issue, a much beloved heroine in this title doesn't die after all. Imagine that! A character turning out not to die in a shock value death, and the title being the stronger for it!

Which is a good thing, because while Kirkman and Ottley have probably written and drawn one of the gorest superhero fight sequences in the series yet, Conquest isn't such a strong villain that he was worthy of the distinct "honor" that issue #62 seemingly gave him. The arc has basically been about 3-4 issues of Mark and Conquest fighting and that may be too long for some people, I'm a sucker for a fight sequence if it is paced well and exciting, and this one is. You could argue this is the first time Mark has taken on a Viltrumite warrior without his father Nolan around to save him, as happened back on "Mantis World" years ago. Sure, Oliver and Eve backed up Invincible at quite a few critical junctures, but in the end he is the one who has to step up and finish the bad buy, even with two mangled arms and an eye punched shut. To be honest, the last sequence of the fight reminded me a bit too much of the final duel in the anime film NINJA SCROLL, which arguably is one of the most well known anime films after AKIRA; whether this was by design or accident is unknown. Beyond that, though, this has been Kirkman at his superhero gore best. I mean this was the worst fight ever. Limbs getting snapped or crushed, people being impaled, even BITING HUNKS OF SUPER-FLESH out! Nasty stuff. But it all manages to work.

The last page is great hilarity, which was much needed, with Monster Girl making sure to cover the eyes of her boyfriend Robot from the scene that awaited Cecil's too-late back-up squad.

The only problem with fight issues is that reviewing them can't really go on for long. I enjoyed the prolonged battle sequence. The conclusion satisfied me completely; Mark got to finally prove he could stand up to the other Viltrumites in the empire, and Eve's far from dead. Part of me wonders if this entire arc was Kirkman's way of commenting on the status of "big two" comics as a whole. Issue 60 was hailed as a "crossover event" with virtually every Image superhero popping up, from Youngblood to Savage Dragon to Jack Staff, with Kirkman and Ottley seeking to tell a story that Marvel or DC would do in 6-8 issues within about 36 pages or so (basically an issue and a half). He vigorously defended naysayers in his letters pages saying he saw no need to stretch out the beats of the story to cover more issues and probably wondered if the audience has been so conditioned to wait 2-3 issues for even the most minor of plot points that Kirkman's "experiment" was a shock to the system, like trying to feed steak to sheep. The "aftermath" of the "Invincible War" has gone on longer and been more important than the "event" itself. Kirkman gleefully teased about killing Eve in it right up to about a third of the way through this issue before seeming to pull back against fan's programmed expectations from the last, oh, four years of comics in general. Considering some of Kirkman's borderline obnoxious promotional material at times mocking some of Marvel and DC's ham fisted attempts at same, I wouldn't be surprised if at least as a subplot to the last 5 issues was to do a story similar to a Marvel or DC event within his one title, only to "do it the right way" or at least a less predictable way. That, or he REALLY wanted to jerk around with the fans who have been smelling Eve's blood in the water for about the last seven months. Maybe both.

The end of issue #63 had plenty of fans, perhaps myself included, fearing and fretting that Kirkman was becoming one of the crowd. This issue seeks to dismiss that feeling entirely. Or at least partly. Way to go for Kirkman, and way to end an climax for INVINCIBLE. This issue helps prove why this series is the only one that can give Abnett & Lanning's NOVA a tie for number one in my geek heart right now. "All-Awesome" is not an understatement.

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #26: Fresh off a fill in issue of MIGHTY AVENGERS, Rafa Sandoval takes over art chores for Christos Gage's high flying solo tenure on this title. Launched in the wake of THE INITIATIVE back in 2007, the title naturally reflects whatever is going on with the rest of Marvel through the eyes of cult favorite new and C-List characters. From the Hulk invasion to the Skrull Invasion, now naturally it has had to shift to Dark Reign. Gage has been on his A-Game since Slott left co-writing duties (although both will collaborate again for MIGHTY AVENGERS issues), and this title has gotten pretty damn exciting for me lately.

Stark is out and on the run, and Norman Osborn is in. Unlike Stark, who did nasty things with good intentions, Osborn is clearly a maniac and only seeks to grab power for himself and his super-villain cronies. This issue gets underway with the exercise of making an armada of villains into seeming heroes. Camp HAMMER has been built in New Mexico within an old Hulkbuster base, and Osborn is denying Sally Floyd's objections to many of his picks, claiming many past Avengers were former criminals themselves. Sally could of course counter, "there is a difference between petty robbery or embezzling funds, and maniacs who have gone on daylight rampages or sought to kill/murder/take over the world", but this entire storyline revolves around some suspension of disbelief, considering Norman Osborn is essentially Ted Bundy in power-armor now. Despite some of the whoppers that have to be swallowed, the result has allowed good vs. evil struggles to be spread out across Marvel again, and most people can forgive a wacky Act 1 contrivance if Act 2 starts to kick ass; at least I do. It is about a year late for what is clearly a Bush/Cheney allegory story, but it's been injecting life into quite a few titles, especially this one and INVINCIBLE IRON MAN.

Taskmaster is set up to train these villains (such as the U-Foes, Razorback, Scorcher, Brothers Grimm, and so on) how to fight as well as how to act like heroes, with Hood in overall command of day to day stuff. The Hood runs a tight ship, using his demonic power to literally EAT Vampiro when he can't shut off his lust for killing prostitutes. Trauma, one of the few "white hats" still aboard Osborn's program for one reason or another (basically to save his mother from the insane asylum) is stuck trying to rehab Penance, the freak formerly known as Speedball, who is so far gone he doesn't even remember his own name. Penance has been a misfire since Paul Jenkins ended FRONTLINE with him, becoming a walking joke for over-the-top "wangst" in superhero titles, so if this is an attempt to rehab him back to some sane position, it is long overdue. It is worth noting that Psionex, one of the squads Osborn dispatches to Maryland, are a former super-powered street gang that Rage and Night-Thrasher once tried to rehab in the 90's, so they help prove Osborn's "point" about the territory of superheroes being full of grey areas and shady records.

Sharing the book with all this are the New Warriors/"Avengers Resistance", led by Tigra and Justice, mostly. Considering Gauntlet and Night-Thrasher, as well as some of the in-team bickering, exactly who leads the team is up in the air. Ultra-Girl raises Gage's point of their group themselves blurring the morality line by breaking laws to try to overthrow Osborn's control of the system, such as their hacking Charlotte's banking system illegally just to make sure the U-Foes don't try to do likewise, albeit for a hiest. It's a moral equalevance argument and such things are inevitable in a story like this, although personally I feel people who make these sort of paradoxes are usually cowards, jealous or unwilling to do something dirty to stop people who are dirtier, i.e. kill terrorists, fight crime, DO ANYTHING, so on. THE DARK KNIGHT covered such moral dilemmas. At any rate the team is under threat of fracturing from bickering, as Rage is more aggressive than Justice, and Slapstick is simply insane. Gauntlet, for his part, wants to succeed so he can rejoin his family in moral triumph. Tigra, however, is just out for revenge, subjecting Percy Grimes, one of the Brother's Grimm, to the same beat-down that she suffered in NEW AVENGERS under Hood and Jigsaw. I'm with Greer on this one, though. Considering she's usually dismissed as a C-List furry in a bikini who's literally once been "leashed" by Kraven the Hunter, she's owed some payback and standing tall. I usually have enjoyed how Gage has written Tigra, and this issue is no exception. She is stepping up a bit.

Sandoval's art is good, better than Ramos was, although he seems to forget that Tigra is supposed to have a tail. Or at least she had a tail when other artists drew her. I can't even tell anymore.

Taskmaster and Hood also plan a strike with the Shadow Initiative to retake 42 from Blastaar's Negative Zone hordes from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, and has stocked said team with "canon fodder", including losers like Ringer (who isn't even the original Ringer, who died as the cyborg Strikeback, he had to rip off a lame idea) and Butterball; much to Komodo's chagrin. Considering Komodo's anger at Hardball for joining HYDRA for personal reasons, it is a little strange that she is willing to stick around these maniacs just to settle her grudge against him.

Methinks Gage is having a fun time with all of these characters as well as showing the good, bad, and gray sides that everyone involved in Dark Reign has to seem to perform, from the villains at the top to the heroes trying to rebel. Alongside a stronger artist this may shape up to the one of the best runs of the title so far. I look forward to each issue more than I ever have, and I've liked it since the launch to begin with.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

The Diamond list was way off. I had a small week planned out that'd let me empty my bag, and then got blown out and hadda LEAVE stuff behind.

 

[iloveclones]

^When I went to the counter today, I laughed and said that it's a bad sign (for my wallet) when I put my comics down and they make a Thud.

 

[Dread]

Glad I wasn't the only one a little caught off guard this week.

Part Two:

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 #15: The final issue of this excellent team book, because hardly anyone read it. Such a shame. At any rate, this issue wraps up the series in a pretty British bow and I can't think of much more I could have asked of it. There are parts that seem a little speedy, but then you remember this is the end of a 5-6 issue arc, so there was plenty of time spent on it.

In this issue, Captain Britain and MI-13, as well as a cameo by nearly every decent U.K. superhero from Death's Head II to Union Jack to Digitek and even Dark Angel combine their might to stop Dracula's invasion of Britain. Turns out Pete Wisdom faked the whole thing with Harkness' skull, so it still is barring any uninvited vampire from entering the U.K., with the whole last few issues been their attempt to keep Dracula from figuring that out. His vampire army starts to break apart upon coming close to Britain, leaving his few forces vulnerable to attack. Brian is reunited with Meggan at last, after punching the tar out of Lilith (who, recall, once needed all of the Midnight Sons to beat in the 90's). Faiza stands her ground against Dracula after he takes out Black Knight and seemingly kills him with Excalibur, and it turns out Dane's heart is no longer stone because he has genuinely fallen for her. Blade stakes Baron Blood, just like Spitfire wanted, which appalls Union Jack. Dr. Hussein's stll a vampire, but accepted into the fold. Nearly every loose end is tied up. Not much more one could ask of a final issue.

No one dies, except the bad guys. The heroes pair up and enjoy their victory, whether new lovers or old lovers like Brian and Meggan. Leonard Kirk's pencils rock as usual, although Tara and Spitfire look exactly the same if not for a mask for the latter. I feel sorry for Kirk; so many of the series he lends his art to usually get canceled. I wasn't irked that Dane lost to Dracula, considering he IS Dracula and there's no shame in losing to him; considering Dracula's strong enough to duke it out against Colossus, Dane's lucky he wasn't sliced clean in two, magic armor or not. Besides, he beat Captain Fate pretty quickly a few issues back. I understood why the moment had to be Faiza's as the novice champion. She's one of the most unique new heroines to come out of Marvel in a good long while. It is no surprise it would be in a series that the masses mostly ignored, in favor of seeing Greg Land draw Psylocke in bondage tape in UNCANNY X-MEN.

It is a damn shame that this title couldn't continue, to see where Cornell put this great team in the future. Still, we got three trades worth of stories out of this, which isn't too bad for a launch these days I guess. Most die by issue 24 on average, and at issue 36 on the high side, before needing a relaunch. Still, at least the series ended on a satisfying note, and there's nothing wrong with that. Hopefully the next time we see these characters will be just as good. At least this series ended well, which is more than too many Marvel stories do.

DARK REIGN: FANTASTIC FOUR #5: Things finally get wrapped up in this issue of Johnathon Hickman's preview of his upcoming run on FANTASTIC FOUR next month. In all honesty, the Dark Reign part almost seems thrown in as an afterthought to the rest of the story, and the pace isn't as dramatic as it could have been. The biggest flaw of the series was there was a bit of drag in the middle, at least a whole issue's worth. It may have been possible to tighten this story to three issues, but four would have been more than reasonable. Five was entirely decompressed. I barely even remember issue three in that regard. The Pasqual Ferry covers to this and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY this month are pretty good; a shame he is seemingly doing interior art for Orson Scott Card stuff now.

I can't even tell you what purpose Venom serves in the story, beyond Osborn needing to try to enforce his way into the Baxtor Building with more than sheer grunts, and Hickman choosing only one of the Dark Avengers to do so, and likely chose Venom more out of recognition than usefulness. Sentry, Ares, or even Marvel Boy may have been more functional. At any rate, Venom had no chance of being much use against the Four, and he isn't. In fact, the Four don't even really fight.

Reed finally having deactivated his "Bridge" machine that he used to analyze the multiverse for solutions to his life's problems, the rest of the Four are now free to help Franklin and Val defend themselves against Osborn, who has invaded the Baxtor Building with his men and is trying to shoot them. Sue raises a force-field, Reed threatens Osborn into a stalemate, and the situation is essentially resolved. The shame of it is that the idea of Norman Osborn revoking the Four's registration and going after them in some way is a noteworthy story; it just isn't done with the proper oomph here. If the "real" version of that story will be done at a later date, I wonder what the point of this exercise was, beyond letting Hickman crack his knuckles a bit on the franchise.

The best moment is when Franklin shoots Osborn to save his father, albeit with a "toy gun" that should not have fired a live round. Reed doesn't outright say it, but it's a subtle hint that Franklin's powers are returning, and that's been long overdue since I have grown tired of him playing the dull average boy to his kid sister, as Mark Millar has basically done. If Hickman has done anything right with this mini, besides acknowledge that Alicia and Ben are a couple again, it is how he handles the Richards kids. Val may be the brains, but Franklin is the spunk, and he's got his own budding powers back. Maybe Hickman will finally grow that damn kid up a little, make him part of the team more. That's been about a decade overdue. He did write JSA stuff for DC so the idea of legacy heroes and kids of heroes isn't one he'd be opposed to.

Sean Chen's art was good, but I expected that coming off his run of NOVA. He usually is solid on art.

The series ends with a minor subplot revolving around Reed keeping the bridge around to bounce ideas with the over versions of him that built it for similar reasons within the Multiverse. This was an odd series; the story is worthy of a mini, but probably not as dramatic as it could have been. It hasn't shown me Hickman at his best, but it does make me more inclined to give his FF ongoing a try, at least to see where he extends on some of the details from this mini. Writing the Four is no easy task for anyone, but it would be interesting to see if Hickman could succeed where Millar, McDuffie, and JMS failed. The end of the issue has a preview of his first FF issue, and it is fine, a quick fight against Wizard. The trick is always to be faithful to the Four while doing something new and important with them, but in an organic way. It requires both finesse and energy; Millar is about as subtle as a jackhammer on cheese. Hopefully Hickman will come up with better than "Marquis of Death" or "Mop of Deforestation" or whatever his name is.

Overlong, but not bad. If Hickman only gets better from here, we're up for grand things indeed on Fan Four.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #16: The second cool Pasqual Ferry cover of the month, which manages to make the original Guardians of the Galaxy look damn cool. The only caveat is that Charlie-27 doesn't wear his mask inside, but that's a minor detail. After the three way duel between the Guardians, the Imperial Guard and the Inhumans at Knowhere, Starhawk has teleported half the team elsewhere.

What follows is quite a bit of time travel technobabble, but it's layered on thick enough to get the idea, without completely drowning like, say, an episode of STAR TREK VOYAGER. Zapped to the year 3009, Starhawk uses Dr. Doom's old time machine to bring Star-Lord, Mantis, Kosmo, Bug, and Flag to what is left of Avengers Mansion atop a chunk of rock. They square off against Charlie-27, Vance Astro, Yondu and Martinex in the obligatory hero in-fight before settling down. Apparently a "fault" has opened up in space and led to this hellish future, where the universe has collapsed to the size of a single solar system and the Badoon control whatever is left, killing any non-Badoon. Starhawk had repeatedly gone back in time to find and fix the problem, but has learned only someone from that time period can fix it. Her theory is that Black Bolt's T-Bombs literally blast a hole into space and time, causing this disaster.

The Badoon attack the mansion, destroying the time machine and forcing a suicide mission inside one of the Celestials that the Badoon have enslaved with a Cosmic Cube to seal up the Fault (!) to send a message back in time and hope that Black Bolt's incident is averted in the present. In the meantime, everyone seemingly collapses into the Fault.

Despite the exposition and the techno-babble, the issue is as fun as most GOTG issues are. The strength is in the character banter, and Abnett & Lanning selling you on the original Guardians very quickly. I'd certainly never read about them before. Mantis and Yondu have some fun chemistry, and every character has a unique voice, from Charlie-27 to Flag (who often rivals Quill and Bug for the best lines) to Kosmo and so on. A bad team book is where everyone talks the same (i.e. New Avengers). This is not a bad team book. It is full of all of those brilliant small moments that make you fall in love with comics and show that even "mainstream" companies can print exceptional stuff.

Wesley Criag draws the whole issue and does a pretty good job. The colors were pretty good too.

Considering October's issue solicit features Kang on the cover, I am very excited about the direction of the book. It may become the primer for whatever is happening in space more than NOVA is, which is quite a feat. NOVA is more a solo character story, after all. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is a team book with bigger quests. Abnett & Lanning are penning a space opus between all their titles, and GOTG is a vital part of it. I suspect it will become more so even after WAR OF KINGS wraps. They all read fine on their own but when read together, it's classic stuff. Which is exactly how to do it.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

YAY! Eve lives to see another day. How about that?

 

[CaptainCanada]

Best of the Week, Part 2

All-New Savage She-Hulk #4

We're past the halfway point for this year, and if asked to name the pleasantest surprise so far, this miniseries would win pretty easily. Its only advantage looking at it from the outside (and the only reason I bought it) was because of a stellar creative team (well, writer; Fred Van Lente; the artists are very good, but anonymous, and not worth buying something in and of itself, though I've never bought a series just for the art). Stacked against it was what appeared to be a derivative and unnecessary character with no relevance to the wider universe (of course, since this was published, we've learned she'll be sticking around for a while in backups, which seems a good place for her). But it's been a blast; funny and inventive, and it succeeds in investing a lot of character into Lyra. And it does all this while at the same time giving She-Hulk 1.0 her best material in a good long while (since the early Slott run, at least). Jen's got some really hilarious dialogue, and gets some great action. The art is a melange of several different people along the way; one of those, Michael Ryan, will be doing the backups; I'd prefer Peter Vale, but Ryan is good too.

Captain Britain and MI13 #15

Too good to last, as it turned out; but there's no point grousing over that (though that won't stop people for therapeutic reasons, to be sure). "Vampire State", at seven parts (counting the Annual, makes up just under half the series' total run, and it's by far the most epic of the stories. Cornell also laced the earlier two arcs with plenty of hints regarding what is to come. Dracula's an incredibly played-out character; indeed, only Sherlock Holmes probably comes close to the total number of media appearances he's had. It helps then, to have a reasonably fresh take on old Vlad, and Cornell definitely has that. Over the course of the series, he's been played as a brilliant strategist and commander of vast armies, whereas he's normally just a dude with a couple of thralls to do his bidding. Strategy-wise, this issue reveals that pretty much everything since #12 has been a sucker-punch by the good guys, which goes down reasonably well, though it doesn't feel completely satisfying (similar to the reveal last issue). It's a great moment for Wisdom (who, weirdly, sits out the final action in favour of picnicing with the chippy from earlier in the series). Faiza gets her big hero moment (and, finally, someone other than Brian saves the day), Dane gets...some action, I guess (in fact, everybody does), and Blade endears himself to Jackie further by killing her vampire-son for her (nothing cements a relationship like that, apparently). Great art, great writing, shame it couldn't have lasted longer.

X-Force #17

Heh, Kyle & Yost giveth, Kyle & Yost potentially taketh away (though they've done the 'kill tease' so many times it amazes me that so many people continue to fall for it, despite their not having killed anyone remotely notable since, like, the fourth issue of their run on New X-Men back in 2006. Anyhoo, Boom Boom, who got shot dead by Leper Queen back in #12 as X-Force was yanked away to appear in a really pointless crossover, is saved by X-23 reappearing mere seconds after she left (which, since she was always coming back, means the former scene probably shouldn't have happened in the first place, but whatever, it's time travel); but now they're teasing killing former NXM castmember Surge (and, really, everyone else around her). Again, I doubt it. This series really soars when Choi and Oback are on art, and this arc looks to be no exception. Finally, after 17 issues of intermittent teasing, the SHIELD/HAMMER agents chasing X-23 finally catch up; and, in something fans of the Thor mythos will enjoy, Wolfsbane and Hrimhari's post-coital bliss is interrupted by a bunch of Frost Giants out to kill them.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

My review for Green Lantern: First Flight

http://wwwerlsden.blogspot.com/

 

[Dread]

Part Three of Bought/Thought Trilogy:

IMMORTAL WEAPONS #1: The first of two low selling ongoing series to end last month and be replace with a mini series, IMMORTAL IRON FIST has become IMMORTAL WEAPONS, a five part mini dedicated to providing background on the other Immortal Weapons warriors from the Fist series as the lead in story, with apparently a Danny Rand story as the back-up. Some might grumble cynically at using this format to basically charge $4 for five more issues of the franchise, but to be fair, you do get your money's worth; the lead in story is 30 pages long, while the back up story is 7 pages long. $4 for over an issue and a half of story is fair enough. Jason Aaron, who is also known for WOLVERINE: WEAPON X and another ongoing turned mini, GHOST RIDER(S), does the main story, detailing the life and times of Fat Cobra, everyone's favorite Immortal Weapon besides Danny himself (and maybe Orson Randall).

Apparently Fat Cobra has spent so long intoxicated, he's hired a man to research his life and compile it into a book for him to read, so that he may finally know what is myth and what is fact. The man, Carmichael, has compiled a record of all 111 years of Fat Cobra's life, and as one might expect, it isn't pretty.

Jason Aaron walks a fine tight-rope here. There are plenty of bits of Cobra's life that are tragic or that make him out to have been a gigantic a-hole until recently. Which, to be honest, isn't far removed from Wolverine; when Logan isn't being brainwashed, he was usually a ravenous bastard. Then there is the other half of Cobra's life which is hilarious. Like Logan, he seemed to serve in every war in Asia since WWII, only he also got to sing opera, play football (back when helmets were leather hats), beat Hercules and Valstagg in an eating contest, battle alongside Nick Fury and Union Jack, and even, yes, train Elvis in the martial arts. His master's comments are also biting and very funny. And it is these moments that balance out the rest, keeping things from getting too dire or angst ridden. The highlight for me is easily the bit where Fat Cobra is sparring with a female martial artist and their duel quickly becomes kung-fu love making, complete with Brubaker/Fraction style chop socky descriptions of the love moves. "Tongue of a Thousand Passions", "Nine Suns Nipple Clamp", and my personal favorite, "Tantric Thunder Thrust". C'mon, that's GOLD. Lord knows if I walked into a bar and offered to give some woman a "tantric thunder thrust", I'd NEED martial arts to survive.

Eventually Cobra learns he only learned how to be such an incredible fighter to defeat the mystical Xiang Yao serpant by killing all of his bastard children as they hunted him over the ages. He decides some things are better left to hazy memories and brags as he burns the tome in a fire. About six artists contribute to this origin tale, but it all flows very well.

The back up story is by Swierczynski, who wrote the title after Brubaker and Fraction left, with longtime Fist artist Trevor Foreman. Despite only being seven pages long (most back up strips or stories in MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS were usually 8-10 pages in contrast), it seems like a fine initial installment. It's an urban tale as the daughter of a minor hood that the Heroes for Hire arrested years ago still has to worry about crime coming back to haunt her, and Iron Fist ends up having to helped her out when thugs kill her old man and kidnap her baby brother. There is a part of me that would like to see Iron Fist battle more noteworthy enemies than street punks and HYDRA fodder (at least outside of NEW AVENGERS, where he usually does next to nothing anyway), but on the other hand it is nice that Rand still involves himself in the trials and dangers of common people, akin to Daredevil. Foreman's art is less rushed than his last issue of IMMORTAL IRON FIST, and it gets the story off to a decent enough start. Danny's trying to downgrade and help his neighborhood with his dojo, and of course pummeling creeps as Iron Fist, which is okay. Still, yeah, that's what he has been doing since the 70's, and one day I wouldn't mind an upgrade. But I guess after some mystical city opponents, looking out for a little girl is fine.

Overall, not a bad start to the replacement mini for Iron Fist. Although I do miss the title itself. This just feels like an appetizer. At least getting origins on the rest of the Immortal Weapons will help out the Marvel Handbook staff.

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #131: Say it ain't so! The best buddy team in Marvel comics since Wonder Man & Beast are splitting up? Do Athena and Yoko Ono drink martinis on weekends comparing notes, or what? I'm curious if this will be reflected in MIGHTY AVENGERS at some point.

With art by Ryan Stegman, Pak & Van Lente wrap up their tale of the trial of Zeus in the Underworld and have plenty of laughs and tear-jerkers along the way. They put a definitive stamp on the practice of Olympians in particular (and gods in general) speaking in Shakespearan tongues especially since they outdate that era (although Jocasta at least comes up with a good reason why that has stopped when Hebe bugs the Avengers Mansion looking for Hercules). Hercules takes on his Mortal Shade, and while it's a fight that won't give INVINCIBLE #64 any run for it's money, it still is pretty damn entertaining. Hercules gets to work out some issues about his past against his Evil Shade, but when the fight starts to turn against him, Zeus actually follows his lead about loving your relatives by drinking from the river Lethe willingly, erasing his memory and being reborn as a mortal on Earth. This allows Hercules to turn the tables on his double, and while Pluto is now ruler of heaven and earth, the loss of Zeus as a scapegoat and balance empowers his own dead to rise against him for their own payback. Pluto'll be occupied for a while getting beaten down by Abomination, Iron Monger, and of course, Armless Tiger Man.

Cho, meanwhile, finds his parents in Paradise, and discovers a painful secret; his sister is still alive, presumably being held by the murderers of his parents. Both Athena and Aegis were aware of this, but deliberately chose not to tell him. Feeling betrayed and bitter towards gods in general, Cho basically tells Herc to piss off as he goes to do his lone wolf thing again. Lone wolf? He used to have a wolf cub as a pet? Ah, I'll be here all week!

Hercules didn't deserve Cho's tongue lashing, as he has been suspicious of Athena's manipulations himself and has even warned Cho not to put too much faith in her, feeling it is "not always safe" when Athena has interest in a mortal. That said, I'll forgive Cho acting like a bit of an emotional teenager about it, since he IS a teenager after all. That's why Bendis can get away with his characterication in Ultimate Spider-Man, but not in New Avengers. Having a 16 year old Spidey react to every tragedy like a sissy ten year old girl is passable; a 26 year old Spidey is less passable. Remember Katie Kaboom from ANIMANIACS? "I'm NOT overreacting! I'm a teen-ager!" Yeah, it was funny because it was true. It seems the book will now split up to cover the solo travels of Hercules and Cho, and while it hopefully won't last, we will be getting two issues a month out of it for a bit, which is always awesome. Next issue sees Hercules visit "Odin's shampooed son", Thor, to hide the mini-Zeus from Hera. Should be mighty entertaining. Maybe he can tell Thor to, I don't know, STOP TRUSTING LOKI one of these eons.

And that "endless abyss" that Hercu-Shade wanted to toss Herc in...kind of reminded me of a...yes, we'll move along.

Not much more to say. Another awesome issue that, as usual, manages to both be insightful and funny, dramatic and comedic, and with all sorts of butt-kick in between. One of Marvel's best comics out there. Which means, of course, it sells less than half of what HULK does. Honestly, when recommending comics to someone, I might literally give them a list of the bottom of the Top 100 selling comics and tell them to pick one at random; aside for a few titles, the odds of hitting something good like this are about 2 to 1. And it is a shame that has to be true. Still, Herc's sales seem to be holding at about 29-31k, which is fine for now. More issues a month will help stem any diminishing returns. Can't wait for next month and a peek at "Thorcules". Sure, Internet "geniuses" will probably be making gay jokes about that final page of the issue for a month or two, but it's all terrific stuff. Hopefully Cho will figure out he needs the big lug and return, but until then I'm curious to their solo adventures at least in the short term.

NOVA #27: When both this and INVINCIBLE come out in the same week, I know I am in for a damn good time. Abnett, Lanning and DiVito all uniting for some butt kicking space action with the human rocket, who's quickly become my favorite superhero.

This issue, while great, feels a little bit like an appetizer before the main course. It's a good appetizer, which compliments the meal, but it's still not the T-Bone steak yet. Next issue will be the steak. Yes, NOVA is so good that I have to use "manly" metaphors.

Richard is leading a rescue team with Morrow and Irani to rescue his brother Robbie, who has become lost in the War of Kings, chasing after Gladiator's cousin for executing a slew of Centurions at Nil-Rast, including a girl he was crushing on, Suki. They rocket right into an active battle at Kree-Lar, where Vulcan's Shi'ar army is trying to take down Ravenous' stronghold from the first Annihilation War. As back-up he has Blastaar and his own hordes from the Negative Zone, since the big man has recently been given the Cosmic Control Rod by Talon of the Raptors. And we all know how tough Blastaar is when he has his glowing phyallic object in his palms. Fortunately for the Centurions, Nova and Blastaar were allies against Ultron, and so Blastaar gives them fifteen minutes to fly into the battle zone and extract their buddy before sending in his hordes. Still being a creep, he places Vulcan's squad of ex-cons, which include the Symbiote Possessed Raza, under no such promise, allowing them to give chase.

Ravenous and Robbie on the other hand are in a greater standoff. Robbie is using all of his power and will to pin the Strontian with a gravimetric shield, the only thing he can do to keep her from tearing him in two. Ravenous is equally helpless to beat her. All they can do is keep her down and hope that Centurions arrive in time. By the time Nova gets closer, he can make out Robbie's com link, but it goes dead when he gets within range. That last page is epic. It's basically the same as issue #26, only with Richard doing the bad ass final page instead of Robbie. He's more experienced at it, and he usually delivers on his threats. B**** is goin' DOWN.

DiVito's art is impressive as always. There's a two page spread at the start that is rather breathtaking. Beyond that he is always expressive and functional, good with the emotional beats as well as the action. Bruno Hang's colors rock as usual as well. It's good to see Richard slowly evolve into a role as squad leader, leading Morrow and Irani well enough, and actually encouraging Robbie's bold action. The problem may be if said bold action has led to his death. Abnett & Lanning are too good to answer that question right away; not knowing if Robbie is alive or dead, at least not for another four weeks, is all part of that cliffhanger. I also think Ko-Rel is quickly settling into the role of Worldmind and I am used to her already, even if she only shows up for about one or two pages.

It does feel as if Abnett & Lanning have settled on leaving the leftover villains from X-MEN: KINGBREAKER for NOVA while leaving the "real" action to the Inhumans and others, but it all works on relative terms. The Centurions were forced into the war by Ego, and now it is all about getting their people out and regrouping. In the midst of that, they still get to take on a war criminal and protect the universe, one bad character at a time. I will be very curious as to how well or poorly Richard handles the Strontian; she claims to be "every bit as strong" as her cousin Gladiator, but Nova's far stronger than any Centurion. It should be quite a battle. Looking forward to it eagerly. So eagerly I mistook Robbie for Richard last issue, despite his lack of shoulder-pads! Yeah, Nova even makes shoulder-pads work. That's the mark of awesome. While she hasn't had long, Strontian has quickly built a rep as a easily hate-able "heel", the kind you naturally want to see get taken down. That's the way to do it.

 

[deathshead2]

Deaths Head 2 is in Captain Britain! Dang I wish I hadn't given up picking up singles. Dang I'm sad to see That title go it was excellent, went I went to HEROS CON this year I bought some Excaliber just so I could read more about this Captain Britain Character. I must say, so far its my favorite X-book.

 

[Dread]

YAY! Eve lives to see another day. How about that?

Yeah! How 'bout that?

 

[ChelseaGrin26]

Dread I stopped picking up Herc at about the Secret Invasion tie in point but from your review it sounds like i have been missing out. I need to get the back trades soon.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Please tell me Robbie isn't dead.

 

[Ipodman]

Anyone got Ms Marvel 42, "War of the Marvels" i believe...
or HALO: Helljumper 1???

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I read Superman and the Legion of Three Worlds, Green Lantern, Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy, Incredible Hercules, and Captain Britain and MI-13 last night. All great. Nova was especially awesome. I also liked Barry Allen in GL since he wasn't as angsty as he is in Flash: Rebirth. More of this Barry and I might entertain the notion of actually buying his series.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Corp, please tell me that Robbie is ok after fighting Strontian?

I won't get it for a couple more weeks.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm sorry. He's dead, Jim.

Actually, we don't really know. We see Strontian getting up and Ravenous and Robbie on the floor when Rich finds them, but it's not clear whether Ravenous and Robbie are actually dead. Pretty likely, though.

 

[Brainiac 8]

I wonder if they are working on making Strontian a regular enemy of Richard's. God knows he needs to start building up a rogue's gallery.

I hope both of them are ok. Ravenous has so much potential as a major cosmic baddie.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I just hope Rich kicks Strontian's ass in the next issue. I'm pretty tired of everybody treating her like she's an unstoppable living tank. She's got the same powers as Gladiator at the same levels as Gladiator's, and Gladiator became kind of a ***** over the years. I'm not really a fan of how WoK's made such a huge deal of shooting him back up to his earliest power levels, to be honest, so the fact that Strontian's following suit is even more irritating.

 

[Brainiac 8]

C'mon Gladiator isn't that tough...I mean Rocket was holding him back with a mop.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Telepathy's awesome.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Gladiator's been whooped with a redneck with a blast field and a Raccoon holding a mop.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Add to that the fact that he's a one-note moron who's blindly loyal to the Shi'ar throne and you can see why he's not one of my favorites.

 

[IFryKids]

Add to that the fact that he's a one-note moron who's blindly loyal to the Shi'ar throne and you can see why he's not one of my favorites.

At least he's turned on Vulcan, though that turned him into a rampaging lunatic in the last WoK issue since Lilandra died. That's the most character development he's had in forever. Maybe this will be an opportunity to not make him such a blind idiot.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Maybe. Of course, they then published that War of Kings: Warriors story that showed him more blind and idiotic than ever.