Bought/ Thought July 5th, 2007

[SouLeSS]

It's not really saying that, but it's basically just saying "Gods exist because people believe in them"

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Hallelujah, I got my comics today! Expect reviews tomorrow.

 

[El Bastardo]

Transformers Spotlight: Galvatron- PICK OF THE WEEK! Simon Furman is really knocking the IDW books out of the park. Instead of rehashing the past (like Dreamwave's ill fated books), he gives us interesting new takes on classic characters. For example, here's Galvatron. His personality remains intact, but he's no longer the same bot as Megatron. Instead, he's a powerful new foe. Dreamwave's blunders may have been big, but it brought us a few great gems, one of which being the very talented Guido Guidi. Guidi impresses with some stunning visuals, and some great Cybertronian takes on classic characters. Major props on using some forgotten Generation 2 characters, as well. Skram was my first Transformer, and I still have Leadfoot. Plus, this issue gets some big points for tying in more with the last arc (Escalation). Often times these spotlights are a little too distantly tied in. 9/10

Awesome.

New Avengers/Transformers- Goofy, but fun. I'm glad Cap's attitude was explained, I was worried Moore was doing a poor job with his characterization. Slow start, but I'm eager for the rest of this mini. I hope we actually get a few of them. There's tons of potential to include the Initiative and Galactus and Unicron (Furman doesn't plan on using him anyway) at some point. 8/10

I was reading an interview with an IDW editor about this mini somewhere - IGN, probably - and I think it actually is supposed to tie into continuity, albeit in a goofy way as said. New Avengers pre-Civil War, I think it said, and between Infiltration and Escalation, I think. So it probably won't use the Initiative or Galactus or Unicron, though that would be rad.

 

[Marcdachamp]

Awesome.


I was reading an interview with an IDW editor about this mini somewhere - IGN, probably - and I think it actually is supposed to tie into continuity, albeit in a goofy way as said. New Avengers pre-Civil War, I think it said, and between Infiltration and Escalation, I think. So it probably won't use the Initiative or Galactus or Unicron, though that would be rad.

I meant in a later mini. I'd actually like to see a series of them, kind of like Devil's Due does with their G.I. Joe/Transformers cross-overs.

 

[GNR]

Totally unrelated,but have to gloat.

Stuart Immonen and Darwyn Cooke are coming to my shop in September!Woot!

 

[PWN3R]

Totally unrelated,but have to gloat.

Stuart Immonen and Darwyn Cooke are coming to my shop in September!Woot!

Those are like my two favorite artists, curse you.

 

[Dread]

A rather big week to start off July, day late due to the usual Fireworks Independance Day of Drinking and BBQ's. Some launches, relaunches, late books, and dead books walking. As always, spoilers are on Critical, and Rants on Extreme.

Dread's BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 7/5/07:

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #8: Some comics have recap pages and some don't, and man, does ALL-STAR SUPERMAN need one. It usually is 2-3 months between issues and when they are connected, I frankly forget any details from the last. So long as tales are one-shot this isn't a problem, but when they are connected as this one was, it matters. ASTONISHING X-MEN is slow and late as hell, but at least it has a recap page. Despite the fact that more of these have come out than ALL-STAR BATMAN, this issue bares some sign of rush; Quietly's art seemed rough in some panels and there isn't even a teaser image, in black and white or color, of the cover of issue #9. They merely used the image from the last panel. Like people can't notice that comes off as rushed; showing a B&W cover teaser alone looks rushed. But considering that COUNTDOWN isn't delivering like 52 did in it's prime, I can understand DC desperately trying to crank out these rare issues that are definate Top 10 locks, especially now that JUSTICE is over. The story itself is more updated Silver Age tales from Morrison, in which Superman is trapped on Bizarro-World with Zibarro, the only one on that planet who isn't backwards ******ed, and naturally, is considered a freak there (much as that TWILIGHT ZONE episode where the lone beautiful woman, in a world full of lizard monsters, is "ugly"). The issue is full of the "backwards speach" that Bizarro World has made famous and Morrison plays with it, even resorting to a useless Bizarro JLA and a backwards Jor-El, but after a few pages it did get graining. Superman, with his powers fading and the planet about to dip into some cosmic void for ages, manipulates the gimps into building him a ship before blasting off for home. Meanwhile, Mr. Quintum accidentally reveals to Lois that Superman is dying, and that there may be a threat coming from the sun itself that only he can stop. While revisiting Silver Age cheese with new tweeks doesn't work with BATMAN, it does work with SUPERMAN for some reason, especially in an alternate continuity like this one (although, with the Multiverse back, ALL-STAR BATMAN world may be Earth-69 and this one may be Earth-007 for all we know), and these stories are always readable and enjoyable as larks, but not tales I remember for very long or revisit often. There have been better than this and sometimes they seem to move as slowly as those older stories, taking a premise that could be done in 10 pages and stretching it to double that. Morrison enjoys exploring some of these ideas to their full extent and it is fun sometimes, but maybe the backwards speach got too annoying this time around, and I won't miss it. I think I also demand more "action" in superhero stories and many of these can get slow in that regard, too. All-Star Superman allows Morrison's imagination to run wild without screwing up anything major, like giving Batman a generic son (who competes with Logan's son in ORIGINS for "most lacking in any originality") or ripping off Bane. Good for a lark.

DETECTIVE COMICS #834: Part 2 of "Trust", continuing from last month's cliffhanger when Dini had the Joker pose as a gothic magician to lure Batman & Zatanna in yet another deathtrap. There was some fear of Dini relying too much on devices he already used for B:TAS episodes "Almost Got 'im" and "Be a Clown", and thankfully this second part removes all that doubt. Batman & Zatanna manage to save themselves and it doesn't come off as utter baloney, as some "superhero escapes" sometimes do (Zatanna healed her throat with a spell written in blood while Batman used brute strength and his costume's insulation to escape being electrocuted). The Joker also reveals he hooked up with Loxias to get nursed back to health after Robin defeated him a few issues back, and then slew him and took his place to add to his body count as well as lure in some capes to his clutches. I like how Dini has subtle plot details return in future stories rather than just having everything in rigid, "made for trade" arcs, as stories flow better that way, and seem more natural (an old well known fact that, alas, has to be rediscovered). Using old detective work and knowledge of Joker's M.O., Batman tracks down his latest act while Zatanna has to withstrain herself from offing him completely. The story ends with Batman forgiving Zatanna for "The Watchtower Mindwipe" from IC, although whether other writers in BATMAN, JLA, OUTSIDERS, or any other of the billion books Batman has will recall this is unknown; DC continuity has been awkward recently, so I hear. Dini's DETECTIVE manages to avoid all the angst of the rest of the DCU that doesn't know what happened and what didn't anymore thanks to universe shifts and just gets down to solid Batman detective stories, told in as few chapters as possible and yet with subplots that carry over and have reactions. A shame Dini's getting his 3rd fill-in for the next two issues. It makes the book seem disjointed. Kramer, who has become the official artist of Dini's run, once again delivers solid visuals. Nothing 90's splashy, but just solid effective storytelling.

ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #2: This also came with the "Director's Cut" of WOLF-MAN #1, which was on FCBD. I strongly recommend people who missed it to grab both, because this is another quirky superhero work from Kirkman. Basically if you like INVINCIBLE and wouldn't mind something simular to that, only with more elements of the supernatural and horror, than this is for you. As a fan of the superhero genre, it has become interesting that after the tacky 90's, Image has become a sort of bastion for old-school superheroics in ways that the Big Two struggle to duplicate in all their rushes to shock value, headlines and crossover events. Businessman Gary Hampton was bitten by a werewolf and naturally becomes a hulking beastie at night himself. However, he is being trained in how to use his gifts for good by Zechariah, a seemingly benevolent vampire. Gary's wife Rebecca (as well as his employee Dunford) knows his curse and is not terribly thrilled with his exploits so far, while his daughter Chole is still in the dark. After escaping the hospital and tearing into some small animals, Gary has spent 3 weeks since #1 training to control his transformations come nightfall, and becomes discovered by the media as "Wolf-Man" after he rescues some folks from a burning building (a now-typical superhero debut action). I wondered whether this title would interconnect with Kirkman's other hero work, INVINCIBLE, and it does in one respect, when Zechariah brings him to Art the Tailor to get a spiffy Wolf-Man costume that even has it's own wolf-esque Thundercats icon and gauntlets that absorb "moonlight" for limited daylight transformations. Wolfy even helps another band of stock superheroes, the Actioneers, in battling a villain named Spore. In some ways the issue ran a risk of becoming too predictable, even if still fun and packed full of action and quirky ideas, and then the final pages, where we see that Gary's control of his werewolf powers aren't complete, that the cliffhanger page spawns on us and removes any fear of this book being too prototypical (let's say the gore on the cover isn't for show). Jason Howard's art is simple yet effective and fits the tones that Kirkman wants for this book, as most of the artists he works with do. I was aboard with this title after the free first issue, and definitely am still interested now. This looks to be a blend of the horror of WALKING DEAD with the superhero pop of INVINCIBLE that so far is another hit from Kirkman. He also lets readers know of the status of the book's returns in the letter's page, and gladly announces the book is here to stay. I'd definately recommend this to fans of Marvel's superhero/horror genre who miss that sort of stuff from the 70's-90's. Anyone who bothered on BLADE for a year should at least give this a few issues.

DYNAMO 5 #5: For once my LCS ordered this on time, and I didn't have to chase it all over Brooklyn or Manhattan. Hey, one issue out of 5 isn't bad, right? This issue springboards right off the last issue and introduces the first multi-parter, "The Chrysalis Affair", which for all we know may end up being the title of the trade. It still is 20 pages for $3.50 and some may be wary of paying an extra .49 for 4 pages less than most comics, even without ads (other Image books manage 24 pages with zero adds for the usual $2.99). But, if you've been onboard for the first 4 issues, you likely are like me and don't care about the price or the pagecount for yet another installment of this quirky, family superteam series by Faerber & Asrar. Bouncing right off the last issue where Capt. Dynamo's status as deceased was in doubt, Dynamo 5 finds their mentor and coordinator Maddie thus distracted, which gets dangerous when they encounter yet another of their father's old enemies, Voltage (who looks like a cross between Elecktro and a pro-wrestler). The team manages to pull together without Maddie barking orders to beat him, namely when Scatterbrain utilizes his powers to distract Voltage, and then they seem to "evolve" and land a psychic TKO; in the world of X-Men, such a manuver is fairly standard, but here it still is something that is shown as shocking and wonderous. Maddie, meanwhile, is continuing to research if her husband really is alive again with Augie Ford, while Augie's agency seeks to "debrief" the vigilante Dynamo 5, and sets up an ambush. Maddie uses Visionary to see if her husband's grave is empty or not (it is), before being whisked away by her husband himself. However, at the end, the mystery is revealed while the team themselves are under threat by the feds; an effective cliffhanger and a story that thankfully didn't drag out the "Is Capt. Dynamo alive?" plot longer than it should have, another lesson some writers in the Big Two need to relearn. Basically, people who like quirky, action packed superhero stuff without all the stress from the Big Two should check this out; of course, after 5 issues, it may be better to wait on the trade for now. Books like these aren't ordered in big numbers and usually vanish from the shelves fast, vs. a "Top 10" seller that will be overordered and sitting on your LCS's shelf in hefty supply for weeks or months.

IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #10: Gets yet another crossover tie-in issue, this time with WWH, but is a dead book walking as it is canned with issue #12, which is the number of issues all ongoing launches are entitled to these days, up from about six 1-2 years ago. This has been an enjoyable, quickly legacy hero book which is far more unqiue and original than a lot of books on the stands, including some from Marvel that I like, such as BLUE BEETLE or OMEGA FLIGHT, but hasn't been as fortunate with sales as the latter has been, falling off the Top 100 rather quickly, never to return. Despite Kirkman's usual flair for the book, like most WWH tie-in's, the premise is rather shakey because the core story itself is simple and doesn't lend itself to superficial crossovers well (not that Marvel won't try, see GHOST RIDER or WWH: X-MEN). Basically, Ant-Man and Monstro decide to stay on Manhattan to try to fight the Hulk, or in the case of Eric, loot when the going gets tough. In the beginning, "Slaying Mantis" does try to fight Hulk from inside his stomach in-between his battle with Iron Man (which we have now seen for the 8 billionth time), which doesn't go well and results in Eric landing in the hospital. Before all that, Visioneer shrugs off Eric's attempts to ditch her after finding out about her son by outright telling him that her powers revealed that he actually DOES love her, genuinely. Black Fox, meanwhile, checks to make sure that Eric's left his apartment to evac the city, before promptly stealing his Nintendo Wii (those suckers must STILL be hard to find). As a side note, it was sort of cute seeing Black Fox have a role in a story besides being a semi-regular annoyance who gets webbed by Spider-Man. Carson still is gunning for Eric's hide and if the last page is any indication, may get his chance. With the title ending, some are fearing Kirkman might off his character rather than risk having him in the hands of others, sort of how he left Freedom Ring from MTU (yet left Crusader, a seemingly heroic Skrull with a reality warping ring, intact, knowing most Marvel writers would be too stupid to reuse him). Despite Eric's theft of the armor off his dead ally, one could easily see him makinga deal with the Initiative to save his skin and winding up on some team somewhere; I mean, if monsters like Bullseye and Venom can, why not him? Stark is throwing amnesty's left and right now that the war is over and he's leading SHIELD and desperate for more bodies to manipulate into fighting the Hulk. On the other hand, one wonders what kind of writers could match Kirkman's tone for O'Grady; Slott probably could if he wanted him for AVENGERS: INITIATIVE. Bendis always writes jackasses well (what a surprise). Oh, and Hester once again delivers on solid art. I am going to miss this book when it ends, but at least there are two more issues left to enjoy, and lots of questions to be answered. Does Eric live? Get to keep his suit? Wind up in jail or on a team? Actually settle down with Visioneer? Find out another Veronica? Continue being a stealin' peeping tom who does heroics almost as a lark? It was cute how he stung a large rampaging civilian to make sure Visioneer & her son got out safely. And I wonder if Monstro will actually be amung the heroes fighting Hulk in later issues of WWH. I am guessing...no. But I could be surprised. Romita Jr. does like "big guys". Anyway, it is more of the same from ANT-MAN, but all good, and despite the somewhat generic crossover, still has it's appeal and comes off far better than GHOST RIDER did, if only because Kirkman keeps his semi-serious tone. One of my favorite books from Marvel now, but it is ending. I sort of hate how some of my favorite Marvel books now are either cancelled titles or mini's. Such is life. BTW, loved how Ant-Man mocked Hulk's "warrior tiara". It does look very close to the one Luke Cage used to sport. Least he hasn't thrown it like Sailor Moon yet.

TRANSFORMERS movie ticket: Saw it opening night, here is my review:
http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=12067873&postcount=964
Long story short; I called on Bay to pooch it, and I was glad I was wrong. Fun, enjoyable summer blockbuster.

 

[Dread]

THE LONERS #4: Another of my favorite books from Marvel at the moment, although it is a mini whose sales will not support an ongoing, and will quietly fall into limbo like AGENTS OF ATLAS did (who have not done diddly since, aside for Namora showing up once elsewhere). This issue focuses on Julie Power, aka Lightspeed, after her quick recovery from being gored by Pen...uh, Hollow last issue (quite why she followed Ricochet or knew where to look is unknown). She narrates about how telling lies starts to feel like the truth after a while and one can rarely know where the "old" and "new" person begins. She still seems closest to Johnny as they both go to Marvel Studio's for an audition, and end up being cast for another flick as stunt-people. The movie Julie auditioned for? A big budget flick for "CIVIL WAR". Now, while I understand Cebulski had his tongue firmly in cheek here, having this in the MU proper in a title that acknowledges the reality of the SHRA (Julie & Johnny are asked if they registered, and director Mr. Lowell brings it up when Julie, er, rejects his "advances"). But if we are to take CW as a serious Marvel event, which it was, then it is realistically way too soon for any movie studio to even THINK of making a film about it. It took some 3+ years before anyone could even announce trying to make a film about 9/11, and any films that shot the Twin Towers before their fall, like SPIDER-MAN, had to remove them. CW was an event where, if we are taking the stories seriously, people died. 612 people died in Stamford and "dozens" of people died in the final battle in Midtown, and that isn't including the deaths of Goliath or Typeface, or any other heroes whose deaths are unconfirmed (we have been told heroes died, but not who). In "Marvel Time", it has been weeks, barely 2-3 months since CW ended, and it simply is unrealistic that a movie would be casting so soon after such a tragedy. I know Ceb was just going for a quip, but when it seems unrealistic, it pulls you right out of the story. The fact that Marvel Studios exists in Marvel and would make movies about figures who in their media are now "infamous", like Wolverine or Cap, is workable as there always have had a bit of 4th Wall breaking by having actual Marvel comics in Marvel comics and all that (Steve Rogers used to do art for CAPTAIN AMERICA comics). The other quibble is the bit where Mr. Lowell basically tries to rape Julie in order "to get her start into showbiz". I am sure this happened in real life to many poor actresses, and probably continues to do so. But as a plot point is fairly generic and cliche, and I have seen is a million times, almost always playing out the same way. The bit where Julie & Johnny play Black Cat & Iron Fist are cool, and there are some other scenes to focus on the others, like Phil struggling to accept his Goblin past and Hollow, Mickey & Powell having some relationship woes, and Mattie seemingly investigating the death of Hornet. The last page has a cliffhanger as while Julie vows not to play the "Hollywood blonde" role anymore and return to being the "mature" member of the Power Pack, when one of their old enemies tracks them down (a lady who has once battled toe-to-toe with Wonder Man). It looks like even without the Loners themselves "breaking their vow" not to be superheroes, trouble finds them. There is another niggle and that involves the SHRA; Mr. Lowell asks if they are registered, but only plans to use them for stuntwork; I thought the SHRA required heroes to be registered if they wanted to act as SUPERHEROES, but if they wanted to either retire or use their powers in non-vigilante ways, they could avoid it. Firestar chose to retire specifically to avoid registering in FRONTLINE. Using superpowers in a controlled environment to perform movie stunts on que is hardly the same as flying around in a city without permission, so I don't see how being unregistered is worth spit for being a stunt-person. This could be because Ceb missed something vital about CW, or it could be a by-product of Marvel continuing, a year later, to not spell out in clear and simple terms exactly what the SHRA as a law states, so that all their writers can just scribble it on a notepad; they keep it vague, and allow writers to conflict each other in defining it. It is the lynchpin of Nu Marvel and they HAVE to get it right and consistant, otherwise you could have some Decimation-esque debacles. #2 is still probably the peak issue for this series but it still is a very enjoyable team book that doesn't quit fit the mold as much as, say, OMEGA FLIGHT or various Avenger books (random collection of names, rinse, and repeat) and has been rewarded for originality with terrible sales, much like IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN. But this series was always at least planned as a mini so that means this arc has a clear ending in mind, even if it keeps things loose (or ends, as their Runaways arc did, with them deciding to become an actual team). Moline's art, as usual, is solid and energetic, and far better than the covers. It is a shame that Ceb won't have more issues to do his Power Pack story, because they seriously should become a factor in the MU again, now that they all are older. Not the best issue of the series, but still pretty damn good, and a solid series for people who like Marvel superheroics with quirky, seemingly forgotten characters who are handled well.

NEW WARRIORS #2: In my review for DYNAMO 5 #5, I appluaded the decision not to drag out the mystery of the death of a character too long, as in beyond 2 issues. This is an example of a big two book not being as wise, as the mystery of "Is Night-Thrasher really alive again?" is maintained for a second issue and I suspect will be longer. Grevioux continues on his slow burn in introducing and assembling the new team, and while he is doing it well, slow debut-arcs for teams have become a dime a dozen and I am getting ridiculously tired of having to wait for some 6-12 issues before a full team is actually assembled or everyone's origin or motive is at least hinted at. This is supposed to be the age of "fast access" yet so many comic book stories work so slowly; maybe THAT is why they fail to attract kids. Think a kid is going to spend $15-$18 to buy an arc of a book to barely get to all the things a manga volume does for less? OMEGA FLIGHT does this slow burn to teams and I am getting sick and tired of it, and Bendis is the one who needs to pay for making this trend worth repeating. His contributions to the medium are far outweighed by what he has twisted it into. That said, what is very interesting here is NW shows that Marvel's A-List franchise now are the Avengers, not the X-Men. In this book, some 3 regular characters (at least) are former X-Men. Back as recently as 2-3 years ago, that alone would have branded it an X-book. But now, Marvel has realized that slapping an X on any ol' book won't make it sell, and they have directed their focus into the Avengers/MU books. Sure, every event Marvel bends over backwards to give the X-Men an obligatory (and useless) crossover tie-in mini, but that is it. The age of making any book an X-book for the flimsiest of reasons may be coming to an end, which means the X-Line may get shrunken and gain focus again. That would be grand. Speaking for the story itself, Grevoiux may continue to do the slow burn with setting things up, but still manages it well enough that it becomes readable and enjoyable; I just hate the trend. The media and various other teams react sort of naturally to the re-emergence of the New Warriors; the Mighty Avengers and the New FF are surprised, Wolverine somehow recognizes Wondra despite a full body costume and no scent to rely on (perhaps by "body posture", which was good enough to allow Bane to figure out who Batman was 15 years ago), and Stark ups the ante by offering them full amnesty if they register to the Initiative. Got to love how winning a war can make a man suddenly become so reasonable, instead of being a jack-booted thug (during CW, he'd have slapped on his armor and given the "resistance is futile; surrender or be locked away forever without trial or mercy!" speach). Grevioux toys with his mystery of whether Night-Thrasher or other New Warriors survived Stamford, noting how easily superheroes seem to be resurrected. The problem here is that Stamford was still barely a year ago and so much came of it, to just revive all who died there would seem like CW was a waste. Speedball came back and became the most worthless character ever made (NFL Superpro at least wasn't as emo) and out of everyone, Night-Thrasher was amung the most vulnerable and thus should have died (only Microbe was less durabile, but who cares about Microbe!?). There's the Skrull theory, thanks to Bendis (again, ugh), but why would Skrulls bother to impersonate a New Warrior? Sophia at first refuses to join Beak and Night-Thrasher in the new New Warriors (who become the 18th trillionth team to beat Rhino like he was a piece of paper; someone needs to make him dangerous again), who seem to be on a role collecting jaded powerless mutants post M-Day and using technology to restore their old or new powers; Beak is likely Warhawk, who flies in armor, and Jubilee returns and seemingly has gauntlets that allow her super-strength, and probably is Wondra. Sophia was given a tablet that duplicates Spider-Man's webbing, at least back when it was mechanical. But who the hell would have figured out that formula? And the rest of the team as of issue #2 is still in shadow, in their own book. Medina's art is bright and colorful, and hopefully he will be given some high octane superhero action to show it off, like in MTU. This is still better than some of us feared after the first Newsarama interview, even if it follows the decompression trend. But Grevioux would be well served to remember that he is NOT Bendis, whose fecal matter sells 250k, and he should wrap up his mysteries in the premise before they wear out their welcome. So far, so good, though.

RUNAWAYS #27: Technically late; issue #26 shipped May 2nd, which means it skipped June entirely. Some of us feared that the departure of BKV and Alphona would lead to late issues, and low and behold, the Whedon/Ryan team can't even get in halfway through a 6 issues run without delays. Surely of course this isn't Whedon's fault, that he always is paired with slowpoke artists, just like it isn't Mark Millar's fault that every comic he has written for the past half decade has eventually run late. But it is another sad trend that late books are more frequent than books on schedule, and yet NO company has as of yet developped a strategy that works to rectify it. Joe Q's Marvel shrugs thier shoulders and either denies it or seems puzzled that the EIC of America's #1 comic company would be expected to have an idea of how to correct a now-critical problem with the industry. DC's Dan DiDio attempted to fix the problem with an old idea (fill-in's), and failed miserably. If these guys were in charge of past enterprises, we'd still be struggling with the problems of sunfall and lack of indoor plumbing. Innovators they are not, I mean REAL innovation that isn't slapping a new title on an old story schtick and actually fixing something that plagues the industry. Maybe this is an overreaction to RUNAWAYS being merely a month late, which for some books is downright speedy, but this was a book that under some 3.5 years under BKV was late barely 3 times, so when it suddenly is late every other issue, it gets noticed. The story itself, however, is still good enough that one could almost justify the lateness. Using the trinket they stole from Kingpin to flee his army of ninjas (and some cyber-angel guy), the Runaways wind up 100 years in the past (Wed, June 27th, 1907 to be exact). The Leapfrog displays some more sentience as it replays a holographic memory file of the Steins' and the Yolkes discussing the fact that they may have more of those "time trinkets" hidden about in various eras for their frequent time-jumps, usually good for jumps of some 50-100 years. The Runaways all react to things in various ways, with Karolina actually wanting to explore but the rest wanting to either travel home or at least not muck up the timestream too much, as Xavin and Victor fear. Shame they're not Kang, who apparently can recruit himself and not expect time to be F'd. The kids break cover to save people from a fire (so much for not interfering with history, but hell, it's not like Capt. Kirk didn't break "the prime directive" every other episode). Whedon, who has returned Chase to being a jokey jock with none of the intensity or intelligence of BKV's last arc, finally acknowledges that he is still in mourning after Gert's death, but aside for that acts like he did in Vol. 1, which is jarring. I suppose if asked about this, Whedon could mention a Paul Kersey line from DEATH WISH: "What do you expect me [Chase] to do; moan and groan for the rest of my life!?" for Chase, but he is my favorite member and I was hoping to see some natural growth from BKV's ending, not merely sending him back into a status quo like so many other characters. Whedon is even writing Xander again so there is no excuse to get Chase into that role here. Molly is somehow more annoying than under BKV but isn't too bad here, and Ryan's art is still solid as the team runs into another troupe of "Wonders" after meeting Eddie Gunnam (or "Stick Man") and his cabal of "Street Arabs" kids. There are other factions of Wonders here as the SECOND book from Marvel in which a heroine was almost raped this week and a younger version of the mecho-angel (Tristan) as well as Eddie batting for a more sinister team. The time travel also allows Whedon to have the kids fight the Pride again, or rather, the Yorkles (who they can't beat because that would undo stuff). As usual, Whedon's dialogue, Chase issues aside, is readable, fun, and matches the spunky tone of BKV, which was why he is the best fit for the book out of other A-Listers. I wonder if Tristan's early 20th century playmate, Lillie "Spieler" McGurty, is the old woman he is devoted to in 2007. The concept of having the Runaways go back in time fits their motif so this all is a fine romp. I am just waiting for the day when Whedon, in some comic book, writes a villain who isn't a complete moron (Ord) or a random collection of overused cliches posing as something original (Danger). Adjudicator at least looks cool and then there is "Maneater". The cover, of course, is wonderful. We've had so many brilliant RUNAWAYS covers that it is easy to take them for granted, but this has been one of the best in a while, even for Chen. Still a shame that by the time Whedon works out the kinks onto hopping aboard this book, he will be gone, leaving it's fate in jeopardy. But, we have another 3 issues which, with another lateness inevitable, may mean that dilemma doesn't need to be looked at until October or November.

THOR #1: I considered it for a few seconds before getting the Turner cover; it just spoke to me more than Coipel's. Despite ending in a To Be Continued, this is a one-shot story explaining how Thor returned for PRELUDE TO CW over a year ago (which was sort of a bait-and-switch on Marvel's part with Clor). While THE MIGHTY THOR was one of few titles my mother got when I was a kid that I read to develop my love for comics, I never cared for it much and got this relaunch out of both curiosity and the fact that if I don't continue, I can always sell the issue (my first print of MARVEL ZOMBIES #1 could fetch some $25-$30 even without grading). There is enough here that if you have some vague idea of Ragnorok in Thor's last title, you can follow this, which I do. In that book, Thor finally ended the endless cycle of death and rebirth that the Norse gods were stuck in to finally give them a warrior's peace. Thor himself inherited Odin's power which meant a return was always possible. JMS' explanation here is Thor is summoned from "non-existance" into some void of nothingness by Donald Blake, who has been there longer and thus knows more about it. Thor declares the gods dead, but Blake claims that "gods get their power from mortals to believe in them" and uses that as a basis to justify ordering Thor around and convincing him that Midguard still needs his protection and that the Asgardians can be "reactivated" by finding wherever they landed in the world, which has been done once or twice before (and currently reminded me of THE ETERNALS which just ended). Thor, even in the actual myths, was amung the more down-to-earth gods and the champion of the "common" person, so Thor deciding to return to protect mortals isn't so much of a stretch. I do question the idea of Thor "reawakening" the other Asgardians from their honorable slumbers. Just because Ragnorok doesn't need to be repeated anymore (fat chance THAT will last!) doesn't mean the other gods would be pleased again; Norse warriors honored a noble death. Still, Blake offers Thor a chance to write his own destiny now that he and his kind have been freed from the pre-ordained one, and the concept of shattering what was foretold is a common story element, especially in the West. So Thor comes back down to Earth, scoops up Mjolnir after battling some random void beasties, and is back to roaming the countryside of Oklahoma as Blake who taps his stick to become Thor; I thought connecting Thor to Blake was sort of Odin's way of punishing Thor, and one supposes this connection to a mortal is supposed to keep Thor from becoming too "godlike" to abandon humanity and make errors; another common Thor plot-point. Some might be cynical of DB returning after some 30-40 years, proving once again that DC isn't the only one who wants the Silver Age to return. For me, it worked in explaining how Thor came back well enough, although I am partisan on more because while exposed to the character and while I feel he needs to be part of the MU, doesn't mean I care enough to read his adventures. JMS as a writer also has me wary; he likes mysticism (he shoved a buttload of that into ASM because he could, regardless of how stupid it was), but he has almost as many misses as hits. I do wonder if Thor will be allowed to go about his business or will be whisked to NYC to beat the Hulk, because he is one of few heroes who probably could. In theory, Sentry could, but he is an emotionally fragile puss, a collection of character flaws posing as a man, not an actual warrior like Thor. It could allow Pak to poke at Millar and have Thor say, "Not an abomination of science this time, but the real GOD OF THUNDER!!" But Thor's just returned so I figure JMS will be given time to sculpt. For what it is, to a non-fan, a suitable relaunch issue. Not sure if it was worth waiting 3+ years, though.
As a side topic, I guess Thor can't be "mighty" because Iron Man's Avengers called dibs on being "mighty" for now. And somewhere The Tick brings out his "greatest engine of destruction that 1974 had to offer" to test who is really "mighty".

 

[Dread]

Last, but not least (stupid post limit)...

ULTIMATE POWER #6: Still enjoyable, and still the best Ultimate title (in more than sales, only USM outsells it), but it is starting to drag a tad and I do wonder if setting it to 9 chapters was the best choice. We have more Ultimates/Four vs. the Squadron Supreme and more Mr. Fantastic both accepting responsibility and yelling at people to save his friends. There is a twist at the end, in which Nick Fury was entrusting Dr. Doom to help them, but he naturally bursts free, stomps some tail and declares this world his; y'know, the usual. My only quibble; wasn't Ultimate Dr. Doom on Marvel Zombie world? Didn't BLACK PANTHER just do a crossover there? So what is up? He escaped? One supposes Doom's return to Ultimate was inevitable, so best to get it out of the way now, and admittedly, JMS did it in a well paced and dramatic way. There is something to be said for execution. Land's art is what it is, you either like it or hate the airbrushed Photoshop look. It's been a good take on a generic story from Bendis & JMS so far, but between the sheer length of the story and the length of time between issues (another comic that skipped June and has been on the verge of bimonthly for some time now) takes some of the enjoyment from it a tad. But still a far better book than I expected and delivering good, solid superheroics. On it's own terms, a success.

Big week. Whew!

 

[PWN3R]

Glad too see you enjoyed Transformers Dread. It's flawed yes, but fun. So fun.

Although the Linkin Park at the end almost ruined it.

 

[Dread]

Glad too see you enjoyed Transformers Dread. It's flawed yes, but fun. So fun.

Although the Linkin Park at the end almost ruined it.

It was a shame they didn't have some riff on the iconic theme song somewhere.

I go into more in the link, though. But, yeah, I'd give it 3 stars out of 4. Very entertaining.

 

[PhotoJones]

I have to start by saying that my girlfriend is the best girlfriend ever. I mentioned in passing on my lunch break today that I would not be able to pick up my weekly comics due to the holiday yesterday and my work schedule today. No biggie, but a new comic book day without comics is a bit of a bummer, especially when SO MANY great books came out today. So, what does she do? She surprises me by going to the bane of her existense (the comic shop) and buying my entire pull list for me. When I got home, I had the most beautiful four color spread on the dining room table I've ever seen. I will have her as my wife one day.


Thor #1 - How good was it? Pretty damn good. I'll tell you what it did do: it made me not hate Donald Blake. I might actually like him. I've always viewed Blake as the reason Thor was never as successful as he could have been. Here you have this great Norse thunder god, and he's tied down to this puny, sack of **** human. I saw it as the one time the "Marvel way" of doing characters failed. There was no need, in my eyes, to "humanize" Thor in that way. He's not human. He is a GOD. He's Superman and Jesus rolled into one. So why the need for some pissant doctor from New York?

Drama.

You can tell from this one issue, this book is going to be pure, straightfoward drama. And I happen to like a good drama. Of course it's going to have big time super heroics, but like all things (comics and otherwise), you've got to focus on the characters. And JMS is a genius with characters. He might just be Marvel's best character driven writer.

He makes Blake an equal to Thor. Can you imagine the confidence you'd have to have to consider yourself an equal to a god? That's insane. But all the time he spent actually being Thor has given him that mindset. It makes perfect sense. What he does is he lays it all out in front of Thor; he's basically got two choices and they're the most basic choices we make in our lives: either get busy living, or get busy dying. I bet you can guess which one Thor goes for.

Donald makes that decision for himself, as well. It's almost as if Donald has willed himself back into existence, and through him, Thor can do the same. It's because of Donald that Thor is back. Without him, there would be nothing. That's a really interesting perspective, when you think about it. Of the two, Thor's the hero. The world needs Thor, not Donald. But only through and by Donald are we able to have Thor again. In that way, Donald has saved the world.

Not a bad first issue at all. I think I may go back and reread it later, if for no other reason than to look at the pretty pictures again. My God, does Coipel draw a good Thor. This might be his defining work, here. If he and JMS can keep up the sense of urgency with the steady pacing, this is going to be a book to be reckoned with. I already need more.

I'm curious to hear what you all thought....

Irredeemable Ant-Man #10 - That Kirkman...he's so clever and stuffs. I can only imagine what it's like to have your book hijacked by a tie in like this. Like, whatever story you had in mind to write, you now have to rewrite it, because well...you don't own it. Your job is to now incorporate it somehow into the summer's biggest crossover. Fun.

But, he does make it fun. And funny. You know the Hulk/Iron Man fight in WWH #1 that we all drooled over? Ant-Man was there. Inside the Hulk's stomach, trying to burn holes in him. Yep.

What makes me love that is, I get the notion that that idea is sort of like Kirkman's "**** you" to Marvel. Not serious, but in a playful way. Because, no matter how serious or important that fight was to being the selling point of WWH #1, there's always going to that little chuckle of a sidenote that that dickbag in a stolen Ant-Man suit was the third wheel in that date. It will always be remembered that right before Stark Tower/the Watchtower collapsed, Eric shot out of the Hulk's nose like a snot rocket.

God bless you, Robert Kirkman.

New Warriors #2 - I'm still surprised by how not crappy this book is turning out to be. The story and dialogue are still top notch, and the art has actually gotten even better than last issue. I was skeptical about Grevioux's talents, as his track record has been shoddy at best. It seems, though that he's putting a lot of work into this book and that's good. He has a pretty good handle on the characters and his pacing is very, very strong. And he included Jubilee, which automatically makes him my best friend.

Jubes is Wondra, as many have guessed. And I don't care what any of you say; Jubilee is a great character. She was the youngest X-Man when she debuted, and she held her own against the toughest sons of *****es the X-Men have ever faced. She kept up with Wolverine and earned not only his trust, but also his respect. She's been beaten, tortured and mind raped, and she's never given up. Not once. To me, she's more of an X-Man than anyone starring in Carey's book. The others have all had their doubts, but Jubilee has never wanted to anything other than a mutant with an "X" on her belt. She's the heart and soul of whatever team she happens to be associated with.

I should get a Jubilee tattoo. Or not.

Anyway, yeah...this book is surprisingly good. I'm curious to see where Grevioux takes it, along with the actual identities of the New Warriors. They certainly fill a void that has been created in the wake of CW. Vigilantes are back.


I've still got Black Diamond #2, Faker #1, Dynamo 5 #5, Loners #4, Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness #5, Scalped #7, Exterminators #19 and American Virgin #16 to read. Best week in a long time...

 

[Marcdachamp]

It was a shame they didn't have some riff on the iconic theme song somewhere.

I go into more in the link, though. But, yeah, I'd give it 3 stars out of 4. Very entertaining.

It's on the soundtrack. Pretty catchy, if I say so myself. I really dug the Goo Goo Dolls song in there, too.

Awesome movie. I don't think I've ever left a film so pumped up.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

I like how Julie's a lesbian now. o.o

 

[Dread]

{et al}

A girlfriend who does that deserves to be your wife.

Also, you like Kirkman, but no ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN?

And I guess there had to be a Jubilee fanboy somewhere. I don't hate her, but she isn't my fave. I'm just amazed that NEW WARRIORS is including so many ex-X-Men and basically replacing their lost powers with technology.

It's on the soundtrack. Pretty catchy, if I say so myself. I really dug the Goo Goo Dolls song in there, too.

Awesome movie. I don't think I've ever left a film so pumped up.

Cullen as Prime (who has much more airtime than the trailer suggests) kicked off the nostaligia value, but the rest was entertaining. Not much more to want in a summer blockbuster.

I like how Julie's a lesbian now. o.o

She is?

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

A girlfriend who does that deserves to be your wife.

Also, you like Kirkman, but no ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN?

And I guess there had to be a Jubilee fanboy somewhere. I don't hate her, but she isn't my fave. I'm just amazed that NEW WARRIORS is including so many ex-X-Men and basically replacing their lost powers with technology.



Cullen as Prime (who has much more airtime than the trailer suggests) kicked off the nostaligia value, but the rest was entertaining. Not much more to want in a summer blockbuster.



She is?

When you read Loners, the "hints" are sort of blaringly obvious.

 

[Dread]

When you read Loners, the "hints" are sort of blaringly obvious.

Hmm. May be worth some rereads.

Poor Johnny, though. Darkhawk with his silly "hoop earrings on both ears like an even MORE homosexual Mr. Clean" can get some lovin', but he can't.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

You know Johnny and Mattie are hooking up.

Basically, Julie FIRST comments about how she would jump Mickey. Then Mickey makes a comment about how Julie isn't competition in the group like Mattie because Julie isn't into "the dating scene" after a fairly blustered release of that phrase.

It's just obvious. But who knows?

 

[Dread]

You know Johnny and Mattie are hooking up.

Basically, Julie FIRST comments about how she would jump Mickey. Then Mickey makes a comment about how Julie isn't competition in the group like Mattie because Julie isn't into "the dating scene" after a fairly blustered release of that phrase.

It's just obvious. But who knows?

I wasn't denying it. I just hadn't caught it. Despite the long text I am a human, not a machine, and I miss stuff.

I can see that as Mattie is researching his tragic backstory; maybe she sees some common connection there. Although about the only development from Hornet's death that Gallo may not know would be that Wolverine (while brainwashed) offed him.

 

[PhotoJones]

A girlfriend who does that deserves to be your wife.

Also, you like Kirkman, but no ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN?

And I guess there had to be a Jubilee fanboy somewhere. I don't hate her, but she isn't my fave. I'm just amazed that NEW WARRIORS is including so many ex-X-Men and basically replacing their lost powers with technology.

I forgot to list Astounding Wolf-Man. She picked up #2 as well as the Director's Cut.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Detective Comics #834

The conclusion of Paul Dini's Zatanna two-parter. The previous issue caused a pretty big stir on the 'net (so much so that I, who doesn't purchase Detective Comics, bought it to see what the fuss was about), ending with an excellent reveal and cliffhanger where Our Heroes were the clutches of the Joker. Proving true the statement that it's more fun to set something up than to knock it down, I found the follow-up to be a lot less interesting. The Joker's trap is dispensed with fairly quickly, and this is followed by a fairly standard confrontation with the Joker, wherein Batman and Zatanna save the day; although I did really like Zee forcing the Joker to laugh against his will using magic. One thing that this issue proves once again is that Paul Dini writes a fantastic Joker (not only that, but all of the Joker's lines in this issue play in my head as read by Mark Hamill, since Dini's lines so often issued from his mouth on the various animated series).

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America: Iron Man (Acceptance)

Now that is an unwieldy title if ever I saw one. I didn’t read the rest of the Fallen Son series, but I decided to get the actual funeral issue, for John Cassaday’s lovely art if nothing else (although his being assigned to/taking this job is just spitting in the face of Astonishing X-Men readers, although God knows we’re used to delays) (also, the more I see of Cassaday's art, the more his extremely similar faces become apparent; seriously, the difference between Elijah Snow and Cyclops is the colour of their hair). But I thought it was a very well-done issue, for what it was: remembrance of Cap’s career. There are some genuinely touching moments, and Loeb’s handle on the character’s history is quite firm; we get appearances and mentions including, but not limited to, the Invaders, the All-Winners Squad, Rick Jones, the Avengers, Isaiah Bradley, the third Union Jack, the Young Avengers, and the Howling Commandos. Cap's final resting place seemed very fitting.

Side rant: Someone really has to sit down and decide what Hank and Jan's relationship status is, because it's been all over the place for a good while:

- In last summer's Beyond miniseries, McDuffie made a big deal of Jan's mistrust of Hank, before having her admit it only happened once, and in the end Hank seemed to be moving on with Firebird (something later writers didn't pick up on).
- Meanwhile, many writers, such as Mark Millar in Civil War, continue to portray the two of them as a duo (not necessarily together in a relationship sense, but always fighting side-by-side).
- Now, in this, and in Captain America #26 (where Rick Jones says he's sitting with "the Pyms"), they seem to be fairly couple-y (they're holding hands during the funeral).
- Meanwhile, over in Mighty Avengers, Hank is getting it on (or trying to) with Tigra, and Jan doesn't even want to speak to him for some reason.
- Similarly, in Avengers: The Initiative, Hank really wants to call Jan after a serious episode, but ultimately refrains from doing so (and she's apparently on a date at the time).

Ms. Marvel #17

Brian Reed concludes another three-parter (seriously, this guy is the anti-Bendis; nothing he does is formally longer than that, although he has overarching stories, including a new one introduced here). Ms. Marvel, Wonder Man, and her team make the jump from Seattle to New York using AIM technology (in one of those suspend-your-disbelief moments, there's no one else in the general vicinity of downtown New York who can get there faster). Ms. Marvel deals with the rigged MODOK fairly quickly, but not before exposure to the G-TAC scrambler causes her to become temporarily warped into a bluish appearance with red eyes and then vomit blood, and start hearing voices; SHIELD can't find any reason for this, so we've got an ongoing mystery. She's so uneasy about this that she can't even bring herself to keep up her flirtation with Wonder Man, asks him to take a vacation. Sean Madigan, the new son of MODOK is seemingly killed, only to be resurrected by AIM scientists as "Head Case", a new supervillain (they also briefly consider "Black Skull"); it's nice to see Reed go to the trouble of creating a supervillain.

Runaways #27

Whedon's already-delayed story arc continues, and I for one found this issue pretty confusing. Ryan's art is quite lovely (I especially love his rendition of Karolina, both when she's using her powers and when she's not), but some moments I found quite confusing (for example, the flowers that are supposed to connect the kid Karolina encounters at the explosion site and the one she espies later came across to me as pretty difficult to understand). Whedon displays a great grasp of everybody, with, as Dread already noted, Chase being the notable exception (but then, that kind of difference is a common feature of writers switching). Apart from minor complaints about the art (and believe me, it's still quite lovely), we're introduced to about a dozen new characters here, and a rather complex gang war or whatever that involves Gert's parents, the time-travelers. Like I said, somewhat difficult to follow, but still good.

Thor #1

Thor just missed Cap on his way back from the dead; at this rate, Thor #81 will probably hold the “most recent meeting of the Avengers Big Three” title for a few years yet. I’m glad that JMS managed to pick up from Michael Oeming’s Ragnarok story so well, although part of me wishes that Thor didn’t come back, if only that said story remained his final tale (I have the same conflicting feelings about “The Death of the Dream” and Captain America). It’s a fairly muted debut issue, really; lots of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo, although it mostly makes sense (who and what Donald Blake is confuses me greatly, but then, I’ve no great understanding of that character and part of Thor’s history). The art is lovely, although Olivier Coipel has this weird habit of drawing characters’ mouths closed even when the dialogue boxes make it look like they should be shouting. I'm dreading Iron Man's appearance in issue 3, but apart from that JMS demonstrates an appropriately mythic sensibility for the character.

Uncanny X-Men #488

Brubaker is now firmly in the "street" setting that all of his other books take place in, which is a good thing, in my opinion, because he writes that sort of book much better than space opera (although I still liked the first arc, drawn out as it was at times). The team lineup has been been largely rebooted here; Professor X, Nightcrawler, and Warpath (the series' breakout star) remain, as well as Hepzibah, who involuntarily returned with the team; filling the ranks are Storm, who's dangerously close to Wolverine-level team membership at this point, and Caliban, driven into the arms of the X-Men by Masque and his band of Morlock terrorists (and that's what they are in this issue, as they stage topical attacks on trains that involve gassing people, and then hideously disfiguring them while they're out (they may actually be dead, but I doubt Masque would bother with the disfiguring otherwise)). It's a team of only six, split into four and two, with Professor X and Nightcrawler off on a jaunt to locate Magneto, who's been in limbo for over a year. I really enjoy Brubaker's take on Xavier (he's not afraid to use his powers and randomly scan for information, which I much prefer; if you've got a telepath, what fun is it if he doesn't do that?), and I look forward to what he does with Magneto when we run into him.

In the second "Endangered Species" backup, Beast scales Mount Wundagore in search of the High Evolutionary, having been convinced by one of Wyndham's comments that he knows more than he's letting on; at the same time, he fills us in on what the band of rogues each said in response to his offer (Doom said Hank had nothing to offer, and somewhat uncharacteristically admitted that he wasn't an expert in biology; Zola is, but would rather observe the death of a sentient species for scientific purposes; MODOK has other plans; my personal favourite, Pandemic says the X-Men wrecked his life's work, and he will toast their extinction; Sugar Man wants more than he knows McCoy will give; Sinister has his own plans, and thinks McCoy is a moron not worth a partnership; Dr. Rao and Spiral are game, and High Evolutionary is cryptic; we don't see what the others say). At story's end, Beast is confronted by several of the Knights of Wundagore. At this rate, I may actually have to buy X-Factor; rats.

 

[GNR]

Glad too see you enjoyed Transformers Dread. It's flawed yes, but fun. So fun.

Although the Linkin Park at the end almost ruined it.

I saw that you gave it a 10.

Totally agree,one of the best action/sci-fi movies ever made.The action was outrageous,Bay was born to make this movie.

 

[fifthfiend]

So I don't know if this month's Supergirl was Kelly actually apologizing for how totally crappy Supergirl has been and saying that hopefully future writers will write a less-crappy Supergirl, or just a slightly more subtle than usual version of his usual exhortation that the audience love his crappy ****ing Supergirl despite the total lack of any reason for anyone to do so. The ******ed-ass non sequitur of a cover inclines me to believe it's the latter.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Thor #1: My first Thor comic in just about 3 years. I was so excited to read this that I literally dropped everything and opened it up as soon as I got home from work last night. I went in expecting a lot and, after reading it and thinking about it some before I went to bed and after I got up this morning, I've decided that I got... enough. It didn't blow me away but it didn't give me a new, post-Sins Past loathing for JMS, either. It was slow and not very eventful, but that's how most of JMS' arcs start off, and I think it was the right approach to take for the first issue of a new series for a character who's not been seen or heard from in years. What did happen was mostly good. I like Don Blake more than any other mortal form Thor has had because I like medical dramas and I like the conceptual dichotomy it creates--Thor, the great destroyer of Asgard's enemies tied to Blake, the great healer. I was a bit confused as to why Blake had his own distinct personality, since anyone who's read Thor knows that Blake was nothing more than a human construct built to house Thor's essence while he learned humility; everything Blake was came from Thor, unlike Masterson, who was literally a separate person, or Olsen, who had an existing personality that Thor had to try and mimic when he continued his life. As I mentioned before, I'm iffy on the concept of man and god becoming more intertwined, since it usually just winds up making the gods look like unimpressive *****es instead of awe-inspiring deities. Also, it grates on me how writers patronize us by saying a character like Thor isn't "accessible" without a literal human side like Blake; anyone who says that a being can't be immensely powerful yet eminently human needs to read Gaiman's Sandman and take some notes.

Anyway, it was a bit boring but still a fairly promising setup. The thought that JMS will have all of the Asgardians have Blake-like human avatars isn't so galling if they're not going to be kids, as he and Millar initially planned, so I can actually kind of deal with it--just as long as the gods are still aware that they're gods and aren't just stupid humans in divine bodies. I'll wait out the first arc and see where JMS is taking things before I make any real judgments, though.

Technically, the issue was kind of hit-and-miss. JMS' narration swung rapidly from carrying an appropriate, mythic tone to droning on in repetitive nonsense. The "and then I... and then I... and then.. and then... and... then..." bit near the beginning was a prime example of the latter. But it was mostly okay, if not quite as awe-inspiring as JMS probably intended. The dialog was better. As I said, I don't know where this personality for Blake came from, but it's actually not so bad. He reminds me a little of Bruce Banner when Bruce wasn't so strung out and crazy from constantly being chased everywhere. He gives the impression that he's more intelligent than any human being has a right to be, but it's an easygoing sort of genius where he's really laid back and cool and maybe a little jaded due to all the things he's seen, as well. The art, as opposed to the writing, was spot-on 100% of the way through. To anyone who claims that Coipel draws a "fat" Thor, take a look at Thor fighting those demons at the beginning. The dude is not fat, he's just ****ing enormous, as he should be. I don't like how Coipel has Thor's hair so short, but other than that he nails Thor perfectly. The rugged face with squinty eyes and a terse, almost sour mouth perfectly suits Thor. In fact, the one area the art falters in for me is the costume, which I've never liked--I think the armor is a tacit implication that Thor's new, stronger connection to humanity has made him weak and feeble, no longer able to face the world with just his bare skin and basic cloth for protection. But I can get past the costume and still enjoy the art as a whole.

Oh, if there were any doubt that I'm a Thor fanboy, let me dispel it now: my main burning question after putting down the comic was not about the philosophical implications of the god/man divide or any narrative possibilities for future stories or anything like that. It was, "Now that Blake and the cane are back, does that mean the stupid 60-second rule is back, too?"

 

[bored]

Jeez, I've got a lot of stuff I need to pick up. And now with "Thor" back...

Bored likes not spending lots of money, but Bored needs to see if he likes the new "Thor".