Bought/Thought, June 18th, 2008

[CaptainCanada]

Smallest week in a good long while, but two very enjoyable reads:

Criminal (v.2) #3

I finally get my hands on a copy of the third issue, which is the final of the three standalone stories focussing on individual characters' stories, generally supporting characters (or, in last issue's case, an alluded-to character); this one is about Danica, the femme fatale who featured in both issues #1 & 2 (and came to a grisly end in the second one). She was a naive girl who fell in love with the son of the city's underboss, was abducted and had her pregnancy forcibly aborted, and descended into a life of stripping and manipulating men. The knowledge of what happens to her eventually hangs over the whole story, as she tries to make a life for herself away from the corrupt city, but finds herself drawn back to it. The article in the back is from Michael Stradford, apparently a "VP of something cool at Sony" (Brubaker's words), describing a 1975 Sydney Pollack film called The Yakuza, which, by the end of it, I definitely am interested in seeing. This series continues to be a great combination of writing and art.

The Incredible Hercules #118

If this series keeps up this level of quality, even Captain America may be hard-pressed to maintain its position as my #1 comic book. We're into Part II of "Sacred Invasion" (Part III, counting the prologue), which, so far, is kicking Secret Invasion proper's ass, and I've generally enjoyed the main miniseries so far; it just can't come close to the epic feel of this 21st century space odyssey. Herc and co. barter with the Seems-Like-A-Sandman-Ripoff-But-Actually-Predates-Him Nightmare for a map of the Dreamtime that will take them to the Skrull Gods' realm (since the Dreamtime cannot be navigated using logic, as Amadeus finds out; I have to say, I'm quite liking him now; even five issues ago I couldn't stand him). Nightmare tries to betray them, but is outsmarted by Herc. We get more good character insight into what the various gods fear; Herc fears being impotent; no, not that kind, as the issue's end demonstrates; Atum's fear is the best; Pak & Van Lente write a really awesome Atum; in fact, everyone in this book is awesome. The writers do a really fantastic job of making Herc and his cohorts act like gods, not just like superheroes by another name. Sandoval's art is likewise brilliant; he's a perfect regular artist for this series. Plus, Herc shags Snowbird.

 

[Hans]

Amazing Spider-Man #563 - The absolute worst issue of Amazing Spider-Man that I've ever read. Simply abismal.

Wolverine #66 - I'll preface this by saying that I don't usually like Mark Millar's stories. I don't like his characterizations and I don't like the overall way he tells his stories. But this is good. Aside from the weak first page (I hate omniscient narration), this was a good read. It was paced well and the characterization between Logan and Clint was good. And Jesus H. Christ, Steve McNiven's artwork was stunning. Going against the trend, McNiven comes into this with a newish style that's actually more rendered than the last time we saw his work. It's unbelieveably awesome. I'd buy this book for that alone.

Guardians of the Galaxy #2 - This is good, man. Real good. This feels like a team book in a way that too few Marvel books feel. Not a single cast member is wasted and the art is slick and clean and superb. And although I saw the surprise character coming from a mile away, it was still good. I can't wait to see where this goes. A+

I've got quite a stack to get through, but those were the three that happened to be at the top.

 

[Spider-Jay420]

glad Gaurdians was good. I'm looking forward to it and happy I jumped on that bandwagon. Thanks for the heads up Corp.

 

[Darthphere]

Comics, the only place where bandwagons are accepted.

 

[Spider-Jay420]

What about professional sports? Especially during Playoff time?

 

[Darthphere]

What about professional sports? Especially during Playoff time?

Highly unacceptable.

 

[Spider-Jay420]

just checkin'

 

[DBM]

I bought the Atomic Robo trade today and I really wish I had gotten on board with this from the start. It was a lot of fun.

 

[Omega Wizard]

All 5 issues of Marvel Zombies 2. Havent read them yet.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

^Get ready for disappointment


Glad to see Incredible Herc is gettin some love. Easily in my top 5 books right now

 

[Omega Wizard]

^Get ready for disappointment

Theyre bad?

Atleast I didnt get the hardcover, because this one has all the awesome covers...

Oh, I forgot, I picked up Red Hulk

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I bought the Atomic Robo trade today and I really wish I had gotten on board with this from the start. It was a lot of fun.

I gotta get the trade. All I've read is the Free Comic Book Day issue, and I loved it. Atomic Robo's up there with Hellboy in the sardonically awesome superhero category for me.

Iron Man: Director of SHIELD #30: Damn, this was good. Having read both now, if I had to choose between Invincible Iron Man and this, I'd gladly stick with this. It cranks the espionage dial up to 11, which is really what draws me to Iron Man right now. I like that one of Tony's old corporate mistakes is coming back to haunt him, and the Overkill Mind looks to be one of the more interesting villains, at least visually. It's a giant, floating brain that blows up other people's weapons! What a fun, crazy concept to drop into this gritty, politically charged sort of setting. Moore's doing a bang-up job of keeping up the momentum and tone the Knaufs put in place. The art was done by several people, and while there were little quirks to tell you when the artist changed, it was pretty cohesive overall. My one complaint is the coloring in the flashback scenes. I'm fairly certain White was going for a washed out look, but it comes off as just flat and ugly.

Guardians of the Galaxy #2: Excellent, excellent stuff. The whole team gels together so well you'd think they'd been at this for two years instead of just two issues. Very, very happy to see Vance again. I'm curious about what he's supposed to be doing in the present and why he's in the original containment suit from back at the beginning of his GotG series and why he registers as not human under the suit on the scanners. Is it possible he's not really Vance, but Starhawk made to think he's Vance? His head's pretty wonky at the moment and that suit is excellent for concealing one's identity, so who knows? Either way, this series looks to be another fine addition to Marvel's cosmic line. Pelletier's art is great, as usual. Can't wait for #3.

Incredible Hercules #118: I maintain that this series is the most fun title on the stands every month. The God Squad meets up with Nightmare, who's one of the best but sadly most underutilized villains in Marvel's catalog, as far as I'm concerned. Getting some insight into the gods' fears was nice, and for all those wondering why Mikaboshi was even allowed to come along, we get our answer--sometimes it pays to have a devious, backstabbing bastard on your side. The final page was telegraphed a bit, but I'm still interested to see where it goes and what it means for Athena and Kirby (whose name is cooler than I expected). Sandoval's art is surprisingly good for a dude I'd never heard of before he started on this series. I hope he stays with Pak and Van Lente on this title for a good, long time. Now, bring on the Skrull gods and their captive minion gods.

 

[Dread]

Seems everyone is having a tiny week; this week I would have had three titles, but my LCS didn't order GEMINI #2, so it is only a double "G" week.

As usual, spoilers aplenty.

Dread's Bought/Thought for 6/18/08:

GHOST RIDER #24: This newest volume of the Spirit of Vengeance's ongoing makes it to the 2 year mark and will thrive past that, which could be considered an accomplishment. No volume or mini of GR has lasted this long since the 90's. On the downside, this thing is bleeding readers and I highly suspect whatever arc Aaron is on may be his last. I doubt this series survives past issue 30.

The terrible irony of it is that had Aaron launched this title two years ago, and not Way, GR would have been better off. He is a writer who tries to work the best with what he is handed, not out to remake the wheel. And he acknowledges past continuity, even mentioning Blaze's old comrades in the Champions a few issues back. He wouldn't have dumped a bucket full of complicated, useless retcon like Way did. Still, rather than erase it with a retcon of his own, he is plowing ahead with what he is given. If more writers did this, continuity wouldn't be the mess that it is, especially for this character.

Huat comes in on art, and it isn't that good. It reminds me of wanna-be McFarlane art that plagued Image comics since....well, sometimes still does. His depiction of Ghost Rider, if it really is the Ghost Rider in full and not Blaze using "some" power, is rather uninspired (imagine Johnny Storm in a leather jacket with his eyes glowing).

The story has Blaze breaking into a prison to get more leads on Zadkiel from a priest who, like Blaze, was seemingly "manipulated" into killing for the angel. Of course, it seems the angels have agents all over the Midwest because one of the prison guards is, of course, one of his agents. While Blaze wades through a prison riot to talk to his man, the agent frees a hulking, tattooed freak named Deacon.

Now, I wonder, is this the same Deacon who fought The Shroud in MARVEL SUPERHEROES III #7, circa 1991? That guy had a southern accent (a blatent one, like he said things like "mah powah" and all that) and wasn't nearly as tall or bulky. But years in prison could have done that, and he at least had super-powers. Joey Farrell was a gangster who went to prison and "found god" there, gaining powers from a bolt of lightening in the desert. For all we know, it could be; who else to sacrifice to Ghost Rider than a forgotten Z-Lister? Still, I doubt it. Aaron probably just liked the name.

Part of me gets the sense that this is filler, dragging out the search for Zadkiel by another issue or two so it feels important, although I am sure GR's issues are numbered. It'll be out of the Top 100 in another month or so and Joe Q rarely tolerates books that can't perform in the Top 100 long. I'm not liking this issue as much as the last few, but that is mostly due to Huat's art. Still, the inability to get decent artists is but one of a few signs of a dying book.

I did like Blaze hurting that crook he was in solitary with; reminded me of the days when Ghost Rider would battle threats that weren't related to Heaven or Hell about, maybe, a third of the time. Back when Thor would battle things that weren't Loki or Norse Beings. What is it about Marvel books, whether good, bad, or mediocre, to trap characters in "genre niches"? The best ones blend 'em. Oh, well.

I can't see this prison story lasting more than 3 issues, and even that may be a stretch. Hopefully Aaron knows that.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #2: The second issue is here at last and this book is in a groove. By that I mean a book that feels like it has years of history behind it when it hasn't even finished an arc yet. Granted, it did have years of build-up; the first ANNIHILATION and the second ANNIHILATION CONQUEST, written by DnA, laid all the groundwork for these characters. Still, you could argue that other team books like, say, New Avengers or Mighty Avengers could claim the same, and they always feel forced and uninspired. This is a book with a dangerous mission to it's team that doesn't always take itself too seriously, and that helps it work.

The banter between the characters is spot-on and very entertaining. I could argue the dialogue is very "Whedonesque", as if every line was written with the intention of being someone's signature quote, but it actually works well here.

Hot on the heels of their last mission against the Universal Church of Truth, the squad finds another fissure that needs to be mended, lest the Universe collapse. Gathering their weapons and wits, they investigate. Investigating an asteroid that is frozen in "limbo ice" (so I imagine Aquarian would be solid by now), they come across what is seemingly the frozen Avengers Mansion, and some nasty extra-dimensional worm-creatures. They are aided in the battle by Vance Astrovick, of original GOTG fame, in his original space-suit. He has amnesia and is obsessed with whatever time he has now arrived in.

This is one of those comics where if I listed every line or panel that was great, I would be typing for ages. From Rocket Raccoon being irritated by "talking pets" to Vance's dramatic introduction to Phyla offering Drax a meal of macaroni & cheese as if it was a galactic delicacy, to DnA being relaxed enough to even have their characters mock the "symbolism" of finding a Cap-like figure in ice on their second mission, this book has it all. Solid art, nice action, and great writing. It doesn't even matter that the UTC and the worms are fairly generic villains. The heart is in the cast and their interactions.

In what I know of the original GOTG, Vance was locked in that space-suit in order to travel through space for 1,000 years, although modern technology since his launch date made that trip almost obsolete (least in his mind). He has switched to his Cap-Trench and mullet afterwards, but this suit is sleeker so I don't mind it. The fact that Mantis recognizes things from that era makes sense as she WAS an Avenger for a while. The mystery involves why Vance is here, how, and whether it is really him. Mantis says he won't be human, and the team is set to be betrayed from within, likely by a Skrull. Vance is looking obvious. It'd better not be Cosmo. Granted, Starhawk is also coming and it very well could be him under the suit. If Wolverine could get his ridiculous hair into a skin-tight mask, then Starhawk could stuff his wing-thingie's into that.

I suppose a greater metaphor could be had of the idea of the Avengers Mansion being frozen in limbo, in ice. It has surely felt like the "real" Avengers have been frozen somewhere dark and hidden for the past 4 years, replaced by something that just doesn't feel genuine.

Pelletier's art is stunning as usual, especially for the worm-blasting action, with some great colors by Fairbairn. Even Phyla isn't being written like a helpless sissy lady anymore, and is therefore a million times more interesting than she was in AC. In fact, the oddity here is the team is fixing the damage done by the Annihilation Wave to the Universe, adding fuel to those who think that the Ultron/Phalanx wave was smaller and pettier in comparison.

GOTG #1 debuted at #61 of the Top 100, over 20 slots above NOVA, which has been running for over a year now. I hope the second issue drop isn't severe, although it seems a small and loyal collection of space fans keeps the Marvel Space genre alive. So long as the books and characters remain this vibrant and great to read every month, it is easy to see why. With DnA going this strong, hopefully their stumbles with AC are being improved upon and their inevitable 3rd installment to the Annihilation saga provides better moments. Still, GOTG is off to a great roll. It is must-Marvel reading.

 

[Blader5489]

Amazing Spider-Man #563 - The absolute worst issue of Amazing Spider-Man that I've ever read. Simply abismal.

Every time I see someone claim something to be the worst issue of Spider-Man, I have to roll my eyes and assume they never read anything by Howard Hackie.

Anyway, my thoughts for this week:

Awesome:
Guardians of the Galaxy
Iron Man
Incredible Hercules
Punisher MAX
Wolverine

Average:
Amazing Spider-Man
SI: Fantastic Four


I think I forgot to pick up X-Factor. Damn.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Theyre bad?

Atleast I didnt get the hardcover, because this one has all the awesome covers...

Oh, I forgot, I picked up Red Hulk

I bought the hardcover, only because I own ALL the other zombie stuff. It's worth reading to see how the story ends, but v1 was 4000x better

 

[SouLeSS]

So I bought the last two issues of Ultimate X-Men on a whim.

Apparntly Jean is a god (k, whatev), Xavier is recovering off continent (k, whatev), Angel is a bird (what the ****?), Collossus is not only gay (whatev), but his power is only to make him metal or whatever, and he's a huge drug addict because it gives him his other powers.

Oh, and Cyclops is obviously going to turn into an addict and have an arc about his recovery and other ****.

I really really really wish I didn't pick these up. But that damn "Ultimatum leadin" banner caught my eye, as I plan on reading that.

 

[fifthfiend]

Amazing Spider-Man #563 - The absolute worst issue of Amazing Spider-Man that I've ever read. Simply abysmal.

I'd be interested in knowing what you disliked about it. I thought it was middlingly mediocre, shading towards good in the bits where Spidey showed a bit of spine and not taking **** off of fools. I mean not shading enough to make me change my mind that I'm not interested in Spidey comics until they un**** the OMD bed, but taken in isolation, relatively inoffensive.

Incredible Herc is great like everyone else has said, Guardians of the Galaxy is great like everyone else has said although there's a few areas where I find it somewhat less great than it could be, Atomic Robo is great and Corp should stop being a ***** and go buy it already.

Anna Mercury would be great if I either A. knew what in the **** is going on or B. knew less about what in the **** is going on.

 

[J. J. Jameson]

Amazing Spider-Man #563 - The absolute worst issue of Amazing Spider-Man that I've ever read. Simply abismal.

It's Bob Gale...did you expect anything more than a terrible issue? This guy can seriously not write Spider-Man worth crap. I dread every issue he writes. Plus, what the HECK was up with that ending? [BLACKOUT]Ox would never just "give up".[/BLACKOUT] Way to pull an ending out of your butt, Gale.

I really wish they'd stop rotating writers and let someone good...Slott or Wells...have a nice, decent sized run, say 12 or 18 issues apiece, maybe more.

 

[Hans]

Every time I see someone claim something to be the worst issue of Spider-Man, I have to roll my eyes and assume they never read anything by Howard Hackie.

Well, you'd be wrong if you did. I've read plenty by Howard Mackie. Hell, I grew up with Howard Mackie writing Spider-Man and Ghost Rider. While I didn't always like the overall storylines in Amazing Spider-Man, they were still readable. They kept the kept the characterization of the characters intact. I mean, Gale's scripts are literally unreadable to me. They are so campy and stupid that they make the Adam West Batman series look like I Stand Alone. It's terrible. It's not fun. There can be light-hearted Spider-Man stories without resorting to complete stupidity. Gale obviously doesn't realize this.

Oh, and Mackie's Ghost Rider was awesome.

I'd be interested in knowing what you disliked about it. I thought it was middlingly mediocre, shading towards good in the bits where Spidey showed a bit of spine and not taking **** off of fools. I mean not shading enough to make me change my mind that I'm not interested in Spidey comics until they un**** the OMD bed, but taken in isolation, relatively inoffensive.

See above. It's just not good. No, it's not Pete making deals with the devil, but the plots and the dialogue and the characterization are all so terrible. I honestly don't know how some people can read this kind of stuff and want more.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I can't comment on the issue because, naturally, I didn't read it. But I have to admit, that cover of Spidey and the Enforcers in bumper cars was pretty damn hilarious.

GHOST RIDER #24:[/b] [...]

Huat comes in on art, and it isn't that good. It reminds me of wanna-be McFarlane art that plagued Image comics since....well, sometimes still does. His depiction of Ghost Rider, if it really is the Ghost Rider in full and not Blaze using "some" power, is rather uninspired (imagine Johnny Storm in a leather jacket with his eyes glowing).

[...]

I did like Blaze hurting that crook he was in solitary with; reminded me of the days when Ghost Rider would battle threats that weren't related to Heaven or Hell about, maybe, a third of the time. Back when Thor would battle things that weren't Loki or Norse Beings. What is it about Marvel books, whether good, bad, or mediocre, to trap characters in "genre niches"? The best ones blend 'em. Oh, well.

[...]

I'm pretty sure Johnny wasn't going full-on Ghost Ridery in this issue. He even says he's using all of his willpower to keep the Ghost Rider at bay, and that he didn't do anything nearly as bad as he could've done to that dude in solitary.

As for the genre villains, yeah, it gets a bit old. I suspect we're seeing so much of it because the almighty "realism" has crept into comics for a while now, and it may seem jarring to a lot of current readers if creators busted out the Credit Card Warriors against Thor or the Trapster against Ghost Rider again. But, on the other hand, we've got Thor fighting Skrulls in SI: Thor soon and Ghost Rider just fought the Hulk and some alien bugs, so they do still mix it up a bit now and then. If Thor joins an Avengers team, as has been implied he might, I suspect we'll see him fight a much greater variety of enemies--you know, like ninjas and... ninjas.

Incredible Herc is great like everyone else has said, Guardians of the Galaxy is great like everyone else has said although there's a few areas where I find it somewhat less great than it could be, Atomic Robo is great and Corp should stop being a ***** and go buy it already.

Shut up, it just came out. I'll get it eventually.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

You buy it yet?

 

[Hans]

Atomic Robo didn't just come out. It's been out for months. The entire series has.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

This week is the first time I've seen the trade on the Diamond list.

You buy it yet?

I will murder you in your sleep.

 

[Hans]

Oh, I'm not talking about the trade. The individual series and all it's multiple printings have been available for months.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, but if a series is complete, I'll usually just wait for the trade. It's a lot less hassle than tracking down all the issues, especially since my shop barely orders a couple issues of any indie titles that aren't from Dark Horse or IDW.