Bought/Thought March 17th, 2010 SPOILERS

[CaptainCanada]

Avengers vs. Atlas #3 - this continues to be the most enjoyable of the Atlas stories I've read in a while, largely due to bringing in the old Avengers. There's some fun fight scenes here, though, once again, it all comes down to Venus's song. Gabriel Hardman continues to be the best artist for this property; he's sort of a more colourful Michael Lark, and while I wouldn't have initially thought that would be a good fit for these characters, it is. The backup story with Venus trying out her new Goddess of Love duties is fun, albeit it suggests that Venus might not be the best choice for that role after all (the Hulk/She-Hulk one was my favourite). It's nice to see some different writers handling the Atlas characters.

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1 - with the Lion of Olympus in the grave, the heroes of Earth (and an elf!) gather to pay tribute to his memory. I liked the tributes, which are a decent mix of recalling important past stories and new anecdotes. In the former category, both Thor and Bruce Banner recount some of his most significant achievements, and Namor talks about Herc snapping him out of a self-pitying funk (by punching him) in the Stern Avengers era. In the latter, Thor likewise supplies a new story about a merry adventure he and Herc had that involved out-drinking some giants, and then getting laid with the giant-women. The humourous centrepiece, of course, is a tribute to Hercules' sexual prowess from Black Widow, Namora, Snowbird, and Alflyse (whose "twenty-eight graphic minutes" description of "the Elven Tickler, and [Hercules'] mastery thereof" leaves Wolverine, Namor, and Fandral speechless, and Thor smiling). Also, Hercules apparently slept with Northstar, a nice, if brief, acknowledgement of his bisexuality in the original stories that has mostly been omitted from contemporary adaptations. The backup with the Agents of Atlas is written by Paul Tobin this time (between him and Paul Cornell in Avengers vs. Atlas, it's kind of nice to see different creators take a crack at the characters), and likewise balances humour and sentiment rather well, as Venus and Namora tour the world to evaluate Hercules' holdings on request from Athena. I really like the idea that Herc owns all this stuff, but never really paid much attention to it; and all the houses he gave to his ex-girlfriends. While I'm not the biggest fan of Ariel Olivetti, his art here is decent stuff, though I'd rather have seen Reilly Brown (who does the backup) draw it all (Brown's work here is a nice teaser for the upcoming Prince of Power miniseries).

Siege #3 - the climax of Dark Reign hits the penultimate issue, and, for once, this is a Bendis event that feels like it could be longer than it is. There's a lot going on here in a fairly short space of pages, as the combined forces of the Avengers engage HAMMER, and, for the most part, kick its ass. I liked how Obama and co. debate what to do, and comic nerd Obama smartly doesn't go for the Kingdom Come option - though I'm not clear why they don't consider contacting most of these forces and asking them to stop fighting, since most of them think Osborn is speaking for the government. There are some neat bits, such as Steve shooting down Taskmaster's attempt at creating a big "we meet again" moment; and Bendis actually writes a pretty good Thor here. His fight with Sentry could have been longer, but then, that's true of most things in this book. With Osborn mostly dealt with, #4 will face the full power of the Void; interestingly, Loki's nowhere to be found here, but surely there's some sort of comeuppance coming for him here. Great art from Olivier Coipel.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger got off to a great start. Thor's story was a nice reminder that he and Herc were, in fact, very good friends (even if they'd never admit it) and, coupled with "Thorcules," shows that Herc had a knack for bringing out the worst (but funniest) in Thor. Namor's story was also good; Pak and Van Lente show a good grasp of Namor's character, with the modicum of praise he offers Herc coming very, very grudgingly amidst a heap of insults. The ladies' tales of ribaldry--mostly implied--was a good gag, as was the Northstar bit. The issue ends on a hell of a cliffhanger, which I'm looking forward to the resolution of. It should certainly cast a new light on Cho's newfound status in the Prince of Power series following this.

The Agents of Atlas backup was actually even more poignant than the main story, even though it featured Namora, whose connection to Herc was mostly fodder for dirty jokes, and Venus, who barely knew Herc (although more familiarity is implied in this story). I loved the idea of Herc investing heavily in all kinds of business (especially ones involving alcohol) and then forgetting about his investments; I've often wondered why immortal characters weren't all filthy rich, and this explanation is certainly one of the funnier ones. This story also ends on a cliffhanger, although I suspect I know the twist it has in store already: Herc's "Lethe Hospital" is a sanctuary for the children of the monsters Herc slew over his very long career of monster-slaying. He apparently takes care of every woman he's ever bedded; why not the families of every monster he's ever slain?

 

[CaptainCanada]

I like that Pak and VL's Thor has a sense of humour.

 

[SouLeSS]

More like "Direct download/thought while I wait for trades becaues there isn't a comic store within 50 miles of here, and I'll be damned if I'm going to wait for the mail to get them"

That being said...

GLC was good. All the various corps' working together was awesome I thought. Oh, and the biggest badass of all times makes his appearance - Arkillo. He didn't do anything though, other than get made fun of by Kilowog. Antimoniter parts were fun, as were the Dove Bullet, and Vath is the most badass of all Green Lanterns. Anyone who says otherwise needs to refer to the single page with him and Isolde/Isamot.

Siege 3. Holy ****. I know most people don't like big action with little substance, but damned if Siege isnt' one of the best events in the past decade. Awesome pacing, it's mostly action with the non-action parts are good. It's not decompressed, and there isn't too much Bendis Speak. Sentry completely destroying Asgard? ****ing awesome. Osborne absolutely loosing it at the end? Amazing. It (sort of) goes with my theory that the one thing Osborne wanted was to protect the earth using whatever means he needed. Him going YOURE ALL DEAD HES GOING TO KILL US ALL followed by the next page made me feel exactly like this

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Did everyone decide to start reading comics this week or something? I just had to order Hercules, Amazing Spider-Man, and Incredible Hulk online? The hell is up with that? Is there something special above the ordinary for these issues? Granted my shop could've been out of alot of stuff.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Guardians of the Galaxy was fan-bloody-tastic. This whole series could easily be described as a series of incredible moments, and this issue lives up to that even better than most other GotG issues, especially for Major Victory. After neglecting him for the entire series, this issue sees him get over his confusion because, at the end of the day, he was "born to guard the galaxy." The rest of the characters get a lot of good material over the course of the issue as well, especially Gamora, who's likably b****y again. The bit with Groot taking his position as official Galactic Council delegate from Planet X--granting the Guardians instant standing within the galactic equivalent of the UN--was brilliant and hints at a more respected future for the Guardians, who've always felt a bit rag-tag. Then there was Rocket and Jack's scene, which had me in stitches. And, of course, the ending. Everyone may have seen it coming thanks to solicitations and the title of the next cosmic event, but Thanos popping out of that cocoon to apparently incinerate Phyla still got me excited. Thanos is back and he's gonna f*** some s*** up.

I've decided I like Wes Craig's art on GotG more than Brad Walker's. The Guardians have always been a great mix of humor, over-the-top action, and a bit of soap opera drama, and Craig's art on all of that was pitch-perfect in this issue. Walker's good, but his style lacks the personality of Craig's more cartoonish look--a personality that, as it happens, matches the Guardians' to a tee.

Nova wasn't quite as good as GotG this week, but it was a solid ending to the big Sphinx arc. The Sphinx arc as a whole was a bit underwhelming to me too, although that might be because I never really read many of Rich's earlier comics. I know the Sphinx is supposedly his Green Goblin or Lex Luthor or Loki, but I didn't find him all that impressive. He nailed the scope quite well, but the conflict wasn't really personal enough and the Sphinx just seemed to lack personality overall. He actually sort of struck me as a poor man's Kang in this arc, in fact.

But still, not a bad arc by any means. The ending is particularly satisfying, with Rich's return to the new Nova Corps (whom I love) with Namorita in tow. I loved the exchange between Rich and Darkhawk at the end, too. Perfect summation of Rich's character: he knows there may be serious consequences from essentially breaking the laws of reality and saving Namorita from death years before she was ever supposed to die, but Rich is about 70% heart and 30% sense, so he just doesn't care. You can argue that it makes him a terrible leader and unworthy of all the responsibilities he's found himself in charge of, but it sure makes him an engaging character.

 

[SouLeSS]

So is Thanos actually in GotG or is it just the last page has Thanos on it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Last page. But the next issue has him on the cover, so I'm sure he'll feature much more prominently.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Nova came out?!!! WHAT?! I missed it! That ticks me off!

Anyhow, on to some of my reviews.

First off, there were 3 things this week that made me shake my head and makes me want to drop Marvel comics more than I already do. They are listed in my first three reviews.

Hulk 21 & Incredible Hulk 608 - Surprisingly, I have been really enjoying this Fall of Hulks story, both Hulk and Inc. Hulk. These issues were just as good but there's a really crappy decision here that's killing the series for me. First is that they release them both in the same week so that you have to guess which to read, which can ruin things from the other book (such as Beast and T'Chala's capture last month), and then like in these two issues, the ending overlaps a bit but in differant scenerios. We see what's going on in Rulk's scenerio in Hulk 21 but see what the ending of Inc is, and in Inc we see what's going on for Bruce but see Rulk captured from the end of Hulk.... THAT IS FREAKING REDICULOUSLY ******ED!!!!! Why ruin the ending of both books in each other books? This means the readers HAVE to ruin one of the two books no matter what! I figure it's so that if someone is reading only Hulk, or only Incredible, they know what's going on... but if you want to do that then don't have it a crossover event becuase those of us who are reading both, it sucks for us and makes it not worth it. STUPID decision. They should have just numbered it and had it a continuity story, part 1 part 2 part 3 and so forth because thier execution of the simoultaneous plots has killed my enjoyment of this story. I liked it in hindsight, but it wasn't very enjoyable while actually reading it.

This is one of three things this week that encourages me to drop books from Marvel.

Guardians of the Galaxy 24 - This was a pretty good issue, though I hated the art with everything in me. He's done decnet art for them before, though I wasn't as big a fan of it, but it was especially bad here.

My main problem here though is twofold. First is that online solicits ruined what could have been one of the best endings in years. Seriously, Thanos is the best Cosmic Villain ever and his return is always a huge thing. So hiim showing up here would have been amazing... but we already knew due to solicits.... so it ruined whatever impact Abnett and Lanning were going for.

And even if you managed to dodge spoilers and just read the books, Imperial Guard also came out this week with the last page showing an add promoting the new event with Thanos smack on the page. So even then, it ruins the ending of Guardians of the Galaxy.

So yeah, spoiling great comic endings to promote what comes next ticks me off. If we know the ending of every issue, what's the point in reading them anymore? That's number two of my "Marvel sucks I want off" week.

Dark Avengers 15 - As I said before, this arc had the potential to be the best arc that's not only appeared in this title, but that Bendis has written since taking over the Avengers line. However, he's killed it with massive continuity errors within his own writing (of 6 months or less even!).

If memory serves, here's where the scenerio is at prior to this issue:

Part 1 - The entire issue takes place between Dark Avengers 9 and 10, so that's just prior to the Molecule Man arc. Okay, that makes sense.

Part 2 - Continuing directly out of Part 1, there is conversation about the ending of the Molecule Man arc, which suddenly puts this story both before and after the Molecule Man arc simoultaneously without any gaps to actually fit the arc in there... so that just screws the whole thing up to begin with. But wait! Osborn also mentions Ares preparing for the Siege, which means that this story now takes place before and after the Molecule Man arc.... AND in the middle of Siege issue 1... none of which could be possible. Now if there were enough breaks or whatnot, this could be made to work... but it's one ongoing chronological story... so it's just not making sense at all that it takes place in 3 timelines at once.

But wait... now we have more in this new issue!!!

Part 3 - Okay, so there's a gap between last issue and this one, so I hoped that all continuity issues would stop... but nope, not happening. Wanna know why? Because in this issue Bullseye kills Sentry's wife, Lindy between the pages of Siege: The Cabal one shot. That in and of itself isn't a problem, but here's the deal... the One shot takes place before Siege issue 1... right? Okay, but Siege issue 1 was mentioned in Part 2 of this story! So, now this issue where Hawkeye kills Lindy takes place PRIOR to last issue when Norman actually orders Hawkeye to kill her!!!

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDIN ME WITH THIS?!!!!!

I've been really reconsidering dropping my Avengers titles because I love the characters but this is just freaking rediculous! I can tolerate hit and miss writing, and Bendis is that. I can handle that for the love of the characters, I really can. Continuity errors are annoying but I can take them here and there, that's fine. But to completely butcher YOUR OWN continuity... and RECENT continuity to the point where it's just embaressing.... and then the EDITORS!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS! What are they doing?! Are they reading this crap?!

I'll be honest, I don't really care how good any of the other Siege stories are, but this one arc, and the continuity errors (though much fewer) in New Avengers have ruined this event for me. The Siege is by far the worst put together and planned out events that I've ever read.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Okay, now on to other less infuriating stuff... though certainly not all good.

Siege 3 - As you can probably tell, after reading Dark Avengers I came into this issue pretty jaded as is. And the ruling is... Boring. How can an issue full of action and adenture bore me to tears?! Yes, there were good moments, the best being Spider-Man decking Osborn, but most of it I was just like "Eh, Who Cares?!" I mean, c'mon! You have Iron Man suit up, Thor Vs Sentry, Captain America vs Osborn, and Obama opting to dismantle Hammer.... and yet it still feels like nothing happened?!

I think the biggest problem here is that, for the first time ever, Bendis is rushing it. This really needed to be a 6 or 7 issue arc. There wasn't enough time to adaquately play up to the point of pay off: the details of the Siege and the Siege itself (it's all fairly generic), the falling madness of Norman Osborn (it's been hinted at, but he really needed his falling moment to shine, suiting back up as the Goblin again), and the evil of the Sentry. Now granted, yes, there's still an issue left and I'm sure it'll help, but still, these first three issues felt much too rushed and it's taken away the effectiveness of the year-long build up in the pages of New Avengers, Dark Avengers, and other Dark Reign comics.

Serious, they needed to tie-in things to really mark the conclusion of the Dark Reign. They needed to have Osborn finally flip and actually make it a memorable moment. They needed Void's decent to be organic (and it could have been in Dark Avengers was such a joke). They needed to include other aspects of the Dark Reign, such as the Dark X-Men and the Thunderbolts (though I know they were elsewhere, but they should have been here as well in some way). Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America's presence needed to be bigger... more AMAZING! The Asgardians needed to be an actual story, not just misc. battle location with generic faces, randomly throwing Balder in there. The People of the Cabal needed to play a bigger part in the fallout of what's going on.

This whole thing... it just needs to be BIGGER and it needed more issues to make that happen. Honestly, if done right and paced well, it could have easily been 8-10 issues, but I don't trust Bendis with that. He'd drag it out the whole time and then cram it in the last two issues. To me, this is this decades equivlent of the X-Men's story "The Twelve". There was a lot of build up, but a lot of the build up fell by the wayside and a very unfulfilling story was given to us. Not bad, but unfulfilling.

Imperial Guard 5 - So marks the end of this mini, and while not great, it was loads better than the Inhuman mini, which has been a very cliched and boring story for them. This issue, however, was a bit more interesting. It did manage to build up a couple of the Guard so that you care about them, such as Mentor, Neutron, Fang, and Plutonia... but then it went and killed Neutron (along with a few others, Starbolt and Blacklight come to mind... which sucks because Starbolt was the only one of the bunch I was really interested in coming into the story). And then they made Mentor and Plutonia agree to exchange themselves so Raptors could come out and take their places. Now that definately has story potential, but for now they're out of the picture.

But overall I was pleased with the mini. I'm glad I bought it and I actually found myself enjoying and looking forward to each issue, unlike Inhumans where I am bored to tears reading it.

X-Men Legacy 234 - A standalone issue that focuses on Rogue as usual, and her helping some of the students. It was an okay issue. She absorbs the powers of the Cuckoos for a while (something having to do with them trying to find the Phoenix power that left them). She goes around and hears people's thoughts and starts helping people based on that, such as Rockslide and Indra. She also goes to Gambit and warns him about something in his head, another voice (as we know is the Death personality). But they start talking and she goes on a rant of how she loves him and thinks and talks about their emotions and the few tiems they've managed to actually make love and such. But then she and Gambit realize that, with teh Cuckoo's poweres, they just broadcasted those images and words to everyone on the island. Heh... oops.

All in all, good issue, but just like the Xavier run, I'm getting board of this Rogue focus. I'm actually a lesser fan of her's than Xaviers so I'm getting more bored quicker. The only thing saving this title for me is all the students, as I was a big fan of New X-Men. For them, I'll continue enjoying the title, but I'm really bored of the Rogue centric deal.

Green Lantern Corps 46 - Good issue, though we get an extra 8 pages, jumping the price up an extra buck to $4. This bugs me because once again we go back to the basic story of hero sees dead love interest and has to deal with it. We are so past that point of this story that it was more annoying than anything. Guy has to deal with Ice and Kyle has to deal with Alex... note... he's already dealt with Jade, and he still goes over this again with Alex?! But here's the thing, this rehashing the same stupid story took... wait for it.... 8 PAGES! So cut out the crap that's already annoying everyone and hey! I would have saved a buck and probably would have enjoyed the issue more.

And of course, one more annoying thing is the Anti-Moniter. His showing up here was cool, good stuff... except that they've already spoiled it with solicits and crap being that it was a cover image. And just like with Parallax... Anti-Monitor would have been cool, but now "Eh, who cares?".

Now besides those two points, I will say that the rest of the issue was good. Honestly, without those 8 pages it still would have stood on it's own as one of there better issues of the Blackest Night event. The Net scene was really cool, I loved it! The Anti-Moniter was cool (would have been cooler if I wasn't expecting it), and they're way of trying tot take him out with the Bullet was awesome (I especially like that it was the Sinestro Corps sniper who fired it). And Vath, who is typically overlooked but a cool character, had an awesome defining moment showing how hardcore the dude is.

Like I said, the issue was great... but those 8 extra pages of crap hiking up the price and solicits for covers ruining the Anti-Moniter's showing up knocked the book down from great to average for me. Very disappointing. In fact, it really speaks volumes of how good the rest of the issue was for me to still like it like I did. It could have been great though.


And finally...

Echo 20 - Okay issue, though I think I was already in a bad mood by the time I got to this, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I usually do for this series. It was good, and we get a serious insight into the life of Jack... who I am struggling to even remember at this point. That's a sure sign that I read and don't enjoy waaaay to many comics a month. I know I like this title, but the other crap is making me not enjoy the good issues way too much. I need a break.

Anyhow, so Jack's gay. Guns down his boyfriend and friend because his boyfriend breaks up with him and he knows too much. Julie and Ivy have a fun planeride leading to disaster. And Julie is remembering Annie's life, including the night when she and Dillon first met, fell in love, and had sex. Oh, and the thought dead guy who got his face blown off a few issues ago returns, still with half a face.

Eh, good issue, but I just wasn't in the mood for it by the time I came around to it. I need to drop some crappy books soon or it's going to kill my interest in the industry.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Oh, forgot one.

Batman 697 - Same problem as with Echo. I was already ticked off by the time I got to this so I didn't enjoy it like I normally would have. The issue was good and the art was great. It was a good concluding issue for the Black Mask story, and I liked that the Black Mask ended up being Dr. Arkham. But Catwoman's little sidekick looks kinda stupid. Not digging the costume at all.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

So wait...is Phylla-Vell dead AGAIN? God. Woman can't catch a break.

 

[Dread]

Lots of books, lots of reviews, not enough time. Spoilers.

Dread's Bought/Thought for 3/17/10:

BOOSTER GOLD #30: No Blue Beetle stripe, which means the first issue in quite a while that is $2.99 again. Booster seems a bit grabby with his own sister on the cover, but beyond that it's (almost) smooth sailing for everyone's favorite time traveling Top 100 selling superhero. Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund weave another tale, this time assisted by Jerry Ordway, one of DC's many classic artists from the DEATH OF SUPERMAN era. Wouldn't you know it, this arc finishes up with the destruction of Coast City at the end of the REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN! Guilt ridden about having to ensure the creation of Cyborg Superman, who will kill seven million people in Coast City (which led to Hal Jordan going mad with -- I mean being possessed by a fear demon that was in no way his fault), Booster is faced with another major dilemma from a female time traveler from late in the 21st century, Sondra Crain. She has been sent to either prevent Coast City's destruction or save as many people as possible. At first Booster is all about protecting the time stream, but eventually he seems convinced to try to save all those lives. Alas, instead of having days to act, they barely have hours, as the destruction begins. Booster tries to take on the Cyborg Superman and trash Mongul's space-craft, but fails. He winds up saving Sondra and some innocent girl, as well as running into his sister Michelle, who wound up stuck here. Unfortunately, her boyfriend is one of those "destined" to die in Coast City, and a mysterious figure seems to ensure that it happens.

The issue ends with Rip being reunited with his father -- an older Booster Gold. Elder Micheal thanks his son for being such a good tutor for his "younger" self, and faster than you can say "quantum leap", the issue ends. The Gold siblings are reunited and another heartfelt arc is completed. The art by Jurgens and Ordway is pretty good, and the story is fine enough. It isn't the best of issues but far from the worst. Very few of these issues have been bad, honestly. Just compared with many other books that came out this week, it was easy for BG to get a bit lost in the shuffle. Still, it is the lone DC book I buy for a reason (besides the fact that BLUE BEETLE got canceled). Sondra Crain is an interesting character to add to the mix, and hopefully we see more of her. Since we know Rip is Booster's son from the future (like Cable is with Cyclops, only not as over the top and lame), one wonders who his mother is. Will it be Sondra? Fire? That girlfriend of Boosters who has been mentioned a few times but has never been seen on panel?

At any rate, I was glad Michelle lived, although naturally the problem with the series sometimes is when it goes into defined events, some of the stories become telegraphed a bit. At any rate, keep up the good work, Booster!

AVENGERS VS. ATLAS #3: This is definitely one of those series where the trip getting there seems more amusing than the destination itself. The Agents are still caught up dealing with this odd time paradox man-thing (not THE Man-Thing) that has caused the 1960's Avengers to replace the New Avengers and fight them. Just as they started getting a handle on things, the time-man appears again, bringing in the Hulk! Most of the issue is about the two teams trying to unit to stop the Hulk, who is in his vintage 1960's purple speedo's (which have thankfully been discarded since). Normally it would be as simple as Venus singing to him, only Wasp zapped her in issue #2, so the rest of the team has to make due with brute force or energy attacks. Gabe Hardman's art is nice and exciting, and Jeff Parker gets in a lot of amusing lines and moments, but it is hard to shake the feeling of "filler" with this issue. Bob Grayson tries to analyze the time-paradox man, only to be converted with his 1950's self. Thankfully, he "beamed" his knowledge into Giant-Man, who seems to believe this is related to their battle with Kang, a then-new Avengers foe. Probably the best moment was Venus ending up causing Thor and Namorita to make out underwater, and Namorita being somewhat miffed that Venus seems to enjoy putting her in "compromising" positions. The Avengers also seem to learn that the Hulk is Banner way sooner than they are supposed to, if this holds. The back up strip from Paul Cornell with original AGENTS artist Leonard Kirk is more interesting, if a bit bizarre. Venus apparently holds a letter answering show on the planet Venus, and acts like she has a live audience (and it is never outright shown whether she really has one or not). Some of the letters and answers are funny, but the entire thing is a bit bizarre. Between this and a lot of DARK REIGN: YOUNG AVENGERS, I think Cornell's medication dosage needs to be upped. I usually like AGENTS stuff and I hardly hated this, but I had a hard time even remembering I read this five minutes later. The X-MEN mini seemed a bit more interesting than this. This series has had some of Parker's trademark zany action and one liners, but has seemed far more random. The back up strips in INCREDIBLE HERCULES were far more substantial in half the pages. This sometimes feels like an outline for a story Parker thought would be cool more than a story unto itself. Still, can't wait for the AGENTS relaunch in May. The hit-to-dud ratio for the AGENTS is still better than many other team titles.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #24: Two years in and it just feels like the series is getting started, instead of running out of steam. Abnett & Lanning build off of prior stories and move along to promise even greater ones to come. The cover tag may be REALM OF KINGS, but that is almost just to attract people who need crossover subplots to get excited about books, rather than stories. If anything this issue resolves the subplot of what was in the cocoon that the Universal Church of Truth had in their basement since ANNIHILATION CONQUEST. The answer was actually a surprise, although it shouldn't have been since next issue's cover was solicited, and we know the next event will be THE THANOS IMPERATIVE.

Wes Craig does the pencils again and while he isn't everyone's favorite artist on the book, I like his work. He does well with kinetic, fast paced action, and he works well with the comedic moments that are in the stories. Lapointe and Fairbairn, of course, also aid with inks and colors, keeping everything together. GOTG does do space adventure fairly straight, although is self aware about it to often have some of the best banter in comics, and this issue does not disappoint. There is some heavy handed narration depicting half the team in battle against the Church; Phyla and her merry band try to fight through the horde to reach their teammates elsewhere. Gamora probably has the best line in the issue: "You betrayed us to Oblivion! And you couldn't even do THAT right!" The issue also goes the farthest in a while to actually have Major Victory do something or have some sort of interaction. He manages to take down the head boss lady at the end, and almost doesn't catch Gamora flirting with him. If she's impressed by studly action, guess that is why Nova once earned her attention. Meanwhile, Peter Quill and the rest of the gang save the Galactic Council, including Blastaar, from monsters sent by an assassin. Or rather, Rocket being awesome with a large gun. Moondragon conveys the message from Phyla that Magus is not dead, while Phyla ends up being manipulated by Maelstrom into releasing Thanos from the cocoon. Guess he and Death didn't work out. At least he stayed dead longer than Steve Rogers.

It was an awesome issue, but I imagine subsequent issues with Magus and Thanos will be even cooler. One menace may go down, but another will arise anew. Space is always a tricky wicket that way. The book has at least a baker's dozen characters but the two writers seem to juggle them well enough, spending some issues focusing on some, then others. Groot's royalty at least came in handy for the Guardians as well. It is interesting seeing Blastaar evolve a bit from C-List Fantastic Four villain to a legitimate king who decides to try using diplomatic loopholes to be a jerk instead of energy beams sometimes. Now that is what I call development of character! As usual, GOTG remains one of the best team books around, managing to get around the seven member limitation to provide quite a lot of bang for your three bucks every month. Two! More! Years! At least.

I do wonder if Phyla is in fact dead. She is an agent of Oblivion and he may give her another shot.

HERCULES: FALL OF AN AVENGER #1: This two part mini naturally provides the aftermath to the ASSAULT ON NEW OLYMPUS story, and basically the end of INCREDIBLE HERCULES proper (which was itself just inserted into INCREDIBLE HULK three years ago). After this will be PRINCE OF POWER, which for all intents and purposes seems to be a Cho solo series. The reason why the death of Herc has worked when other comic deaths lately haven't is because it wasn't done for shock value or to get cheap attention. It was a legitimate part of the story with reasoning behind it, with legitimate emotional reactions from all parties involved. Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente manage to wring a very good tale despite their lead hero being dead, CAPTAIN AMERICA style, while Ariel Olivetti comes aboard on art. While he certainly doesn't spring to mind as a Herc artist as Buchemi, Brown or Henry, one does get used to his style after a few pages.

Celebrated as a national and mythical hero in Greece (which makes sense), Cho arrives for Hercules' "official" funeral and is dismayed that Athena doesn't show up for hours. However, many of Hercules mortal and immortal heroic allies show up. Present inside (even if shown on the cover but not in interiors) are Thor, the Warriors Three, Archangel, Wolverine (yeah, I don't know why either), Bruce Banner (and Skaar), Namor, as well as a batch of Herc's most notable lovers, Black Widow, Namorita, Snowbird, and Alfyse the Dark Elf. There was one awkward panel where it seemed Northstar was there for a split second, implying that like many ancient Greeks, Hercules swung both ways on occasion, but I may have read that wrong. Present on the cover but not in interiors were Hank Pym and Quicksilver. I still can't tell you why Wolverine is there; maybe Warren said he was coming, and Logan couldn't resist the Asgardian mead. At any rate, many of those present talk about Hercules' life and times, and Pak & Van Lente show their mastery of weaving in old Avengers and Champions material (from even the Roger Stern era) in with their own three years of material. Highlights include Thor's takes of giant drinking games, and especially an off panel description of what the "Elfish Tickler" is. Cho has the shortest but perhaps the most painful eulogy. "He...he was my best friend." Someone pass me a hanky!

The issue ends with Athena leading a procession of Greek Gods (least those that are left) to apparently discuss the future of the Olympus Group, and likely to proclaim Cho the new Prince of Power. It was a poignant and at times hilarious issue without a punch thrown or whatnot. An issue that like many others shows why this run rocks, because it can tap all levels of emotion and narrative, from humor to tragedy and everything in between.

AGENTS OF ATLAS back up strip is actually written by Paul Tobin, who peeks in from the MARVEL ADVENTURES line, alongside artist Reilly Brown. In many ways this story is just as important and worthy as the lead one, with Venus and Namorita going over Hercules' estate to inform various partners that he is dead. Herc was loose with his "gold" and naturally invested in many things you'd expect of him, such as beer, wine, nude beaches and adult porno shops. On the other hand, he also had quite a lot of Stark Enterprises stock, and apparently bought apartments and houses for his dozens (if not hundreds) of lovers across the globe. Naturally, in doing so they learn more about Hercules and mourn in their own ways (especially Namorita), and it is actually pretty touching (yet still often funny) stuff. The strip ends on a cliffhanger, and I am curious where it will lead.

Only NOVA could top this for me this week. Surely a tribute worthy of a demigod, and it is only half finished!

Up Next: MARVEL BOY: THE URANIAN #3, NOVA #35, SIEGE #3 & VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT #6

 

[SouLeSS]

Dark Avengers 15 - As I said before, this arc had the potential to be the best arc that's not only appeared in this title, but that Bendis has written since taking over the Avengers line. However, he's killed it with massive continuity errors within his own writing (of 6 months or less even!).

If memory serves, here's where the scenerio is at prior to this issue:

Part 1 - The entire issue takes place between Dark Avengers 9 and 10, so that's just prior to the Molecule Man arc. Okay, that makes sense.

Part 2 - Continuing directly out of Part 1, there is conversation about the ending of the Molecule Man arc, which suddenly puts this story both before and after the Molecule Man arc simoultaneously without any gaps to actually fit the arc in there... so that just screws the whole thing up to begin with. But wait! Osborn also mentions Ares preparing for the Siege, which means that this story now takes place before and after the Molecule Man arc.... AND in the middle of Siege issue 1... none of which could be possible. Now if there were enough breaks or whatnot, this could be made to work... but it's one ongoing chronological story... so it's just not making sense at all that it takes place in 3 timelines at once.

But wait... now we have more in this new issue!!!

Part 3 - Okay, so there's a gap between last issue and this one, so I hoped that all continuity issues would stop... but nope, not happening. Wanna know why? Because in this issue Bullseye kills Sentry's wife, Lindy between the pages of Siege: The Cabal one shot. That in and of itself isn't a problem, but here's the deal... the One shot takes place before Siege issue 1... right? Okay, but Siege issue 1 was mentioned in Part 2 of this story! So, now this issue where Hawkeye kills Lindy takes place PRIOR to last issue when Norman actually orders Hawkeye to kill her!!!

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDIN ME WITH THIS?!!!!!

I've been really reconsidering dropping my Avengers titles because I love the characters but this is just freaking rediculous! I can tolerate hit and miss writing, and Bendis is that. I can handle that for the love of the characters, I really can. Continuity errors are annoying but I can take them here and there, that's fine. But to completely butcher YOUR OWN continuity... and RECENT continuity to the point where it's just embaressing.... and then the EDITORS!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS! What are they doing?! Are they reading this crap?!

I'll be honest, I don't really care how good any of the other Siege stories are, but this one arc, and the continuity errors (though much fewer) in New Avengers have ruined this event for me. The Siege is by far the worst put together and planned out events that I've ever read.

Dark Avengers 14 (the start of the arc) takes place three days before Siege. 1. Dark avengers 15 takes place in the minutes after Dark Avengers 14 finishes, so also right before Siege 1. Dark Avengers 15 takes place two days before Siege. The attack that's going on in the issue is because Norman challeneged Doom.

I really, really, really don't see where you're getting these huge glaring continuity errors. This entire arc takes place after the Molecule Man arc, and in the days leading into Siege 1.

 

[CaptainCanada]

There was one awkward panel where it seemed Northstar was there for a split second, implying that like many ancient Greeks, Hercules swung both ways on occasion, but I may have read that wrong.

No, that was the implication.

I still can't tell you why Wolverine is there

He was there when Herc died.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Dark Avengers 14 (the start of the arc) takes place three days before Siege. 1. Dark avengers 15 takes place in the minutes after Dark Avengers 14 finishes, so also right before Siege 1. Dark Avengers 15 takes place two days before Siege. The attack that's going on in the issue is because Norman challeneged Doom.

I really, really, really don't see where you're getting these huge glaring continuity errors. This entire arc takes place after the Molecule Man arc, and in the days leading into Siege 1.

Issue 13 is the start of the arc and picks up directly after issue 9 when Sentry gets his face blown off. So that's prior to the Molecule Man arc. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger when he's coming down from the sky as the Void.

Issue 14 picks up from issue 13 as he's coming down from the sky as the Void. So that still places is between issues 9 and 10. But during this time when Void is coming down, Norman and Victoria Hand are having a conversation and they mention the effects of the battle with Molecule man, which places it after issue 12 simoultaneously to before issue 10. They also mention Ares's preparing armies for the Siege. Norman asked Ares to do this in Siege issue 1, so now it takes place in the middle of the Siege issue 1. After this conversation they go out and deal with the Void. And in the end, Norman asks Bullseye to kill Lindy Reynolds.

Issue 15 has a gap from last issue so there's room to manuever, but it takes place during hte Siege: Cabal One-Shot (Doom betrayal issue) so it still takes place between the Molecule Man arc and Seige issue 1. But last issue Norman mentioned Ares gathering his armies for the Siege, which he was asked to do during Siege issue 1, which takes place after the Siege: Cabal One-Shot. So while issue 14, when Norman gives Bullseye the order to kill Lindy, taking place somewhere in the middle of Siege #1, this issue when he kills her takes place prior to Siege #1 (due to it being during the One-Shot), and by default issue 14 when the kill order was given actually took place AFTER the this issue when the kill order is fulfilled.

I think I'm laying this out very plainly. The continuity is really messed up, mostly due to the conversation between Norman and Victoria Hand in issue 14, and then bounce that off of what's going on in the other issues and it really messes everything up.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Another way to explain it... the Time Line prior to Dark Avengers 13-15:

Dark Avengers 9 - Ends with Lindy shooting Sentry's face off. Moonstone begins flirting with Bullseye.

Dark Avengers 10-12 - The Dark Avengers learn of a threat that ends up being the Molecule Man. Sentry is present and normal. Bullseye and Moonstone's relationship becomes more than flirting. Loki shows up ready to mess with Norman.

The Siege Free Givaway - Norman learns the details about Asguard from Loki, who begins to press the idea of an attack on Asguard.

The Siege: The Cabal - Doom defects the Cabal and attacks Avengers tower. The Void attacks Doom, who turns out to be a doombot, which then attacks everything with some type of bugs. The Sentry gives his wife to the Dark Avenger and flies in and stops Doom's assault. Doom and Loki begin plans for the Siege.

Siege 1 - Osborn asks Ares to form armies for his attack on Asgard. The attack on Asgard begins.


Now... here it is again with 13-15 added in where the scenes fit... but keep in mind, there is no stopping point in these save for between issues 14 and 15. The colors are what's placing it where it is... notice the multiple placings...


Dark Avengers 9 - Ends with Lindy shooting Sentry's face off. Moonstone begins flirting with Bullseye.

Dark Avengers 13 - Sentry survives Lindy's assault and descends upon New York as the Void.

Dark Avengers 14 - Void is descending upon New York. Norman and Victoria mention the repercussions of the Molecue Man story. Norman mentions Ares's gathering armies for the assault on Asgard. Bullseye and Moonstone's "relationship" culminates with them having sex on the meeting table. Victoria Hand puts an end to it. Norman and the Dark Avengers come out and calm him. Norman asks Bullseye to kill Lindy.

Dark Avengers 10-12 - The Dark Avengers learn of a threat that ends up being the Molecule Man. Sentry is present and normal. Bullseye and Moonstone's relationship becomes more than flirting. Loki shows up ready to mess with Norman.

The Siege Free Givaway - Norman learns the details about Asguard from Loki, who begins to press the idea of an attack on Asguard.

Dark Avengers 14 - Void is descending upon New York. Norman and Victoria mention the repercussions of the Molecue Man story. Norman mentions Ares's gathering armies for the assault on Asgard. Bullseye and Moonstone's "relationship" culminates with them having sex on the meeting table. Victoria Hand puts an end to it. Norman and the Dark Avengers come out and calm him. Norman asks Bullseye to kill Lindy.

The Siege: The Cabal - Doom defects the Cabal and attacks Avengers tower. The Void attacks Doom, who turns out to be a doombot, which then attacks everything with some type of bugs. The Sentry gives his wife to the Dark Avenger and flies in and stops Doom's assault. Doom and Loki begin plans for the Siege.

Dark Avengers 15 - Taking place during The Siege: The Cabal. Bullseye takes Lindy during the attack to fly her to safety. He then kills her and drops her into the Ocean.

Siege 1 - Osborn asks Ares to form armies for his attack on Asgard. The attack on Asgard begins.

Dark Avengers 14 - Void is descending upon New York.Norman and Victoria mention the repercussions of the Molecue Man story. Norman mentions Ares's gathering armies for the assault on Asgard. Bullseye and Moonstone's "relationship" culminates with them having sex on the meeting table. Victoria Hand puts an end to it. Norman and the Dark Avengers come out and calm him. Norman asks Bullseye to kill Lindy.


Notice all the times issue 14 shows up? Thing is, the way I describe the issue is chronologically how it happens or a half hour or so, so it shouldn't be able to be in 3 differant time periods in this timeline.

And this was a nice timeline. Keep in mind that the screw ups in issue 14 also place 13 and 15 in several differant timelines as well (Issue 13 would double in all the places that 14 is... issue 15 would also take place in the middle of Siege 1)

My head hurts now.

 

[SouLeSS]

Issue 13 is the start of the arc and picks up directly after issue 9 when Sentry gets his face blown off. So that's prior to the Molecule Man arc. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger when he's coming down from the sky as the Void.

Issue 14 picks up from issue 13 as he's coming down from the sky as the Void. So that still places is between issues 9 and 10. But during this time when Void is coming down, Norman and Victoria Hand are having a conversation and they mention the effects of the battle with Molecule man, which places it after issue 12 simoultaneously to before issue 10. They also mention Ares's preparing armies for the Siege. Norman asked Ares to do this in Siege issue 1, so now it takes place in the middle of the Siege issue 1. After this conversation they go out and deal with the Void. And in the end, Norman asks Bullseye to kill Lindy Reynolds.

Issue 15 has a gap from last issue so there's room to manuever, but it takes place during hte Siege: Cabal One-Shot (Doom betrayal issue) so it still takes place between the Molecule Man arc and Seige issue 1. But last issue Norman mentioned Ares gathering his armies for the Siege, which he was asked to do during Siege issue 1, which takes place after the Siege: Cabal One-Shot. So while issue 14, when Norman gives Bullseye the order to kill Lindy, taking place somewhere in the middle of Siege #1, this issue when he kills her takes place prior to Siege #1 (due to it being during the One-Shot), and by default issue 14 when the kill order was given actually took place AFTER the this issue when the kill order is fulfilled.

I think I'm laying this out very plainly. The continuity is really messed up, mostly due to the conversation between Norman and Victoria Hand in issue 14, and then bounce that off of what's going on in the other issues and it really messes everything up.

Ok so I just went back and reread 9 - 15 + the Cabal one shot.

Issue 9 ends with Sentry getting blasted in the face. This is three days before Siege. Issues 10-12 deal with the Molecule Man arc, which is set BEFORE issue 9. All issue 9 was about was Ares and his child, with a few minor other parts in it. At the end of the Molecule Man arc, we see the same panels as we see at the BEGINING of issue 9, Ms Hand trying to get into Normans lab. Therefore, the Molecule Man arc has to have happened prior to the events in issue 9,13,14,15,16

Ergo, the order it takes place would be issues 10,11,12,9,13,14,15,16. Everything is in place, there isn't any huge glaring continuity problems. It's all in your head. You're making the mistake of assuming that the story is going in order just because the numbers are sequential. It's not.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Geez, that looks awkward as all hell.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Ok so I just went back and reread 9 - 15 + the Cabal one shot.

Issue 9 ends with Sentry getting blasted in the face. This is three days before Siege. Issues 10-12 deal with the Molecule Man arc, which is set BEFORE issue 9. All issue 9 was about was Ares and his child, with a few minor other parts in it. At the end of the Molecule Man arc, we see the same panels as we see at the BEGINING of issue 9, Ms Hand trying to get into Normans lab. Therefore, the Molecule Man arc has to have happened prior to the events in issue 9,13,14,15,16

Ergo, the order it takes place would be issues 10,11,12,9,13,14,15,16. Everything is in place, there isn't any huge glaring continuity problems. It's all in your head. You're making the mistake of assuming that the story is going in order just because the numbers are sequential. It's not.

Issue 9 makes no mention of a timeline, that's added later. And the two scenes with Victoria Hand at the beginning of issue 9 and the ending of issue 12 aren't the same at all. The first 3 panels are the same art-wise, but there's differant text in the first panel, and in issue 9 Norman doesn't let her in and she leaves, whereas in issue 12 Norman does open the door to talk to her.

It still stands as being screwed up. Yes, it does work better with 9 taking place between 12 and 13, but there's still the issues of the Siege mentions in issue 14 taking place prior to Siege #1.

 

[SouLeSS]

Eh, it's not. Books have always had arcs that don't fit in with the sequential numbering, and books have always had arcs that interrupt other arcs (this one isn't really, as issue 9 was basically about Ares saying goodbye to his son and placing him in the hands of Fury, with a teaser at the end where Sentry gets his head blasted off).

Honestly, if you just read the books it makes sense. Just gotta do a little bit of mental work to place it all together.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Eh, it's not. Books have always had arcs that don't fit in with the sequential numbering, and books have always had arcs that interrupt other arcs (this one isn't really, as issue 9 was basically about Ares saying goodbye to his son and placing him in the hands of Fury, with a teaser at the end where Sentry gets his head blasted off).

Honestly, if you just read the books it makes sense. Just gotta do a little bit of mental work to place it all together.

I bind my comics into chronological orders, so trust me when I say I've but a lot of mental work into this. It doesn't fit. And the reasonings you gave doesn't fly (and I just read through them again so I can varify that).

Trust me, I'm not one of those Bendis bashers, but this was royaly screwed up on his part.

 

[SouLeSS]

Issue 9 makes no mention of a timeline, that's added later. And the two scenes with Victoria Hand at the beginning of issue 9 and the ending of issue 12 aren't the same at all. The first 3 panels are the same art-wise, but there's differant text in the first panel, and in issue 9 Norman doesn't let her in and she leaves, whereas in issue 12 Norman does open the door to talk to her.

The first three panels are the exact same both art and context wise. It's showing you that it's the same event taking place, however it's showing you more of the event than was showin in 9, because if the dialog that happened at the end of 12 happened at the begining of 9, people would be like "wait what the hell who poked normans brain what's going on?"

Seriously, you're trying to find errors when there isn't any.

It still stands as being screwed up. Yes, it does work better with 9 taking place between 12 and 13, but there's still the issues of the Siege mentions in issue 14 taking place prior to Siege #1.

Siege 1 or it's events aren't even mentioned in 14, as they haven't happened yet. One of your big things your holding onto is because Norman told Ares in siege 1 to make a plan that he couldn't have told him anywhere else and because of that Siege 1 is set in stone somewhere. The dude had to come up with battle plans to siege Asgard. That'll take some time to think of.

Again, you're trying to find errors.

 

[Red]

Grrrrrr!

 

[hippie_hunter]

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1 - with the Lion of Olympus in the grave, the heroes of Earth (and an elf!) gather to pay tribute to his memory. I liked the tributes, which are a decent mix of recalling important past stories and new anecdotes. In the former category, both Thor and Bruce Banner recount some of his most significant achievements, and Namor talks about Herc snapping him out of a self-pitying funk (by punching him) in the Stern Avengers era. In the latter, Thor likewise supplies a new story about a merry adventure he and Herc had that involved out-drinking some giants, and then getting laid with the giant-women. The humourous centrepiece, of course, is a tribute to Hercules' sexual prowess from Black Widow, Namora, Snowbird, and Alflyse (whose "twenty-eight graphic minutes" description of "the Elven Tickler, and [Hercules'] mastery thereof" leaves Wolverine, Namor, and Fandral speechless, and Thor smiling). Also, Hercules apparently slept with Northstar, a nice, if brief, acknowledgement of his bisexuality in the original stories that has mostly been omitted from contemporary adaptations.

The artist made Wolverine's face look like a wiener who would say Jiminy Jillikers or Gosh followed by a Mr. Xavier.