CaptainCanada
Shield of the True North
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2006
- Messages
- 4,608
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 31
Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1
Well, its finally over. Some four years ago, a young lad ventured into The Comic Hunter in Charlottetown and picked up a copy of Joss Whedons first issue of Astonishing X-Men, attracted by his enjoyment of Whedons TV work and the 90s X-Men TAS; this eventually led, four years later, to him buying some 20+ titles a month, with three shelves of trade paperbacks and hardcovers. However, while my comic habit grew, my interest in this series has waned drastically; the first arc was fantastic; the second less so, though I dont actively dislike it the way many people do; the third kicked off brilliantly, including #14, one of my all-time favourite comics, but dragged towards the end, and by the time "Unstoppable" started I was basically buying it out of obligation (and given how infrequently it comes out, it isnt exactly a big investment). So heres the big finale, and astute fans called the resolution more or less as soon as the last issue came out; there are the cute and amusing details that you expect from Whedon, but the whole thing is incredibly predictable; and, even then, Whedon ends with Kittys fate totally up in the air, for some future writer to resolve. I do like the setup for future interaction between Beast and Agent Brand, and, as I said, its very entertaining on a basic level, but my enthusiasm for this series died a long time ago. IGN published four reviews of the book, three of which laughably overpraise this issue, and Whedons run in general (one went so far as to call this the best run ever on the X-Men), and doubtless this will be Wizards Book of the Week, but whatever.
Fables #73
Well, the war has arrived; this is another plot-heavy issue, narrated by Boy Blue, the glue holding the Fables operation together, since he teleports between the various factions carrying weapons. The Fables strategy to fight the Empire is pretty straightforward so far: bomb all the interworld gates to block transport, while simultaneously using Briar Rose to put the command centres in the imperial capital asleep at the wheel. Theres a feeling through this story that things are a bit too easy for the Fables, given how much the Empire has been built up, but next issue is where "the empire strikes back", so hopefully well get some real drama then; now, this is a conflict thats been building since issue 1, so maybe it was always going to underwhelm a bit, but, with #75 projected to totally revamp the series, I cant escape the feeling that Willingham is rushing to get to the new status quo.
Green Lantern #31
Hal Jordans new origin story hits its third part, and its strongest part as well, as Hal, after briefly interacting with Carol and Hector Hammond (who was being a bit presumptuous in calling Carol his girl last issue), is whisked by the ring off to Oa, where he meets the familiar cast of characters: Tomar-Re, Killowog, some of the future Lost Lanterns, etc. He goes through basic training, scenes that are reasonably well-executed and entertaining (including Johns making fun of the whole "yellow" weakness, since Hal thinks the concept is ridiculous), and ends with the hook of having Ganthet send Sinestro to Earth to team up with Hal and investigate the death of Abin Sur; Atrocitus, meanwhile, is running rampage on Earth (and comes from "Sector 666", apparently). This is a far superior issue to the preceding two, and if this is a sign of the rest of this arc, it will be much more enjoyable.
Huntress: Year One #2
This is an interesting comic; its mostly well-written, with wonderful art by Cliff Richards (Id love to see him on Birds of Prey when this is all over), but some of the scene transitions, both here and the in previous issue, are jarringly brief (in the previous issue, it was Helena going from her farm to Sals jail cell in Palermo in the space of a panel; here its her going from outside talking with Tony to finding her assaulted cousin in the space of a panel), and on occasion writer Ivory Madison pushes the feminist angle a bit too much (we get the whole "Pope Joan" nonsense, for example, and repeated comments about the roles of women in various Italian operas). Overall, though, quite a fun comic.
Ms. Marvel #27
The prelude to "Secret Invasion" concludes (only a week or so from Secret Invasion #3), and seems to signal another change in status quo, since Carols floating fortress home of the last year and a half gets blown to smithereens by one of the Skrulls she has captured (who isnt nearly as helpless as she appeared last issue, pleasingly). The latter half of the issue is a prolonged examination of Carols psyche, which Reed has done a bit repetitively through this series: she has a serious inferiority complex and is plagued with self-doubt; she resolves that here (or doesnt) by sleeping with Wonder Man; the next morning, they get the call that will take them into SI #1; SI #2 had her sent back to the mainland to rally the troops, which is presumably where the next tie-ins will pick up on. Guest art by Andre Coelho is good, for the most part, though his Ms. Marvel is sometimes a bit off in appearance; hes got some very expressive faces, though.
Northlanders #6
Brian Woods enjoyable series continues on, approaching a climax; a subtle hint from the second issue pays off at the end of the issue, as an army of Saxons arrives; as Enna (Hunters Daughter) notes earlier in the issue, her people (the Celts) were once the inhabitants of the islands, before the Vikings arrived and conquered it, and now they face the threat of the Saxons doing the same to them; as the Normans will do later. Theres a lot of talk about group unity here; even Hakkar, Gorms chief goon, is a lot more civic-minded here than hes been in previous appearances, offering solo combat in order to avoid bloodshed on a group level, though Sven refuses it. Svens old lover Thora returns briefly, in Svens offer concerning her is an interesting insight into a Viking warriors savage-seeming mercy. Gianfelices art continues to be very strong, conveying a lot of unpleasant images.
Thor #9
Another issue of JMS Thor, another unbelievably generic cover; seriously, none of these have anything to do with the contents of the issue, and yet, at the end of every issue, they have a wordless full-page "Next Month" promo of the next cover: next time, Thor stands with his hammer in the middle of the field of wheat! Cripes.
That rant aside, this is maybe the best issue of the series yet; the plots actually moving a tiny bit faster, and the quiet character interaction is a lot better since JMS mixes things up and includes a bunch more characters; quite frankly, his Thor has spent eight issues mostly engaging in the same repetitive philosophical argument each issue, though there was some good stuff in the last issue, and he doesnt have a whole lot in the way of spark. The secondary Asgardians get a bit more freedom in terms of characterization, and its something of a refreshing change to see the issue mostly about Balder, Loki, newbie Asgardian Kelda, and token mortal dude Bill, who, despite generally seeming pretty clueless, seems primed to score some immortal action. The Bill/Kelda plot is good for some laughs, although I think JMS tends to overplay the differences between the groups a bit (the Asgardians dont play basketball, but they surely have competitive games and some concept of keeping score, for example). The interaction between Loki and Balder is dramatically well-done; JMS builds on his ideas about Balders feelings about the arrival of Ragnarok, particularly contrasting his dual purposes as a mythical figure (hes meant to fight against Ragnarok, but ultimately hes fated to help bring it about), and the absence of purpose now that the cycle is broken (the idea that unlimited potential is pretty damn scary for people used to having their futures defined by myths is perceptive). Coipels art is good, but its really not worth the waits were getting for it these days.
Uncanny X-Men #498
On the subject of an X-Men title that doesnt annoy the hell out of me, we have Ed Brubakers latest issue of Uncanny X-Men, with art by Mike Choi & Sonia Oback. Since "Messiah Complex" weve been following an interesting course, with Cyclops and Emma visiting San Francisco to investigate some enjoyably silly antics involving the town getting transformed into hippies, while Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus get abducted by the Russian military and interrogated for information about M-Day; the Russians, perhaps rightfully, are very suspicious that all their special ops mutants lost their powers on M-Day, while the X-Men were mostly spared (indeed, the bulk of the remaining non-villain mutants are X-Men or affiliated with them). The X-Men refuse to give any info (Im honestly not sure why, except maybe out of sheer spite, since its not like its worth anything), and, in the ensuing escape scene, come across Omega Red (in a continuity note reminiscent of older comics, Brubaker explains that after his arrest in Wolverine: Origins Russia pressured SHIELD to hand him over to them). Meanwhile, the "Goddess" is revealed to be Martinique Jason, the first Lady Mastermind, and the issue ends with the promise of Cyclops and Emma facing off against her hippified-X-thralls: "Frosty", "Lady Kitten", "Running Sun", and "Angel" (damn, uncreative hippies). All-in-all, this is just a good time. And, sigh, one more issue before Land arrives.
X-Force #4
Ive been decidedly not sold on this title for the first three issues, particularly in comparison to Kyle & Yosts work on New X-Men, but this issue was a big improvement, though, strangely, the team itself often seems a rather minor factor compared to the huge complement of villains that have been assembled (who, together, seem way out of these guys range, but K & Y are good with power-levels, so Im sure the resolution will work). X-23 gets narration here, indeed, she frames the issue; up until now, the writers have been quite consistent in not letting us inside her head, even in her own miniseries. She seems to have regressed a bit in social skill since New X-Men, though thats perhaps understandable. The writers continue to do a good job with Wolverine, bringing out his mix of self-loathing and idealism for other people (artist Crain continues to do rather bizarre things with his hairstyle, I must say); Warpath doesnt do much this issue; Wolfsbane, meanwhile, does a lot, but none of it heroic, thanks to the Purifiers treatment of her. The biggest development is the potential return of Archangel; whether this is permanent or not, I dont know, but in principle I wouldnt object, because Angel fell into disuse after a decade or so of consistent use after he lost his metal wings; without them hes got no offensive capability, and one of the more limiting types of flight-power. This is a big improvement for the series.
Young Avengers Presents #5
Cassie gets her issue, though she basically co-starred in the previous one too (far more than Speed co-starred with Wiccan, really), and its, eh, rather middling. Greviouxs characterization works pretty well for the various characters, and Breitweisers art is very strong (though, as with most photoreal art, there are occasionaly moments that dont work because of weird faces), but the premise on which Grevioux has framed the issue really causes problems. We all know that Cassies currently in the Initiative, rather than with the Young Avengers; theres a ton of potential for drama there; Ive played various potential stories about the conflicting duties through my head for months; how does Grevioux address the Initiative and its effect on the relationship of Cassie and her friends? He ignores it. Really. The Initiative is only obliquely referred to here, the events of Civil War not at all, and everyone is hanging out with each other and acting as if everything is hunky-dory. Huh?
Apart from that, Greviouxs take on Cassies family works pretty well; he continues with the super-revisionist take on Cassies mom that acts as if shes been in consistent presence in Cassies life the whole time, rather than abandoning her for years and years and then somehow getting custody, but thats just staying a course someone else set; he actually tries to make her stepfather Blake a bit more than a cartoonishly evil stepparent, which is laudable.
Well, its finally over. Some four years ago, a young lad ventured into The Comic Hunter in Charlottetown and picked up a copy of Joss Whedons first issue of Astonishing X-Men, attracted by his enjoyment of Whedons TV work and the 90s X-Men TAS; this eventually led, four years later, to him buying some 20+ titles a month, with three shelves of trade paperbacks and hardcovers. However, while my comic habit grew, my interest in this series has waned drastically; the first arc was fantastic; the second less so, though I dont actively dislike it the way many people do; the third kicked off brilliantly, including #14, one of my all-time favourite comics, but dragged towards the end, and by the time "Unstoppable" started I was basically buying it out of obligation (and given how infrequently it comes out, it isnt exactly a big investment). So heres the big finale, and astute fans called the resolution more or less as soon as the last issue came out; there are the cute and amusing details that you expect from Whedon, but the whole thing is incredibly predictable; and, even then, Whedon ends with Kittys fate totally up in the air, for some future writer to resolve. I do like the setup for future interaction between Beast and Agent Brand, and, as I said, its very entertaining on a basic level, but my enthusiasm for this series died a long time ago. IGN published four reviews of the book, three of which laughably overpraise this issue, and Whedons run in general (one went so far as to call this the best run ever on the X-Men), and doubtless this will be Wizards Book of the Week, but whatever.
Fables #73
Well, the war has arrived; this is another plot-heavy issue, narrated by Boy Blue, the glue holding the Fables operation together, since he teleports between the various factions carrying weapons. The Fables strategy to fight the Empire is pretty straightforward so far: bomb all the interworld gates to block transport, while simultaneously using Briar Rose to put the command centres in the imperial capital asleep at the wheel. Theres a feeling through this story that things are a bit too easy for the Fables, given how much the Empire has been built up, but next issue is where "the empire strikes back", so hopefully well get some real drama then; now, this is a conflict thats been building since issue 1, so maybe it was always going to underwhelm a bit, but, with #75 projected to totally revamp the series, I cant escape the feeling that Willingham is rushing to get to the new status quo.
Green Lantern #31
Hal Jordans new origin story hits its third part, and its strongest part as well, as Hal, after briefly interacting with Carol and Hector Hammond (who was being a bit presumptuous in calling Carol his girl last issue), is whisked by the ring off to Oa, where he meets the familiar cast of characters: Tomar-Re, Killowog, some of the future Lost Lanterns, etc. He goes through basic training, scenes that are reasonably well-executed and entertaining (including Johns making fun of the whole "yellow" weakness, since Hal thinks the concept is ridiculous), and ends with the hook of having Ganthet send Sinestro to Earth to team up with Hal and investigate the death of Abin Sur; Atrocitus, meanwhile, is running rampage on Earth (and comes from "Sector 666", apparently). This is a far superior issue to the preceding two, and if this is a sign of the rest of this arc, it will be much more enjoyable.
Huntress: Year One #2
This is an interesting comic; its mostly well-written, with wonderful art by Cliff Richards (Id love to see him on Birds of Prey when this is all over), but some of the scene transitions, both here and the in previous issue, are jarringly brief (in the previous issue, it was Helena going from her farm to Sals jail cell in Palermo in the space of a panel; here its her going from outside talking with Tony to finding her assaulted cousin in the space of a panel), and on occasion writer Ivory Madison pushes the feminist angle a bit too much (we get the whole "Pope Joan" nonsense, for example, and repeated comments about the roles of women in various Italian operas). Overall, though, quite a fun comic.
Ms. Marvel #27
The prelude to "Secret Invasion" concludes (only a week or so from Secret Invasion #3), and seems to signal another change in status quo, since Carols floating fortress home of the last year and a half gets blown to smithereens by one of the Skrulls she has captured (who isnt nearly as helpless as she appeared last issue, pleasingly). The latter half of the issue is a prolonged examination of Carols psyche, which Reed has done a bit repetitively through this series: she has a serious inferiority complex and is plagued with self-doubt; she resolves that here (or doesnt) by sleeping with Wonder Man; the next morning, they get the call that will take them into SI #1; SI #2 had her sent back to the mainland to rally the troops, which is presumably where the next tie-ins will pick up on. Guest art by Andre Coelho is good, for the most part, though his Ms. Marvel is sometimes a bit off in appearance; hes got some very expressive faces, though.
Northlanders #6
Brian Woods enjoyable series continues on, approaching a climax; a subtle hint from the second issue pays off at the end of the issue, as an army of Saxons arrives; as Enna (Hunters Daughter) notes earlier in the issue, her people (the Celts) were once the inhabitants of the islands, before the Vikings arrived and conquered it, and now they face the threat of the Saxons doing the same to them; as the Normans will do later. Theres a lot of talk about group unity here; even Hakkar, Gorms chief goon, is a lot more civic-minded here than hes been in previous appearances, offering solo combat in order to avoid bloodshed on a group level, though Sven refuses it. Svens old lover Thora returns briefly, in Svens offer concerning her is an interesting insight into a Viking warriors savage-seeming mercy. Gianfelices art continues to be very strong, conveying a lot of unpleasant images.
Thor #9
Another issue of JMS Thor, another unbelievably generic cover; seriously, none of these have anything to do with the contents of the issue, and yet, at the end of every issue, they have a wordless full-page "Next Month" promo of the next cover: next time, Thor stands with his hammer in the middle of the field of wheat! Cripes.
That rant aside, this is maybe the best issue of the series yet; the plots actually moving a tiny bit faster, and the quiet character interaction is a lot better since JMS mixes things up and includes a bunch more characters; quite frankly, his Thor has spent eight issues mostly engaging in the same repetitive philosophical argument each issue, though there was some good stuff in the last issue, and he doesnt have a whole lot in the way of spark. The secondary Asgardians get a bit more freedom in terms of characterization, and its something of a refreshing change to see the issue mostly about Balder, Loki, newbie Asgardian Kelda, and token mortal dude Bill, who, despite generally seeming pretty clueless, seems primed to score some immortal action. The Bill/Kelda plot is good for some laughs, although I think JMS tends to overplay the differences between the groups a bit (the Asgardians dont play basketball, but they surely have competitive games and some concept of keeping score, for example). The interaction between Loki and Balder is dramatically well-done; JMS builds on his ideas about Balders feelings about the arrival of Ragnarok, particularly contrasting his dual purposes as a mythical figure (hes meant to fight against Ragnarok, but ultimately hes fated to help bring it about), and the absence of purpose now that the cycle is broken (the idea that unlimited potential is pretty damn scary for people used to having their futures defined by myths is perceptive). Coipels art is good, but its really not worth the waits were getting for it these days.
Uncanny X-Men #498
On the subject of an X-Men title that doesnt annoy the hell out of me, we have Ed Brubakers latest issue of Uncanny X-Men, with art by Mike Choi & Sonia Oback. Since "Messiah Complex" weve been following an interesting course, with Cyclops and Emma visiting San Francisco to investigate some enjoyably silly antics involving the town getting transformed into hippies, while Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus get abducted by the Russian military and interrogated for information about M-Day; the Russians, perhaps rightfully, are very suspicious that all their special ops mutants lost their powers on M-Day, while the X-Men were mostly spared (indeed, the bulk of the remaining non-villain mutants are X-Men or affiliated with them). The X-Men refuse to give any info (Im honestly not sure why, except maybe out of sheer spite, since its not like its worth anything), and, in the ensuing escape scene, come across Omega Red (in a continuity note reminiscent of older comics, Brubaker explains that after his arrest in Wolverine: Origins Russia pressured SHIELD to hand him over to them). Meanwhile, the "Goddess" is revealed to be Martinique Jason, the first Lady Mastermind, and the issue ends with the promise of Cyclops and Emma facing off against her hippified-X-thralls: "Frosty", "Lady Kitten", "Running Sun", and "Angel" (damn, uncreative hippies). All-in-all, this is just a good time. And, sigh, one more issue before Land arrives.
X-Force #4
Ive been decidedly not sold on this title for the first three issues, particularly in comparison to Kyle & Yosts work on New X-Men, but this issue was a big improvement, though, strangely, the team itself often seems a rather minor factor compared to the huge complement of villains that have been assembled (who, together, seem way out of these guys range, but K & Y are good with power-levels, so Im sure the resolution will work). X-23 gets narration here, indeed, she frames the issue; up until now, the writers have been quite consistent in not letting us inside her head, even in her own miniseries. She seems to have regressed a bit in social skill since New X-Men, though thats perhaps understandable. The writers continue to do a good job with Wolverine, bringing out his mix of self-loathing and idealism for other people (artist Crain continues to do rather bizarre things with his hairstyle, I must say); Warpath doesnt do much this issue; Wolfsbane, meanwhile, does a lot, but none of it heroic, thanks to the Purifiers treatment of her. The biggest development is the potential return of Archangel; whether this is permanent or not, I dont know, but in principle I wouldnt object, because Angel fell into disuse after a decade or so of consistent use after he lost his metal wings; without them hes got no offensive capability, and one of the more limiting types of flight-power. This is a big improvement for the series.
Young Avengers Presents #5
Cassie gets her issue, though she basically co-starred in the previous one too (far more than Speed co-starred with Wiccan, really), and its, eh, rather middling. Greviouxs characterization works pretty well for the various characters, and Breitweisers art is very strong (though, as with most photoreal art, there are occasionaly moments that dont work because of weird faces), but the premise on which Grevioux has framed the issue really causes problems. We all know that Cassies currently in the Initiative, rather than with the Young Avengers; theres a ton of potential for drama there; Ive played various potential stories about the conflicting duties through my head for months; how does Grevioux address the Initiative and its effect on the relationship of Cassie and her friends? He ignores it. Really. The Initiative is only obliquely referred to here, the events of Civil War not at all, and everyone is hanging out with each other and acting as if everything is hunky-dory. Huh?
Apart from that, Greviouxs take on Cassies family works pretty well; he continues with the super-revisionist take on Cassies mom that acts as if shes been in consistent presence in Cassies life the whole time, rather than abandoning her for years and years and then somehow getting custody, but thats just staying a course someone else set; he actually tries to make her stepfather Blake a bit more than a cartoonishly evil stepparent, which is laudable.
Coipel's art is slow, but damn, it sure is pretty in this issue. I could almost excuse his delays based on that. Almost. But I still wish someone faster would take over or they'd schedule around his slowness better. As it is, I'd say I can't wait for the next issue, but I know I'll have to. For six weeks. Blurg.
