Another Wednesday, but of course it comes after what was certainly not "just another Tuesday". In a week that proves that comics really aren't recession proof as I got a few debut issues of some Marvel mini's and it appears $3.99 is the default price for a mini-series these days at the House of Ideas, regardless of who the creative team is or if it is an event. This may certainly push more people into the "trade waiting" department, so while I hear it was done because the price of paper is up, I wonder if long term it will measure out. Maybe Marvel could just ship fewer mini's? They seem to toss out a good dozen or more every year that aren't promoted and sell towards the bottom. Stuff like FAIRY TALES. Stuff that just clogs the shelves and serves no one any purpose.
Or, we all could just trade wait. I mean, if Marvel couldn't even slowly up the price to $3.50 or something before immediately deciding their shrinking fanbase deserves to pay a full extra buck, maybe some of us should just be patient and screw the weekly retailers.
As always, full spoilers:
Dread's Bought/Thought for 11/5/08:
GEMINI #3: I can imagine some people thinking I am a hypocrite for complaining about Marvel jacking prices when Image has a few Jay Faerber books that ship at some $3.50 for under 22 pages worth of content. But to me, Image has a good reason; some of these books sell 10k on a good month; usually less. Image represents some 3-4% of the ENTIRE comic industry; even on a bad month for DC, like September 2008, they score over 40% of the market. But, yeah, this issue was so late I almost thought I missed it.
GEMINI is the latest superhero franchise created by the guy behind NOBLE CAUSES and DYNAMO 5 and inhibits the same universe. It stars a wise-cracking hero who has super strength, speed, combat prowess, and insta-regeneration. The hook is that he's brainwashed to "deactivate" once switching to his civilian guise, so neither Gemino nor Dan Johnson (not to be confused with Don Johnson, who is likely feeding Elvis the 'gator some grub right now) realize they are the same guy. Via video-contact lenses and an army of men & computers, a mysterious group whose employees are only known by vague numbers monitors him. In issue #2, which felt like a year ago, Gemini got his head blown off, and him seeing his "real" face caused a mini crisis. This time, the crisis gets larger as an ex-company employee Regan Clark, who was fired some time back, returns to try to coax Dan to the truth.
Quite frankly, the story is cute but hasn't really surprised me thus far. Gemini's powers are boring and the costume design is a bit bizarre, although Jon Sommavivia manages to make it work with his cartoony style. Does the company, called the Constellation, have some big scary evil agenda? Or is it Regan who does? That is about the only major mystery here. If it plays to type, Regan gets Gemini free and issue #5 ends with him walking off somewhere to "make his destiny" or something. Jay Faerber is capable of some hooks and twists, but he also doesn't mind playing things straight and predictable but managing to sell it well. That is what I like about DYNAMO 5. But GEMINI is a grade below it to me. Regan, true to form, was Gemini's "handler" but she grew to genuinely love him and wants to have him free of the Constellation's control. A horde of armored agents fail to being Dan down, and the boss, who also has no name, summons Faerber's other heroes, Dynamo 5, to make an interception.
Considering the story is only 5 parts long and Gemini/Dan himself is kind of a bare bones sort of character, I wasn't thrilled to have a guest appearance already. Of course, issue #2 had a hero called the Lynx whose costume was rather silly looking in certain lights, so maybe it is for the best. Besides, if they all tie until the same universe, Faerber may as well play with it, although I am curious where this meeting fits into Dynamo 5 continuity.
Sommariva's art is a cartoony animator's style that isn't far removed from Scottie Young; you either like it or you won't. I can tolerate it with some of the designs for the series, but the cast of D5 looked a little strange in it. Frankly, this book is about as good as many superhero comics from DC or Marvel that sell 2-3 times as well. But it isn't terribly exceptional right now and if you gave it a pass, I wouldn't recommend a trade yet. The ending, of course, could kick ass and redeem a lot of the middle. It isn't bad, just seems to be playing things too straight and too predictable. Faerber's capable of more creative superheroes than Gemini.
ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL #1: Or rather, "Marvel does THE AMERICAN WAY". The storyline is amazingly similar, packing about 2-3 issues worth of AMERICAN WAY (which came out a few years ago from Wildstorm) into this debut issue, which takes place in present day and skips back via flashbacks to 1951 Korea and 1961 U.S. to tell it's story. Grevioux, coming off an issue of YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS and the canceled-and-winding-down NEW WARRIORS, pens this take, with Mat Broome on art. I have to say, Broome's art is pretty good, especially with ladies like Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk.
Oh, and Yellowjacket is in the tale, which means it either takes place before SECRET INVASION and this is Skrullowjacket, or some time after when Pym is (presumably) found and dons his old duds, which is a shame because that MIGHTY AVENGERS cover sketch gave dreams of a better costume. It takes place after the Mighty Avengers were formed and depicts the main villain, "Anti-Man", pummeling through the MA roster. And She-Hulk, who is there for some random reason. To the shock of no one, he manages to defeat Sentry. To be fair, the team is no match for him, but fortunately he seems to "vanish" at the right moment to avoid killing any superheroes. Perhaps Logic was eating him alive for wearing a helmet with no eye-holes yet being able to see perfectly. I could buy that from an alien like Titannus, but not Anti-Man.
And I know, Anti-Man in some circles means something else entirely. Considering the themes of the story itself, it may actually mean what you think.
Iron Man is dumbfounded with the mysterious villain, or why he mentions some hero called "The Blue Marvel". After all, there were a few Marvel Boy's, a Marvel Man, a Marvel Girl, Masked Marvel, even a Black Marvel (who was a white guy), and a few Captain Marvel's. But no Blue Marvel. What's the deal here? Could it be another retcon'd Silver Ager?
It certainly is, but Grevioux makes use of the sliding scale of Marvel Time that claims that FF #1 took place in 1991-1992 and not 1961. This means that between WWII and the early 90's, the superhero scene was a lot less cluttered than it became in the "modern age of heroes". John Byrne wrote a LOST GENERATION series during the 90's about a group of short lived heroes from the 50's-60's. There was Grand Director & Nomad from the 50's that Brubaker has had so much fun with. Wolverine was still doing his own conspiracy adventures then. But it seems to be fertile ground for some writers, especially those who wish to make an allegory about race issues with superheroes.
I must say, the timing of the issue couldn't be better. The United States elects it's first African American President while this story reminds readers of how far that racial journey came in some 45 years. Perhaps the only major caveat is that it isn't terribly subtle. Grevioux, through JFK and a meeting of other political figures (including a "young freshman senator" named Robert Kelly) cements the racial tensions of the era, but often with a lot of blunt statements. They're not offensive at all, and they are accurate to how things were in 1961; before he was assassinated, JFK did care about such relations and even was the first to coin the phrase "affirmative action".
Much like THE AMERICAN WAY, the world has been graced by a bold new superhero; rather than being an astronaut-themed hero to capitalize on the space race, he looks like a typical hero named Blue Marvel; Broome's design is iconic, although the mask seems inspired by Dr. Fate. His mortal enemy is, you guessed it, Anti-Man. Blue Marvel's powers are Superman-esque, able to fly at incredible speeds, lift at least 100 tons, and is nearly indestructable. But once his mask is torn during a fight and he is filmed as being a black man, the media turns on him and racial tensions about America boil over. With the civil rights movement in it's infancy, JFK realizes the idea of a "godlike" African American man could make the masses hysterical with paranoia, so he and his cabinet make the crucial decision to convince him to "go away".
Just who is Blue Marvel? The feds figure it out as Adam Bernard Brashear, ex college football phenom and top class Marine, earning medals for combat tours in Korea in the 50's. During one such tour, he brought several soldiers to safety from enemy fire despite being wounded himself, including one soldier named "Conner", who somehow becomes Anti-Man later. Could he literally BE an anti-man? Two minorities who have become enemies, perhaps because one is more militant and evil about it? Who knows; he could just hate humanity in general. Unlike the New American/Jason Fisher from AMERICAN WAY, Adam isn't nearly as...what is the word...militant (by the end of TAW, Fisher is wearing Malcolm X type duds). Mr. Brashear truly believes in his country and in saving people, so such so that when JFK awards him a Medal of Freedom and orders him to retire from heroics, Adam agrees...regretfully.
Grevioux gets into slight "tin foil hat" territory with an allusion that the JFK assassination was a government conspiracy because JFK wasn't as WASP, which is usually believed by the same people who think 9/11 was done by Bush, Oswald didn't act alone, and Elvis is roommates with Nessie and Bigfoot somewhere in Montana; y'know, people like Dale Gribbel from KING OF THE HILL. "The government controls you through tap water, man!" Of course, to be fair, the idea of an Irish Catholic President at the time was considered a milestone, almost as much as Obama today.
In a way Marvel has touched on similar tales of retconned exploitation with the RED, WHITE, AND BLACK series, but so far this issue wasn't nearly as shocking and brutal. It even briefly mentions the other side of the bigotry angle; fellow African Americans turning on Blue Marvel because he doesn't "smite" their so called "white enemies"; i.e. he isn't as aggressive or angry as they are. Some could say Adam is deliberately created to seem like a reasonable, All-American noble type to better hit home how terrible racism was back then, but it is an effective point. The very horror of widespread racism IS that decent, honest people are crippled by it, and often can be caught on two opposing sides. America has come a long way since then, but the tensions and riots of the 60's DID happen. I am simply curious if Adam will turn out to have gained his powers via Silver Age accident, or if Grevioux wants to risk being too over-the-top with his point by making Adam a mutant as well.
I have read many stories at this stage that sought to blend the superhero genre with allegories about racial tensions; not only AMERICAN WAY but NEW FRONTIER as well. While stacking this against both at issue #1 is a bit premature, ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL isn't as bad or boring as some feared. Of course, yesterday DID happen and maybe that is making the issue hit home more than it should; but, timing IS timing, regardless. The continuity is a little fudgy and there is some risk of Grevioux being too blunt about things, but this is hardly Spike Lee territory here. The art is also very impressive. The promotion for the series hasn't been good, though, and I am curious what the sales figures will say in December. But right now, I kind of like Adam. He's isn't "in your face" like Luke Cage often is and Black Panther sometimes wares out his welcome. Maybe the white/silver cape reminds me of Silver Sentry, a superhero character from the 2003 era TMNT cartoon that I often thought was pretty cool. If Grevioux doesn't overplay his hand or oversell his point here, I think this could be a solid story. As of this debut, I don't regret giving it a chance.
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE SPECIAL #1: Quite why this is a "special" and not just a second annual is an unsolved mystery (A:TI ANNUAL #1 shipped in Dec. 2007). Maybe because a title like AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE ANNUAL #2 sounds less "special". Christos Gage is given top writing billing over co-writer and series founder Dan Slott, whose run on the franchise is winding down as he prepared for MIGHTY AVENGERS. Steve Uy returns on art, and while he is the lessor of A:TI's several fill-in artists, his work here isn't too bad. Granted, it helps that no artist has been able to make Hardball's costume look decent. The special is mostly devoted to the cover characters, Hardball and Komodo. They were among the cream of the crop of the original characters Dan Slott created in his first issues of A:TI, with the pair developing a relationship that was genuinely sweet.
Unfortunately, it seems the shelf life for a comic book couple in Marvel is officially a year, even for newer characters. The story involves Hardball's HYDRA chickens coming home to roots, and his relationship with Komodo is dealt a virtual fatal blow. It frankly irritated the crap out of me to see it go down that way. But, these were Slott's own characters, and the fact that I reacted that way after knowing them less than two years says something.
The continuity of the tale is unknown; the Trauma back-up story implies it is some time immediately after the end of SECRET INVASION (as Trauma is speaking to Physique about his own, well, traumas, including learning that Thor Girl was a Skrull). But Supermax is part of Komodo's "Desert Stars" team from Arizona, and I thought he was exposed to be a Skrull a few issues back. And Hardball & Komodo still seem to be dating in the regular series. So does that imply that some, if not all, of the people the Skrulls took over are still alive somewhere? I could be wrong, but I seemed to recall one of Komodo's nameless heroes on her team was a Skrull and Supermax is sticking out to me.
The two teams; Komodo's Desert Stars and Hardball's team from Nevada, the "Heavy Hitters" unite to take on Zzax by a major dam. They vanquish the villain thanks to the leadership of Two-Gun Kid and Gravity (STILL seems weird that Gravity is a team leader all of a sudden, but he has been through a lot), and Hardball & Komodo get in some quality time afterwards. Hardball's HYDRA master, Senator Woodman (not related to Woodgod) calls in a favor, asking Hardball to steal the secret to Komodo's remixed Lizard formula in exchange for healing his crippled brother. Forced in the tough decision to choose his girlfriend over his brother, Hardball chooses the latter. Komodo gets wise and a big fight ensues, especially when Woodman injects himself with the serum and briefly turns into a T-Rex type menace. Komodo comes up with all sorts of tricks and lies to try to get Hardball out of HYDRA's thumb forever (telling her team that he was a "double agent"), but in the end the guy chooses their cure for his brother, and abandons her. Come to mention it, his costume is virtually a red copy of a default HYDRA suit and I amazed I didn't see that coming. It certainly was not what I expected, but was that exactly a good thing?
Granted, Gage will be writing the book solo, and things like a former team member becoming a leader of HYDRA is the sort of espionage tidbit that he might enjoy fleshing out.
As for the Trauma storyline, it is revealed that he got his powers from being the son of Nightmare. Actually he is Nightmare's second child as he had a daughter who popped up in an INCREDIBLE HULK comic years ago, but it makes sense that Nightmare would get his freak on with unsuspecting women. His powers budded in high school and Trauma is now afraid he will drive everyone out of his life. Physique reveals she has a crush on him, which breaks virtually every ethical rule of therapy imaginable, but at least gets Trauma a date for the weekend. One relationship in A:TI ends, another begins. All with fresh new characters at the forefront.
Still, regardless of Gage's possibilities or story-hooks, I genuinely liked seeing Hardball and Komodo together, and regret the loss of a budding twosome. Who'd have thought that one day someone had to say that a Dan Slott subplot needed to lighten up. It is easier to destroy than create, even with original characters, it seems. But between this and Cloud 9 being more hardcore than Black Widow these days; MAN, AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE needs some smilies. I enjoy the series overall and find it compelling, but every now and then the bleak message becomes it's own worst enemy.
Up Next: INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #7 & X-MEN AND SPIDER-MAN #1.
