As always, reviews at Examiner are posted first, here:
http://ww.examiner.com/x-19829-Broo...8-Picks-of-Comic-Book-Day--November-18th-2009
Full spoilers. Let's get this week's reviews over with!
Dread's Bought/Thought for 11/18/09:
INVINCIBLE #68: Regular artist Ryan Ottley as well as the regular coloring team returns to INVINCIBLE after a 2 month fill in run by Cory Walker and company. In effect, though, Ottley hasn't exactly had a vacation, since he's also been drawing HAUNT during this period (alongside Greg Capullo). As always, Robert Kirkman has remained. After a 2 issue detour into space to see how Nolan and Allen are doing, we return to Earth where it's apparently been a few weeks since the funeral of Rex Splode and the defeat of Conquest. Mark is helping with the rebuilding process and sporting some mechanical "fast healing cybernetic armor casts" on his limbs, which reminded me of Erik Larson's REVENGE OF THE SINISTER SIX story in SPIDER-MAN during the 90's where Spidey wore something like that once. As the cover indicates, a new villain, Dinosaurus, appears to fight Mark, but it only lasts 5 pages. The true crux of the issue is on Mark and Eve's relationship, which is pretty good stuff.
Mark finally has dinner with her parents, and it turns out to be as awkward and creepy as Eve warned, mostly due to her father. Eve also proves to be the more aggressive negociator of the pair when they continue their business arrangement to profit from Invincible's heroic career. The warden of Blackgate Prison is hesitant to "renew" his contract with them (while no foot-note is given, he seemed to allude to the escape of Wolf-Man, the Face, Construct and Eruptor in the pages of ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN), but Eve manages to sort it out.
Oliver, who seems to have gotten older (he does age rapidly with his "Mantis alien DNA") and has a new costume, and an all around better design as "Young Omni-Man". I understand that Oliver wants to homage Nolan, who he never witnessed do anything cruel, but in terms of Earth public relations it makes as much sense as Phil Urich deciding that going by "Green Goblin" was a good way to start a superhero career in Marvel and then was shocked when he was constantly misunderstood. At any rate, the issue ends with a bit of a soap opera style cliffhanger, but one that really works and offers quite a bit of potential.
Yes, Eve is basically eating for two now. I have heard some fans online that I know wonder if the child is really Mark's, or is in fact Rex's. Frankly, I would prefer it be the former. Eve hadn't been dating Rex for, what, about 35 or more issues of INVINCIBLE material at this point? Eve dated William for a little while and while I think I was under the impression that they were never intimate, it is possible they were. That at least would get William back into the swing of the supporting cast; he's shown up even less lately than Mark's mom. Still, for the child to be Rex's, that would have meant that Eve's pregnancy has lasted half as long as Bonnie Swanson's from FAMILY GUY (seven seasons). Or that, Kirkman "retcons" in a bit where Eve cheated on Mark with Rex, which frankly would seem sloppy. The notion of the kid being Mark's allows for a lot more drama. The two are barely even capable of managing to get their own place; Mark hasn't even graduated college and assumes his powers will always allow him to earn a living. Now with this atop that, this adds a lot of drama. Especially since, as Eve is a human, the child will be a 100% full blooded Viltrumite (unlike Oliver), which the Empire would surely want for their own, as there are so few of them left. Add in the fact that the baby could develop powers similar to Eve's as well as Mark's, and it's akin to potentially being the mother of a demi-god.
There are some villain subplots. The Sequids are about to return again, and Conquest escapes from Cecil's facility with extreme ease. Now, HE would at least be quite aware of Mark's connection with Eve and could raise the issue of the two siring a rare full blooded Viltrumite to the Empire, which would naturally make that VILTRUMITE WAR story more interesting. But the crux of the issue was a focus on the human aspects of INVINCIBLE, and after so many issues of combat, gore, and high flying space stuff, it was good to focus back on the human angle. Kirkman in his letters page at least flat out admits that Cory Walker is not fast enough to handle a monthly ongoing series without delays for very long; frankly I was amazed he handled 5 issues of DESTROYER without a hiccup. INVINCIBLE will also go on a break in Feb. 2010, but will be replaced that month with a one-shot to hype up issue #71, the start of the Viltrumite War story; akin to a RAID ON NEW OLYMPUS style special. It all looks quite exciting; I just am curious what will be left long term after the VW story is finished, as Kirkman has been hinting about such a tale since about Invincible #15 or so. Kirkman has announced the end of ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN at issue #25 for "creative reasons", although with HAUNT on his list perhaps he wanted to free up one less comic to write, so it is possible that INVINCIBLE could see a conclusion. At any rate, such a conclusion is a while off, and it was another terrific issue.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #31: Not only did I make this my "BOOK OF THE WEEK" over at Examiner, but the ultra snooty reviewers of CBR's THE BUY PILE also put in at the top of their list; quite a feat for the conclusion of the title's second major arc. As well as the 10th issue of the Dan Slott/Christos Gage run as writers. Once again Khoi Pham is absent, with Sean Chen filling in for a second issue. His art is great as usual, with one caveat; his Alpha Primitives, as well as his "heroes who have become Primitives due to Xenogen gas", don't look that scary and need a "GRRRWWLL!" line so you distinguish them; Pham at least
really made them look like cave man monsters. Beyond that quibble, though, Sean's brought his NOVA style A-game to this conclusion.
The battle against the Unspoken grows more desperate, with Stature's hastily assembled squad of New, Young, Resistance, and Mighty Avengers facing not only attacks on all sides, but a gas that turns any of them who are "human" into Unspoken's Neanderthal slaves. Hercules and Cho have breached the "Slave Engine" machine, but face heavy resistance to try to get it to work for them. Enter Hank Pym, sporting sci-fi weapons from a slew of franchises (standard laser pistols, and ultimately a light saber) as a final one-man cavalry that helps turn the tide of the battle, specifically by flanking Clint Barton/Ronin and occupying Unspoken in single, giant vs. giant combat. It was quite something to see Clint so gosh darned HAPPY about teaming up with Pym again; usually anyone who meets him wonders about him beating his wife or going psycho, even many of his so-called team mates. It also becomes painfully obvious that Kate Bishop can call herself "Hawkeye" all she wants, but that no one at Marvel is treating her as if she really IS "the new Hawkeye" and she merely is a place holder until Bendis decides to end Clint's days as Ronin, or allows an editor to give another writer that go-ahead. I read some chatter at a "House To Astonish" blog where one of the contributors claimed that most of the Young Avengers are not real "legacy heroes" but are sidekicks to heroes who don't want them. It isn't a completely baseless argument even if I still do like the characters.
There is a classic bit where Cassie gets to ride on one of Clint's arrows like her dad used to, complete with a shield-toss by James Barnes' Cap to open the way onto the Slave Engine. Surprisingly, though, Quicksilver gets a bit to do this issue. He learns that he triggered the Unspoken's rampage via the whole SILENT WAR fiasco he sparked, and thus feels extra responsible. He manages to give Pym a handy assist when Mr. Wasp was getting his rear handed to him, and has the final page of the story. Pietro also has a bit with "Cave Man Walker" that does reak a little bit more "let's laugh at conservatives who are dumb" humor that has become so old hat in eight years (Pres. Obama believes the Cold War was a worthless joke and I am sure many of his supporters agree), but the bit was still quite funny indeed. Walker is the poster child for knee-jerk "Reaganism" after all, having debuted in that era. Now of course, endless appeasement and negotiations with enemies who vow to kill you on a daily basis is what passes for national security, so that sort of thing now is seen as, well, Neanderthal, so it works on that level too. Lot of analysis, admittedly, for a successful comedy bit. And that is what helps keep Slott & Gage's run distinct from other Avengers stuff on the shelves. Not only do they take on the larger than life menaces that the Avengers USED to be known for battling, but things are never so bleak and dire that a wisecrack or one-liner is out of place.
Unspoken does develop a few parallels to Pym, but I think it works well for the story as well as makes him somewhat sympathetic. We have to feel why we think Pym should be the one who led a team against him and win, rather than any other heroes. If I had any issue with the ending, it is that it was similar to the ending with Chthon. While everyone acts as if Pym saved the day, it was really Cho with a final "Hail Mary" bit of genius who saves the day, twice in a row now. Of course Pym assembled the team and helped out of course, but there still is a difference. It's akin to Robin beating the Joker and then Batman taking credit for it. Cho fits fine in that role, it just seems awkward for everyone to be shaking Pym's hand at the end and not Cho. It did seem as if Unspoken was dispatched with permanently (as too typical for original villains), but one could see how it could be reversed for him to return. The highlights of the climax include Pym not looking behind anymore, and of course Pietro trying to lie his way back into good graces with the Inhumans, and failing with the one that meant the most to him. Quicksilver SO embodies the spirit of this "redeem team", in some ways as much as Pym does.
It was great seeing so many Avengers characters battling together, even Rage. Slott & Gage know their Avengers history and know how to make it work well for new stories, even creating new characters like Unspoken or Ban-Luck (who still has the hots for Walker). Sales wise, however, Mighty Avengers has become a clear B-List Avengers book. It still sells almost double what Gage's AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE sells, but it still is bleeding about 2,000 readers a month. Bendis' Avengers titles sell almost double on average. I attribute that not only to name power, but how retailers and readers have been trained since 2004. For about 5 years, the idea of the Avengers fighting some larger than life monster villain hasn't been shown as appealing, but a throwback. The idea of the Avengers doing anything beyond facing the same Crossover Villains 1500 times while talking to each other in the rain about meaningless chatter is going to be a hard nut to crack for the average reader after so long. Readers have also been trained to not put any faith in any new character, believing none of them last. For my $3 a month (yes, still $3), MIGHTY AVENGERS is the book for me, where the Avengers truly are mighty or act as Earth's Greatest Heroes, not the Greatest Heroes of Sitting In A Living Room Repeating Themselves To A Rug. Plus, tying into a REALM OF KINGS mini!
NOMAD: GIRL WITHOUT A WORLD #3: Sean McKeever's return to Marvel has seemingly been much better than his tenure as DC exclusive; now if only we could get him to write more GRAVITY in the near future. The debut of this mini wasn't terribly strong; issue #1 sold about 22-23k, but considering this is a spin off mini to ONSLAUGHT REBORN, circa 2006 from Loeb & Liefield (appropriate hack talent to unite) more than it is CAPTAIN AMERICA #600 spin off with a character with really no fan base at $4 a pop, that's can't be far away from any reasonable expectations. It's certainly better than BIG HERO 6, PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT, MARVEL DIVAS, or ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL sold, for recent examples. Still, it won't help elevate McKeever above "third wheel" talent at Marvel, which is likely why DC's offer was so appealing. While this series is hardly perfect, it's still a perfectly enjoyable. McKeever earns some props for dusting off some oft forgotten villains for Rikki Barnes to fight as the new Nomad, as well as the Secret Empire, one of Marvel's gazillion evil organizations.
In fact, the twist to who the "main villain" of the arc turns out to be is actually obvious, but only after you already know it, making it an appealing twist.
After last issue, Rikki is now in a situation she can barely tolerate much longer in this 616 universe. Having gotten too close to the 616 counterpart of her brother, John Baines, and all but forced him down the path of villainy with the "you're like a brother to me" speech, as well as getting no closer to the mystery of who wants her as Nomad, Rikki finds herself getting too close to the mystery of Desmond Daniels, the kid running for student body president of her high school whose followers are becoming mindless, and ultimately violent, slaves. Daniels is being manipulated behind the scenes by the Secret Empire, who see this scheme as a test of a broader scheme to turn teenagers into mindless pawns. Anyone who has seen the TWILIGHT hype can say the Empire is a bit too late for that. Rikki is ultimately defeated by Mad Dog in a rematch from issue one and captured by the Secret Empire; they subsequently brainwash her into serving their goals, which seems to be to support Daniels in the student election by unmasking. This actually gets John interested in her welfare again, but the issue ends with her about to be killed by Mad Dog and the SE boss, who turns out to be her instructor "Dr. Powers", or, in fact, Professor Power. A creation of J.M. DeMatteis and Herb Trempe in an issue of MARVEL TEAM UP circa 1982, he's mostly battled Captain America as well as the Defenders and Spider-Man, alongside a slew of heroes since he was a frequent MTU villain and MTU was usually, "Spidey teams up with _____". He's yet another joker in a suit of armor that boosts his physicality, much as Mad Dog (Hellcat's ex-husband and another Defenders rogue as well as SE goon) is just another "feral grunt" type, and while most average superheroes have beaten them a dozen times, they make good foils for an inexperienced heroine or two, like Rikki. Prof. Power hasn't shown up since PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #4 (which was the last time he'd shown up since the 90's, circa X-FACTOR ANNUAL #9), the issue where Frank drugs and blows up a bar full of villains at Silt-Man's funeral (which has proved to be a bust as damn near all of them survived; Frank's gotten rusty in his old age). Part of me wonders if the idea that "Anthony Power" is supposed to be inhabiting the body of his son, Matt Power, will come up. Naturally, he has no relation to the Power family of POWER PACK, much as Cain Marko (Juggernaut) has no relation to Flint Marko (Sandman) or Man Mountain Marko.
The art by David Baldeon is pretty good for a title like this, with some solid color work by Sotomayor. The final issue promises an appearance by the Young Avengers, who I imagine McKeever could write fine and Nomad would probably fit in well enough with. She's not really a legacy hero either, but she would fit in well with the group as well as add another girl to it. That would mean that Marvel was serious about moving along with the team without Heinberg, though, which seems impossible. Still, considering that Dwayne McDuffie, Dan Slott and Christos Gage have all written about his GRAVITY character since he became DC exclusive, it would be cool to see McKeever return to his creation in some form. While NOMAD won't be the work that gets McKeever onto higher material, it's a solid comeback for him at Marvel, and one that has defied my expectations thus far. There is a place for Rikki after all.
Next: REALM OF KINGS #1 & REALM OF KINGS: INHUMANS #1
It was a bit of a shock really, pretty graphic. But so funny.
Can't wait to see where they take that concept in the future. And the explanation for Quasar's new look made sense, even though I'm still not particularly a fan of the look itself. I hope we don't get anything so predictable as the evil, Lovecraftian Quasar exerting his influence over our Quasar to give him that "killer instinct" Joe Q arbitrarily decided Wendell needs.
