CaptainCanada
Shield of the True North
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2006
- Messages
- 4,608
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 31
Agents of Atlas #10 - It's no secret that I haven't loved this series as much as many other people here and elsewhere do, but it's enjoyable. The first part of "Terrors of the Jade Claw" was thrown off by rather mediocre art that made the supposedly cataclysmic first confrontation rather dull. Hardman's art here is a big improvement, and we get some good foreshadowing of the Agents' forthcoming involvement with Hercules' world.
Dark Reign: Elektra #5 - my store didn't get this last week, but this was a pretty good finale, though it's such a direct sequel to the events of "Wolverine: Enemy of the State" that I suspect many people would feel lost if they hadn't read it (of course, that was a blockbuster Mark Millar story, so most readers would likely be at least familiar with the story outlines). Wells said in his early interviews that he wanted to make Elektra a fairly inscrutable character, as she was under Miller, and he does a good job here. Clay Mann's art I loved.
Exiles #6 - that said, if I had to choose between which of Parker's two current Marvel titles got cancelled, Agents would be my pick. I much prefer Exiles. This issue is Parker wrapping up all of what would have been his long-term plans; I don't think it would have been possible at all in a 22-page comic, but he's got considerably more space than that, and it works pretty well. All the little character bits he throws in just leave you wishing he'd had more time here, and the last twist with Wanda just rubs in that we won't see what happens. Maybe he'll revisit these guys in one of his other books later; I'd enjoy that. Will definitely watching for whatever Salva Espin draws next.
Immortal Weapons #2: Bride of Nine Spiders - Hmm, that's not quite what I was expecting. Of course, given the multi-author format, it's hard to anticipate the nature of what each story will be like. Bride is probably the most distinctive of the Immortal Weapons after Fat Cobra, largely do to a spooky design and her "je" laugh. Otherwise, she's kind of a mystery, and Cullen Bunn opts to keep her that way. He frames the story as some guys investigating the history of the Bride, and getting thoroughly messed up in the process, suggesting it's probably best not to ask too many questions. It's the sort of story you'd see when a writer other than the regular does an Annual or a fill-in for an ongoing. Okay, though I think I'd rather have learned more about her.
Invincible Iron Man #17 - The story that is around four issues too long now has two issues remaining, though given recent news about the next story one can guess at the outlines (though I'm still completely unclear about what that data Hill is supposed to give Bucky is). I don't know if the length of this arc was partly because of the timing of the wider Dark Reign or not, but Fraction really should have trimmed some fat here. There's a lot being needlessly dragged out (the whole Hill story, for example, makes Black Widow contacting Bucky into a Big Deal; over in Cap, she bangs him regularly at his house in the Bronx; couldn't she stuff Hill in the trunk and drive over?).
Northlanders #20 - I had planned to stop reading this after "The Cross and the Hammer" ended, but I kept with it for the subsequent four issues, and this is the only one of those that I really felt was ultimately worth buying. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's revisiting Sven from the first arc, still by far the most compelling of Northlanders' various stories. I was impressed that Wood refrained from ruining Sven's reasonably happy original ending on the return (heck, he's even got another kid).
Dark Reign: Elektra #5 - my store didn't get this last week, but this was a pretty good finale, though it's such a direct sequel to the events of "Wolverine: Enemy of the State" that I suspect many people would feel lost if they hadn't read it (of course, that was a blockbuster Mark Millar story, so most readers would likely be at least familiar with the story outlines). Wells said in his early interviews that he wanted to make Elektra a fairly inscrutable character, as she was under Miller, and he does a good job here. Clay Mann's art I loved.
Exiles #6 - that said, if I had to choose between which of Parker's two current Marvel titles got cancelled, Agents would be my pick. I much prefer Exiles. This issue is Parker wrapping up all of what would have been his long-term plans; I don't think it would have been possible at all in a 22-page comic, but he's got considerably more space than that, and it works pretty well. All the little character bits he throws in just leave you wishing he'd had more time here, and the last twist with Wanda just rubs in that we won't see what happens. Maybe he'll revisit these guys in one of his other books later; I'd enjoy that. Will definitely watching for whatever Salva Espin draws next.
Immortal Weapons #2: Bride of Nine Spiders - Hmm, that's not quite what I was expecting. Of course, given the multi-author format, it's hard to anticipate the nature of what each story will be like. Bride is probably the most distinctive of the Immortal Weapons after Fat Cobra, largely do to a spooky design and her "je" laugh. Otherwise, she's kind of a mystery, and Cullen Bunn opts to keep her that way. He frames the story as some guys investigating the history of the Bride, and getting thoroughly messed up in the process, suggesting it's probably best not to ask too many questions. It's the sort of story you'd see when a writer other than the regular does an Annual or a fill-in for an ongoing. Okay, though I think I'd rather have learned more about her.
Invincible Iron Man #17 - The story that is around four issues too long now has two issues remaining, though given recent news about the next story one can guess at the outlines (though I'm still completely unclear about what that data Hill is supposed to give Bucky is). I don't know if the length of this arc was partly because of the timing of the wider Dark Reign or not, but Fraction really should have trimmed some fat here. There's a lot being needlessly dragged out (the whole Hill story, for example, makes Black Widow contacting Bucky into a Big Deal; over in Cap, she bangs him regularly at his house in the Bronx; couldn't she stuff Hill in the trunk and drive over?).
Northlanders #20 - I had planned to stop reading this after "The Cross and the Hammer" ended, but I kept with it for the subsequent four issues, and this is the only one of those that I really felt was ultimately worth buying. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's revisiting Sven from the first arc, still by far the most compelling of Northlanders' various stories. I was impressed that Wood refrained from ruining Sven's reasonably happy original ending on the return (heck, he's even got another kid).
In fact, that is what I have been doing this past month.
