Decently sizeable week with some variation in quality. It's a double dose of Marc Silvestri and some Marvel releases that make you wonder, "why?", even if they're not exactly terrible.
And a non-CW week. I know those "delays" are going to inflate normally slow weeks into wallet busters, but frankly I'm enjoying the rest from the overkill. There's only so much "event" story you can take at once.
A day late due to Labor Day, and as always, X-Treme Spoilers.
DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 9/7/06:
52 WEEK #18: "Review proof, you either like it or your don't by now," blah blah blah. This week after all the hoopla about the return of Lobo last issue, the "space trio" aren't even seen, and the issue zips back to Earth for Shadowpact hyjinks, Booster Gold's funeral and more adventures in Kahndaq. As someone who never read SHADOWPACT or much of DC's mystical stuff, I was admittedly a little lost in the beginning, but thankfully the Shadowpact themselves are introduced and you can get by and enjoy the tale without being a hardcore DC continuity veteran, a lost art for a lot of titles. Apparently some poor schmuck that was key to one of Det. Chimp's (I swear to god, the love affiar between comics and talking monkies has got to bloody stop) allies was mystically liquified behind a locked door with the helmet of Dr. Fate (DC's equalivent to a Sorceror Supreme) appearing on his head shortly before the wetness. As such, Chimpie goes to Ralph Dibney, last seen freaking the hell out after almost reviving his dead wife. It appears he's reclaimed control of himself again (and isn't living in robes under an underpass, ranting to himself) and as he's DC's go-to meta-detective (at least since Batman lacks a public address). They get the pact together and the helmet seemingly talks to Dibney, offering him the power of Dr. Fate that can inable him to do whatever he wants, even resurrect his wife, if he's prepared to go through the trials and such. However, as no one else hears this mystical speach, it's the old ULTIMATES trick; did the helmet really mystically "choose" Dibney as his successor, or is the ex-rubberman just looney? Elsewhere, Kent and Skeets attend Booster's lonely funeral, held in a state he never visited because supposedly he's become so unpopular. Which sucked as Booster still had friends from his JLI days who surely would have showed for his funeral, despite his current scandal. Fire? Vixen? Guy Gardener? Anyone? As Kent said, it seemed too many forgot all the good he did when he started going "bad" again. Skeets ended up finding one of Booster's "ancient ancestors" (he won't be born for another 500 years), and one wonders if this is going to screw up the timeline even more (meddling with someone's great great great great great great grandfather to the 10th power). Meanwhile, Charlie gets a medal from Black Adam for his help in thwarting the Intergang bombing, but Montoya is still taking "shooting a kid" hard by boozing and making it with the lesbian sex, which gets interuptted. The bunch of them seem united in stopping Intergang, and lord knows you don't want to upset the lost prince of Atlantis...er, Kahndaq. What? The inspiration is obvious, but Adam seems more relatable as his country is in the Middle East, something we all have become more familiar with. And Question gets an origin page, with Lobo set to return next month. The concept of Dibney becoming Fate is something I wouldn't have expected, so it wins points. Not sure if Skeets meddling with Booster's ancestors is a good thing, though. "Time is broken" indeed. Not as good as some past issues but still readable, enjoyable serial stuff, which is what 52 does best. And all of it rivetting without the "Big 3".
DETECTIVE COMICS #823: Paul Dini puts in another great Batman one-shot issue with yet another decent artist, but because his title lacks the star-power of Morrison/Kubert, it sells quite a bit worse (BATMAN is DC's #1 selling ongoing, while DET. seems set on the Top 30-40), which is an incredible shame because it is heads and tails better. Dini proves that he can tell perfectly capable Batman mysteries in the comic mythos without needing to knowtow to network standards on maturity. This one is more of a "psudeo science" one instead of a gritty noir mystery, as Batman has to solve why plants seem to be stalking and attacking Poison Ivy. It naturally climaxes in a big plant-monster fight involving hatchets and herbicides. But it all works because Dini keeps in the theme that deep down, Batman actually would like to see his enemies rehabilitated or at least have some goodness in them. The monster it turns out is a plant monster that Ivy fed her victims to, who now has their group consciousness and calls itself "Harvest", out for vengence. It ends with the mistess of botany now afraid of plants, which is a bit of a dark twist if you think about it. Robin is here too, but is actually fun and not annoying. The art also works out fine, and the fact that it has no "regular" artist really isn't a problem. The stories are one-shots that are loosely interconnected (the subplot of Riddler running a legit detective business is maintained, and there is a brief reference to the Dent story from OYL), not a 1-2-3- etc part "arc". Really, if you have any fondness for Batman at all as a character, from the cartoon or whatever, you're reading DETECTIVE. It's that simple. The best Batman comic on the racks, matched only by Matt Wagner's DARK MOON RISING material. Take that, Morrison!
And I still will take a plant monster over "Ninja Man-Bats". One has a legitmately creepy aura about it's origin and operation, and the other resembles a line for Kid's WB action figures.
HUNTER/KILLER #7: Well, I'll be! One month later and #7 is here! Granted, they promised monthly issues through December, and I still doubt it, but I'll get it while I can, now that I am caught up. I'm actually glad I did because the story is starting to go somewhere. Morningstar takes Ellis on a wild trip to explain the origins of the Ultra-Sapiens and the world as he knows it (or doesn't), and it's interesting stuff from Waid. Basically instead of nukes during the Cold War years, it was Ultra-Sapiens who were on the bargaining block, and Morningstar secretly forced JFK to surrender the nation to him during the "Cuban Crisis" era in order take it over. However, his motive so far isn't selfish, but to starve off a future holocaust that a time-travelling psychic called Cassandar had claimed was inevitable, but it seems to turn out that his efforts seem to only delay it, not prevent it. There still is more data that needs telling, of course. And Samantha leads her squad against another rogue Ultra. Another cog in the machine here, a "set-up" issue as it was, but a good one. The lateness (between the 7 month gap between issues 5 and 6, along with past late issue) means this book is maybe a year beyond schedule, whicn stinks as this is obviously a long, drawn out sort of tale. Hopefully it maintains some monthly status as it would be a drag, and a nail in the coffin, to delay things now that they're reaching a fevor pitch. Eric Basaldua takes over on art and does a good Silvestri imitation as I barely noticed the shift. That may also explain why the comic has returned to monthly art.
The cover is by Jim Lee, who is also on his own horribly late book, ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN (which he takes full blame for it being late, circa WIZARD #180). So, yeah, Top Cow is lucky I bothered with #6 and they better not screw up again on this book, because it now has my attention again.
AGENTS OF ATLAS #2: The last issue was a good enough start, with the major flaw being that there wasn't enough data given about the team members themselves, considering only half of them have gotten 2004-2006 era Handbook bio's and these are all OLD characters. Some of whom not seen in maybe 30+ years. Fortunately this issue addresses that concern a bit more, giving more in-depth looks at Gorilla Man and Marvel Boy's backstories. It seems the intent from Parker is to intertwine the origins of the team with their current adventure, rather than just start with one "full origin" issue and go from there. It made for a slightly confusing #1 issue, but for the crux of the mini itself it may work out better. Considering that Marvel's "random mini series starring really obscure characters" often hit free-fall in the sales, one wonders if a confusing #1 issue was wise. This title had some internet buzz, though, and is an enjoyable little yarn with these "out of retirement" heroes. Khanata goes over Marvel Boy's history with Mr. Fantastic and Dugan, before running into the little team, as well as a younger Jimmy Woo who doesn't recall anything past the 50's since that was the last sample of DNA Marvel Boy had. The agent manages to squeeze his way onto the squad by offering to tell them where their teammate Venus is; turns out she's in the same section of Africa where Ken Hale mystically became the Gorilla-Man, and runs about in perpetual toplessness. However, Woo's old enemy Yellow Claw, back from the Golden Age and about 30 years outdated himself as a "realistic" sort of villian, returns. But then again, heroes are STILL fighting Nazi's circa 2006, so maybe some revived "evil Orientals" isn't so bad. It's one of those titles like MTU or BEYOND! where you can just read solid superhero goodness with some quirky characters. It's not trying to reinvent the wheel, but it doesn't have to because it's solid on the fundamentals of the genre. Worth a read from any "event weary" Marvel fan who is enjoying the sort of adventure stuff from BEYOND and MTU. Speaking of which...
BEYOND! #3: I admit I wanted to read this since it was originally solicted, but I had no idea how bloody exciting and entertaining it'd be. If it was an ongoing title it might be smack-dab next to RUNAWAYS for the book I anticipate each month, but it's only a mini. McDuffie returns to Marvel and to Deathlok in this installment, and Kolin's pencils never looked better. Dragon Man also puts up a considerable fight for once as Deathlok's long absence from Marvel's fanfare is explained (nope, nope, it wasn't a loss of popularity or writer apathy, he's been offworld kiddies!) as he's been a prisoner of Beyond's Battleworld since he went there some time ago and exchanged his life for the lives of those who'd been assembled for that go of it. Firebird makes a very vibrant mark on the fight, but so far she still is the weakest link to me, the one character who seems to have little "voice" and just comes off as fairly generic and quiet. Medusa has the regal arrogance, Gravity the youthful rookie "optimism", Kraven the "braggart overachiever", Hood the cynic with a dark side, and naturally Deathlok, Dr. Pym and Wasp are defined. Firebird's just "the Hispanic fire-chick", no more, no less. Maybe she'll find a voice later on, but just getting it out there. I like Dr. Pym's power level here, back to his 90's days when he used his "particles" to grow supplies and be crafty instead of just being "Ant Man" or "Giant-Man" or whatever. Deathlok takes up a bit of the issue to reintroduce himself, but Gravity, Hood and especially Kraven have some big moments here. Kraven especially, who tracks down Spider-Man's "corpse", who has become an outright Marvel Zombie who can't be killed by normally fatal wounds, and can even walk after Hood blows out his kneecaps. It turns out, shock of all shocks, that this ain't Spider-Man, but a SPACE PHANTOM...! Dramatic pause. Oh, wait, no, it's not a surprise because Marvel solicted the cover of BEYOND! #4 shortly after #1 shipped that had Space Phantom on the bloody cover. So I saw it coming months ago, and that's a shame because it was overwise a somewhat interesting little plot twist. Although to be fair, once "Spidey" got gored in #1, you KNEW something had to be up. And as the strength of the story is on the B and C listers, not on Spider-Man at all, it's not a huge problem. It's like seeing Superman die in a JLA comic and then claiming you didn't see his survival (or impersonation) coming. Hell, Wolverine and a Skrull once pulled this trick in the 90's and milked it for months. Anyway, much like AGENTS OF ATLAS, this mini isn't here to reinvent the wheel or the status quo too much. It's out to tell an exciting superhero adventure and star some of those characters who need time to get fleshed, or need the exposure. In a way, it's a real shame that MTU is being cancelled, because I could really see McDuffie going on for an arc or two and having a ball of a time. Hopefully the fact that his DAMAGE CONTROL franchise are getting the "fun" sucked from them doesn't make him feel too bitter. Solid writing, good dialogue, B and C list characters shining, explosive battles, and plot twists, this is yet another title that if you're a CW weary Marvel fan, you're reading. And hopefully enjoying. I hope to see McDuffie stick around Marvel for a bit. We need more like him. Need a new name to chant in the "Slott! Kirkman! Vaughan!" chorus.
MARVEL TEAM-UP #24: The "prenultimate" issue of a dead book walking, MTU finishes out their FREEDOM arc, and sets up the final issue next month. Now, this title was the go-to place for stress-free Marvel superheroics for a good 2 years now, and while it is a shame to watch it linger on it's last steps, one has to acknowledge that to be fair, this title's sold horribly for at least the last 10 or so issues, and has been well below the Top 100 for the last 6 or so. In fact I expected Marvel to can it after LEAGUE OF LOSERS. But instead Marvel's allowing Kirkman to get his ducks in a row and tie up all the loose ends of his title, which means dealing with Iron Maniac and Titannus. Iron Man is on the cover but doesn't actually appear in the comic itself, which is interesting because with CW going on, one could claim that one of the only differences between Iron Man and Iron Maniac is that the Maniac is at least more blunt and honest (and an outright villian as opposed to a "morally misguided lone-wolf doing what he feels is right"). After beating the piss out of Spider-Man and Wolverine last issue, Iron Manic is out to raid Richard's tech, when Freedom Ring and his Skrull ally "Crusader" show up into the fray. They manage to hold him off enough for the New Avengers (Cap, Cage, Spider-Woman at least) to show up and defeat the Maniac, but at the cost of Freedom Ring's life. There is a part where Freedom Ring all but ANNOUNCES his powers, word for word, even throwing in their power source, to Iron Maniac, which leads directly to his death. Yes, I know he was a rookie, but that was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen a superhero do in recent memory, least outside of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN. You're supposed to feel sympathy for Freedom Ring, a guy who got power and only wanted to do good with it and be a hero (and made a noble sacrifice), but in the end he was an inexperienced idiot, and died as such. I mean, GOD, was that dumb. Imagine if Martian Manhunter landed in front of someone and went, "You cannot defeat me, unless you have fire". Plus the ending is anti-climatic as after a good 2 issues of fighting, Iron Maniac gets TKO'd with a bonk on the head from Cap's "mighty shield". Skrull regeneration has also increased with the fact that more comic writers figured out that a shapeshifter could probably heal wounds, as Crusader was able to survive a hole through his chest. So yes, Freedom Ring dies, but his Skrull buddy gets his cosmic ring, and one wonders if that was his aim all along; befriending him, getting him killed in battle and then taking the ring for himself. In the back-up story, Titannus is unleashed against Baltimore, Maryland by some vengeful Japanese scientists who want retaliation for his attack on Tokyo a while back and don't believe the U.S.' version of things. It looks like #25 may be an all-or-nothing battle against Titannus again, only this time instead of Medina, we have Kuhn, who is easily the worst artist the series ever had. You can tell a book is dying not by announcements, but by when any halfway decent artist is suddenly yanked off the project and moved onto other things (Kolins on whatever, Medina on an X-title). This was better than some of Kuhn's issues, and he draws masked, armored, or monsterous people far better than he does with people, but there it is. I'll miss this title, and I wish it'd sold better so McDuffie could take over on it, but Kirkman's clearly not at his A-game on it anymore, so I can accept saying farewell to it next month.
SPIDER-MAN: BLACK & BLUE & READ ALL OVER: A very awkward release for Marvel this week. The first thing you notice is that the names of the writer & artist aren't on the cover. You need to go halfway in to see them, Jim Krueger and Drew Johnson, who both do a good job. Secondly, while the interior claims that it takes place "before CIVIL WAR" (or even PRELUDE from the looks of it), it's a story that now seems worse than it is due to recent events, when for all intents and purposes it's a good one-shot little Spidey tale. Basically, Peter is haunted by nightmares after a cop lets Vulture escape Spider-Man because he says, "That's your job", the same words Peter once used to allow the Burglar to escape, who killed Uncle Ben. Wracked with feelings of hopelessness about his superhero career, Aunt May convinces him to offer his story to the mass media in order to make a difference in the world and be free of his guilt, that he feels he's not making a real difference. So Spider-Man makes JJ an offer he can't refuse; allow him a 3 page article in the Bugle, and the next day he unmasks in front of the building. He does, and while one could easily have figured out who Spider-Man was by his words (the first crook Spider-Man captures is the man who hours earlier killed Ben Parker, and Spidey alludes to it heavilly; anyone with access to old article or police files could figure out that Spider-Man was likely Peter Parker), but aside for that it's a brilliantly written narrative from Spider-Man that feels very genuine. The next day he so inspires the public by it that dozens, of not hundreds of people, unmask and claim to be Spider-Man, so much so that his identity is safe. Krueger, on a post made at ComixFan Forums shortly after the preview came out, claimed he sold the script to Marvel "months ago", likely before CW came out. Considering how simular it is to some of the ASM CW issues (as well as CW #2), one gets the feeling that Marvel probably would have printed this in SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED, but as that book is cancelled, they figured they'd release it as a random one-shot in a Spidey-light week, stick on a reprint of ASM #12, and charge $4 for it. Even the cover, while very pretty, looks rather generic. It's a good story that I enjoyed reading, but much like with FF: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY, I wonder what the point of it was, other than to get an extra franchise book on the shelves for a week. For someone who has felt irked by some of Spider-Man's CW actions and characterizations, and who hasn't liked the core book enough to read for a long time, it was a solid, enjoyable Spider-Man tale that had an uplifting ending, much like when the masses rally to protect Spider-Man despite JJ's media machine in the movies. In fact, if this story was sold to Marvel before CW, one wonders if the editors simply thought, "hey, let's do this in the regular books with JMS and Millar" and ripped it the hell off. After all, JMS and Millar are big name writers; Krueger is hardly a big name. An enjoyable, if not awkward story that makes you wonder about Marvel's editorial machine.
To Be Continued...
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