Because of the usual "awkward shipping schedule" that the Big Two have, in that some weeks, almost nothing of value ships, and then the next, a good dozen or so titles drop into your lap, this review will probably be very long. Also helping to boost the awkward shipping are books that are late, such as ASS #4 and U2 #11. NEW AVENGERS #20 is about a week behind schedule from the last issue, but the next issue, the very-important CW tie in, was completed on time and is due next week, so all is well. And other assorted stuff.
As always, this review is raw and uncut. Spoilers ahoy.
DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 6/21/06:
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #4: Considering that DC, for the first time in a while, outsold Marvel in both dollar and unit share in May, and that 52 is proving to all but GUARENTEE some four spots on the Top Ten comic seller list, any month with an ALL-STAR book is going to add another number of that list into DC's pockets. True, the ALL-STAR comics have become less a "DC ripoff of Ultimate" or "Elseworlds with a new trendy name" and more like a grand experiment in how late comics written/drawn by "superstars" can be and yet still pull a good 100,000-200,000 issues sold every time. I'm in a bit of a minority here in the Marvel boards in that I actually am entertained by ALL-STAR SUPERMAN overall and like the work in general, but the title has a serious problem. The problem is that the stories, while entertaining, are not usually worth the massive hype or lateness that comes with each one; that's something that can't be said for ASTONISHING X-MEN or AMERICA IS ALWAYS EVIL: THE SERIES (called ULTIMATES 2 in the States). Another problem is that Morrison seems to have the idea that some of the "corny" Superman stories of the Golden Age, what with Lois' plots to marry him and stupid Jimmy Olsen adventures, somehow can "work" in the modern age and are worth revisiting. To give credit, considering that if given the chance to tell an "elseworlds" version of Superman, most creators would just make him an angsty, leather-clad bruiser, while Morrison doesn't seem afraid of tinkering with the other end of the spectrum, is not a bad angle. Lord knows dark, angtsy stuff can get tedious in and of itself. Morrison seems to be trying to interweave everything that is and was Superman into this title. This issue is pretty much an issue of SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN redone for the 21st century, complete with a wiggy plotline (Jimmy becomes head of the super-science cabal PROJECT for a day, but has to somehow take down Superman when "Black Kryptonite" makes him evil) and a cover that is almost asking to be mocked on
www.superdickery.com (a great site). Its a fun standalone issue, but not one that really justifies the intense wait between issues, or even the sense of urgency that seemed to come from the first issue of the book, which is still amung the highlights so far. Out of all the issues, this was probably the one I liked the least, although Morrison's take on a concept as corny as Jimmy Olsen is rather interesting (he even acknowledges how frequently Jimmy'd crossdress in stories!). Quitely's naturally in his element in this story; the ending with Jimmy taking on the "Doomsday" device himself and on "Evil Superman" being such a total opposite that he actually got WEAKER the meaner he got are nice angles, of course. But behind the clever ideas, the trippy art, some good lines and a few reimaginings, this, like the last 3 issues, feels like filler before the REAL stuff happens. And filler can really be draining; just ask anyone who DL's NARUTO. The next issue feautures Luthor, so hopefully that one will be better. I expect to see it around late August, if we're lucky. Ain't it funny how Dan DiDio doesn't even pretend that the ALL-STAR comics conform to a schedule?
52 WEEK #7: 52 is a weekly serial that is pulling through for DC in both sales and storylines, and may be something Marvel needs to watch out for. Some issues introduce a billion plot-threads a page, while others focus on a few for the issue and juggle them well. This issue mostly focuses on Booster Gold and Montoya, but the stranded space-heroes and Ralph Dibney also play key roles. In this issue, Booster Gold's world comes completely crashing down as he's exposed as a "fruad" who paid an actor to pose as a supervillian from him, plus, Skeet's malfunctions (likely related to "time being broken" from last issue) are causing BG's financial ploys to crash around him. Ralph comes to BG for help but instead is disgusted by his friend's selfishness and even blames him for some past tragedies that BG didn't "forsee". This is a switch, because during IC, Booster was getting all "serious" and determined after the death of Ted Kord; post-IC, he's seemed to revert back to his older self, which I guess makes some sense to anyone who've ever known a self-destructive "friend" who has some vice (drugs, gambling, alcoholism) that they continue to lapse into, regardless of how it effects others. Considering all that Ralph's been through, its understandable if his patience for Booster's wheeling-and-deeling approach to being a big-fame superhero is short. Despite Booster running a bit of a con game, I did feel bad for him, which means the tale is going well (Booster Gold's not come off nearly as abrasive as, say, Agent Hill over in CW usually does). For the B-plot, Montoya tracks down another lead and it comes to Kathy Kane, soon to become the "new, old Batwoman" who is "gasp -- a lesbian". Hopefully the writers can come up with more than DiDio's boast, because sexual orientations just aren't as edgy as they were in the 80's or 90's when "the closet" was still in play. Oh, and it turns out Starfire may be "effected" by weirdo alien fruit, and there are Kirby-esque giants on the planet she, Strange, and Animal-Man are on. An effective issue, as usual. For being a Marvel Zombie, I haven't regretted a penny of this series so far. Its a slow read at times, but like any serial, there is enough to hook you without leaving stuff unrevealed for next issue.
JUSTICE #6: Sure, bi-monthlies are slow, but at least this one's been on time. The problem of course is that the story will read much better all at once, as so far its been about a year of the JLA getting their butts handed to them by the LOD; usually if I wanted to see superheroes lose that often, I'd read THE ULTIMATES 2 or USM (hah!). Kidding aside, this series does what ALL-STAR SUPERMAN can't; make each issue feel urgent and worth the wait. Luthor, Grodd, and Brainiac stand revealed as the true masterminds of the LOD, transmitting "the dream" into any villian if it means bolstering their ranks, much as the heroes are doing. The Atom manages to take down Giganta and WW's lasso breaks Batman from his "worm" brainwashing (yes, Ross is ripping himself off with the "brainwashing via worms" bit from KINGDOM COME). The action is kept short and sweet as the heroes finally, FINALLY start to rally their defenses and begin to find a way to fight back. Which is the point I guess; without the first half of losses, the second half of the triumphs won't feel nearly as effective, or as energizing. As for the cover, punching someone right in the friggin' eye is about the nastiest thing I've seen the Atom do since he took down Darkseid during Morrison's JLA run. And seeing WW with her "battle scars" was a bit shocking, too. Naturally, the art is beautiful as usual. Ross & Co. frankly want to construct a definitive JLA vs. LOD battle ever, and they've been doing well with the build-up. I hope the second half is as satisfying as it needs to be.
ANNIHILATION: NOVA #3: The dark horse "event" of Marvel that has been lost in the shuffle of CW, yet seems to exist solely to tell a large portion of the fanbase that's been bemoaning the fact that all mythological, space or non-urban heroes are "persona non grata" at Marvel right now to "shut up, here's a bone". I'd honestly believe Marvel gives a damn about this event if they advertised it nearly as well as they're doing CW. Or half as well. Or at all. But nothing. It got the obligatory push that any series gets in the beginning, and then as usual, its been left to sell itself, which usually results in any issue after the first falling a good 5-20 spots in the Top 100 list in a slow, steady trickle. A shame, because ANNIHILATION: NOVA is satisfying space-action stuff even for someone like me who usually doesn't go for that. Quasar is given cover billing, and the book could be called, "Nova and his Cosmic Friends", with Drax & Quasar alongside him and Cammie providing "typical smart-mouthed young girl comic relief". Nova's still trying to control the Nova Force as he has to help Quasar whisk some aliens to safety from the Annihilation Wave, and the fend off an attack (an action Drax sees as pointless, as he'd rather Nova fight the wave directly, and prepare others to do so). The massive amounts of power finally get Annihilus off his duff and wanting a bit of it. This storyline's really jacked up a once B-List F4 villian into a real powerhouse threat in the same scale as Kang, Dr. Doom or Thanos, and its a shame few are noticing. At least the trend seems to have hopped over to the "Competition", as Bart Allen now has the "sole survivor of a legacy who is imbued with all their power, but fears losing control of it" over in THE FLASH #1. Yeah, I flipped through it.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #15: Yet another bi-monthly that escapes the peril of ASS and has each issue offer a lot of bang for the buck to make up for the wait in-between. The story is amazingly simple; "Hellfire Club tries to destroy the X-Men, round 136", but Whedon's not so afraid of "formula" that he's trying to be edgy, or trendy, or get his face on a cover of a newspaper. He's simply out to tell a rock-solid X-Men story, and I've come to respect that. Its nothing new, but its still entertaining, so I don't care. Despite all that, making Emma Frost a HC mole is about the most predictable thing to do with her, sounding as if it came straight from the months of every X-fan who was been embittered with the Jean/Emma/Scott stuff from Morrison's run. It all but forgets the fact that Frost'd been a "non-badguy" for a good 12 years in real-time, and takes her in a direction she's been before; which offers no new growth for her. She's conflicted, sure, and apparently she even has a back-up plan in Kitty Pryde (who is so obviously Whedon's vessal for channelling BUFFY memories, its not even funny). Still, after an issue focusing on Cyclops' psyche, this one has more action; Cassandra "Somehow an Evil Twin is seen as Original when a Brit does it" Nova does her mental-mojo on Beast & Logan, making Logan act like a man-child (and is amazingly exactly like Ultimate Spider-Man, needing teenage girls to fight his battles for him) and Beast like a savage, while Kitty is turned into a phasing ghost and Shaw aggrivates Colossus' rage. Its not always that you see Colossus all but surrender to fury on someone, but it was cool, even it he was quickly defeated by a manuver that wouldn't even fell a STRIPPER, much less a supposed 85-ton tanker. The last page evoking Logan's stance from DARK PHOENIX SAGA when he was driven underground is iconic; obviously Buffy, er, Kitty, is meant to fully attain the mantle of Giles, er, Logan, in this story by rescuing the entire team from the Hellfire Club. Just hopefully she avoids doing it in Bendis fashion (see NEW AVENGERS #20), which would be effortlessly, suddenly, and with cliche attitude. I want to see the X-Men triumph, not Kitty alone, and hopefully Whedon understands that. The problem with Wolverine always saving the day was that it made him overshadow the X-Men and make then all collectively appear worthless; hopefully Whedon avoids that trap with Kitty (who pulled the "effortlessly saving the day" card against Danger, recall). Speaking of Danger, the andriod being seems to want to strike an unholy alliance with Ord, which looks mighty interesting. Usually you don't see Shaw actually get injured by absorbing someone's kinetic energy, but I think it worked out better, power-level lapse be damned. It made him seem extra-creepy (hard when dressed like someone from a "historic Boston" festival) and Colossus seem angrier. And yes, the silent scene with Frost's conflicted emotions was very telling without needing a drip of dialogue; as a TV man, Whedon understands how to use a visual medium better than some other writers, who clutter dialogue needlessly (also see NEW AVENGERS #20).
ETERNALS #1: A title I bought solely because Gaiman worked magic on 1602 (which no writer can reproduce apparently), although dubious at the $3.99 pricetag. Seriously, if DC can let "printed money" like JUSTICE go for $3.50 an issue, why not some of Marvel's overpriced "done by legends" works? I know the standard tactic at both houses is to milk the fanbase dry (hence all the varient covers returning), but at least DC sometimes pretends to give a damn about pricing. Barring that, this issue was a very surprising, entertaining read that, unlike even a lot of #1 issues, I can honestly say anyone can dive into. Don't know much about the Eternals? No problem. You happen to be a 40+ year old man and actually read past ETERNALS stuff? Also not a problem because Gaiman wants to work in the old stuff with his new mystery, namely, where all the Eternals are in the modern day and why they can't remember their past lives? In a way it plays out like "HIGHLANDER meets a WHITEWOLF RPG premise", but the first issue makes it work well. Romita Jr's art is stable as always, if you like his blocky style, after all. I don't mind it so it works here. Considering THE ETERNALS was pretty much Kirby's Marvel-version of his "New Gods" stuff that doesn't usually translate to whatever Marvel is doing very well, Gaiman manages to work in some lower level street stuff while still acknowledging that they were essentially immortal, all powerful demigods who have now lost their way, and even Ikaris may not be able to save them from a possible relaunched Devient attack. Certainly aces better than some of the HEROES FOR HIRE/QUICKSILVER crossover dross with some of the Eternals from the late 90's. There looks to be a massive retcon coming to explain why the Eternals, even better known ones like Sersi (who was an Avenger for years) seem to have new lives and all, but its part of a mystery that has only begun, so I can live with it. The story makes mention of the current CW stuff with "superhero registration", which I hope doesn't mean that Marvel will reveal just about ALL the title's secrets in solicts and interviews to get it sold, because that would be a mistake. I have hope they'll have the sense to leave Gaiman alone, though.
NEW AVENGERS #20: "The Collective" wraps up as Bendis finishes stroking his own storyline, HOM, with a fallout from it. After last issue's satisfying throwdowns, this one comes off as more conveluted, talky gobble-degook, although it has a lot of nice sequences. It turns out the main enemy was Xorn, Marvel's Continuity Conundrum That Talks Like A Man. He channeled all the lost mutie energy into some poor random schmuck and went about a completely ******ed way of getting that power back to Genosha, and specifically Magneto in particular, to lead mutants to avenge themselves on mankind. Considering that Xorn, thanks to retconning, posed as a drugged out, more lethal version of Magneto before, its understandable that he'd want to return the Brotherhood founder to greatness. Amazingly, the issue also offers something I doubted I would see from someone other than Mark Millar; making Pres. Bush seem more "evil" than Agent Hill, who all but seems reasonable in this issue. Yes, the President was breathlessly ordering a nuke strike on Genosha, regardless of the Avengers or SHIELD agents possibly being killed in the blast (even promising to "make their sacrificed seem worthy" and whatnot), even after being the one who pressured Hill into "throwing the Avengers" at the threat. Bullocks. In today's day and age, soldiers can't even kill a terrorist without being depicted as thugs, and the Pres. butchered in the media; does Bendis honestly want me to believe that if a premire team of superheroes existed in America, and had protected her from threats for a good 10 years, that ANY president would at the drop of a hat consider them "expendable"? Baloney. Despite how "evil" liberals make America seem during times of war, the nation is still a very individualistic one; we care more about the individual than about "the whole", hence why the loss of every soldier makes us feel pain, and why criminals are afforded so much legal leeway; most other places are about "the good of the whole" and the individual can basically screw themselves. I just had a hard time buying Bush, or ANY president for that matter, being so ruthless and making Hill look like a humanitarian in comparison (although to be fair to Ms. Hill, while she's come off as antagonistic in CW and past NA issues, her stance is that the SHRA is a way of avoiding a fight and she did want Cap to come alongside basically so they WOULDN'T have to fight as many superheroes). Or maybe Hill just didn't want to endanger her own SHIELD envoy, and has a thing for Iron Man (as they're on the same side in CW). As mentioned before, Bendis trucks out yet another pet heroine, Daisey "Quake" Johnson, who effortlessly kills Magneto and solves the threat. Ho-hum. The Avengers look worthless, aside for taking all of that ambient mutant energy and having Sentry throw it into the sun. And Magneto has a "non-death" for the billionth time, further proving that despite how great he used to be, like Norman Osborn, he's been overused and conveluted to the point of all but being a parody of himself. The cover is AWESOME, though, and it was good seeing the entire NA actually assembled for a full story in their own book. Amusingly, they're getting "disassembled" next ish. Hey, Marvel, its only dramatic with the 40 year history. After less than 2 years, its just a stunt.
To Be Continued...
