First week of July is in the books, now let's get to the books! Spoilers ahead.
FYI, the $3.99 price on VENGEANCE #1 proved to be too much. I had mulled buying it.
DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 7/6/11:
BATMAN BEYOND #7: As DC Comics gears itself towards their FLASHPOINT event for the summer and their relaunch of their entire line in August and September, this is one comic that seems to be caught in the midst of the storm. While the only DC comic that is tying into FLASHPOINT is BOOSTER GOLD, it's fate in the "New 52" is unknown. DC brass claim that the series will continue, and plans have been made to produce spin-off material - a SUPERMAN BEYOND one shot and a comic based on JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED from the same timeline. However, DC's editorial strategy can sometimes take a 180 turn on a dime, especially if material ends up late. Thus, these are interesting times for this series, loosely based on the TV series from Kid's WB that ran from 1999-2001 (and aired in syndication on CARTOON NETWORK for a few years afterward). This sees the conclusion of the latest three issue storyline which follows very strongly from TV material. The title is written by Adam Beechen and drawn by regular artist Ryan Benjamin, with inker John Stanisci and colorist David Baron alongside.
In the animated series, the arch nemesis of the new Batman of the mid 21st century (teenager Terry McGinnis) is Blight - a ruthless tycoon who had Terry's father murdered and who also had taken hold of the aged Bruce Wayne's company. He was transformed into a radioactive metahuman and had become increasingly more dangerous and deranged as his power increased. Seemingly buried alive and left for dead at the finale of "BATMAN BEYOND" season 1, he never returned to the show. In honesty, the loss of the antagonist's main nemesis caused the show to lose some focus, as some episodes were hit-or-miss afterward. In a three issue arc that began back in issue five, Blight has returned from his watery grave in a new containment suit, and more unstable than ever. He has attempted to settle some old scores, such as messing with Wayne's company, arranging for his louse of a son to be killed, and seeking to take Batman out once and for all. This issue has their final showdown, and that scene on the cover actually occurs within!
While the six issue mini series that launched this series dipped more into DC's official canon almost as much as the canon of the TV show, this arc has felt very much like episodes that could have existed for a fourth season of the cartoon (aside for some PG level swears like "damn" that never could have appeared in a Y7 cartoon). It is also a story that manages to work in a little bit of social commentary about economic woes without being preachy about it. The battle between Batman and Blight is quite satisfying, as Terry shows that he's certainly more than a kid in a hi-tech costume. These shorter arcs also suit the title well; no storyline has been more than three or four issues, with one-shot tales being common. The next issue looks to be a one-shot tale featuring Inque (another of the top villains from the show), with guest art by Chris Batista. While Benjamin's artwork is fine, BATMAN BEYOND remains one of few titles in which the fill-in art has actually been stronger than the regular art. There is also more to this finale than Blight, as subplots involving Dana Tan's ex-con brother as well as Maxine Gibson's run-in's with cyber-terrorists move onward. With DC's strategies towards female characters and readers being questionable, it is good to see that Terry's supporting characters can get play even without Terry or Batman needing to be within the same scene.
In addition, DC has continued to shove preview comics into their regular titles. This time, fans get the third of four issues in which the Justice League team up with famous athletes in a comic series produced exclusively to promote SUBWAY sandwiches. In this issue - Olympic athletes Michael Phelps (swimmer and eating machine), gymnast Nastia Liukin and ice skater Apolo Ohno (which is an awesome name) get to help Batman and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) defeat Mr. Freeze and Solomon Grundy. Mike S. Miler writes and draws this six page tale, and it is sound ridiculous, that is only because it is. Earlier segments have included appearances by football stars. Thus, this is a union of not only athletes and superheroes, but athletes and superheroes PROMOTING A FAST FOOD JOINT. If it sounds ridiculous, that is only because it is. However, it reads in the "it's so terrible, it's awesome" manner. Whether it is the image of Michael Phelps diving into a pool to save a child in a desperate imitation of Aquaman or the points where the story grinds to a halt as a character gushes about a sandwich, it is a hilarious back up strip for all the wrong reasons.
While there were a lot of FEAR ITSELF and FLASHPOINT books out this week, it turns out this plucky series that isn't a part of any event has risen to the top, at least for a week. Fans of the cartoon series should be eating this up, and if DC were wise, they would promote trades of it (or digital copies) with those DVD box sets of the TV show (or in commercials aired in any syndication). This may be one title that will escape "The New 52" untouched, which is excellent because it has often been a beacon of quality across DC's line.
FEAR ITSELF #4: This is the middle point of this seven chapter, and Matt Fraction starts to lurch more towards having more things happen to move the plot. The problem is it still is a plot that boils down to "and then an evil Norse god possessed people with magic hammers and sent them to smash things", which might have been fun for a four issue story, stretched in a six issue story and way over-long for seven issues. The recap page makes sure to restate that James "Bucky" Barnes was killed in the last issue - many fans online were confused. Thor has been allowed to go back to earth by Odin to make a desperate attempt to beat the ancient "Serpent" without Odin having to resort to destroying the earth. The story makes a big deal of Thor, Iron Man, and Steve Rogers as Captain America uniting during a crisis. This is indeed something rare and awesome - had that not been a major beat in SIEGE, which was Marvel's major event LAST year. Token mention is made to crossover tie-in's across the line, and quite a many of them will be sold subsequently. Aside for looking stoic in a room for a few panels, Rogers doesn't say much about Bucky's death - that is left to Black Widow, performing the role of grieving girlfriend, which was a bit weak. You'd think this would be a major thing, since Bucky's LAST death only upset Cap for about 45 years. This issue gets around to hinting at why the main villain is called "The Serpent" - he is essentially supposed to be the serpent that trigger the apocalypse in North mythology, that Thor is destined to die fighting. The problem is this character already exists in Marvel, and has specifically been called the Midguard Serpent. Is "The Serpent" the same person as the Midguard Serpent? It is unknown, and one wonders if Fraction is even aware of the prior serpent. It doesn't help that "The Serpent" looks nothing like an actual serpent - he is an aged Norse man with a magic cane, who not becomes a more fit standard warrior with a large scythe. Meanwhile, Iron Man is forced to humiliate himself - resort to drinking again - to summon Odin for assistance via a sacrifice (a moment that even Mark Millar might consider in poor taste). Fraction's dilemma is he seeks to merge more of the actual Norse mythology into Thor's back story, seeming to neglect the fact that Marvel has gone in different directions. Odin may be a vicious a-hole in the actual myths, but he had more nuance in the comics for merely the last forty years. There is a bit of action in this issue, which gives artist Stuart Immonen (and colorist Laura Martin) a lot to do. Thor's connection to Broxton, Oklahoma, as established in 2007 by J. Michael Straczynski is seemingly ended in a two page sequence. THAT'LL show fans who supported a successful relaunch!
While the artwork is lovely, and surely there are worse comics out there, this is still a very simple and tedious serious that is longer than it should be and more serious than it should be. Many of Marvel's "events" are stories set around one character or franchise that are stretched so thin to cover an entire line of comics that you can see the marks from it - this stress of a blunt THOR story (the second in a row) is no exception. Given how much Marvel has "spammed" Avengers material the last couple of years, it will likely reach critical mass next year as "THE AVENGERS" film is on the horizon. This is a WRESTLEMANIA plot that believes itself to be high drama, and is staged in not one pay-per-view but in a seven month odyssey. Some of the tie-in's in other titles, by other writers, have been better, but that doesn't say much for Marvel's current number one selling story.
I rag on Bendis a lot, but SIEGE was leagues better than this, hands down; and even THAT was a mediocre story.
FEAR ITSELF: YOUTH IN REVOLT #3: Marvel editorial promised us that James "Bucky" Barnes would not be the only hero to die during their annual crossover even, and this issue proves that was no lie. This series is essentially a reunion of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE as written by Sean McKeever and drawn by Mike Norton (with colors by Veronica Gandini), which allows the two to reunite on the character of Gravity, who they made in 2005. This is a FEAR ITSELF tie-in, as are many of Marvel's comics this week/month, which means one member of "The Worthy" will appear to smack some characters with his evil magic hammer. In this issue, it is the Juggernaut, who seems to appear in quite a few crossover tie-in issues (such as this week's THUNDERBOLTS #160 or last month's FEAR ITSELF: THE HOME FRONT #3). To a degree this presents a problem as in this issue, he threatens Las Vegas, Nevada and in other comics he is closer to the Midwest or east coast. He must run fast (which this issue does note). In this issue, Vegas's official superhero team, the Heavy Hitters - which consist of young heroes like Hardball, Komodo, Nonstop, and Telemetry alongside ex-New Warriors Rage and Debrii - are tasked with stopping the unstoppable. Hardball is the character that gets the most focus in this issue, which he benefits from since he is a character who has been tarnished during his run on A:TI. At first a likeable hero, he eventually devolved into a manipulated traitor, and has sought to bounce back. Thus, he is a hero who has done bad things for good reasons (attempting to save his crippled brother), although he has often chosen the worst choice of any situation he was in. Whether this issue proves to be another case of that, it does present a thrilling narrative of some small time heroes trying to take on a Juggernaut who is more powerful and ruthless than ever before. Meanwhile, Prodigy has to deal with some federal agents trying to undermine the authority that Steve Rogers gave him to run this new Initiative, and Cloud 9 and Thor-Girl find themselves as unlikely fugitive heroes amidst the chaos - which hobbles their attempts to do good. I did like the detail in which the Liberteens arrive to fight the two because they're considered "fugitives", but such a battle is performed for pure legal obligation and at least a few of them have no misconceptions about the heroism of their targets. If only CIVIL WAR had more of that and less of long time allied heroes hating each other for no damn reason.
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE was a great title in which many new characters as well as neglected B, C, and D-List characters could appear and be handled well, and McKeever picks up the ball left behind by Christos Gage and Dan Slott well here. Fans of such characters should be supporting this mini series, which at least is reasonably priced at $2.99. Norton's artwork is as clean, crisp, and exciting as ever - he has often been an underappreciated artist, since a bulk of his career has been on MARVEL ADVENTURES comics. The next issue will focus more on Gravity, which should likely strike more emotional chords than this one did.
HEROES FOR HIRE #9: This low selling ongoing series, which ma be canceled at any moment now, starts it's obligatory crossover with Marvel's annual event. While Misty Knight and Paladin remain the C-List Marvel heroes who comprise as the regular characters of this series, this series relies on having a different group of guest stars appear in each particular story or issue. In an odd way, this is akin to what MARVEL TEAM-UP often was without Spider-Man; and even he appeared in a third of this series' issues thus far. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, best known for cosmic comics, continue to write terrific material here in the darker corners of "urban superheroics". This issues picks up to a slight degree from the last issue, although in many ways it starts up without too many subplots. Much as with most FEAR ITSELF crossovers happen to include one of "The Worthy" with a magic hammer smashing things - this issue focuses on the Thing in Yancy Street. The dilemma is this issue seems to tie in very well with FEAR ITSELF #3, and this week had the fourth issue debut. At any rate, Misty Knight is trying to rally as many "street" heroes to try to deal with both the crisis on Yancy Street as well as the smashed super-prison, the Raft, as she can. The best she can do is the assassin Elektra (who is paid more to AVOID killing), along with former DEFENDER Gargoyle and little known vigilante Shroud. Kyle Hotz is the fill-in artist for this issue, who has united with Abnett and Lanning with some of their space comics (circa ANNIHILATION CONQUEST), and his pencils are a bit different from what one can rely from the regular artist Brad Walker. They are still solid, especially as inked by Bob Almond and colored by steady colorist Jay David Ramos. The issue does introduce some minor villains, including a new baddie called "Firefight" who bares no resemblance to at least two other villains who share that name, as well as build up the Purple Man as the mastermind of the series thus far.
While a 12th issue has been solicited, sales have fallen below Marvel's usual cancellation range as of May's issue seven; if sales do not rebound for FEAR ITSELF, which they may not, that could be it for this title. As AVENGING SPIDER-MAN is set to bring back the actual MARVEL TEAM-UP under another name (with the old premise of Spidey teaming up with another hero), this could be the end of this quirky series. In hindsight, while a rotating cast is an interesting premise, a steadier one that perhaps included some more popular characters than Paladin and Misty Knight may have helped. However, for those who like seeing smaller characters written well - such as YOUTH IN REVOLT fans - this is more solid material.
SPIDER-GIRL #8: This is the final issue of one of Marvel's latest attempts to launch a spin-off to AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, launched not long after the last volume of WEB OF SPIDER-MAN tanked. While VENOM is holding steady, the audience did not support this entertaining series by Paul Tobin about one of Marvel's newest heroines. While in theory the regular artist in Clayton Henry, he has not drawn an entire issue by himself since the debut issue - and skipped about half the series entirely. Roughly half the issue was drawn by Sergio Cariello, who has often helped Henry wrap up issues of this, alongside colors by Chris Sotomayor. The prior issue of this series shipped in May, and this issue sees the subplot revolving the evil organization RAVEN get wrapped up a bit faster than Tobin probably intended. This has led to two issues of Spider-Girl (and Spider-Man, and in this issue the Red Hulk) smashing into laboratories and/or abandoned warehouses and punching various minions. Much like with VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT, while this may be technically the final issue of this ongoing series, the regular writer will be given a three issue mini series that ties into a crossover in which he is expected to basically continue as if the series had merely continued - much as Gregg Hurwitz did with SHADOWLAND: MOON KNIGHT #1-3. Thus, Tobin and Spider-Girl will return in SPIDER-ISLAND: THE AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #1-3. The subplot for that is a major plot point in this issue, as Anya suddenly regains spider-powers at a plot convenient moment - but not the same powers as she had before. Given that this actually as something to do with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN's subplot of "INFESTED: THE ROAD TO SPIDER-ISLAND", Marvel probably should have slapped on the cover - they may have sold an extra dozen copies of this that way. At any rate, Tobin still manages to wrap things up in a satisfying way. It is Spider-Girl's moxie and wits, not any powers or gadgets, that make her a heroine, and she is a rare heroine that refuses to be a raging loner. She is also perhaps one of the only young heroes that Spider-Man has actually taken the time to attempt to mentor - he abandoned Spider-Kid and Frog-Man in the 80's when they insisted on tagging along him in adventures. In fairness, they were both annoying and incompetent.
Many things probably contributed to this series not catching on - altering ARANA to a franchise that was once the title of a series set in another continuity, shoe-horning in the Fantastic Four and Red Hulk into what was an ASM spin off, the hesitation of a mostly male medium to support female heroes, and inconsistent artwork - but it is still a shame to lose it. This issue is fun and action packed, and at least Tobin will have a last hurrah in the near future.
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