JewishHobbit's Bought/Thought June 30th Edition... SUCK IT DREAD!!!

[JewishHobbit]

Betta Recognize!!

So it's a small week this week... only 4 comics.

Green Lantern 55 - This was a good issue! I really like Atrocitus and seeing him take such a large role in this post-Blackest Night status quo is great. The battle with Lobo was very enjoyable and the overall story was just a lot of fun. I know nothing about Lobo really other than his name so it's cool to actually see him in action. And of course there's my favorite Red Lantern... the cat Dex-Starr!

The story starts with a quick cameo of my favorite DC character the Spectre who is looking over the result of the Rage Entitiy killing a heard of cattle and swearing to meet the Entity. This has me giddy because the Spectre is hit and miss and I LOVED his small story in the Blackest Night tie-ins of this title. So now I"m real curious to see where this goes. After that we have Hal, Atrocitus, Carrol, and Sinestro taking on Lobo. Even the cat gets a few licks in on Lobo's dog. In the end they "scare" Lobo away but we learn that Atrocitus actually hired Lobo to fight as to pull Hal and co. together to work with him to find the Rage Entity before the mysterious figure from the past two issues finds it. And what was Atrocitus's payment to Lobo? Why, a Red Ring of course. I hope to see something come from that down the line.

And following the actual issue we see the origin of the Cat Red Lantern Dex-Starr. I assumed he'd have been from a cat planet somewhere but no, he's from Earth (and I kinda like that... a planet of cats is kinda wierd). Basically, he's a normal cat who was adopted by a nice lady. The lady's home was broken into and she was murdered and there was nothing the nice kitty could do to stop it. The police chased off the cat and he was found by some punks who put him in a bag and tossed him off a bridge. The Red Ring found him mid fall. You kinda get the impression he probably then slaughtered the punks. In the end we see him curled up in the street next to a pop machine in modern day real cute like and crying thinking of his former owner. "I find one who hurt you. I kill. I good kitty."

I freakin' love Dex-Starr!

Secret Avengers #2 - I still love the line up and I'm still loving the art, but I was cautious on Brubaker and I'm still cautious. The reason is that Bru is bad for dragging a story out and this issue reminded me of it. I'm pretty sure absolutely nothing happened in this book. The team's on the moon, they look around, are attacked by nameless people and defeat them, continue looking around, find Nova with the snake crown thing on and he flies toward them. It's a very minimal advancing issue that feels like a severe waste of $4. I love the team and Deodato but if this is what I can expect from Brubaker I'm not going to be sticking around long.

Project Superpowers Chapter 2: 10 - Another good issue as this series is winding down. Only two issues left. No need to go into plot detail as next to no one is reading it other than Phaed and I, but it's improving a lot in the end of the book. It's got a very epic feel and especially with so many of the storylines starting to converge into a finalized ending. As of now there are two stories, the main story against Zeus and the secondary story with Claw, which just took a turn toward the seriously wierd in this issue. I'm eager to see how this all turns out, but even more than that, to see what branches out of it. I enjoyed Masquerade, Death-Defying Devil, and Black Terror after Chapter 1, and then the continuation of Black Terror has been great, and I really liked the Bring on the Bad Guys mini that came out not long ago. Good stuff.

The Death of Dracula - Now I didn't really want to buy this. I have no interest in the vampires of the Marvel Universe and the stupid sudden redesign of Dracula urks me. But it was a very small week and it apparently is going to be a big thing and ties in with the new X-Men book and other stuff later on in the year so I figured I'd pick it up.

I was pleasantly surprised with it to be honest. The story was pretty much as to be expected, though I really do like the storyline of the two brothers being the two figureheads, one the new king of vampires and the other on the run. The issue did it's job and I'm now curious about this whole Vampire thing. I'll read the X-Men stuff since I love the X-Men but depending on how that goes I may consider the oneshots that branch from it and other tie-ins throughout the year provided they are all pushing toward something and aren't just random vampire tales.

Best and Worst of the Week

Best - Green Lantern 55 - This book was just perfect in my mind. I love all the differant Corps and I love how they're all still sticking around. Lobo was awesome but for me, Dex-Starr won it!

And interesting note: I think this was the first time in 3 or 4 issues that Project Superpowers didn't win my book of the week! Go Green Lantern.

Worst - Secret Avengers 2 - Obviously I wasn't big on this issue. It was boring and a waste of my money. It didn't build anything and just kinda filled in unnecissary steps of the story from what I can tell at this point. I really hope this isn't what to expect from the future of the book.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Dang it, forgot the "Spoilers" tag in the title this second attempt at posting. Stupid Database Errors.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Are you Team JH or Team Dread? Get your shirts!!!! Get your bumperstickers!!!

 

[hippie_hunter]

I freaking love it that Dex-Starr is the Red Lantern of Earth. Awesome.

 

[JewishHobbit]

 

[kguillou]

Invincible Ironman Annual: All i'm gonna say is, why the f*** has marvel been ignoring everything that the Knaufs did? They did such great stuff with the character and left him in an interesting place at the end of their run and Fraction picks up on none of it. His interpretation of Mandarin is completely different as well. Maybe i'm being petty but that really pisses me off. The knaufs did such a freakin bang up job with Ironman and their work never gets credited these days cause they didnt tie their book into the movies. A little reference would have been nice is all.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Haha, kguillou has turned into me from that week Zemo was butchered in Captain America.

 

[Dread]

Are you Team JH or Team Dread? Get your shirts!!!! Get your bumperstickers!!!

I'm not into TWILIGHT and totally above spending 15 minutes whipping up an image, right?

 

[roach]

thats a hard choice...which one will be pulling the baby out of the womb with your teeth and imprinting and falling in love with the baby???

 

[kguillou]

Haha, kguillou has turned into me from that week Zemo was butchered in Captain America.

I feel your pain Corp. I kno that you were also a fan of the Knaufs Ironman run too, did u read The Annual?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I was sick yesterday so I just picked up my comics today. I did buy the annual, but I haven't read it yet. I'm now dreading it a bit, thanks to you. I was indeed a huge fan of the Knaufs' run. I really wish it had continued instead of being (apparently) discarded and having everything follow Fraction's movie-friendly, overly talky comics...

 

[Dread]

TWILIGHT referencing aside (I need a steak just to wash the estrogen off of me for just dabbling in it), for me this actually was a fairly heavy week in comics, especially with one $5 annual out there. As always, full spoilers ahead.

Dread's Bought/Thought for June 30th, 2010!

INVINCIBLE #73: The schedule of this book has become more erratic since last year, but Kirkman, Ottley and company are trying to catch up; this is technically the second issue that shipped this month (the first was after Memorial Day). While HAUNT has started to fall off the tracks here and there since Ottley left, and the soon to end ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN is at times a bi-monthly, this title at least seems to try the hardest to be on time. After the gore filled events of the last issue, this is a far quieter and funnier one. It is one of those issues where Invincible himself does very little, but his supporting cast are more than enough to carry an issue (or more) without him.

We're now three issues deep into the Viltrumite War saga. Mark himself has been seriously injured, but fortunately Viltrumites can eventually recover from almost any non-lethal injury, so long as they are given modest care. This gives Nolan and Oliver months of time to bond with each other while stuck on some far off alien world, hunting critters to survive as well as training together. It may remind some long time readers of the many scenes within the first year of the book between Nolan and Mark, which I am sure is intentional. It is different, of course. Oliver is younger, and the situation is far more alien than human - which fits since Oliver isn't biologically human at all. Nolan himself has developed into a complicated character. Originally a Superman cipher, his dramatic turn at the end of the first year of the book merely opened the floodgates to better material for him. And the best part of this, as well as a lesson to other writers, is that Nolan's sins of the past AREN'T magically swept under the rug. He made a mistake and is sorry for it, but no scheme with Mephisto so far will get him back to status quo. He is still considered a threat on Earth. Mark's mother will never forgive him. Sometimes even Mark is wary of him, and rightly so. Nolan himself is still torn between his own emotional development and centuries of Viltrumite culture, and that clashes with people (even Oliver at times). Plus, I imagine the time spent will allow Oliver to "take a level in bad-ass" as TV Tropes go.

In the meanwhile, Tech-Jacket and Allen are stuck together as the two best Colition warriors without the Grayson family, and Tech-Jacket gets a bit of development here; more so than in the 6 page back up strip. I was concerned since Tech-Jacket was canceled before the title character really got to become more than "the hero" of the story, and I was curious how he would gell with the more established characters of INVINCIBLE. He's a teenager, but clearly younger than Mark and is still quite immature and inexperienced (at least compared to the others). He's the type who gets happy over growing a beard. The war between the Viltrumites and the Colition starts. Although aside for a few panels and exposition, the focus is really on the characters, which is good. Oh, and the king of the Viltrumites still looks like a dead ringer for Freddy Mercury.

Although, since months of time have passed in this issue alone, I imagine that once Mark returns to earth, things will get QUITE awkward if Eve still can't get the nerve to tell him about their kid. Since by then she may or should be "showing" a little.

I liked this issue quite a lot. There's not much to say about it, but if you're a long term fan of the series, this is the sort of low key issue that is often just as good, if not better, than some of the DBZ style battle fests. And, hey, a six page back up strip that doesn't demand a hike in cover price as a "reward", is something I appreciate.

BATMAN BEYOND #1: Would DC shamelessly exploit the fans of a TV show that was canceled about 9 years ago? Does the moon revolve around the Earth? At any rate, perhaps lost in the shuffle of Wonder Woman becoming Wonder Biker, is this six issue mini series launched by Adam Beechen, Ryan Benjamin and John Stanisci. It is a rare mini series in that the cover price is still $2.99 an issue. Marvel has been more shameless about making ALL mini series by default $3.99, but DC's had their moments, too. At any rate, since INFINITE CRISIS and DC have gone back to a multiple earth format, they've toyed with the idea of making the BATMAN BEYOND world one of their default worlds.

There are some slight problems with that, of course. While it took place in the year 2039 (40 years in the future of the year 1999, when the show began), it was a future extension of "the Timmverse", the continuity of DC cartoons that had began with B:TAS and would ultimately end with JLU. In it's defense, there were still plenty of things kept vague and open enough that things could be inserted into it, such as Nightwing moving to Bludhaven and so on. The gist for those who are not in the know is that in the year 2019 (roughly), a middle aged Batman quits after he has a heart attack in the middle of a rescue mission and is forced to threaten a crook with a gun to save his own skin. In the decades that pass since without Batman, naturally, Gotham becomes far more technologically advanced, but also more corrupt and just as scary as it ever was. Troubled teenager Terry McGinnis stumbles upon Wayne Manor while fleeing from some Jokerz (a street gang inspired by the original Joker) and also onto the identity of Batman, and the now elderly Bruce Wayne (and his large dog, Ace). Barbara Gordon is now the Commissioner like her father was, but the rest of the "Bat-family" have fallen away, and Wayne has lost much influence of his own party. The two ultimately come to an understanding in which Terry becomes the new Batman, at least in body, while Wayne remains there as a trainer and mentor. And general cranky old fart.

That premise is really all you need to know to dive into this series. Aside for a battle with Spellbinder (Beyond's more common villain) at the start, the story is an original murder mystery. The only major change that fans might notice is that Benjamin does not draw Wayne as relying on a cane to walk, which in the cartoon he needed extensively (and could also use as a weapon - Wayne was in his 80's but could still kick some ass). Someone is apparently targetting whatever ex-Batman villains from Wayne's era who are still alive, and willing to kill anyone who gets in his way, such as innocent guards. The identity of the killer is stated at the end of the issue, and it should help to firmly put this story into some sort of DCU continuity - it's a Loeb/Lee creation, and Jim Lee's like co-publisher now.

I suppose there are no end of problems with trying to state that the Beyond future of 2039 is the default future of the DCU, but this series doesn't seem to state that, and for all we know this is Earth 48.G or something. If even half of the people who bought the DVD box sets of BEYOND buy this, DC will be more than happy with the sales. And while Beechen has some bad stories to his credit, this initial one isn't so bad. It isn't the best thing ever, but it isn't so bad that it would only appeal to hardcore fans of the show. Beechen is able to capture some of the banter between Terry and Wayne, which was usually the highlight of the series. If you liked the show, give it a try.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #607: This is part two of the "EVIL ZEMO" arc (not official title). Baron Zemo (Junior) has come out of an editorially imposed vacation after the start of the Initiative era and has discovered that James "Bucky" Barnes is not only alive again, but is the new Captain America. To this end he's out to "destroy" the new Capt. America. Zemo is going about it in such a round about mastermind way, however, that one wonders whether he wants to outright kill New Cap, ruin his reputation, or really test his mettle. Zemo's put Falcon in the hospital with an explosion and has apparently drugged Barnes at a bar with one of his agents. While at the hospital, he sends in Iron Hand Hauptmann, one of the Red Skull's ex generals on Exiles Island. They get into a fight, but unfortunately while Barnes is able to fight off the Nazi, he mistakes some nearby cops for Nazi's. This gets on TV and, to put it mildly, hammers his reputation.

Don't expect any of the AVENGERS titles that Brubaker doesn't write to acknowledge it. Bendis cares about no continuity but his own, and maybe that of Brian Reed or Mark Millar. MAYBE. And by "maybe" I mean, "he won't, but he might consider doing so". So expect police commissioners to still give Barnes medals of honor in AVENGERS while in CAPTAIN AMERICA, the TV press is using this incident to question the man who they've embraced as the New Captain America (especially as the old one is still alive now). Hell, Bendis even forgets his own continuity, since apparently his Steve Rogers forgot that he originally opposed wanting Wolverine on the team. Bendis makes sure to negate instances where he, by accident, wrote someone in character.

Steve and Natasha try to keep Barnes together in the wake of the drugging and Falcon's injury. The latter two try to investigate the woman who drugged Barnes, but it turns out she has standard issue super villain equipment to attack them with. There's a nice cameo by Jane Foster as the doctor who helps starve off the nanobot virus inside Barnes, which is making him hallucinate. Apparently, it needs some real stimuli to start it off, as Iron Hand Hauptmann WAS really there, and really attacking Barnes in the hospital. That attack just got Barnes thinking of fighting old Nazi's again. Considering Barnes has his own "iron hand", the choice of opponents was clever on Brubaker's part.

The main story ends with Zemo apparently finding some Winter Soldier film, and it seems apparent that he means "destroy" as in destroying the reputation of this "New Cap", not outright killing Barnes. If Zemo wanted to kill him, he more than could have by now. Zemo's motives are still rather enigmic. Is he doing this because he just hates Cap again? Or does he want to see if the public will cling to Barnes as much as they did to Rogers, or if Barnes has half the "stuff" that Rogers had in the mask. After all, Zemo tested Rogers' will many times. He was one of few villains who actually got Rogers to weep in grief after a battle (by destroying the only photo Rogers had of his long dead mother during the SIEGE ON AVENGERS MANSION story. Which is apparently moot since he gave it back. Zemo was such a softie on T-Bolts, apparently. Bouncing babies on his knee and all). While I'm not a fan of Zemo being an outright anti-hero, I am a fan of him being more layered than a "BWAHAHA, I DESTROY YOU ALL!" 1970's cartoon villain. Perhaps Zemo is taking a que from DC's Professor Zoom, wanting to make a better hero of his target by putting him through some really bad ****. Which is still bat-crap insane, but at least it's not just poisoning the water supply just for jollies.

The artwork is done by Mitch Breitweiser with Butch Guice inking again, and while his art is good, I actually preferred Guice's solo pencils. He doesn't get to draw his own stuff much anymore, and I wonder if that is because he isn't a big enough draw alone, is a better inker, or can't keep up a monthly schedule for long. One imagines penciling & inking your own stuff takes a while, longer than just one or the other. Two colorists are on board, which usually is a sign of some rush to meet deadline. It all looks good enough to me, though.

Sean McKeever, David Baledon and Chris Sotomayor continue with the NOMAD back up strip, which unlike in INVINCIBLE, is the excuse given for why the book is now $4 a pop. It's a lower key story than the last several; instead of fighting Secret Empire villains, Rikki has merely stumbled into the lair of a psychotic man who is off his meds and kills young women (who he mistakes for his daughter, who was his first victim). The story does give Rikki a moment to reflect on her own wonky trust issues (she was immediately distrusting of Arana, yet walked blindly into the clutches of a psycho here), which I thought was pretty honest. Unlike the creep's other victims, Rikki knows how to use her head as well as her fighting skills, so she manages to outwit him and put him down. Unfortunately, though, she's still living on a handful of clothes, and getting mocked at school for it. Next issue promises "STEVE ROGERS", and it is about time Rikki learned he was alive again and tried reaching him. While I do like how McKeever writes Rikki (I enjoyed her mini series, even though few read it), I guess she is a stark example of how superheroes who are supposed to live in a collective community have to act like jerks or minor incompetents to keep characters in the boxes their writers want them to be in. McKeever clearly wants Rikki to be homeless a while; living off her wits while pretending otherwise to Arana, and to stay under the radar of the Secret Empire, a shadowy cabal who are SO dangerous that they can inspire a high school into a riot (TWILIGHT and Beiber can inspire far worse) and employ such horrible D-List villains as Professor Power and Mad-Dog. Basically, a threat that is a lot for relatively inexperienced teenage heroes, but who the Avengers, Defenders, New Warriors, or even Spider-Man teamed up with anyone (even Razorback or Frog-Man) could probably beat in an hour. On top of that, the only one of them who genuinely knows the situtation Rikki is in, or at least keeps a loose tab, is Black Widow, who hasn't done diddly to help Rikki beyond give her her Nomad costume (ONLY after Mad Dog wrecked her last one). Rikki also apparently has the Young Avengers on speed-dial, as she called them to help with the school riot situation, but can't at least ask them for help so she can eat? They never seem to want for cash (since Kate Bishop is a trust fund baby and Stature could probably get "Uncle Hank" to give her whatever she asks for). Now, I know all of this is for dramatic effect, and I know that Rikki will probably become more involved with the YOUNG ALLIES than the adult heroes. But it does, at least, make Black Widow seem very cold for not helping out. She has endless compassion for people who were manipulated into being weapons like Barnes or some woman she runs into in her own title, but is perfectly happy to let Rikki barely earn enough to feed and clothe herself every day (as well as DELIBERATELY tell her to stop trying to contact Cap), why, to test her? How is she any better than the Red Room now? Oh, well. McKeever's a good writer overall, I just hate seeing plot holes quite this large in work that I otherwise enjoy quite a bit.

Baldeon, N. Bowling (who inks) and Sotomayor, though, are machines if they can maintain a schedule of some 28-30 penciled, inked, and colored pages a month between this and YOUNG ALLIES. Hell, last month they managed about 40 pages. That's some example compared to "oh, my, 22 a month is MOIDER!" artists who run late but are always pampered.

 

[Dread]

Part II of II:

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL #1: A historic issue in as much as it is the first by Marvel offered in both shops and online at the same time. The digital copy, believe it or not, is actually MORE expensive (despite it not having any weight to ship or paper to print). This isn't a comic for everyone. It's $5, first of all; you could more than feed yourself happily at a fast food joint for less. Secondly, Matt Fraction takes quite a few liberties with the Mandarin that some won't be pleased with. I actually enjoyed this, but I imagine that could be a minority opinion. For 70-80 pages of material, the $5 price tag isn't too bad. It actually has been quite a while between Mandarin stories (I haven't seen him in over a year), and if he is set to appear in the proper title soon enough, this could count as a prelude.

Iron Man himself isn't in this issue at all. It is about Jun Shun, a high class film director who uses some IMMORTAL IRON FIST backstory into making yet another action/special effects blockbuster in the style of "CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON". In fact that was a detail I liked so much I am surprised Matt Fraction hasn't had Iron Fist show up at all, considering he helped launch and write that new series for so long (Brubaker would often seek to give Fraction more credit for many of the innovations). Shun and his wife are kidnapped by the Mandarin after an award's ceremony and he is given what soon becomes an impossible task - make a blockbuster film about Mandarin's life. The problem comes in that Mandarin is as much a liar as he is a fanatic, who makes up elements of his past to cover up short comings. Of course he insists he was related to Ghengis Khan - because he's compensating for being the bastard son of a ****e. Of course he lies about resisting Communism in China, while in reality he went back and forth between serving and rebelling (secretly), always looking out for himself. He had to slay a dying alien to get his rings of power. Anyone who displeases Mandarin either is killed or mutilated, or both - Shun and his wife among them.

This is an odd story in that it can horrify you one minute and bring out belly laughs the next. At times Mandarin is almost a parody of Ming The Merciless, acting as the most insane movie producer who anyone could have. His interpretation of Tony Stark itself is pure comedy because it is so delusional. At other times Mandarin is unspeakably cruel. When Shun decides to get to the truth behind Mandarin's story and goes on a last gambit to expose the truth while also trying to save himself and his wife, you KNOW it can't end well, and it doesn't in the slightest. One would almost prefer to live under the heel of Dr. Doom than that of Mandarin. The cover makes the yin/yang metaphor as obvious as a Spike Lee plot point, but I do think Fraction was making an attempt to portray Mandarin as an opposite to Stark, yet still powerful. Rather than invent his own success, Mandarin has been a self serving opportunist. Unlike Stark, he is a genuine fanatic whose ego seems to far outweigh his ability to see reality. Then again, he didn't have the life of luxury to redeem, either. Rorshache will tell you - being a "****e-son" sucks. It's apparently the motive for many a psychopath in comic books.

For me it worked in a similar way that that old Luthor story during the Bryne run of SUPERMAN worked; displayed the cruelty of the villain by having him torment someone who wasn't a super hero, but a regular person. While I guess tormenting a movie director is not as bad as diner waitresses, but we know from the start that Jun will likely not survive the tale. The art by Carmine Di Giandomenico is pretty good. Probably my biggest quibbles with it are the fact that Fraction reverses the prior development that had Mandarin fuse his rings to his spine, so he had the power within himself. That to me was a very logical step, since he was always losing them. Here, though, he literally has "ring wenches" who bring out his rings and slip them onto his fingers. I suppose it makes for a nice detail, but I didn't mind the fused to his spine bit. He'll only look like a moron the next time he loses one, or a finger, in a fight. He calls them "part of his body" so it could be possible that Mandarin can "manifest" the rings outside his body if he wants to, but then again this story paints him as a fanatic who lies and exaggerates so much, it's hard to take that bit at face value. And I suppose people who don't want to see Mandarin fall into the endless cycle of being compared to Oriental stereotype villains will see this as a step backward, as Fraction shoves him deep into the Hong Kong standard villain cliche, sometimes for laughs. But I always saw the Mandarin as such an extreme character that you either play him over the top, as Mark Millar probably would, or to try to make him more cunning and serious, to fit the Dr. Doom archetype. Fraction apparently feels the world can be fine with one Dr. Doom, and he goes with the former. The problem is while serious villains are more effective, over the top villains can be more memorable. People poke fun at some of the "cornier" villains of prior Bond films such as Jaws, Oddjob, and Ernst Blofeld, but they're far more memorable than some of the cookie cutter villains that have come from more "serious" Bonds. I would probably prefer a balance, and I can't say Fraction may have gotten that perfect here, but I do like how he was able to poke some fun at Mandarin while still making him seem dangerous and ruthless. Even without his rings, he can kill men for sport, and does. He sometimes brags he wouldn't need his rings to kill Iron Man, and for all we know he could be right.

Not the best of the week, but I found myself enjoying this more than I expected.

SECRET AVENGERS #2: This is a bit more of a development issue, as it moves the plot along but not at exactly the fastest pace ever, but I still think it has been a faster pace than anyone who has read Bendis Avengers comics is used to (although not nearly as speedy as Slott's Avengers). The team is on Mars, investigating Roxxon's dig as well as the disappearance of Nova. Back on Earth, a team of bad guys has stolen one of the Serpant Crowns from Sharon Carter, and their leader appears to be Nick Fury. But how?

Sharon decides to go after them alone, without informing Steve about it. As a SHIELD agent who seems to get captured at least 2/3rds of the time, there is a part of me that is rolling my eyes and waiting for the moment she gets captured again, much like when April O'Neil would insist on following Shredder alone back in the 80's. To her credit, Sharon has maintained an appearance of being capable and formidable despite how many times she is kidnapped or captured, and can occasionally get herself out of a jam. On the other hand, she often makes some of those jams for herself. Sure, she got in the final shot against Red Skull in REBORN; she also was the one who accidentally grew him to giant size in a botched attempt to kill him, and was once again captured by his agents. At any rate, while I suppose I understand the point of why Brubaker has her do it, I am still thinking her odds of succeeding in this are 33%, at best. Surely she should be more genre savvy.

The rest of the team get to wear cool space suits, aside for War Machine, whose armor suffices. Beast apparently is so tough that he doesn't need gloves or boots to hop around on Mars. Is this because he is so studly or because Mike Deodato likes drawing him to be more distinct than the others? Valkyrie, being a goddess type, can breath in space, though. I at least like the variation in the team. They do act like a tactical unit, aside for Ant-Man who is still a bit of a "whiner" as Rhodey puts it. The focus does shift around a little; last issue Valkyrie had more to do, and in this one Moon Knight does - Jake Lockely apparently respects a chain of command. War Machine still sometimes seems "there" at times.

As a Nova fan who was at least hoping that this roster spot would get him some much needed exposure (5 times the amount of people read it instead of NOVA), there is a part of me that is miffed that all Nova has done so far is get himself brainwashed. To be fair, he is donning THE original Serpent Crown, which basically allows the elder god Set himself to possess someone - that's far more extreme than the Puppet Master. Still, this is probably an introduction to the character for many, and I don't think he's really showing off anything cool yet. Where's the guy who tore Annihilus inside out or can beat down Gladiator's cousin in a few pages? Amadeus Cho and Hercules did far more at the start of MIGHTY AVENGERS, and their title sold about what Nova's did. I suppose we'll see what happens next issue, when it seems that Nova will attack about half the team. My bet is on Valkyrie taking him down or getting the crown off.

The Avengers are attacked by another squad of mooks, and I am always amazed how often Brubaker seems to throw random goon fights at his readers while still making them seem exciting enough that I never get bored with them. Steve even uses his energy shield at one logical point, which is good. He and Beast run into a large Kirby-style alien guy, so I expect a lot more action next issue. Overall, I still enjoyed this issue, and for me this is my #1 Avengers book now, even if it is a shame it has to be $4 an issue.

THOR #611: With comic pricing, sometimes it gets hard to root for a franchise to do well. It's like when your local sports team makes the playoffs. How are those home team fans rewarded? Later games, more expensive tickets and having to spend more on tickets next season. Why should you bother hoping your team does well? You should root for them to do POORLY so tickets stay cheap and games start at reasonable hours. And sometimes that happens with comics. When JMS left, the price went back down to $3 for THOR. But, SIEGE spiked his sales, and buzz for the film is getting good. So to reward those loyal THOR fans, we get to pay $4 an issue for no bloody reason. And people in Marvel wonder, truly, genuinely ponder, why fans get so cynical, why they leave books in droves EVERY MONTH and NEVER return, and why they get suspicious of every promotional move. This is why. One day, humanity will evolve past blind, irrational greed. That will be the day no humans are left alive on earth.

Which is a shame because I am actually glad Gillen is doing well on THOR, and glad he is being given longer than 6 issues to make his mark. If anything part of me is saddened he'll have to go, even though Fraction should be a bigger draw. Like JMS, Gillen may as well call the book DAYS OF OUR ASGARD rather than THOR, as Thor himself is really just one character of many. On the other hand, INVINCIBLE often operates the same way. Unlike JMS, though, the pace is a lot faster and the writing is much tighter. With the SIEGE over and the rebuilding of Asgard in Oklahoma continuing, Balder and Thor pay last rites to the dead. There is a very public funeral pyre for the many Asgardian warriors who fell, and a private moment between Balder and Thor for Loki. And I have to say, without question, that THAT is such a scene that JMS would have completely and utterly botched. Gillen actually writes Thor incredibly well there, despite him having few words (some of his sentences in the euglogy are 2-3 words long). Basically, "Let none deny we were brothers. You died well. You lived poorly. I'll miss you, not your schemes. I hope it's the end of it." JMS never, under any circumstances, would have had Thor even hint that Loki lived poorly. His Thor was blindingly ignorant of Loki's schemes and genuinely surprised when Loki had to outright tell him what a moron he'd been.

Loki will eventually be back and the Asgardians will probably be morons again and trust him again. But, that's a problem for another writer, not Gillen. And to be fair, apparently businessmen in Metropolis are just as big a race of morons for how many times they keep cutting Lex Luthor chances. Ah, status quo, making morons out of characters since editors were more scared of change as a 12 year old boy at a junior prom.

Of course, Loki had one last scheme up his sleeve, which actually may provide a way back for him. He bartered some land of Mephisto's Hell to Hela for her undead Asgardians. Only the demons who live there don't like it, and the Disir, Bor's versions of valkyries who literally eat the souls of dead Asgardians (so long as they aren't the ones who killed them), aren't either. They offer loyalty to Mephisto for permission to go raid Hela's section, and because Mephisto is a bastard, he agrees. So Hela's under attack and she has to beg Thor and company for help to literally defend their honored dead. "To hell!", literally.

There is a nice scene where the Asgardians seem to want neither Thor or Balder as king, since both in their eyes have proved incompetent, and instead nominate Tyr. This, again, is a brilliant little scene that was beyond JMS. He never wrote the Asgardians as thinking creatures; William tried to teach them a game, and the concept of a game was alien to them. They seemed to shrug and accept Loki back among them as if he was a defenseless fawn. I cannot imagine Gillen ever writing them in such ways. This looks to be the start of another epic storyline from Gillen on THOR, and despite the price shenanigans, I look forward to him getting a chance at a second arc here. He more than deserves one. I'd almost argue he deserves it more than Fraction, who has proven to be a slower paced writer in comparison. Hell, based on Gillen's stuff here, I might almost give that trade of SWORD a try, if not for having to endure Beast drawn like a donkey, and the possibility of Gillen actually making me grow to like Agent Brand. I'm simply not prepared to have the world come to an end. At any rate, Gillen on THOR is good, no matter the price.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I enjoyed the Siege tie-ins of Thor and grabbed the issue this week to consider continuing with the book (Yeah, I suck at dropping titles). I figured, hey, it's a small week! Then I saw that it was no longer $3 but $4. I put it back on the shelf. They lost me right when they got me. What swell guys.

 

[Dread]

I enjoyed the Siege tie-ins of Thor and grabbed the issue this week to consider continuing with the book (Yeah, I suck at dropping titles). I figured, hey, it's a small week! Then I saw that it was no longer $3 but $4. I put it back on the shelf. They lost me right when they got me. What swell guys.

The absurdity of it is that I doubt no one who is in the industry or who analyzes sales for websites truly realizes or appreciates how those prices are keeping fans away, or forcing retailers to prioritize and thus order fewer of B and C list books.

There's no reason for THOR to be $4 again, aside for his sales being up and a movie up in about 10 months. Which is a shame, as Gillen is still kicking ass on the book.

 

[cthulhu]

Dread: Gillens Sword story is very good and well worth picking up its a real shame it only lasted 5 issues as its not the sort of thing I would usually pick up but it is very enjoyable and features the first appearence of the original (and best) Death's Head Phonogram is good too if you get a chance...

 

[JewishHobbit]

Sword really was a fun read despite the bad art. I was sad to see it cut so quickly.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

SWORD made me love Beast and Brand as a couple. Before, I thought it came out of left field a bit. After reading SWORD, I realized their whole friggin' relationship lives out in the left field, and it's awesome.

Anyway, quick reviews for me:

Thor was gud. The Disir are cool villains, the Asgardians losing faith in Balder as much as Balder has lost faith in himself was well played (although it's news to me that Tyr is a son of Odin in Marvel's continuity, since I don't believe he was ever referred to as such before), Hela's genuine concern for the souls in her care comes through perfectly (as opposed to Mephisto and Pluto and the like, who couldn't care less about their dead so long as they've got a lot of 'em), and the art was pretty solid. Thor and Tyr look a bit comically bulky at times, but that's not really a big deal. The last page, with the Disir's threat and Thor's total lack of hesitation in braving not only death but the Disir's cannibalism to help his fellow Asgardians, was pitch-perfect.

Captain America featured more seemingly evil-for-evil's-sake-ness from Zemo, but I'm starting to get hints that all is not necessarily as it seems. We'll see if Brubaker follows through on that or if it turns out he really did just let his inner fanboy take over and discard Zemo's recent characterization in favor of the old black-and-white hero/villain relationship between Cap and Zemo. The rest of the issue was pretty good, at least. Bucky and Cap's camaraderie comes through pretty clearly, and it's always fun to see Bucky and Natasha team up. The Nomad backup was good as well, if a bit predictable. Looking forward to Rikki meeting Steve next issue (assuming it's not just a ruse and she only catches a glimpse of him or some nonsense).

Secret Avengers was good. I liked the little touches like Valkyrie walking around without a helmet on the moon (barring a few awkward exceptions, gods have always been fine in space). Not sure why she was wearing the space suit, since her body is easily as tough as Beast's, but that's a nitpick. I like the mystery of this arc, and the team works well together. Beast's doing his science thing, Valkyrie's all about gathering intelligence to form an effective strategy, War Machine appears to be Steve's trusted right-hand man, etc. They all have clear functions as part of the team, which I've found is often lacking in a superhero team because the primary aim of such teams is usually just to hit villains until they stop moving. It's a bit sad to see Nova mind-controlled right off the bat, but I'm looking forward to when he's freed and he wreaks unholy vengeance upon the villains. The art is, once again, passable but vaguely icky because of all the Deodatoisms--awkward anatomy, tons of overly shadowy panels for no apparent reason, etc. Although, to Deodato's credit, it doesn't look like his women are quite ready to snap in half at the waist anymore, so he's improving.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Invincible Iron Man Annual was just fantastically stupid. Forgetting for a moment that the Knaufs built the Mandarin up into a truly chilling, intelligent, and capable villain (because, of course, Fraction certainly did), what we're left with here is Fraction's reinvention of the Mandarin. He pretty much rebuilds the Mandarin from the ground up using a mechanism that I will admit is pretty clever: the Mandarin rewriting his own history for the director is effectively Fraction telling us to forget what we know of the Mandarin because it's all lies and history can't be trusted. But he rebuilds the Mandarin, astonishingly, into less than what he was before. Sure, he's not a caricature of Cold War anti-China sentiment anymore; instead, he's a psychopathic thug prone to violent explosions of anger for no particular reason. Rather than an intelligent terrorist and criminal mastermind, he's a moron who's so petty that he acts--as the director, Jun, actually calls him at one point--like a "petulant child." I can't imagine what this was supposed to accomplish other than possibly stripping away all of the conflicting interpretations of the Mandarin to leave a much more simplified villain for future use. If that was indeed the aim, then kudos to Fraction; this Mandarin is absolutely nothing if not very, very, very simple.

The art is all right. It's by an Italian artist, and he has the weird, slightly scribbly linework I've noticed from a lot of Italian artists. Sometimes that quality is just prominent enough to make the art feel electric and active, as with Giuseppe Camuncoli, whose art I absolutely love; sometimes that scribbly quality becomes overpowering and makes everything look too busy and jolted, as with this issue's artist. Still, it's never really detrimental to whatever it was Fraction passed off as a story in the issue and it's never hard to understand what's going on, so I call it all right.

So, yeah, this issue kind of feeds into my pretty consistent disappointment with Fraction's Iron Man comics since I started reading them again after Siege. I think I'm just going to go ahead and drop IIM again. Fraction's not really doing a horrible job--this issue notwithstanding--but his Iron Man is just dull. Even the one story I genuinely liked--"Stark Disassembled"--I like in a very qualified way; I applaud its concepts and Fractions ideas, but the execution left a lot to be desired. So now that I've given Fraction, what, like two or three chances and still haven't gotten much of a return on my investment, I think I'll just call IIM "not for me" and move on. I'm utterly dreading Fraction's Thor now, but I suppose that can't be helped.

 

[Dread]

I liked the annual but I will admit a lot of Fraction's IIM stories are rarely greater than the sum of their parts. He often is a huge fan of decompression and taking 6 issues to go somewhere that could be done in 2 or 3. He's done some good Thor stories so far, but only as one shots usually where he HAS to tell a complete story in about 2-3 issues worth of pages. Given free reign to take 12 issues to tell a 4 issue story on the main title, I have no doubt he will. Which is a shame because, price gouge aside, Gillen's THOR has continued to be consistently good. He spent 6 issues mopping up from JMS while tying into SIEGE and still being awesome. Nor did he erase anything that he inherited that he didn't like (although he is shoving Tyr at us with all the grace of a sledgehammer, but I don't mind Tyr so far, if only because it adds someone new to the Thor/Balder dynamic, especially with Loki gone and Sif...hmm...why HAS Sif done so much of nothing lately?). I would agree that I would rather Gillen on THOR than Fraction if asked to choose now. Fraction, Marvel thinks, is a bigger name draw, though. Marvel or any company will sacrifice quality for sales faster than anything else (while, ironically, publishing stories that sometimes teach the virtue of integrity, which is a lot like Hollywood, the phoniest, fakest place around where even poodles get plastic surgery, releasing endless films about the power of being true to yourself).

Like I said, I knew my liking of the annual would not be a popular opinion. I suppose I would rather a villain be memorable than efficient sometimes. The HEROIC AGE seems to be, like many line wide pushes, some sort of overreaction to the "blurring of the moral line" phase of Marvel that had been pushed for some 4 years. Thus, good guys are good and bad guys are bad. There's little room for middle ground, unless you are the X-Men, where Cyclops can sent teenagers to stab threats to the mutant race to death without any remorse or consideration. And to be honest, I didn't like the blurring of the moral line over the last 4 years, but will this mean that any inconvenient villain development is about as safe as the Parker Marriage?

The Mandarin's never been the most fleshed villain ever. Like many of Iron Man's villains, he is a relic from the Cold War who needs a bit of lifting to not seem like a cartoon character nowadays. He's known more for his rings and his arch nemesis role than anything else. If asked to name something about his personality, "he wants to take over the world" is quite literally all most could say. There is nothing else. Therefore, you have two options; try to make him efficient, cold, and cunning, to make him seem efficient, or make him as over the top as Ming The Merciless. Fraction clearly is in favor of the latter. In some ways this annual painted Mandarin as a psychotic version of Fat Cobra - someone who exaggerates or embellishes an origin he is less than pleased about.

I used the Bond villains as an example of perhaps why I enjoyed this. If you're a Bond film buff and I asked you to name the villains you remember the most, it is unlikely you would pick the generic moguls of the late 90's era or even some of the generic Commie generals of some of the 80's films. You would likely pick the over the top, cheeseball villains of the 60's and 70's - Blofeld, Oddjob, Jaws, even Dr. Kanaga. Why? Because they are more memorable. They may be cartoon characters, but you'll never forget them. The more colder, calmer, rational masterminds? A dime a dozen. Their names and schemes blur. The LUPIN THE THIRD anime film franchise also has this problem - I own 13 animated films, and each have 13 different villains. Which is the most memorable? Mamo - who is an immortal, blue skinned, lavender leisure suit wearing psychic from 1978. He's the cheesiest, corniest, most over the top villain in the whole franchise, and the one who is IMPOSSIBLE to forget.

If you asked people to name their favorite villains, it would likely compose of a list like Lex Luthor, Joker, or Dr. Doom - all well known for grand stage stealing moments. Even the name DOCTOR DOOM is a cheesy, over the top name - we're just so used to it that it sounds threatening. And for every well thought out, deeply entrenched, pot boiling thriller that Luthor or Doom have done, they've also donned their power armor and gone BWAHAHAHA plenty of times.

Most people don't even know who the Mandarin is. If he has a personality or had much of one before, it hasn't stuck as well as that of, say, Magneto. Fraction may be trying to see if this interpretation sticks, too. At any rate, real life fanatics can probably seem just as ridiculous if closely examined. I doubt Kim Jong Il or Saddam Hussein were/are any less delusional, cruel, or fanatical in real life, and they were hardly cream-puffs. Hussein went to the gallows convinced his people loved him. Jong Il literally blackmails the entire world for money with threats of nukes, because he counts on the West being afraid of how much of a maniac he is. Osama Bin Laden is probably no less a maniac, if more was known of him. The only difference between them and Mandarin is Mandarin's rings give him the power of a god. That actually makes him scarier, that he is someone who can't in any way be appeased or reasoned with, even when you give him what he wants. But, of course, it's all subjective.

I do admit I disliked the idea of Mandarin having the rings outside his body again. I thought fusing them to his spine was a wise move, since he was always losing them. I draw the line at villains who are arrogant to the point of abject stupidity. But, that's also a subjective line.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Iron Man: Kiss And Tell One-Shot

Not a bad deal, getting two stories for only $3.99. Too bad neither story was that spectacular. Each is an Iron Man team-up. The first is with Black Widow, who lets Tony know that another one of his suits have been stolen. (Tony explains that this suit was a collaboration; so, it wasn't really stolen from him.) Of course, BW and IM go into Russia to retrieve it. The second, and slightly better story, is a team-up with Wolverine, after Tony runs into the mutant, Glitch. (I guess we've seen her before, but I can't remember where.) Glitch ends up stealing something from Stark, and Logan and he must go to the Hellfire Club to retrieve it.

Neither story warrants my recommendation for buying this issue, even though this $3.99 price gives you a bit more bang for your buck than other pricey issues. (See X-Campus.)

The Death Of Dracula One-Shot

This issue really surprised me. I absolutely loved the story, and thought the set-up was brilliant. Gischler did a great job of introducing the reader to all the vampire sects, and I didn't feel overwhelmed with this large cast of new characters. My only hopes is that this level of writing continues in the other books that the story will continue to take place in. So far, it's definitely my Book Of The Week. t:

Secret Avengers #2

Sooooo much better than last week's most dreadful Avengers #2! The new team has been nicely introduced last issue, and now we get to see them in action, as they go to Mars to find out what happened to Nova. Unlike JH, I didn't find that "nothing happened" in this issue. It has some great build up to the team's discovering that Nova is under some form of mind control. Plus, the issue continues to make us wonder what's up with Nick Fury, who appears to be working for the bad guys. To me, it's the perfect amount of build-up for the next issue.

Action Comics #890

Thank GOD! No more New Krypton...no more Firebird and Nightwing....just some good Superman action! Ummm...well, take that back, as we don't see Supe's in this issue at all. It's a "Blackest Night Aftermath" issue, and soley focuses on Lex Luthor now obsessed with getting his hands on a Green Lantern, Black Lantern, or ANY lantern ring. (Ideally, he'd like to have them all. He's felt their power, and now covets it more than anything.)

This issue really shows Lex's ruthlessness, and even keeps you guessing at times. (Like, why is Lois hanging around him, acting like his girlfriend now.) Loved everything about this issue...EXCEPT that last page. Sheesh, sometimes the villians in these DC comics are extremely lame looking. Of course, that villian made me think !

Wonder Woman #600

It's the issue that's getting all the buzz on tv and the internet, all because Straczynski has given her a new look. For me, that constitutes a "Big Freakin' Deal!" You have to draw me in a little more than giving a chracter some new duds...and, really, the new costume isn't that original. Reminds me of something Donna Troy has worn before.

This issue is much like the other anniversary issues DC puts out, with various writers/artists contributing a bunch of short stories that don't compell new readers into buying the next issue. Thankfully, Straczynski does a better job than he did with Superman's anniversary issue last week, as his Prologue does bring the reader into the upcoming storyline nicely. (Plus, he updates the looks of many characters, including Wonder Woman and an Oracle.) The problem comes from whether readers want to pay $4.99 for a ten-page preview. (And, frankly, an introduction by Linda Carter does nothing for me.)

Captain America: The 1940's Newspaper Strip

Ok, so I didn't do my research on this comic before reading it. There never was a Captain America Newspaper Strip in the 40's. This is just Karl Kesel's imagination of what it would have been like if it would have been done during that time period, which happened to run on Marvel.com's digital comics site. Aaaannnnddd...I have to say it's pretty darn good! I love the interpretation of Bucky, especially all of his "Oh Golly" kind of food references. Also, for the most part, I think Kesel really gets the feel of the old comic strips. (He'd be great for a Wednesday Comics kind of thing.)

After Dark #0

Priced at only a buck, Radical Comics introduces their newest comic, After Dark. In this futuristic world, the dark is something to be feared, as it seems like our solar energy has gone away, and people seek refuge in Solar City. This comic was a bit intriguing, but not as much as other Radical Comics I have read. Gloomful, futuristic stories kind of bore me, as we've seen much of it all before, with books and movies like Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep/Blade Runner. (Plus, why is the future always so damn depressing?)

Madame Xanadu #24

I think this story is a stand-alone, but the cover does say Chapter One. Either way, I enjoyed it very much. It tells of a young, African-American lady in 1963 who suddenly can see people with dreadful injuries to their body. She seeks council from various sources; but, it isn't until she goes to Madame Xanadu that it's explained to her. She's simply seeing what's going to happen to someone in the future, and it's not impossible for her to stop the crisis from happening to them.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Where did he get new hands from, is what I'm wondering? Dude's hands were cut off. He showed up wearing gloves at the beginning of the issue, so I was like, "Oh, cool, at least Fraction remembered that." But then he takes the gloves off and he's got normal hands with the rings on the fingers again, so nope.

 

[Dread]

He grew them? They're organic looking cybernetic arms? They're cloned? Grafted from some poor schmuck he killed? He used to have lizard hands there before. I don't know.

It's worth noting that the sorts of writers who don't make glaring continuity errors, who would never trade a story for continuity, are the writers who sadly always remain B-List. The writers who become A-Listers - Bendis, Millar, Morrison, JMS - are the writers who cast aside anything they don't like and just write what they want. If that's what Fraction has become, I suppose it is hard to blame him for imitating what works.

 

[Phaedrus45]

X-Men: Curse Of The Mutants Saga

Nice free comic deal from Marvel this week. It includes an interview with the new X-Men writer, Victor Gischler, as he talks about his new comic, X-Men. Also included is a 4-page preview of that comic...although, it didn't do much for me. Even the art was kind of a turn-off. We also get a preview of Wolverine #1, some art from X-23 #1, and some character bios. Free is good!

Justice Society Of America #40

The conclusion to a most excellent storyline....which, sadly isn't much of a conclusion, more like an extremely fast wrap-up. It's all suppose to lead into the crossover with Justice League Of America; and, what it does is take this book back to mediocrity. Too bad, because it's the first time I've been enjoying this book for a good couple years. I'm tempted to take it off my pull list, because the first part of the crossover in this weeks Justice League did nothing for me, either.

Seriously, I'm so utterly peeved at DC for putting out this crap, that I have to give this comic a . "New Beginnings, New Triumphs," my butt! This is the same old garbage that I'm used to. This is not the "New Era" the cover tries to portray.

Justice League Of America #46

Blackest Night brought back Jade, and Justice League makes me not care one iota. This first part of "The Dark Things" had me completely bored, and I can care less about this new Justice League.

X-Campus #1

While the previous two books might be considered "Worst Of The Week," sadly to say that distinction so far goes to Marvel for this terrible book. X-Campus is ANOTHER reimagining of characters...but, none of them are likable in the least, and the art is simply awful! We meet new versions of the classic X-characters, like Rogue and Cyclops...but, they are extremely two-dimensional teen versions. Worst of all, Marvel charges $4.99 for this comic, because you have to read two issues in one comic. Yep, double the torture!

There have been some very nice reimaginings of classic characters, like with Her-oes or some of Tobin's Marvel Adventure stories...but, this is the most dull one I've come across.

Captain America #607

Good issue...but, there is something about it that turned me off a bit. Maybe it was that Cap-Bucky seemed like such an amateur, making a few stupid mistakes. I thought Brubaker respected the character a little more than this issue shows...but, I guess he just wants to show how ingenious Baron Zemo is.

Loved the Nomad back-up story.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

X-Campus is $4.99 'cause it's a Marvel overseas book. All their foreign properties get the price boost, which I guess is to pay the people who translated them. It's in the same vein as that DD/Cap, Wolverine one-shot and the Soleil line.