A decent, EVENT free week basically. There were some duds and some ho-hums, but also some books that kicked the rear.
As usual, this is the full spoiler section. Enjoy the swim.
DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 11/1/06:
52 WEEK #26: Considering I cynically doubted a weekly series could be on time this long, it's a worthwhile accomplishment that DC's grand experiment post IC (and some would argue the best thing to come from DC after IC that is keyed to continuity) has made it this far and continues to be a Top seller. On the other hand, some of the writers on board naturally have had to choose this over some of their other work, hence some lateness from Morrison, et al. Now, this issue fundamentally has nothing wrong with it. It presents a story, continues the flow, and has pretty art. But it does feel like a bit of a slow, filler issue, and I agree with some who may claim that this issue drags. 52 has had it's periods of boom's and busts, where some weeks the adrenaline pumps high and others where it's just walking at a slow pace. This is one of the latter. The Black Marvel Family are quickly becoming the stars of the book while folks like Question & Steel get passing mentions. There is an interesting TV debate between Steel and his niece about Luthor's metagene program (on THE CREEPER's show no less), but as interesting a character conflict it is, nothing is resolved or learned that we didn't know before. Natasha is being stubbornly loyal to Luthor and equally stubborn against John. John and the readers know of Luthor's intentions but can't prove it. And when things come to a head and there could be hope of some new direction, it ends, and feels like tredding water. As an aside (perhaps to remind us they still exist after a month), the Black Marvel's drop off Montoya and "Charlie" in the Himilayas so Montoya can get some martial arts training from Richard Dragon, who taught Question. Pfft, as if she hasn't carried Question enough throughout the series, now she's set to become a Bendis-esque "Unbeata-fem"? We'll see, but, naturally, her "arc to find herself by being led by others" continues. Oolong Island gets a new scientist, who naturally is a hot babe, but this reaction was given away in WIZARD last week, so it felt moot to me. Was amusing. The last story has the Black Marvels have dinner with the Sivana's, and Osirus grows lonely and impatient with the routine...until he makes friends with Leatherhead. No, no, it's not a crossover, but the character is a straight rip of the Mirage version of Leatherhead (or the 2003 era cartoon). A mutated alligator who suffers from animal rage cravings but in reality is passive and gentle most other times, as well as intelligent. The gator also serves to replace Capt. Marvel's "obligatory talking animal friend", Tawny the Tiger (I think). I wonder if repeating this cycle really accomplishes something, as the world has enough talking animals, or if it's just another round of DC hopelessly repeating a pattern and going for "nostalgia", a card they may have played far too often. And Hawkman & Hawkwoman get an origin and it's still muddled and confusing; years later, DC's history still seems like an ungodly confusing nightmare. A few years back it was Hypertime and now it may be this. So, fundamentally, a fine issue, just not a rivetting one. With 52 weeks to tell a story, some drag was inevitable; few stories can really be sustained weekly for a year. Even 24 caps at, well, 24 episodes. Hopefully it picks up again soon. This is one book DC can nary afford to have slump for long.
BLUE BEETLE #8: Much like 52 #26, a fundamentally sound book. The hero is still likeable, the cast is mostly present, a fight is had, the art is nice, and there is some work to tie in Jamie to the Blue Beetle legacy (after going over IC #6 last issue and finding out that the scarab is alien in origin, not mystical). And Mr. Black continues to act to cliche as the "surly tattooed man with a gun". But also like 52, a book that feels like it is tredding water and starting to get aimless. Jamie's been reacting or looking for his origin for the entire series now and unlike, say, HEROES, not enough is revealed to justify dragging it on and on. 52 has the excuse of being a very long series, so drag is inevitable. BEETLE doesn't have that excuse. After a hectic first few issues it's taken the slow burn to oblivion. There's another fight with the Ogre and there is some amusing dialogue had, but by now it all seems more generic than it should before the first year is done. Danielle Garret and the "tying of the legacy" was fine, although the Ogre's gibberish got way too annoying (especially after Bendis' ULTIMATE CLONE SAGA where seemingly every clone talks like that; you could just type in wacky symbols like this ^%$#* and the story would read the same) and after reading INVINCIBLE, which had an inexperienced young hero who actually isn't incompetant in a fight, I lose patience with heroes who, well, are incompetant. Basically, I can forgive 52 for tredding water and going in cycles after 26 weeks. I can even understand Bendis losing steam on USM after about 3 or so years. But BLUE BEETLE seems to be doing it by the 8th issue, and that's unforgiveable. I spent a year waiting for THE INTIMATES to "go somewhere" and I dread doing the same with this book (which, admittedly, is superior). Considering this series usually comes in late to boot, I'm not sure how much longer I stick around. I may give it another issue...if that week happens to be slow.
DETECTIVE COMICS #825: Paul Dini apparently got too busy with LOST or something, so McGraw has the dubious task of writing a fill in issue on a book that Dini writes well, but unfortunately sells far worse than it deserves to (usually around the Top 40-45) and likely will be worse this month due to the fill in. If that happens, then all of Marvel's baloney about "better to have a late issue than a fill in" will be justified in sales figures. But actually, this issue wasn't too shabby; at least as good as Dini's Ivy issue from a few months ago. It has an F-List villian, Dr. Phosphorus, returning and getting a new schtick; revenge. Hey, it worked for Mr. Freeze in B:TAS, right? So the good doctor breaks out of containment and starts going after the men responsible for his state; some are merely corrupt, and others are Rupert Thorne, a jailed gangster. Naturally Batman is on the scene to help Gordon piece together the mystery and run into his old foe. A random comment from Alfred stirs Batman to use Junior High Chem Lab tricks to beat Phosphorus with Baking Soda. Some people may feel that "one shot formula" doesn't work, but I enjoy these stories because they're honest. I mean, really, can Batman's status quo really change? His villians are immortal, at least the ones that count. He is immortal and ageless, and so are most of his cast. Very little can change because the character as is has sold for DC for over 60 years. Therefore, better to stick with an amusing formula than to goad the fans into "shock and awe" when it all goes to soil in a year or the next writer shift anyway. It may not be as exciting as, say, attempting to give Batman a son ( as if THAT's going to last once Morrison leaves), but it's honest and it still works. Not every story warrents a 12 part arc. However, McGraw could have at least made a token use of Riddler to keep up some of Dini's loose continuity. Another solid, enjoyable Batman issue. Give it a chance.
FRESHMEN II #1: Sarah M. Geller's cover quote was actually funny. And Seth Green isn't given splashier billing than the actual writer, Sterbakov. Leonard Kirk's moved on from the last volume (and onto AGENTS OF ATLAS), but Will Conrad manages to capture enough of his "aura" that the shift doesn't seem noticeable. Top Cow seems to get what Marvel doesn't; getting a penciller who isn't DRAMATICALLY different from the last helps the book maintain it's continuity. Marvel would have traded Silvestri on HUNTER/KILLER for, say, Chris Bachelo. Top Cow instead picked a dude whose work flows well with Silvestri's and it works all the better. Anyway, onto the first issue. It starts off a bit slowly, but most first issues do. It reintroduces the cast and what they do, a luxury if you've forgotten some of 'em like me. The team's still together, although Wannabe's still trying to make up for being powerless by calling himself "Crimson Knight" and making data files on everyone. Unfortunately, he seems to be going insane and seeing this kiddie book character named Mr. Fiddlesticks, in sequences that made me think I'd missed an issue of THE MAXX. Everyone else is as they should be, raiding a teacher's files to alter a test in Intoxicator's favor, only for him to space on the answers. Puppeteer's father shows up to question Wannabe about the Ax-Cell-erator, as he invested in it. As an older rich man, he naturally is nefarious (honestly, if Western comics have taught me anything, if you singled out every wealthy person over 28 and killed them, you'd eliminate 78% of the world's villians apparently) and can see Mr. Fiddlesticks, who may be an attempt to get Wannabe to their side. If he is duped by the villian for a SECOND time in a row, I may lose my lunch. It's still amusing but not as intense as the last vol.'s issues. But, a worthy reintroduction, and for those interested, I'll get the rest.
AGENTS OF ATLAS #4: Parker & Kirk continue their trip on reinventing lost characters from Marvel's Golden Age, and it continues to a quirky, pulpy romp. The gang follows the lead of the mysterious Human Robot, who manages to revive the long-thought-deceased Namora (a female version of Namor, from heritage to powers). For the record, Namorita was her daughter via "cloning", and she was poisoned during the 70's and killed off. She makes her mighty reappearence as the gang is swarmed by massive sea monsters (Gorilla-Man's nags to Robot are priceless). Venus changes her hair color so "there aren't two blondes here" and the gang, fully assembled, starts to investigate various ATLAS business holdings, at each one finding and fighting wonky crap. Hiding out in a tropical local, they're again ambushed by Yellow Claw (or "Golden Claw" as he calls himself, claiming Westerners distorted his name), and Jimmy Woo suspects a double-agent; likely M-11, Namora, or both. Kirk's art maintains it's zest and the array of characters really mingle well together, and it's good to see Marvel honoring past characters and trying to make them work, rather than forgetting them or using them as canon fodder (or miswriting them). Plus, as a mini, we KNOW it has to go somewhere, and the plot is starting to hit it's head. I hope Namora gets to stick around for the rest of CW; if one pissed off super Atlantian mad about Namorita's death was bad news, imagine two! Kudos to the book for taking oddball characters and making them all work so well. This is the closest to the BPRD that you'll probably get from Marvel. Enjoy the pulpy madness.
THE IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #2: Sure, the CHOOSING SIDES mini already gave away that Eric gets the suit, but that was obvious by issue #1 anyway. The series takes the naunced approach of intersplicing the present and the past of the characters involved (6 months ago for them, about 2 years for us), and Kirkman's command of continuity is a sight for sore eyes, writing this origin around the events of Millar's ENEMY OF THE STATE, a story that saw Wolverine damn near attack the President, SHIELD and countless heroes and getting little fallout from it. Kirkman turns the "new guy inheriting a legacy" angle on it's head by presenting Chris as your obligatory "noble everyman" type who usually gets this sort of thing, and Eric as the petulant jerk who doesn't really need added power. I wouldn't call him "irredeemable", because Eric never, say, cloned Thor and had him kill Goliath. And he does try to save people, if they happen to be in his path (or happen to be cute women he wants to date. And he exploits Chris' disappearence to horn in on his girl Veronica; when HYDRA attacks the helicarrier, Eric LITERALLY shoves his buddy out of the way to get behind some safe doors first, causing his death. He then dons the Ant-Man costume to survive the onslaught and flees the wreckage (after finally seeing that Nick Fury DOES exist). Hester's art is as good as usual, although he instisted on drawing black rectangles over some people's faces at odd times, which was jarring. Meanwhile, Eric milks the "saved your life" thing to get free dinner on his date AND he runs the tab high, too. At the end, his SHIELD C.O., a face lookin' like Harvey Dent, declares bloody revenge on Eric. I question whether Kirkman will overplay the "jerkbag" angle, as while a "jerk" character can thrill TV audiences, it may not be sustainable for a solo comic series about a character who is totally irredeemable. I mean, Batman's worst *****e moments usually weren't in his own book; and Dr. Doom never had an ongoing. I won't count IRON MAN's book because, again, his *****e moments have been outside of it for a while. By the time Wolverine hit his stride and got a solo, he was more "gritty and noble" than an outright scumbag. Still, Eric works because while he isn't totally heartless, he uses his powers for his own benefit shamelessly, which may be closer to what some folks would do with superpowers in reality to make him interesting. So long as Kirkman doesn't overplay his hand, it should work. Already I'm enjoying it; the new Ant-Man is nothing like the last two and nothing like some of Marvel's past "new heroes" (like Gravity, Arana, etc). And the new costume design rocks. Why should be look the same as the last two Ant-Men? Armor and ant-legs all the way. I hope this title fares better than MTU did, because after seeing Kirkman stumble with ULTIMATE X-MEN, it's good to see top notch Marvel work from him again.
BEYOND! #5: This underappreciated mini starring B and C listers hits it's "prenultimate" chapter as the characters interact a bit in Limbo; Al Kraven tries to secure Deathlok's movie rights, Hood and Gravity share an unlikely conversation about girlfriends, and Wasp & Pym have another quarrel, and while Janet struggles to come to terms with their post-divorce status quo, Hank seems to have having a tryst with Firebird. Cripes, she FINALLY does something noteworthy, and it's the "hot Latina other woman" cliche (even though, as they are divorced technically, Pym is legally free to date her). To be fair, though, Firebird at least is more "gentle" than Janet is and Janet seems unable to forgive Hank for his past crimes, and so thus as Medusa said, their relationship may have essentially run it's course. This series sells poorly, so I doubt any Marvel writer will treat the Hank/Firebird stuff seriously. But before this gets sorted out, Space Phantom returns and they force him to return them to Battleworld, just as Venom is begging for Beyonder to give him his prize. At that point, the book twists in an unexpected direction; Dr. Pym seemingly suckerpunches EVERYONE to win the game! Now, I'll admit to being a hypocrite here; if this were Bendis or Millar, I'd probably decry this as "character assassination" and all that, but as it's McDuffie, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and wait until next issue until I reserve judgement. After all, maybe Pym shot them with some sort of blanks that only SIMULATE death, or maybe his "prize" from Beyonder is to "wish them all back" DBZ style. Surely Marvel wouldn't off Wasp in so minor a book as this, as good as it is, and Gargan/Venom is alive & well for CW. So, yes, I am giving one lessor named writer a chance whereas for others I would immediately jump to a conclusion. There it is, deal with it. Still, BEYOND! has been a top source for honest superhero thrills and chills with oft neglected characters, all while treating them seriously (loved Pym's 90's power levels), and fills that great void left from MTU. It wraps up next issue, and unless the finale seriously bombs, it's been a fun ride. MCDuffie's next gig is FF, and they'll need all his help they can get. Oh, and as usual, Kolins' art rocks. This is a must-read; I'd recommend it for trade when it's done.
X-MEN: PHOENIX: WARSONG #3: When people give their reasons for hating the X-Men, works like this may provide justification. Not only does it repeat a tedious X-Men plotline of the 1045th return of the Phoenix, but it also shoves a retcon down our neck in order to "justify" the presence of actual new characters by linking them forcefully to the old. This is a bit I always hate; why can't the X-Men ever meet anyone new? Have some balls, man. Inserting characters into the already backlogged histories of current X-Men is a cheap manuver that has been overplayed recently (especially with Vulcan). Apparently the Cuckoos and all of their Matrix-style cloned nekkid sisters were cloned from Emma Frost's egg cells, so thus they are all technically her daughters, explaining their connection and yada yada. No, it couldn't just be because they're fellow psychics. It always has to be some tedious overblown god damned crap with the X-Men. Every new character they meet who doesn't get erased after 5 months ultimately will turn out to be someone's cousin, clone, grandfather from the future, cyborg alternate reality duplicate, long lost sibling, mother, "brother's sister's uncle's nephew's former roommate" and all that garbage. Enought already! Let the X-Men meet some new character with a new history, for god's sakes! Can't a new character work without being tied to some A-lister or Magneto or even Squid Boy's semen or whatever else is next!? Anyway, so one Cuckoo begs the token SHIELD agent to kill her, but he doesn't and after a massive fight sequence, the Phoenix is reborn and the X-Men have to take her out, with Emma Frost ending on some ghetto filler line (seriously, it's worse than "Papa Spank"). Maybe I'm being hard on this, but the X-Men are the most overexposed franchise at Marvel second to Spider-Man & Wolverine, so I have the idea that you really shouldn't spit out yet another mini or series unless you really have a worthy idea. This ain't it. If I'm smart, I resist the temptation to finish the run and drop it here. It's just a pain to read. Even when some segments are interesting or cool, or the art is 90's Image-tastic, or whatnot, something else stupid will come in and make it all for naught. At least X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, which also seeks to drain more blood from the X-stone, is actually fun. This is just pointless retcon conveluted crap.
And now I'll tell you how I REALLY felt about Warsong #3.
I like the X-Men, I really do, but this series all but symbolizes the garbage that keeps them down:
1). Convelution
2). Retcons
3). Recycled plots
4). Pretty art, little brains
5). Stories have nothing to do with their supposed premise to either be a sci-fi allegory about prejudice and "protecting a world that hates/fears" them.
Pak may have been able to make Endsong readable, but not so much with this one.
At least it didn't have MJ turn into a big red Sasquatch, though.
, which means that he now looks like Cable with his single glowing eye).
