Dread
TMNT 1984-2009
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I'm perfectly fine with the new format. And Waid's DD is one of the most consistently great titles Marvel publishes right now. That said, onward with the spoilerfication!
DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 3/27/13!
AGE OF ULTRON #3: Much like Image Comics' "Saga", issues of this aren't called issues, but "books"; however, that is the only way in which the two series are in any way similar. Brian M. Bendis continues to write and Bryan Hitch continues to draw this perfectly mediocre event style story which presumes some alternate reality which will be undone in which Ultron has taken over everything. Bendis has a "Jeph Loeb Moment" where he has a character he personally adores showcase strength above a more powerful character just because - in this issue's case, Luke Cage being capable of knocking out She-Hulk with a single blow. Taskmaster winds up gaining a MacGuffin in Chicago and we learn that the true power behind Ultron may be in fact his robotic "son", the longtime Avenger Vision. This ties back in with Bendis' "Disassembled" story from 2004 which involved the two in an attack, a detail which may not be worth remembering. Hitch's art is fine although his "photo-realistic" art can seem stiff at times, and he seems to reuse faces repeatedly.
This issue has a lot of characters talk and not do much, but that's been Bendis' stock and trade as a writer for a half decade by now, and it isn't about to change. Even at a bi-weekly schedule, this story line is inching along and seems to only be this slow to justify obligatory tie-in's with other books. While it isn't a horrible story, it doesn't come close to the last "event" which starred Ultron, "Annihilation Conquest" from 2007-2008.
MORBIUS THE LIVING VAMPIRE #3: The latest ASM spin off by Joe Keatinge, Richard Elson and Antonio Fabela remains an interesting if mixed bag, existing somewhere between a vigilante thriller and an urban horror. Morbius still is hiding out in Brownsville after escaping from prison during the "final" arc of ASM, and still seemingly at the mercy of a street gang. After losing control and ripping out the neck of their bulky leader Noah, Morbius is laid low by his girlfriend and forced to try to save the thug's life - a feat which proves futile. Meanwhile, Morbius' new tag along supporting cast in homeless artist Becky and scrappy street urchin Henry do their best to avoid becoming road kill. Considering that Morbius can be laid low by street hoods, I begin to seriously question how he is any challenge to Spider-Man beyond the element of surprise (or a lot of blood-lust). I imagine the gist of the tone Keatinge is going for is that Morbius essentially wants to just be left alone to try to avoid the cops and drinking blood as long as he can, but he keeps stumbling into nasty situations with criminals - sometimes due to his own errors in judgement or instincts.
While this is an interesting tone, I sometimes feel Morbius and the story would be better off if he simply realized in this situation, going all vampire and slaughtering the street gang would probably be in everyone's best interests. Regardless, there is something to be said for Keatinge playing Morbius as more a "tragic monster" than a violent vigilante or a super villain, especially as Marvel's traditional "tragic monster", the Hulk, is literally a SHIELD agent now. The art is very good and Keatinge has a solid voice for the character, and at least this avoids rehashing material from the 90's.
SCARLET SPIDER #15: Chris Yost and artist Khoi Pham (alongside a stunning five inkers and two co-pencilers, and Antonio Fabela's colors) continue their current arc which mingles some spare villains from 1980's issues of "Spectacular Spider-Man" with a new drama involving Aztec gods in Houston, Texas. The mysterious psychic girl Aracely is connected to the Aztec pantheon, and to this end she was smuggled into America and is now hunted by the Lobos siblings, who transform into werewolves. They had seemingly slain Kaine/Scarlet Spider, only he has been return as a monster who cares little for mercy or compassion - which may be Kaine's true nature. The end result is quite brutal, although to a point it seems to resolve itself a bit fast for the finale. Regardless, Yost is wise to carve his own Marvel mythology with a pantheon of gods which have mostly remained untouched - as the "house of ideas" usually stuck with the Norse or Greek gods. This arc has seen a shift into mysticism which was unexpected, but it also keeps the book unpredictable and expansive, which is always a good thing.
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #6AU: Marvel's gimmick for "AGE OF ULTRON" tie-in's is to re-release the same issue number that they already did, but attach some letters to it and naturally have it be by a different creative team. Somehow this is different from a .1 issue, a zero issue, or a regular issue. While I imagine it makes collecting it all for a trade for the event, or for the ravenous who buy all event tie-in's, easier, it also makes it easier to avoid such tie-in's if one chooses. Given how insane Marvel has become about renumbering issues and looking for any excuse (such as poor math) to justify a triple digit issue with a near triple digit cover price, it actually is a bit daffy that they'd resist the urge to boost a lot of series tallies by one. At this point Marvel could literally, tomorrow, launch KA-ZAR & HOWARD THE DUCK #1,456.1AZT and it would make as much sense as anything else. Don't be fooled; Marvel upper editorial aren't geniuses; they're simply less incompetent than DC's right now, so they often appear brilliant in comparison - a situation I call "Moe Theory". Out of the "Three Stooges", Moe was the least dumb of them, so to the untrained eye he appeared smart. Most companies, and even governments, operate under Moe theory - not being terribly wise or brilliant, just less dumb than someone over there, but I digress.
This issue sees Christos Gage, who has been without a regular gig at Marvel since AVENGERS ACADEMY ended, return to the title which was once ASM with the spare tie-in story. It naturally fixes some of the issues with AOU, namely that the Spider-Man in it is still supposed to be "Spidey-Ock"; he just pretends to be Peter better here than in just about any issue of SSM thus far (where Ock is THIS CLOSE from being Dr. Evil in spandex). Insulted that he has been laid low by a robot, Spidey-Ock goes along with the leftover Avengers' plan to zap Ultron's stronghold into another dimension. Spidey-Ock decides to ditch that plan for his own, but both plans fail - as standard for spare tie-in's to events. On the positive side, the artwork by Dextor Soy is terrific, and Gage continues to be the only writer eager to use Quicksilver whenever he gets half a chance. It isn't a bad story, nor is it essential. Gage will apparently co-write some issues of the regular SSM once it resumes next week, and it's good to see him still hanging around at Marvel while his creations get blown to bits for cheap thrills in ARENA.
UNCANNY AVENGERS #5: Having quickly become a sales hit, this team title which combines Marvel Comics' top franchises (the "Uncanny X-Men" and the "Avengers"), issue five begins a new arc by writer Rick Remender, who has had extensive experience with both franchises due to runs on "Secret Avengers" and "Uncanny X-Force". As the cover suggests, three new characters are added to the team roster - Avengers Wasp and Wonder Man, and on again/off again X-Man Sunfire (the only person of color on the team). Launching after "Avengers vs. X-Men", the attempt was to form a "unity" team which merges traditional superheroes with mutants in a more up front way to finally make some progress towards Professor Xavier's dream of coexistence. Unfortunately, the previous arc ended with a fresh clone of Red Skull having launched an anti-mutant massacre with the aid of a team of genetically enhanced freaks.
Springing forth from that previous arc, the team has decided to confront some of the social angst head on with a new press release with some new members added to the squad. While Capt. America is on the team, Havok was deputized as leader, which often causes some minor friction between the two. The previously dead Wasp and the previously insane Wonder Man have their doubts about rejoining the Avengers, while Wolverine heads into Japan to recruit Sunfire, who has been long traumatized from dealings with Apocalypse. Remender picks up a subplot from "Uncanny X-Force" regarding new heirs to the Apocalypse, only now adds the Avengers premiere time traveling villain to the mix. Unfortunately for the Avengers, Wonder Man's insane (and also previously dead) brother Grim Reaper crashes the press conference, and the lack of cohesion and experience between heroes in battle alongside each other quickly begins to show.
Olivier Coipel handles the art for the issue (alongside two colorists and Mark Morales on inks), and he's long been an artist of some pedigree with runs on major series such as "Thor" or "Siege". It is great to see a different artist have a crack at some of the costume designs from John Cassaday, such as the complicated new Cap uniform or Havok's odd mask. Unfortunately, he is only handling art for this issue and Daniel Acuna will be taking over in the next issue; thus, this is a fill in issue and Marvel has the dilemma of their first "Marvel NOW" series going through three artists within six issues. While Thor mostly sits the issue out, Remender does some interesting character work within this issue; tensions are still raw given Xavier's death and Red Skull's misuse of his corpse. Havok is not only stepping up out of Cyclops' shadow, but he's now stepping up beyond the X-Men or X-Factor or X-anything. On the downside, rekindling Steve's long past fling with Wanda considering the many sins she has committed over the years does reek a little of nepotism. On the plus side, depicting a Cap who may have flaws due to personal history (or lack thereof) with certain characters is a risky move, which is appreciated.
Overall, this is likely a work more geared to the "mainstream" than Remender's usual series, but it still maintains his quirky ideas and interpretations of characters. He has been a bold choice for a book as big as this, and while it isn't flawless it is overall an ambitious stab at a combination team, and once a steady artist is pegged down, the book will be ready to fly.
YOUNG AVENGERS #3: The creative team behind "Phonogram", Kieron Gillen with artist Jaime McKelvie and Mike Norton with colorist Matthew Wilson continue on their imaginative and delightfully strange reboot of a franchise which was held in the grip of Allen Heinberg for years. Hulkling, Wiccan, and "kid" Loki are still busy trying to stop "an interdimensional parasite" which Wiccan accidentally summoned trying to resurrect Hulkling's dead mother. This parasite can control the minds of all adults and is quickly trying to kill the kids trying to stop it. They finally run into another of Loki's pawns, Miss America Chavez, who joins them in the battle. The banter between the characters is still terrific, and the artwork and panel layouts pop and make the book unique. The lack of Hawkeye/Kate Bishop and Marvel-Boy/Noh-Varr for a second straight issue continues to be annoying, although this will likely change next issue. The theme of having teenage heroes "battle" their parents and/or other adults is a timeless trope for stories like this, and is being played in a unique way. There are some quibbles - the heavy focus on some characters over others, and jettisoning others from the franchise whole cloth can be jarring - but it remains a fun and often pretty book to read.
DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 3/27/13!
AGE OF ULTRON #3: Much like Image Comics' "Saga", issues of this aren't called issues, but "books"; however, that is the only way in which the two series are in any way similar. Brian M. Bendis continues to write and Bryan Hitch continues to draw this perfectly mediocre event style story which presumes some alternate reality which will be undone in which Ultron has taken over everything. Bendis has a "Jeph Loeb Moment" where he has a character he personally adores showcase strength above a more powerful character just because - in this issue's case, Luke Cage being capable of knocking out She-Hulk with a single blow. Taskmaster winds up gaining a MacGuffin in Chicago and we learn that the true power behind Ultron may be in fact his robotic "son", the longtime Avenger Vision. This ties back in with Bendis' "Disassembled" story from 2004 which involved the two in an attack, a detail which may not be worth remembering. Hitch's art is fine although his "photo-realistic" art can seem stiff at times, and he seems to reuse faces repeatedly.
This issue has a lot of characters talk and not do much, but that's been Bendis' stock and trade as a writer for a half decade by now, and it isn't about to change. Even at a bi-weekly schedule, this story line is inching along and seems to only be this slow to justify obligatory tie-in's with other books. While it isn't a horrible story, it doesn't come close to the last "event" which starred Ultron, "Annihilation Conquest" from 2007-2008.
MORBIUS THE LIVING VAMPIRE #3: The latest ASM spin off by Joe Keatinge, Richard Elson and Antonio Fabela remains an interesting if mixed bag, existing somewhere between a vigilante thriller and an urban horror. Morbius still is hiding out in Brownsville after escaping from prison during the "final" arc of ASM, and still seemingly at the mercy of a street gang. After losing control and ripping out the neck of their bulky leader Noah, Morbius is laid low by his girlfriend and forced to try to save the thug's life - a feat which proves futile. Meanwhile, Morbius' new tag along supporting cast in homeless artist Becky and scrappy street urchin Henry do their best to avoid becoming road kill. Considering that Morbius can be laid low by street hoods, I begin to seriously question how he is any challenge to Spider-Man beyond the element of surprise (or a lot of blood-lust). I imagine the gist of the tone Keatinge is going for is that Morbius essentially wants to just be left alone to try to avoid the cops and drinking blood as long as he can, but he keeps stumbling into nasty situations with criminals - sometimes due to his own errors in judgement or instincts.
While this is an interesting tone, I sometimes feel Morbius and the story would be better off if he simply realized in this situation, going all vampire and slaughtering the street gang would probably be in everyone's best interests. Regardless, there is something to be said for Keatinge playing Morbius as more a "tragic monster" than a violent vigilante or a super villain, especially as Marvel's traditional "tragic monster", the Hulk, is literally a SHIELD agent now. The art is very good and Keatinge has a solid voice for the character, and at least this avoids rehashing material from the 90's.
SCARLET SPIDER #15: Chris Yost and artist Khoi Pham (alongside a stunning five inkers and two co-pencilers, and Antonio Fabela's colors) continue their current arc which mingles some spare villains from 1980's issues of "Spectacular Spider-Man" with a new drama involving Aztec gods in Houston, Texas. The mysterious psychic girl Aracely is connected to the Aztec pantheon, and to this end she was smuggled into America and is now hunted by the Lobos siblings, who transform into werewolves. They had seemingly slain Kaine/Scarlet Spider, only he has been return as a monster who cares little for mercy or compassion - which may be Kaine's true nature. The end result is quite brutal, although to a point it seems to resolve itself a bit fast for the finale. Regardless, Yost is wise to carve his own Marvel mythology with a pantheon of gods which have mostly remained untouched - as the "house of ideas" usually stuck with the Norse or Greek gods. This arc has seen a shift into mysticism which was unexpected, but it also keeps the book unpredictable and expansive, which is always a good thing.
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #6AU: Marvel's gimmick for "AGE OF ULTRON" tie-in's is to re-release the same issue number that they already did, but attach some letters to it and naturally have it be by a different creative team. Somehow this is different from a .1 issue, a zero issue, or a regular issue. While I imagine it makes collecting it all for a trade for the event, or for the ravenous who buy all event tie-in's, easier, it also makes it easier to avoid such tie-in's if one chooses. Given how insane Marvel has become about renumbering issues and looking for any excuse (such as poor math) to justify a triple digit issue with a near triple digit cover price, it actually is a bit daffy that they'd resist the urge to boost a lot of series tallies by one. At this point Marvel could literally, tomorrow, launch KA-ZAR & HOWARD THE DUCK #1,456.1AZT and it would make as much sense as anything else. Don't be fooled; Marvel upper editorial aren't geniuses; they're simply less incompetent than DC's right now, so they often appear brilliant in comparison - a situation I call "Moe Theory". Out of the "Three Stooges", Moe was the least dumb of them, so to the untrained eye he appeared smart. Most companies, and even governments, operate under Moe theory - not being terribly wise or brilliant, just less dumb than someone over there, but I digress.
This issue sees Christos Gage, who has been without a regular gig at Marvel since AVENGERS ACADEMY ended, return to the title which was once ASM with the spare tie-in story. It naturally fixes some of the issues with AOU, namely that the Spider-Man in it is still supposed to be "Spidey-Ock"; he just pretends to be Peter better here than in just about any issue of SSM thus far (where Ock is THIS CLOSE from being Dr. Evil in spandex). Insulted that he has been laid low by a robot, Spidey-Ock goes along with the leftover Avengers' plan to zap Ultron's stronghold into another dimension. Spidey-Ock decides to ditch that plan for his own, but both plans fail - as standard for spare tie-in's to events. On the positive side, the artwork by Dextor Soy is terrific, and Gage continues to be the only writer eager to use Quicksilver whenever he gets half a chance. It isn't a bad story, nor is it essential. Gage will apparently co-write some issues of the regular SSM once it resumes next week, and it's good to see him still hanging around at Marvel while his creations get blown to bits for cheap thrills in ARENA.
UNCANNY AVENGERS #5: Having quickly become a sales hit, this team title which combines Marvel Comics' top franchises (the "Uncanny X-Men" and the "Avengers"), issue five begins a new arc by writer Rick Remender, who has had extensive experience with both franchises due to runs on "Secret Avengers" and "Uncanny X-Force". As the cover suggests, three new characters are added to the team roster - Avengers Wasp and Wonder Man, and on again/off again X-Man Sunfire (the only person of color on the team). Launching after "Avengers vs. X-Men", the attempt was to form a "unity" team which merges traditional superheroes with mutants in a more up front way to finally make some progress towards Professor Xavier's dream of coexistence. Unfortunately, the previous arc ended with a fresh clone of Red Skull having launched an anti-mutant massacre with the aid of a team of genetically enhanced freaks.
Springing forth from that previous arc, the team has decided to confront some of the social angst head on with a new press release with some new members added to the squad. While Capt. America is on the team, Havok was deputized as leader, which often causes some minor friction between the two. The previously dead Wasp and the previously insane Wonder Man have their doubts about rejoining the Avengers, while Wolverine heads into Japan to recruit Sunfire, who has been long traumatized from dealings with Apocalypse. Remender picks up a subplot from "Uncanny X-Force" regarding new heirs to the Apocalypse, only now adds the Avengers premiere time traveling villain to the mix. Unfortunately for the Avengers, Wonder Man's insane (and also previously dead) brother Grim Reaper crashes the press conference, and the lack of cohesion and experience between heroes in battle alongside each other quickly begins to show.
Olivier Coipel handles the art for the issue (alongside two colorists and Mark Morales on inks), and he's long been an artist of some pedigree with runs on major series such as "Thor" or "Siege". It is great to see a different artist have a crack at some of the costume designs from John Cassaday, such as the complicated new Cap uniform or Havok's odd mask. Unfortunately, he is only handling art for this issue and Daniel Acuna will be taking over in the next issue; thus, this is a fill in issue and Marvel has the dilemma of their first "Marvel NOW" series going through three artists within six issues. While Thor mostly sits the issue out, Remender does some interesting character work within this issue; tensions are still raw given Xavier's death and Red Skull's misuse of his corpse. Havok is not only stepping up out of Cyclops' shadow, but he's now stepping up beyond the X-Men or X-Factor or X-anything. On the downside, rekindling Steve's long past fling with Wanda considering the many sins she has committed over the years does reek a little of nepotism. On the plus side, depicting a Cap who may have flaws due to personal history (or lack thereof) with certain characters is a risky move, which is appreciated.
Overall, this is likely a work more geared to the "mainstream" than Remender's usual series, but it still maintains his quirky ideas and interpretations of characters. He has been a bold choice for a book as big as this, and while it isn't flawless it is overall an ambitious stab at a combination team, and once a steady artist is pegged down, the book will be ready to fly.
YOUNG AVENGERS #3: The creative team behind "Phonogram", Kieron Gillen with artist Jaime McKelvie and Mike Norton with colorist Matthew Wilson continue on their imaginative and delightfully strange reboot of a franchise which was held in the grip of Allen Heinberg for years. Hulkling, Wiccan, and "kid" Loki are still busy trying to stop "an interdimensional parasite" which Wiccan accidentally summoned trying to resurrect Hulkling's dead mother. This parasite can control the minds of all adults and is quickly trying to kill the kids trying to stop it. They finally run into another of Loki's pawns, Miss America Chavez, who joins them in the battle. The banter between the characters is still terrific, and the artwork and panel layouts pop and make the book unique. The lack of Hawkeye/Kate Bishop and Marvel-Boy/Noh-Varr for a second straight issue continues to be annoying, although this will likely change next issue. The theme of having teenage heroes "battle" their parents and/or other adults is a timeless trope for stories like this, and is being played in a unique way. There are some quibbles - the heavy focus on some characters over others, and jettisoning others from the franchise whole cloth can be jarring - but it remains a fun and often pretty book to read.
