The Ongoing Bought/Thought! 2013

[JewishHobbit]

I liked that, too. The Generation Hope cast were fairly mediocre for me, but Laurie was one of the few that I really liked. I also liked Kenji, but we all saw how that worked out.

 

[JTStarkiller]

I thought it was fine, I just wanted to see the rest of the team. I did like Prodigy chatting with Laurie. I think I'm the only one who liked the Generation Hope cast, so it was nice seeing Prodigy talk to her, who was really academic.

You're not alone. I did. GH was one of my absolute favorite books. I'm not sure why Hope and the others grabbed my attention, but they did. I LOVED that title.

Even after AvX, I'm still interested in Hope and it's the only reason I'm reading Cable & X-Force, which is kind of painfully dull (not to mention expensive).

 

[Max J Power]

This was a really good comics week for me.

Lazarus #1 started what will most likely be a great series. Rucka and Lark set a very strong foundation in this issue, introducing the characters and setting while still letting this issue have a plot. Best of all, the make the far-from-new concept of class warfare feel fresh and relevant to today's society.

Daredevil #27 is a great conclusion to what has built up so far in this series. I'm just surprised it got to the point of [blackout]Bullseye and his protoges being defeated[/blackout] this soon. I'd have thought that would have played out longer, but Waid and Samnee convinced me that it didn't need to. I can't wait for what they come up with next.

Young Avengers #6 was tons of fun. I'm not familiar with Prodigy, but I thoroughly enjoyed his dynamic with Speed. Though I have no idea how this will play into the rest of the series's plot (since these characters haven't been in it at all yet), I welcome the addition. And while fill-in artist Kate Brown isn't quite up to McKelvie's level, her art is very good and distinct in its own right.

Fatale #15 shows Josephine getting involved with a band that fell on hard times after getting famous in the 90s alternative/grunge boom. And I bet they're about to fall harder. This plot set-up isn't much different from what we've seen in this series so far, but every arc ended up having its own flavor, and I expect nothing less from this one. Plus, it's centered on a kind of music I really like, so that's cool.

Justice League Dark #21 was a solid ending to a mostly enjoyable arc. The inclusion of The Flash still felt like a throwaway, but his involvement in this issue was much smaller than the last. This may be my last issue on the book. I'm not getting any of the Trinity War or villain month issues, so I'll see what the direction of the book is in October, provided I don't pick up something else in the meantime.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I'm wondering if Flash's involvement in JLD was more so to set the stage for Trinity War. He made mentions of liking most of the team, and this was the first time any Justice League member realized that Argus was financing a 3rd JL team. Maybe that leads to something.

 

[Dread]

Average sized but overall good week to close out June. Spoilers (especially about SCARLET SPIDER) ahoy!

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 6/26/13:

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #23: The increasingly violent and dark toned "City Fall" continues along its second installment as it details the Foot Clan - organized by the Feudal Japan era Shredder and his granddaughter Karai - taking control of New York City as well as their mutant enemies. Last month, the Foot successfully kidnapped Leonardo and Shredder mortally wounded Casey Jones, Raphael's best friend. This issue sees an increase in the creative team for what amounts to a very packed issue. Co-writers Tom Waltz and Kevin Eastman (co-creator of TMNT) are joined in story credits by Bobby Curnow, and current regular artist Mateus Santolouco only draws half this issue. As Shredder's magical ally Kitsune psychically brainwashes Leonardo to her master's bidding, those psychic warping pages are drawn by former series artists Dan Duncan, Andy Kuhn, and even Eastman himself, alongside Ben Bates and Ross Campbell (who drew for the last micro-series). Ed Brubaker's run on "Captain America" often utilized flashback sequences to give his regular artist a break on some pages per month to make deadlines, and there's nothing wrong with that so long as they are woven in well - this issue's psychic warfare pages are no exception. The mutant character Old Hob also returns with a new angle to his operations - to unite all mutants, period - which offers a unique tertiary force to reckon with. As always, IDW Comics' TMNT remains a riveting read for fans new and old.

DAREDEVIL #27: Mark Waid and artist Chris Samnee continue on their Eisner award winning and seminal run on one of Marvel's longest running yet often neglected superhero franchises, "Daredevil: the Man without Fear". As with most issues, this one offers another breathtaking union of script and sequential comic book art to offer a suspenseful, action packed and character filled superhero adventure. What kicks this one up a notch is that this issue not only offers the conclusion to the current arc, but an finale to the long term subplot which has been running through the title since Waid relaunched it in 2011.

Beginning where last issue's cliffhanger left off, the secret mastermind who has been manipulating figures and events against Daredevil's life for some two years of comics stands revealed as Bullseye, Daredevil's arch nemesis. Killed off at the start of the "Shadowland" event in 2010, the professional assassin was revived in body, but remained hopelessly crippled. Utilizing his vast resources from being a professional assassin (as well as official federal agent during Norman Osborn's "dark reign") along with his ally Lady Bullseye, Daredevil's premiere enemy has been reborn as a figure who schemes behind the scenes but is still just as deadly. Having full knowledge of Daredevil's identity and where his friends and lovers are, Bullseye arranged the creation of more than one of Daredevil's new enemies, which now include the vicious Ikari - who has all of Daredevil's powers without the handicap of blindness. Yet in having Daredevil beaten to the brink of death and left to flee in fear for one of the first times in his superhero life, Bullseye sparked the precise yet impulsive streak in Daredevil which usually leaves enemies mangled and arrested.

It could be argued that the biggest flaw in Bullseye's plan - wanting Daredevil to suffer rather than just having him killed outright - is an all too typical flaw in villains which is convenient for their heroic opponents. However, Waid sells it by capturing the spirit of the vicious Bullseye despite his own handicap. While references to past stories such as "Shadowland" and beyond are referenced, enough material is offered that the story flows for the reader even if they don't know "Shadowland" from "Candyland". Ikari's true face hasn't even been revealed, but this is actually a good thing as it gives this new nemesis for Murdock a chance to grow. Furthermore, the finale offers the usual mixture of smarts, martial arts and his sensory super powers to outwit his enemies. Waid also wisely takes advantage of the fact that Daredevil has many connections without the superhero community, especially after a stint on "New Avengers" years back.

"Daredevil" has become one of those rare Marvel Comics titles which sells well and deserves to. Not only that, but it has gained sales for the first five months of 2013 without crossovers or other gimmicks, which is a very rare feat in the mainstream direct market. Positive word of mouth and consistent quality are earning this title genuine sales gains without flash in the pan stunts, and it is a shame that more "big two" comics aren't willing to attempt this. "Daredevil" has quickly become one of Marvel Comics' best titles as well as career defining works for both Waid and Samnee. This comic, more than anything, proves that superhero comics don't have to be shallow and can still offer a sense of art, wit, and style.

AGE OF ULTRON #10AI: While the overall "Age of Ultron" crossover came to an underwhelming and overall terrible conclusion last week, this epilogue issue breaks with tradition by delivering a simple quality story. Unsurprisingly, it is written by Mark Waid and drawn by Andre Lima Araujo, and not only is it an advertisement for a new "Avengers" title, but it rehabilitates Hank Pym. Historically neurotic and unstable, Hank Pym's woes continued during the event as his signature creation Ultron once again ran amok. Fortunately, Waid continues his efforts to boil down what works best about certain characters and spin it in a new manner. In this issue's case, after padding out Pym's upbringing, he resolves his perennial self-loathing and turns the often unbearable crossover event into a character building exercise for Pym. Embracing Pym's unique imagination for science, it is frankly a shame that Waid can't write the character long term. The upcoming "Avengers A.I." couldn't have had a better promotional story if it tried.

SCARLET SPIDER #18: Chris Yost continues to script this often exciting and delightfully unique spin-off title to "Amazing Spider-Man" starring the reformed clone, Kaine, as he stumbles his way into being an anti-hero. As the second part of "Wrath", Kaine and his mystically empowered teenage ally Aracely (now in the costumed identity of "Hummingbird") find themselves caught in the web of the Assassin's Guild. Forced into attempting to kill Wolverine, Kaine manages to clue the berserker X-Man in on the plot and gains his aid in taking on the league of hit-men (run by Gambit's old flame, Belladonna). The issue devolves into a simple and brutal team-up between Kaine and Wolverine as they tear through nameless and named assassins, wonderfully drawn by Carlo Barberi and Ale Garza. If there is one blemish, it is that one two page splash has instead been positioned as two page turns, which reads awkwardly. It seems the Guild were involved in resurrecting a mysterious woman called "the Red Death", who may actually be a relatively obscure X-Men character. During the 90's, a league of seemingly "immortal" mutants dubbed the "Externals" ran around the X-books and one of them, Candra, was the patron of the Assassin's Guild. She was axed off in "X-Men #61", circa 1997, and this "Red Death" could virtually be her twin. Yost continues to mingle violence and humor within this book and has truly carved a unique spot in the Marvel Universe with this series.

YOUNG AVENGERS #6: Kieron Gillen and fill-in artist Kate Brown offer a one-shot story featuring former "Young Avenger" Tommy Shepard/Speed and former "New X-Men" member David Alleyne/Prodigy. They've both retired from superhero affairs and are working boring jobs at a company in Manhattan which exploits their unique abilities - Tommy's speed for technical engineering and Alleyne's massive data knowledge for tech support. Like many issues of this series, it succeeds on style but sometimes stumbles on substance. Gillen makes these two characters who have never met before come off very well together, and wrings a lot of humor out of Speed and his interactions with the stiffer David. Where things falter is in the revelation of some unknown mystery threat which kills one of them off within a page. Between this and "Avengers Arena", it just isn't safe being a young Marvel character anywhere. Overall, it's a fun issue which also serves as a solid jumping on point for fans of either character.

 

[Red]

Anyone else pickup Larfleeze #1? Really fun book, I wish DC would do more books with this type of tone. Kind of wish Kolins wouldn't draw Larfleeze like a dog so much though

 

[chamber-music]

AGE OF ULTRON #10AI: While the overall "Age of Ultron" crossover came to an underwhelming and overall terrible conclusion last week, this epilogue issue breaks with tradition by delivering a simple quality story. Unsurprisingly, it is written by Mark Waid and drawn by Andre Lima Araujo, and not only is it an advertisement for a new "Avengers" title, but it rehabilitates Hank Pym. Historically neurotic and unstable, Hank Pym's woes continued during the event as his signature creation Ultron once again ran amok. Fortunately, Waid continues his efforts to boil down what works best about certain characters and spin it in a new manner. In this issue's case, after padding out Pym's upbringing, he resolves his perennial self-loathing and turns the often unbearable crossover event into a character building exercise for Pym. Embracing Pym's unique imagination for science, it is frankly a shame that Waid can't write the character long term. The upcoming "Avengers A.I." couldn't have had a better promotional story if it tried.

I read Age of Ultron 10:AI today. It was better than all ten actual issues of the event combined.

I liked what Waid has been doing with Pym in Daredevil and now Age Of Ultron 10:AI. He seems to have a good handle on the character. Its a shame Marvel don't let him write the character in an ongoing title.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Is Waid not doing the Avenger AI thing? Why would they even randomly get him to do that if he's not the one spinning that series off? How odd.

 

[Dread]

I liked what Waid has been doing with Pym in Daredevil and now Age Of Ultron 10:AI. He seems to have a good handle on the character. Its a shame Marvel don't let him write the character in an ongoing title.

In their defense, they (rightly) figure a Hank Pym solo series or another "Ant-Man and Wasp" team up series wouldn't sell. Waid is already writing two ongoing titles for them plus working on original content for his own digital comics publisher (I think THRILLBENT) so maybe he just can't handle the gig.

Is Waid not doing the Avenger AI thing? Why would they even randomly get him to do that if he's not the one spinning that series off? How odd.

No. Sam Humphries is writing AVENGERS A.I. However, Andre Aruajo is doing the artwork, so if anything AGE OF ULTRON #10AI could rightly claim to be a preview of half the creative team of AVENGERS A.I. I do agree that it is a bit sneaky to lure people in with a Mark Waid prologue before switching to Sam for the actual series, but at least it's credited on the cover. DC's literally sold comics lately where the creative team on the cover wasn't the creative team on the interiors. Accident or not, in most business circles that'd be called "bait and switch" and DC could be liable to be sued. Happily, the direct comic book market doesn't seem to operate like most actual businesses.

 

[chamber-music]

In their defense, they (rightly) figure a Hank Pym solo series or another "Ant-Man and Wasp" team up series wouldn't sell. Waid is already writing two ongoing titles for them plus working on original content for his own digital comics publisher (I think THRILLBENT) so maybe he just can't handle the gig.

I meant to say its shame Marvel doesn't let him write the character in the an ongoing in the future. I forgot to add the future bit

I don't expect a solo series I was thinking more of an Avengers team book with Pym like Avengers AI or Mighty Avengers or West Coast Avengers. I know Waid is pretty busy right now. I think he might of done Avengers AI if he wasn't so busy.

I haven't been impressed with Sam Humphries X-Force book and the hook of a avengers team all about robot and AI threats I feel will run out of steam within 18 months.

 

[Max J Power]

I'm wondering if Flash's involvement in JLD was more so to set the stage for Trinity War. He made mentions of liking most of the team, and this was the first time any Justice League member realized that Argus was financing a 3rd JL team. Maybe that leads to something.

Yeah, I think Flash was supposed to give the JLD team a connection to Trinity War. I could see DC going either way with keeping him in the series after that.

 

[Dread]

I meant to say its shame Marvel doesn't let him write the character in the an ongoing in the future. I forgot to add the future bit

I don't expect a solo series I was thinking more of an Avengers team book with Pym like Avengers AI or Mighty Avengers or West Coast Avengers. I know Waid is pretty busy right now. I think he might of done Avengers AI if he wasn't so busy.

I haven't been impressed with Sam Humphries X-Force book and the hook of a avengers team all about robot and AI threats I feel will run out of steam within 18 months.

In addition to two Marvel ongoing titles and THRILLBENT, Waid also is writing Rocketeer and Green Hornet stuff, so he certainly is quite busy. Not everyone can copy & paste to a paycheck like Bendis often does.

Still, Pym has popped up in a few issues of DAREDEVIL so I wouldn't be surprised if that continued at some point.

I haven't read anything from Humphries, but next week is a small week so I likely will give AVENGERS AI a try. Good to know that apparently, Victor Mancha hasn't noticed half his RUNAWAYS pals have been kidnapped and slaughtered (same as all those Avengers who don't care about half their Academy graduates suffering a similar fate). Man, superheroes just don't care about each other at all.

 

[chamber-music]

Hank Pym is supposed to pop up in Avengers Arena looking for the Academy students in an upcoming issue.

 

[JewishHobbit]

In addition to two Marvel ongoing titles and THRILLBENT, Waid also is writing Rocketeer and Green Hornet stuff, so he certainly is quite busy. Not everyone can copy & paste to a paycheck like Bendis often does.

Still, Pym has popped up in a few issues of DAREDEVIL so I wouldn't be surprised if that continued at some point.

I haven't read anything from Humphries, but next week is a small week so I likely will give AVENGERS AI a try. Good to know that apparently, Victor Mancha hasn't noticed half his RUNAWAYS pals have been kidnapped and slaughtered (same as all those Avengers who don't care about half their Academy graduates suffering a similar fate). Man, superheroes just don't care about each other at all.

You're so positive about titles and authors you don't actually read

 

[JTStarkiller]

I caught up on a few titles this weekend I was behind on. Captain America was terrific as usual. I'm gonna miss Romita when he leaves the book. Cap really takes a beating in the issue, and it's truly felt across the pages. And Remender is terrific when it comes to the final pages being both shocking, and not feeling cheap.

I also read both of the Bendis X-Men books. Uncanny I felt was really good, and All New was sorta bad. I'm convinced he has no understanding of Wolverine, at this point, as his dialogue just continues to come across forced. He isn't a natural at writing funny dialogue, so his jokes feel very unnatural. Uncanny, on the other hand, feels like a book that's better suited to his talents.

 

[Dread]

Hank Pym is supposed to pop up in Avengers Arena looking for the Academy students in an upcoming issue.

Good to know. Although if they were successfully rescued, then the series is over. Unless he saves that "season"s worth of shock value victims, er, I mean well fleshed out and tragically disposed canon fodder and a new season brings in a new slate of neglected and new characters to be shoved into a meat grinder.

But, hey, on the bright side, Arcade has finally accomplished something noteworthy. Yay?

You're so positive about titles and authors you don't actually read

Technically, I did read AGE OF ULTRON so I did read Bendis very recently.

As for AVENGERS ARENA, to paraphrase Mel Gibson, "it offends me on every ****ing level." I try to forget that off in some other book characters I cared about that had a lot of potential have been mindlessly slaughtered for a story which Marvel quite literally sold as a shameless rip off of other, more successful stories. It's a vicious cycle. Readers rarely flock to newer characters because Marvel always either neglects them or kills them if they don't immediately take off. And Marvel always neglects of kills them because they don't immediately take off. Handbook graveyards are full of spare young X-Men and other heroes. I thought it represented some of the worst in mainstream comics in terms of big two pitches.

 

[chamber-music]

I think Avengers Arena is for real and not some Virtual reality thing then people will be annoyed that Marvel killed off a bunch of characters they liked and if its all fake then people might feel they were cheated by Marvel because none of what happened meant anything.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I'm taking a wait and see attitude. I hate the premise of a slaughter-fest, but I hear it's actually very well done. Then again, I'm not very happy that some of my favorite characters were killed off like that, so I'm hoping it'll all be erased in the end. We'll see, I suppose.

 

[chamber-music]

Avengers Arena is very character driven which is good if your a fan of the characters but then if you like the characters seeing them slaughtered probably isn't going to make you happy.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I was interested in the book for 5 characters: Mettle, Darkhawk, Nico, Chase, and X-23. So far, 3 of the 5 have been killed off. So yeah, I'm hoping it's all a cop out.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Bought/Thought July 3, 2013

WHY DO I KEEP BUYING STUFF???!!!!!!!!

So I went into the shop expecting to buy 4 comics and walked out with 6. Ugh! But good news is that after skimming Green Lantern I can safely say I've lost all interest in the book. I feel no lingering desire to buy it. That means I've officially cut out the Green Lantern genre.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 1 - I wasn't going to buy this but I just love Shocker and it looked great on a skim. I love Spidey's rogues gallery, so if I can't have my Spidey, I can at least have my villains. The writing was superb, the characters were likable (even while stealing a kid's puppy), and the art fit very well. I liked the book, though I'm not sure how long I'll sick with it. If it weren't for Shocker I wouldn't have even skimmed the title, but the whole cast made me enjoy this read.

Jupiter's Legacy 2 - This is the second title I wasn't going to get because I dropped it due to needing to cut books. It came out last week and it was easy to pass up due to how large of a week it was for me, but this was a small week and I kept glancing over and there it was... looking at me. So I caved.

I liked what I read... about on par with the 1st issue... but I don't know if it'll be enough to keep me buying. I think I'm more attracted to the prospect of where the story could go more than what I'm seeing so far. I figure I'll just keep skimming the issues one at a time and decide whether I'll continue buying by the month.

The Owl 1 - I've been WAITING for this issue! I loved the Project Superpowers line while it was running strong. Sadly, it died away without being concluded and that really irked me. After I think 4 years it's FINALLY making a come back. This is the beginning of a mini that will likely led to more PSP books, and hopefully a Project Superpowers Chapter 3 that can conclude some of the lingering plotlines from Chapter 2.

As for this issue, I liked it. It wasn't anything amazing, but just a nice read. It does something that I think many of the previous PSP titles lacked, and something that I remember Phaedrus45 complaining about... and that's that it gets into the hero's personal life now that they're out of the urn. Here we see the Owl's alter ego trying to fit in to the modern world between being the Owl. The main story, though, I how much he misses his girlfriend, who used to be Owl Girl. Well, now Owl Girl shows up and he's stunned, but she's got a major edge to her and we're left wondering if it's actually her.

I'm looking forward to the rest of this story as we never really got to know the Owl in previous stories. I miss characters like Black Terror, Green Llama, Death-Defying Devil, and the Flame... but I'm willing to give the Owl a shot. Here's hoping it just keeps getting better.

Trinity of Sin: Pandora 1 - I knew I was going to buy this book because I'm very interested in the Trinity of Sin and Trinity War. Will I continue beyond Trinity War? I don't know, but it has about 3 or 4 issues to convince me to continue buying it beyond Trinity War.

As for this issue, it was decent. It did a great job catching a person up on Pandora, leading directly into Trinity War which starts this month. But for readers who've been following Pandora through titles like Justice League and Phantom Stranger, it was pretty much just a recap issue. There were new things there like what led up to her opening Pandora's Box and what she's done since being cursed, but it mostly just filled in the gaps of what we already knew. I did like seeing that she has a history with Vandal Savage and the Deadly Sins that have been a factor in the Shazam back stories in Justice League.

I was decent, but it was a hard issue to judge the series on. Hopefully next issue will be a better indicator. And while the art team did a fine job, that cover makes me wish Sook was doing interiors as well.

Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger 10 - Man, great issue. This was a very emotional story of Phantom Stranger trying to save his family. It isn't the ending that I was expecting but I think it was a phenomenal way to finish out this chapter of the Stranger's life. I finished the issue and had to take a second to take in what I just read. Definitely the best issue of the series thus far.

From here we head toward the Trinity War, but I'm curious what's to come after that. Sales aren't impressive for this book so I'm wondering if there is a future for this book. I don't know, but I sure hope so. This is one of my favorite comics that I read each month.

Batman Incorporated 12 - The second-to-last issue of this series and Morrison's huge Batman saga, and it was very good. I don't think it was quite as good as previous issues, but it was still enjoyable. I never really cared for the Heretic and was a little disappointed that such a two-dimensional character got the kill on Damian Wayne. This issue helped get into his head a little more but only a little. I like that Dick got a few licks in for Damian, and Heretic's end was heartless and brutal. Now comes the REAL battle. Batman versus Talia. I can't wait to read this final part. Super excited for it!


Best and Worst of the Week

Best of the Week: Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger - Without question. Best of the Month easy, possibly more.

Worst of the Week: Trinity of Sin: Pandora - It wasn't bad, but there wasn't enough new material to really suck me in. I'm expecting it to pick up next issue.

 

[Dread]

Short week to kick off July - so much so that I tried two new Marvel releases, and am glad I did. Spoilers ahoy!

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 7/3/13:

AVENGERS A.I. #1: Branching off of the finale of "Age of Ultron", a more accurate title might be, "Hank Pym & the Robot Avengers". Only two characters of the six featured on the cover are or were actual Avengers, but these days anyone at Marvel is or was or can be. Sam Humphries ("Uncanny X-Force", "The Ultimates") adds another Marvel title to his writer's bibliography and Andre Lima Araujo handles the art. Araujo also drew the prelude issue to this last week, "Age of Ultron #10AU". The gist is that in designing a computer virus across time to defeat Ultron, Hank Pym unwittingly unleashed a rogue artificial intelligence (named "Dimitrios") across cyber space. SHIELD division chief Monica Chang hauls Pym in for questioning about it when it begins to take over military drones and launch random attacks on the country. Pym then deputizes longtime Avenger Vision alongside Victor Mancha (of "Runaways", who's Vision's cybernetic "brother") and a reprogrammed Doombot (one of Dr. Doom's robotic duplicates) to stop an attack on a hospital in Atlanta. Araujo's artwork bares some similarities to Khoi Pham, and is excellently colored by Frank D'Armata. The tone of the series is fun, with Mancha proving to be a very optimistic young hero and having a good dynamic with Vision. The Doombot acts as one would expect, and it does seem to be a public relations snafu to dispatch a robot dressed as the world's top super villain as a first responder. This title is probably a sign that the "Avengers" brand is being stretched thin and is currently the sixth comic with the word "Avengers" in the title. While it features lesser tier characters, it is a perfectly fine and entertaining superhero effort, reasonably priced offering a mix of new and old characters.

IRON MAN #12: At the very least, "The Secret Origin of Tony Stark" now includes an organized military operation against alien gangsters in Vegas. Writer Kieron Gillin, artist Dale Eaglesham and colorist Guru eFX cover the events leading up to Tony's birth as revealed by the robot recorder 451. The robot ensured that Tony would be born in the first place by tending to Maria Stark's difficult pregnancy, but now Howard and his posse of allies have to take out "the grays", a cabal of aliens posing as sleazy casino mobsters. There is a lot of action in this issue as well as more instances of 451's duplicity, and the ultimate revelation of his true plan to make Howard's son Tony into the ultimate weapon against space gods. This arc has been a drastic and over the top addition to Tony's origin, but at least it is more entertaining and better than "the Crossing" of the mid-90's (which claimed that Tony had been Kang's agent all along). It will remain to be seen how long other writers and editors run with it, though. The clash of styles ("Ocean's 11" meets "Men in Black") shouldn't work, but the artwork is exceptional and Gillen seems to hit the right chords.

SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #1: After several years of failures, Marvel Comics in general and senior editor Stephen Wacker in particular have proven successful in launching (or re-launching) spin-off titles for "Amazing Spider-Man". The first stab at "Venom" as an ongoing title was the subject of the first "Point One Initiative" issue and is now nearing a 40th issue (see below). The clone character once known as the 90's era villain Kaine is now headlining a new "Scarlet Spider" series which is also nearing two years in length. Such runs are becoming rare for new and old franchises, much less spin-off titles. On the other hand, "Morbius the Living Vampire" saw poor sales right out of the gate and has been canceled as of issue nine. Long term sales for both "Venom" and "Scarlet Spider" are slowly eroding, and it is possible that both could eventually end, albeit after healthy runs. Regardless, now that "Amazing Spider-Man" has been relaunched as "Superior Spider-Man", Wacker is rolling the dice again with a caper series featuring a squad of lesser known villains from the web-slinger's rogues gallery.

The title itself pays homage to the 1991 mini series "Deadly Foes of Spider-Man" and its sequel from 1993, "Lethal Foes of Spider-Man". It is written by Nick Spencer ("Morning Glories", "Secret Avengers") and drawn by Steve Lieber (creator of "Whiteout"), alongside coloring by Rachelle Rosenberg. While this debut issue doesn't flow well with the current arc of "Superior Spider-Man" (considering the star character is supposed to be a cyborg), it works well within its own terms, which is the water mark for a new series. The tone is established right off the bat; this is not a series which stars anti-heroes or villains trying to go straight, but is a caper title following a squad of costumed criminals who aspire to gain a score and occasionally avenge themselves on Spider-Man with no delusions of conquest or murder.

The star of this issue (at least) is Fred Myers, a.k.a. Boomerang. A creation from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby from 1966, he actually started out fighting the Hulk and Iron Fist before he became permanently linked to Spider-Man's comics. His origin is recapped for newer readers, as a disgraced baseball pitcher who fell into being a gimmick super villain based on a terrible stereotype about his country of origin and the "Secret Empire". The rest of his team is introduced as "Sinister Syndicate" allies Speed-Demon and Shocker, a new female incarnation of the Beetle and Overdrive, one of Spider-Man's newer villains (circa Marvel's "Free Comic Book Day 2007" issue). Currently in prison, Myers manages to convince Speed-Demon and Shocker to run an errand for him which turns out to be an organized crime gambit. While the duo succeed and the rest of the gang even successfully bail Myers out, it turns out their "leader" has just sold them out to another boss character - Spider-Man's first costumed nemesis, the Chameleon.

Despite the premise of the series, the tone and execution of it focuses more on comedy that some would expect. This is not a gritty crime tale but one which fully embraces the fact that the crooks dress in colorful costumes and have exaggerated gimmicks - and usually get beaten up by Spider-Man a lot. The Shocker is painted as the team punching bag and chump, which could offend some fans of the character. In fairness, the character has been plagued by chronic paranoia and anxiety from near-death experiences for which he was seeing a shrink for, so this depiction isn't without support. Beetle and Overdrive don't do much and could border on the tokens of the team (the only woman and person of color of the gang, respectively), and hopefully future issues correct this. Antics include successful robberies of a pet shop and a comic book store, and prison chatter about pirates. Leiber's artwork and in particular some symbols used within may remind some of Matt Fraction's "Hawkeye" series, which also features caper style stories.

While the characters on the cover are hardly big names (and neither is the creative team compared to others), this has turned out into being a very funny debut issue featuring some lesser known characters. Wisely priced at $2.99, fans growing disinterested with "Superior Spider-Man" or fans of some of Spider-Man's villains, or simply fans seeking a fun book which isn't about crime-fighters, should give it a look.

VENOM #37: A strong contender for my "book of the week", writer Cullen Bunn continues his successful run on what has been "the spin-off that Rick Remender" built. He's settled Flash Thompson/Agent Venom in a new city and established a reliable supporting cast for him, and things seem to be rolling along well as this series few expected to last long will probably reach beyond a 40th issue. Thompson has settled into a simple life of being a high school coach by day, symbiote vigilante at night and taking things a day at a time. Unfortunately, he's earned the ire of Philly based crime boss Lord Ogre, being tracked by journalist Katy Kiernan and may have revealed his identity to trouble student/neighbor Andi. This issue continues this story by noting the fact that Lord Ogre has put a contract on Venom's life, and costumed assassins are coming out of the wood work to kill him on his nightly patrol. Bunn earns major "fanboy" points by dusting off three lame students of Taskmaster who debuted in "Amazing Spider-Man #367", circa 1992. Further cameo appearances include Constrictor, Lord Deathstrike (not to be confused with Lady Deathstrike or Death-Strike), and even Foolkiller. Artwork for the issue is by Kim Jacinto with colors by Lee Loughridge, and while Jacinto's style suits the tone of the issue and series, it isn't quite up to the standards of previous artists during this run. As the "grandfather" of recent Spider-Man spin-offs, "Venom" continues to offer strong stories around its violent and deeply flawed hero.

 

[Dread]

Avengers Arena is very character driven which is good if your a fan of the characters but then if you like the characters seeing them slaughtered probably isn't going to make you happy.

Good to know that the characters that survive get some focus. I imagine Mettle and Red Raven didn't get much time to develop.

I was interested in the book for 5 characters: Mettle, Darkhawk, Nico, Chase, and X-23. So far, 3 of the 5 have been killed off. So yeah, I'm hoping it's all a cop out.

It won't be. Unless a new character has appeared in some alternate media, they're expendable fodder. It's been true of the GENERATION X cast and no end of "newer" characters since. Most of the NEW MUTANTS cast are expendable and they were "new" about 30 years ago. And that cast is about the peak when it comes to "newer" characters.

So, X-23 and Reptil are safe. They've appeared in animation, sold some toys, etc. Everyone else is expendable. AVENGERS ARENA literally killed the black guy first, with no sense of irony. That alone should say it all.

Newer characters never come back. The one exception was Gravity, and that was because the writer who axed him (Dwayne McDuffie) also decided to bring him back because editorial whims had changed and the death had been wasted. The plan had been to kill him off in BEYOND! and reintroduce him as a new Captain Marvel. But then editorial switched gears and decided to launch a new CAPTAIN MARVEL mini during the lead up to SECRET INVASION and make him a Skrull. So, thus, the death was wasted and McDuffie could have just shrugged, but since he was doing a run on FF anyway, he chose to undo it there. Most writers, though, aren't Dwayne McDuffie.

I always felt the younger characters in Marvel should be self aware enough to form a subculture. In which they all collectively know that certain big figures are immortal and unkillable, who always return given enough time no matter how absurd or definitive a death they have. They should be aware that Wolverine could be thrown into the sun and all trace of him across existence itself could be erased, but he'd be back in a month, tops. But Hornet? Dead forever, unmissed, unloved and unavenged. And that every time some big event happens and some adult hero who told them to quit a month earlier is now begging them to be foot soldiers (hello, Captain America), they should either tell him to stick it or ask what's in it for them.

That's always been the dilemma. New heroes are in theory good for new blood, but after a while they can't be novices anymore. And once they reach that stage where they should reasonably move up the chain, they hit limbo, barely appear, or die. Because Wolverine, Spider-Man, Hulk, etc. are immortal. Again, the NEW MUTANTS cast are about the only characters who debuted after the Carter administration besides Deadpool who have done anything of relevance in any story. Aside for Deadpool, who debuted in the late 80's, no other "new" character has been allowed to penetrate the universe in a major way. I could buy it if the younger characters themselves were aware of that, and AVENGERS ACADEMY played with that many times. Unfortunately, AVENGERS ARENA fulfilled that dead straight.

I see it as a vicious cycle. Readers avoid new characters because they know Marvel are gutless cowards who abandon them at the first sign of adversity. And Marvel abandon them at the first sign of adversity because readers avoid them. Considering Disney now owns Marvel and there is likely even less tolerance for losses in a comics division, I don't expect that to change. It has been argued that comics make up such a small side of Disney's empire that that should see Marvel as a new IP farm and encourage them to try out some new ideas for newer audiences, but they see no reason to do that when the same cows can be milked forever.

 

[Will Nolte]

The art in Venom lately has been horrible. They need to dump that hack and get a real artist on the book.

 

[runawayboulder]

I don't think Jim Lee is available.

But seriously, it's a Spider-Man spin-off and a 3rd tier Marvel title. You're not going to see a big name on the book. On this level is where artists are given an opportunity to show what they have. This book may not be around this time next year.