The Spectacular Bought/Thought 2014!!!

[JewishHobbit]

Yeah, so here it is! I wish I had some dynamic reviews to start the year off but my comic shop was missing one of their boxes including 3 of the 4 comics I was planning on buying this week. So I ended up only getting 1 new issue.

Young Avengers 15 - The final issue of this series, and I'm okay with that. It wasn't that great of a series really, despite what all the news sights say. I didn't particularly care for this ending either (well, I liked the final two pages, but the issue over all). I didn't care for the fact that suddenly it's revealed that Marvel Boy has dabbled with homosexuality and that Ms. America is a lesbian. Also that maybe Loki was hitting on Prodigy. I'm not really surprised by any of those three, but the sudden reveal of them all just felt like Gillen was shoving something down our throats that had nothing to do with story. It was just kinda "here, now I'm gone."

Also, we're shown how Speed came back in some weird 'makes no real sense' way. And in doing so we're also not given any real conclusion on the Patriot character. Prodigy might have figured him out in some strange way, but it isn't really confirmed, and nothing is really revealed about him. Then he just disappears for someone else to MAYBE pick up and finish later. I HATE when writers do that crap because it almost ALWAYS results in dangling plot threads.

While removing Loki from the team (which was for the best... he was confusing and didn't fit at all), Gillen ended up leaving Ms. America, Marvel Boy, and Prodigy. I can get used to Ms. America and Prodigy on the team, but I was really hoping Marvel Boy would leave. Oh well. At least with Speed rejoining, it's 4 to 3 classic YA to Gillen ones, so that makes it a little better. If the real Patriot returns at some point, that'd help even more.

Also, with a series that THRIVED in the art department under McKelvie, these last two issues went a different route by bringing a bunch of different artists in, and it really hurt the story in my opinion. At least McKelvie was able to wrap it up in the end.

So yeah, the series typically ranked from just okay to bad in my opinion, but my love of the franchise and Prodigy kept me going. I'd likely have dropped it if it wasn't being canceled. Now I'm hoping someone else comes and does a better job. I like Gillen, but this was probably the worst thing I've read by him.

But seriously, I'd love to see him and McKelvie do a Generation X book. Make it happen.

 

[JewishHobbit]

And maybe it was because I picked up the last issue of an underwhelming Young Avengers series, but I was in a YA mood. I started skimming some Hawkeye issues, knowing that Kate Bishop was also in them, and decided to pick up a few of those issue. I picked up issue 11 (the dog issue), and then Annual 1 and issue 14 which focus fully on Kate and are fairly self contained as a continuing story without Clint.

I ended up really liking these issues and plan on picking up issue 16, which is the next solo Kate story. I read the first 4 or 5 issues (through the Tape story), and while I liked them alright, they weren't good enough to keep me buying at a time when I was tight in the wallet. Well, I'm still fairly tight in the wallet, but I like these Kate focused issues. I figure I'll get the next one or two as long as they continue to do them. And maybe if I find some room in my wallet, I'll buy the Clint issues as well.

I'm already thinking about dropping New Avengers due to it getting closer to Avengers and likely being one of those "event tie-in all the time" sort of titles. Maybe this one could replace it.

 

[CrimsonMist]

Pretty decent week.

Swamp Thing 27 was a fantastic read, especially after the disappointing issue 26. I find Swamp Thing, especially in the New52, interesting when he isn't fighting. All-fight Swamp Thing issues are boring. They've been some of the worst in the series. It's when Swamp Thing is challenged psychologically that he becomes interesting and the stories become engaging. Swamp Thing escaping The Green, defeating the new, evil Avatar, regaining his status as Avatar and destroying The Green was simply fantastic. It simultaneously harkens back to the Alan Moore-era of a god-like elemental being, while harkening back to the Wein/Wrightson era of a solitary plant man. I feel this is something Snyder tried doing, but totally failed at. Soule's run has it's ups and downs, but it's always been miles above Snyder's run and with this first major arc finally over, and a new status quo set in motion, I'm eager to see where Soule takes the book.

Fatale #19: A creepy conclusion to a rather uninteresting arc. I love this book, but I was not feeling this chapter of the story at all. Unfortunately, I feel like this book is becoming a little tedious. Each arc has the same gist: Josephine enters the live of a man, **** goes horribly wrong, man and associates die violently. Add to the fact that this book likes to come out whenever the hell it feels like. It's not necessarily a bad thing. I think it's great that Brubaker gives himself the proper amount of time to work out a story. But it only really justifies waiting for the inevitable TPB collection, or the deluxe hardcover collection. I forget what happens between this massive delays and don't have the time to go back and re-read. I may do the same thing for Velvet, which I thought was damn brilliant. But like Fatale, it takes it's time coming out. I'll stick with that for the first arc and then trade-wait. I think I'll be doing the same for Fatale now.

Baltimore: Chapel of Bones #1. This is a hold-over from last week. I didn't find it worth it going to my comic shop for one book. But as it is, this book was great. Having read the novel, Baltimore, Or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Vampire, I was ecstatic when Dark Horse and Mike Mignola announced a comic series featuring the character in stories that would fill in the gaps of the book. Each mini series has gotten better and better as it went on. This particular series takes place at the end of the novel, effectively illustrating the last chapter or so of the book. Alot of plot threads in the book and since the first mini, The Plague Ships, are being tied up here. This chapter, of two, is full of foreboding and hopelessness and oppressive dread. Mignola and Christopher Golden's writing is top-notch, leading to a story full of horror and action more effectively rendered than what Mignola is doing in his Abe Sapien and BPRD books at the same time . Ben Stenbeck's art is great, aided by Dave Steward on colors. Stenbeck adheres strictly to Mignola's style but elevates it with certain amounts of detail. I'm reminded ever so slightly of Gene Colan's work on Tomb of Dracula, just in terms of atmosphere. Not many artists can pull off this kind of horror. Stenbeck does it in spades. I look forward to seeing this conclude and I'm curious as to how Dark Horse proceeds with the character. Do they give him a finite ending, concluding the series with an illustrated version of the novel's ending? Or do they push forward and tell further tales of Sir Henry Baltimore? Time will tell.

Black Widow #1: I bought this for two reasons. 1 is Phil Noto's art. It's a beautiful book with a beautiful cover. 2 is because Nathan Edmondson is also writing the new Punisher book. I'd like to get a taste of what to expect. I was mildly let down. I'm certainly intrigued by Black Widow. But I felt the writing wasn't anything special. You have a lethal assassin whose perhaps too witty for her own good. And, atleast in this issue, a villain who, in typical villain fashion, demands severed body parts of the hero, and tries to show how tough he is by telling the hero that his henchmen may have been easy to take down, but he won't be. Yea. Whatever. We've gotten that so many times that it's not very interesting to read about. And for $4? I think I'll pass. I'm slightly worried about The Punisher now. Given that his book is $4 and double shipping next month, perhaps I'll just wait until the hardcover edition collecting all 10 issues of the series comes out. That probably won't be lasting too long.

Detective Comics #27. Pretty good. I didn't bother reading the Gothopia story, as I won't be picking up the rest of the series. I simply don't care. But the other stories were pretty solid. Brad Meltzer and Bryan Hitch's retelling of the very first Batman story was pretty damn good. I'm not normally a fan of Hitch. I think his artwork is pretty soulless looking. But I dug what I saw here. Of particular note, I love how Meltzer tied in The Joker's origin to Batman's first ever appearance. It's something so brilliant, yet so simple, that it amazes me that no one ever thought to do it before.

There was some mix up with the speech balloons that confused me a bit. A black character refers to the Joker character as Paulie. Then a page later, refers to him as Alby. And Alby refers to the black character as Paulie. Whatever. Didn't hinder the story.

The next story, Old School, by Gregg Hurwitz and Neal Adams, was a fun commentary about the evolution of comics and Batman himself, with Batman and Robin being foiled by villains because either Batman and Robin would state what their plans were, or because the villains could see their though balloons. The artwork spans time too, starting off in a Dick Sprang-esque fashion, working it's way up to Bronze Age-era Neal Adams to a more modern look. The writing goes from happy-go-lucky to grim n gritty. It was a fun story. Neal Adams, based on Batman Odyssey, may have lost a step or two, but here, his art was great.

Better Days, by Peter Tomasi and Ian Bertram was an amusing story about a 75 year old Bruce Wayne going out on his birthday as Batman and kicking ass. The art was very good. It was a fun little story celebrating Batman.

The Francesco Francavilla story, Hero, was my favorite. Very simple. It was, plainly put, great to see him drawing Batman again since The Black Mirror. And this ties into that, by having Batman rescue Barbara Gordon(mrs.) and James Gordon Jr. from a car accident, but not realizing who they were, before running off. I think this is Francavilla's third New52 appearance if i'm not mistaken. That's unfortunate. His work is so great. Marvel and Dark Horse seem to have more use for him.

There's a story called Sacrifice by Mike Barr, which was a nice throwback to the melodramatic 70's and early 80's era of Batman and of comic writing. The Phantom Stranger comes and shows Batman what live could have been like had his parents not been killed. A good enough story, but nothing special. Too reminiscent of the far superior and much celebrated Alan Brennert/Dick Giordano story"To Kill A Legend" story from Detective Comics #500, another past anniversary issue, which was also better than this issue.

The Scott Snyder story was interesting. It's revealed that Bruce Wayne cloned himself and it is a continuous process for those clones who decide to keep the war going. Sean Murphy's artwork is stellar as always. I'd like to see him do more with the character. Snyder's writing was pretty top notch, too. Probably his first truly solid story in a long time. However, I found it a bit derivative of the second half of Grant Morrison's story in Batman #700.

Overall, it was a pretty solid anniversary issue, but nowhere NEAR as good or great as previous books. The pin-ups by Graham Nolan and Kelley Jones were beyond welcome. The Jock and Mike Allred pin-ups were fantastic, as to be expected. But story-wise? Eh. Batman #400 and Detective Comics #572 are the templates by which I hold Batman related anniversary issues. This one doesn't even come close.

 

[squeekness]

X-Factor #1 Hey what a great opening issue. Granted it was very Gambit heavy and he is my top fave, but he was written well into character which is a relief, because I wasn't sure what PAD was going to do with him. The art was super yummy too, a treat for the eyes.

Savage Wolverine #14 I wasn't going to pick this up but since it was a small week I decided to and I was glad I did. The current Wolverine arcs are a snooze, but this is a jumping on point for a story that takes place well into Wolverine's past, in the 1930's when he is a booze runner. I found the story much more interesting than any of his new ones so far so I'll stick with it. The art wasn't bad either, though not as yummy as X-Factor's was. Still, it was worth the money I paid for it.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Went back to the shop to pick up the comics that were late in arriving.

Phantom Stranger 15 - Forever Evil: Blight part 7. This issue has Phantom Stranger go after Blight alone with hopes of saving Chris. Sadly, he learns that Chris WANTS to be a part of Blight, and that he's pretty much as bad as the Blight creature. Now whether this sticks or if he ends up being a pawn of Blight is yet to be seen. In the end PS and the rest of the JLD make a decision to see God regarding his allowing such things to happen when he could stop them.

This has been a really fun read so far, but I can see why some might not like it. It's long, no question, but I don't really feel like it's dragged at all. Every part has something interesting to cover, so I don't mind it. I've enjoyed it. This issue actually has Ultraman show up and also saw the death of Mindwarp (who was supposed to join the team during Milligan's run but didn't officially), and I personally loved that we saw Nick Necro and Felix Faust again. I hope they stick around.

Forever Evil: Arkham War 4 (of 6) - I'm still liking this story, but I'm starting to get bored. I think it lost me some last week when Bane put on a Batman suit. It looks silly. I don't want to read about Bat-Bane. I want to read about Bane himself, looking like Bane. He's silly looking now, and that takes me out of the story entirely. I'm glad to see William Cobb back though. I loved him in the Court of Owls story, and I'm excited to see all the Talons back in action starting next issue as well.


So including Young Avengers:

Best and Worst of the Week

Best: Phantom Stranger - Not the best issue of the series but still enjoyable.

Worst: Young Avengers - Probably the worst series I've read of the Marvel NOW initiative. I'm not sure why I stayed with it this long.

 

[bored]

Avengers World #1: Basically "We want to keep putting out "Avengers" twice monthly but we feel bad for working Hickman so hard so let's have him pull double-duty with Nick Spencer and give them different titles to sell more TPBs". That said, it's as fun as the best issues of the main title under Hickman have been. Spencer gets in a lot more little character beats that we've missed in "Avengers" (Banner being smarmy, Cannonball and Sunspot as superhero fratters, etc). One quibble: Didn't they JUST take Wolverine off the team, so he could focus on the Jean Grey School? That didn't take long.

X-Factor #1: I miss Madrox. PAD made him one of my favorite characters with his awkward attempts at being a detective. This is basically a whole new title (with only one character from the old team, Polaris, coming back) and new premise. But it's still PAD writing about a haphazard group of mutants, so I'm going to keep reading for the time being. I don't know if I'll get as attached to it as I was to the last volume of "X-Factor", which was a beacon of consistency for something like a decade, but it has potential.

 

[chamber-music]

This Young Avengers series seemed to be for the teenage girls on tumblr. I don't mean that in a dismissive or negative way that is who it felt like they were trying to appeal to.

This weeks Avengers AI was kind of meh. Vic running and hiding in the diamond. The rest of the team working out the villains plan and going into the diamond to stop them.

Black Widow this was ok. Natasha spending her non-Avengers time taking black op jobs to atone for her wrong doings in the past.

 

[Dread]

Solid week to start the new year's topic off well. As always, spoilers ahoy.

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 1/8/14:

QUANTUM & WOODY #7: James Asmus continues on his second arc for Valiant Entertainment's relaunch of one of the funniest superhero teams of the late 90's in taboo shattering and often hilarious fashion. Artist Ming Doyle and regular colorist Jordie Bellaire help present a story which essentially lambastes more than one type of Southern stereotype. Such stereotypes would seem absurd until one realizes how close many figures on "Fox News" come to this. Ex-army soldier and current "superhero" Eric Henderson/Quantum has been duped by his employer at Magnum Security into going into what is supposed to be a suicide mission against a militia enclave in Montana in a scheme for more federal security contracts. Only his brother Woody becomes aware that Eric has been set up, and his word and antics rarely are helpful. While the militia doesn't have a "dirty bomb" as promised, they are misinformed apocalyptic types whose guns and ignorance makes them almost as dangerous. When attempting to manipulate Mr. Magnum's religious hypocrisy fails to save him for long, Woody is forced to once again team with Quantum and choose which of two deranged sides of a war to follow. As always, Asmus' flair for constant one-liners and gut busting dialogue keeps the jokes flowing as Doyle does her best to keep up with art which has to straddle the line between comedy and action at a moment's notice. Admittedly, previous artist Tom Fowler seemed to be a better fit, but Doyle's artwork is still a pleasure to behold. Overall, this series begins 2014 the same way it ended 2013; offering some of the best laughs one can find in superhero comics.

AVENGERS A.I. #8: Sam Humphries, Andre Araujo and colorist Frank D'Armata proceed with their long term saga of "Hank Pym & the robot Avengers" in a story which continues to place artificial intelligence in the role of "oppressed minority" much as Marvel tends to do with mutants or Inhumans. Unfortunately, Pym's squad of Avengers have mostly failed to reign in the terrorist acts of rogue AI Dimitrios, which has resulted in a new law being passed which orders the immediate termination of any AI who isn't essentially working for the government or another authorized agency. This naturally appalls Pym, as he is visited by Captain America in his attempt to enforce this and take over the mission. Despite her seeming death in "Uncanny Avengers", Rogue also appears in what may be a sure sign that Rick Remender's team book has shifted from "flagship series" to "the crazy man's crazy sandbox in the back" in terms of editorial policy. Considering Rogue's own experiences as an oppressed figure, one would think that she would have more to say about the anti-robot policy; instead she merely trades insults with Doombot. Victor continues to explore the "cyberworld" which Dimitrios rules while Vision continues to act oddly. This is a perfectly enjoyable series with some lesser tier characters, but its opening arc has become its only arc, which has begin to drug on far too long. The artwork is imaginative although not on par with the best of their line. Considering the Avengers' backwards response to robots, this series seems to make Rick Remender's run on "Secret Avengers" seem better than it was.

BLACK WIDOW #1: Having been catapulted into the public eye after stand out portrayals by actress Scarlett Johansson in "Iron Man 2" and last summer's "The Avengers" films, the longtime anti-heroine Black Widow has seen more attention by Marvel Comics within the past three years than she often has gotten in the decades since her Silver Age debut. Created by Stan Lee, Don Rico, and artist Don Heck, Black Widow first appeared in "Tales of Suspense #52" circa 1964, she began life as a Cold War era Soviet spy nemesis for Iron Man. The character proved popular enough to reform in "Avengers #29" just two years later, and she would go on to appear in various other comic titles throughout the 60's, 70's, and 80's. While she was an on and off member of the Avengers during this time as well as a founding member of the short lived "Champions", aside for sharing a title with "Daredevil" for a stretch she rarely got to star in her own solo stories beyond some anthology tales or mini series here and there. This all changed in 2010 when the character was set to appear in "Iron Man 2", which resulted in her first ongoing series as written by Marjorie Liu and Duane Swierczynski. It only lasted eight issues before she seemed to once again be reduced to team or mini series placements once more.

Thankfully, Marvel Comics are trying again less than a year since the character appeared on the big screen with this second attempt at an ongoing series as part of their "All-New Marvel NOW" push. Nathan Edmondson ("Who is Jake Ellis?", "Grifter") teams up with notable artist Phil Noto, whose work spans across the comic book industry but has been best seen in "X-23", "Jonah Hex" and "Uncanny X-Force". A prelude story by the pair has also been offered in this week's "All-New Marvel NOW Point One #1" sampler special, but readers who instead dove into this fresh start will be offered a satisfying and simple opening story which skillfully sets up the status quo. The trend for Black Widow tends to be that she does spy stuff in her own stories and over the top superhero stuff in her various "Avengers" appearances, and this series doesn't seem to break that mold. After all, similar premises have always worked for all of Wolverine's solo titles, right?

As the cover says, Black Widow represents a triple-A threat: "Agent. Avenger. Assassin". During her sporadic off time from major Avengers missions, Natasha takes part in high octane espionage missions for employers across the globe (such as Berlin and Dubai) while living in a lonely apartment in Manhattan in her downtime. The only members of her supporting cast seem to be an alley cat she attempts to resist attaching to and her lawyer/financial manager Isaiah. The set up is that Natasha may still be accepting mercenary/assassin style jobs from various international figures, but her targets must be criminals or otherwise evil figures and the bulk of her proceeds are to go towards charitable funds and other benevolent resources. Unfortunately, Isaiah claims her charity plans are too ambitious for her income despite succeeding in two deadly missions with this first issue, and Natasha's quest for personal atonement for past sins may be a mission which not even she can complete. Her first two missions involve solving a terrorist crisis and saving a mafia honcho from being assassinated by another hired killer. Such "simple" adventures are brought to life with Noto's beautiful artwork and Edmondson having a great voice for his lead character.

This is a rare first issue which establishes its premise and offers two distinct spy adventures within a single issue which doesn't read as the first chapter of a trade collection. It may not reinvent the wheel but what it does offer it offers efficiently and elegantly. It will remain to be seen if this stab at a "Black Widow" series will last any longer than in 2010, but if the quality of this opening issue is any indicator, it certainly deserves to.

IRON MAN #20: The current arc of "Iron Metropolis" marches on under writer Kieron Gillen's pen and artist Joe Bennett's pencils. Tony Stark and his long lost brother Arno are doing their best to make up for lost time and launch a city of the future within Mandarin City, former stronghold of Iron Man's deceased arch nemesis. Only it seems the schemes of his old enemy are not yet resolved, as his ten alien rings of power have a will all their own. One of which has attached itself to angry blogger Abigail Burns, who now calls herself "Red Burn". The ability with which "Iron Man" comics make enemies out of currently trendy opponents continues to amaze; from "yellow peril" villains in the 60's to leagues of evil Commies until 1991 to Y2K at the start of the century, now it seems blogs have caught the attention of the franchise. As such, this issue is essentially an extended battle sequence between Iron Man and Red Peril, and given that she is a new nemesis it is likely wise to devote some attention to her. A quick meeting with James Rhodes brings the knowledge that the Mandarin's dangerous rings aren't as secure as originally thought. The art pops and overall it offers an exciting sequence, even if it does seem awfully trendy. Considering Gillen also writes the terminally hip "Young Avengers", this is likely no coincidence.

YOUNG AVENGERS #15: Stick a fork in it, it's done. Kieron Gillen and regular artist Jamie McKelvie end their year long run on the franchise that Allen Heinberg built (and mostly abandoned), having produced fifteen issues within twelve months. This is a commendable feat, albeit one possible with many artists aiding in the schedule down the line. Much like the previous issue, this finale offers the second part of the "resolution" for the series featuring a whole host of artists handling different characters. This time around, McKelvie is flanked by fellow artists Ming Doyle, Becky Cloonan and Joe Quinones. Nothing earth shattering develops but the two issues to breath is refreshing and allowed the characters to cement themselves for the run. Noh-Varr tries his best to come to terms with the end of his relationship with Kate Bishop, Prophet comes to terms with Loki's betrayal and Speed's return, and everyone seems to learn that sexual orientation is often ambiguous once labels are stripped away. The explanation as to who "Not-Patriot" is and how Speed is back is fairly ludicrous, but at least it didn't spark a six issue crossover event. Despite falling sales, the finale of this book was done on the creative team's terms, which is all for the best as all which has to be said is said by this last issue. This series was less about a plot and more about an eclectic bunch of young people who had a wild and strange trip which changed most of them in some way; things like super-powers or dimensions just served as visual metaphors. Much like "The Ultimates", this series had its pulse on the current trends of youth culture so firmly that it will seem very dated in five years time, but unlike "The Ultimates" its tone was far more optimistic and inclusive. Rather than make a fuss about their mostly homosexual/bisexual cast, the series treated them the same as if they were Peter Parker and Mary Jane, which is the best way to be inclusive. Those looking for a more straightforward take at young superheroes will get "New Warriors" in April, but for what this was it was enjoyable for the moment.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I don't know. The more I think about it the more I loath Gillen's Young Avengers run. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it has to do with how much praise it gets while I could barely stomach each issue. It's probably more along the lines with how out of character I felt most of them were, or because Gillen's take on teenagers is such a stark contradiction to my own teenage years that the book became unreadable and ridiculous. All said and done, I feel this took one of my favorite franchises and drove it so far into the ground that I wish they'd been left for dead following Heinburg's initial run. This run just felt like one big joke, and people are praising it like it's a modern literary classic that will define the future of the art form. Honestly, it was just a crappy comic written horribly with mostly good art.

 

[squeekness]

I dropped it after two or three issues, so no, it wasn't literary greatness to me either, LOL.

 

[Dread]

I don't know. The more I think about it the more I loath Gillen's Young Avengers run. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it has to do with how much praise it gets while I could barely stomach each issue. It's probably more along the lines with how out of character I felt most of them were, or because Gillen's take on teenagers is such a stark contradiction to my own teenage years that the book became unreadable and ridiculous. All said and done, I feel this took one of my favorite franchises and drove it so far into the ground that I wish they'd been left for dead following Heinburg's initial run. This run just felt like one big joke, and people are praising it like it's a modern literary classic that will define the future of the art form. Honestly, it was just a crappy comic written horribly with mostly good art.

This volume of YOUNG AVENGERS was a mixed bag. Overall, I liked more of it than I disliked, but it's not for everyone. I usually called it things like "terminally hip" or "more about flash than substance" because I think those were its signatures. It wanted to be trendy and NOW, above all else. The use of Twitter references, the embrace of open gender identity in the youth culture, ending on a party, it's all part of that. In 2020 when people crack open those trades, it'll be easy to go, "pfft, hash tags were SO 2013", but that's the choice it made. Same as "THE ULTIMATES" is easily dated as taking place over a decade ago (at the start of the Bush Jr. administration especially). It's just not as grim, and was refreshingly tolerant of sexual orientations or female characters dating as openly as male ones. Kate had a May/August romance and wasn't shamed for it because "girls have to be pure".

Characters? Wiccan, Loki, and Hulking were the stars, in just about that order. This could seem dismaying as Wiccan and through him Hulkling got the bulk of AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE. Speed, the founding member with the least backstory and fleshing, was essentially a MacGuffin for the second half. Kate Bishop's "real" book is HAWKEYE, so it was almost obvious that she could do little more here than get a wardrobe change and have a summer fling with a hot alien boy. I actually liked Noh-Varr's use here; I thought it was a wise step back from the lame "Protector" angle Bendis had forged the character into, bringing him back into that eclectic bizarreness that Morrison infused into his creation. I also thought Prophet's late addition was well done. Considering Eli Bradley's exile since CHILDREN'S CRUSADE, "Not-Patriot" could be considered a tease.

The plot barely exists, and it's a mess. It's a service to metaphors and emotional beats and little more. It is almost good that the official Marvel Handbook has apparently closed shop after 2012 or so, as the task of writing a biography for "Mother" would not be easy. And honestly I am rarely a fan of dimension hopping or alternate realities. I know they existed as metaphors for potential, but they were blunt. A bunch of teenagers rebelling against a controlling "Mother"? The metaphors are so obvious you can almost taste them. They taste like chicken, if one wonders.

The art was often lovely. The page layouts unique. The dialogue was often cracking. It wasn't perfect and if anything, has proven to be enough of an alternative that I eagerly await Yost's more traditional NEW WARRIORS relaunch even more. And I still miss the often underrated AVENGERS ACADEMY, which I thought was a better work. Still, for $3 an issue I got a kick out of it. Just don't ask me for details in another month, 'cause they'll be gone.

And I think the cast of YA are still very viable for other books or creators. Hell, Speed's obligatory return from his random exile seemed to cement it.

 

[JewishHobbit]

In 2020 when people crack open those trades, it'll be easy to go, "pfft, hash tags were SO 2013", but that's the choice it made. Same as "THE ULTIMATES" is easily dated as taking place over a decade ago (at the start of the Bush Jr. administration especially).

The reason why it didn't bother me in Ultimates was that the Ultimate Universe was supposed to be relatively close to "real time", so having it take place in a specific time period made sense. It fit. In the 616 we have a sliding time scale so that in ten years, it's supposed to only be a year or two after the current events. Using "trendy" current things like twitter and hashtags will throw this book off and date it even more. But I suppose that's happened for years in various ways, so I can't really fault Gillen for doing it. I just don't like it.

It's just not as grim, and was refreshingly tolerant of sexual orientations or female characters dating as openly as male ones. Kate had a May/August romance and wasn't shamed for it because "girls have to be pure".

I'm an "old fashioned" kind of person, so this stuff did bug me a bit. I don't mind it happening but not in large clumps. I didn't like Kate just randomly hooking up with a boy she didn't know (she made it obvious that they'd only just met and had sex, which I don't care for at all). Heck, she didn't even realize until afterwards that this boy tried to kill her a year prior (and really, you'd think she'd remember someone who tried to kill her). And even worse, the two of them just brushed that aside as a laugh. It was just horribly done to make it happen. I feel like it did hurt Kate's character because it made her seem horribly dumb, and it could have gotten her killed in this situation.

As far as sexual orientations go, I don't mind that. I did feel that toward the end it just randomly threw Noh-Varr, Loki, and Ms. America's orientation at you for the heck of it, making it an all-gay-but-one team. I didn't like that as it wasn't very believable to me. But I did think Gillen handled Prodigy's reveal well, as in just discovering his sexuality and embracing it. He'd only been shown with one girl prior to this (Surge) and that didn't end well, so it made sense to have him gay or bi.

Characters? Wiccan, Loki, and Hulking were the stars, in just about that order. This could seem dismaying as Wiccan and through him Hulkling got the bulk of AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE. Speed, the founding member with the least backstory and fleshing, was essentially a MacGuffin for the second half.

And all of this annoyed me. Wiccan and Hulkling getting the focus was annoying because they just had the focus for 12 issues of Children's Crusade prior to this. Speed was with the team at the end of CC but suddenly gone here with no explanation. That was poor writing on Gillen's part. His use in the title was pointless really, and his return was even worse. But at least he remembered to bring him back.

As for Loki, I hated him in this book. I think a big part of that was that it felt (to me) like he assumed everyone read Kid Loki's prior adventures, and I hadn't. I still to this day don't understand half the crap that was going on with him in this title, like the two Lokis and apparently half the characters involved being Loki as well? This was a Loki book guest staring some Young Avengers and other characters. Ugh.

Kate Bishop's "real" book is HAWKEYE, so it was almost obvious that she could do little more here than get a wardrobe change and have a summer fling with a hot alien boy. I actually liked Noh-Varr's use here; I thought it was a wise step back from the lame "Protector" angle Bendis had forged the character into, bringing him back into that eclectic bizarreness that Morrison infused into his creation.

Kate's role in this book was so two dimensional that it literally could have been anyone else in the Marvel Universe. With Marvel Boy being bi, it could have been male or female. She did nothing to add to the story in the slightest. She was just there.

Just because it was a more interesting take of Noh-Varr doesn't make it better. I've not read Morrison's Marvel Boy mini, but I understand he's strange in a different way there. Then he became more of a villain who was challenged by the Illuminati and Skrull-Marvel to become a hero. Then he became a personality-free Avenger. To have him suddenly like this with no transition was poor writing and distracting. Yes, I did semi-like this rendition of him, but it took about 10 issues for that to happen, and like Loki, he felt more like a distraction than a legitimate member of the team.

I also thought Prophet's late addition was well done. Considering Eli Bradley's exile since CHILDREN'S CRUSADE, "Not-Patriot" could be considered a tease.

"Prophet" (aka... Prodigy ) was well done I think. It was his portrayal that actually kept me coming back to the book for as long as I did. He was my favorite New X-Man, and Gillen's done better with him here than years over in the X-Books. And his reasoning for leaving the X-Books and finding his way here worked well. He is the one addition to the team that I genuinely liked.

As for "Not-Patriot", I found him interesting. I missed real Patriot, but he quit during Children's Crusade, so his not being here made sense (unlike Speed). Having this version of Patriot around added intrigue, but that alone made the last issue even more infuriating. If you're going to create someone like this, don't leave him up in the air like that. I doubt anyone will pick up on that, and he'll just be thrown in the wind. It was a silly, unfilling way to end one of the most enigmatic, interesting characters in the story.

The one character you didn't mention in your list was Ms. America. I didn't care for her in the beginning, but I think that was only because she was yet one more character to throw on the team making it feel very unYoung Avengery to me. But she grew on me as the series went on to the point where I was okay that she stayed. I didn't care for her suddenly becoming gay in the end, though I suppose it was expected with how she was written the entire story. If it had only been her and not her lumped in with Loki and Marvel Boy (as far as joining the team and coming out as gay) I think I'd have liked it. Still, I ended up enjoying her character in the end. I do worry that her being on the team makes Patriot's eventual return feel redundant with two star spangled team members.

Note: I didn't read Vengeance where she debuted, so whether she was written in character I don't know.

The plot barely exists, and it's a mess. It's a service to metaphors and emotional beats and little more. It is almost good that the official Marvel Handbook has apparently closed shop after 2012 or so, as the task of writing a biography for "Mother" would not be easy. And honestly I am rarely a fan of dimension hopping or alternate realities. I know they existed as metaphors for potential, but they were blunt. A bunch of teenagers rebelling against a controlling "Mother"? The metaphors are so obvious you can almost taste them. They taste like chicken, if one wonders.

Yeah, the story was so paper thin that it was ridiculous. When it was all said and done, looking back, I feel like no real story was told. A parasite made people want to kill the team, it turned people into goo somehow, there was dimension hopping, and the team beat her. And Loki did something weird.

I wish Gillen would have put more into it like pulling Super Skrull and Xavin into the story to help out, or dealt more with Cassie and Jonah's passing between issues. Things that would have made the story feel more like a Young Avengers book and not some random rebellion teenage hipster tale.

The art was often lovely. The page layouts unique. The dialogue was often cracking. It wasn't perfect and if anything, has proven to be enough of an alternative that I eagerly await Yost's more traditional NEW WARRIORS relaunch even more. And I still miss the often underrated AVENGERS ACADEMY, which I thought was a better work. Still, for $3 an issue I got a kick out of it. Just don't ask me for details in another month, 'cause they'll be gone.

And I think the cast of YA are still very viable for other books or creators. Hell, Speed's obligatory return from his random exile seemed to cement it.

I will agree that the art was great. McKelvie really sold me on this series in that I was eager to see how gorgeous his art would be. He was creative in how he used his art here, and his rendition of these characters were phenomenal. His Kate Bishop was gorgeous (from a male perspective), and his expressions were great. Every character looked different and kept their look. I liked that. I look forward to reading more books with his art. At $3 an issue I was willing to convince myself to keep buying the book for McKelvie and Prodigy. If it were $4, I'd have dropped it by issue 7 at the latest.

 

[Dread]

The reason why it didn't bother me in Ultimates was that the Ultimate Universe was supposed to be relatively close to "real time", so having it take place in a specific time period made sense. It fit. In the 616 we have a sliding time scale so that in ten years, it's supposed to only be a year or two after the current events. Using "trendy" current things like twitter and hashtags will throw this book off and date it even more. But I suppose that's happened for years in various ways, so I can't really fault Gillen for doing it. I just don't like it.

You have a point but Marvel Comics has often done that for years. Barack Obama has appeared in comics after his election. The Black Lama was literally an alternate reality version of Gerald Ford, which sounds insane until you realize it was a 1970's story. No end of Marvel lore was heavily entrenched in the very topical Cold War (including most of Iron Man's enemies). Marvel's "sliding time scale" usually makes this wonky. Yes, hashtags and Tumblr may be "hipster", but in a few years it'll be no more dated than old comics with floppy discs or Ultimates with no end of topical one liners.

I'm an "old fashioned" kind of person, so this stuff did bug me a bit. I don't mind it happening but not in large clumps. I didn't like Kate just randomly hooking up with a boy she didn't know (she made it obvious that they'd only just met and had sex, which I don't care for at all). Heck, she didn't even realize until afterwards that this boy tried to kill her a year prior (and really, you'd think she'd remember someone who tried to kill her). And even worse, the two of them just brushed that aside as a laugh. It was just horribly done to make it happen. I feel like it did hurt Kate's character because it made her seem horribly dumb, and it could have gotten her killed in this situation.

As far as sexual orientations go, I don't mind that. I did feel that toward the end it just randomly threw Noh-Varr, Loki, and Ms. America's orientation at you for the heck of it, making it an all-gay-but-one team. I didn't like that as it wasn't very believable to me. But I did think Gillen handled Prodigy's reveal well, as in just discovering his sexuality and embracing it. He'd only been shown with one girl prior to this (Surge) and that didn't end well, so it made sense to have him gay or bi.

People "hook up" more than date these days, especially young people. Many characters in comics have "hooked up" with perhaps less than straight and narrow figures. The first woman Spider-Man willingly unmasked for was Felicia Hardy - a professional thief who later on went to become the accomplice to a hit man. How many times has Batman gotten close with Catwoman or Talia Al Ghul? Hell, Steve Rogers dated Diamondback, a ex-Serpent Society member, for a long time even while she was still operating as an occasional mercenary with some of her B.A.D. Girls chums. I don't see Kate and Noh-Varr as being much different compared to those, just taken to a more timely level of hooking up rather than meeting at the Coffee Bean.

Wolverine frequently "just has sex" with plenty of women, including some dangerous. He once deliberately slept with a woman he knew was Mystique by scent alone. That's not to mention his alliances with underworld leaders like Tyger Tyger or his brief marriage to Viper. He's never judged for these actions. Hell, Wolverine's not even judged when he breaks all of space and time in AGE OF ULTRON or no end of atrocities he commits in most of his solo series. But, I digress.

Noh-Varr at the very least is young and his ability to change as he grows up feels more fluid. I wasn't bothered by it; just saw it as something kids do. Nobody complained when Kitty Pryde had the hots for Avalanche not long after he tried to kill her and her parents out of spite in the "X-MEN EVOLUTION" cartoon of 2000-2003. Young people's hormones take them strange places. I don't think it hurts Kate's character any more than it would hurt any male character for hooking up with a "femme fatale".

And all of this annoyed me. Wiccan and Hulkling getting the focus was annoying because they just had the focus for 12 issues of Children's Crusade prior to this. Speed was with the team at the end of CC but suddenly gone here with no explanation. That was poor writing on Gillen's part. His use in the title was pointless really, and his return was even worse. But at least he remembered to bring him back.

As for Loki, I hated him in this book. I think a big part of that was that it felt (to me) like he assumed everyone read Kid Loki's prior adventures, and I hadn't. I still to this day don't understand half the crap that was going on with him in this title, like the two Lokis and apparently half the characters involved being Loki as well? This was a Loki book guest staring some Young Avengers and other characters. Ugh.

I didn't read Gillen's JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY so a lot of that was lost on me, too. But considering how wiggy the rest of the plot was I just usually chalked it up to oddness and embraced the rest of the book. I do agree that Wiccan/Hulking have gotten most of the focus in YA projects over the last 2 or so years and while they're fine characters it is becoming uneven. Speed really was wasted here, especially after just meeting Quicksilver. It's as if the franchise has forgotten he's Wanda's kid, too.

Kate's role in this book was so two dimensional that it literally could have been anyone else in the Marvel Universe. With Marvel Boy being bi, it could have been male or female. She did nothing to add to the story in the slightest. She was just there.

Just because it was a more interesting take of Noh-Varr doesn't make it better. I've not read Morrison's Marvel Boy mini, but I understand he's strange in a different way there. Then he became more of a villain who was challenged by the Illuminati and Skrull-Marvel to become a hero. Then he became a personality-free Avenger. To have him suddenly like this with no transition was poor writing and distracting. Yes, I did semi-like this rendition of him, but it took about 10 issues for that to happen, and like Loki, he felt more like a distraction than a legitimate member of the team.

I at least liked that Kate was able to have a short term fling with someone based almost purely on physical looks without being judged, like no end of male characters do.

Marvel Boy started out as a teenage Kree from another dimension who basically wanted to take over the world due to his sheer arrogance. Taken to that logical conclusion he could have made a unique antagonist for the Fantastic Four or the Guardians of the Galaxy. Instead Bendis saw him as Mar-Vell Lite and forged him into that lame direction. I'll admit this rendition of him was a 180, but I saw it as a required evil that led to a better result.

"Prophet" (aka... Prodigy ) was well done I think. It was his portrayal that actually kept me coming back to the book for as long as I did. He was my favorite New X-Man, and Gillen's done better with him here than years over in the X-Books. And his reasoning for leaving the X-Books and finding his way here worked well. He is the one addition to the team that I genuinely liked.

As for "Not-Patriot", I found him interesting. I missed real Patriot, but he quit during Children's Crusade, so his not being here made sense (unlike Speed). Having this version of Patriot around added intrigue, but that alone made the last issue even more infuriating. If you're going to create someone like this, don't leave him up in the air like that. I doubt anyone will pick up on that, and he'll just be thrown in the wind. It was a silly, unfilling way to end one of the most enigmatic, interesting characters in the story.

The one character you didn't mention in your list was Ms. America. I didn't care for her in the beginning, but I think that was only because she was yet one more character to throw on the team making it feel very unYoung Avengery to me. But she grew on me as the series went on to the point where I was okay that she stayed. I didn't care for her suddenly becoming gay in the end, though I suppose it was expected with how she was written the entire story. If it had only been her and not her lumped in with Loki and Marvel Boy (as far as joining the team and coming out as gay) I think I'd have liked it. Still, I ended up enjoying her character in the end. I do worry that her being on the team makes Patriot's eventual return feel redundant with two star spangled team members.

Note: I didn't read Vengeance where she debuted, so whether she was written in character I don't know.

I didn't read VENGEANCE either, and judging by its sales we're hardly alone there. Miss America was cool. I thought she was a bit one note, though. She kicked things, she got the tough girl one liners, there wasn't much else to her that I haven't seen from many action girls over the years. She was still perfectly fine, though. Even if she did seem inserted to add to the dimensional oddness.

The treatment of sexual orientation as being not as major as old white men on Fox News treat it was refreshing, even if one can also argue that using it so flippantly can make it seem more of a trend than a natural progression. I happen to live in NYC where "out and proud" is more common, so I didn't really notice. It is different for everyone and every society; Noh-Varr and Miss America came from other dimensions, and Loki is a god and they rarely stick to one orientation or even species.

Yeah, the story was so paper thin that it was ridiculous. When it was all said and done, looking back, I feel like no real story was told. A parasite made people want to kill the team, it turned people into goo somehow, there was dimension hopping, and the team beat her. And Loki did something weird.

I wish Gillen would have put more into it like pulling Super Skrull and Xavin into the story to help out, or dealt more with Cassie and Jonah's passing between issues. Things that would have made the story feel more like a Young Avengers book and not some random rebellion teenage hipster tale.

For the record, in introducing Xavin in RUNAWAYS, Brian K. Vaughan introduced the notion that to Skrulls, gender is optional as is sexual orientation. They can literally change it on a whim. Nobody had done that before and that was in tune with YA.

The plot, though, was thin. The kids defeated a metaphor for puberty that they themselves unleashed.

I will agree that the art was great. McKelvie really sold me on this series in that I was eager to see how gorgeous his art would be. He was creative in how he used his art here, and his rendition of these characters were phenomenal. His Kate Bishop was gorgeous (from a male perspective), and his expressions were great. Every character looked different and kept their look. I liked that. I look forward to reading more books with his art. At $3 an issue I was willing to convince myself to keep buying the book for McKelvie and Prodigy. If it were $4, I'd have dropped it by issue 7 at the latest.

The artwork was often stunning, right up there with DAREDEVIL. As I said, overall a mixed bag and not to everyone's taste. I look forward to NEW WARRIORS in April with added relish.

 

[Will Nolte]

I really disliked the bisexuality being shoved down our throats on every page. In previous volumes, the relationship between Wiccan and Hulkling seemed natural and fit the story. This volume it was in your face, over done, and everyone seemed to be bi. It was so over the top it was pretty sickening.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I don't know if I'd say sickening as much as distracting and annoying. It did turn me off of the book a bit. It didn't really become annoying until the last issue though with all the sudden reveals. When it was Wiccan, Hulkling, and even Prodigy, I didn't mind it as much. I wanted them to focus more on the story than the relationship aspects, but at least it was done decently. I did feel that Gillen came a little too close to having people's homosexuality being a plot device instead of a natural part of the characters. That bothered me a great deal. Heck, that even goes for the heterosexual part of the book. What other purpose did Kate and Noh-Varr serve than to be "the straight couple that randomly hooked up"? And then just for the fun of it one of them ended up not even being entirely straight.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Flip... Flop... Flip Flop... Flippity Floppity Flip Flop.... Flip.... aaaaaaand I'm back on Daredevil. Mark Waid just does this stupid thing where he can make me completely dislike this book for 3 or 4 issues straight and then pull me back in with a single panel. It's annoying. Anyhow, when I dropped the book I didn't realize then that there would only be 4 issues left of this run. I've skimmed two of the issues since, but when I skimmed today's issue, the final panel caught my eye. So I ended up buying all three. I didn't care for the one with the monsters, but the one after that was decent. The review for the new issue is below:


Daredevil 35 - Okay, I loved this issue. I'm glad I did actually because I love Daredevil but don't necessarily care for Waid's take on him. Yet, Waid can at times hook me in with the rest and make me love it for a time. The last time I was hooked was around issues 23-26 give or take. Well, this issue and last issue have hooked me again. I'm very invested in Foggy's condition, and for the first time this issue has made me care about the Sons of Serpent plot. The twist at the end was fantastic, and I'm reminded once again why I love Kirsten.

I still wish someone else would be given a shot writing this book (or at least that there wasn't a pointless relaunch), but I may give it a shot post issue 36. We'll see how my flip-floppiness is feeling then.

Amazing X-Men 3 - I still stand by my statement that Aaron's X-Men run has been rubbish since AvX and that Azazel as a pirate is a stupid idea. That said, I am digging this book right now. Aaron's even improved on Wolverine & the X-Men as well, so hopefully he's out of his rut. I loved Beast this whole issue, and Nightcrawler and Storm were great. I've always questioned how characters in the Marvel Universe can actually be Atheistic or Agnostic, but Beast actually makes a good case for it here with a simple mention of this Hell maybe being some alternate dimension. I can get how a scientific minded character in the 616 could reason that to explain away God.

Also, I've never liked McGuinness' art, but I'm actually really liking it here. He has a great feel for these characters, and I hope he sticks around for a while. Aaron's handling of the characters and book has been great, and while I only planned on buying the first arc for Nightcrawler on a "see how it goes" status, chances are that I'll stick with it.

Very happy to see Aaron bringing his A-Game again But pirate Azazel is still stupid... but at least his goal in this series is growing on me

All-New X-Men 21 - What was once an amazing title has been lacking of late. I'm not really feeling this arc and am glad it's wrapped up quickly, though I suspect Bendis will return to the son of Stryker. I like X-23 but am quickly growing bored of the O5 in present times. Just like everyone (myself included) expected, Bendis and Marvel has overstayed their welcome with this story and now the book is suffering as a result. It's not bad really, but I'm losing interest. I hope something is done about it soon because the book is dropping like a rock for me.

Maybe this Guardians of the Galaxy crossover will breathe new life into it. Also, I'm not a big fan of Peterson's art. That might have also taken me out of it. I also feel that it's still hurting due to Battle of the Atom's outcome bringing Kitty and the O5 to Cyclops' side of things for no discernible reason. Still butt hurt over that.

Uncanny X-Men 16 - I really enjoyed this issue, and Bachelo's art didn't bother me in the slightest. I actually kinda liked it here (though the Magneto redesign still hurts my eyes). The issue is told from Magneto's point of view as we discover what Mystique's plan with Madripoor is. It's essentially the same as Magneto's Genosha and Cyclops' Utopia... but Mystique apparently thinks it's different, as does Magneto. Maybe I missed something. Still, it was a pretty cool issue, and I loved seeing Blob back and repowered. I'm curious where this plot will go, and I'm also curious if this issue will have any bearings on the upcoming Magneto ongoing.

So yeah, good issue. While All-New started as the superior X-Book of the two, I think Uncanny's easily surpassed it. It's been decent since prior to Battle of the Atom whereas All-New has declined. Oh well, that's comics.

Nightwing 27 - You know, I really like this Marionette character! I hope she sticks around some because I want to know what happens to her down the road. This was probably my favorite issue of this title for quite some time, probably since Death of the Family, so that's a big uptick. I've never been a big Mad Hatter fan, but he was alright here, and I like his connection to Marionette. Her story is rather interesting really. I enjoyed it.

Good issue, which was greatly needed. I still like the book, but I was starting to get bored of it. Sadly, it was falling down my list of books to the point where I was just starting to consider dropping it. It needed this issue for me. Also, Will Conrad's art is really working for me. I loved Eddy Barrows' art when the book launched but felt it took a hit when Brett Booth took over. I don't mind Booth's art, but it wasn't a good fit for the book in my opinion. Conrad's art fits perfectly. I wish it had gone directly from Barrows to Conrad. The feel would have been smoother.

Constantine 10 - I LOVED this issue. I've always been a fan of the Spectre, and I've been loving the Heaven/Hell angle that Phantom Stranger's title has been tackling since it's inception. Well, this issue deals with both in an awesome way. The art is gorgeous, and Fawkes does a great job as storyteller. I've been intrigued by Azazel in Phantom Stranger and am glad to see him join the fight against Blight. And while his roll wasn't huge, I loved the Spectre's depiction here. The Wrath of God indeed.

Fantastic issue in a pretty good (but overly large) story. I'm not bored with Blight in the slightest, though I easily could have been with the length of the story, and though we're only about half way through the story, I still find myself eager to see how it plays out. I'm loving it.


Best and Worst of the Week

Best: Constantine - It was either this or Daredevil, but I chose this because it had more going for it. I just loved everything about it.

Worst: All-New X-Men - This wasn't a bad issue by any means, but it just did nothing for me. I think I've stopped caring about the O5, and that takes my enjoyment out of the title. I can't take Kitty seriously after that silly decision at the end of Battle of the Five. At least I have X-23. Bendis is writing her well. Hopefully it'll get better again.

 

[Will Nolte]

I don't know if I'd say sickening as much as distracting and annoying. It did turn me off of the book a bit. It didn't really become annoying until the last issue though with all the sudden reveals. When it was Wiccan, Hulkling, and even Prodigy, I didn't mind it as much. I wanted them to focus more on the story than the relationship aspects, but at least it was done decently. I did feel that Gillen came a little too close to having people's homosexuality being a plot device instead of a natural part of the characters. That bothered me a great deal. Heck, that even goes for the heterosexual part of the book. What other purpose did Kate and Noh-Varr serve than to be "the straight couple that randomly hooked up"? And then just for the fun of it one of them ended up not even being entirely straight.

Yeah sickening was the wrong word. You hit the nail on the head with this, I agree with everything you said here. I honestly didn't need to see the intimate scene between Kate and Noh-Varr in the beginning of the series just as much as that bisexual lovefest stuff at the end of the series. What happened to telling thought provoking stories without resorting to cheap plot devices like "who is hooking up with who?". What is this a WB teen drama about vampires?

When they pull that crap on Arrow about the "tension" between Felicity Smoak and Ollie, I just roll my eyes. I'm tired of this whole "oh they are close friends so they gotta be hooking up" crap...

 

[Dread]

After a few light weeks, the middle of January finally feels like a normal week, least in terms of cost, albeit with one item from last week. Spoilers ahoy!

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 1/15/14:

ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #17: Fred Van Lente wraps up yet another arc of his often hilarious, occasionally poignant and always imaginative relaunch of this longtime Valiant Entertainment franchise. A sudden crossover with "Bloodshot and the H.A.R.D. Corps" is due by sprint and the rush to wrap this issue up meant that the art credits for this issue have expanded - Khari Evans and ChrisCross on pencils and David Baron with Allen Passalaqua on colors. It all leads to a showdown between the two titular leads as well as all of the factions of the worldwide cabal "the Sect" as Archer sought to reorganize the cabal behind himself, gain a MacGuffin and avenge himself on Armstrong for sleeping with the woman he loved. However, when confronting Mary-Maria and her own group herself, Archer is forced to rethink his current vendetta with fresh eyes. To this end Van Lente has used this crazy and action packed adventure to tell a story about two friends forgiving each other for past sins once it is shown their their friendship is more powerful than anger over a slight. Despite the added figures to the art, it all looks terrific and is up to the usual standard for the series. The upcoming crossover is an obligation which is not exactly welcomed, but will hopefully provide another opportunity for the usual standard of action packed fun that Fred Van Lente is known for in this series.

DAREDEVIL #35: After inciting near panic across critical circles online with the solicitation of February's issue of "Daredevil" as the "final" one, Marvel Comics has wisely decided to continue allowing writer Mark Waid to continue his Eisner award winning, steady sales earning run on "the man without fear" continue. However, the series will be relaunched in March not only as a naked attempt to boost sales for one or two months, but to welcome a new artist/'co-storyteller". Thus, this is the penultimate issue of Chris Samnee's tenure as regular artist on this series, a role he's owned throughout 2013, as well as setting up the finale which will give the series a narrative reason for a revamp.

Matt Murdock has currently become embroiled in yet another deeply entrenched conspiracy in his exploits as a lawyer by day, vigilante by night and neurotic all around. This time it's the racist group the "Sons of the Serpent" whose roots may be supernatural but who have taken high positions of power within various judicial and law enforcement institutions (in addition to having leagues of costume clad extremist minions). Having failed to incite a riot in Manhattan and defeat Daredevil through a pawn (his old foe, the Jester), the cabal have instead threatened him directly - via exposing his barely secret identity to the bar association as well as the life of Foggy Nelson, who is struggling to survive cancer. Murdock quickly is forced into defending the son of a head honcho of the group who is being set up for a murder he didn't commit (despite still being a bigoted crook in practice) or allowing the creep to be sent to jail and losing what is left of the life Murdock's tried desperately to create after his breakdown in "Shadowland". Left with no options, Daredevil turns to his dangerous ex, Elektra, as he faces up against some hired mercenaries at the scene of the crime as well as his most dangerous foe of all - the trial itself.

It is easy to take the artwork for this series for granted, but with Samnee's penciled pages being numbered, now is the time to further appreciate his harmony with colorist Javier Rodriguez. From the full page splash at the start of the issue to the quiet courtroom panels at the end, and all the exciting battles in between, it all flows with style, splash, and substance in strong line work skillfully mingled with attention to detail. It is the best of a more illustrative style that many comic book artists have avoided as they shift towards "photo realism" which is becoming more of a lost art than it should be. It is also easy to take Waid's voice for the title character for granted, but as always he has a lock on him. Some minor villains (such as Constrictor) get some unique redesigns, and Samnee's take on Elektra is terrific. The final pages offer an immediately justification for the relaunch in terms of the narrative by - spoiler - calling the "Sons"' bluff and revealing his identity in open court.

The exposure of Daredevil's identity was a key component of the Brian Bendis run on the book towards the middle of the decade past, and the ramifications from it continued during Ed Brubaker's run shortly thereafter. The gist was that while the vigilante's identity had been known to the Kingpin and other criminals for a long time, a new mafia bigwig leaked it to the authorities and it then hit the media. Murdock faced both assassination attempts and prison time due to this, and eventually managed to forge a status quo similar to that of the Kingpin himself - having an alter ego which much of the public knew but nobody could technically prove in court. Now, it seems as if Murdock is attempting to avoid being the pawn of the wicked by destroying what he's sought to recreate, but on his own terms. It will remain to be seen whether this is genuine or another clever ruse, but it will be interesting to see an era of Daredevil similar to that which Iron Man has faced for years.

As always, this is one of the best superhero books Marvel Comics publishes - some could call it the best for the price tag. The relaunch will bring with it a hike in that price but hopefully not any loss of quality. It seems as if the next issue can't arrive soon enough, which is exactly how it should be for serialized fiction.

ALL-NEW MARVEL NOW! POINT ONE #1: The annual six dollar sampler of the latest batch of new series launches with the title that just rolls off the tongue - for a frog. As always, the ten page prologue tales for new series are framed together by another prologue - in this case, a quest by the newly adult Loki to gather together six keys to unlock yet another ancient weapon Odin hid somewhere. These segments are by Al Ewing ("Mighty Avengers") and Lee Garbett, and capture the voice, humor, and motives of the character perfectly. The first story is a peak at the next stab at "Silver Surfer" by Dan Slott and iconic artists Michael & Laura Allred, which offers an eclectic take on the often stoic cosmic figure. Apparently the Surfer has formed a friendship with a random woman named Dawn Greenwood and they've gone off to explore the universe, and encounter wacky space oddities in the process. It is about time Norrin moved past Shalla Bal and while this is apparently a set up for bizarre artwork, that works when the artists are the incredible Allreds. Next up was a look at "All-New Invaders" by DC Comics refugee James Robinson with art by Steve Pugh, which unfortunately is mired by ten pages of boring exposition about yet another Kree warrior instead of showing readers how Robinson plans to handle Marvel's classic "golden age" team. Faring better is a simple Black Widow story by Nathan Edmondson and artist Phil Noto, who deliver a beautiful yarn in merely a few pages; their series officially began last week and is just as good as this preview suggested. After that is a look at one of Marvel's most progressive choices in the new "Ms. Marvel" by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona ("Runaways") which sufficiently introduces their new Muslim-American teenage heroine from New Jersey in spectacular fashion. The last peak is a look at the relaunched "Avengers" series by Nick Spencer and Rags Morales which focuses on ex-New Mutants Sunspot and Cannonball having a mission on A.I.M. Such samplers have been standard for at least the past three years and while always a mixed bag, this bag seemed less mixed than others. So far, 2014's offerings are looking quite bright.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #25: As the world now knows, the "superior" era of Spider-Man is officially coming to an end the month before Sony's "Amazing Spider-Man 2" hits theaters by sheer corporate synergy (or coincidence). This is expected news as this long form story arc by Dan Slott (and sporadically co-written by Christos Gage, who tunes in for this issue) has run a bit long in the tooth considering it relies on a more than one plot hole and convenient mishandling of some supporting characters. The extra surprise is this is an "extra sized" issue, with thirty pages of art by Humberto Ramos, inker Victor Olazaba and three colorists as the new "Superior Venom" goes to war with both crime and the Avengers. Naturally, there is a lot of action and perhaps two to three issues of development from the series' usual pace which happen within this extra priced tome. If the story could move this fast, why was there a seeming stall during the summer stories? Regardless, the fate of Carlie Cooper is revealed, the Green Goblin's goblin squad escalates their war with both the new web-slinger and Roderick Kingsley (the original Hobgoblin), the symbiote continues to boost the power and insanity of Doc Ock, and "Peter the Friendly Ghost"

Spoiler

makes his triumphant return since a tease from issue nineteen. The art which has a lot of action and monstrous (or mechanical) figures plays to Ramos' strengths for such designs, even if it can seem obligatory. All in all, this is an issue where the pros tend to outweigh the cons for those eager to see a return of the original web-slinger as well as a conclusion to this era. There are still some convenient character moments - such as the end of MJ's suspicions for a previously stated but still flimsy reason - but the opposition of both the Avengers and the goblins mark the collapse of Dr. Octopus' house of cards. After an exciting start and a bit of a middling middle, the finale of this era will make or break this run in the career of Dan Slott as well as the franchise as a whole. At the very least, the third act of this fifteen month stretch is heating up when it should.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I don't see anybody reading FF since it's relaunch. Is it terrible?

 

[runawayboulder]

I don't see anybody reading FF since it's relaunch. Is it terrible?

I didn't even know it was relaunched. So I guess Fraction is off the book and James Robinson is the new writer...? Hmmm, I guess FF is gone as well. I guess that whole thing didn't work out.

I should have known since Allred is doing the new Surfer series.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

They're getting "cool" new red costumes to usher in a new direction.

 

[Tvar10]

Now that Wolverine Max is over what's the best title to get my wolverine fix from?

 

[BoredGuy]

Anything but Cornell's "Wolverine"
...unless you want to watch a depowered Logan go "evil" and die in a few issues

 

[runawayboulder]

They're getting "cool" new red costumes to usher in a new direction.

Oh, brother.....

Now that Wolverine Max is over what's the best title to get my wolverine fix from?

I pretty much gave up on X-Men until they reduce and reboot the line.

 

[Tvar10]

Yeah xmen seems really overwhelming. There's so many books out. I have no clue what's a good jumping on point or what title to jump on