New Avengers (2010 Series) #24

April 14, 2012

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Mike Deodato, Will Conrad
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Colors: Rain Beredo
Cover Art: Mike Deodato
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

This issue takes place between panels of Avengers Vs. X-Men #1. In that moment between Captain America calling the Avengers down to face Cyclops and their leap from the SHIELD Helicarrier, Luke Cage flashes to the day before. As his wife, Jessica Jones, returns to the mansion, the two of them get into a pretty intense discussion about the wisdom of raising a child in Avengers Mansion.

A valid argument, to be certain. The Avengers lead dangerous lives, after all. But am I the only one who thinks they should have had this conversation a long time ago? When the baby was born, perhaps, or before they moved into Avengers Mansion and Luke agreed to lead his own squad? Not only does it feel like a case of too little, too late, but even worse it removes us from the focus of the issue for a huge portion of it. I got this book because it’s an AVX crossover. Instead, I got pages of angst that don’t really have anything to do with the main story.

It gets better when Captain America calls the team together. There’s a bit of a surprise when we’re all reminded that Storm has joined the Avengers just in time for her to walk out on the team, then Cap gives one of his trademark rousing speeches. It’s okay stuff, but in the end it feels like a largely inconsequential issue.

Mike Deodato does some good work here, and that helps, but there’s only so far even the best artist can take you. If you’ve been with this series for a while it’s probably not bad. If you’re getting it just for the crossover, you can pass.

Rating: 6/10

Punisher War Journal (2007 Series) #11

September 11, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Heroes and Villains
Rating: Parental Advisory

Frank vs. Bucky, Bridge vs. Stark, Ian vs… himself?

Writer: Matt Fraction
Pencils: Leonardo Fernandez
Inks: Francisco Paronzini
Colors: Val Staples
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Aubrey Sitterson
Cover Art: Ariel Olivetti
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Matt Fraction’s typically entertaining Punisher War Journal branches off to three different stories this issue. The Winter Soldier tracks down Frank Castle to make him answer for daring to wear Captain America’s uniform. Iron Man tracks down G.W. Bridge to talk to him about his obsession with tracking down Frank. And Ian, the young man who wanted to be a cop (remember issue six?) finds himself on a psychiatrist couch.

All three stories in this issue work wonderfully. Bucky’s frustration with Frank can only be equaled by Frank’s frustration with himself, while Bridge still doesn’t really understand why he’s been behaving the way he has. Stark, meanwhile, has a surprisingly different take on Bridge’s obsession. And Ian – who from all appearances was a one-off character in a one-off story – turns out to be a more important character in Frank’s future than anyone would have guessed.

Fraction’s impeccable storytelling, as usual, takes all of these characters to somewhat unfamiliar places without compromising or betraying their established personalities in the slightest.

Fernandez and Parozini’s artwork is a rather striking contrast for fans used to Ariel Olivetti’s sharper, almost digital artwork, but it’s not bad in the slightest. It’s more traditional, more of a classic superhero look, and there’s nothing wrong with it at all. It’s just very different from what we’ve gotten in this title so far.

A very strong issue that isn’t so much a “done in one” story as it is an epilogue to what’s come before, while at the same time, being a prologue to what’s next.

Rating: 8/10

Captain America (2005 Series) #28

July 16, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: The Death of the Dream Part Four
Rating: T+

Sister Sin decides to delve into SHIELD, while Bucky tries to hunt down the Red Skull.

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Steve Epting & Mike Perkins
Colors: Frank D’Armata
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Steve Epting
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The post-Steve Rogers Captain America rolls on this issue. Bucky continues on his quest to avenge Steve’s death, while Falcon tries to keep him from going over the edge. Sister Sin, meanwhile, is planning to break into SHIELD to bust out her captured boyfriend, Crossbones.

It’s no real secret that I’m not as in love with this title right now as a lot of people. The Bucky storyline, the whole quest for vengeance, isn’t a bad story, but it feels like it’s been done before. I haven’t gotten the twist or the kicker that really makes me invest in this story emotionally. The same goes for Sister Sin – a good story, but not a particularly innovative one.

The most interesting scene here, really, is one involving the Marvel Universe’s new favorite whipping boy, Tony Stark. Tony gets a vague message that, frankly, does have me intrigued, and I’m much more interested in seeing where that story goes than where Bucky or the rest of the cast are going.

Epting and Perkins continue to turn out beautiful artwork. D’Armata’s color work helps too, giving the artwork sort of a painted feel without going so far as to try for the photorealistic look that most painters want.

This is a good title, but I can’t help but feel like it’s riding the crest of controversy instead of groundbreaking storytelling at the moment.

Rating: 7/10

Iron Man: Director of SHIELD Annual #1

November 19, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Regime Change
Rating: A

Tony Stark goes on assignment – to overthrow Hydra!

Writer: Christos N. Gage
Art: Harvey Tolibad
Colors: Edgar Tadeo
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Jim Cheung
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Madame Hydra has set herself up as ruler of Madripoor, placing herself in the situation of being one of the world’s most notorious terrorists, yet absolutely untouchable by any conventional means. So Tony Stark decides to send in his top agent to depose her – himself.

There’s one major problem I have with this comic, and it’s the same one I’ve had with a lot of Marvel books lately – namely, it’s really hard for me to believe that the Director of SHIELD, even if he happens to be a superhero himself, would be as hands-on as Tony Stark has been. With all the resources SHIELD has, there’s got to be someone more qualified in a lot of these cases… and in this case, there’s no doubt they could find an agent less conspicuous.

Once you get past that problem, this is a pretty good issue. In essence, this is Tony Stark as James Bond – infiltrating a foreign country, using his debonair charms to wile the enemy (who in this case also happens to be a smokin’ babe), and essentially winning the day by virtue of sheer cool. It’s a clever angle to take with the character, and a fun angle as well.

Harvey Tolibad does a good job with the artwork – nice action scenes, ugly monsters, cool superweapons and hot girls. It’s practically a checklist of essential elements for this sort of story, and he does them all well.

We get a good little standalone issue here, if you can accept that one little bump in the basic premise.

Rating: 7/10

Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #23

October 30, 2007

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Haunted
Rating: A

Stark continues his investigation into Gadget’s death.

Writers: Daniel and Charles Knauf
Art: Butch Guice
Colors: Dean White
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Gerald Parel
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Although the death of the Nebraska Initiative member called Gadget originally appeared to be the work of the villain Graviton, Graviton has maintained his innocence, and Tony Stark has his own reasons to believe the culprit was someone else. He delves deeper into the murder, only to point the finger at her teammate, Paragon. But Paragon isn’t acting on his own either. Tony continues his investigation this issue, pushing himself further and further, until Doc Samson feels the need to issue an order to the director of SHIELD.

There really isn’t too much to say about this issue. It’s not terrible, but it’s not particularly engaging either. As much as I hate to see heroes killed off just for shock value, the truth is that Gadget’s completely unknown status really prevents us from feeling anything here. I’m not saying they should have picked some random B-lister and killed him off (I think we’ve proven quite conclusively that the fans hate that), I’m saying that the mystery isn’t compelling enough to stand up with an unknown victim. Tony, at least, is painted as more human and relatable here than in most Marvel books, but I still don’t find I’m really involved.

Butch Guice and Dean White do a nice job, taking on a nice, fleshed-out tone that’s always been evident in Guice’s work when paired with the right inkers or colorists. His stuff always looks good.

In the end, my only real complaint here is that I just don’t care.

Rating: 6/10

Annihilators #4

October 8, 2011

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencils: Tan Eng Huat & Timothy Green II
Inks: Victor Olazaba
Colorist: June Chung & Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: Joe Caramagna & Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Alex Garner
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Publisher: Marvel Comics

So as it turns out, the rising of the Dire Wraiths has all been a ploy by their interstellar cousins, the Skrulls, to regain their lost dominance in the stars. Also, Immortus is attacking with an army of cross-time badasses. Fortunately, on the good guys’ side are the Annihilators, perhaps the most powerful superhero team in the Marvel Universe.

Abnett and Lanning wrap up this miniseries with a pretty impressive fight scene, and get surprisingly final about the whole thing. Even though we know there’s another Annihilators miniseries coming (there’s even an ad for it at the end) the book feels like it has a definite ending, not just a cliffhanger for the next miniseries, which I for one greatly appreciate. I’m glad they’re doing more, don’t get me wrong, but I do get tired of one miniseries after another that just feels like it exists to set up yet another miniseries. I also like how they manage to work in small character beats – Ikon’s obvious infatuation with Quasar, for example.

The artwork is only so-so. While the aliens look pretty good, the humans aren’t that great. Immortus’s giant head that appears on the splash page has truly weird proportions that make him look like a poorly-designed carnival float.

In the back-up story, the conclusion to the Rocket Raccoon/Groot tale, we finally learn the ultimate truth of Rocket Raccoon’s origins, and he and Groot have to work to free the strangest medical care facility in the universe. This story is really funny, which works for the characters, but does make it seem a little incongruous with the main story. Annihilators isn’t exactly a laugh riot, after all, and people who got this title only for the first story may find the back-up a little off-putting.

I got the book for both stories, though. And I enjoyed both stories. And I look forward to more.

Rating: 8/10

Ghost Rider (2006 Series) #10

April 9, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Illinois Part 3
Rating: T+

Ghost Rider gets some help in his battle with Lucifer.

Writer: Daniel Way
Breakdowns: Javier Saltares
Finishes: Mark Texeira
Colors: Dan Brown
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Michael O’Connor
Cover Art: Arthur Suydam
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Ghost Rider, exhausted from his battle with the Lucifer-possessed Jack O’Lantern, finds himself taken in by local authorities of Sleepy Hollow, Illinois. Lucifer retreats to the town cemetery to amass his army, but Johnny Blaze finds that he may not be alone in his battle with the lord of demons.

This issue actually feels a little padded to me. Ghost Rider gets his ally, Lucifer builds his armor, the reader gets a little back story on Jack O’Lantern, the big fight is set up for next issue. Really, everything could have been accomplished in half as many pages. But the story we get is really quite good. Way plays around with some of the expectations of this series. We’ve seen Johnny get arrested so many times in this series that when it doesn’t play out exactly the same way as all the other times, it’s a real shock. The story works simply because it defies some of the conventions Way has established over the first year of the title. Story-wise, the biggest problem is that I simply can’t keep track anymore of how or when Johnny switches back and forth to Ghost Rider, so the transformation this issue seems a bit convenient.

Saltares and Texeira continue their fine job on the artwork, and the book is wrapped in a cover by Zombie-meister Arthur Suydam. He’s done several covers for this book lately, and while they’re all good, I do wish that some of them had a little more to do with the story. Ghost Rider battling skeletons with guns? Okay…

This issue, again, is slapped with a superfluous and somewhat misleading “Casualties of War” label, but as long as you’re reading it because you enjoy Ghost Rider and not because you’re expecting Civil War fallout, you’ll be perfectly satisfied.

Rating: 8/10

Avengers: The Initiative #5

August 26, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Secret Weapons (A World War Hulk tie-in)
Rating: T+

With the Initiative kids MIA, the Shadow Initiative has to break them out!

Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Stefano Caselli
Colors: Daniele Rudoni
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Jim Cheung
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Initiative members sent into Manhattan for crowd control instead decided to throw down with the Hulk themselves, and got captured. Now, to keep them from becoming another “New Warriors” incident, Gyrich sends in his secret strike force of Initiative members to break them out.

This issue succeeds on several levels. First of all, we’ve established the second major faction of our cast – finding a home for Trauma and Bengal works nicely, and I simply love the fact that Slott is carrying over the Constrictor’s storyline from his own deeply-missed Thing series. We get a few more clues about the mysterious Mutant Zero, and the Scarlet Spiders show what their purpose is. All in all, everything fits together extremely well.

The final confrontation with the Hulk is equally strong. While this storyline really serves only as a sidebar to the main World War Hulk plot, it advances the storylines of this title significantly, using the crossover mainly as a background. The changes to Trauma, the continued problems Cloud 9 is having, and the introduction to the second team all works well. Plus, Slapstick gets the best line of the series thus far.

Caselli’s artwork seems to be drawing some real division amongst fans, which surprises me, as I think it’s a perfect fit. He’s got a really good handle on all the kids, placing a ninja-like character such as Bengal next to a goofy hero like Slapstick, with neither of them looking out of place. His fights are dynamic, and Mutant Zero’s big scene comes off perfectly.

This continues to be a surprisingly strong comic, and it works wonderfully with the entire World War Hulk crossover.

Rating: 8/10

Incredible Hercules #114

February 19, 2008

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Walls of Troy (Part Three of The Incredible Herc)
Rating: A

As Ares goes on the offensive, a crazed Hercules tears up what’s left of New York!

Writers: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Pencils: Khoi Pham
Inks: Paul Neary
Colors: Stephane Peru
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Cover Art: Arthur Adams
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Last issue, Ares poisoned his brother with the blood of the fearsome Hydra, sending him into a fit of violent delusions. As Wonder Man searches for Ares, hurled away in the battle, Hercules’ old friend the Black Widow may be the only thing between him and a Hulk-level rampage.

As I’ve come to expect from Greg Pak, this was a highly entertaining, truly exciting issue. He and Fred Van Lente have managed to seamlessly blend Hercules’ classical origins with his status of a superhero, with flashes from everything from a pre-Illiad Troy to Herc’s stint with the Champions of Los Angeles. As he continues his rampage, Amadeus Cho puts another of his own crazy schemes into motion. There’s an interesting bit in this issue where we’re reminded of how Cho doesn’t really have much of a moral compass. He’s loyal to his friends – he demonstrated that during World War Hulk, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to a true sense of right and wrong, and that moral ambiguity makes him a far more interesting character than he was before.

Khoi Pham’s artwork is nice, and I especially appreciate some of the panels that pay homage to the 70s style with the Champions sequence. Arthur Adams, of course, draws a beautiful cover, which is about as obvious as statement as pointing out that the sun is rising in the east tomorrow morning.

I feel like a broken record, but I’ve got to say it again – I’ve quickly fallen in love with this book. It’s one of Marvel’s best.

Rating: 9/10

Captain America (2011 Series) #1

September 4, 2011

Title: American Dreamers Part 1

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Steve McNiven
Inks: Mark Morales
Colorist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Steve McNiven
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

It’s Ed Brubaker’s second first issue of Captain America (third if you count the Reborn miniseries) and for Steve Rogers, the world is once again passing him by. The issue begins with Steve, Nick Fury, Dum-Dum Dugan and Sharon Carter attending the funeral of Sharon’s aunt (and Steve’s wartime love interest) Peggy Carter. But the funeral is disrupted by the sudden reappearance of a man called Codename: Bravo, a onetime ally turned enemy after Steve “stole” Peggy from him back in the 40s. His return sends Steve and Nick off to look up another old acquaintance from that time, a man who has been comatose for a long time.

The story is interesting. Brubaker layers it well, introducing several new WWII-era characters in a way that makes it clear there’s more to the story than we know at present, which is not only fair, but welcome. Steve McNiven is new to the team, but I’ve enjoyed his artwork for a long time and he feels like a very natural fit for Captain America. His period scenes are very detailed and well-researched, and his action scenes are sharp.

The biggest issue, for me at least, is the price. I liked this book. Do I like it enough to pick it up at $3.99 a month? Probably not, Marvel Comics, and that’s a big problem that’s going to dog you as long as your top tier characters are in overpriced books.

Rating: 7/10