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

Avengers Vs. X-Men #1

April 14, 2012

Story: Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction
Script: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: John Romita Jr.
Inks: Scott Hanna
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Colors: Laura Martin
Cover Art: Jim Cheung & Justin Ponsor
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Phoenix Force is coming to Earth, and the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe are about to go to war over it. I’ve said before that I like the basic idea behind this event. There’s a natural conflict here. Captain America sees a force of globally-devastating power headed to Earth and wants to stop it. Cyclops sees a force that may well be able to reverse the devastation of the mutant race the Scarlet Witch caused on M Day. And in fact, they’re both right.

The execution, however, is very flawed. The scene with Cap and Cyclops, where all this is spelled out, is clunky and overwritten. Scott is spoiling for a fight at the outset, which I suppose isn’t totally out of character for him these days, but still feels off in the presentation.

Wolverine actually comes off best here. As a member of both teams, he’s got his own conflict to deal with… not to mention the personal relationship he had with Jean Grey and the fact that he’s seen firsthand just how destructive the Phoenix Force can be. If there’s anyone here who can legitimately seem divided, it’s him.

I’m not terribly pleased with John Romita Jr.‘s work on this issue either. I’ve always liked his work on street-level heroes like Spider-Man and Daredevil, but when he goes for the big-scale cosmic stuff, it doesn’t really. Work there are two large panels here – Hope blasting Cyclops, Cyclops blasting Cap – that feel very similar, but that both look like they could have been accomplished better. Different lines, different colors, I don’t know exactly, but they failed to excite me the way they should have.

It’s not a terrible book, but it’s a weak opening to an event that should have kicked off with a bang.

Rating: 6/10

Avengers Vs. X-Men #0

April 7, 2012

Title: Prologue

Writers: Brian Michael Bendis & Jason Aaron
Art: Frank Cho
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Colors: Jason Keith
Cover Art: Frank Cho
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

With Marvel’s big event for the summer about to kick into high gear, we’re served up this prologue issue that spotlights the two women at the center of it all: Wanda Maximoff, alias the Scarlet Witch, and Hope Summers, daughter of Cable.

In Wanda’s story, she’s recently regained her senses after years (of real-time, anyway, I’m not sure how long it’s been in comic book time) of mental issues which has had her attack and destroy her teammates, her friends, and even her husband, the Vision. The Vision is restored now, though, and the confrontation between the two former lovers is anything but rosy.

Although the last panel is a bit on-the-nose (a callback to the most famous Vision story of all time), Brian Michael Bendis does a decent job here of tapping into the raw emotion of the situation. Considering everything that happened between Wanda and the Vision, this isn’t the sort of thing that can be swept under the rug or ignored. It’ll be interesting to see, as the conflict between the Avengers and X-Men heats up, what side the Vision will fall on.

In Hope’s story, written by Jason Aaron, we see the first mutant born since Wanda wiped out the mutant population in House of M forced to train. While she and Cyclops forces her to push herself, concerned about the portion of the Phoenix force she knows resides within her, Hope decides to take off and prove herself on her own.

This is a nice introduction to Hope if you, like me, don’t really know anything about the character. I haven’t read any of the X-Men stories in which she’s played a significant role, so this gives me the lowdown on her history, her powers, and why she’s important. It works on that level.

Both stories are elevated by the artwork of Frank Cho. As I’ve always said, he draws a few things very well – monkeys, dinosaurs, and women. (Not to say he’s bad at the rest of it, but those are the three categories in which he excels). This issue is very strongly focused on the ladies – besides the two cover girls, Cho gives us good interpretations of Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Emma Frost and a couple of snake-themed villainesses (and villains). There’s a nice balance between the action and the talking heads stuff, and Cho pulls it all off. It’s an impressive effort.

This zero issue is a good way to kick off the event.

Rating: 7/10

Fantastic Four (1961 Series) #600

December 3, 2011

Title: Forever

Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Steve Epting, Rick Magyar, Carmine DiGiandomenico, Ming Doyle, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Farel Dalrymple
Colorist: Paul Mounts, Andy Troy, Jordie Bellaire, Javier Tartaglia, Jose Villarrubia
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Gabrielle Dell’Otto
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

So after being FF for a year, this title is flipping back to Fantastic Four. And FF is continuing as a separate series. And stuff happens.

Good stuff, fortunately. Over in FF, a group of alternate-reality Reed Richards have been preparing a war that will hit the entire planet, the Future Foundation has rounded up the Avengers, X-Men and other guest stars to help in the fight, Annihilus is about to break into our universe, and the Inhumans and Kree are up to some assorted monkey business in space. The first chapter of this 100-page mammoth is about the battle for New York, followed by a chapter that’s too spoiler-tastic to get into in this review (even though most of you no doubt know what the spoiler is by now). From there, we see Black Bolt and Medusa pondering their place in the war, Galactus pondering his place in the universe, and Franklin and Leech pondering something else entirely.

If there’s anything about this issue that I find slightly disappointing, it’s that it isn’t actually the end of the story. After this much buildup, a 100-page giant anniversary issue seems like it would be the place for the story – or at least this stage of it – to conclude. Instead, it resolves one cliffhanger and takes us up to another one. It’s very well done, mind you – the opening fight sequence is wonderful, and the long second chapter is great for filling in the blanks of what’s been going on behind the scenes for these characters all year. But when I finished the book, I was most definitely left feeling a tad frustrated, knowing I’ll have to wait another month to find out what happens next.

Still, if you actually want to know what’s going to happen next, you can’t argue that the comic book hasn’t done its job. More excellent work by Jonathan Hickman and a big stable of artists.

Rating: 9/10

She-Hulk (2004 Series) #11

January 14, 2005

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Imbalance of Power

Titania’s on a rampage – and even an enhanced She-Hulk may not be strong enough to save the day.

Writer: Dan Slott
Pencils: Paul Pelletier
Inks: Rick Magyar
Colors: Dave Kemp
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Mike Mayhew
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Dan Slott deserves a ton of credit for how he pulled this issue out. He’s taken Titania, a character who has always been an emotional arch-foe for She-Hulk but has never been able to match her in combat, and made her a real threat. Even better, he found a way to reconcile all of the various storylines involving Shulkie from the last few years of other Marvel Comics and made them all fit perfectly within the context of this title.

Titania, now armed by the Power Infinity Gem, is ready to take on the woman she hates more than any other, and the way to draw her out is to tear up the city. Meanwhile, She-Hulk is having a chat with her old buddy Doc Samson. This sequence is where this issue really shines. Slott reaches back to She-Hulk’s days with the Fantastic Four to pick up a thread, which he laces into the “Red Zone” arc of Avengers, back into his own title and then through Avengers Disassembled, explaining perfectly how everything fits together in Jen Walters’ life. He even finds a way to explain the abominable Juggernaut incident from Uncanny X-Men, for which he shall have my eternal gratitude.

For all the character development, though, this issue is ultimately a lot of set-up to lead to a great cliffhanger, which promises a real slam-bang next issue.

Paul Pelletier’s artwork is as good as ever. He draws a lot of characters in a lot of environments, showing She-Hulk and Titania both in various levels of musculature, and recreates scenes from other titles (the brutal death of the Vision, for instance), with grace.

Most amazing of all, though, is the fact that this book never loses its sense of humor. Never. It’s not as laugh-out-loud funny as some earlier issues have been, but even in the midst of a few really heavy scenes, Slott eases in a joke to keep it from going to far.

This book is getting a much-needed profile boost in the coming months, and the critical buzz couldn’t be better. This is one of the best comics Marvel puts out every month, and if you’re not reading it, you should be.

Rating: 9/10

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

Fear Itself #7

November 6, 2011

Title: Thor’s Day

Writer: Matt Fraction
Pencils: Stuart Immonen
Inks: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Artist: Steve McNiven
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Asgardian siege of Earth is reaching its Climax. Captain America has led a contingent of ordinary Americans to take up arms against Sin, while Iron Man has managed to outfit the Avengers with the most incredible weapons any of them have ever had, and Thor stands ready to face his destiny. And in the end… eh, it’s okay. The problem isn’t so much that the issue is bad – there’s a lot of good stuff to it, really – but it feels somewhat anticlimactic. The ending of this issue was telegraphed at the beginning of the miniseries. A good writer can make that work, mind you, but it all comes down to the execution – if you’re going to tell me what happens, at least find an unexpected way to make it happen. But it doesn’t, really, it doesn’t surprise at all. There is the requisite major character death at the conclusion, but it’s hard to take it seriously here. The character in question died not very long ago, came back not very long ago, and has a pretty big media presence for Marvel Comics at this point. It’s hard to imagine he’s not going to be back before the Avengers movie comes out next summer, and that sucks some of the drama from it. The best stuff here, truly is Matt Fraction’s treatment of Captain America. He really does nail Steve Rogers, having him step up and act the hero he’s supposed to be, every inch a warrior, every inch an Avenger. I’d gladly read a Captain America series written by Fraction, even if the rest of the book is kind of so-so. Immonen and Von Grawbadger continue to deliver on the artwork – gorgeous pages, a couple of full-page and double-page spreads that I’d love to have as a poster. It just looks great. If it read as well as it looks, it’d be one of Marvel’s finest crossovers. As it is, it’s just better than the last few.

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

New Thunderbolts #5

February 11, 2005

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Call to Battle?

The Fathom Five is attacking – are there any Thunderbolts left to take them down?

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Co-Plotter: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Gary Erskine
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Tom Grummett
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Fathom Five are back, attacking Manhattan. The Avengers are gone. Only the Thunderbolts are left to save the day… but how many can be trusted? Atlas is acting erratic, Songbird is in the hospital, and the last time their leader saw Speed Demon, Blizzard and Joystick they were headed to a strip club. Oh – and Abe Jenkins is cut off from his Mach-IV armor.

This is a bad day.

This is also the issue where you see what this book has been leading up to. We see hints of characterization in Speed Demon that may start to betray his real motivation. We see Abe acting like the true hero he has become. We even get a promise to a final resolution of the Captain Marvel mystery, and all of this in book that’s chock-full of action from beginning to end. We even get a quick cameo from one of the villains of Nicieza’s most popular 90s work.

Nicieza and Busiek have created a pace that just won’t stop, and while some things still aren’t quite touched on this issue – the Swordsman subplot, for instance, you realize that they were subtly setting things up for a big sixth issue, perfect for the trade paperback. The thing is, with most comics these days, you see that coming from the first issue. Not here.

Grummett continues to impress with the artwork on this issue. There are a ton of characters bandied about in here – heroes and villains alike – and a lot of action, but he’s got great fight choreography and a good handle on everyone.

This book has been building momentum slowly. This issue you get the feeling that it’s finally hit the crest and it’s time to race to the finish. At least, the finish of the first story. If there’s anything that’s been consistent about the Thunderbolts from day one, it’s that every ending brings with it a dozen new beginnings.

Rating: 8/10