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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
Recent Reviews: September 21 & 28 Releases
I’m just realizing I neglected to do a “recent reviews” post last Tuesday. It was a busy day, sorry about that. So here are my recent reviews from CXPulp.com for the past two weeks, including a lot of New 52 and several other goodies.
- All-Star Western (2011) #1
- Avengers Academy #19
- Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #7
- Batman (2011) #1
- Blue Beetle (2011) #1
- Captain Atom (2011) #1
- Darkwing Duck (2010) #16
- DC Universe Presents #1
- Doctor Who (2011) #9
- Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz #1
- Fables #109
- FF #9
- Ghostbusters (2011) #1
- Green Lantern Corps (2011) #1
- Green Lantern: New Guardians #1
- The Guild: Clara #1
- Justice League Dark #1
- Legion of Super-Heroes (2011) #1
- Nightwing (2011) #1
- The Red Wing #3
- Star Trek (2011) #1
- Supergirl (2011) #1
- Superman (2011) #1
- Teen Titans (2011) #1
- Voodoo (2011) #1
- Witch Doctor #3
- X-Men: Schism #4
Invincible Iron Man #506
August 28, 2011
Title: Fear Itself Part 3: The Apostate
Writer: Matt Fraction
Art: Salvador Larroca
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca
Editor: Alejandro Arbona
Publisher: Marvel Comics
In Fear Itself #4, Tony Stark made a desperate plea for Odin’s attention, sacrificing the thing he valued the most… his sobriety. This issue brings us the aftermath of that horrible decision… Tony Stark makes weapons. To save his friends and the world, he begs Odin the use of his own forge to create the greatest weapons he’s ever made. When I read Fear Itself #4 I was initially upset. Matt Fraction is a good writer, but he’s not above using shock moments if he thinks it’ll grab the reader. This issue convinced me that Tony taking a drink again was more than just shock. It plays into the Fear Itself storyline well, but it also opens up the character to an unwanted avenue that he thought was closed. There’s some storytelling potential there. Unlike some other characters, whose personal demons seem to crop up again every time a new writer takes the reins (and here I am thinking of Henry Pym), nobody has ever really danced with the idea of Tony taking a drink again. For the sake of this story, it works, but I am a little scared that future writers will see this as unlocking the revolving door and spend the next 30 years having Tony go back and forth with the bottle. Salvador Larroca has some cool stuff to draw this issue, mixing up the heavily sci-fi based Iron Man with the heavily mystic world of Asgard. Together, it makes a cool-looking book that’s fun to read and makes for a solid comic book.
Rating: 8/10
Recent Reviews: August 17 Releases
So what’d I review over at CX Pulp in the last seven days? Here’s the list…
- Avengers Academy #18
- Batman #713
- Darkwing Duck #15
- DC Retroactive: Batman-The 90s #1
- DC Retroactive: The Flash-The 90s #1
- DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman-The 90s #1
- Fables #108
- Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #3
- Flashpoint: Abin Sur-The Green Lantern #3
- Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies #3
- Green Lantern Corps #63
- Justice League of America #60
- Power Girl #27
- Superboy #11
- Tiny Titans #43
- The Walking Dead #88
- X-Men: Schism #3
Recent Reviews: August 10 Releases
I’m a tired, tired man. But I’ve turned out some reviews. Just for you. You’re welcome.
- Batgirl #24
- Batman and Robin #26
- Booster Gold #47
- DC Retroactive: Green Lantern-The 80s #1
- DC Retroactive: Justice League of America-The 80s #1
- DC Retroactive: Superman-The 80s #1
- Fear Itself #5
- Flashpoint: Deadman and the Flying Graysons #3
- Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #3
- Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #3
- Life With Archie #12
- Mega Man #4
- Morning Glories #11
- Red Robin #26
- The Red Wing #2
- Teen Titans #99
- War of the Green Lanterns Aftermath #2
- X-Men #15.1
Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #2
August 2, 2011
Title: Stranger Bedfellows
Writer: Brandon Montclare
Art: Simon Bisley, Ryan Bodenheim, Ray-Anthony Height, Don Ho
Colorist: Simon Bisley, Tony Avina
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Cover Artist: Michael William Kaluta
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publisher: Marvel Comics
She-Hulk, Nighthawk, and Frankenstein’s Monster have teamed up with Howard the Duck to stop the rampaging Man-Thing, being fed by the copious amounts of fear floating around thanks to that whole thing that’s happening over in those other comics. After being temporarily swapped with alternate reality versions of themselves, the team gets a recap of Frankenstein’s origin for some reason, then stroll off to face the enemy responsible for Man-Thing’s rampage: Psycho-Man.
And it’s just… a… mess.
The story is all over the lace, the heroes are together for the thinnest of reasons, and the chain of logic is virtually nonexistent. The frequent artistic changes don’t help. While all of the artists working on this book are perfectly competent, their styles are so different from one another that you keep feeling live you’ve spiraled into an entirely different comic book. With the love I have for many of the characters in this book, I was really looking forward to sort of an offbeat Fear Itself tie-in. Halfway through, I’ve felt nothing but disappointment.
Rating: 6/10
Herc #5
August 1, 2011
Title: Lost City
Writer: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Pencils: Neil Edwards
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover Artist: Ale Garza & Christina Strain
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Hercules and his unlikely allies, Man-Bull and Basilisk, find themselves going into battle against the worshippers of Kyknos. Battle is nothing new for Hercules, of course, but now he finds himself powerless, overwhelmed by the prayers of his own worshippers, fighting giant insects in the middle of Manhattan while his more powerful allies are busy beating the hell out of each other elsewhere in the Fear Itself crossover. As formidable a warrior as Hercules is, this time he may have to swallow his pride and turn to the one place he never wanted to go again: his father, Zeus. This new angle for Hercules has really made the new series a joy to read. Pak and Van Lente haven’t decreased the level of the threats our former Prince of Power has to deal with, but with that power gone, he’s had to change his entire approach to battling the creatures. The result is a way of looking at Hercules that nobody has ever done before. Entertaining, different, and exciting – this is some great work.
Rating: 8/10
Recent Reviews: August 3 Releases
Another Tuesday, another heapin’ helpin’ of reviews from last week’s comics. Here’s what I put on CX Pulp this week…
Recent Reviews: July 27 Releases
I went to town on the reviews at CX Pulp this week, guys. Here’s everything I chimed in on…
- Action Comics #903
- Archie #623
- Avengers Academy #16
- Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search For Swamp Thing #2
- DC Retroactive: Justice League of America-The 70s #1
- DC Retroactive: Superman-The 70s #1
- DuckTales #3
- Fables #107
- Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #2
- Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #2
- Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance #2
- Flashpoint: Project Superman #2
- Green Lantern Corps #62
- Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #12
- Invincible #81
- Teen Titans #98
- Terminator/Robocop: Kill Human #1
- X-Men: Schism #2
- Young Justice #6
Recent Reviews: July 6 Releases
Last week was busy for me, so I didn’t turn out as many reviews as I often do. I still managed to crank out a few CXPulp reviews, though. Here’s what I reviewed that came out last Wednesday…
The Back Issue Bin 