Archive
Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt #1
June 18, 2011
Title: Youth in Revolt Part One
Writer: Sean McKeever
Art: Mike Norton
Colorist: Veronica Gandini
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Giuseppe Camuncoli & Paul Mounts
Editor: Lauren Sankovitch
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The Gravity creative team of Sean McKeever and Mike Norton reunite for this Fear Itself spin-off. With the Raft split open and Hammers falling to Earth, the Avengers are being stretched to the limits. So Steve Rogers recruits Prodigy of the Slingers to lead a team of former Initiative members to help keep the peace.
There’s a good line-up in this book – Red Nine and Stunt-Master aren’t all that well known, but having Gravity and Firestar back in action is always good, and mixing up Thor Girl, Ultragirl, Komodo and Cloud 9 with Hardball creates some definite tension. Although Prodigy is our viewpoint character for most of the issue, it’s Thor Girl who really gets the best stuff, falling headfirst into one of the worst situations a hero – especially a young hero – could possibly get into during the thick of all this.
The story’s solid, but Mike Norton’s artwork is just great. I really love seeing him on these characters, particularly returning to Gravity. As he’s proven on multiple projects over the years, he has a knack for these young characters that few other artists can match.
I liked this book. It’s a nice side-angle to the whole Fear Itself storyline that shows off some characters we haven’t seen in a while, and a few others who recently lost their spotlight. I want to see more of them, and this is a good start.
Rating: 8/10
Herc #4
June 11, 2011
Title: All Versus All
Writers: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Pencils: Neil Edwards
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover: Michael Kaluta & Jim Charalampidis
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publisher: Marvel Comics
A powerless Hercules has found himself helping defend a group of escaping supervillains against the son of Ares, Kyknos. But when the people of Brooklyn see Herc fighting on the side of known villains like the Basilisk, they turn on the hero, forcing him into a fight he didn’t want.
Herc has been de-powered for this entire series, but this is the first time we really see the sort of toll it can take on the former Prince of Power. We see Hercules not just hurt (he’s been hurt before), but worse than that: weary, exhausted and worn-down. It’s clear, both from the writing and some great artwork, that he’s not used to feeling that way. It’s also kind of stressful for him to have to worry about PR, of all things, but it puts a nice, different kind of spin on the book.
The whole Fear Itself thing has felt pretty tenuous. I’m still not getting just how or why this book ties into that main crossover, except for some vague sensation that “fear” is spreading across the Marvel Universe, but the writing team of Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente are at least making the most out of what’s been handed to them. The book is exciting, well-written, well-illustrated, and full of real character drama and development in the midst of all the action. That’s how Herc has always been at his best with this creative team, and this arc is no different.
Rating: 8/10
Recent Reviews: June 15 Releases
Hey, look, I remembered! Here’s my roundup of the June 15 comics I reviewed over at CX Pulp!
Fear Itself #3
June 2, 2011
Title: The Hammer That Fell on Yancy Street
Writer: Matt Fraction
Pencils: Stuart Immonen
Inks: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colorist: Laura Martin with Larry Molinar
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Steve McNiven
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Earth is being showered by Asgardian Hammers sent down by the Serpent and Sin, daughter of the Red Skull. So far the Juggernaut, Absorbing Man, Titania, the Hulk, and Attuma have each grasped a hammer, turning them into unstoppable juggernauts. This month, Captain America leads the Avengers into battle against Sin, while the Thing finds yet another Hammer, and Thor tries to return to Earth before it’s too late.
This series has been kind of scattershot. The hammer story doesn’t really seem to have anything to do with “fears,” which are ostensibly the driving force behind the storyline. The action scenes help the issue considerably, really. The scene with Red She-Hulk throwing down with the Hulk in his transformed state looks just very good, and the reimagined version of the Thing is cool as hell. (For an evil Ben Grimm, that is.) Bucky’s throwdown with Sin is pretty powerful, and while the last page is the kind of thing that you expect to see in a crossover of this nature, it’s handled well. Stuart Immonen is carrying the comic at this point. It looks fantastic, but although Matt Fraction is a good artist, I don’t necessarily feel like this comic is telling the story it set out to tell.
Rating: 7/10
Recent Reviews: June 8 Releases
As you may or may not know, in addition to the tons of reviews I post here at the Back Issue Bin, I also write reviews of new comics over at CX Pulp.com. I thought I would start making it a habit to link BIB readers over to those other recent reviews on Tuesdays… y’know… when I remember. And have time. And feel like it.
Anyhoo, here are the comics released on June 8 that I’ve reviewed over at CX. These links (as well as all of my CX reviews) can be found right here on the archive page as well.
- Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life #3
- Donald Duck #367
- Echo #30
- Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #1
- Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1
- Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Kilowog #1
- Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Tomar-Re #1
- Love and Capes: Ever After #5
- Morning Glories #10
- Space Warped #1
- Supergirl #64
Herc #3
June 3, 2011
Title: Fear Itself
Writer: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Breakdowns: Neil Edwards
Finishes: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover: Chris Stevens & Leonardo Olea
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publisher: Marvel Comics
When the Raft is blown open, Hercules comes to blows with some of the escapees that start tearing through Brooklyn. When the villains are targeted by an even more powerful force, though, Herc is forced to step up and defend even his foes in the face of a greater power. I’m so glad that Pak and Van Lente have managed to continue their association with this character, and this book shows exactly why. Their Hercules is far more than the braggart who has gotten himself and his comrades into hot water time and again with his mouth – although that Herc is still a part of him, to be sure. This Herc, though, is utterly powerless, but doesn’t hesitate to charge into battle against the likes of Man-Bull. Then when Man-Bull is the one who needs defending, Herc doesn’t hesitate to do that either. The story works for two purposes, both demonstrating Herc’s overwhelmingly heroic nature, but also setting him up for some mistrust on the part of the people he’s there to defend. The book doesn’t really have a lot to do with the overall Fear Itself crossover, save for using the escaping villains as the crux of the story, but it looks like next issue will have a deeper tie. This is another really good issue for a great creative team.
Rating: 8/10
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