New Thunderbolts #6

March 12, 2005

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: City of Heroes?

The new Thunderbolts are New York’s only hope to be saved from Hydra!

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

Hydra’s plans become clear as the terrorist army overruns a New York without Avengers to protect it. Although may of the second-string heroes come out of the woodwork, only the Thunderbolts have the inside knowledge to save the day – because Baron Strucker has been bankrolling them from the beginning.

Considering the nature of this title, I’m really rather surprised at how many of the ongoing subplots are resolved this issue. Granted, most of then are resolved in a fashion that leaves more questions, but a lot of them are resolutions that leave more questions. Nicieza manages to pack an incredible amount of story into what’s basically an all-action issue, but he doesn’t make it seem crammed or bloated. Throughout the battle, stories and ideas are ticked off one at a time, adding up to the final package. We get the truth about Speed Demon, about Joystick, and about Captain Marvel, and despite some of the complaints I really don’t have any problem with his new status quo, although I must admit I don’t quite grasp the reasoning behind it. (There’s something bizarrely Freudian going on there, and I really hope Nicieza is planning to give us more of an explanation later on.)

Some of the stuff, such as Songbird’s actions in this issue, aren’t that surprising, but at the same time they work for her and show how far the character has come. The same goes for Mach-IV, still stuck in his old Beetle armor, but still displaying the true hero he’s become.

Tom Grummet again does a solidly entertaining job with this issue. He’s got some of the most action to draw that I’ve ever seen in a single issue, not just a fight scene but a city-wide fight scene involving hundreds of enemy agents and cameos from a lot of heroes outside of the main cast. This is the sort of thing that you usually have to see in a big summer crossover. He also gets points for a knockout cover – imagine, a cover that actually invokes the events of the issue. I’m amazed that Marvel let this get to the printer.

This book wraps up a lot of things, but there’s still plenty out there to keep us occupied. I can’t wait to see where it’ll go next.

Rating: 8/10

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

Cable and Deadpool #45

September 24, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Band of (Oh) Brothers
Rating: T+

Deadpool and Bob – meet Captain America and Bucky!

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Reilly Brown
Inks: Jeremy Freeman
Colors: Gotham
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Nicole Boose
Cover Art: Skottie Young
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Having saved the world from Hydra, the Penetraitor’s damaged armor caused a hiccup in time last issue, grabbing Deadpool and Bob Hydra, hurling them back in time to World War II, just in time to team up with Captain America and Bucky on the trail of the mad scientist Arnim Zola. Deadpool is jazzed to be working with the living legend, while Bob finds himself torn between his HYDRA training focusing his hatred on Cap and the fact that Captain America is just darn cool.

As usually is the case, this is a fun issue, with Cap and Bucky’s very distinct reactions to Deadpool opening up to some nicely-played comedy. The fight scenes are a lot of fun, the artwork is great – I’ve finally realized what it was the problem was that kept me from enjoying this series wholly: Cable. I just don’t care about him. But Deadpool, solo, is turning out to be a highly entertaining read.

Really, Marvel? You’re going to cancel this book – one of the few legitimately enjoyable comics in a bloated, depressing X-line, to replace it with a Cable ongoing? At least keep this book alive and drop his name from the title – make it a Deadpool solo book again. It’s too good to lose that way.

Rating: 8/10

Cable and Deadpool #44

August 20, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Head Games
Rating: T+

Cable dead? Deadpool beheaded? Wolverine versus the Penetrator!

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Jeremy Freeman & John Dell
Colors: Gotham & Sotocolor
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Nicole Boose
Cover Art: Skottie Young
Publisher: Marvel Comics

You know, considering that Cable was apparently killed over in X-Men and Wolverine chopped off Deadpool’s head last issue, you would think it would be difficult to find something to write about this month. And for a lesser writer than Fabian Nicieza it probably would be, but I gotta tell ya, he’s got this all sewn up.

With Deadpol out of commission, Wolverine turns his attention to Penetrator, even as the hordes of Hydra begin to swarm upon them. Not only is this book action-packed, but it’s also one of the flat-out funniest issues of this comic to come down the pike in a long time. Nicieza makes liberal use of the joke potential in a character called “The Penetrator” (at least as much as he can without turning this into a MAX book), and a totally out-of-the blue Hugh Jackman joke left me laughing out loud. Nicieza sets up things nicely to begin the next story, and I put the book down feeling genuinely satisfied with what I’d read.

Having Ron Lim on the art doesn’t hurt of course. He’s one of those artists I always love seeing but who doesn’t get nearly as much work as he deserves. He blends the major fight scenes with some great physical comedy sequences here, and he blends them flawlessly.

Yeah, you’d think that having both of our leads seemingly dead would be a detriment to this issue, but it’s a fantastic read anyway.

Rating: 8/10

New Thunderbolts #4

January 14, 2005

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Sword and Claw (Enemy of the State Tie-In)

While the Thunderbolts lick their wounds, the Swordsman faces a crazed Wolverine.

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

While I do applaud any effort to keep a tighter continuity in Marvel Comics these days, I have to admit that any enjoyment I may have had of this issue was somewhat tempered by the fact that I’m not reading Wolverine these days and all I know of that storyline is what I’m reading in reviews, which frankly, does not impress me. Evidently, he has been brainwashed and made a pawn in a Civil War among different factions of Hydra, and this issue he’s targeting the Thunderbolts’s benefactor, Baron Von Strucker. A unique little twist about Stucker, though, winds up putting the mysterious new Swordsman in the unique position of trying to save him.

Back at camp, the ‘Bolts are still recovering from their battle with Fathom Five. The newer members, Speed Demon, Joystick and Blizzard, want to take it easy, but Mach-IV isn’t keen on their plans to hit the town, since at least two of them are still wanted criminals. Meanwhile, Atlas finds himself answering some uncomfortable questions about the missing Captain Marvel.

As continuity-heavy as this series usually is, it’s even thicker this issue, between the ties to Wolverine’s solo title and the storylines harkening back to literally dozens of earlier Marvel titles. We do get a nice surprise regarding the Swordsman, and I find myself with a suspicion as to his true identity (which I’m hesitant to divulge because I’m really not sure where that particular character was when last we saw him).

Tom Grummet and Gary Erkine’s artwork is top-notch as usual. Although our heroes really take a backseat this issue to some of the various side plots, there’s an awful lot of action – first Swordsman versus Strucker, then a three-way battle once Wolverine is thrown in. The book gets a little bloodier than I expected, but with two blade-wielding combatants, that’s really to be expected.

While I wasn’t too pleased that this issue took a side track to patch in to the “Enemy of the State” fiasco, that didn’t limit my understanding much, just my enjoyment of it. The progress that the real plot of the title is good, and as always, I’m anxious to see where it will go next.

Rating: 7/10

Secret Warriors Vol. 1: Nick Fury-Agent of Nothing

June 23, 2011

Title: Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing

Writers: Jonathan Hickman, Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Stefano Caselli
Colorist: Daniele Rudoni
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
Cover: Jim Cheung, Justin Ponsor
Editor: Tom Brevoort       
Publisher: Marvel Comics

I didn’t pick up this series when it launched, because it was spinning out of the whole Dark Reign storyline Marvel had in the works at the time, and that held no interest for me. Since then, though, Jonathan Hickman took over my favorite Marvel title, Fantastic Four, and his magnificent work there convinced me that this book may be worth a second look. Turns out, it really is.

Following the Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn has taken over the security forces of the United States, shutting down SHIELD and replacing it with his own organization, HAMMER. Nick Fury is on the run, recruiting former SHIELD agents and new super-powered operatives that have thus far remained off the map to be his new force. And as he continues on his quest, he makes a discovery about SHIELD that throws the entire Marvel Universe into question.

The story here is excellent, one of the greatest showcases Nick Fury has seen in many years. Hickman brings in old favorite characters and new heroes and villains alike, with the skirmish against Hydra feeling like an integral part of the Marvel Universe, far more so than it ever was before. What’s more, he actually uses the landscape of the post-Invasion Marvel Universe to great effect, constructing a story that simply wouldn’t work the same way at any other time period in Marvel’s history.

Stefano Caselli and Daniele Rudoni are a fine art team, with a style that fits in a superhero universe, while still tinged with dark threads of the world of SHIELD that is this series’ foundation. The book truly looks as good as it reads.

It’s an excellent volume, and I look forward to continuing the series in paperback form.

Rating: 9/10

Cable and Deadpool #38

March 19, 2007

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: It’s in the Genes
Rating: T+

Stuck at four inches tall, Deadpool has to free Agent X from the clutches of Hydra!

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Reilly Brown
Inks: Jeremy Freeman & Pat Davidson
Colors: Gotham
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Nicole Boose
Cover Art: Skottie Young
Publisher: Marvel Comics

This issue was really something of a disappointment. It’s got a great set-up – Deadpool is now stuck at four inches tall. Despite this handicap, he’s called upon to help save Agent X – his own sort-of duplicate that he sort of hates – from the clutches of Hydra. Oh, and to make matters worse, Hydra has developed a weapon that can cure, or cause virtually any disease.

The setup provides a lot of comedy potential, but the jokes in practice fall somewhat flat. The carrot that gets Wade to agree to the mission in the first place is something of an obvious one, and the very concept of the device is extremely dubious from a scientific standpoint – something I’m usually willing to forgive in a book played for laughs if the story is strong enough to back it up.

Reilly Brown’s artwork is quite strong. He seems well equipped for a book like this, with plenty of action, but still with a comedic sensibility. Skottie Young’s cover has a nice, schizophrenic quality to it that reminds me a bit of Bill Sienkiwicz’s work.

Perhaps I’d have enjoyed this issue more if I were more familiar with Deadpool’s relationship to Agent X, but as is, the issue feels more like a device to get Deadpool to where he is by the last page rather than a story in its own right. This title, and Nicieza in general, is usually stronger.

Rating: 6/10

Avengers: The Initiative #2

May 3, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Hero Moment
Rating:T+

The kids’ first mission is as big as it gets – save the President from Hydra!

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

As the new Initiative recruits try to recover from the shock of watching MPV die in training, their own training has to continue, because Gauntlet isn’t about to go easy on them. Another incident on the training course, however, makes it clear that Trauma is going to need some additional training to keep his powers under control. Things get worse, though, when the call goes out that the kids are needed already – to save the President of the United States from an invading Hydra army!

This series, just two issues in, has already done volumes to convince me that the really engaging storytelling to come out of Civil War is going to come through the newer characters in the Marvel Universe. These kids are new and vulnerable, and I already care more about what happens to them than I do any of the decades-old heroes being showcased in the other two Avengers titles. It’s also nice to see them go into action so early. This little adventure demonstrates a lot of things, including the partnership between the various teams that comprise the Initiative and how the kids will factor into their battles, even though they haven’t actually “graduated” yet.

I’ve only got a couple of problems with this book, and all of them minor. First, should the Gargoyle really be in with the recruits? He’s been a superhero for years, he was a Defender – sure, he never had any official training either, but as nice as it is to see him, it’s weird to see him with the recruits. The other thing is something that’s been Marvel policy for years, but has always kind of bugged me – using real-life political figures in the story. I understand the reasoning behind it, they want to make the books seem more grounded in the real world. But we live in a climate where trade paperback collections, books that will be sold for years, are becoming more and more important in the comic book market. This issue works just fine right now, but in a few years it’s going to become as dated as old issues of Marvel Team-Up that took place maybe five years ago in Marvel time, but have Jimmy Carter’s face interacting with Nick Fury.

Stefano Caselli and Daniele Rudoni’s artwork is very strong. It’s not easy to do an exciting aerial battle sequence in a comic book, but they do a great job with all facets – the action itself and the more personal moments, just as Cloud 9’s horror when she realizes that a real fight isn’t the romanticized lifestyle she’d imagined.

This is a completely different Dan Slott than we see on the more lighthearted books he’s known for. It’s a major feather in his cap that he can do a book so different than what people expect and do it so incredibly well.

Rating: 8/10

Marvel Holiday Special 2006

December 3, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: A.I.M. Lang Syne and other stories
Rating: A

A look at Christmas in the Marvel Universe.

Writer: Andrew Farago, Shaenon K. Garrity, Scott Gray, Mike Carey, Jeff Christiansen
Art: Ron Lim, Roger Langridge, Mike Perkins
Colors: A. Street, J. Brown, A. Crossley
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Editor: John Barber
Cover Art: Frazer Irving
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics once again delves into its rich history and pulls out a handful of Holiday tales for 2006. While not quite as good as last year’s special, there are a few good stories here, and a special bonus treat – the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entry for Santa Claus.

The book starts (and middles and ends) with “A.I.M. Lang Syne,” a perplexing story about an A.I.M. New Year’s Eve party gone wrong. This is really the only clunker in the book, which leaves you wondering why it’s even here. The story is presented in short segments, one or two pages at a time, scattered in-between the other features. And it doesn’t work. It isn’t a framing sequence for the other stories, it’s not a story that is strengthened by showing the other tales in the interim, it’s as if the editor simply decided to cut it up for no reason. And even that wouldn’t be so bad if it were a good story, but it’s pretty boring.

“How Fin Fang Foom Save Christmas” is far better. Picking up on the Fin Fang Four special from last year, Scott Gray and Roger Langridge show us a down-on-his-luck dragon wandering the streets of New York, only to stumble headlong into a new bizarre attack by the forces of Hydra. This is a funny story, well worth the read, that actually draws out some real sympathy for Fin Fang Foom, which is a sentence I never thought I would type.

“A is For Annihilus” is next. Home alone while the rest of the Fantastic Four is out Christmas shopping and making merry, Ben Grimm gets bored (which is a terminally bad thing at the Baxter Building” and winds up accidentally freeing Annihilus from the Negative Zone. The story is told in an alphabetical rhyme scheme by Mike Carey, which occasionally feels forced, but overall works for the purposes of the comic book. Mike Perkins’ artwork, with colors by A. Crossley, is quite good, and the story is given a sort of brownish wash that makes it feel like you’re reading out of an old book.

There are a few more features in the book, most notably the OHOTMU page for Santa Claus himself. Jeff Christiansen does an especially good job with this entry, blending in the historical life of St. Nicholas, myths of Father Christmas from around the world and Santa’s appearances in Marvel comics throughout the years (even appearances in the old parody comic, What The?!) to give us a nice, cohesive history for the character as he exists on Earth 616. We also get three “cut-out” ornaments celebrating Civil War, Planet Hulk and Spider-Man: Back in Black, which are nice enough except that no one would ever cut them out and, even if they did, the paper is too flimsy to really hang them from anything. The book concludes with a cover gallery of other Marvel Holiday Special editions over the years.

It’s a pretty good package, with only the A.I.M. story falling flat, and something that Marvel fans will enjoy for the holidays.

Rating: 7/10