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 #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