Agents of Atlas (2006 Series) #5

December 3, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: The People’s Leader
Rating: T+

A traitor revealed

Writer: Jeff Parker
Pencils: Leonard Kirk
Inks: Kris Justice
Colors: Michelle Madsen
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Cover Art: Tomm Coker
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Agent Khanata now believes one of his team to be a double agent. As they find themselves facing off against SHIELD, Namora makes a sudden connection about one of her teammates that reveals a long-hidden, horrible truth. In the end, a traitor stands revealed, and the Agents of Atlas find themselves gripped in a truly horrifying battle.

I haven’t been reading this miniseries up until now, but this issue really makes me wish I had been. This is a wonderful blend of old-fashioned superheroics and modern espionage, with enough of a 1950s flavor to make it true to its roots. The characters all read very true to themselves (at least from the few stories of theirs I’ve read in the past), and Jeff Parker has done a good job of taking obscure, forgotten characters and making them relatable today. He gives us people to root for and people to disdain, and that’s quite a feat with characters like these.

I’ve always been a fan of Leonard Kirk’s artwork, and this issue is certainly no exception. He takes the retro 50s style, but blends it with modern sensibilities to create something of a timeless look. This book would fit in perfectly with comics of any age, and like the writing, that’s no mean feat.

It’s probably too late for me to hunt down the first four issues of this miniseries, but I’m definitely going to seek out the trade paperback. This issue was a lot of fun.

Rating: 8/10

Exiles #55

December 4, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Bump in the Night Part I

The Exiles find themselves on a world trapped in the past – at the mercy of Kulan Gath!

Writer: Tony Bedard
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Mark McKenna
Colors: JC
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Marts
Cover Art: Jim Calafiore
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Exiles have found themselves on a world mysteriously trapped back in medieval times – and they themselves have been transformed to match the world, their memories altered along with their appearance. Unsure of their purpose of their mission, they find an ally who can tell them what has stricken this world.

When Tony Bedard took over this title, he floundered for a while, but with last issue and this one I’m starting to feel like he’s finally begun to hit his stride. Last issue’s “butterfly effect” issue was quite clever, and this one too really starts to exercise the full potential of a title like this, with characters careening from one alternate reality to the next. Here we’re in a very bizarre, unusual setting with a really big mission that the Exiles themselves will really be able to interact in.

This book could be daunting, what with its relative dependence on Marvel continuity for stories, but that’s one of the major points in its favor as far as I’m concerned. When I was first reading comics if I hit a character or concept I was unfamiliar with, I didn’t whine or give up – I tried to pick up what I needed to know by context and asked around for the rest. I enjoyed everything a bit more as a result, and I miss books that show all of the vast pieces of the Marvel Universe and how they all interconnect. This book, She-Hulk and now New Thunderbolts are all going back to that sort of storytelling, and I consider that a very good thing.

Jim Calafiore comes back to the art chores this issue, and he does a good job on our Medieval Manhattan. With a few exceptions, this isn’t a superhero book as much as it is high fantasy, and the designs reflect that. For once, even our protagonists get a redesign too, and it works, particularly for Namora and the underused Beak.

I was unsure about this title for a while, but it’s definitely on an upswing.

Rating: 8/10

Exiles (2001 Series) #54

November 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Rube Goldberg

To save a universe, the Exiles must conquer… a Cheese Danish!

Writer: Tony Bedard
Art: Mizuki Sakakibara
Colors: JC
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Marts
Cover Art: Mizuki Sakakibara
Publisher: Marvel Comics

One of the weak points of Tony Bedard’s tenure on Exiles so far has been that the overall arc of the series hasn’t really progressed very much. Since the team was stabilized at the end of his first three issues, very little has changed for our heroes, and this issue is no exception. On the other hand, he does turn in a very good done-in-one storyline that’s amusing and inventive.

This time out, the mission given by the Tallus is to buy a Cheese Danish. That’s it. Buy a Cheese Danish and save the world. Any baker worth his toast would love to have that on the sign outside the shop. Although the mission seems ridiculously simple, the team speculates that they could be at the pinpoint of the classic “Butterfly Effect” – a seemingly insignificant event that sets off a chain reaction of incredible consequence down the line.

It is a bit patronizing that the team feels the need to explain this theory to one another and, by extension, to the reader, but once they get off their duffs and work on the mission we get to see the dominos fall one at a time, and the end result is pretty satisfying.

Sakakibara, as usual, does a very good job on the artwork, with a very visually diverse cast and some nice sci-fi elements throughout the book. We also get a brief glimpse at some of the alternate Marvel heroes that populate this universe, and that’s always a good time.

Bedard is clearly having a lot of fun on this title, enjoying playing with the conventions of the genre and stretching his legs far enough to reach all of the possibilities. While he’s busy playing with all the toys, though, he’s not getting very far, and that’s what he needs to work on to make this title strong again.

Rating: 7/10

Exiles (2001 Series) #53

October 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Living Planet Part Two

Ego has come to Earth… and the Celestials follow!

Writer: Tony Bedard
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Mark McKenna
Colors: JC
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Marts
Cover Art: Mizuki Sakakibara
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Ego the Living Planet has seeded the Earth that the Exiles “blinked” into last issue. Now, with Reed Richards’ consciousness trying to keep the living Earth in check, the Celestials have come to our neck of the woods to take on Ego.

There’s really nothing wrong with this issue, in and of itself, but the real problem here is that it doesn’t really feel like an Exiles story. The team has a part to play, but it’s not a part that virtually any other superhero team couldn’t have played – even a team from this alternate Earth. Heck, with only a few minor modifications, this story could have taken place in the mainstream Marvel universe with no problems.

There are some good bits, though. For the first time since joining the team, Beak really plays an important role in this issue. (This will no doubt irritate the Beak-haters, but I don’t care, I like the guy.) Also, Bedard throws in some tidbits at the end that finally seem to indicate as to the direction he’s going to take this series in over the coming months. In fact, if you just read the letters page, you’ll find out exactly when the storyline will begin to play out. It just shouldn’t take so long, especially in a title that doesn’t really suffer from the usual problems of a “decompressed” comic.

Jim Calafiore’s artwork is quite good. I still enjoy seeing the alternate versions of regular Marvel heroes and villains, and in fact, wish we could have gotten some more of them this issue. He’s also good with the outer space scenes which are pretty vital to this story. Is this series has to have a “regular” fill-in artist, he’s as good a one as readers could hope for.

The title finally seems to be going somewhere. For some readers, though, that direction may have come a bit too late.

Rating: 6/10

Exiles (2001 Series) #52

Sepember 5, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Living Planet Part One

On a Earth infected by Ego, the Exiles must face off against the Avengers and their ally… Doctor Doom!

Writer: Tony Bedard
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Mark McKenna
Colors: JC
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Marts
Cover Art: Mizuki Sakakibara
Publisher: Marvel Comics

While I appreciate the fact that this book doesn’t restrict itself to only X-Men related characters, even with the Avengers and Doctor Doom as the focus of this arc, I can’t help but feel the title is getting a tad repetitive.

This time out, the Exiles are dropped into a universe where Earth is being overwhelmed with “antibodies” from Ego the Living Planet, the Fantastic Four is MIA, and the Avengers and Doctor Doom seem to be the only hope for saving the world.

In a time where most comic books are artificially elongating their storylines, wasting issues and issues on pointless filler, Tony Bedard’s Exiles is a book that suffers from the exact opposite problem – he’s not taking enough time to tell the stories to their utmost potential. The very nature of this title, with heroes that are dropped into one universe after another with imminent dangers to fight against, doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for downtime and character exploration, which is what the book is somewhat lacking. The versions of the Avengers in this world, while incredibly interesting on the surface, are sort of glossed over – a modified Captain America, female versions of Yellowjacket and Iron Man (still inexplicably called “Man”), and a much more classically Nordic Thor than we have in the core Marvel Universe. I’d love to see how “our” heroes got this way, but we don’t in this issue and I don’t suspect we will next issue either.

As Andrea has stated elsewhere, that problem also afflicts the main characters of the series. Namora and Beak have effectively been on the team for eight issues now, but neither have had too much development or too much to do. Bedard needs to find a balance between character development and alternate-reality cookiness.

Jim Calafiore, the “regular” fill-in penciller, does a good job this issue, particularly with all of the character redesigns. The changes made in the looks of existing characters doesn’t seem too capricious, change for change’s sake, but instead leave you wondering exactly what happened to make the characters that way (with the exception of Hawkeye, who looks a bit too “90s,” if you know what I mean).

I’m still enjoying this book, but not as much as I should. I hope that once this storyline wraps, whatever comes next, Bedard will pull it back out.

Rating: 6/10

Exiles (2001 Series) #49

July 9, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Mission Impossible

What happens when the Exiles land on a world with an Impossible Man gone mad?

Writer: Tony Bedard
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Mark McKenna
Colors: JC
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Marts
Cover Art: Mizuki Sakakibara
Publisher: Marvel Comics

In an amusing done-in-one issue, the new Exiles team lands on a world where a superpowerful Impossible Man has gone mad. Armed with the ability to transform anyone into anything, and with a mind that is no longer interested in the pesky but mostly harmless fun that has always defined the character, the Exiles have to stop him before an entire Earth is lost.

Predictably, this issue turns into a dual of the goofballs, with Morph taking on Impossible Man directly while the rest of the team tries to minimize the damage, and wind up on the sidelines for most of the fight. It’s amusing and a nice little one-shot story leading into next month’s issue #50. It seems a bit superfluous, though. Bedard came on three issues ago with a storyline set in the “real” Marvel universe, then jumped into this comic relief story. As a result, we still haven’t really gotten a grasp of the direction this series is going to take under his stewardship.

While I still applaud the decision to add Beak to the team, I have to wonder how long Namora is going to last. She’s a thoroughly unlikable character, and while that may work sometimes in order to build conflict, she doesn’t seem to add very much to this book. At least, so far she hasn’t. On the other hand, he deserves points for mining lesser-known and obscure characters like Controller to create his storylines. It reminds you that while this may technically be an X-book, the scope of the title really is the entire Marvel universe.

Jim Calafiore steps back to this title briefly, filling in for regular artist Mizuki Sakakibara, and he does a very good job. He knows each of these long-time characters, and has a great take on Beak. I especially like what he does with Impossible Man, giving him clever transformations. Of course, dealing with a version of ol’ Impy that can transform other people and objects gives him much more to play with, and he succeeds on a visual level, making everything look clever.

Hopefully next issue, the 50th, will allow Bedard to finally open up and tear into the sort of stories I started reading this book anticipating. He’s a great writer, and while his first four issues have been enjoyable, they haven’t blown me away, and that’s what I’m hoping for.

Rating: 7/10