Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #1

May 13, 2008

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Somebody’s Got To Do It
Rating: T+

In the wake of Annihilation, Star Lord decides it’s time for a new team of heroes!

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencils: Paul Pelletier
Inks: Rick Magyar
Colors: Nathan Fairbairn
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Cover Art: Clint Langley
Publisher: Marvel Comics

In the wake of the first Annihilation, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning took Nova, a concept from the 70s that enjoyed brief popularity in the early 90s but has since stagnated, and made it one of the best books in Marvel’s stable. Now, following Annihilation: Conquest, lightning has struck twice.

Having saved the universe from the Annihilation Wave, then again from the Phalanx, Star Lord decides that perhaps what is needed is a group to head off that sort of disaster before it can happen. Rounding up many of the heroes involved in the destruction of Ultron, Nova leads the new team to the place called Knowhere, and their first mission.

In most team books these days, it seems like it takes six issues – or more – just to get the entire cast to show up. When you’ve got two major crossover events behind you, though, you don’t need to muck about like that. Not only do we get the entire team formation in this issue (complete with the decision to create the team, invitations, locating a headquarters and even one rejection), we get their entire first mission (spaceships, mondo explosions, and lots of funny dialogue), the promise of a link to the team’s legacy, and even a nasty little portent of things to come. I feel like I’ve read ten months of a comic book all in 22 action-packed pages.

And if some of the best storytelling in comics isn’t enough to entice you, how about some of the best art? Paul Pelletier does sci-fi superheroes better than just about anyone in the business. His style is deliciously old-school (by which I mean “straightforward, clean and energetic”), and combined with modern coloring techniques, it has never looked better.

After just one issue, I’m ready to ask Nova and Incredible Hercules to make over and room for this one on the “Marvel’s Best” list. I absolutely loved this comic.

Rating: 9/10

She-Hulk (2004 Series) #5

July 16, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: More Than a Handful (The Big Picture Part One)

When a two-bit supervillain gets thrown in jail, She-Hulk’s new boss takes a personal interest.

Writer: Dan Slott
Pencils: Paul Pelletier
Inks: Tom Simmons w/Don Hillsman
Colors: Avalon Studios
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Mike Mayhew
Publisher: Marvel Comics

When the New Warriors bust a small-time supervillain named Southpaw, She-Hulk’s new boss takes a personal interest in the case. Meanwhile, Southpaw’s cellmate, the Mad Thinker, has found a way to set up a jailbreak, and she is instrumental in it.

I didn’t like this issue quite as much as the past few issues – Slott has toned down the comedy this issue, and as that was one of my favorite things about this title, I’m a little disappointed by that. Also, while I applaud this title for not blanching away from continuity the way most comics do these days, I’m afraid that the literal mob of supervillains, few of which get much exposition, may be a bit daunting to people not familiar with Marvel history.

On the other hand, Slott deserves credit for reminding us that the New Warriors haven’t just dropped off the face of the Earth, even if they just appear in a cameo this issue. Also, he has created the most original concept for a superhuman prison I’ve seen in… well… ever. It’s simple and ingenious. You do get the sense that the Thinker has figured out an escape route a bit too easily, but that’s his M.O. – he comes up with a brilliantly complicated plan, forgets to account for human error, and gets beaten at the last moment. I fully expect this to happen next issue.

Paul Pelletier steps into the penciller’s seat this issue, and it’s great to see his work. He’s one of the most underrated artists in comics and has been since his Flash days. We’re still missing three issues of Negation War, but that’s not really his fault, and he reminds us this issue exactly how good he is. He’s from a school of artists like Mark Bagley and Dan Jurgens – strong, energetic, but without the excessive detail that loads down a lot of artists and turns the art muddy and dark.

I really did enjoy this issue – I gave it a “good” rating, after all, but I miss the comedy. There’s still a few humorous moments in this issue, but no more than your average superhero comic, and this is not your average superhero comic. I hope to get a few more laughs next time around.

Rating: 7/10

Fantastic Four #548

July 31, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Kind of an Expensive Test
Rating: A

With Sue trapped, the FF gears up to attack the Frightful Four!

Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Pencils: Paul Pelletier
Inks: Rick Magyar
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Rus Wooton
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Michael Turner
Publisher: Marvel Comics

On a moon of Saturn, Titan, the Frightful Four has Sue Richards captive. Back on Earth, the Wizard’s plan to kill Reed Richards has backfired, and he’s got a five-member Fantastic Four ready to bring down the heat.

As the Wizard himself once observed (in an otherwise-unremarkable story), the “four” in the name of this team is really more of a word than an absolute. Seeing the five-member team go into action works, and McDuffie even takes a few chances to show that the Panther isn’t redundant when Reed is back in action. Reed and Sue both get a chance to demonstrate a ferocity they don’t usually display, and the whole thing leads up to a really satisfying fight scene between the two teams. While the Frightful Four often gets played for laughs, when taken seriously there’s some serious danger in going up against a master of traps and a man who can turn into water. McDuffie gives them a sense of danger without neutering the heroes.

Pelletier’s artwork is still really great, and frankly, far superior to the cover art. This book hasn’t looked so good since Mike Wieringo left.

Despite a completely superfluous and misleading “Initiative” label (cut back on them, Marvel, PLEASE), pretty much everything in this book has been working since Dwayne McDuffie took the reigns. This is another solid issue.

Rating: 8/10

Fantastic Four #547

June 26, 2007

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Never Ask Her If She’s Wearing Colored Contact Lenses (Reconstruction Chapter Four)
Rating: A

A discovery in deep space brings Reed Richards back to Earth.

Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Pencils: Paul Pelletier
Inks: Rick Magyar
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Rus Wooton
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Michael Turner
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Reed and Sue’s time away from the Fantastic Four is interrupted when Reed finds a bizarre organic satellite drifting through space. He turns to one of the few people whose knowledge of biochemistry matches his, and with the New Fantastic Four, begins to formulate a plan. Still in space, though, Sue finds herself stumbling across some old foes.

This book is great on all levels. McDuffie is showing a real rapport developing between the members of the new team, while not discarding everything that makes the classic team work so well. At the same time, the way Reed and Sue are rebuilding their relationship is coming across beautifully. It’s Sue, not Reed, who suggests he takes time from their Honeymoon to examine the satellite, and when is the last time you actually saw Reed get distracted from his research by thinking about Sue? This is better than just understanding the relationships between these heroes, this is actually developing them.

Paul Pelletier has long been a favorite artist of mine, and his work on Fantastic Four is reminding me of why. He blends together science fiction and superheroics in a way few other artists can match. I love his interpretation of the Thing, and the strong ink and color work by Magyar and Mounts comes together to make a good package all around.

It seems like McDuffie is going to blend all six members of the Fantastic Four for this arc, which is just fine by me. It’s all coming together really well.

Rating: 8/10

Fantastic Four (1961 Series) #546

May 22, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Reconstruction Chapter Three: Aw, That’s Just Crude (an Initiative tie-in)
Rating: A

The Fantastic Four and Gravity face the Heralds of Galactus!

Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Pencils: Paul Pelletier
Inks: Rick Magyar & Scott Hanna
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Rus Wooton
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Michael Turner
Publisher: Marvel Comics

In deep space, the Fantastic Four stands poised to save the cosmic being called Epoch from the hunger of Galactus. But the FF is a man down – the Black Panther has bolted! Not to fear, though, they have a fourth – the newly-resurrected Protector of the Universe… Gravity!

This fourth issue of Dwayne McDuffie’s run is actually the first one I feel is a little bit of a letdown. I’ve very much enjoyed everything he’s done so far, and enjoyed most of this issue as well. He uses the Black Panther’s connections very logically, very well (c’mon, you guys didn’t actually think he was just running away last issue, did you?), and the banter between Ben and Johnny is spot-on. I also really like what he’s doing with Reed and Sue, who – even while on an extended vacation to rebuild their marriage—can’t seem to get away from danger. Much of what we’re reading here seems to be a distant tie-in to Annihilation, which is just fine with me. I’ve enjoyed most of Annihilation so far, and I think crossing it over into books like this one that already have clear links with Marvel’s cosmic corners is a smart move.

The only thing that kind of disappoints me is the ending. I thought McDuffie was setting up a big status quo shift (not for this title, but for the Marvel Universe in general), but at the end, he seemed to hit a reset button. Again, I’m forced to wonder if this wasn’t something that was done with Annihilation in mind, but taken on its own, I wish he had gone in another direction.

Paul Pelletier is one of my favorite sci-fi superhero artists, and he proves why this issue. He does fantastic outer space scenes and his weird tech is second to none. There’s an apparatus used by one of the characters in this book that looks like it leapt right off Jack Kirby’s sketchboard.

I’m still enjoying this book and I think McDuffie was the right choice to take over. I’m going to assume the things that bummed me here were just a bump in the road.

Rating: 7/10

Negation War #1

April 4, 2004

Review by: Blake M. Petit & Craig Reade
Quick Rating: Great; Excellent

The war begins, and the first casualties come fast and hard.

Writer: Tony Bedard
Art: Paul Pelletier
Inker: Dave Meikis
Colors: Laura Martin
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Publisher: CrossGen Comics

Since CrossGen comics launched, it has been building towards one massive, universe-altering event. Reviewers Blake Petit and Craig Reade give you their impressions of the war that will change the Sivilverse forever.

Blake: Beginning now, fans of the Sigilverse will finally get the mysteries they’ve been wrapped up in with the launch of Negation War, the title that CrossGen has been building towards since the company launched.

Craig: Picking right up where Negation #27 left off, Charon, Evinlea, and their Negation forces have begun their assault on the “Bright” Universe. Their first stop is a world totally unfamiliar to fans of any CrossGen series – whose sigil-bearer is the heroic Mighty Man

Blake: This issue, in fact, could easily have been called Negation #28 if it weren’t for the threads of other CrossGen titles that it begins to pick up, particularly Crux and Way of the Rat. I thought starting the issue with an all-new Sigil-bearer, not to mention CrossGen’s first “superhero,” was a clever touch.

Craig: Personally I rather liked the slow infusion of some other CrossGen Sigil-books. Rather than a glorified, ultimate crossover, we are instead being treated to an important story that is getting all of the plot treatment it deserves, instead of a massive ultimate throw-down off the bat. You have a point about “Negation #28” being an appropriate title, however I think Bedard did an excellent job of re-introducing all of the characters for new readers. If this were to be Negation #28, it would have to be a Key Issue, at the very least.

Blake: Yes, this is probably accessible to new readers, although speaking as someone who jumped into the Sivilverse on day one, I couldn’t swear on that.

Regardless, this is an issue that shows why Tony Bedard is one of the best — and most underappreciated — writers in comics today. I’m actually going to pick up Exiles just to see what he does with it, and I’ve never read that tile before.

Craig: I think it is safe to say we are polar opposites there. I jumped into CrossGen very late in the game, and I still felt everything was explained pretty well in this issue. As to Exiles, that was a title I was reading since day one (until quite recently, at least), and I have to say he is a perfect fit to the concept. If Negation is indeed to end after Negation War, that is a great place for “displaced fans” to head to.

Blake: Although it would be a crying shame to lose that book.

This issue is mostly set-up, of course, with few questions answered outright, and at least one question (that of the orange-eyed mentiors) being blurred a little more than it had been, making you wonder exactly what Danik ‘s true nature is some time after one would have thought that problem was resolved.

Craig: Well, as someone who did not read Crux, or any of the other books where the true nature of the mentors was explained, I found this issue to be fairly enlightening. Perhaps they are going for a slower reveal for people like me? I found the last issue of Negation and this issue particularly enlightening. Not everyone read Crux, after all!

Blake: A slow reveal is probably good, but the promise of the “gathering of heroes” next issue really has me excited.

Craig: I have to say I am curious about that myself. Exactly how will people like Cassie Starkweather and other more “isolated” sigil-bearers react to these events? And I am still wondering how Boon is going to fit into this story – this can’t be it for him…

Blake: I certainly hope not. If there’s anything about this title that concerns me, it’s the fear that it will seal off the Sigilverse too completely and prevent more stories with some of the characters I’ve come to love.

Craig: Well, I am still in the camp that thinks the Negation is “winning” this thing. If there were to be a continued Negation ongoing series, I would love to see a band of surviving Sigil-bearers from many of the canceled titles lead by Kaine, behind enemy lines in their own universe. If they are not going to have their own books, they might as well appear in a team book!

Blake: You could definitely count me as a regular customer for a title like that.

Craig: One thing that struck my about this issue was the sheer power of the mentors. It begs the question- If each of the mentors are this powerful, and each “sigil-bearer” has a mentor, aren’t the sigil bearers superfluous?

Blake: I think that’s a question that will be answered once we grasp the full significance of the sigils.

Craig: In any case, this issue on the whole was a great introduction. CrossGen even got its dig at the Superhero genre with the introduction (and defeat?) of Mighty Man – just a few short pages and I am already going to miss the guy.

Blake: Heh — you and me both.

Craig: A nice bit of humor to fill out what turned out to be little more than a set-up issue. A GOOD set-up, but it was nice to be entertained during all of the exposition.

Blake: Bedard has been very good and tempering some of the more horrific scenes with humor. And Paul Pelletier, for his part, has been good at portraying those horrific scenes.

Craig: I don’t think I have ever once complained about the art in a CrossGen book – that is something they have excelled in. Negation War Part One sure lives up to that high standard. As to the writing – Tony Bedard was the best man for this job. I can’t wait to see him bring all of these threads together. As much as this issue answered for me, there is still a great deal up in the air at this point

Blake: And since there’s four issues left, that’s probably a good thing.

Craig: On the whole, I have to say I could not have asked for anything more out of this issue. It is shaping up to be a great run, and an event worthy of a “swansong” to the sigil-verse, should it come to that.

Blake: Yeah. If things have to wrap up, CrossGen has the right team to do it and they’re already off to a great start.

Blake’s Rating: 9/10

Craig’s Rating: 10/10

(2010 Note: The joke was on us, as it turned out. After two issues of this series, CrossGen went out of business. Marvel recently teased the possibility of CrossGen’s return, now that both publishers are owned by Disney,  but I doubt we’ll ever see the end of this series.)