The Thanos Imperative #4

September 26, 2010
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art: Miguel Sepulveda
Colorist: Jay David Ramos & Wil Quintana
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Aleksi Briclot
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Lord Mar-Vell of the Cancerverse has captured Namorita, giving Nova and his squad even more to fight for than they had before. As he leads the Silver Surfer, Quasar, and the other powerhouses of Marvel’s cosmic corner against Mar-Vell, the Guardians of the Galaxy reel from Drax killing Thanos, the one being that could stop all this…

…or did he?

Yeah, It’s one of those stories. But it’s also a story that reveals something brand-new about the fundamental nature of a major character, and you’ll never hear me complaining about that sort of development. I was wary about bringing Thanos back from the death he suffered in Annihilation in the first place, but I also had faith in the writing team of Abnett and Lanning to deliver a good story and not just bring him back to set up a gimmick. There’s a reason, there’s a point, and it changes things for these characters in a big way.

Nice artwork, as well. Miguel Sepulveda and the color team do some wonderful pages – ugly moments, harsh battles waiting to be fought… it’s all to the good. I also love the twisted versions of the Avengers and the other heroes from “our” universe. Some of these visuals are really ugly and freaky. They’ll no doubt make for great action figures. Abnett and Lanning own this corner of the Marvel Universe. I don’t think anything has been announced about its future past this series, but I hope it has one. This series is really kicking ass.

Rating: 8/10

Annihilation #5

December 26, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Ascension
Rating: T+

With Thanos dead, can anyone free Galactus?

Writer: Keith Giffen
Art: Andrea DiVito
Colors: Laura Villari
Letters:Cory Petit
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Cover Art: Gabrielle Dell’otto
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Drax has killed Thanos, supposedly the one being with the power to free Galactus – and only Galactus has the power to stop Annihilus on his path of destruction through the universe. As Drax and Moondragon seek a new way to free the devourer of worlds, Nova’s team plans a last stand and Ronan and the Super-Skrull go to war with the Kree Empire.

Keith Giffen really has done a masterful job with this storyline, weaving the sort of war story combined with action combined with an air of last-stand desperation that really makes for an exciting cosmic event. What’s more, in the process he’s refined characters like Ronan the Accuser, who in the past have been little more than plot devices to make things a little more difficult on the Avengers, and turned them into people to root for. The same goes for the likes of the Super-Skrull and Blastaar. Meanwhile, we see a real evolution of Nova – he’s become much more than the teen superhero he used to be – now he’s a genuine general, and it’s a role that suits him in this book.

Mixed in with a strong story is some truly wonderful artwork. Andrea DiVito has long been one of the best traditional artists in Marvel’s stable, but his style is particularly well suited for this sort of space opera. There’s a lot of superhero style in here, but he mixes it with the sort of aliens and sci-fi energy effects (no doubt aided by Laura Villari’s fantastic colors) to give the book just the right look.

Ronan’s final scene is perhaps what puts this book over the top for me. It’s one of those final moments that really tugs at you, which is something that a character like Ronan never would have been able to pull off prior to this story. That’s a pretty good summation, in fact, as to what makes this issue good.

Rating: 8/10

(2010 Note: I later went back and got the hardcover Annihilation collections. They were well worth the money.)

The Thanos Imperative #3

August 28, 2010

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art: Miguel Sepulveda
Colorist: Jay David Ramos
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Aleksi Briclot
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Cancerverse is continuing its war on our universe, and an ever-dwindling army of cosmic heroes is doing its best to toe the line. But there’s hope from the other side – the Cancerverse’s counterparts to robotic heroes like the Vision and Machine Man have resisted the influence of Mar-Vell, and may provide the key to victory… if only Drax can put aside his hatred of Thanos long enough to win the war.

Abnett and Lanning have been telling war stories with these characters for some time now, going back to Annihilation, but they’ve never gotten stale in their telling. The Cancerverse concept itself is wonderfully warped and twisted, making for some dreadful villains for our heroes. We’re seeing Nova really have a chance to step up and demonstrate the depths of his own heroism, and the Guardians of the Galaxy have their own opportunity to shine.

There’s been some speculation about a “Cosmic Avengers” title spinning out of this event, and while that idea may have a little merit, the “line-up” we’re presented with this issue wouldn’t really sustain an ongoing. Quasar, Nova, and even Beta Rey Bill would work well together, but the Silver Surfer doesn’t really come across as a team player, and Ronan and the Gladiator are both kind of bland characters – powerhouses, to be sure, but not necessarily the sort of characters that make for interesting protagonists on an ongoing basis. (Both of them, honestly, are more interesting as antagonists, even if they’re fighting on the right side.) Hopefully if that does turn out to be the case, we’ll see a slightly different team.

Miguel Sepulveda’s artwork has a different kind of flavor to it, a clever mix of high-flying science fiction and superhero adventure, blended with the Cthulhu-style horrors of the Cancerverse. They mix well under his pencils, and give us a good-looking book.

This issue ends on a dandy little cliffhanger that actually calls the title of this event into question. It will be fun to see where the writers take us next.

Rating: 7/10

Ultimate Fantastic Four #53

April 22, 2008

Quick Rating: Below Average
Rating: A

Final battle with Thanos!

Writer: Mike Carey
Pencils: Tyler Kirkham
Inks: Sal Regla
Colors: Blond
Letters: Rus Wooton
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Cover Art: Gabrielle Dell’Otto
Publisher: Marvel Comics

With New York City trapped in space in a bubble created by the Cosmic Cube, the Ultimates under Thanos’s control and Reed Richard apparently dead (and if you believe that, I’ve got some ultra-rare copies of Youngblood #1 I’d like to talk to you about), the only people left to save the world are Ben Grimm and Thanos’s daughter, Atrea.

You’d think the Thing vs. Thanos would be really exciting, but this issue was frankly pretty dull. The Ultimate versions of Ben Grimm and Thanos are both pretty dull. Ben feels like a misguided attempt at making the hero “cool,” while Thanos is just plain boring. The idea of Atrea having a thing for Ben is an interesting enough idea, but it never goes anywhere. The conclusion is pretty trite as well – I didn’t even read the rest of this story arc, but I still saw it coming.

Tyler Kirkham’s artwork, sadly, isn’t much better. Although I’ve seen good work out of him in the past, this issue looks weak and amateurish, like it was done by one of the countless Rob Liefeld wannabes from the 90s who never learned better.

With books like this one championing the line, is it any wonder that rumors of the destruction of the Ultimate Universe abound?

Rating: 4/10

(2010 Note: The rumors, as it turned out, were only kinda true.)

Avengers/JLA #3

October 27, 2003

Dual Review By: Mike D’Alfonso & Blake Petit
Quick Rating: Great, Great
Story Title: Book Two: A Contest of Champions

JLA versus The Avengers – ‘Nuff Said!

Written by: Kurt Busiek
Art by: George Perez
Colored by: Tom Smith
Lettered by: Comicraft
Editors: Tom Brevoort, Dan Raspler, and Mike Carlin
Publisher: Marvel & DC Comics

With the fate of two universes in peril as a result of a cosmic gamble between Krona and the Grandmaster, The Avengers and the JLA are purposely drawn into battle amongst themselves to satisfy their whims. With both Universes at risk, will both teams realize what’s at risk? Reviewers Mike D’Alfonso and Blake Petit give their two cents on what they thought about the book.

BLAKE: Busiek and Perez’s epic crossover continues, and they’ve managed to completely shift the focus of the book from the first issue, while still throwing in all the fight scenes fans have been salivating for.

MIKE: To some extent, it is good to change the dynamic of power of some of the core participants such as The Flash and the Scarlet Witch. When The Flash enters the Marvel Universe, he loses his connection to the “Speed Force”, while Scarlet Witch’s “Hex” increases to godlike proportions in the DC Universe.

BLAKE: Which helped to balance things a bit — Quicksilver actually has a fighting chance against The Flash in his own universe, while the Scarlet Witch can hold her own against DC’s magical giants.

The Flash’s characterization in this issue also speaks to the strength of Busiek’s writing — it was spot-on. Almost all of them were, actually.

MIKE: Busiek’s interpretation sort of reminds me of how Mark Waid portrayed the character back when he wrote the character. It almost seems flawless.

BLAKE: Their styles are quite similar, you’re right.

Yet another reason I’d like to see Busiek writing some of the DC icons on a regular basis.

MIKE: Another point that needs mentioning is the focal point to this debacle. I think the whole cosmic melee scenario has been used a lot of late as the main catalyst to any conflict. It seems a little played out.

BLAKE: Perhaps, but with an event of this scale, something of such danger that you need both the Avengers and the Justice League, a cosmic-level threat is really the only thing big enough. Otherwise it would just seem like overkill.

MIKE: I suppose that is true in some instances, but I just don’t really like the scavenger hunt angle that much.

BLAKE: I can understand that, but I think this issue proves that the scavenger hunt is just a small part of the story. There’s a lot more going on, which boils down to a couple of great villains.

I must confess, I’m really glad to see Krona, one of my favorite old-school Green Lantern villains, getting used to such a great end in this book.

MIKE: In a way that is most appropriate considering the fact that he almost destroyed the DC Universe.

Grandmaster works as a great antagonist as well, and it’s kind of ironic that he acts as a protagonist as well.

BLAKE: That’s true — much of the action comes down to him.

Of course, there are a lot of good character moments as well — the scene with Captain America in the Bat Cave, for instance. Busiek draws on the parallel pasts of the characters to show how these heroes, even though they are a world a part, are in many ways bonded.

MIKE: Their methods of fighting crime may differ from one another; however, they both want to assure that they can safeguard mankind in anyway they can.

The parallel is similar to Superman and Batman.

BLAKE: Naturally, it is the two most clear-headed members of the teams that realize this while the others deliver the slugfests that so many of us paid the admission for.

MIKE: Which brings us to the art aspect of the book.

BLAKE: Yes — Perez, as we’ve said before, is the perfect choice to draw all of these characters, but he also draws some spectacular fight sequences as well, tracing locales all over both universes and nearly every living hero that’s ever been a member of either team.

Including three Fantastic Four members — a nice nod from Busiek.

MIKE: Well they were part of the team in one form or another over the years.

BLAKE: Except for the Human Torch.

Energy effects, magic, reflective surfaces, a beautiful fight in the rain — Perez gets to draw more varied kinds of scenes than I think I’ve ever seen in a single comic before.

MIKE: Yeah I would have to agree. Bar none he is quite adept to using visual effects to enhance the quality of any book he is involved in.

The one background that totally blew me away was the Grandmaster’s headquarters. This would totally give the readers an idea of what is at stake for the two teams.

BLAKE: Indeed — it makes you wonder exactly what his scheme is and how long he’s been scheming it. I think I even saw a few Vertigo artifacts in there.

MIKE: The one disturbing visual that stood in my mind was the “Infinity Gauntlet” in the hands of Darkseid. I truly believe that if he held on to it long enough and came over to the Marvel Universe, he would do what Thanos could not: destroy the entire galaxy and remake it in his image.

BLAKE: That was absolutely chilling. Even the Marvel characters recognized it — Hawkeye had a great line there.

And of course, the cosmic battle across the last few pages nearly seared the pages with the amount of energy Perez was throwing around. The scope of the threat is really made clear in this book.

MIKE: It just goes to show you that he is not limited by the restrictions that hinder a lot of artists in this field. Perez shows the readers that such restrictions should not hinder any artist at their chosen craft.

BLAKE: Yeah — there is no doubt that this is an artist who is deservedly an inspiration towards the current generation.

He’s been doing it longer than most people still in the game, and he’s still better than most of them too.

MIKE: All in all, the event that every fan has dreamed of is made into reality. With heart stopping action and superbly written dialogue and characterization, Avengers/JLA has everything in this book that people will not soon forget. However, as I’ve said before, the whole cosmic angle is good catalyst, but it has been too much of a theme for most of the books that are written today.

BLAKE: I think the cosmic angle is a necessary evil, and I think the strengths more than make up for it.

Mike’s Rating: 8/10

Blake’s Rating: 8/10