Tpull's Weekly Marvel Comics Review – Part 2

January 31, 2010 11:32 PM | Comments:

Avengers: The Initiative 32

by Christos N. Gage, and Mahmud Asrar

This series has gone far a-field from its roots as a training grounds for young super-heroes. Considering the focus is on the Taskmaster for this issue, though, I can easily forgive them. We know all we need to know about this guy, but Gage still gives us some good material to cover his origin and motives. I like how he talks up the Constrictor about taking their shot at the big time, and then reconsiders as soon as he finds himself in the combat zone against Asgardians.

It almost reads a tiny bit like a self-help book as he gets his mind into the mood to carry through with this attempt to move into the big leagues, and Asrar’s imagery is excellent, helping to craft the right mood. Even though you’re not really cheering for him as he slays an Asgardian, you do get a visual sense of his abilities and determination. Elsewhere, the Avengers Resistance has a good idea: they’re going to invade Camp Hammond (sorry, Camp H.A.M.M.E.R.) and shut it down while everyone else is occupied.

We end with Diamondback trying to figure out how to help Thor, but hanging back, realizing she wouldn’t make a difference, with all of that firepower going against him. Taskmaster, however, jumps into an attack on Thor even though he wasn’t really called to do it. In doing so, he makes a statement to everyone else present that he belongs there, that he is a big dog, and deserves his seat at the table. It’s almost like watching the birth of a true Anti-Captain America, and you actually want to root for a ‘regular’ guy to be able to hold his own weight in this super-charged crowd.

One of the best issues of this series to date.

Captain America: Reborn 6

by Ed Brubaker, Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice

If you’re in the mood to read a comic that has already been passed up by events everywhere else, go ahead. It’s actually a pretty good read, culminating in a great piece of work. Steve regains control of his mind, and the Red Skull ends up in one of Arnim Zola’s bodies again, only to be enlarged as Sharon Carter shoots some Pym particles at him, making him a big enough target to take out with some missiles.

The Skull’s daughter, Sin, is appropriately enough scarred so she can take over his title some day, if he is truly dead (which we tend to doubt, but that will be a story for another day). One interesting bit of drama is that Steve appeared to have a vision of an apocalyptic future, even though it was one of personal happiness with Sharon. Now he has to figure out what the vision means, and if he can salvage the good parts without everything else turning to mud.

I’m not sure what’s left to say about the Hitch/Guice art, other than it was awesome, and I really would like to see them do it again sometime, only with a little more lead-time to get the finished product out without delays. This issue read like a big finale, complete with a ton of action, but not meaningless action: it all served the purpose of the story, moving it to a place where Brubaker could resolve the major issues in a few pages without an artificial sense of everything ending just because it’s the end of the mini-series. I’m not sure if I would have included that vision of Cap’s in this place: in a mini-series (even though you know the rest of it will play out in his regular series), you tend to want to be able to wrap up most things for the reader to have a self-contained event. Still, it’s a plot with some potential for excitement, and it didn’t really hurt anything to have it first brought up here.

Daredevil 504

by Andy Diggle and Robert De La Torre

Daredevil learns about all of the problems being thrown at his friends while he’s running around in tunnels under New York. The Kingpin has framed Osborn’s goons well enough to manipulate a confrontation between the Hand and HAMMER, but Dakota North and Foggy learn that Kingpin is the one pulling the strings. Can they get word to Matt in time? Not before the fighting starts!

Matt’s forces actually kidnap a large number of cops and Osborn’s forces, and hold them prisoner in the tunnels, while Matt expects his Shadowland place to be built soon. To be honest, the idea that there is that much unclaimed land available for development under New York, and the idea that they would/could take so many people prisoner instead of just killing them like the Hand is used to doing, stretches your ability to suspend disbelief. But De la Torre’s at makes it feel gritty and real, and it’s a fun story. I find myself still interested to see where it goes, as Daredevil announces he’s leaving (now of all times!) to make a trip to Japan.

Dark Reign: Hawkeye 5

by Andy Diggle and Andres Guinaldo

Hey, are there other comics besides Reborn that are so freaking late, you’d pretty much forgotten about them? Because I had forgotten about this one. No idea why it’s so late, because the backgrounds are deplorably bare, and all we have is Bullseye trying to kill his dad. Somehow, his Avenger’s jet is able to figure out exactly what he wants to do, as he talks to it as if it were a regular person sitting next to him, and does any thing he wants, like a magical djinn. There are a half dozen pages of Ben Urich reaching yet another dead end in his attempt to find some good dirt. Folks, it was just really, really boring, without much of a point.

Ms. Marvel 49

by Brian Reed and Sana Takeda

Here’s another mess of a comic, with Ms. Marvel spending a lot of her time fighting some unknown, super-powered stooge who somehow owes Mystique a favor. The Skrull Captain Marvel shows up, acting crazy after Mystique impersonated Carol and kissed him once. After all the effort to craft a two0dimensional character with this guy, and no they turn him into an unthinking rampager. What a waste.

They waste our time with a full age of Mystique, clad in only a towel after her shower. They have so little story to tell, that’s their idea of a good cinematic image. Over in Reborn, we get a giant Red Skull, or the triumphant return of the original captain America for a full-page shot. Here… we get a wet Mystique. Sigh. Sana Takeda wastes our visual time with some worthless fighting that has no worthwhile scenery, and even the characters look way too CGI, with artificial light sources to give the lighting. Turns out this whole manipulation was something Mystique set in motion when she was bored, and she had forgotten about it herself.

Sort of like how easily this entire series will be forgotten as soon as it’s over.

New Avengers 67

by Brian Bendis, Stuart Immonen, and Daniel Acuña

The Hood is back in control of his gang, and with the Norn Stones, he gives them all a power upgrade. We get to see a smaller number of these goons in action, with the Living Laser and the Corruptor going up against Bucky-Cap and Steve Rogers, while Spider-Man’s flirting with Spider-Woman gets interrupted by Mandrill and Griffin. It’s mostly fighting, but all very entertaining.

I was about to comment on how muc better Immonen’s art seemed this issue, but then I noticed I was really looking at Acuña’s work, who helped out this month. Ah well, what belonged to Immonen looked better too.

Secret Warriors 12

by Jonathan Hickman, and Alessandro Vitti

Jerry reveals his father is the Absorbing Man, but how he could still be behind bars during this Dark Reign stuff, when all the villains get a free pass, I’ll never know. Most of this issue is planning and intrigue, so if you’re new it won’t all make too much sense, but if you’ve been following the title, it works out fine. We learn all Nick Fury and company know about Leviathan, yet another hidden organization, and we also see the Viper being delivered to them.

Caselli is growing as an artist, I think, but the thing that bothered me about his art is really driven home this issue: his tendency to ink his own work leaves it too much of a lighter touch The truth is that you need some shadow and better play of light and darkness for this kind of an intrigue book, and that brings to mind someone like Mike Deodato. This lighter stuff just isn’t getting the job done right to establish the proper mood. Given how much set-up this issue was, I hope they go for some big action soon.

Thor 606

by Kieron Gillen and Billy Tan

I am loving Billy Tan’s pencils! He works hard at giving us something to see of the surrounding environment, and his characters have some nice definition to them. Balder gets a scene heavy with drama as he discovers he has to slay some Asgardian subjects that have been mostly butchered by Doctor Doom’s experiments. Thor beats off Doom-in-Destroyer-armor in a powerful fight, but Loki teleports him out before Thor can really mess him up. Given Doom’s own sorcerous abilities, Thor probably thinks Doom fled on his own.

Loki himself has managed to slither into good graces yet again by bringing Kelda back from the dead, and posing as a victim along with everyone else. And Thor, for all his efforts, is still considered to be in exile. This issue ends the Asgardians time in Latveria, and we pick up in Siege next, where they have all returned to just outside of Broxton, Oklahoma, which was initially a source of confusion to a lot of readers when Siege #1 came out. We also get a neat scene of Doom holding some genetic samples of Loki, and some further gruesome examinations that Doom will continue in his quest to become immortal.

This was an excellent read with some top-notch art this week.

Tpull is Travis Pullen. He started reading comics at 5 years old, and he can't seem to stop.

Avengers: The Initiative 32 \n\n by Christos N. Gage, and Mahmud Asrar \n\nThis series has gone far a-field from its roots as a training grounds for young super-heroes. Considering the focus is on the Taskmaster for this issue, though, I can easily forgive them. We know all we need to know about this guy, but Gage still gives us some good material to cover his origin and motives. I like how he talks up the Constrictor about taking their shot at the big time, and then reconsiders as soon as he finds himself in the combat zone against Asgardians.\n\nIt almost reads a tiny bit like a self-help book as he gets his mind into the mood to carry through with this attempt to move into the big leagues, and Asrar’s imagery is excellent, helping to craft the right mood. Even though you’re not really cheering for him as he slays an Asgardian, you do get a visual sense of his abilities and determination. Elsewhere, the Avengers Resistance has a good idea: they’re going to invade Camp Hammond (sorry, Camp H.A.M.M.E.R.) and shut it down while everyone else is occupied.\n\nWe end with Diamondback trying to figure out how to help Thor, but hanging back, realizing she wouldn’t make a difference, with all of that firepower going against him. Taskmaster, however, jumps into an attack on Thor even though he wasn’t really called to do it. In doing so, he makes a statement to everyone else present that he belongs there, that he is a big dog, and deserves his seat at the table. It’s almost like watching the birth of a true Anti-Captain America, and you actually want to root for a ‘regular’ guy to be able to hold his own weight in this super-charged crowd.\n\nOne of the best issues of this series to date.\n\n\n Captain America: Reborn 6 \n\n by Ed Brubaker, Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice \n\nIf you’re in the mood to read a comic that has already been passed up by events everywhere else, go ahead. It’s actually a pretty good read, culminating in a great piece of work. Steve regains control of his mind, and the Red Skull ends up in one of Arnim Zola’s bodies again, only to be enlarged as Sharon Carter shoots some Pym particles at him, making him a big enough target to take out with some missiles.\n\nThe Skull’s daughter, Sin, is appropriately enough scarred so she can take over his title some day, if he is truly dead (which we tend to doubt, but that will be a story for another day). One interesting bit of drama is that Steve appeared to have a vision of an apocalyptic future, even though it was one of personal happiness with Sharon. Now he has to figure out what the vision means, and if he can salvage the good parts without everything else turning to mud.\n\nI’m not sure what’s left to say about the Hitch/Guice art, other than it was awesome, and I really would like to see them do it again sometime, only with a little more lead-time to get the finished product out without delays. This issue read like a big finale, complete with a ton of action, but not meaningless action: it all served the purpose of the story, moving it to a place where Brubaker could resolve the major issues in a few pages without an artificial sense of everything ending just because it’s the end of the mini-series. I’m not sure if I would have included that vision of Cap’s in this place: in a mini-series (even though you know the rest of it will play out in his regular series), you tend to want to be able to wrap up most things for the reader to have a self-contained event. Still, it’s a plot with some potential for excitement, and it didn’t really hurt anything to have it first brought up here.\n\n\n Daredevil 504 \n\n by Andy Diggle and Robert De La Torre\n\nDaredevil learns about all of the problems being thrown at his friends while he’s running around in tunnels under New York. The Kingpin has framed Osborn’s goons well enough to manipulate a confrontation between the Hand and HAMMER, but Dakota North and Foggy learn that Kingpin is the one pulling the strings. Can they get word to Matt in time? Not before the fighting starts!\n\nMatt’s forces actually kidnap a large number of cops and Osborn’s forces, and hold them prisoner in the tunnels, while Matt expects his Shadowland place to be built soon. To be honest, the idea that there is that much unclaimed land available for development under New York, and the idea that they would/could take so many people prisoner instead of just killing them like the Hand is used to doing, stretches your ability to suspend disbelief. But De la Torre’s at makes it feel gritty and real, and it’s a fun story. I find myself still interested to see where it goes, as Daredevil announces he’s leaving (now of all times!) to make a trip to Japan.\n\n\n Dark Reign: Hawkeye 5 \n\n by Andy Diggle and Andres Guinaldo \n\nHey, are there other comics besides Reborn that are so freaking late, you’d pretty much forgotten about them? Because I had forgotten about this one. No idea why it’s so late, because the backgrounds are deplorably bare, and all we have is Bullseye trying to kill his dad. Somehow, his Avenger’s jet is able to figure out exactly what he wants to do, as he talks to it as if it were a regular person sitting next to him, and does any thing he wants, like a magical djinn. There are a half dozen pages of Ben Urich reaching yet another dead end in his attempt to find some good dirt. Folks, it was just really, really boring, without much of a point.\n\n\n Ms. Marvel 49 \n\n by Brian Reed and Sana Takeda \n\nHere’s another mess of a comic, with Ms. Marvel spending a lot of her time fighting some unknown, super-powered stooge who somehow owes Mystique a favor. The Skrull Captain Marvel shows up, acting crazy after Mystique impersonated Carol and kissed him once. After all the effort to craft a two0dimensional character with this guy, and no they turn him into an unthinking rampager. What a waste.\n\nThey waste our time with a full age of Mystique, clad in only a towel after her shower. They have so little story to tell, that’s their idea of a good cinematic image. Over in Reborn, we get a giant Red Skull, or the triumphant return of the original captain America for a full-page shot. Here… we get a wet Mystique. Sigh. Sana Takeda wastes our visual time with some worthless fighting that has no worthwhile scenery, and even the characters look way too CGI, with artificial light sources to give the lighting. Turns out this whole manipulation was something Mystique set in motion when she was bored, and she had forgotten about it herself.\n\nSort of like how easily this entire series will be forgotten as soon as it’s over.\n\n\n New Avengers 67 \n\n by Brian Bendis, Stuart Immonen, and Daniel Acuña \n\nThe Hood is back in control of his gang, and with the Norn Stones, he gives them all a power upgrade. We get to see a smaller number of these goons in action, with the Living Laser and the Corruptor going up against Bucky-Cap and Steve Rogers, while Spider-Man’s flirting with Spider-Woman gets interrupted by Mandrill and Griffin. It’s mostly fighting, but all very entertaining.\n\nI was about to comment on how muc better Immonen’s art seemed this issue, but then I noticed I was really looking at Acuña’s work, who helped out this month. Ah well, what belonged to Immonen looked better too.\n\n\n Secret Warriors 12 \n\n by Jonathan Hickman, and Alessandro Vitti \n\nJerry reveals his father is the Absorbing Man, but how he could still be behind bars during this Dark Reign stuff, when all the villains get a free pass, I’ll never know. Most of this issue is planning and intrigue, so if you’re new it won’t all make too much sense, but if you’ve been following the title, it works out fine. We learn all Nick Fury and company know about Leviathan, yet another hidden organization, and we also see the Viper being delivered to them.\n\nCaselli is growing as an artist, I think, but the thing that bothered me about his art is really driven home this issue: his tendency to ink his own work leaves it too much of a lighter touch The truth is that you need some shadow and better play of light and darkness for this kind of an intrigue book, and that brings to mind someone like Mike Deodato. This lighter stuff just isn’t getting the job done right to establish the proper mood. Given how much set-up this issue was, I hope they go for some big action soon.\n\n\n Thor 606 \n\n by Kieron Gillen and Billy Tan \n\nI am loving Billy Tan’s pencils! He works hard at giving us something to see of the surrounding environment, and his characters have some nice definition to them. Balder gets a scene heavy with drama as he discovers he has to slay some Asgardian subjects that have been mostly butchered by Doctor Doom’s experiments. Thor beats off Doom-in-Destroyer-armor in a powerful fight, but Loki teleports him out before Thor can really mess him up. Given Doom’s own sorcerous abilities, Thor probably thinks Doom fled on his own.\n\nLoki himself has managed to slither into good graces yet again by bringing Kelda back from the dead, and posing as a victim along with everyone else. And Thor, for all his efforts, is still considered to be in exile. This issue ends the Asgardians time in Latveria, and we pick up in Siege next, where they have all returned to just outside of Broxton, Oklahoma, which was initially a source of confusion to a lot of readers when Siege #1 came out. We also get a neat scene of Doom holding some genetic samples of Loki, and some further gruesome examinations that Doom will continue in his quest to become immortal.\n\nThis was an excellent read with some top-notch art this week.\n\nTpull is Travis Pullen. He started reading comics at 5 years old, and he can't seem to stop.

Tpull's Weekly Marvel Comics Review – Part 2

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