Even though it's just the cover for a comic that comes out next month, it's still the panel of week. Because... well, I don't think it needs explaining.
Later Days.
Showing posts with label comic book wednesdays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comic book wednesdays. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday Comics: How Do They Keep it Fresh, After All These Years?
Even though it's just the cover for a comic that comes out next month, it's still the panel of week. Because... well, I don't think it needs explaining.
Later Days.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Comic Panel Wednesday: Yeah, This is Weird
From Green Lantern 55, by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke. I'm not going to lie: this is the first time I've gotten misty-eyed over a red-ring empowered kitty cat that's swearing vengeance for his fallen mistress among the skulls of his enemies. First time... so far.
Must be from reading all those stories in Patricia Highsmith's The Animals-lover's book of beastly murder. The moral of the book? Treat animals with respect. Don't mess around with animals--they'll mess back, and they're not constrained by human social niceties.
Later Days.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Wednesday Comics: Real Heroes Make a Splash
I know this is kind of late, even by my standards, but... I think it's worth it. From Tick: the New Series 4. Soldier onward, brave Canuck.
Later Days.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Wednesday Comics: It Hurts to Laugh
This one violates my "one panel, no, I mean, one page" rule, but... it's probably my favorite single Joker/Batman exchange outside of the animated series. It's from Brian Azzerello and Lee Bermejo's Orignal Graphic Novel, Joker.
Later Days.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Comic Panels: I am Person! Of consequence.
Both the two big comic publishers, DC and Marvel, are in the midst of a series of relaunches after their last big stories, Darkest Night and Siege, respectively, wrapped up. DC managed to do a lot better than Marvel in setting up new plot points; in DC, we have the aftermath of an interstellar war, a mystery of twelve resurrected heroes, a fugitive everyone on Earth has forgotten, the return of the Fastest Man Alive, the White Lanterns, and probably more I forgot about. Marvel's story: everything that's happened for the seven last seven years is back to normal. Enjoy!
...So yeah, less than dramatic.
That said, I really enjoyed Romita and Bendis' Avengers 1. I'm not even sure why; the plot as someone at aintitcool.com pointed out is essentially Back to the Future 2, with superheroes (You've got to travel to the future! You're fine--the problem is your KIDS!). And the dialogue is very Bendis-y. But there's a sense of, well, everything's back to normal. And not just normal, but classic, and heroic. It helps that they've brought back a classic villain, the immortal time traveller, Kang, who's proven time and time again that blue face masks are THE must-have fashion item of the 30th century. Here he is, seconds away from a sucker punch ala Thor:
Oh, Avengers. You had me at KANG!
Later days.
...So yeah, less than dramatic.
That said, I really enjoyed Romita and Bendis' Avengers 1. I'm not even sure why; the plot as someone at aintitcool.com pointed out is essentially Back to the Future 2, with superheroes (You've got to travel to the future! You're fine--the problem is your KIDS!). And the dialogue is very Bendis-y. But there's a sense of, well, everything's back to normal. And not just normal, but classic, and heroic. It helps that they've brought back a classic villain, the immortal time traveller, Kang, who's proven time and time again that blue face masks are THE must-have fashion item of the 30th century. Here he is, seconds away from a sucker punch ala Thor:
Oh, Avengers. You had me at KANG!
Later days.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Book Informed Me of the Existence of "How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic," so at least it wasn't a complete loss..
I'm desperately trudging through the last few books I can cram in before the exam. Sadly, my slow reading rate is really catching up to me at this point. Is it petty that I'm feeling smugly superior about the fact that the text I'm currently reading is very theoretically difficult, but rife with spelling errors?
Well, yes, it is, but at least I have the theoretical basis to justify my pettiness. See, according to Hodge and Kress' Social Semiotics, texts exert a certain level of modality that signals the appropriate affinity group that it is trying to appeal towards. Modality in this case means a claim towards truth and reality. A person can claim to have a high level of modality by using nothing but logical propositions and high level jargon (like, say, the term modality), but he or she is clearly aiming an affinity towards high-level discourse and logic-based arguments. Also, probably academics. On the other hand, a person could claim a high level of modality by appealing to simpler, language, the kind of down-to-earth tones that regular people understand--it's still a level of modality, but the audience you're appealing to is different.
Or to rephrase, modality = truthiness. Thanks, Stephen Colbert.
Now, spelling and grammar in general indicate that the person using it belongs to a certain social group--Kress and Hodge argue that not using double negatives sets up a social group every bit as much as using the term "fo'shizzle." So the text I'm reading is attempting, through its high grammar, to signal an affinity towards an academic group, and create a modality based on this affinity and high level. But because the spelling errors are so rampant, the affinity fails. Now, it could be argued they are deliberately introducing mispellings, which signals their commitment to an anti-affinity, an anti-domain outside the scholarly norm. (Like some guy who tries to write humorously about academic theory on his blog, thus creating a rapport with his readers while striking against the academic institution.) But this destroys their effective modality, which lends me to believe it's just an error on their part, and that thus the theory isn't as much of an all-encompassing truth as it pretends to be. Considering that the book is part of a long list of comp texts that all try to inject a high modality into my reading, to the point where I feel like I've been institutionally enveloped, being able to take the text to pieces feels like, in communist terms, taking apart the Master's house with his own tools. (Yes, I know that the communist point was that you can't actually do this. Didn't stop them from using hammers to break down a bunch of houses.)
Oh, and by the way? That text with all the spelling mistakes? It was Hodge and Kress' Social Semiotics.
I just blew your minds.
Note: I'm pretty sure very little of that made sense. So here's a panel of the week to clear everyone's palette. Actually, a cover, but never mind.
Oh, that Spider Jerusalem. What a card.
Later Days.
Well, yes, it is, but at least I have the theoretical basis to justify my pettiness. See, according to Hodge and Kress' Social Semiotics, texts exert a certain level of modality that signals the appropriate affinity group that it is trying to appeal towards. Modality in this case means a claim towards truth and reality. A person can claim to have a high level of modality by using nothing but logical propositions and high level jargon (like, say, the term modality), but he or she is clearly aiming an affinity towards high-level discourse and logic-based arguments. Also, probably academics. On the other hand, a person could claim a high level of modality by appealing to simpler, language, the kind of down-to-earth tones that regular people understand--it's still a level of modality, but the audience you're appealing to is different.
Or to rephrase, modality = truthiness. Thanks, Stephen Colbert.
Now, spelling and grammar in general indicate that the person using it belongs to a certain social group--Kress and Hodge argue that not using double negatives sets up a social group every bit as much as using the term "fo'shizzle." So the text I'm reading is attempting, through its high grammar, to signal an affinity towards an academic group, and create a modality based on this affinity and high level. But because the spelling errors are so rampant, the affinity fails. Now, it could be argued they are deliberately introducing mispellings, which signals their commitment to an anti-affinity, an anti-domain outside the scholarly norm. (Like some guy who tries to write humorously about academic theory on his blog, thus creating a rapport with his readers while striking against the academic institution.) But this destroys their effective modality, which lends me to believe it's just an error on their part, and that thus the theory isn't as much of an all-encompassing truth as it pretends to be. Considering that the book is part of a long list of comp texts that all try to inject a high modality into my reading, to the point where I feel like I've been institutionally enveloped, being able to take the text to pieces feels like, in communist terms, taking apart the Master's house with his own tools. (Yes, I know that the communist point was that you can't actually do this. Didn't stop them from using hammers to break down a bunch of houses.)
Oh, and by the way? That text with all the spelling mistakes? It was Hodge and Kress' Social Semiotics.
I just blew your minds.
Note: I'm pretty sure very little of that made sense. So here's a panel of the week to clear everyone's palette. Actually, a cover, but never mind.
Oh, that Spider Jerusalem. What a card.
Later Days.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Comic Panel Wednesday: Party Like It's 2999
Every now and then, I remember that I do this feature. So in celebration of that remembrance, let's all enjoy a very 80s concept of what clubbing would look like in the 31st century:
The image is from Legion of Super-Heroes, vol 1, #283, originally published in 1982. The center Lothario is Wildfire, in a rare appearance before he became a ball of energy confined inside a humanoid suit, which consequentially put a damper on his nightlife.
Actually, I may have seen something like this image before...
It's official, then--night clubs of the future feature rings, psychedelic light shows, and floating platforms. Because that's how the 31st century rolls.
The image is from Legion of Super-Heroes, vol 1, #283, originally published in 1982. The center Lothario is Wildfire, in a rare appearance before he became a ball of energy confined inside a humanoid suit, which consequentially put a damper on his nightlife.
Actually, I may have seen something like this image before...
It's official, then--night clubs of the future feature rings, psychedelic light shows, and floating platforms. Because that's how the 31st century rolls.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Comic Panel Wednesday: Keepin' It Low Key
This page is From Seige: Loki. A bit of background: In the Marvel Universe, the Norse Gods are real, and spent centuries locked in a cycling of Ragnorak. Recently, they broke free of that; now, they live in the real world; they still have a kingdom, but some members have lost their old places. Hela, for example, no longer has a hell to rule. She's made peace with the loss, because while Asgardians may still die, they just won't go anywhere, they will just wander the earth until she finds a new alternative. But to Loki, that's not enough. They're still clinging to old patterns, and he's still condemned to end up in Hel. So, he tricks the Green Goblin into destroying Asgard to create massive Asgardian deaths, resurrects a coterie of soul-devouring women, marries the group of women, trades them to Mephisto for a corner of hell, threatens Hela with the soul-devouring women, and trades her the corner of hell so she has somewhere to keep the souls, just so he can be free of his destined fate. Which is all a very complicated, very bad-ass plan.
But mostly, I liked the way the artist, Jamie McKelvie, puts so much expression into the characters' faces. Loki's reveling in his own schemes, and Mephisto is entirely "well, I'm the worst being in Creation, and you just sold me your wives, so, yeah, I'll see where this goes."
And the writing keeps up to the art. Here's the dialogue for when Loki wins his brides' hands in combat:
"It will be as you wish. You are the victor."
"No. Victory is a small thing. Thor wins. I want more than that."
Mr. Gillen and McKelvie get the most important part of writing mythology-based characters: in any pantheon, the most interesting being is the trickster.
Later Days.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Comic Panel Wednesday: The Only Problem? Not Enough Ninjas.
And then there was that time a half-Apache gunslinger teamed up with a wise-cracking duck and a wiser-cracking robot to fight zombies across the multiverse. Marvel Zombies vol 5 (5! And that's not counting the Evil Dead cross-over. Ever wish you could see Ashley Williams eaten by a wise-cracking duck zombie? Wish granted.), Issue 1.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Comic Panel Wednesday: If You Think This Portrays Odd Values, Let Me Tell You About the TIme Ms Marvel Fell In Love With Her Son
The page of the week is, this time, a cover.
It's very moody, isn't? It's Wolverine, but he's on a throne! And he's wearing a cape! And looking pensive! And about to be eaten by a throne monster!
Anyway, if the image was really an image of Wolverine sitting on a throne, it would be a fairly compelling image. Wolverine's character is the epitome of the brooding loner, and to think he'd seize a dark power, well, that's interesting, right? Problem is, that's not Wolverine. It's his son, Daken.
Wolverine has a son. And a daughter, named X-23. They're both fairly merciless killers, so he should probably do something about that. Or be proud. It's something of a trend--in a similar fashion, Hulk has three children at the moment--the Savage She-Hulk, Skaar, and and a fellow by the name by Shiro-Kala. The idea behind the Marvel Family thing baffles me. Does making them spawn really make Wolverine and Hulk more interesting? They're characters known for, well, slicing and hitting. Are the slicing and hitting fans really looking for Father Knows Best type stories?
It seems like a lazy way to make new characters, frankly. Rather than develop origin, or motivation, or think up a new power--well, let's just give them kids. The only advantage I can think of is that the new characters get to leech off the popularity of the existing ones. So they're gambling that this will expand the line, rather than overextend it.
It's an interesting theory, I guess. But all I can think of is looking at that cover, seeing a violent, costumed figure with delusions of grandeur, and being disappointed that it wasn't MY Wolverine.
Later Days.
It's very moody, isn't? It's Wolverine, but he's on a throne! And he's wearing a cape! And looking pensive! And about to be eaten by a throne monster!
Anyway, if the image was really an image of Wolverine sitting on a throne, it would be a fairly compelling image. Wolverine's character is the epitome of the brooding loner, and to think he'd seize a dark power, well, that's interesting, right? Problem is, that's not Wolverine. It's his son, Daken.
Wolverine has a son. And a daughter, named X-23. They're both fairly merciless killers, so he should probably do something about that. Or be proud. It's something of a trend--in a similar fashion, Hulk has three children at the moment--the Savage She-Hulk, Skaar, and and a fellow by the name by Shiro-Kala. The idea behind the Marvel Family thing baffles me. Does making them spawn really make Wolverine and Hulk more interesting? They're characters known for, well, slicing and hitting. Are the slicing and hitting fans really looking for Father Knows Best type stories?
It seems like a lazy way to make new characters, frankly. Rather than develop origin, or motivation, or think up a new power--well, let's just give them kids. The only advantage I can think of is that the new characters get to leech off the popularity of the existing ones. So they're gambling that this will expand the line, rather than overextend it.
It's an interesting theory, I guess. But all I can think of is looking at that cover, seeing a violent, costumed figure with delusions of grandeur, and being disappointed that it wasn't MY Wolverine.
Later Days.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wednesday Comics: He Tells It Like It Is
This is from Avengers: Initiative #34, By Christos Gage and Jorge Milina. The first panel's the focus here. Background: As the 90s "Death of Superman" saga showed, comic book characters are infamous for coming back from the dead. In Marvel comics, this tendency was often represented by the saying "No one stays dead but buck Bucky and Uncle Ben." Ben being Spider-Man's uncle, who died to teach him that whole "with great power comes great responsibility" thing, and Bucky, Captain America's teenage sidekick, who died in World War 2 to demonstrate what a bad idea it is to take a teenage sidekick into World War II. I mean, to demonstrate the pathos of war.
But in another highly televised superhero offing, they killed Captain America, and replaced him with Bucky, who survived death by rocket in the 1940s by... sigh... being retrieved, revived, and reprogrammed by Soviet soldiers, and kept in suspended animation between missions for the next 50 years or so. (The brainwashing wore off.) So that's who the guy on the left is.
The guy on the right, on the other hand, is the mercenary turned Avengers-Iniative leader, Taskmaster. His power is that he can instantly imitate any fighting style (or anything, really) by watching it for a few minutes. He started off as a super-villian with a unique twist: rather than ever commit any crimes himself, he trained the henchmen of other villains. He spent a few years freelance, then got significantly expanded in the Agent X series by Gail Simone, where he became a foil to the lead character (who himself was an amalgamated foil of an Asian assassin, a German telepathic assassin, and Deadpool. Comics, right?). More recently, he was put in charge of training superheroes by the Green Goblin at the Initiative Training facility, and his story has consisted of a rise from mediocrity into the big leagues, combined with the realization that he probably preferred mediocrity. (His wikipedia page badly needs an update, BTW, for any industrious fans out there.) So essentially, the character whose entire shtick is that he creates imitations of unique techniques is complaining about things not being sacred.
This amuses me. That is all.
Later Days.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Comic Panel Wednesday: Yeah, I'll Be Honest--Totally Not Trying Today
In honour of Green Irish Drinking Day, here's Shamrock, the super-powered Irish girl, from Marvel's Contest of Champions. According to Wikipedia,Shamrock is possessed by the souls of thousands of victims of wars who manifest themselves as poltergeists which affect probability within a 20-foot radius of her, altering situations so that she is given an advantage. In essence having "The Luck of the Irish". Which makes them the most depressing luck-based power in the superhero pantheon, at least until Scarlet Witch went insane.
Now, if you haven't done so already, go out there and drink something green.
*UPDATE: Thursday Run.
Distance: 7.6 km
Time 1 hr
Average Speed: 7.6 km/hr
Super slow, I know, but in my defense, I took a detour and spent about 20 minutes walking around the park. There were geese and swans and bunnies and horsies and people playing Frisbee golf. 's cool.
Later Days.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Comic Panel Wednesday: Monkey Business
From Hellboy: Conquerer Worm.
Hellboy hates goddamn Nazi-Frankenstein monkeys.
*ADDITION*
Wednesday Run: The Needle Route
Distance: 11.9 km.
Time: 1 hr, 5 min
Average Speed: 10. 9 km/hr
*ADDITION TWO* Because frankly, it feels a bit like false inflation to add these running things in a new post. So I'll just tack them on to the end of whatever I wrote last. Ahem.
Thursday Run: University Loop
Distance: 9.4 km
Time/ Average Speed: Don't know. Forgot the watch. It was under an hour, though. Probably.
Later Days.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Wednesday Comics: Well, Technically, He's One of About Five Superheroes I Can Match in Height
Some background for this one: I hate Wolverine. I mean, I really hate him. I hate how overexposed he is; I don't care what your super power is, if you're on a half dozen different teams, you're cheating. I hate how ridiculous his healing power is; he's survived being burned down to his skeleton, decapitated, and driven over with a steam roller. Forget wolverine; the man's spirit animal is clearly a cockroach. I hate the way he gets to be world-weary team leader AND brash, cocky loner; pick a cliche and stick with it, damn it. I hate his convoluted, conspiracy-laden backstory that constantly revises itself in a desperate attempt to find something actually interesting to hang itself onto, or some sense of unity in what's really thirty odd years of ideas tossed together. Most of all, I hate that a man who routinely goes on vigilante murders gets to run around on teams that supposedly call themselves Earth's greatest heroes.
So yes, I've got some things against the character. That said, Jason Aaron's Wolverine: Weapon X is awesome.
The latest issue is setting up a new story line: an army of killer cyborgs has been set back in time to eliminate superheroes' lineage before they were born. But that's all beside the point. The real point is Wolverine and Captain America getting together for a beer night. Captain America admits he wasn't always comfortable with Wolverine as an Avenger (thank you!), Wolverine, in a roundabout manner admits he's glad the Cap's back, and they talk about the women in their lives. In a gruff, masculine way. Wolverine has been Mr Stabby-Slash for a long time, but it's rare to see him portrayed as someone with actual real feelings and such. So, panel of the week:
(Sorry about the extra space. Paint is not the most user-friendly of image tools.) Yes, yes, it's still drenched in testosterone and manly swagger, but...what can I say? It got to me. As of this moment, I like Wolverine.
A fight breaks out approximately six panels later, BTW, when Wolverine takes exception to someone objecting to his taste in music (country). I never saw the appeal of the Wolverine bar fight. It's a guy with a healing factor, decades of fighting experience, and unbreakable, metal bones fighting ordinary drunks. Doesn't that essentially come down to Wolverine being a bully? And country music. Man, I hate...
Well, I should have known it wouldn't last.
Later Days.
So yes, I've got some things against the character. That said, Jason Aaron's Wolverine: Weapon X is awesome.
The latest issue is setting up a new story line: an army of killer cyborgs has been set back in time to eliminate superheroes' lineage before they were born. But that's all beside the point. The real point is Wolverine and Captain America getting together for a beer night. Captain America admits he wasn't always comfortable with Wolverine as an Avenger (thank you!), Wolverine, in a roundabout manner admits he's glad the Cap's back, and they talk about the women in their lives. In a gruff, masculine way. Wolverine has been Mr Stabby-Slash for a long time, but it's rare to see him portrayed as someone with actual real feelings and such. So, panel of the week:
(Sorry about the extra space. Paint is not the most user-friendly of image tools.) Yes, yes, it's still drenched in testosterone and manly swagger, but...what can I say? It got to me. As of this moment, I like Wolverine.
A fight breaks out approximately six panels later, BTW, when Wolverine takes exception to someone objecting to his taste in music (country). I never saw the appeal of the Wolverine bar fight. It's a guy with a healing factor, decades of fighting experience, and unbreakable, metal bones fighting ordinary drunks. Doesn't that essentially come down to Wolverine being a bully? And country music. Man, I hate...
Well, I should have known it wouldn't last.
Later Days.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Comic Panel Wednesday: The Sound is Bakklassh
Ever wonder what sound a godblow dealt by Hercules' adamantine hammer makes when it hits Athena's Aegis, the battle armor of Typhon, last born of the Greek monsters?
Now you know.
Later Days.
Now you know.
Later Days.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wednesday Comics: Now THAT'S Crazy
Image taken from Thunderbolts 120, and features Norman Osborn going into full-blown loony. It's my favorite comic book soliloquy that doesn't involve hand puppets.
Later Days.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday Comics: The Return?
I used to do a regular comic book feature, but it kind of fizzled out. My average reader didn't care, it wasn't bringing in the comic book crowd, and, what honestly affected my decision the most, they took a damn long time to write. So from the "picture is worth a 1000 words" school of cliches, here's a new feature: Wednesday Panel. One Wednesday, one comic strip panel. Boom.
From Uncle Scrooge Comics #54.
I don't know who is more worthy of ridicule here: the nephews, for their notion of what makes "swinging" music lyrics, or Uncle Scrooge, for having Johann Strauss as his go-to guy for popular music.
If you enjoy the new panel feature, and want to see it return every week, then give absolutely no sign, make no comments, and send no emails. That way, I'll know you'll like it as much as I do.
Later Days.
From Uncle Scrooge Comics #54.
I don't know who is more worthy of ridicule here: the nephews, for their notion of what makes "swinging" music lyrics, or Uncle Scrooge, for having Johann Strauss as his go-to guy for popular music.
If you enjoy the new panel feature, and want to see it return every week, then give absolutely no sign, make no comments, and send no emails. That way, I'll know you'll like it as much as I do.
Later Days.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Comic Book Wednesday: Doom's Day
I thought to make things interesting, I'd do a 2 in 1 feature: for the entire blog post, I'd alternate between a comic book review and what I did Wednesday night, switching between topics with each sentence. Then I realised that wasn't so much interesting as annoying, so I'll do the comics now and a party post at a later date.
The loyal returning comic book fans may have noticed I skipped last week--which was a little odd, since I actually enjoyed most of the comics I read. This week, on the other hand, nothing in particular jumped out at me, and yet, here's a review, all the same. Truly, the universe is a strange and wonderful place.
Doctor Doom and the Masters of Evil 4. By Paul Tobin and Patrick Scherberger & David Baldeon. This was the final issue in a mini-series that saw Doctor Doom slicing through the Marvel Universe's villain rosters like a scalpel through butter. Here, he teams up with Magneto to fight Selene, and the resulting battle is nothing short of epic. What's at stake? A chance to rewrite the universe, and remove the one biggest threat to the bad doctor's existence. Any guesses on what that threat is? Tobin's mostly known for his work on the Marvel Adventures series, the all-ages comics Marvel puts out that manage to be consistently more entertaining than the "proper" books most weeks. This can be a fairly damaging label: it's taken other MA writers, like Jeff Parker, considerable time to "break out" of it. Tobin's shown here he can write a good story: the various villains are all in character, even relative blank slates like Princess Python. (We also get the reason that Doom decided to cart Python around with him for the past few issues, and again, it's not what you'd expect.) If I have any complaint with the series, it's that I'm not sure I like the ending--Doom's wish seems to limit future story potential to a certain extent. But, as this guy says, it's the best Doom story since at least the Waid/Wieringo Fantastif Four run a few years ago. It's a series worth reading, if you can track down the issues.
Dark Avengers 4 By Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato. This, on the other hand, has yet to prove itself as a series worth reading. After multiple issues of proving themselves to be largely ineffectual, the Dark Avengers continue to be largely ineffectual in doing anything other than distract Morgan LeFay--and since she apparently has the ability to be simultaneously aware of everything in multiple time periods, that didn't work so well either. Finally, Doom, the guy they were sent to rescue, rescues them, in some very, very shady time travelling logic. The rest of the issue fares a bit better, as Osborn deals with some consequences that have cropped up while they were gone, and realizes he may have bit off more than he can chew. And Bendis finally seems to have gotten a handle on Doom as a character. It's okay, but since it's supposed to be one of the flagship titles for the "Dark Reign," it should really be better.
Dark Reign: The Cabal. By Various. This oneshot is an example of one of the oddities that crop up under the current state of comicbook crossovers. It can't tell a big story, because that would be handled in one of the big titles. But for whatever reason, the stories it does tell are stories that didn't fit in any of those titles, so we get a bit of a mixed bag of five stories, each using the POV of a member of Osborn's Cabal. First up is Doctor Doom, in Hickman and Granov's "And I'll get the Land." Essentially, it's an extended daydream in which Doom considers exactly what he'll do once it's time to "renegotiate" the Cabal's current roles. Again, we have a well-characterized Doom--albeit one who spends a little more time staring off into space, ala JD from Scrubs. Next is Emma Frost, in Fraction and Acuna's "How I Survived Apocalyptic Fire." It's a quick recap of Frost's history, and how she got to this point. It's nice to know that Fraction has really done his research with the character, although the entire thing is essentially an extended flashback. Third is the Hood, in "Family Trust" by Rememnder and Fiumara. Out of the Cabal, the Hood is the least known, so this story presents a different side of the character as he presides over the funeral of one of his fallen members. It hasn't even remotely convinced me that the Hood is a worthwhile character, but it's not actively bad. Namor, in "The Judgement of Namor" by Kieron Gillen and di Giandomencio, makes a regal decision involving the fate of his subjects, which may or may not wind up being a plotline in the X-Men at some point. And in the last story, Loki has dinner with Doom in Milligan and Zonjic's "Dinner with Doom." In which, as a set up for a plot line that started LAST week in Thor 601, Loki asks permission to move Asgard to Latveria. Again, it's okay, but when your story is late compared to Thor, one of the most perennially late titles in the Marvel line... that looks like a big mistake. So, overall, we have a handful of tie-in stories that are, for the most part, well told and very well told, but really only worth purchasing by the Dark Reign completists.
The loyal returning comic book fans may have noticed I skipped last week--which was a little odd, since I actually enjoyed most of the comics I read. This week, on the other hand, nothing in particular jumped out at me, and yet, here's a review, all the same. Truly, the universe is a strange and wonderful place.
Doctor Doom and the Masters of Evil 4. By Paul Tobin and Patrick Scherberger & David Baldeon. This was the final issue in a mini-series that saw Doctor Doom slicing through the Marvel Universe's villain rosters like a scalpel through butter. Here, he teams up with Magneto to fight Selene, and the resulting battle is nothing short of epic. What's at stake? A chance to rewrite the universe, and remove the one biggest threat to the bad doctor's existence. Any guesses on what that threat is? Tobin's mostly known for his work on the Marvel Adventures series, the all-ages comics Marvel puts out that manage to be consistently more entertaining than the "proper" books most weeks. This can be a fairly damaging label: it's taken other MA writers, like Jeff Parker, considerable time to "break out" of it. Tobin's shown here he can write a good story: the various villains are all in character, even relative blank slates like Princess Python. (We also get the reason that Doom decided to cart Python around with him for the past few issues, and again, it's not what you'd expect.) If I have any complaint with the series, it's that I'm not sure I like the ending--Doom's wish seems to limit future story potential to a certain extent. But, as this guy says, it's the best Doom story since at least the Waid/Wieringo Fantastif Four run a few years ago. It's a series worth reading, if you can track down the issues.
Dark Avengers 4 By Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato. This, on the other hand, has yet to prove itself as a series worth reading. After multiple issues of proving themselves to be largely ineffectual, the Dark Avengers continue to be largely ineffectual in doing anything other than distract Morgan LeFay--and since she apparently has the ability to be simultaneously aware of everything in multiple time periods, that didn't work so well either. Finally, Doom, the guy they were sent to rescue, rescues them, in some very, very shady time travelling logic. The rest of the issue fares a bit better, as Osborn deals with some consequences that have cropped up while they were gone, and realizes he may have bit off more than he can chew. And Bendis finally seems to have gotten a handle on Doom as a character. It's okay, but since it's supposed to be one of the flagship titles for the "Dark Reign," it should really be better.
Dark Reign: The Cabal. By Various. This oneshot is an example of one of the oddities that crop up under the current state of comicbook crossovers. It can't tell a big story, because that would be handled in one of the big titles. But for whatever reason, the stories it does tell are stories that didn't fit in any of those titles, so we get a bit of a mixed bag of five stories, each using the POV of a member of Osborn's Cabal. First up is Doctor Doom, in Hickman and Granov's "And I'll get the Land." Essentially, it's an extended daydream in which Doom considers exactly what he'll do once it's time to "renegotiate" the Cabal's current roles. Again, we have a well-characterized Doom--albeit one who spends a little more time staring off into space, ala JD from Scrubs. Next is Emma Frost, in Fraction and Acuna's "How I Survived Apocalyptic Fire." It's a quick recap of Frost's history, and how she got to this point. It's nice to know that Fraction has really done his research with the character, although the entire thing is essentially an extended flashback. Third is the Hood, in "Family Trust" by Rememnder and Fiumara. Out of the Cabal, the Hood is the least known, so this story presents a different side of the character as he presides over the funeral of one of his fallen members. It hasn't even remotely convinced me that the Hood is a worthwhile character, but it's not actively bad. Namor, in "The Judgement of Namor" by Kieron Gillen and di Giandomencio, makes a regal decision involving the fate of his subjects, which may or may not wind up being a plotline in the X-Men at some point. And in the last story, Loki has dinner with Doom in Milligan and Zonjic's "Dinner with Doom." In which, as a set up for a plot line that started LAST week in Thor 601, Loki asks permission to move Asgard to Latveria. Again, it's okay, but when your story is late compared to Thor, one of the most perennially late titles in the Marvel line... that looks like a big mistake. So, overall, we have a handful of tie-in stories that are, for the most part, well told and very well told, but really only worth purchasing by the Dark Reign completists.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Comic Book Wednesday: Brand New Dismay
Comics, comics, comics!
Amazing Spider-Man 591. By Dan Slott & Barry Kitson, Jesse Delpergang, and Dale Eaglesham. Man, Bendis really cut this one off at the kneecaps, huh? Plot: Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four save the day in the Macroverse, after accidentally disrupting the day to begin with. But it's the subplots that are the pride and joy here. The main one is Johnny Storm's attempts to get Spider-Man to come clean with his secret identity. The other is that, due to some questionable time ratios, months pass in New York while the heroes are in the Macroverse--that means we get months of subplots advancing for Peter Parker's supporting cast, while he's missing in action. Basically, everyone's story gets pushed along--including Jonah's, in a big way.
But the elephant in the room: the dramatic impetus of the story is supposed to be that Spider-Man is addressing his secret identity for the first time. The problem is, Bendis already did that in the last issue of New Avengers--and in such a manner that it directly contradicts all the resistance and excuses that Spider-Man is making here. Luckily, Slott has enough over things going on--the supporting cast scenes and the wonderfully scripted banter between the FF and Spidey--that it's easy enough to just squint up the eyes and pretend nothing's wrong. But, editorially: something's a little wrong.
Captain America 49. By Ed Brubaker and Luke Ross. There was a lot of buzz a while back when the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, was killed off. He's been gone for a while now, and it's entirely thanks to Brubaker that, in terms of great story, he has not been missed. In this issue, Sharon Carter, the woman brainwashed into doing the deed, deals with some of the fall-out of her unintended actions and gets a step closer to finding out the secret behind the new erhatz Captain America that's shown up. (Not Bucky; another erhatz Captain America.) The art is great--it's got a semi-realistic style that fits well with the tone of the stories Brubaker is telling. And the story itself is very solid. The only fault I've got with the issue is the fault I currently have with the series as a whole--it's not that accessible. I mean, this issue will make sense if you haven't read the previous ones, but you will be left with the lingering sense that you're missing the bigger story. I still feel that way, and I've read the last dozen issues. It's great that Brubaker is creating something on such an epic scale, but if a new reader asked whether this was worth buying, I'd steer him or her towards the trade paperbacks first.
Fables 83. Bill Willingham, Matt Sturges, and Mark Buckingham. Here starts the Great Fables Crossover. (No, really, that's what it's called.) It's something of an anticlimatic start, as, well, it doesn't actually start at all. Jack phones up the Fables and tells them trouble's coming; the Fables send Snow and Big after the Literals. End. (And if you want the explanation for just who and what the Literals are, you should have been reading the last issue of Jack of Fables. which, even though it is more about the crossover than this is, is not part of the crossover at all.) Other than that, it seems like business as usual. Luckily for us, business as usual for the Fables is pretty awesome. A religion springs up over Blue's passing, the uncharacteristic fight that ended last issue is resolved in such a manner that ties it nicely to the destruction of Fabletown, and in New York, Mr Dark consolidates his hold as the murder rate skyrockets. I'm hoping he figures into the crossover--and not in some cheap manner in which he's sacrificed quickly to show how uber the Literals are. Time will tell, I suppose.
Later Days.
Amazing Spider-Man 591. By Dan Slott & Barry Kitson, Jesse Delpergang, and Dale Eaglesham. Man, Bendis really cut this one off at the kneecaps, huh? Plot: Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four save the day in the Macroverse, after accidentally disrupting the day to begin with. But it's the subplots that are the pride and joy here. The main one is Johnny Storm's attempts to get Spider-Man to come clean with his secret identity. The other is that, due to some questionable time ratios, months pass in New York while the heroes are in the Macroverse--that means we get months of subplots advancing for Peter Parker's supporting cast, while he's missing in action. Basically, everyone's story gets pushed along--including Jonah's, in a big way.
But the elephant in the room: the dramatic impetus of the story is supposed to be that Spider-Man is addressing his secret identity for the first time. The problem is, Bendis already did that in the last issue of New Avengers--and in such a manner that it directly contradicts all the resistance and excuses that Spider-Man is making here. Luckily, Slott has enough over things going on--the supporting cast scenes and the wonderfully scripted banter between the FF and Spidey--that it's easy enough to just squint up the eyes and pretend nothing's wrong. But, editorially: something's a little wrong.
Captain America 49. By Ed Brubaker and Luke Ross. There was a lot of buzz a while back when the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, was killed off. He's been gone for a while now, and it's entirely thanks to Brubaker that, in terms of great story, he has not been missed. In this issue, Sharon Carter, the woman brainwashed into doing the deed, deals with some of the fall-out of her unintended actions and gets a step closer to finding out the secret behind the new erhatz Captain America that's shown up. (Not Bucky; another erhatz Captain America.) The art is great--it's got a semi-realistic style that fits well with the tone of the stories Brubaker is telling. And the story itself is very solid. The only fault I've got with the issue is the fault I currently have with the series as a whole--it's not that accessible. I mean, this issue will make sense if you haven't read the previous ones, but you will be left with the lingering sense that you're missing the bigger story. I still feel that way, and I've read the last dozen issues. It's great that Brubaker is creating something on such an epic scale, but if a new reader asked whether this was worth buying, I'd steer him or her towards the trade paperbacks first.
Fables 83. Bill Willingham, Matt Sturges, and Mark Buckingham. Here starts the Great Fables Crossover. (No, really, that's what it's called.) It's something of an anticlimatic start, as, well, it doesn't actually start at all. Jack phones up the Fables and tells them trouble's coming; the Fables send Snow and Big after the Literals. End. (And if you want the explanation for just who and what the Literals are, you should have been reading the last issue of Jack of Fables. which, even though it is more about the crossover than this is, is not part of the crossover at all.) Other than that, it seems like business as usual. Luckily for us, business as usual for the Fables is pretty awesome. A religion springs up over Blue's passing, the uncharacteristic fight that ended last issue is resolved in such a manner that ties it nicely to the destruction of Fabletown, and in New York, Mr Dark consolidates his hold as the murder rate skyrockets. I'm hoping he figures into the crossover--and not in some cheap manner in which he's sacrificed quickly to show how uber the Literals are. Time will tell, I suppose.
Later Days.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Comic Book Wednesday: If Deadpool's the New Wolverine, then Captain %^&* has to be the new Deadpool.
It's not like he's done anything since Nextwave, right?
Seriously, in the past month, Deadpool has appeared in the Thunderbolts crossover, the X-Force/Cable crossover, his own series, a one-shot, and now a five issue mini-series. You'd think he's the one with the movie coming out next month.
Oh, and remember last time 'round when I was all cocky and arrogant over how my presentation went? Got the mark back, and yeah: justified. It's just like I always say: pressure makes diamonds. Losing the memory card? Wrecking the bike? Getting chased by a dog? All part of the master plan.
...All right, I've veering off into crazy talk, so let's get to business.
Deadpool: Suicide Kings 1 of 5. By Mike Benson & Carlo Barberi. Deadpool gets hired by rich gambler Conrad to take out Conrad's bookie. But said bookie's got plans of his own for Deadpool... Yeah, so that's pretty vague, but honestly, this issue's all set up: the only action is Deadpool against two nameless thugs, and I think you can guess how that turns out. I still don't like the way Deadpool seems to have two internal dialogue voices, both of which are his split personalities, but I guess that's the way he's written in the main series. Additional fact: I call Deadpool's employer Conrad, but that's just the name Deadpool calls him--as far as I can tell, he never actually introduces himself. Oopsie. It's ok, but given how much Deadpool is flooding the market at the moment, either of the crossovers he's participating in is a better read.
Green Lantern 39. Geoff Johns and Philip Tan. Hal copes with his new unwanted ring, while the Controllers accidentally awaken the Orange Lantern Corps. There's some nice work with the various colours here; Johns and co. are certainly making the best out of their ensemble of new corps. Unfortunately, like the Red Corps, the Orange Corps seem pretty one-note, only motivated by greed rather than rage. But maybe that will change. While not reaching a hugely deep philsophical point or anything, the arguments between the Blue Corps of Hope and the Green Lanterns add some depth to the various fistfights. It does feel like Johns is just going through the motions a bit though, like we're just going through the motions until he's finished setting up all the various corps he wants to play with. It's good, but it does have a "treading water" feel.
Dark Reign: Hawkeye 1. By Andy Diggle and Tom Raney. In the midst of Osborn's new reign of Avengers, Bullseye decides NOT to adjust to being a hero. This marks the first (besides Dark Avengers) issue of the new Dark Reign-based series; I'm not sure how you can make an entire line out of it, since so far, all of the imposters' schticks seem to be "we're not very good at repressing our villain sides," but I liked this issue in itself. I do find it kind of funny, retroactively, that all this happened because once upon a time, some reckless kid heroes blew up a city, and now it's led to the most reckless Avengers team ever, but the book itself is an interesting read. Diggle's proven that he can write these characters, and--provided the other Dark Reign titles bring something fresh to the table--I'd like to see where he's going with these.
That's all he wrote. Coming tomorrow: (or possibly the day after) a review of a Peter S. Beagle. What will it be? The Last Unicorn? A Fine & Private Place? The Innkeeper's Song? There's only one way to find out!
Later Days.
Seriously, in the past month, Deadpool has appeared in the Thunderbolts crossover, the X-Force/Cable crossover, his own series, a one-shot, and now a five issue mini-series. You'd think he's the one with the movie coming out next month.
Oh, and remember last time 'round when I was all cocky and arrogant over how my presentation went? Got the mark back, and yeah: justified. It's just like I always say: pressure makes diamonds. Losing the memory card? Wrecking the bike? Getting chased by a dog? All part of the master plan.
...All right, I've veering off into crazy talk, so let's get to business.
Deadpool: Suicide Kings 1 of 5. By Mike Benson & Carlo Barberi. Deadpool gets hired by rich gambler Conrad to take out Conrad's bookie. But said bookie's got plans of his own for Deadpool... Yeah, so that's pretty vague, but honestly, this issue's all set up: the only action is Deadpool against two nameless thugs, and I think you can guess how that turns out. I still don't like the way Deadpool seems to have two internal dialogue voices, both of which are his split personalities, but I guess that's the way he's written in the main series. Additional fact: I call Deadpool's employer Conrad, but that's just the name Deadpool calls him--as far as I can tell, he never actually introduces himself. Oopsie. It's ok, but given how much Deadpool is flooding the market at the moment, either of the crossovers he's participating in is a better read.
Green Lantern 39. Geoff Johns and Philip Tan. Hal copes with his new unwanted ring, while the Controllers accidentally awaken the Orange Lantern Corps. There's some nice work with the various colours here; Johns and co. are certainly making the best out of their ensemble of new corps. Unfortunately, like the Red Corps, the Orange Corps seem pretty one-note, only motivated by greed rather than rage. But maybe that will change. While not reaching a hugely deep philsophical point or anything, the arguments between the Blue Corps of Hope and the Green Lanterns add some depth to the various fistfights. It does feel like Johns is just going through the motions a bit though, like we're just going through the motions until he's finished setting up all the various corps he wants to play with. It's good, but it does have a "treading water" feel.
Dark Reign: Hawkeye 1. By Andy Diggle and Tom Raney. In the midst of Osborn's new reign of Avengers, Bullseye decides NOT to adjust to being a hero. This marks the first (besides Dark Avengers) issue of the new Dark Reign-based series; I'm not sure how you can make an entire line out of it, since so far, all of the imposters' schticks seem to be "we're not very good at repressing our villain sides," but I liked this issue in itself. I do find it kind of funny, retroactively, that all this happened because once upon a time, some reckless kid heroes blew up a city, and now it's led to the most reckless Avengers team ever, but the book itself is an interesting read. Diggle's proven that he can write these characters, and--provided the other Dark Reign titles bring something fresh to the table--I'd like to see where he's going with these.
That's all he wrote. Coming tomorrow: (or possibly the day after) a review of a Peter S. Beagle. What will it be? The Last Unicorn? A Fine & Private Place? The Innkeeper's Song? There's only one way to find out!
Later Days.
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