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Secret Avengers #4 – Review

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Hugo Robberts Larivière

SECRET AVENGERS #4

By: Nick Spencer (Writer) Luke Ross (Artist), Matthew Wilson (colorist)

The Story: S.H.I.E.L.D needs to take care of a platoon of sentient Iron Patriot armors, cue Bruce Banner.

The Review: I had another idea on how to summarize this story, one that would not have actually told what essentially happens, yet it would have been perfect in tone: ‘’S.H.I.E.L.D strikes back’’. In the two past issues of this title, we had seen how A.I.M had become a whole new thing, as we were presented to an organisation with a completely new and more focused vision, spearheaded by Andrew Forson, the scientist supreme.

Taking just where the last issue left us, we now get a fascinating concept about giving personality to a suit of armor, giving it sentience in order to accomplish some goals. With A.I.M having done so with the help of Mentallo, they try to create a situation in which S.H.I.E.L.D could look disastrous. This then leads to some scenes that shows just how Spencer can handle this title and how much it differentiates itself from other titles with ‘’Avengers’’ in their name.
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Winter Soldier #16 – Review

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Hugo Robberts Larivière

WINTER SOLDIER #16

By: Jason Latour (Writer), Nic Klein (Artist/Colorist)

The Story: Bucky tries to find Father Hammer, one of the commanding officers from his time as the brainwashed Winter Soldier.

The Review: Jason Latour continues to write up the continuous adventure of James Buchanan Barnes, a character created by Jack Kirby but brought back and modernized by Ed Brubaker. Writing a character that has been really developed and deepened by another writer is tough, but it is doubly so when writing exactly that character’s title. Some writers may do an error once or twice with the characters if he is in a team book, but that kind of leniency is not available in the titular book of said character. Still, Latour managed to write a pretty smart issue last time, so does he keep the same level of quality?
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Indestructible Hulk #4 – Review

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Matt Sargeson

INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #4

By: Mark Waid (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu (Artist), Gerry Alanguilan (Inker), Sunny Gho (Colorist), Chris Eliopoulos (Letterer)

The Review: The Indestructible Hulk #4 has to contain easily my favourite beginning to any comic book released this week. After waking up and completing his ablutions, Banner takes a walk through the neighbourhood on his way to work. He says “Hi” to the Postman, pets a wee dog and manages to avoid a busy morning commute on his way to the office. Of course, all of this takes on a slightly sinister air when the camera pulls back to show that Earth’s Angriest Scientist has been housed in the middle of a mannequin-filled prop town built as an atomic testing ground. “Bannerville,” reads the town’s defaced welcome sign; “Population: 1”.
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Uncanny X-Men #1 – Review

Posted on February 15, 2013 by paladinking

UNCANNY X-MEN #1

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils & colors), Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza & Al Vey (inks), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  An inside man approaches Maria Hill with an offer to help take down Scott Summers.

The Review:  One of the concerns I had about this book going in was the way it would differentiate itself from All-New X-Men.  Yes, I realize it wouldn’t feature the time traveling teens, but Cyclops and his gang have appeared quite a bit in that book such that having them star in this one seemed to be some serious overlap.  Thankfully, Bendis quickly dispels this concern.  It’s not so much that Cyclops team are front and center, which they are, but rather that the tone of the book has been subtly altered.  While part of it may be due to Bachalo’s artwork, with its muddy colors and its lack of distinct, clean lines (as opposed to Immonen and Marquez on All-New), the big reason for this is the subtle change in tone.  The book feels more shadowy, more “underground,” and a touch more edgy.  The humour isn’t there and the soap opera of All-New is shifted into something that’s a little closer to twisty, spy-thriller dramatics.  All-New is the above-ground, flagship story.  Uncanny is what happens beneath and on the revolutionary fringes that Cyclops and his team currently occupy.
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Secret Avengers #1 – Review

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Hugo Robberts Larivière

Nick Spencer (Writer), Luke Ross (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colorist)

The Story: Hawkeye and Black Widow gets recruited to a new covert team for S.H.I.E.L.D. Their first mission: Budapest.

The Review: Marvel Now! keeps on rolling… This week saw the beginning of two new number ones, one of those being the relaunched Secret Avengers by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross. Does Nick Spencer have the same energy as the previous authors of the previous volume and can he succeed with this title?

First of all, this issue shows clearly it is a different beast than Rick Remender’s take on the team, as it is more S.H.I.E.L.D based, getting the whole espionage theme up to eleven during the whole issue. Bureaucracy, double-crossing, advanced technology, brainwashing, the book has it all and seems to have fun with it, which makes for a pleasant experience.

What’s also pleasant is how the characters are handled by Nick Spencer, who seems to get how to write them. I liked how Nick Fury Jr. was all about business in one scene, yet has no qualm talking about James Bond with Hawkeye right in the middle of a mission. Talking about Hawkeye, I do believe that Spencer is using Matt Fraction version here as the basis for the character, something I commend him for. The fun-loving, wise-cracking archer that is shown here is still as entertaining here, yet not exactly on the same level as in his own title. Another thing that deserves some praise would be his use of some of the cast from Secret Warriors by Jonathan Hickman. Seeing Sebastian Druid here was a joy.

The dialogue here is also a joy, as spy-talk is easily mixed with every day conversations with ease. The scene with Agent Coulson is a good example of that, as the much more polite and official agent has a talk with the much more easy-going Hawkeye and the stoic Black Widow, whereas he is talking in much more bureaucratic terms, using some wooden language to ease the both of them toward the subject he has in mind. There are several other moments such as these, yet this one is a shining example of what Nick Spencer can do with dialogue.
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Indestructible Hulk #2 – Review

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Matt Sargeson

INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #2

By: Mark Waid (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu (Artist), Gerry Alanguilan (Inker), Sunny Gho (Colorist), Chris Eliopoulos (Letterer)

The Review: At one point in this issue Bruce Banner wryly remarks that “You wouldn’t like me when I’m happy.” Ah Brucey, nothing could be further from the truth – you seemed pretty content in #1 and I haven’t enjoyed a Hulk comic that much in years. Still, maybe he has a point, as Banner later goes on to show that even when he’s happy there’s a still a few scores that he feels can only be settled with his fists. To recap, happy or angry, the end result is still lots and lots of smashing. It’s the one inescapable element of the character that even the mighty Mark Waid seems unable to reconcile within Indestructible Hulk’s new direction; the beast has to come out, even if it makes zero sense to the story he’s trying to tell.
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Hawkeye #4 – Review

Posted on November 25, 2012 by paladinking

By: Matt Fraction (story), Javier Pulido (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story:  There’s a tape out there of Clint doing some very bad things for SHIELD and someone has put it up for auction.

The Review:  Matt Fraction is a pretty divisive writer among the online comics intelligentsia, particularly since Fear Itself.  He’s not at Bendis-levels yet, but he’s getting there.  Of course, the problem for those with a firm distaste for Fraction is that Hawkeye has been an excellent comic book.  So what to do?  After all, Matt Fraction can’t write a good Marvel comic!  The explanation was simple:  the book was only good thanks to David Aja’s efforts.  Everything that made this book a good one could be attributed to Aja.

Well, bad news folks; David Aja is out of the picture this month and you know what?  This book still rocks.
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Avengers #34 – Review

Posted on November 25, 2012 by paladinking

By: Brian Michael Bendis (story), Brandon Peterson,  Mike Mayhew, Jim Cheung, Leinil Yu, Mark Morales, Mike Deodato, Olivier Coipel, Terry Dodson & Walter Simonson (art), Scott Hanna & Rachel Dodson (inks), Jason Keith, Laura Martin & Paul Mounts (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The Avengers work to escape the microverse after one more big fight with centaur kingpin Lord Gouzar.

The Review:  I’m a big fan of Bendis and, as such, I’ve stuck with his Avengers books for a long, long time now.  Suffice it to say, it’s been a rocky road with highs and lows.  With that said, he’s done a lot for the franchise and so I really do wish I could give a glowing review for this giant-sized farewell issue.  I mean, the sheer amount of heart he puts into his lengthy farewell letter at the end of the issue makes me really want this issue to be a great one.  But it isn’t.

Quite honestly, it’s been pretty clear for a while now that Bendis perhaps overstayed his welcome on Avengers; ideas were being recycled, certain issues felt phoned in, and this issue really only evidences that fact.  Everything just feels so derivative and phoned in that it’s hard to believe much passion and effort went into its creation from Bendis.  Given how sincere his farewell letter was, you’d figure that he’d really try to blow us away with this issue, but perhaps he just doesn’t have it in him anymore.
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Indestructible Hulk #1 – Review

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Matt Sargeson

By: Mark Waid (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu (Artist), Gerry Alanguilan (Inker), Sunny Gho (Colorist), Chris Eliopoulos (Letterer)

The Review: By the fifth page of Indestructible Hulk #1 I was sold; sold on whichever weird locales Mark Waid wants to take me to and whichever artist he wants us to hitch a ride with. It was a subtle build-up to that point – a Banner talking head, probably the smallest panel in the whole issue with the focus falling on its first line of dialogue: “I’m incurable.” A Gamma-mutated monkey was wrenched from the character’s back in that moment my friends. No more Hulk vs. Banner! That concept’s been cut open, peeled apart and roughly stitched back together so many times that we’ve been desensitized to the vivisection. It’s one of many tried and tested themes (that have oftentimes dragged various Hulk titles into predictable patterns) which Waid ably sidesteps in the interests of rebranding the character as a major player in the Marvel universe, recognised as much for his brains as his brawn. And that’s all before the smashing even starts!
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New Avengers #33 – Review

Posted on November 20, 2012 by paladinking

By: Brian Michael Bendis (story), Michael Avon Oeming (art), Rain Beredo (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Daniel Drumm continues to wreak havoc as Dr. Strange looks increasingly murderous to SHIELD.

The Review:  Without a doubt, the star of this issue is the artwork.  Of course, I’m also left thinking how bloody WEIRD this arc is going to look when it’s collected, as we’ve gone from artists as wildly different from each other as Michael Gaydos to Carlos Pacheco to, now, Michael Avon Oeming.  And apparently next issue, we’re going to Mike Deodato, because why not?
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New Avengers #32 – Review

Posted on November 13, 2012 by paladinking

By: Brian Michael Bendis (story), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Roger Martinez, Cam Smith, & Scott Hanna (inks), Rain Beredo (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story:  Our mysterious body-snatching villain wreaks absolute chaos at Avengers Mansion.  Also, someone dies.

The Review:  Anyone who’s followed Bendis’ Avengers books for an extended period of time know that it’s been an uneven ride and often a rough one.  That being said, I proudly confess to being a fan of the man, willing to give a look at just about anything the man does.  Given that he’s written three of my favourite comic runs of all time (Alias, Powers, and Daredevil), I feel I owe it to the man.  As such, I’m really happy to see that he’s closing out his New Avengers run in style.

This arc of New Avengers really does deliver Bendis’ strengths without the weaknesses – the characters feel human, more friends than team-mates, and there’s a personal touch to the characters throughout.  I also love the fact that it’s a mystic storyline.  Bendis ramps that aspect of the story up this month, with battles in the astral plane and even a light touch of horror, as mind controlled persons are forced to do bad things to themselves and others.
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Avengers #33 – Review

Posted on November 9, 2012 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (story), Terry Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inks), Jason Keith (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The Avengers try to save the Wasp from Lord Gouzar and leave behind the Microverse once and for all.

The Review:  Comics like this are really frustrating, particularly when it comes to reviewing, let alone grading them.  What the hell do you do with a comic that is so perfectly inoffensive?  Bendis and the Dodsons give us that this month, providing us with an issue that is completely passable on every front but not a whole lot more than that.  There’s not a lot to praise, but there’s also nothing to really gripe about either.

That being said, in giving us a by the numbers “fun” Avengers story, it can definitely be argued that this issue feels a bit like comfort food.  It’s archetypal “big” superhero comics and everything is adequately and professionally done.  As such, it’s a nice, easy read and a fun way to pass the time, without causing any real irritation or frustration.

At the very least, Bendis gives us a nicely balanced comic here – there’s a good amount of action, plot progression, snappy dialogue, and humour, as well as genuine emotion in the reunion of the Pyms.  Overall, it’s a fairly rounded experience that never drags.
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The Avengers – Movie Review

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Minhquan Nguyen


The Story: When these guys show up, it’s your signal to stock up on disaster insurance.

The Review: Don’t take this as a sweeping statement of superhero movies, but I tend to think they work best when they’re just straight-up action-adventure vehicles.  Just give people what they want: plenty of thrills and laughs, a solid plot, and you won’t need to mix in any dramatic nonsense or political statement in between.  That latter stuff would be nice—an exciting movie with some relevance is always a good thing, but sometimes all you really need is the excitement.

With that in mind, The Avengers easily takes a position as one of the best in what has been a Golden Age for superhero films.  The prologue alone has enough explosions, gunfire, car chasing, martial artistry, crumbling rubble, and suspense to fill several Daredevils, and the movie only builds in scale right to its very last second, proving that more really is sometimes more, and that you can never go too big or too splashy if you know how to do it right.
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Moon Knight #11 – Review

Posted on April 2, 2012 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Alex Maleev (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Buck and Moon Knight go after Madame Masque in order to recover the Ultron head.

The Review:  In it’s penultimate issue (unfortunately), Bendis and Maleev’s Moon Knight is cooking on all cylinders.

The majority of the issue is taken up by a fight between Moon Knight and Madame Masque.  It is elegantly drawn and carries the required, gritty “street level” feel.  It’s well choreographed, but feels just as low-powered as should be.  More than that, Bendis and Maleev really bring home the ludicrous “faux Avengers” fighting style of Moon Knight, including just how bizarrely effective it actually is.

A good part of what makes this issue exciting, however, is that with the death of Echo still casting a shadow on the book and Buck’s being a new Bendis-created character, you really don’t know if everyone is going to make it out alive.  The result is some serious teasing on Bendis’ part – at a couple points, he really does succeed in making you think Buck is a goner.  After all, if Buck went, it wouldn’t even be a blip in the Marvel Universe.

Buck and Marc’s buddy teamwork is also part of what makes the action so much fun.  It’s enjoyable seeing them work as diversions for one another and really, as a no-nothing SHIELD agent, that teamwork only make’s Marc’s fighting style seem all the more ragtag.  Even without much dialogue, the “buddy dynamic” the two share shines through even in their actions.
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Avengers #20 – Review

Posted on December 23, 2011 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (writing), Daniel Acuna (art), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Norman Osborn confronts the Avengers as he and his allies prove to be a step ahead in their war on Cap and the gang.

The Review: Well, it’s a hell of a lot better than the last issue of New Avengers.

While the HAMMER War is still a poorly conceived idea, this issue succeeds in its completely ignoring the new “Dark Avengers.”  Instead, it focuses on Osborn, Hyda, and HAMMER.  The result is that the comic feels at least a little less recycled.  Osborn’s effort has a more underground, insidious feel and it at least feels fresh and not a diluted rehash of Dark Reign.  It’s really strange seeing a the same writer write basically the same storyline in two books at the same time, but in two distinct ways.

There’s some nice meta styled comedy on Bendis’ part as well.  Through Norman Osborn, he points out the obvious absurdity of Madame Hydra’s utterly ridiculous octopus head, which is thankfully done away with.  Later in the issue, there’s also a bit of a jibe at Jeph Loeb’s frequently derided run on Hulk.  In some ways, these little spots of humour may jar tonally with the rest of the comic, but long time readers should nonetheless crack a smile.

Yet, for all these bright spots, there’s just no escaping the fact that there’s so much about this “HAMMER War” that is undercooked or poorly conceived.  For instance, we’re still not really clear on why the Avengers are suddenly hated and protested by the public.  I like to infer that it’s due to perceived failure during Fear Itself, but I don’t think that’s ever been explicitly referenced; it seems to be left up to the reader.
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Avengers #16 – Review

Posted on August 17, 2011 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Paul Mounts (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Having gotten a lead, Steve Rogers leads a strike force to claim vengeance against Sin.

What’s Good:  Aside from the first couple of pages, this isn’t really an Avengers comic at all.  Rather, it’s almost entirely a Steve Rogers comic, seeing Steve, Sharon Carter, Maria Hill, and Victoria Hand battling Nazis in an old castle.  Quite honestly, I’m perfect fine with that and I’m thrilled Bendis did this.  This is absolutely a comic that needed to be written, as we haven’t really seen much of a focus on Steve Rogers’ reaction to Bucky’s death.  Finally, we see the extent of his grief and inner turmoil, both from his own perspective and those of his friends.  With Brubaker’s new Cap series being divorced from Fear Itself, there really needed to be a Cap tie-in within which we could experience this emotional fall-out, and that’s pretty much what this is.

Bendis also does well in his pacing and framing of this issue, as “emotional fall-out” could’ve easily just been Steve wailing and whining for 22 pages.  In framing the issue within the context of a revenge mission against Sin, Bendis is able to give us enough thrills and the sort of fluid, high-paced action Romita excels at.  The result is a balanced issue, with almost dialogue-free action scenes interspersed by the monologue sequences that have been the staple of these Avengers tie-ins.

The end result is an issue that feels emotionally genuine, while also managing to move along at a brisk pace and remain fairly exciting throughout.
Also, readers familiar with Jonathan Hickman’s recently concluded Secret Warriors will be really, really happy by a cameo towards the end of the issue, which is a really pleasant surprise that promises things to come for a fun character with a lot of potential.
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Fear Itself #4 – Review

Posted on July 6, 2011 by paladinking

by Matt Fraction (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Laura Martin (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: The Serpent shows a massive growth in power, and Thor returns to Midgard to make plans with some old friends.

What’s Good:  While I’ve been fairly positive about Fear Itself thus far, I really did feel that with this issue, the plot has really showed momentum.  I think a good part of this development has to do with the fact that over the last three issues, Fraction has really spent a lot of time scene-setting and creating the status-quo for this event.  He needed to show that our heroes had their backs well and truly up against the wall against massive odds.  Last month, Bucky Barnes’ death was truly the final nail in the “shit just got real” coffin, and the scene setting was complete.

So when we see Fury, Thor, Black Widow, Steve, and Iron Man talking tactics and plans, there’s a really satisfying and comforting sense of the story becoming better defined and moving forward.  It’s as though while we’ve seen that things are bad, it’s this month where we start to learn what the Avengers plan on doing about it.  Hence, there’s more story and character than big action and explosions.

But there certainly are big explosions.  Immonen’s art is gorgeous and characterful as ever (and includes a couple of really cool layout decisions), but he and Fraction really hit the big notes well.  Thor’s literal fall to Midgard, Steve’s being back in the Captain America uniform, the Serpent’s transformation, and the holocaust inflicted on the Atlanteans all really hit home and come across as truly large and epic in scale.  There aren’t just blips in the plot, they’re the big occurrences that are the bread and butter of a successful comic book event.

Then there’s Tony’s sacrifice to Odin, which is certainly a surprise and striking in its own way.
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Invincible Iron Man #33 – Review

Posted on December 24, 2010 by paladinking

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Tony takes the Resilient on a test drive as he tries to escape Detroit Steel and his horde of drones.

What’s Good: I realize that a lot of people have complained regarding the pace of this arc.  While I can’t say that they’ll be entirely relieved by this issue, this was an exciting installment and one that had a big, big development in the story that was a real shocker.  It’s a major development that adds a whole new depth to this arc as a whole.  Not only is a big jump in terms of story progression, but it also may give unsatisfied readers the scope that they want.  Basically, we see the interesting return of one old Iron Man villain and the absolutely shocking return of another.  It’s good stuff that has me excited.

Oh, and there’s a big, Iron Man-powered car chase that’s a heck of a lot of fun.  There’s not much more to it than that.  Watching Tony drive his car with Detroit Steel and co. in tow is a blast to read and full of cinematic flair.  All of this is buoyed by Matt Fraction’s confidence; his comfort and consequent ease with Tony makes the book flow all the better and make everything feel natural.

Beyond that, the issue, and the back-up story in particular, once again highlight Fraction’s obsession with near-future/present-day technology.  From the Detroit Steel cell-phone app to the smartphone based back-up, the issue feels incredibly modern, sleek, and relevant.  It’s a comic that could only come in 2010.

On art, this is an action-based comic featuring tons of machines, robots, cars, etc blowing the crap out of Seattle.  In other words, it’s Salvador Larroca in his element and doing what he does best.  The end result is a very pretty looking issue.
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Avengers #5 – Review

Posted on September 23, 2010 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson & Tom Palmer (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: The Avengers discover the truth behind the breaking of the time-stream and come up with a gameplan.

What’s Good: The new main Avengers title continues to deliver its brand of old-school, pulpy stories, which is a good thing, as combined with Romita’s distinctive, scratchy style, it makes the title stand out among the mass of Avengers-related title, and that’s a major accomplishment in and of itself.

It also provides grounds to use a smattering of characters that can’t be found anywhere else, guys like Maestro, the Next Avengers, and most importantly, Kang.  Kang is presented really well this month, both arrogant and sniveling, seemingly in a constant state of petulance.  There’s a sense throughout this issue that Kang’s up to something that the others can’t quite put their fingers on, despite their suspicions.  I couldn’t help but get the feeling that despite his current downcast state, he’s still pulling the strings somehow, which did intrigue me about the story-arc’s future.  There’s also a certain kind of tragedy inherent to the fact that the broken time-stream has resulted in, or perhaps is caused by, Kang’s fighting the same unwinnable battle against Ultron again and again and again.  It’s a nice statement on the classic comic villain and, combined with Romita’s down-trodden rendition of Kang, makes the character all the more compelling, even sympathetic.

Beyond that, Romita’s art maintains its recent upswing in quality.  Large panels are very impressive, and the bigger the action, the better.  Giant, flamboyant images are clearly what Romita excels at and he attacks any and all action sequences with gusto.  The book isn’t lacking character, and while it may not be for everyone, I found it to be fun.
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Avengers #4 – Review

Posted on August 27, 2010 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: In the future, the Avengers encounter the Next Avengers and their masters while in the present, the remaining Avengers meet an unlikely ally and struggle against total chaos.

What’s Good: This issue is basically total mayhem and, honestly, the crazier and wackier it is, the better.  Spider-Man bumping into Killraven riding a dinosaur and Thor blowing up War of the Worlds style aliens are just part of the fun.  Really, at times things get so ridiculous that they border upon comedic, and certainly Bendis’ dialogue helps that along.  Much like last month, there’s a strong old school vibe here, but also a slight sense of self-awareness.  While a lot of it has to do with Spider-Man, particularly his conversations with Killraven and Jessica Drew, this is an unexpectantly funny book.  Things are completely insane and the fact that the characters are hyper-aware of it makes for a generally fun read.

That feeling of absolute chaos and insanity also makes for Romita’s best issue thus far as he continues to improve after the first two underwhelming months.  Bendis really lets Romita stretch his legs here and let his imagination run wild.  Pretty much every splash and double-page spread is a lot of fun and all of them had me staring for quite a while.  There’s so much packed into them that it feels like a cosmic Where’s Waldo at times.  It’s as though Romita just through as many random, awesome things onto the page as possible.  His work is, overall, just a lot of fun this month.
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Avengers #3 – Review

Posted on July 21, 2010 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: The Avengers battle Apocalypse and his horsemen as the broken timestream causes mayhem.

What’s Good: After complaining about the mediocrity of this title for the last two months, I admit that I was fully prepared to voice some variation of the same concerns this month.  I’m happily able to report that, much to my surprise, that’s far from the case.

I think a big part of this is due to the book’s no longer being so self-conscious about headlining the Heroic Age or moving past Dark Reign.  Status quo, rosters, and pondering the past are all shuffled to the side.  We’re also no longer mired in the ambiguities of Bendis’ ideas relating to time travel or the “broken” timestream.  In the place of all this muck is a barrel-full of fun, as this issue smashes you in the face with a fist-full of Marvel insanity.

And really, this insanity seems key to the book’s identity.  The brawl with Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen is awesome and a really cool throwback and reminder of the late 80s and early 90s.  Mix this together with Apocalypse’s cheesy, old-school villain dialogue and the whole conflict is an absolute blast.  It makes the Avengers completely unlike anything else offered by the Avengers-line of titles.  This issue is such a concentrated dose of camp and nostalgia that it ends up being truly unique.

Along with this newly-found identity are the beginnings of the team dynamic and synergy that were sorely lacking in the first two issues.  Spider-Man and Iron Man of all people have something of a bonding experience that feels almost inexplicably resonant, perhaps because this title has thus far been starved of this sort of meaningful interplay between team members.  Meanwhile, Spider-Woman and Spider-Man rekindle their spark and Noh-Varr and his ongoing attempts at humanity add another source of comedy.  Surprisingly integral as well is Maria Hill, who acts as the glue that holds the team together and provides narrative direction.  Her constant snark added a great deal of colour to the issue and catered well to the voice Bendis does so well.
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Avengers #2 – Review

Posted on June 24, 2010 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: The Avengers attempt to build a time machine with disastrous result and Wonder Man decides that it’s time for action.

What’s Good: This issue is a definite improvement.  Unlike last month’s unfortunate misstep, this issue has a solid structure and feels far more cohesive and organic in its plot developments and narrative progression as many of the growing pains begin to ease out.

I think a lot of this greater cohesion comes from this issue’s really spelling out the niche for this particular Avengers title.  Free from Dark Reign aftermath and such, the book is allowed to do what it was intended to do, which is delve into the high level, almost cosmic styled adventures reminiscent of classic Avengers comics.  Things are quickly gaining that wacky feel that lets you know that you’re getting increasingly distanced from street level, which is a refreshing shift from Marvel’s direction over the past while.  There’s a greater sense of camp and escapism and the book is finding its identity.

I found myself intrigued most of all by Wonder Man’s sudden, violent involvement.  It’s a promising development and I appreciated the Avengers’ fear of Simon becoming another Sentry or Scarlet Witch type debacle.  Wonder Man himself may serve as an opportunity for the Avengers to prove Simon himself wrong; that the Avengers can avoid repeating the mistakes of old, preventing rather than causing destruction.

Romita also shows improvement.  His art feels a lot more fun and comfortable with itself and while Maria Hill still looks weird as hell, there are, overall, far fewer oddities.
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Invincible Iron Man #22 – Review

Posted on January 14, 2010 by paladinking

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Ghost makes his move and the gang brings in some outside help.

What’s Good: Stark Disassembled continues not to disappoint.

For the second month in a row, the scenes in Tony’s mind have improved.  Tony’s new surroundings make him seem a little more pitiful and hence, it’s easier to empathize with him.  We’ve gone from the admittedly same desert and that cycle of repetition to a claustrophobic, indoor, nighttime environment.  The darkness and smaller surroundings add a greater sense of desperation and intimacy.  The changes with respect to those weird robot enemies only enhances this shift in tone; instead of giant, “War of the Worlds” styled walkers, they’re now human sized, going from house to house and hunting in packs.  This new robo-Gestapo makes Stark’s situation feel tighter and more personal.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the comic succeeds on the continuing strength of the bonds between its supporting characters.  Tied together in desperation and danger, they truly feel like a group of friends, and so it’s hard not to root for Pepper, Maria, and company.  Meanwhile, Pepper feels much more realistic and true to character this month, with Fraction’s having abandoned her bizarre jealousy/irritation/whatever over Tony.  She’s back to her good old loving, stressed self.

As an added bonus, Fraction also has this funny little ongoing joke where sooner, now attached to Tony’s party, keeps relating her new circumstances to the soap operas she normally devours on television.  Seeing her gasping expressions in backgrounds of panels during significant developments, or her seeing an odd resemblance between Dr. Lisk and the hero of her favourite show is a lot of fun in a “truth/fiction” sort of way.

Meanwhile, Larroca puts out really enjoyable work this month.  The contrast between the clear real-world scenes and the murkier “mental” scenes is well-done.  Meanwhile, Larroca’s new manhunting robots and his take on Ghost are truly outstanding.  The robots are legitimately creepy, a good mix of old, campy and slick, modern sci-fi, while Larroca’s Ghost may be the best Ghost I’ve ever seen.  Then there are the illustrations of Dr. Strange’s powers, which are simply breathtaking.
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Siege #1 – Review

Posted on January 7, 2010 by paladinking

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Olivier Coipel (pencils), Mark Morales (inks), Laura Martin (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Norman Osborn finds his reason to begin his assault on Asgard.

What’s Good: This is some really impressive, massive work by Coipel and Martin.  The art here is gorgeous and some of the best stuff I’ve seen from Coipel.  The assault on Asgard, with its horde of fighter jets, is truly impressive and the mandatory explosions look great.  The book is maintains the “high budget” feel a book like this requires.

Perhaps unexpectedly, the most enjoyably written character in this first issue is actually Ares.  His disagreement with Osborn and the generally badass way Coipel illustrates is a blast (he rides into battle on a fighter jet, bent on one knee).  It’s clear Bendis wants this to be a war comic, and he’s placed Ares in the General position.  The result is a nice fusion of modern combat and ye olde fantasy heroism (the obligatory motivational speech in front of a horde of cheering warriors).  Seeing Ares lead modern HAMMER troops and superheroes as though they were Camelot’s finest is a lot of fun.

Beyond that, Bendis seems to want to make this issue, and this event, as straightforward as possible.  At the very least, you’re guaranteed not to get the sort of convoluted mess that other recent events have devolved into.
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Invincible Iron Man #21 – Review

Posted on December 10, 2009 by paladinking

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: The surgery to restore Tony Stark takes place.

What’s Good: The strange desert scenes within Tony’s mind were my high point in this month’s issue.  Last issue, I found these scenes a little too weird and obscure, but this month the meaning and moral lesson are said overtly and are more resonant as a result.  Despite this, the feeling of strangeness and repetition are maintained.  Essentially, Fraction walks the line between weird and meaningful quite a bit better this month, despite these scenes actually having fewer pages.

Much of this issue reads like a “step by step” instructional on how to revive Tony, and it really is fairly cool in this regard.  It’s almost a narrated montage, as we see various heroes following Stark’s recorded manual.  You really get the feel of our assembled party putting Stark back together piece by piece, moving forward one careful step at a time.   It helps that Fraction has always been great when it comes to writing Stark and his voice remains strong and, at times, humorous and the operation is just the right mixture of medical science and ridiculous superheroics.

Beyond that, Pepper’s strange dissent last issue on reviving Tony is fleshed out a little this month.  While her reasoning still seems a bit stretched, the fact she herself recognizes this does help.  While some might say that Pepper’s explaining this through writing a letter, presented on page, is a bit clichéd, Fraction manages to make it work through including Pepper’s bevy of crossouts in the narrative captions, which helps to show Pepper’s state of mind through an authorial tool that is usually guilty of purely telling.

Larroca generally puts in a much stronger performance than he did last month.  The faces are much more acceptable, the desert scenes remain gorgeous, and there’s one particular Thor spread that is simply awesome.
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