Trade Talks

Chase

2012-02-19T01:20:00.000-05:00

Collects: Chase #1-9, 1,000,000, and several Secret Files backups (1998-2002)
Released: December 2011 (DC)
Format: 352 pages / color / $29.99 / ISBN: 9781401232771
What is this?: An agent for the Department of Extranormal Operations deals with the heroes and villains of the DC Universe.
The culprits: Writer Dan Curtis Johnson and artist / co-plotter J.H. Williams III

It’s not often that a penciler gets top billing over a writer on a book. It’s merely a convention that puts the writer first, but it’s a strong one, one that neither publishers nor readers violate without some overriding reason. That being said, there’s a short list of comic book artist who deserves to be listed first, and J.H. Williams III is definitely on that list.

So it’s not entirely surprising that DC chose to put Williams’s name first on the cover of Chase.⁶²
Not on Williams’s later, more acclaimed work such as Batwoman or Promethea, but Chase, a late ‘90s series that followed Cameron Chase, a government agent tasked with keeping tabs on DC’s superhuman community. I have a feeling Williams’s name at the top is more a function of writer Dan Curtis Johnson‘s obscurity compared to Batwoman writer Greg Rucka or Promethea‘s Alan Moore. Yes, Williams is a co-plotter for most of Chase‘s run, but he isn’t the J.H. Williams he will become in the 21st century. He even skips most of a couple of flashback issues.

That’s not to say that Williams isn’t excellent on Chase His art is strong, well laid out, and clear; he’s already working with non-standard layouts and no-rectangular panels. He manages to draw attractively without making Chase’s world artificially pretty. But that’s it — it’s pretty, not beautiful, and there’s none of the occasionally breathtaking work you find in Batwoman. (Obviously, I’m spoiled by his later work.) He’s working some things out in Chase; you can’t convince me that Williams would draw something like Chase’s clumsy hold on a pistol today. Also, Chase’s sister, Terry, is clearly v. 1.0 of Stacia from Promethea.

It’s not surprising that DC can collect the entire run of Chase in a single paperback volume and still have room left over for tie-in issues. DC’s trades are often excellent values, but Chase lasted only nine issues plus a 1,000,000 issue, which served as the series’s tombstone. That’s an incredibly short run, probably because it featured a new, low-power protagonist — a new female low-power protagonist in the DCU. By some lights, it’s a miracle it got nine issues. That’s not to say Chase deserved only nine issues, though.

In theory — at least for those unversed in comic-book viability — Chase is a good idea for a series. (It actually is a good idea for a TV show, I think.) Chase travels through the DC universe for the Department of Extranormal Operations, giving her the ability interact with almost any hero or villain. Williams and Johnson have her dealing with the Suicide Squad, Rocket Reds, Batman, Teen Titans, Booster Gold, and a couple of Green Lanterns. She has an interesting backstory: a childhood with a father who was a crap superhero, an adulthood career as a private investigator before she joined the DEO. Williams and Johnson delve deep into her past, with two flashback issues featuring her and another PI fighting the Cult of the Broken Circle. Both stories are fun, and I suspect there were a lot more stories of that type that Williams and Johnson could have told, but I’m also sure two flashback issues in the first nine didn’t help sales any. (Nor would the 1,000,000 crossover issue, if it hadn’t been the last issue.) I’m unconvinced that hinting Chase had superhero powers of her own was a good idea, but since the series had no definitive ending, I’ll reserve judgment on that.

I’m also unconvinced that the series had many more interesting stories left. Johnson and Williams told the story of Chase and her sister confronting their father’s secret hero career, and Chase explained what that meant for her own professional career in a later issue. In one sense, the series could always have become a peripatetic trip through the corners of the DCU, but once Chase confronted her powers and perhaps her freeloading boyfriend, what’s left? I could see this being a 25-issue series, but that probably wasn’t the plan, and it definitely wasn’t what happened.

Chase’s appearances in the included Secret Files issues certainly don’t indicate there was a need for more stories. These backups are interesting if you simply want more Chase and DEO. There’s no desperate reason for them to exist other than that, except as page filler. The best of the lot was The Joker: Last Laugh Secret Files, in which Chase and another agent, who survived a botched attack on Gorilla Grodd, interview survivors of the Joker’s attacks. The idea is better than the story, which needed more room to breathe but was still enjoyable. The rest tend to blend together, an impression that is strengthened by the reprint editor’s refusal to label these Secret File stories. Evidently, some were tied to some storyline; adding footnotes or explanatory text would have helped clarify the incident in Kansas that everyone is alluding to but is never explained. A note that is included from the original printing of (what I’m assuming is) DC Universe Secret Files #1 is that Chase’s fight with “Buzzword” (again, I’m assuming, as the name is mentioned only tangentially) is shown from Chase’s perspective in DCU Heroes Secret Files #1. However, that issue isn’t included; why is that? (Was it not published? Not very good? Not included for some other reason?)

I can see why this series is beloved by some. It was certainly ahead of its time, both as a precursor of J.H. Williams’s stardom and as a more grounded, broadly focused look at a superhero universe. I enjoyed and would read more, if it existed. That doesn’t mean the series was great, though it does mean it was better than a lot of other series that lived through horrible patches at about the same time. At $30 for more than 300 pages, Chase is certainly worth a look.

Rating: (3.5 of 5)

Chronicles of Conan, v. 20: Night of the Wolf and Other Stories

2012-02-13T02:55:00.000-05:00

Collects: Conan the Barbarian #151-9 (1983-4)
Released: December 2010 (Dark Horse)
Format: 200 pages / color / $18.99 / ISBN: 9781595825841
What is this?: Conan stabs his way through another nine issues of his eponymous series.
The culprits: Writer / artist John Buscema and writer Michael Fleischer, with fill-in art from Gary Kwapisz

There’s no doubt the comic book direct market is in trouble. Sales have been declining for years, and unlike at the direct market’s dawn, few titles are guaranteed a continued existence. This is discouraging for those of us who would enjoy long runs for new characters and titles or hope titles that have always been at the fringe of economic viability (Power Man & Iron Fist, Defenders, Alpha Flight, etc.) will get a new ongoing series. The only good news is that almost every current title has a purpose or a hook. You don’t see too many zombie titles any more.

If you’ve read comics in the late 20th century, you’ve probably come across a zombie title or three. They’re the ones that lurched along, all semblance of life drained away, still repetitively doing all those things it did when it was new and vital. There’s no creative reason to publish these comics: no overarching plots, no exciting young creators looking to work with the character, no groundbreaking creativity. There’s just a semi-loyal audience hanging around, large enough to make money off of. For a Marvel comic, there’s something humorous about this: Marvel zombies helping zombie comics titles survive. A zombie support network, if you will.

Conan the Barbarian was a prime example of a zombie title. After original writer Roy Thomas left, there was a drop-off in the writing quality; few of his successors had a handle on Conan and his world like he did. Truth to tell, even Thomas was having trouble by the end of his long run. The title floundered. So by issue #151 — where Chronicles of Conan v. 20: Night of the Wolf and Other Stories begins — what was the purpose of this title?

The easy answer is that Conan stuck around to give artist John Buscema, often inked by his frequent Conan collaborator Ernie Chan, a place to play. Conan is the title the elder Buscema brother was most associated with, and if he wanted to do the title, why not let him? The art still looks great; there’s no doubt about that. Conan and his enemies are dynamic, active enough to still occasionally surprise the long-term reader with their vividness. Conan himself hasn’t devolved into a copy or parody artistically, although I have my doubts about his blue-sleeveless-tee-tucked-into-furry-bikini ensemble. Still, the monsters are monstrous, and the girls are as gorgeous as ever. And Buscema even started plotting the stories. Giving Buscema a forum for his work and keeping him happy seems a worthy goal, right?

But it’s hard to shake the idea that even the art has lost its freshness. I’ve seen the Conan / pretty girl / evil-wizard / monster set piece before, and if Buscema moves the elements of this stock tale around artfully, he can’t disguise that they are the same elements. I find myself wishing Marvel would have given Buscema a new challenge, something for him to flex his character design and artistic muscles on.

On the other hand, Conan must have sold. The zombie stays in the publishing schedule.

The writing is a larger problem. Certainly there’s nothing new there. The stories aren’t the worst in the Chronicles of Conan series, but Buscema and Michael Fleischer (writer #151-4, dialogue #155-9) aren’t breaking new ground. There are no overarching plots, no development of Conan’s character (although 21st century readers should know that’s not a priority), and few characters — good or evil — are worth seeing again. Conan’s violent edge has dulled into a paternalistic affability; he’s a nice guy by this collection. A nice guy who guts a few people every issue, but he’s not out to destroy, and he’s not always on the make.

The same elements are used again and again — abducted maiden, lost city under attack (that one’s used twice), evil woman trying to control Conan (again, twice), the perilous inn. Issue #155, in which Conan rescues a grateful toady from a semi-competent wizard, is the best of the lot, and although there are a few attempts at twists (the wolf in #158, the wizard’s identity in #157), the execution produces limp results. (The twist in #158 is spoiled on cover, for instance.) This is partially down to Buscema, who is presumably learning the ropes as a writer; in #156, for instance, the final third of the story is a flashback in which Conan doesn’t appear.

I have to admit I didn’t initially catch that the title of #154 — “The Man-Bats of Ur-Zanarrh!” — was a play on a 1958 Batman story, “Batman — The Superman of Planet-X,” in which Batman encounters the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, an alien planet. (Not many other people would have caught it had Grant Morrison not resurrected the idea for his recent Batman run.) Clever — but not clever enough to save the story or the book. In any event, when a war between winged humans and bat men on a floating city — a war in which Conan rides a giant dragonfly — seems a little ho-hum, it’s probably time to strike the curtain and call it a day.

There are reasons for zombie titles to exist — or there were, at least. They served as a safe place to launch new creators, such as Frank Miller on Daredevil, and new ideas. They provided a feeling of a shared universe, which was more important then than it is today. These zombie titles also give readers a nice feeling of continuity: there’s Conan on the newsstand; it’s been there for a decade, and it will still be there in another decade.

That last is a luxury the direct market will no longer allow, though, and the other two aren’t relevant to Night of the Wolf. The only reason for Conan to continue throughout the ‘80s was economic. But that’s not really a reason for anyone but Conan diehards to read Night of the Wolf in 2012.

Rating: (2 of 5)

White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion

2012-02-05T02:41:00.001-05:00

Collects: White Tiger #1-6 (2007)
Released: September 2007 (Marvel)
Format: 152 pages / color / $14.99 / ISBN: 9780785122739
What is this?: A former FBI agent inherits her uncle’s mystical martial arts amulets and feels she must fight crime with the abilities it has given her.
The culprits: Writers Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe and artists Phil Briones with Al Rio and Ronaldo Adriano Silva

Remember when you were a kid, and there was always one guy who tried so hard to fit in, laughing too loud at the in-jokes, agreeing to any stupid suggestion, and making up grandiose stories that clearly weren’t true? And that only made you dislike the poor sap?

Angela del Toro, the new White Tiger in White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion, is kinda like that guy.

It’s not del Toro’s fault, not really. The fault lies with wife-and-husband writing team Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe. Pierce is an experienced writer of YA fantasy novels; I’ve actually read Melting Stones and enjoyed it. But Pierce and Liebe’s unfamiliarity with comics might be a factor here.

I think the rules for establishing a new character — which del Toro essentially is — is different in novels and other types of serial storytelling. In a novel (or movie) series, some amount of downtime is generally expected between books, and a great deal of unexplored backstory is a given. People and events can be easily inserted, in most cases, where they are needed. Comics can try to do that, but eventually you end up with someone like Wolverine, who knows (or has smelled) everyone. Del Toro’s familiarity with how other characters smell is left unexamined, but it seems like everyone wants her to be successful.

Angela del Toro was introduced as the inheritor of her uncle’s mystical amulets in Daredevil (v. 2) #51, and the title hero was a bit of a jerk to her in her introductory arc. Pierce and Liebe go in the other direction in White Tiger: she gets help from everyone. Serving as her guardian angel is Iron Fist — unconvincingly disguised as Daredevil, a deception former FBI agent del Toro takes too long to unravel. Black Widow helps her shop for a costume and goes drinking with her. Those two, plus Luke Cage and Spider-Man, join her for her first Marvel team-up. The mention of the Black Cat makes some sense (similar street-level power levels), but Deadpool makes a gratuitous appearance, as does Emma Frost. (For some reason, the White Tiger’s costume is mistaken for Frost’s super lingerie ensemble. That seems … wrong, unless all female superheroes / villains in red are mistaken for the Scarlet Witch.) All that was missing was a big banner saying “The Marvel Universe Welcomes the New White Tiger, the Coolest Hero Ever.”

Perhaps the strangest part, however, is del Toro’s main supervillainous antagonist: Cobra. Not the original, squeeze-through-tight-spaces Cobra, but his nephew, who has similar powers but is better at hand-to-hand fighting and was created for the White Tiger miniseries. There’s nothing wrong with creating a new villain — even a new, knockoff villain — for a new hero. But the writers and Marvel were doing everything they could in this book to integrate del Toro into the Marvel Universe. Why create a new villain when an editor (or fan) could probably give you a half dozen pre-existing candidates who would fit thematically and physically against the new White Tiger?

It’s not just that the heroes like and accept del Toro; other than villains in the main plot, her life seems almost perfect. Although del Toro has some martial arts abilities before she gets the amulet, her powers come mainly through magic; she’s not like Spider-Man, who added powers through training and design. She’s not very careful with her secret identity, but she doesn’t get into trouble. Her costume is designed for her and given to her without any effort on her part. To give her a push as a real contender, Spider-Man foe the Lizard shows up — twice, neither time for any plot-related reason — and White Tiger defeats him both times. There is ready-made family drama — del Toro comes from a large family, and her uncle’s widow has to have some strong feelings about seeing a new White Tiger — but the story actively shies away from this until it lightly touches upon it in the epilogue. Del Toro is handed a job in her civilian identity that pays well, plays to her strengths, and gives her free time to fight crime. It’s almost as if Pierce and Liebe are going out of their way to eliminate conflict for del Toro, which is a shame. It’s not that all of these had to be followed up on. Any one would have added a great deal to the story’s tension.

There is a lot of potential for conflict and future storylines here. The real Daredevil, the one del Toro had a mentor / antagonist relationship with, never appears in the story because he’s in prison. The potential for family angst is near limitless, with many of del Toro’s relatives serving as cops. On a similar note, there’s always the traditional moral antagonism of the costumed vigilante vs. law enforcement. Pierce and Leibe chose to pit del Toro vs. the Japanese criminal organization that killed her FBI partner, and that’s a good choice, but there’s room for more conflict. I could understand them not using all sources of conflict if this was the lead-in to an ongoing series or establishing the character as a major player. But del Toro isn’t a major player, and most of her subsequent appearances shoot her status quo in the head.

French artist Phil Briones pencils #1-5, with Alvaro Rio and Ronaldo Adriano Silva drawing #6. Briones doesn’t remind me of a stereotypical European artist; most of his work on White Tiger fits in with the Marvel house style very well. It looks slick, and it has a smooth line, so I’m inclined to approve of it. His action sequences are more fluid and dynamic than most artists, but strangely, it’s his non-action scenes that feel stiff and posed. For a final issue art substitution, the transition to Rio and Silva is surprisingly smooth. The two new artists don’t look like they’re aping Briones in #6, but their styles, although slightly less detailed, mesh with Briones pretty well. The covers, by David Mack, are beautiful, but there are only six of those, so they’re not quite worth buying the collection (or all of the original issues, for that matter).

White Tiger has two facets that might intrigue Marvel fans: Pierce, the big-name writer, and the link to Daredevil. Neither amounts to much. The latter never goes anywhere because the real Daredevil is in prison, and although Pierce (and Liebe) craft an overall competent superhero story, it never reaches the height of a good prose novel. White Tiger’s involvement in the Shadowland storyline makes most of this book moot in terms of long-term consequences; as a stand-alone story, White Tiger looks like a collection of just-missed chances by someone who just wants to be accepted.

Rating: (2 of 5)

Strange Tales, v. 1

2012-01-20T18:41:00.000-05:00

Collects: Megolamaniacal Spider-Man # 1 and Strange Tales #1-3 (2002, 2009-10)
Released: August 2010 (Marvel)
Format: 160 pages / color / $24.99 / ISBN: 9780785128021
What is this?: A collection of indy comics creators playing in the Marvel sandbox with short, mainly humorous tales.
The culprits: More than two dozen creators, including Peter Bagge, Stan Sakai, Becky Cloonan, Paul Pope, and Michael Kupperman

Strange Tales looks like an odd choice for Marvel, a company that won’t give up on its continuity and sticks more to its mainstream superheroes than the newly revamped DC. Strange Tales features the works of “indy” creators — although veteran creators such as Stan Sakai, Jonathan Hickman, and Paul Pope hardly belong in that classification — telling mostly humorous stories of the non-canonical parts of the Marvel Universe.

By virtue of the creators’ reputations, Strange Tales should be edgy, hip, different. But there’s a contradiction here: most of those creators gained their reputations by not working for the Big Two. Marvel wanted to gain some of what those creators have. But by giving these jokes and parodies its imprimatur, Marvel has removed the edginess, hipness, newness. And it’s not different because Marvel parodies are a dime a terabyte these days — I believe Marvel parodies are the third reason the Internet was invented, after porn and LOLcats.

Still, in Strange Tales, Marvel and its readers do get an outsider’s perspective of the characters, even if that perspective does look at Marvel as a source of humor. Fortunately for Marvel, most of the stories are funny, and their mockery is gentle, even affectionate.

Since the material comes from so many creators, it’s hard to formulate a cohesive conclusion about a collection of such disparate stories. They’re mostly two- or four-page jokes, with a wide variety of comedic approaches. Strange Tales includes style parodies (which look like intentionally nonsensical versions of ‘70s comics), MODOKery, redialogued Silver Age comics, Horatian satire, children’s slapstick humor, gag pages with one panel jokes based on a single concept (“Marvel’s Most Embarrassing Moments”), and full-on absurdity. I found the absurdist sketches the funniest; Tony Millionaire’s story has a Silver / Bronze Age look and features Iron Man battling Baloney Head, Liver-Wurst Face, and the Communist Dwight D. Eisenhower; it’s even weirder than it sounds. My favorite is Michael Kupperman’s “Marvex the Super Robot,” which has nothing to do with Marvel and reads like something out of his Tales Designed to Thrizzle.

Some of these could actually fit as a back-up or in an anthology title. In Jacob Chabot’s “Lookin’ Good, Mr. Grimm!,” the Thing gets a chia moustache; it’s silly, but the art and the plot could be a backup in an issue of Fantastic Four. A series of four posters tries to recruit new workers into the service of Galactus, although allowing Terrax to speak — and giving potential recruits the recipe for Five-Finger Kabobs — might have been a mistake.

A few stories don’t seem to fit; either the creators didn’t the memo about humor being a theme or they decided to go their own way. This leads to a few different approaches: action sequences (“The Punisher,” with the hero redesigned as a kung-fu fighter, by Jonathan Jay Lee), trying to evoke real pathos (“Nightcrawler Meets the Molecule Man” by Paul Hornschemeier), or plain incomprehensibility (“Cupcake!” by Chris Chua). Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai turns Bruce Banner into a cowardly Shogunate retainer transformed into a Hulk-like oni by a vengeful ghost. “La Querelle des Monstres” by Jay Stephens features a Beast / Morbius battle with a typical Bronze Age downer ending fitting for two characters in their ‘70s incarnations.

The final two stories in the collection, both by Peter Bagge, are the longest: “The Incorrigible Hulk” and “The Megalomaniacal Spider-Man,” each of which originally were single issues and are about 20 pages long. The latter is about Peter Parker, whose life takes an Ayn-Rand turn before Gwen is killed, and his fortunes rise and fall with the fortunes of his alter ego; the former is about the dual-natured Bruce Banner, who attracts two vastly different ladies as a mild-mannered scientist and as a monster. “Hulk” is definitely the better of the two, as there’s a limit to the humor in abuse of power and Randian philosophy, even in satire. Bagge’s characters are distinctively exaggerated, seemingly designed for humor comics, with their bandy limbs and gaping, distorted mouths, but after 40 pages it begins to grate.

This is a funny collection — not hilarious, but funny. On the other hand, this is $25 for 160 pages; at that ratio, it needs to be better than just funny. That’s a good price for a high-quality collection, one that’s at the level of the best work in Strange Tales. But it’s too high for the average level of humor, which consistenly inspires grins but not enough laughter.

Rating: (2.5 of 5)

Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis, v. 3

2011-12-02T17:15:00.001-05:00

Collects: Excalibur (v. 1) #59-67 (1992-3)
Released: July 2011 (Marvel)
Format: 216 pages / color / $24.99 / ISBN: 9780785155430
What is this?: Writer / artist Alan Davis wraps up his run on X-Men spinoff Excalibur.
The culprits: Alan Davis, with help from writer Scott Lobdell and artist Scott Kolins

Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis, v. 3 wraps up Alan Davis’s work on Excalibur, a team he co-created with Chris Claremont in 1987. And when I say “wraps up,” I mean “wraps up” — Davis, as the writer and artist, isn’t making a half-hearted attempt to give closure to a few storylines. He’s trying to put an end to almost all of the storylines he worked on during his second run of Excalibur, some of which — like what exactly Widget is — started in his first run with Chris Claremont at the beginning of the series.

In other words, if you haven’t read v. 1 and v. 2, you should probably do that. If you haven’t read them for a while, you might consider reading them again, just to make sure everything’s fresh in your mind.

Davis puts an end to the stories of Widget, the Warpies, and Alistair Stuart, even tying the last two into one neat bow — a bit of craftsmanship undercut only by my complete disinterest in the Warpies. The culprit who framed Alistair’s sister, Alysdane, faces justice. Roma resets Captain Britain’s status quo so that future writers don’t have to understand what gives Brian Braddock his powers, and Davis gives a definitive direction to Brian and Meggan’s romance. Rachel confronts her place in the universe and the Phoenix; all the manipulations of her body and mind are wiped out so that she can begin again. (And be jettisoned in quick order by another writer, but that’s not Davis’s fault.) He even wraps up the Days of Future Past timeline, although I question the wisdom of doing it by having Excalibur team up with Marvel UK and Marvel’s UK characters. C’est la guerre, I suppose.

It’s always satisfying when a writer gives closure to a storyline he or she introduced. But that doesn’t necessarily make writer’s material good, and I have a hard time deciding whether the stories in v. 3 are good. I didn’t enjoy them that much, but that doesn’t mean much; I don’t care about the Warpies, all of whom might have well had “Disposable” tattooed on their backsides, and the Rachel / Phoenix relationship (and all that entails) never interested me either. That leaves Scott Lobdell’s forgettable two-part fill-in and the Days of Future Past story, and neither one hooks me either — the latter might be one that could interest me, but piling up loads of supporting characters I don’t recognize dampens the attraction.

So are they good? Yes, I think so, although I can’t know for sure. In my negative of review v. 2, I counted the haphazard whipsawing between plotters and the overall roster flux against the book. But that isn’t a problem in v. 2. The major and minor characters are given a little room to express themselves outside the needs of the plot, which steadily moves forward after Lobdell’s story. The stories put characters in genuine danger that readers of the time might have felt was genuine, and the book culminates with the deadliest X-story of all time, Days of Future Past. Yes, they’re good. But I can’t make that connection viscerally, as I didn’t enjoy the stories.

A few loose ends remain, of course, and their importance is magnified only by other writer’s unwillingness to deal with them. What will happen with Feron (disappeared three issues after Davis), Kylun (ditto), Micromax (double ditto), and Cerise (again, ditto)? They’ll be ignored, that’s what. Feron is the most glaring case, as he is a character with nowhere else to go, other than Excalibur. There are a few danglers remaining, of course, beyond the confusion of the Phoenix / Rachel interaction of v. 2 — no word on the missing / regenerating War Wolves from early issues of Excalibur, for example, but that’s not much of a loss.

Davis’s art is excellent, as always — fluid, beautiful, expressive. Reading v. 3 is a reminder of the days when, rightly or wrongly, the X-books automatically got all the best artists. Those days are gone now, but for those of us who remember those days, it’s a nice bit of nostalgia. This collection also includes the art from a few of the trading cards Davis did fearuting Excalibur characters. The reproduction does them no favors, but it’s a better page filler than most.

This is an Alan Davis volume, so I should warn you: The book should be released with a bright yellow sticker saying: “Caution: May contain traces of Scott Lobdell.” Since Lobdell’s presence hangs over most of Marvel ‘90s titles, this warning can be take the same way as those labels that warn you a product and peanuts were processed in the same plant. Lobdell was in the X-book offices throughout the ‘90s, and he had a hand — if only invisible, like with everything that crossed over into Onslaught — in almost all of them.

Lobdell’s contribution to this volume, #59-60, is a goofy (although not in a fun way) two-parter in which Shadowcat, Captain Britain, and Meggan head to Wakanda to shamelessly team up with Captain America, Iron Man (in War Machine armor), and Black Panther. Lobdell gets in some good lines, especially about the paucity of African superheroes, but the plot is much too sparse for two issues, and the heroes defeat the villain by just being annoying.

There’s something wrong with artist Scott Kolins’s cheesecake-y full-page shot of Shadowcat in a swimsuit, but I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is. It doesn’t help, though, that it’s the first page of the collection. Otherwise, his work is fine, with a few glitches of figure placement — Meggan looking like she must be standing up to her knees in mud, another character appearing to be standing on air when he should be falling or on a branch, etc. — and his work suffers when compared to Davis.

This volume wraps up Davis’s run on the title. Excalibur readers would have to wait a couple of years before Warren Ellis returned the book to relevance with #83, although his work is much different from the gentle humor team book that Claremont, Davis, and Lobdell (who, all joking aside, contributed more than a fifth of the first 75 issues) built over the years. This material is obviously a wrap-up, meant for fans who have been following the title for years. But it’s also done pretty well.

Rating: (3 of 5)

The Three Stages of Man: Stage Three: Wolverine First Class, v. 4: Gods, Ninjas, and Divas

2011-10-14T11:56:00.000-04:00

Collects: X-Men and Power Pack #1 and Wolverine First Class #13-6 (2005, 2009)
Released: August 2009 (Marvel)
Format: 120 pages / color / $12.99 / ISBN: 9780785135357
What is this?: In this non-continuity book, Wolverine serves as mentor to young Kitty Pryde.
The culprits: Writer Peter David and artists Ronan Cliquet, Scott Koblish, and GuriHiru

Continuing from Stage One and Stage Two, I present:

Stage Three: The Old Man, represented by Wolverine First Class: Ninjas, Gods, and Divas.

There comes a point in every man’s life — a sad, soul-battering, inevitable moment — that proves that he is no longer the best at what he does and will most likely never be again. The man must learn to accept his lesser status or else find some other activity in which to find meaning. Youngsters will rise to the top, pushing out the old guard. Age will rob us all of our mental and physical abilities. The symphonies will begin sounding the same as your previous efforts or sound like everyone else’s. Machines will begin adding more and more of that damn technology you don’t understand or don’t want to take the time to futz with. Or changing cultural mores and the whims of corporate masters will change your entire raison d’ etre. As I said, it happens to all of us, if we live long enough.

For Wolverine, he gets to be a mentor to Kitty Pryde. This is a thankless task, as many fans (mostly from the ‘80s) would want a relationship with comic-dom’s mutant sweetheart that is more amorous and less skeevy. Still, someone has to do it, and when you’re no longer the best, you get stuck with such jobs.

Peter David writes these stories as he writes pretty much all his comics, with a humorous bent. This being an ostensibly all-ages title, he doesn’t layer on the angst or darkness, which is a welcome break. And he’s consistently funny, weaving running gags throughout the stories. His humor is gentle and not in the least cutting, with Wolverine giving Kitty the sort of ribbing a father or fond older brother would. It’s pleasant, it’s inoffensive, and it’s funny. What actually happens in this non-continuity book is irrelevant.

The artists are a mixed bag. All of them have trouble making Wolverine look old — and by old, I don’t mean ancient, I mean like he’s in his 30s. All three — Ronan Cliquet (#13-4), Scott Koblish (#15), and GuriHiru (#16 and the Power Pack issue) — make him look like he just dropped out of college. GuriHiru is the worst in this regard, as pretty much every adult looks college age. On the other hand, his Kitty and Siryn are excellent, so it balances out. (Someone should give GuriHiru Studios a title with an all-child or adolescent cast.) Koblish is my favorite of the three, as his work has a definite Art Adams influence that fits the Thor / Ulik fight perfectly. Cliquet gets a lot of action sequences and pulls them off well, but the lone Asian face in the story looks about as Japanese as Angelina Jolie.

Rating: (4 of 5)

Is there another stage of life that is yet to be revealed through our emissary, Wolverine? That remains to be seen. Wolverine: Enemy of the State would argue the next stage is self-parody, which I believe will have to be integrated into the clinical discussion at some future point in time. It remains to be seen, however.

The Three Stages of Man: Stage Two: Wolverine: Not Dead Yet

2011-10-07T16:14:00.000-04:00

Collects: Wolverine #119-22 (1997-8)
Released: April 2009 (Marvel)
Format: 120 pages / color / $19.99 / ISBN: 9780785137665
What is this?: Wolverine must confront an old friend / threat from his past. Shocking, right?
The culprits: Writer Warren Ellis and artist Leinil Francis Yu

Continuing from the last post, we move on to the next stage in the three stages of man, as exemplified by Wolverine:

Stage Two: The Badass, as represented by Wolverine: Not Dead Yet.

After discovering who he is, it is time for man to be the best he that he can be at what he does, even if it isn’t pretty. If that means composing symphonies and choral works, so be it. If your burden is that you have an outstanding mechanical aptitude, it’s up to you to embrace, not shirk, that destiny. If, like Wolverine, killing a lot of people is what you do, then you need to do it, and do it as often as possible.

Striving to reach the pinnacle of your profession is not without its dangers. If you are one of the greatest composers of your time, a rival might try to drive you insane and then kill you with rheumatic fever. If you are a great mechanic, a rival might decide to crush or lop off your hands. And if you are one of the great killers of the world, well, another great killer might decide to end your life, especially if you left the man alive after trying to kill him.

I mean, it just stands to reason.

Yet another old acquaintance coming back into Logan’s life to kill him / get killed is a hoary trope that was getting old even when writer Warren Ellis and artist Leinil Francis Yu collaborated on this four-issue storyline in 1997. Somehow, though, Ellis makes this idea work. Wolverine is the X-Man best suited to Ellis’s approach, a low-power hero with a boost from weird science and haunted by a conspiracy. Ellis doesn’t touch upon either of those elements, but they are still in the background, in their way.

Not Dead Yet comes at an odd time in Wolverine’s history. After finishing the main story of the Operation: Zero Tolerance crossover in Wolverine, Larry Hama ended his 80+-issue run on the title. His last storyline was cut off in the middle — not that it looked very promising, to be honest — and suddenly the man who had defined what kind of stories the book would tell was gone. The luster gone from Hama, whose stories had been going downhill for a year or more, Marvel went for their newest badass, Ellis.

It wouldn’t be an Ellis story without a character from the British Isles; in this case, it’s McLeish, a Scottish killer from Logan’s past. In four issues, Ellis has to establish McLeish as a threat and disguise that most of the story is just faceless mooks trying to kill Wolverine. (Not faceless as in “wearing ninja masks,” but faceless as in “not very important” — an important distinction in a Wolverine story) Ellis does this masterfully, alternating between flashbacks to the charismatic but evil McLeish in Hong Kong and rapid action in the present. The middle issues are either fight scenes, with adamantium bullets and auto accidents, or McLeish ranting about killing. OK, there’s also a love interest who buys it, but that’s fine: Logan is also probably the best there is at getting former lovers killed,⁶¹ which we must agree isn’t very pretty.

Still, if Yu wasn’t an excellent with action scenes, then there’s no way this storyline works. Fortunately, Yu is up to the task, with action shots that seem to pop off the page. (A little bloodless, though.) Yu’s first American professional comic work was Wolverine #113, and I remember Usenet going crazy for him at the time. (I remember Usenet. I’m old.) His McLeish is threatening, despite not doing anything violent on the page, and slightly deranged without being cartoony.

My main complaint with this story is the price. Twenty dollars for four issues? Even if it is a hardback, that’s much too much. This Marvel Premiere Edition adds almost an issue’s worth of Yu’s other Wolverine covers, which does help — but it doesn’t help that much.

Rating: (4 of 5)

Next: Stage Three: Wolverine First Class: Ninjas, Gods, and Divas (forthcoming)

The Three Stages of Man: Stage One: Weapon X

2011-10-04T12:04:00.001-04:00

Collects: Weapon X stories from Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (1991)
Released: 1994 (Marvel)
Format: 226 pages / color / $16.99 / ISBN: 9780785137269
What is this?: Logan gets adamantium bonded to his skeleton by the Weapon X project, the first step down the road that leads to Wolverine.
The culprits: Barry Windsor-Smith

Willy Shakespeare might have been a great writer and all that, but his “seven ages of man” stuff doesn’t really hold water. I mean, I’ve never been a soldier, justice, or pantaloon, and I don’t know too many people who fit those roles. (A few soldiers, a few lawyers, but I’ve never met a person who was also a pair of pants.) No, the Great Shakes had an ear for what sounded good, but he wasn’t about to let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Therefore, I would like to suggest my own examination of the path of human life, using the greatest fictional character ever, Wolverine. Therefore, I give you, The Three Stages of Wolverine:

Stage One: The Enigma, represented by Wolverine: Weapon X.

In this stage, man must begin to grapple with important questions of our times: who am I? Am I a moral being? Am I a being of instinct? Are my sensory observations real, or are they merely being fed to me through clunky ‘80s computer technology powered by batteries large enough to give Arnold Schwarzenegger a hernia? Can I take control of my life, or am I doomed to constantly be manipulated by vast international conspiracies of megalomaniacs and supervillains? Although everyone must examine these questions for themselves, Logan answers them, according to his own peculiar circumstances, in Weapon X.

The late ‘80s / early ‘90s was the era in which a straightforward story such as, “Who decided it would be such a great idea to turn a mutant into ‘the ultimate killing machine’ and then never do anything with him?” was so important it couldn’t be answered — well, it couldn’t be answered in Marvel Comics Presents, in which this material originally appeared. So, the Enigma. Writer / artist Barry Windsor-Smith shows how Logan became Wolverine, transforming from a burned-out and falling apart government agent into the feral, adamantium-laced killing machine that is Wolverine. Ultimately, Logan doesn’t learn much about himself in this one, other than he’s a man, not an animal (important), which is good, because Logan is hell on wild animals (not important). But I suppose it would have started him on the path of self-revelation if it hadn’t been for those pesky memory implants.

Weapon X is surprisingly seminal despite its lack of revelations and slight plot, the former dictated editorially and the latter by the eight-page format of stories in MCP. We have the Professor employing disgraced doctor Abraham Cornelius; while starting up their experimentation facility, they hire Carol Hines to run operations. After they abduct Logan, they implant the adamantium onto the bones, and they begin to brainwash him into being a killing machine. And then he kills stuff, in both reality (mostly animals) and in virtual / hallucinatory realm (everyone). The Professor inadvertently reveals he’s answering to someone, someone powerful, but that’s about all we learn.

Despite the eight-page per story format, we do get a good bit of development on Hines and Cornelius. They aren’t shadowy villains; they are scientists down on their luck. Cornelius has legal problems in the U.S. Hines worked for NASA at one point. How do they rationalize the horrible thing they are doing to another human being? It’s an interesting question, and Windsor-Smith does explore the idea, but the lack of a true payoff to the story keeps that angle from being fully fleshed out.

Unsurprisingly, Windsor-Smith’s art is what sticks with the reader. Several panels are iconic, known to just about every comic reader of the last twenty years: the full-page shot of Weapon X atop a pile of soldiers, slicing up more; Weapon X in the snow clad only in batteries and the control helmet / VR gear; shots of Logan in the adamantium tank. The art nouveau elements from his Conan work are gone or muted; the work is bloody, brutal, and dynamic, but it still looks unlike other artists before or after. (Although his characters have a tendency to have eyes like Little Orphan Annie.)

Rating: (4 of 5)

Next: Stage Two: Wolverine: Not Dead Yet

Stage Three: Wolverine First Class: Ninjas, Gods, and Divas (forthcoming)

X-Men: Onslaught: The Complete Epic, v. 3

2011-09-09T18:14:00.000-04:00

Collects: X-Men #55, Uncanny X-Men #336, Cable #35, X-Force #58, X-Man #19, Incredible Hulk #445, Iron Man #332, Avengers #402, Thor #502, Wolverine #105 (1996)
Released: August 2008 (Marvel)
Format: 248 pages / color / $29.99 / ISBN: 9780785128250
What is this?: The penultimate volume of the Onslaught story, a “Mutants Gone Wild” cautionary tale.
The culprits: Too many to name, not enough to blame

Completism is a hell of a drug.

It’s one nearly every comic-book fan has felt the pull of. There are steps, gradations, but they’re all rationalizations and symptoms that don’t lead to an understanding of why completism has such a firm hold on our souls. It’s common to all sorts of collecting, and when you cross collecting with serial literature … well, like I said: a hell of a drug, although not without its highs.

We live in a Golden Age for completists, a time when we can go out and buy trade paperbacks of storylines that would be too Godawful or tedious to collect issue by issue but are relatively painless to swallow in one gulp — as long as we hold our noses. For us Gen Xers, it’s truly wonderful, with Marvel releasing compilations of ‘90s stories that seemed too horrible to contemplate at the beginning of the decade; the House of Ideas has released the hell out of the Clone Saga and has kept the Onslaught “Saga” in print, so all that remains is for someone at Marvel to find the unmitigated gall (or suffer the crushing brain damage) to complete the trifecta of crap by releasing a collection of The Crossing.

*ahem* Anyway. X-Men: Onslaught: The Complete Epic, Book 3, is indisputably part of the Onslaught crossover, which is indisputably an X-Men story. Well, you could dispute that, since it did end v. 1 of Fantastic Four, Avengers, Thor, and Iron Man (the last issues of the latter three are collected here), but the number of ancillary X-titles is convincing. What is disputable is whether anyone should buy it.

Despite the reputation of the Onslaught crossover, I’m not saying this book is bad. No, far from it; there’s nothing of the offensive stench of, say, Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Classic, v. 1, or Captain America & the Falcon, v. 1: Two Americas. The skill involved in the individual issues is even better than Gambit Classic, although admittedly that’s setting the bar low.

Still, I’d advise reading any of those books before Onslaught, v. 3. Why? Because they are interesting in their awfulness. Nothing happens in the 248 pages of Onslaught, v. 3. Well, nothing happens except Onslaught loses Professor X as a prisoner and gains X-Man, which is more of a rearrangement of Scrabble tiles than a plot development. Oh, and Teen Tony Iron Man makes very ‘90s headpieces out of vibranium. But that’s really it, unless you like crowd control, attacks that achieve nothing but also lose nothing, illusory telepathic landscapes, and mutant mutant angst angst. And I suppose if you like catchphrases, Onslaught screams, “Behold my mighty hand!” several times, but as a catchphrase that ranks just below “Around the survivors a perimeter create.”

The blame for this doughnut hole of a collection has to be placed on the editors — four different editors, according to the title page: Mark Gruenwald (Iron Man and Avengers), Bobbie Chase (Hulk and Thor), Mark Powers (Cable), and Jaye Gardner (X-Man). Interestingly, Bob Harras — Marvel’s editor in chief and chief X-titles editor at the time — is listed in the credits of the remaining titles’ individual issues, but he isn’t credited on the title page. Which is a shame, because the buck has to stop with him, as both a book editor and editor in chief … I mean, who else can you blame for this an entire collection devoted to marking time, waiting for something or other — Iron Man and his party hats, I guess.

But much as I’m loathe to do it, maybe Gruenwald has to share some of the blame. While he has Terry Kavanagh and Joe Bennett actually contributing to the plot in Iron Man, Mark Waid and Mike Deodato are filling space in Avengers #402 — the last issue of Avengers, v. 1 — with a pointless fight. It’s bad enough the Avengers are going to bite it in an X-Men one-shot (fifteen-year-old spoilers!), but there’s nothing here that hints at the momentousness of the plot or the title’s history. This was when renumbering meant something! Marvel was licensing the Avenger titles to non-Marvel creators! There had to be a better way for the title to go out.

To be fair, Bill Messner-Loebs and Deodato do better with Thor. It’s cute they think there’s a purpose to continuing their subplots, like the Enchantress’s amnesia and captivity and Odin’s loss of his divinity and mind, and insisting Red Norvell is important. But there’s a sense of the title’s history included in the final issue. Thor runs into Jane Foster, Don Blake’s first love, and he remembers his history and an early adventure with his foster brother; the frogs from Thor’s days as the Frog of Thunder stop by. Messner-Loebs even has Hela, in a truly ridiculous Asgardian outfit, offer to make Thor her king if he wishes to avoid his death the following day. It gives the issue import and a sense of doom as it rolls into the inevitable, and I appreciate that. I think it could have been done better, by laying on the prophecy and references to Ragnarok, but the effort is there, and it’s more than we see in the other two dying Avengers titles.

I’m not going to single out any other individual writing or art, except to say that I have always disliked Angel Medina’s overly cartoony and grotesque work on Hulk There’s just too little to say about these issues; they fit together, I can see the skill there, but they’re not saying anything. Instead, I’m going to make two points that probably would be better in a footnote:

First, it would be a rarity to see all those high issue numbers in a trade paperback collecting comics from the last decade. Sure, Marvel’s big on reinstalling the old numbering, but Marvel switches to new #1s so often it’s uncommon to have many comics with their original numbering at the same time.
Secondly, there is some confusion on the Internet as to what is collected in Onslaught, v. 3. The Amazon listing includes Punisher (v. God knows what) #11, (Peter Parker:) Spider-Man #72, Fantastic Four #416, and Green Goblin #12; it leaves out the issues of X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Cable, X-Force, and Thor. Even the impressive Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators has it wrong; it makes the same mistake as the Amazon listing plus it adds Amazing Spider-Man #415.

In any event: This is one boring book. The plot goes nowhere. Art from Joe Madureira, Andy Kubert, and Deodato is not going to change that at all. I think you’d be better off jumping from the awful Onslaught, v. 1, to v. 4. You’re not going to miss anything important. But that’s not why people buy this book — they buy it because the drug that is completism has them in its claws.

In this case, though, completism is very much like a sleeping pill.

Rating: Zzz … (You can read that as either I was too bored by this book to rate it or that I graded it Triple-Z. Either one is fine by me.)

Omega the Unknown

2011-09-02T23:16:00.001-04:00

Collects: Omega the Unknown v. 2 #1-10 (2008)

Released: September 2008 (Marvel)

Format: 256 pages / color / $29.99 / ISBN: 9780785130529

What is this?: A remake of the ‘70s series, complete with the same mysterious robot-fighting alien, orphan boy raised by robots, and weird images.
The culprits: Writers Jonathan Lethem and Karl Rusnak and artist Farel Dalrymple

I have no idea what to make of Omega the Unknown. I really don’t.

The original Omega the Unknown from the ‘70s lasted for ten issues. The concept was co-created by Steve Gerber, and Gerber in the ‘70s was one of the more manic and impressive idea men comics had to offer. Really, when it came to creativity, Gerber picked up where Jack Kirby left off. Both men, when they were at their peak, were wildly inventive; unfortunately for Gerber, his ideas never caught on the way Kirby’s did.

Howard the Duck is of course Gerber’s most famous creation, but Omega is probably (a distant) second to Howard and his supporting cast. Omega is known for being a riddle, a series with a lot of intriguing mysteries and clues but no resolution; the story was completed by another writer in the pages of the Defenders, and man, I don’t know any more disappointing way for a story to fizzle out. In short, there was a mute alien who fought crime on earth while wearing an omega-shaped headband and firing blasts that left omega-shaped scars on his hands; he had some undefined connection to a young boy, also able to fire blasts from his hands, who had been homeschooled by his robot parents until they died while taking him to live in the city. Looking back on my review of the original series, Gerber and co-writer Mary Skrenes (and artist Jim Mooney) created a series that combined Gerber’s stark, bleak worldview with the Marvel Universe. Jonathan Lethem, writer of the newer Omega, says in an afterword that Gerber’s Omega was a “metatextual self-deconstruction of the super-hero genre,” a sort of precursor to Watchmen. Perhaps so, but the Marvel Universe intrusions shot the effect Gerber was aiming for to hell and gone.

In Lethem and co-writer Karl Rusnak’s Omega, the story begins much the same; Lethem admits to “slavishly” following some elements of the first issue, such as the scene with the young protagonist (renamed “Alex”) talking to the head of his robot mother after the car crash. In fact, other than substituting a corrupt, publicity-seeking “hero” called the Mink for the Marvel Universe trappings, the first three or so issues don’t significantly change Gerber and Skrenes’s story. When things start deviating from the 30-year-old tale, it’s to make Omega into a story about villainous nanotechnology vs. dysfunctional heroes. It’s hard to see how Omega and Alex are supposed to stop this robotic conspiracy, although of course they are successful. They just don’t seem to put in as much work on it as the villains do.

Omega distinguishes itself from its predecessor by its odd touches: the amputated hand that grows legs and becomes human sized, sneaking around the city; Omega’s gustatory predilection for birds, be they chickens or eagles; the Mink’s entire persona, corrupt and cowardly and vainglorious and amoral; Verth the Overthinker, a cut-rate Watcher. There are dozens of these ideas, and most of them deserve better than serving as ornaments for a rehash of an interesting but terrifically flawed Bronze Age series. They could have been intriguing parts of a new series. Instead, they’re bolted onto a remake that is part ‘70s Gerber, part 21st century Lethem. They’re both modernist takes on superheroics, but they’re miles apart on the details, and when the stories are put together like this, it’s like watching a half Ford Taurus, half Mercedes M class drive down the road. Both are popular cars, but no one wants a Forcedes Maurus.

The modern Omega is a better story because it is allowed to be its own story; it doesn’t have cameos by the Hulk or Electro, and it won’t be finished up years later in the Defenders by another writer. That said, what made the original Omega an interesting — and occasionally maddeningly fascinating — story was the newness and originality of the ideas. Remaking Omega to give coherence to the entire story is like unto remaking the TV series Lost just because you didn’t like the last two seasons. It’s not like the new Omega gives all the answers either: neither Alex’s robotic parents nor Omega’s power outages are ever explained, and Omega gives his origin in a wordless, crudely drawn comic that leaves considerable latitude for interpretation. The story is left open at the end as well; whereas the original Omegas, young and old, were killed in the Defenders, this story ends with them out of the conflict, while the nano-robots haven’t stopped. The struggle continues, with the heroes seemingly disinterested or unable to help humanity.

Art comes from Farel Dalrymple, whose style is more indy than Marvel or DC. Dalrymple eschews the slick look of modern comics (or even Silver or Bronze Age comics) art for a sketchy style that homes in on the necessary details. Despite the art’s lack of polish, Dalrymple is a better storyteller than most, and he does a better job with facial expressions than many artists who will be considered for Amazing Spider-Man or Superman. He shows some range, too: the crude comic Omega draws to show his own origin is a different style than the Silver-Agey Mink comic Omega is forced to read or the rest of the book.

Should you read this? I really don’t know. I think most comics readers should read an Omega story, and I feel bad recommending Gerber and Skrenes’s messy, discombobulated, all-mystery-and-no-resulution Omega to Lethem and Rusnak’s streamlined and coherent Omega. But creation is a messy process, and with all its flaws, the original is still a more remarkable accomplishment.

Rating: (2.5 of 5)

Essential Killraven, v. 1

2011-08-26T18:00:00.003-04:00

Collects: Amazing Adventures #18-39, Marvel Team-Up #45, Marvel Graphic Novel #7, and Killraven #1 (1973-6, 1983, 2001)

Released: July 2005 (Marvel)

Format: 504 pages / black and white / $16.99 / ISBN: 9780785117773

What is this?: A former gladiator and his companions fight against the Martians who have enslaved Earth.

The culprits: Writer Don McGregor and others and artists P. Craig Russell, Herb Trimpe, and others

The setup for Killraven is one of those sci-fi concepts Marvel came up with in the ‘70s that didn’t survive beyond the Bronze Age. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams, it has a simple hook: the Martians, after losing the original War of the Worlds, won the rematch in 2001 and subjugated humanity, and only an ex-gladiator named Killraven and his band of Freemen oppose them.

If you’ve ever seen Thundarr the Barbarian — and if you haven’t, I pity you — Essential Killraven, v. 1, might be a little familiar. Killraven fights the Martians (wizards for Thundarr) and lots of monsters. He visits American cities that, despite being ruins, have one distinguishing feature from the pre-war days. Humans have been shaped into weird forms and given superpowers. And then there are the aliens who eat babies …

Wait. That last one wasn’t on TV. And that’s where writer Don McGregor, who took over with Amazing Adventures #21, makes Killraven something other than a needless continuation of a sci-fi classic. His stories have babies eaten as delicacies, forced breeding, and humans tortured, warped, and killed for no real reason. Yes, the casualty rate for Killraven’s band of Freemen is absurdly low, but even they are touched by loss, and why are you complaining? This was a comic book meant for kids, and they’re talking about eating babies because they’re yummy.

The major flaw in Killraven is that the setup lends itself to a lot of repetition. The Freemen head to a new town, fight the weird menace, and then find themselves in a new place at the beginning of the next issue. McGregor does his best to play with that, especially at the end, when he has Freeman Old Skull tell the others his origin story (#37) or has the group run into a fairy-like creature named Mourning Prey in a butterfly-filled Florida swamp (#39), an issue that has the slight tinge of a fever dream about it. But he can’t disguise that repetition, and his comic-booky “man who lives for only one day and must mate” plot (#35) certainly gives that issue the feel of just another Marvel book, despite its trappings. (Bill Mantlo’s fill-in on #33 and his Marvel Team-Up Killraven story only compound the feeling.) Still, McGregor is good for some surprises; when Carmilla Frost joins the Freemen, for instance, it’s Killraven’s friend M’Shulla, not Killraven, who gets the girl.

Additionally, there’s something completely endearing about a comic in which the hero gets so lost that while heading to Yellowstone National Park to find his brother that he travels instead from Indianapolis to Michigan to Chicago to Tennessee to Georgia to Florida. Killraven has no sense of direction, and it appears his cohorts have no desire (or ability) to correct him. To be fair to Killraven, he can’t exactly ask the mutants, collaborators, monsters, and Martians directions on the way, and everyone else they meet is even more clueless than they are. Even more entertaining is that Yellowstone is obviously a trap, and the Martians get so impatient they move the trap to where Killraven is wandering (Cape Canaveral) and don’t bother to disguise it at all. The amusing cherry on top of it all is that Killraven doesn’t question meeting his brother thousands of miles from where each is supposed to be at all. “My brother’s supposed to be in Yellowstone and just runs into me in Florida? Sure, why not?”

That happens in Marvel Graphic Novel #7, and without that issue, this wouldn’t be half as good a book. Without the MGN, Killraven is a meandering story in which McGregor takes his heroes across the eastern U.S. Sure, that gets better as the book goes on, but the story just sort of peters out in Amazing Adventures #39 when the Freemen encounter Mourning Prey. But MGN #7 puts paid to the big motivation for the Freemen’s journey: finding Killraven’s brother. It doesn’t go very well for the characters, but it does end the plot, something that needed to be done.

The obvious way to end the series in MGN #7 would have been with Killraven and the Freemen fighting back against the Martians, leading a revolution. Unfortunately, while that might be a definitive ending, that sort of ending is rarely satisfying: not enough buildup, too many characters, too improbable a plot, or a hundred other problems. Instead, McGregor and artist P. Craig Russell give the readers one reveal, but they do so in a plot much like previous stories. Oh, their ally for the story is more developed and relatable than most of those in the Amazing Adventures run, but it tonally fits with the rest of the story. McGregor even develops Carmilla and M’Shulla’s relationship, as if he expected to write more stories Killraven. (According to McGregor in this interview with Richard Arndt, 50 or so pages of Killraven: Final Lies, Final Truths, Final Battles was written in the late ‘80s, but it was scuttled when Russell couldn’t get assurances it would be published in Marvel’s best format.)

And the art …

Much like Bill Sienkiewicz and Moon Knight, Russell’s art is the biggest selling point for Killraven, and the MGN is where Russell gets the opportunity to show off the most. It’s unfortunate that the size of the art had to be reduced for the Essential’s page dimensions, and for some reason the art isn’t reproduced in the pure black-and-white pencils and inks the rest of the book features. But even the slight muddying can’t hide Russell’s skill or maturation; he was excellent in issues #27-32 and 34-9, but in the years between Amazing Adventures and MGN #7, he’s become something else. The art is polished, fluid, and expressive. His figures all have a litheness about them — even some who shouldn’t, like Old Skull — but his monsters are bizarre, horrific, and most important alien.

Russell wasn’t the first artist on the title. Adams did the first half of the first issue and was followed by one and a half issue by Howard Chaykin; both do good, if brief, work, but we have Adams to blame for the horrible, horrible costume designs. (What the hell did they think the future would be like back then? This is one Essential I was glad had no color, fearing that a ‘70s palette on those ridiculous costumes would sear my eyes.) Although a mismatch of genres, Gene Colan did his usual atmospheric work on one issue (#26). Herb Trimpe (#20-4 and 33) and Rich Buckler (#25) round out the art duties, both doing solid work. Trimpe’s work is similar to the art he produced for the Hulk; Buckler’s work is interesting, more subtle and clear than the other artists.

The book concludes with the Killraven one-shot written and drawn by Joe Lindsor. To call it missable is an understatement of grand proportions; if I had paid for the single issue when it came out in 2001, I would have wanted my money back. There’s nothing in the issue for Killraven fans, except that it advances the timeline without incident by a half year or so. The actual plot, in which Killraven counsels a hippy chick who woke from a cryogenic tube and then promptly wants to go back to sleep when she sees what a hellhole 2020 is, is so light I was afraid it might blow off the page. It was included to fill out the page count, I imagine, but 20 blank pages might have been a better choice.

Essential Killraven is often silly (it is a product of the ‘70s), frequently repetitive, and occasionally stupid (as when McGregor tries to convince us “mud brother” is a term of endearment that Killraven has given M’Shulla instead of the racial slur it so obviously seems to be). But Killraven is worth a glance for some of the details and the P. Craig Russell art.

Rating: (3 of 5)

Spider-Man: The Clone Saga Epic, Book 2

2011-08-19T15:14:00.003-04:00

Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #395-9, Spectacular Spider-Man #218-21, Spider-Man #54-6, Web of Spider-Man #120-2, Spider-Man: Funeral for an Octopus #1-3, Spider-Man Unlimited #8 (1994-5)

Released: May 2010 (Marvel)

Format: 480 pages / color / $34.99 / ISBN: 9780785143512

What is this?: The Clone Saga’s second installment, in which the story of a Spider-Boy and his clone begins to ramp up.

The culprits: Writers J.M. DeMatteis, Tom DeFalco, Howard Mackie, Tom Brevoort, Todd DeZago, and others and artists Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, Tom Lyle, Steven Butler, Stewart Johnson, and others

When I reviewed Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic, Book 1, I found it occasionally dull but not as dire as the Clone Saga’s reputation would have me believe. Evidently, this is the kind of evaluation that gets me to pick up subsequent volumes of a series.

So … Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic, Book 2. We all know the Clone Saga gets bad, eventually … but when? It’s not in Book 2, which is a surprisingly fun read.

Yes, I said “fun.” It’s not a classic, and if you were looking for a Spider-Man story, there are a couple dozen others I would recommend first. But I can’t deny I found the book interesting and sometimes exciting, despite the plot being spoiled long ago.

In Book 2, you can almost see the writers ticking off the boxes as they complete the tasks editors set for them. Wrap up unresolved plots, with Mary Jane and her family and Peter finally defeating his stubborn case of asshattery. Establish Kaine as a bad mamajamma, even if they have to kill some established villains to do so. Show that Peter and Ben Reilly, his clone, can exist in the same storytelling universe with unique roles. Prepare readers that this time, yes, May might actually die. Most importantly, start to lay groundwork for new plots, such as the proliferation and identity of clones and Mary Jane’s medical condition. And yeah, if you can get across a new, non-clone villain like Stunner, good on you.

And the writers — J.M. DeMatteis for Amazing, Tom DeFalco (with some help from Todd DeZago) on Spectacular, Howard Mackie for Spider-Man, and Terry Kavanagh, DeMatteis, and DeZago on Web — do just that. The stories aren’t perfect, but they hit the important points of the overall plot without boring readers too much. And even if some plots drag on too long — Peter trying to beat the Vulture’s poison, DeMatteis trying to end Peter’s idiotic “The Spider” personality by drowning the page in captions — it’s important to remember how collaborative the issues in this book are. Book 2 has 19 issues, and all but four — Spider-Man Unlimited and Funeral for an Octopus #1-3 — are linked in four crossovers (“Web of Death,” “Web of Life,” “Smoke and Mirrors,” and “Back from the Edge”). Think about it: this represents about a quarter of a year’s issues for some titles, and none of their writers get to complete a story without sending it through another writer first. It’s a miracle anyone was able to complete a decent story at all. Spider-title editor Danny Fingeroth deserves a lot of credit for keeping things under control.

The stories get better as the farther the book gets from “The Spider” and DeMatteis’s deconstruction of Peter’s mind at the time (it’s a plot that seems tailor-made for DeMatteis, except that it’s not very good). Peter gets poisoned, which touches off all sorts of wacky hijinks: teaming up with the “new” Daredevil, going to Heaven, having Dr. Octopus aid him. I’m not sure the latter was a good development — Otto’s reasoning is a little clichéd — but at least it’s a different take on the character, one that couldn’t be done now.

My favorite story was Funeral for an Octopus, a miniseries that hearkens back to the Fingeroth-written Deadly Foes of Spider-Man and Lethal Foes of Spider-Man minis from the early ‘90s. Those comics concentrated on Spidey vs. a large number of foes, each of whom had his own motivations for taking part; Funeral, written by Tom Brevoort, has a similar plot. Yes, it’s used to get across how tough the mysterious (and horribly costumed) Kaine is, but on the other hand, one of the Sinister Six does outwit the thug, so that’s something. Plus, at this stage, I don’t mind Kaine getting a push as long as the body count doesn’t get too ridiculous; in Book 2, the death toll is confined to a throwaway villain who really never got started and a major villain (no extra points for guessing who).

The final crossover, though, shows some of the cracks that would eventually cause the whole “epic saga” to crumble. In “Smoke and Mirrors,” Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider fight the Jackal, who has been resurrected via cloning. The Jackal is served by two of Peter’s altered clones, who strangely look nothing like Peter. For the second and third issues of the three-part crossover, all the Jackal does is hint and lie and tell the two Spiders that each is a clone — or maybe the other is a clone? neither? — while Scrier and Kaine watch. (Somehow, I don’t think Spider-baiting is a spectator sport that will ever catch on, regardless of the crowd it drew this time.) The Jackal does show them what happens to clones in the end (they degenerate into dust quickly), and he puts on a Goth leather trench coat with enough chains to satisfy Ghost Rider, but three issues is a little too much for this. Given that the Clone Saga’s mind-numbing number of clones and the claim that Peter was the clone were major reasons fans soured on this storyline, the Jackal’s wild claims and the hint that there is another clone in the offing (and the presence of Scrier) have to be considered major missteps.

Since Book 2 collects five different Spider-titles, you can take your pick on what flavor of artist you like. Mark Bagley, who drew Amazing at the time, is probably the best-known today; his lithe, athletic Spider-Man is outstanding, although his women tend to be overendowed (staying just short of cheesecake) and his facial expressions uniform. Sal Buscema, the regular artist for Spectacular, is my favorite, but this isn’t his best work; it’s near the end of his career, and his art lacks the tightness it once had (especially when inked by Bill Sienkiewicz). His Kaine looks especially stupid as well, although that’s partially because Kaine’s costume is stupid to begin with. Tom Lyle, the regular Spider-Man artist, is excellent: he’s the best in Book 2 at conveying emotion (and faces in general), although his action shots aren’t as lively as Bagley’s. Stephen Butler (Web) and Stewart Johnson (Funeral) do similarly good work without much of the ‘90s excesses.

I enjoyed Book 2 quite a bit. I mean that statement without qualifications or temporization. That being said, I think this book is probably the high point for the “epic saga.”

Rating: (3.5 of 5)

Chronicles of King Conan, v. 1: The Witch of the Mists and Other Stories

2011-08-05T08:58:00.002-04:00

Collects: King Conan #1-5 (1980-1)

Released: August 2010 (Dark Horse)

Format: 192 pages / color / $18.99 / ISBN: 9781593074777

What is this?: Conan the barbarian is now the older Conan the king.

The culprits: Writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema

As we grow older, we learn things about ourselves. That we have an unexpected talent for cooking, perhaps, or that we’re never going to make it as a major-league shortstop, or if nothing else, that our abilities peak at some point during our youth, and only hard work will keep them from deteriorating in an alarming fashion. It’s a hard lesson to learn but a necessary one as we make the transition from youth to maturity.

In The Chronicles of King Conan, v. 1: The Witch of the Mists and Other Stories, however, writer Roy Thomas informs us that Conan never has to learn that lesson. He will always be at the top of his game, and he never truly reaches that mental maturity. Readers have been following Conan for 80 years — about 50 by the time the issues collected in King Conan came out — and in that time, the barbarian hero has changed little. You might expect that becoming king, with the responsibilities that entails, would change mighty Conan.

You would be wrong. Conan the King is the exact same character as Conan the Barbarian. True, Conan has an army behind him, and he has a son, but it has remarkably little effect on his behavior. And Thomas should know; forty years after Conan the Barbarian #1, v. 1, and Thomas is still the definitive Conan comic book writer.

King Conan begins with Conan’s son, Prince Conn, being kidnapped by a Hyperborean witch; King Conan decides to rescue his son alone. Fine; I understand that. But after the rescue and a battle in Zingara, Conan decides to take the fight and his army to Stygia, where Thoth-Amon, the architect of the kidnapping and unrest in Zingara, is hiding. That makes a modicum of sense, although Conan has always shown that a lone hero is better than an army when it comes to defeating wizards and monsters.

But Conan goes himself, and he takes along his heir, Conn. This, of course, is idiotic, as a non-dynastic king like Conan should return home to find his throne occupied and his wife (at best) exiled. Instead, Conan follows Thoth-Amon to the ends of the earth, heading farther and farther from his kingdom, each mile being one more he’ll have to travel on the way back. This is the way of the American action hero, I realize, to take care of such things by himself, but it’s not one of that archetype’s more endearing attributes. There is no cunning to this Conan, and less intelligence. He has no real plan, blundering farther and farther south and endangering his son and his men. I think the idea is that Conan is a pre-historic Alexander, putting the world under his boot, but there’s nothing to support that idea other than Conan’s continuing but illogical success and an inexhaustible supply of willing soldiers.

Conan, as a king, should be confronted with different problems than when he was an adventurer. But there’s no statecraft here or even large-scale battles, no intrigues or imperial entanglements. For some reason, no one engages his army or presents any challenge to them other than their intended adversaries; the countries he invades to fight these wizards don’t protest at all. Why should they? It’s Conan! There are a surfeit of wizards to kill, strange places to visit, usurpers to depose, and monsters to fight — just like before. Such a static world for a character like Conan.

Part of the problem is Thomas’s mania for adapting stories. Issues #1-4 are adapted from stories by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter: “The Witch of the Mists,” “The Black Sphinx of Nebthu,” “Red Moon of Zembabwei,” and “Shadows in the Skull,” which were originally published in the ‘70s and collected in Conan of Aquilonia. Issue #5 starts retelling 1957’s Conan the Avenger, by Björn Nyberg and de Camp, in flashback. It seems odd that Thomas would let other authors choose his opening arc, especially an arc so problematic as those in Conan the Aquilonia. That’s not to say Thomas slavishly followed the original stories or that adapting stories is a bad idea; for instance, Thomas’s creation of Red Sonja was a result of adapting a non-Conan story by Robert E. Howard, “The Shadow of the Vulture.” And I understand that those four stories had the setup that Thomas wanted to start with. But I think using those stories at a later point would have been a better idea.

There are two redeeming points to King Conan. One is the book shows the maturation of Conn. His father is an impossible role model to live up to, but he tries anyway. He kills his first man in this book, and he gets a glimpse of true evil in Thoth-Amon. If Conan had sent Conn on a military campaign while Conan stayed at home, to get the boy some seasoning, this might have been a fascinating story, although it would have made it into Conan: The Next Generation. (Not that I would have minded.) The idea of telling the story of this prince maturing into a man is a good one; it’s just not what the book is about.

The second highlight is John Buscema’s art. Thomas is Conan’s definitive writer, and Buscema is one of the two most celebrated Conan artists. His Conan is much the same as it was in Conan the Barbarian — he has crow’s feet, and his hair is grayer, but he’s still strong as ever. His Conn is more realistic, strong for a teenager but obviously not Conan. Since the material is much the same as Conan the Barbarian, he gets to draw monsters and wizards and … well, not many scantily clad women, but there are some. Fans of Buscema’s Conan work will likely not be disappointed.

But they won’t be surprised, either. And that’s the problem with King Conan. Despite the change in premise, there is little to discover that you can’t find in Dark Horse’s Chronicles of Conan series.

Rating: (1.5 of 5)

Tradepaperbacking in the '90s

2011-08-02T14:50:00.001-04:00

Re-reading Deadpool #26 (March 1999), I noticed a footnote by editor Matt Idelson referring to the previous arc: “A somewhat condensed retelling of issues 23-25, to be trade paperbacked in ten years.”

Which wasn’t quite true. It took almost twelve years before Deadpool Classic, v. 4 reprinted those issues. I wonder what the delay was?

Will Supervillains Be on the Final?

2011-07-29T14:26:00.002-04:00

Collects: OGN

Released: April 2011 (Del Rey)

Format: 192 pages / black and white / $10.99 / ISBN: 9780345516565

What is this?: Teenage girl goes to high school for superheroes, feeling outclassed, while machinations go on in the background.

The culprits: Writer Naomi Novik and artist Yishan Li

I usually don’t review original graphic novels — not out of any prejudice but because so few of them are released by Marvel and DC. I don’t generally review books published by companies other than Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, or Image. And I almost never read manga, whether translated from the Japanese or originally in the English language.

So Will Supervillains Be on the Final? is an unusual choice for me. If I hadn't received a free copy from Suvudu,⁵⁹ I wouldn’t have read the book. Oh, I’d heard of it, and I was slightly intrigued at the concept — new student in a superhero school — but my stylistic preferences (read: no manga, please) and being a bit of a Marvel zombie meant I wasn’t going to make the effort to read it. But then again, free book. So here we are.

This original English language manga is written by Naomi Novik, the author behind the popular Temeraire books. I haven’t read any of that series, so I had no prejudices toward Novik coming into this — except for the usual fear of prose writers being unable to adapt to the graphic format. But that’s not a problem here. Novik has no trouble with the pacing for this book, the first in the Liberty Vocational series, and the dialogue and action feel as natural as if Novik had been in comics for a while. (Well, most of the dialogue; there are times when a lack of contractions makes the dialogue seem like it has been translated.)

Supervillains follows Leah Taymore, a girl who has just enrolled at a very young age in Liberty Vocational, a school for superheroes-in-training. Although quite powerful, she doesn’t have fine control of her matter transmutation powers, nor does she have the judgment to use them properly. Of course, this gets her into trouble, and it doesn’t help that someone is actively trying to get her to use her powers rashly. This being a book set in a high school, there are the requisite crushes, pining, and embarrassing emotional moments. Standard stuff, really; some of the humiliation Leah undergoes is imaginative, although the first incident hinges on circumstances that could easily have been unwittingly avoided.

There are other characters — the best friend, the crush, the strict teacher / principle / headmaster, etc. — that you’re going to find in any high school story, graphic or not, American or English or Japanese or, for all I know, Samoan or Malagasy. But the characters that stand out are Alexander Bane, a supervillain who is teaching at Liberty under the name Alexander Locke,⁶⁰ and his secret son, Jeremy. In his backstory, Bane wasn’t very successful as a typical confrontational supervillain, but at Liberty, he’s excellent. With the help of his son, he engineers catastrophes, and on his own, he masterfully manipulates the emotions of his former archenemy (now Liberty councilor), Calvin Washington, and asks the headmaster on a date. He’s smooth, cheerful, and clearly up to something “for the greater good” — and he’s not averse to putting hundreds or thousands of people in harm’s way while doing it. Jeremy, as a typical teenager, is of course less than enthusiastic about some of the things he’s doing, but he’s effective at it.

(Paul, Leah’s romantic interest, has an interesting power, which seems to be producing completely mundane objects that are exactly what is needed for a certain situation: a ladder to get a cat out of a tree, plumber’s compound to stop a leak, a rowboat in a flood, etc. I’m not sure I’ve seen this power before, so I’m impressed by its inclusion. It’s a power I would want to have in real life, and how useful it is in superheroics would be interesting to see.)

Yuzana, Leah’s best friend, is an empath, and that power gives Novik (or the characters) all sort of problems. An empath reads the emotions of others but isn’t a telepath, which Yuzana helpfully exposits; however, Yuzana is accused of eavesdropping when she uses her powers casually (like a telepath is), and there are times when it seems she’s picking up on thoughts rather than emotions. Either Yuzana is extremely good at linking emotions to specific thoughts, or Novik isn’t quite getting across what empathy does in the world of Liberty Vocational.

The art is by Yishan Li. I really don’t have much to say about her art style, other than it is obviously in a manga style, complete with the frequent exaggerated, cartoony emotional moments that go with the style. Her line is a bit heavier than most manga I have seen, and I appreciate that; however, I don’t really like manga art, especially since my brain seems inadequate in picking up details that its occasionally minimal style is supposed to convey. For instance, the only difference I could see between Paul and Jeremy was their hair color, which isn’t always evident. On the other hand, I really liked the few scenes with Calvin Washington, whose dreadlock style somehow worked well.

But that’s just my preference; de gustibus non est disputandum, after all, and it does tell the story. More worrying, however, is the copyright to the art. The indicia attributes the art to Li but assigns the copyright for the art to “Temeraire LLC.” If you were paying attention, you remember that that was the name of Novik’s best-known series, and it’s improbable that Li has any ownership stake in Temeraire LLC. This makes Li’s work, most likely, work for hire. I don’t really blink about Marvel or DC owning almost all of what they publish because, well, it’s always been that way, and in a gigantic shared universe spanning more than half a century, it’s the easiest way to sort things out legally. But one creative type shafting another out of ownership … that doesn’t sit right with me.

There’s nothing offensive or egregiously wrong with Will Supervillains Be on the Final? Unfortunately, the compelling bits are a little thin as well. Alexander Bane is the one reason I would keep reading this series, and I don’t think that’s enough to get me to come back.

Unless someone wants to send me another free copy. Suvudu? Del Rey? Anyone?

Rating: (3 of 5)

Essential Silver Surfer, v. 2

2011-07-22T15:02:00.004-04:00

Collects: Silver Surfer (v. 2) # 1 and (v. 3) #1-18, Silver Surfer Annual #1, Epic Illustrated #1, and Marvel Fanfare #51 (1980, 1982, 1987-8, 1990)

Released: June 2007 (Marvel)

Format: 600 pages / black and white / $16.99 / ISBN: 9780785127000

What is this?: The Silver Surfer slips the surly bonds of earth and gets involved in interstellar war.

The culprits: Writers Stan Lee and Steve Englehart and artists Marshall Rogers, Joe Staton, Ron Lim, and others

I’m not a fan of the Silver Surfer. It’s not that I dislike the character, it’s just that I have the same problem with him that many people have with Superman: he’s dull, nigh indestructible (without raising the stakes ridiculously high), and a bit too much of a goody two-shoes.⁵⁸

So why did I buy Essential Silver Surfer, v. 2? Mostly because I picked it up for $3 or $4. But also partially because it was an unusual choice to be made into an Essential in the first place. It’s not a legendary run. The issues included aren’t from the Silver Age, nor are they some Bronze Age genre mashup or weirdness. It isn’t yet another volume of a title that started in the Silver Age. It doesn’t feature a female lead. And it doesn’t star mutants, which accounts for most of the more modern series. There just aren’t that many Essentials that don’t meet those standards: Punisher, Moon Knight, Nova … Power Man, if you don’t consider Blaxploitation a genre, plus the reference books.

Is Silver Surfer something different, though? The Surfer is a Silver Age construct, and arguably by the mid-‘80s, he was the least changed from his Silver Age roots of any of Marvel’s major characters, given his inflexible personality and his status as the near-exclusive domain of Stan Lee.

Stan is the writer for the first two stories in this book. The first, a rather forgettable short from Epic Illustrated #1, has the Surfer confronting the concept that there are some answers beyond himself and his master, Galactus. The second, a 1982 one-shot drawn by John Byrne, pits the Silver Surfer against his incongruous archenemy, Mephisto — because what’s a more appropriate opposite for a cosmic-powered servitor of a planet predator than the Devil? It advances the Surfer’s story somewhat, but in the end, Lee puts all the pieces back where they started.

And then Steve Englehart takes over for the ongoing series, and everything changes. The Surfer is freed of Earth in a way that reads like Englehart wanted it done as quickly as possible so he and Marshall Rogers could go on to the space stuff. Then Shalla-Bal and Zenn-La are dealt with, zip zoom. Suddenly, Silver Surfer becomes Marvel’s first cosmic title in a long time, dealing with the Kree, the Skrulls, Galactus and his herald Nova, and the Elders of the Universe.

Once the book stops being about the Silver Surfer, it gets a lot more interesting. Or, I suppose I should say, it gets more interesting when the book stops being solely about the Silver Surfer and concentrates on the opportunities outer space gives the book. There is a large part of the Marvel Universe that can be settings for interesting stories, and whether that’s San Francisco, Sydney, or Kree-Lar, any book that can take advantage of those creative vacuums is worth supporting.

Englehart picks up several loose threads and characters, from the disintegration of the Skrull Empire and the loss of the Skrulls’ shapeshifting powers to what the various Elders of the Universe, Celestial Madonnas, and Soul Gems are up to. The machinations of the Kree and Skrulls in the new Kree-Skrull war are interesting, and the war is allowed to escalate in background scenes that are nice cutaways from the main plot. The Elders of the Universe’s plan to kill Galactus is what drives most of the book, and while I can’t say I’m greatly interested in the Elders, I can’t deny they are a great set of adversaries for the Silver Surfer and are an interesting part of the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. (Such high-power characters do lead to a lot of “not really dead” moments, but that’s comics, I suppose.)

As for the Silver Surfer, he becomes a completely different person once Shalla-Bal is written out of his love life. In his previous quarter century, he had shown little desire for romantic attachments, but in the space of a few issues, he manages to pick up two “loves”: Mantis and Nova (Galactus’s herald, not Richard Ryder). It seems so alien for him to be portrayed as amorous — I suppose it’s Englehart trying to grow the character from the spotless, emotionless paragon he previously was, but the change is a little swift. The Surfer seems surprisingly weak, as well; he’s captured and helpless three times, and none of those captors are beings who should have the power to capture him. (I mean, Cap’n Reptyl? Honestly.)

The final issue in Essential Silver Surfer, v. 2, Marvel Fanfare #51, is not in continuity; it’s the original #1 for Silver Surfer v. 3, with beautiful art from v. 1 artist John Buscema. It’s an interesting look at what Englehart originally had planned for the character; the escape from Earth in Silver Surfer v. 3 #1 seems even more last-minute than I expected, and the interaction with Mantis makes more sense after we see Englehart’s original plans.

Art from this book comes mainly from Marshall Rogers, who drew #1-10 and #12. I’m more familiar with his art from his run on Detective Comics in the ‘70s, so it’s a little jarring seeing Rogers’ work here. (He collaborated with Englehart on that run as well.) His Surfer is more rounded and streamlined than most artists’, reminding me of Kevin Maguire’s Surfer in Defenders: Indefensible. I’m also not a fan of his design of some of the lesser-known Elders — there’s little distinctive about the Runner, and the Obliterator looks more mentally handicapped than murderous or alien. There are also a few storytelling lapses where it’s difficult to distinguish what’s happening. On the other hand, Rogers does have a flair for Marvel’s more established aliens — his Celestials are imposing, if not quite Kirby-esque (the same goes for some of the huge alien machines), and I like his Skrulls, as Rogers is able to both vary the Skrull template and show emotion on Skrull faces.

Joe Staton does a few issues as well, excelling when the action is on Cap’n Reptyl’s ship: Reptyl is intimidating, and the background aliens in his crew are suitably alien. Ron Lim, in some of his first Marvel work, drew #15-8; it looks like Ron Lim work — especially the Elder called the Possessor, who seems the most Lim character in the book, even before Lim starts drawing him — and you probably already know how you feel about Lim’s art.

I didn’t especially expect to enjoy Essential Silver Surfer, v. 2, but I was pleasantly surprised. If you’ve ever been interested in what was happening in outer space beyond those ‘80s Fantastic Four and Avengers stories you’ve probably read, then you really should read this book.

Rating: (3 of 5)

DC August 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-06-01T18:32:00.001-04:00

Just as DC announces none of this matters and everything will start all over again in September, here are DC’s books for August 2011:

Will buy:

Nothing again. Sorry, DC!

Might buy eventually:

Birds of Prey: The Death of Oracle

Birds of Prey

Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland (hardcover): I’ve picked up the first … 15? volumes in trade paperback. I can wait for the trade again. I’m a patient person. ($22.99)

Might buy if the price is right:

Legends of the Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers

Detective Comics

Legends of the Dark Knight

Batman: Dark Detective

Already have or read:

100 Bullets, Book One

100 Bullets

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Omnibus (hardcover): $50 for the first to League minis? No, thank you. Unless you have a hardcover fetish, you’d be much better off with the two trades, especially since the trade doesn’t mention any special features. A couple of Jess Nevins essays might help make this more worthwhile. ($49.99)

The Rest:

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham

Batman: Eye of the Beholder (hardcover; $22.99)
Batman: The Widening Gyre: Diehard Kevin Smith fans only. Sorry. ($17.99)
Cuba: My Revolution: That’s a weird way to look at a Communist revolution. I mean, surely one’s personal development, like the tractor and the land, belongs to everyone in a Communist society? ($17.99)
A God Somewhere: This doesn’t appear to be a Vertigo title, despite a premise (man who gets powers in a normal, non-powered world) that would seem to fit under that imprint. ($17.99) Greek Street, v. 3: Medea’s Luck: If it weren’t for Medea’s luck, I’d have no luck at all: gloom, despair, and agony on me. ($14.99)
Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War ($29.99)
How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less ($19.99)
iZombie, v. 2: uVampire: OK, enough with this Apple knockoff naming. It has ceased to be funny. ($14.99)
JLA, v. 1: What do you mean Grant Morrison’s JLA isn’t already out in trade paperback? I thought everything the man had done at DC had been reprinted. That being said, I’m not quite a big enough fan of JLA or Morrison to pick this one up. ($19.99)
Justice League of America: Team History: This reprints issues from Blackest Night? How long ago was that? More than a year, almost a year and a half. Anyone who waits that long for a James Robinson JLA story either has some weird priorities or really likes Mark Bagley art. ($17.99)
Justice League: Generation Lost, v. 2 (hardcover; $39.99)
Justice Society of America: Super Town ($14.99)
The New York Five: “Collecting the four-issue miniseries the [sic] exposes the underbelly of college life in the Big Apple!” Nice advertising — if you wanted it to sound like a pulp sex novel from the ‘50s and ‘60s. ($14.99)
Night Force (hardcover): An intriguing idea — a collection of an obscure early 1980s horror comic by the creators behind Tomb of Dracula — but it’s so obscure I can’t imagine wanting it, and the price is certainly more than enough to put me off. (Even for 14 issues in hardcover.) I’ll probably give it another thought when the trade comes around, if it comes around. ($39.99) Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 6 (hardcover; $24.99)
Showcase Presents: All-Star Comics, v. 1: This is the JSA, for those of you who can’t immediately twig to the significance of “All-Star Comics.” (That category includes me.) Always nice to see DC reprint different stuff, but the JSA has never been that interesting to me. ($19.99)
Superman / Batman: Sorcerer Kings (hardcover): Because, sooner or later, there has to be a story about Batman using magic in Superman / Batman. ($22.99)
The Flash: The Road To Flashpoint (hardcover): “This hardcover collection of THE FLASH #8-12 leads up to FLASHPOINT, the biggest comic-book event for summer 2011!” In other words: By the time this comes out, Flashpoint will be over. ($22.99)
Titans: Family Reunion ($14.99)
Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales, v. 2: Of all the ABC titles, I think Tom Strong was the one I had the least interest in. ($17.99)

Essential Sub-Mariner, v. 1

2011-05-31T15:22:00.003-04:00

Collects: Tales to Astonish (Namor stories only) #70-101, Daredevil #7, Tales of Suspense #80, Iron Man & Sub-Mariner (Namor story only) #1, and Sub-Mariner #1 (1965-8)

Released: September 2009 (Marvel)

Format: 504 pages / black and white / $19.99 / ISBN: 9780785130758

What is this?: Prince Namor deals with love and challenges to his oft-neglected throne. Imperious Rex!

The culprits: Writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and others and artists Gene Colan, Bill Everett, and others

I picked up Essential Sub-Mariner, v. 1 because I had a big old Namor-shaped hole in the middle of the heart of my Silver Age library, and I was excited to fill it. Turns out, I would have been better off having open-Silver Age surgery.

Namor the Sub-Mariner, prince of Atlantis, is not a Silver Age creation of Stan Lee and his talented group of co-creators; Namor was created in the Golden Age, back in 1939 by Bill Everett. Lee, never one to let a good idea go fallow, picked up Namor in Fantastic Four #4 (not reprinted here) and plopped him into the new Marvel Universe as a major player, giving him his own kingdom (Atlantis) and an unrequited romance with Sue Storm. Both Namor’s desires to conquer the surface world and / or bed Sue Storm were both pushed to the side after a few years, about the time Namor got his own feature in Tales to Astonish.

What Essential Sub-Mariner collects is the Namor stories from Tales to Astonish; the title had formerly been an anthology series and had been converted, like Strange Tales and Tales of Suspense, into superhero comics featuring two different heroes in their own tales. Namor shared Astonish with another headstrong brute, the Hulk, but the two never met in the title they cohabited. If they had, they would have made Tales to Astonish the most redundant title of redundancy.

Hulk and Namor are surprisingly similar characters. Namor might not be a green, gamma-irradiated brute, but he is a hot-headed thug whose answer to most problems of statecraft is to punch something. This is not a problem — Sir Punch-a-Lot is a character note that a lot of superheroes have carried off gracefully — but it doesn’t do a lot of favors to the character either, since it doesn’t set him apart from the pack.

What is interesting and unique about Namor? The Atlantean setting is the only unique part of Namor stories, although he shares the weight-of-leadership character note with Black Panther. To me, the latter is the more interesting, as “Atlantean” is generally portrayed as “fighting sharks and submarine monsters,” and Namor also has the burden of being a half-blood prince. He is half human, half Atlantean, and it would be understandable if many of his subjects found a prince of “impure” blood unacceptable.

But that’s not goes on Sub-Mariner; instead, Namor is nominally the ruler of Atlantis, while he spends almost as much time on dry land as he does in Atlantis. He is overthrown by Warlord Krang and Byrrah; he is challenged by the barbarian leader Attuma. He turns into a tyrant on one of the occasions he is returned to the throne. Does he have to politick? Do the people have any say about who rules them? (Well, they do when Byrrah takes over, and Namor’s lack of empathy with his people is brought out.) But mostly Atlantis is a waterlogged Banana Republic, with revolutions and counter-revolutions happening almost daily. It’s almost enough to make one’s head spin.

One gets the feeling that Lee is plotting by the seat of his pants and not doing as well as he usually did. The twelve-page stories don’t help, but the stories switch between multi-part stories (as in Namor’s pursuit of Krang and his estranged love, Dorma) and throwaway stories — insults from the surface world, another challenger for his kingdom, etc. Without a prolonged emphasis on what makes Namor different, it all runs together. Roy Thomas’s attempt to build some interest in Namor by exploring his origin, which serves as a cliffhanger for the book, isn’t enough to to hook me. (So to speak.)

The art is an interesting mix, although none of them get across the underwater element of Atlantis very well. Bill Everett, who created Namor in the Golden Age, drew several issues, and his art, although updated, resembles comics from World War II more than those of his younger colleagues. An issue or two from Jack Kirby, king of the Silver Age (and, to some, all comics), shows a contemporary look for the prince of Atlantis. About half the issues are drawn by Gene Colan, though, and that’s a welcome sight. Colan isn’t the artist he would be later in his career when he drew Daredevil and Tomb of Dracula with such a shadowy flair, but he’s very good, and and his work here is a harbinger of the Bronze Age to come. Whether it’s right for Namor is another question, but by the end of Essential Sub-Mariner, it’s certainly very pretty to look at.

The timing of the Essential Sub-Mariner’s release is almost assuredly a sign it is regarded by Marvel as a book for completists. While the almost all the other prominent Silver Age titles (with the exception of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD and Howling Commandos have at least one volume out and usually many more, Namor is bringing up the rear — trailing behind the Human Torch and Ant-Man, for Heaven’s sake. The forgettable contents of Essential Sub-Mariner do nothing to dispel that impression.

Rating: (1.5 of 5)

Marvel August 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-05-26T17:15:00.000-04:00

Sorry this is up a little late — I was serving my time in Canada earlier this month, and I’m just now getting caught up. Here are Marvel’s books for August 2011:

Will buy:

Shock of shocks — I’m not definitely going to buy any Marvel books in August. Is this my failing, or is something wrong with the House of Ideas? You decide!

Might buy eventually:

Avengers Academy: Arcade: Death Game: The first TPB isn’t out yet; that will determine whether I pick up this second book. On the other hand, this is an odd collection: an issue of Marvel Team-Up from the late ‘70s, a Spider-Man from the early ‘90s, and Avengers Academy Giant-Size #1. Actually, this looks more like an Arcade collection than Avengers Academy. ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785156307)
Spider-Girl: Family Values: On one hand, the early issues got good reviews. On the other hand, this is Anya Corazon, who starred in the badly received Arana. Ah, well, at least it’s complete in one volume. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785146940)

Might buy if the price is right:

FF by Jonathan Hickman, v. 1 (hardcover): This isn’t the first time the team has lost one of the founding members to death, but it is the first time they’ve changed the team name and costumes because of it. So that’s something, I guess. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785151449)
Green Goblin: A Lighter Shade of Green: I am interested in this title; I heard good things about Green Goblin back in the ‘90s when it originally came out. Am I $40 interested? Hell, no, I am not. I can get the original issues for less than half that and then have them bound together in hardcover. ($39.99; ISBN: 9780785157571)

Masterworks:

Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age All-Winners, v. 4 (hardcover): They were golden, and they were all winners. Even the Silver Loser. ($64.99; ISBN: 9780785133599)
Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four, v. 13 (hardcover): I had no idea the Masterworks were so far into the post-Lee / Kirby era of Fantastic Four; this reprints #129141, which I don’t remember as very good despite John Buscema’s work. ($59.99; ISBN: 9780785150404)
Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner, v. 1: I just read the Essential, and I don’t think color’s going to help this one. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785150688)

Already have or read:

Essential Web of Spider-Man, v. 1: An interesting choice for an Essential — the third-tier Spider-title — but we all knew we’d get here sooner or later. It is curious Web begins before the title it replaced, Marvel Team-Up, is finished. It would be like the Essential Thing coming out before Essential Marvel Two-in-One finished. Ha, I kid! Marvel Two-in-One is never going to finish. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785157564)
Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus, v. 1 (hardcover): Always worth reading. ($125; ISBN: 9780785158240)
Fantastic Four by Mark Waid & Mike Wieringo Ultimate Collection, Book 2: Have it on the GIT Corp. DVD-Rom, which I heartily recommend. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785156581)
Hulk Visionaries: Peter David, v. 8: Volume 8 gets us about halfway through David’s run. I don’t know what is more astonishing: that it will take at least 16 volumes to get through the entirety of Hulk Visionaries: Peter David or that we might actually get all those volumes. ($29.99; ISBN: 9780785156031)
New X-Men by Grant Morrison, Book 4 ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785155324)
X-Force: Assault on Graymalkin (hardcover): Not really a run of X-Force I would choose to collect, but, you know, whatever. It does have the benefit of coming during X-Force’s first non-Cable period. As a side note, this contains the first non-crossover X-Force issues that I ever read. ($29.99; ISBN: 9780785158998)
X-Statix Omnibus (hardcover): Peter Milligan and Mike Allred’s classic work, in one gigantic volume. The same price as the John Byrne Omnibus, but it has 116 more pages. (Total: 1,200 pages.) Bonus! ($125; ISBN: 9780785158448)

Licensed books:

Formic Wars: Burning Earth (hardcover): Burn, Earth, burn! ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785136095)
Marvelman Classic, v. 3 (hardcover): No, this isn’t the Moore / Davis / Gaiman stuff. Quit asking. ($34.99; ISBN: 9780785157236)
Oz: Ozma of Oz (hardcover): Eric Shanower’s Oz is well regarded, but I personally have no interest Oz. ($29.99; ISBN: 9780785142478)
The Stand, v. 1: Captain Trips: Horrible line from the solicitation: “For when Captain Trips works its way across the land, it is time to make a stand.” First, “Captain Trips” is the superflu, and making a stand against a virus is likely to be a futile effort. Second, way to awkwardly shoehorn the name of the series and volume into the book while making it sound like you haven’t read the source material or the book solicited. ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785135210)

The Rest:

Annihilators (hardcover): Although I have all of Guardians of the Galaxy and have read Annihilation, I don’t have any interest in this. Weird. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785160403)
Black Widow: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider (hardcover): I don’t think I’ve seen any artist draw the Black Widow in a way that could be described as “itsy-bitsy.” ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785158271)
Captain America: Prisoner of War (hardcover): The solicit doesn’t say what war Cap is a prisoner of, so I’m going to choose my favorite: The War of Spanish Succession. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785151210)
Carnage: Family Feud (hardcover): In which Carnage kills Richard Dawson, Ray Combs (again), Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, John O’Hurley, and Steve Harvey. That’s why it’s five issues long! ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785151128)
Daken: Dark Wolverine: Empire ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785147060)
Deadpool / Amazing Spider-Man / Hulk: Identity Wars (hardcover): I’ll take random team-ups for $800, Alex. Although I suppose it’s not as random as it could be, given that both Spider-Man and Deadpool have been featured in team-up books. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785155683)
Incredible Hulks: Dark Son: So, in this book, the Hulk has three kids, and his cousin, wife (?), and best pal are all Hulk critters as well. There has to be a reset button in there somewhere. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785150015)
Invincible Iron Man, v. 6: Stark Resilient, Book 2 ($15.99; ISBN: 9780785148357)
Invincible Iron Man, v. 8: The Unfixable (hardcover): Hmm, the hardcover and TPBs are two apart now. That’s probably not good, although I’m too lazy to look up whether ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785153221)
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man: Friendly Neighborhood (digest): I remember when digests cost $7. (I’m not old; I’m just surly.) ($9.99; ISBN: 9780785152576)
The Marvel Art of John Romita Jr. (hardcover) ($49.99; ISBN: 9780785155355)
Marvel Zombies: Christmas Carol (hardcover): Nothing says “Christmas” like a zombie collection released in August. Ho ho ho! ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785157724)
Namor: The First Mutant, v. 2: Namor Goes to Hell: It’s rare for any publisher to put such a bald statement of quality on the cover. Bravo, Marvel! ($16.99; ISBN: 9780785151760)
New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis, v. 2 (hardcover) ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785148746)
Shadowland: Lots of Shadowland this month! Are you excited? (No, you’re probably not, and that’s not uncommon.) ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785147633)
Shadowland: Daredevil: Wait — shouldn’t this be Daredevil: Shadowland? Does the crossover really deserve top billing over Daredevil? ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785145226)
Shadowland: Street Heroes: When you can’t bother to come up with a better name than “Street Heroes” for a crossover that was almost entirely about street-level crimefighting, then you may have a problem. Also: Bullseye (featured in the Shadowland: Bullseye one shot) is not a hero. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785148883)
Shadowland: Thunderbolts ($15.99; ISBN: 9780785152194)
Silver Surfer: Devolution ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785156659)
Spider-Man: The Fantastic Spider-Man (hardcover): Might pick this up in paperback, but I have no real desire to even look at it in hardcover. Especially if it’s shrinkwrapped. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785151067)
Spider-Man: The Next Chapter, v. 1: Do you want to see Howard Mackie and John Byrne screw up a Spider-Man relaunch? And by “screw up,” I mean spectacularly. (Tired of the stupid plot twists and characters from the previous titles? Then you’ll love this relaunch, which immediately brings back those same tired characters and plots!) It’s fourteen issues of Spider-mediocrity for $40! ($39.99; ISBN: 9780785157595)
Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis & Mike Deodato Ultimate Collection: Really: “ultimate.” The only thing ultimate about this collection is that it’s the final one. Of course, if you really like Mike Deodato or Warren Ellis, your opinion might vary, but I don’t think anyone is going to say this is their best work. ($29.99; ISBN: 9780785158493)
Vampire Tales, v. 3: The solicit for this is all messed up. The information has nothing to do with vampires; instead, it’s the description for New Mutants Classic. Since I have a soft spot for Marvel’s older horror properties, I might reconsider once I have better details. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785156048)
Wolverine / Hercules: Myths, Monsters & Mutants ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785141105)
Wolverine: Wolverine Goes to Hell: See Namor: The First Mutant. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785147855)
X-Men Legacy: Collision ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785146698)
X-Men: Curse of the Mutants: Of course the X-Men fight vampires. Because once you lose your central metaphor for half a decade, it’s natural to flounder for a new direction. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785148470)
X-Men: Curse of the Mutants: Mutants vs. Vampires: I’d only read this if Wolverine gutted Edward Cullen. Or vampire married him, either one. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785152293)
X-Men: Prelude to Schism (hardcover): Watch as Wolverine travels to Avignon and declares himself the antipope. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785156895)

Addendum to my few notes on the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, A-Z

2011-05-10T11:41:00.002-04:00

One thing I forgot to mention as I went through the first volume of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, A-Z: What this book really needs is references. Citations, if you will. It would help to know if the actions being described happened in the ‘70s (making them a long established part of the character’s lore) or whether it was something that happened in the last decade (making them more easily forgotten or more likely to be retconned). I don’t care if these citations are in footnotes or in parentheses; ideally, they would have the comic title, issue number, and the year, but I can do without the year. There isn’t much room for citations, I admit, but if Marvel got rid of those idiotic power bars, which ranks the character on a scale of 1 to 7 in six categories, then they’d have room for the citations, especially if they footnoted them in small type.

Reader quiz for Showcase Presents the Justice League of America, v. 1

2011-05-06T11:28:00.000-04:00

After reading Showcase Presents Justice League of America, v. 1, I decided to to something different. Here is a quick quiz about the early days of the JLA. If you aren’t familiar with the stories, don’t worry; it isn’t necessary to guess, if you have any familiarity with the Silver Age.

1) The Justice League has been called into action! But where is Superman?

a) The Bottle City of Kandor.

b) Journeying through time.

c) He’s too popular to be seen with the doofuses who make up the JLA.

d) The villain doesn’t have Kryptonite, so the writer has no idea how to make the plot challenging for Superman.

2) Hey! Batman isn’t here either! Why?

a) Stuck in Gotham traffic

b) The Dark Knight refuses day missions.

c) Batman’s much too popular too. He’s hanging out with Superman.

d) The villain has superpowers, so the writer has no idea how to make Batman effective.

3) The villain has set three plots into motions simultaneously. What should the JLA do?

a) Split into teams that complement each other in power level, temperament, and intelligence.

b) Split into teams randomly because, hey, what’s the worst that can happen?

c) Well, if Superman had showed up, the rest of the team could let him take care of all three plots and knock off early for the day.

d) Screw this, I’m tired of doing triple the work for no pay. Let the Avengers handle it.

4) Martian Manhunter: What’s the first power you use?

a) Martian supervision.

b) Super blow.

c) Super suck.

d) Someone flicked their Bic two counties over, and fire robs me of my powers!

5) Aquaman! Summon your:

a) “Finny friends”

b) “Brothers of the sea”

c) “Filthy fetishes”

d) “Aquatic slave labor force”

6) Flash: use your powers to the fullest by:

a) Vibrating your legs to fly.

b) Vibrating your body to match the dimensional vibration of … something something something. Has to do with molecules, I think.

c) Vibrate your arms to blow something away, because the pilot light in a house two miles away has robbed Martian Manhunter of his super blow powers.

d) Vibrate your body to use your amazing plot-convenience powers.

7) Green Lantern! Why aren’t you attacking?

a) The villain is dressed in yellow.

b) The villain is attacking with a yellow beam.

c) The villain is curious (yellow).

d) Hal just ate yellow snow.

8) What will Wonder Woman do?

a) (HINT: It doesn’t matter.)

9) Why was Green Arrow appointed as the first new recruit?

a) Meritorious service as a solo hero.

b) Substitute Batman, so the team would have a useless member when Batman decided he was too popular to show up.

c) Neat accessories, such as the Arrow Plane, Arrow Car, and Arrow Collar.

d) Bows to peer pressure very easily and is also rich.

10) Oh no! It’s Doctor Light! What will he do?

a) Blind you with a flashlight.

b) Make you “taste the rainbow,” if you know what I mean.

c) Knock you silly with hard light, even though “hard light” is impossible.

d) Rape Steve Trevor and kill Carol Ferris.

11) Superman showed up, but he’s been captured! How?

a) Magic.

b) Also magic.

c) Kryptonite.

d) Magic Kryptonite.

e) Yo momma.

12) The villain has captured the JLA! What will happen to them?

a) They’ll be turned to vapor and displayed in bottles.

b) They’ll be sold at an auction, dressed in all-too-revealing French maid costumes. (NOTE: this will require Wonder Woman to wear more clothing.)

c) They’ll be executed gangland style (except Superman, who will be forced to swallow a Kryptonite pill).

d) They’ll be forced to sing in a public venue and be openly mocked by Simon Cowell.

13) Why is “Snapper” Carr always snapping his fingers?

a) It’s how he expresses approval.

b) It’s how he dissipates his immense sexual mojo.

c) It’s an advanced form of echolocation; exposure to radioactive Kryptonite meant for Superman has left him blind.

d) A better question is why Batman hasn’t ripped off his fingers yet.

14) Why is Snapper allowed to hang out with the JLA, anyway?

a) That damn woman libber Wonder Woman refuses to vacuum more than once a week, so someone has to do the housework.

b) Let’s just say he has … interesting pictures of Superman and Martian Manhunter in the JLA locker room.

c) Government quotas — they were forced to take in at least one talentless dork.

d) Batman wanted a new punching bag, and Snapper’s cheaper than Everlast.

Answers will be revealed, in the Latin tradition, on the Greek calends. Until then, you can score your answers yourselves!

Dark Horse, IDW, and Image July 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-05-03T17:09:00.001-04:00

Hey, Image’s solicits are on time this month! In honor of its timeliness, let’s get the show on the road:

Will buy:

Nothing this month. Sorry, independents! Might buy eventually:

Chew, v. 4: Flambé: I’ve read v. 1, and I frequently consider picking the series back up. I haven’t done so yet, but with this price point, it’s only a matter of time. ($12.99; Image)
Scud, the Disposable Assassin: The Whole Shebang!: This is a series I’ve heard about almost since it first came out in the mid-‘90s. With the whole series in one volume, I might have to give it a look. ($29.99; Image)

Might buy if the price is right:

Green River Killer: A True Detective Story (hardcover): I am a sucker for true crime, and I’m familiar with the Green River Killer, having read Anne Rule’s Green River, Running Red. I might be interested enough to pick this up to get another perspective on the serial killer. ($24.99; Dark Horse)
Parker: The Martini Edition (hardcover): Darwyn Cooke writing and drawing a noir adaptation is always worth a look. Not worth $75, but it is two of Cooke’s Parker tales in one volume. ($75, ISBN: 978-1-60010-980-5; IDW)

The Rest:

Angel Omnibus, v. 2 ($24.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-968-3; IDW)
Angel: The Covers (hardcover): No. ($19.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-969-0; IDW)
Archie: Americana, v. 2: The ’50s (hardcover): The gradual evolution of Archie Comics’s art style continues; the jokes remain the same. ($24.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-945-4; IDW)
Bomb Queen: Gang Bang: Tasteful, as Bomb Queen always is. ($14.99; Image)
'Breed, v. 2: The Book of Ecclesiastes ($17.99; Image)
Chimichanga (hardcover): One of two Dark Horse collected editions this month. This one, written and drawn by The Goon’s Eric Powell, is about a bearded girl at a circus who trades for an egg that hatches the Chimichanga. Despite the rumors, the book is not going to be a free giveaway at Taco Bell. ($14.99; Dark Horse)
Classic G.I. Joe, v. 12 ($24.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-972-0; IDW)
Classic Next Men, v. 1: IDW started John Byrne’s new Next Men last month, and they reprinted the original #1 last ($24.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-971-3; IDW)
Dave Stevens: The Complete Sketchbook Collection (hardcover): If you like your girls pretty but fictional, Stevens is the man for you. Or at least one of the men for you. ($50; ISBN: 978-1-61377-037-5; IDW)
Death Valley ($17.99; ISBN: 978-1-60010-973-7; IDW)
Doctor Who II, v. 1: The Ripper: I watch the Doctor Who TV series, but I have no interest in original comic book stories, no matter what the plot. When the TV show is generally outrageous anyway, what’s the incentive to read a story in a spin-off medium? ($19.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-974-4; IDW)
Edge of Doom ($19.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-927-0; IDW)
Elephantmen, v. 2: Fatal Diseases – Revised Edition: I have heard good things about this book, but this solicitation — full of pachyderm puns — makes it seem intolerable. ($24.99; Image)
Fallen Angel: Return of the Son: Despite what you might think, this has nothing to do with the Whedon vampire Angel. ($17.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-975-1; IDW)
From Bloom County to Mars: The Imagination of Berkeley Breathed ($20, ISBN: 978-1-61377-008-5; IDW)
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, v. 2 ($19.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-941-6; IDW)
Haunt: The Immortal Edition, v. 1 (hardcover; $34.99; Image)
Infestation, v. 1: You can hire Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning to write this, but it doesn’t make a zombie crossover involving Star Trek, G.I. Joe, and Ghostbusters any less silly. ($19.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-977-5; IDW)
Iron Siege: Nazis and monsters — but I repeat myself — are two horrible tastes that do absolutely nothing for me when put together. ($17.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-979-9; IDW)
Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows: Joe Hill, the writer of this series, is Stephen King’s son. I didn’t know that until last night. How could I not have know that? ($19.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-953-9; IDW)
Marineman: A Matter of Life and Depth ($17.99; Image)
Meta 4: The Complete Series (digest): The story is full of symbols, but the title goes for a cheap, text-speak pun. The contradiction is obvious. ($14.99; Image)
Rip Kirby, v. 4 (hardcover): The final volume in IDW’s collection of a comic strip I’ve never heard of. Comic historians, this one’s for you. ($49.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-989-8; IDW)
Spawn: New Beginnings: A new Spawn! I … I don’t care. And I’m sure my personal yawn is echoed by most comics fans. ($14.99; Image)
Spinecrawler ($17.99, ISBN: 978-1-60010-987-4; IDW)
Strange Girl Omnibus (hardcover; $59.99; Image)
The Darkness Compendium, v. 2 (hardcover): There are people out there who will pay $100 for a Darkness collection. Well, I assume there are. I haven’t met them. ($99.99; Image)
Transformers, v. 3 ($19.99; ISBN: 978-1-60010-981-2; IDW)
Turf (hardcover): BBC presenter Jonathan Ross’s story of Prohibition-era gangsters, vampires, and aliens. Reports I have heard ranged from fun romp to confusing mishmash. ($39.99; Image)
Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies ($18.99; Image)
Walter Simonson’s Thor: Artist’s Edition (hardcover): I do not share the general enthusiasm for Simonson’s Thor, but for people who do, this might be a fascinating look at the run. Or it might be an overpriced coffee table book. Who knows? ($75, ISBN: 978-1-61377-038-2; IDW)
Witchblade: Redemption, v. 3: It is 2011, and Witchblade is still being published. Hooray! ($19.99; Image)

Essential Defenders, v. 5

2011-05-02T02:05:00.003-04:00

Collects: Defenders #92-106,Marvel Team-Up #101, 111, and 116, and Captain America #268 (1981-2)

Released: July 2010 (Marvel)

Format: 448 pages / black and white / $19.99 / ISBN: 9780785145370

What is this?: The Defenders fight a war with the Six-Fingered Hand and deal with other challenges.

The culprits: Writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Don Perlin (and others)

The last Essential I went over, Essential Avengers, v. 6, was unusual in that it was mostly devoted to one extended storyline. Similarly, more than a third of Essential Defenders, v. 5, is devoted to the Defenders’ battle against the Six-Fingered Hand, a band of six demons whose union has made them more than the sum of their parts.

Even more interesting, the entire book is written by J.M. DeMatteis — not only does he write all fifteen Defenders issues, he also writes the included Marvel Team-Up and Captain America issues. Other than a throwaway MTU issue, this allows for a narrative continuity not always seen in the later volumes of Essential titles. Creators of characters or teams may stick around for long runs, but later writers? Not so often. (DeMatteis stuck around until #131, missing only #119.) Is this continuity a good thing?

The fights with the Six-Fingered Hand make up a traditionally structured comic-book battle; for five consecutive issues, they battle a different member of the Hand. In the sixth, they fight the Hand all together, with the battle spilling into the double-sized issue #100. It is a landmark storyline, in the sense that you can use it to remember where you are in the continuity of the series. During this storyline, they pick up a new member in the person of Gargoyle, whom they allow to join them for reasons never completely elucidated. By the time you can really decide to question his presence, he’s been around for too long to easily boot off.

The other major storyline involves a group of telepaths created by a shadowy agency that claimed ties to the federal government; Nighthawk’s former girlfriend Mindy is part of that group. This is also a standard, unexceptional but unobjectionable storyline, crossing over near the end with Captain America. It simmers in the background throughout the entire volume, and it is so low-key at one point that it seems as if Dr. Strange and Clea forget the existence of members who are captured in #104 until Dr. Strange gets a telepathic summons in #106 (with the Captain America part of the crossover falling just before #106). It does make for a heck of a cliffhanger, in which you may actually believe a member of the non-team has been killed in a moment of self-sacrifice.

And that self-sacrifice makes sense — not just in the general heroic sense but in the development of that character. That’s where DeMatteis’s work shines. Most of the lesser characters — those without their own books — get a nice moment in the sun. Hellcat has to deal with tragedy in her life and with potential lies about her paternity. Nighthawk is paralyzed by a mysterious affliction after coming to grips with what he perceives as his own non-heroic nature. We see Gargoyle’s background, even if we can’t see why he’s part of the Defenders. The Son of Satan deals with his demonic side in a way that was inevitable but previous issues feared to deal with. Even Devil-Slayer gets some personal development, despite his ludicrous career path (Marine turned alcoholic turned mob hitman turned cultist turned demon hunter). While the plot is nothing to grab readers, the characters are at least entertaining in their own right.

As those who have read DeMatteis’s work on Spider-titles in the ‘90s would expect, this book features characters in mental institutions and characters with daddy issues. The Son of Satan fills the latter role, obviously, and DeMatteis works in the rare female character with mommy issues, as Hellcat deals with the idea that her domineering and disapproving mother tried to barter Hellcat’s soul for a longer life. Nighthawk also has to institutionalize an insane ex-girlfriend, who switches between love and hate for Kyle.

In a way, it’s surprising what DeMatteis (and Marvel) are getting away with here. These issues came out in the early ‘80s, not very temporally distant from the era in which Dungeons & Dragons was getting excoriated by parental groups for its demonic ties. Beyond the Six-Fingered Hand, one character of the heroes is the Son of Satan, and another one is Devil Slayer — even if he’s against devils and demons, you know they are going to figure prominently into his adventures. The Son of Satan has an extended storyline in which his father (You-Know-Who) tries to purge his human half. On the other hand, Marvel had a line-wide crossover featuring demons at the other end of the ‘80s (Inferno), so demons in comics obviously weren’t as important to pop-culture watchdogs as demons in role-playing games.

Essential Defenders, v. 5, feels a bit thin, and it is. It’s a rare Essential that doesn’t top 500 pages, but v. 5 doesn’t come close to that mark. On first glance, this is surprising, given that there are many more Defenders issues to reprint — the series lasted for 152 issues. However, the classic Defenders team — one that included Dr. Strange, Hulk, Silver Surfer, or Namor — ended with #125, and the rest of the run was the New Defenders, which had a lineup almost half made up of the original X-Men (Beast, who is introduced as a Defender in this volume, and Iceman and Angel). My guess is that Marvel wanted to have another Essentials volume of the classic Defenders, and this smaller volume leaves eighteen issues to put in that volume plus whatever they can squeeze out of other titles at the time. Still, a smaller volume should be accompanied by a smaller price tag — $17.99 or $16.99 for a slimmer Essential would be appropriate.

I appreciate wanting a unified v. 6 — those New Defenders would be quite a clash with the Defenders — but it does cause the quality and value of v. 5 to suffer. The volume includes three issues of Marvel Team-Up and a single issue of Captain America to help pad out the volume. Captain America #268 is necessary, as it’s a direct crossover with Defenders #106. Marvel Team-Up #101 also explains what the deal is with Kyle’s ex-girlfriend Mindy and why she’s in a mental institution; given how much she appears in the volume, that’s an important issue to include as well. But MTU #111 and #116 are included because they peripherally include Defenders: #111 has Valkyrie being possessed and attacking Spider-Man, and #116 has a very brief appearance by the Defenders at the end of the issue. Both end up raising more questions than they answer; in #111, Spider-Man smashes Valkyrie’s sword, Dragonfang, to end her possession, and its reforging is handled off panel, while #116 ends with Dr. Strange’s solemn pronouncement that Spider-Man may die before the day ends. In some Essentials, this sort of flotsam would hardly be remarkable, but given the rather tight storylines in v. 5, it’s quite noticeable.

The art is nearly as unified as the writing, as Don Perlin pencils all of the Defenders issues in this book. He’s a solid artist, much in the Marvel house style of the time, who has a good narrative sense and can convey a decent amount of emotion in a three-row layout. Really, you can’t ask for much more from an artist; flashiness and innovation is nice, but the art should be all about storytelling, and Perlin — whose name you don’t hear much any more — is a good storyteller. Jerry Bingham contributed one issue of MTU and the ever-reliable Herb Trimpe two; Mike Zeck penciled the Captain America issue.

Essential Defenders, v. 5 is a low-key Essential — good but unspectacular art, consistent writing, interesting characterization moments, and unspectacular plots. The book should have “steady” on its cover copy somewhere; if you’re looking for a slice of Bronze Age Marvel or are a fan of the Defenders, it’s worth a look.

Rating: (3 of 5)

DC July 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-04-26T17:47:00.002-04:00

Leaving out the “new editions” this month:

Will buy:

Once again, nothing this month. Sorry, DC! Might buy eventually:

New Teen Titans: Games (hardcover): A new OGN by the classic New Teen Titans team of Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Color me intrigued. ($24.99)

Might buy if the price is right:

Joe the Barbarian (hardcover): Is Joe an 11-year-old hallucinating diabetic, or is he a fantasy hero? With Grant Morrison, you never know. ($29.99)
Team-Ups of the Brave and the Bold: It’s fashionable — and correct — to dump on J. Michael Straczynski currently, but that doesn’t mean he can’t write. ($17.99)

Licensed:

Deus Ex ($17.99)
Resident Evil: I was going to say something about the irrelevancy of video-game comic books until I read the last line of the solicit: “Veteran mercenary Holiday Sugarman is sent to remote Grezbekistan; when his team is wiped out by G-Virus infected militiamen, he must face G-Prime – alone.” I cannot take Grezbekistan or “Holiday Sugarman” seriously as names, and it makes no sense to me that “Holiday” is a “he.” I mean: obviously, “Holiday” is a girl’s name. ($19.99)
World of Warcraft, Book 4: Written by the Simonsons (and Mike Costa), the solicitation is full of that fantasy cliché: the name with the apostrophe in it. What does an apostrophe mean in the middle of Med’an and Cho’gall? For that matter, what does the double “a” in Meraad mean? Do I stretch out that last syllable? Muraaaaaaaaaad. ($14.99)
World of Warcraft: Curse of the Worgen (hardcover): Oh no. The Worgen. Why are they cursed? What are they? I don’t play WoW, so this is not aimed at me, but I was curious as to what they were; they are exactly what I thought they would be: wolf men. ($22.99)

The Rest:

99 Days (hardcover) ($19.99)
Batman: Impostors: The contents of this one are “collected from Detective Comics #867-891.” I was set to criticize DC for not telling us the actual contents of the 128-page book, but then I realized Detective is up to only #880 in July. Typo! I assume that should be #871? ($14.99)
Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories: According to Amazon, the hardcover version of this Paul Dini / Bruce Timm Batman Adventure collection is out of print. These are highly regarded stories, so it’s a good thing DC put it back in print. ($17.99)
Batman: Under the Red Hood: Oh, joy. The Red Hood. Can’t wait. ($29.99)
Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!: Back in Black: Written by Art Baltazar, who does the Tiny Titans. Could be good. ($12.99)
Brightest Day, v. 3 (hardcover): The final volume of the “spectacular” series. Yay! ($29.99)
Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story ($19.99)
Doom Patrol: Fire Away ($19.99)
Fogtown: This is a noir comic set in 1950s San Francisco, with a an allegedly “deeply closeted” PI. It ends, according to the solicitation, with a “horrifying, gender-bending truth.” Vertigo! ($12.99)
Green Lantern Corps: The Weaponer (hardcover): “Learn why no one in the universe messes with Sinestro and lives to tell the tale!” Except that Hal Jordan messes with Sinestro all the time and has lived (except that time when he was dead, but Sinestro had nothing to do with the little yellow space bug). ($22.99)
Justice League of America: Omega (hardcover; $24.99)
Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth Omnibus, v. 1 (hardcover): It’s odd — the same sort of completist nostalgia I find normal in Marvel material I find baffling with DC. My prejudices showing, I suppose. In any event, it’s a Jack Kirby omnibus, which will drive up sales no matter how goofy I find the premise. ($49.99)
Legion of Super-Heroes 2: Consequences (hardcover) ($24.99)
Madame Xanadu, v. 4: Extra Sensory ($17.99)
Supergirl: Bizarrogirl: Bizarro! I love you! ($19.99)
Superman / Batman: Night and Day ($17.99)
Superman: The Black Ring, v. 2 (hardcover): Another volume of Paul Cornell’s “Lex Luthor starring in Action Comics.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. ($29.99)
Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane Archives, v. 1 (hardcover): Ten issues for $60. Eh, no thanks; that price tag killed any curiosity I might have had. ($59.99)

X-Factor, v. 8: Overtime

2011-04-22T16:26:00.004-04:00

Collects: X-Factor #46-50 and X-Factor Special: Layla Miller (2008, 2009)

Released: April 2010 (Marvel)

Format: 168 pages / color / $19.99 / ISBN: 9780785138372

What is this?: Madrox’s sojourn in the Summers Rebellion ends, and the present-day team deals with the mysterious Cortex.

The culprits: Writer Peter David and penciler Valentine de Landro

The third volume of X-Factor is a title that has changed a great deal from its original concept. In the beginning, writer Peter David made the X-Factor into the name of a detective agency helping those in Mutant Town, a sort of mutant noir book. And then Mutant Town went away when Scarlet Witch made mutants go away. And then even dealing with former mutants and whatever crap was going on with Sentinels and the like in other X-titles wasn’t part of the book either.

So I’m up to X-Factor, v. 8: Overtime, and what do we have? Time travel. Layla Miller. A dystopic future. The Summers Rebellion — a plot idea dropped by Bishop in the early ‘90s, for Magneto’s sake. As Madrox might say, time travel isn’t very noir.

Overtime’s story is spread over two threads in two different time frames. In the future, Madrox tries to find out why one of Scott Summer’s soldiers vanished from time and space for a few seconds. This is quickly forgotten once Madrox enlists the help of the near-senile Victor von Doom; Doom tinkers and the interpersonal dynamics mark time until the climactic fight scene. In the present, an assassin from the future toys with the team during a big fight scene … until the fight scene in the future needs one of the participants.

I’m selling the present-day fight scene short, actually. It features David’s usual wit, and it gives each character something to do against Cortex, an assassin who annoyingly is invulnerable to physical damage. These kinds of fights tend to have unimpressive resolutions — there’s a scientific device that works against the villain’s weaknesses or the heroes eventually punch the villain enough or there’s some sort of cheat. In this case, David combines the first and last of these in a way that doesn’t feel like a cheat or a cheap resolution. Cortex’s invulnerability does give the fight scene a reason to continue through four issues, and it allows some great character moments from M and Siryn. On the other hand, the revelation of Cortex’s identity, while unexpected, isn’t one of the top reveals I’ve ever seen; it feels like a clichéd resolution, even if it isn’t. I’m also not too wild about giving Shatterstar a new power — teleportation doesn’t fit too well into the power set of an otherdimensional gladiator, but these things happen in comics all the time.

The future storyline feels padded, although there are a few parts that are affecting. The reader feels Madrox’s frustration after he realizes he’s meeting mass murderer Trevor Fitzroy before he became evil yet can do nothing to stop Fitzroy’s dark future. Watching Victor von Doom slide into and out of senility was both sad and amusing, but fortunately, David elevated his appearance above that of a one-note joke. The romantic scenes between Layla and Madrox mostly worked from Layla’s point of view, but it seems a little soon after Jamie accepted Siryn’s marriage proposal (which, to be fair, was implicitly rescinded) for another romance. I sympathized with Layla’s frustration at watching events play out as she remembered them, feeling helpless to change anything.

When you have a character like Layla, who “knows stuff,” you have to make sure everything fits together at the end. And it does — the villain’s motivation is tied up with his origin, Fitzroy has a reason for the terrible things he does, and Layla’s knowledge and abilities are explained. The Layla Miller one shot takes her story from when she made Madrox abandon her in a mutant concentration camp during Messiah CompleX until she shows up at the end of X-Factor, v. 7: Time and a Half. I’m surprised how this issue ties everything together; looking back over the character's history, it’s amazing how David has managed to take Layla Miller from a plot device in House of M into an actual, breathing character. Now, if he could only do the same with some of the adversaries he comes up with …

The art comes from Valentine de Landro, who has been the title’s regular artist since the end of v. 6: Secret Invasion. I find it hard to get worked up about de Landro’s work. It’s good, professional quality work, and it generally tells the story well. On the other hand, it frequently makes Madrox’s dupes unrecognizable as dupes. In a couple of scenes, his “angry M” looks more like “middle-aged M.” Still, I have no overall complaints about his work, and any artist I don’t have a few nitpicks about probably doesn’t have a style.

I’m still not convinced by this direction — this time travel and Summers Rebellion stuff — but parts of it were dictated by line-wide crossovers, and most of it ends with this book. (Unless you count the Layla Miller plotlines.) David has done a good job with what he has been given — especially the Layla part — and now we can shuffle it into the background and not have to worry about it again.

Rating: (3 of 5)

Marvel July 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-04-19T23:21:00.001-04:00

Will be picking up:

Avengers Academy, v. 1: Permanent Record: This is more what I had in mind when I picked up Avengers: The Initiative (sans the stupid Initiative crap): a genuine team of superpowered youngsters, mentored by real Avengers. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785148906)
Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis, v. 3: It’s titled “Alan Davis,” but the contents contain a significant portion of Scott Lobdell. Just so you know; I don’t want you caught off guard like you were with that “Taco Bell” and “beef” shocker. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785155430)

Might buy eventually:

Avengers Academy, v. 2: Will We Use This in the Real World? (hardcover): Won’t know if I want this until I pick up the first volume; it would seem to me that you’d want to have the TPB out for a month or so before putting this out, since it would let readers realize they like the title and want to read the next volume when they see it on the shelves. At least this does come out one week after the TPB. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785144960)

Might buy if the price is right:

Spider-Man: The Complete Ben Reilly Epic, Book 1: I think this renaming of the Clone Saga is a smart idea — at some volume number, people’s innate caution was going to get in the way of their curiosity and stop people from buying more volumes. Giving it a new name separates it from the increasing stink the Clone Saga generated as it went along. ($39.99; ISBN: 9780785155454)

Masterworks:

Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Strange Tales, v. 5 (hardcover) ($64.99; ISBN: 9780785150169)
Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk, v. 6 (hardcover) ($59.99; ISBN: 9780785150435)
Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, v. 3 ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785150701)

Already have or read:

Essential Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, v. 5: Other than the Death of Jean DeWolff, I remember the issues in this volume (#97-114) being a bit of a downswing for the title. Does have some of Peter David’s first comic work, though. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785118862)
New Mutants Classic, v. 6: Contains the shocking issue where Larry Bodine is encouraged to commit suicide by Mary Worth. (I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether Mary Worth is doing the encouraging, or if “Mary Worth” is a method of committing suicide. If you decide the latter, please leave a comment telling me what that method involves.) ($29.99; ISBN: 9780785155447)
New X-Men by Grant Morrison, Book 3: Rolling through one of Morrison’s most impressive mainstream successes. ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785155034)
X-Men by Chris Claremont & Jim Lee Omnibus, v. 1: I can almost hear Marvel saying: Why can’t it the late ‘80s, when occasionally a comic book issue would sell hundreds of thousands of copies, the X-Men were on the top of the heap, and everything made sense? (Except for some of Claremont’s long-term plots, that is.) ($125; ISBN: 9780785158226)
X-Men: X-Cutioner’s Song (hardcover): The first comic book issue I ever bought was part of this crossover — X-Men #14 — so I have an irrational fondness for X-Cutioner’s Song. Still, you couldn’t get me to pay $50 for a hardcover edition of the story. ($49.99; ISBN: 9780785156109)

Licensed books:

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Circus of the Damned, Book 2: The Ingenue (hardcover): That’s a mouthful of a title. Actually, I think there’s more action in that title than there is in the book. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785146902)
Orson Scott Card’s Speaker for the Dead (hardcover): Bring out your dead! Orson Scott Card wants to speak to them! ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785135869) Oz: The Marvelous Land of Oz: I’ve been there. Not so “marvelous.” Tourist trap, really. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785140870)
The Stand: No Man’s Land (hardcover): The Stand juggernaut rolls ever onward, whether or not you actually want it to. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785136248)

The Rest:

Art of Marvel Studios (hardcover): This four-book collection actually contains last month’s Captain America: The Art of Captain America: The First Avenger plus the “art of” titles for three other movies: Thor and Iron Man 1 and 2. Unless you are interested in production artwork or are in that profession, I can’t see why you’d want to drop this much money on a collection like this. ($150; ISBN: 9780785153320)
Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine (hardcover): It took almost a year to put out five issues of this miniseries, but they did manage to get the hardcover out only two months after the final issue came out. Good job! ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785148906)
Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis, v. 1 ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785145042)
Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis, v. 2 (hardcover): This actually comes out a fortnight before v. 1. Well played, Marvel. And by “well played,” I mean the opposite. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785145042)
Black Panther: The Man without Fear, v. 1: Urban Jungle: Will this be the relaunch of Black Panther that will finally bear fruit? (Hint: No.) ($16.99; ISBN: 9780785145233)
Black Widow: Kiss or Kill ($12.99; ISBN: 9780785147015)
Captain America: Hail Hydra: “Hail, HYDRA! Immortal HYDRA! We shall never be destroyed! Cut off a limb, and two more shall take its place! We serve none but the Master — as the world shall soon serve us! Hail HYDRA!” Sorry about that. I have no idea what this series is about, but I just wanted to type that in. I love it when a terrorist organization takes its mythology so seriously. ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785151272)
Captain America: Red Glare (hardcover): I am a little frightened by the lack of Captain America titles this month, given that this is the month the movie actually comes out. Cap gets only three titles, and in one of those (X-Men / Steve Rogers: Escape from the Negative Zone), he doesn’t even get top billing. Oh, wait — there’s a fourth: Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier, although that one doesn’t exactly sell the Captain America brand all that well. ($29.99; ISBN: 9780785158950)
Casanova: Gula: Reprinting the first four issues second volume of Casanova. ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785148630)
Daken / X-23: Collision (hardcover): Spawn of Wolverine, unite! ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785147077)
Deadpool Pulp ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785148715)
Deadpool, v. 6: I Rule, You Suck: Only two Deadpool titles as well … something’s wrong here. ($15.99; ISBN: 9780785151364)
Fantastic Four: 1234 (hardcover): Do you remember this one and the furor it raised? Unless you’re a diehard Grant Morrison fan, I’m betting the answer is “No.” (I bet the answer is “No” an awful lot. That’s why I’m rich enough to pay the bills with reviewing trade paperbacks.) ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785158967)
Hawkeye: Blindspot ($15.99; ISBN: 9780785156017)
Incredible Hulks: Planet Savage ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785151593)
Marvel Point One: This one should have “Miscellaneous: For Completists Only” stamped on the cover and the spine. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785156260)
Millar & McNiven’s Nemesis: Oh, look who’s Mr. High and Mighty, has to have his name before the name of the book. Has Mark Millar really gotten to be that important? (I do appreciate that he’s included Steve McNiven in the title; it’s only right.) ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785148661)
New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis, v. 1: More Bendis! That makes three Bendis-titled Avenger volumes this month alone! Oh, happy day! ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785148739)
Onslaught Unleashed (hardcover): This book stars the Young Allies and Secret Avengers. Of course it’s named “Onslaught Unleashed.” ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785157762)
Secret Avengers, v. 1: Mission to Mars ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785146001)
Spider-Man / Fantastic Four ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785144236)
Spider-Man: Am I an Avenger?: I think this volume will answer its own question just by the title alone. And that answer is “No.” ($29.99; ISBN: 9780785157496)
Spider-Man: Big Time: Is it usual to have two Amazing Spider-Man TPBs come out in a month? I’m not sure … ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785146247)
Spider-Man: Blue: A Loeb / Sale joint. You know if you want it or not. ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785110712)
Spider-Man: Origin of the Species: Big Time reprints barely a month’s worth of comics, but Origin is a couple of months worth. Why not space these books out a little more? Is there some crunch coming in the months ahead? Is Marvel trying to catch up? ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785146223)
Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier ($14.99; ISBN: 9780785148791)
Thor: Black Galaxy Saga: And there’s only two Thor volumes this month. Weird. Spooky. Where will the next movie push come from? ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785150954)
Thor: Spiral ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785150893)
Thunderbolts: Violent Rejection ($15.99; ISBN: 9780785152217)
Wolverine by Jason Aaron Omnibus, v. 1 (hardcover): I do love the idea of omnibuses, but is there a market for a Jesse Aaron Wolverine book? I think of omnibuses as vehicles for older material and for critically acclaimed runs, and I haven’t heard that much about Aaron’s run, really. ($99.99; ISBN: 9780785156390)
Wolverine: The Best There Is: Contagion (hardcover) ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785144465)
Wolverine: Wolverine vs. the X-Men (hardcover) ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785147862)
X-Factor: Scar Tissue (hardcover): I get X-Factor in TPB, not hardcovers, but I always get X-Factor, so I have nothing to say about this one. ($24.99; ISBN: 9780785152835)
X-Men / Steve Rogers: Escape from the Negative Zone (hardcover) ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785155607)
X-Men Legacy: Aftermath (hardcover) ($19.99; ISBN: 9780785156352)

A few notes on the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, A-Z, v. 1

2011-04-12T20:39:00.004-04:00

I’m slowly working my way through the first volume of the new, hardcover The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, A to Z, and even though I’m barely into the B’s, there are a few things I can tell you about it as opposed to the previous edition:

1) The entries seem to have a greater level of detail than the original, which frequently had only a paragraph or two about the history of minor characters while concentrating on powers and vital stats. I don’t know if my perception here is correct; maybe I’m wrong, or maybe there has been so much history over the past 20 years that the entries had to grow.

2) That level of detail does expose some truly idiotic character twists over the past quarter century or so. Every character who has more than a one-page entry has a history that advances in two or three different ways, then gets reset before the next avenue of development can be explored. I applaud the Handbook for unflinchingly laying this stupidity in front of his, and I know the purpose of a reference book isn’t to make excuses or justify the material it’s recording, but there are times when I just want the book to try to give an overriding reason for all these stupid directions. I do appreciate the occasional moments when the writer gives up trying to make sense of what’s going on, adding phrases like “for unknown reasons” or “strangely” to the histories.

3) There are too many entries that make me groan at the thought of reading. Do I want to read three pages about the Annunaki, the Babylonian pantheon, or the 2020 A.D. timeline? (That’s one page more than the 2099 timeline, which supported multiple titles.) No. No, I do not want three pages about either topic. I don’t want to read one page about them, really. And sometimes these drier entries go on too long; the original Handbook had two pages on Atlantis and two on Atlanteans, while the new edition combines the entries into five pages on Atlantis.

4) And there are questionable choices. There’s no entry on Attilan, but minor Goliath / Iron Man villain Atom Smasher and Infinity Abyss plot device Atleza get their own pages? I suppose Attilan could be in the Inhumans entry, though, and I do enjoy minor villains getting their due.

5) Speaking of getting their due: all pictures are credited to the artists on the same page as the illustration. Even the smaller and inset drawings are credited … to the correct penciler, at least.

6) The original Handbook had large pictures of the characters accompanying each entry. The new version scales down the size of these pictures while still keeping them a useful size.

7) There are other areas of design that have been improved. The paper is better, the text is larger, the margins and spacing have been adjusted to add more white space. The headings for each entry’s sections are in red print, setting them apart from the mass of black text.

8) That being said, these advances come at a price. The original, definitive Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition (OHotMUDE) came in 20 issues, each retailing for $1.50, and I was able to find them for less than that today online. Each volume of the new Handbook retails for $24.99, and there are twelve volumes. (Each set had their additions afterwards, but we’ll leave those aside for the moment.) So the original goes for about $25 or $30; the new Handbook set retails for about ten times that, although if you can get a discount, you might be able to knock it down to $180 or $200. That’s pretty steep. But it does look pretty, I have to admit.

Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Classic, v. 1

2011-04-08T17:41:00.004-04:00

Collects: Ghost Rider, v. 2, #1-10 (1990-1)

Released: November 2009 (Marvel)

Format: 264 pages / color / $29.99 / ISBN: 9780785137351

What is this?: A new Ghost Rider, proclaiming himself the Spirit of Vengeance, takes to the streets of New York.

The culprits: Writer Howard Mackie and penciler Javier Saltares

Part the First: Why was this so popular; or, The ‘90s were a weird time

Despite Gambit Classic not being a very good book, I can understand the popularity of the title character — Gambit is a mysterious rogue who appears to be on the side of heroes, appearing in the most popular comic book of the time. He’s anti-authoritarian. He shows himself equal and similar to Marvel’s most popular mutant, Wolverine. I don’t necessarily agree with that popularity now. But the rationalization makes sense.

Ghost Rider, v. 2 … It’s a nice visual. I get that. But the stories that started the series, reprinted in Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Classic, v. 1, aren’t good. At all. Was it just that we enjoyed unfettered violence against criminals? Or were we looking for something empty of deep thought, a sort of guilty pleasure that wasn’t a pleasure and should have made us feel something deeper than guilt? (A super-guilt, perhaps.) Maybe after a decade out of circulation, the public was in the mood for a new Ghost Rider, someone who aped the outward form of the character without any of the (God help me) depth the Johnny Blaze version had?

I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to figure it out either.

Part the Second: Howard Mackie; or, The architect of sins

No, I’m not going to think about writer Howard Mackie right now. For all my sins, I don’t deserve that.

Part the Third: Ghost Rider himself; or, The old hero is a new flame

Who is this Ghost Rider? He’s the Spirit of Vengeance, or so he says. Beyond that? I don’t know. Does he have any connection to the previous Ghost Rider? Not that I can see, and in ten issues, he doesn’t really seem to care that much. He does like vengeance quite a bit, and he’s big on the innocents. He has a “penance stare,” which essentially sears the souls of evildoers. Nothing wrong with that, but everyone uniformly calls it the “penance stare” for some reason, without that name being publicized or, you know, obvious. Perhaps he also likes long walks on the shores of Hell and pina coladas. I don't know.

And what about the new host, Danny Ketch? Who is he? I don’t know much about him, either. You would thing, as the hero, we would get to know him. After ten issues, what we know is:

He is a bike messenger of some sort. I think. When the series started, I thought he was a high schooler, but evidently, he’s 19.
He lives at home, with his mother. She’s not bothered when he mysteriously brings home a motorcycle.
He has a … girlfriend? I think that’s the role Stacy Dolan is supposed to fill, but she doesn’t act affectionately toward Danny, and he doesn’t act like he notices she’s a member of the same species, let alone a female. He certainly gives her no reason to like him, and she doesn’t come across as someone that interested in Danny.

That’s it. Ten issues, and that’s it. Danny has the internal life of a goldfish and a good deal less personality.

Part the Fourth: Villians; or, How to make Ghost Rider look well developed

These are who the Ghost Rider fights: Deathwatch. Blackout. Kingpin. Flag Smasher. Masque. Scarecrow. A serial killer named Zodiac. (Or Zodiak — both spellings are used.) Mr. Hyde. The H.E.A.R.T. Corporation, a group of female mercenaries, for Mephisto’s sake. With the exception of the Kingpin, who was about to fall anyway, to call these villains sad is to demean sadness.

The original adversaries are the worse. The H.E.A.R.T. Corporation is an embarrassment, a team of bad girls without the lack of restraint or T&A to appeal to the audience they were designed for; since they appeared in the early ‘90s rather than the late ‘90s, perhaps they were just ahead of their time. Zodiac is utterly generic, except he was given the name of a real, attention-loving serial killer who murdered five people in the Bay Area twenty years before Ghost Rider and was never caught. Blackout is the real nemesis of Ghost Rider, doing him the most damage, but his ability to shut off the lights and his feral nature don’t really work together as well as they should — instead of being creepy, he’s annoying. Deathwatch is a generic corporate thuglord.

As for the pre-existing characters, the Kingpin comes across as a generic corporate thuglord. The Scarecrow, a minor villain, gets a grim ‘n’ gritty makeover and becomes emblematic of the ranting morons who opposed the more violent comic book heroes of the ’90s. Masque never shows up, having the good sense to stay in a Rob Liefeld book. (Not often you can say that.) Flag Smasher is Flag Smasher; nothing that happens is a discredit to such a goofy villain, and the idea of arming inner city youth to destroy a country isn’t the worst in the world.

I will, through gritted teeth, admit to enjoying Mr. Hyde’s issue. He’s trapped as his alter ego, Calvin Zabo, but he still acts the same way he did when he was Hyde — hitting on waitresses and picking fights with bikers. That goes about as well as expected, and we get the same kind of scenes with him as we usually do with inexperienced heroes: the civilian ID huddling in some corner and hoping, almost praying for the superpowers to kick in. It almost makes me feel sorry for Hyde, and then he starts hurting people, so that goes away. And then Ghost Rider shows up, and I don’t know what the hell to think.

Part the Fifth: Howard Mackie (again); or, If you have nothing nice to say

Howard Mackie has a family and friends who care about him. Presumably, he has parents and children who love him very much. They shouldn’t have to hear about what I think about Howard Mackie. Therefore, I will pass over Mr. Mackie at this time.

Also: Mark Gruenwald seemed to believe in Mackie’s talent. That’s something I have to digest before I say anything about him. On the other hand: Did you know Mackie wrote Ghost Rider for more than 5 ½ years without giving the Ghost Rider an origin? I have trouble believing in 5 ½ years of mindless violence on top of mindless violence, but it actually happened!

Part the Sixth: The art; or, I blame YOU

Danny Ketch has a great art team, with Javier Saltares providing the pencils and Mark Texeira doing the pencils. Saltares and Texeira are the only real draws for this book. Saltares has the sort of look you want for a book like this: gritty yet vivid, exaggerated while maintaining some sort of grounding in the real world. This is exciting art, although it does have its problems; subtle emotion — not that the script seems to deserve or call for it — seems to give Saltares trouble, and there are times when I just can’t figure out what the hell is going on. Like when some street punks squirt a homeless person with a water pistol and her jacket catches fire. What’s in that squirt gun? Or was it supposed to be an accelerant, which was lit on fire by something else? That makes sense, given that the punks later flip lit matches around.

A little off topic there, sorry. I’m not sure how that little thing annoyed me when there was so much out there to … Anyway. Texeira is a great artist, but I don’t know how to evaluate his inking here. Since the art looks generally excellent, I’ll assume he’s a good part of it.

Part the Seventh: Children in jeopardy; or, Is there a subtext in here?

There is a lot of violence against children here. A teenage gang / social club are menaced by the Kingpin and Deathwatch’s goons, and one of them (and Danny’s sister) get stabbed through the chest. Blackout murders an entire family — mother, father, and child. A subplot has Scarecrow murdering children. Flag Smasher arms kids, which necessitates Punisher and Ghost Rider beating some of them up. Zodiac isn’t really bad until he murders a child; the other four people, evidently, were understandable. Masque kidnaps kids for … I say “I don’t understand” a lot, but #8 and #9 are baffling. Why does Masque want kids? Why doesn’t he ever appear? Why do other mutants wander through the issues? Why does X-Factor show up without doing anything? Why is Pixie killed? I don’t know, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to know. Anyway, the kids seem to get the short end of the victim stick here.

About the time Mackie started writing Ghost Rider, he and his wife had their first daughter. Is it the concern of a new parent for his child? Resentment for the loss of youth, taken out on fictional surrogates? Or is violence against children just a topical news trend expressed on the comics page? I don’t know.

Part the Eighth: Howard Mackie (yet again); or, I can’t omit this, nor can I resist

Ghost Rider was Mackie’s first regular writing assignment. It shows. Although the these are recognizably, undeniably comic books in every way that matters, they don’t maintain that coherence once you start looking closely at them — much in the way a pointillist painting only resembles a representational canvas when you look at large parts of it but dissolves into meaningless points of color once you focus in too closely.

The characters are ill defined and raise not one iota of sympathy or even interest in the reader. Their emotional bonds are tenuous at best, dissolving into nothingness at the every panel border. The villains are cardboard at best and seatfillers at worst. The dialogue contains phrases no one has ever said before in the history of this or any other sentient species. The plots are meaningless violence piled upon meaningless violence, with deaths that are occasionally noted before the plot moves on.

Yet this series was popular, and its popularity allowed Mackie to get gigs writing Gambit, various Spider-Man titles, and X-Factor. I blame society, and by society, I mean everybody but me. Surely you need to step up and take responsibility, even though I bought this book and you might not have. Shame on you.

Part the Ninth: The Verdict; or, Good God, don’t buy this

Like many people, I’ve talked about how many comics creators have aped the “mature” approaches of Alan Moore and Frank Miller without understanding the subtleties of what’s they are doing. Danny Ketch Classic is a master class on that idea. The deaths pile up with little emotional weight. There’s nothing here that asks the reader to empathize or engage with the material on the page. Things happen; the Ghost Rider shows up to put an end to them; and then more things happen. It’s a pointless cycle without reason or an end. What is supposed to be the Ghost Rider’s moral gray area turns into a moral vacuum; not only are there no strong moral figures in the book, there’s no real expression of strong moral values.

I really disliked this book. I found it vacuous and bad and … and … agh my head hurts. Danny Ketch Classic is a leading cause of deep hurting.

I guess what I’m trying to say is if you’re looking for Saltares art, buy something else.

Rating: (½ of 5)

Dark Horse and IDW June 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-04-05T12:58:00.003-04:00

Will be picking up: Nothing. Sorry, IDW and Dark Horse! It’s not your fault I have provincial tastes!

Might pick up eventually:

Dungeons & Dragons, v. 1: Shadowplague (hardcover): Comic adaptations of D&D are generally, well, crap. (Sorry, DC and everyone who worked on their ‘90s D&D comics!) Still, the idea of fantasy comics is a worthwhile one, as the various Conan comics point out and CrossGen noticed. So I might manage to pick this one up eventually and see if it’s a good story or if it’s awkwardly adapted game mechanics and traditions. ($24.99, 9781600109225; IDW)

Might pick up if the price is right:

Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities and the Ghastly Fiend of London, v. 2 ($15.99; Dark Horse)
Next Men, v. 1 (hardcover): This is the new series rather than a reprint of the series in the ‘90s. For those of us who didn’t read the original, IDW is also reprinting Next Men, v. 1, #1 for $1 under their 100 Penny Press banner. ($21.99, 9781600109249; IDW)

Competing 1940s Archie collections!:

Archie Archives, v. 2 (hardcover) ($49.99; Dark Horse)
Archie: Americana, v. 1: The '40s (hardcover): Which to choose? The IDW book is a compilation of two “Best of the Forties” books, according to the solicitations, and the Dark Horse book reprints material in chronological order. For the casual Archie enthusiast — and you know who you are; yes, you, sir, in the back of the Nebraska — Americana is probably the best idea, but the hard-core Archie fan (the ones who like their malteds double strong) will look forward to the Archives. ($24.99; 9781600109317; IDW)

Manga:

Drifters, v. 1 ($$12.99; Dark Horse)
Eden: It’s an Endless World!, v. 13 ($12.99; Dark Horse)
Gantz, v. 18 ($12.99; Dark Horse)
Oh My Goddess!, v. 39 ($10.99; Dark Horse)

The Rest:

30 Days of Night Prestige Edition: For those who want prestige in their horror comics. ($50, 9781600109560; IDW)
Angel, v. 3: The Wolf, the Ram, and the Heart ($24.99, 9781600109447; IDW)
B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth, v. 1: New World: Tough to go wrong with Guy Davis art — I mean, if you can’t have Mignola, Davis would be in my top three choices — but for some reason I resist the BPRD books. Perhaps I’m recalling gradually getting sucked into auxiliary X-titles in ‘90s and transferring the dislike to all spinoff titles. ($19.99; Dark Horse)
Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives, v. 6 (hardcover) ($49.99; Dark Horse)
Caniff ($49.99, 9781600109201; IDW)
Danger Girl Campbell Sketchbook (hardcover): There are people out there that still want this? Really? When did the last Danger Girl come out? (*checks notes*) OK, a mini in 2007, but J. Scott Campbell hasn’t drawn the book since a one-shot in 2004, and he hasn’t worked on more than Danger Girl issue in a year since last century. And why isn’t this coming out from Wildstorm / DC or Image, which are the companies that published Danger Girl in the first place? ($19.99; 9781600109218; IDW)
Deadworld Classics, v. 2 ($24.99, 9781600109256; IDW)
Flash Gordon Comic Book Archives, v. 4 (hardcover) ($49.99; Dark Horse)
G.I. Joe: Cobra, v. 4: Death of Cobra Commander ($17.99, 9781600109881; IDW)
Jericho: Season Three: Somewhere there is a Venn diagram that shows the overlap between Jericho fans and comic book readers, and I suspect that overlap is pretty tiny. ($19.99, 9781600109393; IDW)
Jurassic Park: The Devils in the Desert: I realize IDW is making a John Byrne push this month, but this is the best Byrne property it could find? ($17.99, 9781600109232; IDW)
Little Lulu, v. 28: The Prize Winner and Other Stories: Twenty-eight volumes of Little Lulu? Huh. ($14.99; Dark Horse)
Locke & Key, v. 4: Keys to the Kingdom (hardcover) ($24.99, 9781600108860; IDW)
Something Monstrous! ($17.99, 9781600109287; IDW)
Space Family Robinson Archives, v. 1 (hardcover): Collecting issues from Gold Key Comics … of an idea more famously adapted as Lost in Space. I ask this sarcastically sometimes, but I truly wonder who the audience for this collection is: comics historians? Nostalgic 40- or 50-somethings? Is this a lost gem that I just don’t know about? ($49.99; Dark Horse)
Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago..., v. 4: I’m not interested in this, but I have to admit, $25 for eighteen full-color issues is an excellent deal, even when you take the non-standard size into account. ($24.99; Dark Horse)
Star Wars: Knight Errant—Aflame ($17.99; Dark Horse)
Suicide Forest: Not to be confused with IDW’s Suicide Girls series. This sounds more like an American attempt at J-horror. ($17.99, 9781600109478; IDW)
Transformers Classics, v. 1 ($24.99, 9781600109355; IDW)
Transformers Prime, v. 3 ($7.99, 9781600109607; IDW)
Transformers: The Complete All Hail Megatron (hardcover) ($75, 9781600109553; IDW)

Avengers: The Initiative, v. 1: Basic Training

2011-03-31T22:48:00.012-04:00

Collects: Avengers: The Intiative #1-6 (2007)

Released: 2007 November (Marvel)

Format: 144 pages / color / $14.99 / ISBN: 9780785125167

What is this?: In the wake of the disaster in Stamford, Conn., the government drafts young superhumans to train them and prevent another “New Warriors” type incident.

The culprits: Writer Dan Slott and artists Stefano Caselli and Steve Uy

I resisted Avengers: The Initiative for a long time. The stupidity of both Civil War and the issues that led up to it, combined with the “draft” of young superhumans, seemed an inexcusably stupid premise for a title. I softened my stance somewhat when House to Astonish praised Initiative and its successor title, Avengers Academy, in its year-end podcast. What finally pushed me to read Avengers: The Initiative, v. 1: Basic Training was that volumes 2 through 4 were available on Edward R. Hamilton. Ironically, although I don’t think I’ll buy those books, I did thoroughly enjoy Basic Training.

I was worried The Initiative would hew the line, presenting a world in which the government was right, and the New Warriors — rather than the supervillians they fought — were to blame for the explosion that killed 600 people in Stamford, Conn. But I should have had more faith in writer Dan Slott. Basic Training shows us the government, whatever it says it’s interested in, is actually out for power. It might want to train young superheroes; more accurately, it’s interested in inducting and indoctrinating them. Worse, the government shows itself to be dangerously incompetent, with one hero dying in the first issue because of a trainer’s inexcusable stupidity and ignorance.

That’s not an accident — or rather, it is an accident, but it’s not an isolated incident. The government is awful, which is a given any time Henry Peter Gyrich, head stooge of the Commission for Superhuman Affairs, is around. The trainer who gets a recruit killed is not very good, which throws a different angle on the abusive drill sergeant stereotype, especially when that sergeant continually abuses the New Warriors despite several recruits (and one of his colleagues) being former members of that group. His savage beating in #6 is one of the greatest moments of visceral satisfaction I have had in the last few years of reading comics. The lab monkey for the Initiative, Baron Werner Von Blitzschlag, is a literal Nazi, who tells Hank Pym he might be a Nazi, but he was a minor one, and nothing he could do would equal the evil Pym has done. After all, Pym attacked the Avengers with a robot, made a Thor clone that killed Goliath, and created the genocidal Ultron; what Nazi wouldn’t be Pym’s fan? Which raises the unspoken question of why the New Warrior’s one tragic mistake changed the Marvel Universe but Pym creating a robot that destroyed an entire country is swept under the carpet.

The government sends innocent recruits out to kill, unprepared, and are later surprised when the recruits try to do more purely heroic actions rather than work crowd control. War Machine sends an inadequate recruit to take away Spider-Man’s powers. It covers up the death of a recruit, then covers up who beat Gauntlet. Gyrich is uninterested in developing the recruits as people, instead wanting to make them more efficient killing machines. One can say this is a cynical product of our modern age; on the other hand, it’s hard to argue the U.S. government in the Marvel Universe didn’t deserve someone saying how awful it is and how awful the pro-Registration “heroes” are.

These were things that needed to be said about the Marvel Universe, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing them. Now: is the story that says them any good?

It’s not as good as it could be. It really does feel, at times, like Slott is sacrificing story to make his point. There is a strong core of recruits — Cloud 9, Rage, Hardball, Komodo, and Trauma — and the teachers / administrators of the Initiative have clear, well-defined roles. Each of that core of recruits has his or her own story or subplot, but unfortunately, none of them except Cloud 9 seem to click, either individually or collectively. There is no team here; it makes sense in a military point of view, but it’s a bit harder to get behind as a reader.

Harder still are auxiliary characters who float around on the periphery. I know Thor Girl, Ultragirl, and Slapstick are part of the same group of recruits as the others, but they do so little — nothing, really, until #6 — it’s hard to see why they’re there. Well, that’s not true for Slapstick, although his character design clashes with the others, as it always has. But Thor Girl and (especially) Ultragirl blend into the background of generic blonde so that they’re difficult to differentiate from Cloud 9 … or anyone I’m supposed to know. It’s especially bad in issue #6, when one of the blondes confesses to having an affair with Justice, the counselor for the recruits. I had to look on Wikipedia to find out which one it was, and I can only partially blame fill-in artist Steve Uy — if that character had had more of a presence, the utterly generic look to the character wouldn’t have been such a problem.

Uy’s work is not to my taste, but he only draws #6. He has a thin line and a manga look that I find unattractive and unassertive, and his grasp of features means most of his characters look like they’re related. Regular artist Stefano Caselli is a much stronger artist. Although the fight scenes are a little weaker than I prefer — they seem like a series of unconnected cuts rather than a coherent whole — Caselli’s character design is pretty strong (tending toward varying the character’s t-shirt, though), and he can handle interpersonal scenes without boring the reader.

I won’t lie: if you’re not a fan of young hero books or if you are not prepared to be told how stupid post-Civil War Registration plots were, then you’re not going to like this. I did, though; I liked it quite a bit. Although this is not quite as strong as it could be, it still has plenty of promise, and I will read more of this series.

Rating: (4 of 5)

DC June 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-03-30T15:08:00.002-04:00

Will be picking up: Nothing. Sorry, DC!

Might pick up eventually:

Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash: I won’t say that DC is more adventuresome with their choices of Showcases than Marvel is with Essentials — really, how do you choose between Bat Lash / The War that Time Forgot and Killraven / Godzilla? — but I can’t see Marvel doing anything like this: jumping ahead in a character’s history to present an extended storyline. I understand it ties in with the May crossover storyline in the DC books, which involves Zoom changing the DC universe, but I have a fondness and curiosity for this story … the first Flash I ever read (and one of the first comics I ever read) was Flash #274, which teased the death of Iris Allen, and I’m curious to see what happens when Flash gets his chance at revenge. ($19.99)

Might pick up if the price is right:

The Steve Ditko Omnibus, v. 1 Starring Shade the Changing Man (hardcover): I’m a big Ditko fan, but I’m not sure I’m that big of a Ditko fan, if you catch my drift. ($59.99)
Welcome to Tranquility: One Foot in the Grave: Well, I was slightly amused by the first Welcome to Tranquility volume; I might try the second. ($17.99)

Already got one (earlier collection or original comics):

Fables Deluxe Edition, v. 3 (hardcover) ($29.99)
Gotham Central, v. 2: Jokers and Madmen: Hey! This time they’re reprinting all the stories! Find out what happened in #16-8 that DC didn’t want us to know about when they released Gotham Central, v. 3: Unresolved Targets in 2006. Also, it’s a twelve-issue trade for an affordable price; the creative team is top-notch, and there’s no reason not to buy this series. ($19.99)

Blackest Night:

Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps, v. 1 ($19.99)
Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps, v. 2 ($19.99)
Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps ($19.99)
Blackest Night: Green Lantern ($19.99)
Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns ($19.99)
Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps ($19.99)
Blackest Night: Seven Blackest Night books in one month! That’s $140 retail; supposing a 40 percent discount, that’s still a bill of $86. If you’re planning to buy all of these books in May, you fill me with both wonder and dismay. ($19.99)

The Rest:

The Absolute Sandman, Book Five (hardcover): Bits and bobs of Sandman after the series’s end. ($99.99)
DC Universe: Legacies ($34.99)
Firestorm: The Nuclear Man: I’ll admit to some curiosity about this, but the chances of me buying a TPB that features Bronze Age backups from Flash is slim. Also: too much of a possibility this will be like Essential Nova. ($17.99)
Gotham City Sirens: Strange Fruit (hardcover) ($22.99)
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, v. 1 (hardcover) ($22.99)
Hellblazer: Bloody Carnations ($19.99)
Jack of Fables, v. 9: The End ($17.99)
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse (hardcover) ($49.99)
The New Teen Titans Omnibus, v. 1 (hardcover): DC catches omnibus fever, and I have to say this is a more worthy choice than Atlantis Attacks, Acts of Vengeance, or Evolutionary War. On the other hand, seventeen issues for $75 is insane. Sometimes, I’d like to have it explained to me how DC prices its collections; although I like to think a dartboard and a blindfold are involved, I have a feeling payments to creators has a great deal to do with it the vast differences. Still, there are five more issues in this omnibus than in this month’s Gotham Central, v. 2 and the omnibus goes for $55 more. Yes, New Teen Titans is a more revered title, but that, a hard cover, and five more issues are not worth $55. ($75)
Northlanders, v. 5: Metal ($17.99)
Outsiders: The Great Divide ($14.99)
Return to Perdition (hardcover): Max Allan Collins returns to Perdition, updating the setting to the ‘70s and a new generation. DC helpfully reprints two volumes of the previous stories. ($19.99)
Revolver ($19.99)
Road to Perdition ($14.99)
Road to Perdition 2: On the Road ($14.99)
The Secret Society of Super-Villains (hardcover): And this has more issues than the New Teen Titans Omnibus and a hard cover and goes for $35 less. Of course, I have no idea what the story is with this collection; the solicitation just mentions that there are supervillains (including Sinestro, Grodd, and Captain Cold) starring in this story. Hardly a compelling reason to buy it. ($39.99)
Superman: Grounded, v. 1 (hardcover): The train wreck begins (and ends) here! ($22.99)
X-Files / 30 Days of Night: Wait, did this slip through a wormhole from 2002? ($17.99)

Incredible Hercules, v. 5: The Mighty Thorcules

2011-03-25T12:22:00.002-04:00

Collects: Incredible Hercules #132-7 (2009)

Released: April 2010 (Marvel)

Format: 152 pages / color / $14.99 / ISBN: 9780785136774

What is this?: For the good of Asgard, Hercules is asked to impersonate the Mighty Thor; Amadeus Cho, seventh-smartest person on the planet, investigates the mystery of the town of Excello.

The culprits: Writers Greg Pak and Fred van Lente and art by Reilly Brown and Rodney Buchemi

When I started reading Incredible Hercules, Incredible Hercules, v. 5: The Mighty Thorcules was what I was expecting.

Mighty Thorcules is, first and foremost, funny. At times, it’s hilarious, as when Hercules mocks the origin story of Thor or gives Thor a purple nurple (complete with the sound effect “NURP” in purple letters) during their fight. But it also continues the story of boy genius Amadeus Cho, confronting the architects of his woes, coming to grips with his parents’ deaths, and trying to get answers about where his sister is. However, writers Greg Pak and Fred van Lente manage to leaven Cho’s emotional adventure with humor, and there is a serious side to Hercules’s impersonation of Thor.

The issues in Mighty Thorcules alternate between Hercules’s masquerade in Svartalfheim and Cho’s investigations in the soap-company town of Excello, Utah. Hercules’s story is far more enjoyable and lighthearted; with his father Zeus (reverted to a pre-teen appearance and without his memory) in tow and without the wise advice of Cho or Athena, Hercules moves through the plot with his usual straightforward, stupid, lusty verve. He shrugs off his father’s insults as best he can, despite how obvious it is that Zeus prefers the god Hercules impersonates. Zeus’s amnesia and disgust at Hercules’s “ingenious” plans — such as his answering the challenge of three-dimensional chess by simply knocking the board over, rather than actually trying to figure out the answer — allows the boy-god to serve as a comic foil for the Lion of Olympus.

I missed volumes 3 and 4 of Incredible Hercules, but it’s easy to understand the dramatic elements to this humorous story — Hercules’s battle for parental approval. Cho’s story suffers, however, from the lacuna; his quest is interrupted in my mind, and his character development is more dramatically affected. His final confrontation with Dupree and his coming to grips with his parents’ death are sapped of some of their emotional impact because I’ve missed some of the stories. Still, Pak and van Lente can’t be blamed for that, and I had no trouble following the story. The writers can only be concerned with the coherence of each individual story and the emotional impact of total story they have written.

To bring Cho’s story to a head, then, Pak and van Lente have to write the mental confrontation of Cho and Pythagoras Dupree, the six-smartest person in the world, in a way that isn’t dull, and they succeed. They also give artist Rodney Buchemi the opportunity to draw something more interesting than talking heads. Using a role-playing game as a way of expressing the confrontation between Cho and Dupree in the middle of Cho’s story was an excellent idea as well.

(One word about the Mastermind Excello RPG: I could not figure out what the mechanics are for dice rolls. Are you supposed to roll high? Low? Given the artwork, it could be a callback to the charming but confusing mechanics of 1st edition D&D, where the desirable outcome varied depending on the type of roll.)

Whoever is putting in the sound effects for the battle between Hercules and Thor — most likely either van Lente and Pak or letterer Simon Bowland — obviously was having a lot of fun. Besides the purple “NURP” when Herc gives Thor a double tittie twister, Thor’s boot to Herc’s groin is labeled with the sound “NUHHKRACK,” and his follow-up wedgie is labeled “HWWWWEDGIE.” Other sound effects include “SHOKKAKAAAAAN” (thunder); “WHATTAMANNNN,” “THORRRRULZ,” and “BACKATCHA” (Thor’s punches); and “SUKKKAPUNCH,” “GODDATHUNDAAA,” and “GOTCHAGAAAIN” (Hercules’s). The battle is ended when Zeus dispatches Malekith’s minion with a resounding “MALEKRUNCH.”

Each storyline has its own artist. Herc’s story is penciled by Reilly Brown, and I have to say I love his art. Brown is great with comedy; his characters are expressive, with the humorous story allowing each character broad reactions to the situation. His style is clean and extremely attractive — I’ll admit, it’s exactly the comic art style I have a great fondness for. His fight scenes are clear, and the battle between Thor and Hercules is outstanding: he manages to balance the humor with the power the two combatants throw at one another. Buchemi is also very good, and his style, although obviously different from Brown’s, goes well with his fellow artist’s. Buchemi gets the better design challenges, with the bifurcated nature of Dr. Japanazi and his servants and the Boltzmann brains, and he makes them very memorable. The RPG materials he draws also look like old RPGS (mostly by aping 1st edition D&D, as I mentioned), and there are occasional nice details I didn’t pick up on the first time I read Mighty Thorcules (the “0” and “1” on the different halves of Dr. Japanazi’s skull, the dead member of the Junior Genius Brigade from the RPG adventure lying outside Dupree’s real lair). I didn’t like his work as well as Brown’s, however; his art seems less consistent than Brown’s, and when he draws Cho and Dupree as young children, they look roughly the same (other than glasses and a slight difference in hairstyle) despite their different ethnicities.

Mighty Thorcules is an outstanding book, and not only is it worth reading, it was worth reading the first two volumes of Incredible Hercules to get to it. (And now I’m going to have to track down Love and War and Dark Reign; I’m eager to read v. 6, Assault on New Olympus, which was set up in Thorcules by promising a scuffle between Spider-Man and Hercules over Herc’s ex-wife, Hebe.) Mighty Thorcules is even a great value — six issues for $14.99 is a good deal at Marvel these days.

I find it hard to recommend Mighty Thorcules enough.

Rating: (4.5 of 5)

Marvel June 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-03-22T16:35:00.002-04:00

Will be picking up:

X-Factor, v. 11: Happenings in Vegas ($14.99, ISBN: 9780785146551): The “No More Mutant” crap has really driven this title in weird ways, in directions I am not really fond of. Still, I keep reading the trades. Perhaps the re-emergence of mutants will get this book back on a track I am happier with; perhaps not.

Might pick up eventually:

Mystique by Sean McKeever Ultimate Collection ($24.99, 9780785155218): Another “Ultimate Collection” for Mystique, this time by Sean McKeever, another very good writer. It’s odd that this series is forgotten, despite work from Brian K. Vaughn and McKeever; if it weren’t for the X-Men: First Class movie coming out, who knows how long it would have taken to get these stories back in print?

Might pick up if the price is right:

Captain Britain, v. 2: Siege of Camelot (hardcover) ($39.99, 9780785156765): Two $40 Captain Britain hardcover collections in as many months? Perhaps Marvel is loading its audience with more Captain Britain than it can bear.
Fantastic Four: The Overthrow of Doom (hardcover) ($29.99, 9780785156055): Classic Fantastic Four, and by “classic,” I mean Bronze Age stuff that not many people remember. Still, I am fond of the story that follows this one — the team’s capture by the Skrulls and execution by accelerated aging — so perhaps I’ll pick this one up. On one hand, this collection has four writers for nine issues; on the other hand, it has art by George Perez and Keith Pollard, and I’m fond of all four of the writers (Len Wein, Roger Stern, Marv Wolfman, and Bill Mantlo).

Already got one (earlier collection or original comics):

Essential Spider-Man, v. 10 ($19.99, ISBN: 9780785157472): I have all the Amazing Spider-Man I want from this point forward, which is a little sad; I’d like to reward Marvel for getting into an outstanding part of Spider-Man’s history. I’d also like to give kudos to Marvel for getting their first Essential series to volume 10.
Essential X-Factor, v. 1 ($19.99, ISBN: 9780785118862): Solid but not exciting stuff — except for the Mutant Massacre, of course.
Essential X-Factor, v. 2 ($19.99, ISBN: 9780785120995): Not exciting stuff, unless you really like Warren as Death.
New X-Men by Grant Morrison, Book 2 ($14.99, 9780785155188): Excellent stories; you should read it.
Runaways, v. 5: Escape to New York (digest) ($9.99, ISBN: 9780785157397): Reissuing two Runaways digests. How curious … I figured once the digests were gone, they’d be gone for good.
Runaways, v. 6: Parental Guidance Digest (digest) ($9.99, ISBN: 9780785157458): Deceptive cover.

Masterworks:

Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics, v. 6 (hardcover) ($59.99, ISBN: 9780785142041): I’m sure the target audience will be very happy with this one, but I think the rest of us are wondering why anyone would pick this up.
Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man, v. 7 (hardcover) ($54.99, ISBN: 9780785150442)
Marvel Masterworks: the Mighty Thor, v. 3 ($24.99, ISBN: 9780785150664)

The Rest:

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Circus of the Damned, Book 1 — The Charmer ($16.99, ISBN: 9780785146896): Someone is buying these. I want to know who, so I can personally avoid them.
Ant-Man & Wasp: Small World ($14.99, ISBN: 9780785155676)
Avengers vs. Pet Avengers ($14.99, ISBN: 9780785151852)
Avengers: Assault on Olympus (hardcover) ($29.99, 9780785155348)
Black Widow: The Name of the Rose ($16.99, ISBN: 9780785147008)
Captain America by Dan Jurgens, v. 1 ($29.99, 9780785155171): Hey, does anyone here have a movie coming out during the summer … oh, yes, Captain America. Carry on with your six collections …
Captain America: Fighting Avenger ($14.99, 9780785151982)
Captain America: First Vengeance ($978078515725-0, 14.99)
Captain America: No Escape ($15.99, 9780785145134)
Captain America: Red Menace Ultimate Collection ($19.99, 9780785156178)
Captain America: The Art of Captain America, the First Avenger (hardcover) ($49.99, 9780785155096): … including a shameless picture book, giving fans an “insider’s look” into the making of the movie. Justifiable if the movie is very good overall or visually; robbery if the movie is mediocre.
Daredevil: Reborn (hardcover) $19.99, ISBN: 9780785151326)
Daredevil: Yellow ($19.99, ISBN: 97807851-09693): The first of the two colorful Jeph Loeb / Tim Sale collections, produced when Marvel wanted to catch a bit of that Long Halloween / Dark Victory heat for themselves …
Dark Tower Omnibus (hardcover) ($150.00, ISBN: 9780785155416): The solicitation says this collection has 296 pages, but that can’t be right; there are 30 issues here. Still, $150 for 600 pages seems a bit steep. How big of a kickback is King getting for this?
Dark Tower Omnibus — Companion (hardcover) (no price or ISBN)
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger — The Little Sisters of Eluria (hardcover) ($24.99, ISBN: 9780785149316)
Deadpool Classic, v. 5 ($29.99, ISBN: 9780785155195): Four Deadpool books again! Still no movie! This really drives home how much Deadpool Marvel is churning out these days.
Deadpool Team-Up, v. 2: Special Relationship ($15.99, ISBN: 9780785147121)
Deadpool, v. 7: Space Oddity (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 9780785151388)
Deadpool: Dead Head Redemption ($15.99, ISBN: 9780785156499)
Evolutionary War Omnibus ($74.99, 9780785155478): The Evolutionary War. Really. This storyline, which was an ‘80s summer annual crossover, isn’t reviled; it’s never mentioned. By anyone. On the Internet, where everything is discussed at some point or another.
Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo: Ultimate Collection, Book 1 ($24.99, ISBN: 9780785156550)
Fantastic Four: The World’s Greatest Comics Magazine (hardcover) ($34.99, 9780785156079)
Generation Hope: The Future’s a Four Letter Word ($14.99, 9780785147190)
Halo: Blood Line ($19.99, ISBN: 9780785140504)
Hulk: Gray ($19.99, ISBN: 9780785113461): … and it was right about here that it became obvious that the Loeb / Sale magic wasn’t going to happen at the House of Ideas.
Impossible Man ($34.99, 9780785155201): Intriguing choice, but grab-bag collections rarely motivate me enough to pick them up.
Marvel Adventures Avengers: Captain America Digest ($9.99, 9780785145622)
Marvel Adventures Avengers: Hulk Digest ($9.99, ISBN: 9780785155836)
Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher ($14.99, ISBN: 9780785145950)
Nyx: Wannabe ($19.99, ISBN: 9780785157403)
One Month to Live ($14.99, ISBN: 9780785149040)
Osborn: Evil Incarcerated ($16.99, ISBN: 9780785151753)
Secret Avengers, v. 2: Eyes of the Dragon (hardcover) ($24.99, ISBN: 9780785146018)
Secret Warriors, v. 5: Night (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 9780785148029)
She-Hulks: Hunt for the Intelligencia ($14.99, ISBN: 9780785150008)
Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga ($39.99, ISBN: 9780785155232): Marvel loves reprinting these issues to prove that the second Clone Saga wasn’t a stupid idea — stupid execution, perhaps, but there was a good reason for it. This collection includes a few Spectacular Spider-Man issues from the ‘80s that wrapped up some loose ends / made things more complicated under the guise of correcting plot flaws.
Thor: Blood & Thunder ($34.99, 9780785150947): The post-movie hangover includes only three collections. I don’t remember much good being said about Blood & Thunder, but it’s certainly a Thor story …
Thor: Gods on Earth ($29.99, 9780785150886)
Thor: Thunderstrike ($24.99, 9780785156383): … as is this one, as Tom DeFalco’s pet Thor gets booted to the curb.
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man: Death of Spider-Man Prelude (hardcover) ($24.99, ISBN: 9780785158165): That title has a lot of words that don’t add up to much. Like most of Bendis’s writing. Zing!
Ultimate Six (hardcover) ($24.99, ISBN: 9780785157465)
Uncanny X-Force: Deathlok Nation (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 9780785148562)
Uncanny X-Men: Quarantine ($16.99, 9780785152255)
Wolverine and Jubilee: Curse of the Mutants (hardcover) ($19.99, 9780785157755): Vampire Jubilee. I just wanted to warn you. I haven’t read it, but I suspect it’s just about as good an idea as “Vampire Jubilee” sounds.
X-Force: Sex & Violence ($14.99, ISBN: 9780785144342)
X-Men: Age of X (hardcover) ($29.99, 9780785152897)
X-Men: Great Power (hardcover) ($24.99, 9780785148487)
X-Men: Second Coming ($24.99, 9780785155218)
X-Men: Second Coming: Revelations ($19.99, 9780785157069)
X-Men: To Serve and Protect ($14.99, 9780785152286)

Essential Avengers, v. 6

2011-03-18T16:17:00.003-04:00

Collects: Avengers #120-40, Giant-Size Avengers #1-4, Captain Marvel #33, and Fantastic Four #150 (1974-5)

Released: February 2008 (Marvel)

Format: 576 pages / black and white / $19.99 / ISBN: 9780785130581

What is this?: Kang tries to decide who the Celestial Madonna is; Mantis, the Vision, and the Scarlet Witch learn their origins; Zodiac and Thanos attack.

The culprits: Writer Steve Engelhart (with help from Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway) and art by Sal and John Buscema, Bob Brown, George Tuska, Rich Buckler, Don Heck, Dave Cockrum, and Tom Sutton

Having bought GIT Corp’s DVD-Roms of several Marvel series — Fantastic Four, Uncanny X-Men, Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man — I don’t have much use for Essentials featuring these characters. Which is fortunate, because Marvel seems like it isn’t all that interested in putting out new Essentials.

Unfortunately, these DVD collections, which have more than 40 years of comics and annuals, have one major flaw: they don’t include the Giant-Size series Marvel put out in the ‘70s. Now, I’ve read most of the Giant-Size Spider-Man, and there’s nothing that essential in them (although they can be enjoyable). And all you really miss in the Giant-Size Fantastic Four is Madrox the Multiple Man’s origin in #4. Fortunately, Giant-Size X-Men #1, which has the debut of the All-New, All-Different X-Men and is probably the most important Giant-Size issue, is included with the X-Men DVD-Rom. But the Giant-Size Avengers are important too, and they are left out of 40 Years of the Avengers.

So I purchased Essential Avengers, v. 6, which included all four issues of Giant-Size Avengers. Avengers, v. 6, also has another distinction among Essentials that makes it, if not unique, then very unusual: the issues collected in this book make up one storyline. That is, Essential Avengers, v. 6, makes an acceptable alternative to the Celestial Madonna Saga trade paperback, and it gives almost a year’s worth of issues that precede Celestial Madonna and a half year’s worth that follow the storyline. For these extra issues, you sacrifice color, but that’s a small price to pay.

One would expect a story that features the “Celestial Madonna” to have a long-lasting effect on the Marvel Universe — or at least the Avengers. But the most important event is the marriage of the Scarlet Witch and Vision; admittedly, that’s a pretty important moment, but neither of them are the Celestial Madonna. That honor goes to Mantis, a Vietnamese orphan who is trained by pacifist Kree monks after her uncle kills her mother and blinds her father. As with most storylines that revolve around the birth of a child unconceived, there has been little to no payoff from Mantis’s role. Mostly, the Celestial Madonna story is a time war vs. Kang, who returns again and again to kidnap Mantis and mate with her.

Oh, Kang. It doesn’t take much to get bored with Kang in this volume, despite writer Steve Englehart’s efforts. Why? Because Kang is the master of time, and his answer on how to use this temporal advantage is to steal dead heroes and villains out of the time stream and bring them to Limbo. Why use dead people? Who knows? Since he gains mental control of his new warriors, he could choose anyone — he could even steal future or past versions of the Avengers out of the time stream, which would at least make it an even fight. But no, he decides to create his Legion of the Unliving, none of whom, strangely, had died in their personal timelines yet. Kang’s other gambit include superrobots, Avenger-powered superrobots, and invading the present from several different points of his personal timeline simultaneously. This last is, at least, a good use of his advantages, but since his other versions seemed to have invaded from his Girl Scout days, anyone can beat them.

Once you get past a baby that won’t be born until after the book ends and a Kang who literally cannot even beat himself in a fight (and how could he, since he was outnumbered by himself two to one?), what do you have? Well, Giant-Size Avengers #4 has one of the oddest endings of any Avengers story outside Avengers #200: a half-Vietnamese, half-German girl who always talks of herself in the third person marries an alien tree who’s taking the form of her dead boyfriend, which takes her into space and will later impregnate her with the universal Messiah. Meanwhile, in the background, a mutant marries an android in a double marriage ceremony officiated by the future version of the supervillain the team just defeated (who also does not seem to have any real credentials that would allow him to perform marriages).

I wish I could say there were other parts of the story that rose to those heights, but that’s it — it’s hard to get that strange consistently, but other than the Legion of the Unliving, Essential Avengers doesn’t consistently rise to any notable level of insanity, nor does it get that exciting. “Celestial Madonna” is not exactly a disappointment, but it’s not a seminal Avengers story, despite its memorable name. The romantic tangle between Vision, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, and Mantis is predictably resolved. This volume is also notable for the beginning of Vision’s confusing backstory; his body is that of the World War II android the Human Torch, a revelation that utterly fails to be interesting. The Scarlet Witch has an odd subplot with developing her “magical powers.” The Avengers have no problem operating in South Vietnam, which is a bit disorienting, but the issue was published just before North Vietnam won the war and unified the country under Communist rule.

The material that precedes the Celestial Madonna story is interesting as a snapshot of early Bronze-Age Avengers. The stories feature Zodiac, the revelation of who the parents of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are (later revealed as false), the marriage of Quicksilver and the Inhuman Crystal, and the bizarre beginning of the Scarlet Witch’s training in witchcraft by Agatha Harkess (based, apparently, solely on the Scarlet Witch’s name). A battle with Thanos is a distraction —Captain Marvel #33 includes literally three pages of dense recap on Thanos’s history, which isn’t conducive to narrative flow — that comes to nothing, especially since it doesn’t end Thanos’s story as definitively as it pretends. And what comes after the Celestial Madonna heads into space is interesting as well; the introduction of new members Beast and Moondragon gives the team exciting new dynamics, despite the return of the slappingest, insanest Avenger, Hank Pym.

The art in Essential Avengers, v. 6, is top notch. The Buscema brothers provide the plurality of the art, with Sal penciling more than his brother John. Other pencilers include George Tuska, Dave Cockrum, Bob Brown, Don Heck, Rich Buckler, and Tom Sutton — a distinguished roster that needs no praise from me, however much it deserves it.

Despite the many interesting parts of Essential Avengers, v. 6, I think the main appeal is getting all four Giant-Size Avengers issues in one volume. There are other attractions — and I have to emphasize, the book is drawn by a lot of great artists who do not clash in style — but Marvel’s Giant-Size line is sadly neglected in reprint form. Englehart fans will find much to enjoy, as will those who like comic-book weddings — three in one volume, none of whom are married today!

Oh, and those who enjoy the thought of alien plants having consensual sex with human women will also find this appealing. You know who you are.

Rating: (3.5 of 5)

Incredible Hercules, v. 2: Secret Invasion

2011-03-11T15:42:00.001-05:00

Collects: Incredible Hercules #116-20 (2008)

Released: February 2009 (Marvel)

Format: 128 pages / color / $14.99 / ISBN: 9780785128298

What is this?: The gods of the Hu-mans take on the gods of the Skrulls when the Skrulls invade Earth.

The culprits: Writers Greg Pak and Fred van Lente and penciler Rafa Sandoval

I’m not sure why I feel as I do about Incredible Hercules: Secret Invasion: I’m JUST not convinced that it’s a good book.

Like with the previous volume of Incredible Hercules, I want to like Secret Invasion. Writers Greg Pak and Fred van Lente have their protagonists down by now. Boy genius Amadeus Cho and god idiot Hercules make an amusing team, with Hercules getting the best lines this time. Hercules comes into his own this issue, boiling situations down to their simplest form and coming up with pithy analysis: “I punch stuff, and it falls down!” he says at one point. “That’s the only ‘strategy’ I’ve ever needed!”

Of course, that strategy raises an interesting point: Hercules is put in charge of the band of gods that assault the Skrull gods, just as the Skrull invasion begins in earnest on Earth. Why does Athena choose Hercules to lead the rather paltry expedition? It’s never made clear. Perhaps it’s to teach Hercules a lesson, which could be made clear in later volumes of the Incredible Hercules series. But it feels like Herc got the job because he’s the title character. Ajak, an Eternal, points out Hercules’s many flaws as the final battle begins, and he would have made a much better choice. Two other members of the “God Squad” might have been better leaders, but neither the evil Mikaboshi nor the God-Eater could be trusted.

I was happy to see the other member of the team, Snowbird. A longtime member of Alpha Flight, Snowbird doesn’t get many guest appearances these days. But fans of Alpha Flight will be happy to see how she deals the murderer of Alpha Flight, and she does come across as the only member of the God Squad other than Mikaboshi who has a plan other than punching. (Ajak complains about Hercules, but his plan boils down to “use energy beams until it falls down”). The relationship between Snowbird and Hercules takes a surprising and not welcome turn, but the reactions of both heroes is satisfying enough for me to grant them some leeway. Although I must ask: can any female resist Hercules’s masculine wiles? I’m going out on a limb and saying only Athena. And Hera.

I don’t feel like giving any leeway to the phrase “God Squad,” though. It feels too knowing. I’m glad Hercules stopped Cho from using “Godmobile” more than once, though. On the other hand, Cho names his pup “Kirby,” ostensibly a shortening of “Kerberos,” the name of the three-headed dog of Hades. The name makes sense, but does the Marvel Universe need yet another tribute to Jack Kirby? (I know some — many? — readers will say “yes,” which should teach me to ask rhetorical questions.)

For some reason, Cho got on my nerves in Secret Invasion. The cutesy names are just part of it; Cho is completely out of his depth in a world of gods and is often wrong, but he rarely admits it. He never loses his attitude, which is fine — even endearing — when he’s right, but when he’s doing nothing, it’s unlikeable. His most valuable contribution to the expedition, to use his words, is to “do nothing,” which is bizarre; Hercules is a bad leader, so why can’t Cho help him with that?

Perhaps part of the problem is that this is part of the Secret Invasion crossover. There’s nothing Cho can do to sniff out Skrulls, after all. But in a larger sense, the crossover seems to highjack Cho and Hercules’s plotline. It seems random that the Skrull gods would need to be fought — we’ve never seen Earth’s deities battle alien pantheons in other large crossover events, have we? — and stranger that Cho would need to be along. But that does seem to be the best way to tie Hercules and his cast into the crossover, so away they go! Evidently, attendance in this crossover was mandatory. Oh, how I wish Hercules could have gotten out of it with a letter from Asclepius.

The only saving grace I saw in the Secret Invasion crossover is that it allowed the writers to show why Hercules might be reluctant to have a young sidekick. While Hercules was part of the Argo’s journey for the Golden Fleece, his young friend Hylas was kidnapped by a nymph, which caused Hercules to go on a rampage and forget about the quest he was on. Van Lente and Pak keep the mythological references that I enjoyed in Against the World, although they are not integrated into the structure of Secret Invasion as they were previously.

The art by Rafa Sandoval gives me a headache. Not so much for Sandoval’s contributions, really, but because colorist Martegod Gracia gives the book a green-gray tint — Skrull tone, I suppose. It murks up Sandoval’s work, which is unhelpful, and it’s an unpleasant tint to begin with. I like Sandoval’s work during the first three issues, which are mainly talking heads and a few small-scale fights. Unfortunately, the large fights, with the five gods battling against the gods enslaved by the Skrull pantheon, are hard to parse. The coloring really did not help here, as it frequently made it difficult to decipher the details necessary to make out what was going on.

I feel my rating is a little harsh. There really isn’t that much to dislike about this book, but I feel it’s a step back from Against the World. The psychological darkness is dialed back, the fluidity of the plot is sacrificed for a crossover, and the characters include two evil gods and a snarky child. The colors are unattractive, the logic is odd, and I’m sick of Skrulls, who do little in the entire crossover and nothing here.

Rating: (2.5 of 5)

The Quarter Bin: Nomad: Girl without a World

2011-03-08T13:49:00.002-05:00

Trade paperbacks and — God forbid — hardbacks are a big risk; dropping $14.99 to $34.99 on material you’re not sure about can lead to buyer’s remorse and bitter, bitter recriminations. Why didn’t someone warn you that Captain America and the Falcon, v. 1: Two Americas was so bad? A sample would have warned you, but you had to order the whole thing.

Well, I’m not made of money either. So I’m trying out that sampling approach in The Quarter Bin. Recent comics that have lower promotional prices, are Free Comic Book Day giveaways, or I have found in that holy of holies, the Quarter Bin, get a quick review and a recommendation on whether it might be worthwhile to pick up the trade. So, without further ado, we have …

The Issue: Nomad: Girl without a World #1 (November 2009, Marvel)

The Culprits: Written by Sean McKeever, art by David Baldeon

The Hook: Rikki Barnes, Captain America’s sidekick from the Heroes Reborn universe, tries to adjust to high school life on a new planet in Marvel’s New York.

Collected in: Nomad: Girl without a World

Strengths: McKeever writes a simple, grounded story of heroics from an unpowered teenage hero with something to prove. The story charmingly starts with high school weirdness, then quickly dives into something much darker. Baldeon’s art is clear, attractive, and without any annoying tics; his Rikki looks like a high-school student instead of a pneumatic acrobat — helpfully played by the Black Widow. Nice cliffhanger.

Weaknesses: Potentially confusing backstory for the title character doesn’t really fit with high-school supervillain drama. The scene with Rikki and the Black Widow doesn’t quite work — the Black Widow’s desire to keep Rikki from the new Captain America feels strange. Rob Liefeld artwork on the title page. Gratuitous ass shot of the Black Widow.

Mitigation: Backstory is kept in the background, for the most part. Could be a payoff for the scene between Black Widow and Rikki later in the series. The Liefeld artwork is for just one page, and it makes Baldeon’s work look even better. Ass shot is only one panel.

Judgment: I’m definitely interested in this one. Make no mistake, Rikki’s background is a problem, but McKeever mentions it as little as possible while making sure readers know he still remembers it. Rikki is more down to earth than other Marvel heroes; she has no powers, only training, and it shows in her adventures, keeping her both a lovable underdog but not incapable of winning a fight. I’m eager to know what’s behind the sinister class elections — I’m betting on a junior varsity Hate Monger, but that’s just a guess. And the cliffhanger, in which it’s hinted Rikki might have an ally, is nice as well.

Hardcover, TPB, or Nothing? There’s no hardcover of this one, so that makes it easy: I’ll have to read the TPB.

Gambit Classic, v. 1

2011-03-04T12:55:00.003-05:00

Collects: Uncanny X-Men #265-7 and Gambit #1-4 (1990, 1993-4)

Released: April 2009 (Marvel)

Format: 176 pages /color / $24.99 / ISBN: 9780785137290

What is this?: Gambit! Gambit Gambit? Gambit, n’est ce pas! 1990s! Gaaammmmbiiiittt!

The culprits: Writers Chris Claremont and Howard Mackie and artists Lee Weeks, Bill Jaaska, Mike Collins, and Homage Studios

When future generations look back at us and ask us why we thought Gambit was “cool,” we will be forced to answer: It was the ‘90s; you had to have been there. That’s the only response that makes sense. Oh, perhaps we might say something about his anti-authoritarian attitude, about how he metaphorically pulled the whiskers of Xavier and Wolverine and he had a “mysterious” past, but those aren’t real answers. Those are excuses.

Those delving into the subject will not find the answer to that future question in Gambit Classic, v. 1. Unfortunately, Gambit Classic will raise only more questions: What’s with that accent? Why is Storm a child? Why does the first issue in this collection not have Gambit in it at all? Seriously — is that accent a symptom of brain damage? Is the immortal Candra’s support of the useless Thieves and Assassins Guilds evidence of her uselessness, or is her behavior enough of a de facto argument?

But we must put aside these considerations for the moment. The future, I have been assured by eminent authorities on the subject, will take care of itself, much as I believe those future generations should be allowed to. Let us instead concentrate on the book itself.

Gambit Classic starts at the end of writer Chris Claremont‘s run on Uncanny X-Men, coming during the time when Storm was a child and the X-Men were scattered across the globe, with many of them missing their memories. As most of you who have read Uncanny during that time know, it was not a good period — the 260s of Uncanny were abysmal in quality, but the book was coasting on a wave of popularity. (That wave, I believe, partially answers the hypothetical question at the beginning of the review.) At this point, Claremont was doing issues or short arcs on the various X-Men split up by the Siege Perilous — #259 was about Colossus, #260 featured Dazzler, and #261 pitted Wolverine, Jubilee, and Psylocke against Hardcase and the Harriers. (Forge and Banshee rescued Jean Grey in #262-4.) These issues were about as you would expect: Claremontian dialogue, Image-ish art, plots that seemingly went nowhere. (The team had been split up since #251, and it would not get back together until #270, at the beginning of X-Tinction Agenda.)

Anyway … the former X-Man Storm is a child in Cairo, Ill., where she’d been since #253. Issue #265 provides the background for Gambit’s first appearance — he doesn’t appear in the issue, as I mentioned earlier — as pre-teen Storm steals from the, er, rich in the area. Unfortunately, the Shadow King has taken one of the mansions and turned its occupants into his slaves. Through either laziness or foreshadowing, Claremont doesn’t bother to change much between the Shadow King’s slaves and the mind-controlled Rachel Summers from “Days of Future Past”: both are called “hounds,” and their costumes are extremely similar (skintight with spikes). Perhaps Claremont, having reached the top of the comics world, didn’t feel the need to alter his personal storytelling fetish to suit the norms. Into this weird scene walks Gambit, who wants to steal from same mansion Storm targeted; he helps save Storm from the Shadow King, he helps save Storm from Nanny and the Orphan Maker, and the two escape to New Orleans. This first appearance sets up everything that Gambit is: a trenchcoat, hideous body armor, an accent, a profession, and a propensity to blow things up, mutant-style. Yes, there’s a green glow around his eyes that suggests a psychic power, and the accent is more Claremontian than Cajun, but it’s easy to see what Claremont is going for. (To be fair to him, Claremont’s Gambit dialogue is more than just phonetic mispronunciations and a smattering of high-school French.)

It’s unfortunate for the character that this was his introduction, inserted into this unfortunate storyline. When modern readers think of Claremont’s weaknesses and excesses, this storyline is exactly what they have in mind. The dialogue and narration are stylized to the point of self parody. The mind control plot is Claremont’s go-to storyline, even as it’s bogged down in the remnants of the Siege Perilous / Australian chaos that had been going on far too long. For God’s sake, it has Nanny and the Orphan Maker (not Claremont creations, but right up his alley). In my opinion, this is the absolute nadir of Claremont’s entire run, which would improve immediately after this nonsense was over.

(One final note about the writing: This storyline is set in Cairo, Ill., in part because Storm has mixed it up with her childhood home of Cairo, Egypt. Sure, fine, although the names aren’t even pronounced the same.⁵⁶ Claremont and his artists seem to think the American Cairo is a large or prosperous town. As someone who grew up in the area,⁵⁷ I can tell you it isn’t. It’s a poor, small, river town that is occasionally the object or subject of Southern Illinois’s racial tensions. It’s largest population was in 1920, when Cairo had just over 15,000 people. In 1990, it was less than 5,000. Today, Cairo has fewer than 3,000 people, and someone is burning down abandoned buildings for fun. But Claremont’s Cairo has the large, prosperous Mississippi Mall and several mansions full of artwork to rob. According to the art, the mall is huge — a multilevel job that would never have been built in a rural area where land is cheap — and the mansions are opulent and architecturally interesting. I know comics are fantasy, but this seems a rather pointless one.)

When you think of this time in X-Men history, you envision the Image artists working on the title — Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri, etc. However, that’s not what you get here. The late Bill Jaaska drew #265, and Mike Collins was the artist for #266, although Lee is credited as Gambit’s co-creator. Neither is bad — I like Jaaska’s clear, simple artwork quite a bit, more than murky, oversexualized, Image-ish #267 — but both were odd choices for the time. Neither had the prominence of the other artists who worked on Uncanny; neither fit the style of Lee et al. Uncanny #267 is credited to Homage Studios — specifically, Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio along with Scott Williams — and it’s not the best work from Lee or Portacio.

As for the Gambit miniseries, the artwork of Lee Weeks is much more pleasing. It’s not perfect — occasionally the reader is blinded when the flash overcomes substance, and Gambit’s hair is a near impossible cosmetological marvel — but despite those shortcomings, it’s clear, it’s quite pretty, and it tells the story reasonably well.

Although given what the actual story is, telling it clearly can be considered a detriment. Howard Mackie … I have no idea what to say about Mackie that rises above personal attacks. The plot of Gambit involves Gambit’s wife, the immortal mutant Candra, and the guilds of New Orleans. The guilds are incompetent — the Assassins kill one person during the series, someone so obviously fish bait he should have had it tattooed on his face — and the Thieves, despite their “power,” are pushed around by everyone. Rogue, the most powerful character in the book, does nothing. Belladonna, Gambit’s unconscious wife, sleeps in the nude the entire series. (Why?) Candra does nothing but wear an impressively stupid costume, which is a swimsuit with arm-length gloves attached to the top. Her enforcer, the Tithe Collector, would have trouble menacing a fourth-grade class. And Gambit? The most impressive thing he does is to slip out, travel to Paris, and return without Rogue noticing. Well, that’s not true — the most impressive thing he does is to ask Rogue out on a date only moments after his beloved wife awakes, an amnesiac. That’s impressively awful, the kind of behavior that deserves fire ants inside the armor and honey-coated underwear.

If you want a more detailed look at its awfulness, consult David R. Henry‘s review of Gambit #4, “The Moron Game.”

So, if you’ve been paying close attention, you may come to the conclusion that this book is awful. Well, yes, and no. The quality of the book is pretty low — so low, really, I hadn’t planned to write a full-length review — with its highest profile creators doing some of their worst work and Howard Mackie doing his usual job. Still, Weeks’s art is easy on the eyes. More importantly, there is a strong whiff of nostalgia in the pages — nostalgia for a time when Claremont and the X-Men were the biggest thing in comics, nostalgia for youth (for some of us), nostalgia for the simplicity of the age.

It was the ‘90s, after all. You had to have been there.

Rating: (1.5 of 5)

Dark Horse, IDW, and Image May 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-03-01T12:45:00.001-05:00

Must have:

Usagi Yojimbo, v. 25: Fox Hunt: Always up for the next Usagi book, although it feels like the collected editions are slipping further and further behind the comics. This collects #110-6, but the series will be almost two years ahead of that by the time this comes out in July. ($16.99; Dark Horse)

Might buy if the price is right:

Barks’ Bear Book: On the same month as DC issues an obscure Jack Kirby collection, IDW releases a collection of Carl Barks’s obscure backups featuring Barney Bear and Benny Burro. The names aren’t promising, but it is Barks. ($34.99, ISBN: 9781600109294; IDW)
Scary Godmother Comic Book Stories: Haven’t read any of Jill Thompson’s Scary Godmother stories; is this a good place to start? ($24.99; Dark Horse)

Might check out of a library:

Archie’s Joke Book, v. 1: A Celebration of Bob Montana: I don’t know why they’re celebrating Bob Montana, but I am mildly intrigued. ($29.99, ISBN: 9781600109584; IDW)
Blackjacked and Pistol-Whipped: A Crime Does Not Pay Primer: Contains a few selected stories and evidently some interesting trivia about the book itself. Could be some fascinating reading. Could be a letdown. You never know. ($19.99; Dark Horse)

Manga:

Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Lost Adventures: Good to see the M. Night Shyamalan movie hasn’t sunk the series completely. ($14.99; Dark Horse)
Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus Book 2 ($19.99; Dark Horse)
Magic Knight Rayearth Omnibus Edition ($19.99; Dark Horse)

The Rest:

30 Days of Night Collector’s Set ($39.99, ISBN: 9781600109652; IDW)
Angel Omnibus ($24.99; Dark Horse)
Angel Yearbook ($7.99, ISBN: 9781600109614; IDW)
The Art of Amanda Conner ($24.99, ISBN: 9781600109508; IDW)
The Art of Doug Sneyd ($39.99; Dark Horse)
Bomb Queen, v. 6: Time Bomb ($16.99; Image)
Choker, v. 1 ($16.99; Image)
Creepy Archives, v. 10 ($49.99; Dark Horse)
Creepy Comics, v. 1 ($19.99; Dark Horse)
Dethklok: I wouldn’t be surprised if this were as good as the TV show itself, since it has stories written by the series’ creator and animation director. Also, it just feels like the kind of TV series that would translate well to the page. ($19.99; Dark Horse)
Devil's Concubine ($19.99, ISBN: 9781600109485; IDW)
Doctor Macabre ($17.99, ISBN: 9781600109157; IDW)
George R.R. Martin's Doorways: Really? George R.R. Martin has reached this level of popularity? ($21.99, ISBN: 9781600109164; IDW)
Guarding the Globe, v. 1: For those of you needing a Kirkman fix this month. ($16.99; Image)
Gutwrencher ($19.99, ISBN: 9781600109362; IDW)
Hellboy Library Edition, v. 4 ($49.99; Dark Horse)
Kull, v. 2: The Hate Witch ($15.99; Dark Horse)
Li’l Abner, v. 3 ($49.99, ISBN: 9781600109379; IDW)
Pilot Season, v. 4: 2010 ($19.99; Image)
The ’Breed Collection, v. 1: The Book of Genesis ($17.99; Image)
Transformers: Foundation (17.99, ISBN: 9781600109188; IDW)
Transformers: Rising Storm ($17.99, ISBN: 9781600109195; IDW)
Transformers: The IDW Collection, v. 4 (49.99, ISBN: 9781600109386; IDW)
Wormwood, v. 3 Deviant Edition ($24.99, ISBN: 9781600109263; IDW)

Incredible Hercules, v. 1: Against the World

2011-02-25T23:31:00.002-05:00

Collects: Incredible Hulk #112, Incredible Hercules #113-5, and Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide (2008)

Released: September 2008 (Marvel)

Format: 136 pages / color / $14.99 / ISBN: 9780785125334

What is this?: After helping Hulk during World War Hulk, Hercules and his genius sidekick Amadeus Cho go on the lam from Ares and SHIELD.

The culprits: Writers Greg Pak and Fred van Lente and penciler Khoi Pham

Incredible Hercules is an Internet darling — the kind that reviewers love, but comic book buyers do not. A large measure of credit has to go to the co-writers: Greg Pak and Fred van Lente also pop up in very positive reviews for their work other than Hercules. I myself certainly enjoyed Pak’s Planet Hulk, a sweeping, emotional comic-book epic about the Hulk as a gladiator. I had mixed feelings about the only non-Herc work I’d seen from van Lente, Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK’s 11, but I have not read his most praised work on Marvel’s all-ages lines.

Although I was unimpressed by the first TPB in this series starring Hercules, Incredible Hercules: World War Hulk, I gave it a pass because it was part of a massive crossover and because van Lente wasn’t involved. I figured Incredible Hercules, v. 1: Against the World was the book I should base my opinion of the series on.

The good news is there is nothing about Against the World that is as forgettable or regrettable as World War Hulk. Pak and van Lente make Hercules and his sidekick Amadeus Cho into memorable and fun characters. There is a lightness to their dialogue and interaction occasionally cut by the darkness of the characters, giving them some depth. Hercules’s history, both classical and Marvel, are mined to help the story along; Wonder Man and Black Widow get a few good lines as well. And the villain, Ares, got the only laugh-out-loud lines in the book, ranting at and doggedly pursuing Hercules and his sidekick (but mainly Hercules).

Despite the humor, despite the somewhat standard superheroics, Against the World is more morally complicated that standard superhero fare. (Especially if you take it for granted that Iron Man in Civil War was a cryptofascist trampling on basic American rights.) Hercules is a Greek god who doesn’t share exactly the same ethos as modern Americans — or at least he didn’t when he was in the business of myth making. He is, as Ares calls him, the god of bad decisions. He drinks, he sleeps around, and he has a proclivity to rampage blindly. He makes a poor role model, to say the least; if there is a more competent hero to play watchdog, then he can at least be aimed in the right direction. But Herc’s sidekick is Amadeus Cho, the seventh-smartest person on the planet and a teenager. Frequently he’s too smart for his own good, blind to his own irrationalities, such as his unstinting admiration for the Hulk and Hercules and his own vengeful side.

Van Lente and Pak play with Hercules’s classical mindset, using his “mythological” exploits as the basis for Hercules’s hallucinations or as parallels to his modern adventures. I appreciate not only using those stories to fill out the character of Hercules — generally portrayed in the past as a two-dimensional, good-natured brawler — and to give a reason why he uses that name rather than his Greek name, Herakles. But changing the reasoning and chronology of Herakles’s twelfth labor makes me uneasy … yes, it helps make Hercules more morally ambiguous, but if a writer uses the myths selectively (and has Herc equivocate about whether the story he tells is true), then it weakens the totality of the myths. That is, if the reasoning behind why Hercules engages in his labors is flawed, then can we trust the stories of the labors themselves? I don’t like classical literature undermined in this way.

I’m not sold on the art by Khoi Pham, who draws the first four issues. I wanted to say positive things about his work, and I like his overall style. But at some moments in the story, he seems to focus in too far — on a face, on a certain character — and loses the overall storytelling of the scene. The final issue, Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide, has art from four different pencilers: Pham, Eric Nguyen, Reilly Brown, and Bob Layton. Pham’s work is a brief framing sequence. Nguyen does a five-page sequence that gives the background to the story and looks nothing like the rest of the book; it definitely is reminiscent of Bill Sienkiewicz, although the colors are washed out. Layton’s two pages are of Hercules wrestling the Thing and other Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation contenders in a charity match; I didn’t realize Layton was so closely associated with the UCWF, but perhaps I just wasn’t paying enough attention. The bulk of the issue is by Brown, who draws in a clear, dynamic style.

I wanted to like Against the World more than I did. It has a few jokes, but it’s not often laugh-out-loud funny; it succeeds at amusing. The characters are endearing, except when they show their dark sides. The myths are nicely integrated into the story, except when they hold up a sign that directs the readers’ attention to how they aren’t supposed to be integrated into the story. It’s better than serviceable, better than average. It is frequently, but not always, entertaining. But it if I hadn’t had two other volumes of the series waiting on my bookshelf, I don’t know if I would be reading more.

Rating: (3.5 of 5)

DC May 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-02-22T12:29:00.002-05:00

Some interesting books from DC, although the list seems a little short this month, as DC seems to have spent their time on getting Green Lantern maquettes, busts, and prop replicas to the teeming masses. But no Green Lantern TPBs. There’s a limit to their crass consumerism!

Most likely to buy:

Showcase Presents Doc Savage: I’m a sucker for a good Showcase (or Essential, but there are no Essentials solicitied for May), and this is an intriguing one. Doc Savage’s corporate ownership means that not only was the Man of Bronze’s adventures published by both Marvel and DC but that neither company has been able to put the stories back into print. As with Rom the Space Knight, Doc Savage’s guest appearances have been left out Marvel’s Essentials (such as Essential Marvel Two-in-One, v. 1). Obviously, Doc Savage’s status changed with Conde Nast’s decision to let DC pay for the rights to create a new series; this gives readers a rare chance to see some of the character’s Bronze Age adventures. On the other hand, this is a little steep for a Showcase; $20 for 448 black and white pages isn’t the best deal ever. ($19.99)

Might eventually buy:

Batman: Knight and Squire: Offbeat and Silver Age in a good way, from what I’ve heard. ($14.99)
Tales of Batman: Gene Colan, v. 1: I’m always up for Bronze Age Batman, and Gene Colan seems such a natural fit for the Batman. I’m just not sure I want to spend $40 (minus Amazon / other bookseller discount) on it. (hardcover) ($39.99)

Might buy if the price is right:

Aquaman: Death of a Prince: A Bronze Age Aquaman reprint? What in the name of Crom … ? It’s a delightfully weird choice, but what are they smoking in the reprint department? ($29.99)
The Jack Kirby Omnibus, v. 1 Starring Green Arrow (hardcover): Cynical attempt to cash in on King Kirby’s name or a chance for Kirby fans to glimpse a rarely seen part of Kirby’s pre-Marvel work? Why can’t it be both? ($49.99)

Already read that one:

Batwoman: Elegy: By and large, I liked it. ($17.99)
Stuck Rubber Baby: There are a certain number of a certain type of story you have to have read to be able to convince certain people you’re not just a superhero fanboy. (I would recommend not hanging out with those people, but sometimes we don’t have that luxury.) This is one of those stories, I regret to inform you. ($17.99)

The Rest:

Absolute Identity Crisis (hardcover): Seven issues of crap for $100. Sweet Robo Zoroaster, that’s a bold attempt at robbery. ($99.99)
Arkham Asylum: Madness ($14.99)
Batman: Bruce Wayne: The Road Home (hardcover): If you’re waiting for the trade paperback, it will be another year before you find out what happens when Bruce Wayne comes marching home again. ($24.99)
Batman: Red Hood: The Lost Days ($14.99)
Batman: The Streets of Gotham: The House of Hush (hardcover): I’m willing to bet Hush does something crazy and quotes Aristotle. (Not necessarily in that order.) Am I right? ($22.99)
Cowboys (hardcover) ($19.99)
Green Arrow: Into the Woods (hardcover) ($22.99)
Justice League: Cry for Justice: If you don’t want your horrible stories in hardback form, here’s one in paperback. Because someone demanded it! (We must find them and hurt them.) ($19.99)
Justice (hardcover) ($39.99)
Power Girl: Bomb Squad ($14.99)
Red Robin: Hit List ($17.99)
Superman Chronicles, v. 9: If you’ve been following this far, you don’t need me to say anything about it. ($17.99)
Superman: New Krypton, v. 4 ($17.99)
Sweet Tooth, v. 3: Animal Armies ($14.99)
The Twilight Experiment ($17.99)

Blue Beetle, v. 2: Road Trip

2011-02-18T11:25:00.002-05:00

Collects: Blue Beetle, v. 2 #7-12 (2006-7)

Released: June 2007 (DC)

Format: 192 pages / color / $12.99 / ISBN:

What is this?: With the aid of Peacemaker and an ever-expanding cast of helpers, Jaime tries to get to the root of what the scarab is.

The culprits: Writers John Rogers and Keith Giffen and artists Cully Hamner, Rafael Albuquerque, and Duncan Rouleau

So: Blue Beetle, v. 1: Shellshocked was a bit of a disappointment. What about Blue Beetle, v. 2: Road Trip?

Well, it certainly corrects what I saw as the most glaring deficiency: relying on continuity without explaining it. In #7, Jaime explains what happened in the time he was missing, from blowing up the Brother Eye satellite (complete with adding Batman’s editorial comments into the story) to crash landing in the Texas desert. It’s a nice little story, with enough jokes and character moments that it won’t annoy people who have read it while still telling the story completely for those unfamiliar with the original.

The next couple of issues involve the backstories of Dan Garrett, the first Blue Beetle, and the current Peacemaker. The former manages to remain interesting, by dint of using the journey to explore the relationship between Jaime and his friend Brenda and between Peacemaker and the Blue Beetle armor. Reusing the mystical baddie with a religious delusion from Shellshocked was a poor choice in that the monster isn’t interesting; on the other hand, it’s the only one of Blue Beetle’s enemies that could be reintroduced to liven up a talking heads issue. Win some, lose some, I suppose. Peacemaker’s story is no great shakes — man of action falls into alien tech, which sounds very Silver Age — but again, the character interactions liven things up, especially when Jaime’s parents have to decide whether he can save lives on a school night.

The best issues in Road Trip are #10-11; Brenda is transported to a world of the New Gods by a mother box. While Brenda has to deal with an alien world with malicious, living teddy bears and a New Gods ripoff of Conan (named “Lonar” — real creative, King Kirby), Jaime has to deal with his secret identity rapidly going down the tubes and figuring out how to rescue his friend. And of course there is the inevitable mistaken identity hero fight; as such things go, this one is above average, with some nice quips by Jaime. It ends with Jaime appreciating the majesty of the big action story — er, I mean outer space — and returning with Brenda before getting answers about his armor from Metron.

The book ends with the scarab’s makers showing up. It isn’t very interesting, but writer John Rogers tries to liven it up with banter. It isn’t wholly convincing, but it could be worse.

For this volume, Rogers writes every issue, but unlike in Shellshocked, he writes some of them alone. Keith Giffen, who co-wrote every issue in Shellshocked, contributes to only three issues: #8-10. His absence or presence doesn’t seem to make a great deal of difference in the quality of the issues, though.

Two of the artists from Shellshocked also contribute to Road Trip. Cully Hamner, who co-created this Blue Beetle, drew issues #7-8, and just as in Shellshocked, he does an adequate job. I think new penciler Rafael Albuquerque outshines him, however; although their styles are quite compatible, Albuquerque’s work on #10-12 is more kinetic, and the design of the little alien teddy bears was cute and menacing while the alien-dissected cow was suitably disgusting. Albuquerque’s art tends toward gritted teeth at all times during fight scenes, and Brenda’s wounds seemed too light, but for the moment, those are small quibbles. Duncan Rouleau is back again, working on #9, and this issue he visually seems the odd one out. Although Albuquerque is more cartoony than Hamner, he’s still much more realistic than Rouleau, who has lips sliding away from people’s faces and pupils disappearing when convenient.

This is a huge step up from Shellshocked. In Road Trip, Jaime is more confident and in control, and although the armor still has a lot of new capabilities, the reader gets the sense it’s because the armor is a technological battle suit. Although I blame DC’s “throw the reader into the middle of things approach,” perhaps it’s another example that superhero movies have taught us: origin stories are boring — we like to see the hero doing things rather than fumbling about and retreading that shared origin story all superheroes seem to have.

It’s a good start for Blue Beetle, although unfortunately, my libraries don’t have any volumes after this. Did I enjoy the story enough to actually pay for the volume 3? I don’t know. Perhaps I’ll have to bug the library’s interlibrary loan department …

Rating: (3.5 of 5)

Marvel May 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

2011-02-15T17:41:00.003-05:00

Will be picking up:

Spider-Girl, v. 1: Family Values: I’m just interested enough at the early reviews / hype to look at a repurposed, no-powers female hero that’s supposed to be “realistic.” Also to see if something can be salvaged from Araña. ($14.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4694-0)

Might pick up eventually:

Captain Britain, v. 1: Birth of a Legend (hardcover): This is an odd choice, unless there’s some push behind Chris Claremont or Captain Britain this month that I’m unaware of. Still, it should be interesting — Claremont work from around the time he started writing X-Men (although to be fair, it’s around the time he was writing Iron Fist). ($39.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5728-1)
Mystique by Brian K. Vaughan Ultimate Collection: Good value for the money, and Vaughan usually doesn’t let me down. Although “Ultimate Collection” may be laying it on a bit thick.

Might pick up if the price is right:

Rocket Raccoon: Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant (hardcover): Always nice to see Bill Mantlo stuff being collected, but his attempt to take a Beatles pun and make it into a viable character doesn’t appeal much to me. ($24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5527-0)
Young Marvelman Classic, v. 1 (hardcover): Let me be frank: I’m only picking this one up if the price falls to a few dollars. I don’t have any interest in Young Marvelman, although the sheer oddity of Marvel reprinting the adventures of a character invented to complete the rip off of another character who a court found was a copyright infringement makes me both confused and happy. ($34.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5504-1)

Already got one (earlier collection or original comics):

Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus (hardcover) ($99.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5729-8)
Emma Frost Ultimate Collection: Good news for those who dislike the digest size that the series was originally reprinted in. ($34.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5510-2)
New X-Men by Grant Morrison Book 1 ($14.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5503-4)
Powers, v. 1: Who Killed Retro Girl? (hardcover): Hasn’t this already come out in hardcover? I would have sworn … and Bendis swears in this one as well. ($24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5671-0)
Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives: Not one I would have thought would get reprinted — a miniseries that promised to resolve all and only ended up raising more questions (and received a lukewarm response) and three issues from a time when the Spider-Man books were winding down, waiting for Howard Mackie to be their savior. ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5512-6)
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Prelude ($29.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5508-9)
X-Men: Fallen Angels (hardcover): You’re scraping the bottom of the X-barrel when your reprint program decides to turn to Fallen Angels. Not that it was unenjoyable — it had its moments — but it’s a third-tier ancillary miniseries from the X-books’ boom time. Also: should technically be New Mutants: Fallen Angels or even X-Force or X-Factor; I don’t think any of the Fallen Angels have ever been X-Men. ($29.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5530-0)
X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda (hardcover): It took this long to get X-Tinction Agenda into hardback? That’s absurd. Not sure it’s worth $50 for thirteen issues, though. ($49.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5531-7)

Masterworks:

Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Venus, v. 1 (hardcover) ($59.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5018-3)
Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil, v. 2 ($24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5050-3)
Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil, v. 6 (hardcover) ($54.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5020-6)

The Rest:

5 Ronin (hardcover): Wolverine, Psylocke, Punisher, Hulk, and Deadpool as 17th century Japanese ronin. I completely missed this series when it came out, and that’s probably for the best. ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5632-1).
Avengers: We Are the Avengers: And I am bored. ($16.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5154-8)
Captain America & The Korvac Saga ($14.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5160-9)
Captain America: Allies & Enemies ($16.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5502-7)
Captain America: Man out of Time (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5128-9)
Captain America: Official Index to the Marvel Universe ($24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5097-8)
Chaos War: Incredible Hulks ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5157-9)
Chaos War: X-Men ($15.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5315-3)
Deadpool Corps, v. 2: You Say You Want a Revolution (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4826-5)
Deadpool Max: Nutjob (hardcover) ($24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4850-0)
Deadpool Team-Up, v. 3: BFFs (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5139-5)
Deadpool: Wade Wilson’s War: Four collections for Deadpool? That’s almost as many as Captain America and Thor are each getting. And Deadpool isn’t getting a movie (yet). ($14.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4713-8)
Death of Dracula: Reprinting one issue that set up that X-Men vs. vampires thing, plus seven issues from
Tomb of Dracula tacked on at the end. Yes, that seems right. ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5616-1)
Invincible Iron Man, v. 7: My Monsters (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4836-4)
Iron Man: War of the Iron Men ($16.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4730-5)
Marvel Adventures Thor/Spider-Man Digest ($9.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5651-2)
The Marvels Project: Birth of the Super Heroes ($29.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4061-0)
Mighty Avengers: Dark Reign (hardcover) ($44.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5669-7)
Namor, the First Mutant, v. 2: Namor Goes to Hell ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5176-0)
Origins of Marvel Comics ($24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5615-4)
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Ant: Electric! Dick! ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4043-6)
Punisher: In the Blood ($16.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5181-4)
Punishermax: Bullseye (hardcover) ($24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4755-8)
Spider-Man: Matters of Life and Death (hardcover): Alistair Smythe, the Marvel Comics sensation whose return everyone had been clamoring for! ($24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5102-9)
Spider-Man: The Extremist ($15.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5670-3)
Super Hero Squad: A Squad for All Seasons ($14.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5217-0)
Taskmaster: Unthinkable ($14.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5260-6)
Thor: Lord of Asgard (New Printing) ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5087-9)
Thor: The Trials of Loki (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5165-4)
Thor: The World Eaters (hardcover) ($24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4838-8)
Thor: Wolves of the North ($12.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5614-7)
Thunderstrike: Youth in Revolt ($14.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5271-2)
Trouble by Mark Millar (hardcover): This was roundly lambasted when it came out, and I’m sure time has not helped matters. Sexually promiscuous Aunt May is no one’s idea of a good time, no matter how good she might have looked at the time. ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5086-2)
Ultimate Comics Captain America (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5194-4)
Ultimate Comics Doomsday (hardcover): Followed by Ultimates Comics Bane? ($39.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4776-3)
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, v. 2: Chameleons ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-4100-6)
Ultimate War (hardcover) ($19.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5737-3)
X-Men: First Class — Class Portraits ($14.99, ISBN: 978-0-7851-5559-1)

Blue Beetle, v. 1: Shellshocked

2011-02-11T14:31:00.003-05:00

Collects: Blue Beetle #1-6 (2006)

Released: December 2006 (DC)

Format: 144 pages / color / $12.99 / ISBN: 9781401209650

What is this?: Jaime Reyes deals with his new powers, the consequences of his one-year absence, and supergangs in El Paso.

The culprits: Writers Keith Giffen and John Rogers and arists Cully Hamner, Cynthia Martin, Duncan Rouleau, and Kevin J. West

Last week’s review of X-Men / SWORD: No Time to Breathe has me feeling charitable, so I’ll start my review of Blue Beetle, v. 1: Shellshocked with the positive.

Shellshocked is the beginning of the first series starring the third Blue Beetle. When this series started in 2006, there was a fair amount of controversy about replacing Ted Kord, the second Beetle, so soon after his sudden and senseless death. Happily, the new Beetle doesn’t seem like a cheap gimmick or knockoff of Kord. Jaime Reyes is a teenager who stumbles across the Blue Beetle scarab and gets armor and powers. Jaime has friends and a supportive family before he gains powers and disappears; although there is a slight adjustment period, his supporting cast adjusts relatively quickly to the new situation.

I will give writers Keith Giffen and John Rogers credit for telling a story with a Hispanic protagonist, set far away from New York or Metropolis or Gotham — Shellshocked in that west Texas city of El Paso.⁵⁵ Each member of the supporting cast has her own distinct role and personality, and the interplay between Jaime’s friends Paco and Brenda is amusing. Really, that’s the highlight of the book: Paco, Brenda, and Jaime talk, if not exactly like young friends, then certainly in the manner of teenagers, playfully insulting and testing each other without going too far. It’s also refreshing to have antagonists who don’t fall into readers’ preconceived notions of their roles; the Posse isn’t a violent gang but a mutual defense society, while La Dama is a gang lord but not a horribly unreasonable or cruel one. I’m not sure why Giffen and Rogers thought a supernatural adversary with a religious hangup would be a good idea, since religion has nothing to do with the book, but at least the monster does fit with the book’s exploration of the scarab’s magic origins.

What’s not positive is the book’s reliance on Infinite Crisis and DC continuity without being willing to explain all of it. The book begins in media res, interspersing scenes from just before Jaime’s disappearance in Infinite Crisis with those from his return one year later. Although it’s easy to keep the two straight, it seems overcomplicated to keep interspersing the two over the first two issues. But there is no footnote to tell the reader that Jaime received his powers and disappeared during the events of Infinite Crisis; if I hadn't known that already, I would have been mystified, since much of Jaime’s origin revolves around that crossover. Giffen and Rogers “cleverly” insert “one year later” into the dialogue at the end of #2, despite it not making much sense.

Rogers and Giffen continually assume the reader knows information that is not in evidence in this book. Shellshocked keeps referencing Booster Gold without explaining who he is or what his connection to the previous Beetle was. Jaime is stalked for a few issues by a mysterious man in ‘40s clothes and a cape; I’m assuming it’s the Phantom Stranger, but it’s never explained who he is or his larger role within the DC Universe. I don’t even think Jaime’s surname is used during the book (although “Reyes Gas and Service” is the name of his father’s garage). It’s frustrating to never know what should be a mystery and what the writers / editor don’t think to tell the readers. It turns out that Green Lantern Guy Gardner’s reaction to the Beetle armor was a plot point; who knew? Certainly not me. If other parts of the story had been better explained, I could have made that determination. Unfortunately, DC seems to have no inclination to explain its continuity to those who aren’t keeping up with it. Honestly, are footnotes that hard?

From there, Jaime has to figure out what his armor does and what his place in his new world is. Giffen and Rogers are more successful with latter. The ability of most of his supporting cast to come to grips with the new status quo is refreshing, freeing Jaime from dealing with the angst that is often the lot of the new superhero. I also appreciate Jaime’s research into the legacy of the Blue Beetle and his outright rejection of Oracle’s invitation into the superhero community. Jaime’s struggles with his armor are less enjoyable; although it adds some drama to the story to make his powers and his ability to call on them undependable, it makes the Beetle armor a bit too simple — by the end, the reader begins to think the armor will have the answer to whatever problem the Beetle is up against. Not quite a deus ex machina; a heros [demigod] ex machina, maybe.

The art doesn’t help matters. Cully Hamner, one of the character’s co-creators, is able to contribute art for only half the issues (#1, 2, and 4). His art is the best in the collection, although the other artists are either well chosen to mesh with his style or are consciously aping it. His work seems richer and more textured than the others, and although it’s not my favorite, it does seem to work for this book — aside from the unimaginative character design for some members of the Posse and a scene where Brenda appears to phase through a pickup.

Irritatingly, Cynthia Martin, who drew #3 and part of #6, can’t seem to get the geography of the Reyeses’ kitchen straight, complete with a table and couch that disappear and shift distractingly. Otherwise, her art is sparser than Hamner’s but in a similar vein, a good fit for a fill-in artist. Kevin J. West adds some pencils for #6, but it’s impossible to tell exactly what is his and what is Martin’s. Duncan Rouleau, the artist for #5, draws a frequently incomprehensible fight scene between the Blue Beetle and a supernatural opponent; figures who are knocked around by blows are represented by rotating them 90 degrees, although it’s often unclear what sent them flying in the first place. Characters occasionally devolve from semi-realistic to cartoon caricatures in a panel or two.

I want to like Shellshocked, as it’s clearly the kind of book the market needs more of — or at least it’s the kind of book a healthier medium would have more of. It has a new, non-white hero (not that new heroes need to be non-white, but some definitely should be). It has a young hero who acts at least somewhat like a teenager and who associates with his peers, even if school is the only teenager thing he’s done. But Shellshocked’s status as an exemplar for a brave new world of comics is shattered by the crippling reliance on DC continuity, the book’s unwillingness to explain things to the reader, and unspectacular art from four artists in six issues.

Rating: (2.5 of 5)

What's the story, Image?

2011-02-08T18:51:00.001-05:00

Where are the April solicitations for Image? Is there some sort of problem at Image that has prevented them from planning three months ahead?

X-Men / SWORD: No Time to Breathe

2011-02-04T16:11:00.006-05:00

Collects: SWORD #1-5 (2010)

Released: June 2010 (Marvel)

Format: 128 pages / color / $15.99 / ISBN: 9780785140764

What is this?: Abigail Brand runs SWORD, an organization on a station floating high above the Earth to keep the planet safe from aliens (and aliens safe from Earth).

The culprits: Writer Kieron Gillen and penciler Steve Sanders

X-Men / SWORD: No Time to Breathe was a last minute fill in for this week’s review. After my local library / librarian left me in the lurch, I looked through my reading list and selected SWORD to fill in the gap.

I had no recollection of ever reading any of writer Kieron Gillen’s other work, but after consulting my records, I remembered having previously enjoyed his work in the smashup TPB Dark Avengers: Ares. Gillen wrote the three-issue Dark Avengers: Ares miniseries, and I had been impressed by both the book’s violence and mythological feel and the characters’ depth and psychopathy.

SWORD is also a violent book, but not in the same way as Ares. Whereas Ares was the violence of war and the men who can’t keep themselves from fighting, SWORD’s violence is expressed as an action-filled space opera. There are coups, a bounty hunter, counterrevolutions, abductions, a fire-breathing space dragon, attempted genocides, battles for a space station, eye trauma, prison breaks, and several cases of explosive decompression, along with a few standard superhero type fights. Add that to a thief, romance, hard drinking (the dragon again), a ne’er-do-well brother, and a sense of humor that manages to fill the little space not devoted to the plot, and it becomes obvious No Time to Breathe is not just a subtitle but a warning to readers: this plot moves at a near-relativistic pace, and you better be ready for it.

Yes, that’s a bit of hyperbole, but there really are four different plot threads unspooling through SWORD, and there’s not enough time slow the pace. It becomes a little offputting when read all at once, although I can imagine that in monthly form it was a treat. This is certainly no decompression-fest,⁵³ and the humor gives Gillen a chance to put some distractions into the story, if not giving readers a break from the pace.

Gillen’s characters are fun, and he has the advantage of being having mostly a blank slate. Beast, of course, has almost a half century behind him, but if you remember he’s light hearted, smart, athletic, and a decent scientist (by Marvel standards), you’ll be OK. (There was a reason he was one of Scott Lobdell’s favorites when he wrote X-Men.) Agent Brand hadn’t been established as much more than a half-alien hardass, and Lockheed … well, this isn’t quite the Lockheed we’ve read about before, with the alien dragon suffering from depression at the loss of Kitty Pryde. Death’s Head has a history in the Marvel Universe, but since he appeared mostly in Transformers and Marvel UK, most readers don’t know it. And Henry Peter Gyrich is a bureaucratic butthead. …

… OK, most of the lead cast is established to some degree. Most of the rest are one-note aliens or SWORD staffers. However, there is one standout character: Unit, a robot that SWORD keeps locked up as if he were a cybernetic version of Hannibal Lecter. He seems to have those sort of deep insights that Lecter had into his jailers, even the ones he hasn’t met. Unit is kept locked up under the most stringent conditions SWORD has; he’s the product of a civilization that wanted to make the universe perfect and were willing to do awful things to achieve the goal. Unit’s creators have been destroyed, but Unit is still playing a long game to finish his creators’ plan. And that’s what’s creepy about Unit; his insights are annoying, but his ability to look dozens of steps ahead to wait for and create the perfect chance to accomplish what his creators could not is chilling.

I haven’t read anything by penciler Steven Sanders, but I enjoyed his work in SWORD. It took me a while to get used to his Agent Brand — the sunglasses were not quite what I was used to, and she was a bit top heavy — and the new post-Grant Morrison design of the Beast always strikes me as wrong (as it does cover artist John Cassaday — the shape of the Beast’s skull on the cover looks nothing like it does in the interior artwork, where it more closely resembles the many long-faced aliens). But I got used it, and by the end, I had to admit it was a neat trick for Sanders to match the plot’s extremely brisk pace and Gillen’s sense of humor.

It’s a shame that SWORD didn’t last longer, although it’s not a surprise. The TPB tries to weld “X-Men” onto the title, but it’s not an X-book — yes, Beast is a lead / supporting character in the book, as is Kitty Pryde’s dragon Lockheed, and Cyclops, Emma Frost, Warlock, and what I believe is Doug Ramsey make cameos, but that’s not enough. It’s a book with a sense of humor and a largely unknown cast of characters set outside New York / major team books’ circle, written by a man best known for an indy / non-superhero book (Phonogram) and penciled by an artist without much name recognition. Yes, Gillen has become a major writer for Marvel — his Thor run was roughly concurrent with SWORD’s run, and now he’s writing Generation Hope and Uncanny X-Men — but at the time, this was a recipe for low sales and early cancellation. And that’s exactly what happened.

Rating: (4.5 of 5)

Fantastic Four: The Beginning of the End

2011-01-31T16:04:00.003-05:00

Collects: Fantastic Four #525-6 and 551-3 (2005, 2008)

Released: April 2008 (Marvel)

Format: 120 pages / color / $12.99 / ISBN: 9780785125549

What is this?: Dr. Doom comes back from the future to tell Reed he’s screwed up the future; Diablo annoys the team with alchemy and dreams.

The culprits: Writers Dwayne McDuffie and Karl Kesel and artists Paul Pelletier and Tom Grummett

Fantastic Four: The Beginning of the End is a substantial improvement on Fantastic Four: The New Fantastic Four. Well, at least writer Dwayne McDuffie’s contribution to the TPB is.

Whereas New Fantastic Four is full of unneeded bombast and incessant events of cosmic import, McDuffie chooses a more quiet plot for the finale of his short run on Fantastic Four. Dr. Doom travels back in time to escape a Reed Richards-dominated future. Of course his objective is to avert that future, but are the things he’s saying about Reed true? Is he really a monster who loses sight of the human costs in his efforts to improve the world?

At the time Beginning was written, that wasn’t such a far-fetched idea. After the nonsense of Civil War and the Superhuman Registration Act, Reed looked like a borderline Fascist (and we know how much regard Fascists generally have for borders) who believed he had all the answers. His arrogance had split the team, and The New Fantastic Four had only begun the healing. And of course, if a Doom from the future was looking for a time to prey upon the other members’ uncertainty, this was it. It’s a fantastic, intriguing idea for a story, and McDuffie exploits it to its fullest.

Unfortunately, there are a few flaws to the story. The story takes three issues for an argument with occasional punches, and it feels padded. The arrival of the Fantastic Four from the future, while a logical part of the story, puts the kibosh on the story before it has ended; when they arrive, you know all debate is truly finished. I also did not need more dickering about the nature of time travel. A recap would be fine, but I never need to hear that the generally held model of Marvel temporal mechanics is wrong or even more than mildly flawed.

None of these objections take away from my enjoyment of the story, though. That might have been influenced by my desire to believe Doom was correct and Reed was so incredibly wrong.

Writer Karl Kesel’s two-issue “Dream Fever” story from #525-6, which features Diablo as the villain, seems an odd fit here. It’s included, presumably, because they had extra room to fill at the end of McDuffie’s run and it had been collected nowhere else (it originally fit between Mark Waid’s three-year run, ending with #524, and J. Michael Straczynski’s year and a half, which lasted from #527 to Civil War). “It has to fit somewhere” and “We have extra space” makes sense if you’re collecting the issues, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. It doesn’t fit with McDuffie’s work in tone or continuity; where “The Beginning of the End” is a story that can only take place after the events of Civil War, “Dream Fever” is set well before, with a cheerier team in a story that actually follows up on character development from the Waid run (which I suspect we’ll never hear about again).

“Dream Fever” is a fill-in story that never claims to be more than a fill-in story. It tries to get some mileage out of using dreams to reveal character elements that were rarely or never discussed, and to be fair, Kesel does have some success there. But using dreams in that manner is a frequent prop for real character development, and worse, saying that all the team’s dreams are nightmares, and that having other people’s nightmares rather than your own will kill you … it seems a bit silly. Again, it’s a fill-in two-parter, so wasting effort trying to convince the reader of something that could be glossed over wouldn’t be a wise use of space, but it took away from the peril of the story. Diablo as the villain … well, in this story, he seems more like an opportunist than a credible threat or someone with a strong plan.

What is unusual is that the two essentially randomly packaged together stories both have excellent art. I praised Paul Pelletier’s work from The New Fantastic Four, and his work on “Beginning of the End” is every bit as good. His depiction of Reed’s secret workroom, with notes and equations on every surface, is my favorite visual of the book. Pelletier also gets to design future versions of the team, the Black Panther, and Namor, and although I’m not exactly fond of the changes in facial hair and / or hair length school of aging, I did like his Ben Grimm. Tom Grummett gives the fill-in art for “Dream Fever” and does a likewise impressive job. Although there’s nothing as visually arresting in his work as what Pelletier is given, his artwork is clear and bright, with a good grasp of storytelling.

I find it strange that I would prefer this hodgepodge Fantastic Four book to one that McDuffie wrote by himself. Still, it’s true. I also find it interesting that a Dr. Doom / time travel story would feel less an assertion of self-importance than The New Fantastic Four, but again — true. In any event, it allows McDuffie to end his short run on a high note.

Rating: (3.5 of 5)

Comic Book Collections for Libraries -- in (online) stores now!

2011-01-27T16:02:00.002-05:00

Comic Book Collections for Libraries is available for order on Amazon.com (contrary to what I said here). If this news interests you, hurry to the site and order — only three copies are left in stock!

Although I would be shocked if they didn’t get more eventually. Still: do you want to take that chance?

It's here!

2011-01-25T23:43:00.003-05:00

Proof has finally arrived that the book I co-wrote, Comic Book Collections for Libraries, has actually been printed. My author’s copies arrived in the mail Monday (or possibly they arrived on Friday or Saturday; I was babysitting over the weekend).

Cover by Derek Steed.

As for when the rest of the world will get the book, ~~I have no idea; Amazon still says the book will be out at the end of the month, although January 30 is absurd — who releases a book on a Sunday?~~ the book appears to be available now! Now! Amazing!

News from the last few weeks has already made some of the information out of date, although most of it isn’t important. For instance, Joe Quesada isn’t editor in chief at Marvel any more; DC and Archie are about to withdraw from the Comics Code Authority; Wizard is heading for that old recycle bin in the sky. I’ll have to get cracking on a corrections page soon.

Fantastic Four: The New Fantastic Four

2011-01-21T14:54:00.002-05:00

Collects: Fantastic Four #544-50 (2007)

Released: May 2008 (Marvel)

Format: 168 pages / color / $15.99 / ISBN: 9780785124832

What is this?: Reed and Sue take off for a honeymoon, so Storm and the Black Panther fill in for a couple of adventures.

The culprits: Writer Dwayne McDuffie and artist Paul Pelletier

In the comments for my review of Justice League of America, v. 3: The Injustice League, I mentioned that I would be reading more of writer Dwayne McDuffie’s work, specifically his Fantastic Four run. (Of course, I said I would be getting to it in a month or two, but it has been more like a year or two; maybe I was speaking in code like Spock and Kirk in Wrath of Khan?) Still, in fulfillment of that promise, we have Fantastic Four: The New Fantastic Four.

McDuffie is a long-time comic book veteran. I remember his work for Marvel in the late ‘80s / early ‘90s, and his work on DC’s Milestone imprint is well-regarded. Despite being one of the guiding forces of the animated Justice League / Justice League Unlimited series, I doubted he would get a chance to write a big comic book title. I was pleased to see I was wrong — and wrong pretty spectacularly, actually, since he wrote A-list titles for both Marvel and DC.

I want to start out with the good things about the writing in New Fantastic Four. Bringing new characters onto the team is an excellent idea, especially if it’s only for a half year of issues or so, and Black Panther has been so closely tied with the team over the years that he makes a natural candidate. I adore McDuffie’s humor in this one: nice character interactions and self-deprecating humor about themselves and about the conventions of the genre. That’s just one sentence in the review, but it should weight a lot more in the evaluation: enjoyable humor goes a long way to smooth over whatever rough spots are in the plotting. And I especially like the use of the Frightful Four as opponents in the issues bridging the two halves of New Fantastic Four; the Wizard’s plan this time was uninspired, but a more grounded set of opponents (albeit in an exotic locale) was exactly what the plot needed between the two cosmic adventures.

The first half of the book was a sequel to McDuffie’s miniseries Beyond. I liked some parts of Beyond, but I didn’t think it needed a follow-up. Gravity is a fun new character, yes, and resurrecting him is a fine idea. But bringing the former Deathlok on the mission to retrieve Gravity was unnecessary — he doesn’t do much, if anything. And using Gravity in the second arc of the book made it seem as if McDuffie was apologizing for killing the character in the first place; when the heroes need someone wielding an elemental force, he’s the first guy the heroes think about? Really? And invoking the presence of the Watcher to make us believe the story was more important than it was is laughable, especially when the story later makes a joke about how everyone except Deathlok has been to the Watcher’s home, and a herd of Watchers show up in issue #549.

The Watchers, more than anything, serve as the epitome of why I feel ambivalence toward New Fantastic Four. On one hand, the book goes for the big stories, the ones with the traditional Fantastic Four cast of supporting characters in them: Galactus, his heralds (the Silver Surfer twice), the Watcher (twice, plus the aforementioned herd), the end of all life. And on the other hand, it does this with a repetition that distracts from the danger involved. McDuffie seems to be really hammering some ideas home — hammering them so hard, in fact, that they are driven about a foot into the plot. Gravity is important, as he briefly becomes Protector of the Universe, holds off Galactus, and helps Dr. Strange perform psychic surgery on Eternity. The Watchers make things important. The Black Panther has an intellect as great as Reed Richards and can defeat Galactus, the Silver Surfer, and Stardust (another herald) … essentially at the same time. Black Panther threatens the Watcher with the Ultimate Nullifier to get information instead of asking … because the Ultimate Nullifier shows up in important comics? (I don’t know.) Black Panther and Storm are in love (no one’s going to be able to convince me of that). Reed and Sue can be really scary — so scary they frighten their teammates, who feel as if they might do something uncharacteristic, even though they’ve known each other for more than a decade.

By using these big events, McDuffie looks like he’s trying to prove something — that he can write the big events, that Black Panther is an A-list character, that Fantastic Four should be about the cosmic challenges. I don’t know if that’s true, and I don’t need to be convinced of the first two. But the success of the issues with the Frightful Four shows that none of that is absolutely true, anyway; McDuffie and the Fantastic Four do well with grounded stories, and the Black Panther, although still pretty badass, can be humbled in battle. More importantly, Gravity and the Watcher doesn’t have to be involved. (By the way, does anyone know how the Trapster escaped the Wizard’s time loop from #519?)

I was worried about the art, looking at the cover by Michael Turner (look at Sue’s waist and how her torso is bent; that has to be painful), but I should have remembered Paul Pelletier’s work is wonderful. It’s attractive, it’s expressive, it’s kinetic, and it tells the story. Really, it’s everything you could want in comic book art without adding on the stylistic flair of, say, J.H. Williams III. Again, this is short praise — Pelletier’s work really does make New Fantastic Four so much better.

I want to like New Fantastic Four, and there are many moments I did like, as I read it. But taken overall, it’s hard to enjoy the repetition and the constant demand for the story to be considered important. If you don’t take it seriously, I think you can really enjoy New Fantastic Four; if you do, however, it may grate.

Rating: (3 of 5)

Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil

2011-01-16T14:40:00.002-05:00

Collects: Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil #1-4 (2007)

Released: October 2007 (DC)

Format: 240 pages / color / $29.99 (deluxe hardcover), / ISBN: 9781401214661

What is this?: A retelling of the Golden Age origins of Captain Marvel, a boy who can turn into a full-grown superhero.

The culprit: Jeff Smith

DC’s Captain Marvel is more of a historical footnote than a viable major character. Comic fans know he was, for a time in the ‘40s, more popular than Superman. They know the basic setup: a wizard gives orphan Billy Batson a magic word, which allows him to turn into the adult Captain Marvel. They know lawsuits and Fawcett’s financial troubles kept him dormant for a few decades. They know the name has been usurped by a series of Marvel characters since the 1960s. They know that DC now owns the character and has written and rewritten his origins in their post-Crisis continuities, struggling to figure out what to do with what is essentially a second Superman. And most importantly, they know DC has done little to make them believe that the character’s popularity was anything other than a fluke, a historical abnormality.

Jeff Smith, the creator of Bone, put all of that aside when he wrote and drew Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil. Smith decided he wanted his miniseries to play tribute to the Golden Age Captain Marvel work of Otto Binder and C.C. Beck by retelling one of Marvel’s most popular stories: the battle against Mr. Mind and his monstrous minions.

There is an inherent difficulty to revamping or retelling or re-anything a Golden Age concept; stories from that era frequently veer from hokey to insane in the blink of an eye. For the most part, Smith avoids the insane part of the equation — well, other than what is found in the origin story — and makes the story of Billy Batson more grounded. Billy’s squatting in an abandoned apartment, avoiding the predations of a street bully, and getting his money running errands for a hobo. And then into this comes the ultimate of wish-fulfillment fantasies: a magic word, superpowers, a family (in the form of a sister), a sense of purpose. And then the hobo turns out to be a tiger — or an ifrit who can take the form of a tiger or a man — and the sister gets superpowers, although not an adult form, and they fight crocodile men and colossal robots from another universe …

Hmm. Maybe Smith kept the insane aspects after all and managed to slip them by me. How did that happen? Is it something that Smith did? Or is it that I’m familiar enough with the Marvel concept specifically (and comics in general) that such things only seem strange in the aggregate in hindsight? I suspect the latter.

And that’s because I was distracted by all the plates Smith is trying to keep spinning. In one sense, he’s balancing the story in three ways: the boundless imagination of the original (somewhat tempered in Monster Society because Smith is recreating 60-year-old ideas); the corniness of ‘40s simplicity, kids’ comics ideas, and wide-eyed optimism; and the modern realities of homelessness and poverty. Smith does well enough there because those original ideas are familiar, because the optimism is part of Marvel’s character and the rest of the corny ideas (except for talking tiger Talky Tawny) are exiled to the edges of the collection, because the depressing parts are mainly Billy’s initial background. We’ll ignore the subtle joke about a news reporter enjoying the view of Marvel’s unit silhouetted in his tights; it’s just one of those adult jokes put in a children’s story that the children are expected to miss.

But Smith’s ability to fit all of what he needs to the plot to do drags Monster Society down. What is the story of Monster Society? It’s an origin story, and after the superhero boom of the last decade, I am thoroughly sick of seeing the origin stories of characters I am already familiar with. It’s a setup of the start of the Marvel Family. It’s a battle against one of Captain Marvel’s Golden Age archnemeses, Mr. Mind (and his Monster Society of Evil). And it’s also a battle against the other Captain Marvel Golden Age archnemesis, Dr. Sivana. (Who, bizarrely enough, is the attorney general of the United States.) That’s a lot to fit into one four-issue miniseries, even when each issue is 48 pages long; but it’s not like Smith is going to be hurried. Six panels on a page is a lot for him, and anyone who has read Bone knows there are times Smith will not hurry the languid pace of a setup. With that in mind, it would have made sense to cut out two of those threads and concentrate on making the other two stronger. I certainly wanted more of Captain Marvel battling monsters. I wanted more Mr. Mind, more adventure, less origin, less reality.

I want, I want, I want. A very appropriate sentiment to have for a comic about a boy who becomes an adult to fight back against all the injustices that have hemmed him in. Is it fair to Smith and Monster Society? That’s a question for another day — because I want, I want, I want. But the story is too crowded, and that exacerbates my wanting.

Visually, Monster Society is a treat. A Golden Age art style would look bizarre in modern comics, but Smith does a good job of marrying his smooth, clear, detailed style to Beck’s vintage work. Smith somehow manages to keep the art looking active while maintaining the Golden Age’s less kinetic style; the compromise makes the panels frequently look as if they were photographs, captured in the middle of one of Marvel’s short-armed swings or stiff-arms-at-the-side flight sequences. Smith also takes some of the character’s older aspects, such as Captain Marvel’s eyeless squint and media mogul Sterling Morriss’s pupil-less pince nez, and incorporates it into the art. It looks so clear, so bright, so sharp that in many ways it’s what I think the Golden Age should be.

I really wanted to like Monster Society, and there is a lot to like: Smith’s art and light sense of humor, for instance, and his desire to make this hearken back to the original character. But I think that last one led him astray and made him put a little too much into the story, and it suffers somewhat for it.

Rating: (3.5 of 5)

2010 in review

2011-01-11T18:06:00.003-05:00

I had plans for a 2010 review as big as last year’s, listing my favorites (and least favorites) from among the books I reviewed this year. Unfortunately, the books I reviewed — 37 overall — tended toward the mediocre. (That’s not entirely fair; a rating of 3.5, which several books received, is above mediocre. A book that gets 3.5, in my opinion, is fun to read … but it’s not a book that inspires superlatives or a command to go out and buy the book.) So my list of books this year will be short:

Birds of Prey, v. 5: Perfect Pitch and v. 6: Blood and Circuits: The antepenultimate and penultimate volumes of writer Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey run, these two were the apex of her work on the title. After finally shedding artist Ed Benes, Simone (coincidentally or not) was able to hone her characterization and sharpen her plots while retaining her customary witty dialogue. If forced to choose between the two, I would opt for Blood and Circuits because the developments in that book finally jolted the audience from some of its complacency about the safety of the team.
Usagi Yojimbo, v. 24: Return of the Black Soul: Stan Sakai finally explained the origin of the demon Jei, focusing on the demon’s story for a tale that was not only frightening but surprisingly emotional. After 24 volumes of Usagi in more than 20 years, Sakai is still able to tell stories about the character and his world that are new and powerful.
G-Man, v. 1: Learning to Fly and v. 2: Cape Crisis: I’m a big fan of Chris Giarrusso, so it’s no surprise I loved his two G-Man books. Filled with his distinctive humor — a combination of subtle sight gags, running jokes, and absurdist dialogue — G-Man still manages to have an interesting plot, and Giarrusso seems to never forget how the world seems to children.

I actually did better than I thought with the timeliness of the reviews, although given how badly I thought I did, that’s not saying much; still, nearly half the reviews were of books that came out in 2010. Fortunately, G-Man, v. 2, and Usagi Yojimbo, v. 24, were among those, so they’re my picks of 2010. Honorable mention goes to Batwoman: Elegy, the beautiful but occasionally flawed book by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III.

The worst books I read this year were The Pulse, v. 2: Secret War and Gigantic. Writer Brian Michael Bendis, who occasionally puts out some great stuff, also generates some of the worst, and The Pulse was about as low as this blog goes: a frequently incomprehensible decompressed mess with bad characterization, saved from a 0 rating only by art from Michael Lark and Brent Anderson. Gigantic, by writer Rick Remender and artist Dustin Nguyen, was a high-concept piece that unfortunately did not live up to the promise of the concept; the writing veered from weird to surprisingly unsurprising, and Nguyen’s scratchy art didn’t help matters either. Since Gigantic was the one that came out this year, it gets my “Worst of the Year” tag despite being better than The Pulse.

What was the best (or worst) collected edition / graphic novel you read this year?

Previous year-end wrap ups:

2009 in review

Trade Talks

Chase

Chronicles of Conan, v. 20: Night of the Wolf and Other Stories

White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion

Strange Tales, v. 1

Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis, v. 3

Collects: Excalibur (v. 1) #59-67 (1992-3)Released: July 2011 (Marvel)Format: 216 pages / color / $24.99 / ISBN: 9780785155430What is this?: Writer / artist Alan Davis wraps up his run on X-Men spinoff Excalibur. The culprits: Alan Davis, with help from writer Scott Lobdell and artist Scott Kolins

The Three Stages of Man: Stage Three: Wolverine First Class, v. 4: Gods, Ninjas, and Divas

The Three Stages of Man: Stage Two: Wolverine: Not Dead Yet

Collects: Wolverine #119-22 (1997-8)Released: April 2009 (Marvel)Format: 120 pages / color / $19.99 / ISBN: 9780785137665What is this?: Wolverine must confront an old friend / threat from his past. Shocking, right?The culprits: Writer Warren Ellis and artist Leinil Francis Yu

The Three Stages of Man: Stage One: Weapon X

X-Men: Onslaught: The Complete Epic, v. 3

Omega the Unknown

Essential Killraven, v. 1

Spider-Man: The Clone Saga Epic, Book 2

Chronicles of King Conan, v. 1: The Witch of the Mists and Other Stories

Collects: King Conan #1-5 (1980-1) Released: August 2010 (Dark Horse) Format: 192 pages / color / $18.99 / ISBN: 9781593074777 What is this?: Conan the barbarian is now the older Conan the king. The culprits: Writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema

Tradepaperbacking in the '90s

Will Supervillains Be on the Final?

Collects: OGN Released: April 2011 (Del Rey) Format: 192 pages / black and white / $10.99 / ISBN: 9780345516565 What is this?: Teenage girl goes to high school for superheroes, feeling outclassed, while machinations go on in the background. The culprits: Writer Naomi Novik and artist Yishan Li

Essential Silver Surfer, v. 2

DC August 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

Essential Sub-Mariner, v. 1

Marvel August 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

Addendum to my few notes on the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, A-Z

Reader quiz for Showcase Presents the Justice League of America, v. 1

Dark Horse, IDW, and Image July 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

Essential Defenders, v. 5

DC July 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

X-Factor, v. 8: Overtime

Marvel July 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

A few notes on the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, A-Z, v. 1

Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Classic, v. 1

Dark Horse and IDW June 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

Avengers: The Initiative, v. 1: Basic Training

DC June 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

Incredible Hercules, v. 5: The Mighty Thorcules

Marvel June 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

Essential Avengers, v. 6

Incredible Hercules, v. 2: Secret Invasion

The Quarter Bin: Nomad: Girl without a World

Gambit Classic, v. 1

Dark Horse, IDW, and Image May 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

Incredible Hercules, v. 1: Against the World

DC May 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

Blue Beetle, v. 2: Road Trip

Marvel May 2011 solicitations (collected editions)

Blue Beetle, v. 1: Shellshocked

What's the story, Image?

X-Men / SWORD: No Time to Breathe

Fantastic Four: The Beginning of the End

Comic Book Collections for Libraries -- in (online) stores now!

It's here!

Fantastic Four: The New Fantastic Four

Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil

2010 in review

Collects: Wolverine #119-22 (1997-8)
Released: April 2009 (Marvel)
Format: 120 pages / color / $19.99 / ISBN: 9780785137665
What is this?: Wolverine must confront an old friend / threat from his past. Shocking, right?
The culprits: Writer Warren Ellis and artist Leinil Francis Yu

Collects: King Conan #1-5 (1980-1)

Released: August 2010 (Dark Horse)

Format: 192 pages / color / $18.99 / ISBN: 9781593074777

What is this?: Conan the barbarian is now the older Conan the king.

The culprits: Writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema

Collects: OGN

Released: April 2011 (Del Rey)

Format: 192 pages / black and white / $10.99 / ISBN: 9780345516565

What is this?: Teenage girl goes to high school for superheroes, feeling outclassed, while machinations go on in the background.

The culprits: Writer Naomi Novik and artist Yishan Li