First off, here's a quick way to read the entire blogathon. I'll do a proper archive post later today after I get up:
Promo stuff and posts 01-17
Posts 18-37
Posts 38-49
Now, this has been great. As of the end of the posting part of the blogathon, $160 has been raised for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Hopefully now that I'm done, people will see that, yeah, I did it, and maybe some more donations will happen. If you want to donate, just go to the CBLDF's website and don't forget to tell me that you did it so I can do a final post on the matter in a few days and provide a final tally. I can be reached via comment or e-mail.
Now, I want to thank the sponsors of this blogathon: Tim Callahan, Joshua Schroeder, Michelle Farwell, Eric Rupe, and Eric Owens. These are the people responsible for the $160 and I cannot thank them enough for their willingness to give. It means a lot to me.
This was my second blogathon and I honestly can't say if it was easier or more difficult. There were a lot more comments this time and that was fun. Thanks to everyone who commented or directed people this way on Twitter. It all gave this a real event feeling, which is what I needed.
I'm not sure what else I should say exactly. I think I've said a lot already. I'm somewhat surprised I made it through this -- not just the posting, but the reading of all of these comics this past week. It was fun. Stupid, but fun. Doing it issue-by-issue like I did with the Joe Casey stuff... that was smart. You can focus, read less comics, and be a bit more relaxed. Ah well. On the plus side, I don't harbour some deep hatred for comic books right now. Not even Brian Michael Bendis comics -- which is good, because a new issue of New Avengers comes out Wednesday.
Oh yes, one final thank you... thanks, Brian Michael Bendis. I enjoyed the comics, sir.
(Because I'm awesome like that, as the clock counts down to 9:00 am, you know what's playing? "Thanks That Was Fun" by the Barenaked Ladies.)
With that, I say goodnight even though it is morning.
Showing posts with label blogathon 2009 tag 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogathon 2009 tag 3. Show all posts
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Blogathon 48: Content and the Promise of Content Next Time
Thinking back on the recent reactions to the conclusion of House of M, one recurring sentiment really struck me. It was the attitude that the story itself wasn’t all that good - too spread out, a little bloated, the tie-ins were kind of weak. But: the plot points it hit, the new set-up it created from the ashes of the old - it held a lot of promise for future stories, the potential for interesting things to come.
--Jog
One of the elements of Bendis's work that I wanted to examine as I went was the difference between the content found in a particular storyarc compared with the promise of content to be found in future stories within the same storyarc. There's a sense around Bendis's work that nothing really happens, stories just promise that, next time, the story will be better. Secret Invasion, for example, doesn't end so much as say "Hey, now we're in 'Dark Reign' territory! Forget that Skrull nonsense!"
I'm not sure I agree with what I wrote in previous posts in this regard. Rethinking New Avengers: The Sentry, that story strikes me as one that's not particularly good, but acts mainly as a function to set up future stories with the Sentry. House of M Jog covers well. Civil War wasn't a Bendis story, but he was in the initial meetins that planned it and there's a lot about it that seems to exist just to set up new titles and future stories. I remember Millar talking about how it would boost the sales of certain books like Iron Man and Captain America -- the event book is meant to sell more comics. Not of itself necessarily, but books that lead into it, tie in with it, and follow out from it.
New Avengers: The Trust is a hard story to judge. Things happen, but so much of it seems to be set on reaching Secret Invasion. It's more a Secret Invasion prologue than a story in and of itself. The initial post-Secret Invasion New Avengers and Dark Avengers stories seem more like promises that the two groups would meet soon, teasing that out... while the most recent New Avengers story was a wild goose chase that results in Brother Voodoo as the new Sorcerer Supreme... something that could have happened much easier, but wouldn't have been nearly as effective in selling the upcoming Doctor Voodoo and Strange books.
There's a logic in thinking that only a quality story could work so effectively as a promotional tool, but all you need is the sense that something is important for it to become important and for it to seel books. Well, not just, but you get my meaning. Is it hyped by Marvel as a big deal that Brother Voodoo is the Sorcerer Supreme? Did he get the title after an arc in the flagship book? Who cares if it was any good! (Bendis does, of course... and Marvel, too...)
I think Bendis's reputation as someone who writes that was is exagerated because he does plan ahead. The current story feeds into the next, which feeds into the next, which feeds into the next -- and that could be seen as offering no content, just a demand that you read the next one and maybe it will be better, but actually reading the stories shows that's not the case. It's just not the sort of storytelling with clearly defined endings.
I do think that, sometimes, he needs clearly defined endings. Secret Invasion needed one. It really did. So did House of M. But, his New Avengers work in general has been rather content-oriented -- so did his Mighty Avengers work. While the first Mighty Avengers arc ended with Spider-Woman showing up with the Skrull's body, the Ultron story was clearly ended. The story you read concluded, the serial title and universe continued on. There's a distinction -- and one that Bendis is fairly good about adhering to. That works fine on ongoing titles, but event mini-series should be able to stand alone a bit better and they need to realise that. Otherwise, I stand by Bendis's offering of strong stories while also promising strong stories in the future. They're not all perfect or fantastic, but more of them than not are good. And that's something.
In 30 minutes, this ends. Thank god.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 47: Bendis and the Retcon
Part of what's gone with Bendis bringing back certain characters is retconning. I addressed that last post a bit, but what about the larger retcons that he puts into place to justify plot and character moments? The Illuminati is a great big retcon. The Scarlet Witch not knowing about her kids is another. How about Jessica Jones herself? Are these problematic?
I don't have any problem with retcon if they serve a purpose. The formation of the Illuminati? Great! The group affects the Marvel universe and the creation of the group is a logical move on the parts of the characters -- I'm surprised no one did it before Bendis. Now, some of the retcons Bendis does with the Illumunati I'm not a fan of -- only because the points of those moves haven't been revealed. Why was the Beyonder retconned as a mutant Inhuman? For what purpose? If there is none, it was a worthless change -- if there is one, it would be nice to reveal it a bit sooner after executing the change. Same with the Infinity Gauntlets.
Wanda not remember her kids never bothered me, because it helped push Bendis's story forward and it made sense. That was a traumatic event and would have some harsh effects. It was brushed off much too easily by past writers.
The insertion of Jessica Jones into the Marvel universe never bothered me either because it's an addition -- a new character that brings other characters to the forefront. Without Jessica, we don't get this better Luke Cage. I do take issue when retcon are added later like the Peter/Jessica attending high school together thing -- information that would have come up prior to when it did.
I do admire that Bendis is rather singular in his vision -- he knows what he wants to do and isn't afraid to make it happen. Some people consider that disrespectful to tradition or previous writers, but it's the nature of the beast. The only tradition he should be upholding? Write the best story that you can. And are previous writers better served by allowing stories that seem antiquated or bad today stand untouched? Why not make something positive out of them?
I find it funny how so many people are so slavish to continuity when so much of it was written on the fly with no thought to what it would mean six months down the line let alone three decades. It's foolish to be held to those decisions when they were obviously not always the most sound. It's like forcing a band to play a song the exact same way every single time when, really, the studio version is just what came out that day. So much of continuity is based on what just happened to have come out that month that it's weird to be so faithful to it... at least without thinking about it.
Now, is Bendis quick to just plough through and do what he wants? Perhaps. But, say what you will, nine times out of ten, he has a plan and it pays off to some degree.
In 30 minutes, I'll discuss the content/promise of content divide. We're in the home stretch now!
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
I don't have any problem with retcon if they serve a purpose. The formation of the Illuminati? Great! The group affects the Marvel universe and the creation of the group is a logical move on the parts of the characters -- I'm surprised no one did it before Bendis. Now, some of the retcons Bendis does with the Illumunati I'm not a fan of -- only because the points of those moves haven't been revealed. Why was the Beyonder retconned as a mutant Inhuman? For what purpose? If there is none, it was a worthless change -- if there is one, it would be nice to reveal it a bit sooner after executing the change. Same with the Infinity Gauntlets.
Wanda not remember her kids never bothered me, because it helped push Bendis's story forward and it made sense. That was a traumatic event and would have some harsh effects. It was brushed off much too easily by past writers.
The insertion of Jessica Jones into the Marvel universe never bothered me either because it's an addition -- a new character that brings other characters to the forefront. Without Jessica, we don't get this better Luke Cage. I do take issue when retcon are added later like the Peter/Jessica attending high school together thing -- information that would have come up prior to when it did.
I do admire that Bendis is rather singular in his vision -- he knows what he wants to do and isn't afraid to make it happen. Some people consider that disrespectful to tradition or previous writers, but it's the nature of the beast. The only tradition he should be upholding? Write the best story that you can. And are previous writers better served by allowing stories that seem antiquated or bad today stand untouched? Why not make something positive out of them?
I find it funny how so many people are so slavish to continuity when so much of it was written on the fly with no thought to what it would mean six months down the line let alone three decades. It's foolish to be held to those decisions when they were obviously not always the most sound. It's like forcing a band to play a song the exact same way every single time when, really, the studio version is just what came out that day. So much of continuity is based on what just happened to have come out that month that it's weird to be so faithful to it... at least without thinking about it.
Now, is Bendis quick to just plough through and do what he wants? Perhaps. But, say what you will, nine times out of ten, he has a plan and it pays off to some degree.
In 30 minutes, I'll discuss the content/promise of content divide. We're in the home stretch now!
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 46: Bendis and Obscure Characters
The obvious 'obscure' characters Bendis brought back during his run are the Sentry, the Hood, and Noh-Varr, all three stars of mini-series from a few years previously that hadn't appeared since. Bendis brought them all back, changed what he thought needed changing, and been using all three since... though Noh-Varr the least. The Sentry and the Hood have figured rather heavily into his plans.
But those aren't the only characters Bendis has brought back. Probably his biggest 'save' of a character is Luke Cage. Sure, he's not obscure, but Bendis first started working on him in Alias and, as we saw, he eventually made him an Avenger. An Avenger you take seriously. A guy who's been an Avenger for 55 issues (56 as of Wednesday). That's a serious pedigree for the former Power Man. Not only that, but Bendis has given him a wife and kid. He turned a dumb stereotype into a responsible family man and pillar of the community (despite his legal status as a fugitive -- the people in his community know that that law is bogus and Luke Cage still has their respect).
People (including myself) will rag on Bendis for bringing back characters and changing them, but Luke Cage is the answer that says 'Sometimes it works. Sometimes it is 100% on the money.' Because Bendis's Luke Cage is a fantastic character, a better one than he was before Bendis. I can't imagine someone disagreeing with that assessment. Yeah, yellow shirt, tiara-wearing Power Man was funny and all, but this is better. A million times better. Luke Cage is the man.
Bendis also redid Nick Fury, turning him into a serious spy in Secret War. Or Spider-Woman, creating a compelling character about to get an ongoing series with some good hype. He even put Dr. Strange on the Avengers. Bendis's run has been marked by a fondness for looking at unexplored characters with potential and bringing them to the forefront... I wonder how long it will be before he turns his eyes to 'traditional' Avengers...
I really like that part of Bendis, because he does some good work as a guy who 'fixes' characters. He has a knack for find that part of them that's cool and interesting. Nick Fury as the badass superspy -- people have tried to pull that off, but few have. All Bendis did was have him act like a real badass superspy would, which is do anything to get the job done.
While I don't like his work so far on Noh-Varr, I can't argue with his general direction of success in reforming characters.
In 30 minutes, some more stuff about Bendis. Duh.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
But those aren't the only characters Bendis has brought back. Probably his biggest 'save' of a character is Luke Cage. Sure, he's not obscure, but Bendis first started working on him in Alias and, as we saw, he eventually made him an Avenger. An Avenger you take seriously. A guy who's been an Avenger for 55 issues (56 as of Wednesday). That's a serious pedigree for the former Power Man. Not only that, but Bendis has given him a wife and kid. He turned a dumb stereotype into a responsible family man and pillar of the community (despite his legal status as a fugitive -- the people in his community know that that law is bogus and Luke Cage still has their respect).
People (including myself) will rag on Bendis for bringing back characters and changing them, but Luke Cage is the answer that says 'Sometimes it works. Sometimes it is 100% on the money.' Because Bendis's Luke Cage is a fantastic character, a better one than he was before Bendis. I can't imagine someone disagreeing with that assessment. Yeah, yellow shirt, tiara-wearing Power Man was funny and all, but this is better. A million times better. Luke Cage is the man.
Bendis also redid Nick Fury, turning him into a serious spy in Secret War. Or Spider-Woman, creating a compelling character about to get an ongoing series with some good hype. He even put Dr. Strange on the Avengers. Bendis's run has been marked by a fondness for looking at unexplored characters with potential and bringing them to the forefront... I wonder how long it will be before he turns his eyes to 'traditional' Avengers...
I really like that part of Bendis, because he does some good work as a guy who 'fixes' characters. He has a knack for find that part of them that's cool and interesting. Nick Fury as the badass superspy -- people have tried to pull that off, but few have. All Bendis did was have him act like a real badass superspy would, which is do anything to get the job done.
While I don't like his work so far on Noh-Varr, I can't argue with his general direction of success in reforming characters.
In 30 minutes, some more stuff about Bendis. Duh.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 45: Why I Keep Reading Bendis's Avengers Books
One of my goals with this blogathon was to figure out why I keep reading Bendis's Avengers book. I almost dropped them post-Secret Invasion (actually, the tie-ins had me almost drop them during Secret Invasion -- at least, temporarily). But I didn't. Why? The book is rarely great. The odd issue here and there manages to get out of that 3-3.5 star range that the book seems stuck in. Now, 3-3.5 stars isn't bad, but it's not amazing. A book that consistently performs at that level could easily get cut from my reading list -- Invincible Iron Man is at that level, but got cut. I like New Avengers more than Invincible Iron Man yet rank them at similar (if not equal) levels of quality... what's up with that?
One explanation could be the amount of time and money I've put into this run. I don't want to quit because then I'll have all of these comics without an end -- an incomplete run. I reject that theory as I've done it before with other titles. Keeping a run going has never been a concern of mine to this point.
That means I must be getting something else out of these books. There is New Avengers's position as the central (and key) book to the Marvel universe right now. Read it, you know what's going on in the MU. That's a pretty good reason to keep up... sarcasm. Sorry. It's not. I don't care about that sort of thing. If I did, I'd be buying Blackest Night. If it's important enough that I need to know, I'll find out somehow.
So, maybe the writing is just... good? Maybe I don't drop the books, because I simply enjoy them quite a bit. While the objective quality may be close to Invincible Iron Man, the subjective quality is more varied. Maybe these books just speak to me on that personal, hard-to-define level. As I said at some point during the day, I like good dialogue and Bendis does good dialogue. His characters are grounded with real concerns. They react (and act) in somewhat real ways. You get the feeling that they deal with some of the same crap you do -- the day to day living crap. When Luke and Jessica have a fight, they don't automatically split up, they work through it -- like real people more often than not (at least when they're married).
While Bendis's writing is usually in the 3-3.5 stars range, he sometimes jumps up to 4 or even 4.5... he can be great and it's fun to watch him flirt with greatness all of the time. One scene in an issue may be great, while the rest are mediocre (Dark Avengers #3, for example). Bendis rarely lays down on the job -- some may mistake his natural pacing and dialogue for laziness, but it all has a purpose, even if it's just lame attempts at joke... or random nonsense that people say.
I read it because I enjoy it. I enjoyed the hell out of rereading his work, even the not-so-great stuff. Highly entertaining.
In 30 minutes, I don't know what yet.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
One explanation could be the amount of time and money I've put into this run. I don't want to quit because then I'll have all of these comics without an end -- an incomplete run. I reject that theory as I've done it before with other titles. Keeping a run going has never been a concern of mine to this point.
That means I must be getting something else out of these books. There is New Avengers's position as the central (and key) book to the Marvel universe right now. Read it, you know what's going on in the MU. That's a pretty good reason to keep up... sarcasm. Sorry. It's not. I don't care about that sort of thing. If I did, I'd be buying Blackest Night. If it's important enough that I need to know, I'll find out somehow.
So, maybe the writing is just... good? Maybe I don't drop the books, because I simply enjoy them quite a bit. While the objective quality may be close to Invincible Iron Man, the subjective quality is more varied. Maybe these books just speak to me on that personal, hard-to-define level. As I said at some point during the day, I like good dialogue and Bendis does good dialogue. His characters are grounded with real concerns. They react (and act) in somewhat real ways. You get the feeling that they deal with some of the same crap you do -- the day to day living crap. When Luke and Jessica have a fight, they don't automatically split up, they work through it -- like real people more often than not (at least when they're married).
While Bendis's writing is usually in the 3-3.5 stars range, he sometimes jumps up to 4 or even 4.5... he can be great and it's fun to watch him flirt with greatness all of the time. One scene in an issue may be great, while the rest are mediocre (Dark Avengers #3, for example). Bendis rarely lays down on the job -- some may mistake his natural pacing and dialogue for laziness, but it all has a purpose, even if it's just lame attempts at joke... or random nonsense that people say.
I read it because I enjoy it. I enjoyed the hell out of rereading his work, even the not-so-great stuff. Highly entertaining.
In 30 minutes, I don't know what yet.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 44: Is New Avengers a Proper Avengers Book?
New Avengers -- a comic I keep up with more than I'd say I actually "read" -- is absolutely fine the way it is: it's a monthly installment in the current flavor of a popular franchise, and gauged against the other monthly installments of other franchises, it's a relatively satisfactory one.
One idea that's come up during this blogathon is if Bendis writes a 'proper' Avengers book with New Avengers (and by extension, Mighty Avengers and Dark Avengers). Does he populate his teams with real Avengers? In essence, does New Avengers count as the Avengers title or has Marvel been lacking one since it ended with #503?
I find the idea that Bendis's work isn't really an Avengers title an absurd sort of thinking. It's elitist, snobbish, and fails to grasp a simple fact: it's an Avengers book if Marvel says so. There's no other criteria than Marvel saying it's that book. And do you know how we can tell Marvel approves? They publish it. Any fan ideas of what's true to the spirit of the Avengers or canon or whatever is false. The closest it comes to reality is in the concept of the personal canon -- which we all have. Grant Morrison's New X-Men counts; Chuck Austen's work immediately following it doesn't count. Simple.
In that regard, obviously, New Avengers won't count for some. But, let me try and argue why it should without resorting to the easy, absolutely correct answer of 'Because Marvel says so.'
New Avengers is a proper successor to the previous Avengers title since it features the central team of superheroes in the Marvel universe that aren't the Fantastic Four or X-Men. When trouble goes down, the New Avengers are there to save the day just like the Avengers would have. Their membership is unique, but so was pretty much every other team. They have popular members like Spider-Man and Wolverine -- well, Spider-Man was already an Avenger technically prior to this and so what? Why would popularity be grounds to kick someone out. Does that mean when Captain America had two titles at one point, he wouldn't be Avengers material anymore?
I honestly don't understand the idea that New Avengers isn't the real Avengers -- whatever that means. What is it then? The storytelling is different than past runs on the book, but that could just as easily have happened if Bendis had a run on the book without it becoming New Avengers. Say everything stayed the same, but Avengers never ended -- would people have the same complaint?
As far as I can tell, having read 54 issues of the series, Tucker is quite right: New Avengers is a nice enough read for what it is. It's better now -- critically and commercially -- than it was before Bendis took over.
What I still can't figure out... if so many people dislike the book, why does it sell so well? Is everyone buying a copy to bitch about it?
With that, I'll return in 30 minutes to try and answer that question for myself.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 43: New Avengers: Search for the Sorcerer Supreme
[Discussed in this post: New Avengers #51-54.]
The most recently concluded New Avengers arc has the group go up against the Hood. Again. It has Spider-Man unmask himself. Again. It has Bendis throw in a weird piece of character info that we should have known already. Again. It's the perfect Bendis comic to end on!
In New Avengers annual #2, Dr. Strange used dark magic to save the team and he's no longer worthy of the the Sorcerer Supreme title, so he needs to find the new one -- and he's just hoping it's someone good and not Doom. But, he's being pursued by the Hood whose demonic possessor/master, Dormammu, wants that Eye of Agamotto. Chris Bachalo draws the Hood/Strange segments in the first two issues of this story and those are gorgeous pages. Bachalo makes the Hood terrifying. Just a freaky, scary monster.
Billy Tan draws everything else and it's typical Billy Tan ugliness. He left the book after this story was done and thank god for that. Stuart Immonen came on board and you could tell Bendis was pleased with the way that worked out.
Before continuing with the Dr. Strange plot, I want to address the small bit of business that occurs without him: the team picks a leader and Spider-Man reveals his identity to them. After Clint's stunt at the end of last issue (the video calling out Osborn), the team has a meeting and... names Clint leader. A choice that makes sense no matter how many morons think Captain America should be leader because his superhero name is Captain America. Trust me, I saw that debate go on for way too long on message boards. Christ.
The unmasking of Spider-Man is handled well. Peter is, of course, a whiny little bitch about it. "But I don't waaaaaaaaaaant to!" But, he does it, because he should. It's then they we learn for the first time that Jessica went to the same high school as him! And had a crush on him! Before she got sick and went into a coma! Seriously! What the fuck? Shouldn't that information have come up sometime back when they knew that Peter Parker was Spider-Man before "One More Day" took that knowledge away? It's shocking here because you'd think that would have been covered then. I'm used to Bendis contradicting regular continuity, not his own... from twenty issues ago... ah well. [Edit: Am told that Jessica's crush on Peter was introduced in an issue of Alias that I have not read, which explains why I was completely wrong here -- but understandibly so. Just wanted to let you all know.]
Around then, Dr. Strange interrupts them and, soon, they're off to find the new Sorcerer Supreme with only the Eye of Agamotto as their guide. They wind up in New Orleans where the choice seems to be Daimon Hellstrom... Son of Satan? Oh, the Eye... it knows the score alright. There, they get into it with the Hood and Madame Masque. Part of the team handles her, while the other part handles him until the new Sorcerer Supreme is selected... Brother Voodoo! He arrives on scene, the day is saved, Dormammu is banished and the Hood is left very badly hurt.
A few more things:
* I like the choice of Brother Voodoo as new Sorcerer Supreme. He's different from Dr. Strange and could lead to some interesting stories.
* The Hood being injured and offered a deal for his power back by Loki is a repeat of the Black Widow II being injured and offered her looks back by... who was it again? Someone!
* Before taking on Madame Masque, Captain America asks if anyone else wants a gun -- you know, because there's a lady with a bazooka and guns out there -- and Spider-Man freaks the fuck out. I mean, he almost throws a hissy fit. He is so damn annoying in this storyarc with his whiny bullshit. "Oooh! Guns scary!" A polite 'no' would do the job. (And I say that as a very anti-gun person.)
* Clint deciding that they need to kill Norman Osborn at the end of the issue is great. Scott (commenter) said he doesn't believe Clint would kill and I think Bendis has put him through so much that, yeah, he'd kill a guy like Osborn. He's sick of nothing being right in the world since Avengers Disassembled and if killing Osborn fixes something, he'll do it. Thankfully, I won't discuss that conversation from #55 because Spider-Man is even whinier and annoying there.
We reach the end of the line for discussing Bendis comics. Well, discussing specific stories at least. What, already? I've only been doing it for 21 hours! But that's not the deal -- the deal is 24 hours, so I've got three more hours to fill. Join me in 30 minutes to see what I pull out of my ass first.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
The most recently concluded New Avengers arc has the group go up against the Hood. Again. It has Spider-Man unmask himself. Again. It has Bendis throw in a weird piece of character info that we should have known already. Again. It's the perfect Bendis comic to end on!
In New Avengers annual #2, Dr. Strange used dark magic to save the team and he's no longer worthy of the the Sorcerer Supreme title, so he needs to find the new one -- and he's just hoping it's someone good and not Doom. But, he's being pursued by the Hood whose demonic possessor/master, Dormammu, wants that Eye of Agamotto. Chris Bachalo draws the Hood/Strange segments in the first two issues of this story and those are gorgeous pages. Bachalo makes the Hood terrifying. Just a freaky, scary monster.
Billy Tan draws everything else and it's typical Billy Tan ugliness. He left the book after this story was done and thank god for that. Stuart Immonen came on board and you could tell Bendis was pleased with the way that worked out.
Before continuing with the Dr. Strange plot, I want to address the small bit of business that occurs without him: the team picks a leader and Spider-Man reveals his identity to them. After Clint's stunt at the end of last issue (the video calling out Osborn), the team has a meeting and... names Clint leader. A choice that makes sense no matter how many morons think Captain America should be leader because his superhero name is Captain America. Trust me, I saw that debate go on for way too long on message boards. Christ.
The unmasking of Spider-Man is handled well. Peter is, of course, a whiny little bitch about it. "But I don't waaaaaaaaaaant to!" But, he does it, because he should. It's then they we learn for the first time that Jessica went to the same high school as him! And had a crush on him! Before she got sick and went into a coma! Seriously! What the fuck? Shouldn't that information have come up sometime back when they knew that Peter Parker was Spider-Man before "One More Day" took that knowledge away? It's shocking here because you'd think that would have been covered then. I'm used to Bendis contradicting regular continuity, not his own... from twenty issues ago... ah well. [Edit: Am told that Jessica's crush on Peter was introduced in an issue of Alias that I have not read, which explains why I was completely wrong here -- but understandibly so. Just wanted to let you all know.]
Around then, Dr. Strange interrupts them and, soon, they're off to find the new Sorcerer Supreme with only the Eye of Agamotto as their guide. They wind up in New Orleans where the choice seems to be Daimon Hellstrom... Son of Satan? Oh, the Eye... it knows the score alright. There, they get into it with the Hood and Madame Masque. Part of the team handles her, while the other part handles him until the new Sorcerer Supreme is selected... Brother Voodoo! He arrives on scene, the day is saved, Dormammu is banished and the Hood is left very badly hurt.
A few more things:
* I like the choice of Brother Voodoo as new Sorcerer Supreme. He's different from Dr. Strange and could lead to some interesting stories.
* The Hood being injured and offered a deal for his power back by Loki is a repeat of the Black Widow II being injured and offered her looks back by... who was it again? Someone!
* Before taking on Madame Masque, Captain America asks if anyone else wants a gun -- you know, because there's a lady with a bazooka and guns out there -- and Spider-Man freaks the fuck out. I mean, he almost throws a hissy fit. He is so damn annoying in this storyarc with his whiny bullshit. "Oooh! Guns scary!" A polite 'no' would do the job. (And I say that as a very anti-gun person.)
* Clint deciding that they need to kill Norman Osborn at the end of the issue is great. Scott (commenter) said he doesn't believe Clint would kill and I think Bendis has put him through so much that, yeah, he'd kill a guy like Osborn. He's sick of nothing being right in the world since Avengers Disassembled and if killing Osborn fixes something, he'll do it. Thankfully, I won't discuss that conversation from #55 because Spider-Man is even whinier and annoying there.
We reach the end of the line for discussing Bendis comics. Well, discussing specific stories at least. What, already? I've only been doing it for 21 hours! But that's not the deal -- the deal is 24 hours, so I've got three more hours to fill. Join me in 30 minutes to see what I pull out of my ass first.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 42: Secret Warriors: Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing
[Discussed in this post: Secret Warriors #1-6.]
Secret Warriors is my current favourite Marvel ongoing book. There's at least one other title that I like more, but it's a mini-series, so fuck it. Bendis's involvement in the series and opening arc is more that of a guide. He helped with the plotting and broader points, but Jonathan Hickman wrote the scripts. Hickman, for those unaware, did The Nightly News and Pax Romana, writing and drawing both, and they're both wonderful and you should know them.
Isn't Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing the best title you've seen here all day? Just wonderful. Magnificant. I wish the series were called that, but it's not just about Nick Fury. It's about all the Secret Warriors -- from his caterpillars to Hydra to Duggan and his men to... HAMMER people maybe? It's about the wars we don't see. This is the ongoing implicitly promised by Secret War and it is damn good.
In the first issue, we learn that SHIELD was run by Hydra. Since when? Since forever! This is another big Bendis change and some people don't buy into it, but I do. I'll tell you why -- it makes sense. It does. Hydra created SHIELD so they could do what they really wanted while appearing like they weren't doing anything. Genius. What that makes you wonder: what was Hydra really doing all of these years that the stuff we saw was the fake, meaningless bullshit?
The caterpillars get a good amount of time here, as well they should. Phobos, god of fear is my favourite. He's 12 years old. He's awesome.
Things move quickly in the book as Hydra quickly rebuilds itself, showing us its ruling council of Baron von Strucker, Madame Hydra, Viper, the Gorgon, Kraken, and the Hive. We get an equal amount of exposure to the good guys and the bad guys. Hell, the recap/info page for issue two is the same as issue one, except switch Nick Fury to Strucker...
The fights are fast and brutal. People don't always walk away. We learn that quickly.
Nick Fury's world is a dangerous one and the kids may talk some shit, but we're not sure if they can come through (they can). Or, at least, they do here. Will they continue to be able to do so?
Nick recruits Dum Dum and his Howlin' Commandos... private military contractors... they steal the Helicarriers from HAMMER. They steal the Helicarriers.
Hickman does better dialogue and character work than you may expect if you know his previous work. In The Nightly News and Pax Romana, his writing is more about ideas and philosophies than characters. Characters are tools in a sense, but you get little of that here. He really shows that he's got some serious chops -- hence why he's taking over Fantastic Four this week. Marvel knows they've got a winner.
This story ends with the revelation that Madame Hydra is the Contessa, which is another reveal that makes sense to me. Especially if SHIELD was always Hydra's...
Secret Warriors is a lot of fun, action-packed, has some solid character moments, and Stefano Caselli's art is always growing. He's not quite up to speed on the quiet moments yet, but his action is solid. I didn't expect to like his art, but I do.
If you thought Bendis's Fury was fantastic, Hackman matches Bendis there.
In 30 minutes, we run out of comics with New Avengers: Search for the Sorcerer Supreme.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Secret Warriors is my current favourite Marvel ongoing book. There's at least one other title that I like more, but it's a mini-series, so fuck it. Bendis's involvement in the series and opening arc is more that of a guide. He helped with the plotting and broader points, but Jonathan Hickman wrote the scripts. Hickman, for those unaware, did The Nightly News and Pax Romana, writing and drawing both, and they're both wonderful and you should know them.
Isn't Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing the best title you've seen here all day? Just wonderful. Magnificant. I wish the series were called that, but it's not just about Nick Fury. It's about all the Secret Warriors -- from his caterpillars to Hydra to Duggan and his men to... HAMMER people maybe? It's about the wars we don't see. This is the ongoing implicitly promised by Secret War and it is damn good.
In the first issue, we learn that SHIELD was run by Hydra. Since when? Since forever! This is another big Bendis change and some people don't buy into it, but I do. I'll tell you why -- it makes sense. It does. Hydra created SHIELD so they could do what they really wanted while appearing like they weren't doing anything. Genius. What that makes you wonder: what was Hydra really doing all of these years that the stuff we saw was the fake, meaningless bullshit?
The caterpillars get a good amount of time here, as well they should. Phobos, god of fear is my favourite. He's 12 years old. He's awesome.
Things move quickly in the book as Hydra quickly rebuilds itself, showing us its ruling council of Baron von Strucker, Madame Hydra, Viper, the Gorgon, Kraken, and the Hive. We get an equal amount of exposure to the good guys and the bad guys. Hell, the recap/info page for issue two is the same as issue one, except switch Nick Fury to Strucker...
The fights are fast and brutal. People don't always walk away. We learn that quickly.
Nick Fury's world is a dangerous one and the kids may talk some shit, but we're not sure if they can come through (they can). Or, at least, they do here. Will they continue to be able to do so?
Nick recruits Dum Dum and his Howlin' Commandos... private military contractors... they steal the Helicarriers from HAMMER. They steal the Helicarriers.
Hickman does better dialogue and character work than you may expect if you know his previous work. In The Nightly News and Pax Romana, his writing is more about ideas and philosophies than characters. Characters are tools in a sense, but you get little of that here. He really shows that he's got some serious chops -- hence why he's taking over Fantastic Four this week. Marvel knows they've got a winner.
This story ends with the revelation that Madame Hydra is the Contessa, which is another reveal that makes sense to me. Especially if SHIELD was always Hydra's...
Secret Warriors is a lot of fun, action-packed, has some solid character moments, and Stefano Caselli's art is always growing. He's not quite up to speed on the quiet moments yet, but his action is solid. I didn't expect to like his art, but I do.
If you thought Bendis's Fury was fantastic, Hackman matches Bendis there.
In 30 minutes, we run out of comics with New Avengers: Search for the Sorcerer Supreme.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 41: Captain Britain and MI:13: Vampire State
[Discussed in this post: Captain Britain and MI:13 #10-15 and annual #1.]
It is an absolute shame that Captain Britain and MI:13 had to end -- but it's fantastic that it got to end on a high note like Vampire State. This is about as perfect a storyarc as you're going to find in superhero comics and Paul Cornell takes it a step further by using vampires -- and then takes that a step further by using Dracula. It could have failed on so many levels with those decisions, but Cornell doesn't just get by, he nails it, pulls it off, and leaves us all wondering how the hell he did that.
Cornell's Dracula isn't unfamiliar but he isn't quite like any Dracula you've seen before. He's smart, confident, refined, racist, and knows he's going to win. The racism against Muslims is a nice touch -- and works with the idea of invading Britain because of its large immigrant population. He plans out a careful strategy and executes it with great skill. Only a stragist his equal could match him -- and thank got MI:13 has Pete Wisdom, because he pulls off some masterful swerves against Dracula. When it appears that Dracula has won, it was really his greatest desire as fulfilled by Plokta. When he thought he destroyed a skull that would protect Britain from vampires, it was a fake skull that they put on a show to protect. When he thought he controlled Lady J, he didn't. When he thought he had a treaty with Doom, he didn't. The first half of the arc is about building Dracula up, showing him as unbeatable, while the second half is about tearing him down, showing him as beatable.
Cornell lays on some heavy cliffhangers in this arc. The entire team is killed style of cliffhangers. And while he always follows up on them, unafraid to undo them, it never feels forced or like we got a fake-out before. It only ever feels like something bad happened and the trained professionals reacted, solving the problem. To Cornell's credit, he makes us believe that these characters are as good at what they do as is necessary for a lot of these issues to work. But, we believe it. They are the professionals.
It seems, in restrospect, obvious that vampires would pose a threat with two on the team -- one who's devoted his life to hunting them down. Except it still felt like a surprise for Dracula and company to invade Britain somehow...
The budding relationship between Blade and Lady J is one of my favourite things about this arc. Blade in a pub in issue ten is a great scene. Or, Blade staking J's son to make sure the vampire bugger is put out of his misery... they're a good couple.
Pete Wisdom's strategy is a constant effort to delay Dracula until they can think of something better and it winds up working out.
The annual, which focuses on Meggan, is rather weak. I didn't care for it when I reviewed it for CBR and don't care for it now. The tone isn't quite right, Cornell never really hits his stride in it like he does the rest of the series.
The final issue of the series is a pretty good ending. It's not the strongest end, but you need to remember that it was just meant to be the end of the arc, not the book -- and I doubt Cornell altered it a lot to suit that purpose. It does end with various couples -- Blade and J, Brian and Meggan, Dane and Faiza, Pete and Tara -- although that one is so fucking cool. Pete driving the car, looking like Bond, Tara admiring him. Leonard Kirk nails that pic.
Kirk is an essential part of the book. He has a distinctive style, using thin lines, a little sketchy, but very clean, very easy to read and understand. It's a shame he didn't do every issue.
Oh god, we're running out of comics! In 30 minutes, we'll do Secret Warriors: Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
It is an absolute shame that Captain Britain and MI:13 had to end -- but it's fantastic that it got to end on a high note like Vampire State. This is about as perfect a storyarc as you're going to find in superhero comics and Paul Cornell takes it a step further by using vampires -- and then takes that a step further by using Dracula. It could have failed on so many levels with those decisions, but Cornell doesn't just get by, he nails it, pulls it off, and leaves us all wondering how the hell he did that.
Cornell's Dracula isn't unfamiliar but he isn't quite like any Dracula you've seen before. He's smart, confident, refined, racist, and knows he's going to win. The racism against Muslims is a nice touch -- and works with the idea of invading Britain because of its large immigrant population. He plans out a careful strategy and executes it with great skill. Only a stragist his equal could match him -- and thank got MI:13 has Pete Wisdom, because he pulls off some masterful swerves against Dracula. When it appears that Dracula has won, it was really his greatest desire as fulfilled by Plokta. When he thought he destroyed a skull that would protect Britain from vampires, it was a fake skull that they put on a show to protect. When he thought he controlled Lady J, he didn't. When he thought he had a treaty with Doom, he didn't. The first half of the arc is about building Dracula up, showing him as unbeatable, while the second half is about tearing him down, showing him as beatable.
Cornell lays on some heavy cliffhangers in this arc. The entire team is killed style of cliffhangers. And while he always follows up on them, unafraid to undo them, it never feels forced or like we got a fake-out before. It only ever feels like something bad happened and the trained professionals reacted, solving the problem. To Cornell's credit, he makes us believe that these characters are as good at what they do as is necessary for a lot of these issues to work. But, we believe it. They are the professionals.
It seems, in restrospect, obvious that vampires would pose a threat with two on the team -- one who's devoted his life to hunting them down. Except it still felt like a surprise for Dracula and company to invade Britain somehow...
The budding relationship between Blade and Lady J is one of my favourite things about this arc. Blade in a pub in issue ten is a great scene. Or, Blade staking J's son to make sure the vampire bugger is put out of his misery... they're a good couple.
Pete Wisdom's strategy is a constant effort to delay Dracula until they can think of something better and it winds up working out.
The annual, which focuses on Meggan, is rather weak. I didn't care for it when I reviewed it for CBR and don't care for it now. The tone isn't quite right, Cornell never really hits his stride in it like he does the rest of the series.
The final issue of the series is a pretty good ending. It's not the strongest end, but you need to remember that it was just meant to be the end of the arc, not the book -- and I doubt Cornell altered it a lot to suit that purpose. It does end with various couples -- Blade and J, Brian and Meggan, Dane and Faiza, Pete and Tara -- although that one is so fucking cool. Pete driving the car, looking like Bond, Tara admiring him. Leonard Kirk nails that pic.
Kirk is an essential part of the book. He has a distinctive style, using thin lines, a little sketchy, but very clean, very easy to read and understand. It's a shame he didn't do every issue.
Oh god, we're running out of comics! In 30 minutes, we'll do Secret Warriors: Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 40: Captain Britain and MI:13: Hell Comes to Birmingham
[Discussed in this post: Captain Britain and MI:13 #5-9.]
Issue five was what won me over. Blade joins the cast and stakes Lady J at the end of the issue. Before that, the Black Knight has an awkward conversation with Faiza's parents that's damn funny. It's a quiet issue, pretty light -- which makes the final page that much harsher and surprising. That's when I knew for sure that this was the book for me. Cornell suckered me in, made me think things were alright and then Blade stakes Lady J. Goddamn.
Every issue of this story ends with a cliffhanger of some sort. #5: Blade stakes Lady J; #6: Plokta offers Captain Britain his wife back; #7: Pete Wisdom reveals that the Black Knight doesn't have the Ebony Blade; #8: Captain Midlands is revealed a traitor; #9: Dracula is coming. I don't understand how this title lost readers, because every issue ends with a dare not to pick up the next issue -- and I can't fathom why anyone would take them up on that dare.
Now, if the book were nothing but cliffhangers and teasers, that would be worthless -- it's got a lot of great stuff in the actual issues. This plot, the team preventing a Duke of Hell, Plokta, from taking over a building (and the world) by offering people their deepest desire, is a fairly basis one. Lots of Mindless Ones to fight, lots of temptation. Lady J and Blade bond a little. The Black Knight almost loses control. Captain Britain gets lost in fantasyland for a while. Captain Midlands betrays them all to have his dead wife back -- a contrast to Captain Britain who breaks free of his nearly identical illusion. Blade using a paper sword to cut Plokta. Alistair's form being a bit more maleable... all fantastic.
They eventually defeat and capture Plokta. There's an excellent scene at the end where Pete brings Captain Midlands a gun, hoping they'll avoid a trial. Harsh, brutal, perfect.
The story ends with a teaser for Vampire State, the book's concluding arc -- Dracula invades Britain. Fun fun fun.
Leonard Kirk does good work.
I'll write more in 30 minutes when I discuss Captain Britain and MI:13: Vampire State.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Issue five was what won me over. Blade joins the cast and stakes Lady J at the end of the issue. Before that, the Black Knight has an awkward conversation with Faiza's parents that's damn funny. It's a quiet issue, pretty light -- which makes the final page that much harsher and surprising. That's when I knew for sure that this was the book for me. Cornell suckered me in, made me think things were alright and then Blade stakes Lady J. Goddamn.
Every issue of this story ends with a cliffhanger of some sort. #5: Blade stakes Lady J; #6: Plokta offers Captain Britain his wife back; #7: Pete Wisdom reveals that the Black Knight doesn't have the Ebony Blade; #8: Captain Midlands is revealed a traitor; #9: Dracula is coming. I don't understand how this title lost readers, because every issue ends with a dare not to pick up the next issue -- and I can't fathom why anyone would take them up on that dare.
Now, if the book were nothing but cliffhangers and teasers, that would be worthless -- it's got a lot of great stuff in the actual issues. This plot, the team preventing a Duke of Hell, Plokta, from taking over a building (and the world) by offering people their deepest desire, is a fairly basis one. Lots of Mindless Ones to fight, lots of temptation. Lady J and Blade bond a little. The Black Knight almost loses control. Captain Britain gets lost in fantasyland for a while. Captain Midlands betrays them all to have his dead wife back -- a contrast to Captain Britain who breaks free of his nearly identical illusion. Blade using a paper sword to cut Plokta. Alistair's form being a bit more maleable... all fantastic.
They eventually defeat and capture Plokta. There's an excellent scene at the end where Pete brings Captain Midlands a gun, hoping they'll avoid a trial. Harsh, brutal, perfect.
The story ends with a teaser for Vampire State, the book's concluding arc -- Dracula invades Britain. Fun fun fun.
Leonard Kirk does good work.
I'll write more in 30 minutes when I discuss Captain Britain and MI:13: Vampire State.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 39: Dark Avengers
[Discussed in this post: Dark Avengers #1-6.]
It wouldn't be too wrong to call Dark Avengers "Thunderbolts Lite," since that's how it reads. "Warren Ellis already wrote this book and it was better then." A harsh way of putting it, but it's true. Sure, Bendis tries to dress it up with a few new characters and the idea that they're the Avengers now, but it isn't as good as Ellis's Thunderbolts and suffers from that comparison constantly hanging over its head -- spurred on in a big way by Mike Deodato doing the art here. I understand the impulse: he knows the characters, it provides some continuity from one book to the next, he's a great artist -- but it also acts as a constant reminder that, while good, Brian Michael Bendis is not in the same class as Warren Ellis. Bendis may be one of his generation's best mainstream superhero comics writers -- but Ellis may be his generation's best mainstream superhero comics writer. And he does evil bastards better than anyone else.
That said, Dark Avengers is fairly entertaining and has some very, very good scenes. Bendis's Sentry stuff gets better here. Issue three begins with a fantastic discussion between Osborn and Reynolds as Osborn gains his trust by sharing the similar conditions they have. What is really interesting about their discussion is that Osborn sounds more Doctor Samson than Osborn -- and I like that. Bendis understands just how Osborn would adjust his approach to the Sentry... and it's a weird mix of honesty and bullshit. He's obviously playing the Sentry, but you also get the sense that he's being sincere on some level. It's very powerful stuff and Bendis at his best. Later in these issues, after Atlantean terrorists attack US soil, Osborn sends the Sentry to kill them all except one -- and the scene is beautiful because, part of what made their initial dialogue so effective is Osborn's insistance that there is no Void... but, here, he asks for the Void. Not by name, but through implication. The Sentry's eyes go dark and he utters the fantastic line "I thought you said there was no Void."
This is the point where I admit that I forgot something waaaaaaay back in Mighty Avengers: The Return of Ultron: Ultron killed Lindy and the Sentry went Void -- black eyes and just harsh and brutal... and he brought Lindy back to life. Something similar happens here when the Sentry is killed in Latveria and comes back to life in New York. Bendis seems to be advancing this plot and it's interesting.
The main villain here, Morgana le Fey shows up in a very dumb way for a very dumb reason, but it provides some entertaining fight stuff, including Doom and Osborn travelling back in time. Or the Sentry ripping her head off. Nothing too special, but good.
The make-up of this Avengers group is a good one. I don't like the inclusion of Noh-Varr as Captain Marvel for a few reasons: him becoming Captain Marvel was an idea hinted at by the Illuminati and to have Osborn be the one that carries it out is just a little too cute for me. Bendis doesn't really do anything with him except have him have sex with Moonstone and then act all surprised when he realises they're all criminals. Kind of a waste. He'll return, but nothing here changes my opinion that Bendis doesn't really know what he's doing with Noh-Varr.
The interactions between team members isn't any sort of improvement on Ellis's work with them. Even the inclusion of new character add little. Though, Aries slapping Bullseye for acting like a child is great -- and telling him that if he hit him, he'd be broken. Aries is a character that Bendis has a lot of fun with and it shows.
All in all, Dark Avengers is a decent read, but is stuck in the shadow Warren Ellis's Thunderbolts.
We're slowly running out of books, people! But, fear not, we've still got a few to get through. In 30 minutes, Captain Britain and MI:13: Hell Comes to Birmingham.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
It wouldn't be too wrong to call Dark Avengers "Thunderbolts Lite," since that's how it reads. "Warren Ellis already wrote this book and it was better then." A harsh way of putting it, but it's true. Sure, Bendis tries to dress it up with a few new characters and the idea that they're the Avengers now, but it isn't as good as Ellis's Thunderbolts and suffers from that comparison constantly hanging over its head -- spurred on in a big way by Mike Deodato doing the art here. I understand the impulse: he knows the characters, it provides some continuity from one book to the next, he's a great artist -- but it also acts as a constant reminder that, while good, Brian Michael Bendis is not in the same class as Warren Ellis. Bendis may be one of his generation's best mainstream superhero comics writers -- but Ellis may be his generation's best mainstream superhero comics writer. And he does evil bastards better than anyone else.
That said, Dark Avengers is fairly entertaining and has some very, very good scenes. Bendis's Sentry stuff gets better here. Issue three begins with a fantastic discussion between Osborn and Reynolds as Osborn gains his trust by sharing the similar conditions they have. What is really interesting about their discussion is that Osborn sounds more Doctor Samson than Osborn -- and I like that. Bendis understands just how Osborn would adjust his approach to the Sentry... and it's a weird mix of honesty and bullshit. He's obviously playing the Sentry, but you also get the sense that he's being sincere on some level. It's very powerful stuff and Bendis at his best. Later in these issues, after Atlantean terrorists attack US soil, Osborn sends the Sentry to kill them all except one -- and the scene is beautiful because, part of what made their initial dialogue so effective is Osborn's insistance that there is no Void... but, here, he asks for the Void. Not by name, but through implication. The Sentry's eyes go dark and he utters the fantastic line "I thought you said there was no Void."
This is the point where I admit that I forgot something waaaaaaay back in Mighty Avengers: The Return of Ultron: Ultron killed Lindy and the Sentry went Void -- black eyes and just harsh and brutal... and he brought Lindy back to life. Something similar happens here when the Sentry is killed in Latveria and comes back to life in New York. Bendis seems to be advancing this plot and it's interesting.
The main villain here, Morgana le Fey shows up in a very dumb way for a very dumb reason, but it provides some entertaining fight stuff, including Doom and Osborn travelling back in time. Or the Sentry ripping her head off. Nothing too special, but good.
The make-up of this Avengers group is a good one. I don't like the inclusion of Noh-Varr as Captain Marvel for a few reasons: him becoming Captain Marvel was an idea hinted at by the Illuminati and to have Osborn be the one that carries it out is just a little too cute for me. Bendis doesn't really do anything with him except have him have sex with Moonstone and then act all surprised when he realises they're all criminals. Kind of a waste. He'll return, but nothing here changes my opinion that Bendis doesn't really know what he's doing with Noh-Varr.
The interactions between team members isn't any sort of improvement on Ellis's work with them. Even the inclusion of new character add little. Though, Aries slapping Bullseye for acting like a child is great -- and telling him that if he hit him, he'd be broken. Aries is a character that Bendis has a lot of fun with and it shows.
All in all, Dark Avengers is a decent read, but is stuck in the shadow Warren Ellis's Thunderbolts.
We're slowly running out of books, people! But, fear not, we've still got a few to get through. In 30 minutes, Captain Britain and MI:13: Hell Comes to Birmingham.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
Blogathon 38: New Avengers: Dark Reign
[Discussed in this post: Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1, Dark Reign: The Cabal #1, Free Comic Book Day 2009 Avengers #1, and New Avengers #48-50.]
The "Dark Reign" is upon us.
Secret Invasion: Dark Reign is the final Bendis/Maleev book I'll be discussing and it's not that bad. It's mostly known for the odd manner in which Maleev depicts Namor -- basically, a skeevy-looking guy who may or may not be deathly ill. It's odd because Maleev did a much better Namor in the New Avengers: Illuminati special. This is the other side of that special. Whereas that explained the Illuminati, this one explains Norman Osborn's Cabal, which features Namor, Doom, the Hood, Loki, and Emma Frost. Osborn's reasoning is good: as the new top cop, he's going to make deals with these people to keep them in line -- and, when they've got a problem, come to him and he'll solve it nice and legal-like. Osborn in a pretty good spot and doesn't want to lose it because one of these people. In the course of his talk, he threatens them with a mysterious figure that I assume is the Sentry since he's on Osborn's pocket (but wasn't known to be at the time this was released). The issue ends with him killing the Swordsman -- and that scene bothered me because of Bendis's dialogue where the Swordsman talked like a regular criminal when he normally spoke in a more dignified, aristocratic fashion. Bendis's ability to write, like, three different voices rears its head again. A decent one-shot, but mostly set-up.
Dark Reign: The Cabal is a one-shot with five stories featuring the non-Osborn Cabal members. The only story that I dig is Jonathan Hickman's Doom one that has Doom thinking about a year from then where he and Namor take down their fellow Cabal members. It's a nice little window into Doom's head. The Hood story by Rick Remender shows off his ruthlessness. The Matt Fraction Emma Frost story is a good introduction to the character and her past. The Namor story is odd and I'm not sure what it's point was other than they need a Namor story. The Loki one relates to Thor and was unnecessary.
The Free Comic Book Day 2009 Avengers issue is pretty good. By Bendis and Jim Cheung, it has the New Avengers and Dark Avengers work together to stop Ymir the Frost Giant from taking over the world. There's some fighting and words and it's a fairly fun comic that introduces the currect status quo: the bad guys are in charge and have their own evil Avengers, but the good guys are still around and are trying to take them down. Here, though, they need to work together. Cheung does some fantastic art here. Aries gets the chance to shine a bit.
New Avengers #48-50 has the team deal with the new status quo by reforming post-Secret Invasion at Captain America's house. The new line-up: Cap, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Ronin, and Mockingbird. Iron Fist sticks around during these issues, but he's out of here after this. But, before they can get to the business of saving the world and maybe getting rid of Norman Osborn, they need to find Danielle Cage. Issues 48-49 deal with this and includes a lot of city-scrounging... it gets to the point where Luke even goes to Osborn and agrees to sign up with him in exchange for help. Osborn provides help in a horrific way by feeding Skrulls to Venom until one of them tells him what he wants to know. After getting the baby back, Bullseye kills the Jarvis Skrull and Luke is Osborn's... until he comes into the office with the Wrecker's crowbar and lays a beating on Bullseye and Venom and tell Osborn where he can stick their deal. Luke Cage is the man.
Of course, Osborn one-ups him by revealing his Avengers team that day. That leads into issue 50 where they try and bait Osborn's group into a confrontation where they'll use a power drainer to take them down easily. The thing is, Osborn outsmarts them and sends the Hood's crew instead. The New Avengers still win and that issue ends with Clint recording a message denouncing Osborn that gets played on the news.
Billy Tan's art in these issues is just ugly pap. I cannot stand it. Issue 50 has a series of guest artists who do single pages where Bendis has one of the Avengers narrate. Bryan Hitch does a nice double-page spread; Steve Epting does Cap's page; Alex Maleev (okay, he shows up again!) does Spider-Woman; Steve McNiven does Spider-Man; Leinil Francis Yu does Wolverine; Michael Gaydos does Luke Cage; David Aja does Iron Fist; David Lopez does Ronin and Mockingbird; and Greg Horn does Ms. Marvel. I like how they got artists with some association with the specific characters to do the pages.
Post-Secret Invasion, the status quo isn't all that different for the New Avengers: they're still outlaws, the line-up is mostly the same, and they just can't be stopped. Oh, and they're still fighting the Hood. And they'll fight him in the next arc, but that won't be for a few posts.
In 30 minutes, we'll meet the Dark Avengers.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
The "Dark Reign" is upon us.
Secret Invasion: Dark Reign is the final Bendis/Maleev book I'll be discussing and it's not that bad. It's mostly known for the odd manner in which Maleev depicts Namor -- basically, a skeevy-looking guy who may or may not be deathly ill. It's odd because Maleev did a much better Namor in the New Avengers: Illuminati special. This is the other side of that special. Whereas that explained the Illuminati, this one explains Norman Osborn's Cabal, which features Namor, Doom, the Hood, Loki, and Emma Frost. Osborn's reasoning is good: as the new top cop, he's going to make deals with these people to keep them in line -- and, when they've got a problem, come to him and he'll solve it nice and legal-like. Osborn in a pretty good spot and doesn't want to lose it because one of these people. In the course of his talk, he threatens them with a mysterious figure that I assume is the Sentry since he's on Osborn's pocket (but wasn't known to be at the time this was released). The issue ends with him killing the Swordsman -- and that scene bothered me because of Bendis's dialogue where the Swordsman talked like a regular criminal when he normally spoke in a more dignified, aristocratic fashion. Bendis's ability to write, like, three different voices rears its head again. A decent one-shot, but mostly set-up.
Dark Reign: The Cabal is a one-shot with five stories featuring the non-Osborn Cabal members. The only story that I dig is Jonathan Hickman's Doom one that has Doom thinking about a year from then where he and Namor take down their fellow Cabal members. It's a nice little window into Doom's head. The Hood story by Rick Remender shows off his ruthlessness. The Matt Fraction Emma Frost story is a good introduction to the character and her past. The Namor story is odd and I'm not sure what it's point was other than they need a Namor story. The Loki one relates to Thor and was unnecessary.
The Free Comic Book Day 2009 Avengers issue is pretty good. By Bendis and Jim Cheung, it has the New Avengers and Dark Avengers work together to stop Ymir the Frost Giant from taking over the world. There's some fighting and words and it's a fairly fun comic that introduces the currect status quo: the bad guys are in charge and have their own evil Avengers, but the good guys are still around and are trying to take them down. Here, though, they need to work together. Cheung does some fantastic art here. Aries gets the chance to shine a bit.
New Avengers #48-50 has the team deal with the new status quo by reforming post-Secret Invasion at Captain America's house. The new line-up: Cap, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Ronin, and Mockingbird. Iron Fist sticks around during these issues, but he's out of here after this. But, before they can get to the business of saving the world and maybe getting rid of Norman Osborn, they need to find Danielle Cage. Issues 48-49 deal with this and includes a lot of city-scrounging... it gets to the point where Luke even goes to Osborn and agrees to sign up with him in exchange for help. Osborn provides help in a horrific way by feeding Skrulls to Venom until one of them tells him what he wants to know. After getting the baby back, Bullseye kills the Jarvis Skrull and Luke is Osborn's... until he comes into the office with the Wrecker's crowbar and lays a beating on Bullseye and Venom and tell Osborn where he can stick their deal. Luke Cage is the man.
Of course, Osborn one-ups him by revealing his Avengers team that day. That leads into issue 50 where they try and bait Osborn's group into a confrontation where they'll use a power drainer to take them down easily. The thing is, Osborn outsmarts them and sends the Hood's crew instead. The New Avengers still win and that issue ends with Clint recording a message denouncing Osborn that gets played on the news.
Billy Tan's art in these issues is just ugly pap. I cannot stand it. Issue 50 has a series of guest artists who do single pages where Bendis has one of the Avengers narrate. Bryan Hitch does a nice double-page spread; Steve Epting does Cap's page; Alex Maleev (okay, he shows up again!) does Spider-Woman; Steve McNiven does Spider-Man; Leinil Francis Yu does Wolverine; Michael Gaydos does Luke Cage; David Aja does Iron Fist; David Lopez does Ronin and Mockingbird; and Greg Horn does Ms. Marvel. I like how they got artists with some association with the specific characters to do the pages.
Post-Secret Invasion, the status quo isn't all that different for the New Avengers: they're still outlaws, the line-up is mostly the same, and they just can't be stopped. Oh, and they're still fighting the Hood. And they'll fight him in the next arc, but that won't be for a few posts.
In 30 minutes, we'll meet the Dark Avengers.
[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]
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