Sketch Reviews (March 29 2012)

Avengers #24.1: Between this and Avengers vs. X-Men #0, we get a little closure on the Vision's resurrection. But, is anything of value said? I'm not sure. There's obviously value in his struggle to figure out what he should do -- and how he should react to what happened to him. It's like he feels like he should be upset or sad or... something. There's almost a sense in the She-Hulk scene of the Vision feeling let down that she immediately apologises and is ready to be attacked, saying she won't fight back. He wants to be angry, to blame someone... and there isn't anyone. He can't find the Scarlet Witch, so he's left... with nothing. Thankfully, Avengers vs. X-Men #0 provides him with the chance to tell off his ex-wife in a story that easily could have begun an event titled "Men vs. Women." This issue, though, is unsatisfying, because it's meant to be. There's no satisfaction to be gained when you come back from the dead, discover that your teammate tore you in two because your ex-wife went nuts and made you both do fucked up shit. All you can do is make strange faces and wander around aimlessly... and maybe actually kill the terrorist... stoopid android. [***1/4]

Daredevil #10: That final page is strange... The rest of the issue is good. The Mole Man actually has an odd paradoxical depth here and Paolo Rivera draws the hell out of this issue. Next month: another crossover! [***3/4]

Deadpool MAX II #6: David Lapham writes and draws this issue and that's a little strange. He previous provided art for the Christmas special and, aside from Shawn Crystal doing a couple of issues, this has been a Kyle Baker joint. As much as I like Lapham's art, it feels wrong to end this way. The tone is different... Maybe the vision is purer, more like what Lapham intended, but that wasn't the comic I was buying. I don't know... [***1/2]

The Mighty Thor #12: And, so it ends, with a completely rushed reveal that, hey, yeah, the bad guys were kind of shit here, weren't they? Yeah, they were. You can see it clearly when the two big fights end within two panels and the good guys not even breaking a sweat. I particularly enjoyed how Iron Man did nothing. Literally nothing. He just sort of stood there and went "Um... maybe we should go inside and wait this out, ladies?" As much as I enjoyed the art of Giuseppe Camuncoli and Klaus Janson (they make for an interesting pair), it's a pretty big shift from the art on this story to date. It's messy and blocky and awesome... though stuck living under the shiny D'Armata colouring that kind of makes me hate the art. Very little about this issue works -- everything that does is undercut somehow. Except for those final two pages. I dug those. I really did. [**1/2]

Moon Knight #11: Someone please tell Alex Maleev to stop using low angle shots where it looks like he's cramming the figures into the panel awkwardly. In fact, much of this issue looked akward. Madame Masque seems to lend herself to weird, stiff-looking movements... [***]

New Avengers #23: We already know how this ends. But, it's nice to see how utterly useless this group of Dark Avengers are. I still don't know who half of those people are, too. And I don't care. [**]

Scalped #57: This issue swings wildly in the other direction from last issue. It was hard to tell exactly what the conflict in these final issues would be. Red Crow v. Dash isn't dead yet, son. [****]

Secret Avengers #24: A gorgeous comic that doesn't quite click for me. I like it. I do. But something is off. The ending of this issue seemed obvious for one thing. For another... I'm not quite sure the plot matters to me. Nor am I necessarily impressed by the conceit of a magical robot city featuring entire species of robots that... wait, why are there so many Visions or Machine Men besides it being 'cool?' Still, enjoyable in its moments. [***]

Spaceman #5: Hmm... [****]

The Ultimates #8: Interesting game being played here. Reed Richards neutralises the Hulk with ease, the People look ready to attack the City, and the United States seem ready to commit suicide... Of course, that last bit won't happen, because of the effects it would have on the other two Ultimate titles. This is an issue of broad movements hidden by nice character scenes. Reed Richards doesn't say it, but there's almost a suggestion that he at least respects the Hulk for his evolutionary responses -- his ability to constantly change and adapt to situations. He fits in with the Children in a way... And Esad Ribic and Dean White continue to be one of my favourite art teams. [****]

The Unwritten #35.5: I guess this issue provides a hint at the future of the title. It spans the course of the series (more than the course of the series, actually) and introduces Pullman's replacement possibly. Good stuff. [***1/2]

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