First, go read Tim O'Neil's post on Avengers vs. X-Men and notice that his take isn't too far away from mine. His perspective, though, is a little different and it's interesting that, despite that, we both come to very similar conclusions about the event. The only big difference is his praise of AVX: VS, but, honestly, my approach to that title is purposefully different from the one most people would take. His post is a good read.
One of the things he spends a lot of time focusing on is the idea that the X-Men are the villains of Avengers vs. X-Men. For the first act, Marvel did its best to undercut this by trying to turn the Avengers into facists and racists. It went a little further than the X-Men simply saying they were -- the debate within the Avengers of those ideas, every mutant siding with Cyclops and turning on Wolverine, the lack of tie-ins showing the Avengers' perspectives, and a few other things all happened to make the X-Men more of 'perspective' characters and underdogs. From an objective standpoint, they were clearly the misguided bad guys (some might say batshit insane cult), but, through the way that the story was told, that objectivity was clouded enough so that it wasn't a simple case of right (Avengers) vs. wrong (X-Men).
But, that stage of the story has passed and, now, we can clearly see that the X-Men are the bad guys once again. The power balance has shifted with the Phoenix Force inhabiting Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magick, and Cyclops asserting that there will be "No more Avengers." The X-Men are the dominant force and the Avengers are the underdog group on the run. This is meant to be a shift in the dynamics of the story, but it's a false shift, because the Avengers were always the good guys. The X-Men were never the persecuted minority in this story, because them being mutants were never a motivating factor for the Avengers -- hell, it didn't factor into it at all. It was the X-Men that made it about mutants vs. the world. And it's still about that. They haven't made the world better for mutantkind (and wasn't that what they thought the Phoenix would do?) by 'resurrecting' the race. They've tried to make the world better and, when questioned, decided that it could be because the Avengers (Wolverine included) hate mutants, not because every time someone with incredible powers try to remake the world, they always prove themselves corrupt and unworthy of those powers (aka something that the X-Men have encountered many times).
Last week, I bemoaned this obvious storytelling path as lazy and obvious and this week's Avengers vs. X-Men tie-ins only proved me right. X-Men: Legacy #269 is nothing but a big "THE PHOENIX FIVE ARE CORRUPT!" sign with a 'Yeah, Rogue is an awful person' lead-in. Rogue's mutant powers are hard to portray in a heroic fashion, because they're not powers that do something 'good.' They can be used in very specific situations to accomplish positive things, but, most of the time, they're used to violate people in a horrible, cruel, unforgivable way. One of Rogue's earliest victims was Ms. Marvel and, here, she tries to use her powers on Ms. Marvel again. This happens only a couple of issues after she did the same to She-Hulk, Falcon, and Moon Knight. Basically, her powers are to mindrape people and we're supposed to pretend that it's okay, because... um, she is a good person?
Rogue's use of her powers in these conflicts illustrates how far gone the X-Men are and also just how far gone superhumans in this world are. Most people probably don't even blink an eye at her trying to steal someone's entire being anymore, even when she's fighting other heroes. Why? Because, ever since Civil War, the entire direction of the Marvel Universe has been to undercut the idea that any of these characters are moral beings (aside from Captain America, perhaps, who has become the patron saint of Always Right). It's just perspective, just point of views, no right, no wrong -- just beat the shit out of anyone who disagrees. Civil War began that when a disagreement over how superhumans function in the United States had people go from best friends to trying to kill one another. No discussion, no attempt at reasoning, just zero to scorched Earth. And it's never stopped. Every big event from that point on has been designed to break down the heroes more and more, put them in positions where their actions and image don't clearly differentiate them from the so-called bad guys.
After all, there's a segment of people who probably still think that the X-Men are good guys here. That they have a point. It's not helped by Marvel crafting a story that lends some credibility to their perspective when none should be there. This is a story where a giant cosmic fire bird somehow cares about mutants on Earth because they're oh so special to 'cosmic balance,' but thinks nothing of destroying every planet in its path, thereby fucking with any notion of 'cosmic balance.' How does that make sense? It's part the usual 'Earth-centric' storytelling you find in anything that takes place in a universe that goes beyond this shitty little mudball we're on (because humans are sooooooooooooooooooo special compared to every other lifeform) and part giving credence to the idea a crazy cult has about a cosmic fire bird coming out of the sky to save them.
That is the Marvel universe as it stands now. So, of course, Rogue trying to steal the very essence of Carol Danvers again doesn't stand out. Why would it? But, make no mistake, this character is a villain and a bad person. The last time she touched Carol Danvers, she stole her powers and her memories -- she killed her, leaving a blank human shell alive that, eventually, became a person again. She tries to do the same again and, yet, we're supposed to be put off by Magick bringing a portion of Limbo to Earth to act as a prison for superhumans? That is the sign that the 'Phoenix Five' are corrupt and it's Rogue, paradigm of morality, that's shocked by it. Really.
***
Nice to see Bleeding Cool finally join the party of pointing out the inconsistencies in Avengers vs. X-Men.
Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #7 and Uncanny X-Men #15.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of June 27, 2012
If you didn't notice, Random Thoughts! return this week after five weeks off (only four of which were planned). I've also decided that, going forward, comments will be turned off for that post every week. They're not something I'm interested in when it comes to that weekly column anymore.
Batman, Incorporated #2: An issue that basically gives us the life of Talia and shows how she got to where she is. Part existing material, part new -- what impresses me most about an issue like this is how good Morrison is at crafting a narrative out of, most, one-off panels that sum up an experience or moment so well. Being paired with Chris Burnham doesn't hurt in that regard. Excellent use of communication. [****]
Fatale #6: I already like this arc more than the first one. The tone is more to my liking and works better with the setting. It builds on the first arc, obviously, but also feels more comfortable and more confident in the way it comes across. That Brubaker mentions that this arc has been informed about research he's had for a while no doubt plays a big part in that. This story seems like it's been a long time coming with him. I still can't get enough of the way Phillips draws Josephine. [****]
Hell Yeah #4: Each issue grows a little more confident in style and technique. I still find the pacing a little too brisk in places, but it's falling into a nice rhythm and adding on little mysteries as it goes. The opening was pretty damn good. [***1/2]
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 2009: I really loved the exploration of how living forever (or damn near it) can fuck you up. That's, by far, the most interesting thing about this to me. The fictional games are fun, but there's not much to them. Nor is the nostalgia/dislike of the modernity that seems to crop up a lot. The journey of these characters, even just across the three books that make up Century, though, is really engaging and where I connect. The Malcolm Tucker and Bond gags where the only ones that really made an impact on me. Kevin O'Neill remains amazing. I have all of the other books out and think I should reread the whole thing now. [****1/4]
The Manhattan Projects #4: Well, there's a twist that left me completely underwhelmed. Three issues after revealing Oppenheimer to be an evil twin, we get Mirror Mirror Einstein. That's... disappointing. [***]
The Mighty Thor #16: It's difficult to express how underwhelmed and apathetic I am towards this story. Are you sure there isn't a Mare on me? [Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]
Prophet #26: I can't wait to see what all of this is building to. We've had a few issues of dancing around what's happening, preparing for something, and Brandon Graham drawing this issue himself was a nice treat. It was surprising to see that the focus wasn't a John Prophet and that choice played into Graham's strength well. He draws rather cool looking robots. The Emma Rios back-up was another surprise in that it played into Graham's ongoing narrative a bit. I never know what to expect with this series and that's really great. [****]
Scalped #59: It all builds to that final page... [****1/4]
Spaceman #7: The cuts between Earth and Mars worked better in this issue than any before because, in both locations/times, the focus was on Orson and Carter, and showing that not much has changed necessarily. I've always enjoyed both times/locations, but this is the first issue where they really connected and made the whole issue seem very cohesive. [****]
Spider-Men #2: I wish this was the first issue. This is a much better place to start the story. Take the final few pages of the first issue and put them in front of this and, yeah, you have a much stronger beginning to this story. I enjoyed this issue. Peter freaking out a bit at the different world around him was good -- as was the way that he eventually calmed down and used his brain. I'd like to think that, with all that he's experienced, it would have happened a little quicker, but, still... [***1/2]
The Ultimates #12: Look, let's not kid ourselves: we always knew that Reed Richards was going down. He was the 'villain' of this comic and he was always going to lose. He was. And we knew that. But, that doesn't make it any better to see, especially when it's at the hands of a tumor. In someone else's head. Yeah. That's the second big swing and miss from Hickman for me this week. Hell of a way to say goodbye. [sigh]
X-Men #30: Hey, my shop finally had some copies of this. I didn't see any copies of issue 31, though. Weird. It was okay. This reminded me a little of Warren Ellis's work on Astonishing X-Men and has potential. It didn't really engage me, though. I read it, understood it, put it down, and kind of forgot it. Not a good sign. [**3/4]
Later
Batman, Incorporated #2: An issue that basically gives us the life of Talia and shows how she got to where she is. Part existing material, part new -- what impresses me most about an issue like this is how good Morrison is at crafting a narrative out of, most, one-off panels that sum up an experience or moment so well. Being paired with Chris Burnham doesn't hurt in that regard. Excellent use of communication. [****]
Fatale #6: I already like this arc more than the first one. The tone is more to my liking and works better with the setting. It builds on the first arc, obviously, but also feels more comfortable and more confident in the way it comes across. That Brubaker mentions that this arc has been informed about research he's had for a while no doubt plays a big part in that. This story seems like it's been a long time coming with him. I still can't get enough of the way Phillips draws Josephine. [****]
Hell Yeah #4: Each issue grows a little more confident in style and technique. I still find the pacing a little too brisk in places, but it's falling into a nice rhythm and adding on little mysteries as it goes. The opening was pretty damn good. [***1/2]
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 2009: I really loved the exploration of how living forever (or damn near it) can fuck you up. That's, by far, the most interesting thing about this to me. The fictional games are fun, but there's not much to them. Nor is the nostalgia/dislike of the modernity that seems to crop up a lot. The journey of these characters, even just across the three books that make up Century, though, is really engaging and where I connect. The Malcolm Tucker and Bond gags where the only ones that really made an impact on me. Kevin O'Neill remains amazing. I have all of the other books out and think I should reread the whole thing now. [****1/4]
The Manhattan Projects #4: Well, there's a twist that left me completely underwhelmed. Three issues after revealing Oppenheimer to be an evil twin, we get Mirror Mirror Einstein. That's... disappointing. [***]
The Mighty Thor #16: It's difficult to express how underwhelmed and apathetic I am towards this story. Are you sure there isn't a Mare on me? [Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]
Prophet #26: I can't wait to see what all of this is building to. We've had a few issues of dancing around what's happening, preparing for something, and Brandon Graham drawing this issue himself was a nice treat. It was surprising to see that the focus wasn't a John Prophet and that choice played into Graham's strength well. He draws rather cool looking robots. The Emma Rios back-up was another surprise in that it played into Graham's ongoing narrative a bit. I never know what to expect with this series and that's really great. [****]
Scalped #59: It all builds to that final page... [****1/4]
Spaceman #7: The cuts between Earth and Mars worked better in this issue than any before because, in both locations/times, the focus was on Orson and Carter, and showing that not much has changed necessarily. I've always enjoyed both times/locations, but this is the first issue where they really connected and made the whole issue seem very cohesive. [****]
Spider-Men #2: I wish this was the first issue. This is a much better place to start the story. Take the final few pages of the first issue and put them in front of this and, yeah, you have a much stronger beginning to this story. I enjoyed this issue. Peter freaking out a bit at the different world around him was good -- as was the way that he eventually calmed down and used his brain. I'd like to think that, with all that he's experienced, it would have happened a little quicker, but, still... [***1/2]
The Ultimates #12: Look, let's not kid ourselves: we always knew that Reed Richards was going down. He was the 'villain' of this comic and he was always going to lose. He was. And we knew that. But, that doesn't make it any better to see, especially when it's at the hands of a tumor. In someone else's head. Yeah. That's the second big swing and miss from Hickman for me this week. Hell of a way to say goodbye. [sigh]
X-Men #30: Hey, my shop finally had some copies of this. I didn't see any copies of issue 31, though. Weird. It was okay. This reminded me a little of Warren Ellis's work on Astonishing X-Men and has potential. It didn't really engage me, though. I read it, understood it, put it down, and kind of forgot it. Not a good sign. [**3/4]
Later
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Riding the Gravy Train 12 (Avengers vs. X-Men #6, New Avengers #27, Secret Avengers #28, Uncanny X-Men #14, and Avengers Academy #32)
That's what I want to see. Avengers vs. X-Men #6 wasn't perfect and it will only lead to disappointment on my part, of that I'm sure, but... damn, that's what I want to see in my superhero comics. Characters with extraordinary powers using those powers in extraordinary ways beyond just hitting one another. And, let's face it, this has been a story that just wallows in how stunted these characters are, how incapable they are of responding to any sort of disagreement or challenge without punching someone in the face. It's been five issues (and many, many tie-ins) reminding us that these are horrible people that we should pity, because they're trapped in their ugly little world where the solution to every problem is violence. I mean, the logical solution to the argument at the end of issue one would have been the X-Men and Avengers taking Hope off planet, well away from Earth, and waiting to see what happens when the Phoenix arrives, prepared to kill her if things went wrong, but also prepared for the possibility that it would work out fine. It's kind of like that What If? comic Marvel published about Civil War where Captain America and Iron Man stopped for a moment and talked about the problem at hand, and came up with a solution that made everyone happy without all of the fighting and bloodshed. It may have been the most subversive comic Marvel published that year -- and surprisingly so, because it showed just how stupid and pointless that story was and how stupid and awful their 'heroes' are. For much of Avengers vs. X-Men, I've had that on my mind as people who have worked together to save the world suddenly decided they hate each other ("They're racists and facists!" "They're a crazy cult!") And, here, we have some characters actually doing things to make the world better and that's always nice to see.
Except...
Except.
Except, there's the problem that always crops up in stories where heroes are given extraordinary powers and decide to use them to make the world better: everyone else has a shitfit and decides that they must be stopped. How dare those uppity mutants try to end war?!? How dare they talk to the bad guys instead of crushing their skulls!?! How dare they do anything except fight and fight and fight and fight and fight...
So, of course, they fight. And they just showed up a little. And they'll overreact and prove that, yeah, maybe power corrupts and they need to be stopped. And the lesson at the end of the day is that a real hero shuts up, colours inside of the lines, and doesn't try to actually do anything except punch problems away.
Maybe I'll be wrong. God, I hope I'm wrong. I would love it if I were wrong. Normally, I'm a guy who will fight tooth and nail to prove I'm right, but, this time, let me be wrong. Because, for a big part of this comic, I saw something I love to read about: the actual effect superhumans would have on a world (the flipside of that is the effect a superhuman lifestyle would have on a person leading it). It wasn't revolutionary or new, but it was nice to see, because of the tease that there may be more. I usually only get to see this part of that story before what I predicted above happens. That's why this is the same as other comics where this sort of thing has happened: they all begin the same way and there's a moment where they could do something great... I don't know, man, any comic where the hero talks some bad guys into stopping their destructive behaviour and helping make things better is a comic I want to read and see played out without the usual 'power corrupts so let's keep the status quo' bullshit.
Because there are other conflicts than physical ones. There are other ways to be interesting and exciting than by spilling blood.
***
In my ongoing thought process of how to order the entire Avengers vs. X-Men event, I guess we now put New Avengers #25-27 after Avengers vs. X-Men #6. Somehow, I didn't see that coming.
***
Secret Avengers #26-28 is an odd little story within this larger story, isn't it? Beginning as a group of Space Avengers try to stop the Phoenix from progressing, it becomes a story about the Kree bringing back Captain Mar-Vell and brainwashing anyone related to the Kree into thinking that the Phoenix Force coming to their planet is the Best Thing Ever, including Ms. Marvel and Protector, two of the Space Avengers. Bringing back Mar-Vell was another move in this event that seemed like a mix of Civil War and Secret Invasion. In Civil War, Mar-Vell returned, not from the dead, but from the Negative Zone, presumably taken from sometime in the past before he died. Later, it was revealed that he was actually a Skrull posing as Mar-Vell, but the deception was so real that the Skrull couldn't help but act like he was Mar-Vell, going so far as to sacrifice his life in Secret Invasion... seemingly for the sole purpose of showing Noh-Varr that, while carving giant flaming swear words into cities is cool, being a protector of humanity is what's really tops.
Here, he's back again, this time really from the dead. It never really makes sense considering the way that Mar-Vell was viewed by the Kree (a traitor who deserved worse than the painful death he had) until the final issue where we get a lovely speech by the villain (Mar-Vell's nephew) explaining how Mar-Vell brought down his family's name and, now, this guy is getting it back, implying that the idea of using the resurrected Mar-Vell as a pawn just makes it more poetic and fitting. In the end, Mar-Vell sacrifices his life to save the planet from the Phoenix, inspiring Noh-Varr in Avengers #26 to betray the Space Avengers and steal a piece of the Phoenix Force so the Kree can... uh, do what the crazy guy in Secret Avengers #26-28 wanted to do?
Yeah, this story makes no sense when you put it before what Brian Michael Bendis is doing in Avengers, which I've discussed before. Since then, I've wondered which story should take precedence. Which one is 'right' and which one is 'wrong?' My first instinct was to choose Secret Avengers as the 'true' Space Avengers story because it takes place first and it has Mar-Vell. And, well, Bendis has a history of writing comics that contradict other comics, seemingly with little care of what's going on elsewhere in the Marvel Universe, because, fuck you, he's an Architect. But, now, I'm leaning the other way. After all, one of these writers is part of the five-headed beast leading this whole big crossover story event. Surely, those comics should be the ones we pay attention to first and foremost, right? Isn't that the rule of events? The order of importance goes: event series, comics written by event series writer(s), everything else. Seems pretty clearcut to me...
And, I guess, part of me is disappointed with this three-issue story. I read somewhere that Rick Remender reread Jim Starlin's work on Captain Marvel to get the character right and it seems somehow wasted and futile. This is a nothing of a story that seems to set up a premise only to knock it down right away before a big 'heroic' finish that feels hollow given that the hero just came back from the dead and spent most of that time brainwashed. It feels unearned somehow -- more joke than sincere.
***
I'm not sure if I can put up with Avengers Academy anymore as this event progresses. Look, I get that the kid loves his pet robot, but it can't change. It will always want to destroy all mutants and, now, an extremely powerful mutant has shown up, demanding to destroy it -- or, erase its memory so the part of its programming that demands it destroy all mutants can be eliminated. The kid somehow believes that the robot will overcome that bit of programming and I can understand why. In the Marvel Universe, every robot seems to rise above whatever they were programmed to do, gaining free will, and a desire to have sex with redheads. But, there's something so frustrating in seeing a comic devoted to the idea that leading kids into a fight with a superemely powerful being who's really annoyed when all that's at stake is a formerly genocidal robot is a good idea. Part of me wants to see Emma Frost slaughter everyone except for Hank Pym next issue just so we can have another moment of "Hank Pym is the dumbest genius in comics." But, yeah yeah yeah, little boy loves pet robot, let's all get mushy inside and pretend like that gives him the right to allow a possibly genoicidal robot that, knowing the world he lives in, would kill at least one mutant at some point in the future and have to be destroyed to exist until that time comes. Who the fuck left Hank Pym in charge?
Next week: Wolverine and the X-Men #12 and X-Men: Legacy #269.
Except...
Except.
Except, there's the problem that always crops up in stories where heroes are given extraordinary powers and decide to use them to make the world better: everyone else has a shitfit and decides that they must be stopped. How dare those uppity mutants try to end war?!? How dare they talk to the bad guys instead of crushing their skulls!?! How dare they do anything except fight and fight and fight and fight and fight...
So, of course, they fight. And they just showed up a little. And they'll overreact and prove that, yeah, maybe power corrupts and they need to be stopped. And the lesson at the end of the day is that a real hero shuts up, colours inside of the lines, and doesn't try to actually do anything except punch problems away.
Maybe I'll be wrong. God, I hope I'm wrong. I would love it if I were wrong. Normally, I'm a guy who will fight tooth and nail to prove I'm right, but, this time, let me be wrong. Because, for a big part of this comic, I saw something I love to read about: the actual effect superhumans would have on a world (the flipside of that is the effect a superhuman lifestyle would have on a person leading it). It wasn't revolutionary or new, but it was nice to see, because of the tease that there may be more. I usually only get to see this part of that story before what I predicted above happens. That's why this is the same as other comics where this sort of thing has happened: they all begin the same way and there's a moment where they could do something great... I don't know, man, any comic where the hero talks some bad guys into stopping their destructive behaviour and helping make things better is a comic I want to read and see played out without the usual 'power corrupts so let's keep the status quo' bullshit.
Because there are other conflicts than physical ones. There are other ways to be interesting and exciting than by spilling blood.
***
In my ongoing thought process of how to order the entire Avengers vs. X-Men event, I guess we now put New Avengers #25-27 after Avengers vs. X-Men #6. Somehow, I didn't see that coming.
***
Secret Avengers #26-28 is an odd little story within this larger story, isn't it? Beginning as a group of Space Avengers try to stop the Phoenix from progressing, it becomes a story about the Kree bringing back Captain Mar-Vell and brainwashing anyone related to the Kree into thinking that the Phoenix Force coming to their planet is the Best Thing Ever, including Ms. Marvel and Protector, two of the Space Avengers. Bringing back Mar-Vell was another move in this event that seemed like a mix of Civil War and Secret Invasion. In Civil War, Mar-Vell returned, not from the dead, but from the Negative Zone, presumably taken from sometime in the past before he died. Later, it was revealed that he was actually a Skrull posing as Mar-Vell, but the deception was so real that the Skrull couldn't help but act like he was Mar-Vell, going so far as to sacrifice his life in Secret Invasion... seemingly for the sole purpose of showing Noh-Varr that, while carving giant flaming swear words into cities is cool, being a protector of humanity is what's really tops.
Here, he's back again, this time really from the dead. It never really makes sense considering the way that Mar-Vell was viewed by the Kree (a traitor who deserved worse than the painful death he had) until the final issue where we get a lovely speech by the villain (Mar-Vell's nephew) explaining how Mar-Vell brought down his family's name and, now, this guy is getting it back, implying that the idea of using the resurrected Mar-Vell as a pawn just makes it more poetic and fitting. In the end, Mar-Vell sacrifices his life to save the planet from the Phoenix, inspiring Noh-Varr in Avengers #26 to betray the Space Avengers and steal a piece of the Phoenix Force so the Kree can... uh, do what the crazy guy in Secret Avengers #26-28 wanted to do?
Yeah, this story makes no sense when you put it before what Brian Michael Bendis is doing in Avengers, which I've discussed before. Since then, I've wondered which story should take precedence. Which one is 'right' and which one is 'wrong?' My first instinct was to choose Secret Avengers as the 'true' Space Avengers story because it takes place first and it has Mar-Vell. And, well, Bendis has a history of writing comics that contradict other comics, seemingly with little care of what's going on elsewhere in the Marvel Universe, because, fuck you, he's an Architect. But, now, I'm leaning the other way. After all, one of these writers is part of the five-headed beast leading this whole big crossover story event. Surely, those comics should be the ones we pay attention to first and foremost, right? Isn't that the rule of events? The order of importance goes: event series, comics written by event series writer(s), everything else. Seems pretty clearcut to me...
And, I guess, part of me is disappointed with this three-issue story. I read somewhere that Rick Remender reread Jim Starlin's work on Captain Marvel to get the character right and it seems somehow wasted and futile. This is a nothing of a story that seems to set up a premise only to knock it down right away before a big 'heroic' finish that feels hollow given that the hero just came back from the dead and spent most of that time brainwashed. It feels unearned somehow -- more joke than sincere.
***
I'm not sure if I can put up with Avengers Academy anymore as this event progresses. Look, I get that the kid loves his pet robot, but it can't change. It will always want to destroy all mutants and, now, an extremely powerful mutant has shown up, demanding to destroy it -- or, erase its memory so the part of its programming that demands it destroy all mutants can be eliminated. The kid somehow believes that the robot will overcome that bit of programming and I can understand why. In the Marvel Universe, every robot seems to rise above whatever they were programmed to do, gaining free will, and a desire to have sex with redheads. But, there's something so frustrating in seeing a comic devoted to the idea that leading kids into a fight with a superemely powerful being who's really annoyed when all that's at stake is a formerly genocidal robot is a good idea. Part of me wants to see Emma Frost slaughter everyone except for Hank Pym next issue just so we can have another moment of "Hank Pym is the dumbest genius in comics." But, yeah yeah yeah, little boy loves pet robot, let's all get mushy inside and pretend like that gives him the right to allow a possibly genoicidal robot that, knowing the world he lives in, would kill at least one mutant at some point in the future and have to be destroyed to exist until that time comes. Who the fuck left Hank Pym in charge?
Next week: Wolverine and the X-Men #12 and X-Men: Legacy #269.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of June 20, 2012
The third "...And the Superhuman Review" where Brian and I discuss Before Watchmen: Comedian #1 is up. No contribution to Spandexless Reads this week, because my internet was down for a couple of days -- same reason why Random Thoughts didn't return this week. Ah well. The world survived somehow.
Casanova: Avaritia #4: I reread the first three issues on Tuesday and... I don't know, man. It feels like running away. Because it is running away. First, he sends his mom and sister away. Then, he almost saves them all by unmaking himself. Now, he runs away... In some ways, Avaritia has been a mess, spinning out from a single concept/mood towards this ending that seems like it should be big and mean something like the two before it and... it doesn't. It doesn't feel like much, man. It feels like running away. Then again, from a certain angle, that's what this series has always felt like to an extent, except the best moments came when characters didn't try to escape, didn't try to leave, they just stood and took it. I don't know, man. [Great art, though, of course]
Daredevil #14: Great-looking comic and... I... don't care...? That's how it feels when a new issue of this comes out. That whole Omega Drive bullshit just dragged me down. What began as a series that felt a little special quickly became like the rest... not really fair or anything, because this is an enjoyable comic. I loved the final page. Chris Samnee draws very, very well. Mark Waid's writing is clever. But! But but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but... [But]
Journey into Mystery #640: The finish seemed obvious a mile off, but some clever writing here nonetheless. I like the idea of old gods vs. new gods, especially when it's not about simple destruction/replacement or the idea that the new gods are somehow worse than the old ones. Neil Gaiman has done some nice work on the matter and I like this take, too. [***1/2]
The Unwritten #38: Still unsure about the new 'season' of the title. Some of the underlying bits are nice, especially Tom being kept off-panel, but it also feels like... spinning wheels somehow? Like there isn't a clear idea yet of what this book is about. It could be about the idea of Leviathan dying and what that means... but that's not there yet. Odds are the whole arc will lay things out, but this is what I'm stuck with right now. [**3/4]
Winter Soldier #7: As far as car chases/highway action scenes go in comics, this was pretty well done. [***3/4]
Wonder Woman #10: There's a part of me trying not to laugh about this comic being about Wonder Woman and the gang teaching Hades to love himself. That's... so fucking weird, man. But, Diana's "I love everyone!" was fantastic. Gotta just embrace it, y'know? Consistently good comic. [***3/4]
Later
Casanova: Avaritia #4: I reread the first three issues on Tuesday and... I don't know, man. It feels like running away. Because it is running away. First, he sends his mom and sister away. Then, he almost saves them all by unmaking himself. Now, he runs away... In some ways, Avaritia has been a mess, spinning out from a single concept/mood towards this ending that seems like it should be big and mean something like the two before it and... it doesn't. It doesn't feel like much, man. It feels like running away. Then again, from a certain angle, that's what this series has always felt like to an extent, except the best moments came when characters didn't try to escape, didn't try to leave, they just stood and took it. I don't know, man. [Great art, though, of course]
Daredevil #14: Great-looking comic and... I... don't care...? That's how it feels when a new issue of this comes out. That whole Omega Drive bullshit just dragged me down. What began as a series that felt a little special quickly became like the rest... not really fair or anything, because this is an enjoyable comic. I loved the final page. Chris Samnee draws very, very well. Mark Waid's writing is clever. But! But but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but... [But]
Journey into Mystery #640: The finish seemed obvious a mile off, but some clever writing here nonetheless. I like the idea of old gods vs. new gods, especially when it's not about simple destruction/replacement or the idea that the new gods are somehow worse than the old ones. Neil Gaiman has done some nice work on the matter and I like this take, too. [***1/2]
The Unwritten #38: Still unsure about the new 'season' of the title. Some of the underlying bits are nice, especially Tom being kept off-panel, but it also feels like... spinning wheels somehow? Like there isn't a clear idea yet of what this book is about. It could be about the idea of Leviathan dying and what that means... but that's not there yet. Odds are the whole arc will lay things out, but this is what I'm stuck with right now. [**3/4]
Winter Soldier #7: As far as car chases/highway action scenes go in comics, this was pretty well done. [***3/4]
Wonder Woman #10: There's a part of me trying not to laugh about this comic being about Wonder Woman and the gang teaching Hades to love himself. That's... so fucking weird, man. But, Diana's "I love everyone!" was fantastic. Gotta just embrace it, y'know? Consistently good comic. [***3/4]
Later
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Riding the Gravy Train 11 (AVX: Vs #3, Avengers #27, and X-Men: Legacy #268)
Let's get the fights out of the way...
Match #5: The Thing vs. Colossus
Wait... is this a tournament of some kind? Both the Thing and Colossus have been involved in matches already -- and both won (or, they won according to the comic -- I still call that Colossus/Spider-Man match a time limit draw). I know this card isn't structured like a tournament, but wouldn't it be cool if it was? An unannounced tournament to determine who is the best out of all of the Avengers and X-Men... Then again, if you count fights outside of AVX: VS, we've already seen Colossus lose to the Red Hulk and the Thing have a rematch with Namor that ended with the Thing winning via Namor being embarrassed that wrestling involves two half-naked dudes rolling around and grabbing one another, and decided that walking away and losing again on a technicality is a lot better than someone thinking you're gay (that was the point of that fight, right?). So... here we are with the Thing's record of 2-0-0 and Colossus standing at 0-1-1, sort of. This match only confirms my idea that the Avengers are being portrayed as the villains in this story and the X-Men as the underdogs based on the pre-match attack by the Red Hulk as Colossus makes his way down to the ring. Clear heel faction tactic. He beats on Colossus and, then, throws him into the ring so the Thing can begin hammering on him in a weakened state. As does the Thing's response to Colossus's first attempt at offence: throwing what looks to be a piece of his rocky hide down the Russian's throat in a clearly illegal attempt at a choke. So, when Colossus takes the fight outside of the ring and uses that environment to his advantage, it's not cheating, it's giving the heel his proper comeuppance. While Colossus doesn't technically win as he never gets back in the ring, his beatdown of the Thing makes the double countout finish seem like a win. It's a moral win for the good guy underdog. Some solid storytelling on the card finally with a finish that wouldn't seem quite so bad if every other match wasn't booked with a similar sort of cheap non-finish finish. Still, a clear standout so far -- kudos to Loeb and McGuinness.
Result: Double countout [**3/4]
Match #6: No Disqualification/Falls Count Anywhere Match - Black Widow vs. Magick
In the ongoing 'card' that is the match line-up of AVX: VS, we finally had our first 'Divas' match. Okay, calling it that is somewhat dismissive. Three issues in and we see our first fight involving women (with two more next issue; though, those will be intergender matches). Nice to see that Marvel isn't afraid to show that women can fight just as well, if not better than, the men. And, surprisingly, it's the second fight of this issue to feature one of the Rasputin siblings. This match ranges all over the place, which isn't surprising given the obvious stipulation. They fight on the moon, in Limbo, and, surprisingly, finish back on the moon. Personally, I'm not a fan of Falls Count Anywhere matches that finish back in the ring after fighting all over -- nor ones that end with the Roll-Up victory. Both women gave it their all, but Black Widow had this thing won until BOOM! Roll-Up pin by Magick for the surprise win. It felt like a cheap win and undercut everything that came before. We all know that Limbo is where Magick is at home and no one has beaten her there before, but the Black Widow bested her there before putting her back in the ring to end things and booking things so she loses then... Well, why waste Magick not dominating in Limbo? For a swerve finish? That's bullshit, man. May as well had Colossus run in after leaving the Thing beaten...
Winner: Magick [*1/2]
Next up on the card looks to be Daredevil vs. Psylocke and Thor vs. Emma Frost in her first match since joining the Phoenix Force.
***
I'm not entirely sure what I think of Avengers #27 where Noh-Varr has betrayed the Avengers, then discovers that the Kree are fine with the Phoenix destroying Earth, decides that he kind of likes Earth and betrays the Kree (just like Mar-Vell did!) only for the Avengers to threaten him with death and give him the biggest backhand I've seen in a while before the Kree take away his Nega-Bands and we get one panel of him in his old costume.
I mean, no one is more excited to see that Protector bullshit dropped even though I had made my peace with it. To follow up on that narrative, Noh-Varr was basically put in a situation where his family's business made him steal company secrets from his job and, when he did it, he discovered that they were going to use those secrets to, like, kill baby seals or something, so he panicked. Instead of that making things better, he was fired from his job and his familar disowned him. We see him in the end wearing the shitty clothes he wore as a teenager, because... well, what else is there? He tried to be an adult and was put in a situation where he was going to either lose his job or his family and wound up losing both. Clearly, he will save the Earth from the Phoenix.
I don't know...
I did like seeing the old costume drawn by Walt Simonson. Even if it was for only one panel and kind of tiny.
***
X-Men: Legacy #268 is only superficially connected to Avengers vs. X-Men. It's basically a Frenzy solo story that happens because of the actions of the Phoenix Five. I found it heavyhanded and obvious. Fans of Frenzy might have liked it. Dunno.
Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #6, New Avengers #27, Uncanny X-Men #14, Secret Avengers #28, and Avengers Academy #32.
Match #5: The Thing vs. Colossus
Wait... is this a tournament of some kind? Both the Thing and Colossus have been involved in matches already -- and both won (or, they won according to the comic -- I still call that Colossus/Spider-Man match a time limit draw). I know this card isn't structured like a tournament, but wouldn't it be cool if it was? An unannounced tournament to determine who is the best out of all of the Avengers and X-Men... Then again, if you count fights outside of AVX: VS, we've already seen Colossus lose to the Red Hulk and the Thing have a rematch with Namor that ended with the Thing winning via Namor being embarrassed that wrestling involves two half-naked dudes rolling around and grabbing one another, and decided that walking away and losing again on a technicality is a lot better than someone thinking you're gay (that was the point of that fight, right?). So... here we are with the Thing's record of 2-0-0 and Colossus standing at 0-1-1, sort of. This match only confirms my idea that the Avengers are being portrayed as the villains in this story and the X-Men as the underdogs based on the pre-match attack by the Red Hulk as Colossus makes his way down to the ring. Clear heel faction tactic. He beats on Colossus and, then, throws him into the ring so the Thing can begin hammering on him in a weakened state. As does the Thing's response to Colossus's first attempt at offence: throwing what looks to be a piece of his rocky hide down the Russian's throat in a clearly illegal attempt at a choke. So, when Colossus takes the fight outside of the ring and uses that environment to his advantage, it's not cheating, it's giving the heel his proper comeuppance. While Colossus doesn't technically win as he never gets back in the ring, his beatdown of the Thing makes the double countout finish seem like a win. It's a moral win for the good guy underdog. Some solid storytelling on the card finally with a finish that wouldn't seem quite so bad if every other match wasn't booked with a similar sort of cheap non-finish finish. Still, a clear standout so far -- kudos to Loeb and McGuinness.
Result: Double countout [**3/4]
Match #6: No Disqualification/Falls Count Anywhere Match - Black Widow vs. Magick
In the ongoing 'card' that is the match line-up of AVX: VS, we finally had our first 'Divas' match. Okay, calling it that is somewhat dismissive. Three issues in and we see our first fight involving women (with two more next issue; though, those will be intergender matches). Nice to see that Marvel isn't afraid to show that women can fight just as well, if not better than, the men. And, surprisingly, it's the second fight of this issue to feature one of the Rasputin siblings. This match ranges all over the place, which isn't surprising given the obvious stipulation. They fight on the moon, in Limbo, and, surprisingly, finish back on the moon. Personally, I'm not a fan of Falls Count Anywhere matches that finish back in the ring after fighting all over -- nor ones that end with the Roll-Up victory. Both women gave it their all, but Black Widow had this thing won until BOOM! Roll-Up pin by Magick for the surprise win. It felt like a cheap win and undercut everything that came before. We all know that Limbo is where Magick is at home and no one has beaten her there before, but the Black Widow bested her there before putting her back in the ring to end things and booking things so she loses then... Well, why waste Magick not dominating in Limbo? For a swerve finish? That's bullshit, man. May as well had Colossus run in after leaving the Thing beaten...
Winner: Magick [*1/2]
Next up on the card looks to be Daredevil vs. Psylocke and Thor vs. Emma Frost in her first match since joining the Phoenix Force.
***
I'm not entirely sure what I think of Avengers #27 where Noh-Varr has betrayed the Avengers, then discovers that the Kree are fine with the Phoenix destroying Earth, decides that he kind of likes Earth and betrays the Kree (just like Mar-Vell did!) only for the Avengers to threaten him with death and give him the biggest backhand I've seen in a while before the Kree take away his Nega-Bands and we get one panel of him in his old costume.
I mean, no one is more excited to see that Protector bullshit dropped even though I had made my peace with it. To follow up on that narrative, Noh-Varr was basically put in a situation where his family's business made him steal company secrets from his job and, when he did it, he discovered that they were going to use those secrets to, like, kill baby seals or something, so he panicked. Instead of that making things better, he was fired from his job and his familar disowned him. We see him in the end wearing the shitty clothes he wore as a teenager, because... well, what else is there? He tried to be an adult and was put in a situation where he was going to either lose his job or his family and wound up losing both. Clearly, he will save the Earth from the Phoenix.
I don't know...
I did like seeing the old costume drawn by Walt Simonson. Even if it was for only one panel and kind of tiny.
***
X-Men: Legacy #268 is only superficially connected to Avengers vs. X-Men. It's basically a Frenzy solo story that happens because of the actions of the Phoenix Five. I found it heavyhanded and obvious. Fans of Frenzy might have liked it. Dunno.
Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #6, New Avengers #27, Uncanny X-Men #14, Secret Avengers #28, and Avengers Academy #32.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of June 13, 2012
The second "...And the Superhuman Review" is up at Comics Should be Good. It was amusing to watch the comments section of the first one devolve into a bunch of idiots saying stupid things. My favourites were the comments that basically said "Contracts are too hard to understand, so Alan Moore was screwed" and "DC fucked Alan Moore by not forcing him to hire a lawyer to make sure he understood what he was signing." And I say that those are stupid things to say in the broadest sense, looking at ANY situation, not the DC/Alan Moore one specifically. I wonder how long it will take before the comments sections for those posts are dead, because no one wants to talk about the situation surrounding Before Watchmen... My bet is never.
Avengers Assemble #4: Why the fuck did they get rid of Star-Lord's helmet? That helmet was badass. Not as badass as Thanos, though. Bendis comes pretty close to getting the character right here -- much better than the Dr. Strange attempt from Avengers. Of course, Bendis doesn't have to get it right, because this Thanos is a clone. Obviously. [***1/2]
Batman #10: Thomas Wayne, Jr. It was at that reveal that I officially decided that this was a little too similar to Grant Morrison's Black Glove/Dr. Hurt story. It's like the mainstream movie adaptation of that story. Something a bit more easy to swallow by the masses. Something that doesn't quite hold together as well. After all, halfway through this issue, Batman suddenly solves the mystery and we all collectively went "Wait... there was a mystery?" Not that there's something inherently bad about a story recalling a previous one; it's just that... "Batman RIP" is only, what, three years old? Part of me wonders how long it will be before we get a resurrected Dr. Hurt teaming with undead Thomas Wayne, Jr... (Also, if you JUST read Batman, the Court of Owls was a group with a lot of build-up and almost no payoff.) [***]
Captain America #13: The panel where Henry Gyrich screams "I'm the hero here! Me!" as he's arrested sums up that character in the most profound way that I can imagine. [***1/2]
Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #10: I forgot when Matt Kindt was taking off (and so did the person who proofread the credits on the cover) and I'm glad that I stuck around. This was a good start to his run -- not radically different, but definitely a shift in storytelling. I love the flashback/hallucination stuff. AND(!) that final page...! Awesome. Glad to see Ponticelli sticking around, too. [***3/4]
The Massive #1: This was Brian Wood Week at the shop or something with this series kicking off on the same week that he took over Ultimate X-Men and X-Men. Unfortunately, my shop didn't have any rack copies of X-Men, so I only got two-thirds of the experience. This was a decent first issue. It didn't quite address the central idea of the series, but it laid a lot of groundwork. Definitely a good enough hook for me to stick around -- and I do dig that art. [***1/2]
The Mighty Thor #15: I wish this were nothing but Amora and Don Blake. I'm kind of putting in times right now until the crossover with Journey into Mystery, I guess. [**1/4]
Spider-Men #1: A total impulse purchase. I was curious. This was your typical first issue where you get to see the premise you already knew played out. But, I do enjoy the way that Bendis writes Spider-Man -- and once the comic has him fighting Mysterio, it hums along nicely. The ending was a nice, especially the "Thanks, but that costume is in bad taste..." scene. And the comic looks pretty, pretty good, too. I'm a sucker for stories where alternate versions of characters meet. AND where they're not zombies or vampires. Wait -- is Miles Morales a vampire or zombie? [***1/4]
Ultimate X-Men #13: It's funny jumping into this book as a reader of The Ultimates where the southern states seceding doesn't seem like an anti-mutant Sentinels thing -- it seems like a nation panicked over Washington getting blown to bits thing. For the first 2/3s of this issue, I had little interest in buying issue 14, but I like the way it built at the end there, making those first 2/3s seem necessary and worthwhile. You don't see that too often and Wood pulled it off. This could be an interesting little book. [***1/4]
Untold Tales of the Punisher MAX #1: I said that there need be no more Frank Castle stories, but this isn't a Frank Castle story. Like most of these one-shots (and this feels like a one-shot that got put into this mini-series) featuring the Punisher (MAX or otherwise), he appears at the beginning and the end only long enough to kill folks. Otherwise, it's someone else's story. I dug this. I like Roland Boschi's art -- especially when he's working with Dan Brown on colours. The writing was solid. I wasn't sure if I was going to buy this and, then, it was in my pull file, so... And I have to admit, they've got a decent set of creators lined up for this title so far. I guess I'll ride it out... [***1/2]
Later
Avengers Assemble #4: Why the fuck did they get rid of Star-Lord's helmet? That helmet was badass. Not as badass as Thanos, though. Bendis comes pretty close to getting the character right here -- much better than the Dr. Strange attempt from Avengers. Of course, Bendis doesn't have to get it right, because this Thanos is a clone. Obviously. [***1/2]
Batman #10: Thomas Wayne, Jr. It was at that reveal that I officially decided that this was a little too similar to Grant Morrison's Black Glove/Dr. Hurt story. It's like the mainstream movie adaptation of that story. Something a bit more easy to swallow by the masses. Something that doesn't quite hold together as well. After all, halfway through this issue, Batman suddenly solves the mystery and we all collectively went "Wait... there was a mystery?" Not that there's something inherently bad about a story recalling a previous one; it's just that... "Batman RIP" is only, what, three years old? Part of me wonders how long it will be before we get a resurrected Dr. Hurt teaming with undead Thomas Wayne, Jr... (Also, if you JUST read Batman, the Court of Owls was a group with a lot of build-up and almost no payoff.) [***]
Captain America #13: The panel where Henry Gyrich screams "I'm the hero here! Me!" as he's arrested sums up that character in the most profound way that I can imagine. [***1/2]
Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #10: I forgot when Matt Kindt was taking off (and so did the person who proofread the credits on the cover) and I'm glad that I stuck around. This was a good start to his run -- not radically different, but definitely a shift in storytelling. I love the flashback/hallucination stuff. AND(!) that final page...! Awesome. Glad to see Ponticelli sticking around, too. [***3/4]
The Massive #1: This was Brian Wood Week at the shop or something with this series kicking off on the same week that he took over Ultimate X-Men and X-Men. Unfortunately, my shop didn't have any rack copies of X-Men, so I only got two-thirds of the experience. This was a decent first issue. It didn't quite address the central idea of the series, but it laid a lot of groundwork. Definitely a good enough hook for me to stick around -- and I do dig that art. [***1/2]
The Mighty Thor #15: I wish this were nothing but Amora and Don Blake. I'm kind of putting in times right now until the crossover with Journey into Mystery, I guess. [**1/4]
Spider-Men #1: A total impulse purchase. I was curious. This was your typical first issue where you get to see the premise you already knew played out. But, I do enjoy the way that Bendis writes Spider-Man -- and once the comic has him fighting Mysterio, it hums along nicely. The ending was a nice, especially the "Thanks, but that costume is in bad taste..." scene. And the comic looks pretty, pretty good, too. I'm a sucker for stories where alternate versions of characters meet. AND where they're not zombies or vampires. Wait -- is Miles Morales a vampire or zombie? [***1/4]
Ultimate X-Men #13: It's funny jumping into this book as a reader of The Ultimates where the southern states seceding doesn't seem like an anti-mutant Sentinels thing -- it seems like a nation panicked over Washington getting blown to bits thing. For the first 2/3s of this issue, I had little interest in buying issue 14, but I like the way it built at the end there, making those first 2/3s seem necessary and worthwhile. You don't see that too often and Wood pulled it off. This could be an interesting little book. [***1/4]
Untold Tales of the Punisher MAX #1: I said that there need be no more Frank Castle stories, but this isn't a Frank Castle story. Like most of these one-shots (and this feels like a one-shot that got put into this mini-series) featuring the Punisher (MAX or otherwise), he appears at the beginning and the end only long enough to kill folks. Otherwise, it's someone else's story. I dug this. I like Roland Boschi's art -- especially when he's working with Dan Brown on colours. The writing was solid. I wasn't sure if I was going to buy this and, then, it was in my pull file, so... And I have to admit, they've got a decent set of creators lined up for this title so far. I guess I'll ride it out... [***1/2]
Later
Friday, June 08, 2012
Riding the Gravy Train 10 (Avengers vs. X-Men #5, Uncanny X-Men #13, and Avengers Academy #31)
I'll give Marvel one thing: no one saw that coming.
Of course, that doesn't make the ending of Avengers vs. X-Men #5 good or anything. I'm not sure what it is. It's one of those swerves where you're both "I want to see what happens as a result of this" and "That's really fucking stupid. They pay you guys, right?" The Phoenix Force arrives and, because Iron Man is a total cockblock, winds up possessing...
Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magik. None of whom are redheads.
My disappointment was almost guaranteed, I must admit. Marvel had only a limited number options with the direction of this story, none of them particularly great on the surface:
1. The Phoenix Force arrives, possesses Hope, and she resurrects the mutant race, proving Cyclops's crazy cult fanaticism right and Captain America's logic wrong.
2. The Phoenix Force arrives, possesses Hope, and she goes batshit crazy and must be killed, proving Cyclops's crazy cult fanaticism wrong and Captain America's logic right.
3/4. The Phoenix Force arrives, possesses someone not Hope, and either resurrects the mutant race or goes batshit crazy.
5. The Phoenix Force is stopped from reaching Earth, negating the reason for the central conflict of this story and leaving seven issues of characters fighting because the title says they should.
6. The Phoenix Force passes by Earth the way that it's passed by many worlds.
7. The Phoenix Force destroys Earth the way that it's destroyed many worlds.
I think that covers all of the variations. We were given option 3/4. We don't know if it's a 'resurrect the mutant race' or 'go batshit crazy' variation on that particularl idea yet, but that's where we are. Looking at the above options, do any inspire much excitement? It's almost like, upon reaching this point in the story, we're coming face-to-face with the fact that the Phoenix is a pretty limiting/stupid plot device. It coming to Earth leaves seven options, three of which won't be used no matter what. So, there are four options that we can expect to see and there isn't much variance in them.
***
Something I really liked about Avengers vs. X-Men #5 is that Matt Fraction made it feel like a 'big' issue. Good use of narration, good pacing, good reliance on John Romita, Jr. to sell some of the moments. In many ways, it felt like the first issue of this series that was successful, which is shocking given that this is the man who, last year, wrote Fear Itself.
The question then: has Fraction improved (learned from Fear Itself), or have the other issues been so poor that he just stands out by default?
After all, we've now seen all five of these writes take the lead, all working with the same artist. I haven't gone back to reread the first five issues to see how they work, but I can't imagine a smooth reading experience. Going off memory, I'd probably rank them: Matt Fraction (#5), Jason Aaron (#2), Brian Michael Bendis (#1), Ed Brubaker (#3), and Jonathan Hickman (#4). Part of that comes from what they had to work with in their particular issues, granted.
Next issue, Olivier Coipel takes over on art and we experience another shift in how this comic presents itself. I've touched on John Romita, Jr.'s art a little so far, but it has been the one constant of Avengers vs. X-Men as we've cycled through five writers.
His work on this series has been inconsistent and not his best. There have been a lot of panels where characters look slapped down with little care or thought. Barely formed blobs that are only recognisable because of the colouring. There have been far too many panels like that.
Thankfully, I can't spot any in issue five. Romita may have had some rough patches in the first four issues, but he brought it in his finale on this series. Flipping through, he's so damn good at clarity and focus. Panels that pop because what you're looking at is almost thrown in your face. His art makes this fight on the moon look epic, look big. When Cyclops makes his final speech about Hope and the Phoenix before Iron Man fucks it all up, he looks crazed in his restrained way. We can't see his eyes, but Romita still communicates the desperate faith on display.
Romita's strengths on display here: big action. The characters are more limited than they have been in past issues, avoiding a cluttered look, and the setting is wide open. They play to his ability to focus on one bit of action and showcase it for a panel. In previous issues, he couldn't do that as much. His thicker line work doesn't always look as good when used to draw background characters and there's very little of that here. This is the first issue that seems designed to let Romita look as good as he possibly can.
***
And, yes, Tigra, I'm sure Captain America will be fine with two longtime Avengers and teachers at the Academy being beaten up by a bunch of teenagers. That's so much better than simply letting them go. In one instance, you made a personal moral choice that Cap may not agree with, but would probably respect. In the other, you proved yourself bad at what you do for a living.
...this is the part where I throw in "#comicbooklogic" right?
Next week: AVX: VS #3, Avengers #27, and X-Men: Legacy #268.
Of course, that doesn't make the ending of Avengers vs. X-Men #5 good or anything. I'm not sure what it is. It's one of those swerves where you're both "I want to see what happens as a result of this" and "That's really fucking stupid. They pay you guys, right?" The Phoenix Force arrives and, because Iron Man is a total cockblock, winds up possessing...
Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magik. None of whom are redheads.
My disappointment was almost guaranteed, I must admit. Marvel had only a limited number options with the direction of this story, none of them particularly great on the surface:
1. The Phoenix Force arrives, possesses Hope, and she resurrects the mutant race, proving Cyclops's crazy cult fanaticism right and Captain America's logic wrong.
2. The Phoenix Force arrives, possesses Hope, and she goes batshit crazy and must be killed, proving Cyclops's crazy cult fanaticism wrong and Captain America's logic right.
3/4. The Phoenix Force arrives, possesses someone not Hope, and either resurrects the mutant race or goes batshit crazy.
5. The Phoenix Force is stopped from reaching Earth, negating the reason for the central conflict of this story and leaving seven issues of characters fighting because the title says they should.
6. The Phoenix Force passes by Earth the way that it's passed by many worlds.
7. The Phoenix Force destroys Earth the way that it's destroyed many worlds.
I think that covers all of the variations. We were given option 3/4. We don't know if it's a 'resurrect the mutant race' or 'go batshit crazy' variation on that particularl idea yet, but that's where we are. Looking at the above options, do any inspire much excitement? It's almost like, upon reaching this point in the story, we're coming face-to-face with the fact that the Phoenix is a pretty limiting/stupid plot device. It coming to Earth leaves seven options, three of which won't be used no matter what. So, there are four options that we can expect to see and there isn't much variance in them.
***
Something I really liked about Avengers vs. X-Men #5 is that Matt Fraction made it feel like a 'big' issue. Good use of narration, good pacing, good reliance on John Romita, Jr. to sell some of the moments. In many ways, it felt like the first issue of this series that was successful, which is shocking given that this is the man who, last year, wrote Fear Itself.
The question then: has Fraction improved (learned from Fear Itself), or have the other issues been so poor that he just stands out by default?
After all, we've now seen all five of these writes take the lead, all working with the same artist. I haven't gone back to reread the first five issues to see how they work, but I can't imagine a smooth reading experience. Going off memory, I'd probably rank them: Matt Fraction (#5), Jason Aaron (#2), Brian Michael Bendis (#1), Ed Brubaker (#3), and Jonathan Hickman (#4). Part of that comes from what they had to work with in their particular issues, granted.
Next issue, Olivier Coipel takes over on art and we experience another shift in how this comic presents itself. I've touched on John Romita, Jr.'s art a little so far, but it has been the one constant of Avengers vs. X-Men as we've cycled through five writers.
His work on this series has been inconsistent and not his best. There have been a lot of panels where characters look slapped down with little care or thought. Barely formed blobs that are only recognisable because of the colouring. There have been far too many panels like that.
Thankfully, I can't spot any in issue five. Romita may have had some rough patches in the first four issues, but he brought it in his finale on this series. Flipping through, he's so damn good at clarity and focus. Panels that pop because what you're looking at is almost thrown in your face. His art makes this fight on the moon look epic, look big. When Cyclops makes his final speech about Hope and the Phoenix before Iron Man fucks it all up, he looks crazed in his restrained way. We can't see his eyes, but Romita still communicates the desperate faith on display.
Romita's strengths on display here: big action. The characters are more limited than they have been in past issues, avoiding a cluttered look, and the setting is wide open. They play to his ability to focus on one bit of action and showcase it for a panel. In previous issues, he couldn't do that as much. His thicker line work doesn't always look as good when used to draw background characters and there's very little of that here. This is the first issue that seems designed to let Romita look as good as he possibly can.
***
And, yes, Tigra, I'm sure Captain America will be fine with two longtime Avengers and teachers at the Academy being beaten up by a bunch of teenagers. That's so much better than simply letting them go. In one instance, you made a personal moral choice that Cap may not agree with, but would probably respect. In the other, you proved yourself bad at what you do for a living.
...this is the part where I throw in "#comicbooklogic" right?
Next week: AVX: VS #3, Avengers #27, and X-Men: Legacy #268.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Because "Riding the Gravy Train" was already taken...
Over at Comics Should be Good, the first "...And the Superhuman Review" on Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1 is up. Every week, Brian Cronin and I will briefly review/discuss new issues of Before Watchmen. The title is Brian's and I like it. I was leaning more towards something a bit more childish involving the term "scab comics" or something. But, Brian is more mature than I --and less willing to be an asshole for the sake of it. Thank god.
And, over at Spandexless, I wrote about the first part of "The Curse of the Crimson Corsair" for Alec Berry's Spandexless Reads column. Alec's a good guy and, as his intro says, he's not thrilled to have Before Watchmen content in the column, but he's also on board with me writing about the strip there every week. Me, I'm looking at it as a challenge: how do you write about a serialised story that comes out every week in two pages? It's similar to writing about Wednesday Comics to a degree, I suppose; except, there, I was writing about it with Tim Callahan and we weren't limited to just one of the strips.
So, look for those every week.
And, over at Spandexless, I wrote about the first part of "The Curse of the Crimson Corsair" for Alec Berry's Spandexless Reads column. Alec's a good guy and, as his intro says, he's not thrilled to have Before Watchmen content in the column, but he's also on board with me writing about the strip there every week. Me, I'm looking at it as a challenge: how do you write about a serialised story that comes out every week in two pages? It's similar to writing about Wednesday Comics to a degree, I suppose; except, there, I was writing about it with Tim Callahan and we weren't limited to just one of the strips.
So, look for those every week.
EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of June 6, 2012
Giant week. At least by my standards. 16 comics, though only 12 are discussed below. Three Avengers vs. X-Men comics will be discussed in this week's "Riding the Gravy Train" post and Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1 will be discussed, possibly, on two different sites. If Brian Cronin and I can get our shit together and begin our weekly discussion series on the project, look for that on Comics Should be Good. And, depending on what happens, some brief words on the pirate back-up will appear elsewhere. Because why not? (UPDATE: That capsule review is up in this week's Spandexless Reads, written/compiled by friend of the blog Alec Berry.) Still. 12 comics is plenty.
Action Comics #10: People went crazy over issue nine (and it was good), but I think this might have been my favourite issue of the series yet. Strong lead that touched on a few different aspects of Superman's life and has a pretty big twist. Even the back-up strip was strong, which is a change of pace as far as I'm concerned. That bit with Superman busting in on the child murderer was fantastic... [****]
Age of Apocalypse #4: There's a danger in this comic of making the human resistance too good at what they're doing. This issue felt a little over-the-top in that regard. At least Lapham is playing into their advantage -- surprise and being able to plan out an attack without the enemy having any recourse but to react as it happens. Still, mutants are so dominant that the resistance needs to suffer a big loss soon, I think. Otherwise, it's less 'underdogs fighting against tyranny' than 'awesome people beating up a bunch of fucking goofs that you can't believe took over the world in the first place.' You know, just like Star Wars. [***]
Animal Man #10: Just... just get to the fucking point, won't you? [Please?]
The Boys #67: Four things. 1) My cover says that this is issue 66. It is not. 2) That stuff with the Legend screaming at his dead, unseen artist at the beginning of this issue is some of the funniest, most cynical comic book metafiction that Garth Ennis has written in this series. The best quote is "Soldier Boy! Stormfront! Webweaver! Starboard! All were mine! Thou didst no more than scrawl thy doodles at my bidding!" Or... the lawsuit bit. He may look like Jack Kirby, but he says fuck you, Kirby. Oh ho ho. 3) "Did I just... pull a Butcher?" HA! 4) I'm not entirely sure what Butcher's endgame is, but... Christ. This is getting big and crazy and... yes, Legend, it will have blood. [****1/2]
The Defenders #7: I rather enjoyed this issue. Fantastic tone, the art was a perfect fit, and the story is really taking shape. I loved the next issue teaser of "MCKELVIE!" [****]
Dial H #2: At some point, this issue lost me a bit. Some fun ideas, but a combination of art that turns me off every chance it gets and storytelling that doesn't really engage makes for a rather lacklustre comic. I may get issue three. I may not. [**]
Fury MAX #3: That ending is chilling. Perfect writing and perfect art. Just looking at the cover right now, it bothers me a little... damn fucking good comic. [****1/2]
Green Arrow #10: This... is not a comic that wants to keep me as a reader. There's just nothing to latch onto here. Maybe, somewhere underneath, there's a good idea, but the execution is just so grating, so slippery and deflective, that I find myself moving forward more out of duty than because I give a fuck. [DONE]
Journey into Mystery #639: Once you get past the first four pages, this is a fairly enjoyable comic. It's not that I dislike lots of narration/prose in my comics, it's that I don't especially enjoy the way that Kieron Gillen writes narration in this comic. It's always on the verge of making me close the book, put it down, and never pick it up again. Thankfully, there's plenty of other stuff he does very well in this comic -- enough for me to press on and try my best to absorb the necessary details. Still... dreary, dull, bad fucking writing. But, hey, the rest of the issue has some nice bits and I love Loki's enthusiasm. [***]
The Mighty Thor Annual #1: I'm currently on hold in my reading of the Clone Saga. I finished volume three the other day and am waiting for Amazon.ca to send me volume four. Once that arrives, I can read up through volume four of the Ben Reilly stuff. And, then, it's just waiting for Marvel to release the remaining books. But, anyway, Scrier is a mysterious figure in those comics; an associate of Judas Traveller who also appears to Kane. Why he does anything is unknown. Apparently, he (and Traveller) was the creation of JM DeMatteis, who also wrote this annual, which features... Scrier...? I mean, that's what he's called, but he doesn't look anything like the Scrier of the Clone Saga. This title is on my pull list, so I got the annual and it's actually decent. Some weird bits of dialogue and a plot that's oddly simple and confusing at the same time -- mostly because it's so big that it doesn't actually matter at all. I'm mostly thrown by Scrier being in it. Also, it marks the second Richard Elson-drawn comic of the week. Though, judging by the Thor stuff here, this seems like an inventory issue released now, because... uh... why not? [***]
Secret #2: I... uh... what happened in the first issue again? No. Really. I remember some of what happened, but nothing about characters. Why is it that the comics with the more intricate stories, the one that require you pay close attention and remember a lot are also the ones that come out less frequently? Nonetheless, I like the tone of this comic -- the mood it creates. And that opening was killer. [***1/2]
Winter Soldier #6: I'm a little disappointed that Leonid shaved his beard at the end. I prefer my Russians to have beards. This issue does make me wonder about the future of this book. Once we deal with the third sleeper, what next? Will this always be a comic about cleaning up the Winter Soldier's past or will it also look forward? Will it always look back? Also, another Bucky replacement dies. Being Bucky is a worse gig than being Robin. [***1/2]
Later
Action Comics #10: People went crazy over issue nine (and it was good), but I think this might have been my favourite issue of the series yet. Strong lead that touched on a few different aspects of Superman's life and has a pretty big twist. Even the back-up strip was strong, which is a change of pace as far as I'm concerned. That bit with Superman busting in on the child murderer was fantastic... [****]
Age of Apocalypse #4: There's a danger in this comic of making the human resistance too good at what they're doing. This issue felt a little over-the-top in that regard. At least Lapham is playing into their advantage -- surprise and being able to plan out an attack without the enemy having any recourse but to react as it happens. Still, mutants are so dominant that the resistance needs to suffer a big loss soon, I think. Otherwise, it's less 'underdogs fighting against tyranny' than 'awesome people beating up a bunch of fucking goofs that you can't believe took over the world in the first place.' You know, just like Star Wars. [***]
Animal Man #10: Just... just get to the fucking point, won't you? [Please?]
The Boys #67: Four things. 1) My cover says that this is issue 66. It is not. 2) That stuff with the Legend screaming at his dead, unseen artist at the beginning of this issue is some of the funniest, most cynical comic book metafiction that Garth Ennis has written in this series. The best quote is "Soldier Boy! Stormfront! Webweaver! Starboard! All were mine! Thou didst no more than scrawl thy doodles at my bidding!" Or... the lawsuit bit. He may look like Jack Kirby, but he says fuck you, Kirby. Oh ho ho. 3) "Did I just... pull a Butcher?" HA! 4) I'm not entirely sure what Butcher's endgame is, but... Christ. This is getting big and crazy and... yes, Legend, it will have blood. [****1/2]
The Defenders #7: I rather enjoyed this issue. Fantastic tone, the art was a perfect fit, and the story is really taking shape. I loved the next issue teaser of "MCKELVIE!" [****]
Dial H #2: At some point, this issue lost me a bit. Some fun ideas, but a combination of art that turns me off every chance it gets and storytelling that doesn't really engage makes for a rather lacklustre comic. I may get issue three. I may not. [**]
Fury MAX #3: That ending is chilling. Perfect writing and perfect art. Just looking at the cover right now, it bothers me a little... damn fucking good comic. [****1/2]
Green Arrow #10: This... is not a comic that wants to keep me as a reader. There's just nothing to latch onto here. Maybe, somewhere underneath, there's a good idea, but the execution is just so grating, so slippery and deflective, that I find myself moving forward more out of duty than because I give a fuck. [DONE]
Journey into Mystery #639: Once you get past the first four pages, this is a fairly enjoyable comic. It's not that I dislike lots of narration/prose in my comics, it's that I don't especially enjoy the way that Kieron Gillen writes narration in this comic. It's always on the verge of making me close the book, put it down, and never pick it up again. Thankfully, there's plenty of other stuff he does very well in this comic -- enough for me to press on and try my best to absorb the necessary details. Still... dreary, dull, bad fucking writing. But, hey, the rest of the issue has some nice bits and I love Loki's enthusiasm. [***]
The Mighty Thor Annual #1: I'm currently on hold in my reading of the Clone Saga. I finished volume three the other day and am waiting for Amazon.ca to send me volume four. Once that arrives, I can read up through volume four of the Ben Reilly stuff. And, then, it's just waiting for Marvel to release the remaining books. But, anyway, Scrier is a mysterious figure in those comics; an associate of Judas Traveller who also appears to Kane. Why he does anything is unknown. Apparently, he (and Traveller) was the creation of JM DeMatteis, who also wrote this annual, which features... Scrier...? I mean, that's what he's called, but he doesn't look anything like the Scrier of the Clone Saga. This title is on my pull list, so I got the annual and it's actually decent. Some weird bits of dialogue and a plot that's oddly simple and confusing at the same time -- mostly because it's so big that it doesn't actually matter at all. I'm mostly thrown by Scrier being in it. Also, it marks the second Richard Elson-drawn comic of the week. Though, judging by the Thor stuff here, this seems like an inventory issue released now, because... uh... why not? [***]
Secret #2: I... uh... what happened in the first issue again? No. Really. I remember some of what happened, but nothing about characters. Why is it that the comics with the more intricate stories, the one that require you pay close attention and remember a lot are also the ones that come out less frequently? Nonetheless, I like the tone of this comic -- the mood it creates. And that opening was killer. [***1/2]
Winter Soldier #6: I'm a little disappointed that Leonid shaved his beard at the end. I prefer my Russians to have beards. This issue does make me wonder about the future of this book. Once we deal with the third sleeper, what next? Will this always be a comic about cleaning up the Winter Soldier's past or will it also look forward? Will it always look back? Also, another Bucky replacement dies. Being Bucky is a worse gig than being Robin. [***1/2]
Later
Friday, June 01, 2012
Riding the Gravy Train 09 (Wolverine and the X-Men #11 and X-Men: Legacy #267)
Avengers vs. X-Men has finished its second month, producing 23 comics to date. While reading this week's additional to the event, I noticed something: we haven't seen much of the Avengers' perspective on what's been happening. It seems like all we see of the Avengers comes from the main series, while the Avengers-centric tie-ins tell stories about everything surrounding the main story but never touch on it. Conversely, the X-Men tie-ins all seem to comment directly in some way on the idea of the Avengers and X-Men fighting -- and from the X-Men's perspective. I've previously discussed how Marvel seems to be skewing things to make the Avengers seem less like the good guys and the X-Men seem less like a crazy cult, first by showing the Avengers as facists and, then, as racists. This week, it occurred to me that there's a third way: by simply not presenting them as perspective characters. If much of what we read is from the X-Men's perspective in some way, they seem more sympathetic by default -- the Avengers are made into the Others.
If you break down the 23 Avengers vs. X-Men comics that have come out, seven have been 'neutral' comics (Avengers vs. X-Men and AVX: VS), nine have been 'Avengers' comics (Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, and Avengers Academy), and seven have been 'X-Men' comics (Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine and the X-Men, and X-Men: Legacy). The Avengers have more individual series and more tie-ins than the X-Men, yet their presence seems muted. If you actually look at the issues, only two of the Avengers tie-ins have actually seemed to show what's happening in the main narrative (New Avengers #24 and Avengers #25) and those only show brief glimpses, acting more as bridges between their crossover story involving Norman Osborn and Avengers vs. X-Men. The following issues of New Avengers have focused on K'un L'un in the past, while Avengers has begun telling the same story (sort of) as Secret Avengers -- about the team the Avengers sent into space to try to stop the Phoenix Force from ever reaching Earth. Both stories are related to the event, but separated from the core idea of the Avengers fighting the X-Men. Avengers Academy is more closely related, examining the consequences of the Avengers dumping the students from Utopia at the Academy, but, in that story, Christos Gage is more interested in exploring whether or not the X-students should be shunted off like that, imprisoned, and tends to sympathise more with the X-characters. Out of the nine 'Avengers' tie-ins, only two seem to show anything from the conflict between the Avengers and X-Men directly.
The 'X-Men' tie-ins, on the other hand, all address that conflict directly, either by showing characters at Wolverine's school struggle with the decision of fighting or staying at the school, or by showing the fighting directly, making it a gap of seven complete issues to two issues with a scene or two that ties in (and that's being generous to Avengers #25). The two 'neutral' titles tend to divide somewhat evenly in perspective (though AVX: VS currently has the Avengers winning 3-1), so that leaves an event with a strong X-Men perspective and little to no Avengers perspective.
Sorry, 'perspective' may not be the right word -- protagonists? The X-Men are protagonists in more comics where they fight the Avengers than the Avengers are. Hell, since the very outset of the fight at Utopia, we've seen no Avengers tie-in with those characters as protagonists that expands on the fights hinted at in Avengers vs. X-Men. In that respect, the X-Men have slowly been put in the position of being the event's protagonists. While we see the Avengers' perspective in Avengers vs. X-Men, that's always balanced with the X-Men; the tie-ins of events is where characters are given room to breathe and provide an entry point into the plot-heavy main series. And we haven't gotten any of that for the Avengers.
It could simply be that the writers of the Avengers tie-ins have certain stories they want to tell, which don't happen to expand on Avengers vs. X-Men in as direct a fashion as the writers of the X-tie-ins. Brian Michael Bendis writes both Avengers and New Avengers, and is one of the five writers of Avengers vs. X-Men, so he seems to be attempting to tell as broad a story as possible. In some respects, he seems to be attempting to write tie-ins that are less dependent on the main series for this event than the X-writers. But, it is odd that one set of writers is working around Avengers vs. X-Men, while another set is working in it. Is it a coincidence, of different writers having different approaches, or is it an attempt to make the X-Men seem more sympathetic, more like protagonists?
That seems to have been the goal so far and, with upcoming issues seemingly about the X-Men dominating the Avengers ("No more Avengers" being the tagline of choice), it could make for some interesting dramatic tension. Going into this event, the Avengers seemed more in the right and the X-Men like some crazy cult convinced their space god was coming to save them -- but, over the past two months, the X-Men have been our point of view characters in a much larger way, the characters we sympathise with and relate to, turning the Avengers into antagonists. But, if the X-Men suddenly 'won' and became the persecutors, that shift back to the Avengers as protagonists, fighting as underdogs against the X-Men could be a very energetic shift in the story.
And who says tie-ins don't matter?
***
X-Men: Legacy #267 may be an 'X-Men' tie-in issue and present a fight between X-Men and Avengers from a decidedly X-Man perspective (Rogue is the narrator of the issue), but I'm not sure it actually presents the X-Men as protagonists, particularly Rogue. In fighting the small group of Avengers sent to watch the Jean Grey School and ensure that it stays out of the fight, she decides to use her powers to absorb the powers and minds of She-Hulk, Falcon, and Moon Knight (though, Moon Knight causes it to happen, hoping his multiple personalities will overwhelm her and leave her unable to function). That's a fairly deplorable way for a 'hero' to behave, no? I read that issue, horrified that not only was Rogue doing that, but that her fellow X-Men seemed to have no problem with her doing something so invasion and cruel to people that, at their core, are having a disagreement over whether or not a giant cosmic bird will be a good or bad thing for the planet. It's such an extreme moment, a moment that reminds us that, yes, these characters are, in many ways, deplorable and to be looked down upon. They resort to violence at the drop of a hat, attack one another with the goal of putting each other down despite both groups knowing that the other is filled with (supposedly) good and well-meaning people. It's rather shocking.
So... maybe the X-Men aren't protagonists? Maybe none of these characters are...
Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #5, Avengers Academy #31, and Uncanny X-Men #13.
If you break down the 23 Avengers vs. X-Men comics that have come out, seven have been 'neutral' comics (Avengers vs. X-Men and AVX: VS), nine have been 'Avengers' comics (Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, and Avengers Academy), and seven have been 'X-Men' comics (Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine and the X-Men, and X-Men: Legacy). The Avengers have more individual series and more tie-ins than the X-Men, yet their presence seems muted. If you actually look at the issues, only two of the Avengers tie-ins have actually seemed to show what's happening in the main narrative (New Avengers #24 and Avengers #25) and those only show brief glimpses, acting more as bridges between their crossover story involving Norman Osborn and Avengers vs. X-Men. The following issues of New Avengers have focused on K'un L'un in the past, while Avengers has begun telling the same story (sort of) as Secret Avengers -- about the team the Avengers sent into space to try to stop the Phoenix Force from ever reaching Earth. Both stories are related to the event, but separated from the core idea of the Avengers fighting the X-Men. Avengers Academy is more closely related, examining the consequences of the Avengers dumping the students from Utopia at the Academy, but, in that story, Christos Gage is more interested in exploring whether or not the X-students should be shunted off like that, imprisoned, and tends to sympathise more with the X-characters. Out of the nine 'Avengers' tie-ins, only two seem to show anything from the conflict between the Avengers and X-Men directly.
The 'X-Men' tie-ins, on the other hand, all address that conflict directly, either by showing characters at Wolverine's school struggle with the decision of fighting or staying at the school, or by showing the fighting directly, making it a gap of seven complete issues to two issues with a scene or two that ties in (and that's being generous to Avengers #25). The two 'neutral' titles tend to divide somewhat evenly in perspective (though AVX: VS currently has the Avengers winning 3-1), so that leaves an event with a strong X-Men perspective and little to no Avengers perspective.
Sorry, 'perspective' may not be the right word -- protagonists? The X-Men are protagonists in more comics where they fight the Avengers than the Avengers are. Hell, since the very outset of the fight at Utopia, we've seen no Avengers tie-in with those characters as protagonists that expands on the fights hinted at in Avengers vs. X-Men. In that respect, the X-Men have slowly been put in the position of being the event's protagonists. While we see the Avengers' perspective in Avengers vs. X-Men, that's always balanced with the X-Men; the tie-ins of events is where characters are given room to breathe and provide an entry point into the plot-heavy main series. And we haven't gotten any of that for the Avengers.
It could simply be that the writers of the Avengers tie-ins have certain stories they want to tell, which don't happen to expand on Avengers vs. X-Men in as direct a fashion as the writers of the X-tie-ins. Brian Michael Bendis writes both Avengers and New Avengers, and is one of the five writers of Avengers vs. X-Men, so he seems to be attempting to tell as broad a story as possible. In some respects, he seems to be attempting to write tie-ins that are less dependent on the main series for this event than the X-writers. But, it is odd that one set of writers is working around Avengers vs. X-Men, while another set is working in it. Is it a coincidence, of different writers having different approaches, or is it an attempt to make the X-Men seem more sympathetic, more like protagonists?
That seems to have been the goal so far and, with upcoming issues seemingly about the X-Men dominating the Avengers ("No more Avengers" being the tagline of choice), it could make for some interesting dramatic tension. Going into this event, the Avengers seemed more in the right and the X-Men like some crazy cult convinced their space god was coming to save them -- but, over the past two months, the X-Men have been our point of view characters in a much larger way, the characters we sympathise with and relate to, turning the Avengers into antagonists. But, if the X-Men suddenly 'won' and became the persecutors, that shift back to the Avengers as protagonists, fighting as underdogs against the X-Men could be a very energetic shift in the story.
And who says tie-ins don't matter?
***
X-Men: Legacy #267 may be an 'X-Men' tie-in issue and present a fight between X-Men and Avengers from a decidedly X-Man perspective (Rogue is the narrator of the issue), but I'm not sure it actually presents the X-Men as protagonists, particularly Rogue. In fighting the small group of Avengers sent to watch the Jean Grey School and ensure that it stays out of the fight, she decides to use her powers to absorb the powers and minds of She-Hulk, Falcon, and Moon Knight (though, Moon Knight causes it to happen, hoping his multiple personalities will overwhelm her and leave her unable to function). That's a fairly deplorable way for a 'hero' to behave, no? I read that issue, horrified that not only was Rogue doing that, but that her fellow X-Men seemed to have no problem with her doing something so invasion and cruel to people that, at their core, are having a disagreement over whether or not a giant cosmic bird will be a good or bad thing for the planet. It's such an extreme moment, a moment that reminds us that, yes, these characters are, in many ways, deplorable and to be looked down upon. They resort to violence at the drop of a hat, attack one another with the goal of putting each other down despite both groups knowing that the other is filled with (supposedly) good and well-meaning people. It's rather shocking.
So... maybe the X-Men aren't protagonists? Maybe none of these characters are...
Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #5, Avengers Academy #31, and Uncanny X-Men #13.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of May 30, 2012
Yesterday was the day of many, many trades -- after last week when I bought three trades at the shop (Knightfall: Knightquest, Uncanny X-Force: The Dark Angel Saga book 1, and Silver Surfer: Parable) to boot. When I got my tax return this year, I used most of it to pay off a credit card and, then, placed an order for the available Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga and Spider-Man: The Complete Ben Reilly Epic trades. Well, all of those arrived yesterday (except for volume four of The Complete Clone Saga, but it will ship later). It's a big box of comics hated by... well, almost everything it seems. Flipping through them was like stepping into a poorly drawn time machine (aside from the Sal Buscema/Bill Sienkiewicz, John Romita, Jr., and Dan Jurgens/Klaus Janson issues, which are pretty great-looking). But, I also picked up that complete Alec omnibus that came out a while back since my shop had a copy on sale. That's a lot of comics to read. Sometimes, life is good...
Animal Man Annual #1: Someone explain something to me: the Red, the Green, and the Rot need to be in balance. If the balance gets out of whack, all of them suffer. Now, that's doesn't mean that one of the three won't grow a little too much, but... shouldn't it be a simple matter of the representatives of each sitting down and remembering that they all need one another? With the Rot out of control, why isn't anyone simply pointing out to that group that, unless they scale things back, they're going to be fucked, too? No, no, I get it: CRAZY BAD GUYS SHIT UP LOGIC! Still... it seems like there's an easier solution. Not as easy as the solution to the Rot back in the 19th century... Actually, it almost was just a discussion... I do like that Lemire gave us a story of the Rot being defeated without it giving any help to the current situation. And Timothy Green II's style fits well into the look of this title. Always nice when annual look like they belong with the main title. Definitely a more worthwhile tangent story than that lame Buddy Baker movie issue. [***1/2]
Batman Annual #1: This I liked a little less. Was the Freeze/Owl connection mentioned explicitly? I honestly forget. But, I also hope it wasn't and it's just a detail that they've learned and are revealing like this. If it is, kudos to Snyder and Tynion. Otherwise, it's a fairly basic 'Batman vs. Mr. Freeze' issue with some retconning thrown in for fun. A solid issue. [***1/4]
RASL #14: It's both easy and hard to believe that this series is ending with issue 15. Certain plot elements seem near their end, while others seem like they could keep going for quite some time. Before the final issue comes, I'm definitely giving this a reread so I can pick up the various bits that slipped through the cracks between issues coming out. I love Crow in this issue... his freakout over the parallel universes or the calm way he stands there when Miles jumps realities... Every issue of this series was a lovely surprise when it came out and I'll miss it. [****]
The Ultimates #11: I feel sorry for Sam Humphries a little. I've enjoyed his writing elsewhere and I don't think the writing has changed much on this title -- but, the art has had such a large shift and downgrade (with no help on the horizon) that his arrival coincides with a clear drop in this title's overall quality. Like this issue with its four artists and two colourists. One thing I loved about the Esad Ribic/Dean White team was how they managed to make this title stand out as something different and, now, it looks so fucking typical. I rarely look at previews of comics I know I'm buying, because why have three or four pages already read? But, I'd usually look at previews of new Ultimates issues so I could get a taste of the visual wonderings Ribic and White were going to give me... I tried that with this issue and saw nothing that made any impression. The writing is still strong and adventurous and -- that stuff with the new President was really quite good. But, this comic doesn't feel as special anymore. It's not one that I'm clamouring for, because one of the key elements has been completely undercut. I noticed the same thing firsthand when reading the Uncanny X-Force trade that I got last week (something people complained about when the single issues were coming out). Like I said, the writing is still at a level where I will keep buying this comic, but part of me wishes it weren't, so I could just walk away and save myself the trouble. [***1/4]
Later
Animal Man Annual #1: Someone explain something to me: the Red, the Green, and the Rot need to be in balance. If the balance gets out of whack, all of them suffer. Now, that's doesn't mean that one of the three won't grow a little too much, but... shouldn't it be a simple matter of the representatives of each sitting down and remembering that they all need one another? With the Rot out of control, why isn't anyone simply pointing out to that group that, unless they scale things back, they're going to be fucked, too? No, no, I get it: CRAZY BAD GUYS SHIT UP LOGIC! Still... it seems like there's an easier solution. Not as easy as the solution to the Rot back in the 19th century... Actually, it almost was just a discussion... I do like that Lemire gave us a story of the Rot being defeated without it giving any help to the current situation. And Timothy Green II's style fits well into the look of this title. Always nice when annual look like they belong with the main title. Definitely a more worthwhile tangent story than that lame Buddy Baker movie issue. [***1/2]
Batman Annual #1: This I liked a little less. Was the Freeze/Owl connection mentioned explicitly? I honestly forget. But, I also hope it wasn't and it's just a detail that they've learned and are revealing like this. If it is, kudos to Snyder and Tynion. Otherwise, it's a fairly basic 'Batman vs. Mr. Freeze' issue with some retconning thrown in for fun. A solid issue. [***1/4]
RASL #14: It's both easy and hard to believe that this series is ending with issue 15. Certain plot elements seem near their end, while others seem like they could keep going for quite some time. Before the final issue comes, I'm definitely giving this a reread so I can pick up the various bits that slipped through the cracks between issues coming out. I love Crow in this issue... his freakout over the parallel universes or the calm way he stands there when Miles jumps realities... Every issue of this series was a lovely surprise when it came out and I'll miss it. [****]
The Ultimates #11: I feel sorry for Sam Humphries a little. I've enjoyed his writing elsewhere and I don't think the writing has changed much on this title -- but, the art has had such a large shift and downgrade (with no help on the horizon) that his arrival coincides with a clear drop in this title's overall quality. Like this issue with its four artists and two colourists. One thing I loved about the Esad Ribic/Dean White team was how they managed to make this title stand out as something different and, now, it looks so fucking typical. I rarely look at previews of comics I know I'm buying, because why have three or four pages already read? But, I'd usually look at previews of new Ultimates issues so I could get a taste of the visual wonderings Ribic and White were going to give me... I tried that with this issue and saw nothing that made any impression. The writing is still strong and adventurous and -- that stuff with the new President was really quite good. But, this comic doesn't feel as special anymore. It's not one that I'm clamouring for, because one of the key elements has been completely undercut. I noticed the same thing firsthand when reading the Uncanny X-Force trade that I got last week (something people complained about when the single issues were coming out). Like I said, the writing is still at a level where I will keep buying this comic, but part of me wishes it weren't, so I could just walk away and save myself the trouble. [***1/4]
Later
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Riding the Gravy Train 08 (Avengers #26 and Secret Avengers #27)
When Avengers vs. X-Men ends, I plan to look through all of the comics related to it and try to put them in a decent reading order like I did with Secret Invasion. One of the biggest problems with large events like this is that the comics, as released, don't work necessarily. The story doesn't flow, because each tie-in is presented from a different perspective and time period. In Secret Invasion, the comics that I rearranged most were the issues of New Avengers and Mighty Avengers where Brian Michael Bendis showed the past of the Skrulls (taking the place of people, preparing to attack Earth, etc) because they were released, seemingly, at random. They may have tied into the most recent issue of Secret Invasion, or they may not have. There was no way of telling until the new issue came out.
Avengers #26 and Secret Avengers #27 came out in successive weeks and, yet, the events of Avengers #26 take place after Secret Avengers #28 (which hasn't come out yet). Worse, reading Avengers #26, it seems like the events of the three-issue story in Secret Avengers means nothing. Absolutely nothing. Where we find the Avengers Space Team in Avengers #26 is very much the same place we found them at the beginning of Secret Avengers #26 minus a confrontation or two with the Phoenix Force.
Now, I'm not one of those people who get hung up on stories that 'matter.' I'm enjoying the story in Secret Avengers just fine and whether or not it changes the direction of Avengers vs. X-Men in any way doesn't really factor into that. It's doing what a good tie-in series does: tell an interesting story that relates to the main narrative, but can also stand on its own, creating an experience that enhances the overall narrative without being so entrenched in it that readers of that title aren't getting something out of it alone. (If that makes sense...) I do find the scheduling of the arcs and issue odd, though.
For one thing, Secret Avengers #27 was the only Avengers vs. X-Men released this week, while five comics related to the event came out last week. As well, Avengers #26 beginning a story that takes place after the current Secret Avengers story is a little offputting. At the time of its release, one issue of the Secret Avengers story had been released and, already, Marvel was skipping past it to allow Bendis to finally attempt to do something with Noh-Varr despite Secret Avengers being a Kree-heavy story? It's a less obvious case of conflicting events over different series than we've seen so far in this event, but it's still a conflict -- and one, that like the others, readers will just have to gloss over and pretend doesn't exist.
What bothers me the most about these conflicts is that I've never heard an explanation for them. Why the disparities over the comics relating to this event? I understand the challenges in crafting a narrative over nine different titles, but doing so was also Marvel's idea. We didn't demand that Avengers vs. X-Men take place over those titles, nor did we demand that it happen on a specific schedule or demand anything that should have prevented editorial from making certain that everything lined up. Hell, it's not even a 'continuity vs. consistency' problem, because it's not consistent to have different comics released in the same month show conflicting events. What's laughable is these events are designed to be one large story when you put all of the issues together and, yet, these problems crop up early and often. How exactly did the fight at Utopia start once the Avengers arrived? Because, I've seen two or three different versions of that event, and they don't match up at all. Which is right? More importantly, why did they need to be presented differently?
Then, there's Avengers and Secret Avengers where, I guess, we're shown that, after the Avengers Space Team solves the problem on the Kree homeworld where a resurrected Mar-Vell is leading a cult of brainwashing Kree fanatics in an effort to have the Phoenix Force go there (and Ms. Marvel and Noh-Varr have been 'brainwashed' along with the Kree because of their ties to the Kree), Noh-Varr then betrays the Avengers Space Team... because the Supreme Intelligence (who was in on the Mar-Vell/Phoenix-Force-come-to-the-Kree plot) told him to? Or, are these meant to be two different versions of the same story? We see both Noh-Varr and Ms. Marvel turn on the Avengers in Secret Avengers #27 and it's nothing like the end of Avengers #26 -- especially Ms. Marvel's disappointed/pleading "Noh... how could you do this?" Didn't they both already betray the team? And wasn't there already an attempt to bring the Phoenix Force to the Kree homeworld, which Noh-Varr says his mission is?
How can you reconcile these comics? Especially when they share the same editor, associate editor, and assistant editor? What happened?
When this is all over, I'll try to put these comics in an order that makes sense, but I'm not sure that's possible.
Next week: Wolverine and the X-Men #11 and X-Men: Legacy #267.
Avengers #26 and Secret Avengers #27 came out in successive weeks and, yet, the events of Avengers #26 take place after Secret Avengers #28 (which hasn't come out yet). Worse, reading Avengers #26, it seems like the events of the three-issue story in Secret Avengers means nothing. Absolutely nothing. Where we find the Avengers Space Team in Avengers #26 is very much the same place we found them at the beginning of Secret Avengers #26 minus a confrontation or two with the Phoenix Force.
Now, I'm not one of those people who get hung up on stories that 'matter.' I'm enjoying the story in Secret Avengers just fine and whether or not it changes the direction of Avengers vs. X-Men in any way doesn't really factor into that. It's doing what a good tie-in series does: tell an interesting story that relates to the main narrative, but can also stand on its own, creating an experience that enhances the overall narrative without being so entrenched in it that readers of that title aren't getting something out of it alone. (If that makes sense...) I do find the scheduling of the arcs and issue odd, though.
For one thing, Secret Avengers #27 was the only Avengers vs. X-Men released this week, while five comics related to the event came out last week. As well, Avengers #26 beginning a story that takes place after the current Secret Avengers story is a little offputting. At the time of its release, one issue of the Secret Avengers story had been released and, already, Marvel was skipping past it to allow Bendis to finally attempt to do something with Noh-Varr despite Secret Avengers being a Kree-heavy story? It's a less obvious case of conflicting events over different series than we've seen so far in this event, but it's still a conflict -- and one, that like the others, readers will just have to gloss over and pretend doesn't exist.
What bothers me the most about these conflicts is that I've never heard an explanation for them. Why the disparities over the comics relating to this event? I understand the challenges in crafting a narrative over nine different titles, but doing so was also Marvel's idea. We didn't demand that Avengers vs. X-Men take place over those titles, nor did we demand that it happen on a specific schedule or demand anything that should have prevented editorial from making certain that everything lined up. Hell, it's not even a 'continuity vs. consistency' problem, because it's not consistent to have different comics released in the same month show conflicting events. What's laughable is these events are designed to be one large story when you put all of the issues together and, yet, these problems crop up early and often. How exactly did the fight at Utopia start once the Avengers arrived? Because, I've seen two or three different versions of that event, and they don't match up at all. Which is right? More importantly, why did they need to be presented differently?
Then, there's Avengers and Secret Avengers where, I guess, we're shown that, after the Avengers Space Team solves the problem on the Kree homeworld where a resurrected Mar-Vell is leading a cult of brainwashing Kree fanatics in an effort to have the Phoenix Force go there (and Ms. Marvel and Noh-Varr have been 'brainwashed' along with the Kree because of their ties to the Kree), Noh-Varr then betrays the Avengers Space Team... because the Supreme Intelligence (who was in on the Mar-Vell/Phoenix-Force-come-to-the-Kree plot) told him to? Or, are these meant to be two different versions of the same story? We see both Noh-Varr and Ms. Marvel turn on the Avengers in Secret Avengers #27 and it's nothing like the end of Avengers #26 -- especially Ms. Marvel's disappointed/pleading "Noh... how could you do this?" Didn't they both already betray the team? And wasn't there already an attempt to bring the Phoenix Force to the Kree homeworld, which Noh-Varr says his mission is?
How can you reconcile these comics? Especially when they share the same editor, associate editor, and assistant editor? What happened?
When this is all over, I'll try to put these comics in an order that makes sense, but I'm not sure that's possible.
Next week: Wolverine and the X-Men #11 and X-Men: Legacy #267.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Some Brief Thoughts on Avengers (The Movie)
Last Friday, I saw The Avengers with my girlfriend and we both enjoyed it. Her more than I (although, in some ways less, too...). I think she said she'd give it 4/5 and I said 3.75/5. Big difference. So, here are a few brief thoughts (aka minor, nitpicky complaints) (and I'm going in whatever order they occur to me right now):
* I'll be honest: any time Thor wasn't on the screen, part of me was wondering "Hey, I wonder what Thor is doing right now..."
* At the end of the movie, where the team 'disappears,' aren't Hawkeye and the Black Widow walking away from their jobs? I mean, they're just regular SHIELD agents. Actually, what makes them so special to be Avengers? That seemed strange.
* Michelle thought Captain America was the worst character (most uninteresting). I told her that that's something they copied exactly from the comics.
* I could watch Robert Downey, Jr. play Tony Stark all day.
* Adapting The Infinity Gauntlet seems a little stupid to me, if only because that story (and the other two "Infinity" crossovers) was about Adam Warlock and Thanos with the rest of the Marvel heroes used as filler, never actually doing anything. In The Infinity Gauntlet, they were cannon fodder that Warlock hoped would distract Thanos long enough to actually get something done. They were worthless losers. So, yes, let's make that story into a movie. (I know, I know, they'll just change it, shut up.)
* I tried explaining Thanos to Michelle after the movie was over and that was very, very weird. "He, uh, gets the Infinity Gems, which each represent mastery over something different like time or the mind. He does this to impress Death. Because he's in love with Death. That's why he smiles when that alien guy mentioned courting death, because, uh, that's what he's trying to do. Except, when he gets the Infinity Gems and becomes like a god, she won't talk to him then, either. Before, she was too far above him to pay him any notice, but, now, he's as far above her as she was him then, that it's the same thing. So, he's sad. It's weird and kind of creepy."
* The comedy was pushed a little too far at times. Like the bit with Captain America and the cop. That felt like the same type of joke done a couple too many times.
* Oddly, Michelle and I seemed to be the only ones who laughed at many of the jokes.
* The joke I laughed at the most, and the longest, was Cap's excitement over getting the Wizard of Oz reference. That killed me.
* But, my favourite moment was the use of AC/DC when Iron Man first showed up in his armour. I wish the soundtracks for the other movies were as distinctive as that one so we could have gotten three other moments like that for Thor, the Hulk, and Cap.
* It was well worth being secretive over the identity of the aliens. Clearly.
* Seriously, those aliens sucked. Even the flying dragons sucked. Also, why did they not send Thor through the portal to attack them on the other side, like, right away?
* If Thor can fly, why would putting him in a container and dropping it be a threat? Couldn't he just fly and lift the container from the inside?
* Mark Ruffalo was good.
* The stuff with Loki 'brainwashing' people was surprising and gave the first half a different feel than I expected, especially with Hawkeye.
* "Hulk: smash." That was funny, too.
All in all, an enjoyable movie. Not the end all be all of movies or superhero movies or anything like that. But, well worth the two free passes we used to get in.
* I'll be honest: any time Thor wasn't on the screen, part of me was wondering "Hey, I wonder what Thor is doing right now..."
* At the end of the movie, where the team 'disappears,' aren't Hawkeye and the Black Widow walking away from their jobs? I mean, they're just regular SHIELD agents. Actually, what makes them so special to be Avengers? That seemed strange.
* Michelle thought Captain America was the worst character (most uninteresting). I told her that that's something they copied exactly from the comics.
* I could watch Robert Downey, Jr. play Tony Stark all day.
* Adapting The Infinity Gauntlet seems a little stupid to me, if only because that story (and the other two "Infinity" crossovers) was about Adam Warlock and Thanos with the rest of the Marvel heroes used as filler, never actually doing anything. In The Infinity Gauntlet, they were cannon fodder that Warlock hoped would distract Thanos long enough to actually get something done. They were worthless losers. So, yes, let's make that story into a movie. (I know, I know, they'll just change it, shut up.)
* I tried explaining Thanos to Michelle after the movie was over and that was very, very weird. "He, uh, gets the Infinity Gems, which each represent mastery over something different like time or the mind. He does this to impress Death. Because he's in love with Death. That's why he smiles when that alien guy mentioned courting death, because, uh, that's what he's trying to do. Except, when he gets the Infinity Gems and becomes like a god, she won't talk to him then, either. Before, she was too far above him to pay him any notice, but, now, he's as far above her as she was him then, that it's the same thing. So, he's sad. It's weird and kind of creepy."
* The comedy was pushed a little too far at times. Like the bit with Captain America and the cop. That felt like the same type of joke done a couple too many times.
* Oddly, Michelle and I seemed to be the only ones who laughed at many of the jokes.
* The joke I laughed at the most, and the longest, was Cap's excitement over getting the Wizard of Oz reference. That killed me.
* But, my favourite moment was the use of AC/DC when Iron Man first showed up in his armour. I wish the soundtracks for the other movies were as distinctive as that one so we could have gotten three other moments like that for Thor, the Hulk, and Cap.
* It was well worth being secretive over the identity of the aliens. Clearly.
* Seriously, those aliens sucked. Even the flying dragons sucked. Also, why did they not send Thor through the portal to attack them on the other side, like, right away?
* If Thor can fly, why would putting him in a container and dropping it be a threat? Couldn't he just fly and lift the container from the inside?
* Mark Ruffalo was good.
* The stuff with Loki 'brainwashing' people was surprising and gave the first half a different feel than I expected, especially with Hawkeye.
* "Hulk: smash." That was funny, too.
All in all, an enjoyable movie. Not the end all be all of movies or superhero movies or anything like that. But, well worth the two free passes we used to get in.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of May 23, 2012
Below this post are some brief thoughts on the final issue of Irredeemable. Over at Spandexless, I wrote "1000 or so words on Deadenders, youth, nostalgia, and growing up. Only 40 of them are worthwhile." It's for the weekly Spandexless Reads column that Alec Berry does there. He asked me to contribute a weekly 'essay' that concludes the column each week and I was more than happy to oblige. I may do it again -- or may send him some capsule reviews for the other part of the column. It entirely depends on if I feel like it and if he asks me for something specifically. I have joked to him that I may just send in a weekly capsule review of the pirate back-up strips in the Before Watchmen comics. Or... was I joking? DUN DUN DUN!
Batman, Incorporated #1: You know what I'm oddly excited about? Finding out who Wingman is. Visually exciting, picks up right where it left off basically... Morrison's run began with Batman getting shot in the face. The final year has that, too. Ouroboros. [****]
Captain America #12: You know what would be great? A final page reveal where you don't need to read the caption explaining who the character is. That would be nice. Solid as always. [***1/2]
Journey into Mystery #638: I like the twist. [***]
The Mighty Thor #14: Three plots. Only one that I want to see more of. And it's not the one involving the lame teenager. Where the fuck did that come from? Am I forgetting something from last issue? It seems so out of place here. But, hey, this does feature Donald Blake learning an important lesson and Thor's biggest nightmare. So... yeah, not good. [**]
Prophet #25: Every issue is a surprise. Every page is a surprise. The larger picture becomes clearer while the smaller details are made more complex. Wonderful. That final page is kind of funny. [****]
The Unwritten #37: This issue is like the season premiere or something. A big jump in time, some big changes, a new status quo of sorts, and no Tom Taylor yet. In some ways, this series is more interesting when Tom's just a lingering presence (kind of like Steve Rogers). Seeing the world around him react to his nonsense and craziness is genuinely interesting. As his life is exposed through a book by Savoy, the growth of a cult and what that means is a nice place to reenter things. But, there is a sense of purposelessness that can't be ignored. Everything seemed to build to Tom's confrontation with Pullman that, now, the point of the series is unclear. It's like a TV show that was facing possible cancellation, so it wrapped everything up and, then, got renewed for another season. Maybe Mike Carey and Peter Gross had this planned out (I assume so), but it may take a little bit to win me over again. I am intrigued with where things stand, though. That final page is fantastic. [***1/2]
Later
Batman, Incorporated #1: You know what I'm oddly excited about? Finding out who Wingman is. Visually exciting, picks up right where it left off basically... Morrison's run began with Batman getting shot in the face. The final year has that, too. Ouroboros. [****]
Captain America #12: You know what would be great? A final page reveal where you don't need to read the caption explaining who the character is. That would be nice. Solid as always. [***1/2]
Journey into Mystery #638: I like the twist. [***]
The Mighty Thor #14: Three plots. Only one that I want to see more of. And it's not the one involving the lame teenager. Where the fuck did that come from? Am I forgetting something from last issue? It seems so out of place here. But, hey, this does feature Donald Blake learning an important lesson and Thor's biggest nightmare. So... yeah, not good. [**]
Prophet #25: Every issue is a surprise. Every page is a surprise. The larger picture becomes clearer while the smaller details are made more complex. Wonderful. That final page is kind of funny. [****]
The Unwritten #37: This issue is like the season premiere or something. A big jump in time, some big changes, a new status quo of sorts, and no Tom Taylor yet. In some ways, this series is more interesting when Tom's just a lingering presence (kind of like Steve Rogers). Seeing the world around him react to his nonsense and craziness is genuinely interesting. As his life is exposed through a book by Savoy, the growth of a cult and what that means is a nice place to reenter things. But, there is a sense of purposelessness that can't be ignored. Everything seemed to build to Tom's confrontation with Pullman that, now, the point of the series is unclear. It's like a TV show that was facing possible cancellation, so it wrapped everything up and, then, got renewed for another season. Maybe Mike Carey and Peter Gross had this planned out (I assume so), but it may take a little bit to win me over again. I am intrigued with where things stand, though. That final page is fantastic. [***1/2]
Later
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The End is the Beginning is the End: Irredeemable #37
[I don't normally do this, but seeing as how this is the day that this issue comes out: spoilers of Irredeemable #37 ahead. Seriously. The thing I'm writing about more than anything else is the very end of that issue, of the entire series. If you don't want to know what happens, don't read this post. Don't.
There.
You have been warned.
If you're spoiled now, it's your own damn fault, so don't blame me because you have an odd condition of intermittent literacy.]
The announcement a few months back that Irredeemable (and its spin-off title Incorruptible) would be finishing was surprising. It was inevitable, honestly, but it seemed soon somehow. What series ends at issue 37 -- on purpose? Just a shade over three years of Mark Waid's 'Superman gone wrong' saga that grew so much beyond that initial premise and it seemed short.
When the series first began, it gained a fair amount of notice, because here we had Superman Fanboy #1 writing a comic where an obvious Superman analogue 'turned evil' and crippled the world, seemingly poised to kill everyone on it. More than that, those initial issues were filled with twisted/altered versions of Superman's history, his supporting cast, his villains, and the DCU that flowed out of Superman... It wasn't quite as simple as that the further we were brought into the story and the Plutonian's history. This wasn't simply one bad day turning him evil; this was a lifetime building to an incredibly unstable person embracing who he always was after years of fooling everyone else. Waid really hit upon some fucked up ideas, particularly when the Plutonian's arch-enemy, Modeus, revealed why he's so obsessed with the Plutonian and coloured any future Superman/Lex Luthor stories with an uncomfortable sexual undertone.
As the series progressed, it moved away from that initial concept and began to explore what happens after 'Superman turns evil' with the ramifications on the world, various stories about the Plutonian off-planet, the remaining heroes trying to fix things. Of course, these changes into a series that was more original and, honestly, smarter and more engaging, also resulted in it being shunted off into the 'Oh, is that still coming out?' zone of comics. No longer new and 'exciting' and relying upon a twisted version of the superhero, Irredeemable didn't have that hook that made people have an opinion about it, whether they'd read it or not. That it also suffered through some art changes that left the title less visually appealing didn't help, honestly. The Incorruptible spin-off also sped up people not caring as much somehow. Like the title wasn't as important anymore; that it wasn't just a single book, but a burgeoning line, so get out now before it eats up more of your wallet. Comics, ladies and gentlemen!
So, now, we come to the end after the Plutonian being shunted off-world, returning, learning his true origins, and being placed in a position where all he wants to do is make things better again. That last bit is interesting, because there was a period where he seemed to embrace who he is. But, having doomed the planet to a slow and painful death seems to have shaken him. He may never have been the hero everyone thought he was, but he didn't necessarily want to be the villain he revealed himself to be. It all comes down to a deal struck with Qibit, the resident supergenius, where, if the Plutonian saves the world from radiation poisoning, Qibit will redeem the fallen hero.
And he lives up to his promise, albeit in an unexpected way: he scatters the Plutonian's energy across the multiverse. Boiled down his essence and, hopefully, able to 'get it right' somehow. Cut to Cleveland, Ohio, and a teenage boy rushing to show his friend an idea he's had for a character "for the funny pages." The final panel is a sketch of a muscular man with what looks like a triangle on his chest and two notebooks on either side reading Siegel and Shuster.
The end of Irredeemable is that the Plutonian becomes the subconscious inspiration for Superman who was the actual inspiration for the Plutonian.
You know what's crazy? That's the perfect ending for this series. On the surface, it seems incredibly stupid. Sappy and cheesy, but also ill-conceived. Upon reflection, it makes more and more sense. How else could Waid have ended this series? It began as a weird love letter to Superman as Waid took the character and twisted him around, both shedding new light on what makes the character work and bringing new implied depths to the character by showing what would happen if something essential was changed. It wasn't a mockery of Superman or even a perversion necessarily; part of what made those early issues resonate so much was how apparent Waid's love of Superman was. The series avoided being cheap parody because of that. That this character inspired by Superman would find redemption in being the inspiration for Superman is the only ending that truly works. It's the ultimate redemption, the ultimate setting 'right' what went wrong -- it closes the circle in a way and makes explicit that the Plutonian genuinely was Superman gone wrong.
It also reinforces the idea that Superman is the central superhero figure. In the Plutonian's world, him 'turning bad' was what made that world 'go wrong.' Everything flows from him, just as the DCU ultimately flows from Superman.
I'm sure that others won't be satisfied with the ending to this series or hear about it and scoff. I can understand that reaction and can't offer much more except that it feels right. Knowing the writer, having read the entire series... it feels like the right way to end this series. It doesn't wrap up the plot in a neat little bow. Most of the characters are dead and those that are still alive are left exactly at the moment of the Plutonian's death/redemption. Basically, Qibit redeeming the Plutonian and us seeing that his essence leads back to Superman ends that world. He truly is the beginning and end of that world and, now that he's redeemed, it no longer serves a function. We get that world 'done right' (or close enough to right) elsewhere.
I'll miss this series, mostly for what it became after its first year. But, at the very least, I can say that Waid got off the stage before I grew tired of the book and he went out the right way.
There.
You have been warned.
If you're spoiled now, it's your own damn fault, so don't blame me because you have an odd condition of intermittent literacy.]
The announcement a few months back that Irredeemable (and its spin-off title Incorruptible) would be finishing was surprising. It was inevitable, honestly, but it seemed soon somehow. What series ends at issue 37 -- on purpose? Just a shade over three years of Mark Waid's 'Superman gone wrong' saga that grew so much beyond that initial premise and it seemed short.
When the series first began, it gained a fair amount of notice, because here we had Superman Fanboy #1 writing a comic where an obvious Superman analogue 'turned evil' and crippled the world, seemingly poised to kill everyone on it. More than that, those initial issues were filled with twisted/altered versions of Superman's history, his supporting cast, his villains, and the DCU that flowed out of Superman... It wasn't quite as simple as that the further we were brought into the story and the Plutonian's history. This wasn't simply one bad day turning him evil; this was a lifetime building to an incredibly unstable person embracing who he always was after years of fooling everyone else. Waid really hit upon some fucked up ideas, particularly when the Plutonian's arch-enemy, Modeus, revealed why he's so obsessed with the Plutonian and coloured any future Superman/Lex Luthor stories with an uncomfortable sexual undertone.
As the series progressed, it moved away from that initial concept and began to explore what happens after 'Superman turns evil' with the ramifications on the world, various stories about the Plutonian off-planet, the remaining heroes trying to fix things. Of course, these changes into a series that was more original and, honestly, smarter and more engaging, also resulted in it being shunted off into the 'Oh, is that still coming out?' zone of comics. No longer new and 'exciting' and relying upon a twisted version of the superhero, Irredeemable didn't have that hook that made people have an opinion about it, whether they'd read it or not. That it also suffered through some art changes that left the title less visually appealing didn't help, honestly. The Incorruptible spin-off also sped up people not caring as much somehow. Like the title wasn't as important anymore; that it wasn't just a single book, but a burgeoning line, so get out now before it eats up more of your wallet. Comics, ladies and gentlemen!
So, now, we come to the end after the Plutonian being shunted off-world, returning, learning his true origins, and being placed in a position where all he wants to do is make things better again. That last bit is interesting, because there was a period where he seemed to embrace who he is. But, having doomed the planet to a slow and painful death seems to have shaken him. He may never have been the hero everyone thought he was, but he didn't necessarily want to be the villain he revealed himself to be. It all comes down to a deal struck with Qibit, the resident supergenius, where, if the Plutonian saves the world from radiation poisoning, Qibit will redeem the fallen hero.
And he lives up to his promise, albeit in an unexpected way: he scatters the Plutonian's energy across the multiverse. Boiled down his essence and, hopefully, able to 'get it right' somehow. Cut to Cleveland, Ohio, and a teenage boy rushing to show his friend an idea he's had for a character "for the funny pages." The final panel is a sketch of a muscular man with what looks like a triangle on his chest and two notebooks on either side reading Siegel and Shuster.
The end of Irredeemable is that the Plutonian becomes the subconscious inspiration for Superman who was the actual inspiration for the Plutonian.
You know what's crazy? That's the perfect ending for this series. On the surface, it seems incredibly stupid. Sappy and cheesy, but also ill-conceived. Upon reflection, it makes more and more sense. How else could Waid have ended this series? It began as a weird love letter to Superman as Waid took the character and twisted him around, both shedding new light on what makes the character work and bringing new implied depths to the character by showing what would happen if something essential was changed. It wasn't a mockery of Superman or even a perversion necessarily; part of what made those early issues resonate so much was how apparent Waid's love of Superman was. The series avoided being cheap parody because of that. That this character inspired by Superman would find redemption in being the inspiration for Superman is the only ending that truly works. It's the ultimate redemption, the ultimate setting 'right' what went wrong -- it closes the circle in a way and makes explicit that the Plutonian genuinely was Superman gone wrong.
It also reinforces the idea that Superman is the central superhero figure. In the Plutonian's world, him 'turning bad' was what made that world 'go wrong.' Everything flows from him, just as the DCU ultimately flows from Superman.
I'm sure that others won't be satisfied with the ending to this series or hear about it and scoff. I can understand that reaction and can't offer much more except that it feels right. Knowing the writer, having read the entire series... it feels like the right way to end this series. It doesn't wrap up the plot in a neat little bow. Most of the characters are dead and those that are still alive are left exactly at the moment of the Plutonian's death/redemption. Basically, Qibit redeeming the Plutonian and us seeing that his essence leads back to Superman ends that world. He truly is the beginning and end of that world and, now that he's redeemed, it no longer serves a function. We get that world 'done right' (or close enough to right) elsewhere.
I'll miss this series, mostly for what it became after its first year. But, at the very least, I can say that Waid got off the stage before I grew tired of the book and he went out the right way.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Riding the Gravy Train 07 (Avengers vs. X-Men #4, AVX: VS #2, Uncanny X-Men #12, and Avengers Academy #30)
I normally buy my comics on Wednesdays after work, briefly stopping on the way to the gym where my girlfriend teaches a class and where I sit and read my comics. This week, I got them on Thursday and had the chance to chat with Retailer Tim. He's not usually there on Wednesdays (nor do I have the time to chat on Wednesdays). We were discussing Avengers vs. X-Men briefly and he asked if I was enjoying it. So far, I haven't placed much emphasis on typical 'enjoyment' in my discussion of this big crossover event, preferring to find some other angle to work with. This hasn't been a series of 'reviews' so much as me just talking about things that occur to me. So: am I enjoying Avengers vs. X-Men?
Sure am.
By that, I mean the larger event, not the actual series bearing that name. I'm actually not too fond of the series Avengers vs. X-Men. The shift in authorial voice has made for inconsistent reading, and it suffers from the same problem every Marvel event since Civil War has: the tie-ins are more interesting, because they're concerned with something other than plot. They can spotlight characters and their motives where the main series is like reading a plot summary with the odd big of characterisation highlighted for a third of the page at most. Just enough so characters doing things doesn't seem random and determined solely by the ever-popular reason 'because that's what the script says.'
The fourth issue of the series, with Jonathan Hickman playing the part of 'The Writer' this time, focuses in on the core of the series more than previous issues, glossing over everything on the edges even more. The 'Avengers versus X-Men' stuff gets a few token panels, but who really cares about the fights? The main show is Hope and her quest to prove that she can host the Phoenix Force and save mutantkind -- and her thinking the man to help her is the one mutant still trying to stop her under the excuse that he'll kill her if she's wrong.
Logically, this is the point where Cyclops stops, mumbles an apology, and everyone moves the fuck on, because the 'mutant messiah' is really fucking stupid. She's actually surprised when Wolverine calls the Avengers and tells them what's going on. At least Jesus knew what Judas was doing...
Aside from that, I couldn't tell you much about this issue. It lays out where characters are in the world, contrary to where some are in other titles related to this event, and... uh... the Phoenix is here? Things are not helped by John Romita, Jr. turning in some of his most lacklustre work in years on these issues. The odd panel has that old magic, but at lot of it is characters in poses that would make Rob Liefeld roll his eyes and a complete lack of energy. I say we blame Mark Millar, because he apparently opened Romita's eyes to the wonderful world of creator-owned comics and that has ruined him for work-for-hire. Which wouldn't be so bad, but he's still doing work-for-hire and everyone working with him is pretending that it's up to his usual standards.
Avengers vs. X-Men isn't a good series. It's not actually a good event when you look at how all of the books fit together -- mostly because they don't. But, beyond the main series, there are good comics that offer something of worth besides plot advancement.
***
Okay, so AVX: VS isn't one of them. It doesn't offer plot, but it doesn't actually offer anything else. The sad thing? The second issue is better than the first and it's still rubbish. I couldn't help but laugh and roll my eyes when I saw people praising the first issue (or failing to trash it) because it 'did what it said it would do' by delivering two fights without a bit of plot or logic. Never mind that the fights were awful, of course. Like last time, there's only one way to read the fights in comics: like they were wrestling matches.
Match #3: Captain America vs. Gambit
Steve McNiven writes and draws this fight and, apparently, artists don't necessarily do these things better without someone telling them what to draw. Unlike the first two matches on this card, there's a simple logic to this one and an actual winner. Unfortunately, the simple logic is about as simple as you can get, producing what looks to be a rookie match. The moves are basic and laid out in such obvious precision that you can predict everything that happens. In a sense, it is a rookie match with McNiven writing the whole thing. The closest thing to innovation or a 'cool high spot' is Gambit using his powers on Cap's costume and Cap totally no selling it. Honestly, I almost have to give McNiven credit, because he seems to have learned from the Hulk Hogans and John Cenas of the world: keep things 'competitive' until the hero needs to end it, at which point he no sells his opponent's big move and puts him down easily with his finisher. In a baffling move, Captain America's finisher is a punch. Weak sauce.
Winner: Captain America [*1/2]
Match #4: Spider-Man vs. Colossus
This is a semi-rematch after Spider-Man's classic battles with the Juggernaut, whose powers Colossus now has. Honestly, this match should have been Survivor Series 2009 Batista vs. Rey Mysterio. Spider-Man uses his speed and agility to stay one step ahead of Colossus until Colossus hits some power moves and Spider-Man is killed, losing because the ref has to call the match. We actually almost get that, amazingly. Kieron Gillen lays out the match in a very similar manner (although Spider-Man's moveset is considerably less impressive than Rey Rey's), but, because of the demands of this series where, apparently, only jobbers like Gambit can actually lose clearly and definitively, things end in a time limit draw, provoking the crowd into booing everyone involved unmercifully. The comic may say that Colossus won, but that's bullshit. No one one with this match. No one.
Result: Time limit draw [*1/4]
***
Uncanny X-Men #12 is more coherent than issue 11, building on the series's second multi-issue storyarc and delivering the Namor/Thing rematch that no one demanded with a couple of X-jobbers brought along for the ride. Namor does get to redeem himself for his previous loss to the Thing (which happened in Namor's pet stipulation of the Underwater Cage Match) by burying Luke Cage. See, it's not just that this event is the Avengers versus the X-Men, it's also the Avengers Office versus the X-Office. Take that, Bendis.
What's surprising is that Gillen doesn't even try to play things straight in this issue. It's a comic that spends 90% of its space discussing Namor's sexual prowess, building to the punchline where the Apex guy assumes that Namor and the Thing fighting is foreplay, causing Namor to retreat in disgust and giving the Thing another cheap victory. I can only assume that, somewhere down the line, the 'big death' of this series will be the Thing having his heart ripped from his chest by Namor who then makes a snide remark about snorting it so he can totally be tripping while having sex with six or seven females from a variety of species.
In other news, I have no idea who the completely white woman with Namor and Sunspot is. Nor do I care.
***
I'm not entirely sure what Avengers Academy #30 is meant to convey. That's part of the point, I think. The central struggle is over the idea that the Avengers dropped off the students from Utopia at the Academy with orders that they not be allowed to leave, arguing that it's for their own good, because Captain America doesn't want to have to beat the shit out of teenagers. And because he's a facist in this story.
Christos Gage largely shunts the idea of which side in the Avengers/X-Men conflict is right to one side, preferring to approach it from the perspective of 'Is it right to lock these kids up?' What makes it a far less interesting comic than I'd hope is that the fix is in pretty early: it's wrong to deny the kids the choice. Gage doesn't put much effort into giving the other side any credibility or support. It's a fairly smooth blending of 'the Avengers are facists who hate freedom' and 'the Avengers are anti-mutant racists,' which is a little surprising from a book that you would assume from the title is more representative of the Avengers' side of the conflict.
In a funny way, this is a comic about giving kids the right to vote. We, as a society, have picked a rather arbitrary way to determine whose opinions we will value and whose we won't: the age 18. That line doesn't really have anything to do with intelligence or knowledge, but the idea that people under that age aren't fully people and can't be trusted to participate in society at the same level of those older. It's a fun idea to play with and one that I, personally, have strong feelings about (and have since I was a bright, politically-minded 15-year old).
Yet, this isn't actually about giving kids the right to vote. That's the subtext. The actual text of this comic is a bunch of teenagers complaining that an adult decided that he would rather not have to fight them and involve them in a conflict that, because of their inexperience, could result in their deaths. This is an adult deciding not to send the kids off to war and the kids bitching because they aren't learning why the Avengers are 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes.' That disconnect is hard to ignore and hangs like a black cloud over the issue. I understand and agree with the ideals of the comic, but the actual reality it depicts shows why ideals don't always work. It's wrong, in theory, to keep those kids there and deny them the choice of entering the conflict; but, it would be wrong to allow them to fight and die because they are young and not nearly as adept at the adults standing across from them.
Essentially, this is the Cyclops/Wolverine fight all over again and it's a little less interesting this time. Of course, Sebastian Shaw is just going to kill them all, so the point is moot.
***
Next week: Secret Avengers #27 and Avengers #26. (Avengers #26 came out this week, but, since it covers much of the same ground as the plot in Secret Avengers and only one Avengers vs. X-Men comic is coming out next week, I've decided to save it.)
Sure am.
By that, I mean the larger event, not the actual series bearing that name. I'm actually not too fond of the series Avengers vs. X-Men. The shift in authorial voice has made for inconsistent reading, and it suffers from the same problem every Marvel event since Civil War has: the tie-ins are more interesting, because they're concerned with something other than plot. They can spotlight characters and their motives where the main series is like reading a plot summary with the odd big of characterisation highlighted for a third of the page at most. Just enough so characters doing things doesn't seem random and determined solely by the ever-popular reason 'because that's what the script says.'
The fourth issue of the series, with Jonathan Hickman playing the part of 'The Writer' this time, focuses in on the core of the series more than previous issues, glossing over everything on the edges even more. The 'Avengers versus X-Men' stuff gets a few token panels, but who really cares about the fights? The main show is Hope and her quest to prove that she can host the Phoenix Force and save mutantkind -- and her thinking the man to help her is the one mutant still trying to stop her under the excuse that he'll kill her if she's wrong.
Logically, this is the point where Cyclops stops, mumbles an apology, and everyone moves the fuck on, because the 'mutant messiah' is really fucking stupid. She's actually surprised when Wolverine calls the Avengers and tells them what's going on. At least Jesus knew what Judas was doing...
Aside from that, I couldn't tell you much about this issue. It lays out where characters are in the world, contrary to where some are in other titles related to this event, and... uh... the Phoenix is here? Things are not helped by John Romita, Jr. turning in some of his most lacklustre work in years on these issues. The odd panel has that old magic, but at lot of it is characters in poses that would make Rob Liefeld roll his eyes and a complete lack of energy. I say we blame Mark Millar, because he apparently opened Romita's eyes to the wonderful world of creator-owned comics and that has ruined him for work-for-hire. Which wouldn't be so bad, but he's still doing work-for-hire and everyone working with him is pretending that it's up to his usual standards.
Avengers vs. X-Men isn't a good series. It's not actually a good event when you look at how all of the books fit together -- mostly because they don't. But, beyond the main series, there are good comics that offer something of worth besides plot advancement.
***
Okay, so AVX: VS isn't one of them. It doesn't offer plot, but it doesn't actually offer anything else. The sad thing? The second issue is better than the first and it's still rubbish. I couldn't help but laugh and roll my eyes when I saw people praising the first issue (or failing to trash it) because it 'did what it said it would do' by delivering two fights without a bit of plot or logic. Never mind that the fights were awful, of course. Like last time, there's only one way to read the fights in comics: like they were wrestling matches.
Match #3: Captain America vs. Gambit
Steve McNiven writes and draws this fight and, apparently, artists don't necessarily do these things better without someone telling them what to draw. Unlike the first two matches on this card, there's a simple logic to this one and an actual winner. Unfortunately, the simple logic is about as simple as you can get, producing what looks to be a rookie match. The moves are basic and laid out in such obvious precision that you can predict everything that happens. In a sense, it is a rookie match with McNiven writing the whole thing. The closest thing to innovation or a 'cool high spot' is Gambit using his powers on Cap's costume and Cap totally no selling it. Honestly, I almost have to give McNiven credit, because he seems to have learned from the Hulk Hogans and John Cenas of the world: keep things 'competitive' until the hero needs to end it, at which point he no sells his opponent's big move and puts him down easily with his finisher. In a baffling move, Captain America's finisher is a punch. Weak sauce.
Winner: Captain America [*1/2]
Match #4: Spider-Man vs. Colossus
This is a semi-rematch after Spider-Man's classic battles with the Juggernaut, whose powers Colossus now has. Honestly, this match should have been Survivor Series 2009 Batista vs. Rey Mysterio. Spider-Man uses his speed and agility to stay one step ahead of Colossus until Colossus hits some power moves and Spider-Man is killed, losing because the ref has to call the match. We actually almost get that, amazingly. Kieron Gillen lays out the match in a very similar manner (although Spider-Man's moveset is considerably less impressive than Rey Rey's), but, because of the demands of this series where, apparently, only jobbers like Gambit can actually lose clearly and definitively, things end in a time limit draw, provoking the crowd into booing everyone involved unmercifully. The comic may say that Colossus won, but that's bullshit. No one one with this match. No one.
Result: Time limit draw [*1/4]
***
Uncanny X-Men #12 is more coherent than issue 11, building on the series's second multi-issue storyarc and delivering the Namor/Thing rematch that no one demanded with a couple of X-jobbers brought along for the ride. Namor does get to redeem himself for his previous loss to the Thing (which happened in Namor's pet stipulation of the Underwater Cage Match) by burying Luke Cage. See, it's not just that this event is the Avengers versus the X-Men, it's also the Avengers Office versus the X-Office. Take that, Bendis.
What's surprising is that Gillen doesn't even try to play things straight in this issue. It's a comic that spends 90% of its space discussing Namor's sexual prowess, building to the punchline where the Apex guy assumes that Namor and the Thing fighting is foreplay, causing Namor to retreat in disgust and giving the Thing another cheap victory. I can only assume that, somewhere down the line, the 'big death' of this series will be the Thing having his heart ripped from his chest by Namor who then makes a snide remark about snorting it so he can totally be tripping while having sex with six or seven females from a variety of species.
In other news, I have no idea who the completely white woman with Namor and Sunspot is. Nor do I care.
***
I'm not entirely sure what Avengers Academy #30 is meant to convey. That's part of the point, I think. The central struggle is over the idea that the Avengers dropped off the students from Utopia at the Academy with orders that they not be allowed to leave, arguing that it's for their own good, because Captain America doesn't want to have to beat the shit out of teenagers. And because he's a facist in this story.
Christos Gage largely shunts the idea of which side in the Avengers/X-Men conflict is right to one side, preferring to approach it from the perspective of 'Is it right to lock these kids up?' What makes it a far less interesting comic than I'd hope is that the fix is in pretty early: it's wrong to deny the kids the choice. Gage doesn't put much effort into giving the other side any credibility or support. It's a fairly smooth blending of 'the Avengers are facists who hate freedom' and 'the Avengers are anti-mutant racists,' which is a little surprising from a book that you would assume from the title is more representative of the Avengers' side of the conflict.
In a funny way, this is a comic about giving kids the right to vote. We, as a society, have picked a rather arbitrary way to determine whose opinions we will value and whose we won't: the age 18. That line doesn't really have anything to do with intelligence or knowledge, but the idea that people under that age aren't fully people and can't be trusted to participate in society at the same level of those older. It's a fun idea to play with and one that I, personally, have strong feelings about (and have since I was a bright, politically-minded 15-year old).
Yet, this isn't actually about giving kids the right to vote. That's the subtext. The actual text of this comic is a bunch of teenagers complaining that an adult decided that he would rather not have to fight them and involve them in a conflict that, because of their inexperience, could result in their deaths. This is an adult deciding not to send the kids off to war and the kids bitching because they aren't learning why the Avengers are 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes.' That disconnect is hard to ignore and hangs like a black cloud over the issue. I understand and agree with the ideals of the comic, but the actual reality it depicts shows why ideals don't always work. It's wrong, in theory, to keep those kids there and deny them the choice of entering the conflict; but, it would be wrong to allow them to fight and die because they are young and not nearly as adept at the adults standing across from them.
Essentially, this is the Cyclops/Wolverine fight all over again and it's a little less interesting this time. Of course, Sebastian Shaw is just going to kill them all, so the point is moot.
***
Next week: Secret Avengers #27 and Avengers #26. (Avengers #26 came out this week, but, since it covers much of the same ground as the plot in Secret Avengers and only one Avengers vs. X-Men comic is coming out next week, I've decided to save it.)
Thursday, May 17, 2012
EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of May 16, 2012
For weird reasons that I don't want to go into, I didn't get comics until today. When I arrived at the shop and was handed the contents of my pull list, the trade for Deadenders was included. This surprised me, because I didn't think I had actually pre-ordered it. I knew that I had considered doing so and went back and forth on the matter a bit. Not because I didn't want it or anything; it was purely a 'Maybe I'll wait and get it a little later' sort of thing. So, I got that as a little surprise to myself and have no problem with that. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Daredevil #13: What's in the drawer? I have to say that Mark Waid fooled me a bit here. I was thinking "HA! Stoopid Daredevil! You so stoopid!" and, instead, it was a good ol' fashioned New Avengers fake-out. Nicely played, sir. I thought Koi Pham's art looked better here than last time. [***1/2]
Fury MAX #2: I know this series can't (and won't) last forever since it's only supposed to be 13 issues, but, come on, a boy can dream, can't he? I need to hunt down a copy of that Peacemaker mini-series Ennis did (I have the first mini and reread it last night; it's good stuff; obviously). Oddly, what I enjoyed most was that Fury didn't kill the former Nazi. Most writers would write the character as an unstoppable god or something... [****]
The Manhattan Projects #3: The art slipped a bit here it looks like. Just a little rougher around the edges. This version of the bombing of Japan is interesting -- as is the fate of FDR. I'm curious about the larger picture of this series. So far, it's been very much little scenes/moments on its own. That's fine. Actually, this book is entertaining enough that I think I could be happy with a monthly dose of crazy scientists playing god. But, I have a feeling this is more than that, so... [***3/4]
New Mutants #42: No rack copies. No comic purchased. No one reads that fucking series to warrant rack copies. [NR]
Scalped #58: I've long enjoyed Scalped, but the constant movement of this final arc is insane. Things move fast as we approach the end -- and only two issues left now. What's remarkable is how so much can happen, yet scenes feel so leisurely. And Guera... the second panel of page two is fantastic. The way the grocery store scene is so visual... We're also starting see possible 'replacements' of characters, which part of me likes and part of me wants to avoid as much possible. Two more. Christ. [****1/4]
Winter Soldier #5: Talk about art deteriorating... If I weren't so lazy, I'd pull out the first issue and compare then and now -- guess which will look slicker, more polished, more put together? I'm also not noticing as many colouring tricks as began the series (which I'm glad of, by the way). That's something that TV will always have over comics: episodes don't look worse and worse as the season goes on because of deadline bullshit. But, an enjoyable issue nonetheless. James letting loose a bit more than we've seen before, further cementing him as someone who couldn't necessarily be Captain America longterm. And Doom is funny. Doom is always funny. [***1/2]
Wonder Woman #9: Hey, the cover gives away the end of the issue! Smooth, DC... smooth. Azzarello's writing is so playful and... bouncy. Has anyone ever used that word to describe Azzarello's writing before? But, that's what this is. It's just bouncy fun. [***3/4]
Later
Daredevil #13: What's in the drawer? I have to say that Mark Waid fooled me a bit here. I was thinking "HA! Stoopid Daredevil! You so stoopid!" and, instead, it was a good ol' fashioned New Avengers fake-out. Nicely played, sir. I thought Koi Pham's art looked better here than last time. [***1/2]
Fury MAX #2: I know this series can't (and won't) last forever since it's only supposed to be 13 issues, but, come on, a boy can dream, can't he? I need to hunt down a copy of that Peacemaker mini-series Ennis did (I have the first mini and reread it last night; it's good stuff; obviously). Oddly, what I enjoyed most was that Fury didn't kill the former Nazi. Most writers would write the character as an unstoppable god or something... [****]
The Manhattan Projects #3: The art slipped a bit here it looks like. Just a little rougher around the edges. This version of the bombing of Japan is interesting -- as is the fate of FDR. I'm curious about the larger picture of this series. So far, it's been very much little scenes/moments on its own. That's fine. Actually, this book is entertaining enough that I think I could be happy with a monthly dose of crazy scientists playing god. But, I have a feeling this is more than that, so... [***3/4]
Scalped #58: I've long enjoyed Scalped, but the constant movement of this final arc is insane. Things move fast as we approach the end -- and only two issues left now. What's remarkable is how so much can happen, yet scenes feel so leisurely. And Guera... the second panel of page two is fantastic. The way the grocery store scene is so visual... We're also starting see possible 'replacements' of characters, which part of me likes and part of me wants to avoid as much possible. Two more. Christ. [****1/4]
Winter Soldier #5: Talk about art deteriorating... If I weren't so lazy, I'd pull out the first issue and compare then and now -- guess which will look slicker, more polished, more put together? I'm also not noticing as many colouring tricks as began the series (which I'm glad of, by the way). That's something that TV will always have over comics: episodes don't look worse and worse as the season goes on because of deadline bullshit. But, an enjoyable issue nonetheless. James letting loose a bit more than we've seen before, further cementing him as someone who couldn't necessarily be Captain America longterm. And Doom is funny. Doom is always funny. [***1/2]
Wonder Woman #9: Hey, the cover gives away the end of the issue! Smooth, DC... smooth. Azzarello's writing is so playful and... bouncy. Has anyone ever used that word to describe Azzarello's writing before? But, that's what this is. It's just bouncy fun. [***3/4]
Later
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Riding the Gravy Train 06 (New Avengers #26, Wolverine and the X-Men #10, and X-Men: Legacy #266)
Last week, Captain America and the Avengers seemed forced into the role of facists to make them less heroic and to make the X-Men easier to get behind. This week, the Avengers are again forced into a role that doesn't suit them: racists. With this week's Avengers vs. X-Men comics being two X-books and New Avengers, a title that has taken the idea of telling a 'tie-in story' to such an extreme that it's barely worth thinking about until we can see the entire story and judge if it actually does anything worthwhile, it's easy to see how this week is the week that it becomes about Mutant rights and race war. (I am legitimately surprised that no one shouted "Helter skelter!" in X-Men: Legacy #266. I admire Christos Gage's restraint.)
It's an easy direction to take things, but is far lazier than last week's Civil War-inspired facist take on Captain America and the rest of the Avengers. That, at least, showed some semblance of learning from a past event where Marvel failed to keep two warring sides on equal grounds and applied it to a story where things obviously leaned in one direction over another. Here, though, we have all of the X-Men falling in line with the idea that this is a mutant versus human conflict involving a group whose second (third depending on how you look at it, I guess) line-up included two mutants who were only known as terrorist followers of Magneto. Say what you will about Captain America and the Avengers, but it's hard to paint them as anti-mutant given the group's long history of accepting mutants (and androids and aliens and Inhumans and beings from alternate realities and past versions of teammates stolen from time before they became the hero they already know). The Avengers is basically a group that lives Xavier's dream and leads by example.
In story, Cyclops trying to turn it into a mutant/human conflict makes sense -- as much sense as turning into a facism/freedom conflict -- but he's also clearly a kind of crazy cult leader. There's a whole group of mutants that moved to the other side of the continent to get away from his craziness. And, this week, it seems all of them except Wolverine is ready to fall back in line behind him with few doubts? What's weird is that X-Men: Legacy #266 and Wolverine and the X-Men #10 show the faculty at Wolverine's school discussing what they should do in two very different ways (again: GREAT FUCKING EDITING, IDIOTS) and the end-result is the same: mutant solidarity in the face of crazy odds and a general consensus that the Avengers are trying to stop the Phoenix from returning because they hate mutants and not because it keeps destroying entire planets on its way to Earth? It is possible that all X-Men have been so opposed and beaten down that they've lost their senses and have caught Cyclops's crazy stupidity, I guess. Maybe?
Both issues take two different approaches, only one of which actually comes off as plausible. In X-Men: Legacy, a team of three Avengers show up at the Jean Grey School to make sure that everyone there stays nice and calm and doesn't go anywhere. That's an obvious confrontational move, particularly when it's easy to observe the school without necessarily alerting the X-Men to their presence. Instead, things devolve because we're dealing with a bunch of people who don't know how to deal with feelings of anger and frustration without hitting people. That makes sense. We're dealing with stunted growth and psychological damage that's hard to understand completely. In many ways, the mutant/human overtones are superficial, because it's really about us vs. them with the reasons not mattering. All that matters is that they came here and it's pissing us off. The Avengers made a bad play and turned many of the X-Men who were content to keep teaching and ignore Cyclops's crazy cult conflict into an oppressed minority group that is suddenly feeling very threatened and oppressed in their own home. Now, the Avengers don't do this because they hate mutants, merely because the school is home to possible allies of Cyclops and his X-Men, and they aren't sure if they will join the fight or not. That's a logical move and it becomes a big fight because everyone involved is fairly stupid and immature.
Wolverine and the X-Men, on the other hand, offers less of a reason for Cyclops's recruitment tactics to work. He shows up uninvited at Wolverine's school and everyone basically tells Wolverine to go fuck himself despite all that's changed since Schism is a powerful cosmic entity coming this way that destroys planets with ease, all under the guise of mutant solidarity. I guess my problem is that, out of all of these mutants, only two (Wolverine and Beast) seem willing to question the idea that the Phoenix Force will somehow be a good thing for mutants and Earth. In expanding the concept of this being a mutant/human conflict with a group that's been established as fairly pro-mutant for almost its entire existence, intelligent characters have to shut off their brains. It's too simplistic -- and, yet, maybe realistic?
I have a hard time understanding that type of thinking, because of who I am, I suppose. That sort of irrational allegiance is foreign to me. There is no reason why all but two mutants would suddenly turn "Fuck the Avengers, all hail the giant fire bird in the sky!" aside from the sort of irrational loyalty built by comradery, oppression, and basically only encountering people who want to kill them. I still think this direction for the story is too forced and one-sided, too much of an overcompensation, but it doesn't seem as implausible as I thought when I began this post. What I also question is if this will actually make the Avengers seem less like the clear-cut 'good guys' in this conflict given that my first reaction was that the X-Men all come off as simple-minded fools who conveniently forget that the people they're fighting have had their backs pretty consistently. It seems too easy and too simple of a way to expand upon the conflict.
It's also writing the characters in an odd corner: either the Phoenix is a force of good and the X-Men are right, or it's a force of bad and the Avengers are right (and dead). That's not a very good place to have the story right now, particularly when you have so many of your characters turning their backs on logic to join up with Cyclops. There's a third possibility that the Phoenix is neither of those things -- and that seems like the safe bet. But, will it somehow avoid the trap of making one group seem entirely crazy in the brief seconds before total destruction or one group seem entirely racist through the fault of being wrong?
Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #4, AVX: VS #2, Avengers #26, Avengers Academy #30, and Uncanny X-Men #12. Big week.
It's an easy direction to take things, but is far lazier than last week's Civil War-inspired facist take on Captain America and the rest of the Avengers. That, at least, showed some semblance of learning from a past event where Marvel failed to keep two warring sides on equal grounds and applied it to a story where things obviously leaned in one direction over another. Here, though, we have all of the X-Men falling in line with the idea that this is a mutant versus human conflict involving a group whose second (third depending on how you look at it, I guess) line-up included two mutants who were only known as terrorist followers of Magneto. Say what you will about Captain America and the Avengers, but it's hard to paint them as anti-mutant given the group's long history of accepting mutants (and androids and aliens and Inhumans and beings from alternate realities and past versions of teammates stolen from time before they became the hero they already know). The Avengers is basically a group that lives Xavier's dream and leads by example.
In story, Cyclops trying to turn it into a mutant/human conflict makes sense -- as much sense as turning into a facism/freedom conflict -- but he's also clearly a kind of crazy cult leader. There's a whole group of mutants that moved to the other side of the continent to get away from his craziness. And, this week, it seems all of them except Wolverine is ready to fall back in line behind him with few doubts? What's weird is that X-Men: Legacy #266 and Wolverine and the X-Men #10 show the faculty at Wolverine's school discussing what they should do in two very different ways (again: GREAT FUCKING EDITING, IDIOTS) and the end-result is the same: mutant solidarity in the face of crazy odds and a general consensus that the Avengers are trying to stop the Phoenix from returning because they hate mutants and not because it keeps destroying entire planets on its way to Earth? It is possible that all X-Men have been so opposed and beaten down that they've lost their senses and have caught Cyclops's crazy stupidity, I guess. Maybe?
Both issues take two different approaches, only one of which actually comes off as plausible. In X-Men: Legacy, a team of three Avengers show up at the Jean Grey School to make sure that everyone there stays nice and calm and doesn't go anywhere. That's an obvious confrontational move, particularly when it's easy to observe the school without necessarily alerting the X-Men to their presence. Instead, things devolve because we're dealing with a bunch of people who don't know how to deal with feelings of anger and frustration without hitting people. That makes sense. We're dealing with stunted growth and psychological damage that's hard to understand completely. In many ways, the mutant/human overtones are superficial, because it's really about us vs. them with the reasons not mattering. All that matters is that they came here and it's pissing us off. The Avengers made a bad play and turned many of the X-Men who were content to keep teaching and ignore Cyclops's crazy cult conflict into an oppressed minority group that is suddenly feeling very threatened and oppressed in their own home. Now, the Avengers don't do this because they hate mutants, merely because the school is home to possible allies of Cyclops and his X-Men, and they aren't sure if they will join the fight or not. That's a logical move and it becomes a big fight because everyone involved is fairly stupid and immature.
Wolverine and the X-Men, on the other hand, offers less of a reason for Cyclops's recruitment tactics to work. He shows up uninvited at Wolverine's school and everyone basically tells Wolverine to go fuck himself despite all that's changed since Schism is a powerful cosmic entity coming this way that destroys planets with ease, all under the guise of mutant solidarity. I guess my problem is that, out of all of these mutants, only two (Wolverine and Beast) seem willing to question the idea that the Phoenix Force will somehow be a good thing for mutants and Earth. In expanding the concept of this being a mutant/human conflict with a group that's been established as fairly pro-mutant for almost its entire existence, intelligent characters have to shut off their brains. It's too simplistic -- and, yet, maybe realistic?
I have a hard time understanding that type of thinking, because of who I am, I suppose. That sort of irrational allegiance is foreign to me. There is no reason why all but two mutants would suddenly turn "Fuck the Avengers, all hail the giant fire bird in the sky!" aside from the sort of irrational loyalty built by comradery, oppression, and basically only encountering people who want to kill them. I still think this direction for the story is too forced and one-sided, too much of an overcompensation, but it doesn't seem as implausible as I thought when I began this post. What I also question is if this will actually make the Avengers seem less like the clear-cut 'good guys' in this conflict given that my first reaction was that the X-Men all come off as simple-minded fools who conveniently forget that the people they're fighting have had their backs pretty consistently. It seems too easy and too simple of a way to expand upon the conflict.
It's also writing the characters in an odd corner: either the Phoenix is a force of good and the X-Men are right, or it's a force of bad and the Avengers are right (and dead). That's not a very good place to have the story right now, particularly when you have so many of your characters turning their backs on logic to join up with Cyclops. There's a third possibility that the Phoenix is neither of those things -- and that seems like the safe bet. But, will it somehow avoid the trap of making one group seem entirely crazy in the brief seconds before total destruction or one group seem entirely racist through the fault of being wrong?
Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #4, AVX: VS #2, Avengers #26, Avengers Academy #30, and Uncanny X-Men #12. Big week.
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