Riding the Gravy Train 22 (AVX: VS #5 and Wolverine and the X-Men #15)

We begin with the latest additions to the AVX: VS card...

Match #9: Hawkeye vs. Angel

A ground-and-pound shooter taking on a high-flier should make for an interesting match. But, it doesn't. With no build and a general pointlessness in the air, this seems like something that belongs on TV, not on a PPV card like this. Leave this shit to the three-panel matches we see in Avengers vs. X-Men! It is a little surprising to see them pull out the old WWE staple of capable women's fighters suddenly becoming plot devices and unable to actually do anything when two men are fighting. Psylocke is normally a threat, but, here, she's just someone for Hawkeye to threaten as he, surprisingly, winds up playing the heel to Angel's face. Normally, Hawkeye is the scrappy underdog that people love to see get his ass beat until he manages to come back at the end, but not here. There are supposed to be elements of that, especially when he rips off Wolverine's claw attack using arrows and Angel no-sells completely -- but threatening women and then shooting a dude with an arrow to make your escape? Dick move; heel turn.

Winner: Hawkeye [*3/4]

Match #10: Loser Leaves Wakanda Match - Black Panther vs. Storm

This is the funniest fight of the card to date. Meant to be a big emotional battle between husband and wife, it descends into unintentional comedy pretty quickly. The best part: Storm yelling "Not the cape!" as Black Panther uses it to throw her to the ground. Or, there's the moment where she gets pissed off that he planned counterattacks against her in case she ever attacked him... after she just hit him with a lightning bolt. If anything, this match is an angle killing one that comes at long last after many false starts and poorly told stories throughout. It's a mercy-killing affair that's just as drawn-out and pointless as the original angle was to begin with -- as random and thrown-together. Jason Aaron tries some of the tricks he used to great effect with Dash and Carol in Scalped and they fall flat here, because, in Scalped, he actually made us care about those two and their relationship. Black Panther and Storm's relationship has been dead for a while now -- almost stillborn -- and Marvel is only finally getting around to acknowledging that fact. The big blowoff comes too late and no one cares. "There are no winners here" indeed.

Winner: NO ONE [DUD]

Next month, the card concludes with a bunch of mini-fights (way to waste precious PPV time!) and the main event: HOPE VS. THE SCARLET WITCH IN A PHOENIX HOST CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH!

***

Wolverine and the X-Men #15 dances around Avengers vs. X-Men as they explore the fallout of Hope's fight with Cyclops in Avengers vs. X-Men #10 and prepare for the Death of Everything That is to Come. It also feels like the 'season finale' of that title in many ways. Jason Aaron jumps around a lot, checking in on as many characters as possible, providing closure of some kind for all of them before what comes next. It's like the school has gone as far it can in its current state. Death and resurrection. Get it?

***

Actually, this issue is one of my favourite Avengers vs. X-Men tie-ins. It's good in a different manner than New Avengers #29 was. That comic was the best comic of the event in the ways that it directly addressed the event and tried to raise the discourse occurring in it; this one is probably the best example of taking the event and using it to its own purposes. This was more an issue of Wolverine and the X-Men than Avengers vs. X-Men tie-in. The event is a backdrop for change and closure -- but it could be any big threat that acts as the backdrop for this issue. Change a few details and the issue stays essentially the same. New Avengers #29 was the book comic of the event, because it was exclusively about the event; Wolverine and the X-Men #15 is the best example of a comic in this event using it to tell a story that it probably would have told anyway. I admire that.

***

Next week: There are no Avengers vs. X-Men comics. There will be a post.

EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of August 29, 2012

I'm listening to Everybody's Rockin' by Neil Young & the Shocking Pinks. It's pleasant enough. I still have a few big gaps in my Neil Young collection, so I'm trying to fill them. His 'bad' stuff from the '80s is the biggest gap as, up until buying this album last night, I jumped from Live Rust to the Eldorado EP in my collection. Also: Everybody's Rockin' was the first album Young released after I was born, so I've gotta love it a little.

Journey into Mystery #642: More a story that's come out of Journey into Mystery that The Mighty Thor seems to have latched onto, I'm not complaining about that. The first bit of this comic is sluggish, but gets moving when it comes down to just Loki and Thor. Loki laying out how he'd fucked everyone over his last few adventures, all while trying to do the right thing, was excellent and made this feel like a story that's been built up to. The end of the issue was a bit dumb with that old mob mentality bullshit from characters that are supposed to be better than that. [***1/2]

Prophet #28: For some reason, I really liked the scene with the drugged drink. Kind of funny. Or the roots. I like the small stuff like that. [****]

Spaceman #9: The emotion of this issue is overwhelming at times... goddamn, Risso brings it. This is his show. [****1/4]

Ultimate X-Men #15: Wood's approach here is quite good. The way he's built this new world over the past few issues and forced the characters to confront some harsh realities has been some of his more skillful work. It's a bit nasty and more than a little depressing. I'm glad I stuck with this after the first issue. [****]

Winter Soldier #9: Of course Natasha 'waking up' was part of the plan! It was obvious, but still a great trick, playing with the idiotic convention of 'love' overcoming brainwashing, like somewhere deep inside the 'real' person is screaming to get out. Brubaker doesn't seem to buy that bullshit any more than I ever have... and good on him. [***3/4]

Later

Riding the Gravy Train 21 (Uncanny X-Men #17)

"Did I just read a comic where the X-Men commit genocide?"

It's not too often that you think that upon finishing the latest issue of Uncanny X-Men -- in fact, I don't think anyone has ever thought that before -- but here we are. The comic ends with Cyclops saying "The war is over. Sinister's species is done. The world is safe. And entirely ours." The X-Men apparently murdered an entire species to make it possible for their kind to take over the world and promote their own race-based agenda. That's pretty fucked up. That's incredibly fucked up.

I've been trying to think this through for the past couple of days. Obviously, we're meant to see their actions as extreme. They murdered an entire species. Let us never lose sight of that as we walk our way through the various justifications that can be offered. After all, this was basically a species of one -- and Sinister had intentions that seemed directed towards genocide of his own, possibly. He seeked to perfect himself genetically and create a world based around that. He threatened the X-Men and the world many times in the past and even schemed to harness the power of the Phoenix towards that end. But, the X-Men hunted him and his people down and killed them all. It's a little difficult to rationalise that away.

After all, what kind of species this was doesn't matter. That it was a hivemind society created through science doesn't mean a thing. That just means that the Sinisters were different than what we're accustomed to, not that they're better or worse -- more or less worthy of life or not being wiped out entirely.

Yet, it's easy to say that, because, in our world, we've never encountered a race like this. A hivemind devoted to a single purpose that acts directly against our interests with no hope of negotiation or reasoning. In many ways, the Sinisters are a variation on the Borg before they were overused and neutered. Sinister and his people would just keep coming, endlessly. Wiping them out was the only viable option in that line of thinking. It's a large scale version of the debate about heroes killing, except with one murderous villain turned into an entire species -- a race unto himself. If Sinister was one man, would we necessarily balk at the X-Men killing him? How does that change if that one man duplicates himself on a large scale? Is that really a different race or simply a bunch of photocopies? Is there a difference? Hell, whether a single being or a million, isn't something unique and differently genetically, like Sinister, a race? But... I don't think if Sinister were just a single man, we'd consider his murder genocide despite the reality (an entire race wiped out) being the same.

I guess there's also the problem in comics that we're not certain that the entire race is dead, or that Sinister won't return at some point. However, I'm not sure that actually matters. Cyclops's perception that he's killed the entire species is the same whether or not he's actually accomplished that goal. In his mind, he's murdered them all. Is that, for our purposes, any different from his committing genocide? (Assuming that genocide only counts when you kill an entire race, which isn't accurate at all.) What we're really interested in is the idea that Cyclops and the X-Men could do such an act, making their perception the only reality that matters. But, that idea that their perception is false, that Sinister will survive and return somehow, lessens the impact of what these characters have done. It would have almost been more effective for there to be some remote island filled with the sole survivors of a doomed planet and the X-Men wipe them out to show us how far they've fallen, that they'd kill the remaining members of that race. Because Sinister matters, he can't be dead for good -- so did genocide happen or not?

I know, I'm asking a lot of questions. That's partly my style and partly never reading a comic where the protagonists take it upon themselves to do something like this. Kill a small group of bad guys? Sure. Kill an entire race? No.

Except for maybe the Skrulls. I'd forgotten all about them.

And the Asgardians over in The Ultimates #2, slaughtered by the Children of Tomorrow, who, while villains, were also presented in a somewhat sympathetic/relatable light.

Wow.

That's really fucked up.

Genocide as storytelling device. Good job there, Marvel.

Next: AVX: VS #5 and Wolverine and the X-Men #15.

EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of August 22, 2012

I am tired after sitting in the sun all day at the Tigers/Jays game. Well, not so much tired from that as the getting to and from the game via tunnel bus (none of the delays were Transit Windsor's fault). Just a hot and tiring day. But, it was also a lot of fun and a really great day nonetheless.

glamourpuss #26: I stopped reading this somewhere in the area of issue 12, I think. I still bought it every two months, but found that the release schedule made the Alex Raymond portion of this comic a little hard to follow properly. 11 (or so) pages every two months didn't exactly drill details into my head. So, I decided to simply save up the issues for a big reread and, now, the book has ended. I guess I get my chance. I did read Dave Sim's closing text piece and damn if that wasn't the most depressing thing I've read for some time. And it isn't him saying "Oh woe is me!" or expecting sympathy or pity -- it's just a man laying out how fucked he is and how fucked up the industry he works in can be. And he isn't blaming anyone either. It's just... sad. Sad that this is the reality of things. [TBD]

Scalped #60: The other big ending and it didn't blow me away. Too big of expectations? Too let down by the downer ending? I don't know... It just seemed like it didn't cohere entirely. Too much effort put in to making things ambiguous or left wide open for too many characters? In a sense, it felt like another issue of an ongoing, serialised story. Which is fine... but it doesn't necessarily make for the 'best' conclusion. I liked this issue and will no doubt grow to see it as the most appropriate ending for this series, but, right now... I'm not feeling it as much as I'd like to. [Not yet, no]

Secret Avengers #30: Ha ha ha... fuck you, Max Fury! You ain't no person! YOU AIN'T NO PERSON! [***1/4]

The Ultimates #14: "Hey, Sam, welcome on board The Ultimates. We know that you're following Jonathan Hickman and his run, with Esad Ribic and Dean White on art, has been highly regarded by some. We want to give you the best start possible by pairing you with artists that are vastly inferior and will make this book look like everything else on the shelf. That will help you win 'em over! Good luck, son!"

...okay, it doesn't help that Humphries's dialogue runs a bit too far towards the 'typical' superhero shit either. Hickman had a lighter touch, a way of making his different ideas seem different. If you look at what happens in this comic, it's not that different from what Hickman was doing it. How it happens, how it's presented, though, is very different and it's not as good. It's not as engaging, it doesn't have the same verve or energy. I hope it gets better, because, on a plot- and idea-level, it's still a good comic. On every other one, though... [**1/2]

Untold Tales of the Punisher MAX #3: A new exhibit for how, sometimes, self-contained single issue comics are just fucking boring. [**]

The Unwritten #40: Man, Tom's takedown of the crazy man was great. I'm glad that they held off on him showing up for a few issues. The best issue of the latest arc... But there still isn't a sense of what this book is about anymore and where it's going. I guess we'll have to wait and see on that end. [***3/4]

Wolverine annual #1: A great conclusion to this trio of annuals. Davis did a good job at making each self-contained but telling a larger story. Though, really, it seems like it should have just been a Dr. Strange/ClanDestine crossover mini-series or something. But, hey, if sticking these stories in annuals of other books helped make them happen, I'm not going to complain too much. Another big story to add to the ClanDestine group of titles. Lovely. [***3/4]

Later

Riding the Gravy Train 20 (Avengers vs. X-Men #10 and Avengers #29)

What does Scott Summers want?

I've been pondering that question and I'm not sure I know the answer. I don't think there is one, because he doesn't know what he wants. I've argued that he was the only 'pure' one of the Phoenix hosts; that his belief in his cause and in Hope kept him above the pettiness of the others. He was never corrupted by the Phoenix and still hasn't been. It's not power that has driven Cyclops to his actions in Avengers vs. X-Men #10, despite all appearances. It's all Hope's 'fault.'

She didn't ask for Summers's belief in her. She almost always bristled against, not considering herself the saviour of anything, but that didn't stop Scott from believing more and more, becoming an extremist and zealot for the mutant cause with her at the centre of his belief. Avengers vs. X-Men, in a sense, has been a story about Scott's faith being proven right. The Phoenix arrived and, theoretically, has been an instrument for good as the 'Phoenix Five' worked to make the world a better place, let down only by their own weaknesses. They succumbed to corruption because they weren't strong enough to stick to the path. Scott never had that problem. When his fellow hosts wanted to simply kill the Avengers, he stood firm in the knowledge that their cause was just and, eventually, that would win out. There's only so long that you can stare utopia in the face and decry it.

What's driven Scott into similar territory as the rest is the rejection of the saviour he put so much faith in. Hope chose to turn her back on the mutants, on the X-Men, on the cause -- on him. He never thought that he was going to be a permanent host for the Phoenix. He, and the others, were placeholders until the true host, the saviour, would take her rightful place, assume the mantle of the Phoenix, and save mutantkind from extinction. Except, of course, Hope didn't want that. She never saw herself as the saviour and wasn't comfortable with that role. More than that, she shared the Avengers' view on the Phoenix hosts and their descent in corruption and weakness. So, she ran away with the non-believers -- the heretics -- and turned her back on Scott, denying his faith.

Reading Avengers vs. X-Men #10, it's obvious that Scott isn't like the others. He's angry and grows angrier as the issue progresses, not at the Avengers, but at Hope and her refusal to accept his set of beliefs. It's a little surprising how much of this story is based around religion. When Hope chooses the Scarlet Witch and the beliefs of K'un L'un, it's basically Jesus succumbing to temptation in the desert in Scott's mind. After all, the Scarlet Witch (red witch -- definite satanic imagery) is the person responsible for the destruction of mutantkind, while K'un L'un's beliefs are based around a dragon (a lizard -- a FLYING SNAKE!). She is the fallen saviour is his eyes... maybe the false saviour? Is Hope the Anti-Christ of the mutants? The false prophet that everyone is fooled by and brings ruination...

It's easy to write off Scott's actions as further proof of power corrupting, but that feels wrong to me. Especially when you look at the cover to issue 11 where he is fighting Emma Frost on the cover. It could be a similar situation to the Colussus/Magik 'fight' from issue nine; or, it could be Scott embracing the idea that is sure to be growing in his mind: if he's the only 'true believer,' if he's the one that's kept the mutant race alive for so long, if he's the one who has resisted the corruption of the Phoenix... maybe he is the true saviour. Maybe he was the answer all along and all false prophets and those who stray from the cause, who use it for selfish reasons and wallow in corruption, must be eliminated.

And, yet, oddly, I laugh at the idea that Scott is anything but the picture of sanity.

***

In all of the contradictions in Avengers vs. X-Men, Avengers #29 is not one of them. It shows an alternate version of the events from Wolverine and the X-Men #12 -- drastically different, even. But, it also ends with Charles Xavier wiping everyone's memories and letting them believe it played out how it would if he weren't involved. What we saw in Wolverine and the X-Men #12 was the version of events as the participants remembered it. I like that idea.

Next week: Uncanny X-Men #17.

EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of August 15, 2012

Butcher Baker, the Righteous Maker #8: I can only imagine how frustrating the wait must have been for Casey given that this is the last issue. That was a surprise, wasn't it? I can't recall being surprised like that before. The comic just comes out and, boom, done. It snuck up on us. And I think it was the right call. Not just ending the book -- who am I to tell these guys how long to keep making this book -- but not announcing it. The shape of the story wasn't apparent until now. It wasn't a 'waiting out the clock' game. No looking at your watch and going "Oh, there's only five minutes left in the episode, I guess it's time for them to catch the killer" bullshit. Instead, it's a wonderful surprise kick to the gut with strong writing, amazing art, and a desire for more. Always leave 'em wanting and all that... But, also, everything is ending now it seems and, now, this, too. Just when I thought I had it back, it's over. That kinda sucks. [****1/2]

Daredevil #17: I don't know why, but I have the impression that this comic is, like, 40% stories about the past. I get it, Matt and Foggy are best buds and the current situation is unnatural. Good art. [***1/2]

Fatale #7: Something was lost in the wait... What? It's true. [***1/2]

Wonder Woman #12: The fight scene! Apollo on the throne! THE FINAL PAGE! And, now, we have to wait an extra month for what happens next thanks to fucking zero month. [Fuck you, DC]

X-Men #34: Five pages just to show some guy on a boat getting a package... Only one page of Cyclops chewing out Storm... Cyclops definitely has that 'asshole police chief' vibe in that scene. I'd read more comics about that. I really would. Hell, I would have read a comic about a small police squad in Utopia, busting up crime, busting heads... did such a comic exist and I missed it? Probably not. I do like this comic, though. They're trying to take down mutant-gene-drinking L. Ron Hubbard after all. That's pretty neat. I wish Roland Boschi would let loose a little more, though. [***1/2]

Later

Riding the Gravy Train 19 (New Avengers #29)

This right here is the high point of Avengers vs. X-Men. Throughout his time on the Avengers titles, Brian Michael Bendis has used the Illuminati to varying degrees of success. The group, through its various incarnations, have led to some of the Bendis's smartest writing and some of his worst. The mini-series devoted to the group's actions at different points in the past was pretty terrible on almost all levels. The original one-shot was interesting in the way it showed the beginnings of the group, but fell apart near the end. Bendis tried to recreate the concept with Norman Osborn's Cabal at the beginning of "Dark Reign." Most recently, the Illuminati was revealed to the Avengers in Avengers after the Hood stole the Infinity Gems that they each kept hidden. There, Captain American first condemned the concept of a group like that before agreeing that it was necessary and joining.

If you're unaware, the Illuminati is a group of heroes that meet from time to time to consider problems that affect the world as a whole and decide how best to solve them. It's a smart idea, one that takes the idea of superheroes to a logical place, one that, on the surface, seems like it's too far, but, upon reflection, isn't actually any different than anything the superheroes do. And every time someone like Captain America tries to act like it is, he stands revealed as small.

The emergence of the Phoenix Five actually makes for an interesting counterpart to the Illuminati. They are, basically, the same leap that the Illuminati was from the Avengers/X-Men/Fantastic Four, but from the Illuminati. They seek to reshape the world, affect large change, except they do it overtly rather than covertly as the Illuminati preferred. None of this is stated directly in New Avengers #29, but the underlying sentiment that there isn't necessarily anything different or wrong about what the Phoenix Five are doing is seen throughout. Is it that the Phoenix Five are, somehow, evil, or is it that Captain America sees himself small and weak next to them, jealous that they can affect more positive change on the world in a week than he has, perhaps, ever done?

This issue is a series of conversations as people arrive and depart. Captain America has called a meeting of the Illuminati, particularly for Namor, hoping that they can all talk to Namor and convince him to turn on the X-Men and see the error of his ways. Given that Namor still has the Phoenix here, I think we all know that that doesn't happen. But, even if he were still a host of the Phoenix, no one would really think that that would happen. In the comic, only Captain America thinks he'll actually show up at all.

What impresses me most about this comic is that it's the first that I've read to step back and really try to examine the various implications of what's going on in Avengers vs. X-Men, what that means to these characters, and how it fits into the larger context of the Marvel Universe since Bendis took over the Avengers books. If Avengers vs. X-Men is meant to be the culmination of culminations, this is the first comic that seemed like it was trying to make that explicit instead of simply confusing repetition for allusion.

The inclusion of Reed Richards and Charles Xavier is what sets this comic apart. Xavier has made some small appearances in Avengers vs. X-Men so far, but this is where you see what he truly thinks of what's happening. The anguish he suffers over his dream perverted, of his first student and the man that's basically his son (despite their estangement in recent years) setting himself up as dictator of the Earth. Xavier's reactions in the main series to what's happening have never quite felt clear/explained because of the demands there. Here, he's bitter and angry, pissed off that the other all blame him for what's happening and even more pissed off because he agrees with them. His angry rant is great and a brief moment where that character actually felt like he mattered for the first time since... when was the last time Charles Xavier actually meant anything to anyone? In a sense, his appearance in this issue addresses that: this is all his personal failure. His falling out with Scott Summers, his basic excommunication of sorts from the X-Men and the mutant community... it has allowed for this situation to happen and this is the payoff of those earlier stories. Even if the payoff is a man looking at what he's created and realising that he fucked up. He fucked it all up and, now, he has to decide what to do. Bendis offers no solution or answers, and that's rare.

Richards's contribution is that of logic and reason: just because you assume that the X-Men will become corrupt with power, doesn't mean that they will. At that moment in time, there was no reason to think that Cyclops and the others had anything but good intentions. After all, the only actions they'd undertaken that seemed 'off message' were their skirmishes with the Avengers and the Avengers had as much to do with causing those as the X-Men (probably more). Instead of continually poking at Cyclops and trying to undermine his work, what would happen if Captain America and the Avengers joined them, tried to help and, in the process, work to keep them from losing sight of their goals with corruption? Richards lays out a compelling argument for stopping the fighting and working with the X-Men, even raising the events of Civil War as evidence of the a previous time when Captain America and Iron Man decided that violence was the solution to an argument with friends and allies over different ways of seeing the world. It's an implied shaming, a moment where Richards reminds them (and us) that Civil War and the ensuing fallout taught them nothing.

The final scene between Captain America and Namor, along with the opening sequence, is Bendis trying to reconcile Namor's behaviour with the fact that people like Cap continue to consider him a friend/ally. In a sense, Cap's problem is also his strength. He is a man of the past, so things like loyalty are hard for him to shake, but that also means that he struggles with change. He doesn't trust new. And that's understandable. He's had more new than most people could ever hope to see and, to a certain extent, he probably thinks all of it is worse than what he used to know. That means he stands by the man he fought side-by-side with in World War 2, but it also means that Namor has a point when he says that Cap's problem could be that he fears what the world will look like soon, because he doesn't know if there will be a place in it for him.

On the surface, New Avengers #29 is an issue that should present the Avengers's perspective (something that's been lacking in the tie-ins), but, instead, critiques it while contextualising Avengers vs. X-Men into both the Avengers and X-Men's recent histories. This is a story that's the result of both Charles Xavier's failed dream, and the inability for Captain America and Iron Man to allow change to happen except on their terms. It's the best issue of the entire Avengers vs. X-Men event so far.

Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #10 and Avengers #29.

EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of August 8, 2012

Avengers Assemble #6: You fuck with Thanos, you get to die in space. He's already killed ya before, Avengers... why you wanna fuck with him again? [**3/4]

Captain America #16: This storyarc really isn't clicking with me. I understand mind control is involved, but it seems so lazy -- a way to justify a plot where, uh, a TV pundit turns Americans against Captain America by pointing out that he's not able to defeat everyone everywhere at all times? It's just dumb. Never mind that the art totally kills a central scene of this issue because Eaton can't make it clear what's going on. [**1/2]

Daredevil annual #1: The second of the three Alan David ClanDestine-centric annuals being done this year and I like how this one follows up on the first one, centring things around Vincent's death and showing the next step in that. Though it's not Davis's fault, how many more comics will we have to read where someone gets inside Daredevil's mind and freaks out at his enhanced senses this year? My favourite moment: "But I didn't win." [***1/2]

Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #12: An unexpected approach to the storytelling in this issue. It's not quite as effective as you'd hope, mostly giving the whole thing a sped up, rushed through feel, like Kindt needed to cram it all in so the story wouldn't be broken up too much by next month's zero issue. Is that what happened? I don't know. I also don't care, because that's what it reads like. Which, of course, makes the decision to tell this story a poorer one if that's not the reason why he made it. [***]

Godzilla: The Half-Centry War #1: I don't really know much about Godzilla specifically beyond the most superficial of things. James Stokoe's visual depiction of the giant thunder lizard surprised me a little, but I rather like it. I love the fiery word balloon he does for Godzilla. The story is pretty basic, but the art is gorgeous. I'm glad I'm picking this one up. [***1/2]

The Massive #3: Man, I'd just rather read about Unalaska. Not really a negative thing about this comic since I enjoy it -- more that I think I'd rather read about Unalaska. Especially during the Cold War. Beyond that, I really like the idea of trying to be a pacifist group in this world and the struggles that would create. Clever stuff. [***3/4]

The Mighty Thor #18: More Alan Davis! How lucky are we this week? VERY. That's how lucky we are this week. A solid mood-setting issue for "Everything Burns." [***1/2]

Punk Rock Jesus #2: Oh shit, I didn't have time to read this yesterday. It was the only comic that I didn't read. Er... Be right back.

...

...

...

...

...back. Another great issue. I wasn't sure what to expect from Murphy as a writer, but he's quite good. Engaging, a little melodramatic at times, but also unexpected. He's taking his time getting to the 'punk rock' teenage 'Jesus' from the promo images, isn't he? And I don't mind one bit. The "I painted it pink" part was both hilarious and a clear window into how fucked up Thomas is. Damn good. [****]

Spider-Men #4: That cover is a total lie. But, most of this issue simply consisting of Peter, Miles, May, and Gwen talking was great. Bendis really knows how to write those scenes well. I could read a monthly comic called "Conversations" where it's like Marvel Team-Up except it's just two heroes in a room having a conversation if Bendis was writing it. [***3/4]

Later

Riding the Gravy Train 18 (Avengers vs. X-Men #9)

In many ways, this issue feels like an issue that, somehow, sums up the various external problems that have plagued this event from the beginning. Contradictions, an uneven flow from issue to issue, and a generally predictable path as the Phoenix Five Four Two become more and more corrupt in the most obvious, unsubtle manner possible. Yet, it's a surprisingly engaging read if you ignore all of that stuff and try to take the issue on a single-serving basis. Ignore that anything came before and anything will come after and it's good. It's too bad that that's now how this comic exists, nor how it was meant to exist.

Though, even taken by itself, there are some big problems with this issue. The unsubtle (which should be the official 'buzz word' of this event) way in which Spider-Man tells Hope in a rather repetitive manner that every Avengers gets his or her moment and you just need to wait and take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself... right before opportunity presents itself for Spider-Man. Or, there's the puzzling way that Spider-Man's narration on the first page is somehow taking place at the same time as his narration when the issue catches up to that moment in the future. Somehow, he's thinking two different things at the same time while barely maintaining consciousness and facing a likely death. (Also, he was unconscious at some point?) It's a convenient cheat that's beneath Jason Aaron (who hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire during this event); it's also something that sets this issue apart stylistically from the rest of the Avengers vs. X-Men mini-series, much like Aaron's narraton captions in issue two. He is clearly not even trying write towards a cohesive style, which is either good or bad depending on what you want out of this book and its quintet of writers.

But, also within this issue is Spider-Man doing what he does best: refusing to quit. He stands up and takes a hell of a beating for the sole purpose of making sure his friends get away safely. If you ignore the heavyhanded foreshadowing and the flashforward, it's a strong moment for the character. It may be an obvious attempt to create such a moment, but it's true to the character and is the sort of thing that was required to hammer home just how corrupt and pathethic the X-Men have become. Two of the Phoenix co-hosts can't help but kick the shit out of a guy that one of them beat up before getting Phoenix powers.

I also loved the panel where the Avengers help their Limbo-imprisoned teammates back to K'un L'un and everyone needs help of some kind... except for Luke Cage. The Thing can barely walk, Thor needs to be carried, the rest all lean on a teammate and Luke Cage is leading the way, clearly wondering why they even bothered to escape to K'un L'un, ready to rush back and kick some ass. I don't know if that was in the script or if Adam Kubert just knows that Luke Cage is the fucking man.

If you try to put Avengers vs. X-Men #9 in context, it seems weaker. The Spider-Man/Colussus and Magik fight is a simple retread of the Spider-Man/Colussus fight in AVX: VS #2, but more heavyhanded and forced in its attempt to make Spider-Man look like he doesn't give up, while showing that Colussus and Magik have lost it. It's making the same point we've already seen with the same characters and doesn't add anything new. If Spider-Man was in a hopeless, unwinnable battle against pre-Phoenix Colussus, are things actually worse when he's fighting Phoenix-possessed Colussus and Magik? No. Once you hit 'hopeless and unwinnable,' degree doesn't matter. If we already saw Colussus pound Spider-Man to a pulp and Spider-Man continue to stand up, why should we care now?

The method of Thor's capture by the X-Men also seems somewhat contradictory to what we saw in AVX: VS as the fourth issue had Emma Frost no sell Thor's attempts to beat her up and completely destroyed him. Yet, here, we see that Thor was captured fighting Colussus and Magik. Was this because Emma somehow just walked away, leaving Thor to wake up and go about his business? Or was it because we just needed a scene showing how formidable Colussus and Magik are before Spider-Man stood up and got pounded into the ground? Either way, it adds little (though I almost appreciate the effort to show us the power of the Rasputins) and is another case of scenes in two comics not lining up in this event.

***

Tony Stark sitting in a dark room, muttering, "The Phoenix. Wanda's hex magic. Hope. The Iron Fist. Somehow it all fits together... Somehow..." In that scene, is he the readers or the writers?

***

Next week: New Avengers #29.

EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of August 1, 2012

Action Comics #12: How can one empty their brain of all thought and still explain how they're emptying their brain of all thought? Also: RIP Johnny Clark. [***]

Age of Apocalypse #6: I love how, on the cover of this issue, Cyclops takes a punch from Colossus and his head stays attached to his body. This series remains a little strange, a mixture of awful people and even worse people... a lack of anything approaching a plot... characters that fail to leave any impression... Yet, I'm drawn to it somehow. [***]

Black Kiss 2 #1: This is some fucked up shit. A dude survived the sinking of the Titanic because a Succubus anally raped him. A move screen comes alive and shoots out tentacle penii to rape the audience. There... there's something wrong with Howard Chaykin, I think. [So... I have to wait a month for issue two?]

The Boys #69: We march towards the conclusion and it's not quite the same lively march that other Ennis series have had at the end, but the sense of dread is somehow bigger. It's a proper superhero story in many ways. A pretty easy to grasp attempt to kill a large chunk of the world's population, allies betrayed and killed, and one lone man standing alone to stop his former mentor. It was inevitable almost that, after last issue, two more would fall here. What I can't figure out is how the V-A folks will factor in. And what of Annie? [****]

Daredevil #16: The Pym/Murdock stuff left me cold, but Waid and Samnee nailed the Foggy/Matt scene. [***1/2]

The Defenders #9: Heh... I liked that. It never quite cohered how you can picture it meaning to, but it was still pretty fun. Somehow, though, two issues in and McKelvie's art hasn't quite lived up to expectations/past work. It feels almost at odds with Fraction's writing. He needs something a little wilder. [***1/4]

Fury MAX #5: Reading this, if this weren't based on what happened, you'd think that Ennis was writing a pretty bad comic in how the whole Bay of Pigs thing goes down. And, yet, that's how it happened. Fucked up. I love their surprise when they learn that Castro wasn't hiding in some bunker, letting other people do all of the fighting for him. [****]

Gødland #36: From the beginning of this issue, the endpoint seemed obvious, but no less satisfying when it was reached. It's amazing how big this got while still maintaining a small, human perspective. Scioli fucking brought it and Casey is at his verbose, hyperbolic best. This is the comic that I'll be thinking about for a while, picking up, flipping through, and just lingering on cøsmic cømic gøødness. [øøøøø]

Hawkeye #1: Not at all what I was expecting. This is a pretty different take than what we've seen before and it has potential. A little cheesy in places, but definitely an attempt to carve out a unique spot for this character. And, y'know... David Aja... yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah. [***3/4]

RASL #15: And, so it ends where it began and it's a great final issue. Smith lingers a bit here and there and his visual storytelling is incredible. So clear and engaging. I'll miss this book. It was always something new and surprising right down to the final page. [****1/2]

X-Men #33: Somewhat disappointing. I'm not really a fan of the whole 'bad guy is confronted, brags about the hero is too late, and kills himself' thing. It seems like a cheap way to provide 'closure' on the story while leaving the door open for more later. Like, the cheapest way to do so. But, the focus here is more on the characters and what this mission meant to them and, in that respect, Wood and Lopez succeed. [***1/4]

Later

Riding the Gravy Train 17 (Avengers #28, Wolverine and the X-Men #14, and X-Men: Legacy #270)

The Phoenix Four are officially villains. The turn hasn't been long or subtle, but I think we can safely say this week that, yeah, they're the bad guys. Isn't it nice to be right?

What's sad isn't how terribly obvious this direction -- where the hosts of the Phoenix are corrupted by power, assuming thay just because they can do something that it's just -- is, since it has been obvious from the moment we saw the five of them in action. What's sad is just how poorly executed all of this has been with few cases worse than Wolverine and the X-Men #14 and X-Men: Legacy #270, the former more than the latter. We are shown the Rasputin siblings as they make it very, very clear that, yes, what everyone said would happen has. And it's happened in, like, a week. These are heroes, supposedly, and they are driven this far over the edge in a week?

It's actually another example in the argument I've been making since this event began: the heroes are fallen by this point. The corruption has set in for all of them, not just those given these incredible powers. They no longer fight for what's right -- they fight to fight. They don't know anything else. Look at how the Red Hulk looks at this entire thing in Avengers #28: "They do not get it. This is war." And he's not the only one. Everyone speaks of this conflict in militaristic terms and, actually, have since the beginning. This was never a disagreement between allies that could be solved through reason and discussion. It was war. War without killing, but war.

The lack of killing given the mindset of these characters is laughable. They've moved so far beyond righteousness in non-killing to simply being naive and delusional. They don't kill because they don't kill because they don't kill. They fight and fight and fight and do nothing but fight, but they don't kill. This is the war without end. The never-ending battle. Fallen heroes slugging it out in new ideological conflicts forever, constantly rearranging the sides, switching things up, picking new teams... They are fallen and the world is their plaything. 'War' is some game that they play like children at recess. These events are their recess where, this time, Captain America and Cyclops were the captains and chose all their buddies. None of this matters because there are no true consequences, much like a game. It seems important at the time, they play their hearts out, but soon the bell will ring, they'll go back inside for a while and return later to do it all over again.

Even the Red Hulk and others willing to 'kill' fit into that mindset. He's the big thug that is too overeager and is willing to do anything to win that game of touch football, even breaking some poor kid's arm in an ill-advised tackle. There's a few of those in every school yard.

I am at a loss at how awful Wolverine and the X-Men #14 and X-Men: Legacy #270 are. In Wolverine and the X-Men, Colossus forces Kitty Pryde to have dinner with him, gets increasingly pissed off when she doesn't seem interested, and damn near destroys the school, killing everyone in the process, because he's god now and she will love him if he says to love him. It's one of the worst thing that Jason Aaron has ever written, lacking in anything close to subtlety or nuance, choosing to go for cheap in-your-face storytelling that's very forced and unnatural simply to shoehorn characters that were mindless drones a few months ago into going "Hey... maybe we shouldn't have just shouted 'Viva mutants!' and tried to kill those Avengers guys..." It's awful writing used to fix bad writing.

X-Men: Legacy is almost as bad, but at least uses a character that's a little closer to the corrupt, evil person she's shown as. Magik using Limbo as a prison for the Avengers isn't even close to as big a leap as Colossus deciding to destroy a school for mutants run by his friends. In fact, given the way the character has been written (aside from a few recent bits, I've been told), if she were doing this before acting as a host for the Phoenix, I don't think anyone would have blinked. That doesn't make it any less obvious a comic in the way that Rogue goes from "Mutants forevah, sug!" to "Avengers forevah, sug!" in fairly short order. It's cheap in the way that it tries to make the Phoenix Four look evil, particularly when Rogue tells Magik that they'd be more likely to side with her and Magik basically tells her that, no, they'd kill her to live the mutant dream. The unsaid obvious thing is: the Avengers were previously being held in the X-Brig and, then, were moved to Limbo, so I think they already knew about the Limbo prison, Rogue.

After the first half of this event focused on the X-Men perspective, building up the Avengers as the giant bad guys trying to oppress a race (somehow), we've now had those same X-Men turn on their leaders, because, no, they're wannabe killers of kids, destroyers of schools, and use Hellish landscapes as prison as they torture the inmates.

Except, we're to believe that these characters have only recently fallen and I don't see any change (aside from the over-the-top Colossus bullshit). They were always like this. This is their true selves coming out, the true selves we've seen for years now. This truly is the columination of everything we've seen going back to Avengers Disassembled. The mutants/humans tensions, the superheroes fighting superheroes, the questions of when killing is necessary... the inability to do anything but hit things and then condemn people who do nothing but hit things. This is the low point, the moment where they stand around in pools of blood wondering why they used to smile in old pictures.

Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #9.

EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of July 25, 2012

Three days of work down. Two to go. This whole 'work five days in a row' thing is insane. Also, preparations for the fifth Blogathon have begun. This one is going to be insane. You have no idea. You may think you do. But you don't.

Batman, Incorporated #3: If anyone at DC or Diamond is upset that I got to purchase a copy of this today, let me assure you that I'm not the sort to be offended by coincidence. I just dig me some Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham Batman comics. This one included. (I figured I'd keep this spoiler-free given some people won't be getting this for a month, theoretically.) [****]

Captain America #15: So... the dude's complaint is that Captain America is only one man and can't be in many different places at once? And people take that as a legitimate complaint about how good Captain America is at his job? I can't tell if that's bad writing or exactly like the real world. I really can't. [***1/2]

Haunt #25: Another fill-in artist, another tangent. An entertaining one. I'd like to see more comics with prostitutes dressed up in leather pony suits as men ride their backs. Well, not that specifically. It's just rare to see and I'm not sure that that's a good thing. [***1/2]

The Manhattan Projects #5: So... there's a plot to this book. Hmmmm? [Hmmmm!]

The Mighty Thor #17: Oh, Donald Blake... you get your rest now until someone decides to dust off your disembodied head and attach it to the Destroyer or something. Also: Thor hates his ex-girlfriend. That's a surprise. Because he seems like the sort of guy who would want to stay friends. Just like Seinfeld. I guess Amora ain't no Sif. [*1/2]

Ghost Whisperer National Comics: Eternity #1: At least Cully Hamner's art looks good. [And at least Jennifer Love Hewitt had breasts.]

Prophet #27: Die Hard! Die Hard? Die... Hard... That sort of took me aback. It makes sense of course. I guess I never expected that particularly Liefeld character to pop up. I didn't expect any to pop up. This may be a 'continuation' of a Liefeld comic, but it's so divorced from what we think of that sort of comic that a tangible reminder that, yeah, this is just the future of that world, is a little shocking. Meanwhile, this universe gets more expansive and strange with every page. Insane. [****]

Secret Avengers #29: You could really just pull those Avengers vs. X-Men issues out and not miss a beat going from issue 25 to 29. Not a single beat. That's the smart way to approach a book like this. I'm a little surprised that it bothered to get involved at all. Sales bump? And the chance to bring back Mar-Vell for no real reason? Anyway, the Shadow Council is back and that's fine. Plus, lots of supervillains. And, yeah. I liked this. It was fine. [***1/4]

Spaceman #8: It's weird to think that there's only one issue left. It doesn't feel like we're at the end of the story yet. Oh, maybe the end of the 'Tara kidnapped' plot, but that's not the story. Is it? Azzarello has said that this is only the first story in a larger work that, hopefully, he and Risso will return to after doing some other things. The Mars stuff seems more like a dream... something fake. But, is it? It's so detailed... I just enjoy the hell out of reading this comic when it comes out. And, soon, it's over. Damn, man. [****]

The Ultimates #13: What am I supposed to do with this? Am I supposed to pretend that the last 12 issues didn't happen? Am I supposed to forget about Hickman and Ribic and White and act like this is the same fucking comic? Because it's not. The slow shift to this point has been happening for the past few issues and, here we are: a mediocre, fine superhero comic that exists within a larger, interesting framework... and it doesn't feel like anything new or noteworthy is being done. I don't know. Part of me wants to simply drop it. Make a clean break and pretend that the series ended. Part of me wants to give Sam Humphries and his line-up of Vastly Inferior To Esad Ribic aritsts a chance to maybe make me like this comic despite being something quite different. After the City, the Children, the People, Reed Richards, and the rest... what the fuck does Captain America bring to the table? That's what I want to know. [**3/4]

Winter Soldier #8: It's kind of a shame that the Black Widow can't permanently become Bucky's arch-nemesis because of her role in other comics. That would be interesting. Her brainwashed and moving against him. A giant black ops game between a guy who loves a woman, and that woman trying to kill him. Or maybe that wouldn't be great. I think Brubaker could make it work. He's making this work and, on paper, this doesn't sound much better. But, that's why we like Brubaker, right? [***3/4]

X-Treme X-Men #1: I dig alternate reality comics and, yeah, I didn't like this. A messy, convoluted thing that gave me no reason to care about anything that's happening. I don't really know what it's about. Something about the multiverse being broken? Maybe? Somehow? And these random people are going to save it? It's like a less organised Exiles and that comic was nothing but a disappointment time and time again. I gave it a shot. [You only get $2.99 from me once]

Later

Riding the Gravy Train 16 (Avengers vs. X-Men #8, Uncanny X-Men #16, and Avengers Academy #33)

Last week, I praised Kaare Andrws for his depiction of the Thor/Emma Frost fight in AVX: VS #4, because it actually built up Frost as threat. She didn't just beat Thor, she got her ass kicked by Thor as hard as we'd ever seen someone get their ass kicked by Thor and it didn't even slow her down. He shattered her -- literally -- and she rained down death from above with the shards of his diamond body before reassembling herself. If you read something like that, you walk away thinking that anyone who gets in Emma Frost's way right now is going to get crushed.

Although Frost looked equally tough in Avengers Academy #33 this week, the Phoenix Five didn't fare as well in the other two Avengers vs. X-Men comics released this week. Or any of them released prior to this. In the rush to turn the Phoenix Five into figures of 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,' everyone forgot the most basic fucking lesson in telling a story:

SHOW. DON'T TELL.

Up until now, we've been told how powerful the Phoenix Five are. We saw Colossus talk some bad guys out of being bad guys. We've seen them float around and talk in fiery word balloons. We've seen them come up with the brilliant idea to use giant hunks of ice to slowly irrigate dehydrated areas of the planet. But, we've also seen the Scarlet Witch make them cry like babies and the Avengers constantly one step ahead of them. We've been told a lot about how powerful they are and how much better the world is with them in charge. We've seen very little.

This week, we saw Namor ride into a country on a tidal wave, stir up some trouble, and get his ass beat so badly that the Phoenix Force left his shattered, broken body. This week, we saw Sinister take out the entire Phoenix Five with a bunch ideas that seemed like leftover Nextwave jokes.

These guys are meant to be taken seriously why again?

The Namor stuff in Avengers vs. X-Men #8 didn't actually seem much different from a dozen other comics I've read where Namor rides into town on a tidal wave, insults the 'land dwellers,' yells "Imperius Rex!" 49 times, and gets his ass beaten by a bunch of people who were once his friends until his mentally unbalanced mind shifted and he decided that they must die. I swear, every time that Captain America sees Namor and doesn't execute that motherfucker is a time where I have to question how smart he really is. But, the point is, this is supposedly one of the five most powerful beings on the planet and he got beat just like he always does. It may have taken a few more people, but it all happens so fast that none of it sinks in.

Part of the problem is that, up until this point in this story, Namor hasn't looked much different. He fights the Thing and the Thing technically wins, but not in a way where Namor looks weak. Every single time we've seen him so far, he's been a powerhouse that hasn't been taken down. We haven't been shown that the Phoenix Force has made him stronger and more powerful. In Avengers vs. X-Men #8, how much of what he does comes off as genuinely different from what he would do with the Phoenix Force? Maybe that little burst of energy he gives off. Otherwise, it looks like the same Namor as always. So, why should I care?

Over in Uncanny X-Men #16, the Phoenix Five are shown in action together for the first time really and... they get taken down with smug ease by Sinister. Which would be fine if this was simply five members of Cyclops's Extinction Team, but it's not. These are not regular superheroes and it doesn't seem like anyone at Marvel save Kaare Andrews understands that idea.

It's not enough to say that these characters are powerful, to rely upon the idea that the Phoenix Force is powerful -- we need to see it. They need to be built up as big threats before they can be taken down and that simply hasn't happened. Part of it, as I said, is that the X-Men were kept too 'equal' to the Avengers prior to the Phoenix Force arriving. Since the first act was building towards this point, the Avengers should have been more dominant. They should have kicked the shit out of Cyclops, Frost, Namor, Magik, and Colossus in particular. They should have been overwhelmed and made to look pathethic by comparison. And, then, once they had this power, they should have turned the tables in a big visible way -- and, until they're taken down, they should have looked like invincible gods. The Scarlet Witch shouldn't have shown up until issue eight where she arrives and takes down one of the Phoenix Five. That should have been a big, impactful moment.

Instead, it was crazy Namor invading dry land and getting a beatdown. Just like always. Ho hum. Too sad. I don't give a fuck.

Next week: Avengers #28, Wolverine and the X-Men #14, and X-Men: Legacy #270.

EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of July 18, 2012

Daredevil #15: Goddamn, that's some of the old Daredevil stuff, isn't it? Inventive, smart, clever -- Waid's writing is on point and gives Samnee a lot of chances to show off. The best issue of this series in a while. [****1/4]

Journey into Mystery #641: Wow. I've been running cold on this book for a while and this was, like Daredevil, a reminder of why I liked this title so much. The stuff with Leah was heartwrenching and the end of the issue was a kick in the gut. Bring on the Thor crossover! [****]

Untold Tales of the Punisher MAX #2: This was a surprise. Another story that gets the point of the Punisher, keeping mostly as a force of nature that cannot be killed (despite us seeing his death). Latour's voice is a strong and distinct -- this kind of reminds me of Ennis a bit, but not as 'cute' as Ennis can get. Willumsen's art is the perfect match for the writing. Cartoony, messy, broad, and just in your face. Great stuff. [****1/4]

The Unwritten #39: I love the art on the flashback bit in this issue. We also get a more backstory on Bruckner. I like how we still haven't seen Tom this arc yet. Still unsure if this book has the direction it needs -- if the story is there. But, this issue is the best of the arc so far. [***1/2]

Wonder Woman #11: Apollo and Artemis as badass villains who tear through our heroes is a nice move. There's a genuine sense that these two cannot be defeated by Diana, Hermes, and Lennox. Lennox in particular gets the shit kicked out of him. After 10 issues of them... well, not breezing through things, but seeming to have a plan and not looking terribly overmatched, this is a nice curveball. [***3/4]

X-Men #31-32: The first issue of Wood's run on this title had a similar vibe to when Warren Ellis wrote Astonishing X-Men and that doesn't entirely go away. The 'proto-mutants' is a good idea and makes sense -- better, Wood develops it well. Where he differs from Ellis is how much he focuses on the characters. A lot of space is given to Storm having to deal with the members of her team questioning her approach to the situation and it works quite well. I'm digging the art as well. I may have to stick this on my pull list. [***1/2]

Counter X: X-Force -- Rage War: I can't remember if I completely read these issues. I know I read all of the "Counter X" X-Man and Generation X stuff up right until the end, but I liked both of those more than X-Force. X-Force just didn't land for me like the other two had and it shows in this second collection, delivering the final six issues by Ian Edgington and Jorge Lucas (along with the 'Rough Cut' of the first "Counter X" issue of the series). Warren Ellis doesn't even get a 'plot' credit anymore and the titular "Rage War" story is a mess. Filled with twists and convoluted science -- say what you will about Ellis, but that is a man who works his ass off to make complicated things simple and easy to read. Edgington doesn't do that here. The only time that things seem like they're on track is in the two-part finale where X-Force begins taking down every target Pete Wisdom put the team together to take down. Fuck 'innocent' people, fuck 'murder is bad,' just a team of 'terrorists' bringing down every scummy and horrible thing they can. That is interesting. Lucas's art is hit or miss. He shifts between a detailed style and one that's akin to Ladronn at his most 'Kirbyesque.' Some panels are gorgeous, others are ugly and sloppy. Glad to have this, though. All Marvel needs to do is collect the final five issues of X-Man and Generation X now... [**3/4]

Later

A Few Links on Your Saturday Night

1. I did this week's mini-reviews and star ratings exclusively for Comics Should be Good. I guess it becomes a less funny joke when it's an exclusive for another site.

2. The latest ...And the Superhuman Review is up with Brian Cronin and I discussing Before Watchmen: Minutemen #2.

3. Alec Berry and the Guttersnipes have departed Spandexless Reads, mostly because we were thrown out since it's a column meant to spotlight what the Spandexless writers are reading and everyone who participated (save Alec) doesn't write for the site. Of course, Alec asked us all to participate because no one who writes for the site would. Logically, you'd think they would simply go "Hey, do any of you want to contribute more than this?" to work around that little problem in concept and execution, but they didn't. So we're gone. I'll miss doing those capsule reviews of "The Curse of the Crimson Corsair." They amused me. But, I was only there because Alec asked and I like Alec, so I don't mind too much. Still...

Later

Riding the Gravy Train 15 (AVX: VS #4, New Avengers #28, and Wolverine and the X-Men #13)

The AVX: VS card continues with two intergender matches. If only Andy Kaufman were alive to see this. He'd be so proud.

Match #7: Daredevil vs Psylocke

Two Japanese-influenced fighters bring a lot of kicks and blocks to the ring. Lots of jumping and stiff, close working. This is meant to play off the Daredevil/Elektra feud, but doesn't have the same energy or personal stakes. More than that, it casts Psylocke in Elektra rip-off territory when she's a lot more. Daredevil countering her telepathic attack was nice and Psylocke playing possum is another bit of evidence towards the X-Men now being heels. Unfortunately, like so many other bouts on this card, this one goes to a non-finish. The comic labels it a 'draw,' but that's clearly not the case. Both people just walk away, so I'm calling it a double countout. Nothing special, honestly.

Result: Double countout [*1/2]

Match #8: Thor vs. Emma Frost

Now, this is more like it. This is how you tell a story to build up a character. Thor and Frost dance around one another for a while, Frost even displaying a little power before Thor just destroys her with a massive hammer hit. That's followed up by more beating until he shatters her. It looks like he's won until Frost no sells being shattered, rains down diamond shards from a low orbit, reassembles herself, and knocks Thor out. We've been told that the Phoenix Five are powerful and this is showing. This is how you make a new faction look like a legitimate threat: take out a main eventer and look unstoppable in the process. Not a great match, but the first time that the Phoenix Five have looked like the threats they've been built up as. Kaare Andrews gets it, folks, and, also, after a card filled with non-finishes, delivers the second clear, decisive victory. You don't build people with cheap wins and countouts.

Winner: Emma Frost [**]

***

"Do you mutants ever get tired of not thinking for yourself?" is the line of this event.

***

New Avengers finally told a story about Avengers vs. X-Men that didn't involve K'un L'un and expanded upon the perspectives of the Avengers. The tide is turning, folks. After the first half of the event built up the X-Men, slowly transforming them from crazy cultists to misunderstood underdogs, the approach is shifting back towards the Avengers because, well, the X-Men are proving them right. Kind of. The Phoenix Five, so far, have actually only tried to have a positive effect on the world and have only been revealed as cruel and corrupt when confronted with violent Avengers ready to brind them down, hard. That said, with the power they possess, dealing the Avengers shouldn't be a problem. In fact, the Phoenix Five are powerful enough that they could literally confront the Avengers with non-violent, passive resistance. Let the Avengers attack them and don't respond, just keep talking, just let them wear themselves down until they're left either depleted or ready to assume you're not going to become corrupt. Instead, the Phoenix Five imprison the Avengers they capture in virtual reality machines that play over and over again their imprisonment and escape attempts until they're woken up, told that it was all dream, and sent back in.

This is because the Phoenix Five don't want to just win -- or, convince the Avengers -- they want to punish anyone who disagrees. They want to punish the Avengers for the imagined slight of hating mutants. They are using the same tactics that the real mutant haters used. It's a little obvious (the persecuted become the persecuters), but I'm still shocked at how quickly the shift happened. We've had two issues of Avengers vs. X-Men with the Phoenix Five and in only one of them did they have any real appearance of purity/goodness. There's no real fall here, but they wasn't any rise. They practically began from the position of using Limbo as a prison or making their prisoners replay over and over their imprisonment and escape, knowing that it's not real. Emma Frost quite possibly told Spider-Woman that she's going to execute her.

This is some heavyhanded shit right here.

***

The first page of Wolverine and the X-Men #13 is a pretty great Watchmen reference.

***

Despite the X-Men's dominance right now, the entire Avengers vs. X-Men story has been one where all but the top-tier X-Men have looked like absolute jokes compared to the Avengers. The X-Men may have an army, but it's most grunts that can't shoot straight. Hell, do the Phoenix Five really need them anymore?

Next week: Avengers vs. X-Men #8, Uncanny X-Men #16, and Avengers Academy #33.

Riding the Gravy Train 14 (Avengers vs. X-Men #7 and Uncanny X-Men #15)

That didn't take too long, did it?

In my discussion of Avengers vs. X-Men #6, I laid out how things would be for the 'Phoenix Five' as they went from saviours to corrupt in fairly short order and, well, here we are. They speak in terms of mutants/everyone else, have labelled the Avengers a terrorist organisation, and seem ready to execute the Scarlet Witch on sight for crimes against mutants -- she's called the "murderer of the mutant race" by Emma Frost. They have the power and they have an agenda and, combined, those two things mean abrupt, possibly immoral actions, especially given who comprise the Phoenix Five.

1. Emma Frost -- Former villain, noted for her snobbish behaviour and general sense of superiority.

2. Namor -- Ruler of Atlantis, physical embodiment of arrogance, and has a long history of acting without his brain forming a single thought beyond the words "Imperius Rex!"

3. Magik -- Formerly without a soul, not much changed since regaining it, and makes her home in Limbo.

4. Colossus -- Avatar of Cyttorak, a demonic being that demands destruction and whose influence Colussus struggles to contain in every confrontation.

5. Cyclops -- Leader of the X-Men and whose belief in the Phoenix and its seeming choice for host, Hope, is practically religious in fervor.

This is a group that is guaranteed to go too far in pursuit of its agenda. You'd be hard-pressed to find five characters in the Marvel Universe that could make up a balanced and even-tempered substitute for these five, but the selection of the hosts in this case clearly point towards a quick rise and obvious, unavoidable fall. They're already scheming behind one another's backs and presuming that they are superior to anyone who doesn't agree with them, even their fellow Phoenix co-hosts.

Except for Cyclops, their leader.

Reading both Avengers vs. X-Men #7 and Uncanny X-Men #15 this week, it was fairly obvious that Cyclops is different from the other four in that his obvious character flaw to date actually makes him less likely to grow corrupt. Maybe it's the way that Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen specifically are writing the character, but it seems like his faith in the Phoenix and Hope, his dedication to the vision of a better world for both humans and mutants is keeping him calm and centred. While the other four march towards the fall (Colossus not as much, but that's only because he hasn't been shown as much, I think), he's the one pulling them back, championing the righteousness of their cause and pointing out that, with the power they have, they can afford patience and to use persuasion rather than violence when possible. He may want the Avengers captured and taken off the board, but he knows that they're people doing what they think is right. He is on a holy mission and he doesn't hate those that oppose him, he pities them and their lack of faith. He wants to save them!  They are sinners waiting to be saved!

It's a very clever bit of character work given how, up until now, Cyclops's zealotry has made him stand out as the 'worst' of the X-Men. He pushed them into this fight with the Avengers and refused to seek a compromise. That zealotry and faith, when greeted with the knowledge that he was right (for now) has tempered him, given him confidence and placed him in a position where he's comfortable. In his mind, he's won and he doesn't need to fight anymore. When he calls for patience and mercy despite the protests of the others, he seems like the Cyclops of old in many ways.

His shift over the past few years towards a hard-lined zealot, more Magneto's successor than Xavier's, has annoyed a lot of people. They didn't think it was the 'real Cyclops' and that the writers were 'getting it wrong.' But, it's almost like the Phoenix brings out the true, basic nature of these characters. For most of them, that's not necessarily a good thing -- for Cyclops, he's the leader of the mutant race that he was meant to be. Not a paranoid, insecure ruler like Namor thinks he should be, but a confident leader that recognises where he is and knows that being in power doesn't mean crushing everything because you can.

If anything will make the character standing side-by-side with Captain America when this is all over, it's how he's portrayed in these two comics this week.

Next week: AVX: VS #4, New Avengers #28, and Wolverine and the X-Men #13.

EXCLUSIVE! Chad Nevett's Comic Book Mini-Reviews and Star Ratings for the Week of July 4, 2012

Action Comics #11: There's a fragmented approach to Action Comics over the past couple of issues that I like. Superman is pulled in numerous directions: the social-justice-crusader in a t-shirt, the new fireman persona, the fully costumed superhero... he's basically trying to be everything at once. I don't really dig on the art of either Rags Morales or Brad Walker, but I like the idea of different artists presenting these fragments of his life. What I'm concerned with is whether or not this run will add up to anything. It's been fairly all over the place. [***1/2]

Age of Apocalypse #5: Bringing on a new artist (for this issue at least) was a big shift and it made me realise how I didn't recognise almost any characters just by looking at them. That's problematic. As is the languid, directionless feel of this comic. It doesn't feel like it's actually going anywhere. The AoA Quentin Quire is an interesting character/concept raised and dismissed... a shame. [**1/2]

Animal Man #11: Underwhelming issue. This comic was once interesting and scary and something I looked forward to. Now, it's just been doing the same thing for so long that I should just drop it and be done. [Held up, hand opens...]

The Boys #68: When MM and Butcher were in the same room, you knew what was going to happen. It was obvious and Ennis didn't try to hide it. The cut-away for two pages was a brilliant delaying tactic that only made the return worse. One down, eh? And Butcher... the amount of damage he has inside has always been there, but, until now, it was easy to deny. I mean, this is a suicide mission he's on. A man who is genuinely determined to tear the world down -- the supervillain of the book, if you will. Brilliant. [****1/4]

Fury MAX #4: If you thought being in Vietnam would end in disaster, getting involved with Cuba is a lovely raising of the clusterfuck stakes. I love the way Parlov drew faces in this issue. I don't know why I noticed them more this time, but I did. [****]

Haunt #24: Visually, this issue was a bit of a mess. Nathan Fox's style does tend to lean in a direction where you have to try a little harder to understand what you're looking at sometimes, but this issue was a whole new level of that. A big part of that is the colouring, which does a pisspoor job of clarifying Fox's line work, instead making it messier. What could have been a thrilling action issue falls flat in a lot of places. [Damn shame]

Later

Riding the Gravy Train 13 (Wolverine and the X-Men #12 and X-Men: Legacy #269)

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.

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