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AMAZING
SPIDER-MAN #531
"Mr. Parker Goes to Washington - Part
Three of Three"
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Pencils: Tyler Kirkham
Inks: Sal Regla
Colors: John Starr
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$2.99 U.S. / $4.25 CAN
"The truth that lies"
The problem with this issue is that the
incidents that are being used to support the super-hero registration act don’t quite
fit, as the entire world knows Bruce Banner is the Hulk so using his rampages to support
the proposal doesn’t quite fit. In fact the question people really should be asking
is not whether it’s right or wrong to pass a law that requires costumed heroes to
reveal the identities to the government but rather why would such a bill be effective. I
mean to me the only thing the bill manages to accomplish is to open the heroes up to a
wealth of civil lawsuits and provide super-villains with an ever handy database they can
access to strike at their archenemies. I mean J. Michael Straczynski does seem to be
making a genuine effort to give us a look at the mindset behind this bill, as the response
to Spider-Man, and Tony Stark’s arguments against the bill are allowed to be well
thought out, and don’t seem to be driven by a knee jerk response. However, what this
story is lacking is a concrete example that the pro-registration side can point to where a
hero caused irreparable harm and than managed to evade justice by hiding behind the cloak
of anonymity that their mask provided them. I mean I guess they could point to the simple
fact that super-powered heroes and villains have been tearing up city blocks for as long
as comics have been around, but since the secret identities of most super-villains would
have been exposed the first time they entered the prison system they would have no reason
not to continue their rampaging ways. However if heroes secret identities were registered
they would now have a good reason not to become involved in such a conflict as it would
open them up to potential lawsuits, and even criminal prosecution. Now Spider-Man makes a
good point about a Good Samaritan style law, but the response that followed was rather
hollow. The big twist where we learn Iron Man hired Titanium Man to fight a staged battle
and make statements that would service his side of the argument didn’t quite catch me
off guard as much as I suspect J. Michael Straczynski had been hoping for, as I suspect
something like this when Titanium Man first made his arrival. As for the art I really
don’t have all that much to say about it beyond the fact that it’s perfectly
serviceable, but it’s not really my cup of tea. Still, I did enjoy the rather
unconventional cover image that this issue offered up.
3 out of 5 Stars
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ASTONISHING
X-MEN #14
Writer: Joss Whedon
Art: John Cassaday
Colors: Laura Martin
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$2.99 U.S. / $4.25 CAN
"Know Thyself"
I’ve always found Cyclops to be a be a
dreadfully dull character, so I was a little surprised to find myself getting so involved
in an issue where the character is the centre of attention. I mean Joss Whedon deserves
full marks for managing to provide an interesting look at what makes this character tick
and along the way he almost breaches the fourth wall as there’s almost a fanboy style
conversation where Emma points out that the other teams have leaders who seem to be
tailor-made for the position but Scott is the leader of the X-Men simply because it was
the only seat that didn’t have anyone sitting in it. In fact this entire issue is all
about breaking down why Scott Summer is such a bland character, and the writing manages to
take these seeming flaws and produce one of the more engaging character studies we’ve
ever seen in the pages of an X-Men comic. Now Scott hasn’t suddenly become my new
favourite, but I have a much better understanding of the character now, and this is a very
good first step. The issue also manages to arrive at a pretty engaging final destination
as Emma efforts look to have produced a fairly significant result, though it does beg the
question of if this could’ve been done than why didn’t Xavier take Scott on this
journey much sooner. Than again given Joss Whedon has made it clear Emma has a hidden
agenda, one could also question the reason why she decided to help Scott with his problem.
We also have a couple secondary plots, and while I found the opening scene involving
Kitty’s accidental phasing to be little too cute, I have to confess the follow-up
scene with Logan made me smile. The material involving the covert government agency
S.W.O.R.D. also looks quite promising, and it benefits from one of those ever popular
mystery moments, as we don’t learn which X-Man has been singled out as a destroyer of
worlds. As for the art, John Cassaday does a lovely job on this issue in spite of it being
a talking heads issue with little action. The art also does a very solid job keeping
things easy to follow as the story takes readers on a potentially confusing journey
through Scott’s mind. The sense of looming danger in the final pages of this issue
was also quite impressive.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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FANTASTIC FOUR
#537
"The Hammer Falls - Part Two"
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Pencils: Mike McKone
Inks: Andy Lanning, Cam Smith and Kris
Justice
Colors: Paulk Mounts
Letters: VC’s Rus Wooton
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$2.99 U.S. / $4.25 CAN
"You think you're not worthy, I'd
have to say I agree"
I’m not going to make a big fuss about
the incredibly misleading quality of this issue’s cover, but rather I’m going
openly question the wisdom of eating up two issues to arrive at such an anti-climatic
moment. I mean the big secret that the mystery item which smashed to the ground in
Oklahoma was Thor’s hammer was spoiled by the cover to Fantastic Four #536 which
stepped all over that issue’s cliff-hanger moment. However, this issue builds toward
the big moment where Victor Von Doom finally gets the opportunity to pick up Thor’s
hammer and he discovers he’s not worthy. I mean this is hardly a momentous moment,
and while Victor’s disbelief and the speech he made afterwards were both quite
interesting in the end it did feel like we spent far too much time building toward such an
obvious moment. Now this issue also provides a fairly lengthy explanation for how Doctor
Doom managed to escape from Hell, and J. Michael Straczynski earns points for linking his
story to the final arc of Thor’s solo title. However, given Doctor Doom has made a
career out of escaping all manner of impossible scenarios I found Reed’s reaction to
be a bit much. Still, the flashback material did a nice job of remaining true to Victor
Von Doom’s personality as he stands defiant while a army of demons surrounds him.
There’s also a lovely follow-up moment where we see Victor returns to his kingdom and
quickly deals with an upstart prime minister who had gotten a little too comfortable while
Victor was in Hell. In any event if nothing else this issue does manage to offer up a
classic Thing moment as how can one not love the scene where Ben decides to see if
he’s worthy. Thor fans will also probably enjoy the final couple pages of this issue,
as they seem to make is all too clear that Thor’s return is just around the corner.
As for the art, while the presence of three inkers is cause for concern, Mike McKone
continues to impress with his work on this title, as he brings a style that is full of
detail, and he’s very much the ideal comic book artist as he can deliver the big
visuals readers want to see , such as the one-page shot of the Thing taking on Dr. Doom.
Great looking cover to even if it is a out and out lie.
2.5 out of 5 Stars
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INCREDIBLE HULK
#94
"Planet Hulk - Exile Part III"
Writer: Greg Pak
Pencils: Carlo Pagulayan with Michael Avon
Oeming, Alex Nino and Marshall Rogers
Inks: Jeffrey Huet, Mike Allred and Alex Nino
Colors: Chris Sotomayor with Laura Martin and
Lovern Kindzierski
Letters: VC’s Randy Gentile
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$2.99 U.S. / $4.25 CAN
"Forshadowed man of destiny"
The problem with killing off a member of the
cast so early in a story is that we haven’t had time to form any attachment with the
dearly departed so the impact of their death is negligible. I also have to confess the use
of a precision death bomb as a weapon in the gladiator arena felt a bit like that old
Monty Python skit where John Cleese is teaching a self defence course where the students
attack him with pieces of fruit, while he defends himself using a gun and a 15 ton weight.
I mean if these gladiator contests are supposed be a form of entertainment than dropping a
massive explosive device on the combatants would seem to be a very quick way of ticking
off the audience. Still, one can’t deny the impact of the scene where the Hulk
emerges from the smoke in a very bad mood, and the parroted dialogue of the Death’s
Head guards made me smile. In fact if this issue does anything than it reinforces the idea
that the Hulk is a force of nature. What’s more Greg Pak manages to convince me that
he knows how to up the stakes, as the cliff-hanger moment should leave Hulk fans giddy
with anticipation. The latter half of the issue is largely focused on character building
as the Hulk and his group share a bonding session around a campfire. This has characters
offering up a brief story of what they were doing before they end up in the arena, though
it is worth noting that Miek’s back story didn’t travel back any further than
when he first encountered the Hulk, and one has to wonder if this a sign that he’s a
plant. In any event by the end of this session the Hulk’s group looks to have come to
an agreement to watch each others backs. As for the art, while Carlo Pagulayan provides
the bulk of the issue, and does an amazing job on the big impact shots like an enraged
Hulk emerging from the smoke, or doing a perfect job with the big final page reveal, my
favourite section of the issue would have to be how the guest-artists were employed. I
mean the Brood pages were a wonderful looking sequence, and I absolutely loved the returns
to the Silver Age where Thor battles the Rock Men, and Hulk’s origin is revisited.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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NEW AVENGERS
ANNUAL #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Olivier Coipel
Inks: Drew Geraci, Drew Hennessy, Livesay,
Rick Magyar, Danny Miki, Mark Morales, Mike Perkins and Tim Townsend
Colors: June Chung, Richard Isanove and Jose
Villarrubia
Letters: RS & Comicraft’s Albert
Deschesne
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$3.99 U.S. / $5.75 CAN
"In the dark of the night, By my
side"
While the wedding of Jessica Jones and Luke
Cage is the plot that received the lion’s share of attention from the preview
material that preceded this annual, truth be told the actual wedding is more of a framing
device, while the bulk of the issue is devoted to a battle against one of Brian Michael
Bendis’ favourite punching bags ... (Yelena Belova a.k.a. the Black Widow II). Yes
after being turned into a crispy critter in the opening New Avengers arc, Yelena is back
for a second go round, and this time she suffers an even worse indignity as she literally
explodes into a million gooey pieces like the Monty Python fat man. However before her
seeming demise Yelena manages to engage the New Avengers in a fairly entertaining little
tussle, as A.I.M. uses her to test out a new version of their Super-Adaptoid project. In
any event this battle is one of the strongest battles we’ve received thus far
involving the New Avengers as Brian Michael Bendis manages to give each member of the team
a role to play, and more importantly we also get a couple moments involving teamwork. Now
the method used to defeat her was hardly the most original, but the final defeat does earn
points for at least being memorably disgusting. Brian Michael Bendis also manages to buck
the trend and have the wedding actually play out without a wedding crashing villain
attack, and the surprise guest appearance by Stan Lee was a welcome touch. I also give a
mild thumbs up to Jessica’s final speech, as while it’s a little long-winded, it
does a very nice job of reflecting her personality, plus it made me smile a couple times.
The issue also offers a a very funny exchange between Spider-Man and Iron Man, as they
discuss the rules for fighting a Super-Adaptoid. As for the art, I have to say eight
inkers, and three colourists would seem to suggest this book was racing a deadline, but
the end result is surprisingly uniform, and Olivier Coipel’s work looks great, with
the big impact shots being particularly impressive. Plus, the seeming death of Yelena put
a nice explanation point on the battle. I also enjoyed the flowing quality of the cover,
as it really sells the romantic aspect of the wedding.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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RUNAWAYS #15
"Parental Guidance - Chapter
Two"
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Pencils: Adrian Alphona
Inks: Craig Yeung
Colors: Christina Strain
Letters: Virtual Calligraphy’s Randy
Gentile
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$2.99 U.S. / $4.25 CAN
"Have you seen me, I’m the
future"
While we’ve seen the Runaways make a
pretty strong case for themselves in a handful of battles, this issue manages to offer up
the group’s first real test as they encounter a group that is able to exploit their
weaknesses, and the final moments of this battle make it all too clear that it
doesn’t really take much to fracture the group dynamic of the Runaways. Now the final
page reveal about what the true aim of the Pride’s attack was should be more than
enough to pull the Runaways back together, as I can’t see any member of the group
being self-absorbed enough to place their own problems ahead of Molly’s welfare, but
I imagine Brian K. Vaughan is going to take full advantage of the new-found tensions that
this battle brought to the table. The Runaways are also a rather curious group in that
with the death of Alex they don’t really have a leader figure who can effectively
rally the troops and this puts them at a serious disadvantage when they face the Pride, as
Geoffrey Wilder proves to be a very capable leader, and in spite of this being their first
battle, the rest of the Pride pick apart the Runaways with ease. The issue also features a
couple laugh aloud moments in the scenes leading up to the big battle, from Chase’s
reaction when he discovers Victor sleeps in the buff, to Molly’s delight as the team
speeds toward it’s next battle and gets into a discussion with Nico about Pokémon. I
also have to give Brian K. Vaughan credit for how suddenly the battle turns against the
Runaways as the Pride quickly turn the tables on the team, and leave the group quite
literally at each other’s throats, with Old Lace's attack on Nico being particularly
disturbing. As for the art, first off I have to say I’m not quite sold on these new
covers, as while while they have a bold design sense, and do a pretty effective job of
make one curious about how the image relates to the story inside, they also strike me as a
bit simplistic. However, Adrian Alphona continues to deliver some top notch work inside,
starting with a very effective nightmare sequence to open the book. The big attacks that
play out during the battle with the Pride are also well done.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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THE SENTRY #8
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Pencils: John Romita Jr.
Inks: Mark Morales
Colors: Dean White with Richard Isanove
Letters: VC’s Rus Wooton
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$2.99 U.S. / $4.25 CAN
"Every single one of us the devil
inside"
Paul Jenkins doesn’t really knock it out
of the park with this final issue, as while the connection between the Sentry and the Void
is explained the simple truth of the matter is that I found the entire affair a bit
wanting. I mean I understand the big idea that Paul Jenkins has put forward in this final
issue, and for the most part while it does an effective job of addressing the big
questions surrounding the Sentry, I found myself waiting for the "wow" moment
that never arrived. Now there’s some entertainment value to be had from the big brawl
that eats up a big chunk of this issue as the Sentry gets perform a number of big power
stunts, and his final solution to defeating the Void was suitably impressive. I also have
to give Paul Jenkins credit for his work on the Void’s villainous exchanges as
they’re far more substantial than the garden variety ranting and ravings we normally
receive from comic book villains, and along the way the Void manages to pose a couple very
engaging questions. The definitive Sentry origin that this issue offers up also did a nice
job of forming a bridge between the more innocent Silver Age accident, and the decidedly
sinister updated version. Still, after the promise of the initial miniseries and one-shots
I have to say overall I found this second miniseries never really captured my imagination,
and the lack of a gut punch moment in this final issue made the entire affair feel a
trifle unnecessary. Now there are some interesting ideas skirting around the edges but
overall I found myself disappointed with the end result. Still, the foundation for a very
interesting character has been put in place, and here’s hoping future stories
involving the Sentry will tap into this promise. As for the art the action heavy nature of
this issue provides for a showcase of John Romita Jr. at his best, from a spectacular
cover to a wonderfully brutal battle inside the book where the Sentry is quite literally
tearing the Void apart. The sequence where the Sentry battles the defence system of the
Void’s headquarters also works far better than it should thanks to some lovely impact
visuals.
3 out of 5 Stars
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THING #6
"...There Goes the
Neighborhood!"
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Kieron Dwyer
Colors: Laura Villari
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$2.99 U.S. / $4.25 CAN
"Flowing through the
hourglass"
The news of this book’s cancellation is
a bit disappointing as it is far and away one of the most enjoyable standalone titles
Marvel was putting out, and Dan Slott did an amazing job of capturing the spirit of the
stories that made me a lifelong visitor to the Marvel Universe. I mean this book is the
type of series that appealed to both the long-time readers, and the first times, and while
Dan Slott is clearly a fan of continuity, he’s not a slave to it, and more
importantly one’s enjoyment of the material doesn’t require an
encyclopaedia-like knowledge of the Marvel Universe. Instead this issue offers up a rather
simple, but enjoyable story that has the Thing teaming-up with Spider-Man to stop the
Sandman and the Trapster’s efforts to destroy his old neighbourhood. Now blowing up
three city blocks full of people does seem a little extreme for the Trapster and Sandman,
but it does make for a nice ever present threat for our heroes to deal with, and Dan Slott
manages to inject some humour into the proceeding, from Spider-Man admonishing the
Trapster for the numbers he used to disarm the bomb while revealing his own inner geek, to
a brief but highly welcome visit from Hercules. Now the story doesn’t really take any
dramatic twists or turns, and perhaps readers looking for something different would find
this book a bit unnecessary, but if all the books that Marvel was putting out were as
devoted to telling entertaining stories as this series than I’d be a very happy fan.
As it stands it would appear that not enough fans discovered this hidden treasure, and
here’s hoping strong trade paperback sales sparks a second series similar to
"She-Hulk" and "Runaways". As for the art, Kieron Dwyer turns in a
pretty solid effort, as the big brawl between that Thing and Spider-Man have with the
Trapster and Sandman has a real sense of energy, with the vomit sandblast attack being my
personal favourite moment. The scene where the Thing absorbs the full brunt of the blast
made for a striking visual, and the final page gag shot nicely captured the Yancy Street
Gang idea.
4 out of 5 Stars
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ULTIMATE FANTASTIC
FOUR #29
"President Thor - Conclusion"
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencils: Greg Land and Mitch Breitweiser
Inks: Matt Ryan and Mitch Breitweiser
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Letters: VC’s Randy Gentile
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$2.99 U.S. / $4.25 CAN
"What could I do to make
everything alright"
Mark Millar doesn’t wander too far off
the beaten path with this parallel reality, as the first chapter set up the big dramatic
change, and effectively sold the illusion that the new world was a virtual paradise. The
second chapter set out to pull away the curtain and show readers that it was really a
nightmarish reality, and Mark Millar managed to generate a very real sense of excitement.
Now we hit this final issue where we see an unlikely hero is called upon to save the day,
and needless to say the final solution involves this character travelling back in time to
the period where the timeline was initially altered, and making an active effort to ensure
the accident that created the Fantastic Four is allowed to play out. I mean there’s
an attempt at misdirection as previous issues made it seem like the Super-Skrull was the
person who was working to restore the previous timeline, but we learn in this issue that
things were not what they appeared to be. The issue also manages to provide a fairly
clever if somewhat overly convenient way for our hero to pull off a victory an opponent
who had completely decimated everyone who had tried to stop them previously. Mark Millar
also displays that he knows how to deliver a very effective villain, as the Super-Skrull
offers up a very chilling moment where he lists rapidly declining population of the
planet, until he reaches a devastating final total. Also after he finishes with the time
travel element of the plot, and everything looks to be back in it’s proper place,
Mark Millar provides readers with a fairly effective lead in scene for the following arc
as the zombified Reed makes a rather confident announcement about his impending escape,
and the last page visit with Dr. Doom looks equally promising. As for the art, Greg
Land’s work continues to impress, and his ability to sell the wow element of Mark
Millar’s plots makes him the ideal artist for this title. I mean how can one not love
the visual of Johnny going supernova, or the visceral impact of the page where Ben utters
his classic line as he takes down the Super Skrull. The stretched taffy effect on the
cover was also a lovely visual touch.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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X-FACTOR #6
"The Butterfly Defect"
Writer: Peter David
Art: Dennis Calero
Colors: Jose Villarrubia
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel
Comics
$2.99 U.S. / $4.25 CAN
"Sugar and spice and everything
nice"
Not really sure that this issue tells readers
much about Layla as in spite of being the central focus of pretty much the entire issue,
it’s hard not to notice that almost every piece of information we learn about her
comes from Layla herself, and previous issues have already demonstrated that Layla is not
above using misdirection and half-truths to advance her interests. However, the character
also seems to display a great deal of honesty when she’s questioned about her
abilities, and a very interesting question is brought to the table, as we learn that Layla
knew Siryn might be attacked but she did nothing to prevent it. I mean the explanation for
her abilities is a bit nebulous, and Peter David looks to have provided an escape hatch to
keep Layla’s abilities from becoming too much of a burden, as it has to be
problematic to work with a character who was able to see into the future as any time
X-Factor faced a problem they could simply turn to Layla to chart a course that would
guarantee success. However much like the late Destiny from Mystique’s version of the
Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, we discover Layla is only able to see potential outcomes, and
apparently she’s also able to spot the tipping points where one could push events
toward a desired outcome. The issue also does a rather effective job of playing with the
various personalities that make up the cast, as it makes sense that Rahne would adopt a
protective big sister role, and while I miss the more happy-go-lucky temperament of the
character I can’t deny that Guido’s decidedly surly mood makes him a very
engaging character. There’s also a lovely moment that sells the idea that
mutant-human relations are still strained, as the reaction of the fellow children when
Layla returns was really quite effective. As for the art, while I count myself in the camp
of the readers who aren’t quite sold on Dennis Calero’s version of Rahne’s
wolfed out form, from what I understand he’s taking steps to address this problem, so
I won’t make a fuss. In any event he does a lovely job of the rest of the issue, as
the book has a real sinister vibe about it, as even the sweetness of the final couple
panels have a bit of an edge about them.
4 out of 5 Stars
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