Mighty Avengers #10 – Review

By Brian Bendis (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Danny Miki, Allen Martinez (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors)

Mighty Avengers #10 is one of those tangent stories that, at first, may seem like a waste of time, but later on might play a bigger role in the overall plot. Don’t get me wrong, this story may very well be filler, but if it is, I want more stories like this. I know I should probably be vexing Brian Bendis for not focusing more on the whole Secret Invasion storyline, but he makes this time travel story so much fun that I just couldn’t resist having fun.

The story here is pretty simple: Dr. Doom, Iron Man, and Sentry need to find a way back to the present before they disturb the timeline. First of all, this means an end to hostilities. And because Doom and Iron Man are more sophisticated they quickly come to a truce. Meanwhile, Sentry runs around New York City like the kid from Home Alone, except he’s a bit more whiney and disoriented. He even runs into the past version of himself! Eventually, he catches up to Doom and Iron Man, and together they conspire to “borrow” the Fantastic Four’s time machine to return home.

What’s so great about this issue is the humor. The dialog between Iron Man and Doctor Doom is a lot of fun. And when we see stuff like our displaced time travelers trying to hide from a  Spider-Man that’s swinging overhead, well, I just couldn’t help but laugh. Then there’s the “moment” with The Thing and The Sentry that’s so hilarious that I actually laughed out loud.

It’s so obvious that the creative team had fun with this throwback to the 1970s. From the faux old school coloring job to the Marvel in-house advertisements on the bottom of each page, the team strives to make you feel like you’re back in the early days of the Marvel Universe. It doesn’t hurt either that Mark Bagley’s style is old school Marvel bullpen influenced, either. Even the opening splash page screams of early Bronze Age goodness. Do yourself a favor and pick up this issue. It’s hands down, the best issue of Mighty Avengers yet.  (Grade: A)

– J. Montes

Criminal Vol.2 #1 – Review

By Ed Brubaker (writer), Sean Phillips (art), Val Staples (color)

This is my favorite Criminal story yet. Ed Brubaker snags you in from page one and doesn’t let go. The beauty of this book is while the story will continue for issues to come, the story presented here is very much self contained. Sean Phillips is in top form on art duty. The facial expressions and body language we renders give so much life to Brubaker’s script while Val Staples does a great coloring job portraying the mood of urban life in the 1970s.

The story follows the lives of two men – one white, one black. Both of their fathers were crime lords, thus in a way, they were raised like brothers. As they’ve grown into men, the white kid (now a man) goes to college and is groomed to take the mantle of his father’s empire. The black kid tries to find his own way, becoming a boxing champ. As the two men go their separate ways, destiny comes in the form of a woman and their lives are once again entangled.

Words can’t begin to describe how enamored I am with this story. It’s honest, hard-hitting, and so well written. Brubaker does such a wonderful job getting you into the heads of both men and their situations. You can’t help but feel sympathy for either of them, despite their faults. When the crap hits the fan (and it does), it’ll leave you gasping for what happens next. Like I said, the story will continue, but with this expanded issue (32 pages), Brubaker is able to keep it all self contained. Don’t wait for the trade to come out. Buy this today. You’ll be happy you did. (Grade: A+)

– J. Montes