The Thanos Imperative #3 – Review

By: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (writers), Miguel Sepulveda (artist), Jay David Ramos (colorist)

The Story: Thanos and the Guardians of the Galaxy sneak deeper into the Cancerverse with a little help from artificial friends. In the meantime, Nova, Quasar and the heads of various power groups in our universe talk war now that the Galactus Engine is chewing through the allies. Oh, and Drax picks an inopportune moment to remember why he was created.

What’s Good: Things are definitely getting worse for our heroes, which is always a great place to be as a reader. At least one Marvel cosmic entity buys it, and the Galactus Engine seems unstoppable. There’s danger and drama in the story. The reveal of the Cancerverse artificial lifeforms was a great tip of the hat to a lot of the Marvel Universe and fun for continuity fans. There were other nods to deep Marvel history for those who have been reading about Thanos since Jim Starlin turned him from a Blastaar-type of villain into the bad-ass who tried to commit cosmic genocide. I also liked the moments of growth (Nova) and the fast and furious revelations. By the end of the issue, we get a lot more of a grip on what caused all this and what everybody has to do.

Avengers: The Initiative #27 (Dark Reign) – Review

By Christos N. Gage (Writer), Rafa Sandoval (Pencils), Roger Bonet (Inks), and Edgar Delgado (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I enjoyed Rafa Sandoval’s work for Incredible Hercules quite a bit. I look forward to seeing how the artist handles all the characters that appear in The Initiative.

The Story: Chapter 1: Learn the origin story of Johnny Guitar (and his pal Dr. Sax) and about how they got involved with the Initiative program. Chapter 2: The Initiative members try to take back the Negative Zone prison currently controlled by King Blastaar.

What’s Good And What’s Not So Good: As far as the writing by Christos Gage goes, the latest issue of Avengers: The Initiative is a great example of everything that’s right about the series as a whole. Pretty much any character can show up in the spotlight and, more often than not, truly make an impact on some sort of level (emotionally or during an action scene). Case in point: Johnny Guitar. His journey is very well-written and, while a bit heavy-handed, definitely makes you feel for the character whether you had any intention of doing so or not.

If Gage takes center stage during chapter one, then the whole Negative Zone battle is the art team’s show. The fight is chaotic, colorful, and quite fun to look at as far as crazy superhero battles go. Rafa Sandoval, thanks to help from Roger Bonet and Edgar Delgado, manages to put a whole hell of a lot on every page, and it works to great effect. While faces tend to look similar and some of the action is a bit hard to follow, the artwork, as a whole, really gets the job done far better than it has any right to. There’s a LOT going on in the Negative Zone, and Sandoval makes sure that the reader knows it.

Conclusion: Avengers: The Initiative #27 doesn’t amount to a whole lot (it’s basically a character highlight reel followed by a fight scene), but it delivers a whole lot of entertainment. Johnny Guitar’s story and the Negative Zone rumble combine to make the latest issue of The Initiative an example of what happens when a creative team makes the most of the series concept.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

Guardians of the Galaxy #8 – Review

By Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (Writers), Brad Walker (Pencils), Victor Olazaba (Inks), and Wil Quintana (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I knew it was going to happen sooner than later, but I’m still a bit disappointed by the big War of Kings banner on top of the eighth issue of one of my favorites. You see, the Guardians are really the only cosmic characters I have any interest in (though I may check out the new Inhumans series based on the strength of the Secret Invasion story) and I have very little drive to play catch-up with the bigger picture of the space portion of the Marvel universe. Oh, well. I guess I’ll give the Secret Invasion: War of Kings one-shot coming out on Wednesday a read and use that (along with GotG #8) to evaluate whether it will be worth investing in the latest cosmic crossover.

The Story: Star-Lord goes to Hala to evaluate and investigate how the Kree have responded to the Skrull invasion. He ends up trading barbs and fists with Ronan the Accuser, a fight that leads to the predicament seen at the end of the last issue. Meanwhile, the “new” Guardians continue to battle the Badoon and Adam Warlock takes the fight to the Church of Universal Truth with the help of Gamora.

What’s Good: I have to hand it to Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning for really drawing me into the bigger events at play in a corner of the Marvel U. that I am less than familiar with. While I have no investment in (and little knowledge of) the Kree, Blastaar, or the aftermath of either Annihilation event, the efficient, witty dialogue quickly got me up to speed. No small feat considering we’re talking about years of continuity. Also good about Guardians of the Galaxy #8 is the quality artwork and enjoyable characters (but you probably already knew that).

What’s Not So Good: The only thing that took away from my overall enjoyment of the issue (besides some gaps in my knowledge of continuity) is the artwork. While it looks great for the most part, it also looks a bit different from what I am used to. The characters just don’t look as lively or vibrant as they do when drawn by Paul Pelletier and inked by Rick Magyar.

Conclusion: High marks all around for the first GotG tie-in for the War of Kings, especially considering how I initially approached the issue with quite a bit of hesitation. Now, in addition to looking forward to more of the usual Guardians goodness, I find myself more interested in the cosmic War than I had ever thought possible. Not sure if my wallet is particularly happy about that fact…

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny