Original Sin #0 – Review

Mark Waid (Writer), Jim Cheung & Paco Medina (Pencilers), Justin Ponser (Colorist).

The Story: Sam Alexander bonds with Uatu the Watcher over their paternal issues.

The Review: Daddy issues, all of my favorite heroes from Jon Snow to Scott Summers have them. I would never have listed Uatu and Sam Alexander as part of that group before reading this fantastic issue that sets up Marvel’s big summer event with a quiet, character driven prelude.

I’m not entirely sure how much of Uatu’s origin that was revealed in this issue was the invention of Mark Waid and how much (if any) had already been established but this story injected a lot of pathos and tragedy into a figure that has always been slightly lacking in depth of characterization. Much like with his stellar work on Daredevil, Waid shows a fantastic knack for taking the established framework of a character’s history, personality and powers and putting a unique spin on it. Throughout this issue Waid concretely explores the background of Uatu and his race, explains why the Watcher’s watch, the reasons behind their vow of non-interference as well as the why of Uatu’s seemingly constant struggle to uphold said vow.

Another unexpected treat within these pages was the inclusion of Nova, I’ve been following the Nova book with varying degrees of interest as it’s gone on but assumed that his inclusion in this #0 issue was just part of Marvel’s attempt to promote the character. While that may be true to an extent, his inclusion in this issue feels organic and vital as seeing the Watcher through a relatively fresh set of eyes allows the reader to view him in a different light.

Infinity #6 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Jim Cheung, Dustin Weaver, Mark Morales, Guillermo Ortego, Dave Meikis, John Livesay (Artists), Justin Ponsor, Ive Svorcina (Colorists)

The Story: The fight against Thanos and the Black Order reach its crux as close to every players gets to weigh in on the ongoing action.

The Review: Well, this is it. Many events in Marvel’s history had a rather great premise, yet always failed to deliver on their ending, rushing things along to prepare for the next big status quo or to simply lead to the next big thing. However, with Infinity being rather different in many aspects when compared to the likes of Siege, Secret Invasion and Avengers vs. X-Men, does it actually delivers on the good with every players being in the grand finale against Thanos and his Black Order?

Surprisingly, Infinity goes for the unexpected as it manages to both create new possibilities for stories along with a new status quo, but it also conclude very well on some of its themes. Bringing a sense of evolution and change to some of its key players, the event does fulfill some of the promises that every events bring forth to readers. It doesn’t accomplish this without any sacrifice to some elements of the story, but it is still rather impressive nonetheless.

One of the biggest draw of this issue would be the action, with a good chunk of this book dedicated to the fight against Thanos and his lieutenants in the Cull Obsidian. These scenes, despite them not featuring most of the Avengers, are quite striking as members like Thor, Hyperion, Captain Marvel and other heavy hitters are along for the rather brutal, yet diverse enough slugfest. Other parts of the action are also divided amongst the Illuminati and the group fighting in space, but the main feature is the battle against the Mad Titan.

Ultimate Comics Ultimates #20 – Review

By: Sam Humphries (Writer), Scot Eaton (Artist), Rick Magyar w/Andrew Hennessey & Dave Meikis (Inkers), Matt Milla w/Andy Troy (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

The Review: If Jeph Loeb hadn’t irrevocably depleted my levels of Ultimate-based rage with the debacle that was Ultimates 3/Ultimatum, I’m pretty sure I’d be tearing this comic to bits with my teeth right now. As it stands, I’ve grown used to the Ultimates occasionally being neglected by Marvel’s quality control department like it was a red-headed stepchild and, as such, Sam Humphries’ run has elicited little more than a ‘meh’ from me most months. This month however, something in me snapped; we Ultimate fans deserve better than this.

Okay, so let’s start with possibly the biggest problem: the art. Since the wonderful Esad Ribic hit the ‘Eject’ button, departing Ultimate Comics Ultimates alongside Jonathan Hickman, the title has largely taken on an uneasy Boy’s Own look which felt totally at odds with the mature themes it was seeking to explore. It’s been difficult to take the Civil War-vibe and political posturing seriously with everything looking so bright, puffy and rounded, and that sense of disparity lingers here like a bad smell. For me, this is one of those Marvel titles which requires its art style to have one foot firmly rooted in the grimy, gritty ‘real’ to be truly effective. Bryan Hitch, Carlos Pacheco, Leinil Yu – who I feel have produced some of most definitive treatments of the Ultimates – all had a knack of conveying that sense of widescreen action that is so key to Mark Millar’s original blueprint. Scott Eaton’s work, much like Luke Ross’ before it, just feels too squeaky clean and fails to imbue enough drama into the scenes of volatile Hydra rebellion which lie at the heart of Humphries’ story.

As for Humphries, he’s certainly trying his best to make things interesting. There’s a double-agent plot, Hydra member melodrama, a shadowy organisation bent on unleashing a team of anti-Ultimates and Thor and Susan Storm investigating the secrets and whereabouts of the Infinity Gems/Gauntlet. That’s a hell of a lot of ground to cover in 20 pages and inevitably some of the spinning plates were destined to take a tumble. Frustratingly, what I found the most interesting element of all was the Thor and Susan Storm vignette, but with space at such a premium 2 pages is all Humphries could afford that story this month – the same is true of the “shadowy organisation” bit.

Avengers The Children’s Crusade #6 – Review

By: Allan Heinberg (writer), Jim Cheung (pencils), Mark Morales, John Livesay & Dave Meikis (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Cory Petit (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: Now that the Young Avengers have found the Scarlet Witch, what do you think will happen?

What’s Good: How sneaky good and (possibly) momentous was this issue?  The cynical comic reader will look at this issue with a jaded eye and think that the events that seem to be taking place in this issue can’t be real.  Surely, if this was going to happen, Marvel would have had a press release hyping the issue or structured an event around the concept.  One could argue that this maxi-series is kind of an “event”, but it comes sans all the hype and tie-in miniseries that bloat most events in today’s comics.

Clearly, I’m being incredibly vague about this story because an event this cool that was completely unspoiled in this day of the internet, doesn’t deserve to be spoiled by a mere review.  And, it may not even hold up.  We might get to issue #7 in a few months and have everything reversed, but until then, this sort of spontaneous surprise in a comic reminded me of reading comics when I was a kid.

Aside from the big event that takes place, it is just a really nice comic that features the Young Avengers (who are just fun as hell), the Avengers and a bunch of stuff from the Avengers going all the way back to Disassembled.  No Avengers fan could fail to enjoy this comic.

X-Men: Legacy #211 – Review

Mike Carey (Writer), Scot Eaton (Present Day Penciler), Jon Dell, Andrew Hennessy, Dave Meikis (Present Day Inkers), Frank D’Armata (Present Day Colorist), Brandon Peterson (Flashback Art), and John Rauch (Flashback Colors)

As some of you readers may know by now, I have been really enjoying the X-Men: Legacy storyline and, in a lot of ways, consider it to be one of the strongest books to spin out of the Divided We Stand lineup. The story of Professor Xavier’s shattered mind has been an excellent combination of strong writing, storytelling, and artwork. This retooled series continues to impress (while confusing a bit) as it kicks off it’s second arc.

This issue follows a structure similar to the previous issues with jumps between the present, the Mindscape, and the past. Xavier tries to piece together bits and pieces of his past, sometimes using other methods in the process. Also, we find Xavier is being hunted by some group, which creates an intriguing dynamic for future issues to work with. Sebastian Shaw gets some time in the spotlight as we learn a bit more about the mysterious machine that started a reaction in the previous issue. One thing that’s been consistent with this series is how well Mike Carey has paced it. The story never lingers – it’s always on the move and I find that to be very satisfying.

As has been the case since Xavier took front and center in this X-Men book, Carey does a great job moving things along while still keeping the reader in the dark about the various forces working against or around Xavier. While I do wish we were given a little more information regarding some characters that show up, as well as some what’s being referenced in flashback and Mindscape sequences (Wikipedia came in handy), I find myself drawn into this story regardless of the information gaps. The whole book has an almost noir-like feel to it and Carey makes the reader want to piece together the puzzle as bad as Xavier does.

The story is greatly complimented by the artwork, which absolutely nails the tone of Xavier’s desperate search for information. The various Mindscape sequences are sufficiently surreal, thanks to a mix of the bizarre and the mysterious moods conveyed by the coloring and art teams. The shadowy, moody artwork of the present day sequences create a feeling that serves to remind the reader that this is a tale far removed from the usual superhero fair. Both teams deserve praise for the work here, as this is a visually impressive book.

This is a worthy book all around and I definitely look forward to what Carey has up his sleeve for future installments. While I wish some things were explained a little better, I never once felt completely lost, which says a lot about the way the story is presented. I have a feeling someone with a deep knowledge of Xavier’s history will find even more to like with this story than I did. Check this series out if you are looking for a different type of X-Men story. (Grade: B)

– Kyle Posluszny