She-Hulk #4 – Review

By: Charles Soule (story), Javier Pulido (art), Muntsa Vicente (colors)

The Story: So is there a union for superhero-lawyers, or no?

The Review: I was fine with She-Hulk committing itself to be a legal drama/comedy for as long as it chose, but I also expected it to commit itself equally to the superheroics once the time for legal ball-busting came to an end. Soule seemed to be setting up the title for just that kind of confrontation when Doom made a direct attack on American soil—in a federal courthouse, no less—to pluck his son from Jenn’s grasp. A She-Hulk v. Doom battle seemed inevitable.

And this issue gives it to us—but… Well, it’s just not the big blowout we’ve been waiting for. Instead, it winds up being yet another sequence of Jenn destroying robots, which is about the only costumed action we’ve had since this series began. Doom doesn’t even go out to deal with her personally; he simply sends out a bigger robot as his proxy, and even that comes to nothing. Apparently, Jenn takes the trouble of sneaking into Latveria in order to settle the case, not fight it out.

New Avengers #6 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Steve Epting, Rick Magyar (Artists), Frank D’Armata (Colorist)

The Story: Another Earth is set to collide on the main Marvel Earth, appearing above Latveria. The Illuminati, in the domain of Doom, needs to act against this new type of intrusion to their universe.

The Review: If there’s one thing that Jonathan Hickman knows how to do, it’s building up a conflict or a situation in a way that can makes us readers feel invested. The stakes are getting higher, the many elements are explained to us in ways that feel expensive and full of potentials, it’s great. However, as much as building can be great, it is another matter entirely to properly capitalize on what was constructed.

Dark Avengers #177 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (story), Kev Walker & Declan Shalvey (art), Frank Martin Jr. & Antonia Fabela (colors)

The Story: Doctor Doom learns that when you want something done right…

The Review: If you hang out with me long enough, you’ll learn that I am a horrible creature of habit.  Once I get used to a certain routine, it takes a near miracle for me to break out of it, even when I really want to change.  On that note, I completely missed seeing this title on the stands last week because, I can only suppose, that the subconscious part of my brain that recognizes comics for pick up still had Thunderbolts inscribed on it.

(As further evidence of my habit-forming ways, I’ll add that this week I bought an issue of Supergirl even though I Dropped the series last month.  For what it’s worth: repetitive, doesn’t play into its potential, forced romantic overtones, and okay art.  Snap judgment grade: C.)

X-Men #16 – Review

By: Victor Gischler (writer), Jorge Molina (artist), Guru EFX (colors), Jordan D. White (assistant editor), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor)

The Story: A very old flame sends a distress signal to Cyclops and Magneto. It is delivered by FF, who are now sporting their new Dr. Doom look.

What Good: I was a fan of the art. Although I am usually allergic to the Rob Liefeld-esque posturing of heroes (see Cyclops, Wolverine and Thing at various moments), they looked good. Cyclops was an imposing leader and everyone looked heroic. The action sequences had a bit of an anime feel to them with the sort of frozen still-shot with bits of motion blurred beyond recognition. The fastball special was a good example, and it worked. On draftsmanship, I had no complaints. The figures, background and tech were clean and detailed, and the faces, while often expressionless (except for Franklin), were attractive. I really enjoyed the sequence in the submarine, and the double splash page with the staples was awesome in opening up a panoramic scope.

Fantastic Four #571 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Dale Eaglesham (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Clayton Cowles (letters)

The Story: Reed must see both the good and the band, before making the decision of whether or not to join the High Council.

What’s Good: As one of the many Reeds says in one of the strongest conversations of the book, “pretend there is no horizon.”

I think that that line really sums up why this is such an excellent comic book.  It’s insane, it’s ridiculous, and it’s thoroughly impossible, and in so being, it ends up being just what a comic should be.  As I saw dozens of Reeds wandering about, reshaping the universe on a massive scale, battling multiple Silver Surfers, and terraforming planets, I was struck with the enormity and grandiosity of it all.  This book manages to ignore realistic boundaries in ways only a superhero comic can, and it makes the impossible possible in a manner that is pure fun.  Is it taut, intelligent, political intrigue?  No.  But this is the sort of comic that makes you feel like a kid again.

It’s also clear that Hickman has a very solid grip on the characters.  Reed’s internal strife is well depicted and his conversation with Sue is tender; one understands her argument, but Reed is so lovable that it’s impossible for the reader not to forgive him just as Sue does.  Meanwhile, a breakfast conversation between Franklin and Johnny is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face as only the FF can.

I also enjoyed seeing the dark side of the High Council, a side that is coldly logical yet incredibly inhumane and unpleasant.  Yet, I appreciated that Hickman doesn’t use this to go the obvious route of making them evil.

That said, returning to the idea of enormity and impossibility, nowhere is this better displayed than in the issue’s ending, which was pure awesome.  It’s great, great cliffhanger that will have you dying for more. This comic is truly all about achieving the extraordinary and operating on a limitless scale.

Meanwhile, Eaglesham has a better outing this month.  His technology looks great, but more than anything, the entire comic has a warm, comforting, and accessible feel to it.  The book feels both awe-inspiring and inviting, friendly even.   Considering some of the massive things Eaglesham’s drawing here, that’s quite a feat.  He also does great work on the facial expressions, being spot-on with his depictions of even the subtlest emotion.

What’s Not So Good: This isn’t really a Fantastic Four book, nor is this looking to be a Fantastic Four arc.  This issue is basically entirely about Reed Richards and his dopplegangers.  The Fantastic Four have one admittedly fun conversation at the breakfast table, but that’s all we see of the team.  Hell, while it was good, that whole scene wasn’t even entirely necessary save to remind us of their presence.

I complained about this last time as well, but Eaglesham also has the annoying superhero artist tendency of making every male character look like a jacked up power-lifter.  Seeing an army of Reeds all looking like linebackers is quite annoying and Johnny looks almost silly, hulking over the breakfast table.

Conclusion: Pure fun and what a comic should be, I’m completely thrilled to be reading the FF again.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

Mighty Avengers #11 – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils) Danny Miki & Allen Martinez (inks), Marko Djurdjevic (art), Justin Ponsor (colors)

Mighty Avengers #11 brings the current story arc to a satisfying, yet rushed ending. Buying himself some time, Doctor Doom travels back into the past to coax Morgana into teaching him the ways of summoning a demon army. With knowledge in hand, he ditches her and rushes back to the present to confront the Avengers. With little effort, the team is captured by Doom.

With their capture out of the way, the hilarity begins. Brian Bendis floods the pages with silly thought balloons, long diabolical monologues, and humorous exchanges of one-liners. Eventually, Spider-Woman manages to overload Doom’s magical bonds and frees the team. Ares, who’s already one pissed off demi-god, begins his thrashing of all things Doom. The rest of the team joins in the battle while Ms. Marvel goes off to find Iron Man and Sentry. With the battle drawing more even by the moment, The Sentry tips the scales and does something quite shocking to bring the battle to its conclusion.

The issue is good. It’s entertaining. But it’s not great. In fact, most of it is forgettable. It’s got gobs of action and nice bits of dialogue, but it’s also more of the same stuff we’ve seen in the previous two issues. Only the conclusion and epilogue really stand out as memorable. Even Mark Bagley’s art feels more rushed than usual. And if this is his last penciled Marvel comic (for now), then it’s even more of a let down. I will say this, though: The second to last page serves as a hint of what we’ll be seeing when the Skrulls finally unveil their plans next issue. (Grade: B-)

– J. Montes

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

Mighty Avengers #9 – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Danny Miki, Allen Martinez & Victor Olazaba (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Marko Djurdjevic (art)

Wow, where do I start? I guess it’s safe to say that this series is finally getting back on track after months and months of delays. The story picks up exactly where the last issue ended. alien symbiotes invaded New York and after a large battle the Avegers were able to repel them. Tracing the attack’s origin to Latveria, the whole Avengers fleet heads over there to give a smack down on Doctor Doom, who along with his scientists are completely unaware of what happened in New York. But that doesn’t stop the Avengers from starting a full scale war. In a glorious series of consecutive double page splashes (beautifully done by Mark Bagley), the Avengers completely decimate Doom’s army. Seriously, the scale of what we see here rivals the stuff Bryan Hitch did in Ultimates #2. It’s that chaotic!

Iron Man confronts Doom head on and in their struggle Doom resorts to arcane magic to bust through Tony’s shields. Luckily, the Sentry’s around for back up. What happens next is just completely weird, but let’s just say this issue had me laughing at the end! Tony Stark gets in more trouble than any superhero I know. I wonder how he’s going to get himself out of this one.

Brian Bendis is going all weird and random on this book. I’m not sure what its voice or direction is, but the constant odd-ball surprises are quite funny. There are some outstanding questions that need answers, however. If Doom didn’t order the attack on New York, who did? And where is Doom’s army of Atlantians (read last year’s Sub-Mariner if you don’t understand what I’m talking about). Mark Bagley?  Wow! This guy blows the doors wide open when he gets to the battle. If this is his last Marvel comic book, he definitely went out in style. (Grade: B-)

– J. Montes

Fantastic Four #553 – Review

By: Dwayne McDuffie  (Writer), Paul Pelletier (Pencils),  Rick Magyar (Inks), Wil Quintana (Colors)

Dwayne McDuffie will never be known as crafting the best Fantastic Four stories of all time, but that’s not a slight against him. The Fantastic Four has wallowed in mediocrity for decades now. However, McDuffie has made the book fun and this has actually been enough for me to buy this book on a monthly basis; the last time I bought a FF book is when Jim Lee drew it for his Heroes Reborn stint. Michael Turner’s cover is atrocious, so please don’t let that detract you. He obviously has trouble drawing feet and middle-aged women.

A Dr. Doom from the future has come back to the past to prevent Reed Richards from enacting an idea called #101. What it is, we don’t know, but it’s got Doom’s panties in such a bunch that Reed decides to hear him out. When a Fantastic Four from the future arrives on the scene to detail Doom, things get hairy. McDuffie’s run on the book ends with this issue, and he caps his run with a standard, but fun story.

Issue #553 seems to have all the classic elements that make a good Fantastic Four story. You’ve got the wacky science fiction elements in the form of time travel. You have Reed Richards talking in a lot of techno-babble. You have Doctor Doom, the group’s arch-nemesis trying to mess things up. And you’ve got a family arguing amongst itself. Perhaps the only missing element is The Thing proclaiming that it’s “Clobberin’ Time!” I’ll miss McDuffie and Paul Pelletier’s work here, but I’m very eager to see what Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch have in store for us. (Grade: B-)

– J.Montes