Daredevil #509 – Review

by Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston (writers), Roberto De La Torre (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Dakota and Foggy come under attack and Matt Murdock finds an unlikely ally.

What’s Good: Much like last month, Daredevil spends time with Dakota and Foggy, which does a fine job of distinguishing it from Shadowland while also dodging some of the major problems that miniseries has had thus far in diffusing its attention among an overly varied cast.  I’m always happy to spend time with Dakota and Foggy and they definitely have a grounding effect on the book that is much appreciated.  Even when the “tight-pants brigade,” as Dakota calls them, shows up for the inevitable assist, it’s only the Luke Cage/Iron Fist duo.  Things feel much more contained, controlled, and a bit less impersonal as a result.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the sudden appearance of Daredevil’s new volunteer.  It’s another marker of the dire straights that Matt’s fallen into and I can’t wait to see the dynamic that the character creates in Shadowland, and how she’ll end up operating alongside the other personalities present there; if Diggle plays his cards right, I can see her really complicating things for everyone.  Either way, the character is a welcome presence and this was easily the highlight of the month.

Daredevil #506 – Review

by Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston (writers), Marco Checchetto (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Matt tries to gain Bakuto’s trust, but he doesn’t realize the traitor in his midst.

What’s Good: With every passing issue, Diggle carves out Daredevil as his own, continuing to distinguish his take on the title from those who came before.  This month, that becomes all the more clear.  This is a far cry from the noir tinged brawling in Hell’s Kitchen that we’re used to.  Instead, this is a straight up ninja story in an environment that is essentially a pocket of feudal Japan in the  modern Marvel Universe.

This time, Diggle expands this further by re-introducing Hand magic.  There are exploding bodies a-plenty here.  All told, it’s a good amount of fun, if only because it’s different from what we’ve become used to in Daredevil, setting the book even further apart from the rest of Marvel’s offerings.  Diggle has crammed more or less every variety of ninja related awesomeness he can into this book, while distancing it from the gritty realism of his predecessors’ work on the title.

Hulk #17 – Review

By Jeph Loeb (writer), Ian Churchill (artist)

The Story: Red Hulk gets betrayed by his Code Red team, including Thundra.  Thundra betrays the Code Red team for Red Hulk.  Red Hulk tries to kill Red She-Hulk.  Red Hulk decides to not kill Red She-Hulk.  Red Hulk is blind.  Red Hulk is not blind.  Red Hulk is a bad guy.  Red Hulk is now not so much a bad guy.  Oh, and Red Hulk and Thundra go to a barbershop for a haircut, possibly.

What’s Good: Hmm…  Well….  Let’s see…  What’s good, what’s good…  You know, this issue had a very nice variant cover by Ed Mcguinness that makes this look a lot like an issue of X-Force and I’m a big fan of X-Force.  Although, they only show up for three pages toward the end, so it’s actually pretty misleading.  Still, nice cover…

…Okay, yeah, that’s all I’ve got.

What’s Not So Good: A lot of people criticize Jeph Loeb’s Hulk for being the comic book equivalent of a Jerry Bruckheimer or Michael Bay film: light on the plot, heavy on the action.  While it’s a fairly apt assessment, I actually don’t mind that fact.  I’m a believer that you need to have different types of stories out there to service different types of fans.  Often enough, you even must have different types of stories to service the same fan, who might just be in a different mood than the day before.  There are plenty of times when I just want to turn off the ol’ brain and put a stop to the constant solving of mathematical equations and medical breakthroughs that threaten to overwhelm me.  (Okay, what I really want to put a stop to is my constant cataloging of every superhero who’s ever been an Avenger and my inner debate over whether or not Magneto was Xorn or Xorn was Magneto or whatever.  But I digress.)  A good “popcorn comic” like Hulk is just what I need when I want to decompress.  However, this issue ends up really maxing out the dumb on the dumb fun scale.

Loeb’s script seems to be an exercise in stream of consciousness.  Allegiances switch during the course of story for no other discernible reason except that it’s been three pages and we need a twist.  The logic behind the Punisher and Deadpool betraying the Red Hulk are just lazy, and so is the sudden decision behind Rulk’s letting Red She-Hulk live.  I understand that we need to have her stick around because, well, I don’t really know why we need to have her stick around but she has big boobs and she’s red and a hulk so there are reasons.  However, Loeb just, seemingly, arbitrarily changes Rulk’s mind mid-battle.  It’s a clumsy development and, like much of the issue, seems forced and false.

Clumsy is also a great description of Loeb’s ham-handed meta-reference to the rationale behind the Red Hulk’s choice of Code Red team-members.  Just because the writer points out a glaring hole in his plot does not make the plot hole okay.  It’s almost insulting when he then follows this by trying to explain away said plot hole with the sloppiest possible justification I’ve read in a long time.  Basically, the Punisher, Deadpool and Crimson Dynamo were picked to be on the team because they’re a bunch of Yentas.  I wish I was joking.  Speaking of Yentas, when the heck did Elektra become so talkative?  Has Loeb ever read an issue of Daredevil?  I was left with the impression that he simply needed someone to speak certain dialogue and was left with Elektra.  Then again, maybe she was a Skrull.

There’s not much to say about Ian Churchill’s artwork here.  It’s certainly not bad by any stretch, but it never seems to fit the subject matter.  Where artists like Arthur Adams and Ed Mcguinness have managed to channel Loeb’s bigger-than-life characters and events into mouth-watering visuals, Churchill’s cartoony style comes off at odds with the plot. Red Hulk specifically loses much of the weight that made him appear so imposing in previous issues.  Under Churchill’s pencil, the figure almost looks silly.

Conclusion: Look, I know that no writer, no matter what we might think, ever aims to write a bad story.  I do think that a writer has a sense of responsibility to make his plots make sense and work within its established parameters.  Sadly, Hulk #17 does almost none of these things.  Nice variant cover, though…

Grade: F

-Joe Lopez

Mighty Avengers #16 (Secret Invasion) – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Khoi Pham (Pencils), and Danny Miki (Inks), Dean White (Colors)

Last night my wife asked me why I was buying so many comics lately. She thought it was a reaction to stress from my job. I tried to explain to her about the Skrulls and this plotline that had secretly been in the works for over three years and how cool it was. She looked at me with pity, as if I was a gambling addict who had just told her that blackjack was an important part of my retirement plan.

Anyway, since this issue of Mighty Avengers is another keystone in the Secret Invasion story, it goes without saying that it’s good. In fact, my only real beef is with the art. Pahm and Miki do a fine job for the most part, but the first first two pages of the book are a retelling of the Electro scene from New Avengers #1, the book that launched the whole Secret Invasion, though we didn’t know it at the time. It turns out it was the Skrull Elektra who hired Electro, but it’s a rocky start, since the art can only disappoint in comparison to David Finch’s gorgeous work.

After that, fortunately, we begin to cover new ground. Specifically, how Elektra got replaced by a Skrull. Elektra has never been a particularly subtle character, so there’s not a lot of dialogue, just an extended fight scene, beautifully choreographed by Bendis and Pham. The Skrulls, in their own sick way, respect Elektra. First they send a single soldier, who tries to defeat her honorably in hand to hand combat. But the Skrulls are simply not in her league, so they keep upping the ante, finally resorting to sheer numbers and brute force to subdue her.

In the next scene, Skrull Elektra meets with Skull Spider-Woman, Princess Veranke. As always, Bendis does an impressive job of conveying the Skrull point of view. They passionately believe in the rightness of their cause, and since they are in human form, their passion is expressed in human terms. We’re also given a hint that the death and exposure of the Skrull Elektra was a deliberate part of their plan. How this could help them is unclear, but to the religious extremist mindset, “how” is never as important as “why”, and that’s one of the big questions that has yet to be resolved. “Why do the Skrulls think Earth is rightfully theirs?” “Why are they attacking us this way?”

And, of course, the biggest question of all: “Can Earth survive?” (Grade: A)

– Andrew C. Murphy

A Second Opinion

I’m going to keep this short since I agree with just about everything Andrew had to say. The only thing I disagree with him here is the art. Khoi Pham’s storytelling and fight sequences are just brilliant. I love the unique style he brings to the book, and while I enjoy Dave Finch’s work as much as anyone, I don’t think he could have drawn a better fight sequence than the one we get of Elektra versus her doppleganger and the other Skrulls.

This is a brutal issue – probably the most hard-hitting issue of the entire Secret Invasion saga thus far. Elektra took a lot of abuse in the Mark Millar’s Wolverine run (3 or 4 years ago?) where she eventually disappeared into the Hand organization, but the endless battle she fights here is hopeless and we know it. Eventually, her body breaks down from the abuse of battle and, well, her demise ain’t pretty.

If you buy this book, you’ll blow through it in 5 minutes, but these are high quality minutes you’re paying for. Brian Bendis allows Khoi Pham to do the heavy lifting and the result is a strong, memorable issue. It doesn’t do much to push the Secret Invasion story forward, but it does serve as a nice reveal to the beginnings of New Avengers. (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes