Fear Itself #5 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Laura Martin & Milla Molinar (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Thor fights for his life against the Worthified Hulk and Thing, Cap grapples with Sin, and Tony Stark cuts a deal with Odin.

What’s Good:  Do you like big, explosive, set-piece action sequences?  Well, if you’re picking up a big summer event from either of the big two, somewhere deep inside you, the answer should be yes.  Fear Itself #5 is possibly the issue that most delivers on this front thus far.  The fights are big, exciting, and important.  At some level, seeing Thor rumble with Thing and Hulk is the sort of pure fun that superhero comics are made of, or at least have lodged deep in their core.  All the superhero punching leads to an energetic, fast-paced read.

Certainly, this is helped along by Stuart Immonen’s pencils and Laura Martin’s vibrant colors.  Immonen’s art is by its nature dynamic and quick-witted, which lends itself well to an issue like this.  Honestly, I think that Immonen may very well be the best thing about Fear Itself, thus far.  It’s great to seeing an artist of his particular style getting a spot on Marvel’s biggest stage and he’s really capitalized on the opportunity by being remarkably consistent from issue to issue.

There’s also a really cool moment involving the Serpent, what that really garners an “oh no you didn’t!” reaction.  The Serpent may not be the most developed baddie in many respects, but he’s certainly a legit one.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week:  The Punisher #1 – One of my favourite writers, working in one of my favourite genres, in a new comic starring one of my favourite characters, all in the style of one of my favourite comics ever (Gotham Central)?  How could this not be my favourite book of the past week?Greg Rucka offers a really fresh take on the Punisher.  Go in with an open mind and expect to be blown away.

Most Anticipated: Detective Comics #881 – It’s the grand finale to one of my favourite Batman-related runs ever and, in my opinion, a defining moment for the best new writer in mainstream comics.  I can’t wait to see how it ends and it’s clearly something that’s been well-thought out and built up to since the very start of the run.

Other Picks: Fear Itself #5, Amazing Spider-Man #667, New Avengers #15, PunisherMAX #16, Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #3, American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #3, Vertigo Resurrected: Jonny Double

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Severed #1 – This was a close call, but this was a really creepy comic.  We’ve come to know that Scott Snyder likes to bring the creepy and apparently he isn’t being mellowed any by his co-writer, Scott Tuft.  What they do so well in this comic is build a sense of foreboding as we know that bad things are about to happen, but artist Attila Futaki just won’t quite let us see what is going on.  It’s really well done and if you missed this first issue, run out and get it or save a tree any buy it digitally when it comes out (next week probably).  Runner-up: Scalped #51

Most Anticipated: Detective Comics #881 – A pretty easy call even with some other nice comics coming out this week.  This is the finale of the Scott Snyder/Jock/Francesco Francavilla three-way that has given us such excellence since last fall.  Who can wait to see how this story turns out?  And, it has some sentimental value as the final issue of the old Detective numbering before everything goes back to #1 issues in September.  This should be an outstanding end to one of the better Bat-stories in recent memory.

Other Picks: American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #3, The Unwritten #28, Morning Glories #11, Red Wing #2, Amazing Spider-Man #667, Criminal: Last of the Innocent #3, Spider Island: Cloak & Dagger #1