Justice League #13 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Tony S. Daniel (pencils), Richard Friend & Batt (inks), Tomeu Morey

The Story: I just have to say, Wonder Woman, your “friend” seems pretty catty to me.

The Review: One of the complaints I’ve had about this series from nearly the beginning is the relegation of Wonder Woman to sideman status on a team where she should stand our more prominently as its sole female member.  Johns seemed completely at a loss of what to do with her other than portraying her as someone’s girlfriend, whether Steve Trevor’s ex or Superman’s newest flame.  The chauvinism behind this should be pretty clear to anyone.

Johns may be just as aware of these problems as anyone else, as this month’s issue gives Diana a whole plot of her own outside the relationship stuff.  Not to say that the relationship stuff is dead by a long shot.  Diana continues a pathological concern for Steve’s safety (however pointless, since even without associating with her, he could get bumped off by any one of his innumerable work-related dangers), even while the sexual tension between her and Clark continues to build.

Action Comics #13 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (story), Travel Foreman (art) Brad Anderson (colors)

The Story: Who knew that aliens have ghosts of their own?

The Review: I have my grievances against Morrison as I suspect even his loyalists do.  I’m well aware he can be deliberately obfuscating and bewilderingly abstract.  I have recently heard his writing style described as “improvising,” which certainly feels true, but anyone who listens to jazz or has been to a Second City show knows that even the best improvisers risk falling flat from time to time.  But even then, you can’t deny they’re always striving for originality.

Who else, I ask you, will give you a sci-fi ghost story?  That’s exactly what you get in this issue; despite its trappings of aliens and pseudo-science like “ecto-technology…powered by pure consciousness,” it essentially is a tale of vengeful spirits targeting the living.  Morrison can often make what would otherwise be a rather straightforward story sound better simply by casting it in a different light.  Using Halloween as a backdrop for the hauntings of an imprisoned, alien mad scientist definitely gives off an interesting flavor, no?

Action Comics #0 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (story), Ben Oliver (art), Brian Reber (colors)

The Story: Look out, Metropolis—this hick from the boonies is ready to rule this city.

The Review: Let’s not beat around the bush.  Zero Month, as the posters at my comic book shop call it, is a clear ploy to reignite the attention and enthusiasm DC had upon its initial relaunch.  I’ve already made it clear how annoyed I was at the number of series where their stories felt truncated or artificially altered to fit in a sudden #0 issue.  That said, it’s not a bad idea to offer an opportunity to explore the origins and backgrounds of these characters.

Morrison wisely skips us past the “boy rocketed to Earth from doomed Krypton” stuff.  That bit has become so ubiquitous to Superman that even if people know nothing else about the character, they know that part.  Instead, he takes us to the real juicy point of Clark’s life, his early days in Metropolis.  When this series debuted, Morrison basically tossed a radically new version of the Man of Steel at us and left us to figure the how and why ourselves.  Now we can get a clearer picture of how Clark made his way to T-shirted vigilante, scruffy journalist.

Action Comics #11 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (story), Rags Morales, Rick Bryant, Brad Walker (art), Brad Anderson (colors)

The Story: Superman, at some point, you have to realize that a cat is just a cat.

The Review: Say what you like about Morrison, but he is a man with a plan.  Now, whether his plan results in something worthwhile is a completely different question, but you can always reliably depend on him to deliver a big revelation or moment which had its seeds sown issues earlier.  Not a lot of people can pull that off; indeed, not a lot of people have Morrison’s creative license to pull that off.

He’s certainly earned it.  This is a guy who has such awareness of everything he writes (his “inventory,” as writer Ron Carlson so likes to put it) that he can use a throwaway detail as the basis of an entire storyline, like the hamsters from last issue and their newest owner, Lois’ niece Suzie.  No one could possibly have predicted this cute-as-a-button girl would turn out not only to be precocious, but a member of an entirely new species, “A nutant.  Neo-sapiens—born one hundred thousand years ahead of our time…”

Action Comics #10 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (story), Rags Morales (pencils), Rick Bryant (inks), Brad Anderson (colors)

The Story: Don’t kid yourself—Superman loves all pets, not just cats.

The Review: One of the great hallmarks of Morrison’s writing style, one for which he is both revered and reviled, is his fragmented sense of narrative.  His habit of switching in and out of storylines, juggling various settings and periods, is loose, bordering on erratic.  Because this is Morrison, no matter how disjointed his story is, it all comes together at some point, but it could be a frustrating reading experience along the way.

In this issue, we have almost six, arguably seven, different plot threads going at the same time.  While there are definitely some connections among them, all too frequently you’ll turn a page and run smack-dab into a scene which has no bearing on what you’d been reading.  Complicating the issue even more is for the most part, all the scenes have some kind of interest going for them, so Morrison does himself a disservice by minimizing each of them to make room for the rest.

Action Comics #7 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Rags Morales (penciller), Rick Bryant (inker), Brad Anderson (colorist)

The Story: Ooh—I love your miniatures in a bottle collection.  Wait, is that my house in there?

The Review: I tend to feel Superman has the same problem as the Flash in terms of appeal.  The whole heart of the Man of Steel is he’s one of the finest and purest superheroes you can think of, a blank perfection which makes him respected and admired, yet also inaccessible.  To exacerbate matters, he’s just so darn powerful that he can afford to stick to his guns; if you have the ability to solve any problem without sacrifice, you never have the problem of making tough choices.

In All-Star Superman, Morrison overcame these obstacles by giving our hero big, Herculean challenges which allowed him to actually struggle.  Morrison’s attempting something like that here by taking away a sizable amount of Superman’s strength and knowledge, putting him on a lower footing than his problems.  It’s certainly raised the stakes for him across the board, but for us readers, seeing him wheeze as he jumps hurdles that wouldn’t have even made him blink some months ago has been a rather jarring gear-shift.

That’s why this coming showdown with Brainiac (I’m pretty sure we all saw him coming some time ago, so I won’t even bother calling this a spoiler) is a very welcome event.  Superman’s not only going to have to fight without the benefit of his peak abilities, he’s going up against one of his greatest foes of all time—don’t let that “1.0” designation fool you.  Brainiac, like Luthor, derives his menace from his mind, not his brawn.  Even though Superman spends only a very brief part of this issue physically fending off Brainiac’s various robo-guards, he’s under attack the entire time as Brainiac constantly strives to screw with his mind.  The climax of all this is Brainiac’s attempt to force Superman into one of those sticky choices that plagues so many of his heroic peers from time to time: save the people of his origin or those of his adoption?

Ultimately, while the question may be a nail-biter for the rest of us, it’s a moot point for our hero.  For one thing, Brainiac miscasts the decision as a “nature versus nurture” problem, as if Superman choosing to save either Kandor or Metropolis is a symbol of loyalty.  The issue is Clark knows nothing—or at least, very little—of his pre-Smallville life.  So the real question is whether his desire to learn more about his background is powerful enough for him to betray the life he lives now.  No matter how you slice it, the answer is probably not.  Besides, this is Superman; he would never allow anyone to force him into such a quandary: “I won’t choose between any one life and another!  All of these people are under my protection, you got that?”

Action Comics #4 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Man of Steel, meet Man in Steel.

The Review: I’ve become a bit wary of DC’s backup and co-features over time.  The fact they hang on to a bigger, stronger storyline definitely poses some drawbacks.  Only rarely do they have a charm and intrigue of their own.  More frequently, they either serve as dead weight or lackluster sideshows to the main event.

Sholly Fisch’s “Steel” backup leans more towards the latter.  It doesn’t break out John Henry Irons by any means, nor does it offer much of a realized identity.  Fisch relies too much on obvious beats (“It wasn’t until after my parents died that I finally understood why they chose my name.  They wanted me to grow up to be like John Henry.”) to flesh out John’s narrative, and repeats them to the point of embarrassing predictableness (“I’m a steel-driving man!”).

It’s a problem all these smaller features run into, sooner or later; with such limited space, writers feel the pressure to tell their stories rather than show them.  For all of John’s quirks (including a genuinely odd fixation with scientists who play bongos), he does little more in this issue than take down a second-tier villain so Superman can handle the real enemy at hand.  Besides rather admirable art from Brad Walker, this backup is mostly a forgettable “bonus.”

As for the real meat of this issue, Grant Morrison makes good on the series’ title and delivers plenty of action.  The animated mechas from last issue, dubbing themselves “Terminauts,” don’t go out of their way to harm people as their Kandorian counterparts did, but their very presence creates quite a bit of chaos in Metropolis anyway, and that’s before the city gets shrunken and bottled up by an entity with centipede limbs and a fondness for pairing pink with green.

Heroes for Hire #12 – Review

By: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writer), Brad Walker (artist), Andrew Hennessy (inker), Jay David Ramos (colorist)

The Story: Hero, are you for hire? We’ve got a job.

The Review: Heroes for Hire #12 was a nice little single-issue story. We are thrown into the middle of the action in a moody and effective close-up of Misty summoning her contractors. The darkened evening shots filled with action and the switch from character to character gives a sense of a superhero crime-fighting relay, which was an interesting feeling even if some of the setup seemed choreographed in a way that did not match the dialogue. What I mean by that is that many of the heroes for hire were within seconds of the action, in costume and already on the move when Misty asked if they were interested in a job. Maybe I’m missing some in-joke or tagline that Misty uses all the time.

I enjoyed the art. Except for some proportion and perspective issues with Misty’s face, everything else was good. The action was clear and dynamic, the character and setting draftsmanship detailed and the layouts and colors suitable for the kind of rapid-fire story being told. I particularly liked Walker’s rendition of Namor. The Prince of the Sea was imposing and impressive.

Overall, I enjoyed this issue, but it was a bit like eating a rice crispy square. It tasted good, but had little substance. No characters grew or changed, no deep motivations were demonstrated or even alluded to. This was simple, fluffy action for the sake of action, making the characters look cool, and giving them opportunities to attempt some quips (some of which worked).

Conclusion: This is one of the first issues of HfH that I’ve picked up, so maybe there is more substance to the rest of the series and this issue happens to be a light break between heavy arcs. I love the concept of the team, and the characters are intriguing, so there’s a lot of grist for the mill. I just didn’t see the best of the story potential realized here. Pick it up if you love these characters.

Grade: B-

-DS Arsenault

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Heroes for Hire #1 – Review

By: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Brad Walker (pencils), Andrew Hennessy (inks), Jay David Ramos (colors), Joe Caramanga (letters) & Bill Rosemann (Editor)

The Story: Marvel’s classic “Heroes for Hire” returns.  It’s a great place to see some of Marvel’s lesser-used NYC characters doing happy-mercenary missions.

What’s Good: Although there is a plot twist at the end that mixes things up a bit, the basic story for this issue (and perhaps series too) is that of Misty Knight playing Oracle.  If you’ve read Batman comics in the last 20 years, you should be familiar with the concept of someone sitting in a control room and calling in heroic assets to help as needed.  In some ways, the overall set-up reminded me even more of Warren Ellis’ Global Frequency than Oracle since the heroes are apparently always on call but used sparingly.

What’s fun is that this comic promises a way to see some of Marvel’s lesser-used NYC-based characters.  I’ve always loved Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Luke Cage and the whole Kung-Fu/blaxploitation vibe that those characters captured back in the early 1980’s.  The characters have changed over the years, but I still think “fun” when I see Misty Knight.  Also co-starring in this comic are Falcon, Black Widow, Moon Knight and Elektra.  Although the cover also promises Ghost Rider, Iron Fist & Punisher, they don’t show up in this issue.  These characters are the epitome of Marvel’s B-list.  Sometimes they show up on an Avengers team, but usually don’t get used too much.  Sometimes they have an ongoing series, but it won’t sell well and will get canceled.  After the great job that Abnett and Lanning did with Marvel’s B-list cosmic heroes, I can’t wait to see what they do with these NYC street-level folks.

I tended to really like Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessey’s art.  I don’t have a huge amount of exposure to Walker, but I remember him mostly as the “good” artist who did about half of the Marvel cosmic issues recently, so he has experience interpreting Abnett & Lanning’s scripts.  That experience shows because the storytelling is very solid.  The style is very crisp and realistic with their characters striving to look like real people instead of some cartoonized version of a person.  And they draw full backgrounds in just about every panel and backgrounds really add to my enjoyment of a comic.

The Thanos Imperative #4 – Review

By Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (writers), Miguel Sepulveda (artist), Jay David Ramos and Wil Quintana (color artists)

I have cancer.

Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, to be exact.

It’ll probably kill me at some point, assuming I don’t drink myself into oblivion before then, but I felt compelled to share with you because that is the frame of mind I’ve been in as I read Abnett and Lanning’s latest, and possibly most disturbing, space epic for Marvel. I’ve long been a fan of DnA’s work for this corner of the Marvel Universe, and applaud how they have carved out and defined a territory that has been vastly under-utilized by creators for decades now. These guys have succeeded in forging Marvel’s universe a chaotic, exciting, and utterly terrifying place to tell stories in. With every epic they’ve crafted, they’ve gradually raised the stakes in ways that seem logical yet infinitely more perilous. Now, with The Thanos Imperative these guys are building one of their finest stories to date, one that forces me to consider my own mortality in a way that is deeply disturbing.

At the heart of this tale is the simple, eternal conflict between Life and Death. Specifically, it is the tale of a universe where Death died and Life prevailed. A universe that is now trying to infiltrate our reality in a desperate attempt to find more space to continue growing and living. Where this story excels though is in the way it fucks with our expectations by portraying Life as a vile, cancerous entity and Death as, if not The Good Guy, then certainly a necessary deterrent to the threat of Life unbound. Thematically, it’s a strange concept and not something we’re accustomed to endorsing; our education as readers of fiction has trained us to view Life as being Good and Death as being Evil, but here Abnett and Lanning do what good writers do and play with our expectations, twisting them in ways that make us reconsider what we thought to be true. I don’t know about you, but I like that.

The action in this issue is unparalleled and furious, even if the plot was rather sparse. Sepulveda has a wonderful understanding of these characters and his gritty style is perfectly suited to the large canvas Abnett and Lanning like to work on. I loved the contrast of Nova and his strikeforce leading an incursion into the Cancerverse while Lord Mar-Vell and his Revengers stalked our universe in pursuit of the Avatar of Death. With every issue, this cat and mouse game is becoming more intense and bloodthirsty, the stakes are being continuously raised as each side fights relentlessly to gain the winning advantage, and after this issue I’m at a loss to see where the creative team could possibly go from here with the story.

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.

The Thanos Imperative #1 – Review

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

Canadian comic book reviewers maintain bold opinions, despite Memorial Day in the US! News at 11.

The Story: The forces of the Cancerverse (the universe where Death was defeated and life reigns uninterrupted) spew through the rift, into our universe, ripping through the strongest Kree defenses. At the same time, Thanos, a psycho so dangerous that sometimes Death throws him back, seems to be the key to facing the invasion. And, it only gets worse….

What’s Good: Sepulveda’s art, paired with Ramos’ color work, is awesome. Marvel has lined up a great art team that has delivered the goods. Rocket Raccoon looks positively feral as he stares down Thanos (with a threat to keep him alive!), while the space battle around the extrusion at the Fault is worth poring over for a good few minutes. My reading experience slowed even more to watch Gladiator fight one of the invaders head on. The villains are creepy and disturbing, and the Silver Surfer is distant and regal while staring at the same thing I was: the streamers of power spilling through the Fault like prominences on a star. Brilliant, brilliant work (no pun intended). I could go on about the art, but I don’t want to short-change the writing in the review.

Abnett and Lanning are quickly becoming two of my favorite writers. They have been delivering solid, surprising, cosmic-scale adventures in the Marvel U for years. They juggle tension, humor, death, epic invasions and personal losses in as deft a manner as any of the best writers of comics today. I’m not a huge Inhumans fan, but watching Medusa and her entourage react to the invasion had me fascinated. I loved the character moments between Richard and Robbie (and Namorita). I was riveted by all of the Thanos moments, and how different Guardians managed him, or filled their pants with bricks. The panel devoted to Thanos and Drax deserves a bit of a writing award for the freshness of the scene and the desperate, paradoxical longing that Abentt and Lanning have managed to soak into both characters. And I can’t miss mentioning the nods that Abnett and Lanning always seem to give to past classics, like the last-minute arrival of the Cancerverse Defenders.

Guardians of the Galaxy #15 – Review

By Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (writers), Brad Walker (pencils), Victor Olazaba and Livesay (inks) Jay David Ramos (colorist)

The Story: All hell breaks loose as the Guardians find themselves sandwiched between invading forces of Inhuman and Shi’ar while one of their own teammates holds Crystal the Inhuman captive. The team tears out of the malay and separates into a couple different groups, one of which will not return. The excitement really cranks up as Rocky Raccoon and his crew return from their rescue mission of Illandra to face the Shi’ar attackers as they try to steal Knowhere.

What’s Good: As always this is a series that doesn’t take itself all that to seriously, even the characters are always braking form to do something funny, and there are a lot of funny moments in this book. This levity allows the book to go full barrel at times and pick up some kinetic energy that is truly unique in comics today.

The other great thing about this book in general and this issue in particular is the art. Brad Walker can draw just about anything here and with all these character colliding from all areas of the Marvel U, he has a lot to work with. His detail is brazen and clear; tree-men and talking animals look like they could be sitting right next to you.

The thing I liked most about this issue was that it went deep into the heart of War of the Kings, played a major role there, and then stepped back into its original mythos. The writers handled all of this nicely and all the developments seemed natural. Also, any series that has Adam Warlock in it is good with me, but especially when they have such a great take on this unique character. Although he has been downsized from his god-like past as a near invincible and indestructible being (Vulcan took him to town last issue after all), there is more to like about this incarnation of Warlock. It was interesting to see his viciousness as he took apart (literally) some enemies this issue.

What’s Not So Good: I was expecting to see the Guardians foray into the WOK to be a little longer and I was looking for them to be part of the final throw down. Alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case. My other complaint is that the cast has gotten a little too crowded. I’m not sure how many is too many personalities before the cast starts to weigh down a comic, but I think Guardians of the Galaxy has reached that threshold. There are too many comedic foils, too many cunning and ruthless warriors, and too many altitudes. Especially when taken into account that there is a great secondary cast of characters that live on Knowhere.

Conclusion: All in all this is another solid installment in Guardians of the Galaxy. If you were expecting major revelations here for WOK, then you will be let down, but shame on you for thinking that a tie-in series would be seriously revealing. However, if you are a fan of this series and are excited for the lingering and building plot threads of past installments, than you will be psyched for things to come.

Personally, I am not a regular reader to this series although I am just on the cusp of adding it to my stack. If more elements of the Starlin’esque take on Marvel cosmos like the Death and Chaos and all that, or if the creative team brought in the Eternals, than I would be sold on this title. For some reason, these second stringers don’t call out to me, regardless of how excellent their story is being told.

Grade: B

-Rob G.

Dark Reign: New Nation #1 – Review

Some Thoughts Before The Review: What it all comes down to regarding Dark Reign: New Nation is whether or not you feel comfortable plunking down about four bucks for what amounts to a handful of extended previews — some of which you already may have seen a bit of in last week’s Dark Reign one-shot (Marvel calls them prologues, but let’s be realistic here). I, for one, decided to take the plunge on the assumption that, in the long run, I would probably be saving myself a bit of cash. Since it would be a bit unfair to judge each story in the one-shot as I normally would an entire comic I will instead give a few thoughts about each and then give a grade to the overall package as a whole.

Secret Warriors: Declaration

By Brian Michael Bendis & Jonathan Hickman (Writers), Stefano Caselli (Art), and Daniele Rudoni (Colors)

Of all the books launching during Dark Reign, I believe Secret Warriors has the most potential. Though, to be honest, the creative team actually draws me to the title more than the concept. Jonathan Hickman’s past works have been quite outstanding and the art team of Stefano Caselli and Daniele Rudoni made Avengers: The Initiative one of the most visually impressive books month in and month out. With all that said, the prologue to Secret Warriors definitely leaves something to be desired. While the artwork looks great, there really isn’t a whole lot to chew on. Nick Fury visits a memorial to Captain America and reflects on the ways Cap is one of the inspirations behind the team of “caterpillars.” That’s about it. While I will still be checking out the series when it launches, the prologue doesn’t consist of anything likely to draw in those that aren’t already interested.

Agents of Atlas: The Heist

By Jeff Parker (Writer), Carlo Pagulayan (Pencils), Jason Paz (Inks), and Jana Schirmer (Colors)

Great looking artwork and an intriguing concept are definitely the highlights of the Agents of Atlas prologue. While I’ve never read the Agents mini-series from 2007, I can easily see the appeal of such an offbeat group of characters. The purpose and information gained from the titular heist does a nice job of building (or creating) interest for a series that is probably going to end up being overlooked by many.

War Machine: Crossing the Line

By Greg Pak (Writer), Leonardo Manco (Art), and Jay David Ramos (Colors)

War Machine’s encounter with someone from his past does a nice job of establishing the character’s mindset and his new place in the Marvel universe. While I’m not exactly sure if War Machine is a series I would follow, the impressive visuals and fairly complete story make “Crossing the Line” the most satisfying prologue in the book.

Skrull Kill Krew: Breakfast in America

By Adam Felber (Writer), Paulo Siqueira (Pencils & Inks), Amilton Santos (Inks), and Chris Sotomayor (Colors)

The Krew’s appearance and subsequent path of destruction in Avengers: The Initiative was one of the more memorable things to happen during Secret Invasion. Now the question is whether or not the fun and brutally over-the-top nature that made the Krew so much fun during the event can be successfully carried over into a new mini-series helmed by a brand new creative team after it. If the cow slaughter in “Breakfast in America” is any indication, it can (and quite easily, I might add).

New Avengers: The Reunion: Suspicion

By Jim McCann (Writer), David Lopez (Pencils), Alvardo Lopez (Inks), and Daniele Rudoni (Colors)

I found The Reunion prologue to be the weakest of the bunch but, the again, I’m not part of the target audience. Since I have no emotional investment in either Hawkeye or Mockingbird, I am pretty much indifferent to the whole mini-series. While the artwork looks nice enough and the storyline definitely has some hooks, I am now actually less interested in The Reunion now I was prior to reading the prologue.

Conclusion: Dark Reign: New Nation serves up a nice taste of the new Marvel offerings, but it is far from essential. Just know what you are getting into if you choose to buy it. I found it to be worthwhile, especially considering that it helped establish my level of interest towards a few things. That said, the price point does sting a bit now that I’ve thought about it a bit more.

Grade: B-

-Kyle Posluszny

Avengers: The Initiative #19 – Review

By Dan Slott & Christos N. Gage (Writers), Harvey Talibao & Bong Dazo (Artists), and Jay David Ramos & Chris Sotomayor (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Normally, I would be quite a bit disappointed with the fact that the latest issue of one of my favorites is still tagged with the Secret Invasion banner even after the event has reached a conclusion. However, that’s not the case with Avengers: The Initiative #19. The reason being mostly because of the Skrull Kill Krew and the entertaining battles being fought by the Initiative teams. I actually look forward to a bit more before I finally put Secret Invasion behind me in order to get ready for the series during Dark Reign.

The Story: The various state Initiative teams battle the Skrulls over the fate of Earth. I wish I could go into more detail, but since much of the issue relies on telling the story by checking in on locations all over the country at a rapid-fire pace, it is difficult to really explain much with ruining individual segments. That said, it is rarely confusing and it brings Initiative‘s Invasion arc to a satisfying close.

What’s Good: Dan Slott and Christos Gage once again manage to write some great character moments despite the frantic pace of the story. Each battle taking place is loaded with personality, so much so that it’s almost a shame more time isn’t spent on them. To add on, the artwork does an extremely admirable job keeping up with chaos happening on every page. The issue could have easily turned into one giant mess of action in less capable hands, so I give all the credit in the world to the art team.

What’s Not So Good: Despite how well all the chaos is handled, it is almost a bit too much at times. Good luck trying to keep up with the details regarding all the stuff that goes on. As for the story, I found it to be handled a bit too comically considering how things played out in previous issues.

Conclusion: Avengers: The Initiative works best when the creators are really playing in the Marvel sandbox. The latest issue is a prime example of why that is. Worth checking out, even if you’ve had your fill of Skrulls.

Grade:B

-Kyle Posluszny

Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D #35 – Review

By Christos. N Gage (writer) Sean Chen (artist) Sandu Florea (inker) Jay David Ramos (colourist) VC’s Joe Caramagna (letterer) Adi Granov (cover art)

The story: Part two of War Machine: Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D wraps up Rhodey’s involvement in Secret Invasion and leads us neatly into his upcoming monthly title. After highjacking Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D for the last two months, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed this book. Most of the story takes place in orbit above Russia and deals with a satellite that is still in operation during the Skrull invasion. Whist War Machine attempts to convert the satellite into a weapon the Skrull armada attacks.

What’s good: Whilst I feel that Secret Invasion has outstayed it’s welcome, I really found myself enjoying this particular story. It was nice to see The Winter Guard handled so well after their recently poor portrayal in the Hulk comic book.

What’s not so good: Very little actually, although I feel that Chen’s portrayal of armor could use a little spit and polish. It just does not come off as looking anywhere near metallic enough. However it could be a bit of the colourist’s fault as well.

Conclusion: A very enjoyable issue overall and it bodes well for the upcoming series by Greg Pak. Give it a try, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Grade: B+

-C.Flanigan

Avengers: The Initiative #17 (Secret Invasion) – Review

By Dan Slott and Christos N. Gage (writers), Harvey Tolibao (artist), and Jay David Ramos (color artist)

Let’s start off with what is probably the biggest item from this issue for long-time readers of this series: Mutant Zero. Ever since her first appearance, her true identity– powers, background, everything, has been shrouded in mystery. However within these pages, writers Dan Slott and Christos Gage make it fairly obvious who she truly is, or rather, they make it obvious who they want us to think she is. Of course, this could just be a red herring, but even so, if Mutant Zero isn’t who she appears to be, I’m eager to see how the hints dropped will fit someone else.

But the banner on top of this issue doesn’t read “Mysteries of Mutant Zero,” it reads “Secret Invasion;” and what we get is mostly further advancement of that plot. I still believe that behind the two “Bendis Avengers” titles, A:TI is the most relevant series experiencing a tie-in. In fact, unlike its other Avengers brethren, A:TI isn’t just filling in between arcs, Slott and Gage alone seem to be the only two writers actually utilizing Secret Invasion to move their ongoing story forward. As the Shadow Initiative finally mobilizes to take down the Skrull threat on base, the Kill Krew recruits more members, including one which looks to be a great asset to the team. (Hint: we saw him a few issues ago, and he kicked butt like no other.)

Meanwhile, as the Shadow Initiative takes on the Skrull leadership, we get not only some great humor, but also some great art. Harvey Tolibao is certainly not Stephano Caselli, but I’d take him any day over Steve Uy, the other “fill-in” artist. Tolibao does an even better job in this fight scene than the one he handled a few issues ago. I’m not sure if he had more time to work, or has changed colorists, but this is much more crisp and eye-pleasing. The only real complaint I have is that Trauma looked like a girl. Oh, and so did Physique, but I’m not exactly sure what gender Physique is anyway. Uy is horrible at differentiating genders, and Caselli made Physique like a guy, so now I’m utterly confused.

Anyway, this was all around pretty good development of ongoing plot for those who have been reading. But if you haven’t been reading Avengers: The Initiative, I’d still say this series is definitely worth looking into, but due to the large amount of story being juggled around, this probably is not a good starting point. (Grade: B+)

-M. Staples

Iron Man: Director of SHIELD #33 – Review

By Christos N. Gage (Writer), Sean Chen (Penciler), Sandu Florea (Inker), and Jay David Ramos (Colors)

I confess I haven’t read any comics with War Machine in them since… well, since before James Rhodes was War Machine. I mean, the guy is pretty much by definition a second-rate Iron Man, right? So why waste time and money? Well, this issue has forced me to reassess my opinion of War Machine, and of the previously awful IM:DOS series. We have a new creative team this issue, and while I’m not about to go out and buy everything Gage or Chen do, it’s a refreshing change from the overblown nonsense that’s gone before.

The story starts with the scene we’ve already seen in Avengers: Initiative, an emergency recording of Tony Stark tells Rhodey that all Starktech is off-line and that he can trust no one, which is good because the Skrull Yellowjacket is standing right next to him. Rhodey fights through the Skrull armada and a New Warriors amalgam Super-Skrull to a military satellite Stark has built in secret. (How do you build and launch a satellite without anyone knowing about it? Maybe Stark uses the same contractors who built the Batcave.) There he meets Cybermancer, a former member of Force Works who I also know nothing about, and we get an obligatory “How do I know you’re not a Skrull?” paranoia scene before they decide to team up against the invasion.

Rhodey is written well, carrying his wounds and the burdens Stark has placed on him with quiet dignity. He doesn’t moan about being alone and out-gunned—he seems more comfortable in this situation than he did at the Initiative. The book is mostly action, with just enough dialogue to give it a little depth. It remains to be seen if War Machine can carry the book for more than a few issues, but for now it’s a quick, good read. (Grade: B)

– Andrew C. Murphy

Avengers: The Initiative #15 – Review

By Dan Slott and Christos N. Gage (Writers), Harvey Tolibao (Artist), and Jay David Ramos (Color Artist)

Writers Dan Slott and Christos Gage continue their mastery of virtual no-name characters. In this issue we learn much more about the cast, new and old. In the spotlight we see 3-D Man, War Machine, and Gyrich. While we may not get any closer to solving the mystery of War Machine’s current cyborg-like state, we do finally see Gyrich begin to redeem himself. Meanwhile, 3-D Man must cope with the misleading knowledge he has been fed by Crusader.

Speaking of Crusader, he is definitely the star of this issue. We finally learn his true past from why he was sent to Earth to the reason for his accepting humanity and abandoning his race. (It may not be as complicated as you think.) His Skrull background story also makes this highly recommended for fans of Secret Invasion. His loyalty is quickly tested, as this finally ties in with the ongoing NYC fight in Secret Invasion mini series. When Crusader must finally choose between fighting his own people and those of his adopted culture, he knows either choice must be his permanent decision.

Up until a few issues ago, I had never even heard of Crusader, or many of the other new recruits. Yet in this short time, I have come to care as much about these characters as any of the A-listers in Marvel’s flagship titles. If this doesn’t speak volumes about Slott and Gage’s writing, I don’t know what does. Despite what has actually been revealed, each of these unique characters come across as having a long and storied history. Slott and Gage could easily make some of the less-featured people into two-dimensional stereotypes, yet they give moments for each character to shine and show that no one plays a minor part.

As for Harvey Tolibao’s art, where has he been all this time? True, he is no Stefano Caselli, but I would have rather seen Tolibao fill-in than see Steve Uy’s horrendously plain and unimpressive art. Like Caselli, Tolibao seems to be at ease drawing a large cast of characters, and his NYC fights scenes are full of action, both foreground, and often, background.

Avengers: The Initiative is on my monthly “Top 3 Must-Read” list, and this issue ensures that it maintains its place. Being a back story for a recent character, and a Secret Invasion tie-in, this serves as a great jumping on point for new readers. Anyone looking to start one of Marvel’s best ongoing books should do themselves a favor and jump on ASAP. (Grade: A-)

-M. Staples