Wayward #1 – Review

By: Jim Zub (Writer), Steve Cummings (Artist), John Rauch and Jim Zub (Color Artists), Marshall Dillon (Letterer), Zack Davisson (Back Matter)

The Story: Rori Lane gets Spirited Away…

The Review: I wasn’t sure if I was ready to follow a new title, but the cover art was nice and the premise was a familiar but favorite set-up. And I’m really glad I did. This was a great comic, presented with true craft and care.

The story is pretty basic in its broad strokes– a young woman moves to Japan and finds a secret, supernatural reality to its urban mundaneness. So what can the creators do to explore this common trope? Simply by staying so earnestly true to the characters and to the world-building. The main character, Rori, displays appropriate emotions (loss, frustration, confusion, wonder) without resorting to melodrama. She’s coming to Japan for the first time, to help readers who are also new to this world, but she’s not so fish-out-of-water as to be helpless or cliché. This could easily be taken as a slice-of-life or travelogue story, except of course for the strange powers she discovers and the creatures she encounters.

What really shines here is the depiction of Tokyo. Having lived in Tokyo for five years, I have mixed feelings when I see it show up in entertainment. Too often it resorts to grand generalizations if not downright stereotype, and even after living there for five years I find it difficult to understand some otaku’s passion for the romanticized vision they have of it. Instead, the writer and artists here show us a completely realistic depiction, free from cliché and overwrought examples. Rori, for example, alights from the subway in Ikebukuro and is still just as overwhelmed with the experience as she would be if she emerged into Shibuya– the go-to example that *everyone* uses to announce to the reader/viewer “this is Japan.” We see Rori experiencing underground malls, escalator-less stairwells, crowded alleyways, and cramped apartments.

Every panel is lovingly detailed. Corrugated rooftops, set tables in the restaurant, public transport with individuals and background action, even the locks on the doors of the apartment– are all what you will find in Japan. You can even read the vending machines labels and almost every sign in the background.

This simple day-to-day living is presented with great care and highlights the appearance of the supernatural. Its a nice example of “magical realism” with just a suggestion of an unseen reality, whose worlds we want to see explored in coming issues.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #11 – Review

By: Elliott Kalan & Tom Peyer (writers); Steve Lieber, Carmen Carnero, Terry Pallot, & Nuno Plati (artists); Chris Sotomayor & John Rauch (colors)

The Story: The first step is acknowledging that you have a problem…and that the problem is not Spiderman…

The Review: The Superior Foes of Spider-Man has carved out a fun little niche for itself, examining the hopes and aspirations of a very different class of supervillain, those just looking for the next big score or an ounce of respect. It’s a fascinating corner of the superhero genre that few books have really examined.

While Boomerang has served as our focal point, last issue gave us a look at the other four members of the Sinister Six. Now, with our roster ‘exhausted’, we turn to an even lower tier of crook, the recovering villains that Mach VII introduced Boomerang to way back when. The issue is split into two stories, the first about the Grizzly and the second about the Looter.
The Grizzly story is a pretty funny tale. The former wrestler is down on his luck, reduced to luring drunks into ambushes, but rather than simply mug them he takes just what he needs and splits a pizza with them. It’s a cute concept and one that brings a couple of resonant moments to the issue.

The strongest element of “A Grizzly Situation” is the way that all the parts work together. There are a couple distinct ideas at play in Grizzly’s character but, in the end, it all comes back to nostalgia and self-loathing. It makes sense why Maxwell ended up in a twelve step program.

Detective Comics #27 – Review

by John Layman, Scott Snyder, Paul Dini, Brad Meltzer, Gregg Hurwitz, Peter J. Tomasi, Jason Fabok, Neal Adams, Dustin Nguyen, Guillem March, Bryan Hitch, and Sean Murphy

The Bat-Man, a mysterious and adventurous figure, fighting for righteousness and apprehending the wrong doer, in his lone battle against the evil forces of society…

Giant anniversary issues like this are always interesting to dissect. What’s the best use of all those pages? Will it connect to current storylines, or should it serve as a celebration of the character’s history? This behemoth issue tries to have its cake and eat it too, but that’s only a problem if it fails. So the question is: did it?

Let’s start at the very beginning, as I hear that that’s a very good place to start. The issue opens with a story from Brad Meltzer and Brian Hitch that goes by the highly appropriate title, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.” This iteration of “Chemical Syndicate” is a clever retelling of the 1939 original. Though it has been updated, it is a remarkably faithful adaptation. The major difference is the addition of Batman’s later character traits and a running commentary from the Dark Knight, himself, which would not have been possible in the original story without spoiling the surprise ending.

Though Meltzer displays an impressively economic writing style, cramming a lot into a short fifteen pages without overcluttering his story, the real meat of this story is in the narration. Basic Batman caption boxes do a fine job of showing up a mysterious and yet inexperienced version of the Caped Crusader. Meanwhile, a series of journal entries posit a number of answers to the question “why does Batman do it?” The answers are a master class in Batman, neither overglorifying the vigilante, nor digging too deep into his neuroses to appear heroic. Particularly over the last few days, I’ve been growing tired of a Batman too damaged to inspire us to anything healthy. Perhaps I’m biased by my recent musings, but I think this story navigated these dangerous waters very well.

Rocketeer Adventures II #1 – Quick Review

By: Marc Guggenheim, Peter David & Stan Sakai (story), Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Sakai & Arthur Adams (art), Jeromy Cox, Dave Stewart & John Rauch (colors) and Scott Dunbier (editor)

The Story: Another anthology of Rocketeer stories from top-shelf creative talent.

Review: If you enjoyed Rockteer Adventures last time around, IDW is back with another helping of Dave Stevens-inspired goodness.  For those who don’t know, Dave Stevens created the Rocketeer character back in the 1980’s and even got a movie made of the character in the early 1990’s (which isn’t a half-bad movie, btw).  Stevens tragically died of cancer in 2008 at the age of 53.  Truly he was taken too soon, but one wrinkle when comic creators die is: What happens to their creator-owned material?  We all know what happens to Marvel/DC characters when Jack Kirby or Joe Simon die, but it is different with creator-owned characters.  Does anyone even have the right to legally publish the character?  Will creators see it as (a) continuing the passion of a dearly departed colleague or (b) treading on the grave?

Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates #6 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (writer), Brandon Peterson and Esad Ribis (artists), John Rauch and Edgar Delgado (colors)

The Story: The Ultimates take a collective breath and say, “Oh, f#@&!”

The Review: Goodness, I really love the concept of the Ultimates. I really think it’s fascinating to watch these imperfect men and women try to live up to the impossible ideals they define themselves by; it’s equally fascinating to watch the world react to these super-people in such a realistic manner. Obviously, this was not the interpretation in Jeph Loeb era, but I choose to ignore that run. Besides, Jonathan Hickman has really returned this book to its philosophical roots, and I’m delighted.

This issue opens on a conversation between Nick Fury and the retired Steve Rogers, discussing all the disasters that have taken place in the last five issues. The outlook is grim. Someone has set off a nuclear bomb just off the coast of Uganda; Southeast Asia has been taken over by mutant supremacists; and Reed Richards has conquered 200 square miles of Europe, destroyed Asgard, and now commands forces that far surpass those of SHIELD and the entire US Military combined. In the face of this, Fury asks Rogers to return as Captain America. But here’s the interesting thing: he’s not asking Captain America the super-soldier, because—let’s face it—there’s not a hell of a lot even Captain America could do about this. Instead, Fury is asking for the help of Captain America the political symbol, to reassure the public and to support Fury’s plans. The conversation displays a great understanding of who these characters are, and what values drive them.

The conflict of realism versus idealism is the driving force of this issue. From Stark facing the superrich he suspects of nuking Uganda, to the Braddocks coping with Captain Britain’s catatonic state, to even Falcon confronting his former colleague Reed Richards, the characters are forced to reconcile the way they would like the world to be, and the way the world is. It’s a powerful theme, and well explored. However, because Hickman is taking his time to explore these themes, it also means this is the second issue in a row with everyone just sitting and talking about what has happened. I’m fine with that, given the enormity of what has passed, but characters need to start being active again soon.

Amazing Spider-Man #665 – Review

By: Dan Slott (writer), Ryan Stegman (pencils), Michael Babinski (inks), John Rauch (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), Ellie Pyle (assistant editor), Stephen Wacker (senior editor)

Aunt May back-up by: Slott (writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli (artist), Marte Gracia (colors), Caramagna (letters), Pyle & Wacker (editors)

The Story: Peter is again put into a position where he has to choose between fighting crime and being there for his family.

What’s Good: This issue really captures everything that is tragic about Peter Parker.  We (the readers) all know what a big hero he is, but to his friends and family he’s always the guy who wasn’t there when they needed him.  You know the type of scene: Peter is hanging with some friends when Doc Ock attacks the Coffee Bean and Peter slips away to change into costume and battle Doc Ock, Harry is left to bravely shield the girls with his body.  And then afterwards, after Ock has been captured, you see Peter’s girlfriend with a thought balloon, “Where was Peter?  Did he run away in fear?  Is he a coward? I wish he could be a brave man like Harry!!!  Come to think of it, Harry is kinda cute and sexy!”  Peter’s family and friends don’t know what a hero he is and they get very angry when he isn’t there for them.

With that aside, you can probably tell what basic kind of issue this is going to be.  The good thing is that Slott and Stegman really nail it.  Even though the basic plot is pretty classic Spidey, this issue could have really fallen on its face.  It all comes down to execution.  Does the writer come up with an interesting twist on this conflict between Spidey’s sense of responsibility and his desire for justice?  Does the artist visually show us the story in a way that is interesting and does the artist really sell the emotional beats?  The answer to both is “yes” and that’s a testament to the creative talent on this issue because if either Slott or Stegman did slightly sub-par work, you could read this issue and think, “Ugh….  Do we have to read this story again?”

Venom #4 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Tony Moore (pencils), Danny Miki (inks), John Rauch (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: It’s Venom vs. Spider-Man in the race to save Betty Brant.

What’s Good: Hurray, Tony Moore is back.  Tom Fowler is a solid enough artist, but there really isn’t any replacing Moore’s likable, characterful, and slightly goofy style.  His work is naturally fun and both his characters and action scenes look solid.  That said, a lot of credit is due to the inking and coloring of Danny Miki and John Rauch, respectively.  Together, they’ve really helped give Venom it’s distinctive look, one that’s feels dirty, smudged, and sci-fi pulpy.

As far as Remender’s writing goes this month, his strongest work is done with Flash’s narration.  It’s intense and really close to the action and it’s rather nice to see how the action actually has a direct effect on the narration and Flash’s stream of thought.  It’s a nice change from the usual detachment that narration usually has.  More than ever, Remender also does an awesome job using the narration to show the symbiote’s effect on Flash’s psyche.  It’s most effective when Flash himself doesn’t realize small things like his referring to himself as “we.”

What’s especially cool this month is how Remender is giving the symbiote itself an increasing amount of its own sentience.  Flash essentially has a running conversation with the symbiote, who responds primarily with wordless emotion that he intuitively senses.  More creepily fun still is how the symbiote subtly does things, unbeknownst to Flash, such as how it deals with the failsafe device.  Remender is slowly building the relationship between the two and the symbiote’s attachment to Thompson.

Venom #3 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Tom Fowler (artist), John Rauch (colorist), and Joe Caramagna (letterer)

The Story: Trying to stick it out to halt the shipment of Antarctic vibranium, Flash starts losing control of the symbiote.

The Review:  I had a really strong sense of foreboding when I saw that Tony Moore didn’t draw this book.  He was such an integral part of the book and, while I know the man isn’t the fastest artist, seeing him gone after two issues is really disheartening.

That said, Marvel could do a lot worse than Tom Fowler, that’s for sure.  Fowler tries his best to stay consistent with the style Moore had established for the book and, by and large, he succeeds.  The tone and look that have worked so well are pretty much intact.  This is thanks in no small part to colorist John Rauch staying on, as he continues on with his smudged, Euro pulpy style.  Fowler also does a great job in showing the symbiote’s gradual gain of control, as Flash’s suit grows increasingly inhuman, spiky, and weird looking.

Unfortunately, Fowler seems to struggle with the high-octane fight scenes.  There are several panels here where it’s a real struggle to figure out what exactly is going on.  At some points, it looks like a chaotic mess of black stuff.  It took away quite a bit from the comic overall, given how much action there was this much.

Which is a damned shame, because while it’s not quite the masterpiece of last month, Remender turns in solid work here.  I really liked his reveal of Jack O’ Lantern’s boss, which is another semi-obscure, old school, cheesy villain.  Between this guy and Jack O’ Lantern, I love the goofy, retro rogues’ gallery Remender is fashioning here.

Amazing Spider-Man #662 – Review

Main story by: Christos Gage (writer), Reilly Brown (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), John Rauch (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), Ellie Pyle (assistant editor) & Stephen Wacker (editor)

Infested Part 3 by: Dan Slott (writer), Emma Rios (art), Rodriguez (inks), Edgar Delgado (colors) & Caramagna (letters)

Magnetic Man back up by: Frank Tieri (writer), Javier Rodriguez (art), Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Spider-Man and the Avengers Academy kids team up to against the Psycho Man.  Will Spidey be asked to substitute teach ever again?

What’s Good: Well, it is fun and fast paced.  I’ll say that for this issue.  It was a lot of enjoyable watching Spidey team up with the Avengers Academy kids because Spidey is kinda the king of team-ups and the kids are fun (and everyone should be reading their series)!

It’s going to sound like I’m banging on this issue when we get to the next section and I really don’t mean for it to sound that way because there is nothing that is “bad” about this issue.  There are fun little Spider-Man snappy banter moments and all the kids get to do their thing.  Reilly Brown’s art is perfectly fine too.  Not “great” art, but it is perfectly fine.

Amazing Spider-Man #661 – Review

By: Christos Gage (writer), Reilly Brown (art), Victor Olazaba (inks), John Rauch (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), Ellie Pyle (assistant editor) & Stephen Wacker (editor)

The Story: Spider-Man guest lectures at the Avengers Academy.

What’s Good: You know how sometimes Spider-Man, despite being well established as a very powerful superhero, member of the Avengers, etc. turns into a bumbling dumb ass?  Well, I like to think that is his Peter Parker showing through the uniform and this is what’s on full display in this issue.  So, if you like a Spidey that only has things marginally in control, you’ll enjoy this issue.
Christos Gage guest writes this issue and takes the chance to smear Spidey together with Gage’s outstanding Avenger’s Academy series by having Spidey agree to be a guest lecturer (remembering that Peter Parker used to be a bona fide teacher) at the Academy.  Spidey has always kinda been about team-ups and anything that helps expose people to Avenger’s Academy is good because that series is tragically overlooked.  The makings of the scene where Spidey gets invited to teach are pretty funny as Spidey is originally insulted that Hank asks The Thing to guest lecture, so Spidey has to whip out the fact that he has a bona fide teacher’s license and used to teach for a living.  That’s pretty classic Spidey: The man has an Avenger’s card in his wallet, but still has the whole inferiority complex going to the extent that he has to pseudo-tout his teacher’s license.  LOL!
Of course, once he is in class, things don’t go well and hilarity and danger ensue as Spidey takes the kids out on patrol.  Gage does a great job of introducing us to all the Academy kids; as expected since they’re his creations.
Reilly Brown does a nice job with the linework.  The storytelling is always spot-on and the characters are well drawn.

X-23 #8 – Review

By: Marjorie Liu (writer), Ryan Stegman (pencils), Michael Babinski (inks), John Rauch (colors), Cory Petit (letters), Jody Leheup (assistant editor) & Jeanine Schaefer (editor)

The Story: X-23 goes to Madripoor to talk to Daken, who she thinks has some clues about a “new” restart to the Weapon X program.

Importance of art in comics: What a difference really stellar art makes!  I’ve been following X-23 from the beginning and haven’t loved it.  In out internet world where everything has to be an extreme statement of some sort, not “loving something” often is taken to mean that something “sucks”, but that isn’t the case at all.  X-23 has been “okay”.  But, when you have a pull list that never gets below 60 titles and sometimes inches into the 80s, you’re always looking for titles you can drop to try out that sexy-looking new creator-owned title or all those Fear Itself tie-ins.  But, when you put a really stellar artist like Stegman on the title, I suddenly care about the entire X-23 story more than I did before and I might keep getting it after he moves of just to see if I still like it.

What’s Good: When you feel the need to have a separate aside in the review about the art, obviously the art is good.  Stegman’s storytelling is impeccable and that is something that gets overlooked when reviewing comics.  His degree of difficulty is pretty high on a story like this with much of the action being cat-and-mouse stuff going on in the darkness of Madripoor.  It is very easy for those scenes to get away from an artist and have it suddenly be unclear which characters are in a panel or what they are doing.  Stegman even ratchets up the degree of difficulty by doing lots of really tight shots in these panels.  It’s also nice to see Stegman handing material that is a little darker.  Most of his earlier Marvel work had a light-hearted tone to it (Sif, She-Hulks, etc.), so it’s neat to see that he can do something gritty too.  And, of course, it goes without saying that Stegman draws very pretty women (great eyes).  I’m sure we all can tell what kind of scribbles were in his notebooks in high school!

The story is pretty fun too.  It makes a lot of sense that X-23 and Daken would come into conflict as X is continuing her struggle against forces trying to restart the Weapon X program (more on that below) and thinks that Daken knows something about it.  At times, both are in the midst of full-blown identify crises due to their clone/son relationships with Wolverine and are both trying to escape his shadow and become their own person.  Daken is kinda like X’s slightly evil and much older step-brother.  It’ll be fun to watch these two interact as the story unfolds.

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants – X-Men vs. Vampires #1 – Review

From Husk til Dawn by: James Asmus (writer), Tom Raney (art) & John Rauch (colors)

I’m Gonna Stake You, Sucka by: Christopher Sequieira (writer) & Sana Takeda (art)

Rue Blood by: Peter David (writer), Mick Bertilorenzi (art) & Lee Loughridge (colors)

Survivors by: Rob Williams (writer), Doug Braithwaite (art) & June Chung (colors)

Letters by: Dave Sharpe

The Story: A series of short stories showing various X-Men coming into conflict with vampires.

What’s Good: Anthologies can be a lot of fun.  They give the reader a chance to see short stories centering on characters that are rarely front-and-center in the main X-books (Husk, Dazzler) or give us a chance to explore story ideas that (for whatever reason) were not selected to be the central theme of the main Curse of the Mutants story line.  Anthologies are also a great opportunity to see new writing and art talent playing with characters you love OR a chance to see a big name (Peter David) spend a short amount of time in a different part of the comics world.

This anthology features four short tales.  Two focus on misadventures of Husk and Dazzler and were quite enjoyable because they are both useful characters in their own way.  The Husk story was almost interesting enough that I wouldn’t mind seeing a writer try to use her a little more.

The last two stories in this anthology focus more on the eternal nature of a vampire.  Are they alive?  Do they yearn for the same things that they wanted in life?  Do they still recognize old friends?  If you are remotely interested in the overall vampire mythos, you’ll enjoy these two stories.

And what a variety of art you are exposed to in this book: Everything from Doug Braithwaite’s very realistic style, to Sana Takeda’s fuzzy realism to Mick Bertilorenzi’s more cartoony characters.  All of the art is solid in this issue.

Siege (Hardcover)-Review

Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Pencils by Oliver Coipel, Michael Lark, Jim Chueng, with art by Lucio Parillo, and colors by Laura Martin, John Rauch, Matt Holligsworth, and inks by Mark Morales and Stefano Gaudiano.

If you haven’t read this yet, there may be spoilers, but if you’ve been reading Marvel, all of this is known already.

Siege may go down in comic history as Marvel’s last big event before everything became an event. At only four issues, it’s hard to imagine that this series is supposed to conclude ten years of Avengers stories, but it does conclude a good three or four, at least from Civil War on. Not only that, but it unites the solo stories of Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man in a way that actually makes a lot of sense. Siege wouldn’t have worked without all three of them, and on a story level, they needed each other to finally defeat Norman Osborn and put down the Sentry.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Siege is the final battle of Osborne’s Dark Reign. Loki manipulates him into attacking Asgard, which forces Steve Rogers, Iron Man, and Thor to work together for the first time in years. It’s an event designed to do one thing: show why these three Avengers are so important to the superhero community. You can throw anyone you want onto an Avenger team, but when Cap (any Cap, it seems), Iron Man, and Thor are united as one? Well, shit gets done. If this event did anything, it rekindled the magic of superheroes. Civil War, Secret Invasion, and Dark Reign was such a, well, dark time for Marvel that seeing these three heroes come together was an amazing effect. People might not like Bendis, but he’s crafted the tone of the Marvel Universe perfectly over the years to make “the big three” coming together really mean something.

And while we’re on it, let’s talk about Bendis. Most people hate to admit it, but he is one of the best superhero writers out right now. He knows how to craft a story—but that doesn’t mean he always knows how to tell it. Avengers Disassembled was a good concept but poorly executed. House of M was an improvement, but the last couple of issues faltered too much. Secret Invasion was close to being really great, but it was too long and that last issue fell really flat even if the outcome was cool. So how does he do with Siege? Near perfectly, actually. It’s always the end issue that has fans going “okay, now Bendis is going to drop the ball.” But he doesn’t. Every issue is actually really well told, with important things happening. Maybe it’s the shortness of the series that did this—Bendis didn’t have time to drop the ball. That’s not to say Siege is perfect, but out of all of his events, Siege is the best written.

So, why isn’t it perfect? Well, there are a few things missing that might mean four issues were too short. It was a big event, but it could have been bigger. One issue of pure battle (like issue 7 of Secret Invasion) would have served it well. Also, and I know I might be chastised for saying this, the X-Men needed to be involved. Before you decide to hate me, hear me out. The semi-big event before Siege that Marvel made such a big deal about was Utopia, which pitted the Dark Avengers against the X-Men and finished with Cyclops starting his own island nation for mutant. Marvel kept saying and are still saying that the X-Men would be much more integrated with the rest of the Marvel Universe. So, when Captain America is leading the Avengers to Asgard, where are the X-Men? We get one panel of Wolverine and Cyclops watching the news, but I highly doubt that if they saw Cap leading the charge and they were in need of help—say, when the Hood’s army of super villains arrives—he would have stayed home. The Avengers may have appeared in Second Coming (not doing too much), but if Marvel really wanted to unite their universe, Siege was the place to do it. Cap, Iron Man, and Thor could have still saved the day; I’m not saying the X-Men should have done that, but they should have had much more of a presence considering that Osborne is trying to do to the Asgardians what he has already done to the mutants—drive them out.

Iron Man Legacy #5 – Review

By: Fred van Lente (writer), Steve Kurth (pencils), Allen Martinez (inks), John Rauch & Chris Chuckry (colors) & Dave Lanphear (letters)

The Story: The Big Bad behind the strife in Transia is revealed.  Surprise… It’s Doom.

What’s Good: This issue ends in the initial story arc on Iron Man Legacy and ends it on a positive note.  I have not been a tremendous fan of this series thus far and was concerned about this issue because endings to story arcs are hard: It is a lot easier to plop a lot of cool ideas onto a comic page at the beginning of a story than to do something interesting with them.

So, I was pleasantly surprised at the direction van Lente went with the issue of Tony Stark’s legacy.  Too often we have see his legacy illustrated by out of control Stark-tech falling into the hands of bad people.  Here we see that one of his other legacies is to inspire the inventors of the world to use their talents to create a better world for their peoples.  Thus, I was very happy to see them bring back the Dragana (the handicapped lady engineer from past issues) as a hero with a cool new armor suit that she hopes can become an inspiration to her people.  Actually, the suit is a little more like a mech that she sits inside, but you get the point.

Iron Man Legacy #4 – Review

By: Fred van Lente (writer), Steve Kurth (pencils), Allen Martinez (inks), John Rauch (colors) & Dave Lanphear (letters)

The Story: We finally get some Iron Man action in Iron Man Legacy as Stark has a throw down with a plethora of enemies.

What’s Good: Not a whole lot, to be honest.  It was refreshing to finally see the actual Iron Man be present in a comic titled Iron Man Legacy as we get to see a multi-way throw-down between Iron Man, Radioactive Man, Titanium Man and the Crimson Dynamo (thank goodness he isn’t named Crimson Man who that would have been a tedious sentence).  I enjoyed seeing a stranded Tony Stark get resupplied with armor by an orbital platform.

We also have the promise of better things to come with Dr. Doom getting in on the action with some Stark-tech juiced Doombots.

The art in this issue was quite improved mostly because the subject matter (armor battles) seems to play more to the strengths of Kurth’s pencils.  I’ve mentioned before that I think this more photo-realistic style in both Legacy and Invincible Iron Man work better on the armor than they do on the characters actual faces, so it is nice to see a story that is starting to play to the strengths of the artist.

Iron Man Legacy #3 – Review

By: Fred van Lente (writer), Steve Kurth (pencils), Allen Martinez (inks), John Rauch (colors) & Dave Lamphear (letters)

The Story: Tony Stark’s adventures in Eastern Europe continue as he tries to escape from the bad guys who are applying intense selective pressure to the locals to try to create a new Tony Stark.  Plus, Doom gets involved.

What’s good: I thought for a second that we were going to get to see Tony Stark hitting on a lady with no legs.  No wait… It happened in a really uncomfortable way, so it goes on the “bad” list!

The next best things that I can come up with “good” in this issue are that it has Doom in it along with Dreadknight and his winged horse.  But, other than that… This is pretty much a suckfest.

Iron Man Legacy #2 – Review

By: Fred van Lente (writer), Steve Kurth (pencils), Allen Martinez & Victor Olazaba (inks), John Rauch (colors) & Dave Lanphear (letters)

The Story: Tony Stark’s one-man war against the villains with stolen Iron Man technology in Transia continues.

What’s Good: I was a little hard on the initial issue of Iron Man Legacy,

but this issue feels a lot more grounded and put together.  One thing that bothered me about issue #1 was that although it was pretty clear that it wasn’t exactly in continuity with the rest of the Marvel Universe, it wasn’t clear when the action took place.  That is kind of answered here.  This story is taking place sometime before Tony Stark made it publicly known that he was the Iron Man.  That at least clears things up a little.

This is also very clearly a “new reader” comic.  The target for this comic is folks who loved Iron Man 2 and wanted to try reading an Iron Man comic.  The story is very unburdened by continuity (witness that I can’t figure out when this really happens).  As much as I love my continuity, it is a serious impediment for new readers and I’m glad to see Marvel trying to make this an easy title to jump onto.

The art has also calmed down a little bit.  I felt like in #1 there was almost an attempt to make the art look like Salvador Larroca’s work on Invincible Iron Man.  While this issue is still generally photo-realistic, it has its own look.  I particularly like the inking job on this issue.

Deadpool Team-Up #894

By Ivan Brandon (writer), Sanford Greene (art), Nathan Massengill, John Rauch (colors) and Jeff Eckleberry (letters)

The Story: Our favorite Mouthy Merc is hired to kill famous vigilante Frank Castle— the Punisher— in order to avenge the death of an innocent man killed in Punisher’s crossfire. Deadpool gets far, far more than he bargained for when he follows Punisher’s trail down into the sewer and discovers that his prey is already dead, but still moving about. And worse yet, it has friends…

What’s Good: What can we say about our poor, overused Deadpool? He can be written, drawn and utilized in any number of ways, and that leaves him wide open for abuse and mischaracterization. Fortunately, things don’t go so badly for him here. Although none of his lines or antics are particularly good, they aren’t awful by any stretch, and will almost certainly give you a chuckle or two. Sadly, when it comes to these Deadpool spinoffs, that seems to be about the best one can hope for.

The story itself is actually one of the most creative ones that this series has seen so far. The problems Deadpool has to solve are interesting, and the trouble he gets himself into is (at least mildly) unexpected. Greene does a great job bringing this madcap story to life, and his take on Frankencastle’s monster posse are the highlight of the book. It’s a lot of fun just to look at the different designs and poses he has for them. His more human-centric art doesn’t fare quite as well— Deadpool’s proportions, especially his head, seem rather off and inconsistent, and the panels are often over-cluttered. Still, it gets the job done and tells the story effectively enough.

Iron Man Legacy #1 – Review

By: Fred Van Lente (writer), Steve Kurth (pencils), Allen Martinez & Victor Olazaba (inkers), John Rauch (colors) and Dave Nphear (letters)

The Story: Iron Man gets a second on-going series where the bad-guy is using (no surprise) stolen Iron Man technology against civilians.

What’s Good: Not a whole lot to be honest.  The best part of this issue is on the final page where the villain is revealed.  I won’t spoil who it is, but I was really disappointed in this issue until turning the page and saying, “Ok….that might be interesting.”

I also think that Fred Van Lente is a good writer, so I have some faith that this series will get its issues sorted out.

What’s Not So Good: Perhaps we can start with the questionable need for another Iron Man ongoing series?  I would have rather taken more frequent issues of Invincible Iron Man (a la Amazing Spider-Man).  I’m sure this series is mostly motivated by the movie coming out and the desire to have a comic that new readers can follow along with.

Another problem I had was that it wasn’t clear when the events of this issue took place.  It sure didn’t feel like it was in current continuity: Tony Stark is happily running his business and there is no mention of SHIELD, Norman Osborn or erasing his mind.  If you try to date it by what armor we see, we see an automated suit of armor that looks kinda like the Extremis armor (but it could be that he’s got an old model on guard-dog duty).

The story wasn’t really doing it for me either.  This series is going to obviously get compared to Invincible Iron Man, so I’m a little confused that they would have the bad guys using rogue Iron Man tech to attack civilians (which is how IIM started off 2 years ago).

New Mutants/X-Force/X-Men Legacy: Necrosha One-Shot – Review

Necrosha: Chapter 1 by Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (Writers) and Clayton Crain (Art)

Necrosha: Binary by Zeb Wells (Writer), Ibraim Roberson (Art), and John Rauch (Colors)

Necrosha: The Foretelling by Mike Carey (Writer), Laurence Campbell (Art), and Matt Milla (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Since the first chapter of Necrosha takes up the bulk of the one-shot, I will use the regular review format for it. The two smaller chapters that lead into the stories that connect X-Force to New Mutants and X-Men: Legacy will get capsule reviews. Also, as a side note, be sure to read the one-shot after reading X-Force #20 (which I’ll be reviewing by the end of the release week), but before reading New Mutants #6. While it’s not entirely necessary to read X-Force #20, a few scenes simply won’t make much sense unless you do.

“Necrosha: Chapter One”

The Story: Selene builds up her army using an altered version of the techno-organic virus that Bastion has been using and makes her first move against those that have stopped her in the past.

What’s Good: New Mutants/X-Force/X-Men Legacy: Necrosha is, in many ways, a typical Marvel “hey it’s crossover time!” one-shot. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, as Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost do a really nice job of finding a balance between getting readers up to speed and getting the Necrosha crossover rolling in a positive direction that makes it seem like Necrosha will be quite the treat for most “X” fans. And, in all honesty, that’s half the battle.

The best thing about the book is that, from start to finish, both visually and as far as the dialogue is concerned, the Necrosha one-shot carries an ominous, creepy tone that never really lets up. I’m all about mood and setting the stage and Yost, Kyle, and Clayton Crain nail it as far as the total creative package is concerned. Even when Kyle and Yost throw in some banter and one-liners, the first chapter of Necrosha manages to really drive home the point that stuff is about to “get real” as all the kids say these days.

Another high point is that the writers instill a real sense of history, as far as lives lived, into the story through both Selene and the various characters that are infected with the “T-O” virus. From Selene’s dialogue about her past to the conversations that take place between the formerly dead and the living, it’s clear that Kyle and Yost did the homework necessary to give Necrosha that extra bit of weight and depth. It’s that something that can turn a solid story into a good, or even great, story.

Visually, Clayton Crain’s artwork is near perfect as far as mood and tone is concerned. It’s dark, it’s heavy, and it expertly captures the horror movie vibe that permeates throughout the entire book. While Crain’s work is definitely flawed (which I’ll get to in a moment), a few scenes, like the birth that opens the book or the arrival of Selene’s army near Utopia for example, show that Clayton Crain is definitely the right artist for the crossover.

What’s Not So Good: There’s a lot to like about the first chapter of Necrosha, but, unfortunately, there’s quite a bit to dislike about it as well. While the good outweighs the bad, nearly every negative is directly related one of the start of the crossover’s strong points. It makes Necrosha: Chapter One feel rather uneven.

The ominous, creepy tone I talked about earlier? It’s certainly a highlight and quite effective…until you realize that the deadly seriousness leads to a number of groan-worthy lines of dialogue (“She sent us here to remind you of that…And to make you suffer!”) that tend to fall extremely flat. In addition, the seriousness makes some of the banter and humor feel wildly out of place. I’m all for lightening the mood, but the swing from horror to comic book fun and back again is a bit jarring.

Another part that didn’t bode well is the sense of history that Yost and Kyle use to the advantage of their story. It makes some portions of the comic feel too heavy on exposition. It’s understandable considering that chances are good that a large portion of the Necrosha audience isn’t going to know who a handful of the characters are, but it’s also rather annoying.

Clayton Crain’s fitting artwork? It is…well…Clayton Crain artwork. Now I truly find Crain’s work to be absolutely stunning when everything about it comes together. When it doesn’t, however Crain’s work can look muddy, overly dark, and, at worst, totally incoherent. Unfortunately, a large part of the first Necrosha chapter is pretty tough to follow due to Crain’s style. A number of characters look exactly the same (Wolverine? Shaw? Pierce? – Selene? X-23, a Hellion?) and while hairstyle and context make it fairly easy to sort out who’s who, it shouldn’t be a chore to keep characters straight. Also, some of the action that takes place is so darkly colored that it’s next to impossible to figure out what, exactly, is happening.

“Binary”

The Story: Binary is “turned on” by the T-O virus and helps Selene’s slaves get inside Utopia.

The Good And The Bad: I don’t know if this is really a negative (it could be considered to be since it’s not the main event), but Binary is actually the best thing about the Necrosha one-shot as a whole. It’s an extremely good short story all around. Roberson’s detailed artwork is impressive, John Rauch’s colors elevate Roberson’s work to another level, the binary code framed panels are a great touch, and Zeb Wells’ story does a great job reintroducing the character.

“The Foretelling”

The Story: Selene calls on The Crone to learn the future. The Crone then contacts her daughter.

The Good And The Bad: Laurence Campbell’s gritty artwork feels a bit out of place the book, but it still winds up being a nice fit for Mike Carey’s unsettling character piece. I’ve always liked Blindfold and her interaction with her mother does an excellent job of adding another layer of uncertainty to the start of the Necrosha crossover. While I wish there was a bit more to it, the important stuff manages to make quite an impact.

Conclusion: While the first chapter of Necrosha has a few problems it’s still a strong start to what looks to be a memorable crossover. As for the one-shot as a whole, thanks to two excellent bonus stories, the book is a surprisingly great package.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

Mighty Avengers #30 – Review

By Dan Slott & Christos Gage (writers), Sean Chen (artist), Mark Morales (inker), John Rauch (colorist)

The Story: Hank Pym and the embodiment of reality have a heart to heart while a ridiculously impressive number of past and present Avengers unite to collectively bitch-slap The Unspoken.

The Good: I enjoyed the subplot of this issue far more than I did the main story, but that’s not saying much when talking about “The Unspoken”.  The conversation between Pym and Eternity was far-fetched and more than a little ridiculous, yes, but at the same time it was so wildly off the wall that I couldn’t help but admire its brazen audacity.  I question if this is the right direction for Pym, but am also curious to see where Slott and Gage go with it.  This issue seems to be a prelude of sorts to the upcoming “Siege” storyline, as the New, Mighty, and Young Avengers all meet for the first time.  I was pretty impressed with how epic and powerful that moment felt, and am really hoping to see new team rosters come from this assembly.

The Not So Good: Why, oh why won’t this story end already?!  We’re now four months into this sloth-like monstrosity and practically nothing has happened.  Despite the writers’ efforts to convince us otherwise, The Unspoken continues to be an uninspired and thoroughly boring villain.  I’m utterly baffled that three full teams of Avenger are needed take down this guy when it takes him so long to get anything done.  Sure, the Slave Engine has finally been raised, but at the rate this story is going it will take another four months for this moron to actually activate the damn thing!  My concern is that this storyline will be dragged on right up until “Siege” begins, and I’m not sure I can hold out that long, this story is really that dull.

Conclusion: Mighty Avengers continues to be a fun comic and the best Avengers title being printed right now, but it is taking a serious beating from a bad story that is getting worse every month.  There are a few slivers of good ideas present here, but not nearly enough to justify buying the comic.  You don’t need this one, either.

Grade:  D

-Tony Rakittke

Mighty Avengers #29 – Review

By Dan Slott & Christos Gage (writers), Khoi Pham (artist), Allen Martinez (inker), John Rauch (colors)

The Story: US Agent, Quicksilver, and the People’s Defense Force are still dancing around The Unspoken, understandably reluctant to directly confront him again even as he unearths the ominously named Slave Engine. Stature, Ronin, and the Young Avengers are still working on getting some answers out of Scarlet Loki, and Pym is still too busy to be bothered with all of this. Can’t say I blame him.

The Good: I liked the cover.

The Not So Good: This is tricky. We’re in the middle of “The Unspoken” so it’s hard to speak to this issue directly when it’s only one component to the entire storyline. You can’t appreciate this issue without having read the previous two, which were much more promising, and you can’t appreciate successive issues without having read this. What I can say with certainty though is that after reading this issue I was bored to tears. I feel like “The Unspoken” has taken a nosedive and become yet another generic potboiler. That’s not to say the story can’t improve next month, because I really hope it will, but right now I cannot think of one reason why you need to buy this. The Unspoken’s explanation of Xerogen gas and Xerogenesis was weirdly moronic, the Slave Engine sounds like something selected at random from the Big Book of Generic Ideas, and the Young Avengers’ battle with Scarlet Loki was anticlimactic, considering how great a threat Loki poses. And then there was that tender moment between Ronin and Scarlet Loki, which may have not totally jumped the shark, but came pretty damn close. Assuming we are in fact in the middle of this story, I would think that this is the point where things need to happen, tension needs to build, and excitement should become palpable. None of these things happened though, and I honestly have no idea why because until now Mighty Avengers has enjoyed a string of great stories.

Conclusion: I hate to say it but for me, the honeymoon with “The Unspoken” is over, and I’m left wondering when this story is going to end so we can move on to better things. You don’t need this.

Grade: D

-Tony Rakittke

Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2 (Utopia) – Review

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I picked up the first Dark X-Men: The Beginning book because I liked the characters that were featured. Time to find out if The Beginning can hold out without the likes of Namor, Dark Beast, or Mimic…

“The Last Temptation of Cloak and Dagger”

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Pencils), and Brian Reber (Colors)

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Paul Cornell’s story about Cloak and Dagger is about as basic an “offer” story as you can get. Norman Osborn approaches Cloak and Dagger about joining the Dark X-Men and as expected, Cloak and Dagger really don’t have much of a choice in the matter. Cornell’s dialogue is pretty strong (he writes a great Osborn) and Leonard Kirk’s art certainly gets the job done, but that’s really all there is to say about “The Last Temptation of Cloak and Dagger.”

“Weapon Omega”

By Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman (Writers), Michael Lacombe (Art), and John Rauch (Colors)

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: The story about Norman Osborn’s plan to get Weapon Omega on board with the Dark X-Men is rather clever, visually solid, and well-written. Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman do a nice job of explaining what Michael Pointer’s deal is and why he is the type of person he is today. In addition, Bernardin and Freeman manage to add an extra layer of slime of Osborn’s character. That’s no easy task with all the Osborn over-exposure going on.

“I Am Daken”

By Rob Willaims (Writer), Paco Diaz (Pencils), Guillermo Ortega (Inks), and Edgar Delgado (Colors)

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Before I say anything about “I Am Daken,” I have to ask: Is there anyone who truly likes Daken or thinks he’s a good idea for a character? Isn’t one Wolverine (that appears in at least one book almost every week) enough? Ok, with that out of the way, time for me to say a few things about Daken’s story.

Surprisingly, “I Am Daken” is the best of the three stories featured in Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2. That’s really not saying a whole lot, but there’s no denying that Daken’s conversation with Norman Osborn is sharply written and that the artwork by Paco Diaz is pretty slick (though I’m not sure I like how Osborn looks). If I have any complaint, it’s that the brief action scene comes across as a bit disjointed and somewhat unnecessary.

Conclusion: I enjoyed the first Dark X-Men: The Beginning book quite a bit more than the second. That said, the second is worth checking out if you’re a fan of the characters. If you aren’t a fan, then by all means skip Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2, since there’s nothing in the book that absolutely must be read in order to get more out of the Utopia storyline.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #5 – Review

By Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Sean Chen (Pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (Inks), and John Rauch (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I read in an interview that Jonathan Hickman intends for the conclusion of Dark Reign: Fantastic Four to roll right into his run on the Fantastic Four ongoing series. If that’s the case, I have a feeling that I’ll end up appreciating the Dark Reign mini-series much more once Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch finish up their time with the Fantastic Four.

The Story: Sue, Reed, Ben, and Johnny have a standoff with Norman Osborn. Also, it’s revealed what else Reed learned thanks to the Bridge…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: I have a whole new appreciation for Dark Reign: Fantastic Four now that I see how the mini-series leads into Jonathan Hickman’s run with the ongoing F.F. series. While the mini-series ends with more of a whimper than a bang, the possibilities it introduces are quite intriguing. I look forward to seeing what else Hickman has in store for Marvel’s first family.

Creatively, Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #5 is quite a success. Sean Chen’s clean, attractive pencil work definitely gets the job done, even if most of the work consists of little more than people talking. As for Jonathan Hickman’s script, it does a nice job of setting things up for the future. While there isn’t a whole lot to it beyond wrapping up things with Norman Osborn and introducing the first plot threads for the F.F. ongoing, it reads well and proves to be entertaining enough.

Conclusion: There really isn’t a whole lot to Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #5, but consider it a must read if you are looking forward to Hickman’s Fantastic Four run.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #4 – Review

By Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Sean Chen (Pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (Inks), and John Rauch (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: While Dark Reign: Fantastic Four feels stretched a bit thin even though it’s only a five issue mini-series, it’s still worth checking out for the high-concept story and slick artwork. The Dark Reign tie-in also gives fans of Marvel’s first family a taste of what’s to come when Jonathan Hickman takes over the F.F. ongoing after Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch finish up their run.

The Story: After completing his exploration of possible realities, Reed Richards comes to terms with who he is. Johnny, Sue, Ben and their alternates fight a bunch of Venomy, Skrully aliens while facing the collapse of space-time. Meanwhile, Franklin and Valeria deal with Norman Osborn and Venom/Dark Spider-Man.

What’s Good: Though it has a few weak points (which I’ll get to), Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #4 is the best issue of the mini-series yet. In particular, it’s a big improvement over the last issue, which was basically just a rehash of the second chapter. Clever, funny, and full of action, the fourth chapter of the Fantastic Four Dark Reign tie-in makes me glad that I stuck with the mini.

Jonathan Hickman shows that he’s really gotten into a groove with the characters and it goes a long way towards making up for some of the pacing issues. Reed’s revelation is delivered with an arrogance and gravity that works quite a bit better than I had expected. Also noteworthy is how well Hickman handles Norman Osborn. The character’s confrontation with Franklin and Valeria, a highlight of the issue, is equal parts humorous and intense. That’s a tough combination to effectively pull off. The king of Dark Reign is written with a menace that’s been lacking since his climb to the top of the Marvel political ladder, while Franklin and Valeria are written in a way that mixes youthful enthusiasm, humor, and intelligence into an effective blend.

Sean Chen and his art team add a hell of a lot to Hickman’s story and character work. The artwork is clean, stylish, and, when it needs to be, awesomely chaotic. There are two particularly strong segments: the bizarre “Venomy, Skrully” alien scene and the scene that makes up the bulk of the confrontation between Reed’s kids and Osborn and Venom. The first scene is hectic, violent, and badass thanks to Chen’s take on the “Venom” look. The second scene is funny, tense, and loaded with personality.

What’s Not So Good: The problem with Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #4 is somewhat complicated to explain. In one sense, the story seems to be stretched pretty thin, leaving the whole thing feeling a bit light and somewhat repetitive (it seems as though D.R. F.F. #2-#4 all have the same type of plot trajectory). But in another sense, the story seems to be leaving a lot of territory totally unexplored. Reed’s search for information seems rich with possibility and, oddly, underdeveloped. It makes me wonder if the true conclusion to the Fantastic Four Dark Reign story will end not in the fifth issue, but during Jonathan Hickman’s run on the Fantastic Four ongoing.

Conclusion: While it’s not all that it could be, I still recommend the latest issue of Dark Reign: Fantastic Four. It looks great, reads well, and runs on a number of cool ideas.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny