Avengers vs. X-Men #0 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis & Jason Aaron (writers), Frank Cho (art), Jason Keith (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: The Scarlet Witch is back in action and Hope becomes a crime-fighter.

The Review: How much you enjoy AvX #0 is largely contingent on what you expect to get out of this issue.  In many ways, this is somewhat falsely advertised as a prelude to the big Avengers vs. X-Men event and, as such, both Brian Bendis and Jason Aaron’s stories kind of fail in this regard.  Barring a final page in Aaron’s story that doesn’t reveal anything we didn’t already know, this issue doesn’t particularly set up any significant story beats or give us too much of an idea of what that story is going to be.

Instead, what you get with this issue are two character sketches, one of the Scarlet Witch and the other of Hope.  It gives readers new and old to get a little better acquainted with both characters and where they’re at in their lives right now.

Bendis’ story with Wands is no doubt the stronger of the two.  The action scenes are fantastic and really play to Frank Cho’s strengths, at times quite literally leaping off the page.  And hey, it’s MODOK.  Not just that, but particularly with Cho’s illustrations, Wanda’s powers are really cool to see in action and they make for one hell of an entrance.  Really, that’s what this is all about: Wanda’s return to the stage; Bendis succeeds in ensuring that she makes one hell of an impression.

I can also tell that Bendis worked harder than usual on this one.  The dialogue never falls prey to Bendis-speak or out of character voices.  Instead, the dialogue is brimming with emotion and sincerity.  Ms. Marvel’s dynamic with Wanda is a lot of fun, with Carol clearly being well-intentioned but overly optimistic, and all the more lovable for it.  The real meat comes with Wanda’s meeting with Vision.  Bendis manages to make Vision ice-cold, but brutally truthful and, nonetheless, also makes Wanda a sympathetic figure.  It’s a conversation that’s been a long time coming, and it delivers, scars and all.

Hulk #38 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Elena Casagrande (artist), Bettie Breitweiser & Jim Charalampidis (colorists), Ed Dukeshire (letterer), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Red Hulk wraps up his Fear Itself tie-in with some unlikely defenders of NYC coming into play.

What’s Good: Jeff Parker does something pretty cool in this issue.  The common complaint with line-wide comic events (such as Fear Itself) is that they ruin the natural flow of the stories the creators were already telling by putting a supposedly entertaining story to the side for 2-3 months while the characters deal with the event.  “Just let the creators tell their stories!”, moan the fanboys!  And, it is true that most creators have simply surrendered and put their “main” story on hiatus while dealing with Fear Itself.  Well, Parker shows in Hulk #37 and this issue that a clever creator can use the event to service your own storytelling goals.

It isn’t really possible to discuss this issue much without a SPOILER WARNING.  There aren’t any huge events in this issue like anyone dying, but there are a few cool moments that you might want to experience organically in the pages of the comic.

As stated above, what makes this issue and story arc so cool is how Parker has used the back drop of Rulk fighting super-Thing into something that serves his own story.  If you’re a pretty big Marvel reader, you probably already saw the Rulk/Thing fight back in an issue of Avengers a month or so ago.  One of my complaints last issue was that the ending didn’t seem to quite sync up with the action in Avengers, but Parker fixes that here and that’s where the magic comes in.

Hulk #36 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Patch Zircher (art), Jim Charalampidis (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Yikes!  MODOK is back!

What’s Good: For an ordinary comic, the deck would really be stacked against this issue.  Hulk is right in the middle of some longer-term stories and next issue/month, it dives into Fear Itself tie-in territory.  This issue even has a guest art team, so you could easily see and almost understand this issue being kinda disposable… Which happens with monthly superhero comics.  But when Jeff Parker is writing, I think he almost relishes a chance to write a done-in-one story.  It certainly isn’t much of a handicap for him as he again proves that he is better at packing lots of events into a single issue than anyone else currently writing in Big 2 superhero comics.

So, what’s cool?  Well, remember that new MODOK with the spidery legs from a few issues ago?  He’s back.  I honestly have always thought that MODOK was kinda a dorky villain, but the team of creators here makes him really sinister and creepy.  You just know that he’s going to be trouble in future issues…

Parker also manages to drag out an old Banner-Hulk villain who I really wasn’t familiar with, but Parker does such an awesome job of recapping just the right amount of history that I never felt lost.  Bravo!

Hulk #19 – Review

By: Jeph Loeb (writer), Ed McGuinness (penciller), Mark Farmer (inker), Dave Stewart (colorist)

The Story: The Intelligencia, having split with their ally the Red Hulk, send the Fearsome Four to invade the Baxter Building under the leadership of one of their own, the Wizard. Red Hulk sneaks in too, acting on a larger plan. And in a secret lair, MODOK and Doc Samson trade barbs over what to do next about the Red Hulk.

What’s Good: The Fall of the Hulks one-shots set up this arc, and now Fall of the Hulks is upon us! Loeb opens with a bang, as he launches plotting and counter-plotting forces, each sneaking around the other, feinting and moving for position. It’s a caper plot with more than two sides and it’s a lot of fun to watch! I’m fascinated (and have been for about a year) with the new, plotting, scrawny Banner that has influence over so many people stronger than him. What also intrigued me were the references to the top eight smartest people in the world. Reed Richards was obviously a target and I love that McCoy was mentioned as well. And, if memory serves, that means that Amadeus Cho will also become involved in this, thereby pulling in Hercules? Interesting….

The art was a treat. I’ve always been a fan of Farmer’s inks. He adds a soft humanity to the faces. McGuinness is obviously very talented as well and I loved the level of detail and texture he brought to the Thing, the Wizard and Klaw. Muscles move the way they’re supposed to under McGuinness’s pencil and the dynamism of the action makes me slow down the reading.

Captain America: Reborn #5 – Review

by Ed Brubaker (writer), Bryan Hitch & Butch Guice (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: It’s Cap vs. Buckycap as Steve finds himself trapped in the Red Skull’s mind.

What’s Good: It feels as though Brubaker has gone old school this month with his dialogue, with plenty of cheesecake to go around.  While some may find this unbearable, I found that it added good, clean fun to a comic that has been pretty dark thus far.  Red Skull in particular is nothing short of an old fashioned, cackling villain, letting loose twice with trademark villainous laughter.  At one point, he even goes through the classic bad guy routine of telling one of the heroes his entire plan, in detail.  It’s wonderful stuff, and it’s clear that it’s intentional on Brubaker’s part, as he writes the book very much in the spirit of the Captain America comics of yesteryear with his signature dash of pulp-awareness.  There are some lines that are just so kooky, it’s hard not to smile.

Exiles #1 – Review

By Jeff Parker (Writer), Salva Espin (Art), and Anthony Washington (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I’ll be totally honest and admit that I’ve never read an Exiles comic before. But since it was a light week for me, I figured a new number one issue would be a pretty good place to start.

The Story: The Exiles are a team of (B, C, and D list) Marvel heroes plucked from their respective realities mere moments before death. The mission? To travel from reality to reality in order to put things right so that existence (as a whole) continues. Beast, Forge, The Witch, Polaris, Blink, and The Panther are given the rundown on the situation in the first issue and then sent to fix the first of many realities.

What’s Good: Exiles #1 really gets the series off on the right foot. From the characterization, to the artwork, to the execution of the necessary plot introduction, everything feels absolutely full of energy. And that, my friends, is a very good thing.

Jeff Parker’s script is clever and humorous while also intelligently dealing with both the dense concept and the unique challenge that comes from introducing characters from alternate realities. It is perfectly complimented by artwork that effortlessly manages to be humorous, clever (Beast’s look rocks), vibrant, and lively all at once. Throughout the book there are great examples of how the visuals can elevate the writing and vice versa. And almost all of those examples involve the brilliant use of the character Morph. I never thought I’d see the “Hitler as a baby” dilemma delivered in such a humorous manner…

What’s Not So Good: Despite the entertaining script and eye-catching visuals, there is no denying the fact that Exiles #1 is a fairly standard “team introduction” comic. The formula is a formula for a reason…because it works. But that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t point out it’s use.

Also worth noting is that some of the smaller panels look slightly rushed and/or lack detail. While excusable for the most part, it proves to be a distraction when the rest of the issue looks so nice.

Conclusion: What else can I say? Exiles is now the latest addition to my pull list. Take a chance with the first issue, I think you will be more than pleasantly surprised.

Grade:  B+

-Kyle Posluszny