Avenging Spider-Man #19 – Review

By: Christopher Yost (Writer), Marco Checchetto (Artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist)

The Story: Spider-Ock is stuck in his head for a nightmarish introspection. Sounds like a cue for an obscure character team-up!

The Review: Well, this is quite a jump in partner. First starting with the X-Men, then the Future Foundation, with Thor next, it seems that this title wanted to be a little bit more experimental with the choice of guest-star.

This time, Yost chose a much more obscure character called Sleepwalker, one that I’ve actually never heard of, which is oddly a very smart choice. By putting such a smaller character with the marketing beast that is Spider-Man (even the Spider-Ock version), it can makes for unpredictable stories with lesser-known character, putting the spotlight on them to allow us readers to see their potential. Of course, it works rather well on paper, but it is not quite the same in the execution here.

Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #4

By: Rick Remender (writer), Jefte Palo & Alessandro Vitti (artists), Jean-François Beaulieu (colorist)

The Story: Nightmare has taken over the world. The other heroes of the Marvel Universe, including Doctor Strange, are his captives. Only Doctor Doom has escaped the clutches of Nightmare, and his fortress is falling.

What’s Good: Remender’s take on Nightmare is brilliantly conflicted. He’s made Nightmare a creature of irrational appetites, but of cunning intellect. If that’s hard to understand, let me put it this way: Nightmare has been slowly materializing Jericho Drumm’s nightmares for decades, signs of hyper-intelligent cunning. However, pages later, when Nightmare is on the verge of conquering Doom, the last holdout of humanity, he doesn’t care that this will result in their mutual destruction. Even when Doom points it out to him, it’s like Nightmare doesn’t care, not because he doesn’t understand the consequences, but because they seem disconnected from what he wants. It’s an interesting and disturbing take on such an old and powerful Marvel villain.

Remender’s vision of Drumm was equally compelling. I liked the visible arc of Drum growing into the role of sorcerer supreme (arcs similar to those being followed by Bucky, Donna Troy, Dick Grayson and Wally West) over the last couple of issues, but the revelation that Drumm himself, in combination with Nightmare’s influence, was creating the curse he is suffering, was awesome. Suddenly, I saw why Drumm had been tapped as the sorcerer supreme. It made sense, as much as it had when Strange had taken on that mantle. Remender did some great work here.

And, although I’m running out of space to praise Remender, I have to point out the great world building he did here. Those of us following Dr. Strange thought we’d seen all that could be seen of Marvel and magic. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Remender’s magic, and the introduction of the Lao, and a different set of cosmic (who all seem to be minor, compared to the ones Strange had tapped) is really, really cool.

And the art was great. It was not realistic. The stylistic, gritty take on Drumm’s magic is great. Nightmare never looked better or creepier than on the cover of this book. The spookiness evoked by Palo and Vitti works, through the dangling, shrunken heads on the staff of Legba, the clawing hand at the entrance to Bondyè and the scary supernatural creatures now working for Nightmare (including the spirits of vengeance!). The action sequences were dynamic, the faces expressive, and the world and people textured and real. All in all, art and story matching really well.

Strange #1 – Review

by Mark Waid (writer), Emma Rios (artist), Christina Strain (color artist), Lauren Sankovitch *(associate editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: Strange, powerless, has found the demon Tul’uth possessing a baseball team. He also finds a girl with an unusual aptitude for magic.

What’s Good: I really, really wish I could have found something to write here.

What’s Not So Good: As a big Dr. Strange fan, it kills me to say this, but I was… disappointed. I know Steven Strange doesn’t draw the readership he once did, but except for a few years here and there, he’s always been somewhere in the monthly books because he’s a compelling character. As much as Tony Stark, Stephen Strange is about redemption and unlike the new Stark, Strange is still selflessly, unflinchingly, unquestioningly heroic. This first issue of this limited series isn’t showing Strange the love.

First off, there’s nothing wrong with Emma Rios’ pencils, but the wild-blue-hair anime style does not suit the menacing mystic worlds that surround Dr. Strange. Even Casey’s true view through enchanted glasses revealed a world of deep, riotous color, but without the foreground shadows or darkness that really make Strange’s adventures moody and spooky. So…good artist, wrong book.

On the writing side, I’ve read a lot of great Mark Waid books, but this story is starting in a particularly unambitious way. First of all, I don’t understand where all of Strange’s power went. He first appeared in 1963 as Master of the Mystic Arts and didn’t become Sorcerer Supreme until about 1972. In those nine years he wasn’t the Sorcerer Supreme, he had power enough to defeat Mordo, Nightmare, Dormammu and anyone else who came his way. In the late eighties, he used some black magic (much like he recently did with the Avengers). This tainted him for a while, so he had to look for new sources of power. Despite the fact that he couldn’t call then upon his typical patrons, he was still skilled enough to use the black magic that Kaluu taught him. So why then is this Strange so powerless that he can’t beat a second-rate demon without playing baseball?

More unambitiously, this newly humbled Strange, instead of seeking to regain his might (not necessarily the supremacy he had, but his mastery), pits himself against a minor demon in what looks to be a 1-issue mop-up operation with no significance to Strange or the rest of the Marvel Universe. On the Marvel website, some prominence is given to Strange finding a new student. This leads me to think that Marvel is trawling for new teen readers drawn to a teenage girl growing up under Strange’s tutelage, and that she’ll be the one growing as a character, not him. I hope I’m wrong, but otherwise, by issue #4, I’m going to be suggesting that the limited series should have been called “Casey, Apprentice of Strange”.

Like I said, it kills me to criticize a Dr. Strange book, but there’s so much they could have done with this title. Some of Strange’s best adventures have been when he is massively outgunned and has to survive on his wits and skill alone in alien dimensions. Why couldn’t Waid, Sankovitch and Brevoort have picked out something like a quest to redeem Strange? A journey to reclaim lost skills and take what he is and the wisdom he has learned and save some world from evil, with only his wits and limited magic to help him? Lead a magical guerrilla war on some foe Dr. Voodoo is too busy to fight? The possibilities for heroic redemption are endless, but none of them are suggested by this first issue.

Conclusion: I’m disappointed not only for this series, but also because I know that the failure of this series will delay a true return by Dr. Strange to the mainstream of the Marvel Universe for a couple of years. (I’ll still buy issue #2, though, because Stephen Strange is such a great character)

Grade: D

-DS Arsenault

 

The Rest of the Stack for the Week of 11-4-09

Deadpool Team-Up #899

By Fred Van Lente (Writer) and Dalibor Talajic (Art)

The Story: Deadpool and Hercules, both plagued by nightmares, find themselves trapped in a strange labyrinth created by villains Nightmare and Arcade.

The Good And The Bad: The first issue of Deadpool’s new series delivers everything I want from a comic featuring a team-up between Deadpool and Hercules. Fred Van Lente’s script is funny, action-packed, and surprisingly clever. And since the writer manages to find a sweet spot between what a Deadpool comic is like and what a Hercules comic is like to great effect, Deadpool Team-Up #899 is filled with all the violence, wacky comedy, and mythology you could ever want from a team-up between Wade Wilson and the Lion of Olympus. The only real downside to Van Lente’s script is that it follows a fairly predictable team-up formula. The heroes meet, they fight, they team, and they win out in the end. You’ve seen it before.

Dalibor Talajic’s work in Deadpool Team-Up #899 is impressive all around. His action scenes are dynamic and brutal, his character work is solid (I especially like how accurate his Hercules looks), and his storytelling compliments the script extremely well. My only real complaint about his work is that a few scenes look slightly “off.” Bodies look either disproportionate or awkward at times.

Grade: B

Assault on New Olympus #1

“Assault on New Olympus Prologue” by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (Writers), Rodney Buschemi (Art), and Guillem Mari (Colors)

“Godmarked” by Jeff Parker (Writer), Gabriel Hardman (Artist), Elizabeth Breitweiser (Colors)

The Story: “Assault on New Olympus” begins with a reveal about what the mysterious Continuum project is and a fight between Hercules and Spider-Man over the affections of Hercule’s wife Hebe. In “Godmarked,” the Agents of Atlas take on the god Phorcys in order to save Venus.

The Good And The Bad: While previews make the plot of Assault on New Olympus sound fairly promising, there really isn’t a whole lot to the first part of the Incredible Hercules event. Sure, the Continuum reveal is interesting, the confrontation between Herc and Spidey is fun, and the visuals by Rodney Buschemi and Guillem Mari are very nice, but, as a whole, it’s clear that Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente are saving the most interesting stuff for later.

The strongest part of the Assault on New Olympus prologue is the Agents of Atlas backup story. Thanks Jeff Parker’s entertaining dialogue and Gabriel Hardman’s outstanding visuals (I seriously think Hardman’s Phorcys attack is one of the coolest scenes of the year), I wouldn’t be surprised if “Godmarked” ends up being one of the year’s best surprises.

Grade: C+

Psylocke #1

“Kill Matsu’o” by Chris Yost (Writer), Harvey Talibao (Pencils), Paul Neary (Inks), and Ulises Arreola w/ Brian Reber (Colors)

“A Girl Called Hope” by Duane Swierczynski (Writer), Steve Dillon (Art), and Matt Hollingsworth (Colors)

The Story: Psylocke heads to Japan and finds out that her past isn’t as far behind as she thought. In the backup story, Hope deals with a wound and Cable deals with a sniper.

The Good And The Bad: The story that begins in Psylocke #1 isn’t all that inviting to people new to the title character, but Chris Yost deserves credit for attempting to make sense of her twisted continuity regardless. Yost does a fine job of letting Psylocke’s somewhat cold personality come through in the dialogue and it goes a long way towards helping make up for the inaccessible nature of Yost’s continuity heavy story. The artwork throughout the book is pretty slick (thanks, largely to the impressive color work), but it’s also obnoxiously heavy on T’n’A fan-service and posing. Also, it must be noted that Harvey Talibao has a problem keeping Psylocke’s face looking consistent. She looks like a completely different character in a more than a few panels.

The backup story about Cable and Hope is an effective character piece that establishes the relationship the characters share for those that haven’t been following the Cable series. There isn’t much to Swierczynski’s tale, but Steve Dillon’s visual storytelling more than makes up for that. One odd thing about the backup story is that it makes Hope seem younger than I believe she is supposed to be at this point. I could be wrong through, so if I am, feel free to correct me in the comment area.

Grade: C+

Haunt #2

By Robert Kirkman (Writer), Greg Capullo (Layouts), Ryan Ottley (Pencils), Todd McFarlane (Inks), and FCO Plascencia (Colors)

The Story: Daniel Kilgore finds himself getting pulled deeper into his brother’s former life as he learns to adjust to his new powers.

The Good And The Bad: In all honesty, Haunt #2 is only a tiny bit better than the first issue of the series. In other words, it’s a pretty bad comic. Alex covered all that’s wrong about the series in his review of Haunt #1, so instead of repeating everything he said, I’ll just say that the only thing Haunt has going for it is a somewhat interesting story. A nugget of potential exists somewhere within the plot Kirkman and McFarlane are developing. I’m sure of it. It needs to reveal itself soon though or else Haunt is going to be remembered as nothing more than a failed vanity project.

Grade: D

-Kyle Posluszny

 

Incredible Hercules #118 (Secret Invasion) – Review

Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, (Writers) Rafa Sandoval, (Pencils) Roger Bonet, (Inker) and Martegod Gracia (Colorist)

The last time I opened up a comic to the first page and laughed out loud, I was reading Incredible Hercules #116. I found the beer road map to be one of the funniest things I had seen in a comic and was fairly certain it would be hard to top. It was quite a surprise to find that Herc #118 manages to top the beer map in a big way by offering up…wait for it…FREE GOD SQUAD TRADING CARDS!! Needless to say, this awesome first page, featuring an Amadeus Cho rookie card nonetheless, set the bar pretty high for this issue. Does the rest of the issue manage to live up to the first page? Read on to find out!

Incredible Hercules #118 continues right where the last issue left off as the newly formed “God Squad” makes its way toward the Skrull Pantheon by way of the Dreamtime pathways. The only problem is the Skrull Pantheon is far from easy to find so the team must attempt to persuade Nightmare to give them the coordinates necessary to find the Pantheon. An interesting deal is struck, tensions flare, Skrully accusations are made, and the team faces its first true challenge. All in all, this is a compelling chapter for both the Incredible Hercules series and the Secret Invasion.

As usual, Pak and Van Lente have crafted a funny, suspenseful, and action-packed story. The interaction between the team members is a real high point as both humor and tension is used to great effect. Also, they make some nice additions to the Skrull side of the conflict (for those interested in the way Skrulls treat other religions). The writers show they have a strong grasp on how Hercules and the God Squad should fit into the bigger picture and the book is all the better for it. To be honest, this is just an incredibly fun story and if you aren’t along for the ride yet, you’re missing out. Pak and Van Lente have made Incredible Hercules one of the most consistently entertaining books on the shelf.

The artwork for this series continues to be strong. The team does a great job crafting aspects of the Dreamtime and some of the scenes featuring Nightmare are outstanding. Martegod Gracia’s work was particularly impressive with some fantastic use of color. If I have any issue with the art it is that some of the action gets a bit confusing and there was a few times I felt the scenes lacked direction. Still, this is quite a good looking book.

In closing, Incredible Hercules scores again with another good issue. The story is fun, the writing is excellent, and the artwork is almost always a treat to look at. As I said before, if you aren’t reading this series, you should be. Also, think about this…do you really want to miss out on that Amadeus Cho rookie card? In all seriousness though, pick this one up. While the issue as a whole can’t quite match the bar that was set with the awesome first page, this is still one of the best releases of the week. (Grade B+)

-Kyle Posluszny

A Second Opinion

Maybe I was just tired when I read this, but I found the story a little hard to follow when the God Squad confronts Nightmare. Nevermind, I see Kyle had the same problem as well. Anyway, while the coloring is superb throughout the issue, it gets a little muddled during this sequence and I had to do some backtracking to get my bearings. Also, naming the dog Kerberos and then referring to him as Kirby later on was a bit confusing, too. And why does this coyote pup look like a labrador? Eh.

Dog gripes aside, this is another fun-filled issue that rates high on the humor scale. There’s times where things do get serious and our gods put themselves in danger, but those moments are brief and quickly off-set by a gag or joke. For example, when a bevvy of nightmares is unleashed on our heroes, one of Amadeus’ biggest fears is realized: an over-sized Rubik’s Cube with an additional row of squares on each side. Having that thrown into a sea of bad, nightmarish creatures made me laugh out loud.

There’s just no way to take this book seriously. Sure, there may be a moment where things get heated, but for the most part, it’s very reminiscent of an action-comedy or cop-buddy flick. Again, much credit to Grek Pak and Fred Van Lente for writing one of the best titles on Marvel’s block. Rafa Sandoval’s art, along with his supporting team of Roger Bonet and Martegod Gracia are outstanding as well. (Grade: B)

– J. Montes