Point One #1 – Review

By: Various.  (Seriously….it’s half the creative talent at Marvel)

The Story: Marvel teases what is to come in 2012 in this 7-part, 64-page anthology-ish issue.

Seven Things:

1. Behold the Watcher.  This was the spine of the issue and it showed a couple of guys in spacesuits fiddling with The Watcher while he slept.  And here we get the essence of the issue: What these guys downloaded from The Watcher is supposedly what is to come in the Marvel Universe in the near future.  That’s a pretty interesting way to glue together a bunch of 7-8 page teasers.  Ed Brubaker get’s writing credits here and does a fine job, but the scene-stealer was Javier Pulido and Javier Rodriguez on the art.  Pulido reminds me of a playful version of Jack Kirby and Rodriguez matches the playfulness with bright colors.  LOVE this art.  Every time I see Pulido art I decide I need some for my collection, yet I can’t find if/where/how the dude sells his original art.  So, if anyone knows….hook a brother up so I can give the man some money.

2. Nova: Harbinger.  Most marvel fans have seen the teaser images showing the Phoenix coming back, right?  Well…..here’s a story further teasing that story and if those prior images of a flaming Phoenix effect left some doubt about what precisely was going on, this makes is pretty clear: The Phoenix force is returning to the Marvel Universe.  Loeb and McGuinness do a nice job with this story of Nova (when did he come back from the Cancerverse?) trying to stay one step again of the Phoenix force.  Still unclear what titles this story will occur in.

3. The Scarlet Thread.  I really enjoyed this intro to the new Scarlet Spider series by the creative team of Chris Yost and Ryan Stegman.  It showed Kaine trying to just get away from it all, but ultimately showing that he can be a Spider-Man…..just not the Spider-Man.  And, that’s really the best way to use the clone guys: Emphasize the “nurture” part of “nature versus nurture” and show that genetics only goes so far to explaining why Peter Park is the hero that we all know and love.  A guy like Kaine with different life experiences is going to be a different type of character.  Bonus points for setting the story in Charlotte, NC!

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Uncanny X-Men #1 – One of the problems the X-books have faced over the last few years was that there were LOTS of books, but they all seemed kinda the same: similar characters on the teams, similar types of stories, etc.  Kieron Gillen has made two big things happen in this issue.  First, he has given his X-Men a purpose: to be heroes, but to also act as a deterrent to anyone in the world who would oppress mutants.  The other is that he’s given them a distinct team.  I want the X-Men to have TEAMS….not just random assemblages of whoever was loitering in the lobby when danger strikes.  I want to be able to appreciate the drama when someone quits or is kicked off the team OR the excitement when someone new joins and we have to wonder how poor little ______ will hack it next to Namor and Magneto.

Most Anticipated This Week: Loose Ends #3 – The first two issues (#1 and #2) of this modern, southern crime drama have been HOT.  Jason Latour is writing a story that has Scalped-level grittiness to it and the art team of Chris Brunner and Rico Renzi is just on fire.  This is one of my favorite series right now.  If you doubt me, google it… I’m hardly the only one who thinks it is hot stuff.  Even if your local shop doesn’t have a copy, you can order them off the 12 Gauge Comics website.

Other Picks: Batwoman #3, Unwritten #31, Avenging Spider-Man #1, Point One #1, Uncanny X-Force #17, Rachel Rising #3