Shadowland (HC) – Review

Written by Andy Diggle, Pencils by Billy Tan

Be Aware! Spoilers may lurk within!

Marvel wasted no time in getting this one on the shelves (in fact, they’re getting even more aggressive with releasing their hardcovers) and I’m kind of glad for that, as I was looking forward to reading this as one collected piece. Sure, I could just read all five issues back to back, but there is still a much different feel when it is in the collected form. I’m also a big Daredevil; I’ve read the entire second volume of Daredevil more than once (and even wrote a paper for grad school on the saga). Being that Shadowland really is the end to that long run started by Kevin Smith, amped up freakishly by Brian Michael Bendis, continued on through Ed Brubaker and finally resting with Andy Diggle, I had to get this collection. Yet I wasn’t always a Daredevil fan. I was reading and very much enjoying Diggle’s Thunderbolts when it was announced that he would be leaving that series to take on the Man Without Fear. That’s what made me decide to read Daredevil in the first place. And in a very short amount of time, I hunted down every trade that came before his run and read them…in four days. And then I read them again. And then, since they were so fresh in my mind, I wrote about them for class, producing one of the best papers in my academic career. Diggle’s run was shaping up nicely, his first arc splendid. I was convinced: any writer who touches this series produces gold (except for one whom Marvel actually decided to skip in the trades. So there are a few issues before Bendis’ run that they don’t want anyone to read—ever). And then Shadowland came out…

My belief sticks. Any writer who worked on the second volume of Daredevil produces amazing content. What hurts Shadowland is that Diggle never intended for it the story to be a big event, seen not only in how the Daredevil series flows into Shadowland (which is a bit choppy), but by the writer’s own words in the spotlight interview at the end of the trade. I actually enjoyed this event very much, but it is certainly not perfect. I don’t blame Diggle for any of those imperfections; I blame the editors. The guys who said “let’s make this into a superhero street brawl.” Nor do I blame Billy Tan. I blame the guys who said, “let’s change the tone of the entire Daredevil run by using an artist with a completely different style.”  Shadowland’s faults are very much at the hands of overambitious editors who promised the fans “no more events” but then realized “wait, events make money” and spawned as many “mini” events as possible. But despite all of that, Shadowland is still enjoyable.  And it’s the collection that shows this.

New Avengers #8 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Daniel Acuna (artist)

The Story: Luke Cage and Jessica Jones go out on a date.  Yeah, that’s not going to go uninterrupted.

What’s Good: It’s always nice when a creator gets to work with characters that he/she knows like the back of his hand, and that’s what we get here.  I guess it’s no surprise given how much he’s worked with Cage and Jones, but it’s clear that Bendis has a great deal of love for these characters, and that really shines through this monthly, ultimately making for a fun read, with Bendis’ affection for his characters ending up being pretty darned infectious.

There’s a lot of dialogue this month, but it’s actually really, really good, showcasing Bendis at his best.  There’s next to no Bendis speak and the writer manages to effortlessly put together serious issues (is Jessica going to return to superheroing?), humour (“Power Woman”), and character history all into one giant conversation.  What makes it such an enjoyable read though is not only Bendis’ comfort level with the characters, but also his ability to write a really good husband-wife banter.  There’s constant teasing and ribbing to overlay the obvious love and concern these two have for each other, and it ends up being not only a fun dynamic, but also one that feels honest, human, and realistic.

While important issues are touched upon and emotions are genuine, I do also want to emphasize that this issue is also pretty damned funny when it wants to be.  The running joke regarding Jessica Jones’ new superhero name is sure to get a laugh and the concluding dialogue between Luke and Spider-Man at issue’s end truly made me laugh out loud.

Raising this all up another level is Daniel Acuna’s impressive, moody painted artwork.  In an issue that spends a good chunk of time on two characters conversing at a dinner table, Acuna is able to add a lot of detail, atmosphere, and subtlety to the work, making things look far more interesting than they have any right to be.  His actions scenes are also surprisingly fluid and at all times impressive.  Certainly, there is only one Daniel Acuna.

Thunderbolts #138 – Review

By Jeff Parker (writer), Miguel Sepulveda (artist), Frank Martin(colorist)

The Story: The Thunderbolts, having more than a few lunatics on the team, have a problem. The satisfaction of victory over Power Man and Iron Fist was snatched from them last issue. They’ve had nothing to do since then. So somebody prods at Mr. X, which causes him to escape from their HQ. The Thunderbolts follow him to the Colombia-Venezuela border.

What’s Good: Sepulveda provides some very fine artwork for this issue. In terms of setting, there are lots of moody, cloudy effects, dreamscapes, and a whole lot of Venezuelan jungle. The art communicated most of what it needed to for keeping the story moving too (although I wondered from time to time if Ant-Man was flying under the influence). There’s a lot of dynamic action here that’s fun to watch. Sepulveda also has a multiple image effect to show Mr. X’s speed, which was effective. And the FARC guerrillas and their equipment were authentic, down to the rubber boots that they wear instead of combats. He’s obviously done his research.

The story was serviceable. It was actually a variation on a classic Marvel theme: good guys fighting each other until something bigger forces them to unite. In this case, it’s villain on villain action. This series has been pointing at the fractures in the team for quite some time and it’s fun to watch the effects the petty betrayals have. The dialogue was excellent.

What’s Not So Good: While the Thunderbolts creative team has been good in showing the little splits between team members, nothing definitive is happening, so I’m starting to wonder if this low-level bubbling of personalities will ever actually lead to anything. It seems that every issue, somebody talks about killing someone else and then the following issue, they’re back to their base level of animosity. And on that score, in six months time, some readers may wonder why this issue was important. It’s not character study. It’s not driving a new arc. It’s just shooting and blowing stuff up, which works for some. The danger with an issue like this is that it doesn’t continue any momentum from the previous issue, nor does it launch the next issue with any momentum either. Making that slightly worse is the fact that I didn’t feel much was at stake. If none of the T-bolts are going to do anything serious to one another, and the FARC is a pretty unmenacing antagonist, there’s not much left to worry about. (Unless you think that a platoon of spottily trained guys with hand weapons is going to pose a genuine threat to the Thunderbolts – FARC aren’t the Hulk-Busters, Cape killers or even a properly equipped modern army.)  That makes it easy to say that this is not a critical issue for collectors.

For the purposes of nit-picking (can’t nerd out without nit-picking, right?), odds are long that FARC guerrillas would be skirmishing with Venezuelan forces, but that’s just nit-picking.

Conclusion: If you like to watch your favorite villains pretending to be heroes and shooting and beating each other, this issue is for you. Otherwise, nothing much changes in the Thunderbolts universe, so if you need to skip an issue, it shouldn’t affect how you read next one.

Grade: C

-DS Arsenault