Winter Soldier: The Bitter March #1 – Review

by Rick Remender (Writer), Roland Boschi (Artist), Chris Chuckry (Colorist)

The Story: As Nick Fury and Ran Shen tries to save a couple of Nazis from Hydra, they are visited by a myth from Soviet Russia…

The Review: The last time we saw the rather beloved Winter Soldier in a title of his own, he was written by Jason Latour and drawn by the very talented Nic Klein. Now, however, with the imminent release of a movie in which he is part of the title, it seems that Rick Remender has the audacity to write a miniseries about the character, tying it to his overall narrative that started in his Captain America run. However, with Remender not being in his general element with his depiction of Steve Rogers and his adventures as the sentinel of liberty, does he have what it takes to write a story featuring Bucky Barnes?

The answer isn’t exactly easy on this one, however, as the writer subvert expectations a bit with a tale that is somehow a homage to older Steranko issues featuring Nick Fury, mixing things up with a bit of Brubaker along with his very own style. Pushing forth Ran Shen, the man who will become the Iron Nail, as the protagonist here along with a setting straight from the 60’s.

In many ways, this is a story that use storytelling sensibilities from the past and present, using a setting very well-known for kooky devices and lots of action, yet those very ideas are delivered in a way that are more in line with what modern readers might expect. Presenting a setting straight from old action and spy movies, a castle in a snowy mountain side, Remender never stops with the use of cliché in a way that feels referential, yet fresh at the same time. Femme fatales, Hydra acting like the big evil organisation they are, two agents that are friends and rivals, gadgets, rookie mistakes and a lot of other conventional ideas are presented here straight, without any bitter irony or sarcasm, letting the fun of this issue speak for itself.

WCBR Quick Hit Reviews Dec-22-2010

We all have pretty long pull lists and every week there are a few titles we read that we simply don’t have time to give a full review.  Some are good and some are bad…

Uncanny X-Men #531 – Fraction’s script of the second chapter of ‘Quarantine’ moves along rather nicely. The addition of Keiron Gillen to writing duties, while welcome, doesn’t seem to rock the boat much and that’s just fine.  Pretty much all of the X-Men are locked up on Utopia as a precaution, to avoid possibly infecting any other mutants on the mainland.  Meanwhile, a ragtag squad of X-Men are attempting to keep the peace in San Francisco and Emma Frost, along with Fantomex and Kitty Pryde, continue to debate about the fate of Sebastian Shaw.  There are some interesting bits here (the clever cliffhanger, the Drunken Trucker School) and the structure of the plot is solid, but there are still a few hiccups.  I’ve found myself over the last few months wishing the Sebastian Shaw subplot would just get it’s own dedicated issue so it could finally end and this month, that feeling continues.  There’s also a lot of Kavita Rao info-dumping on the reader and it doesn’t make for a particularly dynamic experience.  And then, yep, there’s Greg Land’s artwork to make it that much more unpleasant.  All in all, not bad, but could use some tightening up.  Grade: B- — Joe Lopez

Ultimate Spider-Man #151 – Bendis and new-ish penciller Sara Pichelli knock another one out of the park here and, boy, is it welcome.  I’ve had the feeling that Bendis has gotten a second wind on this title ever since the Chameleons arc and that wind continues this month as we’re given some set-up on what looks to be a team-up of the Black Cat and recent big bad, Mysterio.  There’s also plenty of great character moments, such as the Amazing Friends’ first meeting with Lana or Aunt May’s touching phone call to Gwen Stacy.  Speaking of Gwen, I have to admit that Gwen’s return so soon after her departure feels like a misfire.  Bendis sort of shoots himself in the foot there and robs a powerful moment of a few months ago of its weight.  I’m also a little annoyed that the “Superhero school” plot just gets around to showing up at the cliffhanger, despite it being led into heavily in the last issue.  Despite those minor complaints, this issue is a fair reminder of what Ultimate Spidey has been doing so well for the past 10 years. Grade: A- — Joe Lopez

The Incredible Hulks #619 – This was Part 2 of the tie-in with Chaos War and it continues to be really well done.  It actually explained some things (that were probably in Chaos War-proper that I’d missed) having to do with the fact that “death” has been conquered by the Chaos King in our universe and that’s why dead guys like Abomination are coming back.  Lots of good action with hulks smashing crap and a good cliffhanger ending.  The star was the Tim Seeley back-up about the Savage She-Hulk, Lyra, and her relationship with Banner and Jen-She-Hulk.  For some reason I find the She-Hulks way more interesting than the boy-Hulks.  Grade: B — Dean Stell

Dean’s Drive-by Reviews

My pull list is way too long, so every week there are at least a few comics that I read that didn’t get a feature review from me or my colleagues here at WCBR.  Nonetheless, they deserve some kudos (or a warning sign) as a service to our loyal readers.

Strange Tales II #2 – What a star this was!  It was my pick of the week in a really strong week.  What you have here is an anthology featuring a bunch of independent creators taking a whack at our favorite Marvel characters.  The stories are all complete one-off, out-of-continuity stuff, but boy are they fun.  Keep an eye out for a left over issue of this when you head to the comic shop this week.  Grade: A-

X-Men: To Serve and Protect #1 – Marvel should really just have a series called “X-Men Anthology” that allows a variety of established and new creators to tell quickie stories in the current X-Men continuity.  Fun stuff abounds: Rockslide and Anole taking a Dark Knight turn and fighting crime vigilante style, Emma getting her trip to the spa interrupted by an over-libidoed Mandrill, Cyper being heroic (with art by Pepe Larraz who I really like)….  It’s all good.  Grade: B+

I, Zombie #7 – This series took a few issues to get going, mostly because it took Roberson awhile to get all of his toys out of the box.  It is a complex world that he has created.  But, now that it is humming along I’m really enjoying the antics of Gwen the zombie and her band of friends.  It has an almost Scooby-Doo feel (think I may have heard someone make that comparison on a podcast, but can’t remember who).  I wish there was more of a connection between the monster hunters and Gwyn though.  Perhaps there is a connection and I’ve just misplaced it in my brain?  Also….Mike Allred art!  Colors by Laura Allred.  This is the softest style in mainstream comics (if you consider Vertigo mainstream) and I love it.  Kudos to anyone who can draw a pretty lady in gravedigger overalls without resorting to heaving bosoms or having the outfit unbuttoned down to her navel.  Grade: B

Punisher: In the Blood #1 – Now that he isn’t Franken-Castle any more, we can have plain, old Punisher back in the Marvel 616 universe.  What you have here is a pretty classic intro to a Punisher story.  The main villain is Jigsaw and that’ll probably please classic Punisher fans who didn’t like the monstrous turn that Remender took them on.  Boschi really nails it from an art standpoint.  It’s a little unclear if Punisher is going to have an ongoing in the Marvel 616 universe as this is only a 6-issue mini.  The economy is NOT being kind to sales of B-list characters, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Punisher went to a series of minis.  Grade: B-

Iron Man – Thor #1 – I was pretty excited about this because it is written by Abnett & Lanning, but for some reason it didn’t stick to me at all.  I had to pull the issue out of the bag just now to remind myself what the story was about.  That’s not a good sign.  But, that happens when the villain isn’t revealed until the final page and now that I’ve done my remedial homework, it appears to be a story about Thor and Iron Man getting caught up in some plot with the High Evolutionary.  This could be fun because Abnett & Lanning should write this sort of story well.  I didn’t love the art.  It isn’t even remotely “bad”, but Eaton’s work looks very Deodato-y and that just isn’t a style I care for much with harsh, dark shadows even in sunny scenes.  I’ll probably keep getting this out of my faith in Abnett & Lanning.  Grade: C-

– Dean Stell

 

Franken-Castle #17 – Review

By: Rick Remender (writer), Roland Boschi (art), Dan Brown (colors) & Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Having been reborn as Franken-Castle, the former Punisher has settled in with the League of Monsters and is ready to start settling some old scores.

What’s Good: Let me toss out a caveat… I’m not someone who has been a Punisher fan for decades.  I know some hardcore Punisher fans aren’t thrilled with this Franken-Castle change of events, but I’m coming at this story relatively fresh.

As a recap, in Dark Reign: The List – Punisher, Frank Castle got chopped up into about 20 pieces and killed by Daken.  His pieces were picked up in the sewers by the League of Monsters and they reanimated him as Franken-Castle.  Personally, I kind of like this direction for the character because I’ve never thought that Punisher worked that well in the Marvel Universe because he can’t really go toe-to-toe with the super-powered set.  And if he isn’t going to be interacting with other superheroes and villains, why have Punisher in the Marvel U?

That being said, unless you’re just an offended Punisher fan, I don’t see how you can fail to enjoy the premise for this series right now.  Just as it’s always kinda fun when a hero gets a new power or gets a new uniform, this is the ultimate new power/new uniform combo.  I’m sure it won’t be forever, but let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

Beyond the changes to Frank, it is fun to see all the squirmy little monsters in this book.  This is where Boschi’s art really sings.  About 50% of the panels in this issue are just filled with monsters in all their tentacled/horned/fanged/shambling glory.  Good stuff!

The story is mostly incidental (for me) until the very end of the issue when we see that Frank has a list of folks who have done him wrong and he’s out to settle some scores.  Among the folks on the list is Daken!  That should be good!

Wolverine: Chop Shop #1 – Review

By Mike Benson (writer), Roland Boschi (pencils), Dan Brown (colors), Jeff Eckleberry (letters), Tomer Hanuka (cover)

The Story: After an evening of drinking, Logan gets picked up by a beautiful woman who takes him back to her place. After the festivities conclude, Wolverine wakes up hung-over and short a few organs. Realizing he was harvested for parts, Logan sets out for his revenge.

What’s Good: Even though this story is weak, Wolverine’s dialogue is written pretty well. Benson surprisingly finds a way to make the X-man shine through his narration.

What’s Not So Good: I know this is a one-shot, so it’s not supposed to fit in any particular continuity, but this is a bit too unconnected for me. Wolverine getting picked up, and hacked for organs is whatever, but seriously how can anyone not know who this guy is? He’s been involved in every global event for the last like, 40 years. It just asks too much of the reader. To make things worse, the organ-stealers are regular guys which kills the drama. Had it been a super-villain, some anti-mutant group, or someone trying to study his healing factor, sure I can buy that. All of which make more sense than a random hookup gone wrong. The backgrounds are another source of frustration. Half of them are dull, the others are just splashes of color to accentuate Wolverine’s rage. That’s something we should get from the words.

Conclusion: Logan’s narration and some decent art aren’t enough to save this bland story. This is a perfect argument for Wolverine’s over-saturation in comics. Just because an idea with him comes up doesn’t mean it needs to be published, Marvel! And clearly it doesn’t guarantee that it’ll be good. Save your cash folks.

Grade D-

– Ben Berger

Ghost Rider #22 – Preview

Marvel sent us a sneak peak of Ghost Rider #22 due out in comic stores on 4/16/08.

Issue #22 continues Jason Aaron’s (Scalped) run as the series writer. From what I’ve heard of previous issues, it sounds like Aaron’s twisted Ghost Rider’s mythos around making him an agent of heaven (which kinda makes sense if you think about it).

Marvel’s promising a “stunning” return of a character that will be “the most shocking last page in Ghost Rider history!” Roland Boschi is on art, and Marko Djurdjevic, provides yet another kick ass cover.

Click on the images to enlarge!