Savage Wolverine #4 – Review

By: Frank Cho (Writer/Artist), Jason Keith (Colorist)

The Story: Shanna gets resurrected as we get some explanation about the island and some of its mysteries. Meanwhile, Wolverine is angry and needs to do what he is best at, which isn’t very nice of him.

The Review: The more the series is advancing, the more it seems that Wolverine is absolutely inconsequential to this whole story about people being lost in the Savage Land. Really, from what I can see, he is pretty much only there to make the title sell, which is actually quite understandable, considering that a ‘’Shanna the She-Devil’’ or ‘’Amadeus Cho’’ title would not sell very well. Still, if adding Wolverine to the mix to get an actually interesting title is what we need, then so be it.

Avengers #4 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (writer), Adam Kubert (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The Avengers race to a newly discovered sixth impact zone from the Garden’s recent mayhem.  The problem is that this one’s in the Savage Land and everyone’s favourite bee-keeper scientists may have gotten there first.

The Review:  Hickman’s Avengers so far has been solid and refreshing, but I’m still waiting for it to fully live up to its potential.  With the start of its second arc, this feels like one step forward but also perhaps one step back (so yeah, thankfully, not two steps back).  The heartening thing is that the back-tread has nothing to do with Hickman.

Instead, it’s Kubert that’s at fault here.  Don’t get me wrong, the artwork here isn’t bad.  I mean, it’s Adam Kubert, how bad could it be?  The problem is that, particularly compared to Jerome Opena’s hyper-detailed, hyper-polished artwork, Kubert’s work feels forgettable and bland.  Part of this may be due to Kubert’s simply being a more conventional artist than Opena, but the real problem is also that this simply isn’t Kubert’s best work.  It feels rougher than usual, perhaps even a little rushed.  Hell, the first few pages, the prologue of the issue, are particularly messy.  Frank D’Armata’s colors don’t particularly help as well, lacking the vibrance and energy needed to carry the day, opting instead to, much like Kubert’s work, not go any farther than merely getting the job done.  Regardless, there’s a pretty big gap between Kubert’s work here and Kubert’s recent work on Avengers vs. X-Men.  The result is a book that while visually functional, is also surprisingly uninspiring for its bulk, with the exception of Hyperion’s origin, which is admittedly nicely rendered.

Wolverine & the X-Men #11 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Nick Bradshaw (pencils & inks), Walden Wong & Norman Lee (inks), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Going to the X-Men’s aid, Jean Grey School teachers battle Avengers while Logan and Hope are intercepted by a squad of Shi’ar Death Commandos.

The Review:  Two issues in, it’s become clear – AvX has effectively derailed one of Marvel’s best books, and isn’t that the eternal nightmare for comics readers wary of event tie-ins?

The problem is that focusing on Avengers vs. X-Men forces Aaron to move away from much of what’s made the book a rousing success.  We spend far too much time away from the school and from the students.  Indeed, much as the bit with Genesis was last issue’s best moment, this issue’s bits with Kid Gladiator and Kitty’s class’ reaction to Iceman’s fight with Hulk are the highlights, but these portions are far too brief.

No, instead, the bulk of the issue just features mindless action.  Once again, we get to see Avengers and X-Men punching each other in Wakanda/Tabula Rasa/Wundagore/Savage Land, exchanging dialogue that feels completely phoned in, with heroes reiterating their teams’ basic stances.  Most of these characters fighting have no real beef or connection to one another, so the fights really feel meaningless, while other characters have never even played a role in this book prior to this issue (Red Hulk and Doctor Strange, for instance).  Frankly, this “splitting the teams amidst four locations” has been a point I’ve really hated about AvX, as it’s just led to tie-ins like this one, spinning their wheels by filling pages with random heroes punching each other.  Perhaps it would be more forgivable for readers with less extensive pull-lists, but it’s starting to feel like every damned tie-in is doing these “checking in” action scenes; it was lifeless and tiresome to begin with and at this point, it’s simply irritating.

Venom #2 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Tony Moore (pencils), Crimelab! Studios (inks), John Rauch (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Flash fights for his life as he finds himself hunted by Kraven in the Savage Land.

The Review: It seems that a lot series put out fantastic, promising first issues and then fail to deliver after that.  Well, breathe a sigh of relief Remender/Moore fans, because Venom isn’t one of those titles.  Venom’s second installment is just as good as the first, if not better.

Remender makes a daring creative choice this month, throwing Flash into the Savage Land jungle, hunted by Kraven, with no set-up.  We’re only given information throughout the issue, as the hunt continues.  The result is an issue that is frantic and disorienting, if not desperate.  As you can imagine, that’s absolutely fantastic for a story like this one, as it accurately reflects Flash’s predicament and enhances the theme and tone of the issue.  That’s this issue’s greatest strength really, that sweaty, dirty, desperate jungle horror tone.

Kraven is also put to perfect use and is fantastic under Remender’s hand.  The guy is batshit crazy, and his mental derangement infects the story and environment of the book overall.  His weird love for Venom and his desire to be killed makes for good reading and an awesome villain.  Furthermore, he really does feel like a hunter here.  He truly feels dangerous and it’s as though he’s everywhere, constantly at Flash’s heels.

Remender also does the little things well.  Flash’s narration is sharp as ever.  Remender does a good job of reflecting the effect poisoning on this narration and Flash’s thought patterns.  He also shows just how integral Betty is in Flash’s psyche, providing a sort of anchor for Flash.  Then there’s the ever closing relationship with the symbiote, which is continually creeping and, this month, gets further heightened and all the  more interesting, as it starts to have a personality of its own.  That’s good reading.

Then there’s Remender’s juxtaposition of Betty’s normal life soap-opera-like scenes and Flash’s insane jungle battle.  The two are such opposites that it effectively shows the massive chasm between the characters.

Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #1 – Review

By Victor Gischler (Writer), Bong Dazo (Artist), and Jose Pimentel (Inks), and Matt Milla (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Did they really need another Deadpool series? I like the character as much as most people (probably more), but Deadpool is going to turn into the next Spider-Man or Wolverine at the current pace.

The Story: Deadpool gets hired by A.I.M. to recover a package located in the Savage Land. The merc runs into Ka-Zar and Zabu, some natives, and the contact that is supposed to have secured the package.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: The art is easily the highlight of the new Deadpool series. Bong Dazo is a great artist for a character like Deadpool, and simply put, his manic, lively, exaggerated style is a perfect fit for a series like Merc With A Mouth. Dazo’s work saves a script from being baf all around.

Victor Gischler writes a solid Deadpool (I like the Fallout reference) and puts the character in a fun situation, but there’s nothing about Merc With A Mouth #1 that makes it a must read. That said, the debut of this new series proves that there is actually room for two Deadpool comics. The Daniel Way series is Deadpool doing his thing in relation to the current Marvel status quo. On the other hand, the Victor Gischler series is, from the looks of it, all about telling entertaining stories about an entertaining character. That’s something I can get behind.

Conclusion: Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #1 is worth checking out if you are either A) a fan of the character or B) someone that would rather read a Deadpool book that doesn’t pay much attention to the current Marvel U. situation.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

Ultimates 3 #4 – Capsule Review

Jeph Loeb, (Writer) Joe Madureira, (Artwork) and Christian Lichtner (Digital Paints)

To be honest, this one doesn’t deserve any more space than it is getting. If it wasn’t for the awesome (its a love or hate thing I know) artwork by Joe Mad and Christian Lichtner I would have dropped this one after the first issue. The storyline is a mess featuring too many characters, Jeph Loeb’s dialogue is hilariously cliché, campy, and one-note, and I am fairly certain characters are acting wildly out of character. This is easily one of the worst things I have read since getting back into comics. If the artwork wasn’t so fun to look at, I would have to consider this a complete and utter failure at every level. (Grade: D)

-Kyle Posluszny

A Second Opinion

I have no idea where this book is going anymore. And to think it’s going to wrap up next issue is just unthinkable. The only thing I can make a wager on is that it’s going to say, “To be continued in Ultimatum” at the end of issue #5. There’s just too many subplots and dangling threads (that have been randomly conjured up, no less) to be wrapped up in another 22 pages of story. This series has done nothing but sullen The Ultimates brand and lower the integrity of the creative team. Joe Mad’s art is the only reason why people are buying this turd, because the story is a convoluted mess and the coloring is still too dark. Why he would want to be associated with a piece of garbage like this is beyond me. At least with Hulk, I know that Jeph Loeb is purposely writing a bad story for the hell of it. Here, there’s just no excuse. Even the cover sucks. (Grade: F+)

– J. Montes

New Avengers #41 (Secret Invasion) – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Billy Tan (Artist), and Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

On Sale 5/29/08

One thing that bothers me about Brian Bendis is that he’s always willing to waste a page or two recapping something we’ve already seen. In this issue we get to see the Avengers/Skrull/dinosaur fight (from Secret Invasion #2) for, what, the third or fourth time? It only takes two and a half pages, but at 22 pages every 30 days, that’s three whole days blown. On the other hand, this issue features Shanna the She-Devil and, damn, does that girl look fine.

Like all Bendis’ other Secret Invasion books lately, this issue is mostly back story, explaining what’s been happening in the background of the Marvel Universe for the past few years. Or it could all be a big, fat lie.

Let me explain: Spider-Man gets separated from the other Avengers during the fight and runs into Ka-Zar and the aforementioned sweet-looking She-Devil. (Spidey calls her “Sheena”, a cute side-reference to one of the 50 other comic book jungle girls who preceded her.) After a few pages of the usual “You’re a Skrull!”, “I’m not a Skrull!” bickering, Ka-Zar and Shanna explain how they discovered Skrulls disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents poaching the Savage Land’s vibranium mines, at long last bringing us back to the plot line Bendis established way back in New Avengers #1. They claim they infiltrated the camp but were caught, then escaped, and have been fighting a guerrilla war with the Skrulls ever since. Of course, Ka-Zar and/or Shanna could be Skrulls him/her/themselves, in which case they may have left out a few key details.

Overall, it’s a good issue, though Bendis pads things out even more than usual. Billy Tan has never caught my eye before but, my goodness, he certainly knows how to draw Shanna in all her buckskin-clad glory.

The character who shows up on the last page is no big surprise. What with Mockingbird (maybe) coming back from the dead, we all knew it was only a matter of time before they put the spotlight on this guy. Still, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Did I mention Shanna is really, really hot?

Too bad she’s probably a Skrull. (Grade: A-)

– Andrew C. Murphy

A Second Opinion

It’s hard to say if Ka-Zar or Shanna are Skrulls. They definitely have their story straight, but one thing I’ve learned to trust over the years is Spidey’s intelligence. We’ll just have to see where it goes. As for the rest of the issue, there’s definitely a lot of padding as Andrew suggested, but it wasn’t so jarring to me. In fact, I had a lot of fun in this story. The connection it makes to New Avengers #1 will pay off for loyal readers of the series, and just having an issue with our two favorite Savage Land residents is enough to make me smile.

Billy Tan’s art is incredibly lush. I was always a fan of his X-Men work, but here he’s given a chance to shine, showing more versatility thanks to the large cast of characters and dense jungle setting. If Marvel’s smart, they’ll keep him out of the “mutant ghetto” and let him thrive on another book. Hell, keep him on New Avengers – I’d love to see that! And yes, his rendition of Shanna is delicious; however, Frank Cho, in my mind, will forever own her after that Shanna mini-series he did a few years ago.

I had a lot of fun with this issue. It’s actually got Avengers in it, plus it’s more concurrent with the main Secret Invasion storyline. It’s not a key issue, but it does act as a decent supplement until Secret Invasion #3 hits the newsstand next month. (Grade: B+)

– J. Montes