Dark Avengers #190 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (Writer), Neil Edwards (Artist), Sotocolor (Colorist)

The Story: The Dark Avengers discover the secret of this bizarre future and manages to save themselves and the world from what would destroy it.

The Review: Jeff Parker is capable of many things. He is a talented writer that seems to have a gift for characterization and development. Give him a character that is in sore need of definition and love and he’ll make wonders. He did this with the Red Hulk, the multiple villains from Thunderbolts, the golden age characters from Agent of Atlas among other characters. He can create depth and new angle to old tired character which makes him very enjoyable to read or pick new characters that seems to be set in a boring direction and set them up for much more enjoyable adventures.

Believe it or not, while he seemed to have trouble sometimes in this current arc in this strange new world of his, he succeeds in giving us a potable story thanks to a satisfying conclusion. In short, what he gives us is an explanation that is genuinely new and interesting on just how this world came to be and how twisted the reasons for its existence. When the whole reasoning is given, it does manage to bring out some theory and makes the whole story stronger for it.

Dark Avengers #184 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Neil Edwards (artist) Sotocolor (colorist)

The Story: The Dark Avengers are thrown in a strange place, captured by familiar, yet different versions of characters we know and love.

The Review: For a while, this title suffered by mixing in too many characters and plot points at once. Having the Dark Avengers and Thunderbolts being the focus of this title made it a little bit rushed and unfocused, yet everything changes now. With this title now solely focused on a single team, it is slowly gaining some more interest.

We do not see much of the Dark Avengers in this particular issue, as Jeff Parker takes a little bit more time on the strange world the team has been sent off to. There is a lot of exposition in the pages of this issue, yet it is very interesting, as we can see and be teased once more by the mad concepts Jeff Parker will no doubt bring to this book with this particular storyline he is beginning.

Thor: Heaven and Earth #3 – Review

By: Paul Jenkins (writer), Pascal Alixe (artist), Sotocolor (colorist), Charlie Beckerman (editor)

The Story: Thor fulfills a promise to reconcile the existence of the Viking gods to a faith-stricken Catholic priest.

What’s Good: I had checked out this issue totally on a lark, and was blown away by the story. It’s been a while since I’ve led the “what’s good” part of a review with the writer, but Paul Jenkins delivered a perfectly written story with cosmic and personal depth. What made it perfect for me? First of all, this story gets to what Thor is about: a major god from a pagan pantheon intervening directly in a Judeo-Christian-Muslim, largely secularized world. Thor’s 50-year run in comics has required readers to deliberately suppress or ignore questions about which religion is true. Doctor Strange had much the same problem, and Marvel largely sorted these out in Marvel Premiere in the early 1970s. Jenkins didn’t duck this problem; he made it the core of his story and he pulled it off without being trite, facile or dishonest.

Chaos War: Dead Avengers #2 – Review

By: Fred Van Lente (writer), Tom Grummett (pencils), Cory Hamscher (inks), Andy Troy & Sotocolor (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: The Dead Avengers continue in an attempt to protect the current/living/comatose Avengers from a “back from the dead” Grim Reaper.

What’s Good: This is a great little tie-in series to the Chaos War event for a few reasons, a) it makes sense with the overall story and doesn’t seem forced, b) it is not essential to your enjoyment of Chaos War proper, c) it adds to your enjoyment of the overall event if you read it and d) it is not causing any continuity problems.

The basic story is that the Chaos King has put all mortal humans on Earth into a coma and brought all of the dead back to life.  Only, they aren’t ghoulish zombies…. they’re just who they were before they died, with all their memories, motives, etc. intact.  Oh, and the bad guys seem to be really powered up.  So, when a group of Dead Avengers is revived and finds current Avengers flopped around comatose with a revived Grim Reaper trying to kill them, they leap into action.

What is great is that writer Van Lente is spending a little bit of time showing the back story of each of the Dead Avengers.  That’s appreciated because some of these characters have been out of comics for a long time.  He also gives each of them a unique voice and motivation for wanting to help out.  And, in true Van Lente fashion, there are a couple of “panels of the week candidates” that make you snicker as you read (loved the Swordsman coming on to Yellowjacket and explaining that he can’t help it because he is French).  Van Lente is one of the real stars at Marvel and why they haven’t locked him up with an “exclusive” deal is beyond me.  His comics are always entertaining and even when I don’t think I’ll enjoy the subject matter (i.e. Dead Avengers) I find myself having a great time reading.  I think his secret is that he’s using just the right about of continuity to “matter” but not so much that the story is bogged down.

Grummett’s pencils are also really sweet.  He’s a veteran of comic art and for some reason his style has kinda fallen out of favor, but I don’t know why.  Perhaps it is because his characters look like they conform to more of a “house style” and artists today have to be individuals?  But, this is just flat out nice artwork in a very throwback way (i.e. is faithful to human muscle groups).  And, for this type of story, dealing with mortal danger, this sort of classic, super-hero art is more appropriate than a more cartooning style.  Also kudos to the rest of the art team.  Nice inks, pretty colors and even some creative lettering.

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #3 – Review

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Mark Brooks (Pencils), Mark Morales & Walden Wong (Inks), and L. Molinar & A. Street (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Dark Reign: Young Avengers has been a strange mini-series so far. It’s unlike anything Marvel is putting out and yet, I’m not quite sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

The Story: The real Young Avengers test the wannabe Young Avengers by teaming up with them against a bunch of Hydra thugs. Is someone testing them both?

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Alright. Now I’m certain that Paul Cornell is content to let the Dark Reign: Young Avengers mini-series frustrate the hell out of me. The third issue reads extremely well (Cornell makes great use of clever dialogue), looks mighty solid (the darker coloring by Molinar and Streets is an upgrade for the series), and adds a number of interesting twists to whatever the hell the overall plot is about (I’m still not entirely sure). That said, it also leaves me feeling exactly like I did after reading the first two issues of the series. So how did I feel? Confused about the future of the characters and wondering what the whole point of the mini-series is.

Conclusion: So I’m certain Paul Cornell is trying to frustrate me. You know what else I’m certain of? That Dark Reign: Young Avengers is going to read much better as a trade than a monthly. I know I’ll finish it out as a monthly, but I have a feeling everyone else will be better served by reading it once the mini-series is collected.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny

Terror Inc. Apocalypse Soon #3 – Review

By David Lapham (Writer), Koi Turnbull & Xurxo G. Penalta (Art), Scott Hanna & Tom Palmer (Inks), and Sotocolor’s C. Garcia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Thanks to David Lapham’s excellent character work, Terror Inc. Apocalypse Soon is one of the year’s best surprises.

The Story: Terror and Mrs. Primo meet up with a terrorist and learn the secret behind both the deadly plague and the child that carries it. Only one person has a cure, Zahhak, and Terror knows where to find him…

What’s Good: Terror Inc. Apocalypse Soon #3 is centered around a plot twist that proves to be quite effective. While I won’t spoil anything here, I will say that it gives the story just the jolt that it needs to build towards a conclusion that looks far more promising now than it did a few weeks ago. I’ve got to hand it to David Lapham for being able to turn things around so late in the game.

As expected, Lapham’s character work is the high point of the latest issue of Terror Inc. Apocalypse Soon. He handles Terror with just the right amount of humor and it keeps the plot from becoming too serious or controversial. Also worth noting is the solid artwork, though…

What’s Not So Good:…I’m not so sure about the decision to bring Xurxo G. Penalta on board. While Penalta’s style looks quite cool and proves to be a nice fit for the series, it leaves Terror Inc. #3 feeling a lot like the latest Ms. Marvel. Koi Turnbull and Xurxo G. Penalta have completely different styles and the change from Turnbull to Penalta is surprisingly jarring, especially considering that there’s no real break in the story that might have made the change feel a bit more natural/understandable. At least there was some sort of reason for the alternating styles in Ms. Marvel #40. In Terror Inc. #3, the change from one artist to the next just feels strange.

Conclusion: Art issues aside (though I wouldn’t say the art is bad in any way), Terror Inc. Apocalypse Soon #3 is well worth reading. David Lapham continues to do a great job with the Terror character and the plot twist that’s introduced gives the mini-series a nice bit of momentum as it heads towards a conclusion.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2 – Review

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Mark Brooks (Pencils), Mark Morales w/Walden Wong & Dexter Vines (Inks), and Emily Warren & Sotocolor’s L. Molinar (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Dark Reign: Young Avengers got off to an interesting start. The first issue of the mini-series frustrated as much as it entertained, yet it still had that “something” that made me want more.

The Story: The Young Avengers and their Dark counterparts battle over name rights. The fight quickly turns into a discussion however as the coolest heads prevail. Coat of Arms tells her story and more is revealed about how the Dark Young Avengers came to be.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Am I allowed to just copy and paste my review for Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1 into this section? I ask because, in all honesty, most of what I said about the first issue applies to the second. In Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2, more questions are raised than answered, Paul Cornell tosses around some cool ideas about being a superhero in the Marvel U., and most of the cast remains an intriguing mystery. Sounds like another C+, right? Well, almost…

The second chapter of Dark Reign: Young Avengers gets a higher grade than the first for two reasons: the artwork improvements, and Coat of Arms. The artwork looks much more defined and detailed. As a result, the characters look much more distinct and recognizable. As for Coat of Arms, her dialogue is written in such a way that it’s difficult to tell whether she is artsy, pretentious, obsessive, or, possibly completely bat-shit insane. And you know what? It works to great effect. While I wish more of the cast would stand out like Coat of Arms does, I’ll take what I can get.

Conclusion: Dark Reign: Young Avengers stands out because it really feels like something unique. If Paul Cornell can develop the plot a bit more next issue, I think I’ll be looking forward to seeing more of the Dark Young Avengers in the future.

Grade: B-

-Kyle Posluszny

Terror Inc.: Apocalypse Soon #1 – Review

By David Lapham (Writer), Koi Turnbull (Pencils), Scott Hanna (Inks), and Edward Bola & Sotocolor’s C. Garcia (Colors)

The Story: Mr. Terror is immortal, has a big armored left arm, looks like a zombie, and has the ability to attach new body parts (head, arm…you name it) from willing and unwilling donors as needed. He runs Terror Inc. and gets paid by taking on jobs that no one else will. In Apocalypse Soon #1, two stories begin. The first takes place during the spread of the Black Death (A.K.A. The Plague) and is about Mr. Terror’s very first job. He is hired to get revenge and honor the dying wishes of a rich woman wronged by her husband. The second story that begins is about Terror’s latest job, where he is hired to get a sample of a bio-terror weapon and then destroy the facility it is being tested at.

What’s Good: Surly, crass, grotesque, and a lover of sex, Mr. Terror is, quite simply, a blast to read about in a MAX title. David Lapham scores the most points, however, for managing to find a sweet spot between revolting and likeable thanks to Mr. Terror’s soft spot for kids and the less fortunate. It’s a fairly delicate balance, but Lapham pulls it off in a way that seems almost effortless.

The visuals in Terror Inc. #1 are quite nice. The art team deserves a lot of credit for working with two very different settings without sacrificing consistency. Also, Koi Turnbull and his crew do a great job of bringing out both sides of Terror through detailed, busy settings, impressive character work, and brutal, slightly disturbing violence.

What’s Not So Good: The weakest part of the first chapter of Apocalypse Soon is the main story being developed. While it isn’t exactly boring, it feels a bit too predictable. It does show some promise though thanks to a fairly strong finish, so it’s not all bad.

Conclusion: In short, Terror Inc. #1 is a well-written, good-looking book that isn’t afraid to take advantage of the MAX label. The main character rocks and one of the plots being developed is a lot of fun.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny