Journey Into Mystery #622 – Review

by Kieron Gillen (writer), Dougie Braithwaite (pencils), Ulises Arreola (colors), and Clayton Cowles (letters)

 

The Story: Loki goes on a quest to discover the secret behind his elder self’s demise.

The Review: This is quite possibly the best work of Kieron Gillen’s career, or at the very least, it’s among that work.  Regardless, this should be star-making work and I will seriously lose faith in comic-reading humanity if that isn’t the case.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s get into the nitty gritty.

What truly makes this issue special is the excellent use Kieron Gillen makes of the new child Loki.  By putting Loki on a magic-infused, fantasy genre quest, he gives off an epic feel that gives off a hint of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson novels and their ilk.  The one special kid who goes on a heroic, epic quest.  It’s an awesome formula, and Gillen’s putting it to use in the Marvel Universe is nothing short of magical and absolutely unlike anything Marvel’s doing right now but also a fantastic and fresh use of the fantasy Thor corner of that universe that makes the very most of the tools at hand.  It also makes kid Loki more likable than ever.

And that’s crucial too; Gillen writes the hell out of kid Loki.  It’s impossible not to absolutely adore him.  Gillen keeps Loki indisputably a kid, but one who’s hyper intelligent with a mind that’s ever active.  This makes for a character that’s easy to root for and wonderful to read, one with motivations and ambitions that are compelling.  It also leads to some real laugh out loud moments, particularly when it comes to Loki’s eagerness to explore Midgard (including the internet forums!), completely opposite to his Asgardian brethren.

Venom #1 – Review

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

The Story: Flash goes on a mission to stop an arms-dealer, and the doctor behind his weapons, amidst genocide.

The Review: Venom #1 is a very interesting issue insofar as it shows, truly, what a great creative team can do and how one such team can mine greatness from what looks, at first, to be a tapped reservoir.

Certainly, at it’s base level, Venom #1 has a lot that could make for a very mediocre comic.  There’s the fact that it’s about Venom, already a ho-hum franchise.  Then there’s the fact that it’s yet another superhero spec-ops book.  Meanwhile, having a faceless arms-dealer as a villain?  It doesn’t get much blander than that.  Yet, Venom #1 is a tremendous comic book that sees Rick Remender succeeding once again with the odds stacked against him.

One of the reasons is Remender’s outstanding character-work.  Flash Thompson, for instance, is an absolute star and, within pages, instantly recognizable as an incredibly compelling and sympathetic main character well worth his own ongoing series.  He’s a fully three dimensional human being and in 22 pages, Remender touches upon so much of what makes him tick: his devotion to his country in the face of political naysayers, his courage and natural heroism, his struggles with alcoholism and his own flaws and vulnerabilities, his constant conflict with the old high school jock football hero inside of him, and the toll his military career and heroism takes on his personal sphere.  There is just so much about Remender’s Flash that intrigues, and placed in such a balancing act as this one, where absolute emotional equilibrium is required to control the beast that is the symbiote only heightens everything that makes Flash interesting.

Remender also does great work when it comes to Flash’s narration.  It feels personal, heroic yet human, and fully captures Flash’s unique voice.  It’s not over the top in any way, but it’s great to see Flash having a distinct tone.  Remender also does ingenious work in manipulating these narrative textboxes to show Flash’s loss of control to the symbiote.

Cackling villain Jack O’ Lantern is a joy.  He’s maniacal and a hyperactive, exaggerated bit of murderous black comedy.  He’s a lot of fun and reminds me of something Grant Morrison would write, albeit a bit more comprehensible.

Invincible Iron Man #21 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: The surgery to restore Tony Stark takes place.

What’s Good: The strange desert scenes within Tony’s mind were my high point in this month’s issue.  Last issue, I found these scenes a little too weird and obscure, but this month the meaning and moral lesson are said overtly and are more resonant as a result.  Despite this, the feeling of strangeness and repetition are maintained.  Essentially, Fraction walks the line between weird and meaningful quite a bit better this month, despite these scenes actually having fewer pages.

Much of this issue reads like a “step by step” instructional on how to revive Tony, and it really is fairly cool in this regard.  It’s almost a narrated montage, as we see various heroes following Stark’s recorded manual.  You really get the feel of our assembled party putting Stark back together piece by piece, moving forward one careful step at a time.   It helps that Fraction has always been great when it comes to writing Stark and his voice remains strong and, at times, humorous and the operation is just the right mixture of medical science and ridiculous superheroics.

Beyond that, Pepper’s strange dissent last issue on reviving Tony is fleshed out a little this month.  While her reasoning still seems a bit stretched, the fact she herself recognizes this does help.  While some might say that Pepper’s explaining this through writing a letter, presented on page, is a bit clichéd, Fraction manages to make it work through including Pepper’s bevy of crossouts in the narrative captions, which helps to show Pepper’s state of mind through an authorial tool that is usually guilty of purely telling.

Larroca generally puts in a much stronger performance than he did last month.  The faces are much more acceptable, the desert scenes remain gorgeous, and there’s one particular Thor spread that is simply awesome.

TRAILER: Tony Stark in The Incredible Hulk?!