Deadpool #3 (Secret Invasion) – Review

By Daniel Way (Writer), Paco Medina (Artist), Juan Vlasco (Inker), and Marte Gracia (Colorist)

The Story: Deadpool fights a Super Skrull and works to complete the mission that was assigned to him by Nick Fury. Violence, witty banter, and general wackiness ensues in a way that only “The Merc with a Mouth” can deliver.

What’s Good: The third issue of the new Deadpool series is the best yet and ends in such an intriguing fashion that I find myself eagerly anticipating what is going to happen next. In every way, Daniel Way and Paco Medina have taken a fairly limiting story situation (the Secret Invasion) and made the absolute most of it. The jokes (a mix of dry humor and slapstick) hit far more than they miss, the artwork perfectly matches the energetic tone of the story, and most importantly, the book is just plain fun. Deadpool is now easily one of the most entertaining and vibrant books that Marvel puts out. If the creative team can keep it up, Deadpool may have a long and successful future.

What’s Not So Good: The fact that this series is still stuck within the Secret Invasion for this issue. I have definitely had my fill of Skrulls, no matter how entertaining the book they are in is. It is time to move on to different (probably better) things.

I also feel I should mention that the tone of this book may not be to everyone’s liking. Daniel Way goes little bit overboard trying to make a joke at every opportunity and Paco Medina’s stylized, cartoony artwork may be a bit much for some. Personally, I am a big fan, but I know many prefer comics with a darker edge.

Conclusion: By injecting some (much needed) fun into the Skrull invasion, Deadpool joins Ms. Marvel and Black Panther as a prime example of how to use event trappings to the fullest. Well worth picking up.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Ms. Marvel #30 (Secret Invasion) – Review

By Brian Reed (Writer), Adriana Melo (Pencils), Chris Sotomayor (Colors), Mariah Benes (Inks), and Paulo Siqueira (Artist for pages 23 & 24)

The conclusion of the “Battle of Manhattan” Secret Invasion tie-in is a quick, but ultimately satisfying read that shows why Ms. Marvel is clearly one of the best female characters in the Marvel universe.

The action once again takes front and center, as Ms. Marvel is pushed to the absolute limit facing off against a rampaging, animalistic Super-Skrull that has the ability to change powers instantaneously. While that is pretty much it for the plot, there is a nice little twist near the end that definitely makes me look forward to where the series will go from here.

As for the technical stuff, it pretty much is business as usual this month. Brian Reed continues to do good work in his handling of Ms. Marvel by showing what effect the Invasion has had on both her personality and her mindset, while the art team continues to make Ms. Marvel one of the best looking books on the stands. My only nitpick is that the direction of some of the action seems a bit off at times, but it does little to diminish the overall quality of the artwork. Also, I must mention that Adriana Melo draws an absolutely incredible Ms. Marvel and suitably ferocious looking Super-Skrull.

Had this tie-in been set to go on for another month, I would have mentioned that things were dangerously close to becoming stale. Instead, I get to say that the “Battle of Manhattan” has been one of the best Invasion tie-ins, and it does a nice job of setting Ms. Marvel up for the future. (Grade: B)

-Kyle Posluszny

Annihilation (TPB) Volumes #1-3 – Review

By Various

When this series came out a couple of years ago, I picked up the first two issues and was so completely lost that I never bothered to pick up the rest of the series. The problem was that there were “prologue” books that came before, opening up the storylines and the characters of the series. Well, I missed out on those books. and after hearing many raves regarding this crossover from friends, I decided to give it another shot. Thankfully, Marvel was kind enough to put the series in chronological order when it compiled this series into three trade paperbacks. It all makes sense to me now, and boy did I miss out on one heck of a story.

Before I get into what this story’s about, let it be known that you don’t need to know much or even anything of Marvel’s cosmic continuity to enjoy it. Trust me, because I pretty much have never kept up with this stuff either. I always thought Nova (at least from the New Warriors) was a little boring, Silver Surfer was a cool concept that never really grabbed my attention, and the Skrulls and Kree were just kind of silly. Then you have Thanos, who, thanks to Jim Starlin’s ego and vanity, was always a completely bloated and lame character. But with Annihilation, all your preconceptions of these characters go out the window. Sure, at times, they are portrayed as a bit too silly with their monologues and one-liners (“This ends now!” is said like six times throughout the series), but those moments are few. Instead, these characters are humanized, triumphant, and set on a destiny of greatness (and tradgedy).

The prologue issues go into great depth, explaining who the main cast of characters are and their motives. By the time we get to the actual Annihilation storyline, we’ve got all the information we need to dig in and enjoy it for what it is. What also helps are a series of “biography files” inserted at the end of each issue, explaining the main characters, their backgrounds, and powers. We get a good understanding of what’s at stake in the whole scheme of things. The Annihilation Wave is unlike any force seen in the Marvel Universe. It destroys planets, reaps the dead, and frees ancient evil from captivity.

Knowing that this wave cannot be stopped alone, an uneasy alliance is formed and a huge cosmic war commences. How the heroes on Earth can be so oblivious of the bigger picture and not lend a hand to this galatic conflict is beyond me. Annihilation is, in my opinion, the best crossover event that Marvel has ever done. Released during a time when Civil War was king and DC’s 52 was queen, Annihilation imposed a strong storyline on many galaxies set within the Marvel Universe. It literally changed the cosmic make up of the universe.

What Annihilus does is castastrophic. The epic events his invasion puts into motion make Civil War seem like squashing an ant hill. Imagine Thanos finally meeting his maker or Galactus being captured and used as a universal weapon of mass destruction. This is the kind of large scale stuff I’m talking about here, folks! More people peope die in this series than if you combined all the issues of Marvel’s back catalog. I mean, you have the Skrull Empire which loses more than half of its population to this war. And yet, these goons want to invade Earth after the fact? This, I don’t get.
It’s such a shame that this storyline never got the attention it really deserved. If you’re still on the fence, I urge you to pick up the trades. If you’re tired of big crossover events not delivering or being retconned within months after their release, Annihilation will reinvigorate your excitment in these events. (Grade: A)

– J. Montes