Thunderbolts #1 Review

By: Daniel Way (Writer), Steve Dillon (Artist), Guru eFX (Colorist), Joe Sabino (Letterer)

The Review: I’ve been quite a big fan of Thunderbolts since first picking it up during the Warren Ellis run, finding it to be one of the most consistently enjoyable titles on my pull list ever since. It had a rotating cast that kept things fresh, many of whom were C and D-list characters whose safety never really felt guaranteed (though I think only the Headsman actually snuffed it) and it made a habit of rehabilitating villains in a creative sense as much as a literal one. The series was rebranded as Dark Avengers a few months ago which conveniently left a space open for a relaunch of the Thunderbolts franchise; the group selected to carry on the mantle however are markedly different than what came before.

Avengers #14 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: “The Red Hulk…proved himself an Avenger.”

The Review:  As far as issue structure goes, this is a bit of a weird one.  We start out with the same talking heads format that found such success last month, then we end up with a near wordless action scene.  Bendis seems to be attempting to flirt with both of these formats, and it feels a little haphazard.

Which is a shame, because taken on their own merits, both sides are pretty solid.  The talking heads continues to bring an intimacy and humanity to the superhero community, which serve to highlight the gravity and devastation of the events of Fear Itself.  The action scenes are pretty damned awesome as well, as you’d expect a Thing-on-Steroids vs. Red Hulk battle to be.  More than that, Bendis manages to convey Red Hulk’s heroism through his actions alone and there is emotion attached to a battle that is, by and large, a regular old megapowered throwdown.

A major event of destruction happens this issue as well.  I can’t say much more than that, but suffice it to say that I have mixed feelings.  On the one hand, Romita’s grand artwork and Bendis’ tone sells this particular catastrophe well in both its scale and importance.  It again hammers home just how bad things are right now amidst the madness of Fear Itself.  On the other hand, it also feels kind of familiar.  Granted, this exact event hasn’t happened before to my knowledge, but we’ve come pretty close before and seen similar things happen.

I was also not a fan of “evil Ben’s” dialogue.  Bendis seems to, for reasons unknown, set Ben apart from most of the rest of his Worthy brethren.  He doesn’t speak that incomprehensible Asgardian monster language and, in fact, not only does he speak only English, he speaks colloquially.  In other words, he’s just evil Ben, which is a bit lame and completely at odds with what other writers have been doing, including Matt Fraction himself.

Avengers #12 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Parker Robbins makes his stand against the Avengers in attempting to gather all of the infinity gems.

The Review:  Wow.  Art-wise, this is simply gorgeous.  Both Romita Jr. and Dean White go all out this month, putting out what may very well be the best looking issue of this series thus far.  Romita and White go old-school crazy on us in their depiction of the astral plane, Thanos, and the cosmic powers of the infinity gems with high-powered combat that is explosive fun.  Everything glows, carries an epic but gleeful cartoony tone, and is just so much fun to look at.  Clearly, putting Romita and White on a story like this was a good call, as it really lets them shine.  It’s clear that the artists are having a really good time, and that carries over to the reader.

Unfortunately, not soon after the issue begins, Bendis sort of spoils this by putting a completely foul tastes in the mouth of pretty much every reader.  Last issue’s Thano’s cliffhanger was awesome in an “oh no you didn’t” sort of way.  Well, this month, we learn that Bendis….actually “didn’t” after all.  I hate, hate, hate it when comic book writers pull cheap bait-and-switches like this.  They serve absolutely NO purpose other than to create a quick shock at the end of an issue.  They serve little to no narrative benefit and, honestly, this whole Thanos ruse proved to be utterly pointless.  It wasn’t an overly vital tactic on the part of the Avengers.  It was just a cheap move to get a rise out of the reader, which only led to crushing disappointment this month.

And worse still, if this is all a bait-and-switch, why have the Hood be in heavy dialogue with “Thanos” for five pages at the start of this issue?  That borders on sadism and it really just makes the ensuing wound all the more painful.

On the plus side, while this trick put a damper on the issue as a whole, Red Hulk does really shine this month.  By focusing on Red Hulk the most and having him seemingly lead the charge against the Hood and take him on in single combat, beating on Parker both physically and intellectually, Bendis nicely cements Rulk’s place on the team while also garnering support for the character.  This bodes well for the series in the long-term while also providing someone to cheer for this month, as well as a decent bit of character-work.

Avengers #10 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), and Dean White (colors)

The Story: The Avengers check to make sure that Xavier and Namor’s infinity gems are safe.

The Review: Avengers #10 is, unfortunately, something of a stumbling block for the series after a couple of solid outings.

The main culprit is the story structure, which sees various Avengers checking on the locations of Xavier, Namor, and Stark’s infinity gems.  Clearly, Bendis intends for us to be impressed with where and how each character has hidden them, each in his own distinct fashion.  Unfortunately, it’s honestly not that interesting.  Each character basically puts them in just the sort of place you’d expect them to.  Worse still, there’s something bland and formulaic about the narrative structure: we follow the characters to each location, Bendis tries to wow us with each locations security feature, and then we get a look at each of the gems.  It almost feels like a tedious video game, with each location being a level to play through.

The other thing that dogs Avengers #10 and, I suspect, is something that will hinder the series for some issues to come, is just how many freaking characters there are.  Avengers #10 began to feel a bit like a bad issue of Uncanny X-Men, where any sense of an actual team is thrown out the window and there’s basically just a mob of X-universe characters moving about.  Here, it’s just that, but it’s the Avengers universe instead.  Bendis has slammed all the teams together, and I can’t even say that it was really all that necessary.  I mean, even the Secret Avengers show up and, as Iron Fist awkwardly points out, isn’t that a little off if they’re supposed to be, you know, “Secret?”

Avengers #8 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Dean White & Paul Mounts (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: The Illuminati re-unite to discuss the recent infinity gem troubles.

What’s Good: It’s another solid issue of Avengers as this title continues to improve.  More than anything, Avengers #8 further solidifies this book as the Marvel Universe title where the big boys play.  It loosely hearkens back to Avengers lore, provides an old school tale with cosmic touches, and features some major players.  With the Infinity Gems in play, it feels like a classic Avengers title and, after years of street-level Avengers heroics, that’s pretty welcome.

But this issue is more about the Illuminati than the Avengers, and I’m fine with that.  Brian Bendis does a great job in bringing the gang back together again, overlaying it all with a constant tension between the characters and a, for the most part, unspoken sense of the sins of the past, guilt, and responsibility.  The dialogue feels weighty, the characters feel guilty and conflicted, and all in all, there’s a conspiratorial feeling that haunts the issue.  These characters are together when they shouldn’t be, discussing things they shouldn’t be discussing.  It’s all dark shadows and hushed whispers about a particularly dangerous topic between characters with a bizarre dynamic.

The best part of Bendis’ work here though is that so much of the tension between the characters, the guilt, and their flat out not wanting to be here is all between the lines.  You get it from their abrasive demeanour, their irritability, and the seeming desire to get the conversation to its end point as quickly as possible.  It’s all between the lines and I think that even Bendis’ most vocal detractors will be satisfied with his dialogue work this month.

As far as the art goes, John Romita Jr. continues to shine on this comic after a rocky start with the series.  I can now say, without any qualifications, that I am enjoying his work.  There weren’t any panels that I cringed at or anything I disliked.  He used his usual cartoony style, but managed to make it carry both the darkness and the cosmic power of the tale being told.  His fight scene between the Red Hulk and “Infinity Gem guy” was also absolutely wonderful, big, and genuinely exciting.  I also much enjoyed Romita’s little comedic touches in his giving the characters winter-clothes.  Professor X wears a suit without a jacket…and a ski mask?  The Thing wears ear-muffs?!  In such a serious issue, these little humorous touches come across almost like easter eggs, and it made me all thearmuffspreciative of them.

Hulk #27 – Review

By Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (artist), Bettie Breitweiser (colorist)

The Story: Under the guidance and supervision of Commander Rogers and Bruce Banner, General Ross continues his quest for redemption by helping Namor put an end to a Scorched Earth initiative that threatens to destroy the monarch’s empire.

The Good: Ever since Parker took control of this book, Hulk has been one of my Must Read titles every month. True, Loeb’s run had a certain childlike, Saturday morning cartoon charm to it that was appealing, if simple-minded at times, and what he did with the book he did well enough…at times. But in a mere three issues Parker has stopped this comic on a dime and steered it in a completely opposite direction, infusing it with a hard-edged, gritty sensibility that is utterly compelling to read. I credit this largely to the wise decision that was made to let Banner take the back seat and focus the narrative on General Ross and his mission to find a role for himself as Marvel’s latest gamma-powered monstrosity. Certain themes have always resounded throughout time and stories, and the hero’s quest for redemption remains one of the most popular.

Hell, I’d argue it’s one of the reasons why we are so drawn to characters like Wolverine, because his quest to make himself a Better Person is something we each see in ourselves. Where was I going with this? Oh right: in General Ross we have a similar character facing a similar struggle, and for me a large part of my enjoyment of this book right now is in appreciating his growth as a character and personal journey as a superhero. Every bit as powerful as Hulk, yet tactically brilliant in a way Banner could never be, Ross is a soldier with no war to fight, struggling to find an objective to achieve and a worthy endeavor to apply himself to. Notice the way he defers to Commander Rogers’s command or speaks about Namor politically as a head of state and it’s hard not to appreciate the tone and direction Parker is taking this book in. The “Scorched Earth” storyline is an effective, if rather routine, storyline with which to hit the reset button and chart a new course. Minimal on plot yet high on action, it’s an accessible jump on point for new readers and seems poised to tell its tale well without necessarily innovating anything.

Avengers #7 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: There’s somebody trying to collect infinity gems, and that can’t be good…

What’s Good: After all the time-traveling hijinks, the is actually a really comforting issue of the Avengers if only because it feels like the series is getting back to basics and, in doing so, it also continues to solidify its identity and tone.  Bendis has things much more under control and the result is an issue that is something of a relieving read.  This is a well-structured comic that hits the right notes.

As the first issue of a new arc, this book is all set-up and as such, functions as a perfect prelude.  There’s a mysterious new bad guy (maybe) who we know nothing about.  Despite this, his quest for the infinity gems and his use of their powers is enough to make him a foreboding figure and a real threat.  I like that Bendis didn’t reveal any of his cards this month, as it made me all the more intrigued to find out what happens next and to learn just who the hell this guy is.  I’m already far more interested in this plotline than I was the previous.  It’s all shrouded in secrecy, but the infinity gems alone are such a collective bogeyman that the issue is all the better for it.  The whole “pissed off Wonder Man” thread is also re-introduced, and it has me as interested as ever, as Simon continues to remind me of a grumpy forum-dweller.

Fall of Hulks Gamma #1 – Review

By Jeph Loeb (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciller), Klaus Janson (inker)

The Story: Apparently, General “Thunderbolt” Ross has been killed by the Red Hulk. Unanswered questions keep Doc Samson, Captain America and the Intelligencia guessing. In the meantime, Ross’s funeral must be held.

What’s Good: On the writing, Loeb did some nice character work with the personalities in and around the Hulk stories. Doc Samson’s feelings about Ross come out differently in three different places, which is pretty cool (read: in two of them he’s being insincere). Ben Grimm talks behind Samson’s back. Rick Jones goes out on a limb for a surprise guest, who is received very coolly by the ceremony. The Intelligencia have their own arguments as well. So all in all, some good character work and building of tension.