Indestructible Hulk #15 – Review

by Mark Waid (Writer), Kim Jacinto (Artist), Val Staples, Lee Loughridge (Colorists)

The Story: With the birth of the Uberhulk, Bruce Banner begins to understand the machination of the chronarchists as he makes a big decision in hope to vanquish them.

The Review: Mark Waid is someone who understand the potential that super hero comics possess. While some of his stories may have ludicrous premises, he is a writer that is able to bring out the very basic concepts that could make them work in the first place. The fact that Daredevil can have a crossover with Hulk or Silver Surfer in his award-winning Daredevil series in a way that works is a testament to that.

This arc focusing on Hulk and Bruce Banner as they try to fix the broken timeline has been a perfect example of this, with Hulk fighting dinosaurs in the old west, or helping the knights of the round table while trying to find the chronarchists. It was something very enjoyable, yet does Waid provide for a satisfying conclusion to this over-the-top super hero adventure?

Unfortunately, he does not really close in the same way that he opened up his tale, as the story lets go of a lot of elements that made it fun to begin with. Letting go of the more unbelievable elements in order to explain a great many things, Waid does not provide the bang needed, offering instead a whimper.

All-New X-Men Special #1 – Review

by Mike Costa (Writer), Kris Anka (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Story: Beast, along with the rest of the past X-Men, fight a mysterious time-displaced Dr. Octopus alongside Spider-Ock.

The Review: There are many reasons to be wary when words like ”Annual”, ”Special” and other such words follow the name of a regular ongoing title. While such accompanying words aren’t necessarily a sign of lesser quality, they aren’t always handled by the regular creative team, which may seem like something rather undesired by the fans. The fact that they mostly tell stories that don’t really connect with the main plot of the ongoing in question doesn’t guarantee a bad story, yet those that follows the plots and subplots about their favourite characters may find many reasons to be unsatisfied. Expectations aren’t always high when it comes to those issue, generally.

It’s a good thing that this very issue is actually quite nice, then, as Mike Costa try to tell an ambitious tale featuring the cast from three different books in three mere issues. With the first one being the introduction to this extravaganza of time travel and costumed heroes, the writer makes some pretty smart choices in his presentation and with how he handles several elements.

The first thing he does correctly is the fact that he gets just who he is writing as the voices of each characters feels right. While not all characters gets the same amount of panel time, Costa seems to know how to balance the different characters around, with the young Beast still being the genius readers know, without possessing the confidence he displays in his current iteration. There is also the somewhat clueless and always-learning Iceman, with his lack of experience and his generally attitude toward the feminine gender. The character he really do make shine though is Spider-Ock himself. The arrogance, the high intelligence, the demeaning attitude and the professionalism about his role as Spider-Man is spot on, with Costa managing to balance Slott’s characterization with a sense of fun that not all writers care to put on display.

Fantastic Four #11 – Review

By: Matt Fraction and Christopher Sebela (writers), Mark Bagley (penciler), Joe Rubinstein (inker), Paul Mounts (colorist)

The Story: With time running out for Reed, Sue, and Ben, the Fantastic Four find themselves caught between the future and the past – more literally than you’d think.

The Review: The Fantastic Four are known as the first family of comics, but those who haven’t visited the Baxter Building lately might not know how apt the moniker is. Reed has just come clean to the rest of the team about his, and by extension their, condition and Valeria is having a hard time accepting it. Mind you that being Reed Richard’s daughter doesn’t do much to teach you your limits, but, though the issue focuses on seemingly reasonable attempts to reverse the disorder, Fraction and Sebela write Valeria’s uncertainty brilliantly. Small strokes paint a picture, revealing the stakes if she should fail and the pain of a child who doesn’t quite know that their parents will be there tomorrow.

Other characters get comparatively less attention. Some, like Ben, need to be a little more substantive, but Fraction is clearly able to do a lot with a little and things like Johnny’s relationships come through strongly, even when he’s not in the scene.

Fittingly for the Fantastic Four, there’s plenty of big ideas and science. At times the, admittedly considered, time travel jargon can be a bit dense, and I wouldn’t fault anyone for getting lost in Valeria’s plans. Time travel is often a hard genre to follow and, though the writers have some interesting ways of bringing new things to the table, the cost of such innovation is a lack of clarity in some places.

This ambiguity also extends to the storytelling in a few key places. Franklin’s struggles in particular come kind of out of nowhere and disappear without much explanation beyond ‘he’s Franklin Richards’. The time bomb also threw me, sending me scurrying back to previous pages to check if I missed something.

Age of Ultron #9 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Brandon Peterson (Artist), Carlos Pacheco (Penciler), Roger Bonet (Inker), Paul Mounts, Jose Villarrubia (Color Artists), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: I’ll say this: Wolverine’s lucky that Doc Brown ain’t an Avenger. He’d have a few harsh words for the hairy canuck right about now, least of which would be “Great Scott!” Then again, perhaps it’s for the best. All Marty ever gave back was a “Gee, Doc!” as he gurned a weary frown; Wolverine would probably have gutted him from top to bottom with a “Stick that in your Flux Capacitor!” Either way, the Space-Time Continuum would still be stretched to breaking point…as may be your levels of patience and willing sense of disbelief at this point.

Age of Ultron #8 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Brandon Peterson (Artist), Paul Mounts (Color Artist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: How crazy is Age of Ultron #8? “It’s insane. It’s—it’s a fantasia of insanity,” according to future/alternate Tony Stark. I’d say that’s pretty conservative. R Kelly would call it “crazier than a fish with titties.” Amanda Bynes would just do this. Though as good as those descriptions are, do any of them really do justice to the image of Morgana Le Fey flying into battle backed up an army of Dragon-riding Asgardian Doom-Bots!?!? Nah, not really. This ish is bugnuts.

All New X-Men #11 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Penciler), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker), Marte Gracia (Color Artist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: The point’s been made by my fellow WCBR brethren that reviewing All New X-Men looks like an unenviable task. And they’re right. Not that it’s a bad comic; quite the opposite, as nearly a year in and I still find it to be one of the strongest all-round titles to come out of the Marvel NOW ‘situation’. Rather it’s the case that a lot of the time each issue feels filled to the brim with lots of great little moments between the many and varied members of its cast. Keeping track of all that over a few hundred words can get difficult, especially if you don’t want to make it look like you’re just transcribing the script wholesale. Woe is me, 1^st world problems etc. I can deal. Once more into the breach dear friends…once more!

Age of Ultron #7 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Brandon Peterson, Carlos Pacheco (Artist/Penciler), Paul Mounts, Jose Villarrubia (Color Artists), Roger Martinez (Inker), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: Regular WCBR readers will know that I’ve been a staunch supporter of Age Of Ultron. Amidst the general criticisms that it’s been sluggishly paced or too low on action and characterisation, I’ve instead found it to be a well-plotted and atmospheric success that’s offered a welcome change in tone to the more overt histrionics of other Marvel event books. It’s been bleak but beautiful, the hypothetical death rattle of the Marvel Universe. But everything that’s occurred in those first six issues has really just been a set-up; a teaser playing up the eventual reveal of what happens when the past is definitively altered in a final act of desperation by the heroes of the present. With Ultron retroactively defeated, what exciting new world has Bendis created for us? If the Rabbit never existed, what now rests in the Magician’s hat? Well, it’s just the Magician’s hand. And he’s giving you the finger.

Age of Ultron #6 Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Brandon Peterson, Carlos Pacheco (Artist/Penciler), Roger Martinez (Inker), Paul Mounts, Jose Villarrubia (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: If you’ve read every issue of Age of Ultron up to this point you’ve probably been in one of two camps. You may have been growing increasingly impatient with Bendis’ glacial pacing, begrudgingly putting down your $3.99 week after week hoping each time that this will be issue to get things moving. Alternatively you’ve enjoyed it every step of the way, have withstood the downbeat and malevolent mood and savoured a Marvel event book that’s employed more substance than style. Either way it’s been a bumpy, expensive ride with few signs pointing to how, if at all, its outcome will impact on the wider Marvel Universe. Age of Ultron #6 signals the beginning of the end of this journey, and it might just have managed to keep everyone happy into the bargain.

It covers quite a lot of ground. Ostensibly it’s the natural progression from last month’s cliffhanger; Nick Fury and a handful of the more powerful Avengers head into the future to confront Ultron while Wolverine goes into the past to kill Hank Pym (thereby circumventing the whole Ultron problem in the first place). Admirably, this issue really jumps into both storylines head first and there’s immediate outcomes presented on each front. And when I say outcomes…I mean deaths.

You could probably have guessed that Fury’s camp would suffer the most casualties. The dude almost drops his team straight into the meat grinder after all as they move from the Savage Land direct to New York (even time-travelling genocidal robots want a piece of the Big Apple it seems).  Now a gleaming technopolis devoid of human life, the city offers nothing but an ambush from thousands of flying Ultron heads and the Avengers are pretty much sitting ducks. They are, after all, just drifting in the wind thanks to Storm’s weather powers, and that can’t allow for much manoeuvrability. They get slapped around some and a major character literally loses his head – we may see a few Avengers captured and brought before a gloating Ultron before the series is up, but otherwise it looks like this particular plan has gone wronger than corduroy.

Age of Ultron #5 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inker), Paul Mounts (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: By issue count Age of Ultron #5 represents the halfway point of Marvel’s latest event story, even though it feels like it’s only just wrapped up the introduction. By the end of this chapter some of our heroes are winging their way to the future while some are headed to the past. Both share the same goal – the ultimate destruction of Ultron. You could argue (and many have) that Bendis has taken too long to get to this point, squandering the impact of a great idea in deference to a protracted bout of decompression, but I have to respectfully disagree. Without the punishingly grim nature and methodical plotting of this extended intro I don’t think the final page of this issue would have carried half the resonance that it does – and that final page is a doozy.

All-New X-Men #8 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), David Marquez (Penciler), Marte Gracia (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: They should re-name All-New  X-Men the X-Postman – it always delivers (*cue comedic groans*). Every issue features something new and exciting to sling your way; not in some glib show-off manner that seeks to hold your attention with illogical, grandstanding curveballs but in packaging its characters’ motivations and developments in a series of brilliantly executed flourishes. The latest installment is no exception.

Bendis has often made the great decision to begin each issue by focusing on one character at a time, then expanding the book to a crescendo with a winning performance from an ensemble cast. He moves seamlessly from the personal to the public; sound reasoning indeed considering that the X-Men are comprised of such a strong cast that you can’t move for bumping into interesting individuals and the richly detailed relationships that connect them. That format is continued here, though in this issue he chucks in the proverbial kitchen sink too; as you can see from the cover, now the Avengers are getting in on the action as well.

All New-X-Men #2 Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Artist), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: Believe it or not, I actually tend to judge most aspects of my life with 10 year old Matt Sargeson in mind. “Would my younger self be happy with the possessions I have accrued all these years later,” I ask myself. I take a glance at the comics, the action figures, the video games and my beautiful, beloved Hot Toys and decide that yes, his chubby little face would no doubt fill with joy at the sight of all these cool and geeky belongings. Would he mind that I spend my evenings writing about comics rather than writing them? I reckon so, just about. Would he be disgusted that I still don’t own a Goddamn Hoverboard yet!? Abso-frickin’-lutely. As such, when young Scott Summers hears that his older-self will go on to perpetrate mutant hate crimes and kill Professor X, I can totally understand why he’s ready to flip the %#!% out. Ah Scott, I feel for ya buddy.

All New X-Men #1 Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Artist), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: Even amongst a crowded week of high profile releases, All New X-Men easily stands out as the most controversial of the lot. Its grand concept alone raised a few eyebrows as soon as the title was announced – a time travel story seeking to bring the original first class of X-Men face-to-face with their modern day counterparts (a living, breathing, pre-Phoenix Jean Grey included). Then, as time wore on, it became clear that Cyclops’ role in proceedings would be far removed from the heroic leader and moral compass that fans and fellow X-Men alike had rallied around for decades.

X-Factor #231 – Review

By: Peter David (writer), Emanuela Lupacchino (penciller), Guillermo Ortego (inker), Matt Milla (colorist)

The Story: “They Keep Killing Madrox”, Part 3: Jamie continues his jaunt through parallel universes. In this issue, he finds quite a different world with a surprising twist related to a major Marvel event. It is, however, nothing more for him than jumping from frying pan to frying pan.

What’s Good: One of my week’s books is some weird time travel (Avengers Academy), and another is jumping through parallel universes (this one). Both parallel universes and time travel are standard science fiction fare because there’s so much a writer can do with these ideas, and because the artist gets to give goatees to normally clean-shaven characters. The charm of this X-Factor arc is the visiting the paths not taken. The tragedy of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in this book stuck to the inside of my mind even after I was done reading. Those were two heroes (villains?) carrying heavy ghosts. Jamie’s monologue carried us effectively through this new reality as a kind of guide to hell.
Artwise, Emanuela Lupacchino, ably assisted by Ortego and Milla, laid down some fine pages. I loved the view of the Iron Man-Sentinels taking off into a ravaged red sky. The environments were very evocative. The characters were effectively drawn, although not show-stoppingly so in the beauty of their depiction. When the involvement of Wanda hits Madrox, I think this is the most expressive and emotive artistic moment of the book, in part because the rest of the emotions were guarded as characters tried to figure each other out. My favourite artistic moment of the book, however, was when Strange turns around.

Red Wing #2 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (writer), Nick Pitarra (artist) & Rachelle Rosenberg (colors)

The Story: A temporal war in which both father and son are key players is fought at multiple points in time.

What’s Good: We get a lot of Hickman’s big concept stuff as this story takes place in several decidedly different times:  We see the son (“Dom”), in what seems like the era in which the story is anchored, then we see the father marooned in the pre-European Central America hanging out with a bunch of Native Americans and finally we have a jump into a third (and unexpected timeline).

It is this third timeline where the magic in this issue happens.  There is a startling reveal on the final page in this timeline, but that isn’t really the cool thing.  What makes me interested for the next issue is that by playing a little bait-n-switch with the reader’s sense of the timeline, Hickman has really jiggled our expectations.  In a lot of ways, it reminds me of the final reveal in Pax Romana where you think you know what year the final scene takes place in, but couldn’t be more wrong.

The fun for the rest of the series will be to how the puzzle pieces fit together.  How did the father and son come to end up in their “current” positions?  Can we ever truly nail down the whole story when a temporal war is keeping everything in flux?  Surely that Central American diversion for the father will be important, especially with the Native American chief saying that they have no word for “war”.  Hickman is a strong enough storyteller that he should bring this story home strongly.

The Red Wing #1 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (writer), Nick Pitarra (artist) and Rachelle Rosenberg (colorist)

The Story: Imagine a war with weapons and soldiers that can travel in time.

Review: I’m a huge fan of Hickman’s creator-owned work.  You won’t find a series that is more of a raw, punch-in-the-face than Nightly News or as mind-bending as Pax Romana or as creepy and layered as Transhuman.  I didn’t love Red Mass for Mars, but it was more that I didn’t love it in comparison to the other series.  Red Mass is still probably a 7/10 story.  I even re-read all four series over the 4th of July holiday to get my mind “warmed up” for the release of Red Wing.

Re-reading was probably a mistake because although Red Wing is a perfectly fine comic, it does pale slightly in comparison to a re-read of those four finished works.  It isn’t as brave as Nightly News and it isn’t as high-concept as Pax Romana, so it is hard to not be a little disappointed.  It is probably a little unfair to judge a new #1 issue versus completed stories where the issue-to-issue story beats fade away.  But, having put myself in that mindset before reading, it was hard escape.  Folks coming at this fresh may view the comic very differently.

But, Hickman does have a very interesting concept: What if time-travel was discovered and it became routine to fight wars by using time travel technology?  How would such a war be waged?  What happens to pilots flying temporal fighter planes that get shot down in the past?  Even though this first issue spent a lot of time laying out the technical ground rules, I remain very confident that Hickman will ace this story in the long run.  I just can’t imagine the brain that has given us Nightly News and Pax Romana and Transhuman failing to make a tasty dinner with these ingredients.  Hickman also gets bonus points for not getting bogged down in the “rules” of time travel: “Be careful what you change in the past or you could wipe us all out of existence.”

Avengers #4 – Review

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

The Story: In the future, the Avengers encounter the Next Avengers and their masters while in the present, the remaining Avengers meet an unlikely ally and struggle against total chaos.

What’s Good: This issue is basically total mayhem and, honestly, the crazier and wackier it is, the better.  Spider-Man bumping into Killraven riding a dinosaur and Thor blowing up War of the Worlds style aliens are just part of the fun.  Really, at times things get so ridiculous that they border upon comedic, and certainly Bendis’ dialogue helps that along.  Much like last month, there’s a strong old school vibe here, but also a slight sense of self-awareness.  While a lot of it has to do with Spider-Man, particularly his conversations with Killraven and Jessica Drew, this is an unexpectantly funny book.  Things are completely insane and the fact that the characters are hyper-aware of it makes for a generally fun read.

That feeling of absolute chaos and insanity also makes for Romita’s best issue thus far as he continues to improve after the first two underwhelming months.  Bendis really lets Romita stretch his legs here and let his imagination run wild.  Pretty much every splash and double-page spread is a lot of fun and all of them had me staring for quite a while.  There’s so much packed into them that it feels like a cosmic Where’s Waldo at times.  It’s as though Romita just through as many random, awesome things onto the page as possible.  His work is, overall, just a lot of fun this month.

Wolverine: Weapon X #15 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Jason Keith & Matt Milla (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Can a Deathlok find salvation?

What’s Good: Without a doubt, the main Deathlok focused upon last month is the strongest point of this issue, as he takes center-stage yet again.  He makes for an unlikely protagonist, but a compelling one, as Aaron turns the tables by making the human inside the cyborg the sociopathic monster, while the AI is the empathetic side, showing an interest in humanity and emotion.  In the end, it’s a clever move by Aaron, as he makes the machine component of the Deathlok more human than the actual human component.  The end result is a robot that’s easy to root for and has allied itself with humanity, and as we learned from Terminator 2, that’s badass.

Much of this is accomplished through a fantastic use of textboxes, which act almost as parallel thought bubbles, or even conversations between the AI and the killer inside the Deathlok.  The slow, coming to consciousness for the AI is elegantly done and its eventual superseding of the killer’s mind feels appropriately momentous.  Once the AI is firmly in control, Aaron does a great job in making those textboxes feel claustrophobic and trapping, as the killer’s dialogue goes totally ignored, those textboxes become a kind of prison where the character is locked away.

Dark Avengers #4 (Dark Reign) – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mike Deodato (Art), and Rain Beredo (Colors)

The Story: With Norman Osborn (Iron Patriot) and Dr. Doom busy confronting Morgan Le Fey in the past, the leaderless Dark Avengers must face La Fey and her demons in the present. During the battle, Clint Barton goes public with information regarding the Dark Avengers…

What’s Good: I know that Brian Michael Bendis’ writing is pretty divisive, but I found Dark Avengers #4 to be one hell of a fun read. And that’s almost entirely because the Dark Avengers have a team dynamic that makes good (and appropriate) use of Bendis’ style of dry, sarcastic humor and personality driven dialogue. It goes a long way towards masking the fact that, as far as plot is concerned, very little actually happens in the latest issue of Dark Avengers.

As for the artwork, Mike Deodato and Rain Beredo continue to do great things as a team. Dark, moody, detailed, and even, at times, sexy, the art helps to ease the pain of the $3.99 price tag a little bit. In short, Dark Avengers #4 is one good-looking book.

What’s Not So Good: For as much as I like the writing and the artwork on a technical level, Dark Avengers #4 feels somewhat lacking as a whole, especially considering that it costs $3.99. One reason is that it’s an extremely fast read that has a number of (visually impressive) panels and pages with little, if any dialogue. Sure it looks nice, but it makes the everything fly by. Another reason is that the issue is pretty light on plot. Things with Doom and Le Fey wrap up well enough, but it left me wanting more. In addition, it feels almost incomplete in some ways due to the rather abrupt ending. The ending works; don’t get me wrong, I just wish the stop wasn’t so damn jarring.

Also, on a side note, Dark Avengers is starting to feel a bit too much like Warren Ellis’ Thunderbolts.  While that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering how awesome the Ellis, Deodato, and Beredo run on Thunderbolts was, it wouldn’t hurt if the creative team put some more space between the two series in some way.  That said, I understand it might be difficult considering that Dark Avengers has the same art team and many of the same characters that Thunderbolts had.

Conclusion: There’s a lot to like about Dark Avengers #4, but considering how fast it moves, it’ll be up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth the asking price.

Grade: B-

-Kyle Posluszny

Cable #13 (Messiah War Chapter 2) – Review

By Duane Swierczynski (Writer) and Ariel Olivetti (Artist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Messiah War got off to a solid start last week despite the fact that half of chapter one was spent on recapping the past. Now, with the pieces in place and the main players introduced into the event, I look forward to where the Messiah Complex sequel will go next. Hopefully, it’s somewhere good.

The Story: Much like the first chapter, the second part of Messiah War spends a lot of time going over past events. Only this time, the past events offer up information that’s new, regardless of whether or not the reader has been following X-Force and/or Cable. What that means is that Cable #13 reveals just what future-Deadpool has been up to all these years. Also, the issue reveals how the present future came to be and what is up with the partnership between Stryfe and Bishop.

What’s Good: The Messiah War story continues to hold quite a bit of potential. Thanks to the funny segment featuring Deadpool and the bits of effective narration from Bishop, it’s possible to come up with a fairly clear picture of what type of future the characters are operating in and how it came to be that way. In other words, with the set-up hopefully finally out of the way, it seems as though the X-event can finally start moving forward comfortably.

What’s Not So Good: In my review of the Messiah War one-shot, I expressed concern over how the event would fare in the hands of the Cable creative team. As it turns out, Cable #13 proves that my concern was more than justified. And Duane Swierczynski and Ariel Olivetti are both at fault.

With the exception of how Stryfe is written, Duane Swierczynski does a pretty poor job of handling his series’ guest stars. Deadpool comes off way too strong (his comic fan “in jokes” are more annoying than funny), Wolverine’s dialogue is at times, atrocious (asshat?! honestly!?), and I really can’t picture X-23 expressing much concern about how someone feels when such an important mission is going on. Two chapters in, and I’m already starting to think that Marvel should have just let Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle handle the entire event.

As for Ariel Olivetti’s work…well…he uses a very “love it or hate it” style. As a whole I can’t really stand it and as a result, I’m not a fan of the visuals in Cable #13. That said, I will give him credit for an appropriately hideous looking Deadpool and some pretty cool looking scenery.

Conclusion: Cable #13 pretty much justified and made real my fears about what would happen when Swierczynski and Olivetti took the reigns of an interesting story. I look forward to what’s coming next in the Messiah War, but at the same time, not really because of anything that took place in its second chapter. Consider me currently disappointed, but optimistic for the future.

Grade:  C–

-Kyle Posluszny

Avengers/Invaders #6 (of 12) – Review

By Alex Ross (Plot), Jim Krueger (Plot & Script), Steve Sadowski & Patrick Berkenkotter (Pencils), and InLight Studios (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I’m going to be honest here and just admit that the only thing that made me purchase this issue is the fact that I already own the first five. I figured I might as well at least finish out what I presume to be the first trade volume before dropping the series. While visually impressive at times and interesting enough, the overall plot has yet to hook me in any serious way. Also, I can’t shake the feeling that nothing of consequence is ultimately going to come out of Avengers/Invaders, despite reports that it will have an impact on Marvel continuity. With all that said,  somehow, I still hold a small bit of hope that the halfway point will prove to be a turning point for the series.

The Story: Dr. Strange and the rest of the underground New Avengers find the past and present versions of Paul Anselm, the regular soldier pulled into the time travel, in an effort to sort out what exactly caused the time disruption. Meanwhile on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, where the Mighty Avengers are trying to take control of the situation, Human Torch of the Invaders begins a Life Model Decoy revolt over the nature of the L.M.D.’s.

What’s Good: As a student of philosophy, I’d be lying if I acted like I didn’t enjoy the concepts thrown around regarding the nature of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Life Model Decoys. It brought an interesting (if somewhat throwaway) dimension to the superhero battle. Also compelling is the way the plot is really starting to tie into the death of Captain America and touch upon some of the inherent (though generic) problems/consequences of time-travel. As for the visuals, they continue to feature a nice level of detail and solid direction.

What’s Not So Good: As with the other issues in the series, Avengers/Invaders #6 suffers because it never really brings the various ideas together in a way that forms a well-rounded package. The emotional drama feels a bit heavy handed, and it occasionally falls a bit flat. On top of that, the philosophical crusade of the Human Torch, while interesting, feels like nothing more than a distracting addition to the overall plot. Also, there is still very little indication that anything of consequence will result from this storyline. I expected something relevant to the current state of the Marvel universe to have happened by now. Disappointingly, that is not the case.

Conclusion: The problem with the series falls on the idea that far too many characters are in play to make a single chapter feel satisfying. It really drags the entire project down and makes the plot move at an extremely slow pace, despite characters expressing the urgency of the situation. That is why I am going to consider this latest chapter to be my jumping off point. As for Avengers/Invaders #6? It is entertaining and decent enough to look at, but far from a must read. As such, it is worth picking up if you have stuck around this long, but I doubt many will feel the need to see this series to its end.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

Cable #5 – Review

By Duane Swierczynski (Writer) and Ariel Olivetti (Artist)

Last month I gave this series some credit for finally feeling as though things were moving forward (after months of going absolutely nowhere). Issue #4 was a much needed step in the right direction and, as a result, I found myself actually looking forward to the conclusion of the “War Baby” arc. Unfortunately, Cable squanders any good will it had built up last month with a far too hasty conclusion that suffers from poor storytelling and inconsistent, confusing art direction.

Basically, Cable #5 is all about the inevitable showdown between Bishop and Cable for the fate of the “Messiah” child. But first, the two mutants must prepare, so the first half of the book deals with that. Bishop takes over a unit of the Turnpike Authority in order to have some backup for the big fight, while Cable heads to Cannonball’s lab to stock up on weaponry, destroy Cerebra so he can’t be tracked, build some baby armor, and arm the waitress Sophie so that she can protect herself should she get involved. To be honest, while reading the entire first half of the book, I couldn’t help but feel I should have some sort of montage worthy music playing in the background. It definitely has that vibe going for it.

The second half of this issue is the fight itself and boy, does it feel  disjointed. Simply put, the action never gets its rhythm going. There are a few cool moments spattered about, but as a whole, the action is nothing special and it is actually hindered more by an abrupt, hilariously stupid ending. Also, on a personal note, I have to mention that I really hate it when the seemingly innocent bystander turns out to be well trained in weaponry… it’s a cliché and tired formula.

The writing here is kept at a minimum, but it works as long as there isn’t any actual storytelling involved. Allow me to explain what I mean. The dialogue/narration is fairly amusing from time to time; Cable and Sophie make a pretty decent character pair, but this story has no depth whatsoever. Every beat that is meant to move the story forward is usually just a one or two line explanation about why something is or must be done. Bishop is on the warpath in order to kill a baby and instead of exploring the complexity of that particular situation, he just keeps saying he has to stop his future from occurring. Another example is how the conclusion of this issue is a “oops, I forgot” moment that just sort of happens without any previous explanation about how Cable’s time mechanism works.

This whole arc has felt less like a story and more like a series of events held together by the fact that Bishop is hunting Cable. Sure the dialogue is fairly interesting, but it’s as though Duane Swierczynski forgot that he had to tell a story as well. Maybe the start of a new arc will lead to some actual story development, but, at this point, I can’t possibly get my hopes high. The way this issue concludes leads me to think the next arc will just be more of the same.

As for the artwork, things look decent enough during slower moments as Arial Olivetti has clearly improved his character work, but the direction in this issue is just sloppy. It feels as though there are gaps in continuity during the entire action sequence and it ultimately destroys any flow the scenes may have. Also, there are a few inconsistencies, the most glaring of which involves a guy getting shot in the head. It shows the bullet go through his head and then one panel later his head is completely gone, as though it had exploded or something. It is always good to see something improve with each new issue, but, in my opinion, this series would be better off with a new artist or art team.

Cable #5 is just a huge disappointment all around. The storytelling is incredibly weak, the art direction is a mess, and the conclusion just left me shaking my head at how ridiculous it was. I thought things would be looking up after a decent showing last month, but, as it turns out, I was wrong. (Grade: D)

-Kyle Posluszny

Cable #4 – Review

Duane Swierczynski (writer) and Ariel Olivetti (artist)

Last month I gave Cable another chance to impress me after it finally showed some plot advancement. While not fixing all the issues I have with this series, Cable #4 proves that steady improvement can go a long way in patching up a sinking ship. In other words, I am starting to like what I see.

Cable #4 takes place right where we left off last issue. An aged Cannonball storms back into Cable’s life and quickly catches him up on the events that have taken place in the timeline where the story is currently taking place. The reunion doesn’t last long, however, as Bishop remains on the warpath, determined to eliminate any who stand the way of his mission to kill the “messiah” child (that he believes will lead to the imprisonment of the mutant race). With a nice balance between action and story, this issue finally gives me hope that the series may eventually live up to the promise it held at the conclusion of the Messiah Complex.

Pretty much everything about this issue is a step in the right direction, though it is by no means perfect. Swierczynski manages to craft a brief, but compelling tale of how Cannonball came to be one of the final mutants in the timeline. The interaction between Cable and Cannonball does a nice job conveying both the tension of the situation as well as the effect time (and time travel) has had on them. To put it simply, everyone comes across as a bit more human than before, which is always a good thing.

While there are instances of both cheesy dialogue and slightly unnatural conversation flow, for the most part it works well. This isn’t exactly high drama so the “summer action movie” feel fits well enough. The biggest shame is that this story was tackled in this manner, because the potential was there for something deeper and more complex than a chase flick through time.

As I said, everything in this issue was a step in the right direction, though I have to say I wish the artwork had taken steps similar to those taken by the writing. The scenes regarding Cannonball’s timeline work extremely well, especially the panels that show him watching the mutant population dwindle. The characters are a bit less exaggerated, the action flows, and with the exception of a few instances, characters look fairly consistent from scene to scene. If I have a major complaint it’s that everything looks extremely bland and sterile. There is literally nothing in the background in a number of scenes, which makes things feel like a string of talking heads rather than people interacting in an environment. Again, there is improvement, but quite a bit more is needed to bring this book up visually.

As a whole, I was pretty satisfied with this latest issue of Cable. It looks as though things are finally starting to click and I actually find myself looking forward to the conclusion of this arc so the story can move on to bigger and better things. The potential is there, now the writer and artist just need to realize it in the proper way. (Grade: C)

-Kyle Posluszny

Too Cool To Be Forgotten (Graphic Novel) – Advance Review

By Alex Robinson (art, story)

On sale July 2008

Usually before I go to bed I try to read one or two comics. If it’s a trade paperback, I’ll read a chapter and then it’s lights out. Too Cool To Be Forgotten is a staggering 128 page graphic novel. And you know what? I read it all in one sitting. I just couldn’t help myself. I honestly don’t think there’s been an original graphic novel that’s kept me this engrossed since Brian Bendis’ Torso (released many years ago).

Every once in a while we comic book readers are treated to a story that comes along and transcends the medium. You know the books I’m talking about: stuff like Watchman and Maus. Now, I could never put Too Cool To Be Forgotten in the same class as those aforementioned titles, but it certainly is above many comics being published today, and it certainly transcends the medium. Now you’re probably wondering what this story’s about, so I’ll give you a small premise. To reveal more would run the risk of spoiling the book.

The story follows a 40 year old named Andy Wicks, who’s been trying to shake his smoking habit for quite sometime. He knows it’s affecting his health and causing concern amongst his wife and two children, but try as he might, he can’t seem to shake the habit. As a last resort, he decides to try hypnosis. What follows is a startling trip back to his days in high school. But imagine being transported back to those trying times knowing what you know now. What would you do if you could do it all over again?

This is one of those books that makes me proud to be a comic book reader. It’s a book that I can’t wait to share with all my friends – comic readers or not (in fact, I gave this book to my wife to read earlier this evening and she couldn’t put it down, either).  And it’s not because the story delivers a message or changes the way people may view a certain subject. It’s just a damn good story filled with lots of sincere moments – both funny and dramatic. I give my highest accolades to Alex Robinson who has spun a tale that not only feels effortless, but completely natural and genuine. Not a single moment of this book feels trite, forced, or dishonest.

Every page is filled with an abundance of detail as Robinson paints an accurate picture of 1985. From the clothes to the hairstyles to even the poster of Heather Thomas on Andy’s wall (my cousin used to have that exact poster!), even the sometimes poor lettering gives the book a strong sense of personality. Are there any flaws? One only, and it’s grammatical. But after finishing the book, I read the disclaimer about the error and how it is actually any intentional one. I could go on and on about this book, but it’s pointless. It’s just something you’ll have to read for yourself. Too Cool To Be Forgotten is a poingnant, moving, and accurate portrayal of high school life and the people who molded us into what we are today. I miss those days.

One of the best books of 2008. And yes, it’s Eisner worthy. (Grade: A+)

– J. Montes