SENYC Report: Marvel – The Next Big Thing

Marvel came out in force for Special Edition: NYC. Though they easily flattened the competition when it came to number of panels, this was the one to see if you wanted to know what was coming from the House of Ideas.

The panel was moderated by Senior VP of Publishing Tom Brevoort and featured a slew of top name talent. This included Senior X-Men Editor Mike Marts, fan favorite writer Peter David, Storm writer Greg Pak, and Deadpool editor Jordan D. White. There was even a surprise guest in the form of Katie Kubert, the former editor of Batman and Detective comics who had announced her departure from DC less than twenty-four hours before!

FF #10 – Review

Matt Fraction (Writer), Michael Allred (Artist), Laura Allred (Colorist)

The Story: Marvel pays a visit to the FF to write a comic book in order to create a better reputation for the replacement team. Meanwhile, Alex Power tries to find help in order to be free of Dr. Doom.

The Review: How far can charm push a title forward? That’s a legitimate question that most people could ask themselves when reading certain comics. A lot of comics nowadays (and even before then) relies a lot on the likability and the feel-good attitude of their characters and setting in order to bring readers onboard. It’s a strategy that has its appeal, though in the long run it may not be the most efficient.

FF, a lot of times, relied a lot on the kid characters and the awkwardness of its setting in order to bring readers there, bringing in emotions and a certain light-hearted attitude towards its stories. While none of the issues have been empty of content plot-wise, it has never been as big as a Jonathan Hickman comic or serious as a Greg Rucka penned issue. While it can give us some nice issue like the pool party issue, it creates a mystery as to where the book might actually be going. Where is the book going and what shall be the major themes that will drive the book forward?

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #9 – Review

By: Allan Heinberg (writer), Jim Cheung (pencils), Mark Morales & Cheung (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Cory Petit (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: The aftermath of the battle between the Young Avengers are Dr. Doom.

A few things: 

1. A very nice Young Avengers story. – It took a while for this to come out, but now that it is over, this is a very nice Young Avengers tale.  It has a beginning, middle and end as well as a compelling hook: the search for the Scarlet Witch.  Now that everything is finished, it feels like the YA are more tightly integrated into the Marvel Universe and….of course…..the Scarlet Witch is back.  So, we get character development for our young heroes and events of import to the Avengers-proper and the X-Men.

2. But not quite the story it could have been. – Even though this was a nice story, it’s hard to not be a little disappointed.  Around issue #6 or so, it seemed like we might be getting a story that would undo M-Day (when Scarlet Witch stripped most mutants of their powers), but it was not to be.  It also seemed like the timing was working out such that this finale could have factored into the upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men event, but that didn’t happen either.  Even though this was a good series, it could have been great.  It also didn’t help to hear Tom Brevoort saying, “Keep an eye on this series, because it’s going to be BIG.”  It simply isn’t that big of a deal.

3. Strong art. – It’s hard to say much negative about a Jim Cheung drawn issue.  This is beautiful work and better than 99% of the comics you’ll see out there.  Two things really stand out to me about Cheung’s work.  One is how well he composes group scenes.  It isn’t easy to draw all these panels with 5+ characters and have them look great, time after time.  I also love how Cheung draws women’s faces.  His Scarlet Witch is beautiful!  A big tip of the cap to Justin Ponsor too.  I’m usually not a fan of highlighted colors, but this is some beautiful work.  The only negative is that a few panels in this issue looked a bit rushed, like there might have been a push to get this done before AvX kicks off?

Secret Avengers #19 – Review

By: Warren Ellis (writer), Michael Lark (breakdowns), Stefano Gaudiano with Brian Thies (finishes), Jose Villarrubia (colors), Dave Lanphear (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: The Secret Avengers go to bust up some criminals who are selling illicit “stuff” to the Shadow Council.

Five Things or Why Marvel should let Warren Ellis write more for them: 

1. Again, Warren Ellis is nailing this done-in-one format.  I would read this series forever, because I love the way Warren Ellis is handling these quick hitting Secret Avengers stories.  I mean….I do enjoy Bendis’ Avengers, but there is a LOT to be said about getting to the point.  We’ve gotten more story in a few months of Ellis’ Secret Avengers than we’ve gotten from 18 months of Avengers and New Avengers combined.  This story of Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, Black Widow and Moon Knight busting up some Eastern European arms dealers was just so hot.  There’s no dicking around; the story just begins, reveals a mystery, delivers action and resolves the mystery.  Done!   All in a standard length comic.  I have to think that a company like Marvel that is publishing ~80 new comics a month can find some place for this type of storytelling on an ongoing basis.  Make it happen!

2. The best modern-day Captain America book. Not only is this the best Avengers title right now, it’s the best Steve Rogers title.  Light-years better than Brubaker’s Captain America.  This Steve is almost like Nick Fury.  He’s on a mission, he has a plan and he’s getting stuff DONE.  And, there’s no annoying Boy Scout-ish behavior.

3. Great art from Michael Lark and crew.  I hate to be one to count panels, but it does help to tell a done-in-one story to avoid too many splash pages, especially in the fight scenes.  There are a couple fights in this issue where Lark goes to a 9-panel grid and that allows us to see a fast paced and furious fight without the fight soaking up the entire issue.  The story is gritty and the art matches it.  Wonderful colors as well.

Fantastic Four #600 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (writer), Steve Epting, Rick Magyar, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Ming Doyle, Leinil Francis Yu & Farel Dalrymple (line art), Paul Mounts, Andy Troy, Jordie Bellaire, Javier Tartaglia & Jose Villarrubia (colors), Clayton Cowles (letters), Lauren Sankovitch & Tom Brevoort (editor) 

The Story: Marvel gives their first family a 100-page, $7.99 extravaganza featuring lots of cosmic action and the return of a familiar face…

Five Things:  [SPOILER WARNING]

1. ________ is back!  I purposely omitted the name because it seems kinda douchey to give a SPOILER WARNING and then put Johnny Storm’s name in bold right below.  But, he’s back!  And, he’s back in a new and improved way after his time in the Negative Zone.  This is really no surprise and given the Marvel often brings characters back a month after they “die” (Bucky) it is probably a huge show of restraint that they let Johnny be presumed dead for ~9 whole months.  If you’re a Marvel hater, you could work up a lot of rage about the cheap ploy of killing someone (but not really) and then milking that death in press releases before the death, releasing a ploy-bagged issue on Tuesday and then having special issues honoring Johnny in the immediate aftermath.  But….I’m glad to have him back, especially in the way that Hickman handles his return.  Speaking of that……

2. We learn about _______’s experiences in the Negative Zone.  I mostly loved this section where we learned that Johnny wasn’t really dead.  He was just held captive by Annihilus and forced to fight in gladiator matches alongside some Universal Inhumans and where he has died multiple times only to be restored by that nasty Annihilus.  The whole thing was really nicely done.  It showed Johnny’s pain at being there, his unwillingness to give up, the fact that Annihilus has his number, etc.  Really good stuff.  The only quibble I have is that the story added 2 pages to the moments before Johnny’s “death” with him talking to Ben Grim through the closed portal.  The original “death” was soooo nicely done with Ben feeling grief stricken, Johnny being brave, etc., so this added scene just cheapened it.

3. Kree, Inhumans, Annihilus, other Inhumans…..  I have to admit that this part of the plot is getting away from me.  While I’m actually reading it, I think it’s cool, but then when I sit down to type a review a whole 6 hours later….I really can’t remember many of the details and that tells you the story is too complex because none of it is sticking.  I actually blame the artists for this.  Comics are a visual medium and none of the artists who’ve worked on FF the last few months have nailed a scene from this complex plot such that it’s burned into your brain.

Avengers #19 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Daniel Acuna (art & colors), Cory Petit (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: Now that Fear Itself is over, it’s time for a new Avengers line-up.

Five Things: 

1. Really enjoy Acuna’s art.  It took me a long time to warm up to Acuna’s artistic style (or maybe he just got better).  Of course, his art looks very different than different than most artists because I don’t think he’s inking in the traditional sense.  I’m not sure, but it wouldn’t surprise me to know this was 100% digital art where he’s doing as much creation of the art with color as with lines.  It makes for a lovely way to lay out a page because he’s mastering all the light sources.  Misuse of light is something the human eye is very good as seeing even IF we can’t quite verbalize what is wrong with a panel.  For me, the only thing holding Acuna back is that his characters’ heads sometimes look strangely attached to the body.  It’s not in every panel that this pops up, but it does happen.

2. Interesting to have a new team.  This is always fun.  One of the neat dynamics of these team books is, “Who’s going to join?”  “Who’s going to leave?”  Granted, this has been watered down a little with there being SOOOOOOO many Avengers, but it’s still kinda enjoyable to see who Cap thinks is “worthy” of getting called up to the Major Leagues.

3. Character returns out of the blue.  I feel kinda bad complaining about this, because I’d probably complain if Marvel released a 5-issue miniseries called, “Return of ______” and it would be similarly tedious if Bendis just made the return of this character consume an entire 6-issue arc.  So, maybe Bendis and Brevoort made the proper choice, but the return of _______ still felt entirely out of left field (in a bad way).

Secret Avengers #18 – Review

By: Warren Ellis (writer), David Aja & Raul Allen (art), Dave Lanphear (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter & Shang Chi on a mission to stop a threat from another universe.

Five Things:

1. Done-in-one format is great.  These last three issues by Warren Ellis have all been self-contained stories.  This time again, we get 3 Avengers teaming up to stop a defined threat and they are finished by the end of the issue.  This is such a superior story telling method to the typical 6-issue story arc that pervades Marvel these days.  I’ll put in this way: In the last 3 months, Warren Ellis has given us more complete stories than most Marvel series give us in an entire year.  Some stories are epic enough that they need 6 issues, but most are not.  Done-in-ones rule!

2. Aja’s art is getting it done.  On one hand, you can just look at these pages and see why we don’t get David Aja on a monthly comic book.  For one thing, this looks like really time consuming art since he colors it himself.  For another, he’s so good that I’m sure he get’s lots of offers to work outside of comics.  His characters are so vibrant and strong.  When Shang-Chi is kicking folks, you can almost hear the bones breaking.  And he’s got all kinds of interesting page layouts and panel designs to keep the page visually interesting.  This is Grade A stuff.

3. Warren Ellis reminding us why he’s a superstar.  I’ve said it before, but this series of issues by Ellis reads like ideas he had for Global Frequency that are reworked into the Marvel Universe.  In that way, you can tell what a font of ideas Ellis is.  I love the way he’s just breezing back into the Marvel Universe for 6 months and dropping a heap of ideas on Secret Avengers that are more interesting and far out than anything Marvel’s other writers are doing.  If I were another Marvel writer, I’d be an odd mix of afraid that Ellis will come onto my title and make me look pedestrian (Seriously, how bad does Brubaker’s run on Secret Avengers look now?) and inspired to pick up your game.  But, it doesn’t even stop with the cool concepts…..Ellis writes really well and his black sense of humor comes through in a few places too like when Shang-Chi is off-panel mauling some goons and Sharon comments to Steve, “God, whatever he’s doing sounds horrible.”  That’s a rare time when saying it is more effective than showing it. 

Avengers #18 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Daniel Acuna (art/colors), Cory Petit (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: In the wake of Fear Itself, a new/old threat emerges.

Five things: 

1.  Love, love, LOVE Acuna’s art!  Acuna is another of those guys who is coloring his own work and it gives it such a unique look because it ceases to be pencils + inks + colors and just becomes “art”.  Reminding me of the saying that “there’s many a slip between the cup and the lip”, there’s a LOT that can go awry when there are multiple handoffs on the way to finished art and even then it doesn’t look like what Acuna does where isn’t much inking in the traditional sense.  On top of that, he has a great handle on how to frame these scenes.  He gets a few characters who start to look like bobble heads in a couple of places, but other than that, no art complaints at all.  Lovely work and he’s an artist who has really grown a LOT over the last couple of years to the point where he’s a name that makes me want to buy the comic book.

2.  Also love the clever lab tech.  We’re so used to seeing the only threats to our heroes coming from super-villains that it’s refreshing to have a new threat: A lab tech who has gathered a lot of genetic information on the heroes.  When you think about this, it totally makes sense.  How many janitors and maids just invisibly pass through a hero’s life?  And they all have access to things like genetic information or other stuff.  For example, who brings in the Avengers snail mail and why don’t they steal some of that information for identity theft purposes?  Anyway, watching this meek lab tech just going around at key events in the Avengers recent past and palming samples was pretty cool.

3.  Not much happens in this issue.  I’m getting really sick of this kind of story pacing.  As much as I enjoyed the issue, we don’t get much new stuff.  Literally the first third of the issue shows the tech stealing specimens from various moments in the past.  And the issue only really shows who she intends to give those samples to.  For $3.99, a comic needs to do more and this comic is paced about half as fast as it should be.

Fear Itself #7 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger & Dexter Vines (inks), Laura Martin, Justin Ponsor & Matt Milla (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (assistant editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: It all ends here with the Serpent taking on the Avengers.

Five Things: 

1. TGIO!  Or Thank Goodness It’s Over!  This was a crappy event because this story just wasn’t robust enough to warrant it’s line-wide treatment.  It didn’t need to take 7 issues to complete over 6 months and it didn’t need ~100 tie-in issues.  The only thing keeping me from being angry at how much of my money went into this event is that I’ve already taken most of the issues to Goodwill.  There were a few high points (The Deep, Hulk v. Dracula, Jeff Parker’s tie-ins on Hulk and Thunderbolts), but mostly this was really unremarkable stuff (and Parker was just making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear).  Part of it is that this gets graded on a curve.  When you tell us the story is an “event”, more is expected.  If this had been a crossover between Invincible Iron Man, Mighty Thor and Avengers (2 issues each) it would have been much better.

2. Really choppy storytelling.  There was a lot of unnecessary bouncing between scenes in this issue and it wasn’t always entirely clear when the switches were taking place.  It just wasn’t clear where this Thor/Serpent battle was taking place relative to the bigger scrum between the Avengers and the Worthy.  Heck, I wasn’t sure who was fighting with the Serpent for most of the issue (“Is that Thor?”).  It was like everyone was in a hurry for this to be over.

3. Death = “Meh…”  Isn’t it amazing that an event that…… SPOILER……  kills both Captain America (or at least a Captain America) and Thor would be a “meh?”  How does that happen?  Well, it happens because death is no big deal in comics any more.  Comic fans are long conditioned that superhero deaths are temporary, but they’ve rarely felt more temporary than they do right now.  All of these characters have been dead before and Marvel is rarely letting them stay dead for any length of time.  The whole point of these folks dying is to see how the universe exists without them, but when you (a) tell all of your stories in a decompressed fashion and (b) bring the dead folks back in a year, we only get to see one 6-issue story before Marvel starts teasing the “return” of the characters.  How can I miss you when you won’t go away?

Secret Avengers #17 – Review

By: Warren Ellis (writer), Kev Walker (art), Frank Martin (colors), Dave Lanphear (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: The Secret Avengers learn about some secret weapon being transported through Eastern Europe and mobilize to take it down.

What’s Good: This done-in-one story format is so great.  Get in there, tell the damn story and move on to the next story.  It is such a nice thing to be reminded that a comic story can be begun and ended in a single issue.  What’s funny is that you can totally see how some other writers at Marvel could stretch this issue’s idea into a 6-month saga by adding lots of “character moments” to a dude like Steve Rogers who has been around since the 60’s.  When I see a guy like Ellis just pumping out a series of done-in-ones like he’s doing Secret Avengers, I just imagine him laughing at those 6-issue arc guys and laughing because he has ideas like this dripping from every orifice on his body.

What makes done-in-ones so great is that even if they suck or if you don’t like the mix of characters the creators choose, it’s over in ~20 minutes instead of dragging for 6-months.  And because the pain of a bad idea is over faster, it can encourage creators to be more experimental, and isn’t that a good thing?
This story kicks off so well.  The Secret Avengers detect a threat, Steve rallies a team of whoever is in the building at the time and whatever quinjet is in the parking garage and off they go.  It feels like a real emergency since they aren’t waiting around for Black Widow or Beast to show up.  Have we ever seen a 4-person team of Steve, Sharon Carter, War Machine and Valkyrie?  I don’t know that we have and that’s cool.  I probably wouldn’t want to read an ongoing series with just these characters, but it’s great for an issue.

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #7 – Review

By: Allan Heinberg (writer), Jim Cheung (pencils), Mark Morales, John Livesay, Dexter Vines & Cheung (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Cory Petit (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: Now that the Scarlet Witch is back and can restore mutant powers, will she get the chance before someone tries to bring her to justice for M-Day.

What’s Good: Prior to the big events of issue #6, I’d honestly thought that this miniseries would be high quality since Heinberg is a wonderful writer and Jim Cheung can make grown men weep with his pencil work, but I really didn’t think it would “matter”.  How could Marvel have a bi-monthly 9-issue miniseries “matter”?  I just didn’t think they could plan ahead that well.  Well…issue #6 changed that and for that reason, readers picked up this issue with a big sense of anticipation.  That feeling is so rare in these days of internet spoilers that this comic scores some points before even being read.

And problems aside, this issue still left me with the feeling that important stuff is happening here.  Scarlet Witch is back and she can restore mutant powers.  And this story isn’t out-of-continuity either because X-Factor this week showed Rictor (who was repowered in issue #6) using his powers and there’s even an editor’s note in X-Factor referring to this series.  So there.  Now, there are still a lot of questions to be answered.  Will Scarlet Witch give all mutants their powers back?  What about the mutants who are happier to be “normal”?  Or will it just serve to restore a few mutants that some writer wants to play with?

There are moments of absolute artistic brilliance in this issue.  Unfortunately, the art is a little inconsistent, but it never gets into “bad” territory.  And the good pages are just glorious, but they do make you wish that all the pages could be so pretty.  I’d guess that this series is on more of a timeline that we originally thought since it seems to be syncing up with “present day” mutant events and that might be making some of it look rushed.

Avengers #17 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita, Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Paul Mounts (colors), Cory Petit (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: During Fear Itself, the Avengers battle Skade in the wreckage of Avenger’s Tower.

What’s Good: What I’m liking best about these Avenger’s Fear Itself issues is how momentous the battles feel.  I’ll have some other thoughts on this video commentary/documentary-style storytelling technique that Bendis is doing down below, but it does make for a dramatic turn to the comic.  Rather than just jumble up all the action in a big, frenetic scene, Bendis keeps pulling us in and out of the action.  These documentary scenes with the characters talking to the camera about what happened next function a lot like a comma in a sentence or a paragraph break and allow the action to have more impact.  For example, first we see Skade standing there with her hammer with power emanating off her.  Ohhhhh!  Ahhhhh!  And then we cut away to hear how the Avengers felt at the moment.  It is a nice pause for dramatic effect and the battle feel bigger when we rejoin the live action in a few panels.  Anything that adds dramatic peaks and troughs to a comic is a good thing.

And, the Romita/Janson/Mounts team is really doing a nice job with the art.  Even when I look at some of the actual figures and think, “Why do I enjoy this art so much with this blocky style?” I’ll look at what a great storyteller Romita is.  Like these little scenes showing the Avengers lined up on a rooftop and gawking at the action.  It’s just something about the scene composition, the tightness of the shot and the way they’re standing that sells the fact that these superheroes are freaked out and a little unsure of themselves.  A lot of artists would overdo this scene and have all the heroes poised to lunge into action, but this approach is more effective.  The coloring is awesome too.  Paul Mounts really makes this feel like a warzone crackling with supernatural energy and explosions.  Bravo!

Fear Itself #6 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Laura Martin (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (assistant editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: The finish line is in sight as the Avengers rally to take on the Serpent and his minions.

What’s good: Well, at this point, we have to look for silver linings because this “event” hasn’t been very good.  Not atrocious, mind you….but not worthy of having 80+ associated titles and disrupting all the other Marvel ongoings.

But….there is one good thing about this issue and that is the anticipation of what’s next!  Something is going to happen here at the end.  It may not be something you like and it may not be an event where you’ve enjoyed the path to get there, but it will be a happening that impacts the Marvel Universe.  And, isn’t that the whole purpose of the line-wide event?  With mainstream superhero comics, the anticipation is usually better than the actual product anyway.

Thus ends the “search for the silver lining” part of the review.

The art is also pretty good.  It isn’t the best Immonen that we’ve ever seen, but even if he is a little rushed (or bored by the story, perhaps?), this is a very attractive comic book.  And you cannot beat Laura Martin colors.

Secret Avengers #16 – Review

By: Warren Ellis (writer), Jamie McKelvie (artist), Matthew Wilson (colorist), Dave Lanphear (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: The Secret Avengers find a Secret Empire base under Cincinnati.  Chaos ensues.

Review: This issue was just what Secret Avengers needed.  Brubaker’s run on the title wasn’t bad, but it was uninspired and made folks wonder why this title existed (beyond selling another comic that says “Avengers” on the cover).  Nick Spencer had a few nice little issues tying into Fear Itself, but that didn’t answer the question of, “Why does Secret Avengers exist as a title and team?”  The “event tie-in” can help a limping series continue for a few extra issues (Herc, Heroes for Hire), but there needs to be more meat on the bone.

Enter Warren Ellis.  He’s probably one of my favorite writers ever for giving us Planetary, Transmetropolitan and Global Frequency.  [Note: I still don’t understand why we can’t have more Planetary and Global Frequency.]  Ellis has serious “big idea” credentials.  While it is true that he isn’t at his best in a shared universe, I think that’s just because he isn’t reading all the other Marvel comics every month (even if he generally knows who these characters are).  So, having him write a few issues of the “Secret Avengers” is a great idea because they’re not intimately tied to other Marvel events.

Avengers The Children’s Crusade #6 – Review

By: Allan Heinberg (writer), Jim Cheung (pencils), Mark Morales, John Livesay & Dave Meikis (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Cory Petit (letters), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor) & Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: Now that the Young Avengers have found the Scarlet Witch, what do you think will happen?

What’s Good: How sneaky good and (possibly) momentous was this issue?  The cynical comic reader will look at this issue with a jaded eye and think that the events that seem to be taking place in this issue can’t be real.  Surely, if this was going to happen, Marvel would have had a press release hyping the issue or structured an event around the concept.  One could argue that this maxi-series is kind of an “event”, but it comes sans all the hype and tie-in miniseries that bloat most events in today’s comics.

Clearly, I’m being incredibly vague about this story because an event this cool that was completely unspoiled in this day of the internet, doesn’t deserve to be spoiled by a mere review.  And, it may not even hold up.  We might get to issue #7 in a few months and have everything reversed, but until then, this sort of spontaneous surprise in a comic reminded me of reading comics when I was a kid.

Aside from the big event that takes place, it is just a really nice comic that features the Young Avengers (who are just fun as hell), the Avengers and a bunch of stuff from the Avengers going all the way back to Disassembled.  No Avengers fan could fail to enjoy this comic.

Captain America: Who Won’t Wield the Shield #1- Review

Forbush Man: Forbush Kills!
by Jason Aaron (writer), Mirco Pierfederici (art)

This story by Aaron functions as a framing structure for the issue and it’s the strongest of what’s on offer.

Probably what’s most impressive is Aaron’s ability to not only make fun of himself, but to caricature his own style.  His gritty internal monologue by Forbush Man is a clear pisstake on his usual writing style and the fact that he applies this formula, applied in past to badasses like Wolverine and the Punisher, to Forbush Man is pretty hilarious.  When a brutal beating via bucket is narrated in noir fashion, it’s hard not to laugh.

Then there’s how Jason Aaron portrays himself, which is a definite highpoint.  Aaron makes himself into a completely pathetic weasel of a man with a strange fixation for Wolverine related violence.  It’s self-deprecation at its finest and clear evidence that Aaron is having a ball writing this.

Other Marvel writers and editors encounter Forbush Man on his path for revenge, and most of them are a lot of fun as well.  Joe Quesada hanging out, poolside at his palatial manor and Ed Brubaker’s continual concern for his Eisners and his later channeling of his Criminal characters are golden.  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase the image of Brubaker firing a gun while screaming profanities.

Forbush Man himself is also well-done.  Aaron basically turns the character into a mouthpiece for bitter, veteran comic book fans.  He attacks the Marvel offices for their making everything “dark and gritty,” as he embodies and voices the “why can’t comics just be fun” crowd.  Eventually, things get metatextual, and even more fun, as Forbush Man realizes that he too, is in a comic and that, in going on a murderous rampage, he too has been made “dark and gritty.”

On the downside, the art isn’t quite right for this story, particularly where the coloring is concerned.  Pierfederici goes for a pseudo-painted style that really wouldn’t be my first pick for a wacky comedy tale like this.  Also, the story’s ending is a bit lame, relying on a flat Marvel Zombies joke.

Grade: B+

Doctor America: Occult Operative of Liberty
by Matt Fraction (writer), Brendan McCarthy & Howard Hallis (art)

This was….completely insane.  If you miss the wacky Fraction that wrote Casanova, well, there are flashes of that here.  The sheer insanity brings some enjoyment.  Better still is how self-aware the story is of its own haphazard nature.  Characters openly reference how slapped together and non-existent the “narrative” is.

Strange #1 – Review

by Mark Waid (writer), Emma Rios (artist), Christina Strain (color artist), Lauren Sankovitch *(associate editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)

The Story: Strange, powerless, has found the demon Tul’uth possessing a baseball team. He also finds a girl with an unusual aptitude for magic.

What’s Good: I really, really wish I could have found something to write here.

What’s Not So Good: As a big Dr. Strange fan, it kills me to say this, but I was… disappointed. I know Steven Strange doesn’t draw the readership he once did, but except for a few years here and there, he’s always been somewhere in the monthly books because he’s a compelling character. As much as Tony Stark, Stephen Strange is about redemption and unlike the new Stark, Strange is still selflessly, unflinchingly, unquestioningly heroic. This first issue of this limited series isn’t showing Strange the love.

First off, there’s nothing wrong with Emma Rios’ pencils, but the wild-blue-hair anime style does not suit the menacing mystic worlds that surround Dr. Strange. Even Casey’s true view through enchanted glasses revealed a world of deep, riotous color, but without the foreground shadows or darkness that really make Strange’s adventures moody and spooky. So…good artist, wrong book.

On the writing side, I’ve read a lot of great Mark Waid books, but this story is starting in a particularly unambitious way. First of all, I don’t understand where all of Strange’s power went. He first appeared in 1963 as Master of the Mystic Arts and didn’t become Sorcerer Supreme until about 1972. In those nine years he wasn’t the Sorcerer Supreme, he had power enough to defeat Mordo, Nightmare, Dormammu and anyone else who came his way. In the late eighties, he used some black magic (much like he recently did with the Avengers). This tainted him for a while, so he had to look for new sources of power. Despite the fact that he couldn’t call then upon his typical patrons, he was still skilled enough to use the black magic that Kaluu taught him. So why then is this Strange so powerless that he can’t beat a second-rate demon without playing baseball?

More unambitiously, this newly humbled Strange, instead of seeking to regain his might (not necessarily the supremacy he had, but his mastery), pits himself against a minor demon in what looks to be a 1-issue mop-up operation with no significance to Strange or the rest of the Marvel Universe. On the Marvel website, some prominence is given to Strange finding a new student. This leads me to think that Marvel is trawling for new teen readers drawn to a teenage girl growing up under Strange’s tutelage, and that she’ll be the one growing as a character, not him. I hope I’m wrong, but otherwise, by issue #4, I’m going to be suggesting that the limited series should have been called “Casey, Apprentice of Strange”.

Like I said, it kills me to criticize a Dr. Strange book, but there’s so much they could have done with this title. Some of Strange’s best adventures have been when he is massively outgunned and has to survive on his wits and skill alone in alien dimensions. Why couldn’t Waid, Sankovitch and Brevoort have picked out something like a quest to redeem Strange? A journey to reclaim lost skills and take what he is and the wisdom he has learned and save some world from evil, with only his wits and limited magic to help him? Lead a magical guerrilla war on some foe Dr. Voodoo is too busy to fight? The possibilities for heroic redemption are endless, but none of them are suggested by this first issue.

Conclusion: I’m disappointed not only for this series, but also because I know that the failure of this series will delay a true return by Dr. Strange to the mainstream of the Marvel Universe for a couple of years. (I’ll still buy issue #2, though, because Stephen Strange is such a great character)

Grade: D

-DS Arsenault

 

Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #1 – Review

By Rick Remender (writer), Jefte Palo (pencils & inks), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colors)

The Story: Jericho Drumm, the Houngan Supreme, and now Sorcerer Supreme, has to establish his street cred and get the big job done before a prophesied evil swallows the universe. First stop: Dormammu, and that’s just the prologue! Stephen Strange is there too, finishing up handing over the reins of power before heading off. Then, alone, Doctor Voodoo heads into the world himself, but is surprised by an old enemy and a new challenger for the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

What’s Good: The new conception of the Sorcerer Supreme. Doctor Voodoo is not your dad’s Doctor Strange! He’s walking around with human skulls on his belt and shrunken heads dangling off the Staff of Legba. He’s in-your-face and daring, the Gunner of God and the Houngan Supreme. It is seriously cool. The Haitian angle brings a new feel and tone to the Marvel Universe’s top sorcerer. Remender hit all the right notes. At the same time, Voodoo’s got some cockiness issues. Strange lost the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme because he’d become complacent and stopped learning, but Voodoo is into some nasty magic that Strange wouldn’t touch. Anyone smell hubris?

Palo and Beaulieu deliver some beautiful art. I think that magic always gives an artist room to run with the ball and we get a new classical-Greek view of Dormammu’s domain, shrunken heads, the Scrying Stones of Chthon, gritty New Orleans and a defeated, shaken Strange. And the variant cover by Tan was awesome. I’ll give a no-prize to anyone who can tell me which classic cover and artist it’s based on!

What’s Not So Good: Having really learned the worlds of Doctor Strange in the surreal weirdness of Ditko, Brunner, Russell, and even Paul Smith, I found some of the dimensions and environments visited by Voodoo to be a little… restrained. Don’t get me wrong. The art was well done, but I’m not used to straight lines anywhere the Sorcerer Supreme walks. Palo’s extra dimensional designs have a regularity that seems like a lost opportunity compared to the psychological chaos that usually provides the backdrop to Marvel’s magical adventures. Even the brief view of Shuma-Gorath felt like Palo was holding back. I hope in the next couple of issues, Palo lets himself go nuts and to put whatever bizarre wackiness he can think of onto the page.

Conclusion: There are lots of challenges to writing and drawing the Sorcerer Supreme well. Marvel has hit on the right concept and launched a great new series. I expect a few growing pains, but this first issue caught the tone needed to make the Sorcerer Supreme work. Go out and get it.

Grade: B+

-DS Arsenault