Daredevil #7 – Review

By: Mark Waid (story) Javier Rodriguez (art), Alvaro Lopez (inks)

The Story: It’s a jungle out there. Daredevil and confusion everywhere.

The Review: I tend to dread it when writers—specifically comic book writers and superhero writers especially—bring in political dimensions to their stories. Politics are an impenetrable morass of complications and the higher up you go, the worse it becomes. Once you get to the international stage, forget it; you need to be committed to understanding this stuff 24/7 before you can truly understand it. Superhero writers invariably oversimplify things and it almost always reflects poorly on the story.

Not even a great like Waid is immune. I confess I’m not up to speed on Wakandan politics, this being the side-effect of not being a total Marvel devotee. But I really don’t understand why, if Wakanda is the most technologically advanced nation on Earth, it would need to outsource its research to the U.S. at all. Even setting that aside, the plan to extradite the three protesting nun who didn’t actually expose Wakanda’s doings strikes me as overly complicated. Shuri justifies herself thusly, “Those women risked embarrassing Wakanda. If I declare that to be a crime, then it is.” She’s the Queen of Hearts in full-body black spandex.

Daredevil #6 – Review

By: Mark Waid (story) Javier Rodriguez (art), Alvaro Lopez (inks)

The Story: It’s a whole new low of villainy when nuns are your victims.

The Review: Even though I’ve picked up quite a few Marvel titles in the last year, I can’t say I’ve decamped altogether from my DC leanings. Case in point, I’m always up-to-date on the major going-ons in the DCU even if I’m not reading any of the relevant titles. Not so with Marvel. Lately, I’ve seen Original Sin stamped all over the place, but I still have almost no idea what it’s about. Something to do with somebody blabbing crucial secrets that makes everyone miserable?

Fortunately, Waid gives me just enough to understand the spark for this current arc, in which we reverse course from Matt’s bright, bouncy adventures in San Fran back to the grim, soul-sucking investigations of New York City. Actually, in terms of crossover premises, Original Sin is very promising in that it allows each participant to deal with the ramifications of their personal revelation on their own, no interference or collaboration with extraneous characters necessary. Now, that’s a crossover idea I can get behind.

Deadpool #20 – Review

by Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (Writers), Scott Koblish (Artist), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: As it turns out, Deadpool went on some very trippy adventures in the 60’s.

The Review: I have a big affection for what some might call the Marvel age of comics, better known as the 60’s. Titles like the old Fantastic Four from Lee and Kirby, or Amazing Spider-Man by Lee and Ditko were full of imagination, with a certain detail for fun that isn’t always present in every comics on the stand. A lot of what we currently enjoy in the Marvel universe comes from these times, which makes them something to be enjoyed.

However, while I do enjoy them tremendously, I can still see a lot of what is wrong with them when being more analytic with modern eyes. A lot of their stories are set in a cold war mindset that pits evil communists as foes, most of the women characters are either useless or damsels to be saved, logic is usually pretty optional. Most of them are rather silly when looked upon.* This, of course, make them rather ripe when it comes to satire, with so many things to make fun of that perhaps a whole mini-series could be dedicated to the subject.

This, of course, is exactly why this issue is, on a basic level, utterly disappointing as both Duggan and Posehn simply don’t seem to understand a lot of the potential for comedy here. A Jack Kirby inspired issue of Deadpool could very well be something beautiful, like an homage and a parody at the same time that could hit all the right notes. However, this issue has but too many flaws to actually be entertaining.

New Avengers #11 – Review

Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Mike Deodato (Artist) Frank Martin (Colorist)

*I strongly urge people to read this week’s Avengers #21 before reading this story. You have been warned.*

The Story: The Illuminati gets to see why and how and the Builders destroys worlds as Thanos gets in the Necropolis after his assault on Wakanda.

The Review: This issue should be called ”how to use events to propel a book forward”. While it was to be expected that Jonathan Hickman would find the better use for his event called Infinity in his own titles, it seems that there were some ideas that he was keeping for his ongoing.

What Hickman successfully do here is tying in the incursion events, the problem in the multiverse, the Builders and many other elements together in a cohesive manner. Better yet, he is also able to add quite a lot of depth to the concepts he introduced in Infinity as well as in his other book, Avengers. What he accomplish here is nothing short of impressive, as not only he is able to surprise his readers, yet he keep the progression of his themes going without slowing down any threads.

This all begins with the incursion as the Illuminati tries to see how it is and whether or not they should use the same technology as last time, when a particular being comes to meet them, inviting them to see the end of the world and the very reason why the Earth cannot be left alive. The Illuminati and their encounter with this specific group is a fascinating second point-of-view to what is happening in their own universe and how Infinity can be perceived by other beings in other universes. Hickman also manages to bring in a few character moments as well as he is still able to bring what makes some of the Illuminati interesting to begin with. Not all characters gets the spotlight, but it is still entertaining to see how Beast, Reed and the others reacts to these revelations.

New Avengers #7 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Mike Deodato (Artist), Frank D’Armata, Rain Beredo (Colorists)

The Story: We catch up on what the Illuminati are doing one month later as a possible open war between Wakanda and Atlantis might emerge.

The Review: Transition issues can be unsatisfactory. Many readers will know what I’m talking about, when a writer knows that he needs to pad out some issues before he can get to the next storyline in order to converge with something the company is doing. It can be frustrating to see some of the subplots take precedence while the main plot is tossed aside, alongside some of the main characters.

Thank god then that the writer here is Jonathan Hickman and that the convergence is an event of his own creation, meaning that he knows full well what he is doing here. A transition issue this might be, yet it has a huge weight and continues several elements of what makes this series great to begin with.

New Avengers #2 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Steve Epting, Rick Magyar (Artists), Frank D’Armata (Colorist)

The Story: The Illuminati gathers in the dead city of Wakanda to discuss a particular threat to their universe discovered by Black Panther.

The Review: Double-shipping on books can be both a blessing and a curse. It permits people to get the complete stories by the authors that much faster, but it has a cost that goes beyond the pockets of the customers. Sometimes, it makes the artist or the author much too rushed in their work, creating small missteps in the writing or the art. It can also lower the general quality of a book and the appreciation of the customers when such things happen, especially when the only reason that can be perceived by them is to get more money out of them. However, there are some exceptions, as sometimes it is to create momentum and give a general idea of what the series will be about in a quicker fashion than usual.

New Avengers #1 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Steve Epting (Artist), Frank D’Armata (colorist)

The Story: Black Panther travels to a different dimension and encounters a threat that is so big he has to call the Illuminati for help.

The Review: Jonathan Hickman is a man with a plan. In close to every long-term series that he has written, he has shown us that he does things meticulously, with an attention to detail that is sometime uncanny. It has leaded us to incredible stories during his tenure on Fantastic Four and FF. This kind of plotting can be very interesting to follow, with every hints and tease dropped with each subsequent chapter that manage to create a larger direction and narrative throughout the story. It can also, unfortunately, create cryptic chapter or things that make close to no sense until later in the book, creating a sense of incompleteness in a particular issue.

It is unfortunately the latter with the opening issue of this very promising series, with much that is teased, yet never truly explained or absolutely shown to us readers. There are a lot of interesting elements presented to us in this issue, mind you, but none of them are explained in context. Putting readers in the shadow and in doubt can produce various degrees of interest in a storyline, but here it is just confusing. What is the place where Black Panther has landed? Who are these people he is fighting? What does the machine that strange woman is holding? We need some proper context if we are to truly enjoy the issue and understand the action and significance of them.

Avengers vs. X-Men #12 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction & Jonathan Hickman (story), Jason Aaron (story & script), Adam Kubert (pencils & inks), John Dell & Mark Morales (inks), Laura Martin & Justin Ponsor (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story:  The Scarlet Witch and Hope take on Dark Phoenix Scott Summers for all the marbles.

The Review:  No one will ever accuse AvX of being subtle, nuanced, or even particularly smart writing.  That being said, it never really aspired to be more than it is.  So really, how much you enjoy it, and how much you’ll enjoy this issue, is really largely dependent upon your feelings about big event comics in general.  For myself, I honestly had fun reading this issue.  It wasn’t anything exceptional, but I enjoyed myself.  It was a solid, cathartic conclusion to the story and, yeah, AvX winds up being about a hundred times better than Fear Itself.

Fantastic Four #608 – Review

By: Jonathan Hickman (writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli (breakdowns), Karl Kesel (finishes), Paul Mounts (colors), and Clayton Cowles (letters)

The Story:  Black Panther accepts a new mantle in order to defend Wakanda from the undead threat.

The Review:  I imagine that there are going to be many readers that are thrilled about this comic simply because it’s essentially a Black Panther/Wakanda comic with Sue and Reed as guest stars.  In some ways, I can understand that appeal; there really should be a monthly Wakanda book and Hickman, Camuncoli, and Kesel do a solid job of immersing us in that pseudo-African, myth-heavy world in all of its exotic (and possibly exoticist?) splender.

Avengers vs. X-Men #8 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Adam Kubert (penciler), John Dell (inker), Laura Martin & Larry Molinar (colorists), and Chris Eliopoulos (letterer)

The Story:  The Avengers try to stop Namor from burning Wakanda to the ground.

The Review:  One word describes this issue:  fun.

I’ll admit, I’m not one easily wowed by superhero punch-ups, but somehow, seeing Namor battle heavyhitters like Red Hulk, Thing, and Thor was pure, gleeful, comics bliss.  There was just something magical about seeing these heavy-hitters throw down (with one particularly brutal panel that particularly sticks out – that’s a pun that’ll make sense when you read the issue).  The fight was wonderful fun that had me really enjoying myself and flipping the pages, with the issue never dragging or boring me one bit.

The Defenders #7 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Terry Dodson (penciller), Rachel Dodson (inker), Sonia Oback (colorist), and Clayton Cowles (letterer)

The Story: Black Cat gets recruited by weirdoes to steal weird stuff; the Defenders take their hunt for John Aman to Wakanda.

The Review:  As my top picks for this week can attest, I was looking forward to this issue, but this actually managed to exceed expectations.  Suffice to say, should Marvel ever consider a solo Black Cat series, Matt Fraction would definitely be on my short-list for the book.

Fraction’s has a naturally strong handle of Black Cat and her particular voice and he wisely has her narration the portions of the book in which she appears, allowing him to show off his understanding and clear love of the character.  Felicia Hardy is just as she should be: sassy, living on the edge, thrill-seeking, and cocky.  She leaps off the page and showcases everything that makes her a fan favourite.  Put simply, it’s impossible not to like Fraction’s Black Cat.  The way she’s introduced is also a stroke of genius: we get to see Felicia working an office job, which is comedy gold.  It also, of course, helps to have the Dodsons on art.  While their work overall on the issue is beautiful, as expected, having them draw Cat is a natural choice, given that drawing good-looking women has become one of their trademarks, having published several sketchbooks dedicated solely to doing just that.

Taking the Defenders to Wakanda is also a nice touch.  I’m really enjoying Fraction’s using this book not only as a way to spotlight disparate, B to C list characters, but also as a way to visit the far-flung corners of the Marvel Universe.  It adds a sense of vibrance and diversity to the book that makes it rather trippy, setting it apart from Marvel’s line.  I also cannot emphasize enough how much I loved the way Fraction introduced Wakanda itself: as the Defender’s land, they’re accompanied by narration that sounds like a voice-over from a cheesy old adventure movie or travelogue; it’s so amusing, that it’s guaranteed to have you hearing it in your head.

Wolverine & the X-Men #11 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Nick Bradshaw (pencils & inks), Walden Wong & Norman Lee (inks), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Going to the X-Men’s aid, Jean Grey School teachers battle Avengers while Logan and Hope are intercepted by a squad of Shi’ar Death Commandos.

The Review:  Two issues in, it’s become clear – AvX has effectively derailed one of Marvel’s best books, and isn’t that the eternal nightmare for comics readers wary of event tie-ins?

The problem is that focusing on Avengers vs. X-Men forces Aaron to move away from much of what’s made the book a rousing success.  We spend far too much time away from the school and from the students.  Indeed, much as the bit with Genesis was last issue’s best moment, this issue’s bits with Kid Gladiator and Kitty’s class’ reaction to Iceman’s fight with Hulk are the highlights, but these portions are far too brief.

No, instead, the bulk of the issue just features mindless action.  Once again, we get to see Avengers and X-Men punching each other in Wakanda/Tabula Rasa/Wundagore/Savage Land, exchanging dialogue that feels completely phoned in, with heroes reiterating their teams’ basic stances.  Most of these characters fighting have no real beef or connection to one another, so the fights really feel meaningless, while other characters have never even played a role in this book prior to this issue (Red Hulk and Doctor Strange, for instance).  Frankly, this “splitting the teams amidst four locations” has been a point I’ve really hated about AvX, as it’s just led to tie-ins like this one, spinning their wheels by filling pages with random heroes punching each other.  Perhaps it would be more forgivable for readers with less extensive pull-lists, but it’s starting to feel like every damned tie-in is doing these “checking in” action scenes; it was lifeless and tiresome to begin with and at this point, it’s simply irritating.

Avengers vs. X-Men #0 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis & Jason Aaron (writers), Frank Cho (art), Jason Keith (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: The Scarlet Witch is back in action and Hope becomes a crime-fighter.

The Review: How much you enjoy AvX #0 is largely contingent on what you expect to get out of this issue.  In many ways, this is somewhat falsely advertised as a prelude to the big Avengers vs. X-Men event and, as such, both Brian Bendis and Jason Aaron’s stories kind of fail in this regard.  Barring a final page in Aaron’s story that doesn’t reveal anything we didn’t already know, this issue doesn’t particularly set up any significant story beats or give us too much of an idea of what that story is going to be.

Instead, what you get with this issue are two character sketches, one of the Scarlet Witch and the other of Hope.  It gives readers new and old to get a little better acquainted with both characters and where they’re at in their lives right now.

Bendis’ story with Wands is no doubt the stronger of the two.  The action scenes are fantastic and really play to Frank Cho’s strengths, at times quite literally leaping off the page.  And hey, it’s MODOK.  Not just that, but particularly with Cho’s illustrations, Wanda’s powers are really cool to see in action and they make for one hell of an entrance.  Really, that’s what this is all about: Wanda’s return to the stage; Bendis succeeds in ensuring that she makes one hell of an impression.

I can also tell that Bendis worked harder than usual on this one.  The dialogue never falls prey to Bendis-speak or out of character voices.  Instead, the dialogue is brimming with emotion and sincerity.  Ms. Marvel’s dynamic with Wanda is a lot of fun, with Carol clearly being well-intentioned but overly optimistic, and all the more lovable for it.  The real meat comes with Wanda’s meeting with Vision.  Bendis manages to make Vision ice-cold, but brutally truthful and, nonetheless, also makes Wanda a sympathetic figure.  It’s a conversation that’s been a long time coming, and it delivers, scars and all.

Black Panther #39 (Secret Invasion) – Review

Jason Aaron, (Writer) Jefte Paolo, (Artist) and Lee Loughridge (Colorist)

I realized this past week just how bad Secret Invasion has me hooked when I purchased two books I don’t normally think about: X-Factor and She-Hulk. A day or two later, I came to the conclusion that all hope for me is lost when I found myself pumped for this week’s tie-in in the pages of Black Panther, another series I’ve never read (or cared for).

What begins as a test of technological wit between the Skrull invaders and the people of Wakanda quickly escalates into a brutal battle on foot in the start of Jason Aaron’s Black Panther arc. While there really isn’t a whole lot I can say without spoiling the best aspects of this clever confrontation, it can best be described as a near perfect combination of entertaining writing, straightforward storytelling, and fitting artwork. From the set up to the battle, everything about this issue feels suitably epic and all the pieces are in place to make for a memorable addition to the expanding Secret Invasion storyline.

Jason Aaron has already proven that he has a knack for writing well-crafted Marvel tales (thanks to his work on Wolverine and Ghost Rider), but this Black Panther story has the potential to be his best Marvel work yet. The Skrulls and Wakandans both get ample time to shine as Aaron masterfully builds tension while providing the information necessary to not only frame the conflict, but also get new readers acclimated to what the nation of Wakanda is all about. My only concern is that, since I am coming into the story as a new reader, there is a chance others may find his writing of the Wakandan people to be way off base. While I doubt that is the case, I figure it’s worth a mention. All in all, I couldn’t be much happier with Aaron’s effort and look forward to what he has in store for us next.

While I have been critical of both Jefte Paolo and Lee Loughridge in the past, their work is a perfect fit for this story. Dark, gritty, and violent, the visuals couldn’t be much more effective. The artists definitely take some cues from a few of the more famous Hollywood clashes, but don’t take it as a negative comment – some of the imagery is stunning and will quickly evoke some memorable movie moments. While I wish there was a bit more detail in a few panels, I can’t complain too much considering how well it works to tell the story.

To put it as bluntly as possible, this is one bad-ass comic. If this is par for the course for the Black Panther series, I’m going to have to go back and read what I missed. Highly recommended. (Grade A-)

-Kyle Posluszny

A Second Opinion

Awesome issue! This is what Secret Invasion should be. Jason Aaron’s best Marvel work to date. A couple more issues like this and I’ll have completely forgiven him for his atrocious Wolverine run.

Kyle is right, the art is devoid of backgrounds, but that’s just Jefte Paolo’s style and boy does it look awesome. It completely establishes the mood and keeps the tone consistent throughout the story. This art, in a way, reminds me of Jae Lee’s earlier, more brooding work (which I love).

Buy this issue. (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes