Previously… In Comics (Books Released on 4/13/11)

Before I jump into the reviews I just want to thank actress/writer Brea Grant for plugging my blog on her site. She provided a pretty awesome quote in calling my blog “a nerd’s dreamscape.” So, thank you, Brea! Now onto the reviews! This week we’ll take a look at my top two favorite titles of 2010 (SHIELD and UNWRITTEN) as they both released new issues on Wednesday. I’ll also review the latest issue of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, which is a series I haven’t read in over a year.

SHIELD #∞: $4.99 (Writer: Jonathan Hickman, Artists: Various): If you’ve heard a ton of great things about SHIELD and are looking for jumping-on point, this issue is not it. In fact, if you fit into that category, I venture you might read this issue and think, “Really? This is the book everyone’s so excited about?” SHIELD #∞ offers us some more back-story on the involvement of Da Vinci, Archimedes, Michelangelo, Nikola Tesla and Isaac Newton with the SHIELD, but this special issue doesn’t use the same format that the main series does. The main series will jump around in time and space from storyline to storyline, rarely letting you catch your breath. This special is just four short stories set within the world of the SHIELD. All that said, it’s not a bad issue, though the $4.99 price tag is a bit much. The Tesla and Newton stories are the strongest. The Michelangelo story is fairly unnecessary. And I think Jonathan Hickman just wrote the Da Vinci/Archimedes story because he wanted to see the Colossus of Rhodes fight a Kree Sentry (which I admit was pretty cool). Final verdict: If you’re already reading the series, pick up this issue, you’ll enjoy it. If you haven’t been reading the series, hold off on picking up this issue, and wait for the trade of issues 1 through 6 that comes out next month.

UNWRITTEN #24 $2.99 (Writer: Mike Carey, Artists: Peter Gross, Al Davison): The last issue of UNWRITTEN was a biggie, revealing the true nature of Tom Taylor’s powers. This issue, however, is a bit of a reprieve from the main story as we return to the adventures of Mr. Bun aka Pauly Bruckner. If you didn’t read Mr. Bun’s first appearance, imagine if Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh just started talking/cursing like Joe Pesci in GOODFELLAS and you’ll have a good idea of what happened. Obviously, this was played for great comedic effect in Mr. Bun’s first appearance. This issue is much different. If Mr. Bun’s first appearance was darkly comedic, this appearance is pitch black. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to laugh, be incredibly disturbed, or both. As a reader, sometimes that’s a fun place to be. UNWRITTEN #24 is a strong issue with great storybook art featuring layouts by Peter Gross and finishes by Al Davison.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #658 $3.99 (Writer: Dan Slott, Artist: Javier Pulido): I stopped reading AMAZING SPIDER-MAN about 6 or 7 months into BRAND NEW DAY. For those unfamiliar, BRAND NEW DAY was the launching of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN as a thrice-monthly series with a rotating creative team. At the beginning there were four writers, I believe, that made up the Spidey brain trust, and they would take turns writing story arcs. Two of the writers, Dan Slott and Zeb Wells delivered good to great stories every time. The other two writers, who’s names I can’t even remember, were incredibly hit-or-miss. Wells left the book pretty early into this new run. And I stopped reading shortly after he stopped writing. I tried just reading Slott’s arc’s but it was too much work. I heard the book got much better later, once they rotated some other writers in, but a book that comes out three times a month is quite the financial investment, so since I was already out, I stayed out. So why did I pick up this issue? Well, I’m a huge fan of Jonathan Hickman’s run on Fantastic Four/FF, and this issue ties into the events going on in FF, so it was hard to resist.

Spider-man is a difficult character to write. Or, at least, it’s very easy to get him wrong. Even if the characters around him think Spidey’s quips are groan-worthy, the reader should always find them to be funny. Dan Slott knows how to write Spider-man. This is a great Spider-man story and a great Fantastic Four story. The action is secondary to the character interactions. That’s always been, to me, the strength of good Marvel storytelling: characters first, plot second. I’ve never seen Javier Pulido’s work before, but I think I’m in love. Much like Marcos Martin, his style is very retro and very clean. His art feels smooth and effortless. No panel is overworked. If you’re a lapsed AMAZING SPIDER-MAN reader like myself, this is a perfect isssue to jump on board with, especially if you’ve been reading Jonathan Hickman’s FF.

Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 9

Previous Previouslies:
4/6/2011 Releases
1/21/2009 Releases

Previously… in Comics

 I haven’t done any blog posts about comics yet. I’m rectifying that now. Time for some comic book reviews! I have no idea if I’m going to do this on a weekly basis. Last week saw Marvel’s Dark Reign really kick into gear. Dark Reign’s flagship title, Dark Avengers, launched. Dan Slott introduced us to the bizarre new team over in Mighty Avengers. Andy Diggle began revealing the new roster of the Thunderbolts. And Matt Fraction gave us a glimpse into Emma Frost’s mindset in the Marvel Universe’s new status quo.

The following books were all released on January 21st. They’re listed in the order I read them. Spoilers will be kept to a minimum.

Thunderbolts #128 (Writer: Andy Diggle, Artist: Roberto de la Torre): In the previous two issues, Diggle did a spectacular job writing the Thunderbolts as Warren Ellis had reimagined them. It was an incredibly dark and intense story that lead to the dismantling of that team’s roster. In this issue, Diggle pulls back the curtain on his team of Thunderbolts. Sadly, judging by this issue, his T’Bolts aren’t quite as interesting as Bullseye, Venom, and company. It’s obviously way too early to start panicking here. Only a fraction of the team has even been introduced. But this group seems to lack much of the personality their predecessors had in spades. I do have to give props to Diggle though for his Obama appearance which both made sense for the story and established Norman Osborn as a lame duck appointment by the outgoing Bush Administration. Dark Reign is all Bush’s fault!

Dark Avengers #1 (W: Brian Bendis, A: Mike Deodato): You ever have a favorite band break up and then the lead singer puts out a solo album? The music sounds similar to that of the band you so loved, but it’s just not nearly as good. That is Dark Avengers. I flipped open this book and it looked remarkable like Warren Ellis’ Thunderbolts. Mike Deodato’s drawing all the same characters: Norman Osborn, Venom, Bullseye, Moonstone. If only the characters didn’t have to speak, because those word balloons pointed at their mouths are not nearly as engrossing. But even if Brian Bendis could channel Warren Ellis perfectly here, I’d still have to question the overall concept. Basically, we have a team of villains dressed up in the costumes of unregistered heroes like Spider-man, Wolverine, and Iron Man. Supposedly in the Marvel Universe, Iron Man is despised for his role in Secret Invasion. Spider-man and Wolverine are fugitives.  Why would Norman Osborn dress up his team like these social pariahs? It’d be like the Democrats trying to win the White House by nominating a George W. Bush clone. It doesn’t make any sort of sense.

Mighty Avengers #21 (W: Dan Slott, A: Khoi Pham): Thank you Dan Slott. Thank you for giving me a classic Avengers title to love. I adore this book. Going into the issue, I knew very little about the new team. I knew it involved Hank Pym and I could see Scarlet Witch and Jocasta were on the cover. That’s it. The roster Slott has chosen, assuming this is the permanent roster, is almost Nextwave insane.  And like Nextwave, it’s also brilliant. The dialogue is tight, often funny, and perfectly in character. While I’ve always felt Brian Bendis has trouble with team books (his best issues of New Avengers always only deal with 1 or 2 members of the team), Dan Slott’s writing shines when the scene is full of costumed crusaders. I do have to say Hank Pym’s new costume is atrocious; I have no problems with his new codename though. 

Uncanny X-Men Annual #2 (W: Matt Fraction, A: Mitch Breitweiser and Daniel Acuna): I’m sure I’m not the only one who was completely baffled by Emma Frost’s inclusion in Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign inner circle. She’s a good guy now! She’s been one of the white hats since the mid-nineties when she mentored Generation X along with Banshee. So while Brian Bendis did very little to justify her place at the table, Matt Fraction has taken up the challenge in this Uncanny X-Men Annual and does an admirable job of explaining her motivation. In addition to learning more about the White Queen’s thinking, we also get insight into her relationship with Namor. Pairing these two together was a genius move on Fraction’s part. Having two of the most arrogant members of the Marvel Universe interact, often through some intense flirting, brings out the best in both characters. I look forward to seeing these characters together more often. The art here is gorgeous. Mitch Breitweiser handles the present, while Daniel Acuna deals with the flashbacks. It’s unfortunate such a beautiful issue has to be marred by a fairly awful cover from Terry Dodson.

X-Factor #39 (W: Peter David, A: Valentine de Landro): I’m going to listen to Peter David’s plea on the recap page of this issue and not play spoiler. What I will do is implore you to pick up this issue! From the cover, I’m sure everyone knows this is the issue where Siryn and Madrox’s child is born. And like most of the best X-Factor stories David’s written, there’s a ton of humor, there’s some tragedy, and there’s no big superhero battles. The art is a vast improvement over the last story arc that introduced Darwin to the group. And, yes, there’s a huge twist here. A huge gut-wrenching twist that would be impossible to spoil without just outright saying what happens. Rarely in any creative medium do you have a moment so original, so unique, that your jaw just drops because you did not and could not see it coming. That is what happens in this issue. It’s impossible to over-hype.

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond 3D #2 (W: Grant Morrison, A: Doug Mahnke): The last issue of this book came out roughly forever ago. I don’t know if it was by design or because of delays, but the span between issues means I had no clue what was going on when I started reading this issue. Frankly though, that’s hardly a new feeling for me when reading a book written by Grant Morrison. I did remember enjoying the first issue, even though I didn’t remember what the heck was happening in it, so I decided to pick this one up despite the $4.50 price tag. It’s your fairly standard Grant Morrison issue. There are some great moments and other moments when you inevitably say to yourself, “what the hell was that?” Personally, I’ll be happy if I never have to read another book in 3D again. In addition to having to wear the ridiculous glasses, trying to read word balloons while looking at 3D images is a recipe for a splitting headache.

Trade of the week:
Fables: War and Pieces (W: Bill Willingham, A: Mark Buckingham): I finally got around to reading the latest Fables trade this week. If the title didn’t make it obvious, “War and Pieces” is the final battle between Fabletown and the Adversary’s forces. I loved the Cinderella story that leads into the war. She should really have her own Alias-style secret agent book. The main story, however, I found lacking. It’s anti-climactic, perhaps intentionally so, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. I thought Boy Blue’s post-war narration was a mistake. It took all the suspense out of the conflict. The last chapter feels rushed and really could’ve been expanded into an additional issue. There’s one moment featuring Boy Blue towards the end of the story that truly deserves a full page, but receives only a small sliver of one. If there was one aspect of this story that I loved, it was Prince Charming’s arc. Charming is really the star of those four chapters. And his relationship with Sinbad is also a huge highlight.