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« SuperMegaSpeed Reviews | Main | Marvel Pirate says ____? »

SuperMegaSpeed Reviews - surprise extension

We got a special delivery today and were told we'd better read these and form an opinion right quick, because some of them are coming out again next week. So here goes. For once, i'm actually topical!

FF #1 - I've always been on the fence about Allred but either he's gotten better or i've learned what to expect or both, but i really enjoyed his crazy style here. Also, i've always liked the Future Foundation concept; i mean, it's got Gee Power, Artie, Leech, a Kid Wizard, Moleoids, and an intelligent Dragon Man! Why wouldn't i like it? Because Hickman. I haven't really liked Fraction either, but "concept + Allred" seems to be a winning formula so far. I have to say, though: i've been wondering for months (feels like years) about that lady in the Thing exo-skeleton on the cover, and this issue did not deliver on that at all.

Avengers Arena #1 - This book is cheap on many levels. The death of a character that we only have an investment in thanks to a different writer on a different title. The plot stolen outright from Battle Royale (Arcade's acknowledgement of same doesn't make it ok). The fact that half of these characters are new legacy characters that just scream canon fodder. But i thought it was done well enough so far. Min thinks it's all a virtual reality thing and everyone wakes up at the end having learned that they can't trust each other. That would be fine. It'll also be ok if the characters are really dead. What will annoy me is if they really are dead and Marvel resurrects them a year from now in another book by another writer. It's another case of "breaking the toys responsibly". But i think i'll probably stick with this. I mean, it's basically Secret Wars ("Slay your enemies..."), right?

Uncanny Cable and his Mighty X-Force NOW! #1 - One thing Hopeless did in both this and Arena was start off the book with a scene in the future and then jump back some period of time, but never make it all the way back to where we started. That's pure "writing for the trade" mentality and it's pretty annoying when reading single issues. I want to like this book. So far it's a "gathering of the team" plot but we don't know what for, and we didn't even complete the gathering before we got interrupted by Cable's vision coming true. But from the little i have to go on, i guess i'll stick with this for at least one more issue. But if the pacing stays at this level it'll probably get dropped soon enough.

I did read a Legion of Monsters trade by Hopeless not long ago and i thought it was pretty bad, but i really think a lot of that was due to the art (by Juan Doe). The writing in these books was ok. Arena at least fully set up the premise (granted, via some serious Arcade monologuing).

So i guess we'll stick with all three books...

Oh, one thing that kept tricking me. I guess i'm kinda dumb. But every new scene in FF had a little 4 symbol at the top of the page. It's not in the style of the Fantastic Four logo, in my defense. And so the first time i saw it, i flipped back to see if i missed #1-3. Der. And then in Cable, there was a narration title after the flash-forward scene. It had an X symbol and then said "Days Earlier". And i'm like, "X Days Earlier?!? What am i, supposed to guess?"

By fnord12 | December 13, 2012, 10:23 PM | Comics


Comments

FF: first off, why is Franklin a moron? the other children they showed in this issue aren't morons and they aren't all super geniuses like Val, are they? also, having non-morons for parents, i think Franklin would naturally pick up on things like...i dunno...language.

second, Reed and Scott Lang are having a coversation with Reed's crotch hanging over them. just cause he's stretchy doesn't mean he has to be stretchy all of the time. that is just so inappropriate. and Reed in that skin tight costume, too. Don't Look Up, Ant Man! I'm begging you! *shudder*

Fraction should have taken a cue from Immonen and just filled Valeria's speech bubbles with "blah blah blah".

Arena: i see Arcade's lost some weight and gained some height. he's also a chatty cathy.

not a fan of the art. i couldn't even recognize the Runaways. i only knew Chase was in the group cause Old Lace was there, but except for the page where they had a helpful tag naming him, i couldn't pick him out of the crowd.

if this isn't just some sort of mind game and they are really killing off these characters, i have to say that's some bullshit. you've got a group of really interesting personalities and powers and you're just going to throw that away with a Battle Royale story? so i'm voting for virtual reality.

Cable & XF: i don't think fnord12 used enough exclamation points on that title. it should prolly be in all caps, too.

not too sure about Cable's design. Cable's eyepatch just looks off and i can't put my finger on what the problem is. that and his claw hand - not a fan of the claw hand.

other than that, i don't have strong feelings one way or the other on this title. i'm taking a wait and see approach. i like Dr. Nemesis and was really disappointed they crapped up that attempt at a super science team book, so i guess i hold secret hopes this will be good.