"No longer like a toad in these foul cellars will I secret the venom of hatred -- for you shall bring me love!" - Erik
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April 24, 2002
Avengers 53
Avengers #53
I was prepared to completely hate this issue, especially as the last ended with a giant holographic Captain America ready to settle the war by duking it out with a giant holographic Kang, but this was better than expected, mainly because of the focus on Kang's character. Kang's desire to fight 'honorably', when he could easily beat the Avengers with his time traveling ability and other advanced technologies, makes for an interesting character, and his relationship with his son (see pages 11 and 21-22) are particularly good. I find myself wondering very much what this story would have been like had Busiek put an Astro City level of effort into it, putting his focus on character development and motivations instead of which part of the forcefield the Avengers should bang on. This has been an ongoing disappointment for me throughout Busiek's run, but it's been particularly prominent during the Kang War, and these few scenes during this issue (that silent inset panel on page 11!) giving me a glimpse of what i am missing are not helping. Elsewhere, after setting up an interesting ethical dilemma regarding the morality of using the innocent captured spirits of the pyramid to fight Kang, a major cop-out is used: Tremont escapes and uses the spirits himself, thus freeing the heroes of the responsibility. At least i think that's what happened. It's not explicitly said either way: it may be that Tremont used the last remnants of his own power to lower Kang's forcefield. It isn't clear from the dialogue or the art, though i'm leaning towards the first. Overall, as a major battle issue, this succeeds. There's a good moment for veteran Avenger Iron Man where he comes in as part of the second wave, assesses Quasar's plan and (I assume after a quick scan of the forcefield) says, "No that won't work. Do it this way." Warbird's scenes, both with Marcus and in the power core, are also good character moments. I'm not quite sure why The Presence and Starlight needed to be in this story. They don't seem to do anything, so they are somewhat distracting where the focus should be on the Avengers, and they are not very exciting as guest stars. I suppose that it doesn't help that i don't really know who they are outside of their previous appearances in this series, and i should probably reserve judgment to see if they become needed as part of a yet-unrevealed Avengers plan. The dialogue is generally very good. The characters sound right and say things that their characters should, even to the point where Justice is appropriately annoying. I would have liked it if Kang's soldiers weren't quite so generic ("Now, troopers! Before they can rise! Set for maximum concentration..."). A little individual personality installed into the grunts can make the difference between generic action movie and something with more depth, but i realize there is a lot going on already and there probably isn't much space. The art is excellent. Despite the fact that a grand battle like this could call for gratuitous single shots, there are only two splash scenes (one on the title page) and the rest of the pages are packed with highly detailed panels. The action scenes are full of energy, and for the character moments i again point you to page 11. Thor's startlingly haggard face is also a highlight. I'll see this through, though more out of morbid curiosity in wanting to know how the population of Washington DC being wiped out and the world being devastated and put into concentration camps can possibly be reconciled with the larger marvel universe than because i think this is a great story.
Blade #2
About as generic a plot as you can get, and unfortunately similar to the movie (a new breed of vampires attacking the regular vampires). Dialogue? The vampire bandleader said "I'm afraid we don't know that one. How about 'Fangs For The Memories'?". And remember, this is theoretically a horror book. Not that a line like that would even work in Deadpool. The artist obviously can draw, but the designs for the tryks and the "vampire stormtroopers" are not very exciting. I'd like to see a book drawn by the cover artist. I'll be dropping this.
Captain America #1
On a team, Captain America can be played as the master strategist, and the square-jawed, always-knows-what's-right guy (Cap is the only character that can and should be written as a generic cheesy DC sooper-hero). However, if he is going to star in his own book, that level of confidence and capability needs to be contrasted with the basic conflict Stan Lee put on the character when he revived him in the 60s: Cap is a product of World War II jingoism that has been dropped in the middle of a world where things are not nearly so black & white (note that the conflict is between WWII *jingoism* and contemporary society's complex problems. The world was not black & white in 1945, either). Therefore, if Cap is going to star in his own book, there needs to be a heavy dose of political and sociological issues in the book as well. While Cap's book has never been great, the highlights of his series have been when he's come into conflict with his government (Engleheart's Nomad story, Grunweld's The Captain, Waid's Man Without A Country, and, to a lesser degree, Stern and Byrne's Cap For President). So, while i initially cringed when i read that Captain America was going to be tackling the issue of terrorism and September 11th, i believe it was the right thing to attempt. The key would be to treat the issue seriously, and not play it for melodrama or for ra-ra patriotism. So far, we're not doing too well. Melodramatic dialogue ("We've got to be strong... Stronger than we've ever been. If we lose hope here, bury our faith in this darkness.. Then nothing else matters. They've won.") not only doesn't provide any insight into Cap's character, but at this point has been used so often that it's become a bit of a joke ("Waiter, if my food doesn't arrive in the next 10 minutes, then the terrorists have already won."). A scene is used to establish why Captain America hasn't already found Osama Bin Laden for the American government in the marvel universe, and then another to establish that Cap is really a Good Guy who can even bring irrational bigots to hug arab-americans. A few scenes have potential. Captain America saying "We have to be sure." is reassuring, especially when the networks had started shouting "Osama Bin Laden did it!' minutes after the attack (just as they did during the Oklahoma City bombing), and in real life Rumsfeld has said that he wasn't ashamed to admit that the US never had any idea where Bin Laden was (despite, you know, bombing and killing civilians all over Afghanistan). The main plot begins when someone drops cluster bombs on the town of "Centerville" (don't try too hard!). The use of cluster bombs is another plot point that could have potential. Cluster bombs were used extensively during the US's bombing of Afghanistan, and their lack of targeting capability and their tendency to not explode upon impact (meaning that they can potentially end up sitting on the ground for years) make them more dangerous to innocent civilians than to the US's military targets. The fact that someone seems to be dropping cluster bombs on american civilians in turn could make for an interesting way of bringing that to light, if it isn't done too heavy-handedly. Cap's dialogue is more stilted and stiff than usual, but it generally sounds the way he does in a team book (which, as i mentioned earlier, is the wrong way to go if you are going to focus on Cap). The dialogue in general is very spare and there is little to indicate personality. The art is unfortunately very heavy on obvious symbolism. Cap on the cover, saluting with his shield and holding a flowing flag while soldiers and planes charge by is particularly grating. Inside he is framed in large splash panels in front of a halo of sunlight or a lineup of american flags. The panels are large and without much detail. The characters are blocky, mostly with generic faces and expressions. Cap looks particularly awkward in his mask. The artist has chosen to render Cap's outfit, normally depicted as a layer of chainmail with a cloth shirt worn over it, as scale mail, with the blue part of the shirt actually being composed of individual blue scales. The white and red parts are still cloth, making the overall shirt looking rather goony (and i think the white star in the center is meant to be a layer of white cloth that is somehow attached on top of the metal scales, which doesn't make a lot of sense). I plan to get the second issue of this, in the hope that some of the serious political issues brought into this book will actually be addressed, as opposed to just being excuses for Cap to encourage the audience with bland patriotic statements.
Deadpool #66
I've always hated it when villains are used as jokes. It sort of invalidates the characters for the future. I remember especially in Heroes For Hire when The Absorbing Man and Titania, Thor level villains, were used as minor distractions on She-Hulk and Luke Cage's date. It just seems wrong, especially when the chosen villain seems fairly arbitrary (and in this case, wild contortions are made to fit the villain into the plot). I understand that Deadpool is used as a joke/parody character, and i look forward to a comic with a good sense of humor. I avoided Joe Kelly's run on the character because i found that the jokes weren't very funny, but i enjoyed Christopher Priest's run (Deadpool as Bugs Bunny), especially the Seinfeld scenes with Constrictor and Titania. So once i saw where the plot was headed with the Rhino, with all the nonsense about rhino horns (and it just makes no sense, even if you had that superstition, to apply it to a guy in a rhino suit) I got very worried. However, my fears in that regard weren't necessary. The Rhino mops up the floor with Deadpool (maybe it's just because of the aiming issue, not that bullets should hurt the him), until Deadpool runs off and finds a plot device (something else that seems very out-of-place), the result of which... (and remember, i'm not enjoying this issue until now, right?) makes me laugh out loud. Yeah. That was funny.
The running subplot is also fairly interesting. A little more subtlety and this would be a great book. The art is good. Very clean. My two complaints are:
I'll keep getting this, but it isn't as good as it could be.
Elektra #9
A greek woman who had been brutally raped 10 years ago decides to extract vengeance through some sort of ancient greek torture. There is nothing to indicate from the flashback scene that the woman is anything other than an ordinary girl that happens to have grown up in greece, so her choosing this method of torture seems as odd to me as if i as an american were to extract vengeance by dressing up as an american indian and throwing someone into the boston harbor. It somehow seems to cheapen the pain that this woman obviously would be feeling by turning her into some sort of Adam West-ian villain. There's nothing terrible about this issue. There's the theme of using masks to hide one's true identity (my high school english teachers would be proud). There's something like a moral dilemma where two individuals who, while not directly involved in the rape, was certainly aware of its occurrence but did nothing, are going to be exectued for their inaction. While i agree with Katamides that these two were just as guilty of the crime they witnessed for doing nothing (they could have at least called the police), this isn't exacly a groundbreaking conflict. In a subplot, Elektra continues to stay one step ahead of those who are after her, which is fairly typical and done in a fairly typical way. I continue to like the art. Actually, either Austen is actually making his characters look less stiff, or the brighter colors in Rucka's arc are giving the characters more life. i'm actually disappointed because i found the somewhat odd poses in the earlier issues to make for a unique style that had been growing on me. The coloring in this issue, colorful but still subdued, with lots of gold, mixed well with the art and still makes for a fairly unique style. Close-ups of faces are particularly good, while action (the fight on page 21 and Elektra kicking the mask into the fire on page 22) still looks static and awkward. [Whoops! - I've just learned that the art on this issue was done by Joe Bennett, not Austen! I could have sworn it said Austen on the cover, but i'm at work so i can't check... Oh well, at least i noticed a difference... *ahem*. Moving on...][It *does* say Chuck Austen on the cover, dammit! They tricked me! It's really Bennett. I'm just amazed at how stiff the action scenes look since it isn't being done by Austen. Oh well.. ] Oh, and priscilla points out that Elektra's heels on page 4 disappear later on in the book. And she doesn't like the skirt thingy, and she doesn't like that Elektra has no hips. The no hips thing is the sort of thing why i was fooled into thinking it was still Austen drawing.
Howard The Duck #4
To start with, i enjoyed last issue's all-parody of Witchblade issue. Satire is exactly what Howard The Duck should be used for, and i'd like to see Gerber's wit turned on a variety of topics, including pop stars, politics, the marvel universe itself, and, sure, even Vertigo characters. However, this issue was a real bomb. The difference between this issue and last may be that, whereas last issue the characters were actually involved in the plot (in fact, there was a plot), this issue the characters go room to room and a character or group of characters is trotted out to be made fun of. This is Mad Magazine level humor, and doesn't really belong in the 4th part of a mini-series about Howard the Duck. The jokes are sometimes funny, if a little over the top, but since it isn't going anywhere in particular it just seems like a waste of time. On the other hand, the art continues to be really good. Howard looks appropriately schlumpy with a great variety of facial expressions, and the amount of detail put into every panel (backgrounds, faces, everything) is very impressive. I'm going to continue on this series on the strength of last issue and #1 (maybe i'm only supposed to like the odd numbered issues...), but if it continues to be pointless zany jokes i will drop it.
The Order #3
This series is not what i wanted it to be. I wanted "A group of characters who have always been at least somewhat on the edge to begin with finally cross over and decide the only way to save the world is to take it over". I expected a new take on the Squadron Supreme/Watchmen/Authority concept, set in the marvel universe. I'd wanted an examination of the ethical issues that a group of super-beings would face when presented with the option to take over the world and make it 'better'. And i'm not getting that. That's fine. That's not what the creators wanted to do, and that's ok. But my expectations needed to be made clear before i gave out the rest of my opinion, because any review i do of this series will be tempered by the fact that i'm disappointed in the premise. It should also be noted that while i like the four main characters, i'm not at all interested in the rest of the Defenders. I loved The Valkyrie under Peter Gillis at the end of the Defender's first series: strong, confident, and with a grim sense of humor. The Valkyrie sharing a dual identity with a rich girl struggling for her own identity despite the disapproval of her rich parents doesn't appeal to me, and in fact seems rather cliché. Additionally i've never cared for Nighthawk, the Squadron Supreme's Batman analog, and all three characters seem particularly whiney in this series. But, onto this issue: Papa Hagg, a character defined mainly by his grating accent that i think is supposed to sound New Orleans-ian, continues to act so obviously menacing that i can't help but assume that this is a red herring. Though at the same time i have to question that, due to the fact that Nighthawk, watching Papa Hagg manipulate puppets of the main characters, doesn't seem at all suspicious. In what feels like a throwaway scene, Dr. Strange casts a spell that will alert him in case of transdimensional breeches, something i can't help but think he should have done years ago. Then the Avengers show up. Unfortunately, these are apparently the Avengers from the Stan Lee and Roy Thomas days. They show up, call their adversaries names and start making demands, without really trying to find out what is going on. Having just read the Avengers/Defenders War trade paperback, where essentially the same thing happened, it was very disappointing to see that the creators don't feel that the characters have learned anything from that, or all the other times where heroes have wasted half a book trading punches, only to find out that they shouldn't have been fighting at all. Additionally, despite being led by master strategist Captain America, the Avengers don't seem to have any real plan when attacking. The Hulk alone has proven more than the Avengers could handle in the past, and this time he is accompanied by a former herald of Galactus, Marvel's First and Mightiest Mutant, and Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. Nonetheless the Avengers just ATTACK! Unfortunately, The Order is appropriately powered down to accommodate the Avengers' head-first strategy, and the fight ends up taking just about the rest of the book with no clear winner until Dr. Strange gets a lucky shot in at the end. Meanwhile the other Defenders are gathering female analogs to the members of The Order for Papa Hagg, something i can't comment on until i see what the plan is, though i admit i was interested in Clea's plight and was actually disappointed to see her agree to help the rest of the team, thinking it would be better for a leader to stay with her troops, especially when there seemed to be dissention in the ranks. The art is nothing spectacular, but also not bad. The dark colors used in Clea and Papa Hagg's scenes make the art stand out a bit more and it may be that the artists are better suited to something other than primary color super hero stories. There's a great panel (the small close-up on the bottom of page 11) that perfectly depicts She-Hulk's tough and cocky personality, and in general the close-up shots of the faces are good and the action scenes have a fair amount of energy. Some of the faces in the group scenes look a bit sketchy (see Triathlon and She-Hulk and the top of page 11, for example, and the spaced-out look on the Scarlet Witch throughout the beginning of the fight). The dialogue is very stilted and full of exposition ("But at the very least, I can keep you occupied while my teammate stomp yours! Or at least while they try!"), and while the character's voice patterns are correct (Quicksilver feels arrogant, Surfer and Strange don't use contractions), the things they say are fairly interchangeable, to the point where the Surfer says "And I shall, to use what I think is the correct phrase... pay it forward!". The exception is the Hulk, who it seems the creators are having fun writing, and is certainly enjoyable to read. Regarding the others, it may not help that the other three members of The Order are generally written as Mr. Spock types (Though Strange and Namor, at least, have been shown to have complex personalities in their solo books in the past). Overall, i will be giving the next issue of this series a try mainly based on the Hulk and lingering hopes regarding the premise, but i will likely drop it if it doesn't change fairly dramatically.
Wolverine/Hulk #3
As in the previous two issues, very little happens, though Banner does explain where Po comes from, which is helpful. Some time is spent looking back on Banner in the pre-Hulk days, paying attention to the psychological aspects, especially the repression, which led to his multiple personality disorder manifesting after the Gamma explosion. While it's been done before, it is done well here, and adds a little depth to the story. A scene with a polar bear seems somewhat contrived for the sake of adding a little action into what would have otherwise been an all-dialogue issue. The art is nothing you haven't seen from Sam Keith before, but that doesn't mean it isn't incredible. I almost regret not waiting for the trade since the constant advertisements detract from my enjoyment of the art. Regarding dialogue, the interaction between Hulk and Wolverine is a lot of fun. Po is sufficiently both child-like and surreal, and Bruce Banner sounds like a stuffy but melodramatic scientist. I've given up trying to determine what the appropriate voice for Wolverine should be, but he feels a little off here. While there isn't really any plot worth mentioning, the interactions between Hulk, Wolverine, and Po make it an enjoyable read, and i plan to keep following the series. And while i never thought i'd find myself saying it, the issues are worth buying for the art alone. |