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AICN COMICS!: IN THE SHADOW OF NO TOWERS, DAREDEVIL, AVENGERS, X-MEN, SIX and More!
Hey everybody, Gregory Scott here.
So we took a week off last week - to catch up on some reading, learn a little yoga, and make a court appearance or two. And now we're back. Steel yourselves.
- Buzz Maverik tastes the sweet sting of BLACK WIDOW #1, and requires no antivenom whatsoever!
- Dave Farabee makes the hitherto unknown connection between DC's answer to Buck Rogers and John Lennon's DOUBLE FANTASY album with his review of ADAM STRANGE #1!
- Ambush Bug claws his way back onto Brian Bendis' Christmas Card list with all the nice things he has to say about DAREDEVIL #65!
- Cheap Shots, Tales from the Crevice, and More!
It's like we're going out on a high note - only we're not going anywhere!
(Click title to go directly to the review)
BLACK WIDOW #1
IN THE SHADOW OF NO TOWERS
AVENGERS #502
ADAM STRANGE #1
DAREDEVIL #65
SIX
ESSENTIAL AVENGERS VOL. 4
ASTONISHING X-MEN #5
ELRIC: THE MAKING OF A SORCERER #1
EX MACHINA #4
Cheap Shots!
Tales from the Crevice: GO GIRL! and SCOTT PILGRIM'S PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE
BLACK WIDOW #1
Written by Richard K. Morgan
Art by Bill Sienkiewicz
Published by Marvel Knights
Reviewed by Buzz Maverikiewicz
Weird feeling . . . unfamiliar . . . yet, somewhere . . . way back in the past . . . I remember, Lord, I remember . . . this is what it is like to enjoy a comic book without reservations.
I can't think of one thing about the dialogue, plot, art, pacing or characterization in BLACK WIDOW # 1 to complain about. Writer Richard K. Morgan and near-legendary artist Bill Sienkiewicz have done everything right.
A series of mysterious deaths around the world. The Black Widow, Natasha Romanova, doing what all retired super spies do - rock climbing. An assassin arriving on the scene. I'm not going to wreck it for anyone if I tell you that he's no match for the Widow. A nasty billionaire type in league with former KGB operatives, out for the Widow's head. The Widow on the road with a disgraced SHIELD agent turned private detective. Action! Suspense! Conflict! Character!
Bill Sienkiewicz was one of the most interesting artists to emerge in the 1980s. He was best known for a stellar stint on THE NEW MUTANTS, which took him into the mainstream. He collaborated with Frank Miller on a DAREDEVIL/KINGPIN graphic novel. Best of all, he did the art for Miller's ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN. It was beautiful, strange stuff. Very impressionistic. Even on the more straightforward NEW MUTANTS, Sienkiewicz often avoided literal interpretation.
His work is a little more down to earth on BLACK WIDOW #1. We're still getting Sienkiewicz. It's still his take, but don't expect the near psychedelic experience of his ELEKTRA. In its own way, the art on this book looks like it will turn out just as good, though. Bill packs in a lot of visuals. His Widow is lean, beautiful and sexy but not the Land pinup on the cover. She looks like a beautiful woman just past, say, thirty, without make-up, living the outdoor lifestyle. She looks strong, like a believable killer. She's tough without being toughened. I've never seen her depicted as being so tall before. I always thought she was built more like the ultimate Russian gymnast.
It is to Richard Morgan's credit that she reads as heroic, moral, and ruthless without the simplistic exaggeration that often accompanies such female characters. I was prepared to be very critical of this book because the Black Widow is my favorite female Marvel character...hell, she's my favorite female comic book character.
Unless one of my fellow @$$holes steals it from me, I may just review every issue of this series just to keep raving.
IN THE SHADOW OF NO TOWERS
by Art Spiegelman
Published by Pantheon Books
Reviewed by Lizzybeth
I’ve waited long enough to review this book that a consensus already seems to have emerged, centered around that one equivocating word: "but." It goes something like this:
Art Spiegelman is great, but…
I support Spiegelman’s response to the events of September 11th, but…
There are some gripping moments in this book, but…
The book is certainly a beautiful object, but…
… and it seems to trail off from there. We all seem to agree that there is something in this project that fails to satisfy, but can’t quite articulate what it is. It’s like the same unimaginable enormous absence that haunts Art Spiegelman since September 11, 2001 haunts this work – but (ironically) instead of making it a genuine account, it keeps it from being entirely successful.
Expectations were probably unreasonable for Spiegelman’s follow-up work to his enormously successful MAUS. Given the universally enthusiastic response to that autobiographical project (not to mention the Pulitzer), who wouldn’t be excited to hear that Spiegelman was tackling the events of September 11th? An eyewitness account, no less! I don’t exactly demand a TV Movie for every tragedy, but it’s true that art is an important part of the way a culture processes changes and events. Sometimes there is epic poetry, sometimes there are paintings, and sometimes there are crappy blockbuster flicks starring Ben Affleck. Considering the inevitable, it seemed fitting for Spiegelman to be the first to really tackle September 11th head-on in a major work (aside from a few hastily produced television episodes and Springsteen albums). With these hopes in mind it’s probably no surprise that IN THE SHADOW OF NO TOWERS has been a minor disappointment; I don’t believe it’s (entirely) the fault of the author or the work. Perhaps, as some have commented, we simply don’t have enough space from the tragedy to really be able to face it artistically. Or perhaps at this point there isn’t much more that can be said than what Spiegelman says in this book, simply, “I was there, and this is how it was.”
IN THE SHADOW OF NO TOWERS is a huge volume in full color, and its pages are as thick as the cardboard covers of children’s books. In it, Art Spiegelman remembers what he witnessed on September 11th and in the days and months afterwards (living in Lower Manhattan and standing on Canal Street at the time of the attacks). The book opens with the image that he most struggled to capture, a haunting rendering of Tower One in the instant before it crumbled, its bones bearing an otherworldly glow. Art describes racing around Manhattan with his wife trying to contact his daughter Nadja, whose school was right below the WTC complex. These personal accounts are the most harrowing section, portraying terrors experienced as parents, as proud New Yorkers, and yes, as Americans. Spiegelman also pontificates a fair amount, perhaps feeling that the personal account would earn him the soapbox (which it does to some extent, but I’m sure the right-wingers among us would heartily disagree). Nearly 1/3 of the book is actually dedicated to beautiful reprintings of vintage comic strips, complete with commentary. Spiegelman, in his rush of affection for New York, chose to render his own pages in the style of the newspaper comic pages of the early twentieth century, and he publishes the reprints as a supplement, carefully chosen to augment his own original pages. His own Little Nemo parody, clever enough by itself, is echoed later by an actual Little Nemo in Slumberland strip that is almost eerie in its ghost-like portrayal of New York City, making the first strip somewhat unnecessary. The inclusion of this historical treatise on the development of comic strips is a nice surprise, but in a way inappropriate. A fine separate volume could have been produced honoring both NYC and these vintage comics, but as an appendix to Spiegelman’s reaction to a current tragedy it does not read well at either end. A similar doom-laden nostalgia was expressed in McSweeny’s comic edition earlier this year, to the degree of repeating a few of the very same strips, but the vintage sections were in contrast to the more modern productions, and consequently the newer works never appeared to be feeding off their predecessors. The original pages of IN THE SHADOW should have been allowed to stand alone, and by adding this last section Spiegelman as much as acknowledges that they don’t.
Myself, I think that IN THE SHADOW lacks one of the major elements that made MAUS so effective : perspective. MAUS approached the enormous subject of the Holocaust through the smaller subject of a son struggling to understand his father. IN THE SHADOW desperately needs this kind of humanizing pov, and almost finds it in Spiegelman’s frenzy to find his daughter’s school at the foot of the World Trade Center that morning. But he can’t seem to commit to this approach, and the body of the work is fragmented between remembrance of the day of the tragedy and commentary on things that followed, and some assorted ravings of a grieved New Yorker who just wants his peace of mind back. The predominant emotion I get from this book is panic, panic and frustration at not being allowed to recover from panic. The National Guard’s patrolling the neighborhood, there’s new health concerns appearing over the dust and asbestos in Lower Manhattan, continued terrorist threats and orange alerts, war in the middle east with “9-11” both covertly and overtly invoked – so when does the world end already? These are notes from the middle of a combat zone, from someone who doesn’t know the outcome and doesn’t have a really clear picture of the action either. That’s not as much of a criticism as it may sound, since that’s not so far from where the rest of us are at right now either. IN THE SHADOW OF NO TOWERS is in the end maybe a better portrait of 2004, and where we’re all at now, than of September 11, 2001. I can’t recommend it as widely as I do MAUS, and it will be of limited interest to many. But IN THE SHADOW is at times a powerful work and it pushes the boundaries of _expression in comics by invoking these old forms. I might like to see Spiegelman take another stab at it a few years down the road, when he might have a clearer idea of what he wants to express.
AVENGERS #502
Brian Michael Bendis: Writer
David Finch: Artist
Marvel Comics: Publisher
Vroom Socko: Dead
While I am probably the biggest Bendis booster among the @$$holes, my dislike of his work on AVENGERS is quickly becoming infamous. My review of the previous issue was, admittedly, an emotionally charged affair. I'd have thought that my reaction to this issue would be even more so. After all, this is the issue where Hawkeye dies.
What??
I'm not spoiling anything. Sure, the cover says "one of these Avengers will die," but when three of the four people on the cover aren't even in the issue you don't need to be a member of Mensa to know who's taking the dirt nap. As such, there's absolutely no suspense to this part of the story.
This leaves only two things to enjoy: Who kills Clint, and how does he go? Well, the who is the Kree. That's right, on the day where history is repeating itself ad nauseum, we get an alien invasion from the race The Avengers have faced in two intergalactic wars. Out of the blue (so to speak,) they show up. They claim they're there to destroy the Avengers, kill Hawkeye, and then they leave. But how does he die?
This is where Bendis has the chance to bring something truly memorable to this story. After all, death is one of his strong areas. When Bendis kills someone, it's usually inventive, unexpected, clever, and memorable. After all, he's not going to have Hawkeye shot in the back, or caught in an explosion where recovery of the body will be impossible.
No, Hawkeye is shot in the back, AND caught in an explosion.
Part of me is in disbelief that my favorite Avenger is dead, mainly because the guy's been featured in, what, seven different titles? Only Spidey and Wolverine have starred in more books than this guy. So my disbelief is that Marvel would kill off a cash cow of a character. But in the context of the story, I just can't bring myself to care. Hawkeye's death was just so blah, that it doesn't seem to matter. Hell, Marvel will probably just bring him back to life in a few years anyway.
Maybe it's because I expended all my piss and vinegar on the last issue, but I was bored to tears by this one. I can't even work up any solid hate over it. The alien invasion, the death scene - quite frankly it was all extremely dull. The action was flat, and Hawkeye's demise seemed so arbitrary and stupid that there's little point in getting pissed about it.
I'm a Bendis fan, I really am. But this storyline is so tedious I'm not even sure it's worth it to pick up the next issue, never mind NEW AVENGERS. I just don't get it. How can Hawkeye's last moments be BORING?
ADAM STRANGE #1 (of 8)
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Pascal Ferry
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewed by Dave Farabee
There're a hundred ways this issue could've gone wrong.
For starters, it's an in-continuity update of a superhero concept as rooted in the past as test pilot origin stories and heroines in fishnets: the "outer space hero." Created in '58 – the sunset of that particular archetype, really – Adam Strange was DC's answer to Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and John Carter of Mars. He was derivative to begin with, and how much demand is there for space opera superheroes in the modern era? Aren't most readers and writers doing their best to forget the X-Men used to take trips into space at the drop of a hat? Trying to keep it as real as possible?
And "cosmic" doesn't sell, m'boys! Behold the still-warm bodies of the SILVER SURFER and THANOS relaunches! Notice the forgotten ADAM STRANGE miniseries of 1990, a very post-DARK KNIGHT venture that, despite the swank Andy Kubert art, could only appeal to those who thought that what space opera really needed was a big dose of dour introspection.
And into the breach comes writer Andy Diggle, lately of Vertigo's THE LOSERS. Good book there, but you've almost got to know instinctively that you don't cross Vertigo types with superherodom's own Buzz Lightyear, right?
A hundred ways the issue could've gone wrong…
But sure as Flash Gordon found a way out of Emperor Ming's inescapable Arena of Sport, that bastard Andy Diggle found a way to make it work! "Strange days indeed," to quote John Lennon. "Most peculiar, mama!"
What's the secret? How to make an old spaceman fly for a modern audience? Diggle begins small, begins in Gotham City with a jaded cop giving the third degree to an unshaven drunk who looks like a washed-up linebacker. This, we're led to believe, is Adam Strange, formerly of the jetpacks and raygun set. For the hipster crowd, it's an unthreateningly moody reintroduction devoid of corniness. For the traditionalists - decidedly less promising, but the mystery surrounding Strange is compelling enough to keep reading. And no one can dismiss Pascal Ferry's art – European detailing with an eye for kick-ass futurism, moody but electric colors ala THE ANIMATRIX, and he even finds a way to keep the fin on Adam Strange's costume without making him look like an out-of-date jackass.
You'll see Ferry's stunning designs in the expository flashbacks cleverly set up by the police interrogation, but the first half of the book still leans toward the grim 'n' gritty. The reason Strange has been hitting the bottle is that he believes his adopted planet of Rann to've gone the way of Krypton. He's gone for months without being able to teleport back there – to his wife, his child, and a planet who holds him as its savior – and it's Superman himself who delivers a first-hand account of the bad news: Rann is indeed gone. Vaporized. No teleporting there because there's no place to teleport to. This twist did nothing for me in and of itself – standard cheap drama, right? – but I had to appreciate Diggle's use of Superman in the role of the sincere military officer come to tell the family, "We regret to inform you…" Diggle rightly plays up Superman's sincerity as the reason for Strange's downward spiral. After all, Superman is the one guy you know you can believe when he tells you your world is gone.
Now in this era of…deliberately…paced…comics…(Zzzzzzzz)…a scene like that might have been the ending to the first issue. A crushing memory of the hero's anguish even as we cut to the police grilling him for a possible role in the destruction of an entire city block? It's got a bit of mystery, right? And plenty of gravitas? Andy Diggle ain't havin' that boring shit, though! As he put it in a recent interview: "Density is the new decompression, baby!"
So that's when he brings in the alien bounty hunters.
Not as a last page revelation, mind you. These trash-talkin' bug-men are there for the whole last third of the book, and Diggle brings the action with so much heat you've almost gotta be embarrassed for doubting him. It's not like he hasn't staged any number of ultra-slick heists, shoot-outs, and chase sequences in THE LOSERS, but the cynic in me was just so sure he was gonna Vertigo-ize Adam Strange. Expecting dour introspection, I was all but knocked on my ass when Strange suddenly turned on the old hero persona and took the battle to his home turf: the skies.
And I loved the aliens. Diggle plays 'em as interstellar mob heavies and had me laughing at the sheer audacity of the scene where one of them denies the destruction of Rann. He's grappling with Strange, trying to force him to explain where it went…
Strange: S-Supernova!
Alien: Don't gimme that! That nova was all faked-up!
Check out the balls on this writing! Friends, the day alien bounty hunters can growl about the destruction of an entire star system as being just a sly cover-up…that's the day space opera has become fun enough to earn your money again. Too many superhero relaunches of late have seemed to diminish their leads, grounding them in reality, stripping them of their genre trappings in the name of boring-ass accessibility, and dragging their stories out too long. Makes it a breath of fresh air when a guy like Andy Diggle comes in and actually empowers his lead – and all without falling back on Silver Age nostalgia! In Diggle's own words:
"That's what a comic book should be - a shot-glass of rocket fuel, knocked back in one gulp. Give the readers some bang for their buck, give them a fucking thrill ride!"
Mission accomplished, my man.
DAREDEVIL #65
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Various
Publisher: Marvel Knights (Marvel)
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Over the last few years, I have become somewhat notoriously known for reading and reviewing comics that I do not care for. "Why do you put yourself through this, Bug?" asked creators, comic book fans, and fellow reviewers alike. "Why continue to buy something that you know you have disliked for some time and will probably continue to dislike?" The excuse I provided had a lot to do with tradition. I am the type of comic book reader that can be best characterized as a traditionalist. I follow a certain character instead of a specific creator. I often continue to buy comics featuring said character in hopes that; given the rapid succession with which characters evolve, devolve, and become rebooted only to be revitalized yet again for the new readers, I may possibly like the next rendition done by the next creator with big plans for that character. In that way, I am a bit of a Marvel Zombie. I don't buy everything Marvel publishes, but I do follow characters that I have had an interest in for years simply because I have followed them for years, with the optimistic mindset that one of these days, I'm going to like the way this character is being portrayed once again.
Some of my most favorite comics that I grew up on featured Daredevil swooping in and battling the likes of Bullseye, the Hand, and the saw-fisted Gladiator. I was fascinated by the high octane martial arts and costumed adventures and loved it that the character was always grounded in Catholic guilt and legal responsibility. These were aspects of the character that always made DD stand apart from other swooping heroes like Spider-Man and Moon Knight (two of my other favorite Marvel characters from my youth). To me, DD has always been the comic I went to when I wanted a fully realized character doing amazing things and going through hell to achieve his goals.
Enter: Brian Michael Bendis. I've ripped on BMB pretty hard for a while now. I dislike the way he stretches out his story arcs to the thinnest of proportions, making the first and last issues of the arcs the only issues that lead to any consequence at all or procession of the larger storyline. The in-between issues simply supply filler to justify the existence of another trade paperback. I think, at times, while he has a gift for dialog, an editor should step in and do their job from time to time and say, "Hey Bri, how 'bout a page or two less of talking heads and a shot or three of DD doing something daring in costume every now and then." I think that by revealing to the world that Matt Murdoch is Daredevil was painting the character into a corner, and I was annoyed with the fact that someday, when Bendis is sick of the character, someone is going to have to step in and bring things back to status quo. And God, how I hate status quo re-establishing stories. I really do. But because I love the character, I stuck through Bendis' arcs and got pretty peeved at what I was reading.
The last arc featuring the Black Widow was especially infuriating to me, in that Bendis seemed to go out of his way to make Matt and everyone else in the story for that matter (Nick Fury, Black Widow, the Avengers) avoid breaking a single drop of sweat for four consecutive issues, not counting the panels where Black Widow and Matt were bumping biscuits. It was hard watching DD stand stoically as the Widow did all of the work. It was tiring to see one panel of action and then read a comic filled with people standing and talking and sitting and talking and laying down and talking.
And then along came issue #65 and I have to say that if the rest of this series was like this issue, I would not have so many criticisms for this book.
Titled, "The Universe," DAREDEVIL #65 fills in the gaps that have occurred in Matt's life over the last year. Bendis supplies information regarding the revelation of Matt's secret identity to the public, his declaration as the new Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen, and his relationships with the superhero community. Told Tarantino-style with a jump-around structure, the story moves from different points in DD's life and offers different perspectives from those affected by the past year's events. Nick Fury pays a visit to Matt's law offices in a well scripted scene and offers him safe harbor as a SHIELD operative. There is a wonderfully written text and beautifully painted illustration sequence by Greg Horn that lets us know how Spider-Man feels about Matt's exposed secrets. Matt meets with Captain America, we revisit the super-hero intervention scene with Reed Richards, Luke Cage, Peter Parker, and Stephen Strange, and there is an especially thrilling action sequence between DD (IN COSTUME AND FIGHTING!!! YAY!!!) and the Punisher. All of these scenes are well written and brilliantly drawn, especially Phil Hester's action sequence. All of them add to the vast fictional tapestry that Bendis has mapped out over the last year of this series.
One scene in particular stands out to me and it is the reason I have changed my mind a bit about this title (at least for now). In a sequence drawn by a reserved Chris Bacchalo, Matt meets with Stephen Strange and exchanges anecdotes. In the end, Matt asks the Sorcerer Supreme if there is anything he can do to change all of this and make things go back to the ways things were before Matt's identity was revealed. Stephen says no, and Matt simply says, "Guess this is it then…This is my life."
In that exchange, I realized that this is what Matt's character is right now. The character has evolved. No longer is this one of those superhero books where the hero has to worry if his mask is going to be ripped off in a fight. This is a story of how a man, revealed to be a costumed adventurer, can continue to be a costumed adventurer now that the world knows who he is. This book provides a unique slant to the basic formula of what we all believe a superhero is and has to be. This may not be a major revelation to some, but to me, in that exchange between Dr. Strange and Daredevil, a myriad of potential stories opened up and the true concept of this series came into a new light for me. Daredevil is now non-interchangeable with any other hero who swoops. And I like that. It seems as if, at that point in Dr. Strange's parlor, Matt accepted that this was his fate and the reader is supposed to do the same. This is Matt Murdoch's new status quo.
Now that Bendis has established this innovative slant on superhero-dom, the problem lies in writing situations where we still get to see a bit of Horn-play from the title character. The book's focus over the last year or so has been on how Matt is dealing with this revelation, and in my opinion, it is moving way too slow and going nowhere fast. Now that this conflict has been established to be part of what makes this character unique, it is time to shut the hell up and write some stories featuring that conflict. And that doesn't mean that the characters should be moping around and talking things out all of the time. I think we've had enough of those types of stories over the last few months, thankyewverymuch. I think this issue illustrates how the slow moments and the more action-oriented moments can work. Bendis has gone out of his way to keep Matt from fighting and beating us over the head with this conflict. In this issue, Matt accepts this as his plight. For a year, the character has been stalling and moping. It's time to move on and take a bit of action. Now that we've seen a fully developed, and in my opinion, overly detailed version of how a man deals with the revelation of his secret identity to the world, don't you think it's time to tell the story about how a superhero deals with all of this?
So what will Bendis do now that he has beaten us over the head with this conflict for the last year or so? More of the same? More moping about and finding a new way for Matt to avoid donning the horns? I hope not. I hope he sees this 40th Anniversary as a turned corner. It sure would make Matt's acceptance of his fate in this issue that much more important. In the final sequence (drawn statically by regular DD photo-referencer, Alex Maleev), which takes place in the present day, Bendis reveals a truly intriguing teaser for the next storyline focusing on the Kingpin who ran Hell's Kitchen before Wilson Fisk. I hope this marks the beginning of the shift of focus from ruminating on the problem to accepting the problem and moving on to some of the things that made DAREDEVIL such a daring read in the first place. If this issue is any indication, Bendis is heading in the right direction. Another issue of moping and avoidance will surely change my mind though.
One thing I have to point out is that had I taken the advice from the comic book fans and even Bendis himself, and walked away from this series simply because I didn't like an arc or an issue, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy DAREDEVIL #65. I stuck with this series because of love for the character. I have no doubt that this love is shared by many fans, including Bendis himself. I was simply vocal about some things that I felt Bendis could improve upon. In this issue we saw Matt in costume and kicking ass, we had some interesting exchanges between Matt and those he affected over the last year, and we had one hell of a cliff hanger. I liked this issue. My criticisms against this comic remain the same, but I think this issue stands out as something more attuned to the Daredevil I want to read about. Let's hope that Bendis chooses to continue to evolve this character as he did with this issue, he's been stagnant for way too long.
SIX
Written by Michael Oeming and Daniel Berman
Art by Ethen Beavers and Michael Avon
Published by Image Comics
Reviewed by Lizzybeth
Here’s something that could prove to be exciting. Written and inked by Mike Oeming (POWERS, HAMMER OF THE GODS), co-written by and drawn by newcomers Daniel Berman and Ethen Beavers, respectively, this black-and-white comic has an intriguing premise and excellent artwork. It reminds me in some ways of “Circle of Blood”, the first and roughest of David Mack’s KABUKI trades, with its attractively stark b+w and terrific full-page spreads. The character introduced in SIX is nowhere near as complex and sympathetic as Kabuki, but the book could prove to be.
Agent Six took control of a human body eighty-four hours ago. He has twelve hours left to complete his mission – to retrieve the rogue agent Nine from the human form that she refuses to give up. He’s already “scrubbed” four agents from their commandeered human bodies, and once his mission is complete, he can return to Galaxy One. If Six remains on Earth any longer than his allotted time, he will begin to be contaminated by the instincts of his human body, and will himself be scrubbed out of it by another agent. This is pretty much all the setup that we are given; presumably these agents are aliens and not, say, computer viruses.
These agents are on Earth to observe, or perhaps to scout, but not to involve themselves in human pursuits. As Agent Six is coming to the end of his time limit, he finds himself becoming introspective. He wonders about the body he has chosen to inhabit, which he traveled to through a dream state. His dream; our reality. An agent shouldn’t be wondering about anything, shouldn’t be introspective, shouldn’t doubt or fear. Those are human emotions. Agent Six is becoming more human, and the more aware he is of it, the more human he becomes. And he kind of likes it. But unfortunately he’s got a job to do, and someone’s expecting him to do it.
The real find is Ethen Beavers, whose pencils bring charm to the underwritten characters and a slightly confusing script. I’m sure Oeming’s inks are a big help, and the character designs are right out of the Oeming playbook, but the page layouts and panel designs reveal a strong talent. The cover alone will give you an idea of the collaboration. Beavers’ involvement brings a layer of expressiveness and emotion typically overshadowed by the design elements in Oeming’s work. I must say that Oeming has an excellent eye for collaborators, as side projects like BASTARD SAMAURI have shown. Although this issue stands alone, and is being described as a one-shot, the clear indication is that there will be much more to see from Agent Six. I’ll be looking forward to it.
ESSENTIAL AVENGERS VOL. 4
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Neal Adams, Frank Giacoia, Herb Trimpe
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Buzz Maverik
The last time I reviewed one of the MARVEL ESSENTIAL volumes, an astute talkbacker mentioned that since Marvel is finally publishing their MASTERWORK series in affordable paperback, the ESSENTIALS are somewhat less than essential. The MASTERWORKS are great. They give us the early, classic Marvel stories in beautiful color, the way they were intended. I like black and white comics, but color does take the medium into a higher dimension.
So why continue with the ESSENTIALS?
As a consumer and a fan, you get a ton of comics for a relatively low price. If you're any kind of completist, or if have any interest in the history of comics or continuity, but you don't want to hunt down and buy back issues individually, the ESSENTIAL books are for you. You get almost 30 issues in one volume. The MASTERWORKS are far shorter.
Also, the ESSENTIALS are further along than the MASTERWORKS. If you've been following the X-MEN volumes, or AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, new ESSENTIAL Volumes are bringing you later stories. In a perfect world, Marvel would republish all their classic stuff in color and we'd have the dough to buy it all right now. But the world is less perfect for some people than it is for others.
An interesting, recent trend with the ESSENTIALS, thanks to the success of the two ESSENTIAL TOMB OF DRACULA volumes (a third is coming this month), seems to be using 1970s characters or series that had runs just long enough to fill a volume. I'll be reviewing ESSENTIAL IRON FIST and ESSENTIAL SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM UP in the near future. I like Iron Fist and am glad all those stories are being reprinted, but are they essential Marvel when only two DAREDEVIL and two CAPTAIN AMERICA volumes have been published and all the Lee/Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR has yet to be collected? I'd rather see ESSENTIAL MASTER OF KUNG FU before ESSENTIAL IRON FIST, and ESSENTIAL SUB-MARINER before ESSENTIAL SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM UP.
We probably got ESSENTIAL AVENGERS VOL. 4 to coincide with AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED. The early stories in this volume prove that all comics need disassembling once in a while. That doesn't mean they are any worse than today's comics, because they are not. They are no less intelligent, realistic or mature. But the stories you're going to see early in the volume belong to a somewhat stagnant period in the history of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Roy Thomas had been writing THE AVENGERS a long time by the time #69, the first issue reprinted here, appeared on the stands. For that matter, Thomas was writing tons of other high profile Marvel titles at the time, as well as editing more than a few. I can imagine his enthusiasm waning. I can see him relying more on his artists for plots and details. Marvel Comics, as created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, were never simple "Here's a bad guy, let's fight 'em, he's beaten" affairs, no matter what you're currently being told. Thomas kept up the fine characterization, the upsets, the tradition of the unexpected. But find 'em/fight 'em/temporarily defeat 'em stories did occur.
Early on, you'll wonder how a cool character like the Black Panther could make for such boring plots. Most of the stories centering on the Black Panther and the Black Knight are yawners, which surprised me. And why did anyone ever think Arkon and Zodiac were a cool villains? The stories only liven up when non-Avenger characters such as Daredevil and the Hulk guest star. This is understandable, since a main line-up of The Vision, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Goliath (Hawkeye on Pym particles) was so lame.
About halfway through, though, things pick up. Roy and his artists got a little imaginative. The Justice League knockoff villains The Squadron Sinister morphed into the Squadron Supreme and we were treated to the Avengers visiting an alternate universe ... probably a DC Universe. Harlan Ellison came in to plot an AVENGERS/INCREDIBLE HULK crossover. The groundwork for the classic Kree/Skrull war began to be laid. THE KREE/SKRULL WAR has been collected in trade form within the last few years and I highly recommend you seek that out. It contains the best stories in this volume.
Suddenly, around AVENGERS #89, Thomas seemed to become energized. Maybe he dug the Captain Marvel/Rick Jones characters, then-modern rip-offs of the original Fawcett CAPTAIN MARVEL and his alter-ego Billy Batson. Maybe he got into wacky, comic book science fiction plotting with the Kree devolving Earthmen (Hank Pym among them) and the Skrull taking the forms of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man to disband the Avengers.
Things got really good when artist Neal Adams came aboard on #93. Like Alex Ross, Adams has a realistic style always worked better for me when it was applied to Marvel characters rather than the DC icons. Marvel icons, mostly from the imagination of Jack Kirby, tend to be stranger looking, more visually startling that the DC characters, many of whom look like regular people with good builds wearing tights.
If you're a completist, I say go for this volume. If you just want the good stuff, find the special edition of SUPREME POWER # 1 which reprints the Squadron stories and pick up the KREE/SKRULL WAR tpb.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #5
Writer: Joss Whedon
Artist: John Cassaday
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Superninja
Alright, Whedon’s got chops. And I ain't talkin' lamb chops. I'm here to talk about writing chops. Given the strength of his work on ASTONISHING X-MEN so far, I'm looking to put him in the same category as Brian K. Vaughan, who, although not writing in a traditional superhero style like Johns or Simone, knows his audience, knows the characters, and has great instincts about both. I never meant to imply that TV/screen writers couldn't be good comic book writers, but rather that it's not a traditional superhero writing style. They're two different animals. And more importantly, screenwriting-style shouldn't replace traditional comic book style when you're dealing with superheroes (which is really where my concern with current Marvel lies, among other things they are doing).
The latest issue of ASTONISHING X-MEN was excellent. I like how Whedon is handling the characterization and that Piotr (Colossus) is back. It was a great moment when Piotr got the drop on Ord and how the others reacted to it. And even though I don't much care about the Scott/Emma relationship (simply because I think it's sort of boring and directionless), the moment between Scott and Emma, when he he realized she was worrying over him was so nice. It just kind of warms my heart to see Scott smile and it was a great little piece of writing that, in only four panels, gave a lot of insight into both characters. I wasn't won over by their relationship, but then again, I find with Whedon writing them, I don't miss Jean at all and find myself not caring about all of that past continuity stuff.
And art-wise, I like Cassaday, but his style comes with limitations. I expected Cassaday wouldn't work out in this series from my experience with his past works. Take PLANETARY, for example. Ellis' writing meshed with Cassaday's art, which is interesting, yet often very cold. And it's meant to be in that context. Kind of like if Stanley Kubrick wrote a comic book. However, Cassaday's art seems to have gone under some kind of metamorphosis to me when paired with Whedon’s writing. There’s more feeling here. These two creators could be the next Loeb/Sale if they wanted to take it to that level. They mesh so perfectly - a great team. It was unexpected.
I care about these characters right now. Because with Whedon, I don't think I really need to worry about mischaracterization. I don't have to pick up an issue with apprehension that he's going to ruin these characters I care about. He loves them as much as I do.
MICHAEL MOORCOCK'S ELRIC: THE MAKING OF A SORCERER #1 (of 4)
Writer: Michael Moorcock
Artist: Walt Simonson
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewed by Dave Farabee
Without a doubt, the absolute best thing about this new ELRIC miniseries is that it lets Walt Simonson cut loose with some of his most imaginative fantasy art in years. The story, I regret to say, is a pretty unengaging outing for Michael Moorcock's famed albino sorcerer, but the art…the art!
Simonson was, is, and always will be one of the legendary stylists of the industry, recognizable in an instant, graphically experimental, and totally inimitable. And while his craftsmanship's never wavered on recent projects like ORION, STAN LEE'S JUST IMAGINE, and the Julius Schwartz Hawkman tribute, there's just a richer artistic pleasure to be had when he's afforded opportunities for some big-time world-building. His famed THOR run, for instance, saw him merging Kirby's bold designs with ancient Scandinavian architecture to re-imagine Asgard with such vitality that his version all but superceded Kirby's as the blueprint for every artist since. And his various STAR SLAMMERS series have given him a whole universe to design - equal parts 70's space opera and samurai iconography.
His latest opportunity to break out the world-building imagination is a "lost tale" of fantasy hero Elric's youth, and just because it's another creator's story doesn't mean Simonson isn't pulling out all the stops. Click here and take a look at the first page, for instance. It's Simonson's sweeping take on Elric's home nation of Melniboné, an aerial shot so bold you've just gotta break out words like "monolithic" and "cyclopean" to describe it! Jump to the second page and we get a nice zoom on the architecture, a look at Simonson's seductively exotic layouts, and, in the dreadlocked female figure, a bolder treatment of ethnic diversity than we tend to find in fantasy epics. I don't know if that last item is strictly a Simonson interpretation or a quality of Moorcock's books, but we see more of it later in the story in a tribe reminiscent of American Indians, and I for one welcomed the break from, y'know, white European types.
Kudos, too, to colorist Steve Oliff for the blood-red hues on those opening pages. I haven't kept up with Oliff's work in a while, but I know him as one of the coloring greats, dating back at least as far as his gorgeous work on X-MEN: GOD LOVES, MAN KILLS. He was also one of the few colorists of the early '90s to quickly master computer coloring in books like SPAWN and the early years of LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT. Here Oliff sticks mostly to flat planes of color, the kind of coloring that works best for Simonson's fiercely geometric work. The handful of times Oliff adds a bit too much texture or airbrushy color gradation is when the art doesn't quite look right. 90% of the time, though, it's a stunning collaboration, easily the finest work I've seen from Simonson in a decade or more.
The story?
Oh, that.
It's not as exciting to talk about as Simonson's art, but I'll give you the gist of it Рas much as I can as someone with minimal knowledge of Elric and his world. This tale, we're informed, takes place directly before the first Elric novel. Elric himself is young and just beginning the sorcerous training that might pave the way for his ascension to the throne of troubled, doomed Melnibon̩. His father can't bear the thought of sickly Elric leading the nation, though, and so it's up to Elric's training over the course of four "dreamquests" to show whether he's got it in him for the job. In the meantime, schemers on all sides scheme, as schemers are wont to do!
Now this first issue has dragons as big as city blocks, swordplay with Elric's anime-sized blade, Stormbringer, and giants with distending jaws…yet somehow even a fantasy fan like myself found it to be a bit of a snoozer. I suppose the Elric stories have always run the risk of being populated with selfish, sometimes unappealing characters, but the main problem in this outing is the lack of dramatic flair. The story's told in an almost hurried fashion, jumping hastily from one high point of Elric's quest to the next, and stark visuals aside, it's rare for any one scene to stand out over any other. That's not good. There's little time to get to know these characters and little sense of threat because they seem to take all the weirdness in stride; and there are several magical deus ex machinas. I felt like I was reading a litany of Elric's early adventures, not experiencing them at his side.
The best stuff in the story is conceptual. Moorcock's central premise of this unlikely sorcerer hero remains the potent antidote to Conan-type adventurers it always was, and the sense of foretold doom in the air still gives it a unique tone. I liked the idea of the dreamquests, too, with Elric living out adventures seemingly on alternate worlds yet periodically intersecting back with his own. My favorite scene, though, has to be the instance of Elric magically binding a giant to carry him to a temple across a deep field of lava. Here's Elric impassively riding the giant's head as its body blisters and cooks in the lava below, the surreality of the crossing marked by the giant's simple warning as Elric steps off and it sinks below: "You will pay a price for your lack of mercy, Prince Elric."
Tolkien's world of classical virtues this ain't!
Still and all, the best I can say of the story here is that it was intermittently interesting, but never wholly engaging. Maybe if you're already familiar with the stories it'll offer more? Ironically, the best Elric story I've read in comics comes not from Moorcock himself, but from P. Craig Russell's adaptation of his stunningly dark final novel. That trade I'll recommend on every front. ELRIC: THE MAKING OF A SORCERER, unfortunately, only gets a modest recommendation, and that based almost wholly on its artistic virtues.
Which are, in fact, considerable.
EX MACHINA #4
Written by Brian K. Vaughn
Pencils by Tony Harris
Inks by Tom Feister
Published by Wildstorm (DC Comics)
Reviewed by Gregory Scott
Did you see that? That swooshing blur?
That was EX MACHINA zooming past Y - THE LAST MAN to become my favorite Brian K. Vaughn-written comic book. (Stunning visual metaphor - yes I know.)
My how things change. I can remember being so much more guarded in my praise when I reviewed EX MACHINA #2. Back then, my enjoyment of the book was essentially a qualification of my frustration with what I saw as an overly familiar ironic tone. (If you're too lazy to click the link to the old review to refresh your memory, A) I don't blame you, and B) the irony can be summed up with "the failure of smart people in the face of stupidity.") I worried that the book was more clever than it was smart, but that cleverness was still enough for me to enjoy myself, despite my irony fatigue.
And yet by now, the series has flat-out won me over. With #4, I found that EX MACHINA wasn't only clever, but genuinely smart and well-felt as well.
First let's talk about the smart. One of the things that always amazed me about EX MACHINA's TV cousin THE WEST WING was how smart writer Aaron Sorkin must have been. And I'm not talking about the snappy dialog. I'm talking about convincingly conveying expertise without sounding like a dilettante's gloss-over (which in so many cases, usually suffices), plus the snappy dialog. What seemed doubly amazing was that Sorkin seemed to be doing it single-handedly too. Of course, although he was credited as sole writer for so many of those episodes, it's come to my naive attention that he actually had a writing staff helping him out.
I don't think Vaughn has a writing staff. So somehow, he was able to write a scene where an artist gets pantsed in an evaluation of her career by mayoral aide, and write it all by himself. And make it sound convincing, clever, and yeah, smart. I was so impressed, I felt pantsed. Moreover, I felt like I learned a little something. I love that.
Now whether the story of EX MACHINA as a whole will be smart is something I can't completely guarantee at this point; however, there have been small pockets of brilliance along the way that give me faith. Like the final page of the first issue; or the final pages of #4. Throughout EX MACHINA, we've been following a pattern of murders, and by the end of #4 we've been given a reveal; a reveal that's not necessarily definitive, or even completely unexpected, but surprisingly effective. If the reveal holds up in the next issue, it's a daring straight line approach to the mystery that seems to prioritize story over convention. How refreshing would that be? However, although I have faith in Vaughn's ability to chuck the rules, odds are that the revealed suspect is ultimately a misdirection. Ah well, you can't have everything.
Whatever the case, the ending for #4 works pretty powerfully, especially the last page; one of those full page panels that seem to tell as much story as the preceding five pages: A man, sitting at a table listening to a radio receiver. It's really a well-executed image; enough of a cliffhanger for us to demand a resolution, but more importantly, enough to create a striking finale in and of itself. Kudos to Tony Harris and the rest of the EX MACHINA art staff for pulling that off.
I can understand if some of you may still be a little reluctant to approach a book like EX MACHINA. It deals with politics, and that tends to raise everybody's shields. And for Philistines like me, it's a bit more outside the more normal superhero milieu, even carrying the somewhat unpredictable Wildstorm imprint. (Ooooh.)
And yet the politics up to this point have been more procedure-oriented than ideological. It's more governmental than political (and interesting all the same). And it may not be a DCU superhero, but it is a superhero; and if you've enjoyed ASTRO CITY, there's no reason why you wouldn't be able to handle this. It's sharp, funny stuff, but not just sharp and funny; it's also smart material with unexpected dramatic bite.
In other words, be free my superhero reading brothers and sisters - free to read and enjoy EX MACHINA. Back issues are probably still available at your local shop. This is one you can easily catch up on, and I think it's worth it.
Cheap Shots!
THE WALKING DEAD #11 - Not the series' strongest issue, I'm afraid. On one hand, I loved the creepy premise of the farmer who's been rounding up zombies and keeping them locked in his barn. Writer Robert Kirkman convincingly portrays him as a man unwilling to mercilessly gun down the undead when no one knows what led them to rise up or even whether the possibility exists of returning them to normal ("I don't know about you, but the zombies around here didn't come with a fucking instruction manual!"). On the other hand, when things go bad in the issue and the zombies do get out, I had a helluva hard time keeping up with who was being attacked and who was dying. It's time for Kirkman to tighten the cast up. The ensemble's just too damn large. Yes, even with someone getting eaten every few issues. – Dave
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LOSERS #16 – Jump on now, people. That's an order. Read the most well-written mainstream real world action comic on the shelves today. Don't like capes and spandex, but still want action and thrills? This comic is the one for you. Excellently scripted by up-and-coming comic book writing sensation, Andy Diggle. Bee-yoo-tee-fully drawn by Jock. And exceptionally colored by Lee Loughridge. This issue goes back to a time when the Losers worked for the government. It begins an arc that tells the tale of how they met the mysterious Max and became hunted by the government that they once served. This is the beginning of the origin of the Losers. It is the perfect jumping on point for anyone who has been curious about this title. Be a winner and pick up THE LOSERS. – Ambush Bug
RUNAWAYS #18 - Anyone nervous about whether Brian K. Vaughan will be able to bring Y - THE LAST MAN to a satisfying conclusion over in DC country should take heart from the series finale to RUNAWAYS. Vaughan's on the mutha. Of course RUNAWAYS is due to get a new lease on life in 2005, but when it comes to wrap-ups this is as good as it gets. There's a real sense that the likeable teens Vaughan created have actually accomplished something in their year-and-a-half run, even as the events of the previous issue cast a bittersweet light on the kids' kinda/sorta reunion. And, yes, even with the series' major crisis behind them, they still manage an action scene, a little huggin' and kissin', and an ending that might just make you think: Wow. Perfect. - Dave
A BLAZING WORLD: THE UNOFFICIAL COMPANION TO THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN VOLUME TWO (TPB) - That unwieldiest of titles shouldn't make you hesitate for one moment to buy this book if you're a fan of Alan Moore's LEAGUE series. Featuring the insanely meticulous annotations of Jess Nevins, additional notes and interviews with Alan Moore and artist Kevin O' Neil, and an index so well-referenced it actually has an entry for "Negro romance"…you couldn't possibly ask for a better book if you're, like me, an illiterate bum for whom a good chunk of Moore's references went over the ol' noggin. Who knew, for instance, that the reference to a gypsy woman who "services" Dr. Moreau's beast-men was actually a veiled reference to a 1970's lawsuit involving a naughty cartoon in an underground British magazine? Good stuff. - Dave
WONDER WOMAN #208 – Well, it's about time. This issue was simply superb. This single issue highlights the coolest aspects of Diana's character: delegate and ambassador, warrior and woman. Medousa's siege of the White House is truly thrilling, leading up to a cleverly executed battle between the serpent-coiffed myth who turns people to stone with her gaze and Wonder Woman, forced use her gauntlets to reflect the terror she faces. All this and an appearance by Steve Trevor. Too cool. Rucka has taken his sweet @$$ time to get to this point, but the payoff is good and I can't wait until the battle progresses and the stakes rise when Medousa strikes the Amazonian Embassy next issue. Rucks'a run has been painstakingly slow, but well written. It's too bad that we had to wait four issues to reach the intensity this issue accomplished. - Ambush Bug
DC: THE NEW FRONTIER #6 (of 6) - And so Darwyn Cooke's Silver Age opus comes to a close, and though the vignette-driven story fails to deliver a satisfying payoff for six double-sized issues of story, Cooke's clear-cut enthusiasm and brilliant art almost make the trip worth it. In the end, though, I was never able to reconcile the series' darker, Cold War elements somewhat harsh epithets ("son of a bitch", "God dammit!", etc.) with its cornier bits, like Hal Jordan's shouting out "Sufferin' Suzie!" all the time or Green Arrow flying around in his Arrow-Plane. The blend is just…strange. Awkward. I also had to wonder at the legion of obscure characters bandied about with little or no help to the reader as to why they were significant. For instance, Adam Strange and The Atom make eleventh hour appearances likely to only register for DC geeks, and is the sacrifice of Air Force pilot Nathaniel Adam likely to mean much if you don't know that he's the Charlton Comics character who would become known as Captain Atom? And was the series' obscure African-American hero, John Henry, supposed to be a retroactive Silver Age version of Steel from the Superman books? Sorry, just too many elements that failed to gel to give this one a pass. For the art, though, and for any number of scenes that work well unto themselves (if not as part of a larger whole)…worthy at least of consideration. - Dave
THE FLASH #214 - A sort of IDENTITY CRISIS tie-in, but setting up a mystery of its own for Wally. What is the big dark secret that his mentor, the late Flash Barry Allen, has left for him in a letter? I think all Flash fans were shocked to find out the answer: That he briefly sang back-up for Celine Dion. Okay, that's not the answer; we don't get the answer until the next issue. And despite all the ups and downs this title has had since #200 and the departure of Scott Kolins, I'm interested in finding out what the real answer is. Meanwhile, Johns throws in plenty of well handled guest shots, and yes, IDENTITY CRISIS references. (I think we can safely scratch Captain Cold off the list. If he was ever on it.) Howard Porter's art seems to be all right, but nothing near as impressive as the cover, drawn by Ethan Van Sciver, with a very vivid and tripped out Wally haunted by phantoms from the past. (Click the pick on the left to see it big!) All in all, a lower-key character-driven issue that really puts you in the DC World; a world I pay to get to every week. Nice to find it sometimes. - Greg
CATWOMAN: WHEN IN ROME #1 (of 6) - The venerated team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale are back, but I'm one of the few folks who didn't think much of their work on BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, so I wasn't expecting much. What I got, though, was at least an effortless and well-drawn read. Once you get past the twelve page dream sequence that opens the book with what can only be considered an abuse of splash pages, the book
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Oct 06, 2004 6:55:21 AM CDT
I'd like to extend my gratitude to the reviewers and Talkbackers
by vikingkitty
About six months ago, I decided to give up comics. Whenever I feel the need to run to the comics store and see what I've been missing, I turn to this site. It gives me just enough comic news that I don't have to go out and buy anything and hate myself in the morning. It's better than nicotine gum for smokers.
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Oct 06, 2004 7:07:40 AM CDT
Gee, Vikingkitty, you sure know how to make a reviewer want to c
by dave_f
But maybe I should just be glad we've gotta reader in you. Hey, remind me what books you used to follow. You a Vertigo snob? Mainstream whore? Top Cow wanker? Inquiring minds wanna know.
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Love the format, hate digging through comic boxes for the singles (good as many of 'em are). Exceptions to the all-trade rule include: new books that I want to sample and those books that I think deserve (and possibly need) individual issue support to *warrant* trades. I'm talking about books like GOTHAM CENTRAL, FALLEN ANGEL, THIEVES & KINGS, and SLEEPER. And I wish this wasn't necessary - it sure seems ridiculous to have to buy a format you're not big on just to keep a title's head above water - but that's the comics biz. It's a bit backwards and a lot marginalized, but if the quality's there - fuck it, I'll drop the extra money. Sometimes you've gotta sacrifice for art, y'dig? And some titles *do* read better as serials, though the art of the cliffhanger and the satisfying one-shot is becoming a lost one. Hey, howsabout this as a bonus question of the week: "WHAT TITLES *EXCEL* AT THE SERIAL FORMAT?" I'll nominate the new SHE-HULK for starters. Lots of great one-shots there, and every issue's dense with the cool and the funny.
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Dave--It looks like I enjoyed the wrap-up to "New Frontier" more than you did....but I also noted the split-personality of the mini-series as a whole. The story started out as the standard slam on 50's repression and paranoia (to the point where I almost dropped the series despite the fantastic artwork), then ended up reveling in the boundless optimism of JFK's Space-Age America, with no sense of any background progression as to WHY. I suppose one could blame the big alien thingie for the global "harshing the mellow" effect, but if that was the case, it was never made very clear. Which leads me to my point: I'm wondering if there may have been an "editorial intervention" to nudge the series into more positive territory. Granted, the days of strong editorial control seem to have passed with Julie Schwartz, but there seem to be a number of editors who aren't shy about grabbing the steering wheel when the car's veering off the road. The complete evaporation of the John Henry storyline (arguably the most unsettling plot element of the early issues) is a great "exhibit A" for making the case for "editorial correction". Of course, I have no way of proving it, but that's just the feeling I get. Pair that with the long, long delay at about the midpoint of the series....and I think we can safely say SOMETHING happened behind the scenes. Whatever the case, I was happy the series ended on such an inspiring note. The final sequence, matched to the text of a JFK speech, was exhilerating and actually quite moving. Seeing the "gathered forces" of DC's Silver Age in their "native environment" (late 50's, early 60's) packed an unexpectedly powerful punch for this nostalgia-inclined reader.
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Ex Machina continues to be awesome in a fairly understated way (and I totally agree: anyone who's missed it, go out and catch up on those first 3 issues, it's well worth it) and smarter than anything else out there... ----------------------------- Black Widow was amazing, a kind of T2 Linda Hamilton approach to the character that seems a perfect fit for the character and far more satisfying than the recent Daredevil guest appearances. I'm going to follow this one. --------------------------- Daredevil itself was a treat, even if not all of the art teams worked for me (the Greg Horn stuff amounted to little more than illustrated prose, and kind of rammed home the Spider-Man stuff with a lot less subtlety than the original issues) and I look forward to the next arc, especially after having seen the preview covers and heard Bendis talk about his three-timeline-spanning "Golden Age" story....------------------------------ Catwoman was a slow starter, but there's still a lot of promise, and I enjoyed Long Hallowe'en a lot so I'd give them the benefit of the doubt here. ------------------------------ The only bad apple is Amazing Spidey, a misjudged travesty of an issue from a writer who had me convinced he knew the character history a lot better. A real mis-step for JMS, only redeemable by a complete about-face further down the line. ----------------------------- Possibly the first time I've been in complete agreement with all the @$$hole reviews of books I've read... Very odd.
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I almost forgot: I really like floppies, actually. They're a lot harder to store and look after than collected editions, but there's an unpretentious charm to them that's difficult to replicate - especially with older issues, where there's pop-culture curiostiy from all the adverts and cover prices... However, I also love oversized lush hardcovers in the vein of DD:Yellow, Spidey:Blue, Superman for all seasons etc. Maybe it's a Loeb & Sale thing. (Then again, the Marvel masterwork HCs are great too). I guess it's one extreme or the other. My paperback TPBs have a habit of getting tatty - with recent runs, you might as well buy the original issues.
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If you haven't read them, Nevins annotations will double your enjoyment of "League...". Seriously!
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What an asshole, just what Spidey needed, another reason to hate Norman Osborn. Because God knows, we can't have a single fucking Spidey story go by without tying it into the Goblin somehow. What a hack. Just pisses all over anybody who enjoys the book. This is almost as fucked up as the "Peter is the clone" run a few years back. This story should have been rejected at the get-go.
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Hey, death's like that. Rodney Dangerfield should have dropped dead of a heartattack walking off stage after giving the performance of his life, not just slipping away after a couple of months in a coma...
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.cbr and .cbz
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Dave--I couldn't agree more with the ultimatim you laid down at the end of your Cheap Shot review of Spider-Man #512. I picked up the first issue to this arc, but wasn't hooked. However, I've been following this slow-motion car crash of a storyline from the sidelines and am just as horrified as the other long-time Spidey fans. Untold "secrets" and retro-built stories have been a long-time staple of comic books....but it seems that recent examples of this form of storytelling have been especially sordid and breathtakingly cynical. The Gwen/Norman Osborn tryst not only destroys the character of Gwen, but also continues the irritiating trend of inflating Osborn to the level of Arch Duke of Hell. The original Green Goblin worked so much better as simply a successful businessman who struggled with mental illness and lived a secret criminal life....and not the machievelian (almost omniscient) Force of Evil he's been portrayed as since his "resurrection". The gut-punching, almost karmic power of his death in Spider-Man #121 was ruined by bringing him back, a transparently impulsive grab for credibility following the disasterous "Spider-Clone" mess of the early 90's. Since then, Osborn has been responsible for a whole constellation of far-fetched plots and conspiracies, the latest being the symbollic (if not literal) rape of the Gwen Stacy character. So, the retro-degradation policy was already in place before JMS ever picked up his comic-writing hobby....but JMS has to take the lion's share of the blame for this disaster. Has JMS been given too long of a leash? Has a couple of years of writing MAX comics twisted his "all-audience" sensibilities? Has he simply "popped a bolt" as the latest rock-star writer who feels he can do no wrong? Whatever the case, it's troubling to see Marvel's pantheon of characters in the grip of such a cynical, almost nihilistic generation of writers. I like drama as much as the next guy, but we've moved beyond drama and into some kind of Marvel-wide Wagnerian immolation scene.
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Dave? Corm? Dave? I was relieved to see your Elric review. Some other critics have come down on the rather limp story, and they are right, I suppose, but they're missing the point, aren't they? I felt like a kid again, running around in Walt Simonson's world. In the end I guess you have to praise the story for giving Walt lots of room of breathe. And it sure was nice to see Walt ink his own stuff, too, as he always does the best job with his own pencils. **** You were also right in coming down on ASM, though not exactly for the same reasons I had. That flashback didn't fit anything I knew of the characters, for one. I think Peter should have been more mad at Gwen, not Osbourne, since it was consensual sex and she was cheating on him with this creepy guy (after not giving it up for him), for two. But three, like the rest of JMS's run, the tone was simply too depressing for my tastes. Let's just say I shouldn't consistently feel *worse* after reading a Spider-Man comic book than I do beforehand. **** Never read Ex Machina beyond the first issue, the ending of which I felt was in extraordinarily poor taste. But Vaughn sure hit the ending of Runaways out of the park didn't he? I like the way he effortlessly tweaks preconceived notions of race & sex in comics, first by having the intelligent *black* hero actually be the evil traitor (a black villian being so un-pc)! And now he is setting up what could be an intelligent, realistic, non-expolitative girl/girl romance in season 2? I can't wait.
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Years from now people are going to be looking back on the Bendis/Maleev run as fondly as they do the Miller run, or Simonson's Thor, or Byrne's FF or David's Hulk. The more Bendis's big picture get rolled out, the more firmly I believe this. It's not too late to get onboard now, Ambush Bug...it would be so embarassing in 2015 if you had to pretend to have liked it all along. I'm not a Bendis guy at all and I see this. (But actually, I've one of the 20 people who likes "Disassembled", so maybe I AM a Bendis guy!) OK, that totally changes how I think of myself. So don't listen to me, I have clearly gone insane.
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Ooops. Sorry for the non-post.____Dave-I had a similar assessment of the first Elric issue. Walt Simonson played his A-game, even if Moorcock (typically) phoned in his Elric story. I've been a long-time fan of not only his Elric books, but also the larger "Eternal Champion" saga that ties his other characters together, but have been a bit disappointed by his post-"Stormbringer" Elric stories....all of which have been sandwiched between the cracks of the original Elric saga. I guess I can respect his desire for Elric to stay dead (especially in light of the legion of impulsive comic book resurrections), but it stretches credulity to have so much happening off-stage. With that said, I thought Moorcock did a fairly good job of "setting the table" for the first Elric book. Though I wish his patron demon Arioch had some presense in the story, Moorcock still did a pretty good job of showing the bizarre Melnibonian interface with the supernatural worlds. The only nit I have to pick on Simonson's art would be the HUGE size of Stormbringer. Yeah, it needs to be an imposing presence....but it also can't seem unweildy to the point where you can't believe Elric is controlling it to some extent. A vital part of the Elric narrative is how sword and master are continually struggling against each other's influence...and to show the sword as the clearly dominating presense puts this balanced conflict off-kilter. I still don't know if I'll be picking up the second issue. Part of the appeal is that it's a new story, and not simply an adaptation of a book.....but there didn't seem to be much there to hook me. We'll see.
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There's no reason to take my desire to drop out of the comic buying racquet as a negative. I just couldn't afford the habit, either financially or space-wise.
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Greg, the lyric "Strange days indeed...most peculiar, mama." comes from the song "Nobody Told Me" from the posthumously released album "Milk and Honey" NOT "Double Fantasy!" *** Goo-Goo g'Joob! (;{= Walrus J. Mortsleam
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Oct 06, 2004 11:13:27 AM CDT
"people are going to be looking back on the Bendis/Maleev run as
by alfiemoon
Yup, completely agree. Real DD-heads are already convinced of this. A modern classic run, and one that it's been fun to follow as it unrolls. Bendis has the same level of vision and reinvention for the character that Miller ever had, and as a whole, his run is an amazing epic that will be remembered in the same breath as Miller's original character-defining tenure.
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I felt sick. Physically sick. Which is, one would hope, the idea. I can't deny the craftsmanship - even if it's going for the easy bullseye - that produced such a visceral reaction in me. But I dont' want that sort of reaction reading SPIDER-MAN. What an awful thing to do to Gwen and the greatest story in Spider-Man's canon. What an awful thing to do to a *defenseless* treasured emotion. JMS is a very talented writer - I like most of his work on this title, I love SUPREME POWER, and I think his writing manual is among the best ever written (at least the best I have ever read) - but anybody who would write this story is, no matter what else he is, a prick. This isn't "Killing Your Darlings". This is killing somebody else's.
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Mortsleam, I see the confusion regarding my comments in the intro and Dave's review. However, the connection I was referring to was actually *not* between "Nobody Told Me" and STRANGE, but between the John Lennon Adult Contemporary/Soft Rock perennial "Woman," and Dave's loving, almost tender evaluation of Diggle's work in the review. (The implication is clear that Dave "loves [ADAM STRANGE]...well well...now and forever.") To me, the connection is absolutely unmistakable; however, perhaps I should have been a little more explicit in the intro for those of you with a less keen appreciation for Mr. Lennon's work. Greg Scott regrets the error. And yet I can't help thinking that if you'd been more of a *real* John Lennon fan, there wouldn't have been a problem.
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Just maybe, Bendis will be looked back on as the Rob Liefeld of the new milleneum. Only time will tell. As for the all of a sudden changing my mind riff you guys are playing, I didn't. I simply liked the issue and accepted a few things to be status quo instead of dreading that Bendis was somehow working towards the old status quo. My opinions in my previous reviews still stand. I just dug the issue at hand.
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I totally agree with you. While I loved loved loved the earliest issues as the series progressed, I felt the equivalent of checking my watch in the movie theater. Every month I was like, "That was cool ... now when does the plot kick in?" And it never did, at least not in full force. It felt like Hellboy (the movie) to me in that sense; great start, fun scenes ... underwhelming payoff. It was still enjoyable, but nothing classic, but I must admit I'm afraid that if I added up the cover price for all six issues, I might change my mind on that point ...
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... is it just me who thought he'd done the cover for ASM #512? From the seeming inability to draw a foot properly to the completely absurd use of pouch-covered shoulder-straps, it's like I'm looking at some strange Youngblood/Spidey meld. And why does that chap on the left seem to have his left knee perma-bent, with another pouch-laden belt wrapped around it? Perhaps it all makes sense if you actually read the issue.... but I gave up on it long ago, during the clone-fiasco.
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Coffee Enema= I got the first big numbers and never saw it again so thanks for clearing that one up(it was a real problem trying to protect that square design with a patchwork of mylar)..Durhay=thats one can of worms that shouldn't be opened :0.You are right though,digital and tpb's are the most convienent way to read comics for me.
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Don't you mean photos cut and pasted and thinly veiled as paintings...the only thing he drew was probably Spiderman and Daredevil in costume and they stuck out like a sore thumb...a very sore thumb.It doesn't even look like he goes out and takes the photos he uses...just cuts and pastes...photo manipulates them...Maleev may use photos..but atleast the composition is solid, and the end result (probably using the photocopy filter or rubberstamp filter in photoshop) is consistent, and has the right feel for the book. Greg Horn's work just looks amateurish to anyone using photoshop with some skill. Beautifully illustrated? Not quite. Sorry Greg, you need 5 to 10 more years of obscurity to get your art up to a level where you should be working professionally.
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Oct 06, 2004 1:44:38 PM CDT
I remember Hawkeye being shot in the back on the cover of an iss
by big bad clone
It screamed, not a dream, not an Imposter. And sure enough Clint got his ass shot. Heck, he tried to stop drive by shootings, get shot by a gang, recovers, has Stark create a sort of super kevlar Hawkeye outfit so he could kick the shit out the gang on his own and all this in less than a whole issue because the issue also had a Vault back up story!!! That story would have taken 3 1/2 years in Nu Marvel era comics. Now he gets taken out like a bitch? Nah, that's bullshit. At least have someone shot him in the eye..
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Marvel needs to put out ESSENTIAL trades of the B/W Planet of the Apes series. Not the secondary story in the back of the issue that translates the movies into comic, but the main story that was mostly the human Jason and the chimp Alexander storyline (though their were great one-shot or two-issue storylines mixed in there, like the 3rd issue story and Camelot 2-issue storyline). Those were GREAT comics and Mike Ploog's art would be perfectly suited for the Essential re-prints!!! HEAR THIS MARVEL: MAKE AN ESSENTIAL PLANET OF THE APES!!!! (The other B/W comic magazines would be perfectly suited, too!!)
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Well, I'd say there's a pretty good chance we could see an "Essential Planet of the Apes, since TODAY, as we speak, Marvel will be releasing (I kid you not) "THE ESSENTIAL MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN, Volume 1". This is alarming on a couple of levels: (1) That there are "essential" Frankenstein stories that we must possess and (2) This is only VOLUME ONE of the "essential" Frankenstein stories we must possess. Granted, the Mike Ploog artwork in the Marvel stories was properly creepy....but ESSENTIAL? I.....I don't know.
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Maybe an ESSENTIAL MIKE PLOOG featuring Ploog's amazing art from MAN THING, WERWEWOLF, FRANKENSTEIN, and the other monster stuff he did back in the day. I'd love to get my hands on that. I got to research Ploog for an ABAZADAD review I did a while back. Loved his stuff as a kid, but totally appreciate it for it's beauty now. Ploog is the man. I'd love to see him come back to some of those old Marvel properties today. His stuff is still amazing.
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Ambush Bug, I quickly scanned up through the posts, and I didn't say you changed your mind, and neither did alfiemoon, so does that mean you actually read a Seethroughthis's post? Hey, in this political climate the worst thing you can be called is a "flip-flopper", so I would never do that to you, sir.
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You can't spell Brian Michael Bendis without "BM"
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I cannot confirm nor deny reading said posts. I will state that I frequently scan the talkbacks for interesting tidbits to gab aboot. Some posts are more interesting than others though. And some, I just find amusing and/or sad at the amount of anger focussed on those who review and offer opinions about comic books for the fun of it. How's that for avoiding your question, sideshow?
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You're saying that Diggle's Adam Strange is more in the vein of the "Threetles" adding grace notes to "Free as a Bird" from the Beatles Anthology, rather than Yoko's crass commercialism in putting out unfinished studio tracks in the Menlove Ave. collection from 1986. I'll check it out then. *** I'm the only person that gets this shit, but it cracks me the fuck up. ggg'j.
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Scared me there for a second, Greg. We all know he really sang backup for Leo Sayer, while wearing one of those groovy leisure suits he routinely wore in the early 70's (UNDER his Flash costume, no less).____Re: "Barry Allen's Secret": Like the afore-trashed "Gwen Goblin" story, I shudder at this sort of retro-meddling with past characters for the sake of short-term "event pimping", which this time around happens to be "Identity Crisis". Remember DC's "Millenium" mini-series from the late 80's? Same kinda thing. A host of A-list DC characters were retro-fitted with deep, dark connections to the Manhunters just for the sake of "event tie-in", most of which were awkwardly acknowledged for a number of years....but then unceremoniously dropped. So....who knows...maybe "Barry's secret" will be similarly dropped by the wayside....until the next event crossover and the next "deep dark secret".
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I have said muchas veces aqui that I love Powers, at least until the "re-launch" or whatever the last couple issues (really can't stand Deena). But his DD blew so much I dropped the book after not enjoying it for a looong time. Now, I feel vindicated when other people like the Sienkiwicz New Mutants, etc, but his DD is dull as dishwater and his Avengers is just a travesty. I was full of yawning the entire issue of Hawkeye's death. The art is boring and the story is so boring, I'd rather read Daredevil. Just the worst! Avengers has been my #1 book since I was a little boy, but periodically it has been unreadable. How sad that this is one of those times. Anyway, Runaways couldn't be better, it's a total A+, but I don't really think any girl-girl romance will develop (more likely a one-sided feeling that can't be returned), and love the unlikely boy-girl romance that has developed. Finally, I prefer to read trades, but feel an obligation to support the titles I enjoy on a monthly basis, and if they are really, really good will spring for a more durable trade of the same story. Again, BOOOO to Bendis, what has happened to him?
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I read your post, couldn't think of a clever response, walked away from my computer, came back a few hours later, reread it and still don't have a clever response. Which is more or less the same befuddled reaction I have to the presidential debates, so I'd say you's make a fine politician.
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I like how Bendis has tapped into his inner 10-year-old for the Avengers Dissambled arc, with all these colorful characters haphazardly crashing into each other. Plus, it's amusing to me that this title is pissing so many people off right now. But I'll agree the art is incredibly bland. As far as DD goes, I could go into the ins and outs of what strikes me as being original and cool here, but I'll just say that as the ultimate barometer of a title's worth, barely a page goes by when I'm reading it that I don't think, "damn, this is fuckin' brilliant!" But then...barely a scene goes by in Altman's "Popeye" movie that I don't think the same thing, so take that for what it's worth. And hey, I still find Ultimate Spidey to be borderline unreadable, so I've still got *some* anti-Bendis cred, don't I?
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"Plus, it's amusing to me that this title is pissing so many people off right now."____Sounds like your a fan of the "Smashing Sandcastles" school of comic book writing. In other words, as long as it gets people mad or, my favorite rationale, "gets people talking", it's all worth it. Much like the field of visual fine arts, there exists a school of thought that believes art should provoke, rather than comfort. Destroy and degrade rather than build up and affirm. I see this same spirit in stuff like "Avengers Disassembled", "Identity Crisis" and JMS's Gwen Goblin storyline...where it's simply not enough for the protagonists to struggle against an antagonist without the additional level of devastating personal loss or cataclysmic destruction of traditionally stable characters or organizations. In other words, it doesn't seem to be enough to have Gwen Stacy killed by the Green Goblin thirty years ago, but we also need her to be retroactively stripped of her morality and gentle soul. What a cynical, mercenary pack of creeps we've allowed into the sandbox.
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I am a complete expert about my own opinion so don't try to argue it with me. I enjoy picking up the Daredevil title every single month. I think Bendis is a good writer. I am fueling the fire that sells his books. I am the opinion you all hate. I also think Greg Horn draws pretty pictures.
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Man, we used to dog him out when when we were KIDS and supposed to halfway LIKE his silly jokes! Sad thing is, I find him a little funnier now. These are truly the last days if I find out Bazooka Joe is sophisticated social satire a la "Li'l Abner." Naaaaaaaah!!!
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Well, I don't have the attachment to these characters that some people have. Even if my favorite character died I wouldn't care that much (though I'm guessing Betty & Veronica would). I guess part of the reason it amuses me is that I'm surprised people have such an attachment to these characters (especially when they always come back--this happened in the SAME MONTH as Colossus's return), and the fans lash out at the writer (never editorial, who only gave him the green light). It's a little silly in my eyes. I think Avengers Dissambled is a good example of what you are talking about, but people have been radically changing titles for years. Nobody is complaining that Miller smashed the sandcastle of Daredevil. The retroactive stuff is another beast entirely. That's not smashing a sandcastle, that's going over to another person's sandcastle and taking a big dump on top of it (which you said yourself, in less crude terms, above). If JMS went to Stan Lee, Gerry Conway, Gil Kane et al, and asked permission, then fine. I'm cool with it. But it's like me going up to the Mona Lisa, drawing a moustache on top of it and saying "look, she was a drag queen all along!" while art lovers nod in approval and say, "well, as long as it's a *good* moustache, I'm fine with this". It's just disrespectful.
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People never go "Fuck you Marvel for..."?? I must be occasionally logging onto Bizarro-internet (not to be confused with BizarroMark) where that sort of thing is all over the place. *** Doesn't JMS have a clause in his contract where his stuff can't be edited or controlled (giving Axel Alonso the easiest job since the Maytag repairman died in that tragic detergent accident)? I think it came up a few years ago - back when Jemas was turning every Marvel comic into the wham-bam action equivalent of waiting in line at the First National Bank of Crap. Back when, y'know, I thought the clause was a good thing. D'oh.
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I am a big fan of Marvel's black and white "Essential" collections. Besides getting so much story for your buck, the absence of colour only serves to showcase the artwork. I am sure that these books are a Godsend to aspiring pencilers, and particularly inkers. They also make wonderful "reading copies" of expensive issues that you may already own or can't afford to purchase. Now, as to future series that I would like to see featured in the format, they would include, SHANG CHI: MASTER OF KUNG FU, WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, NICK FURY: AGENT OF SHIELD, THE DEFENDERS, SON OF SATAN, SUB-MARINER, NOVA, THE ETERNALS, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (including their first appearance in Marvel Super Heros), CAPTAIN MARVEL (ditto) and in smaller editions, THE INHUMANS, THE CHAMPIONS, and OMEGA, THE UNKNOWN. I would also love to see Marvel reprint its western heroes line - but NO gay Rawhide Kid please!!
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He'll retrocon "the Killing Joke" to reveal that Babs Gordon was shot after making sweet love to the Joker down by the fire and explain that Clark didn't marry Lana because she was blowin' Pa Kent in his pickup for seed money.
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Man, I'm glad I don't read Amazing Spider-man. Just hearing about this screwed-up "shocking revelation" makes me squirm. I can't imagine how I would feel if I had actually read it for myself. Way to crap all over one of the few essentially pure and innocent characters in comics. "Boy, Pete, I bet you feel like a complete jackass for grieving her death so deeply for so long! She was really a slut you know!" What's next? Lucius Fox comes forward and confesses to Bruce that Thomas Wayne was a child-porn addict and Martha was quite the upper-crust piece of ass? "So really, Bruce, there's no need for your life-long mission to protect the innocent. That random act of violence was really the result of a mafia contract on your father's head for his huge gambling debts. The sad thing is, he could afford to pay, he was just a cheap son-of-a-bitch." Oh, and by the way Wolverine, all your screwed up memory problems are bogus. Ol' Chuck Xavier's just been mind-fucking you for years! That Charlie! What a whip! Give me a break.
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I don't necessarily have a problem with smashing sandcastles either, and I agree with what you said. I think it is fine for writers to take characters in new directions. I am not pissed about the current Avengers,so I probably shouldn't have said "travesty." It is just done in such an uninteresting way. I have like many versions of DD, for example, starting with Miller but I loved Nocenti and that was a whole nother thing. I am not even a real fan of Hawkeye, as I am of, say, Scarlet Witch. But he is a major Marvel player and a storyline that kills him off should be much better. Hmmm. Come to think of it, a storyline that doesn't kill him off should also be much better. The idea of Bendis' Avengers seems so cool, but the reality is so...whatever. I preferred the Ultimates, frankly, and the Ultimates weren't really all that. Anyway, I just read the final issue of Thor and would love to hear what others think of it. My thought? It is rather "meh" as well for the finale of such an institution, but at least everyone killed off in the previous few issues didn't somehow come back.
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I like the book too but completely disagree with the review. 1.) UNLIKE the West Wing, none of these characters even sound remotely realistic in their positions as part of the Mayor's office in America's largest city. This is actually OKAY, and in fact works very well, for the Mayor himself. Being completely lost in the world of politics is one of the main concepts of this book (as you've touched on yourself in the previous review you linked to). However NONE of the supporting characters are anything better than incredibly hollowed out stereotypes of what Vaughn IMAGINES. These aren't even stereotypes I recognize. Vaughn still has one INCREDIBLY important lesson to learn from the West Wing. The President is, by far, the least important AND least interesting character on the show. This comic needs a "Josh Lyman". 2.) When I read the last two pages I just moaned. I was afraid the book was going in this direction. I don't want to spoil, but it looks like the only character so far that might be interesting won't be around for long. The plot twist was cheap.
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The only kind of people who like this guy are people who think that Super Heroes are ruining comics (kinda like the aintitcoolnews crew.) His art would be good for maybe Vertigo, but he ruins every mainstream comic he gets his art on. His New Mutants SUCKED. His Ultimate Team Up suck. The only thing that stops me from buying a book is seeing his name on it, otherwise I'd have Black Widow. He is to comic art what Chuck Austen is to comic writing.
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Fuzzyjefe don't joke, it could all happen the way things are going at the moment. DC and Marvel probably think those are great ideas, just the sort of kick the titles could do with... -------------------- And Bobby Peru, I get the point about the after-death revelation angle, but it just seems so out-of-character for Gwen as to be unbelievable, as well as draining a lot of the significance out of a key moment in the Spider-Man mythos. If JMS could have found something new, insightful or interesting to say, great, but this seems like shock for shock's sake. I hope that this is all a bluff, but I can't see it happening.
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Just when I thought the prevailing criticism of the column was "too many superheroes", you resurrect the oldie but goodie that we HATE superheroes! I love it! Alas, your artistic illiteracy regarding Sienkiewicz means I have to discount everything you say. Sorry. I'm afraid the "too many superheroes" crowd wins the day. ****** And speaking of Sienkiewicz, for those looking for a sliiiightly more objective overview of the BIG NUMBERS snafu than Coffee Enema gave, this site's Alan Moore FAQ provides a quick breakdown: http://www.alanmoorefansite.com/faq/big.html It does seem like a massive loss that it was never completed, but I can at least understand Bill's intimidation a bit. Was looking at a NinthArt.com article on Moore that included this - "Rumour has it that notes for the 12-issue series include a wall-sized chart outlining the arc and connections of all forty characters, and the excruciatingly detailed scripts run to absurd lengths." - and yeah, that sounds a little intimidating. Can I assume Eddie Campbell has at least been discussed to revive the project, or was its conception too heavily reliant on Bill's participation?
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Okay, granted it was a recap as told from the perspective of Daredevil's *pals*, but it was still a recap. In concept, not a big problem, but when the issue's billed as a "40th anniversary all-star special"...man, that kinda fucking sucks. For me, the series continues to inspire vastly mixed feelings. Lately it's been very hit and miss, especially with the assassin in the ball cap - a painfully annoying villain who actually talks like he could be Bendis's avatar - but I've enjoyed too many issues in the past to outright give up on the book. It's irritating, though. I'm usually the kind of guy who jumps ship very soon after souring on a book, so I hate riding out the crappy stuff. ***** On a somewhat related note: Anyone ever heard what Frank Miller thinks of Bendis's stuff? I'd be curious to know. On one hand, Frank embraces iconoclasm, but on the other, his DK2 project - whatever *else* it was - was very much about re-embracing the pop elements of superheroes. It's hard to see him embracing Bendis's brand of realism at this point...
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If I'm understanding you correctly, your first point is that in EX MACHINA, both the depiction (which you forgive) and the characterization (which you don't forgive) are too shallow. I'm willing to give them both a pass, and rest assured in the fact that I'm reading a well told story in good concience. First of all, you're right -- I think that when Vaughn has to take a govenrment proceedural, then add in superhero themes, AND add in a murder mystery, that's a pretty big plate, and there has to be some winnowing of material at the expense of versimilitude. This calls for faith on the part of the reader that other matters are being handled offstage. THE WEST WING does the exact same thing; I find it odd that the President would spend so much more time focussing on his Deputy Chief of Communications rather than, say, the *Secretary of State*, who I think we've only seen once. (William Devane.) THE WEST WING, as a matter of pragmatics, works within a limited range of presentation; so too does EX MACHINA (again, plus superhero flashbacks, plus murder mystery -- and we're only at issue #4). Generally speaking, I have little problem with those limitations so far, feeling that Vaughn is deftly juggling the mix in a way that's not just believable, but entertaining. As for the characterization, I feel we're just getting to know these people, and yes, everybody is *sassy*, and the tone of the dialogue veers into cliche, albeit still entertaining cliche; cliche that I explained in that last review. However, I never got a sense that the characters themselves were particularly stereotypical -- the police commissioner, Hundred's right hand man, his chief of staff, even the studded nosed intern -- none of them rung as particularly hackneyed, false, or wholly one-dimensional to the point where it stops the story. And I wonder if they did with you either, when you commented "These aren't even stereotypes I recognize." If they're stereotypes, shouldn't you recognize them? In any case, I'd rather see Martin Sheen chew scenery over Bradley Witfield 8 times out of 10, so maybe we're approaching this with different sensibilities. Finally, concerning the end of the issue, CHEAP?? I disagree. As I mentioned in the review, the revelation will be *cheaper* if it turns out to be a misdirection, but I still think it worked powerfully within the context of the issue. It was disappointing, dispiriting, and believable, for me anyway, and I think that affect counts for something. And if it turns out to be true. Brr. I have enough affection for and investment in these characters (again, only after 4 issues) for this to mean something, and ring some thematic bells in process. Read it again! It's good!
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RE:the big numbers link.That was intresting cheers.
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Over at a newsgroup, JMS has responded to much of the criticism leveled at him over the most recent issue of ASM- "As I've always said...whether someone likes or
doesn't like my work, that's as it should be. I don't argue the validity of
opinions. Matters of fact, sure, but not taste. Some people like white
chocolate. Some people, like me, know it's an offense in the eyes of god.
There are some who don't like the Gwen aspect of this story, and some who think
it's deepened the character in a positive way. Why would I want to weigh in on
that? Arguing is good. For the first time in a very long time, people are
getting passionate enough about the title to have arguments on this scale, and
that's good.
If I stay out of the way, it's to allow the dialogue to continue unimpeded,
whether the book is being praised or raked over the coals. As a long time fan,
I remember almost the identical reactions when it was decided to kill Gwen off,
so I knew I'd be walking into a firestorm here.
To write is to take chances. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don't,
because the measure of success is in the eyes of the reader. And a subjective
opinion is always right for that reader, always true for that person.
So yeah, I've kept low to watch the arguing and see where the bodies land.
The only thing I will mention, the only thing that did surprise me, was the
degree to which some folks have turned on *Gwen*. I've heard of the
madonna/whore dynamic, but I've never actually seen it played out this
strenously.
I can't even begin to count the number of posts I've seen from folks who are
calling Gwen a slut, a whore, and a tramp...that this destroys her as a
person...that it would be better if she had been raped than having had
consensual sex.
Better to be *raped*? Having sex with someone makes that person a *whore*?
I'll admit it, *that* flummoxed me. Because I've known plenty of women who,
young and naive and foolish, found themselves caught up with an older guy, even
if only for a moment, because they are drawn in by them...especially if that
someone is as powerful and manipulative an older figure as Norman Osborn.
Maybe because I've known so many of them, all of whom are fine people, I've
never once thought of them in those admittedly ugly terms. We all make
mistakes in our lives. You who are without sin, throw the first stone, right?
Gwen made a mistake. But she took responsibility for it, had the kids when
there were other options (I don't want this to turn into a debate on those
options, I'm just saying), and was prepared to go toe-to-toe with Norman, who
on some level she had to be afraid of, and to raise those children, even if it
meant screwing up her career, and marrying Peter.
Now, to *me*, that is a person of immense personal strength and integrity. It
gives her a spine and a conscience and a will that we really haven't seen in
her before.
To me, Gwen is a person...and like all people, she has good and bad, makes
mistakes and adjusts for them. Always tries to do the right thing. And when
cornered, she'll fight, not just for herself, but for other people.
To other people, this seems to make her a slut.
This aspect of it isn't a writing thing, isn't a storytelling thing, it's a
matter of how one views people who have sex in this world.
And you'll note that at no time does Peter ever say or think these things about
her. Because Peter understands. Peter loves her even though she made a
mistake.
Given the ferocity with which some have turned on a dime and attacked Gwen --
calling someone they say they respected a whore and turning their backs on her
character, damning her as a slut and a tramp -- it seems that I may write the
comics, but a few other people have the issues....
But that's just my opinion.
jms"
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Dave F. asked: "Anyone ever heard what Frank Miller thinks of Bendis's stuff? I'd be curious to know. On one hand, Frank embraces iconoclasm, but on the other, his DK2 project - whatever *else* it was - was very much about re-embracing the pop elements of superheroes. It's hard to see him embracing Bendis's brand of realism at this point..." I think all that Frank Miller is embracing these days is those big, fat checks Hollywood is handing him. He's hip-deep in the "Sin City" movie and will most likely find a way to stick around in film. Would you go back to comics if you were Frank? I don't sense a deep, abiding love for comics as a medium from Miller, more the love of telling a story, whether it be on the printed page or a movie screen. I view DK2 as a big, cynical joke on the fanboys who propelled Miller into the limelight twenty years ago....a final "flipping of the bird", if you will. Let's be frank: Miller hasn't been a "player" in comic books for fifteen years, and the field (as well as the characters he helped define) has long past him by. What I'm actually MORE curious about is what STAN LEE thinks of the Bendisization of the brood of characters he co-created. I have no illusions that Stan even reads comics anymore....but if he did, I wonder what he'd think of Bendis' uber-wordy scripts.
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What a jackass. I'm sure there are a small percentage of fans "turning" on Gwen (as if she acted independantly of JMS), but he's fooling himself if he thinks this is where most of the animus is being directed. Everything *I* have seen has raked JMS *himself* over the coals for his astounding lack of judgement and profound misunderstanding of all the characters involved. Just reading through his response reveals his almost-comical cluelessness when it comes to the character of Gwen and what she likely would have done based on her personality at the time. Just because he praises Gwen for "being strong" and "standing up to Norman", still doesn't mean his decision is valid. And, I beg your pardon JMS, but most of us don't know a whole bunch of women who throw themselves at older men. I think he's been spending too much time in Hollywood, land of the reinforced casting couch. What an incredible, arrogant jackass this guy is.
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Oct 07, 2004 2:51:04 PM CDT
"I don't sense a deep, abiding love for comics as a medium from
by jonquixote
I dunno. I'm thinking commercial concerns aren't a huge factor in Frank's thought processes - he's loaded and seems to take the time to do less lucrative work rather than cashing in on the regular fat checks he could be getting with regular work on Big Two properties. And I'm thinking he very much distrusts Hollywood & the studio system and is wary of the diluted control or personal vision his projects endure. Which is why the upcoming SIN CITY is directed by a guy giving him co-director credit; who is slavishly adhering to the material to the point where he's mimicking the lighting, storyboarding, and camera angles from the source material; and who, on his own dime, filmed a 'test' video to prove his devotion to the original works. *** Based on that, I suspect that Frank really likes the comic medium and the control it offers him (if not the limited audience). But it's all conjecture.
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Oct 07, 2004 2:54:02 PM CDT
"I'm thinking commercial concerns aren't a huge factor in Frank'
by bizarromark
Four word rebuttal: "Dark Knight Strikes Back"
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Hey, he's only human. 7 figures for three comics? Bill Gates probably takes that job.
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I can't believe the number of people who have refered to Gwen as a slut and a whore now. It's pretty offensive how many guys have that knee-jerk reaction when a girl sleeps with someone they don't want her to. But I was thinking the same thing as you bizzaromark, the way JMS says "gwen did this, people hate that gwen did that", as if he had nothing to do with it, is simply incredible. What's funny about the whole thing is that coming on to Spider-Man he made a point of not using any classic Spidey villians, and creating his own Spidey mythos, and he was doing a good job of it (even if the run was too depressing for my taste). I guess when he decided to mess with an older character, he decided to REALLY mess with an older character. Thanks for posting JMS's remarks, Reno.
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The reference in my post to Gwen as a slut was exagerration for comedic effect. In case you didn't know. One seduction does not a slut make. It takes at least two.
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....read "Marvels" #4. Kurt Busiek perfectly, and economically, captures the innocent charm and gentle soul of Gwen Stacy. But, hey, I guess since JMS knows a bunch of women who've thrown themselves onto older men, then hey.....who am *I* to argue with such genius?
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I was thinking of some people I've seen on other boards, who weren't exaggerating. Damn, I need the blow the dust off my Marvels trade now. Is it true there's a sequel to that in the pipeline?
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That was Gwen as she should be. It took Busiek less one issue to completely get everything about that character distilled and right. I really have a hard time believing that the same girl who found such wide-eyed beauty in the Atlantean machines would have a one night stand with an older man. Especially if she knew the guy's son. She did know Harry at that time, right? Some details escape me.
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Oct 07, 2004 4:43:30 PM CDT
"Gwen Goblin" now surpasses "Spider-Clone" in sheer craptaculari
by bizarromark
Well, at least now the "Spider-Clone" fustercluck will have something to surpass it in sheer ineptitude.....too bad BOTH stories had to happen to the Spider-Man character! The story not only damages the characters involved, but it also ruins what little power remained in the "Death of Gwen Stacy" story after Osborn's ill-conceived "resurrection" in the 90's. You see, so much of the horror of what happened to Gwen back in Spider-Man 121-122 was her *anonymity* to the Green Goblin. The fact that she was not aware of the secret history of Peter Parker and Norman Osborn, and unfamiliar with Osborn himself, made her abduction all the more frightening. She was merely a tool Osborn could use to destroy Parker, a pawn on a chessboard, so to speak. To retroactively implant a troubled secret history between Osborn and Gwen now completely strips away the original random horror of Gwen's abduction and makes it about the THREE of them (Osborn, Gwen and Peter)....which, to me, greatly diminishes the sense of injustice and straight-up horror her death instilled in the reader.
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I didn't care about the events either way, except that it is insulting to disfigure someone else's crowning work. But dammit, bizzaromark, your articulate posts have made me pissed. However, I didn't buy comics at ALL during the clone saga, so to me it never happened. It's probably best to follow one of the @$$hole's advice (I forget which--I wanna say Jon Quixote?) and invent your own continuity.
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My advice would be to throw out a profanity-laced criticism, and then make an abrupt shift into sarcastic apathy. In this instance, perhaps something involving Gwen, Sue Dibny, and a sorority rush gone wonderfully astray is in order.
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Gwen never wandered on over to Latveria during her travels. For no mere girl could ever resist the hot-tub of DOOM!!!
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See, this is how it all went down: Norman Osborn is driven over the edge by his son Harry's drugged-up stupor, blaming Harry's friends for "corrupting" him. His memories of being the Goblin come flooding back to him and he takes off to one of his secret hideouts for his Goblin stuff. He then vows to kill Peter Parker (*specifically* Peter Parker), and blast through town on his Goblin Glider intent on doing just that. The Goblin arrives at Parker and Harry's apartment and sees Gwen stacy waiting for Peter inside. Peter eventually comes back to the apartment to find a single pumpkin bomb sitting on top of Gwen's purse. ___Now THAT is horror. Gwen Stacy was, quite literally, in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Goblin snatched her away because he knew he'd be assured to draw Parker out. It was a sheer random act on the Goblin's part to abduct Gwen Stacy....which, as I said before, added an even greater degree of horror to the story. Gwen, in no way, did anything to earn the Goblin's wrath or, in JMS's cynical sideways implication, *deserve* Osborn's anger. JMS may be a writer in the technical sense, but his sense of what makes a good story is as bankrupt as the morality of his Hollywood doxies.
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Peter's investigation to dig up the truth about Gwen finally leads him to a safe-deposit box she had purchased years ago. Upon opening it, he finds: a pumpkin bomb, a "Castle von Doom" snowglobe, a lock of hair from Kraven's lion vest, a small heart-shaped box full of sand, and a tiny little feather from Namor's ankle wings. Peter realizes with horror that pure, sweet, innocent Gwen was really quite the villain groupie. Brilliant!
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Not only that, but Peter also finds an autographed photo of Aunt May with the inscription "To 'Whenever Gwen'. Loved the go-go boots. Call me anytime. -'Mama' May"...and, what's that at the bottom of the box? A few flakes of Lizard skin? HURRGHHHHLLGGHH!!!!
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Oct 07, 2004 6:27:15 PM CDT
Y'know who really gets shafted in all this deposit box stuff??
by jonquixote
Venom. Is it his fault that Go-All-The-Way Gwen met her maker 15 years before his inception? No. He's the true victim here and he shouldn't have to suffer. I wonder how the symbiote is at forming shovels?
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Oct 07, 2004 6:27:59 PM CDT
Y'know who really gets shafted in all this deposit box stuff?
by jonquixote
Venom. Is it his fault that Go-All-The-Way Gwen met her maker 15 years before his inception? No. He's the true victim here and he shouldn't have to suffer. I wonder how the symbiote is at forming shovels?
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That has got to be, hands down, the best vomit sound effect ever. Ohhh...good times.
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This is the most fun I have ever had on a talkback here. It's a damn shame about what sparked this huge outpouring of venomous creativity, but it's been a blast. RIP Gwen. Or not, depending on whoever wants to dig up your bones and piss all over them.......Anyway, as to the question posed way back in the talkback as to the which comics best use the serial format: Walking Dead pretty consistently has great cliffhanger endings. Y The Last Man, Fallen Angel, annnd I guess that's about it for what I read. I just love heading to the comic store every week. Couldn't wait for trades. That's just me.
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I don't think the end is misdirection. Misdirection just doesn't feel like something Vaughn would do here (to his credit). I think its cheap because he's taking the only other character that's really any good and- well you know. It'd be easier to explain without worrying about spoilers. I think Vaughn is trading in a cheap plot twist in his very first arc for a character who could provide some really interesting dynamics for the series long term. Its almost as if Vaughn doesn't think this series will last 18 issues. Without said character, I'm not sure where Vaughn will turn to in order to balance Hundred's political career against his current/prior superhero inclinations. Which I think is (and should continue to be even more so) the MAIN theme of this book. Its not that I don't recognize the stereotypes, its that I don't recognize these stereotypes in the context that they're political operatives in the largest city government in the country. The book would have been convincing had the cast been composed of entirely white males. Another problem I have with this book (really comic books in general) is that every female is displayed as an ex-model with giant breasts and nipples that poke through their shirts. All except the token fat chick of course. Ex Machina is just as bad, but I think thats secondary to the problems mentioned above. Although, mention was made of Hundred appointing an attractive woman to a prominent position. It would be really interesting to have that explored. However I think that was more of a throw away line.
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Oct 07, 2004 8:32:36 PM CDT
picture it this way: JMS digs up your grandma's body and starts
by tall_boy
He turns to you and says "Hey, isn't this edgy, unexpected & shocking - I'm buttfucking your dead Grandma!" I mean, sure it *is* unexpected & shocking but, dude, its my dead Grandma. Leave her alone. Thought the issue itself was put together nicely, but the buttfucking of history aspect -- probably not as much.
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Because DC was Really Makeing a lot of noise about that 2 years ago. I don't read WW so i was wondering if the Amazon maden got her cherry poped! But knowing DC it was just a bullshit story that never got done. Just a BS rumor to increase sales.
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Your post about your Granny's bum pretty much sums up how things are. Well done. How long does a corpse hold together enough to have an anus? Anybody know? I hope not...
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... you're not paying a heck of a lot of attention. But there's hope for you. If you think Hawkeye is dead, and you're actually lame enough to be whining about it, then you should probably just kill yourself, because everybody in the world hates you.
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Your treatment for future Spidey issues intrigues me, but you forgot one rule about Spidey comics: six issues cannot pass without Peter raising his fists into the air and screaming "OSBOOOOURNE!!!!" So I propose, "Next issue: we learn who Uncle Ben's REAL killer is! (here's a hint: it starts with O!)"
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A well-placed source at Marvel tells me we will soon be finding out about Norman Osborn being responsible for the inadequate cosmic-ray shielding in the Fantastic Four's rocket ship; the Gamma Bomb explosion; hiding a gnarled, magical walking stick in a Norwegian cave; lobbing a radioactive cannister into Matt Murdock's eyes, and traveling back into time to assassinate Dr. Reinstein following the super-soldier vita-ray treatment.
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He also sent Tony Stark a case of Chablis when he was in rehab, told Doom that the metal "cools really fast", and left pencils standing points up in Nick Fury's desk-caddy.
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Norman pretended to be lonely teenager Rick Jones' "pal," and then dared him to drive his jalopy onto a top secret nuclear test facility during a gamma bomb test. He then fiddled with the brakes in Dr Stephen Stranges' sports car, causing it to crash.
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