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DAREDEVIL Netflix Series, Episodes 1-13
CONVERGENCE Roundup
ARCHIE VS. PREDATOR #1
THE PHANTOM #2
CONVERGENCE: JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1
MS. MARVEL #14
BEHEMOTH #1
Advance Review: GRIMM FAIRY TALES: THE LITTLE MERMAID #3
DAREDEVIL Netflix Series, Episodes 1-13
Executive Producer: Drew GoddardCast: Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Vincent D’Onofrio, Elden Henson, Toby Leonard Moore, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Bob Gunton, Ayelet Zurer, Royce Johnson, Rosario Dawson, Peter McRobbie, Rob Morgan, Daryl Edwards, Peter Shinkoda, Skylar Gaertner, John Patrick Hayden, Scott Glenn, Jasson Finney, Cole Jensen
Aired on Netflix
Reviewer: Humphrey Lee
As you look around the motion picture industry it is obvious that we are spoilt for two particular aspects of it: the overall quantity and quality level of television programming we are receiving and the plethora of comic book adaptations making both the large and small screen. While we are in full-on box office takeover mode with how many comics properties jam themselves into theaters in a year, comic book programming on the television is still somewhat fledgling, and it shows if you look around--not that that statement is a condemnation of what we have so far, as I highly enjoy half of what is airing (ARROW and THE FLASH) and find the other half to be kind of alright (AGENTS OF SHIELD and GOTHAM), but they all each have varying degrees of annoying quirks or episodes where the script was pretty subpar or find themselves limited by what you can get away with on a television network. Then we get to Marvel Studios’ DAREDEVIL, which succeeds where all those shows tend to falter because, quite frankly, it more or less never suffers these weaknesses plus offers up a product of bottomless style and character depth with top notch choreography and great faithfulness to the source material. Essentially, it is the new standard for superhero televisioning.
That’s why I’m here, faithful readers, on the comic book page of Ain’t It Cool to deviate from the norm and do dedicated live action coverage, not because we @$$holes are initiating a coup of the website (though I keep a broadsword well sharper for THAT fateful day) but because I think DAREDEVIL here is genuinely the product we have all been waiting for when it comes to seeing our favorite comic book characters in the flesh. Delving right into it - and here I will state that for you people with “lives” who have yet to watch all 13 episodes if any, this is basically spoiler free space for major character moments and whatnot but may have some specific scene references – what is the heart of this show is that the casting brought together for this first Marvel on Netflix showing is fucking fantastic. Charlie Cox I knew as the handsome, protective, and somewhat goofy and charming Owen from “Boardwalk Empire”, and saw real potential in him when his hiring was announced, given he took aspects of that particular character and ramped them up a bit, which he absolutely did. Cox’s Man Without Fear hits all the right notes; in the daytime as Matt Murdock he’s a bit aloof but sharp as a tack as soon as a case comes home, and at night when it’s time to go out and play there is nothing but grim determination and simmering rage under that mask. Everything that makes Matt Murdock and his alter ego tick, both overt and lingering under the skin, is there, from the pent up rage and guilt over losing his father and how he went out to the headstrong puncher’s mentality he inherited from Battlin’ Jack and to his lapsed Catholic upbringing that conflicts him in the extent to which he is taking his form of justice. Cox leads a cast that never fails to impress, and sometimes simply astounds with the performances put forth, especially Vincent D’Onofrio who absolutely murders (literally and figuratively) his take on Wilson Fisk, as I’ll get to later.
What really brings home the show is how the script brings all the aspects of the Matt Murdock/Daredevil story together. It starts off very strong in the pilot, by executing with precision and simplicity a shot of a young boy laying in the middle of the street with leaky barrels of who knows what and an older gentleman’s cries of “Your boy saved my life!” as Jack Murdock holds his now-blinded son. BOOM! Origin story done! Cut to sequences where a very raw Matt Murdock in an oversized do-rag is extracting some justice on the docks, and then into our first introductions to both Franklin “Foggy” Nelson and Karen Page, the secretary to be eventually, each also greatly represented by their actors. Elden Henson as Foggy, in some ways, may be the biggest surprise of the show in how largely he is an actor I have apparently seen many a time before according to his IMDB page but scarcely remember. But from his very first on-screen interaction with Cox’s Matt Murdock you feel years of friendship as Foggy’s motor mouth and overall doofiness just overwhelm the screen and Matt cannot help but laugh at how ridiculous his pal is as he gets wrapped up in his energy. Likewise, Deborah Ann Woll is a great grounding force for the two upstart lawyers once she works herself into their lives, going from their first client to a new member of the partnership once the boys get her acquitted after a Daredevil assist.
Typically that assist comes in the form of Matt donning his eye-covering headgear and what seems to be an endless supply of Under Armour to punch and be punched to varying brutalized degree. The action in DAREDEVIL, I have to say as someone who considers himself a little bit of an action movie junkie, is mostly excellently shot and has a wonderful fierceness to it combined with some amazing choreography. Now, I said “mostly excellently shot” because sometimes the action is lost in the really, really dark lighting that consumes the night sequences these fight and/or flight sequences take place in – which makes sense when you consider he’s goddamn blind, of course – but the actual flow and cinematic direction of some of the bigger fight sequences is freaking amazing. Like I said, I think I know my action movies – I’ve watched “Hard Boiled” countless times, seen literally hundreds of Hong Kong action films, and celebrate every Christmas with at least one “Die Hard” viewing – and some of the sequences from movie sets to composition are amongst the best I’ve ever witnessed. What DAREDEVIL lacks in comparison to the other superhero live actioners in scope of battle and flashiness of effects is pure creativity and craft. If you need anything to sell you about the energy and overall tone of this show just watch the like six or seven minute, one-cut hallway fight sequence at the end of Episode 2. It encapsulates so much about the heart of the show and Cox’s rendition of Murdock; that headstrong puncher’s attitude as he woundedly jumps right into battle with eight or so thugs and throws everything but the kitchen sink at them to survive. It’s thematic, riveting, and rivals for quality the best fight sequences I’ve ever seen such as the hallway sequence from the original OLDBOY or anything I witness watching THE RAID.
This ferocity, then, both elevates to new heights but is also simultaneously swatted away once we get to Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, which is probably the biggest standout of the show. Another one of the brilliant subtleties of DAREDEVIL is how it builds to Fisk. At first he’s just a whisper on the wind as criminal activity kicks up more and more in Hell’s Kitchen. He’s a bogeyman, he’s Keyser Soze, and as the episodes pile on you see just how deep his grasp goes and just how much he holds onto with it, all while being essentially a ghost. Then we finally get him on screen and he’s just so…sad. Our introduction to the master criminal, the man who has politicians and reporters and the police under his thumb, is just a larger, lonely man who spends his non-crime organizing time trying to impress a worldly art dealer he’s become infatuated with named Vanessa. It’s sweet, it’s awkward, and it ends with a head getting smashed in a car door because under that awkwardness is an unbridled rage beast of a human being that is known as the Kingpin of Crime, for fuck’s sake!! Obviously he earned that reputation somehow, and everything from the build of Fisk’s reputation to the flesh-and-blood representation of him that D’Onofrio puts forth is rather exemplary.
“Exemplary” really is the best nutshell word to put forth when describing this show. It really does go above and beyond pretty much on every front. The acting is top notch from our primary stars down to the role players, such as Rosario Dawson’s criminally under-screen timed rendition of the Night Nurse, or Ayalet Zurer’s turn as Wilson’s beloved Vanessa. And everything develops so smoothly, plot and theme wise. As I have said several times now, Matt’s relationship with his father and how that ended is clearly the driving force of his mission, but it also manifests itself physically, as his Daredevil headfirst fighting style – despite his enhanced senses and training with them – is pure Jack Murdock and is admirable in its willpower but also a surefire death waiting to happen. Thus we get a first season introduction to this hero that is a baptism by fire, but also a tempering of the hero forged by a tragic past. And this is paralleled and contrasted by his arch nemesis, who has his own horrible past experiences involving his father, but those daddy issues aren’t so much tragic as they were for young Matt Murdock given how he loved his father but tragic in how they warped the young boy that would come to be called Kingpin.
As six paragraphs of nothing but praise would kind of portend, I really cannot pinpoint many things about this first season of DAREDEVIL that I felt were deeply flawed. I do feel like some characters got the short shrift of screen time given how well their actors were playing them. Rosario Dawson’s relatively low screen time is a crime for sure. But given how awesome some of the performances were in these thirteen episodes, like D’Onofrio’s Kingpin who I legitimately feel may be the best villain representation we have seen in the ENTIRETY of the Marvel Studios production thus far, I guess sacrifices had to be made. Matt’s headstrong attitude toward how he fights and how he distanced himself from his friends at one point, while not out of character at all, was also probably taken to an extreme. The amount of just absolutely vicious damage that he takes while in costume for as long as he does because he neglects to use his brains over his fists as his father always wanted is kind of absurd. Much as I praise the fight sequences from an adrenaline junkie standpoint, some get a little over the top from a sheer damage standpoint. But those are really the level of issues I could level at this show, and they amount to a pile of nits to be picked up. This here is THE standard now for those of us who relish the serialized nature of comic books and how that storytelling space can really benefit the characters and plots therein and want to see our favorite characters adapted that way in full, live-action glory. Admittedly, the binge-watching aspect of the Netflix full season post up may have somewhat ruined the savoring of developing character motivations or dangling plot points slowly tying themselves together, but the keyword in all of that – developing - is what serialized storytelling is all about, and Drew Goddard and his production, directing, and acting crews developed a hell of an adaptation of the DAREDEVIL property and really filled in those emotional spaces that the big blockbuster movie productions just cannot fill with the bluster their budgets demand. I not only cannot wait for the next season of the horn-headed one’s show to hit, but now I am also uber-excited for what this hopefully implies about the quality of the rest of the NetFlix slate to come.
Humphrey Lee has been an avid comic book reader going on fifteen years now and a contributor to Ain't It Cool comics for quite a few as well. In fact, reading comics is about all he does in his free time and where all the money from his day job wages goes to - funding his comic book habit so he can talk about them to you, our loyal readers (lucky you). He's a bit of a social networking whore, so you can find him all over the Interwebs on sites like Twitter, Facebookand a blog where he also mostly talks about comics with his free time because he hasn't the slightest semblance of a life. Sad but true, and he gladly encourages you to add, read, and comment as you will.
OPTIMOUS DOUCHE’S CONVERGENCE CAVALCADE
Writers: WorldsmithsArtists: Past pencil wielders
Publisher: DC, Detective Comics, Charlton, Tangent
Reviewer: Optimous Douche
Before I had the pleasure of disconnecting from the discontent at my glowing review of CONVERGENCE #1, I did one last check-in before Gopher took my bags and Isaac poured me an umbrella drink.
From my taste in comics to disparaging remarks about my dog, the TalkBacks were marred by the distaste my taste in comics was lauding.
You’re not wrong, guys and gals, I am. But I also don’t care. I’ve hinged my hopes on what CONVERGENCE was supposed to offer when I Tweeted Dan Didio at the beginning of the year asking when the DC fatalistic story snake would devour its own head. He said April. My imagine once again ran wild with a nirvana publishing schedule as it did back in the last days of destruction in ’11 before FLASHPOINT.
A world of pick your own reality publishing that would allow the freshness of the New 52 to lay in a separate comic line to satiate the kids and multimedia numbers more than the stuff fangeezers want to see. CONVERGENCE is not a new publishing model, but that was my fault for reading too much into vague clues.
As the event drew nearer, I reset expectations. CONVERGENCE now was an opportunity to see my favorite worlds from the 80s and 90s resurrected for a few issues.
Then it turned out CONVERGENCE was the yin to the “Battleworld” yang, and I heard a panda in the woods stop masturbating to lament future days of homogenized storytelling at the Big 2, since they all now shop on Rodeo Drive.
Yes, as Grant Morrison swells and then contracts the multiverse with more rapidity than Octomom’s labor, CONVERGENCE gives us what could have been on all of these worlds…just greatly truncated and not as grandiose. And under a dome. After the denizens have been tortured for a year without powers. Why? To make them surly. And to contract the Multiverse that wasn’t used until 6 months ago so we can have a new Darwinian selected Earth-2 instead since the old one is Darkseid’s new hooptie.But…I’m not going to bitch about CONVERGENCE. I accept that my return home to two weeks of CONVERGENCE comics is like real family reunions where everyone tries to kill one another at cribbage...under a dome…or hospice. I will not lament the CONVERGENCE I wanted, merely offer my advice on where readers should consider colliding or ironically diverging in the CONVERGENCE spin-out titles (uhmmm, again, is anyone really getting the irony in this thing?)
CONVERGENCE 1-3: Yeah, I still kind of like the main converging point. It’s all New 52, as the Earth-2 Justice League(ish) make their way to Brainiac’s Battle World before ultimately landing on Earth Prime. I’m enchanted with the main story, because I invested a lot of time in Huntress, Power Girl, Thomas Wayne, LoisNado, Val-El and Jimmy Smartypants Olson. EARTH-2, WORLD’S END, WORLD’S FINEST and FUTURES END were a lot of real and comic time to invest. This is a fitting finale to the journey, because welcome to Earth Prime, gang. Dick Grayson, you should consider going to a completely different world since you were outed by the Crime Syndicate on this Prime, and can now only wear T-shirts without a mask.
My care is not just based in nostalgia; I give kindness because the serial was adhered to despite some very big winds of change that could have easily blown off course any of the books that culminated in CONVERGENCE.
SUICIDE SQUAD: Amanda Waller before phen-phen was an exquisite creature that was destined to be played by Nell Carter. Then Nell died, the world was castrated by political correctness, and the Pre-Crisis SUICIDE SQUAD became more anemic in badassness than Waller’s crap cankle reduction. Waller is skullduggery incarnate as she brings Bane, Black Manta, and Mother Fucking Cyborg Superman in to go up against their foe in KINGDOM COME, Alan Scott. A-Scott has created a New Oa, and that’s bad. Why these two worlds? Look, just revel in Tieri bringing some grunge back to DC as Mandrake adds the perfect amount of pre-splash page panels to make us all remember the days when comics took more than 15 minutes to read.
GREEN LANTERN: Kyle Rayner and Hal Jordan talk about what Parallax is and they then go to Electropolis. This was kind of terrible; Bedard was handed a bad shake of a battle that simply isn’t an organic pairing, but rather a forced exposition to serve higher means. I don’t know what those higher means are, but I am not going to fill myself with false expectations anymore.JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: A sad lament and a wasted opportunity. The original JLI can’t be recaptured because, frankly, we no longer live in a bwa-ha-ha age. There were one or two nice moments as J’onn J’onzz and Blue Beetle weep about what happened to their once-joyful team. It’s not just the dome that’s depressing, even though it makes us all sadder than a less than silver Captain Atom, but the deep dour is drenched in time moving onward. Beetle is with Bee for alliterated companionship, since Booster has blasted away. Atom is just sad. Red Tornado is a robot. Sad. Everyone is just sad.
I was ready to rile at the end panel as well, when Ted Kord shakes his fist furiously at some of the freshly appeared KINGDOM COME kids with a “they don’t want to chat, so let’s fight” out-of-character battle cry. They’re just standing, dude, and they’re confused. Pre-Crisis world I remember, that kind of xenophobia would not be tolerated. Then I figured I would rather be dead, too, versus stuck on a world caught in a depressing version of the 80s.
And no Batman punching Green Goiter, Guy Gardner, completely obliterates any hope of this book being a waft of JLI.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: Using the ladies of the El Inferno world of magic, another homerun game for this Frank Tieri kid. If he digs in and focuses he could have a hell of a career. The difference between a vet (yes, I was kidding before) like Tieri and the other offerings is simply character. Supergirl, Zatanna, Jade and this full-on lady league have lives outside the cape, which were just simply joyful. This was also one where the dome came down less ham-fisted.
All right, Bug is texting for me my copy, and I am faced with a choice. While this week’s pairing offers Red Rain, Earth A.D. and a GREEN LANTERN CORPS book that might redeem the Parallexposition monologueing, I am simply not going to be content with CONVERGENCE being a WWE smackdown event. I don’t like posturing in any part of life. It’s my baggage, so I will carry it over to BATMAN EARTH ONE VOL. 2 that accompanied this week’s drop.
I’m not asking for a return to old, nor am I naïve enough to believe these serials will carry consequence for centuries. I’m asking for the exact opposite, the same thing I asked for three or so years ago upon the precipice of a new era: give us a new era.Give us a new publishing model of trades and hardcovers in drumbeat delivery, recognizing that the publishing model of yore has lost in a direct leg race to the digital diversions of this world. We binge watch seasons of shows these days; we want to binge read a complete arc in one sitting.
Redefine the core, because it works for middle aged divorcees so why not. There must be a serious redefining of the holy trinity to reflect today’s age. EARTH ONE gets it best in my opinion, because they present young heroes as brash as opposed to merely impatient.
Let the new ancillary characters spin off this new centrifuge. We can do better than Aquaman, Flash or any character that was the boundaries of our scientific extrapolation back when the universe was composed of four elements. Even Cyborg is a horrifically outdated piece of hardware in a world of wearables. Actually, Dr. Stone is kind of shitsauce at body work when you look at the svelte titanium wearable limbs today.
I know this is a lost lament, as no big changes will thwart the mighty #BATMANvsSUPERMAN to #JusticeLeagueMovie billions that will ride on a continued push of the New 52.
I just pray that a Paul Feig-type savior for the DC camp watches “Daredevil” the series and ponders where these CONVERGENCE tales could go if they could get some sun outside the cold shadow of cross media. DC has the muscle to make a killing blow, but they must get away from this slap for slap competition.
When Optimous isn't reviewing comics he is making the IT words chortle and groan with marketing for MaaS360, enterprise mobility management www.maas360.com. He also has a comic coming out sometime soon, for updates head to robpatey.com.
ARCHIE VS. PREDATOR #1
Writer: Alex De CampiArtists: Fernando Ruiz & John Workman
Publisher: Archie Comics
Reviewer: Morbidlyobesefleshdevouringcat
Whoever is directing the current revamp of Archie Comics is, and I quote in the words of Gail Simone’s twitter, “slaying it”. This is the part where you insert the “take my money” meme in good ol’ internet fashion.
Everything thus far from AFTER LIFE WITH ARCHIE to CHILLING ADVENTURES WITH SABRINA has been a vehicle of excitement and, in general, just really good storytelling. The off-kilter approach of reducing Archie and the gang into petty prey strictly to exist for the pleasure of the spectators, namely myself, is showing that in the 75 years that Archie Comics has been thriving, it’s a publisher that isn’t terrified to push hypothetical boundaries and reinvent itself.
Unlike AFTER LIFE, ARCHIE VS. PREDATOR takes familiar artists with new (to Archie Comics) writers, creating a balance of the familiar with the unknown, a complete contrast from how AFTER LIFE formulated itself. And unlike the zombie version of Riverdale, AVP is wrought more with blunt gore tactics then emotional trauma, staying true to the Predator’s style.
The first issue begins with Jughead winning a trip to a remote island for him and the rest of the gang, where by chance the Predator crashes his ship. On the island the crew enjoys the perks of seclusion in typical Riverdale High style, and while you can imagine the awkward love triangle and the misogyny of girls in bikinis for the male gaze, De Campi’s script lays it all out while simultaneously calling out the BS.
I don’t know who decided that Alex de Campi was a good idea, but I’m so glad they did. I’m only familiar with her graphic novel SMOKE/ASHES, which is an almost complete 180 from this current project, but the lady proves that she’s a prolific writer, well-rounded and diverse in her talents. She even throws in a term from George Orwell’s 1984, making the high schoolers appear to be more comfortable in MEAN GIRLS rather than in a nostalgia series. The comparison might also have to do with the fact that Betty gets clocked in the face by Veronica in this issue; what’s even more surprising, but incredibly enjoyable, was the amount of blood drawn, which is something I never thought I would see in an Archie comic. Now, I’m not saying I enjoy seeing Betty get punched--she’s my favorite of the two female leads (although both are fairly problematic in their own right) but as a ‘let’s sit and watch to see which child of Riverdale gets killed off or hurt next’ type of comic, I’ll reiterate that it’s sadistically enjoyable to see this.
Amazingly enough, this blood spree continues when you realize that the Blossom twins, Cheryl and Jason, who had come to storm on the gang’s lovely parade, have been completely mangled, their scalped bodies hanging from trees, all done of course by the Predator.
It’s going to be interesting and, fingers crossed, even far more entertaining to see where the four issue miniseries goes.
THE PHANTOM #2
Writer: Brian ClevingerArtists: Brent Schoonover with Ryan Cody
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Reviewer: Masked Man
It took an extra month, but Dynamite's new King line delivers the next installment of THE PHANTOM, which features the radical choice of making Mandrake the Magician's buddy Lothar (an actual African) the new Phantom. Crazy idea, but I dig it. The first issue showed much promise, with an engaging and well-produced adventure tale in the same vein as Jeff Parker and Evan Shaner's FLASH GORDON comic, which basically launched this King line. The second issue, which perhaps explains the delay, barely features Schoonover's artwork, doing only four pages. The rest of the pages--yikes!
Now maybe this was a rush job; maybe it was super rush job. Either way, this is not a comic book that I would say is primetime. Cody's artwork is so sparse, flat, and uninspired. In some way it reminds me of Michael Avon Oeming's work minus all the original flair and freshness. There's a sequence here that interjects a flashback scene into the story, but Cody does nothing to differentiate the flashback panels from the present panels. Neither do the two colorists, Robert Snyder or Aikau Oliva (who ever colored these pages) help draw any attention to the change in settings. After studying the pages for a while, I can see the walls are a different color (hue), but having the same tone (brightness/shade) and saturation (intensity), it's a pretty weak effort--as is the whole issue.
What about the story? Well unfortunately, I'm not even sure why Clevinger rearranged the story, creating the flashback scenes. It didn't add anything and kinda screws up the cliff hanger from the last issue, as we see a character has survived the cliffhanger before seeing the outcome of the cliffhanger. I was also disappointed (spoiler coming) that even though Clevinger let a black man be the hero, he still needed a big helping hand from his white man benefactor to get the job done. Now you can say I read too much into that scene, but remember, I'm not the guy who made the traditionally white hero black, which is typically done to let a black hero shine. As for the overall tale, the characters were still entertaining enough, but the whole plan to infiltrate the bad guys, a rather complex mission, was handled fairly simple-mindedly and uninspiredly. The good and the bad of it is (mind you, being just two issues in) Clevinger had a decent story, but not a really interesting one. Then when you wrap this story up in this not ready for primetime art, well, it just showcases how not great the story is.
So this issue got a pretty raw deal, which means the next issue is very important. Dynamite has to win us back with it, those of us (myself included) willing to give it another shot. I certainly wish them luck, as the marketplace is becoming far too jammed with mediocre projects. Dynamite can do better, and The Phantom deserves better.
CONVERGENCE: JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1
Writer: Ron MarzArtist: Mike Manley
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Masked Man
Starting with issue #7, the first new Justice League comic book in 20 plus years renamed itself JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL as the team became affiliated with the United Nations—thanks, Maxwell Lord (who was decades away from being turned into a villain by Didio and Johns). This lasted until the launch of its sister book, JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE; 18 issues later the book was retitled JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA (which it remained until being canceled in 1996). With that in mind, let's start off by getting nitpicky. During the actual JLI days, Fire didn't have her body flame powers (as shown here), nor did she and Ice wear the costumes designed by Adam Hughes (again, seen here). One wonders where JLI main characters like Guy Gardner, Booster Gold, Mr. Miracle and Rocket Red are, and why Red Tornado is on the team, considering he never appeared once in the entire 113 issue run. Oh well.
Staying on the nitpicky side, for some reason superpowers don't work in these domed cities, but physics and technology seemingly still do. This is why the robotic Red Tornado still has his superpowers and no one else--even though at this time Red Tornado was actually a tornado elemental force known as Tornado Champion, living in a robot body, which means his powers aren't technologically based--oh well. Either way, I can see Fire and Ice's powers being more magical or metagene related (remember that?) so you could, in theory, turn them off. Captain Atom and definitely J'onn J'onzz' powers are more physics-based, meaning if Captain Atom's powers don't work, then something is very wrong in the physics of these domed cities. And saying J'onn's powers don't work is like saying cats have lost their night vision, and chameleons can't change color--long story short, this makes no sense, and I'm not even sure why it's needed to be done. Just say Telos has the power to cage all these superhumans--nuff said.
Now for my last nitpick: one of the main appeals of the JLI comic was the humor and warmth of the characters. I had no idea I would enjoy a humor Justice League comic book until Keith Giffen fooled everyone into reading one. So it's rather odd that this throwback comic, meant to give us old fans like me a taste of the old days, really doesn't deliver on giving us what we enjoyed those old days. Ron Marz tosses in a few jokes, but doesn't seem to understand the reasons behind the jokes, which is what made the JLI the hit that it was.
Ok, nitpicking done--how's the comic? Well, it's just like every single other Convergence crossover #1 issue. We see how our heroes have been coping, living in a domed city without their powers for years (though do people still need to go to work? Do paychecks matter anymore? Do shops still open? What about food, water, TV, toilets, toilet paper? None of this is addressed). Next Telos makes his big announcement that every domed city must fight to the death, and while our heroes contemplate this announcement, heroes from another domed city appear ready to fight (in this case the KINGDOM COME characters). It's all soooo formula and all sooooo yawn inducing. Even Mike Manley’s artwork, which can be rather snappy looking, is looking just as bored as us readers.
There are probably better crossover issues out there, but at the end of the day, if DC can't even deliver fonder remembrances of these past concepts (as they did with DC RETROACTIVE in 2011), what is the point of all this? Seriously, what is the point (aside from cranking out a truck load of sellable #1 issues and preying on old fan's nostalgia)?
MS. MARVEL #14
Writer: G. Willow WilsonArt: Takeshi Miyazawa
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: DrSumac
Over the last few months I've written quite a bit about the sudden surge of female superheroes at Marvel including Spider-Gwen, Silk, and Squirrel Girl, which have been pretty damn good all around. However it seems to me that the pioneer of this group is likely Kamala Khan, the current Ms. Marvel. Now, I admit that I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but I've caught up with all 14 issues over the last few weeks and the effort was certainly worth it. While Ms. Marvel and her impact on both fans and the industry may have inspired the recent batch of solo female series, including the extremely popular Thor title, she stands out on her own.
Ms Marvel editor Sana Amanat was on “The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore” not long ago to discuss racial and gender diversity in comics, and Kamala naturally came up. She said in regards to creating a Muslim superhero “This is fundamentally a Marvel idea. Kamala Kahn is just like Peter Parker.” I discussed the idea of modeling new characters after Peter previously in my review of SILK #2, but having caught up with Ms. Marvel I definitely feel like she captures that spirit even more than those. Their races, genders, and religions may be different, but they both started as nerdy teenagers in the city that got powers one day and decided to use them for good.
Kamala is much more than a Peter Parker clone, though. She has a very conservative mother, father, and brother that are extremely protective of her rather than a doting Aunt May. She doesn't have the money problems that Peter had at first, but she has friends, and like many teenagers they naturally get into the kind of trouble that is bound to happen in the Marvel universe. Even more fun, though, she really is a huge nerd to the point that she writes superhero fan fiction online. This is a modern teenager in every way, as opposed to when Peter was first created. I imagine if Spider-Man was created last year he would be even more similar to Kamala.
Modern or not, Ms. Marvel is probably the most relatable comic I've ever read. If you've ever felt like a nerd, spent hours playing video games, fantasized about meeting The Avengers, been in a religious family, wanted to be cool, wanted someone to like you, had a crush on someone that didn't seem to like you, had a crush on a friend, liked the wrong person, or felt like your entire generation is put down by the one that came before you, then you will find something in this comic to connect with. It doesn't matter that she is a teenage Muslim girl; no matter who you are, I promise you that you will love her in your own way if you open yourself up to it. It's also worth it to say that this often isn't an action-filled comic like many others are, but that doesn't matter. Reading her day to day life is just as entertaining for me as when she punches robots.
So if you haven't yet, you should all run out to get the first two trades of MS. MARVEL and the last three issues to catch up as I have, but if you want to skip right to this issue I'll get you caught up. Kamala snuck out late at night to go to a party in hopes that it would make her feel cool, only to encounter the fallout of a terrigen bomb that gave her the power to grow, shrink, shapeshift, and heal herself, although only one of those abilities can be used at a time. That's right--she is another Inhuman. Soon afterwards she discovered that other kids in Jersey City had gotten involved with a villain called The Inventor, who was a clone of Thomas Edison spliced with a cockatiel. Along the way Queen Medusa of The Inhumans sent Lockjaw to be Kamala's protector and the two of them helped put a stop to The Inventor. She learned of her Inhuman heritage and has even trained in New Attilan. Now, it turns out that there are other new Inhumans that live in Jersey City thanks to the terrigen bomb, but at least some of the others don't seem so friendly. Kamala now has to find her place amongst them to choose her path.
In my opinion MS. MARVEL has been a strong series since issue #1 and continues to be so. Aside from perhaps the random Valentine's Day issue, I really don't have anything to complain about at all. I'm particularly impressed by how the 14 issues so far seem to have the same logical ongoing narrative, which is difficult and uncommon with the episodic nature of comics. The art is also very fresh and impressive in its own right, and that really adds to the unique charm of the series. If you want to jump in on this issue you should be able to with little difficulty. Just read this comic! You won't regret it.
BEHEMOTH #1
Writer: Chris KipiniakArtist: J.K Woodward
Publisher: Monkeybrain Comics
Reviewer: Morbidlyobesefleshdevouringcat
Comics covers are essential when trying to engage unknown audiences into unwittingly opening the pages of unknown creators. As of late it seems that fantastic covers have been the shell for, ahem, well, not so fantastic content. BEHEMOTH, a recent add-on to the Monkeybrains Comics roster, is not one of those comics.
Written by Chris Kipiniak with art by J.K Woodward, BEHEMOTH marvels inside and out. Unlike the numerous comics I’ve indulged where great covers are drawn by outside artists, this series for whatever reason has Woodward tackling the outer layer, and it’s working. Absolutely stunning, the cover is dark without being grotesque or disturbingly horrifying which is, in its own right, incredibly disturbing. Theresa, the lovely heroine of the comic, stands centre, her body morphed and changed as a number of strange and unknown claws and tentacles slowly surround her, a single stream of light reflecting the scene.
What’s important to notice here is Theresa with her arms crossed, and especially as a young woman the sociological and political nuances are abundant making this cover far more than a simple scene entailing youth and fear; it cuts across spatial boundaries. Timeless, really.
BEHEMOTH at first seems like your standard coming of age story with supernatural powers, but hails a few, very distinct differences from the typical. Theresa’s body is changing, but it’s far more than just the characteristic of puberty and hormones; her body is growing unnatural shells and claws. This isn’t a superpower, this is a nightmare. A cognitive change is also occurring: Theresa’s human moral senses of right and wrong are no longer developing, and instead are reverting backwards to a more primal instinct. And, as special agents come pounding at her door, she soon discovers that she isn’t alone.
Taken to a special facility where others much like herself have either begun transformation, or have fully morphed, Theresa is in a sense the new kid at school. She’s laughed at and mocked simply because she isn’t aware of the rules, and just as soon as you begin to think she might end up playing the underdog trope where she rises above and beats the school bully, Theresa is taken away only to begin again.
The dialogue contained within BEHEMOTH is at first glance typical but indefinitely free of clichés, and as you venture further into Theresa’s monologues, stylized into letters from the facility she’s caged in, Theresa becomes not just a scared kid, but rather a deeply reflective individual displaying personality and growth. Pair this with Woodward’s art, which for me was reminiscent of Stuart Immonen’s SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY, and BEHEMOTH becomes another reason why I consistently read comics from Monkeybrain.
GRIMM FAIRY TALES PRESENTS: THE LITTLE MERMAID #3
Writer: Meredith FinchArtist: Miguel Mendonca
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
Reviewer: Lyzard
The third issue of Zenescope’s THE LITTLE MERMAID is the first in the series to truly step away from any of its source material, Anderson, Disney or otherwise. Issoro, now King of Atlantis, is forced to repay his blank check to the Sea Witch. But is her offer to help him find her daughter filled with true intentions, or are her plans worse than those of the scientists who have capture Erica?
This book is also the first to be a tad bit underwhelming, which I hate to admit because I truly do enjoy this series. Perhaps it is because this issue is missing mystery. Maybe I’m just not used to comics actually answering my questions in a timely manner, but more than likely it is because this issue answers all the questions I hardly cared about. The backstory between Issoro and Liz hardly needed any more development, and what is revealed only complicates matters further with only two issues left. The fact that we have hardly been given a motive for the sadistic scientists experimenting on Erica stalls this issue. Come book number three, the trend has become clear. Erica is scared. She tries to escape. Is caught. Some nutjob with a PhD. threatens her life. It worked the first time ‘round, and to an extent the second, but having Erica’s repetitive storyline bookend this issue just goes to show how little is there in that portion of the plot.
To say that THE LITTLE MERMAID #3 is the worst so far isn’t to say it’s a bad issue. Finch’s dialogue for the sea witch is worthy of any of Disney’s devious and diabolical divas. The dramatic bravado is compounded by Mendonca’s powerful drawings, the creepiness of the dark beast of the deep accentuated by her powerful pupil-less gaze.
The next issue is set up to provide more action than veiled threats. The fourth book will ultimately prove whether or not Zenescope chose the right course for their original change in direction.
Lyzard is Lyz Reblin, a graduate student at the University of Texas pursuing a master's degree in Media Studies... which is just a fancy way of saying she plays a lot video games, watches far too many horror films, and then tries to pass it all off as "research."
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
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