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DR. STRANGE #7/DR. STRANGE: THE LAST DAYS OF MAGIC #1
BATMAN #51
THE X-FILES #1
WE ARE ROBIN #11
AVENGERS STANDOFF: ASSAULT ON PLEASANT HILL #1 OMEGA
DR. STRANGE #7/DR. STRANGE: LAST DAYS OF MAGIC #1
Writers: Jason Aaron, Gerry Duggan, & James RobinsonArtists: Chris Bachalo, Leonardo Romero, Danilo Beyruth, & Mike Perkins
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Humphrey Lee
I’ve always felt that the magical corner of the Marvel universe – which is essentially a handful of characters that all live in Soho and then wherever the motherlovin’ Son of Satan is currently camping out – has not had much of its own playground in a while now. When I was growing up, in a dark age of an era where porn was not literally at your fingertips as long as you had a data signal, there was a line of “Midnight Sons” titles that at least made the more “bump in the night” books like GHOST RIDER, DOCTOR STRANGE, and THE NIGHTSTALKERS feel like a larger and more impactful section of the Marvel lineup. Nowadays we get the odd run of the mystical or supernatural Marvel characters, but I don’t think there’s been much of a concerted effort to really portray the ethereal aspect of the universe in a sweeping epic sort of light. Hell, how long has it been since Doctor Strange himself – the preeminent Marvel practitioner of the Mystic Arts – has even had an ongoing book? You’d have to go back to those dark, instant-pornless days of yore I mentioned earlier to be in such an era, and I’m not even sure we’d have one now if the character wasn’t getting a feature film later this year and one of the best writers in the industry wasn’t surging a DOCTOR STRANGE book onto the shelves and into our hearts.
What Jason Aaron is crafting alongside his usual partner in crime, Chris Bachalo, and a slew of creative contributors this month with the “Last Days of Magic” story kickoff is not (unfortunately) spawning a resurgent Marvel Mystic line, but it is putting a strong foot forward as to why this dark corner is so fun and exciting. Admittedly, there’s an odd tonality to the start of this event – DOCTOR STRANGE: LAST DAYS OF MAGIC #1 – in that this is supposed to be a bit of a big shebang of an event going on in the mystic realms and the life of Stephen Strange personally as the beings known as the Empirikul come to the 616 universe to eradicate its magic and those that wield its power. The first glimpse of these beings in the pages of DOCTOR STRANGE proper a few issues back was very foreboding and menacing, hinting at a ruthless pack of magic-annihilating animals that the very whisper of should shake any magic-wielder to the core. And they most certainly are just those things – cold, efficient, aggressive in their movement to destroy all magic they cross – but instead of letting that ruthlessness permeate into the tone of these two books, Aaron and company just have some fucking fun with the damn thing.
Impending doom is descending upon these mystical guardians of the realm, and we’re kicking it all off with El Medico Mistico – essentially the Dr. Strange of the South Americas – goddamn dropping goddamn sharks on top of and raising a goddamn golem out of an Aztec temple against these insolent Empirikul. And that’s just the tip of the paranormal iceberg that is the anthology-style LAST DAYS setup that reintroduces several characters briefly seen so far in the Aaron and Bachalo main book. There may not be a supernatural line per se anymore, but the creative powers that be really seem to want to populate this section of their sandbox with the most colorful creations they can muster. It’s pretty reminiscent of an earlier Jason Aaron project, actually--his GHOST RIDER run where he played around with the idea of a Spirit of Vengeance in every corner of the globe. Not to say Aaron is going to the well again (okay, he totally is and I don’t blame him as it was a good idea then in the criminally neglected run and it’s just as good now) but given what animated creations he and his partner at the time, Tony Moore, just threw out there in all their eccentric glory, this seems like we’re in for a treat if this “Last Days of Magic” story arc is tapping any of that unbridled imagination.
The main difference between that GHOST RIDER run and this DOCTOR STRANGE one, though, is while that flaming-skulled World Tour was a means to wrap up what Jason Aaron and his co-creators at the time were doing with the former work, the latter is just (hopefully) getting started. Colorful characters aside, as the LAST DAYS issue gives way to DOCTOR STRANGE #7 in the second part, things do start to get a little broader and yet familiar as Aaron and Bachalo draw from the old mystical Marvel tropes and mesh those concepts into what they are preparing for us. The background of Empirikul (which, by the way, is an awesome name in context) and their persecution and being witch-hunted for being science worshippers is one of those ideas you want to kiss your fingers to, like when you’re complimenting a perfectly executed meal. Rolling their background into some Shuma-Gorath fueled machinations is an icing on the cake that is multi-layered in all the ways I’ve been describing up to now, with all the legitimately new creations, the inclusion of fun secondary characters like Brother Voodoo, and the promises of an uptick in the relevance of this region of the Marvel Universe.
I do not know the overall extent to which this story will touch the world and characters around it, but already Aaron and Bachalo and whoever joins their journey in the dark areas have my trust. Despite the dark cloud hanging over Strange and his companions’ world and lives as the Empirikul threaten to suck all the life out of it, this feels like one of the most vibrant stories taking place in any of the superhero universes. When the first issue of this DOCTOR STRANGE volume hit I wrote it up and said that it very much felt like a Doctor Who-ing of the character and how he operates and what his role in the greater scheme is as the solemn protector, and that both feels completely accurate still but way off the mark. Stephen Strange is still the centerpiece of this cacophony of impending genocide, but this is a team effort and the team in place looks to be, to exemplify my carefully honed vocabulary, a shit-ton of amazeballs. I’m not only won over already with this storyline but I really do hope we get at least one new title out of this and a bit of a nod to those olden days where the Marvel universe had a dedication to its mystical protectors in addition to its cosmic and traditionally Terran ones. Mainly, though, by the hoary hosts of Hoggoth, I want a kickass, extended DR. STRANGE run with some energy and scale, and nothing I have seen out of the minds of Aaron and Bachalo has shown me that this isn’t the embodiment of that sentiment.
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, The MySpaces, 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.
BATMAN #51
Writer: Scott SnyderArt: Greg Capullo
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: GalaxyGirl
In this final issue of Scott Snyder’s BATMAN run (which is not actually his last Batman book, go figure), we get an incredibly light wrap-up issue of ‘what the heck did I just spend my money on?’ Now, don’t get me wrong. I like Scott Snyder’s work and I think he’s done amazing things with the Batman comic over the last few years. But I felt like he went through his regret list and just decided to undo all of it in this issue.
He restored Alfred’s chopped-off hand through some miraculous surgery, magically made Batman’s skin as blemish-less as a baby’s, the Batcave is home base again (What happened to the apartments in the city? Did I miss something?), Gordon has his old look back, complete with cigar….you catch my drift. Aside from The Joker still having amnesia (maybe, maybe not), it’s like the four years of Snyder barely happened.
After I got over the blatant undo button plastered all over this issue, I sort of felt ‘meh’. The story kept me fairly interested as I waited for the true villain to reveal themselves, until I realized five pages before the end that this was it. That’s when I started liking the book. Snyder’s little farewell to Batman was sweet and gave me a sense of completion with his run. It’s nice to see the good that comes from having the Bat in Gotham, even if it’s only once in a while.
My favorite part of this issue is the art. And restoring Alfred’s hand. I mean, what use is a one-handed butler to the Bat, am I right? Plus the hook thing was so ridiculous. Anyway. The art is beautiful. It’s Capullo’s crowning Bat-glory in my opinion. I loved the way Capullo used shadows and darkness to tell this story so effortlessly. Like that first page…I feel real shivers. When looking at that page, I was reminded why I love Batman comics so much. The way darkness gradually fades to shadows of the cave, bats flying everywhere and then the silhouette of Alfred walking down the steps, carrying a thermos on a tray. When I look at this book, I really feel like Capullo is taking his last bow and he definitely deserves a standing ovation.
So if you’re ready to say goodbye to the Bat (until we see him again next month), take a peek at BATMAN #51. You may want to browse it on the shelf, though, because I’m not sure it’s worth the $3.99 cover price…
GalaxyGirl is reporting in from the Milky Way, wishing she was on a planet where car insurance was cheaper. Just sayin’. GG out.
THE X-FILES #1
Writer: Joe HarrisArtist: Matthew Dow Smith
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Reviewer: Masked Man
The X-Files are back, as if they ever left, since IDW just wrapped up Season 10 and Season 11 respectively. Clearly they figured there was no point talking about the past when Chris Carter would let them talk about the here and now, meaning this new comic series is now based on the most recent television miniseries--before all hell broke loose in the final episodes, of course.
So with Mulder and Scully older and broken up, they are back on the X-files again. The creative team hasn’t changed, which has me worried. Both Harris and Smith have moments of brilliance, but spend most of their time being boring. Colorist Jordie Bellaire is nearly the same. She does brilliant work on other comic books, but here is overly muted and boring.
This first issue does kick off pretty nicely, though. Like a DOCTOR WHO season, the first issue is self-contained, with a hint of bigger fish to fry later. Spoiler time: the story is that of a seemingly normal kid going on a shooting spree because he can see holes in the sky. People around him then start to see the holes in the sky, and the situation just keep getting worse, causing more shootings. It is very cool and a proper X-File, but damnit if this hasn’t become Harris’ M.O.: a cool idea and a nice start-up that eventually goes nowhere.
In nearly the same fashion, Smith tries very hard to draw the hell out of this issue. His background are quite detailed here, although not changing up his line quality makes it all turn into mud fairly quickly.
Mind you, if you were a fan of season 10 & 11, this is your jam. If not, you’re probably like me: not sure if you want to give these guys another shot at an X-FILES series.
WE ARE ROBIN #11
Writer: Lee BermejoArt: Jorge Corona
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: GalaxyGirl
If you’ve ever wanted to be Robin, this was probably your kind of book. Imagine if a city full of kids who wanted to be Robin actually got together, dressed in red and yellow, and kicked criminal butt. Yeah, that’s basically what happened in WE ARE ROBIN. In the story so far, we’ve seen a bunch of teens from the Gotham streets take up the Robin mantle. They’ve been hunted by the police, declared criminals, fought in a mini-Robin war that ended with Talons, and now they’ve disbanded. Sort of.
For this final issue, Lee Bermejo did a pretty good job of wrapping up the storyline without being too corny. As with any modern teen drama, he started the issue off with Jokers breaking into a school and holding everyone at gunpoint. When some of the Robins get stuck in the school with the Jokers, the rest of the team comes out of retirement to help.
I’ve felt mostly ambivalent about this book since I picked up issue one almost a year ago. It’s a pretty cool story that definitely meets some wish fulfillment of mine, but it also straddles the line of really bad fanfiction. You know the ones where a teenage girl/boy and all of their friends end up in so-and-so fandom and hijinks ensue? Yeah, that’s the line they toe. Luckily for them, WE ARE ROBIN doesn’t fall so low and in fact makes some pretty likeable characters for the Bat-world.
I liked that this issue showed that even if these kids aren’t Robins, per se, they have the guts, talent and some minimal training to at least help themselves and their friends. It was nice to see them succeed and own who they were as people, particularly after spending almost a year trying to be heroes. My favorite part was the last couple of panels, where the kids decide that they aren’t going to be Robins any more. It’s well written, poignant and gives the story a will-they-won’t-they cliffhanger that actually left me vaguely interested to find out more.
I also want to mention that the art in this book was pretty good. I’ve liked Jorge Corona’s work so far and his frenetic, angular style suited the gritty and real world darkness of the book. What changed in this issue was that I noticed his lines become bolder, more confident and less sketchy than before. It really tightened up the art and made it stand out in a positive way. In fact, I’d probably say that the art was most of what I liked about this issue in particular.
So, an ace job to Bermejo and Corona. Sayonara to WE ARE ROBIN and the perpetual Farmers theme song that comes into my head whenever I read the title of this book aloud.
We are Ro-bins… duh duhduh-duh-duh duh.
AVENGERS STANDOFF: ASAULT ON PLEASANT HILL OMEGA #1
Writer: Nick SpencerArtists: Daniel Acuna and Angel Unzueta
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Masked Man
Yup, Marvel figured out a way to end a crossover event with a #1 issue (or 001 at least). On one hand I want to chastise Marvel for such marketing ploy, but I also know the only reason they are doing it is because we customers buy more #1 issues than any other numbered issue, so you can’t really blame the dog for being trained poorly.
Now getting to the actual comic, Spencer gives us what is usually a very satisfying conclusion to a superhero mash-up: one big fight scene! Unfortunately, with so many players we never get to see one complete one-on-one fight, so it falls to the artist to sell the glory, and if the artist’s name isn’t George Perez, well…chances are it will be underwhelming, as it is here. Overall, this just doesn’t seem like Acuna’s best work either. His personal style really only works when he gives it his all; if not it looks rushed and uninteresting. Check page 15 with the ‘Avengers Assemble’ half splash on page--yawn. Artist Angel Unzueta bookends this issue, and his work reminds me of early Dale Eaglesham: flashes of good drawing, but overall clunky and inelegant. I get the sense he is pushing for a level of detail and realism beyond his ability. So a weak ending after a nice kickoff by Jesus Saiz in STANDOFF ASSAULT ON PLEASANT HILL ALPHA #001.
As for the story, well as you may or may not know, Maria Hill has created a special prison for super-villains: Pleasant Hill. Using a piece of a cosmic cube, which is in the form of a little girl, this prison is a Mayberrylike community with the villains brainwashed and shapeshifted into normal lame suburbians. The villains soon start to break free and Pleasant Hill turns into a battlefield. Then all the Avengers teams swoop in to put it all right, although Spencer seems more concerned with the wrap-up than the climax. As he sets up the return of Quasar (we learn Wendell Vaughn is still alive but doesn’t want to be Quasar anymore, while Phyla-Vell is still dead, so they picked a random female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to be the new Quasar: Avril Kincaid), making Steve Rogers young again (so Marvel can have two Captain Americas now, just as they have two Spider-Men--makes you wonder if there are two Thors in our future too), the rebirth of the Thunderbolts and the return of the Red Skull (hey, if Steve is back…). Not to mention spending a ton of time with Maria Hill being chastised (when was the last time you used chastise twice in a paper?) for causing the whole mess. Somehow she does manage to claim moral superiority, which makes me wonder if Spencer is on her side, or just showing both sides are messed up.
So with all that on his plate, the climax itself gets very little attention. Nothing really clever happens, as it’s just a decent brawl. And, I seemed to have missed the issue where Baron Zemo gained the attitude of a stand-up comic? This is just some weird way of making him different from the Red Skull?
This was something that probably could have been a good Avengers story arc; instead Marvel turned it into an event, putting a spotlight on it, creating an aftermath checklist, and forcing other Avengers writers to disrupt their own stories. So on the Masked Man’s Crap, Poor, Decent, Good, Great scale STANDOFF ASSAULT ON PLEASANT HILL scores a POOR.
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
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