Normal service resumes, after a weekend where family life reminded me that comics are fun, and an escape from the dramas of reality. So, this week was great because Marvel really hit one out of the park, and gave us a pretty good week overall!
Winner of the Week: Sub-Mariner #6 Wow. Just…wow. I’ve been wondering where this series was going, with a lot of political maneouvering, and very little of what Namor is known best for, that is, getting unreasonably angry and punching things. But this last issue has brought everything together beautifully. Make no mistakes about it, this is a comic tragedy of the highest order, almost classically Greek in style. And Namor has never been more regal. Atlantis undergoes a radical shift in status quo, Namor does a lot of soul searching, and Iron Man…well, he’s the floundering futurist. I know this is a Namor book, but what you really start to realise here is that, for all of his posturing, Iron Man is nowhere near the futurist he thinks he is. Namor, T’Challa the Black Panther, and another surprise guest star are way ahead of Stark in the world of real-politik. To be fair, if super-heroic action is more your kind of scene, this series probably won’t do much for you. But the writing is very tight, the art looks great (Atlantis has never seemed so real to me), and there are lasting repercussions, which is what any mini-series should have. In short, I was just really jazzed by the way this book ended.
Feel Good Book of the Week: X-Men First Class #6 This is another book that always makes me smile. It’s not high art. It’s not thought provoking. First Class is just good old fashioned comicky goodness. It hearkens back to a day when innocence still existed in the world of the X-Men. In this issue, Professor X is working with NASA to determine what’s going on with a strange, perhaps sentient comet. That’s the inciting incident, but the really great moments come seeing the fledgling X-Men and their growing team-work. Oh, and we get more of Cyclops being a great leader. This is such a clean book,with both art and story being so neat and tidy. There’s a small glitch in continuity (I thought the world at large was unaware of Xavier’s powers back then) but it’s very easy to let it slide in such an enjoyable book.
First Issue of the Week: The Zombie – Simon Garth #1 I’d completely forgotten that this book was even on the radar. But, it’s a MAX book, and so promotional material is slim at best. Kyle Hotz writes and draws this new take on one of Marvel’s most offbeat characters…and it’s a reinvention of sorts. I’m not hugely familiar with the Zombie’s history, but I’d hazard a guess as this is a bit of a re-write of his origin. It works well enough, and the zombie action here is a lot more creepy than the mainstream Marvel Zombies book. It’s actually a proper zombie story, with much tearing and chewing of flesh, for those who like that sort of thing. Personally, it all feels a little flat to me though…there’s no dramatic tension yet, no character I want to root for. And, I always have some issues reviewing the first book in a series: there’s no steam built up yet, and for some reason Marvel’s writers don’t seem able to get to the point in a first issue. However, I am intrigued to see where the real horror zombie in Marvel goes. A 50/50 proposition for me.
Also out this week:
Black Panther #32 – A throwback to a long forgotten FF story and universe. This book is missing a lot of spark now.
(Cable &) Deadpool #47 – Don’t let the cover art fool you…the interior looks nothing like it. Deadpool and Bob do some dirty work for Dr Strange. Treading water until the end, unfortunately.
Daredevil #102 – I like this book, I really do, but I’m starting to want more from it now…more DD, and less Murdock and Milla.
Foolkiller #2 – A less interesting Punisher book, basically. Directionless.
Marvel Zombies 2 #2 – This series is starting to take itself too seriously. I was a supporter, but only when it was fun. Now…hrm.
Moon Knight Annual – A nasty little book, where the writer had a story for a character, and could onsell it including Moon Knight. Forgettable, given that it’s not important that Moon Knight appears, it could be anyone.
World War Hulk: Frontline #6 – I miss Korg. Finished up as well as it could, with a neat little twist, but ultimately too late for me to feel connected to it.
X-Men #205 – Part 5 of Messiah Complex, and, apart from some unclear storytelling by Bachalo, a corker of an issue. This very successfully feels like the end of Act 1 in a larger storyline, something missing in a lot of seemingly interminable crossovers. I’m liking Messiah COmplex more and more.
Thanks for reading folks, see you all next week!
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