Hoss leads us into a bold new adventure today…weekly comic reviews! So sit back, grab a favorite beverage, and listen to your Uncle Hoss as he tells you what he thinks of this week’s comics.
And when he talks, you better damn well listen…
From the Hoss’ Mouth #1:
I’ve been asked to do weekly comic reviews for the fwoosh, and it’s a job I couldn’t pass up. I’ll be reviewing each week’s new books as well as some trades. Full reviews will be done for the more notable of each weeks books such as first issues, relaunches, or just books with significant impact. Since the audience here and myself is mostly interested in superhero books they’re going to make up the vast majority of titles reviewed though I will branch off here and there occasionally with books outside the genre as well as outside Marvel and DC. I won’t ever blow any huge reveals, typical of last page shots and big shocking splash pages, but minor plot points will be spoiled as it’s almost impossible to discuss a book’s plot without referencing it. So be warned, if you absolutely must not have anything spoiled than stop reading. But if a generalized discussion of a book doesn’t bother you then by all means I hope you enjoy my reviews as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Full Reviews:
Martian Manhunter #1
Writer – A.J. Lieberman
Pencils – Al Barrionuevo
Following last week’s Creeper as the next series to come out of the Brave New World one-shot comes the Martian Manhunter. J’onn J’onzz is the type of character who seems destined to be upstaged. He’s got powers that equal or even surpass Superman’s, been on every incarnation of the JLA, and seen more action than most heroes; yet his status has never risen above B-List. They’ll be no Manhunter from Mars TV series or movies, no action figure lines just for Martian fans, and his last solo series, which was very good, never made it past #36. So how can a character with so much going for him be surpassed by so many others?
This issue to some degree addresses this problem, and in a fairly interesting way. The book starts off right on the heels of the Brave New World one-shot (which you all should have picked up as it’s only $1) and plops J’onn down squarely "one year later" back in the DCU. J’onn has been receiving telepathic cries for help, and combined with the pendant he found in Brave New World, he and the readers can only come to one conclusion: there are more Martians here than even J’onn knows of. This isn’t really a new concept. Morrison brought in a whole clan of the renegade white/pale Martians in JLA, and Ostrander in the Martian Manhunter series showed that J’onn’s evil twin Malefic (of the green variety) also survived. J’onn immediately tasks himself in finding this new Martian, who has escaped from some very top secret research lab and is very weak and in dire need of help. The rest of the issue plays out as sort of a hide and seek, with J’onn looking for the lost Martian while the evil scientists/military group that had imprisoned him desperately search for their escaped research victim. J’onn eventually makes contact, but is attacked by the military wing of the group. In this moment J’onn commits an unforgivable act that albeit seems really out of character, yet plays deftly in to the underlying message of the book.
The more interesting part of the book is the racial undertone, which is the part that attempts to address J’onn’s lack of star status. J’onn in his full Martian form now frightens the very populace that for years he has risked life and limb to save, and he’s very correct when he says that if it was Superman in his stead they’d be worshipping him rather than running. Here’s where we get the true point of this issue: J’onn for years has always been one of humanity’s biggest proponents, saving us from evil and each other yet never becoming a part of us. As this issue unfolds we realize the struggle he’s had to undergo to do this and the dichotomy between living amongst us yet staying apart from us. This is the real gold of the issue: J’onn’s struggle to regain his Martian identity and pull himself free of any human "infection". Just how much like us has this Martian become? Well, we should find out over the next seven books.
The art on this one is good, though nothing spectacular. J’onn’s new look fits right in with the underlying identity problems he’s having and because of these changes we can understand why he’s chosen to fully reveal his private Martian form he’s hidden for so long. A good idea, but I do have some problems with it. Foremost is the spinach chin; it seems to come and go from panel to panel, and is entirely unnecessary as J’onn never had this feature before. Furthermore when did it become a rule that all green shape-shifting aliens need spinach chins? I hope this feature gets dropped. On the plus side, J’onn’s redesign is leagues better than the Atom’s and allows him to lose the Martian stripper aspect of his old costume yet still retain a classic touch. Think more Manhunter less Maneater. The other characters in the story look nice, though the book is much more about what they do than how they look as they’re all your standard scientist/military types and the art fits their basic designs well.
As a whole this looks like it might be a solid series. I really love the Martian Manhunter and would love to see him get a new ongoing series. So if you’re looking for good old Martian fun, you should go grab the old Ostrander run. But if you’re a long time Martian fan, or just want to see a new take on the character’s development, then definitely pick this up.
Verdict: Skim at the store and if Mars is your thing grab it.
Secret Six #3
Writer – Gail Simone
Pencils – Brad Walker
I love this series. I loved it when it was Villains United. I love it now. Who would have thought a bunch of B and C list villain rejects would prove to be so entertaining. If you’ve read any of Gail’s previous work with the this group then you know she excels at characterization. The subjects here are fleshed out in such a way that you can’t help but love each and every one, and when Gail’s done with you, all your preconceived notions of Catman and his crew are gone and you’re left with a sense of awe at just how damn cool everyone is. You know a writer’s done something right, when you can count Ragdoll on your list of favorite villains ever.
In this issue, we see the six picking up after the ruthless attacks from the first two issues. Catman and Scandal bust out Ragdoll from the hospital, and Knockout…. well you can’t keep a good Fury down. By the end of this issue you’ll also fully understand how Knockout got her name in a bit of dialogue that’s so funny you just can’t help but reread it 3 or 4 times. New to the six is the Mad Hatter. I challenge anyone to write a better Hatter than Gail has here, he’s hilarious yet in creepy way, demented yet sane. You’ll find yourself in tears as the Hatter and his hat obsession extends far beyond just putting hats on your hat. There’s going to be a whole lot more Mad Hatter fans after issue 3 here, that is if he and the others make it out of issue 3. We also get a special visit from Scandal’s father, one of my all time favorite villains Vandal Savage, but I’m sure you figured that out from the cover. What he has to say foreshadows an even bigger more mysterious role for not only Vandal but Scandal herself. My dear Ragdoll, he too gets in on the action but not in a way you’d suspect and shows once again why being multiply jointed is one under-rated yet badass superpower. Well if you think that’s all, there’s an even bigger shock at the end as a team even weirder than the Six pops up on the last page for what I hope will be the showdown of the Six’s career.
The art’s good, you might be wondering how Knockout’s anatomy works, but it’s still good. Walker draws the talking heads just as well as he draws action and he doesn’t do bad job of either. He has a very precise style so there’s no confusion from panel to panel and each character is represented cleanly as is their expressions.
So if you like comics with hysterically-crafted clever dialogue, great character moments, intense action, intrigue, suspense, and any other positive words of praise then buy this book.
Verdict: I’m afraid I’m out of words to describe how much I like this series. If you are or have ever been a Gail Simone fan then buy it. If you just like good books then go ahead and buy it too, you won’t be disappointed. "Oh sweet nurse, you’ll never know where I could have put myself." God this book’s funny.
Annihilation #1
Writer – Keith Griffen
Pencils – Andrea Divito
This book starts off with a loud bang. Picking up at what seems like a considerable amount of time since the conclusion of the four Annihilation minis, we’ve jumped right ahead into full blown war. The opposition to the Annihilation wave has grown, organized, and still has it’s back against the wall as it seems nothing can stop Annihilus.
Richard Rider has now stopped playing the rookie role and progressed fully into the capable leader he never thought possible, perhaps due to the worldmind’s influence? Perhaps not as this plot point is left dangling. What does appear to have happened though is that Drax has fully trained Nova to be every inch the hero required with these odds against him. He leads his forces against the Annihilation onslaught, struggling to make due and even sacrificing himself and his men to hold them back. Ronan leads the Kree forces, how this came to pass is through sheer brute force, but honestly would you expect less from him. In the brief moments we see Ronan he’s kept his gruff demeanor, yet lost all the boring wordplay that persisted throughout his mini. There’s a whole lot more here besides thoe two too; Drax and the former heralds Firelord, Stardust, and Red Shift are also part of the united front against Annihilus. On Annihilus’s side we get Thanos, Tenebrous, and Aegis though I’m unsure why the latter two have sided with Annihilus but no matter the reason, their participation makes any chance of hope look bleak. There’s no sign of the Super Skrull or any characters from his book here, and the Silver Surfer’s role is relegated to a non-speaking one. The majority of the book is centered on Nova, which is perfectly fine as it was the best of the Annihilation miniseries, and Nova makes the best central protagonist of the four so he’s also the most logical focal point.
This story’s strength lies on it’s multifaceted battlefield approach. The book cuts from one battle to the next in a very concise non-jarring fashion that gives the reader a view of all fronts and characters involved, save one: Gamora and her black-ops, outside of that though you get a whole lot of book here. No boring introductions or epilogues and such, just straight in your face action. The consequences of all this violence grow more and more as the book progresses until the end where a battle of god-like proportions has just finished. If mindless action isn’t enough for you, the book has a fair amount of intrigue particularly concerning Thanos and Drax, and we find as we often do in comics, things are not what they may appear to be. Interpersonal dialogue is also well written, Nova’s interaction with the former Starlord and Gamora are nice moments, but the dialogue between Thanos and Annihilus, though brief, is the best written.
The artist, Divito, should be given a medal. In each panel there’s so much going on, as you’d expect in a battle of this scale and all the tiny details that are often overlooked are present. We get to see giant bug attackers storming walls and splattering Kree warriors, big space battles between heralds and starships, and smaller skirmishes involving our heroes versus big red-eyed evil alien attackers. It’s a lot to draw, yet it’s all here and presented in clear way that’s never distracting or drops the reader out of the moment.
All in all this was an excellent first issue of what has already been an excellent event. Plus, unlike other big recent events. Annihilation doesn’t suffer from "tie-in fever". The whole big event is self-contained within its own titles. There’s no need or reason to buy additional books to gain the whole story with this event contrary to what usually happens with these types of crossovers. Marvel, Giffen, Divito, and everyone else involved should feel pretty proud of themselves for bringing together such a good series as well as resurrecting Marvel’s too often ignored cosmic heroes. And as Industrial puts it, "this is the first cool cosmic event since Infinity War".
Verdict: Run and buy it. Combines the best elements of the previous miniseries with even bigger action.
Annihilation Double Attack: Also this week, Annihilation Nova Corps Files was released. This book contains updated entries on several of the worldmind logs from the previous minis as well as a host of new ones including some for characters who’ve yet to appear in the actual series. Also present are race biographies of all the important groups. It’s in a slightly different format than the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, but is just as clear and well done. An essential compendium for any fan of Annihilation.
Civil War Frontline #5
Writer – Paul Jenkins
Pencils – Ramon Bachs/Embedded, Steve Lieber/The Accused, Lee Weeks/Sleeper Cell, Roy Martinez/Whatever they’re calling that garbage that is the last segment
Civil War Frontline continues to trudge on. This series lacks the action of the main series and in it’s place we get to see the Marvel Universe through the eyes of the common man. Neat "Marvels" type concept but a boring execution. Another thing that irks me about this series is that in the main series, there’s a whole lot less vilifying the pro-reg side. Here it’s all but stated the anti-reg side are the good guys, something I thought wasn’t supposed to happen during the initial reports I read about Civil War. To be fair, with the exception of a few solo series the majority of Civil War books also do this, though I think most aren’t as blatant as what we see here.
For the stories themselves. Embedded pretty much just jumps right off the Norman scene from last issue with little excitement, except that the Green Goblin lets Ben go. Sally has a confrontation of her own with a mysterious hooded figure basically telling her to drop her investigation and focus on the negatives of the act itself. Ben meanwhile confronts Jonah with his Goblin sighting, but it falls on deaf ears which is exactly what you’d expect from Jonah. Sally then finds herself being questioned by Shield. The art on this part is the best of the book. Bachs excels at drawing faces and since the whole section is talking heads he does an excellent job.
The accused on the other hand is a bit more exciting. Speedball’s still in over his head, and apparently wasn’t informed the whole world hates him. He’s being transfered to the new super secret 42 place, and you won’t believe where it is, and I’m not going to spoil it. This section of all the others is the nicest written and most interesting, yet unfortunately is the most biased. Speedball’s the poster child for the anit-reg side personal freedom and once you realize what the pro-reg side has in store for their former comrades you’ll feel even more betrayed by the pro-reg side. This would be a fine addition if the other stories balanced it in some way, but they don’t and instead it just adds more fuel to the anti-reg fire. The art’s fairly solid too and you won’t mind it in the least.
Sleeper Cell features on Wonderman this issue. He’s filming a somewhat amusing, yet ultimately page wasting, commercial for the pro-reg side. When he’s done with that he gets blackmailed into investigating Namor’s sleeper agent. The end. There’s not anymore to it than that except to show that even if a hero is pro-reg, the government’s still going to mess him up and screw him over. Remember kids it pays to follow the law in the Marvel Universe. The art’s the worst here, am awkward looking Simon in front of nothingless, boring backdrops.
The last section is a complete waste of time. Marvel continues it’s tasteless display of taking itself too seriously and sucking it’s own fun right out of it’s books. Someone should tell them you don’t need to do stuff like this to be accepted by the mainstream. People know your universe is rooted in the real world, they get it, and if anything stunts like this will turn away more readers than bring them in. Ugh, save yourself the trouble and skip it.
I was a bit tougher on this book than I would have liked, but if Civil War has a weak link, it’s this title. Which bothers me even more because I really like Paul Jenkins. To me the Civil War event would be many times more fun if it encouraged actual debate amongst the fans instead of just hammering one side down and ruining any chance of that. This crossover event has a great opportunity to set itself apart from all it’s predecessors if it would only strive to stay morally ambiguous, taking a "how can one side be right if neither side’s wrong" approach. The main title as well as some of the tie-ins do a reasonable job of this, but not this one and for that reason I’ve got to be negative with it. Speedball’s story is the only saving part of this book and at $2.99 it’s not worth it.
Verdict: Skip it, it might be hard to do, but save your money for the main series and better done tie-ins.
Quick Reviews:
52 Week 14: Despite Steel being on the cover, this issue sees him for only a few passing pages. Instead the story tracks Charlie/Montoya to Kahndaq, and progresses the Doc Magnus story greatly. An OK issue, nothing really great happens outside of the Magnus plot and it seems that even the more important parts of this story happen off panel. The art as always is hit or miss depending on which panel you’re looking at due to the myriad of artists put on the title, though just like the plot nothing really grabs you with the art either. Although I disliked last weeks further desecration of Sue Dibney, at least it was exciting unlike the offering DC has put forth this week.
Verdict: By all means if you’ve been keeping up with 52 then continue to do so. If you’re starting fresh, then don’t start with this one.
JSA Classified #15: Part two of the Double or Nothing arc. We find the JSA plus Vixen and Gypsy in the grasp of Amos Fortune and his superhero arena fights, been there done that many times over. If you like Wildcat, then this is your issue as he takes on….well everyone. Otherwise, unless you desperatley need a JSA fix, just wait for the relaunch of the regular series.
Verdict: The new JSA series is only a few months away, have a little patience and pass on this one.
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #209: My favorite Bat book before the team swaps on Tec and Batman, and it still doesn’t disappoint now. The mystery of Janie Rutledge’s disappeance continues. Bats is having difficulty making headway but his next clue leads him directly to a fight with a snake charming burlesque show stripper ooooooooo! The artist, Ariel Olivetti does fantastic work that stands apart from most other titles and lends the book a sort of classic feel that fits squarely with the story’s context.
Verdict: Definitely worth your time as a read or purchase.
Superman #655: Following up last issue, with Clark leaving Lois in Metropolis (a very sexy Lois last issue too) to follow up on a story of an old acquaintance who has discovered something mysterious in Kazakhstan. We get to see Clark being Clark with some other journalists, a great flashback scene with Lana, and a pretty good fight with the new villain Subjekt 17 who is one big, fast, and strong, frankenstein reject. Busiek does an excellent job intermixing Clark, Lana, and Superman scenes with transitions that don’t distract or take the reader out of the story. Subjekt 17 on the other hand is your standard secret science reject, who’s introduced in the standard cliched villain way by drawing first blood and then proceeding to just hit Supes hard and fast. Predictably he will be brought down soon enough. Clark’s narrative throughout the first part is well done and the art as a whole is clear, precise, and wondefully rendered. Ever since "One Year Later" the core two Supes books have been great and this one continues that trend.
Verdict: A great read for any Supes fan, and if you thought about jumping on, now would be a good time to do so.
The Incredible Hulk #97: Planet Hulk continues to give us one hell of a Hulk story. The Hulk’s influence over the planet Sakaar continues to grow and everyone seems elated except the Hulk himself. His gathering group of followers find it harder than ever to discern what the Hulk is, the Sakaarson or the World Breaker. Only time will tell but the whole planet is now firmly resting on his shoulders and no matter which way the Hulk’spath takes him it’s going to be interesting. Also for the first time we see a rebellion in the Hulk’s group and it comes from the least likely of individuals. I’ve loved every single issue of Greg Pak’s storyline and it’s truly amazing to see how he’s woven together such a wonderful little world complete with it’s own rich tapestry of history and culture (Check out the Planet Hulk: Gladiator Guidebook to see what I mean). Aaron Lopresti doesn’t mess around in the art department either. He draws the many alien natives and creatures on the planet each with their own disctinctive look and realistic style as well as combining the fantasy elements of the story with the technological ones. It’s not everyday you see giant monsters mixing with Death’s Head robots.
Verdict: I hope you’ve been keeping up with this series, because I’m not kidding when I say it’s been the best Hulk arc in years. Go and grab it.
Ms. Marvel #6: This issue is a Civil War tie-in that addresses Carol’s continuing role in enforcing the registration act. We find Ms. Marvel, Wonderman, and Julia Carpenter (now calling herself Arachne) in the service of Iron Man. Their missions get assigned and Carol is set to bring in Arana. This story isn’y just about Carol though and carries a rather large portion that addresses the Prowler, Shroud, and Arachne with a twist or two in between. For a tie-in there’s not a significant amount going on. It’s fun to catch up with Julia, and her role is by far the most significant and interesting in this book (odd, since it’s called Ms. Marvel) but even with the twist they throw us it’s just not enough to make me care. We do gain some more insight into the way captured heroes are treated and nothing here contradicts what’s prevously been seen, namely that they’re treated like dirt. De la Torre’s a good artist with well defined scenes and characters and even includes nice little SHIELD files for each participant in every scene. But as Civil War tie-in’s go, this week is 0 for 2.
Verdict: There’s not a lot of anything going on here of significance, unless you’re a CW completist you’ll want to save the $3 for another day.
She-Hulk #10 Not as fun as last issue, but still a great read. It’s not a CW tie-in but it does feature a brief scene about the registration act with Hellcat, that leads to amongst other things the phrase, "pull a parker" which is pure comic gold! The rest of the issue sees the happy newlyweds, John and Jen, blissfully enjoying married life while Pug desperately searches out an answer to Jen’s head over heels devotion. We also get a few memorable and separate moments from the Two-Gun Kid and everyone’s favorite android Awesome Andy. Alistair Smythe makes an appearance as the resident villain of this issue, and finally Mr. Zix’s secret identity is revealed. This book continues to be a lot of fun, and also helps fill the void left at Marvel with the cancellation of the Thing. Hopefully this book won’t meet the same fate…. nudge nudge.
Verdict: Come on Shulkie’s hot, has beautiful Greg Horn covers, and is a funny light-hearted read. Get out there and put it on your pull list.
New X-Men #29 First the good news, they’ve stopped killing kids, and now the bad news, this might just be the calm before the ultimate kid-killing storm. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that murdered so many of it’s main characters so quickly before, it makes for an odd "no-one’s safe" kind of appeal, but also doesn’t allow you to become too attached to any one character as they’ll drop a mere few issues after their introduction. This book continues the Nimrod arc with the team going to confront Nimrod in person and to save Forge’s schemeing butt. The most memorable moment of this book is when the kids manage to escape from the school in the blackbird of all things and Santo utters, "Those Sentinel pilots are so fired. I mean seriously, they suck on a weekly basis." So true Santo, so true. I remember when Sentinels used to be terrifying menace, now they’re a joke even for the most timid of mutants. The art by Rouleau is disjointed, character proportions shift from panel to panel, and the kids look much younger or older than they have in past issues.
Verdict: Ultimately I see no reason to pick this up if you haven’t been reading it regulalry, and with the heavy cast changes and upheavals, I think it might be a bit too late to jump on.
Wolverine Origins #5 I wanted to like this book, I even thought the first issue’s were pretty good. But it’s just bad, filled with psuedo fights, interruptions, and then guest appearance after guest appearance with no rhyme, reason, or resolution. It’s fricking Wolverine, he doesn’t need guest appearances to sell books. The art also stinks. All male character faces look the same. They try a Sin City approach with the flashbacks but it doesn’t work either. The huge revelation in this story….why bother?
Verdict: Bad story, bad art. Though to be fair the Quesada cover is sweet. But still, stay away from this one. There’s loads better books out there, including Wolverine’s other monthly series.
Trade Reviews:
Ultimate Galactus: Ultimate Extinction
Writer – Warren Ellis
Pencils – Brandon Peterson
The final chapter of the Ultimate Gah Lak Tus saga. What I loved about this book was all the interaction between the varying groups of the Ultimate Marvel Universe. We get SHIELD and a couple Ultimates mixing with Reed and Sue, the X-Men, plus the addition of Ultimate Misty Knight, Captain Marvel, Falcon, and Moondragon. Each group plays a part in the confrontation with what is up to this point the most serious threat to face the Ultimate Marvel’s heroes. Ultimate Silver Surfer(s) and Gah Lak Tus maintain only a small semblance of their 616 counterparts and especially with regards to the Surfer are more vicious than their classic counterparts. These ultimate versions are out for destruction and express no sympathy or reasoning with their latest group of victims. My biggest complaint with the series is that after 3 series and all the foreboding doom, the battle with Gah Lak Tus is all too brief and unimpressive.
The characters are nicely composed, specifically Nick Fury, my favorite of the ultimate characters so far. His tough guy persona is just too perfect and it’s no wonder he serves as the central protagonist and link between all others in the story. At the sake of sounding cliched he wants this motherfudging Gah Lak Tus off his motherfudging planet and he wants it now.
Artist Brandon Peterson’s work is very nice. He lends the charcters a kind of textured etched-in fingerprint feel that makes each page stand out and separates itself from a lot of art done by his peers.
Verdict: At $12.99 it’s probably cheaper than hunting down the back issues. If you’ve been keeping up and have got some extra money you’ll want to pick up this trade to complete your set. If you’ve already passed on the first two series or been turned off by them, nothing here will be enough to bring you back.
Marvel Zombies Hard Cover
Writer – Robert Kirkman
Pencils – Sean Phillips
Covers – Arthur Suydam
Collecting the best selling Marvel Zombies series, this is one beautiful book. I don’t even really need to review it, if you didn’t buy the original series, go get it. If you did buy the original series, this one contains every printing version cover including the new Ultimate FF covers by Suydam and a reference cover gallery so even then it’s still worth a look for those that own the individual issues. A fantastic story taken from the pages of Ultimate FF, but for purists, the zombie Marvel Universe here is far closer to a 616 zombie world. Watch your favorite heroes gnaw, gnash, and tear through each other, villains, and even the biggest devourer of all. This world is desperate and disgusting, and unlike Kirkman’s other zombie work, The Walking Dead, the zombies are our heroes here and they engage in scenes of such cannabilistic delight that you’ll be squirming in you seat and may even have put the book down for a second.
A shining example of how to breathe new (undead) life, into an old universe, and of how what a truly gross yet wonderful series can be done if a writer’s given a little leeway to craft a new and disturbing take on old favorites.
Phillips does an excellent job on interior art and his use of strong black overtones gives this universe a perfect dead and disturbing feel. The covers by Suydam are painted zombified versions of classic cover milestones. Each and every variant cover of this series is collected here, and it’s a lot of covers considering every issue went through multiple printings. There’s even a reference cover gallery to compare these new grotesque takes with their original inspirations.
Verdict: Kirkman does a wonderful job with this series. If you haven’t read it then buy this book, as it’ll be much easier than tracking down the long sold out and now very valuable individual issues.
So what now:
Annihilation, Secret Six, and Incredible Hulk are not to be missed. If you’ve got some extra money I also recommend Legends of the Dark Knight, Superman, and She-Hulk. If you’re more into trades both Ultimate Extinction and Marvel Zombies are worth your time, though Marvel Zombies is by far the better value of the two. Overall it was a good week in what is one of the best times to be a comics fan. Questions, concerns, comments…I’m only a pm away. Thanks for reading!