Here it is. A lot of Civil War Tie-Ins this week… New Avengers, where it is clarified that ALL superhumans MUST register, and ALL superhumans are subject to conscription, to boot. Frontline, where we check in with Speedball in prison. Black Panther, with his wedding (and overzealous Marvel self-censorship). X-Factor, with Madrox taking a side.
Hoo-boy, big week for me. Read so far:
Witchblade: Witch Hunt TPB – the first volume of new writer Ron Marz’s run on the book. Marz is a guy who I’ve found very dependable and better than he’s given credit for; because his best known (Green Lantern) work is also his worst. Marz is very upfront (both in the preface and in interviews and such) that Witchblade isn’t T&A anymore, and won’t be as long as he’s writing it (although Sara is still pretty!). For just that reason i never read Witchblade before, but I quite enjoyed this. It’s a lot of set-up and re-ordering the new status quo (introducing a new major supporting character), but that allows Marz to recap what Sara knows of the Witchblade (by telling the new guy) without being overly expository about it. The climax of the arc isn’t any great shakes, but I think this is a solid foundation for the future, and according to interviews Marz has some big plans. The next volume is out already; noticing it is what made me realize that I’d missed this one.
Ion #1-4 – Seeing that Marz’s Witchblade had kicked off reminded my that I’d forgotten to pick up Ion, his new post-Infinite Crisis Kyle Rayner series. I’ve always liked Kyle but I stopped reading when Ben Raad took over a few years ago, so I’m still feeling my way around a bit on what happened to him in the Crisis and Rebirth and such. The first couple issues were perfectly serviceable, but the excitement picked up in #3 and 4, and there are premonitions of more to come. I do think the art needs a tweak – one of the great things Marz has always done with Kyle is think of interesting avatars for his Ring-energy, and they’re kind of hard to follow here. Maybe if they could be inked differently they’d stand out more. But that’s a quibble. All in all, enjoyable, even if I have to admit that I’d be happier with more Marz-written issues of Scion than with a GL spin-off.
Runaways #18 – In general I think this title is not quite as good as it should be; the characters, situations, and dialogue are all interesting, but the whole just never comes off as powerfully as I’d expect given how much I like the ingredients. (Unlike Vaughan’s Y - TLM, which is never a dull fucking moment.) This issue continues in that vein, with the major sacrifice having just a whiff of by-the-numbers. (And from a dramatic perspective, who else could it have been without feeling like a cheat? Although I suppose most writers would have gone ahead and cheated; it’s Vaughan’s own fault that he’s a victim of my high expectations.) That said, what happened in this issue is an exceedingly big deal, and I know Vaughan will deal seriously with the repercussions. Plus, that last page sets up a shedload of anticipation (and anxiety) for what is to come.
more to come…
–Cliffy
**Hawkgirl #54-- **The storyline is surprisingly slow. What I want to know is: How come her nipples are so evident when she wears her halter, but not when she takes it off and struts around in that fine lace bra? If anything, they should be more prominent! Granted, these superhero books take liberties with mainstream physics, but I count on Howard Chaykin for attention to detail!
Well New Avengers 22 just confirmed that we have out good guys (anti-reg) and we have our evil monsters (pro-reg). Amazed Marvel carried it on even that long. Will be shelf-reading CW from now on.
I was right about the new issue of Amazing Spider Man. It’s about time Spidey showed some doubts about everything. Doesn’t stop him from attempting to put a hurt on Captain America when Cap tries to reason with him.
Even more interesting is Spidey having doubts about the new iron spider costume. Iron Man makes a reference to Spider Man’s danger sense which causes Spider Man to wonder if the suit is sending information out to Stark. What a shame. Trust is so important in a relationship.
It also appears that the Thing has taken a side. Haven’t seen the new FF yet, so I can’t say for sure.
Hawkgirl - Well, at least something interesting happens. I wonder if it’s really Carter.
Exiles - I’m going to be so sad when Claremont takes over this book.
??? Could you elaborate?
Would you please spoil Hawkgirl for me? I quit reading it several months ago, but I’ll pick it up again if it gets more interesting than it was.
And since Young Avengers is on hiatus, I think this news means that Amazing X-Men will now be the only Marvel title I pick up.
Absolutely. Did you read the issue?
Basically, part of the wedding ceremony requires that Ororo face the Panther God that T’Challa once faced as a rite of passage. The bride and groom are projected into a kind of astral plane for this. In this astral plane, they appear, wearing loincloths. Storm’s clearly supposed to be topless, with camera angle or stray locks of hair covering her nipples at all times. She IS topless in the “long shots”, but in the “close-ups” she’s had a bikini top added in post-production.
I’m told the same thing has happened a while ago in X-Men Unlimited, and I saw the same effect in the Defenders miniseries last year, with Umar.
Absolutely.
The mystic serial killer she’s been dealing with is subdued, but at the cost of that annoying detective’s life - the one that had been hassling them before the Crisis. While she sleeps off the effects of the battle, someone breaks into the museum. We see a man with the same sort of mystic tats as the serial killer slam a mac handle into the ground (a la Don Blake as Thor) and then see him in a facsimile of Carter’s costume - not the full thing, though. Kendra receives an abortive phone call from Carter’s office and makes her way there, discovering an apparently aged Carter, in his full uniform.
Will you be getting Young Avengers/Runaways? First issue is interesting, but has horrible art (apart from the last panel, which is horrible but cool). Xavin’s a dick (as opposed to a bitch. He should really be spending more time female).
I also got Ya/Runaways; Nightwing; Firestorm (because I heard another Firestorm appears, and I was hoping for Ronnie, but I’ve since learned that it is not Ronnie. ); Manhunter from last week; JLA AND JSA Classified; The last ish of the Spectre mini, which turns out to be pretty solid; Supergirl, which answers our lingering questions about which Kal we’re seeing; Batman, which is solid; Birds of Prey which made me laughed till I cried; Action; and 52, which centers in Black Adam this week.
I also got Blue Beetle, which continues to intrigue, and I just realized the odd blue speech of the scarab can be transposed into English, so I’m going to go back to previous issues to check out what its said before.
I don’t know thing one about the Runaways, so I’m waiting to hear what the buzz is. If good, I’ll probably pick up the inevitable TPB.
Really, though I used to be an all-Marvel (X-series, mostly) guy, but over the years Marvel’s writing and storylines became less and less appealing, whereas DC did the reverse, for me.
Same here. The House of M and DeciMation served only to get the writers out of several corners that they had written themselves into (mutants everywhere, X-Corp, etc.). What’s worse is that the lasting effects, the 198 and the O.N.E. sentinels, are ignored at every turn. The 198 are like the kids from Bewitched: mentioned but rarely seen.
I fear that Civil War will go the same way. Any supposed universe changing aftershocks will be ignored to suit the convenience of the writers.
In contrast, DC is actually sticking to the effects of Identity and Infinite Crisis. They’ve made their godly heroes more mortal and made some nice character changes. Lots of good reading there.
Only book that prompts me to comment this week:
Jack of Fables #1 - Decent setup issue. What’s going on isn’t quite clear, yet, but enough’s been revealed to be intriguing. That last page… Holy crap, Goldilocks is alive! And still ridiculously hot…and probably insane.
Anyone want to talk Annihilation? Silver Surfer and Nova got big power boosts. Gamora also seems to have gotten a boost, but unsure whether it was temporary. A few deaths, including one of the title characters. Marvel’s doing a better job here than with the ham-fisted Civil War. Best Civil War crossover so far…Cable and Deadpool.
Also, for everyone waiting with baited breath, go buy some Scope. Uh…I meant to say, Ultimate Avengers 2 is coming to DVD in August, featuring the Black Panther. Knock yourselves out!
I bought one issue of Annihilation : Nova, because I just knew the guest star was going to be arbitrarily killed off to “elevate the apparent threat level.” I was right.
Bunch of worthless garbage.