Bruce Castle Presents: Monster Origins!

Monster Pile-Up (-)

It’s only two bucks. That’s about the best thing I can say about this. I bought it because I’m reading Astounding Wolf-Man and this was supposed to feature “compelling tales essential to each series!” That is a load of bull! I only got 4 pages of Wolf-Man and all it did was inform me of stuff I already knew and spoiled things for new readers! It spoiled a twist that actually surprised me too. I’m not reading the other three titles nor do I want to after reading the samples in here. Oh and they give misinformation about the Astounding Wolf-Man trade to put the ass tasting icing on the cake!

Ultimate Origins #3 (**)

This book is caught in a downward spiral. I really liked the first issue. It revealed some pretty shocking information and had good action and pretty art as well. The second issue didn’t really give us anything shocking but it was still a well-written retelling of Cap’s Origin. That’s cool too. It is Origins after all. But with this issue, again there is nothing shocking revealed. I guess what’s bothering me is how this book began and how it was advertised. This book was supposed to show dark secrets about the Ultimate U and how everything was connected. That theme has been absent these last two issues in a five issue miniseries which isn’t good. There was a little bit of behind the scenes stuff going on here, but it wasn’t anything to get excited or even care about. It’s a decent book when it comes to the retelling of origins, but we’ve already seen a lot of that sprinkled throughout the Ultimate books for eight years. So this was disappointing to me, but hopefully the last two will blow me away.

Bruce Castle Presents: The Most Common Marvel Team-Up!

Ultimate Spider-Man #124 (*): Sigh, more game continuity yay! There was an Ultimate Spider-Man game released a few years ago. It was written by Bendis and took place supposedly in continuity. For years it didn’t seem that was true until now. So, just like last issue, we kind of get a recap of the game. Well, I’ve played the game and I own it so I’m a bit bored. I tried to think about this from someone else’s perspective that hadn’t played the game and it still seems boring. I didn’t get any new information. I didn’t get any good fight scenes. I didn’t even laugh at all. The only thing that would’ve saved this was really pretty art which I may have gotten from Bagley but I didn’t from Immonen. This is disappointing all around.

Wolverine #67 (*****): I can’t recall a time when Mark Millar was releasing so many books. It’s also a bit interesting that almost every book he’s putting out is getting mixed reviews. He seems to be very hit or miss. Was Ultimates the peak of his writing career? I don’t know. What I do know is that I’m one of the people that consider this book to be a “hit”. I’ll first address the most common complaint I’ve heard about this book, “It’s an Unforgiven remake”. Almost everything in entertainment takes little bits and parts from something else. Is it true that there is a little bit of Unforgiven? Yes it is, Millar admitted that himself. But there’s also a little bit of Miller’s Wolverine, Windsor-Smith’s Wolverine, and Mad Max. It’s an amalgam of all those and probably even more, but when it’s all combined and given the Millar twist you’re left with something original. First off, the art is astonishing! I’ve always been a fan of Steve McNiven and his art looks phenomenal in this book. I think Dexter Vines is the unsung hero there, his inks are always fantastic and they’re no different here. Those of you who felt this is an Unforgiven rip-off will probably enjoy this issue more because we get away from the farm. We go on a tour of this post-hero world. Themes like obsession and worship get explored. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll just say that Millar certainly understands the fun you can have with the Marvel Universe’s future. Ugh, so much to talk about that I can’t say. Just read it!

Bruce Castle Presents: Event Books?

New Avengers #43 (***): I know this event! Everybody seems to love these. If you’ve followed my reviews at all you’ll know I’m not too hip to them. This one was pretty good though. It’s still all a bit too simple and predictable for an event that should be startling and intricate, oh well. The art is fairly average with a few moments of excellence. There are some well staged action sequences in the beginning half of the book. We get some Skrully information in the second half. It isn’t anything mind blowing or even incredible, but it certainly isn’t bad. It’s entertaining.

Uncanny X-Men #500 (*****): What the heck is Manifest Destiny? I’m not usually big on covers but man these are pretty! I apologize for posting all of these but I love them! Terry Dodson, Michael Turner, and a wraparound by Alex Ross and another one by Greg Land? WOW! My favorite (and Matt Fraction’s) is the Terry Dodson one. The art is astounding inside the book as well. Land and Dodson are both doing the art inside. I was a bit intrigued as to how that was going to work out, and the way it does is some pages are done by Land and some are done by Dodson. Hopefully this will keep the book monthly by having two artists on it. Both of these artists, as many great artists are, usually aren’t monthly (especially Dodson). Enough gushing about the art! How is the writing? The writing on Uncanny has been a bit lackluster on Brubaker’s run, but thanks to Fraction this is a well-written book now. It’s exactly what an issue 500 and a great comic in general should be. It’s an amalgam of old and new comics that takes ideas we’ve seen before and gives them a new fresh twist. There are a few things in here that really got me excited and did I mention the art rules?

Ultimate X-Men #96 (****): This is a long March On Ultimatum! I’m still really liking Aron Coleite on this book. He’s really giving me my money’s worth. He packs so much into each issue. He doesn’t excel at it like Morrison, but then who is on Morrison’s level? Mark Brooks isn’t on this issue which is sad, but the art is still decent enough. I’m thoroughly enjoying this rollercoaster of an arc and I encourage all of you to give Ultimate X-Men another chance if you bailed on it during a few of those shaky arcs.

Bruce Castle Presents: Secret Invasion Tie-Ins vs. Final Crisis Tie-Ins!

4 stars = Stop reading review and go buy now!!!!
3 and a half stars = Great issue and make room on your trade shelf someday soon
3 stars = Recommended and maybe even trade worthy
2 and a half stars = Recommended
2 stars= Not the best, not the worst, not recommended
1 and a half star = Terrible issue and vocalize your disgust at your next social event
1 star = Awful awful awful and you may want to consider dropping this title
0 stars = Next con you attend where the writer and/or artist are present you should throw this issue in their face

Mighty Avengers #16- Sigh. And so we get another SI filler issue. Again, I’m still finding these quite tedious. Oh, and something that heightens that feeling is these damn homage covers. They started doing these with the Marvel Zombie covers and then continued with SI. They were cool for the Marvel Zombie mini-series and that’s it! Once we got to the 20th printing of that hardcover and then now with the Skrulls, these covers are just plain crappy now! Oh well, I doubt this will change by the end of the event so yay I have four more months of this to look forward to! But I digress. This issue is about what happened to Elektra. Despite my earlier ranting, there was a lot to enjoy about this issue and I’m sure a lot of you will love it. This is coming from a DD fan so liking an Elektra story means something. However, this is a picture heavy book from the usually wordy Bendis. Unfortunately, when you have a story that depends so much on the art, if the art is bad the issue will probably be bad as well which is what we get here. Sadly, I found Khoi Pham’s art horrendous. His Elektra looks like an old woman! From the story alone this issue is pretty good, but because there are so many wordless pages, the shoddy art detracts from the story.

2 stars

X-Factor #33- Does anyone still remember when this was a top tier book? The characters were great, the stories were great. The art was unconventional but fit the story perfectly. Why has this book declined so much after Messiah Complex? I’m almost to the point of dropping this book, but then I remember the characters I fell in love with and I’m still interested in their story. So please Peter David, write better! This issue is a SI tie-in, but there isn’t much about Skrulls in here. We get to see a Skrull reveal which was a bit predictable but still cool, but that’s it. The rest of the book is just like a normal X-Factor book. Also, the Skrull in this issue doesn’t say much, but what it does say is very odd. For someone that writes dialogue so well, I don’t know why we get such weird lines from David. There are still some great moments in here, but that is overshadowed by the horrible art and a bit of bad writing. Oh, and this story is being continued in She-Hulk which is a book I don’t read. And sadly, I don’t care about this story enough to follow it into a new book.

1 and a half stars

Final Crisis Requiem-First off, I want to apologize for something. I recently said that I flipped through this issue and thought the art didn’t look very good. Well, after reading it, I feel that the art is pretty fantastic. However, I still feel that Mahnke got his reference pages mixed up and is drawing Impossible Man instead of Martian Manhunter, but the art was great. Sadly, that’s about the best thing I can say about this issue. I personally was appalled when I read it. It tries to ruin almost everything Grant Morrison was trying to say in Final Crisis. This is a retelling of what happened in that book and it pissed me off. This should have made me sentimental and left me remembering J’onn J’onzz fondly. Instead I left this issue blinded with rage. At first, I was going to recommend this issue if you treat it as a MM book instead of a FC book, but I don’t even think it works then. It doesn’t seem written well at all. I had an instinct to stay away from this book, but I heard so many positive things about it that I gave it a shot. I was sorely disappointed.

1 star

Final Crisis Rogues’ Revenge #1- Leave it to Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins to produce a decent tie-in. The team that told some of the best Flash stories reunite to bring us a new Rogues tale. The art is fantastic! I didn’t expect this to be so gritty but it is. The Rogues aren’t written as comic blunderers. They are written as tired old men that are still bad ass in their own way. They are villains with an unusual moral code and they are written extremely well. Unlike the aforementioned FC tie-in, this doesn’t screw with the main FC story. It is referenced and it seems a bit is spoiled. Perhaps issue 3 should have been out by now. It doesn’t seem like much of a tie-in yet, but it is still a great story on its own. There is plenty of set-up in this issue, but there is still a lot of action and cool moments with a cliffhanger that will leave you hungry for more!

3 and a half stars

P.S. For those keeping track, Final Crisis wins!

Bruce Castle Presents: Gods, Invasions, and Origins Oh My!

4 stars = Stop reading review and go buy now!!!!
3 and a half stars = Great issue and make room on your trade shelf someday soon
3 stars = Recommended and maybe even trade worthy
2 and a half stars = Recommended
2 stars= Not the best, not the worst, not recommended
1 and a half star = Terrible issue and vocalize your disgust at your next social event
1 star = Awful awful awful and you may want to consider dropping this title
0 stars = Next con you attend where the writer and/or artist are present you should throw this issue in their face

Justice Society #17-

This issue, much like Action Comics, doesn’t move the plot forward all that much, but it’s still a hell of an issue. I probably talk about this in almost every Geoff Johns book I review, but he is one of the best character writers around. He can make you love an iconic character that seemed a bit stale (Hal Jordan or Superman), he can make you love an older character that was never given a chance to shine (Booster Gold), and he can take a completely new character and make you love them (Cyclone). This issue’s great moments include: Maxine ogling the newly healed Damage, oh and a monkey too! The exchange between Mr. Terrific and Dr. Mid-Nite. Ugh there are too many! Anyway, the plot doesn’t develop too much but I love where it seems to be going. Again, it’s more epic storytelling so I’m sure there will be a few naysayers, but I love this book!

4 stars

Secret Invasion #4- Well, again Desiato and Billy got their review out a lot quicker. They seem to be more excited about and enjoy this series more than I do. Although, this was the first comic I read on Thursday. I’m still waiting for this series to live up to its expectations. I was about to breakdown each previous issue but there is no need. Let’s just move on to a few things about this one. Sentry cries, Ms. Marvel tears up, and Agent Brand cries. What’s up with all the crying? I suppose it’s supposed to add to the gravity of the situation, but it’s done in such a way that I don’t think a lot of people will even notice it. Not that it was subtle, but it just didn’t add to the story. This is an event and a HUGE one at that. Every panel should matter but that’s not the case here. Fury blasts Ms. Marvel, ok that’s cool. But is it just pointing out that “who can you trust” thing that we’ve been bludgeoned with over the past six months? Hopefully not, but that does seem to be the way Bendis is writing these days. I see it as more of a question of why. Is Fury a Skrull? Or is this just the Ms. Marvel Skrull thing? If she is a Skrull at this time then it seems her buddies didn’t get the message. We get another green eyes shot that I would think Mr. Yu would be getting tired of. Is Black Widow a Skrull? She is certainly not acting like a Skrull or is she? In this issue we get a close-up of The Hood’s face. Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Tony Stark? I looked at my Hood HC and the character looked nothing like this guy and certainly didn’t have blue eyes. It’s hard to tell though. I’m not sure what I think about Yu’s art. I used to think he was pretty good, but this whole Skrull business has kind of convinced me otherwise. With this and that whole baby thing ugh. That would be interesting if Tony was a Skrull and the Hood was the real Tony. Again, the way Bendis has been writing lately I doubt that’s a possibility, oh well. Thor and Bucky showed up too. I would usually be happy about this, but instead I have just a bad taste in my mouth. This review is long enough with me going into details. Anyway, the important thing isn’t the background. It’s not the tie-ins or anything else it’s just THIS ISSUE. And THIS ISSUE in my opinion was just ok. I got a bit excited over the last issue and I didn’t have that feeling here. It has nothing to do with the “reveal”, but more about the overall quality of the issue and the expectations that one should have about a 4 buck event that has been building for 5 years and is supposed to overshadow the last few Marvel events. I’m a bit of a sad panda after this issue.

2 and a half stars(It’d be lower but I have to recommend it, you should read it at least once)

Ultimate Origins #2- Got to review this quick. Not as great as last issue but still pretty good. It’s cool to see Steve in the early days. Not a whole lot revealed that I remember but it’s still very promising. The art is still nice and so is the writing.

2 and a half stars

Spoiler Review: Secret Invasion #4

Wow, this almost feels like an issue packed to the gills with action, exposition and drama… just like a real event comic should! The first few pages consist of the skrully Jessica Drew explaining to Tony Stark that the war is already over and that Earth has lost.

The next section deals with the sheer awesomeness of the HAS-TO-BE-HUMAN Black Widow.

• KA-CHOWWW!
• Beast and Phoenix go down!
• Shoot first, ask questions later!

Then, Widow gets about as close to shaking Stark out of his Skrull-induced paranoid delusion as one can get with a rather simple, yet effective call to arms.

Agent Brand sheds a single tear.

Maria Hill has a similar, yet infinitely more embarrassing moment. I hope she gets her revenge. I know people hate her, but I really want to her redeem her naiveté.

Next, The Hood decides that alien invasions are bad for business.

And then Thor… and then Bucky… and then I threw the comic into the air with a gleeful “YAUS!”

So, to sum up: Skrulls. Not a Skrull… for now.

Thoughts right now:

• Glad Phoenix was a Skrull. Too stupid if she wasn’t.
• Sad that Beast was. I liked the idea of getting the old Beast back.
• Maria Hill and Agent Brand need to team up! It can be all about proving how empowered women in comics can be.
• Tony needs some new armor. Like, he needs to cobble together something new or put on an old standby. Basically, he needs to get his shit together.
• Thor and Bucky? WOW!
• Black Widow is the coolest Avenger of all-time. “Look, I’m just gonna kill everyone. Sorry.”
• …and Jarvis is the pimp of the year. Have they explained which Skrull he is? I hope he’s like Paibok or something cool.

If you can’t tell, this issue rocked!

Bruce Castle’s July Previews Order

Action Comics #869
Astounding Wolf-Man #10
Astonishing X-Men #27
Boys #22
Captain America #42
Conan The Cimmerian #3
Daredevil #111
Dark Ivory #4 (Of 4)
Final Crisis #4 (Of 7)
Fc: Legion Of Three Worlds #2
Fc: Revelations #2
Fc: Rogue’s Revenge #3
Green Lantern #35
Hellboy The Crooked Man #3 (Of 3)
Hulk #6
Invincible #56
Invincible Iron Man #5
Justice Sociey Of America #19
Mighty Avengers #18
New Avengers #45
Punisher #62
Punisher War Journal #23
Secret Invasion #6
Secret Invasion Thor #2 (Of 3)
Skaar Son Of Hulk Presents Savage World #1
Ultimate Fantastic Four X-Men Annual #1
Ultimate Origins #4 (Of 5)
Ultimate Spider-Man #126
Ultimate X-Men Fantastic Four Annual #1
Uncanny X-Men #502
Walking Dead #55
X-Factor #35
X-Force#7

Damn! Still over thirty titles! Damn all those Final Crisis tie-ins. The Final Crisis is in my wallet! Well, this is the last Dark Ivory. That’s the last Hellboy. That’s probably my last Punisher War Journal. Skaar and X-Force are teetering on the brink of dropping. They’re great now but they could easily tip off my pull list. Can’t wait for Final Crisis! I hope Astonishing X-Men stays strong. I’m looking forward to what Walking Dead and Ultimate Origins reveal. And…

Reunited and it feels so good!

Foilball’s Review Roundup #33 – THE MEDIOCRES!

As promised, The Mediocres. These books weren’t great and they weren’t bad. They were workman like in their execution, filled with substance but lacking the style to put them over the top.

• Batman and the Outsiders #8 (***): This issue does a fine job of wrapping up the last 7 issues worth of story without actually introducing anything new or exciting. It’s a good job, but boring.

• Birds of Prey #119 (***): And, Tony Bedard is back. Okay, this was not as bad as I expected. And, Scott is still doing the art, so it’s not a total loss. The following series of panels made me laugh, and not in that good way…

• Black Panther #37 (**1/2): It’s mostly filler, but the back and forth between Panther and Killmonger is semi-interesting. Next issue promises to be an all-out slugfest, but… I don’t know if I care about the Panther’s solo adventures anymore. Seems to me like Hudlin is finally running out of ideas. When he first relaunched the book, it seemed to hold so much promise. Instead of rising to the level of exciting political intrigue that Captain America has, it’s slowly fallen into petty soap opera drama. It’s just not compelling. I think after the Secret Invasion tie-in issues, I will be dropping this book.

• Green Lantern #32 (***): Compared with the rest of the issues in the arc, which I loved, I was very disappointed in this issue. Not much happened. Sinestro was cool, and that Yoda shit he did with Hal’s plane was very cool, but it felt… mediocre, especially for a Johns book. I’m sure this will be the exception and next issue will see the return of the level of quality we as GL fans are used to. Oh, one more thing. This entire arc is making me so sad for Hal. Like, Carol Ferris is so awesome! A part of me has to believe that another reason for this trip down “Origin Lane” is to reintroduce the Hal/Carol love story… for future reference, of course. Maybe we’ll see more of this after “Blackest Night”? I hope so.

• Guardians of the Galaxy #2 (***): Great cover. And that’s about it. Everything else is middle of the road. Vance Astro? GAWD, I’ve always hated him. They should just cap his ass and take the shield. I like the modern reintroduction of the Universal Church of Truth, but I don’t like the characterizations of the leads. Warlock doesn’t feel like Warlock, Drax doesn’t feel like Drax, etc… just about the only character that even acts/sounds like they did in Annihilation is the fricking Raccoon. It hasn’t been outright terrible, so I’ll stick with it for now and see how I feel in a couple of months.

• No Hero #0 (***): Too early to tell… this could be great, but there is also the possibility that it’s just a retread of Black Summer or The Order or even Kick-Ass. When he’s on, Ellis is the man. When he’s off? You get weird shit like Anna Mercury and Strange Kiss. Oh, but I do like all the backmatter in this one. Thanks! Oh, and the art is still amazing!

• Number of the Beast #6 (***): All the cards have finally been flipped (well, all the cards we know about)! Tons of exposition in this one… no wonder it read so slow. This is the nature of the beast so I can’t fault the writer too much. He’d asked so many questions in the preceding five issues that it was inevitable that he’d have to slow down and catch us all up. Like Green Lantern, I’m sure the next issue will pick right back up.

• Ultimate Spider-Man #123 (***1/2): There were parts of this I really liked. I loved how Bendis kept changing “listeners” on us. “Oh, what happened to that nice old man?” Um, Venom ate him, dummy. SWEET! The problem I have with this book is that the way Bendis chose to frame this story actually robs it of any suspense. Because it’s told in flashback, we know Venom gets away safely from Silver Sable and her Wildpack. Everything else still works on a technical level, and what he tried to do was a nice experiment in storytelling, but I’m just not that excited to read the next issue. So, fail?

• Ultimate X-Men #95 (**1/2): Whoa… shit just got TOO weird. Cyclops flying? WHA! Rogue knows Vindicator? Like, KNOWS knows? It’s gotta be Gambit, right? Because of the purple energy blasts… but, man, that would be stupid. Northstar dead? Colossus gonna go all roid-ragin’ now? I really liked the new direction that the last issue set up, but I feel like we’re moving too fast and heading in too many different directions. Slow down, man. You’re no Grant Morrison.

I’ll be back Tuesday with The Gooders. Monday, hopefully we’ll have our Series Review of Planetary #9 up, and if we don’t then, sorry.

Foilball’s Review Roundup #31 – More Secret Invasion Tie-Ins!

 

So far, to pretty much everyone’s surprise, the tie-ins to the main Secret Invasion mini-series have been made of pretty high caliber stuffs. Especially, in my opinion, MI-13 and the Fantastic Four spin-off mini. This last month’s crop of books, of which I will review quickly here today (and which Desiato already did over here), have been no different.

First, I fricking love these covers, especially the Mighty and New Avengers “homages.” They really help give them that “everything ties into everything else” feeling. Second… let’s skip ahead to the individual reviews:

• Avengers: The Initiative #14 (****): This was a great issue of The Initiative, and I guess that’s mostly due to the fact that Dan Slott came on to co-plot this baby. He handled the Pym flashbacks/reveals expertly and his use of the 3-D Man was retro but at the same time very, very cool. I hungrily await the next installment.

• Fantastic Four: Secret Invasion #2 (****): The Fantastic Four mini has to be the most surprising of all the tie-ins. Although Aguirre-Sacasa is uber-talented and has done a fantastic job with the FF in the past, I don’t think anyone was expecting this one to be the great read that it certainly is. I think the quality has to be chalked up to AS’s obvious affection for these characters. The way he writes “The Brief Loves of Johnny Storm” is evidence enough of this, not to mention the touching make-out scene in the Negative Zone. I don’t know about you guys, but I really felt for these two characters caught on opposite sides of this holy war. I’m hoping maybe Lyja and Johnny get their happy ending… although, with Millar on the main title, I won’t hold my breath.

• Ms. Marvel #28 (*****): I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but… Ms. Marvel is my favorite of the bunch. WOW. Finally! We get some action! Some suspense! This one was epically written! There are not enough exclamation points in the memory of mankind to express how much I loved this issue!!! Her attitudes on war, murder and purpose? Loving this shit!

• Runaways/Young Avengers: Secret Invasion #1 (****): I love how, in the absence of the series’ creator, Marvel is keeping the Young Avengers franchise alive. Just like the Young Avengers: Presents, this crossover fills that YA fix nicely. Also, thank God that awful Whedon arc is over so we can get back to enjoying good Runaways comics. As far as the issue’s plot, I’m glad we finally find out what it is those freaking Skrulls were saying to each other over in Secret Invasion #3, and… what Teddy and Xavin’s respective roles will be in SI.

• The Incredible Hercules #118 (****): Not much to say here, besides pointing out how impossibly well written this book continues to be. Oh, and how about that Snowbird/Hercules hook-up? JEEZ! Herc sure does get around! AND, OH… Skrully coyote!

• The Mighty Avengers #15 (*****): The sordid life of Henry Pym… you know what? EFF that! Janet is such a ####! She totally left his ass, so like, he’s totally in the right to sleep with the first student/Skrull infiltrator that happens by… like, good for him, except, you know, when he gets beat up and replaced by an alien invader. That was kind of bad. And probably his fault. But, whatever. Screw, Janet!

• The New Avengers #42 (****): Jim Cheung is godly on the art. GODHEAD. Also, special thanks to one Mr. Bendis. The pieces finally fit. Everything fits! She’s been a Skrull since before the breakout? WHA!?!? …awesome. Now, all he has to do is explain that Skrull that showed up in one panel of Disassembled. Then, I shall be satisfied. Maybe.

So, yeah. High quality shit right here. This shipment of books has totally restored my faith in this event. I think the main action of Secret Invasion won’t really happen in the main book till we pass the midway point. Bendis is slow-rolling the hell out of this one. Which, I’m okay with, as long as the payoff is huge. Not talking “No More Mutants” huge. I’m talking “Death of Captain America” huge. Know what I’m saying?

 

Bruce Castle Quickies 5

4 stars = Stop reading review and go buy now!!!!
3 and a half stars = Great issue and make room on your trade shelf someday soon
3 stars = Recommended and maybe even trade worthy
2 and a half stars = Recommended
2 stars= Not the best, not the worst, not recommended
1 and a half star = Terrible issue and vocalize your disgust at your next social event
1 star = Awful awful awful and you may want to consider dropping this title
0 stars = Next con you attend where the writer and/or artist are present you should throw this issue in their face

 

Immortal Iron Fist #16- This is the last Fraction/Brubaker issue, or Fraction issue I guess, Brubaker left a few issues ago. Anyway, this has been a great run. It turned a character that a lot of people didn’t care about into something they could love. This issue doesn’t really break the trend. You get some nice moments in Danny’s life including training kids, his business life, and you even get some Misty Knight moments too. What threw me, was the ominous downer ending. I was kind of expecting more of a finale instead of a set-up for the next Iron Fist run. Oh well, Fraction was being nice to Duane Swierczynski I guess. Anyway, I’m going to miss Fraction on this book. 3 stars

 

Ultimate Spider-Man #123- Well, this is the first issue of the new venom arc. It definitely has that first issue feel.  Remember that Ultimate Spider-Man video game that was supposed to actually have continuity in the Ultimate universe but then never did? Well, they finally kind of tie that in. There’s nothing spectacular here, mostly just setup. The last page did make me laugh though. 3 stars

 

Thor Reign of Blood #1- I don’t think a lot of people like these one-shots at much as I do, but I love them! I so wish that Fraction was writing the regular Thor series. It seems like Fraction wants to. Oh well, maybe someday. At least I still have another one-shot and the Secret Invasion tie-in to look forward too. 4 stars

 

Young Avengers Presents Hawkeye #6- Who else but me could squeeze three Fraction comics into one review? Yes, I haven’t read the rest of this series and bought this issue only because Fraction was on it. And Alan Davis, he is a great artist and he shines here as well. As mentioned earlier, I haven’t read every Young Avengers story, but this was really good. Like, really, really good, it almost makes me want to read the whole series….Nah. 3 and a half stars

 

Uncanny X-Men #499- Sorry guys, this isn’t the right cover. This was last issues’ cover. Don’t blame me though, blame Marvel, this is the only pic I could find and I don’t have a scanner. I’m still loving Mike Choi’s art in this arc and I can’t wait till he gets on board X-Force. This issue was ok. The San Francisco thing still seems like it could have been explained in one issue. The Russian story is a lot better but it seems a bit pointless. It seems that Brubaker had one thing he needed to say in this arc, the rest is mostly filler. It took him five issues to say what he wanted to say! They said the same damn thing in the free comic book day issue and that was free! What the hell?! That said this certainly wasn’t terrible. It’s hard to recommend it though. I hope this title gets a lot better with issue 500. Brubaker/Fraction go! 2 stars

Review: Secret Invasion Tie-Ins!

That’s right. For the past two weeks, I received seven Secret Invasion books in my DCBS box. Let’s take a look (In the order that I read them).

The Incredible Hercules #118 (*****)

This book is still completely awesome. In this installment, we’ve got the God Squad (complete with collectible trading cards on the recap page with special Amadeus Cho rookie card) trying to find the lair of the Skrull Gods. In order to do so, they have to try and barter with Nightmare in order to receive a map that will lead them to their destination. Of course, Nightmare won’t just give it up, so we get to see montages of the various fears of the God Squad (including Amadeus Cho) until they are able to deceive Nightmare, steal the map and get the hell out of there before he uses the energy he received from absorbing their fears to take over the world. The banter is still awesome. The writing just sparkles at every turn. It’s genuinely funny, and I don’t see any way that people can’t be charmed by the Herc/Cho team up. They play so well off each other. This is a quality book month in and month out, and they’ve kicked it into high gear for Secret Invasion. Plus, considering the final splash page, the rest of this is probably going to be a hoot.

New Avengers #42 (****1/2)

The continuing saga of Jessica Drew brought to you from the perspective of nearly every major event since Bendis started generally steering the Marvel U. We get implications that the events of the Savage Land arc of New Avengers, House of M and Civil War were not only advantageous to the Skrulls, but possibly planned by the Skrulls. We also get a further continuation of the mythology behind this Skrull religion, as the act of fully immersing someone in a new identity takes the position of basically being a ritual, and a very cool one at that. Jimmy Chung also does a hell of a job on art chores (I LOVE that double page splash covering the background of Jessica Drew with her posing in the middle). This book is certainly covering the “secret” part of the Secret Invasion equation (while the main mini is much more of the “invasion” section), and I love the hell out of it. Secret societies, secret meetings, tons of conspiracy, tons of paranoia. And it all weaves its way beautifully through everything Bendis has been writing in the main Marvel U since Avengers Disassembled. Fantastic work.

Mighty Avengers #15 (****)

And the train keeps rolling. And Hank Pym’s skrully origin is revealed. And we get another bad ass ritual sequence. And we get some very cool art with Klaus Jansen and Tom Palmer working off John Romita Jr. breakdowns. It’s very reminiscent of JRJR and yet not at the same time. Groovy. I love the way the skrull constantly pumps Hank Pym for information (as well as other things…OH!) and makes it come off as the genuine gushing of a super hero groupie. And yet everything is for a specific purpose. These are all wonderful little puzzle pieces that are non essential to the main plot of Secret Invasion, but fill in that extra little bit of credibility that makes us really understand how the hell the Skrulls managed to pull this off so effortlessly. Plus, we’ve got a mention of the Beyonder, which is going to drive the people who think the Beyonder is behind all this up the wall. The only problem we have here is a bit of a timeline issue with New Avengers 42, which seems to feature Jessica Drew skrull talking to Hank Pym skrull, and that seems to take place before the events of Mighty 15 where he gets replaced. But it’s a minor continuity quibble, because I’m just enjoying the ride at this point.

Avengers: The Initiative #14 (****1/2)

Now THIS is fun. Slott’s back on co-writing duties for this issue (and I would assume the rest of the Secret Invasion arc, but I haven’t really been paying attention to the creator credits on solicits), and we’re dealing with the Skrull threat at Camp Hammond. Mostly from the perspective of 3-D Man, who is himself one of those altruistic Skrulls (similar to the Skrulls that pal around with She-Hulk, MI:13 and the Runaways…oh, and Hulkling), who is understandably trying to hide his identity in these trying times. Long story short, he finds out a way to see through the Skrull’s masking effects using a special pair of goggles, and proceeds to discover that EVERYONE at Camp Hammond is a Skrull. Of course, one assumes that this is not actually the case, and few if any of the people in the final double page spread are actually Skrulls, but it’s going to make for a fun little side story of one man against a world of people he thinks are guilty but are most likely innocent, and the hijinks that ensue. And nothing is more enjoyable than hijinks ensuing. The extra half star comes from that final splash, and the way 3-D Man’s yellow tinted goggles give off a sepia tone vibe and makes those last two pages look like some demented old-timey photo. Great stuff.

Ms. Marvel #28 (****)

Yes! I hoped this book would pick up once it got to the thick of things, and it surely did just that. First of all, Greg Horn is one of the best cover artists working today, and this issue is no exception. We join Secret Invasion already in progress with Ms. Marvel trying to deal with the armada attacking New York City. I mean, the book begins with a little twist on a very famous T.S. Eliot line (“This is the way the world ends. Not with a whimper…No…We should have known better than to think it would end with a whimper”) and I’m a big T.S. Eliot fan, so good on you Mr. Reed. And even better, we’re no longer bogged down with all the messiness from the last couple issues with the multiple Skrull Carol Danvers’ running around and too much of an emphasis on her interpersonal relationships. We’re full up on action now. And while not much actually happens in this book, it sure is staged well. We’ve got some nice story beats (the Skrulls react to Ms. Marvel’s power levels by shape shifting into defenseless innocents and blending in with the crowd) and good art. I don’t know if this book is as good as I rated it, but I think it’s such a step up from the last few issues that that probably had some influence on my score.

Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #2 (****)

I love the way they take the time at the beginning of the book to point out how many times Johnny Storm has been screwed over by members of the opposite sex. It’s one of those character moments that lets you understand the complete exasperation that Johnny deals with when he discovers that Lyja is the Skrull that infiltrated the Baxter Building. And I also like the way that Lyja realizes very quickly that she bit off far more than she can chew once the Baxter Building is attacked by all kinds of nasty inhabitants of the Negative Zone. Plus, we’ve got Annihilation Wave bugs! And a giant robot piloted by Franklin and Valeria! And the added bonus of the gang needing to rely on breaking some folks out of the Negative Zone prison for the next issue! This book is just pure fun, which is exactly what we should expect from a Fantastic Four book (Mark Millar, I’m looking in your direction). And Barry Kitson is still bringing the kind of awesomeness that makes me miss The Order. Nothing wrong with this book at all. It’s a bit on the flighty side, but still a solid read.

Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #1 (****1/2)

Exactly what I wanted. More issues of dealing with the trust factors of someone on a team being a Skrull (this time we’re dealing with Zavin of the Runaways), but at its core, this book is all about Hulkling. Because all things told, he’s an extremely important character for this entire overall event. This guy is the true heir to the Skrull throne. And we get to see the continuation of what happens after he took both barrels to the face during Secret Invasion #3. Zavin, after pulling a card from the deck of Captain Skrull-Vell and pretending to play along with the Invasion in order to further his own agenda, realizes who Hulkling is, and the chase to rescue him ensues, played out in front of the backdrop of a lot of his friends getting hurt and possibly killed. It’s human drama (though none of those involved are actually, you know, human). And it’s pulse pounding. And put simply, it’s great. As someone who doesn’t know who any of the Runaways actually are, I was able to get character traits down right off the bat (thanks, Chris Yost!), which allowed me to follow the excellent story unimpeded.

I am SHOCKED at how good all of these tie ins have been so far. This is an incredibly rich tapestry that is billowing in the wind behind the somewhat straightforward and austere book that is the main title. Yes, the tie ins are generally of a higher quality than the actual Secret Invasion mini. But that doesn’t bother me one bit. Everything informs everything else, and we’re left with this living, breathing organism of an event that is very costly if you want to experience the whole thing, but completely well worth it. Phew! That was a lot of words.

Bruce Castle Likes It Quick

4 stars = Stop reading review and go buy now!!!!
3 and a half stars = Great issue and make room on your trade shelf someday soon
3 stars = Recommended and maybe even trade worthy
2 and a half stars = Recommended
2 stars= Not the best, not the worst, not recommended
1 and a half star = Terrible issue and vocalize your disgust at your next social event
1 star = Awful awful awful and you may want to consider dropping this title
0 stars = Next con you attend where the writer and/or artist are present you should throw this issue in their face

Mighty Avengers #15- Sigh. Another Secret Invasion filler issue. I’m getting tired of these. They’re not bad, but I’m just kind of getting sick of Secret Invasion. I’m not even reading that many of the tie-ins. I guess because there are so many events going on right now and this is the one getting my anger. Also, is Bendis getting sloppy or do I just know him too well now. This issue was very predictable. Also, this issue supports the theory that the skrull queen was just screwing with Tony’s head in Secret Invasion #3. Who knows, but it looks like Tony isn’t a skrull, big surprise. Anyway, the issue was decent and I dug the art, I’m just bitter about a few things. 2 and a half stars

New Avengers #42- Why are these being released in the same week each month? That’s probably another thing that’s making this stuff taste sour. More filler in this issue. It answered questions I was more interested in though. Also, there is a great moment where a skrull says “and that #$%^ Tony Stark”. That tells me two things. One is that it supports again that Tony isn’t a skrull. Two, the skrulls have such disdain for Tony, so you heard it from Bendis folks, if you hate Iron Man, you must be a skrull. 3 stars

Captain America #39- This is more of the same thing. Not much is revealed here, but Brubaker is still handling the characters incredibly. The political parallels are slammed in your face though. I liked them better when they were more subtle. Still, pretty good issue. 3 and a half stars

Daredevil #108- Sigh. Non-Captain America Brubaker stuff. I haven’t read Criminal, but it seems like every title Brubaker writes other than Captain America is just slightly above mediocre if that. This is supposed to be an A-list writer and that is not what I’m getting. The writing is ok in this issue and Rucka does seem to be helping, but I still don’t really care about it that much. 2 and a half stars

Green Lantern #32- This is my favorite issue out of these five. Geoff Johns is still writing the hell out of this book and Reis’ art is top notch. There is action, humor, and romance. Plus, there are several awesome moments in here that make up for the feeling of misplacement that some people have. This is a great comic! 4 stars

Foilball’s Review Roundup #27: More Secret Invasions!!!

Mighty Avengers #14 (***)

So, these next two Secret Invasion tie-ins have been reviewed to death, but they still leave me with a few questions I’d like to address here. First, for Mighty it’s really only one question with a bunch of sub-questions: Was this issue written as fan wank or does it actually figure prominently into the overall SI plot? Like, is Bendis only answering “The Sentry Question” because he thinks the fans will call him on it, as they did with Greg Pak and World War Hulk? That question being, “If The Sentry is so EFFing powerful, couldn’t he single-handedly repel the entire Skrull invasion force?” Judging by the way he’s been built up in the last few years, then the answer has to be a resounding “yes, he could.” If Bendis is indeed answering this fanboy-ish question, then it’s my opinion that he is handling it… awkwardly? Seriously, the whole “just shapeshift into the Void” is equal parts logical and cheesy. I guess I’ll reserve final judgment on the matter until Bendis reveals whether of not Robert’s reversion to the Void will have any true impact on the plot of Secret Invasion. Heh, such a cop-out.

New Avengers #41 (***)

You know, it’s nice that after almost five years of waiting Bendis finally explains what the hell was going on in the Savage Land way back in New Avengers #6. But for me, it’s kind of too late. I don’t actually care anymore. I want to move forward, damn it! Now putting that aside, what I do still want to know is: Why the hell did Maria Hill blow up those Skrulls? Did she know they were Skrulls? If not, then who did she think they were? Was she trying to nuke the Avengers as well? Does this in fact make her a Skrull? Was she ordered by a third Skrull party to cover the incident up? WTF?!?! I hope these lingering questions are addressed eventually… until then, it’s kind of a huge gaping plot hole, dudes.

The Incredible Hercules #117 (*****)

Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente = Masterful Storytellers.

Things I liked about this issue of Herc:
• Skrull Gods look sweet!!!
• Hercules gets angry and kicks a tree.
• Hercules gets angrier and kicks a bunch of trees.
• Hercules knows his limitations.
• The Ego of the Gods on full display.
• Oh, snap! She fooled us all!

I’m convinced it’s not possible to keep this level of quality up. Someday the bottom will fall out… it has to! But, every day, I pray to Zeus it doesn’t.

Ms. Marvel #27 (**)

This issue blows and really the only reason I put it in the feature area of this Roundup is that I wanted to show you this:

Yes, that is another ####ING Helicarrier getting blown the #### up. GAH! Oh, and this really pissed me off. Carol, you suck. All things considered, we readers have to think that Simon might actually be in love with you. How dare you use him like that? UGH. I want to be done with this book, but I love Carol and every month I give it another chance to impress me. Sigh.

Quick Hits:
• Black Panther #36 (*): What happened Hudlin? Why have you led us astray?
• Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #29 (**): Knaufs!!! Why have you forsaken us!? Heh, getting biblical with this shit. Moore is competent enough, but it’s just not as good. And why the heck does this plot feel so much like what’s going on over in Invincible Iron Man? LAME.
• Number of the Beast #4 (****): Alright, shit is heating up. I’m really like this series. THE HIGH!
• She-Hulk #29 (*): David finally pulls back the curtain and explains about the missing time between his and Slott’s run. And you know what? Don’t care. DON’T CARE! Why? Your explanation sucked, Peter. Like your (current) writing.
• Teen Titans #59 (**): Hey, it’s the Dark Side Club! Other than that, I’m so lost.
• Thor #9 (*****): Still. So. Good. Loki? You rock.
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #54 (*): Still. So. Bad. Why are we sexualizing Old Lady Harkness? Cancel please!!!
• Uncanny X-Men #498 (****): Yeah, I happen to like the SF thread, and yeah, the Russian part of the story is better. But who cares, when’s the last time Brubaker wrote the X-Men so well? (This takes for granted that the “Rise & Fall” arc was not very good.)

Two sets of Reviews

Some spoilers here for Secret Invasion and Kick-Ass

New Avengers #41

So we’re getting more info on the Savage Land, both in terms of the past and the present. Bendis continues to fill in the gaps from previous events in Skrully lore, this time concerning the machinations of the SHIELD agents (read: Skrulls) that were drilling the Savage Land for vibranium back in that first New Avengers arc so very long ago. The paranoia continues to rear its head, as the Marvel heroes are having serious trouble believing anyone is anything they say they are. This is predominantly a story about Shana, Ka-Zar and Zabu discovering the truth behind the intrusion into the Savage Land. It’s pretty average, and at times skirts the edge of mediocre, but it still gives us information that furthers the background of exactly what the Skrulls have been pulling off and for how long. It’s not great, but it’s certainly not bad. And most importantly, it serves a purpose. C+

The Incredible Hercules #117

Now this, on the other hand, is great. We’ve got our boy Herc being tricked by Athena, the Eternals and some other Gods of various religions and cultures and ending up leading a group of their champions off this mortal plane in an attempt to kill the gods of the Skrull pantheon and thus crush their morale and hopefully put a stop to the Invasion through different means. This is the perfect kind of crossover. It’s heavily tied into the mythos of Secret Invasion, but I don’t expect to see this plot thread show up in the main title. All the same, it sure doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a complete throwaway based on the strength of both this first issue and the overall concept of the arc. Sacred Invasion, indeed. Awesome, awesome stuff here. Pak and Van Lente continue to bring that great sense of buddy cop whimsy without sacrificing tension and seriousness, and the art continues to impress no matter who’s drawing it. I was giddy while I read this book. And that last page? Hoo boy! This gon’ be good. Best tie in we’ve seen yet, and there’s some pretty strong competition. A

Mighty Avengers #14

Yup, it’s about the Sentry. And I guess it kinda officially confirms that the Vision that got off the ship in the Savage Land was indeed a Skrull. The book makes perfect sense from the logical perspective of the Skrulls needing a plan to take out the Sentry, and that seems to pay off well. Yes, the whole idea of the Sentry is pretty tired right now (you want to read a good Sentry-centric issue? Silent War #5 is one of the better portrayals of Mr. Reynolds as someone that is capable of actual thought), and the idea of all the Skrull infiltrators meeting in a darkened warehouse while staying shapeshifted in their new identities is a little silly, but just like New Avengers, there is purpose here. And that’s all I really ask for. It adds to the mythos surrounding Secret Invasion, and continues the trend that the Skrulls have finally gotten their shit together and are going about things right this time. That ending was pretty crazy though. I know a lot of Sentry detractors probably groaned, but I still think the Void dichotomy can work if handled in the correct way. Let’s see if Bendis can pull it off. B-

Ms. Marvel #27

There is one thing that is seriously hurting this book. It’s still in the Infiltration stages of Secret Invasion (and hence still has the Infiltration banner instead of the standard one), and since we’re getting the third issue of the actual series in stores tomorrow, the momentum definitely isn’t there. You just want things to speed up and get to the full on Invasion at this point. It’s hard to give this one a fair shake due to this send of redundancy, which isn’t automatically the fault of Brian Reed or anyone else for that matter, but this arc seems to be lost in the shuffle, and I can’t pull myself away and look at it objectively. C

Trinity #1

I wasn’t planning on picking up this book. I hadn’t preordered it. No issues with the creators, mind you. I’ve loved Busiek ever since I picked up Marvels in trade, and I really dug Bagley’s work on the first six trades of Ultimate Spider-Man. This third weekly really seems set up to be a cash grab more than anything. 52 and Countdown each had a point. 52 bridged Infinite Crisis to One Year Later (or, at least it tried to). Countdown led us into Final Crisis (or, at least it tried to). But here we’ve just got another story about Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman that just happens to be a weekly for no truly adequate reason. That just presupposes cash grab. But I still picked up the first issue at the shop yesterday because I was intrigued. And you know what? It was pretty darned good. The hook is that Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman each share a dream (which is excellently viewed through the lens of each character’s individual experience) about some cosmic evil thingie and come together to fingure out just what’s going on. Busiek throws in a nice little interlude involving the Flash and his family taking down Clayface. Can’t really figure out the point of that, but it was a fun scene. Of course, the whole point of this weekly, and the fact that allows for Busiek and Bagley to write and draw the whole thing themselves, is the way it is split into the main story and a length backup written by Favian Nicieza and drawn by various folks. The first installment of the backup seems to work pretty well in acting like a mirror to the main title, where we see the creation of a trinity of villains that hope to counteract the work of their much better known heroic counterparts. We’ll have to see exactly how this is going to work, because the art suffers a bit, but it’s written well and also carries along the intriguing premise of the first half of the book in a surprising and interesting way. There is a lot of potential for this series. I worry a little that Busiek won’t be able to write 52 issues in a compressed period of time without getting a little loopy, I won’t be buying the singles due to cash restraints, but I look forward to reading the trades some day. B

Secret Invasion #3

Seems like we’re finally starting to leave the set up stages, which means we probably have a lot of fighting to look forward to in issue four. Especially with that big ass gun Nick Fury was carrying in the final panel. I mean, sometimes a gun is just a gun, but Mr. Fury’s looking pretty virile there…Ok moving on. Bendis comes back to some of the threads dangling from the first issue, including Jarvis fucking with Maria Hill’s head, Norman Osborne fucking with Captain Marvel’s head, and Spider-Woman fucking with Tony Stark’s head, Yellowjacket fucking with the Initiative’s collective heads, and the Super Skrulls fucking with Vision’s head (by, you know, blowing it up). This issue felt longer than the first, despite being a little less wordy, and I think the disparate threads being reexamined allows for the grand design to further establish itself. Sure, we’ll probably see 90% of the Captain Marvel story in the Thunderbolts issues, but this is a crossover, is it not? What else is there to expect? I’m still definitely along for the ride, and I’m really hooked by the Spider-Woman/Tony Stark scene. I mean, it’s good to see Bendis make everything clear, that Spider-Woman is in fact a Skrull and was indeed replaced by the Skrull Empress, and that dialogue with Tony is just diabolical. Taking a man at his weakest point in the middle of being attacked by a technovirus that has infiltrated his entire body and stringing him along like that could completely unhinge someone. And it’s great because there are two possible outcomes here, both of which make logical sense. Either Tony is indeed a deep cover Skrull, or Spider-Woman is doing her best to make sure Tony’s a non factor in the continuation of the invasion by instilling that fear and doubt in himself that could cause him to hesitate for just long enough. I don’t really know what to expect from this series in the long term. I doubt we’ll see the end of the Superhero Registration Act or the Initiative. Everyone assumes Fury would come back to head SHIELD again, but I don’t know. What I do know is this is pure breezy fun with that little undercurrent of real artistry. A-

Kick-Ass #3

DAMN! Mark Millar wasn’t holding back much on this one. It makes you wonder what the lead time was for his writing and JRJR’s art work, because this is the perfect issue to come in on after a bit of lateness in a title. Did he know it wouldn’t ship monthly? Regardless, this issue sees the explosion outward of this little world. Suddenly, we know that there are others out there like our young protagonist, one of which happens to love eviscerating and partially decapitating people with his sword. Which is arguably fine if not for the fact that he’s basically an eight year old kid. Shit’s fucked up. But beyond all the blood (and you can tell JRJR is exorcising some demons with those last couple of pages), you’ve still got the continuation of this wonderful universe. Sure, Kick-Ass is practically Spider-Man for all intents and purposes, and he has to deal with the whole idea of becoming a viral video star and not being able to take care of it, to being mistaken for gay by the love of his life. It’s not easy for this kid, and he keeps going. This is by far the best issue of Kick-Ass we’ve seen, and it shows so much potential for the future. Pure, unadulterated fun. A

1985 #1

It’s more Mark Millar working in the “real world” here, with the beginning of this six issue mini. This is a trope we’ve seen in many versions, with the fictional characters moving into real life. In this case it’s the villains of the Marvel Universe. Now, the biggest deal about this book is the Tommy Lee Edwards pencils. Now, I’m not at all familiar with Tommy Lee Edwards. To be honest, I don’t know what else he’s done. I do know that this stuff is pretty awesome. Doom, Red Skull and Hulk all have that little extra tinge of reality that makes them look so otherworldly. I mean, I know a big guy in a green cape covered head to toe in armor is going to look a little strange (I mean, just look at the Fantastic Four movies), and Edwards makes sure to not draw him in a fashion that would make him blend in to an environment where he shouldn’t blend in. We’ve got a solid base for this book, and I’m excited to see if this could turn out to basically be Marvels from a child’s perspective. And that’s an angle I appreciate. B

Review: Ultimate Origins #1

SPOILERS!!!

It’s here! The event everyone was waiting for! Well, maybe not. Sadly this crossover was overshadowed by Secret Invasion and Final Crisis. I spoke to people who weren’t even aware of it until the week it came out.

The issue begins with Bruce Banner telling Spider-Man “it’s all connected”. This took place six months ago (is that all the time that the Ultimate Universe has covered? Wasn’t this supposed to have occurred way back in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up? I guess that’s comic time for you). This conversation between the newly acquainted heroes is interrupted by Hulks favorite people, the military. Banner transforms into the Hulk and runs away with the military pursuing the “target”(should that be Hulk’s new name? He’s been called it enough.).

We then flashback to a beautiful two page visual  of the Guadalcanal Campaign in WW 2 August 1942 drawn by Butch Guice who did a great job on this issue. We see a soldier dressed in patriotic attire (not Cap) that gets shot by the enemy and lands on the now bloody American flag. The president is unhappy that his super-soldier was killed. He wants “A God-fearing symbol to those godless bas###s”. We then move on to the Allied Invasion of Sicily in August 1943. Some allied soldiers are conversing and are referred to as “Howlett”, “Fisk”, and “Fury”. Props to Bendis for giving us some soldiers we know, always enjoyable to me. The enemy gets the drop on the soldiers and Fisk gets away. Nick and Wolvey are captured.

Fury is next found in a cell and gets escorted by some people that inform him that he is “Test subject 41. Project Rebirth.”. He gets strapped down into a chair without any explanation other than he should be honored. They inject the serum and Fury begins to grow and his eyes change colors. He breaks out of his restraints and begins kicking some booty. The dude running the project is informed by a soldier that he let all the prisoners go and that they all escaped. The guy doesn’t care because he says “We have our breakthrough.”.

We check up on Wolvey who is breaking out of his chamber in the nude in Alberta Canada October 1943. He runs out into the snow where some soldiers pursue him. They shoot him and he begins to regenerate.

Flash forward to Weapon X three years later. Two men are talking and one says that at first they were pursuing the super soldier serum. But then they discovered something new in Howlett’s genealogy. A mutated strain of human genome. The guy says that this is what they’ll call the mutant gene. These guys created a mutant. “James Howlett is mutant zero”.

WOW!!! And people thought the first issue of Secret Invasion was revealing. This is some huge stuff for the Ultimate Universe. I’m a big fan of the Ultimate Universe and have read everything in it so for me this stuff is huge. Wolverine, Kingpin, and Nick Fury fighting together in WW 2, Nick Fury is the first super soldier and humans created mutants! This is some cool stuff. Combine the good art and the large amount of jaw-dropping material and you’ve got one jam packed awesome first issue! If this continues, this could be the best crossover of 2008.

4 stars

Spoiler Review: Secret Invasion #3

Secret Invasion #3 could easily end up the most talked about book of the summer. WOW. I can’t believe I just wrote that. Hey, didn’t Bendis say a while back that issue #3 would have one of, if not the biggest reveal of the entire story? I do recall he did. Hmm… Okay, finally we’re out of the damn Savage Land! Finally! Some real action!

I never noticed how “pimpy” Jarvis is.

YAUS! Bendis addresses the biggest bitch I have with Marvel books!

Teddy tries to reason with his people.

Giant-Man Super Skrull gives Wiccan the high, hard hand.

Who’s a Skrull? I don’t really think this is much of a spoiler, since it’s been hinted and flat out admitted in other titles, but in this issue, Bendis officially outs Spider-Woman as a Skrull. Oh, Jesus. Does that “CRACK” mean Echo’s dead? Please, I pray for death!

Alright, if you don’t want to know the biggest reveal in the entire story so far, do not, I repeat… DO NOT click on the following image links. You’ve been warned.

SPOILER LINK 1

SPOILER LINK 2

Deep ####ING cover, dudes. See, I tend to believe everything she’s saying here. Why? I think it’s a little late in the Invasion to still be playing head games. I don’t know, I know they said that what happens in this issue would definitely NOT occur in this story, but Bendis and Quesada have lied about key plot points before… hmm, this smells like the real deal and I LOVE it. I’m totally BACK IN, bitches!!!

And finally, your cliffhanger for this segment… where are all the ####ing heroes?

Meh, not as exciting as last issue’s cliffhanger, but it’s enough to get this fanboy revved up for more!

Mega Event Review #1

Secret Invasion #1

 

Bendis’ Secret Invasion concept was one I could get behind.  But I was wary – Civil War was a concept I thought would be amazing and which the horrible writing made me drop after three issues.  Obviously, there was some solid concept work going on.  Plus, while I generally always hate Millar’s X-TREEM edgy take on…errr…everything, Bendis is top-notch on non-traditional superhero stuff.  So, Secret Invasion was something I was both excited about and worried for.  I picked it up and read it through, and…well, it wasn’t bad.  It had promise, but as a first issue, it was ultimately lacking.

Now, here’s the thing about the story.  It’s obviously well-planned, they obviously have some really cool things they want to do.  As a first issue, however, I felt this one was a failure.  The Skrull plan unfolds, and as a reader, guess what?  We get to see what it’s like to be on the OTHER side of a sleeper story.  There’s nothing wrong with that theoretically, but it turns out to just be a jumbled mess.

Before I continue, I must say: I am not reading New or Mighty Avengers, and haven’t been for a good long while.  It is possible that reading all the tie-ins gets the story to you.  But this feels too much like Countdown syndrome, the spine of a story that branches out in every direction and makes no sense unless you follow every branch.  I know that you don’t actually have to, but I vastly prefer when I can get the whole story, rather than a book that trails off into inconsequential detours to promote other books that I don’t strictly have to read.

Speaking purely on the book, though.  Not a lot happens, but what does happen, happens quite prettily.  The story is purely set-up and spin-off fodder, but the dialogue is entertaining and quick, and most of the characterization is well-done.  The final mystery of the issue, the appearance of all the 70s era heroes, is an interesting hook, and one that I look forward to seeing be unraveled in the coming issues, but it comes at the end of a book with no other hooks, just a lot of branching paths.

Ultimately, reviewing a #1 on any of these Mega Events is tough.  This issue wasn’t bad – it was no Countdown/Civil War.  I’m going to stick with it for another issue and see where it goes.  If Bendis brings it together and the story actually happens, I’ll be pretty excited, because he’s got a conceptually great idea going here, but as of the end of issue one, Bendis seems to be focused more on getting me to spend as much money as possible on tie-ins, rather than on giving me a great story.

Grade: C-

Final Crisis #1

Well, DC’s response to Secret Invasion is here, and it couldn’t be more different than Secret Invasion #1 if it tried…but different doesn’t necessarily equal better here.  Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones’ mad epic that started, in a way, with DC Universe #0, opens up here with a LOT of interesting ideas, left undeveloped…for now.

As promised, Morrison opens with Anthro, the first boy.  He’s given fire by Metron, and he proceeds to use it to help save a village attacked by Vandal Savage.  Flash forward, and we see a number of events come together.  The New Gods are dead, and Orion has landed on Earth.  The Guardians of Oa are understandably upset by this event, and send Hal Jordan and John Stewart a 1011 – a call to investigate Deicide.  Alpha Lanterns are sent, and we’ve moved on again. 

That’s the theme of the book, really – “and we’ve moved on again.”  Similar to Secret Invasion, the book jumps all over the place.  Unlike Secret Invasion #1, it makes sense without tie-ins, but it also has a downside: we aren’t going anywhere fast.  A lot of different things happen in this issue, a lot of crazy, epic things…but in the end, we don’t know enough about why it’s happening, or what it means.  We see the beginning of a lot of things, but that’s really it.

The issue is interesting and fast-paced, but almost requires a second read-through to understand, and in full Morrison mode, there’s a lot of flash, but not quite as much substance as you might like.  Still, the set-up is impressive, and the net is cast wide.  Where Bendis was throwing webs in every direction, asking you to follow every single one to see where it led, Morrison just threw about 8 balls in the air at the same time, and he’s going to juggle like a madman until he either brings them all together…or drops them all in a tangled mess.

Grade: C+

Secret Invasion #6 Cover Spoiled: Reunited?

Obviously, this put a HUGE smile on my face.

Foilball’s Review Roundup #20

Rating System: In Honor of Harrison Ford and His Most Famous Role

5 Stars: WARNING: Raiders of the Lost Ark
4 Stars: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3 Stars: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
2 Stars: The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
1 Star: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The Mighty Avengers (*****)

SECRET INVASION TIE-IN! Better than Secret Invasion… but we all knew that, right?

Batman: Detective Comics #844 (***)

The origin story for the new Scarface was sort of interesting, but I don’t see us going anywhere exciting from here. Now, the resolution to the steamy Bruce/Zatanna subplot… LAME! Bruce Wayne is the dumbest man alive. How do you turn this down? And yet he does. Alas, there is hope… Zatanna leaves the door open!

Captain Britain and MI13 #1 (****1/2)

SECRET INVASION TIE-IN! Again, better than Secret Invasion. Oh my gosh, actual Skrulls fighting actual super heroes in the actual opens? Fortunately, the tone of this book feels nothing like the first two issues of SI, it feels like something way more awesome! John Lennon Skrull? Heh. Black Knight returns! Captain Britain written not to suck! My only complaint is the way in which Wisdom was handled. Wooden would be the way to describe it. But, if the teaser for next issue is any indication, that shouldn’t be a problem for much longer.

Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1 (****1/2)

SECRET INVASION TIE-IN! And again better than Secret Invasion. Could it be? For the first time the tie-ins surpass the main event in overall quality? This is crazy! I mean, you guys all remember those crappy House of M minis, yes? I expected the same level of mediocrity from MI13 and FF (and yet I still ordered them), but the first issues have been shockingly fun and good. Oh hey, we’re in the Negative Zone. I don’t understand how anyone can be happy with the second issue of SI after reading MI13 and FF. It’s not even close. Anyway, I loved this exchange between Sue and Johnny. Oh, no, I mean Johnny and… Lyja!!! Oh, and Barry Kitson was pretty good too.

Hulk #3 (*****)

WOW. How I’ve missed you Ed McGuiness!!! Jeph Loeb is still horrible, but there’s barely any dialogue in this one so there’s thankfully little to complain about. BUT THE ART! Yeah, it’s basically one long fight scene, and you can call me a hypocrite for liking it, but it’s been so long since we’ve gotten some good old McGuiness, I can’t help myself. Shit, that was a lot of commas. Hey Steve, I’m curious now, what did you hate so much about this book? Sure, Rick calling himself “A-Bomb” is pretty terrible, but the Harpies were awesome! Heh. And Hulk busting out by the end of the 3rd issue made me a very happy man. The worst thing about the end of WWH was the fact that Hulk’s epic character arc was put on indefinite hiatus. Sure we got all those Aftersmash books from Marvel, but none of them dealt with the Hulk’s POV. Anyway, I’m really interested to hear your extended review.

Quick Hits:
• Action Comics Annual #11 (****): Although it was a great read, I can’t in good conscience give this book the full five stars.
• Angel: After the Fall #7 (***): Um, I liked this issue. The art was tons better and the Wesley and Connor stories were more interesting than anything that’s been in the book up to this point. Second thoughts about canceling?
• Avengers/Invaders #1 (**): This was kind of a letdown. For a Marvel book, the art was just off. The Bucky journal stuff in the beginning just didn’t sound like Bucky, or to be fair, Ed Brubaker’s version of Bucky. I’ll keep getting it, mostly because I want to see how all the modern heroes react to a resurrected Captain America, but I’ve adjusted my expectations for this series accordingly.
• Batman #676 (**): More letdowns. I’ve read some comments online that have said that this is the scariest interpretation of the Joker ever. I disagree. Also, am I the only one that hates Tony Daniel?
• The Walking Dead #49 (*): UGH. Bored now?
• Wolverine #65 (*): The conclusion of “Get Mystique”. Aaron treated us to a nifty naked fight between Mystique and Wolverine… meh. And then, as expected, Logan doesn’t kill Raven. So, what was the point of this much hyped story?
• Young X-Men #2 (-): Cancelled.

Review: Secret Invasion #2

Elektra was a Skrull.
Black Bolt was a Skrull.
Dum Dum was a Skrull.
Contessa Really-Long-Name-SHIELD-Chick was a Skrull.
Ms. Marvel was a Skrull.
Hank Pym is a Skrull.
Jarvis is a Skrull.
Invisible Woman is a Skrull.
Spider-Woman is a Skrull?

After reading Secret Invasion #2, I think we can safely add Spaceship Spider-Man, Spaceship Vision and Spaceship Hawkeye to the list, with an even BIGGER question mark next to Spider-Woman’s name. I mean, check out this totally Skrully panel of her running away! Oh, and could the Spaceship Captain America be the real deal? Clint seems to think so. Wait, is that even the real Clint!?! Too soon to tell, I would say. I want to believe that Mockingbird is really who she says she is, not because I like the character, but because Clint is right… he’s had a rough year. OH! What’s up with Carol giving Stark the Skrulliest look of all time?

If the first issue was an A-, this one’s a solid C+. Why? DECOMPRESSION!!! You know what Marvel, if I’m going to shell out $3.99 for a comic, I want more pages of story not just thicker cardstock! EFF. YOU. This is just bullshit. The plot inches forward… panel by wordless panel. When I got to the end, I was wholly unsatisfied in a way I haven’t been since House of M. Bendis, why do you hate us so much? WHY?!?

The best part of the book was seeing how clearly Clint’s sentimentality is affecting the logic centers of his brain. Dude, get a grip! That’s not Cap and that’s probably not your wife. Why does Bendis torture him so? WHY?!?

And thus it was written that this shall be your cliffhanger: Lots of Super Skrulls.

ASIDE: No “Origin Stories” this week. Sorry guys, The Bill’s got to rest up for next week’s Crime Lords Extravaganza!!!