Happy Fourth of July!

Things have been hectic around here the last few weeks, but normal M-W-F services should start up again on Monday! Have a great weekend!

Iron Man: Rings of the Mandarin (#23-28)

In the end, I find Kieron Gillen's run on Iron Man to be a frustrating one. Gillen clearly has some fantastic ideas for the character. The run is full of unique, new obstacles for Tony Stark to overcome. The opening arc showed all sorts of potential, especially when dealing with magic as technology.

Gillen went back to the well for this final arc. The Mandarin's rings have always been alien tech, but they blended suprisingly well into a story that featured Malekith the Dark Elf. Malekith's faerie world proved fertile ground, as a souped-up, magically augmented Iron Man armor really made these conflicts stand out. And after seeing Stark struggle for so long, Gillen did a great job of turning things around just a few issues in to this storyline. With Dark Angel and Arno Stark's help, Iron Man was ready for just about every contingency. The three person think-tank was a great storyline, especially when Dark Angel became Stark's personal Oracle. (If DC isn't going to use the concept, why not let Marvel use it?)

After dealing with Malekith for a few issues, Iron Man takes on the remaining ringbearers as the story wraps up. While there are definitely times where the story starts to feel a bit Green Lantern-ish, with different colored rings tossing around different colored creations. I almost think this was on purpose, though, because the story quickly moves past the device. The driving force (for me) was the unique, interesting personalities exhibited by each of the rings. Instead of brainless tech, each ring has a personality and regularly attempts boardroom style meetings to hash things among peers. What a concept!

The Liar ringbearer was Pepper Potts' fiance, but man, I can't even remember the guy's name (and I read the issue last week). It sure feels to me like that storyline got rushed when Gillen exited the title. The dude was introduced and turned so fast, he didn't have time to make that much of an impression.

The art was consistent through this entire arc. Joe Bennett and Luke Ross made seamless transitions as they traded off artistic chores, and their complimentary styles meant that I barely noticed the artistic switches. (I've noticed this about Ross before, he's a chameleon). I love that Arno Stark is wearing a modern, black and gold suit that is CLEARLY telegraphing Iron Man 2020's gear-shouldered armor. We all know where this story is going, and it is great seeing the seeds planted.

So Gillen's run. Entertaining. Enjoyable. But I can't help but feel that there was some sort of disconnect between the dynamic ideas and the somewhat meandering feel of the monthly books. Perhaps some stories were padded? In any case, I will continue following Gillen to his next Marvel book (let's cross our fingers for those Dr. Strange rumors).

This book ended up being GOOD, but man, I think it was almost EXCELLENT.

Original Art Reorganization!

Sometimes housecleaning takes precedence over a new review! I spent my blogging time yesterday reorganizing my sketches and original art over on Comic Art Fans, organizing by character and team rather than by year. It seems to be a lot easier to find favorite characters and themes.

I'm also amused seeing how clearly some characters are my favorites. Black Knight, Blue Beetle, Martian Manhunter, Captain America, no surprises there. Same with She-Hulk, Tigra, Wasp, and Rogue.

But I guess I really like Hawkman and Hawkgirl? And Big Barda is another frequent commission for me too.

Outcast #1

I always give Robert Kirkman’s new series a chance. Hundreds of great issues of Invincible and Walking Dead have certainly earned him that. Thief of Thieves started slow and has gotten better (at least according to the trades I’ve read) and it seems Outcast might be on a similar path.

Kirkman plays around with time and our expectations of storytelling as the issue launches. There is some hopping around between time and locations that sort of throw the reader off. I assume that was the intention; that we would be unsure of which damaged kid we’re seeing in the opening pages is the child-version of our protagonist. It’s funny; I had ZERO expectations coming in to this comic. I literally had no idea what the book was about.

It takes a few moments, but eventually it becomes clear what kind of comic this is. It’s a book dealing with demonic possession in rural West Virginia. Our lead, Kyle Barnes, is the survivor of not one, but two demonic episodes in his past. One occurred when he was a child and the other as an adult as he tried to lead a happy life. These experiences have led Kyle to become a broken man, hiding in his childhood home avoiding contact with the world. Events in this issue conspire to get him back out there.

Kyle is what is known as an “outcast,” something the demons seem to at least recognize, if not value. His blood has unusual properties, and it seems Kyle is also good at punching kids in the face. It seems that Kyle will be teaming up with a local reverend to assist in demonic exorcisms.

Kirkman is ably supported by the moody art of Paul Azaceta. I’ve long had affection for Azaceta’s work; I got some commissions from him years ago at a con that blew my socks off (Taskmaster and Baron Zemo, if you are curious). The art is effective in setting the mood, and most upsettingly, the kids look like kids. Many artists have a hard time getting that look down, but Azaceta doesn’t. It is really upsetting seeing the spiritual and physical damage these kids endure as the book goes on. This is a horror comic; it is supposed to be upsetting.

There have been a fair amount of demonic possession stories over the years, and Kirkman’s holds up fine. Azaceta’s work is very strong, and I’m happy to see him on a high-profile monthly book. But while I love Kirkman’s survival horror and super-hero books, I’m only starting to come around on his horror and crime. I think I’m giving this the “Thief of Thieves” treatment and I’ll check out the next issues from the library.

This comic is GOOD for horror fans who like exorcist style stories, especially if you want those stories in a rural setting.

Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe TPB

To just get it out of the way, I didn’t love this limited series. But I do love that Marvel published it. I’m not familiar with Christopher Hastings’ work, but he has a fun tone and a good grasp on the many characters that fill these pages. Longshot isn’t my favorite character, but again, it is wonderful seeing a C-level X-Man like this get a few pages to himself. Every character is someone’s favorite, so giving Longshot a limited series is a good move.

The story is a tad wonky. After getting a new hipster haircut, Longshot interacts with a cosmic cube, setting off a chain reaction that includes the In-Betweener splitting his aspects between Order and Chaos. Longshot’s probability altering powers naturally draw the two Betweeners’ interest. With one aspect running loose hunting down lucky people and the other in charge of SHIELD, Longshot finds himself trapped in a weird other Earth.

Amusing team-ups and battles ensure. All sorts of Marvel characters make appearances here, Mr. Fantastic and Iron Man. Deadpool, Scarlet Witch, and Dazzler. There are tons. Throughout, Hastings keeps the tone light and Longshot’s magnetism strong. Everyone loves being around Longshot, and it is hilarious watching him sort of coast through life on his appeal.

Jacopo Camagni’s art is solid, but not a ton more. He captures the sense of fun that a demon teddy bear requires, and he keeps the tone and action light, even when the situation seems dire. A crashing helicarrier seems to be a dramatic, heavy moment, but Camagni’s art keeps everything more like a Road Runner cartoon.

The carefree, disposable nature of this story makes it a good fit for Longshot. There are strong character moments scattered throughout. And the art is fine. That said, this is not a comic I’d run out of my way to recommend. It certainly isn’t "Evil," but I’m not sure if I can tag it “Good” either. In my old rating system, this would be Fair to Average. 

Heroes Con 2014!

I'm off to Heroes Con 2014! I'm the chubby guy in his late-30's with a goatee and nerd shirt on. There shouldn't be too many guys like that there, right?

While I get some new sketches, feel free to check out my existing collection!

Dark Avengers: Masters of Evil TPB

I’m not quite sure how this book got an extra lease on life, but I’ll take what I can get. Especially since Jeff Parker spends this last Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers trade frantically setting up the team to be used in other Marvel books going forward.

The core concept is pretty good; the Tbolts are trapped in an alternate reality created by AIM. This world’s twist? Earth’s greatest heroes have all turned to the wrong side. Iron Man has an army of iron slaves. Dr. Strange is a bloodthirsty horn dog shacked up with Clea and Tigra. The Thing has left his humanity behind and is the new Mole Man. Only Reed Richards (and to a lesser extent, Hank Pym) have retained their old moral compasses. In this stew of good guys turned bad, the Thunderbolts are ALMOST heroes.

The real problem is that I don’t really care for most of the team. Until this trade, Parker was spending equal time with his quirkier leads, Moonstone, Mr. Hyde, Boomerang, and the rest. Those guys are gone now, except for Moonstone. Instead, the leads are Skaar, Toxic Doxie, Trickshot, and the rest of the “Dark Avengers.” The only member of the team I truly like (other than Moonstone) is John Walker, US Agent. US Agent is the high point of the trade; Parker has addressed his missing limbs and put him in a place where he can easily be used in the future. No need to even mention the complicated way Walker “recovered.”

Moonstone and Toxic Doxie have the best voices in the collection. They are witty, courageous, and totally overconfident. It is hard not to like the ladies who are so certain that they can turn every situation to their advantage. Skaar still bores me. Trickshot has a few moments, but he’s no Hawkeye.

The art is a very pleasant surprise. I’m certain I’ve seen Neil Edwards’ art before, but it never looked this good. The character designs are strong, the action is clear, and the facial expressions are very well drawn. There are moments in here where I thought it was Georges Jeanty’s well-drawn faces and not Edwards’!

In summary, let’s see some more of US Agent and Moonstone! They shouldn’t go into limbo after this GOOD comic!