Vision #1-2

I had absolutely no plans to pick up this comic. I don't know Tom King's work. While I like Gabriel Walta's artwork, that wasn't enough to get me to try out this issue. Not with my sublist already ballooning.

But you know, there were so many positive reviews that I figured I could dish out another 4 bucks for issue one. Plus, it is set in my old hometown of Arlington, VA. Surely that's worth giving a book a try!

And now I have another book to buy every month.

Tom King is approaching this differently than any other book on the stands. While the story focuses on the lives of the Vision, his wife, and children, the book is tremendously gloomy. Thanks to an omniscient narrator, we already know that the Vision's attempts to lead a normal life are doomed. Something awful is going to happen. We don't know what it is, but we know it is coming. And watching Vision's experiment/dream fail is already fascinating.

King's Vision is cold, but not cruel. This is a different take than the one we normally see, but it works. Vision's family is struggling to fit into a world they clearly don't belong in, and may not even want. School and neighborhood living are big challenges when you are green robots.

King seems to have a handle on the Vision's extensive ties to the Marvel Universe too. Grim Reaper shows up in issue 1 in a pretty climactic way. (Is there any charcter who exits series like this more than the Reaper? I mean, the guy has a bad track record...) I am really holding out hope that Wonder Man makes an appearance soon. With the ominous vibe permeating this book, I'm curious to see how Simon Williams would fit into his "brother's" world.

Walta's art is pitch-perfect for the book. The art is grounded, as it should be for an urban horror title. But those super-heroic elements necessary to place the book in the Marvel Universe are perfect. We don't see Vision saving the world, but this is clearly the same character who does that in other titles. Walta's greatest strength might be the "acting" of his characters. Their faces are so expressive, I think the book would work with no words.

This book probably won't be long for the publishing world, but man, pick this up while you can.

Excellent

Captain America: Sam Wilson #1-3

Time for another of my absolute favorites from the Marvel relaunch.

Nick Spencer wow'ed me with Superior Foes of Spider-Man. He maintained that respect with his great work on Ant-Man. With his work on this title, he's graduated to must-read for me.

I've always been a fan of the Falcon, but even I'm impressed at how well Sam Wilson fills the role of Captain America. He's got the look down, with the shield fitting in much better with the wings than I ever thought it would. Most of all, Sam's idealism and hope are contagious. The same things that motivated the character as a community organizer make him a fantastic Captain America.

Spencer is cheating a bit too. I mean, including classic Captain America elements like Dr. Karl Malus, the Power Broker, and D-Man? And CAPWOLF??? CAPWOLF!

C'mon, that is like shooting fish in a barrel! And the biggest reveal, the one at the end of issue 3? I mean, the only way it could be better is if we were getting a return of the greatest snake of all! Spencer is balancing all these elements so deftly I'm confident he could handle that return too.

And Misty Knight works perfectly as Cap's new partner. Having her and D-Man as Cap's support team is brilliant; a blend of classic elements with new characters that make wonderful sense.

Daniel Acuna has been a favorite of mine since his work on Eternals. His style blends Jack Kirby and Alex Ross, making him one of my absolute top artists. The design on the returning characters is wonderful (Look at Misty on that cover!) D-Man looks tremendous! Best of all, Cap's costume looks classic under Acuna's pencil.

For those who haven't heard, there is a bit of controversy about just how liberal Sam Wilson is acting in the Cap role. Fox News, among others, have been pretty insulted by some of Spencer's content too. I suppose I could see the offense if I were of a different political mindset. But for me? If Sam Wilson keeps this up, he could end up my favorite Captain America.

Excellent

Amazing Spider-Man #1-3

Dan Slott has been writing Spider-Man comics for a long time. And while I faded out a bit during the One More Day era, I have to say I’ve loved everything since Superior Spider-Man a few years ago. Once again, Slott has a new, fresh take on Spider-Man that is different than everything we’ve seen before but that still remains true to the Peter Parker we know and love.

Peter has finally used his brain to get himself rich. Parker Industries is doing big things in the world, and while he isn’t Tony Stark (yet) he’s doing pretty well for himself. Peter has employees, friends, family, and plenty of other supporting characters that should give plenty of opportunities for upcoming stories.

Best of all, Spider-Man almost has a super-team. Spider-Man has been on team books in the past, but he’s rarely the financier and driver behind the story. In this incarnation of the title, Spidey has Mockingbird as a SHIELD liaison and Clash as an employee struggling to give up his costumed identity. Best of all, Hobie Brown, the Prowler, is on the payroll too. The Prowler fits in the book perfectly as both a partner for super-heroics and as a straight man for Spidey’s buffoonery. It never hurts to see the Human Torch either, and playing him against a “friend rival” in Harry Osborne is a great move too. There were multiple times while reading these comics where my daughters and I laughed out loud.

In addition to the high concept and the guest-stars working perfectly, Slott is using one of the best “classic” villain teams in the Marvel U: The Zodiac. Sure, it is a new incarnation, but man, they are already a great team. The Zodiac is presented as a real threat with a large, well-financed organization and a cadre of super-villains at the top. And Slott is knocking their characterization out of the park. He is able to give bosses and flunkies alike delightful personalities in only a few lines of dialogue.

Giuseppe Camuncoli is an artist well-accustomed to Spider-Man, and he shows it. The new Spidey design is just a bit off from the classic look, so I accepted the new look with no reservations. The Zodiac designs are instantly recognizable and striking. I also like the design of the fleet of Spider-based vehicles and gear that Peter is able to show off these days. In fact, on those gorgeous Alex Ross covers, the new costume looks nearly as good as the original!

Good

Invincible Iron Man #1-3

Bendis always writes a good jerk, so it is not surprising that he’s doing a nice job with Tony Stark. Even in New Avengers, the billionaire was a good fit for Bendis’ talky habits. This title is pretty much the definition of a Bendis book. A thoughtful protagonist who spends more time talking than actually doing things. The use of classic guest-stars (Dr. Strange) and villains (Dr. Doom and Madame Masque) acting in out-of character ways is expected at this point too. The pacing is tremendously slow, again, as is the norm in Bendis’ super-hero work.

In fact, there hasn’t really been a whole lot of story traction accomplished in the first three issues of the book. Iron Man fought Madame Masque once or twice. Talked to Dr. Doom. Talked to Dr. Strange. Went on a date. Not really a whole heck of a lot of plot movement that I’ve been able to discern. And the oddest part is that somehow Marvel decided there was TOO MUCH story for just one Iron Man title. There is a second Bendis Iron Man title on the way. So weird!

And again, just as you’d expect, Bendis’ Iron Man features a fantastic artist that makes all of those weaknesses I listed above seem a whole lot more palatable. David Marquez’ clean-lined art is gorgeous. His Madame Masque redesign is new and dynamic, yet still checks all the required boxes for the character’s visual design. The new Iron Man armor is future-facing and original. I don’t love it as much I did the black and gold suit from the Kieron Gillen’s relaunch, but this is leagues better than the white armor from the Superior run. This series might be slow and verbose, but it sure is gorgeous.

I'm sticking with it for now, mostly for the art, but I'm also holding out that Bendis will ramp up the action too. 

Fair

Black Knight #1

After having a very small comic list for most of the summer and fall thanks to Marvel’s Secret Wars and the ongoing New 52 from DC, I haven’t had much to say for awhile.

Now that we are in the midst of the all-new Marvel relaunch, there is a lot more for me to weigh in on. A couple months in, let’s take a look at Marvel’s new output.

You don’t understand how badly I want this to be fantastic. Black Knight/Dane Whitman has been one of my favorite characters for decades. He was a central Avenger during my formative years, so he will always hold a place in my comic-reading heart. I was concerned with the launch of this book because while Frank Tieri is a solid writer, he’s not one of my favorites. That said, he’s clearly a fan of the character. So I had hope.

It turns out the measured hope I was holding out was pretty appropriate. Black Knight is stuck in Weirdworld, a fantastic high-fantasy or sci-fi setting. He’s already the leader of a group of somewhat heroic new characters yet he’s on the outs with his former allies in the Avengers. We don’t know exactly how either of those things happened, but we do know that Dane is struggling with the curse of the ebony blade. The curse is a long-standing part of the character and I like the use of the original Black Knight, Sir Percy, as an observer and witness warning Dane about the dangers he’s facing. So I’m OK with the high concepts in use here.

But man, the supporting characters (whose names I can’t even remember) are pretty bland. I also worry that exiling Dane to Weirdworld will take away a lot of the Avengers-based interactions that I loved about the character. As a watered down Game of Thrones lead, I don’t know that the Black Knight is interesting enough to anchor his own title.

Luca Pizzari is clearly going more for the fantasy feel. This doesn’t look or feel too much like the super-hero Black Knight that I prefer. That isn’t to say the art is bad, it is just a bit muddier than the stuff I prefer. I do like the more fantasy-based design for the title character, I just wish there was a way to show off the old John Buscema look too.

This is clearly not the Black Knight comic I’d prefer, but it isn't bad. Gonna keep giving it a shot! 

Fair

The State of My Sublist: Fall 2015 (part 1)

School’s back in session (for my kids). The leaves are turning. There is a bite in the air in the early morning. Fall is here. Time for me to check back in!

This summer marked a sad new achievement for me; I went an entire month without visiting the comic book store. There simply were not enough comics coming out to make it worth driving over and picking them up. As someone who has made the weekly pilgrimage to the comic store for 30 years, I’m shocked at this development.

That said, I am still buying some comics on Comixology, so that would certainly have driven me into the shop if I didn't just download them on my tablet. And don’t think for a second I don’t like comics any more. I love them. There are still plenty of fantastic books out there.

• Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye is simply brilliant. The stories can sometimes get a tad silly, but always with pitch-perfect characterization and masterful dialogue. James Roberts writes this book as if it is an excellent sitcom or dramedy, and I mean that as high praise. It is not hyperbole to say that these are the best Transformers comics ever published. This title needs to be held in the same regard as the “Bwa-ha-ha” era JLI. It is that good.
• G.I. Joe: Real American Hero has somehow returned and maintained its place as the perfect nostalgia comic. Larry Hama’s continuing saga adds to the Joe canon while having enough repetition to remind me of the joys of reading comics as a kid. The Death of Snake Eyes should rightfully get more eyes on this book, as it is simply a joy to read every month.
• Walking Dead and Invincible are easy to forget, because Robert Kirkman has been doing them so well for so long. The slow-burning horror of Walking Dead has achieved the perfect balance of hope and terror. Invincible’s current arc isn’t as dynamic as some of the recent madness in that title, but it is OK to give your characters a breather sometimes too.
• Hellboy, B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth, and Abe Sapien continue to roll on as well. With the loss of institutions like Fables, it is easy to remember that Mike Mignola and John Arcudi have been creating the same epic, post-apocalyptic tale for over a decade. In the more recent BPRD trades, I feel like there is enough Hellboy-style super-heroic action to satisfy super-fans too.
  
• And my beloved Astro City. How sad is it that I feel a stronger bond to the characters of this one title than I do to the entire DC Universe? It is not surprising, I guess. At this point, Astro City has a much longer and tighter continuity than the DCNU! Kurt Busiek’s masterpiece often speaks on aging and time, two subjects close to the audience’s hearts, I imagine. But rather than becoming maudlin, Astro City celebrates super-heroes and the passage of time in a poignant, interesting fashion. Heck, I never thought I’d need to read Astro City to get my Superman fix, but here we are!

Marvel still has a few titles holding on for me this summer. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is a delight. Ant-Man is very entertaining. This Silver Surfer run will go down as a classic. But Daredevil is the pinnacle of what corporate super-comics can achieve. Mark Waid and Chris Samnee are wrapping up one of the best runs of my comic-reading career. Frank Miller was always too dark for me; THIS has been my favorite Daredevil era.  

DC Comics only has one book on my current sublist. All-Star Section Eight. I don’t love it, don’t hate it, but at least it reminds me of one of my favorite comics of all-time (Hitman). Garth Ennis can put out this kind of stuff in his sleep, I think. I tried Starfire, Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, and Justice League, but none blew me away. I really wanted to like them, but they felt too much like the new 52 or too far from the core character concepts that attracted me to the characters in the first place.

Image has had some good stuff too. The Fade Out, Trees, and Invisible Republic have all been intriguing. Valiant continues to be a great value on Comixology with the always entertaining Archer & Armstrong, Eternal Warrior, and X-0 Manowar.

But All-New, All-Different Marvel Now? That is going to be mighty expensive for me! 

To Be Continued!

Secret Wars Vacation

In an effort to stay excited about comics, I'm taking the summer off. It doesn't help that my sublist is very, very small during Secret Wars. My feelings about Jonathan Hickman's writing make for negative posts, which I'm trying to avoid.

I'm trying a few DC books, but I feel as though my opinions on DC's current output is very clear, so I don't want to dwell on being negative there either. (So far, I like Justice League, Starfire was average, and I'm in on Section 8 until the end.)

I'll see you guys again this fall when Marvel relaunches their entire line! In the meantime, I'll still be posting nonsense on Twitter. You can find me at @MrTimbotron!