Convergence: Shazam #1

Aargh! It kills me that DC is putting out these books! It proves that they COULD put out a good Shazam comic if they actually wanted to. Jeff Parker, a long-time fave of mine, clearly gets the character. Billy Batson is optimistic and naïve, but still heroic. His family has his back. And best of all, the heroes want to do the right thing! What more could you want from a Captain Marvel book?

This is one of the stronger Convergence books because it barely acknowledges its part in the overall crossover. Three-quarters of this comic features a great showdown between the Marvel family and some of their greatest foes. It isn’t until the last few pages that we have to suffer through the redundant Convergence exposition.

Things get repetitive when we have to sit through Tellos’ exposition once again. As in most of these Convergence titles, the worst part of the story is the actual Convergence storyline. The battles between the different domed cities holds absolutely no interest for me. There aren’t enough pages to do justice to the antagonists, and in almost every case we have to just blindly accept that the heroes involved would give up and fight for Tellos’ amusement. I’m not buying it. Worst of all, I’m tired of reading the same dialogue over and over again!

It is crime that we are going to have to see Evan “Doc” Shaner spending time on the Red Rain vampire characters rather than Captain Marvel characters. Heck, I’d almost rather just get more sketchbook pages where we can see the brilliant ways Shaner would handle more characters if he got the chance. His clean style is retro and modern at the same time. Shazam looks perfect! Mary Marvel looks heroic and wholesome, like a kid-sister hero should. The villains, while threatening, are rocking a fantastic retro vibe that just makes them stand out.

How the heck did DC put out another EXCELLENT Shazam comic so soon after Multiversity. And what does it say about DC that the “real” version in the new 52 is so much less compelling? 

Multiversity: Thunderworld #1

Once again, Multiversity and Grant Morrison deliver a comic that I wish I could be reading every month. Let’s face it; each and every issue of Multiversity has given us a book superior to many of the monthly comics published by DC comics every month. But while many of the Multiversity issues have been good, a lot of my enjoyment has been conditional. There have been some big issues that kept me from loving the issue as-is. With Thunderworld, I have no such problems.

Morrison’s Captain Marvel is a smart and dynamic hero in a world full of excitement. Morrison dodges the gritty, modern sensibilities that Geoff Johns emphasized in his modern reboot. Instead, Morrison embraces the joy, optimism, and excitement that happens when a little boy, his sister, and his friend transform into the world’s mightiest mortals.

Focusing on the Sivana Family rather than Black Adam, Morrison leaves plenty of concepts un-mined for future follow-ups (that I can only dream about). The alliance of Sinvanas from multiple dimensions is handled so well that I found myself amused and spooked while reading the same panel. It is hard to laugh at the spooky, murderous Sivana who seems obsessed with Mary Marvel after only a glimpse. (That is probably the New 52 Sivana. Seems about right, doesn’t it?)

Cameron Stewart’s bright artwork works perfectly with the classic tone of the story. Stewart gets to really show off when the villains of the monster society show up. Mr. Mind, Sobek, and more show up looking threatening, but at the same time each of them could have just stepped from a well-drawn Saturday morning cartoon. I’m also tremendously pleased with the backgrounds. Stewart makes Fawcett City and the Rock of Eternity feel like fantastic places I want to visit. The locations almost steal the show from the tremendous figure work!

This is another GOOD issue that just reminds me that I used to love DC comics. Can I hope that after Convergence we might get some new monthlies set on these alternate Earths? I really want to read about these characters again. 

Avengers: Endless Wartime HC

This is perfectly fine for what it is. This is a somber Warren Ellis super-hero comic. With a serious tone, an introspective feel, and a very close to the movie sense of continuity. And it is perfectly fine. I liked the Arctic Harriers as odd mixes between Earth science and Asgardian magic. I especially like the way Ellis pulled the reveal of the strange creatures in the very opening of the book.

I was less enamored with his take on the Avengers. Part of that is due to his tendency to go with movie personalities for some of the main characters. But then, Hawkeye is reduced to a bumbling oaf for the entire book, so the MCU’s take isn’t necessarily the definitive one throughout the book. (Plus, Captain Marvel and Wolverine both appear here while neither has been in the Marvel movies yet.)

This is a one-shot story, but the pacing makes it clear that it shouldn’t be more. Many pages are used with the team in transit from one location to another rather than actually doing things. And while Ellis really tries to imbue the Arctic Harriers with some semblance of a personality, the lack of a true thinking, feeling antagonist keeps my interest lowered too. In my comics, I like to really look forward to the villains getting what they deserve, but I never felt very emotionally involved in the outcome of this conflict.

Mike McKone’s art is beautiful, as always. I love his use of the black and gold Iron Man armor (an armor that I’m already missing in the newer comics). I also like the cool confidence that Carol Danvers exhibits in every panel. She feels like almost an equal to Captain America, which is saying something for a team that loves Cap as much as the Avengers do.

This is a FAIR Avengers story. It wouldn’t be the first I’d recommend for folks who want a great taste of what the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can offer, but it is a fine supplemental tale told for the movie-watching “civilian” audience.

Avengers: The Enemy Within TPB

There are some stories that I just plain don’t like. I’m not sure if I’ve seen them too many times, or if they just seem like they needlessly halt any forward momentum in the narrative. Of the plots that annoy me, giving the main character amnesia is near the top of my pet peeves.

So the fact that this storyline ends with Captain Marvel wiping her mind and being “blank” to all of her old friends and memories? That’s pretty much guaranteed to leave me cold. Perhaps if I was more invested during the main plot, I might have bought in more.

I like Kelly Sue DeConnick’s use of Yon-Rogg as the main villain. He’s a good scumbag with Kree ties, making him a natural for Carol Danvers’ rogues’ gallery. I think part of my apathy comes from using the Kree Sentries as a bulk group. They aren’t pushovers, but when the Avengers are splitting up to fight them all over the world, they just aren’t as neat as when there is only one or two there to dominate the heroes.

You know what is almost as annoying to me as amnesia? The hero loses powers story. So watching Captain Marvel zip around on a huge space-bike doesn’t exactly endear the story to me either. That said, bonus points for using both Wasp and Sersi!

Another nail in the coffin is the consistently weak art that has cursed Captain Marvel since she renamed herself. Perhaps using a more clear-cut super-hero artist might help, but at this point, I have a hard time getting invested in the unclear and overly stylized work in this story. Look at those covers; if the interior art looked like that, I’d be a heck of a lot more interested.

I know people love this book, and I’m clearly in the wrong that it isn’t connecting for me. For me, this is AVERAGE.

I’m going to give the new series a chance, though. I think a more “normal” artist is going to go a long way for me!

Captain Marvel v2: Down TPB

How in the world did this book last as long as it did?

Kelly Sue DeConnick has built a cult following around Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers. The Carol Corps clearly adore this book. And I admit there is a lot to like. DeConnick has a great supporting cast, a nice handle on regular guest stars (including Monica Rambeau!) Death Cry is a great choice of villain too, considering the main drama of this collection is CM’s loss of her flying powers.

And that’s a neat idea! We saw in the opening chapters how important flying is to Carol, so seeing that ability fading away is heartbreaking. And I love how CM deals with the warnings too; she just ignores them and figures she’s stubborn enough to get along. That is my kind of character!

There is a bit too much talking for me, and I can’t make myself care about every member of the expansive supporting cast, but there is a lot of stuff to keep me interested.

But the art.

I dropped this book after one issue because of the art. I hoped when I grabbed this trade that the issue would have been addressed. It has not. Dexter Soy’s artwork is impressionistic, lacking backgrounds and settings in almost every panel. His actual figure work is OK when dealing with heroic characters (or sharks) but I never get a sense of where the action is happening. Filipe Andrade draws the 2^nd half of the collection, and he clearly never saw a model sheet. He’s drawing a different main character than the one that appears on the cover of this trade. His backgrounds are stronger, but his actual figure work is inconsistent. Characters change sizes between panels, their eyes expand and contract like a manga book.

This is a fair story torpedoed by art that is clearly not my style. It could be that I’m just not the target audience for this book, but I’d argue the relaunch (with a more classic artist) will prove that the art hurt this book. Overall, this is an EVIL representation of a character filled with potential. 

Avengers #9

This has been quite the meandering story since the relaunch. Jonathan Hickman clearly has a greater plan in mind, and parts of the book are done quite well, but I’m just not in love with the book.

Last month we saw our first Star Brand & Night Mask vs. the Avengers battle. There is a follow-up in this issue too, but that isn’t the high point of the issue. This battle has a lot more splash pages and “snapshots” rather than a combat narrative. That keeps it from getting as exciting as it could be. I think the intent is to put the focus on Night Mask’s narrative rather than the fisticuffs, and I’ve made my feelings clear about that in the past. Again, I like the use of Star Brand as a reluctant powerhouse, and seeing the main Avengers try to deal with him with some respect is a strong moment.

My favorite part of the issue involves Ex Nihilo, Abyss, and the New Universe characters on Mars. The book opens with Ex Nihilo explaining some of his greater plans for the Earth. Now, once again, there is a lot of talk about broken tools and cosmic manipulation that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but at least his dialogue gives a clear villain. This guy has a master plan that he’s working towards, and even if no one but Hickman exactly understands it, at least we have someone to root against.

The legion-approach to the team is entertaining, and I still like that graphic that opens each issue, but man, some of the team members are getting lost in the shuffle. There are just too many people on this team. I’d say this book stars Cap, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain Marvel, and Thor, with everyone else relegated to backup status or less. Cannonball, Sunspot, and Spider-Man are barely even there. As I stated before, I still don’t even understand what Captain Universe is doing there.

The art is pretty nice, with Star Brand in particular sticking out. He’s obviously a scrawny nerd blessed with incredible power. His posture and look reinforce the dialogue, he’s clearly quick to anger and somewhat volatile, but he definitely has a conscience. Dustin Weaver’s work on the big names is really impressive. His handle on Iron Man’s black and gold armor is great, I hope it is sticking around and not being replaced by the sunburst/Guardians armor. As I said before, Weaver is one of the few who seems to excel drawing the current Captain Marvel suit.

Fair

Avengers Assemble Annual #1

It makes me sad that this is the last “clean-up” job Christos Gage has assigned for Marvel at the moment. He’s been a favorite of mine for years. Few people are as good as Gage at wandering around the Marvel U explaining away uncharacteristic actions and editing gaps. (In fact, I think Kieron Gillen is the only current writer who comes close.)

This annual focuses on Vision and his lack of use in any of the core Avengers titles in Marvel Now. Viz had a big return at the start of AvX, but he’s nowhere to be found on the current teams. Gage explains that by playing Vision up against the Sunturion, a great, obscure Iron Man villain with his own personal identification issues. This is classic storytelling, comparing and contrasting your lead against a guy in similar circumstances who makes different choices. While Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Giant Man and Quicksilver appear, they are all there to accent the focus on Vision. Gage uses Quicksilver the most effectively, not surprising after he wrote him so well in Avengers Academy.

But even that clean-up isn’t enough for Gage. He also explains how the Avengers let the Vision’s robotic body sit in a box for years after Scarlet Witch destroyed him in Avengers Disassembled. Giant Man and Iron Man explain away their inaction with different reasons, but both work effectively at giving the Avengers an out on why they would sort of forget about their friend during the Bendis era of Avengers.

Man, thinking about it, it really bums me out that Gage doesn’t have any Marvel work coming up. He does important work, Marvel! You need to get him on a supporting X-book, STAT!

Tomm Coker handles the art, and he’s looking a lot more computer-y than he used to. He’s got a very Renato Arlem-look going on. That’s not a bad thing; I really like his Captain Marvel (especially her helmet) and his black-and-gold Iron Man. I sort of wish he’d left the original Sunturion design alone, cause that was a great-looking Bob Layton costume, but the new one is fine too.

Good

Avenging Spider-Man #10

So these two issues are pretty much Marvel Team-Up. Captain Marvel (the former Ms. Marvel) has at least as big a role in this arc as Spidey. I’m not complaining at all, it’s just interesting. I like what happens when you put Spidey with some strong creators and a random hero and let them go.

Not that this creator was entirely random. Kelly Sue DeConnick is writing the new Captain Marvel series. She clearly has a strong voice down for Captain Marvel. The new Cap is confident, bossy, and very obsessed with flying. All of those things make sense; it’s just taking me a moment to get used to it. All the recent history with Ms. M was always about her trying to live up to heroic potential, so seeing her so confident in the role is a bit of a switch.

I don’t actually think that Captain Marvel and Spidey make that good of a team-up. However, Carol Danvers and Peter Parker is a pretty good match. I enjoy the banter and the chemistry the two have when they are out of costume. I think having a bit stronger of a villain might have made a difference in the costumed sections; it’s just a little too timely having an “Occupy” based antagonist. I really like her dialogue; it’s just a bit silly. That said, I'm always down for new evil corporations in the Marvel U. I hope to see National Federal Bank up to no good in other titles.

Terry Dodson handles the art, and of course, does a great job. Robyn Hood has a nice design, and I’d actually like to see more of a flying, growing, robot. That’s a new power-set I don’t think we’ve seen before. Now that I’ve seen a great artist handle it, I’ve decided I’m not a fan of the new Captain Marvel suit. The constantly spiky hair is odd. The suit itself is still a tad generic looking. And I loved Ms. Marvel’s mask, so losing that bums me out too.

Fair