New Avengers #1

Why didn’t anyone tell me that this is basically Black Panther #1? Now maybe that is just the first issue, but I sure hope not. Jonathan Hickman clearly has a great take on the character and I want to see BP in his own book again. Hickman gives T’Challa a major boost in powers; in this one issue he teleports, generates a Cap-like energy shield, and turns invisible. That’s all in addition to his regular strength, speed, and vibranium claws.

T’Challa is drawing together the Illuminati in order to address a strange, inter-dimensional incursion that starts in Wakanda. It’s hard to say exactly what the invaders’ goal is, but thanks to a well-designed new villain (Black Swan) and some quick deaths, there is already some emotional weight to the story. Hickman doesn’t have much time to make us care about his new Wakandan creations, but he uses his pages wisely.

So far the Illuminati is Captain America, Tony Stark, Namor, Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, and Black Bolt. I thought I read that Beast would be taking Professor X’s place, but maybe that is still to come. (I’d rather see Cyclops or Magneto!)

Steve Epting is a known quality for most comic fans. His art is dynamic, with thick blacks and great use of shadows. He does tend to draw young-looking women, and Black Swan is no exception. But his Avengers look great; I hope to see him drawing Black Panther for a long time.

Good

Invincible #99

Wow. Robert Kirkman is obviously best known for Walking Dead these days, but I hope he always finds time for his super-hero creation. Invincible continues to deliver shocks and thrills bigger and better than most other super-comics on the stands.

After Dinosaurus flooded the Earth last month, the Guardians of the Globe are overtaxed trying to deal with it. We get some pages of the Guardians dealing with the West Coast flooding, and we hear about other Kirkman-verse creations like the Actioneers, the Wolfman Corps, and others trying to make a difference. It’s pretty cool hearing about the world-wide super response; I’d love to see more of it on the page if there is time. As cool as that variety of heroes is, hearing about Robot piloting 30 bodies at the same time is the highlight of the issue. And that’s WHILE he’s coming up with a more long-term solution to the coastal flooding.

Alternating with the Guardians’ rescue efforts, we get a fantastic throwdown between Invincible and Dinosaurus. Ryan Ottley makes it clear this is a brutal, violent battle with huge stakes. Every page of this issue is a splash page, and yet a ton happens. Kirkman does provide a fair amount of dialogue, and the book does feel like quite a bit is happening. But the action has a lot of room to stretch its wings. These two Superman-level characters have a destructive battle worthy of a hundredth issue (and this is only #99). I am curious about Mark Grayson’s lack of costume on the last couple pages. Any hope for a clone situation?

Is it too much to hope that “Everybody Dies” won’t actually have any death in it? All these characters have too much potential for any of them to leave the book now. Who doesn’t want to see more of Bulletproof? Or Atom Eve? Allen the Alien is a fan fave (at least to me).

Excellent

12 Days of X-Mas: Avengers: X-Sanction (2010)

I hope you’ve enjoyed this year’s 12 Days of X-Mas. This really revealed one thing; there are a lot of X-Men comics! As I was picking through the options, I was overwhelmed with my volume of X-Men comics. And that's not really counting the ongoing series. 

For next year, I’m already looking at Rogue’s solo series, Domino’s limited, and the Beast’s weird X-Factor one-shot for next year! And how many of you remember the Imperial Guard limited series? Anyway, on to the finale! 

I think it is time to just start reviewing Jeph Loeb comics based on the art. More than any other writer, his stories are there to service the pencils. The entire plot for this series boils down to this: Cable thinks the Avengers are a threat to his daughter Hope, so he attacks them. For four issues, it is a series of one-on-one battles as Cable drops heroes way above his weight class. 

Not surprisingly, Red Hulk comes out of this looking the best, he almost beats Cable. Cable repeatedly refers to the Red Hulk as Talbot, though, so that’s an odd thing. I know Nathan Summers might be referencing a different timeline, but perhaps Loeb is hinting at future plans. 

I also appreciated Falcon getting a few licks in during the finale. Falcon was nothing more than bait in the first issue, but by giving him the first few shots out of the freed Avengers, he gets to regain a little dignity. Ed McGuiness draws the heck out him in the panel after he escapes; Falcon looks like the frigging Hulk! It would be great seeing him draw the character more. 

The way Loeb writes, Cyclops really wouldn’t have gone up against the Avengers in AvX. Cyclops is constantly giving in and trying to keep the Avengers happy. I also real hope that Cable comes out in Cyclops’ corner in the current X-books, Cable pretty much promises as much here. (Having just four X-Men in Cyclops’ new Brotherhood doesn’t seem like enough support.)

McGuiness is tremendous, as always. I absolutely love his larger-than-life takes on the heroes. I don’t like Cable stealing Colossus’ look for the conclusion of the series, but at least it is a dynamic design (it’s worked for Colossus for years, after all.) In fact, the art is so exciting that it raises the grade for this very simple story. If nothing else, it looks great seeing Cable take on all these icons. (My favorite battle is probably the one facing Iron Man in issue 2.)

Fair

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Men: Phoenix Endsong #1-5 (2005)

So I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the last time the Phoenix force came back, when it only got a five-issue limited series, not a publishing event to tell the tale.

Greg Pak wrote the series, and it is sort of a mixed bag. I really like his take on Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Jean Grey, but I don’t necessarily love them together. Cyclops is crazy in love with Emma Frost, which is weird, seeing how they’ve been together so long in real time now. Emma Frost is still trying to prove herself to the rest of the X-Men, and the Kitty Pryde vs. Emma Frost conflict is in full effect. Jean Grey is more a force of nature than anything else; in fact, her most moving scene is the one where we see the X-Men remembering their fondest moments with her. 

Pak has done some work I’ve loved over the years, but this stuff is just OK. The exception is Cyclops; I really love his take on the X-Men's long-suffering leader. Cyclops directs the team through each issue, and his unrequited (at the end) love for Jean Grey is palpable in his dialogue.

One thing that really hit home reading this is how much I miss Nightcrawler. He really belongs with the X-Men, and his long team-up with Storm during this story could have used more panel time. The two don’t have complementary powers, really, but they joined the team at the same time and share a lot of history.

Quentin Quire serves as a distraction for all five issues as he tries to get the Phoenix force to ramp up his already omega-level abilities. Angel, Storm, Kitty and Beast all get some work (this is when Angel still had his weird healing blood) but Wolverine is the only other guy given a lot of dialogue. He pines and suffers as Phoenix changes outfits, but his main role is to stab her. It is interesting seeing how many AvX plot points get directly called out here, too. 

As for the art, wow. Greg Land full on draws ladies with no clothes on and counts on the coloring to hide that fact. I swear there are panels with Jean Grey’s bare @$$, it is just painted red to distract you. The adult film faces are in full effect too, Jean Grey is really enjoying herself with all that power. Emma Frost looks like her costume needs to go too. Land actually does a nice job with Nightcrawler, and it does make sense that Angel looks like a model. But wow, Beast totally looks like the Muppet Ralph, a weird mix of dog and lion. 

Average

12 Days of X-Mas: Wolverine and Punisher #1-4 (2004)

Issues 1-4. OF FIVE!?!

Oh man. Is there anything more annoying to the OCD comic collector than picking up a limited series to re-read and realizing you are MISSING THE FINAL ISSUE? I don’t think I actually read this when it came out, because I know I would have tried to get the conclusion. What the heck was I thinking???

Peter Milligan is one of my favorite comic writers, but his approach to super-hero comics has always been unique. He often uses satire to play up the ridiculousness of the genre, but he doesn’t really do that here. Instead, he has a pretty basic Punisher plot (guest-starring Wolverine) and just lays it out there. I’m sure he’s still got a smirk on his face, because the dialogue all sounds so stiff. No one talks like this. It is worse with the villains than with the heroes. One criminal is named Napoleon, another is “the Lady,” and the accountant character is another almost-stereotype. The Punisher actually convinces one con to hand over his weapon by asking “who is it you really hate?” I mean, that level of introspection is not normal for a Punisher comic.

Much of the first issue tracks Napoleon as he draws the attention of the Punisher, then flees to Erehwon. Erehwon is a haven for those who have caught the Punisher’s eye and have to flee civilization. After years and years of hiding, the council that rules the jungle town has set up an ambush for the Punisher where he will need to deal with Wolverine and the killer known as the Atheist. … Really. The Atheist. He’s dangerous because he believes in nothing. No way was Milligan being serious.

So the story is a strange mix of the generic and the absurd, but I can’t say that about the art. Lee Weeks is one of my favorite classic pencillers. His Punisher has a receding hairline and Wolverine never gets close to a costume. No character’s face is generic; each “actor” has his own features and tics.

Rest assured, I’m now hunting down the last issue of this series.

Fair

12 Days of X-Mas: Morlocks #1-4 (2002)

Isn't it weird that Geoff Johns actually wrote for Marvel Comics? And even weirder, he did more than just his well-acclaimed run on Avengers. (Heck, Johns did a whole slew of solid Marvel mini-series around this time.)

Going off my memory, this was Johns' only foray into the mutant corner of the Marvel U. He actually stays away from any existing characters, and instead re-imagines the Morlock concept. Instead of Callisto's crew in NYC, this series follows a random band of mutant outlaws living under the streets of Chicago. The antagonist for the series is the perverted Dr. Mettelus and his army of Sentinels. It's pretty cool seeing the Sentinels as a big threat; we know the X-Men can knock out a dozen or so in an hour, for these new mutants, it is a lot tougher.

Johns introduces a quirky, interesting set of characters in this one. Not everyone gets a lot of panel time, but every character gets at least a few good lines of dialogue. Litterbug is the only character I feel like I've seen since this limited series, but many of the Morlocks seem like they would be good additions in the modern Marvel U. The Postman can make people forget specific things he declares to them. Electric Eve is your generic electricity caster (with added seizures). Angel Dust can amp up her speed and strength. I'm never quite clear on Shatter's exact power set, but he's got a good look. (A few moments of research shows that at least a few of these guys lost their powers in M-Day. Too bad, I would have liked these guys showing up again!)

Shawn Martinborough is an artist I didn't appreciate back in the day, but his style has really grown on me. His blocky figures are almost like Charlie Adlard's, but with a bit more texture to them. He excels in drawing tech, and his Sentinels look fantastic. I can see why Litterbug has been used after this series, he's clearly the breakout character with the best look. Just look at that cover!

Good

12 Days of X-Mas: Iceman (2001)

Happy New Year! 

I need to go digging through my back issue bins more often! I knew I was in for a treat when I saw this was written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who now rank as two of my favorite authors. I don’t think I was quite as tuned in to their work back in 2001, though; I didn’t have any memory of this series at all.

This limited is almost entirely plot-based. Iceman has a few personal connections to the story (ex-girlfriend and child, mostly) but for the most part, this could have been any character up against an evil corporation. It’s not that Iceman is a boring character, but comparing this against Iceman’s 1985 series, and it is clear that Iceman doesn’t have quite enough depth to really support a character-based series. Iceman works great in a tough spot, though. 

Iceman travels to Hong Kong to meet up with his ex-girlfriend Opal. Bobby Drake just found out that she bore his son, and he needs to help support the boy. Shortly after landing, things get mysterious when these weird mutant kids start attacking Iceman all over the place. (Iceman seems to have a public ID here, maybe that’s always been the case?) It turns out the villains actually want to harness Iceman’s powers to increase processing power for both legal and illegal creations. As you’d expect, Iceman has a problem with this. 

One of the best surprises in this mini is Foe Dog, an old Hong Kong super-hero. He’s got a great, fun, kung-fu design. He’s definitely the “old mentor” archetype, but his excitement at getting his powers back makes him a lot more likeable. He’s got strength, agility, and fighting skills, plus the ability to teleport through shadows (though he has to tell the shadow he’s coming). He’s a great hidden character. I wonder if he’ll ever be used again? He’s a demon fighter and super-hero, surely someone can think of a use for this guy! 

Karl Kerschel shows Iceman using his powers in some neat ways. He creates ice lances, ice doubles, and of course, slides and blasts. I’m not a fan of Kerschel’s anime-inspired style, but I missed his work on issue three, where Skottie Young made everything look like graffiti. It’s too bad it is tough get even four issues with artistic consistency! Again, Kerschel’s style isn’t my first choice, but other than a few moments where it is hard to discern exactly what’s happening in a panel, I like his kinetic, frantic pacing. The art often feels like it should be racing along with a fast soundtrack. 

Good