2007 Year In Review: Marvel Edition

Right, so, Marvel? Weird, weird company.

2007 began badly. First we had the shit-tastic ending to Civil War which went out with a whimper, not a bang. (Cap finally deciding to give up? Really?) This was immediately followed by a flood of new books, Initiative and Avenger-related, the vast majority of which I ignored.

Then, we got the final issue of Nextwave, and seeing that title end made me so very, very sad. It was a postmodern four-color love letter to the crazy, stupid, irrational joy of superheroes

(Side Note: Nextwave was also notable because Warren Ellis seemed like he finally learned that it was OK to mock superhero comics and have fun at the same time, instead of trashing them in a bitter, vengeful kind of way.)

Following that, Cap died. This, as you might have heard, was regarded as something of a big deal, and rightfully so. While I can't deny that it was well-written and set off an interesting chain of events, I feel like Bucky, Falcon, and co. have been treading water ever since, and I'm running out of "faith in Brubaker" cards to play. We'll see how CapBucky works out this year.

Things started turning around with the smashy yumminess of World War Hulk, a beautifully drawn slugfest that stood up just fine without reading any of the tie-in/spinoff/whatevers.

Annihilation:Conquest also began, and while it's too soon to tell whether it's going to pay off or not, it's been okay thus far despite lackluster miniseries prologues.

(Side Note: The ending to What If Annihilation Had Reached Earth? Was. Awesome. And a much better way to end Civil War... and Annihilation, for that matter. Been said before, but it bears repeating.)

More importantly (to me), Iron Man started his long road to creative rehabilitation. Between the outstanding Iron Man: Hypervelocity miniseries from Adam Warren, the joyous Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin miniseries from Joe Casey and 2GBC fave Eric Canete, Christos Gage's Iron Man Annual, and the wow-there's-actually-a-Brubakeresque-long-range-plan-here surprising goodness of the Knaufs' work on the regular Iron Man series, Tony Stark is becoming somebody you'd actually want to read about again. Who'da thunkit?

(Side Note: Of course, after having been characterized as "fascist assclown" for the majority of 2006, anything was bound to have been better.)

And hey, howzabout the return of Thor this year? Strazcynski's been much better than I expected despite one or two bad storytelling choices (Thor v. Darfur, anyone? No? Good.) , and added three or four legitimately interesting twists on bringing back Asgard and Company. Can't say I have much love for Coipel's art, but I certainly can't say it's bad, and that's good.

As for other Marvel books --- well, Moon Knight kind of died on the vine erupted in flaming vomit.

And then there's Spidey. I don't regularly read Spider-Man, and an editorially-mandated deus ex Mephisto divorce story sure as shit wasn't going to make me start. Since I didn't actually read it, I can't comment on the quality of the storytelling (though it certainly smells pungent from where I'm sitting), but I will say this: I don't know anyone that was reading Spider-Man for the marital drama. I don't know anyone that will read Spider-Man for the insight into the singles scene.

I guess what I'm trying to say is there's bad, and then there's unnecessarily bad. "Fixing" something that wasn't "broken" in the first place except in the mind of a relentlessly-poor-judge-of-story Editor-in-Chief is forgivable if it's done as an honest piece of work; doing it because you shot your wad for cheap press and shock value in Civil War #2 and have to backtrack is insulting.

X-Factor has been hijacked with the God-damned Messiah Complex crossover for... well, I think it's been 4 months, but it seems like forever. Please, I beg you, stop the madness.

Oh, and the confusingly-titled Marvel DCU launched this year; anyone out there using the digital model now instead of the paper kind? Let us know how that's working out for you.

(Side Note: when I first saw Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited abbreviated as "Marvel DCU", I immediately went into 3rd degree respiratory failure as every shitty Amalgam comic came rushing back into my brain. And yes, I read far too many of those.)

So yeah; lots of ups and downs for Marvel this year. Like I said, weird company. I guess my hopes for 2008 on the Marvel side boil down to 2 things:

1) Stay true to your characters. Someone wants a fresh take or re-imagining? Fine. Slap an Ultimate label on it. Don't mess with the 616 unless a good great story demands it.

2) Let's get the band back together. At this point, the only Big Event series I want to see is Captain America + Every Marvel Hero Ever banding together to fight off the super-army of Dr. Doom + Every Marvel Villain Ever. Give me 5 issues of that, good vs. evil, good guys v. bad guys, throwing down in a super-sized bar fight, and I will be one happy reader. Christ, at this point, I'll take Secret Wars III.

Is that asking too much?

Catching Up: Marvel Edition

Well, I cleared the backlog of comics waiting for me at the LCS, and boy howdy: the comics, she do take a bite! Over a hundred bucks worth of stuff (I told you it had been awhile), and surprisingly, most of it was not awful.

Instead of reviewing individual issues, I'll give you capsule run-downs on what I read, because otherwise we'll be here forever, and as The Purple One once preached, "that's a mighty long time". Marvel today, DC tomorrow, odds and ends Wednesday, kay? Kay. Massive Spoilers Ahoy!

(Man, it feels good to say that again. Even though the spoilers in question might be a month old.)

CAPTAIN AMERICA #26/27 --- Well, I must say that the whole "Bucky wants to kill Tony Stark" plot is something I'm down with, mainly for cathartic reasons, and I didn't even mind the whole Black Widow/Bucky bow-chicka-bow-bow retcon. Some odd moments, though, like the New Avengers "wake" and the Falcon's conversation with Sharon Carter that just felt... off, somehow, like they needed more space to breathe or something. And we got the obligatory "Sharon Thinks About Cashing It In" scene, so at least that's out of the way.

(Side Note: Speaking of breathing, Sharon Carter's shoulders have plenty of breathing space thanks to her Casual Spywear she just happened to have lying around. Is she designing her own line? Casual Spywear by Carter --- For The Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Who Doesn't Want Covered Shoulders! Coming soon to a Wal-Mart near you!)

But hey, we get Arnim Zola, the Red Skull, and Faustus together with DoomTech™ in an alliance that has "short-term" written all over it, and there's very little wrong with that. CBG: 3/5.

X-FACTOR #18/19 --- OK, the X-Cell "storyline" continues --- sorta --- here, but really it's all setup for the Messiah Complex event, and you know what? Peter David has me considering buying an X-Event. Mainly because:

A) it's nice to see a Marvel writer who actually, you know, went back and read about what happened to Quicksilver after House of M and bothered to use it instead of ignore it, and

B) I have a strange feeling that Messiah Complex is where we'll find out the real reason behind Jamie's Haywire Duplicates.

A lovely clockwork setpiece from Layla Miller (who we find out gets rattled when flies show up in the ointment), the Blob shows up and is appropriately disgusting, and the pieces are being moved into place. The only thing I didn't like is the art from Khoi Phan; this is a book built on dialogue, and you need someone who can nail facial expressions for that --- Phan isn't doing that for me. Pablo Raimondi to the White Courtesy Phone please! CBG: 4/5.

IRON MAN: HYPERVELOCITY #5-6 --- Did the Sopranos-style ending ruin the rest of the series? Hell, no. This was one for the technogeeks, and if even half of the ideas in here find their way into the Marvel Universe, it'll be a better place. Failed personality uploads gone rogue and banding together in robot suits? Fantastic. The U.S.S. Samuel Sawyer? Terrific. Tonyghost's personality chess match between him and Absynthe? Delightfully tense.

None of it makes any sense if you slow down to stop and think about it, but I'm not sure "slowing down" is on the agenda for a series called "Hypervelocity". Things get confusing from a panel-and-art perspective in the last issue, but after all's said and done this was a nice slice of non-continuity Iron Man with some neat ideas. CBG: 4/5, but I tend to skew high on these sorts of things these days.

MOON KNIGHT #9/10/11 --- Well, this has gone right off the rails, hasn't it? Decent idea behind the villain (though it only really matters if you've read the old Moon Knight series), but terrible execution. Issue #11 in particular was entirely incomprehensible from an art/narration perspective, and quite frankly even I'm getting a little tired of the whole swearing/graphic violence thing --- mainly because the plot isn't going anywhere.

Between the odd censoring ("shit" is "####" but they print "prick"?) and the fact that no one can agree on what Marc Spector's face is supposed to look like from panel to panel, I may be done with this, and frankly I'm a little embarrassed that I hung on this long. And why isn't this a MAX title, again? CBG: 1/5.

IRON MAN #17/18/19 --- I'm of two minds here, because between #17 and #18 I enjoy the way that they're bringing back the Ten Rings Back Piercings Of The Mandarin and Mandy himself, even if I think that the new(ish) supporting characters may be ruined just when they were starting to get interesting, and nobody seems to care that Happy Hogan's dead.

#19, though, was a complete waste, as it's essentially a reprint of the latter half of World War Hulk #1, complete with the same dialogue and everything, and that's just wrong. Nice to see the Hulkbuster armor, but I don't like the fact that the Mandarin story gets put on hold for WWH. CBG: 3/5 for the first two issues, 1/5 for the last.

WORLD WAR HULK #1 --- Regardless, I enjoyed this despite the fact that most of it was spoiled because I read Iron Man #19 first. Not much to say about it --- Hulk kicks the crap out of Black Bolt and comes to New York demanding the members of the Illuminati Hulk Rocketry Society show their faces before he levels the planet. Nothing overly offensive, and I thought the art was just OK, and it certainly accomplishes the first-ish mish, which of course is to set up the series. CBG: 3/5.

MARVEL COMICS I FORGOT TO PICK UP: Avengers Classic, Marvel Adventures Iron Man, Marvel Adventures Avengers, and I'll be getting those this week.

Till tomorrow!

Limited Fun With Old Marvel Web Pages

I now present a post comprised entirely of me making fun of old Marvel web pages; join me, won't you, as we walk down the hallowed halls of the halcyon days of 2005! Or something.

The lesson: archive your web pages as they become outdated, or risk jackasses like me taking cheap shots at your expense.

Let's begin!

1) Did anyone ever win this contest? I checked IMDB for the cast list, and they all seem like professional actors to me. Bonus fun: download the PDF scripts and create your own Ultimates 2 #13 comic!

2) The beginning of the end. Noteworthy for the downloadable "Who's dead?" cheat sheet gimmick they're reusing for World War Hulk, and the charmingly Stan Lee-esque exhortation, "Marvelites, be forewarned, while you need not buy every single issue of this blockbuster, you will want to once you see how the events of any -- nay, EVERY -- issue will ripple through each of your favorite titles for MONTHS to come!"

3) Hey kids! It's Marvel Monthly Newsletters! For the truly dedicated comics historian.

4) Remember this imprint? Actually, Runaways, Young Avengers, and Livewires were pretty good. Didn't read Spellbinders (no interest), Arana (is that still going with one of those months-long hiatus between "seasons", or was it cancelled?), or X-23 (the definition of "inessential".)

5) Ah, er, ummm... yeah, not so much. In retrospect, the phrase "best martial arts action this side of Bruce Lee" probably should never, ever be used.

6) The Marvel event of the decade! Well, the third one, anyway.

Reviews tomorrow!

The Point of World War Hulk?

So, at first, after hearing about this upcoming event, I was quite excited.

Basically, its Hulk Smash those who pissed him off, shot him into space, blah blah blah.

Great! Who doesn't like to see Hulk Smash? I mean, that's what he is best at, right?

So, some slothed through Civil War, others read about it, some casually overheard about it, some outright avoided it (good luck with that if you are a Marvel reader.)

We had fight(s), and at the end, no real change other than:
1. Every fan and their mother basically thinking Tony Stark is a pompous dick.
2. Dead Clor, some other dead people, some now already ret-conned (or whatever the term is.)
3. A new law.

Anyone ever mentioned laws get challenged and sometimes thrown out every day? (I would like to claim that I am happy that years ago the state of Washington disallowed all airplane radar speeding tickets- and that was back in the 80's, so may have changed 89 times since then.)

Anyway, back to my point...

What the hell is the point of World War Hulk? Is anything really going to change? Does it matter that Hulk comes back and beats up some heroes, and, rumourly speaking, has heroes either lining up with him, or against him?

I mean, so what? Its not like Hulk is going to kill Tony Stark, or Professor X. Is all this just going to make Hulk "feel better" that he punched a bunch of people in the face?

Hulk comes back, smashes people, then its back to status quo for Hulk, et al. Oh boy!!

I mean, technically, can't we see this in any issue of Hulk? Oh no, Hulk meets Tigra in the Arizona desert, and punches her. OK, next panel.

I"m still interested in seeing what Hulk does upon his return, but I"m starting to lose the excitement. EXCEPT, if the rumour mill is also true, about the last ish being Thor vs. Hulk. Not Clor. But hopefully a segueway (ugh, spelling) into the new Thor series.

I seem to be choosing sides...the Hulk side...and didn't we all read some kind of ad about 'choosing sides' not too long ago on a whole 'nother event?

My excitement for this has suddenly lessened even more just now. I think I've had too many friggin months to soak this all in.

Any other thoughts out there on WWH?

Nextwave, R.I.P.

So, Nextwave: Agents of Hate is over.

And I am a sad, sad man.

Regardless of whether it was your cup of tea or not, Nextwave is notable to me for 3 reasons:

1) It was a comic that my non-comics reading friends looked forward to reading. Actual quote: "I had no idea comics could be funny." (And yes, that says more about him than it does the comic, but still... you get the point.)

2) Warren Ellis combined with the sweet, sweet Stuart Immonen art, turned his famous dislike for superheroes into, ironically, an almost perfect 12-issue catalogue of exactly why we love superhero comics.

(Seriously. I may never get over that 6-page fight sequence in issue #11. Just awesome.)

3) Marvel still knows how to make fun of itself. Or at least, it knows when to get the hell out of the way and let someone else make fun of them. Especially if the dude making fun of you wrote Transmetropolitan.

Anyway. Issue 12 wrapped things up in grand fashion, and I must say that I've thoroughly enjoyed the entire ride.

Thanks, Warren. Thanks, Stuart. Thanks, Marvel.

Marvel May Solicit Revue

It's that time again! 10 things that caught my eye in Marvel's May solicits. Astonishingly, Marvel doesn't seem to hate me in May.

(But don't think that gets you off the hook for October thru April, Quesada.)

Also, is it me or were Marvel's solicits even more verbose than usual this month?


MARVEL ILLUSTRATED: LAST OF THE MOHICANS #1 (of 6)
Based on the Novel by JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
Adapted by ROY THOMAS
Pencils by STEVEN KURTH & DENIS MEDRI
Cover by JO CHEN
Don’t miss the debut of MARVEL ILLUSTRATED, The House of Ideas’ new foray into classic literature, featuring an adaptation of James Fennimore Cooper’s renowned novel! Adapted by writer Roy Thomas, who’s a Marvel classic himself (AVENGERS, X-MEN, CONAN) with stunning art by Marvel newcomer Steve Kurth. Last of the Mohicans tells the seminal story of a race on the brink of disappearance due to the inexorable push of civilization into the wilderness of the New World. It’s a tale that will touch readers of every age with both its timeless realization of an important historical period—and with its powerful action and adventure! This isn’t your father’s classic comics! Plus—delve into the history of the man known as Hawkeye in a special bonus story!

Yeah, I think this probably needs to be supported, so I'll try it out. Plus: what's the over under on how many people order this thinking that they'll get a Clint Barton origin story in the back?

CIVIL WAR: FALLEN SON – IRON MAN
Written by JEPH LOEB
Pencils and Cover by JOHN CASSADAY
Alternate Cover by MICHAEL TURNER
Can the Marvel Universe accept the death of a true hero? In the wake of a tragedy, we’ve visited the top heroes of the Marvel Universe, and now it all comes down this. The rockstar team of Jeph Loeb and John Cassaday (ASTONISHING X-MEN) bring it all home in the story that will have True Believers debating – and maybe even shedding a tear.

Excuse me for a moment while I freak the hell out.

*JOHN CASSADAY DRAWS IRON MAN****JOHN CASSADAY DRAWS IRON MAN****JOHN CASSADAY DRAWS IRON MAN*

Ahem. Sorry about that.

I don't care that Loeb's writing it.

(Well, I care, but not enough to keep me from plunking down 3 bucks for SWEET SWEET CASSADAY IRON MAN ACTION.)

BLACK PANTHER #28
Written by REGINALD HUDLIN
Penciled by FRANCIS PORTELA
Cover by ARTHUR SUYDAM
"Part 1 of 4"
It’s slobberin’ time! The New Fantastic Four just made a wrong turn on the inter-dimensional super highway -- and they’ve landed in the middle of Zombie-verse! That’s right, True Believer, if the Black Panther, Storm, the Human Torch and the Thing can’t come up with the perfect escape plan, they’re going to be the next hors d'ouvres for Zombie Galacti intent on eating the entire universe! Spinning from the pages of the mega-hit MARVEL ZOMBIES!

So the new FF is Johnny, Ben, T'Challa and Ororo? Eh. Seems a tad underpowered to me, but I'm not crying too hard, since I wasn't reading FF or BP anyway. Also, I'm betting this lasts till... oh, when does the new movie come out? OK. Put me down for July.

WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE: WORLD BREAKER
Written by PETER DAVID
Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR
Hulk is coming and no power on Earth can stop him from getting revenge on the Illuminati! What events have led up to the super-human battle-to-end-all-battles? As Hulk’s great stone ship approaches the planet, he prepares for the war on the horizon by reliving past conflicts with Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange and the Inhumans. This is the perfect jumping-on point for this summer’s super hero-smashing, city-leveling, bone-crushing, Marvel history-making event!

I can't remember being this giddy over what's essentially a reprint comic! Three things in its favor:

A) Peter David.
B) Civil War has filled me with such loathing for most of the Marvel heroes that I cannot wait to see the Hulk punch them all in the neck.
C) If you're going to do a Hulk reprint comic, you damn well better make sure that it's a bunch of fight scenes.

Well done, Marvel.

IRON MAN #18
Written by DANIEL KNAUF AND CHARLES KNAUF
Penciled by ROBERTO DE LA TORRE
Cover by GERALD PAREL
Tony Stark and Maya Hansen are friends and colleagues. But tensions develop – professional and otherwise – when their views on Maya’s research begin to clash. While Maya weighs a tempting offer from a suspicious source, Tony must wrestle with his conscience as a global threat develops. Here's a hint: Ten Rings of Power

I must say, that Tony wrestling with his conscience now rather than, say, before all this Civil War hoo-ha seems like a case of missed opportunity. Bonus points for bringing back the Mandarin (who's supposed to be dead), or his son (who I think we left at the bottom of the ocean last time he appeared). You don't think there's a movie coming out, do you?


NEW AVENGERS #30
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils and Cover by LEINIL YU
The New Avengers versus the Hand!! AND the New Avengers versus the Mighty Avengers!! AND the identity of the new Ronin revealed!! Who is the new mystery player in the New Avengers? Find out here!! Guest-starring the Mighty Avengers and... wait for it... BROTHER VOODOO!!

Wow!! More Avengers v. Ninja action!! Who would have guessed!! And more Ronin teasing!! It's like nothing's changed in 20 issues!! Why can't I stop using exclamation points!!

(Sometimes you have to sacrifice good punctuation to make a point.)

OMEGA FLIGHT #2 (of 5)
Written by MICHAEL OEMING
Pencils and Cover by SCOTT KOLINS
As super-villains flood the Canadian border, Omega Flight begins to cement its team of heroes. A new character is added to the ranks as U.S. Agent saves Toronto from the powerful and beautiful (well, powerful anyway…) Daisy!

The phrase "U.S. Agent saves Toronto from Daisy" is precisely why anyone looking forward to this series won't admit it in public.

Alpha Flight fans, I am so, so sorry that your team got whacked off-screen in a crappy New Avengers comic last year. Really. Even y'all deserve better.

MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN #1
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Penciled by JAMES CORDEIRO
Cover by MICHAEL GOLDEN
The Armored Avenger blasts into the newest title in the critically-acclaimed, best-selling Marvel Adventures line! Who is IRON MAN, the world-renowned symbol of mega-conglomerate Stark International? And what terrible secret from his past forces billionaire inventor TONY STARK to become the Golden Guardian? Find out here!

Fred "Action Philosophers" Van Lente + Iron Man + All Ages Comic = You're Goddamn Right I'm Pre-Ordering This.

And so should you.

SPIDER-MAN FAIRY TALES #1
Written by C.B. Cebulski & David Sexton
Art and cover by Ricardo Tercio
In the tradition of X-Men Fairy Tales, Marvel makes its move on melding more modern myths, starting with Spider-Man! Our friendly neighborhood becomes a quaint village and Mary Jane fills the shoes of another famous red-head in this premiere issue as the tale of Little Red Riding Hood is retold with superhero sensibilities! Will Spider-Man be able to save her on her way to Aunt May's house? And just who is our Big Bad Wolf? Find out just how fun fairy tales can be... Marvel style!

OK... I just don't get the whole "Fairy Tales meet Marvel" conceit. I mean, is it just another series of "What-If"s? I mean, and I'm actually asking this without snark, are these any good? Entertaining? Add new perspective? For the kids? I'm baffled.


ANNIHILATION SAGA
Written by MICHAEL HOSKIN
Cover by ANDREA DI VITO
Journey in the wake of the Annihilation Wave as the history of the entire Annihilation event is recounted! From the arrival of Annihilus' forces, to the fall of Galactus, to the war's fallout, see how the story unfolded and where the universe rests by the finish! Featuring an all-new cover by Andrea DiVito!

Don't buy this. Go buy Annihilation instead. Really. I promise, even if you don't love it, you'll like it. But you'll probably love it. I bet.