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Sculptor of Gods
ProducerSculptor
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich
Posts: 4,807
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The Mighty Reviews 6/18/09
Sam Wilson's Reviews
Captain America #600
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Butch Guice, Howard Chaykin, Rafael Albuquerque, David Aja and Mitch Breitweiser with a little Alex Ross thrown in
Cover by: Alex Ross
Captain America has been dead for two years. At least that’s what we’re supposed to believe. Yes, his shield is hanging on Steven Colbert’s wall, Bucky, aka Winter Soldier is the new Captain America and he’s even in the New Avengers and has Falcon at his side (sort of) and most importantly everyone saw him get taken out by a sniper (or Sharon Carter, whatever) way back in issue #25. I’d just like to go on record by saying I never bought any of it for a New York freakin’ second. I’m not saying I had a problem with the story, quite the contrary, I was down with Bucky Cap and his supporting cast of the Black Widow (word), Sharon Carter and the Falcon, but seriously. No one ever dies in comics. Marvel, DC, whatever, and with all the publicity behind it especially. Books got sold, and now it’s time to set things right. Probably this years worst guarded secret, Steve Rogers is apparently coming back (reborn maybe? I know marvel released that Bryan Hitch cover of Steve Cap standing with Bucky Cap) and I’m not shocked, and this month is Captain America 600. So what’s going on then?
A super deluxe oversized issue, Cap 600 opens up with a reprint of the Alex Ross litho that denotes cap’s origins in a nice double page spread, and then catches us up with various members of Cap’s supporting cast starting with Sharon Carter. She’s been remembering things about Cap’s death, and remembers a vital piece of info that, well, it speaks for itself. Anyway, we also spend some time with Elijah Bradley, aka Patriot of the Young Avengers (Isiah Bradley’s grandson, you know, the first Captain America) as he crosses paths with Rikki Barnes, an alternate world Bucky who spent some time with Steve Rogers and is looking for a place where she can fit in. We also catch up with Falcon, Bucky Cap and the Avengers, and even the Red Skull and Crossbones. All of this of course is set-up for “Reborn”, which has a big fat back-cover add to this very issue. A pleasant surprise is a few pages on Bernie Rosenthall, Cap’s old girlfriend from the Mike Zeck/Mark Gruewald days. We learn exactly what she’s been up to since she went off to law school way back when, and I gotta say, being an old-school Cap fan I was touched. So it goes of course…
All in all a good anniversary issue. I’m not a big fan of reprints, and there is a reprint of an old Cap story in this issue as well as the Alex Litho in the first to pages, but whatever, the story more than makes up for that minor issue. An excellent tribute to Marvel’s Sentinel of Liberty to say the least.
Dark Reign Hawkeye #3
Marvel Comics
Written by: Andy Diggle
Drawn by: Tom Raney
Cover by: Clint Langley
Andy Diggle has been on the comics scene for a minute now, and has recently just became Marvel Exclusive with “Thunderbolts”, and was just announced as taking over “Daredevil” was Ed Brubaker leaves. Diggle wrote one of my favourite comic series of the last five years, “The Losers” (update of the old DC war book) and it currently in development as a major motion picture. He also retconned Green Arrow in the recent “Green Arrow” year one, making him that little bi** with the booties into a total bad a** (at least in my opinion). Before he gets rolling on “Daredevil”, Marvel has him wetting his feet with “Hawkeye”. No, not Cline Barton, in case you missed it as of “Dark Avengers” issue one Hawkeye is now Bullseye, the psychopathic assassin who we last saw with the Thunderbolts. Yeah, Norman Osborne is in charge of the Marvel U, and sh** is being fu**ed up to say the least, and Bullseye as one of the Marvel U’s most classic, beloved (and should I say noble) heroes? Yeah, only Andy Diggle could pull this off…
Hawkeye starts out with the Dark Avengers (the ex-Thunderbolts) taking out a rogue hulkbuster. Hawkeye kills the man wearing the suit, and Norman Osborne lectures him on how they’re heroes now and have to be better than that. The irony of that statement is not lost on Bullseye, and he ignores Osborne and goes on the hunt to satiate his need to kill. I mean seriously, the guys a sociopath. He ends up doing something sort of heroic, but then lets all that nobility go and, well sticks a pen in an innocent women’s eye. Things get worse in issue two when he takes out the entire news crew that caught it on film, most awesomely I should add. Norman Osborne realizes that maybe putting pearls on an assassin wasn’t the best idea, so he decides to utilize Bullseye in the best way possible. Yes, he sends him out to kills people which (a terrorist cell known as PTSF, Peace Through Superior Firepower) seems like a great idea until Bullseye finds himself having an existential crisis and is suddenly standing next to himself (seriously). The story picks up in issue three with Hawkeye (I mean Bullseye) thinking he’s going crazy. He’s seeing himself pop up all over the place, and Norman Osborne has some questions about a body of a US Senator who has a Bullseye carved in his forehead. Hawkeye (Bullseye) doesn’t remember killing this guy, and his paranoia increases. Meanwhile, someone is steering reporter Ben Urich towards Bullseye (Hawkeye), and we learn some conspiracy type stuff linking him to the murdered senator and PTSF. Oh yeah, things are defiantly getting interesting…
This is not a hero’s tale. I’m doubting there is going to be any type of redemption here either. It’s really not even humorous. Bullseye is a villain, moreso than just a normal villan he’s a psychotic and a killer and doesn’t care. Andy Diggle paints that picture very well and I think anything less wouldn’t be doing the character justice. I’m down with everything he does, and having Tom Raney with him, one of the most underrated artists of all time, well. Needless to say, I’m sold on this book. Pick it up, word.
Dawg’s Review
Captain Britain & MI13 #14
Marvel Comics
Written by: Paul Cornell
Drawn by: Leonard Kirk
I’d like to take a moment to start this review off with a rant. I was as excited as can be when I heard that Captain Britain and the other heroes from the Marvel UK were going to get some love. I thought how cool to see a title in which there are new characters as well as old characters that haven’t been used to death. Around the time of this titles inception it was nothing but titles with Wolverine or Iron Man, or many of the other popular characters being beaten into out brains 27 times a month. It was refreshing to see this title and better still when upon reading it, it kicked so much ass.
People often complain that Marvel uses their popular characters too much and they are tired of them. Well I would have to say that this is only partly true, because if people were really tired of wolverine and wanted to see other characters take center stage, then books like this would not be getting cancelled.
When a book this good gets the axe it just breaks your heart, because you know ultimately it doesn’t sell well enough and with comic prices being so overblown, who could blame people for cutting books that were on the outside of the Marvel U, like this one.
It’s a damn shame that there’s only one issue of this great title left. In so many ways this series has really become like a UK version of the Avengers. A diverse membership, dealing with threats far and wide, to keep their world safe. Captain Britain leading the charge with the support of a nation and starting to live up to his billing finally, followed by other favorites like Blade, Black Knight, Spitfire and others.
It was great while it lasted folks, and it was in truth the freshest material in my pull each month and I will miss it.
This issue is all out tactical battle as Dracula unleashes his final salvo. He’s taken up residence on the moon, made a deal with Doctor Doom, and generally been ahead of our heroes at every step. Now it is time to attack them on earth.
The MI13 are not without their own resources however as we get to see some great tactics of Pete Wisdom as well. The heroes attack Dracula as his magical ship descends to earth with hit and run tactics and the battle is incredible as we see some surprises from the MI13 that I didn’t know they had in them.
Not only that but Doctor Doom reenters the fray by having a “weapon” that he thinks will get him one over on Dracula. My long lost Meggan has escaped Hell and at least we will see her and Brian re-unite before the series closes if nothing else.
What else can I say except I have truly treasured this series and am incredibly sad that it will not be around for the long haul. Cornell is a helluva writer and has not disappointed me on this series and I suspect he will go out with an incredible bang with the MI13 against Dracula. My pick of the week.
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Keith
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