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Columnist Thunder Mod
Super Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Denver Area, between Asgard and Krypton
Posts: 21,364
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The Mighty Reviews 7/1/10
Dawg’s Review
Secret Avengers #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Mike Deodato
Avengers are everywhere! There are books for every type of Avengers fan. If you like the more epic time-spanning adventures, you’ll like the Avengers book and its roster. If you like the more earth-bound ass kicking Avengers, you’ll love to check out Luke Cage and his team. If your cup of tea is stealth, taking the fight to enemies before it haunts you, and Steve Rogers, this is your book.
No one can do espionage like Brubaker. No one can do Steve Rogers like Brubaker. You add in the Beast, War Machine, Ant-Man, Valkyrie, Black Widow and Moon Knight and you have a really eclectic group of heroes trotting around the globe kicking evil square in the pants.
I forgot to mention there’s this other guy by the name of Rich Ryder, AKA Nova. He’s Steve’s ace in the hole for any threat that would come from the cosmos. Last issue Nova was sent to investigate some of Roxxon’s more questionable doings on the red planet of Mars. Nova never checked back in with Steve.
Avenger’s Assemble!
Steve takes the team to further investigate what Roxxon was up to, to see if there was something more sinister involving the recent artifact that the team recovered, as well as retrieve Nova.
Meanwhile while the team was off world Sharon Carter was mugged by a guy who looks an awful lot like Nick Fury. She’s pissed and ready to kick some ass and take some names.
The team arrives on Mars and fights a few low level grunt soldiers who appear to be under some sort of mind control. We get a chance to see the team in action under Steve’s leadership and honestly the doubts of this roster should start to melt away in the coming months. Black Widow, Beast, and Steve always stand out in the comics they are in, but I gotta say I really liked the interaction with the other team members. Only Valkyrie felt a little forced, mostly because we aren’t used to seeing her in this capacity. War Machine and Ant-Man were great and although there hasn’t been much of him yet, I think Nova is a great fit also. Moon Knight could work, but his character will need to settle himself back into a consistent character that is free from all of the baggage of recent years. Under Brubaker, I believe this stability can come.
I really am enjoying this series so far. The art is top shelf by Deodato as always. He strikes a great balance of storytelling and mood with all of his blacks and strategic lighting in his panels.
This is definitely not your traditionalist Avengers team. I think this is one of the reasons I like it so much. Having Steve Rogers in charge of Earth’s security, it would make sense that he would have a strike force assembled that would take care of the threats that are threats yet. This book by its very nature will allow Steve to be what he is best at, being a natural born leader. It will also enable him to grow in directions that he hasn’t been able to take in a long time. By this I mean more covert bad-assery.
This book is off to a very even and quality start. I think it will only get more heated as we continue and as we get to know the team and they get to know each other. It’s well worth the time to give it a shot if you are a fan of Bru, Deodato, Steve Rogers, or the Avengers.
Wktf’s Reviews
Death of Dracula #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Victor Gischler
Drawn by: Guiseppe Camuncoli
Cover by: Guiseppe Camuncoli & Marko Djurdjevic
Well this issue certainly is a mixed bag. You may be of different opinions if you’re a Tomb of Dracula and general Marvel-Dracula fan vs. whether you’re not. I guess I’ll start with some continuity-type complaints. This Dracula, related characters and story bare practically no resemblance to any version of Dracula we’ve seen before from Marvel. From his white hair to his battle garb this just is not the same Lord of Vampires we’ve known since the ‘70s who most recently reappeared in more-or-less his same persona in Monster Size Hulk, Legion of Monsters and, most recently, in Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk’s Captain Britain and the MI13. Additionally, the author seems to be jacking a bit with the character’s history. Here we find he has two sons, Janus and Xarus. Xarus is a brand new character who, in the decades of Marvel Dracula lore, we’ve never seen before. And Janus is the name of the white haired, gold skinned super-powered demi-angel born of Dracula and his mortal wife Domini. But here he’s a totally different character, a full-fledged vampire. And when Janus dives into the ocean assuming others will think he’s drowned, this seems to contradict Dracula’s previously standing on the moon conversing with Dr. Doom in the Captain Britain “Vampre State” story where, it appeared, vampires’ being dead, they don’t need to breath air. Finally, in the previously mentioned Captain Britain story, Dracula was slain by Faiza Hussain with the sacred sword Excalibur and reduced to a pile of bones and ashes. How did he come back? No explanation whatsoever, other than a request from Xarus that his father’s decapitated head and body be handled carefully so he not come back from death like the last time. Yes, per the title, Dracula is killed in this one-shot issue. But I don’t consider that much of a spoiler considering the title of this book. Apologies if you feel otherwise. It does, however, raise another continuity problem as to how, if historically, all vampires are subject to the will of the Lord of Vampires, any vampire could rise against Dracula.
Okay, so, yes, as a long-time Marvel Dracula fan I’m sorely disappointed that this isn’t the Marvel Dracula I’ve known so well and for so long. Frankly, I’m more than a little annoyed at the new treatment for Janus. But, if I put all that aside and just look at this as if through the eyes of someone who’s reading it for its “Heroic Age” cover banner, as the introduction to the “Curse of the Mutants” story that will begin with the soon-to-be-launched brand new X-Men #1 next week (according to Previews), how does it read?
Gischler has created a universe of different vampire races and clans (including Atlantean vampires) all of whom have their differences with each other and different cultures, but all of whom share the same problem in that they are feared and hunted by humans and, also, all come together every century for a counsel with their Lord, Dracula. It’s at this counsel where some of the grumblings of the clan leaders results in a murderous coup by Dracula’s one son, Xarus, that leaves his other son, Janus, stunned. Tired of hiding, tired of staying to the shadows, the many vampire clans want to stake their claim on the Earth. But, with Dracula now dead, is it clear who will rule the globe’s vampires? No, it is not, at least at first. And here plays out the power struggle for the rest of this issue to answer this very question, and even whether or not these divergent vampire clans will allow themselves to be united with others and ruled by a new Lord of Vampires. The premises and approach to this story is fairly creative, the action is swift and fierce and, for a universe of primarily brand new characters, I found myself reading along, both interested and curious in learning more about what was going on. Camuncoli’s art was clean, detailed and appropriately and brutally bloody. This was a pretty unique launching point for a story that’s going to continue in the more traditional superhero universe starting next week. Still, long time Tomb of Dracula fans, like me, will have to shrug off the past a bit to be able to get into this Marvel vampire story going forward, and that might be just too much to ask.
Thor #611
Marvel Comics
Written by: Kieron Gillen
Drawn by: Richard Elson
Cover by: Mico Suayan
Across most of the universe of Marvel titles the events of Siege have pretty much fallen by the wayside and our heroes find themselves on to other things. Not exactly the case in Invincible Iron Man where H.A.M.M.E.R. tech is falling into the wrong hands. And most certainly not in the case of Thor where Asgard still lies in ruins. We’ve seen in Avengers Prime how Steve and Iron Man want to help Thor rebuild Asgard in any way they can but, as of this issue anyway, none of that help has been forthcoming. The Eternal Realm is still a shattered and broken shell of its prior glory. In this issue Baldar, Thor and Tyr all pay final tribute to Asgard’s fallen as Thor brings down the lightning to simulate a Viking funeral pyre. In addition to this ceremony, though, there are separate words spoken for Loki, for so long an enemy of the Realm but in his final days one who fought and died to preserve it. The words, intentionally contradictory and surprisingly poignant, are spoken by Thor and, by themselves, are nearly worth the admission price of this book.
But, of course, there’s more trouble brewing just when it seemed like Asgard couldn’t be hit any harder than it has. Events that took place in Siege: Loki found Hela, who previously had no domain after Asgard came to Earth, occupying real estate in Mephisto’s Hell where the flock of dead Asgardians she tends find themselves under attack by a heinous force even older than the gods. And this is a force even the mighty Hela finds herself able to repel. The dire state of Asgard’s dead and departed heroes is brought to Thor, Baldar and Tyr through some truly eerie visuals for which Richard Elson deserves a real tip of the hat. Spooky, but also very real and very deadly as our heroes suddenly and shockingly discover. Even dead, an Asgardian is still a brother in arms and, so, this story begins Thor’s journey to Hell, as opposed to Hel, to rescue his brothers in arms.
This issue is a fantastic example of craftsmanship. From the quiet and reverent moments of tribute, to the scenes of genuine horror and story/plot development, to the moment of crisis and the final battle cry, this comic really delivered all the goods on every front. Fortunately, even with the switch in writers and artists, Thor continues to be one of the best titles Marvel’s producing today.
Action Comics #890
DC Comics
Written by: Paul Cornell
Drawn by: Pete Woods
Cover by: David Finch
Well, this title’s caused a bit of a stir on the internet. Not only is Superman NOT going to be in this book for a while as he roams and reconnects with the Earth, grounded in his own title, but Lex Luthor is going to become the starring character and Lois Lane is now supposed to be his girlfriend! Say whaaaaa….? Didn’t Superman and Lois just passionately become reunited in Superman #700? In fact, this last point about Lois is explained in pretty much the way I figured it would, but it’s the detail around this explanation that proved to be surprising and may, in fact, come back to bit Luthor before his time on this book is over.
Having tasted the Orange Ring of Avarice in Blackest Night, Luthor’s been bitten by the bug and feels compelled to seek out the power of as many power rings as possible. Sure, there’s a lot that happens in this issue as Luthor and his scientists seek to diagram the universe in search of strange power sources. He’s attacked by one of his employees, he’s held hostage by a group of super terrorists, he sits at a Charles Foster Kane sized dinner table with Lois, but the real joy in reading this issue is how Cornell, having sold me as one of today’s best writers just from his time on Marvel’s Captain Britain and MI13, not only gets inside Luthor’s head but brings every facet of his complicated and nuanced personality to the surface in the scope of just a single issue. And Pete Wood, who’s Superman I never really liked, really shines her creating every wonderful expression this master villain’s face exudes. Sometimes Luthor seems like the pudgier, double chinned Luthor from the Curt Swan days, sometimes the thinner Michael Rosenbaum character from Smallville, and sometimes he’s the taut and mean character David Finch shows us on this issue’s simply stunning cover. Though I should be distracted by all these seemingly different versions of the character I actually thoroughly enjoyed seeing them all from panel to panel as though acknowledging that this character is so complicated he could almost be multiple people.
One of the premises of this series is that Luthor’s going to be going up against other DC villains who are outside his comfort zone, maybe even putting him on the defensive. That promise certainly pays off by the end of this issue as we see a villain with whom Luthor had a bit of an unholy alliance in Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come (or whose alliance produced horrific results). I have to admit, I wasn’t too keen on this direction as supervillain titles, like The Joker’s old book from the 1970s or even the more successful Marvel Super-Villains Team-Up, just never seem to work out. But Luthor, if handled well, certainly should be able to carry a limited 10-issue run as is promised here. And Cornell and Woods seem to be the team to make it happen. My pick of the week.
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