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Columnist Thunder Mod
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Denver Area, between Asgard and Krypton
Posts: 21,364
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The Mighty Reviews 8/5/10
Wktf’s Reviews
Avengers Prime #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Alan Davis
Cover by: Alan Davis
Following the events of Siege, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark (in his classic ‘70s Iron Man armor) and Thor surveyed the wreckage of Asgard and pondered the dangers of Heimdall’s broken and exposed mystical observatory when they found themselves magically whisked away in a rainbow colored vortex to land, separated and in search of each other, in a world unfamiliar to all three of them. Cap’s no holds barred battle in that issue, not to mention Thor’s encounter with The Enchantress, made it pretty clear they were on some world or in some realm related to Asgard. But where they were and why they were pulled there remained a mystery.
To some degree, the veil of that mystery is pulled back this issue as we get full visibility into The Enchantresses pain and anger. But the majority of this issue tells the three separate tales of our heroes’ quest to find each other nicely integrated into a single narrative by the end. Having trounced an entire tavern full of Elven creatures, it’s a bit surprising only three come running out of the tavern to try to take on Steve Rogers yet again. Now in semi familiar but absconded chain mail and wielding a shield as well, Steve’s looking wonderfully familiar, so much so that Alan Davis actually has a little fun with the shadowing in one panel to give Steve the impression of wearing his Captain America togs again. But as Steve’s situation moves from only barely tense to something far more pleasant, Tony’s in deep straits with a wonderfully familiar Lee/Kirby (and used by Simonson) Thor villain, and the Thunder God realizes The Enchantress is the least of his problems.
Honestly, this issue was a mixed bag for me. Davis’ artwork has never been better. I’d like to see his Thor a bit less lean but Davis is a master at movement, action and emotion-conveying facial expressions. And this issue has plenty of all three. Also, given how important The Enchantress was the last time she had a major role in a Thor book (she became his love and wife during Jurgens’ pre-Ragnarok/Avengers Disassembled “Lord Thor” storyline), and considering we haven’t seen her at all since the JMS/Coipel team brought Thor and Asgard to Earth, it’s great to see her back in a big way. Her explanation of how Thor unwittingly fractured the Nine Realms makes perfect sense. All this said, the role of the other major Thor villain makes no sense given how she was portrayed in JMS’ Thor run and her predicament in the current Thor storyline. I know this all takes place after Siege but before current continuity, so maybe her predicament in today’s Thor comic is less important, but her situation in this book just doesn’t jibe with how JMS depicted her in the pre-Siege Thor. So, bottom line, as a standalone story this one’s rocking right along in its quest to bring out three protagonists together and overcome all the issues between and among them. But the seeming lack of attention regarding who’s now become the primary villain feels pretty disappointing.
Captain America #608
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Bruce Guice
Cover by: Marko Djurdjevic
The situation simply couldn’t be much worse for Bucky Barnes as Baron Zemo takes his personal vendetta against him to a new and truly horrifying level. It seems Zemo has some real father issues, given that Bucky was supposed to have been killed by the same explosion, engineered by the original Zemo, that sent Steve Rogers into the frigid arctic drink. And, I suppose, the younger Zemo now is targeting Bucky not just to finish what his father started but, in some sick and twisted way, to honor is fallen father. The confusion over Zemo’s status (Is he really a villain now? Wasn’t he a villain who became a hero? Didn’t he lead The Thunderbolts?) still permeates this story and really nicely adds to the general confusion and tension.
With The Falcon out of commission, and Bucky rattled over his role in Sam’s injuries, we find Cap and The Black Widow both without their signature weapons up against a new female Beetle. Guice’s strong line work, reminiscent of both Kirby and Ron Frenz, adds to the gravity of the danger and the power of the action. As in the first issue of this story arc, I’ve never seen Guice’s pencils look so strong or so good. And with Zemo’s making no pains about disguising his role in Buck’s current plight, Brubaker’s woven a story where the villain seems so totally in control, and the hero so totally out of control, that the only way to describe the overall feeling of this book is total desperation. As the last page shows, this story simply can’t go anywhere good for Buck.
I was about to give up on Captain America after the prior arc. The story with the crazy 1950s Cap just did nothing for me. But this title’s come roaring back with a vengeance and has propelled itself to the top of my reading pile once again. Would I rather see Steve Epting back on the art chores? Sure I would. But Guice’s work has been first rate, thoroughly enjoyable, and this book most certainly is my pick of the week.
Dawg’s Review
Amazing Spider-Man #639
Marvel Comics
Written by: Joe Quesada
Drawn by: Joes Quesada & Paolo Manuel Rivera
No Marvel character has been surrounded in as much controversy over the past couple years as Spider-Man. A couple of years ago, there was an editorial mandate to retcon Peter Parker’s and Mary Jane Watson’s marriage. Their marriage had been in existence for over 20 years and many Spider-Man fans grew up reading a married Peter Parker. There was no middle ground on this issue, or if there was it was overshadowed by the fans feeling either hatred for Marvel in doing this, or loving the decision. Marvel hedged their bets that a single Peter Parker would in fact allow them to open up and tell more stories and refresh the franchise. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since Joe Quesada was dubbed JoePhisto (in reference to Mephisto being the vehicle in which the marriage was retconned). The stories have truly gotten better and better and although I’m not sure everyone has “gotten over it” in regards to not having a married Peter Parker, you cannot deny that it’s been a pretty incredible ride up until now.
I have stayed with Spider-Man through it all as he’s one of my favorite characters in a comic. I have read his stories for over 20 years and it has been a long time since I have flipped to the last page and felt the way that I did after reading issue #639. Fans have been longing for answers of that missing period between “One More Day” and “Brand New Day”.
What happened that broke MJ and Pete up?
How did Aunt May survive Kingpin’s hit?
How did Spider-Man reveal his secret identity and somehow get it back in the bottle?
These are just a few of the burning items that had fans so upset.
It appears that all of those questions are being answered here in “one moment in time”
This is a sit down heart to heart between MJ and Peter that explains everything that has changed for them in their lives since they broke up. It’s about how the marriage never happened because Spider-Man got in the way. It’s about how they still love each other very deeply, and yet are not together any more. To say that this issue was touching is an understatement. It’s long overdue that Peter and MJ, as well as fans worked out that black hole of what happened to give us the current status quo.
After all this time I will say that maybe I wasn’t so much a fan of Pete and MJ being married as I was of MJ being in this book and being the rock for Pete, that she still apparently is. For me it’s about Pete having MJ in his life and whether or not there is a ring to go with it at this point no longer matters. It’s seeing issues like this where they are clearly so important to each other, that they NEED each other. This issue felt the most “right” that this book has felt. I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed it and it is my hope that there are many other people out there like myself who have been patiently waiting for answers and more MJ in Pete’s life. And those folks out there like me, who have been waiting should be more than satisfied today as well as having a great sense of being reconnected with this book at last. This book is easily my pick of the MONTH as a fan of mainstream comic books.
Wktf’s Trade Reviews
To celebrate Roger Stern’s being back on a Captain America book with this week’s Captain America: Forever Allies #1, we’re representing reviews of a couple of our favorite Roger Stern Cap/Avengers trades:
Captain America * War & Remembrance
Marvel Comics
Written by: Roger Stern
Drawn by: John Byrne
Inks by: Joe Rubenstein
In Modern Masters Volume 7: John Byrne, editor Jon B. Cooke asks Byrne, “Did you collaborate with Roger Stern over on Captain America because you guys were close and…maybe it turned a little bit volatile toward the end with Chris [Claremont, on X-Men]?” to which Byrne replies, “Well, Chris and I were always bouncing off each other, and Roger and I were always in the same groove. So it produced a very different dynamic. Although people will often cite my nine issues of Captain America rather than the X-Men as the pinnacle of my work.”
I certainly agree with this statement. Captain America * War & Remembrance collects Captain America # 247-255 from 1980, and these nine issues stand out as one of the greatest, albeit short, creative runs on this title ever. Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting certain give Stern and Byrne a run for their money but it’s hard to beat this absolutely wonderful trade paperback for great art, great villains, great action and, above all else, thanks to one of the best comic book writers of the 1970s and 1980s, great stories. Roger Stern is better known for his work on Amazing Spider-Man and The Avengers and John Byrne is better known for X-Men, Fantastic Four and Superman, but their collaboration on these nine issues of Captain America make for a high point in both their careers (Byrne’s pencils are beautifully inked by Joe Rubenstein, by the way) and gives us, the comic book and Captain America fans, one of the most rewarding reading experiences ever.
While the action is nearly non-stop there’s plenty of real estate given to plot and character development. For example, how many out there remember Bernie Rosenthal, Steve Rogers most important post-Sharon Carter (Sharon was believed murdered by Hydra at this time) love interest? She debuts in this series. How many of us currently are enjoying Union Jack’s revival in the current issues of Captain America and are looking forward to his new series? Yes, the current Union Jack, Joey Chapman, was introduced in this series! Remember when the New Populist Party petitioned for Cap to run for President? You guessed it. It’s in this series. We also have the definitive Captain America origin story in this volume’s final 40th Anniversary issue #255. And, you’ll also find all-out battles with Baron Strucker, Machine Smith, Dragon Man, Batroc, Mr. Hyde and Baron Blood, minion of Dracula himself and The Invaders’ foe from WWII. The eerie two-part Baron Blood story may well be the highlight of this collection as Cap travels to England to help his dear friend and fellow Invader Lord Falsworth, the original Union Jack, defeat his undead brother.
I remember first reading these stories when I was a junior in college and was delighted when I found this volume, which first came out in 1990 but has since gone out of print. Upon rereading it yet again for this review I was again rediscovered what I’d felt reading these issues the first time back in 1980. As Roger Stern says in his introduction to this volume, “But mainly, we tried to recapture all the thrills, excitement, and glory of the Lee-&-Kirby stories we’d both read a decade-and-a-half earlier.” Believe me, they do just that. Though it’s out of print, there currently are some used copies on Amazon and copies are always showing up on eBay. If you don’t own this classic trade do yourself a favor and seek it out. You won’t be sorry.
Avengers Under Siege TPB
Marvel Comics
Written by: Roger Stern
Drawn by: John Buscema and Tom Palmer
In “Avengers Finale,” the closing chapter to Bendis’ mediocre “Avengers Disassembled” arc, Hank Pym turns to Tony Stark to ask him what he thought was the team’s “best moment.” This precipitates a trip down Avengers memory lane as this issue’s assemblage recounts some truly significant stories from Avengers history. Edwin Jarvis, the team’s butler and dear friend, speaks of the “Avengers Under Siege” story: Avengers # 270-271 and 273-277 which is packaged in a “Marvel’s Finest” tpb.
Bendis did his homework. No other story could have the same personal impact on Jarvis as this one. Back in the 1980s as Walt Simonson, John Byrne, and Frank Miller were making Thor, FF, and DD history, respectively, Roger Stern was quietly creating some of the best Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man stories ever published. You have to wonder why Marvel hasn’t given this guy his own line of “Visionary” trades. While I haven’t created a Top 5 list, I am confident that this particular Avengers story would be in my top 5 comics stories ever published from any publisher. I clearly remember reading these Avengers issues when they first were published, how shocked, horrified and thrilled I was and that I knew, at that time, that I was reading something historically ground-breaking. This thought is validated in Stern’s 1998 introduction to the book in which he says, “We received a flood of mail at the time, and – even now – whenever I run into longtime AVENGERS fans, [this] storyline is the one most often mentioned.”
The Avengers have battled nearly every cosmic menace imaginable from Thanos, to the Kree-Skrull War, to Korvac/Michael. This story, though, is a shockingly brutal street fight taken straight to them that brings the entire team to its knees and nearly succeeds in being the true “Avengers Disassembled” story. Baron Zemo, out for revenge against Captain America and Cap’s Avengers family for the death of his father during Cap’s earliest days with the team, has assembled the most powerful and brutal Masters of Evil team ever formed. They include the Wrecking Crew, Goliath/Power Man, Mr. Hyde, Tiger Shark, the Absorbing Man, and Titania. Also present are Blackout, the Fixer, Moonstone, and the Grey Gargoyle, among others. For a seven issue story, Zemo’s recruitment process and the build up to the Master’s assault against the Avengers takes a full three issues! Talk about tension!
Despite the power in the Avengers numbers, which included Hercules, Thor and the Captain Marvel/Photon, this Masters of Evil team is superior in numbers and strength. Zemo organizes this group of headstrong villains, keeps them in check, and achieves the unthinkable: he divides and conquers the Avengers by preying on their emotional or physical weaknesses (for example, Hercules’ resentment of the Wasp’s leadership, the Black Knight’s jealousy of the Wasp’s affection for Paladin, or Captain Marvel’s inability to cope against Blackout’s “Darkforce”), attacks and defeats Avengers individually, and through sheer brute force breaks into the mansion through the front door and takes over the place. The mansion then is destroyed from the inside. Hercules is drugged and brutally beaten into a coma and Mr. Hyde pummels both the Black Knight and poor Jarvis nearly to death. Captain America is captured, bound and forced to witness both Jarvis’ beating as well as endure Zemo and Hyde’s emotional torture as they destroy pictures of Bucky, his mother and his original shield. How the Avengers (and, in particular, Cap and the Wasp) deal with these defeats, come back to win, and cope with their losses is some of the best graphic story telling in comics history.
Buy this book. You won’t regret it. Now, if only Marvel would package the follow-up story where Zeus strikes back at the Avengers for the indignities and harm the Masters of Evil inflicted on Hercules. One can only hope they will.
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