wktf's and Sam Wilson's Reviews 5-10-06

[wktf]

Sam Wilson’s Reviews

This week kinda sucks for comics. I got four whole books. Four whole freakin’ books. 52 and Nightwing from DC and She-Hulk and X-men Deadly Genesis from Marvel. It’s aiight I guess, it gives me a chance to catch up on my reading. My pick is She-Hulk, which the ever-vigilant wktf will be reviewing, and I’ll be reviewing Nightwing. Anyway, with that being said, on to the (ahem) review…

Nightwing issue #120
DC Comics
Written by: Bruce Jones
Drawn by: Joe Dodd and Bit
Cover by: Jock (that guy who penciled The Losers)

Nightwing joined DC’s “one year later” crowd a couple of months ago, and let me tell you, if anyone needed a change it was our pal Richard Grayson. If you’ve been following Nightwing at all recently, it all started when he allowed Tarantula (or whatever the heck her name was) kill Blockbuster, thus blaming himself for Blockbuster’s death. For those who don’t know, Blockbuster was the crime boss in Bludhaven, Nightwing’s former place of residence. Blockbuster has recently destroyed everything close to Nightwing; he even blew up the building he lived in and owned, and all of its residents. Yeah, Blockbuster was a total a$#hole, and Nightwing was kind of at wits edge so when Blockbuster was facing death Nightwing sat back and let it happen. A human emotion indeed, but when one dedicates his life to fighting crime and holding to a certain code (in the Bat-family’s case, never killing) and then suddenly breaks that code, well, let’s just say it sent Nightwing to a bad place. After the events of the “Gang War” crossover Nightwing found himself working for Deathstroke (yeah, I thought it was weird too) training his daughter (who is now a member of the “one year later” Teen Titans). After that he went deep undercover with the mob (which didn’t go so well either). Then Infinite Crisis hit, Bludhaven was destroyed (literally) and Nightwing found himself leading the charge on Earth 3 Lex Luthor’s arctic citadel, and that should catch us up to “one year later”…

The first part of “one year later” finds Nightwing in New York in bed with a beautiful woman having a casual encounter. Soon we learn there is another Nightwing roaming New York who likes to kill bad guys, giving our Nightwing (Richard Grayson) a bad rap. In issue two we find out that Nightwing is Jason Todd, the second Robin who fans voted dead via a 900 number back in the now irrelevant “A Death in the Family” storyline, drawn by the great Jim Apro who is probably turning around in his grave knowing that his life’s work is being pissed on by the powers that be because someone thought it would be a good idea to bring back to life the suckiest sidekick in comics. So yeah, Judd Winick? FU$# OFF you dumb son of a bit$#, and you too Paul Levitz, cause you had to sign off on that idea. Wow. Earth 2 Superboy willed Jason Todd backed to life because “that is the way things are supposed to be” in the single-handedly dumbest moment of “Infinite Crisis” puked out to us in “Batman Annual” #25. Anyway, yeah, so the little twerp known as Jason Todd is back as Nightwing killing people (criminals mostly) in New York calling out Richard Grayson (the real Nightwing, and the original Robin). In a couple of sub-plots Richard’s love interest from pre-“one year later”, Clancy, his old building’s superintendent, finds her way to NYC which is cool because its nice they haven’t forgotten all of the books old continuity. The other sub plot involves some model agency party girl (the girl Richard was in bed with in issue #118), and in issue #120 said party girl starts doing some really stupid sh$#. She’s convinced Richard (Nightwing) to become her newest model. Oh yeah, it gets better, someone caught Jason Todd Nightwing and Richard Grayson Nightwing duking it out on camera, the picture becomes an overnight NYC sensation, and then Richard’s party girl model agency girlfriend decides to capitalize on it and gets Richard to model a “Nightwing” outfit on the runway.

Yeah, I pretty much felt like Bruce Jones was smoking crack when he wrote this comic, and I really can’t even finish my review properly. This weekend when I get back to my LCS I am immediately going to have it removed from my pullbox (been with this comic since issue #1). Yes, old habbits die hard, but when old habbits start to suck major a$# and it becomes harder and harder to justify buying into them, you just gots to give them up. So don’t pick this book up, don’t start if you’ve been curious. Read She-Hulk though, that book is good.

Wktf’s Reviews

Not much of a comics week for me, either, with only five comics making my list. Having ridden the Crisis ride from Identity Crisis all the way to the end (well, really from Crisis on Infinite Earths) I had to pick up DC’s 52 as well as Superman which was my pick of the week. In addition, from Marvel, we have Joe Casey’s excellent Fantastic Four: First Family #3, Ares #4 and She-Hulk 2 #7. For trades, I grabbed Judd Winnick’s Superman/Shazam: First Thunder. Winnick has to be one of the most inconsistent writers in comics after having turned in the Batman Annual crap my partner referenced yet gave us this wonderful mini-series as well. Since my partner referenced She-Hulk so I’ll start my reviews there.

She-Hulk 2 #7
Marvel Comics
Written by: Dan Slott
Drawn by: Will Conrad

Last issue we saw the Avenger Starfox, also known as Eros of Titan, brought up on rape charges and our heroine Jennifer defending him. In addition to his powers of flight, near invulnerability and super strength, Eros has the ability to create a euphoria effect in other people which one woman, Christina Garvey, claims he used on her to seduce and take advantage of her. As other women are called to the stand to testify against Eros, the prosecutor is shocked to find they all change their tunes in the most sudden and flirtatious ways. While this is played to be funny on one level, Dan Slott should be given huge amounts of credit in making this effect Eros has on others more shocking and horrible than it is cute or funny.

In fact, the issue of how Starfox uses his abilities is criminally serious. And Slott addresses this, and the unusual nature of this material in a superhero comic, directly in a conversation Jen’s love-struck law partner, Pug, has with Stu, their law firm’s comic book reference librarian who comments thusly about Eros, “His powers work like a date rape drug. Seriously, the guy’s a walking roofie. And who wants to read about a character like that?” Slott’s too good a writer to blow this issue off with the light hearted She-Hulk fare he’s given us in past issues. In fact, this issue hits too close to home with Jen when she recalls an intimate encounter she once had with Starfox in Avengers Mansion and begins to wonder about the true nature of that moment (I actually think I recall this from a Roger Stern/Al Milgrom issue over 20 years ago when Starfox was in Jen’s room, sitting on her bed and pulling his boot on). And Shulkie’s sudden and angry reaction comes much to the regret of the Titan she’s defending.

Slott has taken his playfully goofy book and turned it on its ear with a pair of issues that take a terrible crime, personalizes it through the experience of the victims, and not side-stepping the need to mete out justice that is commensurate with the crime. The writing on this book is why She-Hulk continues to be on the top of my pull list.

Ares #4 out of 5
Marvel Comics
Written by: Michael Oeming
Drawn by: Travel Foreman

We are one issue away from the close of this terrific mini series and the worst clearly may be on the horizon for the last issue. Having forsaken his pantheon family that so cruelly spurned him in the past as well as his mantle of Greek god of war, Ares had taken the guise of a mortal construction worker in a small suburban town. He also had a young son named Alex (we don’t know who the mother is). However, Olympus found need of their god of war when an army of undead Eastern gods assaulted their gates, an army Zeus’ family found was too strong even for them to repel. So, Zeus authorized the kidnapping of Ares’ son to bring Ares back to Olympus and Zeus’ plan worked perfectly. But Ares arrived not to help Olympus but to exact revenge for this crime. Unfortunately, Ares found himself allied with his family when the Eastern gods stole Alex away from Zeus’ home.

Despite three strong issues thus far, this particular issue doesn’t stand up quite so well. Why does Ares seem genuinely concerned about the near murder of his father, the man whom Ares himself beat to the ground and swore to kill? Also, the hostility between Ares and the rest of the Greek pantheon, most especially Hercules, seems suddenly to have completely disappeared to be replaced by camaraderie of sorts. A mysterious elder god appears and quickly is dismissed. Ares has was seems like a meaningless conversation with Achilles that lasts two full pages. And we are no closer to understanding the origin or motivation of this warring Eastern tribe of gods. Still, where the terrible conflict that must come is concerned, this issue does create a semi-climactic moment that foretells a terrible conflict for Ares next issue. While I do think this issue missed a beat, especially compared to those that came before it, I’ll be on board for the next issue.

Superman #652
DC Comics
Written by: Kurt Busiek & Geoff Johns
Drawn by: Pete Woods

Well, for four issues of Action and Superman comics we’ve been treated to the Adventures of Clark Kent, and what a treat it’s been! Even with no Superman these stories have been a lot of fun as the mystery continued about the loss of Superman’s powers and when they’d return. In the last issue of Action, though, we saw Clark not get affected by the cold, be able to run faster than should have been possible from an Intergang attack and even shrug off a blast to his arm. But it was his leaving his hand print on the front of an oncoming train and surviving that impact that tipped us off that the big moment was about to arrive.

So, here we are, at Part 5 of the “Up, Up and Away!” arc that’s designed to reintroduce Superman to the world after a one-year absence. But, now that he’s really returning and, in fact, makes his big debut in-costume appearance appropriately in the Daily Planet, must the freshness of the last several issues stop? Well, this is the same creative team, after all. What’s really cool is that he’s not fully up to power and, in fact, is reminiscent of the Golden Age Superman: he could leap tall buildings in a single bound but can’t fly, he’s tough but nothing less than a bursting shell can pierce his skin. And, though not at full power, he must face a cadre of tough super villains who collectively may be too tough for him right now and, so, he must use his wits to save himself. And he’s clearly working hard to do it, too.

But why, after a year, have his powers returned? The answer Clark arrives at himself is entirely plausible if you take any stock in human psychology. And what would it take, this explanation’s being the case, to power him up to full throttle? In the midst of his battle Superman wonders this himself and gets his answer. And we are left with a final page that’s just begging for a serious Superman coming-out with the next issue of Action Comics. But, possibly, the best moment in this whole issue (even better than Clark’s humorous out-of-practice experimenting with his newly rediscovered abilities) is Clark’s conversation with Lois and her subsequent conversation with him. These two have rediscovered each other and their marriage in the absence of Superman’s powers. What will their future be like now? It certainly seems bright. I’m not sure if Mr. Busiek or Mr. Johns was responsible for this dialogue but hats off to whoever it was. This was beautifully handled.

****************************************

...and for b_c's good/bad/ugly reviews, click here:

http://www.statueforum.com/showthread.php?t=28228

[wktf]

As much as we all love great story-telling (as with Brubaker’s Daredevil), intriguing plot development (as in Planet Hulk or Brubaker’s Captain America…hmmm, that Ed Brubaker’s a pretty good writer, isn’t he?), beautifully crafted mega-events (like Crisis on Infinite Earths), refreshing character development (as DC now is doing in their One Year Later books) and big, important comics whether they be Pulitzer Prize winners like Maus or grand operatic superhero tales like Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come and The New Frontier, doesn’t the fanboy in all of us just love a good, plain old fashioned superhero slug-fest? I mean, to see Thor and the Absorbing Man pour their animosity toward each other into each bludgeoning blow, have The Hulk and The Thing throw down, or even have company cross-overs where questions like “what would happen if Batman fought Captain America?” might be answered…these make for just plain fun fanboy comics! So, here we are, with Round One of some superhero slug-fest trades for your consideration. We say “Round One” as we’ve got plenty more titles we could review under this theme and likely will do so again!

Sam Wilson’s Review

Avengers: Operation Galactic Storm vol. #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Various people, but most notably Roy Thomas and Mark Gruewald
Drawn by: Various people, but most notably Steve Epting

“Operation: Galactic Storm” is a great tpb because not only does it show our favorite Avengers going up against some different enemies (namely the Shi’ar Imperial Guard), but the very team itself conflicts internally, analogous to the current Marvel “Civil War” crossover event (but on a smaller scale). To better understand “Galactic Storm” though, and to understand why the Avengers get into such conflict with each other one needs to know where they Avengers were circa 1992 in the Marvel Universe. Our two central Avengers in this tale are Captain America and Iron Man, who have recently come into conflict during Tony Starks “Armor Wars” storyline (for more on the “Armor Wars”, click here http://www.statueforum.com/showthrea...r+wars+reviews). Cap felt Tony took things out of hand in his quest to reacquire all of his misused technology, and the two have been at odds ever since. Also in the mix is a new Thor, not the Donald Blake we are all used to but Eric Masterson. Eric Masterson was an architect who after Thor seemingly killed Loki, was given the form and power of Thor while the actual Thor was sealed in the corner of the merged Thor’s mind (yes, confusing, but it happened). Other 1990’s-centric characters that you may not be familiar with but played a big part in “Galactic Storm” are Sersi the Eternal (an incredibly powerful, almost god-like race) who has the power of transmutation. Sersi joined the Avengers at Captain America’s invitation; he got to know her when she helped him out on a case and became a valuable and powerful member of the team. I also need to mention Quasar and his Quantum Bands. Quasar is the “protector of the universe”, a role he inherited from the late Captain Mahr-Vell. Quasar is essentially the Green Lantern of the Marvel U, he’s incredible fast and can make energy constructs, but instead of a ring he has two wristbands. Also making key appearances in “Galactic Storm” are Starfox, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), Black Widow (in her way cool, grey Frank Miller costume with the short haircut) and the Black Knight.

The plot of “Operation Galactic Storm” is simple enough to sum up, the Kree and the Shi’ ar (aliens from the X-men books) are pissed at each other and decide to go to war. Simple to sum up, but of course not everything is what it seems. Things flare up between the two races when supposedly some outer Shi’ ar colonies are attacked by Kree spaceships. Things escalate, and both sides start to arm up. All the while this is happening there also seems to be some sinister going-ons being carried out by the Supreme Intelligence, the former leader of the Kree Empire. Anyway, the Kree go after some ancient artifacts and end up crossing paths with Rick Jones, who brings Captain America and subsequently the rest of the Avengers into the mix. At the same time Quasar notices some unusual solar flare activity, and suddenly an Earth space station monitoring the sun is destroyed. Turns out the Shi ‘Ar are using our sun to power a wormhole which transports their armada to Kree space to hasten their war effort, which will inevitably burn out our sun and destroy our solar system. So yeah, the Avengers have to get involved. Cap divides up all the Avengers he can call up into three teams, one to talk to the Kree, one to talk to the Shi’ ar and one to guard their rears back on Earth. Of course the missions of diplomacy don’t go as planned, and soon our heroes find themselves in conflict with each other, with the Kree and with the Shi’ ar. My favorite battle in this tpb? Thor vs. the Gladiator (you know, the purple dude with the Mohawk who is pretty much Superman). Eric Masterson or no, it’s a pretty awesome fight.

There isn’t much more to say about vol. one, it’s mostly set-up, but a lot of things are brewing for volume 2 (I believe the tale was originally a 20 or so part story, spanning over several titles including “Captain America”, “Iron Man”, “Quasar”, “The Avengers”, “Avengers West Coast” and “Thor”). Like I was saying, there is already much dissention in the ranks, and all that will come to a head in the final parts of the story (and the ending is something that shakes up the Avengers for a long, long time). So see it all start here. The art isn’t the best, but the story is pretty intricate and an interesting precursor to current going-ons in the Marvel U. This tpb is readily in print and available for $29.99, definitely worth every penny.

Wktf’s Review

Marvel’s Greatest Superhero Battles
Fireside Books/Simon and Shuster
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby, Wally Wood, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Steve Ditko, John Romita, Sr.

Published in 1978, this terrific book was Stan Lee’s second book following his “Origins of Marvel Comics” book trilogy from the mid-1970s, and one year following Stan’s “The Superhero Women.” It’s entirely devoted to some of the most outstanding superhero battles of Marvel’s Silver Age, many of which are from the very dawn of the Marvel Age of Comics. Hand picked for this volume by Roger Stern, some of these yarns are of heroes battling each other while others are heroes battling their famous foes. All penned by Stan The Man, the match ups herein include The Thing vs. The Hulk from Fantastic Four #25 and the follow-up FF plus The Avengers vs. The Hulk from Fantastic Four #26 (drawn by Jack Kirby), Daredevil vs. The Sub-Mariner from Daredevil #7 (art by Wally Wood), The X-Men’s first battle with The Blob from X-Men #3 (King Kirby again on the art), Thor vs. The Silver Surfer (sporting one of the single most spectacular covers ever to grace any comic book) from Silver Surfer #4 (powerful pencils by John Buscema), a three-part Iron Man vs. The Sub-Mariner slug-fest from Tales of Suspense # 79-80 and Tales to Astonish #82 (art by both Gene Colan and Jack Kirby), Dr. Strange in hand-to-hand combat with Dormammu originally from Strange Tales #139-141 but here presented with the Gene Colan cover from its reprinting in Strange Tales #188 (pencils by Steve Ditko) and Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin from Amazing Spider-Man #69 (art by John Romita, Sr.).

It’s simply impossible to review each match-up from this 250+ page collection but, suffice it to say, they’re all fantastic! I’d like to touch briefly on a few of them, though. Probably my favorite is the Thing/Hulk/Avengers battle from FF #25 & 26. The Hulk slams into New York seeking revenge on the Avengers and Rick Jones, both of whom he believes have betrayed him, but encounters the Human Torch who’s simply no match for old Greenskin. Who should come to the Torch’s rescue but…you guessed it! The Thing is beautiful in this book. He quickly figures out he’s hopelessly outclassed but not only does he never give up, he also never loses his sense of humor (one of my favorite lines from Ben to The Hulk: “Hey! LEGGO! That’s the hand I eat pizza with!”). The Hulk keeps pounding Ben but the big lug just keeps coming back. And Kirby’s art, crude as it is compared to his later work, is just powerful and dynamic (this is Jack Kirby, after all). The brawl between Iron Man and Sub-Mariner, recently revisited in New Avengers: Illuminati, is a no-holds-barred knock-down drag out fight. Gene Colan’s art is terrific in the first two parts but, again, it’s Kirby who delivers the real goods in the final chapter which is just a brutal, angry brawl between these two. Dr. Strange’s battle with the Dread Dormammu is a physical, rather than sorcerous, contest in which Strange is greatly out powered, and Steve Ditko’s wild artwork is mind-bending even by today’s standards. And much has been written about the famous confrontation between Thor and The Silver Surfer. I’ve read this story a dozen times and have never tired of it. The plot contrivances that lead to the marquee fight are secondary as this issue belongs to John Buscema and his brother Sal, who inked it, as one of the greatest Silver Age comics ever produced.

Stan provides a preface as well as an epilogue to the book, introduces each individual story and even chimes in midway with additional thoughts for those stories that span more than one issue. Stan’s narrations are a major part of the book and every word is fun if not also informative. For example, he expends a good amount of real estate describing how each story was structured to make the confrontations plausible and how he worked to give fans of both characters (in the case of hero v. hero) a scenario in which a battle would make sense and also be satisfying to fans of either character. Stan also speaks with great admiration of his now legendary collaborators, giving each their proper due as only Stan can. For example, “So fascinating, so unusual, so strangely believable are the uncanny actions, gestures, and weapons, that it’s hard to realize that Steve Ditko has not actually visited other dimensions and recorded what he has seen.” Or, “And when it comes to comicbook illustrators, I’d have to say that John Buscema is in a class by himself…each new drawing, each new panel, page, or book of artwork amazes and impresses me as though I’d never seen his illustrations before.”

For great superhero battles, you can’t get much better than this, especially if you love early Silver Age Marvel Comics stuff. Back in 1978 this book retailed for $6.95 but it’s now long out of print. I’ve seen it often on eBay (search under “Stan Lee” in Collectibles/Comics), and you also may be able to find it on Amazon or other online bookstores in their used books sections. Recommended highly, this book is one high octane Marvel superhero battle after another and is just a real pleasure to read. It made me feel like a kid again!

[JDH]

Good stuff, guys. Looking forward to my She-Hulk. OGS actually got me to buy a Wonder Man comic back in the day. Frightening, really. It's an underrated and highly enjoyable tale.

[Aarrgghh!!]

Sam, right on with Nightwing!! That book turned bad quick, this is a OYL book that went from OK to terrible. Can Winick also go back to Marvel, I liked his Exiles series, other than that his stuff is terrible.
WK, Superman has been solid these last few issues, great review. Do you think the "buzzing" in his head is going any further?

[bat_collector]

Well, I think Jason Todd is the least of Nightwing's problems. I actuallyed liked his stories in batman, and in the first issue of two of Nightwing he played wondeful pest. but this issue, gotta agree man, where did they pull this plot out of. The fight in on a model catwalk is just dumb.

and why haven't they explained what ever happened between Grayson and Barbara, because I thought he proposed to her!

[thecallahan]

I agree on the She-Hulk! The issue was brutal. Especially Shulkie's reaction in the end, daaamn. I do wonder what's going on with her and John. There's clearly something amiss but I have no idea what it could be.

[madjazz]

I get my books a week or two after they come out now so I have nothing constructive to add. I can say that based on a review from a few weeks ago, I was able to hunt down a copy of the new Hawkgirl.

[Kdawg59]

I don't know if you two vatos know it or not but you make comic books pretty F*cking enjoyable to read about with your takes... I had no idea that a she-hulk story could ever be interesting and this deep. I was jaded (no pun intended) on all the silly -ass byrne stories and funny book stuff wih Jenifer long ago and it has made me a bit turned off by her.

The notion of Starfox whom I always thought was this happy go lucky avenger and now thinking of him in this light just floors me... What a Dog if ya think about it. That would be enough to mess with anyone's head he has been with...

[wktf]

Originally Posted by Kdawg59

I don't know if you two vatos know it or not but you make comic books pretty F*cking enjoyable to read about with your takes...

Hey dawg, thanks for these props. This is why Sam and I do these reviews so this kind of feedback is a real high for us.

Yeah, I used to think of Starfox the same way. Despite his powers (he did bust open a titanium cell), kind of a superhero lightweight I could never really take seriously. Now, there's a level of darkness surrounding his character that, to me, puts him in the same category as DC's Dr. Light: a rapist. I can never think of him the same way again.

[wktf]

Originally Posted by thecallahan

I agree on the She-Hulk! The issue was brutal. Especially Shulkie's reaction in the end, daaamn. I do wonder what's going on with her and John. There's clearly something amiss but I have no idea what it could be.

thecallahan, it's clear to me that Eros has gotten into her head regarding John, so she's feeling the same euphoria about John that normally Eros causes others to feel about himself, and I think Pug has figured this out with this issue.