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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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Wktf’s Reviews
Captain America #606
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Bruce Guice
Cover by: Marko Djurdjevic
Marvel has officially kicked off its post-Dark Reign/Siege “Heroic Age” and, in the Marvel Universe, it just doesn’t get any more heroic than Captain America. And with this first installment to the new “No Escape” arc creators Brubaker and Guice come out absolutely swinging for the fences. Our story opens in a wonderfully dark and gothic setting, rewinding the clock back a month when none other than Baron Zemo returns to the Thunderbolts old island headquarter where he finds The Ghost trying to remove a tracking device Osborn installed in him while on assignment to collect Zemo’s old database records. There’s an interesting dialogue between the two when the Ghost remarks, “I can never remember which side you’re on.” Fittingly, Zemo replies, “I’m not sure myself anymore…” I’ve never fully been able to pin down Zemo’s allegiances. Son of the original WWII villain who was responsible for the original Captain America’s imprisonment in ice and Bucky’s supposed death, this character was responsible for assembling the dreadfully powerful Masters of Evil during the famous Avengers Under Siege arc (see one of this week’s trade reviews) and nearly destroyed The Avengers. Of course, he also led the original Thunderbolts and even, during a crossover with The Avengers, made peace with Captain America for the aforementioned affair.
But here, clearly, Zemo’s picked a side and, thanks to The Ghost’s disclosure, has taken a keen interest in the identity of the new Captain America, the boy-turned-man that his father was supposed to have killed. In the mean time, Buck’s having problems of his own. Having killed the psychotic 1950s Captain America in the last arc, Buck’s carrying some serious guilt or other baggage that’s getting in the way of his performance as a hero not to mention causing fits with his dreams. And his issues on the battlefields of New York also are putting not only civilians in jeopardy but also his partner, Sam Wilson, The Falcon. With Cap’s head not in the right place, this seems like an opportune time for a villain to get the drop on him, and it certainly appears that what Zemo, a villain with a long history tied to Captain America and Bucky, has in mind.
I’ve been reading Brubaker’s Captain America since he first started with issue #1 and I’ve been a rock-solid fan all along the way. Of course, a large part of my fandom had to do with Steve Epting’s stellar art which Bruce Guice has never been able to equal. That said, Bru really started losing me during the convoluted and, frankly, underwhelming, Captain America Reborn story and, in addition, the last arc with the crazy ‘50s Cap really did nothing for me. I feared Captain America, after all these years was going to make my drop list. But, hot damn, this issue has done a complete 180. First and foremost, I’m not sure what’s different about Guice’s art, it may be that he’s inking his own pencils here, but this is some of the best superhero art outside of a Green Lantern story or The Marvels Project that I’ve seen in several months. Guice’s work is fluid and exciting, dark and spooky, even slow and mellow all when needed. Falcon’s back in his more familiar costume and wings, which is awesome, and Steve Rogers in his cameo appearance is captured perfectly. Strong, confident and, finally, with the thick wavy hair he should have rather than the short cropped look Hitch and Coipel like to give him. And Guice’s Zemo looks as villainous as he ever has. Bru’s got a kicker of a plot going that’s loaded with nostalgic but also highly current villainous goodness as Zemo starts playing with Buck like a cat would a mouse. Yes, Captain America is back to the top of my monthly reading list. For concept, plotting, scripting and just powerful art this issue most definitely is my pick of the week.
Heroic Age: Prince of Power #2 (of 4)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Drawn by: Reilly Brown
Cover by: Khoi Pham
At the opening of this min-series’ first issue, Baldar The Brave asked Athena who would be the premier hero in this “heroic age.” Her response? “The Kid.” And by this she means her new champion, Amadeus Cho, former friend to The Hulk and partner, in an Abbott & Costello kind of way, to the deceased Hercules. Though, despite the way the Incredible Hercules title ended and the funeral that was held for Hercules afterward, Cho strongly believes that Hercules, in fact, is not dead and has dedicated his life to searching for his missing friend. Of course, at the moment, he’s also CEO of the also-deceased Hera’s Olympus Group, Inc. which provides him the many resources needed to search for the real Prince of Power.
All that said, Cho’s got his hands full with the evil Vali Halfling, Loki’s illegitimate son who’s figured out a way to attain full godhood but in a manner that may well lead the other pantheons into extinction. And part of Val’s methodology includes absconding with the Apples of Idunn, the fruit that allows the Asgardians to retain their immortality. With Cho off to save the apples but finding them stolen, of course he comes into contact with a hot-under-the-collar god of thunder who immediately assumes the worst of Cho. Frankly, Thor’s rash and violent reaction seems a bit out of character, especially considering Cho’s a teenage mortal, even though he’s protected by one of Bruce Banner’s force fields and wielding Hercules’ indestructible adamantine mace. But, given that Cho had teamed up with The Hulk and Hercules, it’s time for him to bond with Marvel’s other major powerhouse and the team of Pak, Van Lente and Brown have a great time figuring out how to get Cho and Thor finally to communicate with each other in a way they can come to terms and agree on a common, heroic and noble goal.
As was the case with Incredible Hercules, the team of Pak & Van Lente are churning out one of the very best comic book stories on the market today. It’s loaded with humor and, as always, dire straits...not to mention some of the singularly most creative and hysterical sound effects found in any comic book. If you’re looking for the most fun, original and intelligently delivered superhero comic books on the market then be sure to pick this one up. The only thing that could make it better would be for cover artist Khoi Phan to come back on as regular artist. But Brown’s style, while a bit more cartoony, certainly delivers the goods as well.
S.H.I.E.L.D. #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jonthan Hickman
Drawn by: Dustin Weaver
Cover by: Gerald Parel and Dustin Weaver
Well, this certainly is one of the most innovative and unusual books on the market today, even if it is a bit inaccessible. Wonderful and mysterious, but still a bit inaccessible. Whereas The Marvels Project took us to the beginning of the Marvel Universe in terms of the birth of Marvels superheroes, this title takes us back to the birth of the Marvel Universe in terms of the very beginnings of civilization. Last issue we learned that no less than Imhotep of ancient Egypt, circa 2620 BC, repelled a Brood (remember them from X-Men) and originated an organization call SHIELD specifically chartered with safeguarding the human race against known and unknown menaces. And that this incredible calling has been passed along every generation to include such unlikely warriors as a young, heavily bearded and long harird Leonardo da Vinci and Gallileo. And now, during a period in the 1950s when the young Howard Stark and Nathaniel Richards, fathers in the future to Tony and Reed, were members of SHIELD, this calling is being passed to a young, seemingly cosmically aware young man named Leonid.
Leonardo da Vinci has slipped forward in the time stream to make contact with Leonid and somehow, whether mystically, magically, or scientifically, draws memories from him from his earliest years. Beyond this point it’s hard to articulate what happens in the rest of the story beyond a pretty significant battle between Leonid’s resurrected father and the combination of Stark and Richards. Weaver’s spectacular and intricate art take us to dizzying heights on top of architectural wonders, a veritable city constructed by da Vinci, and Leonardo guides Leonid through his mazes as he divulges his discovery that the new men of the SHIELD have found a new belief that he’s come forward in time to shatter and, on top or which, to rebuild. In a way, it’s fortunate we have the confused Leonid along for this story, discovering as he travels with Leonardo. That way, his sense of wonder can be shared by the reader as more and more of the plot elements unfold. Without such a sympathetic character, we readers might be too lost ourselves to stay engaged. But Hickman’s innovative plotting, twisting and disorienting storyline and Weaver’s just stunningly detailed art combine to make this one of the most captivating books on the shelves today. And we’re only up to the second issue!
Wktf’s Trade Reviews
The Invincible Gene Colan HC
Marvel Comics
Edited by: Clifford Meth
Lots of Art by: Gene “The Dean” Colan
If there’s any creator in Marvel’s history of comics who should receive the potentially defunct oversized hardcover Marvel Visionaries treatment it’s certainly Gene Colan. There simply is no artist in all of comics whose style is more unique, whose contribution has been as far reaching and whose duration in the field has been as long lasting. As Meth states in his introduction to this loving valentine of a book to his friend, Gene had begun his career as a comic book artist in 1944 and officially retired in April, 2008 at the age of 81. That’s sixty-four straight years creating comic book pages the likes of which no one else was producing and no one else has produced since. You could name off any other great comic book artist and either I or someone else could show you how their work has been imitated by another artist or how their work, in fact, was inspired by or owes reference allegiance to another great artist. Not so with Gene Colan. In the dawning of the Marvel Age of Comics, if Kirby’s art provided raw power and Ditko’s art provided gritty albeit surreal realism, then Gene’s art was the swirling, shadowy, cinematic realm of dreams and shadows, something weirdly and uniquely different that rounded out the kinetic and crazy early Marvel experience beyond the industry redefining experiences Kirby and Ditko provided. Powerful, action packed, violent when need while also being far more realistic and, at times, disturbing. And this book goes a long way to validating this point.
The bulk of Meth’s tribute book highlights each of Gene’s character contributions chapter by chapter. Following his introduction is a chapter titled “Before the Marvel Age” which tells the story of how Gene got broke into the Timely Comics scene. I was delighted not only to read this history of the young Gene Colan’s work but also to gaze at the terrific pages reproduced here from the 1940s. Gene had done a lot of work in early crime comics (titles like “Lawbreakers Always Lose” and “Official True Crime Cases”), westerns, war and horror comics. But his art also graced Timely’s early superhero titles like Human Torch and Captain America, a character to which Gene would return in the 1960s. For those of us who’d never seen Colan’s work prior to his Silver Age Marvel stuff, this chapter is a real treat. But beyond this chapter the book explodes with Gene’s Marvel work throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s. A chapter focusing on his Sub-Mariner work from Tales to Astonish and Namor’s own title, is followed by a far more (and rightly so) extensive one on Daredevil, then Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Captain America, Tomb of Dracula, Howard the Duck, and “Miscellaneous Marvel” including Captain Marvel, Thor, The Inhumans, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther and even some 1970s Love comics. The book closes with a three page essay by Tom Spurgeon called “The Forgotten Comic Book Superstar” and an interview Meth conducted with Gene in 1995 for “The Gene Colan Treasury.” This interview is especially fun as we get to hear from Gene himself what it was like breaking into the comics field in New York as a kid, who his influences were, how he felt about his own style, what his family was like, his love for his wife, his appreciation for Stan Lee, who his favorite inkers on his own work were, and how much he appreciates his own fan base.
What else can I say about this book? Okay, here’s a big selling point. Not only is it chock full of four color comic book pages and nearly every comic book cover Gene ever drew, but we’re also given reproductions of original art, commissions and concept sketches all of which are generously littered throughout nearly every page. Add to all of this essays of appreciation by such luminaries as Stan Lee, John Romita Sr., Walt Simonson, Neil Gaiman, Norm Breyfogle, Dave Gibbons, Tom Palmer, Randy Bowen and others, and this book becomes a Gene Colan fan’s treasure. Clocking in at 131 pages for $19.99 you simply won’t find a more richly packed package of information, insight and wonderful raw eye candy about the man Stan called “Gentleman Gene” and “Gene the Dean” but whom we also have come to know as the “Master of Shadows” and, as Meth so appropriately calls him given his stunning sixty-four straight years of contribution to comics, Marvel’s “Iron Horse.” As Meth writes, “Jack Kirby may have been Marvel’s Babe Ruth, but Gene Colan was their Lou Gehrig. He’d certainly played more innings than any of his colleagues. It wasn’t just a franchise record. It was an industry landmark.” I personally discovered Gene Colan on Daredevil #44, the classic “Brother Take My Hand” story that Stan also included in his “Origins of Marvel Comics.” When I read it as a child in the ‘60s I remember actually feeling disoriented seeing the multiple, blurry sequential forms of Daredevil as he swung and spun with such incredible velocity through the shadowy air. After that, I tried to pick up every book of his that I could find. But it was Tomb of Dracula, his signature series, which locked Gene forever in my head and heart as my favorite comic book artist of all time. Even over Kirby, Ditko, Buscema, Perez and other artists I hold in such high esteem. So I guess I’m biased when it comes to Meth’s book, but I hope my love for Gene’s art also might make me especially critical if it didn’t do Gene the right justice. Simply put, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Avengers Under Siege TPB
Marvel Comics
Written by: Roger Stern
Drawn by: John Buscema and Tom Palmer
With Baron Zemo’s return to the pages of Captain America this month, I thought we’d take a look at this Avengers storyline where Zemo was absolutely at his villainous best. 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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