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Columnist Thunder Mod
Super Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Denver Area, between Asgard and Krypton
Posts: 21,388
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The Mighty Reviews 1/3/09
Wktf’s Reviews
The Mighty Reviewers planned to take this week off from reviews but today I found myself with two flat front tires and in NTB with about an hour and a half to kill. What to do? Some quick reviews after all. Unfortunately, despite high expectations for a few of this week’s comics, none of the books I picked up was all that terrific. In fact, the highlight of my comics week was The Lone Ranger HC Volume 2, especially with that stunning John Cassaday image of The Lone Ranger atop a rearing Silver!
Justice Society of America #22
DC Comics
Story by: Geoff Johns & Alex Ross
Written by: Geoff Johns
Drawn by: Dale Eaglesham
Painted pages: Alex Ross
Cover by: Alex Ross
Variant cover: Dale Eaglesham
Very special thanks to: Mark Waid
Thus endeth the Kingdom Come Superman story line and the most marketable part of Johns’ run on JSA. Unfortunately this issue seemed incredibly forced and rushed, like Dan Jurgens’ last issue on Thor back before Avengers Disassembled where you could just tell the Marvel editorial board threw up their hands and yelled, “Enough, already!” I don’t think that’s what’s happened here with Johns at DC but, that said, this issue sure feels that way.
The Kingdom Come Superman’s been under the misconception that he was yanked from his world at the very moment of its destruction, the moment of Captain Marvel’s heroic death under a nuclear warhead. However, it’s come to his attention that, while that bomb did go off, there may yet still be an Earth 22 that needs its Superman. But first this Superman must fight alongside the JSA to stop Gog, a being of incredible God-like powers capable of curing ills, reversing famine and raising the dead, from destroying this Earth. And this is where, after all these issues of build up, this ending just feels incredibly abrupt, with Gog’s being so easily (and, I’ll admit, shockingly given Superman and Starman’s tactics) dispatched and this Superman’s final but obvious, considering the moment of his departure from the Kingdom Come story, fate.
A big highlight of this book is Ross’ painted pages, taking us back to the finale of Kingdom Come and a look in to Superman’s both immediate and far distant future, all of which truly are beautiful and even uplifting considering this character’s traumatic life and history. They also help explain is how Superman was able to survive and explosion powerful enough to kill Captain Marvel. Despite Ross’ interiors, coupled with Johns’ and Eaglesham’s really impressive work though this whole storyline, the abruptness of this issue’s final installment was a major disappointment in a series that was so thoughtfully, carefully and meticulously crafted (seriously, check out all the credits above) to this point.
Captain America #45
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Luke Ross & Butch Guice
Cover by: Steve Epting
So, how do you follow up the absolutely incredible nearly 20 issue Death of Captain America story? Just about anything’s bound to be a bit anti-climactic and while this story arc, unfortunately, falls into this category it’s really been picking up steam with every issue. This one, in fact, has been the most exciting of this three issue arc thus far. Probably because this particular issue really forces the new Captain America to confront his dual histories as the Soviet’s cold war Winter Soldier when he was tapped to murder the Chinese scientist he’d rescued as Bucky along with Cap during WWII. That and, despite Ross and Guice’s rather blocky and stiff art, the action’s been dialed up considerably in this installment.
China’s attempt to create their own super soldier had gone disastrously wrong and ended up creating The Man With No Face, a wraith-like creature who could phase in and out of reality, much like Daredevil’s Death Stalker, cloaked in shadows, a swirling dark cape and fedora. He looks truly vampiric in the flash back sequences of his battle with Winter Soldier and is no less impressive today, when he’s teamed up with Batroc the Leaper to steal a mysterious package for Professor Chin, the same man Bucky saved as a child in the 40s and Winter Soldier tried to kill in the 1960s. Batroc gave the new Cap enough trouble earlier in this arc and now that they’ve teamed up against him, James Buchanan Barnes has hands full indeed.
This is more or less an all out action issue with plenty of punches, kicks and explosions to satisfy the action lover in all of us. And, as Cap dishes out and takes in all the punishment he can, his partner and new lover, the beauteous Black Widow, engages in some subterfuge of her own to learn the shocking secret of what Batroc and Professor Chin were after. Most disturbingly, it relates back to the grisly fate of a former friend and ally of Bucky’s and a terrible secret Buck’s withholding even from his closest current friend and ally. For the action packed elements of this story, the interplay between Bucky and Natasha and excellent use of villains and cliffhangers, this issue gets my pick of the week, even though I’d really like to see Steve Epting back on the art chores.
Avengers/Invaders #7 of 12
Marvel Comics
Plot by: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Written by: Jim Krueger
Drawn by: Steve Sadowski & Patrick Berkenkotter
Cover: Alex Ross
Variant Cover: Pasqual Ferry & Frank D’Armata
Now that we’re more than half way through this series I’ve decided to give up on it altogether. I probably won’t even pick up the inevitable trade once it comes out. The premise is solid enough. In the Winter of 1943 Captain America, Bucky, Namor, The Original Human Torch and Toro step into a strange green mist and are thrown forward into the present world. With the original Captain America’s being dead today, Tony Stark decided the Mighty Avengers must capture the Invaders and send them back so as to avoid worldwide confusion and any changes to the lives of these historical figures could create for the present. Of course, Luke Cage’s New Avengers (still with Dr. Strange among them) are at odds with Stark’s and Ms. Marvel’s Mighty Avengers. And so, three a way conflict ensues among all the heroes which must work to the advantage of whatever evil force set these player in motion in the first place.
Whatever fears Stark has about changing the past may already have been realized, considering Bucky’s met and been warned of Zemo’s aerial bomb by his future self and Toro’s already visited his own grave. In the meantime, The Original Human Torch seems to have left the reservation, grieving over the “deaths” of SHIELD LMD’s from a previous battle and equating their deaths to the Nazi death camps he helped liberate. There was no doubt last issue that The Torch’s mind was being manipulated, the question was by whom and toward what end. With this issue we find some answers to these questions and some more questions, as well. And, having already seen a past/present Sub-Mariner conflict a couple of issues ago, there certainly is at least one similar conflict that was bound to happen. Sure enough, the set up for that meeting is essentially the buildup in this issue.
This story has been winding in long, circuitous directions. The art has been sloppy at best and sub-standard at worst. There’ve been moments of real potential throughout these seven issues but with very little payoff to make the reader (at least this reader) want to come back. Plus, despite the notes that this book takes place in current continuity, the inclusion of Dr. Strange shows that while we’re living in post-Civil War time it’s also pre-World War Hulk. Not exactly current continuity. As a result, this story feels a bit outdated, especially given all the post-Secret Invasion shake ups to The Avengers teams. Regardless, stick a fork in me. Despite my love of both The Invaders and Avengers, I’m done with this one. What a disappointment.
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