wktf and Sam Wilson's Comic Reviews, 1/11/06

[JDH]

Originally Posted by wktf

Fair enough, jdh. I did pick up the first several issues of Ultimate FF but it just didn't grab me. The others I may not have given a fair shot because I may just fall into the same camp as Madjazz. I'm not sure why Ultimates grabbed me right off but it did and I'm hooked. Of course, based on Sam's reviews, I'm gonna have some Utimate U trades to pick up soon.

Hope to get my reviews in tomorrow AM, by the way.

Maybe it grabbed you because it was so different, it wasn't like a retelling of Avengers. So it had less of a 'What If?' feel, and maybe even less of a feeling of betrayal for reading it. As for Ultimate FF, I agree - the first few issues had as much bad (Doom. Everything about Doom) as good. But since then, it's actually been surprisingly strong despite the merry-go-round creative team.

You can't go wrong following Sam's reviews. As ever, looking forward to yours.

[Sam Wilson]

Originally Posted by Cage

Great Job on the reviews as usual. I will check out Daughters of the Dragon, like Sam I loved them back when Misty and Danny were an item.

I read ultimate secret and only some of ultimate nightmare (yeah I kknow Backward) and look forward to extinction. I like allot of the Ultimate titles. I have the FF run and am digging Ultimate Spiderman.

Although it sounds horribly wrong for Madjazz to say he smothered my chicken in his sauce and it was wonderful, we did have a great time at the game. The Pats are now 2-0 and have outscored the opponents 56-3 when Cage and MAdjazz are in the Razor!

brother, you get a double dose of Misty in "Daughters" and "Ultimate Extinction", so WORD, and I figured you'd have to check out "Daughters" since they draw her just like your girl, Pam.

wk, I know you would dig the Ultimate trilogy. Especially since our man Raney is on the second part. You can't go wrong with that.

yo, and am I the only one who wants to see jdh do an "ultimate jdh" in a "you've been busted" cartoon?

[JDH]

Originally Posted by Sam Wilson

yo, and am I the only one who wants to see jdh do an "ultimate jdh" in a "you've been busted" cartoon?

Yes Sam, you probably are!

[Relic Reaper]

Originally Posted by Sam Wilson

any ultimate fans besides jdh and me?

Anyone else reading DMZ? Thoughts?

I'm really big Ultimate universe fan. I've been looking forward to the sequels to Ultimate Nightmare, but I've been waiting for the trades. Come to think of it, all the Ultimate books I buy are in tpb format...except for The Ultimates (I usually can't wait to tear into that one).

Thanks for the great reviews (as usual!), Sam!

[wktf]

Originally Posted by jdh.goodgrief

You can't go wrong following Sam's reviews. As ever, looking forward to yours.

No question on Sam's reviews! Mine should be in tomorrow, barring any of my kids' having a homework crisis or getting drafted (again) for late night post holiday house decoration take-down/clean up...

[Sam Wilson]

Originally Posted by Relic Reaper

I'm really big Ultimate universe fan. I've been looking forward to the sequels to Ultimate Nightmare, but I've been waiting for the trades. Come to think of it, all the Ultimate books I buy are in tpb format...except for The Ultimates (I usually can't wait to tear into that one).

Thanks for the great reviews (as usual!), Sam!

Thanks RR,

that Ultimate Spdm HC from barnes and noble is a great one to get, since we're on the subject of ultimate trades.

It would really make my day if they released all the ultimate trilogy in some kind of oversized HC...

[wktf]

Originally Posted by Sam Wilson

that Ultimate Spdm HC from barnes and noble is a great one to get, since we're on the subject of ultimate trades.

My wife bought this book for me, Sam, it's awesome!

[wktf]

Wktf’s Reviews

A day late again, for the third straight week, thanks to Diamond’s shipping problems. Grrrrr…Oh, well. Last week was an all-DC week for reviews for me. This one’s an all-Marvel review week. But first, let’s pause and give thanks to DC Comics for releasing their third and final “Batman: Illustrated by Neal Adams” volume, complete with the introduction of Ra’s al Ghul, who recently made his screen debut in “Batman Begins,” and other winning stories like “Moon of the Wolf” which was translated into a Batman The Animated Series episode…Okay, pause of gratitude over (still, the only thing left for DC to do is design a slipcase into which these three volumes can fit), on with the reviews.

Ares #1 of 5
Marvel Comics
Written by: Michael Avon Oeming
Drawn by: Travel Foreman

With all the Thor-maligning Joey Da Q has been doing on newsarama.com, it ironically seems like releasing Thor-related mini series is the most current Marvel trend. We’ve had “The New Labors of Hercules” and “Beta Ray Bill: Stormbreaker,” not to mention the just recently completed “Thor: Blood Oath.” Now Marvel offers us “Ares,” focusing on a minor (at best) Thor character that first appeared back in the ‘60s during one of the earliest Thor/Hercules meetings. If these mythology oriented books are selling for Marvel, why the hell not give us back a regular Thor title? Oh…sorry. This book’s about Ares, not Thor. I should focus there because quite a book it is, too.

Oeming, who closed down Thor (I’ll get off Thor, I promise!) and gave us the BRB and Blood Oath series mentioned above, is the scribe here as well. He certainly seems to be Marvel’s go-to guy for their mythological titles, even illustrating the recent What If? Thor book. In a time of terrible war between the Olympians and Pluto’s hellish hoards, Zeus’ armies find themselves in a stalemate. With great reluctance, and at the protest of his clan, Zeus calls on Ares to help. Ares is universally reviled by his own family for, not only is he the god of war, his methods are so bloody and revolting that everyone in Zeus’ pantheon from Hercules to Hera simply despises him. Ares, however, craves acceptance and hopes that the brutal victory he provides Olympus will win him the hearts of his people. No dice. His horrendous killing methods, agilely rendered by Foreman in the first part of this story, only validate the Olympians’ disgust with Ares and, hurt and angered, he leaves Olympus for good, forsaking his godhood and own mythology. And, by forsaking it, I mean his rejection and self-loathing is so complete that he turns his back on them and assumes a new identity and persona as a mortal in a mortal’s world.

Cut to act two and the really interesting part heats up. Ares, massive in stature compared to the mortals with whom he now lives, has made a life for himself. He even has a son whom he dearly loves, like a good suburban single dad should, even though we don’t know who the mother is. And he’s taken a job in construction, rather than his heritage of destruction. But like Al Pachino in Godfather III, just when he thinks he’s out they pull him back in. Yes, the Greek gods want their god of war back. They know what’s happened to the Asgardians (but we knew they knew this from Herc’s mini series) and fear the worst for themselves. And their tactics are guaranteed to return Ares to Olympus but it may be to the pantheon’s extreme regret. While the writing and tone of this book jumps around a bit, moving from the battlefield of the gods to the suburbs, Ares’ pain at his lone-wolf status feels real and his rage and motivation are genuinely scary. Frankly, I can’t tell if he’s the hero or villain of this story. Marvel has assembled a creative team that has set the stage for an epochal conflagration of the gods but with very human emotions driving it. Not to mention I love Foreman’s classic looking cover, oozing with antiquity, which is just cool as hell.

She-Hulk 2 #4
Marvel Comics
Written by: Dan Slott
Guest Drawn by: Scott Kolins

This book is my pick of the week. I had one of those few and far between “Oh, wow!” moments when I finished it. And why not, I say! This week’s Comic Shop News had its 16th Annual Red K (tribute to the Mort Weisinger Superman era) Awards and Dan Slott won the “Puttin’ the Funny Back In Funnybooks” award for making She-Hulk “buzzworthy” due to his “clever, sometimes irreverent but never self-indulgent storytelling.” Congrats, Dan!

Jen is about done with her time-cop story arc that gave us a rollicking issue #100 (or #3), last issue, but must take custody of a time traveling Avenger who’s first post 1960s appearance was in Avengers vol. 1 #142 (see the Avengers: Serpent Crown trade paperback, or read my review of a few weeks ago) and must explain a sudden disappearance a while back to the time cops. We all know from the Avengers: Red Zone trade (see my review on 11-23-05) that Jen’s exposure to Jack of Hearts boosted her gamma intake and turned her into a rampaging monster that trashed the town of Bone, Idaho (see Avengers: Search for She-Hulk tpb). This book, a return to Bone, is guest drawn by Scott Kolins who also drew the Search for She-Hulk story. Well, naturally Jen felt terrible about having done this and, during that missing period, Jen joined a new group of rescue workers, The Green Cross, to repair the damage. Here’s a cool concept: The Green Cross’ mission is to help out at the sites of Hulk-related disasters.

A murder mystery ensues from all the reconstruction and Jen finds she desperately needs her ability to change into She-Hulk, a capability that Doc Sampson has explained is being blocked by the trauma she experienced from the damage she caused both in Bone and Avengers Disassembled. In an ironic twist, her coming to Bone is an attempt to reconcile her feelings and regain her shape changing abilities, and she soon finds she needs to become She-Hulk to survive but isn’t able to do it. The murder mystery feels a bit incidental, the guest star time traveling Avenger is cool to see again, but the “Oh, wow!” moment for me comes in an unexpected discovery that takes us back to the dawn of the Marvel Age of Comics, even as Jen works to come to terms with the town that resents her and her own ambivalent feelings about her She-Hulk persona. This discovery shows us a new wrinkle to a well known event in the creation of one of Marvel’s most enduring characters, the impact of this action on one man and, most importantly, his desire to do good in his life to compensate for his mistake. Great, great one-shot story.

Son of M #2 of 6
Marvel Comics
Written by: David Hine
Drawn by: Roy Allan Martinez

Here’s a follow up story that’s better than its predecessor (House of M). Quicksilver finds himself lost without his super speed powers, a function of his sister Wanda’s “No more mutants” proclamation. Dealing with the responsibility and guilt he feels over the current state of the mutant world, plus his own condition, he finds himself depressed and often drunk. An angry Spider-Man, dealing with his own guilt for having had a son with his long-dead girlfriend (who's not his wife today), and the pain of losing both, berates Pietro to the point he jumps off a building in an attempted suicide. The Inhuman Crystal, formerly an FF partner and Human Torch love interest but now Pietro’s estranged wife, comes to his aid. Jump to this issue.

Taking a broken Pietro back to Attilan for healing, Crystal is met with a mixed reception from the royal family. Medusa and Black Bolt seem fine with it, Gorgon is resentful. Pietro is healed but still human and is reunited with Luna, his daughter. This is a bittersweet moment for him for though he’s happy to see her he learns of the Terrigen Mists which may be able to return his powers. Of course, there are warnings of terrible incidents involving people exposed to the mists. Of course, this wouldn’t be a comic book without these dangers and something going wrong. Cue Pietro’s impetuous behavior despite Medusa’s warnings. We have our conflict.

The great thing about this book is that it focuses on Quicksilver, who’s always been an interesting but underexposed character. Here the usually arrogant mutant is wracked with inadequacy and guilt that makes him the protagonist of a story he created. I love seeing the Inhumans again, though they’re not my Inhumans from the earlier Lee/Kirby days (Gorgon looks like a hippie). These regal, noble souls are one of the most innovative families in the MU and the more exposure they have, the better. While this issue lost a little steam vs. last issue, and is the weakest of the lot in this mix of reviews, it’s still a good read and recommended to anyone sick of the X-titles but interested in the post-House of M going’s on in the life of a pivotal, classic Marvel character who also happens to be a mutant.

[Aarrgghh!!]

She-Hulk was fun. It's good to see Marvel will put out a "done-in-one" story now and then rather than a 6+ issue arc. Neal Adams Batman will be mine, now reprint the Ali vs. Superman and I'll be very happy!

[madjazz]

Damn, wktf. That review almost makes me want to reconsider and pick up Son of M. I passed on all House of M side series, but this could be interesting. I might try to have discipline and wait for the trade. We'll see.